Renegade Inc: Rentier Britain: all the rent goes to the 1%
There are three fundamental issues that lie at the heart of our current economic malaise: the first is unearned income and wealth from land rent ( plus property speculation for capital Gain), second the creation of money by privately owned banks, and the third is rent-seeking that is used to juice profits out of intellectual property through copyright and patents (TPPA). But the political class, supported by lobbying, continues to avoid addressing these issues (Current Labour Government does not impose a CGT). So monopolies grow larger and larger, and as they do, more and more people are excluded from the economy ( Our young couples can’t afford to buy homes but must rent for life). To really address the root causes, why don’t we start by calling out the rentier economy as a structural issue that no progressive society can actually afford?
I think the yellow vest protests in France have been more sustained, with far more violence from the authorities, ..people have been blinded and killed by the police and the protests have been going since last November
"Bridges is one bad poll away from oblivion and he will not win the keys to Premier House by earnest attention to detail and well written speeches. He needs to slay a dragon. Through the heart. With a wooden stake. "
I read this earlier, today, thinking what a badly written piece of opinion. The reference to our incumbent PM was a cheap throwaway and the reference to Winston Peters’ handmaidens was, well, a joke considering who occupies seats on his side of the House.
However, referring to Bridge's earnest attention to detail and well written speeches. I have heard him make three speeches in public forums and I would not have characterised them as well- written. I have heard him in the House and he does not come anywhere nearing slaying Winston with his rhetoric. Quite the reverse.
The real dragon sits on his side of the House, tail flicking amidst the desolation……
The article says this. "It is a huge gamble but it also would define Bridges as a leader of courage, honour and integrity. It makes an effective contrast with the incumbent whose power is buttressed by Golriz Ghahraman on her left and Shane Jones on her right."
Now, that means that in Mr Grant's opinion our present Prime Minister does not possess 'courage, honour and integrity' because he says that Bridges would be defined on this way (by doing what Grant says he should) which is in contrast to the PM.
Now that's cheap political writing, with nothing to back it up except somehow to argue that a person of courage, inregrity and honour would not be connected in a coalition with a Green or NZ First politician.
There is nothing to back up those assertions excpt a cheap shot at Peters saying he had only done three things in his political career, and then even wrote them down.
This is political opinion, based on poor analysis. It's just tribal crap that I'd expect from a party hack in a bar-room debate after several Speights.
It kind of ironic I think that the same "Mr Grant" – although everyone deserves a second chance insists on "reading between the lines" and giving his version of the conduct of others.I read and re-read this story and while no doubt it is all "pretty legal" it gave me the sense that he was commenting on more than is his jurisdiction and obligation to perform a service, I wouldn't mind betting he couldn't lie straight in bead but feels free to be judge and jury on a lot of other people and even moreso "Stuff" pays him for his "opinion" I have decided that Stuff can stuff its Sunday rag.
Actually, strike minnows. Bridges is a salmon, earnestly trying to swim upstream far enough to briefly spawn a government, but frankly even if he gets there he'll be politically dead shortly after.
Simon is not the kind that slays dragons, much less a wily old wyrm like Winston. If he had been, non-performers like Nick & Gerry (and Paula) would be long gone. Simon is a seat-warmer waiting for someone else to solve his problems, which makes him a natural leader for the current Gnats, but as relevant to winning anything as Jack Falstaff. As Gandalf said ‘in this neighborhood heroes are scarce, or simply lot to be found. “
Damien Grant is a "columnist" – presumably to separate his contribution, suitable for a partisan blog, from an article by a "reporter", giving facts from some event or speech, or a "journalist" who provides evidence or logical argument for statements put forward. To say that a politician "one bad poll away from oblivion" has the power to slay another politician by a decision to further isolate his party is laughable. We are having mid-term speculation based on nothing however we have predictable discussions as to whether small parties will disappear – again based on little evidence. Unfortunately it is easy to click on a headline before realising who it was written by . . .
The National Party zoologist Steven Joyce would never use a wooden stake to slay a dragon through the heart. Instead, he’d use a rubber dildo and poke it in the eye.
Lessons from legalising weed: don't make it too hard to become a legal seller, and don't tax it too much, and be serious about ensuring sellers actually are legal. If you don't, then it's too easy and tempting for illegal sellers to just carry on.
Yes, Anne, Granny has had quite the field day with that article and the one I'll link to, which was at the top of their website writ large for several hours with an accompanying photo dragged no doubt out of their collection of less than pleasant pics of the PM. I noted that none of the other news outlets had this headline anywhere on their sites – not even Newshub! No names attributed to the articles, of course. https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12251488
Speaking to fellow broadcaster Sky News Australia host Peta Credlin, commentator Gemma Tognini said of the Kiwi PM: "It's very, very cute for her to come to another country and morally posturise the way she has been.
Good grief. In other words, "don't you come over here and shame us about the ways that we treat people here!"
That is what this rightist dislike of "virtue signalling" is -the bully does not like being called for what he or she is doing.
My wife and I are on a month long trip to Europe. Talked cricket with a Banglideshi waiter in a restaurant in a quiet part of Venice far away from San Marco. He was able to watch the final, which was more than we were able to do, being en route between cities at the time.
But, and here's the point, he also made reference to the March massacre and how lucky we are as country to have such a wonderful prime minister who showed such compassion and feeling (his words)
The article he links to is interesting too, although not quite as harsh in its evaluation of the Greens.
Oh well, C'est la vie. I don't think they will be missed form Parliament, particularly when one looks at the spectacular stuff-up Shaw managed in his overseeing of Statistics in the Census.
The Greens won't make it past 5% if Martyn Bradbury has anything to do with it, sure. Fortunately, he won't have anything to do with it.
This bit from the Stuff article is far more significant than Bradbury's sour grapes:
The Greens are more worried about external threats: the negative Facebook posts that spread dubious claims during the Australian election campaign. There's every chance Topham Guerin, the Kiwi firm behind much of the Liberals' successful digital campaign will return to home soil in 2020.
Pretty much, although "dubious claims" is a euphemism for "outright lies." Those guys will make Dirty Politics look like the amateur hour it was.
You do realize kiwis have a far stronger history of voting governments out than in correct? Although I still think Labour and NZFirst can go it with the Greens, it would be better if the Greens stayed in don't you think? Unless the electorates are so stupid as to believe rainbows on the Internet will gift the Greens a spot on government.
This “spectacular stuff-up Shaw managed in his overseeing of Statistics in the Census” was not shouting that Census data had been hacked by a black ops team working for a bunch of dirty politicians, was it? That would indeed be a sackable offence.
Wasn't very impressed much when the female co-leader did that interview about some policy, but didn't have the stats to back it up, but the stats male co-leader did for his, along with her being clobbered about it by the previous guy ( who i guess didn't go back to OZ, anyway )
Whatever else, they need to sort out those kind of stuff ups.
I agree that especially in the coms department all three coalition parties individually as well as collectively in the coalition Government could do heaps better. However, I also think that the media love to whip any molehill into a giant stuff up of epic proportions. We also tend to forget that things here in NZ are perhaps not nearly as bad as in other countries where bigly stuff ups are the norm such as Oz, Gr-Br, and US-A. I don’t know about you, but I prefer the NZ stuff ups to war mongers looking for a fight.
I like different. I like how MMP is slowly growing up. I like how NZ (not just Jacinda Ardern) is carving out a niche in the world of geo-politics. I know that there’s a shed load of things to change here and despite the many stuff ups and snail’s pace of change in many areas progress is being made. I like that too.
Last night Country Calendar on TV was about some entrepreneurial people near Nelson who have developed a business around processing various types of nuts. We got to see bags full, thousands of nuts. Good to see, they've done very well.
It came to mind this afternoon when I got in a car that had Magic Radio on (or whatever they call themselves.) Sean Plunket was on and in the few minutes I heard him I had considerably more exposure to nutty than I'd had in half an hour the night before.
That Country Calendar was about Uncle Joe's in Blenheim. Sort of near Nelson- just over the hill 110 km away! Also manufacture flour, oil and spreads made from nuts and seeds. The shells even make a garden mulch which deters snails!
One industry modeling that you can come up with that someone thinks Wahine gets paid more than men get a grip what about all the other organizations that pay Wahine less than men .
I say a gun register is needed to trace the guns back to the owners not all licensed gun owners are responsible citizens + the police will know how many and what type of guns are in Aotearoa. That Christchurch fool was not a gangster was he.
You know what I seen on the weekend a big flash million dollar playground in Cambridge full of children playing. A carpark bigger than the playgrounds in Fairysprings or Maraenui .
We are currently constructing our bathing facilities the systems will be powered by Te Ra and Ahi
Wildlife Seagulls its about survival a tame small dog could quite easily be a birds lunch birds are quite awesome hunters.
These businesses having losses because of the city rail link in Auckland during construction. Do business pay more when times are good No.
That was a funny but a mistake from the greens.
Thats is a great leak the polling shows national is not craling out of that hole .
I think that the undercover sandflys in Aotearoa have long strings connected to the White House.
Michael Eco Maori is correct in the reasons why I chose to blog to 3 tv because every story you screen is a attack on the government.
Ka pai to Greenpeace for the Abigail Smith and co for protesting and climbing a building we only have one environment we don't have a multiverse like some would like us to believe te oil barons muppets.
Its is sad that the police are pushing te tangata whenua protesters in Auckland off their whenua thats the way they use the courts in Aotearoa to hit tangata whenua on the head with the court system Eco Maori tryed to use the courts system to defend himself but the sandflys interfere in my attempt to get JUSTICE muppets are shit scared to face Eco Maori in COURT. They are trying to control me but every time they try they just give Eco Maori more mana.
