Waatea News with David Cunliffe, Nandor Tanczos & Dr Bryce Edwards. Coverage of fish dumping, economic mismanagement, and people living in garages and cars
“he could beat jonkey Nact convincingly” In what century Chooky? have you forgotten he lead the Labour party to the slaughter house in 2014 (25% vote).
You’ve made a mistake. That’s a pathetic electoral result which the careerists in Labour scapegoated on to Cunliffe, but which they fully contributed to themselves.
Cunliffe needed a full term as Leader in order to make his mark and overcome his deficiencies. But his “colleagues” were never going to give him that chance.
I believe that Labour currently has a more than 50/50 chance of coming in under 25% in 2017.
Is there a way back for DC? No, for two reasons. One is that Andrew Little is doing fine as leader and is in a good place to be PM after the next election. There is no mood in the party, affiliates or caucus to change. The second reason is that Cunliffe wouldn’t go near the job even if it was handed to him on a plate. Once bitten, twice shy.
Yeah, right. The first part of that comment also applies to you, brother 😉 Robertson is never going to be leader, his chance has been and gone. But it’s heartening to see him and the rest of caucus working together for a change. I know you hate the thought of a Labour led government, but it’s going to be a distinct possibility in less than 18 months, unless the Nats find a way to buy Winston off.
Hmmm interesting that you can’t see GR positioning all his own people throughout the organisation.
My opinion remains – GR will be the (almost undisputed) Labour Leader in 2018. There is one other serious potential contender in the wings but it won’t be Cunliffe.
I can’t see it because it’s not actually happening. Grant doesn’t have ‘people’ he can ‘position’. That’s just your fantasy about how things work. The truth is much duller; the only way to get ahead is to work hard, have good ideas and to win people over via the party’s democratic structures. That also applies in the Greens and if I’m to be charitable, it’s probably applicable to National too. NZ First, not so much. I like Grant btw. But he has as much chance of being leader as I have. And I’m sure Grant and I are equally sanguine about that reality.
Genuine question: Is there anybody outside the Labour caucus who has even the slightest interest in Grant Robertson? I don’t dislike the fellow. A binder of posters here seem to think that he’s some sort of devious Machiavellian operator, a short of McCully in Labour clothing, if you will. I have no idea whether there’s any truth to that or not. The thing is, though, that I just see him and think “meh”, whether he’s talking about policy, asking questions or whatever. Even Parker seems more passionate, and that’s saying something. I can’t see Robertson really even registering with the electorate, whether positively or negatively. The same goes for Ardern, by the way.
I don’t have the inside knowledge that yourself and CV have (even if you have different perceptions)of the internal workings of the NZLP but I’d say Andrew Little is doing a fine and steady job. There have even been times when I’ve been impressed with him, most recently during his low key on the level response the Hagaman threat.
And, you know, I voted for him last on my ballot paper! I was a major Cunliffe fan girl. I was gutted about how things turned out, but Little has settled in, he will be the right person to lead the next government. There won’t be fireworks but there is heaps to do and heaps to mend and he can be the one to get that process started.
To vote and change leaders yet again would be such a dogs breakfast and make the party look unstable. The election is only next year so we just gotta buckle down and focus on kicking these nation destroying bastards out.
Absolutely, I liked D.C but grew weary of the polarising effect he sadly seemed to have. I did vote for Andrew and was utterly convinced about his integrity and ability to steer a steady course and unite the caucus, without which there was no point in carrying on. I noticed that when we were at the first hustings, all four candidates were understandably nervous and busy readying themselves reading their notes…..Andrew simply sat and looked out at us, calmly and confidently, interested in US, not worried about himself.
He has achieved this and now we can carry on with the rest of it now.
My tuppence worth would be (first penny) – if Labour chose leaders via an election system of one person, one vote, then possibly.
Penny two – Labour, and this is in no way limited to Labour, seems to position itself within a TINA framework on too many issues, and so is essentially dead to too many people.
And if I can up my tuppence to thrupence – distilling political rumblings from across the English speaking world suggests that a seismic shift in peoples’ political expectations and demands is under way – and that most political parties are going to be caught flat footed.
@ CV: Suppose you are right about this, as things stand, and that you and Swordfish were largely right in your talk of factions on yesterday’s open mike. This actually gives reason to campaign for a Labour victory with a particular end in mind – to gain the government benches with the nonaligned Little in charge at best, and to increase the size of the Labour caucus at worst. This is not a “vote for the least-worst argument”, although prima facie it may look like one.
Firstly, careerists are not all the same – some will move leftward if that looks like the thing to do. So an increased caucus would allow room for a change of direction that would take at least some careerists along with it. Secondly, while some are said to be retiring soon, the Labour caucus has had less staff turnover in the past eight years than most businesses, which means entrenched office politics among a static group. This presents Little with an impasse: in a way, he can’t increase the size of the caucus without first increasing the size of the caucus. Joining Labour to push for an acceptable leader has not got us far, though it has got us somewhere – Little is not one of the entrenched right-wing /careerist lot. Maybe the next move is to activate the membership and the sympathetic left to fight from the outside to increase the Labour vote, and thus the size of the caucus, without necessarily giving our allegiance to particular individuals we think have let us down.
You pose serious scenarios with serious rationales. I agree with the guts of what you have to say about the psychology of the Labour caucus. It is under real pressure currently.
Most of the List only MPs in that caucus are only a hairs breadth away from losing their positions at the party vote ballot box.
