Global Day of Action for a Financial Transaction Tax (22 June)
The Tax Justice campaign supports today’s (22 June) Global Day of Action for a Financial Transaction Tax coordinated by Oxfam in Britain.
“Momentum is building worldwide for financial transaction taxes that target the banks, speculators and big corporates,” says Vaughan Gunson, New Zealand’s Tax Justice campaign coordinator.
“The international money men who caused the global financial crisis must be made to pay the bill,” says Gunson. “Financial transaction taxes are the best way to make that happen.”
It’s widely accepted that financial transaction taxes levied internationally could raise hundreds of billions of dollars, which could then be used to fund programmes that help the world’s poorest. (For more information on financial transaction taxes and the Global Day of Action click on HERE)
The Tax Justice campaign in New Zealand is calling on the government to seriously look at how a FTT could be applied here.
“There’s an urgent need to broaden the tax base in this country to maintain public services, protect our people from the effects of the economic crisis, and re-build Christchurch,” says Gunson,
“The beauty of an FTT is that would be not squeeze more tax out of people already paying their fair share.”
“It is a very progressive tax, because those who end up paying the most tax would be those involved in high frequency trading in New Zealand’s financial markets – these mostly overseas speculators are currently paying no tax to the government,” says Gunson.
Mr Gunson says a small percentage tax on the money flows of financial speculators operating in New Zealand markets would raise significant government revenue.
“Here’s a solution to the government’s debt problem that it would be irresponsible for politicians to ignore,” says Gunson.
Tax Justice supporters will be out on the streets continuing to collect signatures for a petition calling on Parliament to: 1. Remove GST from food; and 2. Tax financial speculation.
40,000 signatures have so far been collected for the Tax Justice petition, which will be presented to Parliament on Tuesday 16 August. Su’a William Sio, Labour MP for Mangere, will be receiving the petition and presenting it to the House.
Nothing much going on except the ground shifting around a lot. From about 19:30 onwards we had aftershocks about every ninety minutes. The strongest was 5.3 at just after 22:30 and then swarms of shakers ranging from 3.5 to 4.4 through the night. First there’d be a muffled roar like an old diesel starting up and then a strange rocking and floating sensation. It felt like spending the night on an old tugboat chugging across a harbour.
Christchurch announcement should be made today. It will be announced that 80-90% of land will not be able to be built upon. Not sure of the areas. Was signed off yesterday.
And why is the government still waiting for the enquiry before doing something about safety standards? Because it’s clear they don’t really care about the Royal Commission results. And if they’re not doing anything – and if we know safety standards are too lax – surely any further deaths in mines in the meantime should be treated as criminal?
hmmm…now wheres that video of Gerry the Hut, from a few years back, laughing and rarking up the National party faithful in parliament as they scoff at and bury the findings of a Labour commissioned safety report that shows our mining standards weren’t up to scratch ?
Can you see yourself, under a coconut tree
Wanting for nothing, or maybe a cooler breeze
Where all things romantic, in the south pacific ?
French Polynesia’s assembly is working on a resolution to formally demand the territory’s re-inscription on the UN list of territories to be decolonised.
After what was called an informal meeting last week, the assembly’s commission on international relation is today due to draw up the text.
Looks like Smile and Wave is putting his foot in it every time journos ask him questions.
Twice now he has kicked off the Christchurch land storm – first, weeks ago, stating that 10,000 homes would need to be abandoned.
After, last weeks quakes he started talking about whole suburbs being abandoned.
I bet there are people in CERA wishing the PM would STFU!
Now he is making comments to the Australian media that he has not made here (or to the Pike River families) and that prejudges the Commission findings.
Now he is blaming Labour for consenting the mine but fails to mention that it was a National government and their Neo-Lib economic thinking that decided in 1992 that mine owners should be in charge of determining the safety of the mine and so scrapped the mines inspectorate.
Will Joyce – Joky Hen (tm logie97 !) may have been making some off-the-cuff unscripted comments. His minders need to tighten the reins I think, but no the enlightening flow of thought should not be stopped.
prism – happy to see Joky Hen become part of the nomenclature for the PM. Acknowledgements not necessary. Just continue your thoughtful comments – good reads. (I think it was Vicky who pointed us towards an anagram generator site late one night and I am sure we could use it to find further apt names).
Ok logie97 thanks. I’ll continue with my current favourite Joky Hen. Interesting ones arise from that anagram generator. We shouldn’t forget some of the old ones though. I think it was Blip who came up with King John of Charmalot a while ago. Quite good, the film on Camelot had the song What do the common people do etc.
If Labour wants to frontfoot this, I say take the blame AND make a promise:
– take the blame for NOT having overturned National’s previous lowering of workers’ standards
– take the blame for having accommodated the right/centre right and NOT battling harder for workers
And:
– promise to go into urgency, at the soonest opportunity, to improve standards for workers, and
– promise, when they are next in the government, to review and reverse all of National’s policies that have attacked, undermined and chipped away at workers’ rights and progressive values.
Like you say, JM, there is much to be said for a “mea culpa” (or a “my bad”) and stressing that we have learned how the old policy doesn’t work and then going on to promise to do better.
If only Clinton had said, “Yep – I did it and I should not have”
Pollies always have the need to never admit a mistake or the need to do a rethink.
Fran O’Sullivan is reflecting concern for the process used against Mr Hubbard. She wonders if the powers of the SFO have bypassed the rights to natural justice.
Does seem a bit odd. Hope politics have not intruded to protect certain politicians?
“Such state force is seldom seen in New Zealand’s commercial history, writes Fran O’Sullivan.”
“How can Allan Hubbard fight 50 fraud charges when the state controls his personal funds, refuses to fully pay his lawyers, controls documents he needs for his defence and still won’t reveal who laid the complaint that ultimately led to him being slapped into a fiscal straitjacket?” http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=10733654
Please, Hubbard will never see jail. The trial will take so long, and as we are seeing the process is going to be drawn out just to add to it. If Hubbard is smart he’ll welcome the opportunity of yet more appeals and delay.
“If Hone Harawira won the Te Tai Tokerau seat, Mr Goff says the Labour Party would be unable to work with him.
“In government – and we do plan to be in government – you need to have reliable allies, and he’s proven right through his political career to be anything but reliable,” he says.
“The distance between us on values and philosophy is just too great…I just don’t buy into that separatist philosophy.”
So all the talk about forgiving goff his sins from the past when he was part of the cabal that helped fuck the country is for naught, because reliability is the key – reliability – yes we can rely on goff – to what?
Is the distance too great between a politician of Mana and goff – the values too dissimilar?
I know who i’m voting for – the party that represents the disadvantaged and stands for social justice and equality and goff isn’t a member of that party – thank goodness.
Wouldn’t be the first time Goff has been in negotiations to join the ACT Party. Maybe he thought he could do more to further the right wing cause by staying put. It’s certainly turned out that way.
The right’s greatest weapon is Goff, not Key. If he wanted to further the interests of the left , or even a Labour election win, he would have resigned as leader long ago. He has consistently chosen not to.
NACTs second biggest weapon is the rest of the Labour caucus in refusing to dump him.
Key would be nothing by now, without this Labour “opposition”.
Sir Philip……
….services to the rich and powerful….
Personally I’d prefer if Labour didn’t out-right rule out Hone and Mana.
But it becomes a game of public perceptions, and by doing this, National can’t wave Hone around like the bogey man – “a vote for Labour is a vote for Hone” like they try to do with Winston Peters. So there’s a tactical reason for doing so.
At the same time, it is unlikely to blow back up in Labour’s face. In any parliament where Mana are the king-maker, they’re not going to side with National and Act. So Mana-held seats effectively shrink the size of parliament. There are cases where it could make a difference, like a complex arrangement where Mana + Greens vs MP & UF were together king-makers, eg MP & UF go with National unless Labour goes with Mana and Greens.
‘
I think that the accusation that Harawira is unreliable, bares closer examination.
The question is, Is this verbal attack by Goff aimed at Harawira, just political rhetoric to weaken a politician whose political views he is opposed to?
Is this attack even accurate?
“he’s proven right through his political career to be anything but reliable,”
Phil Goff
Yet not once during his term in government as a Maori Party MP, did Harawira break Maori Party caucus discipline and vote against the direction of the Maori Party.
Yes, Harawira bitterly complained, and publicly criticised, (as he claimed was his right to do,) some of the right wing legislation that the Maori Party supported in parliament.
Even on this site he, Harawira was condemned by Labour supporters for being a hypocrite for voting for legislation that he didn’t personally support.
Though he voted with the Maori Party on every occasion as a disciplined member of their caucus, it was his willingness to challenge and debate that political direction, which was cited as the reason for his expulsion from the Maori Party.
Harawira fought his expulsion from the Maori Party because he claimed, (and with some justification), that he had never broken party discipline and that therefore there were no grounds for his expulsion. Also, (with some justification), Harawira claimed that he had a right and even a duty to raise his misgivings about the direction of the Maori Party in private and in public.
My question is this;
Isn’t it a tad bit inconsistent for Labour Party members to condemn Harawira for maintaining party discipline even when he disagreed with it’s direction, and for Goff to then also condemn him for being unreliable?
Am I wrong in thinking that there is a contradiction here?
The name’s Ph’Goff. It’d be choice if he’d do just that.
Certainly I won’t be putting my name near a Labour ballot in November. Never NOT voted Labour in 40 years. He can Ph’Get it this time.
What finally unleashed the inexorable build up of my somewhat embarrassed “God……this ain’t Labour…..” senses was this; Harawira announces he’s gonna resign and precipitate a by-election……… “Oh no…..we won’t work with the (demon) Harawira……..! says Ph’Goff.
You could see him all glassy-eyed over the expectation that “Mr and Mrs Ignorant Honky Middle Class Who’re Shit Scared of The Meorries” would stand up and clap.
Wouldn’t it be great if by miraculous chance it came down to Hon-Aye having the casting vote on whether Ph’Goff got to be PM . That particular Meorrie would be a fine type then.
Stomping on Dissent at Yale
If you care about the question of Palestine, and indeed about democracy and free speech, you should click on the following links, in series. Each one builds on the next. You can see how one of the most compelling speakers and scholars in the United States is constantly hounded by the enemies of democracy and free speech.
While, in a way, this is a painfully funny example of a young student politician (Stephen Marsh) being browbeaten and bullied by a zealot (Yishai Schwarz) it’s also profoundly disturbing, when you reflect that this is what happens even at a supposedly liberal institution like Yale.
Dear “freedom”: Are you trying to be funny? Your comment is certainly obscure, but I suspect that’s because you don’t have a clue what this topic is about, rather than because of any complexity or nuance in your thinking. Perhaps you should click on those links, and educate yourself.
Yep, Finkelstein’s one of the most inspiring scholars I’ve ever come across. Discovered his work in 2002. The destruction of his academic career has been a bloody disgrace.
Not in the mind of Yishai Schwartz. Or Alan Dershowitz, or Anthony Weiner, or David Horror-wits, or [insert name of your favourite Israeli government shill here].
“It’s diets all round,” National Minister Gerry Brownlee’s advisor suggested after being stuck for 30 minutes with the minister and colleagues in a lift. Picture
But worrying? Whom to. All we need now is to re-establish our manufacturing industries, in particular clothing lined with possum fur so we can all remain warm and toasty.
After all, the last ice age peoples survived with fur coats and fire.
Oh, but we won’t be able to burn wood to keep warm will we? After all, it releases CO2 and thats bad.
Yep. Despite the many many things that his simple lines have wrong – I won’t bite.
It is too much like potting a possum with a light and a 0.22″. You keep firing the rounds and they keep bouncing off those bloody thick skulls. You have to either get a higher velocity weapon or drill them through the eye. However my preferred Oscar solution requires a blog equivalent of a machete…… I’m sure he will notice that (won’t he?)
