The way two bills are being dealt with by the Government suggests that NZ First is getting away with wagging the dog and pup.
Labour and the Greens say they are allowing NZ First to progress their waka jumping bill. The Greens in particular have compromised their principles significantly in order to allow the bill to pass with a unified majority.
But when it comes to Medical Cannabis, a bill that is important enough for Labour to include in their 100 day plan, and important enough to the Greens to keep a Member’s Bill that goes further (and for Labour to support leaving that bill in), indications are that NZ First, with 9 votes to Labour-Greens 54, seems to be getting away with crippling the bill.
It’s not just a significant majority in Cabinet that NZ First is thwarting. A Curia poll in July shows strong public support:
• Growing and/or using cannabis for any medical reasons such as to alleviate pain
17% illegal
21% decriminalised
57% legal
• Growing and/or using cannabis for medical reasons if you have a terminal illness
15% illegal
22% decriminalised
59% legal
• Possessing a small amount of cannabis for personal use
31% illegal
37% decriminalised
28% legal
• Growing a small amount of cannabis for personal use
41% illegal
32% decriminalised
23% legal
• Growing a small amount of cannabis for giving or selling to your friends
69% illegal
16% decriminalised
10% legal
• Selling cannabis from a store
57% illegal
11% decriminalised
23% legal
The poll was conducted from July 3-18, with 938 people participating. The margin of error is +/-3.1 per cent.
We will see what the bill looks like when it is introduced today, but Ardern, Shaw and Minister of Health David Clark have all talked down expectations in advance.
Shock horror! Coalition government involves compromise. Quick, put a patronising and negative spin on it!
NZ1st will compromise their principles in supporting this bill. Looks like the dog is wagging the tail, or perhaps it’s more a case of “yap yap little weasel”.
This morning’s RNZ reports = More road deaths today. (three truck accidents and deaths over night.) RNZ news 8am.
Please let us compromise Labour Coalition Transport Minister Phil Twyford & the ‘Road Transport Forum’ (RTF) CEO Ken Shirley!!!!!!
As trucks are involved again in Waikato killing on our simgle laned roads (highway 27) near Karipiro, while the rail lays dorment.
Rail needs to become dominant again the ‘principal carrier of freight’, or else nothing will change on these narrow roads will change the climbing road deaths from ocurring.
‘Let us use rail to move our freight as we used to do.’
Make our roads safe for other roads users please by using rail everywhere.
I’ll bet the people on the road below the railway line were grateful that it was a passenger rather than a freight train in that latest crash in the US.
I doubt if they would, as appears to have been the miraculous case, have all survived if it had been heavy loaded freight wagons rather than comparatively light passenger cars that had crashed down on them.
I think that a freight train would have caused far more deaths, don’t you?
Of course you seem to want to show *’the worst possible scenerio’ .
You seem to prefer road freight do you?
You do know that the report showed the train was reported to be speeding at three times lawful speed across that bridge at that time?
If it was well designed by Engineers they should have not used a train track across a busy highway but it seemed Donald trump was right that the rail infrustructure needed upgrading so they need to plan seperate rail corridors if high speed trains are to be used.
You could see in this case the bridge was curved and the train was going so fast it left the bend in the track as the train did in Spain as it was on a rail curve bend when that crash occurred two years ago.
Rail freight is governed by much lower safer speeds then passenger rail is as our rail engineers tell us.
We have a Kennedy road highway road overbridge in napier that curves simailer to thios accident and the NZTA are keen to bump the speed up to 110kms and in an audit done on this Kennedy road overbridge that states that with heavy truck flows at 90 kms approaching this overbridge is dangerous.
So we are now afraid that trucks going at 110kms or 30% faster may hit the flimsy steel rails on the curved overbridge and crash below onto the very busy Kennedy road below carrying 30 0000 vehicles daily.
* ‘the worst possible scenerio’
So this is the opposite side of your comments here to what you posed above where in Napier any one of the 2400 hundred HPMV (63 tonne trucks) that pass the Kennedy road overbridge every day may possibly also crash over the top of a ‘known dangerous overbridge’ in the “Safety Audit by Hamilton based consultants Bloxham and Associates,” and may destroy the lives of many people here if speeds are allowed to increase.
No rail is involved here.
Problems today are that everyone is not keeping up the standards now as they are ‘do minimum’ planning everywhere, as I worked for ministry of works in 1970s this was not a ‘do minimin’ engineering time then.
Btw @ CG – you realise MoBIE maybe in panic mode at the moment, as their use of contractors in various key areas are being looked at.
But then …. “I promise, I promise!!!!! I won’t do it again” says it snr. mgmnt.
….. next
These are supposedly experienced, ethical and committed people FFS!
(Unfortunately they’re also people who can lie straight-faced to their Minister)
The contractors in Gisborne HB are crap and worst are downers as they are patching te roads only and when rain comes pop out comes the ‘temporary plug’ and a big hole emerges to break down our suspenion and sterring on cars when an accident occurs.
Fulton Hogan are o/k as is Higgins, so is ‘Works infrustructure’ “was Ministry of Works” is o/k but seldom seen now sadly.
Re rail, see my comment to you which I put on the BSA post/thread (although unrelated to that post/thread) in reply to your latest comment there in an effort to make sure you saw it (a remark made by Shane Jones in Parliament this morning re Wairoa – Napier Railway.)
We missed that speech silly me was out feeding the sheep at the time missed Shane.
Will move on this as we have Iwi in Gisborne who want the rail from Waroa to be leased to them to operate a freight & tourism/passenger service if Government won’t re-open the leg to Gisborne from Wairoa.
What symies us is that the first labour government under MJ Sagave opened that leg to Gisborne from 1942.
So we hope Shane re-opens the final leg again so we can finish the link to Murupara / Galitea and on to tauranga and rotorua as planned in 1939 but never done due the war taking all funds at that time. This was called “the East coast rail” to Auckland. and was explained as far back as 1911 in Parliamentary papers on the “Ways & Means” reports at that time later covered by the rail famed PM Vogel and his partner MP Coats.
This is the most isolated region in the whole country, and abused badly by successive national lead governments as labour finished the rail to Gisborne national never was interested in it’s completion stupid clowns when they were so into ‘tourism’ eh?
Please look after yourselves over xmas and new year season as the roads are seriously beaten up now and dangerous.
Yes, coalition (and confidence and supply) governments involve compromise. But here the compromises seem to be coming from Labour and Greens, with little in return from NZ First.
Medical cannabis was supposed to be a priority issue for Labour, but they appear to be rolling over with the Greens.
Not a good note to end the year on, and it’s a problem that won’t go away, it has been simmering for many years. Finally there seemed hope of genuine cannabis law reform, until now.
All Ardern and Clark have done is whimper over the last couple of days. Especially considering the Helen Kelly legacy, there is likely to be widespread feelings of disappointment if not betrayal (on the left especially) if a neutered medical cannabis bill is introduced today.
Pete, hold still until the wording of the bill’s out.
I will be very, very interested in the regulatory impact statement.
That had better show that the Police, Pharmac, ACC, DHB’s, Foodsafe, palliative care and oncology specialists are all on board with this.
I think there are a number of tight turns for this bill to get around before it even gets to its first reading.
I don’t see why I have to ask or search PHARMAC to find out why you make those assertions of yours or what you base your opinions on.
Anyway, I assume that you base your opinion on this:
PHARMAC takes a consistent and evidence-based approach to consider the funding of any medicine. No application for funding any products that contain cannabidiol has yet demonstrated to us that it is the next best use of the public funds available for medicines.
On Te Karare today it seems a Ruatoria based company: Hikurangi Enterprises have been granted a license to grow and process medicinal cannabis. I think it’s important that these early start-ups do all they can to be squeaky clean and above board. I was surprised to see children harvesting buds, near the end, about 2:40 into the item.
If I was head of Pharmac I’d be adopting a ‘Wait and see’ approach re: funding. Handled right, I think they’ll fund it. Too many stories about gangs clipping through security fences and we’ll find ourselves absorbed by topics away from what really matters and a reluctant Pharmac funding committee.
That’s good thinking David Mac. Keeping a sense of reality rather than good here is a good earner for the marae will be important.
It has been the hotbed of funds for criminal gangs who have their own codes of behaviour which are well embedded. If only cannabis could have been decriminalised years ago, but I feel that NZ has never really grown out of its stolid status quo thinking and just grasps occasional winners to milk them without any long term rational national planning. We used to have a Planning Council but that would have gone the way of the huia when ‘forcing market forces medicine’ down our throats.
Click the share button, next door to the thumbs up thumbs down buttons.
That will open a pop up which will give you the option of starting at a set time
Hi Grey, I think the government sanctioned growing of marijuana has the potential to do great things for the Far North but it’s a double edged sword. It has NZ’s best climate for growing it and as global resistance to medicinal cannabis eases export markets for a country with our reputation will open up.
‘Brought to you with love by the indigenous people of 100% pure NZ.’
At all costs we need to avoid Maori leaders arriving at the assumption ‘We’re worse off now than we were when it was illegal, our young people legally married to game consoles and munchie food.’
I don’t want to learn how to do it. I’d rather flick another coat of clear over my dune buggy. Help me out will ya sport? The Hikurangi Enterprises story in Te Karare today. I’ll take you for a bounce over some humps when I get it sorted.
One of the commenters on your website yesterday said that ” …Andrew Little hosted big pharma and they donated 155k to the Labour party …”
I know about the Medicines NZ (Big Pharma lobby group) lunch do…and I’ve seen their “Election 2017” ‘invoice’….but I cannot find any evidence that $$$ were donated to Labour, or any other party.
Is there evidence, or was the person just blowing smoke?
My prediction is that Labour’s Bill on this will be so….conservative….that even National could vote for it.
FWIW…the Green’s bill most accurately reflects the reality.
Whatever the outcome…folks are still going to grow and produce their own rongoa.
Folks are still going to grow for recreational use.
Enabling those people with a doctor’s certificate to grow and produce their own rongoa might just protect them from having to engage with the recreational market.
And, thanks for the advice about Pete George’s site…but I’m perfectly capable of making my own decisions about what I read. I’m a great believer in reading widely and listening to the opinions of others, even if I don’t agree with them.
I didn’t say don’t read it, I said don’t read too much into it 😉
I reckon we should get the money out of politics altogether: fund political parties via the Electoral Commission, from taxes. If other individuals and groups want to donate to the democratic process those donations can be shared among the parties.
Totally agree OAB. No political donations should be allowed. When you need to be a billionaire or even millionaire to become a US president – you can see why Trump prevailed. Not so sure that has been good for society though.
Likewise in NZ, the roading industry donations for the Natz has stopped public transport and utilisation of trains. Chinese and overseas donations have created a lazy approach to exporting. Kiwis are encouraged to ‘Clip the ticket’ rather than actually running things and innovating. Due to gross government stupidity on policy and strategy, there seems to be less and less ticket available to clip and more intervention on what suits other nation’s needs rather than NZ. Locals pay for water while exporters get it for free.
At the very least, donations should only be able to come from within NZ to stop our government parties becoming more interested in protecting offshore interests than local welfare.
If you look at the UK and USA – globalisation has failed as locals start reacting to being unwanted citizens in their own country as cheaper workers and people are bought in to replace them and corporations refuse to train and locals become less and less skilled and more and more reliant on external citizens.
At the same time multinational corporate welfare is at every turn and favourable tax accounting means overseas based firms pay less than local ones and can out compete them.
Net result, less and less taxes coming in for government and the locals paying more taxes than other’s using their country to profit.
Ask anyone who lives in Auckland if they pay for water – the answer is yes – monthly. That is on TOP of rates and government taxes and any resource consents we may apply for.
They pay for the SUPPLY of water. No person or council is being charged for the actual water.
If you wanted to take water from the ground like the water bottlers you would need a resource consent and there would be a small charge for that (same as for them), but no charge for the actual water.
Whatever the wording local residents in Auckland PAY for the provision of water and it’s a monopoly to boot.
It is extremely doubtful unless well connected in government, that anyone in Auckland would be able to get a resource consent to take water from the ground, pipe across public land and then export it from Ports of Auckland. However it seems consents are going on in other parts of the country exporting water in a similar way.
