Disgusting. And absurd. Head to Head, Al Jazeera, recorded on July 8, 2018
Right now, Israeli apologist Danny Ayalon is on, being interviewed by Mehdi Hasan. Ayalon is not only disgusting, he is ridiculous. He is so ridiculous that the crowd is laughing at him.
MEHDI HASAN: Does Israel control Gaza’s airspace, yes or no? DANNY AYALON: No. AUDIENCE: Ha ha ha ha ha!
….
DANNY AYALON: Israel is transparent. AUDIENCE: Ha ha ha ha ha!
Shocking. Also do they really think state sanctioned murder of innocent medical staff is helping their cause, let alone breaking how many human rights conventions??? Can’t wait for the day when they are all bought to justice and put in jail.
Everyone of any faith, should pray for Israel. Having been taken to the edge of the pit of human degradation and contempt and thrown over during WW2, they have been left with a sadness and anger.
Now they are losing their souls that were almost destroyed before, Seemingly they are unable to get out from the retaliation phase. Fear of the past forces them to ensure they prevent a recurrence. That fear remains to cripple them from expanding their hearts and embracing the present and future in wary diplomatic civil compromise with Palestinians, and to carefully treat with others who may be mendacious.
A long and somewhat convoluted read in that weird does- your- head- in sliding screen format… but stick with it.
Ron Mark has ‘championed’ the brothers Nepata for many years and thinks this latest attempt for justice might be their last…
George and Damien think they may have a chance with this new administration, but as with the Family Carers case (been running for the same amount of time) the ‘floodgates’ argument is being touted as the reason to dismiss this, again.
Oh look! There’s Our Learned Friends from Crown Law…doing their very best to protect Government from being accountable for it’s failings.
Roll on Chris Hipkins’ review of what’s become of our public service! Let’s hope it doesn’t end up namby pamby wish washing.
NZDF, Houising NZ, MSD, MPI, MoBIE, Health, Education, DHBs…………..
There are huge structural problems but management culture has become toxic too with fuck all accountability
True that is Tim,
Publ;ic service is still being run by “advisors” that even labour are condoning, so if labour have no balls to actually change anything within the “public service” attitudes inside the NZDF, Houising NZ, MSD, MPI, MoBIE, Health, Education, DHBs………….. we are in for more of the shame crap as we endured for the last nine years.
Once was Tim
Even if the mass of National Party don’t give a f..k about the injustice or unfairness in the system (that oppresses other less fortunate citizens) they should be roused if the case is presented on the basis of waste of taxpayers money on falsified figures, and incorrect data, and signing off on important regulations with life-killing or disease potential, and far too high executive incomes based on profit-making private business levels.
I see people on low salary or grants or volunteering, working away trying to bridge the gaps in this vicious financial economic system and integrity-free government and welfare system. They are being loaded with Health and Safety Regulations and others, which are a load of bureaucratic sh.t, OTT and a barrier to ordinary effective good management and control. The managers should be drowned in wine barrels and people who have served at the grassrootes then put in their place. This is after they have got training in management implementation and structural control for the co-operative model.
And gradually replace all the Brits, 5-Eyes types, and assorted coming here and directing our water onto their farms, and our money into their pockets. When it comes to immigration look at all these people. Our immigrants are mostly great people from wherever they come, and I admire and like them. But we have too many stepping into the line of employment ahead of NZs. That’s not new information but it seems necessary to constantly reiterate it over the catch-cry of immigration being xenophobic. We citizens have a responsibility to care for our own country and other NZs to be trained as bureaucrats who work for our betterment. At present they too often sit in their spiderwebs and pounce on naive NZs who wander in all unknowing, and never understand why nothing ever goes right for them.
Seriously though, the dysfunction in our PS is now well known by those that care to know. The question is, now that there is the opportunity for reform, is anyone going to take on the challenge, or will it be a few weasel words and business as usual,
I see a few signs that there is a growing acceptance that things have radically gone tits up……but – probably like you and Rosemary: waiting waiting waiting.
“Initially, Sanson says he’s not seeing a clash between pro-corporate factions within DOC against pro-conservation people, but then he gives some ground. “It may be at one location in the country, yes, but not over the department.”
PS. (There was a follow up article to this the day after … that can’t put finger on just Now), that suggested some action was being taken in One location ……
‘One former DOC worker reckons it’s going to be hard for Minister Sage to change the department’s culture, given its focus on “corporate management processes and outcomes and reports and organisational change”.’
Figure with the added missing Link you are following/understand, and/or are perhaps affected …. ?
A past life for me … But Very sad to watch, and hear of a great organisation, (Public Service), get the stick from MSM, (albeit David Williams, Newsroom)
“Four years on, the DOC staffer says after the “Nick disaster”, they can’t see how DOC can reach its potential by the route it’s taking. “It’s just a bloody tragedy. It’s tragic what’s happening to DOC.”
Trust “that action”, And/or the necessary Change occurs with P S/ Ministerial impute, as necessary/required and does not become dependent on the 4th Estate “MSM” articles … Credit to Newsroom if things are Crook! And Need Fixing!
The government spends more on Lawyers fighting against fairness ‘to stop the floodgates’ than if they actually apologised, investigated properly and did the moral thing at the beginning.
Not only that, probably would save money on the massive legal fees to fat cats who seem to be beyond the law, and years of litigation which also stops people believing in government being honest and accountable, any more. (Because they use legal and power to fight against what is right against people who have been screwed over or had harm, by the system).
I seem to remember the victims of state care, got less for their abuse eventually, than the lawyers who represented them got in fees.
Ah, but now he’s wearing big boy pants Ron Mark appears to be struggling with those distinctions.
Without commenting at all on the specifics of the Nepata case, if I may, I think this is indicative of a more general issue that Ministers often find themselves confronted with. It is neatly portrayed in a very good ‘portrait’ of Eugenie Sage:
The human drama of power. Sage says what struck her was the abrupt switch from being on the outside looking in – stalled for six months by the sitting minister on every information request – to having a staff ready to jump on any question.
…
A warm fuzzy feeling as minister. Again, the very human drama of suddenly finding yourself the one on the inside, now looking out.
Back in 2013….the brothers Nepata discovered that the Defence Force had, during the time they had battling for compensation from the DF, handed out over 1/2 a million dollars in ex gratia payments.
” Dr Coleman earlier said he had enormous sympathy for the brothers and was approaching the matter with an open mind. The Defence Force would not comment on the case while the matter was under his consideration.
Earlier this year, Defence Force chief of personnel Brigadier Howard Duffy said the army was very sympathetic to the brothers, but an ex gratia payment was a matter for the Government.
However, under Defence Force orders, last updated in October 2011, the force is able to authorise ex gratia payments of up to $30,000 without ministerial sign-off.
Ex gratia payments of between $30,000 to $75,000 must be authorised by the minister, while payments of more than $75,000 need to be signed off by Cabinet.”
What a sad story and so unfair that this particular family had so much to deal with. The first thing that should be happening is that the army reforms it’s way’s and actually have psychologists and other support staff to help ex army staff to recover after injuries including apologising if it was a work place accident and giving them FULL support. It is unfathomable that after telling the army they are a family, to them suddenly abandon soldiers who get injured to face it all alone with out even a goodbye, especially when they are injured in the line of duty or during training!
Then there should be pay outs straight away (aka like airline accidents) and annuities available to those permanently injured to stop them falling into poverty after their accident. This should be in addition to ACC and other benefits as part of the act of being in the armed forces!
One of my family members served and they got a pension as well as the normal pension so maybe some sort of non means tested annuity payment for permanently injured soldiers as well as pensions should be made as well as a lump sum as soon as they are injured to help them adjust AND emotional support right through from the armed forces. Whether injured or not, the soldiers should still be counted as the armed forces and treated with dignity and support.
Also think the armed forces should be retrained to also do disaster work and be front line disaster workers for earthquakes, floods etc etc. Then Kiwis would be much more interested in supporting them because at present the armed forces seem like political pawns with defence just a junket to give money to other countries for armaments while not valuing the actual people who are in the armed forces who should be ready to help in a disaster when Kiwis might actually need them.
Funny thing is, I spoke with a couple of ex defence force personnel regarding particular disability issues (accessible housing building rules if I recall) and the issue the Nepata brothers were facing came up. (I had met George and his family briefly when Damien was in hospital).
Both these guys had been well looked after and supported by the DF…but then again they were Officers. And I assume that makes them Gentlemen. And worthy.
Close scrutiny of those ex gratia payments made by the DF would be handy…
Hard to see why someone who was slowly burnt alive for hours and another who was paralysed during training through no fault of their own, do not qualify for a moral payment?
When you watch how other countries behave aka Thai cave rescue it casts a shadow on government and private attitudes in NZ when they do nothing to rescue anybody citing too dangerous and fail to do the right thing post accident (shareholders vote against compensation for Pike River families for example)…
We have developed a toxic workplace/government mentality in NZ post rogernomics where people are just disposable units to be thrown away to save money or reduce a perceived monetary or corporation risk.
Not only is this morally wrong, it does not work to create a thriving environment – toxic ideas and behaviour kills everything around it.
Sad story really. Hope these guys get what they deserve. I don’t really think 30-75,000 is enough. It would barely pay for a modified vehicle for the tetarplegic chap. Seems that every accident like these ones in the military seems to be entirely avoidable and the victims get hung out to dry. Even by 1989 standards, getting 2 guys to carry a third on a stretcher on a piece of 4×2 is asking for trouble.
millsy…ACC will be taking care of the vehicle funding as well as home modifications, supplies and ongoing care and rehabilitation. George is most likely well supported by ACC (although,( again its wayback), there might have been a battle to secure ACC funding as accidents to Kiwis outside of NZ were not covered.)
I do recall George telling me about his accident, and also heard some of the details of Damien’s accident. Even back then it was obvious that the Army failed to provide a safe working environment. As you say…even by 1989 standards it was pretty bloody reckless. Those Scorpion tanks were being phased out because of known issues.
I know from personal experience…when one finds out that others have been financially compensated when you have fought and over the same issues its sticks in one’s craw.
Although ACC is involved, the workplace should still be a moral workplace, offering at the very least emotional support due to the vocation identity of ‘family’ under armed forces…
ACC is a great concept, but should not be used to sweep accidents and support both emotional and financial from the work place instead be a standard that also can be added to by the workforce to keep the person’s prospects the same as if they had not been injured and compensation which is no longer part of ACC.
Worksafe can award payments or prosecution, funny enough not for Pike River (prosecution) and not for these accidents either, maybe government ‘influence’ and neoliberal ideas of ‘opening the floodgates’ are stopping justice.
I was in the NZ Army (RNZAC) from the mid 93 to mid 98. I wasn’t in QA SQN or whatever it was called back then, or it may have been 1st Armoured Group? The guys were getting ready to deploy on Op Raidan for Bosnia at the time of the accident, also during this time we the NZDF had lost or were about to lose up to 25% of the Defence budget in cuts. Which was effecting operational preparedness across the broad, but it the Corp the hardest as we were quite expensive to run which saw a lot of Army cuts head our way which to cause issues down the track aka the LAV’s and the buying of those death traps the up armoured Pinz’s.
Before the Defence cuts under there was a plain to give the CVT Scorpions and M113’s etc a Mid Life Update and WMIK kits, Communications upgrades for NZ Scots SQN using cutdown V8’s quite successfully in Recon role within 3 Land Force Group (3LFG). With the Scorpions that meant replacing the V6 Jaguar engine with Perkins engine, fire control systems and new fume extractor for the 76mm. Only the M113’s got the upgrades mainly for Bosnia and everything else got kicked into touch and the Scorpions should’ve been retired, but due to government policies they had to be maintained in use even though we had SFA in spares or money to buy spares. As everything we poured into getting M113’s up to OLOC and getting 1st Battalion up to speed with 2nd/1st back filling the 1st, at the sametime stripping all of 3LFG units of useful equipment to support the deployment.
The effects of all this happening cause the in my opinion that led to Damien’s accident and what happened with the 2nd/1st pre- deployment training and it’s deployment to East Timor in 2000 in which my mate was KIA along with the th other problems that arose in the 2000’s stems back to the defence cuts in 90’s. When I pose this similar question last yr to Damien at Cambrai last yr and has reply was yes, we also believe that everyone is ass covering as a result of this accident and I know of at least 3-5 other accidents from the 90’s where if an ex-gratis payment was made to Damien the flood gates would open all because we were trying to a job with SFA equipment that more and more dangerous as the yrs went on trying to our mandate tasks as directed by the politicians in Wellington with less and less funding and equipment failing or being run into ground or in case of NZ Scots we were building our own gun mounts, repairing our V8’s in some cases with our money or buying stuff from surplus shops IOT get the job done as stated in our mandated tasks IOT achieve the Government of the Day Defence Polices.
And you wonder why this lefty is a bit more pro defence than most and very anti “No Mates Party”. When I look back at my photos in NZ Army i offen wonder how on earth I didn’t get myself killed especially when I show rockape mates from work as they think we were bloody mad at what we did!!!!
Hence the nickname “Mad Kiwi” and my attitude to life.
Thank you Exkiwiforces. I was hoping you’d pop up and shed some light into the darker corners. So let me get this clear….the Scorpions ran on petrol???
Not diesel? (Perkins are diesel engines, aren’t they?) Jesus….I’m told the Yanks used to call the Sherman tanks ‘Ronsons’.
The most significant thing I took away from my very brief encounter with George and his family after Damien’s accident was the deep sense of betrayal. A long family history of service (unto the current generation, despite this crap) and clearly the loyalty was entirely one sided.
The really ironic thing was that they treated all three brothers like shit. All three of them.
Re: funding for Defence. This lefty would prefer we needed no armed forces at all, but if we are going to have such a thing…fund it bloody properly or don’t bother.
Yes the Scorpion and its family of variants were powered by V6 4.2 lt Jag petrol engine with a semi automatic transmission which most countries that are still use Scorpion or any of its variants have now been replaced by the Perkins Diesel engine due to the risk of fire and also it cheaper to run than a petrol engine. There is a school of thought that we should brought more M41 Tanks and upgraded them instead of buying the Scorpions as even today the Danish and Norway Armies still use them as its main gun a long barrel 76mm is still quite useful.
The Germans called the all the Western Allies tanks in WW2 Tommy Cookers because of their petrol engines, but then again the Germans were engaging the Allies from over 1km where as Sherman had to within 800m to engage a Long Barrel Panzer 4’s and even closer for the Panther, Tiger, King Tiger Tanks and some of the Tank Destroyers as well before we even think about the German Anti Tank Guns.
Fighting the system for justice is bloody hard and I know that firsthand experience especially when the officer corps saying we well look after you, but in fact its the faceless civilian bureaucracy of MOD, Treasury, DVA, Government and their Advisors as they hold the purse strings.
