Ha, posted while I was typing! But still, it needs repeating …
Quotes:
“He is gutted at what National has done. On the one hand they will be requiring him to stop and make gang members remove their patches, a stupid idea in my opinion, but on the other hand he is now considering finding secondary employment to make ends meet.”.
“Luxon couldn’t care less. He is the most out-of-touch PM I have seen. He doesn’t even try to care.”
The worst government of the last 4 decades combining the casualness of the Lange years and with the narrow view of the Muldoon years.
Here from Bernard Hickey explaining the parts of the difference between Richardson’s real crisis and Willis and Luxon’s Liz Truss lite:
Also, the level of New Zealand’s net debt is not only lower at 20% of GDP than the 52% reached in 1991, but is less than half Australia’s currentl level of 40% of GDP and less than a fifth of the United States’ level now of 102%.
The difference is Richardson’s swathes of cuts to the social safety were forged in the midst of a true fiscal and financial crisis for the Government, whereas Budget 2024’s cuts to disability services, school building programmes, public transport subsidies and potentially thousands of jobs is being done to mostly pay for tax reductions worth millions each year for rental property multi-millionaires.
It’s vandalism. It’s bought and paid for legislated corruption. It’s negligence of duty at a time of many great needs.
TL;DR: Carers and parents of disabled children fear a funding freeze announced this week to help pay for tax cuts will leave those at home with diabetes more vulnerable to ‘Dead in Bed’ syndrome because of the de-funding of new insulin pumps and glucose monitors.
I am no fan of the NZ Police for a number of reasons, including the enduring macho culture, grudge holding (e.g. Crewe murder case), persistent lying in Court and inbuilt support for the ruling class–but they are certainly not overpaid. Their wages are pathetic. In a better world much of their work could be done by Civil Defence, tow truck drivers, Paramedics and an effective emergency Mental Health force.
However this latest effort is all on the PM. Politicians have long needed to know the basics–what does a 2 litre of Milk cost…Mr Luxury Luxon quite likely does not know and does not care.
Allowances at Hard to Fill and rural stations are under review.
The changes include a new two-year time limit on the heavily discounted rentals police get in remote areas.
Under the changes, police would not be able to get a subsidised rental home and the allowance at the same time.
"Part of our package is hard-to-fill allowances for going to stations that are hard to fill."
The allowance for rural police would only be paid for a set period depending on the agreement, and only to newly-appointed staff.
So there's going to be a two yearly turnover of rural cops, which is about the time it takes for them to get know their patch and get the co-operation of the community, without which their job is really hard
Presumably Fed Farmers, and their ex Pres. will be all over this….
The most revealing part is that when he got the numbers wrong, there were no alarm bells ringing in his head ("wait, that doesn't sound right"). He can't relate to these salaries, so he has no idea how wrong he is. Until he's told.
It was all there when in the election campaign when they had Luxon, Goldsmith and Mitchell on a standup and though they were making a prisoner based announcement none of the knew the cost of incarcerating a prisoner for a year. But for some reason they got a pass.
The shadow minister didn’t know his portfolio. The PM didn’t either. No one in their campaign had thought to arm them with that kind of information given the policy they were announcing.
I remember watching Helen Clark being grilled about her government and she was across every piece of information they dug up to ask her about. She cared about the job, about the people and about getting it right.
To not be across the basic information from an active wildfire of an incident of which the public’s, media’s and opposition’s attention is very much on shows his rather regal approach to the PM role.
The amazing thing about all the MSM pieces about civil service redundancies is their received wisdom that the civil service was the "right size" at the end of a decade of neglect under Key/English. This is simply assumed as a fact by our MSM, who then wonder why a skeptical public think they are little more than complicit gatekeepers of plutocratic narratives.
Lets not forget how these super sleuths somehow missed the Christchurch mass murderer, but managed to enable “someone” to possibly take actions against NZ foreign policy.
He seems to be unaware of the disconnect between his confidence in the 'transparency' of the GCSB in communication to Ministers, following the legislative update in 2017, and the now-revealed fact that they were actively lying to him (by omission) up until 2020.
It would appear operating within the orbit of 2010-2012 rules in 2013, without informing those in charge 2013-2020 under their rules. Those transition periods.
I wonder how the 2017-2023 Ministers managed to time the release of the story for the incoming government … given the fiasco was on their past government watch.
The point is that Little was claiming that the GCSB was transparent while he was Minister. The truth, as is now apparent, they were certainly not transparent.
"The level of disclosure to me was very high … I was assured during my time as minister that I was being kept well informed… I was listened to very carefully."
It's a silly claim to make. Given that he: A. Has no evidence over matters which were not disclosed to him (you don't know what you don't know); and B. Has evidence that at least one serious matter was *not* disclosed to him.
Accepting this is true. It still means that the GCSB was not open and transparent to the Ministers concerned. If the leadership themselves didn't know what was going on – then the claim that by Little that he was "being kept well informed" — is on even shakier ground.
As I said earlier – politically he should have left the whole thing alone – as the responsibility of the current government to respond. At most, express his disappointment that he was not kept as fully briefed as he had believed at the time.
Notably Judith Collins has kept her mouth shut – it's difficult to see any potential wins for any Minister responsible in this situation.
There is nothing to support this, either.
And, given that the evidence we now have, that the GCSB was conducting covert activities, about which the Ministers were not informed- quite a lot to disprove this statement.
The point that this was going on up until 2020 – rather takes away from your argument that it was only pre-2013 that the GCSB contained information silos.
You seem to be arguing that the GCSB was transparent because their directors weren't informed either. And separating out the 'transparency' of the directors, from that of the organization as a whole. I think that makes them less transparent, rather than more.
You really are a bit of conspiracy nutbar who tends to be completely ignorant of the limits of ministerial control. You also apparently cannot read links or prefer not to in case it destroys your half-arsed and completely incorrect insinuations.
When Little found out about it he was concerned whether the operation was consistent with the legislation which had taken effect in 2017 and provided much tighter constraints and greater oversight of the spy agencies.
He supported it being referred to the Inspector General of Intelligence and Security for investigation.
So when being told of the systems re-discovery, presumably in 2020, he did exactly what he was meant to – referred it. Little was minister for the SIS/GCSB from 2017 to 2023. That doesn’t mean that he has or should have oversight of operational details or to directly investigate oversteps of legal bounds. That is the role of the Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security (IGIS).
This is the same kind of hands-off role that the ministers for Police, Defence, Customs, and a number of other ‘Crown’ organisations have. They do funding and a general legal oversight by investigative bodies, but have very little operational control outside of the gross budget bounds.
