Thanks for that, my friend. This brutal occupation will come to an end one day, thanks to people like those in that video, and also to brave fighters like these….
A widespread outbreak of myrtle rust disease had the potential to dramatically change the treescape of the region.
The long term effects of the windborne fungal disease, which has so far affected five horticultural properties nationwide, including three in Taranaki, are unknown.
The disease affects the myrtaceae family including 3000 species, among them pohutukawa, rata, feijoa, ramarama and manuka, and various garden ornamentals.
The Taranaki landscape would be altered if large tracts of pohutukawa and manuka were destroyed by the disease, said gardening writer, Glyn Church.
“We could see 1000’s of pohutukawa trees dying in front of our eyes,” Church said.
“The myrtaceae family is quite large, it includes eucalypts, and the outcome of the disease is not known.
“It could wipe out the trees, or it could make the plant weaker but not really kill the plant. “One thing we are certain of is that is here and would be impossible to get rid of.”
Church said plants grown in warmer climates were often more susceptible to the disease than colder climates.
honey companies have been paying huge money for land in the manuka areas of nz ,they will be sweating now, instead of spraying to kill it they will be spraying to save it,
The disease has been across the ditch for 7 years now. You would think our biosecurity boffins would have tested the rust on pohutukawa and manuka by now to see the likely effects on nz plants. But it appears we have no idea what its going to do from here. Biosecurity win?
Wow Glenn Greenwald 3 months ago, but he could be describing the goings on in Washington just this last week. He’s basically calling the propaganda against Trump the “destruction of democracy”.
Deep State vs Tr*mp/Bannon State. Not much of a choice is it.
Greenwald, “I happen to think that the Trump Presidency is extremely dangerous” 😉
I agree with his general premise about the loss of democracy though and the danger of the conservatives (including in the Dems) thinking that the Deep State will save them. Really stupid.
It’s tricky to compare the two, Trump is hurting people’s lives in America now although the Deep State has probably had a much worse effect across the world for decades.
I just find it particularly grating that a political figure is being ousted by the so called “good folks” through the use of lies and propaganda. If there was a bully at my school who had done some horrible stuff to some other kids would I want him expelled due to some fabricated stories made up by other students in order to get rid of him for good. I’d like to think I would want no part of that, and you start to get into the territory of being no better than the bully.
The CIA has of course a long history of tampering with”foreign” countries using legal and illegal means. The USA is in deep trouble when the CIA uses its “skills” to collapse the democratically elected government. Innocent until proven guilty.
But The Washington Post says they were told by an anonymous official that Trump did (fill in whatever takes your fancy). Therefore it behooves every person who might have any degree of reservation about Trump as a person or any dislike of Trump policies to jump on board and denounce, decry and destroy.
And if The Washington Post, can’t get you on board, well we got it over here… in The New York times, The Guardian, The Independent and any other major, liberal and msm news outlet that knows what the control c /control v functions of a keyboard do.
But wait. There’s more! We got CNN, BBC, ABC, MSNBC and every other piece of liberal alphabet spaghetti with broadcast wavelength, who’ll breathlessly provide (fill in whatever takes your fancy) as actual, verifiable news with a straight face and secondary analysis to boot.
How can you not jump aboard? Are you against us? Are you a Trump voter? A Putin lover? A fascist? Just plain stupid? What’s wrong with you Will Robinson?
Boo hoo for trump. Who cares, he deserves everything he gets imo. I hope all media continues to dig up the truth about the unpleasant man. If his followers can’t take that much truth then that is as expected too after all they support the mango mussolini.
If media were digging up truths and truly holding power to account with genuinely sourced and verifiable materials, then that would be great. But they’re not.
Liberal msm are being willing stooges for the establishment (as personified by the likes of McCain and Clinton) – and every fucker who just mindlessly jumps on board with the shit they’re pushing through their various contacts to msm are aiding and abetting their attempts to re-assume a hold on the reins of power.
In case it escaped your notice – not very many people anywhere want these clowns to actually have power any more. That’s why they keep losing elections (Democrats, both the traditional left and right in France) and internal control of the parties they belong to (Corbyn, Trump) or, retaining control of their parties through running machevelian bullshit (Sanders) and only winning elections and campaigns, courtesy of campaigns that are just variations on ‘Project Fear’ (Scottish independence, French Presidential elections)…and yes, losing some too (BREXIT) …
In the choice between ‘Deep State’ (ie, the establishment) and ‘Trump/Bannon State’ (ie, authoritarian ‘new kids’), I say, a curse on both houses. I choose “left”.
Seriously I just don’t believe all of that. You seem to want big baddies like a James bond movie and it just isn’t like that imo. Real life doesn’t need a liberal application of imagination it’s full on enough, if you have eyes to see, already.
So, you’re happy to believe what you’re being asked to believe by msm that offer no verifiable evidence (Russians messing in elections for example) and that consistently rely on anonymous sources for the stories and/or the vague assertions that they report?
And you’re comfortable whereby one outlet (eg BBC) merely uses the reporting of another outlet (eg NYT) to lend its own reporting on a particular issue a sense of depth and veracity?
That’s not journalism. Journalism is examining and questioning sources and evidence. (Which is kind of difficult in a world of news that runs on anonymous sources and zero evidence)
There are no ‘big baddies’ marty, and I don’t imagine any ‘big baddies’. It’s a question of established power – which is institutional and so not predicated on particular individuals (Clinton and McCain could disappear tomorrow and the same shit would continue).
Yep it may not be journalism and it is the way it is. I just think all the shadowy plots are fictional. Mostly it is selfish incompetence that drives things along rather than deep state mega Corp.
No shadowy plots and no ‘deep state mega corp’ – just institutional power, in its various facets and iterations asserting itself.
Maybe you need to imagine a character or an individual or a committee orchestrating some great plan in order that you can ‘pin’ things on a definable physical something – but that isn’t and never has been how institutional power operates.
Institutional power is exercised through people and their positions, rather than by people in their positions. And what guides and sustains it? Simple institutional memory with all its assumptions and what not that pass on in the same way as in any culture.
So there are no state agents plotting against the welfare of their citizens? The people plotting against Julian Assange are just incompetent, are they? Have you actually read anything by Edward Snowden, or by Julian Assange? Or Jeremy Scahill? Or Glenn Greenwald? Or Nicky Hager?
Members of Parliament who represent powerful interests and not their constituents, prosecutors, MI5, MI6, the Police—and their quasi-official media outlets, including most shamefully the BBC.
Greenwald would like to think that the U.S. intelligence community functions as the real government.
Greenwald should open his horizon a little more.
Trump’s administration has already gain an extremely conservative Supreme Court, to go with control of the Senate and Congress.
Trump’s administration is openly flouting all kinds of probity andy ethics violations, and there are plenty of investigations going on about his dealings both personal and private with Russian interests.
Trump’s administration also has complete control of the military, its funding, and its massive subcontractors.
Trump’s administration has shown it’s perfectly happy to take out anyone it likes in the intelligence community.
Trump also acts in total symbiosis with Fox News and Breitbart, far and away the two most powerful media outlets in North America.
Trump’s administration has exceedingly close relationships with the banking system – far greater and more obvious than anything Bill Clinton or Obama ever dreamed of.
Greenwald should stop looking for Washington circle-jerk intelligence conspiracies to uncover, and pay more attention to the far broader power President Trump already holds and wields across civil, legal, military, media, banking, commerce, and political spheres.
“Greenwald would like to think that the U.S. intelligence community functions as the real government.”
Greenwald doesn’t say that though. He says that the Deep State is undermining real government and that it’s too our peril to support that in the hopes it will bring Trump administration down and restore order.
Your last paragraph is odd, given that Greenwald basically says in the video that Trump is also very dangerous (I even quoted him saying that).
Greenwald wasn’t saying that Ad. He was pointing out that the Intelligence Community seeks to persist and to exercise its ‘god-given’ powers regardless of any changes in elected administrations.
The Intelligence Community is one part of what we might call ‘the establishment’ – an inherently conservative expression of power that’s exercised through various institutions (legal, media, military etc)
As for the supposed executive powers of a US President, I don’t know enough about the US system of government to comment much, but I’d be very, very surprised if it was the case (as you claim) that a US President has complete control of the military, its funding, and its massive subcontractors.
You’re saying by that, that neither Congress nor the Senate have any say in military budgets or military operations and that a US President could decree all military sub-contracts were to go to his Chinese mate.
Much of the rest of what you say cannot be backed up by evidence and is just so much allegation as rumour (the Russian connections etc)
Fox News and Breitbart are far and away the two most powerful media outlets in North America and yet (according to the lauded intelligence Community report into Russian interference in the election) RT exerted more influence on the minds of US voters than both those outlets put together! How’s that work? 🙂
He fired a guy…one guy. Big deal (it’s not really) – though it affords a nice stick for those wanting something to hit him with.
A US Admin in bed with bankers? Well, fuck me dead, who’d have thunk it?! Exactly how is Trump’s relationship something that Clinton and Obama could only dream of (bearing in mind that financiers hold the upper hand in that relationship)? Y’know – “Bail me! Bail me!!” “Duh – okay”
“Fox News and Breitbart are far and away the two most powerful media outlets in North America and yet (according to the lauded intelligence Community report into Russian interference in the election) RT exerted more influence on the minds of US voters than both those outlets put together! How’s that work? ”
I haven’t really been following the whole thing, but if you use programmers to manipulate social media that’s an entirely different thing than broadcast media like Fox.
I thought part of the theory was social media manipulation. And sorry, but if you think FB and google are the only ones manipulating social media, that’s incredibly naive. I fully expect that the various secretive agencies in the US are also doing that. I can’t see any good reason to think the Russians wouldn’t be.
The supposed ‘theory’ was to do with armies of paid commenters and such like.
There’s manipulation and manipulation, but where google and facebook are at, is that they write the algorithms that determine what becomes prominent and what disappears. And sure, that can be ‘gamed’ to an extent.
I understand what google and FB do. What I’m saying is that in addition to that it’s possible to do things like programme twitter and FB accounts to astroturf and that has nothing to do with FB and Twitter as corporations. And that governments will be doing that as well as other big players with vested interests. I think the issue here is whether it was done on the scale being claimed (likewise with Brexit), with the intention of altering another state’s democracy. I have no trouble believing that the US or Russian govt are capable of that ethically and technically.
I have no idea whether that happened in the last US election or not. Which is part of why I don’t follow the issue, because I’m not sure that there is any way to know. I also think the polarisation that is happening around this issue plays into the hands of the fascists and authoritarians.
So astroturfing is setting something up to look as though it’s grassroots and popular when in actual fact it’s a piece of wholly contrived bullshit. Corporations are doing it all of the time – supposed citizens networks/ pressure groups etc.
You saying that finds a mode of expression through twitter and what not? I wouldn’t know – don’t do twitter and know nothing about it. I’m not understanding how an account can astroturf though. (Maybe you’re meaning something else?)
With BREXIT, it’s being claimed that a US (?) company had the wherewithal to target messaging at fairly precise demographics based on data they possessed around browsing habits or some such. I’m sure if you google, you’ll find the details.
What’s the polarisation that’s feeding into the hands of authoritarians? Whether people voted on a punt or in protest or desperation or whatever, as against being manipulated by “the Russians” or “tyhe Kremlin”? If that’s what you’re referring to then sorry, but that’s like saying there’s polarisation around the issue of there being fairies at the foot of the garden.
edit – I should add that the Intelligence Community report that so many put so much store by mentioned nothing about any of the stuff you’re alluding to. Most of it was the supposed influence of RT broadcasts.
The President is the Commander in Chief of the entire military.
The President proposes the budget, and has had his first one approved already. That’s how it works.
The President has fired and replaced almost all senior figures in the entire public sector – and that is standard practise.
The Constitution predicts and expects that other branches of government will continue while the seat of President goes through elections. That continuity exists in every part of our public sector, and theirs.
Now, I fully expect that under this Presidency the US constitutional framework part will be challenged, right to its core, but so far it really looks to me like all parts of the system are working there as they should.
Greenwald was better under the Bush 2 administration – because that was an inept and weak President. Trump ain’t one of those.
What you call the ‘deep state’ (however you would like to define it) is better known to mere mortals as the public service, doing its’ job.
As a result, Greenwald continues to sound like a Bourne Supremacy extra.
