Another day in John Key’s neo-liberal nightmare.
We have become a cruel, greedy, uncaring and selfish nation under his wretched leadership.
Cruel.
New Zealand prisons.
A lawyer is accusing the Corrections Department of breaking the law in submitting inmates to 100,000 strip searches a year.
Human rights lawyer Michael Bott said the Corrections Act Section 98 was clear that guards may strip search prisoners who were being moved around, but that it was discretionary.
Mr Bott said “The Department of Corrections is breaking the law, it’s not acting in accordance with the Act, it’s a discretion, an officer ‘may’. Since when in the English dictionary does the word ‘may’ mean ‘must’. It does become degrading because what they’re doing is, without cause, they’re making prisoners take their clothes off, squat, lift up their genitals, their breasts, parting their buttocks etcetera.
In 2006 the Court of Appeal said routine use of strip searches came close to degrading treatment under the Bill of Rights. The Law Society has said that strip searching is universally acknowledged, including in case law, to be “degrading and humiliating”.
A total 434,304 strip searches were carried out in the four years to mid 2015 and netted 675 items, or 0.15 percent. In the least successful month 11,863 searches discovered just one item of contraband.’ http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/306970/corrections-strip-searches-'degrading'-lawyer
‘Overcrowding appears to have been behind a protest that resulted in this afternoon’s lockdown at Mt Eden Prison.
“With national prison numbers at a record high, the department was having to move prisoners regularly, she said.
“[The prisoners] were just objecting to the amount of movements that have been happening.”’ http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/306936/'disorder-event'-at-mt-eden-prison
Another day in John Key’s neo-liberal nightmare.
We have become a cruel, greedy, uncaring and selfish nation under his wretched leadership.
Uncaring.
New Zealand housing.
‘Mum shares state house garage in Manurewa with teen daughter.
Carla Peebles-Waara needs to find somewhere for her and her children to live and fast.
She’s staying in the garage of a relative’s Housing New Zealand property in Manurewa, south Auckland, while her application for a state house is processed.
Peebles-Waara sleeps in the garage with her 13-year-old daughter while her two youngest children, aged 12 and 10, use one of the bedrooms.
“We share the bed or pull out a mattress,” she says.
Peebles-Waara is originally from Coromandel but left the area due to conflict with extended family. She arrived with her children in Auckland 10 months ago.
The relative she’s staying with faces eviction unless Peebles-Waara and her children have moved out by June 24, she says.
“We have to stay here but if Housing NZ says my niece is going to be evicted then we will leave.
“I can’t take my kids and live in a car.
“I’ve thought about going to Bruce Pulman Park [in Takanini] and putting up a gazebo with everyone else but it’s not feasible.”
Peebles-Waara says it’s impossible to afford a private rental house in Auckland on her benefit.
Her first application to the Ministry of Social Development for a state house, made late last year, was declined. Her second was lost and she’s now waiting to hear back about the third.
Peebles-Waara says the hardest thing about sharing a home is the stress.
“The strain it puts on the family is tough. I do everything I can so we aren’t a burden.”
It’s been hard to find out what’s happening with her application and she plans to contact the ministry this week.
“I go to Housing NZ and they tell me to go to the ministry but then they say it’s up to Housing NZ. I can’t talk to anyone and no-one is in charge of my case. I don’t have time for that.”
Another day in John Key’s neo-liberal nightmare.
We have become a cruel, greedy, uncaring and selfish nation under his wretched leadership.
Greedy.
Companies that pay workers too little.
Power companies that charge too much.
‘Invercargill work hours dire for many who struggle in silence, says father.
Southland people are staunch and walk tall, but will struggle financially without speaking up, an Invercargill father says.
Invercargill residents Nathaniel and Kathrine Barrett, who work as chefs, are one of the reportedly increasing ‘middle-class poor’ families in Southland.
They are looking to relocate to Christchurch or Dunedin for better hours and pay.
Invercargill Salvation Army Invercargill Corps officer Annette Bray said the organisation was seeing a growing number of people coming to them for help.
“There’s a working class poor. More and more people are coming through.”
It could be that there were two family members working but together they didn’t have a full time job, Bray said.
“Twenty-five percent of people who come to us for help, somebody is working in the family.
“Probably in days gone by, if someone was working in the family they were doing pretty well. But these days it’s not enough.”
Nathaniel works about 20-25 hours a week, and Kathrine 30, but with restaurant clientele dwindling in the cold Invercargill winter they had fewer work hours.
In a typical week, Kathrine would earn about $400 and Nathaniel about $360.
Nathaniel said the Work and Income benefit had a $600 gross income cut-off point, which they earn above.
However, their weekly expenses topped $800………
A Mayor who has the guts to admit that climate change is real, is vilified by residents of South Dunedin, who refuse to accept that the flooding events they have experienced will be repeated and worsen no matter what the council does.
Thinking that it will make a difference to their future, some of these residents have vowed to depose the Mayor because of his belief in climate change.
But this sort of denial of reality is dwarfed by the New Zealand Green Party co-leaders, one who barely mentioned climate change in her Centrepiece Environmental Campaign Launch, and in fact has rarely ever spoken of it in her entire political career. And the other co-leader who in his speech imagined a future where New Zealanders holiday at beaches where the sea level remains unchanged. But doesn’t proposes one single concrete policy or program of how we get from the reality of sea level rise happening now, to his imagined world where it is, ‘not a problem’.
And who seem determined to maintain their policy of keeping debate about climate change out of the election campaign for a third straight election.
Despite this being the government’s worst performing portfolio* where the government could take some real hits.
Why?
I have been told by senior Green Party executive members that the reason is that the Green Party don’t want to raise contentious issues like climate change, is in case it imperils their newly signed MoU with the Labour Party.
And as we should all know by now, the Labour Party’s policy on climate change to all intents and purposes is little different to the government’s.
So what will be the result?
Climate change will not be addressed, again. No incoming government will have a mandate to act on it. And the residents of South Dunedin will be left, until they are literally wading in it.
But I suppose the good thing is that at least the issue of climate change may get a good thrashing in South Dunedin instead of being ignored everywhere else.
“I have been told by senior Green Party executive members that the reason is that the Green Party don’t want to raise contentious issues like climate change, is in case it imperils their newly signed MoU with the Labour Party.”
I happen to know that the statement above is complete and utter bullshit.
And might I also ask how you account for the Green Party’s ignoring of climate change as their leading environmental campaign, in favour of “Swimmable Rivers”?
Because believe me finding somewhere nice to have a swim will be the least of our problems.
Jenny, we had this same discussion with you day after day before the last election. If the Greens decide strategically that voters are more likely to engage with ‘swimmable rivers’ than something as huge (and still lied about) as ‘climate change’, then they are smart in their focus.
If you are that keen on only the one topic, by all means start your own single-issue party and contest the election. But please don’t waste oxygen in places like this.
The Climate Party don’t want to win seats or get into parliament the purpose of the Climate Party is to raise the issue of climate change, when no one else will, to hold the other parties to account when they refuse to address the looming threat posed by climate change.
Strangely, (or maybe not so strangely) the majority of the members of the Climate Party are also current Green Party members frustrated at their own party’s unwillingness to front up on climate change.
For instance the Climate Party stood in the Northland by-election when the Greens refused to put up a candidate to challenge the Nats, Labour and NZ First over their support for climate destroying extreme fossil fuel technologies like deep sea oil drilling when the Green Party refused to.
As well as standing in the upcoming local body elections, the Climate Party is also considering standing in any resulting Roskill by-election particularly if the Green Party again decide to go light on the contenders, all of whom support deep sea oil drilling BAU and all the rest of it.
But this is only one of the levers I am jumping up and down on.
To get them to move I am jumping up and down on all of them.
Anyone who knows the true portent of climate change and who is appalled at the lack of political will from our leaders to face up to it, could do no less.
“…..But please don’t waste oxygen in places like this.” Sacha
Sascha I am sorry if you feel I am stealing your oxygen.
That suffocating feeling you are experiencing, might be from having to face up to some harsh truths that you would rather not.
While I think it is possible that Jenny has spoken to more than one senior GP exec, I tend to agree that she is misrepresenting the GP in that statement, not least because she’s been doing that for some time now.
Google tells me that in the past month alone the GP have said and done these things in relation to Climate Change,
James Shaw’s budget speech has a whole section on CC,
And so on. It’s ridiculous to claim that the GP have put CC on the back burner. Here’s the google list just for the past month (news in NZ on Green Party +climate)
Jenny like many of us you have a lot of passion about climate change, but you are basically telling lies about the GP. There are things they can be criticised for, but making out they are avoiding climate change is just plain wrong.
As far as I can tell we have ten or so years to avoid 3+ deg C global warming from becoming inevitable (2+ deg C being a done deal now), which at 430ppm can be considered a dead certainty a couple of decades down the track.
This means in the next couple of years, slashing the numbers of commercial flights, slashing numbers of cars on the road, slashing back livestock herd numbers, slashing imports of energy, slashing the use of road freight.
So I am looking for concrete steps, not just market mechanisms, or just measuring how deep in the hole we are.
That’s all they need to propose to get your vote, eh?
Good-oh.
Some days you want parties on the Left to try to get elected, other days you want them to promise bringing about a two-year energy, regional, and transport collapse.
Who said about getting any votes. I’m just talking about what steps are required to save the nation from sinking under multi metre sea level rise by the time today’s school kids retire.
With an eye to getting elected, are you suggesting political pragmatism by a vocal minority on the left is being substituted by throwaway, lack of substance, la la land, that’ll show the other 99% who means business, wishful thinking rhetoric? lol
I was meaning in terms of things getting done e.g. the concrete steps. They’re good ideas, and now we need to work on the how.
For instance, I think one good way to get dairying reigned in is to get the Greens with more MPs and in govt. It’s a reasonably high priority for them (reducing dairying), and it has a lot of support nationally. In addition to that, and more difficult, is getting good people standing for regional councils and then getting people to vote for them. Lots of other things that can be done too, and IMO need to be done alongside the general changing of the culture.
etc. We know what needs to be done. We’re not so clear on how to proceed.
But if asked I can say here are the things we can do, x, y, z that help the GP get more MPs in parliament.
I see a lot of people saying a, b, c is what should happen without thinking past that point. Which is fine, we need people who can recognise what should happen. But we also need people who can actually makes things happen and the GP happen to be some of them. Jenny telling lies about the GP, I just don’t see the use in that, or the strategy or what she hopes to achieve.
Really think we can get the greater population to take any action on climate change CV, when they are all so wound up making a dollar ignoring it.
I think it’s banging our head against a brick wall to get all those self absorbed people to take action themselves, there is probably an acronym for everyone expecting either the government to save their asses or the neighbour doing it for them.
“The land of Apathy.”
It may of been different if we hadn’t had 7 years the of useless spinless kind of government we’ve had.
Keys greatest legacy is the fact he didn’t use his incredible popularity to lead this country down a sustainable path. Shame on him.
There are number of things I’ve heard lately that give me some new found confidence that Lab/Green together are serious about CC. Little’s speech at the Green Party conf for one – that was a no nonsense reference to CC action and the first time I’ve been reassured about the Labour view to CC.
Then quite some time ago Julie Anne Genter and Grant Roberston were on the panel of Backbenchers. Can’t remember the National MP, it was a male. He was useless on all the CC questions, as you could expect but GR and JAG were on fire. It was some before the announcement of MoU but GR and JAG were clearly on the same page about working on CC action if they were in the next govt together.
This is clearly something they have discussed and have agreed upon.
We may not always get the messages that fit exactly with our unique views and may not always get the answers we want to satisfy our own particular questions, but looking at the bigger picture, it looks like we’re on the right track if we are to do anything about CC mitigation.
All we need to do if change the government and not get hung up about the little things.
Good to hear about JAG and GR! I have the sense that good things are happening and that we need to allow them time to build this. I agree about not getting hung up on our individual views and what we think should happen, but to focus on supporting the stuff that is working in the right direction.
I find it interesting that some people don’t see the advantage in having a L/G govt, as if the only good solution is the revolution. I’m not waiting for the revolution, I want us to do everything we can now.
I’m expecting that people will be going through various levels of pretty uncomfortable emotions e.g. fear about climate change. That will make us at times act in ways that are contrary to our best interests.
I thought the revolution was going to arrive in 2011 on the back of the Occupy Movement. Ha ha! Hindsight and all that……………..