The IGIS is an independent oversight body, with a broad function of assisting the Minister responsible for NZSIS and GCSB to ensure the activities of each agency comply with the law; ensure that complaints relating to these agencies are independently investigated;[7] and review those bodies’ compliance procedures and systems.[8] Neither the National Assessments Bureau nor the Directorate of Defence Intelligence and Security are under the oversight of the role.[9]
Traditionally the office had been very small, but was expanded from 2014 onwards in response to controversies over unlawful activities to include a Deputy Inspector-General, two external advisors, and a number of investigation staff.[2] That expansion was accompanied by some greater resourcing and a more intensive role, in particular with the addition of an own motion power of inquiry, and quickly resulted in a significantly larger number and depth of inquiries, including into systemic issues and matters of public controversy such as an incident involving adverse allegations arising from briefings claimed to have been given by the Security Intelligence Service to the Leader of the Opposition [3] and the conduct of the agencies in parts of the conflict in Afghanistan. [4] Senior political figures have at times criticised the extent of the broadened independent oversight that followed the 2014 reforms. [5]
It was clearly an automatic system agreed upon in 2012 by the GCSB management (date of the MOU) and and deployed in 2013, presumably some kind of computer system, which failed in 2020. It had appeared to have been forgotten about by the GCSB senior staff according to the IGIS because it was agreed on 13-14 years ago, probably installed at a tech level 10 years ago, and then run automatically for 7 years. The summary details from RNZ
The system operated from 2013 until 2020, when it was stopped by an equipment failure.
But government ministers were not told despite the agency knowing how sensitive it was.
The current GCSB senior leadership and legal team “apparently knew nothing of the system”.
“It was ‘rediscovered’ at a senior level following concerns being raised in 2020 about another partner system hosted by GCSB.”.
The system was of no benefit to the GCSB, which did not know what the outcome of the spying was, the inquiry said.
“I was concerned that the Bureau had apparently decided to host in New Zealand a signals intelligence system controlled by a foreign partner agency without seeking ministerial approval and without subsequently informing its minister of the system’s existence or purpose,” the inspector general said.
The report added: “It seems clear the decision to sign the MOU [memorandum of understanding ] and host the capability was not put to the Minister responsible for the GCSB, or any other Minister.
“This inquiry found no record of any Ministerial briefing or decision, nor any reference to any having occurred. It found no record of the Minister having been informed of the matter at all.”
But strictly speaking, it acted within the rules.
“Though the authorisation process for intelligence sharing at the time seems manifestly inadequate, a Ministerial authorisation in place in 2012 for the GCSB to share intelligence and cooperate with the foreign partner was broad enough to cover the capability and so the decision to host the system without further Ministerial approval was lawful,” he found.
“It was improper, however, for the GCSB to decide on hosting the capability without bringing it to the Minister’s attention. By doing so it failed to respect and enable Ministerial control of the agency.”
The head of the bureau, Simon Murdoch, in 2011 had questions as he worked on the MOU, noting in an email that the legal team would need to be closely involved and that it would potentially require the awareness or consent of the minister, as well as consultation with the IGIS.
“This inquiry found no record that the legal analysis, consultation and engagement with the Minister or IGIS contemplated … occurred.”
Murdoch was replaced by Ian Fletcher in February 2012, and the inquiry found no evidence Fletcher was told about the capability, and Fletcher could not recall having been briefed on it.
Now I have helped out by pointing to the timeline and quoting the relevant parts for your laziness, perhaps you have a better idea about what Little could have known and when.
The only conspiracy here is that the GCSB was very clearly not transparent and open (either with Little or with any previous Minister). Whether that is because its directors were also not informed of what was going on in their organization is, irrelevant – the buck stops with them. The fact is that the Ministers were not informed of significant espionage activities going on within the organization.
None of this has anything to do about what Little was informed or when – nor did I make any claims about his date or level of information – though I'm sure you had fun compiling your diatribe.
Again, Little would have been much better politically advised, to say nothing. Or to express his disappointment that the information was not supplied.
Belladonna, you do beat the dead horse, and appear to feel your offerings are superior. Why no mention of Key? Oh I know, he did not stick his head above the parapet for your bullet. Little did.
The only conspiracy here is that the GCSB was very clearly not transparent and open (either with Little or with any previous Minister).
Yeah right. Clearly you have been too lazy to read the IGIS report or the RNZ reporting of it.
The IGIS report clearly states that the last mention of telling the ministers was back in 2012. But it wasn't done then.
Sounds like the knowledge was also not past down through the successive directors at the GCSB. Quite simply the hardware was just left running in the racks
I associate lazy dimwits like you who clearly haven't read the material and who then pronounce a bullshit theory that has clearly been covered in the material – as a CONSPIRACY NUTBARS.
It is pattern of behaviour.
Just like the security organisations (all of them) have strong behavioural tendency to be so compartmental that they lose institutional knowledge whenever just a handful of people move on.
Just like your silly over the top jumping to conclusions. Spook organisations often wind up with segmented compartments of spooks who often don't know what is happening in the next office and who lose the plot frequently because of institutional secrecy issues.
It doesn't mean that they always are incomptent. It just means that they need something like IGIS to dig into what has been going on. Jjust as sometimes even a conspiracy nutbar ideas may not be a loose-headed and outright wrong.
Or that eventually a million immortal monkeys on typewriters…..
I beg to differ over Andrew Little TM. It appeared to me he was steering clear of revealing any personal views, and sticking to the matter as it played out during his time as GCSB minister.
I was interested to hear that former GCSB director, Sir Bruce Ferguson was approached two weeks ago and asked to sign a document preventing him from revealing anything he may have known/or not known as the case may be. While he was not prepared to be interviewed (at this point maybe?) he refused to sign the document. That's a plus in my view. I assume the other former directors were also approached but we don't know their responses.
It would be interesting to know who was attempting to gag these former directors and what they are trying to hide. 🙂
Sir Bruce said the report "goes through cultural issues" at the bureau which he discussed with Ms Kitteridge. He said those issues arose from the way the bureau operated on a "compartmentalised" or "need-to-know basis" where personnel didn't tell each other about their work.
I had one or two dealings with him at a time he was a F16 pilot with the RNZAF. He came across as fiercely intelligent and history suggests he is very much his own man. I doubt he suffers fools gladly so opponents beware…. 😉
If you do intend to use either or both to illustrate a political or social or economic point – about either the stories or the press coverage – then perhaps you could do so, up front.
If not – then this might be better on your personal social media account.
Because, right now, this looks like gossipy innuendo targeting women.
In my experience (and based on a sample of 1), their radar is 100% wrong. And frankly, I’m the only one in a position to categorically say the accusations levelled against me are totally false. None the less SPC appears to continue to persue them without apparent consequence
To SPC at 5.1.1.1, no. I’m not going to make any such demands of the mods. I suspect they have quite enough to do without perusing you further down your rabbit hole.
Are you going to ask for comments, not by you, to be removed from the search engine here?
Well that isn’t going to happen. The only comments and posts that aren’t part of the sphinx search engine are private posts and comments on those private posts. Essentially the ones that the authors, moderators, and admins use to coordinate on. You have to have a login at author or above to see those.
I also don’t allow comments to be easily deleted. They can be sent to trash or spam, but I get notified with a copy, and there is a archive of all comments.
Rather than go off some some great conspiracy theory the reality, as is often the case, so much more simple.
Rose / Rosemary is a very common name for someone of my generation. As I explained to you yesterday, I have been aware of this site for about 18 months. In that time I noticed some one already commented under the handle Rosemary. As a common courtesy to that person, I went by my shorten name, Rose. Didn’t occur to me to go back nearly two decades as you’ve done to see if someone somewhere in the distant past has already used a very common name.
see, reality is so much more boring than conspiracy.
