[Please note, we are trialling something new for Open Mike and Daily Review.
In order to keep OM and DR free for other conversations, all comments, link postings etc about the US election now need to go in the dedicated US election discussion here.
If you are unsure, post in that thread rather than here. It’s not possible for moderators to shift comments from OM to there, so any comments here may get deleted.
The housing crisis is really hitting home around here. Next door sold within 10 days of being on the market, a sharp contrast considering it was on the market for a couple of months a few years back before being sold. Welcome to Motueka, most of the ‘for sale’ signs have sold stickers on them.
My sister is about to find herself homeless, the investor that owns the rental she is in decided to put it on the market, it sold within 10 days. She’s been looking for anything for her and her son for the last 4 weeks, she has two weeks left to find some where, but there is nowhere, rentals are let out within hours of being advertised, she’s even going to open homes to ask real estate agents if a property investors are potential buyers, she’s doing everything she can to find a home.
I’m now cleaning out one of my garages, lucky it’s coming into summer. Her son has one term left at primary school, my place is 30 mins away on the open road to his school, changing his school at this stage is not an option. Did I mention she is working?
Housing crisis is causing massive mental health issues and stress for so many, it’s not just an Auckland issue, I’ve never seen my sister so stressed, and she is just one working parent with a child, it’s heartbreaking.
Thanks but she does not live in Motueka, she lives in Richmond.
A quick look on trade me says there are 2 places with 2 bedrooms in her price range, but Tapawera is 45mins on the open road away from her sons school.
There are 4 places in her price range on trade me, but they are all one bedrooms. JS
Do you have any rentals in Richmond James?
She is my sister by love not by blood, sadly her mum has passed away, I’m all she has. Planting a massive vege garden this year, excess veges are given away free at my gate, it’s all part of making a good community
Good for you on all counts Cinny. I hope you all find a better way soon, and it’s heartening to hear about what you do to make it work in the meantime. James’ comment was incredibly ignorant, and worse, the whole implied neoliberal slant of you’re not trying hard enough, I know what’s best, has just been shown up by your generosity, self-reliance, and ingenuity. Kia kana.
IKR, I’m like sheez if this is taking such a toll on her, one can only begin to imagine the stress for thousands like her, and those with children. And how can renters have the security of a home with speculators flicking off properties for gain, worries about the residents, profit over people. It’s a disgrace.
The housing crisis is a reality for white middle class NZ, among thousands of others hurting. Landlords are taking the cream with accommodation supplements aplenty, and the ability to pick and choose crippling rent prices. The outgoing government does nothing, no capital gains, no rent caps, nothing to prevent speculators milking the system for all they can, no matter where in the world they reside.
Hi Garth Barefoot, made any more donations to the outgoing government? No doubt your real estate empire will be making a very tidy profit.
This is what i have been saying for the longest time.
It is not only AKL it is everywhere.
And the move out of Auckland (insert what ever other city might apply) and move to the country side is not helping as it fucks up the housing market there.
Fact is there are not enough houses in NZ to keep up with standard population growth and continued unrestricted migration (those that come to live and work and those the only come to buy a speculation object or several).
yep it is unacceptable that so many desperate people make the choice they do and the families, loved ones and whānau left behind with so many questions and effects that do resonate through generations.
Kia kaha to all.”
[sorry marty, short of deleting the conversation below (which we try not to do) I can’t do much to put it elsewhere. Thanks for reposting. – weka]
I’m sorry – (and this is not aimed specifically at the poster above) it pisses me off when people on this blog use sucicide stats to have a crack at the government yet are happy to tell people on here to do things like hang themselves should they have a different view to them.
This behaviour has generally gone unchecked by other posters – as opposed to trying to stop bullying behaviour that can actually lead people to self harm.
but sadly for some posters on here – telling a righty to kill themselves is all good. As I have said before – I hope they never have to live with that kind of pain in their family – it’s a hard way to learn what damage their actions can cause.
“Richardrawshark 9.1.1.1
16 June 2016 at 11:55 am
I think fisi BM Bob, Little’s words that you are on about were “bla bla this deal LOOKS dodgy”.
I remember the interview very well
At no time did he come out in public saying it WAS a dirty deal.
Then Hagaman threatened a law suit if he didn’t retract, well why would he the deal looks dodgy. It’s just a statement of fact.
You guys are pathetic. hang yourselves, it’ll be easier now than after the election when the NZ public massively vote red green or anything but blue.”
[Right, you’ve provide one example below. Now you need to provide two more examples in the next hour (you seem to think ‘people’ not person are doing this), and provide the actual links this time so I can see the context. As a moderator I am interested in anyone telling other commenters to kill themselves and anyone here can bring that to the moderators attention.
However it is completely unacceptable to do it in the way you have done as a major derailment of an incredibly serious topic. At the least, you could have started a new subthread, and taken more care in how you brought this up. Whatever grievance you have about being abused on this site (you’ve commented on this before), it doesn’t take precedence over the people reading OM today who have had someone they love commit suicide.
It is also not ok to tell lump all commenters into one mass and then make out they are responsible for others’ behaviour e.g. saying that people who comment on suicide also tell people to kill themselves. I am going to ban you for a time, but want to see the links first. You also own marty an apology – weka]
I don’t know if it counts but does someone thinking it’d be hilarious if I got HIV count, I mean I know its not the same as telling someone to go hang themselves but its getting up there
So no, you don’t care to know if, or not, there are children as a result of your irresponsible behaviour.
Wouldn’t it be hilarious if, in the fullness of time, you discovered you have HIV.
(but you know sometimes you have a little too much to drink…)
Maui is right
“We’ve seen all this from rwinger men before. Eww.”
And yuck
[no, it doesn’t count. James was referring to people telling others to kill themselves. That’s not what Brigid said. Also she appears to be being sarcastic to make a point in the middle of somewhat contentious exchange. It was a rude thing to say but I wouldn’t have moderated that myself unless there was an escalation of abuse going on. Honestly, if we moderated everyone who was rude like that, we’d be at it all day and we’d basically be controlling what the conversation was. No-one wants that unless there is a bloody good reason. I probably would have moderated the go hang yourself one by placing a warning. – weka]
The thing was though as I said numerous times on the thread (probably didn’t seem important I guess)
Puckish Rogue 7.2.1.1
16 September 2016 at 9:34 am
Did you happen to notice this sentence by any chance?
“But yeah the law should be amended at the very least or dropped altogether and hopefully National will”
See I thought that was pretty clear but I guess not
followed by
Puckish Rogue 8.1.1.2.1
16 September 2016 at 10:20 am
Well first off I don’t know that I have any, I was usually pretty good with protection (but you know sometimes you have a little too much to drink…) so I don’t know that I have any
Secondly as I stated previously:
“But yeah the law should be amended at the very least or dropped altogether and hopefully National will”
So I guess the answer is I’d like the law to get dropped then my taxes can towards paying all solo mums fairly
And as for pointing out the consequences of my actions (from over a decade ago) you don’t think that contracting HIV is a tad over the top?
This just illustrates my points later on, people didn’t even bother to note that I was supportive of solo parents getting paid fairly but instead people focused on the supposed “nasty” comments I made (whoever here hasn’t had a one night stand or unprotected sex then please feel free to cast the first stone) to justify their own actions
They pointed out a consequence of your own behaviour…
So, if someone was to comment that it’s hilarious when gays or IV drug users get HIV, they’d just be helpfully pointing out a consequence of those people’s behaviour? I don’t think so.
…that you see it as threatening or bullying is interesting.
That you see it as anything other than abusive is interesting. I don’t have any great complaint to make against abusive comments, but let’s not pretend they’re something different from what they are.
Show me where I had a “crack at the government” above. In fact I didn’t mention them at all.
What pisses me off is rwnj’s who shit all over serious topics because they are too thick and dim to just stfu about things they don’t or can’t understand or care about.
Far from shitting over serious topics – this is close to my heart and I take it very seriously. Sadly I know a bit about it.
I stated that I wasn’t talking specifically about you. I was simply building on your comment.
But – hey good on you – someone talks about the bully behaviour on this blog (as opposed to robust debate) and the damage it can cause and you counter with “take your bullshit and fuck off”
I don’t want anyone to commit suicide, even RWNJ…… So maybe you can ask your leader ShonKey to focus on the people, not just his money and power……. And leave little girls hair alone as well….. Fkn creepy.
Ive never communicated with John Key – so not much I can do there – but I DO communicate with people on blogs – why not start there?
Whats wrong with a “bottom up” approach to helping people, to stop behaviour which can cause such terrible outcomes.
Would we not be better as a society for this?
People are happy to call out “rape apologist”, but in general are happy to go with a pack mentality to “attack” others who they dont agree with. Isnt that just as bad?
Inclined to agree with james here, there is a serious problem of bullying on this site, not a good look at all, you moderators need to get together and sort out a code and then apply it consistantly and to everyone, including yourselves
[don’t tell the moderators/authors what to do. Reread the Policy. You and James will now both take yourselves out of this subthread or expect to be banned. See my comment above. If you want to discuss moderation policy on ts, this is NOT the way to do – weka]
Then don’t say nasty and stupid things. Then people would not have to resort to calling you Tory scum, wingnuts, rwnj and other descriptions which fix so well.
You have to admit it is ironic that you get upset when it gets dished back, but many wingnuts are happy to dish it out. Boohoo, is it sad that the poor little leftists have a spin. Sad little Tory rebates finding that hard are they, cry me a river.
Politics is a bit of hardball, if you want it to be nice a cuddly, then stop voting Tory, because the only reaction to the reactionaries is to come out fighting or give up. Remember it’s Tory wind bags like you, who support the creepy one, and his flock of incompetent ministers…
Actually I think we err far too much on the side of robust instead of on building a place where we can learn things, and things can change. At times this place looks like a straight out den of whack the RWer. People see that and stay away and we miss many voices that should be otherwise heard. That includes lefties and righties and people who aren’t on the spectrum.
I agree weka, but most of the time it is driven from some pretty nasty comments to begin with.
Many comments from the Tory club I just find stupid, and as such, I leave alone. But more than a few are actually just nasty, these need to be responded to. It’s not so much whack a Tory rebate, it’s call them out for there repeated nastiness and bereft reasoning.
I for one, am sick of the continued calumny that pours forth from too many Tory commentators on this site.
I disagree, I think adam is justifying his own actions by deciding how I post irrespective of my own intentions
As I posted below if he thinks what I post is nasty then I must be nasty which “allows” him to post nasty replies back
and of course its all the nasty torys fault:
“But more than a few are actually just nasty, these need to be responded to. It’s not so much whack a Tory rebate, it’s call them out for there repeated nastiness and bereft reasoning.”
No I think you use these supposed transgressions as an excuse to vent your spleen.
You dismiss peoples opinions that you disagree with as wind ups, nasty or stupid yet not even considering that the people posting them actually believe those opinions and because those opinions are “nasty” then the people posting them are “nasty” which justifies your comments
Incorrect Robby, I could say that your contribution to this thread is trolling, that you are a troll and you may (or may not be) but I don’t really know what your intentions are, only you know for sure
So adam can say I’m nasty or whatever to justify his own actions but only I know what my intentions are and its on him when he misinterprets what I (or other people he disagrees with) say
What the matter Puckish, feeling a bit exposed that people got your number?
Don’t feel to bad, we all have patterns – yours are just a bit more obvious than most.
I was not actually saying you are nasty Puckish, actually you are one of the Tories here who says the least nasty or stupid things. You play a different game. Again, back to patterns.
But come on Puckish you call people when they say stupid things, is it that the Tory flock, are a bit thin skinned…
“What the matter Puckish, feeling a bit exposed that people got your number?”
– If I had a dollar for everytime someone said they had my number I’d have a lot more money then I do now
“Don’t feel to bad, we all have patterns – yours are just a bit more obvious than most. ”
– Theres that assumption again…
“I was not actually saying you are nasty Puckish, actually you are one of the Tories here who says the least nasty or stupid things. You play a different game. Again, back to patterns.”
– Well thank you for that, a while back there were some posts on how the site was becoming nasty (especially towards females) so I took some of the stuff on board and have, somewhat, altered the way I post
I’ve actively stopped mentioning anything negative about peoples looks or bodies
As soon as theres anything to do with rape, sexual assault etc then I tread very warily around the subject or indeed not post at all
Basically I’ve tried to improve what I post and how I post it because if we want this site to be a certain way then all of us have to do our part, it shouldn’t be up to the moderators only to police things around here
Essentially I have rule that I only post what I’d be willing to say out loud, in a group setting
“But come on Puckish you call people when they say stupid things, is it that the Tory flock, are a bit thin skinned…”
– If I had major problems with what people said about here I wouldn’t come back but I do think that the occasional threats of violence, death or just plain nastiness that happens is maybe a bit much, robust sure but come on the whole “up against the wall” thing that some (hello Millsy) on here seem to yearn for isn’t going to happen anytime soon
“Okay, thanks for the opportunity, Pucky, I’ll take it.
