I wonder what Sky and the NZRFU – struggling with declining Super Rugby crowds, declining TV viewing numbers, and a weak economy – think about ZB and Radiosport both running with Tony Veitch as their marquee rugby sport talk host?
With rugby trying to leverage increased support for the game in the afterglow of the RWC, with its unprecedented female interest, the two major radio outlets for sport talk – ZB and radiosport – have decided to go with a man chiefly notorious for his violent assault on his female partner. In fact, the high rating Saturday morning radio line up – Holmes then Veitch – looks pitched exclusively to a red neck audience of racist middle aged white male misogynists with anger manangement issues. Racism 9am-12pm, then a healthy bout of macho sport talk from a weedy little coward of a women beating sports shock-jock.
A disgraceful one finger salute to anyone else, though.
Agreed, Bored. My following of rugby has tended to wax and wane over the years. I’m no more into wane territory. The RWC circus has had a lot to do with that decline in interest.
The shift to Sky and starving of FTA coverage also has had a lot to my long term decline in interest in TV sport. (Used to follow netball more when it was FTA live.)
And at times I have listened to Radio Sport (the constant slamming of “tree-hugging, sandal-wearing, hairy-legged lesbians by the talk-back folk there hasn’t done a lot for my enthusiasm – as though us leftie feminist lesbians aren’t going to be interested in male rugby and other sports?).
But the Veitch recall is a step much too far. I thought Willie Losie was one of the better commentators….? So they’ve dropped him?
Speaking of Radio Sport (oh how I wasted my teen years listening to that drivel), this poster wonders if the talk back callers would be speaking as highly of Graham Henry and Richie McCaw if they has lost the World Cup final. I would wager that they would be calling for them to be strung up from the Eden Park goalposts….how very fickle.
And they seem to have it in for Jonah Lomu, even though the guy had more respect for the All Black jersey in his little finger than his douchebag team mates (including Zinzan ‘I dont know what would happen if I found them at the bottom of a ruck’ Brooke).
Something BBfloyd posted yesterday..“we are still left with the reality that this is just the aristocracy taking back what we shed blood to gain….. dignity in our work… a future for our kids…a balanced, healthy, democratic society that works for the whole of society…..
This got me thinking about a tour of the Waitaki dams during the 60s with my parents, how their generation was committed to a common future, how their generation shared the tax burden to build a future to be proud of. And here goes my generation throwing away our childrens future to the self same financial aristocracy of money that my parents generation kept in chains for a good reason.
I then reflected on the Maori “renaissance” in vogue in the 70s whilst I was at Uni, and thought about it in the contect of Bill English saying Maori at hui were accepting of the asset sales so long as Maori interests were protected. Years back I wondered about the possibility of, and the danger of the “renaissance” giving empowerment to a race based aristocracy.
Seems we have aristocracy problems all over again.
I then reflected on the Maori “renaissance” in vogue in the 70s whilst I was at Uni, and thought about it in the contect of Bill English saying Maori at hui were accepting of the asset sales so long as Maori interests were protected.
Actually, Bored (while I agree with your 1st paragraph above), I think you’ve given too much credance to the government’s propaganda on this, as uncritically reported by the MSM.
The situation is not totally clear, but if the Mp insist on section 9 remaining in the SOE act, it could put a big roadblock in front of NAct’s attempt to privatise assets. I heard on RNZ yesterday that the Mp challenged the government view that the responses at the hui were very positive towards the government’s line, as seen in this press release from the Mp on Saturday:
“While there was a public statement declaring Government had an open mind, Minister Ryall was putting forward a different view – suggesting that section 27 of the State Owned Enterprises Act was sufficient for all of our rights and indeed that participants at the other hui supported that view. Our feedback challenges that view”.
“We have had reliable and regular feedback from every single hui and the message is unanimous – at the heart of the debate is section nine of the SOE Act requiring the Crown to act in accordance with the Treaty” said Ms Gardiner. “Nothing less will do”.
“If anything, the predominant view was that we needed to both protect and enhance the rights and obligations expressed in Section nine”.
Sir Api Mahuika advised the participants at the Gisborne hui, that at the Iwi Chairs Forum at Waitangi there was also a clear message to retain section 9, and then to strengthen it”.
