I work part time and at weekends, but don’t mind that. But do we need as many people working weekends, and is it destroying family and community life? I don’t have children, but it must be hard for parents of young children to need to work weekends. In fact, one of the weekend cleaners at my workplace has said things to that effect.
And when Monday to Friday workers complain about losing a public holiday every few years, do they realise many people never get the Monday public holidays and welcome the years a public holiday falls at a weekend?
More than a third of workers work their “normal hours” outside the standard 7am-7pm, Monday to Friday time frame, Statistics New Zealand figures reveal, and 20 per cent of our workforce works more than 50 hours a week.
Council of Trade Unions president Helen Kelly said: “I think for thousands of workers the weekend is just nonexistent and has been for some time. Not only is the weekend becoming working time, but hours are so irregular that workers don’t even have replacement days. It’s not like they are working Tuesday to Saturday and having Sunday and Monday off. They are rostered on any time, any place.”
And this change to a 7 day business week has come from businesses that want to increase their profits. Do we really need 7 day shopping, when many places in Europe manage quite well with shops closing on Sundays?
Totally agree with your comment, pity those who allow laws to be made forgot about the voter and what is best for the country. But I am sure that those who supported the Mondanising of ANZAC and Waitangi Days didn’t give a second thought to the group you are part of Carol. I am still surprised that no-one has commented why Labour is supporting the extension of consumerism and big business to the extent that we will have shops open 364 of the 365 day p.a..and I am waiting for someone to question why Christmas day should be the exception?
As can be seen by this post many here could not care about the damage done by Labour to the worker, all they seem to have in mind is the damage National causes and too bad about the collateral damage that was caused by Labour governments http://thestandard.org.nz/the-other-wage-gap/
Labour lurched to the right and accepted the Monetarist economic theory in the 1970s despite the fact that they first came to power when the previous implementation of such a theory collapsed.
Hi Carol,
I’ve just read the stuff article you posted and have popped over here to see if there was any one talking about it- and you are!
I think our obsessive consumerism is ulitmately damaging for society, and fully agree with the points and observations in this article. I’ve worked in retail off and on through my life, starting out in 1989 prior to the ECA coming into effect and the subsequent scrapping of penal rates, among many other reductions in working conditions. I remember if you had to work the odd Saturday morning you got double pay. It was time and half on Friday night. Eventually things changed to what they are now. My last job was a fall back position in retail. The recession came and I couldn’t use my tertiary qual I had recently obtained. I worked every Saturday for two years and it was so depressing on top of everything else that was wrong with working there.
Ironically I had written an essay for one of my papers, on the topic on deteriorating work life balance and its effect on psychological well being, using the NZ example and comparing with differing employment legislation and experience in other industralised countries. Guess what, NZ came out on the bottom in regard to long hours worked and stress related illness. The worst affected groups worked in service: retail, hospitality and caregiving.
The profit at any cost mentality we have in NZ is so damaging in so many ways, to so many sectors of society and the labour market is no exception. It would be great to see more media discussion about this.
No PG, it’s not voluntary. When people don’t have enough to eat and can’t cover the bills then they’re willing to work long hours for SFA – exactly as planned by the neo-liberals.
Very profound.
Of course, if penal rates were mandatory on the weekend, the cause of your handwringing would be solved for the weekend. And workers would be better off.
Pete you have been showing signs of trying to understand of late, but this you do not comprehend.
Marketing and advertising are based on the long term studies of human nature, and psychology plays a huge part in the campaigns, which have rendered the average person into a dribbling moronic, consumer. The advertsing is part if the wider attack on society, the family, the individual. You name it, its being attacked!
While I agree with you that the resposibility lies with the end user, their ability to critically understand what has been happening to them, has been removed.
The techniques too advanced, and the systems attacking the spirit at every turn, has lead to societal misery, and rampant consumerism is a symptom, and much of the related debt.
For evey excessive marketer (that continues) there’s a willing market.
Often “willing” markets opened up by coercion, force and threat. Yeah, that’s real willing.
Also those who prey on human weaknesses – pokie machines being the classic example of highly specialist designed interactions constructed to be physiologically addictive.
Remember, everyone, you live in a vacuum completely bereft of societal messages about wealth, value, deriving satisfaction in material objects! You are not constantly bombarded with advertisements inventing issues which their products will solve! You are not being told on a daily basis that if you don’t eat this, use this, own this, you are stupid/uncool/damaging your children/ruining your own life!
To be fair, Pete has never let his fundamental unpopularity affect his decisions. His lack of electoral support was spectacular, but he still believes he knows what “the people” want. He is told daily that he’s a jerk, and the point hasn’t sunk in yet. So he can’t see why anyone else would be different.
I don’t care about being called a jerk here, especially when you see who calls me one. Abuse makes a very poor argument.
I get different feedback in different forums – some of them refer to here as full of jerks and wonder why I bother commenting here. Do you think that will sink in? I doubt any one will care either.
I actually got some very positive feedback in the electorate for my main focus, including from all four eventual Dunedin baseed MP’s (on record in local newspapers). And what I went into the election campaign for is still progressing here.
And you might be surprised who I got positive feedback from today – from someone who played a significant role in Green campaigning, we’re on a similar wavelength on a very interesting project and may combine our efforts. People prepared to put ideologies aside and work collabaritively.
What I do here is a relatively minor part of what I’m doing.
I’m well aware of the persuasiveness of pervasiveness of marketing. But it can’t be banned, and cannot be easily controlled by regulation. The best way to beat it is by playing them at their own game, social marketing. Either that or just accept that sheep will be always be sheep, and the marketing shepherds will keep convincing them of all the things they don’t really need.
So … you understand marketing is persuasive, but still want to call people “sheep”. Another fine chapter in the Pete George Manifesto Of Knowing Better Than You, Youngsters.
The lecturers at my sales & marketing courses had a name for people like you Pete. Profit. The easiest people to con are those who think they can’t be conned. They look at everyone else as sheep & don’t even notice their own fleece has been shorn.
The Fair Trading Act is a good law to control deceptive marketing, it just doesn’t get enforced enough.
Critical thinking of consumer economics and marketing really needs to be taught as a high school staple, it really is a valuable life skill. I never recall being taught anything remotely relevant to it during my stint in the education system. If anything it was the opposite, they were teaching ways to make a living out of the consumerist status quo.
My education on critical thought of the topic came from the good old university of Real Life. I was fortunate enough to spend some time living on a tight budget in the UK when I was younger doing my OE. It taught me there was much more to life than what the TV told me I wanted to buy. I learned a real appreciation for not frittering away hard earned money on consumer marketed junk. I don’t even own a TV now, I’ll catch a very small selection of tv shows on-demand and that’s it, and I skip all the ads.
As far as I’m concerned if a company has to advertise it’s product, you probably don’t need it. When I buy stuff, I start with MY opinion of what I need, then research to find out what is most suitable/ethical (e.g. free range animal products) solution. Often I may not even buy something if I can make/recycle/repair/improvise something myself. Even buying something second hand, no shame in that, it’s better than a perfectly functional product it ending up in the tip. I am a big fan of trademe & local markets for that very reason.
Yes, the ‘messages’ are important influences but I think the importance of the way things are organised, the structures of daily life are often overlooked as mechanisms to encourage consumerism and eliminate alternatives.
For example, time pressure makes malls appear like convenient ways of purchasing different kinds of goods all in one place. But, then, once you’re in the mall the psychological engineering kicks in. The structures of modern life, that is, serve us all up (soften us all up?) for the messages.
I started my working life in retail back in the days when we had a Thursday or Friday late night. I got up to management level & then they brought in Saturday trading. I’d work a 12hr day Friday & then 9-12 Saturday, it put a crimp in the social life. Then it went to 9-3pm Saturday and that’s when I quit the trade, got too much.
Retail trading hours are bad for the family and social life, I’d be happy to see Sunday trading disappear so everyone can have a break. It’s not as if retail turnover would be affected, same amount of money would still be spent it would just be spent in six days instead of seven.
Can’t see it changing though, consumers have gotten too used to the convenience of all-weekend & evening shopping.
Ratings time must be due in radioland. Michael Laws at his attention seeking best (or worst):
Stop feckless mums having more kids
One of the great moral disasters of our time is that our society lets inadequate people have children. In fact, it doesn’t just allow the pathetic to become parents, it positively encourages it.
Prevent bad parents in advance by sterilising them, pay them not to breed. Heard it all before. It’s sure to stir up a demographic.
Obvious perhaps, but sometimes obvious things need restating. I don’t much like the idea that we should avoid pointing out obvious f@cists in our public discourse just because we already know about them.
That could be seen as a tacit – even if unintended – acceptance of such views.
And yep I absorb a fair bit of media, some by choice and some by circumstance. Thankfully Laws is more a case of “occasionally by chance”.
Oh, I do so love to see people outing themselves as misogynists – especially when it’s by out-of-nowhere dropping radical feminism into a conversation about talkback radio.
Well well, the Valerie Solanas wannabe has rocked on up today! Must be a bit lonely over there on your blog, averaging about 2 comments an article, and they usually your own comments, lol.
Oh, I’m so wounded! A Valerie Solanas comment AND a stab at my readership? If only I didn’t post here on a semi-regular basis, frequently getting 100+ comments on my posts …
You know you still need to actually back up your statements with links, right? I’ve mentioned it a couple of times now, and I am truly excited to know how you’ve deduced felix is a man-hater.
Remarkably for someone who has said so much food for thought, and given so much sheer delight and pleasure with the ritual disembowlings routinely administered … I still have absolutely no clear sense of who he or she is. I don’t even care whether felix is a boy or girl… it’s what is said that matters. And felix has been one of a handful who have shaped The Standard into what it is. The pseudonym tells all you really need to know; playful, dangerously intelligent and has sharp claws.
Nor does has any narrow ‘rad-fem’ agenda ever been apparent. felix contributes on all sorts of threads and topics.
What’s the alternative to being a feminist?
My answer is simple and plain. There is none. The slaver, property-owning patriarchy makes life a misery for most of humanity; male and female. We would all be much better off without it. And our sex lives would be a lot more fun too.
k_p, if you think statements like “we would all be better off without patriarchy” constitute “radical feminism”, you could be in for a rude shock one day.
And in fact not even mainstream here at The Standard. We hardly ever frame discussions in purely ‘radical femminist’ terms as you would have it. For me it’s mostly a private aspect of my life. What I think about, how I see things and what I value is mostly my own business. Except here.
This is a place to say things that are not mainstream, where you can say what you really think and have people respond. Quite often you aren’t going to like the response; but it’s real and sometimes, quite often, you learn stuff.
As a white middle-aged male I came quite late in life to how I think about ‘feminism’. A few years ago I’d been saying much the same line you are right now k_p. I’m not in a mood right now to reprise everything that changed my mind; but has been a real collection of ideas from numerous sources; many of them more related to behavioural evolution and epigenetics than any exposure to a ‘radical feminist’ agenda you are so contemptuous of.
In fact I’m utterly innocent of having read ANY serious feminist material whatsoever.
I’ve really arrived at my own understanding from a completely different direction, equally as much to do with how badly the patriarchy servers MOST men, as it also fundamentally shapes world into a place most women feel it unsafe to be their real selves.
But carry on with the contempt and sneering if you want. Don’t imagine for an instant it will impress anyone. We’ve seen it all before.
Yeah, but we’re sneering and contemptuous towards people who make hilarious statements like “felix is a radical feminist” and who think adding “BS” to a person’s screenname constitutes an argument.
You still haven’t backed up any of your statements. Ours just requires a person to scroll up, read your “contributions”, and join in the sniggering.
Well for one I respect felix for having the stomach to listen to Laws. Frankly I’d just get too angry and finish up breaking too many radios.
But someone has to speak up against the evil this man is spewing. Sure he may be running as a ‘shock jock’ and only a minority might put their hands up to support what he is saying. But it normalises and desensitises us to something that is fundamentally wrong.
All people have the fundamental right to have children. Laws does not get to set some entirely arbitrary standard on who gets to reproduce and who does not.
Promoting compulsory sterilisation is pure facist evil. Of the most egregious kind.
Free speech is not the same as being free to say anything you like and Laws has stepped well over the boundary with this.
felix is permanently in a rage – oscillating between full blown and barely supressed – after all she is a rad fem. So listening to Laws all day would have no discernible effect on her mood.
Yes I agree the media needs cleaning up – Laws, Henry, Holmes et al. A result of a generation of neoliberal policy.
I know politics makes for strange bed mates but felix is a false friend, those misanthropists are losers.
Nope. You have been here five minutes k_p; felix I’ve been reading for over five years. In that time you may not ever know who a commenter is in real life, but you do get a real sense of their soul.
I’d suggest you’ve leapt to a wrong conclusion based on limited evidence. To put it politely.
I’d suggest k_p thinks that laying down the “you’re a radical feminist!” smackdown is somehow a killer silencing move. Further evidence to support the notion that k_p hasn’t known felix very long.
I like felix, whose gender identity I am ignorant of. And you’re funny, and if you’d been here longer than 10 minutes you’d know how I like to poke the funny ones.
To be honest, I haven’t seen anything from you that is worth reading. You don’t argue, just state baseless ‘facts’ as if that wins the argument and then go all ad hominem when called on it.
Eugenics and misogyny on the same page – he’s getting more efficient at this, isn’t he? Apparently women have these babies by themselves. Happy to read that you don’t support that tripe, Pete.
Absolutely cutting critique of the debacle that is the F1 in Bahrain this weekend.
…As for the Mr Kurtz of Formula One, it is almost touching to watch Britain’s plucky politicians cower from criticising Ecclestone with any bite. Perhaps it feels a little too soon for Labour, who may remember the time when his £1m donation caused such a stink, but fortunately didn’t do such lasting damage to Tony Blair that he wasn’t able to spend a decade schmoozing Colonel Gaddafi and Hosni Mubarak and other much-missed Middle East faces…
Even looked at from the Bahraini side, Yates seems an eccentric hire. There are only two tenuously sane explanations for his appointment. The first is that the Bahraini king was only in possession of outdated news cuttings, and imagined he was hiring the heroic Yates of the Yard of popular newspaper lore circa 2008. (You may since have developed suspicions as to why he was so popular with certain of those papers.) The second explanation is that the king is secretly a self-saboteur who wishes to be overthrown by protesters. Because the thing about Yates of the Yard, as closer students of his oeuvre will have noted, is that he never gets his man. I’m sure he’ll have binbags of evidence of people plotting against the king, and will spend at least 20 minutes deciding that there’s nothing to see here.
