Open mike 20/09/2013

Written By: - Date published: 6:46 am, September 20th, 2013 - 94 comments
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Open mike is your post. For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose.

The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the link to Policy in the banner).

Step right up to the mike…

94 comments on “Open mike 20/09/2013 ”

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  1. Sanctuary 1
    20 September 2013 at 6:48 am

    If my managers were any guide yesterday, today will be a public holiday for the top 10% if ETNZ win the America’s Cup.

  2. Sanctuary 2
    20 September 2013 at 6:53 am

    Oh and now that the leadership debate has died down, is now the time to ask:

    a) how it came to pass that a parliamentary caucus was so fundamentally out of sync with it’s membership and affiliated unions, and

    b) how to prevent such a deep divide from re-occurring in the future?

    • Colonial Viper 2.1
      20 September 2013 at 7:03 am

      I suspect that Cunliffe has put quite a bit of personal thought into these questions over the last 12 months 😈

      My take: a sense of elite entitlement and loss of accountability to ordinary members – indeed sometimes outright disdain of those members. quite similar to the Tory ‘born to rule’ conceit, in fact.

      And now, after 30 years, we’re going to finish taking our party back this November, goddammit.

      • chris73 2.1.1
        20 September 2013 at 7:31 am

        My take: a sense of elite entitlement and loss of accountability to ordinary members – indeed sometimes outright disdain of those members. quite similar to the Tory ‘born to rule’ conceit, in fact.

        – We elect them when they do shit like this (both sides of the political spectrum) so why should they change?

        – I mean Clark flagrantly breaking the law and dropping the cop in it and would anyone from Labour suggest she be gotten rid of? (at the time) and add any example you want of Key for the same thing

        – We keep rewarding them so keep acting how they want to and so it goes…

        • Colonial Viper 2.1.1.1
          20 September 2013 at 7:52 am

          Your use of Helen Clark as an example is petty and small minded. Key has fucked this country over to the tune of billions of dollars to his rich mates and eroded the civil rights of every NZer.

          Bottom line is that MPs in each party need to be held more accountable to their membership. When is National going to do this?

          • LynWiper 2.1.1.1.1
            20 September 2013 at 8:38 am

            +100 absolutely agree.

            • Puckish Rogue 2.1.1.1.1.1
              20 September 2013 at 9:10 am

              *Cough* Labour sold off billions of dollars of assets, many more then the present National govt. have

              • Pasupial …
                20 September 2013 at 10:07 am

                PR

                When Prebble was Minister of State-Owned Enterprises in the 1980s, then yes; there was the sale of far too many assets. But I regard those dark Douglas days as being a perversion of Labour into an almost proto-ACT party, rather than the return to its socialist roots that I hope Cunliffe’s 6th Labour government will represent.

                • Puckish Rogue …
                  20 September 2013 at 10:24 am

                  Nope sorry no matter the spin Douglas and Prebble were part of Labour which reinforces the point of ministers acting how they want with virtually nil ramifications

                  Which is a plight on all parties

                  • Colonial Viper …
                    20 September 2013 at 11:09 am

                    Very few disagree with the fact that it was the First ACT Government.

                  • Pasupial …
                    20 September 2013 at 11:27 am

                    PR

                    Douglas & Prebble were indeed members of the 4th Labour government. The leader of the soon to be 6th Labour-led government has stated that he refused in 1987 to be recruited by Treasury due to his opposition to their policies (in TDB interview last night). So the chances of his replicating their folly is hopefully minimal.

                    As for ramifications:

                    “Prebble retained his Auckland Central seat in the 1990 election, which Labour lost, arguably because of public dissatisfaction with the reforms. In the 1993 election, however, Prebble lost his seat to Sandra Lee-Vercoe, deputy leader of the left-wing Alliance. For the next three years, he worked as a consultant.”

                    Then in 1996 he became an MP for the ACT party started by his mate Douglas.

                    • Not A PS Staffer …
                      20 September 2013 at 1:49 pm

                      ref Auckland Central

                      1″the 1993 election, however, Prebble lost his seat to Sandra Lee-Vercoe, deputy leader of the left-wing Alliance.”

                      I hope Ardern has woken up to the fact that she reaps what she sows. What she has sown for the past five years has not flowered.

                      She needs to get stuck into Auckland Central, develops a functioning LEC, show respect to members and to voters and get elected in her own right.

                  • framu …
                    20 September 2013 at 12:34 pm

                    ” Douglas and Prebble were part of Labour”

                    yes well sleeper agents do tend to look like those they are hiding amongst

                    • finbar …
                      20 September 2013 at 3:35 pm

                      I remember back in the eighties when Lange won.We Labour party members were on a high,every thing and anything was possible, like the Kennedy years for the Americans.

                      Some months later i was at a meeting attended by Prebble,Caygill and De Cleene.The meeting was held at the local offices of various unions, and also the office of the local party.The meeting was a fiery one, with the local union orginisers and their sub branch members, along with the local Party members.The barny that ensued was about the direction that the government were taking us At the end of the meeting as the Parliamentarians were leaving were over heard to say Union officials, and they chuckled, as they went down the stairs..

                      It is without question that our elected, and more importantly, our list representatives, are out of touch with the every day rank and file and party members who vote for them, and the recent election has shone a glaring light on that.

                      Power to the Party members, and lets hope it continues.

        • Anne 2.1.1.2
          20 September 2013 at 11:16 am

          My take: a sense of elite entitlement and loss of accountability to ordinary members – indeed sometimes outright disdain of those members. quite similar to the Tory ‘born to rule’ conceit, in fact.