Hi Carol, I hope you are right about this, its got the potential to be incredibly divisive in the worst way. It would worry me if MP and the iwi hierarchies could not see the bigger picture outside of immediate financial gain.
Bored: Bill English saying Maori at hui were accepting of the asset sales so long as Maori interests were protected.
Is that right? Have the hui accepted the asset sales? Or is that Bill’s spin?
Since last night’s TV3 poll showed 71% of the population were agin asset sales. where might that leave hui?
Ian / Carol, its what he is saying and it is the line of spin that is coming out National party spin. I would like to think they are full of proverbial, hope so.
There needs to be a moritorium on treaty settlements in this country so there can be some form of investigation into who is benefiting from them. Over the past 2 decades, billions of dollars worth of assets have been transferred into iwi hands with little consultation. This includes valuable conservation land and reserves, and is starting to happen with our lakes, rivers and beaches.
Some people, espcially on the right, think that the treaty settlement process is too long and drawn out, but to me, it seems that it is being rushed, and we are going to be sorry when our children find they cannot enjoy our outdoor beauty because the local iwi has put a locked gate up on it, and are only opening it for high paying tourists.
I watched with interest as John Pagani joined the ‘Greens becoming the new opposition’ thread at about 9.25pm last night. My opinion of him was raised a little, just by the fact that he found his way to an actual left-wing blog, and the fact that he was prepared to discuss his controversial views on welfare reform.
Several excellent, highly pertinent replies and questions were posted in response, but having dropped a link to his site, he immediately departed the conversation. So, just a case of link-whoring then. Maybe he needed a lift in his site traffic figures? It seems appropriate that Pagani would use a left-wing discussion forum for commercial purposes, having sold-out the left a long time ago, and done very nicely out of it to date.
I hope he has saved some of his ‘thirty pieces of silver’ because something tells me his gravy train might be on the wane…
I suspect that we get a lot of high profile readers from across the political spectrum, as well as media. So far only a handful have chosen to participate, over time hopefully more will.
Loved the way the local iwi are wading into the Crafar Farms saga with an occupation.
It is like playing the right’s game straight back at them. You know – all’s fair in love and war. So, the locals do what they are legeally entitled to do in order to discourage their competition from the farms. Brilliant.
All we need next is to discover a whole bunch of rare snails on the farms and voila, deal done. Or rather, OIO deal undone.
ha ha ha ha ha ha ha – it is very interesting to watch Key trying to play this. He seems entirely and completely out of his depth. Just doing a bit of squawking – quack quack.
They should have a look on the waikato west coast where a large landowner who informed none of his neighbours apparently has a chinese miner drilling into some historic sites with no current permit.
(ed:..and of course the ‘greatest-hit’ from our local over-paid clowns..
..was their propping up of nationals’ election-policies..
..in ’08..
..by asserting that the great financial collapse would all be better in just a few months time..in early ’09..
..that worked out well/came to pass..eh..?..?
..and of course they did a redux for national..just prior to the last election…
..predictions also supporting nationals’ neo-lib policies..
..and predictions..that as always…had to be ‘revised’ shortly after…
..it is like another version of groundhog day..
..the treasury-clowns come out and make their po-faced predictions..
..relying on/hoping we don’t remember their previous equally po-faced predictions..
..that they have a 100% fail-rate on..
..(that figure again..?..100% fail-rate..)
(here is the british version:..)
“..As he has done on numerous occasions in the past, Sir Mervyn then made it clear that in his view none of what has happened could be blamed on the Bank –
– as everything possible had been done – and away the journalists all trot.
Given that banking crises are as old as the hills he cannot get away with throwing up his hands.
Wasn’t there a South Sea bubble?
I don’t buy it, sorry.
The Bank of England is packed full of economists paid out of the public purse –
– and the public is entitled to value for its money and it hasn’t had it.
To this point, there has been no official inquiry into why their overly optimistic forecasts on growth and inflation –
– have been worse than the proverbial monkey throwing darts at a wall…”
Can you translate that into English, Phil? I’d love to know what you think you are saying but your incoherent writing style makes it impossible for your points to come across.
Of course you may be on acid and it all makes sense to you. Or you are participating in a Burroughs/Gysin cut up experiment and the hippos are boiling in their cages … twilights last gleaming … all towers open fire!
