Open Mike 19/04/2018

Written By: notices and features - Date published: 6:00 am, April 19th, 2018 - 143 comments
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143 comments on “Open Mike 19/04/2018”

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Tony Veitch (not etc) 1
19 April 2018 at 6:58 am
Could I respectfully draw the moderator’s attention to the verbal violence practised by the commentator Wei on the immigration post yesterday.
I accept that most of ‘his’ inflammatory comments were made after 11pm, and even moderators need some sleep – but his/her posts should raise red flags in the future – and not PRC ones!
[So this off-handed inflammatory shit that you’re spouting (about raising PRC flags) is exactly the kind of stuff that kicks things off. I’ve just read the thread in question, and while Wei overstepped the mark with regards one response in particular, any bans would be for the inflammatory comments by Ropata and Tamati Tautuhi. Happens every time Wei comes here – the casual racist bullshit gets flung at him. He responds. He gets banned. Not happening this time around. There are a few people need to take a look at themselves and their attitudes] – Bill
- James 1.1
  19 April 2018 at 7:11 am
  Funny – I read the thread and found ropata and Janet the most racist commenters.
  - Carolyn_Nth 1.1.1
    19 April 2018 at 7:36 am
    Well, the small bit I read of the discussion did look a bit like there was adouble standard, and misunderstanding of the power of white privileger: i.e. Wei was critical of the naming and explaining of white privilege with respect to the treatment of white Sth African immigrants, while tending to denigrate Chinese immigrants.
    Verbal violence though is not on, IMO, whatever the views.
  - Keepcalmcarryon 1.1.2
    19 April 2018 at 8:27 am
    Not surprised James, you being a major fan of the Chinese owned National party here to sell us overseas.
    - James 1.1.2.1
      19 April 2018 at 9:33 am
      Nothing to do with political leanings (but hey good on you for bringing racism into it – you must be very proud).
      Simply reading the comments and taking them at face value.
  - Keepcalmcarryon 1.1.3
    19 April 2018 at 8:39 am
    Actually Wei calling for a massacre of white South African “ crackers” has to be his ticket out of here. If you don’t find his behaviour deeply disturbing there’s something wrong with you.
    - James 1.1.3.1
      19 April 2018 at 9:28 am
      It “has to be his ticket out of here” huh?
      How about we let the people involved make that decision – Im pretty sure we don’t get to demand anything.
      - Keepcalmcarryon 1.1.3.1.1
        19 April 2018 at 9:34 am
        I notice still no condemnation of that blatant violent racism from you James.
    - greywarshark 1.1.3.2
      19 April 2018 at 3:28 pm
      Why don’t you use a system similar to that used by insurance companies when there are two parties claiming against each other from an incident. It’s called knock-for-knock.
      . The justification for the use of the knock for knock system is that it would be expensive and practically difficult to adopt a “fault based” approach to liability in …
      http://www.mondaq.com/x/555144/Insurance/Knock+for+Knock+Liability+Provisions
      Why not take both parties out of the post for an hour? Let others get on with debating their own ideas and when the others settled down they would have learned something; either how to explain themselves better, or that they were majorly wrong. Just a bit of time out without playing the heavy-handed parent would help to give this present blog an adult-centred approach with democratic room for thinking citizens to have a say.
  - Tony Veitch (not etc) 1.1.4
    19 April 2018 at 9:39 am
    Well, I wasn’t commenting on the content of the posts, just the invective hurled by Wei at Ropata. ‘Wei’ over the top, in my opinion!
    - James 1.1.4.1
      19 April 2018 at 10:34 am
      Bill made his comments above – I’m keeping out of this from here.
      - joe90 1.1.4.1.1
        19 April 2018 at 10:41 am
        Had a look at his/her posts and the baiting and language is damn near identical to the head troll’s over at Farrar’s place.
    - mauī 1.1.4.2
      19 April 2018 at 10:39 am
      Calling another commenter a piece of s*** is ok and describing an assault on a commenter is ok… and in response Ropata was very restrained I have to say.
      But making a joke referencing another post and bearing no malice whatsoever is moderation worthy. Sorry Bill, you’ve got things wrong here.
      - red-blooded 1.1.4.2.1
        19 April 2018 at 12:25 pm
        I’m going to disagree with you on this one, mauī.
        I don’t agree on all Bill’s moderation decisions, but I think he’s right to point out the Wei was trying to speak up against implicit racism and that people weren’t ready to re-examine their own comments or the bias they were exhibiting. Yes, he/she got angry and (in the end) abusive, but context is important and in this case I think it possible to understand Wei’s frustration.
- Barfly 1.2
  19 April 2018 at 12:31 pm
  Bill
  You are a moderator you make decisions – I hope you at least ask Wei to done it down
  “He is a lying piece of shit
  A dumb cunt incapable of a single shred of logical thought
  Fuck you are low IQ.
  I’m talking about those racist white cracker Boers who can’t stand black rule and come here bringing their racist ways. Fuck you are a twit
  A filthy Uncle Tom such as Ropata
  Personally I hope the South African government seals off the borders and then carry out its land expropriation without compensation. Let those Boers scurry around like the rats they are with nowhere to go.
  Hopefully we will see a massacre of those racist Boers
  If that does happen I hope the NZ navy machine guns them in the water before they get their white asses to the North Shore – -how about it eh????”
  This seems a “bit rough” to say the least
  I know CV got a one year ban and I thought he was baited into that and what CV was banned for seems to me to be very small potatoes compared to Wei’s outbursts.
  I understand moderator’s work is generally thankless and under appreciated and I apologise if it seems I am being overly critical
  - swordfish 1.2.1
    19 April 2018 at 11:02 pm
    I know CV got a one year ban and I thought he was baited into that and what CV was banned for seems to me to be very small potatoes compared to Wei’s outbursts.
    Yep.
  - Wei 1.2.2
    19 April 2018 at 11:30 pm
    I agree that some of my comments were out of line. However the vicious racist rhetoric of people such as Ropata is far worse than anything I wrote. I appreciate the moderator’s nuanced approach.
    That message board on immigration would have done an ‘Alt Right’ website proud, and it is only in recent years since Labour decided to jump on the populist bandwagon, that the vicious racist underbelly of the NZ left has emerged, in a truly unabashed sense.
    If that does happen I hope the NZ navy machine guns them in the water before they get their white asses to the North Shore – -how about it eh????”
    Of course that comment was to bait other commenters, and not a reflection of how I feel – but it is the secret attitude of many Westerners when it comes to black and brown refugees and migrants, consider Katie Hopkins who enjoys huge popularity in the UK “Rescue boats? I’d use gunships to stop migrants”.
    I placed the same views within a different racial context to get a rise out of the openly racist commentators that infest the webosphere of the New Zealand left. The fact is the Australia and New Zealand left was largely founded on vicious anti-Chinese racism, was suppressed for a long time, but is now rearing its ugly head as the economic ascendancy of China, and other non-white powers around the world give rise to white racial and economic angst.
    - Stuart Munro 1.2.2.1
      19 April 2018 at 11:58 pm
      You were provocative.
      I’ve worked in China – you don’t have a leg to stand on about racism.
      “The fact is the Australia and New Zealand left was largely founded on vicious anti-Chinese racism.” (citation required)
      The truth is that you represent a vocal and unproductive minority whose destructive speculation long since eclipsed their positive contribution. NZ infrastructure is stretched and there has been a degree of political capture, whereby people paid and sworn to represent NZers represent foreign interests instead. This is undergoing a minor correction.
      It’s not “white racial and economic angst” as these assimilation issues are not limited to Caucasian populations. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/May_1998_riots_of_Indonesia
      Some migrants are unconcerned by the damage they do to their host society until the inequality precipitates violence. That’s not the NZ way. If it’s your way, go away.
      - Wei 1.2.2.1.1
        20 April 2018 at 12:30 am
        “I’ve worked in China – you don’t have a leg to stand on about racism.”
        Agree. Chinese tend to put whites on a pedestal. However with increasing economic power of China and the rise of her standing in the world, that is undergoing a slightly more than ‘minor correction’
        “you represent a vocal and unproductive minority”
        Vocal? Chinese are quite underrepresented I think when it comes to the New Zealand political scene (and I’m not blaming racism for that)
        ‘Unproductive’? Asian employment rates are virtually identical to European employment rates. Perhaps you have some data that they are employed in ‘unproductive’ industries compared with European New Zealanders?
        However I doubt it. The engineering schools throughout the country are dominated now by Indians and Chinese, and most of them find employment in extremely productive fields.
        “NZ infrastructure is stretched” True. But does a Chinese migrant stretch it anymore than an English or South African migrant?
        “Some migrants are unconcerned by the damage they do to their host society until the inequality precipitates violence.”
        Do you have some information that NZ Asians, or Chinese in particular are that much more wealthy on average than other New Zealanders?
        “That’s not the NZ way. If it’s your way, go away.”
        The NZ (Anglo Saxon) way is to steal the wealth of Asians and Africans. Its been that way for centuries. When the Chinese did not want to trade your people invaded and looted the place. You did it to India, you did it to the Africans, and you did it to the indigenous people of this country. The Anglo Saxon tribe are the greediest and most rapacious bunch of motherfuckers that ever existed on the face of the earth, but the day of political, economic, and even military reckoning is fast approaching!
        Stuart Munro 1.2.2.1.1.1
        20 April 2018 at 12:58 am
        “Some migrants are unconcerned by the damage they do to their host society until the inequality precipitates violence.”
        “Do you have some information that NZ Asians, or Chinese in particular are that much more wealthy on average than other New Zealanders?”
        This is a more general critique than simply Asia, and wealth is not the only criterion for sociopathy, though it often allows it greater scope for expression.
        A word that has been sanitized in modern usage is entrepreneur, but an entrepreneur is not a technological rainmaker of the Hollywood variety. Literally an entrepreneur is someone who comes in and takes – a colonist or planter in 18th or 19th century terms, which is when the word was coined.
        Coming in and taking is a disruptive activity. It causes changes to the host economy. The presence of cashed up Boer farmers for instance, inflates the price of prime dairy country beyond the means of the poorly paid farm workers who a generation before would in the fullness of time have come into possession of the land as the owner’s physical capacity declined. This in term obliges the farm worker to seek some other profession, because the culminating reward of a lifetime of poorly paid strenuous work in all weathers is taken off the table.
        “The NZ (Anglo Saxon) way is to steal the wealth of Asians and Africans. Its been that way for centuries. When the Chinese did not want to trade your people invaded and looted the place. You did it to India, you did it to the Africans, and you did it to the indigenous people of this country. The Anglo Saxon tribe are the greediest and most rapacious bunch of motherfuckers that ever existed on the face of the earth, but the day of political, economic, and even military reckoning is fast approaching!”
        This is just flame bait. You’re probably just an asshole looking for racist quotes to circulate among some far-right coterie. If this is your starting position you’re going to meet with a great deal of rejection.
        Wei …
        20 April 2018 at 1:26 am
        “This is a more general critique than simply Asia, and wealth is not the only criterion for sociopathy, though it often allows it greater scope for expression. “
        Hang on – your original comment was about inequality precipitating violence – against Chinese. Walking things back now eh?
        “The presence of cashed up Boer farmers for instance, inflates the price….”
        Attempt to appear fair and balanced after your racist diatribe against Chinese. Well done.
        “This is just flame bait. You’re probably just an asshole looking for racist quotes to circulate among some far-right coterie. “
        WTF?
        This is after you accused me of representing “a vocal and unproductive minority whose destructive speculation long since eclipsed their positive contribution.”
        “you’re going to meet with a great deal of rejection”
        hahahhahahahahahahah…..I think I already have for some time
        Stuart Munro …
        20 April 2018 at 1:41 am
        You are merely trying to raise racist bogies to deflect from the simple truth that there are negative consequences to immigration.
        “Your racist diatribe against Chinese”
        It wasn’t a racist diatribe Wei – but yours was.
        You seem to have a great desire to be hated – don’t punish yourself, get help. https://www.mentalhealth.org.nz/get-help/in-crisis/helplines/
        Wei …
        20 April 2018 at 2:04 am
        According to Stuart, I’m a member of a “a vocal and unproductive minority whose destructive speculation long since eclipsed their positive contribution.”
        That goes well beyond a reasoned debate on the consequences of immigration.
        Then he mutters darkly about possible violence against Chinese because of the inequality they bring – without of course providing any evidence that Chinese are inordinately wealthy relative to other groups.
        Stuart Munro …
        20 April 2018 at 10:26 am
        You are part of a vocal and unproductive minority.
        If you think the influence of Asian property speculation has gone unnoticed in NZ you’d better think again.
        The argument is not that immigrant Chinese are inordinately wealthy – though you clearly want to beat that line up for a politics of envy attack. Immigration requires that they have capital assets of some description, and the differences in Asian banking and family finance structures have enabled significant numbers of them to enter the property market here. As in Australia and Canada this has had undesirable inflationary effects on the property market.