So when winter finally comes in NZ from mid July – mid December, you’ll all sit around going, oh geez, that CO2 got’s a lot to answer for hasn’t it!
Nevermind the fact that Earths natural state of being is ICE. Not warmth, but COLD. Even the IPCC make note of the fact we’ve come through a geological warm period.
Humans can survive the cold much better than the heat. But if privatised power companies become a reality, we sure won’t be able to pay for the heating required 9 months of the year when it’s too darn cold.
I wonder who the ignoramus is DTB. You with your constant warmist cries. I sure won’t be sorry to see the back of the global con that the scientists have built up for themselves over the last 30 years and indoctrinated a whole generation into believing that CO2 is bad.
Lprent – tell me why greenhouse growers pump CO2 into their tunnels for plants? After all, you seem to take great delight in breaking down the CO2 is oxygen for plants. I’ve shown you many references to plant life existing much more beneficially at a CO2 level greater than 1000 ppm, but you (fail) to recognise the relevance of it. After all, Humans need around 25% O2, and with an atmospheric composition sitting around 14% – this is far more dangerous and deadly to mankind than CO2.
And the answers in your face when trying to investigate how to increase O2. Plants. But with a lack of CO2, it becomes a self perpetuating cycle. No CO2, fewer plants, less O2, goodbye mankind.
The reptiles will survive. After all, they don’t generally breath O2 in such vast quantities.
I think that maybe I viewed this before probably via the Standard but am still breathtaken or is that gobsmacked as they say, about the audacity of USA Bankers and Politicians and the strategy of the Chinese.
I expect the clued up here have already seen this but the last 10 minutes are compelling. – again.
“All Watched Over by Machines of Loving Grace (Ep. 1) – ”
Why is Radio NZ National using low-grade American reporters?
Priscilla Huff knows nothing about Afghanistan, yet she’s reporting on it. Why?
Wednesday 22 June 2011
National Radio Checkpoint, 5.45 p.m.
For about the 357th time, a news item on the plan to “draw down” U.S. troops in Afghanistan. With her customary crisp, efficient style, Checkpoint anchor Mary Wilson crosses to “Priscilla Huff in Washington.”
PRISCILLA HUFF?!?!?!???
This would have rung alarm bells with anybody who has any familiarity with that reporter’s work over the years. Her reporting has about as much authority as Andy Haden’s “source in the Crusaders organization”, as much integrity as Paul Holmes’ September 2003 apology to the Auckland Ghanaian community, and as much understanding of the political situation in Afghanistan as… well, as John Key’s understanding of the situation in Afghanistan. [1]
Huff begins her report with this remarkable statement: “President Karzai has continued to criticize America’s efforts to help his country.” [2]
After making it clear that the U.S. is occupying, terrorizing, imprisoning, bombing, shooting, kidnapping and torturing Afghanis to help Afghanistan, Huff decides to really extend herself and do some fieldwork. Naturally, that does not mean that she goes and interviews someone who actually knows about the situation, such as an academic, a military analyst, or (God forbid) an Afghani. [3]
No, what Priscilla Huff does is walk out onto the street and ask three passers-by what they think of “the plan to draw down U.S. troops”. The first two people know absolutely nothing; they blither about how “we need to finish the job we started.” In other words, they repeat what they’ve heard people like Priscilla Huff telling them on CNN and CBS and Fox News for the last decade. It’s a perfect example of the recycling of sound-bite propaganda in the echo-chamber of what Americans call “public debate”.
Hearteningly, though, the third (and last) person seems to have thought about things: “We need to get out immediately”, he says. “We hear lots of talk from politicians about how we can’t afford to pay for social programs in this country, but we never hear them say we can’t find money for war.”
And Priscilla Huff is by no means the only bad reporter, or even the worst, that appears on National Radio.
The question is: WHO CHOOSES THE LIKES OF PRISCILLA HUFF?
[1]Throughout her report, Huff repeatedly (and obediently) uses the Pentagon’s own insulting weasel expression “draw down” instead of “withdrawal”.
Questions and Answers 21 June 2011
‘Hon Phil Goff: If the Prime Minister is worried about youth unemployment, why has he allowed a consistent decline in the intake into apprenticeships since he became the Prime Minister, and why does he not do something about that, instead of looking at cutting the wages paid to young people?
Rt Hon JOHN KEY: I think the Leader of the Opposition is confused in his facts and incorrect.
Hon Phil Goff: I raise a point of order, Mr Speaker. I could ask the permission of the House to table a series of documents from the news media, widely reporting the facts that I have just mentioned. You would not normally allow that to be done, but I ask you to consider allowing it on this occasion, as the Prime Minister’s standard answer is to reject the facts that he claims are wrong in what I have been saying to him.
Mr SPEAKER: One of the reasons why we do not do that is that the information is readily available to all members of the House. What is more, WHAT IS PRINTED IN THE MEDIA MAY BE NO MORE “FACT” THAN ANYTHING ELSE. In all my 27 years’ experience in this place, I have found that it is extremely unlikely to be “fact” if it has been printed in the media. That is one reason why we do not table recent newspaper clippings. I realise that the member could be frustrated by that kind of answer, but a Minister is entitled to dispute the information provided in a supplementary question. Ministers should be careful in doing so, and I am sure the Prime Minister will have been careful in doing that.
Hon Phil Goff: I raise a point of order, Mr Speaker. Is it in order for the Prime Minister to dispute facts that are available to every member in this House in order to avoid answering a question?
Mr SPEAKER: If that was established to be correct, that would be a very serious issue…’
What more proof could we need than from the Speaker of New Zealand Parliament to stand up and say the media is a liar.
So, what with Huff now the guru on Radio New Zealand, last bastion of objectivity, a lying media, economic experts chosen from banks to tell us all about how to get ourselves further into debt, we look forward to a future full of Fox, and we’re one lot of stuffed chickens.
If you watched tonight’s TV3 News at six, you might have caught a glimpse of the world renowned Riot Dog. He’s been in regular attendance at riots and protests in Athens, Greece since 2008…
When I was in Athens a couple of years ago, I was intrigued at the number of largish dogs wandering or sleeping on the streets. They seemed to be placid but also seemed to be strays.
So now I know that the blighters were just resting ready for the next protest. Ta.
If the over-valuation, or the threat of it, persists for any length time, there is then a second-order range of consequences. Bright graduates cease to go into productive industry; they prefer to try their luck in asset speculation, finance and retailing – anywhere that is protected from foreign competition. People look to non-productive assets like housing as the place to make their fortune. Capital moves to wherever it is possible to make a quick buck. Our successful businesses move overseas or are sold to overseas buyers. Corporate headquarters move to Sydney or Shanghai. Does any of this sound familiar?
In the longer run – a generation or more – the culture itself changes. Borrowing – in the belief that the word owes us a living – becomes a way of life. We lose faith in saving, investing, and producing goods and services for sale as a way of providing for ourselves.
It was Einstein who said “Insanity is doing the same things over and over again and expecting different results”. Our results are not about to change any time soon.
Artificially high interest rates courtesy of the RBNZ and it’s focus on keeping inflation down is depressing our economy forcing people to look for other ways to make an income rather than being productive. If we want to actually become wealthier then we need to change what we’re doing and this government is doing everything it can to ensure we keep doing the same thing.
Courtesy of Mother Jones (US), a heartbreaking look at what might well happen here if NACT are allowed to carry out their welfare privatisation plans and foist ‘social services’ off on de/unregulated ‘child corrective facilities’ like the ones mentioned in Kathryn Royce’s chilling “Escape from Missouri” (July/Aug 2011: 52-57):
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Michael Baker, University of OtagoOverjoyed. That’s not a word epidemiologists normally use, but that’s how I felt after hearing Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern’s announcement about New Zealand’s COVID-19 shutdown of everything except essential services for at least four weeks from midnight on Wednesday. More than anything, I just ...
How much homelessness is caused by house hoarding? We're about to find out. The pandemic has destroyed tourism, which means that house hoarders who put their hoarded properties up as short-term tourist rentals are now offering them on the ordinary rental market:Property investors are pulling properties from Airbnb to offer ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Bruce Lieberman It seems like such a simple, straightforward, empowering idea: plant trees – a lot of trees – all over the world, and watch the planet’s temperature fall. Who doesn’t love a tree or two, even far more – the right ...
According to Newshub, Simon Bridges is open to joining a “grand coalition” with Labour as we hunker down to go into a month long lockdown. The idea is sound. Before now, the role of the opposition was to scrutinise and oppose. In the context of what almost amounts to a ...
Kia ora my name is Chloe Ann-King* and I am the founder of Raise the Bar, a campaign and non-profit that gives free legal aid, advocacy and tautoko to hospitality workers in Aotearoa. Right now all over our country hospo workers are being fired at will, having shifts cut or ...
We need to be lifting our game against COVID-19. You and I need to help those working to prevent the spread of COVID-19 while they’re trying to lift the testing and treatment efforts. We don’t want to be playing this game running backwards. Best to play it solidly forward, from ...
Prof Tony Blakely, Prof Michael Baker, and Prof Nick WilsonThe NZ Government must do more to clearly articulate its COVID-19 strategy: eradication or ‘flattening the curve’ mitigation. But to do so means understanding the maths and ethics of both these strategies. In this blog, we adapt our work for ...
A few days ago I was starting to write something about the pandemic, which now seems unconscionable. It took the form of a letter to an agony aunt:“Dear Deidre, I have an ugly confession. I am quite excited by Covid-19.”This is how the piece went:“I’m not a psychopath, honest. Although the ...
Story of the Week... Toon of the Week... Climate Feedback Article Review... Coming Soon on SkS... Climate Feedback Claim Reviews... SkS Week in Review... Poster of the Week... Story of the Week... In Just 10 Years, Warming Has Increased the Odds of DisastersThe likelihood of extreme events ...
Last week, the government announced a $12 billion initial package to support people during the pandemic. Today, the Reserve Bank is buying government bonds - effectively printing money - to keep up the money supply during the crisis. Normally such moves would have the right apoplectic. Instead, the National Party ...
I am a pundit, somebody who opines and comments on the news. There are no real qualifications to punditry though having a rudimentary way with words and good general knowledge helps. That is one reason there is a constant oversupply of would-be pundits and why it is quite hard to ...
I recently encountered the following prescription from a Faculty of Education at a leading New Zealand University. At first I wondered if it was another product of the postmodern generator (http://www.elsewhere.org/journal/pomo/), designed to create gibberish in the postmodern form, but I’m told it is real: The “schooled” society: Towards the ...
The coronavirus pandemic has of course had a major impact on individual lives and on societies as a whole. But, long after the crisis has passed (assuming it does), we will begin to realise that its real and lasting significance lies in the lessons it has taught us, if only ...
COVID-19 has plunged Aotearoa New Zealand (indeed, the world) into territory that, while maybe not totally unprecedented, certainly hasn’t been seen during the lifetimes of most of us here today. Our borders are closed to non-citizens, we’re being told not to gather in groups of more than 500 outside/100 inside, ...
For the last few weeks, I’ve been urging you to prepare yourself, your family, business, and community for Covid-19. Now it’s time for real action. Yesterday the director-general of health Dr Ashley Bloomfield announced another 13 confirmed cases of Covid-19 in New Zealand, bringing our total to date to 52. ...
A chronological listing of news articles linked to on the Skeptical Science Facebook Page during the past week, i.e., Sun, Mar 15, 2020 through Sat, Mar 21, 2020 Editor's Pick Now Isn’t the Time to Forget About Our Climate Change EffortsTasha Tilberg, Lindsey Wixson, and Liu Wen photographed ...
by Jan Rivers The article has been corrected to show that it was Ewen MacAskill, former Guardian journalist and not Luke Harding who travelled to meet Edward Snowden with journalist Glenn Greenwald and filmmaker Laura Poitras. Some of the Guardian’s well-known journalists who did not sign the protest letter are ...
by Cultural Worker Late March 2020 amidst the virus. With gigs crashing and burning all around it was without much hope that I called a long standing rest home booking: “ Hi, I’m supposed to be entertaining at your place this afternoon – is it still on?” “”If you don’t ...
