“22% increase in profits with declining consumption is in need of investigation!”
Our family and community understand this as we are involved in the
controversial rollout of “Smart meters” the new electronic transmitting meters that are known to cause health problems especially with those who have “electromagnetic sensitivities” ES or EMS sensitivities to electromagnetic fields being created by these meters.
Doing our research we have found that the tariff charges for power is now being changed (as these meter tariffs are unregulated by Gov’t)
The method is called TOU or (Time of use,) in which minutes are separated and recorded by the computer inside the Smart meter as to the time of use is and that are setting a tariff that is much higher than when the EA/Gov’t has previously set for power charges during the day or night.
Now the time of use parcels of time say hypothetically cold be in 20 minute intervals would be higher by 300% during peak time of day than 9pm at night.
So people who use more power during the day will now be desperately trying to turn off their Heat pumps freezers and other high use appliances during the day to lower their monthly bills.
It is another Key Government ploy to extract the maximum profit from the least investment.
Hope this helps. We need an investigation into this criminal fleecing of consumers. who must see the real issues here,
I joined Grey Power Power via Pulse and was able to request the successful removal of the smart meter installed here at my house. No charge was applied to me either.
Don’t think others will do it. I was a Powershop customer until I moved here, but they couldn’t ( or wouldn’t ? ) do it. A Powershop rep told me to call Grey Power Power .. and here I am, a happy customer freed from 24 hour a day microwaves on the wide of my house next to my bedroom.
I also objected on the grounds it did one more person out of their job as a meter reader.
I sell pure mechanical Analogue meters if anyone needs them.
Most Power companies contactors cant supply them but we can,.
Some will refuse to use them but we have forced them to accept them now, as our right to own our own meters, so don’t’ take their crap that they are mandatory that is a lie, this is going on under this Government.
Time mind time of day/peak charging but it must be communicated before hand so that people know that it’s happening and they must also know also know how much they’re being charged. The present smart meters don’t do that.
GCHQ in the UK has the ability to manipulate political landscape !
The GSCB has the same ability here!
Key has already shown he is not above using any means to disrupt democracy!
srylands is one of the GSCB’s plants its so obvious!
Key has more to answer!
So how did Slater find out about politicians visiting Dotcom.
Key has denied Gscb and SIS but no one asked him if the police passed on info!
If it was PI’s who paid them!
He has to stand by them – he has always maintained that Dirty Politics is untrue and is a beat-up from the left. If he didn’t stand by them then he is admitting the book is correct.
He has a problem.
But don’t forget; Key lies (he just can’t help it).
You will notice that everytime he says NZers care about policy he walks away? Funny that. No real policy Mr key, just upgrading schools and building new schools which any govt has to do over the next few years. Calling it policy. Bah
John Key all of a sudden wants to discuss policy.
Here’s one to discuss then.
How does he plan to tackle systematic poverty in the country?
A letter to the Dominion Post yesterday.
“Child poverty within New Zealand remains a national shame. Low-incomes see New Zealand families always on the brink, one setback away from financial disaster.
Often these families find themselves resorting to third tier borrowing which traps them in a downward, never-ending cycle of indebtedness, powerlessness and increased poverty.
The gap between incomes and affordable housing has grown – housing affordability deteriorated by 7.6 per cent in the 12 months ending May 2014.”
…suggesting they “made bad decisions” also isn’t the answer. How the hell does a new born child make a “lifestyle choice” to live in poverty. How the hell do they consciously extricate themselves from the influence of their environment and culture. No question marks required on those statements.
Your topic, Mr.Key, is everything you ignore, your time starts now…
Paul, Dave + Crocc, Child & mother’s care in Key’s world.
I have in Daughter who lives away from our area, and works to keep her son in Playschool but he got a bug two days ago from Playschool and it is contagious so She (mother had to stay at home and care for his fever and cough.
Since she hasn’t been there at the job for six months yet, she wont get paid, and now she has contracted the virus off the son so she was forced to drop him at playschool today dosed up the panadol and her with the same and due to financial reasons forced herself to go back to work so she has to pass it o to others and her son too?
This illustrates the mindless Key government that can’t see the consequences of their actions.
She cannot get WINS help either so she is sick with a son and forced to work, = Key’s plan for us all.
Classic example of how mindless sanctions against the poorer parts of society can end up harming the wealthy. A more benign regime would reward behaviour which reduces the spread of disease.
Susie Ferguson – another disgraceful interview by a supposed public broadcaster.
Is she able to work beyond smears?
Waiting to hear her discuss the issues of housing, employment, inequality, the environment,
Just obsessed about polls and alliances.
What about informing your audience about the party’s policies and asking difficult questions about that?!
Rnz aside from the odd spot of professionalism like espinner yesterday is part of the nact pr machine. Theyve had many morning report combos since griffin was installed to get the mix right.
That is amusing since many consider RNZ to be a hotbed of left wingers. Reminds me of when I worked for TVNZ News and we were happy when both sides attacked us becuase obviously we were walking down the centre, hard as that is, but of course that was twenty five years ago … today I subscribe first sentance unfortunately.
Seeing Key and co. self destruct is a historic spectacle, especially with MSM players who are slowly realising that they have been complicit in the entire criminal John Key enterprise.
However none of this makes for a winning strategy for the Left. The election remains on a knife edge. (I don’t count having to cobble together a multi-multi party coalition simply to put together a sliver 2-3 seat majority as a win). We have a few more days of revelling in Key’s political demise – but it doesn’t mean that he won’t be PM again come Sept 20 – or that National won’t be in again come 2017.
This country’s politics is undergoing a major crisis which is almost constitutional in nature. Now is the moment – the opportunity – for major proposals and reforms to be put forward, by the Left to clean things up.
Regulations on lobbyists and unofficial spokespeople. On corporate money and campaign financing. On journalistic standards and public broadcasting. On democractic accountability – including within the security services. On cpmprehensive whistleblower, leaker and journalistic protections.
It’s clear we need broad, brave new measures to safeguard our democracy and to stop US style political rot taking hold in NZ.
Let’s see some gutsy proposals from the progressive parties to detoxify our politics.
They may well have some for all we know, the media isn’t focusing on policies and hasnt for a while. Is it a coincidence that only the Left have really been releasing any?
The Right Wing learnt the lesson a century ago via Freud, Bernays etc that through mass media, people are swayed far more by their emotions and their prejudices, than by rational fact and discussion. And they’ve put this understanding into action ever since. At the same time the left has continuously driven down increasingly narrow intellectual over rationalising cul de sacs and become less and less able to connect to and give moral voice to the people really suffering in our society.
Have you read Jaques Ellul : Formation of Men’s Attitudes (about Propaganda)? If you haven’t mind I be so bold as to recommend you do. I think you would “enjoy” it. He wrote during the Cold war, but he could have been talking about now.
The Left may call them policies but to me they sound more like bribes …. the one policy which would make a huge difference has been ignored for decades and I have no faith that either side will address the matter … ample State Housing for all who need it.
A warm dry roof over one’s head is the most important aspect of living in an inclement climate.
My top ones would be around end to end whistleblower/leaker/journalistic protections in any case where the public interest or democratic interest was at stake.
Also transparency of not just the funding of political entities but where that money is spent in terms of media advice and media buys.
Improvement of journalistic/news standards + public broadcasting.
Increased sanctions for the politicisation of the civil service/intelligence services.
given the militarisation of the USA and its decline in press freedom (now 40th in the world) we don’t want to follow their example… but do journos have some kind of constitutional protection in NZ already?
This country’s politics is undergoing a major crisis which is almost constitutional in nature.
Not ‘almost’, it is constitutional. What Hager reveals in Dirty politics is an outright undermining of our democracy and we need to have the tools to do something about despicable actions like these when they’re discovered.
They are fiddling the system, that’s what people who succeed in markets the best do. They call it finding loopholes BUT they also manipulate ( in the book there is a bit about manipulating ipredict) and lie and break rules. They rationalise and justify. BUT anyone who thinks that Key made it as far as he did in his chosen business without similar tactics is mad, or as slylands likes to say needs to stop being stupid all their life. And he clearly hasnt set aside those strategies since becoming PM.
The market failed the people, and now the market has disenfranchised the people.
I agree, it is constitutional. And who is final refuge for us ? The Governor General. And let’s recall, Jerry Mateparae was removed as head of GCSB to be replaced by Key’s ‘can’t-remember-him’ buddy Fletcher. His ‘reward’ was to become GG. And it remains to be seen if Key and his $$ masters own him. Be an interesting struggle I think, as Mateparae has previously seemed to be a man of great personal integrity.
Having watched all those years ago as Watergate unravelled from a single loose stitch at the bottom to the very top of the Republican knitting, maybe a major constitutional crisis is brewing here.
We’ve been considering the actions that the GG might take too, yeshe! What would it take for him to act, is he impartial, many, many things to ponder at the moment – The information is coming so thick and fast, it’s hard to know which murky pond to gaze upon next! What kind of creatures will we see emerging, who are their National party buddies and what nefarious enterprizes have they been involved in? Been wondering too, how good old Queen Lillibet is feeling these days? Think there will be any more invitations to Balmoral?
That is my fear: That just as Douglas radically changed the basis of the NZ economy, so Key is dismantling the constraints associated with political office, and turning the PM role into something more akin to a branch manager. He is one of the “leaders from central casting” that began to pop up in the Western world in the mid 2000’s.
Ad says, on the “Will the real National Party Please Stand up” thread, Nicky is merely holding a small mirror to New Zealand society on the morality of the Washington Consensus. By and large New Zealand voters chose this over several decades with their Faustian eyes wide open.
There are four main elements of concern that come up in the book, quite apart from the malignancy the main players: (1) The misuse of privileged information, (2) The theft of opposition information, with a view to giving them grief, (3) The use of this malignant group as a sort of news filter, so that anyone who wanted to meet deadlines,etc, had to pass through WO’s slanted interpretations, and (4) The group’s making use of any information they could get their hands on to bend others to their will.
I would like to be able to fathom how much of this is a deliberate attempt to irrevocably shift the political compass, and how much of it is simply rogue elements, living in a fantasy world, enjoying unbridled license under a PM who is “not a politician.”
I would like to be able to fathom how much of this is a deliberate attempt to irrevocably shift the political compass, and how much of it is simply rogue elements, living in a fantasy world, enjoying unbridled license under a PM who is “not a politician.”
Well, it seems to me to be a bit of both. The hackers refer to it as a “network”. By definition that is a complex of inter-relationships, rather than a centrally organised conspiracy. networks are also more flexible, less clearly defined, and rely a lot on personal connections and associations, albeit that they also link into associations with organisations and institutions.
I have done a few posts on Key’s “networks of influence” – these include a range of contacts and associations he nurtures – ones that Key can draw on when and as situations arise. My posts focused on the networks of powerful corporate and political players. In my nativity, I failed to included the kinds of underground networks that Slater et al play with and draw on: prostitutes, etc.
Suddenly, I have an idea for a future “networks of influence” post.
Yes, those underground networks are important, because they are able to do great damage to people. I think you are probably right about “the bit of both.” What is important is that the rogue elements are not working against the preferred direction, but are in general seen to be helping to achieve it, if indirectly.
NZ is a young country, and I think its population by and large have a limited conception of what a civic society is, just a vague sense of “decent people like me meeting my standards of decency.” If they vote Key in again, after all that has been revealed, I will be very frightened for this country.
I take it you mean the “two track system” that Hager has spoken of and written about in his book – where the PM remains aloof and lets thugs do his dirty work for him. If you are right, the book ought by rights to put pressure on that plan, but it remains to be seen how much influence it will have on voting patterns. The relaxed, untarnished image Key has cultivated is now seriously compromised, whether or not he ends up getting a third term.
