And the Herald’s intentions with yesterday’s story on Len Brown are revealed in todays editorial. Clearly, a Len Brown run for a third term would be bitterly opposed by the Herald, who annointed Goff their preferred candidate today.
I find their reasoning quite interesting. The clear assumption is Goff will be a right wing mayor, another neo-liberal wolf in sheeps clothing. I guess the big question is this – who is the best candidate to stop privatisation of the CCO’s and ensure the CRL planning goes ahead until such time as a Labour government wins power and Hide’s insane governance model is reformed? If that is your criteria then Goff is as good as any, and his electability is better than anyones.
Diversion tactics 101, find a plausible yet ambiguous topic that you can publish no end of speculation over I.e. no facts or hard evidence required.
Anything but Sabin, northland by election pork barrelling, milk solids price impact of Blingish already BS numbers and how about that 25k liu donation to name a few issues of far more relevance.
Yep – I’ve been thinking along those lines too. Auckland will be sold off (the remains of what hasn’t somehow been sold yet) . Sigh ….. and after all the hard work done by hundreds of Aucklanders backing City Vision trying to keep the super-city intact.
On what Iprent was saying the other day about new/continuation of Nuclear arms race – The centre for public integrity will be publishing some more on the Nuclear issue over the next few days – I’ll keep you posted.
Whangarei MP Shane Reti called the protest group organiser last week and told her to stop “agitating” for tar-sealed roads during the by-election campaign. And if they didn’t stop, their wish may not get fulfilled!
It is outrageous for a Government, a Minister or an MP, in a democracy to tell people who are exercising their legitimate rights of freedom and protesting about any issue (dusty roads that need tar seal in this case), to shut up for two weeks until the by-election is finished. It is even more outrageous to be threatened that ‘if you don’t stop protesting for the next two weeks, we will punish you by not doing a bloody thing about those roads!’ That is definitely blackmail, worse than what Aaron Gilmore did.
National’s campaign manager, Steven Joyce, says there were no instructions to MPs to shut down protest groups. Mr Key says he had nothing to do with Dr Reti’s call.
This arrogant and disgraceful MP, Reti should resign or be sacked immediately. There is no other way. Nothing else is good enough. Is there?
It is even more outrageous to be threatened with threats which imply that ‘if you don’t stop protesting for the next two weeks, we will punish you by not doing a bloody thing about those roads!’ That is definitely blackmail, worse than what Aaron Gilmore did.
” ‘if you don’t stop protesting for the next two weeks, we will punish you by not doing a bloody thing about those roads!”
You give this statement as a direct quote. They don’t appear in the story you link to.
Can you please provide a source for these words being used?
They are not the DIREST exact words of Reti but they may as well be because that IS the intent and implications of his threat and blackmail.
However, I have added a further comment to my original comment as follows:
The end of the second paragraph should read :
It is even more outrageous to be threatened with threats which imply that ‘if you don’t stop protesting for the next two weeks, we will punish you by not doing a bloody thing about those roads!’ That is definitely blackmail, worse than what Aaron Gilmore did.
The moment we all heard about Reti’s comments (up here in the north) we thought he’d taken a leaf out of his master’s book – threatening to withdraw funding for the 10 bridges if the Nats don’t win this by-election. If Shon Key can indulge in a little blackmail to voters, why shouldn’t Reti follow in his footsteps ? Definitely blackmail.
“” The Government’s flagship health cost-cutting scheme has taken out millions of dollars worth of taxpayer-funded loans, despite concerns it could not pay a cent back, new documents reveal. ………………………””
“” The organisation is now the subject of an investigation by the auditor-general. ……..””
“” HBL is being wound down by Health Minister Jonathan Coleman in June, with its programmes transferred to Auckland regional DHB-led services provider HealthAlliance. ………….””
And I’m left wondering why the heck certain southern health boards are going ahead with its ‘frozen food from Auckland for the patients ‘ proposal when it appears to have been such a shonky scheme.
What extraordinary failure …. and who needs $10 million to develop business plans ? Was this using private consultants ? And now Alkd DHB has to absorb the loss of funds? Baby cheeses.
And agree Jenny .. why on earth would Dunedin be buying frozen pre-cooked food from Auckland ? Clearly nothing to do with patient health and well-being. Stupid, stupid people.
( And have to ask now .. was Ryall pushed for incompetence ?)
Thanks Karen. Insightful interview. All those media/security minders! And an interesting trawl through the Northern Advocate.
And the frank and honest response from the PM to the questions asked? Not so much.
Key’s answers read like a Crosby and Textor report card. The interviewer tried, but slippery Key just slimes all over it as usual and never deviates from his scripts.
Personally, I would have offered him the black cup for some mana, so to speak.
Yes Rawshark but at least the way Ms Laird has written up the story just helps show up Shon Key and his slippery non-answers all the more ! And this paper goes out all over the place in the north.
@Karen
Yep thanks for that Karen. Nicely written piece. Key hates being asked tough questions.
Incidentally there was an editorial in the ODT yesterday that was very critical of the behaviour of Key and his government, especially in terms of lack of transparency and what this means for democracy.
How heartening it is to read of Kshama Sawant! I found this bit particularly striking:
“The idea that things have to get a lot worse to have some sort of awakening and bring about an alternative to this corrupt and defunct corporate political system is inaccurate,” she said to me. “What we need is a big surge for an independent working-class political alternative while people are experiencing a sense of confidence, after decades of bitter defeat…
I remember Xtasy, who I think must have left the country, saying we that need a new left wing political party. What we need more is a grassroots political movement that is able to make its presence felt, whether or not it takes the form of a political party.
What we need more is a grassroots political movement that is able to make its presence felt, whether or not it takes the form of a political party.
Ideally it will not be in the form of a political party, but in the form of a pressure/action/education movement which applies leverage to the pressure points of every political party.
I agree with you where New Zealand is concerned. A political party would become an option if the movement’s concerns were not met by existing political vehicles, and the momentum was sufficient to make forming a party look like a goer. But the ability to make our presence felt has to come first.
ideally what would happen is that some capable individuals from the movement would over time eventually join every political party. This would give the movement some voice from within the parties as well, possibly even as candidates and MPs.
However, the independent pressure and presence outside the institutional establishment must always stay strong and separate from those political parties, if the true and honest voice of the people is to be heard true and loud in Wellington. At the moment, it’s not.
I think I see what you are getting at now – that a pressure group outside of the institutional establishment is not open to being transformed into yet another vehicle for the political class. I accept that point, and am mindful as well of the precarious path to a new party’s becoming established. I do not suggest a new party as a desirable outcome (I am a LP member, probably for similar reasons to yours) but would not rule it out altogether where a movement was able to gain real momentum at the grassroots level without also gaining real political influence within the existing establishment.
Yes indeed. The Left needs to re-examine what having “real political influence” means in a modern context. The Right have got the idea very well and exercise their own version of it reasonably ably (sometimes).
Party politics is undemocratic by nature it requires manipulation of the vote to achieve an out come and its is not responsible to the voters only the party
A successful candidate at an election serves his party before the voters or he does not get the favour of the party classic in Northland not much gets done just vote accumulation for the National party’s overall gerrymandering of political system, until now a bunch of false promises and unrealistic political expectations. The destruction of the RMA and the sovereignty of the nations resources in the area ie a sellout to the oil companies spells a F.U.C.K.E.D. PARADISE
Key is a liar and a cheat
Olwyn and CR
Would a left wing think tank be a vehicle that would match what you are talking about they seem very influential and regularly back the memes being presented by RW parties particularly?
I cannot speak for CR, but to me it would be an important part of such a movement. I will have to look up what Sue Bradford has to say about it, since that is the subject of her doctorate. One thing a think tank would hopefully do is pull some of the disparate threads of the left together.
I do not have any beef with either Dotcom or Hone Harawira. I think the lesson there was that money sans connections can be more damaging than no money. There is nothing the powerful hate more than a large sum of money that is not subject to their own concerns and agreements. And I wholeheartedly agree with you about money with corporate strings attached, whether potentially or actively.
How can this be? “She holds a doctorate in economics…” An economist who is driving changes to help the disadvantaged? Must be an aberration. Get rid of her say the powerful country wide elite.
And fancy bringing Seattle to its knees my raising the minimum wage to $15! Sacrilege. Thanks Adam.
Have puzzled for days on the reasons Mark Osborne secured Nat selection … have written several times that I think he must have been ‘bought’ for his silence. No basis for it, other than a gut response to his ineptitude .. and yes, I accept he was approved as candidate when Key arrogantly believed there was never a problem in this safe seat.
But this was posted under a March 12 Dita di Boni Herald story on Northland …
Quote:
“The National ‘candidate’ owns the local beauty parlour where his wife and until the s**t hit the fan, Mike Sabin’s wife did all the work, he is not known for his ‘work ethic’. ”
So I am curious if anyone will confirm this ? That Osborne owns the business where Mrs Sabin and Mrs Osborne worked together, that is until Mrs Sabin didn’t for whatever personal reasons?
So has Osborne been bought for his silence on what has happened to Sabin and his family ?
So how much did Osborne lie to various media when he said he knew nothing of Sabin’s ‘personal matters’ ?
Oh, how I hope Winston bloodies the nose of Key and his crony government. I hope he leaves them reeling and unable to proceed with their anti-NZ agenda.
I think Winston has already bloodied Key’s nose. The fact that the Nats have had to stir themselves and spend big money would never have happened without Winston. Even should Winston not win I am sure that Northland will greatly benefit from the exposure. Woe betide Key if he doesn’t act in the future.
Winston the cunning old dog figured out very quickly that participating in the Northland by-election was a win win for NZ First. Labour eventually figured out that participating in the Northland by-election was going to be a lose-lose for them.
National, they’re just in total reactive mode right now. And ruing how they did not pause for a moment to stick the knife in Winston proper when he was down and out a few years ago.
Nope – I think you’ll find its not Sabin’s wife who is the hairdresser/beautician, but Osborne’s wife. She runs the beauty parlour, so I’ve been told.
But I do have to say , if Osborne didn’t know much about Sabin before the 2014 election, he probably was the only one in the north who wasn’t questionning that very issue !
Would Cunliffe have known about the charges at the time he met this person (if what Cameron Slater says about the person is correct)? I imagine there would have been name suppression? Was it widely rumoured at the time? If Cunliffe were to be assumed knowledge of this person’s alleged crimes, would not the same apply to Key’s knowledge of Sabin’s?
Not just knew, but appointed him to as chairman of Parliament’s law and order committee.
Cunliffe didn’t have any political dealings with that other offender.
It seems to me that parliament is the last place to keep a secret. It strikes me as a very insular, gossipy, incestuous place (I include media gallery in this).
So IF it is the person who cunliffe had lunch with, what do we think the headline will be???
I don’t know how to do it without infesting people… I NEVER go there as a rule, but looking for the date of the lifting of name suppression i wound up there.
Hopefully you can tell me if I have misunderstood what he was trying to assert
After posting my comment @9.3, I saw your (Tracey) comment at 9.2.1.
Reading the WO post at the link, IMO this latest post essentially is saying what I was trying to say – that the prominent NZer whose name suppression expires today unless appealed by 5pm today IS NOT the other prominent NZer who Cunliffe had lunch with.
@Tracey .. go to http://www.donotlink.com .. cut and paste the url of the site you do not wish to directly link with and it makes a new link for you which u can cut and paste anywhere ! It’s marvelous .. I think lprent taught me how !
You can even google the article and ctrl +copy link location (or the equivalent on your device) and paste that into donotlink, and that way you don’t have to open the website even once 🙂
The case of the prominent NZer who Cunliffe met took place down south and has finished, with the person given permanent name suppression – against the wishes of the victim and others.
The court hearing that happened on the same day (30 Jan 2015) as Sabin resigned took place at the other end of the country. Although all details were suppressed, including the District Court where the hearing took place, one online (only) news service (Yahoo) actually published the location.
I will not publish a link but their article is still available via Google, using “disputed facts hearing NZ”; country NZ; and customizing the time period for the search.
[WARNING to anyone who finds the article – DO NOT provide a link or name the location here on TS, as the location suppression still continues until lifted.]
Tracey, re your first sentence in your comment @ 9 – Where and when did Slater say that the person whose name suppression will lapse today (unless appealed) is not Sabin but the person who Cunliffe had lunch with?
I have been going to WO using Donotlink to see what he writes on the suppression case(s) quite regularly as WO claims to know a lot about the case or cases (he has implied that there are more than one) but have not seen him claim what you said.
He has written a number of posts on the subject but has been very careful to not breach suppression and has moderated comments strongly to avoid this.
I am not going to go back there and search his archives, but remember that on occasions (including just a couple of days ago) he has implied that there may be more than one person up on current charges with name suppression – but I do not recall anything that linked these current cases with the closed case down south.
and they were adults in the south case, able to request lifting of their personal name suppression but failed in removing suppression of the felon’s name. Derryn Hinch in Oz made it plain he didn’t like it much.
Re the case where name suppression is due to expire at 5pm today, Graeme Edgeler has just tweeted that he understands that an appeal is being lodged today, so the suppression will not lapse.
Last night, Graeme and Matt Nippert (NZ Herald) also had an interesting Twitter exchange, presumably also related to this case. Matt has been trying to get the terms of the suppression order, without success.
EDIT – the latter case may not be the same as Matt mentions High Court in this twitter exchange, whereas I think the other case is still in the District Court.
I may be in this instance as to whether Matt’s inquiries are about the same case – or a related but separate case.
The situation seems quite similar, however, in terms of not being able to get the terms of the suppression order ……
I think the appeal against the name suppression in the case we are all interested in has to be lodged in the high court. I suspect it is the same case Matt Nippert is talking about because he first applied a month ago and was complaining about the refusal taking so long.
I would be very surprised if an appeal against the lifting of name suppression was not lodged today, and by leaving it until just before the deadline it is not likely to be heard this month. I doubt if there is any justification for the appeal, but certain people will not want it declined in the near future, hence the cynical last minute submission.
