Those who complain that Labours industrial relations policy is a throwback to the 1970s forget that living standards and security were way higher then than they are now.
It seems that there is a general consensus that wages and conditions should be held down, and people should be forever in financial misery.
Fuck, I am just so over this country.
Bring on National awards I say. The only people who think they are bad is those who want to pay only $2 an hour.
Because unlike most of the posters on here, I dont have a deluded fantasy that Labour is going to some how rocket back to Clark-era levels of support in the next 6 weeks and Labour will pull off an upset victory.
Labour are going to lose this November, and lose heavily. That is a FACT. Key needs someone who will give him a heck of the hard time from the opposition benches, and Winston is the man to do it. He actually puts some back bone into oppositon (though I wouldnt have him in government. He has a habit of selling out).
I have been accused of being a NACT supporter of actually daring to suggest this on here, so sometime I know where the rednecks and the latte drinkers at Public Address are coming from.
Finally went down to check out a temporary constructed party central and the waka on a windy rainy akl evening…..rugby ball shut, waka closed at 6, dodgy wet walkways on uneven wharf surfaces both in and outside and a very small area all up.
3 years in office and that’s the best muzza and sideshow can do….its no wonder our economy is where it is. At least Americas cup gave akl a viaduct region, this one will just leave a large bill.
Nope more interested in what my ratepayer/taxpayer money leaves for me to get value from once the RWC is over given you’re actualy constructing stuff…..looks like absolutely nothing.
Atmosphere comes with people and I’m not into Rugby, never have been, nothing polutical about that QstF…look beyond your own skewered views.
The bludgers are all at the top of the capitalist pyramid scheme. They’re probably more drug addled to.
There’s very very few people in the world who don’t want to work. The only reason why we have “unemployment” is because of a failure of society mostly because of the bludgers trying to keep as much of societies wealth to themselves rather than allowing it to be used.
If ever there were random drug (inc alcohol) of doctors, lawyers, politicians, bankers, etc. etc., they’d leave bennies for dead in proportion involved, and volume of consumption.
But that’s never going to happen because the whole motivation for calls to drug test benes is about humiliation and bullying those who can’t fight back, not any practical purpose.
KK So your against borrowing mountains of debt[$6billion in interest per year] bailing out private finance companies subsidizing multi billion dollars film firms.Subsidizing alcohol $ $5to$6billion a year it costs our country
But KKK your quite happy to fund foreign lenders that won’t spend any money in this country to the tune of $77 billion and rising interest rates on that $6billion per year plus which we will never see again . At least the bene’s you are bashing will be spending that money in NZ keeping wealthy landlords in tax free money as well as other services and retailers going in this recession . The last country to ditch benefits ended in misery Argentina cut all welfare and unemployment went from 6% to 38% redneck ape do some economics research before you start foaming at the mouth.
There’s actually very little “capitalism” or “free markets” left in the financial system of the world.
It’s now all highly centrally planned and controlled financial markets (where prices are computer manipulated and predetermined), as well as billionaire banksters who benefit risk-free from socialising their deriavatives casino losses on to the rest of society.
It’s not been real capitalism for roughly 30 years.
Today its the final evolutions of crony cartel capitalism, which players like Pete George don’t get in the slightest.
Meh. I think that it’s a reasonable opinion to hold, but unachievable without major technology advances, particularly in energy generation.
It shows that someone is intelligent enough to realise they’re being conned in a complex world, unlike someone who refuses to commit to any particular policy action.
And imagining a society without central government is again a reasonable “outside the box” thought – and shows someone is smart enough to know that a banal weathervane with a nice hairdo being in government is more damaging to society than no government at all.
is “SMASH CAPITALISM” a sign of their intelligence and competence?
Yes. Getting rid of capitalism may let us prevent an anthropogenic ELE. If we don’t then we will be forced to continue to ravage the planet eventually destroying the environment wiping out most life on Earth.
What is doing without any central government a sign of?
Anarchism of course, one of the older political philosophies.
Your blogpost seems to imply you’re startled (though somewhat ingenuinely I imagine) that political opposition to your ideas and methods exists and that since Occupy associate with those who are just like you (as far as supporting a hierarchical/class structure) anything they have to say is void owing to the inherent contradiction of stated ideal of Occupy. You want a ruling class, with you presumably near the top somewhere deciding what is good and bad. The socialists want to do the same, though with different “enemies”. Occupy say they aren’t political, but they have political friends. It’s all divisive politics, man.
“Is it collusion or coincidence that both Green and Mana party activists are fronting Occupy Dunedin?”
coincidence but i would be most happy with collusion because that is the future of the parliment with a strong Mana and Greens presence, working together to create a better nation for everyone – that doesn’t compute for a self serving political aspirant willing to use anything and everything to further their own agenda like pete and that is why, struggling for relevance, his ilk are doomed to oblivion.
The 99.9% of Dunedin people deserve to know who has really taken over their Octagon. The 0.1% who are occupying should be honest amongst themselves what their real aims are, and then be honest with Dunedin.
Replace “Octagon” with “Country” and you’re getting closer to it…
PG -People who think hierarchically and in terms of leaders and followers are having a hard time getting their head around Occupy. My understanding is that they are inclusive political protests but not party political. People can bring along whatever banners/placards they feel expresses their concerns, if the Occupy group has collectively decided that. So of course some will bring along party or union banners. You could even bring your UF placard if you were prepared to join them and justify that. That’s called inclusion.
exactly CV anything and anyone is useful for pete to get his simpleton message out there. Like the rena his heavy oil pollutes leaving toxic material splattered around the varoius threads – all so that pete can further his pathetic personal political ambitions.
Pete if you bothered to bone up on what the movement was before you strode in with puffed chest and feigned interest you might have realised that all your concerns are fully accounted for in the Occupy ideas. The movement is INCLUSIVE. i will gve you a minute to get a dictionary.
got it? good, here are some other words for you to investigate
humanity
humility
hubris
One of them describe who we are working for
one describes what it is all about
one describes the content of your comments
i will check back tonight to see if you managed to figure which was which. I am off to barter a day’s labour for some healthy food before your mates make it illegal to do so.
Pete,
Judging by the comments & articles in the ODT it is fairly relaxed about Occupy. The mayor & council seem prepared to let things play out for a while and not force confrontation with the occupiers at this stage.
The fact that the occupation stayed put during the heavy rain we had this week has shown Dunedin people that those involved are not ‘rent-a-mob’, they are determined motivated people with genuine concerns about the many things that are wrong with the current corporate controlled system.
The occupy movement is about many issues, social justice, inequality, environmental , how could it not be political? The idea is that if you want to be involved you participate, get involved in discussion, spend time there & listen to other people.
“The people of Dunedin have a right to know the motives behind those leading the occupation”
It’s a bit like the Dylan song ” there’s something going on here, but you don’t know what it is…….”
On Monday, representatives from Occupy Dunedin were invited by the Mayor and Chief Executive of the DCC to speak at today’s Public Forum. Representatives took their turn to speak at the meeting – but then they all walked out without giving the Council any opportunity to address their concerns.
The council have been co-operative and accommodating with the occupiers but if they keep getting fobbed off patience will wear even thinner.
The public have mostly remained muted but don’t expect that to last long if they think their city is just being used.
Occupy could do great things in New Zealand, or they could really stuff up their opportunity.
“I think a few people involved in Occupy might be having a hard time getting their heads around the fact that they are being used.”
Everyone is being used. Ever heard of taxes? But what will really piss them off, is some guy coming from a white middle class perspective, treating them like they’re children. Pick your battles, aspiring MP man. You want votes, right?
So basically, you can break the law as much as you like and as long as you can write a big enough cheque the problem will go away.
They should not be settling these cases, no matter how much money the financial institutions offer them to make the case go away. How can they rebuild confidence in the system when they effectively let people get away with this sort of thing? $285 million is nothing to these guys.
It’s no different to a drug dealer paying off the cops to turn a blind eye. It’s corruption, pure and simple.
It is the criminals paying the police to turn a blind eye. Every single person who works there should be under investigation and the organisation itself closed down. You don’t get honest business by letting dishonest businesses continue.
In June the NBR reported: Treasury figures show the government’s borrowing of $380 million a week is about $80 million to $100 million a week more than it has to…
Jackal you figures are out of date the Govt debt is going to peak now at more than $77billion 2013 with no unexpected surprises , Debt is increasing by $1.5 billion a month now
The post states the borrowing figures are quoted from June. The $38 billion is the current net government debt.
Strange that National claim New Zealand will be back in black at about the same time your figures show we’ll be in debt by $77 billion. I wonder how much of the current $375 million per week National doesn’t need to be borrow?
Blinglish has done pretty well at getting the country in hock as an excuse to privatize. He’s still saying that the Christchurch Earthquakes, the Rena disaster and now the Maui gas disaster aren’t going to effect their projections… talk about delusional.
When any NZ business person is interviewed and asked what they would do to get the economy growing inevitably say they would remove “red tape” to make it easier to do business.
And yet, and not for the first time either, NZ has been rated as the 3rd easiest country in the world in which to do business….
New Zealand has ranked first as the world’s easiest place to start a business and third out of 183 countries for ease of doing business in a report from the International Finance Corporation and the World Bank.- Source
So what’s going on?
If they think that that is NZ’s problem then it shows they have no idea what the reality is – they should no longer be interviewed because they don’t have a clue.
If they think that that is NZ’s problem then it shows that they have no solutions to NZ’s growth woes.
If they think that that is NZ’s problem then it shows they are not engaging in original thought but are captured by the prevailing ideology of their group.
If they think that that is NZ’s problem then it shows how easy it is to get them to parrot whatever the speaker at the last business conference said.
It’s time we stopped, as the news announcers often say, “look at the markets [and the exchange rates] to see how well they reacted to the news of…….”
It’s time we stopped asking business people what’s good for NZ – they are just not qualified!
The research is fairly conclusive – NZ managers are the worst in the world and yet the prevailing paradigm insists that we need them to make NZ better.
It seems that migrants have no trouble in coming over and starting a business here – I dont hear them go on about red tape, but I suppose they are glad they dont have to bribe all and sundry to get started (nor do they have to pay protection money to the local crime overlord)
Eleven percent of people who voted for National in the 2008 general election say they will not do so when they head to the polls on November 26, because of the way the Government has handled the Rena disaster.