Have you played the wind up game with people – then played the poor me card?”
Quick answer is no if you mean I’ve wound up people on purpose then played the poor me card
However if we break the question down separately like have I wound people up and played the poor me card then to the first part of the question, yes sometimes depending on the situation but not as often as most people think and probably as much as most others on here do (much like yourself at times)
To the second part I’ll say probably, I mean I can’t think of any times but I’ve also been posting for a very long time so at some point I might have
Now that’s a completely 100% honest answer but I’m curious if anyone will say I’m wrong
“Disarming answer there, Pucky, thanks for making the effort. Tell me, if you will, do you regard saying here, “National will win in 2017” a wind-up?”
A good question, the type of question that might help explain some things.
If I came on here and said National will win in 2017 and I didn’t think they would then yes I’d consider that a wind up as I’m saying something I don’t believe merely to get a reaction out of the posters
However I do believe that National will win in 2017 (most likely in coalition with NZFirst) so its not a wind up because that’s what I think is going to happen
” so its not a wind up because that’s what I think is going to happen”
Here we differ and I suspect others here will feel as I do. Just because you think a certain thing doesn’t justify your repeating it often on a site where most readers and commentors sincerely hope for the opposite of “what you think”. In any case, you are not prefacing your claim with, “I think”, you are usually making the claim bald, as if it was true. I’m certain that you are not a practiced and successful crystal ball gazer, and so your declaration comes across as arrogant, provocative and a wind-up. But you must know this already, Pucky.
Ok thats reasonable but I also normally explain why I think the way I do so its not like I go National will win and then bugger off
“I’m certain that you are not a practiced and successful crystal ball gazer, and so your declaration comes across as arrogant, provocative and a wind-up. But you must know this already, Pucky.”
Its only perceived that way because I’m on the right of the political spectrum, if I posted in the same way but from a left view nobody would say a word
If, as some posters on here seem to want, all right voting posters on here were banned all you’d end up with is Red Alert 2.0 and I don’t think anyone wants that
Hell there are posters on here that want CV gone, is that what you really want, an echo chamber?
In any case, you are not prefacing your claim with, “I think”, you are usually making the claim bald, as if it was true.
There was a running gag on The Good Wife of a judge who demanded lawyers add “in my opinion” to any assertions they made, because it would be unreasonable to expect the court to recognise that assertions rather than expressions of proven facts were being made. Thanks for volunteering Robert, but you’re really going to have your work cut out for you making everyone preface their claims with “I think.” Er… in my opinion.
Psycho Milt – that’s right, requiring an “I think” before every statement would be unnecessary, however, in Pucky’s case, where he is using his “Key will win, Little will lose” regularly, it would be good manners for him to use the preface, as a sign of good faith. He’s moderated his behaviour significantly in recent months and there’s no reason, I believe, why he wouldn’t do us all the favour of qualifying his most irritating claims with a modest, “I think”. Of course, he doesn’t have to do what I suggest, but I’ve noticed that he wants to fit in better, not attract ire and be accepted as a reasonable commenter and adopting my suggestion would help a great deal, in my opinion.
How about this for an idea Robby, how about we all assume that there’s an invisible I think or In my opinion before every statement on this site, you might not see it but its always there…
Ok Robby lets make a bet on the next election if you’re so confident…
When National wins you, at your earliest convenience of course, praise Nationals win and admit that I, Puckish Rogue was right all along and that my predictions are accurate
If Labour win…I’ll praise Labours victory and admit I got it wrong and that my predictions are as accurate as Martin Bradburys
In this instance winning means being part of the next government of course
Cross his palm with silver and Pucky the Mysterious will reveal the True Secrets of Your Future! Be Amazed by Pucky’s Powers, see Up-Coming Events through Pucky’s All-Seeing Eye! Be Be-Dazzled by the Swirling Miasma in Pucky’s Cryptic Crystal Ball. Swoon at the Confidence the All-Knowing Pucky the Mysterious exudes.
* Quality of experience may vary. Satisfaction not guaranteed.
“Then don’t say nasty and stupid things. Then people would not have to resort to calling you Tory scum, wingnuts, rwnj and other descriptions which fix so well.”
Its in your DNA adam…nasty is the automatic go to when someone does not agree with your world views.
As for me I don’t care about any “name calling” I do have a little fun by calling certain people here far left activists 🙂 However the truth of the matter is most NZ’ers are not far left nor far right, rather someone in the middle of those two extremes.
Kept in mind at the end of the day we all need to get along with each other. And that means with people whom do not share the same political leanings as you may do.
So says the conspiracy theorist. You Chucky hide behind civility and an attempt at moderation to justify your hate and use it to have a go at people. Which is funny, you fall in the catagory of stupid most of the time, as you fall for conspiracy theories, or make them up.
So sorry Chucky you are one of the rwnj I try and avoid, except for the occasional reminder to people that you are a hard right conspiracy theorist.
Its in your DNA adam…nasty is the automatic go to when someone does not agree with your world views.
The problem with that argument is that it’s pretty nasty to tell someone that they are genetically predestined to be nasty. What shall we attribute your nastiness to then?
Chuck is a right-wing troll who does not know when to use ‘whom’. He is a hostile who pretends to be an affable mate. I recommend avoidance of contact. Adam – you can see how he misconstrues victories for himself? You are dead right about him.
“He is a hostile who pretends to be an affable mate”
“I recommend avoidance of contact.”
Maybe you would feel safer if I and a large portion of the population are made to wear an arm band…so you and adam know to avoid us when walking down the street 🙂
I think you need to get out of the class room and into the real world.
“Heavens In Vino”
Give it an apostrophe and you’re saying what many people happily believe, Chuck. There’s a lot of truth in Vino’s comment (I’m sure I know his sister, Veritas).
OK I have (re) read the policy. Now I have a genuine question please treat it as such, (even if i have stupedly missed something)
Question : What is the approved process/venue to discuss or raise issues of moderator guidelines/conduct here
[thanks xanthe, I’ve got stuff to do, will reply later – weka]
There isn’t a process, exactly. But if you disagree with a mod’s decision, you can try putting a case via email at thestandardnz@gmail.com. That approach might result, for example, in a ban being shortened.
Generally speaking, the rule of thumb is that the other mods do not overrule a mod’s decision. So if you piss a mod off, expect to have to cop a ban. Whining about it is unlike to change the result.
Bear in mind, all authors and mods are volunteers. We don’t get paid for this and we have to put up with a lot of crap to keep this joint rockin’. The commenters are important to us, but so are the many thousands who just read the posts. We moderate to make sure this site is worth reading, so occasionally that means making decisions like ending a thread because it’s degenerating.
If you really want to influence the moderation on site, start writing posts, become an author, and eventually you’ll get to mod yourself and see how much of a challenge it is.
Thanks TRP I want to make it clear that this is not about challenging any specific ban. I totally get that you have a volunteer job to do and its not an easy task. I actually think that thestandard is an important part of the new zealand political discourse and my sole motive is to assist you in reaching and holding as wide an audence and engagement as possible. I am more concerned with the interactions that lead to a ban. and the methods availiable to the moderators to “moderate” discussion that is veering towards abuse so that it dosnt get to the ban stage.
i will email the address you have given and say no more here for now
What I’ve noticed (on both left and right wing blogs) is that when someone with a differing view comes along then the other side feel “justified” in saying really nasty stuff to that person, stuff they wouldn’t normally say because they consider themselves a “good” person but its almost as if they’ve decided the other person “deserves” it
You can see echoes of it when a female commentator dares to speak up and men, lets be honest its mostly men, say really horrendous things to her
Different people have different ideas as to what constitutes “nasty” – I tend to swear in real life, so don’t particularly care about it. Call me “fuckface” and I’ll forget about it in moments (just after retaliation 🙂 ).
What surprises me are the number of people who come out with contemptable views who then get upset about me calling them a fuckwit, well before I’m really trying to get personal. Note that I didn’t say “differing views”.
Someone who comes to a blogsite with a known large left-wing/progressive group of commenters and calls the poor “parasites” is looking to wind people up. Fisiani’s blatant lying is also an example.
The moderators do a pretty good job of keeping responses legal and the general abuse trolls out, in my opinion.
What I’ve noticed on the better blogs I’ve seen (not that I read a lot) is that the folks who say “really nasty stuff” just because someone has differing views have an extremely short lifespan on the site, mostly due to moderators but also from community response.
James’ comment was “This behaviour has generally gone unchecked by other posters”. In my opinion that’s bullshit – one or two might slip through everybody’s attention (probably because by that time nobody but the two foes are reading the thread any more), but mods crack down on that shit here and if they don’t, commenters will try to bring it to the mods’ attention.
Which is exactly what happened in the single instance that James pointed to, and it was in fact yourself in the comments that took Richard to task for what he did. From a moderators perspective (this one at least), that’s great because it’s less work for me.
Would you consider this kind of comment on the nasty end of the scale? (I would)
“What pisses me off is rwnj’s who shit all over serious topics because they are too thick and dim to just stfu about things they don’t or can’t understand or care about.
I mean, what about it is nasty? Sure, there are rude words. It’s definitely passionate. I wouldn’t say it’s any nastier than telling someone who asks a basic question to RTFM.
It’s definitely not as nasty as taking a pretty apolitical and straight-up comment about NZ’s tragic suicide rate, an issue that has probably affected most commenters here via friends and loved ones, and then “building on” that comment with an unsubstantiated snipe that on this blog telling those with differing views to kill themselves has “generally gone unchecked”. Which was the context of your quote.
As I say, rude words might be distasteful, but some of the nastiest shit that I read online was written with surface courtesy and polite language.
I can’t see anything there that tells the moderator that you are RW (I assume that’s what you are referring to).
Further, you’ve hardly been censored. You’ve had two instances of what I assume were the same word removed and been told you’re stepping over the line. Your comment seems designed entirely to have a go at someone in a put down way. What was the point other than that?
Without knowing what the word was, I can’t say if the warning was for something considered offensive, or because you were seen as deliberately winding someone up. Either way it happens on both sides of the spectrum (I’ve moderated lefties recently too).
Seriously, if RWers here believe they are being unfairly moderated due to their politics, you need to put up some actual evidence, because at the moment you just seem like you’re annoyed at being moderated.
btw, you can use google to find phrases, or use google site search for things that are more obscure.
…
19 October 2016 at 3:07 pm (Edit)
Would you consider this kind of comment on the nasty end of the scale? (I would)
“What pisses me off is rwnj’s who shit all over serious topics because they are too thick and dim to just stfu about things they don’t or can’t understand or care about.
You James can take your bullshit and fuck off.”
I’m actually curious what you find problematic with that.
You’ll note the policy is against pointless abuse.
The trick is to make an associated point more explicit as the abuse becomes less “oblique” (I’m not sure you were quite as subtle as you think if that’s the example). Think of it like a bank balance: the more developed your point, the more you can spend in the way of abuse, right up until you hit the card limit for daily withdrawals and they ban your arse 🙂
While I would rarely hold myself up to be an example of ideal behaviour, I’ve commented here for years and don’t recall ever getting a ban. I’ve certainly been warned a couple of times (Bill was within a hairsbreadth of banning me once), but generally survived.
BTW, I tend to google with “site:thestandard.org.nz” when the site search engine is down. Not as useful, but gets one there eventually 🙂
Pucky … I think you may have participated in group bullying while being rude to Penny …… from memory
And have you not read the stuff of BM , Ross ……. and james when they talk about and smear strippers ????
Rape apology central with those three dicks posting ………
Did you hear about how it took two brave children not even old enough to vote to stop our devious prime minister promoting to a judicial role the most creepy thing/man to crawl out of the new zealand police force since clint rickards ???……..
Perhaps you have heard of roastbusters ?????…. and the police dishonesty and inaction regarding it ….
Or how about Customs officers sexually assaulting females who are visiting people the Government does not like ……………..
I can not remember you condemning any of the above …..
Your concern for females feels hollow and false to me ……………. based on your own actions and approval or indifference towards the cruelty served up by people like Collins & key
Did you speak up when Key twisted the words of Cunliffe speaking out against men beating women and children ??? ……
hi marty, i read yr post last night and it is grim reading.
i am wary of commenting too much for fear of being misinformed or causing pain to others.
while i agree we do not need to lionize victims of suicide (haka at school assembly), i do not think the current policy of remaining silent is working.
from reading around, one of the most cited causes of distress and pain, leading to suicide seems to be feeling isolated from people/community.
sometimes having someone to listen makes a huge difference.
it is hard to comprehend the cutting of funding to youthline and other services which are often the first port of call for someone in distress.
“while i agree we do not need to lionize victims of suicide (haka at school assembly), i do not think the current policy of remaining silent is working. ”
Yep gsays it is a real tough one – on one hand we don’t want to be seen to glorify suicide and on the other we don’t want to not talk about it. In my work with these individuals – validation of their right to their feelings, listening without trying to shove solutions at them, and helping them build new skills which create other options and choices can work. But it all takes time and if we miss the small envelope they can be lost – the reduction in funding is a nationwide emergency imo.
