“If you are planning to be a lifelong renter, a reality check.”
That has to be the most hilarious opening line I’ve read for a long time…there is a serious disconnect of understanding in this country between home owners and actual ‘lifelong renters’.
very very few people in this country, with options/money would ever rent their whole life, seriously
Not very flash of Kim Hill to claim the “Are Hamas killing their youth” (so-called) question as her own this morning’s interview with Dr Ramzy Baroud. It’s been a while since I tuned into Saturday mornings. Oh well.
And did I just hear her comment rather off-handedly that his sister will be “busy” given that she’s in Gaza?!
She’s come the odd cropper though, including this memorable occasion fifteen years ago when John Pilger took her to task for her smug and complacent introductory comments…
Lots of little eggs gabby …. 2014: Operation Protective Egg: Killed / Broken 495 were children and 253 women.
Life in Gaza
1.8m people / eggs living in Gaza
4,505 per square kilometre
475,000 living in emergency shelters or with other families
17,200 homes destroyed or severely damaged by Israeli attacks
244 schools damaged
Source: Ocha (26 August 2014)
2008, as part of Operation Cast Egg . Around 1,391 Palestinians were killed, including an estimated 759 civilians, according to B’Tselem. Reports say this included 344 children eggs and 110 women eggs.
“Israel’s favorite metaphor for its periodic strikes on Gaza—”mowing the lawn”—suggests violence that is routine, indiscriminate, and risk-free.”
The regular pattern is for Israel, then, to disregard whatever agreement is in place, while Hamas observes it — as Israel has officially recognized — until a sharp increase in Israeli violence elicits a Hamas response, followed by even fiercer brutality. These escalations, which amount to shooting fish in a pond, are called “mowing the lawn” in Israeli parlance.
“Israeli military strategists talk, chillingly, of “mowing the lawn”. Even leaving aside the morally questionable nature of seeing human flesh as grass”
Eggs / grass aside …. Hamas are a red herring … “The Gaza open air prison camp where 1.94 million Palestinians live behind a blockade and are refused access to the other occupied Palestinian areas and the rest of the world is the problem”. ….
Half of all children have been psychologically traumatised by war, occupation and blockade. Close to 300,000 children need psychosocial help.
Same with The west bank where …. “ • Israeli terrorists, both soldiers and settlers, harass, kidnap, and kill Palestinians with almost complete impunity.
• Also in the West Bank, countless checkpoints are established and manned by Israeli terrorists/soldiers. When these are open and closed is completely arbitrary. They make the simple act of going to school or work an hours-long ordeal. People have died at checkpoints when seeking emergency medical treatment, simply because the Israelis manning them didn’t feel like letting them through
• Over 550,000 Israeli settlers live in the West Bank, in violation of international law.
• Palestine homes are routinely bulldozed, leaving the families that resided in them homeless, to make room for new Jewish-only roads or illegal housing developments.”
“Hamas represents a large constituency. Many Gazans voted for the party because they were disgusted with the corruption of the secular Fatah movement and were impressed with the social service system Hamas had created. Like other resistance movements—the African National Congress, the Irish Republican Army—Hamas was on its way toward becoming a political party. “…
“if you claim to respect democracy, you must recognize the results of free and fair elections. And if you want a party to change its position—and it’s willing to talk—you have to sit down at the table and negotiate with it.,,, But Israel—and by extension the United States—didn’t choose this option.”
Yes, I was stunned when she put it to Dr Ramzy Baroud that is is very hard for Israel to except that Palestinians want the right to return to their land (or some such)
If someone stole stuff from you 70 years ago, and you’ve been asking for it back for 70 years why in the name of all things sane should the thief be shown compassion because they don’t want to give the stolen goods back?
Was she just being the devils advocate?
I do hope so.
Though she even insulted him suggesting he wasn’t alive during the 87 intifada, therefore I suppose without the right to speak for those who were. But he replied with modesty and courtesy that she didn’t deserve.
As Baroud said, we’re sick of hearing about Israels rights.
And another point is, that if Jews have the right to return to a land they claim was theirs 2000 years ago, why do Palestinians not have the same right to return to land that was theirs 70 years ago.
I posted this on open mike on the 17th, but it might of got lost with the budget stuff.
This written by sword fish”……..it’s about how the meme about the honey moon bounce in the polls was started by Ferrari and picked up by msm and spouted as fact
This is a must read. Maybe even post it with sword fishes permission.
I thought that Grant Robertson looked good on The Nation this morning. A bit like a younger version of Steven Joyce in a good way.
Ten years as an MP, three years in Opposition with finance responsibilities, and now as Minister of Finance he comes across as in control of his job and responsibilities.
He looks to be a financial asset for the Government, and has the potential to be a real asset for the country if he stays on track as a prudent and incremental progressive.
Labour may end up benefiting more from his behind the scenes work than from the surface celebrity of Ardern.
One Two, Incrementalism is not fashionable but it is sensible.
Michael Cullen and Labour introduced Kiwi Saver. The impact is only now being truly felt and understood for some nearing home ownership or retirement. That is ten+ years for the policy to really make a difference in people’s lives. It will continue to do good for people and the country.
The so called “Cullen Fund” has countered our debt and added strength to our current retirement planning…. again ten+ years in the making and strengthened by this Government
Both policies were so valuable that the last National Government watered them down, but did not remove them.
That this budget of 2018 is a “Foundation Budget” working towards by increments to the “Well being Budget” of 2019, which will be a world wide first, putting people and the environment front and centre, with money as the change agent used in clever ways to achieve a sustainable way of living.
Any person repeating national memes of “no plan” “we did more” “we are better” “the election was stolen” “not enough” has not been paying attention.
After 9+ years of squeeze… there are so many voices in the wilderness and this new Government cares and that is why they are working so hard and so fast to try to mitigate the many tragic circumstances some people face… it will never be enough for some, but they are doing what they said they would. Put people and environment first incrementally. Sadly powerful forces in the world and here do not like change that shares wealth or power, so working incrementally is key. “Good things take time”
It is good to hear you praise Grant Robertson and I agree with you PG. He is clearly on top of his job. But I take issue with your depiction of Jacinda Ardern as a “surface celebrity”. If you really believe that is all there is to her, then your judgement of her is seriously awry.
While this is the picture her Nat opponents are trying to paint of Jacinda, all the evidence has succeeded in proving the exact opposite. She is highly intelligent and has a maturity well beyond her years. Her grasp of national and international affairs is equal to her predecessor, Helen Clark and the respect and confidence in her that her overseas counterparts have openly expressed… is testament to that. Add to that her strength of character and resilience, and there’s not much more one could ask for.
Her rhetorical skills are right up there too – she absolutely savaged the hapless Bridges with natural triplets and juxtapositions like “too much shouty shouty and not enough planny planny”.
The Gnats, accorded too much sunshine by a limp media, have neglected their skills and become accustomed to lying as a default strategy. It’s weak.
Not at all – Helen never got anything like the ringing endorsement Jacinda got from Angela Merkel. Gnat wishful thinking has fooled you guys bigtime about Jacinda – sure she presents well, but she’s got plenty of depth, and is a much better communicator. There is a sincerity about her which is rare in contemporary politicians – reminiscent of Edward Walker’s description of Ivy.
Of course if you take your views from tragic mistakes like Malcolm Turnbull or the near-sighted and vindictive scribblers of the Herald you won’t pick that up.
Pete George, They are truly complementary. But personally I would like Grant to be more progressive. Jacinda Ardern has cut-through. She has the ability to connect emotionally and shows judgement in having Grant Robertson in that portfolio. Do not think Jacinda is ‘surface’ only. She is a policy wonk with a phenomenal grasp of complexities, and any who work with her soon show admiration for her acumen work ethic and humanity, coupled with sharp wit and eloquence. She is the coalition’s glue.
To Lynn Prent: what happened to the Replies drop-down menu on the RH side? I can only see Comments or Opinions but no longer the replies to my comments!?
Edit: As soon as I submit a comment my details disappear too and I have to re-enter them for each and every comment, which is cumbersome 😉
No, I haven’t knowingly changed anything. But to be sure I played around with settings in two different browsers (MS Edge and G Chrome) and ran a few tests here on TS and it made no difference.
I just noticed it as I commented to that my required name and mail get wiped automatically too. I’m using Firefox and it did update to V60.0.1 the other night between my latest reply with the fields empty and my previous one when they auto-filled in. Mozilla has been making a lot of security changes to Firefox with every update.
I have lost my automatic login and have to enter info individually with a different icon thing. I thought it might be connected with my site going down last night – through Vodafone but it seems that others have problems too. I have Firefox too, and have been getting red notices that I have too update my details which I haven’t got round to.
A flurry of oil and gas exploration is set to be unleashed in Taranaki during the next 18 to 36 months as companies make decisions on whether to ‘drill or drop’ existing permits.
The schedule will see as many as 20 wells being drilled both onshore and offshore in the region before early 2019 as the price of oil steadily rises, to US$80 from below US$40 two years ago.
