I've kinda got an issue with their just brushing aside and minimising population growth as a contributing issue.
Like many other things, that's an area where New Zealand's only significant contribution can come from leading by example. We could choose to say we reject the idea of continual growth (including population growth) and choose to find ways to make steady state and circular economics work.
We could choose to reject the hand-wringing and bedwetting about the fact that the native birth rate is below replacement. And embrace the idea that that gives us more opportunity to welcome some from parts of the world that will get hammered by the changes coming.
Explicitly embracing the idea of below-replacement birth rates and falling populations could set a highly visible example to the rest of the world. In a similar way to our nuclear-free stance.
It's the kind of change that can only happen by shifting general social attitudes.
One way to help shift general social attitudes with respect to populations is pieces like the one wags linked start talking about the good aspects of lower populations and fewer kids per family, rather than just brushing the issue aside.
Yet leaders are significantly products of their formative environments.
AOC was late teens/early twenties going through the GFC, watching the flaws of lightly regulated free-market rapaciousness while the social environment around her was filled with disgust at their "leaders" inadequate response. Would she have become the leader she is now if the environment around hadn't had the senseof there being a better way?
Similarly Greta Thunberg is coming of age at a time when the general social environment is demanding climate change action. Yet there have been high profile serious people having a damn good go at leading on this topic for decades and getting very little traction.
Leadership is a synergy of the leader's personal qualities and the environment they are in.
and where was the social environment that determined that growth come what may was desirable?….the demand for that was promoted by a narrow section of society that captured the 'leadership'. The synergy argument dosnt hold water when that fact is examined
Growth is clearly and self-evidently desirable when your environment is one where the best strategy for the success of your own group is to overwhelm the"other" by sheer force of numbers, and there's also significant vacant or underused territory your group can expand into to grab more resource to support the expansion of your group.
Both those factors have been true for the vast majority of people for the vast majority of human history. But they stopped being true sometime in the last few generations. That's a helluva lot of cultural inertia and memory to try to turn around.
Going from survival of the fitest to we are all one is most likely beyond what evolution made us . But there is hope i guess. I see glimmers of hope in the younger generations .
We have been able to benefit from how: oil based products, pesticides, water management, the improvement of medicine and more that have allowed the pop. to increase to 7.7b.
What is the cost of these ? and for how long can this continue for
IMO to manage what we are facing a large portion of the solution is our pop. and what is the viable carrying capacity of the earth with changes that need to be implemented ASAP, but that is only one persons observations 🤔
But Gaia may have a natural solution with the visit of the 4 horseman
I was looking at the stuff website and a strange woman started to talk so I tracked down which image appeared to be live and when I found it I couldn't get an image or stop the sound. Strange.
(Everything's up to date in Kansas [insert chosen location here] city, They've gone about as far as they can go. What next!)
I saw a Newshub update on this but when I went to their website it wasn't there. Happened once before too – slack editing, or evidence that TV3 liaison is somewhat haphazard.
"Brazilian beetles, first released in 2011, haven’t wasted any time getting stuck into the swathes of tradescantia (Tradescantia fluminensis) that are infesting gardens, reserves and conservation land. Three beetle species have been released − a leaf beetle (Neolema ogloblini), a stem beetle (Lema basicostata), and a tip beetle (Neolema abbreviata) − which were selected to attack different parts of the plant." https://www.landcareresearch.co.nz/publications/newsletters/biological-control-of-weeds/issue-84/tradescantia-be-gone
Traditionally known as wandering jew, the Newshub reporter called it wandering willy. Not the first media reporter I've seen do this, so I suspect some moron, or group of morons, decided that the traditional name is disrespectful to jews so deemed it politically incorrect. The basic idea behind this type of thinking is that media consumers are morons, so any other moron or group of morons can get away with telling them what to do.
Anyway, gardeners have tried various methods of eliminating the plant, and I can verify from many years of personal experience on different properties that success is only achieved where infestations are fairly small and localised, and even then it takes diligence and time. Just a single broken piece an inch long will grow roots and become an inch long. If it lies exposed on the ground through summer, even continuous sun-baking will not dry it out. It is resilient, will bide it's time, and root when the rains come.
The Newshub report showed that large swathes of the plant have been consumed by the beetles, so the control design seems effective. That's taken eight years though, so it ain't fast. No adverse effects reported, so I hope the govt decides on general release soon.
I recall it in the '60s as being called "Wandering Willie" then too, never really saw it spelled out in full so whether with a Kwiw accent it was also "jew" or "dew" is another one of the things people are finding to fret over whereas, as always, there are much bigger issues that need the focus.
My father was chatting with our Jewish next door neighbour over the back fence one weekend afternoon, and idly pointed to the mass of green weed that had colonised our compost heap, the fence and progressing onward over everything it could reach.
Dad was saying how "he was going to get stuck in and eradicate this wandering …" and our neighbour smiled and said "yeah we call it Wandering Christian actually :-)"
Hey Red, your comment box now has these new smiley options available at a click. I've just seen my lapse in proof-reading, so must apologise to all for this:
"Just a single broken piece an inch long will grow roots and become an inch long." I thought I was writing "become a new plant". However my subconscious decided to replace it with a re-run of what I had typed a few moments earlier.
This is a new type of senior moment! Unless other elderly commentators can prove earlier versions of same, I will claim inventor's rights…
Calm down! I only ever knew it as wandering wiĺlie as a kid in the 50s. We thought it was hilarious because it was our dad's name. Maybe it's a regional thing.
Oh, how interesting. Thanks Jan – and also Rapunzel – for corroboration that it did indeed predate the pc era. I can park the grumpy old man syndrome for a while.
Good thinking. I recall as a kid in the fifties when almost all suburban families had a chicken run out back. No supermarkets in Aotearoa till the seventies.
My ex-partner installed one three years ago. Built herself a multi-level shelter at one end with laying straw in roosts & trapdoors above for easy extraction of eggs, has four hens. Observing them on visits reminded me that hen-pecking is a form of bullying. Given that all birds are residual dinosaurs, one wonders if T Rex also did hen-pecking. That would have been awesome to watch.
You must have lived South of the Bombay Hills. Apparently the first supermarkets were in Auckland as early as 1957. There was one with a large car park no less in 1958. Ah civilization had reached our shores.
I grew up in Napier in the 1950's. I can only remember one of the neighbours who had chickens at that time. They were fairly common for people who lived on rather bigger bits of land out in Greenmeadows, Taradale and Clive though.
Maybe regional variations applied then, which we didn't know about. My childhood was in New Plymouth, then college in Wanganui, didn't arrive in Auckland till early '68. I didn't know about that one in Devonport. Students never went to such remote places – poor people still packed buses & trains then (cars were not an option for students).
I had chickens in my Napier state house in 1957, as on Napier's main Emerson Street at 'Woolworths' they sold 'day old' chicks every august, – that we would fatten them up for Xmas dinner.
Yes cleangreen, my Dad had chickens, Rhode Island Reds and Black Orpingtons. In 1951 Mum used to buy 24 day old chicks, twice a year from her cousin who had a hatchery. They used to come by train from Hamilton to Te Kuiiti. The worst part of the trip was the 26 miles of rough metal road to Benneydale in Dad's T Ford!! The good old days,
We don't all live in the bush (I wish). Management varies and varied solutions are useful.
NZ originally had vast numbers of birds that browsed at various trophic levels of the forest. Now Moa are extinct, and the people trying to make things 'like they were' – what time-point was ideal? Can we bring the Moa back with genetics labs, PR and capital?
Obviously, we want functional ecology. Conservation is a lofty but confused goal. Whereever invasives can be turned to human use their control becomes a lot easier (but eradication nigh on impossible).
No more pesticides, no excuses. The impending loss of insects will cost us everything. It is as urgent an issue as climate change.
Auckland council use(d?) early season rust fungi (from Tradescantia) to spray on Tradescantia and reduce its rampancy (to varying extent) in the region. A new bio-control is obviously welcome it's efficacy remains to be seen.
Animals perform a number of ecosystem functions and when these are understood and managed correctly, they might (gladly) do a lot of work for you while creating animal products e.g. weeding, tilling, fertilising, insect control, turn unpalatable materials to palatable materials.
Our Farmers understand the pulses of seasons, and how this ties in with production. As their ecological understanding grows (some are exemplars in their field) biodiversity will become synonymous with production where many more seasonal pulses can be used to obtain yields. Slowly, balance might be restored as trees (and all they bring) repopulate the landscape.
In urban areas, we can create habitat for bugs. And of course stop using insecticides.
If you have chickens and Tradescantia/Oxalis, well, you know what to do.
I'm not going to recommend this piece by Jane Bowron to read except if you are interested to find how many mixed metaphors can be jumbled together to say very little in a column. Here's an example.
"Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern dropped the controversial policy like a hot spud and pledged that while she's at the helm that dog will never hunt again.
Result. Peters' fan base is deliriously happy that he's finally manned up to show who calls the shots; Simon Bridges has lost any bit of skin he has left in the game; and St Jacinda looks like a cynical politician unable to stick to her guns and exact core Labour Party policy."
The writer, Jane Bowron, takes four opening paragraphs to start even before the topic of the headline is introduced. It's fluff, an opinion piece written to fill a space. I wonderd when reading it if she's actually spoofing bad writing. She succeeded if that was her aim.
There’s a lot of talk about reform and leadership at the United Nations’ podium and a lot of working against it in the UN corridors. And it’s not simply sabotage – member states have always guarded against the system being hijacked by others. What will it take for the UN to change, given that its very structure cements a status quo as a means of ensuring neutrality? To discuss this, Oksana is joined by Helen Clark, former prime minister of New Zealand and former administrator of the UN Development Program. This interview took place at the Horasis Global Meeting in Cascais, Portugal.
It has always seemed to me that examining the words of Helen Clark to discern signs of intelligence is a waste of time. But I've got an open mind. If you found any evidence of such, I'd consider the potential merit of it…
Let's put it this way, HC's views, whether you regard them as intellectual or not, are informed by an accumulated experience several orders of magnitude greater than all of us regulars here put together
Edit: If you really thirst for intellectual, can I recommend this guy?
Indeed. One cannot deny the extent of her operational experience. It's the learning therefrom that is in question. I'm curious to see if she has any helpful analysis of the problem, but not enough to overcome the distaste based on prior experience of her (non-)contributions. If she actually produced a solution to the problem there's a very real danger of folks dropping dead from astonishment…
Nifty presentation, which I managed to endure due to exercise of willpower to overcome dislike of maths. Incorporating physics into the design was clever, and lack of real-world application acknowledged, but it ended with a teaser: the pi-implied circle, invisible in the presentation, would only be revealed to viewers who choose to watch the next thrilling installment of maths-by-graphic. Not me.
Engineering math was my stumbling block too; I could follow it as long as I could map it onto something physical. But the point where it became totally abstract I struggled. Fourier transforms yes, Laplace transforms no.
3Blue1Brown does a brilliant job of breaking this barrier down with visuals and modern interpretations that I only wish was around 40 years earlier .
Mathematicians are the princes of the modern world, and despite my limitations I always wished to be fully admitted to their ranks. Ah well we all have our failed dreams.
I take your point despite never viewing mathematicians with respect. I always discounted them due to their propensity for abstractions being even worse than that of physicists (hard to believe). But I ought to acknowledge that maths is used to validate and empower physics, and certainly forms the basis of computing. I wonder if our service provider (LPrent) will volunteer a personal take on this interface between imaginal and real.