There is an unwritten code of conduct/ convention between us and politicians due to the nature of our work and that we don’t have a right to form a union in that the politicians will look after us/ our families as well in peace, on operations and after we leave the services. But since the 90’s we have seen this code of conduct/ convention being kicked into touch with eroding of conditions of service from pay, super, housing/ rations and quarters for those who lived on base, allowances etc to using/ operating ageing equipment well pass their exprier date (rule of thumb for Military Equipment is 30yrs -/+ 10yrs) or new equipment being brought in service that is sub optimal for the at hand aka Project Protector the two OPV’s and Landing Support Ship, Up Armoured Piniz’s etc or the bare minimum of kit being brought aka doing more with less. If any other Government Dept had to put up with this shit there would be hell to pay as I don’t see many workers standing for this sort of shit as they have a union to go and bat for them and more likely to have the public on side as well.
Hence why I and many other like me have moved or still moving overseas because of this or were sacked by the Government as capabilities were chopped. A lot of these ex Kiwi officers have now reach Flag Rank, Air Rank or Staff Rank in Foreign Armed Forces with ex Kiwi NCO’s holding by senior positions within their of expertise or been commissioned. With me I’m now been pensioned off due to my PTSD and Major Depressive Disorder as a result of my Peacekeeping and Warlike active service.
The last comment sums up my attitude as well either you fund the NZDF probably or bloody well get rid of it. As my late Grandmother said Rosa Beaurepaire née Balderstone as she was pacifist said this at Nelson Labour LEC or some other Labour meeting many yrs ago “the Forces are a necessary evil we have to have as it’s rather like have house insurance as only a bloody idiot would go without it and not having a Defence Force could be a lot worse unless you like living under a jackboot or don’t like our way of life have fought for be it as workclass struggle against the bosses of this country or fighting overseas against Herr Hitler! The choice is yours and I know what I’ll and my future generations of family would rather have! “ and the debate stop dead on some Defence issues being discussed at the time.
The most significant thing I took away from my very brief encounter with George and his family after Damien’s accident was the deep sense of betrayal. A long family history of service (unto the current generation, despite this crap) and clearly the loyalty was entirely one sided.
That’s my total experience with capitalists. They demand loyalty but they never, ever give it.
This lefty would prefer we needed no armed forces at all, but if we are going to have such a thing…fund it bloody properly or don’t bother.
I would much prefer that we didn’t have to have the armed forces but history tells us that we do and so, like you, I think we need to fund it properly and care for our people who are willing to put their lives on the line for our safety.
…along with the th other problems that arose in the 2000’s stems back to the defence cuts in 90’s.
IMO, If you look back in history the governments that have cut defence spending the most will be National governments. This is despite their rhetoric that the defence forces need to be kept up to maximum capability. Such applies across the board of course – they promise to keep things up but cut funding so that they can give tax cuts to the rich. their usual BS to cover these funding cuts is to do more with less.< Such a philosophy is as bankrupt as it sounds. Throw in the fact that they’ll privatise things so that the rich can get a government guaranteed income for doing nothing at all and things do get really bad.
And you wonder why this lefty is a bit more pro defence than most and very anti “No Mates Party”.
Nope, history makes it clear as day. The biggest threat to our armed forces is the National Party.
This is despite their rhetoric that the defence forces need to be kept up to maximum capability. Such applies across the board of course – they promise to keep things up but cut funding so that they can give tax cuts to the rich. their usual BS to cover these funding cuts is to do more with less.
It has always been the same with the police and the justice system. I don’t think that it was quite as bad last set of terms for National as it was at the end of the 1990s, but they’d certainly been running down the police capabilities. But in 1999, they’d been both sucking money off the police in real terms AND the police hierarchy had been sucking funding away internally on to their computer systems in an attempt to make up for the operational shortfalls down the line.
The effect was devastating. Around here, there was virtually no investigation of “petty crime” like car theft from our parking garages or people kicking in doors looking for money. Those were treated as being insurance issues – as in you had to have a meaningless proforma complaint to police to get your insurance claim approved. No one would turn up to look for evidence. They’d just wait until they accidently nabbed the offender for something else and let them plead to as many other offenses as they could remember that fitted reports to the police – to provide clearance rates for statistics.
It was even more horrendous in the less affluent areas where there weren’t any kinds of the alarms and security systems that my apartment block put in communally. Some of my friends and relatives were getting burglarized several times during the year. And it seemed like the poorer they were, the more often it happened.
Labour and the Alliance got in, changed the policies along with the funding levels, and it cleared up over a couple of years. Police started to turn up at crime scenes with finger printing kits.
This time I think that they have been damaging the court systems more instead. Some parts of the optimisations worked, like electronic documents. Many parts appear to have simply slowed the court systems down. And the court systems are visibly straining to get through the process.
Yep they need enough to buy a house that is modified so they have home security and what they would have achieved had they been able to work, plus a modified car for the tetraplegic and enough income to lead a stress free life in relation to income.
Does not sound like ACC took care of it and personally feel the army should have done so much more, they were left without emotional or psychological support, moved back in with parents, and another sibling quit the army to look after them and now unemployed???
Does not look like a rosy outcome with all problems and issues dealt with and solved by ACC, let alone the army.
While over the pacific pond……….Donald Trump knows that the war-mongers EU/NATO/Washington swamp warhawk cartel want to break up Russia like they conspired to break up the Eastern Euopean & Baltic states like Ukraine/Yugoslavia/ect’ to plunder; — so he wants to stop the impending war about to envelop the planet again.
We need to save our people from another world war folks it is that simple.
This is the issue and the ‘elitists’ do not care about us; – and will use anything or person to stop Trump from saving us from war.
Today the Elitist corporate swamp has finally bought Tumps lawyer Michael Cohen who had taped Trump trying to pay to hush an affair he had 19 yrs ago.
So as affairs were always ‘indemic’ amongst all presidents going back till the year dot not one president then was placed under such scutity as this one is even when he was playing around before being president.
“It’s no surprise that Russians send spies to the US,” Noah said. “I mean, a spying Russian is as normal as a white person calling the cops on their shadow.”
I see the Alt Reich Speakers post is still running strong, but thought it may be better to post here on OM these links to ‘on the ground’ reports from Melbourne of the first of the Southern/Molyneux meetings held in Australia last night.
As expected there were protests and attempts to block people from getting to the venue; confrontations with police including mounted police and dogs, and with right wing demonstrators, resulting in the blocking of the Hume highway; and infiltrations and protests at the venue itself with one young woman getting up on the stage and others removed from the audience, and several arrests. IMHO this all played straight into the hands of Southern et al in terms of publicity etc and winding people up and creating dissent.
[Google links to reports and videos of Neil Ericson (Right Winger who videos for Southern) being hauled from videoing the protests by police don’t seem to load …. ]
The most interesting thing (to me anyway) from these reports is that they obviously tried to keep the actual venue secret as much as possible. Ticket holders were directed to meet at a particular railway station (Broadmeadows) with buses then transporting them to the actual venue – the La Mirage Reception and Convention Centre in Somerton.
I find this interesting because the Australian organiser (Mellowes?) has been saying that they are attempting to find a new venue here in NZ now that Southern and Molyneux have been granted limited work visas; and that they have had no success to date but are hopeful of finding one. Initially I took this at face value but now that they kept the Melbourne venue secret, I suspect that they will not be announcing any venue they secure (or have already) here in NZ – and will attempt the same tactics as used in Melbourne.
There are a number of other Australian bookings before they are supposed to be coming to NZ in early August, so there is some time to see what happens at these other Australian venues in the meantime. Schedule is; Perth Sun 22 July; Adelaide Tues 24 July; Sydney Sat, 28 July; Brisbane Sun 29 July.
Auckland is still showing on the Axiomatic events website as Auckland, Friday 3 August.
So no reports of any prosecutions? Aren’t they saying anything sufficiently hateful? Is it really just a cry-wolf story? Seems like total focus on venues & hoo-ha. You see zero evidence of law-breaking but don’t say so? I’m starting to get the impression this was all just a leftist beat-up. Maybe they’ll come & do their spiel here & everyone will say how remarkably inoffensive it all was, and what nice tourists they seem to be…
Pull you head in over this matter Dennis Frank. They are offensive people who say very offensive things. They play to the lowest common denominator and deliberately provoke people into taking action against them. They are, in short, arse-holes. It may not be a crime in itself to be an arse-hole but since we have plenty of our own, lets not encourage the imported variety to come here and stir up more trouble.
If you want to join them go ahead. That is your prerogative. But spare us the whining about ‘lack of prosecutions etc.” because they haven’t even arrived here yet and anyway, that is not the bone of contention.
Don’t be silly, Anne. I didn’t encourage them and I’m as likely to join them as you are. Just mentioning that the news from Oz seems to indicate less substance to the controversy. If they aren’t actually doing anything wrong, then your personal antipathy to them has no relevance to our public policy. The lack of evidence is now indicating that perception of hate speech is a minority view rather than a basis for corrective action by the state.
Thanks Anne. As I thought I had made clear in my first para in my comment, I was primarily just providing links to media reports on Southern and Molyneux’s first event in Australia (in other words what was happening in the real world) and leaving the high brow philosophical pros and cons discussions for the Alt Reich post and the earlier related ones.
Personally I decided to just ignore Dennis Frank’s snide cynical reply as it was typical of his comments over the years both here on TS and on other blogs such as Pundit and TDB. I tend to just pass over his comments because of his negativity and ‘I know best’ attitude. As for people who use the expression “Don’t be silly, (name)” – usually males to females in my experience … LOL.
in projection, thoughts, motivations, desires, and feelings that cannot be accepted as one’s own are dealt with by being placed in the outside world and attributed to someone else.
Seems that whales in our harbours – first Matariki in Wellington harbour and then Blue whales in Auckland – have now been joined by humpback whales etc close in off the coast of Queensland.
(He has been tweeting a bit again the last few days, but others relate to different subjects – eg the pros and cons of domed vs single/double zipper baby onsies at 4am.) LOL
I have been so impressed with the silence from the new parents apart from Twitter it seems lol. It seems like they are really getting some free air in the precious first few weeks after birth. Well done to them and everyone making that happen.
I see Duncan Garner has a piece in Stuff about being a solo parent for the last 6 months. Maybe that explains his understanding of Phil Twyford flying with his wife and three young ones.
Duncan appears to have gained some humility and humanity.
His comment about “some mates weren’t able to cope, others turned up with a meal and time to chat” rang a bell. The first lot obviously were not real mates. A hard way to find out, but some folk can’t be second for any reason.
China’s doing it! Birds do it, bees do it, even educated fleas do it.
Oh why, oh why can’t we. Or have I missed the news that we have started – not just still talking about it? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o5xdIVvFEeo
Once we had NZFS which led to Kaiangaroa and other plantation schemes. Which were sadly lost to ideology. Saihanba seems very similar to Kaiangaroa in style, intent and effects.
“Ms Tuwhare said the hapu had little faith in the idea of a centralised iwi governance body that would distribute largesse to the hapū.
“We already have one of those in the Ngāpuhi rūnanga, and it has not only failed to capitalise on its ($60m) Fisheries settlement – it returns only 11 percent of its annual profits to the people it’s supposed to be helping so about 90 percent goes on its internal costs. That’s a very poor performance compared with other iwi.”
Moana Tuwhare said a number of hapū in the north were making a better fist of running their affairs than the rūnanga was, and were well-equipped to deal with a settlement.
The rūnanga was now spending $200,000 on lawyers, in an effort to set up a post-governance entity, without reference to the hapū, she said.”
Does anyone remember the Selwyn River? It seems to be gone now. When will anything be done to bring it back?
Does anyone remember the Golden Bay scallops? They seem to have been decimated. Where is the plan to restore them? When does it start?
I’m sure there are many similar places, where bad policy decisions have destroyed public environmental assets. So when can we expect movement to recover them?
Or are they to be viewed as part of the attrition that goes with a civil service that has become captive to neoliberal rather than democratic norms? Let us have some sunlight on the dark recesses of failed policies made in dark rooms by corrupt far right ideologues under the Gnats.
Yes I remember swimming at Coes Ford, catching brown trout down from Coes ford and fishing down at the Selwyn Huts or going out in the Golden Bay with cousins from Mout to get a feed of Scallops or a catch of founder.
Yeah Pat, I’m told it pointless even trying to have a dip let alone a swim in the Selwyn and even forget about trying to have fish either. The Rabbit Arms Hotel and the local store at Springston don’t have much of a summer trade either as there is no campers at Coes Ford because of the state of the Selwyn River now.
Are you commenting about the multiple plans launched by the Labour-led government this week to redevelop and revive Westport and Greymouth perhaps? Support the rail line expansion across the coast per chance? Support the rebuild of Westport town centre? Maybe?
Or the launch this week of the new major tourism walk by DoC close the the Puankaike Rocks perchance?
If west coast coalminers want to keep digging coal, they should do what the rest of them do and head to Australia. We still haven’t been able to extract the bodies out of the last one, but hey go for it.
Use some kind of reference if you really want to comment on this government.
Those issues are not relative to the average person on the coast. Do you really think that the punakaiki walk will have any effect or bearing on the average persons life on the west coast. really?? No one cares , so what some tourist will buy another drink or something at the shop up the road.
One closed gold mine of recent adds up to far more than all that crap you just listed. Rail line !! whippy!!
Rebuild the Westport centre, Yay the hungry kids can look at the shiny new statue.
Its not just coal. Its the right to have access to our minerals. We are not the rest of the country so stop treating us like we are.
Obviously you cant see it because you dont live it.
If the average person on the west coast isn’t engaging with tourism they really need to find somewhere else to live. Yes that includes you.
Your reaction is typical of the quarry-enclave mentality that has poisoned and damaged many areas of this country. Go and check out Waihi now.
It is also typical that someone who comments with no links whatsoever and just has a slag at the government for no purpose, is also someone who cannot for the life of them engage with actual multiple concrete initiatives that are occurring now.
Instead all they want to do is go back to mining coal.
You are one of the ignorant fools who think that the world never changes, and as a result the west coast continues to shrink in every way possible.
Yeah not so surprising – perhaps this is why people should only be allowed to earn so much money – they get distorted. I’d close them down.
“Australia’s richest person, mining magnate Gina Rinehart, has been revealed as a key funder of the rightwing thinktank the Institute of Public Affairs – a consistent promoter of climate science scepticism.
Rinehart’s company, Hancock Prospecting, donated $2.3m to the IPA in 2016 and $2.2m in 2017, according to disclosures made to the New South Wales supreme court.”
Anyone picking this up? Assange due to be arrested? Sorry if someone has already posted, I didn’t read right through. Hard day and tired.
So what is the plan if he is handed over? Do we have a left in NZ and will it respond? We know the Labour Party won’t. Too shit scared to offend the five eyes people.
“Whether he wins in 2020 or not, we will not have seen the last of Trump’s type as long as the system remains unreconstructed. If the future ordains more economic dislocation and alienation – which automation and AI could so easily bring – the danger is that history looks back on Trump not as a nasty aberration, but as the one who opened the door for the real fascists to walk through.”
