“Mr Key told the Herald last night that it was good to end the year in a strong position. “That reflects the growing economic confidence and the acknowledgement by voters that we’ve steered the ship on a very deliberate and accurate course to economic prosperity.”
What??? “very deliberate and accurate course to economic prosperity”
Is that what he calls the $40 billion Christchurch Earthquake??? Is that what he calls the record Dairy pay out this year, its a commodity John…nothing to do with your inept National Party…
”Not in the same league”, so says Auckland City Councilor Cameron Brewer in this morning’s Herald-online over the GIFT of a trip to Australia’s Gold Coast from the news organization Media-Works which this Auckland City Councilor after calling on the Mayor Len Brown to resign over undeclared gifts has admitted to not declaring,
Utter HYPOCRISY is my opinion and Brewer should follow His own advice and resign from the Auckland Council…
Another day, another round of editorial Len–bashing by the Herald, arrogantly claiming to speak on behalf of Auckland residents the majority of whom couldn’t even be bothered to get off their chuffs and vote in the local elections.
I have been a customer of Genesis Energy (on and off due to changing personal circumstances) since 2003, and in the past couple of months, I have noticed that they are getting more hard-nosed in pursuing payment.
Up until the start of spring, they used to send a reminder that you have missed your payment after the due date of your bill, then 7 days after that, followed it up with a letter warning that you would get your power disconnected. Then you would ring up and get an extentsion of a week or two, and then some breathing space, of course then you could get away with not paying the full amount, as credit action seemed to cease after the next bill came in.
Now they threaten disconnection if you miss the due date. And if you get an extension, they chase you if you dont pay what you promise to pay by that date.
Fortunately, I am in a position where I can scrape together the money to pay the bill and have never been in serious danger of being disconnected (though not the case with a lot of other people).
I have no plans to switch though, as I have objections to the way the power market is set up (There was nothing wrong with getting the power from your local power board or council MED), plus there have been scores of botched switches.
I think Genesis are doing this as it gears up for privatisation for next year…
I mean, if they’re being rude and intimidating, that’s out of order. But a reminder your bill is due and a week or two grace period is how it should really work. Just ignoring on following up on unpaid bills is business incompetence whether you’re a private company or an SOE.
And I’m not trying to undermine your circumstances or people less well off. Fuel poverty shouldn’t be happening in New Zealand. But that’s not Genesis’s job. That’s the government’s job.
While overseas I missed a payment with Trustpower. When discovered I paid with days short of disconnection. They charged me an extra $25 and $40 for their trouble.
I am with Genesis. And I pay my power bill by Direct Credit this splits the bill into manageable chunks, and better still, they NEVER bitch about the state of your bill. Mines about 600 in the red, but as long as the DC is running, no moans, and more importantly no threats to be cut off .
Mines with Powershop, i am something like 5 or 600 dollars in credit having had a automatic payment of 20 dollars running for the past 3 years and taking advantage of every ‘special’ and buying power months ahead when the future price is lower than their retail packs,
It’s all transacted on-line and i do the meter read for them twice a week, this week i cut the auto-payment down to 15 dollars a week as the rebates for power i have bought but didn’t use have piled up the cash in my account to 400 dollars,
i used on-line banking to alter the auto-payment which occurred without a hitch and thinking about the ease with which i can now manage my power and bank accounts i have to wonder when all the Government departments are going to leave Primitive for the annuls of history and get with the digital age…
I like the headline: Maori Party holds key to government. As if!
It’s standard practice to assume minor parties retain current electorates, if any. That’s all made clear in the main story, and the main point the piece makes is that National + Maori would have enough to govern, if things pan out according to the poll – though the text also acknowledges that the Maori Party will be facing a severe challenge.
• National – 46.8% (+3.1%)
• Labour – 35.4% (-2.3%)
• Greens – 10.8% (-0.5%)
• NZ First – 3.9% (-0.5%)
• Maori Party – 1.3% (+0.5%)
• Mana – 0.9% (+0.2%)
• Act – 0% (-0.1%)
• United Future – 0% (Same)
• Conservatives – 0.7% (-0.3%)
• Legalise Cannabis – 0.1% (Same)
Obviously, like all polls, it is fairly useless, as it is very difficult to predict how the minor parties will play out. Maori might have 3,2 or 1. Mana might have 1, 2 or 3. United Future, ACT should might cease to exist. Winston, surely, will get above 5% again.
I think I recall some posters predicting Cunliffe + Greens would be pushing the 50% mark. Might be grimly amusing to dig those predictions up.
I also assume retention of current seats when I convert the Roy Morgan polls to seats via the electorate calculator, lurgee. But that’s to establish a conservative base line (ie, the best the right can expect). The problem for the Nats in this poll is that it’s the one that most consistently overestimates their support.
So, if the best they can do is hope the MP still have 3 seats, then they are gone.
ps, anybody remember the Conservative Party? Just a few weeks ago, they were going to be National’s life support system, now they’re nowhere and the MP are their only hope. As Bad12 points out, Key’s weird attack on Hone Harawira now makes some sense.
Key’s attack on Hone made perfect sense if you read the comments on the stuff story when it was first announced Hone was going to South Africa.
Huge amount of racial-divisive hate-speech all voted to +20 and +30 within minutes.
Obviously Hone has said a lot of polarising things in the past, and it seems some segment of the population really really detest him, and not because of his politics.
I’m not sure I get the logic of this. Sure Key might be playing to his base but why? They vote for him anyway and they do get out and vote. Maybe National is seeing some slippage of this demographic to Labour? On the other hand, in attacking Hone he risks pissing off voters in the Maori Electorates who don’t have a great record at turning out to vote and getting them energized enough to go to the polling booth. Surely if National is going to win next year they need the so-called ‘missing million’ to sit out another election.
I get that Lanth but I’m still inclined to think the prime motivation for attacking Hone was Key’s own wounded ego. He knows that he handled the whole delegation and the trip poorly and he hated being reminded of his weasel words around his stance on the ’81 tour. He looked small and petty and his instinct was to throw some shit at someone else as a diversion.
Agreed. And based on this poll Winston only needs another 1 percent (or thereabouts) to get back in. You’d be mad not to assume he’s well capable of achieving that.
I dunno, if Craigs gifted a seat then there might be a few cross-over votes from winstonFirst to the Conservatives on the basis that it won’t be a wasted vote
..and what recent announcements were there from labour..?
..that’s right..!..that standover-threat/promise from neo-lib poster-boy parker..
..that labour would kick their constituents in the guts..again/still..
..by either raising the pension age..or raising g.s.t..
..parker invited punters to take their pick..which poisoned-chalice did they prefer..
..and for why..?..(i hear you ask..)
..because..as parker told us…t.i.n.a..
..eh..?
..and funny story..!..i am currently compiling the whoar-awards..
..and i am giving zinger of the year..to one i have relentlessly shredded all year..
..bill english..
..a week or so ago..he noted that the problem with labour..
..is that they don’t know where they stand..
..and when you have a party talking out of one side of their mouth about getting back those lost 800,000 voters..
..and out of the other promising to make them work for two years longer before getting the pension..
..(with many/most maori dying much earlier than pakeha..good one..!..eh..?..)
..it is hard not to agree with english..
.and when you add to parkers’ brain-fart-threat the refusal of labour to speak of the real poverty in this land..(they will only talk about the ‘working-poor’..haven’t you noticed..?..)
..it is clear that ideological-confusion/war is rampant in labour..
..and as the polls confirm..
..they are fooling/convincing nobody..
..especially not those ‘lost’ 800.000+ voters they claim to be reaching out to..
There is a fresh Herald-Digipoll in today’s Herald-online, pretty much a large Yawn showing us all what we already know that the 2014 election is going to be very tight,
The Herald-Digipoll, or to be more precise, the analysis that comes with it is claiming the Maori Party will be the key to who forms the next Government,
Really, on my reading of the tea-leaves the Maori Party next year will cease to exist in any meaningful form without any representation in the Parliament, which would leave the equation needed for a Government of the left to need more than one Mana Party MP,(the electoral battle between Annette Sykes and Te Ururoa Flavell for the Waiariki electorate may well be a crucial one and my advice to the Green and Labour Parties would be to consider that electorate seat vary carefully)…
PS: easy to see why Slippery the PM has taken to attacking Mana Party leader Hone Harawira…
Which one do you Predict the Maori Party to win Lanth, i base a lot of my thinking around the swing TO the Mana Party that was evident in the Te Ikaroa-Rawhiti by-election coupled with the not inconsiderate fact that if it’s ‘hard’ out there then it’s doubly so for Maori who will reflect this in their votes,
Sharples seat of Tamaki-Makarau i would suggest is going back to Labour based on the by-elections swing against the Maori Party easily wiping Sharples 2000 vote margin into history,
Waiariki held by Flavell with a wafer-thin 1000 vote majority???, on the evidence of the Ikaroa-Rawhiti by-election again the Maori Party is but a bad memory,(what Labour and the Green Party ‘do’ in this electorate tho could alter that),
Te Tai Hauauru is the electorate i find hardest to ‘read’, Aunty Tariana isn’t standing so personal loyalty to Her isn’t a consideration, considering the above oft mentioned ‘swing’ and the (probably of more import), fact that in the final analysis this is the Rohe of Ratana who at their most recent of annual Hui have told the faithful their preference is for a Labour-Green Government, this far South the Mana Party isn’t that strong, i pick Labour will have this electorate back as well…
Great news – the cow cockies are experiencing boom times after the drought.
Presumably Paula will be expecting WINZ to recover those advances she was to quick to offer.
Green peace hammered in the court.
What a year to look forward to , every things looking up and the icing on the cake is when these extremist environmentalists are put in their place.
Corporate bludgers like green peace should be banned from our shores, bring on the oil and gas.
Let’s give National a real mandate at the next election and really see progress.
more printed money?
more debt issued?
more shit in the rivers?
more oil on the beaches?
more miners killed dead?
more forestry workers killed dead?
still being unable to support a family on a decent days work?
more lies from Key?
more lies from Banks?
more of NZ owned by foreigners?
More money printed = green policy
more debt = good management, that’s why we still can pay benefits to the needy.
rivers =National spending $100 million
More oil on beaches =WHERE ??
More miners killed =pike river =environmentalist and labour
Forestry deaths = national employing 30 site inspectors
Still unable to Support family’s = unemployment going down, looking better
Key = what lies
Bank’s = who cares , good riddance
Foreign owners = who cares, they can’t take it away and will ultimately will sell it back.
As I said , things are looking great and the greens continue to poison labours chances ,even better.