Thanks, Karen. I think you are right about the appeal having to be lodged with the High Court. I also think Matt’s application probably is related.
Leaving the lodging of an appeal today will delay matters and is not unexpected as National certainly don’t want anything getting out into the public arena until after the by-election. Don’t think it will do them any good, though!
Victoria Young of NBR has confirmed that an appeal has now been lodged and NBR will have an article up shortly. Graeme Edgeler replied that one or two weeks would normally be enough to file such an appeal – as oppose to four weeks in this case.
@VictoriaY_NBR been wondering why a court would allow that long. In name suppression, a week, or maybe two, should be enough to file.
The suppression order was made and lifted in the District Court. The appealing of the lifting of the order therefore has to be in the High Court. Lodging the appeal on the last possible day is a cynical move to keep the incidents out of the election campaign. The Herald is applying to the High Court to expedite the appeal with urgency.
FJK and NAct are lower than I had ever thought possible in our country.
well sliced Anne ! This goes to the heart of Nats corruption… secrets kept for three elections. Something will come out, I have to believe it as the alternative is just too awful.
When it comes to the establishment and authoritarian regimes like the police, I have a healthy dose of contempt born out of experience. After a number of years of clandestine bullying, intimidation and some other worse forms of criminal behaviour, I approached the police (half a dozen times in total) and they did nothing. Why? Because there was a strong political element to the case, and I was on the ‘wrong’ side of the political fence. It therefore suited them to treat me and my claims with derision. It all happened 20+ years ago now, but I don’t see that anything much has changed.
Hence I have no qualms calling them out when I perceive it to be appropriate… regardless of consequences.
Here it is … and several media applying for urgency on the appeal …
“A prominent New Zealander charged with indecent assault has lodged an appeal after losing his bid for name suppression.
The man lost suppression on February 19 but had his identity protected for one month to allow him the chance to appeal. That appeal was lodged today.
The man denies 12 charges of indecent assault against two people including two representative charges.
Heavy suppression orders mean the man cannot be identified, nor can his alleged victims or their ages.
He has elected trial by jury.
The charges, which include allegations of touching the complainants on the breast, buttocks, groin and thigh, are punishable by up to 10 years’ imprisonment.
Several media organisations, including NZME. publisher of The New Zealand Herald, have lodged a joint request for the appeal to be heard with urgency.”
Anybody notice that there were anti neo lib riots in Germany today..350 arrests. Burnt cars. Tear gas. .saw it on RT and BBC. Looked on the rest of the MSN. …Zippo. The revolution will not be televised.
@ Ennui
I heard about the protest.. They are blaming the ECB. A spokesperson for the ECB complained that the protesters did not give them credit for trying to cushion economic blows to the economy. The economy is still alive and well and moving forward in its wheelchair with the help of dedicated attendants. The people are alive and not very well and protesting.
Did you mean Chris Bishop felix? That would be funny, he’s a right little twerp. What a wannabe tough guy this Puckish Rogue numpty is. He has definitely got some guts.
The IPCC report on the pork’s investigation of the Roastbusters is out. No surprises: they were useless and failed at the most basic standards of investigation. Floods of crocodile tears are flowing. Disgusting.
Here’s the form of press releases to follow in all such circumstances in chronological order.
1. There is no problem. Nobody has complained. What’s your problem?
2. You are being mischievous in claiming that there is a problem and undermining public confidence in our good work.
3. There might be a problem, but we are very disappointed that you brought this to public attention when we were really dealing with it.
4. It’s an isolated case.
5. We regret that an external authority has shown us to be absolutely fucking useless because one of the perpetrators was a cop’s son but it’s all historical and everything’s been fixed now so I don’t know why you’re making a fuss about it now.
Summary of Findings
114. The Authority has made the following findings:
114.1 – The initial response to the incidents by GDB and CIB staff was adequate and proper.
114.2 – CPT staff did not adequately follow up and pursue positive lines of enquiry.
114.3 – CPT staff should have more accurately recorded and more adequately assessed information obtained during their respective investigations.
114.4 – Officer B’s supervision and oversight of the cases for which he was responsible was adequate and appropriate.
114.5 – Officer C did not adequately supervise and oversee the cases for which he was responsible.
114.6 – The fact that the father of one of the young men was a Police officer had no influence on Police’s handling of the investigations.
114.7 – CPT staff did not properly evaluate all available offences when determining the outcome of their respective investigations.
114.8 – CPT staff failed to properly consider alternative action to address the potential offending behaviour of the young men involved and their care and protection issues.
114.9 – CPT staff did not adequately communicate and engage with the young men and their families.
114.10 – CPT staff did not adequately consult and communicate with external stakeholders.
114.11 – CPT staff, particularly at supervisory level, did not adequately communicate with each other.
Conclusions and Recommendations
115. The Authority appreciates that the incidents involving the ‘Roastbusters’ presented Police with a complex set of challenges. The reprehensible and unacceptable behaviour demonstrated by this group of young men was further complicated by other issues. These included the vulnerability and fragility of the young women, the impact of peer, familial and social pressures in adolescence, attitudes towards sexual behaviour and the use of alcohol and other drugs, and the influence of youth culture and social media.
116. Indeed, the issues were such that it is unlikely they could have ever been dealt with meaningfully and effectively solely by Police. Regrettably, Police had numerous opportunities to ‘connect the dots’ earlier, to generate a more organised, expansive and cohesive response, and to work in collaboration with CYF, the schools, and the parents of these young men to prevent their behaviour from continuing.
117. While it is evident that the Police investigators were motivated to act in accordance with the wishes of the young women, and in their best interests, they focused on the victim’s wishes about prosecution in each individual case and failed to give adequate weight to the potential risk of harm to other young women. Critically, too, the Police investigations into these cases failed in several significant areas to meet the requirements of a good criminal investigation. Deficiencies in investigation practices, poor knowledge or understanding of legislation, and inadequate supervisory oversight were some of the primary factors that led to assessments that lacked critical analysis and sound, evidence-based, decision-making.
118. In the Authority’s view, most of the deficiencies identified in the Police investigations are a result of poor individual practices and cannot be said to be representative of Police child abuse investigations nationwide. The Authority considers that it was the failure of CPT officers to conduct their investigations to the required level, sufficiently meeting the standards of current policy and guidelines, that has had serious consequences in this instance. However, while existing Police child protection policy and investigation guidelines are sound, the lack of emphasis on prevention may be indicative of a more general problem with policy and practice requiring further attention. Police, themselves, have acknowledged that this is an area requiring further policy development to guide Police practice.
119. In 2007, following the 2004 Commission of Inquiry into Police Conduct, Dame Margaret Bazley reported that she was satisfied that child abuse policy (applicable at that time) was being applied consistently by Police and was “working well in practice”. However, a special investigation, the ‘Inquiry into Police Conduct, Practices, Policies and Procedures Relating to the Investigation of Child Abuse, commenced by the Authority in December 2009, found that this was not, in fact, the case in a number of policing districts around the country. In May 2010, at the conclusion of the inquiry, the Authority made 34 recommendations to Police to rectify the shortcomings identified.
120. It is disturbing that several themes identified as a result of the Authority’s child abuse inquiry (such as deficiencies in investigative practices, file recording, collaboration with CYF, and case supervision) have, again, been highlighted in the Authority’s current investigation. This is notwithstanding the fact that the related recommendations made in 2010 to address the deficiencies were accepted and embedded by Police.
121. The Authority’s focus in its investigation has been to identify what went wrong in this case so that similar failings can be avoided in the future. It has not considered what action, if any, should be taken in respect of the individual officers responsible for the performance shortcomings set out in this report. That is a matter for the Police.
IPCA report into; “Roast Busters”, is highly critical of police. But the only mention of reopening the case I’ve seen so far is:
The authority recommended an audit be carried out into current cases being investigated by the Waitemata Child Protection Team to determine whether any individual shortcomings remained
Deficiencies included a failure to follow up and pursue positive lines of inquiry. Investigating staff also failed to properly consider all available offences in determining whether or not to prosecute the young men.
Investigating officers tended to approach each case on an individual, case-by-case, basis simply to consider whether there was sufficient evidence to prosecute offenders for sexual violation. IPCA chair Judge Sir David Carruthers said.
“In the authority’s view the officers should have identified the connections between the various cases and worked with other agencies to develop strategies to reduce the recurrence of what was clearly unacceptable and, in some cases, criminal behaviour. Victims were let down by their failure to do so.”
In the nearly 50 years of being an adult so to speak and having a landline in my home I can’t remember when I received the last of maybe 3 unsolicited ‘research organisation’ calls seeking telephone survey participation.
Last night I took a call from an articulate, pleasent voiced young man seeking that I respond to questions in respect of a “major government department”. I asked for the identity of the party commissioning the survey, noting that if it was the National Party……”not interested mate….”. The caller said “that should be obvious from the first question” but no, he was not allowed to expressly identify. Strange ? Refuse to tell me then tell me.
I went along. There were put numerous questions the first and every one following about “the IRD”. For answer on a scale of 1-5. All boiling down to whether IRD is fair, understanding, uses technology well, etc etc. In the round broad brush stuff.
This afternoon another call this time about the ACC. “We are in the middle of a by-election in Northland and I get two calls in two days to my identifiably Northland landline…….no thank you.”
Call me suspicious…….but the coincidence of there being perhaps two and a half decades between the date of the last such call and the two successive days of the 4th and 5th ? About entities under the purview of a cabinet minister……
Didn’t engage the second call but in yesterday’s – demographic established, level of education including degree/post graduate or not, self employed or not, various other categorisations canvassed. Yesterday’s caller did name the organisation conducting the survey which I don’t recall. Today’s didn’t as I recall but it was a short call.
Of course it was not a coincidence. My God they’re getting desperate! Fancy resorting to the pretense of acting on behalf of two controversial govt. departments – IRD and ACC – to glean the views of your average punter in Northland. Next week, what’s the bet there are going to be two major reforms announced concerning the two departments in question.
News just out.
‘Prominent New Zealander charged with indecent assault appeals for name suppression.’
A prominent New Zealander charged with indecent assault has lodged an appeal after losing his bid for name suppression.
The man lost suppression on February 19 but had his identity protected for one month to allow him the chance to appeal. That appeal was lodged today.
The man denies 12 charges of indecent assault against two people including two representative charges.
Heavy suppression orders mean the man cannot be identified, nor can his alleged victims or their ages.
He has elected trial by jury.
The charges, which include allegations of touching the complainants on the breast, buttocks, groin and thigh, are punishable by up to 10 years’ imprisonment.
Several media organisations, including NZME. publisher of The New Zealand Herald, have lodged a joint request for the appeal to be heard with urgency.’
This has to qualify for some; worst taste ever, award. Using the day of an IPCA report that found that there was; “no indication that because one of the boys fathers was a policeman this had any influence in the early [rape] investigation” to distract from the continued name suppression of an ex-policeman accused of sexual assault. All in aid of not having to explain governmental appointments in the leadup to a rare consultation with those that government supposedly represents!
[If I’m flying too close to the wind for the legal wellbeing of TS in this comment, excise all but the first sentence and: Euuuwwww!!!]
In The North it is very much public knowledge, ackshilly……except that we engage in the charade of discussion with everyone knowing but no one ackshilly saying. As noted by me in a comment here a couple of days ago recounting dancing discussion with a reasonably senior cop. A man I respect very much whom I believe reciprocates that. Wan, ‘not saying’ smiles both sides…….much averting of the eyes.
Notably, this man volunteered as follows when joshingly I enquired as to whether he was voting for Winston – “Well, I’ve always voted National……but this time……really……I dunno.” This man is hard National to coin a phrase ! What’s happening with soft National ? In fact this same man did say he thinks Winston’s gonna piss in.
Which may reflect sentiment he’s privy to on the side of things to which I have minimal access. Although two decent fulla cops I’ve spoken to since are all thumbs up for WP. One had already early-voted.
Completely off that thread – UKTV on in the background – that great wit Stephen Fry – “Confucious said……the good man knows what’s right……the sales man knows what sells !”
Now doesn’t that put you in mind of our very own, variously, simpering, gauche, construct angry, gutless, lying, Richie stalking, Little Churchill man(?), on the 9th floor ?
Which thoroughly accurate various characterisations ackshilly bring us full circle to revisit my policeman friend’s dilemma.
I get a recurring/sporadic/unpredictable problem when putting in clean linkys.
When sending, something inserts extra quotation marks and drops the http: from the address leading to our friend 404, or similar denier of information.
Sometimes I remember to check for it and fix it immediately, now, where did I put that post-it to remind me 🙂
For Post Its I use the old AT Notes programme .. so brilliant but the inventor never did any further work on it, maybe he got bored. But it is still one of the best note systems around imho … so simple and reliable ..
Sometimes it is just aesthetics 🙂
+ you probably know this but if you hover over the clean-link you get the URL at the base of your browser and can always hover + right click for ‘open/copy/save URL” options
Just as well we don’t have nukes! Key doesn’t even know what the gst is on $1.29.
Then again he most likely will tell a made up number for the rate of unemployment and what our govt debt is running at – so it’s all good.
Why dont people get it Key is FASCIST !!!
He has no right to be PM of this country and should be held up as the bastard he is
How much damage can you think of that has directly impacted on those who depend on govt support thru no fault of their own who are being denied the help that any truly free society would ensure was there no matter what the prosperity of the others is
You’d think this country was on the bones of its arse the way national portray it yet it is obvious we are run by a bunch of miserable self serving right wing capitalist who lie, destroy democracy and pander to a war machine that any sound thinking people would not have a bar of
If we are over a monetarist barrel its because we have a traitor for a PM WHO IS NOT A NZER in my view because I grew up with people who had fought in a real war which was about the crap that this govt does without the sanction of a true vote. this govt is corrupt and out of control and we need a new system of representation in govt in this country
Thomas Gallagher points out in Paddy’s Lament that during the first winter of famine, 1846-47, as perhaps 400,000 Irish peasants starved, landlords exported 17 million pounds sterling worth of grain, cattle, pigs, flour, eggs, and poultry—food that could have prevented those deaths. Throughout the famine, as Gallagher notes, there was an abundance of food produced in Ireland, yet the landlords exported it to markets abroad.