Eco Maori tau toko his Whanau in Te Wairoa in there quest to BAN PEE FROM Wairoa I have heaps of Whanau in Te Wairoa I want the SHIT BANNED FROM Te taiwhiti East Coast to Banned from Aotearoa to.
Te Wahine should have a choice of abortion if they need it there are many reasons why they would want a abortion I don't think it should be a crime to have a abortion .
The resource management act needs to be replaced with one that doesn't place such huge cost on building a whare . Its's bloody ridiculous the charges from council to build a whare $20.000 just to get consent to build a driveway onto your property . These huge changes for resorce concent to build a whare are pushing tangata whenua out of owning there own whare is that what some designed it to do like the huge cost to servaying tangata whenua whenua in the old days Maori had to sell there whenua to pay the cost of the servaying.
Eco Maori says Aotearoa needs to respect China .
Great game of Netball awesome win.
Ka Pai to Indonesia for considering closings the Island that Kamodo Dragons live on to save there habitat. Ka kite ano
With an unfair voting system, uneven electorates and an un-elected upper house, the UK's "democracy" is barely worthy of the name. But now the government wants to make it worse:The government has been accused of suppressing voters’ rights with the potential disenfranchisement of tens of thousands of people after plans ...
Back in the 90's and early 2000's, the building industry was building leaky homes which should never have been granted consent. Now it turns out they've been building dodgy office blocks as well:New imaging technology has revealed hundreds of major buildings nationwide have defective or missing concrete or reinforcing steel. ...
Local body election results were released over the weekend, to joy or despair depending on where you live. In Auckland, Phil Goff trounced John Tamihere, who is muttering darkly about running for Parliament again (but which party would want him?) Wellington is now a wholly-owned subsidiary of Weta Workshop, except ...
Two years have now gone by since the Friday afternoon when my university-student son and I headed out of our Barcelona flat to a nearby primary school, designated as a polling station for the vote that was to be held the following Sunday: the referendum on Catalonia’s independence from Spain ...
Overruled: The joint decision of Finance Minister, Grant Robertson (Labour) and his Associate Minister, David Parker (Labour) arguably the two most powerful ministers in Jacinda Ardern’s government, to grant OceanaGold the consents which Land Information Minister, Eugenie Sage (Greens) had earlier denied them, offers bitter proof of how hard fighting ...
More than double the number of people who will vote in this year’s local body elections have tried marijuana or urinated somewhere they shouldn’t have. As local elections look set for the lowest turnout in decades, with many regions falling well short of 40%, the Government is exploring a number ...
A Statement on Abortion Law Reform by the Council of Disobedient Women On the eve of bringing an end to antiquated, anti-women abortion laws Green MP Jan Logie intends to write women out of the Bill. With a stroke of the pen, the woke are aiming for total erasure ...
Musings continue apace about “the experienced businessman!” soon to be taking up a National Party MP position. Or to be more accurate, being parachuted into a seat to shut down their former MP Jamie-Lee Ross, who despite his own shortcomings shed at least some more light on the inner workings ...
The Ugandan government wants to murder gay people:Uganda has announced plans to impose the death penalty on homosexuals. The bill, colloquially known as “Kill the Gays” in Uganda, was nullified five years ago on a technicality, but the government said on Thursday it plans to resurrect it within weeks. The ...
Freedom Of Speech? The Säuberung (cleansing by fire) was the work of the German Student Union which, on 10 May 1933, under the watchful eye of the Nazi Reichminister for Propaganda, Joseph Goebbels, consigned 25,000 books to the flames in a ritual exorcism of “un-German thought”. According to the logic of the ...
“There can be no such thing as kaupapa Māori political parties or politics in Aotearoa” (Willie Jackson, Labour Party (2017). Māori TV, General/List Election Special) I begin with that claim because at the time, I was confounded at first that it fell out of Willie Jackson’s mouth, and then ...
New Zealand’s media is doing its part in Japan, reassuring those in the path of the storm that they won’t miss any rugby while away from their flooded homes. New Zealand sports reporters stationed in Japan for the Rugby World Cup have had the rare and heartwarming opportunity to inform ...
Regional Development Minister Shane Jones is the only Cabinet member in favour of putting it all on green. As Finance Minister Grant Robertson finds himself with an enormous $7.5 billion surplus, the Government has begun intense, at times contentious conversations about whether to put the money on red or black at ...
by Susanne Kemp At the start of September close to 100,000 school teachers went on strike in Jordan. They demanded a 50% pay rise. A pay rise actually agreed to by the regime back in 2014. In early October, however, in the face of government repression and threats, the teachers’ ...
Back in 2011, journalist Nicky Hager published Other People's Wars, an expose on NZDF's activities over the previous decade of the "war on terror". NZDF didn't like this, and especially didn't like the fact that it was base don leaks from their own. So, they had the SIS investigate him ...
The Zero Carbon Bill is due back from select committee in two weeks, and will likely pass its final stages in November. So naturally, farmers are planning a hate-march against it. But they're not just demanding lower methane targets so they can keep on destroying the planet; they're also demanding ...
Last year, California burned. This year, to stop it happening again (or rather, to stop themselves from being found liable if it happens again), Pacific Gas and Electric is cutting power to half the state for a week:Schools are closed. Traffic lights down. Tunnels dark. Businesses unopened. Hospitals running on ...
The Best Way: Missing from the on-line voting debate is any reference to the voting system that produces turn-out figures ranging from 77 to 93 percent of registered voters. The voting system used to collect and count the votes cast in our parliamentary elections. The system that involves citizens making ...
Among the great new bunch of political friends we have been making recently is the excellent Australian-based Marxist gender-critical site, Freer Lives. So we asked the comrade who set up that blog to write something for Redline on the blog, himself, his analysis of the rise of gender politics and ...
by Don Franks The Auckland City Mission is struggling with a 40 percent increase in demand for food parcels this year. A total of 23,020 were needed by June. Last month Missioner Chris Farrelly told the Herald the “cupboards are bare” and without an emergency food drive, he can’t see ...
by The Council of Disobedient Women Massey Wellington Student Association had a sit-in today. Imagine a sit-in. On a campus. Against a women’s rights meeting. Did the ’60s really happen or did we fucking dream it? They gathered in the student square, an echo chamber. Sitting on soft pillows ...
For some reasons, my post about the mystery message from inside the Downing Street bunker seemed to catch people's attention. Quite a lot of hits from NZ (unsurprisingly) and the USA (a bit more puzzlingly, but hi there, USAians!!) and 76 views from the Ukraine.I've celebrated my Ukrainian readers in ...
First, almost a score of Labour MPs seem to have sent a letter to the EU basically begging them to accept a deal - any deal - just so Britain can get the Heck on with Brexiting instead of being trapped in limbo:
by Phil Duncan In 2016 the National-led government suspended the Parent Visa Category, through which migrants were able to bring their parents into New Zealand. Since then over 5,700 people have been in immigration limbo, stuck on the visa wait list. Labour is now bringing back the scheme. Well, sort ...
The following was released yesterday (Tues, October 8) by the women’s liberation organisation Speak Up for Women. On 23 September Speak Up For Women announced that we would be holding an event at the Massey University Theaterette in Wellington. The event is called Feminism 2020. The intention of the event ...
The government is currently consulting on plans to improve freshwater quality. So naturally, farmers oppose it:South Taranaki farmers are preparing to fight proposed national freshwater changes that some fear will bankrupt them. The Government's proposed National Environment Standard on Freshwater Management, released in September, rated the Waingongoro River as one ...
Yesterday was the last day for (reliably) posting your vote away in local body elections. Turnouts are mostly much lower than the equivalent time last year (Palmerston North is down 2.3%), and so naturally people are pushing their online-voting snake oil again. Because the online census worked so well, lets ...
This essay, on the political legacy of the eugenics movement, by Kenan Malik was originally published in the Observer on 6 October 2019, under the headline ‘The spirit of eugenics is still with us, as immigrants know to their cost’. Birth control. Intelligence tests. Town planning. Immigration controls. It’s striking how ...
Another year, and the government has announced another enormous government "surplus". And just like last year, its nothing of the sort. When we have people homeless and sick and hungry, when we have schools and hospitals still falling down, when we have underpaid public servants and infrastucture unmaintained or unbuilt, ...
James Forsyth at The Spectator (I know, I know) has tapped one of his contacts inside Number Ten for an insight into the Johnson administration's thinking and strategy.It is fascinating, unsettling and quite, quite mad. Some key points:Negotiations have stalled and the Johnson administration are keen to blame the EU: ...
Fatal Contact: With the arrival of captain James Cook in October 1769, the islands of what would become New Zealand ceased to be the preserve of Polynesian navigators and settlers and became a part of both the world’s map and the world’s history.THE MAORI NATIONALIST assault upon the historical meaning ...
Another round of tactical talks about forming a Government of National Unity have come to nothing with the Liberal Democrats still refusing countenance putting Jeremy Corbyn into Downing Street:Opposition talks on Monday made little headway over when to try and vote down Boris Johnson's government and who might succeed him as ...
by Nick Rogers The debate around the meaning of sex and gender made an appearance at this year’s British Labour Party conference in Brighton. Women’s Place UK – an organisation that questions the demand that biological males who self-identify as woman should have access to women’s spaces, to all-women shortlists, ...
Yesterday I went down to Wellington to participate in the Extinction Rebellion protest. Its part of the latest global wave of XR actions, with actions happening all over the world. Some of those protests are massively disruptive: in Canada, XR is blocking major bridges, stopping people from getting to work. ...
The Workshop is a charitable trust for public good. The Workshop undertake research to find ways of communicating that will build support for the solutions that work to solve complex social and environmental problems. See their Report on Talking about Poverty and Welfare Reform below. ...