          In other words: a total absorption into the neocon mindset of the Beltway bubble (albeit a less harsh version of the Nat model) where members and affiliates cease to be of any importance. What’s the bet more than one ABCer reflected this week about… how much easier and better it would be if there were no members and affilliates in the Labour Party.

          • Colonial Viper 2.1.1.2.1
            20 September 2013 at 11:18 am

            where members and affiliates cease to be of any importance.

            Well, they are expected to be “followers” who donate money, deliver flyers, and organise electorate events for the MPs.

      • Not A PS Staffer 2.1.2
        20 September 2013 at 1:41 pm

        I booked my tickets for Christchurch on the Airline that I as a taxpayer will continue to own.

    • outofbed 2.2
      20 September 2013 at 8:22 am

      Yes even when the writing was on the wall they still persisted in voting for the wrong person
      That would have given us
      Goff
      Shearer
      and then RobertsonFFS
      Unbelievable And as for unity the biggest attack lines the right and msm has been the disunity in caucus as evidenced by the vote. Did they not see this coming ? are they so out of touch they actually thought Robertson a stood a chance ? Did they not see the media narratives around such a split vote that would eventuate?
      Someone should tell them that the biggest enemy is actually the Tories not Cunliffe et el.

      • Puckish Rogue 2.2.1
        20 September 2013 at 10:27 am

        Winston Churchill said something along the lines of “the opposition isn’t the enemy, the ministers behind are”

        I think thats true then and still is today (on both sides of the house)

      • McFlock 2.2.2
        20 September 2013 at 2:18 pm

        The membership agreed with most of the caucus who voted for Robertson. Membership were not unanimously behind Cunliffe, by any means.

        So I think the “disconnect” can be overstated.

        And I also think that expecting different votes from different groups is reasonable.

        So my conclusion is that Sanctuary is overstating the case when talking about a “deep divide”. But I note a couple of tories have been having fun stoking the debate, which is nice for them I guess.

    • Ron 2.3
      20 September 2013 at 9:05 am

      item b is obvious. Build more democracy into the Party. Give the members more say on who represents them. Not sure why we would want the caucus should have a separate vote for leader they should get the same vote as any other member.
      Also we need to get the party list process right. We have to decide if we should have open or closed list selection and ordering of the party list. I myself are leaning towards a fully open list where the public can have input into the list but would like to hear alternative views

      • outofbed 2.3.1
        20 September 2013 at 10:11 am

        The Greens do the list reasonably well
        Delegates at election conference meet candidates and assess them
        They report back to branches who put together list this is aggregated
        And becomes the recommended list
        This new list goes to wider membership who then can rank candidates in a stv type system
        (with a couple of tweaks for gender and geographical balance)
        Problems are that sitting MP ‘s have an advantage because of profile and name recognition
        and better resourced candidates can visit branches to get there name out there more widely and enhance their profile. This has happened to great effect last time around with at least one of the candidates getting a much higher ranking then from the initial delegate list (members should have listened to the delegates 🙂
        All in all it works quite well with a very strong competent united team. As can be witnessed by there strong performance in this last term.
        Labour could learn from this

  3. Colonial Viper 3
    20 September 2013 at 7:18 am

    Fukushima just had a 5.8 quake. Swell.

  4. phillip ure 4
    20 September 2013 at 7:22 am

    drawing a line in the kif..

    http://www.huffingtonpost.com/john-michael/if-you-still-think-pot-sh_b_3907678.html

    (excerpt..)

    “..If You Still Think Pot Should Be Illegal – You Are an A**hole..” (ed:..or as we would say:..a***hole…eh..?..)

    “..there are a slew of bellowing ignorant statements that you make when you support cannabis prohibition:

    That you don’t care about injustice;

    That you mindlessly repeat propaganda so easily debunked –

    – it belies the shallowness of either your intelligence – or your integrity;

    That you are so averse to admitting that you were wrong about something –

    (regardless of how bigoted – short-sighted – and stupid it makes you look)

    – you don’t even care what your stubbornness is saying about you.

    For one – if you think cannabis should remain a Schedule I drug – one for which there is no accepted medical use –

    – then you are scientifically illiterate. .”

    (cont..)

    (mm-kay..?..)

    phillip ure..

  5. miravox 5
    20 September 2013 at 8:04 am

    Really Claire? Just because Pinokeyo says it doesn’t make it true, and I really don’t need you to report his spin on his failures.

    One of the main aims of Mr Key’s trip to Europe is to nudge the EU into trade talks – New Zealand is one of only about five countries yet to start negotiations.

    He raised the issue with British Prime Minister David Cameron yesterday, and told the media afterwards that the UK could be a powerful advocate for New Zealand’s case because it was a key figure in the EU.

    A key figure? The country that hasn’t joined the Eurozone and is in holding a referendum on membership? If he was talking the Merkel or Hollande he would have a point.

    “Europe is the biggest economy in the world, it’s a powerful economy notwithstanding the challenges it’s had. And if New Zealand could advance a trade agreement with Europe it would be quite important,” he said.

    Last year Nact was calling the EU a basketcase and blaming this non-key trading partner problems for our continuing economic hole.

    How about holding him up to his spin instead of hanging on to it? John Hartevelt did a better job of it.

    • Chris 5.1
      20 September 2013 at 9:15 am

      An economy can be powerful and a basketcase at the same time. Those two terms don’t contradict each other.I would argue both the EU and US fit this category.

      The article you link to doesn’t blame the non-key trading partner for our economic hole it blames the weakening US and EU economies for the strength of our dollar. That seems reasonable to me – also at the time of that article (October last year) Europe was a basketcase and it still is.

      Finally, while the UK may not be as key as Germany it would still be considered a key member by most given the size of its economy – it is the second largest economy (if going by GDP).

