I get bollock bored reiterating to my “centrist” middle class Key voting associates that we have a train wreck of youth unemployment here in NZ. I know Canterbury has a had a quake but look at this:
The number of Cantabrians aged 15 to 24 in employment has dropped by 12,300, the September 2011 Household Labour Force Survey revealed.
The fall comes despite 8700 people in the age bracket leaving the city last year.
In effect this says that in an area of 350,000 we might expect to find 12% of the population aged 18-24…..roughly 42000 people, of whom 12,300 are out of work (nearly a third), and if you count those who have gone 21,000…a half.
This is a huge indictment on the failure of all recent governments, especially the current NACT crop who don’t appear to even acknowledge the issue or give a rats arse. And worse still its a giant j’acuse at those voter who work on the “I am all right Jack” principle.
There may be a significant breakthrough in the Affco dispute this morning; it looks like pressure from Iwi has forced Talley’s back to the table and an agreement now looks likely.
If someone is currently on a one week ban here (guess who) and posts a comment on another blog (KB, General Debate today) asking for someone there to post their comment on the Standard for them, what is the position? I have no intention of doing so; the comment appears to include a link to the banned person’s own blog……
PS – FYI the same banned person was also using the other blog yesterday to respond to/comment on comments posted here subsequent to the TS ban being invoked.
I should think he can do whatever he wants on another site.
Anyone who was foolish enough to copy his comments over to here should expect moderator attention – probably deleting the comments to start with and escalating from there as necessary.
It’s up to us how we moderate. Pete’s politics may be remiss but his heart is in the right place. He is, however, a bit obsessive (as are some other regular commenters) – I’ve seen this with commenters before and it generally ends in tears. I think it’s time to let it go.
I’d also recommend that anyone who finds themselves taking the blogs too seriously, and I include obsessing over who said what to who on another blog, should take a few days off to spend some time in the real world. It’ll do you good.
For the most part Pete provides good debate here and does obviously put a lot of time into knowing his stuff.
Where he becomes annoying is the frequency at which he posts.
Anyway,
I see stuff have an article on how the majority of people still blame Labour for debt. A perfect opportunity for Labour to get some media spotlight and point out the flaws in this.
You guys run this excellent site. I am happy to accept your moderation/banning. I wouldn’t complain just as I wouldn’t should a householder asked me to leave their property. Not that that has ever happened!
I enjoy watching Rural Delivery in the weekends. They’ve been running stories recently about developments in farm effluent treatment systems, and this made me hopeful that we might finally see a reduction in the amount of pollution going into New Zealand waterways…
PROTEST TODAY, Monday 21 May 2012
12 noon – 2pm
OUTSIDE JOHN BANK’S EPSOM OFFICE
27 Gillies Ave
Newmarket
A protest has been called today, calling for the resignation of – the arguably not so ‘Honorable’ MP for Epsom, because he is not, in my considered opinion, ‘fit for duty’ as an MP – let alone a Minister.
How come former Labour MP Taito Phillip Field got sentenced for SIX years for ‘bribery and corruption’, for providing ‘immigration advice’ to Thai nationals in exchange for work on his properties – while Minister John Banks gets political protection from NZ Prime Minister John Key, after giving ‘immigration assistance’ and Coatsville property purchase ‘assistance’ to a German/ Finnish national, in return for $50,000 donated to ‘Banksie’s’ 2010 Auckland Mayoral campaign fund, and gifts valued at over $500 which he failed to declare?
It is also of great concern to me, as a fighter against ‘white collar’ crime, that ACT’s ‘one law for all’ has yet to apply to both the current and former Leaders of the ACT Party, whom, as former fellow directors of Huljich Wealth Management (NZ) Ltd, both signed Huljich Kiwisaver Scheme registered prospectuses dated 22 August 2008 and 18 September 2009, which contained untrue statements, but were never charged for so doing. This is a strict liability offence under s58(3) of the Securities Act 1978, but neither the old Securities Commission, the Finance Markets Authority (FMA), the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) , nor the NZ Police arguably ‘did their job’ and charged Banks or Brash. Have they been politically protected at the highest levels?
John Banks is now the Minister of Regulatory Reform, yet four different ‘regulatory’ bodies failed to act against him, someone, who arguably couldn’t properly run a Kiwisaver Scheme, yet now has a key Ministerial post and is supposedly helping to run the country ‘perceived’ to be the ‘least corrupt in the world’? (According to Transparency Internaional’s 2011 ‘Corruption Perception Index, http://cpi.transparency.org/cpi2011/results/ which obviously, in my considered opinion, is not worth the paper upon which it is written.)
I don’t expect the ACT MP for Epsom, Minister of Regulatory Reform, the ‘Honorable’ John Banks, to be particularly keen to see me, or this protest, which is intended to ‘hold his feet to the fire’.
“Mr Carter told TVNZ’s Q & A yesterday that local governments were in a similar position to central government, which intends to balance the books by selling up to 49 per cent of shares in the state-owned energy companies, and a further stake in Air NZ”
“I think if you look at my own city of Christchurch where we clearly have an extraordinary situation, the Christchurch balance sheet is strong with a number of assets, the council needs to make the decision.”
— One can see how this is going to play out in advance!
Matthew Hooton this morning got into his stride on his favourite subject, his own opinion about our economic situation and why it’s Labour’s fault. He talked over the top of Josie Pagani quite a lot. One swingeing quote – “No government anywhere in the world creates jobs”.
I’m sick of cynical negative right-wingers who quote figures from the sweepings of the economist floor as a reason for governments not doing anything. When we need practical policies to stimulate business or advance policies that will assist the mass of small taxpayers we get this do-nothing chant. We should be putting in Auckland’s rail while prices are cheap and spending on infrastructure resulting in more employment. Of course we do have to try to employ New Zealanders, not shoot ourselves in the foot bringing in cheap labour while our own people languish and despair and drink and drug or steal so they can have regular food, good housing that presently they are shut away from.
Also he talks about having a surplus in the 1990s and refers first to Ruth Richardson and Bill Birch with Michael Cullen added on. He was all right until the last three years and then spent on policies. ‘Working for Families is one of his insane policies that delivers welfare to the wealthy.’
He ignores what he must have learned in any studies he has done, that paying this sort of assistance to everyone cuts across the wealthy drone about how they are supporting low income drones and it’s not fair they should pay out all the time! Also it tends to be easier and cheaper to administrate when going to all in the target group, rather than scrutinising people’s rather than trying to sieve out the goodies from the bad low incomes.
And lastly this thing about ‘welfare’ – we all have advantage from the provisions that government makes for the nation. One of the things the wealthy and those in power have done is to trade most of our manufacturing jobs, a continuing process, because the world has gone free market which has had some advantages and massive disadvantages. It was obvious that jobs would be lost, the pr…ks knew this so now they are cynically blaming conditions on the poor and resenting every assistance.
prism:”Also it tends to be easier and cheaper to administrate when going to all in the target group, rather than scrutinising people’s rather than trying to sieve out the goodies from the bad low incomes.”
Pretty sure that at the time that is exactly Mr Cullens point. So true.
Drug lords are okay if they keep a high income and off the dole? The problem with fishing the pool of poor is that you aren’t as diligent at higher incomes. Providing welfare has never been justification for criminalization of the poorest – except by fascists. Sure there will always be some, like the lady who didn’t declare she was living with her husband. Just because one banker creates a ponsi scheme doesn’t mean all bankers are criminals.
The solution is to provide the basic limited income to survive as a negative income tax, that rewards people who have little to engage in economic activity, presently the system punitively scraps any extra income at 70c in the dollar blocking the stepping stone from a little work to part-time work.
Give the social injustice of large parts of the population leveraging themselves into massive debt exposure, and then desperate wanting tax cuts to continue their bubble economic vision. At the expense of future generations, the environment, all the activity economics of selling stuff sideways to create paper profit growth (asset sales), shows up the lying conceit in our elites.
Hooton does interrupt far too much. I think it’s a tactic to destroy the point that the other speaker is making. Certainly, I found it very hard to follow the thread of the arguments. I wish that Nat Radio took notice of that complaint.
Pleased to see you returned safely from the gorse fields, Felix.
Makes for bad radio all round, the shouty Hooten and the underpowered Pagani…..a couple of go to media commentators with egos way out of proportion to their ability.
It would good to have more of a green commentator ‘from the left’ sometimes. Today’s comment about nobody being against growth would then be challenged. I’m more for redistribution, personally, and not in favour of ‘growth’ if it means exploitation of the planet’s limited resources.
Not even the NZ Green party is advocating for a zero-growth economic policy. You might as well find a militant Trotskyite to offer their perspectives for all the relevance for mainstream NZ politics.
How right you are, nobody will advocate a zero growth policy. I suspect the Greens will go as far as a zero balance policy on the “externalities” (especially environmental) that are currently unpaid in our economic system.
More importantly we had better get used to a zero growth economy because that is what we have now, and will have for good in the future. There is a methodology prior NZ governments have used for this scenario: its called “balancing the books”. Its got these nasty little necessities such as import controls etc. It used to upset most people, they will be again.
Your second paragraph makes little sense. Something along the lines of we currently have zero growth now and should get used to it in future, (does this mean you are cool with everything), and then something about import controls. Truly bizarre shift in thinking there.
Gos, we currently have zero growth full stop.No problem so far, its demonstrable.
The next contention is get used to it: I happen to believe that resource depletion (in particular energy depletion) will result in a declining economy (as opposed to either growth or zero balance). There is lots of evidence (dont ask me to cite).
Final contention (also historically demonstrable) is that before growth became the accepted norm governments and businesses lived on their current balance, therefore had to balance their books.
Bizarre? What I find truly bizarre is the number of people walking blindfolded into a very evident future because they cant get out of the cornucopian mindset.
Funnily enough I’ve been having a similar discussion with someone on the Hot Topic blog recently (see, I haven’t been away from the internet completely).
I happen to think it reflects poorly on Hooten which I don’t mind at all, but it also reflects poorly on Pagani that she allows it. Williams doesn’t let Hooten shout him down. Neither does McCarten.
They all do it to an extent. Hooten tends to interupt when he spots BS during a long diatribe from the left wing commentator. Kathryn Ryan struggles at time to control him, (and the others), but generally does an okay job. Williams and Hooten end up agreeing with each more often than not so perhaps that is why he doesn’t interupt as much.
Williams and Hooten end up agreeing with each more often than not so perhaps that is why he doesn’t interupt as much.
Weirdness about 2 weeks ago, when Ryan messed up and said “From the Right, Mike Williams!”
That wasn’t the weird part – that happened when Williams said in response to her apology “That’s all right, I am really on the right, when I stop and think about it”.
With Ryan herself, that episode became a love fest of agreement amongst the three. 🙁
Well yeah, boil it down enough and they’re all discussing the issues of the day from strictly within the boundaries of our neo-liberal right wing economic paradigm.
Joint Media Statement
21st May 2012 Significant Progress in AFFCO dispute
After a full day of negotiations in Auckland yesterday the parties to the long running industrial dispute at the AFFCO meat works have made significant progress and are now working quickly towards trying to reach a final agreement for union members to ratify.
The parties today reached provisional agreement on the core document and are now working towards the settlement of specific site documents.