Being and Being Bought (Spinifex Press, 2013) by Kajsa Ekis Ekman A synopsis and commentary of Chapters 1-2 by Daphna Whitmore Ekman, a Swedish journalist and critic, brings together a Marxist and feminist analysis of prostitution and surrogacy in this groundbreaking book She opens the discussion with a definition of ...
I make no claims to having much legal knowledge, so I defer to those trained in this area.I am very much enjoying this twitter stream from m'learned friend in Edinburgh, deciphering the legal arguments around the Scottish court challenge to Boris Johnson, based on the charmingly obscure principle of Nobile ...
Ivory Folly? The University of Auckland’s Vice-Chancellor, Professor Stuart McCutcheon, upheld the right of the radical nationalist group, Action Zealandia to exercise their freedom of speech – not matter how distasteful that speech might be. A wiser community of students and scholars would have nodded their agreement and moved on. ...
If you are not convinced terrorist Organisation ‘Extinction Rebellion’ is very, very dangerous – watch this video at one of their recent meetings. Not only is this obviously mentally ill Woman begging the other terrorists to promote killing and “eating” babies and children, if you watch carefully other members nod ...
The Ombudsman has been surveying people about their knowledge of the OIA and the right to information. Unfortunately, it doesn't seem that widespread:The Chief Ombudsman says too many New Zealanders were in the dark over their right to access official information. Peter Boshier said an independent survey released yesterday on ...
In the wake of last Friday's climate strike, Peter McKenzie had an article in The Spinoff about protest strategies. The school strike movement is "polite" and cooperates with those in power because that's its kaupapa - its led by schoolkids who understandably don't want to risk arrest. But there's more ...
So, the latest ruminations on the gnews from Westminster (Again, sorry; I'll stop making that pun right now). This follows on from, and likely repeats bits of, my last post, on the suggestion that a Government of National Unity (GNU) should be set up and then oversee a referendum before ...
New Zealand likes to think of itself as not a racist country (despite being founded on the racist dispossession and subjugation of Maori). But for years, we've had a racist refugee policy, which basicly excludes refugees from Africa and the Middle East unless they already have relatives here. Now, the ...
Several people have asked me whether a particular repeat litigant could be declared a vexatious litigant, in light of their recent decision to appeal an adverse High Court ruling. My nascent tweet thread was getting ridiculously long, so it became this blog post instead.The short answer is: no. The particular ...
Appealing To The Past: Action Zealandia, like so many of the organisations springing up on the far-Right, across what they call the “Anglosphere”, is born out of the profound confusion over what a man is supposed to be in the twenty-first century and, more importantly, what he is supposed to do.THE STATUE OF ...
The attempts of anti-democratic transactivists to (often violently) disrupt women’s rights organising is largely ignored by those sections of the left most prone to misogyny and authoritarianism in New Zealand. In Britain, however, scores of trade union and left activists added their names to a letter in July, defending ...
The Justice Committee has reported back on the Criminal Cases Review Commission Bill. The Bill would establish an independent, quasi-judicial body to investigate and review potential miscarriages of justice, and refer them back to the Court of appeal if required. It would be a vital backstop to our judiciary, help ...
by The Spark On September 14, a total of 22 drones and cruise missiles struck two oil installations in Saudi Arabia, the Abqaiq processing facility and the Khurais oil field. Abqaiq is the largest oil production facility in the world. For a few days afterwards, Saudi Aramco, the Saudi national ...
How much will NeoLiberal irregulation of the building sector and subsequent leaky homes crisis cost us? $47 billion, according to a new book:The total cost to fix all of New Zealand's leaky homes would be $47 billion, probably. The estimate comes from a new book, Rottenomics written by journalist Peter ...
Below is the start of another excellent article on the Freer Lives blog. Click onto the link at the end of this extract to read the full article. The punch-a-terf, kill-a-terf message pervades social media, always righteously delivered, chin held high. By contrast, the dehumanised “terfs” themselves, that is gender-critical ...
The Reserve Bank is currently planning tighter banking regulation, requiring banks to hold enough local capital to survive a 1-in-200 year financial crisis in order to protect consumers. The big Aussies banks, those foreign leeches who suck $5 billion in profit out of our economy every year, don't like that, ...
Its the usual story: a police officer beats a handcuffed suspect so hard they break one of their own fingers. The IPCA investigates and concludes that the use of force was unlawful. And the police refuse to do anything about it:A man punched repeatedly in the face by a police ...
From time to time we add links to our blogroll. The latest blog we have added is Freer Lives. This is a Marxist gender-critical blog, based in Melbourne, Australia. On it you will find a bunch of excellent articles which use the tools of Marxist analysis to critique the rise ...
Last Friday say the largest protest in a generation, as 170,000 people joined the school strike and marched to demand real action on climate change. The demands of the school strike were simple and clear: declare a climate emergency, set a climate target of net-zero by 2040, impose a total ...
Labour is a rather middle of the road capitalist party and earlier this year we discussed how far from being ‘transformative’, Ardern’s government is. An article published this week in the Guardian, by Bryce Edwards (political scientist and commentator at Victoria University), looks at Ardern’s business as usual performance. Where ...
In the hours since my last interminable wittering about the possibility of a Government of National Unity (GNU) in Britain, there has been a slight maybe development:A Corbyn-led caretaker government could then sit for several months while it enacted and delivered a referendum with the support of smaller parties and ...
Jeremy Clarkson says much like Greta Thunberg, Anne Frank “didn’t like what was going on”, but “she didn’t have a tantrum about it.” Former Top Gear presenter Jeremy Clarkson has offered praise to historical figure Anne Frank, comparing her favourably to 16-year-old climate activist Greta Thunberg, who he attacked in ...
Press release by Speak Up For Women Lesbians from women’s rights group Speak Up For Women are furious at reports that Rainbow Tick are threatening Massey University with the removal of their ‘tick’ if they let the group’s event go ahead. The group has been under attack from trans ...
By Duncan Garner Before you jump down my throat, nobody cares about the environment more than me. I have a garden, and since my wife and I broke up, I’ve let it grow wildly out of control, so please don’t tell me I’m not doing enough for plants. They’re ten ...
Local government elections are upon us again. It is a fair bet that, when they are over, we will have all the usual complaints that, despite their undoubted importance, the turnout was depressingly low. So, why do local elections attract so little attention and involvement from the general public? I ...
Yesterday the High Court released its decision in Moncrief-Spittle v Regional Facilities Auckland Limited, on the (alleged) decision by the Auckland Council and Mayor Phil Goff to deny use of a public venue to a pair of visiting nazi grifters. Based on the information available back then, I said that ...
Image credit:45 Things I Wish I Knew Before Starting a Blog I notice a few regulars no longer allow public access to the site counters. This may happen accidentally when the blog format is altered. ...
So, more on the possibility of a Government of National Unity (GNU) in Britain.Two things, first. The numbers in parliament make things very difficult. And anyone who is saying X will happen or Y is impossible is spinning. We can not tell and will not know until votes are actually ...
The government is promising tough action against climate change via the Zero Carbon Bill and a strengthened ETS. Meanwhile, the Overseas investment Office is granting foreign coal companies permission to expand coal mining:Coal Action Network Aotearoa has slammed a decision by the Overseas Investment Office to allow Bathurst Coal to ...
Don't You Dare Let Them Down, Jacinda! Many New Zealanders, especially young New Zealanders, continue to believe that change – real change – is possible. Do we have criticisms about the way in which Jacinda’s government has gone about “transforming” New Zealand? Of course we do. But the very fact ...
. . With some historical and present context, it should become readily apparent to Pakeha that the occupation at Ihumātao is not a free-for-all conflict for any and everyone to become involved in. First, some important dates: . 1840 . The year in which the Treaty of Waitingi was signed. ...
Forestry Minister Shane Jones is considering reining in on conversions of farmland to forestry, and also issued a warning to foreign-owned forestry companies that make up nearly 75 per cent of the industry. He said too many foreign companies had not provided enough access for domestic processors to get timber. ...
Speaking to Radio NZ, New Zealand First leader Winston Peters said the tightening of the parental category visa is a direct result of the Party’s coalition negotiations with the Labour Party. He said the new changes switch the financial onus from the parent moving to New Zealand to the child ...
The Coalition Government is set to cut red tape in the building and construction sector in an effort to allow more houses to be built, including prefabricated houses. The changes will enable the mass factory production of "high quality" buildings, slash the likely number of building inspections for factory produced ...
Since coming into Government, we’ve worked hard to tackle homelessness and make sure everyone has a warm, dry home. And today, on World Homeless Day, we want to report back and update you on our progress so far. ...
New Zealand First leader Winston Peters has hit back at National Party leader Simon Bridges who criticized the Coalition Government’s approach to crime, and said that the latter isn't credible in his attack on the Government over gang recruitment. "We've got as massive drug problem in this country. It is ...
New Zealand Mānuka honey exporters have welcomed an initiative by the Coalition Government to help secure the term “mānuka honey” to be used exclusively by Kiwi exporters, ensuring that our multimillion-dollar industry is protected. Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones had recently announced that a Provincial Growth Funding of $5.7 ...
Political commentator Mike Hosking has labelled New Zealand First leader Winston Peters as “the voice of reason in a government soft on drugs”, for the Party’s stance on drug testing at music festivals. “If common sense is worth a vote, Winston Peters is quids in,” Mr Hosking said. The Labour ...
Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Regional Economic Development Fletcher Tabuteau has announced Provincial Growth Funding to ensure work opportunities in Turangi and Whanganui, through its skills and employment programme, Te Ara Mahi. A fund of $500,000 will go to Rafting NZ in Turangi for a 16-week river guide training course to train ...
Treasury has shown that the Coalition Government has a $7.5 billion surplus, which is $4 billion higher than what was expected in the 2019 Budget unveiled last May. It is also $2 billion higher than the actual surplus unveiled this time last year, and at a size that has not ...