‘Plus over the next few years the new wealth will “trickle down” to the poor, removing the need for any minimum wages’. You must be very young and naive Srylands. 30 years of ‘jam tomorrow’ and you still believe this neoliberal bullshit.
“More money printed = green policy”
Not at all – policy of Nat-type govts in UK and USA and Japan and everywhere. It is also what banks do whenever a loan is issued. Just printed.
” more debt = good management, that’s why we still can pay benefits to the needy.”
Total bullshit. For paying for tax cuts and the shortfall created by asset sales.
” rivers =National spending $100 million”
More bullshit. The shit is flowing into the rivers more today than it was yesterday. Same again tomorrow.
” More oil on beaches =WHERE ??”
Bay of Plenty, fool.
” More miners killed =pike river =environmentalist and labour”
Fuck you arsehole. Your demented philosophies killed 29 dead men. Stay away from the coast cunt.
” Forestry deaths = national employing 30 site inspectors”
Same again. National’s religion still led to these deaths. Everything can be priced? – brainless
” Still unable to Support family’s = unemployment going down, looking better”
Wake up idiot. I referred to being unable to support a family when employed. It is even more impossible when unemployed.
” Key = what lies”
Liar yourself
” Bank’s = who cares , good riddance”
He is an indicator of your people
” Foreign owners = who cares, they can’t take it away and will ultimately will sell it back.”
*slowly shakes head*
rich the other. you are 100% on the money
who knows what planet vto, bad12 and Flip are living on
their heads are firmly up their ARSE
I hope green peace get smashed with costs
I dont know what planet youre living on, but I would like a live on a planet with clean air, and water, and no toxic waste dumps?
You, on the other hand would sit by and let tonnes of toxic waste fill our rivers if it meant an extra few dollars.
It is amazing isnt it. A homey smashes a few windows and it is lablled vandalism. An oil company poisons a whole river and it is called wealth creation.
As for printing money, that is exactly what the government should be doing while taking away that power from the private banks. Money should not be loaned into existence bearing interest.
If “progress” to you means thick smog enveloping our cities, rivers chocked with toxic waste and open cast mines scarring our national parks, then you can shove it right up your jaxy.
And the way things are set up, the oil companies will just suck our oil and gas dry, and take it, and the profits off shore. We will have nothing but a big mess to clean up and royalties pissed away on tax cuts.
rich the other … seeing as how you don’t think the environment is important to you, perhaps you should try holding your breath while you count your money ?
Graham McCready, He who ensured Banks gets whats coming to Him is going to have a busy New Year if news reports are anything to go by,
RadioNZ is this morning reporting that Graham will be seeking to prosecute Auckland Mayor Len Brown,(exactly what for the news report failed to provide enlightenment of),
David Cunliffe, Peter Whittal, Len Brown, and will we now see Cameron Brewer added to Grahams ‘list’…
Yeah with every announcement of a new prosecution target the soundtrack to ‘Fame’ goes off in my nut,
Having had a conversation with the bloke about His abilities to perform in the High Court vis a vis the Bank’s prosecution i think over-stretching considering His abilities better describes His situation,
Still if any of those He is set to privately prosecute have broken the law and the relevant authorities refuse to prosecute i can only say ‘good luck with that’ and help Him out financially if i agree with the prosecution,(as i did with the Banks matter)…
Dick Quax on Len Brown being a repeat offender (RNZ 9am News Bulletin, 20 Dec 13):
“It’s deja vu – all over again”.
Amusing. Far less amusing is the high-handed politicking from the likes of him. Moral indignation should be reserved for more important things in life.
RNZ reported this morning that we can expect a Royal visit in April next year.
I had the memory that there was a convention that Royal Visits would not occur in an election year.
Can someone with better recall than me please comment.
It seems to me that a Royal Visit in April would tie in quite nicely with an Election called for around July 12. Get in quick whilst the populace are entranced with the ‘pretty baby’ etc.
No but he is Royal Family and represents then whilst in the country otherwise why bother coming. I don’t think conventions said only the Queen/King could not come I understood it would be any family member would not be invited during election year.
John key was reported on RNZ last month as saying
“The Prime Minister says there may be a visit to New Zealand by members of the royal family in 2014.
John Key says he can’t say whether a visit will take place, or who might be coming, but it doesn’t matter that it is an election year.
He says established protocols are in place and a visit would not happen close to a general election without support from both the main parties” http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/political/226726/pm-sees-no-problem-with-royal-visit-in-election-year
Obvioulsy Key saw it as a possible breach of protocol then and said it could be avoided by getting agreement among other parties and that it not be held close to an election.
Of course a visit in April would not be considered close to a November election by Key he could then a month later decide to hold an early election.
As quoted above a visit would not happen close to an election. I consider any date in 2014 as being close to an election.
So what I was asking just what are the protocols
I think the convention is that royal visits don’t happen within 3 months of an election? William visited in March 2011 (after the Chch quake) which of course was also an election year.
You know how, according to the RWNJs, private is always better and thus charter schools will be better? Well, in Sweden:
When one of the biggest private education firms in Sweden went bankrupt earlier this year, it left 11,000 students in the lurch and made Stockholm rethink its pioneering market reform of the state schools system.
Oops
While it is difficult to say how, or even whether, private involvement and falling standards are linked, the NAE says there are indications the market-driven reforms have contributed to widen the gaps in school performances.
Que surprise
“I think we have had too much blind faith in that more private schools would guarantee greater educational quality,” said Tomas Tobé, head of the parliament’s education committee and spokesman on education for the ruling Moderate party.
Exactly
The opposition Green Party – like the Moderates long-time supporters of privately run schools but now backing the clamp-down – issued a public apology in a Swedish daily last month headlined “Forgive us, our policy led our schools astray”.
At least one of their political parties is willing to take responsibility for their actions.
“The machine of destruction does not stop for one day”
Israeli historian ILAN PAPPE interviewed for Le Mur a Des Oreilles
Recorded 22 October 2013
LMaDO: Ilan, you are an historian, you’ve published numerous books, amongst them the famous and controversial for some people Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine in 2006. In 2007 you moved to England where you are currently teaching history at the Exeter University. You are part of what is called by some people “the new historians” who give a new analysis and narrative of the history of Zionism and the history of the creation of Israel. You’ve taken some radical positions against the state of Israel. Why and when did you decide to stand on the Palestinians’ side? And what were the consequences for you being Israeli?
ILAN PAPPE: Changing point of view on such a crucial issue is a long journey, it doesn’t happen in one day and it doesn’t happen because of one event. I’ve tried in one of my books called Out of the Frame to describe this journey out of Zionism to a critical position against Zionism. If I had to choose a formative event that really changed my point of view in dramatic way, it would be the attack of the Israelis on Lebanon in 1982. For us who grew up in Israel, it was the first non-consensus war, the first war that obviously was a war of choice: Israel was not attacked, Israel attacked. Then the first Intifada happened. These events were eye openers in many ways for people like myself who already had some doubts about Zionism, about the historical version we learned at school.
It is a long journey and once you take it, you are facing your own society, you are even facing your own family and it is not a nice position to be in. People who know Israel know that it is an intimate and vibrant society so if you are against it, you feel it in every aspect of your life. I think this is one of the reasons why it takes a bit longer for the people like me to come to the point where you say there is no return: you have to subscribe to these views whatever the repercussions are.
Hypocrite of the Year Awards
No. 3: CAMERON BREWER
Auckland councillor Cameron Brewer, who has been baying for Mayor Len Brown’s blood for not declaring gifts, has admitted not declaring a four-day junket to the Gold Coast.
Mr Brewer yesterday admitted taking free air tickets and accommodation paid for by MediaWorks, which runs TV3. The right-wing councillor said he made a declaration of interests in 2011, but not in 2012, which would cover the period he went to Queensland.
Major holidays during summer are fine, so you can get away in nice weather and have a hassle free break from it all. Colonial cultural impositions that are detached from any traditional roots…dump ’em. If Christians wish to celebrate Christmas, then fine. And they can do that whenever they want – it’s not any of my business or concern. But this New Year in the middle of summer? To me, that’s offensive bullshit.
Could. But an extended holiday in winter would be kinda meh. Scrub the Xmas stat days and replace with a floating stat day or two that people can nominate for according to their religion or whatever.
And meld any N. European NY celebrations with matariki and transfer the stat days from end Dec/beginning Jan to whatever time in June is agreed to be the new, sensible and rooted mark of NY.
A visit to a Hamilton Library. Should be renamed. People chattering. Taking phone calls. More social center than place for reading and reflection. Has Hamilton Council taken money from copyright holders so that libraries can play background music, which has the consequence, that people don’t fell the need any longer to be quiet. Is this internet? people do all their quiet work online at home?
The Library, as a refuge to a young person to read and get away from the family home, is dying.
(Quietly) use libraries all the time, and I disagree. Libraries have an opportunity to be a place of real learning, and community discourse if managed well. The opportunity to access (via library card) books of such diverse subject matter and perspective gives the library user access to the last truly free education in public service.
If done respectfully, getting people to engage – and dare I mention – putting coffee machines or services in place – could create a vibrant discussion place for all.
Some Auckland libraries have closed off reading soundproofed rooms specifically for those “quiet users”. I think this is a good solution.
Of course, university libraries – often used as private study facilities – have different uses and would benefit from the traditional silent approach.
Libraries have become a joke, In Aucklands main Library you cannot move for people sitting on the floors their laptops plugged into power outlets and shouting at the laptop, in foreign languages usually, whilst they use the libraries free wifi to conduct video conversations to family/friends overseas.
I would imagine the majority of these people dot even have a library card all the want is the free video links and free power to recharge their laptops.
The free computers provided by library are taken up by children playing computer games.
Hardly anyone uses the library for the purpose of reading maybe because there is no room left for people to sit.
I would like to remove all the electronic gizmos from library and return to it being a repository of books, music etc
If people want to use computers/wifi/video etc let them go to any number of video cafes around town. They are not very expensive and everyone there expects to be doing the same thing so no problem upsetting the other users.
Yeah, I don’t get that at all. Why not use libraries to have free wifi outside of hours and outside of the building???? There are a huge number of rooms, in schools, churches, with power available, and soon to have a fast broadband. And well the internet is replacing a lot of the stuff you find in a library anyway…
…oh wow, you mean you have all these young backpackers, and they aren’t using the local fast food burger shop because the wifi there is so crap. Its called capitalism, where are they, where have they been for the last thirty years. Thatcher socialist for the rich.
Could a mod please enlighten me as to why this racist fascist arse is still allowed to comment here after many, many comments comprised of nothing but bigoted filth?