Apparently they are called ‘completed suicides’, there are many more attempts (incomplete suicides) & people who are considering it (& all the self harmers?), which all added up must be a huge amount for our tiny population. How do our stats compare to a city of 4 million I wonder?
Yep the suicide attempts and self harming incidents are through the roof in terms of numbers both gross and percentage wise. And the coroners have quite specific criteria before they call it a suicide which again reduces the statistics. I can’t imagine anyone in this country who isn’t affected by suicide and/or (I’m putting this in here because they are on the same continuum) self harming.
…and given recent Posts and discussions on this site which are primarily attacking Trump …eg this is a typical statement “Like a great many women and a fair amount of men too, I’m disgusted (but not surprised) with the misogyny expressed by Trump.”
This is study is interesting:
‘Women more likely to use misogynistic terms online, report finds’
“Women in the UK and US are more likely to use misogynist language on social media than men, according to the results of a four-year study.
The research was carried out by the social media research firm Brandwatch and looked at 19 million tweets over a four-year period to assess the levels of anti-woman sentiment expressed online.
The study found that over that period there were 3 million posts which contained terms abusive to women – with women most likely to have posted them…
The report was carried out for anti-bullying charity Ditch The Label, and found that words like “bitch,” “cow” and “slut” had passed into common usage by women online…
He said the huge rise in income inequality in the 1980s and 1990s was not just a historical event. Its social impact continued to this day, and people were increasingly recognising the damage that poverty was doing, he said.
“The biggest issue I have is The New Zealand Initiative seems completely oblivious to the point that even if the big increase in inequality was in the 1980s and 1990s, and hasn’t worsened since then, it still has big implications for the country today.
“They seem to think that if something happened in the past it doesn’t matter. It is really quite an extraordinary way of looking at the issue,” Rashbrooke said.
Good grief, that’s making my head spin. Conspiracy upon conspiracy.
The thing that stands out for me is that for such an elaborate plot they did some very stupid things e.g. the ranty/rambly nature of the post on the dating website. Plus the details in the story were weird if they were made up, and weird if they were true (by true I don’t mean the accusations, I mean that the main players are actual people in real life).
Still don’t know which bits had actions in RL and which were completely happening in cyberspace e.g. is the dating agency real or not?
Yeah I saw that, but I prefer to have something in addition to wikileaks or Assange’s lawyers backing that up. Call me cynical (not saying they are lying, just that I don’t trust them as a source to that degree).
OMG! I thought you were joking, good job, that list MP has done enough damage. Can’t think of any in the outgoing government whom have the slightest interest in education. Please please please NickOff follow her lead and bugger off too.
If you listen you will be able to hear the cheers in school staff rooms around the nation this lunch time 😀
You will see a big change in Cabinet before the next election. John Key has so much talent on the backbench and you can expect that a few Ministers will opt to retire to make way for a fresh face.
Parata is not the only senior Minister who has advised John Key that they want out of politics.
Watch for the promotion of Alfred Ngaro,Brett Hudson , Mark Mitchell, Scott Simpson , Paul Foster-Bell, Chris Bishop , Barbara Kuriger,Todd Muller, Alistair Scott to name but a few.
Brett Hudson, the ‘low profile’ List MP based in Ōhāriu whom the Nat’s put up against Dunne last election. Sales and account management background. Older fella.
Mark Mitchell the Rodney MP ex police man whom was said to have hired Simon Lusk whom went on to collaborate with Slater in an attempt to discredit Mitchells political opponents. I wonder if Mitchells email account is now secure lolz
Scott Simpson the MP for Coromandel whom loves to meet up with Donhua Liu, he received a $5000 donation from the controversial Chinese-born property developer for his 2011 election campaign, after meeting Liu about 10 times, including a couple of dinner dates. Connections with Lusk to it’s been said.
Barbara Kuriger, MP for Taranaki-King Country, and a shareholder in 2 family owned farming businesses, ex dairy board. Wonder if her and Judith compare notes?
Todd Muller MP for Bay of Plenty, former Zespri and Fonterra executive and asker of Patsy Questions. What has he done for his voters?
Alastair Scott is MP for Wairarapa and also owner of Matahiwi Estate winery and a former banker, I wonder what his agenda is?
Dang, it appears there is nothing new about this lot, more of the same, more executives, farmers and bankers looking after their own. Wonder what they have done for NZ or their local voters since coming into parliament?
[if it refers to Trump, it’s about the election. Please put it up in the discussion thread. I’ll leave this one here until you do, then delete it. See the bold at top and bottom of thread. Mods can’t move comments out of OM (except to trash). If in doubt stick it in the other thread. Thanks for checking – weka]
ACCI comes out swinging against the aspects of the Trans Pacific Partnership
“Australia’s biggest business organisation has distanced itself from claims the proposed Trans Pacific Partnership will create hundreds of thousands of jobs and be a “gigantic foundation stone” for Australia’s future.”
Not the person or place I expect these kind of comments..sent by a friend.
“I am not an economist but I have come to the conclusion that central banks collectively have now indeed lost the plot. The whole point of their independence was that they could be brave enough to make people confront reality. Yet in reality they are blowing up a bubble of make-believe money to avoid immediate pain, except for penalising the poor and the prudent.
Not important but every Spring I have serious hay fever through to December at least. But none this year. First time in my life.
Anyone else ab-normal strikes?
[In order to keep OM and DR free for other conversations, all comments, link postings etc about the US election now need to go in the dedicated US election discussion here.
If you are unsure, post in that thread rather than here. It’s not possible for moderators to shift comments from OM to there, so any comments here may get deleted – weka]
New Zealand is again having to reconcile conflicting pressures from its military and its trade interests. Should we join Pillar Two of AUKUS and risk compromising our markets in China? For a century after New Zealand was founded in 1840, its external security arrangements and external economics arrangements were aligned. ...
The ‘50 Shades of Green’ farmers’ protest in 2019 was heavy on climate change denial, but five years on, scepticism and criticism about the idea that pine forests can save us is growing across the board. File photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: Here’s the top six news items of note in climate ...
This morning the sky was bright.The birds, in their usual joyous bliss. Nature doesn’t seem to feel the heat of what might angst humans.Their calls are clear and beautiful.Just some random thoughts:MāoriPaul Goldsmith has announced his government will roll back the judiciary’s rulings on Māori Customary Marine Title, which recognises ...
In 2003, the Court of Appeal delivered its decision in Ngati Apa v Attorney-General, ruling that Māori customary title over the foreshore and seabed had not been universally extinguished, and that the Māori Land Court could determine claims and confirm title if the facts supported it. This kicked off the ...
Earlier this week at Parliament, Labour leader Chris Hipkins was applauded for saying that the response to the final report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care had to be “bigger than politics.” True, but the fine words, apologies and “we hear you” messages will soon ring ...
TL;DR: In news breaking this morning:The Ministry of Education is cutting $2 billion from its school building programme so the National-ACT-NZ First Coalition Government has enough money to deliver tax cuts; The Government has quietly lowered its child poverty reduction targets to make them easier to achieve;Te Whatu Ora-Health NZ’s ...
Kia ora. These are some stories that caught our eye this week – as always, feel free to share yours in the comments. Our header image this week (via Eke Panuku) shows the planned upgrade for the Karanga Plaza Tidal Swimming Steps. The week in Greater Auckland On ...
1. What's not to love about the way the Harris campaign is turning things around?a. Nothingb. Love all of itc. God what a reliefd. Not that it will be by any means easye. All of the above 2. Documents released by the Ministry of Health show Associate Health Minister Casey ...
Trust in me in all you doHave the faith I have in youLove will see us through, if only you trust in meWhy don't you, you trust me?In a week that saw the release of the 3,000 page Abuse in Care report Christopher Luxon was being asked about Boot Camps. ...
TL;DR: The podcast above of the weekly ‘hoon’ webinar for paying subscribers last night features co-hosts and talking about the Royal Commission Inquiry into Abuse in Carereport released this week, and with:The Kākā’s climate correspondent on a UN push to not recognise carbon offset markets and ...
TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Friday, July 26, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:Transport: Simeon Brown announced$802.9 million in funding for 18 new trains on the Wairarapa and Manawatū rail lines, which ...
The northern expressway extension from Warkworth to Whangarei is likely to require radical changes to legislation if it is going to be built within the foreseeable future. The Government’s powers to purchase land, the planning process and current restrictions on road tolling are all going to need to be changed ...
Text within this block will maintain its original spacing when publishedFirst they came for the doctors But I was confused by the numbers and costs So I didn't speak up Then they came for our police and nurses And I didn't think we could afford those costs anyway So I ...
Photo by Joshua J. Cotten on UnsplashWe’re back again after our mid-winter break. We’re still with the ‘new’ day of the week (Thursday rather than Friday) when we have our ‘hoon’ webinar with paying subscribers to The Kākā for an hour at 5 pm.Jump on this link on YouTube Livestream ...
Notes: This is a free article. Abuse in Care themes are mentioned. Video is at the bottom.BackgroundYesterday’s report into Abuse in Care revealed that at least 1 in 3 of all who went through state and faith based care were abused - often horrifically. At least, because not all survivors ...
Luxon speaks in Parliament yesterday about the Abuse in Care report. Photo: Hagen Hopkins/Getty ImagesTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy today are:PM Christopher Luxon said yesterday in tabling the Abuse in Carereport in Parliament he wanted to ‘do the ...
About a decade ago I worked with a bloke called Steve. He was the grizzled veteran coder, a few years older than me, who knew where the bodies were buried - code wise. Despite his best efforts to be approachable and friendly he could be kind of gruff, through to ...
Some of the recent announcements from the government have reminded us of posts we’ve written in the past. Here’s one from early 2020. There were plenty of reactions to the government’s infrastructure announcement a few weeks ago which saw them fund a bunch of big roading projects. One of ...
TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:00 am on Thursday, July 25 are:News: Why Electric Kiwi is closing to new customers - and why it matters RNZ’s Susan EdmundsScoop: Government drops ...
Hi,I felt a small wet tongue snaking through one of the holes in my Crocs. It explored my big toe, darting down one side, then the other. “He’s looking for some toe cheese,” said the woman next to me, words that still haunt me to this day.Growing up in New ...
Yesterday I happily quoted the Prime Minister without fact-checking him and sure enough, it turns out his numbers were all to hell. It’s not four kg of Royal Commission report, it’s fourteen.My friend and one-time colleague-in-comms Hazel Phillips gently alerted me to my error almost as soon as I’d hit ...
TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Thursday, July 25, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day were:The Abuse in Care Royal Commission of Inquirypublished its final report yesterday.PM Christopher Luxon and The Minister responsible for ...
The Official Information Act has always been a battle between requesters seeking information, and governments seeking to control it. Information is power, so Ministers and government agencies want to manage what is released and when, for their own convenience, and legality and democracy be damned. Their most recent tactic for ...
TL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy today are:Transport and Energy Minister Simeon Brown is accelerating plans to spend at least $10 billion through Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) to extend State Highway One as a four-lane ‘Expressway’ from Warkworth to Whangarei ...
I live my life (woo-ooh-ooh)With no control in my destinyYea-yeah, yea-yeah (woo-ooh-ooh)I can bleed when I want to bleedSo come on, come on (woo-ooh-ooh)You can bleed when you want to bleedYea-yeah, come on (woo-ooh-ooh)Everybody bleed when they want to bleedCome on and bleedGovernments face tough challenges. Selling unpopular decisions to ...
Please note:To skip directly to the- parliamentary footage in the video, scroll to 1:21 To skip to audio please click on the headphone iconon the left hand side of the screenThis video / audio section is under development. ...
Given the crackdown on wasteful government spending, it behooves me to point to a high profile example of spending by the Luxon government that looks like a big, fat waste of time and money. I’m talking about the deployment of NZDF personnel to support the US-led coalition in the Red ...
TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:40 am on Wednesday, July 24 are:Deep Dive: Chipping away at the housing crisis, including my comments RNZ/Newsroom’s The DetailNews: Government softens on asset sales, ...
As I reported about the city centre, Auckland’s rail network is also going through a difficult and disruptive period which is rapidly approaching a culmination, this will result in a significant upgrade to the whole network. Hallelujah. Also like the city centre this is an upgrade predicated on the City ...
Today, a 4 kilogram report will be delivered to Parliament. We know this is what the report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in State and Faith-based Care weighs, because our Prime Minister told us so.Some reporter had blindsided him by asking a question about something done by ...
TL;DR: As of 7:00 am on Wednesday, July 24, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:Beehive:Transport Minister Simeon Brownannounced plans to use PPPs to fund, build and run a four-lane expressway between Auckland ...
NewstalkZB host Mike Hosking, who can usually be relied on to give Prime Minister Christopher Luxon an easy run, did not do so yesterday when he interviewed him about the HealthNZ deficit. Luxon is trying to use a deficit reported last year by HealthNZ as yet another example of the ...
