Open Mike 22/01/2018

Written By: - Date published: 6:00 am, January 22nd, 2018 - 262 comments
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262 comments on “Open Mike 22/01/2018 ”

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  1. Bill 1
    22 January 2018 at 6:53 am

    Just had a quick squizz through a blog on the sidebar I hadn’t noticed before.

    exhALANt. Looks good.

    • Carolyn_Nth 1.1
      22 January 2018 at 8:20 am

      Thanks for the heads up. Does look interesting – bookmarked.

    • Morrissey 1.2
      22 January 2018 at 12:26 pm

      It does indeed look good, but I question the placing of John Campbell and Jon Stewart alongside the likes of Chomsky, Snowden, Hager, and Mihi Forbes.

      I still can’t forget Campbell’s gleeful endorsement, night after night, of the National Party’s dirty tricks campaign against David Benson-Pope, and I can’t forget, or forgive, Stewart’s smarmy “Team Civilization” speech after the Charlie Hebdo massacre.

      • Gabby 1.2.1
        22 January 2018 at 1:03 pm

        Bensonpope made quite an impression on you I take it.

        • Morrissey 1.2.1.1
          22 January 2018 at 2:33 pm

          Not at all. I am on record here and on other fora criticising him for his thuggish behaviour in parliament—particularly his yelling out “Send him HOME!” whenever the subject of Ahmed Zaoui came up.

          But the National Party and its media accomplices, like Campbell, didn’t attack Benson-Pope on those grounds. Instead they recycled wild accusations about him abusing school children, which were nothing more than a National Party dirty tricks campaign. None of the charges had any validity, but that didn’t stop the ridicule and the traducing of him In parliament and in the media. National MPs bawled “Pervert!” and “Child molester!” when he got up to speak, and perhaps the most sickening sight of all was when Judith Collins, of all people, stood in parliament, smirking at him and holding a tennis ball.

          Campbell thought it was all great sport, and didn’t relent in the slightest even after Benson-Pope was reduced to tears under the National Party-led vilification.

  2. Ed 2
    22 January 2018 at 7:29 am

    Oxfam report – Huge wealth gap in New Zealand where richest 1% own 30% of wealth

    Another article that shames our country and shows how far we have fallen since the advent of neoliberalism in the 1980s and our further lurch to being an extremely unequal society after 9 years of Key’s regime.

    The richest 1 per cent of Kiwis have bagged 28 per cent — $42 billion — of the wealth created in a single year.
    Meanwhile, the poorest 1.4 million people (30 per cent of the population), got barely 1 per cent — $1.5b — of all the wealth created in 2017.
    The research also showed a mere 10 per cent of New Zealanders own more than half the nation’s wealth and the inequality gap had widened significantly in the past year.

    It would be great to think that senior members of our government sat down and read the Oxfam report mentioned in this article. Then looked a the policies they have put forward to deal with issues of poverty in New Zealand. Then ripped them and listened to the suggestions made made by Rachael Le Mesurier.

    Oxfam NZ executive director Rachael Le Mesurier said.

    “People of the poorest population tend not to vote.
    “Extreme inequality also fractures our society creating ‘us and them’, the haves and the have nots. This is not okay. “Fundamentally it’s trapping millions of people in poverty globally.”
    “Governments can tackle extreme inequality here and globally by ensuring the wealthy and multinationals pay their fair share of tax by cracking down on tax avoidance — then using that money to make our country and the global economy a fairer place.
    “To end the global inequality crisis, we must build an economy for ordinary working people, not the very few rich and powerful.”

    Her suggestions….

    tax the rich
    tax multinationals
    use tax to make the country a fairer place

    I would add – remove all the laws in the country that enshrine neoliberalism and enact new laws that create a socialist state.

    • Hornet 2.1
      22 January 2018 at 9:36 am

      “Socialism is the Big Lie of the twentieth century. While it promised prosperity, equality, and security, it delivered poverty, misery, and tyranny. Equality was achieved only in the sense that everyone was equal in his or her misery.”

      https://fee.org/articles/why-socialism-failed/

      • millsy 2.1.1
        22 January 2018 at 10:03 am

        Yes, because having guaranteed housing, healthcare and employment is hell on Earth.

          • Ed 2.1.1.1.1
            22 January 2018 at 10:34 pm

            Venezuela destroyed by capitalism not socialism.
            Pay attention.

          • McFlock 2.1.1.1.2
            22 January 2018 at 10:52 pm

            Hmmm.

            I can’t help but suspect that the Telegraph article’s attempt to draw a line from Corbyn to the Khmer Rouge somehow suggests that its description of Venezuelan conditions and challenges might not be entirely impartial.

            • Hornet 2.1.1.1.2.1
              22 January 2018 at 11:03 pm

              It may not be. But it’s hard to fault the observation of what is happening in Venezuela. Whatever the lens.

              “Tearful Venezuelans had gone weeks without basic food items like milk, flour and toilet paper. It’s a sad but common part of daily life today in crisis-ridden Venezuela, a country that has the world’s largest proven reserves of oil. Colombian officials estimate that about 100,000 Venezuelans crossed the border. ”
              http://money.cnn.com/2016/07/20/news/economy/venezuela-world-worst-economy/index.html?iid=hp-stack-dom

              • McFlock …
                22 January 2018 at 11:07 pm

                It may not be. But it’s hard to fault the observation of what is happening in Venezuela.

                I don’t doubt you’d find that difficult. After all, confirmation bias is a wonderful thing.

                • Hornet …
                  22 January 2018 at 11:12 pm

                  Are you suggesting all is well in Venezuela?

                  Edit: http://foreignpolicy.com/2016/05/26/venezuelas-problems-are-political-not-economic/
                  “Venezuelans go without basic goods like toilet paper and nourishing food; and the government appears helpless to deal with murder, robbery, assault, and corruption. Vigilantism is replacing formal policing. People die in pools of their own blood in filthy hospitals for lack of prescriptions and care. To save energy and ease the strain on the budget, government employees are required to show up for work only two days a week.”

                  “ismo — which is nothing more nor less than authoritarianism — has ruined Venezuela, as authoritarianism usually does. With unchecked political power, dictators are free to engage in any dumb idea they choose without a reckoning. For those who think Deng’s China or Pinochet’s Chile are examples to the contrary, note well that neither saw any economic thriving until they embraced a market economy, and only an economic illiterate or a moral idiot would encourage other countries to try their path with all the human rights abuses and instability that come with dictatorship. Chile mercifully passed into democracy with a push from the Reagan administration and its economy does well, while the Chinese Communist Party’s dictatorship breeds corruption and mismanagement; its economic model is obviously shaky, if not terminal. The comparison between Chile and Venezuela is also quite telling.”

                  • McFlock …
                    22 January 2018 at 11:23 pm

                    Are you suggesting all is well in Venezuela?

                    Not at all.

                    I’m suggesting that you’ll post any old shit as long as you agree with its narrative, and that you’ll ignore patiently quantified data models if you disagree with where they point.

                    I don’t know why things are bad in Venezuela. I know a few years ago there was an attempted coup that focused on the now disfunctional oil companies, but maybe the leadership is corrupt. Maybe it’s a mixture, maybe one begat the other, maybe the shortages are the result of trade issue “encouraged” by the US – FFS Cuba put up with embargoes and crop burnings for decades, who knows what the CIA is up to.

                    But I am pretty sure that any relationship between someone like you (who will uncritically link to articles that compare Corbyn to Lenin) and the truth is at best purely coincidental – and quite frankly would be a statistical aberration.

      • Carolyn_Nth 2.1.2
        22 January 2018 at 10:16 am

        Oh, so you present one guy’s reckons as evidence. He has an academic background, and he is also a right winger – a “liberal”, published on a website that claims to be “the leading organization opening the hearts and minds of 14–26 year-olds to the values of the free market, individual freedom, and strong personal character.”

        The post you link to has little evidence, just claims, like this about socialism:

        delivered poverty, misery, and tyranny. Equality was achieved only in the sense that everyone was equal in his or her misery.

        eg?

        Because, what I am seeing from the inequalities inherent in capitalism, is a great life for the few, and plenty of misery for large numbers of people.

        He argues that capitalism is based on human behaviours, which are ignored by socialism:

        The failure of socialism in countries around the world can be traced to one critical defect: it is a system that ignores incentives.

        In a capitalist economy, incentives are of the utmost importance. Market prices, the profit-and-loss system of accounting, and private property rights provide an efficient, interrelated system of incentives to guide and direct economic behavior. Capitalism is based on the theory that incentives matter!

        Ah but collaboration is a fundamental characteristic of human behaviours within society – without it there would be no society or development.

        Thanks for your propaganda for the few.

        • Draco T Bastard 2.1.2.1
          22 January 2018 at 10:42 am

          collaboration is a fundamental characteristic of human behaviours within society – without it there would be no society or development.

          Or rich people to bludge off of society.

        • Hornet 2.1.2.2
          22 January 2018 at 10:48 pm

          “eg?”
          Soviet Russia is probably the best example. Poverty, misery and tyranny aplenty. For other material on socialisms failures:
          https://townhall.com/columnists/johnhawkins/2014/02/25/5-ways-socialism-destroys-societies-n1800086
          https://mises.org/library/greece-illustrates-150-years-socialist-failure-europe
          https://www.usnews.com/opinion/articles/2016-06-06/socialism-is-devastating-venezuela-and-americans-dont-seem-to-notice

          From the final link
          “Rolling blackouts are causing infant deaths in hospitals where backup generators have ceased to function; the country is on pace to hit 700 percent inflation; outside of active war zones, the murder rate in Caracas is the highest in the world.”
          How does that rate on your misery monitor?

          “Because, what I am seeing from the inequalities inherent in capitalism, is a great life for the few, and plenty of misery for large numbers of people.”
          No.
          https://www.economist.com/news/leaders/21578665-nearly-1-billion-people-have-been-taken-out-extreme-poverty-20-years-world-should-aim
          https://mises.org/library/data-clear-free-markets-reduce-poverty
          https://www.cato.org/blog/capitalism-global-trade-reduction-poverty-inequality

          Capitalism and socialism are both imperfect systems; it just so happens that capitalism can work, socialism rarely does.

          • UncookedSelachimorpha 2.1.2.2.1
            23 January 2018 at 12:22 am

            You seem to have mixed up ‘Socialism’ with ‘Communism’.

          • adam 2.1.2.2.2
            23 January 2018 at 1:30 am

            Funny, don’t you like your freedom Hornet?

            Those bloody Russians beat up the Germans in WW2 – what were they thinking ah?

            • Hornet 2.1.2.2.2.1
              23 January 2018 at 8:56 am

              The Russians were hoodwinked by Hitler, and found they had a common enemy. Aside from that, any association between the Soviet Union and freedom is purely accidental.

              • adam …
                23 January 2018 at 11:50 am

                Odd view of history, so it was an accident that those pesky russians beat your boy hitler.

                • Hornet …
                  23 January 2018 at 1:07 pm

                  “Odd view of history”

                  That Hitler hoodwinked Stalin?

                  “so it was an accident that those pesky russians beat your boy hitler.”
                  I didn’t say it was accident. I said they became an ally with Britain out of mutual distaste for Hitler. Meanwhile, you have yet to come even close to condemning the totalitarianism, and acknowledging the ultimate failure, of the Soviet regime.

                  • adam …
                    23 January 2018 at 5:06 pm

                    Your boy hitler was a totalitarian, and you have not condemned him yet.

                    “Meanwhile, you have yet to come even close to condemning the totalitarianism, and acknowledging the ultimate failure, of the Soviet regime.”

                    That comment means either your very dumb, or have not read anything I’ve ever said. Seriously the leninist project put back socialism back by 100 years, I think most here agree with that assertion, except unreconstructed marxist leninists.

                    Do you understand political economy? Or are you going to keep proving your ignorance?

                    • Hornet …
                      23 January 2018 at 5:43 pm

                      I despise Hitler, and what he stood for.

                      But you have walked down a pathway and got lost. The Russians were hoodwinked by Hitler, who then invaded. And you still haven’t condemned soviet totalitarianism.

                    • adam …
                      23 January 2018 at 6:00 pm

                      The lack of comprehension on your part hornet, makes me think you went to a private school. Your a purist, indeed a right royal marxist leninist in your modus operandi .

                      Oh well if you can’t work out where I stand from previous posts. I leave you to your hard right puffery. I’ll remind you, your boy hitler was a capitalist, .

                    • Hornet …
                      23 January 2018 at 9:01 pm

                      “The lack of comprehension…”
                      …was on your part, and you inadequate knowledge of history. It was principally because Hitler hoodwinked Stalin that the USSR joined the allies. Until then, the Soviets were allies of Germany.

                      I’m accommodating for those who wish to learn:

                      “The invasion of Russia by Nazi Germany in 1941 shattered their formerly expedient pact and sent the USSR into the arms of the West.”
                      http://www.bbc.co.uk/archive/ussr/

                      “I’ll remind you, your boy hitler was a capitalist”

                      Hitler was an evil dictator. And his politics were confused. If you can point to any reputable sources for your claim, I’d be interested to read more.

                      In the meantime, try finding capitalism out of this:

                      “The term “National Socialism” arose out of attempts to create a nationalist redefinition of “socialism”, as an alternative to both international socialism and free market capitalism. Nazism rejected the Marxist concept of class conflict, opposed cosmopolitan internationalism and sought to convince all parts of the new German society to subordinate their personal interests to the “common good” and accept political interests as the main priority of economic organization.”
                      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nazism

                    • adam …
                      23 January 2018 at 9:40 pm

                      Hoodwinked, you implication that one man, hitler, was nazi germany , is quite frankly wrong.

                      The major corporations helped keep capitalism in place within all the fascist countries of Europe. Ever heard of IBM, ever drank Fanta? Just a couple, let alone all the car and other manufacturer companies. Ever heard of a guy call Albert Speer, he was a capitalist and in charge of war production.

                      Your right, they rejected free market capitalism, but not corporate or centralised capitalism. You should really read up on how capitalism works sunshine, you seem ill informed.

                      You could read up about Singapore, or Pinochet’s Chile to get a feel how it works. Saudi Arabia is another truly brutal capitalist country. Franco’s Spain was capitalist.

                      Do you even understand what your saying by capitalist, because it would appear you don’t – especially your warped ideas about how a fascist economy works. Italy was capitalist as well.

                    • Hornet …
                      24 January 2018 at 11:17 am

                      “, you implication that one man, hitler, was nazi germany , is quite frankly wrong”

                      I implied no such thing. But it was Hitler who made the decision to invade Russia. You seem to be moving as far away from the core point as possible to avoid admitting you were wrong.

