With the widening gap in the polls between Clinton and Trump growing fast, the Republicans can now think about losing the 30 seats that would lose them Congress as well:
I think Brexit won’t actually happen, the polls are starting to swing back to Remain (since global markets are getting jittery).
Demographic polling shows that there is a distinct difference in preferences between the young and the old, with the young preferring to remain. This increases the chances that the polls being reported are wrong, since they have to have a Likely Voter model to weight the results, if this under-estimates the eventual share of young voters, then Remain will likely end up several points higher than the polls have been showing.
Since recent polling in the UK for the election and the Scottish independence vote have been very poor, I don’t think we should take the polls as-read (and my feeling is that Remain is under-sampled).
It will be interesting to see how this pans out Lanthanide. Polling has shown young people in Britain are firmly for Remain. But how many will actually vote? At my work place in Queenstown we’ve got lots of young Britons on working holidays and while they’re all, at least, tending towards Remain hardly any of them would consider entering a polling booth for any reason.
The ‘Faster Paster’ screams over Mangere Bridge at 239 kph……..a sway of coiffed bleached hair, an outlandishly extended eyelash……..concealing the obscenity of Te Puea Marae to her left.
is this a timid approach by a NZ Herald Stenographer trying to appeal to our current National Party led government that excels in doing nothing ? Oh well…….too little too late.
Oh, if there’s doubt as to what the facts really are, the solution is easy: the benefit of the doubt doesn’t go to the proven liar with a history of leaking personal details.
I have to disagree with you on this; in the court of justice you’re innocent till proven guilty, beyond reasonable doubt, and a jury won’t be allowed to know of the accused’s (criminal) history till after the trial.
Don’t you think these standards are also suitable and appropriate for ‘trials in public’?
We’re not sentencing people to prison. Screw those jerks.
Unless the media people say they got this information from someone else entirely, it’s perfectly fair to work on the assumption that bennett has, yet again, treated her position with incompetence and contempt and used her privileged position to launch patty political smears, or allowd her office to do so.
So, basically, if I wasn’t anti-national I’d ignore the fact that Bennett has history of releasing personal information, I’d ignore the coincidental nature of the information getting out just after she met with the guy, and I’d throw my hands in the air and say “gee willakers, I’m honour-bound to give equal weight to the facts and her denials, I guess we will never know the truth so I will pretend this never happened”?
Yeah, nah. There is a possibility that she or her office didn’t leak it, that it’s all a setup. But I’d need to hear that from a third party to believe it. That’s not unfair, or bullying, or whatever. That’s a liar reaping the credibility that they sow.
Well this, at the start of the article, is pretty damning:
“It’s a cold Government that pays lip service to refugees, vetoes parents having more time with their children and leaks personal details of a man trying to help with Auckland’s homeless crisis. But this one did. And all in the space of a week.”
The “run of surpluses” Double-Dipton has supposedly achieved are now in some doubt since the last report on government finances a couple of weeks ago showed a billion going missing.
It is only a matter of time before a mega killer heatwave strikes Australia, seeing thousands of Australians fleeing across the Tasman in fear of their lives.
A single heatwave is not going to send Australians to New Zealand to live permanently. I doubt if it would even send very many here to ‘ride it out’ – perhaps if it lasted a week or more in some cities.
So Andrew Little acknowledges that he lied about John Shewan. He releases his apology two hours before the test match on a Saturday hoping for minimal coverage.Too bad he was unable to man up and apologise to the Hagamans. Still best not to have to fight two defamation cases at the same time. Problem is that given how likely he is to speak without fully engaging his brain I wonder how many more defamations cases he will cause.
[Your next comment had better be proof of your assertion that Little has acknowledged that he lied or an apology to Little for making a false statement or you’re leaving us for an extended period. TRP]
Lol form for lieing, your kidding right?, I forgot mother Teressa was John Keys mum, and he is the only person on the planet God asks forgiveness from.
BTW, i’m trying to help you and Fisi out here, but it would be nicer if the two of you at least tried to hold a sensible conversation about things occasionally, instead of popping in with your wild exagerations at times.
Or do you work for National and have no interest in listening only dictating how it should be?
… today, in a short statement, Mr Little admitted that he was wrong.
“In April, I made statements concerning advice provided to the Bahamas government by John Shewan, the person appointed to review the disclosure rule concerning foreign trusts in New Zealand. Those statements were based on a report in a Bahamas newspaper,” he said.
“After meeting with Mr Shewan, I accept his explanation that while he advised the Bahamas government on tax matters he did not advise them on how to maintain their tax haven status.”
Relying on the accuracy of an off-ashore newspaper is always a big risk. Little made a mistake and has apologised. That is the mark of a person with integrity – unlike the present incumbent PM and his mob of sycophants like fisiani and BM.
[Fisiani has made a very specific claim. It’s up to him to prove it or apologise or he’s gone. If you’re that keen on not commenting here, you could simply not comment. But any further abuse and your wish will be granted. Which would be a shame, because when you’re not ranting, you often make sense. TRP]
It is you and fisiani doing the twisting Richardrawshark.
You both seem to have trouble with Honest-Andrew’s approach. When he makes an honest mistake, having relied on newspaper reports that turn out to be inaccurate, he simply admits it, meets the person in question and apologizes.
Now if we had a PM who did this he would have more respect across the spectrum. Instead we have a PM who lies often and never admits it.
Wrong BG, I don’t agree with Fisi saying he lied, in fact if you read my statements and posts not once do I say Andrew lied.
I’m not getting drawn into that.
I will defend someones right, no matter how much I detest there political point of view, to have that point of view. As much as I would if it was taken from me.
Do I need a lawyer to read my posts before printing to check that in no way possible can it be used to promote a point of view different to the context it was made in?
I see your point TRP, I had thought you were saying to Fisi that Andrew had no made ANY post at all when he did and to prove the post by linking it. I stepped in as I had also read the post on the Herald and linked it..
I think the truth is you knew there was a post but Andrew had said he was wrong where fisi said he made public apology for lieing.
My total bad.
Sorry guys my appologies, I should not post early till me tablets kick in.
Doesn’t change my opinion on the often used sledgehammer though.
“Labour leader Andrew Little has admitted he was wrong when he said two months ago that John Shewan advised the Bahamas government on how to maintain the islands’ tax haven status.”
Frankly he lied TRP what do you call saying something that is factually incorrect. Is wrong , is not the truth.
Frankly he lied TRP what do you call saying something that is factually incorrect. Is wrong , is not the truth.
these things are also called lies.
Wrong. A lie is when you purposefully misrepresent the facts while knowing the truth. Andrew Little didn’t do that. He represented the data that he had. The data turned out to be wrong.
In fact, if we used your logic, you would actually be lying in this entire thread.
-Mr Little said statements he made in April were based on a report in a Bahamas newspaper.
weak very weak from little and his strategy team, and using a newspaper report “JHC”, wouldn’t have been an opposition paper there would it? Regardless, newspaper reports any reports need facts checking, you and all involved in the media and politics know that DTB.
If he’s not guilty of deliberately lieing, then he shows a lack of professionalism for not checking his attack would hold up under scrutiny and not backfire on him, which seems to be bloody common from all Politicians these days..
Seems the authenticity of reports, is less important, than it’s usefulness to your political message!
I agree. He didn’t lie. But he made a serious allegation based on a purported single report in a Bahamas newspaper. Which he has not cited. So we cannot even check what that newspaper reported or the weight a reasonable person would attach to such a report.
So no he didn’t lie. But neither was it a mistake. It was a defamatory statement based on a willful disregard of the evidence required to support such a statement.
The threats to me are not tolerable unless deserved, people will get excited, this is a political forum, here we have a left blog with guest, some of them we have had here a long time like BM Fisi etc. We all know what they are like.
Last two days the ban threats and moderation has gone overboard. You can take that critisim on or threaten me again. Up to you.
But one more and I am gone. I just don’t enjoy people who want freedom of speech but deny it to others for weak things like their enjoyment when we do something wrong. fairs, fair.
I also posted the link, (wrong, lied), I’ve seen worse exagerations here over what some of the Nats have said being twisted.
Take it on Mods, just calm down a touch or find other ways you can keep a semblance of order without using a sledgehammer to crack a nut.
“Goodbye TRP, enjoy the Standard.” Richardrawshark @ 11.41am.
I thought you had already gone. IMO you suggesting a couple of days back that a couple of people here ‘end it’ because they didn’t agree with your point of view, should have had you permanently banned. You are the epitome of why The Standard can be a very toxic place to be in.
Thanks for reinforcing my comment with more abuse GS. Typical weak comeback. Has the comment been deleted? Can’t be bothered looking, but I suspect it’s still there.
FYI, for all its faults, WO moderation is strict and simply telling someone to FO would be met with a temp ban and a warning. Personal attacks and abuse used to be common, but for the last couple of years it has been pretty strict becuase so many people read the blog (it hurts I know) and they lifted their game. You might not like Slater, or the politics on the site, but it’s a whole lot more savory than here, with a number of regular female posters.
I’m amazed how anyone that posts a differing view here is met with abuse, called a RWNJ, or commonly met with the ‘faux concern’ response. It’s not called an echo chamber for nothing.
Slater’s numbers look like they’ve bottomed out completely since Dirty Politics. And he’s relying almost completely on those horrid advertisements, too – the site’s littered with them. No doubt a sign he’s lost a ton of regular advertising support. An apt fate for the kind of place he runs.
