Open mike 19/08/2024
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6:00 am, August 19th, 2024 - 50 comments
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- Love, happiness, blur
The last few days have been a bit too much of a whirl for me to manage a fresh edition each day. It's been that kind of year. Hope you don't mind.I’ve been coming around to thinking that it doesn't really matter if you don't have something to say every ...12 hours ago - All I Want For Christmas
The worms will live in every hostIt's hard to pick which one they eat the mostThe horrible people, the horrible peopleIt's as anatomic as the size of your steepleCapitalism has made it this wayOld-fashioned fascism will take it awaySongwriter: Twiggy Ramirez Read more ...19 hours ago - The 1 Good Thing Left In Journalism
Hi,It’s almost Christmas Day which means it is almost my birthday, where you will find me whimpering in the corner clutching a warm bottle of Baileys.If you’re out of ideas for presents (and truly desperate) then it is possible to gift a full Webworm subscription to a friend (or enemy) ...23 hours ago - Bernard’s Picks ‘n’ Mixes for Monday, December 23
This morning’s six standouts for me at 6.30am include:Rachel Helyer Donaldson’s scoop via RNZ last night of cuts to maternity jobs in the health system;Maddy Croad’s scoop via The Press-$ this morning on funding cuts for Christchurch’s biggest food rescue charity;Benedict Collins’ scoop last night via 1News on a last-minute ...23 hours ago - 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #51
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Well, I've been there, sitting in that same chairWhispering that same prayer half a million timesIt's a lie, though buried in disciplesOne page of the Bible isn't worth a lifeThere's nothing wrong with youIt's true, it's trueThere's something wrong with the villageWith the villageSomething wrong with the villageSongwriters: Andrew Jackson ...2 days ago - Government Forces Universities to Enforce “Free Speech” While Limiting Universities̵...
ACT would like to dictate what universities can and can’t say. We knew it was coming. It was outlined in the coalition agreement and has become part of Seymour’s strategy of “emphasising public funding” to prevent people from opposing him and his views—something he also uses to try and de-platform ...2 days ago - Fact brief – Are we heading into an ‘ice age’?
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- As Our Power Lessens: Published
So the Solstice has arrived – Summer in this part of the world, Winter for the Northern Hemisphere. And with it, the publication my new Norse dark-fantasy piece, As Our Power Lessens at Eternal Haunted Summer: https://eternalhauntedsummer.com/issues/winter-solstice-2024/as-our-power-lessens/ As previously noted, this one is very ‘wyrd’, and Northern Theory of Courage. ...3 days ago - By Any Other Name.
The Natural Choice: As a starter for ten percent of the Party Vote, “saving the planet” is a very respectable objective. Young voters, in particular, raised on the dire (if unheeded) warnings of climate scientists, and the irrefutable evidence of devastating weather events linked to global warming, vote Green. After ...3 days ago - Bernard’s last Saturday Soliloquy for 2024
The Government cancelled 60% of Kāinga Ora’s new builds next year, even though the land for them was already bought, the consents were consented and there are builders unemployed all over the place. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāMōrena. Long stories short, the six things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political ...3 days ago - Bernard’s Picks ‘n’ Mixes for Saturday, December 21
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The government published its first Biennial Transparency Report under the Paris Agreement yesterday, and the media has correctly noted that it is missing any plan to actually meet our target. While it hypes domestic emissions reductions so far - which have been good, but will likely get worse thanks to ...4 days ago
- Economic Bulletin December 2024
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- ZB’s Power Couple
I don't knowHow to say what's got to be saidI don't know if it's black or whiteThere's others see it redI don't get the answers rightI'll leave that to youIs this love out of fashionOr is it the time of yearAre these words distraction?To the words you want to hearSongwriters: ...4 days ago - Austerity thumps GDP most since 1991