        It is not the wealth but the negative consequences they brought that triggered the violence against them in Indonesia – albeit with some connivance from politicians there wishing to displace blame.
        “without of course providing any evidence”
        Your little manifesto on Chinese manifest destiny is a vagrant collection of prejudices for which you produced no support. Why should I?
        Win Win 1.2.2.1.1.2
        20 April 2018 at 8:51 am
        Well argued.
- Wei 1.3
  19 April 2018 at 11:45 pm
  This is what Ropata wrote in separate posts:
  “Hence we have a plague of horrible driving, mindless stripping of seafood resources, exploitation of employees, and a breakdown of trust…….
  A safer land, where children were free to cycle or walk anywhere. Where you could go fishing and usually catch something decent. Where you could swim in clean rivers. Where we didn’t have hordes of campervans crapping on our loveliest tourist spots. Where you could work on minimum wages and buy a house and start a family.”
  The implicit but obvious meaning is the wonderful New Zealand lifestyle and social trust of the past was lost, mainly because of the arrival of immigrants, particularly Asian ones. He blames most of New Zealand’s social ills on Asians. His rhetoric is redolent of Nazi propaganda against the Jews —and I’m not in the least bit exaggerating.
  Yet when it comes to white South African migrants, he is far more forgiving:
  “At least they are legal citizens unlike a large swathe of new arrivals who snuck in the back door by student visa scams or pretending to start a business. Or even worse those who arrived with suitcases of cash and are now parasitical landlords or communist spies in the National party caucus.”
  Blaming an entire ethnic group for most if not all of a countries problems, but without resorting to explicit racial slurs, is in fact the most vicious, dangerous type of racist rhetoric
  - Stuart Munro 1.3.1
    20 April 2018 at 1:04 am
    “Blaming an entire ethnic group for most if not all of a countries problems, but without resorting to explicit racial slurs, is in fact the most vicious, dangerous type of racist rhetoric.”
    “The NZ (Anglo Saxon) way is to steal the wealth of Asians and Africans. Its been that way for centuries.”
    Hypocrite.
    - Wei 1.3.1.1
      20 April 2018 at 1:28 am
      No. Just told the truth. Learn some history
      - Stuart Munro 1.3.1.1.1
        20 April 2018 at 1:30 am
        Racist hypocrite.
        greywarshark 1.3.1.1.1.1
        21 April 2018 at 11:21 am
        I count nearly 30 comments on this matter about moderation and dealing with a stirrer and the responses to this. It is fair to let someone have a rant about their own concerns. But why not leave it as a rant of that person, and just put a full stop against your name showing you have read it and are letting it lie as that. Why try to put everybody right according to what each subsequent commenter happens to think should be the norm?
        In the absence of sensible responses to someone being provocative I don’t see why the moderation cannot have a time out operation to stop what seem to develop into flame wars.
        You can have The Standard as a place where political problems and ideas are discussed, mulled over, critiqued, improved.
        Or a place where people pass on any idea that gets into their heads in an emotional outburst. Sitting on the sidelines and criticising or making fun is easy compared to attempting to understand, reason and see how to improve things. And note: that can’t be done in a case where people of any background want to argue and create dissension. If they are totally right, and consider others who raise objections totally wrong, they should not be on this blog. They should have their own site and create their own harmony with like-minds.
        There are many perspectives of thought, but just reactions each day are just safety valves. They don’t add anything lasting likely to hep from and enlighten future policies and political systems.
        Incognito …
        21 April 2018 at 10:56 pm
        Good evening greywarshark,
        You make some good comments and I know that this something close to your heart as you have made comments along the same vein here in the past (with some consequences too).
        I also know that weka was thinking of doing another post on moderation. [BTW, where is weka?]
        I have my own thoughts on all this (and moderation) but I’ll limit it to the following.
        Ideas, opinions and everything should and are in fact allowed to be discussed here on TS; it is wonderful forum that gives us or anybody who wishes, for that matter, more than enough opportunity and leeway. I don’t take this for granted and highly appreciate the opportunity and see it almost as a privilege.
        I used to think too that replying to comments based on merit & message would safeguard against threads sliding into negative territory. Play the ball, not the man. Don’t should the messenger. Stick to the facts. Rational debate would ensue. Etcetera. I now think that I was (and still am) quite naive.
        In a nutshell: c’est le ton qui fait la chanson (ou la musique).
        In other words, style & substance, form & function, contents & presentation, for example, go hand-in-hand. One cannot separate the what from the how.
        Delivery, context, style are all important in rhetoric, which is the art of effective or persuasive speaking or writing. By logical extension, they are equally important in oral or written debate such as here on TS.
        Lastly, a purely rational debate is impossible; we are driven by emotions.
        What do you think? I think I can quite safely assume that not many others will read let alone engage with these comments of ours 😉
Jenny 2
19 April 2018 at 7:16 am
If Jacinda Ardern is sincere in her commitment to fighting climate change it is incumbent on her that she agree to repeal the Andarko Amendment.
“Greenpeace trial going ahead despite Government’s oil exploration ban”
New Zealand Herald, 17 April, 2018
Prosecution against two Greenpeace activists who were charged with jumping into the water in front of an oil exploration ship will go ahead despite the Government announcing a ban on offshore oil exploration last week.
Greenpeace executive director and former politician Russel Norman and volunteer Sara May Howell are set to stand trial in the Napier District Court at the end of this month for their roles in a deep-sea oil protest last year.
The pair allegedly jumped into the water in front of oil exploration ship Amazon Warrior, off the Wairarapa coast, forcing it to stop its seismic work on April 10.
They were both charged with interfering in the operation of the 125m ship and pleaded not guilty at a joint appearance last October.
“No Enemies To Labour’s Left?”
Bowalley Road, 18 April, 2018
Labour’s long-standing motto: “No enemies to our left!” references identical strategic thinking…..
….It might be objected that the present Labour-led government, by fulsomely fulfilling its promises to its partners – especially the Greens – is demonstrating an entirely new approach to coalition politics. Upon closer inspection, however, it is clear that all Labour has done is convey an impression of environmental activism. As the former Green Party co-leader, Russel Norman – now the NZ Director of Greenpeace – was quick to point out, Labour’s decision to issue no new oil and gas prospecting permits offers no impediment to utilising fully those already granted.
The greening of the Labour Party may be more apparent than real. Which is why, as he listened to Jacinda Ardern talking-up Labour’s environmental credentials last week, James Shaw’s broad smile may have been misplaced. Did he not realise that, looking out from the stage, he was standing to her left?
- patricia bremner 2.1
  19 April 2018 at 7:58 am
  Andrew McKenzie should get the whole bill as he caused the problem.
  Typical actions of the powerful using “The System” to do their dirty work.
- Bearded Git 2.2
  19 April 2018 at 10:22 am
  Trotter is spot on here…the drilling ban is more show than substance….but it does send a message.
  it should have been backed up with subsidies for solar.
  - Draco T Bastard 2.2.1
    19 April 2018 at 10:55 am
    it should have been backed up with subsidies for solar.
    What I’d like to see is the Greens plan to make solar panels here in NZ from NZ resources put into action.
    - Chris T 2.2.1.1
      19 April 2018 at 2:27 pm
      Would be money wasted I think.
      You can already by them online for half the cost direct from Asia.
      There is no way kiwi made could do enough numbers to match
      Understand your thinking though
      - Draco T Bastard 2.2.1.1.1
        19 April 2018 at 3:46 pm
        You can already by them online for half the cost direct from Asia.
        Which is actually false economics. There’s no way that anywhere in Asia could produce them any cheaper than a well built factory in NZ.
        There is no way kiwi made could do enough numbers to match
        We don’t have to do the numbers – we just have to get the productivity the same or better and we could do that.
        BTW, it’s actually delusional to think that if a factory produced more it costs less.
    - JohnSelway 2.2.1.2
      19 April 2018 at 3:30 pm
      I’m with you on this Draco.
      We should be preparing everyone in the old world/low tech world of fossil fuel power generation for the next wave of newer technologies. What I would like to see is everyone who may lose their jobs in oil/coal/etc being given training in high tech industry like solar/wind/tidal.
      Shutting down oil exploration should be an incentive to move people to other industries.
      - Draco T Bastard 2.2.1.2.1
        19 April 2018 at 3:47 pm
        What I would like to see is everyone who may lose their jobs in oil/coal/etc being given training in high tech industry like solar/wind/tidal.
        QFT
        We shouldn’t be afraid of the change but welcome it.
        JohnSelway 2.2.1.2.1.1
        19 April 2018 at 4:27 pm
        It’s the only way our technology will progress, by taking advantage of the high tech solutions available to us and power generation is one of those industries ripe for change (in fact – we HAVE to do it).
        I include nuclear in this also
    - funstigator 2.2.1.3
      19 April 2018 at 4:41 pm
      Wouldn’t you also like to see Green MP’s walking their talk and actually having Solar PV?
      - Draco T Bastard 2.2.1.3.1
        19 April 2018 at 5:59 pm
        ??
Sanctuary 3
19 April 2018 at 7:20 am
Why do the managerial technocrats of the neoliberal colonised SOE’s so hate Labour governments?
This is why:
https://thespinoff.co.nz/society/19-04-2018/the-side-table-spat-that-got-housing-nz-labelled-petty-and-vindictive-by-phil-twyford/
Housing NZ chief executive Andrew McKenzie is probably just a good little bureaucrat of the neoliberal enabling class. He must be furious that his cool, rational enforcement of the rules has seen his hand publicaly smacked by a minister in possession of some common sense and compassion.
- OncewasTim 3.1
  19 April 2018 at 8:42 am
  +100
  The ability to be all butch and punitive now pervades much of the public service senior management.
- Draco T Bastard 3.2
  19 April 2018 at 11:12 am
  The table didn’t stick out into the common area at all. Anyone with a sense of space would have realised that. The common area is beyond the wall – the one sticking out from in-between each flat to give more privacy.
  To me it sounds like “the manager of her Body Corporate, Stephen Connelly” was simply trying to assert his authority and power. I’d be looking into the relationship between the two. Either way, he obviously should not be in that sort of position with that sort of power as he doesn’t use it responsibly.
Carolyn_Nth 4
19 April 2018 at 7:25 am
A Nicky Hager article today on the RNZ site, about the Daphne Project, which has uncovered more NZ links in tax haven/avoidance chains of shell companies, with one key one based in Auckland.
Hager says that though some loopholes in NZ tax law were changed after the Panama Papers, it’s still possible for foreign interests to use NZ as a tax haven.
Sources claim this network leads back to the Azerbaijan government, which has been accused of corruption and money laundering.
The New Zealand companies and trusts were uncovered as part of the Daphne Project, a media investigation involving 46 journalists from 16 countries.
…
The Daphne Project has revealed that many of the companies in the Azerbaijan-Pilatus network linked back to an address in Auckland, New Zealand – 112 Parnell Road.
The address was home to wealth management company Denton Morrell. The company’s director, Matthew James Butterfield, is described in an online profile as a specialist in “ultra-high net worth clients” and in December 2016 it was mentioned in news stories about allegations that British football club manager Jose Mourinho hid millions of pounds from tax authorities in tax havens.
- patricia bremner 4.1
  19 April 2018 at 8:00 am
  WOW!!
- AsleepWhileWalking 4.2
  19 April 2018 at 8:20 am
  Everyone should have a read through that link.
- Draco T Bastard 4.3
  19 April 2018 at 11:40 am
  In normal circumstances, without whistleblowers like those helping the Daphne Project, the owners and their money movements are impossible to trace.
  It needs to be illegal for the owners and money movements not to be traced. And make it so that if they can’t be traced the ownership reverts back to the nation.
  There is no evidence or any suggestion that Denton Morrell or Mr Butterfield were aware of any allegations of money laundering by the Azerbaijan-linked companies, but it appears that the structure created by Denton Morrell may have been used to hide the ultimate beneficial owners of those assets.
  It seems obvious to me that the structure was created to do the money laundering.
  - Ed 4.3.1
    19 April 2018 at 11:55 am
    The laws were written by the plutocrats.
    - Draco T Bastard 4.3.1.1
      19 April 2018 at 3:50 pm
      Well, for the plutocrats anyway.
- reason 4.4
  19 April 2018 at 1:22 pm
  Key and the Nats made us all inside members of a dirty corrupt criminal world ….. when they turned NZ into a full blown tax haven ( for foriegners).
  This latest criminal enterprise which has a New Zealand link is but one in a long trail involving thefts murders and corruption ….
  The Green party in particular should be shaking this rotten tree … there is a lot more to drop out of it.
  We have a Malta link as well ….. and this journalist being killed would be the equivalent of Nicky Hager being blown up here.
  Hooten, Slater, Odgers and by association Dirty Politics have taken a step down that path already …..
- savenz 4.5
  19 April 2018 at 2:17 pm
  Great link Carolyn_Nth.
  Shocking – makes you wonder not only how much tax avoidance we are encouraging here, but also how much of our NZ assets are also listed as NZ companies or under bogus trusts but owned by someone else and how under that structure, our government would be completely unaware how much NZ land and assets are offshore owned and managed.
  I’m pretty sure that 3% that Key’s government said was foreign owned land and farms was as genuine as his efforts on Pike River recovery.
- Cinny 4.6
  19 April 2018 at 4:01 pm
  Dang !!!! Thanks for the link Carolyn.
AsleepWhileWalking 5
19 April 2018 at 8:05 am
NZDF Doc warns our Vets are not getting treatment they need.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12035004
- Johnr 5.1
