There will be a period today when I finally move the primary server. Everything is set up for the move. It would have been done last night except that the current supplier managed to put the server out and didn’t get it running for 12 hours after being informed.
So do I. Working from home today as the remaining operations are simple (mostly copying large sets of a files or pushing them into the right places), but they take some time.
Just doing an SQL dump on right now. This message is to test what disruption I get to entering comments.
Unfortunately I never set up a warm backup system after the last move to what was the warm backup. So this is slower than it should be. Especially since I’m working at the same time.
Nice – a 714Mb database sql taken without anyone noticing. Now to load the database for testing.
The recent troubles can’t have been good for the stress levels, very frustrating when providers don’t respond in a timely manner. Do you have a dedicated server or VM? If it’s dedicated you might want to ask if they can give you remote access, can at least reboot the thing yourself if it hangs.
Back up and running at normal speed (maybe better than normal).
I’m going to have lunch, then do some work whilst watching the loadings, and I’ll do another pass after 5pm. Let me know here of anything that shows as a problem.
This week seems to be the “dump the bad report” week. So far I am aware of the following releases or planned releases:
1. GCSB spying review press release (as opposed to the report itself).
2. IPCA report of the Urewera raids.
3. Solid Energy documentation dump by Treasury with no trace of Key’s $1 billion claim.
4. Release of the decision concerning Aranui school amalgamations.
It is important for these to be subject to the review of Parliament but it is not sitting this week.
I’m feeling like we are in the middle of a government blitskreig and am starting to feel like there’s too much to respond to, and that it all feels very negative, and like always being in defensive mode.
I’m thinking the government are doing as much of the nasties as possible now, and then will start to go into smiley, positive, butter-wouldn’t-melt-in-their-mouths mode leading up to the election..
Dumping all at once follows a strategy used I think by petrol retailers. Keep shifting the price around so that it is hard to get a fix on the target. Dump several reports or part of reports so that we can’t all agree on which deserves the greatest focus.
Banks could be gone, Dunne might finally find a spine, Maori might stop vomiting long enough to also vote against National and Key get’s his wish, an early election as he victim of PR.
Got a bit worried yesterday, seeing The Standard had apparently been “down” a fair bit over recent days. So the update by lprent is appreciated.
There are some worrying anecdotal informations about activists and groups being increasingly “surveilled” and checked on by police and possibly other agencies, so this news about Neazor and the GCSB report of sorts is also highly dissatisfying and worrying.
It seems like one of the many white washes going on. One old man, “employed” by the Prime Minister, presenting a final position that is neither here nor there, but gives Key the chance to talk his and their way out of responsibilities again.
Well, this is all disgusting, and in future they (GCSB) will quite legally use their modern equipment to do spying legally on any they have reasonable grounds to suspect certain illegal activities from.
Times to be highly alert and mindful, 24/7 that is.
In this case I think it is just an under-resourced department with a technical problem on their hardware. Their company needs to throw more resources in to fix the problem. Since they haven’t, I’m moving the site.
6. One of my friends heard a self-proclaimed zionist talking to a shapeshifting white guy. They said that all the earthquake in oklohoma lately are a result of massive underground contruction. they were talking about how the Jewish race wishes to expand rapidly and that they are building massive Jewish settlements and Palestinian slave labor camps under Oklohoma…the reason… supposedly ak-la ham aer, which sound like oklohoma, means “Jews are the best, screw the rest” in hebrew.
Dunno about you, but I’m convinced.
I just told myself a story about guys with big noses on bulldozers floating on the Manukau, making a tornado. Mar noo koh, which sounds a lot like Manukau, is actually the ancient Khazar language for “All flounder and the scallops at Clark’s Beach are Illuminati property.” They’re not real Jews because they eat scallops. Open your eyes, bro.
Before and after ground photos on NBC … the kind of series we will need to do for ourselves when Slippery and Nact are done with us. Such heartbreak all round.
Re my comment just made, there as a clear and critical comment and feedback by Mr Buchanan, former US security expert, being interviewed on National Radio not long ago this morning. The report about the GCSB spying on 88 NZers (citizens or residents) should be made public he says, as sensitive parts can of course be blackened out or withheld.
So he supports the stand by the opposition parties.
Key is trying to get away with playing Mr Slippery Dodgy, wanting to cover up as much as possible. What a disgusting state of affairs.
This is good that in the Herald they have cottoned on:
“Andrew Geddis: We owe it to ourselves to be outraged
Citizens must speak up to protect the constitution when the Government fails to do so, says Andrew Geddis.” (I bet Mr Key has strong feelings about Andrew?) http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10885186
I posted a comment on the Herald’s Andrew Geddis’ op ed piece and asked where their headline used a few years ago ‘DEMOCRACY UNDER ATTACK’ had disappeared to. Of course my comment hasn’t been published – I wonder why.
I’ve been thinking that if the Labour Party keep promoting the Auckland Unitary Plan , they are not likely to get into Government any time soon. I’ve never seen any local body issue that has got so many ratepayers up in arms, going to local meetings etc. Phil Twyford keeps stating in Parliament that “Aucklanders want a compact city” but unfortunately nobody has thought to ask all of us “Aucklanders” what WE want. Funny that!!! I personally don’t know of ONE PERSON who supports the UP!! So where are all these hundreds of thousands of supporters of the plan??? Has anybody in the Labour Party ever done a survey of Aucklanders to see what they actually want??
Auckland is going to have a 2M population pretty in 20 years time. Unless it has aspirations of joining up with Hamilton it’s going to have to go up. “What people want” is one factor. “What is workable” and “what is possible” are two others which are just as big.
Anyone who wants a quarter acre section in Auckland: will need to be a multi-millionaire, become a million bucks in debt to a big bank or move to another town.
Out west Hami people are more relaxed about it. This is because Waitakere City has been practising intensification for years. If you want an eco city you have to address urban sprawl.
From what I see, it’s largely people on the North Shore who are against the AUP, and some people in Auckland City.
Not a big issue here in the west.
“Rate payers”, huh!?
Well, actually, the affordable housing crisis is much more an issue for renters and low income people, not home owners. Renters (indirect rate payers), are more worried about the cost of rents.
And young wannabe home buyers are looking at the situation where they can only afford on the outskirts of the city. A more compact city is in their interests -ditto for low income renters, who are worried about getting to work and other services from the outskirts of the city where rents are lowest.
Looks to me like a situation where the better off home owners are getting more attention from the MSM than the rest of us with less power and status.
Of course they haven’t asked Aucklanders what they want, just like council and government and their automaton foot soldiers like Mickysavage they know what’s best for rest of us why bother asking our opinion.
Yeah. What actually happened? Did she ask her questions? Did she call bullshit out loud? Weird report- unless it was edited out in case it conflicted with the Government position.