+++10 Colonial Viper, true.
“This country’s politics is undergoing a major crisis which is almost constitutional in nature. Now is the moment – the opportunity – for major proposals and reforms to be put forward, by the Left to clean things up”
Cut out the corrupt political cancer.
This recapturing of honest open political policy must be aggressively perused by the opposition prior to the election as a major platform otherwise the cancer will infect any future Government also.
We really need something like the Australian corruption commissions. As things stand, Ede should have been arrested, there should be a warrant for Slug Boy, Collins should have been stood down, and Key should have been dismissed. All we seem to have is the GG, and he’s just a Tory who used to be in uniform. Something like a BOR tribunal would also be good, to ensure legislation and activities didn’t violate the Bill of Rights. It would need teeth. Both would need to be constituted as democratically as possible, rather than becoming one party’s toys via appointments.
If we don’t get something like this, the Tories are just going to get worse.
Whaledumper has done what the left wing parties have failed to do in the past 6 years. He/she has shown up the parties in a spectacular way.
I hope Whaledumper does not overegg it though. We are getting very close to the point where absolutely everyone agrees that Key, Collins at al are scum. Once we reach that point, more vile from the mouth and emails of Slater will not add anything to the issue and will run the risk of public exhaustion.
My strategy would be leak for a few more days. Then just let the media hammer Key until election day.
Ah, you haven’t read the book. Yup Mr Slater whom Mr Key wont distance himself from used a former prostitute to trawl brothels to try to catch politicians and people Slater doesn’t like “at it”.
Mr Bhatnagar seemed to revel in Slater’s gutter dwelling, and didn’t Ms Collins give him a job???
‘Hager’s Dirty Politics: what the book ultimately reveals is abuse of power’
By Martyn Bradbury / August 19, 2014
“Slater & Co are not bloggers, they are political sadists…Nicky’s book is now doing what I suspected it would do, create a shockwave of revulsion. Andrew Geddis over at Pundit Blog sums up this attitude best, and it’s reverberations build with every single new person who reads the book.
This is the outrage and the uproar caused by a mere 10 000 print run, what level of crescendo do you think we’ll hit when it becomes 20 000? 30 000? 40 000? What the headlines miss is the stinging hatred that shines through all the messages of those involved and that spite is shocking people. Politics can be angry, politics can be loud – but hateful? Hate politics has no place in a modern democracy….
“The Left may call them policies but to me they sound more like bribes …. the one policy which would make a huge difference has been ignored for decades and I have no faith that either side will address the matter … ample State Housing for all who need it.”
If you chopped all these transfer payments and used the money for a boost to the state housing stock and income related rents, you could achieve the same outcome in a much cleaner way.
Yes lots of ways to simplify and overhaul what has become a very convoluted system.
Our current political left has not a single radical bone in its body though, preferring to tinker with a machine which is increasingly broken and not fit for purpose – the care of NZ citizens from cradle to grave.
When did ANYTHING John Key said, actually MEAN anything? The Shallow Man doesn’t think deeply enough for anything he says to MEAN anything, but he does do an expert spin, better than a whirling dervish!!
“No one’s asked us to discuss whether the emails are real. Since this has not happened, there is doubt over whether or not they are made up. We are too big and powerful to offer to pre-empt the question. Power does not bow to open dialogue. I can be asked if I am willing to be asked to discuss the emails, but not on Mondays and not while I’m in the office or during interviews. Please make an appointment when I’m not in the office, at such time I will then be unwilling to discuss the emails.”
or a more literal translation,
“We have never argued that the emails are real, I don’t think anyone’s made that point. I have not come out and openly said they are. How can you accuse us of things we did if we don’t agree that we did them?*”
refer to general traits of psychopathic personality.
If I can borrow a boxing analogy, Bob Jones didn’t see it coming. His piece in the Herald must have been written early last week, because it looks terribly dated now:
Just got off the phone with the Ministry of Justice about sorting out a traffic fine I had.
I was going to do a payment arrangement, at $10 or $20 per week but apparently if you want to make a payment arrangement you have to provide a budget of income and expenses.
Seeing as I wasnt really keen on having to submit my personal affairs to justice system so they decide that I was worthy enough to be allowed to pay it off in the method I think best (I wasnt trying to get out of paying it, I just wanted to pay the damn thing off over time) out came the credit card.
Personally I reckon that is bullshit, and penalises the poor more than anyone else, just getting them further and further into debt, they shouldnt have to submit a budget because they cannot shit out $121 on the spot.
It seems that Courts Minister Chester Burrows has made it a mission bankrupt people through the fine system.
Right, that’s you done for. Expect your name to be passed on by judith to cam for outing her ministries sh!t systems and prepare for the attack on your character to commence. That’s how it works these days, isn’t it?
Interesting comment, Millsy. We had the same argument with ACC – but we just went ahead and
started paying off the ACC debt by $20 a fortnight instead of the amount they wanted – much more – and haven’t heard a word since. We have another few months to go before the debt is fully paid up.
I don’t see why how much we earn is any of their business. Nor is what we spend our money on. This could be something that Mana would look at. I doubt if Labour care.
Latest National Party policy regarding the poor was the announcement of a loan deal via one of the Australian banks hiring a woman from one of the payroll lenders whose market interest rate is often around 500%. The Govt is contributing a meagre $250,000 to the plan, not that it’s necessarily a good plan in the first place.
Why is it acceptable for our Prime Minister and his colleagues not to READ THE BOOK, in order that they could then answer each accusation point by point? I don’t understand why people allow this bullshit response. If you are an honest PM and someone accuses those closest to you of corruption, wouldn’t the first thing you’d want to do be to read the accusations so you can then investigate them? More needs to be made of the fact that Key refuses to do so. In my book that’s an admission of guilt in itself – and this needs to be slammed home.
Emphasis mine but very, very true. Key knows how deep the corruption goes and he’s trying to hide it.
So who will win the upcoming nat party leadership election contest?
Obviously judith, despite her arrogance probably disagreeing, is now out of the running and joyce, with his creepy and slimy dirty politics defence is looking somewhat lame, so with both pre race favourites falling at the starting gate, who’s left?
At a guess, English is happiest of the party stablemates right now.
Paula could be cake and sticked into making an attempt at a run.
And a longshot is Simple Simon from Tauranga, just as long as he doesn’t have to think and elucidate on the campaign trail.
Part of the Crosby Textor strategy is to dissuade people from voting at all, which was what happened last time.
That idea was explained in Dirty Politics by Simon Lusk.
“There are a few basic propositions with negative campaigning that are worth knowing about. It lowers turnout, favours right more than left as the right continues to turn out, and drives away the independents.’ In short, many people stop participating in politics. If politicians cannot be trusted, if politics looks like a petty or ugly game, and if no one seems to be talking about the things that matter, then what’s the point of bothering to participate? Just leave them to it.”
When you vote take 2 people with you and get them to take 2 people etc.etc.
Simon Lusk overstates the effect of negative campaigning. It may stop people participating in organised mainstream politics, but it also encourages stronger community links and unofficial groups. People don’t just throw up their hands and think, “oh well boss man is just too big for me. Best I just stand by and let my family die …”. Happens all over the world, throughout history, and while not entirely a constructive example it’s already happened here too: The Mongrel Mob.
I wonder why Colin Craig has been so quiet since publication of Dirty Politics ?
And then there is this … I guess if you want to defile a hoarding for any reason, it’s good to have some creative talent ! And yes, as is commented, it is an improvement of the Splendour In The Grass images …
Now John Key is using RNZAF A109’s to get himself around the country and campaign. What an appalling man and not very sound judgement. I know he occupies the highest office in the land, but there has to be a stage where public servants can say GTFO we can’t do that for you PM.
A couple of years back people said Key didn’t look like he wanted the job, and tories were outraged.
Then it turned out that yeah, he was seriously considering quitting the job.
Does this look like someone who wants to stay PM? I don’t think so – he’ll be off after the election, however it turns out. Joyce, Blinglish and Collins will be fighting over the succession: who gets to be PM if they win, and who doesn’t have to be caretaker leader of the opposition if they lose.
Well if people were as interested in Nicky Hager and dirty politics as the left were hoping then Campbells ratings would have been up yet his ratings were poo so I’ll leave you to draw your own conclusion as to why his ratings are in the toilet
Treasury says the economy is “growing strongly” and expected to continue to do so, with recent falls in dairy prices not outside forecasts.
This year the books are forecast to return to surplus; wafer-thin at $297 million. It nevertheless fulfils a major political promise which if missed could have hurt Finance Minister Bill English’s credibility.
Beyond 2014/15 the surpluses will not grow at nearly the rate that Treasury had forecast, owing to a cut in the level of expected revenue from tax, especially GST.
This means debt will be higher for longer, now peaking higher and later at $67.9b in 2017/18.
Unemployment is forecast to drop to 4.5 per cent by 2018, down from 5.6 per cent at the end of June
New Zealand First MP Andrew Williams is set to be dumped to an unelectable position on the party list, with former MP Ron Mark set to rejoin the party.
Stuff understands a draft copy of the NZ First list, determined by the party’s selection committee on the weekend, has Williams ranked at 13, and Mark ranked at 9.
A draft copy eh, can anyone confirm with Nicky Hager if Cameron Slater was involved? But seriously this is good for NZFirsts survival beyond Winston
well maybe an online petition /letter of concern could be started….I certainly would be willing to sign….she certainly does not do the legal fraternity any favours … in fact she brings them into disrepute
I really would like to know what is Labours Policy on Broadcasting/Media.
Nothing on the website but if they are serious about cleaning up NZ they need a strong Broadcasting Policy
‘cept that’s the Arts policy, and Ron was asking about the Broadcasting/Media policy, which it’s fair to say isn’t yet articulated on the Labour website.
Kris Faafoi seems to have been largely AWOL since the corporate box affair…
oh, ok, arts culture and heritage doesn’t involve media.
I guess if it hasn’t been released yet we must assume that it does not exist and everyone in caucus is a neoliberal rogernome. Seems reasonable.
‘Panic setting in for National as they realise what’s about to happen’
By Martyn Bradbury / August 19, 2014
“Whaledump has the potential to reveal the full picture and the full picture is just so much more disgusting and damaging than what is currently out in front of the public, that’s why those within National and the Right who are being informed just how vile that picture is are putting as much distance between themselves and Slater as they humanly can….
Radio LIVE Daily Poll
Thank You for Participating
1. Have you found it a struggle to pay your power bill this winter?
Yes 59 of votes 59%
No 41 of votes 41%
….what is his profile?
…who is he married/partnered to? ( anyone famous?)
….what is his CV background? ( Harvard? Cambridge?)
…where are the photos? ( golfing body shots are not clear enough)
…what exactly is his relationship with John Key?
… thus far Ede seems to have swum under the radar….but maybe he is pivotal?
Ok, so there’s this poster on a completely different forum which I used to be a memeber of who says he went to school with Ede. The poster is a fleewee, lives in London but likes to comment favourably toward the right when talking about NZ even though he’s not contributed to this country for some years now. I’ll post some of his musings on this…
One thing that is interesting is that apart from an obscured photo of Ede firing a golf ball into the ocean there are no known photographs of him. This is very clever on his part. He must have spent years keeping a lid on that, especially difficult in today’s age of selfies and camera phones. So there is no bullseye visible target for the media to focus on. They can’t seem to even doorstep him or track his movements.
He is a tremendously cunning f**k.
Unlike the Damian McBride incident in the UK, which is a close parallel, they can’t seem to take aim at the lead character. He refuses to speak to anyone too. This means that the connection to the Beehive remains a bit hazy. If one of the lead characters is essentially invisible, the plot is not as interesting and it may have less legs.