You can type in a name in the search box – top right, to see if it has been used in the past. Also one can click on the name under comments to see the past comments in date order.
Suggest you pause, engage the brain and don’t jump off the deep end with wild accusations about affairs (would link to Wekas comment on this point yesterday, but since been deleted ) and such like next time, unless you know how to swim.
FYI, I counted only 74 comments by commenters [plural] using the user name “Rose” [case-insensitive].
These were associated with 6 different e-mail addresses, which suggests up to 6 different individuals using the same user name “Rose” [case-insensitive] over the history of TS.
Before the most recent “Rose” appeared here on TS, the last occurrence of the same user name was 2 comments on the same day in 2022 by an apparently different commenter.
Before that, there were 40 comments by an apparently different “Rose” from 2012-2014.
Before that, in 2010-2011, there were 5 comments made by 3 commenters that were apparently different but who all used the same user name “Rose”.
The first time the user name “Rose” appeared here on TS was in 2008 with 9 comments that year.
I'd been meaning to look that up, and ask current Rose to alter her name a bit in case the other most recent Rose returns (to avoid further confusion).
Why was there no catch on the use of a name that had already been used?
it's been on my mental list of things to check, but as there is no other Rose currently commenting it wasn't the highest priority (like say, writing a post about the latest climate report). Then some numpty used up my spare time yesterday on a wild goose chase.
Every person who moderates at TS does so on their own unpaid time. We don't have a pool of volunteers, atm we have me and Incognito and sometimes Lynn.
All you had to do was link to the other Rose and ask current Rose if that was her. And/or pointed out do the mods that the name was already in use. Instead of going off on one and dragging this out over two days.
Indeed, it’s not 100% reliable, especially with more common names. However, if a name crops up and it hasn’t been used in a long time we sometimes let it go through anyway even if it’s a different person (i.e. a reset by which the name goes back into the general pool of available user names). And we don’t always have time to search the whole archive for a single name, in which case I tend to rely on my memory (which is definitely not 100% reliable).
You can always tell commenters apart by their avatars, which are linked to the e-mail addresses.
If you suspect foul play such as astroturfing, ID-theft, or simply bad faith behaviour then there are ways to raise the alert; some ways are more effective than others, as you have experienced.
Be clear, be specific, present evidence, especially when asked and drop it when the evidence is weak or absent, particularly when asked.
FYI, trolls and the likes have an uncanny habit of outing themselves here, sooner or later.
FYI, trolls and the likes have an uncanny habit of outing themselves here, sooner or later.
Yeah, a compulsive inability to think for themselves is what I attribute it to. They always wind up sounding a like parrot of something someone else said.
Not so much an individual, more like a junior pack member repeating the mantras alpha dog/bitch to look like they know what they're talking about – but clearly having never having understood the underlying logic or reasoning (if there was any)
The clearest example at present is in the 'MAGA base' if you ever listen to or read them – the ones who prattle on using the same words as their heros – and get really defensive when pushed past the slogan level to what does that slogan mean.
It is clear because their alpha hero is a blithering idiot who isn't interested in actual history, logic or workable policy. Trump is mostly interested in looking great in how he says THINGS in a way that has MAGA base supporters blinded*.
by the sensation of having their malicious noses firmly pressed in his obese buttock cheeks where the true pure source of mythical history, envy and malice originates.
Why was there no catch on the use of a name that had already been used?
There is a 'catch'. But there isn't a foolproof check on that because people do change 'e-mails' occasionally, and they jump around IPs often. That is human checked by moderators.
The system auto moderates the combination of 'handle' and 'e-mail'. If a comment comes in that has a never before seen combination, it is automatically put into the moderation queue as a first time comment.
A moderator or admin picks it up, scans to see if it looks like a case of identity theft and lets it through, moderates it by changing it to something else saying why, or dumps it.
The first comment check has to be allowed manually before subsequent comments get posted to public view automatically. Occasionally a comment looks human to the automatic filters – which are there to deal with bots and spammers. So a human gets to decide who is human and who is a fraudster.
Sometimes the comment looks ok and gets past. The handle may be the same, but the automatic avatar against each commenter handle reflects the shared secret – the 'e-mail' – so readers know that it is likely to be the same or different to a previous user of that handle. Mostly moderators will only check who it is if the comment appears 'off' for the usual current user of that handle (never under-estimate the ability of humans at pattern picking), then if it looks like someone trying to do and identity theft…
The effect of this is that the workload impact on moderators is quite diminished to occasional auto-moderation for 'new' commenters. And we don't get into doing a whole load of admin whenever someone switches email providers. Which is why people with logins are restricted to authors and those people who got a actual login before I closed them off in 2008, and who left at least one comment using the login before 2010.
With the current system, we don't even insist on real e-mail addresses. That is effectively just a shared secret. So long as it looks like it might be a email, then it is ok.
Well, neither would have been a connection I (or I think many others) would have made up front.
And, certainly the first one is of very questionable merit (surely you can find a better illustration of the outcomes of downsizing than breast reduction).
I fail to see any connection between the last one and Winston Peters. Or the link is so vague that it could apply to any current news story.
The golden rule is that you don't cut govt spending during a recession. It just makes everything worse.
Cutting spending to give tax cuts to the rich is insane – as a time of instability the rich will just put the money in the bank where it doesn't help the economy, whereas lesser mortals have to spend the money to live and so keep the economy alive.
It was so hilarious to hear Shamubeel Eeaqub yesterday talk about this economic recession we're now in being nothing to do with government.
The Reserve Bank has deliberately targeted and succeeded in achieving a recession through raising interest rates in order to choke consumer demand, choke discretionary family spending through higher mortgage payments, and demand higher unemployment.
It's the most destructive thing I've seen from a single state entity in a decade. As for their statutory independence from government, we all know how closely Treasury staff work with them already. And how tight the banking economist network is in Wellington.
David Seymour responds to the IMF mentioning CGT, we should be more like Switzerland which has no CGT.
“I see the IMF again saying, ‘oh, you need a capital gains tax. Every country has one. The only countries that don’t have one are New Zealand and Switzerland’. But, I say, let’s be more like Switzerland.”
Seymour may well know about the Swiss tax system, I think he is more malicious than stupid.
He made his technically correct (but in reality dishonest and misleading) talking point successfully ("no CGT in Switzerland!"). As you mention (and he didn't), they have direct capital taxes and all sorts of other taxes on wealth that we don't have. Many of his listeners won't bother to find out.
Interesting to see that the parties of "one man, one vote" deciding that being able to vote multiple times is actually OK – as long as you're a landlord.
This government is so overwhelmingly shit, so incomparably intellectually and morally bankrupt, it can't even act consistently with it's own (lazy and awful) rhetoric.
In local government elections, property owners get a vote in an area in which they own a property. They don't get multiple votes in any single area.
The reason for that system in local government elections is both simple and logical – property owners pay rates in each and all of those areas, and therefore have a democratic right to have a say in how those rates are spent.