As part of a joint commitment to building a new type of relationship the parties have agreed and committed to a return to work within a short time frame of all workers and the withdrawal or suspension of all legal action while the final details are agreed.
The union and the owners of AFFCO (Talley Group) have been greatly assisted by the Iwi Leaders Forum who were represented at the negotiations today and wish to jointly acknowledged the role this group has played in working with both sides to find solutions that will enable the company to thrive in the future and the workers to work under fair and reasonable conditions.
The Iwi leadership forum members including Ken Mair, Tukoroirangi Morgan and Sonny Tau are adamant that in order to achieve an enduring settlement between the two parties it must be hinged around trust and confidence.
“The commitment by Andrew Talley and senior management to an open and regular dialogue with Union officials goes a long way to restoring confidence and certainty,” said the Iwi leaders.
“We have both sought to learn from this dispute and ensure that moving forward we build in the opportunity for a new type of relationship between the company, the union and its members. We also both value the ongoing commitment from Iwi to support this relationship” Andrew Talley said on behalf of AFFCO.
“Our members will be greatly relieved that we have made this progress today and keenly interested in us moving towards a full settlement. They are very open to making these meat works the best in the country and will welcome a different type of relationship, “ Dave Eastlake Meat Workers General Secretary said.
The parties will be making no further comment while the process is continuing.
Any other people who hadn’t heard of Louis Crimp and wondered .. I’ve just put some informative links on Open Mike for yesterday 20/5. I meant to put it on today’s.
Guess how he made his money – pokies and not winning on them haha. You didn’t think that did you. No his business is in the machines – for the players he’s the ghost in the machine perhaps.
On Louis Crimp. Couldn’t easily get info about Andrew Housing but there was quite a lot about him. I am fascinated by his big hearted philanthropy. He bought a house sold as a fundraiser by hospice for three times the expected price was one thing that raised his profile. He always has plenty to say and seems to be consulted for comment ad nauseum.
Well there has to be a circut breaker sometimes, and Sonny and the Moerewa people were getting well pissed off with Talley’s in Northland. Maybe the frozen pea sales were dropping a bit too in the odd Pak ’n Save.
Not everything must be talked about on blogs. But, “the withdrawal or suspension of all legal action while the final details are agreed” is a worry because an ‘in favour of the union ruling’ as per Open Country Cheese as to the legality of employing scabs, not to mention the legality of the targeted lockouts while the MWU was in bargaining, could help a number of workers in the very near future with Talley’s favourite charity, the Natz about to take us all back to 1991.
Looks like a typical Talley’s tactical tit pull to me at first glance.
Tapu Misa on the lack of sacrifice by the rich and the excess sacrifice by the poor dealt by this government.
“Judged by the yardstick of international norms,” he writes, “New Zealand under-taxes high income earners and over-taxes low income earners.” Using the preferred OECD “tax wedge” measure, for example, New Zealand’s tax rate among the 28 high-income OECD countries at the $100,000 salary level is 15 percentage points lower than the average, “representing over US$26,000 in tax that the average high income OECD country collects from these workers and their employers [that] New Zealand does not”.
Well, so much for the rich running off to other countries if we raise taxes on them. If they did they’d be taxed more.
That was exactly the para that I toyed with reposting here Draco. It is funny how higher taxes are always painted as a disaster and yet those northern European countries tax higher and do better. Especially when lower taxes are used as support for the myth that rich people provide the jobs rather than the poorer spending and working provide the wealth.
In addition to discourse, what types of activities are opponents to the current Neo-Liberal Capitalist Growth Economic Ideology Regime taking?
Subverting the forms of propaganda previously dominated by those abusing power.
But what Action; What translation into behaviour,care and guidance?
Downsizing?
Downshifting?
Deleveraging (urrgh!)
Reducing Reusing Recycling
Deinsuring
Disestablishing
Dissent before dishonour.
Leaving the payment of all greedy accounts till the 3 Month business payment schedule elapses?
Public transport use.
Kai gathering, home gardening, home cooking
I mean shutting off the blood supply to the greedy parasites.
There is always the ‘5.56 option of last resort’, but I expect to see that in Europe sometime in the near future, not here. Maybe that will make a few of the corporate bludgers sit-up and take notice.
Yes, there are some good suggestions in there. As always, it is the doing that matters, at the personal level, rather than any list of possibles for the undefined masses. In that context then, here’s what a particular philosopher had to say a long time ago, shortly before he left a country that was descending into chaos:
“When the great Tao is forgotten,
goodness and piety appear.
When the body’s intelligence declines,
cleverness and knowledge step forth.
When there is no peace in the family,
filial piety begins.
When the country falls into chaos,
Patriotism is born.”.
LaoTzu said the Tao was a way of natural harmony, greater than and existing before god. It’s interesting to see how the concept moves past good and bad as final resting points of human behaviour – listing them, really, as lesser evils – and reaches past that to an absolute kind of flowing/alternating order/disorder.
Within the context of your question on what each of us can do, via behaviour care and guidelines, we could do worse than use these guidelines as measure for action. LaoTzu’s political comments would also be echoed thousands of years later in social movements that understood that the overall good of the people as a collective mattered more than anything else; more than leaders careers, empire building or even the sciences. He was of the idea that materialism undermined the health of people and the earth.
Of course, his work has been fantastically abused by various Chinese leaders and historical figures since then, distorting it from a route to peace into sexual warfare and justification for totalitarianism and oppressions, but then so has Christianity under the capitalists. So as long as we understand this is a guide for our behaviour towards peace, not war and oppression, not as tool of offense, then we’ll stay the right side of the line – I hope. Shouldn’t be too hard to translate into modern terminology: you touch on several points already, such as “downsizing”, “downshifting” etc.
“Throw away holiness and wisdom’
and the people will be a hundred times happier.
Throw away morality and justice,
and people will do the right thing.
Throw away industry and profit,
and there won’t be any thieves.
If these three aren’t enough,
just stay at the centre of the circle
and let all things take their course.”
This pretty much spells out the main idea: while man cannot hope to not act in response to events, he should know how to do the least amount of damage and reach for the action of in-action that will naturally lead to the best action. As left eventually becomes right, why get into the power struggle at all?
“The great Way is easy,
yet people prefer the side paths.
Be aware when things are out of balance.
Stay centred within the Tao.
When rich speculators prosper,
while farmers lose their land;
when government officials spend money,
on weapons instead of cures;
when the upper class is extravagant and irresponsible
while the poor have nowhere to turn –
all this is robbery and chaos.
It is not in keeping with the Tao.”
The Tao Te Ching is somewhat of an oxymoron, since it’s existence contradicts the goal of the masters, which was to not speak, but do. It was written, we are told, because someone asked for guidelines to the art of living as a master was leaving a particular part of the country. I think that “leaving” actually meant he was approaching death, but we could get lost in metaphors and lose the message: action, above all else.
There is another frequently cited tale that says a region was under all kinds of trouble, environmentally and socially, and a master was called to settle it. He camped on the outskirts of the region, isolated and seeing no one, until things returned to normal – which was within a few days. The idea is that he was so in tune with the natural way of things, that his presence, his act of relocating, brought natural balance back to the region. He didn’t talk, and neither should anyone, is the meaning. Do something that moves toward balance, instead.
The Master doesn’t try to be powerful;
Thus he is truly powerful.
The ordinary man keeps reaching for power;
Thus he never has enough.
The Master does nothing,
Yet leaves nothing undone.
The ordinary man is always doing things,
Yet many more things are left to be done.
The kind man does something,
Yet something remains undone
The just man does something,
And leaves many things to be done.
The moral man does something,
And when no one responds
He rolls up his sleeves and uses force.
When the Tao is lost, there is goodness.
When goodness is lost, there is morality.
When morality is lost, there is ritual.
Ritual is the husk of true faith,
The beginning of chaos.
Therefore the Master concerns himself
With the depths and not the surface,
With the fruit and not the flower.
He has no will of his own.
He dwells in reality,
And lets all illusion go.”
That second to last verse, the following backwards of effect and stages of decline are echoed in the other famous Book of Changes, which precedes our modern Leftist ideas that there is a reason for everything, by a long way; that nothing is simple, and that there is only the point where you stop looking. Unfortunately, Taoism also condemns statistics completely as an idiocy.
And the final example, with the dry humour and realism that many of the verses hold:
Governing a large country is like frying a small fish.
You spoil it too much with poking.
Centre your country in the Tao
And evil will have no power.
Not that it isn’t there,
But you’ll be able to step out of its way.
Give evil nothing to oppose
And it will disappear by itself.”
Or as you put it: “… shutting off the blood supply to the greedy parasites.”
That Louis Crimp chappie from down south, who gave 100K+ to ACT to “do somethng about the maoris” who are “full of welfare and crime”, and who ACT now say they think says offensive things but they’ll take his money, (given to achieve offensive things), anyway…
… will be on Campbell live tonight, even though he didn’t know the camera was rolling.
It is enough to make a person embarrassed to have even walked the same streets as he did!
I have looked in vain for the $500,000,000.00 that he says is going into finding Te Reo but if we are cutting Māori Language funding even though it is a legal language of this country, then I presume that monies dedictaed to the teaching of English and NZ Sign will also be cut freeing up that funding for something else?!
The man is an idiot and a bully. I notice that he has threatened that he will not fund Act if they don’t make the abolition of Te Reo funding a non-negotiable. That is what he did to Stadium Southland Trust vis a vis the acknowledgment of ILT funding for the project. ILT has poured far more money into the Invercargill community than Louis Crimp ever will but the trustees gave into his blackmail. It will be interesting to see how Act respond
I saw that, and now I see why the Hell Pizza owners decided to approach Clive to put their case and refused to appear on Sunday on TV1…
The interviewer on Clive are giving the owner a sympathetic ear, she’s oozing with sweet kind questions (no hard ones) and it’s obvious why he chose to refuse Sunday and appear on Clive, after all, how many times has TV 3 ever criticised business men?
Don Brash was one of the few hopes for New Zealand he said at the time about 5 years ago it would be harder than the second world war to get New Zealand to a Growing sustainable country catching up with Australia. That was over 5 years ago and he was ignored along with many of Acts initial policy’s. So if was as hard as war then well.
The Solution is:
I really see it, first we need pleading to international help to help us recover and get international aid. We need to outsource Government departments such as entire health sector to Australia to administer. We need to have boarder-less “passport free” crossing to Australia, common currency just for start.
We then need to remove RMA completely and privatize the Building Department and all associated acts.
Sell the entire Tertiary Education sector.
Reduce income tax to 10%
Removed GST of all food, and basic living items.
Introduce Capital gains tax
Sell parts or New Zealand to Europe and America allowing them to create cities such as a French city in South island ran and administered by France.
Increase school standards. (Longer Day- Real economic teaching learn anther language from early on.)
Remove the treaty of Wiatangi form many government items.
Put some Politicians in jail. ( And look at performance pay- Electronic Elections on the internet).
Write a CONSTITUTION based on the American.
Removed number of MPs make it 99 and fix MMP i.e. party percent list choice elected from public.