F1 just seems like a relic of a passing era of excess and loud impractical objects being hurtled around a track for the pleasure of uber geeks, the rich and famous and TV.
Serious racing allows passing and driver skill determining the outcome not he who has the best technology. They keep altering the rules to make it sort of competitive but as Melbourne have found out at 50 mill p.a. to host it ain’t worth it so Berne has to cuddle up to the oil barons unless he wants a much reduced calendar.
Is that how you see it?
The driver was 14, and I understand that he was known to the police who were chasing the vehicle when it left the road, as were all the youths in the car.
The police opened fire on the passengers. Hard to see how that was in the interest of public safety. Hard to imagine a similar scenario involving euro-aussie youth.
And had just run over and hospitalised a woman on the footpath.
The police opened fire on the passengers.
No, they opened fire on the car. And, no, I don’t have any sympathy for the passengers either.
Hard to imagine a similar scenario involving euro-aussie youth.
The charge of racism may be accurate but then the police did have to stop them and they didn’t have a lot of choice on how. What did you expect them to do? Stand in front of the car, hand up yelling stop perhaps?
Far from homicidal rage, kids in this situation (and even adults) are usually operating out of blind panic.
How exactly does shooting the driver stop the car, or get it back on the road in this situation anyway? What could be achieved other than even more death and injury?
Need more info than I’ve been able to find, obviously.
But 14 Draco. And the the cops knew he was a terrified kid.
You severely injure or kill the driver so that the driver can no longer actively and effectively operate the vehicle.
But 14 Draco. And the the cops knew he was a terrified kid.
Being 14 and terrified does not make a car driven into a crowded footpath any less of a lethal weapon. Remember in NZ, a 14 year old is considered responsible and mature enough to look after young children in the home.
You severely injure or kill the driver so that the driver can no longer actively and effectively operate the vehicle
So you mean you hope he can no longer press the accelerator? Doesn’t stop the car or get it onto the road. Maybe, seeing as the kid was fleeing from the cops, backing the fuck off might have been a more effective strategy.
…14 year old is considered responsible and mature enough to look after young children in the home. And that is the only “adult” privilege a 14 year old is allowed. Can’t drink, drive, have sex, vote, gamble, smoke, leave school…….. but can be shot down like an animal with no obvious advantage to the pedestrians in danger.
Were you an adult at 14 CV?
I sure as hell wasn’t.
I have a real simple rule, which boils down to not fucking off people with firearms.
I’m pretty sure I had that rule when I was 14 as well, having been young in countries where it was routine for law enforcement and security guards to pack heat.
Were you an adult at 14 CV?
I sure as hell wasn’t.
At 14 years of age I also knew that it was best to follow police instructions. Didn’t you? Even though you weren’t legally an “adult” yet?
My view of it from the TV3 news clip was the same, looked like a deliberate execution,
The car obviously was not in gear and was stationary when the shots were fired through the windscreen,
the drivers foot went down on the gas pedal and stayed that way with the car revving like hell after He,(the driver), had been shot twice,the car wasn’t moving despite all the revving…
Don’t know about the ‘trouble’ bit for the Oz plods, justification for such shootings are usually found, much like the shootings on the Auckland motorway were ‘found’ to be justified,
The plod with all the braid and silverware shown on the TV3 news clip made mention that the cars occupants had been involved in previous armo’s and it will be interesting to see if anyone in the car was carrying firearms…
And let’s also remember that the drivers ran down a 29 year old woman who suffered significant chest injuries when pinned under the vehicle.
I saw a real stupid incident on the roads tonight, involving a couple of quite young, drunk guys. A serious life threatening accident accident could have been caused if things had happened just a bit differently.
Both children and parents need to remember their responsibilities to each other and to society.
Crazy kids,better throw the lot of them in Borstal, ya never know there might be A John A lee among them some place,
Can’t see any justification tho in blowing the kid away for hitting the woman,summary justice is the thing of B grade cowboy movies and such should stay firmly in that realm,
In a heavily armed society the plod that pulled the trigger is making it just that much little more likely that a month down the road some crazy kid is going to unload a full magazine into one of his fellow officers on some routine traffic stop…
What a bunch of self pleasurers the once mighty F1 lot have become, the ‘pique’ of mega millions professional sport, this is where it ends up. Empty stands while the streets are full of locals and immigrant workers battling the state for basic rights.
Why don’t they retire the whole circus and just make it virtual for those that must watch these robotic spoilt tax exiles.
Sad to hear of the death of John Haigh. While it would be fair to say he made his living as a QC advising the wealthy, as a younger lawyer, he was tireless in his support of workers and their unions, as his father Frank had been before him. Saved my arse a couple of times, for sure!
John did great work for unions and union members with often tricky injuctions etc in the 80s to early 90s. I only looked askance at his later clients when they started including the odd bent copper. But you have to be guided by his peers regard, the best of lawyers take on the most appalling of customers.
For all we love to bag Granny Herald, and for all the times its reaction and lack of real depth in understanding how the neoliberal reforms are continuing to polarise Auckland (and the rest of the country) into the haves and have nots, there are times and certain kinds of issues when the Herald does its job of being the Auckland civic watchdog very well indeed.
Other articles dig into the issue from other angles: questioning losing a theatre space, actual jobs created, etc.
And they learn, because they work a local beat: Brian Rudman got off to an awful start with his articles on light rail (called something like “Last chance to stop the trains”) arguing the need to vote John Banks in ahead of Christine Fletcher, whose responsibility in dealing with Auckland’s actual problems had turned her into some kind of public transport convert. Now, Brian is the most cogent voice on many aspects of civic development NZ has.
Simon Collins is the only senior journalist we have who writes from a really informed position about social policy. He knows policy detail, he weighs things, he knows real people who are who are involved with eg the benefit system, he does the research, he provokes and grounds debate in this area better than anyone else in the mainstream media.
Yes, I expect to be quoted on this Herald- liking when the worm turns next time: but compared to the Dom Post (whose editorial team often seem convinced they have the inside line/ wisdom of Prometheus, but are often wrong and reactionary with it), I would say that Herald’s editorial folk are more than capable of some useful civic voice.
You are politically illiterate and or trolling k_p, Bernard Hickey only began to seriously critique the ‘banksters’ in recent times after they (finance capital) almost crashed the world economy in 2008.
I have known Bernard since he was a young boy .We are friends of his family and he was a close friend of our son. However his politics even then was very Right-wing.He has certainly mellowed but I think underneath he is still National inclined.
David – while it is refreshing to see something resembling ‘useful civic voice’ from the Herald editorial it is far from being hook free. Take the following passage for example:
“The liquor and gambling industries thrive at our well-documented social cost.”
True.
“Their expensively contrived advertising imagery depicts both as part of a vibrant and happy social life – which of course they are; plenty of people gain great pleasure and do minimal harm to themselves or anyone else by participating in such pursuits.”
Hang on a minute – this kind of contradicts the previous sentence, or at least makes light of the ‘cost’ – and how? By referring to ‘plenty of people’ – I don’t want to get into a stat battle here but the MOH has this to say:
“The Ministry of Health estimates 25 percent of New Zealand drinkers aged between 12-65 years are heavy drinkers, consuming large amounts of alcohol on a typical drinking occasion. Other estimates have put the number of Kiwis binge drinking at over 50 percent.”
And when it comes to gambling the figures are worse – approx 10% of the population are regular continuous gamblers – the kind most at risk from addiction, and 60% of these are likely to develop a gambling problem in their lifetime.
So actually quite a lot of people potentially have a problem with drinking and over half of those who gamble regularly will have a problem with that too – not something to be lightly dismissed by claiming that they are part of a ‘vibrant and happy social life’
As for the Heralds regurgitated “show us the money” the whole point is that its not about the bloody money – sure the fact that the convention centre business case does not stack up financially is relevant, but the catchphrase was nauseating the first time, and no better now. We deserve better than one liners from old Tom Cruise films from the writers of editorials in our newspapers.
todays msn poll is should marijuana be decriminalised and the answer should be yes.
dope has caused more troubl ein this country than it ihas been worth.
the bluenoses, the bumblers and the authoritarians have had a field day
as soon as it is legalised and made the concern of the community and allotted an appropriate place the better.
as it stands it wastes police time, and confuses people about the evils of real drugs like coke and smack and speed not to mention alcohol and tobacco.
Anyone who has watched Paul Holmes salivating after pop stars and celebrities in the past will not be surprised to see him making a fool of himself as he does here. Over the years, Holmes has debased himself for a galaxy of celebrities, from the mediocre to the sinister, including Dame Kiri, Shania Twain, President Bill Clinton, Peter Jackson, Gordon Ramsay, Alistair Campbell and—perhaps most toe-curlingly awful of all, an extended live on air paean to the Christchurch-based Russian-born songstress Yulia, the closest anyone has ever come, albeit unwittingly, to rendering on screen a letter to Penthouse Forum.
In this interview with Harry and Niall of One Direction, however, Holmes is comparatively restrained. Nevertheless, there is still something here for Holmes-watchers, and connoisseurs of the inane in general. If you have any sense of the absurd, you will appreciate the following gems:
1.) “It’s feet on the ground stuff, isn’t it.”
2.) “Tell Louie I’m working hard here.” (A discomfited Holmes says that when one of the One Direction boys starts to playfully sabotage the interview. He smiles nervously and keeps calm on this occasion, but Holmes-watchers will remember his enraged bawling—“Children, STOP IT, we are trying to WORK here!”—as primary school kids skylarked all around him during a live cross somewhere in the rural North Island on his pisspoor—now defunct—Television One show Holmes.)
3.) “This shouting girls thing, this screaming girls thing: is it hard to cope with?” (This question was written for him by Tony “Boot Boy” Veitch, who has also had to cope with the screaming of women, but in a different context.)
The girls who love One Direction were clearly not impressed by the hate talk legend….
One girl, xMissLexi attracted 26 thumbs up endorsements in just a few hours for this comment: “I swear to god if the interviewer interrupts one more fucking time there are going to be some serious
issues.”
A little while later, one “hannnahspanner” commented…
“I know right, god i hate him for being so RUDE!!!it is embarrassing.”
Don’t know the details and cannot be bothered researching it as I am not that interested, but I understand that they separated about 2 – 3 years ago after 20+ years as a “power couple”, as you described them.
One of Slippery’s bookends, Gerry Brownlee is in news yet again for being the bully boy, this time during a media interview,
Its in the Tories nature when under pressure to turn septic,resort to abuse and then when all else fails retreat into ‘standover’ tactics,
The other bookend, Joyce has been trying to take the heat off of their Slippery master by fronting the ‘casino catastrophe’ on behalf of National over the weekend,and, I wonder if Brownlee’s latest bout of over-projecting His Personality(or lack of such), is simply the tactics of the National Government to divert attention away from the abysmal performance of Slippery doing backroom deals with the card sharps and His pathetically insipid attempts at defending such sleazy deal making…
“I see no real need in putting height restrictions. Nobody’s going to build anything the market doesn’t want and nobody is going to be allowed anything that isn’t structurally very very sound.”
Another gem and own goal by Gerry. Here, at his best in revealing his psychological state of projecting and dumping his hysteria onto others that he needs to address within himself.
“All of your hysteria there won’t change the fact that we asked the Christchurch City Council to come up with a draft plan for the CBD …..”
Good to see Peter Slipper has stood down as speaker of the house in Australia no room for sexual predators in Politics. Going to make it very interesting for Julia Gillard now
That would be too close to home for jturd. He likes to search the word labour on the web and try use results to discredit NZ Labour. Prize fool is james.
Interesting he uses the word predator when just last week he admitted to stalking a EMPU delegate.
Play his silly game and tell him France is likely to have a left-wing Govt in a few days by the looks.
Although the Vioxx scandal certainly did generate several days of newspaper headlines and intermittently returned to the front pages as the resulting lawsuits gradually moved through our judicial system, the coverage still seemed scanty relative to the number of estimated fatalities, which matched America’s total losses in the Vietnam War. In fact, the media coverage often seemed considerably less than that later accorded to the Chinese infant food scandal, which had caused just a handful of deaths on the other side of the world.
In this case protecting the capitalists while condemning the commun1st dictators.
A dirty, dusty, deadly, deceitfull, business marked by bullying, greed, fear, over it all, the dreadful pall of global warming and climate change. In my opinion the price is just to high and this industry must be consigned to the dust bin of history.
…. as a Royal Commission of Inquiry investigates the cause of the tragedy – as well as a raft of issues relating to the mine’s safety procedures, design and the actions of former management – Mudge’s parents have gone public with an aborted plan to have the mine closed down.
Just weeks before the initial explosion at Pike River on November 19, 2010, a group of Pike River miners and contractors – including Mudge – voiced their shared concerns over the mine at a private barbecue.
“They were all talking about safety at Pike River. Stu said something like, ‘The gas levels are terrible, she is going to blow . . . we should be doing something about it’,” Mudge’s mother, Carol Rose, told the Sunday Star-Times.
Stu’s father, Steve Rose, added: “They said, ‘OK, we will do it. We will go in on Monday morning and shut the mine down.’ ”
But the concerned delegation of Pike River miners never made it to the Labour Department.
Steve said that the day following the barbecue, the men realised such a move could end their mining careers. “It was like, ‘S—, we will be blacklisted, we will never get another job in mining, no one will ever touch us,’ ” he said.
“They wanted to do something. But experience had shown them in the mine that people that put their head above the parapet got shot.
“They needed that money to pay the bills. The loss for them would have been considerable if they had got fired.”
Carol said: “They all had mortgages to pay and families to raise. What were they going to do if they raised the flag and were told, ‘On your bike.’ Because that is what happened.
“If anybody challenged [management], that is it, mate, you were down the road.”
Steve said on the “face of it”, working at Pike River was a good deal.
Miners were being reasonably paid, with some being given company shares and offered bonuses.
“Stu saw it as a career path,” he said. “And from the outside looking in, we looked at it and thought, great.”
Seventeen months on from the Pike River disaster, the Roses are honouring their son’s memory with an unflinching resolve to fight for justice.