The largesse of the Federal Reserve over the past five years has amounted to one of the largest ever subsidies to the American wealthy—fueling record fortunes, record numbers of new millionaires and billionaires, and an unprecedented shopping spree for everything from Ferraris to Francis Bacon paintings. The prices of the assets owned by the wealthy, and the things they buy, have gone parabolic, bearing little relationship to the weak, broader economy.
That’s exactly what a lot of us have been saying about the US QE since it started.
Wonder how the USA would a fared if the QE had been directed at householders, industry, infrastructure and workers, as it was in the “New Deal” instead of to the bankers.
If the success of the “New Deal” and similar polices in the 30’s, in NZ, are any indication, a lot better.
“It’s interesting too at Mediaworks, it’s a sisterhood running it and I’m just writing up my affidavit now and reflecting on it, it’s amazing, it’s back to the future with Helen and co.”
IIRC, he was calling it the MediaWorks Whanau when he was stood down and now it’s a sisterhood because he’s been effectively fired. He really is a misogynist and definitely should not be on air in any form.
Tracey I would be very curious to know why you would remotely think that, and further, if you could provide any evidence to support such a weak brainwibble…….
We trust this company to manage our prisons. Anyone watching here ?
From the Guardian, Serco forced to repay 68 million British pounds for non-existent criminals on electronic tagging release ….
“The scale of overcharging – which included invoicing for the tagging of offenders who were not being monitored, some of whom were already back in prison or had died – is several times larger than previously thought. The original figure was believed to be £15m-£20m for the contracts held by both Serco and the security company G4S; the latter has yet to reach agreement on how much it will repay.
Both contracts are now the subject of criminal investigation by the Serious Fraud Office (SFO).”
people like grumpy say that is not a proven lie so it doesn’t count and presumably doesnt bear the time for further scrutiny. It’s only your politician views that enable you to see it as misleading or lying. Now, if it turns out he has slept with anyone who is not his wife, grumpy will be baying for his blood. I think Slater will be investigating this and any other right wing politicians private life for such proof, so it’s only a matter of time.
Nick Paterson
General Manager
Fraud and Corruption
NZ Serious Fraud Office
Julie Read
CEO / Director
NZ Serious Fraud Office
‘Open Letter’
FYI
“The New Zealand Private Prosecution Service Limited (“The Service”) gives notice that if the SFO refuses to investigate the complaint of corruption against Mayor Len Brown under Section 105(1) of the Crimes Act the Service will file a Private Prosecution without further notice to the proposed defendants. The names proposed defendants are Len Brown and the CEO of Sky City
Graham Mc Cready
Agent for NZPPS Ltd
…………………
…………………
Please be advised that I, Penny Bright have worked with the agent for NZ Private Prosecution Services Ltd, Graham McCready on other matters, specifically the private prosecution of John Archibald Banks for alleged electoral fraud, for which he has been committed to trial in the Auckland High Court for a defended hearing set down for 19 May 2014.
(As the ‘process server’, I personally served the witness summonses which got Kim Dotcom, his lawyer and bodyguard, and the CEO of Sky City to the Auckland District Court to give oral evidence on 15 October 2013. )
Both Lisa Prager and myself do hope that this will not be necessary and look forward to the NZ Serious Fraud Office ‘doing your job’, as the ‘lead agency’ in New Zealand tasked with investigating bribery and corruption complaints.
Kind regards,
Penny Bright
……………..
Lisa Prager
……………….
_____________________________________________________________________________
( A copy of this above-mentioned complaint to the NZ Serious Fraud Office is available here:
The Commerce Commission has laid charges against Carter Holt Harvey and one of its senior managers over alleged price-fixing in the Auckland timber market.
The proceedings were filed in the High Court today alleging Carter Holt Harvey entered into an understanding with Fletcher Distribution Ltd to fix the prices of structural timber sold to commercial customers in Auckland.
The alleged offending occurred during the latter part of 2012 and early 2013.
“The commission has also filed proceedings against a Carter Holt Harvey manager, Mr Dean Dodds, for his involvement in the understanding,” the commission said in a statement.
Drumroll… you will shortly announce you will stand again for the Mayoralty.
Where your vision for the Auckland Plan, Unitary Plan, housing areas, and the actual development of Auckland will be your first priority.
Oh wait … nope, your focus will be on a sustained internal witch hunt that destroys thousands of careers, grinds the entire administration to a halt, and, once you’ve achieved your aims and are standing on the rubble of a permanent of cycle of internal restructuring, delivers actual power in Auckland straight back to National.
“He’s been admitted to a mental hospital”.
Cue extended hilarity on the Panel
Radio NZ National, Friday 20 December 2013
Jim Mora, Joe Bennett, Duncan Webb
Just before 4 p.m. ….
JIM MORA: Ummmmm, what’s happened to the interpreter at Nelson Mandela’s memorial service?
JOE BENNETT: He heeeeeeeeeeeeee!
SUSAN BALDACCI:[drily] He’s been admitted to a mental hospital.
…… [Much snickering, snorting and hilarity ensues] ……
JIM MORA: Ha ha ha ha ha! ….. [snort, snicker] ….. Susan Baldacci, thank you very much! Back with the Panel after the news!
I am sure this writer, i.e. moi, was not the only listener to feel there was something deeply wrong and immoral about these fools laughing their heads off like this. I sent the ring-leader the following email…..
Why are you laughing at the plight of that sign language man?
Dear Jim,
I am concerned that you and your Panel guests seemed to be greatly amused at the sign language impostor’s being committed to a mental hospital.
You have on several occasions expressed disdain and amusement at Mr Jantjie’s antics, but have not uttered one word about the supreme hypocrisy of having Barack Obama, that harsh and implacable enemy of dissenters and human rights activists, “lead the mourning”.
Yours in disgust at the hijacking of a real hero’s memory,
Morrissey Breen
Northcote Point
Keep listening, fellas! He often reads out my little bon-bons.
Do you know if there’ll be a Matinee Idle this season? If they had any sense RNZ could save themselves a lot of money and extend its run throughout the year!
As usual, nothing in Moz’s misremembering took place, with the exception of a small laugh from Bennett, which may actually be a cough. It’s hard to tell, it was that brief.
Moz, have you ever considered applying for the post of North Korean Revolutionary People’s Historical Record Airbrusher? Yours is the only kind of revisionism they respect.
As usual, nothing in Moz’s misremembering took place,
There you go again with another extreme statement. You know, if you attempted to comment on my work proportionately and fairly, you might have a point; my posts are not always perfect and I am more than willing to listen to considered and intelligent criticism. Unfortunately, your hectoring is neither considered nor intelligent. You seem to have only one setting: scoffing disrespect. Could I remind you that this is not your local Labour Party branch and you cannot simply shout me or anyone else into silence.
….with the exception of a small laugh from Bennett, which may actually be a cough. It’s hard to tell, it was that brief.
He laughed in exactly the same way as he did when the subject of Mayor Rob Ford’s “great finesse” comes up. You can pretend that it was just a cough if you like.
MEMO FELLOW STANDARDISTI: I urge you to listen to Joe Bennett laughing, and then tell this bloke Te Reo Putake, who avers he was actually coughing, what you think of his perception skills.
My dashed-off transcript was faithful to the mood of levity and hilarity in the studio. I didn’t get all their immortal wit, however, so here’s the missing treasure….
SUSAN BALDACCI: He was actually DUE to attend a mental health checkup on the day of the memorial for Mandela when he did all the crazy— he was actually supposed to go to the doctor that day. MORA:[amused] Oh REALLY? SUSAN BALDACCI: The mental health doctor. And he just said, No maybe I’ll go to the memorial instead! JOE BENNETT: Am I the only one who thinks this was made up after the event? MORA: How do you mean? JOE BENNETT: Oh I don’t believe this! MORA: Oh, okay! No time to discuss this now. It’s five o’clock!
My transcript, as pretty much all my transcripts do, caught the mood in that studio perfectly—and you know it. You object to my pinning down these vacuous commentators because they share many of your prejudices, and laugh at some of the same victims of black propaganda campaigns that you do.
Moz, have you ever considered applying for the post of North Korean Revolutionary People’s Historical Record Airbrusher? Yours is the only kind of revisionism they respect.
Ha! If anyone on this forum repeatedly acts like a North Korean fanatic, it is you, whether you are jumping on someone who backs the wrong Labour Party candidate or, more brutally, when you echo the lies told by the people who defame and persecute political dissenters and journalists.
23:15 …. and there goes 23 years of probably the most inoffensive, oft-times clever, sometimes informative free-to-air television late night news and ditzy bits – staffed by people whose egos weren’t the driving force. All knobbled by the commercial imperative and the vacuous admen.
Wheel in Paul Henry (aided by a forklift to lift the weight of his ego)
See how he runs. If Kiwis are smart – it’ll be a Channel 10 rerun.
Nightline – by no means perfect, but never an entrant in the race to the bottom
Buzz from the Beehive Melissa Lee – as may be discerned from the screenshot above – has not been demoted for doing something seriously wrong as Minister of ...
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Rob MacCullough writes – Pundits from the left and the right are arguing that National’s Fast Track Bill that is designed to speed up infrastructure decisions could end up becoming mired in a cesspool of corruption. Political commentator ...
Looking at the headlines this morning it’s hard to feel anything other than pessimistic about the future of humanity.Note that I’m not speaking about the future of mankind, but the survival of our humanity. The values that we believe in seem to be ebbing away, by the day.Perhaps every generation ...
Swabbing mixed breed baby chicks to test for avian influenzaUh oh. Bird flu – often deadly to humans – is not only being transmitted from infected birds to dairy cows, but is now travelling between dairy cows. As of last Friday, Bloomberg News reports, there were 32 American dairy herds ...
On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
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Buzz from the Beehive Reactions to news of the government’s readiness to make urgent changes to “the resource management system” through a Bill to amend the Resource Management Act (RMA) suggest a balanced approach is being taken. The Taxpayers’ Union says the proposed changes don’t go far enough. Greenpeace says ...
I’m starting to wonder if Anna Burns-Francis might be the best political interviewer we’ve got. That might sound unlikely to you, it came as a bit of a surprise to me.Jack Tame can be excellent, but has some pretty average days. I like Rebecca Wright on Newshub, she asks good ...
Chris Trotter writes – Willie Jackson is said to be planning a “media summit” to discuss “the state of the media and how to protect Fourth Estate Journalism”. Not only does the Editor of The Daily Blog, Martyn Bradbury, think this is a good idea, but he has also ...
Graeme Edgeler writes – This morning [April 21], the Wellington High Court is hearing a judicial review brought by Hon. Karen Chhour, the Minister for Children, against a decision of the Waitangi Tribunal. This is unusual, judicial reviews are much more likely to brought against ministers, rather than ...