Remove Government Standards: i.e allow cheap quality small electric cars on road. Allow Insurance companies to take risk analysis – not Government
Increase tax on alcohol. Also other government arbitrary standards which may not have cost benefit logical ratio.
Sell some roads completely.
Remove many testing and certification schemes.
Reduce all fines by 50%
Sell ACC and allow privatization and suing
Removed 50% of Government Agency’s and ministry’s.
Stop putting money in the Rugby industry.
Sue the transport minister for spending millionths on motorways for the Roading Lobby.
Invest in heavy public transport and bike lanes for the big city’s.
Don’t think we’ve really tried it Draco at all National are just keeping the same old Labour Policies but doing things slower with the exception of Motorway Lust.
Key always said Don Brash and Roger Douglas policies where unworkable and extreme. Well perhaps we need some “extreme” stuff to get NZ on track.
Driving NZ off a cliff is extreme, but it won’t get us back on track.
Giving every NZer a decent wage is the way to get us back on track. We print the money, we implement a CGT, we implement an FTT and we implement a 0.5% pa wealth tax to pay for it.
Capital which leaves the country for reasons other than the facilitation of direct trade is also taxed.
Oh yeah, the nationalisation of core economic infrastructure back into public and community ownership and control.
Not really Colonial that extreme – good to see you thinking. Printing credit is well overdue- absolutely Should funded some council projects for a few years.
Basically one side of the economic philosophy here is to allow quicker and rapid exchange of service and expertise between citizens of this country without third-party holdups and Government intervention. This is probably one of the quickest ways to allow society to exchange goods services and find a natural system which benefits all parties.
Allowing business to open run services people want rapidly. (Super Rapid – Houses built in a week sort of fast) In fact no building consents, all done on buyer choice buyer insurance schemes and “enforced” contract law.
So you could quickly find the service you are best to aid society with and also reap rewards of other diligent members of the commerce community for a price your happy with.
We’re all adults we don’t need Government checking every transaction and business idea to make sure they fit all governments rules and regulations.
Ah, a libertarian or, in other words, someone who’s all for oppressing the majority of people. Yes, that is the result of the BS you peddle.
A major reason why we have regulation is so that everyone is working with the best knowledge. We all adults, yes, we’re not all omniscient gods. The consent process is there to ensure that houses are built to best standards (well, that’s the theory unfortunately the government seems to have forgotten that and set minimum standards well bellow what they should be). If you remove those standards and remove the process to ensure those standards then what we will have would be a situation much worse than the leaking homes saga and no one would be accountable for it. People would start a business, make millions and then, as soon as trouble looked like it was starting, liquidate the business.
We’re a democracy so government happens to be us, what we call government is actually our administrative arm and, like all administration, it’s needed. Unfortunately, idiots like you go round telling people that our needed administration is evil.
“People would start a business, make millions and then, as soon as trouble looked like it was starting, liquidate the business.”
That’s what happens now.
Perhaps under contract law, when you purchase a Product you look to see if they have a long history and perhaps their underwriters.
And perhaps even write and agreement which binds your purchase to the personal seller of the product and not the business. ( guess in Contract Law you could write any terms and conditions in you wanted, as long as you both agree and sign off on it.)
In fact business models could start which take care of purchasing contracts and could even insure the product as security. Sort of like Safeseller on trademe
They way I see it things get more and more interesting and more productive and harmonious in Libertarian economics.
They way I see it things get more and more interesting and more productive and harmonious in Libertarian economics.
LOL, no, they get more litigious and most people can’t afford the lawyers required to help negotiate the contracts or enforce the contracts that are signed.
outsourcing government departments to Australia? Really. I heard on RNZ in the last few days that some Australian states are complaining that they aren’t given equal treatment nationally with the bigger more powerful states like NSW. I think it’s to do with being given less funding and consideration in policies.
And you think NZ wouldn’t be undermined by any Australian-based governance of NZ?
Ditto for any control of cities by French or US interests – it would open these cities to yet more plundering by wealthy and powerful overseas interests.
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On Werewolf/Scoop, I usually do two long form political columns a week. From now on, there will be an extra column each week about music and movies. But first, some late-breaking political events:The rise in unemployment numbers for the March quarter was bigger than expected – and especially sharp ...
David Farrar writes – The Herald reports: TVNZ says it is dealing with about 50 formal complaints over its coverage of the latest 1News-Verian political poll, with some viewers – as well as the Prime Minister and a former senior Labour MP – critical of the tone of the 6pm report. ...
Muriel Newman writes – When Meridian Energy was seeking resource consents for a West Coast hydro dam proposal in 2010, local Maori “strenuously” objected, claiming their mana was inextricably linked to ‘their’ river and could be damaged. After receiving a financial payment from the company, however, the Ngai Tahu ...
Alwyn Poole writes – “An SEP,’ he said, ‘is something that we can’t see, or don’t see, or our brain doesn’t let us see, because we think that it’s somebody else’s problem. That’s what SEP means. Somebody Else’s Problem. The brain just edits it out, it’s like a ...
Our trust in our political institutions is fast eroding, according to a Maxim Institute discussion paper, Shaky Foundations: Why our democracy needs trust. The paper – released today – raises concerns about declining trust in New Zealand’s political institutions and democratic processes, and the role that the overuse of Parliamentary urgency ...
This article was prepared for publication yesterday. More ministerial announcements have been posted on the government’s official website since it was written. We will report on these later today …. Buzz from the BeehiveThere we were, thinking the environment is in trouble, when along came Jones. Shane Jones. ...
New Zealand now has the fourth most depressed construction sector in the world behind China, Qatar and Hong Kong. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy at 8:46am on Thursday, May 2:The Lead: ...
Hi,I am just going to state something very obvious: American police are fucking crazy.That was a photo gracing the New York Times this morning, showing New York City police “entering Columbia University last night after receiving a request from the school.”Apparently in America, protesting the deaths of tens of thousands ...
Winston Peters’ much anticipated foreign policy speech last night was a work of two halves. Much of it was a standard “boilerplate” Foreign Ministry overview of the state of the world. There was some hardening up of rhetoric with talk of “benign” becoming “malign” and old truths giving way to ...
Graham Adams assesses the fallout of the Cass Review — The press release last Thursday from the UN Special Rapporteur on violence against women and girls didn’t make the mainstream news in New Zealand but it really should have. The startling title of Reem Alsalem’s statement — “Implementation of ‘Cass ...
This open-for-business, under-new-management cliché-pockmarked government of Christopher Luxon is not the thing of beauty he imagines it to be. It is not the powerful expression of the will of the people that he asserts it to be. It is not a soaring eagle, it is a malodorous vulture. This newest poll should make ...
The latest labour market statistics, showing a rise in unemployment. There are now 134,000 unemployed - 14,000 more than when the National government took office. Which is I guess what happens when the Reserve Bank causes a recession in an effort to Keep Wages Low. The previous government saw a ...
Three opinion polls have been released in the last two days, all showing that the new government is failing to hold their popular support. The usual honeymoon experienced during the first year of a first term government is entirely absent. The political mood is still gloomy and discontented, mainly due ...
National's Finance Minister once met a poor person.A scornful interview with National's finance guru who knows next to nothing about economics or people.There might have been something a bit familiar if that was the headline I’d gone with today. It would of course have been in tribute to the article ...
Rob MacCulloch writes – Throughout the pandemic, the new Vice-Chancellor-of-Otago-University-on-$629,000 per annum-Can-you-believe-it-and-Former-Finance-Minister Grant Robertson repeated the mantra over and over that he saved “lives and livelihoods”.As we update how this claim is faring over the course of time, the facts are increasingly speaking differently. NZ ...
Chris Trotter writes – IT’S A COMMONPLACE of political speeches, especially those delivered in acknowledgement of electoral victory: “We’ll govern for all New Zealanders.” On the face of it, the pledge is a strange one. Why would any political leader govern in ways that advantaged the huge ...
Bryce Edwards writes – The list of former National Party Ministers being given plum and important roles got longer this week with the appointment of former Deputy Prime Minister Paula Bennett as the chair of Pharmac. The Christopher Luxon-led Government has now made key appointments to Bill ...
TL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy at 10:06am on Wednesday, May 1:The Lead: Business confidence fell across the board in April, falling in some areas to levels last seen during the lockdowns because of a collapse in ...
Over the past 36 hours, Christopher Luxon has been dong his best to portray the centre-right’s plummeting poll numbers as a mark of virtue. Allegedly, the negative verdicts are the result of hard economic times, and of a government bravely set out on a perilous rescue mission from which not ...
Auckland Transport have started rolling out new HOP card readers around the network and over the next three months, all of them on buses, at train stations and ferry wharves will be replaced. The change itself is not that remarkable, with the new readers looking similar to what is already ...
Completed reads for April: The Difference Engine, by William Gibson and Bruce Sterling Carnival of Saints, by George Herman The Snow Spider, by Jenny Nimmo Emlyn’s Moon, by Jenny Nimmo The Chestnut Soldier, by Jenny Nimmo Death Comes As the End, by Agatha Christie Lord of the Flies, by ...
On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
Have a story to share about St Paul’s, but today just picturesPopular novels written at this desk by a young man who managed to bootstrap himself out of father’s imprisonment and his own young life in a workhouse Read more ...
The list of former National Party Ministers being given plum and important roles got longer this week with the appointment of former Deputy Prime Minister Paula Bennett as the chair of Pharmac. The Christopher Luxon-led Government has now made key appointments to Bill English, Simon Bridges, Steven Joyce, Roger Sowry, ...
Newsroom has a story today about National's (fortunately failed) effort to disestablish the newly-created Inspector-General of Defence. The creation of this agency was the key recommendation of the Inquiry into Operation Burnham, and a vital means of restoring credibility and social licence to an agency which had been caught lying ...
Holding On To The Present:The moment a political movement arises that attacks the whole idea of social progress, and announces its intention to wind back the hands of History’s clock, then democracy, along with its unwritten rules, is in mortal danger.IT’S A COMMONPLACE of political speeches, especially those delivered in ...
Stuck In The Middle With You:As Christopher Luxon feels the hot breath of Act’s and NZ First’s extremists on the back of his neck and, as he reckons with the damage their policies are already inflicting upon a country he’s described as “fragile”, is there not some merit in reaching out ...
The unpopular coalition government is currently rushing to repeal section 7AA of the Oranga Tamariki Act. The clause is Oranga Tamariki's Treaty clause, and was inserted after its systematic stealing of Māori children became a public scandal and resulted in physical resistance to further abductions. The clause created clear obligations ...
Buzz from the Beehive The government’s official website – which Point of Order monitors daily – not for the first time has nothing much to say today about political happenings that are grabbing media headlines. It makes no mention of the latest 1News-Verian poll, for example. This shows National down ...
It Takes A Train To Cry:Surely, there is nothing lonelier in all this world than the long wail of a distant steam locomotive on a cold Winter’s night.AS A CHILD, I would lie awake in my grandfather’s house and listen to the traffic. The big wooden house was only a ...
Packing A Punch: The election of the present government, including in its ranks politicians dedicated to reasserting the rights of the legislature in shaping and determining the future of Māori and Pakeha in New Zealand, should have alerted the judiciary – including its anomalous appendage, the Waitangi Tribunal – that its ...
