Just a comment on something that annoys me on the idiot box:
Why do the reporters all repeat this BS about a 1 in 500 year event re the flooding in Northland.
When it happens again next year and the year after will our memories be so short that we’ll again call it a 1 in 500 year event, as if that explains it all.
Not once have I heard climate change given as an explanation! Intensity of climate events? Naw, just Nature behaving badly.
Collectively we remain in denial about global warming – and the Natz have elected a leader who is a climate change denier!
Comes from NIWAs High Intensity Rainfall System – Councils use the same scientific terminology, engineers use it when designing bridges, culverts etc. Lots of climate change mentions on NIWAs website.
We live in a designated zone that will be inundated by a 100 year flood. The water never came near us. Does this mean a 100 year flood will be worse than a 500 one? Is the Pope Catholic? If I don’t have breakfast will I be hungry by lunchtime?
It simply means that your subcatchment did not receive the same amount of rain as other catchments. Flood models can also assume that culverts are blocked which may not have occurred downstream of your property.
One in 500 or however many years is easier for people to understand than it being an event with an 0.2% chance of occurring in any given year which is a bit more abstract. Return periods whilst useful to describe are somewhat misleading in that regard and don't always help with understanding, alas they are the more common way to different between how common events are.
I'm posting the following clip for those that take an interest in international relations, specifically the relationship between the world's two powerhouses, China and the US.
The local mainstream media don't seem to have comprehensive coverage of this.
This is what I call America's pineapple lump moment and welcome your thoughts.
Warning: this is hard hitting, has global implications, thus is not for the faint-hearted
The days of American passivity and naivety are over. The awaking of the US by US National Security Advisor, Robert O'Brien.
NZ recently had an annual trade surplus with China of ~$7,000,000,000, so how might NZ hit the CCP in the pocket?
In light of developments NZ should be reevaluating its position and reliance on China. Clearly, we're not in the same league as the US, thus can't be expected to lead on this issue but no doubt we will be expected to play our part if the issue deepens and widens.
On a side note, could you tell us how much of that trade surplus was returned to China in the form of profits from their NZ holdings selling goods to China?
On a side note, could you tell us how much of that trade surplus was returned to China in the form of profits from their NZ holdings selling goods to China?
Oh, please shut up with your irrelevant questions. A warm thanks in advance.
The relevance was the trade surplus touted. People often tout our trade surplus while overlooking that some of our most lucrative sectors are offshore owned or have high overseas investment, thus should look at our current account to see the wider picture.
Instead of asking questions, maybe it is time that you start giving us some answers, yes?
What are “some of our most lucrative sectors are offshore owned or have high overseas investment”? Don’t hold back in providing supporting information, preferably in the China context. Please don’t mention the Ozzie banks, thanks.
You do agree with the primary premise so at least we have established that.
$17.3 billion
Top exports: dairy, wood products, meat
Imports from China
$13.3 billion
Top imports: machinery, clothing & apparel
Investment from China including Hong Kong into New Zealand reached NZ$10.6 billion in 2018. After Australia, China is New Zealand's second largest source country for foreign direct investment, representing almost 10% of our total FDI stock.
Chinese investment extends across a range of sectors including primary industries and forestry (30%), infrastructure, commercial development (20%), and manufacturing (15%). Chinese investors are the largest foreign investors in primary products exports, waste management, electrical whiteware, and tourism infrastructure.
China may exceed official estimates as investment transactions are often routed through Hong Kong or other countries, including Singapore, as well as other jurisdictions. Capturing the extent of this Chinese investment from so-called “immediate” sources is complex and is only partially captured in this report.
We can rule out the Ozzie banks if you wish but that still leaves the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, China Construction Bank, Bank of China and Rabobank all operating here.
There are foreign-owned water bottling plants. Insurance companies. Foreign owned forestry companies are NZ's biggest landowners.
"…no doubt we will be expected to play our part if the issue deepens and widens." – no doubt, Chair, no doubt. And I wonder what part 'we' will be expected to play (and by who) if the issue doesn't deepen and widen.
Re your "side note" enquiry, no, I could not tell 'us' that off the top of my head, but I'd be interested (and frankly amazed) if you could ferret out that info for 'us'.
To what/who does NZowe thanks for that largish annual trade surplus?
Thanks Chair – would you be willing and able to attempt a summary, i.e. to what extent are NZ's lucrative sectors 'China-owned', or was that not your real 'concern'?
The words "China" and "Chinese" aren't used in the URL page that you linked to, although the United States of America, Australia, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Japan and Hong Kongare mentioned.
As highlighted above, investment from China is often routed through Hong Kong or other countries, including Singapore, as well as other jurisdictions.
Investment from China including Hong Kong into New Zealand reached NZ$10.6 billion in 2018.
Of that, 30% went into lucrative primary industries and forestry investment. 20% into lucrative infrastructure and commercial development and 15% into manufacturing.
Chinese investors are the largest foreign investors in primary products exports, waste management, electrical whiteware, and tourism infrastructure.
Of which, tourism infrastructure is unlikely to be so lucrative at this point in time.
And then there are their banking investments and utilities. In 2008, Hong-Kong based Cheung Kong Infrastructure bought the Wellington Electricity Company. China is the largest foreign investor in New Zealand dairy sector. Haier owns Fisher Paykel Appliances, which once was one of New Zealand largest manufacturing companies.
The total amount invested coupled with the percentage breakdown of the sectors invested in gives some indication to what extent NZ's lucrative sectors are China-owned.
According to the graphs in your link (@12:26 am), in 2019 the value of Australian investment in NZ was $129,000,000,000, followed by the U.K. at $71,003,000,000, and then the U.S.A at $48,689,000,000.
"The total amount invested coupled with the percentage breakdown of the sectors invested in gives some indication to what extent of NZ's lucrative sectors are China-owned."
So to what extent are NZ's lucrative sectors "China-owned"? “NZ$10.6 billion in 2018.” That’s pretty piddly compared to the big three. China is the most populous country in the world – I reckon they can do better.
"National proposes to commit to doubling our two way trade with China from $30 billion to $60 billion over the next decade." – would that make NZ more or less dependent on China, do you reckon?
The US is the danger to planet, they dictate to all the 5 eyes partners taking away the independence of us all. The US rule with fear and bully tactics, they have aggressed in every corner of the globe with actual military attacks and interfere with the politics of their so called friends. China aggression, where have they bombed and destroyed another country like even we have, nowhere, we NZ is a bigger aggressor than China because Chaiman you and the like believe in letting the US dictate our foreign policy. Get a grip, grow some balls and pull out of Yankee aggressive spy domes.
Before you jump to conclusions about some kind of control or censorship here on TS you may want to make sure you don’t make any typos in your user name and/or e-mail address because the system, which is a computer chip with an IQ of zero, will notice your error(s) and put your comment in Pre-Moderation until one of the Moderators has time to look into it and release it.
The US is no saint and there are some within the US that support the big brother China model. However, as it stands the US is the lesser of the two evils.
China may not have bombed anyone but they are building up an arsenal large enough to blow up everyone. Moreover, they are currently flexing their muscles and are on a war footing – see link.
"China may not have bombed anyone but they are building up an arsenal large enough to blow up everyone."
Do you reckon that it would be in China's interests to "blow up everyone"? During WWII Japan partially occupied China, and the U.S.A. dropped nuclear bombs on Japan. How times change.
What purpose does fear-mongering against China serve? IMHO NZ faces more immediate concerns, such as the prospect of a National-led government opening our borders and flooding tertiary institutions with students from China and India. Now there's an investment!
Less than two weeks after the Harper's letter published online, New York Times opinion writer Bari Weiss released a searing resignation letter, in which she detailed what she called an increasingly "illiberal environment" at the paper. That same day, New York Magazine announced it was parting ways with columnist Andrew Sullivan. Their departures were greeted with a chorus of good riddance, reinforcing a creeping intolerance to heterodox views in the allegedly liberal media.
These are not writers who have spilled ink defending President Donald Trump: both Weiss and Sullivan have repeatedly condemned the President as a threat to liberal democracy. But crucially they have also criticized the far-left identity politics they see rising in the wings.
Weiss wrote extensively about anti-Semitism and Sullivan supported gay rights as an early advocate for marriage equality. But they have not let their identities predetermine all of their politics and they have been demonized because of these disagreements — not just by the usual hate parade of trolls, bots and strangers on Twitter, but from fellow journalists. According to Weiss' resignation letter, some newsroom colleagues apparently took to office message boards like Slack as well as public social media platforms with smears and bullying calls for her dismissal.
And it's yet another case of leftists sociopaths copying rightist sociopaths:
When I was covering the unhinged right-wing reaction to the early years of the Obama administration for my book Wingnuts, I saw the center-right being mercilessly purged from the GOP in what was gleefully known as RINO-hunting (shorthand for those considered Republicans in Name Only). As I wrote at the time, "Hunting for heretics pretends to be a principled fight for ideological purity, but behind that mask is an uglier impulse, an attempt to intimidate and insist on conformity."
Yes, the christian model of rigidly-imposed orthodoxy persisted for so many centuries that liberal diversity still struggles to prevail against an internalised assumption that ideological purity is the standard to be enforced. Binary thinking remains the default of most mainstreamers. If you ain't good – in accord with their prescription – you're bad.
To those in NW China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and nations with recognised territorial rights in the South China Sea there is nothing manufactured about it.
To those operating in the global market, being required to hand over tech to operate in the Chinese market (or allow buy up of your export industries), having your tech stolen then exported around the world from China, competing against Chinese companies who get essential resources/minerals via long term contract supply lines with cost below the world price there is nothing manufactured about it.
To those watching how China acquires foreign bases via debt Sri Lanka Pakistan and Djibouti while aiding Iran militarily there is nothing manfuactured about it.
Given breaking Oz and US into economically dependent satellites is part of their three circles ambition for the Pacific, which they have barely tried to hide, there is nothing manufactured about it.
For mine it is going to be hilarious, when the West embraces Russia as part of containment of China, how many people are going to turn on a dime.
I think the vilification of Russia has gone so far ,the West embracing Russia really would be turning on a dime.The West has done everything possible to strengthen links between Russia and China
And the BBC, Guardian for unbiased reporting on the west?
Substandard editor Kath Viner has just sacked the cartoonist Steve Bell. She and the Grauniad are, like the BBC, practically British intelligence assets.
the problem with you lefties is you can't see past your chin.
the report was from the US, which is not being reported on. Of course RT will report on that. You use your sources to centralise information you normally can't find.
Let me guess, you get all your information from stuff and .org.nz organisations?
I had to read about Bari Weiss and found this critique of the newly and professionally cancelled right:
The professionally cancelled pundit is a genre of primarily center-right contrarian who makes their living by deliberately provoking outrage online, and then claiming that the outrage directed at them is evidence of an intolerant left run amok…They’re beloved by white boomers, Romney Republicans and those who use the word “woke” derisively. Their work is meant to appeal to people uncomfortable with social forces that challenge the established hierarchy of power.
Probably some truth in that. The Guardian writer imposes leftist framing as required by the media owner, so we can't call it balanced & fair. Evasion of Chomsky, for instance. So I did my own reality check: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bari_Weiss
Weiss wrote that consensus at the Times had become "that truth isn’t a process of collective discovery, but an orthodoxy already known to an enlightened few whose job is to inform everyone else."
Well, yeah. Media owners have been doing that since forever, eh? So she found the cultural environment too toxic to remain in. The supposed broadness of coverage signalled by the editorial staff was a chimera:
In 2017, as part of an effort by The New York Times to broaden the ideological range of its opinion staff after the inauguration of President Trump, the paper hired Weiss as an op-ed staff editor and writer about culture and politics.
Folks in contested media careers survive if they are robust & resilient. Social darwinism rules that ecosystem. Sensitive folk exposed as snowflakes ought to shift to safer places…
Elite power holders and the old boys network still exist. In addition we now have a completely new dynamic. It's not just aimed at centre right people of privilege, and it's gobsmacking that people think it won't be used against them.
But yeah, maybe not quite as new as I was implying, for sure feminists have been doxxed and targeted by MRAs etc for quite some time. Still, the ante has been well and truly upped and if the left doesn't start talking seriously about its own authoritarian tendencies things will go badly when the shit hits the fan.
One of the alarming aspects is the degree to which liberals and some on the left now believe that getting someone fired is a generally legit tactic. Even if the principles are being abandoned there, what do people think happens to people who get fired? They suddenly become liberals or compliant to whatever the prevailing ideology is? They don't end up with compounding resentment from poverty and stress?
Firstly, it doesn't overrule due process. Employers still have employment law to consider.
Secondly, it's not that I don't think it won't be used against me or others on the left. But at least it is something that people other than the elites can use, aven against the elites if their behaviour is bad enough.
Thirdly, despite what the elites like to say, it doesn't result in dismissal for trivialities. Otherwise they wouldn't have to misrepresent what people got fired for.
Fourthly, columnists and others in the public eye are paid to generate income from their content. If their content results in a boycott, that's on them for not providing the goods their clients and bosses wanted. People who play edgelord risk cutting themselves.
And if someone does lose their job over it, sure there's a low probability they'll learn from it. But even if they don't learn, they can then go looking for employers who find that sort of stuff to be desirable. If hosking can keep a job, there's an employer for any flavour of jerk. And if not, they probably didn't lose their job by advocating for a decent unemployment safety net, so irony, I guess.
Bari Weiss made her name hounding academics who dared to speak out against Israel's depradations in the Occupied Territories and Gaza. She is the quintessence of "cancel culture." I cannot believe, Dennis, that you or anyone else with an I.Q. above room temperature would cite her.
Here's a serious analysis of her by a couple of real journalists….
The same backdoor security threat posed by Chinese multinationals and their state-linked companies is driving the fear of Huawei and its role in the most important global technology in a generation – the 5G network that will connect most of our lives to the internet.
Simon Lacey, the former vice-president of trade facilitation and market access for Huawei Technologies in China, is now a senior lecturer in international trade at the University of Adelaide. Last week he acknowledged Huawei's inherent contradiction.
"In China, it had to demonstrate unwavering loyalty to the goals of the Communist Party leadership. Outside China, it had to argue that it had little or nothing to do with the Chinese state," he said in a piece first published in The Conversation.
Looks like the shift from economic mutuality (as basis for neoliberal globalism) to geopolitical containment is now substantial. As long as it doesn't ascend into bipolar geopolitics (like the Cold War did), the trend is sensible.
That is certainly true. The US has a bipartisan approach on this and has done so for some years.
China's actions in Hong Kong and its treatment of Uighurs is not helping China's position, particularly the latter. Camps for 1 million Uighurs are impossible for China to defend. It is an extreme policy that will have people thinking the absolute worst. The fact that China has done this seems extraordinary to me. Previous Chinese leaders would not have done this.
If China wants to reduce the tension they are going to have to change their policies on some of these things.
It's a statesmanship test for Xi. We don't know if there's any truth in their framing the detention camps as benign. One wonders how long till the UN attempts credibility by declaring intent to send in observers to talk to those interned without Chinese supervision. Even if Xi allowed it, there would have to be specialist teams included to detect/prevent electronic eavesdropping by the guards/regime.
Even if a workable arrangement could be made, there remains the downside of UN tolerance. No point in adopting universal civil rights covenants if you then allow China to get away with a flimsy pretence at adherence!
In 1966 the UN passed two International Human Rights Covenants that are among the great achievements of humankind. The covenants were adopted in five equally binding languages, one of which was Chinese.
The People's Republic of China (PRC) is generally assumed to have ratified one and signed (but not ratified) the other. In 1973, however, soon after the PRC began representing China in the UN, new Chinese-language versions of each mysteriously came into existence.
These are the versions one is likely to find on the UN website, and they are what the Chinese government treats as the “covenants.” The authors of this article show that these contain substantial revisions from the covenants that had been passed by the UN 1966 and subsequently ratified by at least 164 countries.
