If your mobile is with Vodafone, you’ll get a further discount on the bundle. Haven’t dealt with Slingshot, but I believe they are pretty popular, so I guess they must be providing a decent service.
Lesser of 2 evils would be slingshot Vodafone are simply the worst and still declining.
Ultimately with mobile though it’s either on Spark or Voda regardless of who bills you as 2 degree only have CBD coverage with Spark having the better network which doesn’t say much for our brighter future.
I’m with Slingshot and they are good (pity about the Global roaming back down) Burt if you want to move mobile as well you can get a new phone on a 2 year contract. I get Unlimited Internet, 2 Cell Phones, and a Landline, with line insurance for a little under $40 a week. (Oh and their call centre is in NZ as well. Dunno about Vodafone But I hear they are getting worse.
Just switched from Vodafone to Spark for landline, fibre internet, and free landline national. $30 per month cheaper @ $69pm. Call service for Vodafone appalling. Long, long, long waits @1 hour plus.
That will get worse, Voda appear to be holding out for a grand sale, rumoured to be in the pipeline and further consolidating and already concentrated market.
Stanners has presided over nearly a decade of under investment in the network and back end systems while dividends derived off NZ consumers flowed offshore.
Spark now look pristine and effective up against them….that’s how bad it is.
hmmm
isn’t vodafone the company that had a market share of very close percentage to the proportion of NSA penetration into NZ traffic that the Snowden files revealed?
@just saying – I have used both and neither worth recommending. Not consumer friendly at all. Among other things, Slingshot signed me up to their toll account, without my knowledge or consent and had the audacity to try to charge me for it! So it soon got the heave ho. Got no responses at all to issues with Vodafone, so that also got the push!
Been with 2 Degrees for four years and no issues or complaints at all – well so far that is! Service seems to be customer friendly, not that I’ve had to use it much, because it has been all plain sailing to date. Web page easy to navigate too.
FYI – apologies for the length – but this is REALLY important!
20 July 2015
MEDIA Alert! TPPA – Walk Away!
Protest outside Auckland Uni – Monday 20 July 2015 1-5pm
WHEN: Monday 20 July
TIME: 1 -5 PM
WHERE: Symonds St / Grafton Rd intersection – directly outside Auckland Uni.
WHY? Because Auckland students are back and there are THOUSANDS of them!
The FOCUS – NZ PM John Key is a shareholder in the Bank of America!
(These Bank of America shares are NOT in a ‘blind trust’!)
“Register of Pecuniary and Other Specified Interests of Members of Parliament:
Summary of annual returns as at 31 January 2015
(Page 29)
Rt Hon John Key (National, Helensville)
2 Other companies and business entities
Little Nell – property investment (Aspen, Colorado)
Bank of America – banking ..”
A LOT of people don’t know this, and it is, in my view, as an anti-corruption ‘Public Watchdog’ an arguably significant corrupt ‘conflict of interest’.
Especially when the TPPA is closely tied together with TISA (Trade In Services Agreement), of which New Zealand is a member State, which has a particularly ‘scary’, secret agenda – “… because it aims to extend the model of liberalised and deregulated financial markets that brought us the global financial crisis…”
“The story of the past week in terms of the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement was not Prime Minister John Key’s visit to the White House.
The more startling news is that our Government, with almost 50 other countries, is negotiating another secret deal in the shadows of the World Trade Organisation.
They are calling to negotiate a Trade in Services Agreement (Tisa).
It is part of a troika: along with the TPP and the deal the US is negotiating with the European Union, it aims to create a new set of global rules that are designed exclusively to serve commercial interests.
This is no exaggeration. Last week US corporates held a launch for what they call Team Tisa. The co-chairs are Citigroup, Liberty Mutual, IBM, MetLife, UPS and Walmart.
Leading members of Congress and the US Trade Representative were invited to speak.
If we thought the TPP was secretive – background documents remain secret for four years after any deal is done – Tisa proponents want to keep their documents secret for five years.
They aim to create an unrestricted global market for services, just as TPP is aimed at the Asia-Pacific. That means locking open the door to foreign corporations that dominate the world’s media, IT, finance, tourism, transport, healthcare, education sectors and more.
They also want to make light-handed regulation the global norm. A standstill rule aims to freeze the existing level of regulation as the new bottom line.
What Wikileaks posted was the draft chapter on financial services. We can assume it will be very similar to the TPP’s financial services chapter.
This is especially scary, because it aims to extend the model of liberalised and deregulated financial markets that brought us the global financial crisis…”
“….He was born in Auckland, New Zealand but moved to Christchurch, New Zealand when he was a child. He was educated at Burnside High School in Christchurch and then gained a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Canterbury.
Mr Key launched his investment banking career in New Zealand in the mid-1980s.
After 10 years in the New Zealand market he headed offshore, working in Singapore, London, and Sydney for US investment banking firm Merrill Lynch.
During that time he was in charge of a number of business units, including global foreign exchange and European bond and derivative trading.
In 1999, he was invited to join the Foreign Exchange Committee of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and on two occasions undertook management studies at Harvard University in Boston.
In 2001, he headed back to New Zealand to fulfil a long held ambition to stand for Parliament for the National Party. He first won the Helensville seat in 2002. Mr Key quickly rose through the ranks and was elected leader of the National Party on 27 November 2006. …”
NZX’s Dairy Derivatives business continued its rapid growth trajectory in 2014 with the number of lots traded up 175% to 101,010.
In recognition of the continued efforts to grow market participation and confidence, in September 2014 NZX’s Dairy Futures Market won Best New Agricultural Contract at the Futures & Options World (FOW) Awards for Asia.
NZX CEO Tim Bennett commented: “Once they are established and liquid, derivatives markets are a very high revenue, low marginal cost businesses, generating significant upside over sustained periods.
While development takes time, the long-term payback far exceeds the initial investment.
We still have a long way to go.
Mature derivatives contracts notionally trade a multiple of the related underlying commodity and NZX dairy derivatives only constitute notional trade of around 4% of the related physical market, highlighting the future potential.”
Building on its success in milk powders, NZX launched a butter futures contract in December 2014, a global risk management tool that trades off the underlying price for unsalted butter on the GlobalDairyTrade auction platform. ..”
Is John Key working for the New Zealand people, New Zealand business – or foreign bankers?
_________________________________________________________
Time is short.
TPPA: Chief Negotiators meet 24 -27 July
TPPA: Ministers 28 – 31 July
Parliament sits Tues 21 July.
National are dropping in the polls…..
In my view – it was FOCUSED and timely protest vs John Key in the 2 days before the Northland by-election that helped National lose that seat.
______________________________________________________________
This is a video clip of the recent protest to that was held outside the office of Minister of Trade Time Groser on Thursday 16 July 2015.
You really have little idea about what derivatives actually are. Please tell me how a Futures contract for a Dairy product is somehow more dangerous than trading in the raw commodity itself?
It’s an abstraction that increases trading volume and activity, which leads to greater chaotic volatility without a corresponding increase in the benefits of actually producing those goods.
A bit like how global warming produces more extreme weather events (hurricanes, snowstorms, droughts), rather than just making Southland a nice subtropical climate. More activity in a chaotic system increases the chaos.
Public sentiment relies on the public not knowing any of the facts or looking for simple answers pointing the finger ‘out there’. A $300K house in Auckland from 2000 is not $1.1M now *mainly* because of foreign Chinese money. (Although it may be, in small part)
I don’t think CV is that far off, Lanth. The average Ak price was just over $300k in 2000 and sits well above $800k today and heading toward $900k within a couple of months. Even if it’s not $1.1 million today, it’s looking like it will be at some point this year or early next year. Plus, I understand there are now more than 30 Ak suburbs that average over a million so it’s entirely possible that some individual houses that were sold for $300k fifteen years ago are worth more than a million now. Location, location, location!
Agree we bought our house in Glenfield for $360K in 2005 and two years ago we had a valuation of just under $600K. It will have gone up a bit since then.
Of course that value is worth nothing unless you want to move out of Auckland. I would much rather see my house value drop back to closer to what we bought at and have a larger more diverse group of people buying houses then sit on massive capital gain that is in real terms worth very little. No I am not interested in using equity to become a landlord.
My point is that CV just arbitrarily picked numbers out of the air and intimated as if it would be a majority, or at least very sizable portion of all houses that fit that particular profile.
I suspect it’d be less than 5% of Auckland houses that went from $300k to $1.1M (or thereabouts).
One thing to realise with averages is that they have a very long tail on the upside; an average of $800k for a house will be pulled up strongly by houses in the $2M+ price bracket; and same goes for the ~$300k average back at the start of the millennium.
If CV had said $300k -> $700-800k I wouldn’t have said anything.
Barfoot said in March that 1/4 of its sales were for over $1M. I would say that a fair number of those would have been what were $300,000 houses in what used to be considered very middle of the road suburbs, 15 years ago.
But happy to accept that my numbers relay a common case 5% to 10% of sales, but not the majority of cases.
in 1999 to build a single level 195m2 house was about $750m2 (with building rebates from suppliers being kept by the building coy and not traded), on a 720m2 section cost $120k with a fall of 1.3m from front to back, total cost approx $275k including driveway, patio, fencing and grassed.
Building now in Auckland would be INXS of $2k/m2 add on water connection fee of $15k (in 1999 this was $750). and to buy such a section would cost in excessive of $600k(if you could locate one). Total cost well exceeding $1m. On such a section the building would be 2 level,3 car garaging, 4-5 bedrooms multi en-suit and exceeding 260m2. With a min asking price $1.6m.
Lanthaide in my local area developed over the 1990’s to early 2000’s all family homes would qualify as cost $300k-$400k to buy and now worth over $1m.
That’s not wholly accurate either CV. We do know that most of the inflation between at least 2000 and 2009 occurred mainly because of excess bank credit in the local market.
But while undersupply and inward migration back from Aus have been creating some pressure on the market in the past few years – we are in the middle of the most insane bubble of all time. And the RB to it’s horror has realised that all the simple levers at it’s command like interest rates, LVR ratios and bank reserves were not working.
Why? Because a large portion of the cashed up buyers in the Auckland market are immune to them.
IMO people have recently realised that it is an insane bubble because we have finally after 15 years or so got to the “vertical wall” stage of the exponential curve. That is, most people tolerated houses doubling in price from $250K to $500K (people could still pretend that was affordable)…but the next doubling from $800K to $1.6M takes away all such pretense.
As for the RB…yep, they have been left to try and cope with what has been going on as the neolib politicians of all colours have gone completely hands off laissez faire.
I can’t see key being worried as the high ground has been ceded now and as you say a large chunk of the public still trust him – somehow after all the bullshit he has spun over the years.
VTO my point exactly. How can you contradict an assertion without contrary data? To say we will be collecting data is to pre-judge the conclusion and Mr Tyford is just “inferring” the rates of purchasing.
