I have some respect for Roy Morgan’s poll results, but its commentary sucks.
The commentary on the latest results says “continuing strong support for Prime Minister John Key’s National Party” even though it is down to 45.5%. Support for Key’s Coalition partners has apparently changed little even though the Maori Party has lost 25% of its support (1.5%) and ACT at 1% still needs National’s generosity to be relevant. United Future at 0.5% remains a haircut away from oblivion.
Support for Labour Party has increased 0.5% to 31% but 3.5% since last November’s election. The Greens are down a bit to 11.5%, (down 1.5%), New Zealand First is at 6% which is up from the last result but down from the election result, Mana is up slightly to 1% and who knows who the others are.
Confidence Rating is down 6 points to 127 — with 57% (down 4%) of New Zealanders saying New Zealand is “heading in the right direction” compared to 30% (up 2%) that say New Zealand is “heading in the wrong direction.” I predict that these particular statistics will continue to worsen over the next few months.
Over all,
NACT + MP + UF = 48.5%
L + G + NZF + M = 49.5%
So the “continuing strong support for Prime Minister John Key’s Party” actually looks pretty flimsy. Someone should tell Gary Morgan.
I guess technically they are correct insofar as 45.5% vs 31% is still a large gap (though narrowing steadily). Actually I think Roy Morgan deserve some credit for at least attempting to gauge the relative position of the two potential governing blocs. Most of the NZ pollsters still insist on looking at their polls through the prism of FPP. At any rate Gary Morgan concludes his remarks with this statement:
“Overall support for the full National-led Government has dipped to 48.5% (down 0.5%), trailing the Opposition Parties (51.5%, up 0.5%). Worryingly for Key, this is the lowest level of support his broad-based Coalition has received since being elected to Government in November 2008.”
MS – Serious question. Do you believe that the state of NZ politics, as it reflects global politics, is in any way capable of turnin a sinking NZ around, and should people waste their time buying into the political system, which is blatantly defunct, and serving interests other than NZ?
If a few 10k more people had voted for the opposition rather than National, we wouldn’t be having asset sales discussions (or they would be radically different, if MP went ahead with them).
Of course I do. I would not be involved in politics otherwise. Although I agree that there are reasons to despair at the inertia and at the self serving behaviour of some of our fellow MPs.
Do you believe that the state of NZ politics, as it reflects global politics, is in any way capable of turnin a sinking NZ around, and should people waste their time buying into the political system
Doing work at the local body or community level may turn out to be more important. And pressuring central government from that level to get its shit together re: transport systems and energy systems will be crucial.
The problem I see at central government level is that it only takes the Tories half the time to dismantle anything that the left tries to build. Knocking stuff down and cancelling stuff is always quicker than trying to build stuff up.
The other dynamic is that in national politics, a huge amount of time and energy is spent just trying to maintain, administer and manage a highly complex status quo. In a lot of ways that investment is a dead investment because the complex status quo today is completely unfit for the purpose that we will need it for in just a few years.
Not sure Lanth. In the past 5 months using Roy Morgan figures the nats have shed 10 percentage points. If you look at the graph there is a noticeable and sustained dip. If I was them I would be more than a little afraid …
Watched Bruce Robertson on tv re smoking , just triggered a question- what had happened to the drinking age? That was all go pre last years election and I have heard nothing since
I think the bill is still making its way through Parliament, and is due to be voted on this year sometime.
I dont drink that much myself, but it seem to be that the force behind the proposed changes seems to be more of a view that only those who are over 45, male and in the upper income bracket can hold their drink, and it needs to be made harder for everyone else to buy alcohol. The moral panic around ball season binge drinking springs to mind.
Thanks for that
It appears another case where big business will direct social policy all for a $. I am sure that this will be a great distraction surprised it has not been promoted with the asset sales and the lack of public support over the govts blind at all cost following their ideology
Still think it is funny that we can currently drink at 18 but are unable to go to the casino until 20.
Our good wowser mate Dunne will be happy to raise the drinking age to 20….of course the kids will save all their money and buy shares in state assets instead of alcohol.
Phil, he was at Uni, prick would not invest in a beer chiller for Steins….he then went to ALAC, always “Mr Moral”. I reckon if he has been in the pockets of the alcohol and fags industries as you state he must be the ultimate two faced “me firster” I take him to be.
Very bad form and typical of some of the stories coming from Ch’ch.
TVNZ, TV3 and Sky New Australia all cross live at 8 am for the commencement of the earthquake memorial service.
And nothing for 25 minutes. People on stage obviously ready for an 8 am start and no dignitaries. They didn’t arrive until 8:25.
I could only imagine people swearing in the Sydney newsroom that a 24 hour news channel was forced to broadcast what effectively was 25 minutes of music from the Army Band.
Who f’d up?
Worse for those watching TVNZ. 25 minutes of fill from Corin Dan. 25 uninterrupted minutes for Corin to talk shit.
Who f’d up?
All the broadcasters would be cursing at the loss of revenue from planned commercial breaks that were replaced with 25 minutes of the Army Band.
Couldn’t even give the right time to the media. Symbolic of the recovery?
Sure. Lets time everything to suit the media in future. If real world circumstances conspire to fuck it up, then hell, we’ll, we’ll….do something to teach that real world a lesson it will never forget. While we’re at it, lets stop the world spinning for the ad breaks. Wouldn’t want to miss any of that live action now, would we?
It’s not about pandering to the media. It’s about doing your job and doing it efficiently.
For an event like this, that you want broadcast to NZ and all those interested and concerned, then you either setup you own television network for which you call the shots (obviously out of the question) or you enter into a symbiotic relationship with the broadcaster in which you have to consider their needs.
Somebody didn’t do their job.
Jeez, William, no need to blow a foo foo valve. The ceremony was delayed to allow the many, many buses full of Chch citizens to get to Latimer Square. Normally, transport wouldn’t be a problem, but they had an earthquake down there a while ago which has made things a bit awkward for them. Sorry they let you down and I’m sure the mayor will make a formal apology to you in due course.
No need to be rude (or an ass for that matter).
“Jeez, William, no need to blow a foo foo valve.” – inferring an attitude not in evidence. I was passing comment that some had fucked up (which they had) and the implication for the broadcasters (which there were a number) and I said absolutely nothing about the implications on me (of which there were none). All of which makes your post thoroughly pointless.
In response to your patronising comment “they had an earthquake down there a while ago”, all things considered, (including earthquakes and moving people) planning should do just that, i.e. consider all things. If you can’t get people there on time then, in the planning stage, you push back the time and let the relevant parties know. Both of which they didn’t. Ergo, someone f’d up.
BTW, that little problem with the earthquake you mention, didn’t happen yesterday nor was this event unanticipated.
Word of advise, before you launch into conceited posts full of misplaced sarcasm you should take the time to read what is posted instead of making inferences, the evidence for which only exists in your head.
William, I’m glad you get it now and I hope you think before writing such drivel again in the future. Or at least do some fact checking first. In this case, it wouldn’t have been hard because the reason for the delay was announced at the time.
That minor effort to actually find out what was going would have stopped you jumping to dumbarse conclusions like ‘someone f’d up’. As it turns out, that someone was you.
Do you have a reading comprehension problem? Some sort of learning impairment I need to know about?
Are you not able to read what has been posted?
Or is it that once you take up an opposing position (and despite having been soundly corrected) you not capable of seeing the error in your reasoning?
– “William, I’m glad you get it no” – not the case. You have yet to show that I am in error.
– “Or at least do some fact checking first” – already done before I first posted. On the ccc website. So, again you make inferences from incorrect assumptions. Check it yourself. The announced schedule was that John Key et al would arrive at 7:50 am. That makes them 35min late. Are there other facts that I should be aware off. You know, the ones that exist in reality and not your congested imagination.
– “the reason for the delay was announced at time“. If you mean “announced this morning” than all I can say to you is “Thank you for demonstrating my point” [William takes a bow midst thunderous applause]. MY POINT EXACTLY! If it was announced this morning then it shows poor planning hence leaving the media with time to fill. Which, if I am not mistaken, (and I most certainly am not) was my original post.
– “That minor effort to actually find out what was going would have stopped you jumping to dumbarse conclusions like ‘someone f’d up’. As it turns out, that someone was you.”
This para shows that it is you who has jumped to a “dumbarse conclusion”
Dude, I heard it on the radio at about 10 minutes past 8. It’s not my problem that you leapt to a particularly stupid conclusion without bothering to find out what was going on. This was not the RWC transport fiasco, just a lot of Chch people wanting to show their respects, which caused a short delay that only you are the least bit upset about. And which you would have known if you’d bothered to check.
And by your friends, ye shall be known. When V32 comes to your defence, you’ve gotta know you have well and truly f’d up!