The revised versions are so different, in fact, that one could well question whether the PRC actually embraced either covenant. The covenants granted rights that the revisions would later withdraw, and in at least one case the revisions recognize a right that is absent in the covenants. Based on their comparative analysis of the various versions, the question arises as to whether China is a responsible actor in the international legal order and a reliable partner when it comes to entering into agreements with other countries or acceding to international treaties. Given that China comprises over one-fifth of humanity, it also brings into question whether the principles in the covenants can claim absolute validity and anything like universal acceptance.
I appreciate that National in govt here has endeavoured to create a coalition of nations in support of UN reform – that seems worth bipartisan support here. I'm unaware of whether Winston has expressed such support. Will be interesting to see if SB provides follow-through.
China doesn't want to reduce the tension – they're taking anything and everything that they can get their hands on and the rest of the world is letting them.
Normally these extravaganzas are announced with bells, whistles & hoopla. She seems not to grasp the essentials of political pr, eh? Coulda used a few dancing girls here & there – tv audiences love that.
Didn't even call it a superhighway, for god's sake. That was so obviously essential! Media love buzzwords.
Three tunnels was good – through huge ranges and under the harbour. Heroic stuff! As macho as you can get. But where was the number of bridges?? Everyone knows promising lots of bridges is essential for National winning. So I dunno. Bit of a mixed bag really.
I recall the 1975 hit job on Gough Whitlam and the consensus of opinion among Labour members and activists was one of shock and disgust. We may not have known the truth behind the sacking but everyone knew the CIA was deeply embedded – as indeed we now know they were in NZ too.
It subsequently transpired the Yanks were building a huge electronic spy station somewhere in the depths of the wastelands and when Whitlam learned of its existence he said he was going to close it down. He had to go. Kerr was assigned the job of sacking him. How much the Rowling government knew is hard to say, but I imagine their response was the same as the rest of us – shock and disgust.
Well, the chickens are coming home to roost now and I have not one ounce of sympathy for them. They have been asking for it for the past 60 years.
And the Aussie spooks were alive and well in NZ too.
In 1992/3 a former ASIS spy, Wendi Holland outed herself and described her many 'adventures' in NZ in the late 1960s and early 1970s in an article published in the Australian Women's Weekly. She described a hit job she did on parliamentarians who were visiting an 'entertainment venue' somewhere in Wellington. She didn't name them but her job was to climb a tree and photograph them entering and leaving the building. All grist for the mill I expect if it ever became necessary to discredit them.
My father knew her (no, not through the brothel) but he died in the 1980s so never knew she was a spy. There's another story there……
Back then (mid 70s) a politician's private life could ruin their political career were the opposition to use an incident against them even when no charge was laid.
Those chickens are foul! Sorry couldn't resist the cliche.
In part that headline at 5.1.1 is true, but we are aware of rather than “jealous of Australia’s growing wealth and power", and would appear irrational to Oz for not meekly following their wise decisions. As for having an inferiority complex, well we suffer from hubris a bit and would be better to be realists using the Baldrick phenomenon – 'having a cunning plan' – and be aware of our strengths and weaknesses.
Kerr could have passed info onto the CIA and this is why Kerr ended up retiring in Britain. Some sort of deal between Britain and the USA intelligence services.
So she did manufacture the whole thing right back to the Bridges dumping ref the Ratfuckers in the story. She is still neck deep in Dirty Politics so who are the Ratfuckers and their pre-history would be revealing.
Some sort of maze. It should not be that hard to have a civilised caucus vote. When it came to Collin's 3rd attempt her selection was, vacancy needs to be filled immediately.
As it was for Andrew Little, the beginning of Todd Muller’s end came about because of a Sunday morning talk show. Muller had decided to decline an invitation to appear on TVNZ’s Q+A. Days of damaging headlines and an onslaught of questions about the leak of confidential patient data by Clutha-Southland MP Hamish Walker had left the 51-year-old bruised and exhausted.
There was no upside to another interrogation … But his deputy, Nikki Kaye, saw it differently. Ignoring advice – and a last-minute intervention by party campaign chair Gerry Brownlee – Kaye decided to front up to the show … Her appearance was – as one insider coarsely put it – “a s… show … Kaye’s interview broke the dam.
The Power behind the Throne
But while the party was thrown into turmoil, Muller’s resignation did draw a line under a chaotic 53 days within the Opposition Leader’s Office.
Under Muller, MPs and candidates had become confused about a lack of direction on policy, and a persistent indecisiveness from what commentators have dubbed the “triangle” of leadership: Muller, Kaye and former justice minister Adams.
Both women – former ministers in the John Key Government – were the leading torchbearers for Muller as the caucus began to lose confidence in Simon Bridges. According to sources, they championed his abilities to fellow MPs and eased his private doubts.
If it was a triangle, it was inverted, with Muller constantly deferring to Kaye and Adams.
Bridges loyalists say none of the criticism about Muller’s leadership style came as a surprise to them: one described Muller as “lazy” and said he was known as someone who “delegated everything”.
High-energy and driven, Kaye has a reputation as being a demanding employer. Staff and MPs were working long into the evening, and late-night phone calls were common.
Decisions – even on minor arrangements like travel – were often re-litigated.
The leadership decided to turn away from the party’s much-hyped policy discussion documents, a body of work diligently prepared by MPs over the previous two years. “No-one could understand it,” one MP said. “It debilitated the whole team.”
Policy never seemed to be finished, and insiders have claimed the caucus was frustrated by Adams changing details right up until the last minute.
That was offered as an explanation for Muller’s shaky and unconfident delivery of National’s five-point economic plan in Christchurch earlier this month.
All about Eve
And there was some resentment about the influence held by first-term Wellington-based MP Nicola Willis, who wrote (Muller's) leadership acceptance speech. She was soon nicknamed “The Devil wears Prada.”
Year of the Ratfuckers
But frustrations mounted and some demoralised staff seriously considered quitting.
Some MPs were also aggrieved – and the hierarchy became irritated by frequent leaks, especially when some information appeared to be incorrect.
There was a certain degree of schadenfreude. Bridges' leadership had been dogged by poisonous leaks to journalists in the Press Gallery, especially in the final nine months as Muller’s campaign to be leader gathered pace.
Bridges’ team suspected a band of three young staffers. The “smart arse” trio – as one source described them – became known as “The Ratf…..s,” a slang term used by Richard Nixon supporters to describe the dirty tricks they used against their opponents.
They were believed to be behind a series of damaging leaks published on a blog site run by former TVNZ reporter Richard Harman.
… The Muller camp copped most of the blame, though the same group were also known to be close to Collins.
… The Ratf….s were also fingered for an embarrassing incident in May 2019, when an “emotional junior staffer” was blamed for deleting a controversial petition against a UN migration compact.
It’s claimed the instruction to delete the post came from Muller’s people.
As Bridges’ supporters had suspected Muller, “the Triangle” presumed Bridges was behind the disloyalty following their coup. Neither side had any evidence.
Backfire
Muller and Kaye decided to try to plug the leaks, with a stern warning to caucus. But it backfired.
For some reason, Muller was unable to deliver the message at the meeting and it was left to Kaye. MPs, particularly the seasoned ones, did not appreciate the lecture from Kaye.
… Few were impressed with her performance thus far. This began almost on day one when she incorrectly described finance spokesman Paul Goldsmith as “obviously Ngāti Porou.”
“We were bleeding from our base,” one MP said. “They didn’t like the second-guessing and the indecisiveness. Right from her first balls-up, with Paul Goldsmith, they didn’t like that we were excusing the lack of ethnicity on the front bench.
“Our supporters could see that he didn’t trust his gut, and it went from bad to worse.”
Respect began to slide, and was further dented by the Walker/Boag affair. Initial anger at Walker’s actions was replaced by an unease at Muller’s performance. Sources have confirmed it was Southern Regional chair Rachel Bird – not Muller or Kaye – who had to talk Walker into stepping down.
Anger Still Burns
Muller is now taking some time off to recover. While there is sympathy for his ordeal, anger still lingers within some of the caucus.
“They got rid of Simon for nothing but personal ambition. They took us to the worst polling we’ve ever had. And now our campaign funds are being eaten up replacing billboards.”
Judith is Anointed
Six months ago, Judith Collins was an unpalatable choice. Her support was so thin that she ruled out running against Muller in May.
This time – her third attempt to secure the leadership – she held no doubts, although her husband David Wong-Tung was worried about the risk.
Senior figures began calling to urge her to run … “I had a few phone calls from some very senior colleagues…people ringing who I never have thought … Before Tuesday’s vote, Key rang to offer support and English has also been in touch. That’s despite the Papakura MP dishing the dirt in her recently released memoir on how she was treated by both men in the previous National administration.
Well that is a revelation Swordfish. I can't read all the 'stuff' in situ as I find I can't handle all the info that I need to know to get an overview and not be stuck in the mud. So that is very clear and informative from a trusted source!
Saying it was better to be overly cautious at uncertain times like this, the nation’s introverts have called for social distancing rules to be maintained for at least another 2-3 years.
“No-one likes being confined to their home by themselves with only a good book, a fridge full of food, a warm bed and a new Netflix series to get stuck into. But these are the sacrifices we have to make in order to kill this virus,” introvert Chloe Bradley said.
Jacinda & Judith: Correct me if I'm wrong … but I'm pretty sure this is the first time in any Western Liberal Democracy that Identical Twin Sisters have led opposing Major Political Parties ?
Q&A with Jack. Crikey Jack. You asked the right questions of Collins and she failed to control the interview. She could not answer questions about the costing of their Transport Project. Judith's smile became a grimace and her answers faltered and she lost her fluency.
I thought the Winston interview was quite interesting, when asked about the Tally's donations and the fact that "cameras on fishing boats still hasn't occurred" nearly 3 years on, Winstons response was that the cameras weren't the problem, it was the collection, storage and analysis of the infomation/pictures that was holding up the process, how convenient.
NZFs slow responce to this issue has been noted, I imagine the 10s of thousands of dollars that Talleys donates to the party has no bearing on the lethargy to enforce the installation of cameras.
So the main takeaways from that interview are that nothing’s going to happen for a decade at least. She said cyclists and pedestrians would have to wait 13 years to get a designated harbour crossing, namely a surplus lane on the old harbour bridge. In the meantime they can pop their cycles on a ferry. The other thing is that she doesn’t have a clue how much anything is going to cost or where the money will come from. So much for using infrastructure spending to rescue the economy from Covid.
Jack's questioning caused Collins to look and sound unsure and unconvincing, however, when Winston came on, Jack floundered. Winston is infuriatingly capable.
How hard can it be to copy the address from whichever window you are reading at the time you are typing and paste it here? That is literally all you need to do. No fancy formatting or anything.
It's like expecting the next person to flush the toilet for you. Embarrassing.
I find an old iphone not too hard to link from. Touch the address bar highlights the URL, touch again gives the options, choose copy, then paste into the TS text box.
Newspapers are carrying the usual election hoardings being taken down stories. National ones. (I wonder if Paul Goldsmith has been talked to about it.)
Funny to see the word 'dickheads' in the headlines and Chris Bishop being quoted.
Those who feel the breath of sadness
Sit down next to me
Those who find they're touched by madness
Sit down next to me
Those who find themselves ridiculous
Sit down next to me
Love, in fear, in hate, in tears
Down
Down
Oh sit down
Sit down next to me
Sit down, down, down, down, down
In sympathy
David appears to be having trouble with some of his followers trying to spread rumours about "some MPs personal lives and/or their families".
I think I know the rumour his followers are spreading. Good on David for trying to do the right thing but it really does ram home the nastiest of the right wing crowd, his crowd. I wonder if David ever reflects on that fact…
Good for grabbing headlines – and a promise already broken, in advance:
"the National Party unveiled new policy stating that anyone entering New Zealand from October 3 would be charged a $3000 fee per adult for their managed isolation if National wins the election."
Obviously this will be popular, but it is also a lie. National cannot do anything from October 3. We will still be waiting for a new government to be sworn in.
Meanwhile, I understand the actual government is considering a similar move at Cabinet tomorrow. In either case, we can expect legal challenges.
Summary: National are doing this today, simply so they can say next week "We announced it first, government followed."
National would like to build up pressure at the border by suggesting a future cost to get in, but why would the government want that?
National wants maximum numbers and risk at the border (local spread fits in with their tourism, migrants/cheap labour and students) approach.
The government response should be no cost stays unless one has gone overseas for a holiday since lockdown. To the charge respond saying those overseas know how to vote if they oppose it. And to resident population guarantee a controlled inflow of returnees based on maintaining Level 1.
As the government is investigating the charging option – I wonder if the position paper has been leaked to her and if it recommends something like this amount? So the "policy" is based on what labour will actually decide and Judith will milk it in some way. With more airlines looking to fly here charging must be moving up the list. Still $3000 feels hefty = $200 per day ( in which case looks like they need to renegotiate the hotel charges.)
Observer, the policy released this morning for charges to returnees is exactly the same policy the Premiere of NSW Berisjeklian unvaled last Thursday, exactly the same.
Excellent policy! Law-abiding ordinary citizens who come back home get slapped with a compulsory fine fee of $3,000. Do they get a discount if they test negative and a surcharge if positive? What happens if they don’t pay? Why not bail them to a suitable private address as they do with not-so-law-abiding citizens? Oh wait …
Most arrivals in May 2020 were short-term travellers, made up of 2,600 New Zealand residents and 2,200 overseas visitors. Provisionally there were 900 migrant arrivals. All these passenger types include New Zealand and non-New Zealand citizens.
Need to check the fine print, Collins said on Q & A "there will be exemptions". & fuck that, we shouldn't have to pay to come back to NZ, non NZrs? Sure.
I think the starting point for considering any National policy at this election is that it is not meant to be implemented. The aim is only to make the MPs' lifeboat bigger.
Regardless of party, there will be legal questions down the track. But the election timetable is shorter than the courts' timetable. Politicians aren't too worried now about what the Supreme Court decides in 2021.
I wouldn't say that exactly. She knew what was coming (it's been discussed for weeks) and went for a quick headline first.
The difference between the parties is that a government can introduce legislation, whereas an opposition can only propose it if elected (hence the October date from National, even though that is impossible, as stated above). Ball is in Labour's court now … but they should be careful, populism isn't a great basis for workable law.
Collins may have got a quick cheap headline but she's had any attack possibilities neutralised by grabbing that headline. Tad impulsive and gave the government an opportunity to show they had it under control. More expected her to be saying there should have been charges months ago.
Agree regarding populism as a poor basis for lawmaking but there's charges for quarantine in import circumstances. Don't think entry is being denied, rather being made conditional.
"With the self-implosion of the untested Todd Muller, the departure of many other top MPs, and the non-possibility of picking Simon Bridges again, she was the best of a bunch of bad options."
I'll give them 30% under Collins, only because there's lots of loyal supporters out there who are not only deaf, but appear to be blind as well, and not all of them are, very Old
"There are many figures you can compare Collins to: Margaret Thatcher if you like her, David Cunliffe if you don’t. What she is much closer to is Don Brash: A leader extremely keen to differentiate his party from the Government, and not afraid to tap into third rail issues like race to do so.
I am a follower of The Standard but my login no longer works. However , I am spitting tacks atm and would like to express my ire over the piss poor, superficial 'menu' being delivered by media for these elections.
One of the most important speeches of our time has been delivered yesterday on Nelson Mandela Day by the UN Secretary-General António Guterres . It's message is universal yet incredibly pertinent to NZ as we approach new elections and make choices for our long term future.
The true NORMAL issues now are not being addressed in the archaic " oh we'll fix a road with billions," promises. It is laughable that in global survival even of New Zealanders, kiwis think a road will save them. It is not Covid19 that is the issue, it's role has only opened the curtains on our deliberate blinkered view. Nor is the problem, the bait being used to instil fear , of an " economic crisis" that are ours and the world's ills ! An "Economic Crisis" has been the norm for decades, not just a new phenomenon; a misnomer used as a catchphrase because the wealthy see lost profit and want the old ways back .. "while we are all floating on the same sea, it’s clear that some are in superyachts, while others are clinging to the drifting debris.” We all are responsible for this, because we vote for it !