Good morning Q & A Corin with our waste the people who make this waste should be charged as well as the consumer If we make it so that its in the best interest for manufactures to reduce the waste I.E charge them for this waste and send the money to the recycles .Business switched from recycling glass bottles because it is cheaper for them to use plastics than glass with a little tweek this could change so it is cheaper to use glass bottles glass can be recycled many times.
Family violence = Waipiro in % 80 = business selling Waipoiro road deaths = Waipiro full jails = Waipiro all the bad stats flow out of OUR abuse of the use of this poison why is it so hard for these problems to be fixed business political lobbie groups limit the access te mokopunas have to this poision and the stats will change for the better .
My mokopunas are going to look back at us and laugh they could not do not want to fix waipoiro abuse a problem that causes so much harm to our society.
Ka kite ano P.S hate speech is not acceptable enough said
Marae I did not know Matua Black I put his picture on one of my post he looks like a Honorable man who united maori he gave them mana with the Gate Pa celebrations.
Now if that story had the substance that the media gave it and the way his ex put this story out there to the Papatuanuku surely more than one{ contracted lair ]would come forward . I trust this system as far as I can —— ana to kai te tangata you don’t no how corrupt this system is . In My EYEs this is a attack on Maori culture Mana .
The Maori will still be strong one has to have balance like the jin yang so I still back Maori Party. P.S I will put some links up to back my views on Matua Black .The tane can not even defend his mana
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2z6PlYiQSTs
I know that my Tipuna sided with the Government this was to protect Ngati Porou mana whenua and tangata after the musket raids of other hapu on us .
The big picture is we were played and we are still being fooled by some Pakeha ana to kai . The tangata delivering Muta Blacks story that’s a smear in my eyes on Maori Mana are being played fooled to Ka kite ano
P.S you see tangata some Pakeha don;t want the good Kiwi people to know that the killed lied cheated Maori all out of greed for our whenua they just want us to go away hell NO
The problem I have with this DNA grab by this DNA company is that it is so easy for evil people to get a sample of DNA and then plant it on or in a crime orchestrated seen and wala the evil person has locked up a innocent person . I say this tool is going to be used to control Te Tangata just like these cameras going up all around Aotearoa and Papatuanuku a tool for the 00.1 % to keep us as there slaves .
Ka kite ano
Those Tribal Hulk links were not what I thought they were I thought they were links to the New Zealand wars of 1840 to 1900 ECO MAORI does not Tau toko GANGS full stop. Ka kite ano
So much for free speech a it’s free until one is a broke Maori educating te tangata about the system we live have imposed on KIWIs Ka kite ano they are trying to blocking my post lucky I have other strategies to get my words out to You all Ka kite ano
Some music ECO MAORI is listening to at the minute Ka kite ano
YouTube
Bob Marley – Redemption Song (from the legend album, with lyrics)
XxWolfqueenxX21,040,860 views
Published on 8 Sep 2009
Couldnt find this version on youtube so thought I’d upload it as it’s my all time favourite Bob Marley song….no copyright infringement intended, this is just a video i put together I own nothing on the video nor do I claim to own anything…..
Good evening Newshub Hope I did not break to many glass bubbles this morning. I don’t make my statements lightly on Mata Black one has to see things through my eyes see how many Maori proffets that have had there Mana destroyed by the – – – – – there you go the Rotorua Council is not trying to help it homeless tangata I bet if it was there whano on the street they would bend the the rules like they are for their Dairy farmer m8 Ka kite ano
Open access notables A survey of interventions to actively conserve the frozen North, van Wijngaarden et al., Climatic Change:The frozen elements of the high North are thawing as the region warms much faster than the global mean. The dangers of sea level rise due to melting glacier ice, increased ...
Bryce Edwards writes – New Zealand’s biggest-ever political donations scandal is finally at an end. But what is the conclusion? No one can really be sure. The Court of Appeal released its judgement on Tuesday about the Serious Fraud Office case against the NZ First Foundation. On ...
In 2015, then-Prime Minister John Key announced plans for a huge ocean sanctuary around the Kermadec Islands, banning fishing and mining from 15% of Aotearoa's EEZ. It was bold, it was ambitious, and it suggested that National might actually care about the environment. Except they fucked it up: Key failed ...
1. Who has just been given the accolade New Zealander of the Year?a. The Kokakob. The Cook Strait Ferryc. Fair God. Dr Jim Salinger 2. Which of these is an affront to decent society?a. Dame Edna Everageb. Mrs Doubtfire c. Dr. Frank-N-Furterd. Brian 3. Who is Penny Simmonds?a. The aspiring actress in Big ...
New Zealand’s biggest-ever political donations scandal is finally at an end. But what is the conclusion? No one can really be sure.The Court of Appeal released its judgement on Tuesday about the Serious Fraud Office case against the NZ First Foundation. On the face of it, the court found ...
Buzz from the Beehive Waves of rain are set to lash much of the North Island during Easter Weekend as a low-pressure system forms east of New Zealand, according to a weather forecast published in the past day or so. Niwa was warning of a “moisture-laden” long weekend, with rain expected ...
Look around us…Nicola Willis’ promises of balancing the books, of cutting spending without reducing services, and of delivering game changing tax cuts are disappearing before her eyes.Everyday we see stories of violent crime ending in horrific injuries, or worse. The cost of living worsens, whereas the PM claimed renters would ...
TL;DR: My top six news of note on the morning of Thursday, March 28 include:The Government will have to borrow between $10 billion to $15 billion more than previously expected in order to make up for a slowing economy and to pay for $14.9 billion of tax cuts, according to ...
This story by Naveena Sadasivam and Kate Yoder was originally published by Grist and is part of Covering Climate Now, a global journalism collaboration strengthening coverage of the climate story. The long-awaited jobs board for the American Climate Corps, promised early in the Biden administration, will open next month, according to details shared exclusively ...
Should landlords be able to deduct the interest on the loans they take out to bankroll their property speculation? The US Senate Budget Committee and Bloomberg News don’t think this is a good idea, for reasons set out below. Regardless, our coalition government has been burning through a ton of ...
Treasury’s first report on the economy since the change of government presents a damning indictment of Labour’s economic management. The problem for National is that it is so damning that logically, coupled with a rapidly slowing economy, Finance Minister Nicola Willis should respond to it by postponing or even cancelling ...
Budget tensions are becoming evident within the Coalition Government. Winston Peters made numerous political points in his speech to the NZF annual conference. But the attack on his own government’s fiscal policies raised issues of substance. ‘Today in the Sunday Star Times, journalist and former advisor to the Labour ...
Buzz from the Beehive The media – sure enough – have been binging on Finance Minister Nicola Willis’ release of the Budget Policy Statement and a statement headed Government announces Budget priorities This assures us – or rather, this parrots the Luxon team mantra – that the Budget “will deliver ...
The Ides of March brought me COVID followed by a bereavement. No wonder they tell you to be careful of them.I’m home now and have resumed the interrupted recuperation. Very much looking forward to getting back to regular things. Meanwhile, some thoughts…OneThis new Prime Minister guy just keeps getting more dire. ...
News that the Chinese ATP 40 cyber-hacking unit penetrated parliamentary internet networks in 2021 has renewed concerns about the PRC’s malign intentions in Aotearoa. But is the hack that significant given the length of time that has passed since its … Continue reading → ...
When Parliament passed the Intelligence and security Act in 2017, they assured us all that it was full of safeguards. Any intrusive surveillance of New Zealanders would be subject to a "triple lock", requiring the approval of the Minister and (supposedly independent) Commissioner of Intelligence Warrants, as well as post-facto ...
Eric Crampton writes – Richard Harman’s Politik newsletter provides a bit of the context that ought to have been showing up in other media reports on potential reductions in public service staffing. Media has been reporting on staffing cuts on the order of about 7%. Is that ...
Mike Grimshaw writes – It’s becoming increasingly apparent that many perceive free speech to have become the preserve of the politically right wing, the religiously conservative, the libertarian fringe, the anti-trans, the anti-Māori and…. well, just fill in with whatever groups or individuals you don’t like and don’t ...
Don Brash writes – As everybody who is not blind and deaf is aware, there is a huge political preoccupation with climate change at the moment, a widespread (though by no means unanimous) belief that global temperatures are rising mainly as a result of the greenhouse gases created ...
TL;DR: My six things to note in Aotearoa’s political economy on Wednesday, March 27 include:Chris Bishop laid out his vision for filling Aotearoa-NZ’s $100 billion infrastructure deficit in a speech yesterday, emphasising user pays and private funding, but failed to say how to achieve bipartisanship on population, public borrowing and ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Former Finance Minister Grant Robertson and former Prime Minister Chris Hipkins have been conveying how unhappy they are with the tax system. Last week in his valedictory speech, Robertson called for the introduction of a wealth or capital gains tax. And this week Hipkins ...
On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
Buzz from the Beehive China has loomed large in Beehive considerations over the past 24 hours, largely because of that country’s mischief-making in the cyber espionage department. Two media statements emerged on that subject hard on the heels of the PM baulking at questions put to him on RNZ’s Morning ...
Chris Trotter writes – WHY IS THE NATIONAL PARTY doing so much for landlords, property developers, trucking, and construction companies, and so little for everybody who isn’t already pretty well-off? It’s as if protecting landlords’ investments and building apartments and roads now constitute the whole of National’s ...
Bryce Edwards writes – When she was campaigning to be Minister of Finance last year, Nicola Willis pledged that she would resign from the job if she failed to deliver tax cuts in her first Budget. Now, it’s that pledge, along with Prime Minister Christopher Luxon’s ...
Robert MacCulloch writes – The Reserve Bank has doubled staff numbers in five years to 510, with personnel costs rising to $80 million in 2023 from $32 million in 2018 – up by a whopping 150%. I guess when you print $50 billion and flood markets with liquidity, ...
The furore. In case you didn’t notice there was a controversy in the weekend involving dolphins in a little town off the South Island. Don’t panic, they haven’t declared independence and resumed whaling, this was simply a sailing event.The problem began when racing was cancelled on the opening day of ...
For 20 years or more, the case for a meaningful capital tax gains has been mulled over and analysed to death, including by the tax working group chaired by Sir Michael Cullen. More than once, the International Monetary Fund has said a CGT would be a good idea for New ...
TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: The Public Health Communications Centre (PHCC) call for urgent preventive action and a risk assessment survey of long covid in this briefing noteLocal scoop: NZ road deaths surpass OECD rates, so why is the govt reversing safety plans? ...
This story was originally published by Grist and is part of Covering Climate Now, a global journalism collaboration strengthening coverage of the climate story. This story is part of a collaboration with Grist and WABE to demystify the Georgia Public Service Commission, the small but powerful state-elected board that makes critical decisions about everything from raising ...
This is a guest post from Robert McLachlan Global warming is accelerating; 2023 was off the charts. We need to stop burning fossil fuels. In New Zealand, transport accounts for half of all fossil fuels burnt. In the Emissions Reduction Plan, transport emissions fall 41% by 2035. As the ...
Labour productivity has been receding rapidly over the past two years, reversing a post-lockdown rise. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: My six things to note in Aotearoa’s political economy as at 6:26am on Tuesday, March 26 include:Workers have been treading water in output per hour worked for 12 years, ...
TL;DR: The key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to April 2 include:Today, Parliament resumes sitting at 2pm for the second week of a two-week session. Officials for SIS and GCSB report their annual reviews in public to the Intelligence and Security Select Committee from 5.10pm.Tomorrow, ...
Faced with a barrage of criticism over the promised tax cuts from usually supportive commentators, Finance Minister Nicola Willis yesterday reaffirmed her intention to include them in this year’s Budget. The Government is up against it over the cuts just about every way it turns. Commentators like Fran O’Sullivan, Matthew ...
Here’s my pick of today’s substack posts as of 6:26pm on Monday, March 25: writes via his substack that Market-rate housing will make your city cheaper writes via his substack about the problems talking to double-cab ute (truck) drivers about their vehicles. today about moments of radicalisation in ...
Buzz from the Beehive Just before Christmas, Finance Minister Nicola Willis delivered something that was pitched as a mini-budget and brayed about the decisive action being taken to repair the Government books and support income tax relief in Budget 2024. In a statement headed Fiscal repair job underway. she introduced ...
My sister Belinda asked Dad yesterday what one word would describe Mum best. He said: vivacious.If you only knew her from the photos on the slideshow we've made for today,you might wonder about that, because the camera tended to lie with Mum.If ever she saw a camera pointed at her, she ...
There are two major public consultations closing in the next week, Auckland Council’s Long Term Plan (LTP), and the draft Government Policy Statement on Land Transport (GPS). Closing dates and times: LTP closes Thursday 28 February, at 11.59pm – a minute to midnight! GPS closes Tuesday 2 April, at 12pm noon – note that’s ...
From Kiwiblog’s David Farrar – Bryce Wilkinson writes: Senior Fellow Bryce Wilkinson’s analysis reveals that since March 2009, New Zealand has spent $158 billion more overseas than it has earned, but its NIIP has only fallen by $32 billion.Statistics New Zealand shows that receipts from overseas reinsurers have ...
Is she hinting that the Coalition Government will have to back down on key promises it made in Opposition? Brian Easton writes – The Minister of Finance, Nicola Willis, is telling an evolving story about her fiscal challenges. In Opposition she was confident that she could ...
Dear Nicola Willis,Right now you’ve probably got lots of competing demands coming at you. Ministers who’ve inherited quite a mess, or so you’ve told us, looking for money in the budget to improve things. I imagine that’s why they came to parliament - to make things better.You’ll have to make ...
The Local Government, Transport and Auckland Minister hasthreatened councils with intervention if they don’t merge water assets to take them off balance sheet, just as the now-repealed Three Waters plan directed. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: My six things of note this morning for Monday, March 25 include:Simeon ...
A listing of 36 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 17, 2024 thru Sat, March 23, 2024. Story of the week Thanks to John Mason having the stamina to sit down to watch "Climate - the Movie" ...
This morning the Q&A programme had Simeon Brown on to talk about National’s replacement for Three Waters. In case anyone’s forgotten the three are - drinking water, waste water, and sewerage. It’s quite important not to get them mixed up. In much the same way that you wouldn’t want to ...
Today’s newsletter comes with a mini-podcast conversation between me and my buddy Liv Tennet, talking about her time as a child actor in Lord of the Rings. It’s a conversation with a lot of giggles as she talks about falling off a horse, and becoming a meme. Read ...
The Desmog Climate Disinformation Database documents, "individuals and organisations that have helped to delay and distract the public and our elected leaders from taking needed action to reduce greenhouse gas pollution and fight global warming." It's a who's who of the organised climate change denial movement, in other words. In ...
Bob Edlin writes – A High Court judge has decided miscreants who have mana – or who claim to have mana – should be treated differently from miscreants who have none. It’s a ruling that suggests indigenous law-breakers have a better chance of securing a discharge without conviction ...