A mathematician is having problems with a leaky sink, so he calls a plumber. The plumber comes over and quickly fixes the sink. The professor is happy until he gets the bill. He tells the plumber, "This is outrageous! You charge more for an hour than I make in a whole day!"
The plumber tells him, "You know, we are always looking for more plumbers. You could become a plumber and triple your salary. Just make sure you say you only made it to 6th grade, they don't like educated people."
The professor takes him up on the offer and becomes a plumber. His salary triples and he doesn't have to work nearly as hard. But after a few years, a law gets passed that all licensed plumbers must have at least an 8th grade education…Not wanting to admit he lied on his application, he signs up for night classes.
On the first day of night School they all attend math class. The teacher wants to gauge the class so he asks the former mathematician, "What is the formula for the area of a circle?"
He walks up to the board and realizes he has forgotten the formula. So he begins to attempt to derive the formula, filling the board with complicated mathematics. He ends up figuring out it is negative pi times radius squared, but he knows that's incorrect, so he starts over, but again he comes up with the same equation.
After staring at the board for a minute he hears one of the plumbers in the class behind him whisper, "Switch the limits on the integral, dummy!"
Mathematics is a part of physics. Physics is an experimental science, a part of natural science. Mathematics is the part of physics where experiments are cheap.
Good grief Dennis Frank, you obviously never knew Helen Clark. She is extremely intelligent – way ahead of the vast majority of people. However what she did try to do with varying success was to speak publicly in a manner those of average intelligence would better understand. It was not a case of dropping to their level, but rather to get her points across. I fear you mistook her intentions to be that of a person of average intelligence.
I met Helen Clark on many occasions, and I'm with you. I didn't share her politics, but there was no doubting her sharp intellect. There was a certain derangement about her from some on the right, which we saw again with the lefts attitude towards John Key, but IMHO Clark was amongst the most competent of PM's this county has seen.
But having it and using it are two different things, eh? I tend to judge on the basis of performance – don't you? Why not take a look at the interview RL posted and report back here if she proposes a solution to the UN problem that seems viable?
I know you ain't no leftist, so that puts you in a credible position to evaluate her performance objectively. If she merely circles around the problem, discussing dimension of it without advancing the situation one iota, I trust you'll be honest enough to report that back to us too.
Hi Dennis. My comments were specifically about her time as PM. I also have no time for the UN. IMHO it is a largely corrupt and essentially useless organisation that has lost it's way entirely. So no sorry, I won't be listening to the interview.
Despite your heroic efforts to peddle this false equivalence, Clark was not given to outrageous manifestations of dishonesty like Key's "I don't recall".
Clark burnt herself on efforts like the anti-smacking bill, Key destroyed his reputation by insider trading and self serving actions like constraining the brightline to two years so his own investments would make the cut.
Like Trump he was and is a self-serving piece of shite with no business pretending to act for a democratic polity. Morally crippled rightwingers look on him with envy rather than contempt, but this defeats their arguments with the Left before they even begin.
Look I understand you have this deep abiding need to lie your worthless ass off to defend the thoroughly unsavoury reputation of the worst PM NZ has ever seen, but my objections to this lying self-serving ineffectual ambulant cesspool of corruption are entirely rational.
So don't be accusing me of KDS – that's not a thing – unless it applies to scoundrels like yourself, for whom, judging by your comments, lying and stealing are public virtues.
He’s not dead yet – the convention on eulogies does not apply.
Despite claims to the contrary, she was a woman of substance and integrity, but one possible fault (which I tend to share with her), she did not suffer fools gladly. And woe betide anyone who played silly buggers with her. Very early on in her parliamentary career, I decided to play the devil's advocate at a meeting. No prizes for guessing who came off second best by a long shot. 🙁
I've often hoped to meet her again one day and ask her if she remembered that incident.
“And woe betide anyone who played silly buggers with her”
At the risk of blowing my cover totally I can retell this tale about HC.
In 2001 I was working with a good friend in the Beehive on a technical contract relating to the building power system. The only time we were allowed to do full black start testing was after midnight on a Sunday evening. Most of the work was located in the basement, but we also had reason to access the '10th floor' where much of the HVAC equipment is located. The only way to get there is by lift to the 9th floor and then stairs up.
My mate is a madman I should add.
So there we are sometime late at night, the lift doors open on the foyer of the 9th floor and there is HC striding with he back to us, paperwork under one arm, from one office to another and as we step out my friend bursts into his best Muldoon imitation (which is very damn good) and says "Heh, heh, heh …. so that's the little girlie that got the job".
HC freezes to a halt, pauses ominously just long enough for my bowels to turn to water, swivels malevolently on her heels and imperiously announces "Fucking uppity tradesmen. Use the back entrance!" And with a wicked grin vanishes into her office.
What a cool story! Your friend sounds like a rare breed. McPhail's version of Muldoon was okay, but he couldn't ever seem to reproduce the genuine menace element of the Muldoon style. You know, the bit that always had his cabinet cowering like underdogs.
And who would have thought she actually had a sense of humour! All them smiley interviews didn't hint at it. Just showed her as well-trained.
To give her credit for street cred, her pulling the academic put-down of the working class in your story was convincing. Spinning on a dime to deliver that line demonstrates true expertise. Gutsy giving the fingers to politically correct supporters while exhibiting classic intelligentsia elitism. Only two observers, nobody would ever believe them, so she could reveal her true self in that moment. That's real authenticity!
Helen and a great sense of humour Dennis. But for some reason she rarely showed it in public. I can only assume someone advised her to stick with the serious persona – perhaps because as a woman any show of humour would lead to ridicule of her further down the track. Just guessing mind you.
I would have liked her more if she had, Anne. And ridicule damages only if you let it – an adept operator can usually turn it to advantage. Lange was exemplary in that respect and I valued him for being a refreshing new style of kiwi politician. Too bad he proved inept in the exercise of power.
Now the new leader of Ukraine is reminding us how potent humour can be in politics. The sooner we get that element back into our political mix, the better. Mind you, the necessity is considerably more dire in the USA…
Hi Anne. Apart form the times I met her, there was one event that enhanced my view of Helen Clark enormously. It was an interview she gave in 2002 with John Campbell (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1dET78Z5b5s). It was a dirty piece of journalism by Campbell, and Clark handled herself with considerable professionalism. I have never rated Campbell since, and never will.
With a little chill down my neck, I agree with John Roughan (!) that the Prime Minister is wasting her massive political capital by not using it, and delivering a timid government:
Yeah, likewise. "If last Wednesday she had announced a capital gains tax limited to investment property, excluding farms, business, shares, all productive investment, it would have been greeted with relief."
That's hitting the nail on the head. He goes on to make the point that this group of professional investors are largely responsible for making homes unaffordable to young kiwi home-buyers. So hitting the guilty would be popular.
Yes, but. Excessive immigration produced by National and Labour govts is even more responsible for creating the real-estate bubble. Maintenance of that trend by the coalition has merely stabilised the bubble. Collapsing the bubble to provide equity for young kiwi families is deemed too hard by the coalition: they are being held to ransome by older generations playing the market. Investors win again.
Inflows of capital are the problem, not of people. And no govt will fix housing being treated as an investment asset class without tackling the economic settings that enable it.
Fair point. I spent so many years in Ak watching immigrant Chinese inflate the bubble I'm probably biased. Just because I profited from their input enough to get wealthy doesn't mean I stopped feeling disgusted by the trend. Empathy with those made into losers by govt policy seems to come naturally, then there's the deliberate repudiation of intergenerational equity on top of that, so unprincipled as to fill me with intense contempt for whichever govt is currently doing it. Currently, a govt I've been supporting…
Or not. Depends how neoliberal they want to be seen as. Most of the expert analysis on the gfc, since the gfc, asserts that the regulations implemented were intended to create public impressions – not to change the way the market operates. Sham regulation has been a thing since Clinton.
As well as dealing with the stuff of government like drought, Christchurch rebuild, Kaikoura rebuild, Pike River, and Wellington earthquake, he also had a crack at changing the flag.
So far under this government:
– Poverty is the same
– Wealth disparity is the same
– Homelessness is the same
– Environmental damage is the same
– Tax levels are the same
It's about time Ardern did something more ethan emote well.
But in the main your points cannot be denied. And Robertson has a vision I think of following in Douglas', Cullen's footsteps – Sir Grant Robertson awarded to him for holding off the simple citizens of Nz massing to attack the citadel of wealth and power.
I have been disabled for 27 years and always been left without “quality support and having a valued life in the community,” as Tish rightly suggests.
It seems that we disabled are considered not worth saving or caring about any more over the last thirty years.
I was severely chemically expose in 1992 and have suffered from brain injuries, nervous system damage, and immune system dysfunction ever since. It is now far harder to stay alive.
These injuries all occurred after exposure at my workplace and since after a seven year Workers Compensation claim no-one has ever been blamed, so I have fallen right through the social safety net.
The most insulting part was when I reached the retirement age (65) my disability payment funding support was cut out and I was thrown straight onto the lower payment system on the general pension, so now I cannot get good disability treatments because no funding is available for them on the pension for the disabled.
You're sounding like the chairman now – you're a member of the party aren't you? If so you don't know the results your party have achieved? They've just done a year in office haven't they?
Two context-absent, graph-absent, analysis-absent propaganda lists. Awesome.
None of their policies have been shown to alleviate the previous government's issues of poverty, homelessness, environmental damage, economic productivity, or wealth disparity.
Don't worry if they existed, the Salvation Army would have picked them up.
Time this government was held to account from all sides.
When you look through those propaganda lists, keep in mind that none of those things would have happened without a change of government.
The question is, why do all their policy efforts look like they're hamstrung by a bunch of provincial conservatives and corrupt influence-peddlers? Well, we do know the answer to that question, don't we? If you want a left-wing agenda implemented, vote for left-wing parties, not right-wing ones or corrupt populists. A left-wing agenda necessitates a left-wing majority and right now there isn't one.
Here (the following below) is how Max Rashbrooke sums it up:
In short, today's announcement is likely to load pressure onto the debate about public debt, and push the government into a pretty sub- optimal position. We can also now understand the intensity of the opposition to a capital gains tax, or indeed any tax increase. Opposition parties now no longer need fight every single one of the government's plans – because to the extent that those plans rely on revenue that a capital gains tax would have raised, they have all just been shut down in one go.
Government accounting methods are largely based on forecasting. Thus, the added revenue stream from a CGT would improve the economic outlook, meaning the Government would be able to increase the capital and operating allowances in the next Budget.
Regards the terrible bombing massacre in Sri Lanka, the 'will to power' indeed often seeks to disposses innocence in one way or another, as i saw recently intimated in a relatively rarified clarity of reason headline relating to English perspective lately; but as we recently demonstrated we also know here in NZ, and of which there is no better day than Easter Sunday as symbolism of, the 'will to power' is also an instrument to the creation of innocence, depending on choice in how it is used.
I think information is helpful for discussion Pat.
Creative destruction: Will technology create or kill jobs? 22 Apr, 2019 5:00am
New Zealanders are being asked to share their views on whether technological changes will cost jobs or create them as the Government looks to formulate a policy on the future of work. The Productivity Commission has published an issues paper which explores the possible impacts of new technology on the labour market. It has been tasked with producing a full report by March 2020.
"While technological change brings significant overall benefits, it also creates frictions and costs for particular groups in society," the issues paper notes.
"Sustained economic growth requires innovation, and innovation cannot be decoupled from creative destruction. "This 'replacement of the old' involves the devaluation of prior investments in machinery and skills, leaving the owners of older equipment and workers who used it worse off. For some, these costs can be severe."
