Happy to lie to get power.
Happy to put their interests above the vulnerable.
Happy to accept poisoned rivers, increasing poverty and inequality, more mental health issues, worsening health and education services…
As long as they are alright and get their flash holidays and flash cars……
It’s the media peddled fake economy, the lavish private taxes and levies introduced by govts on us all. National are the party of high hidden taxes. Taxes that take time from parenting, take time from community, take time from participation in society, take time off life from pollution causing ill health. It’s the fake economy the corrupt media manufactures to cover all the external costs unpaid for except by the people.
Our biased media have shown their Dirty side with their reliable amplification and repeating of Nact lies and smears ….. Its what they do at election times.
Lies by omission is their usual method of mis-reporting …..
Which brings me to John Key and the comprehensive con job they pulled on behalf of that disgusting man … although they did lie a hell of a lot for him …
Keys early currency speculation in NZ was possibly rigged with insider trading, …..if he was in on the Douglas pre-devaluation tip off …
Currency speculation makes normal trading for businesses which actually produce something more difficult…….. Key left NZ for Merrill Lynch.
Keys work for Merrill Lynch in Ireland, seems to have consisted of using tax havens and things like the double irish dutch sandwich ….. to entice mainly American companies to creatively become Irish ones, In name ……
He made large money …. by Gutting UsA tax revenue, and that of other countries….. as corporations opted out of paying tax where they make their sales and profits …..
Its impossible to estimate the costs and harms John Key has inflicted on poor and middle class citizens everywhere ,,,,, through reduced Governments revenue.
His work for merrill in Asia is where he gained the reputation for smiling while sacking people ,,,,
The Asian currency crisis took place in 1997 ……and like most crashes involved speculation …. along eith innocent workers paying the price for the greed of the financial sector ….
Corruption was also rife in Asia …regularly 25% of funding for projects and sometimes up to 50% was being taken and skimmed by corrupt regimes like a suharto or his Generals.
…… In many cases institutions like Merrill when raising funding and making the loans … would then help the corrupt leaders move their stolen portion off-shore …. High ranking jobs were given to corrupt Politicians children or other relatives …..
When or if the corrupt illegitimate leaders were removed from power …..the corrupt banksters debts remained ……….
These corrupt debts get paid in either privatisation and theft of resources ….or through tax on the poor …
s
Sometimes over 50%) of a governments expenditure will be interest on never ending debt …….. while poor children die from lack of sanitation and basics in healthcare and food ….
Poor people are not worth a dollar missing from bankers profits to the Keys of this world.…
In our country and other developed nations, corporate and uber rich tax cheating ….. means things like ‘voluntary’ school fees for financially stressed parents,….. large student debts for something that used to be free for Key, English, Joyce,Collins and co …. longer waiting lists in the health sector, underfunded police etc etc
In poor countries this economic apartheid kills children……
Ask yourself , would you steal from a baby ? …. people who build and use tax havens do …..
Key has personally helped steal from Millions of children ……
Keys investment skills suggest he left the largest portion of his paper wealth in his old firm ….It almost hit $100 per share ….. before it poisoned itself with its on products and dodgy creative accounting … Merrill was the third big firm after Bear-sterns and Lehmans to collapse …
Bank of America was backing out of a deal to buy merrill …. when Merrills portfolio revealed itself as a pile of toxic crap …. with 21 Billion dollar operating losses revealed in a three month period ……
Merrill and the financial sector were vaporizing wealth at a rate which is hard to comprehend ….. 46 Billion was the final amount in losses from Merrill …… 46 Billion
The American government stepped in and the Bank of America was forced to rescue the imploding Merrill and stop a domino collapsing of the american financial system …..
american taxpayers, pension funds and other victims paid for the bailout in Govt cash to the perpetrators ….. and then they paid again ….. with GFC loss of jobs wealth and security for themselves and other ordinary people.
Despite Keys statements dissing and distancing himself from Merrill …… when the GFC revealed their sham products, creative dishonesty and reckless gambling behavior …
His Bank of America shares are testimonty to him staying firmly invested with Merrill …..
He benefited from the Usa Govt forcing the merger ….. and paying Billions to cover Merrills loses
Key started his Merrill career by costing ordinary taxpayers money with his base erosion tax dodge work …
And he finished it with a direct bailout for his worthless Merrill shares ….
What a hard working creative millionare …… he cant swing a hammer but builds things which blow Billion dollar holes in Government revenue
How many millions in charity he took from usa citizens …. depends on how many Merrill shares he had hoarded
He could be summed up as an anti-Robin Hood ….. Stealing from the poor to give to the rich.
Good at greed driven cheating ……….. But a shit Greed driven investor.
Its all a bit of a scam how our media never reported his personal multi million bailout at the start of the GFC ….
Protecting the image ….. by many lies ….and lots of omission.
As Bill and National is benefiting from.
Keys and Englishs economic model ……of speculation and cheating is of course doomed to failure ……
It can only benefit the few by the losses of the many.
I’ve been out and about in Onehunga and Mangere taking people to enrol and vote early over the last week. The vibe for change is strong and I’m pleased to have seen young people skipping into the booths and coming out with the “I’ve voted” sticker. For me the last two days have been emotional, feeling nervous and butterflies multiplying in the puku…hoping and praying for the best outcome for all our people tomorrow…we can do this…let’s do this!
I agree Wild Katipo…the stickers are good…we took our young children along with us to vote this week and they said to me quietly “vote for me” to which a man overheard and replied “I just did”…we all walked out with our stickers! Proud!
Good on you Pacific Princess. I have been out and about in Papatoetoe. People are desperate for a change and they really want to vote this time. They are getting family out to vote. They are encouraging each other. It could be 2005 all over again -turnout confounding the polls.
Some MSM must have Australian decency because some of them Keep underarm bowling Jacainda.
Nice try but I all ready read that someone was under arm bowling me last nite or was it a SPIN bowling on TV 3.
I agree with Draco T Bastard we will ban all polls a month before election nite.
What a load of rubbish bill already knows he has lost its written all over his face I will courier a couple of boxes of tissues to TV 3 for Saturday nite
My pick
Lab 50
Grn 18
Maori party 6
We want a future for OUR children
70 000 immigrants a year. That is 700 000 in ten years, 100 000 new houses required at 7 per house, at least 350 000 new jobs required, 4 new hospitals and another cities worth of services,. Just so National can pretend the economy is growing
Yip and half of the growth has been coming from the earthquake rebuild and increased infrastructure spend. Projections certainly aren’t so impressive going forward.
Yip. Reminds me of Yip Harburg and Jay Gorney and their poignant song.
The National Herd have passed their suitability test to be an exalted citizen, they have made money and worked at something enough so they feel virtuous. The Virtue Religion it’s the new one, probably a bit like Scientology.
National! Note – Al they don’t want you in their nation.
Yip’s song.
Brother Can You Spare a Dime
Say don’t you remember you called me Al,
It was Al all the time,
Buddy can you spare a dime.
‘Don’t want to end up a cartoon in a cartoon graveyard.’ For Gnashional politicians.
Paul Simon You can call me Al. Al certainly has difficulties and in NZ he’s the tail end of the nation. Let’s see the tail wagging the dog eh! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ev0wfe6zzi0
Nationals standard election procedure.
1. Pretend to be socialist.
2. Fudge statistics so they look socialist.
3. Make things up about the opposition.
4. Lie. Lie. Lie. Lie………
Duncan stop trying to justify your polls which are designed to confuse voters what a good under arm bowl the business of OUR country need to pay more to OUR society because they ain’t paying much NOW Ka Pai
Values learned: Avoid the truth, disrespect, unfairness, profit over people
Virtues displayed: Deviousness, win at all costs, dishonesty
Sometimes I wonder whether calling out lies & liars is actually having the intended effect of achieving a more truthful society. It seems that more often (?) it is portrayed & viewed as a shining example of how to get ahead and succeed. Think Gordon Gekko and “greed is good”.
That said, not pulling them up on lies is not the way either …
The problem is that there’s no consequences to lying. Blinglish and many other National Party MPs lied and they’re still eligible to be in parliament. This should not happen.
It just seems that there are no negative consequences to lying. Indeed, it appears to pay off in the short term. However, in the longer term the lies will catch up with you and you start to distrust others and suspect them from lying to you too. In the end, you cannot trust anyone, not even yourself … A truly Faustian Pact!
In the end, you cannot trust anyone, not even yourself … A truly Faustian Pact!
Which is just one of the aspects of the RWNJ Greed is Good paradigm that destroys society. When no one can trust anyone else then relationships break down and society fragments and eventually we see civil war or worse.
I got told off for trying to tell my sons whom to vote for she was right I had to apologise Please go and vote Labour Green or Maori party If you want a future
We have commentators telling us who to vote for, PR firms and pamphlets and billboards galore.
Depending on “how” you were telling your sons, I would think that anyone else should stay out of it, (unless it falls under party campaigning at the booth). Especially if they had asked your advice. In the end, you are just another source of information, they get to decide whether to listen to you or not.
As an aside, meant to act as a casual scrutineer this time at my father-in-law’s rest home this election. We went to take him to the voting booth last time, and found out he had already voted. He thought he had just confirmed his vote, with “helpers” telling him where to tick. He had no idea which party he had voted for. Unfortunately, when the early voting came around I was unable to get there to watch. Back on the to-do list for next time.
We went to take him to the voting booth last time, and found out he had already voted. He thought he had just confirmed his vote, with “helpers” telling him where to tick. He had no idea which party he had voted for.
I hope you reported that to the electoral commission so that it could be properly investigated.
I worked as a poll clerk at a polling booth at one election a long time ago. We did it as a fund raising exercise for a charity where we put in the time and they got the money.
It was in a rest home and a fair number of the people there were showing distinct signs of dementia.
They were being “helped” by the staff. I think that quite a lot of the people “voting” had no idea what was going on.
From what you say it appears the practice continues.
He was not concerned with the outcome, and I was not going to appropriate his experience and perhaps put him in a situation that caused him discomfort.
(I was instead, going to actively be present at the home for this election process, in order to make any complaints from a personal perspective but unfortunately was occupied with being with him over that two weeks in his last illness. He passed away the day after the vote was taken in the home, a week before the elections.)
I can already see the effects of my fellow bloggers and I fighting equal rights For OUR female”s you go get that power Ladys I mite be a bit bias because I have granddaughter”s but OUR females need all the help to right this wrong we fight for equal rights For every Human in OUR WORLD
GET THE TRUTH OF WHATS HAPPENING AROUND OUR WORLD WITH SOCIAL MEDIA KA PAI
It seems to be the season for making predictions on the outcome of the election, and who am I to resist the fashion.
So: Labour on 41%, just ahead of National on 39% (which, God knows is about 15 per cent more than they deserve!) Greens on 9% or even more – the message about climate change/breakdown finally getting through. NZ First, just over 5%, but with Winnie losing his seat in Northland. Act 1 seat (a real travesty of natural justice) The Maori Party 1 seat.
I don’t know how that would break down into seats, but the progressive bloc half of parliament!
Whether that means we can begin to roll back the neoliberal cancer that has wracked this country for over 30 years – remains to be seen!
It’s possible TV (not etc) if the rumours that the “youthquake” has finally emerged are true, but don’t count on it. I don’t trust the integrity of the majority of the rest of the punters. They are politically inept and easily led by the duplicitous, unscrupulous Nats.
Sources told Newsroom that National’s latest internal polling has it at 43 percent and Labour at 39 percent. NZ First and the Greens were both on six percent. But there were suggestions from those close to National that its figures had softened overnight
haveseen two conflicting reports (but no numbers) RNZ suggest he has little chance of holding whereas Newsroom suggests he will…as to threshold, i wouldnt be highly surprised….mildly perhaps
An average of those puts left block ahead by a mere half a percent… in my electorate I heard from a colleague who’s scrutineering early mostly left in a Conservative seat. Winnie still a lynch pin I think
That’s right Ianmac .Tory numbers will come down in my view & Labour
up…but not enough for Greens/Labour to govern alone unfortunately.Hope
Jacinda chooses the right single malt
Are scrutineers really allowed to look at the polling papers before election day?