  19 April 2018 at 12:45 pm
  I have no argument with the NZDF Docs assertions.
  But, I notice your reference refers to the RSA and poppy day.
  After the way they treated J Force and Korean vets and the way we were treated coming back from nam, the sooner the RSA goes broke and disappears the better. This only changed when they realised their WW1 and WW2 vets were dying off and the cash cow was disappearing.
Ad 6
19 April 2018 at 8:18 am
Rapper CardiB cites Franklin Delano Roosevelt:
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/bernie-sanders-says-cardi-b-is-right-about-who-really-made-america-great-again_us_5ad76261e4b0e4d0715c7cd2
Now I’m waiting to see Ladi6 cite Michael Joseph Savage.
Sanders gets points for the uplift.
- joe90 6.1
  19 April 2018 at 10:33 am
  heh
  Cardi B is getting into tax policy now. She says she's paying 40% of her income in taxes and wants to know where the money is going…"when you donate to a kid in a foreign country, they give you updates on what they're doing with your donation….I want updates on my tax money." pic.twitter.com/E1hITGNqee— Yashar Ali 🐘 (@yashar) March 23, 2018
  […]
  4. The video above wasn't the first time Cardi B has talked about taxes. Late last year, she shared her tax planning strategies with her followers. pic.twitter.com/rtIai4Xl6I— Yashar Ali 🐘 (@yashar) March 23, 2018
  4. The video above wasn't the first time Cardi B has talked about taxes. Late last year, she shared her tax planning strategies with her followers. pic.twitter.com/rtIai4Xl6I
  — Yashar Ali 🐘 (@yashar) March 23, 2018
  - Draco T Bastard 6.1.1
    19 April 2018 at 1:13 pm
    I, too, want to be able to know what the taxes are spent on. As far as I’m concerned, in this day and age, we should be able to go online and get an accurate accounting in near real time and going back for several years at least.
    - Planet Earth 6.1.1.1
      19 April 2018 at 3:48 pm
      Wrong log-in, Penny
      - Draco T Bastard 6.1.1.1.1
        19 April 2018 at 4:37 pm
        So, do you have anything to say other than abuse?
    - McFlock 6.1.1.2
      19 April 2018 at 3:51 pm
      Why?
      Other than giving fuckwits the ability to turn financial accountability into a manual denial-of-service attack by querying every transaction as soon as it’s made.
      If the larger-scale problems weren’t already obvious and innumerable (DHB “debts”, teacher shortages, infrastructure decay, and so on), maybe realtime minutae would be useful. but there’s more than enough to address already.
      - Draco T Bastard 6.1.1.2.1
        19 April 2018 at 4:42 pm
        Why?
        Because we actually need to know to be able to govern ourselves. Which is what democracy is all about – governing ourselves. To be able to say which of the resources that the country has should be used.
        Other than giving fuckwits the ability to turn financial accountability into a manual denial-of-service attack by querying every transaction as soon as it’s made.
        There would need to be rules of course.
        If the larger-scale problems weren’t already obvious
        If they were obvious then the last government wouldn’t have been able to lie about them for nine years.
        McFlock 6.1.1.2.1.1
        19 April 2018 at 4:57 pm
        What more for “democracy” do we need to know that we don’t already know?
        You can hand-wave all the rules you want, the fact is that every system is open to abuse and the tories could easily shut down any government they don’t like purely by volume of complaints and storms in teacups. Look at what they did with MP expenses, and you want that level of bullshit spread throughout the entire bureaucracy?
        The larger scale problems were obvious. The government lied about them. But the real problem is that people didn’t care enough to bother with even that granularity of information – if it suited them, they were happy to go along with whatever key or hosking said. We don’t suffer from a lack of information, our system a lack of consideration.
    - joe90 6.1.1.3
      19 April 2018 at 4:09 pm
      Keith Ng’s budget visualiser from a few years back.
      https://publicaddress.net/keith/static/Budget2013-130516/Budget-Treemap.html
AsleepWhileWalking 7
19 April 2018 at 8:33 am
Thumbs up to Countdown in Marton who are the first supermarket in NZ to introduce quiet hour.
Specifically catering to the autistic it sounds heavenly for the non spectrum stressed out too with minimal light levels, no background music/ads, no staff stocking shelves. Just ease and grace + One Card rewards 😉
Feedback is overwhelmingly positive
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=12034905
- veutoviper 7.1
  19 April 2018 at 9:12 am
  What a great initiative. Is this an hour daily?
  Do you know whether it is just a local management initiative or whether it is a trial for wider application throughout NZ Countdowns, similar to their ongoing introduction of pharmacies into their bigger stores?
  I have found this latter initiative in my local Countdown excellent. The pharmacy is open (I think) from 7 – 8am through to about 7 – 8pm daily, and their per item prescription charges are only $3 compared to the standard $5. Their prices for over the counter (General Sales) pharmaceuticals and other medications, medicines etc seem to be generally lower than at other pharmacies. These charges and prices are apparently standard across all Countdown pharmacies.
  This is no criticism of the smaller pharmacies (independent or part of a group) because understandably their overheads are much higher, whereas presumably the Countdown pharmacies’ overheads (floor space, power etc) are less due to their shared nature. And these smaller pharmacies will always remain essential to smaller towns, local communities where these larger facilities are not practical or feasible from a business point of view.
savenz 8
19 April 2018 at 9:14 am
What’s going on, a worthwhile and liberal opinion on Granny!
Comment: Loss of libraries is a symptom of Auckland University’s decline
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12034770
- Draco T Bastard 8.1
  19 April 2018 at 1:39 pm
  Quoting article:
  Parents have been encouraged to believe, in spite of plentiful evidence to the contrary, that their children’s future success is dependent on their commitment to purely career-oriented courses;
  Hasn’t changed since I was a child 40+ years ago then.
  …and by a National Standards regime that promotes crudely measurable forms of knowledge at the expense of critical thinking.
  And that’s actually going back to the way things were when I was a child. I suppose we should expect that sort of BS from conservatives who always think that the past was better.
  For academic staff, the exaggerated emphasis placed on so-called “research outputs” as the principal criterion for professional advancement, has meant publication has tended to displace teaching as the core of professional responsibility.
  I actually want our universities to be doing research and publishing. Perhaps the problem is that, over the last while, we’ve regarded universities as tertiary education rather than the research institutions that they should be. Learning goes hand in hand with research but not so much teaching.
  It’s a difference in perspective. Instead of going to university to learn we have people going to university to do research. At the end of that research they will publish and maybe get a degree. They will join as part of a small team doing specific research under the guidance of a primary, i.e, someone who already has a degree in that field.
  We’d get better learning and more innovation. Would involve a lot more people.
  All of this has meant that, even as fees kept rising, students have been getting less and less for their money.
  Are, the National slogan Do More With Less strikes again and we end up getting a lot less for more.
  The new Government’s decision to gradually abolish undergraduate fees, by countering the neo-liberal idea of tertiary education as a “private good”, is a step in the right direction but unless it is accompanied by serious investment and a through re-think of what universities are all about, it will probably only hasten a decline brought about by already inadequate funding.
  See my thoughts above.
  - Incognito 8.1.1
    19 April 2018 at 10:28 pm
    I can think of some important functions of universities:
    1) A place where students learn to learn and learn to become critical & independent thinkers
    2) A place where students learn to do research & innovation
    3) A place where research and scholarship are conducted and preserved
    4) A repository of knowledge
    5) To act as a critic & conscience of society
    Have you heard of Professional Teaching Fellows?
    - Draco T Bastard 8.1.1.1
      19 April 2018 at 10:40 pm
      Nothing I said would change that. It changes the reason for going to university from a place to get a degree to a place to do research.
      1. Students should be doing that from primary school.
      2. Yes, a university is a place for research. Again though, people should be learning to do research from primary school. Innovation isn’t something people do but something that comes about because of what people know, their experience and if they’ve developed their critical thinking.
      3. Back to 2.
      4. Back to 2.
      5. That’s what research is for.
      No.
      - Incognito 8.1.1.1.1
        19 April 2018 at 11:47 pm
        If you’re interested, here’s a brief description: https://www.otago.ac.nz/humanresources/training/academic-staff/academic-titles/otago069317.html#TFposition
        I’d argue that critical & independent thinking are more fundamental to #5 than research but you and I may have a slightly different understanding of “research”.
        What happens inside the walls of universities has to build on a solid educational foundation; this is one growing problem.
        This is what a university degree is supposed to stand for and mean: https://www.auckland.ac.nz/en/students/forms-policies-and-guidelines/student-policies-and-guidelines/graduate-profile.html
        Different degrees have different profiles; there is no one size fits all, obviously.
        There is a growing recognition and emphasis on ongoing education for university staff including researchers and how to improve their teaching; it is impossible to get promoted in the system without at least some teaching component.
        Draco T Bastard 8.1.1.1.1.1
        20 April 2018 at 11:05 am
        What happens inside the walls of universities has to build on a solid educational foundation; this is one growing problem.
        Yes, that I can agree with. That’s why the change over the last few years in education to research based education even at primary school to develop critical thinking and the knowledge on how to do research.
        There is a growing recognition and emphasis on ongoing education for university staff including researchers and how to improve their teaching; it is impossible to get promoted in the system without at least some teaching component.
        Ongoing education is necessary for everyone.
        And I think we’re talking past each other. You seem to be thinking of teaching as a separate activity while I’m thinking that the experienced doctorate would be leading under-graduates through research and helping them learn along the way.
        Incognito …
        20 April 2018 at 10:40 pm
        Yes, I agree that we seem to talking past each other. I do think that learning to learn and learning to do research are different processes that require different approaches and methodologies for optimal results. Ergo, they require different teaching styles. I do agree that there is an overlap, a point of connection, and that both aspects, if you like, can be taught by the same person or people. In practice, this is not as common as one would think because teaching and research have drifted apart and are, in fact quite separated – income, overheads, and cross-subsidising are carefully monitored and fodder for ongoing discussions about the right model, etc. Universities are ‘forcing’ this to change by setting Academic Standards that one has to meet in order to get promoted. As so many other decisions in the university system, it is done in a heavy-handed authoritarian manner with a very business-minded (hard-nosed) attitude.
  - McFlock 8.1.2
    19 April 2018 at 10:41 pm
    Part of the problem with universities is that it’s almost all about publishing. And peer-reviewed publishing with impact factors, at that.
    So the academic responsibility of universities also being “critic and conscience of society” counts for nought unless it’s plugged in a journal that only other academics will read, by and large. Public reports, externally-funded research, or even opinion pieces in local media count for virtually nothing, even if the reports are peer-reviewed and have social worth.
    And similarly the teaching side becomes a numbers game. Apparently there’s one vice chancellor of a university who is getting academic credit (in addition to the day job) for “supervising” the research of around a dozen phd candidates. Makes you wonder how closely the tens of thousands of words each candidate puts out a year are actually being read, let alone how much help they get designing and producing the associated journal articles. That VC could always be a fecking machine, but doubtful.
    - Incognito 8.1.2.1
      19 April 2018 at 11:57 pm
      By Law universities are required to fulfil their role as critic & conscience of society. How do you think they (should) achieve this?
      Teaching is much broader than supervising the research of PhD students. But I agree that some are taking the piss; there is a limit to how many PhD students one academic can formally (as in: taking the credit) supervise.
      Part of the problem with universities is that it’s almost all about publishing. And peer-reviewed publishing with impact factors, at that.
      If only! It is all about income and money!
      - McFlock 8.1.2.1.1
        20 April 2018 at 12:13 am
        True, at the root it’s money. But that’s above my payscale. I just see most academics shitting themselves about what outputs count how much towards pbrf. Apparently the grail is to get multiyear program fundng so you can take additional research into the margin for error of the program budget, lol.
        But yeah the critic and conscience role is more important possibly even than research, but is too qualitative to be recognised by most managerial regimes.. We do actually need people taking time to submit on bills or local projects, even to write think-pieces for the local rag and turn up to public meetings on local issues, providing informed opinion without fear of compromising their jobs. Those were the days.
        Incognito 8.1.2.1.1.1
        20 April 2018 at 11:07 pm
        The reason why academics are shitting themselves about PBRF is because management is painting pictures full of fire & brimstone. PBRF is hugely costly zer0-sum exercise. The only group that really benefits from this entire madness are the big publishing houses that own the scientific journals; it is a billion dollar industry subsidised by taxpayers and students & their parents.