Welcome to the first, and possibly last, edition of Brickbats, Bouquets and Bull’s Wool. In which I’ll take a look at the events of the last week or so, and rate them.In such ratings the numbers usually have more to do with the opinions of the reviewer, than the actual ...
Roger Partridge writes – My earlier column this month, New Zealand’s highest court could be facing a turning point, prompted a flood of feedback from business readers and lawyers alike. A common query was what Parliament can do to restrain an overreaching judiciary. This week I discuss two steps Parliament ...
TL;DR: In today’s ‘six-stack’ of substacks at 6.16pm on Friday, March 22: writes about New Zealand's Building Boom—And What the World Must Learn From It over at his substack. challenges the Auckland Council’s use of a 3.8 degrees of warming forecast to oppose a wave-park and data centre project ...
Is she hinting that the Coalition Government will have to back down on key promises it made in Opposition?The Minister of Finance, Nicola Willis, is telling an evolving story about her fiscal challenges. In Opposition she was confident that she could deliver her promised income tax cuts. Appointed minister, she ...
Buzz from the Beehive Ministers of the Crown have drawn attention to one sector of the science sector which is unlikely to be subjected to heavy spending cuts, a state-funded broadcaster which is doing nicely, thank you, and a sporting event that had $5.4 million from the public purse puffed ...
Abbott’s Freestyle Libre sensors allow continuous glucose monitoring (CGM). The sensor is applied to the back of the patient’s arm, with a thin filament under the skin measuring glucose levels constantly. But it costs around $100 per sensor and must be replaced once every 14 days. Photo by BSIP/Universal Images ...
The Inspector General of Intelligence and Security (IGIS) recently released a report in which he exposes the existence of a foreign intelligence partner-controlled technological “capability” inside the headquarters of the GCSB, NZ’s 5 Eyes-affiliated signals intelligence collection and analysis agency. … Continue reading → ...
Peter Dunne writes – Nearly three decades after the introduction of MMP and multiparty governments there should be a greater level of understanding about their finer points than often appears to be the case. The reaction to the despicable outburst from the Deputy Prime Minister at the weekend highlights ...
The sweet kisses from fruit of summerHave slowly been turning dullerYou say, "those times"And "remember the daysWhen we went outside and there still was the shade?"Taking no reason into play…Autumn. Clear, blue days shortening to longer nights, growing colder. Aotearoa.That’s us. The temperature dropping, the looming car crash - so ...
Bryce Edwards writes – “It is often said that behind every great man is a great woman”. This is the pitch by the National Party Botany electorate branch to attend their “Ladies Afternoon Tea with Amanda Luxon”. For $110 including GST, you can turn up on Saturday 20 April ...
David Farrar writes – The Electoral Commission has published the expense returns for political parties for the 2023 election. I’ve put them in a table with how many votes a party got so we can see the spend per vote. National only spent $3.34 for every vote they got, almost ...
Winston Peters’ headline-making actions over the past week may have been a show of political power intended to strengthen his hand in Budget negotiations. It was no accident that his State of the Nation speech was as it was. He made it as New Zealand First Leader, not as Deputy ...
Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the last week included:Former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson bowed out of politics this week, giving a series of exit ...
Graham Adams writes — If you love the law or sausages, as the saying goes, best not to look too closely at how they are made. And after watching the orgy of self-pity when Newshub’s closure was announced on February 28, television journalism should definitely be added to the list of those ...
Venerable New Zealand political commentator, Chris Trotter (https://bowalleyroad.blogspot.com/), is a sad creature these days. Once one of the most reliable Leftist writers out there – Economic Left at that – Trotter seems to have absorbed the worldview of Auckland culture-war obsessives. It is not for me to categorise what he ...
The cruelty of short-term memory loss is that each time you ask where she is, you get the fresh shock and grief of the news. That was Dad's day yesterday.Comfortingly, it seems to be less so today. Last night he looked crumpled, today he seems more settled. There's a card ...
Photo by Alvan Nee on UnsplashIt’s that new day of the week (Thursday rather than Friday) when and I co-host our ‘hoon’ webinar with paying subscribers to The Kākā for an hour at 5 pm. Jump on this link on YouTube Livestream for our chat about the week’s news ...
Buzz from the Beehive One minister is talking tough while a colleague – whose ministry had acted tough and drawn a barrage of flak – has shown an official softening. Some ministers are doing what Labour was good at, which is distributing public funds to causes regarded as worthy or ...
A ballot for 4 Member's Bills was held today, and the following bills were drawn: Insurance Contracts Bill (Duncan Webb) Income Tax (Clean Transport FBT Exclusion) Amendment Bill (Julie Anne Genter) Crimes (Increased Penalties for Slavery Offences) Amendment Bill (Greg Fleming) Pae Ora (Healthy Futures) ...
One of the strongest narratives about "our" spy agencies is that they are basically institutional traitors, working for foreign powers (or just themselves), without any control or oversight by the elected government. And today, we have yet another report from the Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security which explicitly confirms this. ...
“It is often said that behind every great man is a great woman”. This is the pitch by the National Party Botany electorate branch to attend their “Ladies Afternoon Tea with Amanda Luxon”. For $110 including GST, you can turn up on Saturday 20 April to meet the Prime Minister’s ...
The Coalition Government’s plan to ‘get Auckland moving’ is a cuts cover-up that will ultimately cost Aucklanders more to move around the city, says Labour Auckland Issues spokesperson Shanan Halbert. ...
Slashing the Ministry of Pacific Peoples by 40% will have a devastating impact on pacific communities and further highlights how little this government cares about anything other than cutting taxes for the wealthiest few. ...
Labour has proposed an urgent inquiry to investigate the ever-increasing profits of supermarkets, aiming to lower costs for shoppers and food producers alike, says Labour Spokesperson for Commerce and Consumer Affairs Arena Williams and Primary Production Spokesperson Cushla Tangaere-Manuel. ...
With 14% of jobs on the line at the Ministry for Ethnic Communities, the responsible Minister Melissa Lee is failing to stand up for the very communities she’s meant to be representing. ...
COURT OF APPEAL: TRIFECTA OF VICTORY FOR NZ FIRST, TRIFECTA OF FAILURE FOR OPPONENTS For the third time since April 2020, New Zealand First has defeated the Serious Fraud Office and all those complicit in a malicious attack against a political party going about its lawful business in a lawful ...
The Green Party stands with people who live in public housing, people in dire housing need, experts and advocates in demanding better than the Government’s archaic approach to housing those who need our support the most. ...
New Zealand has recently lost the hosting rights of some major international sporting events including the America’s Cup, the Rugby Championship, Netball World Cup, and the Wellington Sevens. We are now at a huge risk of losing SailGP as well. And it won’t stop there. The recent issues with SailGP ...
A Member’s Bill drawn this week would modernise insurance law and make things fairer and more transparent for consumers, Christchurch Central MP Duncan Webb said. ...
The Minister for Disability Issues has confirmed she was aware of funding issues in mid-December and did nothing to stop it. On 14 March, she signed off on changes that were announced and implemented on 18 March without any consultation with disability communities. ...
Green Party MP Julie Anne Genter says her members' bill is an opportunity for the coalition government to plug the gap in electric vehicle incentives. ...
The National Government continues to talk about irresponsible tax cuts that will only drive up inflation, despite the country entering a technical recession. ...
The Minister for Disability Issues must act urgently to reinstate flexibility around the funding for disability support and apologise to disabled carers. ...
This story has been initiated by a leftie shill reporter who proactively sought to call a member of a former band, which disbanded twelve years ago, give their biased appraisal of what was said in my speech, and concocted a ham-fisted attempt at a story that does nothing but show ...
The Government has accepted Labour’s change to the Road User Charge (RUC) discount for hybrid vehicles, meaning there will still be some incentive for people to buy greener vehicles. ...
Many in the mainstream media have taken what was said in New Zealand First’s State of the Nation Speech in Palmerston North on Sunday and deliberately, deceitfully, and ignorantly misrepresented what I said and why I said it. The headlines and commentary on the news stated that I compared ‘co-governance ...
Kicking the most vulnerable people out of state housing and pushing them towards homelessness will result in a proliferation of poverty and trauma across our most vulnerable communities. ...
Te Pāti Māori co-leader and MP for Waiariki, Rawiri Waititi has penned a letter asking MPs to support his members bill to remove GST from all food. The bill is expected to go through its first reading in parliament this Wednesday. “I’m calling on all political parties to support my ...
Good afternoon. Thank you for, in your very busy lives, turning up to this meeting today. On October 14th last year New Zealanders overwhelmingly voted for change. That is exactly what this new government is bringing. New Zealand First campaigned to ‘take back our country’ and stop the disastrous economic ...
This year is about getting real with Kiwis and discussing the tough issues, as the National Government exacerbates inequality and divides New Zealand, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said ...
The Government adding Significant Natural Areas (SNAs) to its already roaring environmental policy bonfire is an assault on the future of wildlife that makes Aotearoa unique. ...
After 12 years of fighting to protect our moana we are finding ourselves back at square one and back at court. Today, the Environmental Protection Agency is sitting in Hawera to reconsider an application from Trans-Tasman Resources to dig up 50 million tonnes of the seabed in South Taranaki. This ...
Minister Shane Jones’ decision to step away from a seabed mining project is evidence of the murky waters surrounding the Government’s fast-track legislation. ...
The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last government in a bid to get greater coherence in the publicservice on Treaty matters. When ministers first considered the need for tighter oversight in 2021, there ...
The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last government in a bid to get greater coherence in the publicservice on Treaty matters. When ministers first considered the need for tighter oversight in 2021, there ...
The Coalition Government’s miscalculation saga continues as it has forgotten an eyewatering $90 million gap in its interest deductibility cost figures, say Labour Finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds and Revenue Spokesperson Deborah Russell. ...
He Pou a Rangi Climate Change Commission has today released advice that says if the Government doesn’t act now New Zealand is at risk of not meeting its climate goals. ...
The Coalition Government has today confirmed it is abandoning first home buyers who are struggling to get ahead, says Labour Finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds. ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed the passing of legislation to move light electric vehicles (EVs) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) into the road user charges system from 1 April. “It was always intended that EVs and PHEVs would be exempt from road user charges until they reached two ...
New Zealand is strengthening its ability to combat illegal fishing outside its domestic waters and beef up regulation for its own commercial fishers in international waters through a Bill which had its first reading in Parliament today. The Fisheries (International Fishing and Other Matters) Amendment Bill 2023 sets out stronger ...
Economists Carl Hansen and Professor Prasanna Gai have been appointed to the Reserve Bank Monetary Policy Committee, Finance Minister Nicola Willis announced today. The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) is the independent decision-making body that sets the Official Cash Rate which determines interest rates. Carl Hansen, the executive director of Capital ...
Apartment owners and buyers will soon have greater protections as further changes to the law on unit titles come into effect, Housing Minister Chris Bishop says. “The Unit Titles (Strengthening Body Corporate Governance and Other Matters) Amendment Act had already introduced some changes in December 2022 and May 2023, and ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters will travel to Egypt and Europe from this weekend. “This travel will focus on a range of New Zealand’s traditional diplomatic and security partnerships while enabling broad engagement on the urgent situation in Gaza,” Mr Peters says. Mr Peters will attend the NATO Foreign ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown is encouraging all road users to stay safe, plan their journeys ahead of time, and be patient with other drivers while travelling around this Easter long weekend. “Road safety is a responsibility we all share, and with increased traffic on our roads expected this Easter we ...
About 1.4 million New Zealanders will receive cost of living relief through increased government assistance from April 1 909,000 pensioners get a boost to Superannuation, including 5000 veterans 371,000 working-age beneficiaries will get higher payments 45,000 students will see an increase in their allowance Over a quarter of New Zealanders ...
Ensuring social housing is being provided to those with the greatest needs is front of mind as the Government restarts social housing tenancy reviews, Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka says. “Our relentless focus on building a strong economy is to ensure we can deliver better public services such as social ...
The Kermadec Ocean Sanctuary will not go ahead, with Cabinet deciding to stop work on the proposed reserve and remove the Bill that would have established it from Parliament’s order paper. “The Kermadec Ocean Sanctuary Bill would have created a 620,000 sq km economic no-go zone,” Oceans and Fisheries Minister ...
Dam safety regulations are being amended so that smaller dams won’t be subject to excessive compliance costs, Minister for Building and Construction Chris Penk says. “The coalition Government is focused on reducing costs and removing unnecessary red tape so we can get the economy back on track. “Dam safety regulations ...
The coalition Government is expanding the medium-scale adverse event classification to parts of the North Island as dry weather conditions persist, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced today. “I have made the decision to expand the medium-scale adverse event classification already in place for parts of the South Island to also cover the ...
The passing of legislation giving effect to coalition Government tax commitments has been welcomed by Finance Minister Nicola Willis. “The Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill will help place New Zealand on a more secure economic footing, improve outcomes for New Zealanders, and make our tax system ...
Science, Innovation and Technology Minister Judith Collins and Tertiary Education and Skills Minister Penny Simmonds today announced plans to transform our science and university sectors to boost the economy. Two advisory groups, chaired by Professor Sir Peter Gluckman, will advise the Government on how these sectors can play a greater ...
The Budget will deliver urgently-needed tax relief to hard-working New Zealanders while putting the government’s finances back on a sustainable track, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The Finance Minister made the comments at the release of the Budget Policy Statement setting out the Government’s Budget objectives. “The coalition Government intends ...
The coalition Government will look at options to address a zoning issue that limits how much financial support Queenstown residents can get for accommodation. Cabinet has agreed on a response to the Petitions Committee, which had recommended the geographic information MSD uses to determine how much accommodation supplement can be ...
Cabinet has agreed to a short extension to the final reporting timeframe for the Royal Commission into Abuse in Care from 28 March 2024 to 26 June 2024, Internal Affairs Minister Brooke van Velden says. “The Royal Commission wrote to me on 16 February 2024, requesting that I consider an ...
The coalition Government is delivering an $18 million boost to New Zealanders needing to travel for specialist health treatment, Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says. “These changes are long overdue – the National Travel Assistance (NTA) scheme saw its last increase to mileage and accommodation rates way back in 2009. ...
The Government is recognising the innovative and rising talent in New Zealand’s growing space sector, with the Prime Minister and Space Minister Judith Collins announcing the new Prime Minister’s Prizes for Space today. “New Zealand has a growing reputation as a high-value partner for space missions and research. I am ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has confirmed New Zealand’s concerns about cyber activity have been conveyed directly to the Chinese Government. “The Prime Minister and Minister Collins have expressed concerns today about malicious cyber activity, attributed to groups sponsored by the Chinese Government, targeting democratic institutions in both New ...
Independent Reviewers appointed for School Property Inquiry Education Minister Erica Stanford today announced the appointment of three independent reviewers to lead the Ministerial Inquiry into the Ministry of Education’s School Property Function. The Inquiry will be led by former Minister of Foreign Affairs Murray McCully. “There is a clear need ...
