"We need a fierce new republicanism, not the twee deference of liberal anti-monarchism"..+1
A week has now ended of enduring the most disgusting display of slavish boot licking I have witnessed by New Zealand media in my life time…
But now, finally Queen Elizabeth the Second will be buried…just as the crumbling Imperialist regime that she was the active and vigorous figurehead for, buried (destroyed or seized) records of its Imperialist crimes and atrocities carried out in 23 countries and territories in the aptly name ‘Operation Legacy’ carried out during the 1950’s-60’s, an operation that she would have been fully informed of at the very least.
“One of the most pernicious aspects of modern Britain, about which so many are in denial, is its failure to address the real history of the British Empire.”
This woman whom we are supposed to mourn for, maybe even shed a tear for, was the proud figurehead of a nation that murdered, raped, tortured, stole on an industrial scale, its way around the world until it was no longer able to..not because it had repented its multitude of sins against humanity and the environment, of course not..no, it was only when it had lost the physical power as a Nation to inflict its brutal Imperialist nature around the world, that it finally stopped…much like some sick podophile, that only stops to inflicting abuse upon his victims when he is too old and frail.
I would suggest that some acknowledgment and some mourning and maybe even some tears for the untold numbers of victims of postwar British Imperialism under the reign of Queen Elizabeth II would be a far more appropriate response that this time.
“Common torture tactics included starvation, electrocution, mutilation, and forcible penetration”
Shame on Starmer for kow-towing to the monarchist element by stifling political debate on this issue and others during the never-ending royal mourning period.
I, for one, will be washing my hair when the funeral starts this evening.
Scotland is planning an Independence referendum on 19th October 2023. With Scotland exiting the Union, and Northern Ireland already half way out, the edifice that we call Britain and UK will become defunct.
The argument to retain the Windsor monarchy as Aotearoa’s Head of State become very weak at that point.
The nose dive in the economy and international standing of England resulting from it’s isolationist project will further distance Kiwis from that place.
when it had lost the physical power as a Nation to inflict its brutal Imperialist nature around the world, that it finally stopped…much like some sick podophile, that only stops to inflicting abuse upon his victims when he is too old and frail.
When people attempt to graft Q Anon metaphors, about the Democratic liberal regime in DC, with western imperialism in general a lot of dots get joined. When that becomes apology for both isolationism nd extra territorial aggression by others/non western actors, it ends up being incoherent.
In fact the chance of Andrew deputising for King Charles 111 is about the same as the Queens recently deceased dog Candy rising from the dead to do it instead.
The one and only job left to Andrew is looking after the remaining dogs of the Queen.
I was referring to the British Imperialist project as being like a predator, not Andrew..but as it so happens, Andrew is himself a well known podophile…and was protected from facing justice by his mother…Queen Elizabeth.
Queen ‘to spend millions funding Prince Andrew’s defence against sex abuse claims’
And I did not mention in 1.1.2 – just quoted your post paragraph 4.
Your reply is tagged to mine to that of Tony Veitch.
I will say that neither funding a defence in court if ones family is able, nor using state provided defence counsel otherwise, is protection from facing justice.
And we are referring to a female over 16 and under 18 by the way.
"And we are referring to a female over 16 and under 18 by the way"
No we are not…you and I have no idea how old the girls were who where abused by Prince Andrew (favorite son of and protected by Queen Elizabeth)…over what appears to be years of that deviant behaviour…
Then you are posing your belief in the reality of other cases of abuse, despite no charges made. The case made against Andrew in a court involved a person between age 16 and 18.
Well I for one are not going to waste any more time on this subject…if you are fine with a sex abuser participating in the abuse of sex slaves (of any age or sex) and facing no legal ramifications for those crimes because of his wealth and position that is your business.
Vaguely / unenthusiasitically / more-or-less republican on principle … but, at the same time, I recognise the practical utility of a constitutional monarchy … and I'm fiercely – and I want you to reflect extensively on this over the next few hours (possibly while quietly smoking a pipe), I am fiercely – proud of my apathy / half-heartedness / significant de-prioritisation of the issue.
The Guardian article linked in that post contradicts itself on the redundancies. It regularly refers to redundancies which elsewhere in the article, transpires that they haven't happened yet. It's possible people have resigned or taken voluntary redundancy, but as far as I can tell, the changes are still being consulted on in line with UK law.
There are a couple of references online to Thiel’s currently holding German citizenship, but I don't think he does, and it would seriously surprise me, since Germany does not permit dual citizenship, and neither New Zealand nor the US prohibits relinquishing citizenship. Much as I'm no fan of Thiel or the circumstances of his having been granted NZ citizenship, it's singularly annoying to read comments railing against bloody foreigners from a position of lazy ignorance.
Why should someone not qualify for NZ super if they have paid into the scheme during their working life?
Your lazy ignorance is borne out by the fact that you simply assumed that Thiel had triple citizenship, and launched into some nebulous stuff about some countries not allowing dual citizenship, when one of them was, in fact, one whose citizenship you were claiming he had alongside others.
Germany and the US both recognize the principle of dual citizenship but only in specific cases. Usually, dual citizenship in Germany and USA is permissible when obtained by birth— regardless of which country you were born in. But, German and US dual citizenship is impossible for naturalized citizens unless exceptional circumstances apply.'
Peter Thiel, as far as I know, was born to German parents who subsequently emigrated, not to one German and one US citizen. Germany does not, as a rule, allow dual citizenship, and I could find only a couple of vague references to Thiel's citizenship of Germany, with no accompanying, exceptional information. It therefore seems unlikely, as I stated. There are several situations in which Germany allows dual citizenship, but it would become very long-winded to go into them here.
I am also well aware that all three of the current governing parties in Germany have a stated intention of allowing dual citizenship, which they included in their coalition agreement; the fact is, however, that they have not implemented it to date, and I’ll believe it when I see it.
Do yourself a favour, and don't just spend ten seconds googling something before deciding you're an expert.
'Peter Andreas Thiel is a German-American billionaire entrepreneur, venture capitalist, and political activist. A co-founder of PayPal, Palantir Technologies, and Founders Fund, he was the first outside investor in Facebook. As of May 2022, Thiel had an estimated net worth of $7.19 billion and was ranked 297th on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.Wikipedia
Born:Peter Andreas Thiel, October 11, 1967, Frankfurt, West Germany
Citizenship:Germany (1967–present), United States (1978–present), New Zealand (2011–present)
Education:Stanford University (BA, JD)'
you decided to just zoom in on Thiel…my original post was NOT solely about him.Don't be a silly sausage…Mr Wurst.
[Don’t play the man, play the ball and the ball only – Incognito]
Yeeeeeeeees (slow clap). I said I could find a couple of references online, and that was one of them. If you looked a bit furter, you'd find similar Wiki-articles, in various language giving him German citizenship until 1978, and US citizenship from then onwards. If you look at the (many) articles from the time that his NZ citizenship came to light and later, in German and in English, or reviews of his biography, you will struggle to find a mention of his holding German citizenship*.
Given that you presented your point as a grouch about people, implicitly from various nations, holding multiple citizenships, I would expect you to check your facts properly. Your statements are a lazy, throw-away potshot at foreigners, but you’re actually dealing with a serious issue, the sort that tends to foster similar lazy grumblings, and is a huge blight on discourse in culture in New Zealand and elsewhere. If you are going to foray into that territory, you should learn to be specific, and to make sure you have your ducks on a row.
For me, it's more around citizenship. If you want to be a Kiwi, and entitled to live here, and be supported by our social security system, then you need to become a Citizen, not a Permanent Resident. If that means that you have to relinquish your US or Malaysian citizenship, then that's your choice.
I think that 'Permanent Residence' status should be limited to (say) 10 years – thinking here of people seconded to work here, or on long term contracts – and should only be renewable under extraordinary circumstances.
I don't give Kiwis a free pass on this either – I'm glad that the residence rules are changing for qualification for super (though not quickly enough IMO). Provided you've lived in NZ for 10 years after the age of 20 – you currently qualify. So there are a large chunk of Kiwis who have effectively never contributed to the NZ tax base – since they've been living and working overseas, but who are eligible to 'return' to NZ when they’re 60 (last 5 years) and get the pension when they're 65. It just doesn't sit well with me.
