“..could you please detail/specify for us what you would do in your first one hundred days as prime minister..
..to address the open sores of poverty and inequality…
..what will you do for the poorest..?
Reply
David Parker 2.1
19 October 2014 at 2:44 pm
Issues that I believe we urgently need to address include affordable housing. We’d kick off with building more homes, and enforcing a healthy homes warrant of fitness.
We need to lift incomes. By the time of the next election, I want people when they hear “Labour” to think higher wages. Wages lifted immediately for the lower paid via minimum wage. Wage increases for others via better labour laws and a strongr economy investing in productive jobs rather than speculation.
Incomes for the poorest families need the likes of the Best Start package. Shamefully, the Nats equivalent deliberately excludes kids in beneficiary’s homes..”
you will note that the question is only addressed in the final couple of lines..
..where the best start for newborns is mentioned..but that is it..eh..?
..but it is the final line that has been doing my head in..
..seeing as parker was part of the labour govt that ‘excluded’ the poorest families from ‘working for (some) families’…him accusing national of ‘exclusion’ is beyond fucken black-irony..
..but wait..there’s more..!..parker is on record as attempting to blame the 2011 policy of including the poorest families in ‘w.f.(s).f.by 2018..(!)..(seven yrs/two elections after 2011)..
..as a major reason for labour losing that election..
..(and therefor reason to ditch that ‘future’-promise..)
..so 2014 didn’t even have that..all parker/labour 2014 offered to do for the poorest families was s.f.a…
..(which left us with once again..the beyond black-irony situation of the far-right conservative party..with their first 20 grand tax free policy..
..actually offering more to those most in need..than the labour party..
..which i repeat…was offering s.f.a…
..it is clear from parkers’ non-answer to my straightforward question..that his answer to my question should have been short and sharp:..
“..’we will do s.f.a for the poorest families’….because that is what his answer actually said..”
No he didn’t, he wrote
Address include affordable housing.
Build more homes.
Healthy homes warrant of fitness.
Wages lifted immediately for the lower paid via minimum wage.
Wage increases for others via better labour laws and a stronger economy investing in productive jobs rather than speculation.
Best Start package.
Thanks for spending the time to decipher phil’s dribble. I looked at it, thought he might possibly be saying something interesting this time, but couldn’t be bothered trying to read his mess.
Turns out it was the usual mis-representation of reality (and English) that phil specialises in.
personally, I routinely skip anything by pu unless subsequent comments catch my eye in the scroll-down.
And even then I still skip his intial unintelligible diatribes and simply flip through the tit-for-tats afterwards. Sometimes The Al1en can be quite funny, and pu is often Cartman-esque in his indestructible ego 🙂
I’ve found that once it gets over a couple of hundred comments, I have to skip much of a thread. Filtering out the whackos and known tory-lying-swine (unless I feel like a joust) tends to reduce the larger threads’ content into a couple of interesting discussions between about a dozen commenters.
see, that sort of shit is too garbled to bother reading. The first sentence was at least in context, but the change bit was just random. So I stopeed reading.
Much of it is the visual composition, but there’s also a strong indication that what actually gets written is only a portion of the content that he reads off the backs of his eyelids. There might be a well-developed link between not bothering to read his deliberately uncommunicative scrawl (A) and a general aversion to change (Z), but he never bothered to link A to Z. The result feels a bit like trying to read heiroglyphs that have been eroded and fractured over time.
And it’s not like sitting down and focusing intently on the content has revealed any great insight to be cherished, so I tend to think “why bother?”. I put as much effort into understanding his comments as he puts into making them understandable.
I had already suspected that your desire for obscurity from other’s eyes is merely a dramatic overcompensation for (what you believe to be) your brilliance.
I don’t reply half as much as I could, which considering the amount of rubbish posted already is probably a good thing. The fact that Philip’s opinions rants and musings are mostly ignored and not debated is telling, proving just because you shout the loudest doesn’t mean you’re being heard.
And believing the quality over quantity rule I self moderate. I don’t always get it right, but sometimes seeing the worst has merit, like so you know the good stuff when/if it comes.
So never say never and write pu off, ’cause just like living in nat NZ, there’s always hope even in the darkest places.
Maybe I should have written the comments ‘don’t find wide acceptance and consensus’ instead of ignored seeing it’s what I meant.
And Sir Spamalot (Can’t strikethrough the text) Sir Quornalot doesn’t really debate, it’s more smear and resist alternative views at all cost, and yes, there’s plenty of that.
Looks like a classic case of saving a town by wiping big chunks of it out.
Anyways, the War Nerd says that the USA was not serious about stopping ISIS until a couple of weeks ago. Before that the USA was simply waiting for Kobani to fall. But the YPG fighters proved very effective.
That looks like the Kurds got rid of ISIL and only after that did O’Bomber decide to unleash the bombs. What we see in those pictures are the Kurdish defenders being bombed. The whole intervention there is just sick. The bombings and strafings in open desert are largely ineffective, but bombing the only force that has stood up to ISIL will do some real damage. Sucks to be socialists and progressive on women’s issues when the US and A is intent on imposing freedom for women, doesn’t it?
Medical Officer of Health Canterbury on Nat Rad this morning. New upper levels for nitrates in ground water in Selwyn District are too close to maximum safe levels for drinking water. Nitrates, from intensification of dairying, take a long time to accumulate and to reduce. Intensification has been rapid and will continue to be rapid.
It is our tragedy as a society that those he seeks to warn understand only money.
Just had my nitrate levels back from the first aquifer monitoring bore. They were so low that ECAN did a second test – which confirmed the very low reading.
@ grumpy 10.06 am
Are your nitrate levels relevant to the previous comment? If so it’s nice to hear.
What is your situation, have you been doing riparian planting? What is your situation, high up river or down the bottom? If you aren’t in the area of the comment where are you, and why is it good to hear for you?
News this morning that a submarine has been spotted in Swedish waters.A hazy image of a sub and speculation it is Soviet and a rerun of the Cold War is imminent.The Dutch have confirmed they have a sub operating in the area.The Mainstream media have become so tedious that its an ordeal to listen or read it these days.
I was playing around with a different system for providing graphics system last night. It is probably just the image caching ‘refilling’ after I switched it back.
Looks like they are there for me now. Try Ctrl + Refresh or Ctrl + F5 on that page to force a reload of everything.
The solution for Labour?
“The country is in desperate need of a counter narrative that shifts the terms of debate. A government budget should be understood not just in terms of bookkeeping but also of demand management, national cohesion and productivity growth. Jobs and wages should not be seen simply as a matter of people being “worth” (or not) what they get, but of better utilising human potential and of providing decent and dignified livelihoods. Ways have to be found to generate economic growth based on rising productivity rather than the continuous blowing of asset bubbles.”
Linked nearby to that Guardian article is another closely related one:
As Andy Haldane, chief economist at the Bank of England, noted in a speech last week, real wages (wages adjusted for inflation) have fallen by around 10% from their pre-recession peak. This represents a fall in living standards that is unprecedented since the middle of the 19th century.
Or maybe it’s not the oligarchies fault as such. Maybe there is not so much a big conspiracy to cut living standards – as much as the simple reality that regardless of how many dollars they print, there are not the resources to redeem them. So maybe the rich are doing us all a favour by hoarding useless money that would only cause more harm if all of us ordinary people tried to spend it.
That maybe the work most ordinary people do simply isn’t worth that much anymore, that either automation does it better or the total marginal utility of what we are doing is either zero or negative.
That maybe falling living standards are simply a symptom of the fact that we have exceeded the capacity of the planet to carry us.
I see the sense in what you are saying and there is an element of truth to it: the deliberate rationing of scarce resources where the 0.1% have no effective limits but the bottom 80% are highly constrained.
Having said that however, a power elite acting to keep the class of commoners just slightly above the point of subsistence/starvation is not a new or novel tactic of social control.
That maybe the work most ordinary people do simply isn’t worth that much anymore, that either automation does it better or the total marginal utility of what we are doing is either zero or negative.
so automation does a job better and faster than workers can do, fine. However, that economic value is still be created – and instead of it going to help run society as a whole, it is being concentrated in the hands of a very few owners.
But what it does highlight is that there is no possibility of asking the 80% to live within the means of the planet – while the other 20% consume far more.
And I think we are on much the same wavelength with automation and tech. I see enormous potential for low-energy, bio-mimicry tech to completely re-shape the economic world.
For instance the PC I’m typing this on is an Intel i5 Quad Core NUC that has heaps of processing power – yet only draws about 2-3W most of the time. (Yeah the screen is the biggest power hog at about 20W). Technology does not always have to be a problem; it takes the shapes we want it to have.
The old energy-hungry industrial systems will soon die out – and either humans rapidly transform their energy and resource consumption along with the social systems that distribute their capital , or we will start heading even more steeply down Greer’s Long Descent.
It’s an enormous challenge. Greer thinks it’s unlikely we will meet it and it’s hard to argue with him. It’s a pattern we’ve repeated unthinkingly so many times in our past.
Yet this time might be different; if only because so many of us can see it coming. That’s the crucial link in the chain – we have to stop discounting our future against our present consumption.
Sometimes I think it would be a good idea to compel anyone who thinks of standing for public office, public service, or even C-level corporate jobs to go on a very long tramp. Six months of facing reality in the wilderness (or as near as we get it these days) might just trigger a change in values.
Inequality has not been good for the planet’s resources, it has involved greater depletion.
Characterising inequality as effectively rationing the world’s resources (as CV does) is false, because goods and services are not priced to reflect their true cost because of the economic system of exploitation.
If labour was priced properly, widgets would be made to last longer. Notice how planned obsolescence really picked up in the 70s, 80s, and 90s, just as jobs and capital moved to cheaper locations offshore?
And there’s more tangential links; if people had more time, energy and money, they would eat less processed food. Processed food strains the environment, and increases demand on the health system.
Another example could be the extremely cheap air travel around Europe.
The Spirit Level had something to say about greater equality engendering more care for the environment, and less focus on status and consumption.
Characterising inequality as effectively rationing the world’s resources (as CV does) is false, because goods and services are not priced to reflect their true cost because of the economic system of exploitation.
Do you mean exploitation of labour – or resources? In the next para you talk about labour, but the problem is that in planet of 7.5b people and automation – labour has become almost worthless.
While resources are finite and increasingly scarce, money is really nothing more than a claim on future resources. Paying people more really does not solve that problem at all.
The Spirit Level had something to say about greater equality engendering more care for the environment, and less focus on status and consumption.
Which is an excellent point – but how many people have considered that equality may means all of us much more constrained lives than we in the rich countries are accustomed to?
You overstate automation. Labour is not ‘almost worthless’. If it was, why would Western manufacturers set up factories offshore? Wouldn’t it be easier to produce good at home, without the geopolitical risk of offshoring?
A bigger factor than automation (so far, anyway) in wages and wealth concentration was the huge expansion in the worker pool caused by globalisation and lack of labour protection.
As an automation engineer I’m probably more conscious of the impact of technology than most. Since 1980 technology has more than tripled labour productivity in most industries. When was the last time you saw a typing pool?
So far most of the jobs we have automated out of existence have been the repetitive or low-skilled tasks. But that is all about to change. The next wave will replace more than 98% of all jobs as we currently know them. Within a generation.
And yes the vast expansion of the exploitable labour pool globally has been important too. But we ain’t seen nothing yet.
An economy which does not need workers, where vast profits and surplus are available only to a few. (For a little while).
Of course this model is already failing now, with Wal Mart and McDonalds in the US complaining that people are becoming too poor to buy their products.
Will it be an economy predicated on making and selling Maseratis and diamond encrusted iPhone cases?
Corporates are by their nature able to operate at a global scope, while democratic accountability (limited as it is) remains constrained to the nation state.
The NZLP could elect a cross between Karl Marx and Jesus Christ for a leader – and it would make no difference to the real challenges facing ordinary New Zealanders because all the big problems of the world are global in nature.
Yet ironically enough John Key’s govt. can slide along happily looking after the interests of the globalised corporates, and probably gets more done for that reason.
So why are there no equivalent networks on the left? Where are our intellectual and social connections outside of this very small country?
Or did we somehow allow the Tories to define the boundaries of left-wing politics to be confined to the nation-state? While they themselves covertly took full advantage of the wealth, prestige and influence of a globalised, corporatised world?
Maybe living outside of NZ for a short while has changed my perspective somewhat.
There needs to be an honest discussion about the future of work, and the impact of automation on many jobs (although I don’t think it will wipe out more than 98% of all jobs as we currently know them).
But it’s your claim that wealth inequality (of which automation is one driver) may be beneficial because it helps to save the world’s resources that I find highly dubious.
@Red Logix Formes 8.52pm
Actually if people can have a different mindset on acquiring things, they would have an easier life, with more satisfaction, and a feeling of more freedom. Buying less would leave more to pay off their house, still have quality appliances, and not work so hard.
Work constrains people and their are many working for a psychopathic managerial type. If you don’t need money desperately because you have over-reached yourself, you know that you can maintain yourself if you finally have to confront someone who is riding you in an unreasonable way.
It would be good if people could realise how to cut their aspirations a little. And then they could support some project, organisation that puts back into society some of what has gone missing.
And you can spend time with your children, who are riches to their family as are gold and precious stones from mining. People haven’t had to slave in a physical sense to have their children to form their family, yet the children are much more complex and wonderful than any wealth from the ground. Time, thought and loving words given and received at the appropriate time can result in happy children with the parental role modelling giving their own mind strength to handle the uncertain futures of the human being. This is bigger by far to achieve, than most outcomes from formal work.
‘While resources are finite and increasingly scarce, money is really nothing more than a claim on future resources. Paying people more really does not solve that problem at all.’
This is an over simplification, and perhaps I haven’t explained my point clearly. The example I used in my first comment involved the link between planned obsolescence, inequality, and globalisation.
It’s not about simply paying people more.
With greater labour protection, higher wages, less wealth concentration/inequality, we would use resources more sparingly. For one thing, planned obsolescence would make less sense financially.
Resulting health and social benefits would allow people to be a little more creative and resourceful, and find ways to enjoy their lives while consuming less.
I think we are saying much the same thing – but I suspect few people have truly grasped the magnitude of the changes in resource consumption that are coming down the track at us.
We really have only two choices – a dramatic adaptation of our entire social and economic structure to harness science and technology to optimise and adapt the best we can to a very different world; or the usual descent into another Dark Age.
The former is within our knowledge and ability to achieve. But our delusions and vanities make the latter a far more likely outcome.
CBS NewsOctober 20, 2014, 7:00 AM
U.S. veteran joins ground war against ISIS
The Kurds are out-gunned and out-manned, but Williams discovered that one of the fighters who has joined their ranks is an American volunteer.
“I figured if I came over here more Americans and other people from other countries would come here,” Jeremy Woodard, a security guard from Meridian, Mississippi, told Williams.
Woodard served with the U.S. military until 2012, having seen tours in both Iraq and Afghanistan.
A month ago, after he was angered by news reports about atrocities committed by ISIS, he paid his own way to Turkey and was smuggled into the war zone.
“I can’t really understand them, but sign language is everything,” he said of working with his new comrades. Woodard told CBS News he’s been involved in several battles against ISIS, including one close to Syria’s border with Iraq that he said raged for 24 hours.
“I’ve killed two, in my first battle in Jezaa, and that’s it so far,” he told Williams. “Hopefully my numbers will go up. I never thought I’d be over in Syria killing people, but they’ve killed innocent people.”………………Woodard told us he’s not the only American fighting with the Kurdish militia members against ISIS in Syria. He said he knows of two others, and has heard there may be several more.
Hamilton
Thursday 30 October, Midday
Garden Place
Funeral : Death of the Common Good: Pensioner Housing
The number of pensioner houses in Hamilton is significantly lower than the majority of regional councils. At a time when the number of pensioners are expected to rapidly rise for the next thirty years, we might have expected local government to be investing in a significant increase in pensioner housing.
This is NOT the case in Hamilton.
Hamilton is governed by one of the most right wing councils in New Zealand. So far right that it would make Whyte and Seymour seem like communists. Hamilton can show the rest of New Zealand where local government can end up if the right’s “hidden agenda” is allowed to progress. Why Hamilton should be blessed with such an obnoxious bunch on Council is a mystery.
Two years ago the sale of pensioner houses began. About 50 were sold in a firesale, raising about 3.5 million dollars. The majority on the open market, but the council likes to refer to their sale of a dozen of these houses (also sold at firesale rates) to Habitat for Humanity/Crosslight trust. The justification was that maintenance was urgently required on all the housing stock, and the proceeds would be used to upgrade the rest of the housing stock.
This was a lie.
The money has been left idle in a bank account, now tagged as the base for the mayor’s (Julie Hardaker) “legacy fund” so that she can be remembered for beautifying the Waikato River as it meanders through Hamilton.
None of this money has been spent on maintenance on pensioner housing.