Among the companies involved in the region are Todd Energy, Tamarind Resources, and OMV.
A Petroleum Exploration and Production Association New Zealand (PEPANZ) spokesman said a decision would be made on a total of 31 exploration permits to be completed in Taranaki, as well as off the east coast of both the North and South Islands over the next three years.
There are 31 oil and gas exploration permits currently active, 22 are offshore. These permits cover an area of 100,000 square kilometers, nearly the size of the North Island, and run as far out as 2030 and could go an additional 40 years under a mining permit.
Another day waking up to find there has been another US shooting. They are becoming so common in the US. But then when you have a lobby group like the NRA sponsored by gun manufacturers legally bribing politicians to make sure that no legislation is passed to slow these things down and protect the people, what can you expect.
The NRA in the US has no shame having elected a man as their NRA president who in testimony has admitted to being a Traitor to his own country and selling guns to those deemed terrorist organizations by the US. He only got out of jail time on a technicality because a lot of the evidence used to convict him was found to be inadmissible as it was given by him during a hearing to a congressional hearing while he was under an immunity deal.
These are the sort of problems you have when you give lobbyists access to legally bribe politicians. This was something you saw in very minor ways starting to creep into NZ under previous National Governments with their Cabinet Club dinners where lobbyists got full access to National MPs and the former PM John Key. Here we saw a small number of deaths to with no one really held accountable, but the deaths here where due to lobbying for lax safety enforcement in places like the logging and mining industry.
A comment made about one young USA shooter has stuck with me. He is supposed to have said something like – society is so bad and everyone is contemptible and humans destroying the earth and that it would be better if all of us died. It is dangerous for young people to start thinking like this before they have had layers of denial of the reality of their, and general human behaviour, to insulate him.
Another item from 17/5/2018 on the apartheid-like laws that used to be the norm in earlier times. A book explores that history.
‘Racist as f***’: Book backs up Taika Waititi’s claims about New Zealand racism https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12053300 Looking at archives and old newspapers, he discovered Māori were treated as “enemies of the state”, long after the Waikato War had finished.
“During a series of epidemics, Māori were banned from moving about the country, because their brown skin was equated with disease,” Hamilton said.
“When smallpox broke out in 1913, Māori villages were sealed off, and Māori were banned from the roads and from trains unless they had a special certificate showing they’d been immunised.
“No Pākehā was ever subjected to these rules. They were blatantly racist, made life almost impossible for Māori, and were in force for many months.”
Māori were also excluded from bars, cinemas and barber shops in South Auckland.
“For much of the 20th century it was hard to get a drink in places like Papakura and Pukekohe if you were the wrong colour,” Hamilton said.
The book details the experience of Rongomanu Bennett, a Māori psychiatrist who was refused a beer in the Papakura Tavern in 1959.
He began a campaign and made headlines around the world.
“The New York Times called Papakura ‘the Little Rock of New Zealand’, after the Arkansas city where African Americans were fighting segregation,” Hamilton said.
The Prime Minister at the time eventually backed up Bennett, and Papakura Tavern agreed to serve Māori.
Apparently in the 70’s there was separate seating for Māori patrons in the Pukekohe theatre. Two years ago, I heard the Tangata Whenua providing a report on the health of a stream in a council meeting being referred to as ‘n*****s’. As residents of Franklin we have the misfortune to receive the eLocal, ensuring at least one Māori bashing article per issue. My list of present day casual racism witnessed is long, but others would be much longer, and no doubt, more damaging.
Bastion Point was in 1976.
Moutoa Gardens 1995.
Foreshore and Seabed Act 2004.
Tuhoe raid – Operation 8 2007.
These have happened in this generation.
Are you sure that you are living in this country, if you think Taika Waititi doesn’t have a point?
Your comment implied that Taiki Waititi had no evidence to back up the present tense. I provided a small number, which you ignored.
If you want to maintain your complacency over the specific racism directed towards Maaori in New Zealand, then continue on as you are. Ignore the living reality of Tangata Whenua and dilute any conversation with generalisations. I’m sure your comfort level will not be disturbed.
There’s an article about a book dealing with historical racism – it was used in relation to Taika Waititi’s comment I pointed out the two did not overlap in terms of history – and lo abuse cometh in my direction. I did not ignore the references you made – I have no argument with them. Your focus is on specific racism towards maori – I find all racism objectionable and I tire of one category of racism being portrayed as more important than others.
If you find abuse in my comment, then I’m not surprised at your perspective.
Generalising about racism, particularly noticeable in NZ is an avoidance technique. No one has suggested that racism is not a global issue. My response to you paraphrases the BLM movement: “Racism towards Maaori matters as well.”. I haven’t seen you acknowledge that the existence of it still causes damage and is harmful.
Let’s acknowledge that racism etc occurs all around the world in Tom Lehrer’s inimitable style.
Then let’s get back to regarding Maori people respectfully and understand their strivings to cope in our capitalist world of take from above (the Highland Clearings syndrome). It should be noted that – Sir Francis Henry Dillon Bell GCMG KC PC was a New Zealand lawyer and politician who served as the Prime Minister of New Zealand from 10 to 30 May 1925. Wikipedia
considered Maori communist because they shared and lived co-operatively, not coldly, individually with rich and abject poor as the settlers were prepared to do. (This is in my memory, and I can’t quote source.) And this country’s citizens are increasingly adopting the same behaviour as a satisfactory culture now.
We have much to learn from Maori in living with those of a different culture and be co-operative to the advantage of both. When we acknowledge that, we will be able to turn aside lingering accusations of racism.
The only reason you know about it is that the BBC et al reported on it. Otherwise, it falls under the category of “none of your goddamn business how people who’ve survived attempted murder choose to convalesce”.
PS: witless assumptions and slavish adherence to Moscow propaganda do not generate “difficult questions”. They just say something about you.
Correct again Ed. The lamestream who can dish the dirt on anyone they so choose, have no idea what’s happened to the two victims in the biggest story in Britain. What the hell!
Try again Ed: Russia is an official suspect of the UK investigation, no matter how much you love or hate them. Suspects don’t get updates; saying so makes no statement as to guilt whatsoever.
Apart from Steven Morris and Patrick Wintour and Jill Lawless and Andrew Griffin and Fiona Hamilton and Leila Nathoo, who’ve all had stories on the Skripal poisoning published in the last 24 hours, that is.
The Skripal poisoning requires a conspiracy, whoever you think did it.
You ‘see a conspiracy’ enacted by the Russians.
I accept there was a conspiracy. There had to be.
But I am not prepared to be judge, jury and executioner based on evidence presented by such dubious sources as MI5, Theresa May and Boris Johnson.
Also, you continually use the word conspiracy as if it were an insult.
Have you looked up what the word means in a dictionary?
To help, you….
noun
a secret plan by a group to do something unlawful or harmful.
“a conspiracy to destroy the government”
synonyms: plot, scheme, stratagem, plan, machination, cabal; More
the action of plotting or conspiring.
“they were cleared of conspiracy to pervert the course of justice”
synonyms: plotting, collusion, intrigue, connivance, machination, collaboration; treason
“he was due to stand trial for conspiracy to murder”
Ed is not a conspiracy theorist. From what I’ve seen he’s got a good grasp (of reality) in geopolitical, environmental and local issues, etc. Using good independent journalism Ed can’t really go wrong. Craig Murray, John Pilger, Robert Fisk, Rachel Stewart et al.
So first you link to an organisation as though to suggest the organisation is a person, and I simply point out that the person you linked to doesn’t measure up against the other journalists he shares a platform with, and then you ask a question that makes no sense whatsover.
If you want a sense of Robert Mackey’s journalism, read his NYT and Guardian pieces. He tends towards being descriptive.
edit – if you want to argue with yourself over what Mackey did and didn’t get wrong in that piece, you could begin with the content of the 148 comments it attracted. They cover it off quite well. 😉
All I suggested is that The Intercept (or Mackey if you prefer) did a better job than Fisk on this occasion, which is pertinent to Maui’s assertion that Ed is well informed.
It is becoming clearer that the Government’sKiwi build and the increase in state house construction announced in the budget will not be enough to catch up with the 9 years of neglect by the National government.
Should the government be thinking of a solution that could end the housing crisis overnight and not cost the taxpayer a cent, and legislate against perfectly good houses
and apartments being allowed to be left empty, without reasonable excuse?
Ghost homes – properties lie empty in spite of crisis
Inner-city Auckland apartments and residences in Manly, Takapuna, Newmarket and Gulf Harbour rate highest for empty or “ghost” dwellings, an analysis shows.
John Polkinghorne, associate director of specialist property consultancy RCG, said a breakdown of the city’s empty dwellings showed these areas had the highest number of vacant dwellings on Census night.
Stanley Bay, Turanga, Grafton West and Glen Innes East have the next most vacancies in the top 10, he found in his analysis of the 33,330 vacant dwellings from the last Census.
Chris Darby, an Auckland councillor, is concerned about Stanley Bay, where he has noticed many empty properties, particularly in one prestigious street
The analysis showed 75 empty houses there at Census 2013 but Darby says many more are now vacant. One former resident complained how her family home had been left empty and how upsetting she and the family found that…..