Back in January a StatsNZ employee gave a speech at Rātana on behalf of tangata whenua in which he insulted and criticised the government. The speech clearly violated the principle of a neutral public service, and StatsNZ started an investigation. Part of that was getting an external consultant to examine ...
Renting for life: Shared ownership initiatives are unlikely to slow the slide in home ownership by much. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy today are:A Deloittereport for Westpac has projected Aotearoa’s home-ownership rate will ...
You're broken down and tiredOf living life on a merry go roundAnd you can't find the fighterBut I see it in you so we gonna walk it outAnd move mountainsWe gonna walk it outAnd move mountainsAnd I'll rise upI'll rise like the dayI'll rise upI'll rise unafraidI'll rise upAnd I'll ...
There’s been a change in Myers Park. Down the steps from St. Kevin’s Arcade, past the grassy slopes, the children’s playground, the benches and that goat statue, there has been a transformation. The underpass for Mayoral Drive has gone from a barren, grey, concrete tunnel, to a place that thrums ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections Global society may have finally slammed on the brakes for climate-warming pollution released by human fossil fuel combustion. According to the Carbon Monitor Project, the total global climate pollution released between February and May 2024 declined slightly from the amount released during the same ...
TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:00 am on Tuesday, July 23 are:Deep Dive: Penlink: where tolling rhetoric meets reality BusinessDesk-$$$’sOliver LewisScoop:Te Pūkenga plans for regional polytechs leak out ...
TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Tuesday, July 23, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:Health: Shane Reti announcedthe Board of Te Whatu Ora-Health New Zealand was being replaced with Commissioner Lester Levy ...
Health NZ warned the Government at the end of March that it was running over Budget. But the reasons it gave were very different to those offered by the Prime Minister yesterday. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon blamed the “botched merger” of the 20 District Health Boards (DHBs) to create Health ...
Long ReadKey Summary: Although National increased the health budget by $1.4 billion in May, they used an old funding model to project health system costs, and never bothered to update their pre-election numbers. They were told during the Health Select Committees earlier in the year their budget amount was deficient, ...
As a momentous, historic weekend in US politics unfolded, analysts and commentators grasped for precedents and comparisons to help explain the significance and power of the choice Joe Biden had made. The 46th president had swept the Democratic party’s primaries but just over 100 days from the election had chosen ...
TL;DR: I’m casting around for new ideas and ways of thinking about Aotearoa’s political economy to find a few solutions to our cascading and self-reinforcing housing, poverty and climate crises.Associate Professor runs an online masters degree in the economics of sustainability at Torrens University in Australia and is organising ...
The Finance and Expenditure Committee has reported back on National's Local Government (Water Services Preliminary Arrangements) Bill. The bill sets up water for privatisation, and was introduced under urgency, then rammed through select committee with no time even for local councils to make a proper submission. Naturally, national's select committee ...
Some years ago, I bought a book at Dunedin’s Regent Booksale for $1.50. As one does. Vandrad the Viking (1898), by J. Storer Clouston, is an obscure book these days – I cannot find a proper online review – but soon it was sitting on my shelf, gathering dust alongside ...
History is not on the side of the centre-left, when Democratic presidents fall behind in the polls and choose not to run for re-election. On both previous occasions in the past 75 years (Harry Truman in 1952, Lyndon Johnson in 1968) the Democrats proceeded to then lose the White House ...
This is a free articleCoverageThis morning, US President Joe Biden announced his withdrawal from the Presidential race. And that is genuinely newsworthy. Thanks for your service, President Biden, and all the best to you and yours.However, the media in New Zealand, particularly the 1News nightly bulletin, has been breathlessly covering ...
A homeless person’s camp beside a blocked-off slipped damage walkway in Freeman’s Bay: we are chasing our tail on our worsening and inter-related housing, poverty and climate crises. Photo: Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy ...
What has happened to it all?Crazy, some'd sayWhere is the life that I recognise?(Gone away)But I won't cry for yesterdayThere's an ordinary worldSomehow I have to findAnd as I try to make my wayTo the ordinary worldYesterday morning began as many others - what to write about today? I began ...
TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:00 am on Monday, July 22 are:Today’s Must Read: Father and son live in a tent, and have done for four years, in a million ...
TL;DR: As of 7:00 am on Monday, July 22, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:US President Joe Biden announced via X this morning he would not stand for a second term.Multinational professional services firm ...
A listing of 32 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, July 14, 2024 thru Sat, July 20, 2024. Story of the week As reflected by preponderance of coverage, our Story of the Week is Project 2025. Until now traveling ...
This weekend, a friend pointed out someone who said they’d like to read my posts, but didn’t want to pay. And my first reaction was sympathy.I’ve already told folks that if they can’t comfortably subscribe, and would like to read, I’d be happy to offer free subscriptions. I don’t want ...
National: The Party of ‘Law and Order’ IntroductionThis weekend, the Government formally kicked off one of their flagship policy programs: a military style boot camp that New Zealand has experimented with over the past 50 years. Cartoon credit: Guy BodyIt’s very popular with the National Party’s Law and Orderimage, ...
Day one of the solo leg of my long journey home begins with my favourite sound: footfalls in an empty street. 5.00 am and it’s already light and already too warm, almost.If I can make the train that leaves Budapest later this hour I could be in Belgrade by nightfall; ...
Do you remember Y2K, the threat that hung over humanity in the closing days of the twentieth century? Horror scenarios of planes falling from the sky, electronic payments failing and ATMs refusing to dispense cash. As for your VCR following instructions and recording your favourite show - forget about it.All ...
Climate Change Minister Simon Watts being questioned by The Kākā’s Bernard Hickey.TL;DR: My top six things to note around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the week to July 20 were:1. A strategy that fails Zero Carbon Act & Paris targetsThe National-ACT-NZ First Coalition Government finally unveiled ...
Summary:As New Zealand loses at least 12 leaders in the public service space of health, climate, and pharmaceuticals, this month alone, directly in response to the Government’s policies and budget choices, what lies ahead may be darker than it appears. Tui examines some of those departures and draws a long ...
The Minister of Housing’s ambition is to reduce markedly the ratio of house prices to household incomes. If his strategy works it would transform the housing market, dramatically changing the prospects of housing as an investment.Leaving aside the Minister’s metaphor of ‘flooding the market’ I do not see how the ...
As previously noted, my historical fantasy piece, set in the fifth-century Mediterranean, was accepted for a Pirate Horror anthology, only for the anthology to later fall through. But in a good bit of news, it turned out that the story could indeed be re-marketed as sword and sorcery. As of ...
An employee of tobacco company Philip Morris International demonstrates a heated tobacco device. Photo: Getty ImagesTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy on Friday, July 19 are:At a time when the Coalition Government is cutting spending on health, infrastructure, education, housing ...
TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 8:30 am on Friday, July 19 are:Scoop: NZ First Minister Casey Costello orders 50% cut to excise tax on heated tobacco products. The minister has ...
Kia ora, it’s time for another Friday roundup, in which we pull together some of the links and stories that caught our eye this week. Feel free to add more in the comments! Our header image this week shows a foggy day in Auckland town, captured by Patrick Reynolds. ...
TL;DR : Here’s the top six items climate news for Aotearoa this week, as selected by Bernard Hickey and The Kākā’s climate correspondent Cathrine Dyer. A discussion recorded yesterday is in the video above and the audio of that sent onto the podcast feed.The Government released its draft Emissions Reduction ...
Save some money, get rich and old, bring it back to Tobacco Road.Bring that dynamite and a crane, blow it up, start all over again.Roll up. Roll up. Or tailor made, if you prefer...Whether you’re selling ciggies, digging for gold, catching dolphins in your nets, or encouraging folks to flutter ...
Waiting In The Wings:For truly, if Trump is America’s un-assassinated Caesar, then J.D. Vance is America’s Octavian, the Republic’s youthful undertaker – and its first Emperor.DONALD TRUMP’S SELECTION of James D. Vance as his running-mate bodes ill for the American republic. A fervent supporter of Viktor Orban, the “illiberal” prime ...
TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Friday, July 19, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:The PSAannounced the Employment Relations Authority (ERA) had ruled in the PSA’s favour in its case against the Ministry ...
TL;DR: The podcast above of the weekly ‘hoon’ webinar for paying subscribers last night features co-hosts and talking with:The Kākā’s climate correspondent talking about the National-ACT-NZ First Government’s release of its first Emissions Reduction Plan;University of Otago Foreign Relations Professor and special guest Dr Karin von ...
Open access notablesImproving global temperature datasets to better account for non-uniform warming, Calvert, Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society:To better account for spatial non-uniform trends in warming, a new GITD [global instrumental temperature dataset] was created that used maximum likelihood estimation (MLE) to combine the land surface ...
A late change to charter school legislation will cheat educators out of fair pay and negotiating power proving charter schools are just a vehicle to make profit out of our education system. ...
In 2004 te iwi Māori rallied against the Crown’s attempt to confiscate our coastlines and moana with the Foreshore and Seabed Act. This led to the largest hīkoi of a generation and the birth of Te Pāti Māori. 20 years later, history is repeating itself. Today the government has announced ...
It has been five and a half years since the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care was established to investigate the abuse of children, young people, and vulnerable adults within state and faith-based institutions. Yesterday, the final report - Whanaketia through pain and trauma, from darkness to light ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to take action off the back of the International Court of Justice ruling on Israel’s illegal occupation of Palestine. ...
On Friday the International Court of Justice reaffirmed what Palestinian’s have been telling us for decades: that the occupation and colonisation of Palestinian lands by Israel is illegal and must end immediately. They also called for reparations for Palestinian’s who have lived under Israeli occupation since it began in 1967. ...
Labour calls on the Government to act after the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled that Israel’s occupation of Palestinian Territories is illegal. ...
The 53.7 percent rise in benefit sanctions over the last year is more proof of this Government’s disdain for our communities most in need of support. ...
Aotearoa could be a country where every child grows up feeling safe, loved and with a sense of belonging in their whānau and community. But for some of our children, this is far from reality. Instead, they are trapped in a maze of intergenerational harm that they can’t escape on ...
Te Pāti Māori are calling for David Seymour to resign as Associate Health Minister in response to his call for Pharmac to ignore the Treaty of Waitangi. “This announcement is just another example of the government’s anti-Tiriti, anti-Māori agenda.” Said Co-leader and spokesperson for health, Debbie Ngarewa-Packer. “Seymour thinks it ...
The soaring price of renting is driving the rise of inflation in this country - with latest figures from Stats NZ showing rents are up 4.8 per cent on average while annual inflation is at 3.3 per cent. ...
National’s Emissions Reduction Plan will take New Zealand further from the economy we need to ensure the next generation has a stable climate and secure livelihoods. ...
Following consultation with named parties and thorough consideration of privacy interests, the Green Party is in a position to release the Executive Summary of the final report from the independent investigation into Darleen Tana. ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon should be asking serious questions of his Minister for Resources Shane Jones now it’s been revealed he misled the public about a dinner with mining companies that he didn’t declare and said wasn’t pre-arranged. ...
Te Pāti Māori have submitted to the Justice Select Committee against the Sentencing (Reinstating Three Strikes) Amendment Bill. The bill will further entrench racism in our justice system and fails to focus on rehabilitation. “Reinstating Three Strikes will empower a systematically racist system and exacerbate the overrepresentation of Māori in ...
The Transport and Infrastructure Committee is set to make a determination on the Residential Tenancies Amendment (RTA) Bill in the coming weeks. “This legislation will give landlords the power to kick our whānau out onto the street for no reason” said Housing spokesperson, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi. “Their solution to the housing ...
“National’s campaign was about tackling crime and the best they can do is a two-year long Ministerial Advisory Group,” Labour justice spokesperson Duncan Webb said. ...
“There are more examples of charter schools failing their students than there are success stories. The coalition Government is driving to dismantle our public school system and instead promote a privatised, competitive structure that puts profits before kids,” Jan Tinetti said. ...
“This government is choosing to deliberately mislead and withhold information, keeping our people in the dark about this government’s agenda and the future of our mokopuna,” said co-leader and spokesperson for Health, Debbie Ngarewa-Packer. The call comes after the demand from the Chief Ombudsman that Associate Minister of Health, Casey ...
“Today’s climate announcement by Simon Watts makes clear the National Government is simply paying lip service to meeting its climate change targets,” Megan Woods said. ...
National is choosing to make life harder for workers by taking away the rights our communities have fought hard for. Here's how they’re taking workers backwards. ...
Australia, Canada and New Zealand today issued the following statement on the need for an urgent ceasefire in Gaza and the risk of expanded conflict between Hizballah and Israel. The situation in Gaza is catastrophic. The human suffering is unacceptable. It cannot continue. We remain unequivocal in our condemnation of ...
