Will we have. to have similiar rallies here before our law makers start taking climate change seriously?
:“I hope that Americans are fed up with being ignored and with having Congress controlled by the big polluting industries and that they have decided that they are simply not going to stop until their voices are heard.”
Did anyone just hear our beloved leader on Radio New Zealand this morning? He sounded well under the weather and as if he had a hard night the night before.
Anyone else detecting signs Key has developed a drinking problem?
He was slurring at the RWC opening, something politely overlooked by the media – but hey, he a Kiwi guy just like us and who would deny the man a drink?
John Key “fainted” in a Christchurch restaurant, and no real suitable explaination was given. it was immediately after his holiday, so fatigue could hardly be the reason.
Audrey Young sent out a not so subtle hint Key was suffering a hangover recently in Queenstown:
“…During a wreath-laying ceremony, Key appeared to have difficulty keeping his eyes open for a couple of minutes. He kept rubbing his eyes, but no sooner had he opened them than they would shut. He said later, through a spokeswoman, that the problem was because of the glare on the war memorial, which made his eyes water…”
Muldoon famously announced an election drunk as a skunk, and our media studiously avoided mentioning that.
Alcohol abuse is probably endemic in parliament, like hospo I would imagine it is an occupational hazard linked to ready access, long hours and work pressure. But would our media have the courage to expose a drunkard PM?
I worked in Parliament for about 3 years and never saw any of this binge drinking you mention. And as a heavy drinker myself I would have loved to have joined in but alas – it doesn’t really exist.
And if John Key had a drinking problem then the opposition would be all over it. How better to win an election than to portray your opponent as a drunk?
It could be any number of things.
Hell, he might have brain cancer, hence the desire to finish his bucket list.
Whatever it is, it might be getting worse – hopefully for him it’ll clear up when he leaves office. Less stress and all that. I don’t think anyone can fuck up a country this badly without it having a corrosive effect on their soul.
I didn’t think it sounded like him,maybe he has a speech double.He sounded like he either had a hangover or had taken meds for something or other. Probably something to “relax” him.
Increasingly looking like, despite Labour’s best efforts, it’s status quo for the next few years.
We’re on our people.
Look after your mums, your neighbours and by the grace of dog, we’ll all make it through.
God forbid that women should decline to take contraception that has risks and side effects. Why is the govt not free funding other kinds of contraception?
God forbid the media ask why men aren’t sharing responsibility for contraception. I say we offer free vasectomies along with all types of contraception.
This poll was on TV1 breakfast news yesterday. Extract from today’s Herald
The poll also had good news for National, with a 5 percentage point jump in support taking them to 49 per cent. Labour was on 33 per cent and the Greens 11 per cent.
Mr Key also gained five points, according to the preferred prime minister measure, giving him 44 per cent, with Labour leader David Shearer on 15 per cent.
“TheDailyBlog.co.nz will bring together 30 of the best left-wing bloggers and progressive opinion shapers in NZ all onto one site to critique the news, the media, and politics to provide the other side of the story.”
“Launching March 1st TheDailyBlog.co.nz will feature: Chris Trotter, Selwyn Manning, Professor Jane Kelsey, Keith Locke, Sue Bradford, John Minto, David Slack, Morgan Godfery, Gareth Renowden, Coley Tangerina, Phoebe Fletcher, Dr Wayne Hope, Queen of Thorns, Burnt out Teacher, Steve Grey, Aaron Hawkins, Marama Davidson, Tim Selwyn, James Ritchie, Efeso Collins, Robert Winter, Lynn Prentice, Frank MacsKasy, Matt McCarten, Wayne Butson, Chris Flatt, Allan Alach, TheDailyBlog Reposts and The Liberal Agenda.”
I am just scared about what happens when you put that many self satisfied, know it alls in the same place. The mix of with pathetic whinging and misplaced sense of entitlement could blow up the internet.
“The Daily Blog” sounds like a sterling idea with a big enough roster to pace people or let them quietly slide off if the pace is too much. BUT it had better have like buttons, moderation and one off registration not the the google account login nightmare Tumeke is, if this daily blogger is going to use it.
Yeah that’s what pissed my off about Tumeke as well. I didnt want to log in under my real name to post. I would very much prefer to post under “millsy”, the post name I have had for the past 13 years…
Bloody awesome. Sounds bloody good. A powerhouse of good decent left wingers who belive in things like taxing the rich to pay for schools and hospitals and locking up all DOC land from mining forever.
Ill definitely be going there on my daily web trawls.
This is what is needed! Combining voices and forces, using the power of synergy, to establish a resolute opposition to what we get served up by incompetent, indifferent or even damned biased, misinforming, manipulating and increasingly disgusting privately controlled, commercial mainstream media.
I look forward to this blog.
Just one worry I have, I hope it does not come with the features and technical hiccups that Tumeke has caused. Just trying to open that website once again, it instantly made my browser collapse.
Also I hope it will allow pseudonyms and fair, open debate, similar to what we have here on TS.
“Also I hope it will allow pseudonyms and fair, open debate, similar to what we have here on TS.”
As do I. No point in haven’t a big blog with numerous editors if you are just going to shut off dissenting POV’s which unfortunately seems to be the case at Tumeke
Now that’s a really good leftie line-up, including many people whose posts I usually read.
When Bomber dropped his teasers, I was hoping for something with an audio component (like radio) rather than print based. Maybe a left radio/TV station is still something waiting for it’s time to come.
However, hopefully it’s a line-up that will gain critical mass, and widespread significant mainstream attention. Also, Bomber will likely include some of his bloggers (if not all) as guests on Citizen A.
Hmm… some of us can’t listen to the radio at work. But, I agree a leftie radio station would be an excellent innovation – could be done online. Could be listened to while traveling/commuting.
Is this legal?
The insurance industry does not know much about it.
Insurance Council insurance manager John Lucas had never heard of such a charge.
“From discussions I’ve had with insurers, it would appear to be a new practice.”
And if it is legal, can accident victims recover costs if the road is not up to standard?
Jeeze, is there no such thing as an accident any more? Wouldn’t NZTA have to prove that the ‘accident’ was the fault of the car owner, if that’s who they are billing?
Generally people take out insurance to cover their mistakes. The only people who might go bankrupt from this are the selfish who expect everyone else to pick up the tab for their fuck ups.
It’s called “being a prick to people who have better things to worry about than your 0.03% increase in budget expenditure”.
The issue seems to be that the fuel levy and other incomes no longer fund our roads, so regional cost centres are forced to be fuckwits to worried or grieving relatives.
Because the chances are the insurance won’t pay for it. The NZTA has determined that the driver was at fault and such a determination will let the insurance companies off. It’d be the same as not having a WoF on your car even though the car was up to standard.
As this would seem to be part of the cost of an accident, guess who will be paying for this piece of stupidity, and i am talking about the billing of this person for these costs as the stupidity,
The arms of the State shuffling paperwork in an idiots dance will result by the time all the shuffling is done in the costs being double what the original bill was…
depends under what circumstances. Were they billing families of hospitalised drivers ten years ago? I reckon they were probably billing people for vandalism or diesel on the roads for donuts, and it’s encroached from there into full fuckwitted behaviours.
I can confirm charging of some kind has been going on for some years. A nephew of mine took out a guardrail in the Cromwell Gorge ’bout 2007 and got billed for it.
This is shocking stuff. Assistance to citizens should be part of the national support of road users. If it is a commercial vehicle being used for business then it could be argued that this be done.
How can it be that daft bu..s go off to sea or on tramping trips with no proper equipment, or tourists hit their emergency beacon for a helicopter and I don’t think there is a charge for this.
Yachties floating around on the sea, wanting to be rescued of course, if their lifestyle or sport goes badly wrong. Do they pay the ships diverted to help them?
Some things are just unreasonable – like tenants being asked to pay for a house they were renting if it burns down. How can ordinary people have to shoulder these extra costs which should be borne elsewhere?
Coastguard does not charge for rescuing people, only if you want them to save your boat as well. Even this is free if you have paid the, modest, membership fee.
Same with shipping companies. I have never heard of a shipping company charging for rescueing people after a Mayday. There is a fund available to reimburse rescuers. I don’t think it has ever been claimed.
Loss of income, or damage, from having to divert for a mayday is, however, covered in marine insurance.
Which means we can come and rescue you without worrying being sued for risking the owners ship, so long as you have made it a “Mayday”.
If you want a commercial vessel to go to the time, trouble and expanse of picking up your boat as well, though, expect to pay. In most cases this risks the ships insurance cover as well as extra delays and costs. At 50k plus a day they add up quick.
We’re all very highly critical of the government, but I think we should applaud Cabinet’s decision to go ahead with plain packaging on cigarette packets. I think it will remove the cachet some brands have – like Marlboro, Dunhill, Lucky Strike and Camel. I don’t think it will deter those who stick with more downmarket brands, but it will take some of the glamour away for those who might take up smoking. A positive move, in my opinion.
Lolz, i don’t think it will have the slightest effect on those who take up smoking, having been a smoker during the limited amount of time i spent at college and also having had the displeasure of watching the same (mis)behavior from my nieces during their incarceration at the same institution i can assure you that for the young smoker ‘brand’ isn’t a consideration,
These days cigarettes aren’t shared as freely as they were when i was a young smoker, but, the size of the school of smokers that gather in those out of the way places on the college campus for a quick puff befor class looks to be remarkably the same in number as it was during my stint in the corridors of such august edifices of learning,
These days in the ‘smoking school’ one person usually has found the cash with which to buy a packet of filtered cigarettes and the other smokers in the ‘school’ usually have a dollar each to buy a smoke,
Bit like a ‘drunks school’ or a ‘druggies school’ it’s the addiction what brings them together as they know that the numbers mean at least one of them on any given occasion will have the means to supply the group with whatever the addiction is…
As far as applauding the Government on this issue i fell that you are viewing the whole issue very simplistically through the lens of the manipulation of your mind,
With at least a billion dollars of tobacco tax being collected from users being over and above the actual cost to society of the use of tobacco products the Health budget could now be said to be being propped up by that taxation on tobacco products,
Should the use of the products decrease radically from Government taxation and other ‘moves’ against the product Government would have to ‘find’ that extra billion dollars from somewhere else or cut that money from the Health or other budgets,
The Government tho knows that very few users will actually quit the product and within 6 months most of those who quit have taken to using the product again,
The chairman of the Quit program admitted in its annual report 2011 that ‘they’ only reach 2% of smokers and a study by a university Professor, (both of which i have provided links to befor on open mike),says that only 1.9% of smokers who try end up actually quitting the addiction,
Meanwhile there is an unknown number of young people who take up the habit and become addicted constantly replacing the small % of users who have managed to kick their addiction,
The only means of actually reducing the number of addicts to this product would be to declare tobacco a prescription poison only available via Doctor’s prescription and register all the present cohort of addicts with their Doctors,
Within a year of such a registration program tobacco could then be made only available to registered addicts thus dramatically curtailing access to the product for anyone not a registered addict…
lol
whatever, pete.
Now I’m not allowed to see what they have to sell me, they’re not allowed to tell me, and I can’t see what they sold me. The absurdity of zealotry.
If it weren’t for the inevitable organised crime, I’d outlaw tobacco entirely. If you’re buying it, I’d question your wisdom to make rational purchasing decisions in the first place.
Luckily for me, my personal habits are none of your business.
Maybe I looked at the relative odds and decided it’s better to live life and have fun than to live in fear. My level of smoking is probably about as harmful to me as your sanctimonious attitude is to you. Each to their own, I guess.
On what point?
That what I do in my own home is none of your business?
Or that stress is a major cause of early mortality, on a par with <3 cigarette equivalents per day?
As the largest cohort of the 20 odd % of the population who do indulge in the product are in the lowest income brackets ‘health issues’ are merely a smokescreen for Government revenue farming off of those who are addicted,
There is one ‘thing’ that will kill a person faster than will the tobacco addiction and that is ‘poor diet’ and extremely poor diet will speedily result in a number of health issues becoming apparent in those that suffer from that poor diet,
So, constant revenue farming of tobacco products by Governments simply leaves those addicted and suffering low and extremely low incomes then have a ‘choice’, kick the addiction or face a severely restricted diet as the food spend is in most cases for the poor the only area of expense where cuts can be made,
As i point out above, the chairman of the quit program admitted in the annual report,(first sentence), that the program is accessed by barely 2% of smokers, the further study i allude to above,(which i have previously posted a link to) shows that barely 2% of those who try actually manage to quit the addiction,
What then going forward will be the health results for the other 98% of tobacco addicts unable to quit their addictions and being forced to exist on an increasingly severe poor diet,
i wont argue here about the rationality of purchasing the product except to say what addict do you know of that makes an entirely rational decision to support such an addiction, it is however given the facts, totally irrational for governments to attempt to stop addicts accessing the product at the center of their addiction by continuously raising the price of that product thus putting the health of those addicted in as much if not more danger from another causative than the original addiction,
All of that tho is only relevant if you believe the raising of such taxation is based upon rational health decisions by that Government…
A new website has been set up by someone, to offer a forum for those that have suffered bad, unfair treatment, wrong decisions and whatever else at the hands of NZ’s largest government department/agency:
I am not sure who is behind this, and “fascist” may be over the top for some, but it seems, that the increasing harrassment, denial of rights and entitlements, off-loading from some benefits and shifting of claimants and applicants onto other, lower rated ones (e.g. from sickness to UB or invalid’s benefit to SB), is leading to increasing anger and people seeing a need to let off steam.
Bennett is creating a lot of adversaries with the policies she and her government are introducing, now forcing not only sole parents, but also increasingly sick, and soon even disabled, into some kinds of work, same as the Department of Work and Pensions have been doing in the UK for years, using private assessor ATOS and bizarre work capability tests, that led to over 1,100 deaths from Jan. to August 2011 alone:
See also Bennett’s speech that is considered to be a “game changer” in the way seriously, longer term sick and disabled will be put under pressure in future:
She is clearly a fan of those assessments and test that are used in the UK, and she was already consulted and lobbied by the man who saw to it, that the tests (designed in principle by highly controversion US insurance giant Unum) were implemeted by governments in Britain.
So lots to be worried about, that is on top of what WINZ and MSD throw at beneficiaries already now, to make life a misery.
Perhaps use this website to vent your anger, WINZ dependent, disentitled and disowned NZers?