Yeah I heard Key in a pasty interview with Paul Henry this morning trying to fudge their new data collection changes will give the required details. He was quick to point out that “most overseas buyer will be Kiwi’s living abroad and it will be hard to capture.
Actually John if you made changes that give a detailed analysis of when, who are buying and where they are from shouldn’t be hard. So stop the smoke and mirrors and get on with it.
They are terrified of the reality true date would show…
You only need a small swing in the number of buyers in a market to make a big difference. A change in the order of 5% is more than enough to swing things between rising and falling markjets
Maybe the PM needs to check in with the Minister, or vice versa
A spokesperson for Land Information Minister Louise Upston said last week no decisions had been taken about whether or when to release it and the information might not show what people wanted to know.
“It’s worth bearing in mind that the information gathered for this new law change is going to be tax information. It will be the tax residence [of the buyer] as opposed to the country of residence of the buyer,” the spokesperson said.
“It’s not a foreign buyers register at all. It will give us information but we don’t know if it will be made public.”
Well it sure does smell like that. When you have NZF saying they had the data and decided there was no solid data there to release it, then it does seem desperate.
The difference here is that Labour used some smart analytics (with 95% confidence) to tease out the 40% Chinese figure vs 9% from the census, using the information they were given.
Doesn’t sound like NZFirst had the skills or idea to perform this analysis, and the data without this analysis is rather useless.
Ok, just watched the video and the PM does feature in it sporadically, almost as if it’s on purpose? That shows to me he endorses the video and I wonder if his son is being paid to make something like this…
The motive seems pretty clear, play on our materialistic desires and show you can get the girl, get to go to Hawaii and have the lifestyle. All on one condition, you’ve got to do what the PM and son does and vote National.
Wow just wow, the Herald were complicit in this dirty politics attack yet just a couple of days later they’re distancing themselves and cr**ping on Labour at the same time, the Herald really is quite a pice of work
Grant Robertson is bidding his time before the next run for leader. The pundits, political commentators and press gallery are aflutter. It seems to be only a strong rumour at this time.
Bullshit. Little is doing fine, there are no signs whatsoever of dissent in caucus and the party is generally happy with his leadership (and the marked improvement in the polls). If you want to troll, do it somewhere else.
As many have said already the popularity of the opposition leader doesn’t really matter at this stage, it’s the party percentage that does. Personally I would love to have seen Cunliffe still there, with the economy under a bit of stress like it is now I think he would do great job of putting hits on National. His passion and smarts are great attributes infront of the camera.
The Cunliffe was found wanting so we’ll see if Little Andy can do any better (though to be fair hes not the only one thats been soundly thrashed by John Key)
What Claire’s copy and paste recap shows is she is a lite weight political reporter. The heading makes her look incompetent and rather cynical “Labour’s Gamble Doesn’t Pay Off In Polls.”
Obviously not everyone would have been surveyed after the release, if anything probably prior, add plenty of people wouldn’t have been aware of the release, let alone formed an opinion as Andrew Little points out.
Go sit in the media’s ‘clown seat’ till the next poll comes out Claire. Or better still take a permanent holiday.
Whats of more interest to me is not Labours dog whistling but that the Herald worked in conjunction with Labour to attempt to embarrass the govt (and fair enough thats Labours job) yet within the space of a few days the Herald are trying to sink Labour on this
That’s supposedly the media’s role isn’t it or traditionally was, to keep the Government honest. Maybe the herald decided they would do some actual journalism by using a source from inside the industry about a regional problem that was given to them by the Opposition. Now they’re just defaulting back to attack the opposition party that doesn’t align with the interests of their advertisers.
Well what gets me is the speed in which they’re willing to go into bat with Labour then turn around and dump on them, like it was only a couple of days
LOL . Nice concern trolling. Or maybe you’re just a conspiracy theorist.
Remember that time John Armstrong called for Cunliffe to resign over the 11-year-old letter, and O’Sullivan the very next day said that was over-excited nonsense?
The Trevett article is mild anyway, and seems a pretty standard kind of line for her to take.
You’d have a better chance of getting a single editorial line out of Fairfax, by default because it’s so formulaic. Prefer the Herald any day to the Stakhanovite content creator mill.
It’s laughable that the property editor at the NZH takes up her political sub editors role by scribing an article today with a headline of “No Stamp Duty, Or Capital Gains Tax.” This being pitched to Hong Kong & Mainland Chinese investors. Also as you would expect, actively promoting Auckland property therd is one of the National Party’s property magnate donators, Mr Barfoot of B & T reale state.
I guess when you donate 20 K to a political party in Government you can reasonably expect a return on that investment.
Quote: Families could have two “decent salaries” but still struggle due to living costs and child care costs.
“People have to have two jobs to survive,” she said.
“The only way you can do that is to have extended whanau helping you out because you can’t afford child care.”
The high cost of living needed to be reduced and it was up to the Government to make changes, she said.
“We need to get our housing, power and food costs down.
“Everyone deserves to have a roof over their head, a job to go to, food on the table and enough money to take the family out once a month. That’s all people want.”
According to the report, older couples, one or both being at least 50 years old, did well overall, rating highly on most indicators of wellbeing with 88 per cent satisfied with their standard of living.
Though solo parents with children under 18 represented only 4.5 per cent of the familial population in Canterbury, nationally they are the most under pressure.
This family type scored the lowest in adequate income, affordable housing, mental health and satisfaction at pay and work hours.
About 75 per cent reported affordable housing problems.
as long as they tighten their budget (maybe not feeding the cows? or the kids? or something) and they should make it. And if not, oh well that is just the market correcting itself
Quote: “Falling dairy prices mean it will be a tight year for many farmers and they will need to budget carefully,” he said.
Mr Guy said prices fluctuate every year and the fall in the exchange rate – the kiwi is now down to a six-year low of around US65 cents – was giving exporters confidence.
“Farmers are in it for the long term, not just one year,” he said.
“Other sectors like beef and horticulture are having record years which will help soften the impact in rural areas.”
He says the longer term outlook for dairy is strong.
Can someone please explain why Fonterra is not supplying dairy product to the Russian market ?
There is demand – and NZ is not on the exclusion list. At $4.20 all bets are “on” – so why not ?
Probably have something to do with all the other restrictions that have been put in place on Russia and I doubt if NZ would do anything to upset the USA.
I see the largest NZ dairy operation is comprised of 58 South Island farms, covering 18,000ha of land and 43,400 milking cows.
The single Zhongding Dairy Farming and Russia’s Severny Bur enterprise is twice this size – and will supply 30% of the Russian cheese demand – exceeding the previous EU contribution of 25%.
$ kg/mf is depressed – oversupply cos the Russian market is excluded from those others who offended Russia.
Well, Murray from Waitui shouldn’t have to sell Gina’s heir-jewels cos Vicky Nuland had a cake moment.
In the year ending May 2015, 2.977 million international visitors arrived in this country, an increase of 7 per cent on the previous year with forecasts for this number to grow to 3.8 million by 2021.
China and India will be the two drivers of this international growth. According to Tourism New Zealand, 309,792 visitors arrived from China in the year to May 2015, an increase of 29.3 per cent on the year previous, while India’s figures grew 28.9 per cent to 42,880.
The future looks bright with two extra airlines (Air China and China Eastern) establishing year-round services, and while India does not have a direct service at present, it is only a matter of time. The World Tourism Organisation predicts that India will account for 50 million outbound tourists by 2020. There are currently only 28 million passport holders in India.
quote:
New Zealand’s lack of overseas investment regulation is being promoted in Shanghai and Hong Kong to help sell apartments rising on the site of the country’s best-known record store.
“NO stamp duties and property purchase tax, NO capital gains tax on residential property if sold after two years of holding,” Colliers International says advertising Queens Square, a 226-unit block promoted as on “the Nanjing Road of Auckland” and to rise on Real Groovy’s Queen St site near Karangahape Rd.
This country’s liberal regime, unusual internationally, is being promoted in that ad for the block by New Zealand developer Robert Holden’s Conrad Properties.
The new L-shaped block, to have 24 carparks and ground-level shops, is to rise at 438 Queen St and was designed by architect Colin Leuschke who says in a promotional video it will be on Auckland’s golden mile.
quote:
Events to promote the sale of units in the block were held this month at Shanghai’s New World Tower and at 300 Huaihai Rd in Hong Kong. The ad says the block could be completed by January 2018.
Barfoot & Thompson is also marketing units as being in the Auckland Grammar zone, priced from $386,000.
Agent Alastair Brown said top-priced larger units with carparks were going for $1.2 million. The block would have 226 units, 14 carparks and construction was yet to start.
quote:
A spokesperson for Land Information Minister Louise Upston said last week no decisions had been taken about whether or when to release it and the information might not show what people wanted to know.
“It’s worth bearing in mind that the information gathered for this new law change is going to be tax information. It will be the tax residence [of the buyer] as opposed to the country of residence of the buyer,” the spokesperson said.
“It’s not a foreign buyers register at all. It will give us information but we don’t know if it will be made public.”
Guess we can look forwards to Bill English saying in 2018 that in retrospect, they shouldn’t have cut taxes, and if they hadn’t, they may not have had a record 9 deficits in a row.
Yeah, like when Bill English admitted in 2008 that actually Labour managed the crown accounts very well and they had saved for the rainy day that was the GFC. He left unspoken what a disaster it would have been if Brash had won 2005 and implemented the tax cuts he was campaigning on.
Pity he went and blew all Labour’s careful work on tax cuts, eh?
Yeah, Working For Families didn’t “[help anyone] in need”.
Kiwisaver didn’t “[help anyone] in need” either. Nor did interest free student loans, or free doctor’s visits for under 5 year olds. Raising the minimum wage mustn’t have helped anyone either, unless you consider business owners “in need” of help?
lol
So it helped people in need, just not enough of them. You’re sliding again.
Of course some people on here – even many or most – would suggest that raising the benefit would have helped more people (at least more people in greater need) than WFF did. But then many people here would be saying that from honest convictions that the government should help people, rather than your transparent desire to just stir shit here when you couldn’t care less about people in any level of need (except your own self interest).
The difference is though that i want each and every single person in NZ to as well as I have (or rather about to) or better whereas most on here want those that have done well to be brought down to an “acceptable” level
I don’t think you do. Your behaviour here strongly indicates that you don’t give a damn about anyone other than yourself, and that politics for you is merely a “game” in which strong leaders get your fearspect and genuine concern for others is a weakness to be exploited.
Your professed concern for the welfare of “each and every single person in NZ” is at odds with the rest of your commenting history.
Except that it isn’t actually going to help anyone in need. The $25/week is a nice headline figure but it’s not what anyone’s going to get and there’s several claw backs that are actually going to make people worse off.
In terms of overall benefit to individuals in the bottom half of society, Labour’s package of policies, a few of which I outlined above, are greater than anything National’s done.