Official Information Act figures released to NZME show there were 350 assaults on officers in the year to the end of June, 79 more than the year before. The increase in attacks have sparked calls for more legal protection for first responders to be enacted. The assaults included officers being ...
“Nobody wants to see babies uplifted”, this was the pronouncement of Minister for Children Hon. Tracey Martin as her department, Oranga Tamariki, faces multiple inquiries into the number of babies being taken from their families. “But a baby can die with a single punch, “the Minister continued. “So sometimes, Oranga ...
We're making progress on tackling the long-term challenges: from homelessness, to strengthening border security, to bringing banking back New Zealand's small towns. ...
Associate Transport Minister Shane Jones has backed the ambitious plan to move Auckland’s port to Northport, at Whangarei harbour, which he says will be the “King Kong of infrastructure”. The plan is part of the recommendations of a six-person independent working group, which has recommended the Ports of Auckland be ...
A six-member independent working group selected the option of moving Auckland’s port to Northport, in Whangarei, ahead of other options. In what could be New Zealand’s most ambitious infrastructure project yet, a major expansion of the Marsden Point port could happen within 15 years. The project, officially called the “Upper ...
The final Electricity Price Review recommended prohibiting prompt payment discounts but allowing “reasonable” late fees. The findings of this review was welcomed by the Coalition Government, but they hope companies will follow through with its recommendations without regulations needed to be passed. Meridian Energy had already stopped prompt payment discounts, ...
Fletcher Tabuteau, Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Regional Economic Development The Provincial Growth Fund (PGF)through its skills and employment programme, Te Ara Mahi,will invest nearly $600,000 to ensure work opportunities for locals in Turangia and Whanganui, Parliamentary Under Secretary for Regional Economic Development Fletcher Tabuteau announced today. “I’m pleased to announce the PGF ...
An export-led economy is one of New Zealand First’s key principles, and our commitment to achieving this is shown by the continuing skyrocketing demand for our beef and sheep meat exports. Beef + Lamb New Zealand's New Season Outlook 2019-20 report forecasts beef, lamb and mutton prices to lift from ...
Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones announced today in Gisborne an investment of $17.27m into bringing “world-leading” food-growing technology and the creation of more than 100 new jobs in the East Coast city. The funding comes from the Provincial Growth Fund, and included a $15 million loan to LeaderBrand, a ...
Hon Shane Jones, Minister for Regional Economic Development More than 100 people in Tairāwhiti’s Tolaga Bay will benefit from two employment initiatives supported by the Provincial Growth Fund, Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones and Employment Minister Willie Jackson announced today. “Tolaga Bay is an incredibly tight-knit community, but one in ...
Hon Shane Jones, Minister for Regional Economic Development The Provincial Growth Fund (PGF) is supporting Gisborne business Leaderbrand to produce salad vegetables year round and create more jobs in the Tairāwhiti region, Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones announced today. “Our support for Leaderbrand will help them build large greenhouses ...
“Nobody wants to see babies uplifted”, this was the pronouncement of Minister for Children Hon. Tracey Martin as her department, Oranga Tamariki, faces multiple inquiries into the number of babies being taken from their families. “But a baby can die with a single punch, “the Minister continued. “So sometimes, Oranga ...
Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones has praised the promise by New Zealand’s biggest banks not to close any provincial branches while the Coalition Government trials regional banking hubs across the country. The Minister said the announce was the “first sign of hope for regional communities”, many of which have ...
Rt Hon Winston Peters, New Zealand First Leader New Zealand First is proud to have delivered an upgrade of the SuperGold Card website and a new smartphone app, which will help unlock the full benefits of the SuperGold Card for 750,000 New Zealand seniors.Party Leader Rt Hon Winston Peters, ...
Delivering a key election campaign promise, New Zealand First is proud to have accomplished a long overdue upgrade of the SuperGold Card today. At an event in Auckland, New Zealand First leader Winston Peters joined Minister for Seniors Hon. Tracey Martin in unveiling the new website and smartphone app which ...
Another busy week, from speaking with world leaders on the world stage about climate change, to equipping our school leavers with everything they need to get ahead in life. ...
New Zealand First MP Shane Jones says Air New Zealand has "an obligation to look after Kiwis", and urged the national carrier not to hike up their prices after Jetstar airline announced their withdrawal from regional flights this week. The Provincial Champion also expressed his disappointment at Jetstar’s decision on ...
Fletcher Tabuteau, Under Secretary for Regional Economic Development The Provincial Growth Fund (PGF) will help fund a new dredge for the Port of Greymouth to ensure the regional fishing fleet have a reliable and productive harbour, Parliamentary Undersecretary for Regional Economic Development Fletcher Tabuteau announced today “Last year the movements of ...
Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones said he was "immensely disappointed" at the withdrawal of the Jetstar airline from regional routes. He has also warned national carrier Air New Zealand not to capitalise on the Australian budget airline’s decision by “gouging” regional air travellers. "Air New Zealand has historically challenged ...
International credit ratings agency Moody's gave a glowing assessment of New Zealand’s economy in its latest report, which ranks the country’s economic strength as "very high" while saying growth remains "robust". The report says it's expected New Zealand's economy will grow between 2.5 and 3 percent in the next few ...
The Coalition Government is allocating nearly $6 million to a campaign to stop Australian beekeepers marketing their products as "mānuka" honey. This move comes after Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones accused Australian honey producers of trying to steal what was indigenous to New Zealand. "The Aussies are trying to ...
The Provincial Growth Fund has provided $400,000 to Great South to help the agency drive Southland's regional economic development aspirations. The funding will allow Great South, which is Southland's economic development agency, to appoint a portfolio manager and a project support adviser, who will provide project management expertise and support ...
Hon Shane Jones, Minister of Forestry The One Billion Trees Fund has just hit two significant milestones that will create more than 7,500 hectares of new forest cover, Forestry Minister Shane Jones says. Speaking at a celebratory dinner at Parliament to mark 100 years of the New Zealand Forestry Service, Minister ...
Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters and Minister of Defence Ron Mark have announced the New Zealand Government’s decision to again deploy a Royal New Zealand Air Force P-3K2 (P-3) maritime patrol aircraft to support the implementation of United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolutions imposing sanctions against North Korea. New ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters says New Zealand continues to have serious concerns for peace and stability in north-east Syria. “Recent reports that hundreds of ISIS-affiliated families have fled from a camp are deeply concerning from a humanitarian and security perspective”, Mr Peters says. “While we acknowledge Turkey’s domestic security ...
Biosecurity Minister Damien O’Connor is warning travelling Kiwis to be vigilant as the high-season for the crop-eating brown marmorated stink bug (BMSB) is under way. “We’re on high alert to stop BMSB arriving in NZ. The high season runs until April 30 and we’ve strengthened our measures to stop stink ...
The Government is moving swiftly to change the law to improve the welfare and pastoral care of students living in university halls of residence and other tertiary hostels. Cabinet has agreed to several changes, including creating a new mandatory Code of Practice that sets out the duty of pastoral care ...
The Minister for Conservation Eugenie Sage has launched a new comprehensive trapping guide for community trappers to help them protect our native birds, plants and other wildlife, at Zealandia in Wellington today. ‘A practical guide to trapping’, has been developed by the Department of Conservation (DOC), and was launched during ...
Associate Health Minister Julie Anne Genter welcomes PHARMAC’s move to improve access to long-acting reversible contraception (LARCs). PHARMAC has today announced it will fund the full cost of Mirena and Jaydess for anyone seeking long term contraception, lifting previous restrictions on access to Mirena. “I welcome women having greater choices ...
The Government has approved the next stage of a major redevelopment of Taranaki Base Hospital, which will deliver new and improved facilities for patients. Health Minister Dr David Clark has announced details of a $300 million dollar project to build a new East Wing at the New Plymouth hospital. It ...
Extra funding will allow Rural Support Trusts to help farming families, says Minister for Rural Communities and Agriculture Damien O’Connor. “I know that rural families are worried about some of the challenges facing them, including the ongoing uncertainty created by the Mycoplasma bovis outbreak. “Those concerns sit alongside ongoing worries ...
Thank you for the opportunity to be here to present certificates to the 16 graduates who have completed a beekeeping course delivered by the Howard League. Let us start by acknowledging Auckland Prison’s Deputy Prison Director Tom Sherlock, and Acting Assistant Regional Commissioner of Corrections Northern Region Scott Walker - ...
Finance Minister Grant Robertson leaves this weekend to attend the APEC Finance Ministers meeting in Santiago, Chile. Discussions between APEC Finance Ministers at the meeting will include the effects of the current global economic uncertainty, risks for APEC economies and sustainable development of the region. While at APEC Grant Robertson ...
The Minister for Pacific Peoples Aupito William Sio says for Pacific people, language can be a source of strength. It can help ground us and give us confidence. When we speak them, our languages provide us with an immediate and intimate access to our identity and our story - and ...
The Coalition Government has announced an action plan to improve the wellbeing of disabled New Zealanders by addressing inequalities in play, active recreation and sport. The initiative includes training to develop a workforce that understands the needs of children and young people with a range of impairments, advocacy for fit ...
The construction sector is being freed up to allow more homes to be built more quickly as the Government cuts through some of the red tape of the Building Act. “Every New Zealander deserves a warm, dry, safe home and old inefficiencies in the Building Act make building slow and ...
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has welcomed further details on the Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall’s visit to New Zealand next month. Their Royal Highnesses will visit New Zealand from 17-23 November – their third joint visit to New Zealand and first in four years. They arrive in Auckland ...
Minister of State for Trade and Export Growth and Minister of Agriculture, Damien O’Connor, heads to Thailand today to attend the final Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) Ministerial meeting, as negotiations enter their final stages. “The RCEP Agreement would anchor New Zealand in a regional agreement that covers 16 countries, ...