Hah, Kathryn Ryan on RadioNZ nine to noon trying to twist what Economics and Business commentator Rob Oram was saying about ‘the living wage’ into some right wing political framing,
Oram told that tool that He was talking economics not politics, that shut Her up…
Needing some ideas….friend of mine is only 19 with a 10 week old baby, yes she is a solo mum, currently back at school and working part time also. She currently lives in the redzone and has until May to leave. She like so many others is having a hell time finding a rental. Her rental payments are guaranteed, thanks to Paula B – her landlord is happy to be a referee….I have been sending out emails for housing rentals and the tone of the reply is all about her being a young solo mum, and then declining her. She has good credit, no previous rental issues…can anyone suggest a way to get past the stigma of being a young solo mum. 🙂
Tell her to meet with the agents/landlord with a grown up (preferably one in a suit) and then state her case ie she is studying and working and will always meet the rent payments. This is what I did in the same situation and got a rental when they were in short supply.
Also tell them you are happy to have inspections more frequently. Don’t take baby (but of course tell them about baby) and make sure she is dressed well.
Lolz, if there is no specifics in the ad for the places your mate is trying to rent about babies DON’T TELL THEM, there is nothing in any legislation that would require Her to do so,
Suggest you also tell them that your friend is a ‘student’ who works part-time and can pay the rent through the help of the accommodation supplement, might have to stretch the ‘student’ one to include the field of study,
The only other suggestion which probably is a non starter is that your friend shift to a city/town that doesn’t have the accommodation problems currently being experienced there which are probably going to get worse as the re-build ramps up…
Hi Anakereiti. There is nothing about your friend that would indicate that landlords should be wary of her. In fact, she has things in favour as a tenant, regular guaranteed rent payments, a referal, part time work and is in education. So I would say its the landlords that have the problem and doesn’t their response sound like discrimination?
I wonder what the tenancy act would have to say about declining a reliable prospective tenant on the grounds of solo parenting?
Sorry not that helpful but maybe call the DBH on 0800 83 62 62 to clarify her rights
Don’t think the tenancy law says anything about a landlord discriminating against anyone, if anyone wanted to buy into a fight, a long one, with landlords appearing to discriminate the Human Rights Commissioner would be the place to start,
Wouldn’t tho solve the immediacy of the housing problem…
Hi bad12. I think its wise to always be aware of your rights, not necesssarily in the event that you will take issue with another party and take it up at a formal level – its just something that may help at an informal level and maybe can be used in an opportunistic way. Nothing like a subtle mention of the other parties legal obligations/or your rights to get things moving.
Sometimes works. Sometimes doesn’t.
We have had the experience on two occasions of being selected as tenants due to our child free status and have been chosen over couples with children. I’ve found this out later once via the landlord herself and once via a friend of the landlord. Great to get a flat but sucks to be partly responsible for an outcome in that discriminates against children. It happens, landlords are excluding children from their right to housing. This is happening in Anakereiti’s friends’ instance.
I think if Anakereiti is receiving regular responses that refer to the prospective tenant being a “solo Mum” then it wouldn’t hurt to look into her rights as parent seeking accomodation. No it won’t solve the immediate problem (and it is a major one especially if she’s settled into study). Its not for the tenant to carry stigma and work out ways around that to get into a flat, its up to the landlord to put their prejudice aside. Easier said than done I know, but I wish her well for finding a good place to live soon.
True, the one answer i forgot to put to AnaKereiti was her friend could apply to the State for housing as, (i assume),Her friend is on a low income and a single parent,
Unfortunately the friend also appears to live in Christchurch where accommodation is becoming scarcer,
Other than suffer renting a wreck of a house which i have seen highlighted on the TV i cannot think of any other good advice,
Yes the problem with ‘our rights’ is that while many of us know them,(or know discrimination when we are subject to it), in most cases we are left to fight such battles on our own behalf which can be one hell of a battle for those without the skills,
This is the uneven playing field of the past 30 years of deregulation, instead of having a relevant Government department to complain to which then investigates such complaints and prosecutes in the case of wrong-doings being found we all have been left having to investigate and prosecute on our own behalves,
Such ‘thinking’ which presupposes the honesty and integrity of those in ‘higher’ positions in society is obviously failed ideology and we need return to a system where alleged breaches of rules and laws across all facets of society are investigated and ,(if warranted), prosecuted by the relevant Government Department which deals with that legislation…
I agree with you there TRP. But Charles performed quite a specialised and important role. Carol is and will be good because she is staunch and understands the party and the trade union movement very well.
In CB we have a good union presence in Parliament. I think you have to go back to the 30’s to see the same amount of union bod in parliamentary Labour.
(Matthew Hooton will be crying in his beer tonight, he has been worrying about this for a while)
I’m really curious to see what will happen in Ohariu now. We desparately need to get rid of Peter Dunne in this area for the sake of the electorate but most importantly for the sake of the country. (I know I’m repeating myself) Looking at previous election results, it could be done.
He is pretty much embedded in there really I am afraid. I think he is the reason why the 5th Labour government drifted to the right back from 02-08.
Hopefully Labour and the Greens will win enough seats to render him irrelevant in the post election horse trading, and he will spend 3 years in the wilderness.
Kiwibank, Radio New Zealand and the water supply should be ruled out of any future asset sales programmes, UnitedFuture Leader Peter Dunne said today.
Speaking to the Auckland Rotary Club, he said that given that National has a manifesto that includes asset sales, New Zealanders need to start a proper debate on the future limits of those sales.
“To this point there has not been a proper national debate beyond National saying yes and Labour saying no.
“We need a conversation that is more detailed and drills down into what New Zealanders really think are acceptable bottom lines,” he said.
“New Zealanders, I believe, are not definitively pro-asset sales, but under certain conditions, it is no longer the bogeyman issue that Labour would have you believe.”
Mr Dunne said UnitedFuture’s role as a support partner is not just to contribute its own policies, but to help keep a government to a reasonable, centrist path.
……….. ”
In my considered opinion – the voting public of Ohariu were thus effectively misled by United Future and Peter Dunne on the issue of support for the ‘Mixed Ownership Model’ for State-Owned electricity assets and Air New Zealand.
In my considered opinion, United Future and Peter Dunne SOLD OUT the voting public of Ohariu by voting in support of the Public Finance (Mixed Ownership) Amendment Act 2012.
Had Peter Dunne kept faith with the voting public of Ohariu – the Public Finance (Mixed Ownership Model) Amendment Bill should have BEEN DEFEATED 60 – 61.
I thus believe that I am absolutely correct in my statement that THERE IS NO MANDATE FOR ASSET SALES – given that this minority National Government (which DID campaign on asset sales) has only 59 out of 121 MPs.
ACT did not specifically campaign on asset sales – but their support for privatisation is hardly a secret.
However –
” UF did not specifically campaign for the ‘mixed ownership model for the electricity companies and Air New Zealand’ because it was not UF policy”
National said what they were going to do if they won, they won so now they’re trying to do what they said they were going to do, I’m not surprised the left arn’t keen on this but National are in power because the majority of voters wanted them in power
Don’t want this to happen? Then make sure Labour get the majority, quite simple really
National did not get a majority, Chris. That’s why they are in a coalition. They rely on John Banks and the vote of Peter Dunne to get the sales passed and Dunne didn’t even campaign on the issue, preferring to stay silent to fool the electors of Ohariu into trusting that he wouldn’t do it.
War memorials may be chattels of nationhood, built of the lives lost in endless blood they are also mausoleums for the freedoms sold long afore their sacrifice, but this embroiders every campaign badge with shame
Dom-on T.V; risk of having a criminal conviction by early adulthood increases approx 30% with every hour (?) children and teens spend watching T.V on an average weeknight.-Professor Bob Hancox, Otago Uni.
conclusion: a strong association
“We read all our mail. We welcome leaks, news-tips, feedback, and suggestions for content. Please feel free to email us: thestandardnz@gmail.com. One or more of the editors look at this during the day.”
Yeah right!
Does anyone really read the emails that get sent to the Standard or is that line from the contact page a joke? I don’t want to get sniffy about it, but for the second time, I’ve sent through a guest post and not heard diddly back. Fine if you’re not going to publish it, that’s your call, but I’m confused as to why I’m not at least worth the courtesy of a reply.
Cheers.
TRP
[yeah, it’s not easy finding good help when you’re offering no pay and lots of hours. Your post is already in the queue for tomorrow. Eddie]
[lprent: I looked at this (again) this morning. But after staggering home at or after 2000 after a hard days coding, cooking, blobbing in front of the TV before bed, and then heading to work at 0630 the following day for the last few weeks…. Well the last few bugs are all that stands between me and a life. The time required to set up a guest post is a bit too long. But the guest posts have been a bit neglected over the last month or so. I think we’re all a bit busy. ]
Cheers, my blue skinned friend. And thanks to LP, and all the other authors and mods. It’s easy to forget that TS is volunteer run; its just looks a million bucks because of the efforts of some pretty cool people.
What point are you actually trying to make here???, if you are attempting to pillory Hone for the actions of His nephews you would also have to pillory Nick Smith over His brother being prosecuted by the Canterbury Regional Council…
Carry on with your defamation, i hope Hone reads that and drags you through the courts to ransack every last cent you possess from what can only be described as a sorry sack of you what…
What get’s me is that there’s no “valour” or “exceptionalism” involved – what counts as exceptional drone flying? It’s basically down to logged hours and maybe attributed deaths.
I don’t think they’re too far from going back to “citizen-soldiers”, but someone comes home from work, logs on, plays a computer game for a couple of hours, and gets experience points that count towards a medal.
The only change from today is that people on the other side of the planet die.
It’s a bad thing to be able to do it too easily, with little or no effort. Becomes easier than thinking about a long term solution – or at least that’s one point the General quoted in the article made.
And of course, it’s all very well being able to blow shit up and then bounce the rubble around, but the acid test is whether your guy can walk down the street in broad daylight. But then that particular debate goes back to Douhet.
It’s a bad thing to be able to do it too easily, with little or no effort.
– Depends if you’re the one sitting safely at HQ or the one at the pointy end I guess…
The risk is in the degrees of control which these methods lead to. Are drones patrolling skies in war zones and out, really something which is going to take humanity in a positive direction!
If you’re a parent, or going to be, I hope for your families sake that your comments are not reflective of your actual views!
I’m thinking of the poor grunt at the sharp end that has to implement the policies of whatever government of the day is running…hes the one that has to go and do the dirty work.
Someones son, brother, nephew, father, cousin, uncle, friend has to go and do it and if theres a safer way for that guy to do the job then I’m all for it.
There ia always a choice, nobody has to do the dirty work, they chose to, situational or not, you’re talking about taking lives by remote control, based on it being safer for someone else, this is madness.
Scope creep, mission creep etc, your words are supporting it!
You can tell your family and friends that your position lead to NZ skies being droned, because thats where its headed!
Correct, they chose to do a job…kill the enemy without (preferably) being killed yourself. They have the technology to do the job safer then ever so it would be morally wrong to deny them the opportunity to do so.
You want the killing stopped then look at the governments not the soldiers, its not the soldiers (at least in western democratic countries) that decide to go to war its the politicians and the people that elect (or keep electing them)
its the politicians and the people that elect (or keep electing them)
Actually its nothing to do with the politicians deciding anything, The decisions to go to war run far deeper than any front facing political entity, which is not elected!
That’s why its even more important that people do not buy into this system, and as such the choice being made to wage war using remote control, is trite!
True. But that’s the difference between political leadership and soldiers. The leader needs to not just take the easy course, but to find a long term solution to the situation.
Because if drone strikes happen in perpetuity, what are the odds of people responding to that constant terror putting a bomb in the pilot’s local shopping mall? Or the areas involved shift geopolitically to China or Russia to preserve their internal stability, so the US loses some regional influence, and fifty years down the line the drone pilots’ grandkids end up on the pointy end of ww3? And what happens when opponents get the hang of evading detection/slipping through the surveillance filters – classic assymetric problem. If you kill the chaps as soon as you think you’ve found them, you don’t find out who their friends are or what they’re doing.
sooo, the Ozzie “manufacturing confidence” index is in the low 40’s (N0rty)
Cosgrove-“significant losses of sub-contractors due to Mainzeal flattening may have an effect on the entire construction industry…
Williamson up against the wall
Excellent work by Eugenie Sage nailing and hoeing into Tremain (HBRC debt to increase in excess of 500% by 2021; don’t we love spending other peoples money!)
Spirituality is In The House, thanks to Winning some tutae 🙂
If I may briefly slip into my professional field – the Overseas parliamentary news has this fascinating snippet about archiving of email for Danish MPs (it’s about half way down the page).
MPs will be able to select emails for preservation by the State Archives as part of their day to day email management. Members’ correspondence held in the Archives is generally accessible to the public after 75 years.
I will be fascinated to see how it will actually work in practice (in my experience recordkeeping is not one of the strengths of most politicians).
Interesting in light of the recent responses to the Law Commission’s recommendation to extend our OIA to cover Parliament.
Pssst, when you get time to look Lprent, the edit function has thrown a spaz, i can access it but none of the comment that needs editing is showing up…
Seriously, the amount of mistakes I make, the edit function was the second thing I looked for after the ‘self publicise’ button.
Never found either, even if I only really need the one.
I run music studio software without breaking (many) synapses, and I’m getting really envious when I read posts with *edit in them. :grrr: 😆
I’m on Chrome, with pop ups blocked and that’s about it. No edit button.
Seriously, i mean hell pull the other one,leg that is, it plays Jesus my Lord come unto me, that’s with the backing of the full NZ Symphony orchestra as well,
The edit function appears next to the delete function on the bottom of your posted comment, Yeee-essss, i feel so computer literacerially superior after having said that,
And even more so with my coining of a brand new word, wonder if i can patent it…
I can only say how saddened i am for your loss as i eagerly await seeing both functions appear as my comment comes up on the page,
i also now have the sudden urge to deliberately make a large number of errors, both spelling and grammatical, in this latest comment just so i may avail myself of such functions others are not in possession of,
i will tho resist such an egotistical aberration in character as the aforementioned function tonight only leads to the production of a blank page which in turn leads me to thoughts that perhaps this is the true value of my posted comments…
The edit function has not been working for me for a couple of hours; javascript is turned on in my browser and I don’t believe that i have made any system changes.
Is David Shearer still the leader of the Labour Party?
And is the Labour Party still the major opposition party?
