The group’s founder, Zainah Anwar, said on its website: “I find the burqa really disturbing.
“There is enough literature to show that the face veil is not a requirement in Islam.
“In a conservative, patriarchal Muslim context, face veiling really symbolises women’s invisibility and inferior status.
“That a woman should not be seen and heard, and should she venture into the public space she must be as invisible as possible, is an affront to human dignity.”
As I tried to point out in an earlier thread, this kind of dress code is more cultural than religious. It is not a question of ‘religious freedom’.
I think I heard about a religious sect where the men wear some sort of bag over their heads to prevent strangers from seeing their face which would diminish their life force. Oh I have a doubt, I think it was a line by a stand up comedian.
Epsom electorate nudges, winks and open arrangements, have been called undemocratic. That’s nonsense. Parties should be free to arrange whatever they want to. Voters decide for themselves what they like and who they will vote for.
It will happen in other electorates. Maori and Mana are open about trying to arrange electorate versus party votes – and Maori electorates have been quite successful at it in past elections.
Epsom electorate nudges, winks and open arrangements, have been called undemocratic. That’s nonsense. Parties should be free to arrange whatever they want to.
But SS you ignore the background. ACT once was a distinct separate proud political party albeit with really weird ideas. Then National decided that it probably would not make the 50% level of support in the election and that it needed partners.
It looked to its right and saw that ACT was on its death bed. Its leader, a supposed perk buster, had turned out to be a huge rorter of public money and its law and order spokesperson had stolen the identity of a dead baby. The party was clearly mysoginist and its deputy leader was bullied. Its newest member was and remains really weird. It was and is a bunch of hypocritical mysoginist misfits.
So National did what all good corporates do, it staged a takeover. With the help of money and paid operatives it installed its ex leader as the new leader and an ex National cabinet member as ACT’s Epsom candidate. None of the ACT members complained, self preservation does that to people without principle.
Don’t you think that the use of money and power in this way is appalling? And don’t you think that National’s setting up of a patsy party on the right to increase its own power is utterly undemocratic?
You’re making a lot of assumptions and accusations. You must have proof of all that or you wouldn’t be making the claims? Have your got legal advice on that?
Or maybe you need to see your paranoia doctor a bit more often.
Democracy is parties doing what they want, how they want, and voters making their own choices.
Meh, point me to one electorate any where in the country where LAB is doing anything of the sort.
LAB is going to fight this election fair and is going to fight in every electorate tooth and nail.
You are full of shit and now the one making plenty of “assumptions and accusations”. Hypocritical apparatchik that you are, I knew you would be qualified for the job.
CV – if Labour could I’m sure they would, it’s just that every other party senses blood in the red water and are preying on picking up votes from the entrails. So it’s unlikely Labour has anyone willing to do deals.
Your first two paragraphs, allowing for a bit of dramatic license, are in the ball park.
“None of the ACT members complained”
That’s wrong. I saw Act members complaining plenty.
The rest, unless you have any proof of it, I don’t buy, sounds most like a desperate conspiracy theory. And I think if you had any proof you wouldn’t just be bouncing it around this blog, where frequent and excessive over the top claims render it’s credibility very suspect. I’ve seen enough here to be very skeptical of anything that has no proof.
Why don’t you get some legal help, put together a demonstrable accusation, and go to the media with it? If it’s as you claim it could be a big story. But parties can, within the law, operate as they want to.
You are right. I should have said that none of the ACT MPs complained. I am glad that you acknowledged that the first part which was most of what I said was correct.
And the rest? Well google Simon Lusk and see what you come up with. And you should realise that information concerning Simon has come from unusual sources. Just ask Trevor.
Legal help? Nah I am fine thank you. But thinks for caring …
They can use the old dog whistle Brash to soften nationals image but without this big majority they,ve been cruising toward it could back fire . and the soft middle could dessert them
On a side note i was thinking this yesterday; are the maori wards detrimental to having truly democratic representation in parliament?
Bear with me on this one….
OK, take the following three mainstream electorates – Rotorua, WBOP and East Coast.
Rotorua was Steve Chadwick’s after a long time as a Nat (Max Bradford) seat. It takes in the very deprived Kawerau and Kaingaroa Village, where people are predominantly Maori and are on the maori roll. In the last election Rotorua ended up with the awful waste of space Todd McClay. Needless to say he has done nothing for those communities, so by having an electorate MP (main roll) who is primarily voted in by white middle class Maori shoot themselves in the foot by being on the Maori roll.
Places like Te Puke end up with Ryall and the East Coast Tolley – both areas which have big Maori populations. Makes you think.
The big Labour names contesting Wigram to compete head on with Anderton:
2008 Erin Ebborn-Gillespie – third on 15.15% (Labour 40.19%)
2005 Paul Chalmers – third on 19.12% (Labour 47.95%)
2002 Mika Mora – 2nd on 26% (Labour 45%)
Labour got the help of two Progressive seats in 2002, just Anderton since then.
The Labour candidate this year is Megan Woods, ranked 47th on Labour’s list.
ps not that I think Labour do want to, or even that they should.
As you say, parties can make whatever arrangements they like and people can vote accordingly. I also believe that if parties try to make arrangements to provide outcomes not favoured by the electorate in question, they’ll be punished on polling day.
However if you’re suggesting that Anderton – who has won and held the same seat under two different electoral systems and at least three different political parties – is somehow not the genuinely preferred representative of the voters of Wigram…
…or that his situation is analogous to ACT, who only exist in parliament because National step aside for them…
Anderton most likely would have won Wigram from a strong Labour challenge – but we’ll never know because it never happened. It was convenient for Labour to just leave it to Anderton.
And in another handy arrangement, Anderton retires and hands Wigram to Labour.
Then I guess you can’t paint Megan as a no-hope patsy candidate anymore, seeing as you think the voters of Wigram are going to welcome her to represent them.
She can’t be both.
Rather inconvenient for your conspiracy theory about the previous Labour candidates too.
Which means you still haven’t explained how Anderton and ACT are analogous, seeing as how ACT only exist because National step aside for them whereas Jim has been continuously selected by his electorate since 1984.
And according to you, he’s so popular in Wigram that whoever he anoints will be the next MP, despite them being a low-ranked no-hope patsy earlier this morning.
S.S. thinks Wigram is equivalent to the situation where we saw Rodney Hide “resign” from Epsom to retire after many long years of service, gracefully “handing over” the electorate (and the party) to Brash and Banks.
Anderton most likely would have won Wigram from a strong Labour challenge
Bullshit. There have been a series of good candidates in that electorate who have never made much traction against a competent incumbent MP. Electorates will tend to support an incumbent local MP over multiple elections if they work the electorate. Look at Peter Dunne (how many years has he been fighting off both Labour and National after that seat?) or Winston Peters (until he annoyed his electorate).
But that is quite different to Epsom where the only thing that has been keeping a Act MP in there was complicity from National with a series of useless candidates.
Anderton retires and hands Wigram to Labour.
You mean because the Progressives decided to drop their party?
But I guess you prefer your dumbass explanations that have bugger all to do with reality..
I just looked at your list of the past three candidates for the seat from Labour. Personally I don’t bother with much of the politics or the people. But two of them are pretty damn high profile inside Labour that I know (and I ignore most people). One is a political operator and not someone you’d waste in a seat as a candidate if you could use them as a campaign organizer.