I thought the boxes remained sealed and early counting wasn’t allowed until the polls opened on polling day.
I also thought it was illegal to provide anyone not part of the election with information about the vote before the close of the polls.
Don’t be naif mate… yes the votes are sealed and you cant talk but some people can read body language pretty well & wearing a rosette is also allowed. Also only anecdotal
“But there were suggestions from those close to National that its figures had softened overnight”
Gee hope so. Maybe early voting is not such a good idea. Remember a couple of elections ago John Key on mounting the victory dais gave his first hearty thanks to David Farrar. So his polling and focus grouping engineered a victory rather than a Party with merit.
Chairman I listened to that link you posted last weekend, it was really interesting, am following what’s going on re subject matter and researching because it’s entirely plausible and logical. Appreciate these links you have posted. Thanks Cinny.
PS am not racist and i love love refugees, but this isn’t about race, it’s about power
I’m afraid Mr Chairman you are on money with this one, especially when Australia and NZ governments are reducing aid in the South Pacific (incl PNG and East Timor) weather is civilian aid or under the Mutual Aid Pact (MAP) and China fills void with its cheap loans, cheap labour for its aid projects instead of employing and training up the local workforce like Oz and NZ do. Then the Chinese government puts pressure on the South Pacific counties to under report fishing quotas/ catches, threatened to withdraw market access for goods when there is a enquiry into the Chinese dumping of low quality goods aka cheap reo bar used in NZ building projects or worst calls in the so called cheap loans etc and then we have got the Chinese government/ proxies actions in to freedom of speech within the our universities or in the fourth estate.
The Chinese use of soft power is straight out of the thinking of the great Chinese general of Sun Tuz with a bit Mahan and Clausewitz thrown in for good measure.
The NZ establishment to busy trying to make as money as they can in the short term than rather look at the long term consequences, which is so typical of NZ governments and corporate NZ.
As Marx pointed out – the capitalists will sell you the rope used to hang them. And that is exactly how our governments have been acting for the last few decades.
Hey, James….how about putting your faith in the status quo into action and give your home address to one of the overworked charities trying to find homes for those without.
I’m sure they can satisfy your probable desire to only help those who are making the effort to help themselves by sending you a couple of working poor families who need a home.
If you go over to the National site, you can see particularly in their property section that they are far better at expressing their policies in terms of rational self interest. Both to younger people trying to get in to property, and to those who already own property.
Most of my work colleagues noticed this.
They also put up the banner headline on their site about “More of your income for you” or thereabouts.
I work for a University with schools in South Auckland and see the effects of this everyday. There is not a school I work with (and I work with primary schools) that doesn’t have kids who are self harming and or have made suicide attempts. FFS 10 year olds so disillusioned by your brigther future that they do not want to live.
With my brother (a patched gang member who your Deputy thinks has less human rights than her ) I also do volunteer work coaching sports teams and fundraising so kids can pay fees, have boots and have a chance for a better life and the need just keeps getting bigger and bigger under National.
We both grew up poor and brown in South Auckland but things were never as bad as they are right now.
Despite my own battles with drug and alcohol addiction (15 years sober) and depression I have been lucky and done well for myself. I earn six figures and my wife who is a Deputy Principal earns just under six figures. We can afford to pay more tax so that others have decent healthcare, access to mental health services and more money in their pockets to provide for themselves and their whanau.
As a country we need to do better. As a country we need to be fairer. That is why James I hope you are wrong and National do not win on Saturday. That is why I hope this election people vote for what is best for others and not what is best for them.
Kia Kaha James. I respect your right to hold your beliefs I just do not agree with them
Thanks ianmac. I just want to live in a country where I get to volunteer to help kids just because I want to not because I also “need” to. I am sitting at home today filling out forms and jumping through hoops so that the low decile schools I work with can access money to pay for professional development (PLD) for their teachers. Prior to this Governmentthis money was earmarked for them in a priority learners (Maori, Pasifika, Low SES, special needs) fund. The schools that really need it, now have to compete with high decile schools who can afford to fund the PLD themselves. It is a friggin joke.
I’m inclined to think that you may get better support from Charter Schools for your voluntary services – in fact I would think that Charter Schools would be more inclined to pay for your services.
I do my volunteer work in the community not in schools (although I have done some work with schools uncharged when I have had free time).
I would never work in a charter school as the philosophy behind them is at odds with my own beliefs that were formed by research. You may think they are great and if you do then good for you but for me I would rather see better funding for state schools.
Thank you Trey. So well expressed with no bitterness.
We all who have worked with struggling and disadvantaged families and individuals know that right wing parties cut services severely when they first get power. (austerity budget)
Following that they change the playing field to assist their own while berating the rest as lazy or making bad choices. (Ring fencing opportunities).
After 6/9 years of this, as opposition grows, they say yes we have made provision for improving that, but it is still less than before. (small loaded tax cuts/ contestible funding)
By now youth who were 9/10 years old when the right got in, at 18 are voting for something they have never had. Fairness and Hope.
Some are already lost souls hoping against hope for change.
Youth, you have the power to enroll vote and change this. Please do.
Yes james many fools have believed the polling – if you actually knew what they do, how they do it and then the interpretation of what information they receive – then you would not follow their lines so easily – but as a gnat voter you are easily led.
“For the trolls, know-it-alls and daredevils among us, the above options may seem laughably tame. After all this is your time to shine!
Fear not. Any and all situations can be turned into an opportunity for you to demonstrate your penchant for provocation with aplomb.
You know you’re the smartest. Elections are the time to make that apparent. Election night is the crescendo of your campaign of intellectual superiority and you cannot let it go to waste. In the mood for company? Wear a controversial t-shirt. Interrupt people loudly. Make your thoughts on controversial issues crystal clear. Staying in? Use the internet as it was intended: taunting, goading and antagonising those you disagree with.
You may not make friends but you will MAKE YOURSELF HEARD. And after all – isn’t that what democracy is all about? “
James
Everyone is so nice and polite to you. Bugger that. You have said that it is going to be a National led government I don’t know how many times. You are
just a stupid troll who doesn’t know that elections are a competition for ideas and methods of government. It’s not a sporting match, it’s not my side against yours and getting the ball over the line is the big deal.
This is about life and you waste our time, but not yours because you don’t know how to value time and effort. So you come here for amusement and interrupt the grown-ups. As time goes by, you and we may not be so polite when we are fighting for our lives and resources and have reached the end of our tether.
Marty… Maureen Pugh doesnt get back in? I’m so down with that, that leader ad happened again, lololol 7 weeks in a row, super funny. She’s already removed her hoardings from the main street here, Hooray.
May I add to that prediction please, Greens gain at least one more seat 2 weeks later after the special are counted.
Election time in NZ should never be source of severe angst and anxiety to any segment of the population. We should all be able to be confident that, whatever the outcome we will be able to accept it. But in what I thought I’d never see happen in NZ, the outcome of a general election is now literally a matter of life or death for some- make that a lot more than some, it’s multiplying every 3 years. So that anxiety is more than justified.
Those who are yet to vote, please also consider the literal lives of your fellow human beings/citizens.
Indeed , Kay ,… it is PROFOUNDLY crazy that this country , … has gotten to the point that there is anxiety about who wins this election. And its not just the sort of anxiety of team pride ,… it is something completely different ,… it is the same sort of anxiety experienced by many in third world country’s that are war torn,…
Whereby for many , – it is a matter of urgency of life or death.
That is ridiculous in a country full of natural resources like this. And it is even more ridiculous that it is present in a country that was once the 6th wealthiest ( per head of population ) in the late 1960s.
And , it is a direct result of 33 years of neo liberalism.
That’s beautifully put, Kay and so true. There is a great deal of unnecessary anxiousness out in the community that benefits no one. I hope that tomorrow night, there’ll be a great deal less. In the towns and cities anyway 🙂
I hear you, Kay, and please remember that voting is personal but it’s not personal, if you know what I mean. Some people care, some don’t. I don’t know you but I still care for you and for my fellow humans. Is my vote going to make a difference? A vote is just a vote, once every three years. It is pretty meaningless in the greater scheme of things unless you let it define your life. I know this may sounds very patronizing – it is to some extent – but those who have a one or two-seat majority in Parliament do not own me, they are not telling me what to think, say or do. They have as much power over me as I’m willing to give to them. Stay strong, find other strong people and join forces and help and love each other. Kia kaha, Kay! [I’m as pakeha as they come]
After tomorrow I look forward to driving all the way down a six lane highway to our holiday house on the Coromandel in our new Bentayga. The future is bright. Abigail and Felicity are doing well at school and looking forward to their trip to Italy with their school chums.
The MSM should not be printing rubbish like I saw this morning. It brings the country down when we are so buoyant and everything is great. We truly are in ‘Godzone.’
Publishing this sort of stuff before an election is unethical. What happened to integrity? Thank goodness we have a man like Mr English at the top. Hopefully such an ethical man, of such strong religious views and moral perspective, will see that nonsense like this will never be allowed to be printed.
The publishers of the Herald and the midwife should be the first into his new bootcamps.
A touch of irony would be not being able to top up the 13l+/100km transport because some Northern scum had buggered up delivery of the supplies!
Great confidence that Bull will have St Judith on that case though. Might stop in to see her on the way through actually. Just in for a cup of tea like. Now, how many kms from the airport? In what direction? ….
… ” The publishers of the Herald and the midwife should be the first into his new bootcamps ” …
Yep , – I can just see it now , Herr English and Herr Joyce in their riding boots , peaked caps and bullwhips. The image suits them well. A sign with the words ‘Arbeit macht frei’ would be a suitable backdrop to ram the message home as well….
That’s right Ianmac .Tory numbers will come down in my view & Labour
up…but not enough for Labour /Greens to govern alone unfortunately.Hope
Jacinda chooses the right single malt
Millsy the youth are turning out. Lines of them at most polling booths. Yesterday, 178785 people voted. It was reported many were young and enrolling as well.
Today on facebook the lines are 20 deep at all unis, so they are responding. Chin up.
A breakthrough in soft robotics means scientists are now one step closer to creating lifelike machines. Researchers at Columbia Engineering have developed a 3D printed synthetic tissue that can act as active muscle
So I just hope that whatever way the result goes we can all accept it with good grace and that we call get in behind whatever government is formed
Even if the government formed is not the one we’re hoping for its still the government of NZ so we should all get in behind and support it however we can
We don’t want to be (at least I hope we don’t) like the USA and have protests, start a petition etc etc
NZ is the overall best country in the world and we have one of the most stable political systems in the world as well and we should proud of that
Go democracy!
[I’ve done a couple of moderation requests on top of previous moderations. Given it’s the election and I don’t want to have to think about this for a while, I’m banning you for 4 weeks. When you come back you still need to answer the questions that have been asked. See https://thestandard.org.nz/is-nz-doomed-to-lying-politics-now/#comment-1388685 – weka]
Section 80 of the Electoral Act 1993 prohibits someone from being a candidate if they’re being detained for treatment under order or if they’re unfit to stand trial, but that’s a pretty massive threshold.
If you can breath and write your name, you can be a candidate and therefore a minister (with a few other exceptions, like prinoners or defence force personnel).
Im not joking…..having dealt with a parent with dementia for the past 5 years I was seriously concerned to read this a short time ago….
“Richard Prosser responds:
Morning Tim
Just for clarity, my statement concerning the re-nationalisation of power company shares was not wrong as your otherwise splendid article proclaims.
Perhaps the Member for Northland had simply changed his mind and not bothered to tell anyone else. Or perhaps he had forgotten our established and agreed position. Or perhaps he simply forgot that he’d changed his mind.