There’s been so much going on and it seems that neither David Shearer or anyone else in the Labour party have anything to say. About anything…
Aw god not another one, next you will be telling us all your a disgruntled member and, ”shrill voice” you wont be voting for them again with that Shearer there….
Apart from female dogs is there an actual point here that you are trying to get across to me, i fear that if there is my attempts to de-cypher this point,limited i must admit, have failed…
Well I was unclear whether you were being sarky in your first comment, so chose to hedge my bets and be sarky in response.
I am commenting on this trend of criticizing people’s views that express concern about Labour’s or Mr Shearer’s effectiveness, and how it is seeming kind of arse about face in a democracy.
Despite apparently living in a democracy there appears to be an increasing message that we have to “be nice” and not express dissent to the sham that is going on on both sides of the parliamentary house.
I mean if everyone just shut up and voted for Labour, it stands to reason they would win. Guess that is how the logic goes.
I understand that people are paid good money to play the role of political strategist and if any ordinary person not in parliament did their job as badly, as both this government and the Labour party strategists over the last 5 years we would have our arses fired; so a wee bit of negative feedback here and there, really is a very small price to pay, and if listened to, would improve their game.
In answer to that, how many comments have you seen the commenter i was replying to make on the Standard,
There ‘seems’ to be a trend developing here, and i highlight the word ‘seems’ as this is only a personal observation, that when the ‘i hate Dave S’ crew quiets down it’s criticism of Him up will pop a few ‘names’ here and there who will poke the anti-Shearer fire for signs of life, or to get it raging again,
These odd commenters who seem like strangers to me could be genuine in their concern about Shearer and having found this site cannot but help unloading such concerns into whatever post they have ‘landed in’ so to speak be that open mike or a specific post on a topic,
Because of this i give far more ‘weight’ to comments from ‘names’ i recognize as having commented on the site befor and tend to view comments such as the one we are discussing above as just as likely to be posted into the site by those with the specific goal of attempting to destabilize the current Labour leadership for reasons other than concern for that Party…
Graham Adams assesses the fallout of the Cass Review — The press release last Thursday from the UN Special Rapporteur on violence against women and girls didn’t make the mainstream news in New Zealand but it really should have. The startling title of Reem Alsalem’s statement — “Implementation of ‘Cass ...
This open-for-business, under-new-management cliché-pockmarked government of Christopher Luxon is not the thing of beauty he imagines it to be. It is not the powerful expression of the will of the people that he asserts it to be. It is not a soaring eagle, it is a malodorous vulture. This newest poll should make ...
The latest labour market statistics, showing a rise in unemployment. There are now 134,000 unemployed - 14,000 more than when the National government took office. Which is I guess what happens when the Reserve Bank causes a recession in an effort to Keep Wages Low. The previous government saw a ...
Three opinion polls have been released in the last two days, all showing that the new government is failing to hold their popular support. The usual honeymoon experienced during the first year of a first term government is entirely absent. The political mood is still gloomy and discontented, mainly due ...
National's Finance Minister once met a poor person.A scornful interview with National's finance guru who knows next to nothing about economics or people.There might have been something a bit familiar if that was the headline I’d gone with today. It would of course have been in tribute to the article ...
Rob MacCulloch writes – Throughout the pandemic, the new Vice-Chancellor-of-Otago-University-on-$629,000 per annum-Can-you-believe-it-and-Former-Finance-Minister Grant Robertson repeated the mantra over and over that he saved “lives and livelihoods”.As we update how this claim is faring over the course of time, the facts are increasingly speaking differently. NZ ...
Chris Trotter writes – IT’S A COMMONPLACE of political speeches, especially those delivered in acknowledgement of electoral victory: “We’ll govern for all New Zealanders.” On the face of it, the pledge is a strange one. Why would any political leader govern in ways that advantaged the huge ...
Bryce Edwards writes – The list of former National Party Ministers being given plum and important roles got longer this week with the appointment of former Deputy Prime Minister Paula Bennett as the chair of Pharmac. The Christopher Luxon-led Government has now made key appointments to Bill ...
TL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy at 10:06am on Wednesday, May 1:The Lead: Business confidence fell across the board in April, falling in some areas to levels last seen during the lockdowns because of a collapse in ...
Over the past 36 hours, Christopher Luxon has been dong his best to portray the centre-right’s plummeting poll numbers as a mark of virtue. Allegedly, the negative verdicts are the result of hard economic times, and of a government bravely set out on a perilous rescue mission from which not ...
Auckland Transport have started rolling out new HOP card readers around the network and over the next three months, all of them on buses, at train stations and ferry wharves will be replaced. The change itself is not that remarkable, with the new readers looking similar to what is already ...
Completed reads for April: The Difference Engine, by William Gibson and Bruce Sterling Carnival of Saints, by George Herman The Snow Spider, by Jenny Nimmo Emlyn’s Moon, by Jenny Nimmo The Chestnut Soldier, by Jenny Nimmo Death Comes As the End, by Agatha Christie Lord of the Flies, by ...
On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
Have a story to share about St Paul’s, but today just picturesPopular novels written at this desk by a young man who managed to bootstrap himself out of father’s imprisonment and his own young life in a workhouse Read more ...
The list of former National Party Ministers being given plum and important roles got longer this week with the appointment of former Deputy Prime Minister Paula Bennett as the chair of Pharmac. The Christopher Luxon-led Government has now made key appointments to Bill English, Simon Bridges, Steven Joyce, Roger Sowry, ...
Newsroom has a story today about National's (fortunately failed) effort to disestablish the newly-created Inspector-General of Defence. The creation of this agency was the key recommendation of the Inquiry into Operation Burnham, and a vital means of restoring credibility and social licence to an agency which had been caught lying ...
Holding On To The Present:The moment a political movement arises that attacks the whole idea of social progress, and announces its intention to wind back the hands of History’s clock, then democracy, along with its unwritten rules, is in mortal danger.IT’S A COMMONPLACE of political speeches, especially those delivered in ...
Stuck In The Middle With You:As Christopher Luxon feels the hot breath of Act’s and NZ First’s extremists on the back of his neck and, as he reckons with the damage their policies are already inflicting upon a country he’s described as “fragile”, is there not some merit in reaching out ...
The unpopular coalition government is currently rushing to repeal section 7AA of the Oranga Tamariki Act. The clause is Oranga Tamariki's Treaty clause, and was inserted after its systematic stealing of Māori children became a public scandal and resulted in physical resistance to further abductions. The clause created clear obligations ...
Buzz from the Beehive The government’s official website – which Point of Order monitors daily – not for the first time has nothing much to say today about political happenings that are grabbing media headlines. It makes no mention of the latest 1News-Verian poll, for example. This shows National down ...
It Takes A Train To Cry:Surely, there is nothing lonelier in all this world than the long wail of a distant steam locomotive on a cold Winter’s night.AS A CHILD, I would lie awake in my grandfather’s house and listen to the traffic. The big wooden house was only a ...
Packing A Punch: The election of the present government, including in its ranks politicians dedicated to reasserting the rights of the legislature in shaping and determining the future of Māori and Pakeha in New Zealand, should have alerted the judiciary – including its anomalous appendage, the Waitangi Tribunal – that its ...
Dead Woman Walking: New Zealand’s media industry had been moving steadily towards disaster for all the years Melissa Lee had been National’s media and communications policy spokesperson, and yet, when the crisis finally broke, on her watch, she had nothing intelligent to offer. Christopher Luxon is a patient man - but he’s not ...
Chris Trotter writes – New Zealand politics is remarkably easy-going: dangerously so, one might even say. With the notable exception of John Key’s flat ruling-out of the NZ First Party in 2008, all parties capable of clearing MMP’s five-percent threshold, or winning one or more electorate seats, tend ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Polling shows that Wellington Mayor Tory Whanau has the lowest approval rating of any mayor in the country. Siting at -12 per cent, the proportion of constituents who disapprove of her performance outweighs those who give her the thumbs up. This negative rating is ...
Luxon will no doubt put a brave face on it, but there is no escaping the pressure this latest poll will put on him and the government. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on Aotearoa-NZ’s political ...
This is a re-post from The Climate Brink by Andrew Dessler In the wake of any unusual weather event, someone inevitably asks, “Did climate change cause this?” In the most literal sense, that answer is almost always no. Climate change is never the sole cause of hurricanes, heat waves, droughts, or ...
Something odd happened yesterday, and I’d love to know if there’s more to it. If there was something which preempted what happened, or if it was simply a throwaway line in response to a journalist.Yesterday David Seymour was asked at a press conference what the process would be if the ...
Hi,From time to time, I want to bring Webworm into the real world. We did it last year with the Jurassic Park event in New Zealand — which was a lot of fun!And so on Saturday May 11th, in Los Angeles, I am hosting a lil’ Webworm pop-up! I’ve been ...
Education Minister Erica Standford yesterday unveiled a fundamental reform of the way our school pupils are taught. She would not exactly say so, but she is all but dismantling the so-called “inquiry” “feel good” method of teaching, which has ruled in our classrooms since a major review of the New ...
Exactly where are we seriously going with this government and its policies? That is, apart from following what may as well be a Truss-Lite approach on the purported economic “plan“, and Victorian-era regression when it comes to social policy.Oh it’ll work this time of course, we’re basically assured, “the ...
Hey Uncle Dave, When the Poms joined the EEC, I wasn't one of those defeatists who said, Well, that’s it for the dairy job. And I was right, eh? The Chinese can’t get enough of our milk powder and eventually, the Poms came to their senses and backed up the ute ...
Polling shows that Wellington Mayor Tory Whanau has the lowest approval rating of any mayor in the country. Siting at -12 per cent, the proportion of constituents who disapprove of her performance outweighs those who give her the thumbs up. This negative rating is higher than for any other mayor ...
Buzz from the Beehive Pharmac has been given a financial transfusion and a new chair to oversee its spending in the pharmaceutical business. Associate Health Minister David Seymour described the funding for Pharmac as “its largest ever budget of $6.294 billion over four years, fixing a $1.774 billion fiscal cliff”. ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Many criticisms are being made of the Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill, including by this writer. But as with everything in politics, every story has two sides, and both deserve attention. It’s important to understand what the Government is trying to achieve and its ...
TL;DR: Here’s my top 10 ‘pick ‘n’ mix of links to news, analysis and opinion articles as of 10:10am on Monday, April 29:Scoop: The children's ward at Rotorua Hospital will be missing a third of its beds as winter hits because Te Whatu Ora halted an upgrade partway through to ...
span class=”dropcap”>As hideous as David Seymour can be, it is worth keeping in mind occasionally that there are even worse political figures (and regimes) out there. Iran for instance, is about to execute the country’s leading hip hop musician Toomaj Salehi, for writing and performing raps that “corrupt” the nation’s ...
Yesterday marked 10 years since the first electric train carried passengers in Auckland so it’s a good time to look back at it and the impact it has had. A brief history The first proposals for rail electrification in Auckland came in the 1920’s alongside the plans for earlier ...
Right now, in Aotearoa-NZ, our ‘animal spirits’ are darkening towards a winter of discontent, thanks at least partly to a chorus of negative comments and actions from the Government Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on ...
You make people evil to punish the paststuck inside a sequel with a rotating castThe following photos haven’t been generated with AI, or modified in any way. They are flesh and blood, human beings. On the left is Galatea Young, a young mum, and her daughter Fiadh who has Angelman ...
April has been a quiet month at A Phuulish Fellow. I have had an exceptionally good reading month, and a decently productive writing month – for original fiction, anyway – but not much has caught my eye that suggested a blog article. It has been vaguely frustrating, to be honest. ...
A listing of 31 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, April 21, 2024 thru Sat, April 27, 2024. Story of the week Anthropogenic climate change may be the ultimate shaggy dog story— but with a twist, because here ...
Hi,I spent about a year on Webworm reporting on an abusive megachurch called Arise, and it made me want to stab my eyes out with a fork.I don’t regret that reporting in 2022 and 2023 — I am proud of it — but it made me angry.Over three main stories ...
The new Victoria University Vice-Chancellor decided to have a forum at the university about free speech and academic freedom as it is obviously a topical issue, and the Government is looking at legislating some carrots or sticks for universities to uphold their obligations under the Education and Training Act. They ...
Do you remember when Melania Trump got caught out using a speech that sounded awfully like one Michelle Obama had given? Uncannily so.Well it turns out that Abraham Lincoln is to Winston Peters as Michelle was to Melania. With the ANZAC speech Uncle Winston gave at Gallipoli having much in ...
She was born 25 years ago today in North Shore hospital. Her eyes were closed tightly shut, her mouth was silently moving. The whole theatre was all quiet intensity as they marked her a 2 on the APGAR test. A one-minute eternity later, she was an 8. The universe was ...
Skeptical Science is partnering with Gigafact to produce fact briefs — bite-sized fact checks of trending claims. This fact brief was written by Sue Bin Park in collaboration with members from our Skeptical Science team. You can submit claims you think need checking via the tipline. Is Antarctica gaining land ice? ...
Images of US students (and others) protesting and setting up tent cities on US university campuses have been broadcast world wide and clearly demonstrate the growing rifts in US society caused by US policy toward Israel and Israel’s prosecution of … Continue reading → ...
Barrie Saunders writes – Dear Paul As the new Minister of Media and Communications, you will be inundated with heaps of free advice and special pleading, all in the national interest of course. For what it’s worth here is my assessment: Traditional broadcasting free to air content through ...
Many criticisms are being made of the Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill, including by this writer. But as with everything in politics, every story has two sides, and both deserve attention. It’s important to understand what the Government is trying to achieve and its arguments for such a bold reform. ...
Peter Dunne writes – The great nineteenth British Prime Minister, William Gladstone, once observed that “the first essential for a Prime Minister is to be a good butcher.” When a later British Prime Minister, Harold Macmillan, sacked a third of his Cabinet in July 1962, in what became ...
Ele Ludemann writes – New Zealanders had the OECD’s second highest tax increase last year: New Zealanders faced the second-biggest tax raises in the developed world last year, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) says. The intergovernmental agency said the average change in personal income tax ...
We all know something’s not right with our elections. The spread of misinformation, people being targeted with soundbites and emotional triggers that ignore the facts, even the truth, and influence their votes.The use of technology to produce deep fakes. How can you tell if something is real or not? Can ...
This video includes conclusions of the creator climate scientist Dr. Simon Clark. It is presented to our readers as an informed perspective. Please see video description for references (if any). This year you will be lied to! Simon Clark helps prebunk some misleading statements you'll hear about climate. The video includes ...