That’s gotta hurt although this is the interesting line:
The survey also found 46.8 percent of the 1,961 respondents rated Prime Minister John Key’s response to the crisis as ‘poor to very poor’.
The question had 5 options:
V. good
good
neutral
poor
V. poor
They don’t tell us how many were neutral giving the impression that a majority found Key’s response to be “good”. Of course, if they were doing proper reporting they would have given the figures for all 5 possible responses. More underhanded support from the MSM for this government.
From the article:“The RadioLive-HorizonPoll shows 11% of people who voted National in 2008 now won’t do so because of the disaster, which effectively drops National’s current support nationwide by 3%.”
Well, no, actually. The Nats got 44.9% at the 2008 General Election. Which surely means a fall of pretty damn close to 5 percentage points.
That 11% of 2008 National voters won’t vote National this time because of Rena, raises more questions than it answers.
1. How does that ‘integrate’ with people who voted for other parties in 2008 but now will vote National? That is, will such people off-set the ones who, apparently, are prepared to desert National over the Rena?
2. Is that 11% partly made up of people who voted National in 2008 but, actually, have been saying in other Horizon polls that they were going to vote for some other party this time anyway, and now are mentioning the Rena as a reason for their changed vote – or, is it an additional 11% of 2008 National voters (on top of those who had already got to the point of switching) who now have decided, solely on the basis of the Rena, to vote for someone else?
It’s hard to tell from the press releases quite what is meant.
“United Future Wigram candidate Ian Gaskin said he’d been given a clean slate by leader Peter Dunne to speak. He then variously stated that: We could solve our fuel needs by growing seaweed and turning it into oil, that DOC was not needed and should be folded into the Ministry of Agriculture or perhaps Tourism NZ
and that fracking Canterbury’s landscape with pressurised water and chemicals may not extract enough gas or oil so perhaps a nuclear device might assist. I wonder if these are official United Future policies?”
Maybe the headline, “Untied Future threatens to nuke Canterbury”
One thing’s for sure pete won’t be jumping up and down like he did against Hone yesterday.
UF candidates have been told they are free to express their own opinions and talk on local issues as they see fit, however you hope that clean slates don’t come with wet chalk.
No, I’m not a fracking fan, too much doubt at this stage.
UF don’t have a policy on it but my guess would be the party would be concerned about any possibility of water contamination as clean water (and retention of ownership of water) are strong party policy positions.
Too be honest, I cannot see UF getting any more seats than the one held by Mr Dunne. In any case, UF only got those seats in ’02 because thier leader performed so good with ‘the worm’, and got influence because the Greens threw their toys out of the cot over GE, driving Labour into the arms of United Future, and sending this country on a slow rightward drift. Thanks Greenies. Way to go guys.
“Too be honest, I cannot see UF getting any more seats than the one held by Mr Dunne.”
Yep, that would be my pick for an election result.
But I just thought that Pete George needed acknowledging for actually getting involved in the political process – such as it is.
I don’t expect that people’s efforts will (or should) necessarily be rewarded. But Pete has put effort where his ‘mouth’ is (whatever location that happens to be – I honestly can’t work out where that is, but that’s not my point).
I just think that effort should be acknowledged – purely at a human level.
“In any case, UF only got those seats in 02 because their leader performed so good with ‘the worm’.”
I tend to agree with former Alliance deputy leader, Sandra Lee, on this. It wasn’t so much the worm as the post-debate comments by TVNZ’s so-called panel of ‘experts’.
I taped that leaders’ debate and I can tell you that the worm was often as low as it was high while Dunne was speaking.
The ‘experts’ – clearly looking for some sort of interesting angle – decided to place total emphasis on those particular moments when Dunne charmed the worm and to hence declare him ‘the winner’. All very contrived. The print media, the next day, simply took their cue from the ‘experts’.
No, but I’d be happy if Doc found a way to chop their 1080 use.
I was talking to someone from Forest and Bird last week who admitted that 1080 killed a lot of birds (including protected natives) but they claimed the bird numbers recovered faster than predators. Very dubious about that especially with kiwi.
If a private company wanted to use some land and claimed that all the birdlife they killed wouldn’t matter because most species would eventually recover do you think they would get resource consent?
What would you do Peter? Possum trapping, just like in the Barry Crump novels? You just to have to remember that possum trapping, etc is more of a lifestyle than an occupation, so you couldnt hope to make a dent in umemployment with it. And a possum fur industry would never get beyond a niche market.
There’s no way to replace 1080 at the moment without getting an increase in predator numbers. Some methods like trapping and shooting (that’s how I do it) can be increased but nowhere near enough.
1080 is an easy solution for DOC to keep using but it hasn’t solved anything over decades of use.
The main aim apart from trialling existing methods other than 1080 in select areas is to substantially increase research into alternatives.
There are alternatives. The fact of the matter is that 1080 is used because it’s cost effective, but it will not work to achieve eradication of pests or protection of native species. It is simply delaying the inevitable in many cases.
1080 is not the best way to eradicate pests while trying to protect endangered species. The alternatives take lots of man-hours, training and a very large budget. Extensive fencing projects, relocation, trapping and cyanide is the best solution if we want to keep a lot of our endemic endangered species.
I believe there has been some developments to increase hit rates and reduce cyanide shyness from possums that don’t initially receive a fatal dose. The advantage is that cyanide totally breaks down and has a lower secondary poisoning risk if applied correctly.
Unfortunately having a lot of people learning how to hunt and trap animals in the bush doesn’t fit well with the systems ideal of having everybody dependent on the state. That would be one reason why the government is willing to sacrifice many other species, the land and waterways in their failed use of 1080.
Same principle as chemotherapy – poisoning differentially. Works as well as 1080. More people surviving the unsurvivable. More bush and native fauna as well.
One would think that following the Sep 4 earthquake (and suspecting a bigger one was quite possible), you would want to know what was going on under Christchurch.
I don’t know who had the ultimate authority regarding funding (i.e. the commission or cabinet) but it seems to be that someone dropped the ball post-September earthquake.
GNS Science unsuccessfully pushed for more Government funding to investigate faults under Christchurch after the September earthquake last year, a hearing has heard.
GNS Natural Hazards Research manager Dr Kelvin Berryman today told the Canterbury earthquakes royal commission that he asked the now-defunct Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Commission for money to look at the possibility of a major aftershock near Christchurch.
“One of the proposals was to conduct additional work recognising the area of Christchurch and that some of these aftershocks were relatively close to Christchurch,” he said.
The request was made in December last year but no funds were provided.
Less than three months later, on February 22, a magnitude-6.3 earthquake, centred just 10 kilometres southeast of central Christchurch, struck killing 182 people……..
Elliot’s line of questioning has focused on whether GNS informed the public about the risk of a more devastating quake after September 4.
Under scrutiny yesterday, Berryman admitted GNS Science was aware of the possibility of a more devastating tremor striking near central Christchurch after the magnitude-7.1 shake on September 4, 2010.
However, in the first few weeks after the September quake the possibility of more devastating aftershock was intentionally not discussed. It was considered that it would be unhelpful for a “traumatised” public.
“It’s rather alarmist to say there could have been a bigger event.”
– Source
I don’t know what would have changed if we had known that a bigger quake was likely but it would have been in the interests of the people of Canterbury to be informed so they could make choices.
Like the parents of the toddler who was killed by the falling TV might have secured their furniture if they knew a bigger one was possible.
GNS Science made the decision not to tell the public….but they tell anyone?
Was the commission advised? Did cabinet know?
If then they did then they dropped the ball – I hope the MSM get of their perches and look into who knew what and when.
The commission was made up of:
They are retiring Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry director-general Murray Sherwin, Canterbury regional council commissioner Dame Margaret Bazely, earthquake engineer David Hopkins, social expert Arihia Bennett, Mayor Kelvin Coe, Mayor Bob Parker and [David Ayers] – David Ayer website
Of course we already know who the slack-jawed knuckle draggers that comprise our cabinet are.
What has really irritated me during the last year is the knowledge (yes, knowledge) that our geologists have had their public comments filtered – so as not to cause ‘alarm’.
For goodness’ sake. We are being treated as children by our ‘betters’. We are supposedly susceptible to ‘panic’ and they have decided that it is not in our (read ‘their’) interests for us to ‘panic’ (i.e., decide what we want to do in response to all the available information).
So anti-democratic, yet it comes so naturally to those with ‘positions of responsibility’. People seen as mushrooms.
We had a right to hear it all. Then we could, perhaps, ‘panic’, talk to each other and, who knows, maybe come to some sensible response collectively. That process was never allowed to happen and never trusted.
Why?
Because it would have disrupted ‘business as usual’. And that – more than anything else – is verboten.
I received a very interesting email today. It’s all about the poisonous substance known as Corexit 9500 that’s been used on the Bay of Plenty oil spill by Maritime New Zealand…
Naomi Wolf arrested by NYPD at OWS.
A must read for all those who still think we have the right to protest in a post-9/11, police state, surveillance society.
Apropos of nothing really. I was curious about Key’s middle name so I googled him.
From wiki I found this synopsis interesting
“Before politics
Key’s first job was in 1982, as an auditor at McCulloch Menzies, and he then moved to be a project manager at Christchurch-based clothing manufacturer Lane Walker Rudkin for two years.[7] Key began working as a foreign exchange dealer at Elders Finance in Wellington, and rose to the position of head foreign exchange trader two years later, then moved to Auckland-based Bankers Trust in 1988.[3]
In 1995, he joined Merrill Lynch as head of Asian foreign exchange in Singapore. That same year he was promoted to Merrill’s global head of foreign exchange, based in London, where he may have earned around US$2.25 million a year including bonuses, which is about NZ$5 million at 2001 exchange rates.[3][8] Some co-workers called him “the smiling assassin” for maintaining his usual cheerfulness while sacking dozens (some say hundreds) of staff after heavy losses from the 1998 Russian financial crisis.[4][8] He was a member of the Foreign Exchange Committee of the New York Federal Reserve Bank from 1999 to 2001.[9]”
UNDER intense international pressure to lift banking secrecy, the first and biggest of the world’s “tax havens”—places that charge low or no taxes to foreigners—is ceding some ground. In a deal signed on October 6th, Switzerland agreed to tax money held in its banks by British residents (it had already done a similar deal with Germany). These customers face a levy of up to 34% as well as, from 2013, a withholding tax.