Recent behavioural trends lead me to suspect that any of the above are possibilities.
On the other hand, given NZ1st’s slide in the polls and Mr Prosser’s change in list position from 3rd to 15th, he may … erm…not perhaps be the most reliable witness.
My message to my father and the rest of rural New Zealand is this: a National victory may add to growing resentment, in which case expect the opposition to demand harsher policy. This narrative of town versus country is propagated by one party alone. By accepting it you are laying down a gauntlet against an enemy that you are creating. An enemy you cannot beat.
Turns out the young Syrian man bagged by the usual suspects in their efforts to vilify refugees, had nothing to do with Parson’s Green attack.
The second suspect detained was named as Yahyah Farroukh, a 21-year-old Syrian refugee who was arrested outside a chicken shop in Hounslow on Saturday night.
He was released with no further action by the Metropolitan Police on Thursday.
Voted at 2:22 on the 22nd (Spring Equinox) 😀 Crikey it was busy at the polling booth in Motueka, am on the unpublished roll so have do a a special vote, and by crikey the specials ballot box was bursting at the seams with special votes, that’s a good sign 😀
Michelle Boag adroitly manages to shift a conversation about the poor sod who immolated himself yesterday to one about Nikki Kaye wanting to encourage ‘resilience’ in our youth. My bad for having ‘Giggles With Jim’ on in the background.
(I’m not going to link to the show, mods…masochists can find it for themselves. 😉
Great, now she and Mike Williams are having a pretend fight…great for ratings…
However, not why I’m here.
Went to a busy Pak n Save today and observed that a very high proportion of shoppers were using the small trolleys, rather than the large family sized ones.
Commented on such to the understandably bored looking Checkout Operator, with the tongue in cheek explanation that perhaps folk were preparing for when National get back in tomorrow and austerity bites even harder.
Eyeroll from CO…”they’re all the same so I don’t bother…”
I think, using the little amount of subtle diplomacy I am capable of, I managed to persuade her that a vote for Labour, and one for the Greens (to keep Labour honest) would be beneficial for for those workers struggling to make ends meet. I told her that National supporters are crapping themselves at the thought of any revision of labour regulations and raising the minimum wage. I explained to her that there was more to the Greens than pollution and legalising dope.
Also had a similar conversation with a young person on a casual contract working in a bank….
Boag was dreadful (so at least consistent) on RNZ’s The Panel this afternoon, referring (at ~7:45 minutes) to “The children who are going to be the problems of tomorrow.” In Boag’s value system, these children don’t have problems, they are the problem. Odious.
“When the former National Party president Michelle Boag left her passport at home before an international flight yesterday, she did the obvious thing – called the Westpac rescue helicopter to fetch it for her.
Ms Boag, who is chairwoman of the Auckland Rescue Helicopter Foundation, made the 5.30am call on her way to Auckland Airport after she realised her passport was still at home on Waiheke Island.
The chopper, with the mandatory crew of three including a paramedic, flew from Mechanics Bay to Waiheke and then out to the helipad near the international terminal. It then returned to Mechanics Bay. ”
If there ever was a good reason to distrust and despise anyone and everyone aligned with the National Party….this is it.
Good link Ad the double edged sword of the internet we need to sort that shit out cannot have another like that person off the Simpson fuck that.
Those idiots in Tauranga think that because they zip around in there flash cars I won’t notice them. Just like one lot that thought that wearing a black beanie would make them invisible WTF they are costing me thousands in lost good will and lost income
but they have given me some big targets I will keep you up to date with my process
I no they have jack shit on me and the police are still trying to damage my credibility and undermine my social media credibility So don’t believe there bullshit they are barking up the wrong tree.Like there masters national
Ffs. Just seen PARTAY GIRL Bennett on The Bus leading the sing along while strap hanging Billy Liar was very excited about the amount of POSITIVE TOOTS they have been getting.
Can’t unsee it now. Question. How can you tell if a toot is positive?.
TL;DR: In today’s ‘six-stack’ of substacks at 6.06pm on Tuesday, March 19:Kāinga Ora’s dry rot The Spinoff DailyBill McKibben on ‘Climate Superfunds’ making Big Oil pay for climate damage The Crucial YearsPreston Mui on returning to 1980s-style productivity growth NoahpinionAndy Boenau on NIMBYs needing unusual bedfellows Urbanism SpeakeasyNed Resnikoff's case ...
Negative yesterday, negative today. Negative all year, according to one departing reader telling me I’ve grown strident and predictable. Fair enough. If it’s any help, every time I go to write about a certain topic that begins with C and ends with arrrrs, I do brace myself and ask: Again? Are ...
Bryce Edwards writes – It’s been a tumultuous time in politics in recent months, as the new National-led Government has driven through its “First 100 Day programme”. During this period there’s been a handful of opinion polls, which overall just show a minimal amount of flux in public support ...
Inspirational: The Family of Man is a glorious hymn to human equality, but, more than that, it is a clarion call to human freedom. Because equality, unleavened by liberty, is a broken piano, an unstrung harp; upon which the songs of fraternity will never be played.“Somebody must have been telling lies about ...
Tax Lawyer Barbara Edmonds vs Emperor Justinian I- Nolo Contendere: False historical explanations of pivotal events are very far from being inconsequential.WHEN BARBARA EDMONDS made reference to the Roman Empire, my ears pricked up. It is, lamentably, very rare to hear a politician admit to any kind of familiarity ...
It’s been a tumultuous time in politics in recent months, as the new National-led Government has driven through its “First 100 Day programme”. During this period there’s been a handful of opinion polls, which overall just show a minimal amount of flux in public support for the various parties in ...
Buzz from the Beehive Housing Minister Chris Bishop delivered news – packed with the ingredients to enflame political passions – worthy of supplanting Winston Peters in headline writers’ priorities. He popped up at the post-Cabinet press conference to promise a crackdown on unruly and antisocial state housing tenants. His ...
Ele Ludemann writes – The Reserve Bank is advertising for a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion advisor. The Bank has one mandate – to keep inflation between one and three percent. It has failed in that and is only slowly getting inflation back down to the upper limit. Will it ...
Last week former National Party leader Simon Bridges was appointed by the Government as the new chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA). You can read about the appointment in Thomas Coughlan’s article, Simon Bridges to become chair of NZ Transport Agency Waka KotahiThe fact that a ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Last week former National Party leader Simon Bridges was appointed by the Government as the new chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA). You can read about the appointment in Thomas Coughlan’s article, Simon Bridges to become chair of NZ Transport Agency ...
TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Gavin Jacobson talks to Thomas Piketty 10 years on from Capital in the 21st CenturyThe SalvoLocal scoop: Green MP’s business being investigated over migrant exploitation claims StuffSteve KilgallonLocal deep-dive: The commercial contractors making money from School ...
It’s a home - but Kāinga Ora tenants accused of “abusing the privilege” may lose it. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The Government announced a crackdown on Kāinga Ora tenants who were unruly and/or behind on their rent, with Housing Minister Chris Bishop saying a place in a state ...
This is a guest post by Connor Sharp of Surface Light Rail Light rail in Auckland: A way forward sooner than you think With the coup de grâce of Auckland Light Rail (ALR) earlier this year, and the shift of the government’s priorities to roads, roads, and more roads, it ...
Note: As a paid-up Webworm member, I’ve recorded this Webworm as a mini-podcast for you as well. Some of you said you liked this option - so I aim to provide it when I get a chance to record! Read more ...
TL;DR: In my ‘six-stack’ of substacks at 6.06pm on Monday, March 18:IKEA is accused of planting big forests in New Zealand to green-wash; REDD-MonitorA City for People takes a well-deserved victory lap over Wellington’s pro-YIMBY District Plan votes; A City for PeopleSteven Anastasiou takes a close look at the sticky ...
Buzz from the Beehive Here’s hoping for a lively post-cabinet press conference when the PM and – perhaps – some of his ministers tell us what was discussed at their meeting today. Until then, Point of Order has precious little Beehive news to report after its latest monitoring of the ...
David Farrar writes – We now have almost all 2023 data in, which has allowed me to update my annual table of how labour went against its promises. This is basically their final report card. The promiseThe result Build 100,000 affordable homes over 10 ...
I’m a bit worried that I’ve started a previous newsletter with the words “just when you think they couldn’t get any worse…” Seems lately that I could begin pretty much every issue with that opening. Such is the nature of our coalition government that they seem to be outdoing each ...
Geoffrey Miller writes – Timing is everything. And from China’s perspective, this week’s visit by its foreign minister to New Zealand could be coming at just the right moment. The visit by Wang Yi to Wellington will be his first since 2017. Anniversaries are important to Beijing. ...
Depictions of Islam in Western popular culture have rarely been positive, even before 9/11. Five years on from the mosque shootings, this is one of the cultural headwinds that the Muslim community has to battle against. Whatever messages of tolerance and inclusion are offered in daylight, much of our culture ...
Last week Transport Minster Simeon Brown and Mayor Wayne Brown opened the new Auckland Rail Operations Centre. The new train control centre will see teams from KiwiRail, Auckland Transport and Auckland One Rail working more closely together to improve train services across the city. The Auckland Rail Operations Centre in ...
Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Retiring former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson said in an exit interview with Q+A yesterday the Government can and should sustain more debt to invest in infrastructure for future generations. Elsewhere in the news in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy at 6:36am: Read more ...
Timing is everything. And from China’s perspective, this week’s visit by its foreign minister to New Zealand could be coming at just the right moment. The visit by Wang Yi to Wellington will be his first since 2017. Anniversaries are important to Beijing. It is more than just a happy ...
TL;DR: The key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to March 18 include:China’s Foreign Minister visiting Wellington today;A post-cabinet news conference this afternoon; the resumption of Parliament on Tuesday for two weeks before Easter;retiring former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson gives his valedictory speech in Parliament; ...
New Zealand First Leader Winston Peters’s state-of-the-nation speech on Sunday was really a state-of-Winston-First speech. He barely mentioned any of the Government’s key policies and could not even wholly endorse its signature income tax cuts. Instead, he rehearsed all of his complaints about the Ardern Government, including an extraordinary claim ...
A listing of 35 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 10, 2024 thru Sat, March 16, 2024. Story of the week This week we'll give you a little glimpse into how we collect links to share and ...
A listing of 35 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 10, 2024 thru Sat, March 16, 2024. Story of the week This week we'll give you a little glimpse into how we collect links to share and ...
“I’ve been internalising a really complicated situation in my head.”When they kept telling us we should wait until we get to know him, were they taking the piss? Was it a case of, if you think this is bad, wait till you get to know the real Christopher, after the ...
Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
.“$10 and a target that bleeds” - Bleeding Targets for Under $10!.Thanks for reading Frankly Speaking ! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.This government appears hell-bent on either scrapping life-saving legislation or reintroducing things that - frustrated critics insist - will be dangerous and likely ...
“It hardly strikes me as fair to criticise a government for doing exactly what it said it was going to do. For actually keeping its promises.”THUNDER WAS PLAYING TAG with lightning flashes amongst the distant peaks. Its rolling cadences interrupted by the here-I-come-here-I-go Doppler effect of the occasional passing car. ...
Subversive & Disruptive Technologies: Just as happened with that other great regulator of the masses, the Medieval Church, the advent of a new and hard-to-control technology – the Internet – is weakening the ties that bind. Then, and now, those who enjoy a monopoly on the dissemination of lies, cannot and will ...
Been Here Before: To find the precedents for what this Coalition Government is proposing, it is necessary to return to the “glory days” of Muldoonism.THE COALITION GOVERNMENT has celebrated its first 100 days in office by checking-off the last of its listed commitments. It remains, however, an angry government. It ...