Attorney-General Judith Collins today reminded all State and faith-based institutions of their legal obligation to preserve records relevant to the safety and wellbeing of those in its care. “The Abuse in Care Inquiry’s report has found cases where records of the most vulnerable people in State and faith‑based institutions were ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says the Government’s online safety website for children and young people has reached one million page views. “It is great to see so many young people and their families accessing the site Keep It Real Online to learn how to stay safe online, and manage ...
Tēnā tātou katoa, Ngā mihi te rangi, ngā mihi te whenua, ngā mihi ki a koutou, kia ora mai koutou. Thank you for the opportunity to be here and the invitation to speak at this 50th anniversary conference. I acknowledge all those who have gone before us and paved the ...
New Zealand’s payroll providers have successfully prepared to ensure 3.5 million individuals will, from Wednesday next week, be able to keep more of what they earn each pay, says Finance Minister Nicola Willis and Revenue Minister Simon Watts. “The Government's tax policy changes are legally effective from Wednesday. Delivering this tax ...
An experimental vineyard which will help futureproof the wine sector has been opened in Blenheim by Associate Regional Development Minister Mark Patterson. The covered vineyard, based at the New Zealand Wine Centre – Te Pokapū Wāina o Aotearoa, enables controlled environmental conditions. “The research that will be produced at the Experimental ...
The Coalition Government has confirmed the indicative regional breakdown of North Island Weather Event (NIWE) funding for state highway recovery projects funded through Budget 2024, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Regions in the North Island suffered extensive and devastating damage from Cyclone Gabrielle and the 2023 Auckland Anniversary Floods, and ...
Indonesia’s Foreign Minister, Retno Marsudi, will visit New Zealand next week, Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced. “Indonesia is important to New Zealand’s security and economic interests and is our closest South East Asian neighbour,” says Mr Peters, who is currently in Laos to engage with South East Asian partners. ...
He aha te kai a te rangatira? He kōrero, he kōrero, he kōrero. The government has reaffirmed its commitment to supporting the aspirations of Ngāti Maniapoto, Minister for Māori Development Tama Potaka says. “My thanks to Te Nehenehenui Trust – Ngāti Maniapoto for bringing their important kōrero to a ministerial ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has thanked outgoing Chair of the Civil Aviation Authority, Janice Fredric, for her service to the board.“I have received Ms Fredric’s resignation from the role of Chair of the Civil Aviation Authority,” Mr Brown says.“On behalf of the Government, I want to thank Ms Fredric for ...
The Government is proposing legislation to overturn a Court of Appeal decision and amend the Marine and Coastal Area Act in order to restore Parliament’s test for Customary Marine Title, Treaty Negotiations Minister Paul Goldsmith says. “Section 58 required an applicant group to prove they have exclusively used and occupied ...
Regulation Minister David Seymour says that opposition parties have united in bad faith, opposing what they claim are ‘dangerous changes’ to the Early Childhood Education sector, despite no changes even being proposed yet. “Issues with affordability and availability of early childhood education, and the complexity of its regulation, has led ...
After receiving more than 740 submissions in the first 20 days, Regulation Minister David Seymour is asking the Ministry for Regulation to extend engagement on the early childhood education regulation review by an extra two weeks. “The level of interest has been very high, and from the conversations I’ve been ...
The Coalition Government is investing $802.9 million into the Wairarapa and Manawatū rail lines as part of a funding agreement with the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA), KiwiRail, and the Greater Wellington and Horizons Regional Councils to deliver more reliable services for commuters in the lower North Island, Transport Minister Simeon ...
Local Government Minister Simeon Brown has announced his intention to appoint a Crown Manager to both Hawke’s Bay Regional and Wairoa District Councils to speed up the delivery of flood protection work in Wairoa."Recent severe weather events in Wairoa this year, combined with damage from Cyclone Gabrielle in 2023 have ...
Mr Speaker, this is a day that many New Zealanders who were abused in State care never thought would come. It’s the day that this Parliament accepts, with deep sorrow and regret, the Report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care. At the heart of this report are the ...
For the first time, the Government is formally acknowledging some children and young people at Lake Alice Psychiatric Hospital experienced torture. The final report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in State and Faith-based Care “Whanaketia – through pain and trauma, from darkness to light,” was tabled in Parliament ...
The Government has acknowledged the nearly 2,400 courageous survivors who shared their experiences during the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Historical Abuse in State and Faith-Based Care. The final report from the largest and most complex public inquiry ever held in New Zealand, the Royal Commission Inquiry “Whanaketia – through ...
With a week to go before hard-working New Zealanders see personal income tax relief for the first time in fourteen years, 513,000 people have used the Budget tax calculator to see how much they will benefit, says Finance Minister Nicola Willis. “Tax relief is long overdue. From next Wednesday, personal income ...
Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden says a bill that has passed its first reading will improve parental leave settings and give non-biological parents more flexibility as primary carer for their child. The Regulatory Systems Amendment Bill (No3), passed its first reading this morning. “It includes a change ...
Two Bills designed to improve regulation and make it easier to do business have passed their first reading in Parliament, says Economic Development Minister Melissa Lee. The Regulatory Systems (Economic Development) Amendment Bill and Regulatory Systems (Immigration and Workforce) Amendment Bill make key changes to legislation administered by the Ministry ...
New legislation paves the way for greater competition in sectors such as banking and electricity, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly says. “Competitive markets boost productivity, create employment opportunities and lift living standards. To support competition, we need good quality regulation but, unfortunately, a recent OECD report ranked New ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says lotteries for charitable purposes, such as those run by the Heart Foundation, Coastguard NZ, and local hospices, will soon be allowed to operate online permanently. “Under current laws, these fundraising lotteries are only allowed to operate online until October 2024, after which ...
The Coalition Government is accelerating work on the new four-lane expressway between Auckland and Whangārei as part of its Roads of National Significance programme, with an accelerated delivery model to deliver this project faster and more efficiently, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “For too long, the lack of resilient transport connections ...
Sir Don McKinnon will travel to Viet Nam this week as a Special Envoy of the Government, Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced. “It is important that the Government give due recognition to the significant contributions that General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong made to New Zealand-Viet Nam relations,” Mr ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says newly appointed Commissioner, Grant Illingworth KC, will help deliver the report for the first phase of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into COVID-19 Lessons, due on 28 November 2024. “I am pleased to announce that Mr Illingworth will commence his appointment as ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters travels to Laos this week to participate in a series of Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)-led Ministerial meetings in Vientiane. “ASEAN plays an important role in supporting a peaceful, stable and prosperous Indo-Pacific,” Mr Peters says. “This will be our third visit to ...
Construction of a new mental health facility at Te Nikau Grey Hospital in Greymouth is today one step closer, Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey says. “This $27 million facility shows this Government is delivering on its promise to boost mental health care and improve front line services,” Mr Doocey says. ...
New Zealand is committing nearly $50 million to a package supporting sustainable Pacific fisheries development over the next four years, Foreign Minister Winston Peters and Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones announced today. “This support consisting of a range of initiatives demonstrates New Zealand’s commitment to assisting our Pacific partners ...
Associate Education Minister David Seymour says proposed changes to the Education and Training Amendment Bill will ensure charter schools have more flexibility to negotiate employment agreements and are equipped with the right teaching resources. “Cabinet has agreed to progress an amendment which means unions will not be able to initiate ...
In response to serious concerns around oversight, overspend and a significant deterioration in financial outlook, the Board of Health New Zealand will be replaced with a Commissioner, Health Minister Dr Shane Reti announced today. “The previous government’s botched health reforms have created significant financial challenges at Health NZ that, without ...
Minister for Space and Science, Innovation and Technology Judith Collins will travel to Adelaide tomorrow for space and science engagements, including speaking at the Australian Space Forum. While there she will also have meetings and visits with a focus on space, biotechnology and innovation. “New Zealand has a thriving space ...
Climate Change Minister Simon Watts will travel to China on Saturday to attend the Ministerial on Climate Action meeting held in Wuhan. “Attending the Ministerial on Climate Action is an opportunity to advocate for New Zealand climate priorities and engage with our key partners on climate action,” Mr Watts says. ...
Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones is travelling to the Solomon Islands tomorrow for meetings with his counterparts from around the Pacific supporting collective management of the region’s fisheries. The 23rd Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Committee and the 5th Regional Fisheries Ministers’ Meeting in Honiara from 23 to 26 July ...
The Government today launched the Military Style Academy Pilot at Te Au rere a te Tonga Youth Justice residence in Palmerston North, an important part of the Government’s plan to crackdown on youth crime and getting youth offenders back on track, Minister for Children, Karen Chhour said today. “On the ...
The Government has welcomed news the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) has begun work to replace nine priority bridges across the country to ensure our state highway network remains resilient, reliable, and efficient for road users, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says.“Increasing productivity and economic growth is a key priority for the ...
Acting Prime Minister David Seymour has been in contact throughout the evening with senior officials who have coordinated a whole of government response to the global IT outage and can provide an update. The Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet has designated the National Emergency Management Agency as the ...
New Zealand and Japan will continue to step up their shared engagement with the Pacific, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “New Zealand and Japan have a strong, shared interest in a free, open and stable Pacific Islands region,” Mr Peters says. “We are pleased to be finding more ways ...
New developments in the heart of North Island forestry country will reinvigorate their communities and boost economic development, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones visited Kaingaroa and Kawerau in Bay of Plenty today to open a landmark community centre in the former and a new connecting road in ...
President Adeang, fellow Ministers, honourable Diet Member Horii, Ambassadors, distinguished guests. Minasama, konnichiwa, and good afternoon, everyone. Distinguished guests, it’s a pleasure to be here with you today to talk about New Zealand’s foreign policy reset, the reasons for it, the values that underpin it, and how it ...
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Opinion: The Canadian short story writer Alice Munro – winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2013 – died in May at the age of 92. Her work was about “the damage people inflict on one another in the name of love”, Deborah Treisman wrote in the New Yorker. ...
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Christopher Luxon has joined with Australia and Canada's leaders in voicing support for US President Joe Biden's ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas. ...
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The Abuse in Care report found many Pacific survivors lost their connections to their culture and language, resulting in trauma that has been carried from generation to generation. ...
In the regulatory review, ECC intends to suggest that ERO focus on curriculum delivery reviews rather than the Ministry, because it’s not efficient or effective to have two agencies with radically different approaches climbing over each other. ...
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[Please note, we are trialling something new for Open Mike and Daily Review.
In order to keep OM and DR free for other conversations, all comments, link postings etc about the US election now need to go in the dedicated US election discussion here.
If you are unsure, post in that thread rather than here. It’s not possible for moderators to shift comments from OM to there, so any comments here may get deleted.
Have fun folks – weka]
Look at our new invisible surplus clothes……yes said Msm…..looks fabulous..
The Emperor has no clothes? Surely not!
A new private prison being built.
Suicide rates spiralling.
Meanwhile the corporate media reports on Dan Carter, The Real Housewives of Auckland and ‘one perfect leap for a lamb.’
The brighter future.
The housing crisis is really hitting home around here. Next door sold within 10 days of being on the market, a sharp contrast considering it was on the market for a couple of months a few years back before being sold. Welcome to Motueka, most of the ‘for sale’ signs have sold stickers on them.
My sister is about to find herself homeless, the investor that owns the rental she is in decided to put it on the market, it sold within 10 days. She’s been looking for anything for her and her son for the last 4 weeks, she has two weeks left to find some where, but there is nowhere, rentals are let out within hours of being advertised, she’s even going to open homes to ask real estate agents if a property investors are potential buyers, she’s doing everything she can to find a home.
I’m now cleaning out one of my garages, lucky it’s coming into summer. Her son has one term left at primary school, my place is 30 mins away on the open road to his school, changing his school at this stage is not an option. Did I mention she is working?
Housing crisis is causing massive mental health issues and stress for so many, it’s not just an Auckland issue, I’ve never seen my sister so stressed, and she is just one working parent with a child, it’s heartbreaking.
http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2016/09/zealand-relentless-housing-crisis-160928153415463.html
She should try trademe. A quick look shows 10 houses for rent right there in motueka.
Starting at only $240 per week.
Your welcome.
/facepalm
Great stuff James… not. It’s your bloody mob that’s deliberately doing this to our society. And it’s not ‘your welcome’, it’s ‘you’re welcome’.
Blinking typo on the you’re.
Thank you.
@ James. A double typo to be accurate. The ‘ and the e.
Two out of six characters is more likely poor spelling.
Thanks but she does not live in Motueka, she lives in Richmond.
A quick look on trade me says there are 2 places with 2 bedrooms in her price range, but Tapawera is 45mins on the open road away from her sons school.
There are 4 places in her price range on trade me, but they are all one bedrooms. JS
Do you have any rentals in Richmond James?
She is my sister by love not by blood, sadly her mum has passed away, I’m all she has. Planting a massive vege garden this year, excess veges are given away free at my gate, it’s all part of making a good community
Good for you on all counts Cinny. I hope you all find a better way soon, and it’s heartening to hear about what you do to make it work in the meantime. James’ comment was incredibly ignorant, and worse, the whole implied neoliberal slant of you’re not trying hard enough, I know what’s best, has just been shown up by your generosity, self-reliance, and ingenuity. Kia kana.
