Show John Key Your Opposition To Coal Mining On Conservation Land!
This Wednesday 21st March, 5 pm, 1 Willeston Street, Downtown Wellington, John Key will officially open Bathurst Resources’ new New Zealand office. Bathurst Resources plan to develop New Zealand’s largest open-cast coal mine on conservation land and we plan to oppose it every step of the way.
Join Coal Action Network Aotearoa, Forest and Bird, Greenpeace, 350, Ora Taiao, Generation Zero, and other concerned groups and individuals from around the country to say ‘NO Mining Pure NZ’.
In May 2010, over 50 000 people marched up Queen Street in Auckland to protest the Government’s proposal to open up National Parks and other protected areas, after which the government executed a remarkable backdown and committed not to mine in National Parks and other significant conservation areas protected under Schedule 4 of the Crown Minerals Act.
They also stated that “significant applications to mine on public conservation land should be notified”. In November 2011, Conservation Minister Kate Wilkinson advised that the application for Australian-owned Bathurst Resources to have access to mine the fragile and unique Denniston Plateau will not be publicly notified.
Bathurst’s proposal for a resource consent to mine coal on the Denniston Plateau on the West Coast is currently under appeal to the Environment Court. This proposal is the thin edge of Bathurst’s wedge which would see a unique ecosystem destroyed and the volume of coal exported by New Zealand increase by 40% and more in the future if we don’t stop this.
So bring your placards and help give John Key and Bathurst Resources our simple message: “Keep the coal in the hole”.
Around the time Brent becomes $140-$160/barrel, I predict that the popularity of coal is going to skyrocket through the roof. October or November probably, during the northern hemisphere winter.
Around the time Brent becomes $140-$160/barrel, I predict that the popularity of coal is going to skyrocket through the roof. October or November probably, during the northern hemisphere winter.
Colonial Viper
No doubt you are probably right CV. And vested interest and their government toadies will be rubbing their hands with glee at the prospect. We might as well tcelebrate the victory of greed over nature and throw the last Hectors Dolphin onto the fire to use the little store of blubber these creatures possess to stoke the flames, as the acidification of the ocean caused by burning all that coal will kill them eventually anyway.
Do I sound bitter?
Last week I asked the editors at ‘The Standard’ to give notice of the above public event protesting against open cast coal mining on the Deniston Plateau. A proposal that if it goes ahead as well as destroying a unique eco-system will increase New Zealand’s coal exports by 40%.
Nothing but silence.
I again sent a request to put up a notice about this event to the editors last night, fully expecting to see something today.
To admit to the problem but not want to do everything in your power to help those who want to do something practical about it. In some ways is worse than being a denier.
Can’t make it to Denniston Mine protest – cost too much in petrol and exhaust gasses.
Its a hell of a long way to nowhere, even from Westport, to seed some snails
As an exercise in nausea I visited the national party 2011 election website. Looking primarily for the things Key did not mention they would do after the election. We all knew he would sell the SOEs off but we had nothing there about the more extreme rightist policies.
Charter Schools anybody? Hear about that from National pre election? Ditto private prisons? Whats next?
What we are seeing is a creeping rash of extreme right policies: what I am not hearing is a dialogue from Labour as a leftist (or even centrist) counter. Must we all whistle Dixie whilst Shearer considers a response rather than a minor display of visceral anger and opposition? Get a spine Labour, stop Shearer from appearing like a filleted jellyfish.
There are some elements of the proposed legislation that are potentially good. It’s not all bad, especially around the possibility of making it easier to create larger more efficient council structures. But the real weasel is in the first section of the document released yesterday:
1. The Local Government Act 2002 will be amended to replace references to the ‘social, economic,
environmental and cultural well-being of communities’ (the four well beings) with a new purpose for
councils of ‘providing good quality local infrastructure, public services and regulatory functions at
the least possible cost to households and business.’
The important words in the new purpose statement are ‘local’ to differentiate from services better provided by central government and ‘public’ to clarify that councils should not try to replace services provided by the private sector. The proviso requiring least cost is to emphasize the need for efficiency. The definitions will make it plain that ‘least possible cost’ means costs now and into the future, to ensure decision makers do not take a narrow, short term view of cost effectiveness.
The crucial loophole here is that it is entirely a matter of interpretation … presumably the discretion of the Minister… as to what is a public or private activity. And given that the Minister is given drastic new powers to intervene in Local Government then he can impose his intepretation however he likes.
If the Minister for instance deems that a Port operation is a ‘private sector business’ then he can force a Council to sell it. If he deems Water Supply to be the same.. the same applies. There is no limit to what the Minister can impose.
Especially if the political cost is irrelevant to him.
Especially if the political cost is irrelevant to him.
Then other pressures can and should be imposed on the Government by the local communities which are dictatorially affected, beyond purely political ones. After all, political costs come in many shapes and forms.
Can you imagine how Auckland feels with this announcement. One of the super city reforms required the Council to prepare a “spatial plan” the purpose of which was to “contribute to Auckland’s social, economic, environmental, and cultural well-being through a comprehensive and effective long-term (20- to 30-year) strategy for Auckland’s growth and development.”
The plan was not a wish list. It had to “identify policies, priorities, land allocations, and programmes and investments to implement the strategic direction and specify how resources will be provided to implement the strategic direction.”
Now Smith is telling Auckland not to bother with the social, environmental or cultural well beings. He could have saved a lot of work and bother by excluding them from the start.
The key line from Campbell sums it up This reform is not about ‘transparency’ and ‘accountability’. It is about imposing a right wing strait jacket on communities and their elected councils, in order to further commercialise the provision of quite basic needs..
You might ask the questions:
1. How much do all of the services put out to tender to the private sector under the LATE legislation etc cost?
2. How much does it cost to do in-house?
I suspect that the difference is the “profit” that has to be paid to the private sector. If we were to total the cumulative profit implicit within LATE contracts since the Bassett legislation in 1987 (25 years) how much I wonder would that offset the council debt loadings?
No doubt this will need to be pushed through under urgency.
“Councils would be steered away from spending on social and cultural activities in favour of “core” activities such as key infrastructure, regulations and public services.”
Lets face it bigger is better, bigger is cheaper, bigger is more efficient……fuck these bastard rationalists really give me the heebies. Show me the evidence.
First order of business for the next left government. The “Reversal Of Every Single Piece Of Legislation Passed Over The Last Six Years Bill”. To be debated under urgency, naturally.
@Kotahi Tane Huta
😀 I see this government and its moneyed coaches as repeating the taking of the commons land from the English lower classes back when the moneyed classes there decided they could do better with the land than the poor people who relied on it.
I’ve talked about attacks and abuse here before, most of it is really quite tame. Especially compared to what I’ve been witnessing elsewhere online over the past few weeks.
I have been witnessing an online campaign of abuse, false and unsubstantiated accusation, character assassination, misrepresentation of identities, attempts to shut down speech, attempts to shut down organisations. It has ranged from annoying to disgraceful.
And that’s not the worst of it. Others have linked some of this to criminal and mental health histories, death threats, even incest. This is associated with people who present themselves as working against abuse – some of them are the worst of abusers.
It puts political bickering into perspective, although it does show how bad fighting and abusing can degenerate on an unregulated web.
In fact a degree of regulation is always a necessary thing. Politics is essentially the art of striking a desirable balance between too much and too little.
Well, they’re protecting us against big bad terrorists by filtering them big baddasses out of being able to get on planes so regulating the net is gonna help against bad words too. I reckon. Good on ya George for being such an obedient MSM regurgitator.
Pete George, try a little more thinking first …. “I have been witnessing an online campaign of abuse, false and unsubstantiated accusation, character assassination, misrepresentation of identities, attempts to shut down speech, attempts to shut down organisations.”
Start with your own ambition and types Pete – Parliament and politicians…
abuse … feral inbreds on the west coast
false and unsubstantiated accusation … Winston Peters tirades under the shade of privilege against any number of private people – shameful.
character assassination … Bennett in exposing the private details of the Auckland women.
misrepresentation of identities ….
attempts to shut down speech … NZ on Air contorting to only show certain programs last year to aid election of incumbent.
attempts to shut down organisations … kim dotcom
I am sure others would be aware of more and better examples but the bottom line is that it is your own arena Pete George which is the most abusive and should be better regulated. Think first man.