      • Draco T Bastard 2.1.3
        22 January 2018 at 10:41 am

        Socialism was the only thing that saved capitalism – for a short time. It failed because capitalism still didn’t work even with the socialism bringing up the living standard of the many.

        Throughout history capitalist systems have destroyed the society that they arose in. As they are destroying our society now as it brings about the 6th Extinction Event and all so that a few greedy schmucks can have ever more.

        Tell me, how well will you be doing once you and your children are dead?

        Because that is what capitalism is bringing about.

      • Ed 2.1.4
        22 January 2018 at 10:49 am

        And neoliberal capitalism is doing such a great job for our country.
        You should look at the same of the stats for New Zealand in the 1960s and 1970s.
        Maybe the 1% like yourself couldn’t access Ferraris, but the rest of us were employed, secure and had access to free education and healthcare.

        • Hornet 2.1.4.1
          22 January 2018 at 11:00 pm

          Most likely because we lived in a world in which our mum (the UK) bought all our produce, or told our sisters and brothers to buy our produce. By the mid 1980’s that world had long ceased to exist.

          • Draco T Bastard 2.1.4.1.1
            23 January 2018 at 10:55 am

            No, that wasn’t it. It was because the wealth got out to the general populace and the rich were well taxed.

            As with all countries we’ve never needed trade to utilise our own resources for our own benefit. IMO, trade has actually kept us back as we focussed upon producing more of the same cheap shit (Primary produce) rather than developing our own economy to provide what we needed.

            Our present economy is a massive waste of improving productivity and efficiency.

            • Hornet 2.1.4.1.1.1
              23 January 2018 at 1:13 pm

              No it isn’t. Our present economy is employing more people than ever before, producing more trade than ever before, and delivering a standard of living higher than ever before.

              • Draco T Bastard …
                23 January 2018 at 1:19 pm

                Meanwhile we have higher poverty than ever before.

                • Hornet …
                  23 January 2018 at 4:36 pm

                  Not globally, we don’t.

                  • adam …
                    23 January 2018 at 5:00 pm

                    The ultimate rwnj rebuttal- it’s not as bad as them… (which I’m going to guess is somthing racist – because that seems to be normal with your ilk)

                    And why is that, well not because of rwnj like you Hornet. Thank the left, thank the Christians and Socialist who agreed we can do better. And did.

                    • Hornet …
                      23 January 2018 at 5:40 pm

                      “The ultimate rwnj rebuttal- it’s not as bad as them… ”
                      No, I didn’t say that. My claims have been about global poverty. But I repeat what I said earlier. Our present economy is employing more people than ever before, producing more trade than ever before, and delivering a standard of living higher than ever before.

                      “Thank the left, thank the Christians and Socialist who agreed we can do better. And did.”
                      There are many things socialists have done better. Destroyed economies. Slaughtered dissenters (including, btw, Christians). Starved citizens.

                      “Can a moral case be made for taking the rightful property of one American and giving it to another to whom it does not belong? I think not. That’s why socialism is evil. It uses evil means (coercion) to achieve what are seen as good ends (helping people). We might also note that an act that is inherently evil does not become moral simply because there’s a majority consensus.”
                      http://econfaculty.gmu.edu/wew/articles/04/socialism.html

                    • adam …
                      23 January 2018 at 5:50 pm

                      If all you read is far right loony publications like that, the only logical response – is move away from the elephant, your standing to close.

                    • Hornet …
                      24 January 2018 at 11:18 am

                      Adam you can shoot the messenger,or you can respond to the points I made.

                • Ed …
                  23 January 2018 at 4:42 pm

                  You are wasting your time with this poster. He and James are just aggravating pests.

      • Stuart Munro 2.1.5
        22 January 2018 at 10:58 am

        Where socialism failed it died of corruption, not elitist bullshit about envy. Capitalism is failing for the same reason.

        • Hornet 2.1.5.1
          22 January 2018 at 10:56 pm

          Stuart socialism failed (and continues to fail) because at its core it is an unworkable system. Capitalism is imperfect, but it is self correcting. Socialism is imperfect, and then countries run out of money.

          • Stuart Munro 2.1.5.1.1
            23 January 2018 at 8:45 am

            I really wonder what impels you to flaunt your ignorance in this manner on a serious political site.

            Socialism in the modern context is never fully implemented. The regimes that purported to do so fell very far short of the ideal, but they operated for 60 or 70 years nevertheless – as long as any modern capitalist state has done without a depression. They were riddled with corruption. They claimed in fact to be communist, but were totalitarian and despotic. An uncorrupted communist society would have chosen democratic processes to suppress corruption.

            In NZ in the last three decades we have seen extremes of capitalism that have destroyed the basis of our economy. We are no longer a farming society, but a real estate speculating one. In spite of overwhelming public sentiment, governments continue to sell land offshore and propose to sign the frankly lousy TPP. Capitalism has no mechanisms to correct these failures – we are obliged to fall back on older civil means of punishing corrupted politicians.

            The more common and more successful Fabian socialism which operated in NZ was a raging success. It inspired Popper to write The Open Society And Its Enemies. You are merely one of its enemies.

            • Hornet 2.1.5.1.1.1
              23 January 2018 at 9:01 am

              “Socialism in the modern context is never fully implemented.“
              That’s an age old excuse, that you seem to believe excuses it’s abject failure.

              “The more common and more successful Fabian socialism which operated in NZ was a raging success. “
              No, it wasn’t. It was only viable when supported by guaranteed market access for our produce. It was an unsustainable dream, lived in a bubble.

              “In NZ in the last three decades we have seen extremes of capitalism that have destroyed the basis of our economy. “
              That is the height of ignorance. I can only assume you know nothing ng of the countries growth in exports, market diversification and employment.

              • Stuart Munro …
                23 January 2018 at 9:19 am

                Socialism is the only form of society that succeeds. You might long for a society with entrenched systemic poverty like India has under capitalism, but no representative democracy can aspire to such a backward state. Our people must prosper – not just those advantaged by inherited or stolen wealth.

                “It was an unsustainable dream” Poppycock – it only became unsustainable when the political leaders of the time betrayed the populace and looted the public estate to enrich themselves instead of tooling up for the change in circumstances.

                “I can only assume you know nothing”

                Yes, fall back on insults you empty bag of wind.

                Over the last three decades NZ has lost capacity in most of our productive industries, with the possible exception of dairy, which relies on unsustainable access to fresh water and to cheap foreign labour. In the meantime the capital value of such farms has risen so much that interest costs absorb much of any profit deriving from increased production.

                We don’t build cars any more, or process most of our fish. Gangs of underpaid foreign workers have displaced local pickers and pruners. Post-earthquake construction has been conducted principally by foreign workers instead of upskilling locals, all of which over the long term represents a significant loss of capacity.

                If someone had deliberately set out to ruin a prosperous country they wouldn’t have done a thing different – and your mythical capitalist self-correction is nowhere in evidence.

                • Draco T Bastard …
                  23 January 2018 at 11:09 am

                  If someone had deliberately set out to ruin a prosperous country they wouldn’t have done a thing different – and your mythical capitalist self-correction is nowhere in evidence.
                  From what I can make out a few did purposefully set out to ruin a prosperous country. It’s far easier to get poor people to work to make a rich person richer than a well educated person who’s financially independent.

                  Capitalism requires poverty.

                  • Stuart Munro …
                    23 January 2018 at 11:16 am

                    Yes, I think the exploited foreign workers prove that – no degree of local poverty is sufficient to make some local bosses as profitable as they desire.

                    Some discussion here: https://www.jstor.org/stable/4418024

                    • Draco T Bastard …
                      23 January 2018 at 12:06 pm

                      Poverty and Capitalism

                      Abstract
                      While it may be possible to mitigate poverty through social transfers, it is not possible to eradicate the processes that create poverty under capitalism. Eight such processes are discussed: i) the creation of the pre-conditions; ii) petty commodity production and trade; iii) technological change and unemployment; iv) (petty) commodification; v) harmful commodities and waste; vi) pauperising crises ; vii) climate-change-related pauperisation; and viii) the un-required and/or incapacitated and/or dependent human body under capitalism. Ways to regulate these processes and to protect against their impacts are discussed.

                      Poverty and Capitalism (PDF Download Available). Available from: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/24119508_Poverty_and_Capitalism [accessed Jan 23 2018].

                • Hornet …
                  23 January 2018 at 1:16 pm

                  “Socialism is the only form of society that succeeds”

                  “To anyone not blinded to reality by their ideology, it is no secret that socialism, because of its inherent and essential nature, is, and must always be, an abject and disastrous failure. The failure of socialism and social engineering by “the best and brightest” of left-wing liberalism is once again being proven, the latest evidence coming from communist China, Canada, Britain, France, and Australia.”

                  http://www.tysknews.com/Depts/gov_philosophy/socialism_still_a_failure.htm

                  So, are you happy with the way socialism is working here (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_rights_in_Laos), or here (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_rights_in_Cuba), or here (https://panampost.com/trino-marquez/2013/07/18/venezuela-the-failure-of-socialism/) or here (https://www.cnbc.com/2015/07/01/greek-disaster-is-all-about-socialism.html) or any number of other references.

                  But your defence of the indefensible is at least humorous.

                  • Draco T Bastard …
                    23 January 2018 at 1:24 pm

                    RWNJ ignores all evidence, as presented by real research by the likes of Piketty and others, that shows that capitalism is the problem and not socialism. It was the height of socialism in the Western world after WWII where we also had the highest standard of living improvement.

                    It is since then and the implementation that we’ve seen an increase in poverty across the Western world.

                    • Hornet …
                      23 January 2018 at 4:40 pm

                      None of which you support with any evidence whatsoever.

                      “It was the height of socialism in the Western world after WWII where we also had the highest standard of living improvement.”
                      Really? Socialism in the Western World? So how many people did the USSR slaughter? China?

                  • Stuart Munro …
                    23 January 2018 at 5:31 pm

                    Perhaps you should address your own blindness before embarrassing yourself in front of others Hornet.

                    Your antics are not amusing and your arguments are not informed.

                    Run along and play with your fellow travelers – you’re not up to arguing here.

                    • Hornet …
                      23 January 2018 at 5:40 pm

                      Translation – “Stuart can’t follow the argument so throws toys from cot”.

                    • Stuart Munro …
                      23 January 2018 at 5:49 pm

                      You don’t have an argument Hornet, beyond bleating “Socialism baaaad”. You don’t even know what socialism is, you confuse it with communism and totalitarianism.

                      If you want further instruction from me you’ll have to pay for it.

                    • Hornet …
                      23 January 2018 at 8:59 pm

                      “You don’t have an argument Hornet…”
                      Read the numerous references I have provided. You are in a heightened state of denial.

                    • Stuart Munro …
                      24 January 2018 at 8:02 am

                      Why would I read your sources – they’ve misled you to the point of fatal ignorance. I worked with soviet crews, saw first hand what was wrong with their system. But backward far-right nutbars always think they know better.

                    • Hornet …
                      24 January 2018 at 11:13 am

                      “Why would I read your sources…”
                      That statement sums you up. Ignorance is bliss eh?

                    • Stuart Munro …
                      24 January 2018 at 11:42 am

                      No moron – real experience trumps the maunderings of biased fools like yourself.

                      I have seen the truth of the soviet failure first hand and your callow reckons aren’t worth the pixels they’re written in.

                      Now, run along and play with your fellow ‘true believers’ – your view of socialism is a belief system, not a rational conclusion. It is hide-bound ignoramuses like yourself that led Karl Popper to his discovery of falsifiability.

              • Draco T Bastard …
                23 January 2018 at 11:06 am

                That’s an age old excuse, that you seem to believe excuses it’s abject failure.

                Communism is control of the means of production by the workers through a democratic system. None of the so-called communist countries meet that minimum requirement.

                It’s not to excuse the abject failure of those systems. It’s to point out that the failure was down to the top down hierarchy. Exactly the same way that capitalism fails.

                No, it wasn’t. It was only viable when supported by guaranteed market access for our produce.

                Which logically means that capitalism must also fail without such guaranteed access to international markets. Guarantees that cannot be made and are, in fact, not coming. Even our FTAs aren’t guaranteeing that access as China’s threats to our exports prove.

                The only sustainable means is to live within our means, within the resources available in NZ and to minimise international trade.

                • Hornet …
                  23 January 2018 at 1:11 pm

                  “None of the so-called communist countries meet that minimum requirement.”

                  There is no pure ‘capitalist’ nation either. Yet I’m not the one making excuses.

                  “Which logically means that capitalism must also fail without such guaranteed access to international markets.”

                  International trade is at the very heart of capitalism, making your comment a nonsense. A bit like saying ‘socialism must also fail without a central planning authority”.

                  “The only sustainable means is to live within our means, within the resources available in NZ and to minimise international trade.”

                  Tried, and failed. International trade has liberated billions of people from poverty, and opened nations and its peoples up to a vast choice of goods and services. If you want to live in the sort of environment your describe, I invite you to do so. North Korea springs to mind.

                  • Draco T Bastard …
                    23 January 2018 at 1:31 pm

                    There is no pure ‘capitalist’ nation either. Yet I’m not the one making excuses.

                    Yes you are or, to probably be more precise, you’re ignoring all the evidence that shows that capitalism is a failure.

                    International trade is at the very heart of capitalism, making your comment a nonsense.

                    It was your logic. We may have been somewhat socialist after WWII but we were still a capitalist economy dependent upon trade. You said:

                    It was only viable when supported by guaranteed market access for our produce.

                    Which must also apply to capitalism.

                    A bit like saying ‘socialism must also fail without a central planning authority”.

                    Socialism doesn’t have central planning. That said, we do need coordination and cooperation.

                    Tried, and failed.

                    Not really. All developed economies developed locally before allowing international competition. And even then they seriously regulate access.

                    International trade has liberated billions of people from poverty

                    No it hasn’t. It’s induced ever more poverty.

                    and opened nations and its peoples up to a vast choice of goods and services.

                    Most of which most people can’t actually access. Which is the very definition of poverty.

                    If you want to live in the sort of environment your describe, I invite you to do so. North Korea springs to mind.

                    And I suggest you try Somalia for what you have in mind. That, at least, is an accurate representation of the end result of capitalism.

      • Ed 2.1.6
        22 January 2018 at 10:33 pm

        Your source is weak.

    • Draco T Bastard 2.2
      22 January 2018 at 10:36 am

      We need to set up our society so that people can’t afford to own a huge amount of wealth. Maximum income with good capital taxes would easily achieve it.

