So while some economists & the government are more inclined to talk positively about where NZ is heading, a significant proportion of Kiwis seem to be more pessimeistic;
People’s confidence in their financial prospects has plummeted just five months out from the general election, with a new poll showing people are worried they will lose their jobs and that things will get worse in the next year.
The Research New Zealand poll is bad news for the government because despite recent surveys showing high levels of business confidence, it appears many New Zealanders do not feel the same way about their own prospects.
[…]
The poll of 503 people aged 18 and over found that the number of people who felt their financial situation had improved in the past year had dropped to just 14%, down from 27% last year. Just under half said their situation had worsened.
Only 23% of people thought their finances would improve in the next 12 months, down from 56% last year.
Workers were worried about their jobs. Last year 76% of respondents felt confident their jobs were secure â this year that had dropped to 65%, described by the researchers as significant.
[…]
The poll was conducted by telephone between May 20 and 27 and has a margin of error of +/- 4.4 %.
I’m puzzled by this statement, reported in the above article, by Bryce Edwards:
Edwards said while there was a significant drop of confidence in National as an economic manager, there seemed to be even less confidence in the ability of the Labour Party, leader Phil Goff and finance spokesman David Cunliffe, to do a better job.
Especially the bit about Cunliffe, as he comes across as more able to me than Blinglish, Joyce, Shonkey et al.
All about perception I guess in regard to confidence in Labour/Cunliffe. My guess is that over the next few weeks Labour will launch their assault on the NAct neglect with strategies on how Labour will manage the economy. This will have to be stamped and published before the end of July and if the MSM get on board, the perceptions will change. My guess is that National will be geared up to retalliate, perhaps with the connivance of MSM.
Yet it is not planning to start releasing major policy until around the middle of next month
The above according to John Armstrong: Labour isn’t going to even start releasing policy for another 4 weeks? Okay, normally that would be plenty soon enough but this isn’t a normal election year. By the beginning of August most minds (not mine đ )will be anticipating the start of the RWC and party policy rhetoric will be a very distant second place.
Who are the faceless people making Labour’s strategic decisions? I despair sometimes.
Btw, it’s not the first time Bryce Edwards has come to rather curious conclusions – nearly always to the detriment of Labour. I have little confidence in his non-partisan ability.
Yes. I did read John Armstrong’s piece yesterday Anne. But a while ago there was a strong call for Labour to release policy and a fair amount of criticism for not doing so. I wrote at the time that it was too soon to say too much. (And I thought that the NActs were seeding the demand for action and they were helped by many on the left.)
I think that you wait until the disillusion of Government rises, and it is, and the demands for Labour/Green answers also rise. Then you say, “You want to know what we would do? Well here it is….. Bang!”
A matter of timing but who can be sure of that in an Election year and a popular (?) RWC?
(And I thought that the NActs were seeding the demand for action and they were helped by many on the left.)
Indeed they were Ianmac. To wait for the disillusionment to well and truly set in then hit the punters with Labour’s alternative answers is normally a good strategy. But I wonder if that strategy is taking a big risk this time round. Will said punters be listening once the RWC is almost upon us? I suspect not but hopefully I will be proven wrong.
A view from an economist http://www.bnz.co.nz/static/www/docs/weekly-overview/w2011-06-16.pdf
There was one bank economist commenting re Mystery Creek that we in NZ had a perfect storm brewing – Every rural sector was booming, increased production and increased world demand, improving prices.
Also note the forcast for improving employment. Pity those responsable for this will not get the kudos that will go to the next govt !!! (Same was for the improving economy in 99- Just right place right time for the govt of the time)
We are entering boom times. Pity that, macro wise for NZ there will be distortions with those with and those without widening. Sure the commodity prices may go even higher so we will be able to feed the worlds rich – yet some in NZ may be living a near “2nd” world standard, so to prosper we MUST have policies that maintain the wealthys wealth worldwide so they can afford what we produce. No good having great pinot’s when no one can afford to drink them !!!;-)
Carol – You and those interested in your comments here may be interested (actually don’t miss hearing this on replay radio from your internet site) in the lively and informative discussion noted below about today’s economics, why and how they are and what hope of changing them. There is also mention of the new World Economics Association that wants to break the hold that USA and its dingy Britain, have on economics thinking and decision-making.
Radionz Sunday 19 June 2011 – 11.05 Ideas: A New Economics
Last month 141 economists from around the globe launched the World Economics Association. In its first three weeks of existence more 4500 people from 120 countries joined its ranks. The associationâs manifesto says it stands for a plurality of thought, method and philosophy, and a commitment to global democracy which will prevent one country or continent from dominating economic debate. Ideas talks to three of the associationâs founding members: Ha Joon Chang, the author of 23 Things They Donât Tell You About Capitalism; former World Bank economist and professor of economics at the London School of Economics, expatriate New Zealander Robert Wade; and Steve Keen, the author of Debunking Economics: The Naked Emperor of the Social Sciences.
Presented by Chris Laidlaw Produced by Jeremy Rose
Prism. Thanks for the heads up. Very interesting. They say you don’t have to be an economist to have an opinion. Good. (Beware of Economists who throw jargon in order to block we mortals.)
Mr Chang says that one of the things that Governments should not do, is dismantle the Welfare state as it not only affects people’s livelihood, but also distorts the economy of the country. Know any Govt who are doing that?
I guess that the power of the Lobby groups, Globalisation and the power of the Finance system is far greater than power of politicians , even if there is a political will to upgrade the system.
Perhaps the Greens talk economic sense?
[audio src="http://podcast.radionz.co.nz/ideas/ideas-20110619-1106-ideas_for_19_june_2011_a_new_economics-048.mp3" /]
Oops. posted the link but it doesn’t show.
Thanks ianmac – I have to listen again as I was busy at the time and just caught part of it. You have made that easier. I noticed that one speaker did not hope for changes to a more workable and realistic system for quite a time. We may have to take our medicine for such chronic addictions leading to our present financial slather again and ….