If there was a sniff that we were in the midst of a full scale 1950s-1960s Commie witch-hunt, or a massive 1970s ‘Manufacturing Consent’ South American rogue CIA, or even a 1980s Contra programme, I’d say, fair enough, have a good crack Mr Greenwald. Write a book.
Instead, all the scandals are in perfectly plain sight. Where they should be in a democracy. The media and the Senate are doing their jobs.
Hell, even Comey has agreed to testify in public.
Trump’s military and intelligence leadership is accelerating what Obama set in train: managed and gradual retreat.
Trump will either figure out how to operate in the sunlight, continuing this strategic direction, or he will resign in frustration.
“What you call the ‘deep state’ (however you would like to define it) is better known to mere mortals as the public service, doing its’ job.”
I’m just using the term as short hand. But I don’t think it’s the public service doing its job. It’s extra that, that’s the point. Greenwald might be over-egging it, but it’s not helpful to deny that the culture of the secret services would be self-serving, and that individuals within it don’t gather and use the power at their disposal. I’m not suggesting widespread corruption, but I can’t see how those agencies could be corruption free entirely.
“Instead, all the scandals are in perfectly plain sight.”
How would we know? I don’t mean that in a paranoia way, but honestly, with a set of systems this complex and large, how would we know?
Weka, Greywarshark et al;. – this article from The Dark Mountain Project is wonderful! All about the rhizomati (the who?) – you heard right, the rhizomati 🙂
“When contemplating the quagmire of obstacles and institutions within our capitalist society that interfere with the equitable and just interchange of currency and access to resources, I find myself motivated to explore less oppressive economic, social, and political human relationships.
In doing so, I have become aligned with that ever-gallant and hopeful group of folks dismissed as unrealistic dreamers. We ‘dreamers’ always hold fast to the truth that the wilful designation of creation and power can be delineated into a network of horizontal or lateral functions that make greed, conquest, and competition unnecessary and invalid, except in extreme conditions.”
Good thoughts Robert. It is a big journey from town man to earth man – farmers, horticulturalists, isolated locations – to simple-living earth man in tune with the seasons, and the plants.
So sad to be losing our entities of excellence (non-business oriented) because they aren’t immediately, or at all, profitable. Can we do something about Waikato University and their desire for functionality?
education music
11:05 am today
David Dolan – Please don’t stop the music
From Saturday Morning, 11:05 am today
Listen duration 55′ :32″
Lecturers at the Waikato University School of Music fear proposed staff cuts will see the school’s demise, with University management preparing to restructure the faculty of Arts and Social Sciences and proposing to cut the full time staff numbers in the music department from eight to five. David Dolan is a concert pianist, researcher and a professor both at the Yehudi Menuhin School and at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in the UK, and he is dedicated to the revival of the art of classical improvisation. He has weighed in to efforts to try and save the facility, describing it as a “rare and precious” world class centre of excellence, with a standard of teaching he has rarely witnessed anywhere in his travels. http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/saturday/audio/201844557/david-dolan-please-don-t-stop-the-music
Immigration New Zealand has taken steps to close a loophole which it says immigrants were exploiting to bring children who are sick, disabled or have special needs into the country.
It has prohibited parents from leaving children off residence applications or withdrawing them, as it said some families were doing so to circumvent health criteria and then later making a humanitarian case for their child to be allowed to stay.
In other words what some people were doing was ‘losing’ some children to get residence and then once settled ‘finding’ those children again and then bringing them here for the medical care.
They’re trying to close the loophole by doing data matching with the MoE which itself could be problematical. If they’ve lied once then the chances are that they’ll lie again. Obviously we need to catch these discrepancies at the border and not after they’ve settled here.
I regret the crude sentence i spoke earlier tonight and followed it up by apologizing on air. It was unprofessional. I am genuinely sorry.— Anderson Cooper (@andersoncooper) May 20, 2017
I regret the crude sentence i spoke earlier tonight and followed it up by apologizing on air. It was unprofessional. I am genuinely sorry.
I believe the current form is for the mouthpieces to deny a dump took place and explain that someone might have misidentified a bowl of hershey’s kisses, and the fake news outlets are making things up.
And the next morning Trump tweets that he’s president and can take a dump wherever he wants, and Obama did it too.
Loony lefty fake news does exist and is spreading and needs to be guarded against. Anything passing near the likes of Louise Mensch, John Schindler, Claude Taylor should be viewed with extreme skepticism.
But this is not to be confused with the work of proper journalists in credible news organisations (like CNN, NYT, WaPo, Guardian etc) that still believe in fact-checking and not publishing until they’re reasonably confident in their accuracy (but still occasionally get things wrong).
lol – nice article there on being hoist by ones own petard.
The second part of your comment, obviously doesn’t stack up. It’s the evidence free reporting of anonymous sources from your CNN, NYT, WaPo, Guardian etc that’s feeding this shit…making the claims of the worlds’ Mensch’s seem plausible and/or believable.
HEARTENING – Educational interview on bringing education to adult school leavers. One so poorly advised that he thought he did not have any educational qualifications for his school time, and actually when checked on-line, he had over 100. (We have to help each other because the government will not, although it has been tasked with bringing the aids of a modern society to all.) Can we help this initiative in a way they would find helpful?
http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/sunday/audio/201844586/ngaire-aben-tuhiwai-and-cleveland-raroa-from-nuhaka-with-aroha
Listen 15.10m
Nuhaka in the northern Hawke’s Bay has a general store, a fish and chip shop, eight marae and until recently little in the way of post-secondary educational opportunities. Educationalist Ngaire Aben-Tuhiwai decided to do something about that and has started an educational programme for local rangitahi that aims to see them all complete their NCEA level 3 qualifications. Twenty-six-year old Cleveland Raroa says it’s education with aroha and that’s the way he likes it.
GOOD Insight doco on P – Meth Listen to the full Insight documentary here duration 26′ :58″ http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/insight/audio/201844428/insight-meth-the-human-cost-of-a-hit
The police and health authorities are trying a new tack in Northland – to loosen the grip of methamphetamine on troubled communities. They’re joining forces in a pilot project – not to arrest users – but to offer them help to kick the P habit that’s breaking hearts – and families across the region.
The call came out of the blue last week, for Margaret – a Whangārei grandmother.
And yet it was one she’d been half-expecting for years.
Her methamphetamine addicted daughter in Auckland had left her five children home alone.
Someone called the police – and at 3am they’d picked them up.
The eldest was 10 – the youngest, two.
Unless Margaret took in the two eldest girls and the other grandmother in Kaitaia took in the rest, they’d all be going into foster care.
“Wednesday, my daughter brought two of the children up to me and she just quickly left,” she said.
Her daughter, who’s 28, has been using P since she was 18.
Another part of the story was about grandparents with adult children who have fallen under the spell of P or meth and have neglected children who have learned to despise their parents. The law says that grandparents can ask for a benefit for each child to be paid to them so they can provide and support it. But the social welfare – WINZ? agent turned them down.
Winston Peters has helped nine of these hard-worked oldies gain this money. And the children can be helped to settle down eventually with settled lives and continual stable care. But once settled with the grandparents when the children have let their guard down and rely on them, they can develop separation anxiety so it is hard to attempt to leave them for a time. Emotional, health, learning disabilities – grandparents deserve all the help they can get.
But one great thing, an organised team is helping with this dreadful P epidemic. It is bad in Northland, they used to make it themselves, but its coming in from China now, left off shore attached to a buoy, and with a GPS tracker on it so it is easy to pick up.
ALSO early on: TAX and Fairness was subject at 7am+. You may have been still dozing and missed it but it will be important to listen to. ( I am reminded of watching a vid of Mark Blyth, Scot lecturer living in USA. His message on how to get things going there – most basic thought – “Pay your taxes”.)
Mr Baucher told Sunday Morning tax rules meant KiwiSaver members ended up paying tax even if their fund had not earned anything.
“Over time what is emerging is that … if you looked at the size of KiwiSaver funds, looked at the tax it’s paid relative to property investors, they’re paying four times as much.”
Mr Baucher said the latest figures showed in the past five years the average tax paid by property investors was less than a third of what the New Zealand Super Fund paid last year alone.
Tax consultant Terry Baucher has written a book “Tax and Fairness” with Massey University tax lecturer and Labour candidate Deborah Russell, outlining why our tax system needs work. They’ve timed its release to begin a discussion on capital gains tax, negative gearing and superannuation in election year. Terry Baucher and former IRD Deputy Commissioner Robin Oliver discuss tax and why we should smile when paying it.
The state of the United Kingdom is fractured, torn up, shredded. The Empire is gone, it died a long time ago. And yet, the country is still tracking with a lead in favour of the ones who play to the ingrained, class-bound division for political gain. It is a disgrace ...
It should be obvious by now but let’s be clear: The same folk who regularly traffic in disinformation, misinformation and “fake news” are also those who most strongly claim that their freedom of expression rights are being violated when moves are made to curb hate speech (as opposed to protected ...
Michael SchulsonWhen Shane Burcaw flies on an airplane, he brings along a customized gel cushion, a car seat, and about 10 pieces of memory foam. The whole arsenal costs around $1,000, but for Burcaw it’s a necessity. The 27-year-old author and speaker — who, alongside his fiancée, Hannah ...
We are very pleased to publish this submission is from Lucinda Stoan. She is a social justice activist, mother, and educator, based in Washington State in the US. This detailed and comprehensive source-linked overview of trans issues and what is at stake will be useful for many people, especially in ...
New Zealand's Underarm Banker: It bears recalling that the “independence” of the Reserve Bank Governor was for decades held up by neoliberal capitalists as the most compelling justification for passing the Reserve Bank Act. Interesting, is it not, how the ruling class’s support for the Bank’s independence lasted no longer than ...
Rubbish In, Rubbish Out: Put all this together, and it’s difficult to avoid the conclusion that anyone who responds positively to a pollster’s request to “answer a few questions” is just ever-so-slightly weird. Desperately lonely? Some sort of psephological train-spotter? Political party member primed to skew the poll for or against ...
“Free at last, Free at last, Thank God almighty we are free at last.” ― Martin Luther King Jr. A long and bitter court feud between former Conservative Party leader Colin Craig and Jordan Williams has been settled, with an apology and compensation from Williams. On Tuesday, Craig sent out ...
Some people seem to want to close down any critical discussion of the current research into the relationship between water fluoride and child IQ. They appear to argue that claims made by researchers should not be open to critical review and that the claims be accepted without proper consideration ...
The government has been congratulating itself over the passage of the Zero Carbon Act, which sets out long-term emissions targets. Meanwhile, Climate Action Tracker has the shameful reality: those targets are insufficient:While New Zealand is showing leadership by having passed the world’s second-ever Zero Carbon Act in November 2019, under ...
The government introduced a Racing Industry Bill today. As an urban who horse racing as pointless-to-cruel, and gambling as a tax on stupidity and/or hope, this isn't normally a bill which would interest me in the slightest, beyond grumpiness at more government money for a dying industry. But there is ...
Check. Check. One, two, three, four. Is this thing ON? Hello readers, I logged in last night (yeah, it’s been a while) to mark THE END of the landmark legal case, Jordan Williams v Colin Craig, which (gulp) reached The Supreme Court, in which New Zealand’s most-defamed man was suing the politician he ...
Before The Birth: Israel’s most fervent supporters set their clocks ticking in Biblical times. They cite the kingdoms of David and Solomon as proof that, in the words of the Exodus movie’s theme-song: “This land is mine.” The majority of Israel’s backers, however, start their clocks in 1933 – the year Adolf ...
In an unreliable, strange and confusing world, Public Address is proud to present a measure of comfort and stability by annually asking everyone what words or phrases sum up the year that's been – and then giving some of them consumer goods as prizes for being clever or simply lucky.Well, ...
Both my parents are pretty handy – and they seem to have the right tools for most jobs in the garage and they know how to fix practically anything. A similar story could be told about their generation’s experience in the workforce – being a generalist was not unusual and ...
When it was revealed that NZ First had tried to enrich itself from public office via the Provoncial Growth Fund, the Prime Minister assured us that everything was OK as Shane Jones, the Minister responsible for the fund, had recused himself. Except it seems that that recusal came very late ...
Today is a Member's Day, and probably the last one of the year. After the marathon of the End of Life Choice Act, most of the bills up for debate today are uncontentious. First up is the second reading of Chlöe Swarbrick's Election Access Fund Bill. This will be followed ...
The Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Committee has reported back on the government's odious and tyrannical control orders bill. As expected, the fraudulent select committee process has made no significant changes (partly because they couldn't agree, but mostly because it was a stitch-up from the start, with no intention of ...
Yesterday, the government released its draft Cannabis Legalisation and Control Bill, which will be put to a non-binding referendum at the next election. I'm not a drug policy expert, but Russell Brown is, and he thinks its pretty good. And pretty obviously, it will be a massive improvement on the ...
As you're probably aware, the draft bill outlining the proposed legal cannabis regime to be put to a referendum late next year was published yesterday, and has already attracted a flurry of comment. It's notable that a good deal of the comment is about proposals that aren't actually new.A minimum ...
One of the big problems in New Zealand climate change policy is the government working at cross-purposes with itself. It wants to reduce fossil fuel use, but encourages oil and gas exploration. It wants to reduce transport emissions, but then builds enormous new roads. The problem could be avoided if ...
Climate Explained is a collaboration between The Conversation, Stuff and the New Zealand Science Media Centre to answer your questions about climate change.If you have a question you’d like an expert to answer, please send it to climate.change@stuff.co.nzAccording to the United Nations, food shortages are a threat ...
Last year, the government announced it was ending offshore oil exploration by no longer issuing new permits. The idea was that the industry would then die off as permits expired. Except almost immediately the government revealed its bad faith, by saying they would extend permits and alter conditions to keep ...
The government introduced the Education and Training Bill to Parliament yesterday. Its a massive bill, which replaces both existing Education Acts, as well as various other bits of legislation (including some which are still proceeding through the House). I'll leave the serious analysis to teachers and people who actually know ...
Amelia SharmanThere’s no one-size-fits-all when it comes to micro-credentials, those bits of bite-sized learning that can help workers stay on top of technological change. What’s a micro-credential? While definitions vary, micro-credentials can be understood as short courses that allow people to learn new skills or have an existing competency recognised. ...
All Smiles Now: Claire Szabo is taking up her presidential role after serving as the CEO of Habitat For Humanity. Which is absolutely perfect! After KiwiBuild was so comprehensively mismanaged by Phil Twyford, the party has not only elected a new president from a thoroughly respectable not-for-profit, but one who ...
While much of the NZ left has transitioned to postmodern and identity politics in relation to transgender ideology, there are some very good articles about that deploy Marxist methodology in relation to this subject. The one below is from the British marxist group Counterfire and appeared on their site here ...
by Daphna Whitmore At Golden Oaks, a luxurious country retreat in the Hudson Valley, pregnant women have the best care money can buy. From the organic food, personalised exercise programmes, private yoga instruction and daily massages Golden Oaks looks like a country lodge for the upper class. Set some time ...
When Labour was running for election in 2017, it felt it needed to demonstrate "fiscal responsibility" and signed itself up to masochistic "budget responsibility rules". It was a fool's errand: the sorts of voters who demand fiscal responsibility are also the sorts of voters who believe that labour can never ...
Writing in Stuff, Joel MacManus looks at what we need to do to meet the Zero Carbon Act's targets. The core of it:1. Convert 85 per cent of vehicles on the road to electric. 2. Eliminate fossil fuels from all industrial heating up to 300 degrees Celsius. 3. Double our ...
Professors Janet Hoek and Richard Edwards, Emeritus Professor Phil Gendall, Jude Ball, Dr Judith McCool, Anaru Waa, Dr Becky FreemanRecent media reports have presented conflicting evidence on youth vaping in NZ. While some NZ school principals report concerns about increasing vaping on school grounds and confiscating vapes, ASH Year ...
“America the Beautiful!”, staunch defender of democracy, freedom and… a whole lot of despotic tyrants that play nice with what is called “the Washington Consensus.” America is indeed capable of immense good, but like any Nation, and most assuredly any aspirant to the mantle of Empire, great, immense evil. All ...
Image credit:The beginner’s guide to blogging I notice a few regulars no longer allow public access to the site counters. This may happen accidentally when the blog format is altered. If your blog is ...
1080 is used to control pests in NZ. Its use is contested by a noisy few. A new report claims high levels of 1080 in rats washed up on a beach. Flora and Fauna of Aotearoa (F&F) won’t name the laboratory that did their testing. It has sparked a hunt ...
What Kind Of Empire? The thing for Kiwis to decide is what kind of empire they want to belong to. The kind that, while offering its own citizens democratic rights, demands absolute obedience from its “friends”? Or, the kind that, while authoritarian at home, takes a relaxed attitude to the ...
It hasn't been a good week for the Conservatives, pollwise. All major recent polls are showing their lead shrinking.Comparing each pollster's current (between 29/11 and 22/11) and previous most recent poll.Com Res - Conservative lead down 3 points.You Gov - Conservative lead down 1 point.Kantar - Conservative lead down 4 ...
Within quick succession, Countdown maths wizard and twitterer Rachel Riley, alleged comedian David Baddiel and prominent lawyer Andrew Julius have all expressed very similar opinions / ideas:
These #3billboards are going round London today, organised by ex-Labour people, horrified by what their party has become. Their principles haven’t changed, they’re ...
So, there have been a bunch of bad polls out for Labour, and even the Leftie's friend, Survation, have recently given the Conservatives a rip-snorting 11% lead. You Gov's much vaunted MRP poll - which pretty much nailed the result in 2015 - is currently predicting a comfortable majority for ...
The European Parliament has voted overwhelmingly to declare a climate emergency:The European parliament has declared a global “climate and environmental emergency” as it urged all EU countries to commit to net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. The vote came as scientists warned that the world may have already crossed ...
Pure Fear: Worse than Heroin, this drug’s addictive power was terrifying. People under its influence didn’t drift off to Elysium. Nor did it persuade inadequate individuals that they could conquer the world. No, this drug – pure crystal methamphetamine, “P” for short – unlocked the gates of Hell itself. It ...
As the rate of measles infection, and of deaths, continues to climb in Samoa, antivaccination activists infectious disease proponents seem intent on doubling down on their claims about vaccination. (Check pretty much any news-media FB post about measles & you’ll see exactly what I mean.) Unfortunately, some of them have ...
Samoa are experiencing a devastating measles epidemic. It is possible that 2-3% of the population will ultimately be infected by the time it is over. Hopefully the mass immunisation campaign currently under way can mitigate some of this, for many it is too late. The first question many people ask ...
Meghan Murphy is a Canadian writer and journalist She runs the Feminist Current website which she founded in 2012. She was a keynote speaker for the Feminism2020 conference in Wellington this month. When Massey University cancelled the original venue booking Feminism2020 was hosted in Parliament by MP David Seymour. Meghan ...
Text and photos by Gearóid Ó Loingsigh Colombia has lived through one week of protests against the economic measures taken by president Duque. What looked like a protest that would fizzle out after its first day on November 21st is still going strong. Part of the reason for the continuance ...
Around a million billion pass through you each second, almost all originating from our sun, but few of them are likely to interact with you enroute. I was reading in a physics magazine earlier in the week about the nature of neutrinos. These are extremely numerous elementary particles, but only ...
By Pallab GhoshThere’s value in covering new research advances, even when the underlying science is unsettled. But there are also risks.The recent announcement that scientists discovered water on the planet K2-18b, 110 light years away, prompted a media swoon. News stories, including a piece written by me, billed ...
I wrote this review a couple of years ago when I was still in the process of getting my head around the politics of transgenderism, and specifically the claim that intersex conditions lend support to the notion that sex is ‘socially constructed’. Since writing this review I have come across ...
Climate Explained is a collaboration between The Conversation, Stuff and the New Zealand Science Media Centre to answer your questions about climate change.If you have a question you’d like an expert to answer, please send it to climate.change@stuff.co.nzHow much does our use of air travel contribute to the ...
Minor planet/asteroid (2309) Mr. Spock is named not for the character in Star Trek, but for a cat that was itself imperturbable, logical, intelligent and had pointed ears. In a preceding blog post I introduced one of my favourite asteroids, (2472) Bradman, and also mentioned (6581) Sobers amongst a few ...
Today the death toll from measles in Samoa rose to 32. All but four of the dead were less than 5 years old. Absolutely terrible, heartbreaking, news. That statistic alone should be enough to give the lie to the common claim by antivaccination activists plague enthusiasts that “measles is a ...
by Gearóid Ó Loingsigh It is late here in Bogotá, almost 11.30pm on Monday the 25th of November as I write this. The day began full of hope with yet more massive marches throughout the country, a mix of the International Day of Non-Violence Against Women and the National Strike. ...
Anti-fluoride activists are rubbing their hands in glee over what they claim is “yet another study” showing fluoride harms the brains of children. But their promotion relies on IQ relationships which the paper’s authors acknowledge disappearing when outliers or other factors are considered. And they completely ignore other relationships ...
The feature below is the conclusion of A History of Economic Thought, whose author was a leading Marxist economist in Russia in the early 20th century, Isaac Ilyich Rubin. The book arose from a course he ran at Moscow University following the Russian Revolution. First published in Russian in 1929, ...
There are many thousands of asteroids with formal names, some humdrum but other more noteworthy (depending on your predilections). One of my favourites, the name of which I was involved in suggesting, is (2472) Bradman, named for the Australian cricketing great. As a minor planet (synonym: asteroid) spotter, I have ...
Tory manifesto: big on austerity, low on promise, non-existent on delivery. The Tories: the party so big on ambition they couldn't be arsed writing a manifesto. MLK: "I have a dream!"BJ: "I'll just have a nap." Labour: Broadband!Tories: Narrow minds! Labour have hope, dreams and ambition. The Tories will save ...
The Ministry of Health has announced that “people under the age of 50 travelling from New Zealand to Samoa, Tonga, Philippines and Fiji” are now on the list of national priorities for MMR vaccination. Given the outbreaks of measles in Samoa, Tonga, Philippines and Fiji, the Ministry of Health is ...
Hong Kong has been protesting for six months for, demanding democracy, human rights, and an end to police violence. Today, they went to the polls in district council elections - a low-level of government with virtually no power, similar to community boards in New Zealand. But while the positions themselves ...
Text and photos by Gearóid Ó Loingsigh On Friday 22nd of November a curfew came into effect and troops were deployed on the streets, here in Bogota. It was the first time since September 1977 that a curfew had been imposed on the city. The decision was a cynical pre-planned ...
Meanwhile, while the government is planning to restore voting rights to prisoners, National is promising to turn our prisons into US-style slave-labour camps:The Opposition is proposing compulsory education, training or employment for prisoners who are serving sentences of two years or more. [...] On Sunday, National Party Leader Simon Bridges ...
Excerpts from Being and Being Bought, by Kajsa Ekis Ekman Spinifex Press, 2013. Ekman, a Swedish journalist and critic, brings together a Marxist and feminist analysis of prostitution and surrogacy in this groundbreaking book. This is the second part of a synopsis and brief commentary of the book by Daphna ...
Dalmeet Singh ChawlaIn 2008, psychologists proposed that when humans are shown an unfamiliar face, they judge it on two main dimensions: trustworthiness and physical strength. These form the basis of first impressions, which may help people make important social decisions, from who to vote for to how long a ...
Claas Kirchhelle, University of Oxford; Adam Roberts, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, and Andrew Singer, Centre for Ecology & HydrologyAntibiotics are among the most important medicines known to humankind, but we are running out of this crucial resource. Decisive action is needed if we are to retain access to ...
Things That Make You Go - Hmmmm: “All right. Let me come at this another way. I’m guessing that what you’ve got in that box contains names, dates, bank account numbers – all the details you need to put Winston Peters and Jacinda Ardern squarely in the cross-hairs. So, the first ...
Coasters Turn Out In Droves: It’s precisely the widening gulf between those with actual experience of things like guns, chainsaws and drilling machines, and those who regulate their use, that accounts for the angry crowd at Greymouth’s Messenger Park on Sunday, 17 November 2019. In the rarefied atmosphere where decisions ...
There are perennial arguments about the circumstances of the assassination of President Kennedy in 1963, and in particular whether more than one shooter is required by the evidence (such as the Zapruder film). Those who know little about physics frequently claim that the sharp backwards motion of JFK’s head as ...
Apparently, some people enjoy washing their cars. Each to his or her own, I suppose. I mean, some people like duck shooting, some people follow Coronation Street, and some people’s idea of a good day out is to sit on a grass bank at Seddon Park and watch cricket all ...
Last week we learned that New Zealand First had apparently tried to enrich itself from public office, with a dodgy forestry company linked to a number of NZ First figures sticking its hand out repeatedly for government money. Today in Question Time Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones had his ...