Whilst having refrained recently from commenting on Pike River while the Royal Commission deliberates on the evidence they have heard I will ask readers to consider this,
Methane when combusted is odorless, 3 witnesses have given evidence to the Pike River Royal Commission,(one who had been into the main tunnel after the 1 st explosion),that after the first explosion at the mine there was a strong smell of burned diesel from within the mine,
There are of course only 2 substances within underground mining that are going to give off a strong smell of diesel after having been combusted,
The first being diesel itself,the second I will leave you to ponder for a while until the Royal commission produces its findings…
Reading the evidence given to the Pike River Royal Commission by the South African electrician sent into the mine to see why communications and the data stream had ceased from the mine might be an eye opener…
Dude, it ain’t the sort of thing to be smug about. You seem to think you’ve made a dramatic connection somewhere. Either come out with specifics or whack off about a different topic.
As above,reading the evidence given to the Pike River royal commission by the South African electrician sent into the mine after the 1st explosion might get you thinking…
PS, I have burned quite a bit of the stuff,coal that is,both in an open fire and in a coal range over a 2 year period while living down South,even when I filled the house up with smoke from having damped down the range with the wrong flue i never smelt any diesel like smell…
Try wet coal – which smells quite different. Shift up to a higher grade of coal burning. Then add in leachates that burn smelling like bunker oil. Then add a methane explosion that also burns all of those plus any coal dust. The only thing you can be sure of is that won’t be odorless and that it will not smell like your house fire.
“I’m embarrassed that we used to run around chasing guys for $1000 they ripped off Social Welfare,” he says. “The big money is heading out the back door through softly regulated industries full of people in suits who should know better.”
All of the govt regulatory bodies are like Internal Affairs. Commerce Commission get thousands of complaints each year, many about crooked business people, and they do nothing either. They see no evil, speak no evil….
Party Support
National 49.8% (+2.3%)
Labour 29.4% (nc)
Green 14.1% (+0.8%)
ACT 0.2% (nc)
Maori 1.6% (+0.3%)
United Future 0.0% (nc)
Mana 0.9% (-0.4%)
NZ First 2.3% (-2.7%)
Conservative 1.1% (-0.3%)
Leadership Approval
Key – 59.9% (-0.6%) doing well vs 24.0% (-2.0%) doing poorly – net rating is +35.9% (-2.6%)
Shearer – 32.5% (-2.6%) doing well vs 26.2% (+9.0%) doing poorly – net positive is +6.3% (-11.6%)
National (surprisingly) and Labour (not surprisingly) about the same as the Morgan poll.
Greens up a bit, NZF down on Morgan. But overall not a big change.
If Labour can’t make any inroads into National support with whats been in the news over the last couple of weeks then maybe some serious thought has to be put in to strategies. Failed for the last three years, still failing. Leadership will come up in discussions but the problem is deeper than that.
Pete George – I have read your posts for a few months on this blog and have grown more infuriated by the week. You’re supposed to be a cheerleader for United Future, I recall that you got just over 100 votes last election in the Dunedin seat you stood in, yet you insist on bagging Labour for their ratings, which aren’t exactly setting the world on fire at the moment, but I wish you would concentrate on UF’s 0.0% rating if the latest poll is anything to go by. Are you really a NAct supporter in drag? It appears that Act and United Future have the same future politically speaking.
You’re supposed to be a cheerleader for United Future
Who told you that? Sure, I stood for UF last election (and got a par for the course result unsurprisingly, a bit more than you claim) and I respond to queries about UF here. But I act indepently mostly, as I have long before I joined UF. In fact currently I am strongly querying a UF position on asset sales.
I support some National things and people and I think voted National once, but I’m not a National supporter as such. I’ve never voted Act nor supported them. I’ve more often than not voted Labour and I supported the Clark government for the first two terms. I’ve also voted Greens.
UF always seem to get 0% in the TV3 poll, I don’t know why that is – TV3 never even reveal what question they ask. I know one poll excludes UF from it’s list of options. But UF tends to be around the 0-1% range in various polls. That’s not important to me at the moment.
I think the most important thing in NZ party politics at the moment is Labour’s non-recovery from 2008. I’d like to see as strong a Labour party as possible in opposition so they can contribute positively to Parliament, adequately rebuild and prepare for their next time in government. I am still disapointed with Labour’s lack of progress and their clinging to failed strategies. I’m not a fan of their level of attack politics. They would be more effective if they saved theirn efforts for things that really mattered, ie picked their fights.
Even TV3 don’t believe this poll, if they did it would have lead the news hour on 3 tonight,there are 2 points I simply do not believe in this poll, that National have gained more support than it had on election night,and, that NZFirst has lost over half the support it had on election night,
To us its just another in a long line of ”dont bother voting its a done deal polls” that the Montgomery Burns owners of the mass media have been using to good effect to turn people away from thinking that their vote might just make that difference,
I see the situation as this, without the 3 Maori Party MP’s votes, National have a knife edge majority of Dunne and Banks,
Its still the same 2% ballgame that it was leading up to the 2011 election and a 3rd term for National in 2014 will still require the Maori Party support of 3 seats that that party is unlikely to have at the 2014 election…
‘To us its just another in a long line of ”dont bother voting its a done deal polls” that the Montgomery Burns owners of the mass media have been using to good effect to turn people away from thinking that their vote might just make that difference.”
Exactly bad12. I felt they only televised this ‘poll’ this to make Key, Joyce and all who sail in them feel good about their decomposing selves. Rather like a spray of room freshener, to stop the smell of cronyism and undemocratic dealings of our prime leader seeping through the TV set on a Sunday evening. …………………..
“There we are Johnny and Steve, nicely deodorised and spun back into the position you believe you are entitled to and now you are already for a new week of manipulation, ignorance and the use of New Zealand for our own ends- and all courtesy of TV3 non news.”
Easy to see why they pay the newsreaders such unhealthy large sums of the filthy lucre to faithfully read this stuff to the masses without actually chucking up big time or breaking into gales of mad laughter ae,
The closing dramatics from tonights TV3 clip covering the latest poll offering was the usual ramped up voice giving the usual ramped up mind numbing ”with these figures National could Govern alone”…
I don’t know who wrote those figures up but they look meaningless to me. They add up to 99.4% which means they’ve removed the ‘undecided’ respondents. No way in hell do only 0.6% say they wouldn’t vote for any of them. It’s certainly not a measure of approval for this Govt, not a measure of anything really.
Why are people concerned about ratings now anyway? They’re not going to do any good to anyone, next election is 2 1/2 yrs away.
Surface fixit/plaster for Labour = replace Shearer with Cunliffe
Unfortunately plasters don’t heal gangrene – major surgery is required.
Simple suggestions for Labour:
– Consider a name change – brand damaged
– Consider a major clean out of caucus whether by resignation and bring in new folk from the list, or lots of retirements in 2014.
– A full overhaul of policy to promote a progressive agenda that takes in to account the reality of life in 2012.
– Also policy that isn’t warmed up leftovers from a past era (50’s-70’s)
– Also policy that isn’t a left swinging knee jerk reaction to what the Nats do.
– A leader who actually believes, promotes, and is fully enthusiastic about the policies he/she stands for and who is not afraid to come down on their own team members when necessary.
– A caucus who know what the words discipline/team work/hard work/good character actually mean.
– Work on 2 way communication with grass roots supporters so that they can share/push the vision.
Without at least some of these things, Labour is like a ship that has had a fire at sea – its still floating but sure is dead in the water and going no where fast.
Totally agree problem is greater than Shearer Greens are now becoming left party of choice. Also fully agree with this comment below
A full overhaul of policy to promote a progressive agenda that takes in to account the reality of life in 2012.
Labour needs to realise that employers aren’t evil, and it OK for people to make money with out throwing in the envy card every time.
They only seem to have one revenue policy that is tax people to death ,and if they are still moving tax them again.
Haven’t seen one idea from them that will grow the economy
[Take a week off for playing the ‘envy’ card. Idiot sloganeering no longer tolerated…RL]
There is envy all right. The wealthy are so envious of what we have left, they are grabbing that too.
The US economy was growing at its fastest rate ever when the rich were taxed at 91%.
Havn’t you noticed what has happened since the tax cuts for the rich?
Transferring money from the rich, who hoard it or waste it in pointless money gambling schemes, to those who spend locally, is a proven method of growing an economy.
Tax and spend is exactly what we should do. It is how New Zealand got out of the 30’s depression ahead of the USA.
Instead of borrowing, selling, giving money to rich cronies and hoping the confidence fairy returns.
Yep. Asset/capital taxes and spending that money back into circulation is the only way ahead.
If the largest holders of capital refuse that approach, the Government should simply print the money it needs to keep the economy going, into the economy, while ensuring it is directed into productive areas which increase efficient operation and competition within the economy.
If at some stage excess money supply appears to be driving inflation the Government can either enter a specific market itself to increase competition and/or withdraw money from the supply by increasing taxes and savings rates further.
No problem.
The Gormless Fool formerly known as Oleolebiscuitbarrell 24.1.2
Well, I look forward to this being applied evenhandedly.
[lprent: Well this site was never meant to be an even playing field (read the about), we’re interested in views from outside the labour movement if they add to the debate and fools being repetitive simply don’t do that. But have you ever noticed that james111 or yourself get relatively lenient bans compared to others with similar opinions? It is because we’re not looking at the opinions as much as the behaviour.
Moderators tend to find that a simple warning is enough to get most of the commentators attention and change in behaviour (which is what we want). Most of the commentators are from the centre and left and respond to relatively simple and easy guidance about what is tolerated. Whereas often those believing in the principles of the Divine Right usually require a frigging club and a lot of force to pound through to them that they don’t make the rules – we do.
So experience has taught the moderators to use whatever is most effective on different types of people to achieve our site objectives of having interesting robust debate. That is why you’ll see differences in handling depending on peoples behaviour. Someone like philu or Wayne/Mark fit the profile of being stupid egotists who just won’t listen and they get permanent bans because it reduces our workload. People who do listen but only after being banned like SHG will get bans of increasingly longer spans until we find where they either leave or listen. Others respond immediately to [warnings] and still others you only have to write a cutting comment about their behaviour.
In short, even handedness is from the perspective of the moderators – not from the perspective of the commentators. If you respond to less draconian techniques then we’ll use less. If it takes more draconian measures, then we’ll use more. The primary aim is for us to use the least amount of effort to get a desired result. ]
The Gormless Fool formerly known as Oleolebiscuitbarrel 24.1.2.1
Blame the polls. The number of bannings seems to have a relationship to the popularity of the govt. three polls against the received standardistas wisdom over the weekend and i’ve counted three bans today for relatively trivial things. Moderator grumpiness index seems set to high…
What? National tanked at 21% and came back. Labour isnt damaged as much as NZ is still in love with Key – They never did anything actually wrong. Shearer at least should take this as a serious request by the public to get off the fence stand up and fight back.
I think Labour far from having a need to completely re-invent itself should simply firmly focus upon what had the Party leading the left of New Zealand politics from the coal mines of the West Coast into Governing the country of New Zealand and cementing into place the physical manifestation of the principals of social justice to protect the most vulnerable members of our society, much of which still stands albeit under constant attack from the right,
There are a million voters who have not voted for 2 elections even though they are registered to do so,
The missing million sure as hell aint going to vote for National, an obvious seeing as they did not vote for that Party despite the election bribe of tax cuts in 2008 and didn’t vote for national again in 2011 despite the election bribe of being able to tuck into the part sale of the most profitable of state owned assets,
Labour and the Greens need find out what it is that will turn out the missing million to the ballot box on election day 2014, its really that simple,
I have the view that it is my democratic duty to do so,vote that is,even at times when what is on offer at the ballot box is unpalatable,
The view here is that we should make voting a matter of legal requirement just as registering to do so is…
Jimmie gives Labour a whole lot of recommendations straight from the Right Wing. Who are scared to death of Cunliffe. (Notice how Cunliffe was put up front and centre by Jimmie haha)
I agree with you CV that Cunliffe would be a more effective leader than Shearer – but would just changing their leader be enough to make the voters go, ‘ oh, yeah, Labour, we ditched them at the last two elections, but now that Cunliffe is in charge we’ll come and vote for them again.
I dunno – I think its a lot to have riding on the shoulders of one man – and what if Cunliffe fails to inspire the public? What if the anyone but Cunliffe brigade doesn’t pull their weight heading into 2014? Its a risk and 2017 is a long way away.
I know I am right wing with my view on life, but the advice I previously posted was just wanting to be helpful, as NZ needs strong parties from both sides of the fence, and at the moment Labour aint cutting it. Also when we do have to have a left wing government I’d prefer one dominated by Labour and NZF rather than the Greens, so Labour needs to be strong to achieve that.
But tell me, which of the above points do you disagree with? The policy ones probably, but the teamwork/structure/leadership points are valid and need to be faced or people will be turned off again, in 2014 and all the lefties on this blog will need to get checked for stomach ulcers after election 2014!
I wondered why over 100 comments. It’s just old Pete George. Also the right winger Kiwi Prometheus. As that guy was supposed to have brought fire to the world the choice of name indicates that this commenter has no intention to attempt thought but merely wants to be a jerk.
I might have become a ‘closed shop’ when thinking about Labour Leader David Shearer but in my own defence have to say that initial media perceptions are very formative of the perception one has of people, particularly politicians, that i have not personally met,
The Labour Leader’s appearance on the ‘comedy’ hosted by whats-his-face that abusive little far-right wing clown made me cringe for obvious reasons…
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Buzz from the Beehive Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones relishes spatting and eagerly takes issue with environmentalists who criticise his enthusiasm for resource development. He relishes helping the fishing industry too. And so today, while the media are making much of the latest culling in the public service to ...
Having written, taught and worked for the US government on issues involving unconventional warfare and terrorism for 30-odd years, two things irritate me the most when the subject is discussed in public. The first is the Johnny-come-lately academics-turned-media commentators who … Continue reading → ...
Eric Crampton writes – Kainga Ora is the government’s house building agency. It’s been building a lot of social housing. Kainga Ora has its own (but independent) consenting authority, Consentium. It’s a neat idea. Rather than have to deal with building consents across each different territorial authority, Kainga Ora ...
Muriel Newman writes – The Coalition Government says it is moving with speed to deliver campaign promises and reverse the damage done by Labour. One of their key commitments is to “defend the principle that New Zealanders are equal before the law.” To achieve this, they have pledged they “will not advance ...