Whenever people demand real change from their politicians, we're told that "politics is the art of the possible". The implication is that change isn't possible, so we'd better just get used to the sucky status quo. But now that there's a pandemic, a lot of things we were previously told ...
Together: In leading New Zealand through the Covid-19 Pandemic, the Prime Minister could do a lot worse than allow herself to be guided by the spirit of collective sacrifice and co-operation that animated the New Zealanders of 80 years ago. Most Kiwis alive today have had no opportunity to prove their ...
It is said that generals fight the last war. In the case of the early stages of the Global Financial Crisis (GFC) they had learned from the Great Depression of the 1930s and they fought intelligently and successfully. Later their advice would be ignored in favour of the Austerians who ...
Solidarity Forever: All over the world, the arrival of the Covid-19 virus has exposed the fragility of the walls we erect around ourselves and our loved ones. It has shattered our illusions of autonomy and revealed to us how utterly dependent we all are on other human-beings. Finally, we see ...
Looking across the various arguments for/against the leading candidates to take the Democratic Nomination, you might honestly be very hard pressed to tell. There are a number of things that have now started happening since Amy Klobuchar and “Mayor Pete” Buttigieg both threw the towel in and immediately (and ...
by Daphna Whitmore Abortion is no longer in the Crimes Act in New Zealand. The law reform passed yesterday and now abortion is a medical matter between a woman and her doctor. Many women’s groups and progressive people have campaigned for reform for decades. The women’s liberation movement and some ...
Doug Specht, University of Westminster and Julio Gimenez, University of Westminster When fake news, misreporting and alternative facts are everywhere, reading the news can be a challenge. Not only is there plenty of misinformation about the coronavirus pandemic, climate change and other scientific topics floating around social media, you also ...
Michael Baker, University of Otago and Nick Wilson, University of OtagoWith some of the toughest border restrictions and a newly-announced NZ$500 million boost to health services, New Zealand is among a small number of countries with a strategy to contain the COVID-19 pandemic. New Zealand is also fortunate in ...
As expected, the government has introduced a sessional order to allow Parliament to operate during the pandemic. You can read it on the Order Paper here, but the short version is that questions and motions can be filed electronicly, select committees can work remotely, and the the Business Committee can ...
Axel Bruns, Queensland University of Technology; Daniel Angus, Queensland University of Technology; Timothy Graham, Queensland University of Technology, and Tobias R. Keller, Queensland University of Technology News and views about coronavirus has spread via social media in a way that no health emergency has done before. Platforms like Twitter, Facebook, ...
So you’ve recently returned from overseas, come into contact with someone who tested positive, got a bit of a dry cough yourself or perhaps just want to self isolate for 14 days to avoid other people who might have COVID-19. Here are a few tips and tricks to help get ...
Our Good Fortune: Precisely because she has never been an ideologue (she calls herself a “pragmatic idealist”) Jacinda Ardern has a political nimbleness and spontaneity which, when infused with her exceptional emotional intelligence, produces spectacular demonstrations of leadership. Jacinda's empathic political personality contrasts sharply with the less-than-sunny ways of her ...
The Abortion Legislation Bill has just passed its third reading, 68-51. NZ First MPs bailed because their referendum amendment didn't pass, but there were plenty of MPs to provide a majority without them. The bill is a long way from perfect - most significantly, it subjects pregnant people who need ...
As most of the world tries to suppress the coronavirus spread, some countries are going it alone – trying to manage the pandemic through so-called “herd immunity”. Herd immunity means letting a large number of people catch a disease, and hence develop immunity to it, to stop the virus spreading. ...
So, as I sit at home with a very, very slight headache (i.e. not at work when I would otherwise be so), the now familiar figure of Ashley Bloomfield reports eight new confirmed cases of COVID-19 including two in Waikato. A surprise, given that we had just twelve yesterday? No. ...
Many who advocated for, and voted for, the current Coalition – particularly those who voted Labour and the Green Party – expected to see a sea change in the reality of social services. A real, deep change of attitude, approach of process through which the system negotiates the difficult and ...
All 45 New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) personnel are either on their way back to New Zealand, or already in the country, according to Defence Minister Ron Mark."Twenty-eight personnel arrived back in New Zealand last week and are in isolation at the Royal New Zealand Air Force base in ...
The COVID-19 situation in New Zealand is moving fast - and to avoid what we've seen overseas - the Government's response must be to move fast too. We're committed to keeping New Zealanders safe and well-informed every step of the way. ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters is encouraging New Zealanders overseas to stay where they are amid the COVID-19 pandemic. "We are reaching a point where the best option for most New Zealanders offshore is to shelter in place, by preparing to safely stay where they are.” "This includes following the instructions ...
Rt. Hon. Winston Peters, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Foreign Affairs Foreign Minister Winston Peters is encouraging the tens of thousands of New Zealanders travelling overseas to consider sheltering in place, in light of COVID-19. “Since 18 March, we have been warning New Zealanders offshore that the window for flying ...
Ground-breaking law has passed that will decriminalise abortion and ensure women and pregnant people seeking abortions have compassionate healthcare. ...
The Green Party says that the measures announced by the Government today will help families and businesses to prioritise our collective health and wellbeing in the response to COVID-19. ...
As New Zealanders brace for a global downturn due to Covid-19, Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters says his Coalition Government’s rescue package "more significant" than any other he's seen around the world. The Coalition is to reveal a multi-billion-dollar stimulus plan on Tuesday afternoon designed to cushion the economic blow ...
We know some people are feeling anxious about COVID-19. While the situation is serious, New Zealand has a world-class health system and we’re well-prepared to keep New Zealanders safe. ...
Darroch Ball MP, Spokesperson for Law and Order A New Zealand First member’s bill drawn from the ballot today seeks to overhaul the youth justice system by instigating a system of demerit points for offences committed by young offenders. “The ‘Youth Justice Demerit Point System’ will put an end to ...
Rt. Hon. Winston Peters, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister for Foreign AffairsHonourable Ministers, Members of Parliament, members of the diplomatic corps, distinguished guests and official delegates, ladies and gentlemen – Welcome to you all.We are also privileged to have with us here today Ms Izumi Nakamitsu, the United Nations ...
Fletcher Tabuteau MP, Under-Secretary for Disarmament and Arms ControlThe Public Advisory Committee for Disarmament and Arms Control (PACDAC) is holding a Parliamentary Symposium on Tuesday to mark the 50th Anniversary of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) hosted by PACDAC Chair and Under-Secretary for Disarmament and ...
Hon. Shane Jones, Minister for Regional Economic DevelopmentThe Provincial Growth Fund is investing $6 million in a land-based aquaculture pilot to see whether yellowtail kingfish can be commercially farmed in Northland, Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones announced today.A recirculating land-based aquaculture system will be built and operated ...
Hon. Shane Jones, Minister for ForestryForestry Minister Shane Jones has announced two One Billion Trees programme grants of more than $1.18 million to help hapu and iwi in Northland restore whenua and moana.“Many communities around Aotearoa have benefited from One Billion Trees funding since the programme was launched ...
Rt. Hon. Winston Peters, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Foreign AffairsAhead of the start of the criminal trial in the Netherlands on 9 March, Foreign Minister Winston Peters has reaffirmed the need to establish truth, accountability and justice for the downing of Flight MH17 ...
Rt. Hon. Winston Peters, Deputy Prime MinisterThe Government is investing $19.9 million through the Provincial Growth Fund in a game-changing hydrogen energy facility in South Taranaki, Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters announced today.“The development of alternative energy initiatives like this one is vital for the Taranaki region’s economy. ...
Rt. Hon. Winston Peters, Minister for Foreign AffairsForeign Affairs Minister Winston Peters says New Zealand is partnering with countries in the Pacific to ensure they are prepared for, and able to respond to the global threat of Coronavirus (COVID-19).“There are currently no confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the ...
The Government has fast-tracked up to $1 million to help Air New Zealand move urgent freight to and from New Zealand, with the first flight to Shanghai leaving tonight, Transport Minister Phil Twyford announced today. Phil Twyford says it’s crucial that trade in vital goods such as medical supplies and ...
New Zealand will temporarily remove tariffs on all medical and hygiene imports needed for the COVID-19 response. Trade and Export Growth Minister David Parker and Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Kris Faafoi said today that the New Zealand Customs Service will apply tariff concessions to all diagnostic reagents and testing ...
Minister of Finance Grant Robertson has clarified that the changes to the wage subsidy scheme announced yesterday mean that employers should be passing on the full subsidy to workers, except in the case where the person’s normal income is less than the level of the subsidy. “We still want employers ...
Medical face masks from the national reserve supply are now being distributed to District Health Boards, while at the same time local production is being ramped up. Yesterday more than 640,000 masks were sent to DHBS – that is an immediate two week supply, with more to follow in coming ...
The Government has made modifications to the wage subsidy scheme to ensure people don’t lose their jobs during the national lockdown. These changes will soften the impact of COVID-19 on workers, families and businesses, and position them to exit the lockdown and look to recovery, Finance Minister Grant Robertson says. ...
Farmers whose herds were culled in response to the outbreak of Mycoplasma bovis will be able to minimise the tax treatment of their income in some circumstances. Revenue Minister Stuart Nash says Cabinet has agreed to change the law. It means farmers may be eligible to spread their income over ...
A $27 million dollar package, effective immediately, is being provided to social sector services and community groups to ensure they can continue to provide essential support to communities as we stay at home as a nation to stop the spread of COVID-19, Minister for Social Development Carmel Sepuloni announced. “At ...
“The guilty plea today will provide some relief to the many people whose lives were shattered by what happened on March 15,” Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said. “These guilty pleas and conviction bring accountability for what happened and also save the families who lost loved ones, those who were injured, ...
The Prime Minister is holding daily press conferences to update New Zealanders on the Government's response to COVID-19. Links to videos and transcripts of these updates below. These transcripts also include All of Government press conferences led by Director Ministry of Health's Director-General of Health Dr Ashley Bloomfield. 25 March: Live update from the Prime ...
Frontline Police numbers have broken through the 10,000 mark for the first time in history as officers step forward to keep the community safe during the COVID19 lockdown. “Two Police graduations in Auckland and Wellington in the past week have been conducted in unprecedented circumstances,” Police Minister Stuart Nash said. ...
Urgent legislation has been passed to support the package of economic and social measures needed to recover from the impact of the coronavirus outbreak. “The COVID-19 Response (Taxation and Social Assistance Urgent Measures) Bill will cushion New Zealanders from the worst economic impacts of the COVID-19 outbreak,” said Revenue Minister ...
From tomorrow, Government support for farmers and growers affected by drought will be expanded and extended across the country, with access to Rural Assistance Payments (RAPS) available throughout the North Island, parts of the South Island and the Chatham Islands, Social Development Minister Carmel Sepuloni announced. “These challenging conditions have ...
Parliament has passed amendments to legislation that give the Secretary of Education stronger powers to act in the fight to limit the spread of COVID-19, Education Minister Chris Hipkins said today. “They are part of a suite of changes passed under the COVID-19 Response (Urgent Management Measures) Legislation Bill,” Chris ...
Canada, Australia, Chile, Brunei and Myanmar have joined forces with New Zealand and Singapore by committing to keep supply chains open and remove any existing trade restrictive measures on essential goods, especially medical supplies, in the face of the Covid-19 crisis. Trade and Export Growth Minister David Parker today welcomed ...
Immediate freeze on rent increases Tenancies will not be terminated during the lock-down period, unless the parties agree, or in limited circumstances Tenants who had previously given notice can stay in their if they need to stay in the tenancy during the lock-down period Tenants will still be able to ...