But wait. There’s MORE. The current council plans are much worse
Hamilton City Council are planning to sell their entire stock of pensioner housing 🙁
The City Council say this is a Government responsibility. Government say that pensioner housing is a regional responsibility. Pensioners requiring housing are in the middle, with an increasing number of them facing the prospect of living in the backs of cars and under canvas presumably.
The City Council will say that this is not true. They will be selling them to wonderful social service organisations who will be able to do a better job. (They will say little about the whole purpose of this is to fund Julie Hardaker’s legacy fund of beautifying the Waikato River)
But let us analyse the sale. The sale of Hamilton’s 344 pensioner houses will be another firesale
The exact amount that these will be sold for is unknown. The units have a book value of about $70000 each (on average) (Seems to me that this figure is substantially lower than current real estate market values, and is little more, or possibly less than land value)
Council discussion papers refer to an approximate “discounted” rate of $43000 each. (on average) But rumours are that a deal has already been worked out between closed doors (presumably while PR spin is being worked out) and the 344 units will be sold for a as a gift at $30000 each (on average)
These proposals are outrageous. And absolute fiscal irresponsibility
How many New Zealanders are aware that a major City in out country could be so heartless?
And who will be the recipients of this gift? The recipients should be named and shamed. The Catholic organisation St Vincent de Paul; Habitat for Humanity
Of course they are interested. It’s a gift. But if these organisations had any sort of heart they would use their money to build additional required pensioner houses. If they use their money to purchase this stock, the chances of anybody extending pensioner housing schemes in Hamilton are almost zero. The Council will not do it. Who will?
These proposals are outrageous. A moral outrage
And a few questions:
Question 1
Is there any connection between Hamilton Councillor O’Leary working with St Vincent de Paul, and back room deals being worked out with St Vincent de Paul? Is this a conflict of interest?
Question 2
How does Councillor King get off going off overseas being a nice guy building a house for Habitat for Humanity, while at home he willingly gets rid of 344 homes for the humanity of Waikato citizens?
Question 3
If the majority of these pensioner houses were actually gifted to Council, have the Council studied all the trust deeds of these gifts?
Question 4
How can Hamilton City Council claim that the St Vincent de Paul Society and Habitat for Humanity are all about those organisations being a “better landlord”? They are in this game solely because they have been gifted a major investment opportunity.
Question 5
How can the Hamilton City Council consider improvements to the city design and landscaping of the Waikato River (Julie Hardaker’s legacy project) be of greater value than the ownership of 344 pensioner units for Hamilton?
Question 6
Why are surrounding councils such as Waipa, gearing up to provide more pensioner housing, while Hamilton is going out of such a responsibility for it’s citizens?
Question 7
Have the Hamilton City Council studied all the proposals that other councils have considered in their areas, to maintain Pensioner housing? I understand that Christchurch is studying alternatives, that do not involve simply getting rid of them all.
Question 8
How are Hamilton City Council going to PR this sale to the public? The left are against the sale because it is a moral outrage. Many on the right are against the sale because it is fiscally irresponsible. Who will be the winners? Julie Hardaker will be able to finance her “legacy” Waikato River landscape propsals. The far far right will be happy, simply because they are loons.
Question 9
For Hamilton ratepayers. Submissions on this topic are required by Council by the end of the month. It’s important that these are received. Even though the sale has already been unofficially been approved behind closed doors, and will be announced before Christmas. Will you please make a submission?
Question 10
For Waikato residents. WIll you be able to attend the Funeral : Death of the Common Good: Pensioner Housing at Hamilton Garden Place on Thursday 30 October?
Silly question boldsirbrian, you do understand when people go down a certain economic path they limit their options? Especially, within the realms of liberalism. Liberalism, has many faults, but the worst in my perspective – is when it is the dominant ideology – it can’t but act in an ideological manner. Orwell when he wrote 1984, was not just criticizing communism – he wrote it as a warning of liberalism as well.
In an attempt to understand what is good or bad in your perspective, (and regardless of academic discussions concerning liberalism and communism), what do you think about proposals of any New Zealand regional government to sell off all their pensioner housing stock?
““The Internet Party failed to deliver meaningful change in New Zealand at the last election because of the media spin by our opponents,” Dotcom says.
“They have successfully turned me into a villain, a German Nazi, a horrible employer, a political hacker, a practitioner of prohibited digital voodoo magic and nothing short of a monster. I would hate that guy too if I didn’t know that it wasn’t true.”…
“When you have the US Government, the NZ Government, all Hollywood studios and all major record labels fighting against you, you don’t have a lot of friends, especially in the media,” Dotcom says.
“They either own the media (like in the US) or control the media with their significant advertising spending. Their passion to destroy me and everything I do, because of a copyright disagreement, is almost as fanatical as some of the religious extremism I see on TV.”
imo…Monopoly Corporate Capitalism from USA in action….expect more of this if the TPPA is signed
I suggest Mr Dotcom didn’t help his own cause and reputation:
1 Villian. Has criminal convictions relating to money laundering and fraud.
2 [deleted] Is of German heritage, admits to owning a copy of Mein Kamf (Also apparently owns a fair amount of Nazi memorabilia.)
3 Bad Employer. Plenty of ex employees who testified to him making them working long hours and not paying wages as promised. Not many ex employees stating how wonderful he was. (maybe Liala Haree??)
4 Political hacker. Admits to hacking credit record of ex German PM whom he didn’t like.
5 Prohibited Digital Voodoo Magic. not sure about the voodoo magic but operating a file sharing website where copyrighted software was being distributed left/right & centre probably counts as prohibited digital….
6 Nothing short of a monster. Probably ok with this one however with his ex wife having to sneak away from in the middle of a night on a golf cart does have similarities to Jack (of bean stalk fame) fleeing the giant…..so maybe if the shoe fits…..
[lprent: Bye Jimmie. You are banned permanently for making a unsubstantiated defamatory assertion of fact. I really can’t be bothered educating fools who make this site liable.
If you hadn’t then you would have been getting a long ban anyway because you didn’t link to anything to back your other assertions of fact. Try Whaleoil. He appears to like spending time in the dock.
I don’t, especially for a pissant dickhead like you. ]
he owns stuff by churchill too does that make him a pompous englishman?
17% of the Act party mps have criminal convictions for deceit and fraud… so they are the most criminally inhabited party we have. national gifted them a seat.
he didnt breach copyright, users of his website did
@Tracey 1.09
Good to bring that forward and remind us about ACT. A busy little Party screwing everybody else and yet treading water itself under the NACT party.
+100 anker…..agreed David Cunliffe was a ” hit job” as well!…infact like Dotcom DC should reply , now that he is out of it all….David Cunliffe should detail and itemise all the hits on him! ( maybe with some research and journalist help)..it must have been very bruising, even although he was very strong!….and like others who have been through trauma it is cathartic to write it all down
…it would be good to see it published also ….such “hit jobs” should be made accountable and sheeted back home to the perpetrators for all to see
(…I can think of a book titled ‘Hit Jobs’…in fact if written by a research journalist i can think of several chapters…Dotcom, Cunliffe, Hagar, and going back a bit …Helen Clark …..etc etc
Kim Dot Com could be in serious trouble. The next few months will determine if he remains in New Zealand or is deported to the United States. The justice system will have the final say.
It’s good to read his own admission of the Internet-Mana failure, although he not always offers the correct reasons. He could and should have invested his money more wisely. The choice of Miss Harre turned out to be a serious mistake.
Western countries are increasingly ignoring Israel and demanding justice for the Palestinians and recognising the State of Palestine…Two eminent Jews discuss why the need for justice now
“Why have Western countries only now decided to vote to recognize the state of Palestine? What will be the outcome? Will a legitimate Palestinian state bring peace to the region? Is an Israeli-Palestinian peace plan a dead end?”
CrossTalking with Norman Finkelstein and Amir Oren.
The seppos are basically under Zionist control on these issues. It’s great to see other countries standing up to Zionist atrocities, but support from Washington allows Israel to carry on.
Don’t you love when you’re on your morning read, and someone writes something which not only runs alongside what you have been thinking, but expands and develops that idea brilliantly.
I’ve been thinking about music, and the woeful state it is in for ages. All the best music is underground, and hard to find – whilst Mainstream music is quite shallow and lacks any message.
You too can take part in the Labour’s independent review if you like:
JUST RECEIVED BY EMAIL:
Dear Clem
Today we are pleased to announce the names of the four reviewers who will lead Labour’s independent review.
Bryan Gould is Convenor of the review. He is joined by Hon Margaret Wilson, Stacey Morrison and Brian Corban. You can find out more about them by clicking HERE
Hon Pete Hodgson and Gaylene Nepia are working as lead consultants in the production of the first report on the 2014 campaign, with similar arrangements for the other reports.
The work of the whole initiative will be supported by a team of expert advisers. This will include successful senior campaigners from progressive parties overseas and specialists in qualitative and quantitative analysis.
The review is an opportunity for Labour to take a long hard look at ourselves. We need to learn and apply lessons from the election and ensure that we can be an effective opposition and prepare for government in 2017.
The review allows us to set a course to reconnect with the majority who want to see a fairer society and a more productive, sustainable economy. We need to be the alternative government ready to take office in 2017.
The review team will be responsible for the production of three reports. The first one is on the 2014 general election campaign (completed by December 7), the second on the longer-term perspective, and the final one on the governance and operations implications for the Party (both completed by the end of February 2015).
Submissions are open from today. Members, non-members and groups are all welcome to submit. The Terms of Reference can be found HERE
There will also be the opportunity for Labour members to submit in person to the review at face-to-face meetings in each hub. Details of these meetings will be provided as soon as they are available from the review team.
Thank you to so many people who have already offered to participate in this important review.
Clem…10.23 am..you posted this..I am so pleased you did…however you’d think that by 7.30 pm some would show a bit of interest..by posting a couple of comments.Yesterday in open mic I mentioned that I had heard Bryan Gould on the talk back radio talking of this and asked if anyone else had too?
Not a dicky bird.
I am beginning to wonder if the people in here are quite happy to tell everyone what’s wrong with Labour but none too many are prepared to to put their money where their mouth is and get involved. Perhaps some people have got too cosy in opposition and their twitter accounts & latte labour.
@ Ecosse Maidy…all they need to do is get a researcher/student to trawl through the all comments on this blog and other blogs eg Daily Blog
….and they will have a very good random selection as to why many different people thought Labour failed !!! …and was failing even six months before the Election!
….i think people are very tired of repeating themselves!
…and btw …this Review is a bit late isnt it?!…in the meantime David Cunliffe (the popular membership choice) has been forced to take the blame and not only resign but also promise never to seek re-election ( smells!)
…no wonder people are cynical about the Labour Party!…i wouldnt mind betting they are also cynical about the review!
Actually I did listen to the brilliant Brian Gould. I am sure many others from here would have too, but may not necessarily write a reply.
In my opinion, the Neo liberal minded destructive caucus members are a drain on the Labour party as they seem to be the disloyal dodgy secret leakers that have sullied this great social justice party. It is time for the membership to seek greater powers and kick these bastards out. They are free to join ACT, NZF, National, the Cons or just go away and live quietly and happily somewhere on their very fat political pensions and baubles.
My efforts will be going towards Mana. What Labour comes up with in a review is of little direct interest. I don’t have a twitter account and I don’t drink lattés. I have been in opposition all my life. It’s not cosy.
He was asked: “When you die, what will you say to God?”
He apparently replied: “Well you can be certain of one thing. I will treat him as an equal.”
Possibly apocryphal, but quite a line.
– Brought in the first national health insurance.
– Recognised China (during the Vietnam War no less!)
– Let the arts flourish
– Abolished university fees
(Among other things)
To me, this guy deserves a post of his own – with a comparison to Norman Kirk.
Sure as heck one of those guys for whom it was better to flame out after making massive positive change, than to hang around after defeat.
That certainly counts as a great statement.
It comes into the same category as Churchill’s view on the same subject really.
“I am prepared to meet my Maker. Whether my Maker is prepared for the great ordeal of meeting me is another matter.”
They would both have been polite to God. What they would have said to each other doesn’t really bear thinking about.
Important part of the narrative 40 years ago–Gough Whitlam and Queenie’s rep John ‘Cur’.
Along with Big Norm in NZ, Allende in Chile, French nuclear testing, etc. All set against the wiretapping, assassinating, election fixing CIA backdrop.
Murdoch’s interference in politics is so very wrong, so blatantly unfair and shows such contempt for democracy just because he is rich and owns news media. He should be hauled into courts in Australia, ( possibly UK and other countries around the world) for his corrupt ways and put into jail for the rest of his remaining few years. What a scum.
this is remarkable .. how Nigeria has defeated Ebola using proper hydration and very basic electrolytes, nothing more … common sense with intelligence … panic can cease.
And I think I am quite amazed it was even published !
rawshark yeshe 2.20
And the heros of Nigeria now dead – from ebola. http://www.channel4.com/news/ebola-nigeria-world-health-organisation-patrick-sawyer Dr Ameyo Stella Adadevoh is the doctor credited with helping prevent the disease spreading much more widely at the early stages.
She and her colleagues quickly identified a victim who came to Nigeria as having Ebola and placed him in quarantine…..
Dr Adadevoh, whose great-grandfather was a founder of the modern Nigeria, died on 19 August, having herself contracted the disease.
From the bbc more detail. And the other health workers who died are recognised – so that is nice – it is easy to be fixated on one hero,
The sick man demanded to be allowed to leave and tore out the drips and splashed health workers with him.
Dr Adadevoh and four other health workers died from the virus. http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-29682325
I opened the Bob Jones piece from NZHerald today hours ago then left it because I couldn’t be bothered reading his dribble. When I returned to my laptop I noticed the poll about Labour leader preference. It had 50-150 responses and had Al on 30% and GR leading on 34%. I thought I would refresh to see what the results were now, and it came back with 0-50 responses and a completely different response (DP equal lead with AL).
What’s going on with the Herald polls? Is someone gaming them? That is very dodgy.
Colonial Rawshark
A good interview, you come across well Colonial, with sensible discussion casting some light and the interviewer was sharp but interested in getting info.
Thanks for your support Standardistas. I’ve learnt much from each of you over time and hope to synthesise more of your ideas and put them out there in public forums as opportunities come up. The interviewers were pretty sharp and challenging, it was good times.
I was reading about Leonard Bernstein. His story is great but his death and burial had some points to note. Construction workers commemorating a musician in NZ – would that happen?
On the day of his funeral procession through the streets of Manhattan, construction workers removed their hats and waved, yelling “Goodbye, Lenny.”[41]
Bernstein is buried in Green-Wood Cemetery, Brooklyn, New York, next to his wife and with a copy of Mahler’s Fifth lying across his heart.[42]
The draft of his memoir, Blue Ink, having only existed in electronic form in a password-protected document that still remains unopened to this day, has become a poster-child in the probate community for the need of increased awareness of digital assets during the estate planning process. [43] Wikipedia
Could be that techies here should think about this matter of death and digital records assets etc.
Mention has been made of Redline blog. I’m surprised some folks haven’t heard of it because, although we’re very small fish compared to the major right-wing and left-wing blogs, we have been getting about 8,000 hits a month in recent months.
Whether we are ‘old’ – or what that even means – folks can judge for themselves. But here’s some recent stuff:
another very busy week at the blog as we’ve been sticking up pieces about workers’ struggles here and abroad.
Actually, one more lastly, which is some stuff to do with Labour. People here might be interested in our analysis of the Labour Party as part of the problem rather than part of the solution. Our major feature on Labour is here (it’s pamphlet-length long): http://rdln.wordpress.com/2011/12/02/the-truth-about-labour-a-bosses-party/
Thanks for popping by Phil, good to hear a bit more about Redline. That factory takeover story looks very interesting indeed. Democratic socialism in action…
As for Labour being a capitalist party…well its been that way well before Rogernomics.
Yes, indeed, Labour was a capitalist party well before Rogernomics, a point made in the examination of its history by Daphna Whitmore and myself.
Indeed, by 1935, the radicalism of the early Labour leaders was well gone. The biggest capitalist in the country, Ernest Davis supported them – and Labur had him knighted.
Semple has become a boss.
Also, I think quite a few people would be shocked to see how racist (anti-Chinese) a lot of these early Labour heroes were.
i see the defence force is happy to lie or look duplicitous for the PM
” Tim Keating says “We dropped the ball” not informing PM about Obama meeting….”
He has announced his resignation, right? Key will sack him, right?
its clever, it contains distraction, cos according to us press reports, even without obamas attendance it was to discuss ISIS, but keating makes it all about protocol stopping them knowing in advance about obamas attendance. see what they did there, smoke and mirrors.
and so it goes. sigh. Crosby Textor takes us to war while Jason Ede is rewarded and Simon Lizard Lusk sees his candidates offer their maiden speeches. omfg. how wrong this is.
I won’t make a habit of advertising our stuff here, but here’s some basic stuff on capitalism on Redline and also on Key’s economic policy, and a couple of pieces on the end of the idea of ‘the leisure society’ (thanks capitalism) and pensions/retirement age stuff.