Chris Trotter writes – The absence of anything resembling a fightback from the public servants currently losing their jobs is interesting. State-sector workers’ collective fatalism in the face of Coalition cutbacks indicates a surprisingly broad acceptance of impermanence in the workplace. Fifty years ago, lay-offs in the thousands ...
Mariupol, on the Azov Sea coast, was one of the first cities to suffer almost complete destruction after the start of the Ukraine War started in late February 2022. We remember the scenes of absolute destruction of the houses and city structures. The deaths of innocent civilians – many of ...
Lindsay Mitchell writes – Ten years ago, I wrote the following in a Listener column: Every year around one in five new-born babies will be reliant on their caregivers benefit by Christmas. This pattern has persisted from at least 1993. For Maori the number jumps to over one in three. ...
Climate change is expected to generate more and more extreme events, delivering a sort of structural shock to inflation that central banks will have to react to as if they were short-term cyclical issues. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāMy pick of the six newsey things to know from Aotearoa’s ...
It’s a simple deal. We pay taxes in order to finance the social services we want and need. The carnage now occurring across the public sector though, is breaking that contract. Over 3,000 jobs have been lost so far. Many are in crucial areas like Education where the impact of ...
Hi,A friend had their 40th over the weekend and decided to theme it after Curb Your Enthusiasm fashion icon Susie Greene. Captured in my tiny kitchen before I left the house, I ending up evoking a mix of old lesbian and Hillary Clinton — both unintentional.Me vs Hillary ClintonIf you’re ...
This is a re-post from Andrew Dessler at the Climate Brink blogIn 2023, the Earth reached temperature levels unprecedented in modern times. Given that, it’s reasonable to ask: What’s going on? There’s been lots of discussions by scientists about whether this is just the normal progression of global warming or if something ...
The schools are on holiday and the sun is shining in the seaside village and all day long I have been seeing bunches of bikes; Mums, Dads, teens and toddlers chattering, laughing, happy, having a bloody great time together. Cheers, AT, for the bits of lane you’ve added lately around the ...
Today in our National-led authoritarian nightmare: Shane Jones thinks Ministers should be above the law: New Zealand First MP Shane Jones is accusing the Waitangi Tribunal of over-stepping its mandate by subpoenaing a minister for its urgent hearing on the Oranga Tamariki claim. The tribunal is looking into the ...
The Green Party has joined the call for public submissions on the fast-track legislation to be extended after the Ombudsman forced the Government to release the list of organisations invited to apply just hours before submissions close. ...
New Zealand’s good work at reducing climate emissions for three years in a row will be undone by the National government’s lack of ambition and scrapping programmes that were making a difference, Labour Party climate spokesperson Megan Woods said today. ...
More essential jobs could be on the chopping block, this time Ministry of Education staff on the school lunches team are set to find out whether they're in line to lose their jobs. ...
The Government is trying to bring in a law that will allow Ministers to cut corners and kill off native species, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said. ...
Cancelling urgently needed new Cook Strait ferries and hiking the cost of public transport for many Kiwis so that National can announce the prospect of another tunnel for Wellington is not making good choices, Labour Transport Spokesperson Tangi Utikere said. ...
A laundry list of additional costs for Tāmaki Makarau Auckland shows the Minister for the city is not delivering for the people who live there, says Labour Auckland Issues spokesperson Shanan Halbert. ...
The Green Party has today launched a step-by-step guide to help New Zealanders make their voice heard on the Government’s democracy dodging and anti-environment fast track legislation. ...
The National Government’s proposed changes to the Residential Tenancies Act will mean tenants can be turfed from their homes by landlords with little notice, Labour housing spokesperson Kieran McAnulty said. ...
Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson is calling on all parties to support a common-sense change that’s great for the planet and great for consumers after her member’s bill was drawn from the ballot today. ...
A significant milestone has been reached in the fight to strike an anti-Pasifika and unfair law from the country’s books after Teanau Tuiono’s members’ bill passed its first reading. ...
New Zealand has today missed the opportunity to uphold the right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment, says James Shaw after his member’s bill was voted down in its first reading. ...
Today’s advice from the Climate Change Commission paints a sobering reality of the challenge we face in combating climate change, especially in light of recent Government policy announcements. ...
Minister for Disability Issues Penny Simmonds appears to have delayed a report back to Cabinet on the progress New Zealand is making against international obligations for disabled New Zealanders. ...
The Government’s newly announced review of methane emissions reduction targets hints at its desire to delay Aotearoa New Zealand’s urgent transition to a climate safe future, the Green Party said. ...
The Government must commit to the Maitai School building project for students with high and complex needs, to ensure disabled students from the top of the South Island have somewhere to learn. ...
Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey and his Government colleagues have made a meal of their mental health commitments, showing how flimsy their efforts to champion the issue truly are, says Labour Mental Health spokesperson Ingrid Leary. ...
Māori are yet to see anything from this Government except cuts, reversals and taking our people backwards, Māori Development spokesperson Willie Jackson said. ...
The Coalition Government’s refusal to commit to ongoing funding for social housing is seeing the sector pull back on developments and families watch their dreams of securing a home fade away, says Labour Housing spokesperson Kieran McAnulty. ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has completed a successful trip to Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines, deepening relationships and capitalising on opportunities. Mr Luxon was accompanied by a business delegation and says the choice of countries represents the priority the New Zealand Government places on South East Asia, and our relationships in ...
New Zealand is demonstrating its commitment to reducing global greenhouse emissions, and supporting clean energy transition in South East Asia, through a contribution of NZ$41 million (US$25 million) in climate finance to the Asian Development Bank (ADB)-led Energy Transition Mechanism (ETM). Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Climate Change Minister Simon Watts announced ...
The Government is today releasing a list of organisations who received letters about the Fast-track applications process, says RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop. “Recently Ministers and agencies have received a series of OIA requests for a list of organisations to whom I wrote with information on applying to have a ...
Attorney-General Judith Collins today announced the appointment of Wellington Barrister David Jonathan Boldt as a Judge of the High Court, and the Honourable Justice Matthew Palmer as a Judge of the Court of Appeal. Justice Boldt graduated with an LLB from Victoria University of Wellington in 1990, and also holds ...
Education Minister Erica Stanford will lead the New Zealand delegation at the 2024 International Summit on the Teaching Profession (ISTP) held in Singapore. The delegation includes representatives from the Post Primary Teachers’ Association (PPTA) Te Wehengarua and the New Zealand Educational Institute (NZEI) Te Riu Roa. The summit is co-hosted ...
A stopbank upgrade project in Tairawhiti partly funded by the Government has increased flood resilience for around 7000ha of residential and horticultural land so far, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones today attended a dawn service in Gisborne to mark the end of the first stage of the ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters will represent the Government at Anzac Day commemorations on the Gallipoli Peninsula next week and engage with senior representatives of the Turkish government in Istanbul. “The Gallipoli campaign is a defining event in our history. It will be a privilege to share the occasion ...
Science, Innovation and Technology and Defence Minister Judith Collins will next week attend the OECD Science and Technology Ministerial conference in Paris and Anzac Day commemorations in Belgium. “Science, innovation and technology have a major role to play in rebuilding our economy and achieving better health, environmental and social outcomes ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon held a bilateral meeting today with the President of the Philippines, Ferdinand Marcos Jr. The Prime Minister was accompanied by MP Paulo Garcia, the first Filipino to be elected to a legislature outside the Philippines. During today’s meeting, Prime Minister Luxon and President Marcos Jr discussed opportunities to ...
The Government has announced that $20 million in funding will be made available to Westport to fund much needed flood protection around the town. This measure will significantly improve the resilience of the community, says Local Government Minister Simeon Brown. “The Westport community has already been allocated almost $3 million ...
The Government is proud to support the first ever Repco Supercars Championship event in Taupō as up to 70,000 motorsport fans attend the Taupō International Motorsport Park this weekend, says Economic Development Minister Melissa Lee. “Anticipation for the ITM Taupō Super400 is huge, with tickets and accommodation selling out weeks ...
Local Government Minister Simeon Brown has announced an increase to the Rates Rebate Scheme, putting money back into the pockets of low-income homeowners. “The coalition Government is committed to bringing down the cost of living for New Zealanders. That includes targeted support for those Kiwis who are doing things tough, such ...
The Coalition Government is investing in a project to boost survival rates of New Zealand mussels and grow the industry, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones has announced. “This project seeks to increase the resilience of our mussels and significantly boost the sector’s productivity,” Mr Jones says. “The project - ...
Benefit figures released today underscore the importance of the Government’s plan to rebuild the economy and have 50,000 fewer people on Jobseeker Support, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “Benefit numbers are still significantly higher than when National was last in government, when there was about 70,000 fewer ...
The Government’s commitment to doubling New Zealand’s renewable energy capacity is backed by new data showing that clean energy has helped the country reach its lowest annual gross emissions since 1999, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. New Zealand’s latest Greenhouse Gas Inventory (1990-2022) published today, shows gross emissions fell ...
The Government is bringing the earthquake-prone building review forward, with work to start immediately, and extending the deadline for remediations by four years, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “Our Government is focused on rebuilding the economy. A key part of our plan is to cut red tape that ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and his Thai counterpart, Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, have today agreed that New Zealand and the Kingdom of Thailand will upgrade the bilateral relationship to a Strategic Partnership by 2026. “New Zealand and Thailand have a lot to offer each other. We have a strong mutual desire to build ...
RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop and Transport Minister Simeon Brown have today announced the Coalition Government’s intention to extend port coastal permits for a further 20 years, providing port operators with certainty to continue their operations. “The introduction of the Resource Management Act in 1991 required ports to obtain coastal ...
Today’s announcement that inflation is down to 4 per cent is encouraging news for Kiwis, but there is more work to be done - underlining the importance of the Government’s plan to get the economy back on track, acting Finance Minister Chris Bishop says. “Inflation is now at 4 per ...
Refreshed health guidance released today will help parents and schools make informed decisions about whether their child needs to be in school, addressing one of the key issues affecting school attendance, says Associate Education Minister David Seymour. In recent years, consistently across all school terms, short-term illness or medical reasons ...
Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones is streamlining high-level oceans management while maintaining a focus on supporting the sector’s role in the export-led recovery of the economy. “I am working to realise the untapped potential of our fishing and aquaculture sector. To achieve that we need to be smarter with ...
Associate Agriculture Minister Mark Patterson is speaking at the International Wool Textile Organisation Congress in Adelaide, promoting New Zealand wool, and outlining the coalition Government’s support for the revitalisation the sector. "New Zealand’s wool exports reached $400 million in the year to 30 June 2023, and the coalition Government ...
The Government is making legislative changes to make it easier for new early learning services to be established, and for existing services to operate, Associate Education Minister David Seymour says. The changes involve repealing the network approval provisions that apply when someone wants to establish a new early learning service, ...
Changes to the Resource Management Act will align consenting for coal mining to other forms of mining to reduce barriers that are holding back economic development, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. “The inconsistent treatment of coal mining compared with other extractive activities is burdensome red tape that fails to acknowledge ...
Trade, Agriculture and Forestry Minister Todd McClay has concluded productive discussions with ministerial counterparts in Beijing today, in support of the New Zealand-China trade and economic relationship. “My meeting with Commerce Minister Wang Wentao reaffirmed the complementary nature of the bilateral trade relationship, with our Free Trade Agreement at its ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon today paid tribute to Singapore’s outgoing Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. Meeting in Singapore today immediately before Prime Minister Lee announced he was stepping down, Prime Minister Luxon warmly acknowledged his counterpart’s almost twenty years as leader, and the enduring legacy he has left for Singapore and South East ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon held a bilateral meeting today with Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. While in Singapore as part of his visit to South East Asia this week, Prime Minister Luxon also met with Singapore President Tharman Shanmugaratnam and will meet with Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong. During today’s meeting, Prime Minister Luxon ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has made further appointments to the Board of Antarctica New Zealand as part of a continued effort to ensure the Scott Base Redevelopment project is delivered in a cost-effective and efficient manner. The Minister has appointed Neville Harris as a new member of the Board. Mr ...
Finance Minister Nicola Willis will travel to the United States on Tuesday to attend a meeting of the Five Finance Ministers group, with counterparts from Australia, the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. “I am looking forward to meeting with our Five Finance partners on how we can work ...
The coalition Government has today announced purrfect and pawsitive changes to the Residential Tenancies Act to give tenants with pets greater choice when looking for a rental property, says Housing Minister Chris Bishop. “Pets are important members of many Kiwi families. It’s estimated that around 64 per cent of New ...
State Highway 1 (SH1) through Wellington City is heavily congested at peak times and while planning continues on the duplicate Mt Victoria Tunnel and Basin Reserve project, the Government has also asked NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) to consider and provide advice on a Long Tunnel option, Transport Minister Simeon Brown ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Foreign Minister Winston Peters have condemned Iran’s shocking and illegal strikes against Israel. “These attacks are a major challenge to peace and stability in a region already under enormous pressure," Mr Luxon says. "We are deeply concerned that miscalculation on any side could ...
Hundreds of people in little over a week have turned out in Northland to hear Regional Development Minister Shane Jones speak about plans for boosting the regional economy through infrastructure. About 200 people from the infrastructure and associated sectors attended an event headlined by Mr Jones in Whangarei today. Last ...
Health Minister Dr Shane Reti has today thanked outgoing Health New Zealand – Te Whatu Ora Chair Dame Karen Poutasi for her service on the Board. “Dame Karen tendered her resignation as Chair and as a member of the Board today,” says Dr Reti. “I have asked her to ...
The NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) has signalled their proposed delivery approach for the Government’s 15 Roads of National Significance (RoNS), with the release of the State Highway Investment Proposal (SHIP) today, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Boosting economic growth and productivity is a key part of the Government’s plan to ...
New Zealand is renewing its connections with a world facing urgent challenges by pursuing an active, energetic foreign policy, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “Our country faces the most unstable global environment in decades,” Mr Peters says at the conclusion of two weeks of engagements in Egypt, Europe and the United States. “We cannot afford to sit back in splendid ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has announced the Australian Governor-General, His Excellency General The Honourable David Hurley and his wife Her Excellency Mrs Linda Hurley, will make a State visit to New Zealand from Tuesday 16 April to Thursday 18 April. The visit reciprocates the State visit of former Governor-General Dame Patsy Reddy ...