As New Zealand unites to lock-down in the fight against COVID-19, the Finance Minister is urging all businesses and workers to stay connected over the next four weeks. “We understand the extreme pressure many businesses are under right now. I know most business owners think of their workers as family ...
A State of National Emergency has been declared across the country as the Government pulls out all the stops to curtail the spread of COVID-19. “Today we put in place our country’s second ever State of National Emergency as we fight a global pandemic, save New Zealanders’ lives and prevent ...
Mr Speaker I wish to make a Ministerial Statement under Standing Order 347 in relation to the recent declaration of a State of National Emergency. Having considered the advice of the Director Civil Defence Emergency Management, the Minister of Civil Defence declared a State of National Emergency for the whole of ...
People needing to travel on domestic flights, trains and Cook Strait ferries to get home before the country moves into level 4 lock-down tomorrow night will be able to continue using the passenger services until midnight on Friday, Transport Minister Phil Twyford said today. Domestic passenger services, particularly ferries, have ...
The Government, retail banks and the Reserve Bank are today announcing a major financial support package for home owners and businesses affected by the economic impacts of COVID-19. The package will include a six month principal and interest payment holiday for mortgage holders and SME customers whose incomes have been ...
Minister of Transport Phil Twyford has today announced details of the Government’s support package to keep key air freight moving and ensure New Zealanders retain access to essential goods during the four-week level 4 lockdown. “The Government is working with airlines and air freight operators to ensure New Zealand’s key ...
New Zealand moved up to COVID-19 Alert Level 3 – Restrict New Zealand to move up to COVID-19 Alert Level 4 – Eliminate, in 48 hours Two-staged approach to give people and businesses time to prepare Level 3, from tomorrow Non-essential businesses must close All events and gatherings must be ...
Good afternoon The Cabinet met this morning to discuss our next actions in the fight against COVID-19. Like the rest of the world, we are facing the potential for devastating impacts from this virus. But, through decisive action, and through working together, do we have a small window to get ...
The Government is announcing significant further support for the economy, workers and businesses as the country unites to prepare for Alert Level 4 in the fight against COVID-19. Cabinet today agreed to remove the cap on the Government’s wage subsidy scheme, which will inject a further $4 billion into the ...
The Government is backing the Reserve Bank’s latest action to support the economy by reducing longer-term interest rates, meaning lower costs for businesses and mortgage holders, and a lower currency to help our exporters. The Minister of Finance has signed a memorandum of understanding and a letter of indemnity with ...
The Government has asked the Commerce Commission to take account of the exceptional circumstances created by COVID-19 when monitoring business behaviour in coming weeks. “The purpose of my request to the Commerce Commission is to make sure businesses can work together in ways that will allow them to provide ...
The New Zealand Government has temporarily closed its High Commission in Bridgetown, Barbados and its Embassy in Yangon, Myanmar due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “Due to the increasing scarcity of air links in and out of Bridgetown and Yangon, and the pressure COVID-19 is placing ...
Associate Health and Whānau Ora Minister Peeni Henare has today announced the Government’s plan to support Māori communities and businesses in the face of COVID-19. “Our Government’s $12.1 billion economic package will help many Māori whānau, workers and businesses, whether it’s through wage subsidies, income support and worker redeployment, or ...
The Government and the hospitality industry have worked together to produce guidelines to assist with managing and reducing transmission of COVID-19, Health Minister David Clark announced today. The guidelines developed between the Government, Hospitality New Zealand and SkyCity Entertainment Group, set out how the new restrictions on physical distancing and ...
Four stage Alert System for COVID-19 announced New Zealand moved up to COVID-19 Alert Level 2 – Reduce Contact New Zealanders over 70 and those with certain medical conditions told to stay at home as much as they can to reduce risk of contact with the virus Workplaces to implement ...
Kia ora koutou katoa I’m speaking directly to all New Zealanders today to give you as much certainty and clarity as we can as we fight Covid-19. Over the past few weeks, the world has changed. And it has changed very quickly. In February it would have seemed unimaginable to ...
New Zealand and Singapore have jointly committed to keep supply chains open and to remove any existing trade restrictive measures on essential goods, especially medical supplies, in the face of the Covid-19 crisis. Trade and Export Growth Minister David Parker welcomed the commitment. “This is an important collective response, and ...
JOINT MINISTERIAL STATEMENT BY SINGAPORE AND NEW ZEALAND AFFIRMING COMMITMENT TO ENSURING SUPPLY CHAIN CONNECTIVITY AMIDST THE COVID-19 SITUATION The COVID-19 pandemic is a serious global crisis. As part of our collective response to combat COVID-19, Singapore and New Zealand are committed to maintaining open and connected supply chains. We ...
Travel restrictions, closing our border to almost all travelers came into force from 23:59 on Thursday 19 March 2020 (NZDT). All airlines were informed of these restrictions before they came into force. Immigration Minister Iain Lees-Galloway says “The transit of passengers between Australia and New Zealand has been agreed upon and ...
The Government has allocated $100 million to help redeploy workers affected by the economic impact of COVID-19, with the hard-hit region of Gisborne-Tairāwhiti to be the first helped, Economic Development Minister Phil Twyford, Forestry and Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones and Employment Minister Willie Jackson announced today. Phil Twyford ...
The Provincial Growth Fund (PGF) is ramping up support for Tairāwhiti’s wood processing sector to bolster the region’s economy at a time of heightened uncertainty, Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones announced today. Following earlier announcements today of a regional support package for Tairāwhiti, Minister Jones has also announced a ...
The Coalition Government has stepped in to protect Air New Zealand with a significant financial deal that protects essential routes and allows the company to keep operating. The Government and Air New Zealand have agreed a debt funding agreement through commercial 24-month loan facilities of up to $900 million*. The ...
The Government has taken further measures to protect New Zealanders from the COVID-19 virus, effectively stopping all people from boarding a plane to New Zealand from 11:59pm today, except for returning New Zealanders, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced today. New Zealanders’ partners, legal guardians or any dependent children travelling with ...
The Government has reinforced its commitment to protecting the health of New Zealanders from COVID-19 through the cancellation of indoor events with more than 100 people. “Protecting the health of New Zealanders is our number one priority, and that means we need to reduce the risks associated with large gatherings,” ...
The New Zealand Government is advising New Zealanders not to travel overseas due to COVID-19, Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced. “We are raising our travel advice to the highest level: do not travel,” Mr Peters said. “This is the first time the New Zealand Government has advised New Zealanders ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By David Irving, Adjunct Professor, University of Technology Sydney Blood is like milk, not toilet paper. You can’t just buy a lot of it and save it for later – you need to have a regular, fresh supply for patients who need it. ...
Newsroom Pro’s Bernard Hickey and Kiwibank Chief Economist Jarrod Kerr zoom out to lunch to talk about the Reserve Bank’s latest move to help banks lend to corporates. The Reserve Bank announced on Monday it would lend to banks dealing with distressed corporate borrowers, opening a new weekly Open ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jacinta Carroll, Senior Research Fellow, Counter Terrorism and Social Cohesion, National Security College, Australian National University There are now nearly 300 cases of COVID-19 linked to passengers who disembarked from the Ruby Princess cruise ship without any health checks from authorities. Amid ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Emily Brayshaw, Lecturer, Fashion and Design History, Theory, and Thinking, University of Technology Sydney Once again, global crafting communities are stepping up to help in a crisis, sewing face masks desperately needed in American hospitals to help stop the spread of COVID-19. ...
Retailer Smiths City has reached an agreement with ASB Bank to delay a $1.5 million dollar repayment of a loan due tomorrow. It also said it is starting talks with potential investors to support the business. The company said Covid-19 has caused an unforeseen and unprecedented shock to the business, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Quentin Grafton, Director of the Centre for Water Economics, Environment and Policy, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University In 1997, a bestselling book by Jared Diamond purported to explain how the West “won” world dominance based on the good luck ...
Figures from around the world show that Covid-19, while vicious and contagious, does behave like other infections, rampaging quickly through a community, hospitalising a small percentage and causing death in an even smaller percentage. The World Health ...
Video of PM Ardern’s Post Cabinet Press Conference is available here: New Zealand Labour Party - #LIVE: Post-Cabinet Press Conference 2 March 2020 Today Cabinet was focused on the response to protect NZers from COVID-19. Ardern outlined ...
Analysis by Keith Rankin To get a correct picture, we need regional data – indeed sub-regional statistics – because the virus does not respect political boundaries. Unfortunately, it is very hard to get regional data from European countries. The Johns Hopkins data – most widely used by the media (and ...
An extract from Jacinda Ardern: A New Kind of Leader, the brand new biography of the prime minister by Madeleine Chapman, formerly of this parish.Out today, Madeleine’s biography of the prime minister is magnificent. We cracked up. We had a wee cry. We’ve never read a political biography like it. Tomorrow ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Misha Ketchell, Editor & Executive Director, The Conversation You might have seen recent mediareports in various outlets of a paper, commissioned by the federal government, reporting the coronavirus advice of a group of experts from Group Of Eight universities. Dated March ...
Analysis: On the face of it, New Zealand's epidemic curve is going exponential. But are case numbers really rising for the same reasons as overseas? If you've been following any news about Covid-19 over the past three months, you've heard of The Curve. It looks, variously, like a sky-high pillar ...
MediaRoom column: A decision to block publication of community newspapers under the State of Emergency could be changed tomorrow. Tim Murphy reports. A decision to stop community newspapers from circulating in the country's suburbs, towns and settlements appears to have been an example of officials scratching their regulatory itch. On Friday, ...
A Waikato berry grower has been ordered to pay over $76,000 for employment law breaches. Olde Berry Farm has been fined $50,000 and forced to pay over $16,000 in unpaid wages and holiday pay. Its managing director, Andrew Molly, has been made personally responsible fo an additional $10,000 in penalties. ...
The Government has set up a dedicated service for reporting fears of price gouging, as Jacinda Ardern flags the expansion of "essential services" Kiwis concerned about potential price gouging at supermarkets during the coronavirus lockdown can now report the issue directly to government officials, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has announced. Ardern ...
A new report by the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment into the ban on new petroleum exploration permits outside onshore Taranaki has been welcomed by the Petroleum Exploration and Production Association of New Zealand (PEPANZ). "This ...
The takeover offer for Abano Healthcare is off the table - a casualty of the Covid-19 pandemic. The company said the $150-million takeover scheme agreement with Adams NZ Bidco Ltd. was terminated, with no fees payable by either party, as a result as the material adverse change to the company's ...
The New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) contribution to the successful mission to train members of the Iraqi Security Forces to combat ISIS is at an end and the first troops from the final contingent have arrived home. Since December the NZDF has had 45 personnel ...
On Sunday it was reported there is a high demand for New Zealand Police's online form to report lockdown breaches. This news should act as a red flag, signalling the potentially corrosive effects on public trust within Aotearoa that may occur in these troubled times. Concerns have already been expressed ...
The Prime Minister is giving the latest updates on the government's fight against the impact of Covid-19 at her weekly post-Cabinet media conference. Watch live here. ...
Watch the replay of our fourth live Q&A session with Dr Ayesha Verrall, a senior lecturer at Otago University who specialises in infectious diseases. Ayesha Verrall is an infectious diseases physician and senior lecturer at Otago University's Department of Pathology and Molecular Medicine (Wellington). Dr Verrall has been monitoring the spread and impact ...
Recognising how much of the burden women are carrying in this crisis - and how much they always carry - may take us closer to a society in which caring work is seen and valued for the essential work it is, writes Jess Berentson-Shaw COVID-19 has thrown a window wide ...
You’ve lost your job and your income has reduced due to the Covid-19 crisis, so how do you hold onto your home? Mortgage adviser Cameron Marcroft talks to Bonnie Sumner.Tell us about the changes you’ve seen since the lockdown began. We’ve had many enquiries coming through from both existing ...
