“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
Well, he runs around with every racist in townHe spent all our money playing his pointless gameHe put us out; it was awful how he triedTables turn, and now his turn to cryWith apologies to writers Bobby Womack and Shirley Womack.Eight per cent, asshole, that’s all you got.Smiling?Let me re-phrase…Eight ...
In short this morning in our political economy:The S&P 500 fell another 5.6% this morning after China retaliated with tariffs of 34% on all US imports, and the Fed warned of stagflation without rate cut relief.Delays for heart surgeries and scans are costing lives, specialists have told Stuff’s Nicholas Jones.Meanwhile, ...
When the US Navy’s Great White Fleet sailed into Sydney Harbour in 1908, it was an unmistakeable signal of imperial might, a flexing of America’s newfound naval muscle. More than a century later, the Chinese ...
While there have been decades of complaints – from all sides – about the workings of the Resource Management Act (RMA), replacing is proving difficult. The Coalition Government is making another attempt.To help answer the question, I am going to use the economic lens of the Coase Theorem, set out ...
2027 may still not be the year of war it’s been prophesised as, but we only have two years left to prepare. Regardless, any war this decade in the Indo-Pacific will be fought with the ...
Australia must do more to empower communities of colour in its response to climate change. In late February, the Multicultural Leadership Initiative hosted its Our Common Future summits in Sydney and Melbourne. These summits focused ...
Questions 1. In his godawful decree, what tariff rate was imposed by Trump upon the EU?a. 10% same as New Zealandb. 20%, along with a sneer about themc. 40%, along with an outright lie about France d. 69% except for the town Melania comes from2. The justice select committee has ...
Yesterday the Trump regime in America began a global trade war, imposing punitive tariffs in an effort to extort political and economic concessions from other countries and US companies and constituencies. Trump's tariffs will make kiwis nearly a billion dollars poorer every year, but Luxon has decided to do nothing ...
Here’s 7 updates from this morning’s news:90% of submissions opposed the TPBNZ’s EV market tanked by Coalition policies, down ~70% year on yearTrump showFossil fuel money driving conservative policiesSimeon Brown won’t say that abortion is healthcarePhil Goff stands by comments and makes a case for speaking upBrian Tamaki cleared of ...
It’s the 9 month mark for Mountain Tūī !Thanks to you all, the publication now has over 3200 subscribers, 30 recommendations from Substack writers, and averages over 120,000 views a month. A very small number in the scheme of things, but enough for me to feel satisfied.I’m been proud of ...
The Justice Committee has reported back on National's racist Principles of the Treaty of Waitangi Bill, and recommended by majority that it not proceed. So hopefully it will now rapidly go to second reading and be voted down. As for submissions, it turns out that around 380,000 people submitted on ...
We need to treat disinformation as we deal with insurgencies, preventing the spreaders of lies from entrenching themselves in the host population through capture of infrastructure—in this case, the social media outlets. Combining targeted action ...
After copping criticism for not releasing the report for nearly eight months, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese released the Independent Intelligence Review on 28 March. It makes for a heck of a read. The review makes ...
After copping criticism for not releasing the report for nearly eight months, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese released the Independent Intelligence Review on 28 March. It makes for a heck of a read. The review makes ...
In short this morning in our political economy:Donald Trump has shocked the global economy and markets with the biggest tariffs since the Smoot Hawley Act of 1930, which worsened the Great Depression.Global stocks slumped 4-5% overnight and key US bond yields briefly fell below 4% as investors fear a recession ...
Hi,I’ve been imagining a scenario where I am walking along the pavement in the United States. It’s dusk, I am off to get a dirty burrito from my favourite place, and I see three men in hoodies approaching.Anther two men appear from around a corner, and this whole thing feels ...
Since the announcement in September 2021 that Australia intended to acquire nuclear-powered submarines in partnership with Britain and the United States, the plan has received significant media attention, scepticism and criticism. There are four major ...
On a very wet Friday, we hope you have somewhere nice and warm and dry to sit and catch up on our roundup of some of this week’s top stories in transport and urbanism. The header image shows Northcote Intermediate Students strolling across the Te Ara Awataha Greenway Bridge in ...