Since then I see revolution in every day achievements, like encouraging your neighbour to see the environmental benefit and convenience on catching the bus to work and leaving their gas guzzler SUV at home in the garage.
Sounds corny, be WE can be and are the revolution – don’t leave that to the Politicians, god knows where that would leave us.(Rogernomics was a revolution) Instead encourage and support our parties that have a vision and progressive ideas and help them get us all there.
I agree. And Occupy was revolutionary. Because now there is a whole new swathe of people in the US politicised around what’s really going on. That’s invaluable. We’re just looking at it in too short a time frame. If Rogernomics took a decade and they had all that power and resource available to them, I think we can allow that it might take grassroots longer.
“Then quite some time ago Julie Anne Genter and Grant Roberston were on the panel of Backbenchers. Can’t remember the National MP, it was a male. He was useless on all the CC questions, as you could expect but GR and JAG were on fire.” Rosie
The thing is Rosie, that the political pressure not to raise climate change in the elections is starting to come on now, and will get even stronger as we get towards the electioneering period.
Voices inside the Green Party very strong on climate change like Gareth Hughes for instance were sidelined and pretty much effectively silenced at the last elections.
It will happen again with Julian Genter in the GP, and Grant Robertson in the LP.
Will these two if they are “on fire” as you say, have the courage and determination push past this suffocating influence?
I expect that to do so, they will both have to be more than outspoken, to be able to take on their party machines which are intent on playing down this issue.
In fact they will have to do a Winston Churchill.
Churchill was a backbench Independent MP ignored and villified for his constant harping on about the nazis threat, but who refused to shut up and sit down, and take his place and wait his turn.
To get climate change a hearing in 2017 GR and Jag (as you call them) will need that same determined pugnacious bulldog spirit on climate change, that is if they want to achieve a breakthrough on climate change.
They will need to defy the conservative voices in their own parties, terrified of offending the establishment and the keepers of “accepted political wisdom”.
The first thing both need to do if they are serious, is to get climate change debated in the house. If they are really serious about climate change they need to putup some private members bills on climate change to go into the ballot. Though this is their legal right, they will need to oppose their party hierarchies to do so.
For instance:
The Green Party say, that they are opposed to the pollution trading scheme known as the ETS, and want it scrapped. A bill to repeal the ETS, if it was drawn from the ballot, would be a good start in getting the ball rolling in starting a national debate on climate change. And for the burning need to take proper serious action.
Who knows? it may even pass. On the Right, both NZ First and the ACT Party say they want the ETS scrapped.
The only defenders of pollution trading in parliament are the National and Labour Parties.
If Grant Robertson is genuine in his concern about climate change, just like Churchill, he would be loudly demanding and lobbying inside the Labour for Labour to join the rest of the opposition to carry a members bill to repeal the ETS.
Without the fig leaf of this provenly fraudulent pollution trading scheme, the National government would be left naked in front of the world community for not meeting their international obligations that they signed up to in Paris to do something about climate change. And might even be forced to take some proper more effective action.
Would Genter and Robertson be prepared to rock the boat in such a manner?
Time will tell.
My guess is no, and that like many before them, they will buckle under the pressure and shut up. And sit down and do what they are told.
The above strategy is only a suggestion, there are a number of other bills around the issue of climate change that could start the debate on climate change in the House and nationally.
(To keep the political silence, I have been assured that no Private Members bills on climate change by MPs from either party will be allowed to be put in the ballot leading up to the election.)
My that is an impressive list of links. You almost had me convinced. Except for one thing. There is a big difference about talking about climate change and actually doing something about it.
The most interesting link from your list, was from the Green Party AGM. And that link was to a speech given by…. wait for it…..
Andrew Little the leader of the Labour Party.
And it was indeed far and away the best speech of the Green Party AGM, and Little actually said that he was going to do something about climate change, make this country a world leader on climate change.
This would have been the perfect opportunity for the Green Party to take Andrew Little at his word and put up some policy for addressing climate change.
The Green Party instead announced that they will be campaigning about making our rivers swimmable again. And that this will be their “Centrepiece Environmental Campaign”. Overall Andrew LIttle mentioned climate change more times than both the Green Party co-leaders combined.
‘Swimmable Rivers’ is nice but not much use without a ‘Survivable Climate’
Warm air holds more moisture, climate fuelled super storms and unprecedented rain events will turn any sizeable river into a deadly muddy torrents that will destroy any water treatment infrastructure on their banks.
Andrew Little must be wondering whether he made the right decision to talk about climate change so much, when the Green Party seem determined not to campaign on it.
At the last election the political parties had to be dragged kicking and screaming to discuss climate change.
Greenpeace, (in a departure from their usual policy to not become involved in politics), had to run a “Climate Voter” petition to force the political parties to debate climate change.
Unfortunately despite their success in getting the political parties to debate climate change, the Greenpeace initiated debate was not carried on any MSM channel and could only be viewed on the internet. And only by those aware of it.
Maybe this time climate change might be one of the topics of the MSM televised debates.
But, I don’t think so.
But, I could be wrong. The affects are becoming more apparent. And it is becoming harder to maintain the silence.
“Greenpeace, (in a departure from their usual policy to not become involved in politics), had to run a “Climate Voter” petition to force the political parties to debate climate change.”
Citation needed for the claim that all parties were refusing to talk about climate change before the Greenpeace initiative and had to be forced to debate the topic. Better be good Jenny or I’ll be calling you a liar from now on.
As well as insulting all those who fought to get climate change debated in the last election.
Weka asks me to provide a citation for something that didn’t happen, or he will call me a liar from now on.
How can I provide a citation for something that didn’t happen?
I may be good, but I am not that good.
Maybe Weka might like to explain how I could possibly do that.
Maybe his next challenge will be for me to find some unicorn horn, or rocking horse shit.
I’ll tell you what, instead of me trying to prove a nullity,
How about this. Weka, instead of me trying to find evidence of things that don’t exist, I challenge you to name something you claim does exist.
Can you name just one other debate on climate change, between the political parties at the last election?
I’ll make it easy for you, I won’t even demand that you provide a citation.
P.S.
Weka, for you to label me “a liar from now on”, for not being able to do the impossible, in my humble opinion, says more about you, than me.
If you try it, I will definitely be asking you for a citation with evidence to prove your accusation that I am a liar. Needless for me to say, what people will think of you if you can’t provide such proof.
“If you try it, I will definitely be asking you for a citation with evidence to prove your accusation that I am a liar. Needless for me to say, what people will think of you if you can’t provide such proof.”
You said,
At the last election the political parties had to be dragged kicking and screaming to discuss climate change.
Greenpeace, (in a departure from their usual policy to not become involved in politics), had to run a “Climate Voter” petition to force the political parties to debate climate change.
That in context above is a statement that political parties were not willing to debate climate change until Greenpeace forced them to. It’s a lie (I looked, the Greens announced their climate change policy before the Climate Voter thing), so yes I call you a liar.
I will do this each time you spam the site with misleading statements about the Greens (and probably Labour if I see those too) that you can’t back up with evidence. If you don’t want this to happen I suggest that you think about how you present your ideas and start expressing your opinions as opinions instead of statements of fact.
Weka asks me to prove something that didn’t happen, ie that the political parties didn’t have any other debates about climate change. This demand to provide evidence that these debates didn’t happen is accompanied with a threat to slander me if I can’t provide evidence of something that didn’t happen. I pondered this illogical demand, and asked instead that Weka give evidence of these other election debates on climate change.
Weka doesn’t do this, instead offers up something else entirely.
Jenny said: “Greenpeace, (in a departure from their usual policy to not become involved in politics), had to run a “Climate Voter” petition to force the political parties to debate climate change.”
Weka said: “(I looked, the Greens announced their climate change policy before the Climate Voter thing), so yes I call you a liar.”
I am sure that all the political parties released their climate change policy, somewhere before, or during the election, in some form or other. This is not the same as being willing to debate the topic. Or be willing to make climate change an election issue.
And we are again seeing early signs of this, with the Greens announcing that their “Centrepiece Environmental Campaign”, Will be “Swimmable Rivers” and barely mentioned climate change.
The early signs are that 2017 will be a rerun of 2014 as far as the climate goes. And that the political parties will be just as reluctant to debate this issue, unless they are forced to.
And that climate change will again not be an election issue.
Despite it being one of the Government’s weakest performing portfolios, where they could take some real hits.
Despite climate change being one of the greatest catastrophes ever faced by humanity.
Instead for the second time, it again looks as if the government will be given a free pass on this issue by the opposition parties.
And Business As Usual will continue untroubled for another three years. Three years we haven’t got to waste.
“Weka asks me to prove something that didn’t happen, ie that the political parties didn’t have any other debates about climate change.”
You didn’t say that Jenny. You said,
At the last election the political parties had to be dragged kicking and screaming to discuss climate change.
Greenpeace, (in a departure from their usual policy to not become involved in politics), had to run a “Climate Voter” petition to force the political parties to debate climate change.
“Parties had to be dragged kicking and screaming to discuss CC”
“Parties didn’t have any other debates about CC”
They’re not the same thing. You lied before and now you are lying again about what you said.
I am sure that all the political parties released their climate change policy, somewhere before, or during the election, in some form or other. This is not the same as being willing to debate the topic. Or be willing to make climate change an election issue.
Actually it is. It’s what political parties do. On the other hand, if you have evidence that say the Greens deliberately avoided talking about CC and refused to debate either formally or generally, by all means post it. Otherwise I will call you a liar again.
July 28: The Politics of Climate Change. An Election Debate
Hon. Dr. David Clark (Labour Party) and Hon. Metiria Turei (Green Party) will be discussing their parties’ stance on climate change, and their strategies and policies to mitigate and adapt to climate change in New Zealand.
Stop telling lies Jenny. Tell the GP and everyone here that you want them to speak louder and stronger and take more action on CC, but stop telling lies about them, it’s not necessary.
Weka can you provide anything, about climate change (outside of the “Climate Voter” debate) from any of the parties during the election period itself?
Weka you may argue that I am being pedantic about the dates; But there was a reason that the “Climate Voter Campaign” became necessary during the election itself.
Of particular note from the article you linked to, was the attached poll on whether people supported the Green Party idea of a carbon tax, or not.
Interestingly, if the people who supported the carbon tax, were added to the people who wanted more information, in effect if the Green Party had given a further lead, they could have won this debate.
But this was never followed up during the election campaign proper. Why not?
What do you think of the Greens carbon tax proposal?
Fully support it
496 votes, 40.9%
Sounds interesting, need to know more about it
153 votes, 12.6%
Not a fan at all
563 votes, 46.5%
Total 1212 votes
But they never heard about it again.
It is my contention that it is leadership on climate change that was missing during the election campaign itself.
Weka do you still deny this?
Will there be another climate policy launch by the Green Party before the 2017 election?
Will it be followed up during the election?
Weka will the “Swimmable Rivers” Centrepiece Campaign launch be followed by a Climate Policy Campaign Launch?
By the tone and language of your attacks, I am guessing not.
But it is still early days, and a lot of water has to go under the bridge yet.
And hopefully I will be proved wrong. Time, as they say, will tell.
Jenny you claimed that all the political parties had to be dragged kicking and screaming to a debate about climate change. It was a lie.
I can keep putting up links that demonstrate that the GP was working on CC issues during the campaign, even though they weren’t working on that in the way you thought was necessary. But it won’t change the basic facts that you actively tell lies about the GP (and others) in your attempt to make CC more visible and to get more people to act. I think your strategy is counter-productive, so I will just keep naming the lies as I see them. I’m more than happy for people to look at our respective arguments and reach their own conclusions accordingly.
Rather than debate the reasons why “Swimmable Rivers” has been made a “Centrepiece Campaign” and climate change has not.
weka deliberately chooses to deny the reality, that “Swimmable Rivers” has been favoured over climate change as the Green Party “Centrepiece Campaign”.
Instead of trying to explain the reasons behind this decision
Hysterical abuse and slander by weka, on no evidence, only highlights weka’s inability to defend the Green Party’s decision.
My fear weka is that the perverse climate change ignoring that I noted by the Green Party at the last election, in light of the obvious worsening of the problem, will be even more grotesque than last time.
+100 …lovely thanks…well worth reading…personally I would prefer death by freezing or ICE AGE..but I guess we are not going to get the choice…
…however on a brighter note…maybe viruses and antibiotic resistant bacteria will get most of us first and call a halt to global warming …could even end laissez faire neolib capitalism
A Key inspired Toll on Auckland highways is a fantastic idea, and will remind Auckland drivers every day to vote Key out ext year.