Gower on tv3 news tonight was saying Winston is going to make sure the Sabin news will get out before the election.
And Osbourne was saying he knows nothing.
ANDREW LITTLE speaking in Parliament on 10 Feb 2015.
“What about the standards of the Government? What about the promise of 2008 that “The Government I lead will be a Government of good standards.”, and its chance to do something, its chance to demonstrate that National actually is a party of standards in Government? It was confronted with it at the end of last year. One of National’s MPs was under a police investigation. One of its MPs—
Mr SPEAKER : Order! I invite members throughout this debate to be very careful. We know that there was a court case, and we know that all details were suppressed. [Interruption] Order! There is Standing Order 115. Should any members think I should consider this matter differently, I invite them to use that Standing Order and write to me. At this stage no member has done so. I invite Mr Little to continue.
ANDREW LITTLE : Thank you, Mr Speaker. I understand and appreciate the caution you are expressing. I make no reference at all and make no comment beyond the fact that it is on the record that a MP was under a police investigation. He is not the first. That Government well knows, because it has drawn the attention of the public to other MPs under a police investigation—a police investigation that led to no outcome at all.
But here is the point. We had an MP under investigation, who was then allowed by this Government to chair the parliamentary committee—
Mr SPEAKER : Order! [Interruption] Order! I have given a ruling that I had given considerable consideration to. If the member continues in this vein, I will have no choice but to terminate his speech. I have given a ruling whereby we acknowledge there is a court case of which all details were suppressed. [Interruption] Order! This is a time when this Parliament has a responsibility, a duty, to respect the jurisdiction of the court, and I expect that to occur today. I invite Mr Little to continue.” http://www.parliament.nz/en-nz/pb/debates/debates/daily/51HansD_20150210/volume-703-week-7-tuesday-10-february-2015
Dangerous Foes: For those readers of Bowalley Road who feel disposed to dismiss any prospect of an Israeli destabilisation of New Zealand politics, the example of the United Kingdom repays close attention. Ever since the election of Jeremy Corbyn as leader of the British Labour Party, the Israelis have sanctioned, funded and ...
Make It 16, the youth-led campaign to lower New Zealand's voting age, is holding an official campaign launch at Parliament this Friday from 16:30. If you'd like to attend, you can register using EventBrite here. ...
by Don Franks It was a lovely sunny Wellington afternoon with blue skies above the beaches. In Courtenay Place, political activists packed out a stuffy upstairs room for an important meeting. The assembled pacifists, anarchists, communists and independent young radicals of Peace Action Wellington felt the need for a mission ...
Current and former NZDF top brass are being publicly grilled this week by the hit and run inquiry over their public responses to allegations of civilian casualties. Previously, they've claimed there were no casualties, a position which led them to lie to Ministers and to the public. Now, they're saying ...
by Rafael D. Quiles (gender-critical gay man from Puerto Rico) The writing on the wall is right in people’s faces and people just don’t see it or don’t want to. What could actually possess a heterosexual male to want to feminize himself and claim that he is a lesbian? Because ...
From the Wall Street Journal:Inside a room of the ornately decorated Hotel du Palais during last month’s Group of Seven summit in Biarritz, France, President Trump awaited a meeting with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al Sisi. Mr. Trump looked over a gathering of American and Egyptian officials and called out in ...
by the Redline blog collective At Redline we are very saddened to hear of the death of Magdalen Burns who passed away on the morning of Friday, September 13 (British time). Magdalen was a great fighter for the rights of women in general and lesbian women in particular, a defender ...
The Brexit issue has certainly brought with it a series of apparently difficult constitutional issues, many of them concerning the respective roles of the executive and parliament. Most of them arise because of the unwillingness of MPs, despite their professions to the contrary, to be bound by a constitutional rarity ...
. . This blogpost is different to my usual format of reporting on issues… Since July 1011, I have blogged on a variety of political issues; near always political and/or environmental; mostly highly critical of the previous National Government. Other issues included Israeli occupation of Palestinian lands and repression of ...
Those close to the Police Minister believe the initiative may be the result of Nash “seeing a great deal” on AliExpress. In a move that comes seemingly out of nowhere, Police Minister Stuart Nash announced this afternoon that he expects all frontline staff to don bearskin hats, famously worn by ...
The government has released its Arms Legislation Bill, containing the second tranche of changes to gun laws following the March 15 massacre. And it all looks quite sensible: a national gun register, higher penalties for illegal possession and dealing, tighter restrictions on arms dealers and shooting clubs, and a shorter ...
Private prisons are a stain on humanity. Prison operators explicitly profit from human misery, then lobby for longer prisons terms so they can keep on profiting. And in the US, prison companies run not only local and state prisons, but also Donald Trump's immigration concentration camps. Faced with this moral ...
When National was in power, they were very keen on Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) - basicly, using private companies to finance public infrastructure as a way of hiding debt from the public. They were keen on using them for everything - roads, schools, hospitals. But as the UK shows, that "service" ...
Moving And Shaking: There was a time when people spoke matter-of-factly about the “labour movement” – a political phenomenon understood to embrace much more than the Labour Party. Included within the term’s definition was the whole trade union movement – many of whose members looked upon the Labour Party as ...
by Philip Ferguson Much of the left, even people who formally identify as marxists, have collapsed politically in the face of postmodern gender theory of the sort pioneered by American philosopher Judith Butler. For Butler even biological sex is socially constructed. “If the immutable character of sex is contested, perhaps ...
The media is reporting that the (alleged) Labour party sexual assaulter has resigned from their job at Parliament, which means hopefully he won't be turning up there making people feel unsafe in future. Good. But as with everything about this scandal, it just raises other questions. Most significantly: why the ...
By Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern I am every bit as angry as you are. I am every bit as disappointed as you must be. The people with power, oversight and the ability to do something about these processes within the Labour Party should be ashamed. Whoever those people are, I ...
Property developers think there is an "oversupply" of houses in Auckland:High turnover rates and falling prices may be a sign that there are too many new houses going in to some parts of Auckland, commentators say. [...] Property developer David Whitburn said there was a "bit of an oversupply" in ...
Labour Party president Nigel Haworth resigned yesterday over the party's sexual assault scandal. But while that's good news, its unlikely to take away the stench of a coverup. Because according to Paula Bennett in Parliament yesterday, pretty much everyone in the Prime Minister's office was involved as well:I have been ...
Two-Faced? Labour insiders' commitment to the neoliberal status quo puts them at odds with their party’s membership; its trade union affiliates; and a majority of Labour voters, but this only serves to strengthen the perception they have of themselves as a special elite. Among the lesser breeds, they’ll talk up a ...
There has been a lot of talk about Boris Johnson wanting an election, and he has blustered with great gusto about 'chicken' Jeremy Corbyn refusing one, but I think there are many reasons why he is secretly glad he has been refused the opportunity:The Tories are an utter rabble,tearing themselves ...
Scottish appeal court judges have declared that Boris Johnson’s decision to suspend parliament in the run-up to the October Brexit deadline is unlawful. The three judges, chaired by Lord Carloway, Scotland’s most senior judge, overturned an earlier ruling that the courts did not have the powers to interfere in the prime ...
By Simon Bridges. The following is a press release from the office of Simon Bridges, leader of The National Party. Key ora, New Zealand. Happy Maori Language Week. Look, I’m writing to you today because I want to clear something up. There’s been a lot of kerfuffle around some things ...
I understand there's some stuff going round about how the SIS "was removed from the list of public offices covered by the Public Records Act in 2017". The context of course being their records derived from US torture, which will be disposed of or sealed. The good news is that ...
Dr. Christopher Labos and Jonathan Jarry discuss the recent Canadian fluoride/IQ research. They provide an expert analysis of the paper and its problems. Click on image to go to podcast. The critical debate about the recent ...
Australia is burning down again, and meanwhile its natural disaster minister is denying climate change:Australia’s minister responsible for drought and natural disasters, David Littleproud, has said that he doesn’t “know if climate change is manmade”. Clarifying earlier comments that the question is “irrelevant” when considering the Coalition government’s response to ...
Auckland Philippines Solidarity is excited to host Professor Judy Taguiwalo for a speaking tour of NZ in September. She is a well-known activist in the Philippines and was a political prisoner under the Marcos dictatorship. Professor Taguiwalo briefly served as a Cabinet member under President Duterte but was forced from ...
This open letter to the Green Party was penned after an opinion piece by Jill Abigail, a feminist and founding member of the party, was censored by the Greens’ leadership. (Redline has reprinted her article here).The intolerance of the Green Party leaders and their acceptance of the misogyny of gender ...
Today is a Member's day, and David Seymour's End of Life Choice Bill continues its slow crawl through its committee stage. They're spending the whole day on it today, though the first hour is likely to be spent on voting left over from last time. After that they'll move on ...
An ambitious plan to fly to Los Angeles petered out into a brief sight-seeing trip and a desire to return home and get some sleep before work tomorrow. Air New Zealand has confirmed a flight to Los Angeles last night was turned back about a quarter of the way into ...
There appears to be consensus – by omission – that the concept of indigenous futures should be accepted at face value. So I scavenged the internet to see if I could locate an academic descriptor or a framework around how we think about it as a concept, and whether it ...
Here’s another novelty chocolate to shove in your gob, New Zealand Cadbury could be seeking to make itself great again with a rumoured new release: Pineapple Trumps, a spin on its classic chocolate-encased pineapple treat and do-it-yourself tooth remover. The global confectionery manufacturer and bumbling “before” character in an infomercial, ...
During my time in the Pentagon I had the privilege of sitting down with military leaders and defence and security officials from a variety of Latin American nations. Sometimes I was present as a subordinate assistant to a senior US defence department official, sometimes as part of a delegation that ...
Kia ora, Aotearoa. It’s that magical time of year. Te Wiki o te Reo Māori. In English, the week that frightens talk radio. As you probably know by now, all your favourite media outlets are participating, some more successfully than others. Stuff has changed its name to Puna for the ...
Eighteen months ago, the government promised to strengthen the Bill of Rights Act, by explicitly affirming the power of the courts to issue declarations of inconsistency and requiring Parliament to formally respond to them. So how's that going? I was curious, so I asked for all advice about the proposal. ...
As the Brexit saga staggers on, the focus is naturally enough on the Prime Minister and his attempts to achieve Brexit “do or die”. But the role played by the Leader of the Opposition is of almost equal interest and complexity. The first problem for Jeremy Corbyn is that he ...
Last week, English Prime Minister Boris Johnson boldly declared that he would rather die be dead in a ditch than delay Brexit. Unfortunately for him, the UK parliament accepted the challenge, and promptly dug one for him. The "rebellion bill" requires him to ask for and secure yet another temporary ...
Lost In Political Space: The most important takeaway from this latest Labour sexual assault scandal, which (if I may paraphrase Nixon’s White House counsel’s, John Dean’s, infamous description of Watergate) is “growing like a cancer” on the premiership, is the Labour Party organisation’s extraordinary professional paralysis in the face of ...
by Daphna Whitmore Every Sunday for the past two months unionists from First Union, with supporters from other unions, have set out to the Ihumatao land protest, put up gazebos and gas barbeques, and cooked food for a few hundred locals and supporters who have come from across the country. ...
Newsroom today has an excellent, in-depth article on pine trees as carbon sinks. The TL;DR is that pine is really good at soaking up carbon, but people prefer far-less efficient native forests instead. Which is understandable, but there's two problems: firstly, we've pissed about so long on this problem that ...
Canan Kaftancioglu is a Turkish politician and member of the opposition Republican People's Party (CHP). Like most modern politicians, she tweets, and uses the platform to criticise the Turkish government. She has criticised them over the death of a 14-year-old boy who was hit by a tear gas grenade during ...
Hi there, just call me Tim.We face tough problems, and I’d like to help, because there are solutions.An Auckand District Health Board member has nominated me for as a candidate for the ADHB, because her MS-related pain and fatigue is reduced with hemp products from Rotorua. Nothing else helped her. If I ...
The Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security has published their report on whether the SIS and GCSB had any complicity in American torture. And its damning. The pull quote is this:The Inquiry found both agencies, but to a much greater degree, the NZSIS, received many intelligence reports obtained from detainees who, ...
Bewhiskered Cassandra? Professor Hugh White’s chilling suggestion, advanced to select collections of academic, military and diplomatic Kiwi experts over the course of the past week, is that the assumptions upon which Australia and New Zealand have built their foreign affairs and defence policies for practically their entire histories – are ...
For most of the time I was a British MP, my party was out of government – these were the Thatcher years, when it was hard for anyone else to get a look-in. As a front-bencher and shadow minister, I became familiar with the strategies required in a parliamentary democracy ...
by Gearóid Ó Loingsigh On August 29th a video in which veteran FARC (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia) commander Iván Márquez announced that they had taken up arms again was released. There was no delay in the reaction to it, from longtime Liberal Party figure and former president Uribe, for ...
Air New Zealand couldn’t believe its luck that this seemingly ideal piece of real estate had so far gone entirely unnoticed. Air New Zealand’s search for a site to build a second Auckland Airport may have made a breakthrough this afternoon, after employees scanning Google satellite imagery spotted a huge, ...
No-one on the anti-capitalist left in this country today puts forward a case that Labour is on the side of the working class. There are certainly people who call themselves ‘socialist’ who do, but they are essentially liberals with vested interests in Labourism – often for career reasons. Nevertheless, there ...
When National was in government and fucking over the poor for the benefit of the rich, foodbanks were a growth industry. And now Labour is in charge, nothing has changed: A huge demand for emergency food parcels means the Auckland City Mission is struggling to prepare for the impending arrival ...