The Cranky Uncle vs. Climate Change book is now available! The book uses cartoons, humor, and critical thinking to expose how and why some people reject climate science. It's now available for sale on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and other book outlets. If you're near the DC area, you're very welcome to ...
by the Council of Disobedient Women When Moana Maniapoto recently lamented that Rachel Stewart was no longer writing for the Herald, political commentator Morgan Godfery was quick to brag on Twitter, like a schoolyard bully, how proud he was of “driving Rachel Stewart from the Herald”. What a contrast Morgan ...
You’re probably aware that the Achievement Standards used to assess senior school students’ learning are being reviewed. Science is one of the ‘pilot’ subjects in this process, where a ‘Subject Expert Group’ has developed 4 draft Science standards¹ (a significant step away from the current 30+, and a response to ...
John MacCormickTo succeed in an unpredictable and changing world, adaptability is the key. Let’s be chameleons. Technology continues to change people’s jobs and work environments. But change so far is not as fast and extensive as some pundits claim. Nor is it as fast and extensive as it needs ...
It seems we can’t even get through a week these days without the National Party's leader, Simon Bridges, making some sort of silly announcement about a policy that doesn’t actually exist.Usually concerning Bridges’ gut instinct and the undoing of whatever the Government has recently announced, National’s reactionary opinions and uncosted ...
Oh look! NZ First's secret slush fund was laundering donations from Talley's:One of the country's biggest fishing companies, Talley's, and its managing director donated nearly $27,000 to the New Zealand First Foundation, which has been bankrolling the New Zealand First Party. The foundation received $26,950 from seafood giant Talley's and ...
Janet Hoek, Richard Edwards, Andrew Waa, Nick Wilson, George ThomsonMinister Jenny Salesa announced the Government’s long-awaited Smokefree Environments and Regulated Products (Vaping) Amendment Bill on Sunday 23 February. The Bill contains some important provisions as it works to strike a balance between ensuring regulated products are available to ...
Surprisingly enough, one could argue (as I often do) that the day inserted into a leap year is not that we label 29th February, but actually the 24th of February. Here I explain why, briefly. Almost everyone assumes that the day added into February in a leap year is the ...
If you haven’t watched Newsroom’s video showing Oranga Tamariki staff attempting to uplift a newborn baby yet you should do so. Although it's not the worst case as far as interventions go, it’s certainly not a good look for the Government. Because of this controversy there’s been a plethora of ...
Genesis Energy is planning to build the country's biggest PV solar farm:Power generator and retailer Genesis Energy says it is in advanced discussions to build New Zealand's biggest solar farm in northern Waikato. The company, which earlier reported a 15 per cent decline in operating earnings to $167.2 million, said ...
Transport is our second largest source of greenhouse gas emissions. Any credible effort to reduce emissions to net-zero has to target it. So what is the government doing? Subsidising some of the dirtiest, most inefficient vehicles on the roads:New Zealand's favourite cars - double cab utes - are largely exempt ...
You’ve really got to wonder what the NZ First Party was thinking and drinking last Friday? Not only did they hamstring the Greens by halting one of their main environmental policies, the electric vehicle fee-bate scheme, a policy that the public was led to believe was a done deal…but they ...
High Risk Call: Insensitive though it may seem to even pose the question: how will the electorate respond to what the Prime Minister’s opponents will undoubtedly characterise as an attack on New Zealanders’ freedom of speech? At more than twelve month’s remove from the terrible events of 15 March 2019, ...
Story of the Week... Opinion of the Week... El Niño/La Niña Update... Toon of the Week... Coming Soon on SkS... SkS Week in Review... Poster of the Week... Story of the Week... Climate change leads to more violence against women, girlsRape, domestic violence, forced marriages: A new ...
A chronological listing of news articles linked to on the Skeptical Science Facebook Page during the past week, i.e., Sun, Feb 16, 2020 through Sat, Feb 22, 2020 Editor's Pick JP Morgan economists warn climate crisis is threat to human raceLeaked report for world’s major fossil fuel financier says ...
Last week the Wall Street Journal published an article ‘The Dangerous Denial of Sex by two scientists Colin Wright and Emma Hilton. Write is an evolutionary biologist at Penn State and Hilton is a developmental biologist at the University of Manchester. It is well worth reading the article in full. Here ...
I am about to mail my overseas ballot to Florida so that it can be counted in the Democratic primary on March 17. In Florida you have closed as opposed to open primaries, which means that one must declare a party preference in order to vote in a party primary. ...
Winston Peters - Deputy Prime Minister and leader of the NZ First PartyWe all know that politics can be pretty messy at times. Just look at the Dirty Politics saga in New Zealand, the misgovernment of the Australian bushfires or the recent Trump impeachment debacle in the US. In a ...
Last Monday SpaceX launched another clutch of Starlink satellites into low-Earth orbit, bringing up to 300 the number of these units intended to bring 5G internet to the whole globe. In this post I present a movie showing how all 300 such satellites will be zipping around our planet over ...
The recent floods in Southland have highlighted the issue of Rio Tinto's illegal toxic waste dump in Mataura. But according to Newsroom, there's an even worse mess in Ruakaka near Whangarei:A Northland property stockpiled one million litres of flammable and toxic chemicals. Almost two years since the situation came to ...
It’s amazing just how many attack ads $100,000 buys you these days. The National Party has really been going to town lately, with their latest Twitter campaign making a number of questionable and blatantly false assertions, one being that poverty has worsened under the Labour led Government.The National Party's claim ...
OMV's exploratory drilling in the Great South Basin has failed to find oil. Good. Firstly, because we can't afford to burn the oil and gas we've already found, so there's just no point looking for more. And secondly, because offshore, deep-water drilling poses a risk of an environmental catastrophe, which ...
The government has announced it will strengthen whistleblower protections. The major change is "allowing people to report serious wrongdoing direct to an external authority if they wish", which fixes one of the big flaws in the Act. At present, whistleblowers must generally make their disclosure direct to the body they ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Bruce Lieberman CARLSBAD, CA. – When it comes to paying the electric bill, most people don’t give it a second thought – it’s something that in effect is “baked in.” But across California and several other states, local governments increasingly are ...
Excerpts from Being and Being Bought, by Kajsa Ekis Ekman, Spinifex Press, 2013. Part 4 Ekman, a Swedish journalist and critic, brings together a Marxist and feminist analysis of prostitution and surrogacy in this groundbreaking book. This is the fourth part of a synopsis and brief commentary of the book by Daphna ...
The Democracy Virus: China’s authoritarian political system enables a level of social surveillance and control that liberal democratic societies cannot match. The Chinese Government makes full use of the latest digital technology to both punish – and reward – its citizens. The plans it formulates cannot be challenged, or hindered. Where ...
Another day, another IPCA report on criminal conduct by policy. This time they kicked a child in the head when he was handcuffed:Police chased him and yelled out for him to stop. When he turned to face the police, he threatened them with a hammer. That's when the officers tasered ...
The investigation of two of the five parties in Parliament for fraud around their election donations has pushed the issue of party funding back into the spotlight. And while there are obvious things we can do to tighten up the donations regime - a much lower declaration threshold, realtime disclosure ...
While the south of New Zealand has been struggling with too much rain in recent days, here in the north we are so very short of it (though Saturday’s forecast looks promising). Basically, we have had almost none since Christmas.As someone who relies on rain to wash the car, ...
Former National Party MP Jami-Lee RossIt comes as no surprise that Jami-Lee Ross has been named as one of the defendants in the X2 $100,000 National Party donations case currently before the courts. Click bait journalists who were chaffing at the bit to discredit the former senior whip had already ...
Stand Clear! Winston Peters is encouraging voters to think of RNZ as belonging to “The Media Party”. He wants them to see it as a politically partisan institution with its own, vicious attack-dogs in the electoral fight. If he succeeds, it will be, and probably should be, the end of ...
"You're going to need a longer runway" Gratton et al explore the ongoing effects of upward-creeping temperatures on aviation in Greece in the period since 1955 at a range of airports in that country. For longer runways impacts are measurable but with little impact on operations. For airports with shorter runways, ...
In mid-December the Israeli secret police, the Shin Beit, revealed it had arrested dozens of Palestinian left-wing activists, including members of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), in the previous few months. Among those arrested was one of the central leaders of the PFLP, Khalida Jarrar. As ...
Former National Party chief whip Jami-Lee Ross is one of the four people charged over National's multiple fraudulent donations. How unsurprising. Meanwhile, just days ago National leader Simon Bridges was trying to pretend the charges were nothing to do with his party. Yeah, right. When your chief whip effectively publicly ...
If you've been watching FYI for a while, you'll have noticed that the police have a bad habit of demanding ID from requesters. They have apparently been repeatedly told to stop doing this by the Ombudsman, but we all know what law enforcement thinks of the law, so thye keep ...
Collateral Damage: For the Green Phoenix to be reborn, the funeral pyre so patiently assembled by its identity politicians over the course of many fractious years – but with growing intensity over the past three – first has to be ignited. The terrible probability, of course, is that, in setting ...
If you follow politics in New Zealand you've likely noticed that the right wing have been going on and on about the Coalition Government failing to reduce poverty. In fact they’ve been incessantly claiming, in the absence of any conclusive data, that poverty has been getting worse.Yesterday, NewstalkZB reported:Mike Hosking: ...
The Herald reported over the weekend that an Auckland business owner is being targeted with asset forfeiture laws over a workplace death:A workplace fatality has seen police use a law usually associated with drugs and organised crime to seize millions of dollars in assets from a business owner because of ...
Just days after talking about how people feel "squeezed" and promising tax and service cuts as a "solution", National is talking about cancelling a rise in the minimum wage if elected: National is considering scrapping the Government's planned minimum wage increase if it wins this year's election, the party's finance ...
Nobody thinks about the next century anymore. That at least is Sci-Fi writer William Gibson’s observation (in this BBC 4 short interview, starting at 1:43:50 ). He calls it “Futures Fatigue”, but isn’t judgemental about it. Gibson notes that in the 20th century speculation about the 21st (and beyond) was common. Now ...
A Labour government desperate for the numbers crawls into bed with Winston Peters. Winston ignores the law and secretly takes money under the table from someone. When it is exposed just months out from an election, he is investigated by the Serious Fraud Office. That's what happened back in 2008. ...
So the Serious Fraud Office has another secret $100,050 National Party donation before the Courts in a major scandal that looks set to quash any chances Simon Bridges had of winning the 2020 election.Yesterday, Newsroom reported:The Serious Fraud Office prosecution of four people over donations to the National Party involves ...
Story of the Week... Toon of the Week... Coming Soon on SkS... Climate Feedback Claim Review... Poster of the Week... SkS Week in Review... Story of the Week... Iceberg twice the size of Washington, D.C., breaks off Pine Island glacier in Antarctica Story Highlights: The Pine Island ...
Prof Philippa Howden-ChapmanHousing policy is building up to be the key election issue again. In this blog I reflect on the importance of the role of the New Zealand Government in improving access to affordable housing. I look at what the Government has been doing to increase quality public housing ...
Writing on The Spinoff, Danyl Mclauchlan argues that we have a vacuum in our political system, in that there is no longer an anti-establishment party anymore:I think there’s a vacuum in our political system. There are obvious problems with the status quo but no real critics offering reform. It’s a ...
Stuff today has a piece about the government discovering it has been oversubsidising polluters for a decade under the Emissions Trading scheme:The Government is pledging to urgently fix an issue within the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS), after it emerged some polluters are likely being over-compensated with taxpayer-funded carbon credits. [...] ...
The Marlborough District Council, tired of public scrutiny, wants to increase the amount it charges for LGOIMA requests:The cost of requesting official information from Marlborough's government agency could almost double after a jump in "fishing expeditions". Charges could be raised from $60 to $100 an hour for information supplied by ...
When Winston Peters was caught money laundering donations and stalking journalists, the Greens were conspicuous by their silence. It was another example of how getting along with their government partners was eroding their values and their own reputation. It was obviously unsustainable, and so now James Shaw has finally spoken ...
I am among the most pro-free speech people I know. I don’t doubt there are others more strident than me, but I’m certainly up there. And my support for freedom of expression isn’t limited to opposition to government-imposed restrictions. It extends to a belief that employers should have limited powers ...
With over 69,000 confirmed cases and 1,600 deaths, here’s your round-up of the latest coronavirus news. New disease and virus have now officially been named On the 11th February, the WHO Director General announced a new name for the disease: COVID-19 which is short for coronavirus disease 2019. The naming ...
A chronological listing of news articles linked to on the Skeptical Science Facebook Page during the past week, i.e., Sun, Feb 9, 2020 through Sat, Feb 15, 2020 Editor's Pick ANALYSIS-Climate change opens up 'frontier' farmland, but at what cost to the planet?Climate change could expand farmland globally by ...
After cross-examination Jones knew he would lose the defamation case he took against film maker Renae Maihi. That’s why he threw in the towel. The weight of evidence was clearly against the old tycoon with the defense presenting fifty articles to confirm Jones’ racist views.Being unable to harass somebody into ...
Sprung! Former NZ First president, Lester Gray, chats with RNZ's Guyon Espiner in the carpark of a Tauranga shopping centre.(Photo supplied anonymously to NZ First and The BFD.)IT’S CLEAR THAT an important aspect of Jacinda Ardern’s political success is her willingness to seek – and take – advice. This ...
Ruth Cunningham, Charlotte Paul, Andrew MoorePublic health responses to infectious diseases such as COVID-19 require us to draw on our common humanity and be explicit about our values. Recognising this will help us make good decisions in difficult situations so that, for example, the need to impose restrictive measures ...
The Helen Clark Foundation has released its report on the housing crisis, and found that house-hoarders are to blame for it:Property investors are to blame for New Zealand's high house prices, a new research paper published by the Helen Clark Foundation says. [...] McArthur said previous attempts to address housing ...
The Abortion Legislation Committee has reported back on the Abortion Legislation Bill and recommended that it be passed with some amendments. Unfortunately, the latter include even more hoops to jump through for those seeking abortions after 20 weeks, including a time-wasting requirement to consult a second doctor. No-one casually seeks ...
Brexit is likely to be a disaster for the UK (how sad, never mind). But now that they're out of the EU, the latter has finaly taken the opportunity to blacklist one of their key tax havens:The Cayman Islands, a British overseas territory, is to be put on an EU ...
I’m not quite sure of what to make of the new figures for COVID-19 (as we must now call the novel coronavirus – though I’m not sure the capitalisation is correct) from Hubei province:Image from https://www.bbc.com/news/world-51495484The spike yesterday is a consequence of a using a different way of ...
Bob Jones has dropped his defamation case against Renae Maihi. Good. But at the same time, it perfectly exposes what the case was all about: not protecting Jones' reputation, but punishing someone who had dared to criticise him, and deterring others from doing the same. This rich pompous asshat dragged ...
As I've done for the past few years, I'm curating and presenting The Listening Lounge, the talk programme at Splore. On the morning of Saturday the 22nd at the Living Lounge stage, the korero goes like this.Yes, we're talking about drugs again, not just because I'm professionally interested in drug ...
What Were They Thinking? RNZ's CEO Paul Thompson (left) and Jim Mather, Chairman of the RNZ Board of Governors, attempt to justify the debacle arising out of their attempt to downgrade RNZ Concert to the Economic Development, Science and Innovation Select Committee at Parliament on Thursday, 13 February 2020.WHAT IS ...
Dame Tariana Turia with former PM John KeyWhat is it about Tariana Turia’s grudge against the Labour Party? Not content with attacking the Government over Whānau Ora funding, which was increased by $80 million in 2019, she has now made it personal by saying that Jacinda Ardern is out of her ...
Back in 2017, right after being elected, Jacinda Ardern promised that there would be no new mines on conservation land. Since then, her government has done nothing to make that happen, and now the policy has been officially "parked" for the election:West Coast-Tasman MP Damien O'Connor says the "no new ...
So the guy who advocated for public burning and beheading feels offended because someone called him a racist!Perhaps Bob Jones hasn't heard of the very old saying; Live by the sword, die by the sword?I mean for someone who often writes opinionated nonsense about Maori; this is a ridiculous case ...
The government today announced a major support package aimed at reducing homelessness. A thousand new transitional housing places, more support for people to find homes (or not lose them in the first place), all good stuff. The one problem with it is that they're going to start charging people in ...
Courtroom Drama: There is no off-switch in a courtroom. Neither is it possible to turn the page in disgust. Ill-formed and ill-defended opinions will be exposed ruthlessly and unapologetically. As Shakespeare put it: “Reputation is an idle and most false imposition; oft got without merit, and lost without deserving.” Sometimes the ...
As of today, the novel coronavirus spreading in China is called COVID-19. Why does it matter? Around the office, we’ve had several conversations over the past few weeks about how 2019-nCoV needed its own name. First, it was getting annoying calling it by the above designation, and ‘novel coronavirus’ doesn’t ...
by Philip Ferguson Last month B’Tselem, the Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories, reported: “In 2019, Israeli security forces killed 133 Palestinians, including 28 minors. Of the casualties, 104 were killed in the Gaza Strip, 26 in the West Bank (including East Jerusalem) and three within ...