When officials – including police themselves – don’t seem clear on the rules around movement, it makes it harder for everyone to do the right thing, writes Andrew Geddis.Aotearoa New Zealand has committed to trying to eradicate the virus that causes Covid-19 from its shores. To do that, as a ...
The EMA is urging the Government to postpone the planned significant increase to the minimum wage on Wednesday, as employers grapple with keeping their doors open amid COVID-19. Chief Executive Brett O’Riley says that while it may be politically ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Wark, Conjoint Professor, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Newcastle As the number of COVID-19 cases around the world continues to climb, hospitals are under increased pressure to provide emergency care for the most severely ill patients. What does ...
Philanthropy New Zealand will release a weekly update to share philanthropic and grantmaking activity and insight as the sector seeks to support communities in the wake of COVID-19. This update is a general public document, provided to Ministers, ...
By Elias Nanau in Port Moresby Indonesia has issued a stern warning over illegal border crossers from Papua New Guinea. This follows Indonesia stepping up its security measures at the border in response to the global Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic. The First Secretary to the governor for West Sepik, Adam ...
As two staff members test positive for Covid-19, police are grappling with ways to keep their workforce safe while still enforcing the rules of the lockdown, Marc Daalder reports Two police staff have tested positive for Covid-19, Police Commissioner Mike Bush said Monday, while nearly 400 others are now in self-isolation ...
The Covid-19 crisis in media has claimed New Zealand’s last surviving radio station solely dedicated to sport. Amid a wider crisis in media funding right now, the first outlet has been forced to close the doors – and it isn’t likely to return.Staff at Radio Sport have been told that the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Brendan Coates, Program Director, Household Finances, Grattan Institute New Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development estimates paint a grim picture of the direct economic costs of public health measures to contain the spread of COVID-19, and the need for more government support ...
Tips on how television can help educate your kids, for parents who have to keep working.It feels as if a great many parents are simply flourishing during this lockdown with fairy gardens, bird song and mason jars, daily bongo drum dancing and essays written by three-year-old prodigies about how satisfying ...
How is Covid-19 spreading within the country? Newsroom is collating information as it's available to paint a picture of what's happening. There were 76 new cases of Covid-19 in New Zealand, up from the previous day's 63 new cases. Details of how many tests have been completed are now being ...
Supermarkets and some publishers are favoured by the government’s imposition of severe restrictions on what we can do and from whom we can buy during the Covid-19 lock-down. But one consumer watchdog is challenging the legality of an edict by Commerce Minister Kris Faafoi which favours supermarkets while Act leader ...
Robyn Hunt writes on the challenges facing disabled people and what needs to be done to support them as we go into lockdown, and beyond.Disabled people at higher risk need more help. Many of the almost one quarter of New Zealanders who are disabled are doing it hard as the ...
An online focus is coming back to bite newspaper companies, the Otago Daily Times’ editor says. David Williams reports. Despite advertising falling off a cliff, and its community papers dormant, the group editor of the country’s third-biggest publisher says there haven’t been layoffs and it’s unlikely any of its newspapers ...
Cabinet ministers will patch into a video conference this afternoon to discuss the Covid-19 lockdown, including complaints about high prices at supermarkets. ...
Talks will be ongoing between local leaders and Government in an effort to have them deploy both personnel and other resources to Tairāwhiti to support regional measures to contain COVID-19. Mayor Rehette Stoltz, Gisborne District Council ...
The New Zealand Taxpayers' Union is joining calls for the Government to extend submission deadlines for Select Committees during the immediate fallout of the COVID-19 crisis. New Zealand Taxpayers' Union spokesman Louis Houlbrooke says, "Old political ...
FIRST Union welcomes the announcements made by supermarket chains Foodstuffs and Progressive Enterprises that workers will receive lockdown pay increases but is cautioning that the details of these promises matter and all essential workers should be earning ...
By Imelda V. Abano in Manila The novel coronavirus now sweeping the globe has left many countries struggling to cope with rising numbers of infections and journalists grappling with how to best cover this evolving public health crisis. In addition to questions about how governments, health care systems and ...
The government has fast-tracked up to $1 million to help Air New Zealand move urgent freight in and out of the country - with the first flight to Shanghai leaving tonight. ...
Join Leonie Hayden as she works through the first four weeks of Scotty Morrison’s Māori Made Easy.Kia ora e te whānau, welcome to MME with me! I know a lot of us have this little green book on our shelves. Maybe you bought it and never got round to opening ...
The Free Speech Coalition is preparing to launch an urgent judicial review of the Ministry of Culture and Heritage’s decision to deem non-daily newspapers and publications not an essential service for the purposes of the COVID-19 Level-4 nationwide shutdown. ...
Increasingly concerned home support workers are worried that without adequate personal protective equipment and mandatory protocols for risk assessments, they may end up spreading COVID-19 around the homes and communities they work in. The news that 21 ...
The kiwifruit industry is fighting for survival as it tries to pick and pack the season's crop while enforcing Covid-19 restrictions. The apple industry is also predicting problems with at least 10 percent of the crop not likely to be picked. The nationwide lockdown has come right in the middle ...
The Reserve Bank is ramping up support for businesses and banks by accepting corporate debt and other assets as security for loans to banks. The latest measure is designed to pump more money into the economy through the banking system. Assistant governor Christian Hawkesby said the aim is to encourage ...
The first days of national lockdown have truly brought out the best in our social media stars. Alex Casey counts down the classics. Yesterday I got served with the Instagram notification that normally only pops up around Christmas-time. “You’re all caught up!” it chirps, “you’ve seen every post from the last ...
In our new series The Lockdown Letters, some of New Zealand’s best writers tell us what they’ve been up to in the days of Covid-19 alert level four. Today, writer and doctor Glenn Colquhoun goes full epistolary, with a letter to Hone Tūwhare – and his Travelling Band of Constant Companions.Kia ...
By John Gerritsen of RNZ News The $5 billion foreign student industry is facing a massive downturn with as many as half of this year’s enrolments now in doubt. Immigration New Zealand figures show that of 76,203 valid study visas at 15 March, 60,348 were in New Zealand, and ...
As New Zealand looks toward an uncertain future in all areas of life, Auckland school principal Claire Amos sees an opportunity to change high school education for the better. The last week has been an interesting one for school leaders. Monday arrived, it was all on – schools were closing the ...
The Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern told Morning Report, she’s expecting the country to be restricted to visitors for some time after the lockdown period ends. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Albert Van Dijk, Professor, Water and Landscape Dynamics, Fenner School of Environment & Society, Australian National University 2019 was the year Australians confronted the fact that a healthy environment is more than just a pretty waterfall in a national park; a nice ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Yale Z Wong, Research Associate, Institute of Transport and Logistics Studies, University of Sydney ZMinimising health risks has rightly been the focus of discussion during the coronavirus outbreak. This includes efforts to protect both frontline public transport employees and the travelling public. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tyler Riordan, PhD Candidate, The University of Queensland Along with home delivery of groceries, pharmaceuticals and alcohol, demand for food delivery is booming. Services such as Uber Eats and Deliveroo have become essential to cafes and restaurants that can now only sell ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Nishanathe Dahanayake, PhD Candidate, Ethics/Philosophy, University of New England The coronavirus pandemic is challenging our health, work, family, food and fun. It’s also disturbing our peace of mind and forcing us to question our own existence. We are each asking our own ...
ASB sees 6 percent GDP fall in 2020; Chorus, King Salmon and Stride reassure their profits are still on track; Augusta withdraws fund on rent relief fears; US stocks slide again; US jobs data looms ...
Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Conditions for leaving lockdown explored, nation’s first death from Covid-19 reported, and Australian govt continues to discriminate against NZers.When will the Covid-19 lockdown across New Zealand end? Short answer – when it’s actually safe to do so. Officially, the current state ...
For all The Spinoff’s latest coverage of Covid-19 see here. Read Siouxsie Wiles’s work here. New Zealand is currently in alert level four. The country is shut down, apart from essential services. For updated official government advice, see here.The Spinoff’s coverage of the Covid-19 outbreak is funded by The Spinoff Members. To support this work, join The ...
People over 70 and those with underlying health conditions faced the lockdown four days before the rest of the country - but some of the elderly still aren't taking any notice. ...
Steve Braunias presents a photo essay of the one thing that New Zealanders are holding close to their hearts during the Lockdown: their bookshelves. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern's bookcase at Premier House in Wellington. The photograph which she posted this weekend on her Instagram page reveals two novels by Elizabeth ...
Police start “initial” investigation into abuse at a notorious psychiatric hospital. David Williams reports The Government has missed a 90-day deadline for responding to a United Nations committee over torture at Lake Alice’s child and adolescent unit in the 1970s. However, in a move that might represent a glimmer of ...
Emma Espiner makes a slow and deliberate trip to the supermarket yesterday, where she finds we are approaching social distancing in a very New Zealand way It took me three attempts to go to the supermarket. Two days ago I saw the cheerless conga line snaking around the car park ...
Dr Neal Curtis looks at all the points of implicit trust within society, and how Covid-19 is revealing how important this trust is As I stood in the queue to get into our local supermarket it was encouraging to see how carefully people were engaging in social distancing to minimise ...
From growing up on the remote East Cape to becoming a Black Fern and a lawyer, Ruahei Demant wants to show young Māori that anything is possible. In the long run, Ruahei Demant wants to be a sports lawyer. But in the short term, the Black Ferns first-five is juggling her ...
Having toughed it out alone with Covid-19 and survived, one Kiwi man learned the hard way how self-isolation really can save lives, writes Jill Herron Choosing to self-isolate early with only Sophie the spaniel as company led to a lonesome, rough ride through Covid-19 for a Christchurch asthmatic – but ...
As we begin what could become a long period of self-isolation, we encounter a dilemma. On the one hand, epidemiological research and recent global events show us the dangers of not responding swiftly to Covid-19. With community spread now within our shores, it is critical that we follow government orders ...
Community health and care workers talk of their fear of infection - for themselves, their vulnerable clients and New Zealand Over the last few days, Newsroom has written several articles about the fact that thousands of home and community health care workers, who care for elderly, disabled and sick people, have ...
Calls are growing for extra payment for those who continue to head out to work every day, including many on very low wages.The Spinoff’s coverage of the Covid-19 outbreak is funded by The Spinoff Members. To support this work, join The Spinoff Members here.Two petitions have been circulating over the weekend ...
Covid-19 will transform society, just as the plague and smallpox transformed nations centuries ago. This time, however, we have something they didn’t, writes historian Ayelet Zoran-Rosen.Throughout history, epidemics and pandemics have been a threat to people and states. They strike societies with little or no notice, upend their social and ...