What your statements do reveal is that your comments are the result of self-obsessed politics. Long on self-congratulation at getting imaginary results, short on analysis of technique because no-one else assists, and with a complete lack of appreciation of the advantages of practice in the real world over navel gazing.
Or in short – the splattered excreta of a political wanker…
So Act may agree to stand down in National marginals
On the face of it this may seem like gaming the system to assist NAct in gaining extra seats.
However, this ignores the fact that under MMP it’s the party vote that determines the make-up of Parliament – not the number of Electorate seats. Act standing down in marginals does nothing to increase the total NAct party vote – in fact quite the contrary it may well decrease that total vote for the following reasons:
1) No Act canditate in some electorates to campaign for them
2) Soft National and undecided voters not liking the game playing and somewhat too cosy relationship with Act.
3) Hard right Act voters being hacked off for them being too cosy with National.
4) Draw out more of the centre left vote in those marginals to keep NAct out
Of course under FPP this sort of game-playing would work so it seems NAct have just highlighted another very good reason for keeping MMP.
As usual the squirrel choses (or refuses) to read what was written before comitting nonsense to keyboard. Perhaps you’ll be able to throw in a few irrelevant links as well, as you did the other day when debating? English’s crap numbers.
Yes, in the electoral calculus, this move ultimately hurts their total seat majority.
The total party vote determines the number of seats you get in parliament, and both Labour and National always get multiple list votes to top up their electorate winnings. Purely in terms of seats, winning more electorates for Labour or National just means fewer list members.
Act need to do everything possible to increase their party vote, especially when they’re under the 5% threshold, as it effectively goes towards creating an overhang (in their favour) in parliament. Standing people in marginal electorates may cause National to lose them (which doesn’t ultimately affect their seat total one jot), but it would also have the effect of increasing Act’s profile and hopefully gaining them more party votes than they would otherwise. Party votes are what Act needs, so having them not stand in these electorates ultimately isn’t in their best interests, except where they can make deals over it (Brash gets a good ministerial position, instead of just a lame associate one, for example).
Israeli spies – call me cynical, is this a manufactured Key diversion, takes the debate well away from economics, cost of living and CGT and focuses on him in the US as our great I can fix everything leader? maybe we should let this drop and bring the debate back to real issues.
Inorth – It is intriguing (literally) though isn’t it, this thing about the Israeli travellers. Radionz talked to the father of a young man who lost his life. The father must be well off with lots of contacts and pull if he could find a group of experts to drop their business so they could travel here on his behalf, and who paid their travel and accommodation bill? Did he or they pay out of their huge bank accounts and the goodness of their hearts? It seemed necessary he said as we appeared slow and incompetent compared to other countries.
I guess Israelis are used now to getting things their own way. Their leader goes to the United States and addresses a large group which gives him a standing ovation. I wonder whether ours will get a few smiles and nods. This link gives a youtube video of his 24 May 2011 speech to congress and you can see the sycophantic response to his every remark. Then when you’re tired of the repetition of hand clapping you can read the transcript below. USA and Israel
can you imagine how long it would take Key to say that speech
“I speak (looks down, reads, looks up) on behalf of the (looks down, reads, looks up) Jewish people and (looks down, reads, looks up) the Jewish state (looks down, reads, looks up) when I say to you”
Can’t agree Ianupnorth. To manufacture a spy scandal as a diversion would be fraught with problems. To start with, your intelligence and defence agencies would cease to trust you with information. Anyway, his initial response suggests he was taken by surprise and tried to wriggle out by using his stock answer “it’s not in the National Interest for me to comment”. What he means of course is that it’s not in his interest to comment. 😉
Either way, Anne’s analysis stands. It’s not the kind of distraction that’s helpful to Key whether he instigates it or not, there’s just too many ways he can come out of it looking bad. Too risky.
The distractions Key likes are all about him winning and laughing, not about him being connected in any way to the murky world of espionage.
‘In a three-hour hearing, committee member Adrian Sanders invoked the 2001 collapse of Enron, asking whether the Murdochs were familiar with the term ”wilful ignorance”. ”It states that if there is knowledge that you could have had and should have had but chose not to have, you are still responsible,” he said.’
Is John Key guilty of ‘wilful ignorance’ in that as a moneytrader working in America with a spider’s web of networks that he continued to return to visit during his latest sojourn to New Zealand, he never warned New Zealanders that there was a huge financial collapse that would endanger New Zealand fiscally, because if he didn’t know then his credibility as a financial whizz is shot to hell. He’s back there now getting his latest instructions and selling off New Zealand’s sovereignty with his rush to push the TPPA through.
No wonder he and his mates tried to bully Labour into giving tax cuts and thereby seeking to make our financial position suicidal instead of just uncomfortable.
No wonder the business fraternity under his guidance and Phil O’Reilly’s spin, sought to sack workers (bringing some back at lower wages and no benefits) soon after winning the election and reducing workers’ rights to fair treatment.
Their current plan to sell off assets New Zealanders already own to foreignors or rich business interests would have carried even less weight than it does now. They could only seek to do that by refusing to fund coach building in New Zealand by New Zealanders because that would empower Kiwis. They could only seek to do that by making New Zealanders poorer or insecure.
Apply this thinking to many of this government’s ridiculous and disloyal decisions and you will begin to understand their reasoning.
Key is America’s man, not ours.
He is not worthy of New Zealanders’ trust. After this election if he gets back in, New Zealand is gone.
“The working classes may be injuriously degraded and oppressed in three ways:
1st When they are neglected in infancy
2nd When they are overworked by their employer, and are thus rendered incompetent from ignorance to make a good use of high wages when they can procure them.
3rd When they are paid low wages for their labour “. (Robert Owen , 1818)
Thursday 21 July 2011
Some questions about media “coverage” of the Israeli spy story
1.) Why was the Israeli spy story only on Page 2 of the New Zealand Herald this morning?
2.) Why did both TV1 and TV3 reporters (including even the normally excellent Patrick Gower) both refer to Israel by the erroneous black propaganda term “the Jewish state”?
3.) Why did TV1 and TV3 autocue readers both say “the Jewish community” is “outraged” by the New Zealand police committing these “attacks” on Israel?
4.) Why did both TV1 and TV3 autocue readers both quote and show inflammatory, absurd headlines from the extreme right-wing Jerusalem Post and not report or show anything from the liberal and internationally respected Haaretz?
5.) Why did neither TV1’s CloseUp nor TV3’s Campbell Live spend even one second on this story tonight?
6.) Could NewstalkZB have found three more grossly biased or lamentably ill-informed people to discuss this scandal than Larry Williams, Bill Ralston and Jock Anderson?
LOL. That guy (Keiser) needs to be head of Treasury
I think a day a week will get the job done just fine. (Don’t know what the hell all those neoliberal office rats are doing there now Mon-Fri except no good)
It was excellent to see Justice being intelligent; yes, there was nothing to stop Hannah Tamaki from pursuing a presidency over the Maori Women’s Welfare League but don’t bother to use the votes from the ten ring in groups.
Destiny are nothing if not cunning. The canny Maori Women’s Welfare League are nothing if not caring of all their people. I hope they get what they want, not what agenda Brian Tamaki wants.
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A factory reset restores your Gateway laptop to its original factory settings, erasing all data, apps, and personalizations. This can be necessary to resolve software issues, remove viruses, or prepare your laptop for sale or transfer. Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to factory reset your Gateway laptop: Method 1: ...