A ballot for a single Member's Bill was held today, and the following bill was drawn: Arms (Firearms Prohibition Orders) Amendment Bill (No 2) (Brett Hudson)Its basicly more "tough on crime" nonsense (its already illegal for unlicensed people to own guns) designed to wedge NZ First against its arsehole base. ...
Kids learn better with a full stomach. That's why we launched our Lunches in Schools programme, which is already providing free and healthy school lunches to thousands of children so they can focus on what's important - learning. ...
Mark Patterson MP, New Zealand First List MP based in Clutha-Southland This afternoon to a crowd of over 100 people in Mataura -- Mark Patterson, New Zealand First List MP based in Clutha-Southland launched a parliamentary petition regarding the aluminium dross issue in Mataura, Southland. The petition asks that the ...
Fletcher Tabuteau MP, Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Regional Economic Development New Zealand First Deputy Leader and Spokesperson for Finance, Fletcher Tabuteau has welcomed Statistics New Zealand’s latest report as a timely reminder of the value that this Coalition Government brings to every day New Zealanders: “This Coalition Government has meant a ...
Today New Zealand First made a pledge to campaign at the election to fund St John Ambulance the 90 per cent it has asked for. Government funding would allow St. John’s to achieve fully funded status. Leader of New Zealand First, Rt Hon Winston Peters publicly declared his determination to deliver ...
Darroch Ball MP, Spokesperson for Law and Order Newly released Police data shows once again the number of fleeing drivers have continued to skyrocket with a record 512 incidents occurring in December – almost tripling the number of incidents occurring just ten years ago, says New Zealand First Law and ...
While the Provincial Growth Fund has provided $2 million to set up temporary water supplies in Kaikohe and Kaitaia, Regional Economic Minister Shane Jones said he is greatly concerned that there are “issues” in implementing the projects. The Minister said the immediate solution was to pipe water from a bore ...
Mark Patterson MP, New Zealand First List MP for Clutha-Southland NZ First is calling on Rio Tinto to accept its responsibilities to the Southland community and enable the immediate removal of the toxic Aluminium Dross from the Mataura Paper Mill site. New Zealand First List MP for Clutha-Southland, Mark Patterson ...
The Coalition Government has announced that a further $500,000 will be given to help residents in Southland and Otago to speed up recovery efforts from the floods. It follows prior government assistance of $200,000 earlier this month where the Southland Mayoral Relief Fund received $100,000 to support communities impacted by ...
Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones was on RNZ’s Morning Report talking about the recent droughts in the Northland region and what the Provincial Growth Fund (PGF) is doing to alleviate its impact. The PGF recently announced a funding of $2 million for temporary water supplies to Kaikohe and Kaitaia, ...
Speaking to The Country’s Jamie Mackay, New Zealand First MP and Cabinet Minister Shane Jones talks water storage, plant-based meat imitation, and superstar Hollywood director James Cameron. While water storage may have its critics, Minister Jones defended the scheme by saying: “unless we invest and continue to invest” in this ...
Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones is accusing northern iwi leaders of selling out Māori by voting for ideologically-driven court cases rather than practical steps to increase water supply. “I just think that iwi leaders who think that water issues are going to be solved by perpetually fighting in the ...
A dairy owner in St Kilda, Dunedin was delighted to hear that an attempted robbery of his establishment was foiled by a government-funded security system. Sean Lee was delighted at how well the anti-theft smoke system worked. When a knife-wielding man entered the store, the shop assistant immediately pressed a ...
Customs says it stopped more than three tonnes of illegal drugs coming into New Zealand last year. This includes 1,180kg of methamphetamine, 329kg of ephedrine and pseudoephedrine precursors, which could have been converted into 246kg of methamphetamine, 739kg and 6469 pills of MDMA or Ecstasy and 60kg of cocaine. Offshore, ...
Hon. Shane Jones, Minister for Regional Economic Development Up to $2 million will be allocated from the Provincial Growth Fund to set up temporary water supplies in Kaikohe and Kaitaia where drought is biting hard, Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones has announced. Drought conditions in Northland have led to ...
Darroch Ball, Spokesperson for Law and Order New Zealand First welcomes the deployment of an Eagle Police helicopter in Christchurch in what is a step towards fulfilling its long-standing goal to increase the use of police helicopters for the front line, particularly in addressing the scourge of fleeing drivers. Christchurch leads ...
It may have been the first sitting week of 2020, but our Government is already in full-swing - managing a strong economy, investing in infrastructure, and working to break the cycle of homelessness. Read below for all that, and more... ...
In a heated debate in Parliament, National's Deputy Leader Paula Bennett claimed that “nearly 1600 patched gang members have been added” since the Coalition Government took power. To illustrate her point, she altered a chart used by Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern to show her government’s progress in housing to instead ...
Speech by the Rt Hon Winston Peters at Parliament’s Opening 2020 "We all need insurance" This year New Zealanders are going to have a clear choice to make That choice is between: Optimism versus pessimism; More progress versus back to the future; Investment versus divestment; Unity versus division. New Zealand ...
Infrastructure Minister Shane Jones has slammed the Board of Auckland Airport following the airport's runway closing twice within two weeks due to maintenance. Around 2,000 passengers were affected by last week’s runway closures, according to 1NEWS. Another maintenance closure on January 24 saw two international flights and three domestic flights ...
Jenny Marcroft, Spokesperson for Broadcasting New Zealand First supports the commissioning of a business case to assess the viability of a new public media entity. “A strong media environment is critical for a healthy democracy. New Zealand First is a strong supporter of a diverse, independent media,” New Zealand First broadcasting spokesperson ...
Pounamou and technology industries in the West Coast region are set to receive more than $2 million in Provincial Growth Fund (PGF) funding. This was announced by the Under-Secretary for Regional Economic Development Fletcher Tabuteau during Waitangi Day commemorations in Hokitika. He said $800,000 would be given to Development West ...
A new partnership programme between the New Zealand Police and Fiji Police will focus on combatting transnational organised crime and enhancing investigative skills, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced on the first day of her visit to Fiji. The programme will see: · New Zealand Institute of Environmental Science and Research ...
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Prime Minister Josaia Voreqe Bainimarama met today in Suva, and renewed their commitment to continue to strengthen Fiji-New Zealand relations on a foundation of shared values and equal partnership. The Prime Ministers acknowledged the kinship between Fijians and New Zealanders, one that has endured over ...
A $19.9 million investment from the Provincial Growth Fund will help develop essential infrastructure for an industrial hub in the Bay of Plenty town of Kawerau, Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones says. “The funding will go to three projects to further develop the Putauaki Trust Industrial Hub, an industrial ...
The Provincial Growth Fund is investing $8.3 million on a roading package for Mahia that will lead to greater and wider economic benefits for the region and beyond, Under Secretary for Regional Economic Development Fletcher Tabuteau announced at an event in Mahia today. The $8.3 million announced consists of: $7 ...
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has welcomed new reporting showing the Coalition Government is on track to meet its child poverty targets, with 18,400 children lifted out of poverty as a result of the Families Package. Stats NZ has released the first set of comprehensive child poverty statistics since the Government ...
Associate Minister of Transport Julie Anne Genter today announced that Bikes in Schools facilities have been rolled out to 20,000 more kiwi kids under this Government. She made the announcement at the opening of a new bike track at Henderson North School in Auckland. “Bikes in Schools facilities give kids ...
Benefit settings rise in line with wages as of 1 April Main benefits will increase by over 3 percent, instead of 1.66 percent, on 1 April with the Government’s decision to annually adjust benefit rates to increases in the average wage. The Minister for Social Development, Carmel Sepuloni, said ...
Strengthening New Zealand’s political and business ties with India will be the focus of Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters’ and Trade and Export Growth Minister David Parker’s visit to India this week. The Ministers are co-leading a high level business delegation to India to support increased people and economic engagement ...
The Minister for Pacific Peoples, Aupito William Sio continues to champion for greater Pacific participation in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) careers with the announcement of the Toloa Awards, with 8 recipients of the Toloa Community Fund and 13 Toloa Tertiary Scholarships. “The Toloa Programme encourages more Pacific peoples ...
Conservation Minister Eugenie Sage has extended the date for people to have their say on proposed changes to improve management of whitebait across New Zealand. Submissions were due to close on 2 March 2020 but will now remain open until 9am on Monday 16 March 2020. “I have ...
The endangered toroa/Antipodean albatross has new international protection for its 100,000km annual migration, thanks to collaborative efforts led by New Zealand, Australia and Chile. Today, 130 countries agreed to strictly protect Antipodean albatross at the Conference of Parties on the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild ...
No sales to under-18-year-olds No advertising and sponsorship of vaping products and e-cigarettes No vaping or smokeless tobacco in smokefree areas Regulates vaping product safety comprehensively, - including devices, flavours and ingredients Ensure vaping products are available for those who want to quit smoking Vaping regulation that balances ...
Justice Minister Andrew Little will travel to Berlin tomorrow to represent New Zealand at a high-level summit on nuclear disarmament. This year, the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) celebrates 50 years since it entered into force. “New Zealand’s proud record and leadership on nuclear disarmament is unwavering, so it’s important we are present ...
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern will visit two of New Zealand’s most important Pacific partners, Fiji and Australia, next week. The visit to Fiji will be the first by a New Zealand Prime Minister in four years and comes during the 50th anniversary of Fijian independence and diplomatic relations between our ...
Justice Minister Andrew Little and New Zealand First MP Darroch Ball, have today announced the appointment of the Chief Commissioner of the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC), the location, and the membership of the Establishment Advisory Group. Colin Carruthers QC has been appointed Chief Commissioner of the CCRC for an ...
Māori Development Minister Hon Nanaia Mahuta and Agriculture Minister Hon Damien O’Connor co-announced the first horticultural finalists for the Ahuwhenua Trophy celebrating excellence in the Māori agricultural sector. The three finalists are Ngai Tukairangi Trust from Mt Maunganui, Otama Marere Trust from Tauranga, and Hineora Orchard Te Kaha 15B Ahuwhenua ...
A new kete of resources to strengthen support for students with dyslexia will provide extra tools for the new Learning Support Coordinators (LSCs) as they start in schools, Associate Education Minister Tracey Martin announced today. The Minister launched the kete in Wellington this morning, at the first of three induction ...
The Government continues to make progress on a fairer and more secure rental market for renters and landlords with the First Reading of the Residential Tenancies Amendment Bill and its referral to the Social Services and Community Select Committee. “Now is the opportunity for landlords, tenants and others who want ...
Papua New Guinea’s Prime Minister Hon James Marape will visit New Zealand from 21-25 February, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced today. “New Zealand and Papua New Guinea have a warm and friendly relationship. I look forward to welcoming Prime Minister Marape here and strengthening the relationship between our two countries,” ...
Thousands of children have begun receiving a free lunch on every day of the school week, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said. The Government’s free and healthy school lunch programme is under way for 7,000 students at 31 schools in Hawke’s Bay / Tairāwhiti and Bay of Plenty / Waiariki, extending ...
The Minister for Social Development Carmel Sepuloni today announced a new approach that continues to broaden the Government’s social sector focus from a narrow, investment approach to one centred on people and wellbeing. Minister Sepuloni said redefining the previous approach to social investment by combining science, data and lived experience ...
The Government is strengthening the Protected Disclosures Act to provide better protection for whistle blowers, Minister of State Services Chris Hipkins said today. “The Protected Disclosures Act is meant to encourage people to speak up about serious wrongdoing in the workplace and protect them from losing their jobs or being ...
Nǐn hǎo (Hello in Mandarin). Xīn Nián Kuài Lè (Happy New Year in Mandarin) Néi Hóu (Hello in Cantonese). Sun Nin Fai Lok (Happy New Year in Cantonese) Tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou katoa. Thank you for your invitation to attend this celebration today. I would like to acknowledge ...
Kia ora. Ngā mihi nui ki a koutou katoa. Nau mai haere mai ki te Whare Pāremata. E ngā mana whenua ki tēnei rohe Taranaki Whānui, Te Upoko o Te Ika, Ngāti Toa Rangatira, Ngāti Raukawa – kei te mihi, kei te mihi, kei te mihi. E ngā mana, e ...
Kia ora. Ngā mihi nui ki a koutou katoa. Nau mai haere mai ki te Whare Pāremata. E ngā mana whenua ki tēnei rohe Taranaki Whānui, Te Upoko o Te Ika, Ngāti Toa Rangatira, Ngāti Raukawa – kei te mihi, kei te mihi, kei te mihi. E ngā mana, e ngā ...
Tougher penalties for gun crime are a step closer with the passage of firearms reform legislation through another stage in Parliament. The Arms Legislation Bill has tonight passed its Second Reading. “The changes have one objective - to prevent firearms falling into the wrong hands,” said Police Minister Stuart Nash. ...
Introduction Mr Speaker We all know why we are here today. It has been a long journey. The journey did not actually begin on 15 March 2019. It began on 30 June 1997. Almost 23 years ago, Justice Sir Thomas Thorp told us what was wrong with our firearms legislation. ...
The Government’s work to put trades and vocational education back on the agenda took another major step forward today with the passing of the Education (Vocational Education and Training Reform) Amendment Bill, Education Minister Chris Hipkins said. “This is a watershed day for trades and vocational education. These law changes formalise ...
Speeding up the return of Christchurch regeneration activities to local leadership is behind the Greater Christchurch Regeneration Amendment Bill introduced to Parliament today by Minister Megan Woods. “As we approach nine years since the February 2011 earthquake in Canterbury, and with the transition to local leadership well underway, the time ...
Hundreds of New Zealanders and international visitors will be able to get back out into nature with the Milford Track partially reopening next week, after extensive assessments and repairs, the Minister of Conservation Eugenie Sage announced today. The popular Great Walk has been closed since 3 February after an extreme ...
Up to 110 new EV chargers nationwide in cities and regions 50 electric vehicles for ride-sharing The Government is helping deliver more infrastructure and options for low emissions transport through new projects, Energy and Resources Minister Dr Megan Woods says. Tauranga, Nelson, Levin, New Plymouth and Oamaru are just some ...
New Zealanders are increasingly better off under this Government as wages rise and families have more disposable income, Finance Minister Grant Robertson says. Stats NZ reported today that average household disposable incomes after housing costs rose 4.9% in 2019. This was the highest rise in four years and came as ...
All New Zealanders need to have their voices heard at work to ensure we have an inclusive and productive economy. Today we introduce a Bill to do this for workers in the New Zealand screen industry, Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Iain Lees-Galloway says. “The Screen Industry Workers Bill will ...
The Government has announced further help for the Southland and Otago regions to speed up recovery efforts from the floods. “I’ve approved Enhanced Taskforce Green (ETFG), making $500,000 available to help with the clean-up in Fiordland, Southland, and the Clutha district in Otago,” Minister for Social Development Carmel Sepuloni said. ...
Following the announcement that more than 340 schools will be funded to run events promoting vocational education, the Government has announced it will fund a further 257 events to be run by employers and industry. “These industry-run events will allow more than 30,000 students to connect with more than 2,000 ...
Today the Government is making progress on a fairer and more secure rental market for renters and landlords with the introduction of the Residential Tenancies Amendment Bill in Parliament. “This Bill includes a series of reforms to improve the wellbeing of the 609,700 households that live in rented homes, and ...
A Government programme to wipe out pea weevil has achieved a world first, with Biosecurity Minister Damien O’Connor today announcing the successful eradication of the noxious pest from Wairarapa. This means the nearly four-year ban on pea plants and pea straw was lifted today. Commercial and home gardeners can again grow ...
Southland residents hit by flooding caused by heavy rainfall can now access help finding temporary accommodation with the Government activating the Temporary Accommodation Service, Minister of Civil Defence Peeni Henare announced today. “The Temporary Accommodation Service (TAS) has been activated by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment to help ...
“Is that it?” That’s Finance Minister Grant Robertson’s response to Simon Bridges’ much-hyped economic speech today. “Simon Bridges just gave the most over-hyped and under-delivered speech that I can remember during my time in politics,” Grant Robertson said. “It’s not surprising. Simon Bridges literally said on the radio this morning ...
A trial deployment of the Police Eagle helicopter in Christchurch will test whether the aircraft would make a significant difference to crime prevention and community safety. “The Bell 429 helicopter will be based in Christchurch for five weeks, from 17 February to 20 March,” said Police Minister Stuart Nash. “The ...
Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: New child poverty statistics show little change yet, Greenpeace call for fishing policy review over donations, and a focus on Covid-19 effects on forestry.New figures were released yesterday on one of the most important issues facing the country – how many ...
He may be marooned in Texas, but Joseph Parker is closer to a return to boxing's big time than you'd think. Joseph Parker’s road back to boxing relevance won’t ever lead to the now fully resurgent Tyson Fury. But that doesn’t mean the Gypsy King won’t be a key figure ...