It is all very well cutting the backrooms of public agencies but it may compromise the frontlines. One of the frustrations of the Productivity Commission’s 2017 review of universities is that while it observed that their non-academic staff were increasing faster than their academic staff, it did not bother to ...
Buzz from the Beehive Two speeches delivered by Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters at Anzac Day ceremonies in Turkey are the only new posts on the government’s official website since the PM announced his Cabinet shake-up. In one of the speeches, Peters stated the obvious: we live in a troubled ...
1. Which of these would you not expect to read in The Waikato Invader?a. Luxon is here to do business, don’t you worry about thatb. Mr KPI expects results, and you better believe itc. This decisive man of action is getting me all hot and excitedd. Melissa Lee is how ...
…it has a restricted jurisdiction which must not be abused: it is not an inquisitionNOTE – this article was published before the High Court ruled that Karen Chhour does not have to appear before the Waitangi Tribunal Gary Judd writes – The High Court ...
Lindsay Mitchell writes – One of reasons Oranga Tamariki exists is to prevent child neglect. But could the organisation itself be guilty of the same?Oranga Tamariki’s statistics show a decrease in the number and age of children in care. “There are less children ...
David Farrar writes: Graeme Edgeler wrote in 2017: In the first five years after three strikes came into effect 5248 offenders received a ‘first strike’ (that is, a “stage-1 conviction” under the three strikes sentencing regime), and 68 offenders received a ‘second strike’. In the five years prior to ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has surprised everyone with his ruthlessness in sacking two of his ministers from their crucial portfolios. Removing ministers for poor performance after only five months in the job just doesn’t normally happen in politics. That’s refreshing and will be extremely ...
TL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the two days to 6:06am on Thursday, April 25:Politics: PM Christopher Luxon has set up a dual standard for ministerial competence by demoting two National Cabinet ministers while leaving also-struggling ...
Hi,Today I mainly want to share some of your thoughts about the recent piece I wrote about success and failure, and the forces that seemingly guide our lives. But first, a quick bit of housekeeping: I am doing a Webworm popup in Los Angeles on Saturday May 11 at 2pm. ...
It is hard to see what Melissa Lee might have done to “save” the media. National went into the election with no public media policy and appears not to have developed one subsequently. Lee claimed that she had prepared a policy paper before the election but it had been decided ...
Open access notablesIce acceleration and rotation in the Greenland Ice Sheet interior in recent decades, Løkkegaard et al., Communications Earth & Environment:In the past two decades, mass loss from the Greenland ice sheet has accelerated, partly due to the speedup of glaciers. However, uncertainty in speed derived from satellite products ...
Buzz from the Beehive A statement from Children’s Minister Karen Chhour – yet to be posted on the Government’s official website – arrived in Point of Order’s email in-tray last night. It welcomes the High Court ruling on whether the Waitangi Tribunal can demand she appear before it. It does ...
Mr Bombastic:Ironically, the media the academic experts wanted is, in many ways, the media they got. In place of the tyrannical editors of yesteryear, advancing without fear or favour the interests of the ruling class; the New Zealand news media of today boasts a troop of enlightened journalists dedicated to ...
It's hard times try to make a livingYou wake up every morning in the unforgivingOut there somewhere in the cityThere's people living lives without mercy or pityI feel good, yeah I'm feeling fineI feel better then I have for the longest timeI think these pills have been good for meI ...
In 1974, the US Supreme Court issued its decision in United States v. Nixon, finding that the President was not a King, but was subject to the law and was required to turn over the evidence of his wrongdoing to the courts. It was a landmark decision for the rule ...
Every day now just seems to bring in more fresh meat for the grinder.In their relentlessly ideological drive to cut back on the “excessive bloat” (as they see it) of the previous Labour-led government, on the mountains of evidence accumulated in such a short period of time do not ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Megan Valére SosouMarket gardening site of the Itchèléré de Itagui agricultural cooperative in Dassa-Zoumè (Image credit: Megan Valère Sossou) For the residents of Dassa-Zoumè, a city in the West African country of Benin, choosing between drinking water and having enough ...
Buzz from the Beehive Melissa Lee – as may be discerned from the screenshot above – has not been demoted for doing something seriously wrong as Minister of ...
Labour is calling for the Government to urgently rethink its coalition commitment to restart live animal exports, Labour animal welfare spokesperson Rachel Boyack said. ...
Today’s Financial Stability Report has once again highlighted that poverty and deep inequality are political choices - and this Government is choosing to make them worse. ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to do more for our households in most need as unemployment rises and the cost of living crisis endures. ...
Unemployment is on the rise and it’s only going to get worse under this Government, Labour finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds said. Stats NZ figures show the unemployment rate grew to 4.3 percent in the March quarter from 4 percent in the December quarter. “This is the second rise in unemployment ...
The New Zealand Labour Party welcomes the entering into force of the European Union and New Zealand free trade agreement. This agreement opens the door for a huge increase in trade opportunities with a market of 450 million people who are high value discerning consumers of New Zealand goods and ...
The National-led Government continues its fiscal jiggery pokery with its Pharmac announcement today, Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall says. “The government has increased Pharmac funding but conceded it will only make minimal increases in access to medicine”, said Ayesha Verrall “This is far from the bold promises made to fund ...
This afternoon’s interim Waitangi Tribunal report must be taken seriously as it affects our most vulnerable children, Labour children’s spokesperson Willow-Jean Prime. ...
Te Pāti Māori are demanding the New Zealand Government support an international independent investigation into mass graves that have been uncovered at two hospitals on the Gaza strip, following weeks of assault by Israeli troops. Among the 392 bodies that have been recovered, are children and elderly civilians. Many of ...
Our two-tiered system for veterans’ support is out of step with our closest partners, and all parties in Parliament should work together to fix it, Labour veterans’ affairs spokesperson Greg O’Connor said. ...
Stripping two Ministers of their portfolios just six months into the job shows Christopher Luxon’s management style is lacking, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said. ...
Tonight’s court decision to overturn the summons of the Children’s Minister has enabled the Crown to continue making decisions about Māori without evidence, says Te Pāti Māori spokesperson for Children, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi. “The judicial system has this evening told the nation that this government can do whatever they want when ...
It appears Nicola Willis is about to pull the rug out from under the feet of local communities still dealing with the aftermath of last year’s severe weather, and local councils relying on funding to build back from these disasters. ...
The Government is making short-sighted changes to the Resource Management Act (RMA) that will take away environmental protection in favour of short-term profits, Labour’s environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
Labour welcomes the release of the report into the North Island weather events and looks forward to working with the Government to ensure that New Zealand is as prepared as it can be for the next natural disaster. ...
The Labour Party has called for the New Zealand Government to recognise Palestine, as a material step towards progressing the two-State solution needed to achieve a lasting peace in the region. ...
Some of our country’s most important work, stopping the sexual exploitation of children and violent extremism could go along with staff on the frontline at ports and airports. ...
The Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill will give projects such as new coal mines a ‘get out of jail free’ card to wreak havoc on the environment, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said today. ...
The government's decision to reintroduce Three Strikes is a destructive and ineffective piece of law-making that will only exacerbate an inherently biased and racist criminal justice system, said Te Pāti Māori Justice Spokesperson, Tākuta Ferris, today. During the time Three Strikes was in place in Aotearoa, Māori and Pasifika received ...
Cuts to frontline hospital staff are not only a broken election promise, it shows the reckless tax cuts have well and truly hit the frontline of the health system, says Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall. ...
The Green Party has joined the call for public submissions on the fast-track legislation to be extended after the Ombudsman forced the Government to release the list of organisations invited to apply just hours before submissions close. ...
New Zealand’s good work at reducing climate emissions for three years in a row will be undone by the National government’s lack of ambition and scrapping programmes that were making a difference, Labour Party climate spokesperson Megan Woods said today. ...
More essential jobs could be on the chopping block, this time Ministry of Education staff on the school lunches team are set to find out whether they're in line to lose their jobs. ...
Te Pāti Māori is disgusted at the confirmation that hundreds are set to lose their jobs at Oranga Tamariki, and the disestablishment of the Treaty Response Unit. “This act of absolute carelessness and out of touch decision making is committing tamariki to state abuse.” Said Te Pāti Māori Oranga Tamariki ...
The Government is trying to bring in a law that will allow Ministers to cut corners and kill off native species, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said. ...
Cancelling urgently needed new Cook Strait ferries and hiking the cost of public transport for many Kiwis so that National can announce the prospect of another tunnel for Wellington is not making good choices, Labour Transport Spokesperson Tangi Utikere said. ...
A laundry list of additional costs for Tāmaki Makarau Auckland shows the Minister for the city is not delivering for the people who live there, says Labour Auckland Issues spokesperson Shanan Halbert. ...
Te Pāti Māori co-leader Rawiri Waititi, and Mema Paremata mō Tāmaki-Makaurau, Takutai Tarsh Kemp, will travel to the Gold Coast to strengthen ties with Māori in Australia next week (15-21 April). The visit, in the lead-up to the 9th Australian National Kapa haka Festival, will be an opportunity for both ...
The 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. ...
New Zealand lost a true legend when internationally renowned disability advocate Sir Robert Martin (KNZM) passed away at his home in Whanganui last night, Disabilities Issues Minister Louise Upston says. “Our Government’s thoughts are with his wife Lynda, family and community, those he has worked with, the disability community in ...
Good evening – Before discussing the challenges and opportunities facing New Zealand’s foreign policy, we’d like to first acknowledge the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs. You have contributed to debates about New Zealand foreign policy over a long period of time, and we thank you for hosting us. ...
From today, passengers travelling internationally from Auckland Airport will be able to keep laptops and liquids in their carry-on bags for security screening thanks to new technology, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Creating a more efficient and seamless travel experience is important for holidaymakers and businesses, enabling faster movement through ...
People with an interest in the health of Northland’s marine ecosystems are invited to a public meeting to discuss how to deal with kina barrens, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones will lead the discussion, which will take place on Friday, 10 May, at Awanui Hotel in ...
Kiwi exporters are $100 million better off today with the NZ EU FTA entering into force says Trade Minister Todd McClay. “This is all part of our plan to grow the economy. New Zealand's prosperity depends on international trade, making up 60 per cent of the country’s total economic activity. ...
There are heartening signs that the extractive sector is once again becoming an attractive prospect for investors and a source of economic prosperity for New Zealand, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. “The beginnings of a resurgence in extractive industries are apparent in media reports of the sector in the past ...
The return of the historic Ō-Rākau battle site to the descendants of those who fought there moved one step closer today with the first reading of Te Pire mō Ō-Rākau, Te Pae o Maumahara / The Ō-Rākau Remembrance Bill. The Bill will entrust the 9.7-hectare battle site, five kilometres west ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has announced 25 new high-speed EV charging hubs along key routes between major urban centres and outlined the Government’s plan to supercharge New Zealand’s EV infrastructure. The hubs will each have several chargers and be capable of charging at least four – and up to 10 ...
The coalition Government will not proceed with the previous Government’s plans to regulate residential property managers, Housing Minister Chris Bishop says. “I have written to the Chairperson of the Social Services and Community Committee to inform him that the Government does not intend to support the Residential Property Managers Bill ...
The Government has announced an independent review into the disability support system funded by the Ministry of Disabled People – Whaikaha. Disability Issues Minister Louise Upston says the review will look at what can be done to strengthen the long-term sustainability of Disability Support Services to provide disabled people and ...
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith has attended the Universal Periodic Review in Geneva and outlined the Government’s plan to restore law and order. “Speaking to the United Nations Human Rights Council provided us with an opportunity to present New Zealand’s human rights progress, priorities, and challenges, while responding to issues and ...
The Government and Rotorua Lakes Council are committed to working closely together to end the use of contracted emergency housing motels in Rotorua. Associate Minister of Housing (Social Housing) Tama Potaka says the Government remains committed to ending the long-term use of contracted emergency housing motels in Rotorua by the ...
Trade Minister Todd McClay heads overseas today for high-level trade talks in the Gulf region, and a key OECD meeting in Paris. Mr McClay will travel to Riyadh to meet with counterparts from Saudi Arabia and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). “New Zealand’s goods and services exports to the Gulf region ...
Education Minister Erica Stanford has outlined six education priorities to deliver a world-leading education system that sets Kiwi kids up for future success. “I’m putting ambition, achievement and outcomes at the heart of our education system. I want every child to be inspired and engaged in their learning so they ...
The new NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) App is a secure ‘one stop shop’ to provide the services drivers need, Transport Minister Simeon Brown and Digitising Government Minister Judith Collins say. “The NZTA App will enable an easier way for Kiwis to pay for Vehicle Registration and Road User Charges (RUC). ...
Whānau with tamariki growing up in emergency housing motels will be prioritised for social housing starting this week, says Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka. “Giving these whānau a better opportunity to build healthy stable lives for themselves and future generations is an essential part of the Government’s goal of reducing ...
Racing Minister Winston Peters has paid tribute to an icon of the industry with the recent passing of Dave O’Sullivan (OBE). “Our sympathies are with the O’Sullivan family with the sad news of Dave O’Sullivan’s recent passing,” Mr Peters says. “His contribution to racing, initially as a jockey and then ...
Assalaamu alaikum, greetings to you all. Eid Mubarak, everyone! I want to extend my warmest wishes to you and everyone celebrating this joyous occasion. It is a pleasure to be here. I have enjoyed Eid celebrations at Parliament before, but this is my first time joining you as the Minister ...
Associate Health Minister David Seymour has announced Pharmac’s largest ever budget of $6.294 billion over four years, fixing a $1.774 billion fiscal cliff. “Access to medicines is a crucial part of many Kiwis’ lives. We’ve committed to a budget allocation of $1.774 billion over four years so Kiwis are ...
Hon Paula Bennett has been appointed as member and chair of the Pharmac board, Associate Health Minister David Seymour announced today. "Pharmac is a critical part of New Zealand's health system and plays a significant role in ensuring that Kiwis have the best possible access to medicines,” says Mr Seymour. ...
Hundreds of New Zealand families affected by Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) will benefit from a new Government focus on prevention and treatment, says Health Minister Dr Shane Reti. “We know FASD is a leading cause of preventable intellectual and neurodevelopmental disability in New Zealand,” Dr Reti says. “Every day, ...