      We cannot afford the rich.

      • indiana 2.2.1
        22 January 2018 at 11:10 am

        You want a society that aspires to be poor?

        • ropata 2.2.1.1
          22 January 2018 at 11:29 am

          Do you think it is morally acceptable that Jeff Bezos (CEO of Amazon) has $100 billion in the bank while his minimum wage workers need food stamps to get by?

          • indiana 2.2.1.1.1
            22 January 2018 at 12:10 pm

            If you are morally concerned about how much money Jeff Bezos has, stop buying stuff off Amazon, after all he’s not forcing you to use his service.

            • Draco T Bastard 2.2.1.1.1.1
              22 January 2018 at 12:17 pm

              But he is getting massive government subsidies in the form of food stamps.

              If a business cannot afford to keep it’s employees in good health then that business should collapse. And that’s pure neo-liberal ideology.

        • Draco T Bastard 2.2.1.2
          22 January 2018 at 12:14 pm

          No, I want a society that doesn’t have rich people in it. Where everyone has access to the necessities of life and the resources necessary for them to be creative.

          Neither of which is happening under capitalism.

          • ropata 2.2.1.2.1
            22 January 2018 at 4:10 pm

            NZ is already unbelievably rich the problem is a few greedy arseholes hoarding all the resources for themselves. That’s Capitalism: making money off money, clipping tickets, screwing markets, insider trading, regulatory capture. In the endgame it creates a massive slave class — already modelled by the USA (prisoners), China (factory workers), and the Middle East (Indian labourers).

        • Draco T Bastard 2.2.1.3
          22 January 2018 at 12:38 pm

          BTW, all the poor people out there never aspired to be poor – the rich made them that way so that they could be rich.

        • pat 2.2.1.4
          22 January 2018 at 1:29 pm

          how about a society that changes how it quantifies ‘success’

          • indiana 2.2.1.4.1
            22 January 2018 at 2:01 pm

            There are plenty of examples to quantify success, but society is not necessarily the main driver.

            https://blog.adioma.com/how-much-sweat-it-takes-from-zero-to-billionaire-infographic/

            • Draco T Bastard 2.2.1.4.1.1
              22 January 2018 at 3:41 pm

              A few people start off poor and become rich. This isn’t great advertising as 1) for them to become rich they’ve made others poorer and 2) there’s so very few of them compared to the 7 billion people in the world.

              • indiana …
                22 January 2018 at 3:58 pm

                …so by your logic, NZ as country should not aspire to become wealthy as it will make other countries poorer, and that is so morally inconceivable that we should not hold out any hope for Jacinda’s child’s generation.

                Socialism, the university of life you never graduate from.

                • Draco T Bastard …
                  22 January 2018 at 6:14 pm

                  No.

                  People shouldn’t be allowed to become rich as that makes others poorer. In fact, capitalism requires poverty.

                  And NZ is already a rich country – we have many resources per capita. Those resources are our means. Fairly distributed and used would mean that no one would be living in poverty.

                  Thing is, they are our means. Exporting them makes us poorer. The same applies to other countries and so us importing resources is making other countries poorer. In fact, we can see that over the last couple of centuries as resources have been exported out of poor countries to rich countries. The rich countries became much better off while the poor countries are still poor and that was most definitely at the expense of the poor countries.

            • Pat 2.2.1.4.1.2
              22 January 2018 at 8:43 pm

              indeed there are plenty of ways, unfortunately the only one we appear to use is the accumulation of wealth which involves numerous negative impacts

      • cleangreen 2.2.2
        22 January 2018 at 12:01 pm

        LOL…..CC.

        Good one Draco.

    • Tuppence Shrewsbury 2.3
      22 January 2018 at 12:44 pm

      So, what your really saying is that the bottom 30% were each over $1000 better off under National?

  3. eco maori 3
    22 January 2018 at 7:58 am

    The sandflys are using a dum ass trick like they did with wearing a black beany and the think they are invisible lol.
    I will sue there assessor for hundreds of thousands for the way they breach my human rights and the rights of all my children. And I’m going to sue for loss off the potential earnings of ECO MAORI from the Internet this could be millions. The sandflys can carry on underestimate Me I will make my move when the time is right. I see we came from ASIA I have a lot of respect for Asian one just has to learn there cultures to understand why they do things and how they think. Ana to kai

  4. eco maori 4
    22 January 2018 at 8:12 am

    Maori origins Asia Ka pai

  5. Bill 5
    22 January 2018 at 8:20 am

    Anyone who has been treating mainstream reporting on Syria with a degree of skepticism might, or will find this long detailed piece by Eva Bartlett of interest. In it she rather methodically and meticulously deconstructs attacks made on her journalistic integrity by, among others – Snopes, The Guardian, Ch 4 news and La Presse.

    https://ingaza.wordpress.com/2018/01/20/a-personal-reply-to-the-fact-challenged-smears-of-terrorist-whitewashing-channel-4-snopes-and-la-presse/

  6. Carolyn_Nth 6
    22 January 2018 at 8:27 am

    An interesting article by Rod Oram on Newsroom – kind of a letter from the US where he has been travelling. it’s about the decline (and hopefully reinvention of the US).

    Oram says that Martin Luther King predicted the current moral decline of the US, based in extensive inequalities.

    Oram refers to a quote attributed to Martin Luther King shortly before he was assasinated:

    “We have fought hard and long for integration, as I believe we should have, and I know that we will win. But I’ve come to believe we’re integrating into a burning house.”

    “I’m afraid that America may be losing what moral vision she may have had. And I’m afraid that even as we integrate, we are walking into a place that does not understand that this nation needs to be deeply concerned with the plight of the poor and disenfranchised. Until we commit ourselves to ensuring that the underclass is given justice and opportunity, we will continue to perpetuate the anger and violence that tears at the soul of this nation.”

    Oram sees Trump as someone who has cleverly exploited this decline and the related fractures in US society, politics and economy.

    Oram also refers to the protests against Trump this weekend, and is optimistic a new, better US is on the rise.

    • Ed 6.1
      22 January 2018 at 8:37 am

      That quote of King’s is spot on.
      It is class that trumps everything.

      • Bill 6.1.1
        22 January 2018 at 11:23 am

        Class doesn’t “trump” everything, but it’s a crucial component of any rounded analysis…just as gender or race are.

        Any of those three, if separated out and held aloft as the fundamental basis for analysis, leads to partial and skewed understandings.

        • The Chairman 6.1.1.1
          22 January 2018 at 11:41 am

          If we were all classed as equal wouldn’t gender and race become irrelevant?

          • Bill 6.1.1.1.1
            22 January 2018 at 11:56 am

            How so? You’re saying by “classed as equal” that there would be economic equity, yes? But the woman is still dominated by the man and the black or brown skinned person by the white skinned person. (Off the back of cultural and/or historical reasons etc)

            And pretty soon that all bleeds back into economic arrangements and….square one all over again.

            • The Chairman 6.1.1.1.1.1
              22 January 2018 at 12:52 pm

              “How so?”

              In all aspects of life.

              • Bill …
                22 January 2018 at 1:20 pm

                So okay, your saying if issues of class and gender and race have been resolved, then there will be no ongoing issues of inequality pertaining to gender and race. Sure.

            • andrew murray 6.1.1.1.1.2
              22 January 2018 at 12:59 pm

              No.
              At least I would assume Ed refers to class as being the divisions that allow degrees of access to ‘power’.
              Within that frame, it can be reasonably argued that both race and gender are subsets of class inequality.

              • weka …
                22 January 2018 at 2:12 pm

                most people would take Ed’s comment to be about socioeconomic class though, esp as it was a response to the comment with MLK’s quote. I guess he can come back and clarify.

    • ropata 6.2
      22 January 2018 at 11:33 am

      The USA is not one nation, it’s a federation and it’s cracking at the seams. Washington DC is now totally corrupted and it would be best for the States to disunite from this dysfunctional system.

    • Draco T Bastard 6.3
      22 January 2018 at 12:13 pm

      False Prophets vs Real Profits

      Denigrating the basic comfort to be found between people and communities which society needs to keep cohesive and for all to prosper as a “weakness”, all while tearing up and deliberately breaking the social bonds between individuals, families and whole communities and the very support structures that they need to keep life itself together.

  7. Andre 7
    22 January 2018 at 9:18 am

    #MAGA MuellerAin’tGoingAway

    Heh. One of the government functions that will keep going through the shutdown is Mueller’s investigation into the Chump campaign.

    https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/robert-mueller-government-shutdown_us_5a63c3b6e4b00228300361db?ncid=inblnkushpmg00000009

  8. cleangreen 8
    22 January 2018 at 9:42 am

    “Climate change is the nuclear moment our our generation”. Quote PM Jacinda Ardern.

    We must use less truck freight transport on roads and switch to using rail to lower the carbon emissions and arrest the risk of climate change accelerating.

    Today’s major report on RNZ ‘Nine to noon report’ is again warning us all that coastal erosion is becoming a clear hazard now.

    22/1/2018.

    Monday 22 January 2018 Previous episodes
    On today’s show

    https://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/ninetonoon

    [deleted]

    In this next article last year the outgoing ‘National government’ was quick to bury it’s head in the sand on this serious issue.

    https://www.stuff.co.nz/environment/climate-news/96433693/coastal-erosion-report-urges-immediate-action

    [deleted]

    [long cut and paste deleted. Please quote pieces to support your comment, not long tracts. People can click through to read the whole thing.

    Also, if I have to spend time trying to figure out which are your words and which are the quotes, I’m more likely atm to just delete. Please come up with a system that makes it clear what are your words and what are the quotes. You can use the tags, or you can use characters. e.g.

    >>>
    body of text
    <<<

    – weka]

    • RedBaronCV 8.1
      22 January 2018 at 12:04 pm

      Now isn’t that interesting – actually its much less than I would have thought in some areas.
      46 km of railway – have alternative plans drawn up & activate closer to the time. 43000 houses – about 4% of the housing stock – how many are permanent dwellings as opposed to holiday homes – what is the built quality – how many can be shifted and are worth shifting? Are there clusters in some areas – that could be shifted at once.

      Looks like we need to designate some land for “new” suburbs in some areas – and have a “shift it Saturday” – where south D takes it’s houses & migrates up onto a hill. At $10000 a house we are looking at $430m spread over a number of years . And houses at risk, not moveable & not yet flooding could be used as a reserve rental stock.

      The airports – can swift public transport mean another nearby airport could be used? We have a lot of airports & this might be a good occasion to rethink about fewer & fast trains to areas around the airport.

    • Sacha 8.2
      22 January 2018 at 12:43 pm

      Please do not paste the full text of articles.

    • weka 8.3
      22 January 2018 at 12:50 pm

      moderation note to respond to, thanks.

  9. Puckish Rogue 9
    22 January 2018 at 11:21 am

    So random musings from a right-winger time…

    Jacinda Ardern is basically PM for as long she wants and is Labours answer to John Key.

    Every time theres some news they may want buried (like why the first 100 days has been a bit slow or trying to hide the extra payments to tribes) they can trot a pic of Clarke taking the kid to preschool or if someone criticises Jacinda then you can bet the media will jump all over it as bullying.

    2020 election well you have preschool, 2023 you’ve got starting primary school etc etc

    So how is Jacinda like John well first off educationally speaking neither are what you would call academics in that John has a BCom from Canterbury and Jacinda has a BCS from Waikato

    Both went overseas, both did quite well in their respective fields and both are very media savvy as well as both having the ability to say nothing but still making their respective supporters believe they walk on water (absolutely have a conversation about that)

    Both are probably more intelligent than their respective critics and opposition give them credit for and both mangle the language (poverdy anyone?)

    Being that Jacinda is the PM for as long as she wants (and i do mean she, most certainly not anyone else) I just hope that she does a good a job as John Key did

    I do of course admit that I am biased therefore I may be completely wrong about all this

    • adam 9.1
      22 January 2018 at 12:43 pm

      Says the little racist Puckish Rogue.

      Like the poor me at the end, and the overly concern trolling – the new truly woeful Puckish Rogue.

      Seems all you lies about a 4th term, have forced you like your mates, to make up new lies.

      Sad man, just sad.

      • weka 9.1.1
        22 January 2018 at 12:55 pm

        Um, what is racist about PR’s comment?

        • adam 9.1.1.1
          22 January 2018 at 2:32 pm

          It’s a dig at him.

          And a reminder of his past behaviour here. One should be reminded, when one sinks that low.

          • Puckish Rogue 9.1.1.1.1
            22 January 2018 at 2:40 pm

            You going to post a link to this or just keep running your mouth?

          • weka 9.1.1.1.2
            22 January 2018 at 2:55 pm

            if you’re going to do that can you please link? Not a great fan of carrying over conflicts from past convos unless there is a good reason.

            • adam 9.1.1.1.2.1
              22 January 2018 at 3:05 pm

              Absolutely, can you show me how to search past comments, becasue all I get is two pages of PR’s post, they cover time since his return. Not the one that got him banned.

              Edit: Because puckish has no recollection of being banned. Also my point I might add.

              • weka …
                22 January 2018 at 3:56 pm

                thanks. I find it easier to use google by site advanced search. Put the full TS URL in the ‘site or domain’ field, and whatever key words you can think of. You’ll still have to scroll through but you can narrow it down by dates too. It’s better than the internal search engine.

                https://www.google.co.nz/advanced_search

                • adam …
                  22 January 2018 at 9:28 pm

                  Thanks not having much fun, really, really not having much fun. But been mildly enjoyable reading some old posts.

                  Will keep plodding on – got a new phrase I hope will help – “banned until 1 month after the election”

    • Reality 9.2
      22 January 2018 at 12:53 pm

      A cynical soul aren’t you? Have you forgotten John Key’s use of his son and daughter with their various publicity episodes, particularly Max and his gay slur to a cyclist. And his clutching of Richie at every opportunity. And his bad taste radio episodes. Well the occasional photo of a little Gayford- Ardern I think would be mild in comparison. I can’t imagine them doing anything stupid with their baby as far as publicity goes.

      • Puckish Rogue 9.2.1
        22 January 2018 at 1:04 pm

        Sure its not a perfect comparison but wouldn’t you agree theres some similarities between the two and I do hope the media give their kid a chance to be a kid

    • weka 9.3
      22 January 2018 at 12:54 pm

      Hey PR, thank-you for raising the standard of RW comment here a couple of notches, much appreciated.