On a very wet Friday, we hope you have somewhere nice and warm and dry to sit and catch up on our roundup of some of this week’s top stories in transport and urbanism. The header image shows Northcote Intermediate Students strolling across the Te Ara Awataha Greenway Bridge in ...
The podcast above of the weekly ‘Hoon’ webinar for paying subscribers on Thursday night features co-hosts & talking about the week’s news with regular and special guests, including: and Elaine Monaghan on the week in geopolitics and climate, including Donald Trump’s tariff shock yesterday; and,Labour’s Disarmament and Associate ...
I'm gonna try real goodSwear that I'm gonna try from now on and for the rest of my lifeI'm gonna power on, I'm gonna enjoy the highsAnd the lows will come and goAnd may your dreamsAnd may your dreamsAnd may your dreams never dieSongwriters: Ben Reed.These are Stranger Days than ...
With the execution of global reciprocal tariffs, US President Donald Trump has issued his ‘declaration of economic independence for America’. The immediate direct effect on the Australian economy will likely be small, with more risk ...
The StrategistBy Jacqueline Gibson, Nerida King and Ned Talbot
AUKUS governments began 25 years ago trying to draw in a greater range of possible defence suppliers beyond the traditional big contractors. It is an important objective, and some progress has been made, but governments ...
I approach fresh Trump news reluctantly. It never holds the remotest promise of pleasure. I had the very, very least of expectations for his Rumble in the Jungle, his Thriller in Manila, his Liberation Day.God May 1945 is becoming the bitterest of jokes isn’t it?Whatever. Liberation Day he declared it ...
Beyond trade and tariff turmoil, Donald Trump pushes at the three core elements of Australia’s international policy: the US alliance, the region and multilateralism. What Kevin Rudd called the ‘three fundamental pillars’ are the heart ...
So, having broken its promise to the nation, and dumped 85% of submissions on the Treaty Principles Bill in the trash, National's stooges on the Justice Committee have decided to end their "consideration" of the bill, and report back a full month early: Labour says the Justice Select Committee ...
The 2024 Independent Intelligence Review offers a mature and sophisticated understanding of workforce challenges facing Australia’s National Intelligence Community (NIC). It provides a thoughtful roadmap for modernising that workforce and enhancing cross-agency and cross-sector collaboration. ...
OPINION AND ANALYSIS:Chief Ombudsman Peter Boshier’s comments singling out Health NZ for “acting contrary to the law” couldn’t be clearer. If you find my work of value, do consider subscribing and/or supporting me. Thank you.Health NZ has been acting a law unto itself. That includes putting its management under extraordinary ...
Southeast Asia’s three most populous countries are tightening their security relationships, evidently in response to China’s aggression in the South China Sea. This is most obvious in increased cooperation between the coast guards of the ...
In the late 1970s Australian sport underwent institutional innovation propelling it to new heights. Today, Australia must urgently adapt to a contested and confronting strategic environment. Contributing to this, a new ASPI research project will ...
In short this morning in our political economy:The Nelson Hospital waiting list crisis just gets worse, including compelling interviews with an over-worked surgeon who is leaving, and a patient who discovered after 19 months of waiting for a referral that her bowel and ovaries were fused together with scar tissue ...
Plainly, the claims being tossed around in the media last year that the new terminal envisaged by Auckland International Airport was a gold-plated “Taj Mahal” extravagance were false. With one notable exception, the Commerce Commission’s comprehensive investigation has ended up endorsing every other aspect of the airport’s building programme (and ...
Movements clustered around the Right, and Far Right as well, are rising globally. Despite the recent defeats we’ve seen in the last day or so with the win of a Democrat-backed challenger, Dane County Judge Susan Crawford, over her Republican counterpart, Waukesha County Judge Brad Schimel, in the battle for ...
In February 2025, John Cook gave two webinars for republicEN explaining the scientific consensus on human-caused climate change. 20 February 2025: republicEN webinar part 1 - BUST or TRUST? The scientific consensus on climate change In the first webinar, Cook explained the history of the 20-year scientific consensus on climate change. How do ...
After three decades of record-breaking growth, at about the same time as Xi Jinping rose to power in 2012, China’s economy started the long decline to its current state of stagnation. The Chinese Communist Party ...