“You talking about me?”The neoliberal denigration of the past was nowhere more unrelenting than in its depiction of the public service. The Post Office and the Railways were held up as being both irremediably inefficient and scandalously over-manned. Playwright Roger Hall’s “Glide Time” caricatures were presented as accurate depictions of ...
Roger Partridge writes – When the Coalition Government took office last October, it inherited a country on a precipice. With persistent inflation, decades of insipid productivity growth and crises in healthcare, education, housing and law and order, it is no exaggeration to suggest New Zealand’s first-world status was ...
Rob MacCulloch writes – In 2022, the Curriculum Centre at the Ministry of Education employed 308 staff, according to an Official Information Request. Earlier this week it was announced 202 of those staff were being cut. When you look up “The New Zealand Curriculum” on the Ministry of ...
Chris Bishop’s bill has stirred up a hornets nest of opposition. Photo: Lynn Grieveson for The KākāTL;DR: The six things that stood out to me in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, poverty and climate from the last day included:A crescendo of opposition to the Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill is ...
Monday left me brokenTuesday, I was through with hopingWednesday, my empty arms were openThursday, waiting for love, waiting for loveThe end of another week that left many of us asking WTF? What on earth has NZ gotten itself into and how on earth could people have voluntarily signed up for ...
Hello! Here comes the Saturday edition of More Than A Feilding, catching you up on the past week’s editions.State of humanity, 20242024, it feels, keeps presenting us with ever more challenges, ever more dismay.Do you give up yet? It seems to ask.No? How about this? Or this?How about this?Full story Share ...
Determining the hardest sport in the world is a subjective matter, as the difficulty level can vary depending on individual abilities, physical attributes, and experience. However, based on various factors including physical demands, technical skills, mental fortitude, and overall accomplishment, here is an exploration of some of the most challenging ...
The allure of sport transcends age, culture, and geographical boundaries. It captivates hearts, ignites passions, and provides unparalleled entertainment. Behind the spectacle, however, lies a fascinating world of financial investment and expenditure. Among the vast array of competitive pursuits, one question looms large: which sport carries the hefty title 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. ...
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. ...
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. ...
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. ...
The Green Party has today launched a step-by-step guide to help New Zealanders make their voice heard on the Government’s democracy dodging and anti-environment fast track legislation. ...
The National Government’s proposed changes to the Residential Tenancies Act will mean tenants can be turfed from their homes by landlords with little notice, Labour housing spokesperson Kieran McAnulty said. ...
Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson is calling on all parties to support a common-sense change that’s great for the planet and great for consumers after her member’s bill was drawn from the ballot today. ...
A significant milestone has been reached in the fight to strike an anti-Pasifika and unfair law from the country’s books after Teanau Tuiono’s members’ bill passed its first reading. ...
New Zealand has today missed the opportunity to uphold the right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment, says James Shaw after his member’s bill was voted down in its first reading. ...
Today’s advice from the Climate Change Commission paints a sobering reality of the challenge we face in combating climate change, especially in light of recent Government policy announcements. ...
Minister for Disability Issues Penny Simmonds appears to have delayed a report back to Cabinet on the progress New Zealand is making against international obligations for disabled New Zealanders. ...
The Government’s newly announced review of methane emissions reduction targets hints at its desire to delay Aotearoa New Zealand’s urgent transition to a climate safe future, the Green Party said. ...
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 ...
Overseas models for regulating the oil and gas sector, including their decommissioning regimes, are being carefully scrutinised as a potential template for New Zealand’s own sector, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. The Coalition Government is focused on rebuilding investor confidence in New Zealand’s energy sector as it looks to strengthen ...
Emergency Management and Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell has today released the Report of the Government Inquiry into the response to the North Island Severe Weather Events. “The report shows that New Zealand’s emergency management system is not fit-for-purpose and there are some significant gaps we need to address,” Mr Mitchell ...
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith is today travelling to Europe where he’ll update the United Nations Human Rights Council on the Government’s work to restore law and order. “Attending the Universal Periodic Review in Geneva provides us with an opportunity to present New Zealand’s human rights progress, priorities, and challenges, while ...
Associate Agriculture Minister, Mark Patterson, formally reopened the world’s largest wool processing facility today in Awatoto, Napier, following a $50 million rebuild and refurbishment project. “The reopening of this facility will significantly lift the economic opportunities available to New Zealand’s wool sector, which already accounts for 20 per cent of ...
Hon Andrew Bayly, Minister for Small Business and Manufacturing At the Southland Otago Regional Engineering Collective (SOREC) Summit, 18 April, Dunedin Ngā mihi nui, Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Ko Whanganui aho Good Afternoon and thank you for inviting me to open your summit today. I am delighted ...
The Government is delivering on its commitment to bring back the Three Strikes legislation, Associate Justice Minister Nicole McKee announced today. “Our Government is committed to restoring law and order and enforcing appropriate consequences on criminals. We are making it clear that repeat serious violent or sexual offending is not ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has today announced four new diplomatic appointments for New Zealand’s overseas missions. “Our diplomats have a vital role in maintaining and protecting New Zealand’s interests around the world,” Mr Peters says. “I am pleased to announce the appointment of these senior diplomats from the ...
New Zealand is contributing NZ$7 million to support communities affected by severe food insecurity and other urgent humanitarian needs in Ethiopia and Somalia, Foreign Minister Rt Hon Winston Peters announced today. “Over 21 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance across Ethiopia, with a further 6.9 million people ...
Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage Paul Goldsmith is congratulating Mataaho Collective for winning the Golden Lion for best participant in the main exhibition at the Venice Biennale. "Congratulations to the Mataaho Collective for winning one of the world's most prestigious art prizes at the Venice Biennale. “It is good ...
The Government is reforming financial services to improve access to home loans and other lending, and strengthen customer protections, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly and Housing Minister Chris Bishop announced today. “Our coalition Government is committed to rebuilding the economy and making life simpler by cutting red tape. We are ...
“China remains a strong commercial opportunity for Kiwi exporters as Chinese businesses and consumers continue to value our high-quality safe produce,” Trade and Agriculture Minister Todd McClay says. Mr McClay has returned to New Zealand following visits to Beijing, Harbin and Shanghai where he met ministers, governors and mayors and engaged in trade and agricultural events with the New ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has completed a successful trip to Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines, deepening relationships and capitalising on opportunities. Mr Luxon was accompanied by a business delegation and says the choice of countries represents the priority the New Zealand Government places on South East Asia, and our relationships in ...
New Zealand is demonstrating its commitment to reducing global greenhouse emissions, and supporting clean energy transition in South East Asia, through a contribution of NZ$41 million (US$25 million) in climate finance to the Asian Development Bank (ADB)-led Energy Transition Mechanism (ETM). Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Climate Change Minister Simon Watts announced ...
The Government is today releasing a list of organisations who received letters about the Fast-track applications process, says RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop. “Recently Ministers and agencies have received a series of OIA requests for a list of organisations to whom I wrote with information on applying to have a ...
Attorney-General Judith Collins today announced the appointment of Wellington Barrister David Jonathan Boldt as a Judge of the High Court, and the Honourable Justice Matthew Palmer as a Judge of the Court of Appeal. Justice Boldt graduated with an LLB from Victoria University of Wellington in 1990, and also holds ...