No I didn’t, we already discussed and ended that conversation Ben.
Depends on how you infer something as a dig or as literal. trying to say I was asking people to kill themselves literally..having a face to face with you would be difficult if your going to react like that to what comes out as language when people are talking,
Take a hike, jump off a cliff, hang yourself, go fly a kite, give me a break etc etc etc
I noticed here though more than other forums some of the commenters love to hate, yet are the first to condemn it.
You take a dig at someone and they get all holier than thou and accuse you of having bad intentions.
When you post on a public forum, does it not become everyone’s business? Taking offence to your post was not negativity, it was merely expressing my offence. Based on your posting history, I suspect there was more venom in your comment than your lengthy explaining tries to portray. As Mr Little is finding out, perception is everything.
I do enjoy how you come back for a second bite, responding to your own comments. Dwell much?
I just think, Andrew’s trying to copy Keys style of saying the first thing that pops in his head for media attention.
I don’t think he’s guilty of anything aka the Hagamans BM, your grasping just a tad too far there, as I’ve said saying something like a government deal looks dodgy is his job, and it’s vague enough, the claims on Sherwin were mouth before brain BS and your bang on , on that.
We need better opposition and leadership, IMHO.
The person or team leading labours strategy are weak, and in a month when gifts dropped from heaven, we should have seen a no confidence having been thrown in and a testing of their partner parties,.
Yeah Andrew should wait for some polling results before he makes a statement (sarc). Or he can lead & make mistakes & apologise & move on, or have you not ever made an honest mistake? I for one like Little, he’s got guts unlike the current PM.
I agree with you there about Cunliffe, but Little is there right now, & not doing too bad a job & he gets all the right wing trolls fizzing & spewing so can’t be too bad eh.
You either have the ability to think on your feet and hold a debate, with class and dignity, Lange had that in spades, Cunnliffe has it, Andrew doesn’t, that’s how Richie see’s it sadly.
It says a lot about the health of newspapers world-wide. Why bother to produce these crap papers if one cannot trust a word they publish. It has become a world where you have to do your own research before you can open your bloody mouth – what an indictment that is where lying is just like breathing. Our NZ Herald is testament to that, we are on a month’s trial with the paper after we gave it the boot 3 years ago – today’s issue (like every day’s issue) is unmitigated garbage – I just cannot believe that readers digest this muck – at least for a month we have liners for the cat’s litter tray. Good on Andrew Little for doing the correct thing and apologising for his mistaking and expecting news in a Bahamas newspaper to be the truth when it was the usual lazy journalism at fault and lies.
TRP I find your casuistry gobsmacking. You are quibbling about the definition of a
“lie” .
Where is the corresponding beratement of Blip long list of so called lies by John Key…………?
Andrew Little did not tell the truth about John Shewan.
He has acknowleged this.
His acknowledging that he did not tell the truth does not constitute telling a lie???? Are you serious?
Let me quote you the definition of Lie
noun
1.
a false statement made with deliberate intent to deceive; an intentional untruth; a falsehood.
Synonyms: prevarication, falsification.
Antonyms: truth.
2.
something intended or serving to convey a false impression; imposture:
His flashy car was a lie that deceived no one.
3.
an inaccurate or false statement; a falsehood.
4.
the charge or accusation of telling a lie:
He flung the lie back at his accusers.
verb (used without object), lied, lying.
5.
to speak falsely or utter untruth knowingly, as with intent to deceive.
Synonyms: prevaricate, fib.
6.
to express what is false; convey a false impression.
verb (used with object), lied, lying.
7.
to bring about or affect by lying (often used reflexively):
to lie oneself out of a difficulty; accustomed to lying his way out of difficulties.
In a world with any respect for the rule of law, or even elementary decency, these two men would be rotting in prison, not striking poses like they’re doing here….
While the Washington Post and others say that Hillary’s wins yesterday mean that Bernie has less leverage to demand concessions, I do not believe that will be true unless we allow that to be true. If we give up or give in, this political revolution has really been a cult of personality that will fade even as Bernie sits in the White House chatting with President Obama. We have to intensify our resolve, not wallow in disappointment.
“We are trying to change a system that resists change”, Hone Harawira, Election speech, August, 2014
Last week Ms Turei claimed that KidsCan had said that up to 90 per cent of kids in schools went to school without lunch every day – a statement she later corrected and apologised for.
Today she visited Windley School in Porirua where 50 children were fed with peanut butter and jam sandwiches and criticized Mr Key for not agreeing to go with her.
She tabled a KidsCan document showing that KidsCan fed about 15,000 across 448 schools, an average of 33 pupils in each of the participating schools.
A bill in her name, originally known as Hone Harawira’s “feed the kids” bill was defeated in Parliament this evening, by 59 votes to 61 at its first reading.
Meanwhile another food in schools bill in the name of Labour MP David Shearer was defeated tonight at its first reading as well.
The bill allowed for free food in all primary and intermediate decile one to three schools that wanted.
However During his research on the bill, Mr Shearer came across several schools including Yendarra School in Otara, and Owairaka District School, which took a community approach to food in schools and changed his thinking.
“I have become convinced that free food solves nothing,” he has said.
“I now believe that each school community should be resourced to find and deliver its own long-term food solutions.”
He still wanted the bill sent to a select committee so it could be reworked.
The vote on his bill was 60 in favour and 60 against, meaning it could not progress.
“We’ll feed hungry kids in schools…..” Andrew Little, June, 2016
How Sanders shepherds his supporters after the Democratic Convention is a Bobby Kennedy moment for US liberals. Bernies’ campaign team are leaving it really late to generate a full-throated reform movement.
I hope Bernie and team have both the wisdom and the skill to avoid Black Lives Matter and Occupy aimlessness and dissolution.
I’ve just put up a post about the Mana party that touches on how a movement can be built by testing the waters at local level. That’s what Sanders has suggested his supporters do:
I think I know what you’re saying: cease the moment or opportunity, keep the momentum and build it or grow it. Right?
Although it might be disheartening or frustrating even when certain things don’t eventuate at first and seemingly disappear into oblivion I think this often is because of our short-sighted view and impatience and single-minded focus on one particular outcome or ‘destination’ – associated thinking is “the end justifies the means”.
Very recently, Rosie and weka used the metaphor of waves and indeed there’s a groundswell that may be largely undetectable but the waves of change are clearly visible on the surface.
Change does not always follow a linear direct path, in space or in time; it meanders, it oscillates & vibrates.
Human development is similarly characterised by taking baby steps in the beginning and falling down and getting up again, which is how we ‘learn to walk’. This applies to all levels of development (and evolution).
Another way of saying more or less the same thing is this well-known and beautiful quote from Ovid:
gutta cavat lapidem non vi sed saepe cadendo
a water drop hollows a stone not by force, but by falling often
If Sanders is telling the truth, he wants a revolution, not mithering from rhe Greeks. He set the high expectation, and it’s up to him to follow through.
At the last election the Green Party agreed to drop all bottom lines to get seats in cabinet.
Play the game, drop your principles, and we will make a space for you at the table.
As the Green Party goes into another election cycle and shut their mouths over “Climate Justice” they hope this strategy will get them seats at the table.
Announcing the launch of a big “Centrepiece Environmental Campaign”. I was terribly disappointed when the Green Party Centrepiece Environmental Campaign turned out to be a repackaging of the Green Party’s Clean Rivers Campaign, with which they have fought the last two elections.
What had raised my expectations in James Shaw’s campaign for co-leader, he named climate change as his number one priority, and reiterated this promise on becoming co-leader. This was in contrast to Russell Norman who had been the main leading promoter for keeping climate change in the background.
In their speeches, friends of mine in the seats opposite sometimes quote conservative heroes like Margaret Thatcher.
Well, Margaret Thatcher was one of the first world leaders to warn about the problem of climate change. Thatcher trained as a chemist. She understood you can’t change the chemical composition of the atmosphere without consequences.
In a speech to the United Nations in 1989 she said, “What we are now doing to the world by adding greenhouse gases to the air at an unprecedented rate is new in the experience of the earth. It is mankind and his activities that are changing the environment of our planet in damaging and dangerous ways.”
Thatcher was right. In 2013 New Zealand was hit by our worst storm in sixty years. It left 30,000 Wellington homes without power, some for up to a week. It set the city back $4 million in direct clean-up costs. Around the country, it resulted in over $31 million worth of insurance claims.
That summer of the same year we had our worst drought in seventy years. It cost New Zealand $498 million in lost exports. Treasury estimates that this drought cost our economy over $1.5 billion.
The worst drought in seventy years. The worst storm in sixty. The warmest winter on record. Billions of dollars in costs and damages. All in the same six months.
***
Mr Speaker, I am forty-one years old. In just those forty-one years, fully half of all the planet’s wildlife has been extinguished. Thousands of species have become extinct.
This is ecocide. The destruction not just of species, but of the habitats and life-support systems they need to survive.
We know that the cause of this carnage is economic but that the solution is political.
“With the Party’s caucus divided about whether to include climate change in the election campaign or sideline it as the Party did in the 2011 election, Russel was ultimately the one who swung it.
But James, after pushing for it, was ‘delighted it was one of the foci‘.
Should the Party, I ask, have pushed it harder?