Associate Health Minister David Seymour has announced that Medsafe has approved 11 cold and flu medicines containing pseudoephedrine. Pharmaceutical suppliers have indicated they may be able to supply the first products in June. “This is much earlier than the original expectation of medicines being available by 2025. The Government recognised ...
New Zealand and the United States have recommitted to their strategic partnership in Washington DC today, pledging to work ever more closely together in support of shared values and interests, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “The strategic environment that New Zealand and the United States face is considerably more ...
April 11, 2024 Joint Declaration by United States Secretary of State the Honorable Antony J. Blinken and New Zealand Minister of Foreign Affairs the Right Honourable Winston Peters We met today in Washington, D.C. to recommit to the historic partnership between our two countries and the principles that underpin it—rule ...
By Koroi Hawkins, RNZ Pacific editor in Honiara Solomon Islands’ incumbent prime minister Manasseh Sogavare has been re-elected in the East Choiseul constituency. It is the opening move in the political chess match to form the country’s next government. Returning officer Christopher Makoni made the declaration late last night after ...
Headline: The moment of friction. – 36th Parallel Assessments In strategic studies “friction” is a term that it is used to describe the moment when military action encounters adversary resistance. “Friction” is one of four (along with an unofficial fifth) “F’s” in military strategy, which includes force (kinetic mass), ...
The Fast-track Bill, if passed, would allow three Ministers, unchallenged and unchecked, to approve the immediate extraction and exhaustion of one-off resources. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Stephen Duckett, Honorary Enterprise Professor, School of Population and Global Health, and Department of General Practice and Primary Care, The University of Melbourne iamharin/Shutterstock For many people, the term “bulk billed” refers to a GP visit they don’t have to pay ...
Emmas Hislop, Sidnam and Wehipeihana discuss what’s in a name. Emma Sidnam: Hello Emmas! Thank you so much for agreeing to do this with me. My first question for you is related to what’s been on my mind for a while. It’s very important. You see we’ve recently had some ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michael Sievers, Research Fellow, Global Wetlands Project, Australia Rivers Institute, Griffith University Chris Brown Humans love the coast. But we love it to death, so much so we’ve destroyed valuable coastal habitat – in the case of some types of habitat, ...
Josh Thomson on the 80s milk ad jingle he can’t stop singing, the beauty of The Simpsons, why Jersey Shore is as good as Shakespeare and more. For someone who spends a lot of time on our screens, popping up in everything from 7 Days to Taskmaster, Educators to Good ...
In apparent defiance of the Biden administration, the Netanyahu government has now initiated missile strikes against Iran. Last Saturday night (Sunday morning in New Zealand) Iran launched more than 300 drones, cruise missiles and ballistic missiles against Israeli military targets. With the assistance of US, UK and possibly French forces, ...
Māori representation brings a perspective that encompasses not only the interests of Māori communities but also a broader, holistic approach to environmental stewardship and community well-being, principles deeply embedded in Te Ao Māori (the Māori ...
This week in Auckland, a group of young people took over the microphone at a ministerial press conference, to explain why they oppose the Fast-Track Approvals Bill. One young woman said, ‘We’re here because we love Aotearoa New Zealand. We want to raise our children in an environment that’s thriving, ...
The summer was wonderful. Evie was wonderful, too; finally a teenager, finally worthy of long, hot days. She shaved her legs for the first time and bought cut-off shorts from the op-shop that made them look long. She got a Warehouse singlet so tight on her new shape that her ...
When Thomas James was on his solo camp as part of Outward Bound, the keen outdoorsman didn’t find it too challenging, as others often do. In what might just be the perfect illustration of his character, he saw it as a great opportunity to solve a few problems. “I thought, ...
From the unstable and drippy to the hi-tech and pretty, here’s our ranking of all the tunnels you can drive through in this country. The first tunnel seems to have been built in 2200BC in Babylonia, kicking off a global phenomenon for digging holes in order to get places more ...
Lucinda Bennett on the art of being greedy but resourceful. This is an excerpt from our weekly food newsletter, The Boil Up. When I picture the market, it is always this time of year. Crisp air, dripping nose, counting coins with cold fingers. Sunlight pale, filtered through specks of dew still ...
Zoë Colling’s favourite piece in the ‘That’s So Last Century’ collection is a lubrication chart for a sewing machine from the ’60s. It’s about the size of a postcard, and carefully maintained. “I like it that this piece of ephemera highlights that manual and technical side of the skill involved ...
Kia Ora Gaza A passionate haka reverberated through Auckland International Airport as a medical team of three New Zealand doctors received an emotional farewell from a big crowd of supporters before flying to Turkey to join the international Freedom Flotilla to Gaza. The doctors, who left Auckland yesterday, hope to ...
With submissions closing today, Macassey-Pickard says groups around the country have been supporting a huge range of people to make their submissions. ...
Our response to the new legislation is informed by targeted conversations with practitioners working in the system and through an implementation lens. ...
The new ‘Fast-track Approvals Bill’ would give just three Ministers the power to approve or deny development projects. They would avoid the usual checks and balances that are in place to protect rivers, land, the ocean, and communities. ...
COMMENTARY:By Eugene Doyle Helen Clark, how I miss you. The former New Zealand Prime Minister — the safest pair of hands this country has had in living memory — gave a masterclass on the importance of maintaining an independent foreign policy when she spoke at an AUKUS symposium held ...
The government's released the list of organisations provided with information on how to apply - just hours before public submissions on the bill close. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Milton Speer, Visiting Fellow, School of Mathematical and Physical Sciences, University of Technology Sydney Before climate change really got going, eastern Australia’s flash floods tended to concentrate on our coastal regions, east of the Great Dividing Range. But that’s changing. Now ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Elizabeth Finkel, Vice-Chancellor’s Fellow, La Trobe University Sia Duff / South Australian Museum In February, the South Australian Museum “re-imagined” itself. In the face of rising costs and inadequate government funds, CEO David Gaimster, who took the reins last June, declared ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alan Pearce, Professor, School of Allied Heath, Human Services & Sport, La Trobe University, La Trobe University This week, Collingwood AFL player Nathan Murphy announced his retirement, brought on by his concussion history and ongoing issues. The 24-year-old’s seemingly sudden retirement, ...
The Mental Health Foundation provides support and resources for those facing the loss of their job, so it’s wrong in the very week the Government adds another 1000 jobs to its tally of cuts, that this is happening. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alexander Howard, Senior Lecturer, Discipline of English and Writing, University of Sydney Daniel Boud/Sydney Theatre Company Decay, terror, revulsion. These are three of the central themes of Thomas Bernhard’s rarely performed play The President. The Austrian is one of the greatest ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon says threats by ministers Shane Jones and David Seymour to reform or close down the Waitangi Tribunal were “ill-considered”, as legal experts say the ministers may have breached Cabinet Manual conventions. “I think those comments are ill-considered and we expect all ministers to actually exercise good ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ye In (Jane) Hwang, Postdoctoral Research Associate at School of Population Health, UNSW Sydney Shutterstock You’d be hard pressed to find any aspect of daily life that doesn’t require some form of digital literacy. We need only to look back ten ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rob Newton, Professor of Exercise Medicine, Edith Cowan University Pexels/RDNE stock project You’re not in your 20s or 30s anymore and you know regular health checks are important. So you go to your GP. During the appointment they measure your waist. ...
A new poem by Evangeline Riddiford Graham. Mitochondrial Problem I. It was long drive to Kansas for the man and his dog but you have to understand he said She doesn’t fly. Which calls to mind not carsick shitting barking or whining but a dog who chooses not to as ...
The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington.AUCKLAND1 Hemingway’s Goblet by Dermot Ross (Mary Egan Publishing, $38)Hot off the press, this debut ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Laura Wajnryb McDonald, PhD candidate in Criminology, University of Sydney Less than 24 hours after Ashlee Good was murdered in Bondi Junction, her family released a statement requesting the media take down photographs they had reproduced of Ashlee and her family without ...
Chief executive Shaun Robinson said it has not had any government funding cut, but government-funded contracts have not kept pace with rising costs. ...
The Ministry of Health has delayed the release of its evidence brief on the safety, reversibility and mental health and wellbeing outcomes for puberty blockers. While we wait, Julia de Bres speaks to those with firsthand experience. Best practice gender-affirming healthcare is based on trans people’s self-determination and agency. The ...
Barcelona’s city streets have gone from traffic-clogged to pedestrian-friendly. How? Superblocks. Ellen Rykers explains. This is an excerpt from our weekly environmental newsletter Future Proof. Sign up here. Last week I read a great interview with renowned urbanist Janette Sadik-Khan by The Spinoff’s Wellington editor Joel MacManus: “You can reimagine streets, ...
Student groups ‘Climate Action VUW’, Schools Strike 4 Climate and VUWSA will be on the street in Wellington today, the last day for submissions on the Fast-track Approvals Bill, with a message that the fight against the Government’s ‘War on ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sofia Ammassari, Research Fellow, Griffith University Since 2014, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s popularity has grown exponentially – and so has the formidable organisational machine of his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). These two factors will be key to delivering the BJP a ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Brendon Hyndman, Associate Professor of Education (Adjunct) & Senior Manager (BCE), Charles Sturt University During COVID almost all Australian students and their families experienced online learning. But while schools have long since gone back to in-person teaching, online learning has not gone ...
Yes, they’re better for the environment. No, that’s not a good enough reason for me to use them. Once every 26 days or so, my period arrives, and if struck by an act of God, I am caught red-crotched without products. How, after 17 years of this, do I still ...
“It will cause significant harm to our environment and communities. It is completely at odds with New Zealanders’ relationship with nature and our need for a low-carbon, sustainable economic future." ...
The Chair of the National Maori Authority, Matthew Tukaki, has warned a Parliamentary Select Committee that fast-tracking legislation is a perilous practice that undermines the core tenets of democracy, transparency, and accountability. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tim Tenbensel, Associate Professor, Health Policy, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau Getty Images Since coming into power, the coalition government has adopted a simple but shrewd see-how-fast-we-can-move political strategy. However, in the health sector this need for speed entails ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Anastasia Hronis, Clinical Psychologist, University of Technology Sydney Darya Sannikova/Pexels Whether you’re watching TV, attending a footy game, or eating a meal at your local pub, gambling is hard to escape. Although the rise of gambling is not unique to Australia, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mark Wong, Forrest Fellow, School of Biological Sciences, The University of Western Australia Have you ever wondered if there are more insects out at night than during the day? We set out to answer this question by combing through the scientific ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Carol T Kulik, Research Professor, University of South Australia IR Stone/Shutterstock In Australia, it’s not the done thing to know – let alone ask – what our colleagues are paid. Yet, it’s easy to see how pay transparency can make pay ...
The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) is sounding a warning to migrants, that running foul of the law may see them leaving the country prematurely. ...
The government’s plan to get 50,000 people off jobseeker support by 2030 has had a rocky start, writes Catherine McGregor in this excerpt from The Bulletin, The Spinoff’s morning news round-up. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here. Beneficiary numbers are up – and so are ...
Raglan Roast is a staple of Wellington coffee culture. But with five branches across the capital, which one is the best? I am a die-hard Raglan Roast fan. It’s consistently the most affordable cafe in Wellington, and one of the only places you can get a coffee after 3pm. So, ...
Residents of University of Auckland halls are being urged to withhold their accommodation fees from May 1, in a bid to force the university to take student concerns over rent hikes seriously.The University of Auckland is facing a strike from students over the cost of on-campus accommodation. The Students ...
The thousands of government “back-office” job cuts are causing widespread pain in the capital city. In today’s episode of The Detail, we speak to three journalists and a think tank researcher, looking at the larger picture around the cuts and what effect it will have on Wellington, a city that’s ...
Opinion: The famed American architect and urban designer Daniel Burnham once said, “Make no little plans. They have no magic to stir men’s blood!” Burnham wouldn’t have been referring to the transport plans in Aotearoa New Zealand over the past five years; projects so big they hadn’t the credibility to ...
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Opinion: With maths understanding at 42 percent for Year 8 students, there’s no doubt something has to be done. But how? The post Financial literacy should be on all of us appeared first on Newsroom. ...
Hineaupounamu ‘Missy’ Nuku has been scaling mountains in Canada for her college basketball team, the Lakeland Rustlers. Alberta is currently home for the 20-year-old point guard, who is in her first year of a scholarship at Lakeland College, where she is studying for a business degree. She has certainly made ...
I work part time and at weekends, but don’t mind that. But do we need as many people working weekends, and is it destroying family and community life? I don’t have children, but it must be hard for parents of young children to need to work weekends. In fact, one of the weekend cleaners at my workplace has said things to that effect.
And when Monday to Friday workers complain about losing a public holiday every few years, do they realise many people never get the Monday public holidays and welcome the years a public holiday falls at a weekend?
http://www.stuff.co.nz/life-style/wellbeing/6786313/Where-did-the-weekends-go
And this change to a 7 day business week has come from businesses that want to increase their profits. Do we really need 7 day shopping, when many places in Europe manage quite well with shops closing on Sundays?
Totally agree with your comment, pity those who allow laws to be made forgot about the voter and what is best for the country. But I am sure that those who supported the Mondanising of ANZAC and Waitangi Days didn’t give a second thought to the group you are part of Carol. I am still surprised that no-one has commented why Labour is supporting the extension of consumerism and big business to the extent that we will have shops open 364 of the 365 day p.a..and I am waiting for someone to question why Christmas day should be the exception?
As can be seen by this post many here could not care about the damage done by Labour to the worker, all they seem to have in mind is the damage National causes and too bad about the collateral damage that was caused by Labour governments
http://thestandard.org.nz/the-other-wage-gap/
Labour lurched to the right and accepted the Monetarist economic theory in the 1970s despite the fact that they first came to power when the previous implementation of such a theory collapsed.
Hi Carol,
I’ve just read the stuff article you posted and have popped over here to see if there was any one talking about it- and you are!
I think our obsessive consumerism is ulitmately damaging for society, and fully agree with the points and observations in this article. I’ve worked in retail off and on through my life, starting out in 1989 prior to the ECA coming into effect and the subsequent scrapping of penal rates, among many other reductions in working conditions. I remember if you had to work the odd Saturday morning you got double pay. It was time and half on Friday night. Eventually things changed to what they are now. My last job was a fall back position in retail. The recession came and I couldn’t use my tertiary qual I had recently obtained. I worked every Saturday for two years and it was so depressing on top of everything else that was wrong with working there.