I have taken too much time to make my point perfectly clear and you still have been unable to refute it with anything other than some radio broadcast that just goes to prove my point.
Take a deep breath and re-read the posts.
If you’re still unhappy then go tell Oprah, she cares. Better still try Dr Phil – I’m sure he can help you.
William, I’m glad you get it now and I hope you think before writing such drivel again in the future. Or at least do some fact checking first
You may have changed your name, but your attitude to disagreement is as foul as ever! Your vicious, scarcastic little wank of a post disgusts me. You are thoroughly in the wrong here, and not for the first or the last time. Your ego gets in the way of your common sense. 🙁
I’m having a bad day so I’ll “take the bait” on this one.
So, my moniker is William Joyce. That is what you know for certain.
What you do not know is whether that is my real name or a pseudonym. To assume one way or the other (without evidence) is, what those in the industry call, an “assumption”.
Error number 1
Someone in history, who was blessed with the name William Joyce, was a mouthpiece for a fascist regime. Therefore, anyone with a similar name must also be a fascist.
Error number 2
Reacting to someone because of the moniker they use….
Error number 3.
“Hardly surprising…” – was a response to Vicky32 as though she was responding to me. Rather I & Te Reo Putake think V32 was responding to Te Reo Putake. (I hope I have read this right, V32, as I can not see any number for posts)
Error number 4
Ok, time for bed, where I can dream of a world where rich financiers, economic technocrats, and artificial-humans (known as corporations) do not rule the world.
“I will treat corporations as pseudo-human beings when Texas executes one”
I wasn’t refereing to Joyce being a mouthpiece for a fascist regime (hmmm – works for the Nats too), but for his hyperbolic trolling the allied troops -something that seems to accommodate your ignorant tirades rather nicely.
Just listened to Key speak at the Chch commemorations. Now it could be me (I can hardly bear to listen to him at the best of times) but on radio at least his delivery seemed pretty flat, monotone and detached. Is he getting as tired of it all as some are suggesting?
“…In an article titled “Still No End to ‘Too Big to Fail,’” William Greider wrote in The Nation on February 15th:
“Financial market cynics have assumed all along that Dodd-Frank did not end “too big to fail” – but instead created a charmed circle of protected banks labeled “systemically important” – that will not be allowed to fail – no matter how badly they behave.”
That may be, but there is one bit of bad behavior that Uncle Sam himself does not have the funds to underwrite:
– the $32 trillion market in credit default swaps (CDS).
Thirty-two trillion dollars is more than twice the U.S. GDP and more than twice the national debt.
CDS are a form of derivative taken out by investors as insurance against default.
According to the Comptroller of the Currency, nearly 95% of the banking industry’s total exposure to derivatives contracts is held by the nation’s five largest banks: JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup, Bank of America, HSBC, and Goldman Sachs.
The CDS market is unregulated – and there is no requirement that the “insurer” actually have the funds to pay up.
CDS are more like bets – and a massive loss at the casino could bring the house down.
It could, at least, unless the casino is rigged.
Whether a “credit event” is a “default” triggering a payout is determined by the International Swaps and Derivatives Association (ISDA) –
– and it seems that the ISDA is owned by the world’s largest banks and hedge funds.
That means the house determines whether the house has to pay…”
Which simply means that when Greece defaults completely and takes bck their country , that the banks will fall like dominoes, as the CDS kick in , which then can’t be paid.
Someone (in the feedback) made a good point on Campbell Live this week about a NZ father dealing recovering his child after parental child abduction.
Our authorities are so quick and aggressive to do the bidding of the US when corporate copyright interests are at stake but are “do nothing” when comes to one of our own who has rights under the Hague Convention to recover his child.
The drive to get workplace injuries down actually used to be part of the Fonterra permanent employees KPI, as it related to their performance bonues…it may not longer be the case, but it certainly was. You can see the conflict of interest there!
Obviously it just leads to less reporting, which in turn allows the company to have undeserved health and safety status!
Michael Laws utterly unable to defend his extreme comments
Radio Live, Wednesday February 22, 2012
If you were so bored and stupid that you listened to Michael Laws this morning, you may have detected that he was more than a little distracted. Possibly because at the same time that he was raving about the need to sterilize “feral Māori”, he was engaging in an epistolary
exchange with this writer, i.e., moi….
1.) 9:36 AM
Dear Michael,
Why don’t you provide a lead for the Māori “ferals” and have yourself sterilized?
Yours sincerely,
Morrissey Breen
Northcote Point
2.) Michael Laws ml…@mediaworks.co.nz
9:50 AM
Because i don’t kill my children you wanker!
3.) 10:03 AM
Really? You were, and no doubt still are, a vituperative advocate of the mass killing of children in Palestine.
Yours in honest disclosure,
Morrissey
4.) Michael Laws ml…@mediaworks.co.nz
10:07 AM
Do you enjoy living on the sickness benefit with your mental condition or are you just FITH?
5.) 10:11 AM
Not a clever reply, my friend. No doubt you intimidate lots of people with personal attacks like that, just like you dismissed poor old “Walter” before the News.
But back to the point under discussion: how can you pretend to be an advocate for Maori children when you have such a filthy record of anti-Palestinian bigotry?
Still waiting for an intelligent answer…
Yours sincerely,
Morrissey
6.) 10:19 AM
Ditto: how do you justify killing Maori kids??
7.) 10:34 AM
I don’t. I think it’s terrible, but unlike you, I really mean that. Now when will you condemn the government-sponsored killing of Palestinian children?
Still waiting….
Yours sincerely,
Morrissey
8.) 10:36 AM
I don’t care about kids in another country, you moron, when its the kids here getting killed? YOU are part of the problem wasting your few mental resources on mad people half a world away.
9.) 10:42 AM
You “don’t care about kids in another country”? Then why did you so vociferously champion their destruction in January 2009?
Calling murdered children “mad” is not an intelligent answer, so could you have another, serious, attempt at an explanation?
Still waiting….
Yours sincerely,
Morrissey
10.) 10:43 AM
Actually if the Israelis had taken you out, I’d have cheered too
11.) 10:54 AM
Still not a serious or credible answer, my friend. You’re not making uneasy sycophants laugh in a Dunedin cafetaria now; you’re expected to back up your attitude with some kind of argument. So far you’ve said nothing of intelligence.
By the way, I thought it was amusing to hear you assert that you “don’t like people who make up history”; I remember the wandery, disconnected and confused potted history of Israel you gave on air at the bloodiest point of the massacre. You obviously got your “history” from a fantasy source—was it Joan Peters by any chance?
Still waiting, mate….
Yours sincerely,
Morrissey Breen
12.) 10:58 AM
False name false FB profile = fraud
13.) 11:03 AM
Jokes, personal attacks, now threats. You’ve really gone to the well, haven’t you?
Is a false Facebook profile as bad a crime as uttering?
Yours in amusement,
Morrissey
14.) 11:08 AM
You’re just a wanker: anonymous wanker hiding behind false identity. Sicko.Now fuck off …
15.) 11:13 AM Quod erat demonstrandum.
Thanks, mate. Your programme’s a winner, and your callers are all as informed and intelligent as you. Well done, my friend.
Hilarious.
Yours sincerely,
Morrissey
16.) 11:18 AM
FRAUD
17.) 11:29 AM
“Fraud”? Really? Using a pseudonym on the internet is an accepted and almost universal practice. It’s hardly fraudulent. Forging documents when you’re an elected public figure is fraud.
Yours in amusement,
Morrissey
18.) 11:29 AM
FRAUD
19.) 11:37 AM
Seriously Michael, we try to resist inferring from the way in which you bawl into the microphone that you’re not very bright, but your tendentious and abusive e-mail correspondence just confirms it.
What will you do if you lose your radio spot?
Yours sincerely,
Morrissey
20.) 11:38 AM
FRAUD
21.) 11:50 AM
Shouting like that doesn’t really enhance your credibility, old chap. It’s easy to berate callers, and cut them off when you can’t mount a coherent argument against them, but in epistolary form like this, you end up just making yourself look kind of …. well, daft.
I do expect better than you’ve shown this morning—but then again, I’ve rarely heard you in better form. Which is a disappointment.
Yours sincerely,
Morrissey
22.) 11:50 AM
FRAUD
23.) 12:03 PM
Dear Alan Partridge,
A convicted utterer accusing someone of fraud. Kind of awesome.
Yours in amusement,
Morrissey
Nice one, Morrisey. Laws cuts a sad, lonely figure around Whanganui these days. Ignored in the council, laughed at in the local media and deleted from the phone contacts of most of his former allies. As for his shouty problems, Aqualung might be a good nickname for him now, because he looked a lot like the dero on the cover of the Tull album last time I saw him.