James pauses, reflects. There were good reasons on the other side. The Party hadn’t done enough groundwork before the election to really make it an election issue. There’s still not enough public concern about climate change.
But we can change that. – James
Now, it’s time to front foot the issue.
After all, James says, the Greens pushed clean rivers and child poverty to the top of New Zealanders’ agendas. In 2011, when he talked about those issues, people gave him blank looks.
In 2014, after three years of hard work from the Party, people heard what he said – and backed it. It’s time for the Party to take the same leadership on climate, now, in 2015 and 2016, not just in the 2017 election.
I’d have said welcome to MMP Jenny where you get to, every three years, pick from a list of Mainly Munted Parties made up of Mostly Munted People to run your life for the next three years, choose carefully.
Where Labour and the Green Party (“may”) agree to work together to support each other’s Members’ Bills and Supplementary Order Papers.
If the MoU is worth anything, then the Green Party need to start putting up private member bills on climate change and challenge the Labour Party to support them.
Will they do it?
Will the Green Party try and shift the national debate on climate change?
Or will the Green Party “Swimmable Rivers Centrepiece Campaign” smother any debate of climate change?
Note to commenters; we’ve had an issue over the weekend with a small number of regular commenters (and an author or two) having some of their contributions held in moderation until release by a mod.
It’s a bit beyond me, but hopefully it’s not an issue that’s with us too long. No point listing all the commenters affected, but marty mars is one of the ones that seems to have copped it most often.
So, apologies if some or all of your comments don’t immediately appear, but the mods will let them out as soon as they’re spotted.
Me too. It’s been a pain manually releasing them (and there were a couple criticising me I was tempted to leave in limbo. No names, no pack drill, but weka will know who I’m talking about). But I’m off to the pub to watch the Warriors stuff Easts, so I’ll be out of the loop for a couple of hours. Hopefully another mod will take my place.
Homeless person saying don’t give homeless people money.
Community law person saying don’t give homeless people money.
Shopkeeper saying don’t give homeless people money.
Member of the public saying don’t give homeless people money.
They’re probably spending it on drugs.. thoughts?
I was pulled up outside the supermarket in the suburbs the other day by a kid who looked like he was living on the street who came running after me asking for money, I gave him some. It was the first time in suburbia though I’ve been asked.
David Cunnliffe is one of NZ’s best parliamentarians IMHO, he has so much to offer the people of NZ.
I find it highly offensive he’s back benched and his skills and intelligence are left to rot in a corner due to infighting and bickering, I think the Labour party has a duty to the people who voted for DC to include him in a capacity that reflects the talents he has to offer, and stops the ABC BS.
Rise above it Labour, he, like Liam Neeson has a particular set of skills.
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Please note:To skip directly to the- parliamentary footage in the video, scroll to 1:21 To skip to audio please click on the headphone iconon the left hand side of the screenThis video / audio section is under development. ...
Given the crackdown on wasteful government spending, it behooves me to point to a high profile example of spending by the Luxon government that looks like a big, fat waste of time and money. I’m talking about the deployment of NZDF personnel to support the US-led coalition in the Red ...
TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:40 am on Wednesday, July 24 are:Deep Dive: Chipping away at the housing crisis, including my comments RNZ/Newsroom’s The DetailNews: Government softens on asset sales, ...
As I reported about the city centre, Auckland’s rail network is also going through a difficult and disruptive period which is rapidly approaching a culmination, this will result in a significant upgrade to the whole network. Hallelujah. Also like the city centre this is an upgrade predicated on the City ...
Today, a 4 kilogram report will be delivered to Parliament. We know this is what the report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in State and Faith-based Care weighs, because our Prime Minister told us so.Some reporter had blindsided him by asking a question about something done by ...
TL;DR: As of 7:00 am on Wednesday, July 24, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:Beehive:Transport Minister Simeon Brownannounced plans to use PPPs to fund, build and run a four-lane expressway between Auckland ...
NewstalkZB host Mike Hosking, who can usually be relied on to give Prime Minister Christopher Luxon an easy run, did not do so yesterday when he interviewed him about the HealthNZ deficit. Luxon is trying to use a deficit reported last year by HealthNZ as yet another example of the ...
Back in January a StatsNZ employee gave a speech at Rātana on behalf of tangata whenua in which he insulted and criticised the government. The speech clearly violated the principle of a neutral public service, and StatsNZ started an investigation. Part of that was getting an external consultant to examine ...
Renting for life: Shared ownership initiatives are unlikely to slow the slide in home ownership by much. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy today are:A Deloittereport for Westpac has projected Aotearoa’s home-ownership rate will ...
You're broken down and tiredOf living life on a merry go roundAnd you can't find the fighterBut I see it in you so we gonna walk it outAnd move mountainsWe gonna walk it outAnd move mountainsAnd I'll rise upI'll rise like the dayI'll rise upI'll rise unafraidI'll rise upAnd I'll ...
There’s been a change in Myers Park. Down the steps from St. Kevin’s Arcade, past the grassy slopes, the children’s playground, the benches and that goat statue, there has been a transformation. The underpass for Mayoral Drive has gone from a barren, grey, concrete tunnel, to a place that thrums ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections Global society may have finally slammed on the brakes for climate-warming pollution released by human fossil fuel combustion. According to the Carbon Monitor Project, the total global climate pollution released between February and May 2024 declined slightly from the amount released during the same ...
TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:00 am on Tuesday, July 23 are:Deep Dive: Penlink: where tolling rhetoric meets reality BusinessDesk-$$$’sOliver LewisScoop:Te Pūkenga plans for regional polytechs leak out ...
TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Tuesday, July 23, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:Health: Shane Reti announcedthe Board of Te Whatu Ora-Health New Zealand was being replaced with Commissioner Lester Levy ...
Health NZ warned the Government at the end of March that it was running over Budget. But the reasons it gave were very different to those offered by the Prime Minister yesterday. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon blamed the “botched merger” of the 20 District Health Boards (DHBs) to create Health ...
Long ReadKey Summary: Although National increased the health budget by $1.4 billion in May, they used an old funding model to project health system costs, and never bothered to update their pre-election numbers. They were told during the Health Select Committees earlier in the year their budget amount was deficient, ...
As a momentous, historic weekend in US politics unfolded, analysts and commentators grasped for precedents and comparisons to help explain the significance and power of the choice Joe Biden had made. The 46th president had swept the Democratic party’s primaries but just over 100 days from the election had chosen ...
TL;DR: I’m casting around for new ideas and ways of thinking about Aotearoa’s political economy to find a few solutions to our cascading and self-reinforcing housing, poverty and climate crises.Associate Professor runs an online masters degree in the economics of sustainability at Torrens University in Australia and is organising ...
The Finance and Expenditure Committee has reported back on National's Local Government (Water Services Preliminary Arrangements) Bill. The bill sets up water for privatisation, and was introduced under urgency, then rammed through select committee with no time even for local councils to make a proper submission. Naturally, national's select committee ...
Some years ago, I bought a book at Dunedin’s Regent Booksale for $1.50. As one does. Vandrad the Viking (1898), by J. Storer Clouston, is an obscure book these days – I cannot find a proper online review – but soon it was sitting on my shelf, gathering dust alongside ...
History is not on the side of the centre-left, when Democratic presidents fall behind in the polls and choose not to run for re-election. On both previous occasions in the past 75 years (Harry Truman in 1952, Lyndon Johnson in 1968) the Democrats proceeded to then lose the White House ...
This is a free articleCoverageThis morning, US President Joe Biden announced his withdrawal from the Presidential race. And that is genuinely newsworthy. Thanks for your service, President Biden, and all the best to you and yours.However, the media in New Zealand, particularly the 1News nightly bulletin, has been breathlessly covering ...
A homeless person’s camp beside a blocked-off slipped damage walkway in Freeman’s Bay: we are chasing our tail on our worsening and inter-related housing, poverty and climate crises. Photo: Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy ...
What has happened to it all?Crazy, some'd sayWhere is the life that I recognise?(Gone away)But I won't cry for yesterdayThere's an ordinary worldSomehow I have to findAnd as I try to make my wayTo the ordinary worldYesterday morning began as many others - what to write about today? I began ...
TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:00 am on Monday, July 22 are:Today’s Must Read: Father and son live in a tent, and have done for four years, in a million ...
TL;DR: As of 7:00 am on Monday, July 22, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:US President Joe Biden announced via X this morning he would not stand for a second term.Multinational professional services firm ...
A listing of 32 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, July 14, 2024 thru Sat, July 20, 2024. Story of the week As reflected by preponderance of coverage, our Story of the Week is Project 2025. Until now traveling ...
This weekend, a friend pointed out someone who said they’d like to read my posts, but didn’t want to pay. And my first reaction was sympathy.I’ve already told folks that if they can’t comfortably subscribe, and would like to read, I’d be happy to offer free subscriptions. I don’t want ...
National: The Party of ‘Law and Order’ IntroductionThis weekend, the Government formally kicked off one of their flagship policy programs: a military style boot camp that New Zealand has experimented with over the past 50 years. Cartoon credit: Guy BodyIt’s very popular with the National Party’s Law and Orderimage, ...
Day one of the solo leg of my long journey home begins with my favourite sound: footfalls in an empty street. 5.00 am and it’s already light and already too warm, almost.If I can make the train that leaves Budapest later this hour I could be in Belgrade by nightfall; ...