Open mike 22/06/2011 
by Phil Duncan For Marxists, a key concern about social trends is their context – not just their causes, but why they happen when they do. Events and phenomena have causes, but they also are time or period-specific. While much of the left have capitulated recently to postmodernism, most notably ...3 hours ago
Since the lockdown began, we've all suddenly been reminded who the actually essential workers in our society are: not the people at the top who pay themselves the big bucks and rort the perks, but the people at the bottom they screw over and squeeze: cleaners, warehouse staff, truck drivers ...4 hours ago
Kia ora! As I've watched nearly all my remaining work vanish over the past couple of days, it has occured to me that one good way to keep me away from arguing with fools on Twitter all the time (in the knowledge that all we're really doing is processing our ...5 hours ago
Aotearoa New Zealand has committed to trying to extirpate the virus that causes COVID-19 from its shores. To do that, as a society we’ve moved to “Level 4”. That means adapting to unprecedented restrictions on our personal freedoms, particularly to our rights to move freely and associate with friends and ...6 hours ago
. . Lock Down: Day 4 – A photo essay with observations . March 29: Usual wake up routine as RNZ snaps on my radio-clock. Jim Mora’s voice slowly enters my conciousness; there’s talk of a second wave of covid19 taking hold in South Korea; the week in Parliament – ...8 hours ago
Yesterday, New Zealand recorded its first Covid-19 related death on the West Coast. Unfortunately this is unlikely to be the only fatality, with the virus now being found in every region of the country.However despite the significant danger, people are still unfortunately breaching lockdown rules.There’s really only one main very ...8 hours ago
The kids did surprisingly well today – meltdown count was about 3, and mostly fairly short ones. (And a fourth while I was writing.) Game-wise I had a go at Fell Seal: Arbiter’s Mark. It’s a fairly standard RPG with turn-based combat and what they call a “mature storyline” (it ...22 hours ago
by Don Franks Hi David, Nice hearing from you, I’m glad to hear you’re getting by okay in these grim times. You asked how’s it going for us back here in New Zealand. You would have heard that the whole country is locked down and with breaks for exercise and ...24 hours ago
A chronological listing of news articles linked to on the Skeptical Science Facebook Page during the past week, i.e., Sun, Mar 22, 2020 through Sat, Mar 28, 2020 Articles Linked to on Facebook Sun, Mar 22, 2020 In Just 10 Years, Warming Has Increased the Odds of Disasters by Chelsea Harvey, ...2 days ago
The CV-19 (COVID) pandemic has seen the imposition of a government ordered national quarantine and the promulgation of a series of measures designed to spread the burden of pain and soften the economic blow on the most strategically important and most vulnerable sectors of society. The national narrative is framed ...2 days ago
Fortune's Children: Under extraordinary pressure, the leader of the Government and the leader of the Opposition will each show us what they are made of. Have they been blessed with intelligence, grace, wit, poise, toughness, empathy and humour – and in what measure? More importantly, to what extent have they ...2 days ago
Society-wise, aside from the specific morbidity shall we say of the medically-oriented aspects of this COVID-19 crisis, what is unfolding before the world is in more than one way an instructive study of humanity and reactions to a high intensity, high stress environment in real time. Friends, we are at ...3 days ago
Right now low waged and insecure workers are feeling the economic brunt of the looming #Covid19 Recession. In response legal advocate Toby Cooper* and hospitality and worker’s rights advocate Chloe Ann-King, are putting together a series of legal blogs about your employment rights: In this legal blog we outline some ...3 days ago
Just before midnight on Wednesday March 25, Aotearoa New Zealand entered a countrywide alert level four lockdown. For at least the next four weeks, everyone who isn’t an essential worker is confined to their bubble. We are doing this to stop the explosive growth in people contracting and dying from ...3 days ago
Kia ora my name is Chloe Ann-King* and I am the founder of Raise the Bar, a campaign and non-profit that gives free legal aid, advocacy and tautoko to hospitality workers in Aotearoa. Right now all over our country hospo workers are being fired at will, having shifts cut or being ...5 days ago
According to Newshub, Simon Bridges is open to joining a “grand coalition” with Labour as we hunker down to go into a month long lockdown. The idea is sound. Before now, the role of the opposition was to scrutinise and oppose. In the context of what almost amounts to a ...1 week ago
Kia ora my name is Chloe Ann-King* and I am the founder of Raise the Bar, a campaign and non-profit that gives free legal aid, advocacy and tautoko to hospitality workers in Aotearoa. Right now all over our country hospo workers are being fired at will, having shifts cut or ...1 week ago
A few days ago I was starting to write something about the pandemic, which now seems unconscionable. It took the form of a letter to an agony aunt:“Dear Deidre, I have an ugly confession. I am quite excited by Covid-19.”This is how the piece went:“I’m not a psychopath, honest. Although the ...1 week ago
I am a pundit, somebody who opines and comments on the news. There are no real qualifications to punditry though having a rudimentary way with words and good general knowledge helps. That is one reason there is a constant oversupply of would-be pundits and why it is quite hard to ...1 week ago
The coronavirus pandemic has of course had a major impact on individual lives and on societies as a whole. But, long after the crisis has passed (assuming it does), we will begin to realise that its real and lasting significance lies in the lessons it has taught us, if only ...1 week ago
COVID-19 has plunged Aotearoa New Zealand (indeed, the world) into territory that, while maybe not totally unprecedented, certainly hasn’t been seen during the lifetimes of most of us here today. Our borders are closed to non-citizens, we’re being told not to gather in groups of more than 500 outside/100 inside, ...1 week ago
Looking across the various arguments for/against the leading candidates to take the Democratic Nomination, you might honestly be very hard pressed to tell. There are a number of things that have now started happening since Amy Klobuchar and “Mayor Pete” Buttigieg both threw the towel in and immediately (and ...2 weeks ago
Some fave speeches: ...2 weeks ago
Many who advocated for, and voted for, the current Coalition – particularly those who voted Labour and the Green Party – expected to see a sea change in the reality of social services. A real, deep change of attitude, approach of process through which the system negotiates the difficult and ...2 weeks ago
All 45 New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) personnel are either on their way back to New Zealand, or already in the country, according to Defence Minister Ron Mark. "Twenty-eight personnel arrived back in New Zealand last week and are in isolation at the Royal New Zealand Air Force base in ...3 hours ago
The COVID-19 situation in New Zealand is moving fast - and to avoid what we've seen overseas - the Government's response must be to move fast too. We're committed to keeping New Zealanders safe and well-informed every step of the way. ...2 days ago
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The scale of what we face right now is unlike anything we have ever seen before. Overcoming it is our common purpose. ...5 days ago
The Government has fast-tracked up to $1 million to help Air New Zealand move urgent freight to and from New Zealand, with the first flight to Shanghai leaving tonight, Transport Minister Phil Twyford announced today. Phil Twyford says it’s crucial that trade in vital goods such as medical supplies and ...10 hours ago
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By David Irving, Adjunct Professor, University of Technology Sydney Blood is like milk, not toilet paper. You can’t just buy a lot of it and save it for later – you need to have a regular, fresh supply for patients who need it. ...55 mins ago
Newsroom Pro’s Bernard Hickey and Kiwibank Chief Economist Jarrod Kerr zoom out to lunch to talk about the Reserve Bank’s latest move to help banks lend to corporates. The Reserve Bank announced on Monday it would lend to banks dealing with distressed corporate borrowers, opening a new weekly Open ...2 hours ago
Retailer Smiths City has reached an agreement with ASB Bank to delay a $1.5 million dollar repayment of a loan due tomorrow. It also said it is starting talks with potential investors to support the business. The company said Covid-19 has caused an unforeseen and unprecedented shock to the business, ...2 hours ago
Figures from around the world show that Covid-19, while vicious and contagious, does behave like other infections, rampaging quickly through a community, hospitalising a small percentage and causing death in an even smaller percentage. The World Health ...3 hours ago
An extract from Jacinda Ardern: A New Kind of Leader, the brand new biography of the prime minister by Madeleine Chapman, formerly of this parish.Out today, Madeleine’s biography of the prime minister is magnificent. We cracked up. We had a wee cry. We’ve never read a political biography like it. Tomorrow ...3 hours ago
Analysis: On the face of it, New Zealand's epidemic curve is going exponential. But are case numbers really rising for the same reasons as overseas? If you've been following any news about Covid-19 over the past three months, you've heard of The Curve. It looks, variously, like a sky-high pillar ...3 hours ago
MediaRoom column: A decision to block publication of community newspapers under the State of Emergency could be changed tomorrow. Tim Murphy reports. A decision to stop community newspapers from circulating in the country's suburbs, towns and settlements appears to have been an example of officials scratching their regulatory itch. On Friday, ...3 hours ago
A Waikato berry grower has been ordered to pay over $76,000 for employment law breaches. Olde Berry Farm has been fined $50,000 and forced to pay over $16,000 in unpaid wages and holiday pay. Its managing director, Andrew Molly, has been made personally responsible fo an additional $10,000 in penalties. ...3 hours ago
The Government has set up a dedicated service for reporting fears of price gouging, as Jacinda Ardern flags the expansion of "essential services" Kiwis concerned about potential price gouging at supermarkets during the coronavirus lockdown can now report the issue directly to government officials, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has announced. Ardern ...3 hours ago
The takeover offer for Abano Healthcare is off the table - a casualty of the Covid-19 pandemic. The company said the $150-million takeover scheme agreement with Adams NZ Bidco Ltd. was terminated, with no fees payable by either party, as a result as the material adverse change to the company's ...3 hours ago
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern says while she has found no evidence of price gouging, the public will be able to to report any they see. ...3 hours ago
On Sunday it was reported there is a high demand for New Zealand Police's online form to report lockdown breaches. This news should act as a red flag, signalling the potentially corrosive effects on public trust within Aotearoa that may occur in these troubled times. Concerns have already been expressed ...3 hours ago
Watch the replay of our fourth live Q&A session with Dr Ayesha Verrall, a senior lecturer at Otago University who specialises in infectious diseases. Ayesha Verrall is an infectious diseases physician and senior lecturer at Otago University's Department of Pathology and Molecular Medicine (Wellington). Dr Verrall has been monitoring the spread and impact ...4 hours ago
Recognising how much of the burden women are carrying in this crisis - and how much they always carry - may take us closer to a society in which caring work is seen and valued for the essential work it is, writes Jess Berentson-Shaw COVID-19 has thrown a window wide ...4 hours ago
You’ve lost your job and your income has reduced due to the Covid-19 crisis, so how do you hold onto your home? Mortgage adviser Cameron Marcroft talks to Bonnie Sumner. Tell us about the changes you’ve seen since the lockdown began. We’ve had many enquiries coming through from both existing ...4 hours ago
As two staff members test positive for Covid-19, police are grappling with ways to keep their workforce safe while still enforcing the rules of the lockdown, Marc Daalder reports Two police staff have tested positive for Covid-19, Police Commissioner Mike Bush said Monday, while nearly 400 others are now in self-isolation ...6 hours ago
How is Covid-19 spreading within the country? Newsroom is collating information as it's available to paint a picture of what's happening. There were 76 new cases of Covid-19 in New Zealand, up from the previous day's 63 new cases. Details of how many tests have been completed are now being ...6 hours ago
Supermarkets and some publishers are favoured by the government’s imposition of severe restrictions on what we can do and from whom we can buy during the Covid-19 lock-down. But one consumer watchdog is challenging the legality of an edict by Commerce Minister Kris Faafoi which favours supermarkets while Act leader ...6 hours ago
An online focus is coming back to bite newspaper companies, the Otago Daily Times’ editor says. David Williams reports. Despite advertising falling off a cliff, and its community papers dormant, the group editor of the country’s third-biggest publisher says there haven’t been layoffs and it’s unlikely any of its newspapers ...7 hours ago
Cabinet ministers will patch into a video conference this afternoon to discuss the Covid-19 lockdown, including complaints about high prices at supermarkets. ...7 hours ago
The kiwifruit industry is fighting for survival as it tries to pick and pack the season's crop while enforcing Covid-19 restrictions. The apple industry is also predicting problems with at least 10 percent of the crop not likely to be picked. The nationwide lockdown has come right in the middle ...8 hours ago
The Reserve Bank is ramping up support for businesses and banks by accepting corporate debt and other assets as security for loans to banks. The latest measure is designed to pump more money into the economy through the banking system. Assistant governor Christian Hawkesby said the aim is to encourage ...8 hours ago
Supermarkets are set to open on Good Friday and Easter Sunday as the Government places extra scrutiny on their behaviour and pricing. ...11 hours ago
The Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern told Morning Report, she’s expecting the country to be restricted to visitors for some time after the lockdown period ends. ...11 hours ago
ASB sees 6 percent GDP fall in 2020; Chorus, King Salmon and Stride reassure their profits are still on track; Augusta withdraws fund on rent relief fears; US stocks slide again; US jobs data looms ...12 hours ago
Steve Braunias presents a photo essay of the one thing that New Zealanders are holding close to their hearts during the Lockdown: their bookshelves. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern's bookcase at Premier House in Wellington. The photograph which she posted this weekend on her Instagram page reveals two novels by Elizabeth ...14 hours ago
Police start “initial” investigation into abuse at a notorious psychiatric hospital. David Williams reports The Government has missed a 90-day deadline for responding to a United Nations committee over torture at Lake Alice’s child and adolescent unit in the 1970s. However, in a move that might represent a glimmer of ...14 hours ago
Emma Espiner makes a slow and deliberate trip to the supermarket yesterday, where she finds we are approaching social distancing in a very New Zealand way It took me three attempts to go to the supermarket. Two days ago I saw the cheerless conga line snaking around the car park ...14 hours ago
Dr Neal Curtis looks at all the points of implicit trust within society, and how Covid-19 is revealing how important this trust is As I stood in the queue to get into our local supermarket it was encouraging to see how carefully people were engaging in social distancing to minimise ...14 hours ago
From growing up on the remote East Cape to becoming a Black Fern and a lawyer, Ruahei Demant wants to show young Māori that anything is possible. In the long run, Ruahei Demant wants to be a sports lawyer. But in the short term, the Black Ferns first-five is juggling her ...14 hours ago
Having toughed it out alone with Covid-19 and survived, one Kiwi man learned the hard way how self-isolation really can save lives, writes Jill Herron Choosing to self-isolate early with only Sophie the spaniel as company led to a lonesome, rough ride through Covid-19 for a Christchurch asthmatic – but ...14 hours ago
As we begin what could become a long period of self-isolation, we encounter a dilemma. On the one hand, epidemiological research and recent global events show us the dangers of not responding swiftly to Covid-19. With community spread now within our shores, it is critical that we follow government orders ...14 hours ago
Community health and care workers talk of their fear of infection - for themselves, their vulnerable clients and New Zealand Over the last few days, Newsroom has written several articles about the fact that thousands of home and community health care workers, who care for elderly, disabled and sick people, have ...14 hours ago
Global Day of Action for a Financial Transaction Tax (22 June)
The Tax Justice campaign supports today’s (22 June) Global Day of Action for a Financial Transaction Tax coordinated by Oxfam in Britain.