Pacific young people living in the Hawke’s Bay, Southland and Otago regions will have access to support services that have proved successful in helping young people find new earning and learning opportunities. “Tupu Aotearoa is about changing Pacific young peoples’ lives. Our young people are talented, they are smart, they ...
Introduction As the Minister for ACC I thank you all for the work that you do supporting New Zealanders in their literally most vulnerable moments. From those who hold people’s lives in their hands, to the people who research technique, technology and trends, your work is highly valued. A special ...
Notes prepared for speeches in Christchurch – Wednesday 9 October 2019 Today’s topic, “trends and opportunities for the New Zealand economy,” is certainly one getting a great deal of commentary at the moment. Looking across the media landscape lately you’ll notice we aren’t the only ones having this discussion. There ...
Minister of Health Dr David Clark and Associate Minister of Health Peeni Henare say this year’s World Mental Health Day theme is a reminder of why the Government’s work on mental health is so important. “This year the World Federation for Mental Health has made suicide prevention the main theme ...
Associate Arts, Culture and Heritage Minister Carmel Sepuloni will represent the government at Australia’s Meeting of Cultural Ministers in Adelaide this week. “This year’s meeting is special because New Zealand is expected to become an International Member of the Meeting of Cultural Ministers at this Australian forum,” Carmel Sepuloni said. “The meeting is an opportunity to ...
The Greater Christchurch Claims Resolution Service has resolved 608 insurance and EQC claims in its first year in operation, Minister Megan Woods has announced. The government service, which celebrates its first birthday today, provides a one stop shop to help Cantabrians still battling to get their homes repaired or rebuilt ...
Today’s topic, “trends and opportunities for the New Zealand economy,” is certainly one getting a great deal of commentary at the moment. Looking across the media landscape lately you’ll notice we aren’t the only ones having this discussion. There has been an increasing amount of attention paid to the outlook ...
The Government is acting swiftly to strengthen NZTA’s regulatory role following a review into the Transport Agency, and Ministry of Transport’s performance as its monitor, Transport Minister Phil Twyford said today. An independent review by Martin Jenkins has found NZTA failed to properly regulate the transport sector under the previous ...
The Netherlands and New Zealand have a long-standing and close relationship based on many shared interests and values. We value the rule of law, our democracies, and multilateralism. And we value our environment – at home and globally. Right now there are major global challenges in all of these areas – ...
The Government is putting right a decade’s worth of underpayment to nurses, doctors and other health workers, says Health Minister Dr David Clark. Initial sampling of District Health Boards payroll records has found that around $550-$650 million is owed to DHB staff to comply with the Holidays Act. It’s expected ...
A strong surplus and low debt show the economy is performing well, and means the Government is in a good position to meet the challenges of global economic uncertainty. “The surplus and low levels of debt show the economy is in good shape. This allows the Government to spend more ...
New applications from mining company OceanaGold to purchase land in Waihi for new tailings ponds associated with its gold mines have been approved. Minister of Finance Grant Robertson and Associate Minister of Finance David Parker considered the applications under the Overseas Investment Act. Earlier this year, applications from OceanaGold to ...
New Zealanders in Tūranganui-a-Kiwa / Poverty Bay will witness Māori, Pākehā and Pacific voyaging traditions come together today as the Tuia 250 Voyage flotilla assembles for the first time, Māori Crown Relations: Te Arawhiti Minister Kelvin Davis says. “Tuia 250 is a national commemoration and an opportunity for honest conversations ...
Minister for Trade and Export Growth David Parker leaves tomorrow for Dubai, London and Berlin for a series of meetings to advance New Zealand’s trade interests. In Dubai he will visit New Zealand’s Pavilion at Expo 2020 where construction is underway. There he will meet Minister of State for International Cooperation, Her ...
Confirmation that PHARMAC will fund two new cancer drugs is further evidence of the good progress the Government is making to improve the treatment of New Zealand’s leading cause of death, Health Minister David Clark says. From 1 December PHARMAC will fund alectinib (Alecensa) for ALK positive advanced non-small cell ...
An additional $2.7 million has been announced for the Government Strategy for Women and Girls in Sport and Active Recreation on the first anniversary of the strategy’s launch. Sport and Recreation Minister Grant Robertson gave the opening address to the first Sport NZ Women + Girls Summit in Wellington today, ...
As part of its work to ensure businesses can get the skilled workers they need, the Coalition Government is re-opening and re-setting the Parent Category visa programme, Immigration Minister Iain Lees-Galloway says. The move will: support skilled migrants who help fill New Zealand’s skills gaps by providing a pathway for ...
Minister of Defence Ron Mark has today announced Major General Evan Williams of the New Zealand Defence Force has been selected as the commander of a significant, longstanding peacekeeping mission in the Middle East. In December, Major General Williams takes over as Force Commander for the Multinational Force and Observers ...
A record number of nurses are now working to deliver health services to New Zealanders as the Government’s increased funding and new initiatives rebuild key workforces start to show results, Health Minister Dr David Clark says. • 1458 more DHB nurses since the Government took office • 106 more midwives ...
Farmer and former Nuffield scholar Mel Poulton has been appointed New Zealand’s Special Agricultural Trade Envoy, Minister for Trade and Export Growth, David Parker, and Minister of Agriculture, Damien O’Connor, announced today. The position supports key Government objectives, including raising the value of New Zealand agricultural goods and services. Mel is ...
New Zealand’s Pacific and Māori voyaging heritage is acknowledged and celebrated today as waka of the Tuia 250 voyage flotilla arrive in Tūranga / Gisborne. “Today we celebrate Tangata Whenua, the first people of Aotearoa, and the triumphs of the voyaging tradition that brought our ancestors here from Polynesia 1000 ...
“Fijian Language Week starts on Sunday and the theme reminds us how important it is that we each have something to anchor ourselves to, something that can help us pause and feel in control in a rapidly changing world,” says Minister for Pacific Peoples Aupito William Sio. “Family, culture, faith, ...
The Government is establishing an Airspace Integration Trials Programme to support the safe testing and development of advanced unmanned aircraft and accelerate their integration into the aviation system, Research, Science and Innovation Minister Megan Woods announced today. The Government will work with leading, innovative aviation industry partners to test and ...
Transport Minister Phil Twyford today welcomed the NZ Transport Agency’s decision to fund urgent safety improvements and confirm the designation of the Ōtaki to North of Levin highway. Safety upgrades will be made along 23.4km of the existing state highway, running along SH1 from the end of the Peka Peka ...
New Zealand playing its part in Asia-Pacific and globally are behind changes announced today to the Coalition Government’s three year refugee quota policy, Immigration Minister Iain Lees-Galloway says. “We are proud to be a welcoming and inclusive nation committed to supporting some of the world’s most vulnerable people to rebuild ...
One of the important parameters of the agreement’s aims was to ensure there was no threat to food production from the ability to adapt to the adverse impacts of climate change. ...
A monument to Winston Peters and Think Big projects would both boost the economy, but Argentina learned the hard way they can also impoverish a nation, writes Tony Burton.Everyone who loves New Zealand should visit Argentina. There are more similarities than you might think – large areas of wild natural ...
The Salvation Army foodbank in Waitakere ran out of food last week; an indication of the strain many New Zealand whanau are under as they struggle to afford the cost of living. Wednesday, October 16 is World Food Day, and as demand for services offered ...
Phil Goff was re-elected by a huge margin on Saturday. How will he put that mandate to use this term? Hayden Donnell asks the questions.Phil Goff is once again Auckland’s mayor. Preliminary local election results show him with a lead of nearly 100,000 votes over his nearest challenger, John Tamihere. ...
Catherine Bindon from Ban the Boom has created these colourful and positive posters for you to use to show you don't support the use of fireworks in your neighbourhood over the next few weeks distressing our animals and birds. ...
On Tuesday morning the Operation Burnham inquiry hearing resumed after it was suspended three weeks ago. The hearing is being held at Royal Society of New Zealand, 11 Turnbull St, Thorndon, Wellington on Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Ellerton, Lecturer in Critical Thinking; Curriculum Director, UQ Critical Thinking Project, The University of Queensland It’s not uncommon for science and religion to be framed as two opposing forces. The Catholic church has famously struggled to accommodate scientific research in its ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Cat Pausé, Senior Lecturer in Human Development, Massey University The British Psychological Society is calling for changes for how we talk about fatness, suggesting we should no longer use the phrase “obese people”, but instead, “people with obesity” or “people living with ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Bruce Mountain, Director, Victoria Energy Policy Centre, Victoria University The federal government’s much-vaunted Snowy Hydro expansion is supposed to smooth out the bumps in electricity supply as Australia transitions to renewables. But not only is the project a bad deal for taxpayers, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By María Yanotti, Lecturer of Economics and Finance Tasmanian School of Business & Economics, University of Tasmania The housing market is moving again. In the past month, national prices have climbed 0.9%. What matters most to buyers (and especially to investors), along with ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Joanna Mendelssohn, Principal Fellow (Hon), Victorian College of the Arts, University of Melbourne. Editor in Chief, Design and Art of Australia Online, University of Melbourne It seems appropriate that a painting titled Feng Shui dominates the new exhibition of Guan Wei’s work ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Justin Matthews, Lecturer in Digital Media and Popular Culture Researcher, Auckland University of Technology According to a recent study, the sixth leading cause of death for young men in the United States is the warranted and unwarranted use of police force. With ...
The Council of Trade Unions has today released its report - Fair Pay Agreements: A Framework for Fairness . The report details the six key principles needed for Fair Pay Agreements to deliver real change for working people, and democratic agreements ...
Too many New Zealanders endure poor working conditions in jobs that don’t pay enough and offer few opportunities for career progression, and the union movement is calling for change. ...