Millions and millions of people will continue to perish at our own hands in the near future; and not because of climate change either. Entrenched inequality and neocapitilism, the vices, greed and hatred and the impacts that these have bred, ARE the issues underlying all the world's ills. No! Ms Tapsell standing for National, " the East Coast needs footpaths " . Really ?
There is a myriad of ways that emanate from this accepted inequality that detrimentally affects each of us right here, not just over there… somewhere. But hey, a few seconds given for a condescending pat on the head for standing in Maori seats and a nod to beneficaries that they are safe, solves everything does it not? Only 26 individuals of a population of 8 billion people own half the globes' wealth ! Read that as, ' we'll pander to you silly lot with promises for your vote , then exploit you to pay for it.'
Why has NZ media ignored the analysis and the implications of Guttere's message to the world? Why are the most critical questions, crucial to all our daily lives and future, not being asked of our politiciations by journalists? Instead media , are increasingly treating its audience as an unintelligent species on which it foists more and more trite, inward looking so called news? Where lies the responsibility of NZ media in the quest for urgent change?
“We belong to each other”, Gutteres said. “We stand together, or we fall apart”. The world, he concluded, is at breaking point, and it is time for leaders to decide which path to follow.
Thought experiment – you personally have (take or are given) an equitable share of the "globes wealth". What would you do that you are not currently doing about "the vices greed and hatreds underlying the world's ills " ?
Maybe you're right. But one of the main planks of his campaign is going to be how much the government he's just been in didn't get done. Catnip to centrists I suppose, but everyone else just rolls their eyes.
I think it will backfire on him. It sounds like a clarion call to the left to mobilise and boot his crotchety pale blue arse out of parliament for good, once and for all.
As ever, if you want to have a progressive, left of centre government in NZ, you have to party vote labour or green.
Because GOP Senators junior staffers think black people all look the same.
Like many of their colleagues, GOP Sens. Marco Rubio of Florida and Dan Sullivan of Alaska posted tributes to Rep. John Lewis on Saturday and included photos of themselves with the civil rights icon who died Friday. Rubio even made the image his Twitter profile picture.
There was just one problem. The photos they each posted were of Rep. Elijah Cummings, who died in October.
"It was an honor to know & be blessed with the opportunity to serve in Congress with John Lewis a genuine & historic American hero," Rubio tweeted with the photo of himself and Cumming
20 people have died in Australia as a result of softening their Covid-19 policy.
Australia had won but then threw it away because of some bizarre idea that the economy is more important than health.
I fully believe deaths in NZ would be in the hundreds and climbing right now if we followed what Australia did. We have a colder climate, and very overcrowded and poor quality housing in a lot of low income areas.
You can't mess with this virus and I think what our Labour-led government* has done is world-beating and should be promoted at every opportunity during the election campaign.
*Apart from Peters who, while the rest of government was doing the mahi, spent lockdown on holiday.
"You can't mess with this virus and I think what our Labour-led government* has done is world-beating and should be promoted at every opportunity during the election campaign."
Yes, we should all be very proud of our collective efforts under the Guidance of some incredible Leadership and direction allat all levels of Govt.
Did we make some mistakes, yep, but we identified them and eliminated them as they arose, that's what real management looks like.
Graeme – have you read this from Bryan Cadogan? Gives Walker and his ilk a not-so-subtle serve (I think).
"OPINION: Comments and derogatory innuendo around New Zealanders returning home, coupled with incessant nitpicking around incidents occurring at our isolation units, is starting to get on my wick.
Our daughter’s job of four years in China has just been vaporised and her visa expiry date is ticking like a time bomb. Like so many people her life has been unexpectedly upheaved and the danger of becoming stateless is a real prospect.
However the difficulties of getting out of China now pale in comparison with the logistical nightmare of getting into New Zealand – thanks to the micro snivelling campaign that has now forced authorities to place restraints on numbers entering the country.
Meanwhile her old man is on the other side of the world feeling an overwhelming urge to tell a few self-proclaimed experts on the matter to shut the beep up and let us have a chance to bring our kids home."
As the local electorate National Party prepares to select a replacement, Boult says ‘‘unless it’s somebody who happens to come from our district, it will take quite a long time to get their head round the issues we face’’.
‘‘While our [Southland] seat has always been regarded as a safe National seat, I’m also
aware the Labour Party has put up a strong candidate [Queenstown-raised Jon Mitchell] this time as well, so it will be interesting.’’
Veteran former local National MP, cabinet minister and two-time Queenstown mayor, Warren Cooper, 87, says ‘‘we don’t need someone that has to learn on the job, we need someone that’s an operator from here on in, once the selection is made’’.
A lot of papering over the cracks in that piece too, Walker was challenged for re-selection by the electorate executive, evidently led by Queenstown branch over honesty issues.
Can see Jon Mitchell doing very well at this end of the electorate, people know him and Boult's endorsement is widespread. Usually the Labour candidate has nothing in common with this end of the electorate. Will be interesting to see how he does down your end, but talking disaster management is pretty much talking farming, to a good farmer.
I agree with you about NZ's approach, but your points about 'Australia' do have to be qualified. Each state and territory has taken a different tack and there seems to be little that can be concluded about the difference between Labor led governments and Coalition (Tory) ones. WA, Tasmania, the NT, South Australia and Queensland have all done as well as NZ, even if they didn't actually set out to eliminate the virus. There was and still is some confusion about what the federal government's intentions were or are, but basically most states have just done what they thought was right anyway.
The problem was Victoria's reliance on using low paid badly trained security workers at quarantine hotels. The virus leaked out (just as it could have done in Auckland before everything was tightened up) and now the state is in the mess it is in and the virus has spread to NSW where elimination had almost been achieved. This virus is very nasty and very contagious, so constant vigilance is going to be needed and that applies to NZ too.
The precise point I'm trying to make is that Australia didn't have a common goal and that 'each state and territory has taken a different tack.
Australia didn’t take it seriously enough.
That is another factor in pandemic response which I'm sure will be examined – the advantages one-state countries have when developing and executing policy under pressure.
edit
I think highly of our Royal Family but not much of the preoccupation of very common-ers in the media and their readers who are magnetised to the glamour or the wealth and fancy surroundings. RadioNZ has something on somebody Sussex who is adding to the brouhaha of Harry and Meghan’s attempt to have a life of their own – Ata marie to them.
It's been a tough time for the British royal family of late, with Prince Andrew laying low in the wake of sexual misconduct allegations, Prince Harry stepping down as a senior member of the Royal Family, and a new study showing the royals are pretty much useless at raising money for charity…
Author and foreign correspondent Christina Lamb joined her on a recent trip to South Sudan.
While the journalist was not normally a royal correspondent, she said she joined Sophie on the trip as they were both interested in the issue of sexual violence in war….
"I said to her, you know I can't talk to you about what you're talking about justice for sexual abuse and sexual violence when your brother in law Prince Andrew is being accused of being friends with a paedophile and has in fact been accused by one of the young women of having forcibly slept with her when she was underage."
She was met with silence and told she was unable to answer the question – which Lamb expected, but felt the question still needed to be asked.
After returning to the UK from South Sudan, Lamb went on to visit the grand estate of Bagshot Park, where Sophie, Countess of Wessex and Prince Edward reside in Surrey.
She observed that the running costs of the residence must be enormous – and also noted a contrast with the location they had previously visited.
The wording starts off being disparaging about the
Royals. And the story seems to echo the MeToo meme about the wrongs dealt to women; there is mention of a girl who has just been raped, it’s a rather cheap and nasty way to gain footage by going further than just calling for improvement, but exploiting the wrongs to both women and men under this grey-black amoral code under neolib and low regulation. It is right to keep on about the bad treatment of females, but moral outrages tend to spotlight one matter and bypass other equally important ones.
The female journalist puts herself forward as being the arbiter of the Royals commenting critically on their housing and its cost, and like a speech from the Bench, faulting the amoral behaviour of Prince Andrew as if the Sussex Royal is responsible for all. It seems to me that the nouveau riche in a neolib society that measures everything by money and conformist status, have decided that they are as good as the Royals and are prepared to undermine and white-ant the system that privileges themselves, on their own personal whim and uninspired reflection.
It's archived under life and society | aid and development but it's aimed at the middle and upper class choice of which part of society and aid is currently 'the thing'. At least Princess Diana went after mines hand grenades personal bombs etc. – not at all fashionable, and unfavourably diminishing the profits of many wealthy amoral men and women.
Negative yesterday, negative today. Negative all year, according to one departing reader telling me I’ve grown strident and predictable. Fair enough. If it’s any help, every time I go to write about a certain topic that begins with C and ends with arrrrs, I do brace myself and ask: Again? Are ...
Bryce Edwards writes – It’s been a tumultuous time in politics in recent months, as the new National-led Government has driven through its “First 100 Day programme”. During this period there’s been a handful of opinion polls, which overall just show a minimal amount of flux in public support ...
Inspirational: The Family of Man is a glorious hymn to human equality, but, more than that, it is a clarion call to human freedom. Because equality, unleavened by liberty, is a broken piano, an unstrung harp; upon which the songs of fraternity will never be played.“Somebody must have been telling lies about ...
Tax Lawyer Barbara Edmonds vs Emperor Justinian I- Nolo Contendere: False historical explanations of pivotal events are very far from being inconsequential.WHEN BARBARA EDMONDS made reference to the Roman Empire, my ears pricked up. It is, lamentably, very rare to hear a politician admit to any kind of familiarity ...
It’s been a tumultuous time in politics in recent months, as the new National-led Government has driven through its “First 100 Day programme”. During this period there’s been a handful of opinion polls, which overall just show a minimal amount of flux in public support for the various parties in ...
Buzz from the Beehive Housing Minister Chris Bishop delivered news – packed with the ingredients to enflame political passions – worthy of supplanting Winston Peters in headline writers’ priorities. He popped up at the post-Cabinet press conference to promise a crackdown on unruly and antisocial state housing tenants. His ...
Ele Ludemann writes – The Reserve Bank is advertising for a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion advisor. The Bank has one mandate – to keep inflation between one and three percent. It has failed in that and is only slowly getting inflation back down to the upper limit. Will it ...
Last week former National Party leader Simon Bridges was appointed by the Government as the new chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA). You can read about the appointment in Thomas Coughlan’s article, Simon Bridges to become chair of NZ Transport Agency Waka KotahiThe fact that a ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Last week former National Party leader Simon Bridges was appointed by the Government as the new chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA). You can read about the appointment in Thomas Coughlan’s article, Simon Bridges to become chair of NZ Transport Agency ...
TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Gavin Jacobson talks to Thomas Piketty 10 years on from Capital in the 21st CenturyThe SalvoLocal scoop: Green MP’s business being investigated over migrant exploitation claims StuffSteve KilgallonLocal deep-dive: The commercial contractors making money from School ...
It’s a home - but Kāinga Ora tenants accused of “abusing the privilege” may lose it. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The Government announced a crackdown on Kāinga Ora tenants who were unruly and/or behind on their rent, with Housing Minister Chris Bishop saying a place in a state ...
This is a guest post by Connor Sharp of Surface Light Rail Light rail in Auckland: A way forward sooner than you think With the coup de grâce of Auckland Light Rail (ALR) earlier this year, and the shift of the government’s priorities to roads, roads, and more roads, it ...
Note: As a paid-up Webworm member, I’ve recorded this Webworm as a mini-podcast for you as well. Some of you said you liked this option - so I aim to provide it when I get a chance to record! Read more ...
TL;DR: In my ‘six-stack’ of substacks at 6.06pm on Monday, March 18:IKEA is accused of planting big forests in New Zealand to green-wash; REDD-MonitorA City for People takes a well-deserved victory lap over Wellington’s pro-YIMBY District Plan votes; A City for PeopleSteven Anastasiou takes a close look at the sticky ...
Buzz from the Beehive Here’s hoping for a lively post-cabinet press conference when the PM and – perhaps – some of his ministers tell us what was discussed at their meeting today. Until then, Point of Order has precious little Beehive news to report after its latest monitoring of the ...
David Farrar writes – We now have almost all 2023 data in, which has allowed me to update my annual table of how labour went against its promises. This is basically their final report card. The promiseThe result Build 100,000 affordable homes over 10 ...
I’m a bit worried that I’ve started a previous newsletter with the words “just when you think they couldn’t get any worse…” Seems lately that I could begin pretty much every issue with that opening. Such is the nature of our coalition government that they seem to be outdoing each ...
Geoffrey Miller writes – Timing is everything. And from China’s perspective, this week’s visit by its foreign minister to New Zealand could be coming at just the right moment. The visit by Wang Yi to Wellington will be his first since 2017. Anniversaries are important to Beijing. ...
Depictions of Islam in Western popular culture have rarely been positive, even before 9/11. Five years on from the mosque shootings, this is one of the cultural headwinds that the Muslim community has to battle against. Whatever messages of tolerance and inclusion are offered in daylight, much of our culture ...
Last week Transport Minster Simeon Brown and Mayor Wayne Brown opened the new Auckland Rail Operations Centre. The new train control centre will see teams from KiwiRail, Auckland Transport and Auckland One Rail working more closely together to improve train services across the city. The Auckland Rail Operations Centre in ...
Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Retiring former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson said in an exit interview with Q+A yesterday the Government can and should sustain more debt to invest in infrastructure for future generations. Elsewhere in the news in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy at 6:36am: Read more ...
Timing is everything. And from China’s perspective, this week’s visit by its foreign minister to New Zealand could be coming at just the right moment. The visit by Wang Yi to Wellington will be his first since 2017. Anniversaries are important to Beijing. It is more than just a happy ...
TL;DR: The key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to March 18 include:China’s Foreign Minister visiting Wellington today;A post-cabinet news conference this afternoon; the resumption of Parliament on Tuesday for two weeks before Easter;retiring former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson gives his valedictory speech in Parliament; ...
New Zealand First Leader Winston Peters’s state-of-the-nation speech on Sunday was really a state-of-Winston-First speech. He barely mentioned any of the Government’s key policies and could not even wholly endorse its signature income tax cuts. Instead, he rehearsed all of his complaints about the Ardern Government, including an extraordinary claim ...
A listing of 35 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 10, 2024 thru Sat, March 16, 2024. Story of the week This week we'll give you a little glimpse into how we collect links to share and ...
A listing of 35 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 10, 2024 thru Sat, March 16, 2024. Story of the week This week we'll give you a little glimpse into how we collect links to share and ...
“I’ve been internalising a really complicated situation in my head.”When they kept telling us we should wait until we get to know him, were they taking the piss? Was it a case of, if you think this is bad, wait till you get to know the real Christopher, after the ...
Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
.“$10 and a target that bleeds” - Bleeding Targets for Under $10!.Thanks for reading Frankly Speaking ! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.This government appears hell-bent on either scrapping life-saving legislation or reintroducing things that - frustrated critics insist - will be dangerous and likely ...
“It hardly strikes me as fair to criticise a government for doing exactly what it said it was going to do. For actually keeping its promises.”THUNDER WAS PLAYING TAG with lightning flashes amongst the distant peaks. Its rolling cadences interrupted by the here-I-come-here-I-go Doppler effect of the occasional passing car. ...
Subversive & Disruptive Technologies: Just as happened with that other great regulator of the masses, the Medieval Church, the advent of a new and hard-to-control technology – the Internet – is weakening the ties that bind. Then, and now, those who enjoy a monopoly on the dissemination of lies, cannot and will ...
Been Here Before: To find the precedents for what this Coalition Government is proposing, it is necessary to return to the “glory days” of Muldoonism.THE COALITION GOVERNMENT has celebrated its first 100 days in office by checking-off the last of its listed commitments. It remains, however, an angry government. It ...
Bob Edlin writes – And what is the world watching today…? The email newsletter from Associated Press which landed in our mailbox early this morning advised: In the news today: The father of a school shooter has been found guilty of involuntary manslaughter; prosecutors in Trump’s hush-money case ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Is another Green MP on their way out? And are the Greens severely tarnished by another integrity scandal? For the second time in three months, the Green Party has secretly suspended an MP over integrity issues. Mystery is surrounding the party’s decision to ...