      • aerobubble 5.1.1
        20 September 2013 at 3:33 pm

        Entropy. After three decades of cheap high density fuel flooding the western economies is it any wonder that society, economy, culture is in such chaos. Rebuilding requires that the right wing state gets off the backs of normal people who want to express and live their lives.

      • miravox 5.1.2
        20 September 2013 at 7:47 pm

        “An economy can be powerful and a basketcase at the same time”
        Nah, a basketcase is a basketcase. It can be influential, but not powerful because other players can dismantle it if they choose to do so. E.g. the Greek economy is influential in EU economic decsion-making and a basketcase. It would take real spin to turn that situation into stating the Greek economy is powerful.

        Key and English spent quite a lot of time blaming the New Zealand poor performing economy and trade deficits on conditions in Europe while ignoring the booming economies of our nearest trading partners Australia and China. Not much was asked about why the NZ economy didn’t get a boost from Aust and China but was impacted by Europe.

        “Europe was a basketcase and it still is”
        The periphery is in trouble. Core Europe is doing ok – the bit I live in is doing better than NZ in many ways.

        And the UK has not the 2nd biggest economy, by GDP, in Europe since 2008 – austerity for the masses will do that to an economy – and any soft power the UK had was diminished by refusing to join the Euro and it’s referendum decision. It’s not committed and that seriously affects it’s power in the union.

  6. Tracey 6
    20 September 2013 at 8:27 am

    The Court of Appeal chose yesterday to uphold last year’s decision by the Employment Court that employers paying the minimum wage had to pay their KiwiSaver contributions on top. This would give some minimum-wage workers an extra $540 a year.

  7. Tracey 7
    20 September 2013 at 8:32 am

    Key was invited by Conservative Party leader and British counterpart David Cameron to a gathering of most of his MPs in Chipping Norton, a couple of hours northwest of London.

    Key gave a speech to the MPs and strategists and joined in a “deeply political conversation” with high-ranking Cabinet ministers including Chancellor George Osborne and Home Secretary Theresa May.

    Key also chatted with the controversial Australian political strategist Lynton Crosby, who advises Cameron.

    • Puckish Rogue 7.1
      20 September 2013 at 9:12 am

      OMG Key spoke to people!!!!!

    • The Pink Postman 7.2
      20 September 2013 at 3:48 pm

      Yes most interesting Tracey.Just what are they up too/
      In fact its a bit scary ,120 Tory MP’s Crosby Textor smells a bit strong . In wonder if they are planning the next NZ election and how the UK Right would be able to help the NZ

      Lets not forget that we were never told who payed for the ” Cossack adverts back in the 1970’s
      Labour people need to keep a watchful eye on this . There was a good reason why they held this meeting with closed doors.

      • The Gormless Fool formerly known as Oleolebiscuitbarrell 7.2.1
        20 September 2013 at 3:54 pm

        Fuck. Do you think maybe they were strategising about how to an election? That is concerning.

  8. David H 8
    20 September 2013 at 9:15 am

    Trying to watch the Live coverage of the yachting, but no, all I get is about 2 seconds and the stream just freezes. Every other site I use streams perfectly. So I figure TVNZ must have been sitting with fingers crossed that they didn’t get more then 20 people at once wanting to watch. This must be what happens when the govt strips all the cash out of the company, and they have to do it on the cheap\free!

    • tc 8.1
      20 September 2013 at 9:32 am

      They used to host some of the content (ad’s) out of Oz and nearly crashed the stn X cable when the ch ch earthquake had their site taking alot of hits….perhaps they still do and the site’s pulling content from outside NZ thus the performance.

      It’s not so much the cash David, it’s the competance and general savvy and will to do things properly but when 7 Sharp and Best Bits is your idea of quality is it any surprise.

    • yeshe 8.2
      20 September 2013 at 10:26 am

      I watched TVNZ ‘live’ without interruption but ran Herald blog at the same time .. TVNZ ‘live’ was 12 minutes behind the Herald blog. I checked time time the blog gave Peter Lester’s comment “like being at the dentist” against when it was webcast == 12 minutes !! no idea how or why .. maybe commercials ?? “Live” ? Yeah, nah.

      • yeshe 8.2.1
        20 September 2013 at 10:37 am

        LPRENT .. when I try to edit, takes me through to TS homepage in a box ?? very weird .. checked and it did same thing again ?? thx

      • David H 8.2.2
        20 September 2013 at 2:54 pm

        The one I can’t stream from is TV3. It has to be the AD Blocker, but I can usually find the feed elsewhere, unless it’s Gower making shit up then I don’t bother with it.

  9. Tracey 9
    20 September 2013 at 9:27 am

    pr, of note was he was meeting british mps and yet an australian political strategist was there and who he chose to speak with.

  10. Jenny 10
    20 September 2013 at 9:29 am

    Extreme Oil and Coal.

    Reading all the available resources it is not hard to come to the conclusion that the age of fossil fuel use is coming to an end.

    Even here in New Zealand we can see this. Solid Energy is bankrupt, Denniston coal is also bust and can only go ahead with skewed legalisms that prevent climate change being taken into account. And large wind farms that could let us finally close down coal fired Huntly Power Station are prevented from starting through through lack of the barest legislation costing the taxpayer nothing. Meanwhile tens of $millions of tax payer subsidies are being shoveled into encouraging risky extreme deep water oil exploration, as conventional supplies run out.

    It all signals one thing, the age of oil and coal is over. And if we keep desperately subsidising these failing technologies our civilisation will be over too.

    Nothing is surer.

    We need leaders of vision to prevent this catastrophe. (or at the very least soften the crash)

    • Colonial Viper 10.1
      20 September 2013 at 10:59 am

      Oil will still be a dominant and widely available fuel for another 10-20 years; coal for another 50 years after that.