Also with your analysis of how intransigent the situation Little faces with some of his most influential MPs is. One of the things which finished Cunliffe was that Cunliffe had zero plan to deal with that.
I will add in one more factor. IMO Winston will find it politically impossible (both internally and externally to NZF) to justify supporting a Labour managed government if Labour get less than 30% at the polls.
Let’s say Labour gets 27% in 2017, and National gets 45%.
In such a situation I think Winston will end up providing de facto support to a National (minority) government even if he would prefer not to. Key will extend the NZF caucus a deal that they cannot refuse. Gold Card Mark 2, GST free rates, bump up to NZ Super, a Cabinet position for Winston and Ministers outside Cabinet positions for his top MPs, and more.
Maybe the next move is to activate the membership and the sympathetic left to fight from the outside to increase the Labour vote, and thus the size of the caucus, without necessarily giving our allegiance to particular individuals we think have let us down.
I can see where you are going with this. However, Labour has been bleeding its best activists and members for years now (and in some cases the local MP has been delighted to get rid of over-active members who cause more trouble to the MP’s particular desired status quo than they are worth). If Little wants to energise the latent support in the electorate for Labour and get a lot of on the ground activists back on side, he needs to offer the electorate serious, political economic alternatives to what National has been delivering.
The concept of “activating the membership” in order to fire up a grass roots campaign for Labour is a great one but it is a concept only. There is no way of implementing that concept in practical terms as most Labour branches have decayed to inactive shadows of what they were even 10 years ago, there is no money in Wellington to provide to the branches for campaign activities, and from my perspective the charismatic leadership does not exist in the Labour hierarchy which can turn that switch on in the general membership and ‘wider left’ anyway.
I do not think it would be easy to fire up the grass roots, but that doesn’t mean it’s impossible. The idea might be to seize opportunities where they arise, and support and strengthen the grass roots movements that currently exist, rather than overly concern ourselves with Labour branches. It is not a good idea to stand back and let Labour slowly die when we lack a serious alternative to it. We already have a right wing so licensed and full of hubris that it could practically get away with running over the peasants for fun – they will only get worse while we scurry around trying to pick up the pieces.
Just use your imagination, is what I will say. Then return to reality.
This is a vindictive Labour hierarchy that has decided that Cunliffe belongs unranked on the back benches, in a short sighted attempt to drive him out of politics altogether.
Cunliffe has some significant flaws as a political leader, but he still noticeably outshines the current leadership and the pretenders to that leadership.
He tried to placate the careerist and right wing MPs in his caucus not understanding that they were always going to be waiting for the right moment to slip the political knife between his ribs.
He also let down many of his own supporters by giving up on his own direction and deciding to subsume his priorities to the business as usual Thorndon Bubble crowd.
David was always and still is my preferred leader. Unfortunately the right wing media hated his guts, or were to scared to give him a shot against Key they manipulated public perception against the man.
Then some in Labour are again there for personal reasons of ambition not what Labour stands for. IE back stabbing abc’s
Oh the above video looked like a Labour party weak version of the Nation.
The presenter sure wasn’t making any pretence of impartiality was he.
if David Cunliffe were to come back as leader of the Labour Party i would vote Labour…as it is i am a nonfunctioning member…i joined to support David Cunliffe as the members choice
so I will be voting Green /NZF…so no losses there
….however if Labour is to stop languishing in the polls …it really does have to think about how it played the leadership against Labour membership wishes
“Glasgow got a double-dose of neoliberalism – the UK Thatcherite version, and the more local version led by the Scottish Development Agency and the Council.
Watched that Asleep. Terrifying that USA can avoid being held to account and can a do attack any country with immunity. Drones. Iraq. Afghanistan. John Key.
Veto Security Council.
Bluddy Hell!
+100…this is one of the best sites for debate and commentary on international current affairs imo…it always has international experts involved in the debates…leaves NZ tv and newspapers for dead!
( and I was put onto this site by The Standard…thanks!)
Are we paying for a public hanging of the scumbag? Surely some 4×2″ ‘s and a rope don’t cost that much.
[Settle down, Richard. TS does not approve of calls for violence. The Give a Little page is raising funds to challenge the actions and inactions of the Department of Corrections, not to advocate for the death penalty. TRP]
The RM consumer confidence survey was out a few days ago. No sign of the political poll yet. Generally they’re released later in the week, so maybe Thursday or Friday?
It does not appear to have been released formally as yet, although the Confidence Survey results have already been released as TRP mentions in his response.
However ( a BIG OOOPS, perhaps) … the Party poll 15 May results appear to be up on the RM website in one graph (but not in the commentary which is still the April results) . – Click on this link and then go down to the first graph.
IF these May results are correct/finals then, compared to April: National is up from 42.5% to 45.5%; Labour up from 26.5% to 29.5%; Greens down from 14.5% to 12%; NZ First down from 12.5% to 9.5%; and Maori Party down from 1.5% to 1%.
The graph does not show the undecided percentage or results for the other parties eg ACT, UF etc.
Pala Molisa is the son of two of the leading lights of Vanuatu’s independence movement, he represented Vanuatu in weightlifting at the Commonwealth Games, and he’s an advocate of a radical new accountancy that brings a whole raft of social indicators to your typical balance sheet. Pala Molisa is a lecturer at Victoria University Business school.”