Regional Development Minister Shane Jones today attended the official opening of Kaikohe’s new $14.7 million sports complex. “The completion of the Kaikohe Multi Sports Complex is a fantastic achievement for the Far North,” Mr Jones says. “This facility not only fulfils a long-held dream for local athletes, but also creates ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters’ engagements in Türkiye this week underlined the importance of diplomacy to meet growing global challenges. “Returning to the Gallipoli Peninsula to represent New Zealand at Anzac commemorations was a sombre reminder of the critical importance of diplomacy for de-escalating conflicts and easing tensions,” Mr Peters ...
Ambassador Millar, Burgemeester, Vandepitte, Excellencies, military representatives, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen – good morning and welcome to this sacred Anzac Day dawn service. It is an honour to be here on behalf of the Government and people of New Zealand at Buttes New British Cemetery, Polygon Wood – a deeply ...
Distinguished guests - It is an honour to return once again to this site which, as the resting place for so many of our war-dead, has become a sacred place for generations of New Zealanders. Our presence here and at the other special spaces of Gallipoli is made ...
Mai ia tawhiti pamamao, te moana nui a Kiwa, kua tae whakaiti mai matou, ki to koutou papa whenua. No koutou te tapuwae, no matou te tapuwae, kua honoa pumautia. Ko nga toa kua hinga nei, o te Waipounamu, o te Ika a Maui, he okioki tahi me o ...
Paul Goldsmith will take on responsibility for the Media and Communications portfolio, while Louise Upston will pick up the Disability Issues portfolio, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon announced today. “Our Government is relentlessly focused on getting New Zealand back on track. As issues change in prominence, I plan to adjust Ministerial ...
Recreational catch limits will be reduced in areas of Fiordland and the Chatham Islands to help keep those fisheries healthy and sustainable, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. The lower recreational daily catch limits for a range of finfish and shellfish species caught in the Fiordland Marine Area and ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed an important milestone in New Zealand’s hydrogen future, with the opening of the country’s first network of hydrogen refuelling stations in Wiri. “I want to congratulate the team at Hiringa Energy and its partners K one W one (K1W1), Mitsui & Co New Zealand ...
The coalition Government is delivering on its commitment to improve resource management laws and give greater certainty to consent applicants, with a Bill to amend the Resource Management Act (RMA) expected to be introduced to Parliament next month. RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop has today outlined the first RMA Amendment ...
Overseas models for regulating the oil and gas sector, including their decommissioning regimes, are being carefully scrutinised as a potential template for New Zealand’s own sector, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. The Coalition Government is focused on rebuilding investor confidence in New Zealand’s energy sector as it looks to strengthen ...
Emergency Management and Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell has today released the Report of the Government Inquiry into the response to the North Island Severe Weather Events. “The report shows that New Zealand’s emergency management system is not fit-for-purpose and there are some significant gaps we need to address,” Mr Mitchell ...
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith is today travelling to Europe where he’ll update the United Nations Human Rights Council on the Government’s work to restore law and order. “Attending the Universal Periodic Review in Geneva provides us with an opportunity to present New Zealand’s human rights progress, priorities, and challenges, while ...
Associate Agriculture Minister, Mark Patterson, formally reopened the world’s largest wool processing facility today in Awatoto, Napier, following a $50 million rebuild and refurbishment project. “The reopening of this facility will significantly lift the economic opportunities available to New Zealand’s wool sector, which already accounts for 20 per cent of ...
Hon Andrew Bayly, Minister for Small Business and Manufacturing At the Southland Otago Regional Engineering Collective (SOREC) Summit, 18 April, Dunedin Ngā mihi nui, Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Ko Whanganui aho Good Afternoon and thank you for inviting me to open your summit today. I am delighted ...
The Government is delivering on its commitment to bring back the Three Strikes legislation, Associate Justice Minister Nicole McKee announced today. “Our Government is committed to restoring law and order and enforcing appropriate consequences on criminals. We are making it clear that repeat serious violent or sexual offending is not ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has today announced four new diplomatic appointments for New Zealand’s overseas missions. “Our diplomats have a vital role in maintaining and protecting New Zealand’s interests around the world,” Mr Peters says. “I am pleased to announce the appointment of these senior diplomats from the ...
New Zealand is contributing NZ$7 million to support communities affected by severe food insecurity and other urgent humanitarian needs in Ethiopia and Somalia, Foreign Minister Rt Hon Winston Peters announced today. “Over 21 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance across Ethiopia, with a further 6.9 million people ...
Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage Paul Goldsmith is congratulating Mataaho Collective for winning the Golden Lion for best participant in the main exhibition at the Venice Biennale. "Congratulations to the Mataaho Collective for winning one of the world's most prestigious art prizes at the Venice Biennale. “It is good ...
The Government is reforming financial services to improve access to home loans and other lending, and strengthen customer protections, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly and Housing Minister Chris Bishop announced today. “Our coalition Government is committed to rebuilding the economy and making life simpler by cutting red tape. We are ...
Rongotai MP Julie Anne Genter has apologised in Parliament after National accused her of intimidating and attacking one of its ministers in the House. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra The Prime Minister and state and territory leaders met on Wednesday as the national cabinet to discuss a crisis gripping Australia – the horrific number of women murdered this year. The killings have shocked ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Radhika Raghav, Teaching Fellow, School of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Otago Netflix Indian director Sanjay Leela Bhansali is known for his big-budget Bollywood production, featuring grand sets, star casts, meticulously choreographed dance sequences and lavish costumes, jewellery and furnishings. ...
Sir Robert devoted his life to disability rights after living in institutions in his younger years, says Kaihautū Tika Hauātanga | Disability Rights Commissioner Prudence Walker. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Anastasia Powell, Professor, Family and Sexual Violence, RMIT University Violence against women is not a women’s problem to solve, it is a whole of society problem to solve; and men in particular have to take responsibility. Those were the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jessica Allen, Senior Lecturer in Chemical and Renewable Energy Engineering, University of Newcastle Snapshot freddy/ShutterstockPlans to revive an old coal-fired power station using bioenergy are being considered in the Hunter region of New South Wales. Similar plans for the station ...
Responding to the long-awaited release of judges’ special allowances, including free air travel and hotels for spouses, generous sabbaticals, and access to limousines, Taxpayers’ Union spokesman Alex Murphy said: “In what world does your employer ...
Analysis - The United States has unveiled plans to boost the weapons trade with Australia and the UK, on the same day that Winston Peters is expected to sketch NZ's position on AUKUS. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andrea Carson, Professor of Political Communication, Department of Politics, Media and Philosophy, La Trobe University Since Australia’s First Nations Voice to Parliament referendum in October 2023, diverse commentaries have sought to explain why it failed. But what does an analysis of media ...
Lawyers representing two iwi as well as the Māori Women’s Welfare League on Wednesday asked the Court of Appeal to overturn last week’s High Court decision on the Waitangi Tribunal’s decision to summons Children’s Minister Karen Chhour. The Tribunal is currently investigating the Government’s decision to repeal section 7AA of ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra The Albanese government will introduce legislation to ban deepfake pornography and provide more funding for the eSafety Commission to pilot age-assurance technologies. The contribution of internet sites to gender-based violence was one major issue ...
Average ordinary time hourly earnings, as measured by the Quarterly Employment Survey (QES), increased 5.2 percent in the year to the March 2024 quarter, according to figures released by Stats NZ today. Annual wage cost inflation, as measured by the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Dimitrios Salampasis, FinTech Capability Lead | Senior Lecturer, Emerging Technologies and FinTech, Swinburne University of Technology Clem Onojeghuo/Unsplash In the digital era, the job market is increasingly becoming a minefield – demanding and difficult to navigate. According to the Australian Bureau ...
As of the March 2024 quarter, we can now look back on 20 years of data related to youth not in employment, education, or training (NEET), as collected by the Household Labour Force Survey (HLFS), according to figures released by Stats NZ today. "The ...
Thousands of workers attended public events in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch today to celebrate International Workers’ Day (May Day), but union representatives are urging caution and vigilance over the Government’s blatantly "anti-worker" ...
The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 4.3 percent in the March 2024 quarter, compared with 4.0 percent in the previous quarter, according to figures released by Stats NZ today. ...
The PSA is warning the Government that the sensitive information of New Zealanders held by various agencies will fall into the wrong hands if the latest round of proposed cuts goes ahead. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Talitha Best, Professor of Psychology, CQUniversity Australia Victoria Rodriguez/Unsplash How do sugar rushes work? – W.H, age nine, from Canberra What a terrific question W.H! Let’s explore this, starting with some of the basics. What is sugar? ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Karinna Saxby, Research Fellow, Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research, The University of Melbourne MART PRODUCTION/Pexels Increasing income support could help keep women and children safe according to new work demonstrating strong links between financial insecurity and domestic violence. ...
ANALYSIS:By Olli Hellmann, University of Waikato When New Zealanders commemorate Anzac Day today on April 25, it’s not only to honour the soldiers who lost their lives in World War I and subsequent conflicts, but also to mark a defining event for national identity. The battle of Gallipoli against ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mark A Gregory, Associate Professor, School of Engineering, RMIT University The telecommunications industry faces a major shakeup following the release of the post-incident report on last November’s 12-hour Optus outage. Telecommunications companies will have to share more information with customers during future ...
Welcome to The Spinoff Bookseller Confessional, in which we get to know Aotearoa’s booksellers. This week: Eden Denyer, bookseller at Unity Books Auckland.Weirdest question/request you’ve had on the shop floorA mother came in looking for anything we might have on Alaskan bison as that was her little boy’s ...
NZCTU Economist Craig Renney said new data released by Statistics New Zealand shows the need for Government to act now, with unemployment rising from 3.4% to 4.3%. ...
The outpouring of anger over Maiki Sherman’s hyperbolic presentation of this week’s ‘nightmare’ poll is itself an overreaction, argues Stewart Sowman-Lund. Politicians love nothing more than to pretend they don’t care about polls. This week, deputy prime minister Winston Peters said he didn’t give a “rat’s derriere” about a TVNZ ...
Asia Pacific Report Ngāti Kahungunu in Aotearoa New Zealand’s Hawkes Bay region has become the first indigenous Māori iwi (tribe) to sign a resolution calling for a “ceasefire in Palestine”, reports Te Ao Māori News. Reporter Te Aniwaniwa Paterson talked to Te Otāne Huata, who has been organising peace rallies ...
By Dale Luma in Port Moresby “We want grants and not concessional loans,” is the crisp message from Papua New Guinea businesses directly affected by the Black Wednesday looting four months ago. The businesses, which lost millions after the January 10 rioting and looting, say they need grants as part ...
Happy May Day. Join a union. Q: What’s worse than a staff break room where the only place to sit and have a cup of tea is on a teetering stack of old pornography magazines? A: Your boss replacing the magazine stacks with chairs that are “heartily encrusted with ...
By Koroi Hawkins, RNZ Pacific editor Former opposition leader Matthew Wale has been announced as the second prime ministerial candidate ahead of the election in Solomon Islands tomorrow. He will face off against former foreign affairs minister Jeremiah Manele, who was announced by the Coalition for National Unity and Transformation ...
We get but one birthday a year – why not make it last as long as possible by scheduling as many meals with friends and family as you can? This is an excerpt from our weekly food newsletter, The Boil Up. How do you celebrate your birthday? Do you celebrate at ...
A Koi Tū discussion paper released today proposes sweeping changes to New Zealand’s media industry. The principal’s key author, Gavin Ellis, explains how journalists have a key role to play in making others value their role in society. This is an abridged version of a piece first published on knightlyviews.com ...
The Government’s spending cuts are again targeting support for Māori with proposed reform of the agency charged with advising on Māori wellbeing and development. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ian Douglas, Honorary Senior Lecturer, UNSW Aviation., UNSW Sydney The history of budget jet airlines in Australia is a long road littered with broken dreams. New entrants have consistently struggled to get a foothold. Low-cost carrier Bonza has just become the industry’s ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rosalind Dixon, Director, Gilbert + Tobin Centre of Public Law, UNSW Sydney Australia is finally having a sustained conversation about violence against women and what we can do about it. It is more than time. Australian women and girls continue to experience ...
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 stockfour/Shutterstock Preliminary bulk billing data released this week shows a 2.1% rise in bulk billing up to March. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Samantha Schulz, Senior Lecturer, University of Adelaide Australia is once again grappling with how we can stop gendered violence in our country. Protests over the weekend show there is enormous community anger over the number of women who are dying and National ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Martin, Visiting Fellow, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University AnastasiaDudka/Shutterstock What if the government was doing everything it could to stop thieves making off with our money, except the one thing that could really work? That’s how it ...
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Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tim Flannery, Honorary fellow, The University of Melbourne Shutterstock Current concentrations of carbon dioxide (CO₂) in Earth’s atmosphere are unprecedented in human history. But CO₂ levels today, and those that might occur in coming decades, did occur millions of years ago. ...
Winston Peters has been keen to dismiss speculation on our involvement in Aukus but will give a speech tonight on the direction of our foreign policy, writes Anna Rawhiti-Connell in this excerpt from The Bulletin, The Spinoff’s morning news round-up. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Patrick Usmar, Lecturer in Critical Media Literacies, Auckland University of Technology Getty Images With the coalition government’s ban of student mobile phones in New Zealand schools coming into effect this week, reaction has ranged from the sceptical (kids will just get ...
Hospitals around the country are not allowed to make a single hiring decision without the approval of Te Whatu Ora's head office, including for cleaners and administration staff. ...
A new report on protecting journalism and democracy in New Zealand recommends a levy be charged on global platforms like Facebook and Google to fund media firms undertaking public interest reporting. It also calls for the reinstatement of a powerful Broadcasting Commission to distribute public funding for journalism and other ...
On International Workers' Day, also known as May Day, the New Zealand Council of Trade Unions Te Kauae Kaimahi and the wider union movement are celebrating the proud history of the labour movement during a tough time for working people. ...
From bills to beards, a walk through the former Green co-leader’s time in politics. After close to a decade in politics, James Shaw is preparing to bid farewell to parliament. Tonight will see the former minister deliver his valedictory address, certain to be a speech filled with Shaw’s trademark wit ...
Two months ago, MPs unanimously voted to give themselves a week off in Efeso Collins’ honour. On Tuesday, most were too busy to give even an hour of their time. The day Fa’anānā Efeso Collins died, parliament felt different. In a building that operates at a breakneck pace, everyone stopped ...
