This is pasted from another post. Re. Polling. Responses please.
If, if and if again. There is one poll that really counts IF you are really, really, serious. If Germany had invaded England in WW2. If the AB’S had taken their own chef and food to the World Cup in South Africa in two thousand and whatever. If Barbie was an All Black! This is what I call Poll Porn. Other countries don’t permit this poll porn, for obvious reasons. Tea leaf reading anyone?
Boot Camp begins at home
If a Boot Camp’s objectives include instilling a sense of discipline and self worth then surely “boot camp” should begin at home.
When the bell rang at 10:30 am on my first day’s teaching on Atiu (outer island of the Cooks) I asked the kids “how long is the break?” They responded that this was lunch time, not break. I learned later that they’d been up since 5:30, feeding the pigs and chickens and doing housework.
There was no classroom “duty roster;” at the close of the school day floors were swept, windows cleaned, shelves tidied. The students buzzed round the room as routinely as one brushed one’s teeth. I marvelled as I watched them using those amazing brooms fashioned from the shredded midribs of palm fronds.
“Looking forward to the holiday?” I asked on last day of term.
“Not really” replied one, “we miss our friends.”
“On an island of only 530 people?”
But holiday time was ‘working in the taro fields time’ with far less opportunity for socialising than during term.
The kids had developed a strong sense of independence. A massive radio mast, the victim of 5 cyclones that struck Cook Islands in the 2004/2005 season, lay sprawled as a wreck of iron and cable right across part of the playing field. It was 4 months before machinery arrived to remove it, and during all that time they played touch during break, jumping over the cables and running round the jagged metal as though it belonged there.
Swimming sports was held in the crude little harbour. At lunch all the staff withdrew for kai under the Casuarina trees, well out of sight. And the kids played unsupervised in the water, from pre-primary through to seniors. Everyone seemed to have an eye on everyone else and it all looked very normal and natural. .
I’m not suggesting they were saints by any means; plenty of mischief reminded me kids will always be kids. But it seems to me the early inculcation of responsibility in the home, at the work place, in care of oneself and of one another is something sadly lacking in western contemporary society.
Why is it so hard for us to grasp the steadying influence of good old fashioned values?
Last year I had a holiday in Rarotonga. One day in the township I struck up a conversation with a policewoman and commented that one outstanding feature was a total lack of bored teenages milling around on the streets, unlike NZ. “We keep them far too busy here” she responded. How cool – they are a valued part of their society, not a nuisance factor, as we seem to regard them. I’ll bet there are few, if any youth suicides there!
After some years on Atiu I taught in Rarotonga. Two student teachers from Australia marvelled at the 90% level of participation in ball games during interval, lamenting that in Oz 90% sit around glued to cell phones when not in class.
see i grew up also with cleaning communal goods i.e. church, school, public yard etc. it was us girls that did the cleaning. I just wanted to make sure that when we speak of ‘good old fashioned’ values, it is not the girls that end up cleaning and the boys playing balls.
good old fashioned means a lot of things to a lot of people. Might be better to point out the values that you are talking about and you will see that they are not forcibly ‘good ‘old’ fashioned values.
“Might be better to point out the values that you are talking about…..”
The entire article, with no mention of gender, points to the values I’m talking about that I noted amongst my students: once again mutual caring, cooperative living, self reliance. These are sadly absent in large swathes of western society.
and yet, you do not talk about community values you talk about ‘good old fashioned values’. Which means something different to many people.
As for saying that these are largely absent, no, thy are not. They might not be exercised in a way that you would count them, but there are many young people involved in the community, there are volunteers tonight going out in rain and hail to put tarp up over roofs blown away, to put out fires and pull animals out of ditches just to name a few.
the kids are alright, its the grown ups that have fucked up society.
i don’t disagree with you, but words and their meaning matters.
Go ask women what ‘good old fashioned values’ mean to them. 🙂
The good old fashioned values I remember – my grandfather’s – were of sharing. He did a lot of fishing, had a smokehouse, and pretty much everyone who knew him got fish. Down here in the south the need to lock doors (or bikes) only came in the last 30-40 years. When AH Reed walked from Cape Reinga to Bluff he could rely on being offered a billet by strangers.
So why’d it all go away? Neo-liberalism was part of it. I suspect the decline of churches as social organizations and the decline of social rugby were part of it too. We have become to some extent deculturalised. It’s a dangerous thing in fact – the folk that ISIS recruit are not mainstream Muslims, but deculturalised ones.
Media prostitutes like Hoskings and Gower are deculturalised – they have no loyalty to public interest. The blame lies in part with those who hire them – the choice to further debase our society is deliberate.
my comment does not refer tot he material status a young one has but to the attitude of our young ones.
And they are ‘all right’, they are helpful, studious, polite, they volunteer, they juggle school, homework, work, they live in a world that is dead set against them and still they are polite, helpful, industrious, and lovely.
Its the old ones that fuck it up. We should own up to that. The ‘oldfashioned values’ were not ‘destroyed by the young ones, but are disregarded by many grown ups. We – old people – set the standard, we don’t get to complain if in the end we dont like what we harvest.
The terminology “good old fashioned values” seems to suggest that they have gone out of fashion here but in other cultures/societies they still exist and still guide, regulate, and shape human actions and interactions. This raises a few interesting questions: why & how did we lose them, and how can we restore or re-establish them (assuming, of course, that we can and want to)? This is Puddleglum material 😉
Eco maori, if the comment you are referring to is your own one praising TOP, I would simply point out to you that it seems strange that a bunch of rich white capitalists will supposedly fix the ills of capitalism for us all. Warning bells should be ringing.
I wish Gareth Morgan well BUT let him bleed the Natz, not us.
You never know he’s sitting on 2%, last time Colin lifted his party from 1% to 4% in a matter of a few weeks. A couple of good TV appearances and Gareth could fly in under the radar.
Garibaldi, apart from making an increadibly racist and sexist comment re white men, you show total ignorance of the makeup of TOP.
Maori, Polynesian and women are all over represented in their office holder ranks. But then why let reality and a little fact checking get in the way of your cliched viewpoints
Warm up – Hicks vs Conway
– Too close to call – has Trump ever resisted a model? and will Melania have anything to say about it? Conway has seen off the likes of Hicks before, I’m sure.
Main event – Trump Family vs the Koch Bros?
– It’s all terrifying, but for the main event I’ve always thought the Trump family will lose to the Koch Bros. Pence is looking quite the presidential pretender.
Actually the unpleasant symbolism aside, if we run out of rubber, that might be a useful design though definitely be more like the old bikes they called boneshakers. But it seems to work okay.
My rolling average of the last 3 Roy Morgans including August 13 poll just out:
Lab/Gr 41.7 (polling Lab 32.5 Greens 9.0 on August 13)
Lab/Gr/NZF 51.2
Nats 44.0
Nats/ACT/MP 46.3
Nats/ACT/MP/NZF 55.8
NZF 9.5
If Winnie goes as part of the 4-headed monster it’s 55.8 versus 41.7
If Winnie goes with the Lab/Gr bloc it’s 51.2 versus 46.3
Both would give safe majorities.
These figures probably give a better idea of bedrock support, rather than the recent volatile Colmar Brunton, though the Jacinda effect may not be fully reflected.TOP continues to languish. Roy Morgan had Labour on 23% last November.
The big “what if” relates to Winston Peters and NZ First
And though he is adamant he won’t even begin to negotiate until the writs are returned on October 12, people close to him are beginning to believe that he would prefer to go with Labour.
(As election narrows, National hits the fund raising button with high priced dinner with PM – August 18, 2017)
John Armstrong, in this morning´s Herald is arguing that NZ 1st should go with whichever major party receives the largest vote, whether this is Labour or National, apparently because this is what the electorate expect. Do people really expect this in this day and age? I would expect Peters to coalesce with whichever party he has most in common, policy wise, (assuming of course that a government can be formed if he does so) . Am I somehow out of step with the rest of the country?
Armstrong goes on to argue that a vote for the Green Party is a wasted vote irrespective of whether or not they pass 5%, because their presence in parliament will give Peters the ¨wriggle room¨ to go with National, even if it turns out that Labour is the largest party. Maybe – or would it simply mean that the electorate were looking for a coalition that included the Green Party, and should Peters not recognise this?
An interesting and powerful interview by Kim and Charlotte Wood this morning.
At 10.04 – about women and mistreatment.
Australian writer Charlotte Wood is the author of five novels and two books of non-fiction, including Animal People, The Children and The Writer’s Room – a collection of interviews with writers about their work. Her most recent book, The Natural Way of Things, was inspired by an ABC documentary, Exposed to Moral Danger, about the hidden history of one of Australia’s most notorious state institutions, the Hay Institution for Girls.
The Natural Way of Things won the 2016 Stella Prize, the 2016 Indie Book of the Year and Novel of the Year, and was joint winner of the Australian Prime Minister’s Literary Award for Fiction. Also last year, Wood was named the Charles Perkins Centre’s inaugural Writer in Residence at the University of Sydney. Wood recently visited Wellington as a guest of Victoria University’s International Institute of Modern Letters (IIML).
Good for women, just mentioned 85 year old woman who has gone to Nigeria to look at what is happening to females there! I can’t remember who – they had just mentioned Edna O’Brien and Margaret Drabble.
But this interview is good for men to listen to, to get background on what is enraging some women about sexism and lack of respect etc.
An interview after 11am this morning on stem cell research and human enhancement.
Will end up keeping the elite going looking acceptable on television and holding onto power to suit the elite.
And how will they choose to ‘enhance’ the lower classes? We already can see in present society that the elite have no feeling of connection with the non-elite.
11am RadioNZ
Julian Savulescu is an Australian philosopher and bioethicist. He is Uehiro Professor of Practical Ethics at the University of Oxford, Fellow of St Cross College, Oxford, Director of the Oxford Uehiro Centre for Practical Ethics, Sir Louis Matheson Distinguished Visiting Professor at Monash University, and Head of the Melbourne-Oxford Stem Cell Collaboration, which is devoted to examining the ethical implications of cloning and embryonic stem cell research. He is the editor of the Journal of Medical Ethics.
In addition to his background in applied ethics and philosophy, he also has a background in medicine and completed his MBBS (Hons) at Monash University. He completed his PhD at Monash University, under the supervision of bioethicist Peter Singer. Savulescu’s latest examination of the ethics of the biological enhancement of the human race are contained in The Ethics of Human Enhancement: Understanding the Debate.
The video on this is pretty glitchy, and what I can make out it is heavy on glib optimism and light on details. Though Coleman is talking now and touting the previously announced ICU beds. Seems to have cut out entirely now it has gone to questions.
One billion dollars does sound like a lot, but you can’t help wondering how much could have been saved by timely maintenance over the past decade. Not just in money terms, but also in human misery. Of course, this is Bill English’s National, so I’d have to see the details to know how much of that spend is going to end up as hospital, and how much will line the pockets of consultants (and even then the accountancy is likely to be creative in including operating expenses in the rebuild to inflate the wow number factor of this suspiciously round figure).