Finally, governments seem slowly to be beginning to act on climate change. But its not enough. While they're publicly signing up to targets, they're planning to destroy the world by continuing fossil fuel extraction:The world’s nations are on track to produce more than twice as much coal, oil and gas ...
Stuff has begun interviewing NZ First's secret donors, and it turns out that its as bad as we expected. They start with racing industry figure Garry Chittick, who is predictably grumpy about NZ First's coalition choices. Meanwhile, I'm looking at the list of pork NZ First has effectively given its ...
Mark Patterson, Spokesperson for Primary Industries New Zealand First spokesperson for Primary Industries, Mark Patterson, has called for awareness to be raised and more stringent biosecurity checks to be put in place for African Swine Fever (ASF), a widespread virus that is uncontrolled in most of Asia and a serious ...
Jenny Marcroft MP, Spokesperson for Human Rights A critical step has been taken to end gender based violence against women and girls in Parliament this evening. New Zealand First Spokesperson for Human Rights Jenny Marcroft MP has welcomed the passing of the first reading of the Crimes (Definition of Female ...
New Zealand First MP Shane Jones says it's time to recognise market forces haven't led to the expected reduction in Māori smoking rates and try a new approach. The Party had recently invoked the agree to disagree clause in their Coalition Agreement with the Labour Party, and will not support ...
Live from the Whanganui Opera House, on the final day of the 2019 Labour Party Conference, Jacinda Ardern announced the largest investment in school property in 25 years. ...
The Coalition Government will be banning foreign donations to political parties and candidates, ahead of next year’s general elections. Legislation will be introduced to Parliament and passed under urgency – emphasising the need for such restrictions to safeguard our democracy. The bill introduces a new requirement that party secretaries and ...
Associate Transport Minister Shane Jones opened Taipā's $19 million bridge recently, improving transport infrastructure in the Northland region. The two-lane bridge is 107m long with a 2.5m-wide shared walking and cycling path, and will reduce the congestion that the old one-lane bridge was notorious for. The project had also included ...
The Overseas Investment Office have rejected the application of Mercury Agriculture LP, which is 92 per cent controlled by Canadian interests, to purchase more than 2000 hectares of South Canterbury and Otago land. Mercury wanted to buy 2000ha at Rangitata, 1494ha near Ashburton, 816ha near Cromwell and 212ha near Temuka. ...
This weekend was Labour's 103rd Party Conference! We welcomed over 500 of our Labour whānau in red to Whanganui, where we reflected on the last two years in Government, and looked ahead to 2020 and beyond. We know the long-term challenges facing New Zealand won't be tackled overnight, but we're making ...
Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones announced that the Provincial Growth Fund will invest $9.6 million to seal the final unsealed section of State Highway 43 from Stratford to Taumarunui. The Minister said sealing the 12-kilometre gravel section of the highway – also called the “Forgotten World Highway” - through ...
Former Finance Minister and former chair of the Tax Working Group, Sir Michael Cullen, has voiced his support for New Zealand First’s decision to oppose the planned increase in tobacco excise tax. In an interview with The Weekend Collective, he said that increasing the price was no longer effective in ...
Māori are natural storytellers. On the marae we use stories to tell our history, to teach the next generation life lessons and to let people know, in our most creative of ways, who we are and where we have come from. ...
Rt Hon Winston Peters, New Zealand First Leader New Zealand First has invoked the ‘Agree to Disagree’ provisions of the Coalition Agreement because it cannot support the announced 11.46 percent increase in the tobacco excise from 1 January 2020. “Studies show that the automatic tobacco excise increases are having less effect ...
Taupō-based company Geo40 has made a breakthrough in extracting near battery-grade lithium from geothermal fluid which its says could be a gamechanger. Its chief executive John Worth said the earth mineral was highly prized, with battery-grade lithium selling for US$10,000 (NZ$15,600) a tonne. Geo40 was founded in 2010 to find ...
Crown research institute AgResearch Ltd, as part of its Future Footprint plan, had intended to relocate top scientists and support staff — particularly those focused on sheep genetics and genomics — from Invermay to Lincoln. However, those plans seem to have been shelved at the request of the Coalition Government. ...
Ten engineering firms in Southland are receiving a total of $2.13 million in Provincial Growth Fund funding to lift productivity and create new jobs. Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones announced in Invercargill that the 10 engineering and manufacturing firms would receive funding to assist them with buying equipment that ...
The number of new residents to New Zealand is the lowest it has been in nearly two decades and it has earned the ire of the immigration industry. The industry alleges that 'Trump-style extreme vetting' is being put in place aimed at keeping a lid on immigration numbers. June Ranson, ...
The Royal New Zealand Air Force is one step closer to modernising its fleet after the United States State Department recently approved the sale of five new C-130J Hercules aircraft to New Zealand. Arms manufacturer Lockheed Martin, in Fort Worth, Texas, will provide the aircraft, but as a "foreign military ...
Forestry Minister Shane Jones wants to create a log barging facility at Hicks Bay and turn the area into a Special Economic Zone. The move would be part of protecting New Zealand's forests from being depleted by India and China, he said. It follows his announcement last week to strengthen ...
New Zealand First supports the changes recommended by the Winter Grazing Taskforce to improve animal welfare outcomes through the winter months, and the establishment of a pan-sector action group to implement them. New Zealand First Primary Industries Spokesperson Mark Patterson says the report highlights areas of concern about the animal ...
Former prime ministers Helen Clark and Sir John Key, formerly from the Labour and National parties respectively, have joined forces in support of New Zealand First’s plan to relocate Auckland's port to Whangārei. While Ms Clark and Sir John spent their political careers on opposite sides of the political divide, ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters is in Japan for the Foreign Ministers' meeting of the G20 grouping of countries as one of nine "invited" countries. He has used the opportunity to cast a spotlight on the plight of Pacific countries, calling out countries which still offered subsidies or Government assistance to ...
It's been a great week of progress: we've celebrated Children's Day, we've made communities safer with 1800 new police, and we've seen almost 90% of eligible schools take up Government funding to scrap school donations - taking pressure off the families of more than 416,000 students. ...
Hon Shane Jones, Minister of Forestry The Government will further strengthen New Zealand’s wood processing sector as part of our focus on ‘value over volume’ in our forestry industry, Forestry Minister Shane Jones says. Minister Jones will today meet with forestry representatives in Northland to signal new measures to help the ...
New Zealand First are celebrating the announcement of an investment of $3.5 million into five new trapping devices. These are a range of bait and trap devices, all designed to be left unattended for long periods of time. NZ First conservation spokesperson Jenny Marcroft says that this latest development will ...
Jenny Marcroft, Spokesperson for Conservation New Zealand First is proud to announce the Provincial Growth Fund (PGF) has allocated $3.5 million to develop innovative predator control approaches which will reduce the need for repeated 1080 use. $19.5 million of PGF funding was announced for Predator Free 2050 Limited in February ...
Darroch Ball, Spokesperson for Police New Zealand First is proud to have delivered on a key Coalition Agreement commitment to adding 1800 new frontline police, with the graduation of Recruit Wing 332 in Porirua today. Law and Order Spokesperson Darroch Ball says increasing police numbers and boosting their resources was one ...
Clayton Mitchell, Spokesperson for Consumer Affairs The ‘wheel clamping’ Bill that will cap clamper fees to $100 passed its third readinginParliament today. New Zealand First welcomes The Land Transport (Wheel Clamping) Amendment Bill to combat predatory wheel clamping behaviour in what is currently a largely unregulated business. Cowboy clampers are: gouging ...
Jenny Marcroft, Spokesperson for Health New Zealand First welcomes the passage of the Mental Health and Wellbeing Commission Bill through its first reading in Parliament. “Today’s progress takes serious action on the mental health and addiction crisis the country is facing,” says New Zealand First Health Spokesperson Jenny Marcroft. “The re-establishment ...
Mark Patterson, Spokesperson for Primary Industries Today the Government announced the delivery of the promise to protect New Zealand interests by applying a new National Interest Test to the sales of our most sensitive and high risk assets to overseas buyers. This further strengthening of the Overseas Investment Act will ...
Rt Hon Winston Peters, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Foreign Affairs Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters has announced further support as the Government of Samoa responds to a serious measles outbreak. “New Zealand will deploy a further 18 vaccination nurses, bringing the total to 30 working in Samoa over the next ...
The Coalition Government is delivering on its promise to protect New Zealanders’ interests by applying a new national interest test to the sales of our most sensitive and high-risk assets to overseas buyers. Under current Overseas Investment Act (OIA) rules, assets such as ports and airports, telecommunications infrastructure, electricity and ...
Rt Winston Peters, Leader of New Zealand First Allegations raised this morning by Stuff Limited / Fairfax concern a party matter but I am confident that New Zealand First has operated within electoral laws, now and for the last 27 years. Declarable donations were declared to the Electoral Commission. Our ...
The chairman of the Upper North Island Supply Chain Strategy (UNISCS) working group, Wayne Brown, has hit back at critics of his group’s recommendations to relocate the Ports of Auckland cargo operations to Whangarei’s deepwater port of Northport. The working group's recommendation to close Auckland waterfront to all but cruise ...
International education continues to thrive as the Government focuses on quality over quantity, Education Minister Chris Hipkins said. The tuition revenue from international education increased to $1.16 billion last year with the average tuition fee per student increasing by $960. The total number of international students enrolled in New Zealand ...
Health Minister Dr David Clark says new appointments to DHBs represent a significant changing of the guard, with 13 new chairs including four Māori chairs. Today 76 appointments have been announced to complement elected board members, as well as eight elected members appointed as either chair or deputy chair. Four ...
Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Foreign Affairs, Fletcher Tabuteau, is travelling to Germany, Poland, Austria, and Spain next week to bolster New Zealand’s political and trade relationships in Europe. While in Spain, Mr Tabuteau will represent New Zealand at the 14th Asia-Europe (ASEM) Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in Madrid. “New Zealand strongly supports ...
“I’ve spoken to Minister Faafoi, who has apologised for his poor handling of this issue,” Jacinda Ardern said. “I have confidence in Kris as a hardworking and effective Minister, but this should have been dealt with in a much clearer manner, and I’ve made my views on that very clear ...
Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters met with Tongan Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pohiva Tu'i'onetoa in Wellington today. The pair signed a Statement of Partnership setting out joint priorities for cooperation out to 2023. “We welcomed Prime Minister Tu'i'onetoa on his first visit to New Zealand as Prime Minister. Tonga ...
The Minister of Police Stuart Nash says his sympathies are with the family of a man who died after being shot by Police in Kurow. “Initial reports are that Police were called by a family member to help the man who was threatening to harm himself,” Mr Nash says. “However ...
Healthier waterways, better productivity and farmer wellbeing are front and centre in a new project involving more than 1000 Southland farmers and growers. Minister of Agriculture Damien O’Connor today announced that the Thriving Southland Change and Innovation Project is the first region-wide extension programme supported by the $229 million Sustainable ...
Work to look after nature and restore freshwater quality in Te Hoiere/Pelorus River catchment is getting a significant boost, thanks to new Government funding support Minister for Conservation Eugenie Sage announced in Canvastown today. “Every New Zealander should be able to swim in their local river without getting sick, and ...
Eight Queen’s Counsel have been appointed under a process that includes the new criterion of a commitment to improving access to justice, Attorney-General David Parker announced today. “The new criterion was included this year. It emphasises that excellence and leadership in the profession can be seen through a wider, community ...
Onslow College in Wellington will get 20 new classrooms for more than 400 students, Education Minister Chris Hipkins announced today. The much-needed investment will relieve growth pressure the school has been experiencing for some time. Seven existing classrooms which have deteriorated over time will also be replaced, bringing the total ...
More than 250 young New Zealanders will add international experience to their education, thanks to the latest Prime Minister’s Scholarships for Asia (PMSA) and Latin America (PMSLA), Education Minister Chris Hipkins announced today. This round of scholarships supports 252 recent graduates or current students to undertake study, research or internships ...
Consumers will benefit from a more competitive, transparent retail fuel market as a result of changes the Government will be making in response to the findings of the Commerce Commission’s study of the fuel sector. “We accept the Commission’s findings and, as the Prime Minister has said, we’re ready to ...