Jevon Goulter thought it was a good idea.
Hone should be careful there, when young Jevon did not get what he wanted from the Labour Party he hopped off to Investigate Mgazine with a load of twaddle which no other part of the MSM would touch with a bargepole.
It was Hone wasn’t it who insisted on taking a gay friend with him to mingle in the upper floor of the Destiny Church leaders at the “meet the four MPs” show a couple of weeks ago. The destiny Church folk were very polite to him it was reported.
That’s just provocative bs. I know Destiny church members with gay family members who’ve accepted them. Fuck off Hone, this gay man doesn’t need you pretending now to be gay friendly.
I know it’s whaleoil & he can’t be trusted, but he has produced a couple of damning letters from NZEI and Labour which strongly indicate that Sue Moroney has been using peoples private information (email address) without permission. Not a good look at all.
You mean Labour sent a few emails to people who had signed and put their email addresses on petitions? How does that compare with Paula Bennett releasing personal details of beneficiaries that made complaints about WINZ to the media? Does it even come close to WINZ giving full contact details of thousands of DPB Mother’s to a private research firm who rang them up at their homes to ask very personal questions? How does it compare to Slater publishing a private email of mine that was sent to David Farrar? Damn hypocrites!
Two wrongs don’t make a right chris73. The issue is not clear, that is why it’s stupid of Slater to say Labour is in breach of that law. The other problem he has is that he’s obtained private information that he’s gone and published. I wonder how much money Catcus Kate is willing to spend on the bumbling fools legal bills?
I imagine Farrar provided him with your email, so your beef is with him, not Slater. The point is it was an NZEI petition therefore how did Labour get hold of the email addresses, unless, 1. NZEI provided them without permission (Privacy breach) or 2. Labour stole them (usually illegal) or 3. NZEI are in fact the Labour Party by another name. Interesting and hilariously ironic.
“My beef” is with whoever publishes my private emails. Such a thing is against New Zealand laws, which Slater believes he does not have to abide by because his site is hosted in America.
Read my post below Blue. It appears that National would not accept the petition. National is therefore in breach of Parliamentary procedures:
A petition is a document addressed to the House of Representatives and signed by at least one person. It asks the House to act on a matter of public policy or law, or to put right a local or private concern. When a petition has been presented to the House, it is referred to a select committee for consideration and report.
This is why National doesn’t like petitions:
The Petitioner approaches a member of Parliament with their petition. In this case a National MP who did not accept it. Whoever that person was is in breach of Parliamentary procedure. Only an MP can deliver the petition to the Clerk of the House of Representatives who then decides if everything is in order.
Every select committee report that contains recommendations to the Government is referred to the Government. The Government must report on what action, if any, it has taken to implement the recommendations. That report must be made within 90 days of the select committeeâs report being presented. The Governmentâs report on a petition is presented to the House as a parliamentary paper. It is printed and available on the parliamentary website.
Strangely I couldn’t find any of the Governments reports on previous petitions online.
There are clear rules as to why a petition cannot be accepted. I would suggest that somebody needs to make a formal complaint to the Ombudsman concerning this matter.
For his part, Slater is just playing with smoke and mirrors again and I’m frankly sick and tired of giving him attention.
And why aren’t they building these cycleways in places that many can use for commuting, and everyday cycling? Around Auckland there seems to be bits of cycleways, lanes and routes in various places that don’t really connect up. And many suggested routes for cyclists seem to be the scenic route, rather than enabling cyclists to get from A to B via the shortest distance.
The “email harvesting” crap is entirely Slater speculating again. He says it’s a breach of law but provides none. What is more concerning is that National will not accept the petition
Tens of thouÂsand of the postÂcards you signed were preÂsented to Labourâs spokesperÂson on early childÂhood eduÂcaÂtion Sue Moroney late last year, for her to present to the Prime MinÂisÂter as no GovÂernÂment MP was preÂpared to receive them. UnforÂtuÂnately despite a numÂber of attempts by Sue Moroney, the Prime MinÂisÂter has not yet shown a willÂingÂness to receive them.
Shouldn’t the person given responsibility contact the signers to perhaps inform them that their petition is not being received by the Government? Unsolicited emails are a problem, if you put your email on a petition, you should expect to be contacted.
The thing with Slater is that he’s an idiot. Labour contacting signatories is not email harvesting.
The other fact of the matter is that their has been zero replies to the emails indicating that nobody who was contacted by Labour made a complaint. ï»ż19 people requested to be unsubscribed, which is only 0.31%. This indicates that Labour is acting within the law in allowing the unsubscribe feature within the emails sent. I wonder who’s rights Slater is trying to protect exactly?
I wonder if we are handling the phenomenon known as Slater well. Â Right now in blogland we essentially have the Standard, home of light and sense, on the left, Slater in the Fox news part of the spectrum and Farrar being all centrist in the middle. Â There are some other very good blogs, handmirror, NRT, tumeke but the first three are the biggies.
Two possibilities:
1. Â We need the left wing version of Cameron, sort of an insane Bomber without the reasonableness.
2. Â We just ignore him. Â He really thrives on the exposure and if we consign him to the sideline on the basis that he is not that pleasant and often wrong then we may be doing ourselves a favour.
The slug known as Slater is indulging in factual distortion in an attempt to establish a non-existent ‘breach of law’ by the Labour Party. When signing petitions or similar Labour material, it is made clear to people that if they would like further information from the Labour Party they can include their email address. If they don’t wish to do so they just leave the column blank. It’s possible some people will change their minds, and they get an opportunity to ‘unsubscribe’ each time something is emailed to them.
It is amazing (or not), that Whaleoil gets the Herald column inches so easily, helped of course by that chap Fisher. I bet such idle speculation say on Key, would be very hard to get published.