NZ seem to have dropped the ball is that they get so hung up on wording or numbers which they generally rely on paid private practise lawyers to check, the actual practical reality, long term result and fairness of what they are doing seems to be completely lost on them. Sadly to some people too, but I guess they are the first ones complaining that other’s are not paying enough taxes for them while seemingly not seeing any issues with profiteers taking NZ natural resources for virtually nothing and on sell them with little to zero benefit to those communities who live there and actually leaving them with the unknown risks of such a venture.
It is more than wording. If the export water bottlers bottled from the tap rather than extracting from the ground then they too would pay for the SUPPLY of that water. Your statement “Locals pay for water while exporters get it for free” is nonsense.
Auckland’s water is not extracted from the ground but comes from dams in the Hunua ranges and now increasingly is pumped from the Waikato river: !!
As usual you miss the point. We would not be allowed to extract it from groundwater in Auckland which is why it is pumped from Waikato. But again you miss the point of my post.
1/ Some Kiwis pay for water or the supply of it over public land. Note the pipes are already there and any improvements are so slow as virtually un noticeable. There has been water shortages in Auckland so having water one year does not necessarily mean you will have the same supply the next year. But that was not my original point.
2/ other’s including businesses who export it, do not pay for the supply of it or pay virtually nothing – even if the pipes are going over public land including conservation land and many risks are unknown and not possible to foresee, such as climate changes.
3/ Why would any reasonable person allow that?
“2/ other’s including businesses who export it, do not pay for the supply of it or pay virtually nothing –”
AND the Auckland City council pays NOTHING for the water it takes out of the Waikato River and the Hunua Ranges. The cost to households is the cost of cleaning and piping the water.
“1/ Some Kiwis pay for water or the supply of it over public land.”
The cost is the maintenance on the pipes not the fact that it goes through public land.
I agree that we should not give our water away to exporters, but they do not pay any less for water than anybody else.
According to this investigation, water bottling companies are paying an average 500 times less than ratepayers for each litre of water they’re allowed to use.
An incredibly crappy article. No surprise from the Herald.
“A Herald investigation into water fees set by every regional council around the country found bottlers were charged an average $0.003 – or one third of a cent – per cubic metre of water.
Comparatively, in Auckland, Watercare charges $1.40 per cubic metre (1000 litres) for water piped to houses, while the rest of the country paid an average $1.60 per cubic metre.”
In this situation the water bottler is not taking processed Waikato River water from a tap in Auckland. If they were they would be paying the same as other users.
Also there is a difference between water extracted away from the country of origin and water irrigated, as at least irrigated water falls back into the land where it came from (whether you believe it should be charged for or allowed, is another matter).
The water bottling seem to be hiding within the irrigation debate, to say they are the same thing and they are not the same business at all.
No surprise to me, that metro water charges 500 times more than water bottlers are charged. It’s the rip off culture that has been allowed to develop which means more and more people can’t afford the basics in this country while corporations making on average 1.5 million per year and multinational’s like Coke $500million a year pay a fraction of what someone on minimum wage will be paying for water or the supply of it.
But John Key says “nobody owns water” so that’s all right then
Workers building a new Chinese-owned water bottling plant in Christchurch sleep on boxes and balance on forklift trucks to carry out construction – huge level of unsafe practices going on https://t.co/Mwxi95TNnY— DaveMac (@davemacpherson7) December 16, 2017
It is actually British Common Law that says that nobody owns water. That is the legal framework we have inherited. I’m sure that Key would like water to be owned, but if the government passed a law to say that water is something that can be owned and it is the Crown who owns it, then that is a confiscation of something that must have belonged to Maori all along.
soltka, Key doesn’t know shit about British Common Law, his comments were directly aimed at cutting off Maori claims to water custodianship.
If anyone has responsibility for proper management of water and NZ natural resources it is central government, and Key’s comment was a gross abdication of duty.
It is now obvious that there are a lot of foreign investors keen to get their hands on this water that “nobody” owns for bottling and turning it into $$$.
A classic case of “tragedy of the commons”, privatisation of a public resource, and theft/enclosure of the commonwealth for private interests.
“No person is charged for the actual water”
Why then is my bill from Watercare larger if I use more water? Do they need to buy bigger pipes, spend more on chemicals for treatment? What purpose does the volumetric component of the bill actually serve?
Technically you are only charged for the delivery infrastructure, water is “free”
Pretending it is a free, unlimited resource means the Crown and local councils don’t have to compensate Maori for exploiting their taonga. Even though water is life.
Total bullshit that leads to perverse outcomes, like greedy corporate exploitation and irrigation in unsuitable places, and poisoning the Hawkes Bay water supply.
Yes it does cost them more the more water that people use. As demand increases more sources are needed. The addition of Waikato water to Auckland’s supply is a relatively recent addition. This water requires a huge amount of processing as my link above shows. Dams also are expensive things to build. If there were no volume charge people would generally be more carefree with their use and the total volume would increase requiring more infrastructure to be built.
$1.40 for 1000 litres delivered to the household sounds very cheap considering the service required to collect, process and pump the water across Auckland.
Yes i am here mostly to distract myself from other stuff, but I guess you don’t mean that. All I am doing in this thread is confronting bullshit that has been spread that water bottlers pay less for water than the rest of us. I can’t stand bullshit regardless of whether it is Key and co or supposedly left wing people on a blog.
That sucks. I hope the police get involved in the first incident. As for the second, isn’t there some sort of character test for residency and/or citizenship?
There sure is. And it looks like being a religious fundamentalist racist who’d like to import foreign racial superiority ideology into NZ passes that character test. Three cheers for good governance!
“…there was a South African ‘refugee’ who persistently called the middle aged Maori deckhand ‘boy’…”
Many years ago I worked with a big, racially diverse bunch of PI’s – they were FBIs, Cook Islanders, Samoans, Fijians and Tongans. I was the only white person, so a standing joke when anyone came to complain about anything was to point straight at me and and say “ask the white guy”.
As a tight team of friends, I was able to reply by saying “yeah, they are just a bunch of coconuts”.
Anyway, one day this new minted South African Kiwi showed up. He’d heard us talking so he said to a huge Cook Island Maori guy (in a heavy Afrikaans accent) “Which one of you coconuts should I talk to?”
Once I had saved him and taken him to a corner, I explained this wasn’t an appropriate way to talk to people you don’t know, especially in a thick South African accent. His response? He accused me of discriminating against South Africans.
I shrugged and told him to be my guest, see how far calling an enormous Cook Islander “a coconut” would get him.
There was a simple requirement for respect from Maori all through the colonising period till today.
When building the Roxburgh Dam some men from England were employed there, and soon after they arrived and went to work in their hats and waistcoats, one called a Maori tractor driver ‘boy’. Within seconds he was off the tractor, and with his hands on the collar of the man’s shirt, asked him to repeat his instructions. Which I think he declined to do, and changed his mind and manner.
NZ has been importing in racists for years. One South African guy who was coloured told me he was shocked to see another South African from the secret police who had detained his coloured parents in South Africa, had settled up North in NZ and (I think) joined the police up there.
Now there is less talk of racism from the righties and more interest in exploitation of other to make profits, regardless of colour. Not sure how much progress there has been in the 21st century. Less democracy, individual rights and freedom of speech in NZ than 20 years ago in my view and then a narrow focus on racism and sexism related to speech, not in actual policy that has not got any better and actually over all conditions has got worse. A worker 25 years ago could survive on 1 income and be well paid with secure work. That right has now gone regardless of gender or ethnicity . Prisoners unable to vote. Passports being confiscated. Mass surveillance and non disclosure of that. People being detained without the right to a lawyer etc.
Someone is trying to use a exsquse of a lot of advertising revenue going to the big TECH companys Fbook Google justify the merger of NZ ME an FAIR FAX YEA RIGHT one minute they are arguing for a free market economy and when it suits them we need to change the principle of the commercish commission that protects US from the media becoming a monopoly we all know that opens the door for big money to control our views on reality. So as survival of the fittest OUR media companys will have to become more inervative to survive. PS
I would have a sore face if John Campbell and Hillary Barry took on the 7 pm show come on John you no the bigger the audience the bigger influence you and Hillary can have on making OUR SOCIETY more equal and humane. And you will show that a good Kiwi battler can win against the ODDS.
I see a good article by Nardine Higgins on the Herald website about how Jacinda assertive actions have helped change our Australian cousins view on plans to dich tertiary subsides for Kiwi students in Australia the Bill failed in Parliament so they dropped it. This is how a Prime minister looks after her people Ka pai
There is a good article on the Guardian website about the NZ WARS its title is
New Zealand Northern war mass grave reveals bodies of British soldiers its a good read and shows the Mana OUR tepuna have so all OUR Maori culture people chin up and be proud of yourself selves not many cultures can compare to
OUR Great tepuna art music innervation Intelligents ECT Ka kite ano
Jeez, next we’ll have the orangemen marching on the 12th July
In Latvia the Waffen SS or whats left of them get in to their uniforms and march
through town every year on March 16.It used to be a national remembrance day.
Free speech be damned, it shouldn’t be allowed in our country when its banned in theirs
Troll alert again here. PM above. Ignore for health and mental wellbeing reasons.
[Expressing an opinion on the substance of a comment is not trolling. A quick look at your commenting history shows you making that call on a few comments recently. Oddly enough, that itself is a form of trolling. Stop doing it.] – Bill
The way I see it rongao has had a war waged against it from the booze barons for the last hundy years they have use the media to demonise a natural health product given to us from the God’s. A poor person can put a seed in mother earth and walar six months later they have some medicine this fact cuts out big businesses and this proper gander by the booze barons and stops them milking US. This is still going on the reality is that the positive facts far out weight the negative on weed booze has way more negative effects to OUR WORLD SOCIETY and the booze barons have conned US into axcepting all the bad facts of booze as being acceptable one would just have to resharch our western society health record to prove this fact
All the broken people because they used booze far more than any broken by weed. All the people locked up in jail that started from weed offence and once they are in the justice system it’s hard for them to pull them selves out of it. This is a man made negative that’s is laughable we spend all this money on this dum ass law that has distorted OUR reality on a plant that has many benefits it can be used to displace some carbon based products so in my view the sooner we stop letting big businesses distort our views on weed to reality the sooner we can reap the benefits of this plant and. One argument is weed leads to stronger more dangerous drugs well I say booze has more of a influence to intice the young people to try stronger drugs than weed some young people get pissed up and will try anything as booze change there personality into idiots in half a hour this is fact not hearsay. Let’s approach this subject with intelligence
and change the laws to suit the 99% and not just the 1% who just want the profits and control of us the 99% Kai kaha
Agreed, it is a waste of police resources chasing weed. Alcohol abuse is a huge cost on society but “liberal” governments don’t want to regulate it properly, instead lowering the drinking age and allowing booze shops everywhere.
It’s very handy for Remmers professionals to be able to pop to the shops for some wine, but not so good for poorer communities when their young men are destroyed by it.
Alcoholism is another side effect of the inequality/homelessness/austerity imposed on NZ by the Rogernomics revolution.
Yang back in the news. Lloyd Burr needs to doorstep and houbd him for at least a week. Jooking aaide why isnt the National Party cutting this guy loose? Maybe tge new govt could start asking questions of National.
‘The NZ mainstream media utterly missing in action for 9 years
The greatest fraud in the BIMS reports that highlight the horror of National’s 9 years in power is that the NZ mainstream media unquestioningly allowed these scumbags to get away with it for a decade!
Where the hell was the NZ media for the last 9 years when the conclusions of the BIM reports were so obvious to everyone else?
Let’s call the last 9 years of National’s rule what it really was – class-austerity. A draconian policy that destroyed the most vulnerable but because media are middle class they never saw it and allowed them to get away with it.
How can we have such an apocalyptic conclusion of 9 years worth of policy failure and the vast majority of NZ media not pick up on the enormity of damage being perpetrated?
How did this all go unnoticed for so long?
The biggest story for the mainstream media this year was demonising and destroying Metiria Turei for having the audacity to tell her story of misleading Social Welfare to feed her child with her chin up.
We don’t just need a new Government, we desperately need a new media!‘
‘After Canterbury University Professor Anne-Marie Bradley’s brutal research into how , the National Party is nothing more than a front for Chinese business interestsyou would think the sleepy hobbits of muddle Nu Zilind would wake up.