Education Minister Erica Stanford will lead the New Zealand delegation at the 2024 International Summit on the Teaching Profession (ISTP) held in Singapore. The delegation includes representatives from the Post Primary Teachers’ Association (PPTA) Te Wehengarua and the New Zealand Educational Institute (NZEI) Te Riu Roa. The summit is co-hosted ...
A stopbank upgrade project in Tairawhiti partly funded by the Government has increased flood resilience for around 7000ha of residential and horticultural land so far, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones today attended a dawn service in Gisborne to mark the end of the first stage of the ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters will represent the Government at Anzac Day commemorations on the Gallipoli Peninsula next week and engage with senior representatives of the Turkish government in Istanbul. “The Gallipoli campaign is a defining event in our history. It will be a privilege to share the occasion ...
Science, Innovation and Technology and Defence Minister Judith Collins will next week attend the OECD Science and Technology Ministerial conference in Paris and Anzac Day commemorations in Belgium. “Science, innovation and technology have a major role to play in rebuilding our economy and achieving better health, environmental and social outcomes ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon held a bilateral meeting today with the President of the Philippines, Ferdinand Marcos Jr. The Prime Minister was accompanied by MP Paulo Garcia, the first Filipino to be elected to a legislature outside the Philippines. During today’s meeting, Prime Minister Luxon and President Marcos Jr discussed opportunities to ...
The Government has announced that $20 million in funding will be made available to Westport to fund much needed flood protection around the town. This measure will significantly improve the resilience of the community, says Local Government Minister Simeon Brown. “The Westport community has already been allocated almost $3 million ...
The Government is proud to support the first ever Repco Supercars Championship event in Taupō as up to 70,000 motorsport fans attend the Taupō International Motorsport Park this weekend, says Economic Development Minister Melissa Lee. “Anticipation for the ITM Taupō Super400 is huge, with tickets and accommodation selling out weeks ...
Local Government Minister Simeon Brown has announced an increase to the Rates Rebate Scheme, putting money back into the pockets of low-income homeowners. “The coalition Government is committed to bringing down the cost of living for New Zealanders. That includes targeted support for those Kiwis who are doing things tough, such ...
The Coalition Government is investing in a project to boost survival rates of New Zealand mussels and grow the industry, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones has announced. “This project seeks to increase the resilience of our mussels and significantly boost the sector’s productivity,” Mr Jones says. “The project - ...
Benefit figures released today underscore the importance of the Government’s plan to rebuild the economy and have 50,000 fewer people on Jobseeker Support, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “Benefit numbers are still significantly higher than when National was last in government, when there was about 70,000 fewer ...
The Government’s commitment to doubling New Zealand’s renewable energy capacity is backed by new data showing that clean energy has helped the country reach its lowest annual gross emissions since 1999, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. New Zealand’s latest Greenhouse Gas Inventory (1990-2022) published today, shows gross emissions fell ...
The Government is bringing the earthquake-prone building review forward, with work to start immediately, and extending the deadline for remediations by four years, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “Our Government is focused on rebuilding the economy. A key part of our plan is to cut red tape that ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and his Thai counterpart, Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, have today agreed that New Zealand and the Kingdom of Thailand will upgrade the bilateral relationship to a Strategic Partnership by 2026. “New Zealand and Thailand have a lot to offer each other. We have a strong mutual desire to build ...
RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop and Transport Minister Simeon Brown have today announced the Coalition Government’s intention to extend port coastal permits for a further 20 years, providing port operators with certainty to continue their operations. “The introduction of the Resource Management Act in 1991 required ports to obtain coastal ...
Today’s announcement that inflation is down to 4 per cent is encouraging news for Kiwis, but there is more work to be done - underlining the importance of the Government’s plan to get the economy back on track, acting Finance Minister Chris Bishop says. “Inflation is now at 4 per ...
Refreshed health guidance released today will help parents and schools make informed decisions about whether their child needs to be in school, addressing one of the key issues affecting school attendance, says Associate Education Minister David Seymour. In recent years, consistently across all school terms, short-term illness or medical reasons ...
Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones is streamlining high-level oceans management while maintaining a focus on supporting the sector’s role in the export-led recovery of the economy. “I am working to realise the untapped potential of our fishing and aquaculture sector. To achieve that we need to be smarter with ...
Associate Agriculture Minister Mark Patterson is speaking at the International Wool Textile Organisation Congress in Adelaide, promoting New Zealand wool, and outlining the coalition Government’s support for the revitalisation the sector. "New Zealand’s wool exports reached $400 million in the year to 30 June 2023, and the coalition Government ...
The Government is making legislative changes to make it easier for new early learning services to be established, and for existing services to operate, Associate Education Minister David Seymour says. The changes involve repealing the network approval provisions that apply when someone wants to establish a new early learning service, ...
Changes to the Resource Management Act will align consenting for coal mining to other forms of mining to reduce barriers that are holding back economic development, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. “The inconsistent treatment of coal mining compared with other extractive activities is burdensome red tape that fails to acknowledge ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Meighen McCrae, Associate Professor of Strategic & Defence Studies, Australian National University American and Australian stretcher bearers working together near the front line during the Battle of Hamel in 1918.Australian War Memorial While the AUKUS alliance is new, the Australian-American partnership ...
Pōneke based peace activists staged a silent protest at the ANZAC day service to highlight New Zealand’s complicity in war and genocide, and urge the government to take concrete steps to stop the genocide in Palestine. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Magdalena M.E. Bunbury, Postdoctoral Researcher, James Cook University Burial with a horse at the Rákóczifalva site, Hungary (8th century AD).Sándor Hegedűs, Hungarian National Museum, CC BY How do we understand past societies? For centuries, our main sources of information have been ...
Amanda Thompson doesn’t really do Anzac Day. But what she does do is remember the people she knew who had a lifetime to remember stuff they didn’t really want to, because of a war they didn’t ask for. And she does make Anzac biscuits.First published in 2021.All my ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kathryn Willis, Postdoctoral Researcher, CSIRO Xavier Boulenger/Shutterstock In the two decades to 2019, global plastic production doubled. By 2040, plastic manufacturing and processing could consume as much as 20% of global oil production and use up 15% of the annual carbon ...
With our collective remembrance, and steadfast belief in our common humanity, we strengthen our hope and resolve to do what we can to foster dialogue and understanding, and to heal divisions in our pursuit of peace. ...
Principal reasons for the opposition is the loss of the public’s democratic right to have “a fair say” and the vital need for a government free from corruption, said Casey Cravens of Dunedin, president of the New Zealand Federation of Freshwater ...
Never mind the scoreboard – in the 2000 Bledisloe Cup decider, the real trans-Tasman battle was won before kickoff.First published in 2016. The dawn of the new millennium was a dark time for the All Blacks. Their final game pre-Y2K was a 22-18 loss to South Africa in the ...
I’m on the wrong side of 40, I never pursued creative work and now my job is killing my soul. Help! Want Hera’s help? Email your problem to helpme@thespinoff.co.nzDear Hera,May I start with the least original conversation opener you’re likely to hear around the motu at the moment, particularly in Wellington: ...
“Never again - No AUKUS” was the message of the wreath laid at this morning’s national ANZAC Day commemorative service at Pukeahu National War Memorial Park this morning by the Stop AUKUS group. ...