However on the positive side the paper acknowledges significant job creation due to new technology.
For example, since 1999, the number of jobs classified as 'Computer systems design and related services' has increased from 8700 to 32,600, it notes.
Bare facts background here. Who are doing these jobs – have NZs had every chance to train and move into them. And why have jobs not expanded in the trades in a parallel way? Isn't this a very unbalanced society, full of dreams, visions for the future, and limited connection with their own vulnerable humanity and even less of that of others?
yes GWS…I would have copied and pasted some of the relevant information but with the changes i havnt yet worked out how to….however my point is why is this work being redone?..didnt Labour have a Future of Work working party only a couple of years ago?…do they think our attention spans are so short?…when are they going to come to some conclussions and make decisions?….this is getting a little absurd
Any way that you can persuade James Shaw to follow your prescription? He seems to think the only reason he is in Government is to give him an opportunity to skive off overseas while ignoring the complete shambles that is the Census.
"Mr Twyford's defence is that promises made by Jacinda Ardern as Labour leader are completely different from promises made by Jacinda Ardern as Prime Minister."
other than keeping those precious Uni Students happy
This is a false meme from the right wing. The fees free policy encourages all tertiary education both academic and vocational. It encourages young people into post secondary training who were most likely to forego that training due to cost other class barriers.
"This is a false meme from the right wing" really !!! tell that to those students at ECE/Primary/Secondary that are in need of assistance, that there is inadequate funding. Try asking about students/parents regarding RTL or dyslexia, support for those with learning needs, Leaky school buildings that there is no funding to remediate, inadequate remuneration, etc That thanks to shortfalls will struggle to be able to benefit from tertiary education funding and extra funding for accomodation.
I would suggest, Muttonbird, try talking to teachers and find out how in need the sector is.
Up late last night watching how-to renovation videos on Youtube, and came across this new series by Grand Designs – The Street.
How did Grand Designs: The Street come about?
'I went to The Netherlands on a trip with a bunch of leaders of local councils and politicians in 2010 to look at a large self-build town there, Almere, built on reclaimed land near Amsterdam. The Dutch have always stolen a march on us in terms of housing initiatives. Now, Almere is full of self-built homes, but nine years ago it was already advancing, and I got so excited I had to go and see Channel 4, simply to say ‘it’s amazing what’s happening there, let’s film it’. It was a sort of self-build heaven.
Meanwhile, a small local authority at Bicester, Cherwell District Council, had also been bitten by the Almere bug. In fact, they wanted to replicate Almere and facilitate Britain's first self-build and custom-build site on a grand scale. They were negotiating with the MOD to buy an old military site as they wanted to see what it would be like if they invited the general public to build their own homes. It’s this experiment that we’ve been following for the last 5 years. In the process, we’ve witnessed the first 10 pioneering households build a street of very different homes. But it’s just the start. Ultimately there will be thousands of homes, some social housing, some custom-build as well as self-build. I believe it’s a model that could be copied by local authorities up and down the land.'
A better solution – I think – then selling off crown or local government land to developers to provide housing. Another not mentioned benefit is that you end up with a long-term community, made up of a variety of people from all walks of life, instead of what we have now in many areas – segregation by economics.
Her thesis is that Syria was a differently formatted WW, and the constellations have shifted post US defeat(or failure to gain a victory…regime change)
Counting in the Ukrainian presidential election is indicating a rout: comedian Volodymyr Zelensky is currently at 73%, incumbent Poroshenko is at less than 25%.
Life imitates art: "Zelensky starred in the long-running satirical drama Servant of the People in which his character accidentally becomes Ukraine's president."
"He plays a teacher who is elected after his expletive-laden rant about corruption goes viral on social media. He ran under a political party with the same name as his show."
The traditional path to political success in democracies is to be all things to all people. He could signal that he will be that traditionalist by continually recycling the name of his show/party, for instance by ending all his speeches with "your servant, Volodymyr".
Equally, he ought to sign off on his emails to his patron, the oligarch, "your servant, Volodymyr". When he issues a polite request to the Ukrainian media, same sign-off. That way everyone ends up on the same page and all can acknowledge that he is indeed a classic democratic politician.
Humour is the best strategy when conducting foreign relations, as the ongoing UN dysfunction continues to prove. So his relations with Russia will improve immensely as soon as he suggests to Putin that they team up in the Vlad & Volod Show, a weekly current affairs review which will feature laughter as the best medicine.
Putin needs to loosen up more, and presenting as more human than Russians knew he could be would be a clever move for him. Entertaining the populace of both countries simultaneously would be tremendously therapeutic. Even more vodka could get sold.
Latest update: "Volodymyr Zelenskiy and Petro Poroshenko have gained 73.17 percent and 24.5 percent of the vote, respectively, the country’s Central Election Commission (CEC) has said after it processed 90.1 percent of the voting protocols. Zelenskiy is leading in all regions, except Lviv region."
Are all the people who are convinced that Trump only made it to the Presidency going to start in on the story that Zelensky only got the votes reported here because the Russians rigged the result?
Clearly it must all be due to Putin's machinations.
Collusion? Depends on the angle you view it from, eh? View it from the left, you may be able to discern puppet strings…
"Zelensky, whose only previous political role was playing the president in a TV show, trounced incumbent Petro Poroshenko by taking 73 percent of the vote, according to partial official results. Poroshenko garnered just 24 percent, losing to the 41-year-old comedian and actor across the country, with 42 percent of ballots counted."
"Exit polls showed Zelensky took 87 percent of the vote in eastern Ukraine and defeated Poroshenko even in the west, where the incumbent traditionally enjoyed strong support. Poroshenko, 53, said the results were clear and enough reason to "call my opponent and congratulate him". "I will leave office but I want to firmly stress — I will not quit politics," Poroshenko said in a speech at his campaign headquarters… "We realise that the Kremlin might be enjoying the election result," he said."
"The outgoing leader came to power after a 2014 pro-Western uprising ousted a Kremlin-backed regime, triggering Moscow's annexation of Crimea. His supporters credited him with rebuilding the army and securing an Orthodox Church independent of Russia. But many feel the country's ruling elite have forgotten the promises of the revolution."
"The comic shunned traditional campaign rallies and instead performed comedy gigs and used social media to appeal to voters." Way to go, dude! Don't bore voters to death at those old robotic rallies, entertain them instead. Politics as fun! Enchant those voters!
My idea of European clowns is often they are politically savvy. Also they understand people's norms and how to tickle their humour, so understands people. This man could do a very good job compared to someone who has just sold himself for a whim or campaign money and is taking on a task above his level of competence. USA!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Katie_Hopkins#Personal_life – Katie Hopkins bounces off walls from one job to another. There is money to be made in the UK from being foul apparently – and our forebears came here with such high-flown notions in their head. Every advancement for the people had to be fought long and hard for – now they come here to gobble up what we managed to create.
We know that London in the UK has fatbergs in its sewers, is Katie Hopkins something that got washed up onto the street after one of the blockages that can be about 3.5m high? They require daily work as they emerge under the city. Or perhaps noxious gases have affected her memory – our noses are very sensitive and closely situated to the brain. There must be some explanation for the poor quality journalism and the media's acceptance of this attacking, harrowing method of soapboxing, but without the soap.
Perhaps it is that she has some big health issues – borderline healthy – and she takes it out on her unfortunate prey.
Winston Peters again in the gun and I’d have to agree that this government is being held back by him and his party.
When you have the entire country ready for some sort of CGT and Nat MPs wanting to return to Maori seats yet Peters is the fly in the ointment you have to wonder what kind of damage he is now doing to the country.
Besides which, the difference between paying income tax at ones marginal rate based on a bright line test of 10 years, and a CGT at 15% is basically nil. (I’m aware the current test is 5 years, but am leaving some room to extend)
Robertson said it was “unlikely” to be a further extension of the bright-line test as they've taken a CGT off the table and the bright-line test represents a form of that.
Not me – the TWG showed the biggest capital freeloaders were Ag,Forestry, & Fishing. The Gnats cannot in any case be trusted to do what they promise – Key campaigned on fixing housing – he fixed it so kiwis couldn't buy it anymore.
If the Gnats rolled out a fully costed set of economic policies that actually addressed declining outcomes, productivity and sustainability, which is well beyond them – they still could not be trusted to implement them.
A chapter of accidents. He had some hospital care and was sent home in a taxi although his parnter would have picked him up. He didn't arrive home. Then she phoned the hospital but they had nothing to tell her, and not knowing where he was she phoned the police. Some time after the hospital advised that he had been admitted after a fall, and she could come and get him after treatment. Then she found he had a gash across his forehead and was in intensive care.
The taxi should be instructed to take a patient to his or her home not drop them off at the shops. The instructions from the hospital should be quite clear. Better still phone the family.
The supershitty is too busy being grand to listen to the wants of ratepayers and the holes round ornamental trees should have been filled in as they say has been requested for a long time. When you think of the constant conniptions by Health and Safety on small business and private people, the authorities are playing us for suckers, local and national government.
"But hey hold on, the Statistics Department concludes: “Inflation was low in the March 2019 quarter because of falls in the prices of petrol and international airfares.” Right. So, apparently, the people struggling to pay for their smokes at the supermarket can take comfort from the fact that the price of getting to the Amalfi Coast for their winter holidays just got cheaper. So, maybe we’re not measuring the price fluctuations in any basket of goods that’s relevant to most New Zealanders. By the way, the cost of non–tradeable goods and services rose by 3% in the past year. So much for inflation being low to non-existent. In the real world, prices are going up."
Cheers . Im having problems with being unable to right comments some times due to the cursor being in the name section and not being able to get ot to shift to the comment box .
I’m afraid I won’t be of much help to you, but hopefully somebody else might shed some light upon this.
I assume you use a mobile phone.
I never use a mobile phone and always type on a keyboard and in Word first. Thanks to this, many a stupid comment of mine got deleted before it even made it into the TS comment box …
It also avoids the strain on eyes, neck, and fingers using a device that’s euphemistically called a smart-phone
That happens to me on the computer where I select all in the name box, cut and paste it into where I want it to be. Then put my name back in the right place. Then I haven't lost the bits of comment that have got into the name box while I have merrily been typing away. I admire you people who are doing it all from a phone. Marvels.
The iwi owners of Shelly Bay argue Sir Peter Jackson has long lost the right to have any say over what happens at the Wellington site…
… But to Port Nicholson Block Settlement Trust (PNBST) trustee Neville Baker, the whole argument missed one crucial point – the land in question belonged to iwi and it was up to them to do with it what they wanted.
Taranaki Whānui – of which PNBST is part of – settled its Treaty of Waitangi case with the Crown in 2009 and, almost to the day of settlement, used money it got to buy the Shelly Bay land.
Baker said the land was bought because it was historically used by iwi and "we felt we should buy it back".
Baker, on Monday, said Jackson then gave up his rights to influence what happened there.
"The point really is, we have the right to develop what we own and it is no-one else's decision."
I agree Jackson should but out. It's just sad that the Trust appears wedded to capitalism and has partnered with Cassel's "The Wellington Company"… kind of ironic.
It's a shame that Jackson and Maori cannot come to a mutually satisfactory conclusion. Opportunities for suitable Maori to have apprenticeships with him. People need to see him as having something to offer instead of going all sour because he didn't play their game.