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern says the latest polls which show a drop in support for Labour are not a concern when it comes to forming a government. ...
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: A pair of polls put pressure on the Labour Party, a wild night of weather in the North Island, and Shane Jones snapped brandishing a semi-automatic.Parliament resumes today after a fortnight recess, and MPs were given a welcome-back present in ...
Mandy Hager, the newly elected head of the New Zealand Society of Authors, is lobbying the government to improve the lot of writers - to no avail, despite the Prime Minister's championing of the arts. ...
Given the vast impacts that poor diet have had on global health, a deficit in nutrition education in medicine represents a big problem, writes Dr Jennifer Crowley. ...
Any time Olympian Luuka Jones needs advice or encouragement in her pursuit of more canoe slalom success, she doesn’t have to look far. Jones’ coach, Campbell Walsh, is also her partner. ...
Competition for the rights to broadcast sports matches involving NZ’s top teams has produced a bonanza for the sporting bodies, forcing media companies to be a lot more innovative. ...
The Wellington suburb’s successful opposition to a proposed Bottle-O shows how the system is biased towards communities with the organisation, capacity and resources to protest effectively, says Jenesa Jeram.For those unfamiliar with Wellington geography, Khandallah is a Very Nice place to live (Aucklanders: think Remuera). So when it was reported ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mark Humphery-Jenner, Associate Professor of Finance, UNSW The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission conducted an inquiry into mortgage pricing as recently as last year. Now Treasurer Josh Frydenberg has asked it to do another, broader one, in order to ensure the banks’ ...
Dr Bryce EdwardsThe results of the local government elections appear to show that New Zealanders are generally supportive of a more diverse range of representatives, having voted in greater numbers for candidates from traditionally under-represented groups. The elections have therefore modernised our councils in a small but very significant ...
The Inquiry has today published Minute No 21. This Minute sets out how the Inquiry intends to proceed given that the Attorney-General the Hon David Parker has agreed to extend the Inquiry’s reporting date by three months to 31 March 2020. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Grace Skrzypiec, Senior Lecturer, Flinders University Many Australian students don’t know the difference between banter and bullying, with some saying they joke about wishing their friend would “drown” or “die in a car crash”. More than 800 Australian students aged 11-16 took ...
But he did play a crucial role in helping journeyman Andy Foster knock over Justin Lester. Team Gone By Lunchtime size up the local elections, gaze plaintively at the dramas in the NZ First Party, and ask how bad the new poll is for Jacinda Ardern.Annabelle Lee-Mather, Ben Thomas and ...
In the fifth episode of Actually Interesting, The Spinoff’s monthly podcast exploring the effect Artificial Intelligence has on our lives, Russell Brown speaks to Ben Reid, executive director of the AI Forum, about the role of government in embracing and regulating AI.Subscribe to Actually Interesting via iTunes or listen on the player below.To ...
Editor’s Note: Here below is a list of the main issues currently under discussion in New Zealand and links to media coverage.New Zealand Parliament Buildings, Wellington, New Zealand.Today’s content by Dr Bryce Edwards.Local government Henry Cooke (Stuff): How to lose an election: Over-promise or under-deliver Simon Collins ...
By RNZ Pacific A Solomon Islands province has agreed to lease a large island to a Chinese developer to develop into a special economic zone, weeks after the country opened diplomatic ties with China. But already cracks abound; there has been no official announcement and the provincial premier says the ...
The New Zealand First MP and Minister Shane Jones is still backing the firearms ban, despite being pictured with what appears to be an AR-15 semi-automatic while holidaying in Asia. ...
Everyone needs to be concerned about the draft National Policy Statement on Urban Development that the Ministry for the Environment has released. It is incompatible with the spirit of transparency and inclusiveness. ...
Prodigal Son is a new crime procedural coming hot and fresh to TVNZ 1 on Mondays at 8.30pm.Jean Sergent has a few reasons why you should be watching it. If you like serial killer shows, Michael Sheen, dark drama, Michael Sheen, twisted family dynamics, or Michael Sheen – strap yourself ...
Voters in the 2019 local elections have elected the largest number of new mayors in 30 years, with 26 candidates set to don mayoral chains for the first time later this month. ...
A team of investigators dedicated to stamping out violent extremism online is being set up with the government announcing $17 million in funding over four years. ...
In a major boost to efforts to counter violent extremism on the internet, the Government has promised $17m over four years to the Censorship Compliance Unit. ...
The Council of Licenced Firearms Owners (COLFO) is recommending members hold on to potentially illegal shotgun shells containing steel shot until the law banning certain types of ammunition is clarified. ...
The final dinner party on Married at First Sight NZ brought an ugly misogyny to light. But it was far from the first time sexism reared its head this season, writes Alex Casey.It began with a man being edited out of the show after his domestic violence charges came to ...
New collaborative gifting platform Joyable is looking to shake up how we group-purchase gifts. Co-founders (and sisters) Rochelle Sheldon and Kimberley Crossman explain how their latest venture works. Joyable (not to be confused with the social anxiety-reducing app of the same name) is a somewhat left-field move for co-founder Rochelle ...
The extraordinary battle for the Tron has ended in a way no one quite saw coming, with the city relinquishing its stranglehold on the title of New Zealand’s most embarrassing council. Angela Cuming reports.The Spinoff local election coverage is entirely funded by The Spinoff Members. For more about becoming a ...
On the eve of the announcement of the winner of the 2019 Booker prize, Spinoff books editor Catherine Woulfe outs herself as a giant know-nothing. Booker time. Tomorrow morning I will sit there refreshing Twitter like the drinking bird on The Simpsons. A winner will be announced. And I’ll be gripped ...
National's claim that things only went south when Phil Twyford took charge of transport is not supported by us at CEAC and we see that this begun in 2008 as we witnessed the change then while working as a partnership group with NZTA then. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Brendan Churchill, Research Fellow in Sociology, University of Melbourne There’s an old maxim: not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted. But there are some things we should count, and gender and sexual diversity are ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jonathan Pollock, Climatologist, Australian Bureau of Meteorology Northern Australia is likely to see fewer cyclones than usual this season, but hot, dry weather will increase the risk of fire and heatwaves across eastern and southern Australia. The Bureau of Meteorology today released ...
We are in The Good Time for avocados. Alex Casey talked to an expert on how to make the most of it. It’s the most wonderful time of the year. A time when a new avocado headline is published somewhere in New Zealandeverysingleday. A time when it is ...
Sexual harassment and assault are an issue in all walks of life, but addressing the problem is particularly difficult when the perpetrator holds public office. Today campaigner Carrie Buckmaster launches a parliamentary petition calling for more transparency on the issue.The ongoing Labour Party scandal around handling of sexual harassment allegations ...
Dunedin’s new mayor Aaron Hawkins is the first official Green Party mayor in NZ and, arguably, the first to represent the city’s student population as much as its older residents. Josie Adams, who guessed he would win, asked him ten questions about his win.The Spinoff local election ...
Fisher & Paykel Healthcare (F&P) has upgraded its full year guidance again after gaining the right to sell its new full face mask in the United States. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Shadow foreign minister Penny Wong says Australia needs to “define the boundaries” of its engagement with China now the relationship between the two countries is in a new phase. Focusing on China policy in a ...
Canon Rugby in Focus: Ireland awaits an All Blacks team that will be well-rested. Perhaps too well-rested. Rested and ready, or a game short and not match fit. Those are the two scenarios that will have All Blacks fans fretting this week ahead of ...
With the government recently announcing a desire to help our cities grow up and out, leading New Zealand IoT expert Kriv Naicker today questioned whether New Zealand is falling behind in the use of smart city technology to help achieve this goal. ...
You famously said climate change was this generation’s nuclear-free moment. But when Extinction Rebellion uses the tactics of the Nuclear Free movement, you say you aren’t impressed. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Regina Jefferies, Affiliate, Andrew and Renata Kaldor Centre for International Refugee Law, UNSW In the past five years, more than 95,000 people who arrived by plane have lodged a claim for asylum in Australia, new statistics show. Labor’s Immigration Spokesperson, Senator Kristina ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Karen Waller, PhD candidate, University of Sydney Organs from potential donors once rejected as being unsafe to transplant may not be as risky as once thought, new Australian research shows. Our study, published in the Medical Journal of Australia, suggests organs from ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Merrilyn Delporte, PhD Candidate, Queensland University of Technology Australia’s refugee policy has led to a two-track education system. Those processed offshore, and deemed refugees by the time they have arrived in Australia, are entitled to fee support for university. But the almost ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Marion Terrill, Transport and Cities Program Director, Grattan Institute Congestion charging should be introduced in Australia’s largest cities, as Grattan Institute’s latest report shows. Our analysis also finds that the people who commute to the Melbourne and Sydney CBDs by driving are ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By David C. Ribar, Professorial Research Fellow, University of Melbourne Australia, like the United States, makes it hard for people who get benefits to stay on them. It’s not simply a matter of withdrawing benefits as people get jobs and work more hours ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ana Silkatcheva, Doctoral Candidate (Oriental Studies – Islamic Art and Archaeology), University of Oxford; Curatorial Researcher, Nicholson Collection, Chau Chak Wing Museum, University of Sydney In 2005, the Art Gallery of South Australia (AGSA) opened Australia’s first permanent galleries of Islamic art. ...
Council's can expected more pressure from their own ranks to tackle climate change with a new crop of young councillors determined to fight it head on. ...