Well, it’s up to you, but vomiting on the page is no substitute for real communication. How about you try writing in a way that’s inclusive and see if you get better engagement? I wouldn’t bother asking, but amongst the jumble there is the occasional nugget of insight and I suspect you might get taken a bit more seriously if you made the effort to respect readers.
Fuck, I’ll try and make time to read this paper tonight if I can find the time (back @uni, already heavy reading schedule) and throw together a post using the paper and it’s references, because poor health has life long consequences. And in this case is the direct longterm fucking result of benefit cuts by the National government of the 1990’s, along with state housing, that the 5th Labour government did jack all to reverse, that is now creating negative health outcomes for societies poorest, and probably costing use more in lost hours and other known negative outcomes (that I’ll pull from the literature) than the cost of providing proper healthcare, housing and benefits would.
And isn’t being helped by a NAct government that couldn’t give a flying fuck about the poor.
And now to try and and scrap together some bioethics readings via plato.standford because I can’t get the textbook just yet, and Wiley Publishing too cheap to provide an ebook version (and I’m broke).
The Welfare Working Group was told by doctors and academics of the appalling illnesses (both physical and mental) they were seeing and they could chart it all back to the social changes enforced by the welfare cuts in the early 90’s.
So did the WWG recommend measures to alleviate poverty? No, just some more of the same.
All of the social breakdown and misery that is going along with it can be traced back to Ruth Richardson’s 1991 austerity package, as well as the ECA. Benefit cuts were only part of a general package of social safety net slash and burn. Health, education and other (non benefit) welfare services were severely cut, and a whole generation thrown on the scrap heap.
Two top US retailers have launched investigations into the New Zealand fish imports after publication of an extensive investigation into slave or indentured labour conditions aboard foreign charter fishing vessels (FCVs) operating in New Zealand’s exclusive economic zone. – Link
Quick profits from debt slavery puts $178 million in peril. But hey, business knows best and government should get out of the way.
Yet, right. That’s not the world I want to live in!
See, RWNJs this is a very good reason why we give a shit about what happens in our waters! Yes, some of us also think slave conditions are morally wrong but therec omit sense behind it too. Yet another blow to 100% Pure’s legacy…
Millhouse sent me a link to this charming vision of the scale of all things by size. It shows just how small we are in the Universe in an interactive form. Schoolkids might find it of interest as well as us. http://htwins.net/scale2/scale2.swf?bordercolor=white
Did you hear on National Radio News that the Crafar farms consortium is going to the Appeals Court to seek a review of the “buyer bringing expertise to the sale.” They believe that the buyers do not have expertise and I suppose by employing Landcorp the buyers sort of bypass the requirement.
Child Poverty Action Group presents the Bryan Bruce TV doco ‘Inside Child Poverty’
Did you miss the controversial showing of ‘Inside Child Poverty’, the Bryan Bruce TV documentary that sparked a national conversation before the 2011 election? Now is your chance to see it, appropriately, on National Children’s Day.
If you have already seen it, then it is certainly worth another viewing – particularly as it will be followed by a discussion with Bryan Bruce himself. He is a multi-award winning documentary maker and writer.
When: National Children’s Day – Sunday, 4 March, 7pm for 7.30pm start Where: Academy Cinema, Lorne St (under the Central Library), Auckland Cost: $20 per ticket to CPAG 38 9003 0066858 00 (code is your name and number of tickets) or by cheque to CPAG, PO Box 5611, Wellesley St, Auckland 1141. Send an email to admin@cpag.org.nz to have an electronic ticket sent to you, or pick it up on the night.
The evening marks the launch of Child Poverty Action Group’s 2012 Appeal Campaign: A fair go for all kiwi kids – stop discrimination against New Zealand’s poorest children. The aim is to raise $50,0000 to allow CPAG to take its long standing human rights case to the Court of Appeal and beyond if necessary. Find out more at http://www.cpag.org.nz
Local government reform, anyone?
A tiny article in the Herald last evening is all the notice given, except for four recent patsy questions in parliament.
8 February, on rates increases.
9 February, on increased debt at councils.
15 February, on increased labour costs
16 February, on rates increases again.
I think it is quite easy to see where this is heading – an attack on the PSA, even more contracting out and sales of council assets.