No-one else in NZ could have done the job with LOR and we now have another string to our bow, big film making and model making. With so many people willing to spit on entrepreneurs it isn't surprising that we languish in a jobless low wage environment – you don't kick a possible employer in the teeth because you want more money, you keep talking and thinking. He is here, and could be worked with to build up an apprenticeship, get some ongoing advantages.
They don't come often – cunning minds work at how to get opportunities, not march in the streets complaining. But the leaders of the march might as well have said 'Let them eat grass' – nothing could have been the outcome.
MOSCOW — Jewish officials say an arson fire was set at the largest yeshiva in Russia as the faithful were gathered there for a Passover meal.
No one was reported injured in the Friday fire at the Torat Chaim school in an eastern Moscow suburb.
Olga Esaulova, a spokeswoman for Moscow's chief rabbi, was quoted by the Interfax news agency as saying the fire was set in a storage area for kosher meat and that swastikas were drawn at the yeshiva's entrance.
Yet Volodymyr Zelensky will be the first Jewish president of Ukraine (and the second Jewish head of a European nation) and Poland's resurrected their oldbeat the Jew ritual, too. Funny old world, eh.
Born in Napier and educated at Wellington's Victoria University, Peach was a Kiwi teacher killed by a British policemen during an anti-fascist protest in 1979. April 23 marks the 40th anniversary of his death. He was just 33 years old.
‘It has been said that figures rule the world. Maybe. I am quite sure that it is figures which show us whether it is being ruled well or badly.’ GoetheI was struck at a recent conference on equity for the elderly, how many presenters implicitly relied upon Statistics New Zealand. ...
Buzz from the BeehiveReporting on defence spending late last year, RNZ said the coalition government will have to make some tough calls this term to help the force address staff shortages and ageing infrastructure. “These are huge, huge amounts of government spending. It’s a significant proportion of the government’s ...
Peter Dunne writes – I am always wary when I hear that the Controller and Auditor-General has commented on or made recommendations to the government about an issue of public policy that does not relate strictly to public expenditure. According to the legislation, the role of the Controller ...
How Labour’s and National’s failure to move beyond neoliberalism has brought NZ to the brink of economic and cultural chaos Chris Trotter writes – TO START LOSING, so soon after you won, requires a special kind of political incompetence. At the heart of this Coalition ...
And why did the Crown not challenge the Tribunal’s jurisdiction? Gary Judd writes – Retired District Court Judge, David Harvey, has posted on his A Halflings View Substack an excellent summary of Justice Isacs’ judgment declining to uphold the witness summons issued by the Waitangi Tribunal ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Do you believe New Zealand runs its general elections fairly and competently? As a voter, can you be confident that the votes on your ballot will be counted towards the final result?As a political scientist, I’ve been asked these questions many times and ...
Macklemore isn’t someone I’d usually think about. Sure I liked his big hit from a few years back, everybody did it was catchy and cool with some memorable lines. But if I was going to think of artists who might speak out on political matters or world events, he wouldn’t ...
Another week goes by in the Luxon government’s efforts to roll back the past 70 years of social progress. The school lunches programme is to be downgraded by $107 million, and women need bother their heads no longer about pay equity, let alone expect ACC to provide adequate sexual violence ...
Brrr, the first cold snap of the year. Hope you’re rugged up nice and warm. Here are some stories that caught our eye this week… This Week on Greater Auckland On Monday, we had a post from a new contributor, Connor Sharp, who dug into the public feedback ...
Almost all of the Wellington City Council’s recommended zoning changes to allow many more apartments and townhouses in its inner-suburbs have been approved.Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The podcast above of the weekly ‘hoon’ webinar for subscribers features co-hosts and , along with regular guest on geopolitics, ...
Open access notablesA Global Increase in Nearshore Tropical Cyclone Intensification, Balaguru et al., Earth's Future:Tropical Cyclones (TCs) inflict substantial coastal damages, making it pertinent to understand changing storm characteristics in the important nearshore region. Past work examined several aspects of TCs relevant for impacts in coastal regions. However, ...
Do you believe New Zealand runs its general elections fairly and competently? As a voter, can you be confident that the votes on your ballot will be counted towards the final result? As a political scientist, I’ve been asked these questions many times and always answered “yes”, with very few ...
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 ...
Today New Zealand First will introduce a Member’s Bill that will protect women’s spaces. The ‘Fair Access to Bathrooms Bill’ will require, primarily in the interest and safety of women and girls, that all new non-domestic publicly accessible buildings provide separate, clearly demarcated, unisex and single sex bathrooms. This Bill ...
The Green Party is welcoming Climate Change Minister Simon Watts’ continuation of Hon. James Shaw’s cross-party work on climate adaptation, now in the form of a Finance and Expenditure Committee Inquiry. ...
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. ...
Introduction Good morning. It’s a great privilege to be here at the 2024 Infrastructure Symposium. I was extremely happy when the Prime Minister asked me to be his Minister for Infrastructure. It is one of the great barriers holding the New Zealand economy back from achieving its potential. Building high ...
Defence Minister Judith Collins today announced the upcoming Budget will include new funding of $571 million for Defence Force pay and projects. “Our servicemen and women do New Zealand proud throughout the world and this funding will help ensure we retain their services and expertise as we navigate an increasingly ...
New Zealand’s ability to cope with climate change will be strengthened as part of the Government’s focus to build resilience as we rebuild the economy, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. “An enduring and long-term approach is needed to provide New Zealanders and the economy with certainty as the climate ...
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 ...
The fight to control major transport policy and projects in Auckland has burst into the open again, with councillors rejecting Mayor Wayne Brown’s latest attempt to steer things more under his influence. Councillors from the left and right broke ranks on the mayor’s bid to control Auckland Transport more directly ...
Exhausted by the general election campaign, horrified by the twilight zone of coalition negotiations, distracted by the silly season and waiting for the honeymoon to begin, Raw Politics has been in hibernation since October. From today, we’re back. Our weekly political video show and podcast returns for ...
By Patrick Decloitre, RNZ Pacific correspondent French Pacific desk Authorities in the small town of Boulouparis have commemorated Armistice Day on May 8 with a new memorial honouring New Zealand soldiers who were stationed in New Caledonia during World War II. The ceremony took place in the township on the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sara Dehm, Senior lecturer, international migration and refugee law, University of Technology Sydney The High Court unanimously ruled today that the Australian government can keep asylum seekers in immigration detention indefinitely in cases where they do not “voluntarily” cooperate with their own ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kim Munro, Lecturer, Creative Industries and Digital Media, University of South Australia Twenty-four hours after the release of Macklemore’s pro-Palestine protest song Hind’s Hall on social media on May 7, the video had already notched up over 24 million views. In ...
Failing to anticipate the complexity of the consenting system is being cited as the the current builder's shortcomings, an Infrastructure Commission review says. ...
350 Aotearoa is calling the Environment Select Committee’s decision to allow oral submissions from just 40% of individual, unique submitters who asked to speak to the committee ‘a disgraceful blight to democracy’. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By James Helal, Assistant Dean (Sustainability), The University of Melbourne Dubai skylineAleksandarPasaric/Pexels Since ancient times, people have built structures that reach for the skies – from the steep spires of medieval towers to the grand domes of ancient cathedrals and mosques. Today ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Edward Musole, PhD Law Student, University of New England Girts Ragelis/ShutterstockRecent trends show Australians are increasingly buying wearables such as smartwatches and fitness trackers. These electronics track our body movements or vital signs to provide data throughout the day, with ...
Papua New Guinea experienced a significant earthquake on 24 March in East Sepik and there has also been recent flooding there and in surrounding provinces. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Yousuf Mohammed, Dermatology researcher, The University of Queensland Maridav/Shutterstock You wake up, stagger to the bathroom and gaze into the mirror. No, you’re not imagining it. You’ve developed face wrinkles overnight. They’re sleep wrinkles. Sleep wrinkles are temporary. But as your ...
The Environment Select Committee has just announced that 60 percent of individuals who asked to speak at the hearings will not be heard. This equates to almost 700 people who made individual submissions and more than 1000 more who made a form submission. ...
The Royal New Zealand Ballet is performing Swan Lake around the country. What kind of dream does the ballet sell?Before going to see the Royal New Zealand Ballet perform Swan Lake, I had about as much familiarity with the plot of this ballet as could be expected from having ...
A new poem by Auckland poet Eamonn Tee. High Tide at Local Maxima It is only going to get worse. The streams will be narrow and fickle. The week will bend and buckle like a pot-bellied waist. You will make it to the weekend with one ...
The New Zealand entrepreneur behind beauty business Ethique is gearing up to launch a new eco-venture. This is an excerpt from our weekly environmental newsletter Future Proof. Sign up here. Our thirst for a tasty bevvy is insatiable, but it comes with a hefty plastic price for the planet: 580 billion ...
The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington.AUCKLAND1 James by Percival Everett (Mantle, $38) A retelling of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn from ...
By Kamna Kumar in Suva Pacific Islands Forum Secretary-General Henry Puna stressed the importance of media freedom and its link to the climate and environmental crisis at the 2024 World Press Freedom Day event organised by the University of the South Pacific’s journalism programme. Under the theme “A Planet for ...
Tara Ward previews a new local TV series offering alternative visions of motherhood. This is an excerpt from our weekly pop culture newsletter Rec Room. Sign up here. A woman is clambering up the side of her two-story house, clinging desperately to a drainpipe. Nearby, her child is perched on the ...
Local Government New Zealand (LGNZ) is supportive of the cross-party approach to climate adaptation announced by the Minister of Climate Change today. ...
The Sustainable Business Council (SBC) and Climate Leaders Coalition (CLC) welcome today’s announcement from Government around a bipartisan inquiry into an enduring climate adaptation framework for New Zealand. ...
The Free Speech Union welcomes the decision by the Department of Internal Affairs, and Minister Brooke Van Velden, to abandon proposals to further regulate online speech. ...
Its new building in Wellington will not be nearly big enough for all its records, and it has also run out of money to build its new storage facility in Levin. ...
BusinessNZ is congratulating the Minister of Climate Change for his work in achieving cross-party consensus for a way forward on climate adaptation. ...
Recent research reveals the repeal of smokefree measures is not only bad for our health, but also the economy. The Government has repealed various smokefree measures to ensure it keeps collecting $1.2 billion a year in tobacco taxes, in order to pay for tax cuts already being delivered to ...
The club’s surprisingly good season is built on the desire to prove a random A-League YouTuber wrong… and a few other factors.“There’s no way that Wellington Phoenix play finals this year. I can’t see it happening at all.” Those are the words of Lachlan Raeside, an Australian football content ...
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The under-utilised course is a waste of space, and with a little political will, it could be turned into something better. For the duration of her stay in Wellington, my long-suffering cousin listened to me rant about golf courses. They’re bad for the environment: water intensive and pesticide heavy. They ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Leah Ruppanner, Professor of Sociology and Founding Director of The Future of Work Lab, Podcast at MissPerceived, The University of Melbourne Shutterstock A recent report from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows US fertility rates dropped 2% in ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Amy Corderoy, Medical doctor and PhD candidate studying involuntary psychiatric treatment, School of Psychiatry, UNSW Sydney shop_py/Shutterstock Picture two people, both suffering from a serious mental illness requiring hospital admission. One was born in Australia, the other in Asia. Hopefully, ...
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Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Goss, Adjunct Associate Professor, Health Research Institute, University of Canberra Government spending on health has been growing so rapidly that a decade ago the then health minister Peter Dutton called it “unmanageable” and “unsustainable”. Health spending grew in real terms by ...