    • jaymam 10.2
      22 September 2013 at 9:20 am

      NZ has enough coal for at least 1200 years. Open cast is the way to go, and put the land back nice afterwards. The Coromandels and the Shotover river were extensively mined and are top tourist attractions now.

      And then there’s fracking, which in NZ should allow us to put off nuclear power for many years until it is safe enough. The rest of the world can do with a lot of fracking too!

      Those who don’t like fracking can stop opposing new hydro dams, especially on the West Coast.

      Whatever happened to that wind farm that a councillor voted to allow on her farm at Waiuku, right where the noise would keep Waiuku awake?

  11. Sable 11
    20 September 2013 at 9:36 am

    In spite of the ranting by right wing weirdo’s about wanting Abbott as NZ’s PM its it’s taken all of five minutes in office for him to show his true colours:

    http://au.news.yahoo.com/latest/a/-/latest/18999353/pm-seeks-legal-advice-on-act-marriage-equality-bill/

  12. joe90 12
    20 September 2013 at 9:46 am

    Barrister Julian Burnside writes about Australia’s refugee policy.

    So here we are: Australia in 2013. We have forgotten our origins and our good fortune, we are blind to our own selfishness. In place of memory we cling to a national myth of a generous, welcoming country, a land of new arrivals where everyone gets a fair go; a myth in which vanity fills the emptiness where the truth was forgotten.

    http://theconversation.com/julian-burnside-alienation-to-alien-nation-18290

    • tc 12.1
      20 September 2013 at 10:41 am

      ‘..national myth of a generous, welcoming country..’ It’s on record Oz favoured europeans re-settling there after WW2.

      The Lib’s have tapped past the thin veneer of ‘ a fair go’ into an Oz that most who live there discover very quickly. Wander out of the CBD’s into suburbia or better still rural Oz and it’s rather old fashioned shall we say.

      Garrett should reform the Oils now he’s left parliament, their material has never been so relevant.

      • joe90 12.1.1
        20 September 2013 at 10:54 am

        Indeed, visiting Hay NSW last year was like stepping back into the seventies, late night Friday shopping and all.

        • Murray Olsen 12.1.1.1
          20 September 2013 at 3:26 pm

          Brisbane often reminds me of Auckland in the 80s. Some of the places in rural Queensland are just scary. The xenophobia and bigotry has a more overwhelming presence than sulphur in Rotorua. Newman in Queensland and Abbott federally will take it back even further. If they get their way, it’ll become a land that WhaleSpew would be proud to call home.

  13. Clement Pinto 13
    20 September 2013 at 11:00 am

    A good interview : Cunliffe indicates his broad policy directions.

    He joined the Daily Blog Editors Selwyn Manning and Martyn Bradbury to discuss what challenges New Zealand faces and what bis solutions are to those challenges.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8SHeFijl3js&feature=player_embedded

    • Pasupial 13.1
      20 September 2013 at 11:32 am

      A good interview, but marred by technical difficulties. Hopefully they work the bugs out before next time. Definitely worth the effort though.

      • Clement Pinto 13.1.1
        20 September 2013 at 12:07 pm

        A pity that Cunliffe made a perceived big booboo at his first great opportunity to impress the public with ‘caucus’ vs ‘Corus’. A bit of lost ground to make up there with the ‘general’ voters. Our stupid media concentrates on such simple errors as their information highlight unfortunately. They do a great injustice to real democracy and politics. [Less than 200 people have viewed Cunliffe’s daily blog interview so far, while hundreds of thousands watched his booboo highlighted by our stupid Main Stream Media!]

        • North 13.1.1.1
          20 September 2013 at 1:56 pm

          CP @ 13.1.1 – you really, really identify that slip of the tongue as something that’ll stick with Cunliffe right through to the last of the leaders’ debates in 2014 ? Unlike the now cemented tangible sense amongst how many tens maybe hundreds of thousands that ShonKey Python is, well, shonky ?

          You think that we’re going to see an opinion poll in the lead-up to the election in which the greatest number of respondents are moved to mention as the tipping point “caucus/chorus” in September 2013 ? Whatever the unfortunately turned out weirdo Potty Gower might choose to say ?

  14. Pasupial 14
    20 September 2013 at 11:08 am

    There was a well attended meeting; about the dangers of deep-water oil drilling, in Dunedin last night with Gareth Hughes as key speaker (plus a couple of Otago university lecturers with Green mayoral candidate; Aaron Hawkins, moderating). Simon Hartly; who wrote this acticle for today’s ODT business section, obviously didn’t attend:

    http://www.odt.co.nz/news/business/273950/deepwater-drilling-likely-grow

    “…John Warren, the senior business development manager of Halliburton, covering Australasia.”

    “On the question of the Deepwater Horizon seabed blowout and subsequent rig fire in the Gulf of Mexico, which became the United States’ worst environmental disaster, Mr Warren said it was a combination of human and technological error.
    There was now more technology, reliability and competence in the workforce. ”

    But there isn’t any real incentive for a Deepwater Horizon-style exploratory-phase disaster in NZ to actually be avoided (beyond the loss of their ship), or cleaned-up by the company responsible if it does. There is presently $10 million maximum liability under NZ law, plus $30 million mandatory insurance for the oil drilling. Deepwater Horizon cleanup costs are US$40 billion so far.

    That’s a 0.02 cent on the dollar cost; to cut their losses and pay the fine, rather than stay and try to clean-up the problem (if you consider that the insurance premiums will already have been paid).

    • Colonial Viper 14.1
      20 September 2013 at 11:51 am

      the “human error” was corporate middle managers fucking around with shortcuts in order to make more money and keep to budgets they had promised the board of directors.

