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.
Thus far May has followed on from a quiet April in the blogging department, but in fairness, it has been another case of doing what I am supposed to be doing, namely writing original fiction. Plus reading. So don’t worry – I have been productive. But in order to reassure ...
Buzz from the Beehive A new government agency will open for business on July 1 – the Social Investment Agency. As a new standalone central agency effective from 1 July, it will lead the development of social investment across Government, helping ministers understand who they need to invest in, what ...
Bryce Edwards writes – “Follow the money” is the classic directive to journalists trying to understand where power and influence lie in society. In terms of uncovering who influences various New Zealand political parties and governments, it therefore pays to look at who is funding them. The ...
Alwyn Poole writes – After being elected to Parliament in 2008 the maiden speech of Hipkins was substantially around education policy. He was Labour’s spokesperson for education 2011 – 2017. He was Minister for Education from 2017 until February 2023. This is approximately 88% of the time Labour ...
Eric Crampton writes – A fashion industry group is lobbying for protections. They make the usual arguments and a newer one. None of it makes sense. An industry group says it pumped $7.8 billion into the economy last year – that’s 1.9 percent of New Zealand’s GDP. ...
In December 2006, Fiji's military leader Voreqe Bainimarama overthrew the elected government in a coup. He ruled Fiji for the next 16 years, first as dictator, then as "elected" Prime Minister. But now, he's finally been sent to jail where he belongs. Sadly, this isn't for his real crime of ...
Don't like National's corrupt Muldoonist "fast-track" law? Aotearoa's environmental NGO's - Greenpeace, Forest & Bird, WWF, Coromandel Watchdog, Coal Action Network Aotearoa, Kiwis Against Seabed Mining, and others - have announced a joint march against it in Auckland in June: When: 13:00, 8 June, 2024 Where: Aotea Square, Auckland You ...
Seymour describes sushi as too woke for school meals. There are no fish sushi meals recommended by the School Lunches programme. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / Getty ImagesTL;DR: The Government will swap out hot meals for packaged sandwiches to save $107 million on school lunches for poor kids. MSD has pulled ...
I don't mind stealin' bread from the mouths of decadenceBut I can't feed on the powerless when my cup's already overfilled, yeahBut it's on the table, the fire's cookin'And they're farmin' babies, while slaves are workin'The blood is on the table and the mouths are chokin'But I'm goin' hungry, yeahSome ...
The Ardern Government’s chickens came home to roost yesterday with the news that the country is short of natural gas. In 2018, Labour banned offshore petroleum exploration, and industry executives say that the attendant loss of confidence by the industry impacted overall investment in onshore gas fields. Energy Resources Minister ...
Hi,If you’ve been digging through the newly launched Webworm store (orders are being dispatched worldwide as I type!) you’ll have noticed the best model we had was Calvin.This is Calvin.Calvin.Calvin is 7, and is the son of my producer over on Flightless Bird, Rob — aka “Wobby Wob”. Rob also ...
This video includes conclusions of the creator climate scientist Dr. Adam Levy. It is presented to our readers as an informed perspective. Please see video description for references (if any). Climate change is everywhere. And when something's everywhere it can feel like it's nowhere. So how do we get our heads ...
Its a law like gravity: whenever a right-wing government is elected, they start attacking democracy. And now, after talking to their Republican and Tory and Fidesz chums at the International Democracy Union forum in Wellington, National is doing it here, announcing plans to remove election-day enrolment. Or, to put it ...
Yesterday Winston Peters focussed his attention on the important matter at hand. Tweeting. Like the former, and quite possibly next, orange POTUS, from whom he takes much of his political strategy, Winston is an avid X’er.His message didn’t resemble an historic address this time. In fact it was more reminiscent ...
Buzz from the Beehive A significant decline in natural gas production has given Resources Minister Shane Jones an opportunity to reiterate his enthusiasm for the mining and burning of coal. For good measure, he has praised an announcement from Genesis Energy that it will resume importing coal. He and Energy ...
“Follow the money” is the classic directive to journalists trying to understand where power and influence lie in society. In terms of uncovering who influences various New Zealand political parties and governments, it therefore pays to look at who is funding them. The political parties are legally obliged to make ...
Rob MacCullough writes – Here is my subjective ranking on a “most-left” to “most-right” scale of most of our major NZ Universities, with some anecdotal (and at times amusing) evidence to back up the claim.Extreme Left Auckland University of TechnologyEvidenceThe ...
Eric Crampton writes – I hadn’t thought about this one until a helpful email showed up in my inbox.It’s pretty obvious that income tax thresholds should automatically index with inflation – whether to anchor the thresholds in percentiles of the income distribution, or to anchor against a real ...
Jacqui Van Der Kaay writes – Parliament’s speaker had no option but to refer Green MP Julie Anne Genter to the Privileges Committee for her behaviour in the House last Wednesday evening. The incident, in which she crossed the floor to wave a book and yell at National ...
Gary Judd writes – The Dean of the law school at the Auckland University of Technology is someone called Khylee Quince. I have been sent her social media posting in which she has, over the LawNews headline “Senior King’s Counsel files complaint about compulsory tikanga Maori studies for ...
Cleo Paskal writes – WASHINGTON, D.C.: ‘Many of us have received phone calls from [the opposing camp] telling them if they join the camp they will be given projects for their wards and $300,000 [around US$35,000] each’, says former Malaita Premier Daniel Suidani. The elections in Solomon Islands aren’t ...