I don’t know how I feel about the Wakari option yet. From the perspective of sea level rise, it would be a good idea in the longterm to move away from the harbour flatlands. From the perspective of patient accessibility, there would be problems, especially during the winter when the hills get icey (and dicey). Then there would be the impact on the medical school of separating the University health science buildings and the hospital.
Still, considering how bad things are at the moment, anything would be an improvement to the Dunedin public health system. As an election bribe, it is a bit; too little too late, given that Labour is likely to commit to equal or better the offer. Plus they offer greater transparency, and hopefully the end of the antidemocratic commissioner’s regieme:
The rebuild announcement comes after the Cabinet considered an early stage business case outlining three options… The Dunedin North MP David Clark said that there had been unacceptable delays and secrecy.
“In 2014, I became concerned about ongoing delays in the rebuild project and sought answers from then minister Tony Ryall.”
He gave assurances a business case would be before Cabinet by the end of 2014.
Dr Clark called for the release of the full business-case document to allow greater transparency.
One billion dollars does sound like a lot, but you can’t help wondering how much could have been saved by timely maintenance over the past decade.
If a full new build is the best option now then simple maintenance wouldn’t have cut it. Of course, proper funding and delegation of authority would have had the new build started years ago without the government even having to have a say.
Of course, this is Bill English’s National, so I’d have to see the details to know how much of that spend is going to end up as hospital, and how much will line the pockets of consultants
10 to 15% will disappear in the dead-weight loss of profits.
Considering that they seem to have spent years on this already then I’d expect the consultants to already have cost millions.
“Under recent and little-noticed changes to New Zealand law, Australian citizens now don’t need a visa to live, study or work in the Land of the Long White Cloud. That’s right: Any Australian citizen is entitled to live, study and work there,” he said.
“That means we’re all entitled to the rights and privileges of a subject of New Zealand – not a citizen, with the attached rights and privileges such as voting – but to be a subject of that country, living there, subject to New Zealand law, working or studying. And there’s no doubt that New Zealand is a foreign power.”
According to Angyal, if section 44 were to be taken into account, no Australian would be eligible to be an Australian MP.
Perhaps, if they’re nice to us, we’ll let them rule themselves again 😈
Don’t drop your guard for a minute, nice to us now, Oz will turn around when it suits and bite us in the bum later. But being rather soft in the bum and everywhere else, NZs will just sigh and give them a little pat, and say ‘There, there, you are a bit overwrought. All will be well.’
When you start to see protesters on the streets then something is very wrong. Particularly galling is the National Party using the campaign period to announce big projects which the electoral commission warns against.
Nats don’t get the public – they do get corruption though.
muttonbird
That video is a lot more entertaining than the one I sat through (up at comment 10, though there is a brief snippit of it at the end of this one). It is an interesting point about; “using the campaign period to announce big projects which the electoral commission warns against”.
However, the announcement really boils down to a mere: “$2million in further stop-gap funding to keep the existing hospital running.”. With the business case for the rebuild not even going to cabinet till next year, and a proposed completion date of; “2027, but this depends on the location”. So this billion dollar hospital is a long way off, and in no way certain.
Muttonbird galling is the National Party using the campaign period to announce big projects which the electoral commission warns against.
Last minute promises in an effort to scuttle the opposition: They are particularly important if this is correct: ‘of a poll of [Canadian] voters on election day 25 percent only decided within twenty-four hours of the election, 40 percent had decided in the previous week’
(The Big Red Machine… by Stephen Clarkson)
I came across BaitandSwitch. Have they tried that here? Politics
In lawmaking, “caption bills” that propose minor changes in law with simplistic titles (the bait) are introduced to the legislature with the ultimate objective of substantially changing the wording (the switch) at a later date in order to try to smooth the passage of a controversial or major amendment.
Rule changes are also proposed (the bait) to meet legal requirements for public notice and mandated public hearings, then different rules are proposed at a final meeting (the switch), thus bypassing the objective of public notice and public discussion on the actual rules voted upon. While legal, the political objective is to get legislation or rules passed without expected negative community review. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bait-and-switch#Politics
It is literally almost always in the top current posts being read at present. Right now it has 5 people reading it. We get spikes of this, but usually not sustained spikes over months (unless it is a great photo of a milkbottle)
I’d guess that it is from facebook bearing in mind that it shows up as 3 from facebook, 2 direct.
Yeah. That is to be expected. By why is this facebook thing getting passed around so much, and so recently.
That post was more than a year ago, he is no longer the PM, and the overseas trust ‘industry’ here is now just husk of what it once was as even this favourable towards corruption government was forced to lock out the criminal money laundering that was going on.
There is no apparent reason why this post should be being passed around facebook at this time – and increasing in velocity.
There’s a Facebook group popping up in my feed for National – NZ’s most corrupt government ever (or something like that), with thousands of members, and that post is one of their favourites.
Sounds like a likely kind of source. I guess people are dispersing links to more of these kinds of posts and readers are drilling down more in the approach to the election.
Best guess might be international interest – does it rise during our nighttime? A lot of Latin American journalists are probably looking for stolen money.
There are rumors on Facebook that say, and I’m paraphrasing.
“””Key resigned from being PM, because he was more involved in the Panama papers fiasco than the MSM has even let on. (Up to his eye balls) And he feared that it would come out during the election, and not only destroy his reputation, but that of the national party (TM) as a whole.”””
It comes in a few different versions with a lot more guttural language used in various incarnations.
Some of the more colorful ones coming from people off shore.
I’ve heard quite a few rumors, but at the moment that is what they are, rumors.
My favorite rumor was that his trichophilia had gotten to be unmanageable, and that after a certain incident in the back offices of parliament, he was asked to stand down.
@ Tamati Tautuhi … (16) … Yes, as to be expected Armstrong crawls out from under his rock to perform his once three yearly cycle of contaminated bullshit for his Natz master Herr Joyce!
The Nation: Amy Adams vs Phil Twyford.
Adams very high speed and volume delivery largely obliterated Twyford. I’d love a word count, and Adams had the cheek to accuse Twyford of cutting her off and using more time.
This guy has started appearing the Hawke’s Bay Today on Saturdays apparently as a counter to Mike William’s column. Further proof of the local rag’s pro National leanings and maybe a sign they are worried.
Looking at a history of the Paeroa and District Caledonian Society. I was struck by the cause of its close and selling up.
In 1974 a decision was made to put the Society into recess, a decision not made lightly.
It is ironical that at the time of closing, the Inglesides were still attracting crowds big enough to fill the War Memorial Hall but simply lacked people able or willing to do the work involved in running a dance.
And so, in 1975 the assets of the Society were sold and the money divided between the Crippled Children’s Society, the St. John’s Ambulance and the I H C Building Fund – a sad but fitting conclusion to a Society which, for years, had worked for the good of the community.
Is this, in a nutshell, the background story of why NZ is being sliced, diced and sold off in bits today? If so how can we stop this process? And having got the show together, how do we make sure it continues for the eager community, and keeps the people committed to ensuring it carries on for their children’s children? http://www.ohinemuri.org.nz/journals/71-journal-43-september-1999/1581-paeroa-district-caledonian-society
Our farming industry and the massive chunk of our economy is based on cheap, exploited, abused immigrant labour which maintains the low-wage economy and the wage stagnation for the domestic worker. The Government absolutely loves it.
During a Northland meeting on his Heartland tour, John Key met Kerikeri District Business Association president Carolyne Brooks-Quan in a cafe with a journalist present. Key seems to have taken little notice of the journalist, referring to him in a later media interview as ‘a young guy’.
During the meeting Brooks-Quan expressed to Key her concern about calls for employers in New Zealand to pay their workers more:
‘There’s been a lot surrounding the exodus of people to Australia that are lured by higher wages. There are some calls here for employers to pay more. What’s your take on that?
John, ever the business-friendly politician, replied:
‘We would love to see wages drop. The way we want to see wages increase is because productivity is greater. So people can afford more. Not just inflationary reasons, otherwise it’s a bit of a vicious circle as it comes back to you in higher interest rates. We really want to drive that out.’
So while low income workers are on the bones of there arses, and the middle is squeezed, after 9 long years we’re still waiting for the simplistic productivity/wage growth formula to produce an income bonanza for working people. Real wages and purchasing power lagging productivity.
Also slightly amusing to see Don Brash defend his basic understanding of an aspect of neo lib economics against Bryan Gould pointing out that he was wrong. Bryan Gould quoted the British but Don Brash probably repeating something schooled in by Harvard.
http://www.bryangould.com/the-fallout-from-brashs-downfall/ He had, after all, been the country’s top banker, and that is to say nothing of his eventual emergence as a “hard right” politician – leading first the National party and then Act, and only narrowly failing to become our Prime Minister in 2005.
As Governor of the Reserve Bank, he had been the principal champion and practitioner of the neo-liberal economic policies which became known as “Rogernomics”. Are we happy that our economic fortunes were entrusted to a single individual who understood so little of his subject, and that ministers applauded themselves for their disclaimer of any responsibility for the decisions he made?
His woeful attempt to deny what is now accepted must cast huge doubt on the continuing legacy of “Rogernomics” in our economic policies. The whole myth of prudent economic management under neo-liberal policies must be reconsidered in the light of what we now know is the banks’ self-interested creation (or “printing”) of billions of new money.
The frequent condemnations of any suggestion that governments might “print money” (unless it is “quantitative easing”, with the purpose of bailing out the banks) must now be viewed against the relaxed attitude towards the banks doing precisely that – day in, day out, and on a massive scale – for their own profit-making purposes.
An acknowledgment of the true role of the banks should lead us to reconsider many of the hitherto accepted nostrums in tackling economic problems. Inflation? No, not created by greedy workers claiming higher wages but by banks printing more and more money to boost their profits.
Why have we been knuckle-dragging for the last nine years? Because we are all ignorant, but have covered that with a mantle of slick confidence which is reinforced by the small groups of self-interest repeating their mantras, and disrespecting the caution of professionals.
Perhaps because of the assured and derogatory response to intellectual thought from Cameron Slater 20/4/17 (Whaleoil) “all round know it all academic tosspot, Bryan Gould, has been schooled on NCEA economics by Don Brash.”
So disgusting the shameful way a chunk of the dairy industry treats these people. So our waterways are polluted AND people are treated like shit – wtf are the good points about this industry again? Oh that’s right some owners and others make lots of money from it – meanwhile the environment, the water and the workers are fucked. Thanks dairy farmers, thanks a lot.
People would rather die of cancer, or have their guts cutout than admit they are being lied to by politicians/doctors/MSM, etc
People would rather indirectly kill their own children than admit they are being lied to.
The first step to being cured of most illnesses, is accepting you are being fed buckets of shit daily.
The next step is to accept that EVERY politician doesn’t give a flying fuck about you.
It doesn’t matter if they are black, green, blue, red, or fucking pink polka dot, they are all lying, except the ban 1080 party, every other group is a selfish bunch of bastards, just pulling your strings.
The human die off will start in earnest, in a few short months, but no one gives fuck.