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The infrastructure industry yesterday issued a “hurry up” message to the Government, telling it to get cracking on developing a pipeline of infrastructure projects.The hiatus around the change of Government has seen some major projects cancelled and others delayed, and there is uncertainty about what will happen with the new ...
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Calling all journalists, academics, planners, lawyers, political activists, environmentalists, and other members of the public who believe that the relationships between vested interests and politicians need to be scrutinised. We need to work together to make sure that the new Fast-Track Approvals Bill – currently being pushed through by the ...
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Bryce Edwards writes- The ability of the private sector to quickly establish major new projects making use of the urban and natural environment is to be supercharged by the new National-led Government. Yesterday it introduced to Parliament one of its most significant reforms, the Fast Track Approvals Bill. ...
Michael Bassett writes – If you think there is a move afoot by the radical Maori fringe of New Zealand society to create a parallel system of government to the one that we elect at our triennial elections, you aren’t wrong. Over the last few days we have ...
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The ability of the private sector to quickly establish major new projects making use of the urban and natural environment is to be supercharged by the new National-led Government. Yesterday it introduced to Parliament one of its most significant reforms, the Fast Track Approvals Bill. The Government says this will ...
This is a column to say thank you. So many of have been in touch since Mum died to say so many kind and thoughtful things. You’re wonderful, all of you. You’ve asked how we’re doing, how Dad’s doing. A little more realisation each day, of the irretrievable finality of ...
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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. ...
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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. ...
The Green Party has today launched a step-by-step guide to help New Zealanders make their voice heard on the Government’s democracy dodging and anti-environment fast track legislation. ...
The National Government’s proposed changes to the Residential Tenancies Act will mean tenants can be turfed from their homes by landlords with little notice, Labour housing spokesperson Kieran McAnulty said. ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith is today travelling to Europe where he’ll update the United Nations Human Rights Council on the Government’s work to restore law and order. “Attending the Universal Periodic Review in Geneva provides us with an opportunity to present New Zealand’s human rights progress, priorities, and challenges, while ...
Associate Agriculture Minister, Mark Patterson, formally reopened the world’s largest wool processing facility today in Awatoto, Napier, following a $50 million rebuild and refurbishment project. “The reopening of this facility will significantly lift the economic opportunities available to New Zealand’s wool sector, which already accounts for 20 per cent of ...
Hon Andrew Bayly, Minister for Small Business and Manufacturing At the Southland Otago Regional Engineering Collective (SOREC) Summit, 18 April, Dunedin Ngā mihi nui, Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Ko Whanganui aho Good Afternoon and thank you for inviting me to open your summit today. I am delighted ...
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Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage Paul Goldsmith is congratulating Mataaho Collective for winning the Golden Lion for best participant in the main exhibition at the Venice Biennale. "Congratulations to the Mataaho Collective for winning one of the world's most prestigious art prizes at the Venice Biennale. “It is good ...
The Government is reforming financial services to improve access to home loans and other lending, and strengthen customer protections, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly and Housing Minister Chris Bishop announced today. “Our coalition Government is committed to rebuilding the economy and making life simpler by cutting red tape. We are ...
“China remains a strong commercial opportunity for Kiwi exporters as Chinese businesses and consumers continue to value our high-quality safe produce,” Trade and Agriculture Minister Todd McClay says. Mr McClay has returned to New Zealand following visits to Beijing, Harbin and Shanghai where he met ministers, governors and mayors and engaged in trade and agricultural events with the New ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has completed a successful trip to Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines, deepening relationships and capitalising on opportunities. Mr Luxon was accompanied by a business delegation and says the choice of countries represents the priority the New Zealand Government places on South East Asia, and our relationships in ...
New Zealand is demonstrating its commitment to reducing global greenhouse emissions, and supporting clean energy transition in South East Asia, through a contribution of NZ$41 million (US$25 million) in climate finance to the Asian Development Bank (ADB)-led Energy Transition Mechanism (ETM). Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Climate Change Minister Simon Watts announced ...
The Government is today releasing a list of organisations who received letters about the Fast-track applications process, says RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop. “Recently Ministers and agencies have received a series of OIA requests for a list of organisations to whom I wrote with information on applying to have a ...
Attorney-General Judith Collins today announced the appointment of Wellington Barrister David Jonathan Boldt as a Judge of the High Court, and the Honourable Justice Matthew Palmer as a Judge of the Court of Appeal. Justice Boldt graduated with an LLB from Victoria University of Wellington in 1990, and also holds ...
Education Minister Erica Stanford will lead the New Zealand delegation at the 2024 International Summit on the Teaching Profession (ISTP) held in Singapore. The delegation includes representatives from the Post Primary Teachers’ Association (PPTA) Te Wehengarua and the New Zealand Educational Institute (NZEI) Te Riu Roa. The summit is co-hosted ...
A stopbank upgrade project in Tairawhiti partly funded by the Government has increased flood resilience for around 7000ha of residential and horticultural land so far, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones today attended a dawn service in Gisborne to mark the end of the first stage of the ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters will represent the Government at Anzac Day commemorations on the Gallipoli Peninsula next week and engage with senior representatives of the Turkish government in Istanbul. “The Gallipoli campaign is a defining event in our history. It will be a privilege to share the occasion ...
Science, Innovation and Technology and Defence Minister Judith Collins will next week attend the OECD Science and Technology Ministerial conference in Paris and Anzac Day commemorations in Belgium. “Science, innovation and technology have a major role to play in rebuilding our economy and achieving better health, environmental and social outcomes ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon held a bilateral meeting today with the President of the Philippines, Ferdinand Marcos Jr. The Prime Minister was accompanied by MP Paulo Garcia, the first Filipino to be elected to a legislature outside the Philippines. During today’s meeting, Prime Minister Luxon and President Marcos Jr discussed opportunities to ...
The Government has announced that $20 million in funding will be made available to Westport to fund much needed flood protection around the town. This measure will significantly improve the resilience of the community, says Local Government Minister Simeon Brown. “The Westport community has already been allocated almost $3 million ...
The Government is proud to support the first ever Repco Supercars Championship event in Taupō as up to 70,000 motorsport fans attend the Taupō International Motorsport Park this weekend, says Economic Development Minister Melissa Lee. “Anticipation for the ITM Taupō Super400 is huge, with tickets and accommodation selling out weeks ...
Local Government Minister Simeon Brown has announced an increase to the Rates Rebate Scheme, putting money back into the pockets of low-income homeowners. “The coalition Government is committed to bringing down the cost of living for New Zealanders. That includes targeted support for those Kiwis who are doing things tough, such ...
The Coalition Government is investing in a project to boost survival rates of New Zealand mussels and grow the industry, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones has announced. “This project seeks to increase the resilience of our mussels and significantly boost the sector’s productivity,” Mr Jones says. “The project - ...
Benefit figures released today underscore the importance of the Government’s plan to rebuild the economy and have 50,000 fewer people on Jobseeker Support, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “Benefit numbers are still significantly higher than when National was last in government, when there was about 70,000 fewer ...
The Government’s commitment to doubling New Zealand’s renewable energy capacity is backed by new data showing that clean energy has helped the country reach its lowest annual gross emissions since 1999, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. New Zealand’s latest Greenhouse Gas Inventory (1990-2022) published today, shows gross emissions fell ...
The Government is bringing the earthquake-prone building review forward, with work to start immediately, and extending the deadline for remediations by four years, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “Our Government is focused on rebuilding the economy. A key part of our plan is to cut red tape that ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and his Thai counterpart, Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, have today agreed that New Zealand and the Kingdom of Thailand will upgrade the bilateral relationship to a Strategic Partnership by 2026. “New Zealand and Thailand have a lot to offer each other. We have a strong mutual desire to build ...
RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop and Transport Minister Simeon Brown have today announced the Coalition Government’s intention to extend port coastal permits for a further 20 years, providing port operators with certainty to continue their operations. “The introduction of the Resource Management Act in 1991 required ports to obtain coastal ...
Today’s announcement that inflation is down to 4 per cent is encouraging news for Kiwis, but there is more work to be done - underlining the importance of the Government’s plan to get the economy back on track, acting Finance Minister Chris Bishop says. “Inflation is now at 4 per ...
Refreshed health guidance released today will help parents and schools make informed decisions about whether their child needs to be in school, addressing one of the key issues affecting school attendance, says Associate Education Minister David Seymour. In recent years, consistently across all school terms, short-term illness or medical reasons ...
Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones is streamlining high-level oceans management while maintaining a focus on supporting the sector’s role in the export-led recovery of the economy. “I am working to realise the untapped potential of our fishing and aquaculture sector. To achieve that we need to be smarter with ...
Associate Agriculture Minister Mark Patterson is speaking at the International Wool Textile Organisation Congress in Adelaide, promoting New Zealand wool, and outlining the coalition Government’s support for the revitalisation the sector. "New Zealand’s wool exports reached $400 million in the year to 30 June 2023, and the coalition Government ...
The Government is making legislative changes to make it easier for new early learning services to be established, and for existing services to operate, Associate Education Minister David Seymour says. The changes involve repealing the network approval provisions that apply when someone wants to establish a new early learning service, ...
Changes to the Resource Management Act will align consenting for coal mining to other forms of mining to reduce barriers that are holding back economic development, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. “The inconsistent treatment of coal mining compared with other extractive activities is burdensome red tape that fails to acknowledge ...
Trade, Agriculture and Forestry Minister Todd McClay has concluded productive discussions with ministerial counterparts in Beijing today, in support of the New Zealand-China trade and economic relationship. “My meeting with Commerce Minister Wang Wentao reaffirmed the complementary nature of the bilateral trade relationship, with our Free Trade Agreement at its ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Simon Wilmot, Senior Lecturer, Film, Deakin University Among the many Australian who served during the second world war, there is a small group of people whose stories remain largely untold. These are the Muslim men and women who, while small in number, ...
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The Fairer Future coalition of anti-poverty groups say Whaikaha must be properly funded going forward, and that to argue that poor financial management of the new Ministry is a red herring by the Prime Minister. ...
The Taxpayers’ Union is today congratulating Hon. Paul Goldsmith on his appointment as Minister for Media and Communications and urges him to rule out state intervention in the private media sector. ...
Asia Pacific Report The West Papuan resistance OPM leader has condemned Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and US President Joe Biden, accusing their countries of “six decades of treachery” over Papuan independence. The open letter was released today by OPM chairman Jeffrey P Bomanak on the eve of ANZAC Day ...