“Momentum is building worldwide for financial transaction taxes that target the banks, speculators and big corporates,” says Vaughan Gunson, New Zealand’s Tax Justice campaign coordinator.
“The international money men who caused the global financial crisis must be made to pay the bill,” says Gunson. “Financial transaction taxes are the best way to make that happen.”
It’s widely accepted that financial transaction taxes levied internationally could raise hundreds of billions of dollars, which could then be used to fund programmes that help the world’s poorest. (For more information on financial transaction taxes and the Global Day of Action click on HERE)
The Tax Justice campaign in New Zealand is calling on the government to seriously look at how a FTT could be applied here.
“There’s an urgent need to broaden the tax base in this country to maintain public services, protect our people from the effects of the economic crisis, and re-build Christchurch,” says Gunson,
“The beauty of an FTT is that would be not squeeze more tax out of people already paying their fair share.”
“It is a very progressive tax, because those who end up paying the most tax would be those involved in high frequency trading in New Zealand’s financial markets – these mostly overseas speculators are currently paying no tax to the government,” says Gunson.
Mr Gunson says a small percentage tax on the money flows of financial speculators operating in New Zealand markets would raise significant government revenue.
“Here’s a solution to the government’s debt problem that it would be irresponsible for politicians to ignore,” says Gunson.
Tax Justice supporters will be out on the streets continuing to collect signatures for a petition calling on Parliament to: 1. Remove GST from food; and 2. Tax financial speculation.
40,000 signatures have so far been collected for the Tax Justice petition, which will be presented to Parliament on Tuesday 16 August. Su’a William Sio, Labour MP for Mangere, will be receiving the petition and presenting it to the House.
For more information on the campaign go to http://www.nogstonfood.org
For comment, contact:
Vaughan Gunson
Tax Justice campaign coordinator
021-0415 082
svpl@xtra.co.nz
Kay Murray
Tax Justice spokesperson and Alliance Party co-leader
021-1672 843
ksimmondsmurray@xtra.co.nz
Nothing much going on except the ground shifting around a lot. From about 19:30 onwards we had aftershocks about every ninety minutes. The strongest was 5.3 at just after 22:30 and then swarms of shakers ranging from 3.5 to 4.4 through the night. First there’d be a muffled roar like an old diesel starting up and then a strange rocking and floating sensation. It felt like spending the night on an old tugboat chugging across a harbour.
Christchurch announcement should be made today. It will be announced that 80-90% of land will not be able to be built upon. Not sure of the areas. Was signed off yesterday.
and how do you know this?
So when Key made comments about Pike River being illegal in Australia wasn’t he stepping all over the findings of the Royal Commission (in that, effectively he was saying the standards weren’t up to international quality?).
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/5174587/Come-clean-with-Pike-River-concerns-Key-urged
And why is the government still waiting for the enquiry before doing something about safety standards? Because it’s clear they don’t really care about the Royal Commission results. And if they’re not doing anything – and if we know safety standards are too lax – surely any further deaths in mines in the meantime should be treated as criminal?
Yes, John Key, now that you have admitted our standards are so lax, what are you doing to improve our standards ?
Chinese and Australian mines have higher standards!
“It’s absolutely clear already that the mine regulations are insufficient and the Government should be acting quickly.
“We know they can pass quick legislation to remove workers’ rights.
“We’d like to see them pass quick legislation to IMPROVE workers’ rights.”
– Helen Kelly from 2’57”
[audio src="http://podcast.radionz.co.nz/mnr/mnr-20110622-0728-pike_river_families_appalled_at_lax_nz_mining_standards-048.mp3" /]
hmmm…now wheres that video of Gerry the Hut, from a few years back, laughing and rarking up the National party faithful in parliament as they scoff at and bury the findings of a Labour commissioned safety report that shows our mining standards weren’t up to scratch ?
In here somewhere i believe… Blood on the Coal
I wonder if the Minster of fat useless fucks still think’s it’s funny ?.
Can you see yourself, under a coconut tree
Wanting for nothing, or maybe a cooler breeze
Where all things romantic, in the south pacific ?
French Polynesia’s assembly is working on a resolution to formally demand the territory’s re-inscription on the UN list of territories to be decolonised.
After what was called an informal meeting last week, the assembly’s commission on international relation is today due to draw up the text.
http://www.rnzi.com/pages/news.php?op=read&id=61332
Let me be more specific, get out of the pacific
Ki te la pacific, get out of the pacific !!!
Looks like Smile and Wave is putting his foot in it every time journos ask him questions.
Twice now he has kicked off the Christchurch land storm – first, weeks ago, stating that 10,000 homes would need to be abandoned.
After, last weeks quakes he started talking about whole suburbs being abandoned.
I bet there are people in CERA wishing the PM would STFU!
Now he is making comments to the Australian media that he has not made here (or to the Pike River families) and that prejudges the Commission findings.
Now he is blaming Labour for consenting the mine but fails to mention that it was a National government and their Neo-Lib economic thinking that decided in 1992 that mine owners should be in charge of determining the safety of the mine and so scrapped the mines inspectorate.
Will Joyce – Joky Hen (tm logie97 !) may have been making some off-the-cuff unscripted comments. His minders need to tighten the reins I think, but no the enlightening flow of thought should not be stopped.
prism – happy to see Joky Hen become part of the nomenclature for the PM. Acknowledgements not necessary. Just continue your thoughtful comments – good reads. (I think it was Vicky who pointed us towards an anagram generator site late one night and I am sure we could use it to find further apt names).
Ok logie97 thanks. I’ll continue with my current favourite Joky Hen. Interesting ones arise from that anagram generator. We shouldn’t forget some of the old ones though. I think it was Blip who came up with King John of Charmalot a while ago. Quite good, the film on Camelot had the song What do the common people do etc.
If Labour wants to frontfoot this, I say take the blame AND make a promise:
– take the blame for NOT having overturned National’s previous lowering of workers’ standards
– take the blame for having accommodated the right/centre right and NOT battling harder for workers
And:
– promise to go into urgency, at the soonest opportunity, to improve standards for workers, and
– promise, when they are next in the government, to review and reverse all of National’s policies that have attacked, undermined and chipped away at workers’ rights and progressive values.
Like you say, JM, there is much to be said for a “mea culpa” (or a “my bad”) and stressing that we have learned how the old policy doesn’t work and then going on to promise to do better.
If only Clinton had said, “Yep – I did it and I should not have”
Pollies always have the need to never admit a mistake or the need to do a rethink.
Fran O’Sullivan is reflecting concern for the process used against Mr Hubbard. She wonders if the powers of the SFO have bypassed the rights to natural justice.
Does seem a bit odd. Hope politics have not intruded to protect certain politicians?
“Such state force is seldom seen in New Zealand’s commercial history, writes Fran O’Sullivan.”
“How can Allan Hubbard fight 50 fraud charges when the state controls his personal funds, refuses to fully pay his lawyers, controls documents he needs for his defence and still won’t reveal who laid the complaint that ultimately led to him being slapped into a fiscal straitjacket?”
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=10733654
Please, Hubbard will never see jail. The trial will take so long, and as we are seeing the process is going to be drawn out just to add to it. If Hubbard is smart he’ll welcome the opportunity of yet more appeals and delay.
The Goff makes me ill.
His comments about Hone and Mana
“If Hone Harawira won the Te Tai Tokerau seat, Mr Goff says the Labour Party would be unable to work with him.
“In government – and we do plan to be in government – you need to have reliable allies, and he’s proven right through his political career to be anything but reliable,” he says.
“The distance between us on values and philosophy is just too great…I just don’t buy into that separatist philosophy.”
http://www.3news.co.nz/Davis-deserves-to-win—Goff/tabid/419/articleID/216012/Default.aspx
So all the talk about forgiving goff his sins from the past when he was part of the cabal that helped fuck the country is for naught, because reliability is the key – reliability – yes we can rely on goff – to what?
Is the distance too great between a politician of Mana and goff – the values too dissimilar?
I know who i’m voting for – the party that represents the disadvantaged and stands for social justice and equality and goff isn’t a member of that party – thank goodness.
Looks like Goff is lining himself for a post election takeover of the ACT party. Watch out Brash!
Wouldn’t be the first time Goff has been in negotiations to join the ACT Party. Maybe he thought he could do more to further the right wing cause by staying put. It’s certainly turned out that way.
The right’s greatest weapon is Goff, not Key. If he wanted to further the interests of the left , or even a Labour election win, he would have resigned as leader long ago. He has consistently chosen not to.
NACTs second biggest weapon is the rest of the Labour caucus in refusing to dump him.
Key would be nothing by now, without this Labour “opposition”.
Sir Philip……
….services to the rich and powerful….
Personally I’d prefer if Labour didn’t out-right rule out Hone and Mana.
But it becomes a game of public perceptions, and by doing this, National can’t wave Hone around like the bogey man – “a vote for Labour is a vote for Hone” like they try to do with Winston Peters. So there’s a tactical reason for doing so.
At the same time, it is unlikely to blow back up in Labour’s face. In any parliament where Mana are the king-maker, they’re not going to side with National and Act. So Mana-held seats effectively shrink the size of parliament. There are cases where it could make a difference, like a complex arrangement where Mana + Greens vs MP & UF were together king-makers, eg MP & UF go with National unless Labour goes with Mana and Greens.
‘
I think that the accusation that Harawira is unreliable, bares closer examination.
The question is, Is this verbal attack by Goff aimed at Harawira, just political rhetoric to weaken a politician whose political views he is opposed to?
Is this attack even accurate?
Yet not once during his term in government as a Maori Party MP, did Harawira break Maori Party caucus discipline and vote against the direction of the Maori Party.