Provided you’ve lived in NZ for 10 years after the age of 20 – you currently qualify. So there are a large chunk of Kiwis who have effectively never contributed to the NZ tax base – since they’ve been living and working overseas …
Too many contradictions in there! Please do better.
You can (and I know this because a cousin has done so) – leave NZ at the age of 25. Live, work, and pay tax overseas (in a range of countries around the world, in her case), and return to NZ at the age of 60. Live here for 5 years, and qualify for the pension. She has, over the course of her working life, contributed almost nothing to the NZ tax base – but will be drawing benefits from it (both super and healthcare) for the next 20+ years.
Surely, however, by that reasoning, the only qualification should be the contributions one makes, and citizenship should be utterly irrelevant. I'm not seeing a compelling argument for anything at all regarding citizenship here.
It seems to me that the question invited by your line of enquiry so far is not what the point of PR is (the overarching point is obviously to enshrine a framework of legal rights around somebody's commitment of life and work to a geographical region), but what the point of the rather more nebulous concept of citizenship is.
I can’t be bothered with your obvious selective blindness to your own contradictions except to point out that your wording has already changed ever so slightly and subtly. You’re also missing a huge fact of contributing to the NZ tax base.
Perhaps you can engage your brain and stop erecting those contradictory walls. If you’re not a resident in NZ this whole thread becomes moot, doesn’t it?
The proof is in the pudding. If it looks like, smells like, and tastes like chocolate, then it is most likely chocolate pudding. Or it is that you’re shite at making pudding.
PS it seems that your reply was to the wrong comment in the thread
That's a bit too broad a brush. Residency for tax purposes and immigration status are not the same thing. This thread is just continuing in the same handwavy vein as it started, with the brilliant, "That millionaire Peter Thiel with his thousand passports, and all those Malaysians getting rich off stealing our super, and all that sort of type" gambit.
You introduced Thiel at the start of this thread with a clear intention to steer it in a certain direction and in a certain way. You got called out on that and obviously can’t handle that and the fact that somebody disagrees with you, with good reason. Deal with it or don’t start disingenuous discussion threads aka if you can’t stand the heat then get out of the kitchen.
Yours was, in fact, a very narrow discussion. If you want to have a wider discussion about citizenship and what it means, go ahead. However, I think, 'That millionaire Peter Thiel with his thousand passports, and all those Malaysians getting rich off stealing our super, and all that sort of type' was a perfect summation of your argument so far.
Also, I didn't single out Thiel. You did that; just look at your first post.
I spent getting on for fifteen years working abroad because wages and positions in my industry were decimated by the widespread, corrupt and actually illegal use of foreign slave fishermen.
In compensation various governments hit me with punitive tax impositions. If they'd done their job, I'd never have left in the first place.
It is possible to have a dual citizenship (German and New Zealand). I have both: German since my birth and New Zealand since I successfully applied for it.
In general Germany doesn't allow dual citizenship, but there are exceptions. You can apply for such an exception via "Beibehaltungsantrag" (if you already have German citizenship). You have to explain two things:
The reason to keep the German citizenship
The reason you require the additional citizenship
German Internal Affairs is going to review your application and decides if you can keep your German citizenship with the additional citizenship.
For a well resourced and connected person like Thiel this shouldn't be a major hurdle.
True. However, the date given for Thiel's naturalisation as a US citizen is 1978, when he was 10 years old, and presumably considerably less well-connected than he is nowadays (by the time he was grown up, the ship of ‘Beibehaltung’ would have well and truly sailed); there are virtually no references to his having German citizenship in articles (in German or English) about the minor scandal over his NZ citizenship several years ago, despite a significant proportion of them including the angle that he is a US nationalist, and that a 2nd citizenship would compromise his allegiance.
The original comment smacks heavily of grabbing a prominent person to frame a narrative of divided allegiance, and lifting a little factoid about triple citizenship from Wikipedia to enhance the implication, despite a preponderance of available evidence not supporting his triple citizenship, in order to smear 'Malaysians' (and by extension any foreigners). Especially galling is the reference to Malaysia's not allowing dual citizenship, when the German situation, also referenced in the comment, is also heavily restrictive.
Because we're a tiny weak country with no savings generating next-to-no capital and so we have to suck in capitalists by any means necessary including being a safe boring country where you can get dual citizenship. That's what the Immigration categories look like.
Your saying NZ has next-to-no, what appears to be, savings which the country then can't invest. Is this the claim?
Because relying on foreign investors to compensate for that will surely see the profits of their investment are sent off shore. If thats the strategy the country appears to have picked a worse than merely doing no good strategy.
The problem is not so much the capital , it is the lack of capability, therefore we need foreign capital to provide the wherewithal for the offshore technology we desire/need….and when I say technology, I mean pretty much anything that is not cottage industry…i.e. what we need is not available in NZD.
I did some back of the envelope calculations the other day about NZ and LC.
Let's say that in another year's time 50% of the NZ population has had covid (2.5m). If the LC rate is 10% of infections (more likely higher than that), that's 250,000 people with ongoing symptoms. Let's say 25% of those are serious to the point where people can't work or can only work part time. That's 62,500 people that need health care and financial support as well as support with life tasks like childcare or cleaning their house.
For comparison, current SLP numbers are about 90,000 (long term people unable to work due to disability who get a WINZ benefit).
What I want to know is what is likely to be happening at year 5. Or year 10. If subsequent covid infections increase risk of LC, are we heading for most people eventually getting LC? What happens at the point that there are more people with LC unable to work than those able to keep society functioning? Or even running the health system?
Mostly I want to know what is going on in people's minds that we aren't talking about this as a major crisis on the horizon.
I can't quite get my head around it, because if those figures are in the ball park of correct, then how will this not make society seriously dysfunctional?
Potentially yes…however what is far more likely to occur is a reduction in productivity that we will argue over the cause of and learn to live with (until we no longer can)
England was a nation of shopkeepers (merchant empire).
All English officers looked and sounded the same and most were incompetent, but some were not and often one could not tell the difference, until it was too late.
The royal family live above the shop (preside over the merchant economy) and represent the continuance of the old aristocratic order (landed gentry) but neither Victoria nor Elizabeth 11 exercised decision-making power (though Albert's interest in urban renewal had an impact). Others decided the extension of the franchise and the NHS and the empire to Commonwealth transition.
The concept of blaming the figurehead of the regime for what was done by the government of the people is a bit like the ritual of parties changing leaders on losing an election. Blaming royalty for an empire largely built since 1689 (constitutional monarchy) is simplistic. It's a parody of ritual sacrifice to redeem a people from their own past to build some new republican utopia – a Mayflower ship exodus journey to the New World.
Of course nations formed by immigrants and the local indigenous people will forge their own destiny, connected to, or separate from other nations, in their own time.
At the moment our and their royal performs a ceremonial function, a bit like an animated mannequin in a shop window – in that Liz Truss will write the words that her King will speak to parliament (and here our PM for Dame Cindy Kira). From a mothers son, who could express his views, to a ventriloquist dummy for the person in No 10.
Probably just as well, given Charles is so much of the 20th C, then William can develop the role for a monarchy in the 21st C.
neither Victoria nor Elizabeth 11 exercised decision-making power
Who is 'Elizabeth 11'? The late queen was the second English monarch to hold the name 'Elizabeth', which means she is usually referred to as 'Elizabeth II', or, if you are intent on using Arabic numerals, Elizabeth the 2nd. 'Elizabeth 11' is a nonsensical description.
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Gone are the days when communication was limited to landline phones and physical proximity. Today, computers have become powerful tools for connecting with people across the globe through voice and video calls. But with a plethora of applications and methods available, how to call someone on a computer might seem ...
Open access notables Glacial isostatic adjustment reduces past and future Arctic subsea permafrost, Creel et al., Nature Communications:Sea-level rise submerges terrestrial permafrost in the Arctic, turning it into subsea permafrost. Subsea permafrost underlies ~ 1.8 million km2 of Arctic continental shelf, with thicknesses in places exceeding 700 m. Sea-level variations over glacial-interglacial cycles control ...
The operating system (OS) is the heart and soul of a computer, orchestrating every action and interaction between hardware and software. But have you ever wondered where on a computer is the operating system generally stored? The answer lies in the intricate dance between hardware and software components, particularly within ...