Nicky Wagner: Are there any differences in the tools available to central government as compared with local government in managing labour costs?
Hon Dr NICK SMITH: Yes, there are. Cabinet has the capacity to set overall policy on the levels of remuneration and staff numbers across the State sector. These tools have been used to get these costs back under control after the excessive growth that occurred prior to 2008. Mayors and councillors currently do not have such tools available to them, and this makes it more difficult for them to manage labour costs and their impact on rate increases. The Government is exploring whether the councils need more tools to better manage these costs, as part of a broader programme of local government reform to reduce pressure on rates.
Translated: Increase downward pressure on wages.
So, we’re going to see more cities and boroughs forcibly amalgamated and more civil service workers fired.
maybe not fired. Made redundant and employed by the contractors who provide the same services for more money and less accountability. Or move to Australia.
Anyway, it’s on its way, less democracy for more money. Thanks National, in anticipation.
Latest Roy Morgan out, another dumb FPP headline, but Roy reckons the numbers tell the tale:
“Overall support for the full National-led Government has dipped to 48.5% (down 0.5%), trailing the Opposition Parties (51.5%, up 0.5%). Worryingly for Key, this is the lowest level of support his broad-based Coalition has received since being elected to Government in November 2008.”
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, ...
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” ...
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 ...
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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 ...
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, ...
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I wonder what Sky and the NZRFU – struggling with declining Super Rugby crowds, declining TV viewing numbers, and a weak economy – think about ZB and Radiosport both running with Tony Veitch as their marquee rugby sport talk host?
With rugby trying to leverage increased support for the game in the afterglow of the RWC, with its unprecedented female interest, the two major radio outlets for sport talk – ZB and radiosport – have decided to go with a man chiefly notorious for his violent assault on his female partner. In fact, the high rating Saturday morning radio line up – Holmes then Veitch – looks pitched exclusively to a red neck audience of racist middle aged white male misogynists with anger manangement issues. Racism 9am-12pm, then a healthy bout of macho sport talk from a weedy little coward of a women beating sports shock-jock.
A disgraceful one finger salute to anyone else, though.
Agreed, Bored. My following of rugby has tended to wax and wane over the years. I’m no more into wane territory. The RWC circus has had a lot to do with that decline in interest.
The shift to Sky and starving of FTA coverage also has had a lot to my long term decline in interest in TV sport. (Used to follow netball more when it was FTA live.)
And at times I have listened to Radio Sport (the constant slamming of “tree-hugging, sandal-wearing, hairy-legged lesbians by the talk-back folk there hasn’t done a lot for my enthusiasm – as though us leftie feminist lesbians aren’t going to be interested in male rugby and other sports?).
But the Veitch recall is a step much too far. I thought Willie Losie was one of the better commentators….? So they’ve dropped him?
Sorry, Sanctuary, I incorrectly addressed Bored instead of you (his handle was below your post in the next post).
Speaking of Radio Sport (oh how I wasted my teen years listening to that drivel), this poster wonders if the talk back callers would be speaking as highly of Graham Henry and Richie McCaw if they has lost the World Cup final. I would wager that they would be calling for them to be strung up from the Eden Park goalposts….how very fickle.
And they seem to have it in for Jonah Lomu, even though the guy had more respect for the All Black jersey in his little finger than his douchebag team mates (including Zinzan ‘I dont know what would happen if I found them at the bottom of a ruck’ Brooke).
Something BBfloyd posted yesterday..“we are still left with the reality that this is just the aristocracy taking back what we shed blood to gain….. dignity in our work… a future for our kids…a balanced, healthy, democratic society that works for the whole of society…..
This got me thinking about a tour of the Waitaki dams during the 60s with my parents, how their generation was committed to a common future, how their generation shared the tax burden to build a future to be proud of. And here goes my generation throwing away our childrens future to the self same financial aristocracy of money that my parents generation kept in chains for a good reason.
I then reflected on the Maori “renaissance” in vogue in the 70s whilst I was at Uni, and thought about it in the contect of Bill English saying Maori at hui were accepting of the asset sales so long as Maori interests were protected. Years back I wondered about the possibility of, and the danger of the “renaissance” giving empowerment to a race based aristocracy.