Dead Woman Walking: New Zealand’s media industry had been moving steadily towards disaster for all the years Melissa Lee had been National’s media and communications policy spokesperson, and yet, when the crisis finally broke, on her watch, she had nothing intelligent to offer. Christopher Luxon is a patient man - but he’s not ...
Chris Trotter writes – New Zealand politics is remarkably easy-going: dangerously so, one might even say. With the notable exception of John Key’s flat ruling-out of the NZ First Party in 2008, all parties capable of clearing MMP’s five-percent threshold, or winning one or more electorate seats, tend ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Polling shows that Wellington Mayor Tory Whanau has the lowest approval rating of any mayor in the country. Siting at -12 per cent, the proportion of constituents who disapprove of her performance outweighs those who give her the thumbs up. This negative rating is ...
Luxon will no doubt put a brave face on it, but there is no escaping the pressure this latest poll will put on him and the government. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on Aotearoa-NZ’s political ...
This is a re-post from The Climate Brink by Andrew Dessler In the wake of any unusual weather event, someone inevitably asks, “Did climate change cause this?” In the most literal sense, that answer is almost always no. Climate change is never the sole cause of hurricanes, heat waves, droughts, or ...
Something odd happened yesterday, and I’d love to know if there’s more to it. If there was something which preempted what happened, or if it was simply a throwaway line in response to a journalist.Yesterday David Seymour was asked at a press conference what the process would be if the ...
Hi,From time to time, I want to bring Webworm into the real world. We did it last year with the Jurassic Park event in New Zealand — which was a lot of fun!And so on Saturday May 11th, in Los Angeles, I am hosting a lil’ Webworm pop-up! I’ve been ...
Education Minister Erica Standford yesterday unveiled a fundamental reform of the way our school pupils are taught. She would not exactly say so, but she is all but dismantling the so-called “inquiry” “feel good” method of teaching, which has ruled in our classrooms since a major review of the New ...
Exactly where are we seriously going with this government and its policies? That is, apart from following what may as well be a Truss-Lite approach on the purported economic “plan“, and Victorian-era regression when it comes to social policy.Oh it’ll work this time of course, we’re basically assured, “the ...
Hey Uncle Dave, When the Poms joined the EEC, I wasn't one of those defeatists who said, Well, that’s it for the dairy job. And I was right, eh? The Chinese can’t get enough of our milk powder and eventually, the Poms came to their senses and backed up the ute ...
Polling shows that Wellington Mayor Tory Whanau has the lowest approval rating of any mayor in the country. Siting at -12 per cent, the proportion of constituents who disapprove of her performance outweighs those who give her the thumbs up. This negative rating is higher than for any other mayor ...
Buzz from the Beehive Pharmac has been given a financial transfusion and a new chair to oversee its spending in the pharmaceutical business. Associate Health Minister David Seymour described the funding for Pharmac as “its largest ever budget of $6.294 billion over four years, fixing a $1.774 billion fiscal cliff”. ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Many criticisms are being made of the Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill, including by this writer. But as with everything in politics, every story has two sides, and both deserve attention. It’s important to understand what the Government is trying to achieve and its ...
TL;DR: Here’s my top 10 ‘pick ‘n’ mix of links to news, analysis and opinion articles as of 10:10am on Monday, April 29:Scoop: The children's ward at Rotorua Hospital will be missing a third of its beds as winter hits because Te Whatu Ora halted an upgrade partway through to ...
span class=”dropcap”>As hideous as David Seymour can be, it is worth keeping in mind occasionally that there are even worse political figures (and regimes) out there. Iran for instance, is about to execute the country’s leading hip hop musician Toomaj Salehi, for writing and performing raps that “corrupt” the nation’s ...
Yesterday marked 10 years since the first electric train carried passengers in Auckland so it’s a good time to look back at it and the impact it has had. A brief history The first proposals for rail electrification in Auckland came in the 1920’s alongside the plans for earlier ...
Right now, in Aotearoa-NZ, our ‘animal spirits’ are darkening towards a winter of discontent, thanks at least partly to a chorus of negative comments and actions from the Government Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on ...
You make people evil to punish the paststuck inside a sequel with a rotating castThe following photos haven’t been generated with AI, or modified in any way. They are flesh and blood, human beings. On the left is Galatea Young, a young mum, and her daughter Fiadh who has Angelman ...
April has been a quiet month at A Phuulish Fellow. I have had an exceptionally good reading month, and a decently productive writing month – for original fiction, anyway – but not much has caught my eye that suggested a blog article. It has been vaguely frustrating, to be honest. ...
A listing of 31 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, April 21, 2024 thru Sat, April 27, 2024. Story of the week Anthropogenic climate change may be the ultimate shaggy dog story— but with a twist, because here ...
Hi,I spent about a year on Webworm reporting on an abusive megachurch called Arise, and it made me want to stab my eyes out with a fork.I don’t regret that reporting in 2022 and 2023 — I am proud of it — but it made me angry.Over three main stories ...
The new Victoria University Vice-Chancellor decided to have a forum at the university about free speech and academic freedom as it is obviously a topical issue, and the Government is looking at legislating some carrots or sticks for universities to uphold their obligations under the Education and Training Act. They ...
Do you remember when Melania Trump got caught out using a speech that sounded awfully like one Michelle Obama had given? Uncannily so.Well it turns out that Abraham Lincoln is to Winston Peters as Michelle was to Melania. With the ANZAC speech Uncle Winston gave at Gallipoli having much in ...
She was born 25 years ago today in North Shore hospital. Her eyes were closed tightly shut, her mouth was silently moving. The whole theatre was all quiet intensity as they marked her a 2 on the APGAR test. A one-minute eternity later, she was an 8. The universe was ...
Skeptical Science is partnering with Gigafact to produce fact briefs — bite-sized fact checks of trending claims. This fact brief was written by Sue Bin Park in collaboration with members from our Skeptical Science team. You can submit claims you think need checking via the tipline. Is Antarctica gaining land ice? ...
Images of US students (and others) protesting and setting up tent cities on US university campuses have been broadcast world wide and clearly demonstrate the growing rifts in US society caused by US policy toward Israel and Israel’s prosecution of … Continue reading → ...
Barrie Saunders writes – Dear Paul As the new Minister of Media and Communications, you will be inundated with heaps of free advice and special pleading, all in the national interest of course. For what it’s worth here is my assessment: Traditional broadcasting free to air content through ...
Many criticisms are being made of the Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill, including by this writer. But as with everything in politics, every story has two sides, and both deserve attention. It’s important to understand what the Government is trying to achieve and its arguments for such a bold reform. ...
Peter Dunne writes – The great nineteenth British Prime Minister, William Gladstone, once observed that “the first essential for a Prime Minister is to be a good butcher.” When a later British Prime Minister, Harold Macmillan, sacked a third of his Cabinet in July 1962, in what became ...
Ele Ludemann writes – New Zealanders had the OECD’s second highest tax increase last year: New Zealanders faced the second-biggest tax raises in the developed world last year, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) says. The intergovernmental agency said the average change in personal income tax ...
We all know something’s not right with our elections. The spread of misinformation, people being targeted with soundbites and emotional triggers that ignore the facts, even the truth, and influence their votes.The use of technology to produce deep fakes. How can you tell if something is real or not? Can ...
The Government is again adding to New Zealand’s growing unemployment, this time cutting jobs at the agencies responsible for urban development and growing much needed housing stock. ...
With Minister Karen Chhour indicating in the House today that she either doesn’t know or care about the frontline cuts she’s making to Oranga Tamariki, we risk seeing more and more of our children falling through the cracks. ...
The Labour Party is saddened to learn of the death of Sir Robert Martin, a globally renowned disability advocate who led the way for disability rights both in New Zealand and internationally. ...
Labour is calling for the Government to urgently rethink its coalition commitment to restart live animal exports, Labour animal welfare spokesperson Rachel Boyack said. ...
Today’s Financial Stability Report has once again highlighted that poverty and deep inequality are political choices - and this Government is choosing to make them worse. ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to do more for our households in most need as unemployment rises and the cost of living crisis endures. ...
Unemployment is on the rise and it’s only going to get worse under this Government, Labour finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds said. Stats NZ figures show the unemployment rate grew to 4.3 percent in the March quarter from 4 percent in the December quarter. “This is the second rise in unemployment ...
The New Zealand Labour Party welcomes the entering into force of the European Union and New Zealand free trade agreement. This agreement opens the door for a huge increase in trade opportunities with a market of 450 million people who are high value discerning consumers of New Zealand goods and ...
The National-led Government continues its fiscal jiggery pokery with its Pharmac announcement today, Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall says. “The government has increased Pharmac funding but conceded it will only make minimal increases in access to medicine”, said Ayesha Verrall “This is far from the bold promises made to fund ...
This afternoon’s interim Waitangi Tribunal report must be taken seriously as it affects our most vulnerable children, Labour children’s spokesperson Willow-Jean Prime. ...
Te Pāti Māori are demanding the New Zealand Government support an international independent investigation into mass graves that have been uncovered at two hospitals on the Gaza strip, following weeks of assault by Israeli troops. Among the 392 bodies that have been recovered, are children and elderly civilians. Many of ...
Our two-tiered system for veterans’ support is out of step with our closest partners, and all parties in Parliament should work together to fix it, Labour veterans’ affairs spokesperson Greg O’Connor said. ...
Stripping two Ministers of their portfolios just six months into the job shows Christopher Luxon’s management style is lacking, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said. ...
Tonight’s court decision to overturn the summons of the Children’s Minister has enabled the Crown to continue making decisions about Māori without evidence, says Te Pāti Māori spokesperson for Children, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi. “The judicial system has this evening told the nation that this government can do whatever they want when ...
It appears Nicola Willis is about to pull the rug out from under the feet of local communities still dealing with the aftermath of last year’s severe weather, and local councils relying on funding to build back from these disasters. ...
The Government is making short-sighted changes to the Resource Management Act (RMA) that will take away environmental protection in favour of short-term profits, Labour’s environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
Labour welcomes the release of the report into the North Island weather events and looks forward to working with the Government to ensure that New Zealand is as prepared as it can be for the next natural disaster. ...
The Labour Party has called for the New Zealand Government to recognise Palestine, as a material step towards progressing the two-State solution needed to achieve a lasting peace in the region. ...
Some of our country’s most important work, stopping the sexual exploitation of children and violent extremism could go along with staff on the frontline at ports and airports. ...
The Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill will give projects such as new coal mines a ‘get out of jail free’ card to wreak havoc on the environment, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said today. ...
The government's decision to reintroduce Three Strikes is a destructive and ineffective piece of law-making that will only exacerbate an inherently biased and racist criminal justice system, said Te Pāti Māori Justice Spokesperson, Tākuta Ferris, today. During the time Three Strikes was in place in Aotearoa, Māori and Pasifika received ...
Cuts to frontline hospital staff are not only a broken election promise, it shows the reckless tax cuts have well and truly hit the frontline of the health system, says Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall. ...
The Green Party has joined the call for public submissions on the fast-track legislation to be extended after the Ombudsman forced the Government to release the list of organisations invited to apply just hours before submissions close. ...