Laptops have become essential tools for work, entertainment, and communication, offering portability and functionality. However, with rising energy costs and growing environmental concerns, understanding a laptop’s power consumption is more important than ever. So, how many watts does a laptop use? The answer, unfortunately, isn’t straightforward. It depends on several ...
Screen recording has become an essential tool for various purposes, such as creating tutorials, capturing gameplay footage, recording online meetings, or sharing information with others. Fortunately, Dell laptops offer several built-in and external options for screen recording, catering to different needs and preferences. This guide will explore various methods on ...
A cracked or damaged laptop screen can be a frustrating experience, impacting productivity and enjoyment. Fortunately, laptop screen repair is a common service offered by various repair shops and technicians. However, the cost of fixing a laptop screen can vary significantly depending on several factors. This article delves into the ...
Gaming laptops represent a significant investment for passionate gamers, offering portability and powerful performance for immersive gaming experiences. However, a common concern among potential buyers is their lifespan. Unlike desktop PCs, which allow for easier component upgrades, gaming laptops have inherent limitations due to their compact and integrated design. This ...
The annual inventory report of New Zealand's greenhouse gas emissions has been released, showing that gross emissions have dropped for the third year in a row, to 78.4 million tons: All-told gross emissions have decreased by over 6 million tons since the Zero Carbon Act was passed in 2019. ...
Experiencing a locked computer can be frustrating, especially when you need access to your files and applications urgently. The methods to unlock your computer will vary depending on the specific situation and the type of lock you encounter. This guide will explore various scenarios and provide step-by-step instructions on how ...
While the world has largely transitioned to digital communication, faxing still holds relevance in certain industries and situations. Fortunately, gone are the days of bulky fax machines and dedicated phone lines. Today, you can easily send and receive faxes directly from your computer, offering a convenient and efficient way to ...
In our increasingly digital world, home computers have become essential tools for work, communication, entertainment, and more. However, this increased reliance on technology also exposes us to various cyber threats. Understanding these threats and taking proactive steps to protect your home computer is crucial for safeguarding your personal information, finances, ...
In the ever-evolving world of technology, server-based computing has emerged as a cornerstone of modern digital infrastructure. This article delves into the concept of server-based computing, exploring its various forms, benefits, challenges, and its impact on the way we work and interact with technology. Understanding Server-Based Computing: At its core, ...
The absolute brass neck of this guy.We want more medical doctors, not more spin doctors, Luxon was saying a couple of weeks ago, and now we’re told the guy has seven salaried adults on TikTok duty. Sorry, doing social media. The absolute brass neck of it. The irony that the ...
Buzz from the Beehive Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones relishes spatting and eagerly takes issue with environmentalists who criticise his enthusiasm for resource development. He relishes helping the fishing industry too. And so today, while the media are making much of the latest culling in the public service to ...
Having written, taught and worked for the US government on issues involving unconventional warfare and terrorism for 30-odd years, two things irritate me the most when the subject is discussed in public. The first is the Johnny-come-lately academics-turned-media commentators who … Continue reading → ...
Eric Crampton writes – Kainga Ora is the government’s house building agency. It’s been building a lot of social housing. Kainga Ora has its own (but independent) consenting authority, Consentium. It’s a neat idea. Rather than have to deal with building consents across each different territorial authority, Kainga Ora ...
Muriel Newman writes – The Coalition Government says it is moving with speed to deliver campaign promises and reverse the damage done by Labour. One of their key commitments is to “defend the principle that New Zealanders are equal before the law.” To achieve this, they have pledged they “will not advance ...
Chris Trotter writes – The absence of anything resembling a fightback from the public servants currently losing their jobs is interesting. State-sector workers’ collective fatalism in the face of Coalition cutbacks indicates a surprisingly broad acceptance of impermanence in the workplace. Fifty years ago, lay-offs in the thousands ...
The Green Party has joined the call for public submissions on the fast-track legislation to be extended after the Ombudsman forced the Government to release the list of organisations invited to apply just hours before submissions close. ...
New Zealand’s good work at reducing climate emissions for three years in a row will be undone by the National government’s lack of ambition and scrapping programmes that were making a difference, Labour Party climate spokesperson Megan Woods said today. ...
More essential jobs could be on the chopping block, this time Ministry of Education staff on the school lunches team are set to find out whether they're in line to lose their jobs. ...
The Government is trying to bring in a law that will allow Ministers to cut corners and kill off native species, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said. ...
Cancelling urgently needed new Cook Strait ferries and hiking the cost of public transport for many Kiwis so that National can announce the prospect of another tunnel for Wellington is not making good choices, Labour Transport Spokesperson Tangi Utikere said. ...
A laundry list of additional costs for Tāmaki Makarau Auckland shows the Minister for the city is not delivering for the people who live there, says Labour Auckland Issues spokesperson Shanan Halbert. ...
The Green Party has today launched a step-by-step guide to help New Zealanders make their voice heard on the Government’s democracy dodging and anti-environment fast track legislation. ...
The National Government’s proposed changes to the Residential Tenancies Act will mean tenants can be turfed from their homes by landlords with little notice, Labour housing spokesperson Kieran McAnulty said. ...
Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson is calling on all parties to support a common-sense change that’s great for the planet and great for consumers after her member’s bill was drawn from the ballot today. ...
A significant milestone has been reached in the fight to strike an anti-Pasifika and unfair law from the country’s books after Teanau Tuiono’s members’ bill passed its first reading. ...
New Zealand has today missed the opportunity to uphold the right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment, says James Shaw after his member’s bill was voted down in its first reading. ...
Today’s advice from the Climate Change Commission paints a sobering reality of the challenge we face in combating climate change, especially in light of recent Government policy announcements. ...
Minister for Disability Issues Penny Simmonds appears to have delayed a report back to Cabinet on the progress New Zealand is making against international obligations for disabled New Zealanders. ...
The Government’s newly announced review of methane emissions reduction targets hints at its desire to delay Aotearoa New Zealand’s urgent transition to a climate safe future, the Green Party said. ...
The Government must commit to the Maitai School building project for students with high and complex needs, to ensure disabled students from the top of the South Island have somewhere to learn. ...
Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey and his Government colleagues have made a meal of their mental health commitments, showing how flimsy their efforts to champion the issue truly are, says Labour Mental Health spokesperson Ingrid Leary. ...
Māori are yet to see anything from this Government except cuts, reversals and taking our people backwards, Māori Development spokesperson Willie Jackson said. ...
The Coalition Government’s refusal to commit to ongoing funding for social housing is seeing the sector pull back on developments and families watch their dreams of securing a home fade away, says Labour Housing spokesperson Kieran McAnulty. ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has completed a successful trip to Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines, deepening relationships and capitalising on opportunities. Mr Luxon was accompanied by a business delegation and says the choice of countries represents the priority the New Zealand Government places on South East Asia, and our relationships in ...
New Zealand is demonstrating its commitment to reducing global greenhouse emissions, and supporting clean energy transition in South East Asia, through a contribution of NZ$41 million (US$25 million) in climate finance to the Asian Development Bank (ADB)-led Energy Transition Mechanism (ETM). Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Climate Change Minister Simon Watts announced ...
The Government is today releasing a list of organisations who received letters about the Fast-track applications process, says RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop. “Recently Ministers and agencies have received a series of OIA requests for a list of organisations to whom I wrote with information on applying to have a ...
Attorney-General Judith Collins today announced the appointment of Wellington Barrister David Jonathan Boldt as a Judge of the High Court, and the Honourable Justice Matthew Palmer as a Judge of the Court of Appeal. Justice Boldt graduated with an LLB from Victoria University of Wellington in 1990, and also holds ...
Education Minister Erica Stanford will lead the New Zealand delegation at the 2024 International Summit on the Teaching Profession (ISTP) held in Singapore. The delegation includes representatives from the Post Primary Teachers’ Association (PPTA) Te Wehengarua and the New Zealand Educational Institute (NZEI) Te Riu Roa. The summit is co-hosted ...
A stopbank upgrade project in Tairawhiti partly funded by the Government has increased flood resilience for around 7000ha of residential and horticultural land so far, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones today attended a dawn service in Gisborne to mark the end of the first stage of the ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters will represent the Government at Anzac Day commemorations on the Gallipoli Peninsula next week and engage with senior representatives of the Turkish government in Istanbul. “The Gallipoli campaign is a defining event in our history. It will be a privilege to share the occasion ...