      • Puckish Rogue 9.3.1
        22 January 2018 at 1:02 pm

        Well thank you very much, its unexpected but a compliment is always nice to recieve

        • weka 9.3.1.1
          22 January 2018 at 1:22 pm

          You laid out your argument well, and there was minimal taunting.

          • Puckish Rogue 9.3.1.1.1
            22 January 2018 at 2:14 pm

            Its damn hard to taunt when your team loses 🙂

            • weka 9.3.1.1.1.1
              22 January 2018 at 2:56 pm

              lol. Well the righties had a go at it here for a few months since spring, but I hope they take your lead now 🙂

              • Puckish Rogue …
                22 January 2018 at 3:04 pm

                i think we all can agree I shouldn’t take the lead in anything

                • weka …
                  22 January 2018 at 3:05 pm

                  very self deprecating PR, you surprise me. How about we settle on you setting a good example?

                  edit, you realise you’ve set the bar now.

                  • Puckish Rogue …
                    22 January 2018 at 3:41 pm

                    Hey if it helps make the site more welcoming to posters i’ll give it a go

                    • weka …
                      22 January 2018 at 4:03 pm

                      mate, anything that gets more interesting political discussion and less people bitching at each other the better. Better for those already here, and better at attracting others to comment.

                      (lol, I feel I need to put a caveat in now, given your history, but I’m not quite sure what it is).

                    • Puckish Rogue …
                      22 January 2018 at 4:09 pm

                      As Rocky Balboa so eloquently put it:

                    • weka …
                      22 January 2018 at 4:31 pm

                      ha ha.

    • Stuart Munro 9.4
      22 January 2018 at 1:33 pm

      It’s early days for Jacinda, but there seems to be some intention of keeping promises – something no-one could accuse Key of.

      It will of course take a long time to build NZ out of the hole neo-liberalism and naked corruption have dropped us into.

      In the meantime though, perhaps you should contain your criticism to items where the government is erring. If Jacinda keeps her promises and repairs some of the wreckage the last government wrought then there is nothing wrong with positive press – it’s only when the positive press is used to cover up failures and corruption, which is all it did under Key, that it becomes odious.

      • Puckish Rogue 9.4.1
        22 January 2018 at 2:28 pm

        “It’s early days for Jacinda, but there seems to be some intention of keeping promises – something no-one could accuse Key of.”

        Labour pre-election pledged to re-enter Pike River mine and thats now a firm maybe plus depending on how you want to see it the whole TPP thing is a back track also and its been less than 100 days

        You’re right, maybe they will keep their child away from the media (hopefully they will) but considering the media coverage I doubt the media will respect their wishes

        • veutoviper 9.4.1.1
          22 January 2018 at 2:44 pm

          “I do hope the media give their kid a chance to be a kid.”

          Jacinda and Clarke were interviewed on this very point this morning and it was pretty clear that they have this well in mind – sorry won’t try to find the video in the plethora of interviews etc. Think it was the TVNZ Breakfast interview with Tame.

          Both Jacinda and Clarke are well versed/qualified in media management and IMHO their announcement on Friday was timed to coincide with the end of the holiday period and the back to work for the government and the impending end of the first 100 day period.

          The Labour Caucus (and many of their families) convened for a two day retreat near Martinborough yesterday where they are currently reviewing the first 100 days, what still needs to be done in the next 10 days, and drawing up the next 100 day plans. The PM is expected to give a news conference/stand-up this afternoon on the next steps in their planning etc. In other words, IMHO they announced the baby news on Friday, have given 48 hours or so for Babymania, and now the PM’s focus etc will be back to government business.

          Tomorrow Tues morning it is back to Wellington for the first Cabinet meeting with Winston etc. – so back to BAU.

          An interesting aside to the above (again I cannot give a link as it is lost somewhere in the plethora of interviews etc I have ‘indulged in’ over the last 48 hours and it would take hours to find) is that:

          Drumroll ….

          Ardern mentioned in passing in an interview (yesterday Sunday I think) that Winston Peters has actually been/still is formally Acting PM for the two or so days of the Labour Caucus Retreat in the Wairarapa.

          A test run and/or a middle finger salute to the naysayers who are predicting Armageddon when Peters takes over as Acting PM in June?

          • Puckish Rogue 9.4.1.1.1
            22 January 2018 at 2:58 pm

            “A test run and/or a middle finger salute to the naysayers who are predicting Armageddon when Peters takes over as Acting PM in June?”

            Could well be but I don’t think most (imho anyway) people have a problem with Winston being PM temporarily as i think most would probably say that was a big part of the negotiations but if, no matter how unlikely, Winston is still the leader at the next election then things would get very interesting

        • alwyn 9.4.1.2
          22 January 2018 at 4:16 pm

          Do you remember how Labour were going to ban foreigners buying New Zealand houses, and that the ban would be in place by Christmas?
          Became they would introduce a bill and it wouldn’t affect all foreigners but you can’t expect too much can you?
          https://www.odt.co.nz/news/election-2017/labour-would-ban-foreign-property-purchases
          As she said ‘Labour would ban sales of existing houses to non-resident, foreign buyers “by Christmas”‘.

    • mac1 9.5
      22 January 2018 at 2:55 pm

      Dear Puckish Rogue,
      I don’t believe that the Labour Government can be blamed because you think a hundred days has been somehow slowed down.

      “(like why the first 100 days has been a bit slow)”

      I’d blame the idleness of holidays boring you, or longer summer days, the heat, the cricket, whatever.

      But not the government. Even nanny state cannot alter time- Maui and his brothers could, but not the government……

      http://eng.mataurangamaori.tki.org.nz/Support-materials/Te-Reo-Maori/Maori-Myths-Legends-and-Contemporary-Stories/How-Maui-slowed-the-sun

      • Puckish Rogue 9.5.1
        22 January 2018 at 3:08 pm

        My mistake, I meant ticking off the first hundred days achievements

        Also the Disney movie Moana would have been a lot more interesting had they used a few more of Mauis backstory

    • Incognito 9.6
      23 January 2018 at 12:16 am

      Jacinda Ardern is basically PM for as long she wants and is Labours answer to John Key.[sic]

      An interesting thesis that, based on your other comments in this thread, seems to refer to the respective popularity of said leaders and the rather huge and unique privilege this offers.

      I’d argue that the persona of Key and Ardern is developed/developing by an interplay of inner and outer forces & influences. Ardern is or will be Labour’s “answer to John Key” because that’s what the general public believes and thus has come to expect/demand. The MSM, pundits, the Opposition, the NZ Labour Party & Caucus, the coalition-Government, etcetera, will all contribute to this collective projection.

      When Key became leader of the National Party in 2006 and PM 2 years later his persona was not identical to the one when he bailed out in 2016.

      Ms Ardern’s persona is also not static & fixed and time will tell how it will develop but suffice to say her personal trajectory may be very different from Mr Key’s – I certainly hope so …

      IMO John Key cultivated & milked his popularity like a Fonterra for mostly personal ‘profit’; the National Party (and a few ‘hangers on’) benefitted by riding on his coattail and hanging in his slipstream – it was good (for them) while it lasted. So far, I cannot see this happening with Jacinda Ardern – being in power can do ‘funny things’ to people – but I could not possibly comment on why I doubt that it will happen in the foreseeable future …

  10. cleangreen 10
    22 January 2018 at 12:07 pm

    Tut tut tut, PR,

    Ouch!!!!

    You are really hurting at loosing the “greedy mantle of the scroundlous defunct National Government” aren’t you; -, poor thing.

    At least Jacinda will get real about climate change not like your hollow lot ignoring the problem.

    • Naki man 10.1
      22 January 2018 at 12:42 pm

      You are rambling you silly old fool, define “loosing”.

      [Loosing is what happens to commenters who try to start flame wars on TS – weka]

      • adam 10.1.1
        22 January 2018 at 12:46 pm

        Oh look another troll, desperate for attention, going for the spelling mistake.

        Does it feel so good?

        • alwyn 10.1.1.1
          22 January 2018 at 4:18 pm

          The problem is that it isn’t a mistake.
          He almost always uses “loosing”.
          I’ve 1questioned him on what it is supposed to mean but no explanation is ever forthcoming.

      • veutoviper 10.1.2
        22 January 2018 at 2:47 pm

        SCREAMING —

        The word is “losing” not “loosing”.

        VV AKA The Spelling Pedant

    • Puckish Rogue 10.2
      22 January 2018 at 1:07 pm

      Naah I got over that pretty quickly (plus it wasn’t going to change anything anyway) and as I say “Jacinda Ardern is basically PM for as long she wants and is Labours answer to John Key.” so its not like I think National will be back in power any time soon

      All she has to do is cross over into National territory as John Key did so successfully and she’ll be remembered as being as, if not more, popular than John Key

      • BM 10.2.1
        22 January 2018 at 1:23 pm

        All she has to do is cross over into National territory as John Key did so successfully and she’ll be remembered as being as, if not more, popular than John Key

        Ardern getting more than one term still hangs on the economy staying together and voters not feeling like they’re going backwards., this baby stuff is just icing.

        Also some people like icing, some like a tiny bit of icing, some don’t like icing at all and just prefer the cake.

        • Puckish Rogue 10.2.1.1
          22 January 2018 at 1:29 pm

          Does it though, Jacinda is very popular so even if the economy tanks, Labour can lay the blame at Nationals feet and because Jacinda is popular she’ll be believed by enough voters (as was John Key) and Labour will get another term

          Although if, for whatever reason, Winnie is the leader at the next election it’ll be a complete bloodbath and National will be back in

          But most likely Labour will be in power for easily two terms, maybe three

          • BM 10.2.1.1.1
            22 January 2018 at 1:33 pm

            Does it though, Jacinda is very popular so even if the economy tanks, Labour can lay the blame at Nationals feet and because Jacinda is popular she’ll be believed by enough voters (as was John Key) and Labour will get another term

            You think people are that stupid and shallow?

            Btw you can’t compare Key to Ardern, Ardern came to power with the economy in good shape, Key came in at the start of a global recession.

            If the economy bombs, it will be on Labours head.

            • Puckish Rogue 10.2.1.1.1.1
              22 January 2018 at 2:21 pm

              Its less stupid and shallow (and remember these are the pretty much the same arguments the left used against John Key) and more that Jacinda is an excellent communicator and that people warm to her and want to believe her which sounds a lot like John Key

              John Key managed to sound both confident and switched on while still being “one of the blokes” and it worked really well for him and Jacinda is managing to do what works really well for her so i think she’ll be able to sell it to NZ especially since she’ll be given the kudos of keeping labour together (though those kudos should probably go to Little)

              “Btw you can’t compare Key to Ardern, Ardern came to power with the economy in good shape, Key came in at the start of a global recession.”

              The circumstances are slightly different but I’d make no difference, if you swapped Key for Ardern the results would still be the same and that is they’d both win, helped by third term-itis sure but they’d still win

              • Stuart Munro …
                22 January 2018 at 2:31 pm

                Your determination to establish this false equivalence is nothing if not heroic.

                Shouldn’t you be touting the innumerable virtues of the Gnat ‘government in waiting’ instead?

                • Puckish Rogue …
                  22 January 2018 at 2:37 pm

                  Well ok what part of what i wrote do you disagree with?

                  The bit where i say Jacinda is an excellent communicator, where I say she can sell it or that if the circumstances were swapped she’d still win?

                  • Stuart Munro …
                    22 January 2018 at 8:36 pm

                    The suggestion that the left loathed Key because he was popular is profoundly misleading.

                    “pretty much the same arguments the left used against John Key”

                    Nope.

                    The left loathed Key because he was a liar and a demagogue – his popularity, like Trump’s, was essentially a tool to mislead people.

                    Now, you may wheel out Pike River and pine trees and a number of other instances of broken promises – but frankly, not yet. These matters have yet to be determined, and it remains to be seen whether they will actually fail.

                    The public may even forgive some of these issues or ones like them if the government is candid about its reasons for abandoning any of them – but should that occur it would be in stark contrast to the almost compulsive lying and misdirection that characterized the Key Kleptocracy. That vile piece of scum never gave a straight answer about anything. Or is that something you “can’t recall”?

              • BM …
                22 January 2018 at 2:35 pm

                I can tell you now Keys clowning and schtick would have bombed if National hadn’t successfully rebuilt the economy and he wasn’t such a powerhouse on the world political stage.

                People would have been “What’s he doing clowning around? do your job, Man”.

                Key was a PM first and the goofy funny guy second, Ardern needs to be a PM first and a mother second, if she’s going to be anywhere near as successful as Key.

                It’s going to be a big ask, and the voter will tire pretty quickly of Ardern if they don’t think her mind’s on the job.

                • Pete …
                  22 January 2018 at 6:41 pm

                  When Key was in the spotlight a lot over the GCSB and Ian Fletcher, and then the Jason Edes episodes, was he just clowning and being a “goofy funny guy”?

                • Grey Area …
                  22 January 2018 at 6:55 pm

                  ….and he wasn’t such a powerhouse on the world political stage.

                  Apart from photo opportunities what did this “powerhouse” of yours actually achieve on the world stage?

                  People would have been “What’s he doing clowning around? do your job, Man”.

                  Many of us were doing exactly that.

                  Key was a PM first and the goofy funny guy second,

                  Depended on what hat he was wearing at the time. And the blokey goofball schtick came very easily to him.

                  • BM …
                    22 January 2018 at 7:10 pm

                    Apart from photo opportunities what did this “powerhouse” of yours actually achieve on the world stage?

                    Hmm, shame to see an obviously intelligent person blinded by their political prejudices.

                    You could learn a thing or two from Ad.

                    • McFlock …
                      22 January 2018 at 7:20 pm

                      Letterman top ten. World shaking.

                      Oh, and told the BBC that water quality scientists were like lawyers – will fabricate results on demand. Sort of a precursor to Trump’s cabinet choices

                    • BM …
                      22 January 2018 at 7:24 pm

                      Obviously some sort of left-wing reality disconnect.

                      I was never a great fan of Clark, but like John Key she was an excellent political operator.

                    • McFlock …
                      22 January 2018 at 7:35 pm

                      What did JK achieve on the world stage?

                      Free trade deal with a major power?

                      Going into larger roles on the world stage within 6 months of leaving office?

                    • Grey Area …
                      22 January 2018 at 7:35 pm

                      No the alternate reality you are speaking of is Planet Key. I saw Key very clearly from the moment he came on the scene for what he is.

                    • BM …
                      22 January 2018 at 7:41 pm

                      Sad guys, really sad.