Yes, Harawira bitterly complained, and publicly criticised, (as he claimed was his right to do,) some of the right wing legislation that the Maori Party supported in parliament.
Even on this site he, Harawira was condemned by Labour supporters for being a hypocrite for voting for legislation that he didn’t personally support.
Though he voted with the Maori Party on every occasion as a disciplined member of their caucus, it was his willingness to challenge and debate that political direction, which was cited as the reason for his expulsion from the Maori Party.
Harawira fought his expulsion from the Maori Party because he claimed, (and with some justification), that he had never broken party discipline and that therefore there were no grounds for his expulsion. Also, (with some justification), Harawira claimed that he had a right and even a duty to raise his misgivings about the direction of the Maori Party in private and in public.
My question is this;
Isn’t it a tad bit inconsistent for Labour Party members to condemn Harawira for maintaining party discipline even when he disagreed with it’s direction, and for Goff to then also condemn him for being unreliable?
Am I wrong in thinking that there is a contradiction here?
The name’s Ph’Goff. It’d be choice if he’d do just that.
Certainly I won’t be putting my name near a Labour ballot in November. Never NOT voted Labour in 40 years. He can Ph’Get it this time.
What finally unleashed the inexorable build up of my somewhat embarrassed “God……this ain’t Labour…..” senses was this; Harawira announces he’s gonna resign and precipitate a by-election……… “Oh no…..we won’t work with the (demon) Harawira……..! says Ph’Goff.
You could see him all glassy-eyed over the expectation that “Mr and Mrs Ignorant Honky Middle Class Who’re Shit Scared of The Meorries” would stand up and clap.
Wouldn’t it be great if by miraculous chance it came down to Hon-Aye having the casting vote on whether Ph’Goff got to be PM . That particular Meorrie would be a fine type then.
Sick sick sick !
Stomping on Dissent at Yale
If you care about the question of Palestine, and indeed about democracy and free speech, you should click on the following links, in series. Each one builds on the next. You can see how one of the most compelling speakers and scholars in the United States is constantly hounded by the enemies of democracy and free speech.
While, in a way, this is a painfully funny example of a young student politician (Stephen Marsh) being browbeaten and bullied by a zealot (Yishai Schwarz) it’s also profoundly disturbing, when you reflect that this is what happens even at a supposedly liberal institution like Yale.
NOW READ ON…
http://www.normanfinkelstein.com/pdf/yale/THE_MARKETPLACE_OF_IDEAS_AT_YALE.pdf
http://www.normanfinkelstein.com/marketplace-of-ideas-at-yale-update/
http://www.normanfinkelstein.com/marketplace-of-ideas-at-yale-update-2/
yup, those Yale boys sure know how to cook turkey
Dear “freedom”: Are you trying to be funny? Your comment is certainly obscure, but I suspect that’s because you don’t have a clue what this topic is about, rather than because of any complexity or nuance in your thinking. Perhaps you should click on those links, and educate yourself.
Yep, Finkelstein’s one of the most inspiring scholars I’ve ever come across. Discovered his work in 2002. The destruction of his academic career has been a bloody disgrace.
Freedom of speech works both ways.
“Freedom of speech works both ways.”
Not in the mind of Yishai Schwartz. Or Alan Dershowitz, or Anthony Weiner, or David Horror-wits, or [insert name of your favourite Israeli government shill here].
http://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/news/politics/5176964/Brownlee-stuck-in-lift-for-30-minutes
kind of feel for the other passengers,
not an experience that would have been on anyone’s bucket list
“It’s diets all round,” National Minister Gerry Brownlee’s advisor suggested after being stuck for 30 minutes with the minister and colleagues in a lift.
Picture
Time for a new ice age
And with the news the sun is now essentially devoid of sunspots makes for worrying reading.
But worrying? Whom to. All we need now is to re-establish our manufacturing industries, in particular clothing lined with possum fur so we can all remain warm and toasty.
After all, the last ice age peoples survived with fur coats and fire.
Oh, but we won’t be able to burn wood to keep warm will we? After all, it releases CO2 and thats bad.
Oh, look at that, it’s Oscar the Ignoramus showing off his ignorance – again.
Yep. Despite the many many things that his simple lines have wrong – I won’t bite.
It is too much like potting a possum with a light and a 0.22″. You keep firing the rounds and they keep bouncing off those bloody thick skulls. You have to either get a higher velocity weapon or drill them through the eye. However my preferred Oscar solution requires a blog equivalent of a machete…… I’m sure he will notice that (won’t he?)
So when winter finally comes in NZ from mid July – mid December, you’ll all sit around going, oh geez, that CO2 got’s a lot to answer for hasn’t it!
Nevermind the fact that Earths natural state of being is ICE. Not warmth, but COLD. Even the IPCC make note of the fact we’ve come through a geological warm period.
Humans can survive the cold much better than the heat. But if privatised power companies become a reality, we sure won’t be able to pay for the heating required 9 months of the year when it’s too darn cold.
I wonder who the ignoramus is DTB. You with your constant warmist cries. I sure won’t be sorry to see the back of the global con that the scientists have built up for themselves over the last 30 years and indoctrinated a whole generation into believing that CO2 is bad.
Lprent – tell me why greenhouse growers pump CO2 into their tunnels for plants? After all, you seem to take great delight in breaking down the CO2 is oxygen for plants. I’ve shown you many references to plant life existing much more beneficially at a CO2 level greater than 1000 ppm, but you (fail) to recognise the relevance of it. After all, Humans need around 25% O2, and with an atmospheric composition sitting around 14% – this is far more dangerous and deadly to mankind than CO2.
And the answers in your face when trying to investigate how to increase O2. Plants. But with a lack of CO2, it becomes a self perpetuating cycle. No CO2, fewer plants, less O2, goodbye mankind.
The reptiles will survive. After all, they don’t generally breath O2 in such vast quantities.
We’ve already had this discussion. It proves that you’re the ignoramus.
I think that maybe I viewed this before probably via the Standard but am still breathtaken or is that gobsmacked as they say, about the audacity of USA Bankers and Politicians and the strategy of the Chinese.
I expect the clued up here have already seen this but the last 10 minutes are compelling. – again.
“All Watched Over by Machines of Loving Grace (Ep. 1) – ”
Why is Radio NZ National using low-grade American reporters?
Priscilla Huff knows nothing about Afghanistan, yet she’s reporting on it. Why?
Wednesday 22 June 2011
National Radio Checkpoint, 5.45 p.m.
For about the 357th time, a news item on the plan to “draw down” U.S. troops in Afghanistan. With her customary crisp, efficient style, Checkpoint anchor Mary Wilson crosses to “Priscilla Huff in Washington.”
PRISCILLA HUFF?!?!?!???
This would have rung alarm bells with anybody who has any familiarity with that reporter’s work over the years. Her reporting has about as much authority as Andy Haden’s “source in the Crusaders organization”, as much integrity as Paul Holmes’ September 2003 apology to the Auckland Ghanaian community, and as much understanding of the political situation in Afghanistan as… well, as John Key’s understanding of the situation in Afghanistan. [1]
Huff begins her report with this remarkable statement: “President Karzai has continued to criticize America’s efforts to help his country.” [2]
After making it clear that the U.S. is occupying, terrorizing, imprisoning, bombing, shooting, kidnapping and torturing Afghanis to help Afghanistan, Huff decides to really extend herself and do some fieldwork. Naturally, that does not mean that she goes and interviews someone who actually knows about the situation, such as an academic, a military analyst, or (God forbid) an Afghani. [3]
No, what Priscilla Huff does is walk out onto the street and ask three passers-by what they think of “the plan to draw down U.S. troops”. The first two people know absolutely nothing; they blither about how “we need to finish the job we started.” In other words, they repeat what they’ve heard people like Priscilla Huff telling them on CNN and CBS and Fox News for the last decade. It’s a perfect example of the recycling of sound-bite propaganda in the echo-chamber of what Americans call “public debate”.
Hearteningly, though, the third (and last) person seems to have thought about things: “We need to get out immediately”, he says. “We hear lots of talk from politicians about how we can’t afford to pay for social programs in this country, but we never hear them say we can’t find money for war.”
And Priscilla Huff is by no means the only bad reporter, or even the worst, that appears on National Radio.
The question is: WHO CHOOSES THE LIKES OF PRISCILLA HUFF?
[1]Throughout her report, Huff repeatedly (and obediently) uses the Pentagon’s own insulting weasel expression “draw down” instead of “withdrawal”.
[2]American troops are there to “help” Afghanistan? That will be news to the people of Afghanistan, who overwhelmingly want the U.S. to withdraw (“draw down” in Pentagon-speak).
http://www.rawa.org/temp/runews/2011/05/09/poll-56-percent-want-u-s-troops-out-of-afghanistan.html
Americans want them out as well…
http://www.thewashingtoncurrent.com/2011/06/poll-majority-believes-us-should-leave.html
[3] It would of course be totally unacceptable to interview an Afghani like Malalai Joya…
Questions and Answers 21 June 2011
‘Hon Phil Goff: If the Prime Minister is worried about youth unemployment, why has he allowed a consistent decline in the intake into apprenticeships since he became the Prime Minister, and why does he not do something about that, instead of looking at cutting the wages paid to young people?
Rt Hon JOHN KEY: I think the Leader of the Opposition is confused in his facts and incorrect.
Hon Phil Goff: I raise a point of order, Mr Speaker. I could ask the permission of the House to table a series of documents from the news media, widely reporting the facts that I have just mentioned. You would not normally allow that to be done, but I ask you to consider allowing it on this occasion, as the Prime Minister’s standard answer is to reject the facts that he claims are wrong in what I have been saying to him.
Mr SPEAKER: One of the reasons why we do not do that is that the information is readily available to all members of the House. What is more, WHAT IS PRINTED IN THE MEDIA MAY BE NO MORE “FACT” THAN ANYTHING ELSE. In all my 27 years’ experience in this place, I have found that it is extremely unlikely to be “fact” if it has been printed in the media. That is one reason why we do not table recent newspaper clippings. I realise that the member could be frustrated by that kind of answer, but a Minister is entitled to dispute the information provided in a supplementary question. Ministers should be careful in doing so, and I am sure the Prime Minister will have been careful in doing that.
Hon Phil Goff: I raise a point of order, Mr Speaker. Is it in order for the Prime Minister to dispute facts that are available to every member in this House in order to avoid answering a question?
Mr SPEAKER: If that was established to be correct, that would be a very serious issue…’
What more proof could we need than from the Speaker of New Zealand Parliament to stand up and say the media is a liar.
So, what with Huff now the guru on Radio New Zealand, last bastion of objectivity, a lying media, economic experts chosen from banks to tell us all about how to get ourselves further into debt, we look forward to a future full of Fox, and we’re one lot of stuffed chickens.
Hero of the Week Award – Riot Dog
If you watched tonight’s TV3 News at six, you might have caught a glimpse of the world renowned Riot Dog. He’s been in regular attendance at riots and protests in Athens, Greece since 2008…
When I was in Athens a couple of years ago, I was intrigued at the number of largish dogs wandering or sleeping on the streets. They seemed to be placid but also seemed to be strays.
So now I know that the blighters were just resting ready for the next protest. Ta.
Don’t Be Wimps
Artificially high interest rates courtesy of the RBNZ and it’s focus on keeping inflation down is depressing our economy forcing people to look for other ways to make an income rather than being productive. If we want to actually become wealthier then we need to change what we’re doing and this government is doing everything it can to ensure we keep doing the same thing.
Courtesy of Mother Jones (US), a heartbreaking look at what might well happen here if NACT are allowed to carry out their welfare privatisation plans and foist ‘social services’ off on de/unregulated ‘child corrective facilities’ like the ones mentioned in Kathryn Royce’s chilling “Escape from Missouri” (July/Aug 2011: 52-57):
http://gaynz.com/blog/redqueen/archives/1083