The Environment Southland Council were provided with an opposing view of Lignite Mining today and while commercial interests get extended time to promote their projects we were initially allotted ten minutes. Considering the lignite projects will increase our carbon emissions by 20 million tons a year (from our current level of 70 million) this is no small issue and commercial interests should not be given preference over environmental concerns. http://localbodies-bsprout.blogspot.co.nz/2012/02/lignite-presentation-to-environment.html
Is Mr Shearer still leader of the Labour Party?
I haven’t heard him utter anything lately.
If this is his way of doing things differently, I don’t like it…
It was a lapse in judgement and there are consequences. However, it is seems to be the same problem people like him face.
The days when you could have a Ralph Nader presenting facts, and catching the forces of reaction by surprise, has gone.
The forces of the right, “special interest”, reaction, are well funded and resourced in their merciless and unethical dealings. There are a myriad of “think tanks” which don’t use their brain power to think about the facts but to think about ways to obfuscate, mislead, misdirect, misinform.
It leaves people like Peter Gleick with the temptation to cross the line to redress the power imbalance.
Ultimately, he repented of his action and confessed. If the position was reversed, the guilty think tank member would not confess but get booked on Fox News so he could attack “the liberals”, further muddy the waters and promote his new book.
Hells Bells Barry. Can you hear the applause from those whose support for National standards has been “Teachers should obey the Government. Teachers are just trying to protect poor teachers. etc ”
Just imagine what will happen once Key and Banks get to enact such a disgraceful program as described in your New York link. No wonder USA are steadily slipping down international scores.
Makes me sick to think that Min Ed Hekia Parata, who is going to introduce competition between teachers, will make the New York disaster our disaster.
The Radio Network, which broadcasts Newstalk ZB, ZM and Radio Sport, has been referred to police by the Electoral Commission over election programmes for Peter Dunne’s United Future Party.
The programmes aired on October 25, just over a month out from the general election last year.
The Commission said it believed the broadcasts breached section 70 of the Broadcasting Act because broadcasters were prohibited from airing election programmes outside of the election period, which was October 26 to November 25, last year.
Whoops, someone at UF must have got their dates wrong.
Occupying Government of Greece
These days are going to vote for a bill that will be the last nail in the coffin of the Greek.
A bill to return the country to a totalitarian rule.
To bring the country and its people in absolute poverty.
We will not allow another misery to the Greek people.
We demand your resignation immediately, and elections.
We demand not paid a cent to moneylenders ‘friends’ you.
We demand the immediate withdrawal of the IMF from Greece.
The Justice Department was only a small sample of what we’re capable of doing
Even you have not seen the full wrath of Anonymous.
CV even conservative MP’s in the UK are advocating for Greece to default and set up their own currency again.Otherwise as these Conservative MPs have pointed out Greece will never recover!
They are saying Greece will just keep getting worse and not better.
Why aren’t our Con artistive Trolls backing their opinion!
Where have all the Trolls gone!
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This video includes personal musings and conclusions of the creator climate scientist Dr. Adam Levy and climate communicator Becky Hoag. It is presented to our readers as an informed perspective. Please see video description for references (if any). In just a few weeks President Donald Trump has done everything he can ...
US President Donald Trump has cast serious doubts on the future of the postwar international order. In recent speeches and UN votes, his administration has sided with Russia, an aggressor that launched a war of ...
China’s economic importance cannot be allowed to supersede all other Australian interests. For the past couple of decades, trade has dominated Australia’s relations with China. This cannot continue. Australia needs to prioritise its security interests ...
Troubling times, surreal times. So many of us seem to be pacing our exposure to it all to preserve our sanity. I know I am.A generous dose of history podcasts and five seasons in a row of The Last Kingdom have been a big help. Good will hand evil a ...
Although I do not usually write about NZ politics, I do follow them. I find that with the exception of a few commentators, coverage of domestic issues tends to be dominated by a fixation on personalities, scandals, “gotcha” questioning, “he said, she said” accusations, nitpicking about the daily minutia of ...
That’s the title of a 2024 book by a couple of Australian academic economists, Steven Hamilton (based in US) and Richard Holden (a professor at the University of New South Wales). The subtitle of the book is “How we crushed the curve but lost the race”. It is easy ...
Australian companies operating overseas are navigating an increasingly volatile geopolitical landscape where economic coercion, regulatory uncertainty and security risks are becoming the norm. Our growing global investment footprint is nationally important, and the Australian government ...
You're like MarmiteFickle to meMixed receptionNo one can agreeStill so saltyDarkest energyThink you're specialBut you're no match for meSong by Porij.Morena, let’s not beat about the bush this morning, shall we? You and I both know we’re not here to discuss cornflakes, poached eggs, or buttered toast. We’re here for ...
Unlike other leaders, Luxon chose to say he trusted Donald Trump and saw the United States as a reliable partner, just as Trump upended 80 years of US-led stability in trade and security. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāIn summary today: PM Christopher Luxon is increasingly at odds with leaders ...
Australians need to understand the cyber threat from China. US President Donald Trump described the launch of Chinese artificial intelligence chatbot, DeepSeek, as a wake-up call for the US tech industry. The Australian government moved ...
This Webworm deals with religious trauma. Please take care when reading and listening. I will note that the audio portion is handled gently by my guests Michael and Shane. Hi,I usually like to have my thoughts a little more organised before I send out a Webworm, but this is sort ...
..From: Frank MacskasySent: Tuesday, 25 February 2025 12:37 PMTo: Brooke van Velden <Brooke.vanVelden@parliament.govt.nz>Subject: Destiny Church/GangKia Ora Ms Van Velden,Not sure if you're checking this email account, but on the off-chance you are, please add my voice to removing Destiny Church/Gang's charity status.I've enquired about what charities do, and harassing and ...
The Australian government’s underreaction to China’s ongoing naval circumnavigation of Australia is a bigger problem than any perceived overreaction in public commentary. Some politicisation of the issue before a general election is natural in a ...
Oh hi, Chris Luxon here, just touching base to cover off an issue about Marie Antoinette.Let me be clear. I never said she ate Marmite sandwiches and I honestly don’t know how people get hold of some of these ideas. I’m here to do one thing and one thing only: ...
Artificial intelligence is becoming commonplace in electoral campaigns and politics across Southeast Asia, but the region is struggling to regulate it. Indonesia’s 2024 general election exposed actual harms of AI-driven politics and overhyped concerns that ...
The StrategistBy Karryl Kim Sagun Trajano and Adhi Priamarizki
The Commerce Commission is investigating Wellington Water after damning reports into its procurement processes. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon says parents who are dissatisfied with the new school lunch programme should “make a marmite sandwich and put an apple in a bag”. Health Minister Simeon Brown says overseas clinicians may be ...
Ruled Out:The AfD, (Alternative für Deutschland) branded “Far Right” by Germany’s political mainstream, has been ostracised politically. The Christian Democrats (many of whose voters support the AfD’s tough anti-immigration stance) have ruled out any possibility of entering into a coalition with the radical-nationalist party.THAT THERE HAS BEEN A SHIFT towards the ...
School lunches plagued with issues as Luxon continues to defend Seymour Today, futher reports on “an array of issues” with school lunches as the “collective nightmare” for schools continues. An investigation is underway from the Ministries of Primary Industries after melted plastic was consumed by kids in Friday’s school lunches ...
Christopher Luxon and Nicola Willis tour a factory. Photo: NZMEMountain Tui is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.Last week, New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon told Mike Hoskings that nurses could easily replace general practitioners (GPs) - a ...
When National cancelled the iRex ferry contract out of the blue in a desperate effort to make short-term savings to pay for their landlord tax cuts, we knew there would be a cost. Not just one to society, in terms of shitter ferries later, but one to the government, which ...
The risk of China spiralling into an unprecedentedly prolonged recession is increasing. Its economy is experiencing deflation, with the price level falling for a second consecutive year in 2024, according to recent data from the ...
You know he got the cureYou know he went astrayHe used to stay awakeTo drive the dreams he had awayHe wanted to believeIn the hands of loveHands of loveSongwriters: Paul David Hewson / Adam Clayton / Larry Mullen / Dave Evans.Last night, I saw a Labour clip that looked awfully ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Jeff Masters and Bob Henson One month into the new Trump administration, firings of scientists and freezes to U.S. research funding have caused an unprecedented elimination of scientific expertise from the federal government. Proposed and ongoing cuts to agencies like the National ...
Counter-productive cost shifting: The Government’s drive to reduce public borrowing and costs has led to increases in rates, fees and prices (such as Metlink’s 43% increase for off-peak fares) that in turn feed into consumer price inflation. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāLong stories short, my top six news items ...
China’s not-so-subtle attempt at gunboat diplomacy over the past two weeks has encountered various levels of indignation in Australia and throughout the region. Many have pointed out that the passage of a three-ship naval task ...