A cruel string of injuries could have prematurely ended Shiray Kaka's sevens career. But with determination and meditation, she's back in the Black Ferns, focused on finally playing at the Olympics. This time last year, Shiray Kaka was living in Japan, studying to be a dog trainer and setting up ...
ReadingRoom is devoting all week to the best-selling book in New Zealand right now, In The Clearing, the brilliant new thriller by Ngāpuhi author JP Pomare, inspired by creepy Australian cult The Family. Today: the author backgrounds his interest in the story. A few years ago I become obsessed ...
A jury didn't accept abused woman Karen Ruddelle killed her partner in self-defence. What does that say about our attitudes towards women in violent relationships? Karen Anne Ruddelle was charged with murdering her partner. Last week, at the High Court in Auckland, she was acquitted of murder but convicted of ...
Former regional parks chair Sandra Coney says a purchase of the disputed land at Ihumātao by Auckland Council would be entirely in keeping with historical precedent and the actions of local government in preserving open spaces for future generations. With various claims being made about the Government stepping in to ...
If RNZ hopes to court the youth audience with its new brand it should take some cues from the ones who’ve had that audience all along: student radio. RNZ has had a month from hell. News the state-run broadcaster was considering scaling back its long-running RNZ Concert network to make room ...
The Grace Millane murder case wasn't a who-dunnit - in fact it was easily solved. But it sparked intense public interest and international media coverage. What were the ingredients that caught the world's attention? A media frenzy descended on the High Court in Auckland last week as a sentence was handed down ...
OPINION:By Murray Horton in Christchurch For as long as the Campaign Against Foreign Control of Aotearoa (Cafca) has existed – more than 45 years now – we have called for the closure of the aluminium smelter, owned by giant transnational corporation, Rio Tinto. There are numerous grounds for ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra The inquiry into allegations of misconduct by Australian special forces in Afghanistan is examining 55 separate incidents or issues, according to the Inspector-General of the Australian Defence Force report, tabled Tuesday. These involve “predominantly” allegations ...
Tourism bosses have been invited to join a new advisory group, allowing them to stay in "constant communication" with the government in their response to the coronavirus. ...
Alex Casey delivers her eighth power rankings for The Bachelorette NZ, where a humble avocado changed everything forever. Click here for previous instalments. Glass me with the talking bottle, slice my hand off with a fax machine and send me straight to the Centre De Emergencies, because this was the most ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra The Coalition government has supported Labor’s motion in the Senate to call for men’s rights activist Bettina Arndt to be stripped of her Order of Australia award over her comments on last week’s horrendous murder-suicide ...
he Palestine Solidarity Network Aotearoa welcomes the withdrawal of the hugely controversial resolution on anti-semitism from the agenda for tomorrow’s meeting. It is a victory for free speech and human rights. PSNA looks forward to working with other organisations ...
Fijian Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama is calling on New Zealand to back his country in pushing Australia to commit more to climate change action. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Bianca Fileborn, Lecturer in Criminology, University of Melbourne The downfall of disgraced Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein has come to a head following his conviction for rape in the third degree and a criminal sex act in the first degree. He was acquitted ...
After days of rumours, Mediaworks have removed Hannah Tamaki as a cast member for the 2020 season of Dancing with the Stars. Sam Brooks reflects on the controversy.On Sunday, the NZ Herald gossip column Spy broke the news that Hannah Tamaki – wife of Destiny Church founder Brian and head of ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rick Sarre, Professor of Law and Criminal Justice, University of South Australia Queensland Coroner James McDougall has handed down his findings into the tragic deaths of four people on Dreamworld’s Thunder River Rapids ride in 2016. He reported a litany of failings ...
Sri Krishnamurthi reflects in this special report on what life is really like trying to live and cope with the effects of a stroke for three years. Those were the most horrifying days of my life. It’s only now that I find the courage to write about my trials ...
Dear Rt Hon Jacinda Ardern (Prime Minister), Hon David Clark (Minister of Health) and Hon Chris Hipkins (Minister of Education) We are students, educators, staff and leaders across the tertiary sector in Aotearoa New Zealand. We have an urgent message ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alan N Williams, Associate Director/National Technical Leader-Aboriginal Heritage, EMM Consulting Pty Ltd, UNSW The latest report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) states that without a substantial decrease in our use of fossil fuels, we are on track for a ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Onno van der Groen, Research Fellow in the school of medical and health sciences, Edith Cowan University You may have heard of binaural beats, an auditory illusion that has been touted as having stress-busing properties, and is the subject of countless hours ...
Over the weekend, a Twitter spat blew up into a full blown controversy when New Zealander Jason Lei Howden blew up his own movie with a bizarre series of tweets.The trailer for Guns Akimbo makes it look like a fun romp, the sort of film your flatmate who keeps all ...
By underfunding investment in the young we've been able to create budget surpluses to be siphoned into the NZ Super Fund at the current rate of nearly $2.5b a year. This has some serious impacts for a lot of families. ...
‘Over the last six months I’ve realised there are always more tears.’ In August, Emily Writes wrote about the tough months following her son’s hospitalisation and diagnosis. This is what’s happened since.Part 1:Ward One: Emily Writes on love and fear and hope at her son’s hospital bedSix months ago I ...
Mercury's first half profit has dropped as weak wholesale conditions and intense competition drove down revenue. The power generator and retailer's net profit dropped 20.2 percent in the six months to December to $83 million, reflecting below average generation and divestment of its smart metering business. Revenue was down 14 ...
He’s been the country’s leading supporter of the strangest films in the world, and now he’s made his first feature film. Sam Brooks talks to Auckland film champ Ant Timpson about his directorial debut, Come to Daddy.My first encounter with industry legend Ant Timpson was from afar, at a 2010 ...
Summerset's annual profit is down with higher wages expected to continue to be a drag on earnings over the coming year. The retirement village operator's net profit fell 18.3 percent to $175.3 million in the year to December, as expenses rose, while the construction of fewer living units contributed to ...
NZME media group has slumped to a large loss after writing down the value of its business as it pursues a merger with its rival Stuff. The company's loss for the year ended December was $165 million, which included a write down of $175m in the value of the business, ...
Whoopee! A pay rise. No – to be precise, a rise in the national super which is paid to some of the team at Point of Order. Super was included in the boost to benefits announced yesterday by Social Development Minister Carmel Sepuloni. Fair to say, this boost did not ...
Movie Mogul Harvey Weinstein has been convicted of rape. But the problem is much bigger and more insidious than a few bad men, writes Victoria University's Jan Jordan. In May 2017, New York Times journalist Jodi Kantor had a conversation with Hollywood actress Rose McGowan that began the downfall of movie ...
Jamela Alindogan reports on journalists in the Philippines protesting and demanding better protection of press freedoms. Video: Al JazeeraBy Neil Joshua N. Servallos in Manila The University of Santo Tomas in the Philippines, which has the biggest and oldest journalism school, has released a statement supporting television broadcaster ...
Homeownership has long been touted as the great Kiwi dream, but not everyone’s looking for a permanent fix. Jihee Junn explores the rising phenomenon of renters by choice.Even if I had a hundred grand sitting in the bank for me to spend right now, I’m not sure buying a house ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jamie Parr, Lecturer, Australian Catholic University German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900) is sometimes dismissed as a malevolent figure, obsessed with the problem of nihilism and the “death of God”. Understandably, these ideas are unsettling: few of us have the courage to confront ...
US politics ain’t for the faint-of-heart. Signs of desperation are emerging in the Democratic Party as Senator Bernie Sanders surges to the lead after three key polls – and party grandees worry whether mainstream United States is ready to elect a “socialist”. Then, Republicans fear the US intelligence agencies, labelled ...
The Opportunities Party (TOP) today proudly announced the first tranche of candidates that will contest the upcoming 2020 New Zealand General Election. After two successive “smile and wave” governments Kiwis can see through the charade. Politics has ...
Media company NZME sees a further modest fall in revenues and earnings - and declares itself the "right owner" for rival Stuff Ltd as it gives more details of its push for political and regulator support. ...
Media company NZME declares itself the "right owner" of Stuff and gives more details of its push for political and regulator support. NZME expects further details of its proposed bid to buy rival Stuff to be made public in "coming weeks" - and any Kiwishare offered to the Government to be ...
The Council of Trade Unions is pleased that the Government is continuing to shine light on the issue of poverty in New Zealand and specifically child poverty with new statistics out today. CTU policy director and economist Andrea Black was at the ...
Forest & Bird is concerned at misinformation circulating regarding a policy statement aimed at protecting New Zealand’s unique biodiversity. The National Policy Statement for Indigenous Biodiversity is being consulted on by the ...
QUOTE from; Article: NZ Energy and Environment Business Week https://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL2002/S00150/govt-vehicle-fleet-emissions-heading-in-wrong-direction.htm First published in Energy and Environment on February 13, 2020. “The latest data shows the Government’s attempts to electrify its vehicle fleet and cut its emissions ...
The defendants in the National Party donations case have pleaded not guilty to charges brought by the Serious Fraud Office. The four men entered their pleas today during their first appearance in the Auckland District Court. Yikun Zhang (48), Shijia (Colin) ...
A teenager who was stabbed more than 16 times by her ex-partner has spoken out about her ordeal, and thanked those who ran to her aid. Crystal Tupou was left fighting for her life after her ex-partner stabbed her multiple times in broad daylight on ...
The New Zealand stock exchange has fallen more than 2 percent on the opening, following drops in global stock markets amid coronavirus fears. Overnight the three main indexes in the US have fallen by about 3 percent, while the UK's FTSE 100 share index closed 3.3 percent lower. Yesterday, the ...
Editor’s Note: Here below is a list of the main issues currently under discussion in New Zealand and links to media coverage.New Zealand Parliament Buildings, Wellington, New Zealand.Today’s contentForeign affairs and trade Barbara Dreaver (1News): Ardern’s visit to Fiji, Australia a test of New Zealand’s climate change ...
Four men facing Serious Fraud Office charges over donations made to the National Party - including MP Jami-Lee Ross - have pleaded not guilty at their first court appearance. ...
It competes directly for talent with the lavishly subsidised film industry, yet Simon Dasan, creative director of Wellington powerhouse A44, says New Zealand’s game creators are still thriving. There’s an uncanny parallel between New Zealand’s gaming industry and Ashen – the action role-playing game which is one of its most accomplished ...
Low observations of Hector’s dolphin calves, and dolphins much further out to sea than usual in early summer, have raised fears for this endangered species only found in New Zealand waters. The concerning summer comes after another delay in the ...
Bay of Plenty Police have acknowledged the findings of an Independent Police Conduct Authority (IPCA) report into an incident at Tauranga Hospital in March 2018. The IPCA investigated an allegation of excessive use of force by officers transporting ...
By Will Steffen of the Australian National University Opposition leader Anthony Albanese’s announcement on Friday that a Labor government in Australia would adopt a target of net-zero emissions by 2050 was a big step in the right direction. But a bit of simple maths reveals the policy is too ...
The Tasman District mayor is vowing to press on with a large irrigation project, despite a 25 percent jump in its cost. When finished in 2022, the Waimea Dam will be 53 metres high and hold 13 billion litres of water - that's more than the contents of 5000 Olympic ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Denise Buiten, Senior Lecturer in Social Justice and Sociology, University of Notre Dame Australia As the country mourns the horrific murders of Hannah Clarke and her three children, Aaliyah, Laianah and Trey at the hands of their father, many people are trying ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jane Varney, Senior Research Dietitian in the Department of Gastroenterology, Monash University The FODMAP diet is used to help manage irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), but it’s becoming more popular. Now bloggers and so-called health gurus have jumped on board, claiming it can ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tanya Notley, Senior Lecturer in Digital Media, Western Sydney University Like adults, children use the news to learn about what’s happening in the world. But the circulation of misinformation, such as the recent spread of fake news about COVID-19 (the disease caused ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Holly Kirk, Postdoctoral Fellow, Interdisciplinary Conservation Science Research Group (ICON Science), RMIT University People living in cities far from the unprecedented bushfires this summer may feel they can do little more to help beyond donating to organisations that support affected wildlife. But ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Katarina Miljkovic, ARC DECRA fellow, Curtin University We’ve all heard of earthquakes, but what about marsquakes? NASA’s InSight mission has, for the first time, recorded seismic activity coming from Mars’ interior. The observations, recorded in 2019 and published today, will help understand ...
In today’s edition: Coronavirus’ harsh impact on New Zealand’s economy starts to reveal itself; Bridges advocates matching Australia’s deportation policies and the Shelly Bay dispute ratchets up.
As major outbreaks were confirmed in Iran and Italy, the impact of Coronavirus on New Zealand’s economy started to become more clear, ...
ReadingRoom is devoting all week to the best-selling book in New Zealand right now, In The Clearing, the brilliant thriller by Ngāpuhi author JP Pomare. Today: Steve Braunias interviews journalist Chris Johnston, who has written extensively about the creepy cult which inspired Pomare's novel. When I looked ...
While two companies give conflicting accounts of past events, authorities are silent on the sale of a piece of equipment which could be used to process the 830,000 litres of dangerous solvents. The distillation unit essential to process the almost million litres of toxic and flammable solvents abandoned in Ruakaka ...
Laura Robertson once hated running, was overweight, then battled a heart condition. But nothing, it seems, will stop the athletic paramedic lining up in the punishing Ironman. Laura Robertson was a cross country cheat. She hated the race and did anything and everything she could to shorten it. She simply wasn’t a ...
Open mike 21/10/2014 
Open mike is your post.
The Cranky Uncle vs. Climate Change book is now available! The book uses cartoons, humor, and critical thinking to expose how and why some people reject climate science. It's now available for sale on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and other book outlets. If you're near the DC area, you're very welcome to ...3 hours ago
by the Council of Disobedient Women When Moana Maniapoto recently lamented that Rachel Stewart was no longer writing for the Herald, political commentator Morgan Godfery was quick to brag on Twitter, like a schoolyard bully, how proud he was of “driving Rachel Stewart from the Herald”. What a contrast Morgan ...13 hours ago
You’re probably aware that the Achievement Standards used to assess senior school students’ learning are being reviewed. Science is one of the ‘pilot’ subjects in this process, where a ‘Subject Expert Group’ has developed 4 draft Science standards¹ (a significant step away from the current 30+, and a response to ...15 hours ago
It seems we can’t even get through a week these days without the National Party's leader, Simon Bridges, making some sort of silly announcement about a policy that doesn’t actually exist.Usually concerning Bridges’ gut instinct and the undoing of whatever the Government has recently announced, National’s reactionary opinions and uncosted ...16 hours ago
Oh look! NZ First's secret slush fund was laundering donations from Talley's:One of the country's biggest fishing companies, Talley's, and its managing director donated nearly $27,000 to the New Zealand First Foundation, which has been bankrolling the New Zealand First Party. The foundation received $26,950 from seafood giant Talley's and ...17 hours ago
High Risk Call: Insensitive though it may seem to even pose the question: how will the electorate respond to what the Prime Minister’s opponents will undoubtedly characterise as an attack on New Zealanders’ freedom of speech? At more than twelve month’s remove from the terrible events of 15 March 2019, ...2 days ago
I am about to mail my overseas ballot to Florida so that it can be counted in the Democratic primary on March 17. In Florida you have closed as opposed to open primaries, which means that one must declare a party preference in order to vote in a party primary. ...4 days ago
In mid-December the Israeli secret police, the Shin Beit, revealed it had arrested dozens of Palestinian left-wing activists, including members of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), in the previous few months. Among those arrested was one of the central leaders of the PFLP, Khalida Jarrar. As ...7 days ago
I am among the most pro-free speech people I know. I don’t doubt there are others more strident than me, but I’m certainly up there. And my support for freedom of expression isn’t limited to opposition to government-imposed restrictions. It extends to a belief that employers should have limited powers ...1 week ago
Kids learn better with a full stomach. That's why we launched our Lunches in Schools programme, which is already providing free and healthy school lunches to thousands of children so they can focus on what's important - learning. ...19 hours ago
Mark Patterson MP, New Zealand First List MP based in Clutha-Southland This afternoon to a crowd of over 100 people in Mataura -- Mark Patterson, New Zealand First List MP based in Clutha-Southland launched a parliamentary petition regarding the aluminium dross issue in Mataura, Southland. The petition asks that the ...22 hours ago
A new partnership programme between the New Zealand Police and Fiji Police will focus on combatting transnational organised crime and enhancing investigative skills, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced on the first day of her visit to Fiji. The programme will see: · New Zealand Institute of Environmental Science and Research ...14 hours ago
Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: New child poverty statistics show little change yet, Greenpeace call for fishing policy review over donations, and a focus on Covid-19 effects on forestry.New figures were released yesterday on one of the most important issues facing the country – how many ...29 mins ago
He may be marooned in Texas, but Joseph Parker is closer to a return to boxing's big time than you'd think. Joseph Parker’s road back to boxing relevance won’t ever lead to the now fully resurgent Tyson Fury. But that doesn’t mean the Gypsy King won’t be a key figure ...2 hours ago
A cruel string of injuries could have prematurely ended Shiray Kaka's sevens career. But with determination and meditation, she's back in the Black Ferns, focused on finally playing at the Olympics. This time last year, Shiray Kaka was living in Japan, studying to be a dog trainer and setting up ...2 hours ago
ReadingRoom is devoting all week to the best-selling book in New Zealand right now, In The Clearing, the brilliant new thriller by Ngāpuhi author JP Pomare, inspired by creepy Australian cult The Family. Today: the author backgrounds his interest in the story. A few years ago I become obsessed ...2 hours ago
A jury didn't accept abused woman Karen Ruddelle killed her partner in self-defence. What does that say about our attitudes towards women in violent relationships? Karen Anne Ruddelle was charged with murdering her partner. Last week, at the High Court in Auckland, she was acquitted of murder but convicted of ...2 hours ago
Former regional parks chair Sandra Coney says a purchase of the disputed land at Ihumātao by Auckland Council would be entirely in keeping with historical precedent and the actions of local government in preserving open spaces for future generations. With various claims being made about the Government stepping in to ...2 hours ago
The Grace Millane murder case wasn't a who-dunnit - in fact it was easily solved. But it sparked intense public interest and international media coverage. What were the ingredients that caught the world's attention? A media frenzy descended on the High Court in Auckland last week as a sentence was handed down ...3 hours ago
OPINION: By Murray Horton in Christchurch For as long as the Campaign Against Foreign Control of Aotearoa (Cafca) has existed – more than 45 years now – we have called for the closure of the aluminium smelter, owned by giant transnational corporation, Rio Tinto. There are numerous grounds for ...7 hours ago
Tourism bosses have been invited to join a new advisory group, allowing them to stay in "constant communication" with the government in their response to the coronavirus. ...11 hours ago
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he Palestine Solidarity Network Aotearoa welcomes the withdrawal of the hugely controversial resolution on anti-semitism from the agenda for tomorrow’s meeting. It is a victory for free speech and human rights. PSNA looks forward to working with other organisations ...12 hours ago
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I posted this in the wrong Open Mike yesterday – so note that David Parker dropped back in to his Q&A post for some final comments at 40.1
i asked parker this:
“..could you please detail/specify for us what you would do in your first one hundred days as prime minister..