India’s election involves hundreds of millions of people and is a months-long affair. Here’s how voting works and what’s at stake.The biggest-ever election in world history started on April 19, with more than 10% of the world’s population eligible to vote. Elections in India, the world’s most populous country ...
Emotional scenes played out in the Invercargill courthouse on the first two days of the coronial inquest into the death of Gore toddler Lachlan Jones, in which the boy’s mother was accused of disposing of her son’s body. The second season of Newsroom’s award-nominated podcast The Boy in the Water ...
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After the Christchurch earthquake, the then-national civil defence boss compared his experience to “putting a team on the rugby field who have never ever played together before”. Now, eight years later – and following a damning inquiry into the emergency response of cyclones Gabrielle, Hale and the Auckland anniversary weekend floods – ...
“I had just come off the end of a major robbery case which I had been working on for six months when I got a call on the afternoon of September 1, 1992, that some remains had been found at a building site in Devonport, so I drove over with ...
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‘
“The biggest climate change rally in US history”
Will we have. to have similiar rallies here before our law makers start taking climate change seriously?
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2013/feb/17/keystone-xl-pipeline-protest-dc
Did anyone just hear our beloved leader on Radio New Zealand this morning? He sounded well under the weather and as if he had a hard night the night before.
Audio is at http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/morningreport/audio/2546817/pm-confident-report-will-clear-way-for-convention-centre.asx
Anyone else detecting signs Key has developed a drinking problem?
He was slurring at the RWC opening, something politely overlooked by the media – but hey, he a Kiwi guy just like us and who would deny the man a drink?
John Key “fainted” in a Christchurch restaurant, and no real suitable explaination was given. it was immediately after his holiday, so fatigue could hardly be the reason.
Audrey Young sent out a not so subtle hint Key was suffering a hangover recently in Queenstown:
“…During a wreath-laying ceremony, Key appeared to have difficulty keeping his eyes open for a couple of minutes. He kept rubbing his eyes, but no sooner had he opened them than they would shut. He said later, through a spokeswoman, that the problem was because of the glare on the war memorial, which made his eyes water…”
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10864459
Muldoon famously announced an election drunk as a skunk, and our media studiously avoided mentioning that.
Alcohol abuse is probably endemic in parliament, like hospo I would imagine it is an occupational hazard linked to ready access, long hours and work pressure. But would our media have the courage to expose a drunkard PM?
Well, who do you think he is drinking with half of the time?
And yes, binge drinking is endemic in Parliament. MPs, staffers, advisors, what have you.
I worked in Parliament for about 3 years and never saw any of this binge drinking you mention. And as a heavy drinker myself I would have loved to have joined in but alas – it doesn’t really exist.
And if John Key had a drinking problem then the opposition would be all over it. How better to win an election than to portray your opponent as a drunk?
*cough* Maybe no one liked you *cough*
🙂
“well dressed and all that”
Surely the Armani would have made a difference.
And you know this because alot of MP’s and Parliamentary staffers carry out this binge drinking in your back bedroom in Dunedin?
KK. Parliament has not been in Dunedin for a very long time.
“Anyone else detecting signs Key has developed a drinking problem?”
It’s hard to tell – he has such lazy speech. As mother used to say….. ‘Lazy speech, lazy thinking, lazy mind’
It’s why he has to rely on an ideology learned parrot-fashion – and a failed one at that!
I thought it was a speech impediment he had as a child. Read it somewhere though can’t find any reference for it.
It could be any number of things.
Hell, he might have brain cancer, hence the desire to finish his bucket list.
Whatever it is, it might be getting worse – hopefully for him it’ll clear up when he leaves office. Less stress and all that. I don’t think anyone can fuck up a country this badly without it having a corrosive effect on their soul.
Yep, it’s a speech impediment.
Oddly enough it only seems to surface when he’s on the piss.
Sound’s like he’s still half shickered. must have been a big nite last nite.
That was a mean all-nighter !
I didn’t think it sounded like him,maybe he has a speech double.He sounded like he either had a hangover or had taken meds for something or other. Probably something to “relax” him.
More on the horror of ATOS in the U$K. Coming here if Johnny Keyshine can only work up the nerve:
Oh look that Shearer person is a really tolerant fellow. He says there is room in the Labour Party for MPs with homophobic views.
http://www.kiwiblog.co.nz/2013/02/shearer_on_homophobes_and_labour.html#comments
Hardly breaking news since two Labour MPs met an anti-marriage equality petition on Parliament’s steps. And they’re still MPs. New diversion thanks.
Increasingly looking like, despite Labour’s best efforts, it’s status quo for the next few years.
We’re on our people.
Look after your mums, your neighbours and by the grace of dog, we’ll all make it through.
35 women are saved from having more babies while they are on a benefit or low income. Victory!
http://www.kiwiblog.co.nz/2013/01/free_contraception_uptake.html
God forbid people actually pay for their own kids instead of lumping them on to everyone else.
God forbid we create an extra 150,000 jobs so that everyone who wants a family can have a working income.
God forbid that women should decline to take contraception that has risks and side effects. Why is the govt not free funding other kinds of contraception?
God forbid the media ask why men aren’t sharing responsibility for contraception. I say we offer free vasectomies along with all types of contraception.
That’s not a bad idea. Problem is, Bennett wants teenagers to stop having babies, and I doubt many young men want to get the snip.
Virtually all forms of contraception are majority funded by the state in NZ.
available to the middle class as well as the rich, then.
So, in your view, what is the purpose of the economy?
This poll was on TV1 breakfast news yesterday. Extract from today’s Herald
The poll also had good news for National, with a 5 percentage point jump in support taking them to 49 per cent. Labour was on 33 per cent and the Greens 11 per cent.
Mr Key also gained five points, according to the preferred prime minister measure, giving him 44 per cent, with Labour leader David Shearer on 15 per cent.
Bomber’s media announcement is up
http://www.tumeke.blogspot.co.nz/2013/02/announcing-my-new-media-project.html
“TheDailyBlog.co.nz will bring together 30 of the best left-wing bloggers and progressive opinion shapers in NZ all onto one site to critique the news, the media, and politics to provide the other side of the story.”
“Launching March 1st TheDailyBlog.co.nz will feature: Chris Trotter, Selwyn Manning, Professor Jane Kelsey, Keith Locke, Sue Bradford, John Minto, David Slack, Morgan Godfery, Gareth Renowden, Coley Tangerina, Phoebe Fletcher, Dr Wayne Hope, Queen of Thorns, Burnt out Teacher, Steve Grey, Aaron Hawkins, Marama Davidson, Tim Selwyn, James Ritchie, Efeso Collins, Robert Winter, Lynn Prentice, Frank MacsKasy, Matt McCarten, Wayne Butson, Chris Flatt, Allan Alach, TheDailyBlog Reposts and The Liberal Agenda.”
It’s a strong line up. I assume Bomber hisself will also be posting, but maybe not.
Best of luck to them (you) all.
I am just scared about what happens when you put that many self satisfied, know it alls in the same place. The mix of with pathetic whinging and misplaced sense of entitlement could blow up the internet.
Bankers, financiers and the 0.1% are the ones with the grand sense of self-entitlement.
Kiwiblog and other similar sites haven’t blown up the internet yet and they’ve got heaps of whingers full of self-entitlement and other RWNJs.
I saw that list and on about half of them I either said “who” or “why” .
One just hopes that like Kiwiblog and The Standard (and unlike Tumeke) that commentary is free and moderated sparingly.
With Bradbury at the helm though I am not very optimistic of this.
You just hate him because you are a hard-core rightwinger who wants to close schools and hospitals, to pay for tax cuts.
“The Daily Blog” sounds like a sterling idea with a big enough roster to pace people or let them quietly slide off if the pace is too much. BUT it had better have like buttons, moderation and one off registration not the the google account login nightmare Tumeke is, if this daily blogger is going to use it.
Yeah that’s what pissed my off about Tumeke as well. I didnt want to log in under my real name to post. I would very much prefer to post under “millsy”, the post name I have had for the past 13 years…
Wow – nice non-sequiter, Millsy.
Sounds like it came from a quote generator.
Bloody awesome. Sounds bloody good. A powerhouse of good decent left wingers who belive in things like taxing the rich to pay for schools and hospitals and locking up all DOC land from mining forever.
Ill definitely be going there on my daily web trawls.
Great!
This is what is needed! Combining voices and forces, using the power of synergy, to establish a resolute opposition to what we get served up by incompetent, indifferent or even damned biased, misinforming, manipulating and increasingly disgusting privately controlled, commercial mainstream media.
I look forward to this blog.
Just one worry I have, I hope it does not come with the features and technical hiccups that Tumeke has caused. Just trying to open that website once again, it instantly made my browser collapse.
Also I hope it will allow pseudonyms and fair, open debate, similar to what we have here on TS.
“Also I hope it will allow pseudonyms and fair, open debate, similar to what we have here on TS.”
As do I. No point in haven’t a big blog with numerous editors if you are just going to shut off dissenting POV’s which unfortunately seems to be the case at Tumeke
sadly, not enough rogues.
Now that’s a really good leftie line-up, including many people whose posts I usually read.
When Bomber dropped his teasers, I was hoping for something with an audio component (like radio) rather than print based. Maybe a left radio/TV station is still something waiting for it’s time to come.
However, hopefully it’s a line-up that will gain critical mass, and widespread significant mainstream attention. Also, Bomber will likely include some of his bloggers (if not all) as guests on Citizen A.
I hope it’s an extremely successful blog.
I think a leftie radio network would be more effective than a tv station. Most people can’t watch telly at work.
Hmm… some of us can’t listen to the radio at work. But, I agree a leftie radio station would be an excellent innovation – could be done online. Could be listened to while traveling/commuting.
NZTA bills crash victim $1300
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/8320507/NZTA-bills-crash-victim-1300
The mother of a teenager nearly killed in a car crash has been billed by the New Zealand Transport Agency for the cost of closing the road while she was cut free.
Is this legal?
The insurance industry does not know much about it.
Insurance Council insurance manager John Lucas had never heard of such a charge.
“From discussions I’ve had with insurers, it would appear to be a new practice.”
And if it is legal, can accident victims recover costs if the road is not up to standard?
OMG
welcome to America
I damaged my car on a pothole last month. Invoicing NZTA as we speak…
I damaged my car on a pothole last month. Invoicing NZTA as we speak…
Jeeze, is there no such thing as an accident any more? Wouldn’t NZTA have to prove that the ‘accident’ was the fault of the car owner, if that’s who they are billing?
Innocent bystanders to be billed next.
I guess the NZTA need this money for more valuable highways?
There is NO such thing as an Accident. They are all just Incidents, with differing degree’s of fault, and or blame.
If we all had to pay through the nose for the mistakes we made, then there would be huge queues at the bankruptcy courts.
Quite frankly I think this charge is BS, and it sets a worrying precedent.
But the generous souls will not be invoicing dead people. They are so kind???
Not quite.
‘would not ORDINARILY be invoiced’!!!!
I note the rednecks on the stuff site think its OK. Nothing turns a redneck on like bankrupting someone because they made a mistake.
Generally people take out insurance to cover their mistakes. The only people who might go bankrupt from this are the selfish who expect everyone else to pick up the tab for their fuck ups.
So you think its OK to financially cripple this woman? I bet you would have everything taken from her and her out on the street.
All because you want a tax cut.
She has got insurance so they should pay it. What is wrong with that?
It’s called “being a prick to people who have better things to worry about than your 0.03% increase in budget expenditure”.
The issue seems to be that the fuel levy and other incomes no longer fund our roads, so regional cost centres are forced to be fuckwits to worried or grieving relatives.
Because the chances are the insurance won’t pay for it. The NZTA has determined that the driver was at fault and such a determination will let the insurance companies off. It’d be the same as not having a WoF on your car even though the car was up to standard.
As this would seem to be part of the cost of an accident, guess who will be paying for this piece of stupidity, and i am talking about the billing of this person for these costs as the stupidity,
The arms of the State shuffling paperwork in an idiots dance will result by the time all the shuffling is done in the costs being double what the original bill was…
Are you saying that this goes on all the time?
That NZTA regularly bills people in accidents for closing the road, but we never heard about it until now because it’s usually covered by insurance?
Highly unlikely KK. I hardly think our insurance companies would be paying out such fees and not telling us.
According to NZTA they have been doing it for years. Obviously you know better.
depends under what circumstances. Were they billing families of hospitalised drivers ten years ago? I reckon they were probably billing people for vandalism or diesel on the roads for donuts, and it’s encroached from there into full fuckwitted behaviours.
And yet it seems to be the first time that the insurance companies have heard of it.
Obviously King Kong knows better…
I can confirm charging of some kind has been going on for some years. A nephew of mine took out a guardrail in the Cromwell Gorge ’bout 2007 and got billed for it.
I once ordered a cheesecake and I had to pay for that too, but so what?
And the most efficient and cheapest insurance is living in a community which is something we all do and, in fact, have to do.
This is shocking stuff. Assistance to citizens should be part of the national support of road users. If it is a commercial vehicle being used for business then it could be argued that this be done.
How can it be that daft bu..s go off to sea or on tramping trips with no proper equipment, or tourists hit their emergency beacon for a helicopter and I don’t think there is a charge for this.
Yachties floating around on the sea, wanting to be rescued of course, if their lifestyle or sport goes badly wrong. Do they pay the ships diverted to help them?
Some things are just unreasonable – like tenants being asked to pay for a house they were renting if it burns down. How can ordinary people have to shoulder these extra costs which should be borne elsewhere?
Call the Coast Guard and you will be charged. Of course, the Coast Guard is a volunteer organisation and not (or minimally) government funded.
Coastguard does not charge for rescuing people, only if you want them to save your boat as well. Even this is free if you have paid the, modest, membership fee.
Same with shipping companies. I have never heard of a shipping company charging for rescueing people after a Mayday. There is a fund available to reimburse rescuers. I don’t think it has ever been claimed.
Loss of income, or damage, from having to divert for a mayday is, however, covered in marine insurance.
Which means we can come and rescue you without worrying being sued for risking the owners ship, so long as you have made it a “Mayday”.
If you want a commercial vessel to go to the time, trouble and expanse of picking up your boat as well, though, expect to pay. In most cases this risks the ships insurance cover as well as extra delays and costs. At 50k plus a day they add up quick.
I think ambulances have a charge that’s more commonly applied now, too.