Gayford, pictured here on The Project, before things got wildly out of control. A bold public relations move by the Government to encourage parents to vaccinate their children has gone horribly wrong. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern appeared on tonight’s episode of Three’s The Project, where the plan was for her ...
Mr. Whippy’s business model has driven it down a dark road of intimidation. Residents in major centres around the country are becoming disgruntled by the increasingly aggressive actions of purported ice cream company Mr. Whippy, who have taken to parking on people’s front lawns and doorsteps in a desperate attempt ...
Today the government released its Action Plan for Healthy Waterways, aimed at cleaning up our lakes and rivers. Its actually quite good. There will be protection for wetlands, better standards for swimming spots, a requirement for continuous improvement, and better standards for wastewater and stormwater. But most importantly, there's a ...
Today I appeared before the Environment Committee to give an oral submission on the Zero Carbon Bill. Over 1,500 people have asked to appear in person, so they've divided into subcommittees and are off touring the country, giving people a five minute slot each. The other submitters were a mixed ...
Anti-fluoride activists have some wealthy backers – they are erecting billboards misrepresenting the Canadian study on many New Zealand cities – and local authorities are ordering their removal because of their scaremongering. Many New Zealanders ...
So, those who “know best” have again done their worst. While constantly claiming to be the guardians of democracy and the constitution, and respecters of the 2016 referendum result, diehard Remainers (who have never brought themselves to believe that their advice could have been rejected) have striven might and main ...
Following publication of this article, the Ministry has requested it to be noted that this supplied image is not necessarily representative of what the final house will look like, and it “probably won’t be that nice.” As part of today’s long-anticipated reset of the Government’s flagship KiwiBuild policy, Housing Minister ...
Over the next week or two we will be running three synopses of parts of the opening chapter of John Smith’s Imperialism in the 21st Century (New York, Monthly Review Press, 2016). The synopsis and commentary below is written by Phil Duncan. Marx began Capital not with a sweeping historical ...
The State Services Commission and Ombudsman have released another batch of OIA statistics, covering the last six months. Request volumes are up, and the core public service is generally handling them within the legal timeframe, though this may be because they've learned to extend rather than just ignore things. And ...
In 1994, I was editing an ambitious street mag called Planet, from a fabled office at at 309 Karangahape Road. The thirteenth issue of the magazine was published in the winter of that year and its cover embodied a particularly ambitious goal: the end of cannabis prohibition.I wanted to do ...
KiwiBuild was one of the Ardern government's core policies. The government would end the housing crisis and make housing affordable again by building 100,000 new homes. Of course, it didn't work out like that: targets weren't met, the houses they did build were in the wrong place, and the whole ...
As the climate crisis escalates, it is now obvious that we need to radically decarbonise our economy. The good news is that its looking easy and profitable for the energy sector. Wind is already cheaper than fossil fuels, and now solar is too:The levellised cost of solar PV has fallen ...
A Crown Asset? For reasons relating to its own political convenience, the Crown pretends to believe that “No one owns the water.” To say otherwise would re-vivify the promises contained in the Treaty of Waitangi – most particularly those pertaining to the power of the chiefs and their proprietary rights ...
Most people would say, no doubt, that they have a pretty good idea of what money is. They live with the reality of money every day. It is what is needed to buy the necessities of life and to maintain a decent standard of living. You get money, they would ...
The article below was an opinion piece that appeared in the Spring 2019 issue of Te Awa (the NZ Green Party’s newsletter) and on the Greens website. In keeping with their policy of hostility to women defending women’s right to female-only spaces, Green bureaucrats have since removed the opinion piece. ...
Longer term readers may remember my complaining that, as a political scientist, it is burdensome to have non-political scientists wanting to engage me about politics. No layperson would think to approach an astrophysicist and lecture him/her on the finer details of quarks and black holes, but everybody with an opinion ...
Joining The Fight: Stevan Eldred-Grigg's argument for New Zealand staying out of the Second World War fails not only on the hard-headed grounds of preserving the country’s strategic and economic interests; and not just on the soft-hearted grounds of duty and loyalty to the nation that had given New Zealand ...
On September 27, School Strike 4 Climate will be striking for a future to pressure the government for meaningful climate action. This time, they've asked adults to join them. And now, Lincoln University and Victoria University of Wellington have signed on:Victoria University of Wellington has joined Lincoln University in endorsing ...
Another day, another constitutional outrage in the UK. This time, the government is saying that if parliament passes a law to stop Brexit before being prorogued, they may just ignore it:A senior cabinet minister has suggested Boris Johnson could defy legislation to prevent a no-deal Brexit if it is forced ...
Environment Canterbury has finally proposed nitrogen limits to stop dairy farmers from poisoning Christchurch's water supply. And naturally, farmers are whining about it:A proposed move by Environment Canterbury (ECan) to protect Christchurch's drinking water by setting tough – some would say, draconian – nitrate reductions in the decades ahead and ...
The Zero Carbon Bill is currently before select committee. While its targets are weak, its a generally sensible bill that promises to establish a long-term framework to guide emissions reductions. But National hasn't made up its mind on whether it will support it - and according to Andrea Vance in ...
Oil company Tamarind Resources has reportedly halted drilling at its Tui oil field off the Taranaki coast after the first of the three planned wells came up dry and bad weather caused delays. ...
The New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union is calling on the left-wing campaign group “ActionStation” to front up and be transparent about how much taxpayer funding it takes from the Government to underwrite its activism activities. Earlier in the month, the Taxpayers’ ...
The ‘ Unplanned ’ movie is here and Family First has secured one of the first screenings in New Zealand tonight. ‘Unplanned’ brings an eye-opening look inside the abortion industry from a woman who was once its most passionate advocate. All ...
James Renwick claim that NZ is failing on climate change is valid, and since James has been receiving widespread media coverage that we outline most of it again here now as we gear up for the ‘Global climate change conference’ beginning next week. ...
Protestors will be outside the venue of the fourth hearing for Operation Burnham Inquiry on Monday morning from 8.30am to give a message to former and current military officers as they arrive to speak about the ongoing coverup of the 2010 attack on ...
The long-running campaign against purported Chinese “interference” in New Zealand’s political system intensified in the past week following a five-day visit to Beijing by opposition National Party leader Simon Bridges. ...
National's Deputy Leader Paula Bennett spent the week claiming a serious cover-up in the Prime Minister's office. She used parliamentary privilege to name three of the Prime Minister's closest advisors who, she says, knew about the sexual assault ...
Six months on from the worst terrorist attack in New Zealand history, Simon Shepherd asked Al Noor Mosque spokesperson Anthony Green how the Christchurch Muslim is community faring. ...
“The Game Animal Council is concerned that the Government’s second tranche of firearms legislation released today may contain unreasonable provisions that will unfairly impact hunters,” says Game Animal Council Chair Don Hammond. ...
Government policy work on the Carbon Zero bill highlights connections between climate change, carbon sequestration and agriculture. Water quality and allocation are also topical with the release of the Draft Policy Statement for Freshwater Management ...
DairyNZ Chief Executive Dr Tim Mackle is welcoming this afternoon’s announcement that consultation on Essential Freshwater has been extended by two weeks - but is calling on the Minister to go further. ...
DairyNZ chief executive Dr Tim Mackle is calling on the Government to move swiftly to extend the six-week timeframe of the Essential Freshwater consultation. ...
Immigration New Zealand could really benefit from an large investment of money, comments Ms June Ranson, chair of the New Zealand Association for Migration and Investment (NZAMI) , a leading voice in the immigration sector. “Instead of spending $25m ...
In recent times there has been no shortage of commentary regarding whistleblowers, with the proposed amendments to the Protected Disclosures Act 2000. These are aimed at strengthening the protection available to whistleblowers in New Zealand. That ...
Gun Control NZ strongly welcomes the comprehensive gun law reform bill and calls on all political parties to support it. Gun Control NZ encourages New Zealanders to let their MPs know they support this Bill, submit to the Select Committee, and ...
Federated Farmers agrees with most of the steps by government to protect people from illegal or irresponsible firearms use. But concerns about pest control and the effectiveness of a register remain. ...
Today at Parliament the NZ Drug Foundation released Taking control of cannabis: A model for responsible regulation, a new report that shows how we can take back control of cannabis from organised crime. ...
In the face of overwhelming public opinion that farmers need to clean up after themselves, Federated Farmers has mounted an offensive to try and stop some of its members having to do just that. ...
Responding to reports that Associate Health Minister Jenny Salesa plans to restrict flavoured e-cigarette liquid, New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union Executive Director Jordan Williams says: ...
Māori and non- Māori value different aspects of plantation forestry, which owners should bear in mind if they want to maximise their social licence to operate, a new study shows. ...
The Prime Minister’s Award in the first annual Spirit of Service Awards has been won by the Ministry of Health and five agencies who teamed up on the Healthy Homes Initiative. ...
Smoking kills 5,000 Kiwis each year, so any government policies to help reduce smoking are a good thing. However, the current approaches are not working nor will the proposed limit on flavoured e-liquid that Associate Minister Salesa announced on the news ...
A petition, that promises a significant and dramatic improvement for the New Zealand economy, was handed to Dr Deborah Russell, the MP for New Lynn today. The petition, signed by over 5,000 New Zealanders addresses our crippling level of debt as well ...
The New Zealand Medical Association welcomes the announcement of an Initial Mental Health and Wellbeing Commission. We look forward to working with the newly appointed Chair Hayden Wano and the Commission. “It is vital that the steps to mental health ...
For anyone who even randomly follows the news will know that Hong Kong has been embroiled in demonstrations for months. These sometimes bloody demonstrations initially started as a result of a proposed Extradition Bill whereby there would be special ...
The release yesterday of Port Otago’s financial result for 2019, outlining a 12% increase and profits, including the news that the Chief Executive had received a $100,000 pay increase taking his remuneration to between $610,000-620,000, is like ...
“ I continue to be amazed at the incompetence of this Government when it comes to suicide prevention and mental health. Not only is this Government about to appoint a regional coroner who has a history of under reporting suicides amongst children ...
An unannounced inspection at Tongariro Prison has found a safe and well-managed prison, with a clear sense of purpose and striving for continuous improvement. ...
The Auditor-General’s discussion paper Public accountability: A matter of trust and confidence was presented to the House of Representatives today. ...
Keep New Zealand Beautiful (KNZB) are proud to announce the winners of the Young Reporters for the Environment (YRE) – Litter Less 2019 competition. ...
The Far North District Council (FNDC) and the Whangarei District Council (WDC) have lodged a joint appeal against the Northland Regional Council’s (NRC) omission of precautionary rules in its plan. [1] ...
The Independent Police Conduct Authority has found that an officer was not justified in tasering a man for a second time during an arrest in Picton on 23 June 2018. ...
The Chairman of the Authority, Judge Colin Doherty, has agreed to assist the Hong Kong Independent Police Complaints Council (IPCC) as a member of an international panel to provide high level advice to the IPCC in relation to its proposed "Thematic ...
“Putting families into motels is a temporary fix for desperate situations, rather than a sustainable solution to problems of poverty and homelessness,” says Scott Figenshow, Chief Executive of Community Housing Aotearoa. He was commenting on media ...
The New Zealand Psychological Society (NZPsS) says the current partial strike by 600 psychologists working in district health boards is a sign that temporary fixes to ongoing workforce shortages in the profession are not working. ...
New Zealand’s contribution to military operations in Malaya and Malaysia from the late 1940s to the mid-1960s will be commemorated in a national service held at Pukeahu National War Memorial Park at 11.00am on Monday 16 September. ...
The Christchurch mosque attack might not have occurred had police had the resources to enforce firearms restrictions they control, according to the Council of Licenced Firearms Owners (COLFO). ...
The resignation of the President of the Labour Party over the sex pest allegations was inevitable. It was inevitable because of his appalling handling of the situation so far; and, because in situations like this where there has to be a “fall guy” ...
“It’s disappointing that Parliament failed to address the accountability issues in the End of LifeChoice Bill ,” says Renée Joubert, Executive Officer of Euthanasia-Free NZ . ...
Yesterday Hon Grant Robertson Minister of Finance issued a welcome ‘clear directive’ in the press to ensure every Government considers the wellbeing of New Zealanders when creating future budgets . ...
Complaints to the Banking Ombudsman rose 20 percent in the last financial year as the conduct of banks and financial agencies was thrust into the spotlight. ...
One of our country’s finest writers gorges herself on Gilead – and finds herself wishing for more osmosis between the Booker-shortlisted new novel and the horror-story politics playing out around us. Over the past five days I’ve re-read Margaret Atwood’s 1985 novel The Handmaid’s Tale, caught myself up with the MGM/Hulu ...
In this special episode, we welcome you back to Waterdeep Mountain High, a Dungeons & Dragons podcast set in a below average school in the mystical land of Faerun.The gang are back and this time they have to… get summer jobs! Join Kate, Forrest, Hillardo and Peng as they begin ...
Author and social activist Naomi Klein talks the Green New Deal, Greta Thunberg and the links between the rise of white supremacy and the climate crisis. ...
Napier-based women’s clothing company KILT is a big brand with local charm. Josie Adams finds out how they’ve adapted their boutique strategy to work on a national level.Having grown up in the internet era New Zealand fashion label KILT has developed a unique relationship with its customers via an online ...
National is concerned the government's bill to tighten up gun laws and introduce a gun registry will stop gun owners in mental crisis seeking help from their GPs. ...
For the first day of Te Wiki o te Reo Māori, Alice Neville banned herself from speaking English. Here’s how it went down.I discovered a foolproof way to make a day of speaking only te reo Māori easy. Just don’t talk. Seriously, turituri and you’ll be fine. I know, I know, ...
Editor’s Note: Here below is a list of the main issues currently under discussion in New Zealand and links to media coverage.New Zealand Parliament Buildings, Wellington, New Zealand.Today’s content by Dr Bryce Edwards.Labour Party sexual assault allegations John Armstrong (1News): Are we witnessing the beginning of the ...