I’ve just been LOL at AA Gill on radionz. He will be repeated on Tuesday after the 9pm news when Bryan Crump is on.. Very droll, dry etc. I feel that he is what Oscar Wilde must have been like. He is a food critic, tv critic etc.
Yes, I heard some of that on the car radio, and some bits of the Helen Clark interview a little later. I must listen to the full Clark interview someime.
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It took a testy Morning Report interview this week to remind me that Simon Bridges was still the Leader of the Opposition. Until then, he had been largely invisible as the events of recent weeks unfolded. ...
The National Council of Women NZ has today welcomed the news that the Government has purchased Kate Sheppard’s house in Christchurch, the base for the NZ suffrage campaign. ...
The Māori Party supports mana whenua of Ihumātao and acknowledges their coming together to reach consensus on the future of their whenua. “We also acknowledge the leadership of the Kīngitanga who have played an important role in supporting ...
The New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union is questioning why, for the second time, Jacinda Ardern has appointed a Crown-owned company Chief Executive to Chair her “Business Advisory Council”, following her announcement that Mercury CEO Fraser Whineray ...
Responding to the Government’s decision to give around $300 million to Amazon as a sweetener for filming a TV series in New Zealand, New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union spokesman Louis Houlbrooke says: “As a matter of simple waste, this is striking, ...
I am very pleased with Air New Zealand’s Decision to backdown and withdraw their application to trademark into a logo Kia Ora. I said at the time that it was an ill conceived idea and poorly thought out – more importantly it should never have been ...
NZEI Te Riu Roa members will be joining with others across the union movement by wearing black and white in support of pay equity on Suffrage Day tomorrow, and urging the Government to commit to a settlement for teacher aides this year. ...
Yesterday’s announcement from the Minister for Immigration, to improve temporary work visas for migrant workers, provides some positive changes but more detail is needed. The Council of Trade Unions fundamentally supports the principle of making ...
FIRST Union today welcomed Westpac’s public admission of the significant gender pay gap in its workforce and reiterated its call for employers to work with unions to close this disparity, arguing that this work must begin at the bottom of the pay ...
Changes to the work visa system announced by the Minister of Immigration are not all positive for employers or migrants, comments Ms June Ranson, chair of the New Zealand Association for Migration and Investment (NZAMI) , a leading voice in the ...
The Dairy Workers Union (DWU) has welcomed the announcement from dairy company, Synlait, that they will be boosting parental leave entitlements significantly for working parents. ...
In June, the Children’s Commissioner announced a thematic review into Oranga Tamariki’s policies, processes and practice relating to care and protection issues for tamariki Māori aged 0-3 months. Today the Children’s Commissioner has released the full ...
“Closing the Gap” Tauranga, one of the area groups of Income Equality Aotearoa NZ Inc., has surveyed all candidates in the three local body elections to discover attitudes to some basic issues of the Western Bay region. We believe that this is ...
In response to DairyNZ's attempt to dismiss an economic report that highlighted dairy's role in the New Zealand economy is only three per cent of GDP, Fish & Game New Zealand Chief Executive Martin Taylor says: "If DairyNZ wishes to reject a report ...
Kiingi Tuuheitia Pootatau Te Wherowhero VII has successfully guided the mana whenua of lhumaatao to reach a consensus on the future of their whenua. ...
Two activists disguised as shareholders interrupted the AGM of a gold mining company in central Auckland this morning to inform shareholders their plans to mine for gold in conservation estate in the Karangahake Gorge were unwelcome. ...
The Capital and Coast District Health Board (CCDHB) has been labelled ‘NATO’ (no action, talk only) when it comes to child mental health, with just 0.6 full time staff (24 hours per week) for inpatient child psychology and just 0.8 full time staff ...
AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL has awarded three New Zealand climate youth groups with its Ambassador of Conscience award, its highest recognition for human rights work, previously given to the likes of Nelson Mandela, Ai Weiwei and Malala Yousafzai. ...
The New Zealand Taxpayers' Union , in partnership with the Auckland Ratepayers’ Alliance , has today published this year's Ratepayers' Report – online local government league tables – at www.ratepayersreport.nz . ...
NZUS Council executive director Jordan Small welcomes the news New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern will meet with US President Donald Trump in New York next week. ...
The recent NZIER report trivialises the significant role the dairy sector plays in New Zealand’s economy – and fails to look at the specifics of the Government’s freshwater package, according to DairyNZ. DairyNZ chief executive Dr Tim Mackle said ...
This week, the New Zealand Parliament and the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) will jointly host a seminar on tackling the global spread of illicit weapons. ...
In a landmark judgment issued this morning, the Court of Appeal confirmed that the Southern Response Concealment Class Action will proceed issued on an "opt out” basis. ...
Mainstream media, as the purveyors of truth and source of balanced information, took another backward step today with the announcement by Stuff that most New Zealand organisations had joined 170 media outlets from around the world in the “Covering ...
The goal of one million Kiwis having basic conversations in te reo by 2040 is unrealistic if more is not done to get serious about reo acquisition says the Māori Party. “While small steps have been taken to bolster efforts to increase the numbers of speakers, ...
Changes announced today by the Immigration Minister to employer-assisted visas will help businesses, but more work is needed to boost economic growth says Business Central. ...
DairyNZ Chief Executive Dr Tim Mackle is welcoming today’s announcement that the Government will be streamlining the employer assisted work visa process to help businesses and farms fill skills shortages. ...
Lawrence Yule MP wrote to our Office with concerns about the Department of Corrections' approach to procuring design and build services for rapid deployment of prison accommodation. We have published our response to Mr Yule on our website . ...
That from the chair of the Wellington Region of the College of Midwives, Siobhan Connor, following the news that Hutt Valley District Health Board is targeting midwives from overseas to help fill gaps in maternity units. ...
70% of New Zealand’s surface water take is allocated to Meridian’s Manapouri Power Scheme. But when Environment Minister David Parker asked to exempt the Scheme from his Freshwater Action Plan, he didn’t tell Cabinet that. ...