The Pike River Coal mine was a ticking time bomb.Ventilation systems designed to prevent methane buildup were incomplete or neglected.Gas detectors that might warn of danger were absent or broken.Rock bolting was skipped, old tunnels left unsealed, communication systems failed during emergencies.Employees and engineers kept warning management about the … ...
Regional hegemons come in different shapes and sizes. Australia needs to think about what kind of hegemon China would be, and become, should it succeed in displacing the United States in Asia. It’s time to ...
RNZ has a story this morning about the expansion of solar farms in Aotearoa, driven by today's ground-breaking ceremony at the Tauhei solar farm in Te Aroha: From starting out as a tiny player in the electricity system, solar power generated more electricity than coal and gas combined for ...
After the Berlin Wall came down in 1989, and almost a year before the Soviet Union collapsed in late 1991, US President George H W Bush proclaimed a ‘new world order’. Now, just two months ...
Warning: Some images may be distressing. Thank you for those who support my work. It means a lot.A shopfront in Australia shows Liberal leader Peter Dutton and mining magnate Gina Rinehart depicted with Nazi imageryUS Government Seeks Death Penalty for Luigi MangioneMangione was publicly walked in front of media in ...
Aged care workers rallying against potential roster changes say Bupa, which runs retirement homes across the country, needs to focus on care instead of money. More than half of New Zealand workers wish they had chosen a different career according to a new survey. Consumers are likely to see a ...
The scurrilous attacks on Benjamin Doyle, a list Green MP, over his supposed inappropriate behaviour towards children has dominated headlines and social media this past week, led by frothing Rightwing agitators clutching their pearls and fanning the flames of moral panic over pedophiles and and perverts. Winston Peter decided that ...
Twilight Time Lighthouse Cuba, Wigan Street, Wellington, Sunday 6 April, 5:30pm for 6pm start. Twilight Time looks at the life and work of Desmond Ball, (1947-2016), a barefooted academic from ‘down under’ who was hailed by Jimmy Carter as “the man who saved the world”, as he proved the fallacy ...
The landedAnd the wealthyAnd the piousAnd the healthyAnd the straight onesAnd the pale onesAnd we only mean the male ones!If you're all of the above, then you're ok!As we build a new tomorrow here today!Lyrics Glenn Slater and Allan Menken.Ah, Democracy - can you smell it?It's presently a sulphurous odour, ...
US President Donald Trump’s unconventional methods of conducting international relations will compel the next federal government to reassess whether the United States’ presence in the region and its security assurances provide a reliable basis for ...
Things seem to be at a pretty low ebb in and around the Reserve Bank. There was, in particular, the mysterious, sudden, and as-yet unexplained resignation of the Governor (we’ve had four Governors since the Bank was given its operational autonomy 35 years ago, and only two have completed their ...
Long story short:PMChristopher Luxon said in January his Government was ‘going for growth’ and he wanted New Zealanders to develop a ‘culture of yes.’ Yet his own Government is constantly saying no, or not yet, to anchor investments that would unleash real private business investment and GDP growth. ...
Long story short:PMChristopher Luxon said in January his Government was ‘going for growth’ and he wanted New Zealanders to develop a ‘culture of yes.’ Yet his own Government is constantly saying no, or not yet, to anchor investments that would unleash real private business investment and GDP growth. ...
For decades, Britain and Australia had much the same process for regulating media handling of defence secrets. It was the D-notice system, under which media would be asked not to publish. The two countries diverged ...
For decades, Britain and Australia had much the same process for regulating media handling of defence secrets. It was the D-notice system, under which media would be asked not to publish. The two countries diverged ...
This post by Nicolas Reid was originally published on Linked in. It is republished here with permission.In this article, I make a not-entirely-serious case for ripping out Spaghetti Junction in Auckland, replacing it with a motorway tunnel, and redeveloping new city streets and neighbourhoods above it instead. What’s ...
This post by Nicolas Reid was originally published on Linked in. It is republished here with permission.In this article, I make a not-entirely-serious case for ripping out Spaghetti Junction in Auckland, replacing it with a motorway tunnel, and redeveloping new city streets and neighbourhoods above it instead. What’s ...
In short this morning in our political economy:The Nelson Hospital crisis revealed by 1News’Jessica Roden dominates the political agenda today. Yet again, population growth wasn’t planned for, or funded.Kāinga Ora is planning up to 900 house sales, including new ones, Jonathan Milne reports for Newsroom.One of New Zealand’s biggest ...