Everyone gets short of public funds, everyone finds incremental revenue.
National’s “brighter future”.
Yup!
cereally though, cobber, there is always “The Sunbird” or “Ancient Evenings” (Smith and Mailer) 🙂
We’re all very highly critical of the government, but I think we should applaud Cabinet’s decision to go ahead with plain packaging on cigarette packets. I think it will remove the cachet some brands have – like Marlboro, Dunhill, Lucky Strike and Camel. I don’t think it will deter those who stick with more downmarket brands, but it will take some of the glamour away for those who might take up smoking. A positive move, in my opinion.
Lolz, i don’t think it will have the slightest effect on those who take up smoking, having been a smoker during the limited amount of time i spent at college and also having had the displeasure of watching the same (mis)behavior from my nieces during their incarceration at the same institution i can assure you that for the young smoker ‘brand’ isn’t a consideration,
These days cigarettes aren’t shared as freely as they were when i was a young smoker, but, the size of the school of smokers that gather in those out of the way places on the college campus for a quick puff befor class looks to be remarkably the same in number as it was during my stint in the corridors of such august edifices of learning,
These days in the ‘smoking school’ one person usually has found the cash with which to buy a packet of filtered cigarettes and the other smokers in the ‘school’ usually have a dollar each to buy a smoke,
Bit like a ‘drunks school’ or a ‘druggies school’ it’s the addiction what brings them together as they know that the numbers mean at least one of them on any given occasion will have the means to supply the group with whatever the addiction is…
As far as applauding the Government on this issue i fell that you are viewing the whole issue very simplistically through the lens of the manipulation of your mind,
With at least a billion dollars of tobacco tax being collected from users being over and above the actual cost to society of the use of tobacco products the Health budget could now be said to be being propped up by that taxation on tobacco products,
Should the use of the products decrease radically from Government taxation and other ‘moves’ against the product Government would have to ‘find’ that extra billion dollars from somewhere else or cut that money from the Health or other budgets,
The Government tho knows that very few users will actually quit the product and within 6 months most of those who quit have taken to using the product again,
The chairman of the Quit program admitted in its annual report 2011 that ‘they’ only reach 2% of smokers and a study by a university Professor, (both of which i have provided links to befor on open mike),says that only 1.9% of smokers who try end up actually quitting the addiction,
Meanwhile there is an unknown number of young people who take up the habit and become addicted constantly replacing the small % of users who have managed to kick their addiction,
The only means of actually reducing the number of addicts to this product would be to declare tobacco a prescription poison only available via Doctor’s prescription and register all the present cohort of addicts with their Doctors,
Within a year of such a registration program tobacco could then be made only available to registered addicts thus dramatically curtailing access to the product for anyone not a registered addict…
lol
whatever, pete.
Now I’m not allowed to see what they have to sell me, they’re not allowed to tell me, and I can’t see what they sold me. The absurdity of zealotry.
If it weren’t for the inevitable organised crime, I’d outlaw tobacco entirely. If you’re buying it, I’d question your wisdom to make rational purchasing decisions in the first place.
Luckily for me, my personal habits are none of your business.
Maybe I looked at the relative odds and decided it’s better to live life and have fun than to live in fear. My level of smoking is probably about as harmful to me as your sanctimonious attitude is to you. Each to their own, I guess.
same
We’ll agree to disagree.
On what point?
That what I do in my own home is none of your business?
Or that stress is a major cause of early mortality, on a par with <3 cigarette equivalents per day?
“you don’t send me flowers, anymore.” 🙂
As the largest cohort of the 20 odd % of the population who do indulge in the product are in the lowest income brackets ‘health issues’ are merely a smokescreen for Government revenue farming off of those who are addicted,
There is one ‘thing’ that will kill a person faster than will the tobacco addiction and that is ‘poor diet’ and extremely poor diet will speedily result in a number of health issues becoming apparent in those that suffer from that poor diet,
So, constant revenue farming of tobacco products by Governments simply leaves those addicted and suffering low and extremely low incomes then have a ‘choice’, kick the addiction or face a severely restricted diet as the food spend is in most cases for the poor the only area of expense where cuts can be made,
As i point out above, the chairman of the quit program admitted in the annual report,(first sentence), that the program is accessed by barely 2% of smokers, the further study i allude to above,(which i have previously posted a link to) shows that barely 2% of those who try actually manage to quit the addiction,
What then going forward will be the health results for the other 98% of tobacco addicts unable to quit their addictions and being forced to exist on an increasingly severe poor diet,
i wont argue here about the rationality of purchasing the product except to say what addict do you know of that makes an entirely rational decision to support such an addiction, it is however given the facts, totally irrational for governments to attempt to stop addicts accessing the product at the center of their addiction by continuously raising the price of that product thus putting the health of those addicted in as much if not more danger from another causative than the original addiction,
All of that tho is only relevant if you believe the raising of such taxation is based upon rational health decisions by that Government…
Pete – next thing to do: all alcohol advertising, packaging and labelling to be in black and white only.
only Scotch
The only winners here are the manufacturers of branded cigarette tins.
And the minimalists…
true
Fascist Work and Income NZ –
A new website has been set up by someone, to offer a forum for those that have suffered bad, unfair treatment, wrong decisions and whatever else at the hands of NZ’s largest government department/agency:
http://workandincomerfascis.wix.com/fascistworkandincome#!name-n-shame/c1qno
I am not sure who is behind this, and “fascist” may be over the top for some, but it seems, that the increasing harrassment, denial of rights and entitlements, off-loading from some benefits and shifting of claimants and applicants onto other, lower rated ones (e.g. from sickness to UB or invalid’s benefit to SB), is leading to increasing anger and people seeing a need to let off steam.
Bennett is creating a lot of adversaries with the policies she and her government are introducing, now forcing not only sole parents, but also increasingly sick, and soon even disabled, into some kinds of work, same as the Department of Work and Pensions have been doing in the UK for years, using private assessor ATOS and bizarre work capability tests, that led to over 1,100 deaths from Jan. to August 2011 alone:
http://blacktrianglecampaign.org/2012/10/31/government-use-might-of-american-insurance-giant-to-destroy-uk-safety-net-by-mo-stewart-update/
http://blacktrianglecampaign.org/2012/05/31/a-tale-of-two-models-disabled-people-vs-unum-atos-government-and-disability-charities-by-debbie-jolly-dpac/
See also Bennett’s speech that is considered to be a “game changer” in the way seriously, longer term sick and disabled will be put under pressure in future:
http://www.beehive.govt.nz/speech/speech-medical-professionals
She is clearly a fan of those assessments and test that are used in the UK, and she was already consulted and lobbied by the man who saw to it, that the tests (designed in principle by highly controversion US insurance giant Unum) were implemeted by governments in Britain.
So lots to be worried about, that is on top of what WINZ and MSD throw at beneficiaries already now, to make life a misery.
Perhaps use this website to vent your anger, WINZ dependent, disentitled and disowned NZers?
Hah, Kathryn Ryan on RadioNZ nine to noon trying to twist what Economics and Business commentator Rob Oram was saying about ‘the living wage’ into some right wing political framing,
Oram told that tool that He was talking economics not politics, that shut Her up…
Poor John, he had a busy night at Antoine’s on Parnell Rise. He was very well looked after.
That genius Tony A never disappoints.
Good thing John lives around the corner!
Needing some ideas….friend of mine is only 19 with a 10 week old baby, yes she is a solo mum, currently back at school and working part time also. She currently lives in the redzone and has until May to leave. She like so many others is having a hell time finding a rental. Her rental payments are guaranteed, thanks to Paula B – her landlord is happy to be a referee….I have been sending out emails for housing rentals and the tone of the reply is all about her being a young solo mum, and then declining her. She has good credit, no previous rental issues…can anyone suggest a way to get past the stigma of being a young solo mum. 🙂
Tell her to meet with the agents/landlord with a grown up (preferably one in a suit) and then state her case ie she is studying and working and will always meet the rent payments. This is what I did in the same situation and got a rental when they were in short supply.
Also tell them you are happy to have inspections more frequently. Don’t take baby (but of course tell them about baby) and make sure she is dressed well.
Lolz, if there is no specifics in the ad for the places your mate is trying to rent about babies DON’T TELL THEM, there is nothing in any legislation that would require Her to do so,
Suggest you also tell them that your friend is a ‘student’ who works part-time and can pay the rent through the help of the accommodation supplement, might have to stretch the ‘student’ one to include the field of study,
The only other suggestion which probably is a non starter is that your friend shift to a city/town that doesn’t have the accommodation problems currently being experienced there which are probably going to get worse as the re-build ramps up…
Hi Anakereiti. There is nothing about your friend that would indicate that landlords should be wary of her. In fact, she has things in favour as a tenant, regular guaranteed rent payments, a referal, part time work and is in education. So I would say its the landlords that have the problem and doesn’t their response sound like discrimination?
I wonder what the tenancy act would have to say about declining a reliable prospective tenant on the grounds of solo parenting?
Sorry not that helpful but maybe call the DBH on 0800 83 62 62 to clarify her rights
http://www.dbh.govt.nz/tenancy-index
Thanks to all, for your help. Il try a couple of different ways ….see which one gets her in first lol. Thanks
Don’t think the tenancy law says anything about a landlord discriminating against anyone, if anyone wanted to buy into a fight, a long one, with landlords appearing to discriminate the Human Rights Commissioner would be the place to start,
Wouldn’t tho solve the immediacy of the housing problem…
Hi bad12. I think its wise to always be aware of your rights, not necesssarily in the event that you will take issue with another party and take it up at a formal level – its just something that may help at an informal level and maybe can be used in an opportunistic way. Nothing like a subtle mention of the other parties legal obligations/or your rights to get things moving.
Sometimes works. Sometimes doesn’t.
We have had the experience on two occasions of being selected as tenants due to our child free status and have been chosen over couples with children. I’ve found this out later once via the landlord herself and once via a friend of the landlord. Great to get a flat but sucks to be partly responsible for an outcome in that discriminates against children. It happens, landlords are excluding children from their right to housing. This is happening in Anakereiti’s friends’ instance.
I think if Anakereiti is receiving regular responses that refer to the prospective tenant being a “solo Mum” then it wouldn’t hurt to look into her rights as parent seeking accomodation. No it won’t solve the immediate problem (and it is a major one especially if she’s settled into study). Its not for the tenant to carry stigma and work out ways around that to get into a flat, its up to the landlord to put their prejudice aside. Easier said than done I know, but I wish her well for finding a good place to live soon.
True, the one answer i forgot to put to AnaKereiti was her friend could apply to the State for housing as, (i assume),Her friend is on a low income and a single parent,
Unfortunately the friend also appears to live in Christchurch where accommodation is becoming scarcer,
Other than suffer renting a wreck of a house which i have seen highlighted on the TV i cannot think of any other good advice,
Yes the problem with ‘our rights’ is that while many of us know them,(or know discrimination when we are subject to it), in most cases we are left to fight such battles on our own behalf which can be one hell of a battle for those without the skills,
This is the uneven playing field of the past 30 years of deregulation, instead of having a relevant Government department to complain to which then investigates such complaints and prosecutes in the case of wrong-doings being found we all have been left having to investigate and prosecute on our own behalves,
Such ‘thinking’ which presupposes the honesty and integrity of those in ‘higher’ positions in society is obviously failed ideology and we need return to a system where alleged breaches of rules and laws across all facets of society are investigated and ,(if warranted), prosecuted by the relevant Government Department which deals with that legislation…
In breaking news Charles Chauvel has resigned as a list MP to take up a job at the UN.
Bugger, he was once of the best performing Labour MPs …
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10866354
And an pretty damn good left MP comes in, Carol Beaumont.
I agree with you there TRP. But Charles performed quite a specialised and important role. Carol is and will be good because she is staunch and understands the party and the trade union movement very well.
That is a bugger.
Why cant Trevor get a job with the UN (anywhere else for that matter).
Would you hire him?
😈
In CB we have a good union presence in Parliament. I think you have to go back to the 30’s to see the same amount of union bod in parliamentary Labour.
(Matthew Hooton will be crying in his beer tonight, he has been worrying about this for a while)
Excellent observation. And what an imcomparably Left Wing party that has created under their watch.
You beat me to it MS! Just read it on Scoop
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA1302/S00258/charles-chauvel-announces-resignation.htm
I’m really curious to see what will happen in Ohariu now. We desparately need to get rid of Peter Dunne in this area for the sake of the electorate but most importantly for the sake of the country. (I know I’m repeating myself) Looking at previous election results, it could be done.
He is pretty much embedded in there really I am afraid. I think he is the reason why the 5th Labour government drifted to the right back from 02-08.
Hopefully Labour and the Greens will win enough seats to render him irrelevant in the post election horse trading, and he will spend 3 years in the wilderness.
WHAT ‘mandate’ for asset sales?
DEBUNKING THIS ‘URBAN (AND RURAL?) MYTH’!
Do the maths!!!!!
http://www.nbr.co.nz/article/cabinet-holds-back-pushing-asset-sales-waits-supreme-court-bd-136063#comment-607156
The final vote on the Public Finance (Mixed Ownership Model) Amendment Act 2012, was 61 – 60
http://www.parliament.nz/en-NZ/PB/Debates/Debates/e/8/e/50HansD_20120626_00000012-State-Owned-Enterprises-Amendment-Bill-Public.htm
A party vote was called for on the question, That the Public Finance (Mixed Ownership Model) Amendment Bill be now read a third time.
Ayes 61
New Zealand National 59; ACT New Zealand 1; United Future 1.
Noes 60
New Zealand Labour 34; Green Party 14; New Zealand First 8; Māori Party 3; Mana 1.
__________________________________________________________
http://www.kiwiblog.co.nz/2013/02/a_lie.html/comment-page-1#comment-1097573
[ Pete(r) George – Dunedin North candidate – United Future )
(16,292) Says: February 15th, 2013 at 10:28 pm]
” UF did not specifically campaign for the ‘mixed ownership model for the electricity companies and Air New Zealand’ because it was not UF policy”
WHAT UNITED FUTURE DID CAMPAIGN ON: RE ASSET SALES:
http://www.unitedfuture.org.nz/asset-sales-policy-announcement/
Asset Sales Policy Announcement
10 October 2011
Kiwibank, Radio New Zealand and the water supply should be ruled out of any future asset sales programmes, UnitedFuture Leader Peter Dunne said today.