Our economy has experienced its worst recession since 1991. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāMōrena. Long stories short, the six things that matter in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Friday, December 20 in The Kākā’s Dawn Chorus podcast above and the daily Pick ‘n’ Mix below ...4 days ago
- Weekly Roundup 20-December-2024
Twas the Friday before Christmas and all through the week we’ve been collecting stories for our final roundup of the year. As we start to wind down for the year we hope you all have a safe and happy Christmas and new year. If you’re travelling please be safe on ...4 days ago - The Hoon around the year to December 20, 2024
The podcast above of the weekly ‘Hoon’ webinar for paying subscribers on Thursday night features co-hosts & talking about the year’s news with: on climate. Her book of the year was Tim Winton’s cli-fi novel Juice and she also mentioned Mike Joy’s memoir The Fight for Fresh Water. ...4 days ago
- The baby-boomers’ last gasp
The Government can head off to the holidays, entitled to assure itself that it has done more or less what it said it would do. The campaign last year promised to “get New Zealand back on track.” When you look at the basic promises—to trim back Government expenditure, toughen up ...4 days ago - Skeptical Science New Research for Week #51 2024
Open access notables An intensification of surface Earth’s energy imbalance since the late 20th century, Li et al., Communications Earth & Environment: Tracking the energy balance of the Earth system is a key method for studying the contribution of human activities to climate change. However, accurately estimating the surface energy balance ...4 days ago
- Join us at 5pm for 2024’s last Hoon
Photo by Mauricio Fanfa on UnsplashKia oraCome and join us for our weekly ‘Hoon’ webinar with paying subscribers to The Kākā for an hour at 5 pm today.Jump on this link on YouTube Livestream for our chat about the week’s news with myself , plus regular guests and , ...5 days ago - Christmas Gifts: Ageing Boomers, Laurie & Les, Talk Politics.
“Like you said, I’m an unreconstructed socialist. Everybody deserves to get something for Christmas.”“ONE OF THOSE had better be for me!” Hannah grinned, fascinated, as Laurie made his way, gingerly, to the bar, his arms full of gift-wrapped packages.“Of course!”, beamed Laurie. Depositing his armful on the bar-top and selecting ...5 days ago
- GDP Figures No Christmas Present for New Zealand
Data released by Statistics New Zealand today showed a significant slowdown in the economy over the past six months, with GDP falling by 1% in September, and 1.1% in June said CTU Economist Craig Renney. “The data shows that the size of the economy in GDP terms is now smaller ...5 days ago
- Cheeseburgers and Stunt Monkeys
One last thing before I quitI never wanted any moreThan I could fit into my headI still remember every single word you saidAnd all the shit that somehow came along with itStill, there's one thing that comforts meSince I was always caged and now I'm freeSongwriters: David Grohl / Georg ...5 days ago - MSD rejecting 220 pleas for food grants each day
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- The Wing Parties’ Economic Policies.
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This is a must watch, and puts on brilliant and practical display the implications and mechanics of fast-track law corruption and weakness.CLICK HERE: LINK TO WATCH VIDEOOur news media as it is set up is simply not equipped to deal with the brazen disinformation and corruption under this right wing ...6 days ago - NZCTU: Minister needs to listen to the evidence on engineered stone ban
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- Wednesday 18 December
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The decision to unilaterally repudiate the contract for new Cook Strait ferries is beginning to look like one of the stupidest decisions a New Zealand government ever made. While cancelling the ferries and their associated port infrastructure may have made this year's books look good, it means higher costs later, ...6 days ago
- Notes from Afar: Will Luxon Attend Waitangi Day? And Opposition Calls Out Nicola Willis for “C...