……In Auckland, Watercare cannot supply data on low-use properties.
“Our water use data is held within our billing system, which is set up to enable us to support our customers by identifying unusually high water usage. Unfortunately, our system has not been set up to identify customers that use no water,” said a spokeswoman.
You would think it would also be set up to track low use of water by properties.
Low use of water week after week should raise an alarm and have someone dispatched out to check on water monitoring equipment to make sure it has not been tampered with or is faulty.
Marae thats the way Narnia Mahuta you tell them they national and Maori party they stuffed up the prospects for maori they were the government that has suppressed the poor people whom are mostly brown and Maori you are doing good holding your own against two men .Ka pai e hao Ka kite ano
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Something odd happened yesterday, and I’d love to know if there’s more to it. If there was something which preempted what happened, or if it was simply a throwaway line in response to a journalist.Yesterday David Seymour was asked at a press conference what the process would be if the ...
Hi,From time to time, I want to bring Webworm into the real world. We did it last year with the Jurassic Park event in New Zealand — which was a lot of fun!And so on Saturday May 11th, in Los Angeles, I am hosting a lil’ Webworm pop-up! I’ve been ...
Education Minister Erica Standford yesterday unveiled a fundamental reform of the way our school pupils are taught. She would not exactly say so, but she is all but dismantling the so-called “inquiry” “feel good” method of teaching, which has ruled in our classrooms since a major review of the New ...
Exactly where are we seriously going with this government and its policies? That is, apart from following what may as well be a Truss-Lite approach on the purported economic “plan“, and Victorian-era regression when it comes to social policy.Oh it’ll work this time of course, we’re basically assured, “the ...
Hey Uncle Dave, When the Poms joined the EEC, I wasn't one of those defeatists who said, Well, that’s it for the dairy job. And I was right, eh? The Chinese can’t get enough of our milk powder and eventually, the Poms came to their senses and backed up the ute ...
Polling shows that Wellington Mayor Tory Whanau has the lowest approval rating of any mayor in the country. Siting at -12 per cent, the proportion of constituents who disapprove of her performance outweighs those who give her the thumbs up. This negative rating is higher than for any other mayor ...
Buzz from the Beehive Pharmac has been given a financial transfusion and a new chair to oversee its spending in the pharmaceutical business. Associate Health Minister David Seymour described the funding for Pharmac as “its largest ever budget of $6.294 billion over four years, fixing a $1.774 billion fiscal cliff”. ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Many criticisms are being made of the Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill, including by this writer. But as with everything in politics, every story has two sides, and both deserve attention. It’s important to understand what the Government is trying to achieve and its ...
TL;DR: Here’s my top 10 ‘pick ‘n’ mix of links to news, analysis and opinion articles as of 10:10am on Monday, April 29:Scoop: The children's ward at Rotorua Hospital will be missing a third of its beds as winter hits because Te Whatu Ora halted an upgrade partway through to ...
span class=”dropcap”>As hideous as David Seymour can be, it is worth keeping in mind occasionally that there are even worse political figures (and regimes) out there. Iran for instance, is about to execute the country’s leading hip hop musician Toomaj Salehi, for writing and performing raps that “corrupt” the nation’s ...
Yesterday marked 10 years since the first electric train carried passengers in Auckland so it’s a good time to look back at it and the impact it has had. A brief history The first proposals for rail electrification in Auckland came in the 1920’s alongside the plans for earlier ...
Right now, in Aotearoa-NZ, our ‘animal spirits’ are darkening towards a winter of discontent, thanks at least partly to a chorus of negative comments and actions from the Government Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on ...
You make people evil to punish the paststuck inside a sequel with a rotating castThe following photos haven’t been generated with AI, or modified in any way. They are flesh and blood, human beings. On the left is Galatea Young, a young mum, and her daughter Fiadh who has Angelman ...
April has been a quiet month at A Phuulish Fellow. I have had an exceptionally good reading month, and a decently productive writing month – for original fiction, anyway – but not much has caught my eye that suggested a blog article. It has been vaguely frustrating, to be honest. ...
A listing of 31 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, April 21, 2024 thru Sat, April 27, 2024. Story of the week Anthropogenic climate change may be the ultimate shaggy dog story— but with a twist, because here ...
Hi,I spent about a year on Webworm reporting on an abusive megachurch called Arise, and it made me want to stab my eyes out with a fork.I don’t regret that reporting in 2022 and 2023 — I am proud of it — but it made me angry.Over three main stories ...
The new Victoria University Vice-Chancellor decided to have a forum at the university about free speech and academic freedom as it is obviously a topical issue, and the Government is looking at legislating some carrots or sticks for universities to uphold their obligations under the Education and Training Act. They ...
Do you remember when Melania Trump got caught out using a speech that sounded awfully like one Michelle Obama had given? Uncannily so.Well it turns out that Abraham Lincoln is to Winston Peters as Michelle was to Melania. With the ANZAC speech Uncle Winston gave at Gallipoli having much in ...
She was born 25 years ago today in North Shore hospital. Her eyes were closed tightly shut, her mouth was silently moving. The whole theatre was all quiet intensity as they marked her a 2 on the APGAR test. A one-minute eternity later, she was an 8. The universe was ...
Skeptical Science is partnering with Gigafact to produce fact briefs — bite-sized fact checks of trending claims. This fact brief was written by Sue Bin Park in collaboration with members from our Skeptical Science team. You can submit claims you think need checking via the tipline. Is Antarctica gaining land ice? ...
Images of US students (and others) protesting and setting up tent cities on US university campuses have been broadcast world wide and clearly demonstrate the growing rifts in US society caused by US policy toward Israel and Israel’s prosecution of … Continue reading → ...
Barrie Saunders writes – Dear Paul As the new Minister of Media and Communications, you will be inundated with heaps of free advice and special pleading, all in the national interest of course. For what it’s worth here is my assessment: Traditional broadcasting free to air content through ...
Many criticisms are being made of the Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill, including by this writer. But as with everything in politics, every story has two sides, and both deserve attention. It’s important to understand what the Government is trying to achieve and its arguments for such a bold reform. ...
Peter Dunne writes – The great nineteenth British Prime Minister, William Gladstone, once observed that “the first essential for a Prime Minister is to be a good butcher.” When a later British Prime Minister, Harold Macmillan, sacked a third of his Cabinet in July 1962, in what became ...
Ele Ludemann writes – New Zealanders had the OECD’s second highest tax increase last year: New Zealanders faced the second-biggest tax raises in the developed world last year, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) says. The intergovernmental agency said the average change in personal income tax ...
We all know something’s not right with our elections. The spread of misinformation, people being targeted with soundbites and emotional triggers that ignore the facts, even the truth, and influence their votes.The use of technology to produce deep fakes. How can you tell if something is real or not? Can ...
This video includes conclusions of the creator climate scientist Dr. Simon Clark. It is presented to our readers as an informed perspective. Please see video description for references (if any). This year you will be lied to! Simon Clark helps prebunk some misleading statements you'll hear about climate. The video includes ...
It is all very well cutting the backrooms of public agencies but it may compromise the frontlines. One of the frustrations of the Productivity Commission’s 2017 review of universities is that while it observed that their non-academic staff were increasing faster than their academic staff, it did not bother to ...
Buzz from the Beehive Two speeches delivered by Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters at Anzac Day ceremonies in Turkey are the only new posts on the government’s official website since the PM announced his Cabinet shake-up. In one of the speeches, Peters stated the obvious: we live in a troubled ...
1. Which of these would you not expect to read in The Waikato Invader?a. Luxon is here to do business, don’t you worry about thatb. Mr KPI expects results, and you better believe itc. This decisive man of action is getting me all hot and excitedd. Melissa Lee is how ...
The Government is again adding to New Zealand’s growing unemployment, this time cutting jobs at the agencies responsible for urban development and growing much needed housing stock. ...
With Minister Karen Chhour indicating in the House today that she either doesn’t know or care about the frontline cuts she’s making to Oranga Tamariki, we risk seeing more and more of our children falling through the cracks. ...
The Labour Party is saddened to learn of the death of Sir Robert Martin, a globally renowned disability advocate who led the way for disability rights both in New Zealand and internationally. ...
Labour is calling for the Government to urgently rethink its coalition commitment to restart live animal exports, Labour animal welfare spokesperson Rachel Boyack said. ...
Today’s Financial Stability Report has once again highlighted that poverty and deep inequality are political choices - and this Government is choosing to make them worse. ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to do more for our households in most need as unemployment rises and the cost of living crisis endures. ...
Unemployment is on the rise and it’s only going to get worse under this Government, Labour finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds said. Stats NZ figures show the unemployment rate grew to 4.3 percent in the March quarter from 4 percent in the December quarter. “This is the second rise in unemployment ...
The New Zealand Labour Party welcomes the entering into force of the European Union and New Zealand free trade agreement. This agreement opens the door for a huge increase in trade opportunities with a market of 450 million people who are high value discerning consumers of New Zealand goods and ...