It will save Labour a fortune in election advertising.
The wealthy live in the inner city suburbs and will pay less.
The middle and working class, commuting from west and South Auckland, will pay most of this tax.
Simpler and fairer:
Make public transport free.
Build more buses and trains and railtracks.
Build more quality high density housing on onner city suburbs.
Build them in New Zealand.
Start apprenticeships in the relevant industries.
Tolled roads In Auckland will add more inequalities to our already inequitable country. Tolls are not fair to the poor especially the working poor. If they do toll the roads there needs to be alternative options other wise we will see more NZ families/people living in cars.
“And as we should all know by now, the Labour Party’s policy on climate change to all intents and purposes is little different to the government’s.”
This comment by Jenny @ 4 above is also utter bullshit.
In fact, Jenny (whoever you are), you are constantly misquoting Labour, and its about time you had a good look through Labour’s policies that have been announced, the Future of Work commission, and the Policy Platform before you start mouthing off about Labour’s inadequacies.
For the record :
1. The Government must act urgently on climate change in the wake of the Royal Society’s report released today, says Labour’s Climate Change Spokesperson Megan Woods. Media Release 19 April 2016
“Amongst other climate related threats, New Zealand is facing a rise in sea levels of between 30 centimetres and 1.1 metres in the next 100 years while the Government continues to sit on its hands….”
2.Labour’s ‘Future of Work’ programme is part of the answer to a transition into such an economy.
☐ Supporting the creation of cooperatives that would help build a more sustainable economy
☐ Investing in low carbon and environmentally sustaining projects
We have ten to fifteen years to cut our GHG emissions to near zero Jenny. We have already guaranteed ourselves a 2 deg C to 3 deg C global temp rise in the next 20 years, and we are on track for a 5+ deg C rise this century.
Which means sea level rise could be 6m this century (half from the West Antarctic and half from Greenland).
I should say that Labour’s future of work programme is looking like nothing more than another effort at pretend and extend. It will pretend that economic growth is just around the corner, and it will extend the economic status quo wherever possible.
“This comment by Jenny @ 4 above is also utter bullshit.”
She’s been telling lies about the GP as well. I guess she is expressing her opinion (that there is not enough difference between L and N on CC), but she does then tend to use some pretty long winded ways to express that that too often are misleading. I have no idea what her strategy is given that Labour are moving slowly in the right direction and are more likely to move faster if encouraged. As is often the case, people who want to knock allies down don’t usually have anything better to put in place.
I’d have less of a problem with Jenny’s comments if they were expressed as opinion. The deceitful stuff takes time to address, time I’d rather spend on other things.
Still the most popular PM in NZ History, either the polls are rigged or we really are not thinking straight, his forex trading and profit making ability in the merchant banking industry haven’t been transferred over into the performance of the NZ Economy which most voters thought would be the case.
…”In terms of NZ, our parliamentarians need to stop playing silly buggers; trying to shove the round peg of mmp into the square hole of fpp is an exercise of frustrating stupidity that’s delivering something far less democratic than NZ deserves.
( the Labour Party seems to be a slow learner…they will never win a FPP Election again)
+100…have to agree…yup and it is more about what Hillary’s emails reveal about her and her friends war crimes foreign affairs …than about the actual hacking itself…
…and absolutely no one can even remotely accuse the Greens of indulging in this sort of disgraceful invasion and destruction of sovereign nations in the Middle East…so the analogy is totally misleading
btw doesnt NSA spy/hack everything anyway with this jonkey nacts government’s conivance and the Labour Party’s agreement….Foreign Spy Bill and all that …so NSA is probably spying on the Greens anyway!
To paraphrase Nick Smith’s rational for sacking the elected ECAN board….
the State funded Hosking has now become a “dysfunctional mess”.
Perhaps he could be replaced by a commissioner.
In his latest episode, Hamblin takes on showers. The question is, do we really need them? Or do they do more harm than good? As Hamblin points out, some scientists theorize that washing off the helpful bacteria on our bodies actually makes us less clean by disturbing our own delicate ecosystem.
It appears washing and using soap extensively may actually be the cause of bad BO.
Read somewhere that ocean sailors limited in fresh water, seldom washed and after a while the bacteria settled down and the sailors became odorless.
In swimming pools the smell of chlorine is because there is too little and the bacteria are only partly broken down. Therefore extra chlorine is needed to break through.
Not the same thing but misunderstanding occurs with both scenarios.
“A Trump spokesperson has reaffirmed the presumptive Republican nominee’s support for a Brexit, claiming he is “very much in favor of countries doing what is best for them and their people…
…”Trump is one of the few voices in US politics on either side of the aisle who has spoken out in favor of a Brexit. His Democratic rival Hillary Clinton has voiced support for the Remain campaign. Clinton’s top policy adviser told the Observer in April: “She has always valued a strong United Kingdom in a strong EU. And she values a strong British voice in the EU.”
READ MORE: Obama’s ‘misguided’ EU referendum intervention threatens UK sovereignty, say US lawmakers
Three republican senators have condemned President Barack Obama’s intervention in the Brexit debate.
During a visit timed to coincide with Queen Elizabeth II’s 90th birthday earlier this year, Obama warned the United States would be in no hurry to agree a bilateral trade deal if Britain was no longer in the EU…
Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: My top six things to note around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the week to July 27 were:1. The Minister for Ford Rangers strikes againTransport Minister Simeon Brown was again the busiest of the Cabinet ministers this week, announcing an ...
You got a fast carAnd I want a ticket to anywhereMaybe we make a dealMaybe together we can get somewhereAny place is betterYesterday’s newsletter, Trust In Me, on the report of abuse in state care, and by religious organisations, between 1950 and 2019, coupled with the hypocrisy of Christopher Luxon ...
New Zealand is again having to reconcile conflicting pressures from its military and its trade interests. Should we join Pillar Two of AUKUS and risk compromising our markets in China? For a century after New Zealand was founded in 1840, its external security arrangements and external economics arrangements were aligned. ...
The ‘50 Shades of Green’ farmers’ protest in 2019 was heavy on climate change denial, but five years on, scepticism and criticism about the idea that pine forests can save us is growing across the board. File photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: Here’s the top six news items of note in climate ...
This morning the sky was bright.The birds, in their usual joyous bliss. Nature doesn’t seem to feel the heat of what might angst humans.Their calls are clear and beautiful.Just some random thoughts:MāoriPaul Goldsmith has announced his government will roll back the judiciary’s rulings on Māori Customary Marine Title, which recognises ...
In 2003, the Court of Appeal delivered its decision in Ngati Apa v Attorney-General, ruling that Māori customary title over the foreshore and seabed had not been universally extinguished, and that the Māori Land Court could determine claims and confirm title if the facts supported it. This kicked off the ...
Earlier this week at Parliament, Labour leader Chris Hipkins was applauded for saying that the response to the final report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care had to be “bigger than politics.” True, but the fine words, apologies and “we hear you” messages will soon ring ...
TL;DR: In news breaking this morning:The Ministry of Education is cutting $2 billion from its school building programme so the National-ACT-NZ First Coalition Government has enough money to deliver tax cuts; The Government has quietly lowered its child poverty reduction targets to make them easier to achieve;Te Whatu Ora-Health NZ’s ...
Kia ora. These are some stories that caught our eye this week – as always, feel free to share yours in the comments. Our header image this week (via Eke Panuku) shows the planned upgrade for the Karanga Plaza Tidal Swimming Steps. The week in Greater Auckland On ...
1. What's not to love about the way the Harris campaign is turning things around?a. Nothingb. Love all of itc. God what a reliefd. Not that it will be by any means easye. All of the above 2. Documents released by the Ministry of Health show Associate Health Minister Casey ...
Trust in me in all you doHave the faith I have in youLove will see us through, if only you trust in meWhy don't you, you trust me?In a week that saw the release of the 3,000 page Abuse in Care report Christopher Luxon was being asked about Boot Camps. ...
TL;DR: The podcast above of the weekly ‘hoon’ webinar for paying subscribers last night features co-hosts and talking about the Royal Commission Inquiry into Abuse in Carereport released this week, and with:The Kākā’s climate correspondent on a UN push to not recognise carbon offset markets and ...
TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Friday, July 26, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:Transport: Simeon Brown announced$802.9 million in funding for 18 new trains on the Wairarapa and Manawatū rail lines, which ...
The northern expressway extension from Warkworth to Whangarei is likely to require radical changes to legislation if it is going to be built within the foreseeable future. The Government’s powers to purchase land, the planning process and current restrictions on road tolling are all going to need to be changed ...
Text within this block will maintain its original spacing when publishedFirst they came for the doctors But I was confused by the numbers and costs So I didn't speak up Then they came for our police and nurses And I didn't think we could afford those costs anyway So I ...
Photo by Joshua J. Cotten on UnsplashWe’re back again after our mid-winter break. We’re still with the ‘new’ day of the week (Thursday rather than Friday) when we have our ‘hoon’ webinar with paying subscribers to The Kākā for an hour at 5 pm.Jump on this link on YouTube Livestream ...
Notes: This is a free article. Abuse in Care themes are mentioned. Video is at the bottom.BackgroundYesterday’s report into Abuse in Care revealed that at least 1 in 3 of all who went through state and faith based care were abused - often horrifically. At least, because not all survivors ...
Luxon speaks in Parliament yesterday about the Abuse in Care report. Photo: Hagen Hopkins/Getty ImagesTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy today are:PM Christopher Luxon said yesterday in tabling the Abuse in Carereport in Parliament he wanted to ‘do the ...
About a decade ago I worked with a bloke called Steve. He was the grizzled veteran coder, a few years older than me, who knew where the bodies were buried - code wise. Despite his best efforts to be approachable and friendly he could be kind of gruff, through to ...
Some of the recent announcements from the government have reminded us of posts we’ve written in the past. Here’s one from early 2020. There were plenty of reactions to the government’s infrastructure announcement a few weeks ago which saw them fund a bunch of big roading projects. One of ...
TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:00 am on Thursday, July 25 are:News: Why Electric Kiwi is closing to new customers - and why it matters RNZ’s Susan EdmundsScoop: Government drops ...
Hi,I felt a small wet tongue snaking through one of the holes in my Crocs. It explored my big toe, darting down one side, then the other. “He’s looking for some toe cheese,” said the woman next to me, words that still haunt me to this day.Growing up in New ...
Yesterday I happily quoted the Prime Minister without fact-checking him and sure enough, it turns out his numbers were all to hell. It’s not four kg of Royal Commission report, it’s fourteen.My friend and one-time colleague-in-comms Hazel Phillips gently alerted me to my error almost as soon as I’d hit ...
TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Thursday, July 25, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day were:The Abuse in Care Royal Commission of Inquirypublished its final report yesterday.PM Christopher Luxon and The Minister responsible for ...
The Official Information Act has always been a battle between requesters seeking information, and governments seeking to control it. Information is power, so Ministers and government agencies want to manage what is released and when, for their own convenience, and legality and democracy be damned. Their most recent tactic for ...
TL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy today are:Transport and Energy Minister Simeon Brown is accelerating plans to spend at least $10 billion through Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) to extend State Highway One as a four-lane ‘Expressway’ from Warkworth to Whangarei ...
I live my life (woo-ooh-ooh)With no control in my destinyYea-yeah, yea-yeah (woo-ooh-ooh)I can bleed when I want to bleedSo come on, come on (woo-ooh-ooh)You can bleed when you want to bleedYea-yeah, come on (woo-ooh-ooh)Everybody bleed when they want to bleedCome on and bleedGovernments face tough challenges. Selling unpopular decisions to ...
Please note:To skip directly to the- parliamentary footage in the video, scroll to 1:21 To skip to audio please click on the headphone iconon the left hand side of the screenThis video / audio section is under development. ...
Given the crackdown on wasteful government spending, it behooves me to point to a high profile example of spending by the Luxon government that looks like a big, fat waste of time and money. I’m talking about the deployment of NZDF personnel to support the US-led coalition in the Red ...
TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:40 am on Wednesday, July 24 are:Deep Dive: Chipping away at the housing crisis, including my comments RNZ/Newsroom’s The DetailNews: Government softens on asset sales, ...
As I reported about the city centre, Auckland’s rail network is also going through a difficult and disruptive period which is rapidly approaching a culmination, this will result in a significant upgrade to the whole network. Hallelujah. Also like the city centre this is an upgrade predicated on the City ...