Facebook electioneering.Dr Bryce EdwardsThe National Party is in trouble again for its Facebook advertising campaigning. Late last week, the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) ruled against one of the party’s social media ads targeting the Government’s vehicle efficiency feebate scheme. The authority ruled it was “likely to confuse or ...
Dr Bryce EdwardsIf the political reputation of the Labour-led Government and Jacinda Ardern have been badly or even fatally damaged by the ongoing #MeTooLabour scandal, it will be because they’ve disappointed their own supporters, and failed to live up to their own values. This is very different to a ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andrew Maxwell, Senior Lecturer, University of Southern Queensland What a week it has been in the Apple core. In recent days the tech giant has released a litany of products, including new phones, watches, tablets, and more. The big-ticket items are clearly ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By David Smith, Senior Lecturer in American Politics and Foreign Policy, Academic Director of the US Studies Centre, University of Sydney Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s official visit to Washington this week carries some prestige. It is just the second “official visit” (including a ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Gary Mortimer, Professor of Marketing and Consumer Behaviour, Queensland University of Technology On the way home, you wander into the supermarket for a loaf of bread. But before you reach the bread aisle, you drop in your prescription at the supermarket pharmacy. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Frank Jotzo, Director, Centre for Climate and Energy Policy, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University This story is part of Covering Climate Now, a global collaboration of more than 250 news outlets to strengthen coverage of the climate story. Climate ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Vaughan Cruickshank, Program Director – Health and Physical Education, Maths/Science, Faculty of Education, University of Tasmania Physical education is one of the most popular subjects for children in their early school years. Yet by secondary school less favourable attitudes towards what’s known ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tony Matthews, Senior Lecturer in Urban and Environmental Planning, Griffith University This story is part of Covering Climate Now, a global collaboration of more than 250 news outlets to strengthen coverage of the climate story. Climate change increasingly threatens communities all over ...
Townies are naive about the "huge" impact and cost a proposed government freshwater action plan will have across the country, says Federated Farmers. ...
Politicians have been criticised for their "cowardice" in persisting with a "racist" refugee policy, as the government repeatedly points to a review underway to excuse the lack of action. ...
David Hannay, who has for decades been trying to get a seat on the council, will not be taking part in a major debate this week because he is facing open heart surgery. ...
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Covering Climate Now week begins, hate crimes in focus six months after Christchurch attack, and scale of house flipping laid bare. Over the course of this week, you’re going to see a lot of climate change coverage. The Spinoff will be one ...
As sea-levels rise globally and around New Zealand, this country's earthquakes are also causing some land to sink, meaning certain coastlines could face twice inundation risk. Eloise Gibson reports. ...
In the first of our Covering Climate Now week of news features, Eloise Gibson finds moving coastal land due to earthquakes could double the risks of rising seas for some New Zealanders.. ...
Our most feared pest could be starting its journey to New Zealand. Nikki Mandow discovers the superhuman efforts that officials and scientists are making to eradicate the brown marmorated stink bug. ...
A scheme to get low income families out of debt and into safe cars is being delayed because no one can agree who should stump up the money to get a pilot off the ground. ...
Covering Climate Now: A changing climate means changing landscapes and changing lives. Mirjam Guesgen talks to the experts about the implications at two ends of New Zealand.The Spinoff’s participation in Covering Climate Now is made possible thanks to Spinoff Members. Join us here!Auckland is known for its sandy, inviting coastlines ...
The New Zealand Drug Foundation has just released a proposed model for the legalisation and regulation of cannabis in Aotearoa. With the 2020 referendum fast approaching, what should the government be considering in their approach to this legislation?As the days tick down towards 2020 and the referendum on cannabis legalisation ...
Covering Climate Now: Submit, protest, vote. These are the moments that must be seized, writes Sam McGlennonThe Spinoff’s participation is made possible thanks to Spinoff Members. Join us here!The waves are now running together. The next month of national, regional and local politics in New Zealand will go a long ...
An Auckland mayoral candidate has broken the internet* by announcing a plan for a monorail around the central city. Who is Craig Lord, and is he serious? Alex Braae spoke to him shortly after his campaign launch to find out.The Spinoff local election coverage is made possible thanks to The SpinoffMembers. ...
Antibiotics are becoming increasingly less effective, so what treatments can we use when the drugs stop working? With help from plant extracts, award-winning company HerbScience is set to breathe new life into how we treat bacterial infections.When Cynthia Hunefeld was just 10 years old, her father was hospitalised with a ...
For some, it symbolises the very backbone of New Zealand’s food culture. But can Kiwi onion dip survive after the factory that makes reduced cream is shut down?The Australian factory that makes Nestlé reduced cream, an integral ingredient in Kiwi onion dip, is shutting down, casting a shadow over the ...
Every year Matariki X brings Māori innovators and entrepreneurs together to share their experiences and inspire one another. Callaghan Innovation’s Vinnie Campbell says the Māori economy’s biggest strengths have nothing to do with money.This story was funded by The Spinoff Members. For more about becoming a member and supporting The ...
Today marks the start of Covering Climate Now. To launch the week, the New Zealand climate change minister, James Shaw, writes an open letter to participants in the School Strike 4 Climate ahead of their day of action later this month.The Spinoff’s participation in Covering Climate Now is thanks to ...
National’s new agriculture spokesperson finds himself in one of the party’s most important portfolios, at a time of dramatically increasing tensions in the sector. Will Todd Muller, a man regularly mentioned as a future leader contender, find common ground?Todd Muller’s obsession with politics began with an American encyclopaedia, which his ...
Although few would now deny that there are far-right extremists in NZ, questions remain around whether we have truly reckoned with the root causes of white supremacy. ...
To celebrate Te Wiki o te Reo Māori, cookbook authors, 2014 MasterChef-winning sisters and badass wāhine Māori Karena and Kasey Bird (Te Arawa, Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Manawa) have translated some of the delicious recipes from their second cookbook, Hungry, into te reo Māori for The Spinoff. Today, poached pears in chocolate.NGĀ PEA KŌHUA ...
Miss June’s Bad Luck Party was recorded literally between hospital shifts, and their summer schedule includes both festival dates and their frontwoman’s graduation from medical school. We sat down with the band to ask just how, exactly, they’ve survived so far.The first years of life for Tāmaki Makaurau pop-punk quartet ...
The following four short extracts are from A City Possessed: The Christchurch Child Crèche Case by Lynley Hood, which has just been reprinted by Otago University Press. The book was first published in 2001 and won the Montana Medal for Non-Fiction at the Montana New Zealand Book Awards. The controversial ...
Hamilton councillors have drawn headlines this year for being anti-science and insensitive to terror victims. At a mayoral debate on Wednesday, there were signs a campaign for change is gathering force.The Spinoff local election coverage is made possible thanks to The SpinoffMembers. For more about becoming a member and supporting The Spinoff’s journalism click ...
The Spinoff editor writes on the story that has engulfed NZ politics this week.One of the very few positive things to come out of a hideous week in New Zealand politics has been the sieving-out of the blinkered, partisan zealots. On one side, those who are ready to conjure up ...
In June 2018, Rawinia Higgins was appointed chairperson of Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Māori. She’s the first female and the first te reo Māori second-language speaker to hold the role, and during Te Wiki o te Reo Māori, she sat down with The Spinoff to talk about her ...
Compulsory New Zealand history in schools is an exciting opportunity but it’s crucial we’re critical of the stories we tell ourselves, writes Dr Aroha Harris. History is not simply an assemblage of facts and evidence. History is also the interrogation of those things.This may be unsettling news for some, including the ...
The government and the Drug Foundation say they are committed to keeping the public informed and keeping fear mongering to a minimum ahead of the cannabis referendum. ...
One of the people who first brought Labour's assault complaints scandal to light says the party has a long way to go before it's clear it has learnt from its mistakes. ...
Open mike 19/03/2015 
Open mike is your post.
Dangerous Foes: For those readers of Bowalley Road who feel disposed to dismiss any prospect of an Israeli destabilisation of New Zealand politics, the example of the United Kingdom repays close attention. Ever since the election of Jeremy Corbyn as leader of the British Labour Party, the Israelis have sanctioned, funded and ...1 hour ago
Make It 16, the youth-led campaign to lower New Zealand's voting age, is holding an official campaign launch at Parliament this Friday from 16:30. If you'd like to attend, you can register using EventBrite here. ...2 hours ago
by Don Franks It was a lovely sunny Wellington afternoon with blue skies above the beaches. In Courtenay Place, political activists packed out a stuffy upstairs room for an important meeting. The assembled pacifists, anarchists, communists and independent young radicals of Peace Action Wellington felt the need for a mission ...2 hours ago
Current and former NZDF top brass are being publicly grilled this week by the hit and run inquiry over their public responses to allegations of civilian casualties. Previously, they've claimed there were no casualties, a position which led them to lie to Ministers and to the public. Now, they're saying ...2 hours ago
From the Wall Street Journal:Inside a room of the ornately decorated Hotel du Palais during last month’s Group of Seven summit in Biarritz, France, President Trump awaited a meeting with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al Sisi. Mr. Trump looked over a gathering of American and Egyptian officials and called out in ...1 day ago
The Brexit issue has certainly brought with it a series of apparently difficult constitutional issues, many of them concerning the respective roles of the executive and parliament. Most of them arise because of the unwillingness of MPs, despite their professions to the contrary, to be bound by a constitutional rarity ...2 days ago
. . This blogpost is different to my usual format of reporting on issues… Since July 1011, I have blogged on a variety of political issues; near always political and/or environmental; mostly highly critical of the previous National Government. Other issues included Israeli occupation of Palestinian lands and repression of ...2 days ago
Those close to the Police Minister believe the initiative may be the result of Nash “seeing a great deal” on AliExpress. In a move that comes seemingly out of nowhere, Police Minister Stuart Nash announced this afternoon that he expects all frontline staff to don bearskin hats, famously worn by ...3 days ago
Moving And Shaking: There was a time when people spoke matter-of-factly about the “labour movement” – a political phenomenon understood to embrace much more than the Labour Party. Included within the term’s definition was the whole trade union movement – many of whose members looked upon the Labour Party as ...3 days ago
by Philip Ferguson Much of the left, even people who formally identify as marxists, have collapsed politically in the face of postmodern gender theory of the sort pioneered by American philosopher Judith Butler. For Butler even biological sex is socially constructed. “If the immutable character of sex is contested, perhaps ...4 days ago
By Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern I am every bit as angry as you are. I am every bit as disappointed as you must be. The people with power, oversight and the ability to do something about these processes within the Labour Party should be ashamed. Whoever those people are, I ...4 days ago
Two-Faced? Labour insiders' commitment to the neoliberal status quo puts them at odds with their party’s membership; its trade union affiliates; and a majority of Labour voters, but this only serves to strengthen the perception they have of themselves as a special elite. Among the lesser breeds, they’ll talk up a ...4 days ago
By Simon Bridges. The following is a press release from the office of Simon Bridges, leader of The National Party. Key ora, New Zealand. Happy Maori Language Week. Look, I’m writing to you today because I want to clear something up. There’s been a lot of kerfuffle around some things ...5 days ago
Dr. Christopher Labos and Jonathan Jarry discuss the recent Canadian fluoride/IQ research. They provide an expert analysis of the paper and its problems. Click on image to go to podcast. The critical debate about the recent ... 5 days ago
An ambitious plan to fly to Los Angeles petered out into a brief sight-seeing trip and a desire to return home and get some sleep before work tomorrow. Air New Zealand has confirmed a flight to Los Angeles last night was turned back about a quarter of the way into ...6 days ago
There appears to be consensus – by omission – that the concept of indigenous futures should be accepted at face value. So I scavenged the internet to see if I could locate an academic descriptor or a framework around how we think about it as a concept, and whether it ...6 days ago
Here’s another novelty chocolate to shove in your gob, New Zealand Cadbury could be seeking to make itself great again with a rumoured new release: Pineapple Trumps, a spin on its classic chocolate-encased pineapple treat and do-it-yourself tooth remover. The global confectionery manufacturer and bumbling “before” character in an infomercial, ...6 days ago
During my time in the Pentagon I had the privilege of sitting down with military leaders and defence and security officials from a variety of Latin American nations. Sometimes I was present as a subordinate assistant to a senior US defence department official, sometimes as part of a delegation that ...6 days ago
Kia ora, Aotearoa. It’s that magical time of year. Te Wiki o te Reo Māori. In English, the week that frightens talk radio. As you probably know by now, all your favourite media outlets are participating, some more successfully than others. Stuff has changed its name to Puna for the ...6 days ago
Lost In Political Space: The most important takeaway from this latest Labour sexual assault scandal, which (if I may paraphrase Nixon’s White House counsel’s, John Dean’s, infamous description of Watergate) is “growing like a cancer” on the premiership, is the Labour Party organisation’s extraordinary professional paralysis in the face of ...6 days ago
Hi there, just call me Tim.We face tough problems, and I’d like to help, because there are solutions.An Auckand District Health Board member has nominated me for as a candidate for the ADHB, because her MS-related pain and fatigue is reduced with hemp products from Rotorua. Nothing else helped her. If I ...1 week ago
Bewhiskered Cassandra? Professor Hugh White’s chilling suggestion, advanced to select collections of academic, military and diplomatic Kiwi experts over the course of the past week, is that the assumptions upon which Australia and New Zealand have built their foreign affairs and defence policies for practically their entire histories – are ...1 week ago
Air New Zealand couldn’t believe its luck that this seemingly ideal piece of real estate had so far gone entirely unnoticed. Air New Zealand’s search for a site to build a second Auckland Airport may have made a breakthrough this afternoon, after employees scanning Google satellite imagery spotted a huge, ...1 week ago
Gayford, pictured here on The Project, before things got wildly out of control. A bold public relations move by the Government to encourage parents to vaccinate their children has gone horribly wrong. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern appeared on tonight’s episode of Three’s The Project, where the plan was for her ...2 weeks ago
Mr. Whippy’s business model has driven it down a dark road of intimidation. Residents in major centres around the country are becoming disgruntled by the increasingly aggressive actions of purported ice cream company Mr. Whippy, who have taken to parking on people’s front lawns and doorsteps in a desperate attempt ...2 weeks ago
Anti-fluoride activists have some wealthy backers – they are erecting billboards misrepresenting the Canadian study on many New Zealand cities – and local authorities are ordering their removal because of their scaremongering. Many New Zealanders ... 2 weeks ago
Following publication of this article, the Ministry has requested it to be noted that this supplied image is not necessarily representative of what the final house will look like, and it “probably won’t be that nice.” As part of today’s long-anticipated reset of the Government’s flagship KiwiBuild policy, Housing Minister ...2 weeks ago
A Crown Asset? For reasons relating to its own political convenience, the Crown pretends to believe that “No one owns the water.” To say otherwise would re-vivify the promises contained in the Treaty of Waitangi – most particularly those pertaining to the power of the chiefs and their proprietary rights ...2 weeks ago
Joining The Fight: Stevan Eldred-Grigg's argument for New Zealand staying out of the Second World War fails not only on the hard-headed grounds of preserving the country’s strategic and economic interests; and not just on the soft-hearted grounds of duty and loyalty to the nation that had given New Zealand ...2 weeks ago
Oil company Tamarind Resources has reportedly halted drilling at its Tui oil field off the Taranaki coast after the first of the three planned wells came up dry and bad weather caused delays. ...1 hour ago
Complaints to the Banking Ombudsman rose 20 percent in the last financial year as the conduct of banks and financial agencies was thrust into the spotlight. ...12 mins ago
One of our country’s finest writers gorges herself on Gilead – and finds herself wishing for more osmosis between the Booker-shortlisted new novel and the horror-story politics playing out around us. Over the past five days I’ve re-read Margaret Atwood’s 1985 novel The Handmaid’s Tale, caught myself up with the MGM/Hulu ...2 hours ago
Builders are setting up a new scheme to lessen the chances that companies close to collapse can win major contracts. ...2 hours ago
In this special episode, we welcome you back to Waterdeep Mountain High, a Dungeons & Dragons podcast set in a below average school in the mystical land of Faerun.The gang are back and this time they have to… get summer jobs! Join Kate, Forrest, Hillardo and Peng as they begin ...3 hours ago
Author and social activist Naomi Klein talks the Green New Deal, Greta Thunberg and the links between the rise of white supremacy and the climate crisis. ...3 hours ago
Napier-based women’s clothing company KILT is a big brand with local charm. Josie Adams finds out how they’ve adapted their boutique strategy to work on a national level.Having grown up in the internet era New Zealand fashion label KILT has developed a unique relationship with its customers via an online ...3 hours ago
National is concerned the government's bill to tighten up gun laws and introduce a gun registry will stop gun owners in mental crisis seeking help from their GPs. ...4 hours ago
For the first day of Te Wiki o te Reo Māori, Alice Neville banned herself from speaking English. Here’s how it went down.I discovered a foolproof way to make a day of speaking only te reo Māori easy. Just don’t talk. Seriously, turituri and you’ll be fine. I know, I know, ...4 hours ago
Editor’s Note: Here below is a list of the main issues currently under discussion in New Zealand and links to media coverage.