I guess we’ll have to see if they can smoke him out.
I recall Alistair Campbell saying these things have a shelf-life of three days. But if it goes on for longer than three days then you have a real problem, and the fire is out of control. With the weekend coming up you would think the National Party are hoping for it to die out then. If it’s still around Monday, then trouble ahead.
and
I went to school with ede and was fairly good mates with him. What I thought was funny at the time was that he made a unilateral decision in 7th form to stop wearing school uniform. A few old school teachers pulled him up on it but just sneered and ignored them. It was quite funny. He didn’t go to university. Went straight to radio and developed an ultra cynical methodology immediately. He has no philosophy. Amazing how long he’s been in the shadows.
well thanks for that …but still the faceless man of mystery….seems like a pivot man in the whole scheme of things ….even a junior Mr. Smiley ( but then i am just a nosey Chook with too much imagination)
…but maybe things will clarify…i look forward to a special Post on him on the Standard
i remember a book i used to read to the kids ….’Where is Wally?’
Yes, I know as much as anyone on Ede. The first I remember his name being mentioned was the photos of the aftermath of the press party sent straight to the hate speech merchant, Cameron Slater.
Yes, I have looked for stuff on Ede before and found very little via google. I thought I saw a link to a newspaper article back in about 2005 or so – maybe earlier, maybe later. I thought it was a newspaper article that was written by Jason Ede, about John key.
I just had another look tonight.
I found this mention from a couple of days ago on NZ Herald, with a bit about Ede being a former journalist and Don Brash’s press secretary.
I found this, which is total heresay, and as far as I know, could just be someone’s fantasy – although, he does have a bit of contextual detail – elaborate fantasy, if it is one.
‘Can someone in the media please ask the PM of NZ to categorically deny any National Party staff worked with Cam Slater in the smearing of Tania Billingsley? ‘
Prime Minister says he reads the standard and John – I can watch this again and again and again he goes on to say that hagers book only has pejorative things to say about about him personally. ?.not that hes read the book…wtf?
Has anyone posted a comment about the item tonight on Campbell Live which is that EQC is very short of money to complete their commitments. The reason is that the Government wants to hide the debt because if it was counted, then the “surplus” heralded by the Government does not exist. If proven this would suggest that the Govt is lying. Surely not.
Disturbed outlined what’s happening power companies are paying bigger surpluses to shareholders basically a cartel no competition .The previous price rises were for upgrades of infrastructure now the spend on infrastructure is declining rapidly instead of competing for customers with lower prices shareholders are taking windfall profits and tuning time for govt intervention!
I see that @whaledump has this evening tweeted “This is not all about party politics. Be patient. You’ll see.”
Pure speculation, but I wonder if Mssrs. Mallard and/or Cosgrove are about to take a tumble. Mallard has been unusually silent on social media re: #dirtypolitics.
Assuming those two are the primary ABC sources for the likes of Garner and Gower, it doesn’t seem beyond the question they’ve been in communication with Slater.
Surely anything about Labour would still be “party politics” as well. The simplest way to read “not all about party politics” is that there are leaks involving individuals or institutions that are not commonly associated with particular parties in the public eye.
There is a striking “bulge” in National’s electoral support in the 50 to 64 age bracket, and the profile is very different from 2011 :
Percentage of population by age bracket supporting National December 2011
18 to 24 – 38.4%
25 to 34 – 36.2%
35 to 49 – 46.7%
50 to 64 – 38.9%
65 plus – 44.4%
Percentage of population by age bracket supporting National July 2014
18 to 24 – 25.8%
25 to 34 – 32.9%
35 to 49 – 42.2%
50 to 64 – 51.2%
65 over – 44.6%
Two remarks
1) that’s a large constituency of people of roughly JK’s age who are fairly apolitical and identify with him (nice guy, winner)
2) They are National’s “soft underbelly”… (sorry, couldn’t resist)
Buzz from the Beehive Transport Minister Simeon Brown dutifully issued advice to all road users to keep safe on our roads during the Easter weekend. He encouraged them to stay safe, plan their journeys ahead of time, and be patient with other drivers while travelling around this Easter long weekend. ...
Oliver Hartwich writes – New Zealanders recently learned about a new feature film. It will be about former Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern – and taxpayers will subsidise it to the tune of NZ$800,000. Ardern had nothing personally to do with either the film or the subsidy. But her government’s ...
TL;DR: Here’s the top six news items of note in climate news for Aotearoa-NZ this week, and a discussion above that was recorded yesterday afternoon above between and The Kākā’s climate correspondent : An independent review panel into the emergency response to Cyclone Gabrielle in Hawkes Bayconcluded “that ...
There are now only a few days left to give feedback on the Draft Government Policy Statement (GPS) on Land Transport 2024-34 (see our earlier post this week on GPS submission guides). As we’ve reported, the GPS is a disaster for Local Government, so we were particularly interested to hear ...
Willis has pledged to go ahead with the debt-funded tax cuts, despite growing opposition from her own supporters worried about appearing fiscally irresponsible. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for ...
Open access notables A survey of interventions to actively conserve the frozen North, van Wijngaarden et al., Climatic Change:The frozen elements of the high North are thawing as the region warms much faster than the global mean. The dangers of sea level rise due to melting glacier ice, increased ...
Bryce Edwards writes – New Zealand’s biggest-ever political donations scandal is finally at an end. But what is the conclusion? No one can really be sure. The Court of Appeal released its judgement on Tuesday about the Serious Fraud Office case against the NZ First Foundation. On ...
In 2015, then-Prime Minister John Key announced plans for a huge ocean sanctuary around the Kermadec Islands, banning fishing and mining from 15% of Aotearoa's EEZ. It was bold, it was ambitious, and it suggested that National might actually care about the environment. Except they fucked it up: Key failed ...
1. Who has just been given the accolade New Zealander of the Year?a. The Kokakob. The Cook Strait Ferryc. Fair God. Dr Jim Salinger 2. Which of these is an affront to decent society?a. Dame Edna Everageb. Mrs Doubtfire c. Dr. Frank-N-Furterd. Brian 3. Who is Penny Simmonds?a. The aspiring actress in Big ...
New Zealand’s biggest-ever political donations scandal is finally at an end. But what is the conclusion? No one can really be sure.The Court of Appeal released its judgement on Tuesday about the Serious Fraud Office case against the NZ First Foundation. On the face of it, the court found ...
Buzz from the Beehive Waves of rain are set to lash much of the North Island during Easter Weekend as a low-pressure system forms east of New Zealand, according to a weather forecast published in the past day or so. Niwa was warning of a “moisture-laden” long weekend, with rain expected ...
Look around us…Nicola Willis’ promises of balancing the books, of cutting spending without reducing services, and of delivering game changing tax cuts are disappearing before her eyes.Everyday we see stories of violent crime ending in horrific injuries, or worse. The cost of living worsens, whereas the PM claimed renters would ...
TL;DR: My top six news of note on the morning of Thursday, March 28 include:The Government will have to borrow between $10 billion to $15 billion more than previously expected in order to make up for a slowing economy and to pay for $14.9 billion of tax cuts, according to ...
This story by Naveena Sadasivam and Kate Yoder was originally published by Grist and is part of Covering Climate Now, a global journalism collaboration strengthening coverage of the climate story. The long-awaited jobs board for the American Climate Corps, promised early in the Biden administration, will open next month, according to details shared exclusively ...
Should landlords be able to deduct the interest on the loans they take out to bankroll their property speculation? The US Senate Budget Committee and Bloomberg News don’t think this is a good idea, for reasons set out below. Regardless, our coalition government has been burning through a ton of ...
Treasury’s first report on the economy since the change of government presents a damning indictment of Labour’s economic management. The problem for National is that it is so damning that logically, coupled with a rapidly slowing economy, Finance Minister Nicola Willis should respond to it by postponing or even cancelling ...
Budget tensions are becoming evident within the Coalition Government. Winston Peters made numerous political points in his speech to the NZF annual conference. But the attack on his own government’s fiscal policies raised issues of substance. ‘Today in the Sunday Star Times, journalist and former advisor to the Labour ...
Buzz from the Beehive The media – sure enough – have been binging on Finance Minister Nicola Willis’ release of the Budget Policy Statement and a statement headed Government announces Budget priorities This assures us – or rather, this parrots the Luxon team mantra – that the Budget “will deliver ...
The Ides of March brought me COVID followed by a bereavement. No wonder they tell you to be careful of them.I’m home now and have resumed the interrupted recuperation. Very much looking forward to getting back to regular things. Meanwhile, some thoughts…OneThis new Prime Minister guy just keeps getting more dire. ...
News that the Chinese ATP 40 cyber-hacking unit penetrated parliamentary internet networks in 2021 has renewed concerns about the PRC’s malign intentions in Aotearoa. But is the hack that significant given the length of time that has passed since its … Continue reading → ...
When Parliament passed the Intelligence and security Act in 2017, they assured us all that it was full of safeguards. Any intrusive surveillance of New Zealanders would be subject to a "triple lock", requiring the approval of the Minister and (supposedly independent) Commissioner of Intelligence Warrants, as well as post-facto ...
Eric Crampton writes – Richard Harman’s Politik newsletter provides a bit of the context that ought to have been showing up in other media reports on potential reductions in public service staffing. Media has been reporting on staffing cuts on the order of about 7%. Is that ...
Mike Grimshaw writes – It’s becoming increasingly apparent that many perceive free speech to have become the preserve of the politically right wing, the religiously conservative, the libertarian fringe, the anti-trans, the anti-Māori and…. well, just fill in with whatever groups or individuals you don’t like and don’t ...
Don Brash writes – As everybody who is not blind and deaf is aware, there is a huge political preoccupation with climate change at the moment, a widespread (though by no means unanimous) belief that global temperatures are rising mainly as a result of the greenhouse gases created ...
TL;DR: My six things to note in Aotearoa’s political economy on Wednesday, March 27 include:Chris Bishop laid out his vision for filling Aotearoa-NZ’s $100 billion infrastructure deficit in a speech yesterday, emphasising user pays and private funding, but failed to say how to achieve bipartisanship on population, public borrowing and ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Former Finance Minister Grant Robertson and former Prime Minister Chris Hipkins have been conveying how unhappy they are with the tax system. Last week in his valedictory speech, Robertson called for the introduction of a wealth or capital gains tax. And this week Hipkins ...
On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
Buzz from the Beehive China has loomed large in Beehive considerations over the past 24 hours, largely because of that country’s mischief-making in the cyber espionage department. Two media statements emerged on that subject hard on the heels of the PM baulking at questions put to him on RNZ’s Morning ...
Chris Trotter writes – WHY IS THE NATIONAL PARTY doing so much for landlords, property developers, trucking, and construction companies, and so little for everybody who isn’t already pretty well-off? It’s as if protecting landlords’ investments and building apartments and roads now constitute the whole of National’s ...
Bryce Edwards writes – When she was campaigning to be Minister of Finance last year, Nicola Willis pledged that she would resign from the job if she failed to deliver tax cuts in her first Budget. Now, it’s that pledge, along with Prime Minister Christopher Luxon’s ...
Robert MacCulloch writes – The Reserve Bank has doubled staff numbers in five years to 510, with personnel costs rising to $80 million in 2023 from $32 million in 2018 – up by a whopping 150%. I guess when you print $50 billion and flood markets with liquidity, ...
The furore. In case you didn’t notice there was a controversy in the weekend involving dolphins in a little town off the South Island. Don’t panic, they haven’t declared independence and resumed whaling, this was simply a sailing event.The problem began when racing was cancelled on the opening day of ...
For 20 years or more, the case for a meaningful capital tax gains has been mulled over and analysed to death, including by the tax working group chaired by Sir Michael Cullen. More than once, the International Monetary Fund has said a CGT would be a good idea for New ...
TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: The Public Health Communications Centre (PHCC) call for urgent preventive action and a risk assessment survey of long covid in this briefing noteLocal scoop: NZ road deaths surpass OECD rates, so why is the govt reversing safety plans? ...
This story was originally published by Grist and is part of Covering Climate Now, a global journalism collaboration strengthening coverage of the climate story. This story is part of a collaboration with Grist and WABE to demystify the Georgia Public Service Commission, the small but powerful state-elected board that makes critical decisions about everything from raising ...
This is a guest post from Robert McLachlan Global warming is accelerating; 2023 was off the charts. We need to stop burning fossil fuels. In New Zealand, transport accounts for half of all fossil fuels burnt. In the Emissions Reduction Plan, transport emissions fall 41% by 2035. As the ...
Labour productivity has been receding rapidly over the past two years, reversing a post-lockdown rise. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: My six things to note in Aotearoa’s political economy as at 6:26am on Tuesday, March 26 include:Workers have been treading water in output per hour worked for 12 years, ...
TL;DR: The key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to April 2 include:Today, Parliament resumes sitting at 2pm for the second week of a two-week session. Officials for SIS and GCSB report their annual reviews in public to the Intelligence and Security Select Committee from 5.10pm.Tomorrow, ...
Faced with a barrage of criticism over the promised tax cuts from usually supportive commentators, Finance Minister Nicola Willis yesterday reaffirmed her intention to include them in this year’s Budget. The Government is up against it over the cuts just about every way it turns. Commentators like Fran O’Sullivan, Matthew ...
Here’s my pick of today’s substack posts as of 6:26pm on Monday, March 25: writes via his substack that Market-rate housing will make your city cheaper writes via his substack about the problems talking to double-cab ute (truck) drivers about their vehicles. today about moments of radicalisation in ...
Buzz from the Beehive Just before Christmas, Finance Minister Nicola Willis delivered something that was pitched as a mini-budget and brayed about the decisive action being taken to repair the Government books and support income tax relief in Budget 2024. In a statement headed Fiscal repair job underway. she introduced ...
My sister Belinda asked Dad yesterday what one word would describe Mum best. He said: vivacious.If you only knew her from the photos on the slideshow we've made for today,you might wonder about that, because the camera tended to lie with Mum.If ever she saw a camera pointed at her, she ...
There are two major public consultations closing in the next week, Auckland Council’s Long Term Plan (LTP), and the draft Government Policy Statement on Land Transport (GPS). Closing dates and times: LTP closes Thursday 28 February, at 11.59pm – a minute to midnight! GPS closes Tuesday 2 April, at 12pm noon – note that’s ...
From Kiwiblog’s David Farrar – Bryce Wilkinson writes: Senior Fellow Bryce Wilkinson’s analysis reveals that since March 2009, New Zealand has spent $158 billion more overseas than it has earned, but its NIIP has only fallen by $32 billion.Statistics New Zealand shows that receipts from overseas reinsurers have ...
Is she hinting that the Coalition Government will have to back down on key promises it made in Opposition? Brian Easton writes – The Minister of Finance, Nicola Willis, is telling an evolving story about her fiscal challenges. In Opposition she was confident that she could ...
Dear Nicola Willis,Right now you’ve probably got lots of competing demands coming at you. Ministers who’ve inherited quite a mess, or so you’ve told us, looking for money in the budget to improve things. I imagine that’s why they came to parliament - to make things better.You’ll have to make ...
The Local Government, Transport and Auckland Minister hasthreatened councils with intervention if they don’t merge water assets to take them off balance sheet, just as the now-repealed Three Waters plan directed. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: My six things of note this morning for Monday, March 25 include:Simeon ...
A listing of 36 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 17, 2024 thru Sat, March 23, 2024. Story of the week Thanks to John Mason having the stamina to sit down to watch "Climate - the Movie" ...
This morning the Q&A programme had Simeon Brown on to talk about National’s replacement for Three Waters. In case anyone’s forgotten the three are - drinking water, waste water, and sewerage. It’s quite important not to get them mixed up. In much the same way that you wouldn’t want to ...
Today’s newsletter comes with a mini-podcast conversation between me and my buddy Liv Tennet, talking about her time as a child actor in Lord of the Rings. It’s a conversation with a lot of giggles as she talks about falling off a horse, and becoming a meme. Read ...
The Desmog Climate Disinformation Database documents, "individuals and organisations that have helped to delay and distract the public and our elected leaders from taking needed action to reduce greenhouse gas pollution and fight global warming." It's a who's who of the organised climate change denial movement, in other words. In ...
Bob Edlin writes – A High Court judge has decided miscreants who have mana – or who claim to have mana – should be treated differently from miscreants who have none. It’s a ruling that suggests indigenous law-breakers have a better chance of securing a discharge without conviction ...
Welcome to the first, and possibly last, edition of Brickbats, Bouquets and Bull’s Wool. In which I’ll take a look at the events of the last week or so, and rate them.In such ratings the numbers usually have more to do with the opinions of the reviewer, than the actual ...
Roger Partridge writes – My earlier column this month, New Zealand’s highest court could be facing a turning point, prompted a flood of feedback from business readers and lawyers alike. A common query was what Parliament can do to restrain an overreaching judiciary. This week I discuss two steps Parliament ...
TL;DR: In today’s ‘six-stack’ of substacks at 6.16pm on Friday, March 22: writes about New Zealand's Building Boom—And What the World Must Learn From It over at his substack. challenges the Auckland Council’s use of a 3.8 degrees of warming forecast to oppose a wave-park and data centre project ...
Is she hinting that the Coalition Government will have to back down on key promises it made in Opposition?The Minister of Finance, Nicola Willis, is telling an evolving story about her fiscal challenges. In Opposition she was confident that she could deliver her promised income tax cuts. Appointed minister, she ...
Buzz from the Beehive Ministers of the Crown have drawn attention to one sector of the science sector which is unlikely to be subjected to heavy spending cuts, a state-funded broadcaster which is doing nicely, thank you, and a sporting event that had $5.4 million from the public purse puffed ...
Abbott’s Freestyle Libre sensors allow continuous glucose monitoring (CGM). The sensor is applied to the back of the patient’s arm, with a thin filament under the skin measuring glucose levels constantly. But it costs around $100 per sensor and must be replaced once every 14 days. Photo by BSIP/Universal Images ...
The Inspector General of Intelligence and Security (IGIS) recently released a report in which he exposes the existence of a foreign intelligence partner-controlled technological “capability” inside the headquarters of the GCSB, NZ’s 5 Eyes-affiliated signals intelligence collection and analysis agency. … Continue reading → ...
Peter Dunne writes – Nearly three decades after the introduction of MMP and multiparty governments there should be a greater level of understanding about their finer points than often appears to be the case. The reaction to the despicable outburst from the Deputy Prime Minister at the weekend highlights ...
The sweet kisses from fruit of summerHave slowly been turning dullerYou say, "those times"And "remember the daysWhen we went outside and there still was the shade?"Taking no reason into play…Autumn. Clear, blue days shortening to longer nights, growing colder. Aotearoa.That’s us. The temperature dropping, the looming car crash - so ...
Bryce Edwards writes – “It is often said that behind every great man is a great woman”. This is the pitch by the National Party Botany electorate branch to attend their “Ladies Afternoon Tea with Amanda Luxon”. For $110 including GST, you can turn up on Saturday 20 April ...
David Farrar writes – The Electoral Commission has published the expense returns for political parties for the 2023 election. I’ve put them in a table with how many votes a party got so we can see the spend per vote. National only spent $3.34 for every vote they got, almost ...
Winston Peters’ headline-making actions over the past week may have been a show of political power intended to strengthen his hand in Budget negotiations. It was no accident that his State of the Nation speech was as it was. He made it as New Zealand First Leader, not as Deputy ...
Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the last week included:Former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson bowed out of politics this week, giving a series of exit ...
Graham Adams writes — If you love the law or sausages, as the saying goes, best not to look too closely at how they are made. And after watching the orgy of self-pity when Newshub’s closure was announced on February 28, television journalism should definitely be added to the list of those ...
Venerable New Zealand political commentator, Chris Trotter (https://bowalleyroad.blogspot.com/), is a sad creature these days. Once one of the most reliable Leftist writers out there – Economic Left at that – Trotter seems to have absorbed the worldview of Auckland culture-war obsessives. It is not for me to categorise what he ...
The cruelty of short-term memory loss is that each time you ask where she is, you get the fresh shock and grief of the news. That was Dad's day yesterday.Comfortingly, it seems to be less so today. Last night he looked crumpled, today he seems more settled. There's a card ...
The Coalition Government’s plan to ‘get Auckland moving’ is a cuts cover-up that will ultimately cost Aucklanders more to move around the city, says Labour Auckland Issues spokesperson Shanan Halbert. ...
Slashing the Ministry of Pacific Peoples by 40% will have a devastating impact on pacific communities and further highlights how little this government cares about anything other than cutting taxes for the wealthiest few. ...
Labour has proposed an urgent inquiry to investigate the ever-increasing profits of supermarkets, aiming to lower costs for shoppers and food producers alike, says Labour Spokesperson for Commerce and Consumer Affairs Arena Williams and Primary Production Spokesperson Cushla Tangaere-Manuel. ...
With 14% of jobs on the line at the Ministry for Ethnic Communities, the responsible Minister Melissa Lee is failing to stand up for the very communities she’s meant to be representing. ...
COURT OF APPEAL: TRIFECTA OF VICTORY FOR NZ FIRST, TRIFECTA OF FAILURE FOR OPPONENTS For the third time since April 2020, New Zealand First has defeated the Serious Fraud Office and all those complicit in a malicious attack against a political party going about its lawful business in a lawful ...
The Green Party stands with people who live in public housing, people in dire housing need, experts and advocates in demanding better than the Government’s archaic approach to housing those who need our support the most. ...
New Zealand has recently lost the hosting rights of some major international sporting events including the America’s Cup, the Rugby Championship, Netball World Cup, and the Wellington Sevens. We are now at a huge risk of losing SailGP as well. And it won’t stop there. The recent issues with SailGP ...
A Member’s Bill drawn this week would modernise insurance law and make things fairer and more transparent for consumers, Christchurch Central MP Duncan Webb said. ...
The Minister for Disability Issues has confirmed she was aware of funding issues in mid-December and did nothing to stop it. On 14 March, she signed off on changes that were announced and implemented on 18 March without any consultation with disability communities. ...
Green Party MP Julie Anne Genter says her members' bill is an opportunity for the coalition government to plug the gap in electric vehicle incentives. ...
The National Government continues to talk about irresponsible tax cuts that will only drive up inflation, despite the country entering a technical recession. ...
The Minister for Disability Issues must act urgently to reinstate flexibility around the funding for disability support and apologise to disabled carers. ...
This story has been initiated by a leftie shill reporter who proactively sought to call a member of a former band, which disbanded twelve years ago, give their biased appraisal of what was said in my speech, and concocted a ham-fisted attempt at a story that does nothing but show ...
The Government has accepted Labour’s change to the Road User Charge (RUC) discount for hybrid vehicles, meaning there will still be some incentive for people to buy greener vehicles. ...
Many in the mainstream media have taken what was said in New Zealand First’s State of the Nation Speech in Palmerston North on Sunday and deliberately, deceitfully, and ignorantly misrepresented what I said and why I said it. The headlines and commentary on the news stated that I compared ‘co-governance ...
Kicking the most vulnerable people out of state housing and pushing them towards homelessness will result in a proliferation of poverty and trauma across our most vulnerable communities. ...