Welcome to The Spinoff Books Confessional, in which we get to know the reading habits and quirks of New Zealanders at large. This week: writer and one of Time Magazine’s 100 most influential people of 2024, Lauren Groff.The book I wish I’d writtenIf I wish I’d written a ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By David Fechner, Research Fellow, Social Marketing, Griffith University mavo/Shutterstock Imagine having dinner at a restaurant. The menu offers plant-based meat alternatives made mostly from vegetables, mushrooms, legumes and wheat that mimic meat in taste, texture and smell. Despite being given that ...
“Three Strikes is a dead-end policy proposed by a dead-end government. The Three Strikes law ignores the causes of crime, instead just brutalising people already crushed by the cost of living.” ...
By Don Wiseman, RNZ Pacific senior journalist An Australian-born judge in Kiribati could well face deportation later this week after a tribunal ruling that he should be removed from his post. The tribunal’s report has just been tabled in the Kiribati Parliament and is due to be debated by MPs ...
With its clear mandate for police use, political nuances, and nuanced public trust, Denmark's insights provide valuable considerations for Australia and New Zealand. ...
Books editor Claire Mabey reviews poet Louise Wallace’s debut novel. A famous poet once said to me that he’s always suspicious when a poet publishes a novel. I never really understood why but maybe it’s something to do with cheating on your first form. Louise Wallace is a poet. She’s ...
For a few months at the turn of the millennium, TrueBliss burned bright as the biggest pop stars in the country. Alex Casey chats to two superfans who still hold the flame. During a humble backyard wedding in Nelson, 1999, one of the cordially invited guests had to excuse themselves ...
How will the recent wave of job cuts impact ethnic diversity in the media? In November last year, I was working a very busy day in the newsroom of a large online news site, interviewing whānau about their concerns over the imminent closure of one of the few puna reo ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ruth Knight, Researcher, Queensland University of Technology Have you ever felt sick at work? Perhaps you had food poisoning or the flu. Your belly hurt, or you felt tired, making it hard to concentrate and be productive. How likely would you be ...
Despite heavy criticism and an ongoing select committee process, the Police Minister says the Government will forge ahead with a ban on gang patches. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sam Whiting, Lecturer – Creative Industries, University of South Australia Shutterstock Everyone has a favourite band, or a favourite composer, or a favourite song. There is some music which speaks to you, deeply; and other music which might be the current ...
A new survey says ‘outlook not great’ for those charged with building infrastructure, while RMA changes delight farmers and depress environmentalists, writes Anna Rawhiti-Connell in this excerpt from The Bulletin, The Spinoff’s morning news round-up. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here. First RMA changes announced ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Olli Hellmann, Associate Professor of Political Science, University of Waikato Getty Images When New Zealanders commemorate Anzac Day on April 25, it’s not only to honour the soldiers who lost their lives in World War I and subsequent conflicts, but also ...
A leaked document shows the Canterbury/Waitaha arm of health agency Te Whatu Ora is scurrying to save $13.3 million by July. The “financial sustainability target”, which was “allocated” to Waitaha, is consistent with what’s happening in other districts, says Sarah Dalton, executive director of the Association of Salaried Medical Specialists. ...
A look at the state of the previous government’s affordable housing scheme, and what could come next.Remind me: What’s KiwiBuild again?First announced in 2012, KiwiBuild was a flagship policy of the Labour Party heading into both its 2014 and 2017 election campaigns. With Jacinda Ardern as prime minister, ...
Labour in opposition will be shocked to learn which party had six years in power but squandered any chance to make real change. Grant Robertson’s valedictory speech was a predictably entertaining trip down memory lane. The acid-tongued incoming Otago University chancellor administered a sick burn to the coalition government. He ...
Taiwan’s semiconductor industry is seen some as its ‘silicon shield’ against invasion – but how will overseas expansion affect that protection? The post The state of Taiwan’s silicon shield appeared first on Newsroom. ...
There’s relief for building owners bending under the weight of earthquake strengthening rules – and costs – that came into force seven years ago. Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk has announced a scheduled 2027 review of the earthquake-prone building regulations will now start this year. Owners will also get ...
Opinion: It has been announced that nine percent of roles at Oranga Tamariki will be disestablished, presumably to help fund the tax cuts promised by the coalition Government. I am reminded of the graphics used to illustrate pandemic events, where five thousand people are standing in a field and then ...
After more than two sleepless days, running through savage terrain, Greig Hamilton didn’t know if he was going to finish one of the most gruelling psychological assaults in sport. He was metres away from the finish line, a yellow gate made famous in a Netflix documentary; a race he’d dreamed ...
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The following interview with former Green Party MP Sue Kedgley came about because she features in the new memoir Hine Toa by activist Ngāhuia te Awekōtuku; the two knew each other at the University of Auckland in the early 70s, when they were both took on leadership roles in the ...
COMMENTARY:By Murray Horton New Zealand needs to get tough with Israel. It’s not as if we haven’t done so before. When NZ authorities busted a Mossad operation in Auckland 20 years ago, the government didn’t say: “Oh well, Israel has the right to defend itself.” No, it arrested, prosecuted, ...
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Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Martin, Visiting Fellow, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University Three weeks from now, some of us will be presented with a mountain of budget papers, and just about all of us will get to hear about them on radio, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Dan Lowry, Ice Sheet & Climate Modeller, GNS Science Hugh Chittock/Antarctica New Zealand, CC BY-SA As the climate warms and Antarctica’s glaciers and ice sheets melt, the resulting rise in sea level has the potential to displace hundreds of millions of ...
The government's plan to reintroduce a three strikes regime is being strongly opposed by lawyers, who argue there is no evidence it reduces crime or helps people rehabilitate. ...
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While police are "broadly in favour", the government's proposed anti-gang laws are facing pushback from lawyers, rights groups and former gang members. ...
While police are "broadly in favour", the government's proposed anti-gang laws are facing pushback from lawyers, rights groups and former gang members. ...
By Miriam Zarriga in Port Moresby Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has arrived at Kokoda Station, Northern province, at the start of his state visit to Papua New Guinea. Both Albanese and Prime Minister James Marape will meet with the locals and the Northern Provincial government before they begin their ...
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By Patrick Decloitre, RNZ Pacific correspondent French Pacific desk Security forces reinforcements were sent from France ahead of two rival marches in the capital Nouméa today, at the same time and only two streets away one from the other. One march, called by Union Calédonienne party (a component of the ...
A poll last August found that just 16% of New Zealanders oppose bringing back the ‘Three Strikes’ law. The nationwide poll of 1,000 New Zealanders was commissioned by Family First NZ and carried out by Curia Market Research. ...
The solo show from Ana Scotney is both sprawling and intimate, and a must-see, writes Mad Chapman. In the opening moments of Scattergun: After the Death of Rūaumoko, writer and performer Ana Scotney lays out the groundwork, literally. Silently moving around the square stage, Scotney is not so much dancing ...
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We repeat our call for criminal justice policy to be based on evidence, something the three strikes regime neglects to recognise – with no evidence that it either reduces crime or assists with rehabilitation. ...
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11175412
“Mr Key told the Herald last night that it was good to end the year in a strong position. “That reflects the growing economic confidence and the acknowledgement by voters that we’ve steered the ship on a very deliberate and accurate course to economic prosperity.”
What??? “very deliberate and accurate course to economic prosperity”
Is that what he calls the $40 billion Christchurch Earthquake??? Is that what he calls the record Dairy pay out this year, its a commodity John…nothing to do with your inept National Party…
The only thing National is good at is SPIN.
National PLANNED the earthquakes? Have they got some Diabolical Machine that causes tectonic rupture?
Can we use it to sink Australia?
Everyone knows Bob Parker engineered the earthquakes: http://bobparkerengineeredthechchquake.blogspot.co.nz/
it was a plot worthy of sideshow-bob..
phillip ure..
”Not in the same league”, so says Auckland City Councilor Cameron Brewer in this morning’s Herald-online over the GIFT of a trip to Australia’s Gold Coast from the news organization Media-Works which this Auckland City Councilor after calling on the Mayor Len Brown to resign over undeclared gifts has admitted to not declaring,
Utter HYPOCRISY is my opinion and Brewer should follow His own advice and resign from the Auckland Council…
Review of Guy McPherson’s book on Climate change and human extinction,. ‘Going Dark’
http://redrave.blogspot.co.nz/2013/12/review-of-going-dark.html
Another day, another round of editorial Len–bashing by the Herald, arrogantly claiming to speak on behalf of Auckland residents the majority of whom couldn’t even be bothered to get off their chuffs and vote in the local elections.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/politics/news/article.cfm?c_id=280&objectid=11175347
Xox
Some altered lyrics to an old Kiwi classic song re. Cam Brewer. “There is no corruption in New Zealand”
Nah, just utter hypocracy
I have been a customer of Genesis Energy (on and off due to changing personal circumstances) since 2003, and in the past couple of months, I have noticed that they are getting more hard-nosed in pursuing payment.
Up until the start of spring, they used to send a reminder that you have missed your payment after the due date of your bill, then 7 days after that, followed it up with a letter warning that you would get your power disconnected. Then you would ring up and get an extentsion of a week or two, and then some breathing space, of course then you could get away with not paying the full amount, as credit action seemed to cease after the next bill came in.
Now they threaten disconnection if you miss the due date. And if you get an extension, they chase you if you dont pay what you promise to pay by that date.
Fortunately, I am in a position where I can scrape together the money to pay the bill and have never been in serious danger of being disconnected (though not the case with a lot of other people).
I have no plans to switch though, as I have objections to the way the power market is set up (There was nothing wrong with getting the power from your local power board or council MED), plus there have been scores of botched switches.
I think Genesis are doing this as it gears up for privatisation for next year…
Must keep cashflow looking good for prospective buyers…
Really, though, they should be doing that anyway.
I mean, if they’re being rude and intimidating, that’s out of order. But a reminder your bill is due and a week or two grace period is how it should really work. Just ignoring on following up on unpaid bills is business incompetence whether you’re a private company or an SOE.
And I’m not trying to undermine your circumstances or people less well off. Fuel poverty shouldn’t be happening in New Zealand. But that’s not Genesis’s job. That’s the government’s job.
While overseas I missed a payment with Trustpower. When discovered I paid with days short of disconnection. They charged me an extra $25 and $40 for their trouble.
I am with Genesis. And I pay my power bill by Direct Credit this splits the bill into manageable chunks, and better still, they NEVER bitch about the state of your bill. Mines about 600 in the red, but as long as the DC is running, no moans, and more importantly no threats to be cut off .