Five new cancer medicines have now been funded this year, meaning thousands of people have more treatment options PHARMAC has today announced that it has approved two new medicines for funding – fulvestrant for breast cancer and olaparib for ovarian cancer. This follows earlier decisions on advanced lung cancer treatment alectinib, ...
The Minister of Local Government, Hon Nanaia Mahuta says the Government will consider making changes to local electoral legislation before the 2022 elections to fix the problems that have arisen where elections are settled by a coin toss. The Minister says the recount process in the Murupara- Galatea ward at ...
New Zealand will sign up to new international maritime regulations to reduce ship emissions and lift air quality around ports and harbours, Associate Transport Minister Julie Anne Genter announced today. Subject to completion of the Parliamentary treaty examination process, New Zealand will sign up to Annex VI of MARPOL, an ...
New legislation to transform our urban areas and create sustainable, inclusive and thriving communities will tomorrow be introduced to Parliament, Urban Development Minister Phil Twyford said. “The Urban Development Bill gives Kāinga Ora-Homes and Communities the tools it needs to partner with councils, communities, mana whenua and private developers to ...
Today’s launch of He taonga te Tamaiti: Every child a taonga: The Early Learning Action Plan 2019-2029 provides the foundation for long-lasting changes to early learning, Education Minister Chris Hipkins says. “Early learning will be one of the Government’s top education priorities going into 2020,” Chris Hipkins said. ...
Major decisions made by the Government will now be considered under a climate change lens, Minister for Climate Change James Shaw announced today. “Cabinet routinely considers the effects of its decisions on human rights, the Treaty of Waitangi, rural communities, the disability community, and gender – now climate change will ...
Education Minister Chris Hipkins today announced the appointment of Māori education specialist Dr Wayne Ngata and Business NZ head Kirk Hope to the Board of the Tertiary Education Commission (TEC). Dr Alastair MacCormick has been reappointed for another term. “Wayne Ngata, Kirk Hope and Alastair MacCormick bring a great deal ...
The next phase of the Pike River Re-entry project is underway, Minister Responsible for Pike River Re-entry Andrew Little says. “Fresh air will be pumped into the Pike River Mine drift this week, following acceptance of the plan for re-entry beyond the 170m barrier by New Zealand’s independent health and ...
New Zealand consumers will have greater certainty about their insurance cover when they need to make claims as a result of proposed government changes. “Insurance is vitally important in supporting consumers and businesses to be financially resilient when unexpected events happen,” Minister of Commerce and Consumer Affairs Kris Faafoi said. ...
The Crown is providing an opportunity for the hapu of Ngāpuhi to rebuild its framework from the ground up for collective negotiations to deal with its historical Treaty claims, Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations Andrew Little and Minister for Māori Development Nanaia Mahuta announced today. The Crown is also ...
A Bill enabling referendums to be held with the 2020 General Election has passed its third reading. Justice Minister Andrew Little says the Act is important for upholding the integrity of New Zealand’s electoral process. “The Government has committed to holding a referendum on legalising recreational cannabis at the next ...
The first release of public information on the two referendums to be held at next year’s General Election was made today with an informative new Government website going live. Additionally, the draft Cannabis Legalisation and Control Bill has been released, showing the strict controls on cannabis that will apply if ...
The Government is taking action to protect New Zealand from foreign interference in our elections by banning foreign donations to political parties and candidates, Justice Minister Andrew Little announced today. Legislation will be introduced to Parliament this afternoon and passed under urgency. “There’s no need for anyone other than New ...
Governments and tech companies are holding a two-day workshop, hosted by YouTube/Google in Wellington, to test the Christchurch Call Shared Crisis Response Protocol. The workshop aims to refine and strengthen the response in the event of a terrorist attack with online implications. Companies, governments, civil society experts and NGOs will ...
The new independent Cancer Control Agency has formally opened today, delivering on the Government’s plan to improve cancer care in New Zealand. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Minister of Health David Clark marked the occasion by announcing the membership of the Advisory Council that will be supporting ...
Small businesses who deal with government departments are set to be paid faster and have improved cash flow as a result, under a new strategy released today. The Government is backing recommendations from the Small Business Council (SBC) and has agreed to implement three initiatives immediately to support business and ...
The Education and Training Bill 2019, introduced in Parliament today, proposes the biggest education changes in decades and is an important step towards improving success for all our learners, Education Minister Chris Hipkins said. “The Bill’s rewrite of education legislation is long overdue. Indeed one Education Act, parts of which ...
Minister for Pacific Peoples Aupito William Sio will travel to Bali to represent New Zealand at the 12th Bali Democracy Forum that will be held on the 5-6 December. “The Forum is a valuable opportunity for Asia-Pacific countries to share experiences and best practice in building home-grown democracy and fostering ...
A package of new and expanded technology and other tools will encourage responsible camping and help communities and local councils better manage freedom camping this summer, Tourism Minister Kelvin Davis announced today. “Our Government has been investing to improve the freedom camping experience for everyone because we want to support ...
The government is laying the groundwork to understanding our genes – work that can help us tackle some of our biggest health challenges, like heart disease and diabetes, says Research, Science and Innovation Minister Megan Woods. $4.7 million has been invested in the Genomics Aotearoa Rakeiora programme. The programme will ...
Nearly every state schools will receive a capital injection next year valued at $693 per student to bring forward urgent school property improvements, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Education Minister Chris Hipkins announced today. The one-off cash injection is the first project to be announced from the Government’s infrastructure package ...
The Government has decided to bring forward major investments in New Zealand’s infrastructure to future proof the economy. “Cabinet has agreed to a significant boost to infrastructure investment. I have directed the Treasury to help bring together a package of projects that can be brought into the Government’s short and ...
It is a great pleasure to be with you today in Whanganui. Like the Prime Minister I grew up with the TV clip of Selwyn Toogood booming “What do you say Whanganui, the money or the bag?” to an unsuspecting ‘It’s in the Bag’ audience. For those under the age ...
New Zealand’s newest Great Walk, the Paparoa Track, was officially opened in Blackball today by the Minister of Conservation Eugenie Sage alongside the family members of the Pike 29 and Ngāti Waewae. Local mayors and MP for the West Coast Hon Damien O’Connor were also in attendance. “Paparoa National Park ...
Minister of Defence Ron Mark turned the first sod of earth on the infrastructure works for the new P-8A Poseidon fleet at RNZAF Base Ohakea today. “The Coalition Government’s investment in Ohakea will ensure the Royal New Zealand Air Force can manage, maintain and task the new fleet efficiently ahead ...
Civil Defence Minister Hon Peeni Henare today announced the establishment of the new National Emergency Management Agency from 1 December 2019. The National Emergency Management Agency will replace the Ministry of Civil Defence & Emergency Management. It will be an autonomous departmental agency, hosted by the Department of the Prime ...
New Zealand tertiary students with top grades and a passion for space will once again be offered the opportunity to work with the world’s best and brightest at NASA, Economic Development Minister Phil Twyford announced today. Recipients of the New Zealand Space Scholarship are nominated by the Ministry of Business, ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced further support to Samoa in the wake of an ongoing measles outbreak in the country. Additional medical supplies and personnel, including a third rotation of New Zealand’s emergency medical assistance team (NZMAT), further nurse vaccinators, intensive care (ICU) specialists and Samoan-speaking medical professionals, will ...
ASMS message to DHB Chairs and appointees The Association of Salaried Medical Specialists (ASMS) welcomes the District Health Board Chairs and board appointees announced by Health Minister David Clark. ...
Eight Queen’s Counsel have been appointed under a process that includes the new criterion of a commitment to improving access to justice, Attorney-General David Parker announced this week. The new criterion, he explained, ” … emphasises that excellence and leadership in the profession can be seen through a wider, community ...
“CEAC – University of Auckland asks ‘Can democracy survive’? Subject; Can democracy survive? https://www.auckland.ac.nz/en/news/2019/12/03/can-democracy-survive-.html Citizens Environmental Advocacy Centre Incorporated (CEAC) Press release 8th December ...
The Minister of Health’s announcement to appoint a new chair to the Hawke’s Bay District Health Board has come as a surprise and with some disappointment, especially given he had personally asked me to stand again with his confidence to continue in ...
Hell’s bells it’s Gone By Lunchtime, with Annabelle Lee, Ben Thomas and Toby Manhire shooting the breeze on Kris Faafoi, Jason Kerrison, Winston Peters, NZ First donations, a cannabis referendum, and the year to come.Just when you thought politics was tucking under the duvet for Christmas, along comes the guy ...
Tis the season for hangovers, so we convinced some of New Zealand’s most experienced consumers of food and/or drink (OK, Spinoff staff and a bunch of chefs/hospo people) to share their tried-and-true culinary remedies.A hangover is a very individual thing. For some, it manifests as a splitting headache and extreme ...
Before Britain’s Got Talent: Champions hits our screens tonight, let’s take a fond look back at some of the show’s weirdest and most wonderful acts.Place your hands on your Golden Buzzer, because Britain’s Got Talent: The Champions kicks off this weekend. Champions is BGT bigger and better than it’s been before, ...
Following the raging success of the 2018 non-goat ethical Christmas gift guide, here for you today – responsibly wrapped in reusable gift wrap – is the 2019 list of ethical, sustainable, socially conscious, or charitable gift ideas to satisfy all kinds of family members and budgets.Budget Category: ‘Can we pay ...
Lime brought e-scooters to Auckland and changed the way we travel in less than a year. Now, the council is replacing it and Wave with three new contenders. Josie Adams goes to the Lime warehouse to say goodbye to the original scooters.In a warehouse in Eden Terrace, almost a thousand ...
Analysis - The government's first crack at cannabis legislation runs into trouble, a foreign donations bill is rammed through Parliament and a select committee refuses to listen to former NZ First officeholders. ...
Dr Ben Jansen is Oceania's leading prescriber of cannabis medicines, and a co-founder of the Hemp Foundation.org.nz “I’d like to thank the Labour Party and Chris Woodney. Thanks to his policy remit at Labours national conference, and Labours full support, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Hannah Soong, Senior Lecturer in Teacher Education Practice, School of Education, University of South Australia Australian 15 year olds were around three and a half years behind their counterparts in China in maths, according to the OECD’s latest results for education systems ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Dimitri Perrin, Senior Lecturer, Queensland University of Technology More than a year ago, the world was shocked by Chinese biophysicist He Jiankui’s attempt to use CRISPR technology to modify human embryos and make them resistant to HIV, which led to the birth ...
Cabinet minister Kris Faafoi has apologised to the Prime Minister for his messages to Jason Kerrison regarding an immigration case, but will not lose his job. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Julian Meyrick, Professor of Creative Arts, Flinders University The decision to merge the Department of Communications and the Arts with Transport, Infrastructure and Regional development (dropping the “Arts” entirely) ends a year in which Australian politics has been deeply confused over its ...
A historic referendum on independence has been completed in Bougainville. Johnny Blades of RNZ was there. People in the autonomous Papua New Guinea region of Bougainville have voted in an historic independence referendum. The long-anticipated referendum is the ultimate provision of 2001’s Bougainville Peace Agreement, which followed a brutal, protracted ...
Dairy farmers had some Xmas cheer this week, as dairy giant Fonterra told them the forecast payout would be the fourth-highest-ever, at the mid-point of its farmgate milk price range. The $7.30kg/ms means the cash payout for the season will reach $11.2bn, a rise of about $400m from the earlier forecast. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Caitlin Syme, PhD in Vertebrate Palaeontology, The University of Queensland When you find dinosaur skeletons, how can you tell how old the dinosaur was? Like, if the skeleton is from a child dinosaur or an adult dinosaur? – Henry, aged 8. ...
The Council of Licenced Firearms Owners (COLFO) has had to clarify the law with Police and receive their reassurance that while the amnesty for ammunition was not extended to 20 December, Police will act as if it has been. ...
The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington.AUCKLAND1 We Are Here: An Atlas of Aotearoa by Chris McDowall & Tim Denee (Massey University Press, $70)Superlative ...
This week a petition with more than 15,000 signatures was presented at parliament to Nicola Willis, MP and opposition spokesperson for Early Childhood Education. Also attending were Green MP Chlöe Swarbrick and Hon Nikki Kaye. ...
It’s that time of year again when, for the third year running, a new A Christmas Prince movie is released. Sam Brooks was in front of a TV screen for the latest instalment’s debut on Netflix last night, and here catalogues the many stupid, wild, and wildly stupid things he ...