One News tonight. 8 minutes in.
Shivers are running through the finance markets tonight. … Greek debt … our Exchange took a hit – take a look at this …
Last night…
Shivers are running through the finance markets tonight. … Greek debt …
Earlier this week…
Shivers are running through the finance markets tonight. … Greek debt …
A couple of weeks ago…
Shivers are running through the finance markets tonight. … Greek debt …
Oh surprise, surprise. When are they going to give us more than a 30 second soundbite and give us an in-depth report on why? Otherwise only tell us when something new develops.
I can remember a time when the state of exchange rates and shares did not have a special time on television news. Since the Lange government, however, when the novices cashed up their pension funds and dived into stocks and shares, the preoccupation of news and the hooray/gloom moments has become a regular feature in this time-slot.
Easy, lazy journalism, and programming and to make matters worse, the weather has now claimed three slots in this section.
I wonder if, tonight, we will get an item where 2 gunmen held up a corner-shop in some remote African township and 3 guardsmen were seriously wounded in liberating the shop-keeper. (Who validates these reports, or are they fillers created in the back-rooms to make us believe that we have to be ever vigilant in the war on terror(ists)?
Perhaps they will save that story for another night, (when there is one massive high parked over the Tasman and the Pacific and Jimbo has nothing to tell us about the weather except that “It will hot and sunny everywhere (folks!”)).
More on the financial crisis in Greece as an important meeting at the weekend. There was an item on RNZ (think after 7 am) this morning which you probably can download on Greece.
I wonder what the percentage of wealth is which the top 1% earn in Greece?
In USA 1% earn 33% of the wealth.
In NZ 1% earn 16% of the wealth.
This was on TV 6 pm news last weekend, think it was TV 1.
On TV 3 at 6 pm 11 % of National voters said that they would not vote National due to how the Rena spill has been handled. Not sure about number of participants or area in the poll.
Also Banks is second with the polling in Epsom.
Sooner the RWC is over the sooner people can wake up to the shit which is hitting the fan big time concerning NZ politics and how this government ALWAYS talks about a rosy future forgetting about living in the present.
Thanks Treetop.
– may I make one observation regarding your percentages and wealth – for earn change to control. They don’t earn much at all. They accrue most of their wealth on the backs of the earners – usually while they sleep or are swanning off around the world.
Will look up the ReplayRadio item.
Meantime, “What’s a Grecian urn?” “Oh, about 20 drachmas a day.”
Sorry but have been waiting to get that one in …
The basic effect of capitalist free-market is to concentrate wealth and power in fewer and fewer hands. That, quite simply, is what it is designed to do. There’s no way such concentration could come about without the property rules that have grown with capitalism.
You’ll notice that the FTAs that get signed have very little to do with trade but with a hell of a lot to do with free money movement and foreign ownership.
World Debt Guide
Actually, that title that they proudly display is wrong. What it should be is Debt guide to some of the biggest economies.
Anyway, on with the show.
Both Britain and Japan are sitting close to 500% of GDP in debt. The lesson that some people seem to have learned since WWII is that to build an economy requires debt – lots of it. When we consider these debts in line with who probably owns most of them then we should probably be doing a massive investigation into how they came about.
National should, in light of their massive unnecessary borrowing over the last three years, be the first to be investigated.
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The New Zealand Herald reports – Stats NZ has offered a voluntary redundancy scheme to all of its workers as a way to give staff some control over their “future” amidst widespread job losses in the public sector. In an update to staff this morning, seen by the Herald, Statistics New Zealand ...
On Werewolf/Scoop, I usually do two long form political columns a week. From now on, there will be an extra column each week about music and movies. But first, some late-breaking political events:The rise in unemployment numbers for the March quarter was bigger than expected – and especially sharp ...
David Farrar writes – The Herald reports: TVNZ says it is dealing with about 50 formal complaints over its coverage of the latest 1News-Verian political poll, with some viewers – as well as the Prime Minister and a former senior Labour MP – critical of the tone of the 6pm report. ...
Muriel Newman writes – When Meridian Energy was seeking resource consents for a West Coast hydro dam proposal in 2010, local Maori “strenuously” objected, claiming their mana was inextricably linked to ‘their’ river and could be damaged. After receiving a financial payment from the company, however, the Ngai Tahu ...
Alwyn Poole writes – “An SEP,’ he said, ‘is something that we can’t see, or don’t see, or our brain doesn’t let us see, because we think that it’s somebody else’s problem. That’s what SEP means. Somebody Else’s Problem. The brain just edits it out, it’s like a ...
Our trust in our political institutions is fast eroding, according to a Maxim Institute discussion paper, Shaky Foundations: Why our democracy needs trust. The paper – released today – raises concerns about declining trust in New Zealand’s political institutions and democratic processes, and the role that the overuse of Parliamentary urgency ...
This article was prepared for publication yesterday. More ministerial announcements have been posted on the government’s official website since it was written. We will report on these later today …. Buzz from the BeehiveThere we were, thinking the environment is in trouble, when along came Jones. Shane Jones. ...
New Zealand now has the fourth most depressed construction sector in the world behind China, Qatar and Hong Kong. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy at 8:46am on Thursday, May 2:The Lead: ...
Hi,I am just going to state something very obvious: American police are fucking crazy.That was a photo gracing the New York Times this morning, showing New York City police “entering Columbia University last night after receiving a request from the school.”Apparently in America, protesting the deaths of tens of thousands ...
Winston Peters’ much anticipated foreign policy speech last night was a work of two halves. Much of it was a standard “boilerplate” Foreign Ministry overview of the state of the world. There was some hardening up of rhetoric with talk of “benign” becoming “malign” and old truths giving way to ...
Graham Adams assesses the fallout of the Cass Review — The press release last Thursday from the UN Special Rapporteur on violence against women and girls didn’t make the mainstream news in New Zealand but it really should have. The startling title of Reem Alsalem’s statement — “Implementation of ‘Cass ...
This open-for-business, under-new-management cliché-pockmarked government of Christopher Luxon is not the thing of beauty he imagines it to be. It is not the powerful expression of the will of the people that he asserts it to be. It is not a soaring eagle, it is a malodorous vulture. This newest poll should make ...
The latest labour market statistics, showing a rise in unemployment. There are now 134,000 unemployed - 14,000 more than when the National government took office. Which is I guess what happens when the Reserve Bank causes a recession in an effort to Keep Wages Low. The previous government saw a ...
Three opinion polls have been released in the last two days, all showing that the new government is failing to hold their popular support. The usual honeymoon experienced during the first year of a first term government is entirely absent. The political mood is still gloomy and discontented, mainly due ...
National's Finance Minister once met a poor person.A scornful interview with National's finance guru who knows next to nothing about economics or people.There might have been something a bit familiar if that was the headline I’d gone with today. It would of course have been in tribute to the article ...
Rob MacCulloch writes – Throughout the pandemic, the new Vice-Chancellor-of-Otago-University-on-$629,000 per annum-Can-you-believe-it-and-Former-Finance-Minister Grant Robertson repeated the mantra over and over that he saved “lives and livelihoods”.As we update how this claim is faring over the course of time, the facts are increasingly speaking differently. NZ ...
Chris Trotter writes – IT’S A COMMONPLACE of political speeches, especially those delivered in acknowledgement of electoral victory: “We’ll govern for all New Zealanders.” On the face of it, the pledge is a strange one. Why would any political leader govern in ways that advantaged the huge ...
Bryce Edwards writes – The list of former National Party Ministers being given plum and important roles got longer this week with the appointment of former Deputy Prime Minister Paula Bennett as the chair of Pharmac. The Christopher Luxon-led Government has now made key appointments to Bill ...
TL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy at 10:06am on Wednesday, May 1:The Lead: Business confidence fell across the board in April, falling in some areas to levels last seen during the lockdowns because of a collapse in ...
Over the past 36 hours, Christopher Luxon has been dong his best to portray the centre-right’s plummeting poll numbers as a mark of virtue. Allegedly, the negative verdicts are the result of hard economic times, and of a government bravely set out on a perilous rescue mission from which not ...
Auckland Transport have started rolling out new HOP card readers around the network and over the next three months, all of them on buses, at train stations and ferry wharves will be replaced. The change itself is not that remarkable, with the new readers looking similar to what is already ...
Completed reads for April: The Difference Engine, by William Gibson and Bruce Sterling Carnival of Saints, by George Herman The Snow Spider, by Jenny Nimmo Emlyn’s Moon, by Jenny Nimmo The Chestnut Soldier, by Jenny Nimmo Death Comes As the End, by Agatha Christie Lord of the Flies, by ...
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 ...
Have a story to share about St Paul’s, but today just picturesPopular novels written at this desk by a young man who managed to bootstrap himself out of father’s imprisonment and his own young life in a workhouse Read more ...
The list of former National Party Ministers being given plum and important roles got longer this week with the appointment of former Deputy Prime Minister Paula Bennett as the chair of Pharmac. The Christopher Luxon-led Government has now made key appointments to Bill English, Simon Bridges, Steven Joyce, Roger Sowry, ...
Newsroom has a story today about National's (fortunately failed) effort to disestablish the newly-created Inspector-General of Defence. The creation of this agency was the key recommendation of the Inquiry into Operation Burnham, and a vital means of restoring credibility and social licence to an agency which had been caught lying ...
Holding On To The Present:The moment a political movement arises that attacks the whole idea of social progress, and announces its intention to wind back the hands of History’s clock, then democracy, along with its unwritten rules, is in mortal danger.IT’S A COMMONPLACE of political speeches, especially those delivered in ...
Stuck In The Middle With You:As Christopher Luxon feels the hot breath of Act’s and NZ First’s extremists on the back of his neck and, as he reckons with the damage their policies are already inflicting upon a country he’s described as “fragile”, is there not some merit in reaching out ...