It is also dishonest as PG the eternal fluffer attempts to inflate or is that fellate, the leader of his pack, with truth bending, missleading and flat out denial of facts on this blog as a start..
The word offended is far too soft when used towards PG the Dunny Brush supporter on this site…its flat out insulting!
With respect, Pete George, please fuck off. We’ve had enough of your ideologically driven duplicitous bullshit. You’re a very dangerous man, and as long as you keep spouting your ill-thought out pseudo-intellectual clap-trap, we’ll continue to tell you so.
Pete, whilst you continue to support that idiot Dunne and his desire to aid and abet the legalised theft of state assets by his larcenous mates in the National party I will continue to “abuse” your viewpoint.
I’ve read your stuff, and although I disagree with some of the stuff you say, I recon you are a nice person inspite of our ideological differences. But I think you are a little bit naive to think the Internet is some sort of prime time “censored and ok for kids hour” tv slot. People will swear and take the mickey online, mostly in jest and to prove a point about something they are passionate about, and not out of maliciousness. Sure there are trolls and griefers, but I suspect they are dealt with pretty well here. The Internet can be a bit more like a rowdy local pub at times, and that’s why I’m surprised you seem a bit naive considering you’ve been active here for a fair while.
If the chances of dying from a terrorist attack are 1:25.000.000 while the chances of dying from a lightening strike are 1:500.000 than why does this three year old boy in a wheel chair for fuck’s sake have to be terrorised by the TSA on his trip to Disney land?
Or if you’re not mad you haven’t been paying attention.
Probably because the US is just a year or two away from becoming a “turnkey totalitarian state” able to intercept, decode and store every single electronic message or phone call you make in your life time, anywhere in the world.
Short answer: if one mixes paranoia with private security suppliers who employ lowest-wage staff, who in turn have no incentive to think for themselves, one can expect things like this, and the occasional shooting of a distressed passenger (or high-multiple-tasering followed by an unfortunate but “unrelated” demise).
But fear is a good distraction from the other -problems in life.
My second attempt at putting in a link the “neat” way. May not work. If not, it’s in the herald
This story just keeps getting better.
If this is true, I find it fascinating that, ACC staff have continued to aggressively manage Ms Pullar’s claim despite her pulling some of the strongest ‘contact’ cards in the pack. She must have really pissed them off because I’m pretty sure that most middle-manager types in the public service would, (and probably do) cave pretty quickly in these kinds of circumstances. Seems like a mini-rebellion.
Key is predictably relaxed about his ACC minister intervening in this way, and said he had known Pullar for years himself, as she had been a National Party official, and that she had often talked to him about her ACC woes at funtions.
Real estate institute Canterbury director Tony McPherson said the repairs were in danger of being delayed and the problem was going to get worse as rebuilds were added to the repair work.
”There is huge pressure on rental accommodation in the city from people who have been forced out of the red zone, the large short-term work force in the city there to assist with the recovery, as well as the normal seasonal demand from tertiary students.”
Moteliers and other accommodation providers were becoming consistently full with displaced families rather than the usual numbers of tourists, which was affecting the business of other industries reliant on visitors spending money, he said.
McPherson said he understood temporary accommodation opened up by Government was fully occupied.
”There is a need for a circuit-breaker if the rebuild of homes is to be carried out efficiently. Without it, the rebuild is in jeopardy, causing further frustration, delay and unnecessary stress on Christchurch people, who now want to get on with their lives.”
What could this “circuit breaker” be?
I see that there are hundreds of perfectly good and undamaged homes are on the market in and around Christchurch.
For a government that has been very swift in bailing out the wealthy, burnt by bad investment decisions to the tune of $billions. How about buying up all this housing stock and renting it out to those in need?
Unlike the bailout of the rich speculators instead of gaining billions of dollars of worthless junk bonds and making a loss, the government, as well as helping people suffering through no fault of their own, will gain an appreciable asset.
(And I am sure the real estate agents and sellers would appreciate it as well.)
Why don’t the government buy up all these perfectly good houses and rent them out?
There is no need for anyone at all to go homeless in Christchurch.
Simple.
The government can spend $billions of our tax money bailing out millionaires who lost money on investments. Why are they sitting around on their hands doing nothing about the rental crisis in Christchurch?
It is like Brownlee is reading my criticisms of his government, and giving his reply.
Either that, or the need to take such obvious action to ease the Christchurch rental housing crisis, must be apparent even to him. So apparent in fact, that he has to come up with his fatuous defence that protecting the market is more important than housing people. Even though the housing crisis is so bad that it is hampering the very recovery and reconstruction of the city which is supposed to be his main responsibility.
The needs of the “lucrative” “private investors” must come first.
With this sort of attitude, let’s pray that Brownlee’s government buddies don’t spy another bunch of millionaires that need bailing out.
That’s right folks. The CBD is like a ghost town with virtually no work going on. All the giant machinery is sitting idle right now, despite a huge amount of demolition work remaining (all the big buildings). There are no workers around, the place is quiet and dead.
Yes well it surprised me. I have not been into the CBD for some time but it was quiet. Really quiet. And the giant machinery was sitting idle.
Perhaps it is lack of insurance money flow again. Perhaps it is owners leaving and simply not bothering to follow things through in good speed.
Either way, there ainto nothing much going on. And there are a large number of the big buildings which haven’t even been started yet. The small old easy ones have long gone, but not the big and difficult ones. The biggest jobs remain.
The timeframe is going to stretch way out ………………………
I’d bet that machinery is being paid for by someone, Other wise it would be somewhere else working/ making money. No one with that amount of coin invested in machinery likes to have it sitting still for long….
I bet someone’s paying a healthy retainer to have it sitting there….
Personal responsibility. Take an aspect of everyone’s life, that people have had to live with the consequences of their actions since the year dot, and then claim they could have done better, should do better, and they are parasites on the backside of society that they ever made a mistake.
Your government hates you.
So does National have any intention of actually trying to decrease reoffending or are they just interested in jobs for the boys? Building Wiri is most definitely not in the best interests of the justice system, although it’s obviously in the best interest of Fletchers, Serco and National’s coffers…
Am waiting to see where the billions of EQC and Insurance Company money is going. To the banks or ?
I note thet the sale of new expensive cars is up in the Christchurch area.
The video is definitely worth a watch, but here are a couple highlights:
The RIAA argues that $150,000 is lost for every illegal copy of a song. Based on this argument, an iPod Classic could carry up to $8 billion in pirated music.
The MPAA says that $58 billion and 370,000 jobs are lost annually to piracy, yet, Reid argues, only the music industry is down in revenue since 2000 and by nowhere near $58 billion.
The more I look at the claims of the copyright industry the more I realise that all their claims are complete bollocks.
Anyone else find it odd that Close Up is interviewing an American professor about the ‘terror’ trials?
I find it irksome that we are turning to someone from the country behind terror laws for comment about the legitimacy of this trial – couldn’t they find a NZ academic?
Ooops my bad – he has been here since ’72 so probably is a NZ resident – Sorry Bill, but your accent is still the last one I want to hear when commentary on this issue is being delivered – nothing personal.
ms asked earlier why didn’t nick smith cut out the social cultural thing when Auckland was being turned into a smoothie. I think that this government is like a tag wrestling team with some upfront mixing it with the public and others waiting in the wings with their particular maneouvre ready to utilise.
Someone on jim mora today pointed out the huge burden that large amalgamations make for the CEOs, which explains their huge salaries. Where did economy of scale go? And flatten the management structure and pay most of the saving in salary to the top banana! That’s a sort of parallel book keeping.
Yesterday, there were more reports of Radioactive cesium levels rising sharply in Fukushima and last week there were a couple of serious nuclear accidents in Canada and South Korea that went largely unreported…
last week there were a couple of serious nuclear accidents in Canada and South Korea that went largely unreported…
Of course they went unreported – there wasn’t any natural disaster to cause them and they were in 1) first world country and 2) US nuclear state friends.