One of the most highly rated members of Jacinda Ardern’s Cabinet is under pressure over assurances given in relation to an immigration case. How bad could it get, asks Toby Manhire.There has never been a New Zealand prime minister more engaged with contemporary homegrown music than Jacinda Ardern. She’s forever ...
Kris Faafoi, Minister of Broadcasting, Communications and Digital Media; Minister ofCommerce and Consumer Affairs;Minister of Government Digital Services; Associate Minister forHousing; MP for Mana.The latest allegations of a corruption scandal involving a Cabinet minister suggests this government is far too loose when it comes to providing access to power ...
The National Party cannot credibly critique the Government’s hikes to fuel tax while it refuses to commit to reversing these hikes, says the New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union. Taxpayers’ Union spokesman Louis Houlbrooke says, “Simon Bridges has lambasted ...
Newspaper staff were among those to express dismay and fury during the frenzy of denunciations that followed publication of an ill-considered cartoon about Samoa and the measles epidemic. The Spinoffrecorded their reactions under the heading ODT cartoonist infuriates his colleagues with Sāmoa measles epidemic ‘joke’. It also reproduced the ...
New Zealand Police Association condemns comments made by People Against Prisons Aotearoa following the fatal police shooting of an armed man who had made threats of suicide. ...
A new poem by Harry Ricketts. The Writing Life You want to write.You want to be published.You want to be read. You want to be a cult figure.You want to be reviewed.You want to write. You want to win prizes.You want to be anthologised.You want to be read. You want to be taught in schools ...
As Christmas is near, it’s time to set the record straight on some of the most commonly misunderstood aspects of employment law that apply to the festive season. ...
Editor’s Note: Here below is a list of the main issues currently under discussion in New Zealand and links to media coverage.New Zealand Parliament Buildings, Wellington, New Zealand.Kris Faafoi immigration case Fiona Connor and Tova O’Brien (Newshub): ‘I’m on it bro’: Messages show Kris Faafoi offering help to ...
The Minister of Local Government Nanaia Mahuta has announced changes to prevent Māori wards being voted down by referendums are off the table, saying she believes such a change is not possible within the coalition. ...
It’s officially the festive season, and what does that mean? An office Secret Santa with a budget of $20 and you’ve picked your boss. Instead of settling for a bottle of average wine and a ribbon, follow our essential guide on what to get those unique workmates.At last year’s Secret ...
The shooting of a suicidal man in Southland shows that police armament is dangerous, says criminal justice group People Against Prisons Aotearoa. The shooting comes just over a month into the controversial trial of heavily armed police teams in 3 regions ...
The Prime Minister should deal urgently with reports Cabinet Minister Kris Faafoi offered to help a friend over an immigration case, National Party leader Simon Bridges says. ...
The families of top former All Blacks are likely to donate their loved ones’ brains to research so the effect of head impacts in sport can be studied. ...
A woman who went on a Tinder date with the man who murdered Grace Millane tells her story, and issues a warning to other women to trust their instincts when something doesn’t feel right.First published on Newshub.co.nzI went on a date with Grace Millane’s killer while her body lay in ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Gottfried Lechner, Associate Professor and Director of the Institute for Telecommunications Research, University of South Australia, University of South Australia Satellites are becoming increasingly important in our lives, as they help us meet a demand for more data, exchanged at higher speeds. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Terry Goldsworthy, Associate Professor in Criminology, Bond University According to the latest figures, homicides in Australia are at historic lows and compare well against international trends. So what do the trends tell us and why is the homicide rate in Australia declining? ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Timothy O’Rourke, Senior Lecturer, School of Architecture, The University of Queensland Welcome to the next article in our Designing Hospitals series, where we explore how architecture and design shape our hospitals and medical centres. Today, we look at what Indigenous people tell ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Richard Holden, Professor of Economics, UNSW The latest Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) results are bad news for Australian students, parents, employers and policymakers. Pretty much everyone. Australian 15-year-olds are now below the OECD average in mathematics, and our results in ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Danielle Clode, Senior Research Fellow in Creative Writing, Flinders University It is only mid-November but we have to walk early to avoid the heat. A northerly wind picks up clouds of dust and pollen, sending dirty billows across the paddocks. The long ...
Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Changes coming to fuel market, anti-vaxxer arrested in Samoa, and banks told to hold more capital.New recommendations to increase competition in the fuel market have been made by the Commerce Commission, reports the NZ Herald. Their conclusion is that it isn’t competitive ...
This week's biggest-selling New Zealand books, as recorded by the Nielsen BookScan New Zealand bestseller list and described by ReadingRoom literary editor Steve Braunias. ...
An alliance of top researchers is trying to keep New Zealand ahead of complex health challenges from overuse of antibiotics, threats to freshwater quality and emerging infectious diseases. ...
The birthplace of the Labour Party is once again at the forefront of a new movement, this time harnessing the power of the collective to step away from coal towards a low carbon future.Blackball is a small place with a huge history. This week the town, 29 kilometres from Greymouth, ...
Life expectancy is increasing all the time, and now actuaries and retirement experts say young people need far more information on what they’ll need to do with their money if they live to 100. Don’t worry, we’re here to help. The message from the Retirement Income Interest Group of the New ...
German politician Joschka Fischer has had a remarkable career. From street violence and helping to set up the Green party, he matured into the foreign minister and vice-chancellor of a united Germany, serving until 2005. His understanding of power politics led him to support the use of force in the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Scott Morrison said it with a straight face, and repetition for emphasis. “I’m very pleased, very pleased, with the performance of all of my ministers,” he declared on Thursday. This ringing if unconvincing universal endorsement ...
PARENTS AROUND THE WORLD PLEA FOR URGENT CLIMATE ACTION 222 parents groups from 27 countries have released a heartfelt joint plea calling on negotiators at this year’s UN climate summit – COP25 – in Madrid to push for ambitious and urgent ...
Government proposals to overhaul insurance contract laws should make the whole process of taking out insurance easier and simpler to understand for consumers, says Financial Advice New Zealand. ...
Despite New Zealand First lobbying hard at the Cabinet table, the Finance Minister says the case to move Auckland's port operations north has not yet been made. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jane Tomnay, Assoc. Professor / Director of Centre for Excellence in Rural Sexual Health, University of Melbourne Around one in six Australian women have had an abortion by their mid-30s. These women come from all age groups and demographics: some are mothers ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Roslyn Petelin, Course coordinator, The University of Queensland Reports this week about the demise of the Apostrophe Protection Society may have been greatly exaggerated. The Apostrophe Protection Society was set up in 2001 in the UK by retired journalist John Richards with ...
Open Mike 20/05/2017 
The state of the United Kingdom is fractured, torn up, shredded. The Empire is gone, it died a long time ago. And yet, the country is still tracking with a lead in favour of the ones who play to the ingrained, class-bound division for political gain. It is a disgrace ...54 mins ago
It should be obvious by now but let’s be clear: The same folk who regularly traffic in disinformation, misinformation and “fake news” are also those who most strongly claim that their freedom of expression rights are being violated when moves are made to curb hate speech (as opposed to protected ...3 hours ago
Michael Schulson When Shane Burcaw flies on an airplane, he brings along a customized gel cushion, a car seat, and about 10 pieces of memory foam. The whole arsenal costs around $1,000, but for Burcaw it’s a necessity. The 27-year-old author and speaker — who, alongside his fiancée, Hannah ...11 hours ago
We are very pleased to publish this submission is from Lucinda Stoan. She is a social justice activist, mother, and educator, based in Washington State in the US. This detailed and comprehensive source-linked overview of trans issues and what is at stake will be useful for many people, especially in ...1 day ago
Newshub last night reported that Broadcasting Minister Kris Faafoi had apparently promised to help out a mate with an immigration issue. While its normal for people to approach MPs for assistance in this area, when you're a Minister, the rules are different: as the Cabinet Manual says, Ministers must "at ...1 day ago
New Zealand's Underarm Banker: It bears recalling that the “independence” of the Reserve Bank Governor was for decades held up by neoliberal capitalists as the most compelling justification for passing the Reserve Bank Act. Interesting, is it not, how the ruling class’s support for the Bank’s independence lasted no longer than ...2 days ago
“Free at last, Free at last, Thank God almighty we are free at last.” ― Martin Luther King Jr. A long and bitter court feud between former Conservative Party leader Colin Craig and Jordan Williams has been settled, with an apology and compensation from Williams. On Tuesday, Craig sent out ...2 days ago
Some people seem to want to close down any critical discussion of the current research into the relationship between water fluoride and child IQ. They appear to argue that claims made by researchers should not be open to critical review and that the claims be accepted without proper consideration ...2 days ago
In an unreliable, strange and confusing world, Public Address is proud to present a measure of comfort and stability by annually asking everyone what words or phrases sum up the year that's been – and then giving some of them consumer goods as prizes for being clever or simply lucky.Well, ...2 days ago
While much of the NZ left has transitioned to postmodern and identity politics in relation to transgender ideology, there are some very good articles about that deploy Marxist methodology in relation to this subject. The one below is from the British marxist group Counterfire and appeared on their site here ...5 days ago
“America the Beautiful!”, staunch defender of democracy, freedom and… a whole lot of despotic tyrants that play nice with what is called “the Washington Consensus.” America is indeed capable of immense good, but like any Nation, and most assuredly any aspirant to the mantle of Empire, great, immense evil. All ...6 days ago
Image credit: The beginner’s guide to blogging I notice a few regulars no longer allow public access to the site counters. This may happen accidentally when the blog format is altered. If your blog is ... 6 days ago
It hasn't been a good week for the Conservatives, pollwise. All major recent polls are showing their lead shrinking.Comparing each pollster's current (between 29/11 and 22/11) and previous most recent poll.Com Res - Conservative lead down 3 points.You Gov - Conservative lead down 1 point.Kantar - Conservative lead down 4 ...1 week ago
Mark Patterson, Spokesperson for Primary Industries New Zealand First spokesperson for Primary Industries, Mark Patterson, has called for awareness to be raised and more stringent biosecurity checks to be put in place for African Swine Fever (ASF), a widespread virus that is uncontrolled in most of Asia and a serious ...2 days ago
Live from the Whanganui Opera House, on the final day of the 2019 Labour Party Conference, Jacinda Ardern announced the largest investment in school property in 25 years. ...4 days ago
International education continues to thrive as the Government focuses on quality over quantity, Education Minister Chris Hipkins said. The tuition revenue from international education increased to $1.16 billion last year with the average tuition fee per student increasing by $960. The total number of international students enrolled in New Zealand ...23 mins ago
The National Party says tougher regulations on banks could cost families with a mortgage nearly $2000 extra per year. ...2 hours ago
ASMS message to DHB Chairs and appointees The Association of Salaried Medical Specialists (ASMS) welcomes the District Health Board Chairs and board appointees announced by Health Minister David Clark. ...4 hours ago
Eight Queen’s Counsel have been appointed under a process that includes the new criterion of a commitment to improving access to justice, Attorney-General David Parker announced this week. The new criterion, he explained, ” … emphasises that excellence and leadership in the profession can be seen through a wider, community ...6 hours ago
Hell’s bells it’s Gone By Lunchtime, with Annabelle Lee, Ben Thomas and Toby Manhire shooting the breeze on Kris Faafoi, Jason Kerrison, Winston Peters, NZ First donations, a cannabis referendum, and the year to come.Just when you thought politics was tucking under the duvet for Christmas, along comes the guy ...11 hours ago
"The neighbour takes my hand and walks me over the concrete to my parent’s back door": a look inside Hell by Alisha Tyson. ...14 hours ago
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Hannah Soong, Senior Lecturer in Teacher Education Practice, School of Education, University of South Australia Australian 15 year olds were around three and a half years behind their counterparts in China in maths, according to the OECD’s latest results for education systems ...1 day ago
Dairy farmers had some Xmas cheer this week, as dairy giant Fonterra told them the forecast payout would be the fourth-highest-ever, at the mid-point of its farmgate milk price range. The $7.30kg/ms means the cash payout for the season will reach $11.2bn, a rise of about $400m from the earlier forecast. ...1 day ago
The Government is investing up to $9 million in a project that it says will help Southland farmers use their land more sustainably. ...1 day ago
Donation legislation, the infinite monkey theory and the angriest man in NZ politics. Not to mention Paula Bennett's black-market oregano. ...1 day ago
You do not have to sacrifice short term returns in order to invest sustainably. ...1 day ago
Winston Peters says the NZ First foundation is similar to the National Party’s foundation. Here’s how it isn’t. ...1 day ago
The families of top former All Blacks are likely to donate their loved ones’ brains to research so the effect of head impacts in sport can be studied. ...1 day ago
The Finance Minister Grant Robertson won’t be drawn on how much new capital requirements for banks will hit consumers. ...1 day ago
Yet again, NZ schools have received a 'fail' when it comes to bullying but there could be an evidence-based solution. ...2 days ago
This week's biggest-selling New Zealand books, as recorded by the Nielsen BookScan New Zealand bestseller list and described by ReadingRoom literary editor Steve Braunias. ...2 days ago
An alliance of top researchers is trying to keep New Zealand ahead of complex health challenges from overuse of antibiotics, threats to freshwater quality and emerging infectious diseases. ...2 days ago
Sky Sport News presenter Kate King previews a massive weekend for Kiwi sportswomen ...2 days ago
A handy guide to all you need to know about impeachment. ...2 days ago
NZ is seeing an increasing number of retail 'events' imported from overseas - how long before our spending is exhausted? ...2 days ago
German politician Joschka Fischer has had a remarkable career. From street violence and helping to set up the Green party, he matured into the foreign minister and vice-chancellor of a united Germany, serving until 2005. His understanding of power politics led him to support the use of force in the ...2 days ago
Despite New Zealand First lobbying hard at the Cabinet table, the Finance Minister says the case to move Auckland's port operations north has not yet been made. ...2 days ago
The year has provided tests for the PM's party, government, and the country as a whole - but she is confident 2020 will bring success. ...2 days ago
Heartening! Jews and Palestinians working to reclaim occupied land.