You will notice that the ‘journalist’ was not interested in what the woman said or in the content of the agreement, just that someone had the audacity to go off script. Here is some of the information the ‘journalist’ could have included if they were not so concerned with losing their place in the junket queue. The comments on the Stuff article are largely and deservedly derisive of the appalling lack of fact reported in the media regarding the TPPA.
Call it security through absurdity: a pair of telecom firms have branded reporters for Scripps News as “hackers” after they discovered the personal data of over 170,000 customers—including social security numbers and other identifying data that could be used for identity theft—sitting on a publicly accessible server.
But mostly because of this:
The two companies are separate legal entities but are substantially owned by the same people and, as the company’s attorney put it, “share some key management employees.”
How much competition has the free-market truly given us? Because all I’m seeing is conglomeration.
I couldn’t go back and leave my hybrid kiwi born daughter, so I’m exiled here, for better or worse.
But don’t say anything in case immigration put the extortionate prices up and foil my invasion plan.
Plus with dual citizenship I double my chances of getting a Brit award or a tui.
A highly topical and relevent piece by Dean Baker that focusses on the USA situation but that translates rather nicely to NZ austerity policies.
“Destroying the lair of the budget balancing cretins.” If the deficit hawks are “really concerned about our children’s future”, they should focus on the over-valued dollar.
At some point everyone alive today will be dead.
This means that the government debt (bonds) that people alive today possess will be passed on to future generations. Future generations will not just owe future debt; they will also own future debt. If we take the extreme case where the ownership of government bonds is evenly divided among our children and grandchildren, then the burden of the debt will be money that they are paying to themselves. How can that make them poorer?
Of course, the debt is not evenly held so there can be intra-generational distributional issues. Suppose that Bill Gates’ grandchildren end up owning all the debt. Then the debt will impose a burden on everyone else’s children and grandchildren. They will be paying interest to Bill Gates’ grandchildren.
But this is an issue between Bill Gates’ grandchildren and everyone else’s grandchildren. If our children and grandchildren tax Bill Gates’ grandchildren, then they will face little burden from debt built up today.
Many of the deficit scaremongers have raised the issue of foreign, and especially Chinese, ownership of the debt. While this may appeal to racist sentiments, it has little to do with government deficits.
The problem, of course, is that every country (except NZ) is trying to reduce the value of it’s currency so as to address the trade imbalances and so it won’t work. What’s needed is a more active way of addressing those imbalances.
I don’t dispute that, but within the context of current economic orthodoxies, this government seems happy to have a high NZ dollar and to enact austerity on the back of false premises…premises that Baker exposes in a clear and easily understood logical fashion.
2013 Auckland Mayoral candidate Penny Bright will be addressing the Auckland Council on Thursday 23 May at 10am – ‘Neutrality of Public Servants’.
Speaking rights confirmed at Auckland Council Governing Body Meeting
Thursday 23 May 2013, 10am
Reception Lounge Auckland Town Hall
301-305 Queen Street Auckland
7.1 Penny Bright – Auckland Council Local Government Election Year Policy
Penny Bright will be present to speak to the Governing Body regarding the Auckland Council Local Government Election Year Policy
– “Neutrality of Public Servants”.
______________________________________________________________________________
My subject matter is:
Auckland Council Local Government Election Year Policy
“Neutrality of Public Servants”.
At this Governing Body meeting of Auckland Council, you are discussing the proposed ‘Auckland Council Local Government Election Year Policy’.
“Who does this policy apply to?
4) This policy applies to all Auckland Council elected members and Auckland Councilemployees.”
“Neutrality of Public Servants
12. A major characteristic of New Zealand’s constitutional arrangements is that public servants are apolitical.
This applies to public servants in local and central government.”
If Auckland Council employees are supposed to be apolitical ‘public servants’ – then why is Auckland Council CEO, Doug McKay, still a member of the ‘invitation-only’, powerful private sector lobby group – the Committee for Auckland?
Please be reminded of the LGOIMA reply I received from Wendy Brandon, General Counsel for Auckland Council dated 10 February 2012
(“Official Information Request No: 9000114213:)
“1. I have advised you previously that Mr McKay is a member of the Committee forAuckland in his capacity as Chief Executive of Auckland Council.
2. Mr McKay is an honorary member of the Committee for Auckland. As such, there was no joining fee charged or paid.
3. No resolution of any committee of the Auckland Council was sought or given in relation to Mr McKay’s membership of the Committee for Auckland. The Committee for Aucklandis an independent organisation and its aims and objectives are a matter of public record.”
Membership Information
Membership to the Committee for Auckland is by invitation. Members meet quarterly and are invited to be involved in those aspects of the work programme that interest them.
Members are Chairs of Boards, Directors and Chief Executives
Corporate Membership annual fee $10,000.
Associate and Individual Membership comprises organisations or individuals who support the aims and purpose of the Committee but who, for various reasons, are unable to take a full part in contributing to the Committee’s portfolio of initiatives.
Associate Membership annual fee $5,000
Individual Membership annual fee $2,500
For further information about Membership, please contact the Executive Director”
How many Auckland Council or Auckland CCO contracts are going to member companies of the Committee for Auckland?
How can this not be a ‘perceived conflict of interest’ for the Principal Adminstrative Officer of Auckland Council – the CEO Doug McKay – to be a member of this private sector lobby group, particularly when his membership has not been ‘authorised /endorsed’ by elected members of Auckland Council?
Is the Governing Body of Auckland Council going to ensure that CEO Doug McKay, terminates his membership of the Committee for Auckland, in order to comply with his ‘apolitical’ role as a ‘public servant?
He’s probably sizing up the prime real estate freed up by the abolishment of the NZDF. A port, 3 airports, and 3 residential villages, will bring in a lot of coin for someone.
The real estate occupied by the military in owned by the Government. The decision as to how that is disposed of is up to the government. With the ragtag bunch of asset salesmen that we have posing as the current government, you may well be right.
I would have preferred, though, that any comment on Jones’ ideas would have dealt with them, rather than his supposed motivation.
We are too ready to attribute suspect motivations as an attack on a person rather than deal with their ideas.
Bob Jones has stepped right away from usual socially conservative views on military expenditure. He pushed the same views in 1984, as I remember. Interestingly, he enlisted Phil Goff as an ally in his thinking.
What is happening with Kiwi Bank? Is it true that the NZ Treasury had Kiwi Bank evaluated by Goldman Sachs last year?!!!! Is it true that Standard & Poors has given a negative outlook for Kiwi Bank , a rating downgrade from stable to negative today?
Oh FFS, the Giant Vampire Squid known as Goldman Sachs has destroyed more value for its clients (often directly for its own gain) than it has ever produced.
Uh, pretty often, their clients are exactly the same as their prey. To clarify using an hypothetical example.