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- Going Backwards
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Willis blamed Treasury for changing its productivity assumptions and Labour’s spending increases since Covid for the worsening Budget outlook. Photo: Getty ImagesMōrena. Long stories short, the six things that matter in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Wednesday, December 18 in The Kākā’s Dawn Chorus podcast above ...6 days ago
- December-24 AT Board Meeting
Today the Auckland Transport board meet for the last time this year. For those interested (and with time to spare), you can follow along via this MS Teams link from 10am. I’ve taken a quick look through the agenda items to see what I think the most interesting aspects are. ...6 days ago
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Hi,If you’re a New Zealander — you know who Mike King is. He is the face of New Zealand’s battle against mental health problems. He can be loud and brash. He raises, and is entrusted with, a lot of cash. Last year his “I Am Hope” charity reported a revenue ...6 days ago - It could have been worse
Probably about the only consolation available from yesterday’s unveiling of the Half-Yearly Economic and Fiscal Update (HYEFU) is that it could have been worse. Though Finance Minister Nicola Willis has tightened the screws on future government spending, she has resisted the calls from hard-line academics, fiscal purists and fiscal hawks ...6 days ago
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The right have a stupid saying that is only occasionally true:When is democracy not democracy? When it hasn’t been voted on.While not true in regards to branches of government such as the judiciary, it’s a philosophy that probably should apply to recently-elected local government councillors. Nevertheless, this concept seemed to ...6 days ago - Willis’ austerity strategy just isn’t working
Long story short: the Government’s austerity policy has driven the economy into a deeper and longer recession that means it will have to borrow $20 billion more over the next four years than it expected just six months ago. Treasury’s latest forecasts show the National-ACT-NZ First Government’s fiscal strategy of ...6 days ago
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- Join us for a pop-up Hoon at 5pm on HYEFU
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Some years ago, I found myself pondering the power of literature to endure. Or at least the power of some of it to endure, while the rest vanishes in mere decades: https://phuulishfellow.wordpress.com/2019/08/07/look-on-my-works-ye-mighty-and-despair-the-literary-future/. I have similarly had fun with the subject in some of my short stories, such as Another Alexandria ...7 days ago - Corrections is torturing prisoners again
In 1998, in the wake of the Paremoremo Prison riot, the Department of Corrections established the "Behaviour Management Regime". Prisoners were locked in their cells for 22 or 23 hours a day, with no fresh air, no exercise, no social contact, no entertainment, and in some cases no clothes and ...7 days ago
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At the 2023 election, National basically ran on a platform of being better economic managers. So how'd that turn out for us? In just one year, they've fucked us for two full political terms: The government's books are set to remain deeply in the red for the near term ...7 days ago
- Shameless, clueless
AUSTERITYText within this block will maintain its original spacing when publishedMy spreadsheet insists This pain leads straight to glory (File not found) Read more ...7 days ago - Minimum wage ‘increase’ is an effective cut
The NZCTU Te Kauae Kaimahi are saying that the Government should do the right thing and deliver minimum wage increases that don’t see workers fall further behind, in response to today’s announcement that the minimum wage will only be increased by 1.5%, well short of forecast inflation. “With inflation forecast ...7 days ago
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In August, I wrote an article about David Seymour1 with a video of his testimony, to warn that there were grave dangers to his Ministry of Regulation:David Seymour's Ministry of Slush Hides Far Greater RisksWhy Seymour's exorbitant waste of taxpayers' money could be the least of concernThe money for Seymour ...7 days ago - When austerity worsens public debt & cuts GDP
Willis is expected to have to reveal the bitter fiscal fruits of her austerity strategy in the HYEFU later today. Photo: Lynn Grieveson/TheKakaMōrena. Long stories short, the six things that matter in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Tuesday, December 17 in The Kākā’s Dawn Chorus podcast ...7 days ago
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The Prime Minister yesterday engaged in what looked like a pre-emptive strike designed to counter what is likely to be a series of depressing economic statistics expected before the end of the week. He opened his weekly post-Cabinet press conference with a recitation of the Government’s achievements. “It certainly has ...1 week ago
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This whooping cough story from south Auckland is a good example of the coalition government’s approach to social need – spend money on urging people to get vaccinated but only after you’ve cut the funding to where they could get vaccinated. This has been the case all year with public ...1 week ago
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And if there is a GodI know he likes to rockHe likes his loud guitarsHis spiders from MarsAnd if there is a GodI know he's watching meHe likes what he seesBut there's trouble on the breezeSongwriter: William Patrick Corgan Read more ...1 week ago - A Lipstick Government
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Iain Rennie, CNZMSecretary and Chief Executive to the TreasuryDear Secretary, Undue restrictions on restricted briefings This week, the Treasury barred representatives from four organisations, including the New Zealand Council of Trade Unions Te Kauae Kaimahi, from attending the restricted briefing for the Half-Year Economic and Fiscal Update. We had been ...1 week ago