Bob Edlin writes – And what is the world watching today…? The email newsletter from Associated Press which landed in our mailbox early this morning advised: In the news today: The father of a school shooter has been found guilty of involuntary manslaughter; prosecutors in Trump’s hush-money case ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Is another Green MP on their way out? And are the Greens severely tarnished by another integrity scandal? For the second time in three months, the Green Party has secretly suspended an MP over integrity issues. Mystery is surrounding the party’s decision to ...
For the last few years, the Green Party has been the party that has managed to avoid the plague of multiple scandals that have beleaguered other political parties. It appears that their luck has run out with a second scandal which, unfortunately for them, coincided with Golraz Ghahraman, the focus ...
TL;DR: The six newsey things that stood out to me as of 6:46am on Saturday, March 16.Andy Foster has accidentally allowed a Labour/Green amendment to cut road user chargers for plug-in hybrid vehicles, which the Government might accept; NZ HeraldThomas CoughlanSimeon Brown has rejected a plea from Westport ...
What seemed a booming success a couple of years ago has collapsed into fraud convictions.I looked at the crash of FTX (short for ‘Futures Exchange’) in November 2022 to see whether it would impact on the financial system as a whole. Fortunately there was barely a ripple, probably because it ...
Anybody following the situation in Ukraine and Russia would probably have been amused by a recent Tweet on X NATO seems to be putting in an awful lot of effort to influence what is, at least according to them, a sham election in an autocracy.When do the Ukrainians go to ...
TL;DR:Shaun Baker on Wynyard Quarter's transformation. Magdalene Taylor on the problem with smart phones. How private equity are now all over reinsurance. Dylan Cleaver on rugby and CTE. Emily Atkin on ‘Big Meat’ looking like ‘Big Oil’.Bernard’s six-stack of substacks at 6pm on March 15Photo by Jeppe Hove Jensen ...
Buzz from the Beehive Finance Minister Nicola Willis had plenty to say when addressing the Auckland Business Chamber on the economic growth that (she tells us) is flagging more than we thought. But the government intends to put new life into it: We want our country to be a ...
The Transport and Infrastructure Committee has reported back on the Road User Charges (Light Electric RUC Vehicles) Amendment Bill, basicly rubberstamping it. While there was widespread support among submitters for the principle that EV and PHEV drivers should pay their fair share for the roads, they also overwhelmingly disagreed with ...
Peter Dunne writes – This week’s government bailout – the fifth in the last eighteen months – of the financially troubled Ruapehu Alpine Lifts company would have pleased many in the central North Island ski industry. The government’s stated rationale for the $7 million funding was that it ...
See if you can spot the difference. An Iranian born female MP from a progressive party is accused of serial shoplifting. Her name is leaked to the media, which goes into a pack frenzy even before the Police launch an … Continue reading → ...
Ele Ludemann writes – The government is omitting general Treaty references from legislation : The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last Government in a bid to get greater coherence in the public service on Treaty ...
What was that judge thinking?Peter Williams writes – That Golriz Ghahraman and District Court Judge Maria Pecotic were once lawyer colleagues is incontrovertible. There is published evidence that they took at least one case to the Court of Appeal together. There was a report on ...
TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read:Climate Scorpion – the sting is in the tail. Introducing planetary solvency. A paper via the University of Exeter’s Institute and Faculty of Actuaries.Local scoop:Kāinga Ora starts pulling out of its Auckland projects and selling land RNZ ...
Wellington’s massively upzoned District Plan adds the opportunity for tens of thousands of new homes not just in the central city (such as these Webb St new builds) but also close to the CBD and public transport links. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Wellington gave itself the chance of ...
It’s Friday and we’re halfway through March Madness. Here’s some of the things that caught our attention this week. This Week in Greater Auckland On Monday Matt asked how we can get better event trains and an option for grade separating Morningside Dr. On Tuesday Matt looked into ...
Something you might not know about me is that I’m quite a stubborn person. No, really. I don’t much care for criticism I think’s unfair or that I disagree with. Few of us do I suppose.Back when I was a drinker I’d sometimes respond defensively, even angrily. There are things ...
Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the last week included:PM Christopher Luxon said the reversal of interest deductibility for landlords was done to help renters, who ...
It was not so much the Labour Party but really the Chris Hipkins party yesterday at Labour’s caucus retreat in Martinborough. The former Prime Minister was more or less consistent on wealth tax, which he was at best equivocal about, and social insurance, which he was not willing to revisit. ...
Buzz from the BeehiveThe text reproduced above appears on a page which records all the media statements and speeches posted on the government’s official website by Melissa Lee as Minister of Media and Communications and/or by Jenny Marcroft, her Parliamentary Under-secretary. It can be quickly analysed ...
For forty years, Robert Muldoon has been a dirty word in our politics. His style of government was so repulsive and authoritarian that the backlash to it helped set and entrench our constitutional norms. His pig-headedness over forcing through Think Big eventually gave us the RMA, with its participation and ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Is the new government reducing tax on rental properties to benefit landlords or to cut the cost of rents? That’s the big question this week, after Associate Finance Minister David Seymour announced on Sunday that the Government would be reversing the Labour Government’s removal ...
Saudi Arabia is rarely far from the international spotlight. The war in Gaza has brought new scrutiny to Saudi plans to normalise relations with Israel, while the fifth anniversary of the controversial killing of Jamal Khashoggi was marked shortly before the war began on October 7. And as the home ...
Questions need to be asked on both sides of the worldPeter Williams writes – The NRL Judiciary hands down an eight week suspension to Sydney Roosters forward Spencer Leniu , an Auckland-born Samoan, after he calls Ezra Mam, Sydney-orn but of Aboriginal and Torres Strait ...
Ele Ludemann writes – Contrary to what many headlines and news stories are saying, residential landlords are not getting a tax break. The government is simply restoring to them the tax deductibility of interest they had until the previous government removed it. There is no logical reason ...
I can't remember when it was goodMoments of happiness in bloomMaybe I just misunderstoodAll of the love we left behindWatching our flashbacks intertwineMemories I will never findIn spite of whatever you becomeForget that reckless thing turned onI think our lives have just begunI think our lives have just begunDoes anyone ...
Michael Bassett writes – At first reading, a front-page story in the New Zealand Herald on 13 March was bizarre. A group of severely intellectually limited teenagers, with little understanding of the law, have been pleading to the Justice Select Committee not to pass a bill dealing with ram ...
How much political capital is Christopher Luxon willing to burn through in order to deliver his $2.9 billion gift to landlords? Evidently, Luxon is: (a) unable to cost the policy accurately. As Anna Burns-Francis pointed out to him on Breakfast TV, the original ”rock solid” $2.1 billion cost he was ...
TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read:Jonathon Porritt calling bullshit in his own blog post on mainstream climate science as ‘The New Denialism’.Local scoop:The Wellington City Council’s list of proposed changes to the IHP recommendations to be debated later today was leaked this ...
TL;DR:Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said yesterday tenants should be grateful for the reinstatement of interest deductibility because landlords would pass on their lower tax costs in the form of lower rents. That would be true if landlords were regulated monopolies such as Transpower or Auckland Airport1, but they’re not, ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Tom Toro Tom Toro is a cartoonist and author. He has published over 200 cartoons in The New Yorker since 2010. His cartoons appear in Playboy, the Paris Review, the New York Times, American Bystander, and elsewhere. Related: What 10 EV lovers ...
The business section of the NZ Herald is full of opinion. Among the more opinionated of all is the ex-Minister of Transport, ex-Minister of Railways, ex MP for Auckland Central (1975-93, Labour), Wellington Central (1996-99, ACT, then list-2005), ex-leader of the ACT Party, uncle to actor Antonia, the veritable granddaddy ...
Hi,Just quickly — I’m blown away by the stories you’ve shared with me over the last week since I put out the ‘Gary’ podcast, where I told you about the time my friend’s flatmate killed the neighbour.And you keep telling me stories — in the comments section, and in my ...
The first season of Rings of Power was not awful. It was thoroughly underwhelming, yes, and left a lingering sense of disappointment, but it was more expensive mediocrity than catastrophe. I wrote at length about the series as it came out (see the Review section of the blog, and go ...
Buzz from the Beehive Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden told Auckland Business Chamber members they were the first audience to hear her priorities as a minister in a government committed to cutting red tape and regulations. She brandished her liberalising credentials, saying Flexible labour markets are the ...
Chris Trotter writes – TO UNDERSTAND WHY NEWSHUB FAILED, it is necessary to understand how TVNZ changed. Up until 1989, the state broadcaster had been funded by a broadcasting licence fee, collected from every citizen in possession of a television set, supplemented by a relatively modest (compared ...
Bob Edlin writes – The Māori Party has been busy issuing a mix of warnings and threats as its expresses its opposition to interest deductibility for landlords and the plans of seabed miners. It remains to be seen whether they follow the example of indigenous litigants in Australia, ...
Every year, in the Budget, Parliament forks out money to government agencies to do certain things. And every year, as part of the annual review cycle, those agencies are meant to report on whether they have done the things Parliament gave them that money for. Agencies which consistently fail to ...
The Government has accepted Labour’s change to the Road User Charge (RUC) discount for hybrid vehicles, meaning there will still be some incentive for people to buy greener vehicles. ...
Kicking the most vulnerable people out of state housing and pushing them towards homelessness will result in a proliferation of poverty and trauma across our most vulnerable communities. ...
Te Pāti Māori co-leader and MP for Waiariki, Rawiri Waititi has penned a letter asking MPs to support his members bill to remove GST from all food. The bill is expected to go through its first reading in parliament this Wednesday. “I’m calling on all political parties to support my ...
This year is about getting real with Kiwis and discussing the tough issues, as the National Government exacerbates inequality and divides New Zealand, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said ...
The Government adding Significant Natural Areas (SNAs) to its already roaring environmental policy bonfire is an assault on the future of wildlife that makes Aotearoa unique. ...
After 12 years of fighting to protect our moana we are finding ourselves back at square one and back at court. Today, the Environmental Protection Agency is sitting in Hawera to reconsider an application from Trans-Tasman Resources to dig up 50 million tonnes of the seabed in South Taranaki. This ...
Minister Shane Jones’ decision to step away from a seabed mining project is evidence of the murky waters surrounding the Government’s fast-track legislation. ...
The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last government in a bid to get greater coherence in the publicservice on Treaty matters. When ministers first considered the need for tighter oversight in 2021, there ...
The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last government in a bid to get greater coherence in the publicservice on Treaty matters. When ministers first considered the need for tighter oversight in 2021, there ...
The Coalition Government’s miscalculation saga continues as it has forgotten an eyewatering $90 million gap in its interest deductibility cost figures, say Labour Finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds and Revenue Spokesperson Deborah Russell. ...
He Pou a Rangi Climate Change Commission has today released advice that says if the Government doesn’t act now New Zealand is at risk of not meeting its climate goals. ...
The Coalition Government has today confirmed it is abandoning first home buyers who are struggling to get ahead, says Labour Finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds. ...
The New Zealand public voted for a change in direction at the 2023 general election and that is exactly what this coalition government has been delivering in its first 100 days. There was an immediate focus on the economy, easing the cost of living, cracking down on law and order ...
The Government has left the health system as an afterthought, announcing half-baked targets at the last minute of their 100-day plan, says Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall. ...
Kiwis are still waiting for their promised cost of living support after 100 days of a National Government that is taking us backwards, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said today. ...
The National Government has spent its first 100 days stopping, cutting and reversing. They have scrapped stuff for stuff for the sake of it, without putting up any solutions of their own – and it’s hardworking New Zealanders who will pay for it. ...
100 days of National taking NZ backwardsThe National Government has spent its first 100 days stopping, cutting and reversing. They have scrapped stuff for stuff for the sake of it, without putting up any solutions of their own – and it’s hardworking New Zealanders who will pay for it. ...
The Government must commit to funding free and healthy school lunches, as thousands of people sign the petition to keep them, education spokesperson Jan Tinetti says. ...