Ironically I had written an essay for one of my papers, on the topic on deteriorating work life balance and its effect on psychological well being, using the NZ example and comparing with differing employment legislation and experience in other industralised countries. Guess what, NZ came out on the bottom in regard to long hours worked and stress related illness. The worst affected groups worked in service: retail, hospitality and caregiving.
The profit at any cost mentality we have in NZ is so damaging in so many ways, to so many sectors of society and the labour market is no exception. It would be great to see more media discussion about this.
I think our obsessive consumerism is ulitmately damaging for society
I ahgree with this, but to a fair extent it’s a voluntary condition. For evey excessive marketer (that continues) there’s a willing market.
No PG, it’s not voluntary. When people don’t have enough to eat and can’t cover the bills then they’re willing to work long hours for SFA – exactly as planned by the neo-liberals.
But many many people voluntarily buy too much stuff and too much of the wrong sort of stuff.
Very profound.
Of course, if penal rates were mandatory on the weekend, the cause of your handwringing would be solved for the weekend. And workers would be better off.
Pete you have been showing signs of trying to understand of late, but this you do not comprehend.
Marketing and advertising are based on the long term studies of human nature, and psychology plays a huge part in the campaigns, which have rendered the average person into a dribbling moronic, consumer. The advertsing is part if the wider attack on society, the family, the individual. You name it, its being attacked!
While I agree with you that the resposibility lies with the end user, their ability to critically understand what has been happening to them, has been removed.
The techniques too advanced, and the systems attacking the spirit at every turn, has lead to societal misery, and rampant consumerism is a symptom, and much of the related debt.
These things are all closely linked.
Often “willing” markets opened up by coercion, force and threat. Yeah, that’s real willing.
Also those who prey on human weaknesses – pokie machines being the classic example of highly specialist designed interactions constructed to be physiologically addictive.
Remember, everyone, you live in a vacuum completely bereft of societal messages about wealth, value, deriving satisfaction in material objects! You are not constantly bombarded with advertisements inventing issues which their products will solve! You are not being told on a daily basis that if you don’t eat this, use this, own this, you are stupid/uncool/damaging your children/ruining your own life!
Pete thinks so, so it must be true.
To be fair, Pete has never let his fundamental unpopularity affect his decisions. His lack of electoral support was spectacular, but he still believes he knows what “the people” want. He is told daily that he’s a jerk, and the point hasn’t sunk in yet. So he can’t see why anyone else would be different.
I don’t care about being called a jerk here, especially when you see who calls me one. Abuse makes a very poor argument.
I get different feedback in different forums – some of them refer to here as full of jerks and wonder why I bother commenting here. Do you think that will sink in? I doubt any one will care either.
Really? I was simply going by your reception here and in your local electorate. Where do you get positive feedback, petey?
I actually got some very positive feedback in the electorate for my main focus, including from all four eventual Dunedin baseed MP’s (on record in local newspapers). And what I went into the election campaign for is still progressing here.
And you might be surprised who I got positive feedback from today – from someone who played a significant role in Green campaigning, we’re on a similar wavelength on a very interesting project and may combine our efforts. People prepared to put ideologies aside and work collabaritively.
What I do here is a relatively minor part of what I’m doing.
What I do here is a relatively minor part of what I’m doing.
oh? Good.
Nice to hear that your competing candidates didn’t call you a jerk in the press.
Do you think that will sink in?
A girl can hope.
I’m well aware of the persuasiveness of pervasiveness of marketing. But it can’t be banned, and cannot be easily controlled by regulation. The best way to beat it is by playing them at their own game, social marketing. Either that or just accept that sheep will be always be sheep, and the marketing shepherds will keep convincing them of all the things they don’t really need.
So … you understand marketing is persuasive, but still want to call people “sheep”. Another fine chapter in the Pete George Manifesto Of Knowing Better Than You, Youngsters.
Any suggestions on a better way of describing the MacDonald syndrome?
The lecturers at my sales & marketing courses had a name for people like you Pete. Profit. The easiest people to con are those who think they can’t be conned. They look at everyone else as sheep & don’t even notice their own fleece has been shorn.
The Fair Trading Act is a good law to control deceptive marketing, it just doesn’t get enforced enough.
Critical thinking of consumer economics and marketing really needs to be taught as a high school staple, it really is a valuable life skill. I never recall being taught anything remotely relevant to it during my stint in the education system. If anything it was the opposite, they were teaching ways to make a living out of the consumerist status quo.
My education on critical thought of the topic came from the good old university of Real Life. I was fortunate enough to spend some time living on a tight budget in the UK when I was younger doing my OE. It taught me there was much more to life than what the TV told me I wanted to buy. I learned a real appreciation for not frittering away hard earned money on consumer marketed junk. I don’t even own a TV now, I’ll catch a very small selection of tv shows on-demand and that’s it, and I skip all the ads.
As far as I’m concerned if a company has to advertise it’s product, you probably don’t need it. When I buy stuff, I start with MY opinion of what I need, then research to find out what is most suitable/ethical (e.g. free range animal products) solution. Often I may not even buy something if I can make/recycle/repair/improvise something myself. Even buying something second hand, no shame in that, it’s better than a perfectly functional product it ending up in the tip. I am a big fan of trademe & local markets for that very reason.
Well, It is part of the new New Zealand curriculum.
Probably one of the reasons NACT is so keen on sabotaging its introduction.
That’s good to hear something along those lines is taught now, I just don’t recall anything similar during my time circa 80s early 90s.
I hope it doesn’t get sabotaged.
Yes, the ‘messages’ are important influences but I think the importance of the way things are organised, the structures of daily life are often overlooked as mechanisms to encourage consumerism and eliminate alternatives.
For example, time pressure makes malls appear like convenient ways of purchasing different kinds of goods all in one place. But, then, once you’re in the mall the psychological engineering kicks in. The structures of modern life, that is, serve us all up (soften us all up?) for the messages.
I started my working life in retail back in the days when we had a Thursday or Friday late night. I got up to management level & then they brought in Saturday trading. I’d work a 12hr day Friday & then 9-12 Saturday, it put a crimp in the social life. Then it went to 9-3pm Saturday and that’s when I quit the trade, got too much.
Retail trading hours are bad for the family and social life, I’d be happy to see Sunday trading disappear so everyone can have a break. It’s not as if retail turnover would be affected, same amount of money would still be spent it would just be spent in six days instead of seven.
Can’t see it changing though, consumers have gotten too used to the convenience of all-weekend & evening shopping.
Absolutely, no we don’t!
Ratings time must be due in radioland. Michael Laws at his attention seeking best (or worst):
Prevent bad parents in advance by sterilising them, pay them not to breed. Heard it all before. It’s sure to stir up a demographic.
Michael Laws to be Sterilisation Selector chief? Or just mischief.
Well he is the man who said we should line the whole country up against a wall and pick out everyone who looks like a “crim” and send them to jail.
He then said “you might not get all of them but you’d get most of them, surely” or something very similar to this.
Frankly the man is a f@cist, in the quite literal sense.
Thanks for that Captain Obvious.
You must spend a lot of time listening to those shock jocks, you are always going on about what they are saying.
A death match between you and Laws would be cool. Whichever one lost would be a score for NZ.
Obvious perhaps, but sometimes obvious things need restating. I don’t much like the idea that we should avoid pointing out obvious f@cists in our public discourse just because we already know about them.
That could be seen as a tacit – even if unintended – acceptance of such views.
And yep I absorb a fair bit of media, some by choice and some by circumstance. Thankfully Laws is more a case of “occasionally by chance”.
No, you just like to mouth off.
You and Laws are opposite sides of the same coin.
The Left doesn’t need rad fems hanging around. Unless their goal is to stay out of government.
What’s the alternative to being a feminist?
Oh, I do so love to see people outing themselves as misogynists – especially when it’s by out-of-nowhere dropping radical feminism into a conversation about talkback radio.
Well well, the Valerie Solanas wannabe has rocked on up today! Must be a bit lonely over there on your blog, averaging about 2 comments an article, and they usually your own comments, lol.
The Left doesn’t need rad fem man haters.
Oh, I’m so wounded! A Valerie Solanas comment AND a stab at my readership? If only I didn’t post here on a semi-regular basis, frequently getting 100+ comments on my posts …
You know you still need to actually back up your statements with links, right? I’ve mentioned it a couple of times now, and I am truly excited to know how you’ve deduced felix is a man-hater.
LOL. I have a sneaking suspicion Felix is a male.
But carry on amusing us tearing the fire bringer apart.
felix has been here almost from the beginning.
Remarkably for someone who has said so much food for thought, and given so much sheer delight and pleasure with the ritual disembowlings routinely administered … I still have absolutely no clear sense of who he or she is. I don’t even care whether felix is a boy or girl… it’s what is said that matters. And felix has been one of a handful who have shaped The Standard into what it is. The pseudonym tells all you really need to know; playful, dangerously intelligent and has sharp claws.
Nor does has any narrow ‘rad-fem’ agenda ever been apparent. felix contributes on all sorts of threads and topics.
What’s the alternative to being a feminist?
My answer is simple and plain. There is none. The slaver, property-owning patriarchy makes life a misery for most of humanity; male and female. We would all be much better off without it. And our sex lives would be a lot more fun too.
more rad fem nonsense
hardly the stuff that’s going to get Labour some votes off National
k_p, if you think statements like “we would all be better off without patriarchy” constitute “radical feminism”, you could be in for a rude shock one day.
Oh really? You think you’ve managed to mainstream that do you?
Nope. Not at all mainstream.
And in fact not even mainstream here at The Standard. We hardly ever frame discussions in purely ‘radical femminist’ terms as you would have it. For me it’s mostly a private aspect of my life. What I think about, how I see things and what I value is mostly my own business. Except here.
This is a place to say things that are not mainstream, where you can say what you really think and have people respond. Quite often you aren’t going to like the response; but it’s real and sometimes, quite often, you learn stuff.
Usually about yourself.
kp, you’ve spent too much time around Chris Trotter.
You’ve spent too much time around QofBS.
I see that you are environmentally conscious, if not a feminist. You recycle other people’s lines frequently.
As a white middle-aged male I came quite late in life to how I think about ‘feminism’. A few years ago I’d been saying much the same line you are right now k_p. I’m not in a mood right now to reprise everything that changed my mind; but has been a real collection of ideas from numerous sources; many of them more related to behavioural evolution and epigenetics than any exposure to a ‘radical feminist’ agenda you are so contemptuous of.
In fact I’m utterly innocent of having read ANY serious feminist material whatsoever.
I’ve really arrived at my own understanding from a completely different direction, equally as much to do with how badly the patriarchy servers MOST men, as it also fundamentally shapes world into a place most women feel it unsafe to be their real selves.
But carry on with the contempt and sneering if you want. Don’t imagine for an instant it will impress anyone. We’ve seen it all before.
Sneering and contempt?
Hypocrite. Your fellow femininsts mates felix and QofT show plenty of that in their rants.
Yeah, but we’re sneering and contemptuous towards people who make hilarious statements like “felix is a radical feminist” and who think adding “BS” to a person’s screenname constitutes an argument.
You still haven’t backed up any of your statements. Ours just requires a person to scroll up, read your “contributions”, and join in the sniggering.
Well for one I respect felix for having the stomach to listen to Laws. Frankly I’d just get too angry and finish up breaking too many radios.
But someone has to speak up against the evil this man is spewing. Sure he may be running as a ‘shock jock’ and only a minority might put their hands up to support what he is saying. But it normalises and desensitises us to something that is fundamentally wrong.
All people have the fundamental right to have children. Laws does not get to set some entirely arbitrary standard on who gets to reproduce and who does not.
Promoting compulsory sterilisation is pure facist evil. Of the most egregious kind.
Free speech is not the same as being free to say anything you like and Laws has stepped well over the boundary with this.
felix is permanently in a rage – oscillating between full blown and barely supressed – after all she is a rad fem. So listening to Laws all day would have no discernible effect on her mood.
Yes I agree the media needs cleaning up – Laws, Henry, Holmes et al. A result of a generation of neoliberal policy.
I know politics makes for strange bed mates but felix is a false friend, those misanthropists are losers.
after all she is a rad fem
I am honestly thoroughly intrigued by this allegation and most desirous of your citations.
Nope. You have been here five minutes k_p; felix I’ve been reading for over five years. In that time you may not ever know who a commenter is in real life, but you do get a real sense of their soul.
I’d suggest you’ve leapt to a wrong conclusion based on limited evidence. To put it politely.
I’d suggest k_p thinks that laying down the “you’re a radical feminist!” smackdown is somehow a killer silencing move. Further evidence to support the notion that k_p hasn’t known felix very long.
Funny how it’s you who turns up to defend her then.
I like felix, whose gender identity I am ignorant of. And you’re funny, and if you’d been here longer than 10 minutes you’d know how I like to poke the funny ones.
All this hate for women.
To be honest, I haven’t seen anything from you that is worth reading. You don’t argue, just state baseless ‘facts’ as if that wins the argument and then go all ad hominem when called on it.
Kiwi_prometheus would appear to be able to determine almost everything about all of us, without effort, based purely on his own prejudices.
The thing I have noticed most : how often he has got it wrong. Oh well, he will get his sooner or later. I hope I am around to see it happen . 😉
We should totally throw a party or something!
Eugenics and misogyny on the same page – he’s getting more efficient at this, isn’t he? Apparently women have these babies by themselves. Happy to read that you don’t support that tripe, Pete.
And as expected there’s support for what he says. Including support for compulsory contraception.
http://www.kiwiblog.co.nz/2012/04/general_debate_22_april_2012.html
It’s scary that there are people who would go down thatv track, but the chances of it happening are virtually nil in New Zealand.
We hope but we really need to work to ensure that it doesn’t.
I wonder what L(h)aws will do when he remembers that he opposed Ruth’s benefit cuts back in ’91, even to the point that he walked out of the party….
Maybe laws could start the ball rolling by setting an example!
Absolutely cutting critique of the debacle that is the F1 in Bahrain this weekend.
Can’t interrupt BAU.
Delicious
F1 just seems like a relic of a passing era of excess and loud impractical objects being hurtled around a track for the pleasure of uber geeks, the rich and famous and TV.
Serious racing allows passing and driver skill determining the outcome not he who has the best technology. They keep altering the rules to make it sort of competitive but as Melbourne have found out at 50 mill p.a. to host it ain’t worth it so Berne has to cuddle up to the oil barons unless he wants a much reduced calendar.