Maternity wards, and voting are the evidence that the general dumb public/the walking dead, haven’t a clue.
No Marty
The cure for cancer is first accepting you are being lied to, then thinking for yourself, outside the box.
The irony is @ nearly 60, I have a medical condition that if not for ‘the pills’ would see me dead, so no I will not be saying “I told you so” for long.
The Politicians only allow me 3 months worth at a time, so yes a very short future for me.
Sorry to hear that. You should also be allowed access to quality weed for pain relief, nausea control or pretty well any reason you want at this time – subsidised and accessible – fuck the stupid repressive Victorian attitudes imposed in this country.
I have now lived long enough to see a cabinet minister go both barrels on their Prime Minister and not get sacked.It used to be that the PM would have a drawer full of resignations signed by ministers on the day of their appointment, ready for such an occasion. But ...
This session will feature Simon McCallum, Senior Lecturer in Engineering and Computer Science (VUW) and recent Labour Party candidate in the Southland Electorate talking about some of the issues around AI and how this should inform Labour Party policy. Simon is an excellent speaker with a comprehensive command of AI ...
The proposed Waimate garbage incinerator is dead: The company behind a highly-controversial proposal to build a waste-to-energy plant in the Waimate District no longer has the land. [...] However, SIRRL director Paul Taylor said the sales and purchase agreement to purchase land from Murphy Farms, near Glenavy, lapsed at ...
The US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act has been a vital tool in combatting international corruption. It forbids US companies and citizens from bribing foreign public officials anywhere in the world. And its actually enforced: some of the world's biggest companies - Siemens, Hewlett Packard, and Bristol Myers Squibb - have ...
December 2024 photo - with UK Tory Boris Johnson (Source: Facebook)Those PollsFor hours, political poll results have resounded across political hallways and commentary.According to the 1News Verizon poll, 50% of the country believe we are heading in the “wrong direction”, while 39% believe we are “on the right track”.The left ...
A Tai Rāwhiti mill that ran for 30 years before it was shut down in late 2023 is set to re-open in the coming months, which will eventually see nearly 300 new jobs in the region. A new report from Massey University shows that pensioners are struggling with rising costs. ...
As support continues to fall, Luxon also now faces his biggest internal ructions within the coalition since the election, with David Seymour reacting badly to being criticised by the PM. File photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāLong stories short, the top six things in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate ...
Not since 1988 when Richard Prebble openly criticised David Lange have we seen such a challenge to a Prime Minister as that of David Seymour to Christopher Luxon last night. Prebble suggested Lange had mental health issues during a TV interview and was almost immediately fired. Seymour hasn’t gone quite ...
Three weeks in, and the 24/7 news cycle is not helping anyone feel calm and informed about the second Trump presidency. One day, the US is threatening 25% trade tariffs on its friends and neighbours. The reasons offered by the White House are absurd, such as stopping fentanyl coming in ...
This video includes personal musings and conclusions of the creator climate scientist Dr. Adam Levy. It is presented to our readers as an informed perspective. Please see video description for references (if any). Wherever you look, you'll hear headlines claiming we've passed 1.5 degrees of global warming. And while 2024 saw ...
Photo by Heather M. Edwards on UnsplashHere’s the key news, commentary, reports and debate around Aotearoa’s politics and economy in the week to Feb 10 below. That’s ahead of live chats on the Substack App and The Kākā’s front page on Substack at 5pm with: on his column in The ...
Is there anyone in the world the National Party loves more than a campaign donor? Why yes, there is! They will always have the warmest hello and would you like to slip into something more comfortable for that great god of our age, the High Net Worth Individual.The words the ...
Waste and fraud certainly exist in foreign aid programs, but rightwing celebration of USAID’s dismantling shows profound ignorance of the value of soft power (as opposed to hard power) in projecting US influence and interests abroad by non-military/coercive means (think of “hearts and minds,” “hugs, not bullets,” “honey versus vinegar,” ...
Health New Zealand is proposing to cut almost half of its data and digital positions – more than 1000 of them. The PSA has called on the Privacy Commissioner to urgently investigate the cuts due to the potential for serious consequences for patients. NZNO is calling for an urgent increase ...
We may see a few more luxury cars on Queen Street, but a loosening of rules to entice rich foreigners to invest more here is unlikely to “turbocharge our economic growth”. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāLong stories short, the top six things in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate ...
Let us not dance daintily around the elephant in the room. Our politicians who serve us in the present are not honest, certainly not as honest as they should be, and while the right are taking out most of the trophies for warping narratives and literally redefining “facts”, the kiwi ...
A few weeks ago I took a look at public transport ridership in 2024. In today’s post I’m going to be looking a bit deeper at bus ridership. Buses make up the vast majority of ridership in Auckland with 70 million boardings last year out of a total of 89.4 ...
Oh, you know I did itIt's over and I feel fineNothing you could say is gonna change my mindWaited and I waited the longest nightNothing like the taste of sweet declineSongwriters: Chris Shiflett / David Eric Grohl / Nate Mendel / Taylor Hawkins.Hindsight is good, eh?The clarity when the pieces ...
Photo by Towfiqu barbhuiya on UnsplashHere’s what we’re watching in the week to February 16 and beyond in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty:Monday, February 10The Kākā’s weekly wrap-up of news about politics and the economy is due at midday, followed by webinar for paying subscribers in Substack’s ...
A listing of 23 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, February 2, 2025 thru Sat, February 8, 2025. This week's roundup is again published soleley by category. We are still interested in feedback to hone the categorization, so if ...
Today, I stumbled across a Twitter Meme: the ending of The Lord of the Rings as a Chess scenario: https://x.com/mellon_heads/status/1887983845917564991 It gets across the basic gist. Aragorn and Gandalf offering up ‘material’ at the Morannon allows Frodo and Samwise to catch Sauron unawares – fair enough. But there are a ...
Last week, Kieran McAnulty called out Chris Bishop and Nicola Willis for their claims that Kāinga Ora’s costs were too high.They had claimed Kāinga Ora’s cost were 12% higher than market i.e. private devlopersBut Kāinga Ora’s Chair had already explained why last year:"We're not building to sell, so we'll be ...
Stuff’s Political Editor Luke Malpass - A Fellow at New Zealand IniativeLast week I half-joked that Stuff / The Post’s Luke Malpass1 always sounded like he was auditioning for a job at the New Zealand Initiative.Mountain Tui is a reader-supported publication. For a limited time, subscriptions are 20% off. Thanks ...
At a funeral on Friday, there were A4-sized photos covering every wall of the Dil’s reception lounge. There must have been 200 of them, telling the story in the usual way of the video reel but also, by enlargement, making it more possible to linger and step in.Our friend Nicky ...
Skeptical Science is partnering with Gigafact to produce fact briefs — bite-sized fact checks of trending claims. This fact brief was written by Sue Bin Park from the Gigafact team in collaboration with members from our team. You can submit claims you think need checking via the tipline. Is methane the ...
The Government’s idea is that the private sector and Community Housing Providers will fund, build and operate new affordable housing to address our housing crisis. Meanwhile, the Government does not know where almost half of the 1,700 children who left emergency housing actually went. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāLong ...
Oh, home, let me come homeHome is wherever I'm with youOh, home, let me come homeHome is wherever I'm with youSongwriters: Alexander Ebert / Jade Allyson CastrinosMorena,I’m on a tight time frame this morning. In about an hour and a half, I’ll need to pack up and hit the road ...
This is a post about the Mountain Tui substack, and small tweaks - further to the poll and request post the other day. Please don’t read if you aren’t interested in my personal matters. Thank you all.After oohing-and-aahing about how to structure the Substack model since November, including obtaining ...
This transcript of a recent conversation between the Prime Minister and his chief economic adviser has not been verified.We’ve announced we are the ‘Yes Government’. Do you like it?Yes, Prime Minister.Dreamed up by the PR team. It’s about being committed to growth. Not that the PR team know anything about ...
The other day, Australian Senator Nick McKim issued a warning in the Australian Parliement about the US’s descent into fascim.And of course it’s true, but I lament - that was true as soon as Trump won.What we see is now simply the reification of the intention, planning, and forces behind ...
Among the many other problems associated with Musk/DOGE sending a fleet of teenage and twenty-something cultists to remove, copy and appropriate federal records like social security, medicaid and other supposedly protected data is the fact that the youngsters doing the data-removal, copying and security protocol and filter code over-writing have ...
Jokerman dance to the nightingale tuneBird fly high by the light of the moonOh, oh, oh, JokermanSong by Bob Dylan.Morena folks, I hope this fine morning of the 7th of February finds you well. We're still close to Paihia, just a short drive out of town. Below is the view ...
It’s been an eventful week as always, so here’s a few things that we have found interesting. We also hope everyone had a happy and relaxing Waitangi Day! This week in Greater Auckland We’re still running on summer time, but provided two chewy posts: On Tuesday, a guest ...
Queuing on Queen St: the Government is set to announce another apparently splashy growth policy on Sunday of offering residence visas to wealthy migrants. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāLong stories short, the top six things in our political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Friday, February 7:PM Christopher ...
The fact that Waitangi ended up being such a low-key affair may mark it out as one of the most significant Waitangi Days in recent years. A group of women draped in “Toitu Te Tiriti” banners who turned their backs on the politicians’ powhiri was about as rough as it ...
Hi,This week’s Flightless Bird episode was about “fake seizure guy” — a Melbourne man who fakes seizures in order to get members of the public to sit on him.The audio documentary (which I have included in this newsletter in case you don’t listen to Flightless Bird) built on reporting first ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Karin Kirk The 119th Congress comes with a price tag. The oil and gas industry gave about $24 million in campaign contributions to the members of the U.S. House and Senate expected to be sworn in January 3, 2025, according to a ...
Early morning, the shadows still long, but you can already feel the warmth building. Our motel was across the road from the historic homestead where Henry Williams' family lived. The evening before, we wandered around the gardens, reading the plaques and enjoying the close proximity to the history of the ...
Thanks folks for your feedback, votes and comments this week. I’ll be making the changes soon. Appreciate all your emails, comments and subscriptions too. I know your time is valuable - muchas gracias.A lot is happening both here and around the world - so I want to provide a snippets ...
Data released today by Statistics NZ shows that unemployment rose to 5.1%, with 33,000 more people out of work than last year said NZCTU Te Kauae Kaimahi Economist Craig Renney. “The latest data shows that employment fell in Aotearoa at its fastest rate since the GFC. Unemployment rose in 8 ...
The December labour market statistics have been released, showing yet another increase in unemployment. There are now 156,000 unemployed - 34,000 more than when National took office. And having thrown all these people out of work, National is doubling down on cruelty. Because being vicious will somehow magically create the ...
Boarded up homes in Kilbirnie, where work on a planned development was halted. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāLong stories short, the top six things in our political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Wednesday, February 5 are;Housing Minister Chris Bishop yesterday announcedKāinga Ora would be stripped of ...