The unpopular coalition government is currently rushing to repeal section 7AA of the Oranga Tamariki Act. The clause is Oranga Tamariki's Treaty clause, and was inserted after its systematic stealing of Māori children became a public scandal and resulted in physical resistance to further abductions. The clause created clear obligations ...
Buzz from the Beehive The government’s official website – which Point of Order monitors daily – not for the first time has nothing much to say today about political happenings that are grabbing media headlines. It makes no mention of the latest 1News-Verian poll, for example. This shows National down ...
It Takes A Train To Cry:Surely, there is nothing lonelier in all this world than the long wail of a distant steam locomotive on a cold Winter’s night.AS A CHILD, I would lie awake in my grandfather’s house and listen to the traffic. The big wooden house was only a ...
Packing A Punch: The election of the present government, including in its ranks politicians dedicated to reasserting the rights of the legislature in shaping and determining the future of Māori and Pakeha in New Zealand, should have alerted the judiciary – including its anomalous appendage, the Waitangi Tribunal – that its ...
Dead Woman Walking: New Zealand’s media industry had been moving steadily towards disaster for all the years Melissa Lee had been National’s media and communications policy spokesperson, and yet, when the crisis finally broke, on her watch, she had nothing intelligent to offer. Christopher Luxon is a patient man - but he’s not ...
Chris Trotter writes – New Zealand politics is remarkably easy-going: dangerously so, one might even say. With the notable exception of John Key’s flat ruling-out of the NZ First Party in 2008, all parties capable of clearing MMP’s five-percent threshold, or winning one or more electorate seats, tend ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Polling shows that Wellington Mayor Tory Whanau has the lowest approval rating of any mayor in the country. Siting at -12 per cent, the proportion of constituents who disapprove of her performance outweighs those who give her the thumbs up. This negative rating is ...
Luxon will no doubt put a brave face on it, but there is no escaping the pressure this latest poll will put on him and the government. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on Aotearoa-NZ’s political ...
This is a re-post from The Climate Brink by Andrew Dessler In the wake of any unusual weather event, someone inevitably asks, “Did climate change cause this?” In the most literal sense, that answer is almost always no. Climate change is never the sole cause of hurricanes, heat waves, droughts, or ...
Something odd happened yesterday, and I’d love to know if there’s more to it. If there was something which preempted what happened, or if it was simply a throwaway line in response to a journalist.Yesterday David Seymour was asked at a press conference what the process would be if the ...
Hi,From time to time, I want to bring Webworm into the real world. We did it last year with the Jurassic Park event in New Zealand — which was a lot of fun!And so on Saturday May 11th, in Los Angeles, I am hosting a lil’ Webworm pop-up! I’ve been ...
Education Minister Erica Standford yesterday unveiled a fundamental reform of the way our school pupils are taught. She would not exactly say so, but she is all but dismantling the so-called “inquiry” “feel good” method of teaching, which has ruled in our classrooms since a major review of the New ...
Exactly where are we seriously going with this government and its policies? That is, apart from following what may as well be a Truss-Lite approach on the purported economic “plan“, and Victorian-era regression when it comes to social policy.Oh it’ll work this time of course, we’re basically assured, “the ...
Hey Uncle Dave, When the Poms joined the EEC, I wasn't one of those defeatists who said, Well, that’s it for the dairy job. And I was right, eh? The Chinese can’t get enough of our milk powder and eventually, the Poms came to their senses and backed up the ute ...
Polling shows that Wellington Mayor Tory Whanau has the lowest approval rating of any mayor in the country. Siting at -12 per cent, the proportion of constituents who disapprove of her performance outweighs those who give her the thumbs up. This negative rating is higher than for any other mayor ...
Buzz from the Beehive Pharmac has been given a financial transfusion and a new chair to oversee its spending in the pharmaceutical business. Associate Health Minister David Seymour described the funding for Pharmac as “its largest ever budget of $6.294 billion over four years, fixing a $1.774 billion fiscal cliff”. ...
Bryce Edwards writes – 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 is trying to achieve and its ...
TL;DR: Here’s my top 10 ‘pick ‘n’ mix of links to news, analysis and opinion articles as of 10:10am on Monday, April 29:Scoop: The children's ward at Rotorua Hospital will be missing a third of its beds as winter hits because Te Whatu Ora halted an upgrade partway through to ...
span class=”dropcap”>As hideous as David Seymour can be, it is worth keeping in mind occasionally that there are even worse political figures (and regimes) out there. Iran for instance, is about to execute the country’s leading hip hop musician Toomaj Salehi, for writing and performing raps that “corrupt” the nation’s ...
Yesterday marked 10 years since the first electric train carried passengers in Auckland so it’s a good time to look back at it and the impact it has had. A brief history The first proposals for rail electrification in Auckland came in the 1920’s alongside the plans for earlier ...
Right now, in Aotearoa-NZ, our ‘animal spirits’ are darkening towards a winter of discontent, thanks at least partly to a chorus of negative comments and actions from the Government Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on ...
You make people evil to punish the paststuck inside a sequel with a rotating castThe following photos haven’t been generated with AI, or modified in any way. They are flesh and blood, human beings. On the left is Galatea Young, a young mum, and her daughter Fiadh who has Angelman ...
The Government is again adding to New Zealand’s growing unemployment, this time cutting jobs at the agencies responsible for urban development and growing much needed housing stock. ...
With Minister Karen Chhour indicating in the House today that she either doesn’t know or care about the frontline cuts she’s making to Oranga Tamariki, we risk seeing more and more of our children falling through the cracks. ...
The Labour Party is saddened to learn of the death of Sir Robert Martin, a globally renowned disability advocate who led the way for disability rights both in New Zealand and internationally. ...
Labour is calling for the Government to urgently rethink its coalition commitment to restart live animal exports, Labour animal welfare spokesperson Rachel Boyack said. ...
Today’s Financial Stability Report has once again highlighted that poverty and deep inequality are political choices - and this Government is choosing to make them worse. ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to do more for our households in most need as unemployment rises and the cost of living crisis endures. ...
Unemployment is on the rise and it’s only going to get worse under this Government, Labour finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds said. Stats NZ figures show the unemployment rate grew to 4.3 percent in the March quarter from 4 percent in the December quarter. “This is the second rise in unemployment ...
The New Zealand Labour Party welcomes the entering into force of the European Union and New Zealand free trade agreement. This agreement opens the door for a huge increase in trade opportunities with a market of 450 million people who are high value discerning consumers of New Zealand goods and ...
The National-led Government continues its fiscal jiggery pokery with its Pharmac announcement today, Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall says. “The government has increased Pharmac funding but conceded it will only make minimal increases in access to medicine”, said Ayesha Verrall “This is far from the bold promises made to fund ...
This afternoon’s interim Waitangi Tribunal report must be taken seriously as it affects our most vulnerable children, Labour children’s spokesperson Willow-Jean Prime. ...
Te Pāti Māori are demanding the New Zealand Government support an international independent investigation into mass graves that have been uncovered at two hospitals on the Gaza strip, following weeks of assault by Israeli troops. Among the 392 bodies that have been recovered, are children and elderly civilians. Many of ...
Our two-tiered system for veterans’ support is out of step with our closest partners, and all parties in Parliament should work together to fix it, Labour veterans’ affairs spokesperson Greg O’Connor said. ...
Stripping two Ministers of their portfolios just six months into the job shows Christopher Luxon’s management style is lacking, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said. ...
Tonight’s court decision to overturn the summons of the Children’s Minister has enabled the Crown to continue making decisions about Māori without evidence, says Te Pāti Māori spokesperson for Children, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi. “The judicial system has this evening told the nation that this government can do whatever they want when ...
It appears Nicola Willis is about to pull the rug out from under the feet of local communities still dealing with the aftermath of last year’s severe weather, and local councils relying on funding to build back from these disasters. ...
The Government is making short-sighted changes to the Resource Management Act (RMA) that will take away environmental protection in favour of short-term profits, Labour’s environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
Labour welcomes the release of the report into the North Island weather events and looks forward to working with the Government to ensure that New Zealand is as prepared as it can be for the next natural disaster. ...
The Labour Party has called for the New Zealand Government to recognise Palestine, as a material step towards progressing the two-State solution needed to achieve a lasting peace in the region. ...
Some of our country’s most important work, stopping the sexual exploitation of children and violent extremism could go along with staff on the frontline at ports and airports. ...
The Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill will give projects such as new coal mines a ‘get out of jail free’ card to wreak havoc on the environment, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said today. ...
The government's decision to reintroduce Three Strikes is a destructive and ineffective piece of law-making that will only exacerbate an inherently biased and racist criminal justice system, said Te Pāti Māori Justice Spokesperson, Tākuta Ferris, today. During the time Three Strikes was in place in Aotearoa, Māori and Pasifika received ...
Cuts to frontline hospital staff are not only a broken election promise, it shows the reckless tax cuts have well and truly hit the frontline of the health system, says Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall. ...
The Green Party has joined the call for public submissions on the fast-track legislation to be extended after the Ombudsman forced the Government to release the list of organisations invited to apply just hours before submissions close. ...
New Zealand’s good work at reducing climate emissions for three years in a row will be undone by the National government’s lack of ambition and scrapping programmes that were making a difference, Labour Party climate spokesperson Megan Woods said today. ...
More essential jobs could be on the chopping block, this time Ministry of Education staff on the school lunches team are set to find out whether they're in line to lose their jobs. ...
Te Pāti Māori is disgusted at the confirmation that hundreds are set to lose their jobs at Oranga Tamariki, and the disestablishment of the Treaty Response Unit. “This act of absolute carelessness and out of touch decision making is committing tamariki to state abuse.” Said Te Pāti Māori Oranga Tamariki ...
The Government is trying to bring in a law that will allow Ministers to cut corners and kill off native species, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said. ...
Cancelling urgently needed new Cook Strait ferries and hiking the cost of public transport for many Kiwis so that National can announce the prospect of another tunnel for Wellington is not making good choices, Labour Transport Spokesperson Tangi Utikere said. ...