        The ‘grail’ is to get any grant, any funding, which requires ‘pilot data’ and a strong ‘track record’ in the field, which effectively means that you have already done a major part of what you say you will be doing if (!) you get the funding. It is a game and to play the game you have to game the system and use what is colloquially called “grantsmanship”. In this lottery system (because of the very low success rates in getting grants) success breeds success; merit of the proposals and good quality research ideas play a lesser role than they should. It is a subtle but insidious variation on the theme of the rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer.
        There are not nearly enough public intellectuals. In the US the public university is going extinct. In fact, anything public is slowly disappearing all over the world. We live in an age of hyper-individualism and privatisation for profiteering by a few and these elites feel no charity towards institutions or individuals who would like to play the role of critic & conscience of society.
savenz 9
19 April 2018 at 9:25 am
Love how (sarcasm) it’s the arts that people seem to think is a dead end career choice and not good for NZ. In my view it’s cultural capital that is now starting to have massive value as people push back from this obsession with money and economy. People in those industry have ideas, they do things!
Our richest and most well known teenager is Lorde (music), one of our biggest challenges is architecture and planning (also being cut from the library) especially with the current ‘clown planning’ in Auckland and building disasters from leaky building to Bella vista in Tauranga.
Our fine artists are as important as cultural capital as sport (without the big funding).
Prince William and Dutchess of Cambridge studied art history, but to the Auckland University philistines, arts are clearly not important.
Nobody takes foreign dignitaries to the law firm or the accountants office in NZ. Nope they get the cultural experience because otherwise we might as well sell our country as the cheaper Pita pit if we take away our arts and culture and deem it 3rd class at university level.
- Puckish Rogue 9.1
  19 April 2018 at 9:27 am
  Lorde is talented but not even she can turn back time (shes 21)
  - savenz 9.1.1
    19 April 2018 at 9:40 am
    Sorry you are right, but all the same pretty good going for a 21 yo!
- savenz 9.2
  19 April 2018 at 9:41 am
  Or as Wei says in his/her posts on the immigration issue “Too small a population means you get inbreds with no technology and no culture and no civilization. ”
  I’m not sure if he/she is referring to Maori or just all of NZ? But an alternative vision rather than overturning or appropriation of culture, could be maintaining and cherishing it, which clearly is not happening at our largest university.
  - savenz 9.2.1
    19 April 2018 at 9:54 am
    Also in relation to Wei’s comment on technology with low populations, .. tech is NZ’s fastest growing and third biggest export… and our tech people are valued highly and sought after overseas. (Pity not much government/business support on keeping local tech talent in NZ with high wages and decent jobs and opportunities.)
    https://exportertoday.co.nz/news/nzs-tech-talent-demand
  - Draco T Bastard 9.2.2
    19 April 2018 at 1:51 pm
    Or as Wei says in his/her posts on the immigration issue “Too small a population means you get inbreds with no technology and no culture and no civilization. ”
    Which, of course, is a load of bollocks. From Why we can’t afford the rich:
    In his book The Moral Economy of Labor, James Murphy cites empirical research on the relation between the intellectual capacities of workers and the complexity of the work they do that showed that over a 10-year period the intelligence of workers doing complex jobs developed, while that of workers doing simple and repetitive work deteriorated. Further, as Smith feared, there is evidence that ‘Workers in mindless jobs not only undermine their capacity for the enjoyment of complex activities at work but also their capacity for the enjoyment of complex activities during leisure.’
    As Murphy adds, while workers are increasingly protected from harm to their physical capacities, they are not protected from harm to their mental capacities.
    Smith didn’t see the jobs people do as a reflection of their intelligence, but rather the reverse:
    The difference of natural talents in different men is, in reality, much less than we are aware of; and the very different genius which appears to distinguish men of different professions, when grown up in maturity, is not upon many occasions so much the cause, as the effect of the division of labour. The difference between the most dissimilar characters, between a philosopher and a common street porter, for example, seems to arise not so much from nature, as from habit, custom, and education.
    My bold.
    Yeah, it’s not the number of people that is the problem but our socio-economic system which disadvantages the many in favour of the few.
    - Wei 9.2.2.1
      19 April 2018 at 11:17 pm
      Your second point, which I agree with, had virtually nothing to do with the first.
      A small population means you are less likely to produce Beethoven’s, Led Zeppelin’s and Steven Hawkings. That’s just a plain statistical fact.
      And you do obviously have less opportunity for specialisation, and a smaller market for innovation —although international trade ameliorates that somewhat.
      I had a friend who lived in UK in the 1970s and 1980s. It was a glorious time, he could enjoy live concerts of the best rock bands in the world on an almost weekly basis. The size of the population meant a high probability that not only great talents would emerge (not the only factor of course), but the mass and density of the population means there is a market to enjoy that talent and it is economic to perform to live audiences on a frequent basis. New York and Paris and even Hong Kong and have far more going on in the arts and music than Auckland, and likely always will.
      Another example is of course minor sports and niche activities. For example, in Europe, rugby is still a relatively minor sport, proportionately speaking. Yet the sport can draw huge crowds and they have very competitive national and international competitions that frequently run. Even though a small percentage of people are interested in the sport, they still have the highest number of registered players in the world, I believe. On a per capita basis, football, in New Zealand is at least as popular as rugby in Europe, but you get more seagulls at a local tournament, and the skill level is abysmal.
      - Draco T Bastard 9.2.2.1.1
        19 April 2018 at 11:44 pm
        A small population means you are less likely to produce Beethoven’s, Led Zeppelin’s and Steven Hawkings. That’s just a plain statistical fact.
        More bollocks. Statistically speaking all groups of people have exactly the same chance.
        And you do obviously have less opportunity for specialisation, and a smaller market for innovation
        You obviously misunderstood the quote: Specialisation hinders innovation and the development of intelligence.
        It was a glorious time, he could enjoy live concerts of the best rock bands in the world on an almost weekly basis.
        I can do that today in NZ. Could do it in the 1970s/80s as well. We’ve even had a few of them end up the world stage over the years.
        but the mass and density of the population means there is a market to enjoy that talent and it is economic to perform to live audiences on a frequent basis.
        Any size population that’s capable of supporting itself is quite capable of doing that as well. Large numbers don’t actually make it any better.
        New York and Paris and even Hong Kong and have far more going on in the arts and music than Auckland, and likely always will.
        In absolute numbers, yeah, but not as a percentage. The percentage will be about the same.
        On a per capita basis, football, in New Zealand is at least as popular as rugby in Europe, but you get more seagulls at a local tournament, and the skill level is abysmal.
        [Citation Needed]
        Wei 9.2.2.1.1.1
        20 April 2018 at 12:11 am
        More bollocks. Statistically speaking all groups of people have exactly the same chance.. Bollocks.
        Statistically speaking, and assuming a similar statistical distribution of talent, a larger population obviously has more chance of producing an outrageous talent than a smaller population.
        A country with 10 times the population of another, will, assuming similar birthrates and demographic characteristics, produce 10 times the number of geniuses within the same period
        “Specialisation hinders innovation and the development of intelligence.”
        That’s a ridiculous statement. The fact that I can programme software say, and only know how to do that, and not catch my fish, and grow my vegetables is no hindrance on the development of intelligence. In engineering there are huge ramifying trees of specialisations —working in any one of them provides a lifetime of cognitive challenge.
        “while that of workers doing simple and repetitive work deteriorated”
        Sorry, these workers are not ‘specialists’. In fact they are the very opposite. Simple repetitive work can be done by anyone. These workers are utilised as generic cogs.
        “In absolute numbers, yeah, but not as a percentage. The percentage will be about the same.”
        It simply does not work that way. A country of a small population may never have the chance to enjoy, say the Berlin Philharmonic, whereas another country with a larger population may have them tour once every 2 or 3 years. Not exactly sure what the exact thresholds are, but the relationship is certainly not a linear one.
        Draco T Bastard …
        20 April 2018 at 10:56 am
        Statistically speaking, and assuming a similar statistical distribution of talent, a larger population obviously has more chance of producing an outrageous talent than a smaller population.
        A larger population will produce a larger number of outstanding talent (if such a thing even exists) but they have the same chance.
        That’s a ridiculous statement.
        That’s what the research shows and what I quoted.
        In his book The Moral Economy of Labor, James Murphy cites empirical research on the relation between the intellectual capacities of workers and the complexity of the work they do that showed that over a 10-year period the intelligence of workers doing complex jobs developed, while that of workers doing simple and repetitive work deteriorated.
        Complexity develops intelligence. Specialisation is a decrease in complexity.
        Sorry, these workers are not ‘specialists’.
        They’re doing the same work over and over, ergo, specialised. And it results in a decrease in intelligence.
        Considering that that applies to the majority of the population we should probably change it so that we can increase the intelligence and innovation of the country.
        The book goes on to say that even doctors and other highly skilled specialists would probably benefit from having a change.
        It simply does not work that way. A country of a small population may never have the chance to enjoy, say the Berlin Philharmonic, whereas another country with a larger population may have them tour once every 2 or 3 years.
        Who gives a fuck about the Berlin Philharmonic touring?
        In Auckland we have the Auckland Philharmonic. Then there’s the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra and the Orchestra Wellington.
        Biggest Success story in town.
        With a rich history as New Zealand’s oldest regional orchestra founded over sixty years ago, Orchestra Wellington’s audience numbers have grown rapidly to become one of the most consistently well attended in the country. With progressive programmes, accessible pricing, and a focus on community outreach, Orchestra Wellington is now recognised as one of the most exciting and progressive orchestras in the world.
        Yeah, I’m pretty sure that we have the music covered.
        It’s not a question of absolute numbers but of productivity and percentages. Even small villages thousands of years ago produced good musicians.
JohnSelway 10
19 April 2018 at 9:35 am
The dangers of homeopathy
https://www.stuff.co.nz/world/americas/103226854/child-was-growling-at-preschool–so-naturopath-says-she-gave-him-rabid-dog-saliva
- Puckish Rogue 10.1
  19 April 2018 at 9:59 am
  Sounds more like the dangers of dumb ass parents (but yes also homeopathy)
- Stunned Mullet 10.2
  19 April 2018 at 10:47 am
  The only real danger from homeopathy is if one has an actual illness and is relying on the homeopathy to offer any actual benefit outside of the placebo effect.
  If you’ve got a health problem best to see a good qualified medical doctor in the first instance for a diagnosis and then proceed on from there.
  - Andre 10.2.1
    19 April 2018 at 11:03 am
    Dunno about the lack of real danger. If the homeopathic practitioner decided the rabid dog saliva didn’t need much potentising, and didn’t go through the extended palaver of repeated dilution and succussion, then the treatment might be a wee bit riskier than I’d be comfortable with.
    - Robert Guyton 10.2.1.1
      19 April 2018 at 11:44 am
      How does one collect rabid-dog saliva?
      In any case, the much maligned “placebo” effect is very powerful and useful in conventional modern medicine, as well as in traditional practices.
      - Andre 10.2.1.1.1
        19 April 2018 at 4:24 pm
        Can’t say I’ve ever seen info on recommended techniques. I wouldn’t have guessed there was much demand for rabid-dog saliva, since rabies vaccines are produced using cell-culture or nerve tissue. In any case, collecting spider venom or snake venom strikes me as a more difficult problem, for which there’s a variety of solutions, since collecting those kinds of venom is necessary for producing treatments that actually work.
        Dunno that the placebo effect itself is much maligned. Insufficiently understood and insufficiently used, for sure, but the non-use of placebo by modern medicine is as much an ethics issue as anything else. But when it comes to maligning, the existence of a powerful placebo effect is used to malign nostrum hucksters whose products are no more effective than placebos (and sometimes actually less effective).
      - Gabby 10.2.1.1.2
        19 April 2018 at 5:04 pm
        Possibly, one fibs about it bob.
    - Stunned Mullet 10.2.1.2
      19 April 2018 at 3:38 pm
      Yes fair point anyone prepared to supply this product may be less than scrupulous in the dilutions – I suspect all of it is just water out of the tap ……
      - Puckish Rogue 10.2.1.2.1
        19 April 2018 at 3:59 pm
        I’d have thought that tap water would be stronger than any normal homeopathic concoction given the amount of chemicals in our drinking water
        McFlock 10.2.1.2.1.1
        19 April 2018 at 4:30 pm
        I like my water with no chemicals at all. Not a molecule in sight.
        Robert Guyton …
        19 April 2018 at 5:11 pm
        Ya can’t see molecules, McFlock, least with the neked I.
        McFlock …
        19 April 2018 at 5:14 pm
        Can too. They have purple auras.
        Robert Guyton …
        19 April 2018 at 5:41 pm
        I stand corrected and awed.
        McFlock …
        19 April 2018 at 5:49 pm
        lol
        In Vino …
        19 April 2018 at 7:39 pm
        Amusing… But does one not have to point out that H2O is a molecule, and McFlock’s water is composed of them? Or have I misremembered my form 3 Science from 1960? (Purple auras explain everything..)