Until this month, Auckland swimmer Hazel Ouwehand had never met a qualifying time in an Olympic event for a New Zealand team, even as a junior. Now she’s very likely off to the Paris Olympics after swimming well under the qualifying standard in the 100m butterfly twice – both in ...
While Anzac Day has experienced a resurgence in recent years, our other day of remembrance has slowly faded from view.The Sunday Essay is made possible thanks to the support of Creative New Zealand. Original illustrations by Hope McConnell.First published in 2022.The high school’s head girl and ...
Australian and New Zealand volunteers fought together in the Waikato War, yet still its place in the Anzac tradition is unacknowledged by our defence forces or Returned Services Association.First published in 2018.When I was a boy cub I attended Anzac Day services in the South Auckland suburb of ...
A poem by Wellington writer Tayi Tibble.Hoki Mai She kisses him goodbye with her eyes still wet and alight from their last swim in the Awatere river. At the train station celebration, she leads the Kapa Haka but her voice keeps breaking under and over itself like waves. ...
A poem from Bill Manhire’s 2017 book of verse Some Things to Place in a Coffin.My World War I Poem Inside each trench, the sound of prayer. Inside each prayer, the sound of digging. Image courtesy of Auckland War Memorial Museum. ...
There are three books I have wolfed down in one sitting over the last two years. Colleen Maria Lenihan’s gorgeous and sad debut Kōhine, Noelle McCarthy’s memoir Grand about becoming her mother and then unbecoming her, and now Hine Toa, a staunch yet gentle self-portrait by living legend Ngāhuia te ...
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Asia Pacific Report Students and activist staff at Australia’s University of Sydney (USyd) have set up a Gaza solidarity encampment in support of Palestinians and similar student-led protests in the United States. The camp was pitched as mass graves, crippled hospitals, thousands of civilian deaths and the near-total destruction of ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By James B. Dorey, Lecturer in Biological Sciences, University of Wollongong Australian teddy bear bees are cute and fluffy, but get a look at that massive (unbarbed) stinger! James Dorey Photography Most of us have been stung by a bee and we ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jen Roberts, Senior Lecturer, School of Humanities and Social Inquiry, University of Wollongong Aussie~mobs/FlickrVictor Farr, a private in the 1st Infantry Battalion, was among the first to land at Anzac Cove just before dawn on April 25 1915. Victor Farr ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Gregory Moore, Senior Research Associate, School of Ecosystem and Forest Sciences, The University of Melbourne Gregory Moore I had the good fortune to care for the sugar gum at The University of Melbourne’s Burnley Gardens in Victoria where I worked for ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Hawkins, Senior Lecturer, Canberra School of Politics, Economics and Society, University of Canberra BagzhanSadvakassov/Upsplash, CC BY-SA Australia’s inflation rate has fallen for the fifth successive quarter, and it’s now less than half of what it was back in late 2022. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rachel Ong ViforJ, ARC Future Fellow & Professor of Economics, Curtin University Just when we think the price of rentals could not get any worse, this week’s Rental Affordability Snapshot by Anglicare has revealed low-income Australians are facing a housing crisis like ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Meighen McCrae, Associate Professor of Strategic & Defence Studies, Australian National University American and Australian stretcher bearers working together near the front line during the Battle of Hamel in 1918.Australian War Memorial While the AUKUS alliance is new, the Australian-American partnership ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tracey Holmes, Professorial Fellow in Sport, University of Canberra When the news broke last weekend that 23 Chinese swimmers had tested positive to a banned drug in early 2021 and were allowed to compete at the Tokyo Olympic Games six months later ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Cally Jetta, Senior Lecturer and Academic Lead; College for First Nations, University of Southern Queensland Australian War MemorialAboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised this article contains names and images of deceased people, as well as sensitive historical information ...
RNZ News Melissa Lee has been ousted from New Zealand’s coalition cabinet and stripped of the Media portfolio, and Penny Simmonds has lost the Disability Issues portfolio in a reshuffle. Climate Change and Revenue Minister Simon Watts will take Lee’s spot in cabinet. Simmonds was a minister outside of cabinet. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By David Lindenmayer, Professor, Fenner School of Environment and Society, Australian National University laurello/Shutterstock Some reports and popular books, such as Bill Gammage’s Biggest Estate on Earth, have argued that extensive areas of Australia’s forests were kept open through frequent burning by ...
Analysis - Christopher Luxon framing the demotion of two ministers as the portfolios getting "too complex" is a charitable way of saying they weren't up to the job. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra With Jim Chalmers’s third budget on May 14, Australians will be looking for some more cost-of-living relief – beyond the tax cuts – although they have been warned extra measures will be modest. As ...
Analysis: Melissa Lee has lost the media portfolio and her spot in Cabinet after multiple failed attempts to find solutions for a media industry in crisis. On Wednesday, the Prime Minister announced Lee would be losing her spot in Cabinet along with her media and communications ministerial portfolio. The job ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Simon Wilmot, Senior Lecturer, Film, Deakin University Among the many Australian who served during the second world war, there is a small group of people whose stories remain largely untold. These are the Muslim men and women who, while small in number, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kelly Saunders, PhD Candidate, University of Canberra There has been much analysis and praise of Justice Michael Lee’s recent judgement in Bruce Lehrmann’s defamation case against Channel Ten. Many people were openly relieved to read Lee’s “forensic” and “nuanced” application of law ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kathy Gibbs, Program Director for the Bachelor of Education, Griffith University zEdward_Indy/Shutterstock Around one in 20 people has attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). It’s one of the most common neurodevelopmental disorders in childhood and often continues into adulthood. ADHD is diagnosed ...
The Fairer Future coalition of anti-poverty groups say Whaikaha must be properly funded going forward, and that to argue that poor financial management of the new Ministry is a red herring by the Prime Minister. ...
The Taxpayers’ Union is today congratulating Hon. Paul Goldsmith on his appointment as Minister for Media and Communications and urges him to rule out state intervention in the private media sector. ...
Asia Pacific Report The West Papuan resistance OPM leader has condemned Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and US President Joe Biden, accusing their countries of “six decades of treachery” over Papuan independence. The open letter was released today by OPM chairman Jeffrey P Bomanak on the eve of ANZAC Day ...
Welcome to The Spinoff Books Confessional, in which we get to know the reading habits and quirks of New Zealanders at large. This week: writer and one of Time Magazine’s 100 most influential people of 2024, Lauren Groff.The book I wish I’d writtenIf I wish I’d written a ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By David Fechner, Research Fellow, Social Marketing, Griffith University mavo/Shutterstock Imagine having dinner at a restaurant. The menu offers plant-based meat alternatives made mostly from vegetables, mushrooms, legumes and wheat that mimic meat in taste, texture and smell. Despite being given that ...
“Three Strikes is a dead-end policy proposed by a dead-end government. The Three Strikes law ignores the causes of crime, instead just brutalising people already crushed by the cost of living.” ...
By Don Wiseman, RNZ Pacific senior journalist An Australian-born judge in Kiribati could well face deportation later this week after a tribunal ruling that he should be removed from his post. The tribunal’s report has just been tabled in the Kiribati Parliament and is due to be debated by MPs ...
With its clear mandate for police use, political nuances, and nuanced public trust, Denmark's insights provide valuable considerations for Australia and New Zealand. ...