This week Kiwirail and Auckland Transport were celebrating the completion of the summer rail works that had the network shut or for over a month and the start of electric trains to Pukekohe. First up, here’s parts of the press release about the shutdown works. Passengers boarding trains in Auckland ...
Through its austerity measures, the coalition government has engineered a rise in unemployment in order to reduce inflation while – simultaneously – cracking down harder and harder on the people thrown out of work by its own policies. To that end, Social Development Minister Louise Upston this week added two ...
This year, we've seen a radical, white supremacist government ignoring its Tiriti obligations, refusing to consult with Māori, and even trying to legislatively abrogate te Tiriti o Waitangi. When it was criticised by the Waitangi Tribunal, the government sabotaged that body, replacing its legal and historical experts with corporate shills, ...
Poor old democracy, it really is in a sorry state. It would be easy to put all the blame on the vandals and tyrants presently trashing the White House, but this has been years in the making. It begins with Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan and the spirit of Gordon ...
The new school lunches came in this week, and they were absolutely scrumptious.I had some, and even though Connor said his tasted like “stodge” and gave him a sore tummy, I myself loved it!Look at the photos - I knew Mr Seymour wouldn’t lie when he told us last year:"It ...
The tighter sanctions are modelled on ones used in Britain, which did push people off ‘the dole’, but didn’t increase the number of workers, and which evidence has repeatedly shown don’t work. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāLong stories short, the top six things in our political economy around housing, ...
Catching you up on the morning’s global news and a quick look at the parallels -GLOBALTariffs are backSharemarkets in the US, UK and Europe have “plunged” in response to Trump’s tariffs. And while Mexico has won a one month reprieve, Canada and China will see their respective 25% and 10% ...
This post by Nicolas Reid was originally published on Linked in. It is republished here with permission. Gondolas are often in the news, with manufacturers of ropeway systems proposing them as a modern option for mass transit systems in New Zealand. However, like every next big thing in transport, it’s hard ...
This is a re-post from The Climate BrinkBoth 2023 and 2024 were exceptionally warm years, at just below and above 1.5C relative to preindustrial in the WMO composite of surface temperature records, respectively. While we are still working to assess the full set of drivers of this warmth, it is clear that ...
Hi,I woke up feeling nervous this morning, realising that this weekend Flightless Bird is going to do it’s first ever live show. We’re heading to a sold out (!) show in Seattle to test the format out in front of an audience. If it works, we’ll do more. I want ...
From the United-For-Now States of America comes the thrilling news that a New Zealander may be at the very heart of the current coup. Punching above our weight on the world stage once more! Wait, you may be asking, what New Zealander? I speak of Peter Thiel, made street legal ...
Even Stevens: Over the 33 years between 1990 and 2023 (and allowing for the aberrant 2020 result) the average level of support enjoyed by the Left and Right blocs, at roughly 44.5 percent each, turns out to be, as near as dammit, identical.WORLDWIDE, THE PARTIES of the Left are presented ...
Back in 2023, a "prominent political figure" went on trial for historic sex offences. But we weren't allowed to know who they were or what political party they were "prominent" in, because it might affect the way we voted. At the time, I said that this was untenable; it was ...
I'm going, I'm goingWhere the water tastes like wineI'm going where the water tastes like wineWe can jump in the waterStay drunk all the timeI'm gonna leave this city, got to get awayI'm gonna leave this city, got to get awayAll this fussing and fighting, man, you know I sure ...
Waitangi Day is a time to honour Te Tiriti o Waitangi and stand together for a just and fair Aotearoa. Across the motu, communities are gathering to reflect, kōrero, and take action for a future built on equity and tino rangatiratanga. From dawn ceremonies to whānau-friendly events, there are ...
Subscribe to Mountain Tūī ! Where you too can learn about exciting things from a flying bird! Tweet.Yes - I absolutely suck at marketing. It’s a fact.But first -My question to all readers is:How should I set up the Substack model?It’s been something I’ve been meaning to ask since November ...
Here’s the key news, commentary, reports and debate around Aotearoa’s political economy on politics and in the week to Feb 3:PM Christopher Luxon began 2025’s first day of Parliament last Tuesday by carrying on where left off in 2024, letting National’s junior coalition partner set the political agenda and dragging ...
The PSA have released a survey of 4000 public service workers showing that budget cuts are taking a toll on the wellbeing of public servants and risking the delivery of essential services to New Zealanders. Economists predict that figures released this week will show continued increases in unemployment, potentially reaching ...
The Prime Minister’s speech 10 days or so ago kicked off a flurry of commentary. No one much anywhere near the mainstream (ie excluding Greens supporters) questioned the rhetoric. New Zealand has done woefully poorly on productivity for a long time and we really need better outcomes, and the sorts ...
President Trump on the day he announced tariffs against Mexico, Canada and China, unleashing a shock to supply chains globally that is expected to slow economic growth and increase inflation for most large economies. Photo: Getty ImagesLong stories short, the top six things in our political economy around housing, climate ...
Photo by Towfiqu barbhuiya on UnsplashHere’s what we’re watching in the week to February 9 and beyond in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty:Monday, February 3Politics: New Zealand Government cabinet meeting usually held early afternoon with post-cabinet news conference possible at 4 pm, although they have not been ...
Trump being Trump, it won’t come as a shock to find that he regards a strong US currency (bolstered by high tariffs on everything made by foreigners) as a sign of America’s virility, and its ability to kick sand in the face of the world. Reality is a tad more ...
A listing of 24 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, January 26, 2025 thru Sat, February 1, 2025. This week's roundup is again published soleley by category. We are still interested in feedback to hone the categorization, so if ...
What seems to be the common theme in the US, NZ, Argentina and places like Italy under their respective rightwing governments is what I think of as “the politics of cruelty.” Hate-mongering, callous indifference in social policy-making, corporate toadying, political bullying, intimidation and punching down on the most vulnerable with ...
If you are confused, check with the sunCarry a compass to help you alongYour feet are going to be on the groundYour head is there to move you aroundSo, stand in the place where you liveSongwriters: Bill Berry / Michael Mills / Michael Stipe / Peter Buck.Hot in the CityYesterday, ...
Shane Jones announced today he would be contracting out his thinking to a smarter younger person.Reclining on his chaise longue with a mouth full of oysters and Kina he told reporters:Clearly I have become a has-been, a palimpsest, an epigone, a bloviating fossil. I find myself saying such things as: ...
Warning: This post contains references to sexual assaultOn Saturday, I spent far too long editing a video on Tim Jago, the ACT Party President and criminal, who has given up his fight for name suppression after 2 years. He voluntarily gave up just in time for what will be a ...
New Zealand First has today introduced a Member’s Bill which would restore decision-making power to local communities regarding the fluoridation of drinking water. The ‘Fluoridation (Referendum) Legislation Bill’ seeks to repeal the Health (Fluoridation of Drinking Water) Amendment Act 2021 that granted centralised authority to the Direct General of Health ...
New Zealand First has introduced a Member’s Bill aimed at preventing banks from refusing their services to businesses because of the current “Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) Framework”. “This Bill ensures fairness and prevents ESG standards from perpetuating woke ideology in the banking sector being driven by unelected, globalist, climate ...
Erica Stanford has reached peak shortsightedness if today’s announcement is anything to go by, picking apart immigration settings piece by piece to the detriment of the New Zealand economy. ...
Our originating document, theTreaty of Waitangi, was signed on February 6, 1840. An agreement between Māori and the British Crown. Initially inked by Ngā Puhi in Waitangi, further signatures were added as it travelled south. The intention was to establish a colony with the cession of sovereignty to the Crown, ...
Te Whatu Ora Chief Executive Margie Apa leaving her job four months early is another symptom of this government’s failure to deliver healthcare for New Zealanders. ...
The Green Party is calling for the Prime Minister to show leadership and be unequivocal about Aotearoa New Zealand’s opposition to a proposal by the US President to remove Palestinians from Gaza. ...
The latest unemployment figures reveal that job losses are hitting Māori and Pacific people especially hard, with Māori unemployment reaching a staggering 9.7% for the December 2024 quarter and Pasifika unemployment reaching 10.5%. ...
Waitangi 2025: Waitangi Day must be community and not politically driven - Shane Jones Our originating document, theTreaty of Waitangi, was signed on February 6, 1840. An agreement between Māori and the British Crown. Initially inked by Ngā Puhi in Waitangi, further signatures were added as it travelled south. ...
Despite being confronted every day with people in genuine need being stopped from accessing emergency housing – National still won’t commit to building more public houses. ...
The Green Party says the Government is giving up on growing the country’s public housing stock, despite overwhelming evidence that we need more affordable houses to solve the housing crisis. ...
Before any thoughts of the New Year and what lies ahead could even be contemplated, New Zealand reeled with the tragedy of Senior Sergeant Lyn Fleming losing her life. For over 38 years she had faithfully served as a front-line Police officer. Working alongside her was Senior Sergeant Adam Ramsay ...
Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson will return to politics at Waitangi on Monday the 3rd of February where she will hold a stand up with fellow co-leader Chlöe Swarbrick. ...
Te Pāti Māori is appalled by the government's blatant mishandling of the school lunch programme. David Seymour’s ‘cost-saving’ measures have left tamariki across Aotearoa with unidentifiable meals, causing distress and outrage among parents and communities alike. “What’s the difference between providing inedible food, and providing no food at all?” Said ...
The Government is doubling down on outdated and volatile fossil fuels, showing how shortsighted and destructive their policies are for working New Zealanders. ...
Green Party MP Steve Abel this morning joined Coromandel locals in Waihi to condemn new mining plans announced by Shane Jones in the pit of the town’s Australian-owned Gold mine. ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to strengthen its just-announced 2030-2035 Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) under the Paris Agreement and address its woeful lack of commitment to climate security. ...
Today marks a historic moment for Taranaki iwi with the passing of the Te Pire Whakatupua mō Te Kāhui Tupua/Taranaki Maunga Collective Redress Bill in Parliament. "Today, we stand together as descendants of Taranaki, and our tūpuna, Taranaki Maunga, is now formally acknowledged by the law as a living tūpuna. ...
Labour is relieved to see Children’s Minister Karen Chhour has woken up to reality and reversed her government’s terrible decisions to cut funding from frontline service providers – temporarily. ...
It is the first week of David Seymour’s school lunch programme and already social media reports are circulating of revolting meals, late deliveries, and mislabelled packaging. ...
The Green Party says that with no-cause evictions returning from today, the move to allow landlords to end tenancies without reason plunges renters, and particularly families who rent, into insecurity and stress. ...
The Government’s move to increase speed limits substantially on dozens of stretches of rural and often undivided highways will result in more serious harm. ...
In her first announcement as Economic Growth Minister, Nicola Willis chose to loosen restrictions for digital nomads from other countries, rather than focus on everyday Kiwis. ...
The Government’s commitment to get New Zealand’s roads back on track is delivering strong results, with around 98 per cent of potholes on state highways repaired within 24 hours of identification every month since targets were introduced, Transport Minister Chris Bishop says. “Increasing productivity to help rebuild our economy is ...