                    • McFlock …
                      22 January 2018 at 7:46 pm

                      I note you’re not actually saying what Key did to be a powerhouse on the world stage… just saying how sad it is people don’t agree with you.

                    • BM …
                      22 January 2018 at 8:20 pm

                      What a pointless exercise that would be, those left-wing blinkers have blinded you.

                    • Muttonbird …
                      22 January 2018 at 8:39 pm

                      It’s pretty telling that when pressed BM can’t even name one thing Key, who in his words was “such a powerhouse on the world stage”, did on that stage.

                      Ardern has already done more than Key ever did by forcing Australia to back down on tertiary fees for Kiwis and insisting on Kiwi houses for Kiwis.

                      Key was the master at swanning around in his dressing gown at diplomatic events, and of course he was known worldwide for harassing female service staff. That’s about it.

                    • McFlock …
                      22 January 2018 at 8:42 pm

                      I mean, he played golf with Obama, but did that lead to any major foreign policy advances?

                      Snuggled closer to the yanks, but pissed off the Chinese talking about NK. The TPP fizzled. Fucked up the KDC extradition.

                      Foreign policy-wise, if he was a “powerhouse” he wasn’t connected to the grid or any functional machinery. No real achievements in his wikipedia page.

                    • Muttonbird …
                      22 January 2018 at 8:56 pm

                      Shit, maybe playing golf with Obama is what BM means by “such a powerhouse on the world stage”?

                    • McFlock …
                      22 January 2018 at 9:00 pm

                      It’s so shallow it just might be true…

                • Stuart Munro …
                  22 January 2018 at 8:44 pm

                  This constant fatuous rubbish about Key’s economic acumen is really rather pitiful. Did wages grow vis-à-vis comparable OECD countries? Nope. Did our debt decrease? Nope. Did our credit rating improve? Nope – it fell twice.

                  It’s fair to say that the Key ‘economic miracle’ is no more substantial than that of previous self-styled thaumaturgists. The Nobel will not be going to NZ economists any time soon.

              • Kevin …
                22 January 2018 at 4:25 pm

                “Btw you can’t compare Key to Ardern, Ardern came to power with the economy in good shape, Key came in at the start of a global recession.”

                —

                Key did come in a the start of a global recession, but after 9 years of savings and net govt debt at record lows, English had a great starting point which he commented on at the time.

            • ropata 10.2.1.1.1.2
              22 January 2018 at 4:24 pm

              BM: Ardern came to power with the economy in good shape, Key came in at the start of a global recession

              ???!!! NZ now has record external debt and the Briefings to Incoming Ministers were a litany of disasters. But in 2008 Cullen had left the accounts in very good shape, as you well know.

              BM: If the economy bombs, it will be on Labours head.

              Bullshit unless you want to blame Key for the GFC and recession of 2008/9 as well. National presided over a fake economy so I would find it hard to blame Labour for the Nats dirty tricks of the last 9 years. Fiddling with stats and cooking the books and hiding OIA requests. What a pack of bankers they were.

        • Robert Guyton 10.2.1.2
          22 January 2018 at 2:55 pm

          And as we all know, John Key took the cake.

  11. Morrissey 11
    22 January 2018 at 12:17 pm

    “Kneel down time!”
    The Patriots bore their way to another Super Bowl appearance
    AFC Playoff, Sunday 21 Jan. 2018 (Boston time)

    The New England Patriots hold a four-point lead over the Jacksonvile Jaguars. There’s still more than one and a half minutes of “playing” time on the clock. In any real sport, that would be more than enough time for a lot more action.

    Not in the NFL, however, where time-wasting is the main strategy of every team. The Patriots have the ball, which in this sport means guaranteed possession for four plays. Therefore it’s pointless to hope for anything unexpected or spontaneous to happen.

    One of the commentators yells gleefully: “Kneel down time!”

    Both teams stand up from the last scrimmage and start shaking hands with more than 15 seconds still on the clock. The coaches, holding clipboards full of color-coded instructions, are jubilant. The crowd, instructed constantly to “Make Some Noise”, seems happy.

    • Kevin 11.1
      22 January 2018 at 4:27 pm

      Morrissey, I enjoy your commentary, but talking about a game you obviously know nothing about makes you look like a twat.

      • Morrissey 11.1.1
        22 January 2018 at 6:58 pm

        Thanks for the concern, Kevin, but I’m afraid it’s much to late to stop me looking like a twat.

        I am intrigued though: what gives you the impression that I “obviously know nothing” about American football?

        • Gabby 11.1.1.1
          22 January 2018 at 7:42 pm

          Morrie I’m no expert but some would have it that in the distant past a sarker team, on managing to goal a ball score in the start of the first period, may have as it were parked a bus, not to put too fine a point to it, across their goal to the immeasurable chagrin of their opponents. There is an obscure rumour, no names no pack drill, that a knvish lout of a sarker baller may once have feigned injury in order to prevent the opposition from progressing advantageously gamewise. Can any of this be true? What portents might it hold for the advancement of our cause onwards to the broad sunlight uplands of victory?

          • Morrissey 11.1.1.1.1
            22 January 2018 at 8:22 pm

            You might not think you’re an expert, Gabby, but rest assured: you know a lot more about the game than, say, McFlock does.

        • Kevin 11.1.1.2
          23 January 2018 at 11:58 am

          Well, to make it as simple as possible;

          Passing plays stop the clock, running plays do not (unless the ball career runs out of bounds). The team with possession has 45 seconds from the whistle to start a play or they are penalised. Therefore, with less than 45 seconds of game time time remaining, the team with possession keeps the clock running by ‘taking the knee’ where the QB takes the snap, starting a running play, then kneels down to end it and keep the clock running. With less than 45 seconds of game time remaining there is no point starting a new play so the game is effectively over.

          Hope this makes sense!

          • Morrissey 11.1.1.2.1
            23 January 2018 at 2:28 pm

            I know all that, Kevin. What you’ve written backs up what I wrote—that the game is built around stoppages. There is a multiplicity of methods to stop the game, as I pointed out.

            Same goes for basketball, volleyball and baseball. The Americans are very good at ruining games.

  12. savenz 12
    22 January 2018 at 1:08 pm

    This is a weird case of poisoning that is still a mystery. You have to wonder why there has not been a thorough police investigation to check it is “accidental” – being that nobody has found any food or reason for the poisoning around, it apparently happened within minutes and paralysed 3 people, and the children were not harmed.

    http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/348571/why-was-everybody-so-sure-it-was-botulism

    • Stuart Munro 12.1
      22 January 2018 at 1:45 pm

      Botulism was a red herring thrown into the story. It was not a likely cause – though present in NZ it is relatively rare here – an anaerobic bacteria sometimes found in mud at the bottom of pools. The more probable culprit is a widely used poison, which the reporters did not want to guess at for political reasons.

      • veutoviper 12.1.1
        22 January 2018 at 2:08 pm

        1080 was mentioned in the actual audio recordings of both of these reports on RNZ National this morning – as having been tested for as a possibility but not as a confirmed cause – but not mentioned in the written reports on the website. So you need to listen to the recordings:

        5.30am News
        http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/348571/why-was-everybody-so-sure-it-was-botulism

        and on Morning Report
        http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/morningreport/audio/2018628941/putaruru-family-fights-for-acc-after-mystery-illness

        AND just as I was typing the above the RNZ National 2pm News also did an item on 1080 in relation to the case and the details of recent 1080 drops in the area:

        http://www.radionz.co.nz/audio/player?audio_id=2018628975

        • Stuart Munro 12.1.1.1
          22 January 2018 at 2:14 pm

          Well that’s good – but the speculation about botulism was floated in November – and those stories didn’t mention 1080.

          • veutoviper 12.1.1.1.1
            22 January 2018 at 2:54 pm

            Agreed that the earlier stories did not mention 1080 – that is why it stood out to me this morning. However, there is also the aspect that presumably if 1080 or similar is involved then the case for ACC compensation is strengthened as opposed to a ‘medical’ condition such as botulism. The family’s $$$ situation is understandably of prime concern now.

            • weka 12.1.1.1.1.1
              22 January 2018 at 3:00 pm

              Interesting if food poisoning is not covered by ACC. I would have thought that it was an accident, as opposed to disease that arises for other reasons. But possibly ACC is turning it down because the cause is unknown.

              • solkta …
                23 January 2018 at 12:04 pm

                I’m very sure that getting a disease is an accident very nearly 100% of the time. Only the very mentally disturbed would get one deliberately.

        • weka 12.1.1.2
          22 January 2018 at 3:02 pm

          If they don’t know the cause how are they tying the illness to the meat eating?

      • mauī 12.1.2
        22 January 2018 at 3:01 pm

        I can’t see it being a man-made poison myself. Poisons like 1080 and others have been widespread for a long time, and so has pig and deer hunting all over the country. We would have seen this sort of thing before, not out of the blue like this.

        By the way I have seen evidence that pigs do feed on poison baits, but they eat anything so I guess that’s not surprising.

        • weka 12.1.2.1
          22 January 2018 at 3:04 pm

          I tend to agree. What’s interesting me now though is if they don’t know the cause how are they tying it to the eating of the meat? And the point about the family and media having been told it was botulism is valid. Got to feel for the family. Dealing with the health system can be very hard when the illness is unknown.

          • McFlock 12.1.2.1.1
            22 January 2018 at 3:37 pm

            The meat would be the only common and new possible vector preceeding the infection/poisoning.

            So all the veges they had would have either been eaten from the same source days before, or not everyone had the swede, sort of thing.

            That is, of course, assuming that the worst case didn’t happen: that they presented, everyone fixated on botulism and so never more than cursorily(?) considered other sources. Which would suck.

            • weka 12.1.2.1.1.1
              22 January 2018 at 3:57 pm

              That makes sense but I was wondering why they were assuming food poisoning as opposed to other pathologies. So yes, they can narrow down the food that might be responsible, but if they don’t have an actual pathogen, then why assume it was food?

              • weka …
                22 January 2018 at 4:01 pm

                e.g., virus, external toxin (pesticide) etc. One would hope they did work through all that, but I’ve seen too many episodes of House 😉

                My main point here is why do media releases about botulism in the absence of a positive test? Better to say “we don’t know”, as much as people don’t like doing that.

                • McFlock …
                  22 January 2018 at 4:27 pm

                  probably because they still think it’s the most likely cause, regardless of the test.

                  I doubt they’d be trying to prevent a panic or something so coming up with a false reason for the public – pretty solidly seems to be a one-off.

                  To flip from House to CSI, apparently some juries now tend to think the prosecution is incompetent if DNA tests weren’t done, even if the accused’s presence at the scene isn’t debated. Similarly, the botulism test might clinically (depending on circumstances) be regarded as the complete proof of confirmation (minimal false positive results) but with a low disproof (very high false negative rate). Not very sensitive, but highly specific.

                  Also, we don’t know if other likely causes were tested for and those tests more reliably excluded the other factors – or the pattern of illness doesn’t match the vectors those conditions are transmitted by.

              • McFlock …
                22 January 2018 at 4:12 pm

                Well, we don’t know the specifics of the case to that detail, but things like:

                proximity to the meal,
                lack of traces of likely poisons in the home (e.g. fly spray or bora bomb – something to disrupt nerves),
                the incidence limited to one household rather than a cluster of neighbouring homes,
                different people with different times spent in the home coming down in the same manner (if it was dodgy wallpaper like the old Victorian arsenic green then people who spent all day in the home for a while would have come down before people in and out for school or work),
                not everyone ate the salmon mousse made from tinned salmon,

                and so on would all point to the the specific food as the most likely source.

                • weka …
                  22 January 2018 at 4:15 pm

                  yes, but I think that just takes us back to wondering if they were that rigorous, and why name botulism in the absence of a positive test.

                  • Andre …
                    22 January 2018 at 4:30 pm

                    Could be a bit of chinese whispers if somewhere in the chain between diagnostician and report, a phrase like ‘symptoms are consistent with botulism’ became just ‘botulism’.

                    • weka …
                      22 January 2018 at 4:32 pm

                      I could see that happening. Also sometimes doctors like to say something even if it’s not quite right, than say nothing, because they feel pressured to be the person that will do the saving (or at least the knowing).

                    • McFlock …
                      22 January 2018 at 4:41 pm

                      True, both.

                      At least it seems to have been a one-off incident.

                    • weka …
                      22 January 2018 at 7:13 pm

                      thankfully!

        • Graeme 12.1.2.2
          22 January 2018 at 3:44 pm

          Pigs will eat the possum carcasses and ingest 1080, which will accumulate and may kill the pig. If the pig was still mobile when it was “harvested” you’d need to eat a lot of the pig to be at risk.

          http://www.centralhighlands.qld.gov.au/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/IPA-1080-PA5.pdf 1080 is used to target pigs in Queensland.

          “If a hunter shot a 60 kg feral pig that was in the latent period following ingestion of 3 kg of 1080 bait (at a rate of 1152 mg 1080/kg), and based on the unlikely assumption that half the ingested poison has become evenly distributed through the carcass, that hunter would need to eat 36.1 kg in one sitting before being at risk.”

          So unlikely that this was caused by someone shooting a pig that had ingested 1080. Finding a carcass that had died from 1080, that could be another story.

          • Stuart Munro 12.1.2.2.1
            22 January 2018 at 6:54 pm

            “If a hunter shot a 60 kg feral pig that was in the latent period following ingestion of 3 kg of 1080 bait (at a rate of 1152 mg 1080/kg), and based on the unlikely assumption that half the ingested poison has become evenly distributed through the carcass, that hunter would need to eat 36.1 kg in one sitting before being at risk.”

            This sounds a particularly dubious example, in part because wild pig behavior would not typically involve stopping at 3kgs of bait. The pig would eat all the bait available.

            1080 toxicity is put between 0.5mg/kg and 10mg/kg.
            The assumption that half the poison is not absorbed or available is arbitrary.
            Given the variation in assigning toxicity, the figure of 36.1kg is unprofessional nonsense.

            It is reasonable to assume that if secondary toxicity is sufficient to kill pigs or dogs that consume possums, that humans would be at risk if they joined that food chain. It is not necessarily safe to consume considerably less than potentially lethal doses – negative effects may commence at substantially lower levels.