New Zealand's largest electricity distributor is warning the country to hurry up with controls around charging electric vehicles or face unnecessary bills running into the billions. ...
New Zealanders have been asked to conserve energy this morning to combat a possible electricity shortfall, writes Stewart Sowman-Lund in this extract from The Bulletin. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here. A call to conserve power New Zealand is facing a possible electricity shortfall, with people up ...
Writer Rebecca K Reilly breaks down the national book awards. What are the Ockhams?The Ockham New Zealand Book Awards are our annual national awards for books published for adults, and have existed in this form since 2016. There are four categories: Fiction, Poetry, General Non-fiction and Illustrated Non-fiction. There ...
Wellington City Council should keep its 34% ownership share in Wellington International Airport, argue Unions Wellington spokespeople Finn Cordwell and Ashok Jacob. Insanity, as the saying goes, is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. Wellington City Council (WCC) is yet again proposing to dispose ...
New Zealand’s largest book publisher has undergone drastic changes this week, leaving its future role in local publishing uncertain. Two of the most recognisable local publishers in New Zealand are among those restructured out of Penguin Random House, it was announced this week. Head of publishing Claire Murdoch will leave ...
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The Black Ferns Sevens appeared to be a mile behind Australia at the halfway point of the 2023-24 SVNS international circuit. Winless in three tournaments, a cup quarter-final exit in Perth was one of their worst results. To add insult to injury, talismanic skipper Sarah Hirini had been ruled out ...
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By Lydia Lewis, RNZ Pacific journalist A former Tuvalu prime minister says while the New Zealand government’s oil and gas plans show it is concerned about its economy, he is more concerned about the livelihoods and survival of the Tuvalu people. Enele Sopoaga — who still serves as an MP ...
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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. ...
https://i.stuff.co.nz/environment/climate-news/112123654/climate-change-a-reply-to-the-five-most-common-comments-from-readers
Busting bullshit memes for dummies.
I've kinda got an issue with their just brushing aside and minimising population growth as a contributing issue.
Like many other things, that's an area where New Zealand's only significant contribution can come from leading by example. We could choose to say we reject the idea of continual growth (including population growth) and choose to find ways to make steady state and circular economics work.
We could choose to reject the hand-wringing and bedwetting about the fact that the native birth rate is below replacement. And embrace the idea that that gives us more opportunity to welcome some from parts of the world that will get hammered by the changes coming.
Explicitly embracing the idea of below-replacement birth rates and falling populations could set a highly visible example to the rest of the world. In a similar way to our nuclear-free stance.
We could be leading by example as you say…except none in the positions to implement it have either the ability or the desire to accomplish it
It's the kind of change that can only happen by shifting general social attitudes.
One way to help shift general social attitudes with respect to populations is pieces like the one wags linked start talking about the good aspects of lower populations and fewer kids per family, rather than just brushing the issue aside.
Not necessarily…it can be accomplished that way if you are unconcerned about the length of time it will take to achieve….and then theres leadership
Yet leaders are significantly products of their formative environments.
AOC was late teens/early twenties going through the GFC, watching the flaws of lightly regulated free-market rapaciousness while the social environment around her was filled with disgust at their "leaders" inadequate response. Would she have become the leader she is now if the environment around hadn't had the senseof there being a better way?
Similarly Greta Thunberg is coming of age at a time when the general social environment is demanding climate change action. Yet there have been high profile serious people having a damn good go at leading on this topic for decades and getting very little traction.
Leadership is a synergy of the leader's personal qualities and the environment they are in.
and where was the social environment that determined that growth come what may was desirable?….the demand for that was promoted by a narrow section of society that captured the 'leadership'. The synergy argument dosnt hold water when that fact is examined
Growth is clearly and self-evidently desirable when your environment is one where the best strategy for the success of your own group is to overwhelm the"other" by sheer force of numbers, and there's also significant vacant or underused territory your group can expand into to grab more resource to support the expansion of your group.
Both those factors have been true for the vast majority of people for the vast majority of human history. But they stopped being true sometime in the last few generations. That's a helluva lot of cultural inertia and memory to try to turn around.
again , it was only ever true for a segment of society….the dissenters were always disregarded….synergy be buggered
Going from survival of the fitest to we are all one is most likely beyond what evolution made us . But there is hope i guess. I see glimmers of hope in the younger generations .
We have been able to benefit from how: oil based products, pesticides, water management, the improvement of medicine and more that have allowed the pop. to increase to 7.7b.
What is the cost of these ? and for how long can this continue for
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/news/article.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=12224127
IMO to manage what we are facing a large portion of the solution is our pop. and what is the viable carrying capacity of the earth with changes that need to be implemented ASAP, but that is only one persons observations 🤔
But Gaia may have a natural solution with the visit of the 4 horseman
I was looking at the stuff website and a strange woman started to talk so I tracked down which image appeared to be live and when I found it I couldn't get an image or stop the sound. Strange.
(Everything's up to date in Kansas [insert chosen location here] city, They've gone about as far as they can go. What next!)
I saw a Newshub update on this but when I went to their website it wasn't there. Happened once before too – slack editing, or evidence that TV3 liaison is somewhat haphazard.
"Brazilian beetles, first released in 2011, haven’t wasted any time getting stuck into the swathes of tradescantia (Tradescantia fluminensis) that are infesting gardens, reserves and conservation land. Three beetle species have been released − a leaf beetle (Neolema ogloblini), a stem beetle (Lema basicostata), and a tip beetle (Neolema abbreviata) − which were selected to attack different parts of the plant." https://www.landcareresearch.co.nz/publications/newsletters/biological-control-of-weeds/issue-84/tradescantia-be-gone
Traditionally known as wandering jew, the Newshub reporter called it wandering willy. Not the first media reporter I've seen do this, so I suspect some moron, or group of morons, decided that the traditional name is disrespectful to jews so deemed it politically incorrect. The basic idea behind this type of thinking is that media consumers are morons, so any other moron or group of morons can get away with telling them what to do.
Anyway, gardeners have tried various methods of eliminating the plant, and I can verify from many years of personal experience on different properties that success is only achieved where infestations are fairly small and localised, and even then it takes diligence and time. Just a single broken piece an inch long will grow roots and become an inch long. If it lies exposed on the ground through summer, even continuous sun-baking will not dry it out. It is resilient, will bide it's time, and root when the rains come.
The Newshub report showed that large swathes of the plant have been consumed by the beetles, so the control design seems effective. That's taken eight years though, so it ain't fast. No adverse effects reported, so I hope the govt decides on general release soon.
Update: Looks like Newshub got around to posting it late last night: https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/new-zealand/2019/04/kiwi-teenagers-take-experimental-biological-weed-buster-to-the-world.html
I recall it in the '60s as being called "Wandering Willie" then too, never really saw it spelled out in full so whether with a Kwiw accent it was also "jew" or "dew" is another one of the things people are finding to fret over whereas, as always, there are much bigger issues that need the focus.
My father was chatting with our Jewish next door neighbour over the back fence one weekend afternoon, and idly pointed to the mass of green weed that had colonised our compost heap, the fence and progressing onward over everything it could reach.
Dad was saying how "he was going to get stuck in and eradicate this wandering …" and our neighbour smiled and said "yeah we call it Wandering Christian actually :-)"
Hey Red, your comment box now has these new smiley options available at a click. I've just seen my lapse in proof-reading, so must apologise to all for this:
"Just a single broken piece an inch long will grow roots and become an inch long." I thought I was writing "become a new plant". However my subconscious decided to replace it with a re-run of what I had typed a few moments earlier.
This is a new type of senior moment! Unless other elderly commentators can prove earlier versions of same, I will claim inventor's rights…
Calm down! I only ever knew it as wandering wiĺlie as a kid in the 50s. We thought it was hilarious because it was our dad's name. Maybe it's a regional thing.
Oh, how interesting. Thanks Jan – and also Rapunzel – for corroboration that it did indeed predate the pc era. I can park the grumpy old man syndrome for a while.
So many unobservant observers out there.
Tradescantia, oxalis…. run chickens on the 'problem'. Watch the problem converted to eggs and meat.
To be thorough – add the biocontrol which will now actively seek out any remainder.
Also, taking early occurring rust fungi from either plant and spreading it around on 'healthy' patches of weed to weaken it considerably.
Great idea for weed eradication – chickens – wonderful weeders – and you get eggs – yeah!
Good thinking. I recall as a kid in the fifties when almost all suburban families had a chicken run out back. No supermarkets in Aotearoa till the seventies.
My ex-partner installed one three years ago. Built herself a multi-level shelter at one end with laying straw in roosts & trapdoors above for easy extraction of eggs, has four hens. Observing them on visits reminded me that hen-pecking is a form of bullying. Given that all birds are residual dinosaurs, one wonders if T Rex also did hen-pecking. That would have been awesome to watch.
You must have lived South of the Bombay Hills. Apparently the first supermarkets were in Auckland as early as 1957. There was one with a large car park no less in 1958. Ah civilization had reached our shores.
https://nzhistory.govt.nz/media/photo/grocery-shopping-canned-food
I grew up in Napier in the 1950's. I can only remember one of the neighbours who had chickens at that time. They were fairly common for people who lived on rather bigger bits of land out in Greenmeadows, Taradale and Clive though.
Maybe regional variations applied then, which we didn't know about. My childhood was in New Plymouth, then college in Wanganui, didn't arrive in Auckland till early '68. I didn't know about that one in Devonport. Students never went to such remote places – poor people still packed buses & trains then (cars were not an option for students).
Alwwn,
I had chickens in my Napier state house in 1957, as on Napier's main Emerson Street at 'Woolworths' they sold 'day old' chicks every august, – that we would fatten them up for Xmas dinner.
Yes cleangreen, my Dad had chickens, Rhode Island Reds and Black Orpingtons. In 1951 Mum used to buy 24 day old chicks, twice a year from her cousin who had a hatchery. They used to come by train from Hamilton to Te Kuiiti. The worst part of the trip was the 26 miles of rough metal road to Benneydale in Dad's T Ford!! The good old days,
I had relatives in Napier in the fifties, and spent many a school holiday there. They had chooks. This was in Thackeray Street.
That'll save our forests bleepy.
We don't all live in the bush (I wish). Management varies and varied solutions are useful.
NZ originally had vast numbers of birds that browsed at various trophic levels of the forest. Now Moa are extinct, and the people trying to make things 'like they were' – what time-point was ideal? Can we bring the Moa back with genetics labs, PR and capital?
Obviously, we want functional ecology. Conservation is a lofty but confused goal. Whereever invasives can be turned to human use their control becomes a lot easier (but eradication nigh on impossible).
No more pesticides, no excuses. The impending loss of insects will cost us everything. It is as urgent an issue as climate change.
Auckland council use(d?) early season rust fungi (from Tradescantia) to spray on Tradescantia and reduce its rampancy (to varying extent) in the region. A new bio-control is obviously welcome it's efficacy remains to be seen.
Animals perform a number of ecosystem functions and when these are understood and managed correctly, they might (gladly) do a lot of work for you while creating animal products e.g. weeding, tilling, fertilising, insect control, turn unpalatable materials to palatable materials.
Our Farmers understand the pulses of seasons, and how this ties in with production. As their ecological understanding grows (some are exemplars in their field) biodiversity will become synonymous with production where many more seasonal pulses can be used to obtain yields. Slowly, balance might be restored as trees (and all they bring) repopulate the landscape.
In urban areas, we can create habitat for bugs. And of course stop using insecticides.
If you have chickens and Tradescantia/Oxalis, well, you know what to do.