Today, a 4 kilogram report will be delivered to Parliament. We know this is what the report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in State and Faith-based Care weighs, because our Prime Minister told us so.Some reporter had blindsided him by asking a question about something done by ...
TL;DR: As of 7:00 am on Wednesday, July 24, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:Beehive:Transport Minister Simeon Brownannounced plans to use PPPs to fund, build and run a four-lane expressway between Auckland ...
NewstalkZB host Mike Hosking, who can usually be relied on to give Prime Minister Christopher Luxon an easy run, did not do so yesterday when he interviewed him about the HealthNZ deficit. Luxon is trying to use a deficit reported last year by HealthNZ as yet another example of the ...
Back in January a StatsNZ employee gave a speech at Rātana on behalf of tangata whenua in which he insulted and criticised the government. The speech clearly violated the principle of a neutral public service, and StatsNZ started an investigation. Part of that was getting an external consultant to examine ...
Renting for life: Shared ownership initiatives are unlikely to slow the slide in home ownership by much. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy today are:A Deloittereport for Westpac has projected Aotearoa’s home-ownership rate will ...
You're broken down and tiredOf living life on a merry go roundAnd you can't find the fighterBut I see it in you so we gonna walk it outAnd move mountainsWe gonna walk it outAnd move mountainsAnd I'll rise upI'll rise like the dayI'll rise upI'll rise unafraidI'll rise upAnd I'll ...
There’s been a change in Myers Park. Down the steps from St. Kevin’s Arcade, past the grassy slopes, the children’s playground, the benches and that goat statue, there has been a transformation. The underpass for Mayoral Drive has gone from a barren, grey, concrete tunnel, to a place that thrums ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections Global society may have finally slammed on the brakes for climate-warming pollution released by human fossil fuel combustion. According to the Carbon Monitor Project, the total global climate pollution released between February and May 2024 declined slightly from the amount released during the same ...
TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:00 am on Tuesday, July 23 are:Deep Dive: Penlink: where tolling rhetoric meets reality BusinessDesk-$$$’sOliver LewisScoop:Te Pūkenga plans for regional polytechs leak out ...
TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Tuesday, July 23, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:Health: Shane Reti announcedthe Board of Te Whatu Ora-Health New Zealand was being replaced with Commissioner Lester Levy ...
Health NZ warned the Government at the end of March that it was running over Budget. But the reasons it gave were very different to those offered by the Prime Minister yesterday. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon blamed the “botched merger” of the 20 District Health Boards (DHBs) to create Health ...
Long ReadKey Summary: Although National increased the health budget by $1.4 billion in May, they used an old funding model to project health system costs, and never bothered to update their pre-election numbers. They were told during the Health Select Committees earlier in the year their budget amount was deficient, ...
As a momentous, historic weekend in US politics unfolded, analysts and commentators grasped for precedents and comparisons to help explain the significance and power of the choice Joe Biden had made. The 46th president had swept the Democratic party’s primaries but just over 100 days from the election had chosen ...
TL;DR: I’m casting around for new ideas and ways of thinking about Aotearoa’s political economy to find a few solutions to our cascading and self-reinforcing housing, poverty and climate crises.Associate Professor runs an online masters degree in the economics of sustainability at Torrens University in Australia and is organising ...
The Finance and Expenditure Committee has reported back on National's Local Government (Water Services Preliminary Arrangements) Bill. The bill sets up water for privatisation, and was introduced under urgency, then rammed through select committee with no time even for local councils to make a proper submission. Naturally, national's select committee ...
Some years ago, I bought a book at Dunedin’s Regent Booksale for $1.50. As one does. Vandrad the Viking (1898), by J. Storer Clouston, is an obscure book these days – I cannot find a proper online review – but soon it was sitting on my shelf, gathering dust alongside ...
History is not on the side of the centre-left, when Democratic presidents fall behind in the polls and choose not to run for re-election. On both previous occasions in the past 75 years (Harry Truman in 1952, Lyndon Johnson in 1968) the Democrats proceeded to then lose the White House ...
This is a free articleCoverageThis morning, US President Joe Biden announced his withdrawal from the Presidential race. And that is genuinely newsworthy. Thanks for your service, President Biden, and all the best to you and yours.However, the media in New Zealand, particularly the 1News nightly bulletin, has been breathlessly covering ...
A homeless person’s camp beside a blocked-off slipped damage walkway in Freeman’s Bay: we are chasing our tail on our worsening and inter-related housing, poverty and climate crises. Photo: Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy ...
What has happened to it all?Crazy, some'd sayWhere is the life that I recognise?(Gone away)But I won't cry for yesterdayThere's an ordinary worldSomehow I have to findAnd as I try to make my wayTo the ordinary worldYesterday morning began as many others - what to write about today? I began ...
TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:00 am on Monday, July 22 are:Today’s Must Read: Father and son live in a tent, and have done for four years, in a million ...
TL;DR: As of 7:00 am on Monday, July 22, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:US President Joe Biden announced via X this morning he would not stand for a second term.Multinational professional services firm ...
A listing of 32 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, July 14, 2024 thru Sat, July 20, 2024. Story of the week As reflected by preponderance of coverage, our Story of the Week is Project 2025. Until now traveling ...
This weekend, a friend pointed out someone who said they’d like to read my posts, but didn’t want to pay. And my first reaction was sympathy.I’ve already told folks that if they can’t comfortably subscribe, and would like to read, I’d be happy to offer free subscriptions. I don’t want ...
National: The Party of ‘Law and Order’ IntroductionThis weekend, the Government formally kicked off one of their flagship policy programs: a military style boot camp that New Zealand has experimented with over the past 50 years. Cartoon credit: Guy BodyIt’s very popular with the National Party’s Law and Orderimage, ...
Day one of the solo leg of my long journey home begins with my favourite sound: footfalls in an empty street. 5.00 am and it’s already light and already too warm, almost.If I can make the train that leaves Budapest later this hour I could be in Belgrade by nightfall; ...
Do you remember Y2K, the threat that hung over humanity in the closing days of the twentieth century? Horror scenarios of planes falling from the sky, electronic payments failing and ATMs refusing to dispense cash. As for your VCR following instructions and recording your favourite show - forget about it.All ...
Climate Change Minister Simon Watts being questioned by The Kākā’s Bernard Hickey.TL;DR: My top six things to note around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the week to July 20 were:1. A strategy that fails Zero Carbon Act & Paris targetsThe National-ACT-NZ First Coalition Government finally unveiled ...
Summary:As New Zealand loses at least 12 leaders in the public service space of health, climate, and pharmaceuticals, this month alone, directly in response to the Government’s policies and budget choices, what lies ahead may be darker than it appears. Tui examines some of those departures and draws a long ...
The Minister of Housing’s ambition is to reduce markedly the ratio of house prices to household incomes. If his strategy works it would transform the housing market, dramatically changing the prospects of housing as an investment.Leaving aside the Minister’s metaphor of ‘flooding the market’ I do not see how the ...
As previously noted, my historical fantasy piece, set in the fifth-century Mediterranean, was accepted for a Pirate Horror anthology, only for the anthology to later fall through. But in a good bit of news, it turned out that the story could indeed be re-marketed as sword and sorcery. As of ...
An employee of tobacco company Philip Morris International demonstrates a heated tobacco device. Photo: Getty ImagesTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy on Friday, July 19 are:At a time when the Coalition Government is cutting spending on health, infrastructure, education, housing ...
TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 8:30 am on Friday, July 19 are:Scoop: NZ First Minister Casey Costello orders 50% cut to excise tax on heated tobacco products. The minister has ...
Kia ora, it’s time for another Friday roundup, in which we pull together some of the links and stories that caught our eye this week. Feel free to add more in the comments! Our header image this week shows a foggy day in Auckland town, captured by Patrick Reynolds. ...
TL;DR : Here’s the top six items climate news for Aotearoa this week, as selected by Bernard Hickey and The Kākā’s climate correspondent Cathrine Dyer. A discussion recorded yesterday is in the video above and the audio of that sent onto the podcast feed.The Government released its draft Emissions Reduction ...
Save some money, get rich and old, bring it back to Tobacco Road.Bring that dynamite and a crane, blow it up, start all over again.Roll up. Roll up. Or tailor made, if you prefer...Whether you’re selling ciggies, digging for gold, catching dolphins in your nets, or encouraging folks to flutter ...
Waiting In The Wings:For truly, if Trump is America’s un-assassinated Caesar, then J.D. Vance is America’s Octavian, the Republic’s youthful undertaker – and its first Emperor.DONALD TRUMP’S SELECTION of James D. Vance as his running-mate bodes ill for the American republic. A fervent supporter of Viktor Orban, the “illiberal” prime ...
TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Friday, July 19, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:The PSAannounced the Employment Relations Authority (ERA) had ruled in the PSA’s favour in its case against the Ministry ...
Te Rangi e tu nei (The sky above us) Te Papa e takoto nei (The land beneath us) Tatou katoa te hunga ora (To us all the living) Tena koutou katoa (Greetings) ...
A late change to charter school legislation will cheat educators out of fair pay and negotiating power proving charter schools are just a vehicle to make profit out of our education system. ...
In 2004 te iwi Māori rallied against the Crown’s attempt to confiscate our coastlines and moana with the Foreshore and Seabed Act. This led to the largest hīkoi of a generation and the birth of Te Pāti Māori. 20 years later, history is repeating itself. Today the government has announced ...
It has been five and a half years since the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care was established to investigate the abuse of children, young people, and vulnerable adults within state and faith-based institutions. Yesterday, the final report - Whanaketia through pain and trauma, from darkness to light ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to take action off the back of the International Court of Justice ruling on Israel’s illegal occupation of Palestine. ...
On Friday the International Court of Justice reaffirmed what Palestinian’s have been telling us for decades: that the occupation and colonisation of Palestinian lands by Israel is illegal and must end immediately. They also called for reparations for Palestinian’s who have lived under Israeli occupation since it began in 1967. ...
Labour calls on the Government to act after the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled that Israel’s occupation of Palestinian Territories is illegal. ...
The 53.7 percent rise in benefit sanctions over the last year is more proof of this Government’s disdain for our communities most in need of support. ...
Aotearoa could be a country where every child grows up feeling safe, loved and with a sense of belonging in their whānau and community. But for some of our children, this is far from reality. Instead, they are trapped in a maze of intergenerational harm that they can’t escape on ...
Te Pāti Māori are calling for David Seymour to resign as Associate Health Minister in response to his call for Pharmac to ignore the Treaty of Waitangi. “This announcement is just another example of the government’s anti-Tiriti, anti-Māori agenda.” Said Co-leader and spokesperson for health, Debbie Ngarewa-Packer. “Seymour thinks it ...
The soaring price of renting is driving the rise of inflation in this country - with latest figures from Stats NZ showing rents are up 4.8 per cent on average while annual inflation is at 3.3 per cent. ...
National’s Emissions Reduction Plan will take New Zealand further from the economy we need to ensure the next generation has a stable climate and secure livelihoods. ...
Following consultation with named parties and thorough consideration of privacy interests, the Green Party is in a position to release the Executive Summary of the final report from the independent investigation into Darleen Tana. ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon should be asking serious questions of his Minister for Resources Shane Jones now it’s been revealed he misled the public about a dinner with mining companies that he didn’t declare and said wasn’t pre-arranged. ...
Te Pāti Māori have submitted to the Justice Select Committee against the Sentencing (Reinstating Three Strikes) Amendment Bill. The bill will further entrench racism in our justice system and fails to focus on rehabilitation. “Reinstating Three Strikes will empower a systematically racist system and exacerbate the overrepresentation of Māori in ...
The Transport and Infrastructure Committee is set to make a determination on the Residential Tenancies Amendment (RTA) Bill in the coming weeks. “This legislation will give landlords the power to kick our whānau out onto the street for no reason” said Housing spokesperson, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi. “Their solution to the housing ...
“National’s campaign was about tackling crime and the best they can do is a two-year long Ministerial Advisory Group,” Labour justice spokesperson Duncan Webb said. ...
“There are more examples of charter schools failing their students than there are success stories. The coalition Government is driving to dismantle our public school system and instead promote a privatised, competitive structure that puts profits before kids,” Jan Tinetti said. ...
“This government is choosing to deliberately mislead and withhold information, keeping our people in the dark about this government’s agenda and the future of our mokopuna,” said co-leader and spokesperson for Health, Debbie Ngarewa-Packer. The call comes after the demand from the Chief Ombudsman that Associate Minister of Health, Casey ...