The Independent Police Conduct Authority has found that officers responded in a timely and appropriate manner as soon as they were aware that a fleeing driver had hit a pedestrian. ...
prevention and intervention. Following Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern’s post-Cabinet press conference we are encouraged to see the acknowledgement of the mistakes made and the need to address this. The five points outlined in the action plan, which ...
A surge in teen vaping rates and a series of deaths being linked to vaping has resulted in a number of bans on the sales of flavoured Vape juice products in the United States. Though it is widely acknowledged that vaping is far less harmful than smoking tobacco, ...
The governments’ new environmental proposals will further accentuate the move of good, productive farmland into forestry according to environmental lobby group 50 Shades of Green. ...
17 September 2019: New Zealanders are acutely aware of the impact food production processes have on our planet according to new research released today by the 5+ A Day Charitable Trust. ...
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern is making no apology for her focus on the Christchurch Call at the United Nations next week and points to Facebook's recent action as a sign of early success. ...
Auckland mayoral candidate John Tamihere's latest verbal outrage moves his campaign strategy from the bellicose to the bizarre. Mark Jennings listens in at yet another debate. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Brendan Coates, Program Director, Household Finances, Grattan Institute Compared to the rest of the world, income inequality is not particularly high in Australia, nor is it getting much worse. The real problem is housing inequality. Rising house prices have increased wealth inequality. ...
A harrowing account of what it’s like trying to save your child from suicide, and the toll it takes on everyone involved.This essay discusses suicide in detail. Please proceed with caution.Last week there was a lot of stuff shared around suicide awareness, and I wanted to share something as well, ...
Chloe Blades reviews Kate Weinberg’s first novel, which is selling like mad and earning the London writer comparisons to Agatha Christie and Donna Tartt. It was always going to be unfair on whichever book I read after Lisa Taddeo’s Three Women; that divisive, genre-defying masterpiece on the manipulation of female desire. ...
Annual economic growth has slowed to its weakest level in nearly six years as growth in service industries offset construction and manufacturing weakness. ...
By Wansolwara staff in Suva Twelve leading journalists from 11 Pacific Island countries will converge in Suva, Fiji, this Friday to discuss critical issues affecting the region including climate change and natural disaster relief and recovery and regional security. The one-day “Capstone at The University of the South Pacific” (USP) Laucala ...
Covering Climate Now: The release of the new Nissan Leaf electric vehicle signals a shift in the role of cars in our society. Simon Day was at the launch of the new model. The Spinoff’s participation in Covering Climate Now is made possible thanks to Spinoff Members. Join us here!According to ...
Covering Climate Now: Charging businesses for their greenhouse gas emissions seems simple enough, but in New Zealand, at least, emissions keep on rising. Is the system flawed, or is it how we’re implementing it?The Spinoff’s participation in Covering Climate Now is made possible thanks to Spinoff Members. Join us here!Economists ...
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.Foreign affairs and trade Sam Sachdeva (Newsroom): Global uncertainty and domestic troubles as Ardern heads ...
Covering Climate Now: Earlier this year, the climate change response (zero carbon) bill had its first reading. The public was then invited to submit their takes on it to the government. We assessed a few of the stranger ones.The Spinoff’s participation in Covering Climate Now is made possible thanks to ...
Op-Ed by Luis Alfonso de Alba – UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for the Climate Action SummitLuis Alfonso de Alba – UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for the Climate Action SummitClimate change is not a far-away problem– it is causing huge damage right now in Asia-Pacific and around the world. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Bill Bateman, Associate professor, Curtin University Every spring in Australia is heralded by reports of magpies swooping at people. While it is of little comfort to those at the receiving end of a surprise attack, such events are actually quite rare when ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kate Burridge, Professor of Linguistics, Monash University There’s no shortage of special days throughout the year. Some — like International Literacy Day — speak to important issues in society. Others speak to our inner dag. Today marks one of the daggier days, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Katie Pickles, Professor of History at the University of Canterbury and current Royal Society of New Zealand Te Apārangi James Cook Research Fellow, University of Canterbury Today marks the passing of the much celebrated 1893 Electoral Act, 126 years ago, which made ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Meagan Brennan, Clinical A/Prof Breast Physician, Westmead Breast Cancer Institute, University of Sydney Victorian Minister for Health Jenny Mikakos recently announced six new 3D breast screening machines would be rolled out across the state. These will be used to assess women recalled ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jon Brodie, Professorial Fellow, ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, James Cook University Few feel the pain of the Great Barrier Reef’s decline more acutely than the scientists trying to save it. Ahead of next week’s UN climate summit, two ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Hilary Whitehouse, Associate Professor, James Cook 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 is one of the most pressing issues facing our ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Youqing Fan, Lecturer, Western Sydney University Affordable housing is a critical problem for Australia’s biggest housing markets. Five Australian cities are in the top 25 with “severely unaffordable” housing in a 2019 Demographia survey of 91 major metropolitan markets. Sydney was ranked ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Angelina Hurley, PhD candidate, Griffith University From Darkness, directed by Isaac Drandic, La Boite Theatre From Darkness is the story about the aftermath of sorry business – Aboriginal rituals that are observed during a period of mourning. It looks at how, on ...
Mana whenua say they want the government to negotiate with Fletcher Building to return the land at Ihumātao. But Winston Peters is questioning if the consensus includes everyone's voice. ...
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Difficult decision looms for govt over Ihumātao, NZDF story scrutinised at inquiry, and innovative new bus service to be trialled in Timaru. This is far from the end of the story about what will happen to the land at Ihumātao. A ...
People in central and eastern Europe take a different view on climate change than many in the west, writes the Hungarian news site Index, for the Covering Climate Now project. ...
The power balance of the incoming Auckland Council could be decided by two overheated local debates about a golf course and a carpark. Hayden Donnell reports.The Spinoff local election coverage is entirely funded by The Spinoff Members. For more about becoming a member and supporting The Spinoff’s journalism click here.Albert-Eden local ...