New Zealand’s good work at reducing climate emissions for three years in a row will be undone by the National government’s lack of ambition and scrapping programmes that were making a difference, Labour Party climate spokesperson Megan Woods said today. ...
More essential jobs could be on the chopping block, this time Ministry of Education staff on the school lunches team are set to find out whether they're in line to lose their jobs. ...
Te Pāti Māori is disgusted at the confirmation that hundreds are set to lose their jobs at Oranga Tamariki, and the disestablishment of the Treaty Response Unit. “This act of absolute carelessness and out of touch decision making is committing tamariki to state abuse.” Said Te Pāti Māori Oranga Tamariki ...
The Government is trying to bring in a law that will allow Ministers to cut corners and kill off native species, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said. ...
Cancelling urgently needed new Cook Strait ferries and hiking the cost of public transport for many Kiwis so that National can announce the prospect of another tunnel for Wellington is not making good choices, Labour Transport Spokesperson Tangi Utikere said. ...
A laundry list of additional costs for Tāmaki Makarau Auckland shows the Minister for the city is not delivering for the people who live there, says Labour Auckland Issues spokesperson Shanan Halbert. ...
Te Pāti Māori co-leader Rawiri Waititi, and Mema Paremata mō Tāmaki-Makaurau, Takutai Tarsh Kemp, will travel to the Gold Coast to strengthen ties with Māori in Australia next week (15-21 April). The visit, in the lead-up to the 9th Australian National Kapa haka Festival, will be an opportunity for both ...
The Government is modernising insurance law to better protect Kiwis and provide security in the event of a disaster, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly announced today. “These reforms are long overdue. New Zealand’s insurance law is complicated and dated, some of which is more than 100 years old. ...
The coalition Government is refreshing its approach to supporting pay equity claims as time-limited funding for the Pay Equity Taskforce comes to an end, Public Service Minister Nicola Willis says. “Three years ago, the then-government introduced changes to the Equal Pay Act to support pay equity bargaining. The changes were ...
Structured literacy will change the way New Zealand children learn to read - improving achievement and setting students up for success, Education Minister Erica Stanford says. “Being able to read and write is a fundamental life skill that too many young people are missing out on. Recent data shows that ...
Trade Minister Todd McClay says Canada’s refusal to comply in full with a CPTPP trade dispute ruling in our favour over dairy trade is cynical and New Zealand has no intention of backing down. Mr McClay said he has asked for urgent legal advice in respect of our ‘next move’ ...
The rights of our children and young people will be enhanced by changes the coalition Government will make to strengthen oversight of the Oranga Tamariki system, including restoring a single Children’s Commissioner. “The Government is committed to delivering better public services that care for our most at-risk young people and ...
The Government is making it easier for minor changes to be made to a building consent so building a home is easier and more affordable, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “The coalition Government is focused on making it easier and cheaper to build homes so we can ...
New Zealand lost a true legend when internationally renowned disability advocate Sir Robert Martin (KNZM) passed away at his home in Whanganui last night, Disabilities Issues Minister Louise Upston says. “Our Government’s thoughts are with his wife Lynda, family and community, those he has worked with, the disability community in ...
Good evening – Before discussing the challenges and opportunities facing New Zealand’s foreign policy, we’d like to first acknowledge the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs. You have contributed to debates about New Zealand foreign policy over a long period of time, and we thank you for hosting us. ...
From today, passengers travelling internationally from Auckland Airport will be able to keep laptops and liquids in their carry-on bags for security screening thanks to new technology, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Creating a more efficient and seamless travel experience is important for holidaymakers and businesses, enabling faster movement through ...
People with an interest in the health of Northland’s marine ecosystems are invited to a public meeting to discuss how to deal with kina barrens, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones will lead the discussion, which will take place on Friday, 10 May, at Awanui Hotel in ...
Kiwi exporters are $100 million better off today with the NZ EU FTA entering into force says Trade Minister Todd McClay. “This is all part of our plan to grow the economy. New Zealand's prosperity depends on international trade, making up 60 per cent of the country’s total economic activity. ...
There are heartening signs that the extractive sector is once again becoming an attractive prospect for investors and a source of economic prosperity for New Zealand, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. “The beginnings of a resurgence in extractive industries are apparent in media reports of the sector in the past ...
The return of the historic Ō-Rākau battle site to the descendants of those who fought there moved one step closer today with the first reading of Te Pire mō Ō-Rākau, Te Pae o Maumahara / The Ō-Rākau Remembrance Bill. The Bill will entrust the 9.7-hectare battle site, five kilometres west ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has announced 25 new high-speed EV charging hubs along key routes between major urban centres and outlined the Government’s plan to supercharge New Zealand’s EV infrastructure. The hubs will each have several chargers and be capable of charging at least four – and up to 10 ...
The coalition Government will not proceed with the previous Government’s plans to regulate residential property managers, Housing Minister Chris Bishop says. “I have written to the Chairperson of the Social Services and Community Committee to inform him that the Government does not intend to support the Residential Property Managers Bill ...
The Government has announced an independent review into the disability support system funded by the Ministry of Disabled People – Whaikaha. Disability Issues Minister Louise Upston says the review will look at what can be done to strengthen the long-term sustainability of Disability Support Services to provide disabled people and ...
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith has attended the Universal Periodic Review in Geneva and outlined the Government’s plan to restore law and order. “Speaking to the United Nations Human Rights Council provided us with an opportunity to present New Zealand’s human rights progress, priorities, and challenges, while responding to issues and ...
The Government and Rotorua Lakes Council are committed to working closely together to end the use of contracted emergency housing motels in Rotorua. Associate Minister of Housing (Social Housing) Tama Potaka says the Government remains committed to ending the long-term use of contracted emergency housing motels in Rotorua by the ...
Trade Minister Todd McClay heads overseas today for high-level trade talks in the Gulf region, and a key OECD meeting in Paris. Mr McClay will travel to Riyadh to meet with counterparts from Saudi Arabia and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). “New Zealand’s goods and services exports to the Gulf region ...
Education Minister Erica Stanford has outlined six education priorities to deliver a world-leading education system that sets Kiwi kids up for future success. “I’m putting ambition, achievement and outcomes at the heart of our education system. I want every child to be inspired and engaged in their learning so they ...
The new NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) App is a secure ‘one stop shop’ to provide the services drivers need, Transport Minister Simeon Brown and Digitising Government Minister Judith Collins say. “The NZTA App will enable an easier way for Kiwis to pay for Vehicle Registration and Road User Charges (RUC). ...
Whānau with tamariki growing up in emergency housing motels will be prioritised for social housing starting this week, says Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka. “Giving these whānau a better opportunity to build healthy stable lives for themselves and future generations is an essential part of the Government’s goal of reducing ...
Racing Minister Winston Peters has paid tribute to an icon of the industry with the recent passing of Dave O’Sullivan (OBE). “Our sympathies are with the O’Sullivan family with the sad news of Dave O’Sullivan’s recent passing,” Mr Peters says. “His contribution to racing, initially as a jockey and then ...
Assalaamu alaikum, greetings to you all. Eid Mubarak, everyone! I want to extend my warmest wishes to you and everyone celebrating this joyous occasion. It is a pleasure to be here. I have enjoyed Eid celebrations at Parliament before, but this is my first time joining you as the Minister ...
Associate Health Minister David Seymour has announced Pharmac’s largest ever budget of $6.294 billion over four years, fixing a $1.774 billion fiscal cliff. “Access to medicines is a crucial part of many Kiwis’ lives. We’ve committed to a budget allocation of $1.774 billion over four years so Kiwis are ...
Hon Paula Bennett has been appointed as member and chair of the Pharmac board, Associate Health Minister David Seymour announced today. "Pharmac is a critical part of New Zealand's health system and plays a significant role in ensuring that Kiwis have the best possible access to medicines,” says Mr Seymour. ...
Hundreds of New Zealand families affected by Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) will benefit from a new Government focus on prevention and treatment, says Health Minister Dr Shane Reti. “We know FASD is a leading cause of preventable intellectual and neurodevelopmental disability in New Zealand,” Dr Reti says. “Every day, ...
Regional Development Minister Shane Jones today attended the official opening of Kaikohe’s new $14.7 million sports complex. “The completion of the Kaikohe Multi Sports Complex is a fantastic achievement for the Far North,” Mr Jones says. “This facility not only fulfils a long-held dream for local athletes, but also creates ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters’ engagements in Türkiye this week underlined the importance of diplomacy to meet growing global challenges. “Returning to the Gallipoli Peninsula to represent New Zealand at Anzac commemorations was a sombre reminder of the critical importance of diplomacy for de-escalating conflicts and easing tensions,” Mr Peters ...
Ambassador Millar, Burgemeester, Vandepitte, Excellencies, military representatives, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen – good morning and welcome to this sacred Anzac Day dawn service. It is an honour to be here on behalf of the Government and people of New Zealand at Buttes New British Cemetery, Polygon Wood – a deeply ...
Distinguished guests - It is an honour to return once again to this site which, as the resting place for so many of our war-dead, has become a sacred place for generations of New Zealanders. Our presence here and at the other special spaces of Gallipoli is made ...
Mai ia tawhiti pamamao, te moana nui a Kiwa, kua tae whakaiti mai matou, ki to koutou papa whenua. No koutou te tapuwae, no matou te tapuwae, kua honoa pumautia. Ko nga toa kua hinga nei, o te Waipounamu, o te Ika a Maui, he okioki tahi me o ...
Paul Goldsmith will take on responsibility for the Media and Communications portfolio, while Louise Upston will pick up the Disability Issues portfolio, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon announced today. “Our Government is relentlessly focused on getting New Zealand back on track. As issues change in prominence, I plan to adjust Ministerial ...
Recreational catch limits will be reduced in areas of Fiordland and the Chatham Islands to help keep those fisheries healthy and sustainable, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. The lower recreational daily catch limits for a range of finfish and shellfish species caught in the Fiordland Marine Area and ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed an important milestone in New Zealand’s hydrogen future, with the opening of the country’s first network of hydrogen refuelling stations in Wiri. “I want to congratulate the team at Hiringa Energy and its partners K one W one (K1W1), Mitsui & Co New Zealand ...
The coalition Government is delivering on its commitment to improve resource management laws and give greater certainty to consent applicants, with a Bill to amend the Resource Management Act (RMA) expected to be introduced to Parliament next month. RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop has today outlined the first RMA Amendment ...
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Associate Agriculture Minister, Mark Patterson, formally reopened the world’s largest wool processing facility today in Awatoto, Napier, following a $50 million rebuild and refurbishment project. “The reopening of this facility will significantly lift the economic opportunities available to New Zealand’s wool sector, which already accounts for 20 per cent of ...
In 1995, Sally Clark went out on her own in a bold and unorthodox attempt to join an illustrious group of equestrian riders conquering the world. In the days of glovebox road maps, brick cell phones, and the hit song How Bizarre, Clark refused to follow Sir Mark Todd, Blyth ...
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To celebrate the start of New Zealand music month, we look back at the best local tuneage that managed to weasel its way into Hollywood productions. There’s nothing quite like the thrilling zap of recognition when New Zealand weasels its way into a glamorous Hollywood production. Crack open a Tui ...