        Incognito …
        19 April 2018 at 9:44 pm
        Actually, you can and also single atoms: https://petapixel.com/2018/02/12/picture-single-atom-wins-science-photo-contest/
Anne 11
19 April 2018 at 9:49 am
Phil Quinn: the political commentator we all love to hate (including me) has redeemed himself. Haven’t time yet to read it properly but what I have read thus far… I agree with everything he has said:
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12034958
- savenz 11.1
  19 April 2018 at 10:03 am
  Great link Anne, I don’t think Dotcom is that unlikable, it was the MSM hate campaign against him, he’s more like a manic with big ideas (But Dotcom actually achieves them). Other pluses, he lives in NZ, has a family here, rents! a house and has the ability to create jobs, opportunities and industry in this country. My vote is for him not someone on $16.50 p/h or tech moguls that don’t live or invest in NZ to stay and lead a colourful (but legal) and productive life here with his family.
  From Anne’s link…
  “Consider this. The Global Financial Crisis brought countless millions to their knees. Hundreds of thousands were left homeless due to the dodgy bank loans and the reckless conduct of financial titans. For these crimes, with real and countless victims, the US Department of Justice has barely lifted a finger.
  Fewer than five criminals responsible for Wall St’s moral failures have spent any time behind bars — and for a fraction of the time the feds insist for Dotcom and his colleagues. Why? Because the mortgage-strapped and cash-poor can’t afford lobbyists and lawyers to persuade the government to do their bidding.”
  - patricia bremner 11.1.1
    19 April 2018 at 6:41 pm
    Dotcom is a lonely Big Guy who doesn’t drink because of an alcoholic parent.
    He always wanted to be big in IT. He is also not a well man, who has been treated poorly. I don’t agree with some of his politics, but he deserves better than he has had so far. He has been used.
- Morrissey 11.2
  19 April 2018 at 10:11 am
  Priceless moment at the 2.14 mark in that video.
- joe90 11.3
  19 April 2018 at 10:29 am
  Prick’s an opportunist who tried to make hay out of a family’s loss. Fuck him.
  https://gizmodo.com/kim-dotcom-says-fbi-file-about-seth-rich-is-fake-but-h-1795646891?IR=T
joe90 12
19 April 2018 at 10:36 am
Sewer commenter outs himself.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/auckland/103227251/auckland-local-board-member-claims-free-speech-to-defend-racist-sexist-posts
- Morrissey 12.1
  19 April 2018 at 8:20 pm
  Silly old public-bar bore Battersby. Interesting to note that he has a QSM. But then again, much worse, much more vicious people than him have been knighted….
  https://www.tvnz.co.nz/one-news/new-zealand/complaint-sir-bob-jones-maori-gratitude-day-column-not-upheld
  http://www.newshub.co.nz/home/new-zealand/2017/11/sir-william-gallagher-apologises-for-comments-about-m-ori-and-treaty-of-waitangi.html
Siobhan 13
19 April 2018 at 10:40 am
A shout out to Radio New Zealand for, yet again, contacting the Cuban Studies Institute, otherwise known as University of Miami’s Institute for Cuban and Cuban-American Studies, for their take on the current change of power in Cuba.
I include this quote from an article discussing the trials and tribulations of the institute itself..(my bolds)
“Over the summer, several Cuban exile groups joined the fray, concerned that the institute might shift its focus from being an academic weapon against the Castro regime. They took the line that Suchlicki had not retired but had been unjustly terminated.
Some exiles began to attack Gómez and asked for his resignation as interim director of the institute.
Without mentioning Gómez directly, the organizations that make up the Cuban Resistance said in a statement that UM “cannot appoint an interim director or any incoming directors who may associate with companies that trade with the Castro regime, since this Center, by definition, cannot be under the influence and interference of Havana’s totalitarian regime.” Gómez had been an on-board lecturer on Cuba during a cruise to the island. It was a one-time gig.”
They are entitled to their opinion , and their take on current events in Cuba is interesting, but why would RNZ not explain the Institutes overt position on Cuba, the Castro crowd and Communism in general.
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/world/americas/cuba/article191309729.html
Ed 14
19 April 2018 at 11:07 am
The Herald is obsessed with the mindless mutterings of a homophobic sportsplayer.
As winter approaches, imagine if they devoted the same column inches to the crises facing our country – inequality, homelessness, child poverty….
Maybe they could dedicate a lot more coverage to climate change, so they have an informed readership.
We need a lot more coverage like this from Stuff today.
“The 2016 marine heatwave has triggered the initial phase of that transition [to heat-tolerant reef assemblages] on the northern, most pristine region of the Great Barrier Reef, changing it forever as the intensity of global warming continues to escalate,” the paper said.”
The key word there is FOREVER.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/world/australia/103229290/great-barrier-reef-cooked-by-marine-heatwave-study
Pat 15
19 April 2018 at 11:12 am
we have been warned……an inspired choice of RBNZ Governor
https://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/ninetonoon/audio/2018641349/reserve-bank-governor-adrian-orr
Ad 16
19 April 2018 at 11:27 am
If Bill is out there, looks like your optimism over no war being started in Korea was better placed than my anxiety. Hopefully.
Since this really does feel like the start of a proper diplomatic fandango, I am hoping for very modest improvements. Like, for example, Kim sees that it’s better to form a proper diplomatic corps to engage with countries. And that forming a bit of a decent public service to deal with that is a whole bunch more effective than successively executing any general who disagrees with him.
And secondly, realising that there is more to sustaining a country than giving the military everything they want. It’s not in his military’s interests to see diplomatic success – diplomacy is the solvent to martial law.
Those two would be small but humble starts.
More adventurously, I hope the US agrees formally that the Korean War has stopped and that they make peace over that.
Spare me from God’s wrath if I see Trump being as good as Obama at cracking the hard diplomatic problems.
- bill 16.1
  19 April 2018 at 1:42 pm
  On top of Korea (whatever eventuates) I think Trump deserves credit for pulling the plug on Timber Sycamore (Syria).
  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timber_Sycamore
Ed 17
19 April 2018 at 11:51 am
Intensive Dairy farming is NOT a sustainable practice.
It is destroying our soil.
“Nearly 200 million tonnes of soil are being lost in New Zealand every year – an out-of-sight problem that could pose far-reaching consequences for our environment and economy.
A major Government report out this morning also found nearly half of that loss was coming from pastures, at a time when dairy intensification was packing more cows into paddocks.
The quality and quantity of soil is crucial to the overall health of our land and wider environment, storing water, carbon and nutrients, growing food, breaking down contaminants and hosting an abundance of species.
Half of tested dairy sites had excess soil phosphorus and a further 65 per cent were below the target range for macroporosity.
New Zealand accounted for just 0.2 per cent of the planet’s total land area but contributed 1.7 per cent to global sediment loss.
The amount of land used for dairy has meanwhile surged by more than per 40 cent since the early 2000s, while that used for sheep and beef has dropped by 20 per cent, in step with dairy’s white gold rush.
New Zealand’s dairy country now spanned 2.6m ha
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12035548
veutoviper 18
19 April 2018 at 2:10 pm
OMG – Andrew Little and Pike River family members have gone 30m into the mine.
At last.
RNZ National reported it on their 2pm news but not on website yet but this from TVNZ.
https://www.tvnz.co.nz/one-news/new-zealand/pike-river-mine-victims-family-members-enter-portal-very-first-time-alongside-andrew-little
- Stunned Mullet 18.1
  19 April 2018 at 2:58 pm
  “Mr Little said he wanted to see inside the mine for himself and felt completely safe going inside. He denied it was a political stunt.”
  - Stuart Munro 18.1.1
    19 April 2018 at 3:36 pm
    He should’ve brought along John Key and a cask of Amontillado.
    - Barfly 18.1.1.1
      19 April 2018 at 4:01 pm
      And a big supply of bricks and mortar
      - Stuart Munro 18.1.1.1.1
        19 April 2018 at 4:13 pm
        and a bunch of kiwibuild apprentices 😀
- Cinny 18.2
  19 April 2018 at 4:02 pm
  This is epic.
Ad 19
19 April 2018 at 2:44 pm
Has anyone here read “The Captured Economy – how the powerful enrich themselves, slow down growth, and increase inequality”, by Brink Lindsey and Steven Teles?
They take Piketty seriously, and are of course super-dark on Trump, but have a really weird view of the role of the state in the economy, and some fairly slippery institutional framework theory around that.
Just checking if anyone’s had a look at this book.
joe90 20
19 April 2018 at 3:43 pm
Turning back the clock.
Horrifying. This is 2018 America. Judicial nominee Wendy Vitter had her confirmation hearing this morning. She stated she “personally disagrees with the decision in Brown v. Board of Education.”That’s literally white supremacy. 😳#UnfitToJudge pic.twitter.com/1Ptp6jSin5— Qasim Rashid, Esq. (@MuslimIQ) April 11, 2018
Cinny 21
19 April 2018 at 4:08 pm
Just for a laugh…
Miss 13 cooked dinner last night, did a stellar job.
Miss 10 wanted to say something nice, so thanked ‘god’ for dinner (Nana took her to church last Sunday).
Miss 13 walked off. She was pissed off because god didn’t make dinner, she did! Lmao!!!
- veutoviper 21.1
  19 April 2018 at 4:25 pm
  Cinny – that set me off a treat! I can’t stop laughing!
  - Cinny 21.1.1
    19 April 2018 at 5:16 pm
    yay 🙂 that should always happen, these kids are a crack up 🙂
    - veutoviper 21.1.1.1
      19 April 2018 at 6:34 pm
      Sadly I just stopped laughing very fast. You may wish to see, need to see, these links:
      Does New Zealand need more immigration?
      Does New Zealand need more immigration?
      What is that saying about power and corruption and absolute/absolutely…
CHCOff 22
19 April 2018 at 4:22 pm
It is hopeful that good progress seems to being made with a trade deal with Britain post brexit.
Trade deals that promote ‘values’ instead of ‘donkey billions’ is the way to go, & more traditional forms of developmental western societal organisation to that, would have more mutual recognition and easy alignment with the British people going down the track i’d say, from New Zealand’s position, traditional receptivity & prosperity.
I wonder if a RAF training base down queenstown way would be a viable thing. A training space for the British with their top aircraft and relatively unclutted airspace – would basically have the entire westcoast to zoom up and down on for starters with formations, drills, scenarios and the like, with geography not that far removed from alot of European soil. And the NZ forces providing the on ground maintenance with the British top wings, would be a win for them as well.
- Gabby 22.1
  19 April 2018 at 5:16 pm
  Sure, maybe a nice bombing range in the middle of the lake?
- McFlock 22.2
  19 April 2018 at 5:25 pm
  Well, uncluttered except when they have the helicopters flying around to keep frost off the vines…
- Ad 22.3
  19 April 2018 at 7:08 pm
  What does Britain have that we would want to buy or sell for which there are great big trade barriers to entry?
  Munitions?
  A monarchy and House of Lords?
  A corrupt class system?
  A dead public health system?
  Lots of empty stone churches?
  I’m old enough to remember what English companies and English politics did to us last century.
  So I would like to hear what Prime Minister has in mind for our country on this.
  - In Vino 22.3.1
    19 April 2018 at 7:45 pm
    Maybe that just for once we could stop copying Britain’s mistakes several years after even Britain has recognised that they were mistakes?
- Pat 22.4
  19 April 2018 at 7:49 pm
  Which emissions budget would that come out of…ours or the UK’s?
  - In Vino 22.4.1
    22 April 2018 at 9:36 pm
    I was thinking industrial law, health and education..
Morrissey 23
19 April 2018 at 8:24 pm
The great and good Sir Robert Jones again comes under attack from some untermensch—this time a “huge great ugly blonde thing.”
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=12024103
- John up North 23.1
  20 April 2018 at 7:46 am
  Judith Collins? Out celebrating Simoins 10 percent shafting perhaps??
eco maori 24
19 April 2018 at 8:51 pm
This is my tipuna in Tikapa Marae
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1jtzsKaEd3X_7TN5gzoxlAMSicQWPyG4x/view?usp=drives
The Hupu IWI I SAY Ngati-Ruawaipu
Jenny 25
20 April 2018 at 4:02 am
“Great Barrier Reef ‘cooked’ by marine heatwave: study”
That’s all right then, we have more than enough oil and gas exploration permits to continue on with.
eco maori 26
20 April 2018 at 7:21 am
The Am Show Good morning social media is a awesome tool to educate te tangata about the truths of the ruling classes and the reality’s of the plite of the common people.There is a dubble edged sword in everything to do with the internet as with anything one must know what the mokopunas are up to . To prevent someone from having a negative affect on the children observation is key here because sometimes they won’t tell you what the are up to observation and Aroha are a must for children .
Soil is one of the life force of Papatuanuku we could easily change to Organic farming it would be better for the enviroment and for us less chemicals =less cancers .
Ka kite ano I have to go to work here a brown man that tells it like it is.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/103152684/racism-is-real-raw-and-working-in-aotearoa Kia kaha brown tangata
- eco maori 26.1
  20 April 2018 at 6:37 pm
  Newshub Our Leader looked good wearing te beautiful Korowai that is a excerlint way to promote our Maori culture to the World ka pai .
  Mark Middleton congratulations on getting your visa to stay in NZ permanently many thanks to Chis and co for granting Mark this Eco Maori does not trust the system as far as I can——— I have tryed to use the legal systems 5 times and 5 times they have cheated me out of justice the——- Ana to kai .
  Thats a awesome the Dunedin Wild life Hospital ka pai many animals and birds will be saved because of this great institution.
  I brought a poppy today the thing is I have a problem with ANZAC day is that in my eyes it promotes war and war is for idiots in Eco Maori View . Ka kite ano
  - eco maori 26.1.1
    20 April 2018 at 7:25 pm
    The Crowd Goes Wild Wairanga and Makere it will be awesome if the Warriors end up with heaps of wagons following there band there are other reasons I a kumara never tells how sweet it is .
    Wai this new format of cricket could attacked more brown players which is a good thing I recon that some should start a New Zealand Ausse Rules Rugby He tangata will make heaps of money playing that game in Australia.
    Ka kite ano