Te Pāti Māori co-leader and MP for Waiariki, Rawiri Waititi has penned a letter asking MPs to support his members bill to remove GST from all food. The bill is expected to go through its first reading in parliament this Wednesday. “I’m calling on all political parties to support my ...
Good afternoon. Thank you for, in your very busy lives, turning up to this meeting today. On October 14th last year New Zealanders overwhelmingly voted for change. That is exactly what this new government is bringing. New Zealand First campaigned to ‘take back our country’ and stop the disastrous economic ...
This year is about getting real with Kiwis and discussing the tough issues, as the National Government exacerbates inequality and divides New Zealand, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said ...
The Government adding Significant Natural Areas (SNAs) to its already roaring environmental policy bonfire is an assault on the future of wildlife that makes Aotearoa unique. ...
After 12 years of fighting to protect our moana we are finding ourselves back at square one and back at court. Today, the Environmental Protection Agency is sitting in Hawera to reconsider an application from Trans-Tasman Resources to dig up 50 million tonnes of the seabed in South Taranaki. This ...
Minister Shane Jones’ decision to step away from a seabed mining project is evidence of the murky waters surrounding the Government’s fast-track legislation. ...
The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last government in a bid to get greater coherence in the publicservice on Treaty matters. When ministers first considered the need for tighter oversight in 2021, there ...
The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last government in a bid to get greater coherence in the publicservice on Treaty matters. When ministers first considered the need for tighter oversight in 2021, there ...
The Coalition Government’s miscalculation saga continues as it has forgotten an eyewatering $90 million gap in its interest deductibility cost figures, say Labour Finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds and Revenue Spokesperson Deborah Russell. ...
He Pou a Rangi Climate Change Commission has today released advice that says if the Government doesn’t act now New Zealand is at risk of not meeting its climate goals. ...
The Coalition Government has today confirmed it is abandoning first home buyers who are struggling to get ahead, says Labour Finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds. ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed the passing of legislation to move light electric vehicles (EVs) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) into the road user charges system from 1 April. “It was always intended that EVs and PHEVs would be exempt from road user charges until they reached two ...
New Zealand is strengthening its ability to combat illegal fishing outside its domestic waters and beef up regulation for its own commercial fishers in international waters through a Bill which had its first reading in Parliament today. The Fisheries (International Fishing and Other Matters) Amendment Bill 2023 sets out stronger ...
Economists Carl Hansen and Professor Prasanna Gai have been appointed to the Reserve Bank Monetary Policy Committee, Finance Minister Nicola Willis announced today. The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) is the independent decision-making body that sets the Official Cash Rate which determines interest rates. Carl Hansen, the executive director of Capital ...
Apartment owners and buyers will soon have greater protections as further changes to the law on unit titles come into effect, Housing Minister Chris Bishop says. “The Unit Titles (Strengthening Body Corporate Governance and Other Matters) Amendment Act had already introduced some changes in December 2022 and May 2023, and ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters will travel to Egypt and Europe from this weekend. “This travel will focus on a range of New Zealand’s traditional diplomatic and security partnerships while enabling broad engagement on the urgent situation in Gaza,” Mr Peters says. Mr Peters will attend the NATO Foreign ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown is encouraging all road users to stay safe, plan their journeys ahead of time, and be patient with other drivers while travelling around this Easter long weekend. “Road safety is a responsibility we all share, and with increased traffic on our roads expected this Easter we ...
About 1.4 million New Zealanders will receive cost of living relief through increased government assistance from April 1 909,000 pensioners get a boost to Superannuation, including 5000 veterans 371,000 working-age beneficiaries will get higher payments 45,000 students will see an increase in their allowance Over a quarter of New Zealanders ...
Ensuring social housing is being provided to those with the greatest needs is front of mind as the Government restarts social housing tenancy reviews, Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka says. “Our relentless focus on building a strong economy is to ensure we can deliver better public services such as social ...
The Kermadec Ocean Sanctuary will not go ahead, with Cabinet deciding to stop work on the proposed reserve and remove the Bill that would have established it from Parliament’s order paper. “The Kermadec Ocean Sanctuary Bill would have created a 620,000 sq km economic no-go zone,” Oceans and Fisheries Minister ...
Dam safety regulations are being amended so that smaller dams won’t be subject to excessive compliance costs, Minister for Building and Construction Chris Penk says. “The coalition Government is focused on reducing costs and removing unnecessary red tape so we can get the economy back on track. “Dam safety regulations ...
The coalition Government is expanding the medium-scale adverse event classification to parts of the North Island as dry weather conditions persist, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced today. “I have made the decision to expand the medium-scale adverse event classification already in place for parts of the South Island to also cover the ...
The passing of legislation giving effect to coalition Government tax commitments has been welcomed by Finance Minister Nicola Willis. “The Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill will help place New Zealand on a more secure economic footing, improve outcomes for New Zealanders, and make our tax system ...
Science, Innovation and Technology Minister Judith Collins and Tertiary Education and Skills Minister Penny Simmonds today announced plans to transform our science and university sectors to boost the economy. Two advisory groups, chaired by Professor Sir Peter Gluckman, will advise the Government on how these sectors can play a greater ...
The Budget will deliver urgently-needed tax relief to hard-working New Zealanders while putting the government’s finances back on a sustainable track, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The Finance Minister made the comments at the release of the Budget Policy Statement setting out the Government’s Budget objectives. “The coalition Government intends ...
The coalition Government will look at options to address a zoning issue that limits how much financial support Queenstown residents can get for accommodation. Cabinet has agreed on a response to the Petitions Committee, which had recommended the geographic information MSD uses to determine how much accommodation supplement can be ...
Cabinet has agreed to a short extension to the final reporting timeframe for the Royal Commission into Abuse in Care from 28 March 2024 to 26 June 2024, Internal Affairs Minister Brooke van Velden says. “The Royal Commission wrote to me on 16 February 2024, requesting that I consider an ...
The coalition Government is delivering an $18 million boost to New Zealanders needing to travel for specialist health treatment, Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says. “These changes are long overdue – the National Travel Assistance (NTA) scheme saw its last increase to mileage and accommodation rates way back in 2009. ...
The Government is recognising the innovative and rising talent in New Zealand’s growing space sector, with the Prime Minister and Space Minister Judith Collins announcing the new Prime Minister’s Prizes for Space today. “New Zealand has a growing reputation as a high-value partner for space missions and research. I am ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has confirmed New Zealand’s concerns about cyber activity have been conveyed directly to the Chinese Government. “The Prime Minister and Minister Collins have expressed concerns today about malicious cyber activity, attributed to groups sponsored by the Chinese Government, targeting democratic institutions in both New ...
Independent Reviewers appointed for School Property Inquiry Education Minister Erica Stanford today announced the appointment of three independent reviewers to lead the Ministerial Inquiry into the Ministry of Education’s School Property Function. The Inquiry will be led by former Minister of Foreign Affairs Murray McCully. “There is a clear need ...
State Highway 1 across the Brynderwyns will be open for Easter weekend, with work currently underway to ensure the resilience of this critical route being paused for Easter Weekend to allow holiday makers to travel north, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Today I visited the Brynderwyn Hills construction site, where ...
Introduction Good morning to you all, and thanks for having me bright and early today. I am absolutely delighted to be the Minister for Infrastructure alongside the Minister of Housing and Resource Management Reform. I know the Prime Minister sees the three roles as closely connected and he wants me ...
New Zealand stands with the United Kingdom in its condemnation of People’s Republic of China (PRC) state-backed malicious cyber activity impacting its Electoral Commission and targeting Members of the UK Parliament. “The use of cyber-enabled espionage operations to interfere with democratic institutions and processes anywhere is unacceptable,” Minister Responsible for ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters and Defence Minister Judith Collins today announced New Zealand will provide logistics support for the upcoming Solomon Islands election. “We’re sending a team of New Zealand Defence Force personnel and two NH90 helicopters to provide logistics support for the election on 17 April, at the request ...
The European Union Free Trade Agreement Legislation Amendment Bill received Royal Assent today, completing the process for New Zealand’s ratification of its free trade agreement with the European Union. “I am pleased to announce that today, in a small ceremony at the Beehive, New Zealand notified the European Union ...
Public consultation on the terms of reference for the Royal Commission into COVID-19 Lessons has concluded, Internal Affairs Minister Hon Brooke van Velden says. “I have been advised that there were over 11,000 submissions made through the Royal Commission’s online consultation portal.” Expanding the scope of the Royal Commission of ...
Hardworking families are set to benefit from a new credit to help them meet their early childcare education (ECE) costs, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. From 1 July, parents and caregivers of young children will be supported to manage the rising cost of living with a partial reimbursement of their ...
A specialised Independent Technical Advisory Group (ITAG) tasked with preparing and publishing independent non-binding advice on the design of a "green" (sustainable finance) taxonomy rulebook is being established, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. “Comprising experts and market participants, the ITAG's primary goal is to deliver comprehensive recommendations to the ...
Defence Minister Judith Collins has thanked the Chief of Army, Major General John Boswell, DSD, for his service as he leaves the Army after 40 years. “I would like to thank Major General Boswell for his contribution to the Army and the wider New Zealand Defence Force, undertaking many different ...
25 March 2024 Minister to meet Australian counterparts and Manufacturing Industry Leaders Small Business, Manufacturing, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly will travel to Australia for a series of bi-lateral meetings and manufacturing visits. During the visit, Minister Bayly will meet with his Australian counterparts, Senator Tim Ayres, Ed ...
Government commits almost $3 million for period products in schools The Coalition Government has committed $2.9 million to ensure intermediate and secondary schools continue providing period products to those who need them, Minister of Education Erica Stanford announced today. “This is an issue of dignity and ensuring young women don’t ...
Good morning, it’s great to be here. First, I would like to acknowledge the New Zealand Institute of Building Surveyors and thank you for the opportunity to be here this morning. I would like to use this opportunity to outline the Government’s ambitious plan and what we hope to ...
Minister for Pacific Peoples Dr Shane Reti has announced the Government’s commitment to the Auckland Secondary Schools Māori and Pacific Islands Cultural Festival, more commonly known as Polyfest. “The Ministry for Pacific Peoples is a longtime supporter of Polyfest and, as it celebrates 49 years in 2024, I’m proud to ...
Before moving onto the substance of today’s address, I want to recognise the very significant and ongoing contribution the Breast Cancer Foundation makes to support the lives of New Zealand women and their families living with breast cancer. I very much enjoy working with you. I also want to recognise ...
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Private Energy companies don’t serve the people.
They serve wealthy overseas shareholders.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=11310769
22% increase in profits with declining consumption is in need of investigation!
Thanks for mentioning this Trickledrown,
“22% increase in profits with declining consumption is in need of investigation!”
Our family and community understand this as we are involved in the
controversial rollout of “Smart meters” the new electronic transmitting meters that are known to cause health problems especially with those who have “electromagnetic sensitivities” ES or EMS sensitivities to electromagnetic fields being created by these meters.
http://www.stopsmartmeters.org.nz/
Doing our research we have found that the tariff charges for power is now being changed (as these meter tariffs are unregulated by Gov’t)
The method is called TOU or (Time of use,) in which minutes are separated and recorded by the computer inside the Smart meter as to the time of use is and that are setting a tariff that is much higher than when the EA/Gov’t has previously set for power charges during the day or night.
Now the time of use parcels of time say hypothetically cold be in 20 minute intervals would be higher by 300% during peak time of day than 9pm at night.
So people who use more power during the day will now be desperately trying to turn off their Heat pumps freezers and other high use appliances during the day to lower their monthly bills.
It is another Key Government ploy to extract the maximum profit from the least investment.