      • Colonial Viper 14.1.1
        20 September 2013 at 12:24 pm

        And lets add in the captured and under-resourced regulators in the USA, where they had one inspector for every 40-50 rigs, and anyways the regulators would often be out partying with oil company staff, accepting big gifts from the corporates, accepting favours in the forms of prostitutes etc.

        Was this also “human error”?

  15. Blue 15
    20 September 2013 at 12:43 pm

    NZ could put rostered inspectors on every rig permanently as a condition of a drilling / extraction permit. All paid for by the company.

  16. captain hook 16
    20 September 2013 at 12:52 pm

    when is parliament going to be available to us proles with only an uhf aerial.
    at the moment it seems to be restricted to disc users and sky subscribers.
    has parliament become pay per view too?

    • Darren 16.1
      20 September 2013 at 1:16 pm

      I get Parliament TV with a UHF aerial. Channel 22.

    • karol 16.2
      20 September 2013 at 3:22 pm

      Anyone with a UHF aerial plus a freeview box or TV with inbuilt freeview should be able to et Parliament.

      Come December when Analog switches off, that’s what will be needed to get any free-to-air TV.

      What’s a disc user? I don’t think I’m one of those, and neither do I subscribe to Sky.

      I have a UHF aerial plus Freeview set top box for one old analog TV, & a myfreeview recorder for the small high def LCD TV.

  17. Penny Bright 17
    20 September 2013 at 1:40 pm

    FYI
    __________________________________________________________________________

    “RE: Greens call for Smith’s sacking

    “Nick Smith should resign. He is not the Minister for Conservation; he is the minister for large-scale dams; he is the minister for water pollution; he’s the minister for wiping out New Zealand’s native fish. He has no right to occupy the Minister of Conservation portfolio.”

    (Russel Norman, 19 September 2013).

    http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/political/222179/doc-defends-minister-over-dam-answers
    ___________________________________________________________________________

    “Nick Smith is NOT the Minister of Housing.

    He is the Minister of tents, caravans, sheds and ‘lean-tos’ and Minister for Property Developers’,” says Sue Henry, Spokesperson for the Housing Lobby.

    “He should resign forthwith from the Housing portfolio.”

    “It is a disgrace when State Housing tenants are forced out of their homes and along with others referred to sub-standard caravan parks and temporary ‘doss houses’ by Housing New Zealand, when thousands of State houses sit empty, and some have done so for well over over one year.”

    “Vulnerable driven to caravan parks” (TV3 News !9 September 2013)

    http://www.3news.co.nz/Vulnerable-driven-to-caravan-parks/tabid/423/articleID/313937/Default.aspx

    “It’s misleading and deceptive for Nick Smith to promote affordable housing when he’s delivering unaffordable housing, where $700,000 houses are being sold off the plans (eg: Apirana Ave, Glen Innes).”

    “This of course, is after the forced removal of State housing tenants and their affordable State houses, which have been, and are being trucked out of the area.”

    “This is being replicated in other parts of New Zealand, against the wishes of both the tenants and their communities in which some lived for decades.”

    “This situation is becoming critical, and is totally unacceptable.”

    “A moratorium to cease forthwith State house removals must be implemented immediately. ”

    Sue Henry
    Spokesperson
    Housing Lobby
    _________________________________________________________________________

    • Treetop 17.1
      20 September 2013 at 5:04 pm

      No one in their eighties or at any age should be expected to trot 50 metres to use a toilet several times a night. This would cause me sleep deprivation as I would be awake just after one trip in the freezing cold.

      I knew that HNZ was not performing. I have underestimated how despicable the government are regarding housing. I’d like to see how long they would last in a caravan park.

  18. joe90 18
    20 September 2013 at 2:05 pm

    I’m feeling so much better now.
    /

    In an interview on “Squawk Box,” the founder of hedge fund Duquesne Capital said that the Federal Reserve’s policy of quantitative easing was inflating stocks and other assets held by wealthy investors like himself. But the price of making the rich richer will be paid by future generations.

    “This is fantastic for every rich person,” he said Thursday, a day after the Fed’s stunning decision to delay tightening its monetary policy. “This is the biggest redistribution of wealth from the middle class and the poor to the rich ever.”

    “Who owns assets—the rich, the billionaires. You think Warren Buffett hates this stuff? You think I hate this stuff? I had a very good day yesterday.”

    Druckenmiller, whose net worth is estimated at more than $2 billion, said that the implication of the Fed’s policy is that the rich will spend their wealth and create jobs—essentially betting on “trickle-down economics.”

    “I mean, maybe this trickle-down monetary policy that gives money to billionaires and hopefully we go spend it is going to work,” he said. “But it hasn’t worked for five years.”

    http://www.nbcnews.com/business/hedge-fund-billionaire-feds-move-fantastic-rich-4B11199524

  19. johnm 19
    20 September 2013 at 2:30 pm

    The U$ Home of NeoLiberalism and the inspiration of our RWNJ politicians:

    “These individuals represent a social type. The saying of Balzac, “Behind every great fortune there is a great crime,” was never truer than for the American ruling class. The list is full of people* who made their money not through any contribution to the productive process, but through various forms of financial swindling, speculation and the impoverishment of working people*

    “Accumulation of wealth at one pole is at the same time accumulation of misery, agony of toil, slavery, ignorance, brutality, mental degradation, at the opposite pole,” wrote Marx. And so it is. The Census Bureau report, “Income, Poverty and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2012,” showed that the income of a typical household in the US has fallen to the lowest level since 1989, while poverty remains at the highest levels in decades.”

    * John Key?