They didn’t. The National Party itself is now wedded and compromised personally to wealthy Chinese interests. Jenny Shipley, Don Brash, Ruth Richardson and Chris Tremain are Director’s of the China Construction Bank, Judith Collins interaction with Chinese Officials to help her husbands Chinese Company, Oravida, to gain more Chinese money and Maurice Williamson’s love affair with Donghua Liu saw him become Liu’s personal handyman when doing up Liu’s batch and heavying the Police to drop domestic violence charges.
The National Government are as dependent on their Chinese friends as the entire property speculating middle class have now become and that’s why National are still over 44% in the polls.
What was most astounding is that 44% of NZ still voted for National despite a Chinese Spy being outed as a senior member of the National Party. I love how foreign media covering this story always seems bewildered and bemused that NZers haven’t done anything about the outing of a Chinese Spy in their own Government.’
This is the problem here in NZ. Too much building on sand and not enough solidity of deep basecourse thought to start from, no wonder we get divided and fall. Working bee anyone – to help pick up Humpty Dumpty and put all together again?
Awww Ed
She’ll be right. And my property is up by 15% this year, better than any share investment. Steady increase that’s what I like. Got to keep your eye on the ball, not get confused with all this talk about what should be. I go for certainties; my rising assets value.
/sarc
Better put ‘sarc or I’ll have some newbie lecturing who wouldn’t know sarcasm and satire if he/she fell over or into them.
There you go all the article about the people who are suppose to have OUR best interests at heart are treating us like consumer Good and exploitationing us look like these people have all the power to do what the want. You see everything ECO has said about the police is true good link Ed to the daily blog ECO is going to win this contest Ka pai
We’ve been on the case of this ignorant, conceited, puffed up, self-involved pile of political bollocks, this prancing, pretentious, poisonous fool, this fervent devotee of Bill Cosby, for a long time….
Yesterday, yet again, the Broadcasting Standards Authority condemned him for outright lying….
Mike Hosking misled Seven Sharp viewers when he told them they couldn’t vote for the Māori Party if they weren’t Māori, the Broadcasting Standards Authority has found. The BSA ruled Hosking breached its accuracy standard when he said to his co-presenter, “…you can’t vote for the Māori Party because you’re not enrolled in the Māori electorate”.
The comment was made on August 23, just under a month out from this year’s general election. The BSA found Hosking’s comment could have misled voters.
….
Hosking attempted to clarify his comment the following evening, saying: “The fact that anyone can vote for them as a list party I automatically assumed we all knew given we have been doing this for 20 years… and it went without saying. So hopefully that clears all of that up.”
However the BSA said the clarification was “flippant” and too general to correct the inaccurate information for viewers.
“The incorrect statements made by Mr Hosking were presented at a critical time, when voters required accurate information to enable them to make informed voting decisions. In this case, the flippant apology provided did not reflect a genuine appreciation for the important role of media during this time,” the BSA said in its decision.
The BSA determined that TVNZ should broadcast a statement before the 2017 summer holiday break acknowledging its breach of the accuracy standard.
Jeremy Corbyn leads criticism of Paradise Papers legal action
Labour leader among senior politicians alarmed by Appleby action against BBC and Guardian over tax haven investigations
Good to see after they closed the trust loophole that the last national government had opened, NZ has fallen off the shady rader. For now, I’d like to see some work done with the Cooks and Samoa, looking at the influence of NZ and Australian business that keeps these countries operating as deplorable tax havens.
Think your vote can’t make a difference? The Virginia State House has just gone from a 51-49 Repug majority to a 50-50 tie when a Dem won the seat by 1 (yes, one) vote on the recount.
“We’ve acknowledged Mike Hosking’s comments made on Seven Sharp on 23 August about voting for the Māori Party required clarification. It was addressed the following day on the show when Mike clarified that anyone can vote for the Māori Party as a list party. There was no intention to mislead viewers and Mike’s comments were presented as a throwaway line made in the context of a light-hearted exchange between the hosts.”
—–Unnamed “TVNZ spokesperson”, Tuesday 19 December 2017
In light of Matt Damons comments and Minnie Driver’s on his, this is a compelling read
” In the weeks after Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey first reported the story in the New York Times, as colleagues and strangers on the internet moved to identify the Weinsteins within their own industries, I felt uneasy. Behind every brave outing I saw a legal liability. I suppose that’s what happens when you know enough men with money. Such men are minor kings among us, men with lawyer-soldiers at their employ who can curtail certain kinds of talk. While I do believe in false allegations, and I do believe that women can be bullies, it’s hard, sometimes, not to be cynical about the defence. Some men love free speech almost as much as they love libel lawyers. ”
This is a well thought out article. Worth the read.
Thank you Tracey, this was indeed worth the read. Her point about “losers” near the end is particularly thought provoking and certainly offers a plausible explanation for the “male backlash against feminism.” Much to ponder here.
It’s good to see a clean up of MSM it’s happening to the justice department to yes this is the positive thing getting people to lead our state services whom can self anerlise and admite there mistakes bigots will never be able to do this so they will have to retire Ka pai.
I will have to learn how to cut and paste links to the article I read thanks ropata for the Guardian link. I have decided to keep my dignity and remain humble and keep my ego in check as not all the police have a beef with ECO so I will try and keep the insult to my self beside they like to push my buttons and me resistanceing will piss them off more lol so Ka kite ano
‘I’ve learned when you say ‘let’s do this’, you actually can.’ Head on over to our Facebook page now to watch PM @jacindaardern’s last speech of the year in Parliament #LIVE ▶️ https://t.co/fjEaIBdM8v— New Zealand Labour (@nzlabour) December 20, 2017
I disagree with Ian McKellen he is trying to put a smiley face on the actions of harvey weinstein and Co for there disrespect of our Lady’s with an excuse that Lady’s had pictures of themselves that indicated they were open to have sex with the directors of the film.
1 Who was is in control of the film theatre industry men
2 who set the culture of these industries men
3 these ladies had to do that to advance there career this is the culture men with power have set these industries up so they could use these ladies as there toys this is why I will never give permission for my mokos to enter those jobs. This is 2017 and all those things that happen in the past should not be used to justify the abuse of our Lady’s now I say once again if one cannot admit they are wrong than they are bigots so retire and retire your dum ass views with them its time for equality for our ladies Ka kite ano
The make up of the “Tax Working Group” is discouraging in my opinion. Of the 10 members, 6 are clearly in the camp of those who serve the interests of the wealthiest 1% (my ** below). When even one member from ten would overrepresent that group.
I don’t see any substantial change coming from this, unfortunately.
Professor Craig Elliffe, University of Auckland ** (formerly KPMG / Chapman Tripp)
Joanne Hodge, former tax partner at Bell Gully **
Kirk Hope, Chief Executive of Business New Zealand **
Nick Malarao, senior partner at Meredith Connell **
Geof Nightingale, partner at PwC New Zealand **
Robin Oliver, former Deputy Commissioner at Inland Revenue
Hinerangi Raumati, Chair of Parininihi ki Waitotara Inc
Michelle Redington, Head of Group Taxation and Insurance at Air New Zealand **
Bill Rosenberg, Economist and Director of Policy at the CTU
Marjan Van Den Belt, Assistant Vice Chancellor (Sustainability) at Victoria University
Open access notables A survey of interventions to actively conserve the frozen North, van Wijngaarden et al., Climatic Change:The frozen elements of the high North are thawing as the region warms much faster than the global mean. The dangers of sea level rise due to melting glacier ice, increased ...
Bryce Edwards writes – New Zealand’s biggest-ever political donations scandal is finally at an end. But what is the conclusion? No one can really be sure. The Court of Appeal released its judgement on Tuesday about the Serious Fraud Office case against the NZ First Foundation. On ...
In 2015, then-Prime Minister John Key announced plans for a huge ocean sanctuary around the Kermadec Islands, banning fishing and mining from 15% of Aotearoa's EEZ. It was bold, it was ambitious, and it suggested that National might actually care about the environment. Except they fucked it up: Key failed ...
1. Who has just been given the accolade New Zealander of the Year?a. The Kokakob. The Cook Strait Ferryc. Fair God. Dr Jim Salinger 2. Which of these is an affront to decent society?a. Dame Edna Everageb. Mrs Doubtfire c. Dr. Frank-N-Furterd. Brian 3. Who is Penny Simmonds?a. The aspiring actress in Big ...
New Zealand’s biggest-ever political donations scandal is finally at an end. But what is the conclusion? No one can really be sure.The Court of Appeal released its judgement on Tuesday about the Serious Fraud Office case against the NZ First Foundation. On the face of it, the court found ...
Buzz from the Beehive Waves of rain are set to lash much of the North Island during Easter Weekend as a low-pressure system forms east of New Zealand, according to a weather forecast published in the past day or so. Niwa was warning of a “moisture-laden” long weekend, with rain expected ...
Look around us…Nicola Willis’ promises of balancing the books, of cutting spending without reducing services, and of delivering game changing tax cuts are disappearing before her eyes.Everyday we see stories of violent crime ending in horrific injuries, or worse. The cost of living worsens, whereas the PM claimed renters would ...
TL;DR: My top six news of note on the morning of Thursday, March 28 include:The Government will have to borrow between $10 billion to $15 billion more than previously expected in order to make up for a slowing economy and to pay for $14.9 billion of tax cuts, according to ...
This story by Naveena Sadasivam and Kate Yoder was originally published by Grist and is part of Covering Climate Now, a global journalism collaboration strengthening coverage of the climate story. The long-awaited jobs board for the American Climate Corps, promised early in the Biden administration, will open next month, according to details shared exclusively ...
Should landlords be able to deduct the interest on the loans they take out to bankroll their property speculation? The US Senate Budget Committee and Bloomberg News don’t think this is a good idea, for reasons set out below. Regardless, our coalition government has been burning through a ton of ...
Treasury’s first report on the economy since the change of government presents a damning indictment of Labour’s economic management. The problem for National is that it is so damning that logically, coupled with a rapidly slowing economy, Finance Minister Nicola Willis should respond to it by postponing or even cancelling ...
Budget tensions are becoming evident within the Coalition Government. Winston Peters made numerous political points in his speech to the NZF annual conference. But the attack on his own government’s fiscal policies raised issues of substance. ‘Today in the Sunday Star Times, journalist and former advisor to the Labour ...
Buzz from the Beehive The media – sure enough – have been binging on Finance Minister Nicola Willis’ release of the Budget Policy Statement and a statement headed Government announces Budget priorities This assures us – or rather, this parrots the Luxon team mantra – that the Budget “will deliver ...
The Ides of March brought me COVID followed by a bereavement. No wonder they tell you to be careful of them.I’m home now and have resumed the interrupted recuperation. Very much looking forward to getting back to regular things. Meanwhile, some thoughts…OneThis new Prime Minister guy just keeps getting more dire. ...
News that the Chinese ATP 40 cyber-hacking unit penetrated parliamentary internet networks in 2021 has renewed concerns about the PRC’s malign intentions in Aotearoa. But is the hack that significant given the length of time that has passed since its … Continue reading → ...
When Parliament passed the Intelligence and security Act in 2017, they assured us all that it was full of safeguards. Any intrusive surveillance of New Zealanders would be subject to a "triple lock", requiring the approval of the Minister and (supposedly independent) Commissioner of Intelligence Warrants, as well as post-facto ...
Eric Crampton writes – Richard Harman’s Politik newsletter provides a bit of the context that ought to have been showing up in other media reports on potential reductions in public service staffing. Media has been reporting on staffing cuts on the order of about 7%. Is that ...
Mike Grimshaw writes – It’s becoming increasingly apparent that many perceive free speech to have become the preserve of the politically right wing, the religiously conservative, the libertarian fringe, the anti-trans, the anti-Māori and…. well, just fill in with whatever groups or individuals you don’t like and don’t ...
Don Brash writes – As everybody who is not blind and deaf is aware, there is a huge political preoccupation with climate change at the moment, a widespread (though by no means unanimous) belief that global temperatures are rising mainly as a result of the greenhouse gases created ...