If the Government was serious about moving families into public housing, they would build more houses so there is actually somewhere for people to go. ...
The free and healthy school lunches programme feeds our kids, helps them to learn, and saves families money – but it is at risk under this Government, education spokesperson Jan Tinetti said. ...
The Government’s proposed changes to Firearms Prohibition Orders (FPO) add almost nothing new and are merely an attempt to distract from its plans to loosen gun laws, police spokesperson Ginny Andersen and justice spokesperson Dr Duncan Webb said. ...
The great Victorian era English politician Lord Macauley stood in the British House of Parliament and said, "The gallery in which the reporters sit has become a fourth estate of the realm".He understood and outlined even way back then, the significant role and influence media have in a democracy. ...
The government’s attack on Māori health this week is committing tangata-whenua to a premature death, says Te Pāti Māori. “The government have begun their onslaught on Māori health with the abolishment of the Māori Health Authority and smokefree laws in the same day” said health spokesperson and co-leader, Debbie Ngarewa-Packer. ...
"The Government is moving quickly to realise an additional $46 million in tariff savings in the EU market this season for Kiwi exporters,” Minister for Trade and Agriculture, Todd McClay says. Parliament is set, this week, to complete the final legislative processes required to bring the New Zealand – European ...
New Zealand’s social workers are qualified, experienced, and more representative of the communities they serve, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “I want to acknowledge and applaud New Zealand’s social workers for the hard work they do, providing invaluable support for our most vulnerable. “To coincide with World ...
Cabinet has agreed to a reduced road user charge (RUC) rate for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. Owners of PHEVs will be eligible for a reduced rate of $38 per 1,000km once all light electric vehicles (EVs) move into the RUC system from 1 April. ...
Minister of Agriculture and Trade, Todd McClay, says that today’s opening of Riverland Foods manufacturing plant in Christchurch is a great example of how trade access to overseas markets creates jobs in New Zealand. Speaking at the official opening of this state-of-the-art pet food factory the Minister noted that exports ...
Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Wellington today. “It was a pleasure to host Foreign Minister Wang Yi during his first official visit to New Zealand since 2017. Our discussions were wide-ranging and enabled engagement on many facets of New Zealand’s relationship with China, including trade, ...
Kāinga Ora – Homes & Communities has been instructed to end the Sustaining Tenancies Framework and take stronger measures against persistent antisocial behaviour by tenants, says Housing Minister Chris Bishop. “Earlier today Finance Minister Nicola Willis and I sent an interim Letter of Expectations to the Board of Kāinga Ora. ...
Tēna koutou katoa. Greetings everyone. Thank you to the Auckland Chamber of Commerce and the Honourable Simon Bridges for hosting this address today. I acknowledge the business leaders in this room, the leaders and governors, the employers, the entrepreneurs, the investors, and the wealth creators. The coalition Government shares your ...
Minister Winston Peters completed the final leg of his visit to South and South East Asia in Singapore today, where he focused on enhancing one of New Zealand’s indispensable strategic partnerships. “Singapore is our most important defence partner in South East Asia, our fourth-largest trading partner and a ...
Minister of Internal Affairs and Workplace Relations and Safety, Hon. Brooke van Velden, will travel to the Republic of Korea to represent New Zealand at the Third Summit for Democracy on 18 March. The summit, hosted by the Republic of Korea, was first convened by the United States in 2021, ...
ICNZ Speech 7 March 2024, Auckland Acknowledgements and opening Mōrena, ngā mihi nui. Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho. Good morning, it’s a privilege to be here to open the ICNZ annual conference, thank you to Mark for the Mihi Whakatau My thanks to Tim Grafton for inviting me ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Lead Coordination Minister Judith Collins have expressed their deepest sympathy on the five-year anniversary of the Christchurch terror attacks. “March 15, 2019, was a day when families, communities and the country came together both in sorrow and solidarity,” Mr Luxon says. “Today we pay our respects to the 51 shuhada ...
Speech for Financial Advice NZ Conference 5 March 2024 Acknowledgements and opening Morena, Nga Mihi Nui. Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho. Thanks Nate for your Mihi Whakatau Good morning. It’s a pleasure to formally open your conference this morning. What a lovely day in Wellington, What a great ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters held discussions in Jakarta today about the future of relations between New Zealand and South East Asia’s most populous country. “We are in Jakarta so early in our new government’s term to reflect the huge importance we place on our relationship with Indonesia and South ...
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters has announced that the Foreign Minister of China, Wang Yi, will visit New Zealand next week. “We look forward to re-engaging with Foreign Minister Wang Yi and discussing the full breadth of the bilateral relationship, which is one of New Zealand’s ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has today opened the new Auckland Rail Operations Centre, which will bring together KiwiRail, Auckland Transport, and Auckland One Rail to improve service reliability for Aucklanders. “The recent train disruptions in Auckland have highlighted how important it is KiwiRail and Auckland’s rail agencies work together to ...
The Government is proud to support the 10th edition of Crankworx Rotorua as the Crankworx World Tour returns to Rotorua from 16-24 March 2024, says Minister for Economic Development Melissa Lee. “Over the past 10 years as Crankworx Rotorua has grown, so too have the economic and social benefits that ...
Legislation implementing coalition Government tax commitments and addressing long-standing tax anomalies will be progressed in Parliament next week, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The legislation is contained in an Amendment Paper to the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill issued today. “The Amendment Paper represents ...
Associate Environment Minister Andrew Hoggard has today announced that the Government has agreed to suspend the requirement for councils to comply with the Significant Natural Areas (SNA) provisions of the National Policy Statement for Indigenous Biodiversity for three years, while it replaces the Resource Management Act (RMA).“As it stands, SNAs ...
Agriculture Minister Todd McClay has classified the drought conditions in the Marlborough, Tasman, and Nelson districts as a medium-scale adverse event, acknowledging the challenging conditions facing farmers and growers in the district. “Parts of Marlborough, Tasman, and Nelson districts are in the grip of an intense dry spell. I know ...
The Government is helping farmers eradicate the significant impact of facial eczema (FE) in pastoral animals, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced. “A $20 million partnership jointly funded by Beef + Lamb NZ, the Government, and the primary sector will save farmers an estimated NZD$332 million per year, and aims to ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has completed a successful visit to India, saying it was an important step in taking the relationship between the two countries to the next level. “We have laid a strong foundation for the Coalition Government’s priority of enhancing New Zealand-India relations to generate significant future benefit for both countries,” says Mr Peters, ...
Cabinet has agreed to provide $7 million to ensure the 2024 ski season can go ahead on the Whakapapa ski field in the central North Island but has told the operator Ruapehu Alpine Lifts it is the last financial support it will receive from taxpayers. Cabinet also agreed to provide ...
Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says the launch of a new mobile breast screening unit in Counties Manukau reinforces the coalition Government’s commitment to drive better cancer services for all New Zealanders. Speaking at the launch of the new mobile clinic, Dr Reti says it’s a great example of taking ...
Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says the launch of a new mobile breast screening unit in Counties Manukau reinforces the coalition Government’s commitment to drive better cancer services for all New Zealanders. Speaking at the launch of the new mobile clinic, Dr Reti says it’s a great example of taking ...
Unlocking economic growth and land for housing are critical elements of the Government’s plan for our transport network, and planned upgrades to State Highway 29 (SH29) near Tauriko will deliver strongly on those priorities, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “The SH29 upgrades near Tauriko will improve safety at the intersections ...
Unlocking economic growth and land for housing are critical elements of the Government’s plan for our transport network, and planned upgrades to State Highway 29 (SH29) near Tauriko will deliver strongly on those priorities, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “The SH29 upgrades near Tauriko will improve safety at the intersections ...
Lower fruit and vegetable prices are welcome news for New Zealanders who have been doing it tough at the supermarket, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. Stats NZ reported today the price of fruit and vegetables has dropped 9.3 percent in the 12 months to February 2024. “Lower fruit and vege ...
Tēnā koutou katoa and greetings to you all. Chair, I am honoured to address the sixty-eighth session of the Commission on the Status of Women. I acknowledge the many crises impacting the rights of women and girls. Heightened global tensions, war, climate related and humanitarian disasters, and price inflation all ...
Tēnā koutou katoa and greetings to you all. Chair, I am honoured to address the 68th session of the Commission on the Status of Women. I acknowledge the many crises impacting the rights of women and girls. Heightened global tensions, war, climate related and humanitarian disasters, and price inflation all ...
The coalition Government is supporting farmers to enhance land management practices by investing $3.3 million in locally led catchment groups, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced. “Farmers and growers deliver significant prosperity for New Zealand and it’s vital their ongoing efforts to improve land management practices and water quality are supported,” ...
Good evening everyone and thank you for that lovely introduction. Thank you also to the Honourable Simon Bridges for the invitation to address your members. Since being sworn in, this coalition Government has hit the ground running with our 100-day plan, delivering the changes that New Zealanders expect of us. ...
Recommendations from the Climate Change Commission for New Zealand on the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) auction and unit limit settings for the next five years have been tabled in Parliament, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. “The Commission provides advice on the ETS annually. This is the third time the ...
The coalition Government is beginning its fight to lower building costs and reduce red tape by exempting minor building work from paying the building levy, says Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk. “Currently, any building project worth $20,444 including GST or more is subject to the building levy which is ...
Proposed changes to tax legislation to prevent the over-taxation of low-earning trusts are welcome, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The changes have been recommended by Parliament’s Finance and Expenditure Committee following consideration of submissions on the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill. “One of the ...
Assalaamu alaikum. السَّلَام عليكم In light of the holy month of Ramadan, I want to extend my warmest wishes to our Muslim community in New Zealand. Ramadan is a time for spiritual reflection, renewed devotion, perseverance, generosity, and forgiveness. It’s a time to strengthen our bonds and appreciate the diversity ...
Former Transport Minister and CEO of the Auckland Business Chamber Hon Simon Bridges has been appointed as the new Board Chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) for a three-year term, Transport Minister Simeon Brown announced today. “Simon brings extensive experience and knowledge in transport policy and governance to the role. He will ...
Good morning all, it is a pleasure to be here as Minister of Science, Innovation and Technology. It is fantastic to see how connected and collaborative the life science and biotechnology industry is here in New Zealand. I would like to thank BioTechNZ and NZTech for the invitation to address ...
Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says he is looking forward to the day when three key water projects in Northland are up and running, unlocking the full potential of land in the region. Mr Jones attended a community event at the site of the Otawere reservoir near Kerikeri on Friday. ...
Associate Finance Minister David Seymour has today announced that the Government has agreed to restore deductibility for mortgage interest on residential investment properties. “Help is on the way for landlords and renters alike. The Government’s restoration of interest deductibility will ease pressure on rents and simplify the tax code,” says ...
Sport and Recreation Minister Chris Bishop will travel to Switzerland today to attend an Executive Committee meeting and Symposium of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). Mr Bishop will then travel on to London where he will attend a series of meetings in his capacity as Infrastructure Minister. “New Zealanders believe ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Deborah Lupton, SHARP Professor, Vitalities Lab, Centre for Social Research in Health and Social Policy Centre, and the ARC Centre of Excellence for Automated Decision-Making and Society, UNSW Sydney kitzcorner/Shutterstock The assertion from Queensland’s chief health officer John Gerrard that ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Martin, Visiting Fellow, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University Shutterstock Why are musicians so keen to get played on the radio? It can’t be because of the money. In Australia they are paid at rates so low they ...
"Farmers make a point not to tell our urban cousins how to live, yet Chlöe from central Auckland is hell-bent on having her say about farmers," says ACT Rural Communities spokesman Mark Cameron. “On her first day in the House as Green ...