Science, Innovation and Technology and Defence Minister Judith Collins will next week attend the OECD Science and Technology Ministerial conference in Paris and Anzac Day commemorations in Belgium. “Science, innovation and technology have a major role to play in rebuilding our economy and achieving better health, environmental and social outcomes ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon held a bilateral meeting today with the President of the Philippines, Ferdinand Marcos Jr. The Prime Minister was accompanied by MP Paulo Garcia, the first Filipino to be elected to a legislature outside the Philippines. During today’s meeting, Prime Minister Luxon and President Marcos Jr discussed opportunities to ...
The Government has announced that $20 million in funding will be made available to Westport to fund much needed flood protection around the town. This measure will significantly improve the resilience of the community, says Local Government Minister Simeon Brown. “The Westport community has already been allocated almost $3 million ...
The Government is proud to support the first ever Repco Supercars Championship event in Taupō as up to 70,000 motorsport fans attend the Taupō International Motorsport Park this weekend, says Economic Development Minister Melissa Lee. “Anticipation for the ITM Taupō Super400 is huge, with tickets and accommodation selling out weeks ...
Local Government Minister Simeon Brown has announced an increase to the Rates Rebate Scheme, putting money back into the pockets of low-income homeowners. “The coalition Government is committed to bringing down the cost of living for New Zealanders. That includes targeted support for those Kiwis who are doing things tough, such ...
The Coalition Government is investing in a project to boost survival rates of New Zealand mussels and grow the industry, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones has announced. “This project seeks to increase the resilience of our mussels and significantly boost the sector’s productivity,” Mr Jones says. “The project - ...
Benefit figures released today underscore the importance of the Government’s plan to rebuild the economy and have 50,000 fewer people on Jobseeker Support, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “Benefit numbers are still significantly higher than when National was last in government, when there was about 70,000 fewer ...
The Government’s commitment to doubling New Zealand’s renewable energy capacity is backed by new data showing that clean energy has helped the country reach its lowest annual gross emissions since 1999, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. New Zealand’s latest Greenhouse Gas Inventory (1990-2022) published today, shows gross emissions fell ...
The Government is bringing the earthquake-prone building review forward, with work to start immediately, and extending the deadline for remediations by four years, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “Our Government is focused on rebuilding the economy. A key part of our plan is to cut red tape that ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and his Thai counterpart, Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, have today agreed that New Zealand and the Kingdom of Thailand will upgrade the bilateral relationship to a Strategic Partnership by 2026. “New Zealand and Thailand have a lot to offer each other. We have a strong mutual desire to build ...
RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop and Transport Minister Simeon Brown have today announced the Coalition Government’s intention to extend port coastal permits for a further 20 years, providing port operators with certainty to continue their operations. “The introduction of the Resource Management Act in 1991 required ports to obtain coastal ...
Today’s announcement that inflation is down to 4 per cent is encouraging news for Kiwis, but there is more work to be done - underlining the importance of the Government’s plan to get the economy back on track, acting Finance Minister Chris Bishop says. “Inflation is now at 4 per ...
Refreshed health guidance released today will help parents and schools make informed decisions about whether their child needs to be in school, addressing one of the key issues affecting school attendance, says Associate Education Minister David Seymour. In recent years, consistently across all school terms, short-term illness or medical reasons ...
Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones is streamlining high-level oceans management while maintaining a focus on supporting the sector’s role in the export-led recovery of the economy. “I am working to realise the untapped potential of our fishing and aquaculture sector. To achieve that we need to be smarter with ...
Associate Agriculture Minister Mark Patterson is speaking at the International Wool Textile Organisation Congress in Adelaide, promoting New Zealand wool, and outlining the coalition Government’s support for the revitalisation the sector. "New Zealand’s wool exports reached $400 million in the year to 30 June 2023, and the coalition Government ...
The Government is making legislative changes to make it easier for new early learning services to be established, and for existing services to operate, Associate Education Minister David Seymour says. The changes involve repealing the network approval provisions that apply when someone wants to establish a new early learning service, ...
Changes to the Resource Management Act will align consenting for coal mining to other forms of mining to reduce barriers that are holding back economic development, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. “The inconsistent treatment of coal mining compared with other extractive activities is burdensome red tape that fails to acknowledge ...
Trade, Agriculture and Forestry Minister Todd McClay has concluded productive discussions with ministerial counterparts in Beijing today, in support of the New Zealand-China trade and economic relationship. “My meeting with Commerce Minister Wang Wentao reaffirmed the complementary nature of the bilateral trade relationship, with our Free Trade Agreement at its ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon today paid tribute to Singapore’s outgoing Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. Meeting in Singapore today immediately before Prime Minister Lee announced he was stepping down, Prime Minister Luxon warmly acknowledged his counterpart’s almost twenty years as leader, and the enduring legacy he has left for Singapore and South East ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon held a bilateral meeting today with Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. While in Singapore as part of his visit to South East Asia this week, Prime Minister Luxon also met with Singapore President Tharman Shanmugaratnam and will meet with Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong. During today’s meeting, Prime Minister Luxon ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has made further appointments to the Board of Antarctica New Zealand as part of a continued effort to ensure the Scott Base Redevelopment project is delivered in a cost-effective and efficient manner. The Minister has appointed Neville Harris as a new member of the Board. Mr ...
Finance Minister Nicola Willis will travel to the United States on Tuesday to attend a meeting of the Five Finance Ministers group, with counterparts from Australia, the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. “I am looking forward to meeting with our Five Finance partners on how we can work ...
The coalition Government has today announced purrfect and pawsitive changes to the Residential Tenancies Act to give tenants with pets greater choice when looking for a rental property, says Housing Minister Chris Bishop. “Pets are important members of many Kiwi families. It’s estimated that around 64 per cent of New ...
State Highway 1 (SH1) through Wellington City is heavily congested at peak times and while planning continues on the duplicate Mt Victoria Tunnel and Basin Reserve project, the Government has also asked NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) to consider and provide advice on a Long Tunnel option, Transport Minister Simeon Brown ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Foreign Minister Winston Peters have condemned Iran’s shocking and illegal strikes against Israel. “These attacks are a major challenge to peace and stability in a region already under enormous pressure," Mr Luxon says. "We are deeply concerned that miscalculation on any side could ...
Hundreds of people in little over a week have turned out in Northland to hear Regional Development Minister Shane Jones speak about plans for boosting the regional economy through infrastructure. About 200 people from the infrastructure and associated sectors attended an event headlined by Mr Jones in Whangarei today. Last ...
Health Minister Dr Shane Reti has today thanked outgoing Health New Zealand – Te Whatu Ora Chair Dame Karen Poutasi for her service on the Board. “Dame Karen tendered her resignation as Chair and as a member of the Board today,” says Dr Reti. “I have asked her to ...
The NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) has signalled their proposed delivery approach for the Government’s 15 Roads of National Significance (RoNS), with the release of the State Highway Investment Proposal (SHIP) today, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Boosting economic growth and productivity is a key part of the Government’s plan to ...
New Zealand is renewing its connections with a world facing urgent challenges by pursuing an active, energetic foreign policy, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “Our country faces the most unstable global environment in decades,” Mr Peters says at the conclusion of two weeks of engagements in Egypt, Europe and the United States. “We cannot afford to sit back in splendid ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has announced the Australian Governor-General, His Excellency General The Honourable David Hurley and his wife Her Excellency Mrs Linda Hurley, will make a State visit to New Zealand from Tuesday 16 April to Thursday 18 April. The visit reciprocates the State visit of former Governor-General Dame Patsy Reddy ...
Associate Health Minister David Seymour has announced that Medsafe has approved 11 cold and flu medicines containing pseudoephedrine. Pharmaceutical suppliers have indicated they may be able to supply the first products in June. “This is much earlier than the original expectation of medicines being available by 2025. The Government recognised ...
New Zealand and the United States have recommitted to their strategic partnership in Washington DC today, pledging to work ever more closely together in support of shared values and interests, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “The strategic environment that New Zealand and the United States face is considerably more ...