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1 week ago

One week until sector comes together to discuss future
Next week, staff, students, business, industry trainers, sector leaders and policy makers will come together at forum to discuss the future of tertiary education. ...
Tertiary Education UnionBy TEU
1 week ago

Restore post-grad allowances urgently
NZUSA has launched a campaign calling on Education Minister, Chris Hipkins to fulfil an election promise and restore postgraduate student allowances. ...
Tertiary Education UnionBy TEU
1 week ago

New report shows some progress on pay equity
Massey University, the Tertiary Education Union, and Women@Massey hosted a morning tea on 8 March to celebrate International Women’s Day and launch the updated report on pay and employment equity at the University. ...
Tertiary Education UnionBy TEU
1 week ago

Living Wage at Vic campaign relaunch
Entering its fourth year, the Living Wage for Vic campaign has been relaunched at the Victoria University of Wellington. ...
Tertiary Education UnionBy TEU
1 week ago

Let’s make the sector work better for women
Dr. Sarah Proctor-Thomson reflects on International Women’s Day and what it’s like for women working in the sector. ...
Tertiary Education UnionBy TEU
1 week ago

The future of work is in our hands
Sharn Riggs, national secretary of the Tertiary Education Union, considers what the government’s proposed reform of vocational education means for work and emphasises the need for high-quality permanent jobs. ...
Tertiary Education UnionBy TEU
1 week ago

Minister agrees with TEU to keep jobs in regions
Education Minister Chris Hipkins has agreed to one of the Tertiary Education Union’s key demands for the reform of vocational education. ...
Tertiary Education UnionBy TEU
1 week ago

New Zealand’s Current Foreign Policy: An Absence Of Realism.
What Are You trying To Say? The contrast between Helen Clark’s stewardship of New Zealand foreign policy and Jacinda Ardern’s is stark. Ardern’s generation, raised in the shadow of Rogernomics, has never evinced the same strong interest in international issues ...
Bowalley Road
1 week ago

Inspired to radicalism
by Don Franks 15 March 2019 Around the corner their numbers burst , hundred upon hundred. Waves of excitement and energy melded into an almost scary ...
RedlineBy daphna
1 week ago

Listening To Kate Raworth On “Nine To Noon”.
Purposeful Renegade: As an economics student, not only was Kate Raworth (above) never told the ultimate purpose of economics, but also, she told Kathryn Ryan on RNZ's Nine To Noon, she and her fellow students were never encouraged to ask.KATE ...
Bowalley Road
1 week ago

New research, March 4-10, 2019
A selection of new climate related research articles is shown below. This post has separate sections for: Climate Change, Climate Change Impacts, Climate Change Mitigation, and Other Papers. Climate change Estimates of Decadal Climate Predictability from an Interactive Ensemble Model ...
Skeptical Science
1 week ago

Striking for a future
Thousands of schoolkids around New Zealand have walked out of class today in a school strike for the climate. They're part of a global movement, sparked by Swedish teenager Greta Thunberg, which is sacrificing a day of education to demand ...
No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
1 week ago

Acting Like Adults
Today, children are striking, and demanding of us, “If you won’t act like adults, we will.” Their letter says poignantly: Soon we will inherit the consequences of this inaction, and we are scared. Will we have a planet worth passing ...
Transport BlogBy Heidi O'Callahan
1 week ago

No justice for Bloody Sunday
On 30 January 1972, British soldiers shot 28 unarmed civilians in Derry in Northern Ireland, killing thirteen people. The usual official whitewash followed, and the leader of the murderers was awarded an OBE for his services. But a second inquiry ...
No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
2 weeks ago

Older posts

New Zealand bans military style semi-automatics and assault rifles
Military style semi-automatics and assault rifles banned under stronger gun laws Immediate action to prevent stock-piling Military style semi-automatics and assault rifles will be banned in New Zealand under stronger new gun laws announced today, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern says. ...
Labour
4 hours ago

Membership: Australia and New Zealand Electronic Invoicing Board
The Governments of Australia and New Zealand have announced the membership of the Australia and New Zealand Electronic Invoicing Board (ANZEIB) today. This is an important step towards implementing e-Invoicing across both countries to help businesses save time and money ...
Labour
2 weeks ago

An end to unnecessary secondary tax
Workers who are paying too much tax because of incorrect secondary tax codes are in line for relief with the passage of legislation through Parliament late last night. The Taxation (Annual Rates for 2018-19, Modernising Tax Administration, and Remedial Matters) ...
Labour
2 weeks ago

Chatham Islands pāua plan approved
Efforts to reverse the decline in the Chatham Islands pāua fishery are the focus of a new plan jointly agreed between government, the local community and industry. Fisheries Minister Stuart Nash says the plan was developed by the PauaMAC4 Industry ...
Labour
2 weeks ago

Bill introduced for synthetics crackdown
The Police will get stronger powers of search and seizure to crackdown on synthetic drugs under new legislation, which makes the two main synthetics (5F-ADB and AMB-FUBINACA) Class A drugs. The Government has today introduced the Misuse of Drugs Amendment ...
Labour
3 weeks ago

Blasphemous libel law repealed
The archaic blasphemous libel offence will be repealed following the passing of the Crimes Amendment Bill today, says Justice Minister Andrew Little. ...
Labour
3 weeks ago

Coalition Government lassos livestock rustling
New rules to crack down on livestock rustling will come into force following the passing of the Crimes Amendment Bill says Justice Minister Andrew Little. ...
Labour
3 weeks ago

Medieval law axed
The ‘year and a day rule’ rule will be repealed following the passing of the Crimes Amendment Bill, says Justice Minister Andrew Little. ...
Labour
3 weeks ago

Further steps to combat tax evasion
Further steps to combat tax evasion Revenue Minister Stuart Nash has announced New Zealand is expanding its global ability to combat tax evasion by joining forces with authorities in 30 countries and jurisdictions. Cabinet has agreed to add another ...
Labour
3 weeks ago

Hundreds of students set to speak up for race unity
As New Zealand mourns the devastating terrorist attack in Christchurch, high school students are preparing to speak their mind on racial prejudice and unity in diversity. ...
Scoop politics
57 mins ago

60 Alec Baldwin wielding workers take to the streets
A sea of 60 call-centre workers will stride through Britomart, downtown Auckland City today in their fight to share awareness of their pay and work conditions. ...
Scoop politics
2 hours ago

Trade Me launches Aroha for Christchurch
Trade Me has launched Aroha for Christchurch to help Kiwis show Canterbury some kindness. ...
Scoop politics
3 hours ago

Censor: Christchurch Attack Video, Publication Objectionable
A publication reportedly written by the terrorist behind the fatal attacks in Christchurch, has been officially classified as objectionable. ...
Scoop politics
3 hours ago

Royal Commission into failure of NZ’s Intelligence a must
The New Zealand Maori Council has added to the call for a Royal Commission to be held into the failure of intelligence services to pick up the existence of white supremist organisations and individuals in the lead up to the ...
Scoop politics
3 hours ago

LGBTI organisations call for decriminalization of sex work
During the final day of the ILGA World Conference, held in Aotearoa New Zealand, LGBTI activists worldwide resolved to address the stigmatisation of sex workers, including in the LGBTI movement. The resolution passed in the closing session of ...
Scoop politics
5 hours ago

Let Wisdom Govern, Not Emotion.
Yesterday we gathered together to remember fifty lives snatched away by a coward; we note that the coward ran away from a brave man armed with a credit card machine. ...
Scoop politics
22 hours ago

Turkish Embassy on NZers in Turkey
It has come to our attention that some news and commentaries are being increasingly published in some media circles alleging that there is a hostile environment in Turkey against the citizens of New Zealand and Australia and that it is ...
Scoop politics
1 day ago