    “The Looting of America”

    http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article36285.htm

    The NL ideology has destroyed working and social America

  20. amirite 20
    20 September 2013 at 2:37 pm

    In this country, if you’re rich you can get away with anything and you can keep on living the high life:

    http://www.nzherald.co.nz/crime/news/article.cfm?c_id=30&objectid=11126767

  21. amirite 21
    20 September 2013 at 3:18 pm

    And this is where the neoliberal societies are heading to:

    Dutch King Willem-Alexander declares the end of the welfare state

    http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/dutch-king-willemalexander-declares-the-end-of-the-welfare-state-8822421.html

    Oh, the irony! The greatest bludger in Holland doesn’t mind other people’s taxes going for his upkeep.

    Off with his head!

    • srylands 21.1
      20 September 2013 at 4:09 pm

      I would hope that we all want an end to welfare.

      • McFlock 21.1.1
        20 September 2013 at 4:27 pm

        Yes, you would. Because you have the moral compass of Emperor Palpatine.

      • bad12 21.1.2
        20 September 2013 at 7:14 pm

        i have got news for you SSLands, think brand spanking new fridges and washing machines courtesy of your mate Paula,

        And guess what, your paying for em…

      • Murray Olsen 21.1.3
        21 September 2013 at 6:22 pm

        There will always be people who need help from the community. Those who are already filthy rich, and presently get the most help, should not be among them. The economic system that we live under should not contribute to this number, but people will always have accidents, get sick, or have physical deficiencies. I want a system that means these people don’t miss out. I don’t want SSlands’ system, where even a dry spot on footpaths is denied to the needy.

      • karol 21.1.4
        21 September 2013 at 6:24 pm

        I want an end to “welfare” and a return to “social security” for all.

      • Greywarbler 21.1.5
        21 September 2013 at 6:49 pm

        amirite
        I like this bit.
        “The king earns an annual salary of around 825,000 euros ($1.1 million), though maintaining the Royal House — castles, parades and all — costs the government more than 100 million euros annually. ”
        And he should be looking for a smaller throne. The one he was on is wide enough for two.

        Austerity and cuts are helping the Dutch Government to shrink the economy so it will fit into a mini-size oil tanker which the pollies will then sail away to spend in a more deserving country leaving the rest of the country to run a participation society, i.e. where they all do their own thing and don’t have to pay any taxes at all as they just look after themselves. I think this is the unspoken end of this utopian, retrograde stumble.

    • johnm 21.2
      20 September 2013 at 5:10 pm

      Hi amirite
      100% right! 🙂 This Dutch parasite lives in an alternative reality.

  22. Puckish Rogue 22
    20 September 2013 at 4:06 pm

    So is T. Mallard coming back to NZ any time soon or is he a wee bit scared? Though I’d say its worth the money to keep him away from NZ 🙂

  23. BLiP 23
    20 September 2013 at 4:37 pm

    ‘

    WTF!!! Tax payer money has been spent in the Supreme Court to obtain a declaration that resource management law, as currently worded, excludes climate change considerations.

    • Murray Olsen 23.1
      21 September 2013 at 6:16 pm

      Just one more law for a new government to change. In the meantime, mass opposition to standard extraction practices needs to grow to the level where mining executives are thought of as being lower than pedophiles, and too embarrassed to show their faces in public.

  24. Tim 24
    20 September 2013 at 8:11 pm

    I’m bloody gobsmacked!!I!!
    There’s a documentary on TV3 at the moment about NZ SIS agents’ life and work and how they see themselves in the global economy.
    I never thought our security intelligence agencies would – indeed COULD be that open.

    I think its called ‘Johny English Reborn’ – or something like that.

    It shows how important and competent our intelligence services are in contributing to our safety, and the protection of us all as a sovereign nation.

    I’m still coming to terms with how open and up front our intelligence services are as they strive to protect us as NewZill citizens. There’s even one or two Murray radicals in there showing us that we’ve nothing to fear if we have nothing to hide.

    God …. it’s such a relief to know – given all this GCSB, TICS, TPPA and other crap that’s going on in the background.

    My God – there really are Mightier men than Me! (Geeeez – and I mean I’m pretty butch to start with, but God – I never knew!)

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  • 20 days until Election Day, 7 until early voting begins… but what changes will we really see here?
    As this blogger, alongside many others, has already posited in another forum: we all know the National Party’s “budget” (meaning this concept of even adding up numbers properly is doing a lot of heavy, heavy lifting right now) is utter and complete bunk (read hung, drawn and quartered and ...
    exhALANtBy exhalantblog
    7 days ago

  • A night out
    Everyone was asking, Are you nervous? and my response was various forms of God, yes.I've written more speeches than I can count; not much surprises me when the speaker gets to their feet and the room goes quiet.But a play? Never.YOU CAME! THANK YOU! Read more ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    7 days ago

  • A pallid shade of Green III
    Clearly Labour's focus groups are telling it that it needs to pay more attention to climate change - because hot on the heels of their weaksauce energy efficiency pilot programme and not-great-but-better-than-nothing solar grants, they've released a full climate manifesto. Unfortunately, the core policies in it - a second Emissions ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    7 days ago

  • A coalition of racism, cruelty, and chaos
    Today's big political news is that after months of wibbling, National's Chris Luxon has finally confirmed that he is willing to work with Winston Peters to become Prime Minister. Which is expected, but I guess it tells us something about which way the polls are going. Which raises the question: ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    7 days ago

  • More migrant workers should help generate the tax income needed to provide benefits for job seekers
    Buzz from the Beehive Under something described as a “rebalance” of its immigration rules, the Government has adopted four of five recommendations made in an independent review released in July, The fifth, which called on the government to specify criteria for out-of-hours compliance visits similar to those used during ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    7 days ago