April 11, 2024 Joint Declaration by United States Secretary of State the Honorable Antony J. Blinken and New Zealand Minister of Foreign Affairs the Right Honourable Winston Peters We met today in Washington, D.C. to recommit to the historic partnership between our two countries and the principles that underpin it—rule ...
By Koroi Hawkins, RNZ Pacific editor in Honiara Solomon Islands’ incumbent prime minister Manasseh Sogavare has been re-elected in the East Choiseul constituency. It is the opening move in the political chess match to form the country’s next government. Returning officer Christopher Makoni made the declaration late last night after ...
Headline: The moment of friction. – 36th Parallel Assessments In strategic studies “friction” is a term that it is used to describe the moment when military action encounters adversary resistance. “Friction” is one of four (along with an unofficial fifth) “F’s” in military strategy, which includes force (kinetic mass), ...
The Fast-track Bill, if passed, would allow three Ministers, unchallenged and unchecked, to approve the immediate extraction and exhaustion of one-off resources. ...
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 iamharin/Shutterstock For many people, the term “bulk billed” refers to a GP visit they don’t have to pay ...
Emmas Hislop, Sidnam and Wehipeihana discuss what’s in a name. Emma Sidnam: Hello Emmas! Thank you so much for agreeing to do this with me. My first question for you is related to what’s been on my mind for a while. It’s very important. You see we’ve recently had some ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michael Sievers, Research Fellow, Global Wetlands Project, Australia Rivers Institute, Griffith University Chris Brown Humans love the coast. But we love it to death, so much so we’ve destroyed valuable coastal habitat – in the case of some types of habitat, ...
Josh Thomson on the 80s milk ad jingle he can’t stop singing, the beauty of The Simpsons, why Jersey Shore is as good as Shakespeare and more. For someone who spends a lot of time on our screens, popping up in everything from 7 Days to Taskmaster, Educators to Good ...
In apparent defiance of the Biden administration, the Netanyahu government has now initiated missile strikes against Iran. Last Saturday night (Sunday morning in New Zealand) Iran launched more than 300 drones, cruise missiles and ballistic missiles against Israeli military targets. With the assistance of US, UK and possibly French forces, ...
Māori representation brings a perspective that encompasses not only the interests of Māori communities but also a broader, holistic approach to environmental stewardship and community well-being, principles deeply embedded in Te Ao Māori (the Māori ...
When Thomas James was on his solo camp as part of Outward Bound, the keen outdoorsman didn’t find it too challenging, as others often do. In what might just be the perfect illustration of his character, he saw it as a great opportunity to solve a few problems. “I thought, ...
This week in Auckland, a group of young people took over the microphone at a ministerial press conference, to explain why they oppose the Fast-Track Approvals Bill. One young woman said, ‘We’re here because we love Aotearoa New Zealand. We want to raise our children in an environment that’s thriving, ...
The summer was wonderful. Evie was wonderful, too; finally a teenager, finally worthy of long, hot days. She shaved her legs for the first time and bought cut-off shorts from the op-shop that made them look long. She got a Warehouse singlet so tight on her new shape that her ...
From the unstable and drippy to the hi-tech and pretty, here’s our ranking of all the tunnels you can drive through in this country. The first tunnel seems to have been built in 2200BC in Babylonia, kicking off a global phenomenon for digging holes in order to get places more ...
Lucinda Bennett on the art of being greedy but resourceful. This is an excerpt from our weekly food newsletter, The Boil Up. When I picture the market, it is always this time of year. Crisp air, dripping nose, counting coins with cold fingers. Sunlight pale, filtered through specks of dew still ...
Zoë Colling’s favourite piece in the ‘That’s So Last Century’ collection is a lubrication chart for a sewing machine from the ’60s. It’s about the size of a postcard, and carefully maintained. “I like it that this piece of ephemera highlights that manual and technical side of the skill involved ...
Kia Ora Gaza A passionate haka reverberated through Auckland International Airport as a medical team of three New Zealand doctors received an emotional farewell from a big crowd of supporters before flying to Turkey to join the international Freedom Flotilla to Gaza. The doctors, who left Auckland yesterday, hope to ...
With submissions closing today, Macassey-Pickard says groups around the country have been supporting a huge range of people to make their submissions. ...
Our response to the new legislation is informed by targeted conversations with practitioners working in the system and through an implementation lens. ...
The new ‘Fast-track Approvals Bill’ would give just three Ministers the power to approve or deny development projects. They would avoid the usual checks and balances that are in place to protect rivers, land, the ocean, and communities. ...
COMMENTARY:By Eugene Doyle Helen Clark, how I miss you. The former New Zealand Prime Minister — the safest pair of hands this country has had in living memory — gave a masterclass on the importance of maintaining an independent foreign policy when she spoke at an AUKUS symposium held ...
The government's released the list of organisations provided with information on how to apply - just hours before public submissions on the bill close. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Milton Speer, Visiting Fellow, School of Mathematical and Physical Sciences, University of Technology Sydney Before climate change really got going, eastern Australia’s flash floods tended to concentrate on our coastal regions, east of the Great Dividing Range. But that’s changing. Now ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Elizabeth Finkel, Vice-Chancellor’s Fellow, La Trobe University Sia Duff / South Australian Museum In February, the South Australian Museum “re-imagined” itself. In the face of rising costs and inadequate government funds, CEO David Gaimster, who took the reins last June, declared ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alan Pearce, Professor, School of Allied Heath, Human Services & Sport, La Trobe University, La Trobe University This week, Collingwood AFL player Nathan Murphy announced his retirement, brought on by his concussion history and ongoing issues. The 24-year-old’s seemingly sudden retirement, ...
The Mental Health Foundation provides support and resources for those facing the loss of their job, so it’s wrong in the very week the Government adds another 1000 jobs to its tally of cuts, that this is happening. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alexander Howard, Senior Lecturer, Discipline of English and Writing, University of Sydney Daniel Boud/Sydney Theatre Company Decay, terror, revulsion. These are three of the central themes of Thomas Bernhard’s rarely performed play The President. The Austrian is one of the greatest ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon says threats by ministers Shane Jones and David Seymour to reform or close down the Waitangi Tribunal were “ill-considered”, as legal experts say the ministers may have breached Cabinet Manual conventions. “I think those comments are ill-considered and we expect all ministers to actually exercise good ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ye In (Jane) Hwang, Postdoctoral Research Associate at School of Population Health, UNSW Sydney Shutterstock You’d be hard pressed to find any aspect of daily life that doesn’t require some form of digital literacy. We need only to look back ten ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rob Newton, Professor of Exercise Medicine, Edith Cowan University Pexels/RDNE stock project You’re not in your 20s or 30s anymore and you know regular health checks are important. So you go to your GP. During the appointment they measure your waist. ...
A new poem by Evangeline Riddiford Graham. Mitochondrial Problem I. It was long drive to Kansas for the man and his dog but you have to understand he said She doesn’t fly. Which calls to mind not carsick shitting barking or whining but a dog who chooses not to as ...
The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington.AUCKLAND1 Hemingway’s Goblet by Dermot Ross (Mary Egan Publishing, $38)Hot off the press, this debut ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Laura Wajnryb McDonald, PhD candidate in Criminology, University of Sydney Less than 24 hours after Ashlee Good was murdered in Bondi Junction, her family released a statement requesting the media take down photographs they had reproduced of Ashlee and her family without ...
Chief executive Shaun Robinson said it has not had any government funding cut, but government-funded contracts have not kept pace with rising costs. ...
The Ministry of Health has delayed the release of its evidence brief on the safety, reversibility and mental health and wellbeing outcomes for puberty blockers. While we wait, Julia de Bres speaks to those with firsthand experience. Best practice gender-affirming healthcare is based on trans people’s self-determination and agency. The ...
Barcelona’s city streets have gone from traffic-clogged to pedestrian-friendly. How? Superblocks. Ellen Rykers explains. This is an excerpt from our weekly environmental newsletter Future Proof. Sign up here. Last week I read a great interview with renowned urbanist Janette Sadik-Khan by The Spinoff’s Wellington editor Joel MacManus: “You can reimagine streets, ...