Analysis by Dr Bryce Edwards – Democracy Project (https://democracyproject.nz)Political scientist, Dr Bryce Edwards. It’s been a tumultuous time in politics in recent months, as the new National-led Government has driven through its “First 100 Day programme”. During this period there’s been a handful of opinion polls, which overall just ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tim Curran, Associate Professor of Ecology, Lincoln University, New Zealand Getty Images/Gerald Corsi In the latest move to reform environmental laws in New Zealand, the coalition government has introduced a bill to fast-track consenting processes for projects deemed to ...
Uber has argued it does not have as much control over drivers as the unions suggest, and wants a judgment ruling that drivers are employees and not contractors set aside and sent back to the Employment Court. The 2022 ruling followed a three-week hearing in which four drivers sought to ...
What can and can’t be purchased by disabled people or their carers has been slashed in an effort by the Ministry of Disabled People Whaikaha to save money. The purchasing guidelines, a set of rules that sets out what can be purchased using the various streams of Government disability funding, ...
The Treasury has published today a new Analytical Note by Tod Wright and Hien Nguyen, Fiscal incidence in New Zealand: The effects of taxes and benefits on household incomes in tax year 2018/19 . Analyses of the distributional impact of taxation and government ...
The Treasury has published today a new Analytical Note by Cory Davis, Boston Hart and Benjamin Stubbing, Household cost-of-living impacts from the Emissions Trading Scheme and using transfers to mitigate regressive outcomes . This Analytical Note ...
A coalition of public transport and climate organisations, united as ‘Transport for All’, is actively opposing the government’s transport proposals. The draft Government Policy Statement (GPS) includes plans for higher fares for public transport, ...
Greater Wellington is inviting feedback on proposed changes to its Revenue and Financing Policy. The Revenue and Financing Policy covers the Council’s various sources of funding, and how the cost of services is shared across the region. This includes ...
Labour has conceded it could have done more to deal with disruptive state housing tenants while in government but says the current coalition is going too far. ...
The band has asked their record label to issue a cease and desist to stop the NZ First leader using their 1997 hit to support his ‘misguided political views’. “I get knocked down, but I get up again,” blared through the speakers on Sunday as Winston Peters took the stage ...
By Lydia Lewis, RNZ Pacific journalist Food rationing is underway in remote areas in Papua New Guinea’s Highlands following torrential rain and flash flooding. More than 20 people have been reported dead in Chimbu Province. In nearby Enga Province, the centre of last month’s massacre, a 15-year-old boy has been ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andrew Hughes, Lecturer, Research School of Management, Australian National University After months of debate and intrigue, the AFL’s 19th and newest team, the Tasmania Devils, finally launched its jumper, logo and colours in Devonport this week. The Devils will wear green, ...
Brannavan Gnanalingam reviews the debut novel by Saraid de Silva.One of the most baffling things for children who move to a new country is what their parents’ (or grandparents’) lives were like prior to moving – for kids in particular, they’re too busy trying to fit in in their ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Stephen Gaunson, Associate Professor in Cinema Studies, RMIT University Narelle Portanier/Binge “If you don’t know who your mob are, you don’t know who you are,” Detective Andrea “Andie” Whitford (played by Leah Purcell) is told early into the new crime ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Elise Klein, Associate professor, Australian National University It’s commonly accepted that women do the vast majority of caregiving in Australian society. But less appreciated is that Indigenous women do larger amounts of unpaid care than any other group. Working with the Aboriginal ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Beaumont, Election Analyst (Psephologist) at The Conversation; and Honorary Associate, School of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of Melbourne Joe Biden and Donald Trump have both secured their parties’ nominations for the November 5 United States general election by winning a ...
Comment: There has been a striking contrast in trans-Tasman interest about Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi’s visit to New Zealand and Australia. While the Australian press has been full of articles about the visit – including his curious decision to meet with former prime minister and China booster Paul Keating ...
After years of pressuring banks and other institutions to stop investing in fossil fuels, climate campaigners are making some progress. So how does divestment work?For years, climate activists have been pushing banks and other big institutions to divest from fossil fuels. New research from climate advocacy group 350 Aotearoa ...
For Boba, Ethan and Ashley, K-pop is a place to belong, a way to express themselves, and a bridge to connect with others. The three young Polynesians are part of a K-pop fan community in Tāmaki Makaurau. It’s one of many that have sprung up worldwide as K-pop has gone ...
For Boba, Ethan and Ashley, K-pop is a place to belong, a way to express themselves, and a bridge to connect with others. This one-off documentary presents three intimate portraits of young Polynesians who are pulled into a Korean cultural phenomenon. K-POLYS is directed by Litia Tuiburelevu, Produced by Hex ...
There’s ample evidence demonstrating free school lunch programmes provide wide benefits across schools, households and communities according to public health researchers. ACT Minister David Seymour wants to reduce the spending on Aotearoa New Zealand’s ...
By Wata Shaw in Suva Fiji is facing an exodus of Fijians as many are leaving for overseas seeking employment and education and others are migrating, says Opposition MP Viliame Naupoto. Speaking in Parliament, he said: “His Excellency’s speech (Ratu Wiliame Katonivere) comes after a little over one year of ...
The Taxpayers’ Union is welcoming comments from Christopher Luxon this morning recommitting to ‘no new taxes’ as part of Budget 2024. “Mr Luxon’s refusal at the Post-Cabinet press conference yesterday to repeat the ‘no new taxes’ promise ...
SAFE is urgently calling on the Environment Committee to reject the Government’s Fast-Track Approvals Bill, and is urging New Zealanders to rally behind the call. The proposed Bill, currently under consideration with the Environment select committee, ...
Teammates who spend all their time picking fights with spectators are only helpful for the other team, writes Madeleine Chapman. Anyone who has ever played a team sport competitively, particularly as a child and particularly, for some reason, basketball, will know that there’s a lot of politics involved. While there ...
The long-running Wellington music festival is too focused on the Jim Beam-ness and not enough on the Homegrown-ness.There is something about Homegrown that’s difficult to place. A barely perceptible-ness. Like feeling a ghost is watching you from the corner of the room but when you look, there’s nothing there. ...
The latest Ipsos New Zealand Issues Monitor reveals that fewer New Zealanders believe crime / law and order is one of the top issues facing our country. In 2018, Ipsos New Zealand started tracking the key issues facing New Zealand. In this wave ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kate Griffiths, Deputy Program Director, Budgets and Government, Grattan Institute Australia’s political donations rules are woefully inadequate, but donations reform is finally on the agenda. The federal government has signalled its interest in reform and will soon begin briefing MPs on its ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mark Patrick Taylor, Chief Environmental Scientist, EPA Victoria; Honorary Professor, School of Natural Sciences, Macquarie University Naiyana Somchitkaeo/Shutterstock A recent study published in the prestigious New England Journal of Medicine has linked microplastics with risk to human health. The study ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Albert Van Dijk, Professor, Water and Landscape Dynamics, Fenner School of Environment & Society, Australian National University Global climate records were shattered in 2023, from air and sea temperatures to sea-level rise and sea-ice extent. Scores of countries recorded their hottest year ...
As part of our series exploring how New Zealanders live and our relationship with money, a teacher explains why he and his partner are in frugal mode – and how they’re making it work. Gender: Male Age: 35Ethnicity: Pākehā Role: I am an intermediate school teacher and my partner is ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sarah Bendall, Senior Lecturer, Institute for Humanities and Social Sciences, Australian Catholic University Binge Mary & George, the new British television drama series, depicts the real-life story of Mary Villiers and her son George, and their social climbing at the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jason Nassios, Associate Professor, Centre of Policy Studies, Victoria University This article is part of The Conversation’s series examining the housing crisis. Read the other articles in the series here. Australian state and federal governments spend money in many ways to ...
The finance minister is denying that there’s a $5.6b shortfall in paying for the government’s campaign promises, including tax cuts. At his post-cabinet press conference yesterday, the PM refused to rule out new taxes to pay for the cuts, writes Anna Rawhiti-Connell in this excerpt from The Bulletin, The Spinoff’s ...
Kāinga Ora tenants abused by their neighbours are doubting the government's crackdown on disruptive tenants will make a difference on their behaviour. ...
Kāinga Ora is New Zealand’s biggest residential landlord, housing more than 180,000 vulnerable people in more than 67,000 properties. Yesterday the government announced a crackdown on its tenants who fall behind on rent. One longtime Kāinga Ora tenant shares her experience.For 18 years I lived in a 1960s standalone ...
Why does this myth persist, and what’s the real reason our skin is suffering?It’s one of the biggest international grievances New Zealanders hold, up there with the sinking of the Rainbow Warrior and 1981’s underarm incident. We’re quick to tell international travellers that the world’s pollution led to the ...
Loading…(function(i,s,o,g,r,a,m){var ql=document.querySelectorAll('A[quiz],DIV[quiz],A[data-quiz],DIV[data-quiz]'); if(ql){if(ql.length){for(var k=0;k<ql.length;k++){ql[k].id='quiz-embed-'+k;ql[k].href="javascript:var i=document.getElementById('quiz-embed-"+k+"');try{qz.startQuiz(i)}catch(e){i.start=1;i.style.cursor='wait';i.style.opacity='0.5'};void(0);"}}};i['QP']=r;i[r]=i[r]||function(){(i[r].q=i[r].q||[]).push(arguments)},i[r].l=1*new Date();a=s.createElement(o),m=s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];a.async=1;a.src=g;m.parentNode.insertBefore(a,m)})(window,document,'script','https://take.quiz-maker.com/3012/CDN/quiz-embed-v1.js','qp'); Got a good quiz question?Send Newsroom your questions. The post Newsroom daily quiz, Tuesday 19 March appeared first on Newsroom. ...
Bob’s relationship with certain members of Lincoln’s academic staff continued to deteriorate in the 1990s. Others supported him publicly, though articles such as Roland Clark’s 1993 piece in Growing Today cannot have pleased the university management. Clark wrote that Bob was selling onions from the Biological Husbandry Unit to a ...
SailGP’s races feature in-your-face action, with agile, hydro-foiling catamarans tacking and jibing for the title over several days. However, public comments ahead of the global series’ return to New Zealand have left this past year’s controversy in the shadows, as a key appointment attracts criticism from dolphin advocates. A year ...
Opinion: We are fast approaching a fundamental change in prisons. As the number of people on custodial remand looks set to overtake the number of sentenced prisoners, the main function of prisons in New Zealand may become incarcerating un-sentenced people who may not be guilty of offending. We have already ...
A huge seven months lies in store for the White Ferns, beginning this week with the visit of England and culminating with the T20 World Cup in Bangladesh in September and October. Starting on Tuesday in Dunedin, the world ranked No. 2 visitors will play five T20s and three ODIs, ...
Opinion: In a move that has shocked road safety advocates across the country, the new Minister of Transport, Simeon Brown, is poised to abandon the previous government’s speed limit reduction policy, particularly around schools. Even more alarmingly, he wants school speed limits to be variable rather than full-time, arguing ...
Auckland Council is opposing a fast-track development backed by Sir John Kirwan and Spark NZ, because it doesn’t meet stringent new climate adaptation requirements The post Surf-data centre faces new 3.8C climate warming rules appeared first on Newsroom. ...
When the Criminal Proceeds (Recovery) Act was introduced in 2009 it was firmly targeted at gangs and drugs. The legislation means police no longer need a conviction to seize assets that criminals can’t prove were paid for legitimately, as long as their alleged offences are punishable by more than a ...
The letters, which were published last week, were addressed to Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) Chairperson Megawati Sukarnoputri, National Democrat Party (NasDem) Chairperson Surya Paloh, National Awakening Party (PKB) Chairperson Muhaimin Iskandar, Justice and Prosperity Party (PKS) President Ahmad Syaikhu and United Development Party (PPP) Chairperson Muhammad Mardiono. In ...
Evicting more people from state housing is ignorant to the consequences of poverty, the Greens say, but the Housing Minister says it's a privilege that can be taken away if abused. ...