The essential public good that Margaret Thatcher, Tony Blair and now Cameron sell is not power stations, or trains, or hospitals. It’s the public itself. It’s us.
Which is really what this government is selling with their state asset sales program – us. Selling the power will give a few people a permanent revenue stream from our work for doing absolutely nothing.
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Peter Dunne writes – The great nineteenth British Prime Minister, William Gladstone, once observed that “the first essential for a Prime Minister is to be a good butcher.” When a later British Prime Minister, Harold Macmillan, sacked a third of his Cabinet in July 1962, in what became ...
Ele Ludemann writes – New Zealanders had the OECD’s second highest tax increase last year: New Zealanders faced the second-biggest tax raises in the developed world last year, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) says. The intergovernmental agency said the average change in personal income tax ...
We all know something’s not right with our elections. The spread of misinformation, people being targeted with soundbites and emotional triggers that ignore the facts, even the truth, and influence their votes.The use of technology to produce deep fakes. How can you tell if something is real or not? Can ...
This video includes conclusions of the creator climate scientist Dr. Simon Clark. It is presented to our readers as an informed perspective. Please see video description for references (if any). This year you will be lied to! Simon Clark helps prebunk some misleading statements you'll hear about climate. The video includes ...
It is all very well cutting the backrooms of public agencies but it may compromise the frontlines. One of the frustrations of the Productivity Commission’s 2017 review of universities is that while it observed that their non-academic staff were increasing faster than their academic staff, it did not bother to ...
Buzz from the Beehive Two speeches delivered by Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters at Anzac Day ceremonies in Turkey are the only new posts on the government’s official website since the PM announced his Cabinet shake-up. In one of the speeches, Peters stated the obvious: we live in a troubled ...
1. Which of these would you not expect to read in The Waikato Invader?a. Luxon is here to do business, don’t you worry about thatb. Mr KPI expects results, and you better believe itc. This decisive man of action is getting me all hot and excitedd. Melissa Lee is how ...
…it has a restricted jurisdiction which must not be abused: it is not an inquisitionNOTE – this article was published before the High Court ruled that Karen Chhour does not have to appear before the Waitangi Tribunal Gary Judd writes – The High Court ...
Lindsay Mitchell writes – One of reasons Oranga Tamariki exists is to prevent child neglect. But could the organisation itself be guilty of the same?Oranga Tamariki’s statistics show a decrease in the number and age of children in care. “There are less children ...
David Farrar writes: Graeme Edgeler wrote in 2017: In the first five years after three strikes came into effect 5248 offenders received a ‘first strike’ (that is, a “stage-1 conviction” under the three strikes sentencing regime), and 68 offenders received a ‘second strike’. In the five years prior to ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has surprised everyone with his ruthlessness in sacking two of his ministers from their crucial portfolios. Removing ministers for poor performance after only five months in the job just doesn’t normally happen in politics. That’s refreshing and will be extremely ...
TL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the two days to 6:06am on Thursday, April 25:Politics: PM Christopher Luxon has set up a dual standard for ministerial competence by demoting two National Cabinet ministers while leaving also-struggling ...
Hi,Today I mainly want to share some of your thoughts about the recent piece I wrote about success and failure, and the forces that seemingly guide our lives. But first, a quick bit of housekeeping: I am doing a Webworm popup in Los Angeles on Saturday May 11 at 2pm. ...
It is hard to see what Melissa Lee might have done to “save” the media. National went into the election with no public media policy and appears not to have developed one subsequently. Lee claimed that she had prepared a policy paper before the election but it had been decided ...
Open access notablesIce acceleration and rotation in the Greenland Ice Sheet interior in recent decades, Løkkegaard et al., Communications Earth & Environment:In the past two decades, mass loss from the Greenland ice sheet has accelerated, partly due to the speedup of glaciers. However, uncertainty in speed derived from satellite products ...
Buzz from the Beehive A statement from Children’s Minister Karen Chhour – yet to be posted on the Government’s official website – arrived in Point of Order’s email in-tray last night. It welcomes the High Court ruling on whether the Waitangi Tribunal can demand she appear before it. It does ...
Mr Bombastic:Ironically, the media the academic experts wanted is, in many ways, the media they got. In place of the tyrannical editors of yesteryear, advancing without fear or favour the interests of the ruling class; the New Zealand news media of today boasts a troop of enlightened journalists dedicated to ...
It's hard times try to make a livingYou wake up every morning in the unforgivingOut there somewhere in the cityThere's people living lives without mercy or pityI feel good, yeah I'm feeling fineI feel better then I have for the longest timeI think these pills have been good for meI ...
In 1974, the US Supreme Court issued its decision in United States v. Nixon, finding that the President was not a King, but was subject to the law and was required to turn over the evidence of his wrongdoing to the courts. It was a landmark decision for the rule ...
Every day now just seems to bring in more fresh meat for the grinder.In their relentlessly ideological drive to cut back on the “excessive bloat” (as they see it) of the previous Labour-led government, on the mountains of evidence accumulated in such a short period of time do not ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Megan Valére SosouMarket gardening site of the Itchèléré de Itagui agricultural cooperative in Dassa-Zoumè (Image credit: Megan Valère Sossou) For the residents of Dassa-Zoumè, a city in the West African country of Benin, choosing between drinking water and having enough ...
Buzz from the Beehive Melissa Lee – as may be discerned from the screenshot above – has not been demoted for doing something seriously wrong as Minister of ...
Labour is calling for the Government to urgently rethink its coalition commitment to restart live animal exports, Labour animal welfare spokesperson Rachel Boyack said. ...
Today’s Financial Stability Report has once again highlighted that poverty and deep inequality are political choices - and this Government is choosing to make them worse. ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to do more for our households in most need as unemployment rises and the cost of living crisis endures. ...
Unemployment is on the rise and it’s only going to get worse under this Government, Labour finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds said. Stats NZ figures show the unemployment rate grew to 4.3 percent in the March quarter from 4 percent in the December quarter. “This is the second rise in unemployment ...
The New Zealand Labour Party welcomes the entering into force of the European Union and New Zealand free trade agreement. This agreement opens the door for a huge increase in trade opportunities with a market of 450 million people who are high value discerning consumers of New Zealand goods and ...
The National-led Government continues its fiscal jiggery pokery with its Pharmac announcement today, Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall says. “The government has increased Pharmac funding but conceded it will only make minimal increases in access to medicine”, said Ayesha Verrall “This is far from the bold promises made to fund ...
This afternoon’s interim Waitangi Tribunal report must be taken seriously as it affects our most vulnerable children, Labour children’s spokesperson Willow-Jean Prime. ...
Te Pāti Māori are demanding the New Zealand Government support an international independent investigation into mass graves that have been uncovered at two hospitals on the Gaza strip, following weeks of assault by Israeli troops. Among the 392 bodies that have been recovered, are children and elderly civilians. Many of ...
Our two-tiered system for veterans’ support is out of step with our closest partners, and all parties in Parliament should work together to fix it, Labour veterans’ affairs spokesperson Greg O’Connor said. ...
Stripping two Ministers of their portfolios just six months into the job shows Christopher Luxon’s management style is lacking, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said. ...
Tonight’s court decision to overturn the summons of the Children’s Minister has enabled the Crown to continue making decisions about Māori without evidence, says Te Pāti Māori spokesperson for Children, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi. “The judicial system has this evening told the nation that this government can do whatever they want when ...
It appears Nicola Willis is about to pull the rug out from under the feet of local communities still dealing with the aftermath of last year’s severe weather, and local councils relying on funding to build back from these disasters. ...
The Government is making short-sighted changes to the Resource Management Act (RMA) that will take away environmental protection in favour of short-term profits, Labour’s environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
Labour welcomes the release of the report into the North Island weather events and looks forward to working with the Government to ensure that New Zealand is as prepared as it can be for the next natural disaster. ...