But we abandoned property ownership as the basis for the franchise over a century ago, because for all the the rhetoric around it, it was really an attempt to keep the dirty poors from having a vote.
I'd also argue that if you simply open a property in a district and don't like the rates or what council does, you're welcome to sell up and buy a property somewhere else.
If you buy a business in another country, should you expect to get a vote there?
Moreover, why should someone's rights as a landlord be greater than than the people that actually live and work in the community?
"But we abandoned property ownership as the basis for the franchise over a century ago, "
That related to one person having multiple votes in the same election. The current situation is totally different. If you have a residence in Wellington and a holiday home in the Wairarapa, why shouldn't you have a right to a say about how your rates in both places are spent?
"Moreover, why should someone's rights as a landlord be greater than than the people that actually live and work in the community?"
They aren't. All property owners in any one area have one vote per person.
Literally sickening. Those poor kids. I can't imagine how anyone could let this happen – let alone participate in it.
Our current legal system does nothing to punish the perpetrators (if they all remain silent then there will be no prosecution).
But much better to prevent it happening in the first place. Secure housing for Mum and kids with no sleepovers from other adults allowed – seems like a good place to start.
Yep and follow that up with wages reform so that a family can be raised on one income.
End the offensive regime that requires some working people to have welfare and the landlording handout Accommodation Supplement. Both of which are concessions that government is failing it's people.
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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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 iconon the left hand side of the screenThis video / audio section is under development. ...
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 ...
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, ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 Brownannounced plans to use PPPs to fund, build and run a four-lane expressway between Auckland ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 Deloittereport for Westpac has projected Aotearoa’s home-ownership rate will ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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-$$$’sOliver LewisScoop:Te Pūkenga plans for regional polytechs leak out ...
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 announcedthe Board of Te Whatu Ora-Health New Zealand was being replaced with Commissioner Lester Levy ...
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 ...
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, ...
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 ...
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 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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 Orderimage, ...
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; ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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. ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 PSAannounced the Employment Relations Authority (ERA) had ruled in the PSA’s favour in its case against the Ministry ...
TL;DR: The podcast above of the weekly ‘hoon’ webinar for paying subscribers last night features co-hosts and talking with:The Kākā’s climate correspondent talking about the National-ACT-NZ First Government’s release of its first Emissions Reduction Plan;University of Otago Foreign Relations Professor and special guest Dr Karin von ...
Open access notablesImproving global temperature datasets to better account for non-uniform warming, Calvert, Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society:To better account for spatial non-uniform trends in warming, a new GITD [global instrumental temperature dataset] was created that used maximum likelihood estimation (MLE) to combine the land surface ...
A late change to charter school legislation will cheat educators out of fair pay and negotiating power proving charter schools are just a vehicle to make profit out of our education system. ...
In 2004 te iwi Māori rallied against the Crown’s attempt to confiscate our coastlines and moana with the Foreshore and Seabed Act. This led to the largest hīkoi of a generation and the birth of Te Pāti Māori. 20 years later, history is repeating itself. Today the government has announced ...
It has been five and a half years since the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care was established to investigate the abuse of children, young people, and vulnerable adults within state and faith-based institutions. Yesterday, the final report - Whanaketia through pain and trauma, from darkness to light ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to take action off the back of the International Court of Justice ruling on Israel’s illegal occupation of Palestine. ...
On Friday the International Court of Justice reaffirmed what Palestinian’s have been telling us for decades: that the occupation and colonisation of Palestinian lands by Israel is illegal and must end immediately. They also called for reparations for Palestinian’s who have lived under Israeli occupation since it began in 1967. ...
Labour calls on the Government to act after the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled that Israel’s occupation of Palestinian Territories is illegal. ...
The 53.7 percent rise in benefit sanctions over the last year is more proof of this Government’s disdain for our communities most in need of support. ...
Aotearoa could be a country where every child grows up feeling safe, loved and with a sense of belonging in their whānau and community. But for some of our children, this is far from reality. Instead, they are trapped in a maze of intergenerational harm that they can’t escape on ...
Te Pāti Māori are calling for David Seymour to resign as Associate Health Minister in response to his call for Pharmac to ignore the Treaty of Waitangi. “This announcement is just another example of the government’s anti-Tiriti, anti-Māori agenda.” Said Co-leader and spokesperson for health, Debbie Ngarewa-Packer. “Seymour thinks it ...
The soaring price of renting is driving the rise of inflation in this country - with latest figures from Stats NZ showing rents are up 4.8 per cent on average while annual inflation is at 3.3 per cent. ...
National’s Emissions Reduction Plan will take New Zealand further from the economy we need to ensure the next generation has a stable climate and secure livelihoods. ...
Following consultation with named parties and thorough consideration of privacy interests, the Green Party is in a position to release the Executive Summary of the final report from the independent investigation into Darleen Tana. ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon should be asking serious questions of his Minister for Resources Shane Jones now it’s been revealed he misled the public about a dinner with mining companies that he didn’t declare and said wasn’t pre-arranged. ...
Te Pāti Māori have submitted to the Justice Select Committee against the Sentencing (Reinstating Three Strikes) Amendment Bill. The bill will further entrench racism in our justice system and fails to focus on rehabilitation. “Reinstating Three Strikes will empower a systematically racist system and exacerbate the overrepresentation of Māori in ...
The Transport and Infrastructure Committee is set to make a determination on the Residential Tenancies Amendment (RTA) Bill in the coming weeks. “This legislation will give landlords the power to kick our whānau out onto the street for no reason” said Housing spokesperson, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi. “Their solution to the housing ...
“National’s campaign was about tackling crime and the best they can do is a two-year long Ministerial Advisory Group,” Labour justice spokesperson Duncan Webb said. ...
“There are more examples of charter schools failing their students than there are success stories. The coalition Government is driving to dismantle our public school system and instead promote a privatised, competitive structure that puts profits before kids,” Jan Tinetti said. ...
“This government is choosing to deliberately mislead and withhold information, keeping our people in the dark about this government’s agenda and the future of our mokopuna,” said co-leader and spokesperson for Health, Debbie Ngarewa-Packer. The call comes after the demand from the Chief Ombudsman that Associate Minister of Health, Casey ...
“Today’s climate announcement by Simon Watts makes clear the National Government is simply paying lip service to meeting its climate change targets,” Megan Woods said. ...
National is choosing to make life harder for workers by taking away the rights our communities have fought hard for. Here's how they’re taking workers backwards. ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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. ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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. ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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. ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
Last summer when Matairangi burned, Ginny and Tom stood at the window of their lounge, watching kākā shoot skyward from the burning trees. From the distance, they looked to Ginny like pages torn from books and thrown into a bonfire. It was Tom, voice tight, who told her it was ...
Opinion: The Canadian short story writer Alice Munro – winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2013 – died in May at the age of 92. Her work was about “the damage people inflict on one another in the name of love”, Deborah Treisman wrote in the New Yorker. ...
This month marks two years since the most powerful telescope ever built sent its first pictures back to earth. From its lofty vantage point, beyond the moon in orbit around the sun, the James Webb Space Telescope was tuned to observe the first stars and galaxies being born soon after ...