For the last few years, the Green Party has been the party that has managed to avoid the plague of multiple scandals that have beleaguered other political parties. It appears that their luck has run out with a second scandal which, unfortunately for them, coincided with Golraz Ghahraman, the focus ...
TL;DR: The six newsey things that stood out to me as of 6:46am on Saturday, March 16.Andy Foster has accidentally allowed a Labour/Green amendment to cut road user chargers for plug-in hybrid vehicles, which the Government might accept; NZ HeraldThomas CoughlanSimeon Brown has rejected a plea from Westport ...
What seemed a booming success a couple of years ago has collapsed into fraud convictions.I looked at the crash of FTX (short for ‘Futures Exchange’) in November 2022 to see whether it would impact on the financial system as a whole. Fortunately there was barely a ripple, probably because it ...
Anybody following the situation in Ukraine and Russia would probably have been amused by a recent Tweet on X NATO seems to be putting in an awful lot of effort to influence what is, at least according to them, a sham election in an autocracy.When do the Ukrainians go to ...
TL;DR:Shaun Baker on Wynyard Quarter's transformation. Magdalene Taylor on the problem with smart phones. How private equity are now all over reinsurance. Dylan Cleaver on rugby and CTE. Emily Atkin on ‘Big Meat’ looking like ‘Big Oil’.Bernard’s six-stack of substacks at 6pm on March 15Photo by Jeppe Hove Jensen ...
Buzz from the Beehive Finance Minister Nicola Willis had plenty to say when addressing the Auckland Business Chamber on the economic growth that (she tells us) is flagging more than we thought. But the government intends to put new life into it: We want our country to be a ...
The Transport and Infrastructure Committee has reported back on the Road User Charges (Light Electric RUC Vehicles) Amendment Bill, basicly rubberstamping it. While there was widespread support among submitters for the principle that EV and PHEV drivers should pay their fair share for the roads, they also overwhelmingly disagreed with ...
Peter Dunne writes – This week’s government bailout – the fifth in the last eighteen months – of the financially troubled Ruapehu Alpine Lifts company would have pleased many in the central North Island ski industry. The government’s stated rationale for the $7 million funding was that it ...
See if you can spot the difference. An Iranian born female MP from a progressive party is accused of serial shoplifting. Her name is leaked to the media, which goes into a pack frenzy even before the Police launch an … Continue reading → ...
Ele Ludemann writes – The government is omitting general Treaty references from legislation : The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last Government in a bid to get greater coherence in the public service on Treaty ...
What was that judge thinking?Peter Williams writes – That Golriz Ghahraman and District Court Judge Maria Pecotic were once lawyer colleagues is incontrovertible. There is published evidence that they took at least one case to the Court of Appeal together. There was a report on ...
TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read:Climate Scorpion – the sting is in the tail. Introducing planetary solvency. A paper via the University of Exeter’s Institute and Faculty of Actuaries.Local scoop:Kāinga Ora starts pulling out of its Auckland projects and selling land RNZ ...
Wellington’s massively upzoned District Plan adds the opportunity for tens of thousands of new homes not just in the central city (such as these Webb St new builds) but also close to the CBD and public transport links. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Wellington gave itself the chance of ...
It’s Friday and we’re halfway through March Madness. Here’s some of the things that caught our attention this week. This Week in Greater Auckland On Monday Matt asked how we can get better event trains and an option for grade separating Morningside Dr. On Tuesday Matt looked into ...
Something you might not know about me is that I’m quite a stubborn person. No, really. I don’t much care for criticism I think’s unfair or that I disagree with. Few of us do I suppose.Back when I was a drinker I’d sometimes respond defensively, even angrily. There are things ...
Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the last week included:PM Christopher Luxon said the reversal of interest deductibility for landlords was done to help renters, who ...
It was not so much the Labour Party but really the Chris Hipkins party yesterday at Labour’s caucus retreat in Martinborough. The former Prime Minister was more or less consistent on wealth tax, which he was at best equivocal about, and social insurance, which he was not willing to revisit. ...
Buzz from the BeehiveThe text reproduced above appears on a page which records all the media statements and speeches posted on the government’s official website by Melissa Lee as Minister of Media and Communications and/or by Jenny Marcroft, her Parliamentary Under-secretary. It can be quickly analysed ...
For forty years, Robert Muldoon has been a dirty word in our politics. His style of government was so repulsive and authoritarian that the backlash to it helped set and entrench our constitutional norms. His pig-headedness over forcing through Think Big eventually gave us the RMA, with its participation and ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Is the new government reducing tax on rental properties to benefit landlords or to cut the cost of rents? That’s the big question this week, after Associate Finance Minister David Seymour announced on Sunday that the Government would be reversing the Labour Government’s removal ...
Saudi Arabia is rarely far from the international spotlight. The war in Gaza has brought new scrutiny to Saudi plans to normalise relations with Israel, while the fifth anniversary of the controversial killing of Jamal Khashoggi was marked shortly before the war began on October 7. And as the home ...
Questions need to be asked on both sides of the worldPeter Williams writes – The NRL Judiciary hands down an eight week suspension to Sydney Roosters forward Spencer Leniu , an Auckland-born Samoan, after he calls Ezra Mam, Sydney-orn but of Aboriginal and Torres Strait ...
Ele Ludemann writes – Contrary to what many headlines and news stories are saying, residential landlords are not getting a tax break. The government is simply restoring to them the tax deductibility of interest they had until the previous government removed it. There is no logical reason ...
I can't remember when it was goodMoments of happiness in bloomMaybe I just misunderstoodAll of the love we left behindWatching our flashbacks intertwineMemories I will never findIn spite of whatever you becomeForget that reckless thing turned onI think our lives have just begunI think our lives have just begunDoes anyone ...
Michael Bassett writes – At first reading, a front-page story in the New Zealand Herald on 13 March was bizarre. A group of severely intellectually limited teenagers, with little understanding of the law, have been pleading to the Justice Select Committee not to pass a bill dealing with ram ...
How much political capital is Christopher Luxon willing to burn through in order to deliver his $2.9 billion gift to landlords? Evidently, Luxon is: (a) unable to cost the policy accurately. As Anna Burns-Francis pointed out to him on Breakfast TV, the original ”rock solid” $2.1 billion cost he was ...
TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read:Jonathon Porritt calling bullshit in his own blog post on mainstream climate science as ‘The New Denialism’.Local scoop:The Wellington City Council’s list of proposed changes to the IHP recommendations to be debated later today was leaked this ...
TL;DR:Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said yesterday tenants should be grateful for the reinstatement of interest deductibility because landlords would pass on their lower tax costs in the form of lower rents. That would be true if landlords were regulated monopolies such as Transpower or Auckland Airport1, but they’re not, ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Tom Toro Tom Toro is a cartoonist and author. He has published over 200 cartoons in The New Yorker since 2010. His cartoons appear in Playboy, the Paris Review, the New York Times, American Bystander, and elsewhere. Related: What 10 EV lovers ...
The business section of the NZ Herald is full of opinion. Among the more opinionated of all is the ex-Minister of Transport, ex-Minister of Railways, ex MP for Auckland Central (1975-93, Labour), Wellington Central (1996-99, ACT, then list-2005), ex-leader of the ACT Party, uncle to actor Antonia, the veritable granddaddy ...
Hi,Just quickly — I’m blown away by the stories you’ve shared with me over the last week since I put out the ‘Gary’ podcast, where I told you about the time my friend’s flatmate killed the neighbour.And you keep telling me stories — in the comments section, and in my ...
The first season of Rings of Power was not awful. It was thoroughly underwhelming, yes, and left a lingering sense of disappointment, but it was more expensive mediocrity than catastrophe. I wrote at length about the series as it came out (see the Review section of the blog, and go ...
Buzz from the Beehive Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden told Auckland Business Chamber members they were the first audience to hear her priorities as a minister in a government committed to cutting red tape and regulations. She brandished her liberalising credentials, saying Flexible labour markets are the ...
Chris Trotter writes – TO UNDERSTAND WHY NEWSHUB FAILED, it is necessary to understand how TVNZ changed. Up until 1989, the state broadcaster had been funded by a broadcasting licence fee, collected from every citizen in possession of a television set, supplemented by a relatively modest (compared ...
Bob Edlin writes – The Māori Party has been busy issuing a mix of warnings and threats as its expresses its opposition to interest deductibility for landlords and the plans of seabed miners. It remains to be seen whether they follow the example of indigenous litigants in Australia, ...
Every year, in the Budget, Parliament forks out money to government agencies to do certain things. And every year, as part of the annual review cycle, those agencies are meant to report on whether they have done the things Parliament gave them that money for. Agencies which consistently fail to ...
Mike Grimshaw writes – Recent events in American universities point to an underlying crisis of coherent thinking, an issue that increasingly affects the progressive left across the Western world. This of course is nothing new as anyone who can either remember or has read of the late ...
The Government has accepted Labour’s change to the Road User Charge (RUC) discount for hybrid vehicles, meaning there will still be some incentive for people to buy greener vehicles. ...
Kicking the most vulnerable people out of state housing and pushing them towards homelessness will result in a proliferation of poverty and trauma across our most vulnerable communities. ...
Te Pāti Māori co-leader and MP for Waiariki, Rawiri Waititi has penned a letter asking MPs to support his members bill to remove GST from all food. The bill is expected to go through its first reading in parliament this Wednesday. “I’m calling on all political parties to support my ...
This year is about getting real with Kiwis and discussing the tough issues, as the National Government exacerbates inequality and divides New Zealand, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said ...
The Government adding Significant Natural Areas (SNAs) to its already roaring environmental policy bonfire is an assault on the future of wildlife that makes Aotearoa unique. ...
After 12 years of fighting to protect our moana we are finding ourselves back at square one and back at court. Today, the Environmental Protection Agency is sitting in Hawera to reconsider an application from Trans-Tasman Resources to dig up 50 million tonnes of the seabed in South Taranaki. This ...
Minister Shane Jones’ decision to step away from a seabed mining project is evidence of the murky waters surrounding the Government’s fast-track legislation. ...
The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last government in a bid to get greater coherence in the publicservice on Treaty matters. When ministers first considered the need for tighter oversight in 2021, there ...
The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last government in a bid to get greater coherence in the publicservice on Treaty matters. When ministers first considered the need for tighter oversight in 2021, there ...
The Coalition Government’s miscalculation saga continues as it has forgotten an eyewatering $90 million gap in its interest deductibility cost figures, say Labour Finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds and Revenue Spokesperson Deborah Russell. ...
He Pou a Rangi Climate Change Commission has today released advice that says if the Government doesn’t act now New Zealand is at risk of not meeting its climate goals. ...
The Coalition Government has today confirmed it is abandoning first home buyers who are struggling to get ahead, says Labour Finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds. ...
The New Zealand public voted for a change in direction at the 2023 general election and that is exactly what this coalition government has been delivering in its first 100 days. There was an immediate focus on the economy, easing the cost of living, cracking down on law and order ...
The Government has left the health system as an afterthought, announcing half-baked targets at the last minute of their 100-day plan, says Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall. ...
Kiwis are still waiting for their promised cost of living support after 100 days of a National Government that is taking us backwards, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said today. ...
The National Government has spent its first 100 days stopping, cutting and reversing. They have scrapped stuff for stuff for the sake of it, without putting up any solutions of their own – and it’s hardworking New Zealanders who will pay for it. ...
100 days of National taking NZ backwardsThe National Government has spent its first 100 days stopping, cutting and reversing. They have scrapped stuff for stuff for the sake of it, without putting up any solutions of their own – and it’s hardworking New Zealanders who will pay for it. ...
The Government must commit to funding free and healthy school lunches, as thousands of people sign the petition to keep them, education spokesperson Jan Tinetti says. ...
If the Government was serious about moving families into public housing, they would build more houses so there is actually somewhere for people to go. ...
The free and healthy school lunches programme feeds our kids, helps them to learn, and saves families money – but it is at risk under this Government, education spokesperson Jan Tinetti said. ...
The Government’s proposed changes to Firearms Prohibition Orders (FPO) add almost nothing new and are merely an attempt to distract from its plans to loosen gun laws, police spokesperson Ginny Andersen and justice spokesperson Dr Duncan Webb said. ...
The great Victorian era English politician Lord Macauley stood in the British House of Parliament and said, "The gallery in which the reporters sit has become a fourth estate of the realm".He understood and outlined even way back then, the significant role and influence media have in a democracy. ...
The government’s attack on Māori health this week is committing tangata-whenua to a premature death, says Te Pāti Māori. “The government have begun their onslaught on Māori health with the abolishment of the Māori Health Authority and smokefree laws in the same day” said health spokesperson and co-leader, Debbie Ngarewa-Packer. ...
New Zealand’s social workers are qualified, experienced, and more representative of the communities they serve, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “I want to acknowledge and applaud New Zealand’s social workers for the hard work they do, providing invaluable support for our most vulnerable. “To coincide with World ...
Cabinet has agreed to a reduced road user charge (RUC) rate for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. Owners of PHEVs will be eligible for a reduced rate of $38 per 1,000km once all light electric vehicles (EVs) move into the RUC system from 1 April. ...
Minister of Agriculture and Trade, Todd McClay, says that today’s opening of Riverland Foods manufacturing plant in Christchurch is a great example of how trade access to overseas markets creates jobs in New Zealand. Speaking at the official opening of this state-of-the-art pet food factory the Minister noted that exports ...
Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Wellington today. “It was a pleasure to host Foreign Minister Wang Yi during his first official visit to New Zealand since 2017. Our discussions were wide-ranging and enabled engagement on many facets of New Zealand’s relationship with China, including trade, ...
Kāinga Ora – Homes & Communities has been instructed to end the Sustaining Tenancies Framework and take stronger measures against persistent antisocial behaviour by tenants, says Housing Minister Chris Bishop. “Earlier today Finance Minister Nicola Willis and I sent an interim Letter of Expectations to the Board of Kāinga Ora. ...
Tēna koutou katoa. Greetings everyone. Thank you to the Auckland Chamber of Commerce and the Honourable Simon Bridges for hosting this address today. I acknowledge the business leaders in this room, the leaders and governors, the employers, the entrepreneurs, the investors, and the wealth creators. The coalition Government shares your ...
Minister Winston Peters completed the final leg of his visit to South and South East Asia in Singapore today, where he focused on enhancing one of New Zealand’s indispensable strategic partnerships. “Singapore is our most important defence partner in South East Asia, our fourth-largest trading partner and a ...
Minister of Internal Affairs and Workplace Relations and Safety, Hon. Brooke van Velden, will travel to the Republic of Korea to represent New Zealand at the Third Summit for Democracy on 18 March. The summit, hosted by the Republic of Korea, was first convened by the United States in 2021, ...
ICNZ Speech 7 March 2024, Auckland Acknowledgements and opening Mōrena, ngā mihi nui. Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho. Good morning, it’s a privilege to be here to open the ICNZ annual conference, thank you to Mark for the Mihi Whakatau My thanks to Tim Grafton for inviting me ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Lead Coordination Minister Judith Collins have expressed their deepest sympathy on the five-year anniversary of the Christchurch terror attacks. “March 15, 2019, was a day when families, communities and the country came together both in sorrow and solidarity,” Mr Luxon says. “Today we pay our respects to the 51 shuhada ...
Speech for Financial Advice NZ Conference 5 March 2024 Acknowledgements and opening Morena, Nga Mihi Nui. Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho. Thanks Nate for your Mihi Whakatau Good morning. It’s a pleasure to formally open your conference this morning. What a lovely day in Wellington, What a great ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters held discussions in Jakarta today about the future of relations between New Zealand and South East Asia’s most populous country. “We are in Jakarta so early in our new government’s term to reflect the huge importance we place on our relationship with Indonesia and South ...
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters has announced that the Foreign Minister of China, Wang Yi, will visit New Zealand next week. “We look forward to re-engaging with Foreign Minister Wang Yi and discussing the full breadth of the bilateral relationship, which is one of New Zealand’s ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has today opened the new Auckland Rail Operations Centre, which will bring together KiwiRail, Auckland Transport, and Auckland One Rail to improve service reliability for Aucklanders. “The recent train disruptions in Auckland have highlighted how important it is KiwiRail and Auckland’s rail agencies work together to ...