The Labour Party has called for the New Zealand Government to recognise Palestine, as a material step towards progressing the two-State solution needed to achieve a lasting peace in the region. ...
Some of our country’s most important work, stopping the sexual exploitation of children and violent extremism could go along with staff on the frontline at ports and airports. ...
The Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill will give projects such as new coal mines a ‘get out of jail free’ card to wreak havoc on the environment, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said today. ...
The government's decision to reintroduce Three Strikes is a destructive and ineffective piece of law-making that will only exacerbate an inherently biased and racist criminal justice system, said Te Pāti Māori Justice Spokesperson, Tākuta Ferris, today. During the time Three Strikes was in place in Aotearoa, Māori and Pasifika received ...
Cuts to frontline hospital staff are not only a broken election promise, it shows the reckless tax cuts have well and truly hit the frontline of the health system, says Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall. ...
The Green Party has joined the call for public submissions on the fast-track legislation to be extended after the Ombudsman forced the Government to release the list of organisations invited to apply just hours before submissions close. ...
New Zealand’s good work at reducing climate emissions for three years in a row will be undone by the National government’s lack of ambition and scrapping programmes that were making a difference, Labour Party climate spokesperson Megan Woods said today. ...
More essential jobs could be on the chopping block, this time Ministry of Education staff on the school lunches team are set to find out whether they're in line to lose their jobs. ...
Te Pāti Māori is disgusted at the confirmation that hundreds are set to lose their jobs at Oranga Tamariki, and the disestablishment of the Treaty Response Unit. “This act of absolute carelessness and out of touch decision making is committing tamariki to state abuse.” Said Te Pāti Māori Oranga Tamariki ...
The Government is trying to bring in a law that will allow Ministers to cut corners and kill off native species, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said. ...
Cancelling urgently needed new Cook Strait ferries and hiking the cost of public transport for many Kiwis so that National can announce the prospect of another tunnel for Wellington is not making good choices, Labour Transport Spokesperson Tangi Utikere said. ...
A laundry list of additional costs for Tāmaki Makarau Auckland shows the Minister for the city is not delivering for the people who live there, says Labour Auckland Issues spokesperson Shanan Halbert. ...
Te Pāti Māori co-leader Rawiri Waititi, and Mema Paremata mō Tāmaki-Makaurau, Takutai Tarsh Kemp, will travel to the Gold Coast to strengthen ties with Māori in Australia next week (15-21 April). The visit, in the lead-up to the 9th Australian National Kapa haka Festival, will be an opportunity for both ...
The Green Party has today launched a step-by-step guide to help New Zealanders make their voice heard on the Government’s democracy dodging and anti-environment fast track legislation. ...
New Zealand lost a true legend when internationally renowned disability advocate Sir Robert Martin (KNZM) passed away at his home in Whanganui last night, Disabilities Issues Minister Louise Upston says. “Our Government’s thoughts are with his wife Lynda, family and community, those he has worked with, the disability community in ...
Good evening – Before discussing the challenges and opportunities facing New Zealand’s foreign policy, we’d like to first acknowledge the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs. You have contributed to debates about New Zealand foreign policy over a long period of time, and we thank you for hosting us. ...
From today, passengers travelling internationally from Auckland Airport will be able to keep laptops and liquids in their carry-on bags for security screening thanks to new technology, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Creating a more efficient and seamless travel experience is important for holidaymakers and businesses, enabling faster movement through ...
People with an interest in the health of Northland’s marine ecosystems are invited to a public meeting to discuss how to deal with kina barrens, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones will lead the discussion, which will take place on Friday, 10 May, at Awanui Hotel in ...
Kiwi exporters are $100 million better off today with the NZ EU FTA entering into force says Trade Minister Todd McClay. “This is all part of our plan to grow the economy. New Zealand's prosperity depends on international trade, making up 60 per cent of the country’s total economic activity. ...
There are heartening signs that the extractive sector is once again becoming an attractive prospect for investors and a source of economic prosperity for New Zealand, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. “The beginnings of a resurgence in extractive industries are apparent in media reports of the sector in the past ...
The return of the historic Ō-Rākau battle site to the descendants of those who fought there moved one step closer today with the first reading of Te Pire mō Ō-Rākau, Te Pae o Maumahara / The Ō-Rākau Remembrance Bill. The Bill will entrust the 9.7-hectare battle site, five kilometres west ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has announced 25 new high-speed EV charging hubs along key routes between major urban centres and outlined the Government’s plan to supercharge New Zealand’s EV infrastructure. The hubs will each have several chargers and be capable of charging at least four – and up to 10 ...
The coalition Government will not proceed with the previous Government’s plans to regulate residential property managers, Housing Minister Chris Bishop says. “I have written to the Chairperson of the Social Services and Community Committee to inform him that the Government does not intend to support the Residential Property Managers Bill ...
The Government has announced an independent review into the disability support system funded by the Ministry of Disabled People – Whaikaha. Disability Issues Minister Louise Upston says the review will look at what can be done to strengthen the long-term sustainability of Disability Support Services to provide disabled people and ...
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith has attended the Universal Periodic Review in Geneva and outlined the Government’s plan to restore law and order. “Speaking to the United Nations Human Rights Council provided us with an opportunity to present New Zealand’s human rights progress, priorities, and challenges, while responding to issues and ...
The Government and Rotorua Lakes Council are committed to working closely together to end the use of contracted emergency housing motels in Rotorua. Associate Minister of Housing (Social Housing) Tama Potaka says the Government remains committed to ending the long-term use of contracted emergency housing motels in Rotorua by the ...
Trade Minister Todd McClay heads overseas today for high-level trade talks in the Gulf region, and a key OECD meeting in Paris. Mr McClay will travel to Riyadh to meet with counterparts from Saudi Arabia and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). “New Zealand’s goods and services exports to the Gulf region ...
Education Minister Erica Stanford has outlined six education priorities to deliver a world-leading education system that sets Kiwi kids up for future success. “I’m putting ambition, achievement and outcomes at the heart of our education system. I want every child to be inspired and engaged in their learning so they ...
The new NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) App is a secure ‘one stop shop’ to provide the services drivers need, Transport Minister Simeon Brown and Digitising Government Minister Judith Collins say. “The NZTA App will enable an easier way for Kiwis to pay for Vehicle Registration and Road User Charges (RUC). ...
Whānau with tamariki growing up in emergency housing motels will be prioritised for social housing starting this week, says Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka. “Giving these whānau a better opportunity to build healthy stable lives for themselves and future generations is an essential part of the Government’s goal of reducing ...
Racing Minister Winston Peters has paid tribute to an icon of the industry with the recent passing of Dave O’Sullivan (OBE). “Our sympathies are with the O’Sullivan family with the sad news of Dave O’Sullivan’s recent passing,” Mr Peters says. “His contribution to racing, initially as a jockey and then ...
Assalaamu alaikum, greetings to you all. Eid Mubarak, everyone! I want to extend my warmest wishes to you and everyone celebrating this joyous occasion. It is a pleasure to be here. I have enjoyed Eid celebrations at Parliament before, but this is my first time joining you as the Minister ...
Associate Health Minister David Seymour has announced Pharmac’s largest ever budget of $6.294 billion over four years, fixing a $1.774 billion fiscal cliff. “Access to medicines is a crucial part of many Kiwis’ lives. We’ve committed to a budget allocation of $1.774 billion over four years so Kiwis are ...
Hon Paula Bennett has been appointed as member and chair of the Pharmac board, Associate Health Minister David Seymour announced today. "Pharmac is a critical part of New Zealand's health system and plays a significant role in ensuring that Kiwis have the best possible access to medicines,” says Mr Seymour. ...
Hundreds of New Zealand families affected by Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) will benefit from a new Government focus on prevention and treatment, says Health Minister Dr Shane Reti. “We know FASD is a leading cause of preventable intellectual and neurodevelopmental disability in New Zealand,” Dr Reti says. “Every day, ...