I really feel that the ‘what’s in it for me’ philosophy rather than the ‘it takes a village’ outlook is what is screwing up so many lives.
Very lucky in Motueka, it’s more about ‘we’ here than ‘me’, seems to work better for us like that.
Thanks for the good vibes, much appreciated
poor thing Cinny hope things work out for her ( your sister) its really hard now and we have a government that is not ruling for all the people
IKR, I’m like sheez if this is taking such a toll on her, one can only begin to imagine the stress for thousands like her, and those with children. And how can renters have the security of a home with speculators flicking off properties for gain, worries about the residents, profit over people. It’s a disgrace.
The housing crisis is a reality for white middle class NZ, among thousands of others hurting. Landlords are taking the cream with accommodation supplements aplenty, and the ability to pick and choose crippling rent prices. The outgoing government does nothing, no capital gains, no rent caps, nothing to prevent speculators milking the system for all they can, no matter where in the world they reside.
Hi Garth Barefoot, made any more donations to the outgoing government? No doubt your real estate empire will be making a very tidy profit.
This is what i have been saying for the longest time.
It is not only AKL it is everywhere.
And the move out of Auckland (insert what ever other city might apply) and move to the country side is not helping as it fucks up the housing market there.
Fact is there are not enough houses in NZ to keep up with standard population growth and continued unrestricted migration (those that come to live and work and those the only come to buy a speculation object or several).
its fucked up beyond believe.
A very interesting, though no doubt controversial, article:
http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2016/10/american-intervention-syria/504512/?utm_source=atlfb
A thought provoking read
Recommended.
Firefox won’t play that Extremist, but a switch to Chrome will. Something to do with advertisements.
I put this up on the Daily Review last night – I’ll reiterate it here
“Tough stuff coming up
“Men aged between 25 and 29, and women aged between 40 and 44, are the most at-risk when it comes to suicide, new figures show.
The female suicide rate is the highest on record, with 170 women dying by suicide during the past year.
While more men die by suicide in New Zealand, the gap between the genders is the smallest it’s been…
…Maori suicide rates remain higher than any other ethnicity in the country.
…The Canterbury Region has recorded its highest suicide total since records began in 2008, with 78 deaths.
…In 2016, 252 employed people died by suicide – up from 246 the previous year.
Meanwhile, 146 unemployed people took their own lives, followed by 70 retirees or pensioners, and 55 students.”
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/health/85449334/nz-suicide-toll–unacceptably-high
yep it is unacceptable that so many desperate people make the choice they do and the families, loved ones and whānau left behind with so many questions and effects that do resonate through generations.
Kia kaha to all.”
[sorry marty, short of deleting the conversation below (which we try not to do) I can’t do much to put it elsewhere. Thanks for reposting. – weka]
I’m sorry – (and this is not aimed specifically at the poster above) it pisses me off when people on this blog use sucicide stats to have a crack at the government yet are happy to tell people on here to do things like hang themselves should they have a different view to them.
This behaviour has generally gone unchecked by other posters – as opposed to trying to stop bullying behaviour that can actually lead people to self harm.
but sadly for some posters on here – telling a righty to kill themselves is all good. As I have said before – I hope they never have to live with that kind of pain in their family – it’s a hard way to learn what damage their actions can cause.
[citation needed]
“Richardrawshark 9.1.1.1
16 June 2016 at 11:55 am
I think fisi BM Bob, Little’s words that you are on about were “bla bla this deal LOOKS dodgy”.
I remember the interview very well
At no time did he come out in public saying it WAS a dirty deal.
Then Hagaman threatened a law suit if he didn’t retract, well why would he the deal looks dodgy. It’s just a statement of fact.
You guys are pathetic. hang yourselves, it’ll be easier now than after the election when the NZ public massively vote red green or anything but blue.”
[Right, you’ve provide one example below. Now you need to provide two more examples in the next hour (you seem to think ‘people’ not person are doing this), and provide the actual links this time so I can see the context. As a moderator I am interested in anyone telling other commenters to kill themselves and anyone here can bring that to the moderators attention.
However it is completely unacceptable to do it in the way you have done as a major derailment of an incredibly serious topic. At the least, you could have started a new subthread, and taken more care in how you brought this up. Whatever grievance you have about being abused on this site (you’ve commented on this before), it doesn’t take precedence over the people reading OM today who have had someone they love commit suicide.
It is also not ok to tell lump all commenters into one mass and then make out they are responsible for others’ behaviour e.g. saying that people who comment on suicide also tell people to kill themselves. I am going to ban you for a time, but want to see the links first. You also own marty an apology – weka]
I don’t know if it counts but does someone thinking it’d be hilarious if I got HIV count, I mean I know its not the same as telling someone to go hang themselves but its getting up there
https://thestandard.org.nz/stop-the-sanctions/
Brigid 8.1.1.2.1.2
16 September 2016 at 12:44 pm
So no, you don’t care to know if, or not, there are children as a result of your irresponsible behaviour.
Wouldn’t it be hilarious if, in the fullness of time, you discovered you have HIV.
(but you know sometimes you have a little too much to drink…)
Maui is right
“We’ve seen all this from rwinger men before. Eww.”
And yuck
[no, it doesn’t count. James was referring to people telling others to kill themselves. That’s not what Brigid said. Also she appears to be being sarcastic to make a point in the middle of somewhat contentious exchange. It was a rude thing to say but I wouldn’t have moderated that myself unless there was an escalation of abuse going on. Honestly, if we moderated everyone who was rude like that, we’d be at it all day and we’d basically be controlling what the conversation was. No-one wants that unless there is a bloody good reason. I probably would have moderated the go hang yourself one by placing a warning. – weka]
They pointed out a consequence of your own behaviour, that you see it as threatening or bullying is interesting.
The thing was though as I said numerous times on the thread (probably didn’t seem important I guess)
Puckish Rogue 7.2.1.1
16 September 2016 at 9:34 am
Did you happen to notice this sentence by any chance?
“But yeah the law should be amended at the very least or dropped altogether and hopefully National will”
See I thought that was pretty clear but I guess not
followed by
Puckish Rogue 8.1.1.2.1
16 September 2016 at 10:20 am
Well first off I don’t know that I have any, I was usually pretty good with protection (but you know sometimes you have a little too much to drink…) so I don’t know that I have any
Secondly as I stated previously:
“But yeah the law should be amended at the very least or dropped altogether and hopefully National will”
So I guess the answer is I’d like the law to get dropped then my taxes can towards paying all solo mums fairly
And as for pointing out the consequences of my actions (from over a decade ago) you don’t think that contracting HIV is a tad over the top?
This just illustrates my points later on, people didn’t even bother to note that I was supportive of solo parents getting paid fairly but instead people focused on the supposed “nasty” comments I made (whoever here hasn’t had a one night stand or unprotected sex then please feel free to cast the first stone) to justify their own actions
They pointed out a consequence of your own behaviour…
So, if someone was to comment that it’s hilarious when gays or IV drug users get HIV, they’d just be helpfully pointing out a consequence of those people’s behaviour? I don’t think so.
…that you see it as threatening or bullying is interesting.
That you see it as anything other than abusive is interesting. I don’t have any great complaint to make against abusive comments, but let’s not pretend they’re something different from what they are.
Show me where I had a “crack at the government” above. In fact I didn’t mention them at all.
What pisses me off is rwnj’s who shit all over serious topics because they are too thick and dim to just stfu about things they don’t or can’t understand or care about.
You James can take your bullshit and fuck off.
Far from shitting over serious topics – this is close to my heart and I take it very seriously. Sadly I know a bit about it.
I stated that I wasn’t talking specifically about you. I was simply building on your comment.
But – hey good on you – someone talks about the bully behaviour on this blog (as opposed to robust debate) and the damage it can cause and you counter with “take your bullshit and fuck off”
classy, well thought out robust reply there.
I don’t want anyone to commit suicide, even RWNJ…… So maybe you can ask your leader ShonKey to focus on the people, not just his money and power……. And leave little girls hair alone as well….. Fkn creepy.
Ive never communicated with John Key – so not much I can do there – but I DO communicate with people on blogs – why not start there?
Whats wrong with a “bottom up” approach to helping people, to stop behaviour which can cause such terrible outcomes.
Would we not be better as a society for this?
People are happy to call out “rape apologist”, but in general are happy to go with a pack mentality to “attack” others who they dont agree with. Isnt that just as bad?
Inclined to agree with james here, there is a serious problem of bullying on this site, not a good look at all, you moderators need to get together and sort out a code and then apply it consistantly and to everyone, including yourselves
[don’t tell the moderators/authors what to do. Reread the Policy. You and James will now both take yourselves out of this subthread or expect to be banned. See my comment above. If you want to discuss moderation policy on ts, this is NOT the way to do – weka]
Then don’t say nasty and stupid things. Then people would not have to resort to calling you Tory scum, wingnuts, rwnj and other descriptions which fix so well.
You have to admit it is ironic that you get upset when it gets dished back, but many wingnuts are happy to dish it out. Boohoo, is it sad that the poor little leftists have a spin. Sad little Tory rebates finding that hard are they, cry me a river.
Politics is a bit of hardball, if you want it to be nice a cuddly, then stop voting Tory, because the only reaction to the reactionaries is to come out fighting or give up. Remember it’s Tory wind bags like you, who support the creepy one, and his flock of incompetent ministers…
Too soon.
Actually I think we err far too much on the side of robust instead of on building a place where we can learn things, and things can change. At times this place looks like a straight out den of whack the RWer. People see that and stay away and we miss many voices that should be otherwise heard. That includes lefties and righties and people who aren’t on the spectrum.
I agree weka, but most of the time it is driven from some pretty nasty comments to begin with.
Many comments from the Tory club I just find stupid, and as such, I leave alone. But more than a few are actually just nasty, these need to be responded to. It’s not so much whack a Tory rebate, it’s call them out for there repeated nastiness and bereft reasoning.
I for one, am sick of the continued calumny that pours forth from too many Tory commentators on this site.
Yes
@Weka – totally agree.
Are you sure you’re not just using it as an excuse to say what you say because you feel justified in your actions?
Come on Puckish, you play the wind up game with people – then play the poor me card. You are hardly one to talk.
Too soon…
Adam’s got Pucky pigeon-holed perfectly.
I disagree, I think adam is justifying his own actions by deciding how I post irrespective of my own intentions
As I posted below if he thinks what I post is nasty then I must be nasty which “allows” him to post nasty replies back
and of course its all the nasty torys fault:
“But more than a few are actually just nasty, these need to be responded to. It’s not so much whack a Tory rebate, it’s call them out for there repeated nastiness and bereft reasoning.”
it was too soon…
No I think you use these supposed transgressions as an excuse to vent your spleen.
You dismiss peoples opinions that you disagree with as wind ups, nasty or stupid yet not even considering that the people posting them actually believe those opinions and because those opinions are “nasty” then the people posting them are “nasty” which justifies your comments
“Come on Puckish, you play the wind up game with people – then play the poor me card. You are hardly one to talk.”
Pucky said: “…I think adam is justifying his own actions…”
Adam’s not “justifying his actions. He’s accurately describing yours.
Incorrect Robby, I could say that your contribution to this thread is trolling, that you are a troll and you may (or may not be) but I don’t really know what your intentions are, only you know for sure
So adam can say I’m nasty or whatever to justify his own actions but only I know what my intentions are and its on him when he misinterprets what I (or other people he disagrees with) say
Or you could simply ask me instead of assuming
What the matter Puckish, feeling a bit exposed that people got your number?
Don’t feel to bad, we all have patterns – yours are just a bit more obvious than most.
I was not actually saying you are nasty Puckish, actually you are one of the Tories here who says the least nasty or stupid things. You play a different game. Again, back to patterns.
But come on Puckish you call people when they say stupid things, is it that the Tory flock, are a bit thin skinned…
“… you could simply ask me instead of assuming…”
Okay, thanks for the opportunity, Pucky, I’ll take it.
Have you played the wind up game with people – then played the poor me card?
“What the matter Puckish, feeling a bit exposed that people got your number?”
– If I had a dollar for everytime someone said they had my number I’d have a lot more money then I do now
“Don’t feel to bad, we all have patterns – yours are just a bit more obvious than most. ”
– Theres that assumption again…
“I was not actually saying you are nasty Puckish, actually you are one of the Tories here who says the least nasty or stupid things. You play a different game. Again, back to patterns.”