Open mike 22/07/2019 
Two years ago Catalans braved police batons and rubber bullets to vote overwhelmingly for independence in a referendum. Today, Spain jailed nine politicians who organised and supported that referendum process for a combined total of a hundred years for "sedition", after a trial that was little more than a judicial ...11 hours ago
Two years have now gone by since the Friday afternoon when my university-student son and I headed out of our Barcelona flat to a nearby primary school, designated as a polling station for the vote that was to be held the following Sunday: the referendum on Catalonia’s independence from Spain ...3 days ago
Overruled: The joint decision of Finance Minister, Grant Robertson (Labour) and his Associate Minister, David Parker (Labour) arguably the two most powerful ministers in Jacinda Ardern’s government, to grant OceanaGold the consents which Land Information Minister, Eugenie Sage (Greens) had earlier denied them, offers bitter proof of how hard fighting ...3 days ago
More than double the number of people who will vote in this year’s local body elections have tried marijuana or urinated somewhere they shouldn’t have. As local elections look set for the lowest turnout in decades, with many regions falling well short of 40%, the Government is exploring a number ...4 days ago
“There can be no such thing as kaupapa Māori political parties or politics in Aotearoa” (Willie Jackson, Labour Party (2017). Māori TV, General/List Election Special) I begin with that claim because at the time, I was confounded at first that it fell out of Willie Jackson’s mouth, and then ...4 days ago
https://mailchi.mp/7d9133add053/closing-the-gap-october-2019-newsletter ...5 days ago
For some reasons, my post about the mystery message from inside the Downing Street bunker seemed to catch people's attention. Quite a lot of hits from NZ (unsurprisingly) and the USA (a bit more puzzlingly, but hi there, USAians!!) and 76 views from the Ukraine.I've celebrated my Ukrainian readers in ...6 days ago
Local government elections are upon us again. It is a fair bet that, when they are over, we will have all the usual complaints that, despite their undoubted importance, the turnout was depressingly low. So, why do local elections attract so little attention and involvement from the general public? I ...2 weeks ago
Image credit: 45 Things I Wish I Knew Before Starting a Blog I notice a few regulars no longer allow public access to the site counters. This may happen accidentally when the blog format is altered. ... 2 weeks ago
We're managing the Government books responsibly, helping more Kiwis into homes, and supporting New Zealanders with disabilities. ...4 days ago
Forestry Minister Shane Jones is considering reining in on conversions of farmland to forestry, and also issued a warning to foreign-owned forestry companies that make up nearly 75 per cent of the industry. He said too many foreign companies had not provided enough access for domestic processors to get timber. ...4 days ago
Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones said he was "immensely disappointed" at the withdrawal of the Jetstar airline from regional routes. He has also warned national carrier Air New Zealand not to capitalise on the Australian budget airline’s decision by “gouging” regional air travellers. "Air New Zealand has historically challenged ...3 weeks ago
Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters and Minister of Defence Ron Mark have announced the New Zealand Government’s decision to again deploy a Royal New Zealand Air Force P-3K2 (P-3) maritime patrol aircraft to support the implementation of United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolutions imposing sanctions against North Korea. New ...24 mins ago
One of the important parameters of the agreement’s aims was to ensure there was no threat to food production from the ability to adapt to the adverse impacts of climate change. ...43 mins ago
A monument to Winston Peters and Think Big projects would both boost the economy, but Argentina learned the hard way they can also impoverish a nation, writes Tony Burton.Everyone who loves New Zealand should visit Argentina. There are more similarities than you might think – large areas of wild natural ...1 hour ago
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Ellerton, Lecturer in Critical Thinking; Curriculum Director, UQ Critical Thinking Project, The University of Queensland It’s not uncommon for science and religion to be framed as two opposing forces. The Catholic church has famously struggled to accommodate scientific research in its ...2 hours ago
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern says the latest polls which show a drop in support for Labour are not a concern when it comes to forming a government. ...2 hours ago
Mandy Hager, the newly elected head of the New Zealand Society of Authors, is lobbying the government to improve the lot of writers - to no avail, despite the Prime Minister's championing of the arts. ...3 hours ago
An ancient Polynesian form of resource management is helping rejuvenate areas in the Cook Islands. ...5 hours ago
Competition for the rights to broadcast sports matches involving NZ’s top teams has produced a bonanza for the sporting bodies, forcing media companies to be a lot more innovative. ...5 hours ago
Ongoing drama surrounds the Māui and Hector's dolphin threat management plan, with worries key information is not being made public promptly. ...5 hours ago
Is Jacindamania dead and buried? Not quite yet, but the Prime Minister has good cause for concern. ...15 hours ago
Poland could become an even bigger headache for Brussels than Brexit over the coming years. ...18 hours ago
"It's time for men to shut up," a novelist said today at the Man Booker ceremony in London. Well - is it? NZ writers respond. ...18 hours ago
In a major boost to efforts to counter violent extremism on the internet, the Government has promised $17m over four years to the Censorship Compliance Unit. ...18 hours ago
Countdown is reporting a surge in consumer demand for alternative proteins. ...20 hours ago
Move over Bathurst, we're taking your title. Steve Deane has the perfect venue for a motorsport dream. ...22 hours ago
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Well done the Netball girls, that is all I have to say.
Good boy.
Renegade Inc: Rentier Britain: all the rent goes to the 1%
There are three fundamental issues that lie at the heart of our current economic malaise: the first is unearned income and wealth from land rent ( plus property speculation for capital Gain), second the creation of money by privately owned banks, and the third is rent-seeking that is used to juice profits out of intellectual property through copyright and patents (TPPA). But the political class, supported by lobbying, continues to avoid addressing these issues (Current Labour Government does not impose a CGT). So monopolies grow larger and larger, and as they do, more and more people are excluded from the economy ( Our young couples can’t afford to buy homes but must rent for life). To really address the root causes, why don’t we start by calling out the rentier economy as a structural issue that no progressive society can actually afford?
This applies to New Zealand : The F.I.R.E sector:
That was a good interview, johnm.
An interesting notion
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/opinion/114328666/without-helen-clarks-help-cannabis-reform-will-go-down-in-flames
Seems someone upset someone
https://www.hongkongfp.com/2019/07/22/just-chaos-bloodshed-hong-kong-district-hundreds-masked-men-assault-protesters-journalists-residents/?fbclid=IwAR30JP9vzb9m9US5v3JoxrowXaEphlUJ-Y2_9OTik_7bN2N9JuTvlooKj8k
China must be wondering whether they should have extended Britain's lease.
I think the yellow vest protests in France have been more sustained, with far more violence from the authorities, ..people have been blinded and killed by the police and the protests have been going since last November
Were/are the French authorities hiring thugs to bash people?
that little gem would be equally at home on the "Peters,Pence,Pompeo and the Rapture" post
Get Winston!
"Bridges is one bad poll away from oblivion and he will not win the keys to Premier House by earnest attention to detail and well written speeches. He needs to slay a dragon. Through the heart. With a wooden stake. "
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/opinion/114272849/winston-peters-has-been-a-malign-influence-on-nz-politics-its-time-simon-bridges-finished-him-off
I read this earlier, today, thinking what a badly written piece of opinion. The reference to our incumbent PM was a cheap throwaway and the reference to Winston Peters’ handmaidens was, well, a joke considering who occupies seats on his side of the House.
However, referring to Bridge's earnest attention to detail and well written speeches. I have heard him make three speeches in public forums and I would not have characterised them as well- written. I have heard him in the House and he does not come anywhere nearing slaying Winston with his rhetoric. Quite the reverse.
The real dragon sits on his side of the House, tail flicking amidst the desolation……
But it so much more fun to invent an Imminent Threat, isn't it? One that's on The Other Side, one you can demonise without splitting your own ranks.
It was a very poor piece of work, I agree.
The article says this. "It is a huge gamble but it also would define Bridges as a leader of courage, honour and integrity. It makes an effective contrast with the incumbent whose power is buttressed by Golriz Ghahraman on her left and Shane Jones on her right."
Now, that means that in Mr Grant's opinion our present Prime Minister does not possess 'courage, honour and integrity' because he says that Bridges would be defined on this way (by doing what Grant says he should) which is in contrast to the PM.
Now that's cheap political writing, with nothing to back it up except somehow to argue that a person of courage, inregrity and honour would not be connected in a coalition with a Green or NZ First politician.
There is nothing to back up those assertions excpt a cheap shot at Peters saying he had only done three things in his political career, and then even wrote them down.
This is political opinion, based on poor analysis. It's just tribal crap that I'd expect from a party hack in a bar-room debate after several Speights.
"tribal crap" indeed. But serving a purpose, or at least, paving a way…
It kind of ironic I think that the same "Mr Grant" – although everyone deserves a second chance insists on "reading between the lines" and giving his version of the conduct of others.I read and re-read this story and while no doubt it is all "pretty legal" it gave me the sense that he was commenting on more than is his jurisdiction and obligation to perform a service, I wouldn't mind betting he couldn't lie straight in bead but feels free to be judge and jury on a lot of other people and even moreso "Stuff" pays him for his "opinion" I have decided that Stuff can stuff its Sunday rag.
https://i.stuff.co.nz/business/industries/114068043/auckland-furniture-chain-fired-staff-without-warning-or-written-confirmation-former-employees-claim
I wonder if he writes a few 'well-written' speeches himself for a fee.
lols
minnows don't kill sharks.
Actually, strike minnows. Bridges is a salmon, earnestly trying to swim upstream far enough to briefly spawn a government, but frankly even if he gets there he'll be politically dead shortly after.
Simon is not the kind that slays dragons, much less a wily old wyrm like Winston. If he had been, non-performers like Nick & Gerry (and Paula) would be long gone. Simon is a seat-warmer waiting for someone else to solve his problems, which makes him a natural leader for the current Gnats, but as relevant to winning anything as Jack Falstaff. As Gandalf said ‘in this neighborhood heroes are scarce, or simply lot to be found. “
"wyrm" – nice choice of word, Stuart; it's how we Southlanders pronounce it
Damien Grant is a "columnist" – presumably to separate his contribution, suitable for a partisan blog, from an article by a "reporter", giving facts from some event or speech, or a "journalist" who provides evidence or logical argument for statements put forward. To say that a politician "one bad poll away from oblivion" has the power to slay another politician by a decision to further isolate his party is laughable. We are having mid-term speculation based on nothing however we have predictable discussions as to whether small parties will disappear – again based on little evidence. Unfortunately it is easy to click on a headline before realising who it was written by . . .