Sad news: http://news.yahoo.com/aboriginal-teens-shot-sydney-police-033712949.html
Made me think of this haunting song –
“Maralinga” Paul Kelly live 2012:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tkFgzF6-gxs
What’s sad about it? A couple of idiots got themselves shot for being a danger to the rest of the community.
Is that how you see it?
The driver was 14, and I understand that he was known to the police who were chasing the vehicle when it left the road, as were all the youths in the car.
The police opened fire on the passengers. Hard to see how that was in the interest of public safety. Hard to imagine a similar scenario involving euro-aussie youth.
And had just run over and hospitalised a woman on the footpath.
No, they opened fire on the car. And, no, I don’t have any sympathy for the passengers either.
The charge of racism may be accurate but then the police did have to stop them and they didn’t have a lot of choice on how. What did you expect them to do? Stand in front of the car, hand up yelling stop perhaps?
Far from homicidal rage, kids in this situation (and even adults) are usually operating out of blind panic.
How exactly does shooting the driver stop the car, or get it back on the road in this situation anyway? What could be achieved other than even more death and injury?
Need more info than I’ve been able to find, obviously.
But 14 Draco. And the the cops knew he was a terrified kid.
You severely injure or kill the driver so that the driver can no longer actively and effectively operate the vehicle.
Being 14 and terrified does not make a car driven into a crowded footpath any less of a lethal weapon. Remember in NZ, a 14 year old is considered responsible and mature enough to look after young children in the home.
You severely injure or kill the driver so that the driver can no longer actively and effectively operate the vehicle
So you mean you hope he can no longer press the accelerator? Doesn’t stop the car or get it onto the road. Maybe, seeing as the kid was fleeing from the cops, backing the fuck off might have been a more effective strategy.
…14 year old is considered responsible and mature enough to look after young children in the home. And that is the only “adult” privilege a 14 year old is allowed. Can’t drink, drive, have sex, vote, gamble, smoke, leave school…….. but can be shot down like an animal with no obvious advantage to the pedestrians in danger.
Were you an adult at 14 CV?
I sure as hell wasn’t.
I have a real simple rule, which boils down to not fucking off people with firearms.
I’m pretty sure I had that rule when I was 14 as well, having been young in countries where it was routine for law enforcement and security guards to pack heat.
At 14 years of age I also knew that it was best to follow police instructions. Didn’t you? Even though you weren’t legally an “adult” yet?
Two ways:
1.) He realizes that there is no way out and stops the car
2.) Being no longer able to control the car, he crashes
Both ways result in less chance of other people being maimed or killed. Considering the danger he was to other people, age doesn’t come into it.
The was stationary. The police walked up to the window and fired. Nothing to do with stopping the car.
Really? Link?
My view of it from the TV3 news clip was the same, looked like a deliberate execution,
The car obviously was not in gear and was stationary when the shots were fired through the windscreen,
the drivers foot went down on the gas pedal and stayed that way with the car revving like hell after He,(the driver), had been shot twice,the car wasn’t moving despite all the revving…
TV footage? I didn’t see it.
But from the sounds of it, the police force over there is in a lot of trouble.
Don’t know about the ‘trouble’ bit for the Oz plods, justification for such shootings are usually found, much like the shootings on the Auckland motorway were ‘found’ to be justified,
The plod with all the braid and silverware shown on the TV3 news clip made mention that the cars occupants had been involved in previous armo’s and it will be interesting to see if anyone in the car was carrying firearms…
Often a bunch of cocks, and with a legacy of being corrupt as hell.
But I can’t find any footage of the shooting on the interwebz – lots of the aftermath. but nothing of the actual incident.
So I’m not sure where “The was stationary. The police walked up to the window and fired. Nothing to do with stopping the car” came from.
And let’s also remember that the drivers ran down a 29 year old woman who suffered significant chest injuries when pinned under the vehicle.
I saw a real stupid incident on the roads tonight, involving a couple of quite young, drunk guys. A serious life threatening accident accident could have been caused if things had happened just a bit differently.
Both children and parents need to remember their responsibilities to each other and to society.
Crazy kids,better throw the lot of them in Borstal, ya never know there might be A John A lee among them some place,
Can’t see any justification tho in blowing the kid away for hitting the woman,summary justice is the thing of B grade cowboy movies and such should stay firmly in that realm,
In a heavily armed society the plod that pulled the trigger is making it just that much little more likely that a month down the road some crazy kid is going to unload a full magazine into one of his fellow officers on some routine traffic stop…
Designer stubble is obviously back .. woohoo
Obviously Gillette and Philips no longer sponsor this over-paid indulged group.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2012/apr/21/bahrain-gp-sebastian-vettel-pole
What a bunch of self pleasurers the once mighty F1 lot have become, the ‘pique’ of mega millions professional sport, this is where it ends up. Empty stands while the streets are full of locals and immigrant workers battling the state for basic rights.
Why don’t they retire the whole circus and just make it virtual for those that must watch these robotic spoilt tax exiles.
Sad to hear of the death of John Haigh. While it would be fair to say he made his living as a QC advising the wealthy, as a younger lawyer, he was tireless in his support of workers and their unions, as his father Frank had been before him. Saved my arse a couple of times, for sure!
Agreed Te Reo. A fine lawyer and a gentleman. A sad loss
John did great work for unions and union members with often tricky injuctions etc in the 80s to early 90s. I only looked askance at his later clients when they started including the odd bent copper. But you have to be guided by his peers regard, the best of lawyers take on the most appalling of customers.
Condolences etc.
Anther successful education project by the nacts NOT.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/education/6786393/Few-parents-prosecuted-over-truancy
For all we love to bag Granny Herald, and for all the times its reaction and lack of real depth in understanding how the neoliberal reforms are continuing to polarise Auckland (and the rest of the country) into the haves and have nots, there are times and certain kinds of issues when the Herald does its job of being the Auckland civic watchdog very well indeed.
Once again this morning their editorial around the casino is probing, and shows a level of social awareness and responsibility that you have to acknowledge:
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/opinion/news/article.cfm?c_id=466&objectid=10800530
Other articles dig into the issue from other angles: questioning losing a theatre space, actual jobs created, etc.
And they learn, because they work a local beat: Brian Rudman got off to an awful start with his articles on light rail (called something like “Last chance to stop the trains”) arguing the need to vote John Banks in ahead of Christine Fletcher, whose responsibility in dealing with Auckland’s actual problems had turned her into some kind of public transport convert. Now, Brian is the most cogent voice on many aspects of civic development NZ has.
Simon Collins is the only senior journalist we have who writes from a really informed position about social policy. He knows policy detail, he weighs things, he knows real people who are who are involved with eg the benefit system, he does the research, he provokes and grounds debate in this area better than anyone else in the mainstream media.
Yes, I expect to be quoted on this Herald- liking when the worm turns next time: but compared to the Dom Post (whose editorial team often seem convinced they have the inside line/ wisdom of Prometheus, but are often wrong and reactionary with it), I would say that Herald’s editorial folk are more than capable of some useful civic voice.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/opinion/news/article.cfm?c_id=466&objectid=10800530
They publish Bernard Hickey articles, so they are doing something right.
Labour should get BH to formulate their economic policy instead of going with neo classic lite.
You are politically illiterate and or trolling k_p, Bernard Hickey only began to seriously critique the ‘banksters’ in recent times after they (finance capital) almost crashed the world economy in 2008.
I have known Bernard since he was a young boy .We are friends of his family and he was a close friend of our son. However his politics even then was very Right-wing.He has certainly mellowed but I think underneath he is still National inclined.
David – while it is refreshing to see something resembling ‘useful civic voice’ from the Herald editorial it is far from being hook free. Take the following passage for example:
“The liquor and gambling industries thrive at our well-documented social cost.”
True.
“Their expensively contrived advertising imagery depicts both as part of a vibrant and happy social life – which of course they are; plenty of people gain great pleasure and do minimal harm to themselves or anyone else by participating in such pursuits.”
Hang on a minute – this kind of contradicts the previous sentence, or at least makes light of the ‘cost’ – and how? By referring to ‘plenty of people’ – I don’t want to get into a stat battle here but the MOH has this to say:
“The Ministry of Health estimates 25 percent of New Zealand drinkers aged between 12-65 years are heavy drinkers, consuming large amounts of alcohol on a typical drinking occasion. Other estimates have put the number of Kiwis binge drinking at over 50 percent.”
And when it comes to gambling the figures are worse – approx 10% of the population are regular continuous gamblers – the kind most at risk from addiction, and 60% of these are likely to develop a gambling problem in their lifetime.
So actually quite a lot of people potentially have a problem with drinking and over half of those who gamble regularly will have a problem with that too – not something to be lightly dismissed by claiming that they are part of a ‘vibrant and happy social life’
As for the Heralds regurgitated “show us the money” the whole point is that its not about the bloody money – sure the fact that the convention centre business case does not stack up financially is relevant, but the catchphrase was nauseating the first time, and no better now. We deserve better than one liners from old Tom Cruise films from the writers of editorials in our newspapers.
todays msn poll is should marijuana be decriminalised and the answer should be yes.
dope has caused more troubl ein this country than it ihas been worth.
the bluenoses, the bumblers and the authoritarians have had a field day
as soon as it is legalised and made the concern of the community and allotted an appropriate place the better.
as it stands it wastes police time, and confuses people about the evils of real drugs like coke and smack and speed not to mention alcohol and tobacco.
Cab Calloway – Reefer Man (1932)
Leroy ‘Stuff’ Smith – You’se A Viper (1937)
Fraternity Of Man – Don’t Bogart Me (1969)
Brewer & Shiply – One Toke Over the Line (1971)
New Riders Of The Purple Sage – Panama Red (1973)
Paul Holmes fails to impress One Direction fans
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d6DnfVA3G_U&feature=g-logo&context=G29a2636FOAAAAAAABAA
Anyone who has watched Paul Holmes salivating after pop stars and celebrities in the past will not be surprised to see him making a fool of himself as he does here. Over the years, Holmes has debased himself for a galaxy of celebrities, from the mediocre to the sinister, including Dame Kiri, Shania Twain, President Bill Clinton, Peter Jackson, Gordon Ramsay, Alistair Campbell and—perhaps most toe-curlingly awful of all, an extended live on air paean to the Christchurch-based Russian-born songstress Yulia, the closest anyone has ever come, albeit unwittingly, to rendering on screen a letter to Penthouse Forum.
In this interview with Harry and Niall of One Direction, however, Holmes is comparatively restrained. Nevertheless, there is still something here for Holmes-watchers, and connoisseurs of the inane in general. If you have any sense of the absurd, you will appreciate the following gems:
1.) “It’s feet on the ground stuff, isn’t it.”
2.) “Tell Louie I’m working hard here.” (A discomfited Holmes says that when one of the One Direction boys starts to playfully sabotage the interview. He smiles nervously and keeps calm on this occasion, but Holmes-watchers will remember his enraged bawling—“Children, STOP IT, we are trying to WORK here!”—as primary school kids skylarked all around him during a live cross somewhere in the rural North Island on his pisspoor—now defunct—Television One show Holmes.)
3.) “This shouting girls thing, this screaming girls thing: is it hard to cope with?” (This question was written for him by Tony “Boot Boy” Veitch, who has also had to cope with the screaming of women, but in a different context.)
The girls who love One Direction were clearly not impressed by the hate talk legend….
One girl, xMissLexi attracted 26 thumbs up endorsements in just a few hours for this comment: “I swear to god if the interviewer interrupts one more fucking time there are going to be some serious
issues.”
A little while later, one “hannnahspanner” commented…
“I know right, god i hate him for being so RUDE!!!it is embarrassing.”
I was reading Bomber’s review of The Nation/Q&A when he quipped about Jane Clifton and there being life after Murray McCully…
Wait… Jane and Muzza are no longer a power couple?
Don’t know the details and cannot be bothered researching it as I am not that interested, but I understand that they separated about 2 – 3 years ago after 20+ years as a “power couple”, as you described them.
One of Slippery’s bookends, Gerry Brownlee is in news yet again for being the bully boy, this time during a media interview,
Its in the Tories nature when under pressure to turn septic,resort to abuse and then when all else fails retreat into ‘standover’ tactics,
The other bookend, Joyce has been trying to take the heat off of their Slippery master by fronting the ‘casino catastrophe’ on behalf of National over the weekend,and, I wonder if Brownlee’s latest bout of over-projecting His Personality(or lack of such), is simply the tactics of the National Government to divert attention away from the abysmal performance of Slippery doing backroom deals with the card sharps and His pathetically insipid attempts at defending such sleazy deal making…
Christchurch, Market Forces and Gerry’s Farces
Important to point out this:
“Developers applaud Gerry”
http://www.stuff.co.nz/the-press/business/6783907/Developers-applaud-Gerry
Be nervous. Be very nervous.
And, for eg:
“I see no real need in putting height restrictions. Nobody’s going to build anything the market doesn’t want and nobody is going to be allowed anything that isn’t structurally very very sound.”
Another gem and own goal by Gerry. Here, at his best in revealing his psychological state of projecting and dumping his hysteria onto others that he needs to address within himself.
“All of your hysteria there won’t change the fact that we asked the Christchurch City Council to come up with a draft plan for the CBD …..”
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/christchurch-earthquake/news/article.cfm?c_id=1502981&objectid=10800629
Even The Economist is increasingly discussing peak oil now: http://www.economist.com/node/21553034
Good to see Peter Slipper has stood down as speaker of the house in Australia no room for sexual predators in Politics. Going to make it very interesting for Julia Gillard now
jturd no comment on nick smith
Should never have resigned dont believe he is a bender though as far as I know
Looks like Nick has been on many benders judging by his drinkers face james.
That would be too close to home for jturd. He likes to search the word labour on the web and try use results to discredit NZ Labour. Prize fool is james.
Interesting he uses the word predator when just last week he admitted to stalking a EMPU delegate.
Play his silly game and tell him France is likely to have a left-wing Govt in a few days by the looks.
Duncan going from TV to Radio, voluntarily or shoved?
http://news.msn.co.nz/nationalnews/8455321/garner-leaves-3-news-for-radio-gig
Going from nationwide TV to a radio gig is not generally seen as a forward step in media career circles.
Another indication that Western MSM is biased.
In this case protecting the capitalists while condemning the commun1st dictators.