The GS prop trading desk would determine that GS itself was holding too many Japanese bonds and that bond prices were bound for imminent collapse due to a Japanese Government financial crisis.
GS would then issue a memo out to all its major clients talking up the prospects for Japanese bonds, setting a fabulous price target, and rating them a “Buy”.
Gormless GS clients would contact the GS trading desk to buy said recommended bonds, GS would unload their holdings of the bonds on to their hapless clients for a big profit to themselves, and then charge their clients commission on top of that.
GS would then buy up credit default swaps on the bonds that they no longer own so that after they crashed, they’d make another round of profits.
Since then, the Ella/Lorde dichotomy has been developing, and it’s apparent from even a phone conversation that the teenager feels the split within herself already.
all I can think is poor girl and that there’s some parents and a multi-national corporation that need to be done for child abuse.
lprent
I was unable to search my past comments. Have these gone west – or perhaps been purloined by spy masters to be pored over for deep secrets and frightening revelations! They should be so lucky.
John Key cheats at Quiz Evenings
What a piece of work our Prime Minister is. The Panel, Radio New Zealand National, Wednesday 22 May 2013
In the introductory chatter today, David Farrar, honorary life member of the Young Nats and blogger extraordinaire, revealed something highly interesting about the character, or lack of character, of the Prime Minister….
JIM MORA: I hear that one of the things you do at Young National conferences is run Quiz Evenings.
DAVID FARRAR: Yes we do, and they are always very popular. The Prime Minister enjoys these quiz shows very much, and he is EXTREMELY competitive. He hates to lose. And that’s a good thing in a prime minister! At the last quiz—I don’t know if I should be saying this!—he used his CELL-PHONE to check a question about police commissioners.
MORA:[with mock seriousness] You’re making a serious allegation there!
A man in Moore, Oklahoma filmed the last moments of the incoming tornado right before going underground with his family into their bunker .. then filmed again as he came out.. the before and after .. chilling.
“The Government’s job is to make sure there’s balance between the economy and and a safe environment,” he said.
“Of the 18 [sedimentary] basins in New Zealand, only one is tapped and that’s in Taranaki and if you look at its economy, there are high levels of growth. Fracking is safe and we should say yes to oil exploration, but make sure it’s done to a high standard.”
WTF!!!
What educational philosophy justifies 5 year olds being educated in the same school as 18 year olds?
Christchurch is just the start. Watch out the rest of NZ.
The only place where educating 5-18 year olds together really work are our area schools, which have a smaller roll than regular schools, allowing a family type atmosphere.
It would make better sense for all 4 schools to have a shared board of trustees, this would enable them to share resources, but have a unique identity.
Good news though, Salisbury special school is staying open, reversing a trend of dumping out those who have higher needs than most out in the community to sink or swim.
Hypocrite of the Year: “Sir” Graham Henry
Believe it or not, he’s ranting against referees
21 May 2013
Actually, make that Hypocrite of the Century. This cantankerous old codger has no sense of irony, no sense of decency, no sense of sportsmanship. Obviously Graham Henry thinks that nobody can remember anything. Henry’s ugly mug is back on the TV screens; this time the old fraud is bitching and moaning about a few marginal calls that went against his Auckland Blues. In a foam-flecked rant on the news tonight the shameless old coot had the brazen effrontery to call the referee of Saturday night’s game “blind”.
Graham Henry was not so bilious a year and a half ago, as his All Black team was delivered the RWC final by a gentleman who makes Glen Jackson look like Eagle-Eyed Eric from Eagle Mountain, California…. http://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&v=1XBqetaCfgo
Analysis of the refereeing—actually NON-refereeing—straight after the final, on The Breakdown on Setanta Sports….
“The World Cup was decided on non-refereeing decisions. Unbelievable… shameful…really bad…he refused to make any
decisions. Shameful… so sad…. France should have had two or three opportunities to win that game from penalties but the referee did not have the same rules for both sides.That World Cup was decided on non- refereeing . A shameful, shameful performance. The French knew what was going to happen before they went in to this game, I think Paddy O’Brien did brilliantly to ensure a benign referee from New Zealand’s point of view was in charge. He didn’t referee them at the breakdown, he was completely inconsistent. That Kaino non-decision was just
disgraceful. That was on the 40-metre line and was very kickable.
The referee abrogated responsibility.
I know. I know miss. I know the answer!
The government builds 2 storey units, two bedroomed each and four to a reasonable sized section, each with a balcony.
And only first home buyers who have a track record of managing their money or saving regularly for the past two years can get the places on low interest. And they can save their money and raise a deposit and get a further low interest loan on a three bedroom house, when they sell the two-bedroom places back to the government for cost plus annual increase based on bank interest on term deposits plus a bonus for leaving the property in tidy repair.
That means that people are not being milked by property speculators and of course the baby boomers will soon be paying CGT and that money can make up for R&D tax allowances. And we’ll get more industry going
Oh dear NZ is now a good friend of the USA and shown themselves in the forces to be useful and so likely to be invited again to partake in Men’s Own adventures. We could use UN work as peacekeepers as an employment arm, or set up mercenary SOE’s sending out soldiers as contractors, to foster our GDP, and be like Fiji, and perhaps some of our soldiers will come home as happened there, and solve our political balancing problems in their own unique way.
We might eventually step on China’s toes if we get involved in soldiering etc areound the world. China is more important to our income than the USA, marginally perhaps now.
We can’t have peace though because armaments manufacturing will soon be the only thing that gets made in the west (USA and France). Haven’t checked Britain and Russia stats. Everything else will be done in China – eureka the west may think – use the armaments to attack China and get back western capacity for business and employment. Gee I get some crazy ideas.
Published on May 16, the paper titled “Indication of anomalous heat energy production in a reactor device” would appear to deliver what we wanted.
The paper was authored by Giuseppe Levi of Bologna University, Bologna, Italy; Evelyn Foschi, Bologna, Italy; Torbjörn Hartman, Bo Höistad, Roland Pettersson and Lars Tegnér of Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden; and Hanno Essén, of the Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, Sweden. While some of these people have previously been public in their support of Rossi and the E-Cat they are all serious academics with reputations to lose and the paper is detailed and thorough.
… if we consider the whole volume of the reactor core and the most conservative figures on energy production, we still get a value of (7.93 ± 0.8) 10^2 MJ/Liter that is one order of magnitude higher than any conventional source.”
Basically, there are many reasons to be suspicious. What does it for me is that the Cu found has the same isotopic mixture as that occurring naturally. It doesn’t come from a fusion reaction. Sorry.
The breakthrough e-cat technology will save our civilisation. Once the design becomes freeware on the internet, a new dawn of fossil-fuel free clean energy powered human civilisation will expand to our rightful, enlightened place in the stars. Or some such.