..to address the open sores of poverty and inequality…
..what will you do for the poorest..?
Reply
David Parker 2.1
19 October 2014 at 2:44 pm
Issues that I believe we urgently need to address include affordable housing. We’d kick off with building more homes, and enforcing a healthy homes warrant of fitness.
We need to lift incomes. By the time of the next election, I want people when they hear “Labour” to think higher wages. Wages lifted immediately for the lower paid via minimum wage. Wage increases for others via better labour laws and a strongr economy investing in productive jobs rather than speculation.
Incomes for the poorest families need the likes of the Best Start package. Shamefully, the Nats equivalent deliberately excludes kids in beneficiary’s homes..”
you will note that the question is only addressed in the final couple of lines..
..where the best start for newborns is mentioned..but that is it..eh..?
..but it is the final line that has been doing my head in..
..seeing as parker was part of the labour govt that ‘excluded’ the poorest families from ‘working for (some) families’…him accusing national of ‘exclusion’ is beyond fucken black-irony..
..but wait..there’s more..!..parker is on record as attempting to blame the 2011 policy of including the poorest families in ‘w.f.(s).f.by 2018..(!)..(seven yrs/two elections after 2011)..
..as a major reason for labour losing that election..
..(and therefor reason to ditch that ‘future’-promise..)
..so 2014 didn’t even have that..all parker/labour 2014 offered to do for the poorest families was s.f.a…
..(which left us with once again..the beyond black-irony situation of the far-right conservative party..with their first 20 grand tax free policy..
..actually offering more to those most in need..than the labour party..
..which i repeat…was offering s.f.a…
..it is clear from parkers’ non-answer to my straightforward question..that his answer to my question should have been short and sharp:..
..’we will do s.f.a for the poorest families’..
..because that is what his answer actually said..
“..’we will do s.f.a for the poorest families’….because that is what his answer actually said..”
No he didn’t, he wrote
Address include affordable housing.
Build more homes.
Healthy homes warrant of fitness.
Wages lifted immediately for the lower paid via minimum wage.
Wage increases for others via better labour laws and a stronger economy investing in productive jobs rather than speculation.
Best Start package.
Thanks for spending the time to decipher phil’s dribble. I looked at it, thought he might possibly be saying something interesting this time, but couldn’t be bothered trying to read his mess.
Turns out it was the usual mis-representation of reality (and English) that phil specialises in.
+1 to the first paragraph (didn’t look closely enough to know about the second).
ad homs is pretty much all you’ve ever got there..eh lanth…?
..slim-pickings in the abilities-bag..there..eh..?
and i/doncha love those people who have clearly read..
..and yet claim to have ‘not read’..
..yr fooling nobody..eh?
..not even yrslf really..eh..?
personally, I routinely skip anything by pu unless subsequent comments catch my eye in the scroll-down.
And even then I still skip his intial unintelligible diatribes and simply flip through the tit-for-tats afterwards. Sometimes The Al1en can be quite funny, and pu is often Cartman-esque in his indestructible ego 🙂
Problem with that is reading so many comments out of context. Lately it means scrolling through most of some threads, esp OM.
I’ve found that once it gets over a couple of hundred comments, I have to skip much of a thread. Filtering out the whackos and known tory-lying-swine (unless I feel like a joust) tends to reduce the larger threads’ content into a couple of interesting discussions between about a dozen commenters.
tits for tats???
sorry? Half my brain is at work at the moment, so I might have missed a subtlety or jargon.
so..flocky..
..the removal of capital letters..throws you into a total tail-spin..eh..?
..have you always had difficulties/issues with change..?
..u do know that language evolves..eh..?..
..(remember how until recently most here wrote in blocks of words..?..like bricks..?..doesn’t that look strange now..eh..?)
..scary..!..i know..but..y’know..!..don’t be too scared there..flocky.
..nothing really to be scared of..eh..?…
..(and you left yr ‘sniff!’ of disdain out of yr comment..where wd u like me to insert it..?..)
see, that sort of shit is too garbled to bother reading. The first sentence was at least in context, but the change bit was just random. So I stopeed reading.
Much of it is the visual composition, but there’s also a strong indication that what actually gets written is only a portion of the content that he reads off the backs of his eyelids. There might be a well-developed link between not bothering to read his deliberately uncommunicative scrawl (A) and a general aversion to change (Z), but he never bothered to link A to Z. The result feels a bit like trying to read heiroglyphs that have been eroded and fractured over time.
And it’s not like sitting down and focusing intently on the content has revealed any great insight to be cherished, so I tend to think “why bother?”. I put as much effort into understanding his comments as he puts into making them understandable.
a very ‘literal person r u there..?..flocky..?
..a tad ‘rigid’ in yr ways..?
..over-neat lawns..?..that kinda thing..?
..this is what people who know wd say of you..?
lol. Indeed, guffaw (but metaphorically so, because I’m at the office).
I think I can safely say “no” to that description, especially anyone who’s seen my hovel.
I do like polished shoes, but that is merely because I like shiny things. And you, phil, are most certainly not shiny.
i’m so ‘shiny’ u’d need shades..
(and ‘well done there!’ for getting thru that comment..!..)
I had already suspected that your desire for obscurity from other’s eyes is merely a dramatic overcompensation for (what you believe to be) your brilliance.
@ flocky..
..have you been talking to my therapist..?
..and/but hardly..”..your desire for obscurity from other’s eyes..”
..very soon i’m kicking off a daily vid-blog news-bulletin..
..where i intend to indiscriminately rip the shit out of all concerned..
..it’s time to get fucken angry..
..and my persona will be decidedly ‘grumpy’…
..(and i’ll try to limit the subtitles/written word..in consideration of those such as you..)
@ flocky..
“..’Cartman-esque’..?..moi..?
..i’m not one in these environs who demands others…
..’respect my authority!’…
.am i..?
Oui. Vous.
Don’t confuse a catchphrase with character.
philip ure ..lol…you are really a mad person who tries to drive people trying to be sane…MAD!
Lanthanide, Weka and McFlock 😆
I don’t reply half as much as I could, which considering the amount of rubbish posted already is probably a good thing. The fact that Philip’s opinions rants and musings are mostly ignored and not debated is telling, proving just because you shout the loudest doesn’t mean you’re being heard.
And believing the quality over quantity rule I self moderate. I don’t always get it right, but sometimes seeing the worst has merit, like so you know the good stuff when/if it comes.
So never say never and write pu off, ’cause just like living in nat NZ, there’s always hope even in the darkest places.
I don’t think his comments are mostly ignored/not debated, which is why OM in particular is strewn with his conversations with other people.
Maybe I should have written the comments ‘don’t find wide acceptance and consensus’ instead of ignored seeing it’s what I meant.
And Sir Spamalot (Can’t strikethrough the text) Sir Quornalot doesn’t really debate, it’s more smear and resist alternative views at all cost, and yes, there’s plenty of that.
ah, ok, so more like people engage, they’re mostly just disagreeing with him?
If they don’t skim past first.
Obama Agonistes and the rush to nihilism.
http://www.syrianperspective.com/2014/10/eyeless-in-kobane-obama-agonistes-and-the-rush-to-nihilism.html
Eruption Spells Gently Impending Doom For A Hawaiian Suburb
http://space.io9.com/this-eruption-spells-slowly-impending-doom-for-hawaiian-1647902487
Tangata whenua regard Pu’u ‘O’o as a guest to be welcomed.
Airstrikes finish off #ISIS @ #Kobane
https://twitter.com/ArmedResearch/status/523485410862059520/photo/1
Looks like a classic case of saving a town by wiping big chunks of it out.
Anyways, the War Nerd says that the USA was not serious about stopping ISIS until a couple of weeks ago. Before that the USA was simply waiting for Kobani to fall. But the YPG fighters proved very effective.
http://pando.com/2014/10/16/the-war-nerd-nobody-could-have-predicted-islamic-states-retreat-from-kobane-except-me/
That looks like the Kurds got rid of ISIL and only after that did O’Bomber decide to unleash the bombs. What we see in those pictures are the Kurdish defenders being bombed. The whole intervention there is just sick. The bombings and strafings in open desert are largely ineffective, but bombing the only force that has stood up to ISIL will do some real damage. Sucks to be socialists and progressive on women’s issues when the US and A is intent on imposing freedom for women, doesn’t it?
Medical Officer of Health Canterbury on Nat Rad this morning. New upper levels for nitrates in ground water in Selwyn District are too close to maximum safe levels for drinking water. Nitrates, from intensification of dairying, take a long time to accumulate and to reduce. Intensification has been rapid and will continue to be rapid.
It is our tragedy as a society that those he seeks to warn understand only money.
Just had my nitrate levels back from the first aquifer monitoring bore. They were so low that ECAN did a second test – which confirmed the very low reading.
@ grumpy 10.06 am
Are your nitrate levels relevant to the previous comment? If so it’s nice to hear.
What is your situation, have you been doing riparian planting? What is your situation, high up river or down the bottom? If you aren’t in the area of the comment where are you, and why is it good to hear for you?
this is john olivers’ latest offering..
..and it had me laughing far too hard for so early in the morn..
http://www.alternet.org/video/video-john-olivers-brilliant-hilarious-solution-no-cameras-supreme-court-rule
I have tears running down my face – Thanks philip ure for the link that was truly the funnest thing I have seen in a long time.
News this morning that a submarine has been spotted in Swedish waters.A hazy image of a sub and speculation it is Soviet and a rerun of the Cold War is imminent.The Dutch have confirmed they have a sub operating in the area.The Mainstream media have become so tedious that its an ordeal to listen or read it these days.
Must justify NATO bases crowding around Russian borders…must pretend to be surprised when Russia finds this prospect disagreeable.
Andrew Little choosing his cat as his running mate was a stroke of genius.
The leadership is in the bag.
🙂
Yep, leading by a whisker:
http://liberation.typepad.com/liberation/2014/10/top-tweets-about-andrew-little-and-his-cat-buddy.html
The purrfect strategy…….
Obviously you aren’t a cat person. Cats choose you rather than the other way around. I suspect that you are just a dog… person
cats are haughty and dismissive, dont need anyone… labour party deputy?!?
cats are evil/sadistic killing-machines…
..they should only be permitted enclosed where they live..(electronic-collar/barriers/walls..?..)
..and must be taken indoors at nite..
..the odds are far too weighted against the birds..
..and i wd rather have..the birds..
Good point.
Being under the ownership of two cats , I’m quite surprised I forgot about that.
Hi lprent just noticed the links to the graphs in your post about The Standard’s analytics seem to be broken. (For me anyway).
I was playing around with a different system for providing graphics system last night. It is probably just the image caching ‘refilling’ after I switched it back.
Looks like they are there for me now. Try Ctrl + Refresh or Ctrl + F5 on that page to force a reload of everything.
Cheers!
This sounds familiar. How many times have we heard that National is a good economic manager and Labour is rubbish? From the Guardian:
“Why did Britain’s political class buy into the Tories’ economic fairytale?”
http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/oct/19/britain-political-class-tories-economic-fairytale
The solution for Labour?
“The country is in desperate need of a counter narrative that shifts the terms of debate. A government budget should be understood not just in terms of bookkeeping but also of demand management, national cohesion and productivity growth. Jobs and wages should not be seen simply as a matter of people being “worth” (or not) what they get, but of better utilising human potential and of providing decent and dignified livelihoods. Ways have to be found to generate economic growth based on rising productivity rather than the continuous blowing of asset bubbles.”
Linked nearby to that Guardian article is another closely related one:
http://www.theguardian.com/business/2014/oct/18/economy-bleak-british-workers-technology
This is where the oligarchic elite are sending ‘western civilisation’ back to.
Or maybe it’s not the oligarchies fault as such. Maybe there is not so much a big conspiracy to cut living standards – as much as the simple reality that regardless of how many dollars they print, there are not the resources to redeem them. So maybe the rich are doing us all a favour by hoarding useless money that would only cause more harm if all of us ordinary people tried to spend it.
That maybe the work most ordinary people do simply isn’t worth that much anymore, that either automation does it better or the total marginal utility of what we are doing is either zero or negative.
That maybe falling living standards are simply a symptom of the fact that we have exceeded the capacity of the planet to carry us.
I see the sense in what you are saying and there is an element of truth to it: the deliberate rationing of scarce resources where the 0.1% have no effective limits but the bottom 80% are highly constrained.
Having said that however, a power elite acting to keep the class of commoners just slightly above the point of subsistence/starvation is not a new or novel tactic of social control.
so automation does a job better and faster than workers can do, fine. However, that economic value is still be created – and instead of it going to help run society as a whole, it is being concentrated in the hands of a very few owners.
Sorry it does seem a bleak assessment.
But what it does highlight is that there is no possibility of asking the 80% to live within the means of the planet – while the other 20% consume far more.
And I think we are on much the same wavelength with automation and tech. I see enormous potential for low-energy, bio-mimicry tech to completely re-shape the economic world.
For instance the PC I’m typing this on is an Intel i5 Quad Core NUC that has heaps of processing power – yet only draws about 2-3W most of the time. (Yeah the screen is the biggest power hog at about 20W). Technology does not always have to be a problem; it takes the shapes we want it to have.
The old energy-hungry industrial systems will soon die out – and either humans rapidly transform their energy and resource consumption along with the social systems that distribute their capital , or we will start heading even more steeply down Greer’s Long Descent.
It’s an enormous challenge. Greer thinks it’s unlikely we will meet it and it’s hard to argue with him. It’s a pattern we’ve repeated unthinkingly so many times in our past.
Yet this time might be different; if only because so many of us can see it coming. That’s the crucial link in the chain – we have to stop discounting our future against our present consumption.
Sometimes I think it would be a good idea to compel anyone who thinks of standing for public office, public service, or even C-level corporate jobs to go on a very long tramp. Six months of facing reality in the wilderness (or as near as we get it these days) might just trigger a change in values.
Inequality has not been good for the planet’s resources, it has involved greater depletion.
Characterising inequality as effectively rationing the world’s resources (as CV does) is false, because goods and services are not priced to reflect their true cost because of the economic system of exploitation.
If labour was priced properly, widgets would be made to last longer. Notice how planned obsolescence really picked up in the 70s, 80s, and 90s, just as jobs and capital moved to cheaper locations offshore?
And there’s more tangential links; if people had more time, energy and money, they would eat less processed food. Processed food strains the environment, and increases demand on the health system.
Another example could be the extremely cheap air travel around Europe.
The Spirit Level had something to say about greater equality engendering more care for the environment, and less focus on status and consumption.