“Today’s climate announcement by Simon Watts makes clear the National Government is simply paying lip service to meeting its climate change targets,” Megan Woods said. ...
National is choosing to make life harder for workers by taking away the rights our communities have fought hard for. Here's how they’re taking workers backwards. ...
Australia, Canada and New Zealand today issued the following statement on the need for an urgent ceasefire in Gaza and the risk of expanded conflict between Hizballah and Israel. The situation in Gaza is catastrophic. The human suffering is unacceptable. It cannot continue. We remain unequivocal in our condemnation of ...
Attorney-General Judith Collins today reminded all State and faith-based institutions of their legal obligation to preserve records relevant to the safety and wellbeing of those in its care. “The Abuse in Care Inquiry’s report has found cases where records of the most vulnerable people in State and faith‑based institutions were ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says the Government’s online safety website for children and young people has reached one million page views. “It is great to see so many young people and their families accessing the site Keep It Real Online to learn how to stay safe online, and manage ...
Tēnā tātou katoa, Ngā mihi te rangi, ngā mihi te whenua, ngā mihi ki a koutou, kia ora mai koutou. Thank you for the opportunity to be here and the invitation to speak at this 50th anniversary conference. I acknowledge all those who have gone before us and paved the ...
New Zealand’s payroll providers have successfully prepared to ensure 3.5 million individuals will, from Wednesday next week, be able to keep more of what they earn each pay, says Finance Minister Nicola Willis and Revenue Minister Simon Watts. “The Government's tax policy changes are legally effective from Wednesday. Delivering this tax ...
An experimental vineyard which will help futureproof the wine sector has been opened in Blenheim by Associate Regional Development Minister Mark Patterson. The covered vineyard, based at the New Zealand Wine Centre – Te Pokapū Wāina o Aotearoa, enables controlled environmental conditions. “The research that will be produced at the Experimental ...
The Coalition Government has confirmed the indicative regional breakdown of North Island Weather Event (NIWE) funding for state highway recovery projects funded through Budget 2024, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Regions in the North Island suffered extensive and devastating damage from Cyclone Gabrielle and the 2023 Auckland Anniversary Floods, and ...
Indonesia’s Foreign Minister, Retno Marsudi, will visit New Zealand next week, Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced. “Indonesia is important to New Zealand’s security and economic interests and is our closest South East Asian neighbour,” says Mr Peters, who is currently in Laos to engage with South East Asian partners. ...
He aha te kai a te rangatira? He kōrero, he kōrero, he kōrero. The government has reaffirmed its commitment to supporting the aspirations of Ngāti Maniapoto, Minister for Māori Development Tama Potaka says. “My thanks to Te Nehenehenui Trust – Ngāti Maniapoto for bringing their important kōrero to a ministerial ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has thanked outgoing Chair of the Civil Aviation Authority, Janice Fredric, for her service to the board.“I have received Ms Fredric’s resignation from the role of Chair of the Civil Aviation Authority,” Mr Brown says.“On behalf of the Government, I want to thank Ms Fredric for ...
The Government is proposing legislation to overturn a Court of Appeal decision and amend the Marine and Coastal Area Act in order to restore Parliament’s test for Customary Marine Title, Treaty Negotiations Minister Paul Goldsmith says. “Section 58 required an applicant group to prove they have exclusively used and occupied ...
Regulation Minister David Seymour says that opposition parties have united in bad faith, opposing what they claim are ‘dangerous changes’ to the Early Childhood Education sector, despite no changes even being proposed yet. “Issues with affordability and availability of early childhood education, and the complexity of its regulation, has led ...
After receiving more than 740 submissions in the first 20 days, Regulation Minister David Seymour is asking the Ministry for Regulation to extend engagement on the early childhood education regulation review by an extra two weeks. “The level of interest has been very high, and from the conversations I’ve been ...
The Coalition Government is investing $802.9 million into the Wairarapa and Manawatū rail lines as part of a funding agreement with the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA), KiwiRail, and the Greater Wellington and Horizons Regional Councils to deliver more reliable services for commuters in the lower North Island, Transport Minister Simeon ...
Local Government Minister Simeon Brown has announced his intention to appoint a Crown Manager to both Hawke’s Bay Regional and Wairoa District Councils to speed up the delivery of flood protection work in Wairoa."Recent severe weather events in Wairoa this year, combined with damage from Cyclone Gabrielle in 2023 have ...
Mr Speaker, this is a day that many New Zealanders who were abused in State care never thought would come. It’s the day that this Parliament accepts, with deep sorrow and regret, the Report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care. At the heart of this report are the ...
For the first time, the Government is formally acknowledging some children and young people at Lake Alice Psychiatric Hospital experienced torture. The final report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in State and Faith-based Care “Whanaketia – through pain and trauma, from darkness to light,” was tabled in Parliament ...
The Government has acknowledged the nearly 2,400 courageous survivors who shared their experiences during the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Historical Abuse in State and Faith-Based Care. The final report from the largest and most complex public inquiry ever held in New Zealand, the Royal Commission Inquiry “Whanaketia – through ...
With a week to go before hard-working New Zealanders see personal income tax relief for the first time in fourteen years, 513,000 people have used the Budget tax calculator to see how much they will benefit, says Finance Minister Nicola Willis. “Tax relief is long overdue. From next Wednesday, personal income ...
Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden says a bill that has passed its first reading will improve parental leave settings and give non-biological parents more flexibility as primary carer for their child. The Regulatory Systems Amendment Bill (No3), passed its first reading this morning. “It includes a change ...
Two Bills designed to improve regulation and make it easier to do business have passed their first reading in Parliament, says Economic Development Minister Melissa Lee. The Regulatory Systems (Economic Development) Amendment Bill and Regulatory Systems (Immigration and Workforce) Amendment Bill make key changes to legislation administered by the Ministry ...
New legislation paves the way for greater competition in sectors such as banking and electricity, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly says. “Competitive markets boost productivity, create employment opportunities and lift living standards. To support competition, we need good quality regulation but, unfortunately, a recent OECD report ranked New ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says lotteries for charitable purposes, such as those run by the Heart Foundation, Coastguard NZ, and local hospices, will soon be allowed to operate online permanently. “Under current laws, these fundraising lotteries are only allowed to operate online until October 2024, after which ...
The Coalition Government is accelerating work on the new four-lane expressway between Auckland and Whangārei as part of its Roads of National Significance programme, with an accelerated delivery model to deliver this project faster and more efficiently, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “For too long, the lack of resilient transport connections ...
Sir Don McKinnon will travel to Viet Nam this week as a Special Envoy of the Government, Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced. “It is important that the Government give due recognition to the significant contributions that General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong made to New Zealand-Viet Nam relations,” Mr ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says newly appointed Commissioner, Grant Illingworth KC, will help deliver the report for the first phase of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into COVID-19 Lessons, due on 28 November 2024. “I am pleased to announce that Mr Illingworth will commence his appointment as ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters travels to Laos this week to participate in a series of Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)-led Ministerial meetings in Vientiane. “ASEAN plays an important role in supporting a peaceful, stable and prosperous Indo-Pacific,” Mr Peters says. “This will be our third visit to ...
Construction of a new mental health facility at Te Nikau Grey Hospital in Greymouth is today one step closer, Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey says. “This $27 million facility shows this Government is delivering on its promise to boost mental health care and improve front line services,” Mr Doocey says. ...
New Zealand is committing nearly $50 million to a package supporting sustainable Pacific fisheries development over the next four years, Foreign Minister Winston Peters and Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones announced today. “This support consisting of a range of initiatives demonstrates New Zealand’s commitment to assisting our Pacific partners ...
Associate Education Minister David Seymour says proposed changes to the Education and Training Amendment Bill will ensure charter schools have more flexibility to negotiate employment agreements and are equipped with the right teaching resources. “Cabinet has agreed to progress an amendment which means unions will not be able to initiate ...
In response to serious concerns around oversight, overspend and a significant deterioration in financial outlook, the Board of Health New Zealand will be replaced with a Commissioner, Health Minister Dr Shane Reti announced today. “The previous government’s botched health reforms have created significant financial challenges at Health NZ that, without ...
Minister for Space and Science, Innovation and Technology Judith Collins will travel to Adelaide tomorrow for space and science engagements, including speaking at the Australian Space Forum. While there she will also have meetings and visits with a focus on space, biotechnology and innovation. “New Zealand has a thriving space ...
Climate Change Minister Simon Watts will travel to China on Saturday to attend the Ministerial on Climate Action meeting held in Wuhan. “Attending the Ministerial on Climate Action is an opportunity to advocate for New Zealand climate priorities and engage with our key partners on climate action,” Mr Watts says. ...
Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones is travelling to the Solomon Islands tomorrow for meetings with his counterparts from around the Pacific supporting collective management of the region’s fisheries. The 23rd Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Committee and the 5th Regional Fisheries Ministers’ Meeting in Honiara from 23 to 26 July ...
The Government today launched the Military Style Academy Pilot at Te Au rere a te Tonga Youth Justice residence in Palmerston North, an important part of the Government’s plan to crackdown on youth crime and getting youth offenders back on track, Minister for Children, Karen Chhour said today. “On the ...
The Government has welcomed news the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) has begun work to replace nine priority bridges across the country to ensure our state highway network remains resilient, reliable, and efficient for road users, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says.“Increasing productivity and economic growth is a key priority for the ...
Acting Prime Minister David Seymour has been in contact throughout the evening with senior officials who have coordinated a whole of government response to the global IT outage and can provide an update. The Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet has designated the National Emergency Management Agency as the ...
New Zealand and Japan will continue to step up their shared engagement with the Pacific, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “New Zealand and Japan have a strong, shared interest in a free, open and stable Pacific Islands region,” Mr Peters says. “We are pleased to be finding more ways ...
New developments in the heart of North Island forestry country will reinvigorate their communities and boost economic development, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones visited Kaingaroa and Kawerau in Bay of Plenty today to open a landmark community centre in the former and a new connecting road in ...
President Adeang, fellow Ministers, honourable Diet Member Horii, Ambassadors, distinguished guests. Minasama, konnichiwa, and good afternoon, everyone. Distinguished guests, it’s a pleasure to be here with you today to talk about New Zealand’s foreign policy reset, the reasons for it, the values that underpin it, and how it ...
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Opinion: The Canadian short story writer Alice Munro – winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2013 – died in May at the age of 92. Her work was about “the damage people inflict on one another in the name of love”, Deborah Treisman wrote in the New Yorker. ...
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Comment: After Climate Change Minister Simon Watts’ preview several weeks ago, I had some optimism about the Government’s emissions reduction plan. Now I’ve read the discussion document, that hope has been dashed. How can the Government propose a plan that wants to take New Zealand taxpayers’ hard-earned money, and spend ...
Christopher Luxon: hurdles The little man from National jumps hurdles in his sleep. He’s quite good at it in his dreams and even though the reality doesn’t quite match up you have to give him credit for getting up every morning and crashing into the very first hurdle of the ...
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The photograph is striking and beautiful, but also disturbing – a reminder that my love for John was often entangled in shame.The Sunday Essay is made possible thanks to the support of Creative New Zealand.In the spring of 1980, in Dunedin, shortly before his death, someone took a photograph ...
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Pacific Media Watch A Lebanese photojournalist who was severely wounded during an Israeli air strike in south Lebanon carried the Olympic torch in Paris this week in honour of her peers who have been wounded and killed in the field — especially in Gaza and Lebanon. Christina Assi of Agence ...
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Christopher Luxon has joined with Australia and Canada's leaders in voicing support for US President Joe Biden's ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra The 2022 election brought the “teal wave” into parliament. The next election will test whether teals, who occupy what were Liberal seats, and other independents can maintain their momentum. Joining us on the Podcast ...
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The Abuse in Care report found many Pacific survivors lost their connections to their culture and language, resulting in trauma that has been carried from generation to generation. ...
In the regulatory review, ECC intends to suggest that ERO focus on curriculum delivery reviews rather than the Ministry, because it’s not efficient or effective to have two agencies with radically different approaches climbing over each other. ...
Te Rūnanga Nui o Ngā Kura Kaupapa Māori invites the current government to work in partnership with them to develop a pathway forward, including the development of a parallel pathway and meaningful policy and strategy for Kura Kaupapa Māori ...
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Another day in John Key’s neo-liberal nightmare.
We have become a cruel, greedy, uncaring and selfish nation under his wretched leadership.
Cruel.