Interesting The actual run a company ones wanted education investment , getting unemployment down (and improving wages?) and most mentioned enviroment concerns. The tourist ones wanted to socialise the costs of their industry, time for a bed tax on the multinational chains?? , the business group members seemed to be parroting the Nact party line. Perhaps the companies that pay membership fees to these groups need to make sure they are expressing their concerns not those of the Nact hierarchy.
I’m pleasantly surprised by David Hisco’s (ANZ CE) focus on moving tourism up market and environmental focus. A refreshing contrast to Tim Alpe and Roger Brantsma who both play in the lower strata of the tourism market and can only see more, more and more of their low yielding customers and the socialisation of the resultant costs. However HIsco will get to see the performance of a wide range of tourism businesses and can see where the sustainable profits, and looming risks are.
It’s also a considerable departure from current government policy around tourism, which is typified by Alpe and Brantsma’s views of more, more and more and stuff the yield.
Angling for, or seeing a looming change of policy or government? This tourism business owner hopes so.
These are the buses I use in my neighbourhood. I noticed the sign about the audio recording on Thursday.
I’ve no problem with it due to the reason the Mana bus boss points to:
“That incident could range from and assault on a driver, a threat against a driver, a theft or attempted theft, through to a complaint from a passenger about a driver’s behaviour.”
Believe me, that happens around here. You can also be on the bus in the middle of the day and there can be a bunch of drunk people down the back. The last time it happened it was no problem, they were all just singing their heads off and talking bollocks. No problem there, but what if it turned nasty if it can sometimes do when people are wasted and a bit unpredictable?
Mostly theres no problems in my experience but there has been some times when drunk people have been a bit edgy and slagged off the driver.
While I’m wary of surveillance intruding into our lives, mainly on line and on smart phones I’ve no problem with practical applications like this. I actually feel a little more secure seeing that sign about the audio the other day.
I hope this doesn’t turn into a 3 way between Liz, Ria Bond and Sarah Dowie, that would be a waste and probably perpetuate Dowie’s existence. Also hope Liz gets a decent list place this time in case she’s only campaigning for party votes, we need her in the house with her health knowledge and sharp mind.
This also provides an opening in Clutha Southland for a candidate with strong rural and small business credentials.
Graeme, I suggest it cant help but be a 3 way battle. Liz Craig will certainly be a credible challenger but the coverage to date has discounted the promising start Ria Bond has made down here at a grassroots advocacy level, which isn’t going unnoticed.
I agree it would be good to see someone of Liz Craig’s ilk providing a much needed refreshing of labours list.
As far as Clutha Southland is concerned I think the most interest will be around who NZ First will come up with as I think they have the best chance of giving Barclay a run for his money in the majority rural segment. Granted he has a massive majority but clearly he has struggled big time. Winston speaking in Gore tomorrow which should give a good gauge on how the Nats are rolling.
Might pop over for a look given weather for tomorrow not that condusive to getting much done. Will report if I do as it should be interesting to see how Winston is received in the deepest of blue national heartland.
Edward Snowden has responded to reports the CIA inspector general’s office “mistakenly” destroyed its only copy of a comprehensive Senate ‘torture report’ with a stinging rebuttal: “When the CIA destroys something, it’s never a mistake.”
An intelligence agency was quoted by Yahoo News as saying CIA inspector general officials deleted an uploaded computer file containing the report, before “inadvertently” destroying a disk with the document on it.
IDF deputy chief of staff Brigadier General Yair Golan delivered a Holocaust Memorial speech.
Speaking to an audience gathered at Tel Yitzhak, a kibbutz in central Israel, Maj. Gen. Yair Golan, the Israeli Defense Forces deputy chief of staff, warned Israel that the Jewish state threatened to fall into a moral chasm like the one that befell Nazi Germany for its treatment of “foreigners” — read: Palestinians and African refugees.
Here are some of his remarks [author’s translation]:
“The Holocaust should bring us to ponder our public lives and, furthermore, it must lead anyone who is capable of taking public responsibility to do so. … Because if there is anything that frightens me in remembrance of the Holocaust, it is noticing horrific processes which developed … in Germany – 70, 80, and 90 years ago, and finding evidence of them here among us in the year 2016.”
“The Holocaust … must bring us to … deep soul-searching regarding the responsibility of [our national] leadership and the quality of our society. It must lead us to fundamentally rethink how we, here and now, behave towards the other: the foreigner, the widow and the orphan [these are traditional Jewish social justice concepts].”
“There is nothing easier and simpler than hating the foreigner … There is nothing easier and simpler than fear-mongering and making threats. There is nothing easier and simpler than behaving brutishly, being indifferent [to the plight of the Other], and self-righteous.”
“On Holocaust Remembrance Day, it is worthwhile to consider our capacity to uproot the first buds of intolerance, violence, and self-destruction that lie on the path toward moral decay.”
[…]
Characteristically, Golan was savaged for his outspokenness by far-right government ministers who harbor some of the same racist attitudes the major general was attacking.
In this context, it’s worth examining a political controversy inflaming the British chattering and political classes. This one has inundated the Labour Party’s left-wing leadership with controversial attacks by the British pro-Israel lobby and the largely pro-Tory press.
Less than two years into a five-year plan with the Government to build 7000 new homes in the capital, the city council has admitted it will never achieve that goal, having missed every target along the way thus far.
Graham Adams writes about the $55m media fund — When Patrick Gower was asked by Mike Hosking last week what he would say to the many Newstalk ZB callers who allege the Labour government bribed media with $55 million of taxpayers’ money via the Public Interest Journalism Fund — and ...