In short this morning in our political economy:The Nelson Hospital crisis revealed by 1News’Jessica Roden dominates the political agenda today. Yet again, population growth wasn’t planned for, or funded.Kāinga Ora is planning up to 900 house sales, including new ones, Jonathan Milne reports for Newsroom.One of New Zealand’s biggest ...
The war between Russia and Ukraine continues unabated. Neither side is in a position to achieve its stated objectives through military force. But now there is significant diplomatic activity as well. Ukraine has agreed to ...
One of the first aims of the United States’ new Department of Government Efficiency was shutting down USAID. By 6 February, the agency was functionally dissolved, its seal missing from its Washington headquarters. Amid the ...
If our strategic position was already challenging, it just got worse. Reliability of the US as an ally is in question, amid such actions by the Trump administration as calling for annexation of Canada, threating ...
Small businesses will be exempt from complying with some of the requirements of health and safety legislation under new reforms proposed by the Government. The living wage will be increased to $28.95 per hour from September, a $1.15 increase from the current $27.80. A poll has shown large opposition to ...
Summary A group of senior doctors in Nelson have spoken up, specifically stating that hospitals have never been as bad as in the last year.Patients are waiting up to 50 hours and 1 death is directly attributable to the situation: "I've never seen that number of patients waiting to be ...
Although semiconductor chips are ubiquitous nowadays, their production is concentrated in just a few countries, and this has left the US economy and military highly vulnerable at a time of rising geopolitical tensions. While the ...
Health and Safety changes driven by ACT party ideology, not evidence said NZCTU Te Kauae Kaimahi President Richard Wagstaff. Changes to health and safety legislation proposed by the Minister for Workplace Relations and Safety Brooke van Velden today comply with ACT party ideology, ignores the evidence, and will compound New ...
In short in our political economy this morning:Fletcher Building is closing its pre-fabricated house-building factory in Auckland due to a lack of demand, particularly from the Government.Health NZ is sending a crisis management team to Nelson Hospital after a 1News investigation exposed doctors’ fears that nearly 500 patients are overdue ...
Exactly 10 years ago, the then minister for defence, Kevin Andrews, released the First Principles Review: Creating One Defence (FPR). With increasing talk about the rising possibility of major power-conflict, calls for Defence funding to ...
In events eerily similar to what happened in the USA last week, Greater Auckland was recently accidentally added to a group chat between government ministers on the topic of transport.We have no idea how it happened, but luckily we managed to transcribe most of what transpired. We share it ...
Hi,When I look back at my history with Dylan Reeve, it’s pretty unusual. We first met in the pool at Kim Dotcom’s mansion, as helicopters buzzed overhead and secret service agents flung themselves off the side of his house, abseiling to the ground with guns drawn.Kim Dotcom was a German ...
Come around for teaDance me round and round the kitchenBy the light of my T.VOn the night of the electionAncient stars will fall into the seaAnd the ocean floor sings her sympathySongwriter: Bic Runga.The Prime Minister stared into the camera, hot and flustered despite the predawn chill. He looked sadly ...
Has Winston Peters got a ferries deal for you! (Buyer caution advised.) Unfortunately, the vision that Peters has been busily peddling for the past 24 hours – of several shipyards bidding down the price of us getting smaller, narrower, rail-enabled ferries – looks more like a science fiction fantasy. One ...
Completed reads for March: The Heart of the Antarctic [1907-1909], by Ernest Shackleton South [1914-1917], by Ernest Shackleton Aurora Australis (collection), edited by Ernest Shackleton The Book of Urizen (poem), by William Blake The Book of Ahania (poem), by William Blake The Book of Los (poem), by William Blake ...
First - A ReminderBenjamin Doyle Doesn’t Deserve ThisI’ve been following posts regarding Green MP Benjamin Doyle over the last few days, but didn’t want to amplify the abject nonsense.This morning, Winston Peters, New Zealand’s Deputy Prime Minister, answered the alt-right’s prayers - guaranteeing amplification of the topic, by going on ...
US President Donald Trump has shown a callous disregard for the checks and balances that have long protected American democracy. As the self-described ‘king’ makes a momentous power grab, much of the world watches anxiously, ...