Do you remember Y2K, the threat that hung over humanity in the closing days of the twentieth century? Horror scenarios of planes falling from the sky, electronic payments failing and ATMs refusing to dispense cash. As for your VCR following instructions and recording your favourite show - forget about it.All ...
Climate Change Minister Simon Watts being questioned by The Kākā’s Bernard Hickey.TL;DR: My top six things to note around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the week to July 20 were:1. A strategy that fails Zero Carbon Act & Paris targetsThe National-ACT-NZ First Coalition Government finally unveiled ...
Summary:As New Zealand loses at least 12 leaders in the public service space of health, climate, and pharmaceuticals, this month alone, directly in response to the Government’s policies and budget choices, what lies ahead may be darker than it appears. Tui examines some of those departures and draws a long ...
The Minister of Housing’s ambition is to reduce markedly the ratio of house prices to household incomes. If his strategy works it would transform the housing market, dramatically changing the prospects of housing as an investment.Leaving aside the Minister’s metaphor of ‘flooding the market’ I do not see how the ...
As previously noted, my historical fantasy piece, set in the fifth-century Mediterranean, was accepted for a Pirate Horror anthology, only for the anthology to later fall through. But in a good bit of news, it turned out that the story could indeed be re-marketed as sword and sorcery. As of ...
An employee of tobacco company Philip Morris International demonstrates a heated tobacco device. Photo: Getty ImagesTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy on Friday, July 19 are:At a time when the Coalition Government is cutting spending on health, infrastructure, education, housing ...
TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 8:30 am on Friday, July 19 are:Scoop: NZ First Minister Casey Costello orders 50% cut to excise tax on heated tobacco products. The minister has ...
Kia ora, it’s time for another Friday roundup, in which we pull together some of the links and stories that caught our eye this week. Feel free to add more in the comments! Our header image this week shows a foggy day in Auckland town, captured by Patrick Reynolds. ...
TL;DR : Here’s the top six items climate news for Aotearoa this week, as selected by Bernard Hickey and The Kākā’s climate correspondent Cathrine Dyer. A discussion recorded yesterday is in the video above and the audio of that sent onto the podcast feed.The Government released its draft Emissions Reduction ...
Save some money, get rich and old, bring it back to Tobacco Road.Bring that dynamite and a crane, blow it up, start all over again.Roll up. Roll up. Or tailor made, if you prefer...Whether you’re selling ciggies, digging for gold, catching dolphins in your nets, or encouraging folks to flutter ...
Waiting In The Wings:For truly, if Trump is America’s un-assassinated Caesar, then J.D. Vance is America’s Octavian, the Republic’s youthful undertaker – and its first Emperor.DONALD TRUMP’S SELECTION of James D. Vance as his running-mate bodes ill for the American republic. A fervent supporter of Viktor Orban, the “illiberal” prime ...
TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Friday, July 19, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:The PSAannounced the Employment Relations Authority (ERA) had ruled in the PSA’s favour in its case against the Ministry ...
TL;DR: The podcast above of the weekly ‘hoon’ webinar for paying subscribers last night features co-hosts and talking with:The Kākā’s climate correspondent talking about the National-ACT-NZ First Government’s release of its first Emissions Reduction Plan;University of Otago Foreign Relations Professor and special guest Dr Karin von ...
Open access notablesImproving global temperature datasets to better account for non-uniform warming, Calvert, Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society:To better account for spatial non-uniform trends in warming, a new GITD [global instrumental temperature dataset] was created that used maximum likelihood estimation (MLE) to combine the land surface ...
A late change to charter school legislation will cheat educators out of fair pay and negotiating power proving charter schools are just a vehicle to make profit out of our education system. ...
In 2004 te iwi Māori rallied against the Crown’s attempt to confiscate our coastlines and moana with the Foreshore and Seabed Act. This led to the largest hīkoi of a generation and the birth of Te Pāti Māori. 20 years later, history is repeating itself. Today the government has announced ...
It has been five and a half years since the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care was established to investigate the abuse of children, young people, and vulnerable adults within state and faith-based institutions. Yesterday, the final report - Whanaketia through pain and trauma, from darkness to light ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to take action off the back of the International Court of Justice ruling on Israel’s illegal occupation of Palestine. ...
On Friday the International Court of Justice reaffirmed what Palestinian’s have been telling us for decades: that the occupation and colonisation of Palestinian lands by Israel is illegal and must end immediately. They also called for reparations for Palestinian’s who have lived under Israeli occupation since it began in 1967. ...
Labour calls on the Government to act after the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled that Israel’s occupation of Palestinian Territories is illegal. ...
The 53.7 percent rise in benefit sanctions over the last year is more proof of this Government’s disdain for our communities most in need of support. ...
Aotearoa could be a country where every child grows up feeling safe, loved and with a sense of belonging in their whānau and community. But for some of our children, this is far from reality. Instead, they are trapped in a maze of intergenerational harm that they can’t escape on ...
Te Pāti Māori are calling for David Seymour to resign as Associate Health Minister in response to his call for Pharmac to ignore the Treaty of Waitangi. “This announcement is just another example of the government’s anti-Tiriti, anti-Māori agenda.” Said Co-leader and spokesperson for health, Debbie Ngarewa-Packer. “Seymour thinks it ...
The soaring price of renting is driving the rise of inflation in this country - with latest figures from Stats NZ showing rents are up 4.8 per cent on average while annual inflation is at 3.3 per cent. ...
National’s Emissions Reduction Plan will take New Zealand further from the economy we need to ensure the next generation has a stable climate and secure livelihoods. ...
Following consultation with named parties and thorough consideration of privacy interests, the Green Party is in a position to release the Executive Summary of the final report from the independent investigation into Darleen Tana. ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon should be asking serious questions of his Minister for Resources Shane Jones now it’s been revealed he misled the public about a dinner with mining companies that he didn’t declare and said wasn’t pre-arranged. ...
Te Pāti Māori have submitted to the Justice Select Committee against the Sentencing (Reinstating Three Strikes) Amendment Bill. The bill will further entrench racism in our justice system and fails to focus on rehabilitation. “Reinstating Three Strikes will empower a systematically racist system and exacerbate the overrepresentation of Māori in ...
The Transport and Infrastructure Committee is set to make a determination on the Residential Tenancies Amendment (RTA) Bill in the coming weeks. “This legislation will give landlords the power to kick our whānau out onto the street for no reason” said Housing spokesperson, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi. “Their solution to the housing ...
“National’s campaign was about tackling crime and the best they can do is a two-year long Ministerial Advisory Group,” Labour justice spokesperson Duncan Webb said. ...
“There are more examples of charter schools failing their students than there are success stories. The coalition Government is driving to dismantle our public school system and instead promote a privatised, competitive structure that puts profits before kids,” Jan Tinetti said. ...
“This government is choosing to deliberately mislead and withhold information, keeping our people in the dark about this government’s agenda and the future of our mokopuna,” said co-leader and spokesperson for Health, Debbie Ngarewa-Packer. The call comes after the demand from the Chief Ombudsman that Associate Minister of Health, Casey ...
“Today’s climate announcement by Simon Watts makes clear the National Government is simply paying lip service to meeting its climate change targets,” Megan Woods said. ...
National is choosing to make life harder for workers by taking away the rights our communities have fought hard for. Here's how they’re taking workers backwards. ...
Australia, Canada and New Zealand today issued the following statement on the need for an urgent ceasefire in Gaza and the risk of expanded conflict between Hizballah and Israel. The situation in Gaza is catastrophic. The human suffering is unacceptable. It cannot continue. We remain unequivocal in our condemnation of ...
Attorney-General Judith Collins today reminded all State and faith-based institutions of their legal obligation to preserve records relevant to the safety and wellbeing of those in its care. “The Abuse in Care Inquiry’s report has found cases where records of the most vulnerable people in State and faith‑based institutions were ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says the Government’s online safety website for children and young people has reached one million page views. “It is great to see so many young people and their families accessing the site Keep It Real Online to learn how to stay safe online, and manage ...
Tēnā tātou katoa, Ngā mihi te rangi, ngā mihi te whenua, ngā mihi ki a koutou, kia ora mai koutou. Thank you for the opportunity to be here and the invitation to speak at this 50th anniversary conference. I acknowledge all those who have gone before us and paved the ...
New Zealand’s payroll providers have successfully prepared to ensure 3.5 million individuals will, from Wednesday next week, be able to keep more of what they earn each pay, says Finance Minister Nicola Willis and Revenue Minister Simon Watts. “The Government's tax policy changes are legally effective from Wednesday. Delivering this tax ...
An experimental vineyard which will help futureproof the wine sector has been opened in Blenheim by Associate Regional Development Minister Mark Patterson. The covered vineyard, based at the New Zealand Wine Centre – Te Pokapū Wāina o Aotearoa, enables controlled environmental conditions. “The research that will be produced at the Experimental ...
The Coalition Government has confirmed the indicative regional breakdown of North Island Weather Event (NIWE) funding for state highway recovery projects funded through Budget 2024, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Regions in the North Island suffered extensive and devastating damage from Cyclone Gabrielle and the 2023 Auckland Anniversary Floods, and ...