The former Cadbury factory will be the site of the Inpatient Building for the new Dunedin Hospital and Health Minister Simeon Brown says actions have been taken to get the cost overruns under control. “Today I am giving the people of Dunedin certainty that we will build the new Dunedin ...
From today, Plunket in Whāngarei will be offering childhood immunisations – the first of up to 27 sites nationwide, Health Minister Simeon Brown says. The investment of $1 million into the pilot, announced in October 2024, was made possible due to the Government’s record $16.68 billion investment in health. It ...
New Zealand’s strong commitment to the rights of disabled people has continued with the response to an important United Nations report, Disability Issues Minister Louise Upston has announced. Of the 63 concluding observations of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD), 47 will be progressed ...
Resources Minister Shane Jones has launched New Zealand’s national Minerals Strategy and Critical Minerals List, documents that lay a strategic and enduring path for the mineral sector, with the aim of doubling exports to $3 billion by 2035. Mr Jones released the documents, which present the Coalition Government’s transformative vision ...
Firstly I want to thank OceanaGold for hosting our event today. Your operation at Waihi is impressive. I want to acknowledge local MP Scott Simpson, local government dignitaries, community stakeholders and all of you who have gathered here today. It’s a privilege to welcome you to the launch of the ...
Racing Minister, Winston Peters has announced the Government is preparing public consultation on GST policy proposals which would make the New Zealand racing industry more competitive. “The racing industry makes an important economic contribution. New Zealand thoroughbreds are in demand overseas as racehorses and for breeding. The domestic thoroughbred industry ...
Business confidence remains very high and shows the economy is on track to improve, Economic Growth Minister Nicola Willis says. “The latest ANZ Business Outlook survey, released yesterday, shows business confidence and expected own activity are ‘still both very high’.” The survey reports business confidence fell eight points to +54 ...
Enabling works have begun this week on an expanded radiology unit at Hawke’s Bay Fallen Soldiers’ Memorial Hospital which will double CT scanning capacity in Hawke’s Bay to ensure more locals can benefit from access to timely, quality healthcare, Health Minister Simeon Brown says. This investment of $29.3m in the ...
The Government has today announced New Zealand’s second international climate target under the Paris Agreement, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. New Zealand will reduce emissions by 51 to 55 per cent compared to 2005 levels, by 2035. “We have worked hard to set a target that is both ambitious ...
Nine years of negotiations between the Crown and iwi of Taranaki have concluded following Te Pire Whakatupua mō Te Kāhui Tupua/the Taranaki Maunga Collective Redress Bill passing its third reading in Parliament today, Treaty Negotiations Minister Paul Goldsmith says. “This Bill addresses the historical grievances endured by the eight iwi ...
As schools start back for 2025, there will be a relentless focus on teaching the basics brilliantly so all Kiwi kids grow up with the knowledge, skills and competencies needed to grow the New Zealand of the future, Education Minister Erica Stanford says. “A world-leading education system is a key ...
Housing Minister Chris Bishop and Associate Agriculture Minister Mark Patterson have welcomed Kāinga Ora’s decision to re-open its tender for carpets to allow wool carpet suppliers to bid. “In 2024 Kāinga Ora issued requests for tender (RFTs) seeking bids from suppliers to carpet their properties,” Mr Bishop says. “As part ...
Associate Education Minister David Seymour has today visited Otahuhu College where the new school lunch programme has served up healthy lunches to students in the first days of the school year. “As schools open in 2025, the programme will deliver nutritious meals to around 242,000 students, every school day. On ...
Minister for Children Karen Chhour has intervened in Oranga Tamariki’s review of social service provider contracts to ensure Barnardos can continue to deliver its 0800 What’s Up hotline. “When I found out about the potential impact to this service, I asked Oranga Tamariki for an explanation. Based on the information ...
A bill to make revenue collection on imported and exported goods fairer and more effective had its first reading in Parliament, Customs Minister Casey Costello said today. “The Customs (Levies and Other Matters) Amendment Bill modernises the way in which Customs can recover the costs of services that are needed ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says the Department of Internal Affairs [the Department] has achieved significant progress in completing applications for New Zealand citizenship. “December 2024 saw the Department complete 5,661 citizenship applications, the most for any month in 2024. This is a 54 per cent increase compared ...
Reversals to Labour’s blanket speed limit reductions begin tonight and will be in place by 1 July, says Minister of Transport Chris Bishop. “The previous government was obsessed with slowing New Zealanders down by imposing illogical and untargeted speed limit reductions on state highways and local roads. “National campaigned on ...
Finance Minister Nicola Willis has announced Budget 2025 – the Growth Budget - will be delivered on Thursday 22 May. “This year’s Budget will drive forward the Government’s plan to grow our economy to improve the incomes of New Zealanders now and in the years ahead. “Budget 2025 will build ...
For the Government, 2025 will bring a relentless focus on unleashing the growth we need to lift incomes, strengthen local businesses and create opportunity. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon today laid out the Government’s growth agenda in his Statement to Parliament. “Just over a year ago this Government was elected by ...
Associate Education Minister David Seymour welcomes students back to school with a call to raise attendance from last year. “The Government encourages all students to attend school every day because there is a clear connection between being present at school and setting yourself up for a bright future,” says Mr ...
The Government is relaxing visitor visa requirements to allow tourists to work remotely while visiting New Zealand, Economic Growth Minister Nicola Willis, Immigration Minister Erica Stanford and Tourism Minister Louise Upston say. “The change is part of the Government’s plan to unlock New Zealand’s potential by shifting the country onto ...
The opening of Kāinga Ora’s development of 134 homes in Epuni, Lower Hutt will provide much-needed social housing for Hutt families, Housing Minister Chris Bishop says. “I’ve been a strong advocate for social housing on Kāinga Ora’s Epuni site ever since the old earthquake-prone housing was demolished in 2015. I ...
Trade and Investment Minister Todd McClay will travel to Australia today for meetings with Australian Trade Minister, Senator Don Farrell, and the Australia New Zealand Leadership Forum (ANZLF). Mr McClay recently hosted Minister Farrell in Rotorua for the annual Closer Economic Relations (CER) Trade Ministers’ meeting, where ANZLF presented on ...
A new monthly podiatry clinic has been launched today in Wairoa and will bring a much-needed service closer to home for the Wairoa community, Health Minister Simeon Brown says.“Health New Zealand has been successful in securing a podiatrist until the end of June this year to meet the needs of ...
The Judicial Conduct Commissioner has recommended a Judicial Conduct Panel be established to inquire into and report on the alleged conduct of acting District Court Judge Ema Aitken in an incident last November, Attorney-General Judith Collins said today. “I referred the matter of Judge Aitken’s alleged conduct during an incident ...
Students who need extra help with maths are set to benefit from a targeted acceleration programme that will give them more confidence in the classroom, Education Minister Erica Stanford says. “Last year, significant numbers of students did not meet the foundational literacy and numeracy level required to gain NCEA. To ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters has announced three new diplomatic appointments. “Our diplomats play an important role in ensuring New Zealand’s interests are maintained and enhanced across the world,” Mr Peters says. “It is a pleasure to announce the appointment of these senior diplomats from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and ...
Ki te kahore he whakakitenga, ka ngaro te Iwi – without a vision, the people will perish. The Government has achieved its target to reduce the number of households in emergency housing motels by 75 per cent five years early, Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka says. The number of households ...
The opening of Palmerston North’s biggest social housing development will have a significant impact for whānau in need of safe, warm, dry housing, Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka says. The minister visited the development today at North Street where a total of 50 two, three, and four-bedroom homes plus a ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced the new membership of the Public Advisory Committee on Disarmament and Arms Control (PACDAC), who will serve for a three-year term. “The Committee brings together wide-ranging expertise relevant to disarmament. We have made six new appointments to the Committee and reappointed two existing members ...
Ka nui te mihi kia koutou. Kia ora, good morning, talofa, malo e lelei, bula vinaka, da jia hao, namaste, sat sri akal, assalamu alaikum. It’s so great to be here and I’m ready and pumped for 2025. Can I start by acknowledging: Simon Bridges – CEO of the Auckland ...
The Government has unveiled a bold new initiative to position New Zealand as a premier destination for foreign direct investment (FDI) that will create higher paying jobs and grow the economy. “Invest New Zealand will streamline the investment process and provide tailored support to foreign investors, to increase capital investment ...
Science, Innovation and Technology Minister Judith Collins today announced the largest reset of the New Zealand science system in more than 30 years with reforms which will boost the economy and benefit the sector. “The reforms will maximise the value of the $1.2 billion in government funding that goes into ...
Turbocharging New Zealand’s economic growth is the key to brighter days ahead for all Kiwis, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon says. In the Prime Minister’s State of the Nation Speech in Auckland today, Christopher Luxon laid out the path to the prosperity that will affect all aspects of New Zealanders’ lives. ...
The latest set of accounts show the Government has successfully checked the runaway growth of public spending, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. “In the previous government’s final five months in office, public spending was almost 10 per cent higher than for the same period the previous year. “That is completely ...
The Government’s welfare reforms are delivering results with the number of people moving off benefits into work increasing year-on-year for six straight months. “There are positive signs that our welfare reset and the return consequences for job seekers who don't fulfil their obligations to prepare for or find a job ...
Today I’ve had a bit on. I’m living in a 23.4 metre tug off the coast of Samoa and have been for a few weeks now. I’m on a top-secret mission to help save the planet from another potential environmental disaster.I’m currently tasked with looking out the window and making ...
The ‘loneliness epidemic’ is apparently spreading around the world, but what does it look like here in New Zealand? Rachel Judkins reports. It’s a beautiful summer evening in Cornwall Park, with families scattered on the grass and a live band playing a backing track to their laughter. Sprawled on a ...
The Act leader gets a telling-off from the principal and prime minister Christopher Luxon loses his cool in a heated question time. Echo Chamber is The Spinoff’s dispatch from the press gallery, recapping sessions in the House. Columns are written by politics reporter Lyric Waiwiri-Smith and Wellington editor Joel MacManus. ...
Loading…(function(i,s,o,g,r,a,m){var ql=document.querySelectorAll('A[data-quiz],DIV[data-quiz]'); if(ql){if(ql.length){for(var k=0;k<ql.length;k++){ql[k].id='quiz-embed-'+k;ql[k].href="javascript:var i=document.getElementById('quiz-embed-"+k+"');try{qz.startQuiz(i)}catch(e){i.start=1;i.style.cursor='wait';i.style.opacity='0.5'};void(0);"}}};i['QP']=r;i[r]=i[r]||function(){(i[r].q=i[r].q||[]).push(arguments)},i[r].l=1*new Date();a=s.createElement(o),m=s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];a.async=1;a.src=g;m.parentNode.insertBefore(a,m)})(window,document,'script','https://take.quiz-maker.com/3012/CDN/quiz-embed-v1.js','qp');Got a good quiz question?Send Newsroom your questions.The post Newsroom daily quiz, Wednesday 12 February appeared first on Newsroom. ...