Note: this blog post has been put together over the course of the week I followed the happenings at the conference virtually. Should recordings of the Great Debates and possibly Union Symposia mentioned below, be released sometime after the conference ends, I'll include links to the ones I participated in. ...
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Buzz from the Beehive A few days ago, Point of Order suggested the media must be musing “on why Melissa is mute”. Our article reported that people working in the beleaguered media industry have cause to yearn for a minister as busy as Melissa Lee’s ministerial colleagues and we drew ...
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New Zealand is said to be suffering from ‘serious populist discontent’. An IPSOS MORI survey has reported that we have an increasing preference for strong leaders, think that the economy is rigged toward the rich and powerful, and political elites are ignoring ‘hard-working people’. The data is from February this ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters is understood to be planning a major speech within the next fortnight to clear up the confusion over whether or not New Zealand might join the AUKUS submarine project. So far, there have been conflicting signals from the Government. RNZ reported the Prime Minister yesterday in ...
Life throws curveballs, and sometimes, those curveballs necessitate wiping your iPhone clean and starting anew. Whether you’re facing persistent software glitches, preparing to sell your device, or simply wanting a fresh start, knowing how to factory reset iPhone without a computer is a valuable skill. While using a computer with ...
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Buzz from the Beehive Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones relishes spatting and eagerly takes issue with environmentalists who criticise his enthusiasm for resource development. He relishes helping the fishing industry too. And so today, while the media are making much of the latest culling in the public service to ...
Having written, taught and worked for the US government on issues involving unconventional warfare and terrorism for 30-odd years, two things irritate me the most when the subject is discussed in public. The first is the Johnny-come-lately academics-turned-media commentators who … Continue reading → ...
Eric Crampton writes – Kainga Ora is the government’s house building agency. It’s been building a lot of social housing. Kainga Ora has its own (but independent) consenting authority, Consentium. It’s a neat idea. Rather than have to deal with building consents across each different territorial authority, Kainga Ora ...
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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. ...
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 ...
Kia Ora Gaza A passionate haka reverberated through Auckland International Airport as a medical team of three New Zealand doctors received an emotional farewell from a big crowd of supporters before flying to Turkey to join the international Freedom Flotilla to Gaza. The doctors, who left Auckland yesterday, hope to ...
With submissions closing today, Macassey-Pickard says groups around the country have been supporting a huge range of people to make their submissions. ...
Our response to the new legislation is informed by targeted conversations with practitioners working in the system and through an implementation lens. ...
The new ‘Fast-track Approvals Bill’ would give just three Ministers the power to approve or deny development projects. They would avoid the usual checks and balances that are in place to protect rivers, land, the ocean, and communities. ...
COMMENTARY:By Eugene Doyle Helen Clark, how I miss you. The former New Zealand Prime Minister — the safest pair of hands this country has had in living memory — gave a masterclass on the importance of maintaining an independent foreign policy when she spoke at an AUKUS symposium held ...
The government's released the list of organisations provided with information on how to apply - just hours before public submissions on the bill close. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Milton Speer, Visiting Fellow, School of Mathematical and Physical Sciences, University of Technology Sydney Before climate change really got going, eastern Australia’s flash floods tended to concentrate on our coastal regions, east of the Great Dividing Range. But that’s changing. Now ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Elizabeth Finkel, Vice-Chancellor’s Fellow, La Trobe University Sia Duff / South Australian Museum In February, the South Australian Museum “re-imagined” itself. In the face of rising costs and inadequate government funds, CEO David Gaimster, who took the reins last June, declared ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alan Pearce, Professor, School of Allied Heath, Human Services & Sport, La Trobe University, La Trobe University This week, Collingwood AFL player Nathan Murphy announced his retirement, brought on by his concussion history and ongoing issues. The 24-year-old’s seemingly sudden retirement, ...
The Mental Health Foundation provides support and resources for those facing the loss of their job, so it’s wrong in the very week the Government adds another 1000 jobs to its tally of cuts, that this is happening. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alexander Howard, Senior Lecturer, Discipline of English and Writing, University of Sydney Daniel Boud/Sydney Theatre Company Decay, terror, revulsion. These are three of the central themes of Thomas Bernhard’s rarely performed play The President. The Austrian is one of the greatest ...
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 ...
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Opinion: With maths understanding at 42 percent for Year 8 students, there’s no doubt something has to be done. But how? The post Financial literacy should be on all of us appeared first on Newsroom. ...
Hineaupounamu ‘Missy’ Nuku has been scaling mountains in Canada for her college basketball team, the Lakeland Rustlers. Alberta is currently home for the 20-year-old point guard, who is in her first year of a scholarship at Lakeland College, where she is studying for a business degree. She has certainly made ...
New Zealand and the Philippines have signed a new maritime security agreement and stated their concerns over activity in the South China Sea, as Chinese vessels continue to flout international law. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Philippines President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos committed to signing a Mutual Logistics Supporting Arrangement by ...
The thousands of government “back-office” job cuts are causing widespread pain in the capital city. In today’s episode of The Detail, we speak to three journalists and a think tank researcher, looking at the larger picture around the cuts and what effect it will have on Wellington, a city that’s ...