TL;DR: My six things to note in Aotearoa’s political economy on Wednesday, March 27 include:Chris Bishop laid out his vision for filling Aotearoa-NZ’s $100 billion infrastructure deficit in a speech yesterday, emphasising user pays and private funding, but failed to say how to achieve bipartisanship on population, public borrowing and ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Former Finance Minister Grant Robertson and former Prime Minister Chris Hipkins have been conveying how unhappy they are with the tax system. Last week in his valedictory speech, Robertson called for the introduction of a wealth or capital gains tax. And this week Hipkins ...
On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
Buzz from the Beehive China has loomed large in Beehive considerations over the past 24 hours, largely because of that country’s mischief-making in the cyber espionage department. Two media statements emerged on that subject hard on the heels of the PM baulking at questions put to him on RNZ’s Morning ...
Chris Trotter writes – WHY IS THE NATIONAL PARTY doing so much for landlords, property developers, trucking, and construction companies, and so little for everybody who isn’t already pretty well-off? It’s as if protecting landlords’ investments and building apartments and roads now constitute the whole of National’s ...
Bryce Edwards writes – When she was campaigning to be Minister of Finance last year, Nicola Willis pledged that she would resign from the job if she failed to deliver tax cuts in her first Budget. Now, it’s that pledge, along with Prime Minister Christopher Luxon’s ...
Robert MacCulloch writes – The Reserve Bank has doubled staff numbers in five years to 510, with personnel costs rising to $80 million in 2023 from $32 million in 2018 – up by a whopping 150%. I guess when you print $50 billion and flood markets with liquidity, ...
The furore. In case you didn’t notice there was a controversy in the weekend involving dolphins in a little town off the South Island. Don’t panic, they haven’t declared independence and resumed whaling, this was simply a sailing event.The problem began when racing was cancelled on the opening day of ...
For 20 years or more, the case for a meaningful capital tax gains has been mulled over and analysed to death, including by the tax working group chaired by Sir Michael Cullen. More than once, the International Monetary Fund has said a CGT would be a good idea for New ...
TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: The Public Health Communications Centre (PHCC) call for urgent preventive action and a risk assessment survey of long covid in this briefing noteLocal scoop: NZ road deaths surpass OECD rates, so why is the govt reversing safety plans? ...
This story was originally published by Grist and is part of Covering Climate Now, a global journalism collaboration strengthening coverage of the climate story. This story is part of a collaboration with Grist and WABE to demystify the Georgia Public Service Commission, the small but powerful state-elected board that makes critical decisions about everything from raising ...
This is a guest post from Robert McLachlan Global warming is accelerating; 2023 was off the charts. We need to stop burning fossil fuels. In New Zealand, transport accounts for half of all fossil fuels burnt. In the Emissions Reduction Plan, transport emissions fall 41% by 2035. As the ...
Labour productivity has been receding rapidly over the past two years, reversing a post-lockdown rise. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: My six things to note in Aotearoa’s political economy as at 6:26am on Tuesday, March 26 include:Workers have been treading water in output per hour worked for 12 years, ...
TL;DR: The key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to April 2 include:Today, Parliament resumes sitting at 2pm for the second week of a two-week session. Officials for SIS and GCSB report their annual reviews in public to the Intelligence and Security Select Committee from 5.10pm.Tomorrow, ...
Faced with a barrage of criticism over the promised tax cuts from usually supportive commentators, Finance Minister Nicola Willis yesterday reaffirmed her intention to include them in this year’s Budget. The Government is up against it over the cuts just about every way it turns. Commentators like Fran O’Sullivan, Matthew ...
Here’s my pick of today’s substack posts as of 6:26pm on Monday, March 25: writes via his substack that Market-rate housing will make your city cheaper writes via his substack about the problems talking to double-cab ute (truck) drivers about their vehicles. today about moments of radicalisation in ...
Buzz from the Beehive Just before Christmas, Finance Minister Nicola Willis delivered something that was pitched as a mini-budget and brayed about the decisive action being taken to repair the Government books and support income tax relief in Budget 2024. In a statement headed Fiscal repair job underway. she introduced ...
My sister Belinda asked Dad yesterday what one word would describe Mum best. He said: vivacious.If you only knew her from the photos on the slideshow we've made for today,you might wonder about that, because the camera tended to lie with Mum.If ever she saw a camera pointed at her, she ...
There are two major public consultations closing in the next week, Auckland Council’s Long Term Plan (LTP), and the draft Government Policy Statement on Land Transport (GPS). Closing dates and times: LTP closes Thursday 28 February, at 11.59pm – a minute to midnight! GPS closes Tuesday 2 April, at 12pm noon – note that’s ...
From Kiwiblog’s David Farrar – Bryce Wilkinson writes: Senior Fellow Bryce Wilkinson’s analysis reveals that since March 2009, New Zealand has spent $158 billion more overseas than it has earned, but its NIIP has only fallen by $32 billion.Statistics New Zealand shows that receipts from overseas reinsurers have ...
Is she hinting that the Coalition Government will have to back down on key promises it made in Opposition? Brian Easton writes – The Minister of Finance, Nicola Willis, is telling an evolving story about her fiscal challenges. In Opposition she was confident that she could ...
Dear Nicola Willis,Right now you’ve probably got lots of competing demands coming at you. Ministers who’ve inherited quite a mess, or so you’ve told us, looking for money in the budget to improve things. I imagine that’s why they came to parliament - to make things better.You’ll have to make ...
The Local Government, Transport and Auckland Minister hasthreatened councils with intervention if they don’t merge water assets to take them off balance sheet, just as the now-repealed Three Waters plan directed. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: My six things of note this morning for Monday, March 25 include:Simeon ...
A listing of 36 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 17, 2024 thru Sat, March 23, 2024. Story of the week Thanks to John Mason having the stamina to sit down to watch "Climate - the Movie" ...
This morning the Q&A programme had Simeon Brown on to talk about National’s replacement for Three Waters. In case anyone’s forgotten the three are - drinking water, waste water, and sewerage. It’s quite important not to get them mixed up. In much the same way that you wouldn’t want to ...
Today’s newsletter comes with a mini-podcast conversation between me and my buddy Liv Tennet, talking about her time as a child actor in Lord of the Rings. It’s a conversation with a lot of giggles as she talks about falling off a horse, and becoming a meme. Read ...
The Desmog Climate Disinformation Database documents, "individuals and organisations that have helped to delay and distract the public and our elected leaders from taking needed action to reduce greenhouse gas pollution and fight global warming." It's a who's who of the organised climate change denial movement, in other words. In ...
Bob Edlin writes – A High Court judge has decided miscreants who have mana – or who claim to have mana – should be treated differently from miscreants who have none. It’s a ruling that suggests indigenous law-breakers have a better chance of securing a discharge without conviction ...
Welcome to the first, and possibly last, edition of Brickbats, Bouquets and Bull’s Wool. In which I’ll take a look at the events of the last week or so, and rate them.In such ratings the numbers usually have more to do with the opinions of the reviewer, than the actual ...
Roger Partridge writes – My earlier column this month, New Zealand’s highest court could be facing a turning point, prompted a flood of feedback from business readers and lawyers alike. A common query was what Parliament can do to restrain an overreaching judiciary. This week I discuss two steps Parliament ...
TL;DR: In today’s ‘six-stack’ of substacks at 6.16pm on Friday, March 22: writes about New Zealand's Building Boom—And What the World Must Learn From It over at his substack. challenges the Auckland Council’s use of a 3.8 degrees of warming forecast to oppose a wave-park and data centre project ...
Is she hinting that the Coalition Government will have to back down on key promises it made in Opposition?The Minister of Finance, Nicola Willis, is telling an evolving story about her fiscal challenges. In Opposition she was confident that she could deliver her promised income tax cuts. Appointed minister, she ...
Buzz from the Beehive Ministers of the Crown have drawn attention to one sector of the science sector which is unlikely to be subjected to heavy spending cuts, a state-funded broadcaster which is doing nicely, thank you, and a sporting event that had $5.4 million from the public purse puffed ...
Abbott’s Freestyle Libre sensors allow continuous glucose monitoring (CGM). The sensor is applied to the back of the patient’s arm, with a thin filament under the skin measuring glucose levels constantly. But it costs around $100 per sensor and must be replaced once every 14 days. Photo by BSIP/Universal Images ...
The Inspector General of Intelligence and Security (IGIS) recently released a report in which he exposes the existence of a foreign intelligence partner-controlled technological “capability” inside the headquarters of the GCSB, NZ’s 5 Eyes-affiliated signals intelligence collection and analysis agency. … Continue reading → ...
Peter Dunne writes – Nearly three decades after the introduction of MMP and multiparty governments there should be a greater level of understanding about their finer points than often appears to be the case. The reaction to the despicable outburst from the Deputy Prime Minister at the weekend highlights ...
The sweet kisses from fruit of summerHave slowly been turning dullerYou say, "those times"And "remember the daysWhen we went outside and there still was the shade?"Taking no reason into play…Autumn. Clear, blue days shortening to longer nights, growing colder. Aotearoa.That’s us. The temperature dropping, the looming car crash - so ...
Bryce Edwards writes – “It is often said that behind every great man is a great woman”. This is the pitch by the National Party Botany electorate branch to attend their “Ladies Afternoon Tea with Amanda Luxon”. For $110 including GST, you can turn up on Saturday 20 April ...
David Farrar writes – The Electoral Commission has published the expense returns for political parties for the 2023 election. I’ve put them in a table with how many votes a party got so we can see the spend per vote. National only spent $3.34 for every vote they got, almost ...
Winston Peters’ headline-making actions over the past week may have been a show of political power intended to strengthen his hand in Budget negotiations. It was no accident that his State of the Nation speech was as it was. He made it as New Zealand First Leader, not as Deputy ...
Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the last week included:Former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson bowed out of politics this week, giving a series of exit ...
Graham Adams writes — If you love the law or sausages, as the saying goes, best not to look too closely at how they are made. And after watching the orgy of self-pity when Newshub’s closure was announced on February 28, television journalism should definitely be added to the list of those ...
Venerable New Zealand political commentator, Chris Trotter (https://bowalleyroad.blogspot.com/), is a sad creature these days. Once one of the most reliable Leftist writers out there – Economic Left at that – Trotter seems to have absorbed the worldview of Auckland culture-war obsessives. It is not for me to categorise what he ...
The cruelty of short-term memory loss is that each time you ask where she is, you get the fresh shock and grief of the news. That was Dad's day yesterday.Comfortingly, it seems to be less so today. Last night he looked crumpled, today he seems more settled. There's a card ...
Photo by Alvan Nee on UnsplashIt’s that new day of the week (Thursday rather than Friday) when and I co-host our ‘hoon’ webinar with paying subscribers to The Kākā for an hour at 5 pm. Jump on this link on YouTube Livestream for our chat about the week’s news ...
Buzz from the Beehive One minister is talking tough while a colleague – whose ministry had acted tough and drawn a barrage of flak – has shown an official softening. Some ministers are doing what Labour was good at, which is distributing public funds to causes regarded as worthy or ...
A ballot for 4 Member's Bills was held today, and the following bills were drawn: Insurance Contracts Bill (Duncan Webb) Income Tax (Clean Transport FBT Exclusion) Amendment Bill (Julie Anne Genter) Crimes (Increased Penalties for Slavery Offences) Amendment Bill (Greg Fleming) Pae Ora (Healthy Futures) ...
One of the strongest narratives about "our" spy agencies is that they are basically institutional traitors, working for foreign powers (or just themselves), without any control or oversight by the elected government. And today, we have yet another report from the Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security which explicitly confirms this. ...
“It is often said that behind every great man is a great woman”. This is the pitch by the National Party Botany electorate branch to attend their “Ladies Afternoon Tea with Amanda Luxon”. For $110 including GST, you can turn up on Saturday 20 April to meet the Prime Minister’s ...
The Coalition Government’s plan to ‘get Auckland moving’ is a cuts cover-up that will ultimately cost Aucklanders more to move around the city, says Labour Auckland Issues spokesperson Shanan Halbert. ...
Slashing the Ministry of Pacific Peoples by 40% will have a devastating impact on pacific communities and further highlights how little this government cares about anything other than cutting taxes for the wealthiest few. ...
Labour has proposed an urgent inquiry to investigate the ever-increasing profits of supermarkets, aiming to lower costs for shoppers and food producers alike, says Labour Spokesperson for Commerce and Consumer Affairs Arena Williams and Primary Production Spokesperson Cushla Tangaere-Manuel. ...