They can be the very same words. And yet their meaning can vary very much.You can say I'll kill him about your colleague who accidentally deleted your presentation the day before a big meeting.You can say I'll kill him to — or, for that matter, about — Tony Soprano.They’re the ...
Today, the Oranga Tamariki (Repeal of Section 7AA) Amendment Bill has passed its third and final reading, but there is one more stage before it becomes law. The Governor-General must give their ‘Royal assent’ for any bill to become legally enforceable. This means that, even if a bill gets voted ...
Abortion care at Whakatāne Hospital has been quietly shelved, with patients told they will likely have to travel more than an hour to Tauranga to get the treatment they need. ...
Thousands of New Zealanders’ submissions are missing from the official parliamentary record because the National-dominated Justice Select Committee has rushed work on the Treaty Principles Bill. ...
Today’s announcement of 10 percent tariffs for New Zealand goods entering the United States is disappointing for exporters and consumers alike, with the long-lasting impact on prices and inflation still unknown. ...
The National Government’s choices have contributed to a slow-down in the building sector, as thousands of people have lost their jobs in construction. ...
Willie Apiata’s decision to hand over his Victoria Cross to the Minister for Veterans is a powerful and selfless act, made on behalf of all those who have served our country. ...
The Privileges Committee has denied fundamental rights to Debbie Ngarewa-Packer, Rawiri Waititi and Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke, breaching their own standing orders, breaching principles of natural justice, and highlighting systemic prejudice and discrimination within our parliamentary processes. The three MPs were summoned to the privileges committee following their performance of a haka ...
April 1 used to be a day when workers could count on a pay rise with stronger support for those doing it tough, but that’s not the case under this Government. ...
Winston Peters is shopping for smaller ferries after Nicola Willis torpedoed the original deal, which would have delivered new rail enabled ferries next year. ...
The Government should work with other countries to press the Myanmar military regime to stop its bombing campaign especially while the country recovers from the devastating earthquake. ...
The Green Party is calling for the Government to scrap proposed changes to Early Childhood Care, after attending a petition calling for the Government to ‘Put tamariki at the heart of decisions about ECE’. ...
New Zealand First has introduced a Member’s Bill today that will remove the power of MPs conscience votes and ensure mandatory national referendums are held before any conscience issues are passed into law. “We are giving democracy and power back to the people”, says New Zealand First Leader Winston Peters. ...
Welcome to members of the diplomatic corp, fellow members of parliament, the fourth estate, foreign affairs experts, trade tragics, ladies and gentlemen. ...
In recent weeks, disturbing instances of state-sanctioned violence against Māori have shed light on the systemic racism permeating our institutions. An 11-year-old autistic Māori child was forcibly medicated at the Henry Bennett Centre, a 15-year-old had his jaw broken by police in Napier, kaumātua Dean Wickliffe went on a hunger ...
Confidence in the job market has continued to drop to its lowest level in five years as more New Zealanders feel uncertain about finding work, keeping their jobs, and getting decent pay, according to the latest Westpac-McDermott Miller Employment Confidence Index. ...
The Greens are calling on the Government to follow through on their vague promises of environmental protection in their Resource Management Act (RMA) reform. ...
“Make New Zealand First Again” Ladies and gentlemen, First of all, thank you for being here today. We know your lives are busy and you are working harder and longer than you ever have, and there are many calls on your time, so thank you for the chance to speak ...
Hundreds more Palestinians have died in recent days as Israel’s assault on Gaza continues and humanitarian aid, including food and medicine, is blocked. ...
National is looking to cut hundreds of jobs at New Zealand’s Defence Force, while at the same time it talks up plans to increase focus and spending in Defence. ...
It’s been revealed that the Government is secretly trying to bring back a ‘one-size fits all’ standardised test – a decision that has shocked school principals. ...
The Green Party is calling for the compassionate release of Dean Wickliffe, a 77-year-old kaumātua on hunger strike at the Spring Hill Corrections Facility, after visiting him at the prison. ...
The Green Party is calling on Government MPs to support Chlöe Swarbrick’s Member’s Bill to sanction Israel for its unlawful presence and illegal actions in Palestine, following another day of appalling violence against civilians in Gaza. ...