            • Incognito 12.1.2.2.1.1
              22 January 2018 at 10:00 pm

              Ingestion of cooked meat from 1080-poisoned animals is not thought to constitute a human health hazard due to the low concentration of toxicant present in muscle tissue, and degradation of fluoroacetate at cooking temperatures. (Temple & Edwards 1984) Poisoned carcasses are a significant risk to dogs due to their susceptibility and feeding habits. (Gooneratne et al. 1995)

              Temple WA & Edwards IR (1984) Toxic ducks – 1080 residues in game birds : An exercise in applied toxicology. Vet. Hum. Toxicol. 27(1) : 20-21

              http://www.inchem.org/documents/pims/chemical/pim494.htm

              • Stuart Munro …
                22 January 2018 at 10:14 pm

                Thanks for that – I’ve found a variety of sources, some of which are less sanguine about degradation – though offal as a primary location for most oral poisons makes sense.

                Temple & Edwards notwithstanding, I won’t be queuing to try 1080 killed pork.

      • McFlock 12.1.3
        22 January 2018 at 3:23 pm

        It’s only more probable if it was anywhere near the hunting zone at around the same time as the hunting occurred.

        It seems this is not the case.

        It could be anything – hell the pig might have eaten funny mushrooms, some random poison a nearby farmer had sly-dropped without telling anyone, or there was some random thing in the pig that we might not even see again.

        The botulism test might also have a pretty high false negative rate, or maybe whatever the pig had was similar to botulism but different enough to not show up.

        I don’t know. But I know enough to know that there’s still some things we don’t know about poisons and viruses and what’s in our forests.

    • Draco T Bastard 12.2
      22 January 2018 at 6:04 pm

      Why wasn’t there a complete set of blood-tests done at the time to determine the probable cause?

      In this day and age doctors shouldn’t be guessing as to what’s wrong.

      • Stuart Munro 12.2.1
        22 January 2018 at 6:30 pm

        Cost. Those tests are contracted out and have become very expensive. Last tropical suite I had to do was $400. Botulism is rare in NZ – though more common in other countries. Testing every local poisoning event for it would be foolish. Given that no cause has been identified however there is still some spadework to be done.

        • Draco T Bastard 12.2.1.1
          22 January 2018 at 8:10 pm

          Yes, I’m fully against the national health service using contracted parties to do the testing. They tend to be more expensive and less up to date.

          Research indicates that there’s a reasonably cheap, quick blood test available.

          • Stuart Munro 12.2.1.1.1
            22 January 2018 at 9:46 pm

            Private model means no cost savings are passed on. They turn into ‘profits’ instead.

          • McFlock 12.2.1.1.2
            22 January 2018 at 10:13 pm

            Draco, your research indicates that a better than current diagnostic test was in small-scale assessment a couple of years ago.

            It might still be being looked at, or that study you pointed to might not match larger scale trials, or there might not be a lab in NZ certified for it, or it might even have been used in this case.

            You might be drawing a long bow there

      • McFlock 12.2.2
        22 January 2018 at 6:50 pm

        What Stuart said.

        And sometimes “viral infection of unknown type” is the best we can do (if that), even if the patient is at death’s door and every conceivable test is done. Mate of mine was within hours of dying, but fortunately recovered. The best guess was a virus similar to meningitis, but all the tests came back negative. Probably just some virus that most people never have a problem with but clocked off in his case for some reason.

        Not to mention the workload for labs. They’re already understaffed.

        • joe90 12.2.2.1
          22 January 2018 at 6:59 pm

          My mate the nurse reckons every year the ICU he works in sees patients admitted in dire need of support with some dying, yet nobody has a clue about what exactly ails or kills them.

          • McFlock 12.2.2.1.1
            22 January 2018 at 7:06 pm

            Not even after the third diagnosis? Yeah, they never covered that in House…

            We know a zillion times what we did 100 years ago, and in another hundred years they’ll think we were in the dark ages.

          • Descendant Of Sssmith 12.2.2.1.2
            22 January 2018 at 9:04 pm

            Aye friends daughter was in hospital a couple of months ago along with four others who had no previous contact with each other.

            All had severe vomiting and stomach pain and were placed on drips.

            The best they could be told it was likely a virus and for about 50% of the people who have those symptoms they have no idea what the virus is or what to test for as the virus is likely unknown.

        • Draco T Bastard 12.2.2.2
          22 January 2018 at 8:11 pm

          They’re already understaffed.

          Which simply should not happen.

          • McFlock 12.2.2.2.1
            22 January 2018 at 10:29 pm

            Another case of cascading shoulds.

            • Draco T Bastard 12.2.2.2.1.1
              23 January 2018 at 11:14 am

              Yes. We should actually have enough medical staff employed to ensure that an adequate level of service is provided.

              It’s not really expensive as we do have the people available both to do the training and to provide that service.

              • McFlock …
                23 January 2018 at 11:23 am

                The world would be so much better if everything were changed to your approval, eh.

                How many people would we need in order to provide a full range of screening and diagnostic tests for every person who contacts primary or secondary healthcare services, or “should” we just restrict it to hospital admissions?

    • Morrissey 13.1
      22 January 2018 at 2:48 pm

      It’s nothing more than a smear job by a Democratic Party loyalist. Why would you bother posting up such rubbish?

      • adam 13.1.1
        22 January 2018 at 3:17 pm

        Come on any attempt to break up the left is the order of the day by the rwnj’s Morrissey – you must have must have missed the “rwnj news letter” that arrived just after the election.

    • Ad 13.2
      22 January 2018 at 4:27 pm

      Good fun!

      • Andre 13.2.1
        22 January 2018 at 4:36 pm

        With an added bonus of rarking up moonbats!

        • Morrissey 13.2.1.1
          22 January 2018 at 7:05 pm

          Fool, I’m sure you have read nothing of Glenn Greenwald, so here’s an introduction for you. I highly commend it to other, more serious, people by the way…

    • Ed 13.3
      22 January 2018 at 6:17 pm

      Just another smear attack on Greenwald.

  14. Graeme 14
    22 January 2018 at 2:36 pm

    I too wondered about the origins and source of that pig.

    Had some South Asian gentlemen wanting to buy some goat carcasses once. Took a lot of discussion to get them to understand that they weren’t fit for consumption (they weren’t even fit for dog tucker, they were headed for the gut hole) and that it was illegal for me to sell meat to people on health grounds.

    Ooops, that was meant to be a reply to Stuart Munro at 12.1

  15. joe90 15
    22 January 2018 at 3:02 pm

    This, from the woman who reckoned Arabs hated Jews more than they loved their own children.

    //

    In 1958, then-foreign minister Golda Meir raised the possibility of preventing handicapped and sick Polish Jews from immigrating to Israel, a recently discovered Foreign Ministry document has revealed.

    “A proposal was raised in the coordination committee to inform the Polish government that we want to institute selection in aliyah, because we cannot continue accepting sick and handicapped people. Please give your opinion as to whether this can be explained to the Poles without hurting immigration,” read the document, written by Meir to Israel’s ambassador to Poland, Katriel Katz.

    The letter, marked “top secret” and written in April 1958, shortly after Meir became foreign minister, was uncovered by Prof. Szymon Rudnicki, a Polish historian at the University of Warsaw.

    In recent years, Rudnicki has been researching documents shedding light on Israeli-Polish relations between 1945 and 1967.

    The document had not been known to exist before this time, and scholars of the mass immigration from Poland to Israel that took place from 1956 to 1958 were unaware of Israel’s intent to impose a selection process on Jews leaving Poland – survivors of the Holocaust and its death camps.

    https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:t-214CN5aZQJ:https://www.haaretz.com/golda-meir-told-poland-don-t-send-sick-or-disabled-jews-to-israel-1.2523+&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us

  16. eco maori 16
    22 January 2018 at 5:56 pm

    That was not road rage I was just pissing the sandflys off looks like the sandflys got a direct line to the Rock radio. I know you 2 are up to something Thane and Duncan. Ana to kai

  17. eco maori 17
    22 January 2018 at 6:42 pm

    The sandfly haven’t got anything better than to harass me I have nothing to hide I advertise who I am ECO MAORI ON MY OLD TRUCK would you do that If you were guilty of the crimes they have told the whole world that I have done no. I could just hop on a plane and go to Australia no i’m staying to look after my whano .I am going to make the justice system treat brown people with the same respect as europeens .I had at least 4 of these muppets interfering with my trip Home from Tauranga to Rotorua .I could see the smoke coming out there ears they don’t like It when I check ALL THERE MOVES .
    Go pick on someone who deserves your attention I can smell the muppets a mile away .I don’t mention all the plays the muppets make in a day but I see them all fools .
    Ana to kai

  18. Morrissey 18
    22 January 2018 at 7:34 pm

    Zbigniew Brzezinski armed and bankrolled Osama bin Laden;
    His daughter seems to be of similar moral stature…

  19. joe90 19
    22 January 2018 at 7:55 pm

    Nobbling climate science, one agency at a time.

    The Silencing Science Tracker is a joint initiative of the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law and the Climate Science Legal Defense Fund. It tracks government attempts to restrict or prohibit scientific research, education or discussion, or the publication or use of scientific information, since the November 2016 election

    http://columbiaclimatelaw.com/resources/silencing-science-tracker/

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  • Ticket To Anywhere

    You got a fast carAnd I want a ticket to anywhereMaybe we make a dealMaybe together we can get somewhereAny place is betterYesterday’s newsletter, Trust In Me, on the report of abuse in state care, and by religious organisations, between 1950 and 2019, coupled with the hypocrisy of Christopher Luxon ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 hour ago
  • Stories of varying weight

    Hello! Here comes the Saturday edition of More Than A Feilding, catching you up on anything you may have missed. Share Read more ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    6 hours ago
  • Balancing External Security and the Economy

    New Zealand is again having to reconcile conflicting pressures from its military and its trade interests. Should we join Pillar Two of AUKUS and risk compromising our markets in China? For a century after New Zealand was founded in 1840, its external security arrangements and external economics arrangements were aligned. ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    19 hours ago
  • Weekly Climate Wrap: The unravelling of the offsets

    The ‘50 Shades of Green’ farmers’ protest in 2019 was heavy on climate change denial, but five years on, scepticism and criticism about the idea that pine forests can save us is growing across the board. File photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: Here’s the top six news items of note in climate ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    23 hours ago
  • What makes us tick

    This morning the sky was bright.The birds, in their usual joyous bliss. Nature doesn’t seem to feel the heat of what might angst humans.Their calls are clear and beautiful.Just some random thoughts:MāoriPaul Goldsmith has announced his government will roll back the judiciary’s rulings on Māori Customary Marine Title, which recognises ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    1 day ago
  • Foreshore and seabed 2.0

    In 2003, the Court of Appeal delivered its decision in Ngati Apa v Attorney-General, ruling that Māori customary title over the foreshore and seabed had not been universally extinguished, and that the Māori Land Court could determine claims and confirm title if the facts supported it. This kicked off the ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    1 day ago
  • Gordon Campbell on the Royal Commission report into abuse in care

    Earlier this week at Parliament, Labour leader Chris Hipkins was applauded for saying that the response to the final report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care had to be “bigger than politics.” True, but the fine words, apologies and “we hear you” messages will soon ring ...
    WerewolfBy lyndon
    1 day ago
  • The Kākā’s Pick 'n' Mix for Friday, July 26

    TL;DR: In news breaking this morning:The Ministry of Education is cutting $2 billion from its school building programme so the National-ACT-NZ First Coalition Government has enough money to deliver tax cuts; The Government has quietly lowered its child poverty reduction targets to make them easier to achieve;Te Whatu Ora-Health NZ’s ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 day ago
  • Weekly Roundup 26-July-2024

    Kia ora. These are some stories that caught our eye this week – as always, feel free to share yours in the comments. Our header image this week (via Eke Panuku) shows the planned upgrade for the Karanga Plaza Tidal Swimming Steps. The week in Greater Auckland On ...
    Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland
    1 day ago
  • God what a relief

    1. What's not to love about the way the Harris campaign is turning things around?a. Nothingb. Love all of itc. God what a reliefd. Not that it will be by any means easye. All of the above 2. Documents released by the Ministry of Health show Associate Health Minister Casey ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    1 day ago
  • Trust In Me

    Trust in me in all you doHave the faith I have in youLove will see us through, if only you trust in meWhy don't you, you trust me?In a week that saw the release of the 3,000 page Abuse in Care report Christopher Luxon was being asked about Boot Camps. ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 day ago
  • The Hoon around the week to July 26

    TL;DR: The podcast above of the weekly ‘hoon’ webinar for paying subscribers last night features co-hosts and talking about the Royal Commission Inquiry into Abuse in Care report released this week, and with:The Kākā’s climate correspondent on a UN push to not recognise carbon offset markets and ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 day ago
  • The Kākā’s Journal of Record for Friday, July 26

    TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Friday, July 26, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:Transport: Simeon Brown announced $802.9 million in funding for 18 new trains on the Wairarapa and Manawatū rail lines, which ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 day ago
  • Radical law changes needed to build road

    The northern expressway extension from Warkworth to Whangarei is likely to require radical changes to legislation if it is going to be built within the foreseeable future. The Government’s powers to purchase land, the planning process and current restrictions on road tolling are all going to need to be changed ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    1 day ago
  • Skeptical Science New Research for Week #30 2024

    Open access notables Could an extremely cold central European winter such as 1963 happen again despite climate change?, Sippel et al., Weather and Climate Dynamics: Here, we first show based on multiple attribution methods that a winter of similar circulation conditions to 1963 would still lead to an extreme seasonal ...
    Skeptical Science
    2 days ago
  • First they came for the Māori

    Text within this block will maintain its original spacing when publishedFirst they came for the doctors But I was confused by the numbers and costs So I didn't speak up Then they came for our police and nurses And I didn't think we could afford those costs anyway So I ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    2 days ago
  • Join us for the weekly Hoon on YouTube Live

    Photo by Joshua J. Cotten on UnsplashWe’re back again after our mid-winter break. We’re still with the ‘new’ day of the week (Thursday rather than Friday) when we have our ‘hoon’ webinar with paying subscribers to The Kākā for an hour at 5 pm.Jump on this link on YouTube Livestream ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • Will the real PM Luxon please stand up?

    Notes: This is a free article. Abuse in Care themes are mentioned. Video is at the bottom.BackgroundYesterday’s report into Abuse in Care revealed that at least 1 in 3 of all who went through state and faith based care were abused - often horrifically. At least, because not all survivors ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    2 days ago
  • Will debt reduction trump abuse in care redress?

    Luxon speaks in Parliament yesterday about the Abuse in Care report. Photo: Hagen Hopkins/Getty ImagesTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy today are:PM Christopher Luxon said yesterday in tabling the Abuse in Care report in Parliament he wanted to ‘do the ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • Olywhites and Time Bandits

    About a decade ago I worked with a bloke called Steve. He was the grizzled veteran coder, a few years older than me, who knew where the bodies were buried - code wise. Despite his best efforts to be approachable and friendly he could be kind of gruff, through to ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    2 days ago
  • Why were the 1930s so hot in North America?