With 14% of jobs on the line at the Ministry for Ethnic Communities, the responsible Minister Melissa Lee is failing to stand up for the very communities she’s meant to be representing. ...
COURT OF APPEAL: TRIFECTA OF VICTORY FOR NZ FIRST, TRIFECTA OF FAILURE FOR OPPONENTS For the third time since April 2020, New Zealand First has defeated the Serious Fraud Office and all those complicit in a malicious attack against a political party going about its lawful business in a lawful ...
The Green Party stands with people who live in public housing, people in dire housing need, experts and advocates in demanding better than the Government’s archaic approach to housing those who need our support the most. ...
New Zealand has recently lost the hosting rights of some major international sporting events including the America’s Cup, the Rugby Championship, Netball World Cup, and the Wellington Sevens. We are now at a huge risk of losing SailGP as well. And it won’t stop there. The recent issues with SailGP ...
A Member’s Bill drawn this week would modernise insurance law and make things fairer and more transparent for consumers, Christchurch Central MP Duncan Webb said. ...
The Minister for Disability Issues has confirmed she was aware of funding issues in mid-December and did nothing to stop it. On 14 March, she signed off on changes that were announced and implemented on 18 March without any consultation with disability communities. ...
Green Party MP Julie Anne Genter says her members' bill is an opportunity for the coalition government to plug the gap in electric vehicle incentives. ...
The National Government continues to talk about irresponsible tax cuts that will only drive up inflation, despite the country entering a technical recession. ...
The Minister for Disability Issues must act urgently to reinstate flexibility around the funding for disability support and apologise to disabled carers. ...
This story has been initiated by a leftie shill reporter who proactively sought to call a member of a former band, which disbanded twelve years ago, give their biased appraisal of what was said in my speech, and concocted a ham-fisted attempt at a story that does nothing but show ...
The Government has accepted Labour’s change to the Road User Charge (RUC) discount for hybrid vehicles, meaning there will still be some incentive for people to buy greener vehicles. ...
Many in the mainstream media have taken what was said in New Zealand First’s State of the Nation Speech in Palmerston North on Sunday and deliberately, deceitfully, and ignorantly misrepresented what I said and why I said it. The headlines and commentary on the news stated that I compared ‘co-governance ...
Kicking the most vulnerable people out of state housing and pushing them towards homelessness will result in a proliferation of poverty and trauma across our most vulnerable communities. ...
Te Pāti Māori co-leader and MP for Waiariki, Rawiri Waititi has penned a letter asking MPs to support his members bill to remove GST from all food. The bill is expected to go through its first reading in parliament this Wednesday. “I’m calling on all political parties to support my ...
Good afternoon. Thank you for, in your very busy lives, turning up to this meeting today. On October 14th last year New Zealanders overwhelmingly voted for change. That is exactly what this new government is bringing. New Zealand First campaigned to ‘take back our country’ and stop the disastrous economic ...
This year is about getting real with Kiwis and discussing the tough issues, as the National Government exacerbates inequality and divides New Zealand, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said ...
The Government adding Significant Natural Areas (SNAs) to its already roaring environmental policy bonfire is an assault on the future of wildlife that makes Aotearoa unique. ...
After 12 years of fighting to protect our moana we are finding ourselves back at square one and back at court. Today, the Environmental Protection Agency is sitting in Hawera to reconsider an application from Trans-Tasman Resources to dig up 50 million tonnes of the seabed in South Taranaki. This ...
Minister Shane Jones’ decision to step away from a seabed mining project is evidence of the murky waters surrounding the Government’s fast-track legislation. ...
The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last government in a bid to get greater coherence in the publicservice on Treaty matters. When ministers first considered the need for tighter oversight in 2021, there ...
The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last government in a bid to get greater coherence in the publicservice on Treaty matters. When ministers first considered the need for tighter oversight in 2021, there ...
The Coalition Government’s miscalculation saga continues as it has forgotten an eyewatering $90 million gap in its interest deductibility cost figures, say Labour Finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds and Revenue Spokesperson Deborah Russell. ...
He Pou a Rangi Climate Change Commission has today released advice that says if the Government doesn’t act now New Zealand is at risk of not meeting its climate goals. ...
The Coalition Government has today confirmed it is abandoning first home buyers who are struggling to get ahead, says Labour Finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds. ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed the passing of legislation to move light electric vehicles (EVs) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) into the road user charges system from 1 April. “It was always intended that EVs and PHEVs would be exempt from road user charges until they reached two ...
New Zealand is strengthening its ability to combat illegal fishing outside its domestic waters and beef up regulation for its own commercial fishers in international waters through a Bill which had its first reading in Parliament today. The Fisheries (International Fishing and Other Matters) Amendment Bill 2023 sets out stronger ...
Economists Carl Hansen and Professor Prasanna Gai have been appointed to the Reserve Bank Monetary Policy Committee, Finance Minister Nicola Willis announced today. The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) is the independent decision-making body that sets the Official Cash Rate which determines interest rates. Carl Hansen, the executive director of Capital ...
Apartment owners and buyers will soon have greater protections as further changes to the law on unit titles come into effect, Housing Minister Chris Bishop says. “The Unit Titles (Strengthening Body Corporate Governance and Other Matters) Amendment Act had already introduced some changes in December 2022 and May 2023, and ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters will travel to Egypt and Europe from this weekend. “This travel will focus on a range of New Zealand’s traditional diplomatic and security partnerships while enabling broad engagement on the urgent situation in Gaza,” Mr Peters says. Mr Peters will attend the NATO Foreign ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown is encouraging all road users to stay safe, plan their journeys ahead of time, and be patient with other drivers while travelling around this Easter long weekend. “Road safety is a responsibility we all share, and with increased traffic on our roads expected this Easter we ...
About 1.4 million New Zealanders will receive cost of living relief through increased government assistance from April 1 909,000 pensioners get a boost to Superannuation, including 5000 veterans 371,000 working-age beneficiaries will get higher payments 45,000 students will see an increase in their allowance Over a quarter of New Zealanders ...
Ensuring social housing is being provided to those with the greatest needs is front of mind as the Government restarts social housing tenancy reviews, Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka says. “Our relentless focus on building a strong economy is to ensure we can deliver better public services such as social ...
The Kermadec Ocean Sanctuary will not go ahead, with Cabinet deciding to stop work on the proposed reserve and remove the Bill that would have established it from Parliament’s order paper. “The Kermadec Ocean Sanctuary Bill would have created a 620,000 sq km economic no-go zone,” Oceans and Fisheries Minister ...
Dam safety regulations are being amended so that smaller dams won’t be subject to excessive compliance costs, Minister for Building and Construction Chris Penk says. “The coalition Government is focused on reducing costs and removing unnecessary red tape so we can get the economy back on track. “Dam safety regulations ...
The coalition Government is expanding the medium-scale adverse event classification to parts of the North Island as dry weather conditions persist, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced today. “I have made the decision to expand the medium-scale adverse event classification already in place for parts of the South Island to also cover the ...
The passing of legislation giving effect to coalition Government tax commitments has been welcomed by Finance Minister Nicola Willis. “The Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill will help place New Zealand on a more secure economic footing, improve outcomes for New Zealanders, and make our tax system ...
Science, Innovation and Technology Minister Judith Collins and Tertiary Education and Skills Minister Penny Simmonds today announced plans to transform our science and university sectors to boost the economy. Two advisory groups, chaired by Professor Sir Peter Gluckman, will advise the Government on how these sectors can play a greater ...
The Budget will deliver urgently-needed tax relief to hard-working New Zealanders while putting the government’s finances back on a sustainable track, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The Finance Minister made the comments at the release of the Budget Policy Statement setting out the Government’s Budget objectives. “The coalition Government intends ...
The coalition Government will look at options to address a zoning issue that limits how much financial support Queenstown residents can get for accommodation. Cabinet has agreed on a response to the Petitions Committee, which had recommended the geographic information MSD uses to determine how much accommodation supplement can be ...
Cabinet has agreed to a short extension to the final reporting timeframe for the Royal Commission into Abuse in Care from 28 March 2024 to 26 June 2024, Internal Affairs Minister Brooke van Velden says. “The Royal Commission wrote to me on 16 February 2024, requesting that I consider an ...
The coalition Government is delivering an $18 million boost to New Zealanders needing to travel for specialist health treatment, Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says. “These changes are long overdue – the National Travel Assistance (NTA) scheme saw its last increase to mileage and accommodation rates way back in 2009. ...
The Government is recognising the innovative and rising talent in New Zealand’s growing space sector, with the Prime Minister and Space Minister Judith Collins announcing the new Prime Minister’s Prizes for Space today. “New Zealand has a growing reputation as a high-value partner for space missions and research. I am ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has confirmed New Zealand’s concerns about cyber activity have been conveyed directly to the Chinese Government. “The Prime Minister and Minister Collins have expressed concerns today about malicious cyber activity, attributed to groups sponsored by the Chinese Government, targeting democratic institutions in both New ...
Independent Reviewers appointed for School Property Inquiry Education Minister Erica Stanford today announced the appointment of three independent reviewers to lead the Ministerial Inquiry into the Ministry of Education’s School Property Function. The Inquiry will be led by former Minister of Foreign Affairs Murray McCully. “There is a clear need ...
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Foreign Minister Winston Peters and Defence Minister Judith Collins today announced New Zealand will provide logistics support for the upcoming Solomon Islands election. “We’re sending a team of New Zealand Defence Force personnel and two NH90 helicopters to provide logistics support for the election on 17 April, at the request ...
The European Union Free Trade Agreement Legislation Amendment Bill received Royal Assent today, completing the process for New Zealand’s ratification of its free trade agreement with the European Union. “I am pleased to announce that today, in a small ceremony at the Beehive, New Zealand notified the European Union ...
Public consultation on the terms of reference for the Royal Commission into COVID-19 Lessons has concluded, Internal Affairs Minister Hon Brooke van Velden says. “I have been advised that there were over 11,000 submissions made through the Royal Commission’s online consultation portal.” Expanding the scope of the Royal Commission of ...
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25 March 2024 Minister to meet Australian counterparts and Manufacturing Industry Leaders Small Business, Manufacturing, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly will travel to Australia for a series of bi-lateral meetings and manufacturing visits. During the visit, Minister Bayly will meet with his Australian counterparts, Senator Tim Ayres, Ed ...
Government commits almost $3 million for period products in schools The Coalition Government has committed $2.9 million to ensure intermediate and secondary schools continue providing period products to those who need them, Minister of Education Erica Stanford announced today. “This is an issue of dignity and ensuring young women don’t ...
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By Anneke Smith, RNZ News political reporter A petition urging the New Zealand government to provide urgent humanitarian assistance to the Palestinian people has been tabled in the House. More than 200 people gathered on Parliament’s forecourt today and they were met by MPs from Labour, the Greens and Te ...
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EDITORIAL:The Jakarta Post It happens again and again; indigenous Papuans fall victim to Indonesian soldiers. This time, we have photographic evidence for the brutality, with videos on social media showing a Papuan man being tortured by a group of plainclothes men alleged to be the Indonesian Military (TNI) members. ...
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Contrary to the Associate Minister of Education’s claims, analysis of Healthy School Lunches Programme - Ka Ora, Ka Ako assessments has revealed it provides excellent value for the taxpayer dollar, as a groundswell of public opposition to Government ...
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The way two bills are being dealt with by the Government suggests that NZ First is getting away with wagging the dog and pup.
Labour and the Greens say they are allowing NZ First to progress their waka jumping bill. The Greens in particular have compromised their principles significantly in order to allow the bill to pass with a unified majority.
But when it comes to Medical Cannabis, a bill that is important enough for Labour to include in their 100 day plan, and important enough to the Greens to keep a Member’s Bill that goes further (and for Labour to support leaving that bill in), indications are that NZ First, with 9 votes to Labour-Greens 54, seems to be getting away with crippling the bill.
It’s not just a significant majority in Cabinet that NZ First is thwarting. A Curia poll in July shows strong public support:
We will see what the bill looks like when it is introduced today, but Ardern, Shaw and Minister of Health David Clark have all talked down expectations in advance.