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Gary Mortimer, Professor of Marketing and Consumer Behaviour, Queensland University of Technology On the way home, you wander into the supermarket for a loaf of bread. But before you reach the bread aisle, you drop in your prescription at the supermarket pharmacy. ...6 hours ago
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Frank Jotzo, Director, Centre for Climate and Energy Policy, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University This story is part of Covering Climate Now, a global collaboration of more than 250 news outlets to strengthen coverage of the climate story. Climate ...6 hours ago
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Vaughan Cruickshank, Program Director – Health and Physical Education, Maths/Science, Faculty of Education, University of Tasmania Physical education is one of the most popular subjects for children in their early school years. Yet by secondary school less favourable attitudes towards what’s known ...6 hours ago
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tony Matthews, Senior Lecturer in Urban and Environmental Planning, Griffith University This story is part of Covering Climate Now, a global collaboration of more than 250 news outlets to strengthen coverage of the climate story. Climate change increasingly threatens communities all over ...6 hours ago
Townies are naive about the "huge" impact and cost a proposed government freshwater action plan will have across the country, says Federated Farmers. ...7 hours ago
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Covering Climate Now week begins, hate crimes in focus six months after Christchurch attack, and scale of house flipping laid bare. Over the course of this week, you’re going to see a lot of climate change coverage. The Spinoff will be one ...8 hours ago
Kelly Dennett writes about winning the prize on Saturday night for best book of non-fiction at the annual Ngaio Marsh crime writing awards. ...9 hours ago
As sea-levels rise globally and around New Zealand, this country's earthquakes are also causing some land to sink, meaning certain coastlines could face twice inundation risk. Eloise Gibson reports. ...9 hours ago
There's something very fishy about Seafood NZ's latest advertising campaign says the University of Auckland's Veronica Rotman ...9 hours ago
Disillusioned by being left on the side of the pool, teenage para-swimmer Tupou Neiufi has persevered to win her first world championship medal. ...9 hours ago
Our most feared pest could be starting its journey to New Zealand. Nikki Mandow discovers the superhuman efforts that officials and scientists are making to eradicate the brown marmorated stink bug. ...9 hours ago
A scheme to get low income families out of debt and into safe cars is being delayed because no one can agree who should stump up the money to get a pilot off the ground. ...9 hours ago
Covering Climate Now: A changing climate means changing landscapes and changing lives. Mirjam Guesgen talks to the experts about the implications at two ends of New Zealand.The Spinoff’s participation in Covering Climate Now is made possible thanks to Spinoff Members. Join us here!Auckland is known for its sandy, inviting coastlines ...10 hours ago
Their fans are the most colourful, their celebrations the most joyous. But Pacific rugby teams are not on an even playing field in Japan. ...10 hours ago
Antibiotics are becoming increasingly less effective, so what treatments can we use when the drugs stop working? With help from plant extracts, award-winning company HerbScience is set to breathe new life into how we treat bacterial infections.When Cynthia Hunefeld was just 10 years old, her father was hospitalised with a ...1 day ago
In the wake of the Christchurch terror attack, there are signs of healing, support and, of course, ongoing struggle. ...1 day ago
For some, it symbolises the very backbone of New Zealand’s food culture. But can Kiwi onion dip survive after the factory that makes reduced cream is shut down?The Australian factory that makes Nestlé reduced cream, an integral ingredient in Kiwi onion dip, is shutting down, casting a shadow over the ...1 day ago
Every year Matariki X brings Māori innovators and entrepreneurs together to share their experiences and inspire one another. Callaghan Innovation’s Vinnie Campbell says the Māori economy’s biggest strengths have nothing to do with money.This story was funded by The Spinoff Members. For more about becoming a member and supporting The ...1 day ago
National’s new agriculture spokesperson finds himself in one of the party’s most important portfolios, at a time of dramatically increasing tensions in the sector. Will Todd Muller, a man regularly mentioned as a future leader contender, find common ground?Todd Muller’s obsession with politics began with an American encyclopaedia, which his ...1 day ago
While some despair about the fate of our planet, climate scientist James Renwick says it is never too late to take action. ...2 days ago
Although few would now deny that there are far-right extremists in NZ, questions remain around whether we have truly reckoned with the root causes of white supremacy. ...2 days ago
Hamilton councillors have drawn headlines this year for being anti-science and insensitive to terror victims. At a mayoral debate on Wednesday, there were signs a campaign for change is gathering force.The Spinoff local election coverage is made possible thanks to The Spinoff Members. For more about becoming a member and supporting The Spinoff’s journalism click ...2 days ago
In June 2018, Rawinia Higgins was appointed chairperson of Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Māori. She’s the first female and the first te reo Māori second-language speaker to hold the role, and during Te Wiki o te Reo Māori, she sat down with The Spinoff to talk about her ...2 days ago
And the Herald’s intentions with yesterday’s story on Len Brown are revealed in todays editorial. Clearly, a Len Brown run for a third term would be bitterly opposed by the Herald, who annointed Goff their preferred candidate today.
I find their reasoning quite interesting. The clear assumption is Goff will be a right wing mayor, another neo-liberal wolf in sheeps clothing. I guess the big question is this – who is the best candidate to stop privatisation of the CCO’s and ensure the CRL planning goes ahead until such time as a Labour government wins power and Hide’s insane governance model is reformed? If that is your criteria then Goff is as good as any, and his electability is better than anyones.
Diversion tactics 101, find a plausible yet ambiguous topic that you can publish no end of speculation over I.e. no facts or hard evidence required.
Anything but Sabin, northland by election pork barrelling, milk solids price impact of Blingish already BS numbers and how about that 25k liu donation to name a few issues of far more relevance.
Sigh
That indeed IS the question….
When Banks didn’t get to be mayor of the ACT/National juggernaut as planned whoever did get in was going to feel the full force of DP.
Dark days ahead
DP?
FOG?
Yep – I’ve been thinking along those lines too. Auckland will be sold off (the remains of what hasn’t somehow been sold yet) . Sigh ….. and after all the hard work done by hundreds of Aucklanders backing City Vision trying to keep the super-city intact.
Nz MSM and Nz politics both have the same controllers it would seem
Quite the conspiracy
Interesting piece on USA weapon sales – http://www.publicintegrity.org/2015/03/16/16913/america-remains-top-arms-seller-world
The old adage – “one man’s terrorist is another man’s freedom fighter” – gets play out well in this piece.
http://www.publicintegrity.org/2015/03/17/16895/south-african-who-attacked-nuclear-plant-hero-his-government-and-fellow-citizens
On what Iprent was saying the other day about new/continuation of Nuclear arms race – The centre for public integrity will be publishing some more on the Nuclear issue over the next few days – I’ll keep you posted.
war is a racket…
listen to USA’s exhortations to EU countries that they must spend more more more on their militaries
Whangarei MP Shane Reti called the protest group organiser last week and told her to stop “agitating” for tar-sealed roads during the by-election campaign. And if they didn’t stop, their wish may not get fulfilled!
It is outrageous for a Government, a Minister or an MP, in a democracy to tell people who are exercising their legitimate rights of freedom and protesting about any issue (dusty roads that need tar seal in this case), to shut up for two weeks until the by-election is finished. It is even more outrageous to be threatened that ‘if you don’t stop protesting for the next two weeks, we will punish you by not doing a bloody thing about those roads!’ That is definitely blackmail, worse than what Aaron Gilmore did.
National’s campaign manager, Steven Joyce, says there were no instructions to MPs to shut down protest groups. Mr Key says he had nothing to do with Dr Reti’s call.
This arrogant and disgraceful MP, Reti should resign or be sacked immediately. There is no other way. Nothing else is good enough. Is there?
http://www.3news.co.nz/nznews/labour-pm-must-deal-with-bullying-mp-2015031904
The end of the second paragraph should read :
It is even more outrageous to be threatened with threats which imply that ‘if you don’t stop protesting for the next two weeks, we will punish you by not doing a bloody thing about those roads!’ That is definitely blackmail, worse than what Aaron Gilmore did.
Key is responsible for his govt why lie about it culpable
” ‘if you don’t stop protesting for the next two weeks, we will punish you by not doing a bloody thing about those roads!”
You give this statement as a direct quote. They don’t appear in the story you link to.
Can you please provide a source for these words being used?
They are not the DIREST exact words of Reti but they may as well be because that IS the intent and implications of his threat and blackmail.
However, I have added a further comment to my original comment as follows:
The end of the second paragraph should read :
It is even more outrageous to be threatened with threats which imply that ‘if you don’t stop protesting for the next two weeks, we will punish you by not doing a bloody thing about those roads!’ That is definitely blackmail, worse than what Aaron Gilmore did.
The moment we all heard about Reti’s comments (up here in the north) we thought he’d taken a leaf out of his master’s book – threatening to withdraw funding for the 10 bridges if the Nats don’t win this by-election. If Shon Key can indulge in a little blackmail to voters, why shouldn’t Reti follow in his footsteps ? Definitely blackmail.
alwyn, “…” signifies a quote, not ‘…’
Clemgeopin clearly used the latter
On a different topic – I see in the Dom Post that the infamous health scheme initiated by Ryall owes millions in loans which are not being paid back. That health scheme is now being dismantled.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/news/politics/67439973/Scheme-can-t-pay-back-loans
“” The Government’s flagship health cost-cutting scheme has taken out millions of dollars worth of taxpayer-funded loans, despite concerns it could not pay a cent back, new documents reveal. ………………………””
“” The organisation is now the subject of an investigation by the auditor-general. ……..””
“” HBL is being wound down by Health Minister Jonathan Coleman in June, with its programmes transferred to Auckland regional DHB-led services provider HealthAlliance. ………….””
And I’m left wondering why the heck certain southern health boards are going ahead with its ‘frozen food from Auckland for the patients ‘ proposal when it appears to have been such a shonky scheme.
What extraordinary failure …. and who needs $10 million to develop business plans ? Was this using private consultants ? And now Alkd DHB has to absorb the loss of funds? Baby cheeses.
And agree Jenny .. why on earth would Dunedin be buying frozen pre-cooked food from Auckland ? Clearly nothing to do with patient health and well-being. Stupid, stupid people.
( And have to ask now .. was Ryall pushed for incompetence ?)
This interview with Key by the Northern Advocate this morning is worth a read:
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/northern-advocate/news/article.cfm?c_id=1503450&objectid=11419691
Thanks Karen. Great article. It reminds me of Effie Trinket visiting District 12!
Thanks Karen. Insightful interview. All those media/security minders! And an interesting trawl through the Northern Advocate.
And the frank and honest response from the PM to the questions asked? Not so much.
Key’s answers read like a Crosby and Textor report card. The interviewer tried, but slippery Key just slimes all over it as usual and never deviates from his scripts.
Personally, I would have offered him the black cup for some mana, so to speak.
Yes Rawshark but at least the way Ms Laird has written up the story just helps show up Shon Key and his slippery non-answers all the more ! And this paper goes out all over the place in the north.