I hope Winston Peters is going to protect the NZ Mums’ and Dads’ ‘KIWI BANK’ from privatisation ( as John Key and National wanted to do). Winston and ‘NEW ZEALAND FIRST’ should give KIWI BANK a government guarantee and protection from overseas predators and those who want to plunder Mums’ and Dads’ New Zealand assets.
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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 ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Politicians across the political spectrum are implicated in the New Zealand media’s failing health. Either through neglect or incompetent interventions, successive governments have failed to regulate, foster, and allow a healthy Fourth Estate that can adequately hold politicians and the powerful to account. ...
Citizen Science writes – Last week saw two significant developments in the debate over the treatment of trans-identifying children and young people – the release in Britain of the final report of Dr Hilary Cass’s review into gender healthcare, and here in New Zealand, the news that the ...
One night while sleeping in my bed I had a beautiful dreamThat all the people of the world got together on the same wavelengthAnd began helping one anotherNow in this dream, universal love was the theme of the dayPeace and understanding and it happened this wayAfter such an eventful day ...
This is a guest post by Oscar Simms who is a housing activist, volunteer for the Coalition for More Homes, and was the Labour Party candidate for Auckland Central at the last election. ...
Turning what Labour called the “holiday highway” into a four-lane expressway from Auckland to Whangarei could bring at least an economic benefit of nearly two billion a year for Northland each year. And it could help bring an end to poverty in one of New Zealand’s most deprived regions. The ...
Tonight’s six-stack includes: launching his substack with a bunch of his previous documentaries, including this 1992 interview with Dame Whina Cooper. and here crew give climate activists plenty to do, including this call to submit against the Fast Track Approvals bill. writes brilliantly here on his substack ...
On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
You're in the mall when you hear it: some kind of popping sound in the distance, kids with fireworks, maybe. But then a moment of eerie stillness is followed by more of the fireworks sound and there’s also screaming and shrieking and now here come people running for their lives.Does ...
Karl du Fresne writes – There’s a crisis in the news media and the media are blaming it on everyone except themselves. Culpability is being deflected elsewhere – mainly to the hapless Minister of Communications, Melissa Lee, and the big social media platforms that are accused of hoovering ...
I don’t normally send out two newsletters in a day but I figured I’d say something about… the news. If two newsletters is a bit much then maybe just skip one, I don’t want to overload people. Alternatively if you’d be interested in sometimes receiving multiple, smaller updates from me, ...
Buzz from the Beehive David Seymour and Winston Peters today signalled that at least two ministers of the Crown might be in Wellington today. Seymour (as Associate Minister of Education) announced the removal of more red tape, this time to make it easier for new early learning services to be ...
Politicians across the political spectrum are implicated in the New Zealand media’s failing health. Either through neglect or incompetent interventions, successive governments have failed to regulate, foster, and allow a healthy Fourth Estate that can adequately hold politicians and the powerful to account. Our political system is suffering from the ...
David Farrar writes – The Broadcasting Standards Authority ruled: Comments by radio host Kate Hawkesby suggesting Māori and Pacific patients were being prioritised for surgery due to their ethnicity were misleading and discriminatory, the Broadcasting Standards Authority has found. It is a fact such patients are prioritised. ...
PRC and its proxies in Solomons have been preparing for these elections for a long time.A lot of money, effort and intelligence have gone into ensuring an outcome that won’t compromise Beijing’s plans. Cleo Paskall writes – On April 17th the Solomon Islands, a country of ...
Is speeding up the trip to and from Wellington airport by 12 minutes worth spending up more than $10 billion? Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The six news items that stood out to me in the last day to 8:26 am today are:The Lead: Transport Minister Simeon Brownannounced ...
You're a fraud, and you know itBut it's too good to throw it all awayAnyone would do the sameYou've got 'em goingAnd you're careful not to show itSometimes you even fool yourself a bitIt's like magicBut it's always been a smoke and mirrors gameAnyone would do the sameForty six billion ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections The June general election in Mexico could mark a turning point in ensuring that the country’s climate policies better reflect the desire of its citizens to address the climate crisis, with both leading presidential candidates expressing support for renewable energy. Mexico is the ...
2024, it feels, keeps presenting us with ever more challenges, ever more dismay.Do you give up yet? It seems to ask.No? How about this? Or this?How about this?When I say 2024 I really mean the state of humanity in 2024.Saturday night, we watched Civil War because that is one terrifying cliff we've ...
Buzz from the Beehive A pet project and governmental tunnel vision jump out from the latest batch of ministerial announcements. The government is keen to assure us of its concern for the wellbeing of our pets. It will be introducing pet bonds in a change to the Residential Tenancies Act ...
A recent report generated from a Growing Up in New Zealand (GUiNZ) survey of 1,224 rangatahi Māori aged 11-12 found: Cultural connectedness was associated with fewer depression symptoms, anxiety symptoms and better quality of life. That sounds cut and dry. But further into the report the following appears: Cultural connectedness is ...
David Farrar writes – The Herald reports: From the gory details of job-cuts news, you’d think the public service was being eviscerated. While the media’s view of the cuts is incomplete, it’s also true that departments have been leaking the particulars faster than a Wellington ...
Remember the good old days, back when New Zealand had a PM who could think and speak calmly and intelligently in whole sentences without blustering? Even while Iran’s drones and missiles were still being launched, Helen Clark was live on TVNZ expertly summing up the latest crisis in the Middle ...
Costello did not pass on analysis of the benefits of the smokefree reforms to Cabinet, emphasising instead the extra tax revenues of repealing them. Photo: Hagen Hopkins, Getty Images TL;DR: The six news items that stood out to me at 7:26 am today are:The Lead: Casey Costello never passed on ...
True loveYou're the one I'm dreaming ofYour heart fits me like a gloveAnd I'm gonna be true blueBaby, I love youI’ve written about the job cuts in our news media last week. The impact on individuals, and the loss to Aotearoa of voices covering our news from different angles.That by ...
While commentators, including former Prime Minister Helen Clark, are noting a subtle shift in New Zealand’s foreign policy, which now places more emphasis on the United States, many have missed a key element of the shift. What National said before the election is not what the government is doing now. ...
A listing of 31 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, April 7, 2024 thru Sat, April 13, 2024. Story of the week Our story of the week is about adults in the room setting terms and conditions of ...
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. ...
Changes to minimum wage and benefit indexation means many New Zealanders will get less this year, as the Government gives a big tax break to landlords instead. ...
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 ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced further New Zealand cooperation with the United States in the Pacific Islands region through $16.4 million in funding for initiatives in digital connectivity and oceans and fisheries research. “New Zealand can achieve more in the Pacific if we work together more urgently and ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 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 ...
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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There will be a period today when I finally move the primary server. Everything is set up for the move. It would have been done last night except that the current supplier managed to put the server out and didn’t get it running for 12 hours after being informed.