Indonesia’s Foreign Minister, Retno Marsudi, will visit New Zealand next week, Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced. “Indonesia is important to New Zealand’s security and economic interests and is our closest South East Asian neighbour,” says Mr Peters, who is currently in Laos to engage with South East Asian partners. ...
He aha te kai a te rangatira? He kōrero, he kōrero, he kōrero. The government has reaffirmed its commitment to supporting the aspirations of Ngāti Maniapoto, Minister for Māori Development Tama Potaka says. “My thanks to Te Nehenehenui Trust – Ngāti Maniapoto for bringing their important kōrero to a ministerial ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has thanked outgoing Chair of the Civil Aviation Authority, Janice Fredric, for her service to the board.“I have received Ms Fredric’s resignation from the role of Chair of the Civil Aviation Authority,” Mr Brown says.“On behalf of the Government, I want to thank Ms Fredric for ...
The Government is proposing legislation to overturn a Court of Appeal decision and amend the Marine and Coastal Area Act in order to restore Parliament’s test for Customary Marine Title, Treaty Negotiations Minister Paul Goldsmith says. “Section 58 required an applicant group to prove they have exclusively used and occupied ...
Regulation Minister David Seymour says that opposition parties have united in bad faith, opposing what they claim are ‘dangerous changes’ to the Early Childhood Education sector, despite no changes even being proposed yet. “Issues with affordability and availability of early childhood education, and the complexity of its regulation, has led ...
After receiving more than 740 submissions in the first 20 days, Regulation Minister David Seymour is asking the Ministry for Regulation to extend engagement on the early childhood education regulation review by an extra two weeks. “The level of interest has been very high, and from the conversations I’ve been ...
The Coalition Government is investing $802.9 million into the Wairarapa and Manawatū rail lines as part of a funding agreement with the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA), KiwiRail, and the Greater Wellington and Horizons Regional Councils to deliver more reliable services for commuters in the lower North Island, Transport Minister Simeon ...
Local Government Minister Simeon Brown has announced his intention to appoint a Crown Manager to both Hawke’s Bay Regional and Wairoa District Councils to speed up the delivery of flood protection work in Wairoa."Recent severe weather events in Wairoa this year, combined with damage from Cyclone Gabrielle in 2023 have ...
Mr Speaker, this is a day that many New Zealanders who were abused in State care never thought would come. It’s the day that this Parliament accepts, with deep sorrow and regret, the Report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care. At the heart of this report are the ...
For the first time, the Government is formally acknowledging some children and young people at Lake Alice Psychiatric Hospital experienced torture. The final report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in State and Faith-based Care “Whanaketia – through pain and trauma, from darkness to light,” was tabled in Parliament ...
The Government has acknowledged the nearly 2,400 courageous survivors who shared their experiences during the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Historical Abuse in State and Faith-Based Care. The final report from the largest and most complex public inquiry ever held in New Zealand, the Royal Commission Inquiry “Whanaketia – through ...
With a week to go before hard-working New Zealanders see personal income tax relief for the first time in fourteen years, 513,000 people have used the Budget tax calculator to see how much they will benefit, says Finance Minister Nicola Willis. “Tax relief is long overdue. From next Wednesday, personal income ...
Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden says a bill that has passed its first reading will improve parental leave settings and give non-biological parents more flexibility as primary carer for their child. The Regulatory Systems Amendment Bill (No3), passed its first reading this morning. “It includes a change ...
Two Bills designed to improve regulation and make it easier to do business have passed their first reading in Parliament, says Economic Development Minister Melissa Lee. The Regulatory Systems (Economic Development) Amendment Bill and Regulatory Systems (Immigration and Workforce) Amendment Bill make key changes to legislation administered by the Ministry ...
New legislation paves the way for greater competition in sectors such as banking and electricity, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly says. “Competitive markets boost productivity, create employment opportunities and lift living standards. To support competition, we need good quality regulation but, unfortunately, a recent OECD report ranked New ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says lotteries for charitable purposes, such as those run by the Heart Foundation, Coastguard NZ, and local hospices, will soon be allowed to operate online permanently. “Under current laws, these fundraising lotteries are only allowed to operate online until October 2024, after which ...
The Coalition Government is accelerating work on the new four-lane expressway between Auckland and Whangārei as part of its Roads of National Significance programme, with an accelerated delivery model to deliver this project faster and more efficiently, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “For too long, the lack of resilient transport connections ...
Sir Don McKinnon will travel to Viet Nam this week as a Special Envoy of the Government, Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced. “It is important that the Government give due recognition to the significant contributions that General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong made to New Zealand-Viet Nam relations,” Mr ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says newly appointed Commissioner, Grant Illingworth KC, will help deliver the report for the first phase of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into COVID-19 Lessons, due on 28 November 2024. “I am pleased to announce that Mr Illingworth will commence his appointment as ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters travels to Laos this week to participate in a series of Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)-led Ministerial meetings in Vientiane. “ASEAN plays an important role in supporting a peaceful, stable and prosperous Indo-Pacific,” Mr Peters says. “This will be our third visit to ...
Construction of a new mental health facility at Te Nikau Grey Hospital in Greymouth is today one step closer, Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey says. “This $27 million facility shows this Government is delivering on its promise to boost mental health care and improve front line services,” Mr Doocey says. ...
New Zealand is committing nearly $50 million to a package supporting sustainable Pacific fisheries development over the next four years, Foreign Minister Winston Peters and Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones announced today. “This support consisting of a range of initiatives demonstrates New Zealand’s commitment to assisting our Pacific partners ...
Associate Education Minister David Seymour says proposed changes to the Education and Training Amendment Bill will ensure charter schools have more flexibility to negotiate employment agreements and are equipped with the right teaching resources. “Cabinet has agreed to progress an amendment which means unions will not be able to initiate ...
In response to serious concerns around oversight, overspend and a significant deterioration in financial outlook, the Board of Health New Zealand will be replaced with a Commissioner, Health Minister Dr Shane Reti announced today. “The previous government’s botched health reforms have created significant financial challenges at Health NZ that, without ...
Minister for Space and Science, Innovation and Technology Judith Collins will travel to Adelaide tomorrow for space and science engagements, including speaking at the Australian Space Forum. While there she will also have meetings and visits with a focus on space, biotechnology and innovation. “New Zealand has a thriving space ...
Climate Change Minister Simon Watts will travel to China on Saturday to attend the Ministerial on Climate Action meeting held in Wuhan. “Attending the Ministerial on Climate Action is an opportunity to advocate for New Zealand climate priorities and engage with our key partners on climate action,” Mr Watts says. ...
Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones is travelling to the Solomon Islands tomorrow for meetings with his counterparts from around the Pacific supporting collective management of the region’s fisheries. The 23rd Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Committee and the 5th Regional Fisheries Ministers’ Meeting in Honiara from 23 to 26 July ...
The Government today launched the Military Style Academy Pilot at Te Au rere a te Tonga Youth Justice residence in Palmerston North, an important part of the Government’s plan to crackdown on youth crime and getting youth offenders back on track, Minister for Children, Karen Chhour said today. “On the ...
The Government has welcomed news the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) has begun work to replace nine priority bridges across the country to ensure our state highway network remains resilient, reliable, and efficient for road users, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says.“Increasing productivity and economic growth is a key priority for the ...
Acting Prime Minister David Seymour has been in contact throughout the evening with senior officials who have coordinated a whole of government response to the global IT outage and can provide an update. The Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet has designated the National Emergency Management Agency as the ...
New Zealand and Japan will continue to step up their shared engagement with the Pacific, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “New Zealand and Japan have a strong, shared interest in a free, open and stable Pacific Islands region,” Mr Peters says. “We are pleased to be finding more ways ...
New developments in the heart of North Island forestry country will reinvigorate their communities and boost economic development, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones visited Kaingaroa and Kawerau in Bay of Plenty today to open a landmark community centre in the former and a new connecting road in ...
President Adeang, fellow Ministers, honourable Diet Member Horii, Ambassadors, distinguished guests. Minasama, konnichiwa, and good afternoon, everyone. Distinguished guests, it’s a pleasure to be here with you today to talk about New Zealand’s foreign policy reset, the reasons for it, the values that underpin it, and how it ...
Opinion: The Canadian short story writer Alice Munro – winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2013 – died in May at the age of 92. Her work was about “the damage people inflict on one another in the name of love”, Deborah Treisman wrote in the New Yorker. ...
This month marks two years since the most powerful telescope ever built sent its first pictures back to earth. From its lofty vantage point, beyond the moon in orbit around the sun, the James Webb Space Telescope was tuned to observe the first stars and galaxies being born soon after ...
Comment: After Climate Change Minister Simon Watts’ preview several weeks ago, I had some optimism about the Government’s emissions reduction plan. Now I’ve read the discussion document, that hope has been dashed. How can the Government propose a plan that wants to take New Zealand taxpayers’ hard-earned money, and spend ...
Christopher Luxon: hurdles The little man from National jumps hurdles in his sleep. He’s quite good at it in his dreams and even though the reality doesn’t quite match up you have to give him credit for getting up every morning and crashing into the very first hurdle of the ...
Comment: It was a good two hours into the conversation when Tyrone Marks raised the most basic of questions when I first spoke to him in 2017. “They didn’t explain the things they did to me. They never told me why. And they still haven’t. There’s no explanation for it. ...