Comment: After Climate Change Minister Simon Watts’ preview several weeks ago, I had some optimism about the Government’s emissions reduction plan. Now I’ve read the discussion document, that hope has been dashed. How can the Government propose a plan that wants to take New Zealand taxpayers’ hard-earned money, and spend ...
Christopher Luxon: hurdles The little man from National jumps hurdles in his sleep. He’s quite good at it in his dreams and even though the reality doesn’t quite match up you have to give him credit for getting up every morning and crashing into the very first hurdle of the ...
Comment: It was a good two hours into the conversation when Tyrone Marks raised the most basic of questions when I first spoke to him in 2017. “They didn’t explain the things they did to me. They never told me why. And they still haven’t. There’s no explanation for it. ...
Madeleine Chapman rounds out Death Week on The Spinoff with a final recommendation. You can read all of our Death Week coverage here. Nothing forces you to reflect on your life and relationships quite like proximity to death. For those whose nearest and dearest have died, there are reasonably obvious ...
Whitney Greene takes us through her life in television, including the TV character she’d like to plan a funeral for and her cow lung catastrophe on The Traitors NZ. “If the phone rings, I have to answer it,” Whitney Greene from The Traitors NZ warns as we begin our My ...
Maddie Ballard reviews the debut essay collection of Pōneke writer Flora Feltham.In ‘The Raw Material’, the longest essay in Flora Feltham’s dazzling debut collection, the author heads out for a run after hours of weaving and sees the world turn to textile. “Pounding along the Parade, I saw the ...
Andy Christiansen, one half of the experimental rock-pop duo TRiPS, shares the tunes inspiring the band’s perfect weekend and new release. “Good speakers, good food, good music, no distractions”: that’s all you need to enjoy the psychedelic stylings of TRiPS, a new band formed by Fly My Pretties’ Barnaby Weir ...
Celebrating our quadrennial opportunity to become experts in a bunch of sports we never normally watch.The games of the XXXIII Olympiad are upon us. Paris will host this year’s showcase of sporting and athletic prowess, which means some late-night and early-morning viewing for us in Aotearoa.But what sports ...
The photograph is striking and beautiful, but also disturbing – a reminder that my love for John was often entangled in shame.The Sunday Essay is made possible thanks to the support of Creative New Zealand.In the spring of 1980, in Dunedin, shortly before his death, someone took a photograph ...
Get to know Babushka, our latest Dog of the Month. This feature was offered as a reward during our What’s Eating Aotearoa PledgeMe campaign. Thank you to Babu’s humans, Jo and Isabel, for their support. Dog name: Babushka (Babu for short) Age: 2Breed: Border Collie X poodleIf rescued, ...
Pacific Media Watch A Lebanese photojournalist who was severely wounded during an Israeli air strike in south Lebanon carried the Olympic torch in Paris this week in honour of her peers who have been wounded and killed in the field — especially in Gaza and Lebanon. Christina Assi of Agence ...
The first report in a five-part web series focused on the 15th Triennial Conference of Pacific Women taking place in the Marshall Islands this week.SPECIAL REPORT:By Netani Rika in Majuro Women continue to fight for justice 70 years after the first nuclear tests by the United States caused ...
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https://www.stuff.co.nz/politics/350221993/tova-podcast-laughing-stock-whole-police-station-police-officer-slams-prime
luxon is the laughing stock in the police stations!
Ha, posted while I was typing! But still, it needs repeating …
Quotes:
“He is gutted at what National has done. On the one hand they will be requiring him to stop and make gang members remove their patches, a stupid idea in my opinion, but on the other hand he is now considering finding secondary employment to make ends meet.”.
“Luxon couldn’t care less. He is the most out-of-touch PM I have seen. He doesn’t even try to care.”
Jinx
His not giving a siht is what makes him appealing to his backers.
The worst government of the last 4 decades combining the casualness of the Lange years and with the narrow view of the Muldoon years.
Here from Bernard Hickey explaining the parts of the difference between Richardson’s real crisis and Willis and Luxon’s Liz Truss lite:
Also, the level of New Zealand’s net debt is not only lower at 20% of GDP than the 52% reached in 1991, but is less than half Australia’s currentl level of 40% of GDP and less than a fifth of the United States’ level now of 102%.
The difference is Richardson’s swathes of cuts to the social safety were forged in the midst of a true fiscal and financial crisis for the Government, whereas Budget 2024’s cuts to disability services, school building programmes, public transport subsidies and potentially thousands of jobs is being done to mostly pay for tax reductions worth millions each year for rental property multi-millionaires.
It’s vandalism. It’s bought and paid for legislated corruption. It’s negligence of duty at a time of many great needs.
For the above quote.
https://thekaka.substack.com/p/paying-for-tax-cuts-by-not-funding?utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web
Cruelty is the point.
I am no fan of the NZ Police for a number of reasons, including the enduring macho culture, grudge holding (e.g. Crewe murder case), persistent lying in Court and inbuilt support for the ruling class–but they are certainly not overpaid. Their wages are pathetic. In a better world much of their work could be done by Civil Defence, tow truck drivers, Paramedics and an effective emergency Mental Health force.
However this latest effort is all on the PM. Politicians have long needed to know the basics–what does a 2 litre of Milk cost…Mr Luxury Luxon quite likely does not know and does not care.
Anti gets worse as the day goes on….
https://www.odt.co.nz/news/national/kick-guts-rural-cops-face-losing-allowances
Allowances at Hard to Fill and rural stations are under review.
So there's going to be a two yearly turnover of rural cops, which is about the time it takes for them to get know their patch and get the co-operation of the community, without which their job is really hard
Presumably Fed Farmers, and their ex Pres. will be all over this….
This is even more damaging to Luxon than all the Seymour/Peters undermining. He's undermining himself.
‘Laughing stock of the whole police station’ – cop slams PM | Stuff
The most revealing part is that when he got the numbers wrong, there were no alarm bells ringing in his head ("wait, that doesn't sound right"). He can't relate to these salaries, so he has no idea how wrong he is. Until he's told.
It was all there when in the election campaign when they had Luxon, Goldsmith and Mitchell on a standup and though they were making a prisoner based announcement none of the knew the cost of incarcerating a prisoner for a year. But for some reason they got a pass.
The shadow minister didn’t know his portfolio. The PM didn’t either. No one in their campaign had thought to arm them with that kind of information given the policy they were announcing.
I remember watching Helen Clark being grilled about her government and she was across every piece of information they dug up to ask her about. She cared about the job, about the people and about getting it right.
To not be across the basic information from an active wildfire of an incident of which the public’s, media’s and opposition’s attention is very much on shows his rather regal approach to the PM role.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/politics/350220974/major-cuts-hit-ministry-rural-communities-and-primary-industries
Is it going to me weaker biosecurity and fish stocks getting plundered
The public service blues, downsizing arrives.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/politics/350221684/nicola-willis-flying-blind-public-service-cuts-top-economist-warns
I'm pretty sure varoa and m bovis both came in under nationals watch, foot and mouth would destroy the nz economy.