– Well thank you for that, a while back there were some posts on how the site was becoming nasty (especially towards females) so I took some of the stuff on board and have, somewhat, altered the way I post
I’ve actively stopped mentioning anything negative about peoples looks or bodies
As soon as theres anything to do with rape, sexual assault etc then I tread very warily around the subject or indeed not post at all
Basically I’ve tried to improve what I post and how I post it because if we want this site to be a certain way then all of us have to do our part, it shouldn’t be up to the moderators only to police things around here
Essentially I have rule that I only post what I’d be willing to say out loud, in a group setting
“But come on Puckish you call people when they say stupid things, is it that the Tory flock, are a bit thin skinned…”
– If I had major problems with what people said about here I wouldn’t come back but I do think that the occasional threats of violence, death or just plain nastiness that happens is maybe a bit much, robust sure but come on the whole “up against the wall” thing that some (hello Millsy) on here seem to yearn for isn’t going to happen anytime soon
“Okay, thanks for the opportunity, Pucky, I’ll take it.
Have you played the wind up game with people – then played the poor me card?”
Quick answer is no if you mean I’ve wound up people on purpose then played the poor me card
However if we break the question down separately like have I wound people up and played the poor me card then to the first part of the question, yes sometimes depending on the situation but not as often as most people think and probably as much as most others on here do (much like yourself at times)
To the second part I’ll say probably, I mean I can’t think of any times but I’ve also been posting for a very long time so at some point I might have
Now that’s a completely 100% honest answer but I’m curious if anyone will say I’m wrong
Here you go Puckish this should make you feel better.
The only blue man group I like…
Could have been worse I suppose
Disarming answer there, Pucky, thanks for making the effort. Tell me, if you will, do you regard saying here, “National will win in 2017” a wind-up?
“Disarming answer there, Pucky, thanks for making the effort. Tell me, if you will, do you regard saying here, “National will win in 2017” a wind-up?”
A good question, the type of question that might help explain some things.
If I came on here and said National will win in 2017 and I didn’t think they would then yes I’d consider that a wind up as I’m saying something I don’t believe merely to get a reaction out of the posters
However I do believe that National will win in 2017 (most likely in coalition with NZFirst) so its not a wind up because that’s what I think is going to happen
” so its not a wind up because that’s what I think is going to happen”
Here we differ and I suspect others here will feel as I do. Just because you think a certain thing doesn’t justify your repeating it often on a site where most readers and commentors sincerely hope for the opposite of “what you think”. In any case, you are not prefacing your claim with, “I think”, you are usually making the claim bald, as if it was true. I’m certain that you are not a practiced and successful crystal ball gazer, and so your declaration comes across as arrogant, provocative and a wind-up. But you must know this already, Pucky.
Ok thats reasonable but I also normally explain why I think the way I do so its not like I go National will win and then bugger off
“I’m certain that you are not a practiced and successful crystal ball gazer, and so your declaration comes across as arrogant, provocative and a wind-up. But you must know this already, Pucky.”
Its only perceived that way because I’m on the right of the political spectrum, if I posted in the same way but from a left view nobody would say a word
If, as some posters on here seem to want, all right voting posters on here were banned all you’d end up with is Red Alert 2.0 and I don’t think anyone wants that
Hell there are posters on here that want CV gone, is that what you really want, an echo chamber?
In any case, you are not prefacing your claim with, “I think”, you are usually making the claim bald, as if it was true.
There was a running gag on The Good Wife of a judge who demanded lawyers add “in my opinion” to any assertions they made, because it would be unreasonable to expect the court to recognise that assertions rather than expressions of proven facts were being made. Thanks for volunteering Robert, but you’re really going to have your work cut out for you making everyone preface their claims with “I think.” Er… in my opinion.
Psycho Milt – that’s right, requiring an “I think” before every statement would be unnecessary, however, in Pucky’s case, where he is using his “Key will win, Little will lose” regularly, it would be good manners for him to use the preface, as a sign of good faith. He’s moderated his behaviour significantly in recent months and there’s no reason, I believe, why he wouldn’t do us all the favour of qualifying his most irritating claims with a modest, “I think”. Of course, he doesn’t have to do what I suggest, but I’ve noticed that he wants to fit in better, not attract ire and be accepted as a reasonable commenter and adopting my suggestion would help a great deal, in my opinion.
I encourage you to take up your suggestion with the author of this post https://thestandard.org.nz/key-could-still-win-and-heres-why/ because he seems to be flirting On the edges of good manners and is at risk of not fitting in.
How about this for an idea Robby, how about we all assume that there’s an invisible I think or In my opinion before every statement on this site, you might not see it but its always there…
@inspider – you are encouraging me to criticise the author of a post here, something I’m too polite and respectful to do 🙂
Pucky – you will stop commenting here the day Key and National lose the election (something to practise your “Invisible I think” idea on)
“Pucky – you will stop commenting here the day Key and National lose the election (something to practise your “Invisible I think” idea on)”
We’ll see in 2020 then won’t we 🙂
“We’ll see in 2020 then won’t we”
By then, we’ll not have heard from you for 3 years, so it’ll be a reunion of sorts 🙂
Ok Robby lets make a bet on the next election if you’re so confident…
When National wins you, at your earliest convenience of course, praise Nationals win and admit that I, Puckish Rogue was right all along and that my predictions are accurate
If Labour win…I’ll praise Labours victory and admit I got it wrong and that my predictions are as accurate as Martin Bradburys
In this instance winning means being part of the next government of course
Can we do that thing when we see who can pee the highest as well? Can we Pucky? Can we?
Wouldn’t it have just been easier to say “I think you’re right but I just don’t want to admit it?”
Cross his palm with silver and Pucky the Mysterious will reveal the True Secrets of Your Future! Be Amazed by Pucky’s Powers, see Up-Coming Events through Pucky’s All-Seeing Eye! Be Be-Dazzled by the Swirling Miasma in Pucky’s Cryptic Crystal Ball. Swoon at the Confidence the All-Knowing Pucky the Mysterious exudes.
* Quality of experience may vary. Satisfaction not guaranteed.
“Then don’t say nasty and stupid things. Then people would not have to resort to calling you Tory scum, wingnuts, rwnj and other descriptions which fix so well.”
Its in your DNA adam…nasty is the automatic go to when someone does not agree with your world views.
As for me I don’t care about any “name calling” I do have a little fun by calling certain people here far left activists 🙂 However the truth of the matter is most NZ’ers are not far left nor far right, rather someone in the middle of those two extremes.
Kept in mind at the end of the day we all need to get along with each other. And that means with people whom do not share the same political leanings as you may do.
So says the conspiracy theorist. You Chucky hide behind civility and an attempt at moderation to justify your hate and use it to have a go at people. Which is funny, you fall in the catagory of stupid most of the time, as you fall for conspiracy theories, or make them up.
So sorry Chucky you are one of the rwnj I try and avoid, except for the occasional reminder to people that you are a hard right conspiracy theorist.
adam you do realise you have just validated my post…
The only “hate” occurring here is your response to anyone that has a different view to yours.
Its in your DNA adam…nasty is the automatic go to when someone does not agree with your world views.
The problem with that argument is that it’s pretty nasty to tell someone that they are genetically predestined to be nasty. What shall we attribute your nastiness to then?
Chuck is a right-wing troll who does not know when to use ‘whom’. He is a hostile who pretends to be an affable mate. I recommend avoidance of contact. Adam – you can see how he misconstrues victories for himself? You are dead right about him.
Heavens In Vino…
“He is a hostile who pretends to be an affable mate”
“I recommend avoidance of contact.”
Maybe you would feel safer if I and a large portion of the population are made to wear an arm band…so you and adam know to avoid us when walking down the street 🙂
I think you need to get out of the class room and into the real world.
“Heavens In Vino”
Give it an apostrophe and you’re saying what many people happily believe, Chuck. There’s a lot of truth in Vino’s comment (I’m sure I know his sister, Veritas).
“What shall we attribute your nastiness to then?”
Not nasty weka, just pointing out the inconvenient truth.
Fortunately for the rest of us, you don’t get to decide what is nasty.
OK I have (re) read the policy. Now I have a genuine question please treat it as such, (even if i have stupedly missed something)
Question : What is the approved process/venue to discuss or raise issues of moderator guidelines/conduct here
[thanks xanthe, I’ve got stuff to do, will reply later – weka]
Hi, Xanthe.
There isn’t a process, exactly. But if you disagree with a mod’s decision, you can try putting a case via email at thestandardnz@gmail.com. That approach might result, for example, in a ban being shortened.
Generally speaking, the rule of thumb is that the other mods do not overrule a mod’s decision. So if you piss a mod off, expect to have to cop a ban. Whining about it is unlike to change the result.
Bear in mind, all authors and mods are volunteers. We don’t get paid for this and we have to put up with a lot of crap to keep this joint rockin’. The commenters are important to us, but so are the many thousands who just read the posts. We moderate to make sure this site is worth reading, so occasionally that means making decisions like ending a thread because it’s degenerating.
If you really want to influence the moderation on site, start writing posts, become an author, and eventually you’ll get to mod yourself and see how much of a challenge it is.
Cheers, TRP
Thanks TRP I want to make it clear that this is not about challenging any specific ban. I totally get that you have a volunteer job to do and its not an easy task. I actually think that thestandard is an important part of the new zealand political discourse and my sole motive is to assist you in reaching and holding as wide an audence and engagement as possible. I am more concerned with the interactions that lead to a ban. and the methods availiable to the moderators to “moderate” discussion that is veering towards abuse so that it dosnt get to the ban stage.
i will email the address you have given and say no more here for now
Good as gold, Xanthe and thanks for the thoughtful approach you have taken.
What I’ve noticed (on both left and right wing blogs) is that when someone with a differing view comes along then the other side feel “justified” in saying really nasty stuff to that person, stuff they wouldn’t normally say because they consider themselves a “good” person but its almost as if they’ve decided the other person “deserves” it
You can see echoes of it when a female commentator dares to speak up and men, lets be honest its mostly men, say really horrendous things to her
I’m not so sure that’s entirely fair.
Different people have different ideas as to what constitutes “nasty” – I tend to swear in real life, so don’t particularly care about it. Call me “fuckface” and I’ll forget about it in moments (just after retaliation 🙂 ).
What surprises me are the number of people who come out with contemptable views who then get upset about me calling them a fuckwit, well before I’m really trying to get personal. Note that I didn’t say “differing views”.
Someone who comes to a blogsite with a known large left-wing/progressive group of commenters and calls the poor “parasites” is looking to wind people up. Fisiani’s blatant lying is also an example.
The moderators do a pretty good job of keeping responses legal and the general abuse trolls out, in my opinion.
Well sure not everybody that’s posts here is like that of course
What I’ve noticed on the better blogs I’ve seen (not that I read a lot) is that the folks who say “really nasty stuff” just because someone has differing views have an extremely short lifespan on the site, mostly due to moderators but also from community response.
James’ comment was “This behaviour has generally gone unchecked by other posters”. In my opinion that’s bullshit – one or two might slip through everybody’s attention (probably because by that time nobody but the two foes are reading the thread any more), but mods crack down on that shit here and if they don’t, commenters will try to bring it to the mods’ attention.
Thats fair, as much as I think it’d be amusing to wield the ban hammer it just sounds like to much hard work
Which is exactly what happened in the single instance that James pointed to, and it was in fact yourself in the comments that took Richard to task for what he did. From a moderators perspective (this one at least), that’s great because it’s less work for me.
hah – so I was, amongst several others. Hadn’t bothered to search for the instance before now 🙂
Would you consider this kind of comment on the nasty end of the scale? (I would)
“What pisses me off is rwnj’s who shit all over serious topics because they are too thick and dim to just stfu about things they don’t or can’t understand or care about.
You James can take your bullshit and fuck off.”
Really? I wouldn’t.
I mean, what about it is nasty? Sure, there are rude words. It’s definitely passionate. I wouldn’t say it’s any nastier than telling someone who asks a basic question to RTFM.
It’s definitely not as nasty as taking a pretty apolitical and straight-up comment about NZ’s tragic suicide rate, an issue that has probably affected most commenters here via friends and loved ones, and then “building on” that comment with an unsubstantiated snipe that on this blog telling those with differing views to kill themselves has “generally gone unchecked”. Which was the context of your quote.
As I say, rude words might be distasteful, but some of the nastiest shit that I read online was written with surface courtesy and polite language.
I got censored and ban threatened for obliquely calling a commenter an idiot. I guess it’s ok when the left do it 🙂
Ps what’s happened to the search function? Seems to have disappeared
This one?
https://thestandard.org.nz/i-see-a-poverty-of-ideas-and-a-poverty-of-government-responsibility/#comment-1244402
I can’t see anything there that tells the moderator that you are RW (I assume that’s what you are referring to).
Further, you’ve hardly been censored. You’ve had two instances of what I assume were the same word removed and been told you’re stepping over the line. Your comment seems designed entirely to have a go at someone in a put down way. What was the point other than that?
Without knowing what the word was, I can’t say if the warning was for something considered offensive, or because you were seen as deliberately winding someone up. Either way it happens on both sides of the spectrum (I’ve moderated lefties recently too).
Seriously, if RWers here believe they are being unfairly moderated due to their politics, you need to put up some actual evidence, because at the moment you just seem like you’re annoyed at being moderated.
btw, you can use google to find phrases, or use google site search for things that are more obscure.