Opinion: It was the 10th anniversary of UNESCO’s International Day of Women and Girls in Science this week, the theme being ‘Unpacking STEM Careers: Her Voice in Science’. It is 2025, but we still need a lot more of her voices in science.In New Zealand, a 2021 survey found that ...
NewsroomBy Dr Jennifer Kruger and Dr Kelly Burrowes
A Government proposal to axe the only two jobs in New Zealand’s health sector of people who were working on a national strategy for palliative care has angered those in the sector, which is already under immense strain.It’s put another wedge between those who want terminally ill patients to live ...
The High Court isn’t the appropriate place to solve a South Island iwi’s claims over freshwater, the Crown says.Ngāi Tahu leaders, and the collective Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu, are taking legal action against the Attorney-General, demanding to be involved in decision-making over freshwater. Iwi want the Crown to recognise ...
COMMENTARY:By Sawsan Madina I watched US President Donald Trump’s joint press conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu last week in utter disbelief. Not that the idea, or indeed the practice, of ethnic cleansing of Palestine is new. But at that press conference the mask has fallen. Recently, fascism ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra The Albanese government will on Wednesday announce it is willing, as a last resort, to purchase the collapsed Rex Airlines, in its latest bid to prop up aviation services to regional and remote areas. As ...
Jotham Napat has been elected as the new prime minister of Vanuatu. Napat was elected unopposed in Port Vila today, receiving 50 votes with two void votes. He is the country’s fifth prime minister in four years and will lead a coalition government made up of five political parties — ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By A J Brown, Professor of Public Policy & Law, Centre for Governance & Public Policy, Griffith University Australia has turned the corner on its decade-long slide on Transparency International’s annual Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI), once again ranking in the top ten least ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Nicole Bridges, Senior Lecturer in Public Relations and Director of Academic Program – Communication, Creative Industries, Screen Media, Western Sydney University Stock Rocket/Shutterstock For new parents struggling with challenges such as breastfeeding and sleep deprivation, social media can be a great ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Scott French, Senior Lecturer in Economics, UNSW Sydney US President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese have stated an exemption for Australia from Trump’s executive order placing 25% tariffs on all steel and aluminium imported into the US is “under consideration”. ...
Analysis - Christopher Luxon's attempts to turn the tables back on the Opposition at Question Time today went down like a lead balloon, Jo Moir writes. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Brenton Griffin, Casual Lecturer and Tutor in History, Indigenous Studies, and Politics, Flinders University American Primeval/Netflix On January 24, leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, more commonly known as the Mormon Church, penned a statement condemning the ...
It comes as Whangārei District Council is under fire from the Director General of Health Dr Diana Sarfati after it voted in December against adding fluoridation to the water. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Paul Strangio, Emeritus Professor of Politics, Monash University Is history repeating itself in Labor’s fortress state of Victoria? At the 1990 federal election, Bob Hawke’s Labor government had a near-death experience when it lost nine seats in Victoria. A furious Hawke laid ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Lisa Nissen, HERA Program Director – Health Workforce Optimisation Centre for the Business & Economics of Health, The University of Queensland Rawpixel.com/Shutterstock If you’ve tried to get an appointment to see a GP or specialist recently, you will likely have felt ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peta Ashworth, Professor and Director, Curtin Institute for Energy Transition, Curtin University Large power grids are among the most complicated machines humans have ever devised. Different generators produce power at various times and at various costs. A generator might fail and another ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Bronwyn Orr, Veterinarian, Southern Cross University Mitchell Orr/Unsplash Late last year, rumours swirled online that HomeSafeID, a private Australian pet microchip registry, had stopped operating. On Feburary 5 2025, a notice appeared on the HomeSafeID website, ostensibly from the site’s ...
The government is taking far too long to allocate the 1500 social homes it announced nine months ago and the hold up is stalling desperately-needed homes, says a community housing provider. ...
The agency is setting a 12-week limit on how much rent debt a tenant can accumulate as part of a change in approach that will also see almost half of the outstanding dept wiped away. ...
The media is rife with headlines about people killing animals for kicks. Please don’t.In memory of an Auckland swan, a Bay of Plenty octopus and a Taranaki striped marlin.Imagine this. It’s 7.15am. You’re paddling around on a serene lake with your sweetheart. It seems likely that she’ll give ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra US President Donald Trump has agreed to “consider” exempting Australia from the 25% tariff he has imposed on imports of steel and aluminium to the US. Trump gave the undertaking during a wide-ranging 40-minute ...
Pacific Media Watch Israeli police have confiscated hundreds of books with Palestinian titles or flags without understanding their contents in a draconian raid on a Palestinian educational bookshop in occupied East Jerusalem, say eyewitnesses. More details have emerged on the Israeli police raid on a popular bookstore in occupied East ...
By Caleb Fotheringham, RNZ Pacific journalist China and the Cook Islands’ relationship “should not be disrupted or restrained by any third party”, says Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun, as opposition leaders in Rarotonga express a loss of confidence in Prime Minister Mark Brown. In response to questions from the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Chris Ogden, Associate Professor in Global Studies, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau Donald Trump is moving rapidly to change the contours of contemporary international affairs, with the old US-dominated world order breaking down into a multipolar one with many centres of ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ronnie Das, Associate Professor in Data Analytics, The University of Western Australia In the recent Border-Gavaskar series against India, Steve Smith agonisingly missed out reaching 10,000 Test runs in front of his home crowd at the Sydney Cricket Ground, falling short by ...
This is pasted from another post. Re. Polling. Responses please.
If, if and if again. There is one poll that really counts IF you are really, really, serious. If Germany had invaded England in WW2. If the AB’S had taken their own chef and food to the World Cup in South Africa in two thousand and whatever. If Barbie was an All Black! This is what I call Poll Porn. Other countries don’t permit this poll porn, for obvious reasons. Tea leaf reading anyone?
Boot Camp begins at home
If a Boot Camp’s objectives include instilling a sense of discipline and self worth then surely “boot camp” should begin at home.
When the bell rang at 10:30 am on my first day’s teaching on Atiu (outer island of the Cooks) I asked the kids “how long is the break?” They responded that this was lunch time, not break. I learned later that they’d been up since 5:30, feeding the pigs and chickens and doing housework.
There was no classroom “duty roster;” at the close of the school day floors were swept, windows cleaned, shelves tidied. The students buzzed round the room as routinely as one brushed one’s teeth. I marvelled as I watched them using those amazing brooms fashioned from the shredded midribs of palm fronds.
“Looking forward to the holiday?” I asked on last day of term.
“Not really” replied one, “we miss our friends.”
“On an island of only 530 people?”
But holiday time was ‘working in the taro fields time’ with far less opportunity for socialising than during term.
The kids had developed a strong sense of independence. A massive radio mast, the victim of 5 cyclones that struck Cook Islands in the 2004/2005 season, lay sprawled as a wreck of iron and cable right across part of the playing field. It was 4 months before machinery arrived to remove it, and during all that time they played touch during break, jumping over the cables and running round the jagged metal as though it belonged there.
Swimming sports was held in the crude little harbour. At lunch all the staff withdrew for kai under the Casuarina trees, well out of sight. And the kids played unsupervised in the water, from pre-primary through to seniors. Everyone seemed to have an eye on everyone else and it all looked very normal and natural. .
I’m not suggesting they were saints by any means; plenty of mischief reminded me kids will always be kids. But it seems to me the early inculcation of responsibility in the home, at the work place, in care of oneself and of one another is something sadly lacking in western contemporary society.
Why is it so hard for us to grasp the steadying influence of good old fashioned values?
Last year I had a holiday in Rarotonga. One day in the township I struck up a conversation with a policewoman and commented that one outstanding feature was a total lack of bored teenages milling around on the streets, unlike NZ. “We keep them far too busy here” she responded. How cool – they are a valued part of their society, not a nuisance factor, as we seem to regard them. I’ll bet there are few, if any youth suicides there!
After some years on Atiu I taught in Rarotonga. Two student teachers from Australia marvelled at the 90% level of participation in ball games during interval, lamenting that in Oz 90% sit around glued to cell phones when not in class.
Wouldn’t that be dependent upon which old fashioned values?
The community based ones you describe or the capitalist ones we have.
I emphasized good old fashioned values….which would surely rule out capitalism.
define ‘good’ old fashioned values.
thanks.
In the context of the article how about care of one another, cooperative living, self-reliance, honouring individuality.
see i grew up also with cleaning communal goods i.e. church, school, public yard etc. it was us girls that did the cleaning. I just wanted to make sure that when we speak of ‘good old fashioned’ values, it is not the girls that end up cleaning and the boys playing balls.
good old fashioned means a lot of things to a lot of people. Might be better to point out the values that you are talking about and you will see that they are not forcibly ‘good ‘old’ fashioned values.
“Might be better to point out the values that you are talking about…..”
The entire article, with no mention of gender, points to the values I’m talking about that I noted amongst my students: once again mutual caring, cooperative living, self reliance. These are sadly absent in large swathes of western society.
and yet, you do not talk about community values you talk about ‘good old fashioned values’. Which means something different to many people.
As for saying that these are largely absent, no, thy are not. They might not be exercised in a way that you would count them, but there are many young people involved in the community, there are volunteers tonight going out in rain and hail to put tarp up over roofs blown away, to put out fires and pull animals out of ditches just to name a few.
the kids are alright, its the grown ups that have fucked up society.
i don’t disagree with you, but words and their meaning matters.
Go ask women what ‘good old fashioned values’ mean to them. 🙂
The good old fashioned values I remember – my grandfather’s – were of sharing. He did a lot of fishing, had a smokehouse, and pretty much everyone who knew him got fish. Down here in the south the need to lock doors (or bikes) only came in the last 30-40 years. When AH Reed walked from Cape Reinga to Bluff he could rely on being offered a billet by strangers.
So why’d it all go away? Neo-liberalism was part of it. I suspect the decline of churches as social organizations and the decline of social rugby were part of it too. We have become to some extent deculturalised. It’s a dangerous thing in fact – the folk that ISIS recruit are not mainstream Muslims, but deculturalised ones.
Media prostitutes like Hoskings and Gower are deculturalised – they have no loyalty to public interest. The blame lies in part with those who hire them – the choice to further debase our society is deliberate.
Deculturalised or nihilist? What is the countervailing voice, to use Monbiot’s phrasing?
Sharing is a powerful (trans)action with very deep symbolism and meaning.
“….the kids are alright, its the grown ups that have fucked up society”.
Our kids are NOT alright, they are suffering. I agree about the adults.
Jun 15, 2017 – A report by Unicef contains a shocking statistic – New Zealand has by far the highest youth suicide rate in the developed world.
my comment does not refer tot he material status a young one has but to the attitude of our young ones.
And they are ‘all right’, they are helpful, studious, polite, they volunteer, they juggle school, homework, work, they live in a world that is dead set against them and still they are polite, helpful, industrious, and lovely.
Its the old ones that fuck it up. We should own up to that. The ‘oldfashioned values’ were not ‘destroyed by the young ones, but are disregarded by many grown ups. We – old people – set the standard, we don’t get to complain if in the end we dont like what we harvest.