Which is why we are moving.
Hope it goes well.
Thanks.
So do I. Working from home today as the remaining operations are simple (mostly copying large sets of a files or pushing them into the right places), but they take some time.
Just doing an SQL dump on right now. This message is to test what disruption I get to entering comments.
Unfortunately I never set up a warm backup system after the last move to what was the warm backup. So this is slower than it should be. Especially since I’m working at the same time.
Nice – a 714Mb database sql taken without anyone noticing. Now to load the database for testing.
The recent troubles can’t have been good for the stress levels, very frustrating when providers don’t respond in a timely manner. Do you have a dedicated server or VM? If it’s dedicated you might want to ask if they can give you remote access, can at least reboot the thing yourself if it hangs.
Back up and running at normal speed (maybe better than normal).
I’m going to have lunch, then do some work whilst watching the loadings, and I’ll do another pass after 5pm. Let me know here of anything that shows as a problem.
1. The search isn’t working correctly…
This week seems to be the “dump the bad report” week. So far I am aware of the following releases or planned releases:
1. GCSB spying review press release (as opposed to the report itself).
2. IPCA report of the Urewera raids.
3. Solid Energy documentation dump by Treasury with no trace of Key’s $1 billion claim.
4. Release of the decision concerning Aranui school amalgamations.
It is important for these to be subject to the review of Parliament but it is not sitting this week.
Coincidental?
I’m feeling like we are in the middle of a government blitskreig and am starting to feel like there’s too much to respond to, and that it all feels very negative, and like always being in defensive mode.
I’m thinking the government are doing as much of the nasties as possible now, and then will start to go into smiley, positive, butter-wouldn’t-melt-in-their-mouths mode leading up to the election..
Dumping all at once follows a strategy used I think by petrol retailers. Keep shifting the price around so that it is hard to get a fix on the target. Dump several reports or part of reports so that we can’t all agree on which deserves the greatest focus.
Banks could be gone, Dunne might finally find a spine, Maori might stop vomiting long enough to also vote against National and Key get’s his wish, an early election as he victim of PR.
So, they’re as cold as a refrigerator?
It’s National so, yes, they are.
Of course, that’s original usage and modern usage seems to have altered a bit:
And I don’t think anyone is ever going to accuse National of being innocent.
/rant
Got a bit worried yesterday, seeing The Standard had apparently been “down” a fair bit over recent days. So the update by lprent is appreciated.
There are some worrying anecdotal informations about activists and groups being increasingly “surveilled” and checked on by police and possibly other agencies, so this news about Neazor and the GCSB report of sorts is also highly dissatisfying and worrying.
It seems like one of the many white washes going on. One old man, “employed” by the Prime Minister, presenting a final position that is neither here nor there, but gives Key the chance to talk his and their way out of responsibilities again.
Well, this is all disgusting, and in future they (GCSB) will quite legally use their modern equipment to do spying legally on any they have reasonable grounds to suspect certain illegal activities from.
Times to be highly alert and mindful, 24/7 that is.
In this case I think it is just an under-resourced department with a technical problem on their hardware. Their company needs to throw more resources in to fix the problem. Since they haven’t, I’m moving the site.
NASA images and animation of yesterdays Oklahoma weather events.
http://www.nasa.gov/topics/earth/features/moore-tornado.html
Got one of the *cell* which plowed through Auckland yesterday Joe?
Hows the tornado statistics looking now?
Ooooh, there be giant trails!.
http://www.nnvl.noaa.gov/MediaDetail2.php?MediaID=1352&MediaTypeID=1
The crazy is on.
http://beforeitsnews.com/weather/2013/05/oklahoma-tornado-proven-false-flag-conspiracy-2440714.html
Parody or insanity – who knows.
6. One of my friends heard a self-proclaimed zionist talking to a shapeshifting white guy. They said that all the earthquake in oklohoma lately are a result of massive underground contruction. they were talking about how the Jewish race wishes to expand rapidly and that they are building massive Jewish settlements and Palestinian slave labor camps under Oklohoma…the reason… supposedly ak-la ham aer, which sound like oklohoma, means “Jews are the best, screw the rest” in hebrew.
Dunno about you, but I’m convinced.
I just told myself a story about guys with big noses on bulldozers floating on the Manukau, making a tornado. Mar noo koh, which sounds a lot like Manukau, is actually the ancient Khazar language for “All flounder and the scallops at Clark’s Beach are Illuminati property.” They’re not real Jews because they eat scallops. Open your eyes, bro.
on track tonight Murray.
Puny humanity Joe!
Before and after ground photos on NBC … the kind of series we will need to do for ourselves when Slippery and Nact are done with us. Such heartbreak all round.
Yes ianmac, puny humanity indeed.
http://photoblog.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/05/21/18400435-before-and-after-tornado-cuts-devastating-path-through-oklahoma?lite
Stressed eco-systems leaving Humanity high and dry.
http://www.trust.org/item/20130521214623-hficj/?source=search
(more deaf leopards not changing spots).
Re my comment just made, there as a clear and critical comment and feedback by Mr Buchanan, former US security expert, being interviewed on National Radio not long ago this morning. The report about the GCSB spying on 88 NZers (citizens or residents) should be made public he says, as sensitive parts can of course be blackened out or withheld.
So he supports the stand by the opposition parties.
Key is trying to get away with playing Mr Slippery Dodgy, wanting to cover up as much as possible. What a disgusting state of affairs.
This is good that in the Herald they have cottoned on:
“Andrew Geddis: We owe it to ourselves to be outraged
Citizens must speak up to protect the constitution when the Government fails to do so, says Andrew Geddis.” (I bet Mr Key has strong feelings about Andrew?)
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10885186
And : “Law protecting Government, not disabled.
By Brian Rudman
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/opinion/news/article.cfm?c_id=466&objectid=10885234
I posted a comment on the Herald’s Andrew Geddis’ op ed piece and asked where their headline used a few years ago ‘DEMOCRACY UNDER ATTACK’ had disappeared to. Of course my comment hasn’t been published – I wonder why.
I think that they were rather annoyed when we took that over and used it about the SuperShitty legislation (and other things)
I’ve been thinking that if the Labour Party keep promoting the Auckland Unitary Plan , they are not likely to get into Government any time soon. I’ve never seen any local body issue that has got so many ratepayers up in arms, going to local meetings etc. Phil Twyford keeps stating in Parliament that “Aucklanders want a compact city” but unfortunately nobody has thought to ask all of us “Aucklanders” what WE want. Funny that!!! I personally don’t know of ONE PERSON who supports the UP!! So where are all these hundreds of thousands of supporters of the plan??? Has anybody in the Labour Party ever done a survey of Aucklanders to see what they actually want??