https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=1869129410026697&id=1438208006452175
Thanks for that, my friend. This brutal occupation will come to an end one day, thanks to people like those in that video, and also to brave fighters like these….
http://normanfinkelstein.com/2017/05/17/31days/
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/92751129/keith-ng-four-tax-myths-that-might-pop-up-this-year
tax facts for dummys
Stuff published that? I hope they keep that sort of thing up for the next six months to keep the bullshit in check.
Maybe they are throwing a hissy at dildo for not getting stuffme over the line and aren’t playing in his “communications” sandpit
GST and “tax cuts”. Those politicians are just dishonest. Who would have guessed Bull English.
A widespread outbreak of myrtle rust disease had the potential to dramatically change the treescape of the region.
The long term effects of the windborne fungal disease, which has so far affected five horticultural properties nationwide, including three in Taranaki, are unknown.
The disease affects the myrtaceae family including 3000 species, among them pohutukawa, rata, feijoa, ramarama and manuka, and various garden ornamentals.
The Taranaki landscape would be altered if large tracts of pohutukawa and manuka were destroyed by the disease, said gardening writer, Glyn Church.
“We could see 1000’s of pohutukawa trees dying in front of our eyes,” Church said.
“The myrtaceae family is quite large, it includes eucalypts, and the outcome of the disease is not known.
“It could wipe out the trees, or it could make the plant weaker but not really kill the plant. “One thing we are certain of is that is here and would be impossible to get rid of.”
Church said plants grown in warmer climates were often more susceptible to the disease than colder climates.
“We’ve seen this in Australia where the disease has spread further northward along the eastern coast than southward.
The warmer the temperature the worst effect it had on the plants.”
http://www.stuff.co.nz/environment/92792393/myrtle-rust-spread-has-potential-to-change-landscape
The outcome of this could be horrendous for the environment and “tourisms scenic NZ”.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uredo_rangelii
honey companies have been paying huge money for land in the manuka areas of nz ,they will be sweating now, instead of spraying to kill it they will be spraying to save it,
The disease has been across the ditch for 7 years now. You would think our biosecurity boffins would have tested the rust on pohutukawa and manuka by now to see the likely effects on nz plants. But it appears we have no idea what its going to do from here. Biosecurity win?
The continuing “fake news” offensive is best described as digital book burning – Bill Holter.
Wow Glenn Greenwald 3 months ago, but he could be describing the goings on in Washington just this last week. He’s basically calling the propaganda against Trump the “destruction of democracy”.
Deep State vs Tr*mp/Bannon State. Not much of a choice is it.
Greenwald, “I happen to think that the Trump Presidency is extremely dangerous” 😉
I agree with his general premise about the loss of democracy though and the danger of the conservatives (including in the Dems) thinking that the Deep State will save them. Really stupid.
It’s tricky to compare the two, Trump is hurting people’s lives in America now although the Deep State has probably had a much worse effect across the world for decades.
I just find it particularly grating that a political figure is being ousted by the so called “good folks” through the use of lies and propaganda. If there was a bully at my school who had done some horrible stuff to some other kids would I want him expelled due to some fabricated stories made up by other students in order to get rid of him for good. I’d like to think I would want no part of that, and you start to get into the territory of being no better than the bully.
The CIA has of course a long history of tampering with”foreign” countries using legal and illegal means. The USA is in deep trouble when the CIA uses its “skills” to collapse the democratically elected government. Innocent until proven guilty.
But The Washington Post says they were told by an anonymous official that Trump did (fill in whatever takes your fancy). Therefore it behooves every person who might have any degree of reservation about Trump as a person or any dislike of Trump policies to jump on board and denounce, decry and destroy.
And if The Washington Post, can’t get you on board, well we got it over here… in The New York times, The Guardian, The Independent and any other major, liberal and msm news outlet that knows what the control c /control v functions of a keyboard do.
But wait. There’s more! We got CNN, BBC, ABC, MSNBC and every other piece of liberal alphabet spaghetti with broadcast wavelength, who’ll breathlessly provide (fill in whatever takes your fancy) as actual, verifiable news with a straight face and secondary analysis to boot.
How can you not jump aboard? Are you against us? Are you a Trump voter? A Putin lover? A fascist? Just plain stupid? What’s wrong with you Will Robinson?
Boo hoo for trump. Who cares, he deserves everything he gets imo. I hope all media continues to dig up the truth about the unpleasant man. If his followers can’t take that much truth then that is as expected too after all they support the mango mussolini.
If media were digging up truths and truly holding power to account with genuinely sourced and verifiable materials, then that would be great. But they’re not.
Liberal msm are being willing stooges for the establishment (as personified by the likes of McCain and Clinton) – and every fucker who just mindlessly jumps on board with the shit they’re pushing through their various contacts to msm are aiding and abetting their attempts to re-assume a hold on the reins of power.
In case it escaped your notice – not very many people anywhere want these clowns to actually have power any more. That’s why they keep losing elections (Democrats, both the traditional left and right in France) and internal control of the parties they belong to (Corbyn, Trump) or, retaining control of their parties through running machevelian bullshit (Sanders) and only winning elections and campaigns, courtesy of campaigns that are just variations on ‘Project Fear’ (Scottish independence, French Presidential elections)…and yes, losing some too (BREXIT) …
In the choice between ‘Deep State’ (ie, the establishment) and ‘Trump/Bannon State’ (ie, authoritarian ‘new kids’), I say, a curse on both houses. I choose “left”.
Seriously I just don’t believe all of that. You seem to want big baddies like a James bond movie and it just isn’t like that imo. Real life doesn’t need a liberal application of imagination it’s full on enough, if you have eyes to see, already.
So, you’re happy to believe what you’re being asked to believe by msm that offer no verifiable evidence (Russians messing in elections for example) and that consistently rely on anonymous sources for the stories and/or the vague assertions that they report?
And you’re comfortable whereby one outlet (eg BBC) merely uses the reporting of another outlet (eg NYT) to lend its own reporting on a particular issue a sense of depth and veracity?
That’s not journalism. Journalism is examining and questioning sources and evidence. (Which is kind of difficult in a world of news that runs on anonymous sources and zero evidence)
There are no ‘big baddies’ marty, and I don’t imagine any ‘big baddies’. It’s a question of established power – which is institutional and so not predicated on particular individuals (Clinton and McCain could disappear tomorrow and the same shit would continue).
Yep it may not be journalism and it is the way it is. I just think all the shadowy plots are fictional. Mostly it is selfish incompetence that drives things along rather than deep state mega Corp.
No shadowy plots and no ‘deep state mega corp’ – just institutional power, in its various facets and iterations asserting itself.
Maybe you need to imagine a character or an individual or a committee orchestrating some great plan in order that you can ‘pin’ things on a definable physical something – but that isn’t and never has been how institutional power operates.
You’ve lost me now but it’s okay I’m good.
Institutional power is exercised through people and their positions, rather than by people in their positions. And what guides and sustains it? Simple institutional memory with all its assumptions and what not that pass on in the same way as in any culture.
So there are no state agents plotting against the welfare of their citizens? The people plotting against Julian Assange are just incompetent, are they? Have you actually read anything by Edward Snowden, or by Julian Assange? Or Jeremy Scahill? Or Glenn Greenwald? Or Nicky Hager?
What is a state agent?
What is a state agent?
Members of Parliament who represent powerful interests and not their constituents, prosecutors, MI5, MI6, the Police—and their quasi-official media outlets, including most shamefully the BBC.
Greenwald would like to think that the U.S. intelligence community functions as the real government.
Greenwald should open his horizon a little more.
Trump’s administration has already gain an extremely conservative Supreme Court, to go with control of the Senate and Congress.
Trump’s administration is openly flouting all kinds of probity andy ethics violations, and there are plenty of investigations going on about his dealings both personal and private with Russian interests.
Trump’s administration also has complete control of the military, its funding, and its massive subcontractors.
Trump’s administration has shown it’s perfectly happy to take out anyone it likes in the intelligence community.
Trump also acts in total symbiosis with Fox News and Breitbart, far and away the two most powerful media outlets in North America.
Trump’s administration has exceedingly close relationships with the banking system – far greater and more obvious than anything Bill Clinton or Obama ever dreamed of.
Greenwald should stop looking for Washington circle-jerk intelligence conspiracies to uncover, and pay more attention to the far broader power President Trump already holds and wields across civil, legal, military, media, banking, commerce, and political spheres.
“Greenwald would like to think that the U.S. intelligence community functions as the real government.”
Greenwald doesn’t say that though. He says that the Deep State is undermining real government and that it’s too our peril to support that in the hopes it will bring Trump administration down and restore order.
Your last paragraph is odd, given that Greenwald basically says in the video that Trump is also very dangerous (I even quoted him saying that).
Greenwald’s focus is way too narrow.
He’s dated and it shows.
Greenwald wasn’t saying that Ad. He was pointing out that the Intelligence Community seeks to persist and to exercise its ‘god-given’ powers regardless of any changes in elected administrations.
The Intelligence Community is one part of what we might call ‘the establishment’ – an inherently conservative expression of power that’s exercised through various institutions (legal, media, military etc)
As for the supposed executive powers of a US President, I don’t know enough about the US system of government to comment much, but I’d be very, very surprised if it was the case (as you claim) that a US President has complete control of the military, its funding, and its massive subcontractors.
You’re saying by that, that neither Congress nor the Senate have any say in military budgets or military operations and that a US President could decree all military sub-contracts were to go to his Chinese mate.
Much of the rest of what you say cannot be backed up by evidence and is just so much allegation as rumour (the Russian connections etc)
Fox News and Breitbart are far and away the two most powerful media outlets in North America and yet (according to the lauded intelligence Community report into Russian interference in the election) RT exerted more influence on the minds of US voters than both those outlets put together! How’s that work? 🙂
He fired a guy…one guy. Big deal (it’s not really) – though it affords a nice stick for those wanting something to hit him with.
A US Admin in bed with bankers? Well, fuck me dead, who’d have thunk it?! Exactly how is Trump’s relationship something that Clinton and Obama could only dream of (bearing in mind that financiers hold the upper hand in that relationship)? Y’know – “Bail me! Bail me!!” “Duh – okay”
“Fox News and Breitbart are far and away the two most powerful media outlets in North America and yet (according to the lauded intelligence Community report into Russian interference in the election) RT exerted more influence on the minds of US voters than both those outlets put together! How’s that work? ”
I haven’t really been following the whole thing, but if you use programmers to manipulate social media that’s an entirely different thing than broadcast media like Fox.
RT is a broadcast network. Nothing more. Manipulation of social media belongs to the facebooks and googles of this world.
I thought part of the theory was social media manipulation. And sorry, but if you think FB and google are the only ones manipulating social media, that’s incredibly naive. I fully expect that the various secretive agencies in the US are also doing that. I can’t see any good reason to think the Russians wouldn’t be.