Student groups ‘Climate Action VUW’, Schools Strike 4 Climate and VUWSA will be on the street in Wellington today, the last day for submissions on the Fast-track Approvals Bill, with a message that the fight against the Government’s ‘War on ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sofia Ammassari, Research Fellow, Griffith University Since 2014, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s popularity has grown exponentially – and so has the formidable organisational machine of his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). These two factors will be key to delivering the BJP a ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Brendon Hyndman, Associate Professor of Education (Adjunct) & Senior Manager (BCE), Charles Sturt University During COVID almost all Australian students and their families experienced online learning. But while schools have long since gone back to in-person teaching, online learning has not gone ...
Yes, they’re better for the environment. No, that’s not a good enough reason for me to use them. Once every 26 days or so, my period arrives, and if struck by an act of God, I am caught red-crotched without products. How, after 17 years of this, do I still ...
“It will cause significant harm to our environment and communities. It is completely at odds with New Zealanders’ relationship with nature and our need for a low-carbon, sustainable economic future." ...
The Chair of the National Maori Authority, Matthew Tukaki, has warned a Parliamentary Select Committee that fast-tracking legislation is a perilous practice that undermines the core tenets of democracy, transparency, and accountability. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tim Tenbensel, Associate Professor, Health Policy, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau Getty Images Since coming into power, the coalition government has adopted a simple but shrewd see-how-fast-we-can-move political strategy. However, in the health sector this need for speed entails ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Anastasia Hronis, Clinical Psychologist, University of Technology Sydney Darya Sannikova/Pexels Whether you’re watching TV, attending a footy game, or eating a meal at your local pub, gambling is hard to escape. Although the rise of gambling is not unique to Australia, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mark Wong, Forrest Fellow, School of Biological Sciences, The University of Western Australia Have you ever wondered if there are more insects out at night than during the day? We set out to answer this question by combing through the scientific ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Carol T Kulik, Research Professor, University of South Australia IR Stone/Shutterstock In Australia, it’s not the done thing to know – let alone ask – what our colleagues are paid. Yet, it’s easy to see how pay transparency can make pay ...
The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) is sounding a warning to migrants, that running foul of the law may see them leaving the country prematurely. ...
The government’s plan to get 50,000 people off jobseeker support by 2030 has had a rocky start, writes Catherine McGregor in this excerpt from The Bulletin, The Spinoff’s morning news round-up. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here. Beneficiary numbers are up – and so are ...
Raglan Roast is a staple of Wellington coffee culture. But with five branches across the capital, which one is the best? I am a die-hard Raglan Roast fan. It’s consistently the most affordable cafe in Wellington, and one of the only places you can get a coffee after 3pm. So, ...
Residents of University of Auckland halls are being urged to withhold their accommodation fees from May 1, in a bid to force the university to take student concerns over rent hikes seriously.The University of Auckland is facing a strike from students over the cost of on-campus accommodation. The Students ...
New Zealand and the Philippines have signed a new maritime security agreement and stated their concerns over activity in the South China Sea, as Chinese vessels continue to flout international law. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Philippines President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos committed to signing a Mutual Logistics Supporting Arrangement by ...
The thousands of government “back-office” job cuts are causing widespread pain in the capital city. In today’s episode of The Detail, we speak to three journalists and a think tank researcher, looking at the larger picture around the cuts and what effect it will have on Wellington, a city that’s ...
Opinion: The famed American architect and urban designer Daniel Burnham once said, “Make no little plans. They have no magic to stir men’s blood!” Burnham wouldn’t have been referring to the transport plans in Aotearoa New Zealand over the past five years; projects so big they hadn’t the credibility to ...
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Time for a republic!
“King Charles III has no such reputation. He’s already sacked his staff and made several brattish clangers on video. He helped make a hero of his late wife Diana through his and his family’s antics, and his Jeffrey Epstein-linked brother Andrew will automatically deputise for the king in case of emergencies. On top of this, Charles has been for many years an ambassador for the British arms industry.”
https://www.thecanary.co/opinion/2022/09/16/we-need-a-fierce-new-republicanism-not-the-twee-deference-of-liberal-anti-monarchism/
"We need a fierce new republicanism, not the twee deference of liberal anti-monarchism"..+1
A week has now ended of enduring the most disgusting display of slavish boot licking I have witnessed by New Zealand media in my life time…
But now, finally Queen Elizabeth the Second will be buried…just as the crumbling Imperialist regime that she was the active and vigorous figurehead for, buried (destroyed or seized) records of its Imperialist crimes and atrocities carried out in 23 countries and territories in the aptly name ‘Operation Legacy’ carried out during the 1950’s-60’s, an operation that she would have been fully informed of at the very least.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Legacy
“One of the most pernicious aspects of modern Britain, about which so many are in denial, is its failure to address the real history of the British Empire.”
https://jacobin.com/2016/11/british-empire-kenya-oman-ireland-state-secrecy/
This woman whom we are supposed to mourn for, maybe even shed a tear for, was the proud figurehead of a nation that murdered, raped, tortured, stole on an industrial scale, its way around the world until it was no longer able to..not because it had repented its multitude of sins against humanity and the environment, of course not..no, it was only when it had lost the physical power as a Nation to inflict its brutal Imperialist nature around the world, that it finally stopped…much like some sick podophile, that only stops to inflicting abuse upon his victims when he is too old and frail.
I would suggest that some acknowledgment and some mourning and maybe even some tears for the untold numbers of victims of postwar British Imperialism under the reign of Queen Elizabeth II would be a far more appropriate response that this time.
“Common torture tactics included starvation, electrocution, mutilation, and forcible penetration”
https://mandemhood.com/operation-legacy-how-the-british-government-destroyed-its-history/
And have no delusions that Queen Elizabeth II and her Royal family are a beguine presence in UK politics…..right up to her death..and beyond..
How the Queen lobbied for changes in the law to hide her wealth https://www.theguardian.com/news/audio/2021/feb/10/how-the-queen-lobbied-for-changes-in-the-law-to-hide-her-wealth-podcast
Queen secretly lobbied Scottish ministers for climate law exemption
https://inews.co.uk/news/queen-lobbied-scottish-government-land-exemption-climate-law-1125202
The Queen exempt from 160 laws after immunity written in to protect her
https://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/midlands-news/queen-exempt-160-laws-after-24490290
Royals vetted more than 1,000 laws via Queen’s consent
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2021/feb/08/royals-vetted-more-than-1000-laws-via-queens-consent
I am sure King Charles will most certainly maintain Queen Elizabeths and the British Royal families deep ties and empathy with the common man….
Prince Charles vetted laws that stop his tenants buying their homes
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2021/feb/09/prince-charles-vetted-laws-that-stop-his-tenants-buying-their-homes
Its time to stop the whitewashing of the history of Queen Elizabeths II and allshe stands for and represents…lets start that legacy project today…
https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2022/9/17/whitewashing-queen-elizabeths-legacy-wont-save-the-monarchy
Agreed Tony and Adrian, and well researched. A republic is long overdue both in NZ and in the UK.
UK Labour MP Clive Lewis puts the argument well here:
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/sep/16/mourning-republicans-system-privilege
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2022/sep/16/idea-of-monarchy-as-symbol-of-duty-or-sacrifice-a-lie-says-labours-clive-lewis?fbclid=IwAR2L99LCXZlPClsiXiH6yEWr-GdcipGPiednJVCABOnOYTUoLKo7prpbDNg
Shame on Starmer for kow-towing to the monarchist element by stifling political debate on this issue and others during the never-ending royal mourning period.
I, for one, will be washing my hair when the funeral starts this evening.
Scotland is planning an Independence referendum on 19th October 2023. With Scotland exiting the Union, and Northern Ireland already half way out, the edifice that we call Britain and UK will become defunct.
The argument to retain the Windsor monarchy as Aotearoa’s Head of State become very weak at that point.
The nose dive in the economy and international standing of England resulting from it’s isolationist project will further distance Kiwis from that place.
Agree with all of that Bill. This article says much about the rotten state of the UK:
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/sep/18/levelling-up-liz-truss-boris-johnson-britain-inequalities
When people attempt to graft Q Anon metaphors, about the Democratic liberal regime in DC, with western imperialism in general a lot of dots get joined. When that becomes apology for both isolationism nd extra territorial aggression by others/non western actors, it ends up being incoherent.
In fact the chance of Andrew deputising for King Charles 111 is about the same as the Queens recently deceased dog Candy rising from the dead to do it instead.