The terminology “good old fashioned values” seems to suggest that they have gone out of fashion here but in other cultures/societies they still exist and still guide, regulate, and shape human actions and interactions. This raises a few interesting questions: why & how did we lose them, and how can we restore or re-establish them (assuming, of course, that we can and want to)? This is Puddleglum material 😉
There a good blog on yesterday’s go out to vote
Eco maori, if the comment you are referring to is your own one praising TOP, I would simply point out to you that it seems strange that a bunch of rich white capitalists will supposedly fix the ills of capitalism for us all. Warning bells should be ringing.
I wish Gareth Morgan well BUT let him bleed the Natz, not us.
the Jacinda effect has killed tops chances ,
You never know he’s sitting on 2%, last time Colin lifted his party from 1% to 4% in a matter of a few weeks. A couple of good TV appearances and Gareth could fly in under the radar.
Garibaldi, apart from making an increadibly racist and sexist comment re white men, you show total ignorance of the makeup of TOP.
Maori, Polynesian and women are all over represented in their office holder ranks. But then why let reality and a little fact checking get in the way of your cliched viewpoints
Morning smiles.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/the-internet-hilariously-said-bye-bye-to-steve-bannon_us_59972287e4b0a2608a6c1628?ncid=inblnkushpmg00000009
🙂
Only Pence and Trump left from the first intake…. I wonder who will be the only one left?
I was thinking Pence has been fronting the media a bit more lately.
Outside of family, you mean?
I reckon it’ll come down to the cage fight between Hope Hicks and Kellyanne.
Ten green bottles hanging on the wall,
If one green bottle should accidentally fall
There’ll be nine green bottles hanging ….. etc.
(Old rhyme)
Unfortunately, I think it may be more like this.
Could segue nicely into a rousing chorus of “Humpty Trumpty”…
Cage F(r)ight draw:
Warm up – Hicks vs Conway
– Too close to call – has Trump ever resisted a model? and will Melania have anything to say about it? Conway has seen off the likes of Hicks before, I’m sure.
Main event – Trump Family vs the Koch Bros?
– It’s all terrifying, but for the main event I’ve always thought the Trump family will lose to the Koch Bros. Pence is looking quite the presidential pretender.
Steve Bannon spotted on his way home from The White House.
http://imgur.com/7zTCuWv
All a plan for him to go to war for his special friend trump apparently.
Easier to undermine McMaster from the outside.
https://www.axios.com/anti-mcmaster-campaign-is-about-to-get-uglier-2472606148.html
Actually the unpleasant symbolism aside, if we run out of rubber, that might be a useful design though definitely be more like the old bikes they called boneshakers. But it seems to work okay.
Roy Morgan poll.
https://thedailyblog.co.nz/2017/08/19/latest-roy-morgan-poll-national-42-5-labour-32-5-green-9-nz-first-11-5/
Polling period 31 July-13 August … this latest roy morgan is not usable data too much has happened to change stuff in the period
My rolling average of the last 3 Roy Morgans including August 13 poll just out:
Lab/Gr 41.7 (polling Lab 32.5 Greens 9.0 on August 13)
Lab/Gr/NZF 51.2
Nats 44.0
Nats/ACT/MP 46.3
Nats/ACT/MP/NZF 55.8
NZF 9.5
If Winnie goes as part of the 4-headed monster it’s 55.8 versus 41.7
If Winnie goes with the Lab/Gr bloc it’s 51.2 versus 46.3
Both would give safe majorities.
These figures probably give a better idea of bedrock support, rather than the recent volatile Colmar Brunton, though the Jacinda effect may not be fully reflected.TOP continues to languish. Roy Morgan had Labour on 23% last November.
Young Dickie Harman at Politik
(As election narrows, National hits the fund raising button with high priced dinner with PM – August 18, 2017)
his sign in our backwaters here
Had Enough?
🙂
everyone keep swimming, there is no land in sight.
True that is Swordfish,
We have family inside the Party that confirms what you highlighted there.
John Armstrong, in this morning´s Herald is arguing that NZ 1st should go with whichever major party receives the largest vote, whether this is Labour or National, apparently because this is what the electorate expect. Do people really expect this in this day and age? I would expect Peters to coalesce with whichever party he has most in common, policy wise, (assuming of course that a government can be formed if he does so) . Am I somehow out of step with the rest of the country?
Armstrong goes on to argue that a vote for the Green Party is a wasted vote irrespective of whether or not they pass 5%, because their presence in parliament will give Peters the ¨wriggle room¨ to go with National, even if it turns out that Labour is the largest party. Maybe – or would it simply mean that the electorate were looking for a coalition that included the Green Party, and should Peters not recognise this?
An interesting and powerful interview by Kim and Charlotte Wood this morning.
At 10.04 – about women and mistreatment.
Australian writer Charlotte Wood is the author of five novels and two books of non-fiction, including Animal People, The Children and The Writer’s Room – a collection of interviews with writers about their work. Her most recent book, The Natural Way of Things, was inspired by an ABC documentary, Exposed to Moral Danger, about the hidden history of one of Australia’s most notorious state institutions, the Hay Institution for Girls.
The Natural Way of Things won the 2016 Stella Prize, the 2016 Indie Book of the Year and Novel of the Year, and was joint winner of the Australian Prime Minister’s Literary Award for Fiction. Also last year, Wood was named the Charles Perkins Centre’s inaugural Writer in Residence at the University of Sydney. Wood recently visited Wellington as a guest of Victoria University’s International Institute of Modern Letters (IIML).
Good for women, just mentioned 85 year old woman who has gone to Nigeria to look at what is happening to females there! I can’t remember who – they had just mentioned Edna O’Brien and Margaret Drabble.
But this interview is good for men to listen to, to get background on what is enraging some women about sexism and lack of respect etc.
I thought that was a great interview greywarshark.
An interview after 11am this morning on stem cell research and human enhancement.
Will end up keeping the elite going looking acceptable on television and holding onto power to suit the elite.
And how will they choose to ‘enhance’ the lower classes? We already can see in present society that the elite have no feeling of connection with the non-elite.
11am RadioNZ
Julian Savulescu is an Australian philosopher and bioethicist. He is Uehiro Professor of Practical Ethics at the University of Oxford, Fellow of St Cross College, Oxford, Director of the Oxford Uehiro Centre for Practical Ethics, Sir Louis Matheson Distinguished Visiting Professor at Monash University, and Head of the Melbourne-Oxford Stem Cell Collaboration, which is devoted to examining the ethical implications of cloning and embryonic stem cell research. He is the editor of the Journal of Medical Ethics.
In addition to his background in applied ethics and philosophy, he also has a background in medicine and completed his MBBS (Hons) at Monash University. He completed his PhD at Monash University, under the supervision of bioethicist Peter Singer. Savulescu’s latest examination of the ethics of the biological enhancement of the human race are contained in The Ethics of Human Enhancement: Understanding the Debate.
The video on this is pretty glitchy, and what I can make out it is heavy on glib optimism and light on details. Though Coleman is talking now and touting the previously announced ICU beds. Seems to have cut out entirely now it has gone to questions.
https://www.odt.co.nz/news/dunedin/health/least-1b-rebuild
One billion dollars does sound like a lot, but you can’t help wondering how much could have been saved by timely maintenance over the past decade. Not just in money terms, but also in human misery. Of course, this is Bill English’s National, so I’d have to see the details to know how much of that spend is going to end up as hospital, and how much will line the pockets of consultants (and even then the accountancy is likely to be creative in including operating expenses in the rebuild to inflate the wow number factor of this suspiciously round figure).
I don’t know how I feel about the Wakari option yet. From the perspective of sea level rise, it would be a good idea in the longterm to move away from the harbour flatlands. From the perspective of patient accessibility, there would be problems, especially during the winter when the hills get icey (and dicey). Then there would be the impact on the medical school of separating the University health science buildings and the hospital.
Still, considering how bad things are at the moment, anything would be an improvement to the Dunedin public health system. As an election bribe, it is a bit; too little too late, given that Labour is likely to commit to equal or better the offer. Plus they offer greater transparency, and hopefully the end of the antidemocratic commissioner’s regieme:
If a full new build is the best option now then simple maintenance wouldn’t have cut it. Of course, proper funding and delegation of authority would have had the new build started years ago without the government even having to have a say.
10 to 15% will disappear in the dead-weight loss of profits.
Considering that they seem to have spent years on this already then I’d expect the consultants to already have cost millions.
From earlier in the showing just how unpopular Ms Hipango is here in Whanganui but alas, South Taranaki.
A Wanganui Chronicle reader poll has revealed a big lead for Labour’s Steph Lewis as preferred Member of Parliament for the Whanganui electorate.
The online poll was run over the past two weeks and 617 readers responded.
Most indicated a preference for Ms Lewis as MP with 52 per cent support.
National’s Harete Hipango ran second with 37 per cent. The Greens Nicola Patrick attracted 9 per cent and ACT’s Alan Davidson two per cent.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/wanganui-chronicle/news/article.cfm?c_id=1503426&objectid=11903825
Good discussion today of the vile ideology that is neoliberalism:
https://www.theguardian.com/news/2017/aug/18/neoliberalism-the-idea-that-changed-the-world
NZ law could disqualify all Australians from their Parliament
Perhaps, if they’re nice to us, we’ll let them rule themselves again 😈
Don’t drop your guard for a minute, nice to us now, Oz will turn around when it suits and bite us in the bum later. But being rather soft in the bum and everywhere else, NZs will just sigh and give them a little pat, and say ‘There, there, you are a bit overwrought. All will be well.’
When you start to see protesters on the streets then something is very wrong. Particularly galling is the National Party using the campaign period to announce big projects which the electoral commission warns against.
Nats don’t get the public – they do get corruption though.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/health/95949112/new-1bn-hospital-for-dunedin-govt-announces
Poor old Bill. He had to run away.
I’m kinda hoping that that attempt by National to rort the system for their own benefit is going to bite them.
muttonbird
That video is a lot more entertaining than the one I sat through (up at comment 10, though there is a brief snippit of it at the end of this one). It is an interesting point about; “using the campaign period to announce big projects which the electoral commission warns against”.
However, the announcement really boils down to a mere: “$2million in further stop-gap funding to keep the existing hospital running.”. With the business case for the rebuild not even going to cabinet till next year, and a proposed completion date of; “2027, but this depends on the location”. So this billion dollar hospital is a long way off, and in no way certain.
There’s a post up now.
https://thestandard.org.nz/equal-pay-protestors-chase-the-government-out-of-the-dunedin-hospital/
Muttonbird galling is the National Party using the campaign period to announce big projects which the electoral commission warns against.
Last minute promises in an effort to scuttle the opposition: They are particularly important if this is correct:
‘of a poll of [Canadian] voters on election day 25 percent only decided within twenty-four hours of the election, 40 percent had decided in the previous week’
(The Big Red Machine… by Stephen Clarkson)
I came across BaitandSwitch. Have they tried that here?