So useless Michael Cullen has come out and agreed that there is a problem and that the Labour government he was part of should have done something …..
f@&k Michael Cullen…
I personally wrote to him early on in his time in office and put this exact issue to him. We exchanged a couple of communications on it.
Bottom line: Cullen refused to acknowledge the problem, despite evidence I put to him that locals were being outbid by foreign speculators (American ones these were mostly).
Cullen did exactly what Key English and Smith are doing now – being deceptive and avoiding the question.
Cullen’s little credibility on this just got sacked imo
bloody deceptive politicians – goes on even when they are retired it seems. Cullen is a Wanker on this
Why is a prepay plan going to require a monthly fee? Are telcos taxing the poor by removing low cost no monthly fee mobiles, and if they are why can they call a monthly plan prepay. Thats wrong.
On the importance of getting in first with the framing…and burying the facts, driving the political issues and ‘morality’ and skewing political advantage against your adversaries:
“Investigations into the downing of flight MH17 in eastern Ukraine are still inconclusive or incomplete a year on from the tragedy. However, this has not stopped the West and their media from apportioning blames, without facts and figures to back up their claims. The search for justice for the families of those killed on MH17 continues.
CrossTalking with Ray McGovern, Alexander Mercouris, and Patrick Henningsen.”
That is what it feels like to be a solo parent. One size fits all.
I have an acquaintance who was surprised that my car had a rego and warrant because I’m a solo mum on the benefit. Another person assumes I sit around at home all day watching movies. Another assumes that the kids go to their father’s every second weekend so I can go out and party.
People are confused that I don’t spend my benefit money on drugs and the pokies. People refuse to believe that I study full time to get a degree so I can make a better future for me and my children.
Solo mothers on benefits are stigmatised, labelled, looked down upon. But not one size fits all, and Work and Income need to recognise this.
Of course, it’s not that WINZ that needs to recognise that but our psychopathic government that’s out to punish people for being poor.
I’d like it a lot more if that solo mum, or anyone else didn’t have to justify their existence to fellate the egos of greedy sociopathic m’fuckers: Even if she didn’t have a car with Wof or rego, even if she wasn’t talented enough to study at a high level to become a lawyer or accountant, even if she eased her troubles by smoking or partying on alternate weekends, even if she was trying her best and failing at most things, she’s still a woman and a mother and a human being. So if the system allows no other choice but to buy in to the ass-pirant dream or be scapegoated and demonised by fat brainless cowards, then fuck the system and all who support it. It’s not like she impregnated herself.
And having a child is not an unnatural function for a woman. It should not have to be vouched for by a bloke. Give her the tools to raise the child well, then assistance to get training so she can have an individual skill in society when the child is old enough, and she can have the part-time hours needed. It is not hard to understand except for the religious-value-laden and the individualists who want to suck from society but not fuel it.
A comment on Ireland’s situation circa 1924 from Countess Markievicz.
All the small businesses here are heading for ruin, and the farmers are in a bad way. The list of bankrupts is something appalling. The list of highly paid officials for whom jobs are made by those at present in power, is daily increasing. To meet these expenses the old age pensioners have been docked 1/- per week of their pensions, as well as their bag of coal per fortnight. Taxes are awful, and food prices are daily rising and rents are wicked.
Thanks for the flattery, but I was very critical of Labour intentions and I thought I was bloody clear about it.
I said that Phil Twyford was knowingly “straight-up scapegoating” Chinese New Zealanders and offshore Chinese alike and “fueling racial division in this country”. I said it was “cynical, reckless dogwhistling”.
What part of this was ambiguous for you??? Did you think I meant “cynical, reckless, but ultimately well-intentioned dogwhistling”?
Even after a week where Labour has been trying to take the “reverse racism” highground, trying to pretend that we didn’t blame Labour is a new delusional high, Rob.
It’s also at least the fifth major news organisation to post Max Key’s hawaiian holiday video on their website. Even Richie McCaw or Dan Carter would struggle to do that. There is no such thing as bad publicity I would think is the strategy.
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Buzz from the Beehive Two speeches delivered by Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters at Anzac Day ceremonies in Turkey are the only new posts on the government’s official website since the PM announced his Cabinet shake-up. In one of the speeches, Peters stated the obvious: we live in a troubled ...
1. Which of these would you not expect to read in The Waikato Invader?a. Luxon is here to do business, don’t you worry about thatb. Mr KPI expects results, and you better believe itc. This decisive man of action is getting me all hot and excitedd. Melissa Lee is how ...
…it has a restricted jurisdiction which must not be abused: it is not an inquisitionNOTE – this article was published before the High Court ruled that Karen Chhour does not have to appear before the Waitangi Tribunal Gary Judd writes – The High Court ...
Lindsay Mitchell writes – One of reasons Oranga Tamariki exists is to prevent child neglect. But could the organisation itself be guilty of the same?Oranga Tamariki’s statistics show a decrease in the number and age of children in care. “There are less children ...
David Farrar writes: Graeme Edgeler wrote in 2017: In the first five years after three strikes came into effect 5248 offenders received a ‘first strike’ (that is, a “stage-1 conviction” under the three strikes sentencing regime), and 68 offenders received a ‘second strike’. In the five years prior to ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has surprised everyone with his ruthlessness in sacking two of his ministers from their crucial portfolios. Removing ministers for poor performance after only five months in the job just doesn’t normally happen in politics. That’s refreshing and will be extremely ...
TL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the two days to 6:06am on Thursday, April 25:Politics: PM Christopher Luxon has set up a dual standard for ministerial competence by demoting two National Cabinet ministers while leaving also-struggling ...
Hi,Today I mainly want to share some of your thoughts about the recent piece I wrote about success and failure, and the forces that seemingly guide our lives. But first, a quick bit of housekeeping: I am doing a Webworm popup in Los Angeles on Saturday May 11 at 2pm. ...
It is hard to see what Melissa Lee might have done to “save” the media. National went into the election with no public media policy and appears not to have developed one subsequently. Lee claimed that she had prepared a policy paper before the election but it had been decided ...
Open access notablesIce acceleration and rotation in the Greenland Ice Sheet interior in recent decades, Løkkegaard et al., Communications Earth & Environment:In the past two decades, mass loss from the Greenland ice sheet has accelerated, partly due to the speedup of glaciers. However, uncertainty in speed derived from satellite products ...
Buzz from the Beehive A statement from Children’s Minister Karen Chhour – yet to be posted on the Government’s official website – arrived in Point of Order’s email in-tray last night. It welcomes the High Court ruling on whether the Waitangi Tribunal can demand she appear before it. It does ...
Mr Bombastic:Ironically, the media the academic experts wanted is, in many ways, the media they got. In place of the tyrannical editors of yesteryear, advancing without fear or favour the interests of the ruling class; the New Zealand news media of today boasts a troop of enlightened journalists dedicated to ...
It's hard times try to make a livingYou wake up every morning in the unforgivingOut there somewhere in the cityThere's people living lives without mercy or pityI feel good, yeah I'm feeling fineI feel better then I have for the longest timeI think these pills have been good for meI ...
In 1974, the US Supreme Court issued its decision in United States v. Nixon, finding that the President was not a King, but was subject to the law and was required to turn over the evidence of his wrongdoing to the courts. It was a landmark decision for the rule ...
Every day now just seems to bring in more fresh meat for the grinder.In their relentlessly ideological drive to cut back on the “excessive bloat” (as they see it) of the previous Labour-led government, on the mountains of evidence accumulated in such a short period of time do not ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Megan Valére SosouMarket gardening site of the Itchèléré de Itagui agricultural cooperative in Dassa-Zoumè (Image credit: Megan Valère Sossou) For the residents of Dassa-Zoumè, a city in the West African country of Benin, choosing between drinking water and having enough ...
Buzz from the Beehive Melissa Lee – as may be discerned from the screenshot above – has not been demoted for doing something seriously wrong as Minister of ...
Morning in London Mother hugs beloved daughter outside the converted shoe factory in which she is living.Afternoon in London Travelling writer takes himself and his wrist down to A&E, just to be sure. Read more ...
Mike Grimshaw writes – The recent announcement of the University Advisory Group, chaired by Sir Peter Gluckman, makes very clear where the Government’s focus and priorities lie. The remit of the Advisory Group is that Group members will consider challenges and opportunities for improvement in the university sector including: ...
Eric Crampton writes – The Reserve Bank of New Zealand desperately wants to find reasons to have workstreams in climate change. It makes little sense. They’ve run another stress test on the banks looking to see if they could find a prudential regulation case. They couldn’t. They ...
Rob MacCullough writes – Pundits from the left and the right are arguing that National’s Fast Track Bill that is designed to speed up infrastructure decisions could end up becoming mired in a cesspool of corruption. Political commentator ...
Looking at the headlines this morning it’s hard to feel anything other than pessimistic about the future of humanity.Note that I’m not speaking about the future of mankind, but the survival of our humanity. The values that we believe in seem to be ebbing away, by the day.Perhaps every generation ...
Swabbing mixed breed baby chicks to test for avian influenzaUh oh. Bird flu – often deadly to humans – is not only being transmitted from infected birds to dairy cows, but is now travelling between dairy cows. As of last Friday, Bloomberg News reports, there were 32 American dairy herds ...
On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
What is it with the mining industry? Its not enough for them to pillage the earth - they apparently can't even be bothered getting resource consent to do so: The proponent behind a major mine near the Clutha River had already been undertaking activity in the area without a ...
Photo # 1 I am a huge fan of Singapore’s approach to housing, as described here two years ago by copying and pasting from The ConversationWhat Singapore has that Australia does not is a public housing developer, the Housing Development Board, which puts new dwellings on public and reclaimed land, ...
Buzz from the Beehive Reactions to news of the government’s readiness to make urgent changes to “the resource management system” through a Bill to amend the Resource Management Act (RMA) suggest a balanced approach is being taken. The Taxpayers’ Union says the proposed changes don’t go far enough. Greenpeace says ...
I’m starting to wonder if Anna Burns-Francis might be the best political interviewer we’ve got. That might sound unlikely to you, it came as a bit of a surprise to me.Jack Tame can be excellent, but has some pretty average days. I like Rebecca Wright on Newshub, she asks good ...
Chris Trotter writes – Willie Jackson is said to be planning a “media summit” to discuss “the state of the media and how to protect Fourth Estate Journalism”. Not only does the Editor of The Daily Blog, Martyn Bradbury, think this is a good idea, but he has also ...
Graeme Edgeler writes – This morning [April 21], the Wellington High Court is hearing a judicial review brought by Hon. Karen Chhour, the Minister for Children, against a decision of the Waitangi Tribunal. This is unusual, judicial reviews are much more likely to brought against ministers, rather than ...