People trust other people more than institutions. So how can the media gain that trust through journalists without losing what’s important about the institution? Anna Rawhiti-Connell reflects on two years of curating the news for The Bulletin.Amonth ago, armed cops descended on my neighbourhood as calls to “lock your ...
Opinion: PFAS – per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances – are a class of thousands of man-made chemicals used widely in everyday consumer items such as textiles, packaging, and cookware, popular for their water, grease and stain-repellent properties. However, the very properties that make PFAS so attractive to manufacturers are also what ...
NONFICTION 1 The Last Secret Agent by Pippa Latour & Jude Dobson (Allen & Unwin, $37.99)’ This is the hottest book in New Zealand, number one with a bullet in its first week, selling more than any overseas title, and demand is so huge that it’s already been reprinted. A ...
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A warning – suicide is discussed in this podcast New Zealand’s own long-running soap Shortland Street doesn’t hesitate to kill off its much-loved characters. But would TVNZ dare to kill off our favourite soap? That’s the fear as times get tough in television – even though it’s been pointed out ...
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Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra A key part of the Albanese government’s political strategy is to fill the news cycle with its presence and messaging. Ministers are deployed to the maximum, even when they’ve little to say. This week ...
Recent extreme weather events showed the importance of a well-functioning insurance system, says Commerce and Consumer Affairs minister Andrew Bayly. ...
By Jo Moir, RNZ News political editor, and Craig McCulloch, deputy political editor New Zealand’s Labour Party is demanding Winston Peters be stood down as Foreign Minister for opening up the government to legal action over his “totally unacceptable” attack on a prominent AUKUS critic. In an interview on RNZ’s ...
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The Wellington-based Reserve Force soldier is now almost three years into his New Zealand Army career with 5th/7th Battalion, Royal New Zealand Infantry Regiment. ...
"The Government needs to release the review immediately as this reckless approach to change risks disjointed decision making and creates more distress and uncertainty for staff," Fitzsimons said. ...
By Koroi Hawkins, RNZ Pacific editor Jeremiah Manele has been elected Prime Minister of Solomon Islands, polling 31 votes to 18 over rival candidate and former opposition leader Mathew Wale with one abstention. The final result of the election by secret ballot was announced by the Governor-General, Sir David Vunagi, ...
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The NZQA proposal released to staff today would involve a net loss of 35 roles. There are 66 roles being disestablished with 13 of those currently vacant, and 31 new roles proposed, said Fleur Fitzsimons Public Service Association Te Pūkenga Here Tikanga ...
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Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jessica Balanzategui, Senior Lecturer in Media, RMIT University ABC “Bluey mania” shows no sign of abating. Bluey’s season finale, The Sign, was the most viewed ABC program of all time on iView. A “hidden” follow-up episode, aptly named The Surprise, created ...
Labour market figures came in softer than the Reserve Bank had forecast, but they won’t be enough to move the needle on interest rates, 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. Unemployment ...
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A must watch piss take on bankers….
Those sad little rich men. Scrooge had a better Christmas?
I get bollock bored reiterating to my “centrist” middle class Key voting associates that we have a train wreck of youth unemployment here in NZ. I know Canterbury has a had a quake but look at this:
http://www.stuff.co.nz/the-press/news/6955597/More-young-people-out-of-work-in-city
The number of Cantabrians aged 15 to 24 in employment has dropped by 12,300, the September 2011 Household Labour Force Survey revealed.
The fall comes despite 8700 people in the age bracket leaving the city last year.
In effect this says that in an area of 350,000 we might expect to find 12% of the population aged 18-24…..roughly 42000 people, of whom 12,300 are out of work (nearly a third), and if you count those who have gone 21,000…a half.
This is a huge indictment on the failure of all recent governments, especially the current NACT crop who don’t appear to even acknowledge the issue or give a rats arse. And worse still its a giant j’acuse at those voter who work on the “I am all right Jack” principle.
“And worse still its a giant j’acuse at those voter who work on the “I am all right Jack” principle”
— Yup, and those same selfish fools who think that they are out of harms way, will be in the line of fire eventually, on current course!
There may be a significant breakthrough in the Affco dispute this morning; it looks like pressure from Iwi has forced Talley’s back to the table and an agreement now looks likely.
Good news! 🙂
Question for a moderator
If someone is currently on a one week ban here (guess who) and posts a comment on another blog (KB, General Debate today) asking for someone there to post their comment on the Standard for them, what is the position? I have no intention of doing so; the comment appears to include a link to the banned person’s own blog……
PS – FYI the same banned person was also using the other blog yesterday to respond to/comment on comments posted here subsequent to the TS ban being invoked.
Out of sight, out of mind. Please don’t remind me.
Link is to a Stuff article, not his blog. Agreed, Carol, but trying to preempt…..
I should think he can do whatever he wants on another site.
Anyone who was foolish enough to copy his comments over to here should expect moderator attention – probably deleting the comments to start with and escalating from there as necessary.
It’s up to us how we moderate. Pete’s politics may be remiss but his heart is in the right place. He is, however, a bit obsessive (as are some other regular commenters) – I’ve seen this with commenters before and it generally ends in tears. I think it’s time to let it go.
I’d also recommend that anyone who finds themselves taking the blogs too seriously, and I include obsessing over who said what to who on another blog, should take a few days off to spend some time in the real world. It’ll do you good.
For the most part Pete provides good debate here and does obviously put a lot of time into knowing his stuff.
Where he becomes annoying is the frequency at which he posts.
Anyway,
I see stuff have an article on how the majority of people still blame Labour for debt. A perfect opportunity for Labour to get some media spotlight and point out the flaws in this.
You guys run this excellent site. I am happy to accept your moderation/banning. I wouldn’t complain just as I wouldn’t should a householder asked me to leave their property. Not that that has ever happened!
Fonterra environmental bullies
I enjoy watching Rural Delivery in the weekends. They’ve been running stories recently about developments in farm effluent treatment systems, and this made me hopeful that we might finally see a reduction in the amount of pollution going into New Zealand waterways…
Its quite amusing in a sad way but true that if you want to catch a trout go to a sheep farming area.
PROTEST TODAY, Monday 21 May 2012
12 noon – 2pm
OUTSIDE JOHN BANK’S EPSOM OFFICE
27 Gillies Ave
Newmarket
A protest has been called today, calling for the resignation of – the arguably not so ‘Honorable’ MP for Epsom, because he is not, in my considered opinion, ‘fit for duty’ as an MP – let alone a Minister.
( http://www.dodgyjohnhasgone.com/give-a-grrl-a-banner/ shows some of the banners that will be on display, and should attract attention at this busy part of Newmarket during the flow of lunchtime traffic.)
How come former Labour MP Taito Phillip Field got sentenced for SIX years for ‘bribery and corruption’, for providing ‘immigration advice’ to Thai nationals in exchange for work on his properties – while Minister John Banks gets political protection from NZ Prime Minister John Key, after giving ‘immigration assistance’ and Coatsville property purchase ‘assistance’ to a German/ Finnish national, in return for $50,000 donated to ‘Banksie’s’ 2010 Auckland Mayoral campaign fund, and gifts valued at over $500 which he failed to declare?
It is also of great concern to me, as a fighter against ‘white collar’ crime, that ACT’s ‘one law for all’ has yet to apply to both the current and former Leaders of the ACT Party, whom, as former fellow directors of Huljich Wealth Management (NZ) Ltd, both signed Huljich Kiwisaver Scheme registered prospectuses dated 22 August 2008 and 18 September 2009, which contained untrue statements, but were never charged for so doing. This is a strict liability offence under s58(3) of the Securities Act 1978, but neither the old Securities Commission, the Finance Markets Authority (FMA), the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) , nor the NZ Police arguably ‘did their job’ and charged Banks or Brash. Have they been politically protected at the highest levels?
(Copies of this correspondence are avaialbe on http://www.pennybright4epsom.org.nz )
John Banks is now the Minister of Regulatory Reform, yet four different ‘regulatory’ bodies failed to act against him, someone, who arguably couldn’t properly run a Kiwisaver Scheme, yet now has a key Ministerial post and is supposedly helping to run the country ‘perceived’ to be the ‘least corrupt in the world’? (According to Transparency Internaional’s 2011 ‘Corruption Perception Index, http://cpi.transparency.org/cpi2011/results/ which obviously, in my considered opinion, is not worth the paper upon which it is written.)
I don’t expect the ACT MP for Epsom, Minister of Regulatory Reform, the ‘Honorable’ John Banks, to be particularly keen to see me, or this protest, which is intended to ‘hold his feet to the fire’.
Penny Bright
‘Anti-corruption campaigner’
Penny, Good luck with the protest.
Has there ever been any official explanation why Banks and Brash were not charged after the investigation into Huljich Wealth Management?
Ahead of the council’s budget announcement, Local Government Minister David Carter urged councils around the country to consider the sale of strategic assets rather than rates rises to fund projects.
“Mr Carter told TVNZ’s Q & A yesterday that local governments were in a similar position to central government, which intends to balance the books by selling up to 49 per cent of shares in the state-owned energy companies, and a further stake in Air NZ”
“I think if you look at my own city of Christchurch where we clearly have an extraordinary situation, the Christchurch balance sheet is strong with a number of assets, the council needs to make the decision.”
— One can see how this is going to play out in advance!
Not really surprising, National are all about getting the hands of the rich on our assets so that they can become even bigger
thievesrentiers.Matthew Hooton this morning got into his stride on his favourite subject, his own opinion about our economic situation and why it’s Labour’s fault. He talked over the top of Josie Pagani quite a lot. One swingeing quote – “No government anywhere in the world creates jobs”.
I’m sick of cynical negative right-wingers who quote figures from the sweepings of the economist floor as a reason for governments not doing anything. When we need practical policies to stimulate business or advance policies that will assist the mass of small taxpayers we get this do-nothing chant. We should be putting in Auckland’s rail while prices are cheap and spending on infrastructure resulting in more employment. Of course we do have to try to employ New Zealanders, not shoot ourselves in the foot bringing in cheap labour while our own people languish and despair and drink and drug or steal so they can have regular food, good housing that presently they are shut away from.
Also he talks about having a surplus in the 1990s and refers first to Ruth Richardson and Bill Birch with Michael Cullen added on. He was all right until the last three years and then spent on policies. ‘Working for Families is one of his insane policies that delivers welfare to the wealthy.’
He ignores what he must have learned in any studies he has done, that paying this sort of assistance to everyone cuts across the wealthy drone about how they are supporting low income drones and it’s not fair they should pay out all the time! Also it tends to be easier and cheaper to administrate when going to all in the target group, rather than scrutinising people’s rather than trying to sieve out the goodies from the bad low incomes.
And lastly this thing about ‘welfare’ – we all have advantage from the provisions that government makes for the nation. One of the things the wealthy and those in power have done is to trade most of our manufacturing jobs, a continuing process, because the world has gone free market which has had some advantages and massive disadvantages. It was obvious that jobs would be lost, the pr…ks knew this so now they are cynically blaming conditions on the poor and resenting every assistance.
prism:”Also it tends to be easier and cheaper to administrate when going to all in the target group, rather than scrutinising people’s rather than trying to sieve out the goodies from the bad low incomes.”