Hope this helps. We need an investigation into this criminal fleecing of consumers. who must see the real issues here,
I joined Grey Power Power via Pulse and was able to request the successful removal of the smart meter installed here at my house. No charge was applied to me either.
Don’t think others will do it. I was a Powershop customer until I moved here, but they couldn’t ( or wouldn’t ? ) do it. A Powershop rep told me to call Grey Power Power .. and here I am, a happy customer freed from 24 hour a day microwaves on the wide of my house next to my bedroom.
I also objected on the grounds it did one more person out of their job as a meter reader.
I sell pure mechanical Analogue meters if anyone needs them.
Most Power companies contactors cant supply them but we can,.
Some will refuse to use them but we have forced them to accept them now, as our right to own our own meters, so don’t’ take their crap that they are mandatory that is a lie, this is going on under this Government.
xlnt .. thx
Time mind time of day/peak charging but it must be communicated before hand so that people know that it’s happening and they must also know also know how much they’re being charged. The present smart meters don’t do that.
Yep, ripped off – as everybody knew we would be.
Time to impose a super tax on these power companies, as an interim measure.
+100 CV
‘
Rod Oram spells it out: http://www.radionz.co.nz/audio/player/20146212
The government will, of course, exclaim that the higher profits is a result of better management and not that we’re being ripped off.
GCHQ in the UK has the ability to manipulate political landscape !
The GSCB has the same ability here!
Key has already shown he is not above using any means to disrupt democracy!
srylands is one of the GSCB’s plants its so obvious!
Key has more to answer!
So how did Slater find out about politicians visiting Dotcom.
Key has denied Gscb and SIS but no one asked him if the police passed on info!
If it was PI’s who paid them!
John Key all of a sudden wants to discuss policy.
Here’s one to discuss then.
How is he going to solve Christchurch’s housing problems?
http://www.stuff.co.nz/the-press/business/your-property/10358544/Christchurch-housing-reaches-new-record
Clue :Calling them scum, Mr Key isn’t the answer….
As long as Key stands by Slater and Ede, he is calling earthquake victims “scum” , not to mention calling Pike River victims “sluts” and “ferals”.
And for some reason, it seems he does have to stand by them.
Whatever they have on Key, it must be something that would make him look worse than having Slater and Ede as mates.
+1
He has to stand by them – he has always maintained that Dirty Politics is untrue and is a beat-up from the left. If he didn’t stand by them then he is admitting the book is correct.
He has a problem.
But don’t forget; Key lies (he just can’t help it).
he doesn’t have a problem with his behaviour. Joyce made it very clear from his first utterance post book release. They think dirty politics is ok.
++10 Now Key is re-inventing McCarthyism.
We are now all left wing —-next terrorists ? —–Communists?
The criminal behaviour here should send a chill to anyone wondering what key has in mind now do to the truth unveiled in the Dirty Politics book.
You will notice that everytime he says NZers care about policy he walks away? Funny that. No real policy Mr key, just upgrading schools and building new schools which any govt has to do over the next few years. Calling it policy. Bah
Yeah he said NZers care. Never said he does though.
John Key all of a sudden wants to discuss policy.
Here’s one to discuss then.
How does he plan to tackle systematic poverty in the country?
A letter to the Dominion Post yesterday.
“Child poverty within New Zealand remains a national shame. Low-incomes see New Zealand families always on the brink, one setback away from financial disaster.
Often these families find themselves resorting to third tier borrowing which traps them in a downward, never-ending cycle of indebtedness, powerlessness and increased poverty.
The gap between incomes and affordable housing has grown – housing affordability deteriorated by 7.6 per cent in the 12 months ending May 2014.”
http://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/comment/letters-to-the-editor/10390390/Child-poverty-a-national-shame
Clue :Calling them losers, Mr Key, isn’t the answer….
…suggesting they “made bad decisions” also isn’t the answer. How the hell does a new born child make a “lifestyle choice” to live in poverty. How the hell do they consciously extricate themselves from the influence of their environment and culture. No question marks required on those statements.
Your topic, Mr.Key, is everything you ignore, your time starts now…
Paul, Dave + Crocc, Child & mother’s care in Key’s world.
I have in Daughter who lives away from our area, and works to keep her son in Playschool but he got a bug two days ago from Playschool and it is contagious so She (mother had to stay at home and care for his fever and cough.
Since she hasn’t been there at the job for six months yet, she wont get paid, and now she has contracted the virus off the son so she was forced to drop him at playschool today dosed up the panadol and her with the same and due to financial reasons forced herself to go back to work so she has to pass it o to others and her son too?
This illustrates the mindless Key government that can’t see the consequences of their actions.
She cannot get WINS help either so she is sick with a son and forced to work, = Key’s plan for us all.
Classic example of how mindless sanctions against the poorer parts of society can end up harming the wealthy. A more benign regime would reward behaviour which reduces the spread of disease.
national/slater have destroyer themselves
Susie Ferguson – another disgraceful interview by a supposed public broadcaster.
Is she able to work beyond smears?
Waiting to hear her discuss the issues of housing, employment, inequality, the environment,
Just obsessed about polls and alliances.
What about informing your audience about the party’s policies and asking difficult questions about that?!
Rnz aside from the odd spot of professionalism like espinner yesterday is part of the nact pr machine. Theyve had many morning report combos since griffin was installed to get the mix right.
That is amusing since many consider RNZ to be a hotbed of left wingers. Reminds me of when I worked for TVNZ News and we were happy when both sides attacked us becuase obviously we were walking down the centre, hard as that is, but of course that was twenty five years ago … today I subscribe first sentance unfortunately.
Seeing Key and co. self destruct is a historic spectacle, especially with MSM players who are slowly realising that they have been complicit in the entire criminal John Key enterprise.
However none of this makes for a winning strategy for the Left. The election remains on a knife edge. (I don’t count having to cobble together a multi-multi party coalition simply to put together a sliver 2-3 seat majority as a win). We have a few more days of revelling in Key’s political demise – but it doesn’t mean that he won’t be PM again come Sept 20 – or that National won’t be in again come 2017.
This country’s politics is undergoing a major crisis which is almost constitutional in nature. Now is the moment – the opportunity – for major proposals and reforms to be put forward, by the Left to clean things up.
Regulations on lobbyists and unofficial spokespeople. On corporate money and campaign financing. On journalistic standards and public broadcasting. On democractic accountability – including within the security services. On cpmprehensive whistleblower, leaker and journalistic protections.
It’s clear we need broad, brave new measures to safeguard our democracy and to stop US style political rot taking hold in NZ.
Let’s see some gutsy proposals from the progressive parties to detoxify our politics.
Well said.
They may well have some for all we know, the media isn’t focusing on policies and hasnt for a while. Is it a coincidence that only the Left have really been releasing any?
The Right Wing learnt the lesson a century ago via Freud, Bernays etc that through mass media, people are swayed far more by their emotions and their prejudices, than by rational fact and discussion. And they’ve put this understanding into action ever since. At the same time the left has continuously driven down increasingly narrow intellectual over rationalising cul de sacs and become less and less able to connect to and give moral voice to the people really suffering in our society.
agreed.
Have you read Jaques Ellul : Formation of Men’s Attitudes (about Propaganda)? If you haven’t mind I be so bold as to recommend you do. I think you would “enjoy” it. He wrote during the Cold war, but he could have been talking about now.
Ahhh very nice thanks I will follow up.
The Left may call them policies but to me they sound more like bribes …. the one policy which would make a huge difference has been ignored for decades and I have no faith that either side will address the matter … ample State Housing for all who need it.
A warm dry roof over one’s head is the most important aspect of living in an inclement climate.
I see your perspective and it makes some sense 🙂
Government should be about the interests of the people and the fact that narrative has been lost makes everything look like a “bribe”
Agree.
Any thoughts on what those proposals might be?
My suggestion would be that anyone caught acting as described in Dirty Politics never be allowed near government again – ever.
I suggested a few areas of interest above.
My top ones would be around end to end whistleblower/leaker/journalistic protections in any case where the public interest or democratic interest was at stake.
Also transparency of not just the funding of political entities but where that money is spent in terms of media advice and media buys.
Improvement of journalistic/news standards + public broadcasting.
Increased sanctions for the politicisation of the civil service/intelligence services.
given the militarisation of the USA and its decline in press freedom (now 40th in the world) we don’t want to follow their example… but do journos have some kind of constitutional protection in NZ already?
I don’t think so, although the proof for libel is quite high and difficult to reach.
I would also suggest a transparent lobbyist register/audit.
Also, I would contract in Wikileaks to help build and run a Crown whistleblower site.
+1
Not ‘almost’, it is constitutional. What Hager reveals in Dirty politics is an outright undermining of our democracy and we need to have the tools to do something about despicable actions like these when they’re discovered.
They are fiddling the system, that’s what people who succeed in markets the best do. They call it finding loopholes BUT they also manipulate ( in the book there is a bit about manipulating ipredict) and lie and break rules. They rationalise and justify. BUT anyone who thinks that Key made it as far as he did in his chosen business without similar tactics is mad, or as slylands likes to say needs to stop being stupid all their life. And he clearly hasnt set aside those strategies since becoming PM.
The market failed the people, and now the market has disenfranchised the people.
I agree, it is constitutional. And who is final refuge for us ? The Governor General. And let’s recall, Jerry Mateparae was removed as head of GCSB to be replaced by Key’s ‘can’t-remember-him’ buddy Fletcher. His ‘reward’ was to become GG. And it remains to be seen if Key and his $$ masters own him. Be an interesting struggle I think, as Mateparae has previously seemed to be a man of great personal integrity.
Having watched all those years ago as Watergate unravelled from a single loose stitch at the bottom to the very top of the Republican knitting, maybe a major constitutional crisis is brewing here.
We will be counting on you Jerry. Can we ?
We’ve been considering the actions that the GG might take too, yeshe! What would it take for him to act, is he impartial, many, many things to ponder at the moment – The information is coming so thick and fast, it’s hard to know which murky pond to gaze upon next! What kind of creatures will we see emerging, who are their National party buddies and what nefarious enterprizes have they been involved in? Been wondering too, how good old Queen Lillibet is feeling these days? Think there will be any more invitations to Balmoral?
That is my fear: That just as Douglas radically changed the basis of the NZ economy, so Key is dismantling the constraints associated with political office, and turning the PM role into something more akin to a branch manager. He is one of the “leaders from central casting” that began to pop up in the Western world in the mid 2000’s.
Ad says, on the “Will the real National Party Please Stand up” thread, Nicky is merely holding a small mirror to New Zealand society on the morality of the Washington Consensus. By and large New Zealand voters chose this over several decades with their Faustian eyes wide open.
There are four main elements of concern that come up in the book, quite apart from the malignancy the main players: (1) The misuse of privileged information, (2) The theft of opposition information, with a view to giving them grief, (3) The use of this malignant group as a sort of news filter, so that anyone who wanted to meet deadlines,etc, had to pass through WO’s slanted interpretations, and (4) The group’s making use of any information they could get their hands on to bend others to their will.
I would like to be able to fathom how much of this is a deliberate attempt to irrevocably shift the political compass, and how much of it is simply rogue elements, living in a fantasy world, enjoying unbridled license under a PM who is “not a politician.”
I would like to be able to fathom how much of this is a deliberate attempt to irrevocably shift the political compass, and how much of it is simply rogue elements, living in a fantasy world, enjoying unbridled license under a PM who is “not a politician.”
Well, it seems to me to be a bit of both. The hackers refer to it as a “network”. By definition that is a complex of inter-relationships, rather than a centrally organised conspiracy. networks are also more flexible, less clearly defined, and rely a lot on personal connections and associations, albeit that they also link into associations with organisations and institutions.