The supposed ‘theory’ was to do with armies of paid commenters and such like.
There’s manipulation and manipulation, but where google and facebook are at, is that they write the algorithms that determine what becomes prominent and what disappears. And sure, that can be ‘gamed’ to an extent.
I understand what google and FB do. What I’m saying is that in addition to that it’s possible to do things like programme twitter and FB accounts to astroturf and that has nothing to do with FB and Twitter as corporations. And that governments will be doing that as well as other big players with vested interests. I think the issue here is whether it was done on the scale being claimed (likewise with Brexit), with the intention of altering another state’s democracy. I have no trouble believing that the US or Russian govt are capable of that ethically and technically.
I have no idea whether that happened in the last US election or not. Which is part of why I don’t follow the issue, because I’m not sure that there is any way to know. I also think the polarisation that is happening around this issue plays into the hands of the fascists and authoritarians.
So astroturfing is setting something up to look as though it’s grassroots and popular when in actual fact it’s a piece of wholly contrived bullshit. Corporations are doing it all of the time – supposed citizens networks/ pressure groups etc.
You saying that finds a mode of expression through twitter and what not? I wouldn’t know – don’t do twitter and know nothing about it. I’m not understanding how an account can astroturf though. (Maybe you’re meaning something else?)
With BREXIT, it’s being claimed that a US (?) company had the wherewithal to target messaging at fairly precise demographics based on data they possessed around browsing habits or some such. I’m sure if you google, you’ll find the details.
What’s the polarisation that’s feeding into the hands of authoritarians? Whether people voted on a punt or in protest or desperation or whatever, as against being manipulated by “the Russians” or “tyhe Kremlin”? If that’s what you’re referring to then sorry, but that’s like saying there’s polarisation around the issue of there being fairies at the foot of the garden.
edit – I should add that the Intelligence Community report that so many put so much store by mentioned nothing about any of the stuff you’re alluding to. Most of it was the supposed influence of RT broadcasts.
The President is the Commander in Chief of the entire military.
The President proposes the budget, and has had his first one approved already. That’s how it works.
The President has fired and replaced almost all senior figures in the entire public sector – and that is standard practise.
The Constitution predicts and expects that other branches of government will continue while the seat of President goes through elections. That continuity exists in every part of our public sector, and theirs.
Now, I fully expect that under this Presidency the US constitutional framework part will be challenged, right to its core, but so far it really looks to me like all parts of the system are working there as they should.
Greenwald was better under the Bush 2 administration – because that was an inept and weak President. Trump ain’t one of those.
I can’t see any reason why the so called deep state can’t operate within the framework you just outlined.
What you call the ‘deep state’ (however you would like to define it) is better known to mere mortals as the public service, doing its’ job.
As a result, Greenwald continues to sound like a Bourne Supremacy extra.
If there was a sniff that we were in the midst of a full scale 1950s-1960s Commie witch-hunt, or a massive 1970s ‘Manufacturing Consent’ South American rogue CIA, or even a 1980s Contra programme, I’d say, fair enough, have a good crack Mr Greenwald. Write a book.
Instead, all the scandals are in perfectly plain sight. Where they should be in a democracy. The media and the Senate are doing their jobs.
Hell, even Comey has agreed to testify in public.
Trump’s military and intelligence leadership is accelerating what Obama set in train: managed and gradual retreat.
Trump will either figure out how to operate in the sunlight, continuing this strategic direction, or he will resign in frustration.
“What you call the ‘deep state’ (however you would like to define it) is better known to mere mortals as the public service, doing its’ job.”
I’m just using the term as short hand. But I don’t think it’s the public service doing its job. It’s extra that, that’s the point. Greenwald might be over-egging it, but it’s not helpful to deny that the culture of the secret services would be self-serving, and that individuals within it don’t gather and use the power at their disposal. I’m not suggesting widespread corruption, but I can’t see how those agencies could be corruption free entirely.
“Instead, all the scandals are in perfectly plain sight.”
How would we know? I don’t mean that in a paranoia way, but honestly, with a set of systems this complex and large, how would we know?
Weka, Greywarshark et al;. – this article from The Dark Mountain Project is wonderful! All about the rhizomati (the who?) – you heard right, the rhizomati 🙂
“When contemplating the quagmire of obstacles and institutions within our capitalist society that interfere with the equitable and just interchange of currency and access to resources, I find myself motivated to explore less oppressive economic, social, and political human relationships.
In doing so, I have become aligned with that ever-gallant and hopeful group of folks dismissed as unrealistic dreamers. We ‘dreamers’ always hold fast to the truth that the wilful designation of creation and power can be delineated into a network of horizontal or lateral functions that make greed, conquest, and competition unnecessary and invalid, except in extreme conditions.”
http://dark-mountain.net/blog/radicle-and-rhizomati-notes-from-a-folk-herbalist/
A thing that has stood me in good stead from those reckless days of youth is never to underestimate the power of a ‘shroom! 😉
good read, cheers.
Good thoughts Robert. It is a big journey from town man to earth man – farmers, horticulturalists, isolated locations – to simple-living earth man in tune with the seasons, and the plants.
Heard on Kim Hill this morning on Radionz.
So sad to be losing our entities of excellence (non-business oriented) because they aren’t immediately, or at all, profitable. Can we do something about Waikato University and their desire for functionality?
education music
11:05 am today
David Dolan – Please don’t stop the music
From Saturday Morning, 11:05 am today
Listen duration 55′ :32″
Lecturers at the Waikato University School of Music fear proposed staff cuts will see the school’s demise, with University management preparing to restructure the faculty of Arts and Social Sciences and proposing to cut the full time staff numbers in the music department from eight to five. David Dolan is a concert pianist, researcher and a professor both at the Yehudi Menuhin School and at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in the UK, and he is dedicated to the revival of the art of classical improvisation. He has weighed in to efforts to try and save the facility, describing it as a “rare and precious” world class centre of excellence, with a standard of teaching he has rarely witnessed anywhere in his travels.
http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/saturday/audio/201844557/david-dolan-please-don-t-stop-the-music
Also heard – see details I’ve put up under #1 on post about Mike King and Mental Health suicide prevention.
Ariel Levy
http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/saturday/audio/201844552/ariel-levy-the-rules-do-not-apply
and
Tommy Rhattigan
http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/saturday/audio/201844547/tommy-rhattigan-bread-jam-and-terror
Immigrants ‘bypassing health criteria’ – MBIE
In other words what some people were doing was ‘losing’ some children to get residence and then once settled ‘finding’ those children again and then bringing them here for the medical care.
They’re trying to close the loophole by doing data matching with the MoE which itself could be problematical. If they’ve lied once then the chances are that they’ll lie again. Obviously we need to catch these discrepancies at the border and not after they’ve settled here.
heh
lol
I believe the current form is for the mouthpieces to deny a dump took place and explain that someone might have misidentified a bowl of hershey’s kisses, and the fake news outlets are making things up.
And the next morning Trump tweets that he’s president and can take a dump wherever he wants, and Obama did it too.
Great Thinkers of Our Time: Bernard-Henri Lévy
BHL’s a fool and a buffoon, so of course he makes a lot of money as a “philosopher” in France….
http://normanfinkelstein.com/2017/05/17/scenes-from-the-life-of-frances-most-honored-philosopher-since-voltaire/
More Great Thinkers of Our Time….
Loony lefty fake news does exist and is spreading and needs to be guarded against. Anything passing near the likes of Louise Mensch, John Schindler, Claude Taylor should be viewed with extreme skepticism.
https://www.vox.com/world/2017/5/19/15561842/trump-russia-louise-mensch
But this is not to be confused with the work of proper journalists in credible news organisations (like CNN, NYT, WaPo, Guardian etc) that still believe in fact-checking and not publishing until they’re reasonably confident in their accuracy (but still occasionally get things wrong).
lol – nice article there on being hoist by ones own petard.
The second part of your comment, obviously doesn’t stack up. It’s the evidence free reporting of anonymous sources from your CNN, NYT, WaPo, Guardian etc that’s feeding this shit…making the claims of the worlds’ Mensch’s seem plausible and/or believable.
I liked Wallace Chapman this Sunday – gripping.
HEARTENING – Educational interview on bringing education to adult school leavers. One so poorly advised that he thought he did not have any educational qualifications for his school time, and actually when checked on-line, he had over 100. (We have to help each other because the government will not, although it has been tasked with bringing the aids of a modern society to all.) Can we help this initiative in a way they would find helpful?
http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/sunday/audio/201844586/ngaire-aben-tuhiwai-and-cleveland-raroa-from-nuhaka-with-aroha
Listen 15.10m
Nuhaka in the northern Hawke’s Bay has a general store, a fish and chip shop, eight marae and until recently little in the way of post-secondary educational opportunities. Educationalist Ngaire Aben-Tuhiwai decided to do something about that and has started an educational programme for local rangitahi that aims to see them all complete their NCEA level 3 qualifications. Twenty-six-year old Cleveland Raroa says it’s education with aroha and that’s the way he likes it.
GOOD Insight doco on P – Meth Listen to the full Insight documentary here duration 26′ :58″
http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/insight/audio/201844428/insight-meth-the-human-cost-of-a-hit
The police and health authorities are trying a new tack in Northland – to loosen the grip of methamphetamine on troubled communities. They’re joining forces in a pilot project – not to arrest users – but to offer them help to kick the P habit that’s breaking hearts – and families across the region.
The call came out of the blue last week, for Margaret – a Whangārei grandmother.
And yet it was one she’d been half-expecting for years.
Her methamphetamine addicted daughter in Auckland had left her five children home alone.
Someone called the police – and at 3am they’d picked them up.
The eldest was 10 – the youngest, two.
Unless Margaret took in the two eldest girls and the other grandmother in Kaitaia took in the rest, they’d all be going into foster care.
“Wednesday, my daughter brought two of the children up to me and she just quickly left,” she said.
Her daughter, who’s 28, has been using P since she was 18.
Another part of the story was about grandparents with adult children who have fallen under the spell of P or meth and have neglected children who have learned to despise their parents. The law says that grandparents can ask for a benefit for each child to be paid to them so they can provide and support it. But the social welfare – WINZ? agent turned them down.
Winston Peters has helped nine of these hard-worked oldies gain this money. And the children can be helped to settle down eventually with settled lives and continual stable care. But once settled with the grandparents when the children have let their guard down and rely on them, they can develop separation anxiety so it is hard to attempt to leave them for a time. Emotional, health, learning disabilities – grandparents deserve all the help they can get.
But one great thing, an organised team is helping with this dreadful P epidemic. It is bad in Northland, they used to make it themselves, but its coming in from China now, left off shore attached to a buoy, and with a GPS tracker on it so it is easy to pick up.
This is a harsh look at the drug scene from Tom Lehrer (at present meths is being offered for free, as a taster).
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GTfuGeKPsZM
ALSO early on: TAX and Fairness was subject at 7am+. You may have been still dozing and missed it but it will be important to listen to. ( I am reminded of watching a vid of Mark Blyth, Scot lecturer living in USA. His message on how to get things going there – most basic thought – “Pay your taxes”.)
http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/sunday/audio/201844580/tax-and-fairness-what-s-wrong-with-the-system
New Zealander’s are being taxed too harshly with KiwiSaver funds paying four times as much as property investors, a tax expert says.
A new book, Tax and Fairness, by tax consultant Terry Baucher and senior taxation lecturer and Labour Party candidate Deborah Russell said a tax system needs to be fair and ours is not.
Mr Baucher told Sunday Morning tax rules meant KiwiSaver members ended up paying tax even if their fund had not earned anything.
“Over time what is emerging is that … if you looked at the size of KiwiSaver funds, looked at the tax it’s paid relative to property investors, they’re paying four times as much.”
Mr Baucher said the latest figures showed in the past five years the average tax paid by property investors was less than a third of what the New Zealand Super Fund paid last year alone.
Tax consultant Terry Baucher has written a book “Tax and Fairness” with Massey University tax lecturer and Labour candidate Deborah Russell, outlining why our tax system needs work. They’ve timed its release to begin a discussion on capital gains tax, negative gearing and superannuation in election year. Terry Baucher and former IRD Deputy Commissioner Robin Oliver discuss tax and why we should smile when paying it.
Piece in local Gisborne Herald about the initiative of adult, school leavers furthering their education in isolated Nuhaka.
http://gisborneherald.co.nz/lifestyle/2755271-135/nuhaka-education