The one and only job left to Andrew is looking after the remaining dogs of the Queen.
I was referring to the British Imperialist project as being like a predator, not Andrew..but as it so happens, Andrew is himself a well known podophile…and was protected from facing justice by his mother…Queen Elizabeth.
Queen ‘to spend millions funding Prince Andrew’s defence against sex abuse claims’
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/queen-prince-andrew-epstein-millions-legal-case-b1931084.html
And I did not mention in 1.1.2 – just quoted your post paragraph 4.
Your reply is tagged to mine to that of Tony Veitch.
I will say that neither funding a defence in court if ones family is able, nor using state provided defence counsel otherwise, is protection from facing justice.
And we are referring to a female over 16 and under 18 by the way.
"And we are referring to a female over 16 and under 18 by the way"
No we are not…you and I have no idea how old the girls were who where abused by Prince Andrew (favorite son of and protected by Queen Elizabeth)…over what appears to be years of that deviant behaviour…
Jeffrey Epstein abused girls as young as 11 on secluded private island, lawsuit says
Ghislaine Maxwell trained underage girls as sex slaves
Queen moves to protect Andrew from media at Balmoral, report says
Then you are posing your belief in the reality of other cases of abuse, despite no charges made. The case made against Andrew in a court involved a person between age 16 and 18.
Well I for one are not going to waste any more time on this subject…if you are fine with a sex abuser participating in the abuse of sex slaves (of any age or sex) and facing no legal ramifications for those crimes because of his wealth and position that is your business.
You get/got to display your inability to back up what you claim, and your resort to strawman about the person you debate with is risible.
Nope, just not interested engaging in drawn out, pointless debates with defenders of known sex abusers.
You were the one who responded to my post to another person, rather than to the one I made to your own.
Agree, the logical (and I think the statutory) deputy for KC3 is his heir – William.
.
Vaguely / unenthusiasitically / more-or-less republican on principle … but, at the same time, I recognise the practical utility of a constitutional monarchy … and I'm fiercely – and I want you to reflect extensively on this over the next few hours (possibly while quietly smoking a pipe), I am fiercely – proud of my apathy / half-heartedness / significant de-prioritisation of the issue.
The Guardian article linked in that post contradicts itself on the redundancies. It regularly refers to redundancies which elsewhere in the article, transpires that they haven't happened yet. It's possible people have resigned or taken voluntary redundancy, but as far as I can tell, the changes are still being consulted on in line with UK law.
Agree that the timing sucked though.
Testing…my comment keeps disappearing?
I can see it : )
Too many links
What is the rationale for NZ allowing multiple citizenship?
You see someone like citizen Thiel adding NZ to his passport collection, which includes Germany and the U.S.A.
There are of course countries like Malaysia who do not allow dual citizenship.
Malaysian immigrants can retain their Malaysian passport and still qualify for NZ Super.
Surely govt benefits should only be accessed by citizens apart from emergency situations.
PR covers all bases,why bother with citizenship?
Am I missing…something regarding the status quo?
There are a couple of references online to Thiel’s currently holding German citizenship, but I don't think he does, and it would seriously surprise me, since Germany does not permit dual citizenship, and neither New Zealand nor the US prohibits relinquishing citizenship. Much as I'm no fan of Thiel or the circumstances of his having been granted NZ citizenship, it's singularly annoying to read comments railing against bloody foreigners from a position of lazy ignorance.
Why should someone not qualify for NZ super if they have paid into the scheme during their working life?
I have mentioned previously about an example where a 55 y. o immigrant could not meet the points criteria in Australia.. but could for NZ.
Came here bought a house, got PR… never worked here and recently became eligible for Super.
Your allegation of 'lazy ignorance' is not supported by any compelling arguments.
Rather lazy of you.
Dual citizenship, I will presume.
Germany doesn't allow dual citizenship (except for children – who get to make a choice at their majority)
https://manila.diplo.de/ph-en/service/citizenship/-/1988130
There are some esoteric exceptions – but I'd be surprised of Thiel qualified for any of them.
It seems most likely that he relinquished his German citizenship when he got his US one.
Your lazy ignorance is borne out by the fact that you simply assumed that Thiel had triple citizenship, and launched into some nebulous stuff about some countries not allowing dual citizenship, when one of them was, in fact, one whose citizenship you were claiming he had alongside others.
Your lazy ignorance is exemplified by not knowing facts..and relying on 'but I don't think he does'…
Germany’s new coalition government to allow dual nationality (thelocal.de)
Germany and the US both recognize the principle of dual citizenship but only in specific cases. Usually, dual citizenship in Germany and USA is permissible when obtained by birth— regardless of which country you were born in. But, German and US dual citizenship is impossible for naturalized citizens unless exceptional circumstances apply.'
Dual Citizenship – Germany/US (schengenvisainfo.com)
:Facepalm:
Peter Thiel, as far as I know, was born to German parents who subsequently emigrated, not to one German and one US citizen. Germany does not, as a rule, allow dual citizenship, and I could find only a couple of vague references to Thiel's citizenship of Germany, with no accompanying, exceptional information. It therefore seems unlikely, as I stated. There are several situations in which Germany allows dual citizenship, but it would become very long-winded to go into them here.
I am also well aware that all three of the current governing parties in Germany have a stated intention of allowing dual citizenship, which they included in their coalition agreement; the fact is, however, that they have not implemented it to date, and I’ll believe it when I see it.
Do yourself a favour, and don't just spend ten seconds googling something before deciding you're an expert.
Wiki….
Peter Thiel
'Peter Andreas Thiel is a German-American billionaire entrepreneur, venture capitalist, and political activist. A co-founder of PayPal, Palantir Technologies, and Founders Fund, he was the first outside investor in Facebook. As of May 2022, Thiel had an estimated net worth of $7.19 billion and was ranked 297th on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.Wikipedia
Born:Peter Andreas Thiel, October 11, 1967, Frankfurt, West Germany
Citizenship:Germany (1967–present), United States (1978–present), New Zealand (2011–present)
Education:Stanford University (BA, JD)'
you decided to just zoom in on Thiel…my original post was NOT solely about him.Don't be a silly sausage…Mr Wurst.
[Don’t play the man, play the ball and the ball only – Incognito]
Mod note
Yeeeeeeeees (slow clap). I said I could find a couple of references online, and that was one of them. If you looked a bit furter, you'd find similar Wiki-articles, in various language giving him German citizenship until 1978, and US citizenship from then onwards. If you look at the (many) articles from the time that his NZ citizenship came to light and later, in German and in English, or reviews of his biography, you will struggle to find a mention of his holding German citizenship*.
Given that you presented your point as a grouch about people, implicitly from various nations, holding multiple citizenships, I would expect you to check your facts properly. Your statements are a lazy, throw-away potshot at foreigners, but you’re actually dealing with a serious issue, the sort that tends to foster similar lazy grumblings, and is a huge blight on discourse in culture in New Zealand and elsewhere. If you are going to foray into that territory, you should learn to be specific, and to make sure you have your ducks on a row.
* A quick glance at the Wikipedia edit history shows that the change to state his German citizenship as current was made on 11.02.2022, as a sole edit and with no reason or reference provided.
The source of 'facts' is often contested.
If the Wiki reference has been amended this year, I can accept it.
The reality is my original post had 7 paragraphs.
You chose to zoom in on the one that mentioned Thiel.
I posed the question regarding the value of citizenship.
As for-' 'and launched into some nebulous stuff about some countries not allowing dual citizenship, '
Unless nebulous has a new meaning,I specifically mentioned Malaysia .
For me, it's more around citizenship. If you want to be a Kiwi, and entitled to live here, and be supported by our social security system, then you need to become a Citizen, not a Permanent Resident. If that means that you have to relinquish your US or Malaysian citizenship, then that's your choice.
I think that 'Permanent Residence' status should be limited to (say) 10 years – thinking here of people seconded to work here, or on long term contracts – and should only be renewable under extraordinary circumstances.
I don't give Kiwis a free pass on this either – I'm glad that the residence rules are changing for qualification for super (though not quickly enough IMO). Provided you've lived in NZ for 10 years after the age of 20 – you currently qualify. So there are a large chunk of Kiwis who have effectively never contributed to the NZ tax base – since they've been living and working overseas, but who are eligible to 'return' to NZ when they’re 60 (last 5 years) and get the pension when they're 65. It just doesn't sit well with me.