Seems we have aristocracy problems all over again.
I then reflected on the Maori “renaissance” in vogue in the 70s whilst I was at Uni, and thought about it in the contect of Bill English saying Maori at hui were accepting of the asset sales so long as Maori interests were protected.
Actually, Bored (while I agree with your 1st paragraph above), I think you’ve given too much credance to the government’s propaganda on this, as uncritically reported by the MSM.
The situation is not totally clear, but if the Mp insist on section 9 remaining in the SOE act, it could put a big roadblock in front of NAct’s attempt to privatise assets. I heard on RNZ yesterday that the Mp challenged the government view that the responses at the hui were very positive towards the government’s line, as seen in this press release from the Mp on Saturday:
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO1202/S00195/maori-party-members-raise-issues-around-mixed-messages.htm
Hi Carol, I hope you are right about this, its got the potential to be incredibly divisive in the worst way. It would worry me if MP and the iwi hierarchies could not see the bigger picture outside of immediate financial gain.
Bored: Bill English saying Maori at hui were accepting of the asset sales so long as Maori interests were protected.
Is that right? Have the hui accepted the asset sales? Or is that Bill’s spin?
Since last night’s TV3 poll showed 71% of the population were agin asset sales. where might that leave hui?
Ian / Carol, its what he is saying and it is the line of spin that is coming out National party spin. I would like to think they are full of proverbial, hope so.
I cannot believe that the result of all those (angry?) hui is to say yes to sell as long as Section 6 is included. Wow!
I think it is his latest bullshit
http://mars2earth.blogspot.co.nz/2012/02/real-threat.html
There needs to be a moritorium on treaty settlements in this country so there can be some form of investigation into who is benefiting from them. Over the past 2 decades, billions of dollars worth of assets have been transferred into iwi hands with little consultation. This includes valuable conservation land and reserves, and is starting to happen with our lakes, rivers and beaches.
Some people, espcially on the right, think that the treaty settlement process is too long and drawn out, but to me, it seems that it is being rushed, and we are going to be sorry when our children find they cannot enjoy our outdoor beauty because the local iwi has put a locked gate up on it, and are only opening it for high paying tourists.
Time to say Taihoa.
Agreed – but we are closing the doors after the Maori elite have bolted.
I watched with interest as John Pagani joined the ‘Greens becoming the new opposition’ thread at about 9.25pm last night. My opinion of him was raised a little, just by the fact that he found his way to an actual left-wing blog, and the fact that he was prepared to discuss his controversial views on welfare reform.
Several excellent, highly pertinent replies and questions were posted in response, but having dropped a link to his site, he immediately departed the conversation. So, just a case of link-whoring then. Maybe he needed a lift in his site traffic figures? It seems appropriate that Pagani would use a left-wing discussion forum for commercial purposes, having sold-out the left a long time ago, and done very nicely out of it to date.
I hope he has saved some of his ‘thirty pieces of silver’ because something tells me his gravy train might be on the wane…
I suspect that we get a lot of high profile readers from across the political spectrum, as well as media. So far only a handful have chosen to participate, over time hopefully more will.
Loved the way the local iwi are wading into the Crafar Farms saga with an occupation.
It is like playing the right’s game straight back at them. You know – all’s fair in love and war. So, the locals do what they are legeally entitled to do in order to discourage their competition from the farms. Brilliant.
All we need next is to discover a whole bunch of rare snails on the farms and voila, deal done. Or rather, OIO deal undone.
ha ha ha ha ha ha ha – it is very interesting to watch Key trying to play this. He seems entirely and completely out of his depth. Just doing a bit of squawking – quack quack.
They should have a look on the waikato west coast where a large landowner who informed none of his neighbours apparently has a chinese miner drilling into some historic sites with no current permit.
Have you got a link for that, TC, sounds interesting!
Online Petition
Facebook Petition
First time so hope that works.
Cheers, TC. The fb link seems to loop back to the Standard, but here’s a related story in the Waikato Times.
FB Petition
http://whoar.co.nz/2012/the-bank-of-england-gets-it-wrong-yet-again-commentwhoar-it-would-seem-the-bank-of-england-echoes-our-treasury-in-making-fiscal-predictions-that-both-prop-up-the-policies-of-the-govt/
(ed:..and of course the ‘greatest-hit’ from our local over-paid clowns..