State Highway 1 across the Brynderwyns will be open for Easter weekend, with work currently underway to ensure the resilience of this critical route being paused for Easter Weekend to allow holiday makers to travel north, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Today I visited the Brynderwyn Hills construction site, where ...
Introduction Good morning to you all, and thanks for having me bright and early today. I am absolutely delighted to be the Minister for Infrastructure alongside the Minister of Housing and Resource Management Reform. I know the Prime Minister sees the three roles as closely connected and he wants me ...
New Zealand stands with the United Kingdom in its condemnation of People’s Republic of China (PRC) state-backed malicious cyber activity impacting its Electoral Commission and targeting Members of the UK Parliament. “The use of cyber-enabled espionage operations to interfere with democratic institutions and processes anywhere is unacceptable,” Minister Responsible for ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters and Defence Minister Judith Collins today announced New Zealand will provide logistics support for the upcoming Solomon Islands election. “We’re sending a team of New Zealand Defence Force personnel and two NH90 helicopters to provide logistics support for the election on 17 April, at the request ...
The European Union Free Trade Agreement Legislation Amendment Bill received Royal Assent today, completing the process for New Zealand’s ratification of its free trade agreement with the European Union. “I am pleased to announce that today, in a small ceremony at the Beehive, New Zealand notified the European Union ...
Public consultation on the terms of reference for the Royal Commission into COVID-19 Lessons has concluded, Internal Affairs Minister Hon Brooke van Velden says. “I have been advised that there were over 11,000 submissions made through the Royal Commission’s online consultation portal.” Expanding the scope of the Royal Commission of ...
Hardworking families are set to benefit from a new credit to help them meet their early childcare education (ECE) costs, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. From 1 July, parents and caregivers of young children will be supported to manage the rising cost of living with a partial reimbursement of their ...
A specialised Independent Technical Advisory Group (ITAG) tasked with preparing and publishing independent non-binding advice on the design of a "green" (sustainable finance) taxonomy rulebook is being established, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. “Comprising experts and market participants, the ITAG's primary goal is to deliver comprehensive recommendations to the ...
Defence Minister Judith Collins has thanked the Chief of Army, Major General John Boswell, DSD, for his service as he leaves the Army after 40 years. “I would like to thank Major General Boswell for his contribution to the Army and the wider New Zealand Defence Force, undertaking many different ...
25 March 2024 Minister to meet Australian counterparts and Manufacturing Industry Leaders Small Business, Manufacturing, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly will travel to Australia for a series of bi-lateral meetings and manufacturing visits. During the visit, Minister Bayly will meet with his Australian counterparts, Senator Tim Ayres, Ed ...
Government commits almost $3 million for period products in schools The Coalition Government has committed $2.9 million to ensure intermediate and secondary schools continue providing period products to those who need them, Minister of Education Erica Stanford announced today. “This is an issue of dignity and ensuring young women don’t ...
Good morning, it’s great to be here. First, I would like to acknowledge the New Zealand Institute of Building Surveyors and thank you for the opportunity to be here this morning. I would like to use this opportunity to outline the Government’s ambitious plan and what we hope to ...
Minister for Pacific Peoples Dr Shane Reti has announced the Government’s commitment to the Auckland Secondary Schools Māori and Pacific Islands Cultural Festival, more commonly known as Polyfest. “The Ministry for Pacific Peoples is a longtime supporter of Polyfest and, as it celebrates 49 years in 2024, I’m proud to ...
Before moving onto the substance of today’s address, I want to recognise the very significant and ongoing contribution the Breast Cancer Foundation makes to support the lives of New Zealand women and their families living with breast cancer. I very much enjoy working with you. I also want to recognise ...
New Zealand has notched up a first with the launch of University of Canterbury research to the International Space Station, Science, Innovation and Technology and Space Minister Judith Collins says. The hardware, developed by Dr Sarah Kessans, is designed to operate autonomously in orbit, allowing scientists on Earth to study ...
Introduction Thank you for inviting me to speak with you today and I’m sorry I can’t be there in person. Yesterday I started in Wellington for Breakfast TV, spoke to a property conference in Auckland, and finished the day speaking to local government in Christchurch, so it would have been ...
The Coalition Government is contributing more than $1 million to support the establishment of an emergency multi-agency coordination centre in Northland. Emergency Management and Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell announced the contribution today during a visit of the Whangārei site where the facility will be constructed. “Northland has faced a number ...
New Zealanders have enjoyed a broader range of voices telling the story of Aotearoa thanks to the creation of Whakaata Māori 20 years ago, says Māori Development Minister Tama Potaka. The minister spoke at a celebration marking the national indigenous media organisation’s 20th anniversary at their studio in Auckland on ...
Commercial catch limits for some fisheries have been increased following a review showing stocks are healthy and abundant, Ocean and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. The changes, along with some other catch limit changes and management settings, begin coming into effect from 1 April 2024. "Regular biannual reviews of fish ...
EDITORIAL:The Jakarta Post It happens again and again; indigenous Papuans fall victim to Indonesian soldiers. This time, we have photographic evidence for the brutality, with videos on social media showing a Papuan man being tortured by a group of plainclothes men alleged to be the Indonesian Military (TNI) members. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Robyn J. Whitaker, Director of the Wesley Centre for Theology, Ethics, and Public Policy & Associate Professor, New Testament, Pilgrim Theological College, University of Divinity A strange and eclectic range of activities takes place across these few weeks of the year. Some ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Panizza Allmark, Professor Visual & Cultural Studies, Edith Cowan University It’s Easter weekend, which means many of us will be kicking back with the greatest hits on repeat. But whether you’re a boomer, or an ‘80s or ’90s kid, you might be ...
RNZ Pacific Fiji’s Acting Public Prosecutor has filed an appeal against the sentences of former prime minister Voreqe Bainimarama and suspended police chief Sitiveni Qiliho in their corruption case. Bainimarama was granted an absolute discharge for attempting to pervert the course of justice while Qiliho received a conditional discharge with ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Arosha Weerakoon, Senior Lecturer and General Dentist, School of Dentistry, The University of Queensland Casezy idea/Shutterstock How does toothpaste work? What did people use before toothpaste was invented? – Amelia, age 7, Meanjin (Brisbane) Thanks for your ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Brett Hallam, Associate professor, UNSW Sydney IM Imagery/Shutterstock Solar SunShot is well named. The Australian government announced today it would plough A$1 billion into bringing back solar manufacturing to Australia, boosting energy security, swapping coal and gas jobs for those ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Clare Dix, Research Fellow in Nutrition & Dietetics, The University of Queensland Easter is the time for chocolate. The shops are full of fantastically packaged and shiny chocolates in all shapes and sizes, making trips to the supermarket with children more challenging ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Emma Felton, Adjunct Senior Researcher, University of South Australia Even in a stubborn cost-of-living crisis, it seems there’s one luxury most Australians won’t sacrifice – their daily cup of coffee. Coffee sales have largely remained stable, even as financial pressures have ...
Mining company Trans-Tasman Resources has unexpectedly withdrawn its application for a consent to suck the valuable metals vanadium and titanium from the Taranaki seafloor, as it apparently wagers on the Government’s new fast-track process. It had spent two-and-a-half days putting its case to the Environmental Protection Agency’s decision-making committee, at ...
Contrary to the Associate Minister of Education’s claims, analysis of Healthy School Lunches Programme - Ka Ora, Ka Ako assessments has revealed it provides excellent value for the taxpayer dollar, as a groundswell of public opposition to Government ...
Greenpeace says wannabe Taranaki seabed miner Trans-Tasman Resources is likely banking on Christopher Luxon’s fast-track process to side-step proper scrutiny of its Taranaki seabed mining proposal by bailing out of the Environmental Protection Agency hearing ...
Kiwis Against Seabed mining today slammed Australian owned would-be seabed miner Trans Tasman Resources (TTR) for abandoning its application to the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) to mine the seabed of the South Taranaki Bight. The company ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Katie Attwell, Associate Professor, School of Social Sciences, The University of Western Australia Ground Picture/Shutterstock Months after COVID vaccines were introduced in 2021, governments and private organisations mandated them for various groups. Health and aged care workers were among the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andrew Dzurak, Scientia Professor Andrew Dzurak, CEO and Founder of Diraq, UNSW Sydney Diraq For decades, the pursuit of quantum computing has struggled with the need for extremely low temperatures, mere fractions of a degree above absolute zero (0 Kelvin or ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Beaumont, Election Analyst (Psephologist) at The Conversation; and Honorary Associate, School of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of Melbourne A national Essential poll, conducted March 20–24 from a sample of 1,150, gave the Coalition a 50–44 lead including undecided, a reversal ...
The Taxpayers’ Union has today made a formal request under the Regulations of the People’s Republic of China on Open Government Information () for information held about how New Zealand Members of Parliament are spending taxpayer ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Robert Nelson, Honorary Principal Fellow, The University of Melbourne A Byzantine depiction of the Eucharist in Saint Sophia Cathedral, Kyiv.Jacek555/Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA A nasty quarrel arose in the 11th century over what kind of bread should be used in holy ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Patrick Hesp, Professor, Flinders University Patrick Hesp In some parts of Australia, coastal dunes are retreating from the ocean at an alarming rate, as waves carve up the beach and wind blows the sand inland. But coastal communities are largely ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Luke Heemsbergen, Senior Lecturer, Digital, Political, Media, Deakin University With an impressive 60% of the US smartphone market, Apple is undeniably big, but not a clear monopoly. Yet, years of innovation by Apple have effectively given the company its own exclusive ...
Whether you’re facing layoffs or are just an emotional junior staffer, it’s always a good idea to scout out a good crying place before you need it. It’s an incredibly hard time for Wellington. Across the city, thousands of public servants are hearing tough news about redundancies and layoffs. Government ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By James Miller-Jones, Professor, Curtin University Nuclear explosions on a neutron star feed its jets. Danielle Futselaar and Nathalie Degenaar, Anton Pannekoek Institute, University of Amsterdam, CC BY-SA How fast can a neutron star drive powerful jets into space? The answer, it ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Daryl Adair, Associate Professor of Sport Management, University of Technology Sydney Earlier this week, independent MP Andrew Wilkie accused the AFL of conducting “off the books” illicit drug testing to identify players using substances of abuse, then inappropriately withdrawing them from matches ...
The Government’s announcement that it will scrap plans for a vast marine sanctuary around the Kermadec Islands is ‘shameful’ and will make it impossible for Aotearoa New Zealand to meet its international commitments, says the World Wide Fund for Nature ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Quiggin, Professor, School of Economics, The University of Queensland Shutterstock The federal government has bowed to pressure from the car industry, announcing it will relax proposed emissions rules for utes and vans and delay enforcement of the new standards ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Suzanne Rutland, Professor Emerita, University of Sydney In his latest book, Jewish Life in Medieval Spain, Jonathan Ray focuses on the tumult of the 14th century in Spain – a time of the plague, civil strife and war between the two largest ...
While creating a slate of world-class shows, Whakaata Māori also developed a generation of world-class creatives. Television is an odd word. It mixes the Ancient Greek and Latin languages, and its most literal meaning is “far-off sight”. In the contemporary and living language of te reo Māori, “whakaata” as a ...
Yesterday the UN Security Council passed a resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire in Israel’s war on Gaza. This significant step and the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Gaza prompted an urgent debate in the New Zealand Parliament. Leader ...
The Government’s decision to reduce access to continuous glucose monitors (CGM) not only threatens the lives of children with type 1 diabetes and increases the potential for ‘Dead in Bed’ syndrome, but also threatens the health of their parents an ...
Apples are available year-round, but the wide variety on offer involves intensive scientific research – and large-scale commercialisation. What’s beautiful, red, sweet and crunchy? Tony Martin’s favourite kind of apple: Sassy. The CEO of apple and pear breeding organisation Prevar, Martin’s fondness for Sassy represents professional success as well as ...
Family violence specialist service Shine is calling on employers to stop asking for proof of domestic violence in order for employees to access domestic violence leave. The call comes five years after the introduction of the Domestic Violence ...
The Deputy Chairperson of the Finance and Expenditure Committee is calling for public submissions on the Budget Policy Statement 2024. The Budget Policy Statement 2024 (BPS) sets out the Government's priorities for the 2024 Budget. It explains the approach ...
Brutal government spending cuts that will see the size of the Ministry for Pacific Peoples slashed by 40% will hit Pasifika communities hard, the PSA says. The Ministry has told staff that it is seeking voluntary redundancies, and to redeploy and reassign ...
I live with five people I mostly love, but our different ideas about generosity are starting to really irk me.Want Hera’s help? Email your problem to helpme@thespinoff.co.nzDear Hera,This is a bit of a random one but here goes. I’m 22 and work an OK job (OK meaning I get paid ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Maria Nicholas, Senior Lecturer in Language and Literacy Education, Deakin University Earlier this month, the New South Wales government announced it would roll out programs for gifted students in every public school in the state. This comes amid concerns gifted school ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Christopher Rudge, Law lecturer, University of Sydney Massachusetts General Hospital In a world first, we heard last week that US surgeons had transplanted a kidney from a gene-edited pig into a living human. News reports said the procedure was a ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By David Tombs, Howard Paterson Chair of Theology and Public Issues, University of Otago The 5th-century Maskell panel showing Jesus in a loincloth.British Museum, CC BY-NC-SA When Jesus is shown on the cross, he is almost always depicted wearing a loincloth around ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Panizza Allmark, Professor Visual & Cultural Studies, Edith Cowan University Shutterstock When you think about a red object, you might picture a red carpet, or the massive ruby in the Queen’s crown. Indeed, Western monarchies and marketing from brands such ...
COMMENTARY:Jewish Voice for Peace The UN Security Council passed a resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire in Gaza on Monday — and for the first time since the beginning of the Israeli military’s genocide of Palestinians, the United States abstained rather than vetoing it. Security Council resolutions are legally binding, ...
Asia Pacific Report A New Zealand investigative journalist and author says the US spy system hosted by the Government Communications Security Bureau (GCSB) appears to be a controversial intelligence system used in global capture-kill operations. Writing a commentary for RNZ News today, Nicky Hager, author of Secret Power, a 1996 ...
While Nicola Willis wouldn’t give any details on its size, she said a package of tax cuts is definitely still coming in this year’s budget, writes Catherine McGregor in this excerpt from The Bulletin, The Spinoff’s morning news round-up. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here. ...
The Taxpayers’ Union is welcoming the investigation into the Department of Internal Affairs after it was revealed that the Department’s Chief Executive personally reached out to expedite a DJs passport application. Taxpayers’ Union Campaigns ...
Finance minister Nicola Willis delivers her first budget statement, and unwittingly helps Joel MacManus save his relationship. Nicola Willis strode into the Beehive Theatrette. Around me, on the green foldout seats, were the country’s top business and political journalists. They were all here to see her announce the Budget Policy ...