Regional Development Minister Shane Jones today attended the official opening of Kaikohe’s new $14.7 million sports complex. “The completion of the Kaikohe Multi Sports Complex is a fantastic achievement for the Far North,” Mr Jones says. “This facility not only fulfils a long-held dream for local athletes, but also creates ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters’ engagements in Türkiye this week underlined the importance of diplomacy to meet growing global challenges. “Returning to the Gallipoli Peninsula to represent New Zealand at Anzac commemorations was a sombre reminder of the critical importance of diplomacy for de-escalating conflicts and easing tensions,” Mr Peters ...
Ambassador Millar, Burgemeester, Vandepitte, Excellencies, military representatives, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen – good morning and welcome to this sacred Anzac Day dawn service. It is an honour to be here on behalf of the Government and people of New Zealand at Buttes New British Cemetery, Polygon Wood – a deeply ...
Distinguished guests - It is an honour to return once again to this site which, as the resting place for so many of our war-dead, has become a sacred place for generations of New Zealanders. Our presence here and at the other special spaces of Gallipoli is made ...
Mai ia tawhiti pamamao, te moana nui a Kiwa, kua tae whakaiti mai matou, ki to koutou papa whenua. No koutou te tapuwae, no matou te tapuwae, kua honoa pumautia. Ko nga toa kua hinga nei, o te Waipounamu, o te Ika a Maui, he okioki tahi me o ...
Paul Goldsmith will take on responsibility for the Media and Communications portfolio, while Louise Upston will pick up the Disability Issues portfolio, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon announced today. “Our Government is relentlessly focused on getting New Zealand back on track. As issues change in prominence, I plan to adjust Ministerial ...
Recreational catch limits will be reduced in areas of Fiordland and the Chatham Islands to help keep those fisheries healthy and sustainable, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. The lower recreational daily catch limits for a range of finfish and shellfish species caught in the Fiordland Marine Area and ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed an important milestone in New Zealand’s hydrogen future, with the opening of the country’s first network of hydrogen refuelling stations in Wiri. “I want to congratulate the team at Hiringa Energy and its partners K one W one (K1W1), Mitsui & Co New Zealand ...
The coalition Government is delivering on its commitment to improve resource management laws and give greater certainty to consent applicants, with a Bill to amend the Resource Management Act (RMA) expected to be introduced to Parliament next month. RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop has today outlined the first RMA Amendment ...
Overseas models for regulating the oil and gas sector, including their decommissioning regimes, are being carefully scrutinised as a potential template for New Zealand’s own sector, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. The Coalition Government is focused on rebuilding investor confidence in New Zealand’s energy sector as it looks to strengthen ...
Emergency Management and Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell has today released the Report of the Government Inquiry into the response to the North Island Severe Weather Events. “The report shows that New Zealand’s emergency management system is not fit-for-purpose and there are some significant gaps we need to address,” Mr Mitchell ...
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith is today travelling to Europe where he’ll update the United Nations Human Rights Council on the Government’s work to restore law and order. “Attending the Universal Periodic Review in Geneva provides us with an opportunity to present New Zealand’s human rights progress, priorities, and challenges, while ...
Associate Agriculture Minister, Mark Patterson, formally reopened the world’s largest wool processing facility today in Awatoto, Napier, following a $50 million rebuild and refurbishment project. “The reopening of this facility will significantly lift the economic opportunities available to New Zealand’s wool sector, which already accounts for 20 per cent of ...
Hon Andrew Bayly, Minister for Small Business and Manufacturing At the Southland Otago Regional Engineering Collective (SOREC) Summit, 18 April, Dunedin Ngā mihi nui, Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Ko Whanganui aho Good Afternoon and thank you for inviting me to open your summit today. I am delighted ...
The Government is delivering on its commitment to bring back the Three Strikes legislation, Associate Justice Minister Nicole McKee announced today. “Our Government is committed to restoring law and order and enforcing appropriate consequences on criminals. We are making it clear that repeat serious violent or sexual offending is not ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has today announced four new diplomatic appointments for New Zealand’s overseas missions. “Our diplomats have a vital role in maintaining and protecting New Zealand’s interests around the world,” Mr Peters says. “I am pleased to announce the appointment of these senior diplomats from the ...
New Zealand is contributing NZ$7 million to support communities affected by severe food insecurity and other urgent humanitarian needs in Ethiopia and Somalia, Foreign Minister Rt Hon Winston Peters announced today. “Over 21 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance across Ethiopia, with a further 6.9 million people ...
Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage Paul Goldsmith is congratulating Mataaho Collective for winning the Golden Lion for best participant in the main exhibition at the Venice Biennale. "Congratulations to the Mataaho Collective for winning one of the world's most prestigious art prizes at the Venice Biennale. “It is good ...
The Government is reforming financial services to improve access to home loans and other lending, and strengthen customer protections, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly and Housing Minister Chris Bishop announced today. “Our coalition Government is committed to rebuilding the economy and making life simpler by cutting red tape. We are ...
Rongotai MP Julie Anne Genter has apologised in Parliament after National accused her of intimidating and attacking one of its ministers in the House. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra The Prime Minister and state and territory leaders met on Wednesday as the national cabinet to discuss a crisis gripping Australia – the horrific number of women murdered this year. The killings have shocked ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Radhika Raghav, Teaching Fellow, School of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Otago Netflix Indian director Sanjay Leela Bhansali is known for his big-budget Bollywood production, featuring grand sets, star casts, meticulously choreographed dance sequences and lavish costumes, jewellery and furnishings. ...
Sir Robert devoted his life to disability rights after living in institutions in his younger years, says Kaihautū Tika Hauātanga | Disability Rights Commissioner Prudence Walker. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Anastasia Powell, Professor, Family and Sexual Violence, RMIT University Violence against women is not a women’s problem to solve, it is a whole of society problem to solve; and men in particular have to take responsibility. Those were the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jessica Allen, Senior Lecturer in Chemical and Renewable Energy Engineering, University of Newcastle Snapshot freddy/ShutterstockPlans to revive an old coal-fired power station using bioenergy are being considered in the Hunter region of New South Wales. Similar plans for the station ...
Responding to the long-awaited release of judges’ special allowances, including free air travel and hotels for spouses, generous sabbaticals, and access to limousines, Taxpayers’ Union spokesman Alex Murphy said: “In what world does your employer ...
Analysis - The United States has unveiled plans to boost the weapons trade with Australia and the UK, on the same day that Winston Peters is expected to sketch NZ's position on AUKUS. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andrea Carson, Professor of Political Communication, Department of Politics, Media and Philosophy, La Trobe University Since Australia’s First Nations Voice to Parliament referendum in October 2023, diverse commentaries have sought to explain why it failed. But what does an analysis of media ...
Lawyers representing two iwi as well as the Māori Women’s Welfare League on Wednesday asked the Court of Appeal to overturn last week’s High Court decision on the Waitangi Tribunal’s decision to summons Children’s Minister Karen Chhour. The Tribunal is currently investigating the Government’s decision to repeal section 7AA of ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra The Albanese government will introduce legislation to ban deepfake pornography and provide more funding for the eSafety Commission to pilot age-assurance technologies. The contribution of internet sites to gender-based violence was one major issue ...
Average ordinary time hourly earnings, as measured by the Quarterly Employment Survey (QES), increased 5.2 percent in the year to the March 2024 quarter, according to figures released by Stats NZ today. Annual wage cost inflation, as measured by the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Dimitrios Salampasis, FinTech Capability Lead | Senior Lecturer, Emerging Technologies and FinTech, Swinburne University of Technology Clem Onojeghuo/Unsplash In the digital era, the job market is increasingly becoming a minefield – demanding and difficult to navigate. According to the Australian Bureau ...
As of the March 2024 quarter, we can now look back on 20 years of data related to youth not in employment, education, or training (NEET), as collected by the Household Labour Force Survey (HLFS), according to figures released by Stats NZ today. "The ...
Thousands of workers attended public events in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch today to celebrate International Workers’ Day (May Day), but union representatives are urging caution and vigilance over the Government’s blatantly "anti-worker" ...