The National-led Government continues its fiscal jiggery pokery with its Pharmac announcement today, Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall says. “The government has increased Pharmac funding but conceded it will only make minimal increases in access to medicine”, said Ayesha Verrall “This is far from the bold promises made to fund ...
This afternoon’s interim Waitangi Tribunal report must be taken seriously as it affects our most vulnerable children, Labour children’s spokesperson Willow-Jean Prime. ...
Te Pāti Māori are demanding the New Zealand Government support an international independent investigation into mass graves that have been uncovered at two hospitals on the Gaza strip, following weeks of assault by Israeli troops. Among the 392 bodies that have been recovered, are children and elderly civilians. Many of ...
Our two-tiered system for veterans’ support is out of step with our closest partners, and all parties in Parliament should work together to fix it, Labour veterans’ affairs spokesperson Greg O’Connor said. ...
Stripping two Ministers of their portfolios just six months into the job shows Christopher Luxon’s management style is lacking, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said. ...
Tonight’s court decision to overturn the summons of the Children’s Minister has enabled the Crown to continue making decisions about Māori without evidence, says Te Pāti Māori spokesperson for Children, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi. “The judicial system has this evening told the nation that this government can do whatever they want when ...
It appears Nicola Willis is about to pull the rug out from under the feet of local communities still dealing with the aftermath of last year’s severe weather, and local councils relying on funding to build back from these disasters. ...
The Government is making short-sighted changes to the Resource Management Act (RMA) that will take away environmental protection in favour of short-term profits, Labour’s environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
Labour welcomes the release of the report into the North Island weather events and looks forward to working with the Government to ensure that New Zealand is as prepared as it can be for the next natural disaster. ...
The Labour Party has called for the New Zealand Government to recognise Palestine, as a material step towards progressing the two-State solution needed to achieve a lasting peace in the region. ...
Some of our country’s most important work, stopping the sexual exploitation of children and violent extremism could go along with staff on the frontline at ports and airports. ...
The Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill will give projects such as new coal mines a ‘get out of jail free’ card to wreak havoc on the environment, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said today. ...
The government's decision to reintroduce Three Strikes is a destructive and ineffective piece of law-making that will only exacerbate an inherently biased and racist criminal justice system, said Te Pāti Māori Justice Spokesperson, Tākuta Ferris, today. During the time Three Strikes was in place in Aotearoa, Māori and Pasifika received ...
Cuts to frontline hospital staff are not only a broken election promise, it shows the reckless tax cuts have well and truly hit the frontline of the health system, says Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall. ...
The Green Party has joined the call for public submissions on the fast-track legislation to be extended after the Ombudsman forced the Government to release the list of organisations invited to apply just hours before submissions close. ...
New Zealand’s good work at reducing climate emissions for three years in a row will be undone by the National government’s lack of ambition and scrapping programmes that were making a difference, Labour Party climate spokesperson Megan Woods said today. ...
More essential jobs could be on the chopping block, this time Ministry of Education staff on the school lunches team are set to find out whether they're in line to lose their jobs. ...
Te Pāti Māori is disgusted at the confirmation that hundreds are set to lose their jobs at Oranga Tamariki, and the disestablishment of the Treaty Response Unit. “This act of absolute carelessness and out of touch decision making is committing tamariki to state abuse.” Said Te Pāti Māori Oranga Tamariki ...
The Government is trying to bring in a law that will allow Ministers to cut corners and kill off native species, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said. ...
Cancelling urgently needed new Cook Strait ferries and hiking the cost of public transport for many Kiwis so that National can announce the prospect of another tunnel for Wellington is not making good choices, Labour Transport Spokesperson Tangi Utikere said. ...
A laundry list of additional costs for Tāmaki Makarau Auckland shows the Minister for the city is not delivering for the people who live there, says Labour Auckland Issues spokesperson Shanan Halbert. ...
Te Pāti Māori co-leader Rawiri Waititi, and Mema Paremata mō Tāmaki-Makaurau, Takutai Tarsh Kemp, will travel to the Gold Coast to strengthen ties with Māori in Australia next week (15-21 April). The visit, in the lead-up to the 9th Australian National Kapa haka Festival, will be an opportunity for both ...
The Government is modernising insurance law to better protect Kiwis and provide security in the event of a disaster, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly announced today. “These reforms are long overdue. New Zealand’s insurance law is complicated and dated, some of which is more than 100 years old. ...
The coalition Government is refreshing its approach to supporting pay equity claims as time-limited funding for the Pay Equity Taskforce comes to an end, Public Service Minister Nicola Willis says. “Three years ago, the then-government introduced changes to the Equal Pay Act to support pay equity bargaining. The changes were ...
Structured literacy will change the way New Zealand children learn to read - improving achievement and setting students up for success, Education Minister Erica Stanford says. “Being able to read and write is a fundamental life skill that too many young people are missing out on. Recent data shows that ...
Trade Minister Todd McClay says Canada’s refusal to comply in full with a CPTPP trade dispute ruling in our favour over dairy trade is cynical and New Zealand has no intention of backing down. Mr McClay said he has asked for urgent legal advice in respect of our ‘next move’ ...
The rights of our children and young people will be enhanced by changes the coalition Government will make to strengthen oversight of the Oranga Tamariki system, including restoring a single Children’s Commissioner. “The Government is committed to delivering better public services that care for our most at-risk young people and ...
The Government is making it easier for minor changes to be made to a building consent so building a home is easier and more affordable, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “The coalition Government is focused on making it easier and cheaper to build homes so we can ...
New Zealand lost a true legend when internationally renowned disability advocate Sir Robert Martin (KNZM) passed away at his home in Whanganui last night, Disabilities Issues Minister Louise Upston says. “Our Government’s thoughts are with his wife Lynda, family and community, those he has worked with, the disability community in ...
Good evening – Before discussing the challenges and opportunities facing New Zealand’s foreign policy, we’d like to first acknowledge the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs. You have contributed to debates about New Zealand foreign policy over a long period of time, and we thank you for hosting us. ...
From today, passengers travelling internationally from Auckland Airport will be able to keep laptops and liquids in their carry-on bags for security screening thanks to new technology, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Creating a more efficient and seamless travel experience is important for holidaymakers and businesses, enabling faster movement through ...
People with an interest in the health of Northland’s marine ecosystems are invited to a public meeting to discuss how to deal with kina barrens, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones will lead the discussion, which will take place on Friday, 10 May, at Awanui Hotel in ...
Kiwi exporters are $100 million better off today with the NZ EU FTA entering into force says Trade Minister Todd McClay. “This is all part of our plan to grow the economy. New Zealand's prosperity depends on international trade, making up 60 per cent of the country’s total economic activity. ...
There are heartening signs that the extractive sector is once again becoming an attractive prospect for investors and a source of economic prosperity for New Zealand, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. “The beginnings of a resurgence in extractive industries are apparent in media reports of the sector in the past ...
The return of the historic Ō-Rākau battle site to the descendants of those who fought there moved one step closer today with the first reading of Te Pire mō Ō-Rākau, Te Pae o Maumahara / The Ō-Rākau Remembrance Bill. The Bill will entrust the 9.7-hectare battle site, five kilometres west ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has announced 25 new high-speed EV charging hubs along key routes between major urban centres and outlined the Government’s plan to supercharge New Zealand’s EV infrastructure. The hubs will each have several chargers and be capable of charging at least four – and up to 10 ...
The coalition Government will not proceed with the previous Government’s plans to regulate residential property managers, Housing Minister Chris Bishop says. “I have written to the Chairperson of the Social Services and Community Committee to inform him that the Government does not intend to support the Residential Property Managers Bill ...
The Government has announced an independent review into the disability support system funded by the Ministry of Disabled People – Whaikaha. Disability Issues Minister Louise Upston says the review will look at what can be done to strengthen the long-term sustainability of Disability Support Services to provide disabled people and ...
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith has attended the Universal Periodic Review in Geneva and outlined the Government’s plan to restore law and order. “Speaking to the United Nations Human Rights Council provided us with an opportunity to present New Zealand’s human rights progress, priorities, and challenges, while responding to issues and ...
The Government and Rotorua Lakes Council are committed to working closely together to end the use of contracted emergency housing motels in Rotorua. Associate Minister of Housing (Social Housing) Tama Potaka says the Government remains committed to ending the long-term use of contracted emergency housing motels in Rotorua by the ...
Trade Minister Todd McClay heads overseas today for high-level trade talks in the Gulf region, and a key OECD meeting in Paris. Mr McClay will travel to Riyadh to meet with counterparts from Saudi Arabia and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). “New Zealand’s goods and services exports to the Gulf region ...
Education Minister Erica Stanford has outlined six education priorities to deliver a world-leading education system that sets Kiwi kids up for future success. “I’m putting ambition, achievement and outcomes at the heart of our education system. I want every child to be inspired and engaged in their learning so they ...