Covering Climate Now:Carys Goodwin reflects on giving up, and what convinced her to take up the fight again. The Spinoff’s participation in Covering Climate Now is made possible thanks to Spinoff Members. Join us here!Four years ago, while working for the Green Party in parliament, I did a brief stint ...
By RNZ Pacific Vanuatu and Solomon Islands have raised the issue of human rights abuses against West Papuans at the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva. The two governments made a statement which also noted that Indonesia had not yet given access to Papua for the UN Human Rights ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Rogue construction union boss John Setka is already in fights with the Labor party and the ACTU leadership. Now he faces a battle with parliament. Centre Alliance senator Rex Patrick is moving to refer an ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Paxton Loke, Paediatric Allergist and Immunologist, Murdoch Children’s Research Institute Spring has sprung and if you’re one of the one in five Australians who get hay fever, you’ve probably noticed some of those pesky symptoms: sneezing; an itchy, runny or stuffy nose; ...
Covering Climate Now: Alex Casey watches 2040, a climate change documentary determined to let the light in. I’ve seen enough documentaries about climate change to know what I don’t want to see anymore. I don’t want Leonardo DiCaprio stroking his goatee on a sheet of ice and saying “folks: it’s bad”. ...
Covering Climate Now: We need to broaden our measures of success if we want to have any chance of reaching blunt targets for reducing emissions, writes Catherine Leining.The Spinoff’s participation in Covering Climate Now is made possible thanks to Spinoff Members. Join us here!Since 1992, multiple rounds of greenhouse gas ...
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has acknowledged the Labour sexual assault scandal risks hurting New Zealand's reputation on the world stage as she heads abroad. ...
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has acknowledged the Labour sexual assault scandal risks hurting New Zealand's reputation on the world stage as she heads abroad. ...
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has acknowledged the Labour sexual assault scandal risks hurting New Zealand's reputation on the world stage as she heads abroad. ...
Pacific Media Centre Newsdesk Thousands of forest fires have been burning across Indonesian Borneo and Sumatra, disrupting air travel, closing schools and sickening thousands of people, reports the New York Times. Officials have said that about 80 per cent of the fires were intentionally set to make room for lucrative ...
Open mike 19/06/2011 
The Local Government Act 2002 Amendment Bill (No 2) had part of its committee stage yesterday. its a generally tedious bill about the nitty-gritty of local government reorganisation. But it includes a clause making the Local Government Commission subject to the Ombudsmen Act, and hence the OIA. Great! Except of ...23 mins ago
Get Back Jojo! The elation in Mayor Phil Goff’s camp may be easily imagined as they watched social media light up in indignation at challenger John Tamihere’s "Sieg Heil to that" quip. Just when JT’s notoriously right-wing, sexist and homophobic stains were beginning to fade back into his ‘colourful’ past, ...8 hours ago
Patrick Gower is good value when he's high. Not that I've ever, you know, got stoned with him. But in the second part of his documentary Patrick Gower on Weed, he does what you'd expect in a modern weed documentary and immerses himself – first with a doctor, then a ...17 hours ago
We surveyed candidates on their attitudes to issues facing the Western Bay Region, find out what they think: “Closing the Gap” Tauranga, one of the area groups of Income Equality Aotearoa NZ Inc., has surveyed all candidates in the three local body elections to discover attitudes to some basic issues ...24 hours ago
Please spread widely, and sign, to support science and rationalism over the new irrationalism sweeping universities and institutions. PROJECT NETTIE Sexual reproduction, the generation of offspring by fusion of genetic material from two different individuals, evolved over 1 billion years ago. It is the reproductive strategy of all higher animals ...1 day ago
Why is New Zealand climate change policy so crap? The Herald this morning has a long article on the twists and turns of climate change policy in New Zealand [paywalled / depaywall script], which shows where we've been. The short version is that the government first began worrying about this ...1 day ago
The All Blacks have been, for more than a century, arguably the most successful International sports team in the world. But they are more than that; even for those Kiwis who are immune to the charms of rugby (and there are more than a few), the All Blacks are ambassadors ...1 day ago
2 days ago
In times of hysteria about the “World coming to an end” and “rising sea levels” so-called ‘Journalists’ who can barely spell words longer than four letters are having a ball! Though the majority of the Public have worked out that manmade climate change is nothing short of pseudo-science, and the ...2 days ago
3 days ago
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 ...3 days 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. ...3 days 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 ...3 days 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 ...4 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 ...5 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 ...6 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 ...6 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 ...7 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 ...1 week 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 ...1 week 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 ... 1 week 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 ...1 week 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 ...1 week 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, ...1 week 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 ...1 week 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 ...1 week 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 ...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, ...2 weeks ago
A new opinion poll released today by Gun Control NZ shows that 70% of Kiwis support strengthening New Zealand’s existing gun laws. ...40 mins ago
An investigation into the poisoning of cattle with 1080 on a King Country farm a year ago still has not been completed. ...55 mins ago
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern is making no apology for her focus on the Christchurch Call at the United Nations next week and points to Facebook's recent action as a sign of early success. ...1 hour ago
Auckland mayoral candidate John Tamihere's latest verbal outrage moves his campaign strategy from the bellicose to the bizarre. Mark Jennings listens in at yet another debate. ...2 hours ago
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Brendan Coates, Program Director, Household Finances, Grattan Institute Compared to the rest of the world, income inequality is not particularly high in Australia, nor is it getting much worse. The real problem is housing inequality. Rising house prices have increased wealth inequality. ...2 hours ago
A harrowing account of what it’s like trying to save your child from suicide, and the toll it takes on everyone involved.This essay discusses suicide in detail. Please proceed with caution.Last week there was a lot of stuff shared around suicide awareness, and I wanted to share something as well, ...2 hours ago
Chloe Blades reviews Kate Weinberg’s first novel, which is selling like mad and earning the London writer comparisons to Agatha Christie and Donna Tartt. It was always going to be unfair on whichever book I read after Lisa Taddeo’s Three Women; that divisive, genre-defying masterpiece on the manipulation of female desire. ...2 hours ago
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ben Rich, Lecturer in International Relations and Security Studies, Curtin University This week’s strikes on the Abqaiq and Khurais oil processing facilities in Saudi Arabia represent the latest in a pattern of actions by the Islamic Republic of Iran to escalate tensions ...2 hours ago
Annual economic growth has slowed to its weakest level in nearly six years as growth in service industries offset construction and manufacturing weakness. ...2 hours ago
By Wansolwara staff in Suva Twelve leading journalists from 11 Pacific Island countries will converge in Suva, Fiji, this Friday to discuss critical issues affecting the region including climate change and natural disaster relief and recovery and regional security. The one-day “Capstone at The University of the South Pacific” (USP) Laucala ...3 hours ago
Covering Climate Now: The release of the new Nissan Leaf electric vehicle signals a shift in the role of cars in our society. Simon Day was at the launch of the new model. The Spinoff’s participation in Covering Climate Now is made possible thanks to Spinoff Members. Join us here!According to ...4 hours ago
Covering Climate Now: Charging businesses for their greenhouse gas emissions seems simple enough, but in New Zealand, at least, emissions keep on rising. Is the system flawed, or is it how we’re implementing it?The Spinoff’s participation in Covering Climate Now is made possible thanks to Spinoff Members. Join us here!Economists ...5 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.