The left — or the center left, in more fragmented multi-party systems like New Zealand — are faced with what they feel is an impossible choice: how to run a campaign that is both popular enough to be voted on, while also addressing the problems we face? The answer, like ...
Are we feeling the country is in such capable hands, that we can afford to take a longer break between elections? Outside the parliamentary bubble and a few corporate boardrooms, surely there are not very many people who think that voters have too much power over politicians, and exert it ...
Like everyone else outside Russia, I watched Saturday morning's shitshow between Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelensky in horror. Sure, the US had already thrown Ukraine under the bus, demanding that it accept Russia's theft of land - but there's a difference between that, and berating someone in front of the ...
With Donald Trump back in the White House, Washington is operating under a hard-nosed, transactional framework in which immediate returns rather than shared values measure alliances. For Australia, this signals a need to rethink its ...
Poor Bangladesh. Life is not easy there. One in five of its people live below the poverty line. Poor Bangladesh. Things would surely be even tougher for them if one billion dollars were disappear from their government’s bank deposits.In 2016, it very nearly happened. Perhaps you've heard of the Lazarus ...
Welcome to the January/February 2025 Economic Bulletin. In the feature article Craig surveys the backwards steps New Zealand has been making on child poverty reduction. In our main data updates, we cover wage growth, employment, social welfare, consumer inflation, household living costs, and retail trade. We also provide analysis of ...
Forty years ago, in a seminal masterpiece titled Amusing Ourselves to Death, US author Neil Postman warned that we had entered a brave new world in which people were enslaved by television and other technology-driven ...
Last month I dug into the appointment of fossil-fuel lobbyist John Carnegie to the board of the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority. Carnegie was rejected as a candidate in two appointment rounds, being specifically not recommended because he was "likely to relitigate board decisions, or undermine decisions that have been ...
Te Pāti Māori extends our deepest aroha to the 500 plus Whānau Ora workers who have been advised today that the govt will be dismantling their contracts. For twenty years , Whānau Ora has been helping families, delivering life-changing support through a kaupapa Māori approach. It has built trust where ...
Labour welcomes Simeon Brown’s move to reinstate a board at Health New Zealand, bringing the destructive and secretive tenure of commissioner Lester Levy to an end. ...
This morning’s announcement by the Health Minister regarding a major overhaul of the public health sector levels yet another blow to the country’s essential services. ...
New Zealand First has introduced a Member’s Bill that will ensure employment decisions in the public service are based on merit and not on forced woke ‘Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion’ targets. “This Bill would put an end to the woke left-wing social engineering and diversity targets in the public sector. ...
Police have referred 20 offenders to Destiny Church-affiliated programmes Man Up and Legacy as ‘wellness providers’ in the last year, raising concerns that those seeking help are being recruited into a harmful organisation. ...
Te Pāti Māori welcomes the resignation of Richard Prebble from the Waitangi Tribunal. His appointment in October 2024 was a disgrace- another example of this government undermining Te Tiriti o Waitangi by appointing a former ACT leader who has spent his career attacking Māori rights. “Regardless of the reason for ...
Police Minister Mark Mitchell is avoiding accountability by refusing to answer key questions in the House as his Government faces criticism over their dangerous citizen’s arrest policy, firearm reform, and broken promises to recruit more police. ...
The number of building consents issued under this Government continues to spiral, taking a toll on the infrastructure sector, tradies, and future generations of Kiwi homeowners. ...
The Green Party is calling on the Prime Minister to rule out joining the AUKUS military pact in any capacity following the scenes in the White House over the weekend. ...
The Green Party is appalled by the Government’s plan to disestablish Resource Teachers of Māori (RTM) roles, a move that takes another swing at kaupapa Māori education. ...
The Government’s levies announcement is a step in the right direction, but they must be upfront about who will pay its new infrastructure levies and ensure that first-home buyers are protected from hidden costs. ...
After months of mana whenua protecting their wāhi tapu, the Green Party welcomes the pause of works at Lake Rotokākahi and calls for the Rotorua Lakes Council to work constructively with Tūhourangi and Ngāti Tumatawera on the pathway forward. ...
New Zealand First continues to bring balance, experience, and commonsense to Government. This week we've made progress on many of our promises to New Zealand.Winston representing New ZealandWinston Peters is overseas this week, with stops across the Middle East and North Asia. Winston's stops include Saudi Arabia, the ...
Green Party Co-Leaders Marama Davidson and Chlöe Swarbrick have announced the party’s plans to deliver a Green Budget this year to offer an alternative vision to the Government’s trickle-down economics and austerity politics. ...
At this year's State of the Planet address, Green Party co-leaders Marama Davidson and Chlöe Swarbrick announced the party’s plans to deliver a Green Budget this year to offer an alternative vision to the Government’s trickle-down economics and austerity politics. ...
The Government has spent $3.6 million dollars on a retail crime advisory group, including paying its chair $920 a day, to come up with ideas already dismissed as dangerous by police. ...
The Green Party supports the peaceful occupation at Lake Rotokākahi and are calling for the controversial sewerage project on the lake to be stopped until the Environment Court has made a decision. ...
ActionStation’s Oral Healthcare report, released today, paints a dire picture of unmet need and inequality across the country, highlighting the urgency of free dental care for all New Zealanders. ...
The Golden Age There has been long-standing recognition that New Zealand First has an unrivalled reputation for delivering for our older New Zealanders. This remains true, and is reflected in our coalition agreement. While we know there is much that we can and will do in this space, it is ...
Labour Te Atatū MP Phil Twyford has written to the charities regulator asking that Destiny Church charities be struck off in the wake of last weekend’s violence by Destiny followers in his electorate. ...
Bills by Labour MPs to remove rules around sale of alcohol on public holidays, and for Crown entities to adopt Māori names have been drawn from the Members’ Bill Ballot. ...
The Government is falling even further behind its promised target of 500 new police officers, now with 72 fewer police officers than when National took office. ...
This morning’s Stats NZ child poverty statistics should act as a wake-up call for the government: with no movement in child poverty rates since June 2023, it’s time to make the wellbeing of our tamariki a political priority. ...
Green Party Co-Leader Marama Davidson’s Consumer Guarantees Right to Repair Amendment Bill has passed its first reading in Parliament this evening. ...
“The ACT Party can’t be bothered putting an MP on one of the Justice subcommittees hearing submissions on their own Treaty Principles Bill,” Labour Justice Spokesperson Duncan Webb said. ...
The Government’s newly announced funding for biodiversity and tourism of $30-million over three years is a small fraction of what is required for conservation in this country. ...
The Government's sudden cancellation of the tertiary education funding increase is a reckless move that risks widespread job losses and service reductions across New Zealand's universities. ...
As the world marks three years since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced additional sanctions on Russian entities and support for Ukraine’s recovery and reconstruction. “Russia’s illegal invasion has brought three years of devastation to Ukraine’s people, environment, and infrastructure,” Mr Peters says. “These additional sanctions target 52 ...
Associate Finance Minister David Seymour has today announced the Government’s plan to reform the Overseas Investment Act and make it easier for New Zealand businesses to receive new investment, grow and pay higher wages. “New Zealand is one of the hardest countries in the developed world for overseas people to ...
Associate Health Minister Hon Casey Costello is traveling to Australia for meetings with the aged care sector in Melbourne, Canberra, and Sydney next week. “Australia is our closest partner, so as we consider the changes necessary to make our system more effective and sustainable it makes sense to learn from ...
The Government is boosting investment in the QEII National Trust to reinforce the protection of Aotearoa New Zealand's biodiversity on private land, Conservation Minister Tama Potaka says. The Government today announced an additional $4.5 million for conservation body QEII National Trust over three years. QEII Trust works with farmers and ...
The closure of the Ava Bridge walkway will be delayed so Hutt City Council have more time to develop options for a new footbridge, says Transport Minister Chris Bishop and Mayor of Lower Hutt, Campbell Barry. “The Hutt River paths are one of the Hutt’s most beloved features. Hutt locals ...
Good afternoon. Can I acknowledge Ngāti Whātua for their warm welcome, Simpson Grierson for hosting us here today, and of course the Committee for Auckland for putting on today’s event. I suspect some of you are sitting there wondering what a boy from the Hutt would know about Auckland, our ...
The Government will invest funding to remove the level crossings in Takanini and Glen Innes and replace them with grade-separated crossings, to maximise the City Rail Link’s ability to speed up journey times by rail and road and boost Auckland’s productivity, Transport Minister Chris Bishop and Auckland Minister Simeon Brown ...
The Government has made key decisions on a Carbon Capture, Utilisation, and Storage (CCUS) framework to enable businesses to benefit from storing carbon underground, which will support New Zealand’s businesses to continue operating while reducing net carbon emissions, Energy and Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. “Economic growth is a ...