Twenty years ago today, Māori Television launched after much controversy. Jamie Tahana looks back on its survival and impact across two decades. Chad Chambers stepped onto the stage, the brim of his cap casting a shadow across his face. His smile beamed as bright as his white freezing works gumboots, ...
Tauranga, Rotorua, Wellsford, Onehunga, Westhaven marina – Gavin Strawhan walks the meanish streets of New Zealand in his entertaining debut novel The Call, almost sure to roar into the number 1 position on the Nielsen bestseller chart, its front cover bearing a rave from somebody: “A really good and genuinely ...
On a Thursday in February, at Wellington’s Conservation House, the Conservation Authority, a statutory body advising the eponymous department and minister, Tama Potaka, opened its 195th meeting. Under consideration that afternoon was an agenda item written by Tim Bamford, chief advisor in the Department of Conservation’s biodiversity, heritage and visitors ...
Loading…(function(i,s,o,g,r,a,m){var ql=document.querySelectorAll('A[quiz],DIV[quiz],A[data-quiz],DIV[data-quiz]'); if(ql){if(ql.length){for(var k=0;k<ql.length;k++){ql[k].id='quiz-embed-'+k;ql[k].href="javascript:var i=document.getElementById('quiz-embed-"+k+"');try{qz.startQuiz(i)}catch(e){i.start=1;i.style.cursor='wait';i.style.opacity='0.5'};void(0);"}}};i['QP']=r;i[r]=i[r]||function(){(i[r].q=i[r].q||[]).push(arguments)},i[r].l=1*new Date();a=s.createElement(o),m=s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];a.async=1;a.src=g;m.parentNode.insertBefore(a,m)})(window,document,'script','https://take.quiz-maker.com/3012/CDN/quiz-embed-v1.js','qp'); Got a good quiz question?Send Newsroom your questions. The post Newsroom daily quiz, Thursday 28 March appeared first on Newsroom. ...
A lengthy response to the recently released draft Government policy statement on transport will soon be delivered from Auckland Council to Minister of Transport Simeon Brown. A submission raising concerns about funding distribution and the plan’s treatment of Auckland passed through the council’s transport committee on Wednesday, despite some councillors ...
The unidentified foreign intelligence operation discussed in a scathing report by New Zealand’s Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security (IGIS) last week appears to be a controversial United States intelligence system. The IGIS report said the Government Communications Security Bureau (GCSB) decision to host a foreign system from 2012-2020 was “improper” ...
As a young gymnast, Aimee Didierjean was always conscious of making sure her underwear wasn’t showing on the competition floor. A peek of a bra strap, or briefs if a leotard rode up, would cost a gymnast points in her routines. “When I was growing and going through puberty, it ...
Jubi/West Papua Daily Repeated cases of Indonesian military (TNI) soldiers torturing civilians in Papua have been evident, as seen in the viral video depicting the torture of civilians in the Puncak Regency allegedly done by soldiers of Raider 300/Brajawijaya Infantry Battalion. There is a pressing need for stringent law enforcement ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra In 2023, Anthony Albanese was shooting for the moon, his eyes on the Voice referendum. On one view, he looked like the idealist reflecting his left-wing roots. In 2024, we’re seeing a pragmatic, determined, ...
The House - The principle that all MPs are honourable and that they should be taken at their word has been tested multiple times this week in Parliament. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Helen Dickinson, Professor, Public Service Research, UNSW Sydney Drazen Zigic/Shutterstock Since the review of the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) released its recommendations in December, there has been a series of Town Hall events to discuss them around the country ...
Asia Pacific Report Two of the global Freedom Flotilla ships are being prepared in Turkey and almost ready for the upcoming humanitarian mission to Gaza. It is expected that the flotilla will include a New Zealand medical team. Kia Ora Gaza is a member of the international Freedom Flotilla Coalition ...
Disgusting. And absurd.
Head to Head, Al Jazeera, recorded on July 8, 2018
Right now, Israeli apologist Danny Ayalon is on, being interviewed by Mehdi Hasan. Ayalon is not only disgusting, he is ridiculous. He is so ridiculous that the crowd is laughing at him.
MEHDI HASAN: Does Israel control Gaza’s airspace, yes or no?
DANNY AYALON: No.
AUDIENCE: Ha ha ha ha ha!
….
DANNY AYALON: Israel is transparent.
AUDIENCE: Ha ha ha ha ha!
ad nauseam….
+1
Here is a good short piece on Apartheid Israel
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bc5FHwDO0Hs
Shocking. Also do they really think state sanctioned murder of innocent medical staff is helping their cause, let alone breaking how many human rights conventions??? Can’t wait for the day when they are all bought to justice and put in jail.
4: Israeli forces ‘deliberately killed’ Palestinian paramedic Razan
https://thedailyblog.co.nz/2018/07/19/tdb-top-5-international-stories-thursday-19th-july-2018/
Everyone of any faith, should pray for Israel. Having been taken to the edge of the pit of human degradation and contempt and thrown over during WW2, they have been left with a sadness and anger.
Now they are losing their souls that were almost destroyed before, Seemingly they are unable to get out from the retaliation phase. Fear of the past forces them to ensure they prevent a recurrence. That fear remains to cripple them from expanding their hearts and embracing the present and future in wary diplomatic civil compromise with Palestinians, and to carefully treat with others who may be mendacious.
Good morning Standardnistas, and what are we going to discuss/argue today?
How about we ponder the twenty year (plus) battle the Nepata brothers have had with the Defence Force…through numerous changes of government?
https://interactives.stuff.co.nz/2018/07/the-battle-of-nepata/
A long and somewhat convoluted read in that weird does- your- head- in sliding screen format… but stick with it.
Ron Mark has ‘championed’ the brothers Nepata for many years and thinks this latest attempt for justice might be their last…
George and Damien think they may have a chance with this new administration, but as with the Family Carers case (been running for the same amount of time) the ‘floodgates’ argument is being touted as the reason to dismiss this, again.
Oh look! There’s Our Learned Friends from Crown Law…doing their very best to protect Government from being accountable for it’s failings.
Agree, The format is crap!!!
Roll on Chris Hipkins’ review of what’s become of our public service! Let’s hope it doesn’t end up namby pamby wish washing.
NZDF, Houising NZ, MSD, MPI, MoBIE, Health, Education, DHBs…………..
There are huge structural problems but management culture has become toxic too with fuck all accountability
True that is Tim,
Publ;ic service is still being run by “advisors” that even labour are condoning, so if labour have no balls to actually change anything within the “public service” attitudes inside the NZDF, Houising NZ, MSD, MPI, MoBIE, Health, Education, DHBs………….. we are in for more of the shame crap as we endured for the last nine years.
“… we are in for more of the shame crap as we endured for the last nine years.”
Well, I for one voted to change that.
I gave this Current Mob a mandate, ffs.
Use it, or lose it.
Once was Tim
Even if the mass of National Party don’t give a f..k about the injustice or unfairness in the system (that oppresses other less fortunate citizens) they should be roused if the case is presented on the basis of waste of taxpayers money on falsified figures, and incorrect data, and signing off on important regulations with life-killing or disease potential, and far too high executive incomes based on profit-making private business levels.
I see people on low salary or grants or volunteering, working away trying to bridge the gaps in this vicious financial economic system and integrity-free government and welfare system. They are being loaded with Health and Safety Regulations and others, which are a load of bureaucratic sh.t, OTT and a barrier to ordinary effective good management and control. The managers should be drowned in wine barrels and people who have served at the grassrootes then put in their place. This is after they have got training in management implementation and structural control for the co-operative model.
And gradually replace all the Brits, 5-Eyes types, and assorted coming here and directing our water onto their farms, and our money into their pockets. When it comes to immigration look at all these people. Our immigrants are mostly great people from wherever they come, and I admire and like them. But we have too many stepping into the line of employment ahead of NZs. That’s not new information but it seems necessary to constantly reiterate it over the catch-cry of immigration being xenophobic. We citizens have a responsibility to care for our own country and other NZs to be trained as bureaucrats who work for our betterment. At present they too often sit in their spiderwebs and pounce on naive NZs who wander in all unknowing, and never understand why nothing ever goes right for them.
Christ @ Greywarshark! DO we know each other?
Seriously though, the dysfunction in our PS is now well known by those that care to know. The question is, now that there is the opportunity for reform, is anyone going to take on the challenge, or will it be a few weasel words and business as usual,
I see a few signs that there is a growing acceptance that things have radically gone tits up……but – probably like you and Rosemary: waiting waiting waiting.
Waiting Also …
In the event you missed this …
“Initially, Sanson says he’s not seeing a clash between pro-corporate factions within DOC against pro-conservation people, but then he gives some ground. “It may be at one location in the country, yes, but not over the department.”
https://www.newsroom.co.nz/2018/07/12/151517/docs-culture-wars-revealed
PS. (There was a follow up article to this the day after … that can’t put finger on just Now), that suggested some action was being taken in One location ……
It might depend on what that ‘action’ is … this article?
https://www.newsroom.co.nz/2018/07/16/155418/insiders-pan-docs-corporate-embrace#
‘One former DOC worker reckons it’s going to be hard for Minister Sage to change the department’s culture, given its focus on “corporate management processes and outcomes and reports and organisational change”.’
Not totally clear what you are saying JO… ?
Figure with the added missing Link you are following/understand, and/or are perhaps affected …. ?
A past life for me … But Very sad to watch, and hear of a great organisation, (Public Service), get the stick from MSM, (albeit David Williams, Newsroom)
“Four years on, the DOC staffer says after the “Nick disaster”, they can’t see how DOC can reach its potential by the route it’s taking. “It’s just a bloody tragedy. It’s tragic what’s happening to DOC.”
Trust “that action”, And/or the necessary Change occurs with P S/ Ministerial impute, as necessary/required and does not become dependent on the 4th Estate “MSM” articles … Credit to Newsroom if things are Crook! And Need Fixing!
The government spends more on Lawyers fighting against fairness ‘to stop the floodgates’ than if they actually apologised, investigated properly and did the moral thing at the beginning.
Not only that, probably would save money on the massive legal fees to fat cats who seem to be beyond the law, and years of litigation which also stops people believing in government being honest and accountable, any more. (Because they use legal and power to fight against what is right against people who have been screwed over or had harm, by the system).
I seem to remember the victims of state care, got less for their abuse eventually, than the lawyers who represented them got in fees.
Likewise the carer’s, etc etc.
Being just and fair, is not being wrong.
“Being just and fair, is not being wrong.”
Ah, but now he’s wearing big boy pants Ron Mark appears to be struggling with those distinctions.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/105626884/emotional-ron-mark-has-misgivings-about-defence-force-treatment-of-injured-nepata-brothers
Without commenting at all on the specifics of the Nepata case, if I may, I think this is indicative of a more general issue that Ministers often find themselves confronted with. It is neatly portrayed in a very good ‘portrait’ of Eugenie Sage:
https://www.stuff.co.nz/environment/105577646/national-portrait-long-apprenticeship-of-the-minister-with-her-hand-on-doc
I get where you’re coming from…but two things…both Sage and Mark have been around the traps for a while, they surely knew the score? Were prepared?
And secondly…both are members of a very carefully and intensely negotiated coalition government who promised to do shit differently.
And thirdly….what is the term used to describe when the military goes against the orders of a democratically elected government?
Back in 2013….the brothers Nepata discovered that the Defence Force had, during the time they had battling for compensation from the DF, handed out over 1/2 a million dollars in ex gratia payments.
When confronted….bullshit ensued….https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11122334
” Dr Coleman earlier said he had enormous sympathy for the brothers and was approaching the matter with an open mind. The Defence Force would not comment on the case while the matter was under his consideration.
Earlier this year, Defence Force chief of personnel Brigadier Howard Duffy said the army was very sympathetic to the brothers, but an ex gratia payment was a matter for the Government.
However, under Defence Force orders, last updated in October 2011, the force is able to authorise ex gratia payments of up to $30,000 without ministerial sign-off.
Ex gratia payments of between $30,000 to $75,000 must be authorised by the minister, while payments of more than $75,000 need to be signed off by Cabinet.”
What a sad story and so unfair that this particular family had so much to deal with. The first thing that should be happening is that the army reforms it’s way’s and actually have psychologists and other support staff to help ex army staff to recover after injuries including apologising if it was a work place accident and giving them FULL support. It is unfathomable that after telling the army they are a family, to them suddenly abandon soldiers who get injured to face it all alone with out even a goodbye, especially when they are injured in the line of duty or during training!
Then there should be pay outs straight away (aka like airline accidents) and annuities available to those permanently injured to stop them falling into poverty after their accident. This should be in addition to ACC and other benefits as part of the act of being in the armed forces!
One of my family members served and they got a pension as well as the normal pension so maybe some sort of non means tested annuity payment for permanently injured soldiers as well as pensions should be made as well as a lump sum as soon as they are injured to help them adjust AND emotional support right through from the armed forces. Whether injured or not, the soldiers should still be counted as the armed forces and treated with dignity and support.
Also think the armed forces should be retrained to also do disaster work and be front line disaster workers for earthquakes, floods etc etc. Then Kiwis would be much more interested in supporting them because at present the armed forces seem like political pawns with defence just a junket to give money to other countries for armaments while not valuing the actual people who are in the armed forces who should be ready to help in a disaster when Kiwis might actually need them.
Funny thing is, I spoke with a couple of ex defence force personnel regarding particular disability issues (accessible housing building rules if I recall) and the issue the Nepata brothers were facing came up. (I had met George and his family briefly when Damien was in hospital).
Both these guys had been well looked after and supported by the DF…but then again they were Officers. And I assume that makes them Gentlemen. And worthy.
Close scrutiny of those ex gratia payments made by the DF would be handy…
Maybe also racially or class motivated?
Hard to see why someone who was slowly burnt alive for hours and another who was paralysed during training through no fault of their own, do not qualify for a moral payment?
When you watch how other countries behave aka Thai cave rescue it casts a shadow on government and private attitudes in NZ when they do nothing to rescue anybody citing too dangerous and fail to do the right thing post accident (shareholders vote against compensation for Pike River families for example)…
We have developed a toxic workplace/government mentality in NZ post rogernomics where people are just disposable units to be thrown away to save money or reduce a perceived monetary or corporation risk.
Not only is this morally wrong, it does not work to create a thriving environment – toxic ideas and behaviour kills everything around it.
Sad we see less of this…
Diver adrift for three days survives thirst and hallucinations
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2006/feb/09/samjones.mainsection
Sad story really. Hope these guys get what they deserve. I don’t really think 30-75,000 is enough. It would barely pay for a modified vehicle for the tetarplegic chap. Seems that every accident like these ones in the military seems to be entirely avoidable and the victims get hung out to dry. Even by 1989 standards, getting 2 guys to carry a third on a stretcher on a piece of 4×2 is asking for trouble.
millsy…ACC will be taking care of the vehicle funding as well as home modifications, supplies and ongoing care and rehabilitation. George is most likely well supported by ACC (although,( again its wayback), there might have been a battle to secure ACC funding as accidents to Kiwis outside of NZ were not covered.)