1990's, not just varrua jacobsini beemite, but also white clover leaf weevil and didymo.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/politics/350205276/nz-politics-live-willis-says-seymour-doesnt-need-apologise-tweet-job-cuts
131 front line bio security staff, !! Reckless fools
So not just customs staff but also bio-security.
The amazing thing about all the MSM pieces about civil service redundancies is their received wisdom that the civil service was the "right size" at the end of a decade of neglect under Key/English. This is simply assumed as a fact by our MSM, who then wonder why a skeptical public think they are little more than complicit gatekeepers of plutocratic narratives.
Well, well, well…GCSB caught out again…Helen Clark has nailed it. Secret ops from if not the official NZ “pie and Penthouse” brigade–NZSIS–then next cab off the rank in the bungler department.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/political/512348/gcsb-staff-who-failed-to-flag-foreign-intelligence-system-should-face-disciplinary-action-former-pm
With the refusal to talk by any former GCSB luminaries, Fletcher etc. or the the current Minister Mrs Collins, Andrew Little fronted on RNZ this morning. Sadly Andrew seemed still in thrall to the wood panelled offices and the old boys network rather than spill the beans on which Five Eyes partner was involved.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/morningreport/audio/2018931198/former-minister-andrew-little-on-gcsb-spy-operation
Lets not forget how these super sleuths somehow missed the Christchurch mass murderer, but managed to enable “someone” to possibly take actions against NZ foreign policy.
He seems to be unaware of the disconnect between his confidence in the 'transparency' of the GCSB in communication to Ministers, following the legislative update in 2017, and the now-revealed fact that they were actively lying to him (by omission) up until 2020.
It would appear operating within the orbit of 2010-2012 rules in 2013, without informing those in charge 2013-2020 under their rules. Those transition periods.
I wonder how the 2017-2023 Ministers managed to time the release of the story for the incoming government … given the fiasco was on their past government watch.
It was the 'transparency' that Little claimed was operating, that I was commenting on.
Not so transparent, after all.
Really, it's a pretty silly stoush for him to get involved in.
Much better to leave the stinking mess in the lap of the current government.
It was difficult to be transparent about things the GCSB leadership post 2013 did not know, thus Ministers post 2017 did not.
The point is that Little was claiming that the GCSB was transparent while he was Minister. The truth, as is now apparent, they were certainly not transparent.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/political/512379/gcsb-has-a-much-different-attitude-now-andrew-little-says-after-foreign-op-revealed
It's a silly claim to make. Given that he: A. Has no evidence over matters which were not disclosed to him (you don't know what you don't know); and B. Has evidence that at least one serious matter was *not* disclosed to him.
You miss the point, the leadership at GCSB did not know of something set up and running auto since 2013.
Accepting this is true. It still means that the GCSB was not open and transparent to the Ministers concerned. If the leadership themselves didn't know what was going on – then the claim that by Little that he was "being kept well informed" — is on even shakier ground.
As I said earlier – politically he should have left the whole thing alone – as the responsibility of the current government to respond. At most, express his disappointment that he was not kept as fully briefed as he had believed at the time.
Notably Judith Collins has kept her mouth shut – it's difficult to see any potential wins for any Minister responsible in this situation.
There is nothing to contradict the claim of the GCSB that they had been transparent with their 2017-2023 Ministers.
The explanation of something running on auto since 2013 and which ended because of technical failure in 2020 is the known.
The culture of GCSB in the pre 2013 period is also a known, silo, and not everything going on was well known to others.
There is nothing to support this, either.
And, given that the evidence we now have, that the GCSB was conducting covert activities, about which the Ministers were not informed- quite a lot to disprove this statement.
The point that this was going on up until 2020 – rather takes away from your argument that it was only pre-2013 that the GCSB contained information silos.
You seem to be arguing that the GCSB was transparent because their directors weren't informed either. And separating out the 'transparency' of the directors, from that of the organization as a whole. I think that makes them less transparent, rather than more.
It has been explained that once set up, the system operated on auto till equipment failure in 2020.
You really are a bit of conspiracy nutbar who tends to be completely ignorant of the limits of ministerial control. You also apparently cannot read links or prefer not to in case it destroys your half-arsed and completely incorrect insinuations.
He couldn’t know about it until 2020, because apparently the GCSB senior staff who do those briefings didn’t know about it either. Little didn’t say that he didn’t know about it after it was discovered in 2020. What he said was
So when being told of the systems re-discovery, presumably in 2020, he did exactly what he was meant to – referred it. Little was minister for the SIS/GCSB from 2017 to 2023. That doesn’t mean that he has or should have oversight of operational details or to directly investigate oversteps of legal bounds. That is the role of the Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security (IGIS).
This is the same kind of hands-off role that the ministers for Police, Defence, Customs, and a number of other ‘Crown’ organisations have. They do funding and a general legal oversight by investigative bodies, but have very little operational control outside of the gross budget bounds.
They are the office who issued the report yesterday.
It was clearly an automatic system agreed upon in 2012 by the GCSB management (date of the MOU) and and deployed in 2013, presumably some kind of computer system, which failed in 2020. It had appeared to have been forgotten about by the GCSB senior staff according to the IGIS because it was agreed on 13-14 years ago, probably installed at a tech level 10 years ago, and then run automatically for 7 years. The summary details from RNZ
Now I have helped out by pointing to the timeline and quoting the relevant parts for your laziness, perhaps you have a better idea about what Little could have known and when.
I fail to see how I am a "conspiracy nutbar"
The only conspiracy here is that the GCSB was very clearly not transparent and open (either with Little or with any previous Minister). Whether that is because its directors were also not informed of what was going on in their organization is, irrelevant – the buck stops with them. The fact is that the Ministers were not informed of significant espionage activities going on within the organization.
None of this has anything to do about what Little was informed or when – nor did I make any claims about his date or level of information – though I'm sure you had fun compiling your diatribe.
Again, Little would have been much better politically advised, to say nothing. Or to express his disappointment that the information was not supplied.
Belladonna, you do beat the dead horse, and appear to feel your offerings are superior. Why no mention of Key? Oh I know, he did not stick his head above the parapet for your bullet. Little did.
Well, yes. That's the point. There was no need for him to do so. There is no win for Labour in this.
Yeah right. Clearly you have been too lazy to read the IGIS report or the RNZ reporting of it.
The IGIS report clearly states that the last mention of telling the ministers was back in 2012. But it wasn't done then.
Sounds like the knowledge was also not past down through the successive directors at the GCSB. Quite simply the hardware was just left running in the racks
I associate lazy dimwits like you who clearly haven't read the material and who then pronounce a bullshit theory that has clearly been covered in the material – as a CONSPIRACY NUTBARS.
It is pattern of behaviour.
Just like the security organisations (all of them) have strong behavioural tendency to be so compartmental that they lose institutional knowledge whenever just a handful of people move on.
Just like your silly over the top jumping to conclusions. Spook organisations often wind up with segmented compartments of spooks who often don't know what is happening in the next office and who lose the plot frequently because of institutional secrecy issues.