Last summer when Matairangi burned, Ginny and Tom stood at the window of their lounge, watching kākā shoot skyward from the burning trees. From the distance, they looked to Ginny like pages torn from books and thrown into a bonfire. It was Tom, voice tight, who told her it was ...
Madeleine Chapman rounds out Death Week on The Spinoff with a final recommendation. You can read all of our Death Week coverage here. Nothing forces you to reflect on your life and relationships quite like proximity to death. For those whose nearest and dearest have died, there are reasonably obvious ...
Whitney Greene takes us through her life in television, including the TV character she’d like to plan a funeral for and her cow lung catastrophe on The Traitors NZ. “If the phone rings, I have to answer it,” Whitney Greene from The Traitors NZ warns as we begin our My ...
Maddie Ballard reviews the debut essay collection of Pōneke writer Flora Feltham.In ‘The Raw Material’, the longest essay in Flora Feltham’s dazzling debut collection, the author heads out for a run after hours of weaving and sees the world turn to textile. “Pounding along the Parade, I saw the ...
Andy Christiansen, one half of the experimental rock-pop duo TRiPS, shares the tunes inspiring the band’s perfect weekend and new release. “Good speakers, good food, good music, no distractions”: that’s all you need to enjoy the psychedelic stylings of TRiPS, a new band formed by Fly My Pretties’ Barnaby Weir ...
Celebrating our quadrennial opportunity to become experts in a bunch of sports we never normally watch.The games of the XXXIII Olympiad are upon us. Paris will host this year’s showcase of sporting and athletic prowess, which means some late-night and early-morning viewing for us in Aotearoa.But what sports ...
The photograph is striking and beautiful, but also disturbing – a reminder that my love for John was often entangled in shame.The Sunday Essay is made possible thanks to the support of Creative New Zealand.In the spring of 1980, in Dunedin, shortly before his death, someone took a photograph ...
Get to know Babushka, our latest Dog of the Month. This feature was offered as a reward during our What’s Eating Aotearoa PledgeMe campaign. Thank you to Babu’s humans, Jo and Isabel, for their support. Dog name: Babushka (Babu for short) Age: 2Breed: Border Collie X poodleIf rescued, ...
Pacific Media Watch A Lebanese photojournalist who was severely wounded during an Israeli air strike in south Lebanon carried the Olympic torch in Paris this week in honour of her peers who have been wounded and killed in the field — especially in Gaza and Lebanon. Christina Assi of Agence ...
The first report in a five-part web series focused on the 15th Triennial Conference of Pacific Women taking place in the Marshall Islands this week.SPECIAL REPORT:By Netani Rika in Majuro Women continue to fight for justice 70 years after the first nuclear tests by the United States caused ...
Christopher Luxon has joined with Australia and Canada's leaders in voicing support for US President Joe Biden's ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra The 2022 election brought the “teal wave” into parliament. The next election will test whether teals, who occupy what were Liberal seats, and other independents can maintain their momentum. Joining us on the Podcast ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ian Musgrave, Senior lecturer in Pharmacology, University of Adelaide Pixavri/Shutterstock A major Federal Court class action has been dismissed this week after Justice Michael Lee ruled there was not enough evidence to prove the weedkiller Roundup causes cancer. Plaintiff Kelvin ...
In The Week in Politics: politicians have to decide what to do about child abuse, Health NZ is booked in for major surgery and Darleen Tana returns. ...
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With the widening gap in the polls between Clinton and Trump growing fast, the Republicans can now think about losing the 30 seats that would lose them Congress as well:
http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2016/president/us/general_election_trump_vs_clinton_vs_johnson_vs_stein-5952.html
If Trump keeps this up, I think we will see more and more mild Republicans head over towards Clinton.
Next test for them both: when the economic shockwaves from Brexit hit the US, which one has the more credible reaction and plan?
Nate Silver’s team have a little counterfactual at what the economic impacts could mean:
http://fivethirtyeight.com/features/what-a-brexit-could-mean-for-the-economy/
I think Brexit won’t actually happen, the polls are starting to swing back to Remain (since global markets are getting jittery).
Demographic polling shows that there is a distinct difference in preferences between the young and the old, with the young preferring to remain. This increases the chances that the polls being reported are wrong, since they have to have a Likely Voter model to weight the results, if this under-estimates the eventual share of young voters, then Remain will likely end up several points higher than the polls have been showing.
Since recent polling in the UK for the election and the Scottish independence vote have been very poor, I don’t think we should take the polls as-read (and my feeling is that Remain is under-sampled).
It will be interesting to see how this pans out Lanthanide. Polling has shown young people in Britain are firmly for Remain. But how many will actually vote? At my work place in Queenstown we’ve got lots of young Britons on working holidays and while they’re all, at least, tending towards Remain hardly any of them would consider entering a polling booth for any reason.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11659127
Aue ! Hannah Tamaki has a new motor.
The ‘Faster Paster’ screams over Mangere Bridge at 239 kph……..a sway of coiffed bleached hair, an outlandishly extended eyelash……..concealing the obscenity of Te Puea Marae to her left.
The Heavenly Master is aghasta of course !
the sadistic bearded skyfairy does not give a flying fuck.
Fixed that for ya.
is this a timid approach by a NZ Herald Stenographer trying to appeal to our current National Party led government that excels in doing nothing ? Oh well…….too little too late.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/opinion/81165587/stacey-kirk-a-cold-week-in-politics-as-government-fuels-fires-with-ice
Covering Bennetts arse again. Either Bennett is a callous creep, or a gossip that cannot keep a secret.
she is both.
But was it a secret? I gather it was well known in some circles. Unfortunately Labour making a mountain out of a molehill again.
Yep whereas National are trying to make the housing crisis mountain into a molehill again, unfortunately for a bunch of homeless.
I agree Gangnam and further I read a report that the Marae chief thought he was speaking confidentially…. really hard to know what the true facts are.
It isn’t the first time that Bennett has placed confidential information into the public arena.
Oh, if there’s doubt as to what the facts really are, the solution is easy: the benefit of the doubt doesn’t go to the proven liar with a history of leaking personal details.
I have to disagree with you on this; in the court of justice you’re innocent till proven guilty, beyond reasonable doubt, and a jury won’t be allowed to know of the accused’s (criminal) history till after the trial.
Don’t you think these standards are also suitable and appropriate for ‘trials in public’?
Nope.
We’re not sentencing people to prison. Screw those jerks.
Unless the media people say they got this information from someone else entirely, it’s perfectly fair to work on the assumption that bennett has, yet again, treated her position with incompetence and contempt and used her privileged position to launch patty political smears, or allowd her office to do so.
Trouble is you are letting your political beliefs influence your judgement.
So, basically, if I wasn’t anti-national I’d ignore the fact that Bennett has history of releasing personal information, I’d ignore the coincidental nature of the information getting out just after she met with the guy, and I’d throw my hands in the air and say “gee willakers, I’m honour-bound to give equal weight to the facts and her denials, I guess we will never know the truth so I will pretend this never happened”?
Yeah, nah. There is a possibility that she or her office didn’t leak it, that it’s all a setup. But I’d need to hear that from a third party to believe it. That’s not unfair, or bullying, or whatever. That’s a liar reaping the credibility that they sow.
Well this, at the start of the article, is pretty damning:
“It’s a cold Government that pays lip service to refugees, vetoes parents having more time with their children and leaks personal details of a man trying to help with Auckland’s homeless crisis. But this one did. And all in the space of a week.”
The “run of surpluses” Double-Dipton has supposedly achieved are now in some doubt since the last report on government finances a couple of weeks ago showed a billion going missing.
It is only a matter of time before a mega killer heatwave strikes Australia, seeing thousands of Australians fleeing across the Tasman in fear of their lives.
http://www.nbcnews.com/news/weather/120-degrees-western-wildfires-explode-triple-digit-heat-wave-way-n594071
A single heatwave is not going to send Australians to New Zealand to live permanently. I doubt if it would even send very many here to ‘ride it out’ – perhaps if it lasted a week or more in some cities.
And some people may be shocked by the waves of hot air that make it across the Tasman to give NZ a nasty blast… We will not go unscathed.
So Andrew Little acknowledges that he lied about John Shewan. He releases his apology two hours before the test match on a Saturday hoping for minimal coverage.Too bad he was unable to man up and apologise to the Hagamans. Still best not to have to fight two defamation cases at the same time. Problem is that given how likely he is to speak without fully engaging his brain I wonder how many more defamations cases he will cause.
[Your next comment had better be proof of your assertion that Little has acknowledged that he lied or an apology to Little for making a false statement or you’re leaving us for an extended period. TRP]
Little lied his arse off, he’s not sorry in the slightest.
Does show he’s got form for lying and muck racking though, which gives a ton of weight to Hagamans defamation case
Lol form for lieing, your kidding right?, I forgot mother Teressa was John Keys mum, and he is the only person on the planet God asks forgiveness from.
BTW, i’m trying to help you and Fisi out here, but it would be nicer if the two of you at least tried to hold a sensible conversation about things occasionally, instead of popping in with your wild exagerations at times.
Or do you work for National and have no interest in listening only dictating how it should be?
Relying on the accuracy of an off-ashore newspaper is always a big risk. Little made a mistake and has apologised. That is the mark of a person with integrity – unlike the present incumbent PM and his mob of sycophants like fisiani and BM.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/politics/news/article.cfm?c_id=280&objectid=11659052
It’s in the paper and actually fisiani is correct Andrew came out and apologized and admitted he was wrong about Sherwin.