New Zealand prisons.
A lawyer is accusing the Corrections Department of breaking the law in submitting inmates to 100,000 strip searches a year.
Human rights lawyer Michael Bott said the Corrections Act Section 98 was clear that guards may strip search prisoners who were being moved around, but that it was discretionary.
Mr Bott said “The Department of Corrections is breaking the law, it’s not acting in accordance with the Act, it’s a discretion, an officer ‘may’. Since when in the English dictionary does the word ‘may’ mean ‘must’. It does become degrading because what they’re doing is, without cause, they’re making prisoners take their clothes off, squat, lift up their genitals, their breasts, parting their buttocks etcetera.
In 2006 the Court of Appeal said routine use of strip searches came close to degrading treatment under the Bill of Rights. The Law Society has said that strip searching is universally acknowledged, including in case law, to be “degrading and humiliating”.
A total 434,304 strip searches were carried out in the four years to mid 2015 and netted 675 items, or 0.15 percent. In the least successful month 11,863 searches discovered just one item of contraband.’
http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/306970/corrections-strip-searches-'degrading'-lawyer
‘Overcrowding appears to have been behind a protest that resulted in this afternoon’s lockdown at Mt Eden Prison.
“With national prison numbers at a record high, the department was having to move prisoners regularly, she said.
“[The prisoners] were just objecting to the amount of movements that have been happening.”’
http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/306936/'disorder-event'-at-mt-eden-prison
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gwkbmy_NcWU
By contrast, Norwegian prisons…….
Norway should be our model, and we must strenuously avoid the USA form of Democracy and Education and Security. Good stuff Paul.
Another day in John Key’s neo-liberal nightmare.
We have become a cruel, greedy, uncaring and selfish nation under his wretched leadership.
Uncaring.
New Zealand housing.
‘Mum shares state house garage in Manurewa with teen daughter.
Carla Peebles-Waara needs to find somewhere for her and her children to live and fast.
She’s staying in the garage of a relative’s Housing New Zealand property in Manurewa, south Auckland, while her application for a state house is processed.
Peebles-Waara sleeps in the garage with her 13-year-old daughter while her two youngest children, aged 12 and 10, use one of the bedrooms.
“We share the bed or pull out a mattress,” she says.
Peebles-Waara is originally from Coromandel but left the area due to conflict with extended family. She arrived with her children in Auckland 10 months ago.
The relative she’s staying with faces eviction unless Peebles-Waara and her children have moved out by June 24, she says.
“We have to stay here but if Housing NZ says my niece is going to be evicted then we will leave.
“I can’t take my kids and live in a car.
“I’ve thought about going to Bruce Pulman Park [in Takanini] and putting up a gazebo with everyone else but it’s not feasible.”
Peebles-Waara says it’s impossible to afford a private rental house in Auckland on her benefit.
Her first application to the Ministry of Social Development for a state house, made late last year, was declined. Her second was lost and she’s now waiting to hear back about the third.
Peebles-Waara says the hardest thing about sharing a home is the stress.
“The strain it puts on the family is tough. I do everything I can so we aren’t a burden.”
It’s been hard to find out what’s happening with her application and she plans to contact the ministry this week.
“I go to Housing NZ and they tell me to go to the ministry but then they say it’s up to Housing NZ. I can’t talk to anyone and no-one is in charge of my case. I don’t have time for that.”
http://www.stuff.co.nz/auckland/local-news/manukau-courier/81289547/mum-shares-state-house-garage-in-manurewa-with-teen-daughter
By contrast, German housing…….
http://qz.com/167887/germany-has-one-of-the-worlds-lowest-homeownership-rates/
By contrast, Austrian and Singapore’s public housing systems…….
http://www.shareable.net/blog/public-housing-works-lessons-from-vienna-and-singapore
These people have to start squatting
very publicly
Pretty sure we don’t have squatters rights in our country – they call that Breaking and Entering.
Good post Paul ……………… wouldn’t it be great if we had a Government who actually looked around the world for things that actually work…….
Because we have the opposite. at the moment
Another day in John Key’s neo-liberal nightmare.
We have become a cruel, greedy, uncaring and selfish nation under his wretched leadership.
Greedy.
Companies that pay workers too little.
Power companies that charge too much.
‘Invercargill work hours dire for many who struggle in silence, says father.
Southland people are staunch and walk tall, but will struggle financially without speaking up, an Invercargill father says.
Invercargill residents Nathaniel and Kathrine Barrett, who work as chefs, are one of the reportedly increasing ‘middle-class poor’ families in Southland.
They are looking to relocate to Christchurch or Dunedin for better hours and pay.
Invercargill Salvation Army Invercargill Corps officer Annette Bray said the organisation was seeing a growing number of people coming to them for help.
“There’s a working class poor. More and more people are coming through.”
It could be that there were two family members working but together they didn’t have a full time job, Bray said.
“Twenty-five percent of people who come to us for help, somebody is working in the family.
“Probably in days gone by, if someone was working in the family they were doing pretty well. But these days it’s not enough.”
Nathaniel works about 20-25 hours a week, and Kathrine 30, but with restaurant clientele dwindling in the cold Invercargill winter they had fewer work hours.
In a typical week, Kathrine would earn about $400 and Nathaniel about $360.
Nathaniel said the Work and Income benefit had a $600 gross income cut-off point, which they earn above.
However, their weekly expenses topped $800………
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/80772395/invercargill-work-hours-dire-for-many-who-struggle-in-silence-says-father
By contrast, this is how Italian workers are treated.
Yep.
In NZ it is still cheaper for employers to pay the minimum wage than to keep slaves…
…. people should think on that
A Mayor who has the guts to admit that climate change is real, is vilified by residents of South Dunedin, who refuse to accept that the flooding events they have experienced will be repeated and worsen no matter what the council does.
Thinking that it will make a difference to their future, some of these residents have vowed to depose the Mayor because of his belief in climate change.
http://www.odt.co.nz/news/dunedin/387568/anger-about-south-dunedins-future
South Dunedinites might just be joining the list
http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/guest-blog/bring-climate-change-back-from-the-future/
But this sort of denial of reality is dwarfed by the New Zealand Green Party co-leaders, one who barely mentioned climate change in her Centrepiece Environmental Campaign Launch, and in fact has rarely ever spoken of it in her entire political career. And the other co-leader who in his speech imagined a future where New Zealanders holiday at beaches where the sea level remains unchanged. But doesn’t proposes one single concrete policy or program of how we get from the reality of sea level rise happening now, to his imagined world where it is, ‘not a problem’.
And who seem determined to maintain their policy of keeping debate about climate change out of the election campaign for a third straight election.
Despite this being the government’s worst performing portfolio* where the government could take some real hits.
Why?
I have been told by senior Green Party executive members that the reason is that the Green Party don’t want to raise contentious issues like climate change, is in case it imperils their newly signed MoU with the Labour Party.
And as we should all know by now, the Labour Party’s policy on climate change to all intents and purposes is little different to the government’s.
So what will be the result?
Climate change will not be addressed, again. No incoming government will have a mandate to act on it. And the residents of South Dunedin will be left, until they are literally wading in it.
But I suppose the good thing is that at least the issue of climate change may get a good thrashing in South Dunedin instead of being ignored everywhere else.
*(with the possible exception of housing).
Neoliberalism has destroyed democracy – by design.
We just get to pick the least bad option.
“I have been told by senior Green Party executive members that the reason is that the Green Party don’t want to raise contentious issues like climate change, is in case it imperils their newly signed MoU with the Labour Party.”
I happen to know that the statement above is complete and utter bullshit.
Really?
How so?
And might I also ask how you account for the Green Party’s ignoring of climate change as their leading environmental campaign, in favour of “Swimmable Rivers”?
Because believe me finding somewhere nice to have a swim will be the least of our problems.
Jenny, we had this same discussion with you day after day before the last election. If the Greens decide strategically that voters are more likely to engage with ‘swimmable rivers’ than something as huge (and still lied about) as ‘climate change’, then they are smart in their focus.
If you are that keen on only the one topic, by all means start your own single-issue party and contest the election. But please don’t waste oxygen in places like this.
+1
It’s also a lie that Jenny is telling that the GP are ignoring CC to focus instead on rivers (and as if those things are’t related anyway).
In fact I have done exactly this.
http://www.climate.org.nz/our-vision/
The Climate Party don’t want to win seats or get into parliament the purpose of the Climate Party is to raise the issue of climate change, when no one else will, to hold the other parties to account when they refuse to address the looming threat posed by climate change.
Strangely, (or maybe not so strangely) the majority of the members of the Climate Party are also current Green Party members frustrated at their own party’s unwillingness to front up on climate change.
For instance the Climate Party stood in the Northland by-election when the Greens refused to put up a candidate to challenge the Nats, Labour and NZ First over their support for climate destroying extreme fossil fuel technologies like deep sea oil drilling when the Green Party refused to.
http://www.climate.org.nz/
As well as standing in the upcoming local body elections, the Climate Party is also considering standing in any resulting Roskill by-election particularly if the Green Party again decide to go light on the contenders, all of whom support deep sea oil drilling BAU and all the rest of it.
But this is only one of the levers I am jumping up and down on.
To get them to move I am jumping up and down on all of them.
Anyone who knows the true portent of climate change and who is appalled at the lack of political will from our leaders to face up to it, could do no less.
Sascha I am sorry if you feel I am stealing your oxygen.
That suffocating feeling you are experiencing, might be from having to face up to some harsh truths that you would rather not.
Good on you.
While I think it is possible that Jenny has spoken to more than one senior GP exec, I tend to agree that she is misrepresenting the GP in that statement, not least because she’s been doing that for some time now.
Google tells me that in the past month alone the GP have said and done these things in relation to Climate Change,
James Shaw’s budget speech has a whole section on CC,
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA1605/S00555/green-party-co-leader-james-shaws-2016-budget-speech.htm
A picture of Shaw and Little together at a Climate March in Auckland used in an article about the MoU,
http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/political/305770/greens-and-labour-cement-plan-to-oust-national
Julie-Anne Genter on National’s roading plan and Climate Change,
http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/305849/no-thought-given-to-pollution-in-new-road-plans-greens
Press Release on transport including climate,
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA1606/S00142/national-spends-billions-driving-up-transport-pollution.htm
Transport policy coverage (climate change!),
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/80317784/Green-Party-transport-policy-Get-rid-of-trucks-move-freight-to-rail-and-sea
Greens on trade deals including climate,
http://www.voxy.co.nz/politics/5/254665
Andrew Little at GP AGM saying that a govt he led would be “world-leading” on climate change,
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/80751030/labourgreens-say-theyll-take-on-nationals-formidable-political-machine-at-greens-conference
Hague on CC and impacts on health,
http://www.nzdoctor.co.nz/blogs/2016/june-2016/01/minister-no-boy-scout-in-dealing-to-wide-ranging-health-effects-of-coming-climate-change.aspx
Press Release on ETS,
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO1605/S00387/scrapping-two-for-one-in-ets-not-enough-to-save-our-climate.htm
Press Relsease on GHG inventory,
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA1605/S00406/time-for-the-government-to-do-the-right-thing.htm
And so on. It’s ridiculous to claim that the GP have put CC on the back burner. Here’s the google list just for the past month (news in NZ on Green Party +climate)
https://www.google.co.nz/search?q=green+party+climate&num=100&cr=countryNZ&client=firefox-b&biw=1231&bih=695&tbs=ctr:countryNZ,qdr:m&tbm=nws&source=lnt&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjMwtKKg7rNAhUEFpQKHWoxDxoQpwUIEw&dpr=1.33
Jenny like many of us you have a lot of passion about climate change, but you are basically telling lies about the GP. There are things they can be criticised for, but making out they are avoiding climate change is just plain wrong.
Anything about a timeframe phasing out the imports of petrol, diesel or gas.
You’d have to do that research yourself CV.
As far as I can tell we have ten or so years to avoid 3+ deg C global warming from becoming inevitable (2+ deg C being a done deal now), which at 430ppm can be considered a dead certainty a couple of decades down the track.
This means in the next couple of years, slashing the numbers of commercial flights, slashing numbers of cars on the road, slashing back livestock herd numbers, slashing imports of energy, slashing the use of road freight.
So I am looking for concrete steps, not just market mechanisms, or just measuring how deep in the hole we are.
I look forward to hearing your proposals and strategy CV.
There are a bunch of proposals right there in my comment.
That’s all they need to propose to get your vote, eh?
Good-oh.