  • Letter To Luxon.
    Some of you might know Gerard Otto (G), and his G News platform. This morning he wrote a letter to Christopher Luxon which I particularly enjoyed, and with his agreement I’m sharing it with you in this guest newsletter.If you’d like to make a contribution to support Gerard’s work you ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 week ago

  • LINDSAY MITCHELL: Alarming trend in benefit numbers
    Lindsay Mitchell writes –  While there will not be another quarterly release of benefit numbers prior to the election, limited weekly reporting continues and is showing an alarming trend. Because there is a seasonal component to benefit number fluctuations it is crucial to compare like with like. In ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    1 week ago

  • BRIAN EASTON: Has there been external structural change?
    A close analysis of the Treasury assessment of the Medium Term in its PREFU 2023 suggests the economy may be entering a new phase.   Brian Easton writes –  Last week I explained that the forecasts in the just published Treasury Pre-election Economic and Fiscal Update (PREFU 2023) was ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    1 week ago

  • 100 new public EV chargers to be added to national network
    The public EV charging network has received a significant boost with government co-funding announced today for over 100 EV chargers – with over 200 charging ports altogether – across New Zealand, and many planned to be up and running on key holiday routes by Christmas this year. Minister of Energy ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    18 hours ago

  • Safeguarding Tuvalu language and identity
    Tuvalu is in the spotlight this week as communities across New Zealand celebrate Vaiaso o te Gagana Tuvalu – Tuvalu Language Week. “The Government has a proven record of supporting Pacific communities and ensuring more of our languages are spoken, heard and celebrated,” Pacific Peoples Minister Barbara Edmonds said. “Many ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago

  • New community-level energy projects to support more than 800 Māori households
    Seven more innovative community-scale energy projects will receive government funding through the Māori and Public Housing Renewable Energy Fund to bring more affordable, locally generated clean energy to more than 800 Māori households, Energy and Resources Minister Dr Megan Woods says. “We’ve already funded 42 small-scale clean energy projects that ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago

  • Huge boost to Te Tai Tokerau flood resilience
    The Government has approved new funding that will boost resilience and greatly reduce the risk of major flood damage across Te Tai Tokerau. Significant weather events this year caused severe flooding and damage across the region. The $8.9m will be used to provide some of the smaller communities and maraes ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago

  • Napier’s largest public housing development comes with solar
    The largest public housing development in Napier for many years has been recently completed and has the added benefit of innovative solar technology, thanks to Government programmes, says Housing Minister Dr Megan Woods. The 24 warm, dry homes are in Seddon Crescent, Marewa and Megan Woods says the whanau living ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago

  • Te Whānau a Apanui and the Crown initial Deed of Settlement I Kua waitohua e Te Whānau a Apanui me...
    Māori: Kua waitohua e Te Whānau a Apanui me te Karauna te Whakaaetanga Whakataunga Kua waitohua e Te Whānau a Apanui me te Karauna i tētahi Whakaaetanga Whakataunga hei whakamihi i ō rātou tāhuhu kerēme Tiriti o Waitangi. E tekau mā rua ngā hapū o roto mai o Te Whānau ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago

  • Plan for 3,000 more public homes by 2025 – regions set to benefit
    Regions around the country will get significant boosts of public housing in the next two years, as outlined in the latest public housing plan update, released by the Housing Minister, Dr Megan Woods. “We’re delivering the most public homes each year since the Nash government of the 1950s with one ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • Immigration settings updates
    Judicial warrant process for out-of-hours compliance visits 2023/24 Recognised Seasonal Employer cap increased by 500 Additional roles for Construction and Infrastructure Sector Agreement More roles added to Green List Three-month extension for onshore Recovery Visa holders The Government has confirmed a number of updates to immigration settings as part of ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • Poroporoaki: Tā Patrick (Patu) Wahanga Hohepa
    Tangi ngunguru ana ngā tai ki te wahapō o Hokianga Whakapau Karakia. Tārehu ana ngā pae maunga ki Te Puna o te Ao Marama. Korihi tangi ana ngā manu, kua hinga he kauri nui ki te Wao Nui o Tāne. He Toa. He Pou. He Ahorangi. E papaki tō ana ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • Renewable energy fund to support community resilience
    40 solar energy systems on community buildings in regions affected by Cyclone Gabrielle and other severe weather events Virtual capability-building hub to support community organisations get projects off the ground Boost for community-level renewable energy projects across the country At least 40 community buildings used to support the emergency response ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • COVID-19 funding returned to Government
    The lifting of COVID-19 isolation and mask mandates in August has resulted in a return of almost $50m in savings and recovered contingencies, Minister of Health Dr Ayesha Verrall announced today. Following the revocation of mandates and isolation, specialised COVID-19 telehealth and alternative isolation accommodation are among the operational elements ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • Appointment of District Court Judge
    Susie Houghton of Auckland has been appointed as a new District Court Judge, to serve on the Family Court, Attorney-General David Parker said today.  Judge Houghton has acted as a lawyer for child for more than 20 years. She has acted on matters relating to the Hague Convention, an international ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • Government invests further in Central Hawke’s Bay resilience
    The Government has today confirmed $2.5 million to fund a replace and upgrade a stopbank to protect the Waipawa Drinking Water Treatment Plant. “As a result of Cyclone Gabrielle, the original stopbank protecting the Waipawa Drinking Water Treatment Plant was destroyed. The plant was operational within 6 weeks of the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 weeks ago