Opinion: The famed American architect and urban designer Daniel Burnham once said, “Make no little plans. They have no magic to stir men’s blood!” Burnham wouldn’t have been referring to the transport plans in Aotearoa New Zealand over the past five years; projects so big they hadn’t the credibility to ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra When ASIO boss Mike Burgess delivered his annual threat assessment earlier this year, he stressed the rising danger posed by espionage and foreign interference. “In 2024, threats to our way of life have surpassed ...
The Tribunal had called on Minister for Children Karen Chhour to provide evidence at an urgent inquiry into the repeal of Section 7AA of the Oranga Tamariki Act. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By T.J. Thomson, Senior Lecturer in Visual Communication & Digital Media, RMIT University Midjourney image by T.J. Thomson As more than half of Australian office workers report using generative artificial intelligence (AI) for work, we’re starting to see this technology affect every ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Lisa Nicole Sharwood, Injury epidemiologist | Expert Witness, UNSW Sydney Sergey Novikov/Shutterstock Injuries are the leading cause of disability and death among Australian children and adolescents. At least a quarter of all emergency department presentations during childhood are injury-related. Injuries can ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Di Winkler, Adjunct Associate Professor, Living with Disability Research Centre, La Trobe University Shutterstock/Ground PictureMany Australians with disability feel on the edge of a precipice right now. Recommendations from the disability royal commission and the NDIS review were released late ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Salman Shooshtarian, Senior Lecturer, School of Property, Construction and Project Management, RMIT University Salman Shooshtarian Asbestos has been found in mulch used for playgrounds, schools, parks and gardens across Sydney and Melbourne. Local communities naturally fear for the health of their ...
Family First says that the latest abortion statistics make grim and upsetting reading, with a 25% increase in abortions since the decriminalisation of abortion in March 2020. According to an Official Information Act request received by Right to Life ...
Ipsos New Zealand's inaugural participation in a global study on populism reveals a pervasive sense of societal and economic decline among New Zealanders. MORE DETAILS AND FULL REPORT HERE Ipsos New Zealand's inaugural participation in a global study ...
Waatea News with David Cunliffe, Nandor Tanczos & Dr Bryce Edwards. Coverage of fish dumping, economic mismanagement, and people living in garages and cars
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o7ZYHLuRgbc
+100 …thanks…good viewing…David Cunliffe looking great!..he has the credibility of a moral Left leader…he could beat jonkey Nact convincingly
Bradbury as usual asks the crucial questions
“he could beat jonkey Nact convincingly” In what century Chooky? have you forgotten he lead the Labour party to the slaughter house in 2014 (25% vote).
You’ve made a mistake. That’s a pathetic electoral result which the careerists in Labour scapegoated on to Cunliffe, but which they fully contributed to themselves.
Cunliffe needed a full term as Leader in order to make his mark and overcome his deficiencies. But his “colleagues” were never going to give him that chance.
I believe that Labour currently has a more than 50/50 chance of coming in under 25% in 2017.
I can accept that.
So in a prefect world (for Labour) Cunliffe would be allowed to have the time to cement his position and purge any colleagues that may undermine him?
Is there a way back for Cunliffe? (genuine question).
Is there a way back for DC? No, for two reasons. One is that Andrew Little is doing fine as leader and is in a good place to be PM after the next election. There is no mood in the party, affiliates or caucus to change. The second reason is that Cunliffe wouldn’t go near the job even if it was handed to him on a plate. Once bitten, twice shy.
TRP, Little is already gone, he just doesn’t know it yet.
Grant Robertson will win the leadership in 2018 hands down.
Yeah, right. The first part of that comment also applies to you, brother 😉 Robertson is never going to be leader, his chance has been and gone. But it’s heartening to see him and the rest of caucus working together for a change. I know you hate the thought of a Labour led government, but it’s going to be a distinct possibility in less than 18 months, unless the Nats find a way to buy Winston off.
Hmmm interesting that you can’t see GR positioning all his own people throughout the organisation.
My opinion remains – GR will be the (almost undisputed) Labour Leader in 2018. There is one other serious potential contender in the wings but it won’t be Cunliffe.
I can’t see it because it’s not actually happening. Grant doesn’t have ‘people’ he can ‘position’. That’s just your fantasy about how things work. The truth is much duller; the only way to get ahead is to work hard, have good ideas and to win people over via the party’s democratic structures. That also applies in the Greens and if I’m to be charitable, it’s probably applicable to National too. NZ First, not so much. I like Grant btw. But he has as much chance of being leader as I have. And I’m sure Grant and I are equally sanguine about that reality.
Okay dude.
Genuine question: Is there anybody outside the Labour caucus who has even the slightest interest in Grant Robertson? I don’t dislike the fellow. A binder of posters here seem to think that he’s some sort of devious Machiavellian operator, a short of McCully in Labour clothing, if you will. I have no idea whether there’s any truth to that or not. The thing is, though, that I just see him and think “meh”, whether he’s talking about policy, asking questions or whatever. Even Parker seems more passionate, and that’s saying something. I can’t see Robertson really even registering with the electorate, whether positively or negatively. The same goes for Ardern, by the way.
I don’t have the inside knowledge that yourself and CV have (even if you have different perceptions)of the internal workings of the NZLP but I’d say Andrew Little is doing a fine and steady job. There have even been times when I’ve been impressed with him, most recently during his low key on the level response the Hagaman threat.
And, you know, I voted for him last on my ballot paper! I was a major Cunliffe fan girl. I was gutted about how things turned out, but Little has settled in, he will be the right person to lead the next government. There won’t be fireworks but there is heaps to do and heaps to mend and he can be the one to get that process started.