The new NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) App is a secure ‘one stop shop’ to provide the services drivers need, Transport Minister Simeon Brown and Digitising Government Minister Judith Collins say. “The NZTA App will enable an easier way for Kiwis to pay for Vehicle Registration and Road User Charges (RUC). ...
Whānau with tamariki growing up in emergency housing motels will be prioritised for social housing starting this week, says Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka. “Giving these whānau a better opportunity to build healthy stable lives for themselves and future generations is an essential part of the Government’s goal of reducing ...
Racing Minister Winston Peters has paid tribute to an icon of the industry with the recent passing of Dave O’Sullivan (OBE). “Our sympathies are with the O’Sullivan family with the sad news of Dave O’Sullivan’s recent passing,” Mr Peters says. “His contribution to racing, initially as a jockey and then ...
Assalaamu alaikum, greetings to you all. Eid Mubarak, everyone! I want to extend my warmest wishes to you and everyone celebrating this joyous occasion. It is a pleasure to be here. I have enjoyed Eid celebrations at Parliament before, but this is my first time joining you as the Minister ...
Associate Health Minister David Seymour has announced Pharmac’s largest ever budget of $6.294 billion over four years, fixing a $1.774 billion fiscal cliff. “Access to medicines is a crucial part of many Kiwis’ lives. We’ve committed to a budget allocation of $1.774 billion over four years so Kiwis are ...
Hon Paula Bennett has been appointed as member and chair of the Pharmac board, Associate Health Minister David Seymour announced today. "Pharmac is a critical part of New Zealand's health system and plays a significant role in ensuring that Kiwis have the best possible access to medicines,” says Mr Seymour. ...
Hundreds of New Zealand families affected by Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) will benefit from a new Government focus on prevention and treatment, says Health Minister Dr Shane Reti. “We know FASD is a leading cause of preventable intellectual and neurodevelopmental disability in New Zealand,” Dr Reti says. “Every day, ...
Regional Development Minister Shane Jones today attended the official opening of Kaikohe’s new $14.7 million sports complex. “The completion of the Kaikohe Multi Sports Complex is a fantastic achievement for the Far North,” Mr Jones says. “This facility not only fulfils a long-held dream for local athletes, but also creates ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters’ engagements in Türkiye this week underlined the importance of diplomacy to meet growing global challenges. “Returning to the Gallipoli Peninsula to represent New Zealand at Anzac commemorations was a sombre reminder of the critical importance of diplomacy for de-escalating conflicts and easing tensions,” Mr Peters ...
Ambassador Millar, Burgemeester, Vandepitte, Excellencies, military representatives, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen – good morning and welcome to this sacred Anzac Day dawn service. It is an honour to be here on behalf of the Government and people of New Zealand at Buttes New British Cemetery, Polygon Wood – a deeply ...
Distinguished guests - It is an honour to return once again to this site which, as the resting place for so many of our war-dead, has become a sacred place for generations of New Zealanders. Our presence here and at the other special spaces of Gallipoli is made ...
Mai ia tawhiti pamamao, te moana nui a Kiwa, kua tae whakaiti mai matou, ki to koutou papa whenua. No koutou te tapuwae, no matou te tapuwae, kua honoa pumautia. Ko nga toa kua hinga nei, o te Waipounamu, o te Ika a Maui, he okioki tahi me o ...
Paul Goldsmith will take on responsibility for the Media and Communications portfolio, while Louise Upston will pick up the Disability Issues portfolio, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon announced today. “Our Government is relentlessly focused on getting New Zealand back on track. As issues change in prominence, I plan to adjust Ministerial ...
Recreational catch limits will be reduced in areas of Fiordland and the Chatham Islands to help keep those fisheries healthy and sustainable, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. The lower recreational daily catch limits for a range of finfish and shellfish species caught in the Fiordland Marine Area and ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed an important milestone in New Zealand’s hydrogen future, with the opening of the country’s first network of hydrogen refuelling stations in Wiri. “I want to congratulate the team at Hiringa Energy and its partners K one W one (K1W1), Mitsui & Co New Zealand ...
The coalition Government is delivering on its commitment to improve resource management laws and give greater certainty to consent applicants, with a Bill to amend the Resource Management Act (RMA) expected to be introduced to Parliament next month. RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop has today outlined the first RMA Amendment ...
Overseas models for regulating the oil and gas sector, including their decommissioning regimes, are being carefully scrutinised as a potential template for New Zealand’s own sector, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. The Coalition Government is focused on rebuilding investor confidence in New Zealand’s energy sector as it looks to strengthen ...
Emergency Management and Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell has today released the Report of the Government Inquiry into the response to the North Island Severe Weather Events. “The report shows that New Zealand’s emergency management system is not fit-for-purpose and there are some significant gaps we need to address,” Mr Mitchell ...
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith is today travelling to Europe where he’ll update the United Nations Human Rights Council on the Government’s work to restore law and order. “Attending the Universal Periodic Review in Geneva provides us with an opportunity to present New Zealand’s human rights progress, priorities, and challenges, while ...
Associate Agriculture Minister, Mark Patterson, formally reopened the world’s largest wool processing facility today in Awatoto, Napier, following a $50 million rebuild and refurbishment project. “The reopening of this facility will significantly lift the economic opportunities available to New Zealand’s wool sector, which already accounts for 20 per cent of ...
Asia Pacific Report A West Papuan resistance leader has condemned the United Nations role in allowing Indonesia to “integrate” the Melanesian Pacific region in what is claimed to be an “egregious act of inhumanity” on 1 May 1963. In an open letter to UN Secretary-General António Guterres, Organisasi Papua Merdeka-OPM ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra A key part of the Albanese government’s political strategy is to fill the news cycle with its presence and messaging. Ministers are deployed to the maximum, even when they’ve little to say. This week ...
Recent extreme weather events showed the importance of a well-functioning insurance system, says Commerce and Consumer Affairs minister Andrew Bayly. ...
By Jo Moir, RNZ News political editor, and Craig McCulloch, deputy political editor New Zealand’s Labour Party is demanding Winston Peters be stood down as Foreign Minister for opening up the government to legal action over his “totally unacceptable” attack on a prominent AUKUS critic. In an interview on RNZ’s ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Christian Brakenridge, Postdoctoral research fellow at Swinburne University, Centre for Urban Transitions, Baker Heart and Diabetes Institute The Conversation, Gorodenkoff/Shutterstock People have a pretty intuitive sense of what is healthy – standing is better than sitting, exercise is great for overall ...
The Wellington-based Reserve Force soldier is now almost three years into his New Zealand Army career with 5th/7th Battalion, Royal New Zealand Infantry Regiment. ...
"The Government needs to release the review immediately as this reckless approach to change risks disjointed decision making and creates more distress and uncertainty for staff," Fitzsimons said. ...
By Koroi Hawkins, RNZ Pacific editor Jeremiah Manele has been elected Prime Minister of Solomon Islands, polling 31 votes to 18 over rival candidate and former opposition leader Mathew Wale with one abstention. The final result of the election by secret ballot was announced by the Governor-General, Sir David Vunagi, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Priestley Habru, PhD candidate, public diplomacy, University of Adelaide Former foreign minister Jeremiah Manele has been elected the next prime minister of Solomon Islands, defeating the opposition leader, Matthew Wale, in a vote in parliament. The result is a mixed bag for ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Shaun Eaves, Senior Lecturer in Physical Geography, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington Jamey Stutz, CC BY-SA How often do mountains collapse, volcanoes erupt or ice sheets melt? For Earth scientists, these are important questions as we try ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michael Flood, Professor of Sociology, Queensland University of Technology Shutterstock Most young adult men in Australia reject traditional ideas of masculinity that endorse aggression, stoicism and homophobia. Nonetheless, the ongoing influence of those ideas continues to harm men and the people ...
The NZQA proposal released to staff today would involve a net loss of 35 roles. There are 66 roles being disestablished with 13 of those currently vacant, and 31 new roles proposed, said Fleur Fitzsimons Public Service Association Te Pūkenga Here Tikanga ...
Alex Casey talks to Loren Taylor, the writer, director and star of new film The Moon is Upside Down, about assembling her dream ensemble cast, toilet paper pads and turning literal dreams into reality. There’s a moment in The Moon is Upside Down where frazzled anaesthetist Briar (Loren Taylor) gets ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Cassy Dittman, Senior Lecturer/Head of Course (Undergraduate Psychology), Research Fellow, Manna Institute, CQUniversity Australia With winter sports swinging into action, adults around the country have volunteered or been volunteered by others (humorously known as being “volun-told”) to coach junior sports teams. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Karleen Gribble, Adjunct Associate Professor, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Western Sydney University richardernestyap/Shutterstock Parents are often advised to burp their babies after feeding them. Some people think burping after feeding is important to reduce or prevent discomfort crying, or to ...
Workers at a major ASB contact centre in Auckland have voted to take strike action and withdraw their labour following disappointing pay negotiations with the employer and an "offer" to workers that would leave them worse off than the previous year. ...