It doesn't mean that they always are incomptent. It just means that they need something like IGIS to dig into what has been going on. Jjust as sometimes even a conspiracy nutbar ideas may not be a loose-headed and outright wrong.
Or that eventually a million immortal monkeys on typewriters…..
I beg to differ over Andrew Little TM. It appeared to me he was steering clear of revealing any personal views, and sticking to the matter as it played out during his time as GCSB minister.
I was interested to hear that former GCSB director, Sir Bruce Ferguson was approached two weeks ago and asked to sign a document preventing him from revealing anything he may have known/or not known as the case may be. While he was not prepared to be interviewed (at this point maybe?) he refused to sign the document. That's a plus in my view. I assume the other former directors were also approached but we don't know their responses.
It would be interesting to know who was attempting to gag these former directors and what they are trying to hide. 🙂
Old but pertinent.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/ex-spy-boss-lashes-out-at-pms-claims/ZUI74F7MUDJ7YJWL5Q653VCTCI/
I had one or two dealings with him at a time he was a F16 pilot with the RNZAF. He came across as fiercely intelligent and history suggests he is very much his own man. I doubt he suffers fools gladly so opponents beware…. 😉
A case where downsizing from past form does work to realise better performance.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/350222093/my-boobs-were-hindrance-how-breast-reduction-saved-rosie-galligans-rugby-career
And in the nothing should be on ones record, unless it it true, category.
The resurfaced rumours have gained so much traction that Hanbury, via her lawyers, told Business Insider on Monday the “rumours are completely false”.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/culture/350217667/who-rose-hanbury-lady-who-had-put-prince-william-affair-rumours-bed
Is there any political aspect to either story?
If you do intend to use either or both to illustrate a political or social or economic point – about either the stories or the press coverage – then perhaps you could do so, up front.
If not – then this might be better on your personal social media account.
Because, right now, this looks like gossipy innuendo targeting women.
100%
Are you going to ask for comments, not by you, to be removed from the search engine here?
Oh, put a sock in it SPC.
Weka has asked you, repeatedly, to leave it alone.
Even if you don't feel like apologizing for getting the wrong end of the stick; continuing on with the same issue is rapidly becoming harassment.
continuing on with the same issue is rapidly becoming harassment
yes, you’d think wouldn’t you.
In my experience, SPC's radar is accurate.
In my experience (and based on a sample of 1), their radar is 100% wrong. And frankly, I’m the only one in a position to categorically say the accusations levelled against me are totally false. None the less SPC appears to continue to persue them without apparent consequence
Your confidence rating, however, must be taking a downwards tick. Since he's been proved comprehensively wrong on this occasion.
To SPC at 5.1.1.1, no. I’m not going to make any such demands of the mods. I suspect they have quite enough to do without perusing you further down your rabbit hole.
Well that isn’t going to happen. The only comments and posts that aren’t part of the sphinx search engine are private posts and comments on those private posts. Essentially the ones that the authors, moderators, and admins use to coordinate on. You have to have a login at author or above to see those.
I also don’t allow comments to be easily deleted. They can be sent to trash or spam, but I get notified with a copy, and there is a archive of all comments.
Why was there no catch on the use of a name that had already been used?
Rather than go off some some great conspiracy theory the reality, as is often the case, so much more simple.
Rose / Rosemary is a very common name for someone of my generation. As I explained to you yesterday, I have been aware of this site for about 18 months. In that time I noticed some one already commented under the handle Rosemary. As a common courtesy to that person, I went by my shorten name, Rose. Didn’t occur to me to go back nearly two decades as you’ve done to see if someone somewhere in the distant past has already used a very common name.
see, reality is so much more boring than conspiracy.
You can type in a name in the search box – top right, to see if it has been used in the past. Also one can click on the name under comments to see the past comments in date order.
Suggest you pause, engage the brain and don’t jump off the deep end with wild accusations about affairs (would link to Wekas comment on this point yesterday, but since been deleted ) and such like next time, unless you know how to swim.
Thanks. I didn't know you could do that. Now that I have, there appears to be another Jimmy!
I've been cloned!
You and me the same it would appear 😊
Not sure if that makes me cloner or clonee.
if I were to have my time again, think one thing I’d ask for is a more exotic name. Been too much confusion with a common over the years 😊
Fwiw, my SO has the same name and to all she is known as Rose. I haven't come across many of them.
Her Mum was fond of singing Love Grows (Where My Rosemary Goes).
Far out, this is like a runaway train.
FYI, I counted only 74 comments by commenters [plural] using the user name “Rose” [case-insensitive].
These were associated with 6 different e-mail addresses, which suggests up to 6 different individuals using the same user name “Rose” [case-insensitive] over the history of TS.
Before the most recent “Rose” appeared here on TS, the last occurrence of the same user name was 2 comments on the same day in 2022 by an apparently different commenter.
Before that, there were 40 comments by an apparently different “Rose” from 2012-2014.
Before that, in 2010-2011, there were 5 comments made by 3 commenters that were apparently different but who all used the same user name “Rose”.
The first time the user name “Rose” appeared here on TS was in 2008 with 9 comments that year.
HTH
Good work Incog.
I can assure you none of them were my Rose.
cheers.
I'd been meaning to look that up, and ask current Rose to alter her name a bit in case the other most recent Rose returns (to avoid further confusion).
it's been on my mental list of things to check, but as there is no other Rose currently commenting it wasn't the highest priority (like say, writing a post about the latest climate report). Then some numpty used up my spare time yesterday on a wild goose chase.
Every person who moderates at TS does so on their own unpaid time. We don't have a pool of volunteers, atm we have me and Incognito and sometimes Lynn.
All you had to do was link to the other Rose and ask current Rose if that was her. And/or pointed out do the mods that the name was already in use. Instead of going off on one and dragging this out over two days.
Sure, now I know the name and back comment system is not 100% reliable.
Indeed, it’s not 100% reliable, especially with more common names. However, if a name crops up and it hasn’t been used in a long time we sometimes let it go through anyway even if it’s a different person (i.e. a reset by which the name goes back into the general pool of available user names). And we don’t always have time to search the whole archive for a single name, in which case I tend to rely on my memory (which is definitely not 100% reliable).
You can always tell commenters apart by their avatars, which are linked to the e-mail addresses.
If you suspect foul play such as astroturfing, ID-theft, or simply bad faith behaviour then there are ways to raise the alert; some ways are more effective than others, as you have experienced.
Be clear, be specific, present evidence, especially when asked and drop it when the evidence is weak or absent, particularly when asked.
FYI, trolls and the likes have an uncanny habit of outing themselves here, sooner or later.
HTH
Yeah, a compulsive inability to think for themselves is what I attribute it to. They always wind up sounding a like parrot of something someone else said.
Not so much an individual, more like a junior pack member repeating the mantras alpha dog/bitch to look like they know what they're talking about – but clearly having never having understood the underlying logic or reasoning (if there was any)
The clearest example at present is in the 'MAGA base' if you ever listen to or read them – the ones who prattle on using the same words as their heros – and get really defensive when pushed past the slogan level to what does that slogan mean.