Politics
In lawmaking, “caption bills” that propose minor changes in law with simplistic titles (the bait) are introduced to the legislature with the ultimate objective of substantially changing the wording (the switch) at a later date in order to try to smooth the passage of a controversial or major amendment.
Rule changes are also proposed (the bait) to meet legal requirements for public notice and mandated public hearings, then different rules are proposed at a final meeting (the switch), thus bypassing the objective of public notice and public discussion on the actual rules voted upon. While legal, the political objective is to get legislation or rules passed without expected negative community review.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bait-and-switch#Politics
And from a different viewpoint.
https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/fulfillment-any-age/201011/promises-promises-when-politicians-don-t-deliver
Has anyone got an idea why one of largest posts over the last few months is Simon Louisson post from last year.
https://thestandard.org.nz/why-was-john-key-singled-out-by-panama-papers-hacker/
It is literally almost always in the top current posts being read at present. Right now it has 5 people reading it. We get spikes of this, but usually not sustained spikes over months (unless it is a great photo of a milkbottle)
I’d guess that it is from facebook bearing in mind that it shows up as 3 from facebook, 2 direct.
people coming in from a Facebook post and looking around?
Yeah. That is to be expected. By why is this facebook thing getting passed around so much, and so recently.
That post was more than a year ago, he is no longer the PM, and the overseas trust ‘industry’ here is now just husk of what it once was as even this favourable towards corruption government was forced to lock out the criminal money laundering that was going on.
There is no apparent reason why this post should be being passed around facebook at this time – and increasing in velocity.
There’s a Facebook group popping up in my feed for National – NZ’s most corrupt government ever (or something like that), with thousands of members, and that post is one of their favourites.
Sounds like a likely kind of source. I guess people are dispersing links to more of these kinds of posts and readers are drilling down more in the approach to the election.
milk bottle?
We can’t tell where on FB or direct people are coming from though right?
Best guess might be international interest – does it rise during our nighttime? A lot of Latin American journalists are probably looking for stolen money.
I noticed it on fbook maybe someone shared it.
There are rumors on Facebook that say, and I’m paraphrasing.
“””Key resigned from being PM, because he was more involved in the Panama papers fiasco than the MSM has even let on. (Up to his eye balls) And he feared that it would come out during the election, and not only destroy his reputation, but that of the national party (TM) as a whole.”””
It comes in a few different versions with a lot more guttural language used in various incarnations.
Some of the more colorful ones coming from people off shore.
Heard he was actually pushed ?
I’ve heard quite a few rumors, but at the moment that is what they are, rumors.
My favorite rumor was that his trichophilia had gotten to be unmanageable, and that after a certain incident in the back offices of parliament, he was asked to stand down.
Can you educate me what is trichophilia ?
Hair fetish.
Sounds like either a bot or someone trying to rank that page.
See National’s choirboy John Armstrong is back writing nonsense again for the Nanny Herald ?
@ Tamati Tautuhi … (16) … Yes, as to be expected Armstrong crawls out from under his rock to perform his once three yearly cycle of contaminated bullshit for his Natz master Herr Joyce!
The Nation: Amy Adams vs Phil Twyford.
Adams very high speed and volume delivery largely obliterated Twyford. I’d love a word count, and Adams had the cheek to accuse Twyford of cutting her off and using more time.
she said it was all labours fault , classic
This guy has started appearing the Hawke’s Bay Today on Saturdays apparently as a counter to Mike William’s column. Further proof of the local rag’s pro National leanings and maybe a sign they are worried.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/hawkes-bay-today/news/article.cfm?c_id=1503462&objectid=11902562
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/hawkes-bay-today/opinion/news/article.cfm?c_id=1503459&objectid=11906514
Who the hell is Jerry Flay anyway?
A quick google says he’s a professional email spammer accused of dirty local body politics on Waiheke who’s been cited approvingly by blubber boy.
http://onewaiheke.org/2014/08/dirty-waiheke-politics/
Looking at a history of the Paeroa and District Caledonian Society. I was struck by the cause of its close and selling up.
In 1974 a decision was made to put the Society into recess, a decision not made lightly.
It is ironical that at the time of closing, the Inglesides were still attracting crowds big enough to fill the War Memorial Hall but simply lacked people able or willing to do the work involved in running a dance.
And so, in 1975 the assets of the Society were sold and the money divided between the Crippled Children’s Society, the St. John’s Ambulance and the I H C Building Fund – a sad but fitting conclusion to a Society which, for years, had worked for the good of the community.
Is this, in a nutshell, the background story of why NZ is being sliced, diced and sold off in bits today? If so how can we stop this process? And having got the show together, how do we make sure it continues for the eager community, and keeps the people committed to ensuring it carries on for their children’s children?
http://www.ohinemuri.org.nz/journals/71-journal-43-september-1999/1581-paeroa-district-caledonian-society
On your way out the door…
Our farming industry and the massive chunk of our economy is based on cheap, exploited, abused immigrant labour which maintains the low-wage economy and the wage stagnation for the domestic worker. The Government absolutely loves it.
A shameful report has come out detailing the amount of exploitation and abuse of Filipino dairy workers http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=11907236
John Key stated he did not want us to be tennant’s in our own country, then did exactly the opposite selling of NZ Housing and Farm Land ?
Bill English said we are a low wage economy and is driving it as hard as he can ?
What happened about the old National Policy of trying to get the NZ average wage up to the Australian Level ?
“What happened about the old National Policy of trying to get the NZ average wage up to the Australian Level ?”
Bill’s right and it never was a National policy to get wages up to the Australian level, that was just editing for the massess.
https://thestandard.org.nz/transcript-proves-key-is-lying/
So while low income workers are on the bones of there arses, and the middle is squeezed, after 9 long years we’re still waiting for the simplistic productivity/wage growth formula to produce an income bonanza for working people. Real wages and purchasing power lagging productivity.
Key-lite coming out with his rote learning.
Also slightly amusing to see Don Brash defend his basic understanding of an aspect of neo lib economics against Bryan Gould pointing out that he was wrong. Bryan Gould quoted the British but Don Brash probably repeating something schooled in by Harvard.
http://www.bryangould.com/the-fallout-from-brashs-downfall/
He had, after all, been the country’s top banker, and that is to say nothing of his eventual emergence as a “hard right” politician – leading first the National party and then Act, and only narrowly failing to become our Prime Minister in 2005.
As Governor of the Reserve Bank, he had been the principal champion and practitioner of the neo-liberal economic policies which became known as “Rogernomics”. Are we happy that our economic fortunes were entrusted to a single individual who understood so little of his subject, and that ministers applauded themselves for their disclaimer of any responsibility for the decisions he made?
His woeful attempt to deny what is now accepted must cast huge doubt on the continuing legacy of “Rogernomics” in our economic policies. The whole myth of prudent economic management under neo-liberal policies must be reconsidered in the light of what we now know is the banks’ self-interested creation (or “printing”) of billions of new money.
The frequent condemnations of any suggestion that governments might “print money” (unless it is “quantitative easing”, with the purpose of bailing out the banks) must now be viewed against the relaxed attitude towards the banks doing precisely that – day in, day out, and on a massive scale – for their own profit-making purposes.
An acknowledgment of the true role of the banks should lead us to reconsider many of the hitherto accepted nostrums in tackling economic problems. Inflation? No, not created by greedy workers claiming higher wages but by banks printing more and more money to boost their profits.
13/4/17 http://www.nzherald.co.nz/opinion/news/article.cfm?c_id=466&objectid=11836928
Bryan Gould: Banking should be under closer Government control
28/4/17 http://www.nzherald.co.nz/opinion/news/article.cfm?c_id=466&objectid=11845670
OPINION
Bryan Gould: Brash doesn’t seem to understand banking
5/5/17 http://www.nzherald.co.nz/opinion/news/article.cfm?c_id=466&objectid=11849995
OPINION
Don Brash: The banking system creates money, not banks
Why have we been knuckle-dragging for the last nine years? Because we are all ignorant, but have covered that with a mantle of slick confidence which is reinforced by the small groups of self-interest repeating their mantras, and disrespecting the caution of professionals.
Perhaps because of the assured and derogatory response to intellectual thought from Cameron Slater 20/4/17 (Whaleoil) “all round know it all academic tosspot, Bryan Gould, has been schooled on NCEA economics by Don Brash.”
But a detailed look at the argument here:
https://croakingcassandra.com/2017/04/29/brash-vs-gould-vs-brash/
So disgusting the shameful way a chunk of the dairy industry treats these people. So our waterways are polluted AND people are treated like shit – wtf are the good points about this industry again? Oh that’s right some owners and others make lots of money from it – meanwhile the environment, the water and the workers are fucked. Thanks dairy farmers, thanks a lot.
Funny as fuck, I know the cure for cancer … but I haven’t got a clue how to cure cognitive dissonance. And because of that I won’t tell you 😉
Puzzling. This is in response to what?
Robert won’t tell you 😉
Because of whose cognitive dissonance?
I think it’s mine that’s the problem but what would I know?
Robert, please enlighten us.
People would rather die of cancer, or have their guts cutout than admit they are being lied to by politicians/doctors/MSM, etc
People would rather indirectly kill their own children than admit they are being lied to.
The first step to being cured of most illnesses, is accepting you are being fed buckets of shit daily.
The next step is to accept that EVERY politician doesn’t give a flying fuck about you.
It doesn’t matter if they are black, green, blue, red, or fucking pink polka dot, they are all lying, except the ban 1080 party, every other group is a selfish bunch of bastards, just pulling your strings.
The human die off will start in earnest, in a few short months, but no one gives fuck.
Maternity wards, and voting are the evidence that the general dumb public/the walking dead, haven’t a clue.
I told you so.
okay, so the sure for cancer is death – thanks for that great insight robert –
now onto the weather…
and I hope you aren’t going to “I told you so” right through the demise of our species – that would be poor form old boy, very poor.
No Marty
The cure for cancer is first accepting you are being lied to, then thinking for yourself, outside the box.
The irony is @ nearly 60, I have a medical condition that if not for ‘the pills’ would see me dead, so no I will not be saying “I told you so” for long.
The Politicians only allow me 3 months worth at a time, so yes a very short future for me.
I thought you were going the weed way – lots like that approach.
My ‘cure’ is legal and cheap. but alas it will not replace the equivalent of a severed leg
ie, I cured my 20 year gut complaint in 12 days for $20.00.
Robert i wish you all the best for the difficult times ahead. Thank you for your years of trying to get people to listen – thank you again.
I can afford to buy a 5 year unsubsidized supply, but the don’t give a fuck politicians will not let me.
Sorry to hear that. You should also be allowed access to quality weed for pain relief, nausea control or pretty well any reason you want at this time – subsidised and accessible – fuck the stupid repressive Victorian attitudes imposed in this country.
Rechargeable alkaline batteries!.
https://www.wired.com/story/bill-joy-finds-the-jesus-battery/
this could be very fun to watch
http://washingtonjournal.com/2017/08/16/newly-leaked-emails-just-revealed-trump-family-implicated-350-million-fraud-investigation/