Guinea Pigs like it as well.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/opinion/112157454/you-need-popularity-to-become-a-leader-but-it-can-be-bad-for-leadership
I'm not going to recommend this piece by Jane Bowron to read except if you are interested to find how many mixed metaphors can be jumbled together to say very little in a column. Here's an example.
"Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern dropped the controversial policy like a hot spud and pledged that while she's at the helm that dog will never hunt again.
Result. Peters' fan base is deliriously happy that he's finally manned up to show who calls the shots; Simon Bridges has lost any bit of skin he has left in the game; and St Jacinda looks like a cynical politician unable to stick to her guns and exact core Labour Party policy."
The writer, Jane Bowron, takes four opening paragraphs to start even before the topic of the headline is introduced. It's fluff, an opinion piece written to fill a space. I wonderd when reading it if she's actually spoofing bad writing. She succeeded if that was her aim.
"If we can hit that bullseye, the rest of the dominos will fall like a house of cards. Checkmate."
Agree, terrible article wish I'd never read it…but I did and it raised a question in my mind
Did the MSM ever see any negatives in the 'popularity" of Teflon John? Not that I recall.
An interesting interview with Helen Clark.
https://soundcloud.com/rttv/worlds-apart-neutered-for-neutrality-helen-clark-former-prime-minister-of-new-zealand
It has always seemed to me that examining the words of Helen Clark to discern signs of intelligence is a waste of time. But I've got an open mind. If you found any evidence of such, I'd consider the potential merit of it…
Let's put it this way, HC's views, whether you regard them as intellectual or not, are informed by an accumulated experience several orders of magnitude greater than all of us regulars here put together
Edit: If you really thirst for intellectual, can I recommend this guy?
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCYO_jab_esuFRV4b17AJtAw
Indeed. One cannot deny the extent of her operational experience. It's the learning therefrom that is in question. I'm curious to see if she has any helpful analysis of the problem, but not enough to overcome the distaste based on prior experience of her (non-)contributions. If she actually produced a solution to the problem there's a very real danger of folks dropping dead from astonishment…
“prior experience of [his/]her (non-)contributions”
People do look at all of us for that.
They've as much chance of making any sense of her after they've dropped dead, not because of her limitations but because of their own.
That is quite some site.
Nifty presentation, which I managed to endure due to exercise of willpower to overcome dislike of maths. Incorporating physics into the design was clever, and lack of real-world application acknowledged, but it ended with a teaser: the pi-implied circle, invisible in the presentation, would only be revealed to viewers who choose to watch the next thrilling installment of maths-by-graphic. Not me.
Engineering math was my stumbling block too; I could follow it as long as I could map it onto something physical. But the point where it became totally abstract I struggled. Fourier transforms yes, Laplace transforms no.
3Blue1Brown does a brilliant job of breaking this barrier down with visuals and modern interpretations that I only wish was around 40 years earlier .
Mathematicians are the princes of the modern world, and despite my limitations I always wished to be fully admitted to their ranks. Ah well we all have our failed dreams.
I take your point despite never viewing mathematicians with respect. I always discounted them due to their propensity for abstractions being even worse than that of physicists (hard to believe). But I ought to acknowledge that maths is used to validate and empower physics, and certainly forms the basis of computing. I wonder if our service provider (LPrent) will volunteer a personal take on this interface between imaginal and real.
A mathematician is having problems with a leaky sink, so he calls a plumber. The plumber comes over and quickly fixes the sink. The professor is happy until he gets the bill. He tells the plumber, "This is outrageous! You charge more for an hour than I make in a whole day!"
The plumber tells him, "You know, we are always looking for more plumbers. You could become a plumber and triple your salary. Just make sure you say you only made it to 6th grade, they don't like educated people."
The professor takes him up on the offer and becomes a plumber. His salary triples and he doesn't have to work nearly as hard. But after a few years, a law gets passed that all licensed plumbers must have at least an 8th grade education…Not wanting to admit he lied on his application, he signs up for night classes.
On the first day of night School they all attend math class. The teacher wants to gauge the class so he asks the former mathematician, "What is the formula for the area of a circle?"
He walks up to the board and realizes he has forgotten the formula. So he begins to attempt to derive the formula, filling the board with complicated mathematics. He ends up figuring out it is negative pi times radius squared, but he knows that's incorrect, so he starts over, but again he comes up with the same equation.
After staring at the board for a minute he hears one of the plumbers in the class behind him whisper, "Switch the limits on the integral, dummy!"
PS. I cribbed this from some forum ages back 🙂
Mathematics is a part of physics. Physics is an experimental science, a part of natural science. Mathematics is the part of physics where experiments are cheap.
Vladimir Arnold.
Good grief Dennis Frank, you obviously never knew Helen Clark. She is extremely intelligent – way ahead of the vast majority of people. However what she did try to do with varying success was to speak publicly in a manner those of average intelligence would better understand. It was not a case of dropping to their level, but rather to get her points across. I fear you mistook her intentions to be that of a person of average intelligence.
Anne I agree with your take on Helen Clark as she was the real true caring PM we ever had since Michael Joseph Savage..
Not even Norm Kirk?
I met Helen Clark on many occasions, and I'm with you. I didn't share her politics, but there was no doubting her sharp intellect. There was a certain derangement about her from some on the right, which we saw again with the lefts attitude towards John Key, but IMHO Clark was amongst the most competent of PM's this county has seen.
But having it and using it are two different things, eh? I tend to judge on the basis of performance – don't you? Why not take a look at the interview RL posted and report back here if she proposes a solution to the UN problem that seems viable?
I know you ain't no leftist, so that puts you in a credible position to evaluate her performance objectively. If she merely circles around the problem, discussing dimension of it without advancing the situation one iota, I trust you'll be honest enough to report that back to us too.
Hi Dennis. My comments were specifically about her time as PM. I also have no time for the UN. IMHO it is a largely corrupt and essentially useless organisation that has lost it's way entirely. So no sorry, I won't be listening to the interview.
Very different things.
Key was not an honest man. Most people are annoyed by liars.
There it is … KDS in evidence again.
Despite your heroic efforts to peddle this false equivalence, Clark was not given to outrageous manifestations of dishonesty like Key's "I don't recall".
Clark burnt herself on efforts like the anti-smacking bill, Key destroyed his reputation by insider trading and self serving actions like constraining the brightline to two years so his own investments would make the cut.
Like Trump he was and is a self-serving piece of shite with no business pretending to act for a democratic polity. Morally crippled rightwingers look on him with envy rather than contempt, but this defeats their arguments with the Left before they even begin.
You have one of the worst cases of KDS I have seen. In fact I’d say it’s incurable. I’d argue the toss, but you’re beyond rational debate.
Look I understand you have this deep abiding need to lie your worthless ass off to defend the thoroughly unsavoury reputation of the worst PM NZ has ever seen, but my objections to this lying self-serving ineffectual ambulant cesspool of corruption are entirely rational.
So don't be accusing me of KDS – that's not a thing – unless it applies to scoundrels like yourself, for whom, judging by your comments, lying and stealing are public virtues.
He’s not dead yet – the convention on eulogies does not apply.
Yep, you've got it bad.
The only thing I've got bad is a troll who won't stop apologizing for the worthless son of a bitch.
Come up with some facts to dispute my characterization Shadrach – if you've got anything better to offer than your usual ersatz wildebeests.
Liars make me MAD shatrack.
They don't help your spelling either.
Despite claims to the contrary, she was a woman of substance and integrity, but one possible fault (which I tend to share with her), she did not suffer fools gladly. And woe betide anyone who played silly buggers with her. Very early on in her parliamentary career, I decided to play the devil's advocate at a meeting. No prizes for guessing who came off second best by a long shot. 🙁
I've often hoped to meet her again one day and ask her if she remembered that incident.
“And woe betide anyone who played silly buggers with her”
At the risk of blowing my cover totally I can retell this tale about HC.
In 2001 I was working with a good friend in the Beehive on a technical contract relating to the building power system. The only time we were allowed to do full black start testing was after midnight on a Sunday evening. Most of the work was located in the basement, but we also had reason to access the '10th floor' where much of the HVAC equipment is located. The only way to get there is by lift to the 9th floor and then stairs up.
My mate is a madman I should add.
So there we are sometime late at night, the lift doors open on the foyer of the 9th floor and there is HC striding with he back to us, paperwork under one arm, from one office to another and as we step out my friend bursts into his best Muldoon imitation (which is very damn good) and says "Heh, heh, heh …. so that's the little girlie that got the job".
HC freezes to a halt, pauses ominously just long enough for my bowels to turn to water, swivels malevolently on her heels and imperiously announces "Fucking uppity tradesmen. Use the back entrance!" And with a wicked grin vanishes into her office.
What a cool story! Your friend sounds like a rare breed. McPhail's version of Muldoon was okay, but he couldn't ever seem to reproduce the genuine menace element of the Muldoon style. You know, the bit that always had his cabinet cowering like underdogs.
And who would have thought she actually had a sense of humour! All them smiley interviews didn't hint at it. Just showed her as well-trained.
To give her credit for street cred, her pulling the academic put-down of the working class in your story was convincing. Spinning on a dime to deliver that line demonstrates true expertise. Gutsy giving the fingers to politically correct supporters while exhibiting classic intelligentsia elitism. Only two observers, nobody would ever believe them, so she could reveal her true self in that moment. That's real authenticity!
Helen and a great sense of humour Dennis. But for some reason she rarely showed it in public. I can only assume someone advised her to stick with the serious persona – perhaps because as a woman any show of humour would lead to ridicule of her further down the track. Just guessing mind you.
I would have liked her more if she had, Anne. And ridicule damages only if you let it – an adept operator can usually turn it to advantage. Lange was exemplary in that respect and I valued him for being a refreshing new style of kiwi politician. Too bad he proved inept in the exercise of power.
Now the new leader of Ukraine is reminding us how potent humour can be in politics. The sooner we get that element back into our political mix, the better. Mind you, the necessity is considerably more dire in the USA…
Hi Anne. Apart form the times I met her, there was one event that enhanced my view of Helen Clark enormously. It was an interview she gave in 2002 with John Campbell (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1dET78Z5b5s). It was a dirty piece of journalism by Campbell, and Clark handled herself with considerable professionalism. I have never rated Campbell since, and never will.
That's down to your examining skills franko, more praxis needed.
But he's praxis to the maxis as it is.
Don't I gnosis.
🙂
Nah, I know that folks will oblige me by gleefully reporting any genuine pearls of wisdom. So far, zilch, so commentators are busy proving me right…
Crikey!
RT
IKR?!
How did that link get past the dragons and the shark infested moat that protect The Standard
McFlock and the gang will be having conniptions
I think they'll be fine.
But what they don't know won't hurt them.
With a little chill down my neck, I agree with John Roughan (!) that the Prime Minister is wasting her massive political capital by not using it, and delivering a timid government:
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12223853
Yeah, likewise. "If last Wednesday she had announced a capital gains tax limited to investment property, excluding farms, business, shares, all productive investment, it would have been greeted with relief."
That's hitting the nail on the head. He goes on to make the point that this group of professional investors are largely responsible for making homes unaffordable to young kiwi home-buyers. So hitting the guilty would be popular.
Yes, but. Excessive immigration produced by National and Labour govts is even more responsible for creating the real-estate bubble. Maintenance of that trend by the coalition has merely stabilised the bubble. Collapsing the bubble to provide equity for young kiwi families is deemed too hard by the coalition: they are being held to ransome by older generations playing the market. Investors win again.