I’ll tell you this moderators, your bullying, end of.
I’ve been threated with BANS, by Marty, Lprent, and you edited a post and went on one yesterday.
I’m not on Fisi’s side, but stop fkn threatening everyone with bans dickheads.
Here http://www.nzherald.co.nz/politics/news/article.cfm?c_id=280&objectid=11659052
ban me then
[Fisiani has made a very specific claim. It’s up to him to prove it or apologise or he’s gone. If you’re that keen on not commenting here, you could simply not comment. But any further abuse and your wish will be granted. Which would be a shame, because when you’re not ranting, you often make sense. TRP]
No, Andrew said he made a mistake based on wrong information, not made up a lie, read it again. Ban the shit stirrer.
He twisted it to being a lie agreed, is that worthy of threatening a ban is it?
Nazi much?
It is you and fisiani doing the twisting Richardrawshark.
You both seem to have trouble with Honest-Andrew’s approach. When he makes an honest mistake, having relied on newspaper reports that turn out to be inaccurate, he simply admits it, meets the person in question and apologizes.
Now if we had a PM who did this he would have more respect across the spectrum. Instead we have a PM who lies often and never admits it.
Wrong BG, I don’t agree with Fisi saying he lied, in fact if you read my statements and posts not once do I say Andrew lied.
I’m not getting drawn into that.
I will defend someones right, no matter how much I detest there political point of view, to have that point of view. As much as I would if it was taken from me.
“Wrong BG, I don’t agree with Fisi saying he lied …”
“It’s in the paper and actually fisiani is correct …”
Some mistake, surely?
Do I need a lawyer to read my posts before printing to check that in no way possible can it be used to promote a point of view different to the context it was made in?
JFC
Nope. Just accepting that you forgot what you’d wrote a few minutes earlier would be fine 😉
Goodbye TRP, enjoy the Standard.
I see your point TRP, I had thought you were saying to Fisi that Andrew had no made ANY post at all when he did and to prove the post by linking it. I stepped in as I had also read the post on the Herald and linked it..
I think the truth is you knew there was a post but Andrew had said he was wrong where fisi said he made public apology for lieing.
My total bad.
Sorry guys my appologies, I should not post early till me tablets kick in.
Doesn’t change my opinion on the often used sledgehammer though.
No sweat, mate! You and Andrew Little both seem able to take some responsibility when it’s needed. Not so sure that fisiani is made of the same stuff.
“Labour leader Andrew Little has admitted he was wrong when he said two months ago that John Shewan advised the Bahamas government on how to maintain the islands’ tax haven status.”
Frankly he lied TRP what do you call saying something that is factually incorrect. Is wrong , is not the truth.
these things are also called lies.
http://www.msn.com/en-nz/news/national/little-admits-bahamas-accusation-was-wrong/ar-AAhgjfj?li=BBqdk7Q&ocid=iehp
Now it’s also on MSN.
reading it, although this pains me significantly and i’m not saying this as any form of get back at you.
It’s just ..arghhhhh owwww he’s kind of.arghhhh right. ughhh
croak, wheeze dies.
Wrong. A lie is when you purposefully misrepresent the facts while knowing the truth. Andrew Little didn’t do that. He represented the data that he had. The data turned out to be wrong.
In fact, if we used your logic, you would actually be lying in this entire thread.
With that apology, you show you are more graceful than most here. Well played Sir.
-DTB, yeah I see your point there. Ta.
-Mr Little said statements he made in April were based on a report in a Bahamas newspaper.
weak very weak from little and his strategy team, and using a newspaper report “JHC”, wouldn’t have been an opposition paper there would it? Regardless, newspaper reports any reports need facts checking, you and all involved in the media and politics know that DTB.
If he’s not guilty of deliberately lieing, then he shows a lack of professionalism for not checking his attack would hold up under scrutiny and not backfire on him, which seems to be bloody common from all Politicians these days..
Seems the authenticity of reports, is less important, than it’s usefulness to your political message!
I agree. He didn’t lie. But he made a serious allegation based on a purported single report in a Bahamas newspaper. Which he has not cited. So we cannot even check what that newspaper reported or the weight a reasonable person would attach to such a report.
So no he didn’t lie. But neither was it a mistake. It was a defamatory statement based on a willful disregard of the evidence required to support such a statement.
The threats to me are not tolerable unless deserved, people will get excited, this is a political forum, here we have a left blog with guest, some of them we have had here a long time like BM Fisi etc. We all know what they are like.
Last two days the ban threats and moderation has gone overboard. You can take that critisim on or threaten me again. Up to you.
But one more and I am gone. I just don’t enjoy people who want freedom of speech but deny it to others for weak things like their enjoyment when we do something wrong. fairs, fair.
I also posted the link, (wrong, lied), I’ve seen worse exagerations here over what some of the Nats have said being twisted.
Take it on Mods, just calm down a touch or find other ways you can keep a semblance of order without using a sledgehammer to crack a nut.
“Goodbye TRP, enjoy the Standard.” Richardrawshark @ 11.41am.
I thought you had already gone. IMO you suggesting a couple of days back that a couple of people here ‘end it’ because they didn’t agree with your point of view, should have had you permanently banned. You are the epitome of why The Standard can be a very toxic place to be in.
& some ‘lefties’ condemned what he said Ben, or did you forget that, so fuck off with the faux concern yeah?
Actually where would you go, Kiwiblog or WO? Are you showing ‘concern & outrage’ on those blogs too for their toxic comments? Or just here?
Thanks for reinforcing my comment with more abuse GS. Typical weak comeback. Has the comment been deleted? Can’t be bothered looking, but I suspect it’s still there.
FYI, for all its faults, WO moderation is strict and simply telling someone to FO would be met with a temp ban and a warning. Personal attacks and abuse used to be common, but for the last couple of years it has been pretty strict becuase so many people read the blog (it hurts I know) and they lifted their game. You might not like Slater, or the politics on the site, but it’s a whole lot more savory than here, with a number of regular female posters.
I’m amazed how anyone that posts a differing view here is met with abuse, called a RWNJ, or commonly met with the ‘faux concern’ response. It’s not called an echo chamber for nothing.
Slater’s numbers look like they’ve bottomed out completely since Dirty Politics. And he’s relying almost completely on those horrid advertisements, too – the site’s littered with them. No doubt a sign he’s lost a ton of regular advertising support. An apt fate for the kind of place he runs.
It’s PC gone mad Ben!
No I didn’t, we already discussed and ended that conversation Ben.
Depends on how you infer something as a dig or as literal. trying to say I was asking people to kill themselves literally..having a face to face with you would be difficult if your going to react like that to what comes out as language when people are talking,
Take a hike, jump off a cliff, hang yourself, go fly a kite, give me a break etc etc etc
I noticed here though more than other forums some of the commenters love to hate, yet are the first to condemn it.
You take a dig at someone and they get all holier than thou and accuse you of having bad intentions.
it’s really quite utterly pathetic, Ben.
What business is it of yours Ben? Desperate to spread your negativity?
When you post on a public forum, does it not become everyone’s business? Taking offence to your post was not negativity, it was merely expressing my offence. Based on your posting history, I suspect there was more venom in your comment than your lengthy explaining tries to portray. As Mr Little is finding out, perception is everything.
I do enjoy how you come back for a second bite, responding to your own comments. Dwell much?
remember party line telephones, where anyone could pick up the phone and listen in, not cool very frowned upon
Remember CB’s where you have chats with people but there was a code of conduct.
Remember BBS’s same thing, forums, now blogs, you can butt in, but your the one who may end up looking like a meddler interferer and stirrer.
but up to you Ben I got better things to do atm.
I just think, Andrew’s trying to copy Keys style of saying the first thing that pops in his head for media attention.
I don’t think he’s guilty of anything aka the Hagamans BM, your grasping just a tad too far there, as I’ve said saying something like a government deal looks dodgy is his job, and it’s vague enough, the claims on Sherwin were mouth before brain BS and your bang on , on that.
We need better opposition and leadership, IMHO.
The person or team leading labours strategy are weak, and in a month when gifts dropped from heaven, we should have seen a no confidence having been thrown in and a testing of their partner parties,.
weak, very weak and now embarrassing.
Yeah Andrew should wait for some polling results before he makes a statement (sarc). Or he can lead & make mistakes & apologise & move on, or have you not ever made an honest mistake? I for one like Little, he’s got guts unlike the current PM.
To be honest G my opinion on Andrew’s still undecided, Cunnliffe is ten times the PM that Andrew is.
I agree with you there about Cunliffe, but Little is there right now, & not doing too bad a job & he gets all the right wing trolls fizzing & spewing so can’t be too bad eh.
I enjoy laughing at their desperation of trying to make these disasters look good.
Don’t you?
The excuses and justifications are side splittingly funny in their pathetic-ness, what would we do without them.
Little’s Preferred PM stats are worse than Goff, Shearer, or Cunliffe.
He needs to stop these excuses and damn well perform better.
You either have the ability to think on your feet and hold a debate, with class and dignity, Lange had that in spades, Cunnliffe has it, Andrew doesn’t, that’s how Richie see’s it sadly.
hmm self edit, I do think Andrew is good at debating, it’s better said, I think Cunnliffe’s excellent and perfoms better at it.