Minister for Regulation David Seymour says that outdated and burdensome regulations surrounding industrial hemp (iHemp) production are set to be reviewed by the Ministry for Regulation. Industrial hemp is currently classified as a Class C controlled drug under the Misuse of Drugs Act, despite containing minimal THC and posing little ...
The Ministerial Advisory Group on transnational and serious organised crime was appointed by Cabinet on Monday and met for the first time today, Associate Police Minister Casey Costello announced. “The group will provide independent advice to ensure we have a better cross-government response to fighting the increasing threat posed to ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon will travel to Viet Nam next week, visiting both Ha Noi and Ho Chi Minh City, accompanied by a delegation of senior New Zealand business leaders. “Viet Nam is a rising star of Southeast Asia with one of the fastest growing economies in the region. This ...
The coalition Government has passed legislation to support overseas investment in the Build-to-Rent housing sector, Associate Minister of Finance Chris Bishop says. “The Overseas Investment (Facilitating Build-to-Rent Developments) Amendment Bill has completed its third reading in Parliament, fulfilling another step in the Government’s plan to support an increase in New ...
The new Police marketing campaign starting today, recreating the ‘He Ain’t Heavy’ ad from the 1990s, has been welcomed by Associate Police Minister Casey Costello. “This isn’t just a great way to get the attention of more potential recruits, it’s a reminder to everyone about what policing is and the ...
No significant change to child poverty rates under successive governments reinforces that lifting children out of material hardship will be an ongoing challenge, Child Poverty Reduction Minister Louise Upston says. Figures released by Stats NZ today show no change in child poverty rates for the year ended June 2024, reflecting ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden is pleased to announce the most common family names given to newborns in 2024. “For the seventh consecutive year, Singh is the most common registered family name, with over 680 babies given this name. Kaur follows closely in second place with 630 babies, while ...
A new $3 million fund from the International Conservation and Tourism Visitor Levy will be used to attract more international visitors to regional destinations this autumn and winter, Tourism and Hospitality Minister Louise Upston says. “The Government has a clear priority to unleash economic growth and getting our visitor numbers ...
Good Evening Let us begin by acknowledging Professor David Capie and the PIPSA team for convening this important conference over the next few days. Whenever the Pacific Islands region comes together, we have a precious opportunity to share perspectives and learn from each other. That is especially true in our ...
The Reserve Bank’s positive outlook indicates the economy is growing and people can look forward to more jobs and opportunities, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The Bank today reduced the Official Cash Rate by 50 basis points. It said it expected further reductions this year and employment to pick up ...
Agriculture Minister, Todd McClay and Minister for Māori Development, Tama Potaka today congratulated the finalists for this year’s Ahuwhenua Trophy, celebrating excellence in Māori sheep and beef farming. The two finalists for 2025 are Whangaroa Ngaiotonga Trust and Tawapata South Māori Incorporation Onenui Station. "The Ahuwhenua Trophy is a prestigious ...
The Government is continuing to respond to the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care by establishing a fund to honour those who died in care and are buried in unmarked graves, and strengthen survivor-led initiatives that support those in need. “The $2 million dual purpose fund will be ...
A busy intersection on SH5 will be made safer with the construction of a new roundabout at the intersection of SH28/Harwoods Road, as we deliver on our commitment to help improve road safety through building safer infrastructure, Transport Minister Chris Bishop says. “Safety is one of the Government’s strategic priorities ...
The Government is turbo charging growth to return confidence to the primary sector through common sense policies that are driving productivity and farm-gate returns, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced today. “The latest Federated Farmers Farm Confidence Survey highlights strong momentum across the sector and the Government’s firm commitment to back ...
Improving people’s experience with the Justice system is at the heart of a package of Bills which passed its first reading today Associate Justice Minister Nicole McKee says. “The 63 changes in these Bills will deliver real impacts for everyday New Zealanders. The changes will improve court timeliness and efficiency, ...
Returning the Ō-Rākau battle site to tūpuna ownership will help to recognise the past and safeguard their stories for the benefit of future generations, Minister for Māori Crown Relations Tama Potaka says. The Te Pire mō Ō-Rākau, Te Pae o Maumahara / Ō-Rākau Remembrance Bill passed its third reading at ...
A new university programme will help prepare PhD students for world-class careers in science by building stronger connections between research and industry, Science, Innovation and Technology Minister Dr Shane Reti says. “Our Government is laser focused on growing New Zealand’s economy and to do that, we must realise the potential ...
Health Minister Simeon Brown has today announced funding of more than $14 million to replace the main water supply and ring mains in the main building of Auckland City Hospital. “Addressing the domestic hot water system at the country’s largest hospital, which opened in 2003, is vitally important to ensure ...
The Government is investing $30 million from the International Visitor Conservation and Tourism Levy to fund more than a dozen projects to boost biodiversity and the tourist economy, Conservation Minister Tama Potaka says. “Tourism is a key economic driver, and nature is our biggest draw card for international tourists,” says ...
Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters will travel to Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, China, Mongolia, and the Republic of Korea later this week. “New Zealand enjoys long-standing and valued relationships with Saudi Arabia and the UAE, both highly influential actors in their region. The visit will focus on building ...
Minister for Rail Winston Peters has announced director appointments for Ferry Holdings Limited – the schedule 4a company charged with negotiating ferry procurement contracts for two new inter-island ferries. Mr Peters says Ferry Holdings Limited will be responsible for negotiating long-term port agreements on either side of the Cook Strait ...
Ophthalmology patients in Kaitaia are benefiting from being able to access the complete cataract care pathway closer to home, Health Minister Simeon Brown says. “Ensuring New Zealanders have access to timely, quality healthcare is a priority for the Government. “Since 30 September 2024, Kaitaia Hospital has been providing cataract care ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Margaret Cook, Research Fellow, Australian Rivers Institute, Griffith University Tropical Cyclone Alfred has passed – now downgraded to a tropical low. But do not be lured into a false sense of security. Grave dangers remain. Parts of southeast Queensland and northern ...
The transformation of IWWD from a communist-led day of rebellion into a feel-good holiday of corporate branding is no accident. Capitalism thrives on absorbing and neutralising radical movements. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Elizabeth Westrupp, Associate Professor in Psychology, Deakin University Cyclones and floods are terrifying and unpredictable. The stress of ensuring your family’s safety, worrying about what might happen and then coping with the aftermath can feel overwhelming. Some parents are also managing ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Steve Turton, Adjunct Professor of Environmental Geography, CQUniversity Australia After a wet and wild night, residents of southeast Queensland and northeast New South Wales are assessing the damage wrought by Cyclone Alfred, which has been downgraded to a tropical low. While the ...
PROFILE:By Malum Nalu in Port Moresby For nearly half a century, Papua New Guinea has been more than just a home for Laurence “Rocky” Roe — it has been his canvas, his inspiration, and his great love. A master behind the lens, Rocky has captured the soul of the ...
“We are calling on the women who work in the Beehive to show some solidarity with working women by getting real on pay equity,” said NZCTU Secretary Melissa Ansell-Bridges. ...
Christopher Luxon: Hello and welcome to the brand new cooking show Giving The Kiddies Something To Eat. I’m Christopher and with me is David. He’s a real kitchen whizz!David Seymour: Look I’m a bit busy. I don’t have time to stand around here all day. Here. Eat this. Careful, it’s ...
Every second, more than 8,000 people read Wikipedia. Every minute, there are about 350 edits to the site. It’s the most-read reference ever.This, of course, is according to Wikipedia – a sentence that would have been unlikely to appear in an article even a few years ago.But in a world ...
Comment: It was all going so well for Chris Hipkins on Friday morning when he gave his State of the Nation speech.He filled a mid-sized room at the Pullman Hotel in Auckland with business people and party folk. His speech was delivered with a footsure, we’re-back-from-the-dead confidence after summer polls ...
The conservative backlash sweeping around the globe is contributing to massive pushbacks in advances for women and girls, and women in Aotearoa are not immune.According to UN Women, gender disparities are worsening. The organisation believes closing gaps in legal protections and removing discriminatory laws it could take another 286 years based on ...
The Black Ferns Sevens scored 41 tries in six matches en route to winning the Vancouver Sevens.A try scored by Michaela Brake against Ireland to become the highest try scorer in World Series Sevens history demanded headlines but perhaps the most popular try scored among the team was the first ...
Gabi Lardies is here to reflect on the week as Mad Chapman is on leave.Sometime last year, I decided I was going to rediscover my hometown, Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland. I’ve lived here for so long that my groove of a few well-frequented streets and spots had become a bit ...
Longtime poetry slam organiser, Ben Fagan, on the art, the rituals and the origins of the movement.It was a hot and rainy December night when the poets arrived. From across the country they flew, bussed and even drove themselves to the Ellen Melville Centre in Auckland to compete in ...