Both of Parliament’s watchdogs have now ripped into the Government’s Fast-track Approvals Bill. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāMy pick of the six newsey things to know from Aotearoa’s political economy and beyond on the morning of Tuesday, April 23 are:The Lead: The Auditor General,John Ryan, has joined the ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Sarah SpengemanPeople wait to board an electric bus in Pune, India. (Image credit: courtesy of ITDP) Public transportation riders in Pune, India, love the city’s new electric buses so much they will actually skip an older diesel bus that ...
The infrastructure industry yesterday issued a “hurry up” message to the Government, telling it to get cracking on developing a pipeline of infrastructure projects.The hiatus around the change of Government has seen some major projects cancelled and others delayed, and there is uncertainty about what will happen with the new ...
Hi,Over the weekend I revisited a podcast I really adore, Dead Eyes. It’s about a guy who got fired from Band of Brothers over two decades ago because Tom Hanks said he had “dead eyes”.If you don’t recall — 2001’s Band of Brothers was part of the emerging trend of ...
Buzz from the Beehive The 180 or so recipients of letters from the Government telling them how to submit infrastructure projects for “fast track” consideration includes some whose project applications previously have been rejected by the courts. News media were quick to feature these in their reports after RMA Reform Minister Chris ...
It would not be a desirable way to start your holiday by breaking your back, your head, or your wrist, but on our first hour in Singapore I gave it a try.We were chatting, last week, before we started a meeting of Hazel’s Enviro Trust, about the things that can ...
Calling all journalists, academics, planners, lawyers, political activists, environmentalists, and other members of the public who believe that the relationships between vested interests and politicians need to be scrutinised. We need to work together to make sure that the new Fast-Track Approvals Bill – currently being pushed through by the ...
Feel worried. Shane Jones and a couple of his Cabinet colleagues are about to be granted the power to override any and all objections to projects like dams, mines, roads etc even if: said projects will harm biodiversity, increase global warming and cause other environmental harms, and even if ...
Bryce Edwards writes- The ability of the private sector to quickly establish major new projects making use of the urban and natural environment is to be supercharged by the new National-led Government. Yesterday it introduced to Parliament one of its most significant reforms, the Fast Track Approvals Bill. ...
Michael Bassett writes – If you think there is a move afoot by the radical Maori fringe of New Zealand society to create a parallel system of government to the one that we elect at our triennial elections, you aren’t wrong. Over the last few days we have ...
Without a corresponding drop in interest rates, it’s doubtful any changes to the CCCFA will unleash a massive rush of home buyers. Photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: The six things that stood out to me in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, poverty and climate on Monday, April 22 included:The Government making a ...
Sunday was a lazy day. I started watching Jack Tame on Q&A, the interviews are usually good for something to write about. Saying the things that the politicians won’t, but are quite possibly thinking. Things that are true and need to be extracted from between the lines.As you might know ...
In our Weekly Roundup last week we covered news from Auckland Transport that the WX1 Western Express is going to get an upgrade next year with double decker electric buses. As part of the announcement, AT also said “Since we introduced the WX1 Western Express last November we have seen ...
TL;DR: The six key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to April 29 include:PM Christopher Luxon is scheduled to hold a post-Cabinet news conference at 4 pm today. Stats NZ releases its statutory report on Census 2023 tomorrow.Finance Minister Nicola Willis delivers a pre-Budget speech at ...
A listing of 29 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, April 14, 2024 thru Sat, April 20, 2024. Story of the week Our story of the week hinges on these words from the abstract of a fresh academic ...
The ability of the private sector to quickly establish major new projects making use of the urban and natural environment is to be supercharged by the new National-led Government. Yesterday it introduced to Parliament one of its most significant reforms, the Fast Track Approvals Bill. The Government says this will ...
This is a column to say thank you. So many of have been in touch since Mum died to say so many kind and thoughtful things. You’re wonderful, all of you. You’ve asked how we’re doing, how Dad’s doing. A little more realisation each day, of the irretrievable finality of ...
Identifying the engine type in your car is crucial for various reasons, including maintenance, repairs, and performance upgrades. Knowing the specific engine model allows you to access detailed technical information, locate compatible parts, and make informed decisions about modifications. This comprehensive guide will provide you with a step-by-step approach to ...
Introduction: The allure of racing is undeniable. The thrill of speed, the roar of engines, and the exhilaration of competition all contribute to the allure of this adrenaline-driven sport. For those who yearn to experience the pinnacle of racing, becoming a race car driver is the ultimate dream. However, the ...
Introduction Automobiles have become ubiquitous in modern society, serving as a primary mode of transportation and a symbol of economic growth and personal mobility. With countless vehicles traversing roads and highways worldwide, it begs the question: how many cars are there in the world? Determining the precise number is a ...
Maintaining a safe and reliable vehicle requires regular inspections. Whether it’s a routine maintenance checkup or a safety inspection, knowing how long the process will take can help you plan your day accordingly. This article delves into the factors that influence the duration of a car inspection and provides an ...
Mazda Motor Corporation, commonly known as Mazda, is a Japanese multinational automaker headquartered in Fuchu, Aki District, Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan. The company was founded in 1920 as the Toyo Cork Kogyo Co., Ltd., and began producing vehicles in 1931. Mazda is primarily known for its production of passenger cars, but ...
Your car battery is an essential component that provides power to start your engine, operate your electrical systems, and store energy. Over time, batteries can weaken and lose their ability to hold a charge, which can lead to starting problems, power failures, and other issues. Replacing your battery before it ...
In most states, you cannot register a car without a valid driver’s license. However, there are a few exceptions to this rule. Exceptions to the RuleIf you are under 18 years old: In some states, you can register a car in your name even if you do not ...
Mazda, a Japanese automotive manufacturer with a rich history of innovation and engineering excellence, has emerged as a formidable player in the global car market. Known for its reputation of producing high-quality, fuel-efficient, and driver-oriented vehicles, Mazda has consistently garnered praise from industry experts and consumers alike. In this article, ...
Struts are an essential part of a car’s suspension system. They are responsible for supporting the weight of the car and damping the oscillations of the springs. Struts are typically made of steel or aluminum and are filled with hydraulic fluid. How Do Struts Work? Struts work by transferring the ...
Car registration is a mandatory process that all vehicle owners must complete annually. This process involves registering your car with the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) and paying an associated fee. The registration process ensures that your vehicle is properly licensed and insured, and helps law enforcement and other authorities ...
Zoom is a video conferencing service that allows you to share your screen, webcam, and audio with other participants. In addition to sharing your own audio, you can also share the audio from your computer with other participants. This can be useful for playing music, sharing presentations with audio, or ...
Building your own computer can be a rewarding and cost-effective way to get a high-performance machine tailored to your specific needs. However, it also requires careful planning and execution, and one of the most important factors to consider is the time it will take. The exact time it takes to ...
Te Pāti Māori are demanding the New Zealand Government support an international independent investigation into mass graves that have been uncovered at two hospitals on the Gaza strip, following weeks of assault by Israeli troops. Among the 392 bodies that have been recovered, are children and elderly civilians. Many of ...
Our two-tiered system for veterans’ support is out of step with our closest partners, and all parties in Parliament should work together to fix it, Labour veterans’ affairs spokesperson Greg O’Connor said. ...
Stripping two Ministers of their portfolios just six months into the job shows Christopher Luxon’s management style is lacking, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said. ...
Tonight’s court decision to overturn the summons of the Children’s Minister has enabled the Crown to continue making decisions about Māori without evidence, says Te Pāti Māori spokesperson for Children, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi. “The judicial system has this evening told the nation that this government can do whatever they want when ...
It appears Nicola Willis is about to pull the rug out from under the feet of local communities still dealing with the aftermath of last year’s severe weather, and local councils relying on funding to build back from these disasters. ...
The Government is making short-sighted changes to the Resource Management Act (RMA) that will take away environmental protection in favour of short-term profits, Labour’s environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
Labour welcomes the release of the report into the North Island weather events and looks forward to working with the Government to ensure that New Zealand is as prepared as it can be for the next natural disaster. ...
The Labour Party has called for the New Zealand Government to recognise Palestine, as a material step towards progressing the two-State solution needed to achieve a lasting peace in the region. ...
Some of our country’s most important work, stopping the sexual exploitation of children and violent extremism could go along with staff on the frontline at ports and airports. ...
The Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill will give projects such as new coal mines a ‘get out of jail free’ card to wreak havoc on the environment, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said today. ...
The government's decision to reintroduce Three Strikes is a destructive and ineffective piece of law-making that will only exacerbate an inherently biased and racist criminal justice system, said Te Pāti Māori Justice Spokesperson, Tākuta Ferris, today. During the time Three Strikes was in place in Aotearoa, Māori and Pasifika received ...
Cuts to frontline hospital staff are not only a broken election promise, it shows the reckless tax cuts have well and truly hit the frontline of the health system, says Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall. ...
The Green Party has joined the call for public submissions on the fast-track legislation to be extended after the Ombudsman forced the Government to release the list of organisations invited to apply just hours before submissions close. ...
New Zealand’s good work at reducing climate emissions for three years in a row will be undone by the National government’s lack of ambition and scrapping programmes that were making a difference, Labour Party climate spokesperson Megan Woods said today. ...
More essential jobs could be on the chopping block, this time Ministry of Education staff on the school lunches team are set to find out whether they're in line to lose their jobs. ...
Te Pāti Māori is disgusted at the confirmation that hundreds are set to lose their jobs at Oranga Tamariki, and the disestablishment of the Treaty Response Unit. “This act of absolute carelessness and out of touch decision making is committing tamariki to state abuse.” Said Te Pāti Māori Oranga Tamariki ...
The Government is trying to bring in a law that will allow Ministers to cut corners and kill off native species, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said. ...
Cancelling urgently needed new Cook Strait ferries and hiking the cost of public transport for many Kiwis so that National can announce the prospect of another tunnel for Wellington is not making good choices, Labour Transport Spokesperson Tangi Utikere said. ...
A laundry list of additional costs for Tāmaki Makarau Auckland shows the Minister for the city is not delivering for the people who live there, says Labour Auckland Issues spokesperson Shanan Halbert. ...
Te Pāti Māori co-leader Rawiri Waititi, and Mema Paremata mō Tāmaki-Makaurau, Takutai Tarsh Kemp, will travel to the Gold Coast to strengthen ties with Māori in Australia next week (15-21 April). The visit, in the lead-up to the 9th Australian National Kapa haka Festival, will be an opportunity for both ...
The Green Party has today launched a step-by-step guide to help New Zealanders make their voice heard on the Government’s democracy dodging and anti-environment fast track legislation. ...
The National Government’s proposed changes to the Residential Tenancies Act will mean tenants can be turfed from their homes by landlords with little notice, Labour housing spokesperson Kieran McAnulty said. ...
Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson is calling on all parties to support a common-sense change that’s great for the planet and great for consumers after her member’s bill was drawn from the ballot today. ...
A significant milestone has been reached in the fight to strike an anti-Pasifika and unfair law from the country’s books after Teanau Tuiono’s members’ bill passed its first reading. ...
New Zealand has today missed the opportunity to uphold the right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment, says James Shaw after his member’s bill was voted down in its first reading. ...
Today’s advice from the Climate Change Commission paints a sobering reality of the challenge we face in combating climate change, especially in light of recent Government policy announcements. ...
Minister for Disability Issues Penny Simmonds appears to have delayed a report back to Cabinet on the progress New Zealand is making against international obligations for disabled New Zealanders. ...
Hundreds of New Zealand families affected by Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) will benefit from a new Government focus on prevention and treatment, says Health Minister Dr Shane Reti. “We know FASD is a leading cause of preventable intellectual and neurodevelopmental disability in New Zealand,” Dr Reti says. “Every day, ...
Regional Development Minister Shane Jones today attended the official opening of Kaikohe’s new $14.7 million sports complex. “The completion of the Kaikohe Multi Sports Complex is a fantastic achievement for the Far North,” Mr Jones says. “This facility not only fulfils a long-held dream for local athletes, but also creates ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters’ engagements in Türkiye this week underlined the importance of diplomacy to meet growing global challenges. “Returning to the Gallipoli Peninsula to represent New Zealand at Anzac commemorations was a sombre reminder of the critical importance of diplomacy for de-escalating conflicts and easing tensions,” Mr Peters ...
Ambassador Millar, Burgemeester, Vandepitte, Excellencies, military representatives, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen – good morning and welcome to this sacred Anzac Day dawn service. It is an honour to be here on behalf of the Government and people of New Zealand at Buttes New British Cemetery, Polygon Wood – a deeply ...
Distinguished guests - It is an honour to return once again to this site which, as the resting place for so many of our war-dead, has become a sacred place for generations of New Zealanders. Our presence here and at the other special spaces of Gallipoli is made ...
Mai ia tawhiti pamamao, te moana nui a Kiwa, kua tae whakaiti mai matou, ki to koutou papa whenua. No koutou te tapuwae, no matou te tapuwae, kua honoa pumautia. Ko nga toa kua hinga nei, o te Waipounamu, o te Ika a Maui, he okioki tahi me o ...
Paul Goldsmith will take on responsibility for the Media and Communications portfolio, while Louise Upston will pick up the Disability Issues portfolio, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon announced today. “Our Government is relentlessly focused on getting New Zealand back on track. As issues change in prominence, I plan to adjust Ministerial ...
Recreational catch limits will be reduced in areas of Fiordland and the Chatham Islands to help keep those fisheries healthy and sustainable, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. The lower recreational daily catch limits for a range of finfish and shellfish species caught in the Fiordland Marine Area and ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed an important milestone in New Zealand’s hydrogen future, with the opening of the country’s first network of hydrogen refuelling stations in Wiri. “I want to congratulate the team at Hiringa Energy and its partners K one W one (K1W1), Mitsui & Co New Zealand ...
The coalition Government is delivering on its commitment to improve resource management laws and give greater certainty to consent applicants, with a Bill to amend the Resource Management Act (RMA) expected to be introduced to Parliament next month. RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop has today outlined the first RMA Amendment ...
Overseas models for regulating the oil and gas sector, including their decommissioning regimes, are being carefully scrutinised as a potential template for New Zealand’s own sector, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. The Coalition Government is focused on rebuilding investor confidence in New Zealand’s energy sector as it looks to strengthen ...
Emergency Management and Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell has today released the Report of the Government Inquiry into the response to the North Island Severe Weather Events. “The report shows that New Zealand’s emergency management system is not fit-for-purpose and there are some significant gaps we need to address,” Mr Mitchell ...
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith is today travelling to Europe where he’ll update the United Nations Human Rights Council on the Government’s work to restore law and order. “Attending the Universal Periodic Review in Geneva provides us with an opportunity to present New Zealand’s human rights progress, priorities, and challenges, while ...
Associate Agriculture Minister, Mark Patterson, formally reopened the world’s largest wool processing facility today in Awatoto, Napier, following a $50 million rebuild and refurbishment project. “The reopening of this facility will significantly lift the economic opportunities available to New Zealand’s wool sector, which already accounts for 20 per cent of ...
Hon Andrew Bayly, Minister for Small Business and Manufacturing At the Southland Otago Regional Engineering Collective (SOREC) Summit, 18 April, Dunedin Ngā mihi nui, Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Ko Whanganui aho Good Afternoon and thank you for inviting me to open your summit today. I am delighted ...
The Government is delivering on its commitment to bring back the Three Strikes legislation, Associate Justice Minister Nicole McKee announced today. “Our Government is committed to restoring law and order and enforcing appropriate consequences on criminals. We are making it clear that repeat serious violent or sexual offending is not ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has today announced four new diplomatic appointments for New Zealand’s overseas missions. “Our diplomats have a vital role in maintaining and protecting New Zealand’s interests around the world,” Mr Peters says. “I am pleased to announce the appointment of these senior diplomats from the ...
New Zealand is contributing NZ$7 million to support communities affected by severe food insecurity and other urgent humanitarian needs in Ethiopia and Somalia, Foreign Minister Rt Hon Winston Peters announced today. “Over 21 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance across Ethiopia, with a further 6.9 million people ...
Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage Paul Goldsmith is congratulating Mataaho Collective for winning the Golden Lion for best participant in the main exhibition at the Venice Biennale. "Congratulations to the Mataaho Collective for winning one of the world's most prestigious art prizes at the Venice Biennale. “It is good ...
The Government is reforming financial services to improve access to home loans and other lending, and strengthen customer protections, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly and Housing Minister Chris Bishop announced today. “Our coalition Government is committed to rebuilding the economy and making life simpler by cutting red tape. We are ...
“China remains a strong commercial opportunity for Kiwi exporters as Chinese businesses and consumers continue to value our high-quality safe produce,” Trade and Agriculture Minister Todd McClay says. Mr McClay has returned to New Zealand following visits to Beijing, Harbin and Shanghai where he met ministers, governors and mayors and engaged in trade and agricultural events with the New ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has completed a successful trip to Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines, deepening relationships and capitalising on opportunities. Mr Luxon was accompanied by a business delegation and says the choice of countries represents the priority the New Zealand Government places on South East Asia, and our relationships in ...
New Zealand is demonstrating its commitment to reducing global greenhouse emissions, and supporting clean energy transition in South East Asia, through a contribution of NZ$41 million (US$25 million) in climate finance to the Asian Development Bank (ADB)-led Energy Transition Mechanism (ETM). Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Climate Change Minister Simon Watts announced ...
The Government is today releasing a list of organisations who received letters about the Fast-track applications process, says RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop. “Recently Ministers and agencies have received a series of OIA requests for a list of organisations to whom I wrote with information on applying to have a ...
Attorney-General Judith Collins today announced the appointment of Wellington Barrister David Jonathan Boldt as a Judge of the High Court, and the Honourable Justice Matthew Palmer as a Judge of the Court of Appeal. Justice Boldt graduated with an LLB from Victoria University of Wellington in 1990, and also holds ...
Education Minister Erica Stanford will lead the New Zealand delegation at the 2024 International Summit on the Teaching Profession (ISTP) held in Singapore. The delegation includes representatives from the Post Primary Teachers’ Association (PPTA) Te Wehengarua and the New Zealand Educational Institute (NZEI) Te Riu Roa. The summit is co-hosted ...
A stopbank upgrade project in Tairawhiti partly funded by the Government has increased flood resilience for around 7000ha of residential and horticultural land so far, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones today attended a dawn service in Gisborne to mark the end of the first stage of the ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters will represent the Government at Anzac Day commemorations on the Gallipoli Peninsula next week and engage with senior representatives of the Turkish government in Istanbul. “The Gallipoli campaign is a defining event in our history. It will be a privilege to share the occasion ...
Science, Innovation and Technology and Defence Minister Judith Collins will next week attend the OECD Science and Technology Ministerial conference in Paris and Anzac Day commemorations in Belgium. “Science, innovation and technology have a major role to play in rebuilding our economy and achieving better health, environmental and social outcomes ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon held a bilateral meeting today with the President of the Philippines, Ferdinand Marcos Jr. The Prime Minister was accompanied by MP Paulo Garcia, the first Filipino to be elected to a legislature outside the Philippines. During today’s meeting, Prime Minister Luxon and President Marcos Jr discussed opportunities to ...
The Government has announced that $20 million in funding will be made available to Westport to fund much needed flood protection around the town. This measure will significantly improve the resilience of the community, says Local Government Minister Simeon Brown. “The Westport community has already been allocated almost $3 million ...
The Government is proud to support the first ever Repco Supercars Championship event in Taupō as up to 70,000 motorsport fans attend the Taupō International Motorsport Park this weekend, says Economic Development Minister Melissa Lee. “Anticipation for the ITM Taupō Super400 is huge, with tickets and accommodation selling out weeks ...
Local Government Minister Simeon Brown has announced an increase to the Rates Rebate Scheme, putting money back into the pockets of low-income homeowners. “The coalition Government is committed to bringing down the cost of living for New Zealanders. That includes targeted support for those Kiwis who are doing things tough, such ...
The Coalition Government is investing in a project to boost survival rates of New Zealand mussels and grow the industry, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones has announced. “This project seeks to increase the resilience of our mussels and significantly boost the sector’s productivity,” Mr Jones says. “The project - ...
Benefit figures released today underscore the importance of the Government’s plan to rebuild the economy and have 50,000 fewer people on Jobseeker Support, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “Benefit numbers are still significantly higher than when National was last in government, when there was about 70,000 fewer ...
The Government’s commitment to doubling New Zealand’s renewable energy capacity is backed by new data showing that clean energy has helped the country reach its lowest annual gross emissions since 1999, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. New Zealand’s latest Greenhouse Gas Inventory (1990-2022) published today, shows gross emissions fell ...
The Government is bringing the earthquake-prone building review forward, with work to start immediately, and extending the deadline for remediations by four years, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “Our Government is focused on rebuilding the economy. A key part of our plan is to cut red tape that ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and his Thai counterpart, Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, have today agreed that New Zealand and the Kingdom of Thailand will upgrade the bilateral relationship to a Strategic Partnership by 2026. “New Zealand and Thailand have a lot to offer each other. We have a strong mutual desire to build ...
RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop and Transport Minister Simeon Brown have today announced the Coalition Government’s intention to extend port coastal permits for a further 20 years, providing port operators with certainty to continue their operations. “The introduction of the Resource Management Act in 1991 required ports to obtain coastal ...
Today’s announcement that inflation is down to 4 per cent is encouraging news for Kiwis, but there is more work to be done - underlining the importance of the Government’s plan to get the economy back on track, acting Finance Minister Chris Bishop says. “Inflation is now at 4 per ...