Too many contradictions in there! Please do better.
Sorry, not seeing the contradictions – perhaps the link to the official website will make it clearer.
https://www.workandincome.govt.nz/products/a-z-benefits/nz-superannuation.html
You can (and I know this because a cousin has done so) – leave NZ at the age of 25. Live, work, and pay tax overseas (in a range of countries around the world, in her case), and return to NZ at the age of 60. Live here for 5 years, and qualify for the pension. She has, over the course of her working life, contributed almost nothing to the NZ tax base – but will be drawing benefits from it (both super and healthcare) for the next 20+ years.
Surely, however, by that reasoning, the only qualification should be the contributions one makes, and citizenship should be utterly irrelevant. I'm not seeing a compelling argument for anything at all regarding citizenship here.
In that case, what is the benefit to NZ of having PR?
It seems to me that the question invited by your line of enquiry so far is not what the point of PR is (the overarching point is obviously to enshrine a framework of legal rights around somebody's commitment of life and work to a geographical region), but what the point of the rather more nebulous concept of citizenship is.
Nailed it!
I can’t be bothered with your obvious selective blindness to your own contradictions except to point out that your wording has already changed ever so slightly and subtly. You’re also missing a huge fact of contributing to the NZ tax base.
Perhaps you can explain how you're contributing to the NZ tax base, if you're not resident in NZ? You don't pay NZ taxes on your overseas income.
Perhaps you can engage your brain and stop erecting those contradictory walls. If you’re not a resident in NZ this whole thread becomes moot, doesn’t it?
I realise that you are a moderator…however your assumptions about my intentions….are wrong.
The proof is in the pudding. If it looks like, smells like, and tastes like chocolate, then it is most likely chocolate pudding. Or it is that you’re shite at making pudding.
PS it seems that your reply was to the wrong comment in the thread
That's a bit too broad a brush. Residency for tax purposes and immigration status are not the same thing. This thread is just continuing in the same handwavy vein as it started, with the brilliant, "That millionaire Peter Thiel with his thousand passports, and all those Malaysians getting rich off stealing our super, and all that sort of type" gambit.
Melodramatic drivel.
The wider discussion is citizenship,what does it mean,what are the priveleges.
You single out Thiel…is it because you have a German sounding…user name!
You introduced Thiel at the start of this thread with a clear intention to steer it in a certain direction and in a certain way. You got called out on that and obviously can’t handle that and the fact that somebody disagrees with you, with good reason. Deal with it or don’t start disingenuous discussion threads aka if you can’t stand the heat then get out of the kitchen.
BTW, don’t play the man!
Yours was, in fact, a very narrow discussion. If you want to have a wider discussion about citizenship and what it means, go ahead. However, I think, 'That millionaire Peter Thiel with his thousand passports, and all those Malaysians getting rich off stealing our super, and all that sort of type' was a perfect summation of your argument so far.
Also, I didn't single out Thiel. You did that; just look at your first post.
I spent getting on for fifteen years working abroad because wages and positions in my industry were decimated by the widespread, corrupt and actually illegal use of foreign slave fishermen.
In compensation various governments hit me with punitive tax impositions. If they'd done their job, I'd never have left in the first place.
It is possible to have a dual citizenship (German and New Zealand). I have both: German since my birth and New Zealand since I successfully applied for it.
In general Germany doesn't allow dual citizenship, but there are exceptions. You can apply for such an exception via "Beibehaltungsantrag" (if you already have German citizenship). You have to explain two things:
German Internal Affairs is going to review your application and decides if you can keep your German citizenship with the additional citizenship.
For a well resourced and connected person like Thiel this shouldn't be a major hurdle.
True. However, the date given for Thiel's naturalisation as a US citizen is 1978, when he was 10 years old, and presumably considerably less well-connected than he is nowadays (by the time he was grown up, the ship of ‘Beibehaltung’ would have well and truly sailed); there are virtually no references to his having German citizenship in articles (in German or English) about the minor scandal over his NZ citizenship several years ago, despite a significant proportion of them including the angle that he is a US nationalist, and that a 2nd citizenship would compromise his allegiance.
The original comment smacks heavily of grabbing a prominent person to frame a narrative of divided allegiance, and lifting a little factoid about triple citizenship from Wikipedia to enhance the implication, despite a preponderance of available evidence not supporting his triple citizenship, in order to smear 'Malaysians' (and by extension any foreigners). Especially galling is the reference to Malaysia's not allowing dual citizenship, when the German situation, also referenced in the comment, is also heavily restrictive.
Your summation of my post is not accurate and you know…it.
"Am I missing…something regarding the status quo?"
This bit is American centric…but you get the idea…
It’s A BIG Club & You Ain’t In It!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i5dBZDSSky0
Because we're a tiny weak country with no savings generating next-to-no capital and so we have to suck in capitalists by any means necessary including being a safe boring country where you can get dual citizenship. That's what the Immigration categories look like.
Not sure if it does us any good in reality.
Your saying NZ has next-to-no, what appears to be, savings which the country then can't invest. Is this the claim?
Because relying on foreign investors to compensate for that will surely see the profits of their investment are sent off shore. If thats the strategy the country appears to have picked a worse than merely doing no good strategy.
The problem is not so much the capital , it is the lack of capability, therefore we need foreign capital to provide the wherewithal for the offshore technology we desire/need….and when I say technology, I mean pretty much anything that is not cottage industry…i.e. what we need is not available in NZD.
Over 7% of Americans have long covid (twice the UK rate)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ip9Dlf0KLg
https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/pressroom/nc…
I did some back of the envelope calculations the other day about NZ and LC.
Let's say that in another year's time 50% of the NZ population has had covid (2.5m). If the LC rate is 10% of infections (more likely higher than that), that's 250,000 people with ongoing symptoms. Let's say 25% of those are serious to the point where people can't work or can only work part time. That's 62,500 people that need health care and financial support as well as support with life tasks like childcare or cleaning their house.
For comparison, current SLP numbers are about 90,000 (long term people unable to work due to disability who get a WINZ benefit).
What I want to know is what is likely to be happening at year 5. Or year 10. If subsequent covid infections increase risk of LC, are we heading for most people eventually getting LC? What happens at the point that there are more people with LC unable to work than those able to keep society functioning? Or even running the health system?
Mostly I want to know what is going on in people's minds that we aren't talking about this as a major crisis on the horizon.
I can't quite get my head around it, because if those figures are in the ball park of correct, then how will this not make society seriously dysfunctional?
We urgently need the data on the rate of LC by degree of disability.
Potentially yes…however what is far more likely to occur is a reduction in productivity that we will argue over the cause of and learn to live with (until we no longer can)
Once upon a time Napoleon noted two things
The royal family live above the shop (preside over the merchant economy) and represent the continuance of the old aristocratic order (landed gentry) but neither Victoria nor Elizabeth 11 exercised decision-making power (though Albert's interest in urban renewal had an impact). Others decided the extension of the franchise and the NHS and the empire to Commonwealth transition.
The concept of blaming the figurehead of the regime for what was done by the government of the people is a bit like the ritual of parties changing leaders on losing an election. Blaming royalty for an empire largely built since 1689 (constitutional monarchy) is simplistic. It's a parody of ritual sacrifice to redeem a people from their own past to build some new republican utopia – a Mayflower ship exodus journey to the New World.
Of course nations formed by immigrants and the local indigenous people will forge their own destiny, connected to, or separate from other nations, in their own time.
At the moment our and their royal performs a ceremonial function, a bit like an animated mannequin in a shop window – in that Liz Truss will write the words that her King will speak to parliament (and here our PM for Dame Cindy Kira). From a mothers son, who could express his views, to a ventriloquist dummy for the person in No 10.
Probably just as well, given Charles is so much of the 20th C, then William can develop the role for a monarchy in the 21st C.
Who is 'Elizabeth 11'? The late queen was the second English monarch to hold the name 'Elizabeth', which means she is usually referred to as 'Elizabeth II', or, if you are intent on using Arabic numerals, Elizabeth the 2nd. 'Elizabeth 11' is a nonsensical description.