Pretty sure that at the time that is exactly Mr Cullens point. So true.
Drug lords are okay if they keep a high income and off the dole? The problem with fishing the pool of poor is that you aren’t as diligent at higher incomes. Providing welfare has never been justification for criminalization of the poorest – except by fascists. Sure there will always be some, like the lady who didn’t declare she was living with her husband. Just because one banker creates a ponsi scheme doesn’t mean all bankers are criminals.
The solution is to provide the basic limited income to survive as a negative income tax, that rewards people who have little to engage in economic activity, presently the system punitively scraps any extra income at 70c in the dollar blocking the stepping stone from a little work to part-time work.
Give the social injustice of large parts of the population leveraging themselves into massive debt exposure, and then desperate wanting tax cuts to continue their bubble economic vision. At the expense of future generations, the environment, all the activity economics of selling stuff sideways to create paper profit growth (asset sales), shows up the lying conceit in our elites.
lolz at Hooton yelling “Josie Josie Josie CALM DOWN!”
His self-awareness is hilariously low, even for a Golem.
felix 😀
Hooton does interrupt far too much. I think it’s a tactic to destroy the point that the other speaker is making. Certainly, I found it very hard to follow the thread of the arguments. I wish that Nat Radio took notice of that complaint.
Pleased to see you returned safely from the gorse fields, Felix.
Much quicker than I thought! Now for the blackberry…
Goats, its easier.
Goats! Don’t talk to me about goats.
They taste good after they have eaten the blackberries…..Rasa on Cuba St cooks a mean South Indian goat curry.
Makes for bad radio all round, the shouty Hooten and the underpowered Pagani…..a couple of go to media commentators with egos way out of proportion to their ability.
It would good to have more of a green commentator ‘from the left’ sometimes. Today’s comment about nobody being against growth would then be challenged. I’m more for redistribution, personally, and not in favour of ‘growth’ if it means exploitation of the planet’s limited resources.
Not even the NZ Green party is advocating for a zero-growth economic policy. You might as well find a militant Trotskyite to offer their perspectives for all the relevance for mainstream NZ politics.
How right you are, nobody will advocate a zero growth policy. I suspect the Greens will go as far as a zero balance policy on the “externalities” (especially environmental) that are currently unpaid in our economic system.
More importantly we had better get used to a zero growth economy because that is what we have now, and will have for good in the future. There is a methodology prior NZ governments have used for this scenario: its called “balancing the books”. Its got these nasty little necessities such as import controls etc. It used to upset most people, they will be again.
What???
Your second paragraph makes little sense. Something along the lines of we currently have zero growth now and should get used to it in future, (does this mean you are cool with everything), and then something about import controls. Truly bizarre shift in thinking there.
Gos, we currently have zero growth full stop.No problem so far, its demonstrable.
The next contention is get used to it: I happen to believe that resource depletion (in particular energy depletion) will result in a declining economy (as opposed to either growth or zero balance). There is lots of evidence (dont ask me to cite).
Final contention (also historically demonstrable) is that before growth became the accepted norm governments and businesses lived on their current balance, therefore had to balance their books.
Bizarre? What I find truly bizarre is the number of people walking blindfolded into a very evident future because they cant get out of the cornucopian mindset.
Funnily enough I’ve been having a similar discussion with someone on the Hot Topic blog recently (see, I haven’t been away from the internet completely).
Especially the Greens! They’re a farce, honestly. Blue-Greens, opportunists and irredeemably middle class…
Read Growth Fetish by Clive Hamilton
Do you have a better alternative from the left and the right then?
I don’t mind Hooton as a spokesperson for the right.
Some people seem to do though. Why all the complaining about him shouting down poor Josie Pagani?
I happen to think it reflects poorly on Hooten which I don’t mind at all, but it also reflects poorly on Pagani that she allows it. Williams doesn’t let Hooten shout him down. Neither does McCarten.
They all do it to an extent. Hooten tends to interupt when he spots BS during a long diatribe from the left wing commentator. Kathryn Ryan struggles at time to control him, (and the others), but generally does an okay job. Williams and Hooten end up agreeing with each more often than not so perhaps that is why he doesn’t interupt as much.
Who would you like to see doing these spots, presuming we stick with the “left v right” format?
Weirdness about 2 weeks ago, when Ryan messed up and said “From the Right, Mike Williams!”
That wasn’t the weird part – that happened when Williams said in response to her apology “That’s all right, I am really on the right, when I stop and think about it”.
With Ryan herself, that episode became a love fest of agreement amongst the three. 🙁
Well yeah, boil it down enough and they’re all discussing the issues of the day from strictly within the boundaries of our neo-liberal right wing economic paradigm.
goose only because style is more important than substance
Oh yes, a totally weird moment!
Maffoo and Josie, a greater and a lesser RWNJ! Who will speak for the Left?
Super token leftie Chris Trotter?
At least he knows that he is a lefty, Pagani would not even be able to define the term.
A press release on an end to the AFFCO dispute:
Joint Media Statement
21st May 2012
Significant Progress in AFFCO dispute
After a full day of negotiations in Auckland yesterday the parties to the long running industrial dispute at the AFFCO meat works have made significant progress and are now working quickly towards trying to reach a final agreement for union members to ratify.
The parties today reached provisional agreement on the core document and are now working towards the settlement of specific site documents.
As part of a joint commitment to building a new type of relationship the parties have agreed and committed to a return to work within a short time frame of all workers and the withdrawal or suspension of all legal action while the final details are agreed.
The union and the owners of AFFCO (Talley Group) have been greatly assisted by the Iwi Leaders Forum who were represented at the negotiations today and wish to jointly acknowledged the role this group has played in working with both sides to find solutions that will enable the company to thrive in the future and the workers to work under fair and reasonable conditions.
The Iwi leadership forum members including Ken Mair, Tukoroirangi Morgan and Sonny Tau are adamant that in order to achieve an enduring settlement between the two parties it must be hinged around trust and confidence.
“The commitment by Andrew Talley and senior management to an open and regular dialogue with Union officials goes a long way to restoring confidence and certainty,” said the Iwi leaders.
“We have both sought to learn from this dispute and ensure that moving forward we build in the opportunity for a new type of relationship between the company, the union and its members. We also both value the ongoing commitment from Iwi to support this relationship” Andrew Talley said on behalf of AFFCO.
“Our members will be greatly relieved that we have made this progress today and keenly interested in us moving towards a full settlement. They are very open to making these meat works the best in the country and will welcome a different type of relationship, “ Dave Eastlake Meat Workers General Secretary said.
The parties will be making no further comment while the process is continuing.
Any other people who hadn’t heard of Louis Crimp and wondered .. I’ve just put some informative links on Open Mike for yesterday 20/5. I meant to put it on today’s.
Guess how he made his money – pokies and not winning on them haha. You didn’t think that did you. No his business is in the machines – for the players he’s the ghost in the machine perhaps.
His original source of wealth was Andrew Housing, as far as I am aware. The bars and pokies came later
On Louis Crimp. Couldn’t easily get info about Andrew Housing but there was quite a lot about him. I am fascinated by his big hearted philanthropy. He bought a house sold as a fundraiser by hospice for three times the expected price was one thing that raised his profile. He always has plenty to say and seems to be consulted for comment ad nauseum.
Another project was to buy a carpark by a licensing trust tavern with the idea of building a hospital for alzheimers patients there. He has regular run ins with the Invercargill Licensing Trust which might be a hint about this idea. Here is a background link on this.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/southland-times/news/5068041/Crimp-leaves-trees-across-tavern-driveway
Well there has to be a circut breaker sometimes, and Sonny and the Moerewa people were getting well pissed off with Talley’s in Northland. Maybe the frozen pea sales were dropping a bit too in the odd Pak ’n Save.
Not everything must be talked about on blogs. But, “the withdrawal or suspension of all legal action while the final details are agreed” is a worry because an ‘in favour of the union ruling’ as per Open Country Cheese as to the legality of employing scabs, not to mention the legality of the targeted lockouts while the MWU was in bargaining, could help a number of workers in the very near future with Talley’s favourite charity, the Natz about to take us all back to 1991.
Looks like a typical Talley’s tactical tit pull to me at first glance.
Tapu Misa on the lack of sacrifice by the rich and the excess sacrifice by the poor dealt by this government.
Well, so much for the rich running off to other countries if we raise taxes on them. If they did they’d be taxed more.
Perhaps they are bouyed by such articles…
NZ rated highly for investment safety
I guess they did not factor in the internal investor issues, about $10b lost of investors cash in the financial companies theft!
The drivel the quoted from the bloke at D & B is , confused, bob each way stuff!
That was exactly the para that I toyed with reposting here Draco. It is funny how higher taxes are always painted as a disaster and yet those northern European countries tax higher and do better. Especially when lower taxes are used as support for the myth that rich people provide the jobs rather than the poorer spending and working provide the wealth.
In addition to discourse, what types of activities are opponents to the current Neo-Liberal Capitalist Growth Economic Ideology Regime taking?
Subverting the forms of propaganda previously dominated by those abusing power.
But what Action; What translation into behaviour,care and guidance?
Downsizing?
Downshifting?
Deleveraging (urrgh!)
Reducing Reusing Recycling
Deinsuring
Disestablishing
Dissent before dishonour.
Leaving the payment of all greedy accounts till the 3 Month business payment schedule elapses?
Public transport use.
Kai gathering, home gardening, home cooking
I mean shutting off the blood supply to the greedy parasites.
Any more suggestions?
There is always the ‘5.56 option of last resort’, but I expect to see that in Europe sometime in the near future, not here. Maybe that will make a few of the corporate bludgers sit-up and take notice.
Yes, there are some good suggestions in there. As always, it is the doing that matters, at the personal level, rather than any list of possibles for the undefined masses. In that context then, here’s what a particular philosopher had to say a long time ago, shortly before he left a country that was descending into chaos:
“When the great Tao is forgotten,
goodness and piety appear.
When the body’s intelligence declines,
cleverness and knowledge step forth.
When there is no peace in the family,
filial piety begins.
When the country falls into chaos,
Patriotism is born.”.
LaoTzu said the Tao was a way of natural harmony, greater than and existing before god. It’s interesting to see how the concept moves past good and bad as final resting points of human behaviour – listing them, really, as lesser evils – and reaches past that to an absolute kind of flowing/alternating order/disorder.
Within the context of your question on what each of us can do, via behaviour care and guidelines, we could do worse than use these guidelines as measure for action. LaoTzu’s political comments would also be echoed thousands of years later in social movements that understood that the overall good of the people as a collective mattered more than anything else; more than leaders careers, empire building or even the sciences. He was of the idea that materialism undermined the health of people and the earth.
Of course, his work has been fantastically abused by various Chinese leaders and historical figures since then, distorting it from a route to peace into sexual warfare and justification for totalitarianism and oppressions, but then so has Christianity under the capitalists. So as long as we understand this is a guide for our behaviour towards peace, not war and oppression, not as tool of offense, then we’ll stay the right side of the line – I hope. Shouldn’t be too hard to translate into modern terminology: you touch on several points already, such as “downsizing”, “downshifting” etc.
“Throw away holiness and wisdom’
and the people will be a hundred times happier.