With hindsight, it was inevitable that (a) Hamas would agree to the ceasefire deal brokered by Egypt and Qatar and that ( b) Israel would then immediately launch attacks on Rafah, regardless. We might have hoped the concessions made by Hamas would cause Israel to desist from slaughtering thousands more ...
Placards and mourners outside the Kilbirnie Mosque following the Christchurch terror attack: MSD has terminated the Kaiwhakaoranga service, which has been used by 415 families since the attacks. Photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: The Government’s pledge to only cut ‘back office’ staff rather than ‘frontline’ services is on increasingly shaky ground, with ...
There’s been a few smaller public transport announcements over the last week or so that I thought I’d cover in a single post. Fareshare I’ve long called for Auckland Transport to offer a way to enable employer-subsidised public transport options. The need for this took on even more importance ...
Parliament’s speaker had no option but to refer Green MP Julie Anne Genter to the Privileges Committee for her behaviour in the House last Wednesday evening. The incident, in which she crossed the floor to wave a book and yell at National Minister Matt Doocey, reflects poorly on Genter and ...
On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
Who likes being sneered at? Nobody. Worse yet, when the sneerer has their facts all wrong, and might well be an idiot.The sneer in question is The adults are in charge now, and it is a sneer offered in retort to criticism of this new Government, no matter how well ...
When in government, Labour pushed to extend the Parliamentary term to four years, to reduce accountability and our ability to vote out a bad government. And now, they're trying to do it through the member's ballot, with a Four-Year Parliamentary Term Legislation Bill. The bill at least requires a referendum ...
A ballot for a single Member's Bill was held today, and the following bill was drawn: Public Works (Prohibition of Compulsory Acquisition of Māori Land) Amendment Bill (Hūhana Lyndon) The bill would prevent the government from stealing Māori land in breach of Te Tiriti o Waitangi. It ...
Simeon Brown, alongside Wayne Brown, is favouring a political figleaf now in exchange for loading up tens of millions in extra interest costs on Auckland ratepayers. Photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: Ratings agency Standard & Poor’s is pushing back hard at suggestions from Local Government Minister Simeon Brown and Mayor Wayne Brown ...
Buzz from the Beehive One headline-grabber from the Beehive yesterday was the OECD’s advice that the government must bring the Budget deficit under control or face higher interest rates. Another was the announcement of a $1.9 billion “investment” in Corrections over the next four years. In the best interests of ...
Chris Trotter writes – Had Zheng He’s fleet sailed east, not west, in the early Fifteenth Century, how different our world would be. There is little reason to suppose that the sea-going junks of the Ming Dynasty, among the largest and most sophisticated sailing vessels ever constructed, would have failed ...
David Farrar writes – Two articles give a useful contrast in balance. Both seek to be neutral explainer articles. This one in the Herald on Social Investment covers the pros and cons nicely. It links to critical pieces and talks about aspects that failed and aspects that are more ...
The tikanga regulations will compel law students to be taught that a system which does not conform with the rule of law is nevertheless law which should be observed and applied…Gary Judd KC writes – I have made a complaint to Parliament’s Regulation ...
The future of Te Huia, the train between Hamilton and Auckland, has been getting a lot of attention recently as current funding for it is only in place till the end of June. The government initially agreed to a five year trial, through to April 2026, but that was subject ...
TL;DR: Hamas has just agreed to Israel’s ceasefire plan. Nelson hospital’s rebuild has been cut back to save money. The OECD suggests New Zealand break up network monopolies, including in electricity. PM Christopher Luxon’s news conference on a prison expansion announcement last night was his messiest yet.Here’s my top six ...
A homicide in Ponsonby, a manhunt with a killer on the run. The nation’s leader stands before a press conference reassuring a frightened nation that he’ll sort it out, he’ll keep them safe, he’ll build some new prison spaces.Sorry what? There’s a scary dude on the run with a gun ...
Hi,I know it’s been awhile since there’s been any Webworm merch — and today that all changes!Over the last four months, I’ve been working with New Zealand artist Jess Johnson to create a series of t-shirts, caps and stickers that are infused with Webworm DNA — and as of right ...
The OECD’s chief economist yesterday laid it on the line for the new Government: bring the deficit under control or face higher Reserve Bank interest rates for longer. And to bring the deficit under control, she meant not borrowing for tax cuts. But there was more. Without policy changes—introducing a ...
After a hiatus of over four months Selwyn Manning and I finally got it together to re-start the “A View from Afar” podcast series. We shall see how we go but aim to do 2 episodes per month if possible. … Continue reading → ...
In 2008, the UK Parliament passed the Climate Change Act 2008. The law established a system of targets, budgets, and plans, with inbuilt accountability mechanisms; the aim was to break the cycle of empty promises and replace it with actual progress towards emissions reduction. The law was passed with near-universal ...
Buzz from the Beehive Local Water Done Well – let’s be blunt – is a silly name, but the first big initiative to put it into practice has gone done well. This success is reflected in the headline on an RNZ report:District mayors welcome Auckland’s new water deal with ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate ConnectionsA farmworker cleans the solar panels of a solar water pump in the village of Jagadhri, Haryana Country, India. (Photo credit: Prashanth Vishwanathan/ IWMI) Decisions made in India over the next few years will play a key role in global ...