To vote and change leaders yet again would be such a dogs breakfast and make the party look unstable. The election is only next year so we just gotta buckle down and focus on kicking these nation destroying bastards out.
Absolutely, I liked D.C but grew weary of the polarising effect he sadly seemed to have. I did vote for Andrew and was utterly convinced about his integrity and ability to steer a steady course and unite the caucus, without which there was no point in carrying on. I noticed that when we were at the first hustings, all four candidates were understandably nervous and busy readying themselves reading their notes…..Andrew simply sat and looked out at us, calmly and confidently, interested in US, not worried about himself.
He has achieved this and now we can carry on with the rest of it now.
My tuppence worth would be (first penny) – if Labour chose leaders via an election system of one person, one vote, then possibly.
Penny two – Labour, and this is in no way limited to Labour, seems to position itself within a TINA framework on too many issues, and so is essentially dead to too many people.
And if I can up my tuppence to thrupence – distilling political rumblings from across the English speaking world suggests that a seismic shift in peoples’ political expectations and demands is under way – and that most political parties are going to be caught flat footed.
@ CV: Suppose you are right about this, as things stand, and that you and Swordfish were largely right in your talk of factions on yesterday’s open mike. This actually gives reason to campaign for a Labour victory with a particular end in mind – to gain the government benches with the nonaligned Little in charge at best, and to increase the size of the Labour caucus at worst. This is not a “vote for the least-worst argument”, although prima facie it may look like one.
Firstly, careerists are not all the same – some will move leftward if that looks like the thing to do. So an increased caucus would allow room for a change of direction that would take at least some careerists along with it. Secondly, while some are said to be retiring soon, the Labour caucus has had less staff turnover in the past eight years than most businesses, which means entrenched office politics among a static group. This presents Little with an impasse: in a way, he can’t increase the size of the caucus without first increasing the size of the caucus. Joining Labour to push for an acceptable leader has not got us far, though it has got us somewhere – Little is not one of the entrenched right-wing /careerist lot. Maybe the next move is to activate the membership and the sympathetic left to fight from the outside to increase the Labour vote, and thus the size of the caucus, without necessarily giving our allegiance to particular individuals we think have let us down.
Hi Olwyn,
You pose serious scenarios with serious rationales. I agree with the guts of what you have to say about the psychology of the Labour caucus. It is under real pressure currently.
Most of the List only MPs in that caucus are only a hairs breadth away from losing their positions at the party vote ballot box.
Also with your analysis of how intransigent the situation Little faces with some of his most influential MPs is. One of the things which finished Cunliffe was that Cunliffe had zero plan to deal with that.
I will add in one more factor. IMO Winston will find it politically impossible (both internally and externally to NZF) to justify supporting a Labour managed government if Labour get less than 30% at the polls.
Let’s say Labour gets 27% in 2017, and National gets 45%.
In such a situation I think Winston will end up providing de facto support to a National (minority) government even if he would prefer not to. Key will extend the NZF caucus a deal that they cannot refuse. Gold Card Mark 2, GST free rates, bump up to NZ Super, a Cabinet position for Winston and Ministers outside Cabinet positions for his top MPs, and more.
I can see where you are going with this. However, Labour has been bleeding its best activists and members for years now (and in some cases the local MP has been delighted to get rid of over-active members who cause more trouble to the MP’s particular desired status quo than they are worth). If Little wants to energise the latent support in the electorate for Labour and get a lot of on the ground activists back on side, he needs to offer the electorate serious, political economic alternatives to what National has been delivering.
The concept of “activating the membership” in order to fire up a grass roots campaign for Labour is a great one but it is a concept only. There is no way of implementing that concept in practical terms as most Labour branches have decayed to inactive shadows of what they were even 10 years ago, there is no money in Wellington to provide to the branches for campaign activities, and from my perspective the charismatic leadership does not exist in the Labour hierarchy which can turn that switch on in the general membership and ‘wider left’ anyway.
I do not think it would be easy to fire up the grass roots, but that doesn’t mean it’s impossible. The idea might be to seize opportunities where they arise, and support and strengthen the grass roots movements that currently exist, rather than overly concern ourselves with Labour branches. It is not a good idea to stand back and let Labour slowly die when we lack a serious alternative to it. We already have a right wing so licensed and full of hubris that it could practically get away with running over the peasants for fun – they will only get worse while we scurry around trying to pick up the pieces.
It would be good to hear Andrew Little and James Shaw speak in as forthright as a manner.
Just use your imagination, is what I will say. Then return to reality.
This is a vindictive Labour hierarchy that has decided that Cunliffe belongs unranked on the back benches, in a short sighted attempt to drive him out of politics altogether.
Cunliffe has some significant flaws as a political leader, but he still noticeably outshines the current leadership and the pretenders to that leadership.
Did you hear this?
Needs to be published widely.
About US and applies completely to New Zealand.
http://www.radionz.co.nz/audio/player/201801602
so many people talking about this today, from all sides! Reassuring
now theres a woman who could take down Key in five minutes flat
What did he do wrong?
I guess he challenged the status quo.
He tried to placate the careerist and right wing MPs in his caucus not understanding that they were always going to be waiting for the right moment to slip the political knife between his ribs.
He also let down many of his own supporters by giving up on his own direction and deciding to subsume his priorities to the business as usual Thorndon Bubble crowd.