Books editor Claire Mabey reviews poet Louise Wallace’s debut novel. A famous poet once said to me that he’s always suspicious when a poet publishes a novel. I never really understood why but maybe it’s something to do with cheating on your first form. Louise Wallace is a poet. She’s ...
For a few months at the turn of the millennium, TrueBliss burned bright as the biggest pop stars in the country. Alex Casey chats to two superfans who still hold the flame. During a humble backyard wedding in Nelson, 1999, one of the cordially invited guests had to excuse themselves ...
How will the recent wave of job cuts impact ethnic diversity in the media? In November last year, I was working a very busy day in the newsroom of a large online news site, interviewing whānau about their concerns over the imminent closure of one of the few puna reo ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ruth Knight, Researcher, Queensland University of Technology Have you ever felt sick at work? Perhaps you had food poisoning or the flu. Your belly hurt, or you felt tired, making it hard to concentrate and be productive. How likely would you be ...
Despite heavy criticism and an ongoing select committee process, the Police Minister says the Government will forge ahead with a ban on gang patches. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sam Whiting, Lecturer – Creative Industries, University of South Australia Shutterstock Everyone has a favourite band, or a favourite composer, or a favourite song. There is some music which speaks to you, deeply; and other music which might be the current ...
A new survey says ‘outlook not great’ for those charged with building infrastructure, while RMA changes delight farmers and depress environmentalists, writes Anna Rawhiti-Connell in this excerpt from The Bulletin, The Spinoff’s morning news round-up. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here. First RMA changes announced ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Olli Hellmann, Associate Professor of Political Science, University of Waikato Getty Images When New Zealanders commemorate Anzac Day on April 25, it’s not only to honour the soldiers who lost their lives in World War I and subsequent conflicts, but also ...
A leaked document shows the Canterbury/Waitaha arm of health agency Te Whatu Ora is scurrying to save $13.3 million by July. The “financial sustainability target”, which was “allocated” to Waitaha, is consistent with what’s happening in other districts, says Sarah Dalton, executive director of the Association of Salaried Medical Specialists. ...
A look at the state of the previous government’s affordable housing scheme, and what could come next.Remind me: What’s KiwiBuild again?First announced in 2012, KiwiBuild was a flagship policy of the Labour Party heading into both its 2014 and 2017 election campaigns. With Jacinda Ardern as prime minister, ...
Labour in opposition will be shocked to learn which party had six years in power but squandered any chance to make real change. Grant Robertson’s valedictory speech was a predictably entertaining trip down memory lane. The acid-tongued incoming Otago University chancellor administered a sick burn to the coalition government. He ...
Taiwan’s semiconductor industry is seen some as its ‘silicon shield’ against invasion – but how will overseas expansion affect that protection? The post The state of Taiwan’s silicon shield appeared first on Newsroom. ...
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Well this is interesting.
As I tried to point out in an earlier thread, this kind of dress code is more cultural than religious. It is not a question of ‘religious freedom’.
Nor do most Muslims either wear damn things.
I think I heard about a religious sect where the men wear some sort of bag over their heads to prevent strangers from seeing their face which would diminish their life force. Oh I have a doubt, I think it was a line by a stand up comedian.
Epsom electorate nudges, winks and open arrangements, have been called undemocratic. That’s nonsense. Parties should be free to arrange whatever they want to. Voters decide for themselves what they like and who they will vote for.
It will happen in other electorates. Maori and Mana are open about trying to arrange electorate versus party votes – and Maori electorates have been quite successful at it in past elections.
But I’m sure we will keep hearing about Epsom assaults on democracy.
Epsom electorate nudges, winks and open arrangements, have been called undemocratic. That’s nonsense. Parties should be free to arrange whatever they want to.
But SS you ignore the background. ACT once was a distinct separate proud political party albeit with really weird ideas. Then National decided that it probably would not make the 50% level of support in the election and that it needed partners.
It looked to its right and saw that ACT was on its death bed. Its leader, a supposed perk buster, had turned out to be a huge rorter of public money and its law and order spokesperson had stolen the identity of a dead baby. The party was clearly mysoginist and its deputy leader was bullied. Its newest member was and remains really weird. It was and is a bunch of hypocritical mysoginist misfits.
So National did what all good corporates do, it staged a takeover. With the help of money and paid operatives it installed its ex leader as the new leader and an ex National cabinet member as ACT’s Epsom candidate. None of the ACT members complained, self preservation does that to people without principle.
Don’t you think that the use of money and power in this way is appalling? And don’t you think that National’s setting up of a patsy party on the right to increase its own power is utterly undemocratic?
You’re making a lot of assumptions and accusations. You must have proof of all that or you wouldn’t be making the claims? Have your got legal advice on that?
Or maybe you need to see your paranoia doctor a bit more often.
Democracy is parties doing what they want, how they want, and voters making their own choices.
You’ve now gained enough points to apply for the resident Right Wing apparatchik position
Maori Party are right wing? Mana Party are right wing? The Anderton Party is right wing?
If you think Labour wouldn’t make electorate arrangements to try and give themselves a way of cobbling together a coalition you’re as nuts as micky.
Meh, point me to one electorate any where in the country where LAB is doing anything of the sort.
LAB is going to fight this election fair and is going to fight in every electorate tooth and nail.
You are full of shit and now the one making plenty of “assumptions and accusations”. Hypocritical apparatchik that you are, I knew you would be qualified for the job.
CV – if Labour could I’m sure they would, it’s just that every other party senses blood in the red water and are preying on picking up votes from the entrails. So it’s unlikely Labour has anyone willing to do deals.
Oh, so they’re all as bad as each other, Labour’s just slightly more incompetent?
SS, if everywhere you look in the world is self-centred and malevolent, perhaps you’re simply projecting a little bit?
ss I thought you had all the nuts. Are you sharing them out now.
AAaaarrrrggghhhh
PeteG you are in trolling mode.
Try googling “david garrett dead baby identity court” and see what you come up with. Then argue the accuracy of my comment.
Your posts are really spaced out this morning. Calm down and slow down.
A new definition of trolling – upsetting ms before he’s taken his meds.
What David Garret did some time last century is behind this right wing plot?
Thank you for reminding me. My little cocktail of beta blockers, aspirin, and the like nearly got forgotten this morning..
Now you were saying?
Oh dear Bludger has got his knickers in a twist over nothing yet again. Spin little squirrel spin
Squirrel
What David Garret did some time last century is behind this right wing plot?
Ah so you can google. Care then to reconcile my comment about him with your comment
You’re making a lot of assumptions and accusations. You must have proof of all that or you wouldn’t be making the claims?
Sure do. So is what I said about Garret correct or not? If it is correct then identify what other statements I made that are incorrect.
Go on …
You’re spaced out again.
Not according to Garrett:
http://www.kiwiblog.co.nz/2011/07/general_debate_21_july_2011.html#comment-854525
I’m well aware of Garrett’s passport stuff. It doesn’t mean he is printing money to fund National operatives to take over the party he belongs to.
You are such a crack up squirrel. Tell me do you actually think that anything you say is true or are you just on one big piss take?
Performance art?
You’re the one making bizarre accusations.
And yes, taking the micky isn’t very difficult.
Telling the truth about bizarre people and events is not the same thing as making bizarre accusations.
What is it that mickey wrote that you think is a bizarre accusation?
Have you been living in a cave for the last couple of years?
Go on SS point out one mistake, just one, any one will do.
Your first two paragraphs, allowing for a bit of dramatic license, are in the ball park.