I have done a few posts on Key’s “networks of influence” – these include a range of contacts and associations he nurtures – ones that Key can draw on when and as situations arise. My posts focused on the networks of powerful corporate and political players. In my nativity, I failed to included the kinds of underground networks that Slater et al play with and draw on: prostitutes, etc.
Suddenly, I have an idea for a future “networks of influence” post.
Yes, those underground networks are important, because they are able to do great damage to people. I think you are probably right about “the bit of both.” What is important is that the rogue elements are not working against the preferred direction, but are in general seen to be helping to achieve it, if indirectly.
NZ is a young country, and I think its population by and large have a limited conception of what a civic society is, just a vague sense of “decent people like me meeting my standards of decency.” If they vote Key in again, after all that has been revealed, I will be very frightened for this country.
Olwyn
Yes Key wanted to clear all moderate politician’s out as you saw post dissolving of parliament last month.
He is running a campaign as you quote is similar to Hitler’s grip on power in 1933 till the war.
We are very disturbed.
I take it you mean the “two track system” that Hager has spoken of and written about in his book – where the PM remains aloof and lets thugs do his dirty work for him. If you are right, the book ought by rights to put pressure on that plan, but it remains to be seen how much influence it will have on voting patterns. The relaxed, untarnished image Key has cultivated is now seriously compromised, whether or not he ends up getting a third term.
+++10 Colonial Viper, true.
“This country’s politics is undergoing a major crisis which is almost constitutional in nature. Now is the moment – the opportunity – for major proposals and reforms to be put forward, by the Left to clean things up”
Cut out the corrupt political cancer.
This recapturing of honest open political policy must be aggressively perused by the opposition prior to the election as a major platform otherwise the cancer will infect any future Government also.
We really need something like the Australian corruption commissions. As things stand, Ede should have been arrested, there should be a warrant for Slug Boy, Collins should have been stood down, and Key should have been dismissed. All we seem to have is the GG, and he’s just a Tory who used to be in uniform. Something like a BOR tribunal would also be good, to ensure legislation and activities didn’t violate the Bill of Rights. It would need teeth. Both would need to be constituted as democratically as possible, rather than becoming one party’s toys via appointments.
If we don’t get something like this, the Tories are just going to get worse.
One word. Herald.
Brilliant media management by the Whaledumper. This is going to be fun.
It has been brilliant to date.
Whaledumper has done what the left wing parties have failed to do in the past 6 years. He/she has shown up the parties in a spectacular way.
I hope Whaledumper does not overegg it though. We are getting very close to the point where absolutely everyone agrees that Key, Collins at al are scum. Once we reach that point, more vile from the mouth and emails of Slater will not add anything to the issue and will run the risk of public exhaustion.
My strategy would be leak for a few more days. Then just let the media hammer Key until election day.
Oh, and what the Viper said.
Listened to Harré taking ownership of Plunket. Catch and release before it starts to smell, Laila.
Listened to Key on RNZ admit it’s all true and offer ‘but but but but Lllllaaaabbbboooouuuurr’ as an excuse. Enjoy your retirement, trash.
Prostitutes is it now? The Herald eats its former trusted sources.
Ah, you haven’t read the book. Yup Mr Slater whom Mr Key wont distance himself from used a former prostitute to trawl brothels to try to catch politicians and people Slater doesn’t like “at it”.
Mr Bhatnagar seemed to revel in Slater’s gutter dwelling, and didn’t Ms Collins give him a job???
obviously your power is restored again today Tracey ! +100%
Meanwhile the Govt debt is
NZ$ 84,561,089,428
now
NZ$ 84,561,092,596
now
NZ$ 84,561,095,500
it rose 6000 while i was writing this comment
The Left really needs to quietly mention National’s mismanagement of the economy every chance they get.
this debt creating money system is a nightmare.
As in, if it’s a rock star economy, it is a very dead rock star !
The plastic surgery and groupie worship proved fatal in the end
🙂 @CV
Well, stop writing it then!
/old joke
LOL
I am a slow typist
Now
NZ$ NZ$ 84,561,303,053
Another good day to be left 😀
‘Hager’s Dirty Politics: what the book ultimately reveals is abuse of power’
By Martyn Bradbury / August 19, 2014
“Slater & Co are not bloggers, they are political sadists…Nicky’s book is now doing what I suspected it would do, create a shockwave of revulsion. Andrew Geddis over at Pundit Blog sums up this attitude best, and it’s reverberations build with every single new person who reads the book.
This is the outrage and the uproar caused by a mere 10 000 print run, what level of crescendo do you think we’ll hit when it becomes 20 000? 30 000? 40 000? What the headlines miss is the stinging hatred that shines through all the messages of those involved and that spite is shocking people. Politics can be angry, politics can be loud – but hateful? Hate politics has no place in a modern democracy….
Man, I was head-desking hard listening to Susie Ferguson being unable to grasp a straight forward answer from David Cunliffe.
It’s difficult to understand a point when ones livelihood depends on not understanding it.
She is a Natz patsy
RNZ Headline: “PM sticking to his line…”
There once was a fellow called Key,
Who lied to you and to me.
His lies tripped him up so,
Deceitful a new low,
And everybody can see.
jcuk says:
“The Left may call them policies but to me they sound more like bribes …. the one policy which would make a huge difference has been ignored for decades and I have no faith that either side will address the matter … ample State Housing for all who need it.”
If you chopped all these transfer payments and used the money for a boost to the state housing stock and income related rents, you could achieve the same outcome in a much cleaner way.
Yes lots of ways to simplify and overhaul what has become a very convoluted system.
Our current political left has not a single radical bone in its body though, preferring to tinker with a machine which is increasingly broken and not fit for purpose – the care of NZ citizens from cradle to grave.
In the Herald re TV3 Firstline this morning Key:
Mr Key stood by his stance that the emails were “selective” and an attempt to smear the government.
“We’ve never refuted actually that the emails were real, I don’t think anyone’s made that point.”
What does the last sentence mean?
When did ANYTHING John Key said, actually MEAN anything? The Shallow Man doesn’t think deeply enough for anything he says to MEAN anything, but he does do an expert spin, better than a whirling dervish!!
Either:
“No one’s asked us to discuss whether the emails are real. Since this has not happened, there is doubt over whether or not they are made up. We are too big and powerful to offer to pre-empt the question. Power does not bow to open dialogue. I can be asked if I am willing to be asked to discuss the emails, but not on Mondays and not while I’m in the office or during interviews. Please make an appointment when I’m not in the office, at such time I will then be unwilling to discuss the emails.”
or a more literal translation,
“We have never argued that the emails are real, I don’t think anyone’s made that point. I have not come out and openly said they are. How can you accuse us of things we did if we don’t agree that we did them?*”
another interpretation:
“I’m not saying these things didn’t happen, what I’m saying is that not enough people are saying they didn’t happen.”
If I can borrow a boxing analogy, Bob Jones didn’t see it coming. His piece in the Herald must have been written early last week, because it looks terribly dated now:
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11311023
Just got off the phone with the Ministry of Justice about sorting out a traffic fine I had.
I was going to do a payment arrangement, at $10 or $20 per week but apparently if you want to make a payment arrangement you have to provide a budget of income and expenses.
Seeing as I wasnt really keen on having to submit my personal affairs to justice system so they decide that I was worthy enough to be allowed to pay it off in the method I think best (I wasnt trying to get out of paying it, I just wanted to pay the damn thing off over time) out came the credit card.
Personally I reckon that is bullshit, and penalises the poor more than anyone else, just getting them further and further into debt, they shouldnt have to submit a budget because they cannot shit out $121 on the spot.
It seems that Courts Minister Chester Burrows has made it a mission bankrupt people through the fine system.
Right, that’s you done for. Expect your name to be passed on by judith to cam for outing her ministries sh!t systems and prepare for the attack on your character to commence. That’s how it works these days, isn’t it?
Yep right on Planet Key.
Interesting comment, Millsy. We had the same argument with ACC – but we just went ahead and
started paying off the ACC debt by $20 a fortnight instead of the amount they wanted – much more – and haven’t heard a word since. We have another few months to go before the debt is fully paid up.
My budget would have been:
Income $X
Expenses $X-10
I don’t see why how much we earn is any of their business. Nor is what we spend our money on. This could be something that Mana would look at. I doubt if Labour care.
Latest National Party policy regarding the poor was the announcement of a loan deal via one of the Australian banks hiring a woman from one of the payroll lenders whose market interest rate is often around 500%. The Govt is contributing a meagre $250,000 to the plan, not that it’s necessarily a good plan in the first place.
Nicky Hager’s sister has written a very moving piece on her blog about Nicky and “Dirty Politics.”. It’s worth reading.
http://mandyhager.blogspot.fr/p/occasional-political-rant.html
Emphasis mine but very, very true. Key knows how deep the corruption goes and he’s trying to hide it.
This has probably been linked to already:
http://www.3news.co.nz/Key-Left-wing-has-given-up-arguing-policy/tabid/1607/articleID/357418/Default.aspx
Stunning video of Key unraveling on TV3
@geoff-Notice how Key calls him “Cam” not Cameron Slater. Dead giveaway.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/10396668/Today-in-politics-Tuesday-August-19
“Labour leader David Cunliffe tried to score a point over John Key yesterday by saying he rarely talks to bloggers, but that seems a stretch. ”
That has to be the understatement of the day
Don’t try and drag Cunliffe into this
Why not? Let’s make the comparison: David Cunliffe has done Q&A sessions right here at The Standard. Something to be ashamed of, not.
Now we know the Prime Minister hires people to post at Whaleoil for him, which begs the question: why can’t he post there under his own name?
Come on Puckish Runt, let’s hear it.
PR
And your point is?
So who will win the upcoming nat party leadership election contest?
Obviously judith, despite her arrogance probably disagreeing, is now out of the running and joyce, with his creepy and slimy dirty politics defence is looking somewhat lame, so with both pre race favourites falling at the starting gate, who’s left?
At a guess, English is happiest of the party stablemates right now.
Paula could be cake and sticked into making an attempt at a run.
And a longshot is Simple Simon from Tauranga, just as long as he doesn’t have to think and elucidate on the campaign trail.
sounds like a script for a horror movie.
A very interesting Blogpost by Giovani tiso…I wondered who might have written the anonymous articles in the Listerner….possibly Jane Clifton.
http://bat-bean-beam.blogspot.co.nz/2014/08/of-journalism-and-monsters.html
Part of the Crosby Textor strategy is to dissuade people from voting at all, which was what happened last time.
That idea was explained in Dirty Politics by Simon Lusk.
“There are a few basic propositions with negative campaigning that are worth knowing about. It lowers turnout, favours right more than left as the right continues to turn out, and drives away the independents.’ In short, many people stop participating in politics. If politicians cannot be trusted, if politics looks like a petty or ugly game, and if no one seems to be talking about the things that matter, then what’s the point of bothering to participate? Just leave them to it.”
When you vote take 2 people with you and get them to take 2 people etc.etc.
Simon Lusk overstates the effect of negative campaigning. It may stop people participating in organised mainstream politics, but it also encourages stronger community links and unofficial groups. People don’t just throw up their hands and think, “oh well boss man is just too big for me. Best I just stand by and let my family die …”. Happens all over the world, throughout history, and while not entirely a constructive example it’s already happened here too: The Mongrel Mob.
I wonder why Colin Craig has been so quiet since publication of Dirty Politics ?
And then there is this … I guess if you want to defile a hoarding for any reason, it’s good to have some creative talent ! And yes, as is commented, it is an improvement of the Splendour In The Grass images …
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11310723
Now John Key is using RNZAF A109’s to get himself around the country and campaign. What an appalling man and not very sound judgement. I know he occupies the highest office in the land, but there has to be a stage where public servants can say GTFO we can’t do that for you PM.