Auckland is going to have a 2M population pretty in 20 years time. Unless it has aspirations of joining up with Hamilton it’s going to have to go up. “What people want” is one factor. “What is workable” and “what is possible” are two others which are just as big.
Anyone who wants a quarter acre section in Auckland: will need to be a multi-millionaire, become a million bucks in debt to a big bank or move to another town.
Out west Hami people are more relaxed about it. This is because Waitakere City has been practising intensification for years. If you want an eco city you have to address urban sprawl.
From what I see, it’s largely people on the North Shore who are against the AUP, and some people in Auckland City.
Not a big issue here in the west.
“Rate payers”, huh!?
Well, actually, the affordable housing crisis is much more an issue for renters and low income people, not home owners. Renters (indirect rate payers), are more worried about the cost of rents.
And young wannabe home buyers are looking at the situation where they can only afford on the outskirts of the city. A more compact city is in their interests -ditto for low income renters, who are worried about getting to work and other services from the outskirts of the city where rents are lowest.
Looks to me like a situation where the better off home owners are getting more attention from the MSM than the rest of us with less power and status.
Of course they haven’t asked Aucklanders what they want, just like council and government and their automaton foot soldiers like Mickysavage they know what’s best for rest of us why bother asking our opinion.
Be a good boy rr and go and learn something about the subject then come back and have an informed debate.
Correct, and they don’t care what your opinion is anyway, the lip service of *public consultation*, is an absolute farce!
We live in what amounts to dictatorship, in many ways!
another Tracy Watkins lesson in how to appear to cover a story without actually covering the story
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/8702204/Dissenter-raises-trade-deal-questions
Yeah. What actually happened? Did she ask her questions? Did she call bullshit out loud? Weird report- unless it was edited out in case it conflicted with the Government position.
“world-famous in Hawkes Bay”. 😀
You will notice that the ‘journalist’ was not interested in what the woman said or in the content of the agreement, just that someone had the audacity to go off script. Here is some of the information the ‘journalist’ could have included if they were not so concerned with losing their place in the junket queue. The comments on the Stuff article are largely and deservedly derisive of the appalling lack of fact reported in the media regarding the TPPA.
Here is an excellent new poster from the NZNO.
https://fbcdn-sphotos-g-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-prn2/965105_277538135716249_151427129_o.jpg
Yep, personal stories are all that matter these days. Pathetic report.
This is disturbing:
But mostly because of this:
How much competition has the free-market truly given us? Because all I’m seeing is conglomeration.
I just found out it will cost me $470.20 to become a New Zealander.
Great Britain, how much are you willing to pay to keep me?
I’ll start the bidding at one gazillion pounds.
😆
Allen. I’d wait until after the next election to see if it will be worth it. If key wins I’d go back to Blighty.
I couldn’t go back and leave my hybrid kiwi born daughter, so I’m exiled here, for better or worse.
But don’t say anything in case immigration put the extortionate prices up and foil my invasion plan.
Plus with dual citizenship I double my chances of getting a Brit award or a tui.
A highly topical and relevent piece by Dean Baker that focusses on the USA situation but that translates rather nicely to NZ austerity policies.
“Destroying the lair of the budget balancing cretins.”
If the deficit hawks are “really concerned about our children’s future”, they should focus on the over-valued dollar.
Read more here http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2013/05/20135136395629832.html
The problem, of course, is that every country (except NZ) is trying to reduce the value of it’s currency so as to address the trade imbalances and so it won’t work. What’s needed is a more active way of addressing those imbalances.
I don’t dispute that, but within the context of current economic orthodoxies, this government seems happy to have a high NZ dollar and to enact austerity on the back of false premises…premises that Baker exposes in a clear and easily understood logical fashion.
Showing your support for the single global currency by any chance in that comment, DTB?
Nope. Single currency won’t work.
Having the database many thousands of miles away around the world is likely to make this site a bit sluggish.
Moving on to getting the database and the web server in approximately the same location.
it is slower (like a reply to my last e-mail? please?)
like a reply to my last e-mail?
Ah yes – the combination of restructuring code at work and the noise of the server randomly failing has been distracting.
It may have to wait for the weekend but it will be done.
you are a good man, a scholar and a help.
Ok finished for the moment. The primary server is all in it’s new location and the speed looks somewhat better.
I’ll get back to writing some code whilst keeping an eye on the system
Much faster now. Thanks.
your ongoing efforts are certainly appreciated, and donations are forthcoming as soon as possible
2013 Auckland Mayoral candidate Penny Bright will be addressing the Auckland Council on Thursday 23 May at 10am – ‘Neutrality of Public Servants’.
Speaking rights confirmed at Auckland Council Governing Body Meeting
Thursday 23 May 2013, 10am
Reception Lounge Auckland Town Hall
301-305 Queen Street Auckland
http://www.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz/SiteCollectionDocuments/aboutcouncil/governingbody/governingbodyag20130523.pdf
7 Public Input
7.1 Penny Bright – Auckland Council Local Government Election Year Policy
Penny Bright will be present to speak to the Governing Body regarding the Auckland Council Local Government Election Year Policy
– “Neutrality of Public Servants”.
______________________________________________________________________________
My subject matter is:
Auckland Council Local Government Election Year Policy
“Neutrality of Public Servants”.
At this Governing Body meeting of Auckland Council, you are discussing the proposed ‘Auckland Council Local Government Election Year Policy’.
“Who does this policy apply to?
4) This policy applies to all Auckland Council elected members and Auckland Councilemployees.”
“Neutrality of Public Servants
12. A major characteristic of New Zealand’s constitutional arrangements is that public servants are apolitical.
This applies to public servants in local and central government.”
If Auckland Council employees are supposed to be apolitical ‘public servants’ – then why is Auckland Council CEO, Doug McKay, still a member of the ‘invitation-only’, powerful private sector lobby group – the Committee for Auckland?
http://www.committeeforauckland.co.nz/membership/member-organisations
“Doug McKay Chief Executive Officer Auckland Council”
Please be reminded of the LGOIMA reply I received from Wendy Brandon, General Counsel for Auckland Council dated 10 February 2012
(“Official Information Request No: 9000114213:)
“1. I have advised you previously that Mr McKay is a member of the Committee forAuckland in his capacity as Chief Executive of Auckland Council.
2. Mr McKay is an honorary member of the Committee for Auckland. As such, there was no joining fee charged or paid.
3. No resolution of any committee of the Auckland Council was sought or given in relation to Mr McKay’s membership of the Committee for Auckland. The Committee for Aucklandis an independent organisation and its aims and objectives are a matter of public record.”