“None of the ACT members complained”
That’s wrong. I saw Act members complaining plenty.
The rest, unless you have any proof of it, I don’t buy, sounds most like a desperate conspiracy theory. And I think if you had any proof you wouldn’t just be bouncing it around this blog, where frequent and excessive over the top claims render it’s credibility very suspect. I’ve seen enough here to be very skeptical of anything that has no proof.
Why don’t you get some legal help, put together a demonstrable accusation, and go to the media with it? If it’s as you claim it could be a big story. But parties can, within the law, operate as they want to.
What brand of Kronik do you smoke?
“None of the ACT members complained”
You are right. I should have said that none of the ACT MPs complained. I am glad that you acknowledged that the first part which was most of what I said was correct.
And the rest? Well google Simon Lusk and see what you come up with. And you should realise that information concerning Simon has come from unusual sources. Just ask Trevor.
Legal help? Nah I am fine thank you. But thinks for caring …
What, is ACT about to recycle another has been old white guy?
It’s not a mode.
They can use the old dog whistle Brash to soften nationals image but without this big majority they,ve been cruising toward it could back fire . and the soft middle could dessert them
On a side note i was thinking this yesterday; are the maori wards detrimental to having truly democratic representation in parliament?
Bear with me on this one….
OK, take the following three mainstream electorates – Rotorua, WBOP and East Coast.
Rotorua was Steve Chadwick’s after a long time as a Nat (Max Bradford) seat. It takes in the very deprived Kawerau and Kaingaroa Village, where people are predominantly Maori and are on the maori roll. In the last election Rotorua ended up with the awful waste of space Todd McClay. Needless to say he has done nothing for those communities, so by having an electorate MP (main roll) who is primarily voted in by white middle class Maori shoot themselves in the foot by being on the Maori roll.
Places like Te Puke end up with Ryall and the East Coast Tolley – both areas which have big Maori populations. Makes you think.
Obvvously you never saw Jim Anderton “party” as anything underhand then?
Seems a severe case of pots calling kettles black.
You’ll need to explain how they’re similar examples.
Jim won his seat when he was a member of the Labour Party.
When he left the party he continued to win the seat.
Who ever had to step aside for him to get into parliament?
The big Labour names contesting Wigram to compete head on with Anderton:
2008 Erin Ebborn-Gillespie – third on 15.15% (Labour 40.19%)
2005 Paul Chalmers – third on 19.12% (Labour 47.95%)
2002 Mika Mora – 2nd on 26% (Labour 45%)
Labour got the help of two Progressive seats in 2002, just Anderton since then.
The Labour candidate this year is Megan Woods, ranked 47th on Labour’s list.
You think Labour could take the seat off Anderton?
By running who, exactly?
Whereas National could take Epsom back any time they like.
ps not that I think Labour do want to, or even that they should.
As you say, parties can make whatever arrangements they like and people can vote accordingly. I also believe that if parties try to make arrangements to provide outcomes not favoured by the electorate in question, they’ll be punished on polling day.
However if you’re suggesting that Anderton – who has won and held the same seat under two different electoral systems and at least three different political parties – is somehow not the genuinely preferred representative of the voters of Wigram…
…or that his situation is analogous to ACT, who only exist in parliament because National step aside for them…
…then you’re Pete George.
Anderton most likely would have won Wigram from a strong Labour challenge – but we’ll never know because it never happened. It was convenient for Labour to just leave it to Anderton.
And in another handy arrangement, Anderton retires and hands Wigram to Labour.
“I will be throwing my support firmly behind Labour’s Megan Woods in my current seat of Wigram.”
http://www.progressive.org.nz/latestnews/files/7edbf6342cc3ae907fc7a04d1bb0598a-187.html
Then I guess you can’t paint Megan as a no-hope patsy candidate anymore, seeing as you think the voters of Wigram are going to welcome her to represent them.
She can’t be both.
Rather inconvenient for your conspiracy theory about the previous Labour candidates too.
Which means you still haven’t explained how Anderton and ACT are analogous, seeing as how ACT only exist because National step aside for them whereas Jim has been continuously selected by his electorate since 1984.
And according to you, he’s so popular in Wigram that whoever he anoints will be the next MP, despite them being a low-ranked no-hope patsy earlier this morning.
S.S. thinks Wigram is equivalent to the situation where we saw Rodney Hide “resign” from Epsom to retire after many long years of service, gracefully “handing over” the electorate (and the party) to Brash and Banks.
Don’t you mate.
Don’t be so dopey, you get a bit carried away with your bullshit expansions.
Epsom and Wigram are quite different – but they are both examples of one party accommodating another for mutual benefits.
“you get a bit carried away with your bullshit expansions”
Instead of just replying to my comment with venom and repetition, how about showing why it’s factually inaccurate. ‘Cos you haven’t yet.
Anderton most likely would have won Wigram from a strong Labour challenge
Bullshit. There have been a series of good candidates in that electorate who have never made much traction against a competent incumbent MP. Electorates will tend to support an incumbent local MP over multiple elections if they work the electorate. Look at Peter Dunne (how many years has he been fighting off both Labour and National after that seat?) or Winston Peters (until he annoyed his electorate).
But that is quite different to Epsom where the only thing that has been keeping a Act MP in there was complicity from National with a series of useless candidates.
Anderton retires and hands Wigram to Labour.
You mean because the Progressives decided to drop their party?
But I guess you prefer your dumbass explanations that have bugger all to do with reality..
“bugger all to do with reality”
I thought for a minute you were revealing Labour’s new election slogan.
I just looked at your list of the past three candidates for the seat from Labour. Personally I don’t bother with much of the politics or the people. But two of them are pretty damn high profile inside Labour that I know (and I ignore most people). One is a political operator and not someone you’d waste in a seat as a candidate if you could use them as a campaign organizer.
What your statements do reveal is that your comments are the result of self-obsessed politics. Long on self-congratulation at getting imaginary results, short on analysis of technique because no-one else assists, and with a complete lack of appreciation of the advantages of practice in the real world over navel gazing.
Or in short – the splattered excreta of a political wanker…
“Long on self-congratulation”
I’m tempted to comment on that, but best left as it is.
Felix “Whereas National could take Epsom back any time they like.”
National already have.
Good point.
So Act may agree to stand down in National marginals
On the face of it this may seem like gaming the system to assist NAct in gaining extra seats.
However, this ignores the fact that under MMP it’s the party vote that determines the make-up of Parliament – not the number of Electorate seats. Act standing down in marginals does nothing to increase the total NAct party vote – in fact quite the contrary it may well decrease that total vote for the following reasons:
1) No Act canditate in some electorates to campaign for them
2) Soft National and undecided voters not liking the game playing and somewhat too cosy relationship with Act.
3) Hard right Act voters being hacked off for them being too cosy with National.
4) Draw out more of the centre left vote in those marginals to keep NAct out
Of course under FPP this sort of game-playing would work so it seems NAct have just highlighted another very good reason for keeping MMP.
Yes, I agree that using MMP (“game playing” it) is a good reason to keep MMP, there are more party and voter options.
I wrote
i.e. under MMP it does not work
As usual the squirrel choses (or refuses) to read what was written before comitting nonsense to keyboard. Perhaps you’ll be able to throw in a few irrelevant links as well, as you did the other day when debating? English’s crap numbers.