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- Thank You
Hi all,I'm pretty overwhelmed by all your messages and emails today; thank you so very much.As much as my newsletter this morning was about money, and we all need to earn money, it was mostly about world domination if I'm honest. 😉I really hate what’s happening to our country, and ...1 week ago - 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #50
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I started writing this morning about Hobson’s Pledge, examining the claims they and their supporters make, basically ripping into them. But I kept getting notifications coming through, and not good ones.Each time I looked up, there was another un-subscription message, and I felt a bit sicker at the thought of ...1 week ago - Nothing here but the shadows
Once, long before there was Harry and Meghan and Dodi and all those episodes of The Crown, they came to spend some time with us, Charles and Diana. Was there anyone in the world more glamorous than the Princess of Wales?Dazzled as everyone was by their company, the leader of ...1 week ago - The United Right: the FSU’s Continued Efforts to Undermine Academia
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Returning to the model that was failing for most polytechnics and Institutes of Technology is not the answer. ...4 days ago
- Release: National buries 1019 planned homes
It’s been revealed that National has cancelled 60 percent of its housing projects planned before mid-2025 amidst housing woes. ...4 days ago
- Release: Rule-Czar bill a right-wing power grab
The Government is quietly undertaking consultation on the dangerous Regulatory Standards Bill over the Christmas period to avoid too much attention. ...4 days ago
- Release: Why not both? Luxon shuns Waitangi celebrations
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon is running away from problems of his own creation, with his decision not to go to Waitangi. ...5 days ago
- Govt’s ‘free speech’ legislation stokes fear, not freedom
The Government’s planned changes to the freedom of speech obligations of universities is little more than a front for stoking the political fires of disinformation and fear, placing teachers and students in the crosshairs. ...5 days ago - Release: Nicola Willis spirals country deeper into recession
The economy shrank 1% this quarter and New Zealand has tumbled into the depths of a recession of Nicola Willis’ making. ...5 days ago
- Release: Hikes for company directors but not ordinary Kiwis
Working people are going backwards while company directors are being given huge pay hikes. ...6 days ago
- ECE no place to cut corners
The Ministry of Regulation’s report into Early Childhood Education (ECE) in Aotearoa raises serious concerns about the possibility of lowering qualification requirements, undermining quality and risking worse outcomes for tamariki, whānau, and kaiako. ...6 days ago
- Release: Strengthening Justice Services for New Zealanders
A Bill to modernise the role of Justices of the Peace (JP), ensuring they remain active in their communities and connected with other JPs, has been put into the ballot. ...6 days ago
- Release: Labour will continue fight against destructive projects
Labour will continue to fight unsustainable and destructive projects that are able to leap-frog environment protection under National’s Fast-track Approvals Bill. ...6 days ago
- Green Government will revoke dodgy fast-track projects
The Green Party has warned that a Green Government will revoke the consents of companies who override environmental protections as part of Fast-Track legislation being passed today. ...7 days ago
- Government for the wealthy keeps pushing austerity
The Green Party says the Half Year Economic and Fiscal Update shows how the Government is failing to address the massive social and infrastructure deficits our country faces. ...7 days ago
- Release: Visa changes let migrant workers be paid less
The Government’s latest move to reduce the earnings of migrant workers will not only hurt migrants but it will drive down the wages of Kiwi workers. ...7 days ago
- Release: Nightmare before Christmas for Nicola Willis
With more debt and a larger deficit, Nicola Willis’ reputation is in tatters after her failure to return the Government’s books to surplus. ...7 days ago
- Warning to Fast-Track Applicants – ‘Exploit the Whenua, Face the Consequences’
Te Pāti Māori has this morning issued a stern warning to Fast-Track applicants with interests in mining, pledging to hold them accountable through retrospective liability and to immediately revoke Fast-Track consents under a future Te Pāti Māori government. This warning comes ahead of today’s third reading of the Fast-Track Approvals ...7 days ago
- Release: Govt cuts wages for lowest paid NZers… again
For the second year running, the government has effectively cut wages for the lowest paid workers in New Zealand. ...7 days ago
- Govt’s miserly 1.5% minimum wage will take workers backwards
The Government’s announcement today of a 1.5 per cent increase to minimum wage is another blow for workers, with inflation projected to exceed the increase, meaning it’s a real terms pay reduction for many. ...7 days ago
- Release: Govt shirking responsibility for rate hikes
All the Government has achieved from its announcement today is to continue to push responsibility back on councils for its own lack of action to help bring down skyrocketing rates. ...7 days ago
- Luxon’s ‘localism’ strikes again
The Government has used its final post-Cabinet press conference of the year to punch down on local government without offering any credible solutions to the issues our councils are facing. ...1 week ago
- Release: Govt breaks promise on EV chargers
The Government has failed to keep its promise to ‘super charge’ the EV network, delivering just 292 chargers - less than half of the 670 chargers needed to meet its target. ...1 week ago