Some days you want parties on the Left to try to get elected, other days you want them to promise bringing about a two-year energy, regional, and transport collapse.
Who said about getting any votes. I’m just talking about what steps are required to save the nation from sinking under multi metre sea level rise by the time today’s school kids retire.
With an eye to getting elected, are you suggesting political pragmatism by a vocal minority on the left is being substituted by throwaway, lack of substance, la la land, that’ll show the other 99% who means business, wishful thinking rhetoric? lol
Yes. that’s your topic for today.
I was meaning in terms of things getting done e.g. the concrete steps. They’re good ideas, and now we need to work on the how.
For instance, I think one good way to get dairying reigned in is to get the Greens with more MPs and in govt. It’s a reasonably high priority for them (reducing dairying), and it has a lot of support nationally. In addition to that, and more difficult, is getting good people standing for regional councils and then getting people to vote for them. Lots of other things that can be done too, and IMO need to be done alongside the general changing of the culture.
etc. We know what needs to be done. We’re not so clear on how to proceed.
To be fair, I don’t think “get the Greens elected” is really any more of a concrete step than what CV said to begin with.
But if asked I can say here are the things we can do, x, y, z that help the GP get more MPs in parliament.
I see a lot of people saying a, b, c is what should happen without thinking past that point. Which is fine, we need people who can recognise what should happen. But we also need people who can actually makes things happen and the GP happen to be some of them. Jenny telling lies about the GP, I just don’t see the use in that, or the strategy or what she hopes to achieve.
Really think we can get the greater population to take any action on climate change CV, when they are all so wound up making a dollar ignoring it.
I think it’s banging our head against a brick wall to get all those self absorbed people to take action themselves, there is probably an acronym for everyone expecting either the government to save their asses or the neighbour doing it for them.
The land of Apathy.
I have a suspicion that 10% to 15% of the population is at least partly open to Major Change.
“The land of Apathy.”
It may of been different if we hadn’t had 7 years the of useless spinless kind of government we’ve had.
Keys greatest legacy is the fact he didn’t use his incredible popularity to lead this country down a sustainable path. Shame on him.
Well the point I was making is it has been the worst time ever, with crap that wasn’t near tolerated before, and not a decent protest in sight.
To Me Minto was the activist side of politics, and a bloody good protest organizer.
Where is he now, oh Mana
Thanks for the comprehensive list weka.
There are number of things I’ve heard lately that give me some new found confidence that Lab/Green together are serious about CC. Little’s speech at the Green Party conf for one – that was a no nonsense reference to CC action and the first time I’ve been reassured about the Labour view to CC.
Then quite some time ago Julie Anne Genter and Grant Roberston were on the panel of Backbenchers. Can’t remember the National MP, it was a male. He was useless on all the CC questions, as you could expect but GR and JAG were on fire. It was some before the announcement of MoU but GR and JAG were clearly on the same page about working on CC action if they were in the next govt together.
This is clearly something they have discussed and have agreed upon.
We may not always get the messages that fit exactly with our unique views and may not always get the answers we want to satisfy our own particular questions, but looking at the bigger picture, it looks like we’re on the right track if we are to do anything about CC mitigation.
All we need to do if change the government and not get hung up about the little things.
Good to hear about JAG and GR! I have the sense that good things are happening and that we need to allow them time to build this. I agree about not getting hung up on our individual views and what we think should happen, but to focus on supporting the stuff that is working in the right direction.
I find it interesting that some people don’t see the advantage in having a L/G govt, as if the only good solution is the revolution. I’m not waiting for the revolution, I want us to do everything we can now.
I’m expecting that people will be going through various levels of pretty uncomfortable emotions e.g. fear about climate change. That will make us at times act in ways that are contrary to our best interests.
I thought the revolution was going to arrive in 2011 on the back of the Occupy Movement. Ha ha! Hindsight and all that……………..
Since then I see revolution in every day achievements, like encouraging your neighbour to see the environmental benefit and convenience on catching the bus to work and leaving their gas guzzler SUV at home in the garage.
Sounds corny, be WE can be and are the revolution – don’t leave that to the Politicians, god knows where that would leave us.(Rogernomics was a revolution) Instead encourage and support our parties that have a vision and progressive ideas and help them get us all there.
I agree. And Occupy was revolutionary. Because now there is a whole new swathe of people in the US politicised around what’s really going on. That’s invaluable. We’re just looking at it in too short a time frame. If Rogernomics took a decade and they had all that power and resource available to them, I think we can allow that it might take grassroots longer.
QFT
The thing is Rosie, that the political pressure not to raise climate change in the elections is starting to come on now, and will get even stronger as we get towards the electioneering period.
Voices inside the Green Party very strong on climate change like Gareth Hughes for instance were sidelined and pretty much effectively silenced at the last elections.
It will happen again with Julian Genter in the GP, and Grant Robertson in the LP.
Will these two if they are “on fire” as you say, have the courage and determination push past this suffocating influence?
I expect that to do so, they will both have to be more than outspoken, to be able to take on their party machines which are intent on playing down this issue.
In fact they will have to do a Winston Churchill.
Churchill was a backbench Independent MP ignored and villified for his constant harping on about the nazis threat, but who refused to shut up and sit down, and take his place and wait his turn.
To get climate change a hearing in 2017 GR and Jag (as you call them) will need that same determined pugnacious bulldog spirit on climate change, that is if they want to achieve a breakthrough on climate change.
They will need to defy the conservative voices in their own parties, terrified of offending the establishment and the keepers of “accepted political wisdom”.
The first thing both need to do if they are serious, is to get climate change debated in the house. If they are really serious about climate change they need to putup some private members bills on climate change to go into the ballot. Though this is their legal right, they will need to oppose their party hierarchies to do so.
For instance:
The Green Party say, that they are opposed to the pollution trading scheme known as the ETS, and want it scrapped. A bill to repeal the ETS, if it was drawn from the ballot, would be a good start in getting the ball rolling in starting a national debate on climate change. And for the burning need to take proper serious action.
Who knows? it may even pass. On the Right, both NZ First and the ACT Party say they want the ETS scrapped.
The only defenders of pollution trading in parliament are the National and Labour Parties.
If Grant Robertson is genuine in his concern about climate change, just like Churchill, he would be loudly demanding and lobbying inside the Labour for Labour to join the rest of the opposition to carry a members bill to repeal the ETS.
Without the fig leaf of this provenly fraudulent pollution trading scheme, the National government would be left naked in front of the world community for not meeting their international obligations that they signed up to in Paris to do something about climate change. And might even be forced to take some proper more effective action.
Would Genter and Robertson be prepared to rock the boat in such a manner?
Time will tell.
My guess is no, and that like many before them, they will buckle under the pressure and shut up. And sit down and do what they are told.
The above strategy is only a suggestion, there are a number of other bills around the issue of climate change that could start the debate on climate change in the House and nationally.
(To keep the political silence, I have been assured that no Private Members bills on climate change by MPs from either party will be allowed to be put in the ballot leading up to the election.)
@ weka 4.2.2
My that is an impressive list of links. You almost had me convinced. Except for one thing. There is a big difference about talking about climate change and actually doing something about it.
The most interesting link from your list, was from the Green Party AGM. And that link was to a speech given by…. wait for it…..
Andrew Little the leader of the Labour Party.
And it was indeed far and away the best speech of the Green Party AGM, and Little actually said that he was going to do something about climate change, make this country a world leader on climate change.
This would have been the perfect opportunity for the Green Party to take Andrew Little at his word and put up some policy for addressing climate change.
The Green Party instead announced that they will be campaigning about making our rivers swimmable again. And that this will be their “Centrepiece Environmental Campaign”. Overall Andrew LIttle mentioned climate change more times than both the Green Party co-leaders combined.
‘Swimmable Rivers’ is nice but not much use without a ‘Survivable Climate’
Warm air holds more moisture, climate fuelled super storms and unprecedented rain events will turn any sizeable river into a deadly muddy torrents that will destroy any water treatment infrastructure on their banks.
Andrew Little must be wondering whether he made the right decision to talk about climate change so much, when the Green Party seem determined not to campaign on it.
The intent and direction is clear.
At the last election the political parties had to be dragged kicking and screaming to discuss climate change.
Greenpeace, (in a departure from their usual policy to not become involved in politics), had to run a “Climate Voter” petition to force the political parties to debate climate change.
http://www.climatevoter.org.nz/
The “Climate Voter” petition collected over 63 thousand names before the political parties agreed to discuss climate change.
It will be interesting to see whether under the leadership of Russell Norman, Greenpeace will again run another “Climate Voter” petition.
Unfortunately despite their success in getting the political parties to debate climate change, the Greenpeace initiated debate was not carried on any MSM channel and could only be viewed on the internet. And only by those aware of it.
Maybe this time climate change might be one of the topics of the MSM televised debates.
But, I don’t think so.
But, I could be wrong. The affects are becoming more apparent. And it is becoming harder to maintain the silence.
“Greenpeace, (in a departure from their usual policy to not become involved in politics), had to run a “Climate Voter” petition to force the political parties to debate climate change.”
Citation needed for the claim that all parties were refusing to talk about climate change before the Greenpeace initiative and had to be forced to debate the topic. Better be good Jenny or I’ll be calling you a liar from now on.
Is this a joke?
As well as insulting all those who fought to get climate change debated in the last election.
Weka asks me to provide a citation for something that didn’t happen, or he will call me a liar from now on.
How can I provide a citation for something that didn’t happen?
I may be good, but I am not that good.
Maybe Weka might like to explain how I could possibly do that.
Maybe his next challenge will be for me to find some unicorn horn, or rocking horse shit.
I’ll tell you what, instead of me trying to prove a nullity,
How about this. Weka, instead of me trying to find evidence of things that don’t exist, I challenge you to name something you claim does exist.
Can you name just one other debate on climate change, between the political parties at the last election?
I’ll make it easy for you, I won’t even demand that you provide a citation.
P.S.
Weka, for you to label me “a liar from now on”, for not being able to do the impossible, in my humble opinion, says more about you, than me.
If you try it, I will definitely be asking you for a citation with evidence to prove your accusation that I am a liar. Needless for me to say, what people will think of you if you can’t provide such proof.
Maybe I am being a bit harsh, and people really are starting to create citations for things that don’t happen.
Nothing happened today. Here is the citation. ( ……… )
“If you try it, I will definitely be asking you for a citation with evidence to prove your accusation that I am a liar. Needless for me to say, what people will think of you if you can’t provide such proof.”
You said,
At the last election the political parties had to be dragged kicking and screaming to discuss climate change.
Greenpeace, (in a departure from their usual policy to not become involved in politics), had to run a “Climate Voter” petition to force the political parties to debate climate change.
That in context above is a statement that political parties were not willing to debate climate change until Greenpeace forced them to. It’s a lie (I looked, the Greens announced their climate change policy before the Climate Voter thing), so yes I call you a liar.
I will do this each time you spam the site with misleading statements about the Greens (and probably Labour if I see those too) that you can’t back up with evidence. If you don’t want this to happen I suggest that you think about how you present your ideas and start expressing your opinions as opinions instead of statements of fact.
edit,
GP climate policy launch 1/6/14
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/10108920/Greens-launch-climate-change-policy
Greenpeace Climate debate 3/9/14
http://www.climatevoter.org.nz/debate/
Weka asks me to prove something that didn’t happen, ie that the political parties didn’t have any other debates about climate change. This demand to provide evidence that these debates didn’t happen is accompanied with a threat to slander me if I can’t provide evidence of something that didn’t happen. I pondered this illogical demand, and asked instead that Weka give evidence of these other election debates on climate change.
Weka doesn’t do this, instead offers up something else entirely.
Jenny said: “Greenpeace, (in a departure from their usual policy to not become involved in politics), had to run a “Climate Voter” petition to force the political parties to debate climate change.”
And provided a link.
http://www.climatevoter.org.nz/
Weka said: “(I looked, the Greens announced their climate change policy before the Climate Voter thing), so yes I call you a liar.”
I am sure that all the political parties released their climate change policy, somewhere before, or during the election, in some form or other. This is not the same as being willing to debate the topic. Or be willing to make climate change an election issue.
And we are again seeing early signs of this, with the Greens announcing that their “Centrepiece Environmental Campaign”, Will be “Swimmable Rivers” and barely mentioned climate change.
The early signs are that 2017 will be a rerun of 2014 as far as the climate goes. And that the political parties will be just as reluctant to debate this issue, unless they are forced to.