Speaking to the Auckland Rotary Club, he said that given that National has a manifesto that includes asset sales, New Zealanders need to start a proper debate on the future limits of those sales.
“To this point there has not been a proper national debate beyond National saying yes and Labour saying no.
“We need a conversation that is more detailed and drills down into what New Zealanders really think are acceptable bottom lines,” he said.
“New Zealanders, I believe, are not definitively pro-asset sales, but under certain conditions, it is no longer the bogeyman issue that Labour would have you believe.”
Mr Dunne said UnitedFuture’s role as a support partner is not just to contribute its own policies, but to help keep a government to a reasonable, centrist path.
……….. ”
In my considered opinion – the voting public of Ohariu were thus effectively misled by United Future and Peter Dunne on the issue of support for the ‘Mixed Ownership Model’ for State-Owned electricity assets and Air New Zealand.
In my considered opinion, United Future and Peter Dunne SOLD OUT the voting public of Ohariu by voting in support of the Public Finance (Mixed Ownership) Amendment Act 2012.
Had Peter Dunne kept faith with the voting public of Ohariu – the Public Finance (Mixed Ownership Model) Amendment Bill should have BEEN DEFEATED 60 – 61.
I thus believe that I am absolutely correct in my statement that THERE IS NO MANDATE FOR ASSET SALES – given that this minority National Government (which DID campaign on asset sales) has only 59 out of 121 MPs.
ACT did not specifically campaign on asset sales – but their support for privatisation is hardly a secret.
However –
” UF did not specifically campaign for the ‘mixed ownership model for the electricity companies and Air New Zealand’ because it was not UF policy”
THEREFORE! NO MAJORITY – NO MANDATE!
Penny Bright
‘Anti-corruption campaigner’
Auckland Mayoral Candidate 2013
http://www.dodgyjohnhasgone.com
National said what they were going to do if they won, they won so now they’re trying to do what they said they were going to do, I’m not surprised the left arn’t keen on this but National are in power because the majority of voters wanted them in power
Don’t want this to happen? Then make sure Labour get the majority, quite simple really
National did not get a majority, Chris. That’s why they are in a coalition. They rely on John Banks and the vote of Peter Dunne to get the sales passed and Dunne didn’t even campaign on the issue, preferring to stay silent to fool the electors of Ohariu into trusting that he wouldn’t do it.
War memorials may be chattels of nationhood, built of the lives lost in endless blood they are also mausoleums for the freedoms sold long afore their sacrifice, but this embroiders every campaign badge with shame
http://rt.com/news/sandhurst-mons-rename-bahrain-457/
I for one would be very interested in what our Prime Minister, who has so often spoken of his respect for the fallen, has to say on this deal.
Dom-on T.V; risk of having a criminal conviction by early adulthood increases approx 30% with every hour (?) children and teens spend watching T.V on an average weeknight.-Professor Bob Hancox, Otago Uni.
conclusion: a strong association
“We read all our mail. We welcome leaks, news-tips, feedback, and suggestions for content. Please feel free to email us: thestandardnz@gmail.com. One or more of the editors look at this during the day.”
Yeah right!
Does anyone really read the emails that get sent to the Standard or is that line from the contact page a joke? I don’t want to get sniffy about it, but for the second time, I’ve sent through a guest post and not heard diddly back. Fine if you’re not going to publish it, that’s your call, but I’m confused as to why I’m not at least worth the courtesy of a reply.
Cheers.
TRP
[yeah, it’s not easy finding good help when you’re offering no pay and lots of hours. Your post is already in the queue for tomorrow. Eddie]
[lprent: I looked at this (again) this morning. But after staggering home at or after 2000 after a hard days coding, cooking, blobbing in front of the TV before bed, and then heading to work at 0630 the following day for the last few weeks…. Well the last few bugs are all that stands between me and a life. The time required to set up a guest post is a bit too long. But the guest posts have been a bit neglected over the last month or so. I think we’re all a bit busy. ]
Cheers, Eddie, much appreciated. As is everything about TS really …
Big Ups TRP (i never bought that “bukkake” line neither)
Cheers, my blue skinned friend. And thanks to LP, and all the other authors and mods. It’s easy to forget that TS is volunteer run; its just looks a million bucks because of the efforts of some pretty cool people.
ya been peeking at my stash you hound
http://tinypic.com/view.php?pic=15nmydh&s=4
Gotta few of the eighties originals stashed away myself. Good times.
I’m very sorry to se Chalres Chauvel leaving Parliament. I really am.
I’m very sorry to see Charles Chauvel leaving Parliament. I really am.
http://www.3news.co.nz/Harawira-nephews-in-alleged-assault/tabid/423/articleID/287287/Default.aspx
Sound like nice guys…
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10866356
– Wait its ok, Hones offering to help settle this
First time I’ve heard violent assault and home invasion being described as a dispute…
What point are you actually trying to make here???, if you are attempting to pillory Hone for the actions of His nephews you would also have to pillory Nick Smith over His brother being prosecuted by the Canterbury Regional Council…
The point is they’re drop kick losers who should be in jail but they probably won’t because an mp will use their influence to effect the out come
Carry on with your defamation, i hope Hone reads that and drags you through the courts to ransack every last cent you possess from what can only be described as a sorry sack of you what…
Sorry my mistake…alleged drop kick losers
Charming.
http://www.strategypage.com/htmw/htmoral/articles/20130218.aspx
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/02/13/new-medal-for-drone-pilots/1917735/
you psychic marionette you
Yep.
What get’s me is that there’s no “valour” or “exceptionalism” involved – what counts as exceptional drone flying? It’s basically down to logged hours and maybe attributed deaths.
I don’t think they’re too far from going back to “citizen-soldiers”, but someone comes home from work, logs on, plays a computer game for a couple of hours, and gets experience points that count towards a medal.
The only change from today is that people on the other side of the planet die.
Quintessential alienation.
On the other hand its actually a good thing if you can kill the enemy without any of your own side dying…kinda makes it easier for your side
Ahh – channelling Paton:
“The object of war is not to die for your country but to make the other bastard die for his.”
Patton obviously!
Its a good quote
It’s a bad thing to be able to do it too easily, with little or no effort. Becomes easier than thinking about a long term solution – or at least that’s one point the General quoted in the article made.
And of course, it’s all very well being able to blow shit up and then bounce the rubble around, but the acid test is whether your guy can walk down the street in broad daylight. But then that particular debate goes back to Douhet.
It’s a bad thing to be able to do it too easily, with little or no effort.
– Depends if you’re the one sitting safely at HQ or the one at the pointy end I guess…
Moronic attitude C73.
The risk is in the degrees of control which these methods lead to. Are drones patrolling skies in war zones and out, really something which is going to take humanity in a positive direction!
If you’re a parent, or going to be, I hope for your families sake that your comments are not reflective of your actual views!
Come on man, think a little deeper eh!
I’m thinking of the poor grunt at the sharp end that has to implement the policies of whatever government of the day is running…hes the one that has to go and do the dirty work.
Someones son, brother, nephew, father, cousin, uncle, friend has to go and do it and if theres a safer way for that guy to do the job then I’m all for it.
There ia always a choice, nobody has to do the dirty work, they chose to, situational or not, you’re talking about taking lives by remote control, based on it being safer for someone else, this is madness.
Scope creep, mission creep etc, your words are supporting it!
You can tell your family and friends that your position lead to NZ skies being droned, because thats where its headed!
Correct, they chose to do a job…kill the enemy without (preferably) being killed yourself. They have the technology to do the job safer then ever so it would be morally wrong to deny them the opportunity to do so.
You want the killing stopped then look at the governments not the soldiers, its not the soldiers (at least in western democratic countries) that decide to go to war its the politicians and the people that elect (or keep electing them)
Actually its nothing to do with the politicians deciding anything, The decisions to go to war run far deeper than any front facing political entity, which is not elected!
That’s why its even more important that people do not buy into this system, and as such the choice being made to wage war using remote control, is trite!
True. But that’s the difference between political leadership and soldiers. The leader needs to not just take the easy course, but to find a long term solution to the situation.
Because if drone strikes happen in perpetuity, what are the odds of people responding to that constant terror putting a bomb in the pilot’s local shopping mall? Or the areas involved shift geopolitically to China or Russia to preserve their internal stability, so the US loses some regional influence, and fifty years down the line the drone pilots’ grandkids end up on the pointy end of ww3? And what happens when opponents get the hang of evading detection/slipping through the surveillance filters – classic assymetric problem. If you kill the chaps as soon as you think you’ve found them, you don’t find out who their friends are or what they’re doing.
Short term “solutions” can be long term mistakes.
Shades of “Ender’s Game”.
From couple of years ago, Barbara Ehrenreich: War Without Humans and a ted talk, The Robots of War, by P W Singer, the author of Wired for War and Corporate Warriors:The Rise of the Privatized Military Industry.
This too.
http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2013/02/hubris-rachel-maddow-documentary-iraq-war-david-corn
Here’s the documentary.
http://www.nbcnews.com/id/26315908/ns/msnbc_tv-rachel_maddow_show#50852099
sooo, the Ozzie “manufacturing confidence” index is in the low 40’s (N0rty)
Cosgrove-“significant losses of sub-contractors due to Mainzeal flattening may have an effect on the entire construction industry…
Williamson up against the wall
Excellent work by Eugenie Sage nailing and hoeing into Tremain (HBRC debt to increase in excess of 500% by 2021; don’t we love spending other peoples money!)
Spirituality is In The House, thanks to Winning some tutae 🙂
If I may briefly slip into my professional field – the Overseas parliamentary news has this fascinating snippet about archiving of email for Danish MPs (it’s about half way down the page).
MPs will be able to select emails for preservation by the State Archives as part of their day to day email management. Members’ correspondence held in the Archives is generally accessible to the public after 75 years.
I will be fascinated to see how it will actually work in practice (in my experience recordkeeping is not one of the strengths of most politicians).
Interesting in light of the recent responses to the Law Commission’s recommendation to extend our OIA to cover Parliament.
Pssst, when you get time to look Lprent, the edit function has thrown a spaz, i can access it but none of the comment that needs editing is showing up…
A breath of fresh air – well almost.
I can’t even see how to edit in the first place, you must have a bourgeoisie pc. 🙂
Lolz and i thought i was the only computer illiterate round here…
Seriously, the amount of mistakes I make, the edit function was the second thing I looked for after the ‘self publicise’ button.
Never found either, even if I only really need the one.
I run music studio software without breaking (many) synapses, and I’m getting really envious when I read posts with *edit in them. :grrr: 😆
I’m on Chrome, with pop ups blocked and that’s about it. No edit button.
Seriously, i mean hell pull the other one,leg that is, it plays Jesus my Lord come unto me, that’s with the backing of the full NZ Symphony orchestra as well,
The edit function appears next to the delete function on the bottom of your posted comment, Yeee-essss, i feel so computer literacerially superior after having said that,
And even more so with my coining of a brand new word, wonder if i can patent it…
There’s a delete button? Now I’m really getting pissed off 😆
All I see is ‘reply’, and that’s it, even when logged in.
If you’re making up words – Is the site being al1enistic by denying me buttons others have?
I’d write to my mp if it wasn’t macindope.
I can only say how saddened i am for your loss as i eagerly await seeing both functions appear as my comment comes up on the page,
i also now have the sudden urge to deliberately make a large number of errors, both spelling and grammatical, in this latest comment just so i may avail myself of such functions others are not in possession of,
i will tho resist such an egotistical aberration in character as the aforementioned function tonight only leads to the production of a blank page which in turn leads me to thoughts that perhaps this is the true value of my posted comments…
Do you have JavaScript enabled? Doesn’t work without it.
i better look at that on my computer, i haven’t disabled it, but you never know with my machine,
no hurries it will make me spell things properly first time round…
The edit function has not been working for me for a couple of hours; javascript is turned on in my browser and I don’t believe that i have made any system changes.
Same here.
Test…
I see what you mean…
Pops up ok, but fails to get the comment loaded. There was no plugin update.
Ummm. I’d guess a cache problem? Clearing..
Nope.. Definitely a morning job.
Ok. In the morning….
Tah much…
Is David Shearer still the leader of the Labour Party?
And is the Labour Party still the major opposition party?
There’s been so much going on and it seems that neither David Shearer or anyone else in the Labour party have anything to say. About anything…
Aw god not another one, next you will be telling us all your a disgruntled member and, ”shrill voice” you wont be voting for them again with that Shearer there….
@bad12
Yeah what a bitch that the punters don’t respond the way the Labours strategists (if they have any) think they should.
Shame on the New Zealand public for being so disobedient!
Bad New Zealanders!
(…and take care not criticisze the strategists, its not as though its their job to predict correctly how people will respond…./sarc)
Apart from female dogs is there an actual point here that you are trying to get across to me, i fear that if there is my attempts to de-cypher this point,limited i must admit, have failed…
Well I was unclear whether you were being sarky in your first comment, so chose to hedge my bets and be sarky in response.
I am commenting on this trend of criticizing people’s views that express concern about Labour’s or Mr Shearer’s effectiveness, and how it is seeming kind of arse about face in a democracy.
Despite apparently living in a democracy there appears to be an increasing message that we have to “be nice” and not express dissent to the sham that is going on on both sides of the parliamentary house.
I mean if everyone just shut up and voted for Labour, it stands to reason they would win. Guess that is how the logic goes.
I understand that people are paid good money to play the role of political strategist and if any ordinary person not in parliament did their job as badly, as both this government and the Labour party strategists over the last 5 years we would have our arses fired; so a wee bit of negative feedback here and there, really is a very small price to pay, and if listened to, would improve their game.
In answer to that, how many comments have you seen the commenter i was replying to make on the Standard,
There ‘seems’ to be a trend developing here, and i highlight the word ‘seems’ as this is only a personal observation, that when the ‘i hate Dave S’ crew quiets down it’s criticism of Him up will pop a few ‘names’ here and there who will poke the anti-Shearer fire for signs of life, or to get it raging again,
These odd commenters who seem like strangers to me could be genuine in their concern about Shearer and having found this site cannot but help unloading such concerns into whatever post they have ‘landed in’ so to speak be that open mike or a specific post on a topic,
Because of this i give far more ‘weight’ to comments from ‘names’ i recognize as having commented on the site befor and tend to view comments such as the one we are discussing above as just as likely to be posted into the site by those with the specific goal of attempting to destabilize the current Labour leadership for reasons other than concern for that Party…