Lindsay Mitchell writes – The Children’s Minister, Karen Chhour, intends to repeal Section 7AA from the Oranga Tamariki Act 1989 because it creates conflict between claimed Crown Treaty obligations and the child’s best interests. In her words, “Oranga Tamariki’s governing principles and its act should be colour ...
Geoffrey Miller writes – The gloves are off. That might seem to be the undertone of surprisingly tough talk from New Zealand’s foreign and trade ministers. Winston Peters, the foreign minister, may be facing legal action after making allegations about former Australian foreign minister Bob Carr on Radio New Zealand. ...
Brian Easton writes – This is about the time that the Treasury will be locking up its economic forecasts to be published in the 2024 Budget Economic and Fiscal Update (BEFU) on budget day, 30 May. I am not privy to what they will be (I will report on them ...
TL;DR:Winston Peters is reported to have won a budget increase for MFAT. David Seymour wanted his Ministry of Regulation to be three times bigger than the Productivity Commission. Simeon Brown is appointing a Crown Monitor to Watercare to protect the Claytons Crown Guarantee he had to give ratings agencies ...
The gloves are off. That might seem to be the undertone of surprisingly tough talk from New Zealand’s foreign and trade ministers. Winston Peters, the foreign minister, may be facing legal action after making allegations about former Australian foreign minister Bob Carr on Radio New Zealand. Carr had made highly ...
I could be a florist'Round the corner from Rye LaneI'll be giving daisies to craziesBut, baby, I'll wrap you up real safe Oh, I can give you flowers At the end of every dayFor the center of your table, a rainbowIn case you have people 'round to stay Depending on ...
TL;DR: The six key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to May 12 include:PM Christopher Luxon is scheduled to hold a post-Cabinet news conference at 4 pm today. Finance Minister Nicola Willis will give a pre-budget speech on Thursday.Parliament sits from Question Time at 2pm on ...
The price of the foreign affairs “reset” is now becoming apparent, with Defence set to get a funding boost in the Budget. Finance Minister Nicola Willis has confirmed that it will be one of the few votes, apart from Health and Education and possibly Police, which will get an increase ...
A listing of 26 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, April 28, 2024 thru Sat, May 4, 2024. Story of the week "It’s straight out of Big Tobacco’s playbook. In fact, research by John Cook and his colleagues ...
Yesterday I received come lovely feedback following my Star Wars themed newsletter. A few people mentioned they’d enjoyed reading the personal part at the beginning.I often begin newsletters with some memories, or general thoughts, before commencing the main topic. This hopefully sets the mood and provides some context in which ...
April 30 was going to be the day we’d be calling Mum from London to wish her a happy birthday. Then it became the day we would be going to St. Paul's at Evensong to remember her. The aim of the cathedral builders was to find a way to make their ...
Rob MacCulloch writes – Can’t remember the last book by a Kiwi author you read? Think the NZ government should spend less on the arts in favor of helping the homeless? If so, as far as Newsroom is concerned, you probably deserve to be called a cultural ignoramus ...
Eric Crampton writes – Grudges are bad. Better to move on. But it can be fun to keep a couple of really trivial ones, so you’re not tempted to have other ones. For example, because of the rootkit fiasco of 2005, no Sony products in our household. ...
A new report warns an estimated third of the adult population have unmet need for health care.Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāHere’s the six key things I learned about Aotaroa’s political economy this week around housing, climate and poverty:Politics - Three opinion polls confirmed support for PM Christopher Luxon ...
Today is May the fourth. Which was just a regular day when my mother took me to see the newly released Star Wars at the Odeon in Rotorua. The queue was right around the corner. Some years later this day became known as Star Wars Day, the date being a ...
Buzz from the Beehive Much more media attention is being paid to something Winston Peters said about former Australian Foreign Minister Bob Carr than to a speech he delivered to the New Zealand China Council. One word is missing from the speech: AUKUS. But AUKUS loomed large in his considerations ...
Is the economy in another long stagnation? If so, why?This is about the time that the Treasury will be locking up its economic forecasts to be published in the 2024 Budget Economic and Fiscal Update (BEFU) on budget day, 30 May. I am not privy to what they will be ...
The annual list of who's been bribing our politicians is out, and journalists will no doubt be poring over it to find the juiciest and dirtiest bribes. The government's fast-track invite list is likely to be a particular focus, and we already know of one company on the list which ...
In the weeks after the October 7 Hamas attacks on Southern Israel I wrote about the possible 2nd, 3rd and even 4th order effects of the conflict. These included new fronts being opened in the West Bank (with Hamas), Golan … Continue reading → ...
Peter Dunne writes – It is one of the oldest truisms that there is never a good time for MPs to get a pay rise. This week’s announcement of pay raises of around 2.8% backdated to last October could hardly have come at a worse time, with the ...
David Farrar writes – Newshub reports: Newshub can reveal a fresh allegation of intimidation against Green MP Julie-Anne Genter. Genter is subject to a disciplinary process for aggressively waving a book in the face of National Minister Matt Doocey in the House – but it’s not the first time ...
The Treasury has published a paper today on the global productivity slowdown and how it is playing out in New Zealand: The productivity slowdown: implications for the Treasury’s forecasts and projections. The Treasury Paper examines recent trends in productivity and the potential drivers of the slowdown. Productivity for the whole economy ...