Mines with Powershop, i am something like 5 or 600 dollars in credit having had a automatic payment of 20 dollars running for the past 3 years and taking advantage of every ‘special’ and buying power months ahead when the future price is lower than their retail packs,
It’s all transacted on-line and i do the meter read for them twice a week, this week i cut the auto-payment down to 15 dollars a week as the rebates for power i have bought but didn’t use have piled up the cash in my account to 400 dollars,
i used on-line banking to alter the auto-payment which occurred without a hitch and thinking about the ease with which i can now manage my power and bank accounts i have to wonder when all the Government departments are going to leave Primitive for the annuls of history and get with the digital age…
Another grim poll for the Nats: http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11175412
I like the headline: Maori Party holds key to government. As if!
Snap, lolz…
Great minds etc!
It’s standard practice to assume minor parties retain current electorates, if any. That’s all made clear in the main story, and the main point the piece makes is that National + Maori would have enough to govern, if things pan out according to the poll – though the text also acknowledges that the Maori Party will be facing a severe challenge.
• National – 46.8% (+3.1%)
• Labour – 35.4% (-2.3%)
• Greens – 10.8% (-0.5%)
• NZ First – 3.9% (-0.5%)
• Maori Party – 1.3% (+0.5%)
• Mana – 0.9% (+0.2%)
• Act – 0% (-0.1%)
• United Future – 0% (Same)
• Conservatives – 0.7% (-0.3%)
• Legalise Cannabis – 0.1% (Same)
Obviously, like all polls, it is fairly useless, as it is very difficult to predict how the minor parties will play out. Maori might have 3,2 or 1. Mana might have 1, 2 or 3. United Future, ACT should might cease to exist. Winston, surely, will get above 5% again.
I think I recall some posters predicting Cunliffe + Greens would be pushing the 50% mark. Might be grimly amusing to dig those predictions up.
I also assume retention of current seats when I convert the Roy Morgan polls to seats via the electorate calculator, lurgee. But that’s to establish a conservative base line (ie, the best the right can expect). The problem for the Nats in this poll is that it’s the one that most consistently overestimates their support.
So, if the best they can do is hope the MP still have 3 seats, then they are gone.
ps, anybody remember the Conservative Party? Just a few weeks ago, they were going to be National’s life support system, now they’re nowhere and the MP are their only hope. As Bad12 points out, Key’s weird attack on Hone Harawira now makes some sense.
Key’s attack on Hone made perfect sense if you read the comments on the stuff story when it was first announced Hone was going to South Africa.
Huge amount of racial-divisive hate-speech all voted to +20 and +30 within minutes.
Obviously Hone has said a lot of polarising things in the past, and it seems some segment of the population really really detest him, and not because of his politics.
I’m not sure I get the logic of this. Sure Key might be playing to his base but why? They vote for him anyway and they do get out and vote. Maybe National is seeing some slippage of this demographic to Labour? On the other hand, in attacking Hone he risks pissing off voters in the Maori Electorates who don’t have a great record at turning out to vote and getting them energized enough to go to the polling booth. Surely if National is going to win next year they need the so-called ‘missing million’ to sit out another election.
Reminding everyone how much they hate Hone taints Mana’s electoral partners: Greens and Labour.
Vote Labour, get Hone.
I get that Lanth but I’m still inclined to think the prime motivation for attacking Hone was Key’s own wounded ego. He knows that he handled the whole delegation and the trip poorly and he hated being reminded of his weasel words around his stance on the ’81 tour. He looked small and petty and his instinct was to throw some shit at someone else as a diversion.
Yip, NZFirst getting over 5% changes the whole picture dramatically.
Agreed. And based on this poll Winston only needs another 1 percent (or thereabouts) to get back in. You’d be mad not to assume he’s well capable of achieving that.
The poll suggests that “Colin Craig – news story” and “Conservative Party vote” are 2 completely separate entitities.
(small sample and all that, but still).
I dunno, if Craigs gifted a seat then there might be a few cross-over votes from winstonFirst to the Conservatives on the basis that it won’t be a wasted vote
On behalf of the opposition, I implore John Key to try and “gift” Colin Craig a seat.
It’s a gift that would keep on giving …
re ‘grim toll for national’..
..how so..?
..nats have gone up..labour/grns have slumped..
..and what recent announcements were there from labour..?
..that’s right..!..that standover-threat/promise from neo-lib poster-boy parker..
..that labour would kick their constituents in the guts..again/still..
..by either raising the pension age..or raising g.s.t..
..parker invited punters to take their pick..which poisoned-chalice did they prefer..
..and for why..?..(i hear you ask..)
..because..as parker told us…t.i.n.a..
..eh..?
..and funny story..!..i am currently compiling the whoar-awards..
..and i am giving zinger of the year..to one i have relentlessly shredded all year..
..bill english..
..a week or so ago..he noted that the problem with labour..
..is that they don’t know where they stand..
..and when you have a party talking out of one side of their mouth about getting back those lost 800,000 voters..
..and out of the other promising to make them work for two years longer before getting the pension..
..(with many/most maori dying much earlier than pakeha..good one..!..eh..?..)
..it is hard not to agree with english..
.and when you add to parkers’ brain-fart-threat the refusal of labour to speak of the real poverty in this land..(they will only talk about the ‘working-poor’..haven’t you noticed..?..)
..it is clear that ideological-confusion/war is rampant in labour..
..and as the polls confirm..
..they are fooling/convincing nobody..
..especially not those ‘lost’ 800.000+ voters they claim to be reaching out to..
..phillip ure..
[deleted]
[lprent: currently banned. ]
There is a fresh Herald-Digipoll in today’s Herald-online, pretty much a large Yawn showing us all what we already know that the 2014 election is going to be very tight,
The Herald-Digipoll, or to be more precise, the analysis that comes with it is claiming the Maori Party will be the key to who forms the next Government,
Really, on my reading of the tea-leaves the Maori Party next year will cease to exist in any meaningful form without any representation in the Parliament, which would leave the equation needed for a Government of the left to need more than one Mana Party MP,(the electoral battle between Annette Sykes and Te Ururoa Flavell for the Waiariki electorate may well be a crucial one and my advice to the Green and Labour Parties would be to consider that electorate seat vary carefully)…
PS: easy to see why Slippery the PM has taken to attacking Mana Party leader Hone Harawira…
I think it’s reasonable to expect MP to win 1 seat. That’s my default prediction, anyway.
Which one do you Predict the Maori Party to win Lanth, i base a lot of my thinking around the swing TO the Mana Party that was evident in the Te Ikaroa-Rawhiti by-election coupled with the not inconsiderate fact that if it’s ‘hard’ out there then it’s doubly so for Maori who will reflect this in their votes,
Sharples seat of Tamaki-Makarau i would suggest is going back to Labour based on the by-elections swing against the Maori Party easily wiping Sharples 2000 vote margin into history,
Waiariki held by Flavell with a wafer-thin 1000 vote majority???, on the evidence of the Ikaroa-Rawhiti by-election again the Maori Party is but a bad memory,(what Labour and the Green Party ‘do’ in this electorate tho could alter that),
Te Tai Hauauru is the electorate i find hardest to ‘read’, Aunty Tariana isn’t standing so personal loyalty to Her isn’t a consideration, considering the above oft mentioned ‘swing’ and the (probably of more import), fact that in the final analysis this is the Rohe of Ratana who at their most recent of annual Hui have told the faithful their preference is for a Labour-Green Government, this far South the Mana Party isn’t that strong, i pick Labour will have this electorate back as well…
The knives will be sharpening for Cunliffe…hasn’t made the impact he was selected for
Get back to us when you wake up, PR.
Great news – the cow cockies are experiencing boom times after the drought.
Presumably Paula will be expecting WINZ to recover those advances she was to quick to offer.
paula won’t need to..i’m sure they will also ‘offer’..
..i am sure they would not like to be seen painting themselves as bludging-beneficiaries..
..eh..?
..(how does it work again..?
..oh..!..that’s right..!
..in the good yrs you profit/trouser it..
..and in the bad years we pay..
..eh..?
..that’s how you roll..eh..?..)
..phillip ure..
Green peace hammered in the court.
What a year to look forward to , every things looking up and the icing on the cake is when these extremist environmentalists are put in their place.
Corporate bludgers like green peace should be banned from our shores, bring on the oil and gas.
Let’s give National a real mandate at the next election and really see progress.
DEFINITELY, a mandate to spend another 9 parked up on the Opposition Benches should just about fix what ails National…
what progress?
more printed money?
more debt issued?
more shit in the rivers?
more oil on the beaches?
more miners killed dead?
more forestry workers killed dead?
still being unable to support a family on a decent days work?
more lies from Key?
more lies from Banks?
more of NZ owned by foreigners?
you don’t know what progress is, you shallow fool
VTO ,Try opening your eves.
More money printed = green policy
more debt = good management, that’s why we still can pay benefits to the needy.
rivers =National spending $100 million
More oil on beaches =WHERE ??
More miners killed =pike river =environmentalist and labour
Forestry deaths = national employing 30 site inspectors
Still unable to Support family’s = unemployment going down, looking better
Key = what lies
Bank’s = who cares , good riddance
Foreign owners = who cares, they can’t take it away and will ultimately will sell it back.
As I said , things are looking great and the greens continue to poison labours chances ,even better.
i suggest a name change, ‘Rich another delusional’ would obviously be a far better descriptive of you…
[deleted]
[lprent: currently banned. ]
‘Plus over the next few years the new wealth will “trickle down” to the poor, removing the need for any minimum wages’. You must be very young and naive Srylands. 30 years of ‘jam tomorrow’ and you still believe this neoliberal bullshit.
You seem to be both ignorant and nasty…
“More money printed = green policy”
Not at all – policy of Nat-type govts in UK and USA and Japan and everywhere. It is also what banks do whenever a loan is issued. Just printed.
” more debt = good management, that’s why we still can pay benefits to the needy.”
Total bullshit. For paying for tax cuts and the shortfall created by asset sales.
” rivers =National spending $100 million”
More bullshit. The shit is flowing into the rivers more today than it was yesterday. Same again tomorrow.
” More oil on beaches =WHERE ??”
Bay of Plenty, fool.
” More miners killed =pike river =environmentalist and labour”
Fuck you arsehole. Your demented philosophies killed 29 dead men. Stay away from the coast cunt.
” Forestry deaths = national employing 30 site inspectors”
Same again. National’s religion still led to these deaths. Everything can be priced? – brainless
” Still unable to Support family’s = unemployment going down, looking better”
Wake up idiot. I referred to being unable to support a family when employed. It is even more impossible when unemployed.
” Key = what lies”
Liar yourself
” Bank’s = who cares , good riddance”
He is an indicator of your people
” Foreign owners = who cares, they can’t take it away and will ultimately will sell it back.”