The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 4.3 percent in the March 2024 quarter, compared with 4.0 percent in the previous quarter, according to figures released by Stats NZ today. ...
The PSA is warning the Government that the sensitive information of New Zealanders held by various agencies will fall into the wrong hands if the latest round of proposed cuts goes ahead. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Talitha Best, Professor of Psychology, CQUniversity Australia Victoria Rodriguez/Unsplash How do sugar rushes work? – W.H, age nine, from Canberra What a terrific question W.H! Let’s explore this, starting with some of the basics. What is sugar? ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Karinna Saxby, Research Fellow, Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research, The University of Melbourne MART PRODUCTION/Pexels Increasing income support could help keep women and children safe according to new work demonstrating strong links between financial insecurity and domestic violence. ...
ANALYSIS:By Olli Hellmann, University of Waikato When New Zealanders commemorate Anzac Day today on April 25, it’s not only to honour the soldiers who lost their lives in World War I and subsequent conflicts, but also to mark a defining event for national identity. The battle of Gallipoli against ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mark A Gregory, Associate Professor, School of Engineering, RMIT University The telecommunications industry faces a major shakeup following the release of the post-incident report on last November’s 12-hour Optus outage. Telecommunications companies will have to share more information with customers during future ...
Welcome to The Spinoff Bookseller Confessional, in which we get to know Aotearoa’s booksellers. This week: Eden Denyer, bookseller at Unity Books Auckland.Weirdest question/request you’ve had on the shop floorA mother came in looking for anything we might have on Alaskan bison as that was her little boy’s ...
NZCTU Economist Craig Renney said new data released by Statistics New Zealand shows the need for Government to act now, with unemployment rising from 3.4% to 4.3%. ...
The outpouring of anger over Maiki Sherman’s hyperbolic presentation of this week’s ‘nightmare’ poll is itself an overreaction, argues Stewart Sowman-Lund. Politicians love nothing more than to pretend they don’t care about polls. This week, deputy prime minister Winston Peters said he didn’t give a “rat’s derriere” about a TVNZ ...
Asia Pacific Report Ngāti Kahungunu in Aotearoa New Zealand’s Hawkes Bay region has become the first indigenous Māori iwi (tribe) to sign a resolution calling for a “ceasefire in Palestine”, reports Te Ao Māori News. Reporter Te Aniwaniwa Paterson talked to Te Otāne Huata, who has been organising peace rallies ...
By Dale Luma in Port Moresby “We want grants and not concessional loans,” is the crisp message from Papua New Guinea businesses directly affected by the Black Wednesday looting four months ago. The businesses, which lost millions after the January 10 rioting and looting, say they need grants as part ...
Happy May Day. Join a union. Q: What’s worse than a staff break room where the only place to sit and have a cup of tea is on a teetering stack of old pornography magazines? A: Your boss replacing the magazine stacks with chairs that are “heartily encrusted with ...
By Koroi Hawkins, RNZ Pacific editor Former opposition leader Matthew Wale has been announced as the second prime ministerial candidate ahead of the election in Solomon Islands tomorrow. He will face off against former foreign affairs minister Jeremiah Manele, who was announced by the Coalition for National Unity and Transformation ...
We get but one birthday a year – why not make it last as long as possible by scheduling as many meals with friends and family as you can? This is an excerpt from our weekly food newsletter, The Boil Up. How do you celebrate your birthday? Do you celebrate at ...
A Koi Tū discussion paper released today proposes sweeping changes to New Zealand’s media industry. The principal’s key author, Gavin Ellis, explains how journalists have a key role to play in making others value their role in society. This is an abridged version of a piece first published on knightlyviews.com ...
The Government’s spending cuts are again targeting support for Māori with proposed reform of the agency charged with advising on Māori wellbeing and development. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ian Douglas, Honorary Senior Lecturer, UNSW Aviation., UNSW Sydney The history of budget jet airlines in Australia is a long road littered with broken dreams. New entrants have consistently struggled to get a foothold. Low-cost carrier Bonza has just become the industry’s ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rosalind Dixon, Director, Gilbert + Tobin Centre of Public Law, UNSW Sydney Australia is finally having a sustained conversation about violence against women and what we can do about it. It is more than time. Australian women and girls continue to experience ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Stephen Duckett, Honorary Enterprise Professor, School of Population and Global Health, and Department of General Practice and Primary Care, The University of Melbourne stockfour/Shutterstock Preliminary bulk billing data released this week shows a 2.1% rise in bulk billing up to March. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Samantha Schulz, Senior Lecturer, University of Adelaide Australia is once again grappling with how we can stop gendered violence in our country. Protests over the weekend show there is enormous community anger over the number of women who are dying and National ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Martin, Visiting Fellow, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University AnastasiaDudka/Shutterstock What if the government was doing everything it could to stop thieves making off with our money, except the one thing that could really work? That’s how it ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Erin Harrington, Senior Lecturer in English and Cultural Studies, University of Canterbury The Conversation It seems to be a time of old favourites. This month our experts have recommended two new seasons – the second season of Alone Australia (although ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jonti Horner, Professor (Astrophysics), University of Southern Queensland A bright Eta Aquariid meteor photobombed this photo of comet C/2020 F8 (SWAN) in May 2020.Jonti Horner Meteors – commonly known as shooting stars – can be seen on any night of the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tim Flannery, Honorary fellow, The University of Melbourne Shutterstock Current concentrations of carbon dioxide (CO₂) in Earth’s atmosphere are unprecedented in human history. But CO₂ levels today, and those that might occur in coming decades, did occur millions of years ago. ...
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“Keep The Coal In The Hole”
Please circulate throughout your lists
Are you concerned about global warming?
Do you want New Zealand to give a global lead?
Show John Key Your Opposition To Coal Mining On Conservation Land!
This Wednesday 21st March, 5 pm, 1 Willeston Street, Downtown Wellington, John Key will officially open Bathurst Resources’ new New Zealand office. Bathurst Resources plan to develop New Zealand’s largest open-cast coal mine on conservation land and we plan to oppose it every step of the way.
Join Coal Action Network Aotearoa, Forest and Bird, Greenpeace, 350, Ora Taiao, Generation Zero, and other concerned groups and individuals from around the country to say ‘NO Mining Pure NZ’.
In May 2010, over 50 000 people marched up Queen Street in Auckland to protest the Government’s proposal to open up National Parks and other protected areas, after which the government executed a remarkable backdown and committed not to mine in National Parks and other significant conservation areas protected under Schedule 4 of the Crown Minerals Act.
They also stated that “significant applications to mine on public conservation land should be notified”. In November 2011, Conservation Minister Kate Wilkinson advised that the application for Australian-owned Bathurst Resources to have access to mine the fragile and unique Denniston Plateau will not be publicly notified.
Bathurst’s proposal for a resource consent to mine coal on the Denniston Plateau on the West Coast is currently under appeal to the Environment Court. This proposal is the thin edge of Bathurst’s wedge which would see a unique ecosystem destroyed and the volume of coal exported by New Zealand increase by 40% and more in the future if we don’t stop this.
So bring your placards and help give John Key and Bathurst Resources our simple message: “Keep the coal in the hole”.
Find out more here
Or email: coalactionnetwork@gmail.com
Around the time Brent becomes $140-$160/barrel, I predict that the popularity of coal is going to skyrocket through the roof. October or November probably, during the northern hemisphere winter.
No doubt you are probably right CV. And vested interest and their government toadies will be rubbing their hands with glee at the prospect. We might as well tcelebrate the victory of greed over nature and throw the last Hectors Dolphin onto the fire to use the little store of blubber these creatures possess to stoke the flames, as the acidification of the ocean caused by burning all that coal will kill them eventually anyway.
Do I sound bitter?
Last week I asked the editors at ‘The Standard’ to give notice of the above public event protesting against open cast coal mining on the Deniston Plateau. A proposal that if it goes ahead as well as destroying a unique eco-system will increase New Zealand’s coal exports by 40%.
Nothing but silence.
I again sent a request to put up a notice about this event to the editors last night, fully expecting to see something today.