And that climate change will again not be an election issue.
Despite it being one of the Government’s weakest performing portfolios, where they could take some real hits.
Despite climate change being one of the greatest catastrophes ever faced by humanity.
Instead for the second time, it again looks as if the government will be given a free pass on this issue by the opposition parties.
And Business As Usual will continue untroubled for another three years. Three years we haven’t got to waste.
“Weka asks me to prove something that didn’t happen, ie that the political parties didn’t have any other debates about climate change.”
You didn’t say that Jenny. You said,
At the last election the political parties had to be dragged kicking and screaming to discuss climate change.
Greenpeace, (in a departure from their usual policy to not become involved in politics), had to run a “Climate Voter” petition to force the political parties to debate climate change.
“Parties had to be dragged kicking and screaming to discuss CC”
“Parties didn’t have any other debates about CC”
They’re not the same thing. You lied before and now you are lying again about what you said.
I am sure that all the political parties released their climate change policy, somewhere before, or during the election, in some form or other. This is not the same as being willing to debate the topic. Or be willing to make climate change an election issue.
Actually it is. It’s what political parties do. On the other hand, if you have evidence that say the Greens deliberately avoided talking about CC and refused to debate either formally or generally, by all means post it. Otherwise I will call you a liar again.
July 28: The Politics of Climate Change. An Election Debate
Hon. Dr. David Clark (Labour Party) and Hon. Metiria Turei (Green Party) will be discussing their parties’ stance on climate change, and their strategies and policies to mitigate and adapt to climate change in New Zealand.
http://www.otago.ac.nz/occnet/news/seminars/
Stop telling lies Jenny. Tell the GP and everyone here that you want them to speak louder and stronger and take more action on CC, but stop telling lies about them, it’s not necessary.
Hi Weka from the link you gave; The climate policy launch was on the 1st of July, and not during the election campaign.
Weka can you provide anything, about climate change (outside of the “Climate Voter” debate) from any of the parties during the election period itself?
Weka you may argue that I am being pedantic about the dates; But there was a reason that the “Climate Voter Campaign” became necessary during the election itself.
Of particular note from the article you linked to, was the attached poll on whether people supported the Green Party idea of a carbon tax, or not.
Interestingly, if the people who supported the carbon tax, were added to the people who wanted more information, in effect if the Green Party had given a further lead, they could have won this debate.
But this was never followed up during the election campaign proper. Why not?
But they never heard about it again.
It is my contention that it is leadership on climate change that was missing during the election campaign itself.
Weka do you still deny this?
Will there be another climate policy launch by the Green Party before the 2017 election?
Will it be followed up during the election?
Weka will the “Swimmable Rivers” Centrepiece Campaign launch be followed by a Climate Policy Campaign Launch?
By the tone and language of your attacks, I am guessing not.
But it is still early days, and a lot of water has to go under the bridge yet.
And hopefully I will be proved wrong. Time, as they say, will tell.
Jenny is a lying liar who lies. Don’t let up now Weka your hysteria is starting to show.
Instead of digging a deeper hole for yourself, how about answering the question.
Jenny you claimed that all the political parties had to be dragged kicking and screaming to a debate about climate change. It was a lie.
I can keep putting up links that demonstrate that the GP was working on CC issues during the campaign, even though they weren’t working on that in the way you thought was necessary. But it won’t change the basic facts that you actively tell lies about the GP (and others) in your attempt to make CC more visible and to get more people to act. I think your strategy is counter-productive, so I will just keep naming the lies as I see them. I’m more than happy for people to look at our respective arguments and reach their own conclusions accordingly.
I look forward to seeing these links.
You can deflect and avoid all you like Jenny, but I’ve called you out as a liar and provided evidence.
The intent and direction is clear.
And is part of a repeated pattern.
Rather than debate the reasons why “Swimmable Rivers” has been made a “Centrepiece Campaign” and climate change has not.
weka deliberately chooses to deny the reality, that “Swimmable Rivers” has been favoured over climate change as the Green Party “Centrepiece Campaign”.
Instead of trying to explain the reasons behind this decision
Hysterical abuse and slander by weka, on no evidence, only highlights weka’s inability to defend the Green Party’s decision.
Still waiting…..
My fear weka is that the perverse climate change ignoring that I noted by the Green Party at the last election, in light of the obvious worsening of the problem, will be even more grotesque than last time.
Death by climate change
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/deadly-degrees-why-heat-waves-kill-so-quickly/
+100 …lovely thanks…well worth reading…personally I would prefer death by freezing or ICE AGE..but I guess we are not going to get the choice…
…however on a brighter note…maybe viruses and antibiotic resistant bacteria will get most of us first and call a halt to global warming …could even end laissez faire neolib capitalism
https://www.theguardian.com/science/2016/mar/11/antibiotics-drug-resistance-is-not-theoretical-threat-real-immediate
http://bigthink.com/ideafeed/antibiotic-resistant-bacteria-is-medicines-global-warming
http://www.salon.com/2014/05/22/scientists_antibiotic_resistant_superbugs_are_as_big_a_threat_as_climate_change/
South Florida and South Dunedin united in denial.
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/seas-rising-but-florida-keeps-building-on-the-coast/
A Key inspired Toll on Auckland highways is a fantastic idea, and will remind Auckland drivers every day to vote Key out ext year.
It will save Labour a fortune in election advertising.
The wealthy live in the inner city suburbs and will pay less.
The middle and working class, commuting from west and South Auckland, will pay most of this tax.
Simpler and fairer:
Make public transport free.
Build more buses and trains and railtracks.
Build more quality high density housing on onner city suburbs.
Build them in New Zealand.
Start apprenticeships in the relevant industries.
Tolled roads In Auckland will add more inequalities to our already inequitable country. Tolls are not fair to the poor especially the working poor. If they do toll the roads there needs to be alternative options other wise we will see more NZ families/people living in cars.
“And as we should all know by now, the Labour Party’s policy on climate change to all intents and purposes is little different to the government’s.”
This comment by Jenny @ 4 above is also utter bullshit.
In fact, Jenny (whoever you are), you are constantly misquoting Labour, and its about time you had a good look through Labour’s policies that have been announced, the Future of Work commission, and the Policy Platform before you start mouthing off about Labour’s inadequacies.
For the record :
1. The Government must act urgently on climate change in the wake of the Royal Society’s report released today, says Labour’s Climate Change Spokesperson Megan Woods. Media Release 19 April 2016
“Amongst other climate related threats, New Zealand is facing a rise in sea levels of between 30 centimetres and 1.1 metres in the next 100 years while the Government continues to sit on its hands….”
2.Labour’s ‘Future of Work’ programme is part of the answer to a transition into such an economy.
☐ Supporting the creation of cooperatives that would help build a more sustainable economy
☐ Investing in low carbon and environmentally sustaining projects
We have ten to fifteen years to cut our GHG emissions to near zero Jenny. We have already guaranteed ourselves a 2 deg C to 3 deg C global temp rise in the next 20 years, and we are on track for a 5+ deg C rise this century.
Which means sea level rise could be 6m this century (half from the West Antarctic and half from Greenland).
I should say that Labour’s future of work programme is looking like nothing more than another effort at pretend and extend. It will pretend that economic growth is just around the corner, and it will extend the economic status quo wherever possible.
“This comment by Jenny @ 4 above is also utter bullshit.”
She’s been telling lies about the GP as well. I guess she is expressing her opinion (that there is not enough difference between L and N on CC), but she does then tend to use some pretty long winded ways to express that that too often are misleading. I have no idea what her strategy is given that Labour are moving slowly in the right direction and are more likely to move faster if encouraged. As is often the case, people who want to knock allies down don’t usually have anything better to put in place.
I can think of about ten regular commenters here who are so extreme they don’t fit into any political party in Parliament now or last time.
They are entitled to speak, and entitled to be schooled.
I’d have less of a problem with Jenny’s comments if they were expressed as opinion. The deceitful stuff takes time to address, time I’d rather spend on other things.
This really is a u-turn government:
Mining in the National Parks
Raising GST
Tolls on Auckland roads
I know there are many more that don’t come to mind-anyone like to add to the list?
Still the most popular PM in NZ History, either the polls are rigged or we really are not thinking straight, his forex trading and profit making ability in the merchant banking industry haven’t been transferred over into the performance of the NZ Economy which most voters thought would be the case.
Nats 43% and falling in that last Roy Morgan-they are gone Jack.
NZF and Winston are in charge now, as the king makers.
+100 CV
If I were Winston I would entrench the power of the minor parties by insisting on a Fixed Term Parliaments Act.
what is that?
http://thestandard.org.nz/welsh-assembly/
thanx for the link and conclusion
…”In terms of NZ, our parliamentarians need to stop playing silly buggers; trying to shove the round peg of mmp into the square hole of fpp is an exercise of frustrating stupidity that’s delivering something far less democratic than NZ deserves.
( the Labour Party seems to be a slow learner…they will never win a FPP Election again)
Now about Hillary…Hillary Clinton exposed…and Hillary in foreign affairs aint pretty ( in fact it is pretty awful!)
‘Hacker ‘Guccifer 2.0′ publishes DNC campaign docs with strategies for defending Clinton’
https://www.rt.com/usa/347681-guccifer-clinton-dnc-defense/
Would you be so positively gleeful had the NSA led an assault on the Green party?.
/
http://www.neowin.net/news/the-russian-government-hacked-the-dnc-after-all
?
Joe90 is losing the plot. He thinks the powerful elite deserve to be able to hide the truth from us.
+100…have to agree…yup and it is more about what Hillary’s emails reveal about her and her friends war crimes foreign affairs …than about the actual hacking itself…
…and absolutely no one can even remotely accuse the Greens of indulging in this sort of disgraceful invasion and destruction of sovereign nations in the Middle East…so the analogy is totally misleading
btw doesnt NSA spy/hack everything anyway with this jonkey nacts government’s conivance and the Labour Party’s agreement….Foreign Spy Bill and all that …so NSA is probably spying on the Greens anyway!
I note the ‘Get Rid of Hosking’ petition now has 15,500 signatures
https://www.change.org/p/tvnz-get-rid-of-hosking-1347aa6d-8044-4a33-ba59-7fe0a5dba42b
To paraphrase Nick Smith’s rational for sacking the elected ECAN board….
the State funded Hosking has now become a “dysfunctional mess”.
Perhaps he could be replaced by a commissioner.
Stop showering so damn much
It appears washing and using soap extensively may actually be the cause of bad BO.
The complete rebuttal in two words: teenage boys.
lol
Read somewhere that ocean sailors limited in fresh water, seldom washed and after a while the bacteria settled down and the sailors became odorless.
In swimming pools the smell of chlorine is because there is too little and the bacteria are only partly broken down. Therefore extra chlorine is needed to break through.
Not the same thing but misunderstanding occurs with both scenarios.
Sailors can wash with salt water.
And apparently submarines got pretty stinky in the old days…
This is pretty annoying. If you want donations then at least put up a givealittle page and ask the reporter to link to it.
Article is from a month back (so a month has been wasted). New article in stuff today. They only need $14K.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/nelson-mail/news/79817574/medical-equipment-donated-from-nelson-to-help-diabe
New immigrants. I hope that they do the job without unforeseen consequences. WASPs I might tolerate- a not psyllid idea.
https://nz.news.yahoo.com/top-stories/a/31889069/wasp-brought-in-to-curb-plant-pests/#page1
‘Trump backs Brexit, urges Europeans to ‘reconsider’ EU membership’
https://www.rt.com/uk/347726-trump-brexit-referendum-eu/
“A Trump spokesperson has reaffirmed the presumptive Republican nominee’s support for a Brexit, claiming he is “very much in favor of countries doing what is best for them and their people…
…”Trump is one of the few voices in US politics on either side of the aisle who has spoken out in favor of a Brexit. His Democratic rival Hillary Clinton has voiced support for the Remain campaign. Clinton’s top policy adviser told the Observer in April: “She has always valued a strong United Kingdom in a strong EU. And she values a strong British voice in the EU.”
READ MORE: Obama’s ‘misguided’ EU referendum intervention threatens UK sovereignty, say US lawmakers
https://www.rt.com/uk/347463-republican-congressmen-brexit-obama/
Three republican senators have condemned President Barack Obama’s intervention in the Brexit debate.
During a visit timed to coincide with Queen Elizabeth II’s 90th birthday earlier this year, Obama warned the United States would be in no hurry to agree a bilateral trade deal if Britain was no longer in the EU…