Characterising inequality as effectively rationing the world’s resources (as CV does) is false, because goods and services are not priced to reflect their true cost because of the economic system of exploitation.
Do you mean exploitation of labour – or resources? In the next para you talk about labour, but the problem is that in planet of 7.5b people and automation – labour has become almost worthless.
While resources are finite and increasingly scarce, money is really nothing more than a claim on future resources. Paying people more really does not solve that problem at all.
The Spirit Level had something to say about greater equality engendering more care for the environment, and less focus on status and consumption.
Which is an excellent point – but how many people have considered that equality may means all of us much more constrained lives than we in the rich countries are accustomed to?
You overstate automation. Labour is not ‘almost worthless’. If it was, why would Western manufacturers set up factories offshore? Wouldn’t it be easier to produce good at home, without the geopolitical risk of offshoring?
A bigger factor than automation (so far, anyway) in wages and wealth concentration was the huge expansion in the worker pool caused by globalisation and lack of labour protection.
As an automation engineer I’m probably more conscious of the impact of technology than most. Since 1980 technology has more than tripled labour productivity in most industries. When was the last time you saw a typing pool?
So far most of the jobs we have automated out of existence have been the repetitive or low-skilled tasks. But that is all about to change. The next wave will replace more than 98% of all jobs as we currently know them. Within a generation.
And yes the vast expansion of the exploitable labour pool globally has been important too. But we ain’t seen nothing yet.
An economy which does not need workers, where vast profits and surplus are available only to a few. (For a little while).
Of course this model is already failing now, with Wal Mart and McDonalds in the US complaining that people are becoming too poor to buy their products.
Will it be an economy predicated on making and selling Maseratis and diamond encrusted iPhone cases?
Corporates are by their nature able to operate at a global scope, while democratic accountability (limited as it is) remains constrained to the nation state.
The NZLP could elect a cross between Karl Marx and Jesus Christ for a leader – and it would make no difference to the real challenges facing ordinary New Zealanders because all the big problems of the world are global in nature.
Yet ironically enough John Key’s govt. can slide along happily looking after the interests of the globalised corporates, and probably gets more done for that reason.
Tory economic infrastructure and scope of social networks is stunning.
So why are there no equivalent networks on the left? Where are our intellectual and social connections outside of this very small country?
Or did we somehow allow the Tories to define the boundaries of left-wing politics to be confined to the nation-state? While they themselves covertly took full advantage of the wealth, prestige and influence of a globalised, corporatised world?
Maybe living outside of NZ for a short while has changed my perspective somewhat.
There needs to be an honest discussion about the future of work, and the impact of automation on many jobs (although I don’t think it will wipe out more than 98% of all jobs as we currently know them).
But it’s your claim that wealth inequality (of which automation is one driver) may be beneficial because it helps to save the world’s resources that I find highly dubious.
@Red Logix Formes 8.52pm
Actually if people can have a different mindset on acquiring things, they would have an easier life, with more satisfaction, and a feeling of more freedom. Buying less would leave more to pay off their house, still have quality appliances, and not work so hard.
Work constrains people and their are many working for a psychopathic managerial type. If you don’t need money desperately because you have over-reached yourself, you know that you can maintain yourself if you finally have to confront someone who is riding you in an unreasonable way.
It would be good if people could realise how to cut their aspirations a little. And then they could support some project, organisation that puts back into society some of what has gone missing.
And you can spend time with your children, who are riches to their family as are gold and precious stones from mining. People haven’t had to slave in a physical sense to have their children to form their family, yet the children are much more complex and wonderful than any wealth from the ground. Time, thought and loving words given and received at the appropriate time can result in happy children with the parental role modelling giving their own mind strength to handle the uncertain futures of the human being. This is bigger by far to achieve, than most outcomes from formal work.
Thank you gw. That approaches the issue from the other side – and is a strategy always of considerable merit.
‘While resources are finite and increasingly scarce, money is really nothing more than a claim on future resources. Paying people more really does not solve that problem at all.’
This is an over simplification, and perhaps I haven’t explained my point clearly. The example I used in my first comment involved the link between planned obsolescence, inequality, and globalisation.
It’s not about simply paying people more.
With greater labour protection, higher wages, less wealth concentration/inequality, we would use resources more sparingly. For one thing, planned obsolescence would make less sense financially.
Resulting health and social benefits would allow people to be a little more creative and resourceful, and find ways to enjoy their lives while consuming less.
I think we are saying much the same thing – but I suspect few people have truly grasped the magnitude of the changes in resource consumption that are coming down the track at us.
We really have only two choices – a dramatic adaptation of our entire social and economic structure to harness science and technology to optimise and adapt the best we can to a very different world; or the usual descent into another Dark Age.
The former is within our knowledge and ability to achieve. But our delusions and vanities make the latter a far more likely outcome.
The solution. Nah. Too big and complicated for a soundbite.
Fyi,
http://kurdishquestion.com/kurdistan/west-kurdistan/what-s-happening-in-kobane.html
CBS NewsOctober 20, 2014, 7:00 AM
U.S. veteran joins ground war against ISIS
The Kurds are out-gunned and out-manned, but Williams discovered that one of the fighters who has joined their ranks is an American volunteer.
“I figured if I came over here more Americans and other people from other countries would come here,” Jeremy Woodard, a security guard from Meridian, Mississippi, told Williams.
Woodard served with the U.S. military until 2012, having seen tours in both Iraq and Afghanistan.
A month ago, after he was angered by news reports about atrocities committed by ISIS, he paid his own way to Turkey and was smuggled into the war zone.
“I can’t really understand them, but sign language is everything,” he said of working with his new comrades. Woodard told CBS News he’s been involved in several battles against ISIS, including one close to Syria’s border with Iraq that he said raged for 24 hours.
“I’ve killed two, in my first battle in Jezaa, and that’s it so far,” he told Williams. “Hopefully my numbers will go up. I never thought I’d be over in Syria killing people, but they’ve killed innocent people.”………………Woodard told us he’s not the only American fighting with the Kurdish militia members against ISIS in Syria. He said he knows of two others, and has heard there may be several more.
And a US veteran interviewd here: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-29689832
Would anyone else like to be one of Amy Adams’ sisters?
Good job if you can get to be.
Please could you post the link for this. I saw it yesterday morning and was unable to find the article again later in the day.
ANNOUNCEMENT
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Hamilton
Thursday 30 October, Midday
Garden Place
Funeral : Death of the Common Good: Pensioner Housing
The number of pensioner houses in Hamilton is significantly lower than the majority of regional councils. At a time when the number of pensioners are expected to rapidly rise for the next thirty years, we might have expected local government to be investing in a significant increase in pensioner housing.
This is NOT the case in Hamilton.
Hamilton is governed by one of the most right wing councils in New Zealand. So far right that it would make Whyte and Seymour seem like communists. Hamilton can show the rest of New Zealand where local government can end up if the right’s “hidden agenda” is allowed to progress. Why Hamilton should be blessed with such an obnoxious bunch on Council is a mystery.
Two years ago the sale of pensioner houses began. About 50 were sold in a firesale, raising about 3.5 million dollars. The majority on the open market, but the council likes to refer to their sale of a dozen of these houses (also sold at firesale rates) to Habitat for Humanity/Crosslight trust. The justification was that maintenance was urgently required on all the housing stock, and the proceeds would be used to upgrade the rest of the housing stock.
This was a lie.
The money has been left idle in a bank account, now tagged as the base for the mayor’s (Julie Hardaker) “legacy fund” so that she can be remembered for beautifying the Waikato River as it meanders through Hamilton.
None of this money has been spent on maintenance on pensioner housing.
But wait. There’s MORE. The current council plans are much worse
Hamilton City Council are planning to sell their entire stock of pensioner housing 🙁
The City Council say this is a Government responsibility. Government say that pensioner housing is a regional responsibility. Pensioners requiring housing are in the middle, with an increasing number of them facing the prospect of living in the backs of cars and under canvas presumably.
The City Council will say that this is not true. They will be selling them to wonderful social service organisations who will be able to do a better job. (They will say little about the whole purpose of this is to fund Julie Hardaker’s legacy fund of beautifying the Waikato River)
But let us analyse the sale. The sale of Hamilton’s 344 pensioner houses will be another firesale
The exact amount that these will be sold for is unknown. The units have a book value of about $70000 each (on average) (Seems to me that this figure is substantially lower than current real estate market values, and is little more, or possibly less than land value)
Council discussion papers refer to an approximate “discounted” rate of $43000 each. (on average) But rumours are that a deal has already been worked out between closed doors (presumably while PR spin is being worked out) and the 344 units will be sold for a as a gift at $30000 each (on average)
These proposals are outrageous. And absolute fiscal irresponsibility
How many New Zealanders are aware that a major City in out country could be so heartless?
And who will be the recipients of this gift? The recipients should be named and shamed. The Catholic organisation St Vincent de Paul; Habitat for Humanity
Of course they are interested. It’s a gift. But if these organisations had any sort of heart they would use their money to build additional required pensioner houses. If they use their money to purchase this stock, the chances of anybody extending pensioner housing schemes in Hamilton are almost zero. The Council will not do it. Who will?
These proposals are outrageous. A moral outrage
And a few questions:
Question 1
Is there any connection between Hamilton Councillor O’Leary working with St Vincent de Paul, and back room deals being worked out with St Vincent de Paul? Is this a conflict of interest?
Question 2
How does Councillor King get off going off overseas being a nice guy building a house for Habitat for Humanity, while at home he willingly gets rid of 344 homes for the humanity of Waikato citizens?
Question 3
If the majority of these pensioner houses were actually gifted to Council, have the Council studied all the trust deeds of these gifts?
Question 4
How can Hamilton City Council claim that the St Vincent de Paul Society and Habitat for Humanity are all about those organisations being a “better landlord”? They are in this game solely because they have been gifted a major investment opportunity.
Question 5
How can the Hamilton City Council consider improvements to the city design and landscaping of the Waikato River (Julie Hardaker’s legacy project) be of greater value than the ownership of 344 pensioner units for Hamilton?
Question 6
Why are surrounding councils such as Waipa, gearing up to provide more pensioner housing, while Hamilton is going out of such a responsibility for it’s citizens?
Question 7
Have the Hamilton City Council studied all the proposals that other councils have considered in their areas, to maintain Pensioner housing? I understand that Christchurch is studying alternatives, that do not involve simply getting rid of them all.
Question 8
How are Hamilton City Council going to PR this sale to the public? The left are against the sale because it is a moral outrage. Many on the right are against the sale because it is fiscally irresponsible. Who will be the winners? Julie Hardaker will be able to finance her “legacy” Waikato River landscape propsals. The far far right will be happy, simply because they are loons.
Question 9
For Hamilton ratepayers. Submissions on this topic are required by Council by the end of the month. It’s important that these are received. Even though the sale has already been unofficially been approved behind closed doors, and will be announced before Christmas. Will you please make a submission?
Question 10
For Waikato residents. WIll you be able to attend the Funeral : Death of the Common Good: Pensioner Housing at Hamilton Garden Place on Thursday 30 October?
Silly question boldsirbrian, you do understand when people go down a certain economic path they limit their options? Especially, within the realms of liberalism. Liberalism, has many faults, but the worst in my perspective – is when it is the dominant ideology – it can’t but act in an ideological manner. Orwell when he wrote 1984, was not just criticizing communism – he wrote it as a warning of liberalism as well.
.
@ adam (11.1)
In an attempt to understand what is good or bad in your perspective, (and regardless of academic discussions concerning liberalism and communism), what do you think about proposals of any New Zealand regional government to sell off all their pensioner housing stock?
@ adam
Do you like my favourite ideological description for the way forward – follow the idealistic pragmatist path?
Kim Dot com breaks post election media silence.
http://torrentfreak.com/kim-dotcom-breaks-post-election-media-silence-141004/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter
+100 Clem…liked this bit by Dotcom:
““The Internet Party failed to deliver meaningful change in New Zealand at the last election because of the media spin by our opponents,” Dotcom says.
“They have successfully turned me into a villain, a German Nazi, a horrible employer, a political hacker, a practitioner of prohibited digital voodoo magic and nothing short of a monster. I would hate that guy too if I didn’t know that it wasn’t true.”…
“When you have the US Government, the NZ Government, all Hollywood studios and all major record labels fighting against you, you don’t have a lot of friends, especially in the media,” Dotcom says.
“They either own the media (like in the US) or control the media with their significant advertising spending. Their passion to destroy me and everything I do, because of a copyright disagreement, is almost as fanatical as some of the religious extremism I see on TV.”
imo…Monopoly Corporate Capitalism from USA in action….expect more of this if the TPPA is signed
I suggest Mr Dotcom didn’t help his own cause and reputation:
1 Villian. Has criminal convictions relating to money laundering and fraud.
2 [deleted] Is of German heritage, admits to owning a copy of Mein Kamf (Also apparently owns a fair amount of Nazi memorabilia.)
3 Bad Employer. Plenty of ex employees who testified to him making them working long hours and not paying wages as promised. Not many ex employees stating how wonderful he was. (maybe Liala Haree??)
4 Political hacker. Admits to hacking credit record of ex German PM whom he didn’t like.
5 Prohibited Digital Voodoo Magic. not sure about the voodoo magic but operating a file sharing website where copyrighted software was being distributed left/right & centre probably counts as prohibited digital….
6 Nothing short of a monster. Probably ok with this one however with his ex wife having to sneak away from in the middle of a night on a golf cart does have similarities to Jack (of bean stalk fame) fleeing the giant…..so maybe if the shoe fits…..
[lprent: Bye Jimmie. You are banned permanently for making a unsubstantiated defamatory assertion of fact. I really can’t be bothered educating fools who make this site liable.
If you hadn’t then you would have been getting a long ban anyway because you didn’t link to anything to back your other assertions of fact. Try Whaleoil. He appears to like spending time in the dock.
I don’t, especially for a pissant dickhead like you. ]
he owns stuff by churchill too does that make him a pompous englishman?
17% of the Act party mps have criminal convictions for deceit and fraud… so they are the most criminally inhabited party we have. national gifted them a seat.
he didnt breach copyright, users of his website did
You missed the bit about KDC being German. That misdemenour compounds the other to make him a monster.
😉
@Tracey 1.09
Good to bring that forward and remind us about ACT. A busy little Party screwing everybody else and yet treading water itself under the NACT party.
what a fevered wee mind ye have there..jimmie..
..have you thought of penning pot-boilers..?
..and a gold star for weaving jack and the beanstalk into yr harrowing-tales..
..that showed creative-courage..
..(and it’s laila harre..eh..?..)
dotcom was his whipping boy here before the election… nothings changed
That Dotcom is a “Nazi” is the dumbest claim I’ve heard from you for some time, Jimmie.
Good try on the hit job though.
Chooky @ 12.1 Same process, different content for DC
+100 anker…..agreed David Cunliffe was a ” hit job” as well!…infact like Dotcom DC should reply , now that he is out of it all….David Cunliffe should detail and itemise all the hits on him! ( maybe with some research and journalist help)..it must have been very bruising, even although he was very strong!….and like others who have been through trauma it is cathartic to write it all down
…it would be good to see it published also ….such “hit jobs” should be made accountable and sheeted back home to the perpetrators for all to see
(…I can think of a book titled ‘Hit Jobs’…in fact if written by a research journalist i can think of several chapters…Dotcom, Cunliffe, Hagar, and going back a bit …Helen Clark …..etc etc
Kim Dot Com could be in serious trouble. The next few months will determine if he remains in New Zealand or is deported to the United States. The justice system will have the final say.
It’s good to read his own admission of the Internet-Mana failure, although he not always offers the correct reasons. He could and should have invested his money more wisely. The choice of Miss Harre turned out to be a serious mistake.
“..The choice of Miss Harre turned out to be a serious mistake..”
achtung gets bullshit-comment-of-the-day for that one..
..no contest..!
The right wing know that they are damn lucky not to have Hone and Laila in Parliament now.
Labour probably thinks similarly.
and minto..and sykes…
..what we almost had..
..i dunno about you..but the grief in me is almost palpable..
..and isn’t easing much..
..i am going to start doing commentaries on q-time again..tomorrow..
..on a pale imitation of what might have been..
..and my mood is ugly…
Western countries are increasingly ignoring Israel and demanding justice for the Palestinians and recognising the State of Palestine…Two eminent Jews discuss why the need for justice now
“Why have Western countries only now decided to vote to recognize the state of Palestine? What will be the outcome? Will a legitimate Palestinian state bring peace to the region? Is an Israeli-Palestinian peace plan a dead end?”
CrossTalking with Norman Finkelstein and Amir Oren.
http://rt.com/shows/crosstalk/197292-palestine-state-west-israel/
The seppos are basically under Zionist control on these issues. It’s great to see other countries standing up to Zionist atrocities, but support from Washington allows Israel to carry on.
Don’t you love when you’re on your morning read, and someone writes something which not only runs alongside what you have been thinking, but expands and develops that idea brilliantly.