It is clear because their alpha hero is a blithering idiot who isn't interested in actual history, logic or workable policy. Trump is mostly interested in looking great in how he says THINGS in a way that has MAGA base supporters blinded*.
Yeah, I forgot about the avatars (emails as lprent explained).
If the other Jimmy gets banned, do I get banned too?
no.
Thanks…good to know.
I would’ve asked the question the other way round
There is a 'catch'. But there isn't a foolproof check on that because people do change 'e-mails' occasionally, and they jump around IPs often. That is human checked by moderators.
The system auto moderates the combination of 'handle' and 'e-mail'. If a comment comes in that has a never before seen combination, it is automatically put into the moderation queue as a first time comment.
A moderator or admin picks it up, scans to see if it looks like a case of identity theft and lets it through, moderates it by changing it to something else saying why, or dumps it.
The first comment check has to be allowed manually before subsequent comments get posted to public view automatically. Occasionally a comment looks human to the automatic filters – which are there to deal with bots and spammers. So a human gets to decide who is human and who is a fraudster.
Sometimes the comment looks ok and gets past. The handle may be the same, but the automatic avatar against each commenter handle reflects the shared secret – the 'e-mail' – so readers know that it is likely to be the same or different to a previous user of that handle. Mostly moderators will only check who it is if the comment appears 'off' for the usual current user of that handle (never under-estimate the ability of humans at pattern picking), then if it looks like someone trying to do and identity theft…
The effect of this is that the workload impact on moderators is quite diminished to occasional auto-moderation for 'new' commenters. And we don't get into doing a whole load of admin whenever someone switches email providers. Which is why people with logins are restricted to authors and those people who got a actual login before I closed them off in 2008, and who left at least one comment using the login before 2010.
With the current system, we don't even insist on real e-mail addresses. That is effectively just a shared secret. So long as it looks like it might be a email, then it is ok.
Thanks for asking.
1. David Seymour and his deputy pleased with their downsizing work – others not sure that it will deliver nothing but poorer outcomes
2. Winston Peters global reputation for comparing indigenous rights (honouring the Treaty) to the 1930's German regime.
Well, neither would have been a connection I (or I think many others) would have made up front.
And, certainly the first one is of very questionable merit (surely you can find a better illustration of the outcomes of downsizing than breast reduction).
I fail to see any connection between the last one and Winston Peters. Or the link is so vague that it could apply to any current news story.
Save it for Facebook.
About bloody time!
Maybe the US should have cut off military aid to Israel-that would have achieved a ceasefire immediately. This is all bluster.
"BNP Paribas, BofA Securities, Deutsche Bank and Goldman Sachs led the offering."
https://www.reuters.com/markets/rates-bonds/israel-sells-record-8-billion-bonds-despite-oct-7-attacks-downgrade-2024-03-06/
I think I have already said Biden needs to stop the export of military aid to Israel some months back
The golden rule is that you don't cut govt spending during a recession. It just makes everything worse.
Cutting spending to give tax cuts to the rich is insane – as a time of instability the rich will just put the money in the bank where it doesn't help the economy, whereas lesser mortals have to spend the money to live and so keep the economy alive.
It was so hilarious to hear Shamubeel Eeaqub yesterday talk about this economic recession we're now in being nothing to do with government.
The Reserve Bank has deliberately targeted and succeeded in achieving a recession through raising interest rates in order to choke consumer demand, choke discretionary family spending through higher mortgage payments, and demand higher unemployment.
It's the most destructive thing I've seen from a single state entity in a decade. As for their statutory independence from government, we all know how closely Treasury staff work with them already. And how tight the banking economist network is in Wellington.
It also one of the reasons the banks will make increased profits. Reserve bank pushing interest rates up. Profit out of nothing given to them freely.
David Seymour responds to the IMF mentioning CGT, we should be more like Switzerland which has no CGT.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/politics/david-seymour-talks-tax-relief-public-service-savings-free-school-lunches-and-media-cuts-the-front-page/XC6CVPWEQ5DBXLRL3VA5VO2FUM/
I suspect that Seymour knows little about their tax system.
https://taxsummaries.pwc.com/switzerland/individual/other-taxes
Seymour may well know about the Swiss tax system, I think he is more malicious than stupid.
He made his technically correct (but in reality dishonest and misleading) talking point successfully ("no CGT in Switzerland!"). As you mention (and he didn't), they have direct capital taxes and all sorts of other taxes on wealth that we don't have. Many of his listeners won't bother to find out.
"My heart goes out to anyone who is faced with the prospect of losing their job," Willis said. "
Sick.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/politics/350205276/nz-politics-live-chris-hipkins-slams-distasteful-coalition-government-public
bookmark that for the 2026 election.
Hopefully she doesn't last that long,
"Heart", lol.
Interesting to see that the parties of "one man, one vote" deciding that being able to vote multiple times is actually OK – as long as you're a landlord.
Local Electoral (Abolition of the Ratepayer Roll) Amendment Bill — First Reading – New Zealand Parliament (www.parliament.nz)
This government is so overwhelmingly shit, so incomparably intellectually and morally bankrupt, it can't even act consistently with it's own (lazy and awful) rhetoric.
In local government elections, property owners get a vote in an area in which they own a property. They don't get multiple votes in any single area.
The reason for that system in local government elections is both simple and logical – property owners pay rates in each and all of those areas, and therefore have a democratic right to have a say in how those rates are spent.
But we abandoned property ownership as the basis for the franchise over a century ago, because for all the the rhetoric around it, it was really an attempt to keep the dirty poors from having a vote.
I'd also argue that if you simply open a property in a district and don't like the rates or what council does, you're welcome to sell up and buy a property somewhere else.
If you buy a business in another country, should you expect to get a vote there?
Moreover, why should someone's rights as a landlord be greater than than the people that actually live and work in the community?
"But we abandoned property ownership as the basis for the franchise over a century ago, "
That related to one person having multiple votes in the same election. The current situation is totally different. If you have a residence in Wellington and a holiday home in the Wairarapa, why shouldn't you have a right to a say about how your rates in both places are spent?
"Moreover, why should someone's rights as a landlord be greater than than the people that actually live and work in the community?"
They aren't. All property owners in any one area have one vote per person.
"The reason for that system in local government elections is both simple and logical – property owners pay rates in each and all of those areas.."
I would be surprised if the landlord paid, I think you will find the tenents pay the rates.
Oh dear. This sounds terrible. NZ really is in a bad way.
Lower Hutt children hospitalised, ‘horrific’ family harm injuries discovered, police seek help from public – NZ Herald
Literally sickening. Those poor kids. I can't imagine how anyone could let this happen – let alone participate in it.
Our current legal system does nothing to punish the perpetrators (if they all remain silent then there will be no prosecution).
But much better to prevent it happening in the first place. Secure housing for Mum and kids with no sleepovers from other adults allowed – seems like a good place to start.
Yep and follow that up with wages reform so that a family can be raised on one income.
End the offensive regime that requires some working people to have welfare and the
landlording handoutAccommodation Supplement. Both of which are concessions that government is failing it's people.