The Government is proud to support the 10th edition of Crankworx Rotorua as the Crankworx World Tour returns to Rotorua from 16-24 March 2024, says Minister for Economic Development Melissa Lee. “Over the past 10 years as Crankworx Rotorua has grown, so too have the economic and social benefits that ...
Legislation implementing coalition Government tax commitments and addressing long-standing tax anomalies will be progressed in Parliament next week, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The legislation is contained in an Amendment Paper to the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill issued today. “The Amendment Paper represents ...
Associate Environment Minister Andrew Hoggard has today announced that the Government has agreed to suspend the requirement for councils to comply with the Significant Natural Areas (SNA) provisions of the National Policy Statement for Indigenous Biodiversity for three years, while it replaces the Resource Management Act (RMA).“As it stands, SNAs ...
Agriculture Minister Todd McClay has classified the drought conditions in the Marlborough, Tasman, and Nelson districts as a medium-scale adverse event, acknowledging the challenging conditions facing farmers and growers in the district. “Parts of Marlborough, Tasman, and Nelson districts are in the grip of an intense dry spell. I know ...
The Government is helping farmers eradicate the significant impact of facial eczema (FE) in pastoral animals, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced. “A $20 million partnership jointly funded by Beef + Lamb NZ, the Government, and the primary sector will save farmers an estimated NZD$332 million per year, and aims to ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has completed a successful visit to India, saying it was an important step in taking the relationship between the two countries to the next level. “We have laid a strong foundation for the Coalition Government’s priority of enhancing New Zealand-India relations to generate significant future benefit for both countries,” says Mr Peters, ...
Cabinet has agreed to provide $7 million to ensure the 2024 ski season can go ahead on the Whakapapa ski field in the central North Island but has told the operator Ruapehu Alpine Lifts it is the last financial support it will receive from taxpayers. Cabinet also agreed to provide ...
Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says the launch of a new mobile breast screening unit in Counties Manukau reinforces the coalition Government’s commitment to drive better cancer services for all New Zealanders. Speaking at the launch of the new mobile clinic, Dr Reti says it’s a great example of taking ...
Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says the launch of a new mobile breast screening unit in Counties Manukau reinforces the coalition Government’s commitment to drive better cancer services for all New Zealanders. Speaking at the launch of the new mobile clinic, Dr Reti says it’s a great example of taking ...
Unlocking economic growth and land for housing are critical elements of the Government’s plan for our transport network, and planned upgrades to State Highway 29 (SH29) near Tauriko will deliver strongly on those priorities, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “The SH29 upgrades near Tauriko will improve safety at the intersections ...
Unlocking economic growth and land for housing are critical elements of the Government’s plan for our transport network, and planned upgrades to State Highway 29 (SH29) near Tauriko will deliver strongly on those priorities, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “The SH29 upgrades near Tauriko will improve safety at the intersections ...
Lower fruit and vegetable prices are welcome news for New Zealanders who have been doing it tough at the supermarket, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. Stats NZ reported today the price of fruit and vegetables has dropped 9.3 percent in the 12 months to February 2024. “Lower fruit and vege ...
Tēnā koutou katoa and greetings to you all. Chair, I am honoured to address the sixty-eighth session of the Commission on the Status of Women. I acknowledge the many crises impacting the rights of women and girls. Heightened global tensions, war, climate related and humanitarian disasters, and price inflation all ...
Tēnā koutou katoa and greetings to you all. Chair, I am honoured to address the 68th session of the Commission on the Status of Women. I acknowledge the many crises impacting the rights of women and girls. Heightened global tensions, war, climate related and humanitarian disasters, and price inflation all ...
The coalition Government is supporting farmers to enhance land management practices by investing $3.3 million in locally led catchment groups, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced. “Farmers and growers deliver significant prosperity for New Zealand and it’s vital their ongoing efforts to improve land management practices and water quality are supported,” ...
Good evening everyone and thank you for that lovely introduction. Thank you also to the Honourable Simon Bridges for the invitation to address your members. Since being sworn in, this coalition Government has hit the ground running with our 100-day plan, delivering the changes that New Zealanders expect of us. ...
Recommendations from the Climate Change Commission for New Zealand on the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) auction and unit limit settings for the next five years have been tabled in Parliament, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. “The Commission provides advice on the ETS annually. This is the third time the ...
The coalition Government is beginning its fight to lower building costs and reduce red tape by exempting minor building work from paying the building levy, says Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk. “Currently, any building project worth $20,444 including GST or more is subject to the building levy which is ...
Proposed changes to tax legislation to prevent the over-taxation of low-earning trusts are welcome, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The changes have been recommended by Parliament’s Finance and Expenditure Committee following consideration of submissions on the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill. “One of the ...
Assalaamu alaikum. السَّلَام عليكم In light of the holy month of Ramadan, I want to extend my warmest wishes to our Muslim community in New Zealand. Ramadan is a time for spiritual reflection, renewed devotion, perseverance, generosity, and forgiveness. It’s a time to strengthen our bonds and appreciate the diversity ...
Former Transport Minister and CEO of the Auckland Business Chamber Hon Simon Bridges has been appointed as the new Board Chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) for a three-year term, Transport Minister Simeon Brown announced today. “Simon brings extensive experience and knowledge in transport policy and governance to the role. He will ...
Good morning all, it is a pleasure to be here as Minister of Science, Innovation and Technology. It is fantastic to see how connected and collaborative the life science and biotechnology industry is here in New Zealand. I would like to thank BioTechNZ and NZTech for the invitation to address ...
Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says he is looking forward to the day when three key water projects in Northland are up and running, unlocking the full potential of land in the region. Mr Jones attended a community event at the site of the Otawere reservoir near Kerikeri on Friday. ...
Associate Finance Minister David Seymour has today announced that the Government has agreed to restore deductibility for mortgage interest on residential investment properties. “Help is on the way for landlords and renters alike. The Government’s restoration of interest deductibility will ease pressure on rents and simplify the tax code,” says ...
Sport and Recreation Minister Chris Bishop will travel to Switzerland today to attend an Executive Committee meeting and Symposium of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). Mr Bishop will then travel on to London where he will attend a series of meetings in his capacity as Infrastructure Minister. “New Zealanders believe ...
This year’s Pacific Language Weeks celebrate regional unity and the contribution of Pacific communities to New Zealand culture, says Minister for Pacific Peoples Dr Shane Reti. Dr Reti announced dates for the 2024 Pacific Language Weeks during a visit to the Pasifika festival in Auckland today and says there’s so ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tim Curran, Associate Professor of Ecology, Lincoln University, New Zealand Getty Images/Gerald Corsi In the latest move to reform environmental laws in New Zealand, the coalition government has introduced a bill to fast-track consenting processes for projects deemed to ...
Uber has argued it does not have as much control over drivers as the unions suggest, and wants a judgment ruling that drivers are employees and not contractors set aside and sent back to the Employment Court. The 2022 ruling followed a three-week hearing in which four drivers sought to ...
What can and can’t be purchased by disabled people or their carers has been slashed in an effort by the Ministry of Disabled People Whaikaha to save money. The purchasing guidelines, a set of rules that sets out what can be purchased using the various streams of Government disability funding, ...
The Treasury has published today a new Analytical Note by Tod Wright and Hien Nguyen, Fiscal incidence in New Zealand: The effects of taxes and benefits on household incomes in tax year 2018/19 . Analyses of the distributional impact of taxation and government ...
The Treasury has published today a new Analytical Note by Cory Davis, Boston Hart and Benjamin Stubbing, Household cost-of-living impacts from the Emissions Trading Scheme and using transfers to mitigate regressive outcomes . This Analytical Note ...
A coalition of public transport and climate organisations, united as ‘Transport for All’, is actively opposing the government’s transport proposals. The draft Government Policy Statement (GPS) includes plans for higher fares for public transport, ...
Greater Wellington is inviting feedback on proposed changes to its Revenue and Financing Policy. The Revenue and Financing Policy covers the Council’s various sources of funding, and how the cost of services is shared across the region. This includes ...
Labour has conceded it could have done more to deal with disruptive state housing tenants while in government but says the current coalition is going too far. ...
The band has asked their record label to issue a cease and desist to stop the NZ First leader using their 1997 hit to support his ‘misguided political views’. “I get knocked down, but I get up again,” blared through the speakers on Sunday as Winston Peters took the stage ...
By Lydia Lewis, RNZ Pacific journalist Food rationing is underway in remote areas in Papua New Guinea’s Highlands following torrential rain and flash flooding. More than 20 people have been reported dead in Chimbu Province. In nearby Enga Province, the centre of last month’s massacre, a 15-year-old boy has been ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andrew Hughes, Lecturer, Research School of Management, Australian National University After months of debate and intrigue, the AFL’s 19th and newest team, the Tasmania Devils, finally launched its jumper, logo and colours in Devonport this week. The Devils will wear green, ...
Brannavan Gnanalingam reviews the debut novel by Saraid de Silva.One of the most baffling things for children who move to a new country is what their parents’ (or grandparents’) lives were like prior to moving – for kids in particular, they’re too busy trying to fit in in their ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Stephen Gaunson, Associate Professor in Cinema Studies, RMIT University Narelle Portanier/Binge “If you don’t know who your mob are, you don’t know who you are,” Detective Andrea “Andie” Whitford (played by Leah Purcell) is told early into the new crime ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Elise Klein, Associate professor, Australian National University It’s commonly accepted that women do the vast majority of caregiving in Australian society. But less appreciated is that Indigenous women do larger amounts of unpaid care than any other group. Working with the Aboriginal ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Beaumont, Election Analyst (Psephologist) at The Conversation; and Honorary Associate, School of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of Melbourne Joe Biden and Donald Trump have both secured their parties’ nominations for the November 5 United States general election by winning a ...
Comment: There has been a striking contrast in trans-Tasman interest about Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi’s visit to New Zealand and Australia. While the Australian press has been full of articles about the visit – including his curious decision to meet with former prime minister and China booster Paul Keating ...
After years of pressuring banks and other institutions to stop investing in fossil fuels, climate campaigners are making some progress. So how does divestment work?For years, climate activists have been pushing banks and other big institutions to divest from fossil fuels. New research from climate advocacy group 350 Aotearoa ...
For Boba, Ethan and Ashley, K-pop is a place to belong, a way to express themselves, and a bridge to connect with others. The three young Polynesians are part of a K-pop fan community in Tāmaki Makaurau. It’s one of many that have sprung up worldwide as K-pop has gone ...
For Boba, Ethan and Ashley, K-pop is a place to belong, a way to express themselves, and a bridge to connect with others. This one-off documentary presents three intimate portraits of young Polynesians who are pulled into a Korean cultural phenomenon. K-POLYS is directed by Litia Tuiburelevu, Produced by Hex ...
There’s ample evidence demonstrating free school lunch programmes provide wide benefits across schools, households and communities according to public health researchers. ACT Minister David Seymour wants to reduce the spending on Aotearoa New Zealand’s ...
By Wata Shaw in Suva Fiji is facing an exodus of Fijians as many are leaving for overseas seeking employment and education and others are migrating, says Opposition MP Viliame Naupoto. Speaking in Parliament, he said: “His Excellency’s speech (Ratu Wiliame Katonivere) comes after a little over one year of ...
The Taxpayers’ Union is welcoming comments from Christopher Luxon this morning recommitting to ‘no new taxes’ as part of Budget 2024. “Mr Luxon’s refusal at the Post-Cabinet press conference yesterday to repeat the ‘no new taxes’ promise ...
SAFE is urgently calling on the Environment Committee to reject the Government’s Fast-Track Approvals Bill, and is urging New Zealanders to rally behind the call. The proposed Bill, currently under consideration with the Environment select committee, ...
Teammates who spend all their time picking fights with spectators are only helpful for the other team, writes Madeleine Chapman. Anyone who has ever played a team sport competitively, particularly as a child and particularly, for some reason, basketball, will know that there’s a lot of politics involved. While there ...
The long-running Wellington music festival is too focused on the Jim Beam-ness and not enough on the Homegrown-ness.There is something about Homegrown that’s difficult to place. A barely perceptible-ness. Like feeling a ghost is watching you from the corner of the room but when you look, there’s nothing there. ...
The latest Ipsos New Zealand Issues Monitor reveals that fewer New Zealanders believe crime / law and order is one of the top issues facing our country. In 2018, Ipsos New Zealand started tracking the key issues facing New Zealand. In this wave ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kate Griffiths, Deputy Program Director, Budgets and Government, Grattan Institute Australia’s political donations rules are woefully inadequate, but donations reform is finally on the agenda. The federal government has signalled its interest in reform and will soon begin briefing MPs on its ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mark Patrick Taylor, Chief Environmental Scientist, EPA Victoria; Honorary Professor, School of Natural Sciences, Macquarie University Naiyana Somchitkaeo/Shutterstock A recent study published in the prestigious New England Journal of Medicine has linked microplastics with risk to human health. The study ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Albert Van Dijk, Professor, Water and Landscape Dynamics, Fenner School of Environment & Society, Australian National University Global climate records were shattered in 2023, from air and sea temperatures to sea-level rise and sea-ice extent. Scores of countries recorded their hottest year ...
As part of our series exploring how New Zealanders live and our relationship with money, a teacher explains why he and his partner are in frugal mode – and how they’re making it work. Gender: Male Age: 35Ethnicity: Pākehā Role: I am an intermediate school teacher and my partner is ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sarah Bendall, Senior Lecturer, Institute for Humanities and Social Sciences, Australian Catholic University Binge Mary & George, the new British television drama series, depicts the real-life story of Mary Villiers and her son George, and their social climbing at the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jason Nassios, Associate Professor, Centre of Policy Studies, Victoria University This article is part of The Conversation’s series examining the housing crisis. Read the other articles in the series here. Australian state and federal governments spend money in many ways to ...
The finance minister is denying that there’s a $5.6b shortfall in paying for the government’s campaign promises, including tax cuts. At his post-cabinet press conference yesterday, the PM refused to rule out new taxes to pay for the cuts, writes Anna Rawhiti-Connell in this excerpt from The Bulletin, The Spinoff’s ...
Kāinga Ora tenants abused by their neighbours are doubting the government's crackdown on disruptive tenants will make a difference on their behaviour. ...
Kāinga Ora is New Zealand’s biggest residential landlord, housing more than 180,000 vulnerable people in more than 67,000 properties. Yesterday the government announced a crackdown on its tenants who fall behind on rent. One longtime Kāinga Ora tenant shares her experience.For 18 years I lived in a 1960s standalone ...
Why does this myth persist, and what’s the real reason our skin is suffering?It’s one of the biggest international grievances New Zealanders hold, up there with the sinking of the Rainbow Warrior and 1981’s underarm incident. We’re quick to tell international travellers that the world’s pollution led to the ...
Auckland Council is opposing a fast-track development backed by Sir John Kirwan and Spark NZ, because it doesn’t meet stringent new climate adaptation requirements The post Surf-data centre faces new 3.8C climate warming rules appeared first on Newsroom. ...
When the Criminal Proceeds (Recovery) Act was introduced in 2009 it was firmly targeted at gangs and drugs. The legislation means police no longer need a conviction to seize assets that criminals can’t prove were paid for legitimately, as long as their alleged offences are punishable by more than a ...
Loading…(function(i,s,o,g,r,a,m){var ql=document.querySelectorAll('A[quiz],DIV[quiz],A[data-quiz],DIV[data-quiz]'); if(ql){if(ql.length){for(var k=0;k<ql.length;k++){ql[k].id='quiz-embed-'+k;ql[k].href="javascript:var i=document.getElementById('quiz-embed-"+k+"');try{qz.startQuiz(i)}catch(e){i.start=1;i.style.cursor='wait';i.style.opacity='0.5'};void(0);"}}};i['QP']=r;i[r]=i[r]||function(){(i[r].q=i[r].q||[]).push(arguments)},i[r].l=1*new Date();a=s.createElement(o),m=s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];a.async=1;a.src=g;m.parentNode.insertBefore(a,m)})(window,document,'script','https://take.quiz-maker.com/3012/CDN/quiz-embed-v1.js','qp'); Got a good quiz question?Send Newsroom your questions. The post Newsroom daily quiz, Tuesday 19 March appeared first on Newsroom. ...