  • Govt boost for Hawke’s Bay cyclone waste clean-up
    Another $2.1 million to boost capacity to deal with waste left in Cyclone Gabrielle’s wake. Funds for Hastings District Council, Phoenix Contracting and Hog Fuel NZ to increase local waste-processing infrastructure. The Government is beefing up Hawke’s Bay’s Cyclone Gabrielle clean-up capacity with more support dealing with the massive amount ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 weeks ago

  • Taupō Supercars revs up with Government support
    The future of Supercars events in New Zealand has been secured with new Government support. The Government is getting engines started through the Major Events Fund, a special fund to support high profile events in New Zealand that provide long-term economic, social and cultural benefits. “The Repco Supercars Championship is ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 weeks ago

  • There is no recession in NZ, economy grows nearly 1 percent in June quarter
    The economy has turned a corner with confirmation today New Zealand never was in recession and stronger than expected growth in the June quarter, Finance Minister Grant Robertson said. “The New Zealand economy is doing better than expected,” Grant Robertson said. “It’s continuing to grow, with the latest figures showing ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 weeks ago

  • Highest legal protection for New Zealand’s largest freshwater springs
    The Government has accepted the Environment Court’s recommendation to give special legal protection to New Zealand’s largest freshwater springs, Te Waikoropupū Springs (also known as Pupū Springs), Environment Minister David Parker announced today.   “Te Waikoropupū Springs, near Takaka in Golden Bay, have the second clearest water in New Zealand after ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 weeks ago

  • More support for victims of migrant exploitation
    Temporary package of funding for accommodation and essential living support for victims of migrant exploitation Exploited migrant workers able to apply for a further Migrant Exploitation Protection Visa (MEPV), giving people more time to find a job Free job search assistance to get people back into work Use of 90-day ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 weeks ago

  • Strong export boost as NZ economy turns corner
    An export boost is supporting New Zealand’s economy to grow, adding to signs that the economy has turned a corner and is on a stronger footing as we rebuild from Cyclone Gabrielle and lock in the benefits of multiple new trade deals, Finance Minister Grant Robertson says. “The economy is ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 weeks ago

  • Funding approved for flood resilience work in Te Karaka
    The Government has approved $15 million to raise about 200 homes at risk of future flooding. More than half of this is expected to be spent in the Tairāwhiti settlement of Te Karaka, lifting about 100 homes there. “Te Karaka was badly hit during Cyclone Gabrielle when the Waipāoa River ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 weeks ago

  • Further business support for cyclone-affected regions
    The Government is helping businesses recover from Cyclone Gabrielle and attract more people back into their regions. “Cyclone Gabrielle has caused considerable damage across North Island regions with impacts continuing to be felt by businesses and communities,” Economic Development Minister Barbara Edmonds said. “Building on our earlier business support, this ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 weeks ago

  • New maintenance facility at Burnham Military Camp underway
    Defence Minister Andrew Little has turned the first sod to start construction of a new Maintenance Support Facility (MSF) at Burnham Military Camp today. “This new state-of-art facility replaces Second World War-era buildings and will enable our Defence Force to better maintain and repair equipment,” Andrew Little said. “This Government ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 weeks ago

  • Foreign Minister to attend United Nations General Assembly
    Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta will represent New Zealand at the 78th Session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York this week, before visiting Washington DC for further Pacific focussed meetings. Nanaia Mahuta will be in New York from Wednesday 20 September, and will participate in UNGA leaders ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 weeks ago

  • Midwives’ pay equity offer reached
    Around 1,700 Te Whatu Ora employed midwives and maternity care assistants will soon vote on a proposed pay equity settlement agreed by Te Whatu Ora, the Midwifery Employee Representation and Advisory Service (MERAS) and New Zealand Nurses Association (NZNO), Minister of Health Dr Ayesha Verrall announced today. “Addressing historical pay ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 weeks ago

  • New Zealand provides support to Morocco
    Aotearoa New Zealand will provide humanitarian support to those affected by last week’s earthquake in Morocco, Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta announced today. “We are making a contribution of $1 million to the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) to help meet humanitarian needs,” Nanaia Mahuta said. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 weeks ago

  • Government invests in West Coast’s roading resilience
    The Government is investing over $22 million across 18 projects to improve the resilience of roads in the West Coast that have been affected by recent extreme weather, Prime Minister Chris Hipkins confirmed today.  A dedicated Transport Resilience Fund has been established for early preventative works to protect the state ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 weeks ago

  • Government invests in Greymouth’s future
    The Government has today confirmed a $2 million grant towards the regeneration of Greymouth’s CBD with construction of a new two-level commercial and public facility. “It will include a visitor facility centred around a new library. Additionally, it will include retail outlets on the ground floor, and both outdoor and ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 weeks ago

  • Nanaia Mahuta to attend PIF Foreign Ministers’ Meeting
    Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta will attend the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) Foreign Ministers’ Meeting, in Suva, Fiji alongside New Zealand’s regional counterparts. “Aotearoa New Zealand is deeply committed to working with our pacific whanau to strengthen our cooperation, and share ways to combat the challenges facing the Blue Pacific Continent,” ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 weeks ago

  • PREFU shows no recession, growing economy, more jobs and wages ahead of inflation
    Economy to grow 2.6 percent on average over forecast period Treasury not forecasting a recession Inflation to return to the 1-3 percent target band next year Wages set to grow 4.8 percent a year over forecast period Unemployment to peak below the long-term average Fiscal Rules met - Net debt ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 weeks ago

  • New cancer centre opens in Christchurch
    Prime Minister Chris Hipkins and Minister of Health Dr Ayesha Verrall proudly opened the Canterbury Cancer Centre in Christchurch today. The new facility is the first of its kind and was built with $6.5 million of funding from the Government’s Infrastructure Reference Group scheme for shovel-ready projects allocated in 2020. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 weeks ago

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