    This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Jeff Masters and Bob Henson Those who’ve trawled social media during heat waves have likely encountered a tidbit frequently used to brush aside human-caused climate change: Many U.S. states and cities had their single hottest temperature on record during the 1930s, setting incredible heat marks ...
    Skeptical Science
    2 days ago
  • Throwback Thursday – Thinking about Expressways

    Some of the recent announcements from the government have reminded us of posts we’ve written in the past. Here’s one from early 2020. There were plenty of reactions to the government’s infrastructure announcement a few weeks ago which saw them fund a bunch of big roading projects. One of ...
    Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland
    2 days ago
  • The Kākā’s Pick 'n' Mix for Thursday, July 25

    TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:00 am on Thursday, July 25 are:News: Why Electric Kiwi is closing to new customers - and why it matters RNZ’s Susan EdmundsScoop: Government drops ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • The Possum: Demon or Friend?

    Hi,I felt a small wet tongue snaking through one of the holes in my Crocs. It explored my big toe, darting down one side, then the other. “He’s looking for some toe cheese,” said the woman next to me, words that still haunt me to this day.Growing up in New ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    2 days ago
  • Not a story

    Yesterday I happily quoted the Prime Minister without fact-checking him and sure enough, it turns out his numbers were all to hell. It’s not four kg of Royal Commission report, it’s fourteen.My friend and one-time colleague-in-comms Hazel Phillips gently alerted me to my error almost as soon as I’d hit ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    2 days ago
  • The Kākā’s Journal of Record for Thursday, July 25

    TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Thursday, July 25, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day were:The Abuse in Care Royal Commission of Inquiry published its final report yesterday.PM Christopher Luxon and The Minister responsible for ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • A tougher line on “proactive release”?

    The Official Information Act has always been a battle between requesters seeking information, and governments seeking to control it. Information is power, so Ministers and government agencies want to manage what is released and when, for their own convenience, and legality and democracy be damned. Their most recent tactic for ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    3 days ago
  • 'Let's build a motorway costing $100 million per km, before emissions costs'

    TL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy today are:Transport and Energy Minister Simeon Brown is accelerating plans to spend at least $10 billion through Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) to extend State Highway One as a four-lane ‘Expressway’ from Warkworth to Whangarei ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago
  • Lester's Prescription – Positive Bleeding.

    I live my life (woo-ooh-ooh)With no control in my destinyYea-yeah, yea-yeah (woo-ooh-ooh)I can bleed when I want to bleedSo come on, come on (woo-ooh-ooh)You can bleed when you want to bleedYea-yeah, come on (woo-ooh-ooh)Everybody bleed when they want to bleedCome on and bleedGovernments face tough challenges. Selling unpopular decisions to ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    3 days ago
  • Casey Costello gaslights Labour in the House

    Please note:To skip directly to the- parliamentary footage in the video, scroll to 1:21 To skip to audio please click on the headphone icon on the left hand side of the screenThis video / audio section is under development. ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    3 days ago
  • Why is the Texas grid in such bad shape?

    This is a re-post from the Climate Brink by Andrew Dessler Headline from 2021 The Texas grid, run by ERCOT, has had a rough few years. In 2021, winter storm Uri blacked out much of the state for several days. About a week ago, Hurricane Beryl knocked out ...
    Skeptical Science
    3 days ago
  • Gordon Campbell on a textbook case of spending waste by the Luxon government

    Given the crackdown on wasteful government spending, it behooves me to point to a high profile example of spending by the Luxon government that looks like a big, fat waste of time and money. I’m talking about the deployment of NZDF personnel to support the US-led coalition in the Red ...
    WerewolfBy lyndon
    3 days ago
  • The Kākā’s Pick 'n' Mix for Wednesday, July 24

    TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:40 am on Wednesday, July 24 are:Deep Dive: Chipping away at the housing crisis, including my comments RNZ/Newsroom’s The DetailNews: Government softens on asset sales, ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago
  • LXR Takaanini

    As I reported about the city centre, Auckland’s rail network is also going through a difficult and disruptive period which is rapidly approaching a culmination, this will result in a significant upgrade to the whole network. Hallelujah. Also like the city centre this is an upgrade predicated on the City ...
    Greater AucklandBy Patrick Reynolds
    3 days ago
  • Four kilograms of pain

    Today, a 4 kilogram report will be delivered to Parliament. We know this is what the report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in State and Faith-based Care weighs, because our Prime Minister told us so.Some reporter had blindsided him by asking a question about something done by ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • The Kākā’s Journal of Record for Wednesday, July 24

    TL;DR: As of 7:00 am on Wednesday, July 24, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:Beehive: Transport Minister Simeon Brown announced plans to use PPPs to fund, build and run a four-lane expressway between Auckland ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago
  • Luxon gets caught out

    NewstalkZB host Mike Hosking, who can usually be relied on to give Prime Minister Christopher Luxon an easy run, did not do so yesterday when he interviewed him about the HealthNZ deficit. Luxon is trying to use a deficit reported last year by HealthNZ as yet another example of the ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    3 days ago
  • A worrying sign

    Back in January a StatsNZ employee gave a speech at Rātana on behalf of tangata whenua in which he insulted and criticised the government. The speech clearly violated the principle of a neutral public service, and StatsNZ started an investigation. Part of that was getting an external consultant to examine ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    4 days ago
  • Are we fine with 47.9% home-ownership by 2048?

    Renting for life: Shared ownership initiatives are unlikely to slow the slide in home ownership by much. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy today are:A Deloitte report for Westpac has projected Aotearoa’s home-ownership rate will ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • Let's Win This

    You're broken down and tiredOf living life on a merry go roundAnd you can't find the fighterBut I see it in you so we gonna walk it outAnd move mountainsWe gonna walk it outAnd move mountainsAnd I'll rise upI'll rise like the dayI'll rise upI'll rise unafraidI'll rise upAnd I'll ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    4 days ago
  • Waimahara: The Singing Spirit of Water

    There’s been a change in Myers Park. Down the steps from St. Kevin’s Arcade, past the grassy slopes, the children’s playground, the benches and that goat statue, there has been a transformation. The underpass for Mayoral Drive has gone from a barren, grey, concrete tunnel, to a place that thrums ...
    Greater AucklandBy Connor Sharp
    4 days ago
  • A major milestone: Global climate pollution may have just peaked

    This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections Global society may have finally slammed on the brakes for climate-warming pollution released by human fossil fuel combustion. According to the Carbon Monitor Project, the total global climate pollution released between February and May 2024 declined slightly from the amount released during the same ...
    Skeptical Science
    4 days ago
  • The Kākā’s Pick 'n' Mix for Tuesday, July 23

    TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:00 am on Tuesday, July 23 are:Deep Dive: Penlink: where tolling rhetoric meets reality BusinessDesk-$$$’s Oliver LewisScoop: Te Pūkenga plans for regional polytechs leak out ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • The Kākā’s Journal of Record for Tuesday, July 23

    TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Tuesday, July 23, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:Health: Shane Reti announced the Board of Te Whatu Ora- Health New Zealand was being replaced with Commissioner Lester Levy ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • HealthNZ and Luxon at cross purposes over budget blowout

    Health NZ warned the Government at the end of March that it was running over Budget. But the reasons it gave were very different to those offered by the Prime Minister yesterday. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon blamed the “botched merger” of the 20 District Health Boards (DHBs) to create Health ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    4 days ago
  • 2500-3000 more healthcare staff expected to be fired, as Shane Reti blames Labour for a budget defic...

    Long ReadKey Summary: Although National increased the health budget by $1.4 billion in May, they used an old funding model to project health system costs, and never bothered to update their pre-election numbers. They were told during the Health Select Committees earlier in the year their budget amount was deficient, ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    4 days ago
  • Might Kamala Harris be about to get a 'stardust' moment like Jacinda Ardern?

    As a momentous, historic weekend in US politics unfolded, analysts and commentators grasped for precedents and comparisons to help explain the significance and power of the choice Joe Biden had made. The 46th president had swept the Democratic party’s primaries but just over 100 days from the election had chosen ...
    PunditBy Tim Watkin
    5 days ago
  • Solutions Interview: Steven Hail on MMT & ecological economics

    TL;DR: I’m casting around for new ideas and ways of thinking about Aotearoa’s political economy to find a few solutions to our cascading and self-reinforcing housing, poverty and climate crises.Associate Professor runs an online masters degree in the economics of sustainability at Torrens University in Australia and is organising ...
    The KakaBy Steven Hail
    5 days ago
  • Reported back

    The Finance and Expenditure Committee has reported back on National's Local Government (Water Services Preliminary Arrangements) Bill. The bill sets up water for privatisation, and was introduced under urgency, then rammed through select committee with no time even for local councils to make a proper submission. Naturally, national's select committee ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    5 days ago
  • Vandrad the Viking, Christopher Coombes, and Literary Archaeology

    Some years ago, I bought a book at Dunedin’s Regent Booksale for $1.50. As one does. Vandrad the Viking (1898), by J. Storer Clouston, is an obscure book these days – I cannot find a proper online review – but soon it was sitting on my shelf, gathering dust alongside ...
    A Phuulish FellowBy strda221
    5 days ago
  • Gordon Campbell On The Biden Withdrawal

    History is not on the side of the centre-left, when Democratic presidents fall behind in the polls and choose not to run for re-election. On both previous occasions in the past 75 years (Harry Truman in 1952, Lyndon Johnson in 1968) the Democrats proceeded to then lose the White House ...
    WerewolfBy lyndon
    5 days ago
  • Joe Biden's withdrawal puts the spotlight back on Kamala and the USA's complicated relatio...

    This is a free articleCoverageThis morning, US President Joe Biden announced his withdrawal from the Presidential race. And that is genuinely newsworthy. Thanks for your service, President Biden, and all the best to you and yours.However, the media in New Zealand, particularly the 1News nightly bulletin, has been breathlessly covering ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    5 days ago
  • Why we have to challenge our national fiscal assumptions

    A homeless person’s camp beside a blocked-off slipped damage walkway in Freeman’s Bay: we are chasing our tail on our worsening and inter-related housing, poverty and climate crises. Photo: Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • Existential Crisis and Damaged Brains

    What has happened to it all?Crazy, some'd sayWhere is the life that I recognise?(Gone away)But I won't cry for yesterdayThere's an ordinary worldSomehow I have to findAnd as I try to make my wayTo the ordinary worldYesterday morning began as many others - what to write about today? I began ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago
  • A speed limit is not a target, and yet…

    This is a guest post from longtime supporter Mr Plod, whose previous contributions include a proposal that Hamilton become New Zealand’s capital city, and that we should switch which side of the road we drive on. A recent Newsroom article, “Back to school for the Govt’s new speed limit policy“, ...
    Greater AucklandBy Guest Post
    5 days ago
  • The Kākā’s Pick 'n' Mix for Monday, July 22

    TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:00 am on Monday, July 22 are:Today’s Must Read: Father and son live in a tent, and have done for four years, in a million ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • The Kākā’s Journal of Record for Monday, July 22

    TL;DR: As of 7:00 am on Monday, July 22, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:US President Joe Biden announced via X this morning he would not stand for a second term.Multinational professional services firm ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #29

    A listing of 32 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, July 14, 2024 thru Sat, July 20, 2024. Story of the week As reflected by preponderance of coverage, our Story of the Week is Project 2025. Until now traveling ...
    Skeptical Science
    6 days ago
  • I'd like to share what I did this weekend

    This weekend, a friend pointed out someone who said they’d like to read my posts, but didn’t want to pay. And my first reaction was sympathy.I’ve already told folks that if they can’t comfortably subscribe, and would like to read, I’d be happy to offer free subscriptions. I don’t want ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    6 days ago
  • For the children – Why mere sentiment can be a misleading force in our lives, and lead to unex...

    National: The Party of ‘Law and Order’ IntroductionThis weekend, the Government formally kicked off one of their flagship policy programs: a military style boot camp that New Zealand has experimented with over the past 50 years. Cartoon credit: Guy BodyIt’s very popular with the National Party’s Law and Order image, ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    6 days ago
  • A friend in uncertain times

    Day one of the solo leg of my long journey home begins with my favourite sound: footfalls in an empty street. 5.00 am and it’s already light and already too warm, almost.If I can make the train that leaves Budapest later this hour I could be in Belgrade by nightfall; ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    6 days ago
  • The Chaotic World of Male Diet Influencers

    Hi,We’ll get to the horrific world of male diet influencers (AKA Beefy Boys) shortly, but first you will be glad to know that since I sent out the Webworm explaining why the assassination attempt on Donald Trump was not a false flag operation, I’ve heard from a load of people ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    6 days ago
  • It's Starting To Look A Lot Like… Y2K

    Do you remember Y2K, the threat that hung over humanity in the closing days of the twentieth century? Horror scenarios of planes falling from the sky, electronic payments failing and ATMs refusing to dispense cash. As for your VCR following instructions and recording your favourite show - forget about it.All ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 week ago
  • Bernard’s Saturday Soliloquy for the week to July 20

    Climate Change Minister Simon Watts being questioned by The Kākā’s Bernard Hickey.TL;DR: My top six things to note around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the week to July 20 were:1. A strategy that fails Zero Carbon Act & Paris targetsThe National-ACT-NZ First Coalition Government finally unveiled ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago
  • Pharmac Director, Climate Change Commissioner, Health NZ Directors – The latest to quit this m...

    Summary:As New Zealand loses at least 12 leaders in the public service space of health, climate, and pharmaceuticals, this month alone, directly in response to the Government’s policies and budget choices, what lies ahead may be darker than it appears. Tui examines some of those departures and draws a long ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    1 week ago
  • Flooding Housing Policy

    The Minister of Housing’s ambition is to reduce markedly the ratio of house prices to household incomes. If his strategy works it would transform the housing market, dramatically changing the prospects of housing as an investment.Leaving aside the Minister’s metaphor of ‘flooding the market’ I do not see how the ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    1 week ago
  • A Voyage Among the Vandals: Accepted (Again!)