- Greens call for end to subsidies for Methanex
The Green Party is calling for the Government to stop subsidising the largest user of the country’s gas supplies, Methanex, following a report highlighting the multi-national’s disproportionate influence on energy prices in Aotearoa. ...1 week ago
- Govt child poverty targets allow for increase in poverty
The Green Party is appalled with the Government’s new child poverty targets that are based on a new ‘persistent poverty’ measure that could be met even with an increase in child poverty. ...2 weeks ago
- Release: Four weeks annual leave under threat
The Government’s attack on workers continues with news it is scrapping work on the Holidays Act. ...2 weeks ago
- Govt’s emissions plan for measly 1% reduction
New independent analysis has revealed that the Government’s Emissions Reduction Plan (ERP) will reduce emissions by a measly 1 per cent by 2030, failing to set us up for the future and meeting upcoming targets. ...2 weeks ago
- Greens stand in solidarity with Whakaata Māori on sad day
The loss of 27 kaimahi at Whakaata Māori and the end of its daily news bulletin is a sad day for Māori media and another step backwards for Te Tiriti o Waitangi justice. ...2 weeks ago
- Sanctions regime to create more hardship for families
Yesterday the Government passed cruel legislation through first reading to establish a new beneficiary sanction regime that will ultimately mean more households cannot afford the basic essentials. ...2 weeks ago
- Govt gifts renters housing anxiety for Christmas
Today's passing of the Government's Residential Tenancies Amendment Bill–which allows landlords to end tenancies with no reason–ignores the voice of the people and leaves renters in limbo ahead of the festive season. ...2 weeks ago
- Release: National Party urged to support modern slavery legislation
Labour is urging the Prime Minister to walk the talk and support legislation combating modern slavery. ...2 weeks ago
- Release: Labour has lost confidence in the Speaker
The Speaker of the New Zealand Parliament made an unprecedented decision on the government amendment to the Fast Track Approvals Bill last night. ...2 weeks ago
- One year on, still no progress on new ferries
Today’s announcement from the Government on its plan for new ferries throws more uncertainty on the future of the country’s rail network. ...2 weeks ago
- Release: Nicola Willis’ smaller ferries will cost more
After wasting a year, Nicola Willis has delivered a worse deal for the Cook Strait ferries that will end up being more expensive and take longer to arrive. ...2 weeks ago
- Bill to sanction unlawful occupation of Palestine
Green Party co-leader Chlöe Swarbrick has today launched a Member’s Bill to sanction Israel for its unlawful presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, as the All Out For Gaza rally reaches Parliament. ...2 weeks ago
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The Government has done the right thing in moving to ban greyhound racing. ...2 weeks ago
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Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says the Government has agreed to the final regulations for the levy on insurance contracts that will fund Fire and Emergency New Zealand from July 2026. “Earlier this year the Government agreed to a 2.2 percent increase to the rate of levy. Fire ...6 days ago
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The Government today released a request for information (RFI) to seeking interest in partnerships to plant trees on Crown-owned land with low farming and conservation value (excluding National Parks) Forestry Minister Todd McClay announced. “Planting trees on Crown-owned land will drive economic growth by creating more forestry jobs in our regions, providing more wood ...6 days ago
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“Accelerated silicosis is an emerging occupational disease caused by unsafe work such as engineered stone benchtops. I am running a standalone consultation on engineered stone to understand what the industry is currently doing to manage the risks, and whether further regulatory intervention is needed,” says Workplace Relations and Safety Minister ...6 days ago
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- Newsroom daily quiz, Tuesday 24 December
Loading…(function(i,s,o,g,r,a,m){var ql=document.querySelectorAll('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 24 December appeared first on Newsroom. ...44 minutes ago - Daily crossword, Tuesday 24 December
.wp-block-newspack-blocks-homepage-articles article .entry-title { font-size: 1.2em; } .wp-block-newspack-blocks-homepage-articles .entry-meta { display: flex; flex-wrap: wrap; align-items: center; margin-top: 0.5em; } .wp-block-newspack-blocks-homepage-articles article .entry-meta { font-size: 0.8em; } .wp-block-newspack-blocks-homepage-articles article .avatar { height: 25px; width: 25px; } .wp-block-newspack-blocks-homepage-articles .post-thumbnail{ margin: 0; margin-bottom: 0.25em; } .wp-block-newspack-blocks-homepage-articles .post-thumbnail img { height: auto; width: 100%; ...44 minutes ago
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- Newsroom daily quiz, Monday 23 December
Loading…(function(i,s,o,g,r,a,m){var ql=document.querySelectorAll('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, Monday 23 December appeared first on Newsroom. ...1 day ago
- Govt walks away from infrastructure alliance
The Government’s social housing agency has backed out of a billion-dollar infrastructure alliance that would have built about 6000 new homes in Auckland – less than 18 months after signing a five-year extension.Labour says the decision to rip up the contract and sell off existing state houses could lead to ...1 day ago
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Just came across this (last year polling)
Apparently more New Zealanders see themselves as right of centre (43%) than left of centre (28%).