A laundry list of additional costs for Tāmaki Makarau Auckland shows the Minister for the city is not delivering for the people who live there, says Labour Auckland Issues spokesperson Shanan Halbert. ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters discussed the need for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, and enhanced cooperation in the Pacific with German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock during her first official visit to New Zealand today. "New Zealand and Germany enjoy shared interests and values, including the rule of law, democracy, respect for the international system ...
The Minister Responsible for RMA Reform, Chris Bishop today released his decision on four recommendations referred to him by the Western Bay of Plenty District Council, opening the door to housing growth in the area. The Council’s Plan Change 92 allows more homes to be built in existing and new ...
Thank you, John McKinnon and the New Zealand China Council for the invitation to speak to you today. Thank you too, all members of the China Council. Your effort has played an essential role in helping to build, shape, and grow a balanced and resilient relationship between our two ...
The Government is modernising insurance law to better protect Kiwis and provide security in the event of a disaster, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly announced today. “These reforms are long overdue. New Zealand’s insurance law is complicated and dated, some of which is more than 100 years old. ...
The coalition Government is refreshing its approach to supporting pay equity claims as time-limited funding for the Pay Equity Taskforce comes to an end, Public Service Minister Nicola Willis says. “Three years ago, the then-government introduced changes to the Equal Pay Act to support pay equity bargaining. The changes were ...
Structured literacy will change the way New Zealand children learn to read - improving achievement and setting students up for success, Education Minister Erica Stanford says. “Being able to read and write is a fundamental life skill that too many young people are missing out on. Recent data shows that ...
Trade Minister Todd McClay says Canada’s refusal to comply in full with a CPTPP trade dispute ruling in our favour over dairy trade is cynical and New Zealand has no intention of backing down. Mr McClay said he has asked for urgent legal advice in respect of our ‘next move’ ...
The rights of our children and young people will be enhanced by changes the coalition Government will make to strengthen oversight of the Oranga Tamariki system, including restoring a single Children’s Commissioner. “The Government is committed to delivering better public services that care for our most at-risk young people and ...
The Government is making it easier for minor changes to be made to a building consent so building a home is easier and more affordable, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “The coalition Government is focused on making it easier and cheaper to build homes so we can ...
New Zealand lost a true legend when internationally renowned disability advocate Sir Robert Martin (KNZM) passed away at his home in Whanganui last night, Disabilities Issues Minister Louise Upston says. “Our Government’s thoughts are with his wife Lynda, family and community, those he has worked with, the disability community in ...
Good evening – Before discussing the challenges and opportunities facing New Zealand’s foreign policy, we’d like to first acknowledge the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs. You have contributed to debates about New Zealand foreign policy over a long period of time, and we thank you for hosting us. ...
From today, passengers travelling internationally from Auckland Airport will be able to keep laptops and liquids in their carry-on bags for security screening thanks to new technology, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Creating a more efficient and seamless travel experience is important for holidaymakers and businesses, enabling faster movement through ...
People with an interest in the health of Northland’s marine ecosystems are invited to a public meeting to discuss how to deal with kina barrens, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones will lead the discussion, which will take place on Friday, 10 May, at Awanui Hotel in ...
Kiwi exporters are $100 million better off today with the NZ EU FTA entering into force says Trade Minister Todd McClay. “This is all part of our plan to grow the economy. New Zealand's prosperity depends on international trade, making up 60 per cent of the country’s total economic activity. ...
There are heartening signs that the extractive sector is once again becoming an attractive prospect for investors and a source of economic prosperity for New Zealand, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. “The beginnings of a resurgence in extractive industries are apparent in media reports of the sector in the past ...
The return of the historic Ō-Rākau battle site to the descendants of those who fought there moved one step closer today with the first reading of Te Pire mō Ō-Rākau, Te Pae o Maumahara / The Ō-Rākau Remembrance Bill. The Bill will entrust the 9.7-hectare battle site, five kilometres west ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has announced 25 new high-speed EV charging hubs along key routes between major urban centres and outlined the Government’s plan to supercharge New Zealand’s EV infrastructure. The hubs will each have several chargers and be capable of charging at least four – and up to 10 ...
The coalition Government will not proceed with the previous Government’s plans to regulate residential property managers, Housing Minister Chris Bishop says. “I have written to the Chairperson of the Social Services and Community Committee to inform him that the Government does not intend to support the Residential Property Managers Bill ...
The Government has announced an independent review into the disability support system funded by the Ministry of Disabled People – Whaikaha. Disability Issues Minister Louise Upston says the review will look at what can be done to strengthen the long-term sustainability of Disability Support Services to provide disabled people and ...
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith has attended the Universal Periodic Review in Geneva and outlined the Government’s plan to restore law and order. “Speaking to the United Nations Human Rights Council provided us with an opportunity to present New Zealand’s human rights progress, priorities, and challenges, while responding to issues and ...
The Government and Rotorua Lakes Council are committed to working closely together to end the use of contracted emergency housing motels in Rotorua. Associate Minister of Housing (Social Housing) Tama Potaka says the Government remains committed to ending the long-term use of contracted emergency housing motels in Rotorua by the ...
Trade Minister Todd McClay heads overseas today for high-level trade talks in the Gulf region, and a key OECD meeting in Paris. Mr McClay will travel to Riyadh to meet with counterparts from Saudi Arabia and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). “New Zealand’s goods and services exports to the Gulf region ...
Education Minister Erica Stanford has outlined six education priorities to deliver a world-leading education system that sets Kiwi kids up for future success. “I’m putting ambition, achievement and outcomes at the heart of our education system. I want every child to be inspired and engaged in their learning so they ...
The new NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) App is a secure ‘one stop shop’ to provide the services drivers need, Transport Minister Simeon Brown and Digitising Government Minister Judith Collins say. “The NZTA App will enable an easier way for Kiwis to pay for Vehicle Registration and Road User Charges (RUC). ...
Whānau with tamariki growing up in emergency housing motels will be prioritised for social housing starting this week, says Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka. “Giving these whānau a better opportunity to build healthy stable lives for themselves and future generations is an essential part of the Government’s goal of reducing ...
Racing Minister Winston Peters has paid tribute to an icon of the industry with the recent passing of Dave O’Sullivan (OBE). “Our sympathies are with the O’Sullivan family with the sad news of Dave O’Sullivan’s recent passing,” Mr Peters says. “His contribution to racing, initially as a jockey and then ...
Assalaamu alaikum, greetings to you all. Eid Mubarak, everyone! I want to extend my warmest wishes to you and everyone celebrating this joyous occasion. It is a pleasure to be here. I have enjoyed Eid celebrations at Parliament before, but this is my first time joining you as the Minister ...
Associate Health Minister David Seymour has announced Pharmac’s largest ever budget of $6.294 billion over four years, fixing a $1.774 billion fiscal cliff. “Access to medicines is a crucial part of many Kiwis’ lives. We’ve committed to a budget allocation of $1.774 billion over four years so Kiwis are ...
Hon Paula Bennett has been appointed as member and chair of the Pharmac board, Associate Health Minister David Seymour announced today. "Pharmac is a critical part of New Zealand's health system and plays a significant role in ensuring that Kiwis have the best possible access to medicines,” says Mr Seymour. ...
Hundreds of New Zealand families affected by Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) will benefit from a new Government focus on prevention and treatment, says Health Minister Dr Shane Reti. “We know FASD is a leading cause of preventable intellectual and neurodevelopmental disability in New Zealand,” Dr Reti says. “Every day, ...
Regional Development Minister Shane Jones today attended the official opening of Kaikohe’s new $14.7 million sports complex. “The completion of the Kaikohe Multi Sports Complex is a fantastic achievement for the Far North,” Mr Jones says. “This facility not only fulfils a long-held dream for local athletes, but also creates ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters’ engagements in Türkiye this week underlined the importance of diplomacy to meet growing global challenges. “Returning to the Gallipoli Peninsula to represent New Zealand at Anzac commemorations was a sombre reminder of the critical importance of diplomacy for de-escalating conflicts and easing tensions,” Mr Peters ...
Ambassador Millar, Burgemeester, Vandepitte, Excellencies, military representatives, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen – good morning and welcome to this sacred Anzac Day dawn service. It is an honour to be here on behalf of the Government and people of New Zealand at Buttes New British Cemetery, Polygon Wood – a deeply ...
Distinguished guests - It is an honour to return once again to this site which, as the resting place for so many of our war-dead, has become a sacred place for generations of New Zealanders. Our presence here and at the other special spaces of Gallipoli is made ...
Mai ia tawhiti pamamao, te moana nui a Kiwa, kua tae whakaiti mai matou, ki to koutou papa whenua. No koutou te tapuwae, no matou te tapuwae, kua honoa pumautia. Ko nga toa kua hinga nei, o te Waipounamu, o te Ika a Maui, he okioki tahi me o ...
Paul Goldsmith will take on responsibility for the Media and Communications portfolio, while Louise Upston will pick up the Disability Issues portfolio, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon announced today. “Our Government is relentlessly focused on getting New Zealand back on track. As issues change in prominence, I plan to adjust Ministerial ...
Recreational catch limits will be reduced in areas of Fiordland and the Chatham Islands to help keep those fisheries healthy and sustainable, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. The lower recreational daily catch limits for a range of finfish and shellfish species caught in the Fiordland Marine Area and ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed an important milestone in New Zealand’s hydrogen future, with the opening of the country’s first network of hydrogen refuelling stations in Wiri. “I want to congratulate the team at Hiringa Energy and its partners K one W one (K1W1), Mitsui & Co New Zealand ...
The coalition Government is delivering on its commitment to improve resource management laws and give greater certainty to consent applicants, with a Bill to amend the Resource Management Act (RMA) expected to be introduced to Parliament next month. RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop has today outlined the first RMA Amendment ...
Overseas models for regulating the oil and gas sector, including their decommissioning regimes, are being carefully scrutinised as a potential template for New Zealand’s own sector, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. The Coalition Government is focused on rebuilding investor confidence in New Zealand’s energy sector as it looks to strengthen ...
Asia Pacific Report The prosecutor’s office at the International Criminal Court (ICC) has appealed for an end to what it calls intimidation of its staff, saying such threats could constitute an offence against the “administration of justice” by the world’s permanent war crimes court. The Hague-based office of ICC Prosecutor ...