*slowly shakes head*
ignoramus extremis
rich the other. you are 100% on the money
who knows what planet vto, bad12 and Flip are living on
their heads are firmly up their ARSE
I hope green peace get smashed with costs
I dont know what planet youre living on, but I would like a live on a planet with clean air, and water, and no toxic waste dumps?
You, on the other hand would sit by and let tonnes of toxic waste fill our rivers if it meant an extra few dollars.
It is amazing isnt it. A homey smashes a few windows and it is lablled vandalism. An oil company poisons a whole river and it is called wealth creation.
And you’re as delusional as rich the other. Must be living on Planet Key.
Everything you listed there is wrong. As you believe it to be true this means that you’re delusional.
And here’s a list of John Key’s lies for you.
As for printing money, that is exactly what the government should be doing while taking away that power from the private banks. Money should not be loaned into existence bearing interest.
Progress?
If “progress” to you means thick smog enveloping our cities, rivers chocked with toxic waste and open cast mines scarring our national parks, then you can shove it right up your jaxy.
And the way things are set up, the oil companies will just suck our oil and gas dry, and take it, and the profits off shore. We will have nothing but a big mess to clean up and royalties pissed away on tax cuts.
And absolutely no wealth (resources) left to maintain our society.
@ Rich the other
Icing a ‘sh*! cake’ still tastes like ‘sh*!’. Hopefully those making it get to eat it.
rich the other … seeing as how you don’t think the environment is important to you, perhaps you should try holding your breath while you count your money ?
Graham McCready, He who ensured Banks gets whats coming to Him is going to have a busy New Year if news reports are anything to go by,
RadioNZ is this morning reporting that Graham will be seeking to prosecute Auckland Mayor Len Brown,(exactly what for the news report failed to provide enlightenment of),
David Cunliffe, Peter Whittal, Len Brown, and will we now see Cameron Brewer added to Grahams ‘list’…
The man is seriously over-exposing himself.
Yeah with every announcement of a new prosecution target the soundtrack to ‘Fame’ goes off in my nut,
Having had a conversation with the bloke about His abilities to perform in the High Court vis a vis the Bank’s prosecution i think over-stretching considering His abilities better describes His situation,
Still if any of those He is set to privately prosecute have broken the law and the relevant authorities refuse to prosecute i can only say ‘good luck with that’ and help Him out financially if i agree with the prosecution,(as i did with the Banks matter)…
Dick Quax on Len Brown being a repeat offender (RNZ 9am News Bulletin, 20 Dec 13):
“It’s deja vu – all over again”.
Amusing. Far less amusing is the high-handed politicking from the likes of him. Moral indignation should be reserved for more important things in life.
Yet no expenses disclosure from him last year. Glass house, Mr Quacks.
RNZ reported this morning that we can expect a Royal visit in April next year.
I had the memory that there was a convention that Royal Visits would not occur in an election year.
Can someone with better recall than me please comment.
It seems to me that a Royal Visit in April would tie in quite nicely with an Election called for around July 12. Get in quick whilst the populace are entranced with the ‘pretty baby’ etc.
Royal visits by the monarch.
William isn’t King.
No but he is Royal Family and represents then whilst in the country otherwise why bother coming. I don’t think conventions said only the Queen/King could not come I understood it would be any family member would not be invited during election year.
John key was reported on RNZ last month as saying
“The Prime Minister says there may be a visit to New Zealand by members of the royal family in 2014.
John Key says he can’t say whether a visit will take place, or who might be coming, but it doesn’t matter that it is an election year.
He says established protocols are in place and a visit would not happen close to a general election without support from both the main parties”
http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/political/226726/pm-sees-no-problem-with-royal-visit-in-election-year
Obvioulsy Key saw it as a possible breach of protocol then and said it could be avoided by getting agreement among other parties and that it not be held close to an election.
Of course a visit in April would not be considered close to a November election by Key he could then a month later decide to hold an early election.
As quoted above a visit would not happen close to an election. I consider any date in 2014 as being close to an election.
So what I was asking just what are the protocols
Here’s what Kiwiblog says: http://www.kiwiblog.co.nz/2013/11/making_shit_up.html
Which confirms that there is a convention but not that it is 3 months or just close (whatever that is)
Gee Cunliffes making stuff up again…no big surprise there
I think the convention is that royal visits don’t happen within 3 months of an election? William visited in March 2011 (after the Chch quake) which of course was also an election year.
Tony Ryall is a nasty bit of work. Check this out:
http://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/news/politics/9534274/Ryall-questioned-over-top-board-posts
I guess this is par for the course for this cabinet.
You know how, according to the RWNJs, private is always better and thus charter schools will be better? Well, in Sweden:
Oops
Que surprise
Exactly
At least one of their political parties is willing to take responsibility for their actions.
More.
http://www.thelocal.se/20130116/45628
“The machine of destruction does not stop for one day”
Israeli historian ILAN PAPPE interviewed for Le Mur a Des Oreilles
Recorded 22 October 2013
LMaDO: Ilan, you are an historian, you’ve published numerous books, amongst them the famous and controversial for some people Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine in 2006. In 2007 you moved to England where you are currently teaching history at the Exeter University. You are part of what is called by some people “the new historians” who give a new analysis and narrative of the history of Zionism and the history of the creation of Israel. You’ve taken some radical positions against the state of Israel. Why and when did you decide to stand on the Palestinians’ side? And what were the consequences for you being Israeli?
ILAN PAPPE: Changing point of view on such a crucial issue is a long journey, it doesn’t happen in one day and it doesn’t happen because of one event. I’ve tried in one of my books called Out of the Frame to describe this journey out of Zionism to a critical position against Zionism. If I had to choose a formative event that really changed my point of view in dramatic way, it would be the attack of the Israelis on Lebanon in 1982. For us who grew up in Israel, it was the first non-consensus war, the first war that obviously was a war of choice: Israel was not attacked, Israel attacked. Then the first Intifada happened. These events were eye openers in many ways for people like myself who already had some doubts about Zionism, about the historical version we learned at school.
It is a long journey and once you take it, you are facing your own society, you are even facing your own family and it is not a nice position to be in. People who know Israel know that it is an intimate and vibrant society so if you are against it, you feel it in every aspect of your life. I think this is one of the reasons why it takes a bit longer for the people like me to come to the point where you say there is no return: you have to subscribe to these views whatever the repercussions are.
Read more……
http://lemuradesoreilles.org/2013/12/18/conversation-with-ilan-pappe/
Hypocrite of the Year Awards
No. 3: CAMERON BREWER
Auckland councillor Cameron Brewer, who has been baying for Mayor Len Brown’s blood for not declaring gifts, has admitted not declaring a four-day junket to the Gold Coast.
Mr Brewer yesterday admitted taking free air tickets and accommodation paid for by MediaWorks, which runs TV3. The right-wing councillor said he made a declaration of interests in 2011, but not in 2012, which would cover the period he went to Queensland.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11175444
More hypocrisy…..
1.) Mora & co. (plus some amusingly demented comments by a trio of hapless Standardisti)….
http://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-16102013/#comment-711105
2.) Obama the human rights champion (WARNING: this one is really offensive)….
http://www.theguardian.com/world/video/2013/jul/01/barack-obama-nelson-mandela-robben-island-video
Looks the Brewer used a bit too much yeast.
Interesting that I did not see any coverage of the Brewer dishonesty on TV3. Wonder why?
I think its dumb to celebrate Christmas, a winter festival, in the Summer. See I said it.
Dumber now most NZ are non-religious.
Worse, the opportunity of having a winter holiday for Saudi’s to come over to at the hottest time of their year.
And then their the cultural recognition, renewal. I mean Maori is now a national language, but not their most important festival?
AGREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
Christ (if he existed) wasnt even born at this time of the year
Outside of Christian biblical texts there is not any physical evidence that Jesus ever existed.
Worth reading this http://www.nobeliefs.com/exist.htm
Yep, would much prefer to have our major holiday season during Matariki.
Major holidays during summer are fine, so you can get away in nice weather and have a hassle free break from it all. Colonial cultural impositions that are detached from any traditional roots…dump ’em. If Christians wish to celebrate Christmas, then fine. And they can do that whenever they want – it’s not any of my business or concern. But this New Year in the middle of summer? To me, that’s offensive bullshit.
We could always have two major holiday seasons.
Could. But an extended holiday in winter would be kinda meh. Scrub the Xmas stat days and replace with a floating stat day or two that people can nominate for according to their religion or whatever.
And meld any N. European NY celebrations with matariki and transfer the stat days from end Dec/beginning Jan to whatever time in June is agreed to be the new, sensible and rooted mark of NY.
A visit to a Hamilton Library. Should be renamed. People chattering. Taking phone calls. More social center than place for reading and reflection. Has Hamilton Council taken money from copyright holders so that libraries can play background music, which has the consequence, that people don’t fell the need any longer to be quiet. Is this internet? people do all their quiet work online at home?
The Library, as a refuge to a young person to read and get away from the family home, is dying.
Agree absolutely. The behaviour at libraries is often terrible. That includes university libraries.
especially university libraries!
dunedin library has a big screen tv blaring away right next to the news papers & scifi/fantasy section! isnt that nuts.
(Quietly) use libraries all the time, and I disagree. Libraries have an opportunity to be a place of real learning, and community discourse if managed well. The opportunity to access (via library card) books of such diverse subject matter and perspective gives the library user access to the last truly free education in public service.
If done respectfully, getting people to engage – and dare I mention – putting coffee machines or services in place – could create a vibrant discussion place for all.
Some Auckland libraries have closed off reading soundproofed rooms specifically for those “quiet users”. I think this is a good solution.
Of course, university libraries – often used as private study facilities – have different uses and would benefit from the traditional silent approach.
Libraries have become a joke, In Aucklands main Library you cannot move for people sitting on the floors their laptops plugged into power outlets and shouting at the laptop, in foreign languages usually, whilst they use the libraries free wifi to conduct video conversations to family/friends overseas.
I would imagine the majority of these people dot even have a library card all the want is the free video links and free power to recharge their laptops.
The free computers provided by library are taken up by children playing computer games.
Hardly anyone uses the library for the purpose of reading maybe because there is no room left for people to sit.
I would like to remove all the electronic gizmos from library and return to it being a repository of books, music etc
If people want to use computers/wifi/video etc let them go to any number of video cafes around town. They are not very expensive and everyone there expects to be doing the same thing so no problem upsetting the other users.
Yeah, I don’t get that at all. Why not use libraries to have free wifi outside of hours and outside of the building???? There are a huge number of rooms, in schools, churches, with power available, and soon to have a fast broadband. And well the internet is replacing a lot of the stuff you find in a library anyway…
…oh wow, you mean you have all these young backpackers, and they aren’t using the local fast food burger shop because the wifi there is so crap. Its called capitalism, where are they, where have they been for the last thirty years. Thatcher socialist for the rich.