Inflows of capital are the problem, not of people. And no govt will fix housing being treated as an investment asset class without tackling the economic settings that enable it.
Fair point. I spent so many years in Ak watching immigrant Chinese inflate the bubble I'm probably biased. Just because I profited from their input enough to get wealthy doesn't mean I stopped feeling disgusted by the trend. Empathy with those made into losers by govt policy seems to come naturally, then there's the deliberate repudiation of intergenerational equity on top of that, so unprincipled as to fill me with intense contempt for whichever govt is currently doing it. Currently, a govt I've been supporting…
The visible Chinese buyers were just fronting the capital flows from China, same as the Americans, Australians and Brits were doing.
Contempt for the people who made you rich franko? You're a peach aren't you.
You really believe the govt did it?? What part of market forces don't you get?
Govts regulate markets.
Or not. Depends how neoliberal they want to be seen as. Most of the expert analysis on the gfc, since the gfc, asserts that the regulations implemented were intended to create public impressions – not to change the way the market operates. Sham regulation has been a thing since Clinton.
I guess its possible shes saving it to spend on far more pressing things like cc .
if her interview yesterday is any indication it wont be used on that either
https://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/sunday/audio/2018691820/the-search-for-a-political-solution-to-climate-change
Thank you for the link. I swear Noelle McCarthy’s accent is getting less understandable with time.
I remember saying similar about John Key.
As well as dealing with the stuff of government like drought, Christchurch rebuild, Kaikoura rebuild, Pike River, and Wellington earthquake, he also had a crack at changing the flag.
So far under this government:
– Poverty is the same
– Wealth disparity is the same
– Homelessness is the same
– Environmental damage is the same
– Tax levels are the same
It's about time Ardern did something more ethan emote well.
Key “dealing with” Pike River? pffft
Resulted in the most comprehensive industrial safety legislation ever in this country.
Let’s ask the Pike families who they credit for that, shall we.
Go right ahead.
The Christchurch rebuild hasn't been good either.
There have been small changes though Ad.
But in the main your points cannot be denied. And Robertson has a vision I think of following in Douglas', Cullen's footsteps – Sir Grant Robertson awarded to him for holding off the simple citizens of Nz massing to attack the citadel of wealth and power.
I have a hunch your paygrade is beyond this: the incremental raising of minimum wage to living wage is lifting the income of some wage slaves.
Any evidence for this?
Union for example?
You're coming down with a case of the IRekons
Just my experience.
Last two performances reviews (roughly annually), I have gone up $1 an hour at each.
The first one, the poor manager said "because the minimum wage is going up, your wage is going up".
Silly bugger didn't try and say it was linked to performance.
To be fair I am in hospitality, so not far away from the minimum wage.
Nice baiting though Ad.
I struggle to point to anything else I would shout from the rooftops about this regime.
Me too.
I have been disabled for 27 years and always been left without “quality support and having a valued life in the community,” as Tish rightly suggests.
It seems that we disabled are considered not worth saving or caring about any more over the last thirty years.
I was severely chemically expose in 1992 and have suffered from brain injuries, nervous system damage, and immune system dysfunction ever since. It is now far harder to stay alive.
These injuries all occurred after exposure at my workplace and since after a seven year Workers Compensation claim no-one has ever been blamed, so I have fallen right through the social safety net.
The most insulting part was when I reached the retirement age (65) my disability payment funding support was cut out and I was thrown straight onto the lower payment system on the general pension, so now I cannot get good disability treatments because no funding is available for them on the pension for the disabled.
Cleangreen, I am so sorry about all you have experienced.
I don't know what to say other than apologise to you.
Life must be incredibly tough for you.
Thanks ankerawshark.
Yes, it is tough but my time in the NZ army taught me to keep on fighting to stay alive.
I am very sorry about the Chill down the back of your neck. So strange how you trolls blame Jacinda for everything.
So childish. Probably because you suck off the Herald rubbish.
Point to their results.
You're sounding like the chairman now – you're a member of the party aren't you? If so you don't know the results your party have achieved? They've just done a year in office haven't they?
https://www.labour.org.nz/year_in_review_2018
https://www.interest.co.nz/news/91882/government-completes-its-100-day-plan-here-what-it-has-done
Two context-absent, graph-absent, analysis-absent propaganda lists. Awesome.
None of their policies have been shown to alleviate the previous government's issues of poverty, homelessness, environmental damage, economic productivity, or wealth disparity.
Don't worry if they existed, the Salvation Army would have picked them up.
Time this government was held to account from all sides.
Ardern and Robertson are coasting.
lol What did they say when you emailed them your concerns?
Wait.
Just wait.
When you look through those propaganda lists, keep in mind that none of those things would have happened without a change of government.
The question is, why do all their policy efforts look like they're hamstrung by a bunch of provincial conservatives and corrupt influence-peddlers? Well, we do know the answer to that question, don't we? If you want a left-wing agenda implemented, vote for left-wing parties, not right-wing ones or corrupt populists. A left-wing agenda necessitates a left-wing majority and right now there isn't one.
That's right, Marty. He has a valid point.
In fact, some things have exacerbated.
And the future isn't looking much better.
Here (the following below) is how Max Rashbrooke sums it up:
In short, today's announcement is likely to load pressure onto the debate about public debt, and push the government into a pretty sub- optimal position. We can also now understand the intensity of the opposition to a capital gains tax, or indeed any tax increase. Opposition parties now no longer need fight every single one of the government's plans – because to the extent that those plans rely on revenue that a capital gains tax would have raised, they have all just been shut down in one go.
https://www.radionz.co.nz/news/on-the-inside/387291/capital-gains-tax-shutdown-threatens-govt-s-other-plans
In theory at least, any tax changes from the TWG were tax neutral, so I don't understand how a CGT could have funded more stuff than current settings.
Only tax neutral for the first five years. Then the tax revenue projections start to vastly outweigh the proposed tax cuts.
That's a long way into the future for a government – even if they got 9 years, they would barely see the start of that by the time it was implemented.
Carbon taxes and other options seem like a better bet.
Government accounting methods are largely based on forecasting. Thus, the added revenue stream from a CGT would improve the economic outlook, meaning the Government would be able to increase the capital and operating allowances in the next Budget.
Carbon taxes don't address tax free capital gains, thus the unfairness in our tax system.
Moreover, I would require far more detail to agree carbon taxes and other options are a better bet.
Regards the terrible bombing massacre in Sri Lanka, the 'will to power' indeed often seeks to disposses innocence in one way or another, as i saw recently intimated in a relatively rarified clarity of reason headline relating to English perspective lately; but as we recently demonstrated we also know here in NZ, and of which there is no better day than Easter Sunday as symbolism of, the 'will to power' is also an instrument to the creation of innocence, depending on choice in how it is used.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=12223646
Good grief…Groundhog Day
I think information is helpful for discussion Pat.
Creative destruction: Will technology create or kill jobs? 22 Apr, 2019 5:00am
New Zealanders are being asked to share their views on whether technological changes will cost jobs or create them as the Government looks to formulate a policy on the future of work. The Productivity Commission has published an issues paper which explores the possible impacts of new technology on the labour market. It has been tasked with producing a full report by March 2020.
"While technological change brings significant overall benefits, it also creates frictions and costs for particular groups in society," the issues paper notes.
"Sustained economic growth requires innovation, and innovation cannot be decoupled from creative destruction. "This 'replacement of the old' involves the devaluation of prior investments in machinery and skills, leaving the owners of older equipment and workers who used it worse off. For some, these costs can be severe."
However on the positive side the paper acknowledges significant job creation due to new technology.
For example, since 1999, the number of jobs classified as 'Computer systems design and related services' has increased from 8700 to 32,600, it notes.
Bare facts background here. Who are doing these jobs – have NZs had every chance to train and move into them. And why have jobs not expanded in the trades in a parallel way? Isn't this a very unbalanced society, full of dreams, visions for the future, and limited connection with their own vulnerable humanity and even less of that of others?
yes GWS…I would have copied and pasted some of the relevant information but with the changes i havnt yet worked out how to….however my point is why is this work being redone?..didnt Labour have a Future of Work working party only a couple of years ago?…do they think our attention spans are so short?…when are they going to come to some conclussions and make decisions?….this is getting a little absurd
"Climate change is our generation's nuclear moment."
What are they doing about it?
Wringing their hands. And young people are sick of it.
+++++++++++++++++Yes Sasha
Labour’s Climate Change policies = all talk no do.
You mean the Green/Labor/NZFirst Government policies.
Plenty of talk from all of them so far.
I think its up to us Cleangreen
Boycott overseas travel, stop consuming in the extreme way we do , be happy doing it
Any way that you can persuade James Shaw to follow your prescription? He seems to think the only reason he is in Government is to give him an opportunity to skive off overseas while ignoring the complete shambles that is the Census.
James Shaw with Climate Change = Minister Robertson with tax reform.
Shaw has bigger things in mind than yours can cope with .
Frantically mouth rinsing, to get rid of the halitosis, although it doesn’t smell like uranium this time …
Labour needs to do what they promised to do.
"Mr Twyford's defence is that promises made by Jacinda Ardern as Labour leader are completely different from promises made by Jacinda Ardern as Prime Minister."
https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2019/02/jacinda-ardern-breaks-the-first-promise-she-made-as-labour-leader.html
Hopefully our Govt. will be able to keep a few important commitments to those in real need – other than keeping those precious Uni Students happy 🤫
This is a false meme from the right wing. The fees free policy encourages all tertiary education both academic and vocational. It encourages young people into post secondary training who were most likely to forego that training due to cost other class barriers.
"This is a false meme from the right wing" really !!! tell that to those students at ECE/Primary/Secondary that are in need of assistance, that there is inadequate funding. Try asking about students/parents regarding RTL or dyslexia, support for those with learning needs, Leaky school buildings that there is no funding to remediate, inadequate remuneration, etc That thanks to shortfalls will struggle to be able to benefit from tertiary education funding and extra funding for accomodation.
I would suggest, Muttonbird, try talking to teachers and find out how in need the sector is.
Up late last night watching how-to renovation videos on Youtube, and came across this new series by Grand Designs – The Street.
A better solution – I think – then selling off crown or local government land to developers to provide housing. Another not mentioned benefit is that you end up with a long-term community, made up of a variety of people from all walks of life, instead of what we have now in many areas – segregation by economics.
First episode currently on Youtube:
Grand Designs – The Street – Episode 1
Just letting you know Molly that i have copied and put in How to get here as this sounds interesting and may show us the way.
Pretty interesting
https://www.salon.com/2019/04/21/reporter-sharmine-narwani-on-the-secret-history-of-americas-defeat-in-syria/
A long read but a good one.
Her thesis is that Syria was a differently formatted WW, and the constellations have shifted post US defeat(or failure to gain a victory…regime change)
Yes, I've just read that. Sharmine Narwani is no slouch and certainly no government's patsy
I read an account she wrote of the Palestinian/Syrian relationship. Its a very complex relationship.
There's no two paragraph sound bite with Sharmine's articles. They're
very informative.
Like to read that
Here ya go
https://mideastshuffle.com/2014/11/17/stealing-palestine-who-dragged-palestinians-into-syrias-conflict/
Ta
Much appreciated
Counting in the Ukrainian presidential election is indicating a rout: comedian Volodymyr Zelensky is currently at 73%, incumbent Poroshenko is at less than 25%.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-48007487
One can imagine the eyes of comedians all over the world lighting up as the possibilities of this trend occur to them…
Life imitates art: "Zelensky starred in the long-running satirical drama Servant of the People in which his character accidentally becomes Ukraine's president."