Asia Pacific Report From France to Australia, university pro-Palestine protests in the United States have now spread to several countries with students pitching on-campus camps. And students at Columbia and other US universities remain defiant as campuses have witnessed the biggest protests since the anti-Vietnam war and anti-apartheid eras in ...
Analysis by Dr Bryce Edwards, Democracy Project (https://democracyproject.nz)New Zealand Government’s Fast Track legislation. Many criticisms are being made of the Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill, including by this writer. But as with everything in politics, every story has two sides, and both deserve attention. It’s important to understand what the Government ...
Tara Ward talks to presenter Naomi Toilalo about the new TV show that turns food waste into a three course feast. Naomi Toilalo is standing in the warehouse at Good Neighbour Tauranga, helping unpack the two-and-a-half tonnes of rejected food that will arrive at the community support hub that day. ...
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“Go back to bed America.”
Bill Hicks quote is more relevant than ever when you what the media focus on.
Just replace the words America for NZ.
http://m.nzherald.co.nz/entertainment/news/article.cfm?c_id=1501119&objectid=11483578
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=oLp2dTHaEbs
If you have the time – worth watching. Kurdish Women soldiers in training. Lots of little bits of information slip through – some great reporting.
P.S you can’t support them – because that would make you a terrorist.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uqI0a4VgEs8
Which is less bad for phone and broadband – Vodaphone or Slingshot?
Or something else.
I’ve got to make the changeover today.
thanks
If your mobile is with Vodafone, you’ll get a further discount on the bundle. Haven’t dealt with Slingshot, but I believe they are pretty popular, so I guess they must be providing a decent service.
Lesser of 2 evils would be slingshot Vodafone are simply the worst and still declining.
Ultimately with mobile though it’s either on Spark or Voda regardless of who bills you as 2 degree only have CBD coverage with Spark having the better network which doesn’t say much for our brighter future.
I’m with Slingshot and they are good (pity about the Global roaming back down) Burt if you want to move mobile as well you can get a new phone on a 2 year contract. I get Unlimited Internet, 2 Cell Phones, and a Landline, with line insurance for a little under $40 a week. (Oh and their call centre is in NZ as well. Dunno about Vodafone But I hear they are getting worse.
Just switched from Vodafone to Spark for landline, fibre internet, and free landline national. $30 per month cheaper @ $69pm. Call service for Vodafone appalling. Long, long, long waits @1 hour plus.
That will get worse, Voda appear to be holding out for a grand sale, rumoured to be in the pipeline and further consolidating and already concentrated market.
Stanners has presided over nearly a decade of under investment in the network and back end systems while dividends derived off NZ consumers flowed offshore.
Spark now look pristine and effective up against them….that’s how bad it is.
yeah, voda is in bad shape. the merge from tcl was bad. They still have 5 different backend systems shit needs to be checked in.
No new hardware/projects have been done since the merger.
My cut off from Vodafone was 4 June. Their paper system does not match their technical system. Thus Vodafone thinks I am still their customer.
From VF’s POV an acceptable price for snaring the old NZR fibre network (that TC owned) as well as some other prime bits of telecomms infrastructure.
Vodafone by miles. Slightshot is ass.
hmmm
isn’t vodafone the company that had a market share of very close percentage to the proportion of NSA penetration into NZ traffic that the Snowden files revealed?
lol just another thing to consider…
@just saying – I have used both and neither worth recommending. Not consumer friendly at all. Among other things, Slingshot signed me up to their toll account, without my knowledge or consent and had the audacity to try to charge me for it! So it soon got the heave ho. Got no responses at all to issues with Vodafone, so that also got the push!
Been with 2 Degrees for four years and no issues or complaints at all – well so far that is! Service seems to be customer friendly, not that I’ve had to use it much, because it has been all plain sailing to date. Web page easy to navigate too.
Well if you don’t give a shit about customer service (I mean how many times do you really need to call them?) performance wise, voda is far better.
FYI – apologies for the length – but this is REALLY important!
20 July 2015
MEDIA Alert! TPPA – Walk Away!
Protest outside Auckland Uni – Monday 20 July 2015 1-5pm
WHEN: Monday 20 July
TIME: 1 -5 PM
WHERE: Symonds St / Grafton Rd intersection – directly outside Auckland Uni.
WHY? Because Auckland students are back and there are THOUSANDS of them!
The FOCUS – NZ PM John Key is a shareholder in the Bank of America!
(These Bank of America shares are NOT in a ‘blind trust’!)
Whose ‘national interest’ is PM John Key serving?
Is John Key working for US or the U$??
READ IT FOR YOURSELF:
http://www.parliament.nz/en-nz/mpp/mps/fin-interests/00CLOOCMPPFinInterests20151/register-of-pecuniary-and-other-specified-interests-of
“Register of Pecuniary and Other Specified Interests of Members of Parliament:
Summary of annual returns as at 31 January 2015
(Page 29)
Rt Hon John Key (National, Helensville)
2 Other companies and business entities
Little Nell – property investment (Aspen, Colorado)
Bank of America – banking ..”
A LOT of people don’t know this, and it is, in my view, as an anti-corruption ‘Public Watchdog’ an arguably significant corrupt ‘conflict of interest’.
Especially when the TPPA is closely tied together with TISA (Trade In Services Agreement), of which New Zealand is a member State, which has a particularly ‘scary’, secret agenda – “… because it aims to extend the model of liberalised and deregulated financial markets that brought us the global financial crisis…”
http://m.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11280883
(NZ Herald 25 June 2014)
“The story of the past week in terms of the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement was not Prime Minister John Key’s visit to the White House.
The more startling news is that our Government, with almost 50 other countries, is negotiating another secret deal in the shadows of the World Trade Organisation.
They are calling to negotiate a Trade in Services Agreement (Tisa).
It is part of a troika: along with the TPP and the deal the US is negotiating with the European Union, it aims to create a new set of global rules that are designed exclusively to serve commercial interests.
This is no exaggeration. Last week US corporates held a launch for what they call Team Tisa. The co-chairs are Citigroup, Liberty Mutual, IBM, MetLife, UPS and Walmart.
Leading members of Congress and the US Trade Representative were invited to speak.
If we thought the TPP was secretive – background documents remain secret for four years after any deal is done – Tisa proponents want to keep their documents secret for five years.
They aim to create an unrestricted global market for services, just as TPP is aimed at the Asia-Pacific. That means locking open the door to foreign corporations that dominate the world’s media, IT, finance, tourism, transport, healthcare, education sectors and more.
They also want to make light-handed regulation the global norm. A standstill rule aims to freeze the existing level of regulation as the new bottom line.
What Wikileaks posted was the draft chapter on financial services. We can assume it will be very similar to the TPP’s financial services chapter.
This is especially scary, because it aims to extend the model of liberalised and deregulated financial markets that brought us the global financial crisis…”
Remember Prime Minister John Key’s background?
https://www.beehive.govt.nz/minister/biography/john-key
“….He was born in Auckland, New Zealand but moved to Christchurch, New Zealand when he was a child. He was educated at Burnside High School in Christchurch and then gained a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Canterbury.
Mr Key launched his investment banking career in New Zealand in the mid-1980s.
After 10 years in the New Zealand market he headed offshore, working in Singapore, London, and Sydney for US investment banking firm Merrill Lynch.
During that time he was in charge of a number of business units, including global foreign exchange and European bond and derivative trading.
In 1999, he was invited to join the Foreign Exchange Committee of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and on two occasions undertook management studies at Harvard University in Boston.
In 2001, he headed back to New Zealand to fulfil a long held ambition to stand for Parliament for the National Party. He first won the Helensville seat in 2002. Mr Key quickly rose through the ranks and was elected leader of the National Party on 27 November 2006. …”
______________________________________________________
How ‘dodgy’ are derivatives?
Seems dairy derivatives are doing well – pity about the real thing?
https://www.nzx.com/markets/NZSX/securities/NZX/analysis
“Soft commodities
NZX’s Dairy Derivatives business continued its rapid growth trajectory in 2014 with the number of lots traded up 175% to 101,010.
In recognition of the continued efforts to grow market participation and confidence, in September 2014 NZX’s Dairy Futures Market won Best New Agricultural Contract at the Futures & Options World (FOW) Awards for Asia.
NZX CEO Tim Bennett commented: “Once they are established and liquid, derivatives markets are a very high revenue, low marginal cost businesses, generating significant upside over sustained periods.
While development takes time, the long-term payback far exceeds the initial investment.
We still have a long way to go.
Mature derivatives contracts notionally trade a multiple of the related underlying commodity and NZX dairy derivatives only constitute notional trade of around 4% of the related physical market, highlighting the future potential.”
Building on its success in milk powders, NZX launched a butter futures contract in December 2014, a global risk management tool that trades off the underlying price for unsalted butter on the GlobalDairyTrade auction platform. ..”
_____________________________________________________________
Is John Key working for the New Zealand people, New Zealand business – or foreign bankers?
_________________________________________________________
Time is short.
TPPA: Chief Negotiators meet 24 -27 July
TPPA: Ministers 28 – 31 July
Parliament sits Tues 21 July.
National are dropping in the polls…..
In my view – it was FOCUSED and timely protest vs John Key in the 2 days before the Northland by-election that helped National lose that seat.
______________________________________________________________
This is a video clip of the recent protest to that was held outside the office of Minister of Trade Time Groser on Thursday 16 July 2015.
(You Tube clip – 5 minutes)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q5ZNW_ahOME&feature=youtu.be
Penny Bright
You really have little idea about what derivatives actually are. Please tell me how a Futures contract for a Dairy product is somehow more dangerous than trading in the raw commodity itself?
It’s an abstraction that increases trading volume and activity, which leads to greater chaotic volatility without a corresponding increase in the benefits of actually producing those goods.
A bit like how global warming produces more extreme weather events (hurricanes, snowstorms, droughts), rather than just making Southland a nice subtropical climate. More activity in a chaotic system increases the chaos.
+1.
Imagine if all the energy of those money-traders actually got put into something useful…
The world may have actually advanced somewhere the last few decades…… instead of going around in circles sniffing its own arsehole
So Key and his cronies like to talk about “no one owns water.” Well I do feel for the local Hapu who get tapped by an Auckland firm;
http://www.maoritelevision.com/news/regional/hapu-angry-over-sale-poroti-spring-water-china
The focus group results are in. Labour isn’t “racist”, they’re “desperate”: http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/70361175/auckland-housing-data-using-surnames-a-desperate-measure–john-key
How does Key know the data is wrong when Key’s government doesn’t collect data?
The lying slithering deceptive switch-eye snake that is john key ……..
He’s constructing the narrative for the large chunk of the public that still inexplicably trust him.