Why NZ must get rid of ISDS now
Australia’s costs for tobacco case it won show why NZ must get rid of ISDS now ...
Scoop politics
2 days ago

Banning of manifesto a step too far
The Free Speech Coalition says the Censor’s banning of the Christchurch terrorist attacker’s manifesto is wrong, unconstitutional, and counterproductive. ...
Scoop politics
2 days ago

OPINION: Gun-owning Chch Politician Responds
Without wanting to add to some of the sentimental hyperbole surrounding the heartfelt love and support for our Christchurch muslims in Riccarton and Linwood, I feel a responsibility to respond to some of the emerging issues as a Christchurch local ...
Scoop politics
2 days ago

Update and information on firearm hand-ins
Since Police set up the 0800 number dedicated to the changes to firearms yesterday afternoon, 474 calls were received by 11am. ...
Scoop politics
3 days ago

Hapu to invite Tribunal to marae
Ngai Tamahaua Hapu Chair, Peter T Selwyn, and Hetaraka Biddle, chairman of the Opape Marae trustees, have today announced their intention to formally invite the Waitangi Tribunal to hold part of the upcoming historical inquiry into the Whakatohea greviences ...
Scoop politics
3 days ago

Petition call for a Royal Commission of Inquiry
Greg Rzesniowiecki has initiated a petition to NZ Parliamentary Representatives ...
Scoop politics
3 days ago

Social Media Blackout Friday March 22nd 2019
Christchurch woman, Leigh Kennedy, is calling for businesses and individuals to switch off Google and Facebook at 1:40pm tomorrow - Friday March 22nd - for 16 minutes. ...
Scoop politics
3 days ago

Condolences to our Muslim Community in Aotearoa
The Pacific Leadership Forum offers its deepest and sincerest condolences and aroha to our Muslim Community in Aotearoa, particularly those directly affected in Christchurch. ...
Scoop politics
3 days ago

National Day of mourning still needed
A National Day of mourning is still needed. One was held following the Christchurch earthquake and today's terror victims deserve at least. ...
Scoop politics
3 days ago

Intelligence Review must be open
In the wake of last Friday's horrific racist terrorist attack, Auckland Peace Action is calling for any inquiry into the intelligence services to be independent and to be open to the public. ...
Scoop politics
3 days ago

New Zealand Jewish Support for Christchurch
Following Friday’s heinous terrorist attack on two Christchurch mosques, the New Zealand Jewish community has been overwhelmed by enquiries and offers of financial support from its members, as well as overseas Jewish organisations and individuals. ...
Scoop politics
3 days ago

ACEM welcomes new gun laws
The peak body for emergency medicine in New Zealand has welcomed today’s strengthening of gun laws. ...
Scoop politics
4 days ago

We need to understand each other this Race Relations Day
The theme of this year’s Race Relations Day – ‘O tātou iwi, ō tātou ahurea, ō tātou reo – Our people, our cultures, our languages’ – is poignant and appropriate, says Anita Balakrishnan, Director, Office of Ethnic Communities. ...
Scoop politics
4 days ago

Petitioners welcome gun law reform announcement
At 11.30am on Thursday, Wellingtonian Nik Green, Industrial Designer Brad Knewstubb and mum of three Hannah Clarke presented their combined 70,000-strong petitions to Parliament for a ban on semi-automatic weapons and greater firearm advertising regulations. ...
Scoop politics
4 days ago

Bar Association welcomes Government ban on assault rifles
The New Zealand Bar Association welcomes the Government’s ban on assault rifles today. NZBA’s council member, Josh McBride, says that immediate changes to the underlying legislation are now required to ensure that all military specification ...
Scoop politics
4 days ago

Bar Association welcomes Government ban on assault rifles
The New Zealand Bar Association welcomes the Government’s ban on assault rifles today. NZBA’s council member, Josh McBride, says that immediate changes to the underlying legislation are now required to ensure that all military specification ...
Scoop politics
4 days ago

CEAC press release on Environment
We are delighted for Helen Clark to become Patron of the new independent think tank with University of Auckland called “The Helen Clark Foundation.” The Helen Clark Foundation is a new organisation and needs your support to grow. Helen Clark ...
Scoop politics
4 days ago

Urgent changes to gun laws – Expert Reaction
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has announced urgent gun legislation following last week’s mosque shootings. ...
Scoop politics
4 days ago

Terrorism a first for NZ but decades now for Afghanistan
While last Friday’s terrorist attack in Christchurch was the first for New Zealand, Afghanistan’s ambassador to Australia and non-resident to New Zealand says his country has been victims of violence and terrorism for more than four decades. ...
Scoop politics
4 days ago

Government applauded for decisive action on firearms
The Police Association congratulates the government for demonstrating the courage to take decisive action and ban the firearms that have inflicted so much harm in New Zealand. ...
Scoop politics
4 days ago

Federated Farmers supports toughening up on firearms
"This will not be popular among some of our members but after a week of intense debate and careful consideration by our elected representatives and staff, we believe this is the only practicable solution," Feds Rural Security spokesperson Miles ...
Scoop politics
4 days ago

Fish & Game supports firearm law reforms
Fish and Game says the just announced changes to firearms legislation is a well considered and ensures public safety. ...
Scoop politics
4 days ago

Media Statement: NZ Mountain Safety Council – Mike Daisley
That the accused was able to inflict so much harm in such a short time as a licensed firearm user with an easily modified semi-automatic rifle is deeply troubling and must be kept in mind as we discuss as a ...
Scoop politics
4 days ago

Jummah Remembrance: Vigil for Lives Taken in Christchurch
A vigil has been organised by a coalition of community groups led by Muslims, tangata whenua and migrants standing in firm solidarity with Aotearoa’s Muslim community, following the violent white supremacist terrorist attack targeting two Christchurch ...
Scoop politics
4 days ago

Councillors choose rugby over ratepayers
Auckland Council has turned topsy-turvy with its vote to approve a $63 million bailout for Eden Park, including a $10 million no-strings-attached grant, says the Auckland Ratepayers’ Alliance . Ratepayers’ Alliance spokesperson Jo Holmes says, “Councillors ...
Scoop politics
4 days ago

Statement from Methodist Church
After the deaths of fifty people who were in the Al Noor Mosque and Linwood Islamic Centre at prayer on Friday, the Methodist church joins in the grief of those who bear these losses directly, and in the public grief ...
Scoop politics
4 days ago

Aotearoa – we all belong
Race Relations Day, March 21, is a chance for Aotearoa to come together in unity and solidarity with our ethnic communities at a tragic point in our history. ...
Scoop politics
4 days ago

Watercare continue to withhold the facts in Titirangi
In the March edition of The Fringe Magazine Waitakere Ranges Local Board chairman Greg Presland has shared his views on the imminent lodging of the resource consent for the proposed new Huia Water Treatment Plant in Waima, Titirangi. “It is ...
Scoop politics
4 days ago

Paid union meetings to be replaced by online ballots
Primary teachers and principals will now vote in online ballots about whether to accept the Ministry's latest collective agreement offers, following the cancellation of this week's paid union meetings. ...
Scoop politics
4 days ago

Dunne Speaks: Beware the Ides of March
In school, we all learnt the phrase, "Beware the Ides of March" courtesy of Shakespeare's play, Julius Caesar. The soothsayer's warning to Caesar was brushed aside and Caesar assassinated a little later in the day. For the last nearly 420 ...
Scoop politics
4 days ago

Censorship, manifestos and the Christchurch Shooter
A censorious and censoring attitude has engulfed responses to the mental airings of the Christchurch shooter. Material in connection with Brenton Tarrant, the alleged gunman behind the killing of 50 individuals at two mosques in New Zealand, is drying ...
Scoop politics
5 days ago

Extension to Reform of Vocational Education labelled paltry
The Chair of Skills Active Aotearoa, the ITO for sport, exercise, recreation and the performing arts, has described the one-week extension for submissions on the Reform of Vocational Education as “paltry”. ...
Scoop politics
5 days ago

Thousands expected at Sunday rally
Love Aotearoa Hate Racism (LAHR) is anticipating an unprecedented turnout at our rally against Islamophobia and racism at Auckland's Aotea Square this Sunday, March 24, at 2pm. ...
Scoop politics
5 days ago

Thousands share messages of hope for our Muslim whānau
As people process the attack at two mosques in Christchurch, our Muslim whānau are hurting. But there is an outpouring of love and unity coming from across New Zealand and around the world. Thousands of people have shared messages of ...
Scoop politics
5 days ago

Maori to gather for a national Haka on Friday
The New Zealand Maori Council is calling on Maori from right across the nation to come out this Friday in a national show of support for the whanau and victims of last week’s terrorist attacks in Christchurch. ...
Scoop politics
5 days ago

Event Encourages Facebook Free Weekend
An online event which encourages people to log off Facebook this weekend in memory of the victims of the Christchurch Mosque shootings is growing momentum. ...
Scoop politics
5 days ago

The New Zealand-India economic relationship
Secretary to the Treasury Gabriel Makhlouf spoke to the New Zealand India Trade Alliance in Auckland last evening on the New Zealand-India economic relationship and where the Treasury sees the opportunities and obstacles between the two countries. The ...
Scoop politics
5 days ago

Call for one-minute’s silence on Race Relations Day
New Zealanders are being asked to observe one-minute’s silence at 1.40pm on Race Relations Day tomorrow (Thursday 21 March) to remember the victims and survivors of the attacks in Christchurch. ...
Scoop politics
5 days ago

Social Media – Public meeting in Christchurch this Sunday
The role of social media is in the spotlight after the terrible events last Friday. ...
Scoop politics
5 days ago

MSSA’s unnecessary for recreational hunting
“The conversation New Zealand is now having regarding the use of military-style semi-automatic firearms (MSSA’s) is important and the Game Animal Council wishes to clarify several aspects in relation to their use for hunting game animals,” ...
Scoop politics
5 days ago

Message of Condolence
As leaders of Abrahamic faith communities we come together to offer our deepest and most heartfelt condolences to all those who have been victimised and traumatised by this evil attack on our Muslim community in Christchurch. For all of us, ...
Scoop politics
6 days ago

Fish and Game supports measures to keep NZers safe
Fish and Game says the Christchurch mosque mass killing is a tragedy and it supports an overhaul of firearm laws to ensure the safety of New Zealanders. ...
Scoop politics
6 days ago

Older posts

Newsletter: New Zealand Politics Daily – March 25 2019
Newsletter: New Zealand Politics Daily – March 25 2019 Editor’s Note: Here below is a list of the main issues currently under discussion in New Zealand and links to media coverage. The Beehive and Parliament Buildings.Today’s content Understanding extremism Herald ...
Evening ReportBy Bryce Edwards
9 mins ago

Shareholders’ Assn to back $2.56B Trade Me takeover
The New Zealand Shareholders' Association will back the $2.56 billion takeover of the local software company Trade Me at next week's special meeting. ...
Newsroom
13 mins ago

Ike signals 5% FY revenue growth
Utilities measurement specialist IkeGPS says its March-year revenue will be only about 5 percent higher than a year earlier, after the company failed to close a large contract for its Ike Analyze service. ...
Newsroom
18 mins ago

When sharing food means so much more
Proceeds from the sales of a new cookbook that shares recipes and stories from people from refugee and migrant backgrounds will go towards funding a new scholarship.Sakina Ewazi, a visual arts graduate originally from Afghanistan, weeps quietly during the minute’s ...
The SpinoffBy Alice Neville
23 mins ago

Brandy Clark: ‘If I can imagine the kitchen where they live, I can write the song’
The prolific and acclaimed country singer-songwriter Brandy Clark performs in Auckland tomorrow. Sam Brooks talked to her ahead of her performance.“I hate stripes, and orange ain’t my colour. If I squeeze that trigger tonight, I’ll be wearing one or other. ...
The SpinoffBy Sam Brooks
42 mins ago

Immerse yourself in kindness with new Kiwi kids show Kiri and Lou
The world needs more kindness, clearly. Thalia Kehoe Rowden reviews Kiri and Lou, a new musical comedy show about kindness and feelings – made for children, but a tonic for adults too. What if you could make a home-grown kids’ TV ...
The SpinoffBy Thalia Kehoe Rowden
1 hour ago