The Green Party stands in support of volunteer firefighters petitioning the Government to step up and change legislation to provide volunteers the same ACC coverage and benefits as their paid counterparts. ...
At 2.30am local time, Israel launched a treacherous attack on Gaza killing more than 300 defenceless civilians while they slept. Many of them were children. This followed a more than 2 week-long blockade by Israel on the entry of all goods and aid into Gaza. Israel deliberately targeted densely populated ...
Living Strong, Aging Well There is much discussion around the health of our older New Zealanders and how we can age well. In reality, the delivery of health services accounts for only a relatively small percentage of health outcomes as we age. Significantly, dry warm housing, nutrition, exercise, social connection, ...
The Government’s new planning legislation to replace the Resource Management Act will make it easier to get things done while protecting the environment, say Minister Responsible for RMA Reform Chris Bishop and Under-Secretary Simon Court. “The RMA is broken and everyone knows it. It makes it too hard to build ...
Trade and Investment Minister Todd McClay has today launched a public consultation on New Zealand and India’s negotiations of a formal comprehensive Free Trade Agreement. “Negotiations are getting underway, and the Public’s views will better inform us in the early parts of this important negotiation,” Mr McClay says. We are ...
More than 900 thousand superannuitants and almost five thousand veterans are among the New Zealanders set to receive a significant financial boost from next week, an uplift Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says will help support them through cost-of-living challenges. “I am pleased to confirm that from 1 ...
Progressing a holistic strategy to unlock the potential of New Zealand’s geothermal resources, possibly in applications beyond energy generation, is at the centre of discussions with mana whenua at a hui in Rotorua today, Resources and Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says. The Coalition Government is in the early stages ...
New annual data has exposed the staggering cost of delays previously hidden in the building consent system, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “I directed Building Consent Authorities to begin providing quarterly data last year to improve transparency, following repeated complaints from tradespeople waiting far longer than the statutory ...
Increases in water charges for Auckland consumers this year will be halved under the Watercare Charter which has now been passed into law, Local Government Minister Simon Watts and Auckland Minister Simeon Brown say. The charter is part of the financial arrangement for Watercare developed last year by Auckland Council ...
There is wide public support for the Government’s work to strengthen New Zealand’s biosecurity protections, says Biosecurity Minister Andrew Hoggard. “The Ministry for Primary Industries recently completed public consultation on proposed amendments to the Biosecurity Act and the submissions show that people understand the importance of having a strong biosecurity ...
A new independent review function will enable individuals and organisations to seek an expert independent review of specified civil aviation regulatory decisions made by, or on behalf of, the Director of Civil Aviation, Acting Transport Minister James Meager has announced today. “Today we are making it easier and more affordable ...
The Government will invest in an enhanced overnight urgent care service for the Napier community as part of our focus on ensuring access to timely, quality healthcare, Health Minister Simeon Brown has today confirmed. “I am delighted that a solution has been found to ensure Napier residents will continue to ...
Health Minister Simeon Brown and Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey attended a sod turning today to officially mark the start of construction on a new mental health facility at Hillmorton Campus. “This represents a significant step in modernising mental health services in Canterbury,” Mr Brown says. “Improving health infrastructure is ...
Finance Minister Nicola Willis has welcomed confirmation the economy has turned the corner. Stats NZ reported today that gross domestic product grew 0.7 per cent in the three months to December following falls in the June and September quarters. “We know many families and businesses are still suffering the after-effects ...
The sealing of a 12-kilometre stretch of State Highway 43 (SH43) through the Tangarakau Gorge – one of the last remaining sections of unsealed state highway in the country – has been completed this week as part of a wider programme of work aimed at improving the safety and resilience ...
Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Winston Peters says relations between New Zealand and the United States are on a strong footing, as he concludes a week-long visit to New York and Washington DC today. “We came to the United States to ask the new Administration what it wants from ...
Associate Justice Minister Nicole McKee has welcomed changes to international anti-money laundering standards which closely align with the Government’s reforms. “The Financial Action Taskforce (FATF) last month adopted revised standards for tackling money laundering and the financing of terrorism to allow for simplified regulatory measures for businesses, organisations and sectors ...