(Item 4)
http://www.occupyaucklandvsaucklandcouncilappeal.org.nz/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/OCCUPY-AUCKLAND-APPEAL-APPLICATION-BY-APPELLANT-BRIGHT-TO-ADDUCE-NEW-EVIDENCE-pdf.pdf
______________________________________________________________________________
Please be reminded that membership of the Committee for Auckland is ‘invitation’ only:
http://www.committeeforauckland.co.nz/membership
Membership Information
Membership to the Committee for Auckland is by invitation. Members meet quarterly and are invited to be involved in those aspects of the work programme that interest them.
Members are Chairs of Boards, Directors and Chief Executives
Corporate Membership annual fee $10,000.
Associate and Individual Membership comprises organisations or individuals who support the aims and purpose of the Committee but who, for various reasons, are unable to take a full part in contributing to the Committee’s portfolio of initiatives.
Associate Membership annual fee $5,000
Individual Membership annual fee $2,500
For further information about Membership, please contact the Executive Director”
______________________________________________________________________________
How many Auckland Council or Auckland CCO contracts are going to member companies of the Committee for Auckland?
How can this not be a ‘perceived conflict of interest’ for the Principal Adminstrative Officer of Auckland Council – the CEO Doug McKay – to be a member of this private sector lobby group, particularly when his membership has not been ‘authorised /endorsed’ by elected members of Auckland Council?
Is the Governing Body of Auckland Council going to ensure that CEO Doug McKay, terminates his membership of the Committee for Auckland, in order to comply with his ‘apolitical’ role as a ‘public servant?
Yes or no?
If not – why not?
Penny Bright
‘Anti-corruption/anti-privatisation’ campaigner
2013 Auckland Mayoral candidate
______________________________________________________________________________
http://www.occupyaucklandvsaucklandcouncilappeal.org.nz/?page_id=137
One of the best reads I’ve had for a while. From the Herald yesterday. Bob Jones on getting rid of our armed forces. Takes me back to, was it?, 1984!
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/defence/news/article.cfm?c_id=32&objectid=10884948
He’s probably sizing up the prime real estate freed up by the abolishment of the NZDF. A port, 3 airports, and 3 residential villages, will bring in a lot of coin for someone.
Did you read his comment, Millsy?
The real estate occupied by the military in owned by the Government. The decision as to how that is disposed of is up to the government. With the ragtag bunch of asset salesmen that we have posing as the current government, you may well be right.
I would have preferred, though, that any comment on Jones’ ideas would have dealt with them, rather than his supposed motivation.
We are too ready to attribute suspect motivations as an attack on a person rather than deal with their ideas.
Bob Jones has stepped right away from usual socially conservative views on military expenditure. He pushed the same views in 1984, as I remember. Interestingly, he enlisted Phil Goff as an ally in his thinking.
At last, a report isn’t a whitewash!
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10885376
http://news.msn.co.nz/nationalnews/8662623/report-on-police-urewera-actions-due
Tolley’s attempts at spin might be comical under other circumstances.
Alas, I expect Greg O’Connor to see this all as a reason for the pigs to carry nukes.
What is happening with Kiwi Bank? Is it true that the NZ Treasury had Kiwi Bank evaluated by Goldman Sachs last year?!!!! Is it true that Standard & Poors has given a negative outlook for Kiwi Bank , a rating downgrade from stable to negative today?
Well, the second part seems to be… http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=10885329 Dunno about any ‘Treasury inspired’ evaluation by Goldman Sachs though.
edit. Or then again http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/BU1302/S00921/treasury-hires-goldman-sachs-to-run-ruler-over-kiwibank.htm
Oh FFS, the Giant Vampire Squid known as Goldman Sachs has destroyed more value for its clients (often directly for its own gain) than it has ever produced.
Ridiculous.
Their clients? You mean their prey, surely?
Uh, pretty often, their clients are exactly the same as their prey. To clarify using an hypothetical example.
The GS prop trading desk would determine that GS itself was holding too many Japanese bonds and that bond prices were bound for imminent collapse due to a Japanese Government financial crisis.
GS would then issue a memo out to all its major clients talking up the prospects for Japanese bonds, setting a fabulous price target, and rating them a “Buy”.
Gormless GS clients would contact the GS trading desk to buy said recommended bonds, GS would unload their holdings of the bonds on to their hapless clients for a big profit to themselves, and then charge their clients commission on top of that.
GS would then buy up credit default swaps on the bonds that they no longer own so that after they crashed, they’d make another round of profits.
I should add, this is how these “financially innovative” institutions get 85%-100% profitable days trading in the markets in a row.
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2013-05-08/jp-morgan-has-zero-trading-losses-first-quarter
“rising economic risks in New Zealand” ; oh, what spin shall we hear from NAct now? Oh look, some from the CFO http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/business/135733/nz-post-outlook-downgrade-%27disappointing%27
After reading this:
all I can think is poor girl and that there’s some parents and a multi-national corporation that need to be done for child abuse.
find that Willy Moon an intriguing artist.
Yeah,yeah.
lprent
I was unable to search my past comments. Have these gone west – or perhaps been purloined by spy masters to be pored over for deep secrets and frightening revelations! They should be so lucky.
search function is at fault
John Key cheats at Quiz Evenings
What a piece of work our Prime Minister is.
The Panel, Radio New Zealand National, Wednesday 22 May 2013
In the introductory chatter today, David Farrar, honorary life member of the Young Nats and blogger extraordinaire, revealed something highly interesting about the character, or lack of character, of the Prime Minister….
JIM MORA: I hear that one of the things you do at Young National conferences is run Quiz Evenings.
DAVID FARRAR: Yes we do, and they are always very popular. The Prime Minister enjoys these quiz shows very much, and he is EXTREMELY competitive. He hates to lose. And that’s a good thing in a prime minister! At the last quiz—I don’t know if I should be saying this!—he used his CELL-PHONE to check a question about police commissioners.
MORA: [with mock seriousness] You’re making a serious allegation there!
DAVID FARRAR: Oh, ha ha ha! It’s all good fun!
……Long, long pause….
MORA: [dubiously] Ye-e-e-e-e-esssss…..
And good on Shonkey Python for his efforts at the Young Nats cheating camps I say !
It’s all good Morrissey. Everyone’s happy.
Especially that theistically charmed band of young cargo-cultists, wannabees, snobs, and potential appointees. Gulp. And gilmores ?
Churlish Morrissey !
Raining on their parade. And getting all atheistic about ShonKey Python. Aka Shyty P’nnnoKeho.
Sorry, PnnoKeho.
Yup.once I heard that the voice of National would be warbling on Mora’s show, it was an easy decision not to listen to RNZ until 5 p.m today.
A man in Moore, Oklahoma filmed the last moments of the incoming tornado right before going underground with his family into their bunker .. then filmed again as he came out.. the before and after .. chilling.
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10…
and
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10…
More lies from key for you BLiP
“The Government’s job is to make sure there’s balance between the economy and and a safe environment,” he said.