Yes, in the electoral calculus, this move ultimately hurts their total seat majority.
The total party vote determines the number of seats you get in parliament, and both Labour and National always get multiple list votes to top up their electorate winnings. Purely in terms of seats, winning more electorates for Labour or National just means fewer list members.
Act need to do everything possible to increase their party vote, especially when they’re under the 5% threshold, as it effectively goes towards creating an overhang (in their favour) in parliament. Standing people in marginal electorates may cause National to lose them (which doesn’t ultimately affect their seat total one jot), but it would also have the effect of increasing Act’s profile and hopefully gaining them more party votes than they would otherwise. Party votes are what Act needs, so having them not stand in these electorates ultimately isn’t in their best interests, except where they can make deals over it (Brash gets a good ministerial position, instead of just a lame associate one, for example).
Israeli spies – call me cynical, is this a manufactured Key diversion, takes the debate well away from economics, cost of living and CGT and focuses on him in the US as our great I can fix everything leader? maybe we should let this drop and bring the debate back to real issues.
Inorth – It is intriguing (literally) though isn’t it, this thing about the Israeli travellers. Radionz talked to the father of a young man who lost his life. The father must be well off with lots of contacts and pull if he could find a group of experts to drop their business so they could travel here on his behalf, and who paid their travel and accommodation bill? Did he or they pay out of their huge bank accounts and the goodness of their hearts? It seemed necessary he said as we appeared slow and incompetent compared to other countries.
I guess Israelis are used now to getting things their own way. Their leader goes to the United States and addresses a large group which gives him a standing ovation. I wonder whether ours will get a few smiles and nods. This link gives a youtube video of his 24 May 2011 speech to congress and you can see the sycophantic response to his every remark. Then when you’re tired of the repetition of hand clapping you can read the transcript below.
USA and Israel
can you imagine how long it would take Key to say that speech
“I speak (looks down, reads, looks up) on behalf of the (looks down, reads, looks up) Jewish people and (looks down, reads, looks up) the Jewish state (looks down, reads, looks up) when I say to you”
“I’m akshully speaking for behalf the Jew, people and the state, vis a vis I’m having said that I say it to you. I love lamp.”
Can’t agree Ianupnorth. To manufacture a spy scandal as a diversion would be fraught with problems. To start with, your intelligence and defence agencies would cease to trust you with information. Anyway, his initial response suggests he was taken by surprise and tried to wriggle out by using his stock answer “it’s not in the National Interest for me to comment”. What he means of course is that it’s not in his interest to comment. 😉
I am not saying it’s necessarily made up, just handy and convenient to deflect the press from the inflation figures and assets sales.
Either way, Anne’s analysis stands. It’s not the kind of distraction that’s helpful to Key whether he instigates it or not, there’s just too many ways he can come out of it looking bad. Too risky.
The distractions Key likes are all about him winning and laughing, not about him being connected in any way to the murky world of espionage.
CitRats (National) councillor and all-round tory fuckwit George Wood has a solution to Auckland’s housing problem:
Trailer parks.
Not even kidding. http://podcast.radionz.co.nz/mnr/mnr-20110721-0726-councillor_offers_trailer_parks_as_solution_to_housing_shortage-048.mp3
That’s the tory vision in a nutshell: Them living in luxury and the rest of us in fucking trailer parks.
These dinosaur elitists have to go.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/world/rupert-murdoch/5318708/News-Corp-structure-questioned
‘In a three-hour hearing, committee member Adrian Sanders invoked the 2001 collapse of Enron, asking whether the Murdochs were familiar with the term ”wilful ignorance”. ”It states that if there is knowledge that you could have had and should have had but chose not to have, you are still responsible,” he said.’
Is John Key guilty of ‘wilful ignorance’ in that as a moneytrader working in America with a spider’s web of networks that he continued to return to visit during his latest sojourn to New Zealand, he never warned New Zealanders that there was a huge financial collapse that would endanger New Zealand fiscally, because if he didn’t know then his credibility as a financial whizz is shot to hell. He’s back there now getting his latest instructions and selling off New Zealand’s sovereignty with his rush to push the TPPA through.
No wonder he and his mates tried to bully Labour into giving tax cuts and thereby seeking to make our financial position suicidal instead of just uncomfortable.
No wonder the business fraternity under his guidance and Phil O’Reilly’s spin, sought to sack workers (bringing some back at lower wages and no benefits) soon after winning the election and reducing workers’ rights to fair treatment.
Their current plan to sell off assets New Zealanders already own to foreignors or rich business interests would have carried even less weight than it does now. They could only seek to do that by refusing to fund coach building in New Zealand by New Zealanders because that would empower Kiwis. They could only seek to do that by making New Zealanders poorer or insecure.
Apply this thinking to many of this government’s ridiculous and disloyal decisions and you will begin to understand their reasoning.
Key is America’s man, not ours.
He is not worthy of New Zealanders’ trust. After this election if he gets back in, New Zealand is gone.
After reading this http://www.thefirstpost.co.uk/81961,people,news,jk-rowlings-multi-million-harry-potter-thank-you I was thinking maybe Mr. Key is expecting the same from Warners after The Hobbit comes out?
I agreed with Banks this morning, he said the country was flat broke. Someone from the right is finally telling the truth.
Historical quote….
For more common sense from nearly 200 years ago see http://www.robert-owen.com/extracts.html
He forgot to mention a fourth way….when the worker is denied a cycleway despite the promises of his political masters.
Very good 🙂
Amazing to think someone 200 years ago actually had a clue and actually wanted to help better people, especially the most disadvantaged.
Thursday 21 July 2011
Some questions about media “coverage” of the Israeli spy story
1.) Why was the Israeli spy story only on Page 2 of the New Zealand Herald this morning?
2.) Why did both TV1 and TV3 reporters (including even the normally excellent Patrick Gower) both refer to Israel by the erroneous black propaganda term “the Jewish state”?
3.) Why did TV1 and TV3 autocue readers both say “the Jewish community” is “outraged” by the New Zealand police committing these “attacks” on Israel?
4.) Why did both TV1 and TV3 autocue readers both quote and show inflammatory, absurd headlines from the extreme right-wing Jerusalem Post and not report or show anything from the liberal and internationally respected Haaretz?
5.) Why did neither TV1’s CloseUp nor TV3’s Campbell Live spend even one second on this story tonight?
6.) Could NewstalkZB have found three more grossly biased or lamentably ill-informed people to discuss this scandal than Larry Williams, Bill Ralston and Jock Anderson?
Love Max and Stacey:
Max: ‘… Marx predicted capitalists would sell themselves the noose to hang themselves’
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jXNNvPivAWs
Interesting interview about Bitcoin.
Can’t watch Keiser – his voice grates like fingernails across a blackboard.
LOL. That guy (Keiser) needs to be head of Treasury
I think a day a week will get the job done just fine. (Don’t know what the hell all those neoliberal office rats are doing there now Mon-Fri except no good)
Is it just me or do they both look really high?
It was excellent to see Justice being intelligent; yes, there was nothing to stop Hannah Tamaki from pursuing a presidency over the Maori Women’s Welfare League but don’t bother to use the votes from the ten ring in groups.
Destiny are nothing if not cunning. The canny Maori Women’s Welfare League are nothing if not caring of all their people. I hope they get what they want, not what agenda Brian Tamaki wants.
Bill nutshells it again:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qvUkYueexEc