I think this little line will cost him some trust and capital though; public sentiment is that Labour is right.
Public sentiment relies on the public not knowing any of the facts or looking for simple answers pointing the finger ‘out there’. A $300K house in Auckland from 2000 is not $1.1M now *mainly* because of foreign Chinese money. (Although it may be, in small part)
Got any evidence of any houses that in 2000 were worth $300k now being worth $1.1M?
I suspect it’s more like houses in 2000 that were worth $700k are now worth $1.1M, and houses that were $300k in 2000 are now worth $600k.
there are charts of stratfied CPI adjusted housing prices out there.
So you don’t have evidence of a house that cost $300k in 2000 now costing $1.1M in 2015.
I don’t think CV is that far off, Lanth. The average Ak price was just over $300k in 2000 and sits well above $800k today and heading toward $900k within a couple of months. Even if it’s not $1.1 million today, it’s looking like it will be at some point this year or early next year. Plus, I understand there are now more than 30 Ak suburbs that average over a million so it’s entirely possible that some individual houses that were sold for $300k fifteen years ago are worth more than a million now. Location, location, location!
Agree we bought our house in Glenfield for $360K in 2005 and two years ago we had a valuation of just under $600K. It will have gone up a bit since then.
Of course that value is worth nothing unless you want to move out of Auckland. I would much rather see my house value drop back to closer to what we bought at and have a larger more diverse group of people buying houses then sit on massive capital gain that is in real terms worth very little. No I am not interested in using equity to become a landlord.
My point is that CV just arbitrarily picked numbers out of the air and intimated as if it would be a majority, or at least very sizable portion of all houses that fit that particular profile.
I suspect it’d be less than 5% of Auckland houses that went from $300k to $1.1M (or thereabouts).
One thing to realise with averages is that they have a very long tail on the upside; an average of $800k for a house will be pulled up strongly by houses in the $2M+ price bracket; and same goes for the ~$300k average back at the start of the millennium.
If CV had said $300k -> $700-800k I wouldn’t have said anything.
Yep, fair points.
Barfoot said in March that 1/4 of its sales were for over $1M. I would say that a fair number of those would have been what were $300,000 houses in what used to be considered very middle of the road suburbs, 15 years ago.
But happy to accept that my numbers relay a common case 5% to 10% of sales, but not the majority of cases.
in 1999 to build a single level 195m2 house was about $750m2 (with building rebates from suppliers being kept by the building coy and not traded), on a 720m2 section cost $120k with a fall of 1.3m from front to back, total cost approx $275k including driveway, patio, fencing and grassed.
Building now in Auckland would be INXS of $2k/m2 add on water connection fee of $15k (in 1999 this was $750). and to buy such a section would cost in excessive of $600k(if you could locate one). Total cost well exceeding $1m. On such a section the building would be 2 level,3 car garaging, 4-5 bedrooms multi en-suit and exceeding 260m2. With a min asking price $1.6m.
Lanthaide in my local area developed over the 1990’s to early 2000’s all family homes would qualify as cost $300k-$400k to buy and now worth over $1m.
That’s not wholly accurate either CV. We do know that most of the inflation between at least 2000 and 2009 occurred mainly because of excess bank credit in the local market.
But while undersupply and inward migration back from Aus have been creating some pressure on the market in the past few years – we are in the middle of the most insane bubble of all time. And the RB to it’s horror has realised that all the simple levers at it’s command like interest rates, LVR ratios and bank reserves were not working.
Why? Because a large portion of the cashed up buyers in the Auckland market are immune to them.
IMO people have recently realised that it is an insane bubble because we have finally after 15 years or so got to the “vertical wall” stage of the exponential curve. That is, most people tolerated houses doubling in price from $250K to $500K (people could still pretend that was affordable)…but the next doubling from $800K to $1.6M takes away all such pretense.
As for the RB…yep, they have been left to try and cope with what has been going on as the neolib politicians of all colours have gone completely hands off laissez faire.
I can’t see key being worried as the high ground has been ceded now and as you say a large chunk of the public still trust him – somehow after all the bullshit he has spun over the years.
VTO my point exactly. How can you contradict an assertion without contrary data? To say we will be collecting data is to pre-judge the conclusion and Mr Tyford is just “inferring” the rates of purchasing.
Yeah I heard Key in a pasty interview with Paul Henry this morning trying to fudge their new data collection changes will give the required details. He was quick to point out that “most overseas buyer will be Kiwi’s living abroad and it will be hard to capture.
Actually John if you made changes that give a detailed analysis of when, who are buying and where they are from shouldn’t be hard. So stop the smoke and mirrors and get on with it.
They are terrified of the reality true date would show…
You only need a small swing in the number of buyers in a market to make a big difference. A change in the order of 5% is more than enough to swing things between rising and falling markjets
Maybe the PM needs to check in with the Minister, or vice versa
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=11483627
Well it sure does smell like that. When you have NZF saying they had the data and decided there was no solid data there to release it, then it does seem desperate.
Can you link to that statement please, I hadn’t heard that.
Was on NBR, interview with Winston. Think it’s pay walled, but you can see it on mobile for free.
Thanks to PR below.
The difference here is that Labour used some smart analytics (with 95% confidence) to tease out the 40% Chinese figure vs 9% from the census, using the information they were given.
Doesn’t sound like NZFirst had the skills or idea to perform this analysis, and the data without this analysis is rather useless.
Here you go
http://www.3news.co.nz/nznews/nz-first-chose-not-to-leak-housing-data-2015071815#axzz3gOZiw6K6
Prime Minister’s son caught in sex tryst on Hawaiian beach. Prison likely.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/life-style/70360596/pms-son-max-key-publishes-video-of-hawaiian-holiday-with-girlfriend
I must say, the Key family is brave in the way it steps out into the public spotlight on the back of their old man’s fame……….
I bet Max told his girlfriend “hey babe remember no wearing a ponytail around the old man…you know he has that umm problem.”
” Yeah like sure thing Maxi I know it’s not your fault ya dads a bit creepy.”
Ok, just watched the video and the PM does feature in it sporadically, almost as if it’s on purpose? That shows to me he endorses the video and I wonder if his son is being paid to make something like this…
The motive seems pretty clear, play on our materialistic desires and show you can get the girl, get to go to Hawaii and have the lifestyle. All on one condition, you’ve got to do what the PM and son does and vote National.
Fuck’s sake this trashy, non-story is now not only on stuff, but nzherald, tvnz and tv3 websites too. Could you want better coverage??
That young lady looks as though she would benefit from a pie or two.
You’re probably just use to seeing everyone overweight.
She could do with a deadlift or two.
Seems max has better PR than Little.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/politics/news/article.cfm?c_id=280&objectid=11483559
Wow just wow, the Herald were complicit in this dirty politics attack yet just a couple of days later they’re distancing themselves and cr**ping on Labour at the same time, the Herald really is quite a pice of work
Grant Robertson is bidding his time before the next run for leader. The pundits, political commentators and press gallery are aflutter. It seems to be only a strong rumour at this time.
Bullshit. Little is doing fine, there are no signs whatsoever of dissent in caucus and the party is generally happy with his leadership (and the marked improvement in the polls). If you want to troll, do it somewhere else.
Yep, makes total sense.. Your party has just surged 6% in the latest poll so time for a new leader.
and your leader is less popular than The Cunliffe
As many have said already the popularity of the opposition leader doesn’t really matter at this stage, it’s the party percentage that does. Personally I would love to have seen Cunliffe still there, with the economy under a bit of stress like it is now I think he would do great job of putting hits on National. His passion and smarts are great attributes infront of the camera.
Agree 100%
The Cunliffe was found wanting so we’ll see if Little Andy can do any better (though to be fair hes not the only one thats been soundly thrashed by John Key)
Agree 110 percent about David Cunliffe!
What Claire’s copy and paste recap shows is she is a lite weight political reporter. The heading makes her look incompetent and rather cynical “Labour’s Gamble Doesn’t Pay Off In Polls.”
Obviously not everyone would have been surveyed after the release, if anything probably prior, add plenty of people wouldn’t have been aware of the release, let alone formed an opinion as Andrew Little points out.
Go sit in the media’s ‘clown seat’ till the next poll comes out Claire. Or better still take a permanent holiday.
Right on the button Skinny, I have sent her an email about the headline being out of order and misleading.
Whats of more interest to me is not Labours dog whistling but that the Herald worked in conjunction with Labour to attempt to embarrass the govt (and fair enough thats Labours job) yet within the space of a few days the Herald are trying to sink Labour on this
Its a real bob each way kind of thing
That’s supposedly the media’s role isn’t it or traditionally was, to keep the Government honest. Maybe the herald decided they would do some actual journalism by using a source from inside the industry about a regional problem that was given to them by the Opposition. Now they’re just defaulting back to attack the opposition party that doesn’t align with the interests of their advertisers.
Well what gets me is the speed in which they’re willing to go into bat with Labour then turn around and dump on them, like it was only a couple of days
LOL . Nice concern trolling. Or maybe you’re just a conspiracy theorist.
Remember that time John Armstrong called for Cunliffe to resign over the 11-year-old letter, and O’Sullivan the very next day said that was over-excited nonsense?
The Trevett article is mild anyway, and seems a pretty standard kind of line for her to take.
You’d have a better chance of getting a single editorial line out of Fairfax, by default because it’s so formulaic. Prefer the Herald any day to the Stakhanovite content creator mill.
It’s laughable that the property editor at the NZH takes up her political sub editors role by scribing an article today with a headline of “No Stamp Duty, Or Capital Gains Tax.” This being pitched to Hong Kong & Mainland Chinese investors. Also as you would expect, actively promoting Auckland property therd is one of the National Party’s property magnate donators, Mr Barfoot of B & T reale state.
I guess when you donate 20 K to a political party in Government you can reasonably expect a return on that investment.
http://m.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=11483627
nothing to see here, life is good,
better living for all
rock star economy n such
http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/money/70301032/Middle-class-poor-struggling-with-financial-stresses-report
Quote: Families could have two “decent salaries” but still struggle due to living costs and child care costs.
“People have to have two jobs to survive,” she said.
“The only way you can do that is to have extended whanau helping you out because you can’t afford child care.”
The high cost of living needed to be reduced and it was up to the Government to make changes, she said.
“We need to get our housing, power and food costs down.
“Everyone deserves to have a roof over their head, a job to go to, food on the table and enough money to take the family out once a month. That’s all people want.”
According to the report, older couples, one or both being at least 50 years old, did well overall, rating highly on most indicators of wellbeing with 88 per cent satisfied with their standard of living.
Though solo parents with children under 18 represented only 4.5 per cent of the familial population in Canterbury, nationally they are the most under pressure.
This family type scored the lowest in adequate income, affordable housing, mental health and satisfaction at pay and work hours.