Slaying a dragon with a wooden stake through the heart? Couldn't even get that right.
Winston's been counted out before, and by political opponents with more skills than 'no-Bridges'!
The National Party zoologist Steven Joyce would never use a wooden stake to slay a dragon through the heart. Instead, he’d use a rubber dildo and poke it in the eye.
Authored by Damien Grant… did you expect anything better?
French environment minister resigns over green issues
https://www.france24.com/en/20190716-lobster-champagne-french-minister-resigns-over-spending-scandal
Lessons from legalising weed: don't make it too hard to become a legal seller, and don't tax it too much, and be serious about ensuring sellers actually are legal. If you don't, then it's too easy and tempting for illegal sellers to just carry on.
https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2019/07/21/legal-marijuana-black-market-227414
A couple of jealous Aussie bitches bitching about Jacinda Ardern and being disingenuous with their interpretations:
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12251514
Lol. That is some severe butt-hurt from the mad right-wing.
Perhaps the Aussies should work out how to stop being racists and producing mass murderers.
zouch
The woman's an idiot.
Yes, Anne, Granny has had quite the field day with that article and the one I'll link to, which was at the top of their website writ large for several hours with an accompanying photo dragged no doubt out of their collection of less than pleasant pics of the PM. I noted that none of the other news outlets had this headline anywhere on their sites – not even Newshub! No names attributed to the articles, of course. https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12251488
Speaking to fellow broadcaster Sky News Australia host Peta Credlin, commentator Gemma Tognini said of the Kiwi PM: "It's very, very cute for her to come to another country and morally posturise the way she has been.
Good grief. In other words, "don't you come over here and shame us about the ways that we treat people here!"
That is what this rightist dislike of "virtue signalling" is -the bully does not like being called for what he or she is doing.
Well someone's got to give Peda Cretin some moral guidance.
Horse – water – drink.
Robert could start a college for the depraved.
I loved the way the female anchor witch said at the end of the clip:
And don't forget how she got there in the first place. Did a deal with Winston Peters.
Potty mouth republicism in ascendancy. Making the U.S. great again. oxymoronic.
The right-wing are puerile, pathetic and desperate.
Some idiot was trying to sell these, but the listing has now been removed by Trade Me.
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/D_LJNZlUcAAYSoG?format=jpg&name=small
My wife and I are on a month long trip to Europe. Talked cricket with a Banglideshi waiter in a restaurant in a quiet part of Venice far away from San Marco. He was able to watch the final, which was more than we were able to do, being en route between cities at the time.
But, and here's the point, he also made reference to the March massacre and how lucky we are as country to have such a wonderful prime minister who showed such compassion and feeling (his words)
Once again proud to be a NZer.
Ouch.
Martyn Bradbury has come to his senses. About the only thing I would disagree with him in this is that he thinks the Green Party have a 40% chance of surviving the next election. Not a hope, I would say.
https://thedailyblog.co.nz/2019/07/21/media-watch-stuff-asks-can-greens-break-5/
The article he links to is interesting too, although not quite as harsh in its evaluation of the Greens.
Oh well, C'est la vie. I don't think they will be missed form Parliament, particularly when one looks at the spectacular stuff-up Shaw managed in his overseeing of Statistics in the Census.
The Greens won't make it past 5% if Martyn Bradbury has anything to do with it, sure. Fortunately, he won't have anything to do with it.
This bit from the Stuff article is far more significant than Bradbury's sour grapes:
The Greens are more worried about external threats: the negative Facebook posts that spread dubious claims during the Australian election campaign. There's every chance Topham Guerin, the Kiwi firm behind much of the Liberals' successful digital campaign will return to home soil in 2020.
Pretty much, although "dubious claims" is a euphemism for "outright lies." Those guys will make Dirty Politics look like the amateur hour it was.
You've bid farewell to The Greens on the advice of Martyn Bradbury, Alwyn?
Your credibility took a further dive from it's subterranean "Metiria's a thief" level.
Any deeper and you'll qualify as one of Stuart's "wyrms".
You do realize kiwis have a far stronger history of voting governments out than in correct? Although I still think Labour and NZFirst can go it with the Greens, it would be better if the Greens stayed in don't you think? Unless the electorates are so stupid as to believe rainbows on the Internet will gift the Greens a spot on government.
This “spectacular stuff-up Shaw managed in his overseeing of Statistics in the Census” was not shouting that Census data had been hacked by a black ops team working for a bunch of dirty politicians, was it? That would indeed be a sackable offence.
AND wasn't the census organised while the Natz were in power?????
Please don’t ask such complicated questions; my tiny brain can’t process them. Alwyn will know the answer.
Sorry Icog. Will try to be better.
Wasn't very impressed much when the female co-leader did that interview about some policy, but didn't have the stats to back it up, but the stats male co-leader did for his, along with her being clobbered about it by the previous guy ( who i guess didn't go back to OZ, anyway )
Whatever else, they need to sort out those kind of stuff ups.
I agree that especially in the coms department all three coalition parties individually as well as collectively in the coalition Government could do heaps better. However, I also think that the media love to whip any molehill into a giant stuff up of epic proportions. We also tend to forget that things here in NZ are perhaps not nearly as bad as in other countries where bigly stuff ups are the norm such as Oz, Gr-Br, and US-A. I don’t know about you, but I prefer the NZ stuff ups to war mongers looking for a fight.
In part it is easier here to do things abit differently.
I like different. I like how MMP is slowly growing up. I like how NZ (not just Jacinda Ardern) is carving out a niche in the world of geo-politics. I know that there’s a shed load of things to change here and despite the many stuff ups and snail’s pace of change in many areas progress is being made. I like that too.
The census was a hospital pass from the incompetent National Party. But then you know that.
Last night Country Calendar on TV was about some entrepreneurial people near Nelson who have developed a business around processing various types of nuts. We got to see bags full, thousands of nuts. Good to see, they've done very well.
It came to mind this afternoon when I got in a car that had Magic Radio on (or whatever they call themselves.) Sean Plunket was on and in the few minutes I heard him I had considerably more exposure to nutty than I'd had in half an hour the night before.
Haven't heard the Plunker in a long time. Not long enough mind you.
That Country Calendar was about Uncle Joe's in Blenheim. Sort of near Nelson- just over the hill 110 km away! Also manufacture flour, oil and spreads made from nuts and seeds. The shells even make a garden mulch which deters snails!
What we need are more nutters like these!
Kia ora The Am Show.
Whats up boys the girls WON.
One industry modeling that you can come up with that someone thinks Wahine gets paid more than men get a grip what about all the other organizations that pay Wahine less than men .
I say a gun register is needed to trace the guns back to the owners not all licensed gun owners are responsible citizens + the police will know how many and what type of guns are in Aotearoa. That Christchurch fool was not a gangster was he.
You know what I seen on the weekend a big flash million dollar playground in Cambridge full of children playing. A carpark bigger than the playgrounds in Fairysprings or Maraenui .
We are currently constructing our bathing facilities the systems will be powered by Te Ra and Ahi
Wildlife Seagulls its about survival a tame small dog could quite easily be a birds lunch birds are quite awesome hunters.
Ka kite ano
Some Eco Maori music for the minute.
Kia ora Newshub.
These businesses having losses because of the city rail link in Auckland during construction. Do business pay more when times are good No.
That was a funny but a mistake from the greens.
Thats is a great leak the polling shows national is not craling out of that hole .
I think that the undercover sandflys in Aotearoa have long strings connected to the White House.
Michael Eco Maori is correct in the reasons why I chose to blog to 3 tv because every story you screen is a attack on the government.
Ka pai to Greenpeace for the Abigail Smith and co for protesting and climbing a building we only have one environment we don't have a multiverse like some would like us to believe te oil barons muppets.
Ka kite ano
Kia ora Te Ao Maori News.
Its is sad that the police are pushing te tangata whenua protesters in Auckland off their whenua thats the way they use the courts in Aotearoa to hit tangata whenua on the head with the court system Eco Maori tryed to use the courts system to defend himself but the sandflys interfere in my attempt to get JUSTICE muppets are shit scared to face Eco Maori in COURT. They are trying to control me but every time they try they just give Eco Maori more mana.
Eco Maori tau toko his Whanau in Te Wairoa in there quest to BAN PEE FROM Wairoa I have heaps of Whanau in Te Wairoa I want the SHIT BANNED FROM Te taiwhiti East Coast to Banned from Aotearoa to.
Te Wahine should have a choice of abortion if they need it there are many reasons why they would want a abortion I don't think it should be a crime to have a abortion .
Ka kite ano.
My device is playing up WTF
Kia Ora The Am Show.
The resource management act needs to be replaced with one that doesn't place such huge cost on building a whare . Its's bloody ridiculous the charges from council to build a whare $20.000 just to get consent to build a driveway onto your property . These huge changes for resorce concent to build a whare are pushing tangata whenua out of owning there own whare is that what some designed it to do like the huge cost to servaying tangata whenua whenua in the old days Maori had to sell there whenua to pay the cost of the servaying.
Eco Maori says Aotearoa needs to respect China .
Great game of Netball awesome win.
Ka Pai to Indonesia for considering closings the Island that Kamodo Dragons live on to save there habitat. Ka kite ano
You know who this is for whanau
Some Eco Maori music for the minute.
These Hawksbay sandflys don't know who they are FUCKING WITH they will soon learn