Op-Ed by Luis Alfonso de Alba – UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for the Climate Action Summit
New Zealand's largest bank has said it has no intention of selling off farm debt to overseas investors. ...6 hours ago
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Bill Bateman, Associate professor, Curtin University Every spring in Australia is heralded by reports of magpies swooping at people. While it is of little comfort to those at the receiving end of a surprise attack, such events are actually quite rare when ...6 hours ago
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ben Rich, Lecturer in International Relations and Security Studies, Curtin University This week’s strikes on the Abqaiq and Khurais oil processing facilities in Saudi Arabia represent the latest in a pattern of actions by the Islamic Republic of Iran to escalate tensions ...6 hours ago
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kate Burridge, Professor of Linguistics, Monash University There’s no shortage of special days throughout the year. Some — like International Literacy Day — speak to important issues in society. Others speak to our inner dag. Today marks one of the daggier days, ...6 hours ago
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Meagan Brennan, Clinical A/Prof Breast Physician, Westmead Breast Cancer Institute, University of Sydney Victorian Minister for Health Jenny Mikakos recently announced six new 3D breast screening machines would be rolled out across the state. These will be used to assess women recalled ...6 hours ago
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jon Brodie, Professorial Fellow, ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, James Cook University Few feel the pain of the Great Barrier Reef’s decline more acutely than the scientists trying to save it. Ahead of next week’s UN climate summit, two ...6 hours ago
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Angelina Hurley, PhD candidate, Griffith University From Darkness, directed by Isaac Drandic, La Boite Theatre From Darkness is the story about the aftermath of sorry business – Aboriginal rituals that are observed during a period of mourning. It looks at how, on ...6 hours ago
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Difficult decision looms for govt over Ihumātao, NZDF story scrutinised at inquiry, and innovative new bus service to be trialled in Timaru. This is far from the end of the story about what will happen to the land at Ihumātao. A ...8 hours ago
Agency offshoot’s first product taps into anonymised location data from mobile phone towers. ...9 hours ago
People in central and eastern Europe take a different view on climate change than many in the west, writes the Hungarian news site Index, for the Covering Climate Now project. ...10 hours ago
The power balance of the incoming Auckland Council could be decided by two overheated local debates about a golf course and a carpark. Hayden Donnell reports.The Spinoff local election coverage is entirely funded by The Spinoff Members. For more about becoming a member and supporting The Spinoff’s journalism click here.Albert-Eden local ...10 hours ago
Covering Climate Now: Carys Goodwin reflects on giving up, and what convinced her to take up the fight again. The Spinoff’s participation in Covering Climate Now is made possible thanks to Spinoff Members. Join us here!Four years ago, while working for the Green Party in parliament, I did a brief stint ...10 hours ago
By RNZ Pacific Vanuatu and Solomon Islands have raised the issue of human rights abuses against West Papuans at the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva. The two governments made a statement which also noted that Indonesia had not yet given access to Papua for the UN Human Rights ...15 hours ago
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Paxton Loke, Paediatric Allergist and Immunologist, Murdoch Children’s Research Institute Spring has sprung and if you’re one of the one in five Australians who get hay fever, you’ve probably noticed some of those pesky symptoms: sneezing; an itchy, runny or stuffy nose; ...19 hours ago
Covering Climate Now: Alex Casey watches 2040, a climate change documentary determined to let the light in. I’ve seen enough documentaries about climate change to know what I don’t want to see anymore. I don’t want Leonardo DiCaprio stroking his goatee on a sheet of ice and saying “folks: it’s bad”. ...20 hours ago
Jacinda Ardern flies to New York with hope of action on the Christchurch Call and climate change. ...20 hours ago
Without targets, the Government will have a difficult task in defining whether the gun buyback is successful. Some say it’s impossible. ...22 hours ago
Pacific Media Centre Newsdesk Thousands of forest fires have been burning across Indonesian Borneo and Sumatra, disrupting air travel, closing schools and sickening thousands of people, reports the New York Times. Officials have said that about 80 per cent of the fires were intentionally set to make room for lucrative ...23 hours ago
So while some economists & the government are more inclined to talk positively about where NZ is heading, a significant proportion of Kiwis seem to be more pessimeistic;
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/5163237/Financial-woes-keep-growing
I’m puzzled by this statement, reported in the above article, by Bryce Edwards:
Edwards said while there was a significant drop of confidence in National as an economic manager, there seemed to be even less confidence in the ability of the Labour Party, leader Phil Goff and finance spokesman David Cunliffe, to do a better job.