Shock horror! Coalition government involves compromise. Quick, put a patronising and negative spin on it!
NZ1st will compromise their principles in supporting this bill. Looks like the dog is wagging the tail, or perhaps it’s more a case of “yap yap little weasel”.
OAB + Pete,
This morning’s RNZ reports = More road deaths today. (three truck accidents and deaths over night.) RNZ news 8am.
Please let us compromise Labour Coalition Transport Minister Phil Twyford & the ‘Road Transport Forum’ (RTF) CEO Ken Shirley!!!!!!
As trucks are involved again in Waikato killing on our simgle laned roads (highway 27) near Karipiro, while the rail lays dorment.
Rail needs to become dominant again the ‘principal carrier of freight’, or else nothing will change on these narrow roads will change the climbing road deaths from ocurring.
‘Let us use rail to move our freight as we used to do.’
Make our roads safe for other roads users please by using rail everywhere.
“by using rail everywhere”.
Yes, we really should use rail because it is totally safe.
Nobody ever gets hurt by a puff-puff.
Oh wait.
https://www.apnews.com/964d389a70a441b09ab6320e9402796d/A-list-of-recent-Amtrak-derailments
Alwyn was that just (cync) there Alwyn?
We were discussing about road freight vs rail freight did you understand that?
We hope you can see the diffenence here as ‘road freight is the road killer,’ not buses.
I’ll bet the people on the road below the railway line were grateful that it was a passenger rather than a freight train in that latest crash in the US.
I doubt if they would, as appears to have been the miraculous case, have all survived if it had been heavy loaded freight wagons rather than comparatively light passenger cars that had crashed down on them.
I think that a freight train would have caused far more deaths, don’t you?
So a train newly run on a line without current safety technology kills three people and it makes global news for days.
A truck crash killing three people barely makes the national news in NZ.
Thanks for the feedback Alwyn,
Of course you seem to want to show *’the worst possible scenerio’ .
You seem to prefer road freight do you?
You do know that the report showed the train was reported to be speeding at three times lawful speed across that bridge at that time?
If it was well designed by Engineers they should have not used a train track across a busy highway but it seemed Donald trump was right that the rail infrustructure needed upgrading so they need to plan seperate rail corridors if high speed trains are to be used.
You could see in this case the bridge was curved and the train was going so fast it left the bend in the track as the train did in Spain as it was on a rail curve bend when that crash occurred two years ago.
Rail freight is governed by much lower safer speeds then passenger rail is as our rail engineers tell us.
We have a Kennedy road highway road overbridge in napier that curves simailer to thios accident and the NZTA are keen to bump the speed up to 110kms and in an audit done on this Kennedy road overbridge that states that with heavy truck flows at 90 kms approaching this overbridge is dangerous.
So we are now afraid that trucks going at 110kms or 30% faster may hit the flimsy steel rails on the curved overbridge and crash below onto the very busy Kennedy road below carrying 30 0000 vehicles daily.
* ‘the worst possible scenerio’
So this is the opposite side of your comments here to what you posed above where in Napier any one of the 2400 hundred HPMV (63 tonne trucks) that pass the Kennedy road overbridge every day may possibly also crash over the top of a ‘known dangerous overbridge’ in the “Safety Audit by Hamilton based consultants Bloxham and Associates,” and may destroy the lives of many people here if speeds are allowed to increase.
No rail is involved here.
Problems today are that everyone is not keeping up the standards now as they are ‘do minimum’ planning everywhere, as I worked for ministry of works in 1970s this was not a ‘do minimin’ engineering time then.
Merry xmas.
Btw @ CG – you realise MoBIE maybe in panic mode at the moment, as their use of contractors in various key areas are being looked at.
But then …. “I promise, I promise!!!!! I won’t do it again” says it snr. mgmnt.
….. next
These are supposedly experienced, ethical and committed people FFS!
(Unfortunately they’re also people who can lie straight-faced to their Minister)
….. next
Yes Once was tim, Thanks for that.
The contractors in Gisborne HB are crap and worst are downers as they are patching te roads only and when rain comes pop out comes the ‘temporary plug’ and a big hole emerges to break down our suspenion and sterring on cars when an accident occurs.
Fulton Hogan are o/k as is Higgins, so is ‘Works infrustructure’ “was Ministry of Works” is o/k but seldom seen now sadly.
Re rail, see my comment to you which I put on the BSA post/thread (although unrelated to that post/thread) in reply to your latest comment there in an effort to make sure you saw it (a remark made by Shane Jones in Parliament this morning re Wairoa – Napier Railway.)
https://thestandard.org.nz/broadcasting-standards-authority-finds-mike-hoskings-election-comments-about-the-maori-party-inaccurate-and-misleading/#comment-1428569
Many thanks veutoviper,
Very informative,
We missed that speech silly me was out feeding the sheep at the time missed Shane.
Will move on this as we have Iwi in Gisborne who want the rail from Waroa to be leased to them to operate a freight & tourism/passenger service if Government won’t re-open the leg to Gisborne from Wairoa.
What symies us is that the first labour government under MJ Sagave opened that leg to Gisborne from 1942.
So we hope Shane re-opens the final leg again so we can finish the link to Murupara / Galitea and on to tauranga and rotorua as planned in 1939 but never done due the war taking all funds at that time. This was called “the East coast rail” to Auckland. and was explained as far back as 1911 in Parliamentary papers on the “Ways & Means” reports at that time later covered by the rail famed PM Vogel and his partner MP Coats.
This is the most isolated region in the whole country, and abused badly by successive national lead governments as labour finished the rail to Gisborne national never was interested in it’s completion stupid clowns when they were so into ‘tourism’ eh?
Please look after yourselves over xmas and new year season as the roads are seriously beaten up now and dangerous.
Yes, coalition (and confidence and supply) governments involve compromise. But here the compromises seem to be coming from Labour and Greens, with little in return from NZ First.
Medical cannabis was supposed to be a priority issue for Labour, but they appear to be rolling over with the Greens.
Not a good note to end the year on, and it’s a problem that won’t go away, it has been simmering for many years. Finally there seemed hope of genuine cannabis law reform, until now.
All Ardern and Clark have done is whimper over the last couple of days. Especially considering the Helen Kelly legacy, there is likely to be widespread feelings of disappointment if not betrayal (on the left especially) if a neutered medical cannabis bill is introduced today.
Your malice is showing again.
Very funny. Your irony is showing again, on malice and on “yap yap little weasel”. Do you do that deliberately?
Think of me as the [deleted] to your [deleted].
[Absolutely over the line. Take the day off. Don’t go attacking people when you come back.] – Bill
Pete, hold still until the wording of the bill’s out.
I will be very, very interested in the regulatory impact statement.
That had better show that the Police, Pharmac, ACC, DHB’s, Foodsafe, palliative care and oncology specialists are all on board with this.
I think there are a number of tight turns for this bill to get around before it even gets to its first reading.
I found it interesting that a reporter yesterday asked Clark if he had spoken with the Drug Foundation…he had..but not on this issue.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/99986020/medicinal-marijuana-bill-will-be-introduced-to-parliament-today
So…I wandered over to the Drug Foundation and…
https://www.drugfoundation.org.nz/news-media-and-events/drug-foundation-backs-medical-cannabis/
from ten bloody years ago…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7hCoAF2G6wQ
Pharmac will not touch medicinal cannabis with a barge poll.
And you still don’t want to explain why you think this?
Next time do your own research.
https://www.pharmac.govt.nz/information-for/enquiries/
I don’t see why I have to ask or search PHARMAC to find out why you make those assertions of yours or what you base your opinions on.
Anyway, I assume that you base your opinion on this:
I also assume that you have read the minutes of the meeting of the Pharmacology and Therapeutics Advisory Committee (PTAC), which reviewed the evidence for funding of Sativex: https://www.pharmac.govt.nz/assets/ptac-minutes-2015-08.pdf
It is common courtesy to provide your reasons/reasoning when somebody asks you in a public forum, don’t you agree?
On Te Karare today it seems a Ruatoria based company: Hikurangi Enterprises have been granted a license to grow and process medicinal cannabis. I think it’s important that these early start-ups do all they can to be squeaky clean and above board. I was surprised to see children harvesting buds, near the end, about 2:40 into the item.
If I was head of Pharmac I’d be adopting a ‘Wait and see’ approach re: funding. Handled right, I think they’ll fund it. Too many stories about gangs clipping through security fences and we’ll find ourselves absorbed by topics away from what really matters and a reluctant Pharmac funding committee.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9IpA7eD7r0M&list=PLMsHe5vD8mXNI4HrXkUWlnnYXcc_ftk9x&index=3
Oops wrong item, sorry, I’ll try again.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9IpA7eD7r0M&list=PLMsHe5vD8mXNI4HrXkUWlnnYXcc_ftk9x&index=3
OK, I give up. The link wants to start at story 1. It’s story 3. Hikurangi Enterprises.
That’s good thinking David Mac. Keeping a sense of reality rather than good here is a good earner for the marae will be important.
It has been the hotbed of funds for criminal gangs who have their own codes of behaviour which are well embedded. If only cannabis could have been decriminalised years ago, but I feel that NZ has never really grown out of its stolid status quo thinking and just grasps occasional winners to milk them without any long term rational national planning. We used to have a Planning Council but that would have gone the way of the huia when ‘forcing market forces medicine’ down our throats.
Click the share button, next door to the thumbs up thumbs down buttons.
That will open a pop up which will give you the option of starting at a set time
https://youtu.be/y2ECjowZUCU?t=1m8s
Hi Grey, I think the government sanctioned growing of marijuana has the potential to do great things for the Far North but it’s a double edged sword. It has NZ’s best climate for growing it and as global resistance to medicinal cannabis eases export markets for a country with our reputation will open up.
‘Brought to you with love by the indigenous people of 100% pure NZ.’
At all costs we need to avoid Maori leaders arriving at the assumption ‘We’re worse off now than we were when it was illegal, our young people legally married to game consoles and munchie food.’
Cool BM, thanks
But that’s not a link to the story. Was it an example for your tutorial?
I was just using that as an example, picked a random time.
I wasn’t quite sure what the bit you wanted to show started.
I don’t want to learn how to do it. I’d rather flick another coat of clear over my dune buggy. Help me out will ya sport? The Hikurangi Enterprises story in Te Karare today. I’ll take you for a bounce over some humps when I get it sorted.
With overwhelming public support, one wonders why a number of our politicians are so conservative on this matter?
Pete George.
One of the commenters on your website yesterday said that ” …Andrew Little hosted big pharma and they donated 155k to the Labour party …”
I know about the Medicines NZ (Big Pharma lobby group) lunch do…and I’ve seen their “Election 2017” ‘invoice’….but I cannot find any evidence that $$$ were donated to Labour, or any other party.
Is there evidence, or was the person just blowing smoke?
My prediction is that Labour’s Bill on this will be so….conservative….that even National could vote for it.
Thanks for pointing out the big pharma claim, I’m not aware of that. I have asked for evidence.
Hi Rosemary. The malicious drivel at Yawnz probably refers to this.
Here are the donations records. I can’t see anything in there that looks like Medicines NZ.
Yawnz is a wannabe Dirty Politics website, so I wouldn’t read too much into it.
Yes, OAB, I referred to that site in my comment to TC last night…https://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-19-12-2017/#comment-1428262
…but I also found this…http://www.elections.org.nz/parties-candidates/registered-political-parties/party-donations-and-loans/donations-protected
..so it all gets rather murky.
FWIW…the Green’s bill most accurately reflects the reality.
Whatever the outcome…folks are still going to grow and produce their own rongoa.
Folks are still going to grow for recreational use.
Enabling those people with a doctor’s certificate to grow and produce their own rongoa might just protect them from having to engage with the recreational market.
And, thanks for the advice about Pete George’s site…but I’m perfectly capable of making my own decisions about what I read. I’m a great believer in reading widely and listening to the opinions of others, even if I don’t agree with them.
I didn’t say don’t read it, I said don’t read too much into it 😉
I reckon we should get the money out of politics altogether: fund political parties via the Electoral Commission, from taxes. If other individuals and groups want to donate to the democratic process those donations can be shared among the parties.
Totally agree OAB. No political donations should be allowed. When you need to be a billionaire or even millionaire to become a US president – you can see why Trump prevailed. Not so sure that has been good for society though.