"He plays a teacher who is elected after his expletive-laden rant about corruption goes viral on social media. He ran under a political party with the same name as his show."
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-48007487
He talks of ending the war in the east with a massive infowar program, and also intends to re start the Minsk process.
Apparently the various embassies are scrambling, they don't know what to make of him .How much he's under Kolomoisky's thumb no one knows.
Pretty hard to avoid the influence of oligarchs in Ukraine.
The traditional path to political success in democracies is to be all things to all people. He could signal that he will be that traditionalist by continually recycling the name of his show/party, for instance by ending all his speeches with "your servant, Volodymyr".
Equally, he ought to sign off on his emails to his patron, the oligarch, "your servant, Volodymyr". When he issues a polite request to the Ukrainian media, same sign-off. That way everyone ends up on the same page and all can acknowledge that he is indeed a classic democratic politician.
Humour is the best strategy when conducting foreign relations, as the ongoing UN dysfunction continues to prove. So his relations with Russia will improve immensely as soon as he suggests to Putin that they team up in the Vlad & Volod Show, a weekly current affairs review which will feature laughter as the best medicine.
Putin needs to loosen up more, and presenting as more human than Russians knew he could be would be a clever move for him. Entertaining the populace of both countries simultaneously would be tremendously therapeutic. Even more vodka could get sold.
Latest update: "Volodymyr Zelenskiy and Petro Poroshenko have gained 73.17 percent and 24.5 percent of the vote, respectively, the country’s Central Election Commission (CEC) has said after it processed 90.1 percent of the voting protocols. Zelenskiy is leading in all regions, except Lviv region."
https://www.kyivpost.com/ukraine-politics/zelenskiy-leading-with-73-17-percent-followed-by-poroshenko-with-24-5-percent.html
Are all the people who are convinced that Trump only made it to the Presidency going to start in on the story that Zelensky only got the votes reported here because the Russians rigged the result?
Clearly it must all be due to Putin's machinations.
Collusion? Depends on the angle you view it from, eh? View it from the left, you may be able to discern puppet strings…
"Zelensky, whose only previous political role was playing the president in a TV show, trounced incumbent Petro Poroshenko by taking 73 percent of the vote, according to partial official results. Poroshenko garnered just 24 percent, losing to the 41-year-old comedian and actor across the country, with 42 percent of ballots counted."
https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/ukraine-comedian-volodymyr-zelensky-wins-presidency-in-landslide-2026466
"Exit polls showed Zelensky took 87 percent of the vote in eastern Ukraine and defeated Poroshenko even in the west, where the incumbent traditionally enjoyed strong support. Poroshenko, 53, said the results were clear and enough reason to "call my opponent and congratulate him". "I will leave office but I want to firmly stress — I will not quit politics," Poroshenko said in a speech at his campaign headquarters… "We realise that the Kremlin might be enjoying the election result," he said."
"The outgoing leader came to power after a 2014 pro-Western uprising ousted a Kremlin-backed regime, triggering Moscow's annexation of Crimea. His supporters credited him with rebuilding the army and securing an Orthodox Church independent of Russia. But many feel the country's ruling elite have forgotten the promises of the revolution."
"The comic shunned traditional campaign rallies and instead performed comedy gigs and used social media to appeal to voters." Way to go, dude! Don't bore voters to death at those old robotic rallies, entertain them instead. Politics as fun! Enchant those voters!
The Ukranians got sick and tired of the clowns running their country so they put in a real clown instead.
My idea of European clowns is often they are politically savvy. Also they understand people's norms and how to tickle their humour, so understands people. This man could do a very good job compared to someone who has just sold himself for a whim or campaign money and is taking on a task above his level of competence. USA!
Te radar for Governor General.
Ursula Carlson for the Attorney General.
Hadn't heard Urzila Carlson. She exaggerates how sweet we are in NZ! Acshually a bit like PM Jacinda.
Britain. How do they produce such filth?
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12224324
The rise of the extreme right in Britain makes me think it's a once great nation on a steep decline.
Hopkins is living proof that racism and hate can take years off people’s lives.
Ugly person
Imagine if Piers Morgan and Hopkins had a child together.
Would definitely be a candidate for anti christ superstar.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Katie_Hopkins#Personal_life – Katie Hopkins bounces off walls from one job to another. There is money to be made in the UK from being foul apparently – and our forebears came here with such high-flown notions in their head. Every advancement for the people had to be fought long and hard for – now they come here to gobble up what we managed to create.
We know that London in the UK has fatbergs in its sewers, is Katie Hopkins something that got washed up onto the street after one of the blockages that can be about 3.5m high? They require daily work as they emerge under the city. Or perhaps noxious gases have affected her memory – our noses are very sensitive and closely situated to the brain. There must be some explanation for the poor quality journalism and the media's acceptance of this attacking, harrowing method of soapboxing, but without the soap.
Perhaps it is that she has some big health issues – borderline healthy – and she takes it out on her unfortunate prey.
Probably the same way this country makes a whaleoil, a Henry or a Hoskins.
Of course D'Felon has to get in on the fuckwittery.
https://twitter.com/DineshDSouza/status/1120132146738364416
https://twitter.com/DineshDSouza/status/1119985677188390913
Disha Doucha must have inside knowledge on the perpetrators.
Well you won't find out reading The Standard.
Further signs the Nats are being dragged to the left (Labour also being dragged to the right for other reasons).
After NZ's most racist man, Don Brash, banned Nat MPs from standing in Maori seats, Jo Hayes considers 'going home'.
https://i.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/112087438/national-mp-jo-hayes-keen-to-stand-in-mori-electorate
Winston Peters again in the gun and I’d have to agree that this government is being held back by him and his party.
When you have the entire country ready for some sort of CGT and Nat MPs wanting to return to Maori seats yet Peters is the fly in the ointment you have to wonder what kind of damage he is now doing to the country.
The sooner he fucks off the better.
Question:
Who here would party vote National if they campaigned for CGT on rental properties?
Given that Labour are now unable to do so…I would.
Not a chance, the rest of the damage is too high.
Besides which, the difference between paying income tax at ones marginal rate based on a bright line test of 10 years, and a CGT at 15% is basically nil. (I’m aware the current test is 5 years, but am leaving some room to extend)
I suggested the other day that JA could extend the bright line test to 25 years but Wayne told me she doesn't rule by decree.
I don't know for sure but I imagine Peters owes a great deal to Labour right now.
It would require legislative change, but will probably be part of the 2020 election policy suite.
Robertson said it was “unlikely” to be a further extension of the bright-line test as they've taken a CGT off the table and the bright-line test represents a form of that.
https://www.interest.co.nz/news/99226/finance-minister-grant-robertson-effectiveness-taxing-land-bankers-why-bright-line-test
CGT is just a tax, but a good political party really smokes.
Not me – the TWG showed the biggest capital freeloaders were Ag,Forestry, & Fishing. The Gnats cannot in any case be trusted to do what they promise – Key campaigned on fixing housing – he fixed it so kiwis couldn't buy it anymore.
If the Gnats rolled out a fully costed set of economic policies that actually addressed declining outcomes, productivity and sustainability, which is well beyond them – they still could not be trusted to implement them.
A man of 89 in Auckland falls because of a large gap in the pavement and dies. https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12224015
A chapter of accidents. He had some hospital care and was sent home in a taxi although his parnter would have picked him up. He didn't arrive home. Then she phoned the hospital but they had nothing to tell her, and not knowing where he was she phoned the police. Some time after the hospital advised that he had been admitted after a fall, and she could come and get him after treatment. Then she found he had a gash across his forehead and was in intensive care.
The taxi should be instructed to take a patient to his or her home not drop them off at the shops. The instructions from the hospital should be quite clear. Better still phone the family.
The supershitty is too busy being grand to listen to the wants of ratepayers and the holes round ornamental trees should have been filled in as they say has been requested for a long time. When you think of the constant conniptions by Health and Safety on small business and private people, the authorities are playing us for suckers, local and national government.
"But hey hold on, the Statistics Department concludes: “Inflation was low in the March 2019 quarter because of falls in the prices of petrol and international airfares.” Right. So, apparently, the people struggling to pay for their smokes at the supermarket can take comfort from the fact that the price of getting to the Amalfi Coast for their winter holidays just got cheaper. So, maybe we’re not measuring the price fluctuations in any basket of goods that’s relevant to most New Zealanders. By the way, the cost of non–tradeable goods and services rose by 3% in the past year. So much for inflation being low to non-existent. In the real world, prices are going up."
http://werewolf.co.nz/2019/04/gordon-campbell-on-scrapping-the-capital-gains-tax/
Ah…theres that convenient CPI in operation again
How the fuck have i become waghorni.
That bloody cursor is still in the name bit ever time i go to comment
No sure, I think that’s why one of your comments ended up in moderation, briefly.
Cheers . Im having problems with being unable to right comments some times due to the cursor being in the name section and not being able to get ot to shift to the comment box .
I’m afraid I won’t be of much help to you, but hopefully somebody else might shed some light upon this.
I assume you use a mobile phone.
I never use a mobile phone and always type on a keyboard and in Word first. Thanks to this, many a stupid comment of mine got deleted before it even made it into the TS comment box …
It also avoids the strain on eyes, neck, and fingers using a device that’s euphemistically called a smart-phone
That happens to me on the computer where I select all in the name box, cut and paste it into where I want it to be. Then put my name back in the right place. Then I haven't lost the bits of comment that have got into the name box while I have merrily been typing away. I admire you people who are doing it all from a phone. Marvels.
Maybe a hyphen is the way to go,
like wag-horni
bit suspect but probably true 🤔
Hint for jackson – stfu
https://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/news/112188523/wellington-mayor-wont-take-legal-action-over-sir-peter-jacksons-shelly-bay-serve
I agree Jackson should but out. It's just sad that the Trust appears wedded to capitalism and has partnered with Cassel's "The Wellington Company"… kind of ironic.
It's a shame that Jackson and Maori cannot come to a mutually satisfactory conclusion. Opportunities for suitable Maori to have apprenticeships with him. People need to see him as having something to offer instead of going all sour because he didn't play their game.
No-one else in NZ could have done the job with LOR and we now have another string to our bow, big film making and model making. With so many people willing to spit on entrepreneurs it isn't surprising that we languish in a jobless low wage environment – you don't kick a possible employer in the teeth because you want more money, you keep talking and thinking. He is here, and could be worked with to build up an apprenticeship, get some ongoing advantages.
They don't come often – cunning minds work at how to get opportunities, not march in the streets complaining. But the leaders of the march might as well have said 'Let them eat grass' – nothing could have been the outcome.
But but… the Nazis are in Ukraine.
/
https://www.haaretz.com/jewish/arson-disrupts-passover-meal-at-russia-s-largest-yeshiva-in-eastern-moscow-suburb-1.7142895
But but ..the Nazis are in Ukraine
You're bang on there Joe
Not often we agree
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/apr/11/ultranationalism-in-ukraine-a-photo-essay
Yet Volodymyr Zelensky will be the first Jewish president of Ukraine (and the second Jewish head of a European nation) and Poland's resurrected their old beat the Jew ritual, too. Funny old world, eh.
Duuuh!
https://www.radionz.co.nz/news/business/387548/airbnb-likely-cause-of-high-rents-in-queenstown-researcher
RIP Blair Peach. Not forgotten.
https://youtu.be/RfmVqE8wYIQ