The same folk see the NZH as without any bias – but ZB and the Platform as right wing (everything else is left of centre … no surprise … but with the most left wing at 15% so).
https://commonroomnz.com/david-farrar-media-bias-exposed/
Well yes. David Farrar would angle it that way wouldn't he. And re the Common room, I was surprised to see who the presenters are. A mixed bag? A curates egg ? Although bit hard to see the good parts..
Tim Wilson an executive director at Maxim Institute ? Always thought he was just a dick. Seems he's got a lot in Common (right wing ) with most of the other presenters…
It's a right wing astroturf site attempting to pass itself off as an emerging media organisation.
A real den of vipers.
Ironic, given Farrar's protestations about balance in the media, very, very few contributors there (if any) could be regarded as having any left wing, socially conscious values at all.
Aye . Common room…..as in, not so much .
Don't forget that everything is seen as hard right wing by the 25-30 left leaning commenters on this site.
There are many people who consider Luxon way too left leaning and many even think Seymour is a bit woke.
Everything? That seems kinda hyperbolic ? Have you employed a researcher ? Curia…. ? I ask as one of the 25-30..
Oh riiight. And who they ? So we should be kinda ..OK with Lux and Seymour ? As it..could all be so much worse….
So you see the political spectrum as an entirely relative thing and solely in the eye of the beholder. So no objective or comparative historical analysis of the concept is possible and it's just a social construction.
Very postmodern of you Jimmy – actually quite woke – are you a "cultural Marxist" (whatever the hell that is) and do you believe the same thing about gender?
Pretty intuitive then that ZB is by a long shot the most popular radio station, and our most powerful MSM full stop.
RNZ are tanking, just thankfully not as fast as TVNZ.
What's the basis for RNZ tanking?
Not upset, more curious. I didn't know they were rated against commercial stations.
RNZ do release their audience surveys (done by GfK – who also do the commercial radio station audience surveys)
https://www.rnz.co.nz/about/audience-research
Chur.
Big money will always steer advertising revenues to their preferred vehicle which promotes their views. Fairness truth what value those things any more?
Underfunding RNZ and promotion of ZB by Luxon appearing regularly is an uneven field.
Luxon appearing on commercial radio gives me two reasons not to tune in.
Fonterra Greenwashing ?..Nah surely not. Just couldnt be.
Anyway…some Eperts who know what they see.
Such as Mark Anderson….An Actual Regenerative Farmer.
Onya Mark. Regenerative Farmer. Fonterra ? Shame on you !
I found Tim Wilson's video " How to disagree agreeably " very useful.
I bet : )
Billionaire woose and far right supporter/financier Eion Musk take his X bat and ball from Brazil…
Ol' Eion Musk was a fascist Jair Bolsonaro cheerleader ..also unsurprisingly, a major Trump one too. Has custom made pom poms.
Picking up The Post this morning brought quite a nostalgic moment to see Jacinda on the front page. How we miss her, particularly when compared with what we have now. She did not insult. She cared about people. Luxon cares about himself and his entitlements.
Is that in relation to this story from the Herald?
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/political/525521/jacinda-ardern-to-speak-at-us-democratic-national-convention
It sounds like Ardern's role is going to be quite prominent. It doesn't surprise me. There is an element of similarity between the two women, Kamala Harris and Jacinda Ardern. No doubt the Democrats are hoping Ardern's global star power will rub off on Harris.
All power to both of them!