That’s what happens when you give the darkies and homeless free reign.
Lefties have created this situation, so suck it up chaps.
Could a mod please enlighten me as to why this racist fascist arse is still allowed to comment here after many, many comments comprised of nothing but bigoted filth?
+1
QE: The greatest subsidy to the rich ever?
That’s exactly what a lot of us have been saying about the US QE since it started.
Wonder how the USA would a fared if the QE had been directed at householders, industry, infrastructure and workers, as it was in the “New Deal” instead of to the bankers.
If the success of the “New Deal” and similar polices in the 30’s, in NZ, are any indication, a lot better.
Yes, it’s truly amazing what a society can become when you make everyone a little better off rather than making a few at the top much better off.
Tamihere is off to court in search of an income stream to replace his lost salary.
I am wondering if he and vto are the same person?
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11175767
IIRC, he was calling it the MediaWorks Whanau when he was stood down and now it’s a sisterhood because he’s been effectively fired. He really is a misogynist and definitely should not be on air in any form.
he really does have a very dated view of the world and a seemingly bordeline pathological dislike of women in decision-making positions.
Tracey I would be very curious to know why you would remotely think that, and further, if you could provide any evidence to support such a weak brainwibble…….
you really need to learn to distinguish between defence of self and attack of other. You are confused.
Interesting article here about key’s statement… “”Anyone who is innocent has nothing to fear.” operating in practice
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11175860
We trust this company to manage our prisons. Anyone watching here ?
From the Guardian, Serco forced to repay 68 million British pounds for non-existent criminals on electronic tagging release ….
“The scale of overcharging – which included invoicing for the tagging of offenders who were not being monitored, some of whom were already back in prison or had died – is several times larger than previously thought. The original figure was believed to be £15m-£20m for the contracts held by both Serco and the security company G4S; the latter has yet to reach agreement on how much it will repay.
Both contracts are now the subject of criminal investigation by the Serious Fraud Office (SFO).”
http://www.theguardian.com/business/2013/dec/19/offender-electronic-tagging-serco-repay-68m-overcharging
John Key and National found out lying again.
people like grumpy say that is not a proven lie so it doesn’t count and presumably doesnt bear the time for further scrutiny. It’s only your politician views that enable you to see it as misleading or lying. Now, if it turns out he has slept with anyone who is not his wife, grumpy will be baying for his blood. I think Slater will be investigating this and any other right wing politicians private life for such proof, so it’s only a matter of time.
Looking forward to the SFO ‘doing their job’.
FYI
___________________________________________________________________________
20 December 2013
Nick Paterson
General Manager
Fraud and Corruption
NZ Serious Fraud Office
Julie Read
CEO / Director
NZ Serious Fraud Office
‘Open Letter’
FYI
“The New Zealand Private Prosecution Service Limited (“The Service”) gives notice that if the SFO refuses to investigate the complaint of corruption against Mayor Len Brown under Section 105(1) of the Crimes Act the Service will file a Private Prosecution without further notice to the proposed defendants. The names proposed defendants are Len Brown and the CEO of Sky City
Graham Mc Cready
Agent for NZPPS Ltd
…………………
…………………
_____________________________________________________________________________
This has been reported in mainstream media today as follows:
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11175723
http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/231441/threat-to-file-private-case-against-brown
Please be advised that I, Penny Bright have worked with the agent for NZ Private Prosecution Services Ltd, Graham McCready on other matters, specifically the private prosecution of John Archibald Banks for alleged electoral fraud, for which he has been committed to trial in the Auckland High Court for a defended hearing set down for 19 May 2014.
(As the ‘process server’, I personally served the witness summonses which got Kim Dotcom, his lawyer and bodyguard, and the CEO of Sky City to the Auckland District Court to give oral evidence on 15 October 2013. )
Both Lisa Prager and myself do hope that this will not be necessary and look forward to the NZ Serious Fraud Office ‘doing your job’, as the ‘lead agency’ in New Zealand tasked with investigating bribery and corruption complaints.
Kind regards,
Penny Bright
……………..
Lisa Prager
……………….
_____________________________________________________________________________
( A copy of this above-mentioned complaint to the NZ Serious Fraud Office is available here:
http://www.pennybright4mayor.org.nz
and this is some good news
The Commerce Commission has laid charges against Carter Holt Harvey and one of its senior managers over alleged price-fixing in the Auckland timber market.
The proceedings were filed in the High Court today alleging Carter Holt Harvey entered into an understanding with Fletcher Distribution Ltd to fix the prices of structural timber sold to commercial customers in Auckland.
The alleged offending occurred during the latter part of 2012 and early 2013.
“The commission has also filed proceedings against a Carter Holt Harvey manager, Mr Dean Dodds, for his involvement in the understanding,” the commission said in a statement.
I hope you are now having a go at Cameron Brewer, as well.
In the interests of impartiality, of course.
Drumroll… you will shortly announce you will stand again for the Mayoralty.
Where your vision for the Auckland Plan, Unitary Plan, housing areas, and the actual development of Auckland will be your first priority.
Oh wait … nope, your focus will be on a sustained internal witch hunt that destroys thousands of careers, grinds the entire administration to a halt, and, once you’ve achieved your aims and are standing on the rubble of a permanent of cycle of internal restructuring, delivers actual power in Auckland straight back to National.
“He’s been admitted to a mental hospital”.
Cue extended hilarity on the Panel
Radio NZ National, Friday 20 December 2013
Jim Mora, Joe Bennett, Duncan Webb
Just before 4 p.m. ….
JIM MORA: Ummmmm, what’s happened to the interpreter at Nelson Mandela’s memorial service?
JOE BENNETT: He heeeeeeeeeeeeee!
SUSAN BALDACCI: [drily] He’s been admitted to a mental hospital.
…… [Much snickering, snorting and hilarity ensues] ……
JIM MORA: Ha ha ha ha ha! ….. [snort, snicker] ….. Susan Baldacci, thank you very much! Back with the Panel after the news!
I am sure this writer, i.e. moi, was not the only listener to feel there was something deeply wrong and immoral about these fools laughing their heads off like this. I sent the ring-leader the following email…..
Why are you laughing at the plight of that sign language man?
Dear Jim,
I am concerned that you and your Panel guests seemed to be greatly amused at the sign language impostor’s being committed to a mental hospital.
Certainly it was a bizarre performance by Thamsanqa Jantjie; however, there were sinister and cynical impostors at that obscene charade in Johannesburg. Here’s the most notorious of them, waving his arm in the air….
http://cdn1.independent.ie/world-news/article29829821.ece/ALTERNATES/h342/PANews_bfce2d94-f4ec-4d75-b069-6d5218eab9d2_I1.jpg
You have on several occasions expressed disdain and amusement at Mr Jantjie’s antics, but have not uttered one word about the supreme hypocrisy of having Barack Obama, that harsh and implacable enemy of dissenters and human rights activists, “lead the mourning”.
Yours in disgust at the hijacking of a real hero’s memory,
Morrissey Breen
Northcote Point
Keep listening, fellas! He often reads out my little bon-bons.
Do you know if there’ll be a Matinee Idle this season? If they had any sense RNZ could save themselves a lot of money and extend its run throughout the year!
As usual, nothing in Moz’s misremembering took place, with the exception of a small laugh from Bennett, which may actually be a cough. It’s hard to tell, it was that brief.
http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/afternoons/audio/2580725/the-panel-pre-show-for-20-december-2013
Reality starts at about 11.10.
Moz, have you ever considered applying for the post of North Korean Revolutionary People’s Historical Record Airbrusher? Yours is the only kind of revisionism they respect.
As usual, nothing in Moz’s misremembering took place,
There you go again with another extreme statement. You know, if you attempted to comment on my work proportionately and fairly, you might have a point; my posts are not always perfect and I am more than willing to listen to considered and intelligent criticism. Unfortunately, your hectoring is neither considered nor intelligent. You seem to have only one setting: scoffing disrespect. Could I remind you that this is not your local Labour Party branch and you cannot simply shout me or anyone else into silence.
….with the exception of a small laugh from Bennett, which may actually be a cough. It’s hard to tell, it was that brief.
He laughed in exactly the same way as he did when the subject of Mayor Rob Ford’s “great finesse” comes up. You can pretend that it was just a cough if you like.
MEMO FELLOW STANDARDISTI: I urge you to listen to Joe Bennett laughing, and then tell this bloke Te Reo Putake, who avers he was actually coughing, what you think of his perception skills.
My dashed-off transcript was faithful to the mood of levity and hilarity in the studio. I didn’t get all their immortal wit, however, so here’s the missing treasure….
SUSAN BALDACCI: He was actually DUE to attend a mental health checkup on the day of the memorial for Mandela when he did all the crazy— he was actually supposed to go to the doctor that day.
MORA: [amused] Oh REALLY?
SUSAN BALDACCI: The mental health doctor. And he just said, No maybe I’ll go to the memorial instead!
JOE BENNETT: Am I the only one who thinks this was made up after the event?
MORA: How do you mean?
JOE BENNETT: Oh I don’t believe this!
MORA: Oh, okay! No time to discuss this now. It’s five o’clock!
http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/afternoons/audio/2580725/the-panel-pre-show-for-20-december-2013
Reality starts at about 11.10.
My transcript, as pretty much all my transcripts do, caught the mood in that studio perfectly—and you know it. You object to my pinning down these vacuous commentators because they share many of your prejudices, and laugh at some of the same victims of black propaganda campaigns that you do.
Moz, have you ever considered applying for the post of North Korean Revolutionary People’s Historical Record Airbrusher? Yours is the only kind of revisionism they respect.
Ha! If anyone on this forum repeatedly acts like a North Korean fanatic, it is you, whether you are jumping on someone who backs the wrong Labour Party candidate or, more brutally, when you echo the lies told by the people who defame and persecute political dissenters and journalists.
23:15 …. and there goes 23 years of probably the most inoffensive, oft-times clever, sometimes informative free-to-air television late night news and ditzy bits – staffed by people whose egos weren’t the driving force. All knobbled by the commercial imperative and the vacuous admen.
Wheel in Paul Henry (aided by a forklift to lift the weight of his ego)
See how he runs. If Kiwis are smart – it’ll be a Channel 10 rerun.
Nightline – by no means perfect, but never an entrant in the race to the bottom
Tim
Hard to believe that ‘they’ believe anyone wants to listen to Henry instead of the nightline presenters.
I won’t.
Me either.