The National Government plans to cut 390 jobs at ACC, including roles in the areas of prevention of sexual violence, road safety and workplace safety. ...
The Government has been caught in opposition to evidence once again as it looks to usher in tried, tested and failed work seminar obligations for job-seeking beneficiaries. ...
The Green Party is welcoming the announcement by the Minister Responsible for RMA Reform Chris Bishop to approve most of the Wellington City Council’s District Plan recommendations. ...
David Seymour has failed to get the sweeping cuts he wanted to the free and healthy school lunch programme, Labour education spokesperson Jan Tinetti said. ...
Hon Willie Jackson has been invited by the Oxford Union to debate the motion “This House Believes British Museums are not Very British’ on May 23rd. ...
Green Party MP Hūhana Lyndon says her Public Works (Prohibition of Compulsory Acquisition of Māori Land) Amendment Bill is an opportunity to right some past wrongs around the alienation of Māori land. ...
A senior, highly respected King’s Counsel with decades of experience in our law courts, Gary Judd KC, has filed a complaint about compulsory tikanga Māori studies for law students - highlighting the utter depths of absurdity this woke cultural madness has taken our society. The tikanga regulations will compel law ...
The Government needs to be clear with the people of the Nelson Marlborough region about the changes it is considering for the Nelson Hospital rebuild, Labour health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall said. ...
Ministers must front up about which projects it will push through under its Fast Track Approvals legislation, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
The Government is again adding to New Zealand’s growing unemployment, this time cutting jobs at the agencies responsible for urban development and growing much needed housing stock. ...
With Minister Karen Chhour indicating in the House today that she either doesn’t know or care about the frontline cuts she’s making to Oranga Tamariki, we risk seeing more and more of our children falling through the cracks. ...
The Labour Party is saddened to learn of the death of Sir Robert Martin, a globally renowned disability advocate who led the way for disability rights both in New Zealand and internationally. ...
Labour is calling for the Government to urgently rethink its coalition commitment to restart live animal exports, Labour animal welfare spokesperson Rachel Boyack said. ...
Today’s Financial Stability Report has once again highlighted that poverty and deep inequality are political choices - and this Government is choosing to make them worse. ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to do more for our households in most need as unemployment rises and the cost of living crisis endures. ...
Unemployment is on the rise and it’s only going to get worse under this Government, Labour finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds said. Stats NZ figures show the unemployment rate grew to 4.3 percent in the March quarter from 4 percent in the December quarter. “This is the second rise in unemployment ...
The New Zealand Labour Party welcomes the entering into force of the European Union and New Zealand free trade agreement. This agreement opens the door for a huge increase in trade opportunities with a market of 450 million people who are high value discerning consumers of New Zealand goods and ...
The National-led Government continues its fiscal jiggery pokery with its Pharmac announcement today, Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall says. “The government has increased Pharmac funding but conceded it will only make minimal increases in access to medicine”, said Ayesha Verrall “This is far from the bold promises made to fund ...
This afternoon’s interim Waitangi Tribunal report must be taken seriously as it affects our most vulnerable children, Labour children’s spokesperson Willow-Jean Prime. ...
Te Pāti Māori are demanding the New Zealand Government support an international independent investigation into mass graves that have been uncovered at two hospitals on the Gaza strip, following weeks of assault by Israeli troops. Among the 392 bodies that have been recovered, are children and elderly civilians. Many of ...
Our two-tiered system for veterans’ support is out of step with our closest partners, and all parties in Parliament should work together to fix it, Labour veterans’ affairs spokesperson Greg O’Connor said. ...
Stripping two Ministers of their portfolios just six months into the job shows Christopher Luxon’s management style is lacking, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said. ...
Tonight’s court decision to overturn the summons of the Children’s Minister has enabled the Crown to continue making decisions about Māori without evidence, says Te Pāti Māori spokesperson for Children, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi. “The judicial system has this evening told the nation that this government can do whatever they want when ...
It appears Nicola Willis is about to pull the rug out from under the feet of local communities still dealing with the aftermath of last year’s severe weather, and local councils relying on funding to build back from these disasters. ...
The Government is making short-sighted changes to the Resource Management Act (RMA) that will take away environmental protection in favour of short-term profits, Labour’s environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
Labour welcomes the release of the report into the North Island weather events and looks forward to working with the Government to ensure that New Zealand is as prepared as it can be for the next natural disaster. ...
The Labour Party has called for the New Zealand Government to recognise Palestine, as a material step towards progressing the two-State solution needed to achieve a lasting peace in the region. ...
Some of our country’s most important work, stopping the sexual exploitation of children and violent extremism could go along with staff on the frontline at ports and airports. ...
The Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill will give projects such as new coal mines a ‘get out of jail free’ card to wreak havoc on the environment, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said today. ...
The government's decision to reintroduce Three Strikes is a destructive and ineffective piece of law-making that will only exacerbate an inherently biased and racist criminal justice system, said Te Pāti Māori Justice Spokesperson, Tākuta Ferris, today. During the time Three Strikes was in place in Aotearoa, Māori and Pasifika received ...
Cuts to frontline hospital staff are not only a broken election promise, it shows the reckless tax cuts have well and truly hit the frontline of the health system, says Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall. ...