@Karen
Yep thanks for that Karen. Nicely written piece. Key hates being asked tough questions.
Incidentally there was an editorial in the ODT yesterday that was very critical of the behaviour of Key and his government, especially in terms of lack of transparency and what this means for democracy.
I am surprised the herald picked it up.
As usual, read the comments. Very telling about the true state of the campaign..
Oh ah from Chris Hedges.
Utmost respect for this lady
http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/the_most_dangerous_woman_in_america_20150315
How heartening it is to read of Kshama Sawant! I found this bit particularly striking:
“The idea that things have to get a lot worse to have some sort of awakening and bring about an alternative to this corrupt and defunct corporate political system is inaccurate,” she said to me. “What we need is a big surge for an independent working-class political alternative while people are experiencing a sense of confidence, after decades of bitter defeat…
I remember Xtasy, who I think must have left the country, saying we that need a new left wing political party. What we need more is a grassroots political movement that is able to make its presence felt, whether or not it takes the form of a political party.
Ideally it will not be in the form of a political party, but in the form of a pressure/action/education movement which applies leverage to the pressure points of every political party.
I agree with you where New Zealand is concerned. A political party would become an option if the movement’s concerns were not met by existing political vehicles, and the momentum was sufficient to make forming a party look like a goer. But the ability to make our presence felt has to come first.
ideally what would happen is that some capable individuals from the movement would over time eventually join every political party. This would give the movement some voice from within the parties as well, possibly even as candidates and MPs.
However, the independent pressure and presence outside the institutional establishment must always stay strong and separate from those political parties, if the true and honest voice of the people is to be heard true and loud in Wellington. At the moment, it’s not.
I think I see what you are getting at now – that a pressure group outside of the institutional establishment is not open to being transformed into yet another vehicle for the political class. I accept that point, and am mindful as well of the precarious path to a new party’s becoming established. I do not suggest a new party as a desirable outcome (I am a LP member, probably for similar reasons to yours) but would not rule it out altogether where a movement was able to gain real momentum at the grassroots level without also gaining real political influence within the existing establishment.
Yes indeed. The Left needs to re-examine what having “real political influence” means in a modern context. The Right have got the idea very well and exercise their own version of it reasonably ably (sometimes).
Party politics is undemocratic by nature it requires manipulation of the vote to achieve an out come and its is not responsible to the voters only the party
A successful candidate at an election serves his party before the voters or he does not get the favour of the party classic in Northland not much gets done just vote accumulation for the National party’s overall gerrymandering of political system, until now a bunch of false promises and unrealistic political expectations. The destruction of the RMA and the sovereignty of the nations resources in the area ie a sellout to the oil companies spells a F.U.C.K.E.D. PARADISE
Key is a liar and a cheat
Olwyn and CR
Would a left wing think tank be a vehicle that would match what you are talking about they seem very influential and regularly back the memes being presented by RW parties particularly?
I cannot speak for CR, but to me it would be an important part of such a movement. I will have to look up what Sue Bradford has to say about it, since that is the subject of her doctorate. One thing a think tank would hopefully do is pull some of the disparate threads of the left together.
I think Kshama points out an important issue that was taught to left – the hard way, the last election.
Never take money from the corporations.
Even if that corporation is fighting with other corporations, and may be extradited.
Grass roots is going to be broke – all that means is – it must be smarter.
I do not have any beef with either Dotcom or Hone Harawira. I think the lesson there was that money sans connections can be more damaging than no money. There is nothing the powerful hate more than a large sum of money that is not subject to their own concerns and agreements. And I wholeheartedly agree with you about money with corporate strings attached, whether potentially or actively.
How can this be? “She holds a doctorate in economics…” An economist who is driving changes to help the disadvantaged? Must be an aberration. Get rid of her say the powerful country wide elite.
And fancy bringing Seattle to its knees my raising the minimum wage to $15! Sacrilege. Thanks Adam.
On her thesis – elderly labor supply in a less developed rural economy
http://microdata.worldbank.org/index.php/citations/2857
marilyn waring has been promoting the idea of unpaid work being valued as part of GDP for decades…
it’s the economists who speak for banks that are trash
The culture of cupidity always has it’s dilettantes.
Have puzzled for days on the reasons Mark Osborne secured Nat selection … have written several times that I think he must have been ‘bought’ for his silence. No basis for it, other than a gut response to his ineptitude .. and yes, I accept he was approved as candidate when Key arrogantly believed there was never a problem in this safe seat.
But this was posted under a March 12 Dita di Boni Herald story on Northland …
Quote:
“The National ‘candidate’ owns the local beauty parlour where his wife and until the s**t hit the fan, Mike Sabin’s wife did all the work, he is not known for his ‘work ethic’. ”
So I am curious if anyone will confirm this ? That Osborne owns the business where Mrs Sabin and Mrs Osborne worked together, that is until Mrs Sabin didn’t for whatever personal reasons?
So has Osborne been bought for his silence on what has happened to Sabin and his family ?
Comment by Barnzy at 11.07 am .. http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11415670
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11415670
So how much did Osborne lie to various media when he said he knew nothing of Sabin’s ‘personal matters’ ?
Oh, how I hope Winston bloodies the nose of Key and his crony government. I hope he leaves them reeling and unable to proceed with their anti-NZ agenda.
I think Winston has already bloodied Key’s nose. The fact that the Nats have had to stir themselves and spend big money would never have happened without Winston. Even should Winston not win I am sure that Northland will greatly benefit from the exposure. Woe betide Key if he doesn’t act in the future.
Winston the cunning old dog figured out very quickly that participating in the Northland by-election was a win win for NZ First. Labour eventually figured out that participating in the Northland by-election was going to be a lose-lose for them.
National, they’re just in total reactive mode right now. And ruing how they did not pause for a moment to stick the knife in Winston proper when he was down and out a few years ago.
they look panicked… and some who have so far been unquestioning of this Government, imust begin to wonder why…
@ianmac — yes, much woe betiding 😀 But i want Winston to complete the fight.
and CR .. I thought they did stick the knife in again and again and think him finished. What a lovely horror story for them.
rawshark yeshe
Shades of the Terminator reforming from small pools of metal that roll together, coalesce and rise! I will be back says Winston.
You cant put anything past this govt when it comes to lying and cheating, its head honcho is the master of lies for the whole western alliance
In the future? With what FJK did, he should have resigned already.
Nope – I think you’ll find its not Sabin’s wife who is the hairdresser/beautician, but Osborne’s wife. She runs the beauty parlour, so I’ve been told.
But I do have to say , if Osborne didn’t know much about Sabin before the 2014 election, he probably was the only one in the north who wasn’t questionning that very issue !
The average New Zealand Beauty Salon employs five people. It’s entirely possible that they worked together.
Mark and Jodi Osborne are the owners of Doubtless Beauty in Mangonui, which is just over the hill from Coopers Beach.
According to Slater the prominent NZer who has name suppression that will lapse today is not Mike Sabin but the person Cunliffe had lunch with.
If true, Hooton was particularly mischievious by referring to this in a thread where I asked if Sabin was forgotten.
Would Cunliffe have known about the charges at the time he met this person (if what Cameron Slater says about the person is correct)? I imagine there would have been name suppression? Was it widely rumoured at the time? If Cunliffe were to be assumed knowledge of this person’s alleged crimes, would not the same apply to Key’s knowledge of Sabin’s?
Perfect logic Tracey … but we can’t expect Key and msm to play by the same rules they apply to Labour !
Funny, I believe Cunliffe had no idea, but Key knew everything.
Not just knew, but appointed him to as chairman of Parliament’s law and order committee.
Cunliffe didn’t have any political dealings with that other offender.
It seems to me that parliament is the last place to keep a secret. It strikes me as a very insular, gossipy, incestuous place (I include media gallery in this).
So IF it is the person who cunliffe had lunch with, what do we think the headline will be???
Have you got a link for whaleoil?
I don’t know how to do it without infesting people… I NEVER go there as a rule, but looking for the date of the lifting of name suppression i wound up there.
Hopefully you can tell me if I have misunderstood what he was trying to assert
http://www.google.co.nz/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0CCAQFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.whaleoil.co.nz%2F2015%2F02%2Fprominent-new-zealander-to-lose-name-suppression-march-19%2F&ei=MgYKVYyAHIfAmAW62oDYDw&usg=AFQjCNGojAAZOgB_efdovSedsVhwdQOn_g&sig2=lkE95svADMm6jnQxquXNPw&bvm=bv.88528373,d.dGY
After posting my comment @9.3, I saw your (Tracey) comment at 9.2.1.
Reading the WO post at the link, IMO this latest post essentially is saying what I was trying to say – that the prominent NZer whose name suppression expires today unless appealed by 5pm today IS NOT the other prominent NZer who Cunliffe had lunch with.
agree vv. it is not the one from the south.
I DID misunderstand… apologies to all impugned by my misunderstanding.
@Tracey .. go to http://www.donotlink.com .. cut and paste the url of the site you do not wish to directly link with and it makes a new link for you which u can cut and paste anywhere ! It’s marvelous .. I think lprent taught me how !
this new link for yr story:
http://www.donotlink.com/e656
thanks
You can even google the article and ctrl +copy link location (or the equivalent on your device) and paste that into donotlink, and that way you don’t have to open the website even once 🙂
GREAT
Your link took my browser straight to the actual whaleoil site. Probably not what you meant to do, but that’s what happened. Thanks but no thanks.
I don’t know how not to CV, and people wanted to know where my source was… I think I have completely understood…
CR .. see my donotlink above at 9.2.1.2
Different ends of the country, Tracey.
The case of the prominent NZer who Cunliffe met took place down south and has finished, with the person given permanent name suppression – against the wishes of the victim and others.
The court hearing that happened on the same day (30 Jan 2015) as Sabin resigned took place at the other end of the country. Although all details were suppressed, including the District Court where the hearing took place, one online (only) news service (Yahoo) actually published the location.
I will not publish a link but their article is still available via Google, using “disputed facts hearing NZ”; country NZ; and customizing the time period for the search.
[WARNING to anyone who finds the article – DO NOT provide a link or name the location here on TS, as the location suppression still continues until lifted.]
Tracey, re your first sentence in your comment @ 9 – Where and when did Slater say that the person whose name suppression will lapse today (unless appealed) is not Sabin but the person who Cunliffe had lunch with?
I have been going to WO using Donotlink to see what he writes on the suppression case(s) quite regularly as WO claims to know a lot about the case or cases (he has implied that there are more than one) but have not seen him claim what you said.
He has written a number of posts on the subject but has been very careful to not breach suppression and has moderated comments strongly to avoid this.
I am not going to go back there and search his archives, but remember that on occasions (including just a couple of days ago) he has implied that there may be more than one person up on current charges with name suppression – but I do not recall anything that linked these current cases with the closed case down south.
Thanks, googled. I posted the link above…
and they were adults in the south case, able to request lifting of their personal name suppression but failed in removing suppression of the felon’s name. Derryn Hinch in Oz made it plain he didn’t like it much.
LOL – I am sure that searches for Derryn Hinch’s blog site have gone up since the southern case!
Maybe he is friend’s with Winston ?
UPDATE
Re the case where name suppression is due to expire at 5pm today, Graeme Edgeler has just tweeted that he understands that an appeal is being lodged today, so the suppression will not lapse.
Last night, Graeme and Matt Nippert (NZ Herald) also had an interesting Twitter exchange, presumably also related to this case. Matt has been trying to get the terms of the suppression order, without success.
EDIT – the latter case may not be the same as Matt mentions High Court in this twitter exchange, whereas I think the other case is still in the District Court.
confusion again then ?
I may be in this instance as to whether Matt’s inquiries are about the same case – or a related but separate case.
The situation seems quite similar, however, in terms of not being able to get the terms of the suppression order ……
we shall see what we can see then … and thanks for twitter links.
I think the appeal against the name suppression in the case we are all interested in has to be lodged in the high court. I suspect it is the same case Matt Nippert is talking about because he first applied a month ago and was complaining about the refusal taking so long.
I would be very surprised if an appeal against the lifting of name suppression was not lodged today, and by leaving it until just before the deadline it is not likely to be heard this month. I doubt if there is any justification for the appeal, but certain people will not want it declined in the near future, hence the cynical last minute submission.
Thanks, Karen. I think you are right about the appeal having to be lodged with the High Court. I also think Matt’s application probably is related.
Leaving the lodging of an appeal today will delay matters and is not unexpected as National certainly don’t want anything getting out into the public arena until after the by-election. Don’t think it will do them any good, though!
and so the appeal lodged today will take revelation past the Northland election date?
The National voters of northland need to drink a can of give a fuck and do the right thing.
Thx Karen … how cynical they are. Interesting you doubt any justification for the appeal ? I expect it due to ‘family matters’.
Key must be sweating blood …. and it couldn’t happen to a better politician.
FURTHER UPDATE
Victoria Young of NBR has confirmed that an appeal has now been lodged and NBR will have an article up shortly. Graeme Edgeler replied that one or two weeks would normally be enough to file such an appeal – as oppose to four weeks in this case.
The suppression order was made and lifted in the District Court. The appealing of the lifting of the order therefore has to be in the High Court. Lodging the appeal on the last possible day is a cynical move to keep the incidents out of the election campaign. The Herald is applying to the High Court to expedite the appeal with urgency.
FJK and NAct are lower than I had ever thought possible in our country.
Slater is lying. The charges are different.
or maybe I have completely misunderstood…. so many maybes…
so maybe have a nice cuppa ? we got there in the end .. well, as far as we could ! 🙂
I’m cutting to the chase!
The suppression order which lapsed today is [deleted]. Of course an appeal was lodged. [deleted]
The MSM if they had any guts would – en masse – ignore the judiciary and print/speak what they know.
[lprent: Too far and too much danger for the site. ]
well sliced Anne ! This goes to the heart of Nats corruption… secrets kept for three elections. Something will come out, I have to believe it as the alternative is just too awful.