The broadcaster and presenter looks back on her life in television, including Coro’s teen pregnancy scandal, being a ‘5.30pm telly girl’ and meeting her future husband on camera. As broadcaster and presenter for Sky Sport, Laura McGoldrick regularly finds herself on the sidelines of some of the most exciting and ...
On International Women’s Day, a Taranaki teacher aide argues the conditions she and her largely female colleagues work in perpetuate the myth that women are natural caregivers, who do their jobs out of love.The choice is toilet paper or us. That’s what we teacher aides joke about. Except it’s ...
Adelaide Writers’ Week was vibrant, resourced and thriving. So why, returning home with a head full of plans, did Claire Mabey feel unexpectedly sad? The Spinoff Essay showcases the best essayists in Aotearoa, on topics big and small. Made possible by the generous support of our members.I watch Conclave on ...
The Pacific profiles series shines a light on Pacific people in Aotearoa doing interesting and important work in their communities, as nominated by members of the public. Today, Frazer Strickland.All photos by Geoffery Matautia.Frazer Strickland is a multi-disciplinary creative hailing from Mt Roskill, Tāmaki Makaurau. He is an ...
Each year, the Sunday Ode series at ReadingRoom has an extended holiday. It packs up and heads off shortly before Christmas. It returns on the wing like a godwit, or perhaps a sinister black bat, in the fading days of summer.Around this time of the year, I get an email ...
Democracy Now!AMY GOODMAN: President Trump addressed a joint session of Congress in a highly partisan 100-minute speech, the longest presidential address to Congress in modern history on Wednesday.Trump defended his sweeping actions over the past six weeks.PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: We have accomplished more in 43 days than ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jessica Genauer, Senior Lecturer in International Relations, Flinders University On March 3, US President Donald Trump paused all US military aid to Ukraine. This move was apparently triggered by a heated exchange a few days earlier between Trump, Vice President JD Vance ...
If trust in media is going to return, Kiwis need to see transparency in reporting, and independence from political and ideological influence. Trust will not increase with further regulation, especially from authorities in which the majority of Kiwis ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By David Henderson, Chief Engineer, Cyclone Testing Station, James Cook University People in southeast Queensland and northern NSW have spent days racing to prepare their homes ahead of Tropical Cyclone Alfred, now expected to make landfall over several hours on Saturday. It’s not ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Erin Smith, Associate Professor and Discipline Lead (Paramedicine), La Trobe University In 2011, as Cyclone Yasi approached the Queensland coast, I sat in my home in the tropical far north of the state and worried what the future would hold. Would my ...
The bill would provide a legislative framework for the conduct of referendums. The framework would be largely the same as that used for the next general election. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Prema Arasu, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Minderoo-UWA Deep-Sea Research Centre, The University of Western Australia David Jara Boguñá / Instagram In February, researchers from conservation organisation Condrik Tenerife were about two kilometres off the coast of Tenerife Island, looking for sharks, when ...
Report by Dr David Robie – Café Pacific. – ANALYSIS:By Jonathan Cook If there is one thing we can thank US President Donald Trump for, it is this: he has decisively stripped away the ridiculous notion, long cultivated by Western media, that the United States is a benign ...
A change of hands for some major portfolios and a subtle switch in focus suggest Labour desperately wants to rinse Auckland red.Where has the Labour Party been for the past year? Flying safely under the radar thanks to the endless controversies coming out of the coalition, and recently far ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Stephen Gaunson, Associate Professor in Cinema Studies, RMIT University Youtube/Austvarchive Some 50 years ago, on March 1 1975, Australian television stations officially moved to colour. Networks celebrated the day, known as “C-Day”, with unique slogans such as “come to colour” (ABC ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Christina Boedker, Professor, Business School, University of Newcastle Floral Deco/Shutterstock The opposition wants to call time on letting public servants work from home. In a speech to the Menzies Research Institute this week, shadow public service minister Jane Hume said, if ...
A new poem by Maia Armistead. Mention of forest creatures I have never entered a forest. I have never sent stones careening and not heard them fall. I have never let a footprint fill with wild ants and seen it walk off without me. If there is a dark, tangled ...
I have some respect for Roy Morgan’s poll results, but its commentary sucks.
The commentary on the latest results says “continuing strong support for Prime Minister John Key’s National Party” even though it is down to 45.5%. Support for Key’s Coalition partners has apparently changed little even though the Maori Party has lost 25% of its support (1.5%) and ACT at 1% still needs National’s generosity to be relevant. United Future at 0.5% remains a haircut away from oblivion.
Support for Labour Party has increased 0.5% to 31% but 3.5% since last November’s election. The Greens are down a bit to 11.5%, (down 1.5%), New Zealand First is at 6% which is up from the last result but down from the election result, Mana is up slightly to 1% and who knows who the others are.
Confidence Rating is down 6 points to 127 — with 57% (down 4%) of New Zealanders saying New Zealand is “heading in the right direction” compared to 30% (up 2%) that say New Zealand is “heading in the wrong direction.” I predict that these particular statistics will continue to worsen over the next few months.
Over all,
NACT + MP + UF = 48.5%
L + G + NZF + M = 49.5%
So the “continuing strong support for Prime Minister John Key’s Party” actually looks pretty flimsy. Someone should tell Gary Morgan.
I guess technically they are correct insofar as 45.5% vs 31% is still a large gap (though narrowing steadily). Actually I think Roy Morgan deserve some credit for at least attempting to gauge the relative position of the two potential governing blocs. Most of the NZ pollsters still insist on looking at their polls through the prism of FPP. At any rate Gary Morgan concludes his remarks with this statement:
“Overall support for the full National-led Government has dipped to 48.5% (down 0.5%), trailing the Opposition Parties (51.5%, up 0.5%). Worryingly for Key, this is the lowest level of support his broad-based Coalition has received since being elected to Government in November 2008.”
MS – Serious question. Do you believe that the state of NZ politics, as it reflects global politics, is in any way capable of turnin a sinking NZ around, and should people waste their time buying into the political system, which is blatantly defunct, and serving interests other than NZ?
If a few 10k more people had voted for the opposition rather than National, we wouldn’t be having asset sales discussions (or they would be radically different, if MP went ahead with them).
Hi Muzza
Of course I do. I would not be involved in politics otherwise. Although I agree that there are reasons to despair at the inertia and at the self serving behaviour of some of our fellow MPs.
Doing work at the local body or community level may turn out to be more important. And pressuring central government from that level to get its shit together re: transport systems and energy systems will be crucial.
The problem I see at central government level is that it only takes the Tories half the time to dismantle anything that the left tries to build. Knocking stuff down and cancelling stuff is always quicker than trying to build stuff up.
The other dynamic is that in national politics, a huge amount of time and energy is spent just trying to maintain, administer and manage a highly complex status quo. In a lot of ways that investment is a dead investment because the complex status quo today is completely unfit for the purpose that we will need it for in just a few years.
Actually I think “continuing strong support for Prime Minister John Key’s Party” is actually an accurate description of those figures.
Just because the supposed opposition bloc is 1 point above the governing bloc, doesn’t mean that the governing bloc doesn’t have strong support.
Do they ask people who did not vote to participate?
I would say that given the massive number that didn’t, citing support for either side of the same coin, is trite!
Not sure Lanth. In the past 5 months using Roy Morgan figures the nats have shed 10 percentage points. If you look at the graph there is a noticeable and sustained dip. If I was them I would be more than a little afraid …
Watched Bruce Robertson on tv re smoking , just triggered a question- what had happened to the drinking age? That was all go pre last years election and I have heard nothing since
I think the bill is still making its way through Parliament, and is due to be voted on this year sometime.
I dont drink that much myself, but it seem to be that the force behind the proposed changes seems to be more of a view that only those who are over 45, male and in the upper income bracket can hold their drink, and it needs to be made harder for everyone else to buy alcohol. The moral panic around ball season binge drinking springs to mind.
The levels of clinical and subclinical depression, and alcohol and other substance abuse in this society, are very very worrying.
Thanks for that
It appears another case where big business will direct social policy all for a $. I am sure that this will be a great distraction surprised it has not been promoted with the asset sales and the lack of public support over the govts blind at all cost following their ideology
Still think it is funny that we can currently drink at 18 but are unable to go to the casino until 20.
Our good wowser mate Dunne will be happy to raise the drinking age to 20….of course the kids will save all their money and buy shares in state assets instead of alcohol.
dunne a ‘wowser’..?
for years he has been a pimp for both the alcohol and tobacco companies..
..he isn’t known as peter dunhill for nothing..
phil@whoar.