I do recall George telling me about his accident, and also heard some of the details of Damien’s accident. Even back then it was obvious that the Army failed to provide a safe working environment. As you say…even by 1989 standards it was pretty bloody reckless. Those Scorpion tanks were being phased out because of known issues.
I know from personal experience…when one finds out that others have been financially compensated when you have fought and over the same issues its sticks in one’s craw.
Its not fair. Plain and simple.
The NZDF is an accredited employer. So it would be hard to get any form of cover out of them.
The point is that NZDF did make ex gratia payments to other personnel…but refused to do the same for the Nepata brothers.
Why?
And why obfuscate when challenged?
Although ACC is involved, the workplace should still be a moral workplace, offering at the very least emotional support due to the vocation identity of ‘family’ under armed forces…
ACC is a great concept, but should not be used to sweep accidents and support both emotional and financial from the work place instead be a standard that also can be added to by the workforce to keep the person’s prospects the same as if they had not been injured and compensation which is no longer part of ACC.
Worksafe can award payments or prosecution, funny enough not for Pike River (prosecution) and not for these accidents either, maybe government ‘influence’ and neoliberal ideas of ‘opening the floodgates’ are stopping justice.
I was in the NZ Army (RNZAC) from the mid 93 to mid 98. I wasn’t in QA SQN or whatever it was called back then, or it may have been 1st Armoured Group? The guys were getting ready to deploy on Op Raidan for Bosnia at the time of the accident, also during this time we the NZDF had lost or were about to lose up to 25% of the Defence budget in cuts. Which was effecting operational preparedness across the broad, but it the Corp the hardest as we were quite expensive to run which saw a lot of Army cuts head our way which to cause issues down the track aka the LAV’s and the buying of those death traps the up armoured Pinz’s.
Before the Defence cuts under there was a plain to give the CVT Scorpions and M113’s etc a Mid Life Update and WMIK kits, Communications upgrades for NZ Scots SQN using cutdown V8’s quite successfully in Recon role within 3 Land Force Group (3LFG). With the Scorpions that meant replacing the V6 Jaguar engine with Perkins engine, fire control systems and new fume extractor for the 76mm. Only the M113’s got the upgrades mainly for Bosnia and everything else got kicked into touch and the Scorpions should’ve been retired, but due to government policies they had to be maintained in use even though we had SFA in spares or money to buy spares. As everything we poured into getting M113’s up to OLOC and getting 1st Battalion up to speed with 2nd/1st back filling the 1st, at the sametime stripping all of 3LFG units of useful equipment to support the deployment.
The effects of all this happening cause the in my opinion that led to Damien’s accident and what happened with the 2nd/1st pre- deployment training and it’s deployment to East Timor in 2000 in which my mate was KIA along with the th other problems that arose in the 2000’s stems back to the defence cuts in 90’s. When I pose this similar question last yr to Damien at Cambrai last yr and has reply was yes, we also believe that everyone is ass covering as a result of this accident and I know of at least 3-5 other accidents from the 90’s where if an ex-gratis payment was made to Damien the flood gates would open all because we were trying to a job with SFA equipment that more and more dangerous as the yrs went on trying to our mandate tasks as directed by the politicians in Wellington with less and less funding and equipment failing or being run into ground or in case of NZ Scots we were building our own gun mounts, repairing our V8’s in some cases with our money or buying stuff from surplus shops IOT get the job done as stated in our mandated tasks IOT achieve the Government of the Day Defence Polices.
And you wonder why this lefty is a bit more pro defence than most and very anti “No Mates Party”. When I look back at my photos in NZ Army i offen wonder how on earth I didn’t get myself killed especially when I show rockape mates from work as they think we were bloody mad at what we did!!!!
Hence the nickname “Mad Kiwi” and my attitude to life.
Thank you Exkiwiforces. I was hoping you’d pop up and shed some light into the darker corners. So let me get this clear….the Scorpions ran on petrol???
Not diesel? (Perkins are diesel engines, aren’t they?) Jesus….I’m told the Yanks used to call the Sherman tanks ‘Ronsons’.
The most significant thing I took away from my very brief encounter with George and his family after Damien’s accident was the deep sense of betrayal. A long family history of service (unto the current generation, despite this crap) and clearly the loyalty was entirely one sided.
The really ironic thing was that they treated all three brothers like shit. All three of them.
Re: funding for Defence. This lefty would prefer we needed no armed forces at all, but if we are going to have such a thing…fund it bloody properly or don’t bother.
Thanks again.
Yes the Scorpion and its family of variants were powered by V6 4.2 lt Jag petrol engine with a semi automatic transmission which most countries that are still use Scorpion or any of its variants have now been replaced by the Perkins Diesel engine due to the risk of fire and also it cheaper to run than a petrol engine. There is a school of thought that we should brought more M41 Tanks and upgraded them instead of buying the Scorpions as even today the Danish and Norway Armies still use them as its main gun a long barrel 76mm is still quite useful.
The Germans called the all the Western Allies tanks in WW2 Tommy Cookers because of their petrol engines, but then again the Germans were engaging the Allies from over 1km where as Sherman had to within 800m to engage a Long Barrel Panzer 4’s and even closer for the Panther, Tiger, King Tiger Tanks and some of the Tank Destroyers as well before we even think about the German Anti Tank Guns.
Fighting the system for justice is bloody hard and I know that firsthand experience especially when the officer corps saying we well look after you, but in fact its the faceless civilian bureaucracy of MOD, Treasury, DVA, Government and their Advisors as they hold the purse strings.
There is an unwritten code of conduct/ convention between us and politicians due to the nature of our work and that we don’t have a right to form a union in that the politicians will look after us/ our families as well in peace, on operations and after we leave the services. But since the 90’s we have seen this code of conduct/ convention being kicked into touch with eroding of conditions of service from pay, super, housing/ rations and quarters for those who lived on base, allowances etc to using/ operating ageing equipment well pass their exprier date (rule of thumb for Military Equipment is 30yrs -/+ 10yrs) or new equipment being brought in service that is sub optimal for the at hand aka Project Protector the two OPV’s and Landing Support Ship, Up Armoured Piniz’s etc or the bare minimum of kit being brought aka doing more with less. If any other Government Dept had to put up with this shit there would be hell to pay as I don’t see many workers standing for this sort of shit as they have a union to go and bat for them and more likely to have the public on side as well.
Hence why I and many other like me have moved or still moving overseas because of this or were sacked by the Government as capabilities were chopped. A lot of these ex Kiwi officers have now reach Flag Rank, Air Rank or Staff Rank in Foreign Armed Forces with ex Kiwi NCO’s holding by senior positions within their of expertise or been commissioned. With me I’m now been pensioned off due to my PTSD and Major Depressive Disorder as a result of my Peacekeeping and Warlike active service.
The last comment sums up my attitude as well either you fund the NZDF probably or bloody well get rid of it. As my late Grandmother said Rosa Beaurepaire née Balderstone as she was pacifist said this at Nelson Labour LEC or some other Labour meeting many yrs ago “the Forces are a necessary evil we have to have as it’s rather like have house insurance as only a bloody idiot would go without it and not having a Defence Force could be a lot worse unless you like living under a jackboot or don’t like our way of life have fought for be it as workclass struggle against the bosses of this country or fighting overseas against Herr Hitler! The choice is yours and I know what I’ll and my future generations of family would rather have! “ and the debate stop dead on some Defence issues being discussed at the time.
Thanks Ex Kiwiforces, and for your Grannies tale. Your experience is worth reading.
That’s my total experience with capitalists. They demand loyalty but they never, ever give it.
I would much prefer that we didn’t have to have the armed forces but history tells us that we do and so, like you, I think we need to fund it properly and care for our people who are willing to put their lives on the line for our safety.
IMO, If you look back in history the governments that have cut defence spending the most will be National governments. This is despite their rhetoric that the defence forces need to be kept up to maximum capability. Such applies across the board of course – they promise to keep things up but cut funding so that they can give tax cuts to the rich. their usual BS to cover these funding cuts is to do more with less.< Such a philosophy is as bankrupt as it sounds. Throw in the fact that they’ll privatise things so that the rich can get a government guaranteed income for doing nothing at all and things do get really bad.
Nope, history makes it clear as day. The biggest threat to our armed forces is the National Party.
It has always been the same with the police and the justice system. I don’t think that it was quite as bad last set of terms for National as it was at the end of the 1990s, but they’d certainly been running down the police capabilities. But in 1999, they’d been both sucking money off the police in real terms AND the police hierarchy had been sucking funding away internally on to their computer systems in an attempt to make up for the operational shortfalls down the line.
The effect was devastating. Around here, there was virtually no investigation of “petty crime” like car theft from our parking garages or people kicking in doors looking for money. Those were treated as being insurance issues – as in you had to have a meaningless proforma complaint to police to get your insurance claim approved. No one would turn up to look for evidence. They’d just wait until they accidently nabbed the offender for something else and let them plead to as many other offenses as they could remember that fitted reports to the police – to provide clearance rates for statistics.
It was even more horrendous in the less affluent areas where there weren’t any kinds of the alarms and security systems that my apartment block put in communally. Some of my friends and relatives were getting burglarized several times during the year. And it seemed like the poorer they were, the more often it happened.
Labour and the Alliance got in, changed the policies along with the funding levels, and it cleared up over a couple of years. Police started to turn up at crime scenes with finger printing kits.
This time I think that they have been damaging the court systems more instead. Some parts of the optimisations worked, like electronic documents. Many parts appear to have simply slowed the court systems down. And the court systems are visibly straining to get through the process.
Yep they need enough to buy a house that is modified so they have home security and what they would have achieved had they been able to work, plus a modified car for the tetraplegic and enough income to lead a stress free life in relation to income.
SaveNZ….they are covered by ACC…all those issues are taken care of.
Does not sound like ACC took care of it and personally feel the army should have done so much more, they were left without emotional or psychological support, moved back in with parents, and another sibling quit the army to look after them and now unemployed???
Does not look like a rosy outcome with all problems and issues dealt with and solved by ACC, let alone the army.
The Nepata’s beef is with the Defence Force. Not ACC.
While over the pacific pond……….Donald Trump knows that the war-mongers EU/NATO/Washington swamp warhawk cartel want to break up Russia like they conspired to break up the Eastern Euopean & Baltic states like Ukraine/Yugoslavia/ect’ to plunder; — so he wants to stop the impending war about to envelop the planet again.
We need to save our people from another world war folks it is that simple.
This is the issue and the ‘elitists’ do not care about us; – and will use anything or person to stop Trump from saving us from war.
Today the Elitist corporate swamp has finally bought Tumps lawyer Michael Cohen who had taped Trump trying to pay to hush an affair he had 19 yrs ago.
So as affairs were always ‘indemic’ amongst all presidents going back till the year dot not one president then was placed under such scutity as this one is even when he was playing around before being president.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2238223/FDRs-menagerie-alleged-mistresses-The-American-presidents-long-list-rumored-love-affairs-romanced-upstate-New-York-cottage.html
Even FDR Rosevelt was involved with a misteress.
http://listverse.com/2015/02/24/10-scandalous-presidential-affairs-weve-totally-forgotten-about/
You know now that the Washington swamp will do anything to stop him at any cost. Washington swamp has no morals entirely.
Trump must win jhis fight agianst this cancer called “the washington swamp”.
Good one Noah
“It’s no surprise that Russians send spies to the US,” Noah said. “I mean, a spying Russian is as normal as a white person calling the cops on their shadow.”
https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2018/jul/20/stephen-colbert-marina-butina-trump-colbert-meyers-fallon
T.rump is certainly delivering for the comedians – he’s a goldmine
I see the Alt Reich Speakers post is still running strong, but thought it may be better to post here on OM these links to ‘on the ground’ reports from Melbourne of the first of the Southern/Molyneux meetings held in Australia last night.
As expected there were protests and attempts to block people from getting to the venue; confrontations with police including mounted police and dogs, and with right wing demonstrators, resulting in the blocking of the Hume highway; and infiltrations and protests at the venue itself with one young woman getting up on the stage and others removed from the audience, and several arrests. IMHO this all played straight into the hands of Southern et al in terms of publicity etc and winding people up and creating dissent.
https://www.news.com.au/technology/online/organisers-introduce-complicated-measures-to-keep-location-of-lauren-southern-talk-secret/news-story/3972f35d2c901af9f679906451dc1a72
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-07-21/protesters-clash-with-police-outside-event-for-lauren-southern/10019554
https://www.9news.com.au/national/2018/07/20/20/33/lauren-southern-protesters-police-clash-road-closure
https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/nsw/undercover-video-in-melbourne-backfires-for-rightwing-provocateur/news-story/2f9dc7d8c68360dd4f1aadef3d1f1054
[Google links to reports and videos of Neil Ericson (Right Winger who videos for Southern) being hauled from videoing the protests by police don’t seem to load …. ]
The most interesting thing (to me anyway) from these reports is that they obviously tried to keep the actual venue secret as much as possible. Ticket holders were directed to meet at a particular railway station (Broadmeadows) with buses then transporting them to the actual venue – the La Mirage Reception and Convention Centre in Somerton.
I find this interesting because the Australian organiser (Mellowes?) has been saying that they are attempting to find a new venue here in NZ now that Southern and Molyneux have been granted limited work visas; and that they have had no success to date but are hopeful of finding one. Initially I took this at face value but now that they kept the Melbourne venue secret, I suspect that they will not be announcing any venue they secure (or have already) here in NZ – and will attempt the same tactics as used in Melbourne.
There are a number of other Australian bookings before they are supposed to be coming to NZ in early August, so there is some time to see what happens at these other Australian venues in the meantime. Schedule is; Perth Sun 22 July; Adelaide Tues 24 July; Sydney Sat, 28 July; Brisbane Sun 29 July.
Auckland is still showing on the Axiomatic events website as Auckland, Friday 3 August.
UPDATE – Erikson video now working – https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/national/raw-neil-erikson-hauled-from-melbourne-protest/video/9f201ccb7f6db975ede7c1067980ca8a
So no reports of any prosecutions? Aren’t they saying anything sufficiently hateful? Is it really just a cry-wolf story? Seems like total focus on venues & hoo-ha. You see zero evidence of law-breaking but don’t say so? I’m starting to get the impression this was all just a leftist beat-up. Maybe they’ll come & do their spiel here & everyone will say how remarkably inoffensive it all was, and what nice tourists they seem to be…
Pull you head in over this matter Dennis Frank. They are offensive people who say very offensive things. They play to the lowest common denominator and deliberately provoke people into taking action against them. They are, in short, arse-holes. It may not be a crime in itself to be an arse-hole but since we have plenty of our own, lets not encourage the imported variety to come here and stir up more trouble.