A couple of years back people said Key didn’t look like he wanted the job, and tories were outraged.
Then it turned out that yeah, he was seriously considering quitting the job.
Does this look like someone who wants to stay PM? I don’t think so – he’ll be off after the election, however it turns out. Joyce, Blinglish and Collins will be fighting over the succession: who gets to be PM if they win, and who doesn’t have to be caretaker leader of the opposition if they lose.
Collins to Slater email; Pleasants ph. numbers supplied
https://twitter.com/whaledump/status/501519060782551040
interestingly not from collins’ govt email but her private ‘judithcollinslaw’ which is hugely ironic …
(maybe she is related to coleslaw from banks’ cabbage boat ?)
when ‘last’ doesn’t mean ‘last’ .. another lie from Key .. but at least he has been forced to address it, or so it seems .. Key on Collins …
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11311222
( she is getting another chance because it’s all a left-wing smear campaign ffs !
http://www.throng.co.nz/2014/08/ratings-campbell-live-suffers-worst-week-2014/
What is not as big a deal?
Well if people were as interested in Nicky Hager and dirty politics as the left were hoping then Campbells ratings would have been up yet his ratings were poo so I’ll leave you to draw your own conclusion as to why his ratings are in the toilet
because they flipped over to 7 Sharp that was screen the same thing maybe?
Ok so
http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/10396698/Surplus-on-track-Treasury-figures-show
Well done National and John Key
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/10399377/Ron-Mark-back-with-NZ-First
New Zealand First MP Andrew Williams is set to be dumped to an unelectable position on the party list, with former MP Ron Mark set to rejoin the party.
Stuff understands a draft copy of the NZ First list, determined by the party’s selection committee on the weekend, has Williams ranked at 13, and Mark ranked at 9.
Christchurch Earthquake
Take that out of the equation and we are in a deep recession.
National has failed on every count
Maybe pr is given them a last last last chance, which seems to be in vogue down nat party lane.
This year the books are forecast to return to surplus
The projected surplus is less then the model error.(and already wrong due to the models finalization in early august)
Whose books? Nicki Hagers?
Just joking, I know how little he’ll make from this.
Bryce Edwards dumped by NZH – Cathy Odgers and Pagani doing columns
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11300033
So, Josie for the centre right, Cathy Odgers for the contract killer vote, who have they got from the left?
lol…i shouldnt laugh because it is very very, serious …..potentially fatal…that horrible Cactus woman should come somewhere under the Crimes Act imo
…i hope someone hauls her arse and those of her co-conspirators /collaborators before the courts
Law Society needs lots of letters.
well maybe an online petition /letter of concern could be started….I certainly would be willing to sign….she certainly does not do the legal fraternity any favours … in fact she brings them into disrepute
Fricking Josie Pagani. Figures. At least she’s good at being a careerist.
I really would like to know what is Labours Policy on Broadcasting/Media.
Nothing on the website but if they are serious about cleaning up NZ they need a strong Broadcasting Policy
Ron +100
Jacinda inadvertently broached this in the Arts debate covered here: http://www.nzherald.co.nz/entertainment/news/article.cfm?c_id=1501119&objectid=11309897
Revive TVNZ7 or similar public broadcaster, apparently.
I’ll assume there’s quite a bit more substance to it than that, because otherwise it would be utterly pathetic and ineffectual.
fair assumption.
‘cept that’s the Arts policy, and Ron was asking about the Broadcasting/Media policy, which it’s fair to say isn’t yet articulated on the Labour website.
Kris Faafoi seems to have been largely AWOL since the corporate box affair…
oh, ok, arts culture and heritage doesn’t involve media.
I guess if it hasn’t been released yet we must assume that it does not exist and everyone in caucus is a neoliberal rogernome. Seems reasonable.
lol
Farrar on the Panel.
How does he get selected?
What happens if Mora has to interview him about Dirty Politics in Checkpoint.
Not good enough, RNZ.
Jim Mora’s a Nat’s spinner mole, and should go or come clean and give promised unbiased media.
‘Panic setting in for National as they realise what’s about to happen’
By Martyn Bradbury / August 19, 2014
“Whaledump has the potential to reveal the full picture and the full picture is just so much more disgusting and damaging than what is currently out in front of the public, that’s why those within National and the Right who are being informed just how vile that picture is are putting as much distance between themselves and Slater as they humanly can….
.
– See more at: http://thedailyblog.co.nz/2014/08/19/panic-setting-in-for-national-as-they-realise-whats-about-to-happen/#sthash.fWh2KlNN.dpuf
Hi Trickledown, 1.1 at 7.11am
you should see this after you said;
“Why have my power bills gone up so much”.
Todays poll on high power prices.
http://www.radiolive.co.nz/Winston-Peters-A-burglary-that-went-horribly-wrong-for-the-president/tabid/721/articleID/52607/Default.aspx
Don’t forget Nixon on History channel after 8pm tonight.
Radio LIVE Daily Poll
Thank You for Participating
1. Have you found it a struggle to pay your power bill this winter?
Yes 59 of votes 59%
No 41 of votes 41%
Hi Trickledown, 1.1 at 7.11am
you should see this after you said;
“Why have my power bills gone up so much”.
Have a look at the graph how much power costs have risen. Nat’s said all happened under Labour.’
Bloody liars again!!!MMMMMM
http://www.radiolive.co.nz/Duncan-Garner-Power-prices-revealed-Why-you-pay-what-you-do/tabid/674/articleID/52614/Default.aspx
ZB reporting that Slater has called Ede squeamish and gutless for not speaking about his black ops role. Weehee! the right are eating themselves!
Anyone got a link?
Slater calling Ede a gutless —-
http://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/auckland/news/nbpol/953007518-new–whaledump–info-targets-judith-Collins
7;pm Campbelllive in Rununga west coast talking to folks about the Feral /Slater issue.
8pm on History Nixon – Watergate tonight.
also on Herald site first I think …
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11311070
@ Weepus Beard….Ede really is the dark horse here
Call me a nosey Chook but:
….what is his profile?
…who is he married/partnered to? ( anyone famous?)
….what is his CV background? ( Harvard? Cambridge?)
…where are the photos? ( golfing body shots are not clear enough)
…what exactly is his relationship with John Key?
… thus far Ede seems to have swum under the radar….but maybe he is pivotal?
Ok, so there’s this poster on a completely different forum which I used to be a memeber of who says he went to school with Ede. The poster is a fleewee, lives in London but likes to comment favourably toward the right when talking about NZ even though he’s not contributed to this country for some years now. I’ll post some of his musings on this…
and
– Seneca of the Night
well thanks for that …but still the faceless man of mystery….seems like a pivot man in the whole scheme of things ….even a junior Mr. Smiley ( but then i am just a nosey Chook with too much imagination)
…but maybe things will clarify…i look forward to a special Post on him on the Standard
i remember a book i used to read to the kids ….’Where is Wally?’
….where is Jason?
Yes, I know as much as anyone on Ede. The first I remember his name being mentioned was the photos of the aftermath of the press party sent straight to the hate speech merchant, Cameron Slater.
Well we didn’t have uniforms in the 7th Form.
Has anybody seen Ede then, or is he an alter-ego of someone?
Yes, I have looked for stuff on Ede before and found very little via google. I thought I saw a link to a newspaper article back in about 2005 or so – maybe earlier, maybe later. I thought it was a newspaper article that was written by Jason Ede, about John key.
I just had another look tonight.
I found this mention from a couple of days ago on NZ Herald, with a bit about Ede being a former journalist and Don Brash’s press secretary.
I found this, which is total heresay, and as far as I know, could just be someone’s fantasy – although, he does have a bit of contextual detail – elaborate fantasy, if it is one.
My link to John Key. saying Ede knows where Key’s bodies are buried.
Ede also gets a mention in the Hollow Men. Forwarding and email of story about Brash.
Ede and Kevin Taylor were both Press secretaries for Brash.
Bryce Edwards said way back, that Ede came from TV3.
Why do Brash and Key need two press secretaries for? Kevin seems to do a good enough job. Jason seems invisible.
Slater is calling him gutless.
Interesting that Slater is really pally with Jason but when he needs to ask a press secretary a favour regarding access to Key he asks Kevin.
Do you think Key takes Jason to Hawaii?
‘Can someone in the media please ask the PM of NZ to categorically deny any National Party staff worked with Cam Slater in the smearing of Tania Billingsley? ‘
By Martyn Bradbury / August 19, 2014
“Force him to go on the record!..
From Thursday – so long ago right?
http://www.3news.co.nz/Video-John-Key-talks-Nicky-Hagers-Dirty-Politics/tabid/1607/articleID/356848/Default.aspx
Prime Minister says he reads the standard and John – I can watch this again and again and again he goes on to say that hagers book only has pejorative things to say about about him personally. ?.not that hes read the book…wtf?
Has anyone posted a comment about the item tonight on Campbell Live which is that EQC is very short of money to complete their commitments. The reason is that the Government wants to hide the debt because if it was counted, then the “surplus” heralded by the Government does not exist. If proven this would suggest that the Govt is lying. Surely not.
Amazing what technology can do these days
Facebook to point out satire from news
http://www.3news.co.nz/Facebook-to-point-out-satire-from-news/tabid/412/articleID/357416/Default.aspx
Next they’ll be able to point out all cam slater’s comments and posts are sh!t.
Nixon & Watergate on at 8.30 tonight on History channel
Or 10.20 on maori tv tonight- Russell and Nicky
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BvX9HJECEAAPQW9.jpg
Disturbed outlined what’s happening power companies are paying bigger surpluses to shareholders basically a cartel no competition .The previous price rises were for upgrades of infrastructure now the spend on infrastructure is declining rapidly instead of competing for customers with lower prices shareholders are taking windfall profits and tuning time for govt intervention!
“power companies are paying bigger surpluses to shareholders”.
Quite right too, old boy. Gott’a get something out of the trough before those bally socialists win the election and nationalise it all again.
I see that @whaledump has this evening tweeted “This is not all about party politics. Be patient. You’ll see.”
Pure speculation, but I wonder if Mssrs. Mallard and/or Cosgrove are about to take a tumble. Mallard has been unusually silent on social media re: #dirtypolitics.
Assuming those two are the primary ABC sources for the likes of Garner and Gower, it doesn’t seem beyond the question they’ve been in communication with Slater.
Hope I’m wrong.
Surely anything about Labour would still be “party politics” as well. The simplest way to read “not all about party politics” is that there are leaks involving individuals or institutions that are not commonly associated with particular parties in the public eye.
You’re right, that is the most logical interpretation, which I think is the same point disturbed was making below.
The common factor will be whaleoil, and who he “runs interference” with/for.
Nah more like the Justice or other intel arm has been burnt now.
Did you watch Nixon Watergate tonight on History channel I posted it.
So way out about how far Nixon reached out to control all, so these guys may be in the play too.
Just looking at the Electoral Consortium stuff just put on line :
http://www.electionresults.co.nz/national-loses-youth-gains-middle-aged
There is a striking “bulge” in National’s electoral support in the 50 to 64 age bracket, and the profile is very different from 2011 :
Percentage of population by age bracket supporting National December 2011
18 to 24 – 38.4%
25 to 34 – 36.2%
35 to 49 – 46.7%
50 to 64 – 38.9%
65 plus – 44.4%
Percentage of population by age bracket supporting National July 2014
18 to 24 – 25.8%
25 to 34 – 32.9%
35 to 49 – 42.2%
50 to 64 – 51.2%
65 over – 44.6%
Two remarks
1) that’s a large constituency of people of roughly JK’s age who are fairly apolitical and identify with him (nice guy, winner)
2) They are National’s “soft underbelly”… (sorry, couldn’t resist)