Bob’s relationship with certain members of Lincoln’s academic staff continued to deteriorate in the 1990s. Others supported him publicly, though articles such as Roland Clark’s 1993 piece in Growing Today cannot have pleased the university management. Clark wrote that Bob was selling onions from the Biological Husbandry Unit to a ...
SailGP’s races feature in-your-face action, with agile, hydro-foiling catamarans tacking and jibing for the title over several days. However, public comments ahead of the global series’ return to New Zealand have left this past year’s controversy in the shadows, as a key appointment attracts criticism from dolphin advocates. A year ...
Opinion: We are fast approaching a fundamental change in prisons. As the number of people on custodial remand looks set to overtake the number of sentenced prisoners, the main function of prisons in New Zealand may become incarcerating un-sentenced people who may not be guilty of offending. We have already ...
A huge seven months lies in store for the White Ferns, beginning this week with the visit of England and culminating with the T20 World Cup in Bangladesh in September and October. Starting on Tuesday in Dunedin, the world ranked No. 2 visitors will play five T20s and three ODIs, ...
Opinion: In a move that has shocked road safety advocates across the country, the new Minister of Transport, Simeon Brown, is poised to abandon the previous government’s speed limit reduction policy, particularly around schools. Even more alarmingly, he wants school speed limits to be variable rather than full-time, arguing ...
The letters, which were published last week, were addressed to Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) Chairperson Megawati Sukarnoputri, National Democrat Party (NasDem) Chairperson Surya Paloh, National Awakening Party (PKB) Chairperson Muhaimin Iskandar, Justice and Prosperity Party (PKS) President Ahmad Syaikhu and United Development Party (PPP) Chairperson Muhammad Mardiono. In ...
Evicting more people from state housing is ignorant to the consequences of poverty, the Greens say, but the Housing Minister says it's a privilege that can be taken away if abused. ...
Evicting more people from state housing is ignorant to the consequences of poverty, the Greens say, but the Housing Minister says it's a privilege that can be taken away if abused. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Emerald L King, Lecturer in Humanities, University of Tasmania IMDB Between Netflix’s 2023 live-action version of One Piece, and its latest take on Avatar: The Last Airbender, fans are once again asking: why are live-action anime adaptations so tricky to ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Emerald L King, Lecturer in Humanities, University of Tasmania IMDB Between Netflix’s 2023 live-action version of One Piece, and its latest take on Avatar: The Last Airbender, fans are once again asking: why are live-action anime adaptations so tricky to ...
The government says it still intends to deliver tax cuts by July, but will not lock them in until they have got them past their coalition partners. ...
Kiingi Tuheitia Pootatau Te Wherowhero VII has hosted members of the Green Party Caucus at Tuurangawaewae Marae in Ngaaruawahia. The audience follows the King’s Hui-aa-Motu on 20 January, where more than 10,000 people gathered to discuss national ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Dr Rachael Potter, Research Associate and Lecturer in Work and Organisational Psychology, University of South Australia Ground Picture/Shutterstock Pregnant women and workers with children are often unfairly treated by their bosses and colleagues, despite laws to protect against workplace discrimination ...
Reacting to Prime Minister Christopher Luxon’s refusal to rule out introducing new taxes at the budget, Taxpayers’ Union Campaigns Manager, Connor Molloy, said: “Today’s refusal to rule out new taxes suggests the Government is nothing more ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Stephen Duckett, Honorary Enterprise Professor, School of Population and Global Health, and Department of General Practice and Primary Care, The University of Melbourne Aila Images/Shutterstock Aged-care workers will receive a significant pay increase after the Fair Work Commission ruled they ...
He’s bringing ‘Sophie’ back, yeah. Goodshirt’s ‘Sophie’ music video is one of the most instantly recognisable New Zealand music videos of all time. Featuring a woman listening to the song on headphones while her entire house is burgled behind her, the video won the New Zealand music award for Best ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Blaxland, Professor, Strategic and Defence Studies Centre, Australian National University A year ago, the AUKUS agreement was formally announced between Australian and UK Prime Ministers Anthony Albanese and Rishi Sunak and US President Joe Biden. The agreement mapped out the “optimal ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andreas Helwig, Associate Professor, Electro-Mechanical Engineering, University of Southern Queensland SmartS/Shutterstock Steam locomotives clattering along railway tracks. Paddle steamers churning down the Murray. Dreadnought battleships powered by steam engines. Many of us think the age of steam has ended. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Carrie Leonetti, Associate Professor of Law, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau Victims who experience family violence in Aotearoa New Zealand are treated differently, depending on which part of the justice system they turn to for help. But a new member’s bill ...
Just a comment on something that annoys me on the idiot box:
Why do the reporters all repeat this BS about a 1 in 500 year event re the flooding in Northland.
When it happens again next year and the year after will our memories be so short that we’ll again call it a 1 in 500 year event, as if that explains it all.
Not once have I heard climate change given as an explanation! Intensity of climate events? Naw, just Nature behaving badly.
Collectively we remain in denial about global warming – and the Natz have elected a leader who is a climate change denier!
Comes from NIWAs High Intensity Rainfall System – Councils use the same scientific terminology, engineers use it when designing bridges, culverts etc. Lots of climate change mentions on NIWAs website.
We live in a designated zone that will be inundated by a 100 year flood. The water never came near us. Does this mean a 100 year flood will be worse than a 500 one? Is the Pope Catholic? If I don’t have breakfast will I be hungry by lunchtime?
It simply means that your subcatchment did not receive the same amount of rain as other catchments. Flood models can also assume that culverts are blocked which may not have occurred downstream of your property.
One in 500 or however many years is easier for people to understand than it being an event with an 0.2% chance of occurring in any given year which is a bit more abstract. Return periods whilst useful to describe are somewhat misleading in that regard and don't always help with understanding, alas they are the more common way to different between how common events are.
I'm posting the following clip for those that take an interest in international relations, specifically the relationship between the world's two powerhouses, China and the US.
The local mainstream media don't seem to have comprehensive coverage of this.
This is what I call America's pineapple lump moment and welcome your thoughts.
Warning: this is hard hitting, has global implications, thus is not for the faint-hearted
The days of American passivity and naivety are over. The awaking of the US by US National Security Advisor, Robert O'Brien.
https://youtu.be/_J-Fqe9Xdi4?t=300
Brown nosing his bosses.
/
https://twitter.com/dropdeechalupa/status/1203706751217999873
Interesting. Although it has little to do with all the info collated, the new stance being taken and the related action being implemented.
And do what?
The CCP is helmed by a gang of totalitarian thugs and we're joined at the wallet.
How does the west go about curbing the CCP's most egregious goings on without endangering their own economic well being?
.
.
Hit them (the CCP) personally and in the pocket as Trump is doing.
Some are calling for the CCP to be designated a transnational criminal organization.
NZ recently had an annual trade surplus with China of ~$7,000,000,000, so how might NZ hit the CCP in the pocket?
Maybe the new leader of the opposition National party could put her Chinese contacts to good use in charting a way forward.
In light of developments NZ should be reevaluating its position and reliance on China. Clearly, we're not in the same league as the US, thus can't be expected to lead on this issue but no doubt we will be expected to play our part if the issue deepens and widens.
On a side note, could you tell us how much of that trade surplus was returned to China in the form of profits from their NZ holdings selling goods to China?
Oh, please shut up with your irrelevant questions. A warm thanks in advance.
The relevance was the trade surplus touted. People often tout our trade surplus while overlooking that some of our most lucrative sectors are offshore owned or have high overseas investment, thus should look at our current account to see the wider picture.
Instead of asking questions, maybe it is time that you start giving us some answers, yes?
What are “some of our most lucrative sectors are offshore owned or have high overseas investment”? Don’t hold back in providing supporting information, preferably in the China context. Please don’t mention the Ozzie banks, thanks.
You do agree with the primary premise so at least we have established that.
https://www.mfat.govt.nz/en/countries-and-regions/north-asia/china/#:~:text=Investment,of%20our%20total%20FDI%20stock.
https://nzchinacouncil.org.nz/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Understanding-Chinese-Investment-in-NZ.pdf
Additionally
We can rule out the Ozzie banks if you wish but that still leaves the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, China Construction Bank, Bank of China and Rabobank all operating here.
There are foreign-owned water bottling plants. Insurance companies. Foreign owned forestry companies are NZ's biggest landowners.
"…no doubt we will be expected to play our part if the issue deepens and widens." – no doubt, Chair, no doubt. And I wonder what part 'we' will be expected to play (and by who) if the issue doesn't deepen and widen.
Re your "side note" enquiry, no, I could not tell 'us' that off the top of my head, but I'd be interested (and frankly amazed) if you could ferret out that info for 'us'.
To what/who does NZ owe thanks for that largish annual trade surplus?
https://www.stats.govt.nz/information-releases/balance-of-payments-and-international-investment-position-year-ended-31-march-2019
The info will be in the download data
Thanks Chair – would you be willing and able to attempt a summary, i.e. to what extent are NZ's lucrative sectors 'China-owned', or was that not your real 'concern'?
The words "China" and "Chinese" aren't used in the URL page that you linked to, although the United States of America, Australia, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Japan and Hong Kong are mentioned.
As highlighted above, investment from China is often routed through Hong Kong or other countries, including Singapore, as well as other jurisdictions.
Investment from China including Hong Kong into New Zealand reached NZ$10.6 billion in 2018.
Of that, 30% went into lucrative primary industries and forestry investment. 20% into lucrative infrastructure and commercial development and 15% into manufacturing.
Chinese investors are the largest foreign investors in primary products exports, waste management, electrical whiteware, and tourism infrastructure.
Of which, tourism infrastructure is unlikely to be so lucrative at this point in time.
And then there are their banking investments and utilities. In 2008, Hong-Kong based Cheung Kong Infrastructure bought the Wellington Electricity Company. China is the largest foreign investor in New Zealand dairy sector. Haier owns Fisher Paykel Appliances, which once was one of New Zealand largest manufacturing companies.
The total amount invested coupled with the percentage breakdown of the sectors invested in gives some indication to what extent NZ's lucrative sectors are China-owned.
According to the graphs in your link (@12:26 am), in 2019 the value of Australian investment in NZ was $129,000,000,000, followed by the U.K. at $71,003,000,000, and then the U.S.A at $48,689,000,000.
So to what extent are NZ's lucrative sectors "China-owned"? “NZ$10.6 billion in 2018.” That’s pretty piddly compared to the big three. China is the most populous country in the world – I reckon they can do better.
10% of our total FDI stock.
"National proposes to commit to doubling our two way trade with China from $30 billion to $60 billion over the next decade." – would that make NZ more or less dependent on China, do you reckon?
Discussion Document: The Economy – NZ National Party
"The page you were looking for was not found." – oh dear.
Even more reason to pull out of five eyes and crush the spy domes
We are with the slightly lesser of the two evils being neutral is not an option.
We have to walk a tight rope between them.
Is that even going to be possible with the CCP's ambition to dominate?
Why is that?
The US is the danger to planet, they dictate to all the 5 eyes partners taking away the independence of us all. The US rule with fear and bully tactics, they have aggressed in every corner of the globe with actual military attacks and interfere with the politics of their so called friends. China aggression, where have they bombed and destroyed another country like even we have, nowhere, we NZ is a bigger aggressor than China because Chaiman you and the like believe in letting the US dictate our foreign policy. Get a grip, grow some balls and pull out of Yankee aggressive spy domes.
[Fixed typo in user name]
Before you jump to conclusions about some kind of control or censorship here on TS you may want to make sure you don’t make any typos in your user name and/or e-mail address because the system, which is a computer chip with an IQ of zero, will notice your error(s) and put your comment in Pre-Moderation until one of the Moderators has time to look into it and release it.
Thank you so much for your understanding.
You'd make a bloody good diplomat @Incognito if you're looking for a job job job.
The US is no saint and there are some within the US that support the big brother China model. However, as it stands the US is the lesser of the two evils.
China may not have bombed anyone but they are building up an arsenal large enough to blow up everyone. Moreover, they are currently flexing their muscles and are on a war footing – see link.
https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/world/2020/05/chinese-president-xi-jinping-tells-military-to-prepare-for-war-boosts-defence-budget.html
Then there is their cover up of the virus with them locking down locally but allowing residents to travel abroad.
"China may not have bombed anyone but they are building up an arsenal large enough to blow up everyone."
Do you reckon that it would be in China's interests to "blow up everyone"? During WWII Japan partially occupied China, and the U.S.A. dropped nuclear bombs on Japan. How times change.
What purpose does fear-mongering against China serve? IMHO NZ faces more immediate concerns, such as the prospect of a National-led government opening our borders and flooding tertiary institutions with students from China and India. Now there's an investment!
Why do you call it America's pineapple lump moment?
Due to the time it took them to realize and react.
Pineapple lumps are famously …slow?
Indeed. You've got to be quick around here (or something along that line) is the saying.
John Avlon is a senior political analyst at CNN. He explores the climate of fear being created by woke social media lynch-mobs hunting freethinker leftists: https://edition.cnn.com/2020/07/17/opinions/harpers-letter-free-speech-bari-weiss-andrew-sullivan-avlon/index.html
And it's yet another case of leftists sociopaths copying rightist sociopaths:
Yes, the christian model of rigidly-imposed orthodoxy persisted for so many centuries that liberal diversity still struggles to prevail against an internalised assumption that ideological purity is the standard to be enforced. Binary thinking remains the default of most mainstreamers. If you ain't good – in accord with their prescription – you're bad.
We're having our own version of the Cultural Revolution
Just as we're undergoing in the news media our version of Soviet Pravda, where manufactured external enemies are hyped to instill unity
To those in NW China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and nations with recognised territorial rights in the South China Sea there is nothing manufactured about it.
To those operating in the global market, being required to hand over tech to operate in the Chinese market (or allow buy up of your export industries), having your tech stolen then exported around the world from China, competing against Chinese companies who get essential resources/minerals via long term contract supply lines with cost below the world price there is nothing manufactured about it.
To those watching how China acquires foreign bases via debt Sri Lanka Pakistan and Djibouti while aiding Iran militarily there is nothing manfuactured about it.
Given breaking Oz and US into economically dependent satellites is part of their three circles ambition for the Pacific, which they have barely tried to hide, there is nothing manufactured about it.
For mine it is going to be hilarious, when the West embraces Russia as part of containment of China, how many people are going to turn on a dime.
I think the vilification of Russia has gone so far ,the West embracing Russia really would be turning on a dime.The West has done everything possible to strengthen links between Russia and China
Sure, but that cuts both ways, don't ya think?
Russia has earned that on it's own.
Trump is the enabler .
Russia is making more money out of arms sales than ever.
Like wise the US ithey are operating like a cartel creating instability to profit from the insecurity pushing up arms sales
the new reports out show it was all bullshit. You can find it on rt.com
It was just these guys mucking around for larks and fun times. They have no connexion with Pootie. They don't know him at all. Hardly at all.
RT is where I always go to find unbiased reporting on Russia.
I read an article several years ago about how "unbiased" RT was, and it seems it's a contradiction of terms
Indeed. Like asking Saudi Arabia's Muḥammad bin Salmān if he knows a good butcher.
To be fair, RT is pretty good if you're curious about what Pootee wants you to think.
And the BBC, Guardian for unbiased reporting on the west?
It's not quite as direct – relatively few BBC journalists are killed to ensure they tow the UK's preferred line.
And the BBC, Guardian for unbiased reporting on the west?
Substandard editor Kath Viner has just sacked the cartoonist Steve Bell. She and the Grauniad are, like the BBC, practically British intelligence assets.
https://www.thejc.com/news/uk/controversial-cartoonist-steve-bell-to-leave-the-guardian-1.501690
the problem with you lefties is you can't see past your chin.
the report was from the US, which is not being reported on. Of course RT will report on that. You use your sources to centralise information you normally can't find.