Jobseeker beneficiaries who have work obligations must now meet with MSD within two weeks of their benefit starting to determine their next step towards finding a job, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “A key part of the coalition Government’s plan to have 50,000 fewer people on Jobseeker ...
A new standalone Social Investment Agency will power-up the social investment approach, driving positive change for our most vulnerable New Zealanders, Social Investment Minister Nicola Willis says. “Despite the Government currently investing more than $70 billion every year into social services, we are not seeing the outcomes we want for ...
Check against delivery Good morning. It is a pleasure to be with you to outline the Coalition Government’s approach to our first Budget. Thank you Mark Skelly, President of the Hutt Valley Chamber of Commerce, together with your Board and team, for hosting me. I’d like to acknowledge His Worship ...
Your Excellency Ambassador Meredith, Members of the Diplomatic Corps and Ambassadors from European Union Member States, Ministerial colleagues, Members of Parliament, and other distinguished guests, Thank you everyone for joining us. Ladies and gentlemen - In diplomacy, we often speak of ‘close’ and ‘long-standing’ relations. ...
The Therapeutic Products Act (TPA) will be repealed this year so that a better regime can be put in place to provide New Zealanders safe and timely access to medicines, medical devices and health products, Associate Health Minister Casey Costello announced today. “The medicines and products we are talking about ...
The Minister Responsible for RMA Reform, Chris Bishop, today released his decision on twenty recommendations referred to him by the Wellington City Council relating to its Intensification Planning Instrument, after the Council rejected those recommendations of the Independent Hearings Panel and made alternative recommendations. “Wellington notified its District Plan on ...
Rape Awareness Week (6-10 May) is an important opportunity to acknowledge the continued effort required by government and communities to ensure that all New Zealanders can live free from violence, say Ministers Karen Chhour and Louise Upston. “With 1 in 3 women and 1 in 8 men experiencing sexual violence ...
Associate Education Minister David Seymour has today announced that the Government will be delivering a more efficient Healthy School Lunches Programme, saving taxpayers approximately $107 million a year compared to how Labour funded it, by embracing innovation and commercial expertise. “We are delivering on our commitment to treat taxpayers’ money ...
New research on the impacts of extreme weather on coastal marine habitats in Tairāwhiti and Hawke’s Bay will help fishery managers plan for and respond to any future events, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. A report released today on research by Niwa on behalf of Fisheries New Zealand ...
Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Winston Peters will lead a broad political delegation on a five-stop Pacific tour next week to strengthen New Zealand’s engagement with the region. The delegation will visit Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu, New Caledonia, and Tuvalu. “New Zealand has deep and ...
There has been a material decline in gas production according to figures released today by the Gas Industry Co. Figures released by the Gas Industry Company show that there was a 12.5 per cent reduction in gas production during 2023, and a 27.8 per cent reduction in gas production in the ...
Defence Minister Judith Collins tonight announced the recipients of the Minister of Defence Awards of Excellence for Industry, saying they all contribute to New Zealanders’ security and wellbeing. “Congratulations to this year’s recipients, whose innovative products and services play a critical role in the delivery of New Zealand’s defence capabilities, ...
Welcome to you all - it is a pleasure to be here this evening.I would like to start by thanking Greg Lowe, Chair of the New Zealand Defence Industry Advisory Council, for co-hosting this reception with me. This evening is about recognising businesses from across New Zealand and overseas who in ...
It is a pleasure to be speaking to you as the Minister for Digitising Government. I would like to thank Akolade for the invitation to address this Summit, and to acknowledge the great effort you are making to grow New Zealand’s digital future. Today, we stand at the cusp of ...
New Zealand is urging both Israel and Hamas to agree to an immediate ceasefire to avoid the further humanitarian catastrophe that military action in Rafah would unleash, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “The immense suffering in Gaza cannot be allowed to worsen further. Both sides have a responsibility to ...
A new online data dashboard released today as part of the Government’s school attendance action plan makes more timely daily attendance data available to the public and parents, says Associate Education Minister David Seymour. The interactive dashboard will be updated once a week to show a national average of how ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced Rosemary Banks will be New Zealand’s next Ambassador to the United States of America. “Our relationship with the United States is crucial for New Zealand in strategic, security and economic terms,” Mr Peters says. “New Zealand and the United States have a ...
The Government is considering creating a new tier of minerals permitting that will make it easier for hobby miners to prospect for gold. “New Zealand was built on gold, it’s in our DNA. Our gold deposits, particularly in regions such as Otago and the West Coast have always attracted fortune-hunters. ...
Minister for Trade Todd McClay today announced that New Zealand and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) will commence negotiations on a free trade agreement (FTA). Minister McClay met with his counterpart UAE Trade Minister Dr Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi in Dubai, where they announced the launch of negotiations on a ...
New Zealand Sign Language Week is an excellent opportunity for all Kiwis to give the language a go, Disabilities Issues Minister Louise Upston says. This week (May 6 to 12) is New Zealand Sign Language (NZSL) Week. The theme is “an Aotearoa where anyone can sign anywhere” and aims to ...
Six tertiary students have been selected to work on NASA projects in the US through a New Zealand Space Scholarship, Space Minister Judith Collins announced today. “This is a fantastic opportunity for these talented students. They will undertake internships at NASA’s Ames Research Center or its Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), where ...