I read Thomas Coughlan's article in the Herald and noted that it was, for a change, quite factual and not putting Dame Jacinda down at all or blaming her for anything that may have happened in the past, as our Thomas is regularly capable of doing in order to denigrate the last government. This link should open as it's not paywalled. No doubt it will grind a few sycophantic Herald devotees' gears though. https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/politics/lets-do-this-jacinda-ardern-heads-to-chicago-for-democratic-national-convention/HFDZAIPLDRE7TGRDSCJMCD5PHY/
My blood boils when I think about how she was hounded in her own country….my heart sings though that her kindness and beautiful smile continues on a bigger and more global stage……..
Diplomacy is war by other means.
What Hamas want in a ceasefire and hostage deal are the lifting of the Israeli hold up of aid shipments into the besieged territory.
Hamas also want the displaced civilians to be able to return to the North during the ceasefire.
What Israel want in a ceasefire and hostage deal, is to continue their siege of Gaza during the ceasefire, including control of the Philadelphi Corridor keeping the Rafah crossing from Egypt into Gaza closed.
Israel also want to be able to prevent displaced people from returning to North during the ceasefire.
For a ceasefire to be agreed to. One side has to back down on these two opposing demands.
As their people are more likely to be killed from hunger, disease and lack of shelter, than Israeli bullets and even bombs and missiles, Hamas is unlikely to back down on their demand that the siege be lifted and the displaced be allowed to return to what remains of their homes.
That is just the reality of their situation.
https://www.oxfam.org/en/press-releases/daily-death-rate-gaza-higher-any-other-major-21st-century-conflict-oxfam#:~:text=Israel's%20total%20blockade%20of%20the,diseases%2C%20diarrhoea%2C%20and%20cold.
As the governing body in Gaza, preventing famine among their people must be Hamas most immediate pressing need.
Hamas may have to 'sacrifice' return to the north for getting the Rafah Crossing reopened.
https://www.aa.com.tr/en/middle-east/eu-says-over-2-000-trucks-carrying-gaza-aid-stuck-on-rafah-border/3246904#
Israel may have to make concessions over their control of the Philodelphi Corridor and the Gaza Crossing in exchange for keeping civilians from returning to the north.
The Palestinians should concede nothing.
Gaza is part of the Palestinian state. Its borders are inviolable and Palestinians are permitted to live anywhere within those borders just as Kiwis can live anywhere within NZ's borders.
All Israeli military equipment and personnel must leave Gaza and the West Bank.
This includes the departure of all Israelis living in the illegal settlements. These could be used to house Gazans whose houses have been destroyed as a result of Israeli war crimes.
These [illegal settlements] could be used to house Gazans whose houses have been destroyed as a result of Israeli war crimes.
They won't be, though. In the unlikely event of a withdrawal by Israel, they'll be demolished in the same mindless and spiteful fashion that the ones in Gaza itself were in 2005.
Even if the war was over, where would the Palestinians live? Buildings have been destroyed on a huge scale and probably the means to rebuild also.
Interesting choice for position of Chief Human Rights Commissioner. Stephen Rainbow was, if my information is correct, a "progressive Green", ACT with token green face. I wonder how much influence Seymour had in this appointment.
He has certainly been in the National Party, I don't know how recently. More of a Blue/Green if you look at some of his published work.
OMG he's a hard core Nat. Currently senior advisor to Mayor Nick Smith in Nelson.
Very political appointment and preparing for an HRC cleanout like all other Departments and otherwise 'independent' entities.
Also very pro-Israel.
If Ethiopia can ban combustion vehicles successfully, why can't we?
https://edition.cnn.com/2024/08/17/climate/ethiopia-evs-gas-car-ban-climate/index.html
Probably taking us too close to China for the likes of 2-Tesla-Christopher.
Given that Ethiopia has only around 50 charging stations – it's more like banning imports of all cars.
And, even if the charging station was resolved (unlikely) it's also facing fairly extreme issues with the electricity infrastructure as a whole (lots of power outages).
https://restofworld.org/2024/ethiopia-gas-car-ban-ev-chargers/
Really you mean they are facing the energy transition with fewer resources and more political direction than everyone outside of the EU and China.
Doesn't sound much like an energy transition – more like an energy contraction.
And, given that currently at least half of the country has no electricity supply (primarily burning wood, etc. for cooking) – it seems like a very large aspiration to convert entirely to EVs.