How to keep your kids safe online in the wake of the Christchurch attack
Following the Christchurch terror attacks parents around the world have been concerned about what their children might see online and how they might cope with the immense tragedy of the events. Emily Writes spoke to the author of Keeping Your Children ...
The SpinoffBy Emily Writes
1 hour ago

Inside the bubble: At the Auckland Arts Festival during a week of mourning
After seeing three shows in the Auckland Arts Festival this week, Sam Brooks reflects on the place of art in the wake of national tragedy.After a week of self-inflicted Wellington time, it felt a little strange to come back to ...
The SpinoffBy Sam Brooks
2 hours ago

Summerset secures land for new villages in Rangiora
Summerset Group expects to spend more than $250 million building new villages in Blenheim and Rangiora where it's secured land for development. ...
Newsroom
3 hours ago

What does Islamophobia look like? Allow UK and Australian media to demonstrate
It’s all relative, sure, but New Zealand’s media has clearly done a far better job at holding the line against Islamophobia than their UK and Australian counterparts, writes Elle Hunt from London.The danger of speaking relatively about race relations is ...
The SpinoffBy Elle Hunt
4 hours ago

Richard Yan appeals $36 million Mainzeal liability
Richard Yan, director of failed construction company Mainzeal Group, has appealed the High Court judgment which found him liable to pay up to $36 million to creditors. ...
Newsroom
4 hours ago

A2 names China CEO
A2 Milk Co has appointed Li Xiao as chief executive of its greater China operations. ...
Newsroom
4 hours ago

Getting to know your food chain: Central Otago cherries
In the first part of a series in which The Spinoff gets to know who, what, where and how our food gets to our plate, Jihee Junn learns about cherries. The bright lights and smooth floors of the supermarket are a world ...
The SpinoffBy Jihee Junn
5 hours ago

NZD stalled ahead of RBNZ statement
The New Zealand dollar opened marginally softer with weak economic data in Europe and the US late last week insufficient to move the currency ahead of the Reserve Bank’s monetary policy announcement on Wednesday. ...
Newsroom
5 hours ago

Has business got over its government-induced funk?
ANZ's business confidence survey for March due on Thursday will provide the latest reading of whether companies are starting to get over the funk that has dogged them since the current government was formed. ...
Newsroom
6 hours ago

GCSB and SIS’s ‘hands tied behind their backs’ – Simon Bridges
New Zealand spy agencies' balance between privacy and security has tipped too far towards privacy, and should be revisited, the National Party leader says. ...
Radio NZ – political
7 hours ago

Simon Bridges on call for royal inquiry into spy agencies
The National Party leader has called for a Royal Commission of Inquiry into New Zealand's spy agencies. ...
Radio NZ – political
8 hours ago

SIS accused of breaching NZ Muslims’ rights: It’s ‘unethical, misleading’, s...
The SIS has been accused of breaching the rights of the Muslim communities it has been monitoring. ...
Radio NZ – political
8 hours ago

Stowaway mozzies enter Australia from Asian holiday spots – and they’re resistant to insecticide...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tom Schmidt, Research fellow, University of Melbourne Planning a trip to the tropics? You might end up bringing home more than just a tan and a towel. Our latest research looked at ...
Evening ReportBy The Conversation
8 hours ago

Missed something the doctor said? Recording your appointments gives you a chance to go back
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Amelia Hyatt, Senior Researcher, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre You’re in a consultation with your doctor and you’ve just been told you have cancer. You’re in shock, and find it difficult to take ...
Evening ReportBy The Conversation
8 hours ago

Aussie parents are under pressure to buy their kids academic advantage too
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kellie Bousfield, Associate Head of School, School of Education, Charles Sturt University Allegations of parents cheating and bribing top-tier universities in the US to secure their children’s admission have caused a media ...
Evening ReportBy The Conversation
8 hours ago

Worn, uneven, flooded: young people need better parks to get out and play
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Deborah Ascher Barnstone, Professor, Associate Head of School, School of Architecture, University of Technology Sydney Who wants to play sport in the mud and muck? Or have to climb a fence to ...
Evening ReportBy The Conversation
8 hours ago

Frydenberg should call a no-holds-barred inquiry into superannuation now, because Labor won’t
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Martin, Visiting Fellow, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University The Coalition is running out of time to do worthwhile things. Facing overwhelming odds of defeat in the election due ...
Evening ReportBy The Conversation
8 hours ago

Sam and the honest broker: why Commissioner Hayne wants mortgage brokers to charge fees
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kevin Davis, Research Director of Australian Centre for FInancial Studies and Professor of Finance at Melbourne and Monash Universities, Australian Centre for Financial Studies The Royal Commission recommendation that mortgage broker commissions, ...
Evening ReportBy The Conversation
8 hours ago

Lascivious virgins and lustful itches: women’s masturbation in early England
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Paige Donaghy, PhD Student, The University of Queensland In our sexual histories series, authors explore changing sexual mores from antiquity to today. In the 18th and 19th centuries, masturbation was thought of ...
Evening ReportBy The Conversation
8 hours ago

The Bulletin: News that went under the radar last week
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. A brief note to start today’s edition: The aftermath of the Christchurch mosque attacks will always be an important set of stories to tell. Further down in today’s edition are the most important developments on ...
The SpinoffBy Alex Braae
9 hours ago

My mother is Māori. My father is Iranian. I can tell you what New Zealand is
I implore New Zealanders to centre the victims, to examine our past, to understand that for many of us, this attack was more of a ‘when’ than an ‘if’, writes Shamim AslaniAn act of unspeakable horror seared itself into our ...
The SpinoffBy Shamim Aslani
9 hours ago

Grass Roots: the wāhine of Hikurangi Enterprises
In the latest in the Frame documentary series produced for The Spinoff by Wrestler and funded by NZ on Air, we meet the wāhine behind Hikurangi Enterprises, a cannabis co-op looking to revitalise Ruatoria.In Ruatoria the dead are watching. They ...
The SpinoffBy Don Rowe
9 hours ago

Look Hu’s talking: Steel captain finds her voice
Once too shy to speak on netball court, Te Huinga Reo Selby-Rickit has had to find her voice as a leader of the champion Southern Steel. ...
Newsroom
10 hours ago

How will the trial of the alleged Christchurch mosque murderer work?
The upcoming trial of a man accused of carrying out the Christchurch mosque shootings will be unprecedented in New Zealand law. To get your head around the process, legal expert Graeme Edgeler casts his eyes over some of the most ...
The SpinoffBy Graeme Edgeler
10 hours ago

View from The Hill: NSW result gives federal Liberals a boost in the mind games
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Scott Morrison couldn’t wait for NSW opposition leader Michael Daley’s concession speech on Saturday night. Morrison leapt to the stage at the Liberals’ function, speaking ...
Evening ReportBy The Conversation
15 hours ago

Paul Buchanan: Soul-searching NZ must ‘own’ this terrorist attack
OPINION: By Dr Paul G Buchanan The terrorist attack on two Christchurch mosques this month is a watershed moment in New Zealand history. In the days, months and years ahead much soul-searching will be conducted about the social and political ...
Evening ReportBy Pacific Media Centre
19 hours ago

Petitions calling for Jacinda Ardern to get Nobel Peace Prize
Nearly 20,000 people have signed two petitions calling for New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for her response to the Christchurch terror attack. ...
Radio NZ – political
20 hours ago

Focusing on the need for farming change
European officials are increasingly focused on the role of animal farming in climate change. ...
Newsroom
22 hours ago

The AI failures of Facebook & YouTube
Neither Facebook nor YouTube was able to stop the dissemination of the Christchurch terrorist video, despite both claiming to be market leaders in advanced artificial intelligence. ...
Newsroom
23 hours ago

National calls for inquiry into NZ’s intelligence agencies
A Royal Commission of Inquiry is needed into New Zealand's security and intelligence agencies following the Christchurch terror attacks, the National Party leader says. ...
Radio NZ – political
23 hours ago

NSW Coalition scrapes back in as minor parties surge – but delivering on promises will not be easy
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andy Marks, Assistant Vice-Chancellor, Strategy and Policy, Western Sydney University “It’s not a game of SimCity,” NSW treasurer, Dominic Perrottet assured viewers on the ABC’s NSW election night coverage. “Sydney’s under construction”, ...
Evening ReportBy The Conversation
23 hours ago

Thousands take part in Auckland ‘love Aotearoa’ rally, reject terrorism
The Tino Rangatiratanga and New Zealand independence flags flying at the “Love Aotearoa Hate Racism” rally in Aotea Square, Auckland, today. Image: David Robie/PMC Pacific Media Centre Newsdesk Thousands of New Zealanders flocked to the “Love Aotearoa Hate Racism” ...
Evening ReportBy Pacific Media Centre
1 day ago

As aroha ripples across NZ, let us pledge never to go back to the way we were
I have been encouraged by those who have started to reflect. I hope we can take that love, and can learn to listen, writes Marama DavidsonOn Friday I went to the Masjid Al-Maktoum to share the nationwide two-minute silence with ...
The SpinoffBy Marama Davidson
1 day ago

‘Panic buying’ of guns ahead of ban
There has been a rush on gun shops, with people "panic buying", in the wake of the Christchurch terror attack and in anticipation of the Government tightening gun laws. ...
Newsroom
1 day ago

Oram: Time for Fonterra to get serious
Amid Fonterra’s plodding interim results this week two comments by the co-op stood out. One offered hope; the other more losses. ...
Newsroom
1 day ago

Ex-pat South Africans need to stop peddling the myth of white genocide
The myth of white genocide in South Africa has fuelled far-right violence the world over, including the attack on Christchurch’s mosques. Ross Webb calls on his fellow South Africans to stop helping those who perpetuate the myth and who use ...
The SpinoffBy Ross Webb
1 day ago

On being a better neighbour
Neighbours Day Aotearoa, the annual celebration of neighbourhoods and the power of human connection, starts this weekend. It’s a timely reminder of the big rewards that can come from small gestures, writes Sarah Lang.I have a confession to make. I ...
The SpinoffBy Sarah Lang
1 day ago

Can gun control help prevent mass shootings? Look at Australia
Will a large scale gun buyback and subsequent arms control help prevent future massacres? We can look to Australia for inspiration, writes University of South Australia professor Rick Sarre. As she foreshadowed in the aftermath of the Christchurch massacre last Friday, New ...
The SpinoffBy Rick Sarre
1 day ago

Neon Picnic: New Zealand’s very own Fyre Festival
With 30 years’ hindsight, the failed Neon Picnic festival of January 1988 can be seen as the Fyre festival of its day, writes Chris Bourke.This piece was originally published on Audioculture.It was a flawed concept that captured the spirit of the ...
The SpinoffBy Chris Bourke
1 day ago

Coalition wins a third term in NSW with few seats changing hands
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Beaumont, Honorary Associate, School of Mathematics and Statistics, University of Melbourne With 54% of the vote counted at the New South Wales election held today, the ABC is currently projecting 45 ...
Evening ReportBy The Conversation
2 days ago

Representations of Islam and Muslims in New Zealand media
“Burkinis have been banned in Cannes.: From a Stuff representation. Pacific Journalism Review Friday, March 15, 2019 Abstract In the global media scene, media ownership is controlled by groups with political agendas. Intolerance of ‘the other’, ...
Evening ReportBy Pacific Media Centre
2 days ago

Gallery: Christchurch terror: Prayers and hijabs for peace at Ponsonby
Pacific Media Centre Newsdesk The massive gathering in Christchurch’s Hagley Park has reassured and uplifted their shocked community, say New Zealand Muslim leaders. About 20,000 people gathered in Hagley Park to observe two minutes of silence and the Muslim call ...
Evening ReportBy Pacific Media Centre
2 days ago

Dear PM: ‘It breaks my heart that a sense of belonging has cost 50 lives’
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern paying her respects in Christchurch. Image: RNZ Summer Joyan’s open letter to Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern: Dear Prime Minister Ardern, I am a 13-year-old Muslim girl from Australia and I would like to ...
Evening ReportBy Pacific Media Centre
2 days ago

I’m struggling to be a journalist in New Zealand right now
The media needs to take some responsibility for the prejudice that Muslims and other minorities have faced in New Zealand, writes Shilo Kino. I became a journalist for all the wrong reasons. Honestly, I just wanted to interview famous people. As ...
The SpinoffBy Shilo Kino
2 days ago