I wonder if he mightn’t be a little me forthright if given a second bite of the cherry.
David was always and still is my preferred leader. Unfortunately the right wing media hated his guts, or were to scared to give him a shot against Key they manipulated public perception against the man.
Then some in Labour are again there for personal reasons of ambition not what Labour stands for. IE back stabbing abc’s
Oh the above video looked like a Labour party weak version of the Nation.
The presenter sure wasn’t making any pretence of impartiality was he.
I turned it off after Cunliffe.
if David Cunliffe were to come back as leader of the Labour Party i would vote Labour…as it is i am a nonfunctioning member…i joined to support David Cunliffe as the members choice
so I will be voting Green /NZF…so no losses there
….however if Labour is to stop languishing in the polls …it really does have to think about how it played the leadership against Labour membership wishes
If David Cunliffe were to come back as leader of the Labour Party I would also vote Labour.
So I will be voting for a party that provides the most vigorous alternative to neo-liberal capitalism.
Struggling to notice it, though.
Westminster Social Engineering
The mortality rate is 15 percent higher in Glasgow across all social classes and ages, while premature mortality (dying under 65) is 30 percent higher, and much higher among the poorest in the city. The so-called ‘Glasgow effect’ means more people die from the cancer, heart disease, strokes as well as drugs, alcohol and suicide than do in other comparable cities.
http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/14493634.Revealed____39_Glasgow_effect__39__mortality_rate_blamed_on_Westminster_social_engineering/
“Glasgow got a double-dose of neoliberalism – the UK Thatcherite version, and the more local version led by the Scottish Development Agency and the Council.
https://johnsharpbeattie.wordpress.com/2016/05/17/leaving-glaswegians-to-die-young/
John Beattie writes: Leaving Glaswegians to die young.
Nice cartoon today title: Why not ask WINZ for some cake?
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/property/news/article.cfm?c_id=8&objectid=11642636
Lol the teflon handbag.
“America should write the rules and call the shots” – President Obama
An interesting episode of CrossTalk re the TPPA.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=92E3Gidbs5k
Watched that Asleep. Terrifying that USA can avoid being held to account and can a do attack any country with immunity. Drones. Iraq. Afghanistan. John Key.
Veto Security Council.
Bluddy Hell!
+100…this is one of the best sites for debate and commentary on international current affairs imo…it always has international experts involved in the debates…leaves NZ tv and newspapers for dead!
( and I was put onto this site by The Standard…thanks!)
Give a little Justice for Bessie has raised nearly $100k
Are we paying for a public hanging of the scumbag? Surely some 4×2″ ‘s and a rope don’t cost that much.
[Settle down, Richard. TS does not approve of calls for violence. The Give a Little page is raising funds to challenge the actions and inactions of the Department of Corrections, not to advocate for the death penalty. TRP]
The husband wants to sue corrections cause the scumbag raped and killed his wife while under ‘close’ supervision of corrections.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/crime/68544607/blessie-gotingcos-killer-could-have-been-locked-up-for-good
Looks like the May Roy Morgan is out?
The RM consumer confidence survey was out a few days ago. No sign of the political poll yet. Generally they’re released later in the week, so maybe Thursday or Friday?
It does not appear to have been released formally as yet, although the Confidence Survey results have already been released as TRP mentions in his response.
However ( a BIG OOOPS, perhaps) … the Party poll 15 May results appear to be up on the RM website in one graph (but not in the commentary which is still the April results) . – Click on this link and then go down to the first graph.
http://www.roymorgan.com/findings/6772-roy-morgan-new-zealand-voting-intention-april-2016-201604260544
IF these May results are correct/finals then, compared to April: National is up from 42.5% to 45.5%; Labour up from 26.5% to 29.5%; Greens down from 14.5% to 12%; NZ First down from 12.5% to 9.5%; and Maori Party down from 1.5% to 1%.
The graph does not show the undecided percentage or results for the other parties eg ACT, UF etc.
good spotting!
This is very good!…a feminist Accountant!
http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/sunday/audio/201801607/pala-molisa-a-ni-vanuatu-radical-accountant
“Pala Molisa – A Ni Vanuatu Radical Accountant
Pala Molisa is the son of two of the leading lights of Vanuatu’s independence movement, he represented Vanuatu in weightlifting at the Commonwealth Games, and he’s an advocate of a radical new accountancy that brings a whole raft of social indicators to your typical balance sheet. Pala Molisa is a lecturer at Victoria University Business school.”
pretty sure he’s the guy that spoke at one of the climate change evenings in wellington and he got a huge ovation for best input of the night
Businesses’ Budget wishlist
http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/80215644/what-do-kiwi-business-leaders-want-to-see-in-this-years-budget
Thoughts?
meh – representatives of a group contributing less than 15% of government revenue say shit
https://deborahfrussell.files.wordpress.com/2015/05/govtrevenue2015.png
Interesting The actual run a company ones wanted education investment , getting unemployment down (and improving wages?) and most mentioned enviroment concerns. The tourist ones wanted to socialise the costs of their industry, time for a bed tax on the multinational chains?? , the business group members seemed to be parroting the Nact party line. Perhaps the companies that pay membership fees to these groups need to make sure they are expressing their concerns not those of the Nact hierarchy.