Enoying the live chat with Garner..
What happened to Keys cycling tack down NZ
Sunday April 22, 2012 6:52 Steve
6:52
Duncan Garner:
Steve
It was a joke – never happened – 4000 jobs? what jobs … sounds familiar …900 jobs at sky city casino deal?
Coal hearted killer
A dirty, dusty, deadly, deceitfull, business marked by bullying, greed, fear, over it all, the dreadful pall of global warming and climate change. In my opinion the price is just to high and this industry must be consigned to the dust bin of history.
Whilst having refrained recently from commenting on Pike River while the Royal Commission deliberates on the evidence they have heard I will ask readers to consider this,
Methane when combusted is odorless, 3 witnesses have given evidence to the Pike River Royal Commission,(one who had been into the main tunnel after the 1 st explosion),that after the first explosion at the mine there was a strong smell of burned diesel from within the mine,
There are of course only 2 substances within underground mining that are going to give off a strong smell of diesel after having been combusted,
The first being diesel itself,the second I will leave you to ponder for a while until the Royal commission produces its findings…
Methane, once it’s combusted, is commonly referred to as carbon dioxide and water both of which are odourless.
Well, yeah, burning coal will smell similar to burning diesel. Similar chemical make up and impurities within each.
Reading the evidence given to the Pike River Royal Commission by the South African electrician sent into the mine to see why communications and the data stream had ceased from the mine might be an eye opener…
Dude, it ain’t the sort of thing to be smug about. You seem to think you’ve made a dramatic connection somewhere. Either come out with specifics or whack off about a different topic.
As above,reading the evidence given to the Pike River royal commission by the South African electrician sent into the mine after the 1st explosion might get you thinking…
Given that you obviously can’t remember the person’s name, let alone link to the relevant transcript, want to share the cliffnotes?
PS, I have burned quite a bit of the stuff,coal that is,both in an open fire and in a coal range over a 2 year period while living down South,even when I filled the house up with smoke from having damped down the range with the wrong flue i never smelt any diesel like smell…
You were using dry house coals right?
Try wet coal – which smells quite different. Shift up to a higher grade of coal burning. Then add in leachates that burn smelling like bunker oil. Then add a methane explosion that also burns all of those plus any coal dust. The only thing you can be sure of is that won’t be odorless and that it will not smell like your house fire.
Is the worm turning – or am I being too optomistic? As well as some of the Herald’s opinion bits today (and recently), I just found this bit on Stuff from Anthony Hubbard also today and was somewhat surprised at its anti-Key tone.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/opinion/6787292/People-are-getting-angry-John
This is worth a read for those who think NZ doesn’t have much corruption;
The inside man
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/crime/6785852/The-inside-man
Very perceptive words here from an ex-Policeman;
“I’m embarrassed that we used to run around chasing guys for $1000 they ripped off Social Welfare,” he says. “The big money is heading out the back door through softly regulated industries full of people in suits who should know better.”
All of the govt regulatory bodies are like Internal Affairs. Commerce Commission get thousands of complaints each year, many about crooked business people, and they do nothing either. They see no evil, speak no evil….
TV3/Reid research poll tonight:
National (surprisingly) and Labour (not surprisingly) about the same as the Morgan poll.
Greens up a bit, NZF down on Morgan. But overall not a big change.
If Labour can’t make any inroads into National support with whats been in the news over the last couple of weeks then maybe some serious thought has to be put in to strategies. Failed for the last three years, still failing. Leadership will come up in discussions but the problem is deeper than that.
Pete George – I have read your posts for a few months on this blog and have grown more infuriated by the week. You’re supposed to be a cheerleader for United Future, I recall that you got just over 100 votes last election in the Dunedin seat you stood in, yet you insist on bagging Labour for their ratings, which aren’t exactly setting the world on fire at the moment, but I wish you would concentrate on UF’s 0.0% rating if the latest poll is anything to go by. Are you really a NAct supporter in drag? It appears that Act and United Future have the same future politically speaking.
You’re supposed to be a cheerleader for United Future
Who told you that? Sure, I stood for UF last election (and got a par for the course result unsurprisingly, a bit more than you claim) and I respond to queries about UF here. But I act indepently mostly, as I have long before I joined UF. In fact currently I am strongly querying a UF position on asset sales.
I support some National things and people and I think voted National once, but I’m not a National supporter as such. I’ve never voted Act nor supported them. I’ve more often than not voted Labour and I supported the Clark government for the first two terms. I’ve also voted Greens.
UF always seem to get 0% in the TV3 poll, I don’t know why that is – TV3 never even reveal what question they ask. I know one poll excludes UF from it’s list of options. But UF tends to be around the 0-1% range in various polls. That’s not important to me at the moment.
I think the most important thing in NZ party politics at the moment is Labour’s non-recovery from 2008. I’d like to see as strong a Labour party as possible in opposition so they can contribute positively to Parliament, adequately rebuild and prepare for their next time in government. I am still disapointed with Labour’s lack of progress and their clinging to failed strategies. I’m not a fan of their level of attack politics. They would be more effective if they saved theirn efforts for things that really mattered, ie picked their fights.
Even TV3 don’t believe this poll, if they did it would have lead the news hour on 3 tonight,there are 2 points I simply do not believe in this poll, that National have gained more support than it had on election night,and, that NZFirst has lost over half the support it had on election night,
To us its just another in a long line of ”dont bother voting its a done deal polls” that the Montgomery Burns owners of the mass media have been using to good effect to turn people away from thinking that their vote might just make that difference,
I see the situation as this, without the 3 Maori Party MP’s votes, National have a knife edge majority of Dunne and Banks,
Its still the same 2% ballgame that it was leading up to the 2011 election and a 3rd term for National in 2014 will still require the Maori Party support of 3 seats that that party is unlikely to have at the 2014 election…
@bad12.9.06pm
‘To us its just another in a long line of ”dont bother voting its a done deal polls” that the Montgomery Burns owners of the mass media have been using to good effect to turn people away from thinking that their vote might just make that difference.”
Exactly bad12. I felt they only televised this ‘poll’ this to make Key, Joyce and all who sail in them feel good about their decomposing selves. Rather like a spray of room freshener, to stop the smell of cronyism and undemocratic dealings of our prime leader seeping through the TV set on a Sunday evening. …………………..
“There we are Johnny and Steve, nicely deodorised and spun back into the position you believe you are entitled to and now you are already for a new week of manipulation, ignorance and the use of New Zealand for our own ends- and all courtesy of TV3 non news.”
Easy to see why they pay the newsreaders such unhealthy large sums of the filthy lucre to faithfully read this stuff to the masses without actually chucking up big time or breaking into gales of mad laughter ae,
The closing dramatics from tonights TV3 clip covering the latest poll offering was the usual ramped up voice giving the usual ramped up mind numbing ”with these figures National could Govern alone”…
I don’t know who wrote those figures up but they look meaningless to me. They add up to 99.4% which means they’ve removed the ‘undecided’ respondents. No way in hell do only 0.6% say they wouldn’t vote for any of them. It’s certainly not a measure of approval for this Govt, not a measure of anything really.
Why are people concerned about ratings now anyway? They’re not going to do any good to anyone, next election is 2 1/2 yrs away.
Surface fixit/plaster for Labour = replace Shearer with Cunliffe
Unfortunately plasters don’t heal gangrene – major surgery is required.
Simple suggestions for Labour:
– Consider a name change – brand damaged
– Consider a major clean out of caucus whether by resignation and bring in new folk from the list, or lots of retirements in 2014.
– A full overhaul of policy to promote a progressive agenda that takes in to account the reality of life in 2012.
– Also policy that isn’t warmed up leftovers from a past era (50’s-70’s)
– Also policy that isn’t a left swinging knee jerk reaction to what the Nats do.
– A leader who actually believes, promotes, and is fully enthusiastic about the policies he/she stands for and who is not afraid to come down on their own team members when necessary.
– A caucus who know what the words discipline/team work/hard work/good character actually mean.
– Work on 2 way communication with grass roots supporters so that they can share/push the vision.
Without at least some of these things, Labour is like a ship that has had a fire at sea – its still floating but sure is dead in the water and going no where fast.
Totally agree problem is greater than Shearer Greens are now becoming left party of choice. Also fully agree with this comment below
A full overhaul of policy to promote a progressive agenda that takes in to account the reality of life in 2012.
Labour needs to realise that employers aren’t evil, and it OK for people to make money with out throwing in the envy card every time.
They only seem to have one revenue policy that is tax people to death ,and if they are still moving tax them again.
Haven’t seen one idea from them that will grow the economy
[Take a week off for playing the ‘envy’ card. Idiot sloganeering no longer tolerated…RL]
There is envy all right. The wealthy are so envious of what we have left, they are grabbing that too.
The US economy was growing at its fastest rate ever when the rich were taxed at 91%.
Havn’t you noticed what has happened since the tax cuts for the rich?
Transferring money from the rich, who hoard it or waste it in pointless money gambling schemes, to those who spend locally, is a proven method of growing an economy.
Tax and spend is exactly what we should do. It is how New Zealand got out of the 30’s depression ahead of the USA.
Instead of borrowing, selling, giving money to rich cronies and hoping the confidence fairy returns.
Yep. Asset/capital taxes and spending that money back into circulation is the only way ahead.
If the largest holders of capital refuse that approach, the Government should simply print the money it needs to keep the economy going, into the economy, while ensuring it is directed into productive areas which increase efficient operation and competition within the economy.
If at some stage excess money supply appears to be driving inflation the Government can either enter a specific market itself to increase competition and/or withdraw money from the supply by increasing taxes and savings rates further.
No problem.
Idiot sloganeering no longer tolerated.
Well, I look forward to this being applied evenhandedly.
[lprent: Well this site was never meant to be an even playing field (read the about), we’re interested in views from outside the labour movement if they add to the debate and fools being repetitive simply don’t do that. But have you ever noticed that james111 or yourself get relatively lenient bans compared to others with similar opinions? It is because we’re not looking at the opinions as much as the behaviour.
Moderators tend to find that a simple warning is enough to get most of the commentators attention and change in behaviour (which is what we want). Most of the commentators are from the centre and left and respond to relatively simple and easy guidance about what is tolerated. Whereas often those believing in the principles of the Divine Right usually require a frigging club and a lot of force to pound through to them that they don’t make the rules – we do.
So experience has taught the moderators to use whatever is most effective on different types of people to achieve our site objectives of having interesting robust debate. That is why you’ll see differences in handling depending on peoples behaviour. Someone like philu or Wayne/Mark fit the profile of being stupid egotists who just won’t listen and they get permanent bans because it reduces our workload. People who do listen but only after being banned like SHG will get bans of increasingly longer spans until we find where they either leave or listen. Others respond immediately to [warnings] and still others you only have to write a cutting comment about their behaviour.
In short, even handedness is from the perspective of the moderators – not from the perspective of the commentators. If you respond to less draconian techniques then we’ll use less. If it takes more draconian measures, then we’ll use more. The primary aim is for us to use the least amount of effort to get a desired result. ]
K. But the rule is “no idiot sloganeering”, right?
Blame the polls. The number of bannings seems to have a relationship to the popularity of the govt. three polls against the received standardistas wisdom over the weekend and i’ve counted three bans today for relatively trivial things. Moderator grumpiness index seems set to high…
What? National tanked at 21% and came back. Labour isnt damaged as much as NZ is still in love with Key – They never did anything actually wrong. Shearer at least should take this as a serious request by the public to get off the fence stand up and fight back.
I think Labour far from having a need to completely re-invent itself should simply firmly focus upon what had the Party leading the left of New Zealand politics from the coal mines of the West Coast into Governing the country of New Zealand and cementing into place the physical manifestation of the principals of social justice to protect the most vulnerable members of our society, much of which still stands albeit under constant attack from the right,
There are a million voters who have not voted for 2 elections even though they are registered to do so,
The missing million sure as hell aint going to vote for National, an obvious seeing as they did not vote for that Party despite the election bribe of tax cuts in 2008 and didn’t vote for national again in 2011 despite the election bribe of being able to tuck into the part sale of the most profitable of state owned assets,
Labour and the Greens need find out what it is that will turn out the missing million to the ballot box on election day 2014, its really that simple,
I have the view that it is my democratic duty to do so,vote that is,even at times when what is on offer at the ballot box is unpalatable,
The view here is that we should make voting a matter of legal requirement just as registering to do so is…
Why are these people uninspired to turn out and vote for Labour? Get this answer right and 2014 belongs to Labour.
Jimmie gives Labour a whole lot of recommendations straight from the Right Wing. Who are scared to death of Cunliffe. (Notice how Cunliffe was put up front and centre by Jimmie haha)
I agree with you CV that Cunliffe would be a more effective leader than Shearer – but would just changing their leader be enough to make the voters go, ‘ oh, yeah, Labour, we ditched them at the last two elections, but now that Cunliffe is in charge we’ll come and vote for them again.
I dunno – I think its a lot to have riding on the shoulders of one man – and what if Cunliffe fails to inspire the public? What if the anyone but Cunliffe brigade doesn’t pull their weight heading into 2014? Its a risk and 2017 is a long way away.
I know I am right wing with my view on life, but the advice I previously posted was just wanting to be helpful, as NZ needs strong parties from both sides of the fence, and at the moment Labour aint cutting it. Also when we do have to have a left wing government I’d prefer one dominated by Labour and NZF rather than the Greens, so Labour needs to be strong to achieve that.
But tell me, which of the above points do you disagree with? The policy ones probably, but the teamwork/structure/leadership points are valid and need to be faced or people will be turned off again, in 2014 and all the lefties on this blog will need to get checked for stomach ulcers after election 2014!
For starters you assume that Cunliffe would have done the same things in the same style as Shearer has done. Not a chance mate.
And quit pretending you’ve suddenly become a politically fair minded actor lol
I wondered why over 100 comments. It’s just old Pete George. Also the right winger Kiwi Prometheus. As that guy was supposed to have brought fire to the world the choice of name indicates that this commenter has no intention to attempt thought but merely wants to be a jerk.
I might have become a ‘closed shop’ when thinking about Labour Leader David Shearer but in my own defence have to say that initial media perceptions are very formative of the perception one has of people, particularly politicians, that i have not personally met,
The Labour Leader’s appearance on the ‘comedy’ hosted by whats-his-face that abusive little far-right wing clown made me cringe for obvious reasons…