    As previously noted, my historical fantasy piece, set in the fifth-century Mediterranean, was accepted for a Pirate Horror anthology, only for the anthology to later fall through. But in a good bit of news, it turned out that the story could indeed be re-marketed as sword and sorcery. As of ...
    A Phuulish FellowBy strda221
    1 week ago
  • The Kākā's Chorus for Friday, July 19

    An employee of tobacco company Philip Morris International demonstrates a heated tobacco device. Photo: Getty ImagesTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy on Friday, July 19 are:At a time when the Coalition Government is cutting spending on health, infrastructure, education, housing ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago
  • The Kākā’s Pick 'n' Mix for Friday, July 19

    TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 8:30 am on Friday, July 19 are:Scoop: NZ First Minister Casey Costello orders 50% cut to excise tax on heated tobacco products. The minister has ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago
  • Weekly Roundup 19-July-2024

    Kia ora, it’s time for another Friday roundup, in which we pull together some of the links and stories that caught our eye this week. Feel free to add more in the comments! Our header image this week shows a foggy day in Auckland town, captured by Patrick Reynolds. ...
    Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland
    1 week ago
  • Weekly Climate Wrap: A market-led plan for failure

    TL;DR : Here’s the top six items climate news for Aotearoa this week, as selected by Bernard Hickey and The Kākā’s climate correspondent Cathrine Dyer. A discussion recorded yesterday is in the video above and the audio of that sent onto the podcast feed.The Government released its draft Emissions Reduction ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago
  • Tobacco First

    Save some money, get rich and old, bring it back to Tobacco Road.Bring that dynamite and a crane, blow it up, start all over again.Roll up. Roll up. Or tailor made, if you prefer...Whether you’re selling ciggies, digging for gold, catching dolphins in your nets, or encouraging folks to flutter ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 week ago
  • Trump’s Adopted Son.

    Waiting In The Wings: For truly, if Trump is America’s un-assassinated Caesar, then J.D. Vance is America’s Octavian, the Republic’s youthful undertaker – and its first Emperor.DONALD TRUMP’S SELECTION of James D. Vance as his running-mate bodes ill for the American republic. A fervent supporter of Viktor Orban, the “illiberal” prime ...
    Bowalley Road
    1 week ago
  • The Kākā’s Journal of Record for Friday, July 19

    TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Friday, July 19, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:The PSA announced the Employment Relations Authority (ERA) had ruled in the PSA’s favour in its case against the Ministry ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago

  • Joint statement from the Prime Ministers of Canada, Australia and New Zealand

    Australia, Canada and New Zealand today issued the following statement on the need for an urgent ceasefire in Gaza and the risk of expanded conflict between Hizballah and Israel. The situation in Gaza is catastrophic. The human suffering is unacceptable. It cannot continue.  We remain unequivocal in our condemnation of ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    18 hours ago
  • AG reminds institutions of legal obligations

    Attorney-General Judith Collins today reminded all State and faith-based institutions of their legal obligation to preserve records relevant to the safety and wellbeing of those in its care. “The Abuse in Care Inquiry’s report has found cases where records of the most vulnerable people in State and faith‑based institutions were ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    21 hours ago
  • More young people learning about digital safety

    Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says the Government’s online safety website for children and young people has reached one million page views.  “It is great to see so many young people and their families accessing the site Keep It Real Online to learn how to stay safe online, and manage ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    21 hours ago
  • Speech to the Conference for General Practice 2024

    Tēnā tātou katoa,  Ngā mihi te rangi, ngā mihi te whenua, ngā mihi ki a koutou, kia ora mai koutou. Thank you for the opportunity to be here and the invitation to speak at this 50th anniversary conference. I acknowledge all those who have gone before us and paved the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    23 hours ago
  • Employers and payroll providers ready for tax changes

    New Zealand’s payroll providers have successfully prepared to ensure 3.5 million individuals will, from Wednesday next week, be able to keep more of what they earn each pay, says Finance Minister Nicola Willis and Revenue Minister Simon Watts.  “The Government's tax policy changes are legally effective from Wednesday. Delivering this tax ...
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    1 day ago
  • Experimental vineyard futureproofs wine industry

    An experimental vineyard which will help futureproof the wine sector has been opened in Blenheim by Associate Regional Development Minister Mark Patterson. The covered vineyard, based at the New Zealand Wine Centre – Te Pokapū Wāina o Aotearoa, enables controlled environmental conditions. “The research that will be produced at the Experimental ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Funding confirmed for regions affected by North Island Weather Events

    The Coalition Government has confirmed the indicative regional breakdown of North Island Weather Event (NIWE) funding for state highway recovery projects funded through Budget 2024, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Regions in the North Island suffered extensive and devastating damage from Cyclone Gabrielle and the 2023 Auckland Anniversary Floods, and ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Indonesian Foreign Minister to visit

    Indonesia’s Foreign Minister, Retno Marsudi, will visit New Zealand next week, Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced.   “Indonesia is important to New Zealand’s security and economic interests and is our closest South East Asian neighbour,” says Mr Peters, who is currently in Laos to engage with South East Asian partners. ...
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    1 day ago
  • Strengthening partnership with Ngāti Maniapoto

    He aha te kai a te rangatira? He kōrero, he kōrero, he kōrero. The government has reaffirmed its commitment to supporting the aspirations of Ngāti Maniapoto, Minister for Māori Development Tama Potaka says. “My thanks to Te Nehenehenui Trust – Ngāti Maniapoto for bringing their important kōrero to a ministerial ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Transport Minister thanks outgoing CAA Chair

    Transport Minister Simeon Brown has thanked outgoing Chair of the Civil Aviation Authority, Janice Fredric, for her service to the board.“I have received Ms Fredric’s resignation from the role of Chair of the Civil Aviation Authority,” Mr Brown says.“On behalf of the Government, I want to thank Ms Fredric for ...
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    2 days ago
  • Test for Customary Marine Title being restored

    The Government is proposing legislation to overturn a Court of Appeal decision and amend the Marine and Coastal Area Act in order to restore Parliament’s test for Customary Marine Title, Treaty Negotiations Minister Paul Goldsmith says.  “Section 58 required an applicant group to prove they have exclusively used and occupied ...
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    2 days ago
  • Opposition united in bad faith over ECE sector review

    Regulation Minister David Seymour says that opposition parties have united in bad faith, opposing what they claim are ‘dangerous changes’ to the Early Childhood Education sector, despite no changes even being proposed yet.  “Issues with affordability and availability of early childhood education, and the complexity of its regulation, has led ...
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    2 days ago
  • Kiwis having their say on first regulatory review

    After receiving more than 740 submissions in the first 20 days, Regulation Minister David Seymour is asking the Ministry for Regulation to extend engagement on the early childhood education regulation review by an extra two weeks.  “The level of interest has been very high, and from the conversations I’ve been ...
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    2 days ago
  • Government upgrading Lower North Island commuter rail

    The Coalition Government is investing $802.9 million into the Wairarapa and Manawatū rail lines as part of a funding agreement with the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA), KiwiRail, and the Greater Wellington and Horizons Regional Councils to deliver more reliable services for commuters in the lower North Island, Transport Minister Simeon ...
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    2 days ago
  • Government moves to ensure flood protection for Wairoa

    Local Government Minister Simeon Brown has announced his intention to appoint a Crown Manager to both Hawke’s Bay Regional and Wairoa District Councils to speed up the delivery of flood protection work in Wairoa."Recent severe weather events in Wairoa this year, combined with damage from Cyclone Gabrielle in 2023 have ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • PM speech to Parliament – Royal Commission of Inquiry’s Report into Abuse in Care

    Mr Speaker, this is a day that many New Zealanders who were abused in State care never thought would come. It’s the day that this Parliament accepts, with deep sorrow and regret, the Report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care.  At the heart of this report are the ...
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    3 days ago
  • Government acknowledges torture at Lake Alice

    For the first time, the Government is formally acknowledging some children and young people at Lake Alice Psychiatric Hospital experienced torture. The final report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in State and Faith-based Care “Whanaketia – through pain and trauma, from darkness to light,” was tabled in Parliament ...
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    3 days ago
  • Government acknowledges courageous abuse survivors

    The Government has acknowledged the nearly 2,400 courageous survivors who shared their experiences during the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Historical Abuse in State and Faith-Based Care. The final report from the largest and most complex public inquiry ever held in New Zealand, the Royal Commission Inquiry “Whanaketia – through ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Half a million people use tax calculator

    With a week to go before hard-working New Zealanders see personal income tax relief for the first time in fourteen years, 513,000 people have used the Budget tax calculator to see how much they will benefit, says Finance Minister Nicola Willis.  “Tax relief is long overdue. From next Wednesday, personal income ...
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    3 days ago
  • Paid Parental Leave improvements pass first reading

    Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden says a bill that has passed its first reading will improve parental leave settings and give non-biological parents more flexibility as primary carer for their child. The Regulatory Systems Amendment Bill (No3), passed its first reading this morning. “It includes a change ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Rebuilding the economy through better regulation

    Two Bills designed to improve regulation and make it easier to do business have passed their first reading in Parliament, says Economic Development Minister Melissa Lee. The Regulatory Systems (Economic Development) Amendment Bill and Regulatory Systems (Immigration and Workforce) Amendment Bill make key changes to legislation administered by the Ministry ...
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    3 days ago
  • ‘Open banking’ and ‘open electricity’ on the way

    New legislation paves the way for greater competition in sectors such as banking and electricity, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly says. “Competitive markets boost productivity, create employment opportunities and lift living standards. To support competition, we need good quality regulation but, unfortunately, a recent OECD report ranked New ...
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    3 days ago
  • Charity lotteries to be permitted to operate online

    Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says lotteries for charitable purposes, such as those run by the Heart Foundation, Coastguard NZ, and local hospices, will soon be allowed to operate online permanently. “Under current laws, these fundraising lotteries are only allowed to operate online until October 2024, after which ...
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    4 days ago
  • Accelerating Northland Expressway

    The Coalition Government is accelerating work on the new four-lane expressway between Auckland and Whangārei as part of its Roads of National Significance programme, with an accelerated delivery model to deliver this project faster and more efficiently, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “For too long, the lack of resilient transport connections ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Sir Don to travel to Viet Nam as special envoy

    Sir Don McKinnon will travel to Viet Nam this week as a Special Envoy of the Government, Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced.    “It is important that the Government give due recognition to the significant contributions that General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong made to New Zealand-Viet Nam relations,” Mr ...
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    4 days ago
  • Grant Illingworth KC appointed as transitional Commissioner to Royal Commission

    Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says newly appointed Commissioner, Grant Illingworth KC, will help deliver the report for the first phase of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into COVID-19 Lessons, due on 28 November 2024.  “I am pleased to announce that Mr Illingworth will commence his appointment as ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • NZ to advance relationships with ASEAN partners

    Foreign Minister Winston Peters travels to Laos this week to participate in a series of Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)-led Ministerial meetings in Vientiane.    “ASEAN plays an important role in supporting a peaceful, stable and prosperous Indo-Pacific,” Mr Peters says.   “This will be our third visit to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Backing mental health services on the West Coast

    Construction of a new mental health facility at Te Nikau Grey Hospital in Greymouth is today one step closer, Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey says. “This $27 million facility shows this Government is delivering on its promise to boost mental health care and improve front line services,” Mr Doocey says. ...
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    4 days ago
  • NZ support for sustainable Pacific fisheries

    New Zealand is committing nearly $50 million to a package supporting sustainable Pacific fisheries development over the next four years, Foreign Minister Winston Peters and Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones announced today. “This support consisting of a range of initiatives demonstrates New Zealand’s commitment to assisting our Pacific partners ...
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    4 days ago
  • Students’ needs at centre of new charter school adjustments

    Associate Education Minister David Seymour says proposed changes to the Education and Training Amendment Bill will ensure charter schools have more flexibility to negotiate employment agreements and are equipped with the right teaching resources. “Cabinet has agreed to progress an amendment which means unions will not be able to initiate ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Commissioner replaces Health NZ Board

    In response to serious concerns around oversight, overspend and a significant deterioration in financial outlook, the Board of Health New Zealand will be replaced with a Commissioner, Health Minister Dr Shane Reti announced today.  “The previous government’s botched health reforms have created significant financial challenges at Health NZ that, without ...
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    5 days ago
  • Minister to speak at Australian Space Forum

    Minister for Space and Science, Innovation and Technology Judith Collins will travel to Adelaide tomorrow for space and science engagements, including speaking at the Australian Space Forum.  While there she will also have meetings and visits with a focus on space, biotechnology and innovation.  “New Zealand has a thriving space ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Climate Change Minister to attend climate action meeting in China

    Climate Change Minister Simon Watts will travel to China on Saturday to attend the Ministerial on Climate Action meeting held in Wuhan.  “Attending the Ministerial on Climate Action is an opportunity to advocate for New Zealand climate priorities and engage with our key partners on climate action,” Mr Watts says. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Oceans and Fisheries Minister to Solomons

    Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones is travelling to the Solomon Islands tomorrow for meetings with his counterparts from around the Pacific supporting collective management of the region’s fisheries. The 23rd Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Committee and the 5th Regional Fisheries Ministers’ Meeting in Honiara from 23 to 26 July ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    7 days ago
  • Government launches Military Style Academy Pilot

    The Government today launched the Military Style Academy Pilot at Te Au rere a te Tonga Youth Justice residence in Palmerston North, an important part of the Government’s plan to crackdown on youth crime and getting youth offenders back on track, Minister for Children, Karen Chhour said today. “On the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    7 days ago
  • Nine priority bridge replacements to get underway

    The Government has welcomed news the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) has begun work to replace nine priority bridges across the country to ensure our state highway network remains resilient, reliable, and efficient for road users, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says.“Increasing productivity and economic growth is a key priority for the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Update on global IT outage

    Acting Prime Minister David Seymour has been in contact throughout the evening with senior officials who have coordinated a whole of government response to the global IT outage and can provide an update. The Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet has designated the National Emergency Management Agency as the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • New Zealand, Japan renew Pacific partnership

    New Zealand and Japan will continue to step up their shared engagement with the Pacific, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says.    “New Zealand and Japan have a strong, shared interest in a free, open and stable Pacific Islands region,” Mr Peters says.    “We are pleased to be finding more ways ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • New infrastructure energises BOP forestry towns

    New developments in the heart of North Island forestry country will reinvigorate their communities and boost economic development, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones visited Kaingaroa and Kawerau in Bay of Plenty today to open a landmark community centre in the former and a new connecting road in ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • 'Pacific Futures'

    President Adeang, fellow Ministers, honourable Diet Member Horii, Ambassadors, distinguished guests.    Minasama, konnichiwa, and good afternoon, everyone.    Distinguished guests, it’s a pleasure to be here with you today to talk about New Zealand’s foreign policy reset, the reasons for it, the values that underpin it, and how it ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

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