If you want to join them go ahead. That is your prerogative. But spare us the whining about ‘lack of prosecutions etc.” because they haven’t even arrived here yet and anyway, that is not the bone of contention.
Don’t be silly, Anne. I didn’t encourage them and I’m as likely to join them as you are. Just mentioning that the news from Oz seems to indicate less substance to the controversy. If they aren’t actually doing anything wrong, then your personal antipathy to them has no relevance to our public policy. The lack of evidence is now indicating that perception of hate speech is a minority view rather than a basis for corrective action by the state.
Thanks Anne. As I thought I had made clear in my first para in my comment, I was primarily just providing links to media reports on Southern and Molyneux’s first event in Australia (in other words what was happening in the real world) and leaving the high brow philosophical pros and cons discussions for the Alt Reich post and the earlier related ones.
Personally I decided to just ignore Dennis Frank’s snide cynical reply as it was typical of his comments over the years both here on TS and on other blogs such as Pundit and TDB. I tend to just pass over his comments because of his negativity and ‘I know best’ attitude. As for people who use the expression “Don’t be silly, (name)” – usually males to females in my experience … LOL.
As for people who use the expression “Don’t be silly, (name)” – usually males to females in my experience … LOL.
Indeed.
Oh dear.
(adult themes NSFW or sensitive souls)
#Manafortleaks
The Freuds may have been on to something.
ffs does this shit these people do to other people ever end???
Whale Watching Report (and similar)
While finding the links for my comment at 5 above, I came across the following link
https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/national/humpback-whales-dugong-and-dolphins-spotted-off-north-queensland-coast/news-story/cbfa67b898f91a8e6ec559051b40e7a0
Seems that whales in our harbours – first Matariki in Wellington harbour and then Blue whales in Auckland – have now been joined by humpback whales etc close in off the coast of Queensland.
Link to story re Blue Whales in Auckland – https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12091660
h/t to Clarke Gayford Twitter for that link from this tweet – https://twitter.com/NZClarke/status/1019733681341005824
Gayford also tweeted this before 8am this morning – superb Viceland video but really put me off breakfast!
https://twitter.com/NZClarke/status/1020395470328193025
(He has been tweeting a bit again the last few days, but others relate to different subjects – eg the pros and cons of domed vs single/double zipper baby onsies at 4am.) LOL
Nice.
I have been so impressed with the silence from the new parents apart from Twitter it seems lol. It seems like they are really getting some free air in the precious first few weeks after birth. Well done to them and everyone making that happen.
have now been joined by humpback whales etc close in off the coast of Queensland.
For reasons that are complicated to explain, I spent some time on Tuesday this week dodging the buggers off Fraser Island! Very impressive numbers.
Lucky, lucky you!!!!
Here’s one from the Oz ABC news website site.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-07-19/boaties-spark-concern-for-whales-on-gold-coast/10004884
I see Duncan Garner has a piece in Stuff about being a solo parent for the last 6 months. Maybe that explains his understanding of Phil Twyford flying with his wife and three young ones.
Duncan appears to have gained some humility and humanity.
His comment about “some mates weren’t able to cope, others turned up with a meal and time to chat” rang a bell. The first lot obviously were not real mates. A hard way to find out, but some folk can’t be second for any reason.
Um it was David Clark. Phil Twyford’s kids are all grown up.
Thanks. TheFairy Godmother.
China’s doing it! Birds do it, bees do it, even educated fleas do it.
Oh why, oh why can’t we. Or have I missed the news that we have started – not just still talking about it?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o5xdIVvFEeo
Once we had NZFS which led to Kaiangaroa and other plantation schemes. Which were sadly lost to ideology. Saihanba seems very similar to Kaiangaroa in style, intent and effects.
Government policy to rebuild this capability.
Lets get on with it.
Andrew Little needs to listen more imo – he’s got some idea that he know some stuff – very little little.
https://www.radionz.co.nz/news/te-manu-korihi/362303/little-s-hapu-remarks-condescending-ngapuhi-lawyer
yep, need to avoid…
“Ms Tuwhare said the hapu had little faith in the idea of a centralised iwi governance body that would distribute largesse to the hapū.
“We already have one of those in the Ngāpuhi rūnanga, and it has not only failed to capitalise on its ($60m) Fisheries settlement – it returns only 11 percent of its annual profits to the people it’s supposed to be helping so about 90 percent goes on its internal costs. That’s a very poor performance compared with other iwi.”
Moana Tuwhare said a number of hapū in the north were making a better fist of running their affairs than the rūnanga was, and were well-equipped to deal with a settlement.
The rūnanga was now spending $200,000 on lawyers, in an effort to set up a post-governance entity, without reference to the hapū, she said.”
Does anyone remember the Selwyn River? It seems to be gone now. When will anything be done to bring it back?
Does anyone remember the Golden Bay scallops? They seem to have been decimated. Where is the plan to restore them? When does it start?
I’m sure there are many similar places, where bad policy decisions have destroyed public environmental assets. So when can we expect movement to recover them?
Or are they to be viewed as part of the attrition that goes with a civil service that has become captive to neoliberal rather than democratic norms? Let us have some sunlight on the dark recesses of failed policies made in dark rooms by corrupt far right ideologues under the Gnats.
https://www.ecan.govt.nz/get-involved/news-and-events/zone-news/selwyn-waihora/exciting-times-for-selwyn-river-waikirikiri/
http://www.wet.org.nz/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/4.-Brett-Painter_TSA.pdf
Have seen surface flow at SH1 for the first time in years recently…whether that equates to improved condition, time will tell
Yes I remember swimming at Coes Ford, catching brown trout down from Coes ford and fishing down at the Selwyn Huts or going out in the Golden Bay with cousins from Mout to get a feed of Scallops or a catch of founder.
And I’m just shy of 45 yrs of age.
Lol..i remember almost drowning at Coes Ford …although apparently you wouldnt even swim there in recent years
Yeah Pat, I’m told it pointless even trying to have a dip let alone a swim in the Selwyn and even forget about trying to have fish either. The Rabbit Arms Hotel and the local store at Springston don’t have much of a summer trade either as there is no campers at Coes Ford because of the state of the Selwyn River now.
Something to generate a smile on a rainy day before I head to work.
a pun put me onto this classic – old one and funny.
https://youtu.be/OCbvCRkl_4U
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Four_Candles
There was once a time that the people of the west coast were treated badly
The miners of the area stood tall and started a revolution. That revolution was called
THE LABOUR PARTY.
These people had character and stood for what was in the interests of the people. The middle class had a voice
Irony has taken its place along with the shallow souls who care only about their own selfish desires to keep their cushy seats of position.
The founders of a once great party are rolling in their graves in disgust at their legacies position.
National and Labour are now the same wolf in a different sheeps clothing. Shamefull cowards with no ethical or moral compass
See you at the bridge
Are you commenting about the multiple plans launched by the Labour-led government this week to redevelop and revive Westport and Greymouth perhaps? Support the rail line expansion across the coast per chance? Support the rebuild of Westport town centre? Maybe?
Or the launch this week of the new major tourism walk by DoC close the the Puankaike Rocks perchance?
If west coast coalminers want to keep digging coal, they should do what the rest of them do and head to Australia. We still haven’t been able to extract the bodies out of the last one, but hey go for it.
Use some kind of reference if you really want to comment on this government.
Those issues are not relative to the average person on the coast. Do you really think that the punakaiki walk will have any effect or bearing on the average persons life on the west coast. really?? No one cares , so what some tourist will buy another drink or something at the shop up the road.
One closed gold mine of recent adds up to far more than all that crap you just listed. Rail line !! whippy!!
Rebuild the Westport centre, Yay the hungry kids can look at the shiny new statue.
Its not just coal. Its the right to have access to our minerals. We are not the rest of the country so stop treating us like we are.
Obviously you cant see it because you dont live it.
If the average person on the west coast isn’t engaging with tourism they really need to find somewhere else to live. Yes that includes you.
Your reaction is typical of the quarry-enclave mentality that has poisoned and damaged many areas of this country. Go and check out Waihi now.
It is also typical that someone who comments with no links whatsoever and just has a slag at the government for no purpose, is also someone who cannot for the life of them engage with actual multiple concrete initiatives that are occurring now.
Instead all they want to do is go back to mining coal.
You are one of the ignorant fools who think that the world never changes, and as a result the west coast continues to shrink in every way possible.
Yeah not so surprising – perhaps this is why people should only be allowed to earn so much money – they get distorted. I’d close them down.
“Australia’s richest person, mining magnate Gina Rinehart, has been revealed as a key funder of the rightwing thinktank the Institute of Public Affairs – a consistent promoter of climate science scepticism.
Rinehart’s company, Hancock Prospecting, donated $2.3m to the IPA in 2016 and $2.2m in 2017, according to disclosures made to the New South Wales supreme court.”
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2018/jul/21/gina-rinehart-company-revealed-as-45m-donor-to-climate-sceptic-thinktank
Anyone picking this up? Assange due to be arrested? Sorry if someone has already posted, I didn’t read right through. Hard day and tired.
So what is the plan if he is handed over? Do we have a left in NZ and will it respond? We know the Labour Party won’t. Too shit scared to offend the five eyes people.
This evening I found a satisfying, lazy way to support small business in Lebanon.
It’s a Shiraz called “Les Brechtes”, from Chateau Kefraya – in the Bekaa Valley.
If you want some of this lovely Shiraz mix, it’s in a little shop near the corner of Auckland’s Ponsonby and Great North Roads.
Coincidentally, Chateau Kefraya is a 20 minute drive from Lebanon’s disappearing Barouk cedar forests.
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/07/18/climate/lebanon-climate-change-environment-cedars.html
heh
https://twitter.com/thebreaknetflix/status/1020376398110765056
“Whether he wins in 2020 or not, we will not have seen the last of Trump’s type as long as the system remains unreconstructed. If the future ordains more economic dislocation and alienation – which automation and AI could so easily bring – the danger is that history looks back on Trump not as a nasty aberration, but as the one who opened the door for the real fascists to walk through.”
https://www.commonspace.scot/articles/12997/meaning-trump
Although it makes little difference to the risk, my inclination is that the driver is more likely to be CC as opposed to AI or automation.
Good morning Q & A Corin with our waste the people who make this waste should be charged as well as the consumer If we make it so that its in the best interest for manufactures to reduce the waste I.E charge them for this waste and send the money to the recycles .Business switched from recycling glass bottles because it is cheaper for them to use plastics than glass with a little tweek this could change so it is cheaper to use glass bottles glass can be recycled many times.
Family violence = Waipiro in % 80 = business selling Waipoiro road deaths = Waipiro full jails = Waipiro all the bad stats flow out of OUR abuse of the use of this poison why is it so hard for these problems to be fixed business political lobbie groups limit the access te mokopunas have to this poision and the stats will change for the better .
My mokopunas are going to look back at us and laugh they could not do not want to fix waipoiro abuse a problem that causes so much harm to our society.
Ka kite ano P.S hate speech is not acceptable enough said
Marae I did not know Matua Black I put his picture on one of my post he looks like a Honorable man who united maori he gave them mana with the Gate Pa celebrations.
Now if that story had the substance that the media gave it and the way his ex put this story out there to the Papatuanuku surely more than one{ contracted lair ]would come forward . I trust this system as far as I can —— ana to kai te tangata you don’t no how corrupt this system is . In My EYEs this is a attack on Maori culture Mana .
The Maori will still be strong one has to have balance like the jin yang so I still back Maori Party. P.S I will put some links up to back my views on Matua Black .The tane can not even defend his mana
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2z6PlYiQSTs
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B7os9oi7NqA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2z6PlYiQSTs
I know that my Tipuna sided with the Government this was to protect Ngati Porou mana whenua and tangata after the musket raids of other hapu on us .
The big picture is we were played and we are still being fooled by some Pakeha ana to kai . The tangata delivering Muta Blacks story that’s a smear in my eyes on Maori Mana are being played fooled to Ka kite ano
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AEOx3QyjxIs&index=13&list=PLCkA-F8CXniyrtIjnvFe-Q7-8k4BlfMek
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aiKOaKg9G-c&index=14&list=PLCkA-F8CXniyrtIjnvFe-Q7-8k4BlfMek
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CpFQpp_YrrI&list=PLCkA-F8CXniyrtIjnvFe-Q7-8k4BlfMek&index=15
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nu4Q3JLqOWA&list=PLCkA-F8CXniyrtIjnvFe-Q7-8k4BlfMek&index=16
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5In0GIRBAbY&list=PLCkA-F8CXniyrtIjnvFe-Q7-8k4BlfMek&index=17
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G0z6eLLsE70&list=PLCkA-F8CXniyrtIjnvFe-Q7-8k4BlfMek&index=18
P.S you see tangata some Pakeha don;t want the good Kiwi people to know that the killed lied cheated Maori all out of greed for our whenua they just want us to go away hell NO
The problem I have with this DNA grab by this DNA company is that it is so easy for evil people to get a sample of DNA and then plant it on or in a crime orchestrated seen and wala the evil person has locked up a innocent person . I say this tool is going to be used to control Te Tangata just like these cameras going up all around Aotearoa and Papatuanuku a tool for the 00.1 % to keep us as there slaves .
Ka kite ano
Those Tribal Hulk links were not what I thought they were I thought they were links to the New Zealand wars of 1840 to 1900 ECO MAORI does not Tau toko GANGS full stop. Ka kite ano
I had to use a different device to correct my mistaken links they were already trying to block me from the standard website Ka kite ano
So much for free speech a it’s free until one is a broke Maori educating te tangata about the system we live have imposed on KIWIs Ka kite ano they are trying to blocking my post lucky I have other strategies to get my words out to You all Ka kite ano
Some music Eco Maori is listening to at the minute
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QrY9eHkXTa4
Some music ECO MAORI is listening to at the minute Ka kite ano
YouTube
Bob Marley – Redemption Song (from the legend album, with lyrics)
XxWolfqueenxX21,040,860 views
Published on 8 Sep 2009
Couldnt find this version on youtube so thought I’d upload it as it’s my all time favourite Bob Marley song….no copyright infringement intended, this is just a video i put together I own nothing on the video nor do I claim to own anything…..
https://youtu.be/QrY9eHkXTa4
Some music Eco Maori is listening to at the minute
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QrY9eHkXTa4
Mana Wahine The Black Ferns Rugby sevens team have won back to back Pupatuanuku Cup Rugby sevens in San francisco Ka pai ka kite ano
Good evening Newshub Hope I did not break to many glass bubbles this morning. I don’t make my statements lightly on Mata Black one has to see things through my eyes see how many Maori proffets that have had there Mana destroyed by the – – – – – there you go the Rotorua Council is not trying to help it homeless tangata I bet if it was there whano on the street they would bend the the rules like they are for their Dairy farmer m8 Ka kite ano
A lot of te tangata will know what this video means to Eco Maori
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QAB6aXOfUmU