As the government tries to get the country back on track with a school phone ban, Tara Ward has an idea for where they should turn their attention to next.New Zealand students returned to school on Monday morning, but their cellphones did not. The government’s new phone ban began ...
The Labour Party is demanding Peters be stood down, saying "he's embarrassed the country" with a "totally unacceptable" attack on a prominent AUKUS critic. ...
The Inter-Parliamentary Alliance, whose members were victims of a China-backed cyber attack, is discussing forming a standing committee to deal with foreign influence. ...
The PSA is concerned that the voluntary redundancies being offered to staff by Stats NZ will impact on the agency’s ability to deliver on its core functions. ...
Results ranged from surprisingly yum to soul-destroying. I love cooking. The kitchen is a hearth of culinary creation, of sensory delights, of gastronomic poetry. I also can’t afford anything nice. Why does a pack of instant noodles and some milk cost ten bucks? I love you, Aotearoa, but I miss ...
By Koroi Hawkins, RNZ Pacific editor Police in Solomon Islands are on high alert ahead of the election of the prime minister today. The two candidates for the top job are former foreign affairs minister Jeremiah Manele at the head of the Coalition for National Unity and Transformation, which is ...
He’s fine but it feels like I’m losing a friend and it’s making me bitter. How do I say ‘enough is enough’? Want Hera’s help? Email your problem to helpme@thespinoff.co.nzHey Hera,I’ve recently moved in with a girlfriend, her partner Steve, and his friend. We all live in a lovely little house. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Nick Chartres, Senior Research Fellow, Faculty of Medicine & Health, University of Sydney shutterstockAhmet Misirligul/Shutterstock You go to the gym, eat healthy and walk as much as possible. You wash your hands and get vaccinated. You control your health. This is ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jacqueline Hendriks, Research Fellow and Lecturer, Curtin University Children and young people may be seeing news headlines about men murdering women or footage of people rallying to call for action. Perhaps they or their friends have even gone to the protests. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jessica Balanzategui, Senior Lecturer in Media, RMIT University ABC “Bluey mania” shows no sign of abating. Bluey’s season finale, The Sign, was the most viewed ABC program of all time on iView. A “hidden” follow-up episode, aptly named The Surprise, created ...
Labour market figures came in softer than the Reserve Bank had forecast, but they won’t be enough to move the needle on interest rates, writes Catherine McGregor in this excerpt from The Bulletin, The Spinoff’s morning news round-up. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here. Unemployment ...
The campaign will engage the community and encourage submissions on the bill to the New Zealand government by the closing submission deadline of Friday 31st of May 2024 4pm. ...
The paper raises concerns about declining trust in New Zealand's political institutions and democratic processes, and the role that the overuse of Parliamentary urgency plays in that. ...
The Urban Habitat Collective was an attempt to built an innovative new form of apartment building in Wellington. Here’s why it failed, and why the idea could still work, writes co-founder Bronwen Newton. When we started the Urban Habitat Collective in November 2018, we thought we were starting a revolution, ...
Two decades ago this week, a controversial law that attempted to define ownership of the foreshore and seabed prompted a formidable display of outrage and kōtahitanga as 15,000 marched to parliament. Jamie Tahana looks back.‘Hīkoi, hīkoi,” they chanted by the thousands as the biggest Māori march in a generation ...
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The UN will be investigating the ‘disproportionate and indiscriminate use of force by the Israeli occupying forces .
Time for sanctions.
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/gaza-killings-israel-hamas-un-war-crimes-investigate-border-deaths-sniper-a8357981.html
I doubt that will ever happen, but we can hope.
Waste of time does the un ever achieve anything?
The UN has achieved a lot – when the US wasn’t deliberately preventing it.
Ed, the OIC has just declared political measures against countries recognising Jerusalem as the capital.
Have been watching the OIC summit live on Al Jazeera this morning,Erdogan is currently speaking.
The BDS movement is gaining in strength.
What are they doing still boycotting soda stream and Teva medicines ?
Trolling for the apartheid Israeli state now.
How low can you go?
🙄
“If you are planning to be a lifelong renter, a reality check.”
That has to be the most hilarious opening line I’ve read for a long time…there is a serious disconnect of understanding in this country between home owners and actual ‘lifelong renters’.
very very few people in this country, with options/money would ever rent their whole life, seriously
https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/104021981/renters-planning-to-be-tenants-in-retirement-face-big-savings-target
The fact is high rentals have destroyed the social fabric of this country and the only exits are the social housing or home ownership at any price.
Clearly Stuff need to quote better experts.
Nice piece of archeological work.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12043041
Not very flash of Kim Hill to claim the “Are Hamas killing their youth” (so-called) question as her own this morning’s interview with Dr Ramzy Baroud. It’s been a while since I tuned into Saturday mornings. Oh well.
And did I just hear her comment rather off-handedly that his sister will be “busy” given that she’s in Gaza?!
Yes Bill, her evolution to a system lacky has been slow but certain.
She’s come the odd cropper though, including this memorable occasion fifteen years ago when John Pilger took her to task for her smug and complacent introductory comments…
https://www.nzonscreen.com/title/face-to-face-with-kim-hill-john-pilger-2003
You can’t make an omelet without breaking eggs billy.
Lots of little eggs gabby …. 2014: Operation Protective Egg: Killed / Broken 495 were children and 253 women.
Life in Gaza
1.8m people / eggs living in Gaza
4,505 per square kilometre
475,000 living in emergency shelters or with other families
17,200 homes destroyed or severely damaged by Israeli attacks
244 schools damaged
Source: Ocha (26 August 2014)
2008, as part of Operation Cast Egg . Around 1,391 Palestinians were killed, including an estimated 759 civilians, according to B’Tselem. Reports say this included 344 children eggs and 110 women eggs.
19 medic eggs shot in one day 10.30 mins
Hamas is going to get sick of omelets at that rate reasy, or maybe not.
I think your comparing eggs to grass gabbzy
https://www.nrc.no/news/2018/april/gaza-the-worlds-largest-open-air-prison/
“Israel’s favorite metaphor for its periodic strikes on Gaza—”mowing the lawn”—suggests violence that is routine, indiscriminate, and risk-free.”
The regular pattern is for Israel, then, to disregard whatever agreement is in place, while Hamas observes it — as Israel has officially recognized — until a sharp increase in Israeli violence elicits a Hamas response, followed by even fiercer brutality. These escalations, which amount to shooting fish in a pond, are called “mowing the lawn” in Israeli parlance.
“Israeli military strategists talk, chillingly, of “mowing the lawn”. Even leaving aside the morally questionable nature of seeing human flesh as grass”
Eggs / grass aside …. Hamas are a red herring … “The Gaza open air prison camp where 1.94 million Palestinians live behind a blockade and are refused access to the other occupied Palestinian areas and the rest of the world is the problem”. ….
Half of all children have been psychologically traumatised by war, occupation and blockade. Close to 300,000 children need psychosocial help.
Same with The west bank where …. “ • Israeli terrorists, both soldiers and settlers, harass, kidnap, and kill Palestinians with almost complete impunity.
• Also in the West Bank, countless checkpoints are established and manned by Israeli terrorists/soldiers. When these are open and closed is completely arbitrary. They make the simple act of going to school or work an hours-long ordeal. People have died at checkpoints when seeking emergency medical treatment, simply because the Israelis manning them didn’t feel like letting them through
• Over 550,000 Israeli settlers live in the West Bank, in violation of international law.
• Palestine homes are routinely bulldozed, leaving the families that resided in them homeless, to make room for new Jewish-only roads or illegal housing developments.”
http://johnpilger.com/videos/palestine-is-still-the-issue
“Hamas represents a large constituency. Many Gazans voted for the party because they were disgusted with the corruption of the secular Fatah movement and were impressed with the social service system Hamas had created. Like other resistance movements—the African National Congress, the Irish Republican Army—Hamas was on its way toward becoming a political party. “…
“if you claim to respect democracy, you must recognize the results of free and fair elections. And if you want a party to change its position—and it’s willing to talk—you have to sit down at the table and negotiate with it.,,, But Israel—and by extension the United States—didn’t choose this option.”
https://www.alternet.org/noam-chomsky-real-reason-israel-mows-lawn-gaza
https://fpif.org/mowing-lawn-gaza/
https://www.mintpressnews.com/counting-israels-next-mowing-lawn-palestine/216640/
Yes, I was stunned when she put it to Dr Ramzy Baroud that is is very hard for Israel to except that Palestinians want the right to return to their land (or some such)
If someone stole stuff from you 70 years ago, and you’ve been asking for it back for 70 years why in the name of all things sane should the thief be shown compassion because they don’t want to give the stolen goods back?
Was she just being the devils advocate?
I do hope so.
Though she even insulted him suggesting he wasn’t alive during the 87 intifada, therefore I suppose without the right to speak for those who were. But he replied with modesty and courtesy that she didn’t deserve.
As Baroud said, we’re sick of hearing about Israels rights.