Let me guess, you get all your information from stuff and .org.nz organisations?
I had to read about Bari Weiss and found this critique of the newly and professionally cancelled right:
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/jul/15/bari-weiss-new-york-times-resignation-cancel-culture
From my perspective, left and liberal activism hasn't changed a bit. What is new is the centre-right's hurt response to it.
Probably some truth in that. The Guardian writer imposes leftist framing as required by the media owner, so we can't call it balanced & fair. Evasion of Chomsky, for instance. So I did my own reality check: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bari_Weiss
Well, yeah. Media owners have been doing that since forever, eh? So she found the cultural environment too toxic to remain in. The supposed broadness of coverage signalled by the editorial staff was a chimera:
Folks in contested media careers survive if they are robust & resilient. Social darwinism rules that ecosystem. Sensitive folk exposed as snowflakes ought to shift to safer places…
What's the world coming to when people call you an idiot just for saying idiotic things. So woke eh.
Here it is. Please read and respond, thanks.
https://thestandard.org.nz/daily-review-16-07-2020/#comment-1731895
"From my perspective, left and liberal activism hasn't changed a bit."
Social media changed everything. The ability to pile on or get people fired without due process are new.
It's not just the centre-right being harmed.
New for the left, maybe. Tories have been blacklisting individual workers for decades if not centuries.
Elite power holders and the old boys network still exist. In addition we now have a completely new dynamic. It's not just aimed at centre right people of privilege, and it's gobsmacking that people think it won't be used against them.
But yeah, maybe not quite as new as I was implying, for sure feminists have been doxxed and targeted by MRAs etc for quite some time. Still, the ante has been well and truly upped and if the left doesn't start talking seriously about its own authoritarian tendencies things will go badly when the shit hits the fan.
One of the alarming aspects is the degree to which liberals and some on the left now believe that getting someone fired is a generally legit tactic. Even if the principles are being abandoned there, what do people think happens to people who get fired? They suddenly become liberals or compliant to whatever the prevailing ideology is? They don't end up with compounding resentment from poverty and stress?
Firstly, it doesn't overrule due process. Employers still have employment law to consider.
Secondly, it's not that I don't think it won't be used against me or others on the left. But at least it is something that people other than the elites can use, aven against the elites if their behaviour is bad enough.
Thirdly, despite what the elites like to say, it doesn't result in dismissal for trivialities. Otherwise they wouldn't have to misrepresent what people got fired for.
Fourthly, columnists and others in the public eye are paid to generate income from their content. If their content results in a boycott, that's on them for not providing the goods their clients and bosses wanted. People who play edgelord risk cutting themselves.
And if someone does lose their job over it, sure there's a low probability they'll learn from it. But even if they don't learn, they can then go looking for employers who find that sort of stuff to be desirable. If hosking can keep a job, there's an employer for any flavour of jerk. And if not, they probably didn't lose their job by advocating for a decent unemployment safety net, so irony, I guess.
If you ain't woke, you're liberal eh. Or is it the reversewiseways in praxis?
Bari Weiss made her name hounding academics who dared to speak out against Israel's depradations in the Occupied Territories and Gaza. She is the quintessence of "cancel culture." I cannot believe, Dennis, that you or anyone else with an I.Q. above room temperature would cite her.
Here's a serious analysis of her by a couple of real journalists….
https://thegrayzone.com/2020/07/15/bari-weiss-cancel-culture-israel/
Reaction against China seems a rising trend. Depicting it as mere Trumpism probably won't work much longer. https://www.stuff.co.nz/world/asia/300060332/multiple-battlefronts-as-china-takes-on-the-world
Looks like the shift from economic mutuality (as basis for neoliberal globalism) to geopolitical containment is now substantial. As long as it doesn't ascend into bipolar geopolitics (like the Cold War did), the trend is sensible.
Sounds a bit like a future former comrade colonel MP in praxis, eh.
Dennis,
That is certainly true. The US has a bipartisan approach on this and has done so for some years.
China's actions in Hong Kong and its treatment of Uighurs is not helping China's position, particularly the latter. Camps for 1 million Uighurs are impossible for China to defend. It is an extreme policy that will have people thinking the absolute worst. The fact that China has done this seems extraordinary to me. Previous Chinese leaders would not have done this.
If China wants to reduce the tension they are going to have to change their policies on some of these things.
It's a statesmanship test for Xi. We don't know if there's any truth in their framing the detention camps as benign. One wonders how long till the UN attempts credibility by declaring intent to send in observers to talk to those interned without Chinese supervision. Even if Xi allowed it, there would have to be specialist teams included to detect/prevent electronic eavesdropping by the guards/regime.
Even if a workable arrangement could be made, there remains the downside of UN tolerance. No point in adopting universal civil rights covenants if you then allow China to get away with a flimsy pretence at adherence!
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/14672715.2015.1082259?scroll=top&needAccess=true&journalCode=rcra20
I appreciate that National in govt here has endeavoured to create a coalition of nations in support of UN reform – that seems worth bipartisan support here. I'm unaware of whether Winston has expressed such support. Will be interesting to see if SB provides follow-through.
China doesn't want to reduce the tension – they're taking anything and everything that they can get their hands on and the rest of the world is letting them.
I've been waiting for collins to announce that its china that's going to build all this infrastructure they are planning..
Normally these extravaganzas are announced with bells, whistles & hoopla. She seems not to grasp the essentials of political pr, eh? Coulda used a few dancing girls here & there – tv audiences love that.
Didn't even call it a superhighway, for god's sake. That was so obviously essential! Media love buzzwords.
Three tunnels was good – through huge ranges and under the harbour. Heroic stuff! As macho as you can get. But where was the number of bridges?? Everyone knows promising lots of bridges is essential for National winning. So I dunno. Bit of a mixed bag really.
Heh!
I have been awaiting another PPP, that Transmission Gully is going great….
One for the ‘Bill Rowling was an honourable man file’ Included in the cache of letters between Kerr and the sovereign at the time of the Dismissal is a lovely little snippet about the way Rowling managed to keep his distance from Kerr while he was on an official visit to Auckland.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-07-19/palace-letters-here-are-the-letters-you-might-have-missed/12465294
Do you know the date of the Auckland 1975 dinner with Kerr and Rowling?
There was a general election on 29 November 1975 in NZ and Rowling would not have wanted to become involved in an Australian scandal.
Maybe Rowling was tipped off.
May 1975. The Dismissal happened at the beginning of November that year. Kerr bitches to the Palace about his treatment from Rowling and gets a mild rebuke from Charteris the Queen’s Private Secretary.
https://www.politik.co.nz/2020/07/16/letter-from-australia-your-majesty-new-zealanders-are-jealous-of-us-and-are-slightly-irrational/
I recall the 1975 hit job on Gough Whitlam and the consensus of opinion among Labour members and activists was one of shock and disgust. We may not have known the truth behind the sacking but everyone knew the CIA was deeply embedded – as indeed we now know they were in NZ too.
It subsequently transpired the Yanks were building a huge electronic spy station somewhere in the depths of the wastelands and when Whitlam learned of its existence he said he was going to close it down. He had to go. Kerr was assigned the job of sacking him. How much the Rowling government knew is hard to say, but I imagine their response was the same as the rest of us – shock and disgust.
Well, the chickens are coming home to roost now and I have not one ounce of sympathy for them. They have been asking for it for the past 60 years.
So back then when it came to political hit jobs the spooks were part of it???
As far as Australia was concerned – yes.
And the Aussie spooks were alive and well in NZ too.
In 1992/3 a former ASIS spy, Wendi Holland outed herself and described her many 'adventures' in NZ in the late 1960s and early 1970s in an article published in the Australian Women's Weekly. She described a hit job she did on parliamentarians who were visiting an 'entertainment venue' somewhere in Wellington. She didn't name them but her job was to climb a tree and photograph them entering and leaving the building. All grist for the mill I expect if it ever became necessary to discredit them.
My father knew her (no, not through the brothel) but he died in the 1980s so never knew she was a spy. There's another story there……
Back then (mid 70s) a politician's private life could ruin their political career were the opposition to use an incident against them even when no charge was laid.
Those chickens are foul! Sorry couldn't resist the cliche.
In part that headline at 5.1.1 is true, but we are aware of rather than “jealous of Australia’s growing wealth and power", and would appear irrational to Oz for not meekly following their wise decisions. As for having an inferiority complex, well we suffer from hubris a bit and would be better to be realists using the Baldrick phenomenon – 'having a cunning plan' – and be aware of our strengths and weaknesses.
Kerr could have passed info onto the CIA and this is why Kerr ended up retiring in Britain. Some sort of deal between Britain and the USA intelligence services.
I think the main reason he moved to the UK was because he’d become so reviled in Australia. His actions and role in the Dismissal ruined him really.
Today's Stuff column on National's nest of vipers is worth a read. What a tangled web of distrust, back stabbing and deceit.
There's so much there all right. I almost cried when I saw that Woodhouse suffered 'collateral damage.'
Does that mean his party will ignore homeless people?
Saw Woodhouse in Dunedin on Fri, I figure he was here to check his emails.
The former impartial ref has been side lined because of dirty play red carded demoted to the reserve bench.After giving his team a hospital pass.
Link:
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/122163895/better-the-devil-you-know-the-inside-story-of-how-judith-collins-became-nationals-leader
So she did manufacture the whole thing right back to the Bridges dumping ref the Ratfuckers in the story. She is still neck deep in Dirty Politics so who are the Ratfuckers and their pre-history would be revealing.
They have also done some work on Collins’ appearance-they are trying hard to soften her. The problem is what comes out of her mouth.
Some sort of maze. It should not be that hard to have a civilised caucus vote. When it came to Collin's 3rd attempt her selection was, vacancy needs to be filled immediately.
Some Highlights:
Beware the Curse of Q+A
The Power behind the Throne
All about Eve
Year of the Ratfuckers
Backfire
Anger Still Burns
Judith is Anointed
Well that is a revelation Swordfish. I can't read all the 'stuff' in situ as I find I can't handle all the info that I need to know to get an overview and not be stuck in the mud. So that is very clear and informative from a trusted source!
National caucus is clinging to a life boat named Collins, which will leak.
And it won't be the Westpac Rescue Helicopter coming to the rescue.
Best laugh all day.
This is actually a well-rounded, in-depth article. Stuff is doing some good work these days, well done!
Peter, they have history in ignoring homeless people until this phantom one in the hotel!
Someone's said it out loud.
Saying it was better to be overly cautious at uncertain times like this, the nation’s introverts have called for social distancing rules to be maintained for at least another 2-3 years.
“No-one likes being confined to their home by themselves with only a good book, a fridge full of food, a warm bed and a new Netflix series to get stuck into. But these are the sacrifices we have to make in order to kill this virus,” introvert Chloe Bradley said.
https://www.theshovel.com.au/2020/05/01/introverts-call-for-lockdown-to-be-extended-by-another-2-3-years-just-to-be-sure/
Heh. Joking aside – there's a real discussion to be had about how alienating and pointless BAU feels for many people
I've been saying it for months. Well, sorta kinda, anyways.
Jacinda & Judith: Correct me if I'm wrong … but I'm pretty sure this is the first time in any Western Liberal Democracy that Identical Twin Sisters have led opposing Major Political Parties ?
"“But she's 61 years of age. She's tired of all the dirty tricks stuff. "
Yes Robert-Vance shows her true colours by reporting that without comment.
Shouldn't that be "She's tried all of the dirty tricks stuff."
"and found it curiously satisfying…"
Q&A with Jack. Crikey Jack. You asked the right questions of Collins and she failed to control the interview. She could not answer questions about the costing of their Transport Project. Judith's smile became a grimace and her answers faltered and she lost her fluency.
Watch Jack and Judy on Q&A.
https://www.tvnz.co.nz/shows/q-and-a/live from about 7 minutes
Like all right-wing populists, Judith manages to be simultaneously ridiculous and sinister.
Once Hamish HashisPrice and Bent Thomas finish 'analysing' it, she will have crushed it.
Ain't that the truth Gabby, I know we all partisan to some extent but those 2 are just delusional, who they think they kidding?
I thought the Winston interview was quite interesting, when asked about the Tally's donations and the fact that "cameras on fishing boats still hasn't occurred" nearly 3 years on, Winstons response was that the cameras weren't the problem, it was the collection, storage and analysis of the infomation/pictures that was holding up the process, how convenient.
Winston was his usual combative self.
Mind you, it's bloody hard to collect, store and analyse pictures you haven't got cameras to take in the 1st place.
A question Jake Tane should have asked.
NZFs slow responce to this issue has been noted, I imagine the 10s of thousands of dollars that Talleys donates to the party has no bearing on the lethargy to enforce the installation of cameras.
OK, why can't the camera upload the pics to the cloud via satellite?
Too, too simple, dv ('cause, it would work).
You can't chuck a satellite overboard.
Because then we would have to wait for Woodhouse to go to the cloud till we found out what the cameras revealed.
So the main takeaways from that interview are that nothing’s going to happen for a decade at least. She said cyclists and pedestrians would have to wait 13 years to get a designated harbour crossing, namely a surplus lane on the old harbour bridge. In the meantime they can pop their cycles on a ferry. The other thing is that she doesn’t have a clue how much anything is going to cost or where the money will come from. So much for using infrastructure spending to rescue the economy from Covid.
I guess Collins can be forgiven for not knowing how much building a road costs, she struggled with the price of a block of cheese.
Jack had her on the ropes and she looked ridiculous….. quite different to the patsy interview with Tova yesterday.
Jack's questioning caused Collins to look and sound unsure and unconvincing, however, when Winston came on, Jack floundered. Winston is infuriatingly capable.
Tova was gushing more than Collin's yesterday on the Nation.
As a side issue the two British campaigners on the Nation are about to relaunch Peter's.
Banks and Wigmore have clearly already started: https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/300060509/winston-peters-takes-aim-at-labour-and-greens-in-campaign-launch-speech – note the disparaging "woke pixie dust" comment about Labour and the Greens – bog standard Brexitese…
I fess up, I am so lazy when it comes to doing a link as it is a hit and miss for me.
How hard can it be to copy the address from whichever window you are reading at the time you are typing and paste it here? That is literally all you need to do. No fancy formatting or anything.
It's like expecting the next person to flush the toilet for you. Embarrassing.
Too tough, teacher.
A cell phone is hard to use for a link. Everything is so small and I misplace stuff.
As for flushing the toilet, I have grasped being able to do this since age 2.
I find an old iphone not too hard to link from. Touch the address bar highlights the URL, touch again gives the options, choose copy, then paste into the TS text box.
Thank you. I will get the hang of doing a link with better gear, soon. I constanly mess up my smart phone settings.
For god's sake Treetop! Could you be any more odious on a sunday evening.
Newspapers are carrying the usual election hoardings being taken down stories. National ones. (I wonder if Paul Goldsmith has been talked to about it.)
Funny to see the word 'dickheads' in the headlines and Chris Bishop being quoted.
To be fair, the bish has a MASSIVE head.
Wonder how Bishop feels about Jack's Transport "vision" being challenged. Another Hoarding being taken apart?
Trainwreck interview for Collins on Q&A this morning. Panic at being pressed by Tame for on-point response palpable.
Yep, the old fiscal hole in the budjet trick, the numbers don't add up.
Would the Auckland petrol tax levy not be down due to the lockdown?
To all commenters trying to be active and wise and keep up one's head on the run up to the election.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ChfZZNu3nfQ
https://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/james/sitdown.html
noice..
https://twitter.com/MightyBlender/status/1283621161742397440
https://twitter.com/MightyBlender/status/1283621165181747201
Joe 90
What a fabulous list – in the full meaning of the word!
Farrar watch:
David appears to be having trouble with some of his followers trying to spread rumours about "some MPs personal lives and/or their families".