Likewise in NZ, the roading industry donations for the Natz has stopped public transport and utilisation of trains. Chinese and overseas donations have created a lazy approach to exporting. Kiwis are encouraged to ‘Clip the ticket’ rather than actually running things and innovating. Due to gross government stupidity on policy and strategy, there seems to be less and less ticket available to clip and more intervention on what suits other nation’s needs rather than NZ. Locals pay for water while exporters get it for free.
At the very least, donations should only be able to come from within NZ to stop our government parties becoming more interested in protecting offshore interests than local welfare.
If you look at the UK and USA – globalisation has failed as locals start reacting to being unwanted citizens in their own country as cheaper workers and people are bought in to replace them and corporations refuse to train and locals become less and less skilled and more and more reliant on external citizens.
At the same time multinational corporate welfare is at every turn and favourable tax accounting means overseas based firms pay less than local ones and can out compete them.
Net result, less and less taxes coming in for government and the locals paying more taxes than other’s using their country to profit.
“Locals pay for water while exporters get it for free.”
Reaally? Care to explain?
Ask anyone who lives in Auckland if they pay for water – the answer is yes – monthly. That is on TOP of rates and government taxes and any resource consents we may apply for.
They pay for the SUPPLY of water. No person or council is being charged for the actual water.
If you wanted to take water from the ground like the water bottlers you would need a resource consent and there would be a small charge for that (same as for them), but no charge for the actual water.
Whatever the wording local residents in Auckland PAY for the provision of water and it’s a monopoly to boot.
It is extremely doubtful unless well connected in government, that anyone in Auckland would be able to get a resource consent to take water from the ground, pipe across public land and then export it from Ports of Auckland. However it seems consents are going on in other parts of the country exporting water in a similar way.
NZ seem to have dropped the ball is that they get so hung up on wording or numbers which they generally rely on paid private practise lawyers to check, the actual practical reality, long term result and fairness of what they are doing seems to be completely lost on them. Sadly to some people too, but I guess they are the first ones complaining that other’s are not paying enough taxes for them while seemingly not seeing any issues with profiteers taking NZ natural resources for virtually nothing and on sell them with little to zero benefit to those communities who live there and actually leaving them with the unknown risks of such a venture.
It is more than wording. If the export water bottlers bottled from the tap rather than extracting from the ground then they too would pay for the SUPPLY of that water. Your statement “Locals pay for water while exporters get it for free” is nonsense.
Auckland’s water is not extracted from the ground but comes from dams in the Hunua ranges and now increasingly is pumped from the Waikato river: !!
https://blog.greens.org.nz/2011/04/29/aucklanders-you-know-youre-drinking-the-waikato-river/
It may be stupid to let exporters to take it for nothing, but they are not getting it for any less than the rest of us.
As usual you miss the point. We would not be allowed to extract it from groundwater in Auckland which is why it is pumped from Waikato. But again you miss the point of my post.
1/ Some Kiwis pay for water or the supply of it over public land. Note the pipes are already there and any improvements are so slow as virtually un noticeable. There has been water shortages in Auckland so having water one year does not necessarily mean you will have the same supply the next year. But that was not my original point.
2/ other’s including businesses who export it, do not pay for the supply of it or pay virtually nothing – even if the pipes are going over public land including conservation land and many risks are unknown and not possible to foresee, such as climate changes.
3/ Why would any reasonable person allow that?
@savenz
“2/ other’s including businesses who export it, do not pay for the supply of it or pay virtually nothing –”
AND the Auckland City council pays NOTHING for the water it takes out of the Waikato River and the Hunua Ranges. The cost to households is the cost of cleaning and piping the water.
“1/ Some Kiwis pay for water or the supply of it over public land.”
The cost is the maintenance on the pipes not the fact that it goes through public land.
I agree that we should not give our water away to exporters, but they do not pay any less for water than anybody else.
According to this investigation, water bottling companies are paying an average 500 times less than ratepayers for each litre of water they’re allowed to use.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11859175
An incredibly crappy article. No surprise from the Herald.
“A Herald investigation into water fees set by every regional council around the country found bottlers were charged an average $0.003 – or one third of a cent – per cubic metre of water.
Comparatively, in Auckland, Watercare charges $1.40 per cubic metre (1000 litres) for water piped to houses, while the rest of the country paid an average $1.60 per cubic metre.”
In this situation the water bottler is not taking processed Waikato River water from a tap in Auckland. If they were they would be paying the same as other users.
Great link The Chairman!
Also there is a difference between water extracted away from the country of origin and water irrigated, as at least irrigated water falls back into the land where it came from (whether you believe it should be charged for or allowed, is another matter).
The water bottling seem to be hiding within the irrigation debate, to say they are the same thing and they are not the same business at all.
No surprise to me, that metro water charges 500 times more than water bottlers are charged. It’s the rip off culture that has been allowed to develop which means more and more people can’t afford the basics in this country while corporations making on average 1.5 million per year and multinational’s like Coke $500million a year pay a fraction of what someone on minimum wage will be paying for water or the supply of it.
But John Key says “nobody owns water” so that’s all right then
It is actually British Common Law that says that nobody owns water. That is the legal framework we have inherited. I’m sure that Key would like water to be owned, but if the government passed a law to say that water is something that can be owned and it is the Crown who owns it, then that is a confiscation of something that must have belonged to Maori all along.
soltka, Key doesn’t know shit about British Common Law, his comments were directly aimed at cutting off Maori claims to water custodianship.
If anyone has responsibility for proper management of water and NZ natural resources it is central government, and Key’s comment was a gross abdication of duty.
It is now obvious that there are a lot of foreign investors keen to get their hands on this water that “nobody” owns for bottling and turning it into $$$.
A classic case of “tragedy of the commons”, privatisation of a public resource, and theft/enclosure of the commonwealth for private interests.
“No person is charged for the actual water”
Why then is my bill from Watercare larger if I use more water? Do they need to buy bigger pipes, spend more on chemicals for treatment? What purpose does the volumetric component of the bill actually serve?
I think Soltka is only here to distract.
Technically you are only charged for the delivery infrastructure, water is “free”
Pretending it is a free, unlimited resource means the Crown and local councils don’t have to compensate Maori for exploiting their taonga. Even though water is life.
Total bullshit that leads to perverse outcomes, like greedy corporate exploitation and irrigation in unsuitable places, and poisoning the Hawkes Bay water supply.
Yes it does cost them more the more water that people use. As demand increases more sources are needed. The addition of Waikato water to Auckland’s supply is a relatively recent addition. This water requires a huge amount of processing as my link above shows. Dams also are expensive things to build. If there were no volume charge people would generally be more carefree with their use and the total volume would increase requiring more infrastructure to be built.
$1.40 for 1000 litres delivered to the household sounds very cheap considering the service required to collect, process and pump the water across Auckland.
@Ed
Yes i am here mostly to distract myself from other stuff, but I guess you don’t mean that. All I am doing in this thread is confronting bullshit that has been spread that water bottlers pay less for water than the rest of us. I can’t stand bullshit regardless of whether it is Key and co or supposedly left wing people on a blog.
From your Stuff link
A ‘big pharma’ lobby group has sunk more than $150,000 into a mysterious scheme called “Election 2017 Project”.
Financial statements for the pharmaceutical lobby group Medicines NZ show it spent $151,106 on the project, the firm’s second largest expense of 2016.
Yet, also from your Stuff link it states, there are no records that show Medicines NZ donated money to any political party.
Medicines NZ managing director Dr Graeme Jarvis would not respond to requests for comment.
So where did the money go? Backhanders?
some shockers
stupid racists everywhere
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11962742
and this one – oh fucken dear
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/99925523/racist-afrikaans-day-revived-in-nz
Be good when we don’t have to worry about homegrown and imported racists – they spoil everything.
That sucks. I hope the police get involved in the first incident. As for the second, isn’t there some sort of character test for residency and/or citizenship?
There sure is. And it looks like being a religious fundamentalist racist who’d like to import foreign racial superiority ideology into NZ passes that character test. Three cheers for good governance!
Apparently the character test consists of looking at the applicant’s bank balance. /sarc
The money test trumps the character test and the language test.
Some years ago, out on a fishing charter boat, there was a South African ‘refugee’ who persistently called the middle aged Maori deckhand ‘boy’.
The look on Meneer’s face when I did the same to him.
“…there was a South African ‘refugee’ who persistently called the middle aged Maori deckhand ‘boy’…”
Many years ago I worked with a big, racially diverse bunch of PI’s – they were FBIs, Cook Islanders, Samoans, Fijians and Tongans. I was the only white person, so a standing joke when anyone came to complain about anything was to point straight at me and and say “ask the white guy”.
As a tight team of friends, I was able to reply by saying “yeah, they are just a bunch of coconuts”.
Anyway, one day this new minted South African Kiwi showed up. He’d heard us talking so he said to a huge Cook Island Maori guy (in a heavy Afrikaans accent) “Which one of you coconuts should I talk to?”
Once I had saved him and taken him to a corner, I explained this wasn’t an appropriate way to talk to people you don’t know, especially in a thick South African accent. His response? He accused me of discriminating against South Africans.
I shrugged and told him to be my guest, see how far calling an enormous Cook Islander “a coconut” would get him.
He chose not to use the term again.
There was a simple requirement for respect from Maori all through the colonising period till today.
When building the Roxburgh Dam some men from England were employed there, and soon after they arrived and went to work in their hats and waistcoats, one called a Maori tractor driver ‘boy’. Within seconds he was off the tractor, and with his hands on the collar of the man’s shirt, asked him to repeat his instructions. Which I think he declined to do, and changed his mind and manner.
NZ has been importing in racists for years. One South African guy who was coloured told me he was shocked to see another South African from the secret police who had detained his coloured parents in South Africa, had settled up North in NZ and (I think) joined the police up there.
Now there is less talk of racism from the righties and more interest in exploitation of other to make profits, regardless of colour. Not sure how much progress there has been in the 21st century. Less democracy, individual rights and freedom of speech in NZ than 20 years ago in my view and then a narrow focus on racism and sexism related to speech, not in actual policy that has not got any better and actually over all conditions has got worse. A worker 25 years ago could survive on 1 income and be well paid with secure work. That right has now gone regardless of gender or ethnicity . Prisoners unable to vote. Passports being confiscated. Mass surveillance and non disclosure of that. People being detained without the right to a lawyer etc.
FYI we have a new bunch of racists now. Remember Melissa Lee’s comment about “criminals from South Auckland driving up the Waterview motorway”?
https://www.spectator.co.uk/2017/08/beyond-the-pale-chinas-cheerful-racists/
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/oct/14/chinese-museum-accused-of-racism-over-photos-pairing-africans-with-animals
However, (according to the Nats at least), saying anything critical about mass immigration is also racism & xenophobia
(Not to mention our homegrown regressive rednecks/arrogant nerds like Don Brash and that guy from Southland)
Someone is trying to use a exsquse of a lot of advertising revenue going to the big TECH companys Fbook Google justify the merger of NZ ME an FAIR FAX YEA RIGHT one minute they are arguing for a free market economy and when it suits them we need to change the principle of the commercish commission that protects US from the media becoming a monopoly we all know that opens the door for big money to control our views on reality. So as survival of the fittest OUR media companys will have to become more inervative to survive. PS
I would have a sore face if John Campbell and Hillary Barry took on the 7 pm show come on John you no the bigger the audience the bigger influence you and Hillary can have on making OUR SOCIETY more equal and humane. And you will show that a good Kiwi battler can win against the ODDS.
I see a good article by Nardine Higgins on the Herald website about how Jacinda assertive actions have helped change our Australian cousins view on plans to dich tertiary subsides for Kiwi students in Australia the Bill failed in Parliament so they dropped it. This is how a Prime minister looks after her people Ka pai
There is a good article on the Guardian website about the NZ WARS its title is
New Zealand Northern war mass grave reveals bodies of British soldiers its a good read and shows the Mana OUR tepuna have so all OUR Maori culture people chin up and be proud of yourself selves not many cultures can compare to
OUR Great tepuna art music innervation Intelligents ECT Ka kite ano
Thanks for the heads up, interesting little story there. Looks like the Guardian put a bit of British spin on it, but the essential facts are there
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/dec/18/new-zealands-northern-war-mass-grave-reveals-bodies-of-british-soldiers
Jeez, next we’ll have the orangemen marching on the 12th July
In Latvia the Waffen SS or whats left of them get in to their uniforms and march
through town every year on March 16.It used to be a national remembrance day.