To admit to the problem but not want to do everything in your power to help those who want to do something practical about it. In some ways is worse than being a denier.
The $60K-$120K pa middle classes want their creature comforts, cars and their consumption.
They have been promised by many cohorts of marketeers, politicians and economists, and they will not be denied.
Can’t make it to Denniston Mine protest – cost too much in petrol and exhaust gasses.
Its a hell of a long way to nowhere, even from Westport, to seed some snails
Your comment is awaiting moderation.
Why?
As an exercise in nausea I visited the national party 2011 election website. Looking primarily for the things Key did not mention they would do after the election. We all knew he would sell the SOEs off but we had nothing there about the more extreme rightist policies.
Charter Schools anybody? Hear about that from National pre election? Ditto private prisons? Whats next?
What we are seeing is a creeping rash of extreme right policies: what I am not hearing is a dialogue from Labour as a leftist (or even centrist) counter. Must we all whistle Dixie whilst Shearer considers a response rather than a minor display of visceral anger and opposition? Get a spine Labour, stop Shearer from appearing like a filleted jellyfish.
Don’t hold your breath Bored. The response is probably going to be along the lines of:
“We are putting bad prison guards and badly run prisons on notice.”
NACT have one term left and they don’t care about being re-elected.
I was going to write an article on the local govt reforms but Gordon Campbell has done it much better. Worth a read.
There are some elements of the proposed legislation that are potentially good. It’s not all bad, especially around the possibility of making it easier to create larger more efficient council structures. But the real weasel is in the first section of the document released yesterday:
The crucial loophole here is that it is entirely a matter of interpretation … presumably the discretion of the Minister… as to what is a public or private activity. And given that the Minister is given drastic new powers to intervene in Local Government then he can impose his intepretation however he likes.
If the Minister for instance deems that a Port operation is a ‘private sector business’ then he can force a Council to sell it. If he deems Water Supply to be the same.. the same applies. There is no limit to what the Minister can impose.
Especially if the political cost is irrelevant to him.
Then other pressures can and should be imposed on the Government by the local communities which are dictatorially affected, beyond purely political ones. After all, political costs come in many shapes and forms.
Can you imagine how Auckland feels with this announcement. One of the super city reforms required the Council to prepare a “spatial plan” the purpose of which was to “contribute to Auckland’s social, economic, environmental, and cultural well-being through a comprehensive and effective long-term (20- to 30-year) strategy for Auckland’s growth and development.”
The plan was not a wish list. It had to “identify policies, priorities, land allocations, and programmes and investments to implement the strategic direction and specify how resources will be provided to implement the strategic direction.”
Now Smith is telling Auckland not to bother with the social, environmental or cultural well beings. He could have saved a lot of work and bother by excluding them from the start.
The key line from Campbell sums it up This reform is not about ‘transparency’ and ‘accountability’. It is about imposing a right wing strait jacket on communities and their elected councils, in order to further commercialise the provision of quite basic needs..
You might ask the questions:
1. How much do all of the services put out to tender to the private sector under the LATE legislation etc cost?
2. How much does it cost to do in-house?
I suspect that the difference is the “profit” that has to be paid to the private sector. If we were to total the cumulative profit implicit within LATE contracts since the Bassett legislation in 1987 (25 years) how much I wonder would that offset the council debt loadings?
@Bored How about threatening to call him Doctor John Zoidberg the fishy intellectual with lobster arms from Futurama?
Fabulous idea, love it.
No doubt this will need to be pushed through under urgency.
“Councils would be steered away from spending on social and cultural activities in favour of “core” activities such as key infrastructure, regulations and public services.”
The whole Objectivist playbook.
Lets face it bigger is better, bigger is cheaper, bigger is more efficient……fuck these bastard rationalists really give me the heebies. Show me the evidence.
Not rational to ask them for scientific evidence when their decision making is ideological and profiteering in basis, not scientific.
First order of business for the next left government. The “Reversal Of Every Single Piece Of Legislation Passed Over The Last Six Years Bill”. To be debated under urgency, naturally.
@Kotahi Tane Huta
😀 I see this government and its moneyed coaches as repeating the taking of the commons land from the English lower classes back when the moneyed classes there decided they could do better with the land than the poor people who relied on it.
I’ve talked about attacks and abuse here before, most of it is really quite tame. Especially compared to what I’ve been witnessing elsewhere online over the past few weeks.
It puts political bickering into perspective, although it does show how bad fighting and abusing can degenerate on an unregulated web.
[It is one reason why we moderate this site…RL]
PG are you now promoting a ‘regulated web’ where statutory bodies have a direct say over what can and cannot be communicated over the internet.
I haven’t said anything like that.
Um petey you are saying an unregulated web is a bad thing and implying regulation is needed.
He doesn’t really think this stuff through to the end does he, MS.
I didn’t imply anything like that Greg, if you had a legal background you would understand what an implication was.
I said there are problems with an unregulated web, nothing about what could or should be done about it.
RL – yes, I agree that the sort of thing I’m talking about wouldn’t be allowed here. A degree of regulation isn’t always a bad thing.
A degree of regulation isn’t always a bad thing.
In fact a degree of regulation is always a necessary thing. Politics is essentially the art of striking a desirable balance between too much and too little.
Whatever, Wormtongue.
Well, they’re protecting us against big bad terrorists by filtering them big baddasses out of being able to get on planes so regulating the net is gonna help against bad words too. I reckon. Good on ya George for being such an obedient MSM regurgitator.
Pete George, try a little more thinking first …. “I have been witnessing an online campaign of abuse, false and unsubstantiated accusation, character assassination, misrepresentation of identities, attempts to shut down speech, attempts to shut down organisations.”
Start with your own ambition and types Pete – Parliament and politicians…
abuse … feral inbreds on the west coast
false and unsubstantiated accusation … Winston Peters tirades under the shade of privilege against any number of private people – shameful.
character assassination … Bennett in exposing the private details of the Auckland women.
misrepresentation of identities ….
attempts to shut down speech … NZ on Air contorting to only show certain programs last year to aid election of incumbent.
attempts to shut down organisations … kim dotcom
I am sure others would be aware of more and better examples but the bottom line is that it is your own arena Pete George which is the most abusive and should be better regulated. Think first man.
PG – I find your trolling here to shill for Dunne abusive.
It is also dishonest as PG the eternal fluffer attempts to inflate or is that fellate, the leader of his pack, with truth bending, missleading and flat out denial of facts on this blog as a start..
The word offended is far too soft when used towards PG the Dunny Brush supporter on this site…its flat out insulting!
Curious that I’m getting attacked and abused (mildly) here for posting that.
Oh how pathetic. And you stood for Parliament?
And no answer I see.
With respect, Pete George, please fuck off. We’ve had enough of your ideologically driven duplicitous bullshit. You’re a very dangerous man, and as long as you keep spouting your ill-thought out pseudo-intellectual clap-trap, we’ll continue to tell you so.
abuse … feral inbreds on the west coast
Just for the record, that one didn’t happen.
Clark referred to “some fairly feral attitudes”, and made no reference to “inbreds” at all.
Thanks rOb for some facts in this case, the myths blow a lot of dust in our eyes.
ha ha, thanks r0b, I wondered if that piece of artistic licence might lure you from your hiding place.
I am kinda hiding it’s true – but only because of over work just now. Should pass in just a few more weeks. I hope…
Pete, whilst you continue to support that idiot Dunne and his desire to aid and abet the legalised theft of state assets by his larcenous mates in the National party I will continue to “abuse” your viewpoint.
Perhaps you could try and disabuse PG of his mistaken viewpoints? Nah, no chance of success.
Hey Pete, welcome to the Internet.
I’ve read your stuff, and although I disagree with some of the stuff you say, I recon you are a nice person inspite of our ideological differences. But I think you are a little bit naive to think the Internet is some sort of prime time “censored and ok for kids hour” tv slot. People will swear and take the mickey online, mostly in jest and to prove a point about something they are passionate about, and not out of maliciousness. Sure there are trolls and griefers, but I suspect they are dealt with pretty well here. The Internet can be a bit more like a rowdy local pub at times, and that’s why I’m surprised you seem a bit naive considering you’ve been active here for a fair while.