I think I know the rumour his followers are spreading. Good on David for trying to do the right thing but it really does ram home the nastiest of the right wing crowd, his crowd. I wonder if David ever reflects on that fact…
Good for grabbing headlines – and a promise already broken, in advance:
"the National Party unveiled new policy stating that anyone entering New Zealand from October 3 would be charged a $3000 fee per adult for their managed isolation if National wins the election."
Obviously this will be popular, but it is also a lie. National cannot do anything from October 3. We will still be waiting for a new government to be sworn in.
Meanwhile, I understand the actual government is considering a similar move at Cabinet tomorrow. In either case, we can expect legal challenges.
Summary: National are doing this today, simply so they can say next week "We announced it first, government followed."
Sure this is the government's intent?
National would like to build up pressure at the border by suggesting a future cost to get in, but why would the government want that?
National wants maximum numbers and risk at the border (local spread fits in with their tourism, migrants/cheap labour and students) approach.
The government response should be no cost stays unless one has gone overseas for a holiday since lockdown. To the charge respond saying those overseas know how to vote if they oppose it. And to resident population guarantee a controlled inflow of returnees based on maintaining Level 1.
As the government is investigating the charging option – I wonder if the position paper has been leaked to her and if it recommends something like this amount? So the "policy" is based on what labour will actually decide and Judith will milk it in some way. With more airlines looking to fly here charging must be moving up the list. Still $3000 feels hefty = $200 per day ( in which case looks like they need to renegotiate the hotel charges.)
Observer, the policy released this morning for charges to returnees is exactly the same policy the Premiere of NSW Berisjeklian unvaled last Thursday, exactly the same.
Collins the con
Excellent policy! Law-abiding ordinary citizens who come back home get slapped with a compulsory
finefee of $3,000. Do they get a discount if they test negative and a surcharge if positive? What happens if they don’t pay? Why not bail them to a suitable private address as they do with not-so-law-abiding citizens? Oh wait …Oh wait … There's more
Most arrivals in May 2020 were short-term travellers, made up of 2,600 New Zealand residents and 2,200 overseas visitors. Provisionally there were 900 migrant arrivals. All these passenger types include New Zealand and non-New Zealand citizens.
https://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/BU2007/S00227/international-arrivals-in-may-lowest-in-61-years.htm
Need to check the fine print, Collins said on Q & A "there will be exemptions". & fuck that, we shouldn't have to pay to come back to NZ, non NZrs? Sure.
I think the starting point for considering any National policy at this election is that it is not meant to be implemented. The aim is only to make the MPs' lifeboat bigger.
Glad someone has worked it out.
I think we've all worked it out, especially National's loyal and united caucus
Nobody checks the fine-print anymore. But it all seems a moot point and aimed at a poll bounce and nothing else. Cynical politics at its finest.
😆 Labour agrees to charge returnees, announcement soon over quarantine costs
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12349183
😀
And this is why it was announced today:
Megan Woods responds.
Regardless of party, there will be legal questions down the track. But the election timetable is shorter than the courts' timetable. Politicians aren't too worried now about what the Supreme Court decides in 2021.
Did Collins just get played like a fiddle
I wouldn't say that exactly. She knew what was coming (it's been discussed for weeks) and went for a quick headline first.
The difference between the parties is that a government can introduce legislation, whereas an opposition can only propose it if elected (hence the October date from National, even though that is impossible, as stated above). Ball is in Labour's court now … but they should be careful, populism isn't a great basis for workable law.
That was Bridges' strategy during Covid. Worked out well for him…
Collins may have got a quick cheap headline but she's had any attack possibilities neutralised by grabbing that headline. Tad impulsive and gave the government an opportunity to show they had it under control. More expected her to be saying there should have been charges months ago.
Agree regarding populism as a poor basis for lawmaking but there's charges for quarantine in import circumstances. Don't think entry is being denied, rather being made conditional.
"With the self-implosion of the untested Todd Muller, the departure of many other top MPs, and the non-possibility of picking Simon Bridges again, she was the best of a bunch of bad options."
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/300060232/why-national-took-so-long-to-pick-judith-collins
"she was the best of a bunch of bad options."
Bottom of the barrel stuff..
I'll give them 30% under Collins, only because there's lots of loyal supporters out there who are not only deaf, but appear to be blind as well, and not all of them are, very Old
But only just…
"There are many figures you can compare Collins to: Margaret Thatcher if you like her, David Cunliffe if you don’t. What she is much closer to is Don Brash: A leader extremely keen to differentiate his party from the Government, and not afraid to tap into third rail issues like race to do so.
The electorate rejected Brash,"
Wasn't Brownlee Brashs deputy leader too?
Yes he was. Need to get out the record books to see if anyone has ever been a deputy leader, then returned to the same job five leaders later.
After Nuck Smith had a brief meltdown in the role of Deputy, yes.
Noticed that Economic Recovery is not really part of the rhetoric recently. Roads, Leadership, Vision but in the coming months?
I am a follower of The Standard but my login no longer works. However , I am spitting tacks atm and would like to express my ire over the piss poor, superficial 'menu' being delivered by media for these elections.
One of the most important speeches of our time has been delivered yesterday on Nelson Mandela Day by the UN Secretary-General António Guterres . It's message is universal yet incredibly pertinent to NZ as we approach new elections and make choices for our long term future.
The true NORMAL issues now are not being addressed in the archaic " oh we'll fix a road with billions," promises. It is laughable that in global survival even of New Zealanders, kiwis think a road will save them. It is not Covid19 that is the issue, it's role has only opened the curtains on our deliberate blinkered view. Nor is the problem, the bait being used to instil fear , of an " economic crisis" that are ours and the world's ills ! An "Economic Crisis" has been the norm for decades, not just a new phenomenon; a misnomer used as a catchphrase because the wealthy see lost profit and want the old ways back .. "while we are all floating on the same sea, it’s clear that some are in superyachts, while others are clinging to the drifting debris.” We all are responsible for this, because we vote for it !
Millions and millions of people will continue to perish at our own hands in the near future; and not because of climate change either. Entrenched inequality and neocapitilism, the vices, greed and hatred and the impacts that these have bred, ARE the issues underlying all the world's ills. No! Ms Tapsell standing for National, " the East Coast needs footpaths " . Really ?
There is a myriad of ways that emanate from this accepted inequality that detrimentally affects each of us right here, not just over there… somewhere. But hey, a few seconds given for a condescending pat on the head for standing in Maori seats and a nod to beneficaries that they are safe, solves everything does it not? Only 26 individuals of a population of 8 billion people own half the globes' wealth ! Read that as, ' we'll pander to you silly lot with promises for your vote , then exploit you to pay for it.'
Why has NZ media ignored the analysis and the implications of Guttere's message to the world? Why are the most critical questions, crucial to all our daily lives and future, not being asked of our politiciations by journalists? Instead media , are increasingly treating its audience as an unintelligent species on which it foists more and more trite, inward looking so called news? Where lies the responsibility of NZ media in the quest for urgent change?
“We belong to each other”, Gutteres said. “We stand together, or we fall apart”. The world, he concluded, is at breaking point, and it is time for leaders to decide which path to follow.
https://news.un.org/en/story/2020/07/1068611
Thanks The Standard members.
Thought experiment – you personally have (take or are given) an equitable share of the "globes wealth". What would you do that you are not currently doing about "the vices greed and hatreds underlying the world's ills " ?
… spend it as quickly as possible – on hedonistic pursuits?
Face masks to be mandatory in Melbourne as Victoria records 363 new Covid-19 cases today.
https://www.tvnz.co.nz/one-news/world/face-masks-mandatory-in-melbourne-victoria-records-363-new-covid-19-cases
New Covid-19 cases reported in Victoria last week.
Mon 13 July: 168
Tue 14 July: 257
Wed 15 July: 224
Thu 16 July: 302
Fri 17 July: 415
Sat 18 July: 188
Sun 19 July: 343
Victoria currently has 2,837 active cases, 130 in hospital, 28 in ICU.
https://covidlive.com.au/
Total number of cases has gone from 7000 cases to 10500 over 4 wks, it will take months of strict lockdown to get the numbers back down.
This is the Economic pain that NZ was able to offset through strict conditions and a loyal team of 5 million
A vote for New Zealand First is a vote for National.
Do you really think that?
Peters would know how bad the rot is in the National caucus and I do not think he is up for being in a snake pit.
Peters is trying to take National's votes.
Maybe you're right. But one of the main planks of his campaign is going to be how much the government he's just been in didn't get done. Catnip to centrists I suppose, but everyone else just rolls their eyes.
I think it will backfire on him. It sounds like a clarion call to the left to mobilise and boot his crotchety pale blue arse out of parliament for good, once and for all.
As ever, if you want to have a progressive, left of centre government in NZ, you have to party vote labour or green.
That's my take too, he's like Grandpa Simpson now, yelling at clouds.
The whole "right to believe in God" thing was the final thing that has turned me away from him.
Time for Winston to retire.
After todays interview on Q & A, I was disappointed in Peters, he didn't point out all achievements of the "Coalition" Govt for which he is a part of.
Instead, he grand standed all NZFs achievements, the PGF being the big one, handing out public money.
I don't recall the PGF being a NZF policy, I maybe wrong.
So much for Coalition Partners
Collins says she won't work with NZF
With NZF polling at 1.8%, perhaps the punters aren't convinced they've got the goods and NZF are over represented in Coalition decisions.
Never write them off, but many supporters may be wary after signing up to a Centre/Left Coalition
Because
GOP Senatorsjunior staffers think black people all look the same.Like many of their colleagues, GOP Sens. Marco Rubio of Florida and Dan Sullivan of Alaska posted tributes to Rep. John Lewis on Saturday and included photos of themselves with the civil rights icon who died Friday. Rubio even made the image his Twitter profile picture.
There was just one problem. The photos they each posted were of Rep. Elijah Cummings, who died in October.
"It was an honor to know & be blessed with the opportunity to serve in Congress with John Lewis a genuine & historic American hero," Rubio tweeted with the photo of himself and Cumming
https://www.adn.com/nation-world/2020/07/18/dan-sullivan-marco-rubio-pay-tribute-to-john-lewis-using-the-photo-of-a-different-black-congressman/
heh
https://twitter.com/skolanach/status/1284697718477123584
20 people have died in Australia as a result of softening their Covid-19 policy.
Australia had won but then threw it away because of some bizarre idea that the economy is more important than health.
I fully believe deaths in NZ would be in the hundreds and climbing right now if we followed what Australia did. We have a colder climate, and very overcrowded and poor quality housing in a lot of low income areas.
You can't mess with this virus and I think what our Labour-led government* has done is world-beating and should be promoted at every opportunity during the election campaign.
*Apart from Peters who, while the rest of government was doing the mahi, spent lockdown on holiday.
"You can't mess with this virus and I think what our Labour-led government* has done is world-beating and should be promoted at every opportunity during the election campaign."
Yes, we should all be very proud of our collective efforts under the Guidance of some incredible Leadership and direction allat all levels of Govt.
Did we make some mistakes, yep, but we identified them and eliminated them as they arose, that's what real management looks like.
You couldn't have said that any better.
Graeme – have you read this from Bryan Cadogan? Gives Walker and his ilk a not-so-subtle serve (I think).
"OPINION: Comments and derogatory innuendo around New Zealanders returning home, coupled with incessant nitpicking around incidents occurring at our isolation units, is starting to get on my wick.
Our daughter’s job of four years in China has just been vaporised and her visa expiry date is ticking like a time bomb. Like so many people her life has been unexpectedly upheaved and the danger of becoming stateless is a real prospect.
However the difficulties of getting out of China now pale in comparison with the logistical nightmare of getting into New Zealand – thanks to the micro snivelling campaign that has now forced authorities to place restraints on numbers entering the country.
Meanwhile her old man is on the other side of the world feeling an overwhelming urge to tell a few self-proclaimed experts on the matter to shut the beep up and let us have a chance to bring our kids home."
https://www.stuff.co.nz/southland-times/opinion/122098318/enough-of-the-snide-talk-about-homecoming-kiwis–
I've got a lot of respect for both the Cadogan bros. Both or either would be a significant asset to either major party.
There was this in our local yesterday, looks like the lodge has had enough of party plonkas in Clutha Southland and want a 'mature' MP
A lot of papering over the cracks in that piece too, Walker was challenged for re-selection by the electorate executive, evidently led by Queenstown branch over honesty issues.
Can see Jon Mitchell doing very well at this end of the electorate, people know him and Boult's endorsement is widespread. Usually the Labour candidate has nothing in common with this end of the electorate. Will be interesting to see how he does down your end, but talking disaster management is pretty much talking farming, to a good farmer.
Australia's second wave stems from hotel quarantine mismanagement.
I agree with you about NZ's approach, but your points about 'Australia' do have to be qualified. Each state and territory has taken a different tack and there seems to be little that can be concluded about the difference between Labor led governments and Coalition (Tory) ones. WA, Tasmania, the NT, South Australia and Queensland have all done as well as NZ, even if they didn't actually set out to eliminate the virus. There was and still is some confusion about what the federal government's intentions were or are, but basically most states have just done what they thought was right anyway.
The problem was Victoria's reliance on using low paid badly trained security workers at quarantine hotels. The virus leaked out (just as it could have done in Auckland before everything was tightened up) and now the state is in the mess it is in and the virus has spread to NSW where elimination had almost been achieved. This virus is very nasty and very contagious, so constant vigilance is going to be needed and that applies to NZ too.
The precise point I'm trying to make is that Australia didn't have a common goal and that 'each state and territory has taken a different tack.
Australia didn’t take it seriously enough.
That is another factor in pandemic response which I'm sure will be examined – the advantages one-state countries have when developing and executing policy under pressure.
edit
I think highly of our Royal Family but not much of the preoccupation of very common-ers in the media and their readers who are magnetised to the glamour or the wealth and fancy surroundings. RadioNZ has something on somebody Sussex who is adding to the brouhaha of Harry and Meghan’s attempt to have a life of their own – Ata marie to them.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/sunday/audio/2018755591/can-sophie-wessex-reignite-the-royal-flame
It's been a tough time for the British royal family of late, with Prince Andrew laying low in the wake of sexual misconduct allegations, Prince Harry stepping down as a senior member of the Royal Family, and a new study showing the royals are pretty much useless at raising money for charity…
Author and foreign correspondent Christina Lamb joined her on a recent trip to South Sudan.
While the journalist was not normally a royal correspondent, she said she joined Sophie on the trip as they were both interested in the issue of sexual violence in war….
"I said to her, you know I can't talk to you about what you're talking about justice for sexual abuse and sexual violence when your brother in law Prince Andrew is being accused of being friends with a paedophile and has in fact been accused by one of the young women of having forcibly slept with her when she was underage."
She was met with silence and told she was unable to answer the question – which Lamb expected, but felt the question still needed to be asked.
After returning to the UK from South Sudan, Lamb went on to visit the grand estate of Bagshot Park, where Sophie, Countess of Wessex and Prince Edward reside in Surrey.
She observed that the running costs of the residence must be enormous – and also noted a contrast with the location they had previously visited.
The wording starts off being disparaging about the
Royals. And the story seems to echo the MeToo meme about the wrongs dealt to women; there is mention of a girl who has just been raped, it’s a rather cheap and nasty way to gain footage by going further than just calling for improvement, but exploiting the wrongs to both women and men under this grey-black amoral code under neolib and low regulation. It is right to keep on about the bad treatment of females, but moral outrages tend to spotlight one matter and bypass other equally important ones.
The female journalist puts herself forward as being the arbiter of the Royals commenting critically on their housing and its cost, and like a speech from the Bench, faulting the amoral behaviour of Prince Andrew as if the Sussex Royal is responsible for all. It seems to me that the nouveau riche in a neolib society that measures everything by money and conformist status, have decided that they are as good as the Royals and are prepared to undermine and white-ant the system that privileges themselves, on their own personal whim and uninspired reflection.
It's archived under life and society | aid and development but it's aimed at the middle and upper class choice of which part of society and aid is currently 'the thing'. At least Princess Diana went after mines hand grenades personal bombs etc. – not at all fashionable, and unfavourably diminishing the profits of many wealthy amoral men and women.