“Of the 18 [sedimentary] basins in New Zealand, only one is tapped and that’s in Taranaki and if you look at its economy, there are high levels of growth. Fracking is safe and we should say yes to oil exploration, but make sure it’s done to a high standard.”
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10885403
A safe environment wtf does that mean?
Fracking is safe says key – that bastard is so slimey he is personified fracking fluid
‘
Thank you.
WTF!!!
What educational philosophy justifies 5 year olds being educated in the same school as 18 year olds?
Christchurch is just the start. Watch out the rest of NZ.
What educational philosophy justifies 5 year olds being educated in the same school as 18 year olds?
ACT.
I would not dignify their mad dogma with the label of “philosophy”.
recipe for bullying if you ask me.
The only place where educating 5-18 year olds together really work are our area schools, which have a smaller roll than regular schools, allowing a family type atmosphere.
It would make better sense for all 4 schools to have a shared board of trustees, this would enable them to share resources, but have a unique identity.
Good news though, Salisbury special school is staying open, reversing a trend of dumping out those who have higher needs than most out in the community to sink or swim.
This Year 1-13 will not be helpful; and, oh look, what socio-economic area is it located.
Hypocrite of the Year: “Sir” Graham Henry
Believe it or not, he’s ranting against referees
21 May 2013
Actually, make that Hypocrite of the Century. This cantankerous old codger has no sense of irony, no sense of decency, no sense of sportsmanship. Obviously Graham Henry thinks that nobody can remember anything. Henry’s ugly mug is back on the TV screens; this time the old fraud is bitching and moaning about a few marginal calls that went against his Auckland Blues. In a foam-flecked rant on the news tonight the shameless old coot had the brazen effrontery to call the referee of Saturday night’s game “blind”.
Graham Henry was not so bilious a year and a half ago, as his All Black team was delivered the RWC final by a gentleman who makes Glen Jackson look like Eagle-Eyed Eric from Eagle Mountain, California….
http://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&v=1XBqetaCfgo
Analysis of the refereeing—actually NON-refereeing—straight after the final, on The Breakdown on Setanta Sports….
“The World Cup was decided on non-refereeing decisions. Unbelievable… shameful…really bad…he refused to make any
decisions. Shameful… so sad…. France should have had two or three opportunities to win that game from penalties but the referee did not have the same rules for both sides.That World Cup was decided on non- refereeing . A shameful, shameful performance. The French knew what was going to happen before they went in to this game, I think Paddy O’Brien did brilliantly to ensure a benign referee from New Zealand’s point of view was in charge. He didn’t referee them at the breakdown, he was completely inconsistent. That Kaino non-decision was just
disgraceful. That was on the 40-metre line and was very kickable.
The referee abrogated responsibility.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&v=1XBqetaCfgo
Here’s an interesting link showing the proportions of full home ownership vs people with mortgages vs renters, for the main cities.
http://tvnz.co.nz/national-news/auckland-has-lowest-home-ownership-5445037
Roughly speaking, the average is about a third for each grouping.
A quote from the article that aligns with what I had suspected:
Other factors included wealthier baby boomers looking for second properties as investments, and they were competing with first-home buyers on price.
I know. I know miss. I know the answer!
The government builds 2 storey units, two bedroomed each and four to a reasonable sized section, each with a balcony.
And only first home buyers who have a track record of managing their money or saving regularly for the past two years can get the places on low interest. And they can save their money and raise a deposit and get a further low interest loan on a three bedroom house, when they sell the two-bedroom places back to the government for cost plus annual increase based on bank interest on term deposits plus a bonus for leaving the property in tidy repair.
That means that people are not being milked by property speculators and of course the baby boomers will soon be paying CGT and that money can make up for R&D tax allowances. And we’ll get more industry going
Oh dear NZ is now a good friend of the USA and shown themselves in the forces to be useful and so likely to be invited again to partake in Men’s Own adventures. We could use UN work as peacekeepers as an employment arm, or set up mercenary SOE’s sending out soldiers as contractors, to foster our GDP, and be like Fiji, and perhaps some of our soldiers will come home as happened there, and solve our political balancing problems in their own unique way.
We might eventually step on China’s toes if we get involved in soldiering etc areound the world. China is more important to our income than the USA, marginally perhaps now.
We can’t have peace though because armaments manufacturing will soon be the only thing that gets made in the west (USA and France). Haven’t checked Britain and Russia stats. Everything else will be done in China – eureka the west may think – use the armaments to attack China and get back western capacity for business and employment. Gee I get some crazy ideas.
This should have gone to Open Mike. Sorry I have gone off thread too much. But edit time has vanished.
[lprent: No problem. ]
The first two paragraphs, yes.
Israel; the largest exporter of drones. carry on.
NZ is now a good friend of the USA and shown themselves in the forces to be useful…
TRANSLATION INTO PLAIN ENGLISH:
After we screamed at and threatened the New Zealand troops, they obediently handed over captive civilians to be tortured.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/markgibbs/2013/05/20/finally-independent-testing-of-rossis-e-cat-cold-fusion-device-maybe-the-world-will-change-after-all/
Published on May 16, the paper titled “Indication of anomalous heat energy production in a reactor device” would appear to deliver what we wanted.
The paper was authored by Giuseppe Levi of Bologna University, Bologna, Italy; Evelyn Foschi, Bologna, Italy; Torbjörn Hartman, Bo Höistad, Roland Pettersson and Lars Tegnér of Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden; and Hanno Essén, of the Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, Sweden. While some of these people have previously been public in their support of Rossi and the E-Cat they are all serious academics with reputations to lose and the paper is detailed and thorough.
… if we consider the whole volume of the reactor core and the most conservative figures on energy production, we still get a value of (7.93 ± 0.8) 10^2 MJ/Liter that is one order of magnitude higher than any conventional source.”
This guy says it better than I can at short notice:
http://scienceblogs.com/startswithabang/2013/05/21/the-e-cat-is-back-and-people-are-still-falling-for-it/
Basically, there are many reasons to be suspicious. What does it for me is that the Cu found has the same isotopic mixture as that occurring naturally. It doesn’t come from a fusion reaction. Sorry.
The breakthrough e-cat technology will save our civilisation. Once the design becomes freeware on the internet, a new dawn of fossil-fuel free clean energy powered human civilisation will expand to our rightful, enlightened place in the stars. Or some such.
By golly! We’ll be printing cold fusion reactors in our basement 3d printers! Gee gosh! Look out Alpha Centauri!
I hope Winston Peters is going to protect the NZ Mums’ and Dads’ ‘KIWI BANK’ from privatisation ( as John Key and National wanted to do). Winston and ‘NEW ZEALAND FIRST’ should give KIWI BANK a government guarantee and protection from overseas predators and those who want to plunder Mums’ and Dads’ New Zealand assets.