By Patrick Decloitre, RNZ Pacific correspondent French Pacific desk A women’s union in New Caledonia has staged a sit-in protest this week to support senior Kanak indigenous journalist Thérèse Waia, who works for public broadcaster Nouvelle-Calédonie la Première, after a smear attack by critics. The peaceful demonstration was held on ...
New Zealand Food Safety is monitoring overseas recalls of Indian packaged spice products manufactured by MDH and Everest due to concerns over a cancer-causing pesticide. ...
By Stephen Wright and Stefan Armbruster of BenarNews Fiji’s ranking in a global press freedom index has jumped into the top tier of countries with free or mostly free media after its government last year repealed a draconian law that threatened journalists with prison for doing their jobs. Fiji’s improvement ...
We might be in Invercargill but all anyone can talk about is Gore. Specifically, Salford Street. That’s where three-year-old Lachlan Jones lived, south of the centre of town, between the A&P Showgrounds and the Mataura River. Roughly 1.2 km away from the single level home he lived in with his ...
MONDAY I lined up the latest round of civil servants from city hall against the wall, and signalled for the firing squad to drop their rifles. I stepped up onto a wooden crate to look at the office workers in the eye. But that didn’t feel right, so I found ...
Keen hiker and second-year MSc student Liam Hewson wears two hats when he’s in the great outdoors. “The scientist in me appreciates nature and goes, ‘Oh, there’s that thing and there’s another thing,’ but then the tramper and the outdoorsy person in me thinks, ‘Cool bush.’” Born and bred in ...
After a long and illustrious career as a goal kicker, Dan Carter’s favourite way to unwind is… kicking goals. Why can’t he get enough of it? And what it’s like to watch him do it for an hour straight? A semicircle of people wielding cameras and phones has formed in ...
Dame Susan Devoy takes us through her life in television, including late night ER debriefs, her proudest CTI moment and the show she watches in secret. Quite aside from her four world champion squash titles, Dame Susan Devoy will likely go down in history as one of the best Celebrity ...
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Those who complain that Labours industrial relations policy is a throwback to the 1970s forget that living standards and security were way higher then than they are now.
It seems that there is a general consensus that wages and conditions should be held down, and people should be forever in financial misery.
Fuck, I am just so over this country.
Bring on National awards I say. The only people who think they are bad is those who want to pay only $2 an hour.
So, why are you throwing away your vote on a Party (NZ First) that won’t make it back into Parliament, Millsy ?
Because unlike most of the posters on here, I dont have a deluded fantasy that Labour is going to some how rocket back to Clark-era levels of support in the next 6 weeks and Labour will pull off an upset victory.
Labour are going to lose this November, and lose heavily. That is a FACT. Key needs someone who will give him a heck of the hard time from the opposition benches, and Winston is the man to do it. He actually puts some back bone into oppositon (though I wouldnt have him in government. He has a habit of selling out).
I have been accused of being a NACT supporter of actually daring to suggest this on here, so sometime I know where the rednecks and the latte drinkers at Public Address are coming from.
Finally went down to check out a temporary constructed party central and the waka on a windy rainy akl evening…..rugby ball shut, waka closed at 6, dodgy wet walkways on uneven wharf surfaces both in and outside and a very small area all up.
3 years in office and that’s the best muzza and sideshow can do….its no wonder our economy is where it is. At least Americas cup gave akl a viaduct region, this one will just leave a large bill.
And a tuppa waka!
Should’ve gone down on Saturday or Sunday during the day – was a great day.
Or during a game. Brilliant atmosphere. Everyone I talked to was saying how great it was, as do the media reports
Must be very sad to be so ideological that you can’t even go somewhere like that without letting political views cloud (no pun intended) your vision.
Nope more interested in what my ratepayer/taxpayer money leaves for me to get value from once the RWC is over given you’re actualy constructing stuff…..looks like absolutely nothing.
Atmosphere comes with people and I’m not into Rugby, never have been, nothing polutical about that QstF…look beyond your own skewered views.
The whole RWC is political – WTF am I paying for something I don’t want?
I’m quite happy for my taxes and rates to go to local clubs to support them but I don’t see why I have to pay to subsidise a commercial operation.
And I dont want my taxes going to fund the drug addled lifestyles of dole bludgers.
I’m with you Draco, user pays.
The bludgers are all at the top of the capitalist pyramid scheme. They’re probably more drug addled to.
There’s very very few people in the world who don’t want to work. The only reason why we have “unemployment” is because of a failure of society mostly because of the bludgers trying to keep as much of societies wealth to themselves rather than allowing it to be used.
If ever there were random drug (inc alcohol) of doctors, lawyers, politicians, bankers, etc. etc., they’d leave bennies for dead in proportion involved, and volume of consumption.
But that’s never going to happen because the whole motivation for calls to drug test benes is about humiliation and bullying those who can’t fight back, not any practical purpose.
KK So your against borrowing mountains of debt[$6billion in interest per year] bailing out private finance companies subsidizing multi billion dollars film firms.Subsidizing alcohol $ $5to$6billion a year it costs our country
But KKK your quite happy to fund foreign lenders that won’t spend any money in this country to the tune of $77 billion and rising interest rates on that $6billion per year plus which we will never see again . At least the bene’s you are bashing will be spending that money in NZ keeping wealthy landlords in tax free money as well as other services and retailers going in this recession . The last country to ditch benefits ended in misery Argentina cut all welfare and unemployment went from 6% to 38% redneck ape do some economics research before you start foaming at the mouth.
Occupy Dunedin continues – but what’s really going on?
I’ve visited twice and talked to several protesters – all were happy to chat intelligently about what they were doing and what their ideals were.
But for a supposedly non-political protest there are some very political connections, including union banners.
And more. Who is occupying Dunedin? Mana and Greens?
Hold the front page … the Occupy protest is … gasp … POLITICAL!!!
FFS Pete of course it is political. It is addressing glaring weaknesses in the world’s economy and political system.
THe fact that the group may not have let you spout UF policy is a sign of their intelligence and competence.
MS, is “SMASH CAPITALISM” a sign of their intelligence and competence?
What is doing without any central government a sign of?
MS is “SMASH CAPITALISM” a sign of their intelligence and competence?
It is a point of view and one which some believe strongly.
But Petey do you realise how ridiculous your statement that the occupation is supposedly non-political is?
There’s actually very little “capitalism” or “free markets” left in the financial system of the world.
It’s now all highly centrally planned and controlled financial markets (where prices are computer manipulated and predetermined), as well as billionaire banksters who benefit risk-free from socialising their deriavatives casino losses on to the rest of society.
It’s not been real capitalism for roughly 30 years.
Today its the final evolutions of crony cartel capitalism, which players like Pete George don’t get in the slightest.
You haven’t answerd either question. What do you think?
Meh. I think that it’s a reasonable opinion to hold, but unachievable without major technology advances, particularly in energy generation.
It shows that someone is intelligent enough to realise they’re being conned in a complex world, unlike someone who refuses to commit to any particular policy action.
And imagining a society without central government is again a reasonable “outside the box” thought – and shows someone is smart enough to know that a banal weathervane with a nice hairdo being in government is more damaging to society than no government at all.
Capitalism and Central Government are not the same thing mate. Capitalism is a political philosophy – and you aspire to sit in the Beehive?
Yes. Getting rid of capitalism may let us prevent an anthropogenic ELE. If we don’t then we will be forced to continue to ravage the planet eventually destroying the environment wiping out most life on Earth.
Anarchism of course, one of the older political philosophies.
Your blogpost seems to imply you’re startled (though somewhat ingenuinely I imagine) that political opposition to your ideas and methods exists and that since Occupy associate with those who are just like you (as far as supporting a hierarchical/class structure) anything they have to say is void owing to the inherent contradiction of stated ideal of Occupy. You want a ruling class, with you presumably near the top somewhere deciding what is good and bad. The socialists want to do the same, though with different “enemies”. Occupy say they aren’t political, but they have political friends. It’s all divisive politics, man.
“Is it collusion or coincidence that both Green and Mana party activists are fronting Occupy Dunedin?”
coincidence but i would be most happy with collusion because that is the future of the parliment with a strong Mana and Greens presence, working together to create a better nation for everyone – that doesn’t compute for a self serving political aspirant willing to use anything and everything to further their own agenda like pete and that is why, struggling for relevance, his ilk are doomed to oblivion.
Replace “Octagon” with “Country” and you’re getting closer to it…
PG -People who think hierarchically and in terms of leaders and followers are having a hard time getting their head around Occupy. My understanding is that they are inclusive political protests but not party political. People can bring along whatever banners/placards they feel expresses their concerns, if the Occupy group has collectively decided that. So of course some will bring along party or union banners. You could even bring your UF placard if you were prepared to join them and justify that. That’s called inclusion.
I was told I was welcome to speak for myself but not for a political organisation. A banner is speaking for an organisation.
The people of Dunedin have a right to know the motives behind those leading the occupation.
are having a hard time getting their head around Occupy
I think a few people involved in Occupy might be having a hard time getting their heads around the fact that they are being used.
Yes they are being used: by you. You’re the political user of Occupy Octagon here, you cynical wanna-be politician.
exactly CV anything and anyone is useful for pete to get his simpleton message out there. Like the rena his heavy oil pollutes leaving toxic material splattered around the varoius threads – all so that pete can further his pathetic personal political ambitions.
Pete if you bothered to bone up on what the movement was before you strode in with puffed chest and feigned interest you might have realised that all your concerns are fully accounted for in the Occupy ideas. The movement is INCLUSIVE. i will gve you a minute to get a dictionary.
got it? good, here are some other words for you to investigate
humanity
humility
hubris
One of them describe who we are working for
one describes what it is all about
one describes the content of your comments
i will check back tonight to see if you managed to figure which was which. I am off to barter a day’s labour for some healthy food before your mates make it illegal to do so.
Pete,
Judging by the comments & articles in the ODT it is fairly relaxed about Occupy. The mayor & council seem prepared to let things play out for a while and not force confrontation with the occupiers at this stage.
The fact that the occupation stayed put during the heavy rain we had this week has shown Dunedin people that those involved are not ‘rent-a-mob’, they are determined motivated people with genuine concerns about the many things that are wrong with the current corporate controlled system.