..was their propping up of nationals’ election-policies..
..in ’08..
..by asserting that the great financial collapse would all be better in just a few months time..in early ’09..
..that worked out well/came to pass..eh..?..?
..and of course they did a redux for national..just prior to the last election…
..predictions also supporting nationals’ neo-lib policies..
..and predictions..that as always…had to be ‘revised’ shortly after…
..it is like another version of groundhog day..
..the treasury-clowns come out and make their po-faced predictions..
..relying on/hoping we don’t remember their previous equally po-faced predictions..
..that they have a 100% fail-rate on..
..(that figure again..?..100% fail-rate..)
(here is the british version:..)
“..As he has done on numerous occasions in the past, Sir Mervyn then made it clear that in his view none of what has happened could be blamed on the Bank –
– as everything possible had been done – and away the journalists all trot.
Given that banking crises are as old as the hills he cannot get away with throwing up his hands.
Wasn’t there a South Sea bubble?
I don’t buy it, sorry.
The Bank of England is packed full of economists paid out of the public purse –
– and the public is entitled to value for its money and it hasn’t had it.
To this point, there has been no official inquiry into why their overly optimistic forecasts on growth and inflation –
– have been worse than the proverbial monkey throwing darts at a wall…”
(cont..)
phil-at-whoar.
Can you translate that into English, Phil? I’d love to know what you think you are saying but your incoherent writing style makes it impossible for your points to come across.
Of course you may be on acid and it all makes sense to you. Or you are participating in a Burroughs/Gysin cut up experiment and the hippos are boiling in their cages … twilights last gleaming … all towers open fire!
i take it the loss of capital letters as signposts for you..leads you to become somewhat confused..?
..i write out loud..
..try reading out loud..
..or don’t..
..it’s only my opinion..eh..?
..phil-at-whoar.
Well, it’s up to you, but vomiting on the page is no substitute for real communication. How about you try writing in a way that’s inclusive and see if you get better engagement? I wouldn’t bother asking, but amongst the jumble there is the occasional nugget of insight and I suspect you might get taken a bit more seriously if you made the effort to respect readers.
I always flick past Philip Ure – he is illiterate, so page down.
As bad as Aerobubbles 100 line sentences.
Agree
That’s because even neoclassical economists don’t understand the limitations and failures of their own neoclassical theory.
Far from these economists not delivering value for money, these economists have actually been destroying value in communities.
It’s not so much that they don’t understand them, it’s that they ignore them and/or assume them away.
http://tvnz.co.nz/national-news/government-urged-act-jump-in-infectious-diseases-4732930
/grrrrrrrrr
Fuck, I’ll try and make time to read this paper tonight if I can find the time (back @uni, already heavy reading schedule) and throw together a post using the paper and it’s references, because poor health has life long consequences. And in this case is the direct longterm fucking result of benefit cuts by the National government of the 1990’s, along with state housing, that the 5th Labour government did jack all to reverse, that is now creating negative health outcomes for societies poorest, and probably costing use more in lost hours and other known negative outcomes (that I’ll pull from the literature) than the cost of providing proper healthcare, housing and benefits would.
And isn’t being helped by a NAct government that couldn’t give a flying fuck about the poor.
And now to try and and scrap together some bioethics readings via plato.standford because I can’t get the textbook just yet, and Wiley Publishing too cheap to provide an ebook version (and I’m broke).
The Welfare Working Group was told by doctors and academics of the appalling illnesses (both physical and mental) they were seeing and they could chart it all back to the social changes enforced by the welfare cuts in the early 90’s.
So did the WWG recommend measures to alleviate poverty? No, just some more of the same.
All of the social breakdown and misery that is going along with it can be traced back to Ruth Richardson’s 1991 austerity package, as well as the ECA. Benefit cuts were only part of a general package of social safety net slash and burn. Health, education and other (non benefit) welfare services were severely cut, and a whole generation thrown on the scrap heap.
And yet some more chickens coming home to roost….
Quick profits from debt slavery puts $178 million in peril. But hey, business knows best and government should get out of the way.