Where Andrew looks uncomfortable, Cunnlife looks at ease.
Wasn’t Helen Clark at 3% before serving 3 terms as PM???
Go back and check.
And stop making excuses for Little. He isn’t.
-Ad Can’t ditch him, that would be 4… must cheer.. must be brave, and have faith.
It says a lot about the health of newspapers world-wide. Why bother to produce these crap papers if one cannot trust a word they publish. It has become a world where you have to do your own research before you can open your bloody mouth – what an indictment that is where lying is just like breathing. Our NZ Herald is testament to that, we are on a month’s trial with the paper after we gave it the boot 3 years ago – today’s issue (like every day’s issue) is unmitigated garbage – I just cannot believe that readers digest this muck – at least for a month we have liners for the cat’s litter tray. Good on Andrew Little for doing the correct thing and apologising for his mistaking and expecting news in a Bahamas newspaper to be the truth when it was the usual lazy journalism at fault and lies.
Yeah at least Cunnliffe used the word sorry when apologising for being a man. Didn’t see sorry from Little. Oh well one down and one to go.
Here’s a big word for you Dale, ‘context’, look it up.
TRP I find your casuistry gobsmacking. You are quibbling about the definition of a
“lie” .
Where is the corresponding beratement of Blip long list of so called lies by John Key…………?
http://thestandard.org.nz/?s=Blip%27s+of+lies&isopen=none&search_posts=true&search_comments=true&search_sortby=date
Andrew Little did not tell the truth about John Shewan.
He has acknowleged this.
His acknowledging that he did not tell the truth does not constitute telling a lie???? Are you serious?
Let me quote you the definition of Lie
noun
1.
a false statement made with deliberate intent to deceive; an intentional untruth; a falsehood.
Synonyms: prevarication, falsification.
Antonyms: truth.
2.
something intended or serving to convey a false impression; imposture:
His flashy car was a lie that deceived no one.
3.
an inaccurate or false statement; a falsehood.
4.
the charge or accusation of telling a lie:
He flung the lie back at his accusers.
verb (used without object), lied, lying.
5.
to speak falsely or utter untruth knowingly, as with intent to deceive.
Synonyms: prevaricate, fib.
6.
to express what is false; convey a false impression.
verb (used with object), lied, lying.
7.
to bring about or affect by lying (often used reflexively):
to lie oneself out of a difficulty; accustomed to lying his way out of difficulties.
An inaccurate or false statement constitutes a lie.
Andrew Little admitted that he did not speak the truth. He admits that he conveyed a false impression
http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/political/306724/little-admits-bahamas-accusation-was-wrong
There is the proof that you asked for!!!
OK, you worked hard on your homework and you spared us your presence for the best part of the day. Win/win, I reckon.
Well done fisiani. I’ll bookmark that comment for next time John Key moves his lips! Win/Win alright!
The Nation has said Govt Agencies are dropping off people at Te Puea Marae to be housed.
I hope they are coming with the $5k resettlement allowance!!
https://berniesanders.com/Stream/
Thanks Jenny. First time I have heard Bernie give a full speech.
Vice Watch
In a world with any respect for the rule of law, or even elementary decency, these two men would be rotting in prison, not striking poses like they’re doing here….
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fGZTFg8PP9Q
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=14Cu4M-6FGw
“L’hypocrisie est un hommage que le vice rend à la vertu.”
—-François de La Rochefoucauld
http://www.stuff.co.nz/world/americas/81089975/sanders-declines-to-endorse-clinton-vows-real-change
As Bernie Sanders prepares to fight for reforms inside the Democratic Party Convention, his political slogan has become –
“Justice or Bust.”
http://www.commondreams.org/views/2016/06/09/bernie-or-bust-no-its-justice-or-bust
How Sanders shepherds his supporters after the Democratic Convention is a Bobby Kennedy moment for US liberals. Bernies’ campaign team are leaving it really late to generate a full-throated reform movement.
I hope Bernie and team have both the wisdom and the skill to avoid Black Lives Matter and Occupy aimlessness and dissolution.
I’ve just put up a post about the Mana party that touches on how a movement can be built by testing the waters at local level. That’s what Sanders has suggested his supporters do:
https://berniesanders.com/press-release/thousands-potential-candidates-respond-sanders-appeal/
I saw those Sanders links.
He’s too equivocal, unstructured, and very late. I hope it works.
I think I know what you’re saying: cease the moment or opportunity, keep the momentum and build it or grow it. Right?
Although it might be disheartening or frustrating even when certain things don’t eventuate at first and seemingly disappear into oblivion I think this often is because of our short-sighted view and impatience and single-minded focus on one particular outcome or ‘destination’ – associated thinking is “the end justifies the means”.
Very recently, Rosie and weka used the metaphor of waves and indeed there’s a groundswell that may be largely undetectable but the waves of change are clearly visible on the surface.
Change does not always follow a linear direct path, in space or in time; it meanders, it oscillates & vibrates.
Human development is similarly characterised by taking baby steps in the beginning and falling down and getting up again, which is how we ‘learn to walk’. This applies to all levels of development (and evolution).
Another way of saying more or less the same thing is this well-known and beautiful quote from Ovid:
If Sanders is telling the truth, he wants a revolution, not mithering from rhe Greeks. He set the high expectation, and it’s up to him to follow through.
Carpe the freaking Diem, Bernie.
O.k. Ad, fine with me; I think Sanders (and his supporters) will continue to go down the path wherever it leads.
BTW, Ovid was from Rome, the quote was in Latin, and so is yours 😉
Justice or bust?
Cabinet seats or bust?
At the last election the Green Party agreed to drop all bottom lines to get seats in cabinet.
Play the game, drop your principles, and we will make a space for you at the table.
As the Green Party goes into another election cycle and shut their mouths over “Climate Justice” they hope this strategy will get them seats at the table.
Announcing the launch of a big “Centrepiece Environmental Campaign”. I was terribly disappointed when the Green Party Centrepiece Environmental Campaign turned out to be a repackaging of the Green Party’s Clean Rivers Campaign, with which they have fought the last two elections.
What had raised my expectations in James Shaw’s campaign for co-leader, he named climate change as his number one priority, and reiterated this promise on becoming co-leader. This was in contrast to Russell Norman who had been the main leading promoter for keeping climate change in the background.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11435086
James Shaw’s Maiden Speech
Talking Climate with James Shaw
And so the backsliding has begun…..
Wecome to MMP Jenny, and give them a break.
You should thank your lucky stars you’ve got the best Green Party in the world right here.
I’d have said welcome to MMP Jenny where you get to, every three years, pick from a list of Mainly Munted Parties made up of Mostly Munted People to run your life for the next three years, choose carefully.
🙂
Obviously, you understand very little of what MMP is intended to achieve;-))
I expect better of them than you do Ad.
Memorandum of Understanding
clause 2. b) “Working Together”
Where Labour and the Green Party (“may”) agree to work together to support each other’s Members’ Bills and Supplementary Order Papers.
If the MoU is worth anything, then the Green Party need to start putting up private member bills on climate change and challenge the Labour Party to support them.
Will they do it?
Will the Green Party try and shift the national debate on climate change?
Or will the Green Party “Swimmable Rivers Centrepiece Campaign” smother any debate of climate change?
why has @NZStuff removed THIS story? about Mike Hosking bullying co-workers?
https://twitter.com/ArrestJK/status/744384477049151490
Note to commenters; we’ve had an issue over the weekend with a small number of regular commenters (and an author or two) having some of their contributions held in moderation until release by a mod.
It’s a bit beyond me, but hopefully it’s not an issue that’s with us too long. No point listing all the commenters affected, but marty mars is one of the ones that seems to have copped it most often.
So, apologies if some or all of your comments don’t immediately appear, but the mods will let them out as soon as they’re spotted.
Thanks – hope it’s fixed soon.
Me too. It’s been a pain manually releasing them (and there were a couple criticising me I was tempted to leave in limbo. No names, no pack drill, but weka will know who I’m talking about). But I’m off to the pub to watch the Warriors stuff Easts, so I’ll be out of the loop for a couple of hours. Hopefully another mod will take my place.
This was just on the news: https://www.tvnz.co.nz/one-news/new-zealand/stop-giving-hustlers-money-homeless-man-says-cash-donations-only-cause-problems
Homeless person saying don’t give homeless people money.
Community law person saying don’t give homeless people money.
Shopkeeper saying don’t give homeless people money.
Member of the public saying don’t give homeless people money.
They’re probably spending it on drugs.. thoughts?
I was pulled up outside the supermarket in the suburbs the other day by a kid who looked like he was living on the street who came running after me asking for money, I gave him some. It was the first time in suburbia though I’ve been asked.
Talking about DC Today makes me wish to say this
David Cunnliffe is one of NZ’s best parliamentarians IMHO, he has so much to offer the people of NZ.
I find it highly offensive he’s back benched and his skills and intelligence are left to rot in a corner due to infighting and bickering, I think the Labour party has a duty to the people who voted for DC to include him in a capacity that reflects the talents he has to offer, and stops the ABC BS.
Rise above it Labour, he, like Liam Neeson has a particular set of skills.
Cunliffe is one of the very few Labour MPs to put the National regime under sustained pressure.
Don’t know why lots of comments are going to moderation (especially weka and marty mars). Lprent?