The occupy movement is about many issues, social justice, inequality, environmental , how could it not be political? The idea is that if you want to be involved you participate, get involved in discussion, spend time there & listen to other people.
“The people of Dunedin have a right to know the motives behind those leading the occupation”
It’s a bit like the Dylan song ” there’s something going on here, but you don’t know what it is…….”
Viv, if you say the Channel 9 clip from last night on the DC meeting you would know that there’s growing frustration about what’s going on.
The council have been co-operative and accommodating with the occupiers but if they keep getting fobbed off patience will wear even thinner.
The public have mostly remained muted but don’t expect that to last long if they think their city is just being used.
Occupy could do great things in New Zealand, or they could really stuff up their opportunity.
BY attention seeking follicly challenged airheads like you PG
I passed the local occupy movement tonight and gave them a toot and shouted out that my support.
I would have stopped and talked to them but I couldnt find a parking place.
It would give them a boost, given that most of the time they would have been told to get jobs, haircuts, etc.
“I think a few people involved in Occupy might be having a hard time getting their heads around the fact that they are being used.”
Everyone is being used. Ever heard of taxes? But what will really piss them off, is some guy coming from a white middle class perspective, treating them like they’re children. Pick your battles, aspiring MP man. You want votes, right?
Heres some beats to cheer you fullas up…
http://pollywannacracka.blogspot.com/2011/10/for-my-peeps.html
Thank you just grabbin me a copy now. it’ll fit in nice with some Psytrance and some Shape Shifters at a reasonable volume…
US Cops use strobe lights to blind and confuse press cameras/protestors
http://www.youtube.com/user/RussiaToday#p/u/1/dVaCGHn8LnY
Listen to the sound…including protestors saying look at the nice stuff JP Morgan’s $4.6M has bought for the NY police!
And apparently some of the protestors also smell lol
In a word, why.
Citigroup to pay $285 million to settle fraud case: http://old.news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111019/bs_nm/us_citigroup_sec
So basically, you can break the law as much as you like and as long as you can write a big enough cheque the problem will go away.
They should not be settling these cases, no matter how much money the financial institutions offer them to make the case go away. How can they rebuild confidence in the system when they effectively let people get away with this sort of thing? $285 million is nothing to these guys.
It’s no different to a drug dealer paying off the cops to turn a blind eye. It’s corruption, pure and simple.
It is the criminals paying the police to turn a blind eye. Every single person who works there should be under investigation and the organisation itself closed down. You don’t get honest business by letting dishonest businesses continue.
National’s Election Hoarding’s 7
In June the NBR reported: Treasury figures show the government’s borrowing of $380 million a week is about $80 million to $100 million a week more than it has to…
Jackal you figures are out of date the Govt debt is going to peak now at more than $77billion 2013 with no unexpected surprises , Debt is increasing by $1.5 billion a month now
The post states the borrowing figures are quoted from June. The $38 billion is the current net government debt.
Strange that National claim New Zealand will be back in black at about the same time your figures show we’ll be in debt by $77 billion. I wonder how much of the current $375 million per week National doesn’t need to be borrow?
Blinglish has done pretty well at getting the country in hock as an excuse to privatize. He’s still saying that the Christchurch Earthquakes, the Rena disaster and now the Maui gas disaster aren’t going to effect their projections… talk about delusional.
When any NZ business person is interviewed and asked what they would do to get the economy growing inevitably say they would remove “red tape” to make it easier to do business.
And yet, and not for the first time either, NZ has been rated as the 3rd easiest country in the world in which to do business….
So what’s going on?
If they think that that is NZ’s problem then it shows they have no idea what the reality is – they should no longer be interviewed because they don’t have a clue.
If they think that that is NZ’s problem then it shows that they have no solutions to NZ’s growth woes.
If they think that that is NZ’s problem then it shows they are not engaging in original thought but are captured by the prevailing ideology of their group.
If they think that that is NZ’s problem then it shows how easy it is to get them to parrot whatever the speaker at the last business conference said.
It’s time we stopped, as the news announcers often say, “look at the markets [and the exchange rates] to see how well they reacted to the news of…….”
It’s time we stopped asking business people what’s good for NZ – they are just not qualified!
+1
The research is fairly conclusive – NZ managers are the worst in the world and yet the prevailing paradigm insists that we need them to make NZ better.
DTB And the failed ones end up as a career choice in the National party where they can get ahead no matter how bad they are!
It seems that migrants have no trouble in coming over and starting a business here – I dont hear them go on about red tape, but I suppose they are glad they dont have to bribe all and sundry to get started (nor do they have to pay protection money to the local crime overlord)
Voters swing from National after Rena disaster
That’s gotta hurt although this is the interesting line:
The question had 5 options:
V. good
good
neutral
poor
V. poor
They don’t tell us how many were neutral giving the impression that a majority found Key’s response to be “good”. Of course, if they were doing proper reporting they would have given the figures for all 5 possible responses. More underhanded support from the MSM for this government.
[lprent: added the http on the link. ]
Good news Draco!
Your link is a bit mangled. The poll is reported at http://www.3news.co.nz/Voters-swing-from-National-after-Rena-disaster/tabid/419/articleID/230207/Default.aspx
The Rena hasn’t played out yet.
This is only the second act out of four.
Aye that steady oozing of raw crude is going to go on for quite a while …
technically its bunker fuel (‘bunker c’) not crude oil 🙂
I remember that one and a whole heap of V Poor’s that I ticked lol
From the article: “The RadioLive-HorizonPoll shows 11% of people who voted National in 2008 now won’t do so because of the disaster, which effectively drops National’s current support nationwide by 3%.”
Well, no, actually. The Nats got 44.9% at the 2008 General Election. Which surely means a fall of pretty damn close to 5 percentage points.
Was wondering about that. The 3% did/does seem a little low but I hadn’t looked at the maths.
I was also wondering about that.
That 11% of 2008 National voters won’t vote National this time because of Rena, raises more questions than it answers.
1. How does that ‘integrate’ with people who voted for other parties in 2008 but now will vote National? That is, will such people off-set the ones who, apparently, are prepared to desert National over the Rena?
2. Is that 11% partly made up of people who voted National in 2008 but, actually, have been saying in other Horizon polls that they were going to vote for some other party this time anyway, and now are mentioning the Rena as a reason for their changed vote – or, is it an additional 11% of 2008 National voters (on top of those who had already got to the point of switching) who now have decided, solely on the basis of the Rena, to vote for someone else?
It’s hard to tell from the press releases quite what is meant.
The Horizon Poll press release on Scoop also gives a little more detail –
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO1110/S00338/radiolive-horizon-poll-65-judge-rena-response-as-poor.htm
{Still learning how to do a short link] and oops this should be under the 11 comments. Please have patience with a new blogger!
Ah, that’s a much better write up – probably because it’s Horizons press release.
Sascha Baron Cohens latest character revealed as Lord Monckton http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w833cAs9EN0
Comedy magic.
Ta for that
Brendon Burns puts a post up at Red Alert and this caught my eye
http://blog.labour.org.nz/index.php/2011/10/20/the-full-monty/
“United Future Wigram candidate Ian Gaskin said he’d been given a clean slate by leader Peter Dunne to speak. He then variously stated that: We could solve our fuel needs by growing seaweed and turning it into oil, that DOC was not needed and should be folded into the Ministry of Agriculture or perhaps Tourism NZ
and that fracking Canterbury’s landscape with pressurised water and chemicals may not extract enough gas or oil so perhaps a nuclear device might assist. I wonder if these are official United Future policies?”
Maybe the headline, “Untied Future threatens to nuke Canterbury”
One thing’s for sure pete won’t be jumping up and down like he did against Hone yesterday.
Different league to Hone.
UF candidates have been told they are free to express their own opinions and talk on local issues as they see fit, however you hope that clean slates don’t come with wet chalk.
I agree it’s in a different league. Ian is actually being serious.
yes Hone has Mana – black and white really.
are you a fracking fan pete?
Slippery non-answer and diversion 5. 4. 3. 2…
No, I’m not a fracking fan, too much doubt at this stage.
UF don’t have a policy on it but my guess would be the party would be concerned about any possibility of water contamination as clean water (and retention of ownership of water) are strong party policy positions.
Petey
Does UF have a position on the use of nuclear devices under the Canterbury plains to assist with fracking?
“Retain New Zealand’s nuclear-free status” rules that out (phew). I agree with that.
I think I’ll have a drink to that 🙂
Congratulations, Pete, on your list ranking.
In 2002 that would have got you into Parliament (I think?).
All the best for the election. (Not an endorsement, but you know what I mean.)
Too be honest, I cannot see UF getting any more seats than the one held by Mr Dunne. In any case, UF only got those seats in ’02 because thier leader performed so good with ‘the worm’, and got influence because the Greens threw their toys out of the cot over GE, driving Labour into the arms of United Future, and sending this country on a slow rightward drift. Thanks Greenies. Way to go guys.
“Too be honest, I cannot see UF getting any more seats than the one held by Mr Dunne.”
Yep, that would be my pick for an election result.
But I just thought that Pete George needed acknowledging for actually getting involved in the political process – such as it is.
I don’t expect that people’s efforts will (or should) necessarily be rewarded. But Pete has put effort where his ‘mouth’ is (whatever location that happens to be – I honestly can’t work out where that is, but that’s not my point).
I just think that effort should be acknowledged – purely at a human level.
“In any case, UF only got those seats in 02 because their leader performed so good with ‘the worm’.”
I tend to agree with former Alliance deputy leader, Sandra Lee, on this. It wasn’t so much the worm as the post-debate comments by TVNZ’s so-called panel of ‘experts’.
I taped that leaders’ debate and I can tell you that the worm was often as low as it was high while Dunne was speaking.
The ‘experts’ – clearly looking for some sort of interesting angle – decided to place total emphasis on those particular moments when Dunne charmed the worm and to hence declare him ‘the winner’. All very contrived. The print media, the next day, simply took their cue from the ‘experts’.
That’s the nature of our world. Big things can swing on bugger all.
So Pete, do you think that DOC should be chopped as well?