Yet, right. That’s not the world I want to live in!
http://i.stuff.co.nz/business/industries/6452854/Report-sparks-US-probe-into-NZ-fish-imports
See, RWNJs this is a very good reason why we give a shit about what happens in our waters! Yes, some of us also think slave conditions are morally wrong but therec omit sense behind it too. Yet another blow to 100% Pure’s legacy…
Millhouse sent me a link to this charming vision of the scale of all things by size. It shows just how small we are in the Universe in an interactive form. Schoolkids might find it of interest as well as us.
http://htwins.net/scale2/scale2.swf?bordercolor=white
yeah..that is very cool..i found/linked to it a couple of weeks ago..
..the click-on objects options are also fun to get lost in for a while..
..and of course perspectives like this also illuminate the farce of those believing the earth is 16,000 yrs old..
..and that we are the only ‘intelligent’ ones in that universe..
..idiots..
phil-at-whoar.
man, looks like a whole bunch of economists from top US universities have completely lost the plot.
http://bit.ly/wprmC8
I’m pretty sure that I’ve been told again and agaim that he stimulus failed, didn’t work and so on and so forth.
Be interesting to hear if they thought the stimpak was optimally designed and how they’d do it different if they could do it over…
Did you hear on National Radio News that the Crafar farms consortium is going to the Appeals Court to seek a review of the “buyer bringing expertise to the sale.” They believe that the buyers do not have expertise and I suppose by employing Landcorp the buyers sort of bypass the requirement.
Child Poverty Action Group presents the Bryan Bruce TV doco ‘Inside Child Poverty’
Did you miss the controversial showing of ‘Inside Child Poverty’, the Bryan Bruce TV documentary that sparked a national conversation before the 2011 election? Now is your chance to see it, appropriately, on National Children’s Day.
If you have already seen it, then it is certainly worth another viewing – particularly as it will be followed by a discussion with Bryan Bruce himself. He is a multi-award winning documentary maker and writer.
When: National Children’s Day – Sunday, 4 March, 7pm for 7.30pm start
Where: Academy Cinema, Lorne St (under the Central Library), Auckland
Cost: $20 per ticket to CPAG 38 9003 0066858 00 (code is your name and number of tickets) or by cheque to CPAG, PO Box 5611, Wellesley St, Auckland 1141. Send an email to admin@cpag.org.nz to have an electronic ticket sent to you, or pick it up on the night.
The evening marks the launch of Child Poverty Action Group’s 2012 Appeal Campaign: A fair go for all kiwi kids – stop discrimination against New Zealand’s poorest children. The aim is to raise $50,0000 to allow CPAG to take its long standing human rights case to the Court of Appeal and beyond if necessary. Find out more at http://www.cpag.org.nz
Local government reform, anyone?
A tiny article in the Herald last evening is all the notice given, except for four recent patsy questions in parliament.
8 February, on rates increases.
9 February, on increased debt at councils.
15 February, on increased labour costs
16 February, on rates increases again.
I think it is quite easy to see where this is heading – an attack on the PSA, even more contracting out and sales of council assets.
Lost the links.
Here’s the Herald
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/politics/news/article.cfm?c_id=280&objectid=10786827
and for the questions in parliament
http://www.parliament.nz/en-NZ/PB/Business/QOA/
and filter by portfolio – local government
Quoting NZH article:
And Auckland wasn’t forcibly amalgamated nor did we have our right to referendum removed: Yeah, Right.
8. Labour Costs—Local Government Compared with Central Government and Public Sector
Translated: Increase downward pressure on wages.
So, we’re going to see more cities and boroughs forcibly amalgamated and more civil service workers fired.
maybe not fired. Made redundant and employed by the contractors who provide the same services for more money and less accountability. Or move to Australia.
Anyway, it’s on its way, less democracy for more money. Thanks National, in anticipation.
Latest Roy Morgan out, another dumb FPP headline, but Roy reckons the numbers tell the tale:
“Overall support for the full National-led Government has dipped to 48.5% (down 0.5%), trailing the Opposition Parties (51.5%, up 0.5%). Worryingly for Key, this is the lowest level of support his broad-based Coalition has received since being elected to Government in November 2008.”
Thanks TRP. Pity that they didn’t survey Leader popularity.