I’m pleasantly surprised by David Hisco’s (ANZ CE) focus on moving tourism up market and environmental focus. A refreshing contrast to Tim Alpe and Roger Brantsma who both play in the lower strata of the tourism market and can only see more, more and more of their low yielding customers and the socialisation of the resultant costs. However HIsco will get to see the performance of a wide range of tourism businesses and can see where the sustainable profits, and looming risks are.
It’s also a considerable departure from current government policy around tourism, which is typified by Alpe and Brantsma’s views of more, more and more and stuff the yield.
Angling for, or seeing a looming change of policy or government? This tourism business owner hopes so.
If you need a laugh
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NZEaM2ASg0E
Seawards, go Seawards!!!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=la4wWpKDqrM
Audio recording on buses?
http://www.newswire.co.nz/2016/05/newlands-mana-buses-activate-audio-surveillance/
Thoughts?
If these are stored on a computer or network, then the security services can access them in near real time.
Lol
These are the buses I use in my neighbourhood. I noticed the sign about the audio recording on Thursday.
I’ve no problem with it due to the reason the Mana bus boss points to:
“That incident could range from and assault on a driver, a threat against a driver, a theft or attempted theft, through to a complaint from a passenger about a driver’s behaviour.”
Believe me, that happens around here. You can also be on the bus in the middle of the day and there can be a bunch of drunk people down the back. The last time it happened it was no problem, they were all just singing their heads off and talking bollocks. No problem there, but what if it turned nasty if it can sometimes do when people are wasted and a bit unpredictable?
Mostly theres no problems in my experience but there has been some times when drunk people have been a bit edgy and slagged off the driver.
While I’m wary of surveillance intruding into our lives, mainly on line and on smart phones I’ve no problem with practical applications like this. I actually feel a little more secure seeing that sign about the audio the other day.
Liz Clark to contest Invercargill.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/80207129/dr-liz-craig-nominated-as-labours-candidate-for-invercargill
I hope this doesn’t turn into a 3 way between Liz, Ria Bond and Sarah Dowie, that would be a waste and probably perpetuate Dowie’s existence. Also hope Liz gets a decent list place this time in case she’s only campaigning for party votes, we need her in the house with her health knowledge and sharp mind.
This also provides an opening in Clutha Southland for a candidate with strong rural and small business credentials.
Liz Craig
oops, sorry Liz
Graeme, I suggest it cant help but be a 3 way battle. Liz Craig will certainly be a credible challenger but the coverage to date has discounted the promising start Ria Bond has made down here at a grassroots advocacy level, which isn’t going unnoticed.
I agree it would be good to see someone of Liz Craig’s ilk providing a much needed refreshing of labours list.
As far as Clutha Southland is concerned I think the most interest will be around who NZ First will come up with as I think they have the best chance of giving Barclay a run for his money in the majority rural segment. Granted he has a massive majority but clearly he has struggled big time. Winston speaking in Gore tomorrow which should give a good gauge on how the Nats are rolling.
I look forward to your report Cowboy, could be an interesting evening. Bit far away for me on a Monday unfortunately.
Might pop over for a look given weather for tomorrow not that condusive to getting much done. Will report if I do as it should be interesting to see how Winston is received in the deepest of blue national heartland.
China denies selling human flesh as tinned corned beef in Zambia
http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/article/36341367/china-denies-selling-human-flesh-as-tinned-corned-beef-in-zambia-in-africa
Soylent Green…..
Surprise surprise….
/
Edward Snowden has responded to reports the CIA inspector general’s office “mistakenly” destroyed its only copy of a comprehensive Senate ‘torture report’ with a stinging rebuttal: “When the CIA destroys something, it’s never a mistake.”
An intelligence agency was quoted by Yahoo News as saying CIA inspector general officials deleted an uploaded computer file containing the report, before “inadvertently” destroying a disk with the document on it.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/edward-snowden-warns-cia-never-destroys-something-by-mistake-after-agency-claim-it-destroyed-copy-of-a7038206.html
IDF deputy chief of staff Brigadier General Yair Golan delivered a Holocaust Memorial speech.
Speaking to an audience gathered at Tel Yitzhak, a kibbutz in central Israel, Maj. Gen. Yair Golan, the Israeli Defense Forces deputy chief of staff, warned Israel that the Jewish state threatened to fall into a moral chasm like the one that befell Nazi Germany for its treatment of “foreigners” — read: Palestinians and African refugees.
Here are some of his remarks [author’s translation]:
[…]
Characteristically, Golan was savaged for his outspokenness by far-right government ministers who harbor some of the same racist attitudes the major general was attacking.
In this context, it’s worth examining a political controversy inflaming the British chattering and political classes. This one has inundated the Labour Party’s left-wing leadership with controversial attacks by the British pro-Israel lobby and the largely pro-Tory press.
https://www.mintpressnews.com/israeli-defense-forces-general-likens-israel-1930s-germany-holocaust-remembrance-day/216436/
https://theintercept.com/2016/05/14/leaks-show-senate-aide-threatened-colombia-over-cheap-cancer-drug/
Violence
http://www.foodandwaterwatch.org/sites/default/files/ib_1605_nrcinfluence-final-web_0.pdf
Corruption
Less than two years into a five-year plan with the Government to build 7000 new homes in the capital, the city council has admitted it will never achieve that goal, having missed every target along the way thus far.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/80226908/new-homes-cant-be-built-quick-enough-to-cool-wellingtons-hot-property-market
This is a country whose management which after years of planning couldn’t even get the trains to a Rugby World Cup opening.