And another point is, that if Jews have the right to return to a land they claim was theirs 2000 years ago, why do Palestinians not have the same right to return to land that was theirs 70 years ago.
http://subzpsubzp.blogspot.co.nz/2018/01/farrars-honeymoon-scam_19.html?m=1
I posted this on open mike on the 17th, but it might of got lost with the budget stuff.
This written by sword fish”……..it’s about how the meme about the honey moon bounce in the polls was started by Ferrari and picked up by msm and spouted as fact
This is a must read. Maybe even post it with sword fishes permission.
We need more of this
I thought that Grant Robertson looked good on The Nation this morning. A bit like a younger version of Steven Joyce in a good way.
Ten years as an MP, three years in Opposition with finance responsibilities, and now as Minister of Finance he comes across as in control of his job and responsibilities.
He looks to be a financial asset for the Government, and has the potential to be a real asset for the country if he stays on track as a prudent and incremental progressive.
Labour may end up benefiting more from his behind the scenes work than from the surface celebrity of Ardern.
Unfortunately for the country GR probably does not underatand that incrementalism is a death sentence in a myriad of ways…
Neither do you Pete George…it seems from your comment…
How many disingenuous statements can you identify in your comment…don’t confuse with the backhanded compliments or memes…they’re slightly different…
One Two, Incrementalism is not fashionable but it is sensible.
Michael Cullen and Labour introduced Kiwi Saver. The impact is only now being truly felt and understood for some nearing home ownership or retirement. That is ten+ years for the policy to really make a difference in people’s lives. It will continue to do good for people and the country.
The so called “Cullen Fund” has countered our debt and added strength to our current retirement planning…. again ten+ years in the making and strengthened by this Government
Both policies were so valuable that the last National Government watered them down, but did not remove them.
That this budget of 2018 is a “Foundation Budget” working towards by increments to the “Well being Budget” of 2019, which will be a world wide first, putting people and the environment front and centre, with money as the change agent used in clever ways to achieve a sustainable way of living.
Any person repeating national memes of “no plan” “we did more” “we are better” “the election was stolen” “not enough” has not been paying attention.
After 9+ years of squeeze… there are so many voices in the wilderness and this new Government cares and that is why they are working so hard and so fast to try to mitigate the many tragic circumstances some people face… it will never be enough for some, but they are doing what they said they would. Put people and environment first incrementally. Sadly powerful forces in the world and here do not like change that shares wealth or power, so working incrementally is key. “Good things take time”
+100
Robertson in the steps of Cullen is simply doing what a wise Minister of Finance does: invest for the long term.
Lest I forget, I am on record here being very skeptical of Roberston and he is proving me wrong.
It is good to hear you praise Grant Robertson and I agree with you PG. He is clearly on top of his job. But I take issue with your depiction of Jacinda Ardern as a “surface celebrity”. If you really believe that is all there is to her, then your judgement of her is seriously awry.
While this is the picture her Nat opponents are trying to paint of Jacinda, all the evidence has succeeded in proving the exact opposite. She is highly intelligent and has a maturity well beyond her years. Her grasp of national and international affairs is equal to her predecessor, Helen Clark and the respect and confidence in her that her overseas counterparts have openly expressed… is testament to that. Add to that her strength of character and resilience, and there’s not much more one could ask for.
Her rhetorical skills are right up there too – she absolutely savaged the hapless Bridges with natural triplets and juxtapositions like “too much shouty shouty and not enough planny planny”.
The Gnats, accorded too much sunshine by a limp media, have neglected their skills and become accustomed to lying as a default strategy. It’s weak.
“Her grasp of national and international affairs is equal to her predecessor, Helen Clark ”
You have got to be kidding on that one.
Not at all – Helen never got anything like the ringing endorsement Jacinda got from Angela Merkel. Gnat wishful thinking has fooled you guys bigtime about Jacinda – sure she presents well, but she’s got plenty of depth, and is a much better communicator. There is a sincerity about her which is rare in contemporary politicians – reminiscent of Edward Walker’s description of Ivy.
Of course if you take your views from tragic mistakes like Malcolm Turnbull or the near-sighted and vindictive scribblers of the Herald you won’t pick that up.
Pete George, They are truly complementary. But personally I would like Grant to be more progressive. Jacinda Ardern has cut-through. She has the ability to connect emotionally and shows judgement in having Grant Robertson in that portfolio. Do not think Jacinda is ‘surface’ only. She is a policy wonk with a phenomenal grasp of complexities, and any who work with her soon show admiration for her acumen work ethic and humanity, coupled with sharp wit and eloquence. She is the coalition’s glue.
What do you mean by “behind the scenes work”? Stuff that cannot bear the bright sunlight of transparency and accountability?
Yawn….
How come I keep getting this, when I try to post reminisces of my time in Syria?
Because TS server is not responding because of a ‘Request Timeout’
You know, like it’s given up waiting for you to post your
comment.
it detected the phrase “my time in syria” 🙂
It detected the phrase “my time with the Hay’et Tahrir al-Shamin (read ISIS) in the Yarmouk Syrian refugee camp”
Clever wee server
To Lynn Prent: what happened to the Replies drop-down menu on the RH side? I can only see Comments or Opinions but no longer the replies to my comments!?
Edit: As soon as I submit a comment my details disappear too and I have to re-enter them for each and every comment, which is cumbersome 😉
Have you changed settings in your browser? Specifically, cookie settings?
No, I haven’t knowingly changed anything. But to be sure I played around with settings in two different browsers (MS Edge and G Chrome) and ran a few tests here on TS and it made no difference.
Same as for me.
I just noticed it as I commented to that my required name and mail get wiped automatically too. I’m using Firefox and it did update to V60.0.1 the other night between my latest reply with the fields empty and my previous one when they auto-filled in. Mozilla has been making a lot of security changes to Firefox with every update.
I have lost my automatic login and have to enter info individually with a different icon thing. I thought it might be connected with my site going down last night – through Vodafone but it seems that others have problems too. I have Firefox too, and have been getting red notices that I have too update my details which I haven’t got round to.
Same. Firefox 60 has some big CSS rendering changes under the hood. Developer-oriented link at end of this page: https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/60.0/releasenotes/
Ah. Same behaviour in Chrome 61.0 as well.
Drill baby, drill
https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/104024959/rise-in-oil-and-gas-exploration-activity-in-taranaki-by-early-2019
My advice to these companies; Don’t
Related:
New Zealand will still be drilling for oil in the deep sea in 2070?!?
When climate change is due to have ravaged most of the natural world.
When super storms are tearing up all infrastructure and making industrial civilisation and agriculture a marginal proposition.
Another day waking up to find there has been another US shooting. They are becoming so common in the US. But then when you have a lobby group like the NRA sponsored by gun manufacturers legally bribing politicians to make sure that no legislation is passed to slow these things down and protect the people, what can you expect.
The NRA in the US has no shame having elected a man as their NRA president who in testimony has admitted to being a Traitor to his own country and selling guns to those deemed terrorist organizations by the US. He only got out of jail time on a technicality because a lot of the evidence used to convict him was found to be inadmissible as it was given by him during a hearing to a congressional hearing while he was under an immunity deal.
These are the sort of problems you have when you give lobbyists access to legally bribe politicians. This was something you saw in very minor ways starting to creep into NZ under previous National Governments with their Cabinet Club dinners where lobbyists got full access to National MPs and the former PM John Key. Here we saw a small number of deaths to with no one really held accountable, but the deaths here where due to lobbying for lax safety enforcement in places like the logging and mining industry.
Apparently 22 school shooting this year!!
The shooter was 17.
A comment made about one young USA shooter has stuck with me. He is supposed to have said something like – society is so bad and everyone is contemptible and humans destroying the earth and that it would be better if all of us died. It is dangerous for young people to start thinking like this before they have had layers of denial of the reality of their, and general human behaviour, to insulate him.
The NZ Herald have run a very interesting and full piece on early Maori history and artefacts found.
Myth of Mangahawea: How scientists uncovered the home of our earliest Polynesian arrivals 19/5/2018
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12043041
Another item from 17/5/2018 on the apartheid-like laws that used to be the norm in earlier times. A book explores that history.
‘Racist as f***’: Book backs up Taika Waititi’s claims about New Zealand racism
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12053300
Looking at archives and old newspapers, he discovered Māori were treated as “enemies of the state”, long after the Waikato War had finished.
“During a series of epidemics, Māori were banned from moving about the country, because their brown skin was equated with disease,” Hamilton said.
“When smallpox broke out in 1913, Māori villages were sealed off, and Māori were banned from the roads and from trains unless they had a special certificate showing they’d been immunised.
“No Pākehā was ever subjected to these rules. They were blatantly racist, made life almost impossible for Māori, and were in force for many months.”
Māori were also excluded from bars, cinemas and barber shops in South Auckland.
“For much of the 20th century it was hard to get a drink in places like Papakura and Pukekohe if you were the wrong colour,” Hamilton said.
The book details the experience of Rongomanu Bennett, a Māori psychiatrist who was refused a beer in the Papakura Tavern in 1959.
He began a campaign and made headlines around the world.
“The New York Times called Papakura ‘the Little Rock of New Zealand’, after the Arkansas city where African Americans were fighting segregation,” Hamilton said.