There is also major controversy with Egypt over the building of dams on the Nile – and the downstream consequences.
https://climate-diplomacy.org/magazine/conflict/politics-grand-ethiopian-renaissance-dam
On a smaller scale, we have the same issue in NZ – where conversion to EVs has not been matched by equivalent generation capacity – resulting in the increased use of coal and gas fired generation, and the power-price hikes we've seen this winter.
Hold up there. Our current energy spikes aren't caused by 3.5% of new car registrations being electric.
Certainly a contributing factor.
Government needs to sort this sort of thing out urgently. What makes the daughter feel she is entitled to live in a tax payer provided property that I'm sure is needed for someone on the list that is more needy, and not even pay any rent for 10 months!
Kāinga Ora tenant dies but daughter moves in, changes the locks | Stuff
KO has dealt with that before- probably lots of times. I was in the CAB at one stage and a family came in very distressed because they did not inherit their mother's tenancy of a State House. Their father had been a Public Servant on transfer decades before and qualified for a State House. After he died, the rest of the family stayed there – paying a quarter of their mother's pension as rent. The now adult kids never moved out, or became co-tenants – possibly because their income would have been assessed for the rent.
Their mother died and KO gave them notice to leave. One of them – a sole parent may have qualified for a KO tenancy, but would have had to get in the queue with every body else.
By the way. The Herald did have a heading for Politics but now it hasn't. Wonder if they removed it so there will be nowhere to publish any criticism of their PM.
This morning on Morning Report, Simeon was asked where the money for Police road drink and drug testing was going to come from. Simeon said redirection but that 70 million would be withheld from the Police until they met the targets.
Wow! But I have seen it reported nowhere else.
He did go on about something along those lines on te news last night,
It seems underfunded police can only access the money to do the job by doing the job with out the funding!!!!
The Police deserve a hard budget rule over them.
Their corporate culture to all other crown entities is arrogant and toxic.
Goid job.
So far, haven't seen a single journalist ask either Brown or the Police about the efficacy of the available drug testing. If the cops were having to transfer money from other areas so they could spend it on testing to establish whether someone driving a car used cannabis at some point in the last week, I can't be the only one who'd feel like my tax dollars were not being well spent, but no journalist asks whether this "roadside drug testing" actually identifies impairment or not.
Now I know what was going on last week.
Was driving along Lake Rd, Devonport when I spotted a line of cars ahead. It transpired the police were doing large scale drink/drug testing. There were three of them [plus extra cops standing around I don't know what for] and they worked in unison… letting a few cars through without stopping them. It came to my turn and I was stopped. I wanted to suggest that I could think of far better things he could be doing than stopping old ladies to see if they were drunk in charge of a vehicle. I would have if I had known what was going on.
So, the cops are spending up large on testing in the middle of the day in the middle of the week. Something has to give. The real crims will have a field day knowing they're local boys in blue will be too busy knocking up young mums and pensioners on their way to do their SM shopping. 😉
Being scheduled in the middle of the day this was likely a training exercise, rather than an attempt to catch any drunk or drugged drivers.
Never thought of that. You be right. My cop looked very young. Getting them primed and ready for the testing blitz.
More spent on drunk driving means less spent on meth, a dangerous, addictive drug that destroys communities. Wrong emphasis on relative harm caused to society. And the expensive, but legal habit of addictive nicotine, a drug that is very hard to break the habit for a proportion of people.
It is all very well to say that from the safety and comfort of your living room in New Zealand, but what if your children were being butchered in front of your eyes you would 'concede' everything.
As Marwan Bishara says it is a matter of power. Who has it, who doesn't.
This is not a war, it is a one sided slaughter.
The Israelis are doing everything in their power to wipe out the Palestinians, the Palestinians are doing everything in their power to prevent it.
The US Qatar and Egypt have proposed a three stage plan. Stage 1 is a temporary ceasefire, with the possibility of extending it into a permanent ceasefire, that is stage 2. Stage 3 is the rebuilding of Gaza.
Hamas, with whatever power they have, want a ceasefire and partial prisoner echange, with the possibility of extending it to stage 2 a full prisoner exchange and permanent ceasefire. The Israelis are doing everything within their power to prevent any ceasefire. The Israelis have said, any ceasefire must be temporary, Even with a full handover of all the hostages the Israelis say that they will continure the war until Hamas is eliminated.
The outcome will be decided as Marwan Bishara says, by who has the most power..