No, but I’d be happy if Doc found a way to chop their 1080 use.
I was talking to someone from Forest and Bird last week who admitted that 1080 killed a lot of birds (including protected natives) but they claimed the bird numbers recovered faster than predators. Very dubious about that especially with kiwi.
If a private company wanted to use some land and claimed that all the birdlife they killed wouldn’t matter because most species would eventually recover do you think they would get resource consent?
What would you do Peter? Possum trapping, just like in the Barry Crump novels? You just to have to remember that possum trapping, etc is more of a lifestyle than an occupation, so you couldnt hope to make a dent in umemployment with it. And a possum fur industry would never get beyond a niche market.
There’s no way to replace 1080 at the moment without getting an increase in predator numbers. Some methods like trapping and shooting (that’s how I do it) can be increased but nowhere near enough.
1080 is an easy solution for DOC to keep using but it hasn’t solved anything over decades of use.
The main aim apart from trialling existing methods other than 1080 in select areas is to substantially increase research into alternatives.
BS, I remember when Rangitoto never used to flower. Does now but that only happened after the 1080 drops.
So why don’t you get yourself educated before you open your mouth you moron.
Yep, and I have never seen a GOOD alternative yet that keeps the trees flowering. Same when we were looking at our bush on the farm.
Quite simply no effective alternative.
Unless of course we want to get the Aussies invading to protect their damn pests.
There are alternatives. The fact of the matter is that 1080 is used because it’s cost effective, but it will not work to achieve eradication of pests or protection of native species. It is simply delaying the inevitable in many cases.
1080 is not the best way to eradicate pests while trying to protect endangered species. The alternatives take lots of man-hours, training and a very large budget. Extensive fencing projects, relocation, trapping and cyanide is the best solution if we want to keep a lot of our endemic endangered species.
I believe there has been some developments to increase hit rates and reduce cyanide shyness from possums that don’t initially receive a fatal dose. The advantage is that cyanide totally breaks down and has a lower secondary poisoning risk if applied correctly.
Unfortunately having a lot of people learning how to hunt and trap animals in the bush doesn’t fit well with the systems ideal of having everybody dependent on the state. That would be one reason why the government is willing to sacrifice many other species, the land and waterways in their failed use of 1080.
Same principle as chemotherapy – poisoning differentially. Works as well as 1080. More people surviving the unsurvivable. More bush and native fauna as well.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10760543
Nice to see you have convicted bank robbers on your list – if you get 5% will he be your law and order spokesperson?
One would think that following the Sep 4 earthquake (and suspecting a bigger one was quite possible), you would want to know what was going on under Christchurch.
I don’t know who had the ultimate authority regarding funding (i.e. the commission or cabinet) but it seems to be that someone dropped the ball post-September earthquake.
I don’t know what would have changed if we had known that a bigger quake was likely but it would have been in the interests of the people of Canterbury to be informed so they could make choices.
Like the parents of the toddler who was killed by the falling TV might have secured their furniture if they knew a bigger one was possible.
GNS Science made the decision not to tell the public….but they tell anyone?
Was the commission advised? Did cabinet know?
If then they did then they dropped the ball – I hope the MSM get of their perches and look into who knew what and when.
The commission was made up of:
Of course we already know who the slack-jawed knuckle draggers that comprise our cabinet are.
A very good comment William Joyce.
What has really irritated me during the last year is the knowledge (yes, knowledge) that our geologists have had their public comments filtered – so as not to cause ‘alarm’.
For goodness’ sake. We are being treated as children by our ‘betters’. We are supposedly susceptible to ‘panic’ and they have decided that it is not in our (read ‘their’) interests for us to ‘panic’ (i.e., decide what we want to do in response to all the available information).
So anti-democratic, yet it comes so naturally to those with ‘positions of responsibility’. People seen as mushrooms.
We had a right to hear it all. Then we could, perhaps, ‘panic’, talk to each other and, who knows, maybe come to some sensible response collectively. That process was never allowed to happen and never trusted.
Why?
Because it would have disrupted ‘business as usual’. And that – more than anything else – is verboten.
QFT
In our present socio-economic paradigm, business is more important than life.
Corexit’s Deadly Legacy
I received a very interesting email today. It’s all about the poisonous substance known as Corexit 9500 that’s been used on the Bay of Plenty oil spill by Maritime New Zealand…
Naomi Wolf arrested by NYPD at OWS.
A must read for all those who still think we have the right to protest in a post-9/11, police state, surveillance society.
One more step towards overt fascism.
Apropos of nothing really. I was curious about Key’s middle name so I googled him.
From wiki I found this synopsis interesting
“Before politics
Key’s first job was in 1982, as an auditor at McCulloch Menzies, and he then moved to be a project manager at Christchurch-based clothing manufacturer Lane Walker Rudkin for two years.[7] Key began working as a foreign exchange dealer at Elders Finance in Wellington, and rose to the position of head foreign exchange trader two years later, then moved to Auckland-based Bankers Trust in 1988.[3]
In 1995, he joined Merrill Lynch as head of Asian foreign exchange in Singapore. That same year he was promoted to Merrill’s global head of foreign exchange, based in London, where he may have earned around US$2.25 million a year including bonuses, which is about NZ$5 million at 2001 exchange rates.[3][8] Some co-workers called him “the smiling assassin” for maintaining his usual cheerfulness while sacking dozens (some say hundreds) of staff after heavy losses from the 1998 Russian financial crisis.[4][8] He was a member of the Foreign Exchange Committee of the New York Federal Reserve Bank from 1999 to 2001.[9]”
The Economist: Trouble Island.
UNDER intense international pressure to lift banking secrecy, the first and biggest of the world’s “tax havens”—places that charge low or no taxes to foreigners—is ceding some ground. In a deal signed on October 6th, Switzerland agreed to tax money held in its banks by British residents (it had already done a similar deal with Germany). These customers face a levy of up to 34% as well as, from 2013, a withholding tax.
One News tonight. 8 minutes in.
Shivers are running through the finance markets tonight. … Greek debt … our Exchange took a hit – take a look at this …
Last night…
Shivers are running through the finance markets tonight. … Greek debt …
Earlier this week…
Shivers are running through the finance markets tonight. … Greek debt …
A couple of weeks ago…
Shivers are running through the finance markets tonight. … Greek debt …
Oh surprise, surprise. When are they going to give us more than a 30 second soundbite and give us an in-depth report on why? Otherwise only tell us when something new develops.
I can remember a time when the state of exchange rates and shares did not have a special time on television news. Since the Lange government, however, when the novices cashed up their pension funds and dived into stocks and shares, the preoccupation of news and the hooray/gloom moments has become a regular feature in this time-slot.
Easy, lazy journalism, and programming and to make matters worse, the weather has now claimed three slots in this section.
I wonder if, tonight, we will get an item where 2 gunmen held up a corner-shop in some remote African township and 3 guardsmen were seriously wounded in liberating the shop-keeper. (Who validates these reports, or are they fillers created in the back-rooms to make us believe that we have to be ever vigilant in the war on terror(ists)?
Perhaps they will save that story for another night, (when there is one massive high parked over the Tasman and the Pacific and Jimbo has nothing to tell us about the weather except that “It will hot and sunny everywhere (folks!”)).
More on the financial crisis in Greece as an important meeting at the weekend. There was an item on RNZ (think after 7 am) this morning which you probably can download on Greece.
I wonder what the percentage of wealth is which the top 1% earn in Greece?
In USA 1% earn 33% of the wealth.
In NZ 1% earn 16% of the wealth.
This was on TV 6 pm news last weekend, think it was TV 1.
On TV 3 at 6 pm 11 % of National voters said that they would not vote National due to how the Rena spill has been handled. Not sure about number of participants or area in the poll.
Also Banks is second with the polling in Epsom.
Sooner the RWC is over the sooner people can wake up to the shit which is hitting the fan big time concerning NZ politics and how this government ALWAYS talks about a rosy future forgetting about living in the present.
Thanks Treetop.
– may I make one observation regarding your percentages and wealth – for earn change to control. They don’t earn much at all. They accrue most of their wealth on the backs of the earners – usually while they sleep or are swanning off around the world.
Will look up the ReplayRadio item.
Meantime, “What’s a Grecian urn?” “Oh, about 20 drachmas a day.”
Sorry but have been waiting to get that one in …
dunno if this was posted but…
http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg21228354.500-revealed–the-capitalist-network-that-runs-the-world.html
…makes for interesting reading
Note : Key’s old firm, Merril Lynch, is in the top 10 of what essentially equates to the ‘New World Order’
The basic effect of capitalist free-market is to concentrate wealth and power in fewer and fewer hands. That, quite simply, is what it is designed to do. There’s no way such concentration could come about without the property rules that have grown with capitalism.
You’ll notice that the FTAs that get signed have very little to do with trade but with a hell of a lot to do with free money movement and foreign ownership.
World Debt Guide
Actually, that title that they proudly display is wrong. What it should be is Debt guide to some of the biggest economies.
Anyway, on with the show.
Both Britain and Japan are sitting close to 500% of GDP in debt. The lesson that some people seem to have learned since WWII is that to build an economy requires debt – lots of it. When we consider these debts in line with who probably owns most of them then we should probably be doing a massive investigation into how they came about.
National should, in light of their massive unnecessary borrowing over the last three years, be the first to be investigated.
Author of “Disaster Capitalism” Naomi Wolf arrested by NYC Police
http://www.youtube.com/user/RussiaToday#p/u/5/P1mWnbOE8Qo
So much for the land of the free
The US is fucked. Naomi Wolf writes on her experience.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/cifamerica/2011/oct/19/naomi-wolf-arrest-occupy-wall-street?newsfeed=true
That’s absolutely fucked, but you’ve got your Naomis mixed up. It was Ms Klein who wrote Disaster Capitalism, not Ms Wolf.
Yes, Ms Wolf has written feminist stuff, eg The Beauty Myth – associated wih “third wave feminism”
And also written on the process of erosion that transforms a free society into a police state, as in this book: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/naomi-wolf/read-the-introduction-to-_b_63779.html
and this article: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2007/apr/24/usa.comment
*facepalm*
Thanks guys.
Makes the New York City police even more pathetic.
what a post