Especially the bit about Cunliffe, as he comes across as more able to me than Blinglish, Joyce, Shonkey et al.
All about perception I guess in regard to confidence in Labour/Cunliffe. My guess is that over the next few weeks Labour will launch their assault on the NAct neglect with strategies on how Labour will manage the economy. This will have to be stamped and published before the end of July and if the MSM get on board, the perceptions will change. My guess is that National will be geared up to retalliate, perhaps with the connivance of MSM.
Yet it is not planning to start releasing major policy until around the middle of next month
The above according to John Armstrong: Labour isn’t going to even start releasing policy for another 4 weeks? Okay, normally that would be plenty soon enough but this isn’t a normal election year. By the beginning of August most minds (not mine đ )will be anticipating the start of the RWC and party policy rhetoric will be a very distant second place.
Who are the faceless people making Labour’s strategic decisions? I despair sometimes.
Btw, it’s not the first time Bryce Edwards has come to rather curious conclusions – nearly always to the detriment of Labour. I have little confidence in his non-partisan ability.
Yes. I did read John Armstrong’s piece yesterday Anne. But a while ago there was a strong call for Labour to release policy and a fair amount of criticism for not doing so. I wrote at the time that it was too soon to say too much. (And I thought that the NActs were seeding the demand for action and they were helped by many on the left.)
I think that you wait until the disillusion of Government rises, and it is, and the demands for Labour/Green answers also rise. Then you say, “You want to know what we would do? Well here it is….. Bang!”
A matter of timing but who can be sure of that in an Election year and a popular (?) RWC?
(And I thought that the NActs were seeding the demand for action and they were helped by many on the left.)
Indeed they were Ianmac. To wait for the disillusionment to well and truly set in then hit the punters with Labour’s alternative answers is normally a good strategy. But I wonder if that strategy is taking a big risk this time round. Will said punters be listening once the RWC is almost upon us? I suspect not but hopefully I will be proven wrong.
A view from an economist
http://www.bnz.co.nz/static/www/docs/weekly-overview/w2011-06-16.pdf
There was one bank economist commenting re Mystery Creek that we in NZ had a perfect storm brewing – Every rural sector was booming, increased production and increased world demand, improving prices.
Also note the forcast for improving employment. Pity those responsable for this will not get the kudos that will go to the next govt !!! (Same was for the improving economy in 99- Just right place right time for the govt of the time)
We are entering boom times. Pity that, macro wise for NZ there will be distortions with those with and those without widening. Sure the commodity prices may go even higher so we will be able to feed the worlds rich – yet some in NZ may be living a near “2nd” world standard, so to prosper we MUST have policies that maintain the wealthys wealth worldwide so they can afford what we produce. No good having great pinot’s when no one can afford to drink them !!!;-)
Carol – You and those interested in your comments here may be interested (actually don’t miss hearing this on replay radio from your internet site) in the lively and informative discussion noted below about today’s economics, why and how they are and what hope of changing them. There is also mention of the new World Economics Association that wants to break the hold that USA and its dingy Britain, have on economics thinking and decision-making.
Radionz Sunday 19 June 2011 – 11.05 Ideas: A New Economics
Last month 141 economists from around the globe launched the World Economics Association. In its first three weeks of existence more 4500 people from 120 countries joined its ranks. The associationâs manifesto says it stands for a plurality of thought, method and philosophy, and a commitment to global democracy which will prevent one country or continent from dominating economic debate. Ideas talks to three of the associationâs founding members: Ha Joon Chang, the author of 23 Things They Donât Tell You About Capitalism; former World Bank economist and professor of economics at the London School of Economics, expatriate New Zealander Robert Wade; and Steve Keen, the author of Debunking Economics: The Naked Emperor of the Social Sciences.
Presented by Chris Laidlaw Produced by Jeremy Rose
Prism. Thanks for the heads up. Very interesting. They say you don’t have to be an economist to have an opinion. Good. (Beware of Economists who throw jargon in order to block we mortals.)
Mr Chang says that one of the things that Governments should not do, is dismantle the Welfare state as it not only affects people’s livelihood, but also distorts the economy of the country. Know any Govt who are doing that?
I guess that the power of the Lobby groups, Globalisation and the power of the Finance system is far greater than power of politicians , even if there is a political will to upgrade the system.
Perhaps the Greens talk economic sense?
[audio src="http://podcast.radionz.co.nz/ideas/ideas-20110619-1106-ideas_for_19_june_2011_a_new_economics-048.mp3" /]
Oops. posted the link but it doesn’t show.
Thanks ianmac – I have to listen again as I was busy at the time and just caught part of it. You have made that easier. I noticed that one speaker did not hope for changes to a more workable and realistic system for quite a time. We may have to take our medicine for such chronic addictions leading to our present financial slather again and ….
Thanks, prism for the tip. I’ll catch up on that RNZ item when I have some time. Been working today.
http://m.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.php?c_id=1&objectid=10733166
Who thought this was a good idea? Harawira is no friend to gay rights or tolerance.
Jevon Goulter thought it was a good idea.
Hone should be careful there, when young Jevon did not get what he wanted from the Labour Party he hopped off to Investigate Mgazine with a load of twaddle which no other part of the MSM would touch with a bargepole.
It was Hone wasn’t it who insisted on taking a gay friend with him to mingle in the upper floor of the Destiny Church leaders at the “meet the four MPs” show a couple of weeks ago. The destiny Church folk were very polite to him it was reported.
That’s just provocative bs. I know Destiny church members with gay family members who’ve accepted them. Fuck off Hone, this gay man doesn’t need you pretending now to be gay friendly.
I know it’s whaleoil & he can’t be trusted, but he has produced a couple of damning letters from NZEI and Labour which strongly indicate that Sue Moroney has been using peoples private information (email address) without permission. Not a good look at all.