Phil, he was at Uni, prick would not invest in a beer chiller for Steins….he then went to ALAC, always “Mr Moral”. I reckon if he has been in the pockets of the alcohol and fags industries as you state he must be the ultimate two faced “me firster” I take him to be.
So when did he give up Marajuana Bored.
Seconded!
Very bad form and typical of some of the stories coming from Ch’ch.
TVNZ, TV3 and Sky New Australia all cross live at 8 am for the commencement of the earthquake memorial service.
And nothing for 25 minutes. People on stage obviously ready for an 8 am start and no dignitaries. They didn’t arrive until 8:25.
I could only imagine people swearing in the Sydney newsroom that a 24 hour news channel was forced to broadcast what effectively was 25 minutes of music from the Army Band.
Who f’d up?
Worse for those watching TVNZ. 25 minutes of fill from Corin Dan. 25 uninterrupted minutes for Corin to talk shit.
Who f’d up?
All the broadcasters would be cursing at the loss of revenue from planned commercial breaks that were replaced with 25 minutes of the Army Band.
Couldn’t even give the right time to the media. Symbolic of the recovery?
Sure. Lets time everything to suit the media in future. If real world circumstances conspire to fuck it up, then hell, we’ll, we’ll….do something to teach that real world a lesson it will never forget. While we’re at it, lets stop the world spinning for the ad breaks. Wouldn’t want to miss any of that live action now, would we?
It’s not about pandering to the media. It’s about doing your job and doing it efficiently.
For an event like this, that you want broadcast to NZ and all those interested and concerned, then you either setup you own television network for which you call the shots (obviously out of the question) or you enter into a symbiotic relationship with the broadcaster in which you have to consider their needs.
Somebody didn’t do their job.
Jeez, William, no need to blow a foo foo valve. The ceremony was delayed to allow the many, many buses full of Chch citizens to get to Latimer Square. Normally, transport wouldn’t be a problem, but they had an earthquake down there a while ago which has made things a bit awkward for them. Sorry they let you down and I’m sure the mayor will make a formal apology to you in due course.
No need to be rude (or an ass for that matter).
“Jeez, William, no need to blow a foo foo valve.” – inferring an attitude not in evidence. I was passing comment that some had fucked up (which they had) and the implication for the broadcasters (which there were a number) and I said absolutely nothing about the implications on me (of which there were none). All of which makes your post thoroughly pointless.
In response to your patronising comment “they had an earthquake down there a while ago”, all things considered, (including earthquakes and moving people) planning should do just that, i.e. consider all things. If you can’t get people there on time then, in the planning stage, you push back the time and let the relevant parties know. Both of which they didn’t. Ergo, someone f’d up.
BTW, that little problem with the earthquake you mention, didn’t happen yesterday nor was this event unanticipated.
Word of advise, before you launch into conceited posts full of misplaced sarcasm you should take the time to read what is posted instead of making inferences, the evidence for which only exists in your head.
William, I’m glad you get it now and I hope you think before writing such drivel again in the future. Or at least do some fact checking first. In this case, it wouldn’t have been hard because the reason for the delay was announced at the time.
That minor effort to actually find out what was going would have stopped you jumping to dumbarse conclusions like ‘someone f’d up’. As it turns out, that someone was you.
Do you have a reading comprehension problem? Some sort of learning impairment I need to know about?
Are you not able to read what has been posted?
Or is it that once you take up an opposing position (and despite having been soundly corrected) you not capable of seeing the error in your reasoning?
– “William, I’m glad you get it no” – not the case. You have yet to show that I am in error.
– “Or at least do some fact checking first” – already done before I first posted. On the ccc website. So, again you make inferences from incorrect assumptions. Check it yourself. The announced schedule was that John Key et al would arrive at 7:50 am. That makes them 35min late. Are there other facts that I should be aware off. You know, the ones that exist in reality and not your congested imagination.
– “the reason for the delay was announced at time“. If you mean “announced this morning” than all I can say to you is “Thank you for demonstrating my point” [William takes a bow midst thunderous applause]. MY POINT EXACTLY! If it was announced this morning then it shows poor planning hence leaving the media with time to fill. Which, if I am not mistaken, (and I most certainly am not) was my original post.
– “That minor effort to actually find out what was going would have stopped you jumping to dumbarse conclusions like ‘someone f’d up’. As it turns out, that someone was you.”
This para shows that it is you who has jumped to a “dumbarse conclusion”
Dude, I heard it on the radio at about 10 minutes past 8. It’s not my problem that you leapt to a particularly stupid conclusion without bothering to find out what was going on. This was not the RWC transport fiasco, just a lot of Chch people wanting to show their respects, which caused a short delay that only you are the least bit upset about. And which you would have known if you’d bothered to check.
And by your friends, ye shall be known. When V32 comes to your defence, you’ve gotta know you have well and truly f’d up!
I have taken too much time to make my point perfectly clear and you still have been unable to refute it with anything other than some radio broadcast that just goes to prove my point.
Take a deep breath and re-read the posts.
If you’re still unhappy then go tell Oprah, she cares. Better still try Dr Phil – I’m sure he can help you.
You may have changed your name, but your attitude to disagreement is as foul as ever! Your vicious, scarcastic little wank of a post disgusts me. You are thoroughly in the wrong here, and not for the first or the last time. Your ego gets in the way of your common sense. 🙁
Hardly surprising – he’s adopted the moniker of Lord Haw-Haw
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Joyce
I’m having a bad day so I’ll “take the bait” on this one.
So, my moniker is William Joyce. That is what you know for certain.
What you do not know is whether that is my real name or a pseudonym. To assume one way or the other (without evidence) is, what those in the industry call, an “assumption”.
Error number 1
Someone in history, who was blessed with the name William Joyce, was a mouthpiece for a fascist regime. Therefore, anyone with a similar name must also be a fascist.
Error number 2
Reacting to someone because of the moniker they use….
Error number 3.
“Hardly surprising…” – was a response to Vicky32 as though she was responding to me. Rather I & Te Reo Putake think V32 was responding to Te Reo Putake. (I hope I have read this right, V32, as I can not see any number for posts)
Error number 4
Ok, time for bed, where I can dream of a world where rich financiers, economic technocrats, and artificial-humans (known as corporations) do not rule the world.
“I will treat corporations as pseudo-human beings when Texas executes one”
I wasn’t refereing to Joyce being a mouthpiece for a fascist regime (hmmm – works for the Nats too), but for his hyperbolic trolling the allied troops -something that seems to accommodate your ignorant tirades rather nicely.
Just listened to Key speak at the Chch commemorations. Now it could be me (I can hardly bear to listen to him at the best of times) but on radio at least his delivery seemed pretty flat, monotone and detached. Is he getting as tired of it all as some are suggesting?
He was going very very slow so as not to stumble all over himself while talking, but I think I still heard a few slip ups.
http://whoar.co.nz/2012/how-greece-could-take-down-wall-street/
“…In an article titled “Still No End to ‘Too Big to Fail,’” William Greider wrote in The Nation on February 15th:
“Financial market cynics have assumed all along that Dodd-Frank did not end “too big to fail” – but instead created a charmed circle of protected banks labeled “systemically important” – that will not be allowed to fail – no matter how badly they behave.”
That may be, but there is one bit of bad behavior that Uncle Sam himself does not have the funds to underwrite:
– the $32 trillion market in credit default swaps (CDS).
Thirty-two trillion dollars is more than twice the U.S. GDP and more than twice the national debt.
CDS are a form of derivative taken out by investors as insurance against default.
According to the Comptroller of the Currency, nearly 95% of the banking industry’s total exposure to derivatives contracts is held by the nation’s five largest banks: JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup, Bank of America, HSBC, and Goldman Sachs.
The CDS market is unregulated – and there is no requirement that the “insurer” actually have the funds to pay up.
CDS are more like bets – and a massive loss at the casino could bring the house down.
It could, at least, unless the casino is rigged.
Whether a “credit event” is a “default” triggering a payout is determined by the International Swaps and Derivatives Association (ISDA) –
– and it seems that the ISDA is owned by the world’s largest banks and hedge funds.
That means the house determines whether the house has to pay…”
(cont..)
phil-at-whoar.
Which simply means that when Greece defaults completely and takes bck their country , that the banks will fall like dominoes, as the CDS kick in , which then can’t be paid.
yep..!
..kinda looks like that..
phil@whoar.
Mr Dotcom granted bail when more evidence comes to hand. Breaking news – Stuff.
Someone (in the feedback) made a good point on Campbell Live this week about a NZ father dealing recovering his child after parental child abduction.
Our authorities are so quick and aggressive to do the bidding of the US when corporate copyright interests are at stake but are “do nothing” when comes to one of our own who has rights under the Hague Convention to recover his child.
compete, compete….the usual story, of making people fight amongst themselves…
interesting to read along with jennys post on slavery.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=10787221
And that should tell him that injuries aren’t being reported. There’s absolutely no way that no injuries are occurring.