Free speech be damned, it shouldn’t be allowed in our country when its banned in theirs
Free speech be damned…
Quelle surprise…
Troll alert again here. PM above. Ignore for health and mental wellbeing reasons.
[Expressing an opinion on the substance of a comment is not trolling. A quick look at your commenting history shows you making that call on a few comments recently. Oddly enough, that itself is a form of trolling. Stop doing it.] – Bill
Comment as “flag”.
The way I see it rongao has had a war waged against it from the booze barons for the last hundy years they have use the media to demonise a natural health product given to us from the God’s. A poor person can put a seed in mother earth and walar six months later they have some medicine this fact cuts out big businesses and this proper gander by the booze barons and stops them milking US. This is still going on the reality is that the positive facts far out weight the negative on weed booze has way more negative effects to OUR WORLD SOCIETY and the booze barons have conned US into axcepting all the bad facts of booze as being acceptable one would just have to resharch our western society health record to prove this fact
All the broken people because they used booze far more than any broken by weed. All the people locked up in jail that started from weed offence and once they are in the justice system it’s hard for them to pull them selves out of it. This is a man made negative that’s is laughable we spend all this money on this dum ass law that has distorted OUR reality on a plant that has many benefits it can be used to displace some carbon based products so in my view the sooner we stop letting big businesses distort our views on weed to reality the sooner we can reap the benefits of this plant and. One argument is weed leads to stronger more dangerous drugs well I say booze has more of a influence to intice the young people to try stronger drugs than weed some young people get pissed up and will try anything as booze change there personality into idiots in half a hour this is fact not hearsay. Let’s approach this subject with intelligence
and change the laws to suit the 99% and not just the 1% who just want the profits and control of us the 99% Kai kaha
Agreed, it is a waste of police resources chasing weed. Alcohol abuse is a huge cost on society but “liberal” governments don’t want to regulate it properly, instead lowering the drinking age and allowing booze shops everywhere.
It’s very handy for Remmers professionals to be able to pop to the shops for some wine, but not so good for poorer communities when their young men are destroyed by it.
Alcoholism is another side effect of the inequality/homelessness/austerity imposed on NZ by the Rogernomics revolution.
Yang back in the news. Lloyd Burr needs to doorstep and houbd him for at least a week. Jooking aaide why isnt the National Party cutting this guy loose? Maybe tge new govt could start asking questions of National.
Unlikely to happen.
‘The NZ mainstream media utterly missing in action for 9 years
The greatest fraud in the BIMS reports that highlight the horror of National’s 9 years in power is that the NZ mainstream media unquestioningly allowed these scumbags to get away with it for a decade!
Where the hell was the NZ media for the last 9 years when the conclusions of the BIM reports were so obvious to everyone else?
Let’s call the last 9 years of National’s rule what it really was – class-austerity. A draconian policy that destroyed the most vulnerable but because media are middle class they never saw it and allowed them to get away with it.
How can we have such an apocalyptic conclusion of 9 years worth of policy failure and the vast majority of NZ media not pick up on the enormity of damage being perpetrated?
How did this all go unnoticed for so long?
The biggest story for the mainstream media this year was demonising and destroying Metiria Turei for having the audacity to tell her story of misleading Social Welfare to feed her child with her chin up.
We don’t just need a new Government, we desperately need a new media!‘
https://thedailyblog.co.nz/2017/12/19/10-biggest-nz-political-scandals-and-scams-of-2017/
True 100% Ed we need a new media platform come on labour “lets do this”
Unlikely to happen Part 2.
Bradbury….
‘After Canterbury University Professor Anne-Marie Bradley’s brutal research into how , the National Party is nothing more than a front for Chinese business interestsyou would think the sleepy hobbits of muddle Nu Zilind would wake up.
They didn’t.
The National Party itself is now wedded and compromised personally to wealthy Chinese interests. Jenny Shipley, Don Brash, Ruth Richardson and Chris Tremain are Director’s of the China Construction Bank, Judith Collins interaction with Chinese Officials to help her husbands Chinese Company, Oravida, to gain more Chinese money and Maurice Williamson’s love affair with Donghua Liu saw him become Liu’s personal handyman when doing up Liu’s batch and heavying the Police to drop domestic violence charges.
The National Government are as dependent on their Chinese friends as the entire property speculating middle class have now become and that’s why National are still over 44% in the polls.
What was most astounding is that 44% of NZ still voted for National despite a Chinese Spy being outed as a senior member of the National Party.
I love how foreign media covering this story always seems bewildered and bemused that NZers haven’t done anything about the outing of a Chinese Spy in their own Government.’
https://thedailyblog.co.nz/2017/12/19/10-biggest-nz-political-scandals-and-scams-of-2017/
Bloody good article from our ‘other voice on democracy at TDB.’
“Together we sand divided we fall.”
This is the problem here in NZ. Too much building on sand and not enough solidity of deep basecourse thought to start from, no wonder we get divided and fall. Working bee anyone – to help pick up Humpty Dumpty and put all together again?
Awww Ed
She’ll be right. And my property is up by 15% this year, better than any share investment. Steady increase that’s what I like. Got to keep your eye on the ball, not get confused with all this talk about what should be. I go for certainties; my rising assets value.
/sarc
Better put ‘sarc or I’ll have some newbie lecturing who wouldn’t know sarcasm and satire if he/she fell over or into them.
There you go all the article about the people who are suppose to have OUR best interests at heart are treating us like consumer Good and exploitationing us look like these people have all the power to do what the want. You see everything ECO has said about the police is true good link Ed to the daily blog ECO is going to win this contest Ka pai
Liars of Our Time
No. 57: MIKE HOSKING
We’ve been on the case of this ignorant, conceited, puffed up, self-involved pile of political bollocks, this prancing, pretentious, poisonous fool, this fervent devotee of Bill Cosby, for a long time….
https://thestandard.org.nz/31082011/#comment-369908
https://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-15032015/#comment-985614
He’s been busted by the Broadcasting Standards Authority for his heinously unfair and partisan comments….
https://www.stuff.co.nz/entertainment/72551742/ponytailgate-bsa-rules-against-mike-hosking
Yesterday, yet again, the Broadcasting Standards Authority condemned him for outright lying….
Peruse the entire list of liars HERE….
https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=9182619394637139656&pli=1#editor/target=post;postID=7019263873283614006
I notice one of my comments has gone to moderation – I don’t believe any trigger words are in there unless ‘doofus’ has been added ☺
[Nope. A whole pile dropped in there for no apparent reason] – Bill
Thanks bill
Understood Bill,
We just got pissed off with the costant sulking of the National Trolls of late.
Will moderate our ‘troll’ coments with some substance; – Thanks.
Jeremy Corbyn leads criticism of Paradise Papers legal action
Labour leader among senior politicians alarmed by Appleby action against BBC and Guardian over tax haven investigations
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/dec/19/jeremy-corbyn-leads-criticism-of-paradise-papers-legal-action
It’s so nice to see good journalism. And once again International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, do just that.
Here is how your release a leak, look and learn wikileaks.
https://www.icij.org/blog/2017/12/four-caribbean-tax-havens-added-offshore-leaks-database/
And this is so worth a read, the EU not quite coming up to the mark on tax havens.
https://www.icij.org/investigations/paradise-papers/bermuda-luxembourg-new-eu-blacklist-omits-major-tax-havens/
Good to see after they closed the trust loophole that the last national government had opened, NZ has fallen off the shady rader. For now, I’d like to see some work done with the Cooks and Samoa, looking at the influence of NZ and Australian business that keeps these countries operating as deplorable tax havens.
Bill we have lost some enteries too.
Bill said
Nope. A whole pile dropped in there for no apparent reason] – Bill
Test.
Think your vote can’t make a difference? The Virginia State House has just gone from a 51-49 Repug majority to a 50-50 tie when a Dem won the seat by 1 (yes, one) vote on the recount.
http://edition.cnn.com/2017/12/19/politics/virginia-house-of-delegates/index.html
Good point Andre,
Everyone should vote as our forebearers paid dearly to give us this right.
Merry Xmas.
A good read
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/opinion/news/article.cfm?c_id=466&objectid=11961744
Liars of Our Time
No. 58: “A TVNZ spokesperson”
Catch up with ALL the Liars….
http://morrisseybreen.blogspot.co.nz/
In light of Matt Damons comments and Minnie Driver’s on his, this is a compelling read
” In the weeks after Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey first reported the story in the New York Times, as colleagues and strangers on the internet moved to identify the Weinsteins within their own industries, I felt uneasy. Behind every brave outing I saw a legal liability. I suppose that’s what happens when you know enough men with money. Such men are minor kings among us, men with lawyer-soldiers at their employ who can curtail certain kinds of talk. While I do believe in false allegations, and I do believe that women can be bullies, it’s hard, sometimes, not to be cynical about the defence. Some men love free speech almost as much as they love libel lawyers. ”
This is a well thought out article. Worth the read.
https://www.theguardian.com/news/2017/dec/19/reckoning-with-a-culture-of-male-resentment-sexual-harassment?CMP=fb_gu
Thank you Tracey, this was indeed worth the read. Her point about “losers” near the end is particularly thought provoking and certainly offers a plausible explanation for the “male backlash against feminism.” Much to ponder here.
Merely acting on behalf of a constituent or helping to install another spy?
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11962652
It’s good to see a clean up of MSM it’s happening to the justice department to yes this is the positive thing getting people to lead our state services whom can self anerlise and admite there mistakes bigots will never be able to do this so they will have to retire Ka pai.
I will have to learn how to cut and paste links to the article I read thanks ropata for the Guardian link. I have decided to keep my dignity and remain humble and keep my ego in check as not all the police have a beef with ECO so I will try and keep the insult to my self beside they like to push my buttons and me resistanceing will piss them off more lol so Ka kite ano
PM’s closing speech of 2017
https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js
Kim Dotcom: Caught in the web documentary on TVOne tonight, 8.30pm – 1-.45pm
Probably available ondemand later.
I disagree with Ian McKellen he is trying to put a smiley face on the actions of harvey weinstein and Co for there disrespect of our Lady’s with an excuse that Lady’s had pictures of themselves that indicated they were open to have sex with the directors of the film.
1 Who was is in control of the film theatre industry men
2 who set the culture of these industries men
3 these ladies had to do that to advance there career this is the culture men with power have set these industries up so they could use these ladies as there toys this is why I will never give permission for my mokos to enter those jobs. This is 2017 and all those things that happen in the past should not be used to justify the abuse of our Lady’s now I say once again if one cannot admit they are wrong than they are bigots so retire and retire your dum ass views with them its time for equality for our ladies Ka kite ano
The make up of the “Tax Working Group” is discouraging in my opinion. Of the 10 members, 6 are clearly in the camp of those who serve the interests of the wealthiest 1% (my ** below). When even one member from ten would overrepresent that group.
I don’t see any substantial change coming from this, unfortunately.
Professor Craig Elliffe, University of Auckland ** (formerly KPMG / Chapman Tripp)
Joanne Hodge, former tax partner at Bell Gully **
Kirk Hope, Chief Executive of Business New Zealand **
Nick Malarao, senior partner at Meredith Connell **
Geof Nightingale, partner at PwC New Zealand **
Robin Oliver, former Deputy Commissioner at Inland Revenue
Hinerangi Raumati, Chair of Parininihi ki Waitotara Inc
Michelle Redington, Head of Group Taxation and Insurance at Air New Zealand **
Bill Rosenberg, Economist and Director of Policy at the CTU
Marjan Van Den Belt, Assistant Vice Chancellor (Sustainability) at Victoria University
Heartily concur. I think the rabbits are in charge of the lettuce patch. Very disappointing.
Yeah, where’s MIsty from Cannons Creek?
It’s appalling people rely on charity to be fed.
Pay people properly.
Give everyone jobs.
Give everyone a good house.
https://i.stuff.co.nz/life-style/christmas/99726479/poverty-doesnt-stop-at-christmas-how-you-can-help-vulnerable-kiwis