Someone needs to (and I never thought I would write that)
When it comes to the establishment and authoritarian regimes like the police, I have a healthy dose of contempt born out of experience. After a number of years of clandestine bullying, intimidation and some other worse forms of criminal behaviour, I approached the police (half a dozen times in total) and they did nothing. Why? Because there was a strong political element to the case, and I was on the ‘wrong’ side of the political fence. It therefore suited them to treat me and my claims with derision. It all happened 20+ years ago now, but I don’t see that anything much has changed.
Hence I have no qualms calling them out when I perceive it to be appropriate… regardless of consequences.
Here it is … and several media applying for urgency on the appeal …
“A prominent New Zealander charged with indecent assault has lodged an appeal after losing his bid for name suppression.
The man lost suppression on February 19 but had his identity protected for one month to allow him the chance to appeal. That appeal was lodged today.
The man denies 12 charges of indecent assault against two people including two representative charges.
Heavy suppression orders mean the man cannot be identified, nor can his alleged victims or their ages.
He has elected trial by jury.
The charges, which include allegations of touching the complainants on the breast, buttocks, groin and thigh, are punishable by up to 10 years’ imprisonment.
Several media organisations, including NZME. publisher of The New Zealand Herald, have lodged a joint request for the appeal to be heard with urgency.”
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11419961
I blame the toffee pops and my complete inability to resist them… addled me poor brain (and the guy mowing lawns for 1.5 hours)
i need toffee pops today ….
They are EVIL!!!!!!!!! They pretend to be good but they want to harm you….
a National Govt biscuit ? Oh dear …. might have to go back to toblerone …
Anybody notice that there were anti neo lib riots in Germany today..350 arrests. Burnt cars. Tear gas. .saw it on RT and BBC. Looked on the rest of the MSN. …Zippo. The revolution will not be televised.
@ Ennui
I heard about the protest.. They are blaming the ECB. A spokesperson for the ECB complained that the protesters did not give them credit for trying to cushion economic blows to the economy. The economy is still alive and well and moving forward in its wheelchair with the help of dedicated attendants. The people are alive and not very well and protesting.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/education/67441821/teens-stood-down-from-school-after-attack-on-gang-member
Stood down? Should get a commendation.
Commending vigilante/gang prospect behaviour. Yeah, cool mate.
Sometimes the police need a little help every now and then so I’m comfortable with it
How can you be so certain of that, when the amount of information in your link is so sparse?
If some of us attack and assault some MPs who voted against feeding children, will you champion us for commendation?
Go for it and I’ll let you know 🙂
I thought as much.
Seeing as you and others on here wouldn’t commit such an act (wouldn’t have the courage) it seemed a rather pointless question
Assault = courage?
Nice to know, thanks chris.
Did you mean Chris Bishop felix? That would be funny, he’s a right little twerp. What a wannabe tough guy this Puckish Rogue numpty is. He has definitely got some guts.
I meant “chris73” which is one of the many other names “Puckish Rogue” (PR) uses here, although we’re not supposed to say so.
You’re welcome
says the big man with the fake name…
Really? Theres good reasons why people use fake names on here, including but not limited to job security
I thought we were discussing courage… coward
The IPCC report on the pork’s investigation of the Roastbusters is out. No surprises: they were useless and failed at the most basic standards of investigation. Floods of crocodile tears are flowing. Disgusting.
Here’s the form of press releases to follow in all such circumstances in chronological order.
1. There is no problem. Nobody has complained. What’s your problem?
2. You are being mischievous in claiming that there is a problem and undermining public confidence in our good work.
3. There might be a problem, but we are very disappointed that you brought this to public attention when we were really dealing with it.
4. It’s an isolated case.
5. We regret that an external authority has shown us to be absolutely fucking useless because one of the perpetrators was a cop’s son but it’s all historical and everything’s been fixed now so I don’t know why you’re making a fuss about it now.
Repeat the next time it inevitably happens.
The 44 page document from the IPCA can be found here: 19 March 2015 IPCA Public Report – Report on Police’s handling of the alleged offending by ‘Roastbusters’.pdf.
Thanks Rhinocrates and Molly, have created a post
pork?
Yes, an unclean beast.
IPCA report into; “Roast Busters”, is highly critical of police. But the only mention of reopening the case I’ve seen so far is:
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/crime/67443183/ipca-roast-busters-report-slams-police
Surely this can’t be the end of it when:
114.6 – The fact that the father of one of the young men was a Police officer had no influence on Police’s handling of the investigations.
How can Sir David Carruthers make such a definitive statement ? I suggest it would be well-nigh impossible to find out the veracity of such a claim.
and fair to suggest Sir David would know exactly that …
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/public-healthcare/news/article.cfm?c_id=294&objectid=11419782
10,000 Kiwi kids in need have support cut …
But, but, but we need a new flag ???
In the nearly 50 years of being an adult so to speak and having a landline in my home I can’t remember when I received the last of maybe 3 unsolicited ‘research organisation’ calls seeking telephone survey participation.
Last night I took a call from an articulate, pleasent voiced young man seeking that I respond to questions in respect of a “major government department”. I asked for the identity of the party commissioning the survey, noting that if it was the National Party……”not interested mate….”. The caller said “that should be obvious from the first question” but no, he was not allowed to expressly identify. Strange ? Refuse to tell me then tell me.
I went along. There were put numerous questions the first and every one following about “the IRD”. For answer on a scale of 1-5. All boiling down to whether IRD is fair, understanding, uses technology well, etc etc. In the round broad brush stuff.
This afternoon another call this time about the ACC. “We are in the middle of a by-election in Northland and I get two calls in two days to my identifiably Northland landline…….no thank you.”
Call me suspicious…….but the coincidence of there being perhaps two and a half decades between the date of the last such call and the two successive days of the 4th and 5th ? About entities under the purview of a cabinet minister……
Didn’t engage the second call but in yesterday’s – demographic established, level of education including degree/post graduate or not, self employed or not, various other categorisations canvassed. Yesterday’s caller did name the organisation conducting the survey which I don’t recall. Today’s didn’t as I recall but it was a short call.
This PM does not indulge in coincidence. Have you asked at kiwiblog? Afterall Farrar has dipped his toe in ethics, hasn’t he? You know after DP?
Incidentally I got a refund cheque fro IRD. had to wait for it to clear. Started to worry the government had bankrupted us 😉
Of course it was not a coincidence. My God they’re getting desperate! Fancy resorting to the pretense of acting on behalf of two controversial govt. departments – IRD and ACC – to glean the views of your average punter in Northland. Next week, what’s the bet there are going to be two major reforms announced concerning the two departments in question.
Golden days for Davey boys Curia, him and the other players like Matty are simply loving the extra work desparation is throwing their way.
Cripes they could bill any value and it would get paid the way listing ship NACT is behaving in order to get it back upright.
Don’t know about Matty, I thought he was still in the dog box. DP Farrar though, mad overtime.
News just out.
‘Prominent New Zealander charged with indecent assault appeals for name suppression.’
A prominent New Zealander charged with indecent assault has lodged an appeal after losing his bid for name suppression.
The man lost suppression on February 19 but had his identity protected for one month to allow him the chance to appeal. That appeal was lodged today.
The man denies 12 charges of indecent assault against two people including two representative charges.
Heavy suppression orders mean the man cannot be identified, nor can his alleged victims or their ages.
He has elected trial by jury.
The charges, which include allegations of touching the complainants on the breast, buttocks, groin and thigh, are punishable by up to 10 years’ imprisonment.
Several media organisations, including NZME. publisher of The New Zealand Herald, have lodged a joint request for the appeal to be heard with urgency.’
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11419961
Waited until the last day …
Unbelievable corruption.
Well dirty is – what dirty does.
I’m sure the amoral person is happy to help justice.
Nothing to fear – nothing to hide?
Yes interesting how some folk are allowed their own privacy.
But don’t want the rest of us any privacy through the TPPA.
Privacy is the tool for the rich, to keep us in the dark, about the fact, they have no morals.
Wonder how public this knowledge is.
very, but not yet enough. http://www.donotlink.com/e67z
This has to qualify for some; worst taste ever, award. Using the day of an IPCA report that found that there was; “no indication that because one of the boys fathers was a policeman this had any influence in the early [rape] investigation” to distract from the continued name suppression of an ex-policeman accused of sexual assault. All in aid of not having to explain governmental appointments in the leadup to a rare consultation with those that government supposedly represents!
[If I’m flying too close to the wind for the legal wellbeing of TS in this comment, excise all but the first sentence and: Euuuwwww!!!]
yes. very noticeable isn’t it ? then I thought I was just being toooo cynical. Yeah? Nah.
In The North it is very much public knowledge, ackshilly……except that we engage in the charade of discussion with everyone knowing but no one ackshilly saying. As noted by me in a comment here a couple of days ago recounting dancing discussion with a reasonably senior cop. A man I respect very much whom I believe reciprocates that. Wan, ‘not saying’ smiles both sides…….much averting of the eyes.
Notably, this man volunteered as follows when joshingly I enquired as to whether he was voting for Winston – “Well, I’ve always voted National……but this time……really……I dunno.” This man is hard National to coin a phrase ! What’s happening with soft National ? In fact this same man did say he thinks Winston’s gonna piss in.
Which may reflect sentiment he’s privy to on the side of things to which I have minimal access. Although two decent fulla cops I’ve spoken to since are all thumbs up for WP. One had already early-voted.
Completely off that thread – UKTV on in the background – that great wit Stephen Fry – “Confucious said……the good man knows what’s right……the sales man knows what sells !”
Now doesn’t that put you in mind of our very own, variously, simpering, gauche, construct angry, gutless, lying, Richie stalking, Little Churchill man(?), on the 9th floor ?
Which thoroughly accurate various characterisations ackshilly bring us full circle to revisit my policeman friend’s dilemma.
If this already got mentioned and I missed it, then just enjoy it all over again 🙂
before you begin to shake with fear recalling these idiots have nukes
didn’t link anywhere, freedom .. maybe check it ?
fixed 🙂
I get a recurring/sporadic/unpredictable problem when putting in clean linkys.
When sending, something inserts extra quotation marks and drops the http: from the address leading to our friend 404, or similar denier of information.
Sometimes I remember to check for it and fix it immediately,
now, where did I put that post-it to remind me 🙂
For Post Its I use the old AT Notes programme .. so brilliant but the inventor never did any further work on it, maybe he got bored. But it is still one of the best note systems around imho … so simple and reliable ..
http://atnotes.free.fr/download.html
I find it easier to just post the link as its own visible self. We get to see the URL that way too, which is often helpful.
Sometimes it is just aesthetics 🙂
+ you probably know this but if you hover over the clean-link you get the URL at the base of your browser and can always hover + right click for ‘open/copy/save URL” options
if we had button html instead of having to type it, I’d probably be more aesthetic too 😉
Harder to see the URL on a phone, have to open a popup, although the txt size on my laptop isn’t that great either.
Just as well we don’t have nukes! Key doesn’t even know what the gst is on $1.29.
Then again he most likely will tell a made up number for the rate of unemployment and what our govt debt is running at – so it’s all good.
Why dont people get it Key is FASCIST !!!
He has no right to be PM of this country and should be held up as the bastard he is
How much damage can you think of that has directly impacted on those who depend on govt support thru no fault of their own who are being denied the help that any truly free society would ensure was there no matter what the prosperity of the others is
You’d think this country was on the bones of its arse the way national portray it yet it is obvious we are run by a bunch of miserable self serving right wing capitalist who lie, destroy democracy and pander to a war machine that any sound thinking people would not have a bar of
If we are over a monetarist barrel its because we have a traitor for a PM WHO IS NOT A NZER in my view because I grew up with people who had fought in a real war which was about the crap that this govt does without the sanction of a true vote. this govt is corrupt and out of control and we need a new system of representation in govt in this country
Just in case there wasn’t enough crappy news today, in barges Rupert Murdoch :
http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/67448840/rupert-murdochs-news-corp-takes-apn-stake
Why the Real Story of the Irish Exodus to America Isn’t Taught in Schools
And the same is happening today in NZ. As our children go hungry the capitalists export food.
Gower on tv3 news tonight was saying Winston is going to make sure the Sabin news will get out before the election.
And Osbourne was saying he knows nothing.
It’s Osborne…
ANDREW LITTLE speaking in Parliament on 10 Feb 2015.
“What about the standards of the Government? What about the promise of 2008 that “The Government I lead will be a Government of good standards.”, and its chance to do something, its chance to demonstrate that National actually is a party of standards in Government? It was confronted with it at the end of last year. One of National’s MPs was under a police investigation. One of its MPs—
Mr SPEAKER : Order! I invite members throughout this debate to be very careful. We know that there was a court case, and we know that all details were suppressed. [Interruption] Order! There is Standing Order 115. Should any members think I should consider this matter differently, I invite them to use that Standing Order and write to me. At this stage no member has done so. I invite Mr Little to continue.
ANDREW LITTLE : Thank you, Mr Speaker. I understand and appreciate the caution you are expressing. I make no reference at all and make no comment beyond the fact that it is on the record that a MP was under a police investigation. He is not the first. That Government well knows, because it has drawn the attention of the public to other MPs under a police investigation—a police investigation that led to no outcome at all.
But here is the point. We had an MP under investigation, who was then allowed by this Government to chair the parliamentary committee—
Mr SPEAKER : Order! [Interruption] Order! I have given a ruling that I had given considerable consideration to. If the member continues in this vein, I will have no choice but to terminate his speech. I have given a ruling whereby we acknowledge there is a court case of which all details were suppressed. [Interruption] Order! This is a time when this Parliament has a responsibility, a duty, to respect the jurisdiction of the court, and I expect that to occur today. I invite Mr Little to continue.”
http://www.parliament.nz/en-nz/pb/debates/debates/daily/51HansD_20150210/volume-703-week-7-tuesday-10-february-2015
How can that idiot speaker claim to be protecting the integrity of parliament?