Also interesting to note that the article ended with a smear of the union and PR for the port in what was an obvious change to its flow.
The drive to get workplace injuries down actually used to be part of the Fonterra permanent employees KPI, as it related to their performance bonues…it may not longer be the case, but it certainly was. You can see the conflict of interest there!
Obviously it just leads to less reporting, which in turn allows the company to have undeserved health and safety status!
Michael Laws utterly unable to defend his extreme comments
Radio Live, Wednesday February 22, 2012
If you were so bored and stupid that you listened to Michael Laws this morning, you may have detected that he was more than a little distracted. Possibly because at the same time that he was raving about the need to sterilize “feral Māori”, he was engaging in an epistolary
exchange with this writer, i.e., moi….
1.) 9:36 AM
Dear Michael,
Why don’t you provide a lead for the Māori “ferals” and have yourself sterilized?
Yours sincerely,
Morrissey Breen
Northcote Point
2.) Michael Laws ml…@mediaworks.co.nz
9:50 AM
Because i don’t kill my children you wanker!
3.) 10:03 AM
Really? You were, and no doubt still are, a vituperative advocate of the mass killing of children in Palestine.
Yours in honest disclosure,
Morrissey
4.) Michael Laws ml…@mediaworks.co.nz
10:07 AM
Do you enjoy living on the sickness benefit with your mental condition or are you just FITH?
5.) 10:11 AM
Not a clever reply, my friend. No doubt you intimidate lots of people with personal attacks like that, just like you dismissed poor old “Walter” before the News.
But back to the point under discussion: how can you pretend to be an advocate for Maori children when you have such a filthy record of anti-Palestinian bigotry?
Still waiting for an intelligent answer…
Yours sincerely,
Morrissey
6.) 10:19 AM
Ditto: how do you justify killing Maori kids??
7.) 10:34 AM
I don’t. I think it’s terrible, but unlike you, I really mean that. Now when will you condemn the government-sponsored killing of Palestinian children?
Still waiting….
Yours sincerely,
Morrissey
8.) 10:36 AM
I don’t care about kids in another country, you moron, when its the kids here getting killed? YOU are part of the problem wasting your few mental resources on mad people half a world away.
9.) 10:42 AM
You “don’t care about kids in another country”? Then why did you so vociferously champion their destruction in January 2009?
Calling murdered children “mad” is not an intelligent answer, so could you have another, serious, attempt at an explanation?
Still waiting….
Yours sincerely,
Morrissey
10.) 10:43 AM
Actually if the Israelis had taken you out, I’d have cheered too
11.) 10:54 AM
Still not a serious or credible answer, my friend. You’re not making uneasy sycophants laugh in a Dunedin cafetaria now; you’re expected to back up your attitude with some kind of argument. So far you’ve said nothing of intelligence.
By the way, I thought it was amusing to hear you assert that you “don’t like people who make up history”; I remember the wandery, disconnected and confused potted history of Israel you gave on air at the bloodiest point of the massacre. You obviously got your “history” from a fantasy source—was it Joan Peters by any chance?
Still waiting, mate….
Yours sincerely,
Morrissey Breen
12.) 10:58 AM
False name false FB profile = fraud
13.) 11:03 AM
Jokes, personal attacks, now threats. You’ve really gone to the well, haven’t you?
Is a false Facebook profile as bad a crime as uttering?
Yours in amusement,
Morrissey
14.) 11:08 AM
You’re just a wanker: anonymous wanker hiding behind false identity. Sicko.Now fuck off …
15.) 11:13 AM
Quod erat demonstrandum.
Thanks, mate. Your programme’s a winner, and your callers are all as informed and intelligent as you. Well done, my friend.
Hilarious.
Yours sincerely,
Morrissey
16.) 11:18 AM
FRAUD
17.) 11:29 AM
“Fraud”? Really? Using a pseudonym on the internet is an accepted and almost universal practice. It’s hardly fraudulent. Forging documents when you’re an elected public figure is fraud.
Yours in amusement,
Morrissey
18.) 11:29 AM
FRAUD
19.) 11:37 AM
Seriously Michael, we try to resist inferring from the way in which you bawl into the microphone that you’re not very bright, but your tendentious and abusive e-mail correspondence just confirms it.
What will you do if you lose your radio spot?
Yours sincerely,
Morrissey
20.) 11:38 AM
FRAUD
21.) 11:50 AM
Shouting like that doesn’t really enhance your credibility, old chap. It’s easy to berate callers, and cut them off when you can’t mount a coherent argument against them, but in epistolary form like this, you end up just making yourself look kind of …. well, daft.
I do expect better than you’ve shown this morning—but then again, I’ve rarely heard you in better form. Which is a disappointment.
Yours sincerely,
Morrissey
22.) 11:50 AM
FRAUD
23.) 12:03 PM
Dear Alan Partridge,
A convicted utterer accusing someone of fraud. Kind of awesome.
Yours in amusement,
Morrissey
Well done Morrisey. Good to see someone taking it to Laws.
He can’t cut you off online—although his puerile chanting of “FRAUD” is the same kind of behaviour.
However, in print like this, his lack of integrity and his unwillingness to engage in debate are laid bare.
Nice one, Morrisey. Laws cuts a sad, lonely figure around Whanganui these days. Ignored in the council, laughed at in the local media and deleted from the phone contacts of most of his former allies. As for his shouty problems, Aqualung might be a good nickname for him now, because he looked a lot like the dero on the cover of the Tull album last time I saw him.
Is his wife still beating him?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H8x_59EjZOs&feature=related
Here is the simple guide as to why Rangers FC are insolvent.
“Because we are the people” just about sums it up!
Classic, thanks Fisi.
The Environment Southland Council were provided with an opposing view of Lignite Mining today and while commercial interests get extended time to promote their projects we were initially allotted ten minutes. Considering the lignite projects will increase our carbon emissions by 20 million tons a year (from our current level of 70 million) this is no small issue and commercial interests should not be given preference over environmental concerns.
http://localbodies-bsprout.blogspot.co.nz/2012/02/lignite-presentation-to-environment.html
Is Mr Shearer still leader of the Labour Party?
I haven’t heard him utter anything lately.
If this is his way of doing things differently, I don’t like it…
And yet Labour continues to rise in the polls, strongly suggesting that other people do like his way of doing things. Funny old world, etc…
I’m a bit perturbed as well. Was about to ask the same question.
Oh dear………………..
http://dotearth.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/02/20/peter-gleick-admits-to-deception-in-obtaining-heartland-climate-files/
It was a lapse in judgement and there are consequences. However, it is seems to be the same problem people like him face.
The days when you could have a Ralph Nader presenting facts, and catching the forces of reaction by surprise, has gone.
The forces of the right, “special interest”, reaction, are well funded and resourced in their merciless and unethical dealings. There are a myriad of “think tanks” which don’t use their brain power to think about the facts but to think about ways to obfuscate, mislead, misdirect, misinform.
It leaves people like Peter Gleick with the temptation to cross the line to redress the power imbalance.
Ultimately, he repented of his action and confessed. If the position was reversed, the guilty think tank member would not confess but get booked on Fox News so he could attack “the liberals”, further muddy the waters and promote his new book.
The future for NZ schools under National.
http://www.nybooks.com/blogs/nyrblog/2012/feb/21/no-student-left-untested/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+nybooks+%28The+New+York+Review+of+Books%29
Hells Bells Barry. Can you hear the applause from those whose support for National standards has been “Teachers should obey the Government. Teachers are just trying to protect poor teachers. etc ”
Just imagine what will happen once Key and Banks get to enact such a disgraceful program as described in your New York link. No wonder USA are steadily slipping down international scores.
Makes me sick to think that Min Ed Hekia Parata, who is going to introduce competition between teachers, will make the New York disaster our disaster.
Goldman Sacs involvement in getting Greece into EU, video for Gosman,
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-17108367
What programme was this?
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/crime/6462211/Police-complaint-over-election-programme
Whoops, someone at UF must have got their dates wrong.
Anonymous gives the Greek Government an ultimatum
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/anonymous-hacks-greek-ministry-website-demands-imf-withdrawal-threatens-it-will-wipe-away-all-c
CV even conservative MP’s in the UK are advocating for Greece to default and set up their own currency again.Otherwise as these Conservative MPs have pointed out Greece will never recover!
They are saying Greece will just keep getting worse and not better.
Why aren’t our Con artistive Trolls backing their opinion!
Where have all the Trolls gone!
Crikey! What next. And a default might be the best for the people. At least they would all be in the mess together instead of just the vulnerable.
Yes, William, I was responding to him, not you! No reply button under yours so my current reply is out of order…