Evicting more people from state housing is ignorant to the consequences of poverty, the Greens say, but the Housing Minister says it's a privilege that can be taken away if abused. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Emerald L King, Lecturer in Humanities, University of Tasmania IMDB Between Netflix’s 2023 live-action version of One Piece, and its latest take on Avatar: The Last Airbender, fans are once again asking: why are live-action anime adaptations so tricky to ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Emerald L King, Lecturer in Humanities, University of Tasmania IMDB Between Netflix’s 2023 live-action version of One Piece, and its latest take on Avatar: The Last Airbender, fans are once again asking: why are live-action anime adaptations so tricky to ...
The government says it still intends to deliver tax cuts by July, but will not lock them in until they have got them past their coalition partners. ...
Kiingi Tuheitia Pootatau Te Wherowhero VII has hosted members of the Green Party Caucus at Tuurangawaewae Marae in Ngaaruawahia. The audience follows the King’s Hui-aa-Motu on 20 January, where more than 10,000 people gathered to discuss national ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Dr Rachael Potter, Research Associate and Lecturer in Work and Organisational Psychology, University of South Australia Ground Picture/Shutterstock Pregnant women and workers with children are often unfairly treated by their bosses and colleagues, despite laws to protect against workplace discrimination ...
Reacting to Prime Minister Christopher Luxon’s refusal to rule out introducing new taxes at the budget, Taxpayers’ Union Campaigns Manager, Connor Molloy, said: “Today’s refusal to rule out new taxes suggests the Government is nothing more ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Stephen Duckett, Honorary Enterprise Professor, School of Population and Global Health, and Department of General Practice and Primary Care, The University of Melbourne Aila Images/Shutterstock Aged-care workers will receive a significant pay increase after the Fair Work Commission ruled they ...
He’s bringing ‘Sophie’ back, yeah. Goodshirt’s ‘Sophie’ music video is one of the most instantly recognisable New Zealand music videos of all time. Featuring a woman listening to the song on headphones while her entire house is burgled behind her, the video won the New Zealand music award for Best ...
National.
Happy to lie to get power.
Happy to put their interests above the vulnerable.
Happy to accept poisoned rivers, increasing poverty and inequality, more mental health issues, worsening health and education services…
As long as they are alright and get their flash holidays and flash cars……
C’mon New Zealand ,… vote Labour / Green and end all the poverty !!!
One in Ten – UB40 (lyrics) – YouTube
Video for one in ten you tube▶ 4:34
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s59yXAtmaTw
And it is that corruption, there really is no other word for it, that destroys societies and has done throughout history.
It’s the media peddled fake economy, the lavish private taxes and levies introduced by govts on us all. National are the party of high hidden taxes. Taxes that take time from parenting, take time from community, take time from participation in society, take time off life from pollution causing ill health. It’s the fake economy the corrupt media manufactures to cover all the external costs unpaid for except by the people.
Our biased media have shown their Dirty side with their reliable amplification and repeating of Nact lies and smears ….. Its what they do at election times.
Lies by omission is their usual method of mis-reporting …..
Which brings me to John Key and the comprehensive con job they pulled on behalf of that disgusting man … although they did lie a hell of a lot for him …
Keys early currency speculation in NZ was possibly rigged with insider trading, …..if he was in on the Douglas pre-devaluation tip off …
Currency speculation makes normal trading for businesses which actually produce something more difficult…….. Key left NZ for Merrill Lynch.
Keys work for Merrill Lynch in Ireland, seems to have consisted of using tax havens and things like the double irish dutch sandwich ….. to entice mainly American companies to creatively become Irish ones, In name ……
He made large money …. by Gutting UsA tax revenue, and that of other countries….. as corporations opted out of paying tax where they make their sales and profits …..
Its impossible to estimate the costs and harms John Key has inflicted on poor and middle class citizens everywhere ,,,,, through reduced Governments revenue.
His work for merrill in Asia is where he gained the reputation for smiling while sacking people ,,,,
The Asian currency crisis took place in 1997 ……and like most crashes involved speculation …. along eith innocent workers paying the price for the greed of the financial sector ….
Corruption was also rife in Asia …regularly 25% of funding for projects and sometimes up to 50% was being taken and skimmed by corrupt regimes like a suharto or his Generals.
…… In many cases institutions like Merrill when raising funding and making the loans … would then help the corrupt leaders move their stolen portion off-shore …. High ranking jobs were given to corrupt Politicians children or other relatives …..
When or if the corrupt illegitimate leaders were removed from power …..the corrupt banksters debts remained ……….
These corrupt debts get paid in either privatisation and theft of resources ….or through tax on the poor …
s
Sometimes over 50%) of a governments expenditure will be interest on never ending debt …….. while poor children die from lack of sanitation and basics in healthcare and food ….
Poor people are not worth a dollar missing from bankers profits to the Keys of this world.…
In our country and other developed nations, corporate and uber rich tax cheating ….. means things like ‘voluntary’ school fees for financially stressed parents,….. large student debts for something that used to be free for Key, English, Joyce,Collins and co …. longer waiting lists in the health sector, underfunded police etc etc
In poor countries this economic apartheid kills children……
Ask yourself , would you steal from a baby ? …. people who build and use tax havens do …..
Key has personally helped steal from Millions of children ……
Keys investment skills suggest he left the largest portion of his paper wealth in his old firm ….It almost hit $100 per share ….. before it poisoned itself with its on products and dodgy creative accounting … Merrill was the third big firm after Bear-sterns and Lehmans to collapse …
Bank of America was backing out of a deal to buy merrill …. when Merrills portfolio revealed itself as a pile of toxic crap …. with 21 Billion dollar operating losses revealed in a three month period ……
Merrill and the financial sector were vaporizing wealth at a rate which is hard to comprehend ….. 46 Billion was the final amount in losses from Merrill …… 46 Billion
The American government stepped in and the Bank of America was forced to rescue the imploding Merrill and stop a domino collapsing of the american financial system …..
american taxpayers, pension funds and other victims paid for the bailout in Govt cash to the perpetrators ….. and then they paid again ….. with GFC loss of jobs wealth and security for themselves and other ordinary people.
Despite Keys statements dissing and distancing himself from Merrill …… when the GFC revealed their sham products, creative dishonesty and reckless gambling behavior …
His Bank of America shares are testimonty to him staying firmly invested with Merrill …..
He benefited from the Usa Govt forcing the merger ….. and paying Billions to cover Merrills loses
Key started his Merrill career by costing ordinary taxpayers money with his base erosion tax dodge work …
And he finished it with a direct bailout for his worthless Merrill shares ….
What a hard working creative millionare …… he cant swing a hammer but builds things which blow Billion dollar holes in Government revenue
How many millions in charity he took from usa citizens …. depends on how many Merrill shares he had hoarded
He could be summed up as an anti-Robin Hood ….. Stealing from the poor to give to the rich.
Good at greed driven cheating ……….. But a shit Greed driven investor.
Its all a bit of a scam how our media never reported his personal multi million bailout at the start of the GFC ….
Protecting the image ….. by many lies ….and lots of omission.
As Bill and National is benefiting from.
Keys and Englishs economic model ……of speculation and cheating is of course doomed to failure ……
It can only benefit the few by the losses of the many.
Key, Nz’s George Bush junior. Bush started wars, Key destroyed his own nation, shitty rivers, shitty housing, shitty tourism all over the country…
I’ve been out and about in Onehunga and Mangere taking people to enrol and vote early over the last week. The vibe for change is strong and I’m pleased to have seen young people skipping into the booths and coming out with the “I’ve voted” sticker. For me the last two days have been emotional, feeling nervous and butterflies multiplying in the puku…hoping and praying for the best outcome for all our people tomorrow…we can do this…let’s do this!
L0l yes !… my son and I both smiled and wore the ‘ I’ve voted ‘ sticker after casting our votes ,… its really a good idea . 🙂
I agree Wild Katipo…the stickers are good…we took our young children along with us to vote this week and they said to me quietly “vote for me” to which a man overheard and replied “I just did”…we all walked out with our stickers! Proud!
We voted for our kids and everyone elses too – this is change in action!!!
Excellent work. Pleased to read about the vibe for change – south Auckland needs it; Tāmaki Makaurau needs it; Aotearoa- NZ needs it.
Top Work Pacific Princess. Keep it up.
Nice one – good mahi – let’s make a diffrence, together
Having an I’ve voted’ sticker is a good idea. Me with the butterflies too. Good on you Pacific Princess.
Good on you Pacific Princess. I have been out and about in Papatoetoe. People are desperate for a change and they really want to vote this time. They are getting family out to vote. They are encouraging each other. It could be 2005 all over again -turnout confounding the polls.
This is heartening!
Some MSM must have Australian decency because some of them Keep underarm bowling Jacainda.
Nice try but I all ready read that someone was under arm bowling me last nite or was it a SPIN bowling on TV 3.
I agree with Draco T Bastard we will ban all polls a month before election nite.
What a load of rubbish bill already knows he has lost its written all over his face I will courier a couple of boxes of tissues to TV 3 for Saturday nite
My pick
Lab 50
Grn 18
Maori party 6
We want a future for OUR children
Youth vote today please. So so important.
70 000 immigrants a year. That is 700 000 in ten years, 100 000 new houses required at 7 per house, at least 350 000 new jobs required, 4 new hospitals and another cities worth of services,. Just so National can pretend the economy is growing
Yip and half of the growth has been coming from the earthquake rebuild and increased infrastructure spend. Projections certainly aren’t so impressive going forward.
All the growth has been coming from increased debt created by the housing boom.
To have increased GDP requires having more money in the system and the only way money increases is through borrowing from the private banks.
Yip. Reminds me of Yip Harburg and Jay Gorney and their poignant song.
The National Herd have passed their suitability test to be an exalted citizen, they have made money and worked at something enough so they feel virtuous. The Virtue Religion it’s the new one, probably a bit like Scientology.
National! Note – Al they don’t want you in their nation.
Yip’s song.
Brother Can You Spare a Dime
Say don’t you remember you called me Al,
It was Al all the time,
Buddy can you spare a dime.
Al Jolson (Old time famous in USA, interesting historic and Depression shots)
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4F4yT0KAMyo
Bing Crosby’s version.
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eih67rlGNhU
Depression history images.
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TpfY8kh5lUw
‘Don’t want to end up a cartoon in a cartoon graveyard.’ For Gnashional politicians.
Paul Simon You can call me Al. Al certainly has difficulties and in NZ he’s the tail end of the nation. Let’s see the tail wagging the dog eh!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ev0wfe6zzi0
Nationals standard election procedure.
1. Pretend to be socialist.
2. Fudge statistics so they look socialist.
3. Make things up about the opposition.
4. Lie. Lie. Lie. Lie………
Duncan stop trying to justify your polls which are designed to confuse voters what a good under arm bowl the business of OUR country need to pay more to OUR society because they ain’t paying much NOW Ka Pai
In recent days an awful (!) lot has been said about lying.
I thought this piece was very good: http://www.stuff.co.nz/life-style/homed/decor/97045612/how-not-to-be-a-good-human-according-to-the-block
Sometimes I wonder whether calling out lies & liars is actually having the intended effect of achieving a more truthful society. It seems that more often (?) it is portrayed & viewed as a shining example of how to get ahead and succeed. Think Gordon Gekko and “greed is good”.
That said, not pulling them up on lies is not the way either …
The problem is that there’s no consequences to lying. Blinglish and many other National Party MPs lied and they’re still eligible to be in parliament. This should not happen.
It just seems that there are no negative consequences to lying. Indeed, it appears to pay off in the short term. However, in the longer term the lies will catch up with you and you start to distrust others and suspect them from lying to you too. In the end, you cannot trust anyone, not even yourself … A truly Faustian Pact!