Associate Health Minister David Seymour says he welcomes Medsafe’s decision to approve an electronic controlled drug register for use in New Zealand pharmacies, allowing pharmacies to replace their physical paper-based register. “The register, developed by Kiwi brand Toniq Limited, is the first of its kind to be approved in New ...
The Coalition Government’s drive for regional economic growth through the $1.2 billion Regional Infrastructure Fund is on track with more than $550 million in funding so far committed to key infrastructure projects, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says. “To date, the Regional Infrastructure Fund (RIF) has received more than 250 ...
[Comments following the bilateral meeting with United States Secretary of State, Marco Rubio; United States State Department, Washington D.C.] * We’re very pleased with our meeting with Secretary of State Marco Rubio this afternoon. * We came here to listen to the new Administration and to be clear about what ...
The intersection of State Highway 2 (SH2) and Wainui Road in the Eastern Bay of Plenty will be made safer and more efficient for vehicles and freight with the construction of a new and long-awaited roundabout, says Transport Minister Chris Bishop. “The current intersection of SH2 and Wainui Road is ...
The Ocean Race will return to the City of Sails in 2027 following the Government’s decision to invest up to $4 million from the Major Events Fund into the international event, Auckland Minister Simeon Brown says. “New Zealand is a proud sailing nation, and Auckland is well-known internationally as the ...
Improving access to mental health and addiction support took a significant step forward today with Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey announcing that the University of Canterbury have been the first to be selected to develop the Government’s new associate psychologist training programme. “I am thrilled that the University of Canterbury ...
Health Minister Simeon Brown has today officially opened the new East Building expansion at Manukau Health Park. “This is a significant milestone and the first stage of the Grow Manukau programme, which will double the footprint of the Manukau Health Park to around 30,000m2 once complete,” Mr Brown says. “Home ...
The Government will boost anti-crime measures across central Auckland with $1.3 million of funding as a result of the Proceeds of Crime Fund, Auckland Minister Simeon Brown and Associate Justice Minister Nicole McKee say. “In recent years there has been increased antisocial and criminal behaviour in our CBD. The Government ...
The Government is moving to strengthen rules for feeding food waste to pigs to protect New Zealand from exotic animal diseases like foot and mouth disease (FMD), says Biosecurity Minister Andrew Hoggard. ‘Feeding untreated meat waste, often known as "swill", to pigs could introduce serious animal diseases like FMD and ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi held productive talks in New Delhi today. Fresh off announcing that New Zealand and India would commence negotiations towards a Comprehensive Free Trade Agreement, the two Prime Ministers released a joint statement detailing plans for further cooperation between the two countries across ...
Agriculture and Trade Minister Todd McClay signed a new Memorandum of Cooperation (MOC) today during the Prime Minister’s Indian Trade Mission, reinforcing New Zealand’s commitment to enhancing collaboration with India in the forestry sector. “Our relationship with India is a key priority for New Zealand, and this agreement reflects our ...
Agriculture and Trade Minister Todd McClay signed a new Memorandum of Cooperation (MOC) today during the Prime Minister’s Indian Trade Mission, reinforcing New Zealand’s commitment to enhancing collaboration with India in the horticulture sector. “Our relationship with India is a key priority for New Zealand, and this agreement reflects our ...
Attorney-General Judith Collins today announced the appointment of two new Family Court Judges. The new Judges will take up their roles in April and May and fill Family Court vacancies at the Auckland and Manukau courts. Annette Gray Ms Gray completed her law degree at Victoria University before joining Phillips ...
Health Minister Simeon Brown has today officially opened Wellington Regional Hospital’s first High Dependency Unit (HDU). “This unit will boost critical care services in the lower North Island, providing extra capacity and relieving pressure on the hospital’s Intensive Care Unit (ICU) and emergency department. “Wellington Regional Hospital has previously relied ...
Namaskar, Sat Sri Akal, kia ora and good afternoon everyone. What an honour it is to stand on this stage - to inaugurate this august Dialogue - with none other than the Honourable Narendra Modi. My good friend, thank you for so generously welcoming me to India and for our ...
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The journalist and author takes us through her life in television, including her biggest live TV regret and the Succession moment she witnessed first hand. This week, journalist and broadcaster Ali Mau released No Words For This, a “gripping, generous, revelatory and layered” memoir that reveals shocking family secrets, explores ...
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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.