New Zealanders will be safer because of a $1.9 billion investment in more frontline Corrections officers, more support for offenders to turn away from crime, and more prison capacity, Corrections Minister Mark Mitchell says. “Our Government said we would crack down on crime. We promised to restore law and order, ...
The OECD’s latest report on New Zealand reinforces the importance of bringing Government spending under control, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The OECD conducts country surveys every two years to review its members’ economic policies. The 2024 New Zealand survey was presented in Wellington today by OECD Chief Economist Clare Lombardelli. ...
The Government has delivered on its election promise to provide a financially sustainable model for Auckland under its Local Water Done Well plan. The plan, which has been unanimously endorsed by Auckland Council’s Governing Body, will see Aucklanders avoid the previously projected 25.8 per cent water rates increases while retaining ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters discussed the need for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, and enhanced cooperation in the Pacific with German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock during her first official visit to New Zealand today. "New Zealand and Germany enjoy shared interests and values, including the rule of law, democracy, respect for the international system ...
The Minister Responsible for RMA Reform, Chris Bishop today released his decision on four recommendations referred to him by the Western Bay of Plenty District Council, opening the door to housing growth in the area. The Council’s Plan Change 92 allows more homes to be built in existing and new ...
Thank you, John McKinnon and the New Zealand China Council for the invitation to speak to you today. Thank you too, all members of the China Council. Your effort has played an essential role in helping to build, shape, and grow a balanced and resilient relationship between our two ...
The Government is modernising insurance law to better protect Kiwis and provide security in the event of a disaster, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly announced today. “These reforms are long overdue. New Zealand’s insurance law is complicated and dated, some of which is more than 100 years old. ...
The coalition Government is refreshing its approach to supporting pay equity claims as time-limited funding for the Pay Equity Taskforce comes to an end, Public Service Minister Nicola Willis says. “Three years ago, the then-government introduced changes to the Equal Pay Act to support pay equity bargaining. The changes were ...
Structured literacy will change the way New Zealand children learn to read - improving achievement and setting students up for success, Education Minister Erica Stanford says. “Being able to read and write is a fundamental life skill that too many young people are missing out on. Recent data shows that ...
Trade Minister Todd McClay says Canada’s refusal to comply in full with a CPTPP trade dispute ruling in our favour over dairy trade is cynical and New Zealand has no intention of backing down. Mr McClay said he has asked for urgent legal advice in respect of our ‘next move’ ...
The rights of our children and young people will be enhanced by changes the coalition Government will make to strengthen oversight of the Oranga Tamariki system, including restoring a single Children’s Commissioner. “The Government is committed to delivering better public services that care for our most at-risk young people and ...
The Government is making it easier for minor changes to be made to a building consent so building a home is easier and more affordable, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “The coalition Government is focused on making it easier and cheaper to build homes so we can ...
New Zealand lost a true legend when internationally renowned disability advocate Sir Robert Martin (KNZM) passed away at his home in Whanganui last night, Disabilities Issues Minister Louise Upston says. “Our Government’s thoughts are with his wife Lynda, family and community, those he has worked with, the disability community in ...
Good evening – Before discussing the challenges and opportunities facing New Zealand’s foreign policy, we’d like to first acknowledge the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs. You have contributed to debates about New Zealand foreign policy over a long period of time, and we thank you for hosting us. ...
From today, passengers travelling internationally from Auckland Airport will be able to keep laptops and liquids in their carry-on bags for security screening thanks to new technology, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Creating a more efficient and seamless travel experience is important for holidaymakers and businesses, enabling faster movement through ...
People with an interest in the health of Northland’s marine ecosystems are invited to a public meeting to discuss how to deal with kina barrens, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones will lead the discussion, which will take place on Friday, 10 May, at Awanui Hotel in ...
Kiwi exporters are $100 million better off today with the NZ EU FTA entering into force says Trade Minister Todd McClay. “This is all part of our plan to grow the economy. New Zealand's prosperity depends on international trade, making up 60 per cent of the country’s total economic activity. ...
There are heartening signs that the extractive sector is once again becoming an attractive prospect for investors and a source of economic prosperity for New Zealand, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. “The beginnings of a resurgence in extractive industries are apparent in media reports of the sector in the past ...
The return of the historic Ō-Rākau battle site to the descendants of those who fought there moved one step closer today with the first reading of Te Pire mō Ō-Rākau, Te Pae o Maumahara / The Ō-Rākau Remembrance Bill. The Bill will entrust the 9.7-hectare battle site, five kilometres west ...
Explainer - The government from 2025 is mandating how state schools teach children to read. But what is structured literacy and how does it compare to other teaching methods? ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Danica Jenkins, Lecturer in European Studies, University of Sydney On a freezing spring night in March, Georgia’s national soccer team beat Greece in a nail-biter penalty shootout to qualify for the Euro 2024 championships. The atmosphere on the streets of the capital ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adam G. Arian, Lecturer (Accounting & Finance), Australian Catholic University Loic Manegarium/Pexels Imagine every ton of carbon dioxide a company emits is slowly inflating its costs — not just in terms of potential fines or fees but in the capital it ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Somwrita Sarkar, Senior Lecturer in Design and Computation, University of Sydney The “latte line” is the infamous, invisible boundary that divides Sydney between the more affluent north-east and the south-west. Historically, people north of the line enjoy better access to jobs and ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andrew Dowdy, Principal Research Scientist in Extreme Weather, The University of Melbourne Nomad_Soul/Shutterstock In media articles about unprecedented flooding, you’ll often come across the statement that for every 1°C of warming, the atmosphere can hold about 7% more moisture. This ...