I’ve been thinking about music, and the woeful state it is in for ages. All the best music is underground, and hard to find – whilst Mainstream music is quite shallow and lacks any message.
I hope you enjoy this as much as I did.
http://raprehab.com/bet-awards-black-music-neutralized/
You too can take part in the Labour’s independent review if you like:
JUST RECEIVED BY EMAIL:
Dear Clem
Today we are pleased to announce the names of the four reviewers who will lead Labour’s independent review.
Bryan Gould is Convenor of the review. He is joined by Hon Margaret Wilson, Stacey Morrison and Brian Corban. You can find out more about them by clicking HERE
Hon Pete Hodgson and Gaylene Nepia are working as lead consultants in the production of the first report on the 2014 campaign, with similar arrangements for the other reports.
The work of the whole initiative will be supported by a team of expert advisers. This will include successful senior campaigners from progressive parties overseas and specialists in qualitative and quantitative analysis.
The review is an opportunity for Labour to take a long hard look at ourselves. We need to learn and apply lessons from the election and ensure that we can be an effective opposition and prepare for government in 2017.
The review allows us to set a course to reconnect with the majority who want to see a fairer society and a more productive, sustainable economy. We need to be the alternative government ready to take office in 2017.
The review team will be responsible for the production of three reports. The first one is on the 2014 general election campaign (completed by December 7), the second on the longer-term perspective, and the final one on the governance and operations implications for the Party (both completed by the end of February 2015).
Submissions are open from today. Members, non-members and groups are all welcome to submit. The Terms of Reference can be found
HERE
You can submit through the Labour website by clicking here or by emailing your submission to review@labour.org.nz.
There will also be the opportunity for Labour members to submit in person to the review at face-to-face meetings in each hub. Details of these meetings will be provided as soon as they are available from the review team.
Thank you to so many people who have already offered to participate in this important review.
In solidarity,
Moira Coatsworth
Labour Party President
Clem…10.23 am..you posted this..I am so pleased you did…however you’d think that by 7.30 pm some would show a bit of interest..by posting a couple of comments.Yesterday in open mic I mentioned that I had heard Bryan Gould on the talk back radio talking of this and asked if anyone else had too?
Not a dicky bird.
I am beginning to wonder if the people in here are quite happy to tell everyone what’s wrong with Labour but none too many are prepared to to put their money where their mouth is and get involved. Perhaps some people have got too cosy in opposition and their twitter accounts & latte labour.
@ Ecosse Maidy…all they need to do is get a researcher/student to trawl through the all comments on this blog and other blogs eg Daily Blog
….and they will have a very good random selection as to why many different people thought Labour failed !!! …and was failing even six months before the Election!
….i think people are very tired of repeating themselves!
…and btw …this Review is a bit late isnt it?!…in the meantime David Cunliffe (the popular membership choice) has been forced to take the blame and not only resign but also promise never to seek re-election ( smells!)
…no wonder people are cynical about the Labour Party!…i wouldnt mind betting they are also cynical about the review!
Thanks.
Actually I did listen to the brilliant Brian Gould. I am sure many others from here would have too, but may not necessarily write a reply.
In my opinion, the Neo liberal minded destructive caucus members are a drain on the Labour party as they seem to be the disloyal dodgy secret leakers that have sullied this great social justice party. It is time for the membership to seek greater powers and kick these bastards out. They are free to join ACT, NZF, National, the Cons or just go away and live quietly and happily somewhere on their very fat political pensions and baubles.
My efforts will be going towards Mana. What Labour comes up with in a review is of little direct interest. I don’t have a twitter account and I don’t drink lattés. I have been in opposition all my life. It’s not cosy.
http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/former-prime-minister-gough-whitlam-dead-at-98-20141021-1192t2.html
He was asked: “When you die, what will you say to God?”
He apparently replied: “Well you can be certain of one thing. I will treat him as an equal.”
Possibly apocryphal, but quite a line.
– Brought in the first national health insurance.
– Recognised China (during the Vietnam War no less!)
– Let the arts flourish
– Abolished university fees
(Among other things)
To me, this guy deserves a post of his own – with a comparison to Norman Kirk.
Sure as heck one of those guys for whom it was better to flame out after making massive positive change, than to hang around after defeat.
A well deserved rest.
That certainly counts as a great statement.
It comes into the same category as Churchill’s view on the same subject really.
“I am prepared to meet my Maker. Whether my Maker is prepared for the great ordeal of meeting me is another matter.”
They would both have been polite to God. What they would have said to each other doesn’t really bear thinking about.
Important part of the narrative 40 years ago–Gough Whitlam and Queenie’s rep John ‘Cur’.
Along with Big Norm in NZ, Allende in Chile, French nuclear testing, etc. All set against the wiretapping, assassinating, election fixing CIA backdrop.
Agree totally, TM. Dirty politics was a lot less subtle in the early seventies.
not so. murdoch ordered his editors to “kill whitlam”…. not literally but politically. they played their part. fast forward 40+ years
I thought Murdoch backed Whitlam’s election, Tracey? He loathed the Liberals (but was also keen on the even more rightwing Country party).
he turned his editors on him ten months before the downfall
http://www.smh.com.au/national/murdoch-editors-told-to-kill-whitlam-in-1975-20140627-zson7.html
Ah, yes. Cheers for digging that up; another piece of the jigsaw falls into place.
its hard finding examples of media complicity of this type to harm right wing govts… notwithstanding the wailing of “the left do it too”
Murdoch’s interference in politics is so very wrong, so blatantly unfair and shows such contempt for democracy just because he is rich and owns news media. He should be hauled into courts in Australia, ( possibly UK and other countries around the world) for his corrupt ways and put into jail for the rest of his remaining few years. What a scum.
Clemgeopin -Murdoch’s name should never be said without the prefix Scum…. Scumurdoch should be the everyday usage. Probably applies to his kids too,
Sad news.
I wonder if I will live long enough to find out what really happened in 1975. There’s a dark mist that covers that particular sequence of events.
A colossus. Vale.
.
@ joe90
That’s interesting. Enigmatic. Is it a vanishing point of political accountability?
+100…grey…thought on a pin point
Thanks for that link, Te Reo Putake. Very informative. Thoroughly enjoyed it.
Cheers!
Is someone going to post properly on the Speech from the Throne?
Slim pickings in there unless you build motorways, build houses, or need your ACC fees lowered.
apparently isis has had a meteoric rise. i wonder, wasnt the usa warned about them eighteen months ago? is that meteoric?
Same with ebola. No-one knew about it really, apart from a few deadly and puzzling outbreaks. And now. who’d have thunk it.
hmmmmm, ebola has been known for decades… it just hadnt reached the usa til now…
key says we need 1984 type law changes cos of meteoric rise of isis. i call bs on meteoric
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/news/article.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=11345670
this is remarkable .. how Nigeria has defeated Ebola using proper hydration and very basic electrolytes, nothing more … common sense with intelligence … panic can cease.
And I think I am quite amazed it was even published !
rawshark yeshe 2.20
And the heros of Nigeria now dead – from ebola.
http://www.channel4.com/news/ebola-nigeria-world-health-organisation-patrick-sawyer
Dr Ameyo Stella Adadevoh is the doctor credited with helping prevent the disease spreading much more widely at the early stages.
She and her colleagues quickly identified a victim who came to Nigeria as having Ebola and placed him in quarantine…..
Dr Adadevoh, whose great-grandfather was a founder of the modern Nigeria, died on 19 August, having herself contracted the disease.
From the bbc more detail. And the other health workers who died are recognised – so that is nice – it is easy to be fixated on one hero,
The sick man demanded to be allowed to leave and tore out the drips and splashed health workers with him.
Dr Adadevoh and four other health workers died from the virus.
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-29682325
More like the intent to build motorways and the vague aspiration to build houses rather than the actual doing of it.
The ACC fees yes. Of course they had to raise them considerably first so that they could lower them sufficiently later (several times).
Weird…
I opened the Bob Jones piece from NZHerald today hours ago then left it because I couldn’t be bothered reading his dribble. When I returned to my laptop I noticed the poll about Labour leader preference. It had 50-150 responses and had Al on 30% and GR leading on 34%. I thought I would refresh to see what the results were now, and it came back with 0-50 responses and a completely different response (DP equal lead with AL).
What’s going on with the Herald polls? Is someone gaming them? That is very dodgy.
they havent decided who they want yet?
squirmy awaiting instructs from CrosbyTxtor .. 😀
chuckle…
gordon campbell and jane kelsey’s latest offerings ontpp well worth a read… at scoop.
here is kelsey’
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO1410/S00175/latest-leak-of-tppa-intellectual-property-text-confirms-risk.htm
david fisher has an interesting article on the herald today about our spy agencies.
… wonder when his long awaited piece on dirty poitics is coming out
Labour Party factions and the leadership contest.
MP3 of Radio 1 interview I did with Olivier Jutel and Karl Williams, in Dunedin last Friday.
[audio src="http://www.r1.co.nz/podcasts/Olivier%20-%20Tat%20Loo.mp3" /]
That was wonderful! Well done! Such a relief to hear the issues spoken about frankly, in a public forum, free from the standard braying.
Thanks 🙂 These guys actually let me finish whole statements, which was amazing. Radio 1 are a real class act in this regard.
Listening to that, I felt quite jealous of you Dunedinites.
Colonial Rawshark
A good interview, you come across well Colonial, with sensible discussion casting some light and the interviewer was sharp but interested in getting info.
Cheers, GW. The main interviewer Olivier Jutel has completed a PhD on US politics and the Obama effect. Smart guy.
That was such a refreshingly good interview! I enjoyed it very much. Wish it had gone on for a little longer exploring more issues. Well done!
I think every Labour leadership contender, the caucus members and every Labour party member should listen to that interview.
Tell you what, I am going to send that link to each Labour MP to mull things over. Can you give me the link to the interview that I can email please?
Cheers!
Yeah I looked up at the clock and 15 minutes had passed in a flash…must have been enjoying myself!
Can you give me a suitable link to the interview that I can email to the caucus members please?
Thanks for your support Standardistas. I’ve learnt much from each of you over time and hope to synthesise more of your ideas and put them out there in public forums as opportunities come up. The interviewers were pretty sharp and challenging, it was good times.
I was reading about Leonard Bernstein. His story is great but his death and burial had some points to note. Construction workers commemorating a musician in NZ – would that happen?
On the day of his funeral procession through the streets of Manhattan, construction workers removed their hats and waved, yelling “Goodbye, Lenny.”[41]
Bernstein is buried in Green-Wood Cemetery, Brooklyn, New York, next to his wife and with a copy of Mahler’s Fifth lying across his heart.[42]
The draft of his memoir, Blue Ink, having only existed in electronic form in a password-protected document that still remains unopened to this day, has become a poster-child in the probate community for the need of increased awareness of digital assets during the estate planning process. [43] Wikipedia
Could be that techies here should think about this matter of death and digital records assets etc.
Mention has been made of Redline blog. I’m surprised some folks haven’t heard of it because, although we’re very small fish compared to the major right-wing and left-wing blogs, we have been getting about 8,000 hits a month in recent months.
Whether we are ‘old’ – or what that even means – folks can judge for themselves. But here’s some recent stuff:
another very busy week at the blog as we’ve been sticking up pieces about workers’ struggles here and abroad.
The key articles in recent days about workers’ struggles are:
ANZ bank workers take action: http://rdln.wordpress.com/2014/10/10/anz-bank-workers-take-action/
A significant factory takeover in Buenos Aires points the way forward: http://rdln.wordpress.com/2014/10/16/factory-takeover-in-argentina-sees-discussions-on-workers-power-and-womens-liberation-the-russian-revolution/
There’s a really interesting article about the rise of China’s workers movement as the ‘communist’ rulers impose a particularly rapacious capitalism on the population: http://rdln.wordpress.com/2014/10/18/the-rise-of-chinas-workers-movement/
A German worker writes about his employer, Amazon; where he works, the employees are currently in struggle: http://rdln.wordpress.com/2014/10/18/amazon-the-global-digital-east-india-company-of-the-21st-century/
The latest global wealth statistics show inequality is widening: http://rdln.wordpress.com/2014/10/16/latest-global-wealth-statistics/
Almost wherever workers are in struggle, we find the police being called on us; what is the role of the cops in society? There’s a good piece by the Irish group Socialist Democracy, see here: http://rdln.wordpress.com/2014/10/16/the-cops-and-the-capitalist-state/
Ever feel like you are having to live to work, rather than merely working to live? No surprise, because while technology once held out the prospect of a leisure society, the reality is that in NZ (and some other OECD countries, like the US) we’re working more hours than at any time since the 40-hour week was won 100 or more years ago.
See Capitalism and the tyranny of time: http://rdln.wordpress.com/2014/10/03/capitalism-and-the-tyranny-of-time/
Whatever happened to the leisure society?: http://rdln.wordpress.com/2012/04/03/whatever-happened-to-the-leisure-society/
While the New Zealand elite are smug and self-flattering about getting a guest position on the United Nations Security Council for the next two years, the rest of us should be organising rather than celebrating, because it’s not good news for us.
See: http://rdln.wordpress.com/2014/10/20/nz-elite-win-seat-at-un-security-council-dont-celebrate-organise/
As to the United Nations itself, see: http://rdln.wordpress.com/2014/10/20/united-nations-friend-or-foe/
Also see how there’s a division of labour between the UN and the big powers; for instance, first the UN killed about a million Iraqis through its sanctions in the 1990s, then the US led a military invasion: http://rdln.wordpress.com/2014/10/20/sanctions-and-bombs-how-the-un-and-western-powers-committed-mass-murder-in-iraq-before-the-2003-invasion/
Lastly, we’ve stuck up the text of Urewera ‘terrorist’ frame-up victim Val Morse’s speech at the Wellington anti-prisons rally on October 18:
http://rdln.wordpress.com/2014/10/21/prison-abolition-part-of-creating-a-just-equal-peaceful-society/
Actually, one more lastly, which is some stuff to do with Labour. People here might be interested in our analysis of the Labour Party as part of the problem rather than part of the solution. Our major feature on Labour is here (it’s pamphlet-length long):
http://rdln.wordpress.com/2011/12/02/the-truth-about-labour-a-bosses-party/
Not much is written about the rather overlooked third Labour government (1972-75); we examine its record and conclude it rather paved the way for the fourth Labour government: http://rdln.wordpress.com/2014/08/12/anti-working-class-to-its-core-the-third-labour-government/
Phil
for Redline blog
Thanks for popping by Phil, good to hear a bit more about Redline. That factory takeover story looks very interesting indeed. Democratic socialism in action…
As for Labour being a capitalist party…well its been that way well before Rogernomics.
Yes, indeed, Labour was a capitalist party well before Rogernomics, a point made in the examination of its history by Daphna Whitmore and myself.
Indeed, by 1935, the radicalism of the early Labour leaders was well gone. The biggest capitalist in the country, Ernest Davis supported them – and Labur had him knighted.
Semple has become a boss.
Also, I think quite a few people would be shocked to see how racist (anti-Chinese) a lot of these early Labour heroes were.
Phil
i see the defence force is happy to lie or look duplicitous for the PM
” Tim Keating says “We dropped the ball” not informing PM about Obama meeting….”
He has announced his resignation, right? Key will sack him, right?
its clever, it contains distraction, cos according to us press reports, even without obamas attendance it was to discuss ISIS, but keating makes it all about protocol stopping them knowing in advance about obamas attendance. see what they did there, smoke and mirrors.
and so it goes. sigh. Crosby Textor takes us to war while Jason Ede is rewarded and Simon Lizard Lusk sees his candidates offer their maiden speeches. omfg. how wrong this is.
I won’t make a habit of advertising our stuff here, but here’s some basic stuff on capitalism on Redline and also on Key’s economic policy, and a couple of pieces on the end of the idea of ‘the leisure society’ (thanks capitalism) and pensions/retirement age stuff.
How capitalism works – and why it doesn’t: http://rdln.wordpress.com/2011/07/21/how-capitalism-works-%E2%80%93-and-doesn%E2%80%99t-work/
The Key-English government in the context of capital accumulation in New Zealand today: http://rdln.wordpress.com/2011/06/20/the-key-english-government-in-the-context-of-capital-accumulation-in-new-zealand-today/
Key’s ‘vision’: managing the malaise of New Zealand capitalism: http://rdln.wordpress.com/2013/01/31/keys-vision-managing-the-malaise-of-new-zealand-capitalism/
Whatever happened to the leisure society?: http://rdln.wordpress.com/2012/04/03/whatever-happened-to-the-leisure-society/
Pensions and the retirement age – the problem is capitalism, not an aging population: http://rdln.wordpress.com/2012/06/29/pensions-and-the-retirement-age-the-problem-is-capitalism-not-an-aging-population/
Low pay, longer hours and less social mobility – welcome to 21st century NZ capitalism: http://rdln.wordpress.com/2012/02/08/low-pay-longer-hours-and-less-social-mobility/
Phil