…
19 October 2016 at 3:07 pm (Edit)
Would you consider this kind of comment on the nasty end of the scale? (I would)
“What pisses me off is rwnj’s who shit all over serious topics because they are too thick and dim to just stfu about things they don’t or can’t understand or care about.
You James can take your bullshit and fuck off.”
I’m actually curious what you find problematic with that.
Was it this one?
You’ll note the policy is against pointless abuse.
The trick is to make an associated point more explicit as the abuse becomes less “oblique” (I’m not sure you were quite as subtle as you think if that’s the example). Think of it like a bank balance: the more developed your point, the more you can spend in the way of abuse, right up until you hit the card limit for daily withdrawals and they ban your arse 🙂
While I would rarely hold myself up to be an example of ideal behaviour, I’ve commented here for years and don’t recall ever getting a ban. I’ve certainly been warned a couple of times (Bill was within a hairsbreadth of banning me once), but generally survived.
BTW, I tend to google with “site:thestandard.org.nz” when the site search engine is down. Not as useful, but gets one there eventually 🙂
hi inspider,
i was reading as the comments unfolded.
i thought james was thoroughly lacking in empathy with his comment.
heartless.
he may have had a point, but time and place.
this epitomises to me the difference between those of the left from those of the wrong: it is people, it is people, it is people.
while i do not like overly savoury langauge, i saw nothing inappropriate to the response to james.
Im not sure Robby wants to take up that bet with you PR
Is this a nasty comment then ?
Or this one? “If Robert Guyton left the room would you say “there’s one less [deleted] in the room” or “there’s one fewer [deleted] in the room”?”
Look, we all have fewer grammar nowadays.
I
Pucky … I think you may have participated in group bullying while being rude to Penny …… from memory
And have you not read the stuff of BM , Ross ……. and james when they talk about and smear strippers ????
Rape apology central with those three dicks posting ………
Did you hear about how it took two brave children not even old enough to vote to stop our devious prime minister promoting to a judicial role the most creepy thing/man to crawl out of the new zealand police force since clint rickards ???……..
Perhaps you have heard of roastbusters ?????…. and the police dishonesty and inaction regarding it ….
Or how about Customs officers sexually assaulting females who are visiting people the Government does not like ……………..
I can not remember you condemning any of the above …..
Your concern for females feels hollow and false to me ……………. based on your own actions and approval or indifference towards the cruelty served up by people like Collins & key
Did you speak up when Key twisted the words of Cunliffe speaking out against men beating women and children ??? ……
I think we all know the answers to the above ……
The precedent goes back to Amartya Sen – suicide is robust objective data on dissatisfaction with governance.
Of course as a shill for this government we understand your hatred of data.
hi marty, i read yr post last night and it is grim reading.
i am wary of commenting too much for fear of being misinformed or causing pain to others.
while i agree we do not need to lionize victims of suicide (haka at school assembly), i do not think the current policy of remaining silent is working.
from reading around, one of the most cited causes of distress and pain, leading to suicide seems to be feeling isolated from people/community.
sometimes having someone to listen makes a huge difference.
it is hard to comprehend the cutting of funding to youthline and other services which are often the first port of call for someone in distress.
“while i agree we do not need to lionize victims of suicide (haka at school assembly), i do not think the current policy of remaining silent is working. ”
I agree with this
Yep gsays it is a real tough one – on one hand we don’t want to be seen to glorify suicide and on the other we don’t want to not talk about it. In my work with these individuals – validation of their right to their feelings, listening without trying to shove solutions at them, and helping them build new skills which create other options and choices can work. But it all takes time and if we miss the small envelope they can be lost – the reduction in funding is a nationwide emergency imo.
amen to the listening.
to my mind the most profound act of love you can visit on another.
Apparently they are called ‘completed suicides’, there are many more attempts (incomplete suicides) & people who are considering it (& all the self harmers?), which all added up must be a huge amount for our tiny population. How do our stats compare to a city of 4 million I wonder?
Yep the suicide attempts and self harming incidents are through the roof in terms of numbers both gross and percentage wise. And the coroners have quite specific criteria before they call it a suicide which again reduces the statistics. I can’t imagine anyone in this country who isn’t affected by suicide and/or (I’m putting this in here because they are on the same continuum) self harming.
This topic is worth a post – if only to get past the sad tr0ll derailment technique.
The ongoing increases in tobacco tax is fueling robberies nationwide.
A growing number of victims have been harmed and lives are being put at risk. It’s only a matter of time before someone is killed.
Increases in tobacco tax is also fueling a growing black market.
Taxpayers are being forced to pay for more police and new prisons as a result.
It’s also driving those who continue to smoke into further fiscal hardship, adding to the cost, harm and stress growing poverty creates.
When is a enough enough?
There are alternatives to tobacco tax increases. Therefore, isn’t it time we put an end to this crime fueling and harm causing experiment?
http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/morningreport/audio/201820507/salvation-army-wants-to-limit-immigration-to-give-kids-jobs
http://www.salvationarmy.org.nz/research-media/social-policy-and-parliamentary-unit/latest-report/what-next
http://50500.co.nz/
Talking about sexist language
…and given recent Posts and discussions on this site which are primarily attacking Trump …eg this is a typical statement “Like a great many women and a fair amount of men too, I’m disgusted (but not surprised) with the misogyny expressed by Trump.”
This is study is interesting:
‘Women more likely to use misogynistic terms online, report finds’
https://www.rt.com/uk/363048-women-online-misogyny-report/
“Women in the UK and US are more likely to use misogynist language on social media than men, according to the results of a four-year study.
The research was carried out by the social media research firm Brandwatch and looked at 19 million tweets over a four-year period to assess the levels of anti-woman sentiment expressed online.
The study found that over that period there were 3 million posts which contained terms abusive to women – with women most likely to have posted them…
The report was carried out for anti-bullying charity Ditch The Label, and found that words like “bitch,” “cow” and “slut” had passed into common usage by women online…
This is key.
He said the huge rise in income inequality in the 1980s and 1990s was not just a historical event. Its social impact continued to this day, and people were increasingly recognising the damage that poverty was doing, he said.
“The biggest issue I have is The New Zealand Initiative seems completely oblivious to the point that even if the big increase in inequality was in the 1980s and 1990s, and hasn’t worsened since then, it still has big implications for the country today.
“They seem to think that if something happened in the past it doesn’t matter. It is really quite an extraordinary way of looking at the issue,” Rashbrooke said.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/industries/85445497/housing-crisis-the-cause-of-inequality-in-nz-the-new-zealand-initiative
Seems the 48 hour rule applies to things on the interwebs, too.
Wikileaks responds.
https://wikileaks.org/Background-and-Documents-on-Attempts-to-Frame-Assange-as-a-Pedophile-and.html?update3
Good grief, that’s making my head spin. Conspiracy upon conspiracy.
The thing that stands out for me is that for such an elaborate plot they did some very stupid things e.g. the ranty/rambly nature of the post on the dating website. Plus the details in the story were weird if they were made up, and weird if they were true (by true I don’t mean the accusations, I mean that the main players are actual people in real life).
Still don’t know which bits had actions in RL and which were completely happening in cyberspace e.g. is the dating agency real or not?
Third sentence of link…
An unknown entity posing as an internet dating agency…
So, no. The dating agency is a fabrication.
Yeah I saw that, but I prefer to have something in addition to wikileaks or Assange’s lawyers backing that up. Call me cynical (not saying they are lying, just that I don’t trust them as a source to that degree).
Google says they’ve been around for a year or so.
https://www.google.co.nz/search?q=todd+and+clare&client=firefox-b&biw=1920&bih=940&source=lnt&tbs=cdr%3A1%2Ccd_min%3A19%2F10%2F2011%2Ccd_max%3A19%2F10%2F2015&tbm=
Parata sacked. Not sure whether this is a good thing or not.
Now they’ll get someone in to ram through the privatisation changes without the consultation.
Heh.
A great win for education – unless they get some other idiot in to be Minister.
That’s what I’m saying. She was terrible but they’ll get someone even worse – Seymour…!
Noooooooooo!!!!! oh please no
OMG! I thought you were joking, good job, that list MP has done enough damage. Can’t think of any in the outgoing government whom have the slightest interest in education. Please please please NickOff follow her lead and bugger off too.
If you listen you will be able to hear the cheers in school staff rooms around the nation this lunch time 😀
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA1610/S00282/parata-will-not-contest-2017-election.htm
The refreshing of the cabinet has begun, will Labour follow suit?
You will see a big change in Cabinet before the next election. John Key has so much talent on the backbench and you can expect that a few Ministers will opt to retire to make way for a fresh face.
Parata is not the only senior Minister who has advised John Key that they want out of politics.
You can’t seriously believe that. Nothing is done without the say-so of Key’s inner circle.
It’s John Key doing the ‘advising’.
Where is the talent on the back bench?
https://national.org.nz/team
Watch for the promotion of Alfred Ngaro,Brett Hudson , Mark Mitchell, Scott Simpson , Paul Foster-Bell, Chris Bishop , Barbara Kuriger,Todd Muller, Alistair Scott to name but a few.
That Mark Mitchell is going to be a good addition
is that because he is involved with Lusk and Slater?
Ngaro is a shoe-in once Lotu Iiga gets his marching orders.
Yes they are back bencher’s, were is the talent.
Brett Hudson, the ‘low profile’ List MP based in Ōhāriu whom the Nat’s put up against Dunne last election. Sales and account management background. Older fella.
Alfred Ngaro another older fella, another List MP, sounds like he has a violence issue.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/9139312/Punched-for-not-praying
Mark Mitchell the Rodney MP ex police man whom was said to have hired Simon Lusk whom went on to collaborate with Slater in an attempt to discredit Mitchells political opponents. I wonder if Mitchells email account is now secure lolz
Scott Simpson the MP for Coromandel whom loves to meet up with Donhua Liu, he received a $5000 donation from the controversial Chinese-born property developer for his 2011 election campaign, after meeting Liu about 10 times, including a couple of dinner dates. Connections with Lusk to it’s been said.
Paul Foster-Bell, Mr big spender and apparently a bully with a high staff turnover.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/81513231/pm-national-mp-paul-fosterbells-high-travel-costs-due-to-his-expertise
Chris Bishop, List MP for the Hutt, his Mrs is Jenna Raeburn, she is a lobbyist for Barton Deakin, well lololol
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/78650109/arrival-of-australian-political-lobbying-firm-in-nz-raises-questions-about-oversight
Barbara Kuriger, MP for Taranaki-King Country, and a shareholder in 2 family owned farming businesses, ex dairy board. Wonder if her and Judith compare notes?
Todd Muller MP for Bay of Plenty, former Zespri and Fonterra executive and asker of Patsy Questions. What has he done for his voters?
Alastair Scott is MP for Wairarapa and also owner of Matahiwi Estate winery and a former banker, I wonder what his agenda is?
Dang, it appears there is nothing new about this lot, more of the same, more executives, farmers and bankers looking after their own. Wonder what they have done for NZ or their local voters since coming into parliament?
I suspect there is more talent in the beehive rest rooms than on the backbenches of parliament.
Parata sacked – how do you know she was sacked. I dislike the woman but how do you know it is not a resignation? explain please.
more ‘pushed’ than ‘sacked’ is what I heard on the political grapevine
Clear out the perceived dead wood and bring in new faces, win win situation
cracks open champers, swigs merrily..
Hekia isn’t standing next election, she’s resigning from politics…
yay, don’t let the beehive door hit you on your way out.
Forget Parata, this is the real important news of the day:
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/entertainment/news/article.cfm?c_id=1501119&objectid=11731830
Hell yeah
[if it refers to Trump, it’s about the election. Please put it up in the discussion thread. I’ll leave this one here until you do, then delete it. See the bold at top and bottom of thread. Mods can’t move comments out of OM (except to trash). If in doubt stick it in the other thread. Thanks for checking – weka]
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http://www.smh.com.au/business/the-economy/acci-comes-out-swinging-against-the-aspects-of-the-trans-pacific-partnership-20161017-gs47gz.html
ACCI comes out swinging against the aspects of the Trans Pacific Partnership
“Australia’s biggest business organisation has distanced itself from claims the proposed Trans Pacific Partnership will create hundreds of thousands of jobs and be a “gigantic foundation stone” for Australia’s future.”
Not the person or place I expect these kind of comments..sent by a friend.
“I am not an economist but I have come to the conclusion that central banks collectively have now indeed lost the plot. The whole point of their independence was that they could be brave enough to make people confront reality. Yet in reality they are blowing up a bubble of make-believe money to avoid immediate pain, except for penalising the poor and the prudent.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/10/17/central-bankers-have-collectively-lost-the-plot-they-must-raise/
Yes raising interest rates would be fantastic for NZ, sarc.
Not important but every Spring I have serious hay fever through to December at least. But none this year. First time in my life.
Anyone else ab-normal strikes?
Really? In dunedin I’ve been a bit worse than usual, a couple of others mentioned it too.
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