RNZ Pacific Former Fiji Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama has been sentenced to one year in prison, Fiji media are reporting. Bainimarama, alongside suspended Fiji Police Commissioner Sitiveni Qiliho appeared in the High Court in Suva today for their sentencing hearing for a case involving their roles in blocking a police ...
Acting Chief Human Rights Commissioner Saunoamaali’i Dr Karanina Sumeo says, “Addressing violence and abuse remains New Zealand’s most significant human rights issue affecting women. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jonathan Symons, Macquarie School of Social Sciences, Macquarie University Michael Schiffer / Unsplash Life has transformed our world over billions of years, turning a dead rock into the lush, fertile planet we know today. But human activity is currently transforming Earth ...
One woman’s quest to watch Challengers without ruining her body clock. Every Saturday morning, I wake up with a screaming demon inside my head urging me to “Do. Something. This. Weekend.” I run through the possibilities in my head in a defensive mental crouch, reminiscent of that one time I ...
The PSA is alarmed that ACC is proposing to shed 309 jobs including 29 dedicated injury prevention jobs at a time when the number and cost of injuries is rising. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tom Baker, Associate Professor in Human Geography, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau Getty Images As local and regional councils struggle with inadequate infrastructure and unsustainable costs, New Zealand will be hearing a lot more about the potential solution offered by ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Gary Sacks, Professor of Public Health Policy, Deakin University Drazen Zigic/Shutterstock In recent years, there’s been increasinghype about the potential health risks associated with so-called “ultra-processed” foods. But new evidence published this week found not all “ultra-processed” foods are linked ...
Fears that New Zealand is relying too heavily on low-cost forests to absorb its carbon dioxide emissions have been reignited by a report from the OECD. ...
Finance Minister Nicola Willis has confirmed the total dollar savings target from public sector cuts has been met, but the reductions have not been felt evenly across public agencies. Government departments were told to make savings set at 6.5 percent or 7.5 percent where headcount had grown by more than ...
She doesn’t have a single kind word for me and it’s getting under my skin.Want Hera’s help? Email your problem to helpme@thespinoff.co.nzDear Hera,I have two amazing friends that I absolutely adore. Grace (all names have been changed) and I lived together across 2023 and Olivia moved in with us this ...
Can Western science and Māori science work together to support our well-being? The Te Ohu Mō Papatūānuku (TOMP) Trials Project was a landmark case for healing the land and people with the guidance of Māori science and leadership. This is what happened when Papatūānuku (Earth) was contaminated by toxic discharge, ...
The District Plan is a blueprint for a bigger, better Wellington, through tens of thousands of new apartments and townhouses and a new approach to urban growth. Joel MacManus lays out the vision. The process of putting together Wellington’s new District Plan has been long and excruciating. As a city, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Leah Williams Veazey, ARC DECRA Research Fellow, University of Sydney DavideAngelini/Shutterstock In the 2007 film The Bucket List Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman play two main characters who respond to their terminal cancer diagnoses by rejecting experimental treatment. Instead, they go ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mohan Singh, Professor of Agri-Food Biotechnology, School of Agriculture, Food and Ecosystem Sciences at the University of Melbourne., The University of Melbourne Tanja Esser/Shutterstock Australia’s vital agriculture sector will be hit hard by steadily rising global temperatures. Our climate is already ...
The Acumen Edelman Trust barometer reported that New Zealand’s political trust score now sits below the global average, a topic explored in a recent discussion paper by Maxim Institute. ...
Greenpeace Aotearoa executive director Russel Norman says, "The Fast-Track Bill is the most damaging piece of environmental legislation any Government has introduced in living memory. People are angry, and it’s time to march." ...
The school lunches programme has been retained – and will be extended to some preschoolers. So how is it going to cost $107 million less? To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here. The minister with many hats David Seymour wears a number of hats, but this week ...
“Show us the bird,” I found myself muttering at times while reading Hard by the Cloud House by Peter Walker, a deeply thoughtful, often hilarious, at times rambling – but somehow delightfully so – search for the story of a big bird. But not just any bird: the bird. This ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jack Marley, Environment + Energy Editor, UK edition DPVUE .images/Shutterstock Your home was probably designed for a climate that no longer exists. As long as humanity continues to burn fossil fuel, padding the heat-trapping blanket of gases in Earth’s atmosphere, the ...
A senior lawyer has filed a complaint about tikanga becoming a required law school module. Law lecturer Carwyn Jones explains what he’s getting wrong. “…the first law of Aotearoa, a law that served the needs of tangata whenua for a thousand years before the arrival of tauiwi.”– Ani Mikaere ...
In 2019, an Auckland woman woke up from surgery to find that she had undergone a treatment she didn’t consent to. She tells Alex Casey about her experience. From her very first period at the age of 14, Laura experienced “debilitating” levels of pain that forced her to withdraw from ...