Cheers.
Food for thought.
If the chances of dying from a terrorist attack are 1:25.000.000 while the chances of dying from a lightening strike are 1:500.000 than why does this three year old boy in a wheel chair for fuck’s sake have to be terrorised by the TSA on his trip to Disney land?
Or if you’re not mad you haven’t been paying attention.
Probably because the US is just a year or two away from becoming a “turnkey totalitarian state” able to intercept, decode and store every single electronic message or phone call you make in your life time, anywhere in the world.
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/%E2%80%9Cwe-are-far-turnkey-totalitarian-state-big-brother-goes-live-september-2013
Short answer: if one mixes paranoia with private security suppliers who employ lowest-wage staff, who in turn have no incentive to think for themselves, one can expect things like this, and the occasional shooting of a distressed passenger (or high-multiple-tasering followed by an unfortunate but “unrelated” demise).
But fear is a good distraction from the other -problems in life.
ACC minister alleged to have provided a supportive reference for Pullar on ministerial notepaper
My second attempt at putting in a link the “neat” way. May not work. If not, it’s in the herald
This story just keeps getting better.
If this is true, I find it fascinating that, ACC staff have continued to aggressively manage Ms Pullar’s claim despite her pulling some of the strongest ‘contact’ cards in the pack. She must have really pissed them off because I’m pretty sure that most middle-manager types in the public service would, (and probably do) cave pretty quickly in these kinds of circumstances. Seems like a mini-rebellion.
Key is predictably relaxed about his ACC minister intervening in this way, and said he had known Pullar for years himself, as she had been a National Party official, and that she had often talked to him about her ACC woes at funtions.
Christchurch repairs are in danger due to lack of rental accommodation.
Christchurch Rental Crisis Deepens stuff.co.nz
What could this “circuit breaker” be?
I see that there are hundreds of perfectly good and undamaged homes are on the market in and around Christchurch.
For a government that has been very swift in bailing out the wealthy, burnt by bad investment decisions to the tune of $billions. How about buying up all this housing stock and renting it out to those in need?
Unlike the bailout of the rich speculators instead of gaining billions of dollars of worthless junk bonds and making a loss, the government, as well as helping people suffering through no fault of their own, will gain an appreciable asset.
(And I am sure the real estate agents and sellers would appreciate it as well.)
Check it out!
1) Harcourts
2) Professionals
3) Ray White
4) Mike Pero
5) Nation Wide
6) Total Realty
7) GlassMiles
8 ) Hastings McLeod Ltd
9) Simes
10) Blue Sky
This is just some of the houses available.
Why don’t the government buy up all these perfectly good houses and rent them out?
There is no need for anyone at all to go homeless in Christchurch.
Simple.
The government can spend $billions of our tax money bailing out millionaires who lost money on investments. Why are they sitting around on their hands doing nothing about the rental crisis in Christchurch?
Brownlee: ” it could have artificially lowered the appetite of private investors to provide a solution that could be lucrative for investors,”
What a scumbag.
It is like Brownlee is reading my criticisms of his government, and giving his reply.
Either that, or the need to take such obvious action to ease the Christchurch rental housing crisis, must be apparent even to him. So apparent in fact, that he has to come up with his fatuous defence that protecting the market is more important than housing people. Even though the housing crisis is so bad that it is hampering the very recovery and reconstruction of the city which is supposed to be his main responsibility.
The needs of the “lucrative” “private investors” must come first.
With this sort of attitude, let’s pray that Brownlee’s government buddies don’t spy another bunch of millionaires that need bailing out.
A starter for 10 …
What proportion of demolition diggers and nibblers in the Christchurch CBD sit idle all day long?
Ok, I’ll answer it – try about 80-90%
That’s right folks. The CBD is like a ghost town with virtually no work going on. All the giant machinery is sitting idle right now, despite a huge amount of demolition work remaining (all the big buildings). There are no workers around, the place is quiet and dead.
FFS
Just wait for Treasury to push out the economic benefits from Christchurch reconstruction yet again.
Better accept it people, building owners are taking their insurance payouts and have mentally already left the CBD.
Yes well it surprised me. I have not been into the CBD for some time but it was quiet. Really quiet. And the giant machinery was sitting idle.
Perhaps it is lack of insurance money flow again. Perhaps it is owners leaving and simply not bothering to follow things through in good speed.
Either way, there ainto nothing much going on. And there are a large number of the big buildings which haven’t even been started yet. The small old easy ones have long gone, but not the big and difficult ones. The biggest jobs remain.
The timeframe is going to stretch way out ………………………
I’d bet that machinery is being paid for by someone, Other wise it would be somewhere else working/ making money. No one with that amount of coin invested in machinery likes to have it sitting still for long….
I bet someone’s paying a healthy retainer to have it sitting there….
Yes. The contractors who took a punt on contracts in Chch and who are about to up-sticks.
We may need to look at providing a commissioner for the environment who can give you a counterview.
Freshwater report.
Christchurch Eco City? – it’s happening in China
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/01/13/tianjin-eco-city_n_806972.html?ref=green-technology#s221860
Personal responsibility. Take an aspect of everyone’s life, that people have had to live with the consequences of their actions since the year dot, and then claim they could have done better, should do better, and they are parasites on the backside of society that they ever made a mistake.
Your government hates you.
http://whoar.co.nz/2012/commentwhoar-the-standard-censor-tries-to-defend-hisher-parking-warden-ways/
phil-at-whoar.
The other day we surmised on the real target ofvWhale’s attack on Boag.
Now we have it, Nick Smith. Internal National politics……….
Paying the price for his ACC levy drop and upsetting Atilla the Hen as he’s always been a compulsive liar and general nutcase so it can’t be that.
Think big prisons fail
So does National have any intention of actually trying to decrease reoffending or are they just interested in jobs for the boys? Building Wiri is most definitely not in the best interests of the justice system, although it’s obviously in the best interest of Fletchers, Serco and National’s coffers…
Am waiting to see where the billions of EQC and Insurance Company money is going. To the banks or ?
I note thet the sale of new expensive cars is up in the Christchurch area.
The sale of new expensive cars in Dunedin took a drop when the ODHB IT guy got done for multimillion dollar fraud.
Food for thought:
Shameful and degrading evaluations of teachers by politicians.
The $8 Billion iPod
The more I look at the claims of the copyright industry the more I realise that all their claims are complete bollocks.
Anyone else find it odd that Close Up is interviewing an American professor about the ‘terror’ trials?
I find it irksome that we are turning to someone from the country behind terror laws for comment about the legitimacy of this trial – couldn’t they find a NZ academic?
Ooops my bad – he has been here since ’72 so probably is a NZ resident – Sorry Bill, but your accent is still the last one I want to hear when commentary on this issue is being delivered – nothing personal.
ms asked earlier why didn’t nick smith cut out the social cultural thing when Auckland was being turned into a smoothie. I think that this government is like a tag wrestling team with some upfront mixing it with the public and others waiting in the wings with their particular maneouvre ready to utilise.
Someone on jim mora today pointed out the huge burden that large amalgamations make for the CEOs, which explains their huge salaries. Where did economy of scale go? And flatten the management structure and pay most of the saving in salary to the top banana! That’s a sort of parallel book keeping.
” Where did economy of scale go? ”
I think it went down the toilet.
It costs more money to all shit together than to shit singularly. How did that happen?
Economy of scale used to work with factories (back when one factory could be far more efficient than another) – never worked with social institutions.
Ongoing nuclear nightmares
Yesterday, there were more reports of Radioactive cesium levels rising sharply in Fukushima and last week there were a couple of serious nuclear accidents in Canada and South Korea that went largely unreported…
Of course they went unreported – there wasn’t any natural disaster to cause them and they were in 1) first world country and 2) US nuclear state friends.
Human Revenue Stream
Which is really what this government is selling with their state asset sales program – us. Selling the power will give a few people a permanent revenue stream from our work for doing absolutely nothing.