About 75 per cent reported affordable housing problems.
and nothing can be done about this either
https://nz.news.yahoo.com/top-stories/a/28853880/banks-call-in-farmer-debt-as-prices-plunge/
as long as they tighten their budget (maybe not feeding the cows? or the kids? or something) and they should make it. And if not, oh well that is just the market correcting itself
Quote: “Falling dairy prices mean it will be a tight year for many farmers and they will need to budget carefully,” he said.
Mr Guy said prices fluctuate every year and the fall in the exchange rate – the kiwi is now down to a six-year low of around US65 cents – was giving exporters confidence.
“Farmers are in it for the long term, not just one year,” he said.
“Other sectors like beef and horticulture are having record years which will help soften the impact in rural areas.”
He says the longer term outlook for dairy is strong.
The longer term outlook for dairy export is, essentially, non-existent. Every country in the world can produce their own dairy and will do so.
This is actually true of all products which means that, as the world develops, trade will decrease.
http://agrihq.co.nz/article/eastern-powers-set-up-massive-dairy?p=22
We forget how tiny we are sometimes,
And if that works they’ll do it again. Chances are, it’ll work.
Can someone please explain why Fonterra is not supplying dairy product to the Russian market ?
There is demand – and NZ is not on the exclusion list. At $4.20 all bets are “on” – so why not ?
Probably have something to do with all the other restrictions that have been put in place on Russia and I doubt if NZ would do anything to upset the USA.
I see the largest NZ dairy operation is comprised of 58 South Island farms, covering 18,000ha of land and 43,400 milking cows.
The single Zhongding Dairy Farming and Russia’s Severny Bur enterprise is twice this size – and will supply 30% of the Russian cheese demand – exceeding the previous EU contribution of 25%.
$ kg/mf is depressed – oversupply cos the Russian market is excluded from those others who offended Russia.
Well, Murray from Waitui shouldn’t have to sell Gina’s heir-jewels cos Vicky Nuland had a cake moment.
and if we view the world through the eyes of his customers, than we too will understand that all is well in the world.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/opinion/news/article.cfm?c_id=466&objectid=11482710
quote:
In the year ending May 2015, 2.977 million international visitors arrived in this country, an increase of 7 per cent on the previous year with forecasts for this number to grow to 3.8 million by 2021.
China and India will be the two drivers of this international growth. According to Tourism New Zealand, 309,792 visitors arrived from China in the year to May 2015, an increase of 29.3 per cent on the year previous, while India’s figures grew 28.9 per cent to 42,880.
The future looks bright with two extra airlines (Air China and China Eastern) establishing year-round services, and while India does not have a direct service at present, it is only a matter of time. The World Tourism Organisation predicts that India will account for 50 million outbound tourists by 2020. There are currently only 28 million passport holders in India.
even more Chinese visiting – perhaps some might be interested in buying a holiday home or two here?
They can make me an offer, its all good
and then this……
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=11483627
quote:
New Zealand’s lack of overseas investment regulation is being promoted in Shanghai and Hong Kong to help sell apartments rising on the site of the country’s best-known record store.
“NO stamp duties and property purchase tax, NO capital gains tax on residential property if sold after two years of holding,” Colliers International says advertising Queens Square, a 226-unit block promoted as on “the Nanjing Road of Auckland” and to rise on Real Groovy’s Queen St site near Karangahape Rd.
This country’s liberal regime, unusual internationally, is being promoted in that ad for the block by New Zealand developer Robert Holden’s Conrad Properties.
The new L-shaped block, to have 24 carparks and ground-level shops, is to rise at 438 Queen St and was designed by architect Colin Leuschke who says in a promotional video it will be on Auckland’s golden mile.
quote:
Events to promote the sale of units in the block were held this month at Shanghai’s New World Tower and at 300 Huaihai Rd in Hong Kong. The ad says the block could be completed by January 2018.
Barfoot & Thompson is also marketing units as being in the Auckland Grammar zone, priced from $386,000.
Agent Alastair Brown said top-priced larger units with carparks were going for $1.2 million. The block would have 226 units, 14 carparks and construction was yet to start.
quote:
A spokesperson for Land Information Minister Louise Upston said last week no decisions had been taken about whether or when to release it and the information might not show what people wanted to know.
“It’s worth bearing in mind that the information gathered for this new law change is going to be tax information. It will be the tax residence [of the buyer] as opposed to the country of residence of the buyer,” the spokesperson said.
“It’s not a foreign buyers register at all. It will give us information but we don’t know if it will be made public.”
https://www.3news.co.nz/nznews/cullen-labour-govt-didnt-do-enough-2015071913
Why do politicians wait until they’re out of parliament before they start being sensible
Guess we can look forwards to Bill English saying in 2018 that in retrospect, they shouldn’t have cut taxes, and if they hadn’t, they may not have had a record 9 deficits in a row.
Stranger things have happened
Yeah, like when Bill English admitted in 2008 that actually Labour managed the crown accounts very well and they had saved for the rainy day that was the GFC. He left unspoken what a disaster it would have been if Brash had won 2005 and implemented the tax cuts he was campaigning on.
Pity he went and blew all Labour’s careful work on tax cuts, eh?
Shame Labour didn’t do anything about helping people in need when they had the opportunity instead leaving it to National to do
National aren’t helping people in need – they’re gifting NZ to the rich.
Yeah, Working For Families didn’t “[help anyone] in need”.
Kiwisaver didn’t “[help anyone] in need” either. Nor did interest free student loans, or free doctor’s visits for under 5 year olds. Raising the minimum wage mustn’t have helped anyone either, unless you consider business owners “in need” of help?
Better luck next time, PR?
I’m sure some on here would suggest that raising the benefit would have helped a lot more people in need than helping out the middle class
lol
So it helped people in need, just not enough of them. You’re sliding again.
Of course some people on here – even many or most – would suggest that raising the benefit would have helped more people (at least more people in greater need) than WFF did. But then many people here would be saying that from honest convictions that the government should help people, rather than your transparent desire to just stir shit here when you couldn’t care less about people in any level of need (except your own self interest).
The difference is though that i want each and every single person in NZ to as well as I have (or rather about to) or better whereas most on here want those that have done well to be brought down to an “acceptable” level
I don’t think you do. Your behaviour here strongly indicates that you don’t give a damn about anyone other than yourself, and that politics for you is merely a “game” in which strong leaders get your fearspect and genuine concern for others is a weakness to be exploited.
Your professed concern for the welfare of “each and every single person in NZ” is at odds with the rest of your commenting history.
Except that it isn’t actually going to help anyone in need. The $25/week is a nice headline figure but it’s not what anyone’s going to get and there’s several claw backs that are actually going to make people worse off.
Still better then what any other government has done
“any” other government?
Lab1 and Lab3 come to mind…
In terms of overall benefit to individuals in the bottom half of society, Labour’s package of policies, a few of which I outlined above, are greater than anything National’s done.
Really?
You’re deluding yourself.
At least Sir Michael Cullen is honest.
@ 13
Too many blinkered supporters like you, foppish one.
So useless Michael Cullen has come out and agreed that there is a problem and that the Labour government he was part of should have done something …..
f@&k Michael Cullen…
I personally wrote to him early on in his time in office and put this exact issue to him. We exchanged a couple of communications on it.
Bottom line: Cullen refused to acknowledge the problem, despite evidence I put to him that locals were being outbid by foreign speculators (American ones these were mostly).
Cullen did exactly what Key English and Smith are doing now – being deceptive and avoiding the question.
Cullen’s little credibility on this just got sacked imo
bloody deceptive politicians – goes on even when they are retired it seems. Cullen is a Wanker on this
Why is a prepay plan going to require a monthly fee? Are telcos taxing the poor by removing low cost no monthly fee mobiles, and if they are why can they call a monthly plan prepay. Thats wrong.
On the importance of getting in first with the framing…and burying the facts, driving the political issues and ‘morality’ and skewing political advantage against your adversaries:
‘Remembering MH17′
http://www.rt.com/shows/crosstalk/310075-mh17-investigation-facts-figures/
“Investigations into the downing of flight MH17 in eastern Ukraine are still inconclusive or incomplete a year on from the tragedy. However, this has not stopped the West and their media from apportioning blames, without facts and figures to back up their claims. The search for justice for the families of those killed on MH17 continues.
CrossTalking with Ray McGovern, Alexander Mercouris, and Patrick Henningsen.”
Curbs favoured on marketing unhealthy food to children
But we can pretty much guarantee that National will do absolutely nothing about this. Listening to the populace isn’t what National does.
IMO, due to how manipulative advertising is it should be banned outright.
This is a must read:
Of course, it’s not that WINZ that needs to recognise that but our psychopathic government that’s out to punish people for being poor.
I’d like it a lot more if that solo mum, or anyone else didn’t have to justify their existence to fellate the egos of greedy sociopathic m’fuckers: Even if she didn’t have a car with Wof or rego, even if she wasn’t talented enough to study at a high level to become a lawyer or accountant, even if she eased her troubles by smoking or partying on alternate weekends, even if she was trying her best and failing at most things, she’s still a woman and a mother and a human being. So if the system allows no other choice but to buy in to the ass-pirant dream or be scapegoated and demonised by fat brainless cowards, then fuck the system and all who support it. It’s not like she impregnated herself.
And having a child is not an unnatural function for a woman. It should not have to be vouched for by a bloke. Give her the tools to raise the child well, then assistance to get training so she can have an individual skill in society when the child is old enough, and she can have the part-time hours needed. It is not hard to understand except for the religious-value-laden and the individualists who want to suck from society but not fuel it.
A comment on Ireland’s situation circa 1924 from Countess Markievicz.
All the small businesses here are heading for ruin, and the farmers are in a bad way. The list of bankrupts is something appalling. The list of highly paid officials for whom jobs are made by those at present in power, is daily increasing. To meet these expenses the old age pensioners have been docked 1/- per week of their pensions, as well as their bag of coal per fortnight. Taxes are awful, and food prices are daily rising and rents are wicked.
Plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose.
indeed
Jeepers no holds barred in this
http://publicaddress.net/onpoint/dont-put-words-in-our-mouths-rob/
This debate is robust and necessary – onya Keith
Excellent piece. Excellent comments in there too. Thanks for the link.
BOOOOOM
(and my opinion of Rob Salmond falls another notch).
you haters you – lol
Yep it is hard to go past Keith and his analysis – in fact I don’t think I will go past it, I agree with it from whoa to go.
Amateur old journalist Soper getting a hiding for his piece on Key’son
http://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/opinion/the-soap-box-maxs-lifestyle-a-liability-for-key/
He’s usually a Key sycophant so quite a step for him, speaking his truth for a change, nice one Soper!
It’s also at least the fifth major news organisation to post Max Key’s hawaiian holiday video on their website. Even Richie McCaw or Dan Carter would struggle to do that. There is no such thing as bad publicity I would think is the strategy.