Throw away morality and justice,
and people will do the right thing.
Throw away industry and profit,
and there won’t be any thieves.
If these three aren’t enough,
just stay at the centre of the circle
and let all things take their course.”
This pretty much spells out the main idea: while man cannot hope to not act in response to events, he should know how to do the least amount of damage and reach for the action of in-action that will naturally lead to the best action. As left eventually becomes right, why get into the power struggle at all?
“The great Way is easy,
yet people prefer the side paths.
Be aware when things are out of balance.
Stay centred within the Tao.
When rich speculators prosper,
while farmers lose their land;
when government officials spend money,
on weapons instead of cures;
when the upper class is extravagant and irresponsible
while the poor have nowhere to turn –
all this is robbery and chaos.
It is not in keeping with the Tao.”
The Tao Te Ching is somewhat of an oxymoron, since it’s existence contradicts the goal of the masters, which was to not speak, but do. It was written, we are told, because someone asked for guidelines to the art of living as a master was leaving a particular part of the country. I think that “leaving” actually meant he was approaching death, but we could get lost in metaphors and lose the message: action, above all else.
There is another frequently cited tale that says a region was under all kinds of trouble, environmentally and socially, and a master was called to settle it. He camped on the outskirts of the region, isolated and seeing no one, until things returned to normal – which was within a few days. The idea is that he was so in tune with the natural way of things, that his presence, his act of relocating, brought natural balance back to the region. He didn’t talk, and neither should anyone, is the meaning. Do something that moves toward balance, instead.
The Master doesn’t try to be powerful;
Thus he is truly powerful.
The ordinary man keeps reaching for power;
Thus he never has enough.
The Master does nothing,
Yet leaves nothing undone.
The ordinary man is always doing things,
Yet many more things are left to be done.
The kind man does something,
Yet something remains undone
The just man does something,
And leaves many things to be done.
The moral man does something,
And when no one responds
He rolls up his sleeves and uses force.
When the Tao is lost, there is goodness.
When goodness is lost, there is morality.
When morality is lost, there is ritual.
Ritual is the husk of true faith,
The beginning of chaos.
Therefore the Master concerns himself
With the depths and not the surface,
With the fruit and not the flower.
He has no will of his own.
He dwells in reality,
And lets all illusion go.”
That second to last verse, the following backwards of effect and stages of decline are echoed in the other famous Book of Changes, which precedes our modern Leftist ideas that there is a reason for everything, by a long way; that nothing is simple, and that there is only the point where you stop looking. Unfortunately, Taoism also condemns statistics completely as an idiocy.
And the final example, with the dry humour and realism that many of the verses hold:
Governing a large country is like frying a small fish.
You spoil it too much with poking.
Centre your country in the Tao
And evil will have no power.
Not that it isn’t there,
But you’ll be able to step out of its way.
Give evil nothing to oppose
And it will disappear by itself.”
Or as you put it: “… shutting off the blood supply to the greedy parasites.”
Oh very nice. I appreciated this.
Post of the week. Thanks 🙂
Plus you got us all talking slopely 😀
Thank you from the deepest parts of me. “This is the way, step inside(the Storm and non-act)
Did you see the Joy Division reference, did ya see it……
Richard Wolff, Professor of Economics,University of Massachusetts: The Costs of Capitalism’s Crisis: Who Will Pay.
(YouTube: 1.35.01)
Fifty one percent local ownership, Mugabe style.
What is this madness? http://wonderfulnow.blogspot.co.nz/2012/05/one-more-thing-before-i-go.html
That Louis Crimp chappie from down south, who gave 100K+ to ACT to “do somethng about the maoris” who are “full of welfare and crime”, and who ACT now say they think says offensive things but they’ll take his money, (given to achieve offensive things), anyway…
… will be on Campbell live tonight, even though he didn’t know the camera was rolling.
“… will be on Campbell live tonight, even though he didn’t know the camera was rolling.”
Like shooting fish in a barrel.
” not a native tree, but a nice English tree like an oak” lol. That reporter was very good.
(Crimp had asked her if she had ever had sex against a tree)
It is enough to make a person embarrassed to have even walked the same streets as he did!
I have looked in vain for the $500,000,000.00 that he says is going into finding Te Reo but if we are cutting Māori Language funding even though it is a legal language of this country, then I presume that monies dedictaed to the teaching of English and NZ Sign will also be cut freeing up that funding for something else?!
The man is an idiot and a bully. I notice that he has threatened that he will not fund Act if they don’t make the abolition of Te Reo funding a non-negotiable. That is what he did to Stadium Southland Trust vis a vis the acknowledgment of ILT funding for the project. ILT has poured far more money into the Invercargill community than Louis Crimp ever will but the trustees gave into his blackmail. It will be interesting to see how Act respond
I saw that, and now I see why the Hell Pizza owners decided to approach Clive to put their case and refused to appear on Sunday on TV1…
The interviewer on Clive are giving the owner a sympathetic ear, she’s oozing with sweet kind questions (no hard ones) and it’s obvious why he chose to refuse Sunday and appear on Clive, after all, how many times has TV 3 ever criticised business men?
Why is everything in italics? Weird…
That’s what happens when the kids don’t put their tags away.
Alright, who left their tags on the stairs?
That was UTurn.
http://www.3news.co.nz/No-regret-for-Maori-comments-says-Crimp/tabid/817/articleID/255038/Default.aspx
He’s lost his marbles. If he ever had too many to begin with…
Act sure does attract them!!!
and who is Susan English’s brother in law??
SOUTHERN EQUITIES LIMITED (156001)
Shareholders in Allocation:
Allocation 1:13333334 shares
Susan Joy ENGLISH
22 Vera Street, Karori, Wellington 6012 , New Zealand
Rex Thomas CHAPMAN
42 Don Street, Invercargill 9810 , New Zealand
James Bartholomew HENNESSY
345 Bainfield Road, Rd 2, Invercargill, 9872 , New Zealand
Louis Mervyn CRIMP
164 Mill Road South, No 1 R D, Invercargill 9871 , New Zealand
Don Brash was one of the few hopes for New Zealand he said at the time about 5 years ago it would be harder than the second world war to get New Zealand to a Growing sustainable country catching up with Australia. That was over 5 years ago and he was ignored along with many of Acts initial policy’s. So if was as hard as war then well.
The Solution is:
I really see it, first we need pleading to international help to help us recover and get international aid. We need to outsource Government departments such as entire health sector to Australia to administer. We need to have boarder-less “passport free” crossing to Australia, common currency just for start.
We then need to remove RMA completely and privatize the Building Department and all associated acts.
Sell the entire Tertiary Education sector.
Reduce income tax to 10%
Removed GST of all food, and basic living items.
Introduce Capital gains tax
Sell parts or New Zealand to Europe and America allowing them to create cities such as a French city in South island ran and administered by France.
Increase school standards. (Longer Day- Real economic teaching learn anther language from early on.)
Remove the treaty of Wiatangi form many government items.
Put some Politicians in jail. ( And look at performance pay- Electronic Elections on the internet).
Write a CONSTITUTION based on the American.
Removed number of MPs make it 99 and fix MMP i.e. party percent list choice elected from public.
Remove Government Standards: i.e allow cheap quality small electric cars on road. Allow Insurance companies to take risk analysis – not Government
Increase tax on alcohol. Also other government arbitrary standards which may not have cost benefit logical ratio.
Sell some roads completely.
Remove many testing and certification schemes.
Reduce all fines by 50%
Sell ACC and allow privatization and suing
Removed 50% of Government Agency’s and ministry’s.
Stop putting money in the Rugby industry.
Sue the transport minister for spending millionths on motorways for the Roading Lobby.
Invest in heavy public transport and bike lanes for the big city’s.
Gee its going to be hard for someone.
Right, so your solution to the problem is more of the same?
I’ll put it this way: The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result.
Don’t think we’ve really tried it Draco at all National are just keeping the same old Labour Policies but doing things slower with the exception of Motorway Lust.
Key always said Don Brash and Roger Douglas policies where unworkable and extreme. Well perhaps we need some “extreme” stuff to get NZ on track.
Driving NZ off a cliff is extreme, but it won’t get us back on track.
Giving every NZer a decent wage is the way to get us back on track. We print the money, we implement a CGT, we implement an FTT and we implement a 0.5% pa wealth tax to pay for it.
Capital which leaves the country for reasons other than the facilitation of direct trade is also taxed.
Oh yeah, the nationalisation of core economic infrastructure back into public and community ownership and control.
Extreme enough for you?
Not really Colonial that extreme – good to see you thinking. Printing credit is well overdue- absolutely Should funded some council projects for a few years.
Basically one side of the economic philosophy here is to allow quicker and rapid exchange of service and expertise between citizens of this country without third-party holdups and Government intervention. This is probably one of the quickest ways to allow society to exchange goods services and find a natural system which benefits all parties.
Allowing business to open run services people want rapidly. (Super Rapid – Houses built in a week sort of fast) In fact no building consents, all done on buyer choice buyer insurance schemes and “enforced” contract law.
So you could quickly find the service you are best to aid society with and also reap rewards of other diligent members of the commerce community for a price your happy with.
We’re all adults we don’t need Government checking every transaction and business idea to make sure they fit all governments rules and regulations.
Ah, a libertarian or, in other words, someone who’s all for oppressing the majority of people. Yes, that is the result of the BS you peddle.
A major reason why we have regulation is so that everyone is working with the best knowledge. We all adults, yes, we’re not all omniscient gods. The consent process is there to ensure that houses are built to best standards (well, that’s the theory unfortunately the government seems to have forgotten that and set minimum standards well bellow what they should be). If you remove those standards and remove the process to ensure those standards then what we will have would be a situation much worse than the leaking homes saga and no one would be accountable for it. People would start a business, make millions and then, as soon as trouble looked like it was starting, liquidate the business.
We’re a democracy so government happens to be us, what we call government is actually our administrative arm and, like all administration, it’s needed. Unfortunately, idiots like you go round telling people that our needed administration is evil.
I’ll think about what you wrote for a while.
“People would start a business, make millions and then, as soon as trouble looked like it was starting, liquidate the business.”
That’s what happens now.
Perhaps under contract law, when you purchase a Product you look to see if they have a long history and perhaps their underwriters.
And perhaps even write and agreement which binds your purchase to the personal seller of the product and not the business. ( guess in Contract Law you could write any terms and conditions in you wanted, as long as you both agree and sign off on it.)
In fact business models could start which take care of purchasing contracts and could even insure the product as security. Sort of like Safeseller on trademe
They way I see it things get more and more interesting and more productive and harmonious in Libertarian economics.
LOL, no, they get more litigious and most people can’t afford the lawyers required to help negotiate the contracts or enforce the contracts that are signed.
..
Anthony – thanks for your random assortment of unworkable, nation destroying fantasies.
outsourcing government departments to Australia? Really. I heard on RNZ in the last few days that some Australian states are complaining that they aren’t given equal treatment nationally with the bigger more powerful states like NSW. I think it’s to do with being given less funding and consideration in policies.
And you think NZ wouldn’t be undermined by any Australian-based governance of NZ?
Ditto for any control of cities by French or US interests – it would open these cities to yet more plundering by wealthy and powerful overseas interests.