You mean Labour sent a few emails to people who had signed and put their email addresses on petitions? How does that compare with Paula Bennett releasing personal details of beneficiaries that made complaints about WINZ to the media? Does it even come close to WINZ giving full contact details of thousands of DPB Mother’s to a private research firm who rang them up at their homes to ask very personal questions? How does it compare to Slater publishing a private email of mine that was sent to David Farrar? Damn hypocrites!
The point is that it’s not clear that Labour had permission to use this information.
The fact that National and the right-bloggers are hypocrites doesn’t make this kind of behaviour ok.
Are you new here? Thats exactly what it means.
Two wrongs don’t make a right chris73. The issue is not clear, that is why it’s stupid of Slater to say Labour is in breach of that law. The other problem he has is that he’s obtained private information that he’s gone and published. I wonder how much money Catcus Kate is willing to spend on the bumbling fools legal bills?
I imagine Farrar provided him with your email, so your beef is with him, not Slater. The point is it was an NZEI petition therefore how did Labour get hold of the email addresses, unless, 1. NZEI provided them without permission (Privacy breach) or 2. Labour stole them (usually illegal) or 3. NZEI are in fact the Labour Party by another name. Interesting and hilariously ironic.
“My beef” is with whoever publishes my private emails. Such a thing is against New Zealand laws, which Slater believes he does not have to abide by because his site is hosted in America.
Read my post below Blue. It appears that National would not accept the petition. National is therefore in breach of Parliamentary procedures:
This is why National doesn’t like petitions:
The Petitioner approaches a member of Parliament with their petition. In this case a National MP who did not accept it. Whoever that person was is in breach of Parliamentary procedure. Only an MP can deliver the petition to the Clerk of the House of Representatives who then decides if everything is in order.
Strangely I couldn’t find any of the Governments reports on previous petitions online.
There are clear rules as to why a petition cannot be accepted. I would suggest that somebody needs to make a formal complaint to the Ombudsman concerning this matter.
For his part, Slater is just playing with smoke and mirrors again and I’m frankly sick and tired of giving him attention.
“Cycleway the only way”: Desperation pushing of John Key’s cycleway
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=10733061
lol another 250 cycleway-like projects and we might see an appreciable drop in unemployment!
And why aren’t they building these cycleways in places that many can use for commuting, and everyday cycling? Around Auckland there seems to be bits of cycleways, lanes and routes in various places that don’t really connect up. And many suggested routes for cyclists seem to be the scenic route, rather than enabling cyclists to get from A to B via the shortest distance.
The “email harvesting” crap is entirely Slater speculating again. He says it’s a breach of law but provides none. What is more concerning is that National will not accept the petition
Shouldn’t the person given responsibility contact the signers to perhaps inform them that their petition is not being received by the Government? Unsolicited emails are a problem, if you put your email on a petition, you should expect to be contacted.
The thing with Slater is that he’s an idiot. Labour contacting signatories is not email harvesting.
The other fact of the matter is that their has been zero replies to the emails indicating that nobody who was contacted by Labour made a complaint. ï»ż19 people requested to be unsubscribed, which is only 0.31%. This indicates that Labour is acting within the law in allowing the unsubscribe feature within the emails sent. I wonder who’s rights Slater is trying to protect exactly?
At a guess I’d say that he’s trying to distract from his own private information harvesting that was, prima facie, illegal.
I wonder if we are handling the phenomenon known as Slater well. Â Right now in blogland we essentially have the Standard, home of light and sense, on the left, Slater in the Fox news part of the spectrum and Farrar being all centrist in the middle. Â There are some other very good blogs, handmirror, NRT, tumeke but the first three are the biggies.
Two possibilities:
1. Â We need the left wing version of Cameron, sort of an insane Bomber without the reasonableness.
2. Â We just ignore him. Â He really thrives on the exposure and if we consign him to the sideline on the basis that he is not that pleasant and often wrong then we may be doing ourselves a favour.
I think it’s a big mistake to classify Farrar as “centrist”! He’s as true blue a Tory as ever drew breath.
You’re right on Slater though. Best off ignored, unless there is something significant (like the leak / credit card nonsense) to be countered.
I mean “centrist” in that Farrar is to the left of Slater but to the right of you guys …
That’s for sure!
The slug known as Slater is indulging in factual distortion in an attempt to establish a non-existent ‘breach of law’ by the Labour Party. When signing petitions or similar Labour material, it is made clear to people that if they would like further information from the Labour Party they can include their email address. If they don’t wish to do so they just leave the column blank. It’s possible some people will change their minds, and they get an opportunity to ‘unsubscribe’ each time something is emailed to them.
It is amazing (or not), that Whaleoil gets the Herald column inches so easily, helped of course by that chap Fisher. I bet such idle speculation say on Key, would be very hard to get published.
How is an NCEI campaign “Labour material”?
Copy of the post card here http://www.nzei.org.nz/site/nzeite/files/ECE/Set%20the%20scene_postcard.pdf
It says nothing at all about it being Labour material.
I’ve just been LOL at AA Gill on radionz. He will be repeated on Tuesday after the 9pm news when Bryan Crump is on.. Very droll, dry etc. I feel that he is what Oscar Wilde must have been like. He is a food critic, tv critic etc.
Yes, I heard some of that on the car radio, and some bits of the Helen Clark interview a little later. I must listen to the full Clark interview someime.
Bursting the Housing Bubble
The Sunday Star Times had an article by Gregg Ninness with the header âHouse buyers in the box seat,â in today’s addition. Ninness cherry picked some âevidenceâ to support his claims that âthere has never been a better time to buy a house.â However the only figures he provides are those showing that the median house price fell in some areas between April and May, totally ignoring many other factors that make his egregious lead in to the story completely ridiculous!
A special flight for John Key .. and how many security, etc are in his entourage?
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/5164763/John-Key-arrives-in-Australia