Comment: Concerns about the state of the economy are creeping up to the top of firms’ list of challenges. That’s evident in both surveys and the tone of our recent client discussions. Skimming the past few weeks of eco-news, it’s not hard to see why. – Retail card spending fell ...
Opinion: Could former co-leader James Shaw still make a difference to working with National? The post How the Greens could be contenders appeared first on Newsroom. ...
Opinion: What if we got rid of our existing drug laws and replaced them with a new law that legalised and carefully regulated all psychoactive substances, from cannabis to MDMA, methamphetamine and LSD to magic mushrooms? And which also included legal drugs such as alcohol and nicotine. “Wow,” you might ...
In the gloom following director-general Al Morrison’s job cuts in 2013, the Department of Conservation restructured its operations arm. Eleven conservancy districts were whittled into six new “conservation delivery” regions, under which the Rēkohu/Wharekauri/Chatham Islands area, comprising 40 scattered islands more than 800km east of Christchurch, was tethered to the ...
One of th e country’s top litigation lawyers says New Zealand is seeing a lift in court action between companies. Chapman Tripp partner Justin Graham, who oversees a team of around 80 litigation specialists, says the courts are now so log-jammed that it’s taking over two years to get cases ...
Loading…(function(i,s,o,g,r,a,m){var ql=document.querySelectorAll('A,DIV,A[data-quiz],DIV[data-quiz]'); if(ql){if(ql.length){for(var k=0;k<ql.length;k++){ql[k].id='quiz-embed-'+k;ql[k].href="javascript:var i=document.getElementById('quiz-embed-"+k+"');try{qz.startQuiz(i)}catch(e){i.start=1;i.style.cursor='wait';i.style.opacity='0.5'};void(0);"}}};i['QP']=r;i[r]=i[r]||function(){(i[r].q=i[r].q||[]).push(arguments)},i[r].l=1*new Date();a=s.createElement(o),m=s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];a.async=1;a.src=g;m.parentNode.insertBefore(a,m)})(window,document,'script','https://take.quiz-maker.com/3012/CDN/quiz-embed-v1.js','qp'); Got a good quiz question?Send Newsroom your questions. The post Newsroom daily quiz, Thursday 9 May appeared first on Newsroom. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra The Albanese government is talking up the crucial role of gas as a transition fuel “through to 2050 and beyond”. In a gas strategy to be released on Thursday, the government envisages the fuel’s ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Next week the government will again next try to get its legislation through to deal with non-citizens who won’t cooperate with efforts to deport them. The bill, which the opposition and crossbench refused to rush ...
A long-term project that will set out an alternative vision for Aotearoa that looks beyond the narrow confines of the policy straight jacket adopted by successive governments. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Bree Hurst, Associate Professor, Faculty of Business and Law, QUT, Queensland University of Technology TK Kurikawa/Shutterstock A much-awaited report into Coles and Woolworths has found what many customers have long believed – Australia’s big supermarkets engage in price gouging. What started ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Daniel Ghezelbash, Associate Professor and Deputy Director, Kaldor Centre for International Refugee Law, UNSW Law & Justice, UNSW Sydney The Albanese government wanted to avoid an inquiry into its migration amendment bill. The report, handed down yesterday by a senate committee that ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Joo-Cheong Tham, Professor, Melbourne Law School, The University of Melbourne Lobbying is at the heart of government. Who has access to and influence over key government officials shapes the decisions governments make – and how they make them. The ability to influence ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Myfany Turpin, Associate Professor, Ethnomusicology, Linguistics and Ethnobiology, University of Sydney The act representing Australia at this year’s Eurovision contest has sadly not qualified for the grand final. Yet for Zaachariaha Fielding and Michael Ross, the duo that makes up Electric Fields, ...
In announcing changes to the school lunches programme, David Seymour said kids would no longer be served ‘woke’ foods. To clear up any confusion, The Spinoff has compiled a guide to the wokeness levels of some common food items. Apple = NOT WOKE Avocado = WOKE Avocado, smashed = EVEN ...
The Minister Responsible for GCSB and the Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security have been notified of this review, and have been provided a finalised Terms of Reference. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Minglu Chen, Senior Lecturer, Government and International Relations, University of Sydney Robert Way/Shutterstock As the past few years have illustrated so clearly, the Australia-China relationship is complicated. As such, it is crucial for Australians to develop a more nuanced understanding of ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mariana Campbell, Research Lecturer, Conservation, Charles Darwin University Marilyn Connell Australian freshwater turtles are facing an alarming trend. Almost half of these species are listed as vulnerable, endangered or critically endangered. The Mary River turtle (Elusor macrurus) is one of Australia’s ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Debbie Passey, Digital Health Research Fellow, The University of Melbourne Algorithms have become integral to our lives. From social media apps to Netflix, algorithms learn your preferences and prioritise the content you are shown. Google Maps and artificial intelligence are nothing without ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Josephine Barbaro, Associate Professor, Principal Research Fellow, Psychologist, La Trobe University Unsplash We’ve come a long way in terms of understanding that everyone thinks, interacts and experiences the world differently. In the past, autistic people, people with attention deficit hyperactive disorder ...
PNG Post-Courier Papua New Guinea’s deputy opposition leader James Nomane has accused the government of “reckless economic management” that has forced devaluation to manage loan repayments in foreign currency and placate the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Prime Minister James Marape “must stop lying to the people of Papua New Guinea”, ...
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.