The Prime Minister at the time eventually backed up Bennett, and Papakura Tavern agreed to serve Māori.
“Book backs up Taika Waititi’s claims about New Zealand racism”
didn’t he say “racist as fuck”
he didn’t say “was”
all this is before he was born.
Apparently in the 70’s there was separate seating for Māori patrons in the Pukekohe theatre. Two years ago, I heard the Tangata Whenua providing a report on the health of a stream in a council meeting being referred to as ‘n*****s’. As residents of Franklin we have the misfortune to receive the eLocal, ensuring at least one Māori bashing article per issue. My list of present day casual racism witnessed is long, but others would be much longer, and no doubt, more damaging.
Bastion Point was in 1976.
Moutoa Gardens 1995.
Foreshore and Seabed Act 2004.
Tuhoe raid – Operation 8 2007.
These have happened in this generation.
Are you sure that you are living in this country, if you think Taika Waititi doesn’t have a point?
All I was saying was that the book quoted only stuff from when before Taika Waititi was born.
Yeah new Zealand is racist IMO in that some members of all races hate other races.
Your comment implied that Taiki Waititi had no evidence to back up the present tense. I provided a small number, which you ignored.
If you want to maintain your complacency over the specific racism directed towards Maaori in New Zealand, then continue on as you are. Ignore the living reality of Tangata Whenua and dilute any conversation with generalisations. I’m sure your comfort level will not be disturbed.
There’s an article about a book dealing with historical racism – it was used in relation to Taika Waititi’s comment I pointed out the two did not overlap in terms of history – and lo abuse cometh in my direction. I did not ignore the references you made – I have no argument with them. Your focus is on specific racism towards maori – I find all racism objectionable and I tire of one category of racism being portrayed as more important than others.
If you find abuse in my comment, then I’m not surprised at your perspective.
Generalising about racism, particularly noticeable in NZ is an avoidance technique. No one has suggested that racism is not a global issue. My response to you paraphrases the BLM movement: “Racism towards Maaori matters as well.”. I haven’t seen you acknowledge that the existence of it still causes damage and is harmful.
Let’s acknowledge that racism etc occurs all around the world in Tom Lehrer’s inimitable style.
Then let’s get back to regarding Maori people respectfully and understand their strivings to cope in our capitalist world of take from above (the Highland Clearings syndrome). It should be noted that –
Sir Francis Henry Dillon Bell GCMG KC PC was a New Zealand lawyer and politician who served as the Prime Minister of New Zealand from 10 to 30 May 1925. Wikipedia
considered Maori communist because they shared and lived co-operatively, not coldly, individually with rich and abject poor as the settlers were prepared to do. (This is in my memory, and I can’t quote source.) And this country’s citizens are increasingly adopting the same behaviour as a satisfactory culture now.
We have much to learn from Maori in living with those of a different culture and be co-operative to the advantage of both. When we acknowledge that, we will be able to turn aside lingering accusations of racism.
Thanks, greywarshark for the well considered comment and link.
Flies have short memories too.
What an amazing coincidence.
Sergei Skripal is sneaked out of hospital the day before the Royal Wedding.
How convenient.
And how convenient for the lying corrupt British state has a compliant media that asks no difficulty questions.
The only reason you know about it is that the BBC et al reported on it. Otherwise, it falls under the category of “none of your goddamn business how people who’ve survived attempted murder choose to convalesce”.
PS: witless assumptions and slavish adherence to Moscow propaganda do not generate “difficult questions”. They just say something about you.
I don’t ‘listen to Moscow.’
I listen to the brilliant George Galloway.
I liked him best crawling around on all fours pretending to be a cat.
Correct again Ed. The lamestream who can dish the dirt on anyone they so choose, have no idea what’s happened to the two victims in the biggest story in Britain. What the hell!
The only fatalities of the event were two guinea pigs and a cat.
And they died of starvation, poor creatures.
‘Industrial strength’ novichok.
They just think we are fools to believe the lies they spin.
They could at least have notified the Russian embassy eddy.
Give them another chance?
Would they have sent a wet team to get him leaving the Hospital?
John le Carre would have a ball with this affair.
You need to look at how implausible MI5’s lies on this are.
Ed, Listening Post doing story re media coverage and Israel/Palestine, tune in, is live now, 🙂
Thank you
Generally speaking, police don’t keep suspects up to date with developments in ongoing investigations.
I’d forgotten how much you hated Russia.
Try again Ed: Russia is an official suspect of the UK investigation, no matter how much you love or hate them. Suspects don’t get updates; saying so makes no statement as to guilt whatsoever.
I suggest you educate yourself by listening to Galloway, Murray, Ford and others on the subject.
Independent, intelligent sources.
Don’t rely on what May and Johnson tell you.
Suspects don’t get updates, Ed, no matter what the man who introduced Nadira Alieva to spanking says.
You’re trying to be witty. Bad idea.
You’re trying to do an impression of an airbag. It’s very good.
As I said, you shouldn’t be trying to be funny. It’s almost as bad as listening to Jim Mora trying to sound serious.
Blows up in an instant but on inspection, is void of anything substantive.
Was going more for “apt metaphor” than humour.
Why is oab always so aggressive?
Youry addingy y toy people’s namesy isy really tediousy already.
The media could at least ask some questions.
Oh, but they’re all at Windsor Castle, simpering away.
Useful fools.
they’re all at Windsor Castle
Apart from Steven Morris and Patrick Wintour and Jill Lawless and Andrew Griffin and Fiona Hamilton and Leila Nathoo, who’ve all had stories on the Skripal poisoning published in the last 24 hours, that is.
You get the point.
It’s a perfect day to make a story disappear.
Are you being argumentative for arguments sake?
Quite tiring.
I get the point: you see conspiracies everywhere, and deeply resent any factual contradiction.
The Skripal poisoning requires a conspiracy, whoever you think did it.
You ‘see a conspiracy’ enacted by the Russians.
I accept there was a conspiracy. There had to be.
But I am not prepared to be judge, jury and executioner based on evidence presented by such dubious sources as MI5, Theresa May and Boris Johnson.
Also, you continually use the word conspiracy as if it were an insult.
Have you looked up what the word means in a dictionary?
To help, you….
noun
a secret plan by a group to do something unlawful or harmful.
“a conspiracy to destroy the government”
synonyms: plot, scheme, stratagem, plan, machination, cabal; More
the action of plotting or conspiring.
“they were cleared of conspiracy to pervert the course of justice”
synonyms: plotting, collusion, intrigue, connivance, machination, collaboration; treason
“he was due to stand trial for conspiracy to murder”
Ed is not a conspiracy theorist. From what I’ve seen he’s got a good grasp (of reality) in geopolitical, environmental and local issues, etc. Using good independent journalism Ed can’t really go wrong. Craig Murray, John Pilger, Robert Fisk, Rachel Stewart et al.
Craig Murray? A deeply compromised masochist fop (by his own admission) with no access.
Stewart is excellent, but then she doesn’t write foreign policy articles.
Pilger does some good work, despite his bias.
As for Fisk, The Intercept does a better job.
The intercept has some excellent contributing journalists.
Robert Mackey isn’t one of them.
What parts of the linked article did he get wrong?
What?
So first you link to an organisation as though to suggest the organisation is a person, and I simply point out that the person you linked to doesn’t measure up against the other journalists he shares a platform with, and then you ask a question that makes no sense whatsover.
If you want a sense of Robert Mackey’s journalism, read his NYT and Guardian pieces. He tends towards being descriptive.
edit – if you want to argue with yourself over what Mackey did and didn’t get wrong in that piece, you could begin with the content of the 148 comments it attracted. They cover it off quite well. 😉
“as though to suggest”?
All I suggested is that The Intercept (or Mackey if you prefer) did a better job than Fisk on this occasion, which is pertinent to Maui’s assertion that Ed is well informed.
It is becoming clearer that the Government’sKiwi build and the increase in state house construction announced in the budget will not be enough to catch up with the 9 years of neglect by the National government.
Should the government be thinking of a solution that could end the housing crisis overnight and not cost the taxpayer a cent, and legislate against perfectly good houses
and apartments being allowed to be left empty, without reasonable excuse?
Ghost homes – properties lie empty in spite of crisis
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=11676319
You would think it would also be set up to track low use of water by properties.
Low use of water week after week should raise an alarm and have someone dispatched out to check on water monitoring equipment to make sure it has not been tampered with or is faulty.
Thanks Ad. I must admit I was a bit doubtful of Grant initially, but after meeting Jacinda on several occasions, I trust her. She is genuine.
Don’t know why this did not attach to your comment Ad
Company’s like this make a mess and when the——–hits the fan they file bankrupt and start another company and carry on cheating.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=12054766
Ka kite ano
Marae thats the way Narnia Mahuta you tell them they national and Maori party they stuffed up the prospects for maori they were the government that has suppressed the poor people whom are mostly brown and Maori you are doing good holding your own against two men .Ka pai e hao Ka kite ano