Which is just one of the aspects of the RWNJ Greed is Good paradigm that destroys society. When no one can trust anyone else then relationships break down and society fragments and eventually we see civil war or worse.
Good link Incognito. Just as well Jacinda, aware of those crook values, said,
“Let’s NOT do it.” And she hasn’t and nor has James.
Yes, they don’t sink to these lows because they have values and it shows. We need more …
I got told off for trying to tell my sons whom to vote for she was right I had to apologise Please go and vote Labour Green or Maori party If you want a future
We have commentators telling us who to vote for, PR firms and pamphlets and billboards galore.
Depending on “how” you were telling your sons, I would think that anyone else should stay out of it, (unless it falls under party campaigning at the booth). Especially if they had asked your advice. In the end, you are just another source of information, they get to decide whether to listen to you or not.
As an aside, meant to act as a casual scrutineer this time at my father-in-law’s rest home this election. We went to take him to the voting booth last time, and found out he had already voted. He thought he had just confirmed his vote, with “helpers” telling him where to tick. He had no idea which party he had voted for. Unfortunately, when the early voting came around I was unable to get there to watch. Back on the to-do list for next time.
I hope you reported that to the electoral commission so that it could be properly investigated.
I worked as a poll clerk at a polling booth at one election a long time ago. We did it as a fund raising exercise for a charity where we put in the time and they got the money.
It was in a rest home and a fair number of the people there were showing distinct signs of dementia.
They were being “helped” by the staff. I think that quite a lot of the people “voting” had no idea what was going on.
From what you say it appears the practice continues.
Hi Alwyn, what was the process that was undertaken to review this practice – if any?
He was not concerned with the outcome, and I was not going to appropriate his experience and perhaps put him in a situation that caused him discomfort.
(I was instead, going to actively be present at the home for this election process, in order to make any complaints from a personal perspective but unfortunately was occupied with being with him over that two weeks in his last illness. He passed away the day after the vote was taken in the home, a week before the elections.)
I can already see the effects of my fellow bloggers and I fighting equal rights For OUR female”s you go get that power Ladys I mite be a bit bias because I have granddaughter”s but OUR females need all the help to right this wrong we fight for equal rights For every Human in OUR WORLD
GET THE TRUTH OF WHATS HAPPENING AROUND OUR WORLD WITH SOCIAL MEDIA KA PAI
It seems to be the season for making predictions on the outcome of the election, and who am I to resist the fashion.
So: Labour on 41%, just ahead of National on 39% (which, God knows is about 15 per cent more than they deserve!) Greens on 9% or even more – the message about climate change/breakdown finally getting through. NZ First, just over 5%, but with Winnie losing his seat in Northland. Act 1 seat (a real travesty of natural justice) The Maori Party 1 seat.
I don’t know how that would break down into seats, but the progressive bloc half of parliament!
Whether that means we can begin to roll back the neoliberal cancer that has wracked this country for over 30 years – remains to be seen!
It’s possible TV (not etc) if the rumours that the “youthquake” has finally emerged are true, but don’t count on it. I don’t trust the integrity of the majority of the rest of the punters. They are politically inept and easily led by the duplicitous, unscrupulous Nats.
That’s right Anne, we see it every election, much to our chagrin.
National Party Internal Poll (Curia) (2 days ago)
Nat 43%
Lab 39%
NZF 6%
Greens 6%
https://www.newsroom.co.nz/2017/09/20/48879/election-2017-live-an-awkward-jet-fuel-crisis
Still everything to play for – “softened” = Voters swinging back to the Left ???
you seen anything on Northland?….what chance Winston holds the seat?
Northland ? …. None that I know of
Polls of Whangarei & Te Tai Tokerau …. but no Northland – go figure
Still – I’d be highly surprised if NZF fell below 5% threshold
haveseen two conflicting reports (but no numbers) RNZ suggest he has little chance of holding whereas Newsroom suggests he will…as to threshold, i wouldnt be highly surprised….mildly perhaps
So, latest Polls
Nat (Curia) … Lab (UMR) … CB ……… RR
Nat … 43% ………… 43% ……… 46% …… 45.8
Lab … 39% ………… 38% ……… 37% …… 37.3
NZF … 6% ………….. 8% ………… 5% …….. 7.1
Green 6% ………….. 7% ………… 8% …….. 7.1
NZF and Greens wouldn’t want to drop too much off that if they want a job come Monday.
That will be interesting to watch on the night.
difference is Greens trending up whereas NZF trending down….I know which position Id prefer to be in
I, for one, would be happy to see NZF drop considerably to deny this idiot a return to Parliament. http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11925275
An average of those puts left block ahead by a mere half a percent… in my electorate I heard from a colleague who’s scrutineering early mostly left in a Conservative seat. Winnie still a lynch pin I think
Redlion. I think you said that early voters were voting Left in a Conservative seat?
That’s right Ianmac .Tory numbers will come down in my view & Labour
up…but not enough for Greens/Labour to govern alone unfortunately.Hope
Jacinda chooses the right single malt
Are scrutineers really allowed to look at the polling papers before election day?
I thought the boxes remained sealed and early counting wasn’t allowed until the polls opened on polling day.
I also thought it was illegal to provide anyone not part of the election with information about the vote before the close of the polls.
Don’t be naif mate… yes the votes are sealed and you cant talk but some people can read body language pretty well & wearing a rosette is also allowed. Also only anecdotal
True A single rossette is allowed but no car flags.
“But there were suggestions from those close to National that its figures had softened overnight”
Gee hope so. Maybe early voting is not such a good idea. Remember a couple of elections ago John Key on mounting the victory dais gave his first hearty thanks to David Farrar. So his polling and focus grouping engineered a victory rather than a Party with merit.
Expert calls for inquiry into Chinese ‘threat’
Well, well. There seems to be an interesting development following on from my post on the 16th (https://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-16092017/#comment-1385067).
A leading academic has called for New Zealand to follow Australia and take the threat of China’s growing influence in its affairs seriously.
https://www.newsroom.co.nz/2017/09/18/48616/expert-calls-for-inquiry-into-chinese-threat
Chinese-owned New Zealand dairy farms said to possibly being used to test advanced missile technology
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=11924169
This from ABC: Chinese “soft power” influence becomes election issue in New Zealand
http://www.abc.net.au/radio/programs/worldtoday/chinese-soft-power-influence-in-new-zealand/8967852
And of course, this from Winston: China’s Growing Control in NZ Must Be Investigated
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA1709/S00237/chinas-growing-control-in-nz-must-be-investigated.htm
An interesting related read:
http://www.stephenfranks.co.nz/q-e-d-on-spies-from-the-minister-responsible-for-our-security-intelligence-sevices/
http://www.wikihow.com/Tell-if-You-Are-a-Racist
Playing the race card, Marty? How original.
US power, economic paradigms and influence, in New Zealand is much more frightening at present. That may change as China already “owns” the USA.
Hey KJT – do you have any idea when that pipeline from the wharf to Wiri could have been removed after?
I can’t find it anywhere
Chairman I listened to that link you posted last weekend, it was really interesting, am following what’s going on re subject matter and researching because it’s entirely plausible and logical. Appreciate these links you have posted. Thanks Cinny.
PS am not racist and i love love refugees, but this isn’t about race, it’s about power
Thanks, Cinny.
I’m afraid Mr Chairman you are on money with this one, especially when Australia and NZ governments are reducing aid in the South Pacific (incl PNG and East Timor) weather is civilian aid or under the Mutual Aid Pact (MAP) and China fills void with its cheap loans, cheap labour for its aid projects instead of employing and training up the local workforce like Oz and NZ do. Then the Chinese government puts pressure on the South Pacific counties to under report fishing quotas/ catches, threatened to withdraw market access for goods when there is a enquiry into the Chinese dumping of low quality goods aka cheap reo bar used in NZ building projects or worst calls in the so called cheap loans etc and then we have got the Chinese government/ proxies actions in to freedom of speech within the our universities or in the fourth estate.
The Chinese use of soft power is straight out of the thinking of the great Chinese general of Sun Tuz with a bit Mahan and Clausewitz thrown in for good measure.
The NZ establishment to busy trying to make as money as they can in the short term than rather look at the long term consequences, which is so typical of NZ governments and corporate NZ.
+111
As Marx pointed out – the capitalists will sell you the rope used to hang them. And that is exactly how our governments have been acting for the last few decades.
I’ll make a prediction – LANDSLIDE FOR LABOUR – NATIONAL MPs LOSE SEATS EVERYWHERE – GREEN VOTE MASSIVE.
I’ll make a prediction that you are wrong.
Whatever way it will go it will be close.
I think National ahead of Labour. Winston goes with National (being the largest vote).
3 more years of National led government.
Hey, James….how about putting your faith in the status quo into action and give your home address to one of the overworked charities trying to find homes for those without.
I’m sure they can satisfy your probable desire to only help those who are making the effort to help themselves by sending you a couple of working poor families who need a home.
Sorted, then?
If you go over to the National site, you can see particularly in their property section that they are far better at expressing their policies in terms of rational self interest. Both to younger people trying to get in to property, and to those who already own property.
Most of my work colleagues noticed this.
They also put up the banner headline on their site about “More of your income for you” or thereabouts.
I appreciate the precision of that messaging.
(but I will still be voting for the red team).
If you are right James then New Zealand will suffer three more years of this.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11924968 because this is the legacy of nine years of National.
I work for a University with schools in South Auckland and see the effects of this everyday. There is not a school I work with (and I work with primary schools) that doesn’t have kids who are self harming and or have made suicide attempts. FFS 10 year olds so disillusioned by your brigther future that they do not want to live.
With my brother (a patched gang member who your Deputy thinks has less human rights than her ) I also do volunteer work coaching sports teams and fundraising so kids can pay fees, have boots and have a chance for a better life and the need just keeps getting bigger and bigger under National.
We both grew up poor and brown in South Auckland but things were never as bad as they are right now.
Despite my own battles with drug and alcohol addiction (15 years sober) and depression I have been lucky and done well for myself. I earn six figures and my wife who is a Deputy Principal earns just under six figures. We can afford to pay more tax so that others have decent healthcare, access to mental health services and more money in their pockets to provide for themselves and their whanau.
As a country we need to do better. As a country we need to be fairer. That is why James I hope you are wrong and National do not win on Saturday. That is why I hope this election people vote for what is best for others and not what is best for them.
Kia Kaha James. I respect your right to hold your beliefs I just do not agree with them
An inspiring story Trey. Thanks.
Thanks ianmac. I just want to live in a country where I get to volunteer to help kids just because I want to not because I also “need” to. I am sitting at home today filling out forms and jumping through hoops so that the low decile schools I work with can access money to pay for professional development (PLD) for their teachers. Prior to this Governmentthis money was earmarked for them in a priority learners (Maori, Pasifika, Low SES, special needs) fund. The schools that really need it, now have to compete with high decile schools who can afford to fund the PLD themselves. It is a friggin joke.
I’m inclined to think that you may get better support from Charter Schools for your voluntary services – in fact I would think that Charter Schools would be more inclined to pay for your services.
I do my volunteer work in the community not in schools (although I have done some work with schools uncharged when I have had free time).
I would never work in a charter school as the philosophy behind them is at odds with my own beliefs that were formed by research. You may think they are great and if you do then good for you but for me I would rather see better funding for state schools.
+ 100%
Thank you Trey. So well expressed with no bitterness.
We all who have worked with struggling and disadvantaged families and individuals know that right wing parties cut services severely when they first get power. (austerity budget)
Following that they change the playing field to assist their own while berating the rest as lazy or making bad choices. (Ring fencing opportunities).
After 6/9 years of this, as opposition grows, they say yes we have made provision for improving that, but it is still less than before. (small loaded tax cuts/ contestible funding)
By now youth who were 9/10 years old when the right got in, at 18 are voting for something they have never had. Fairness and Hope.
Some are already lost souls hoping against hope for change.
Youth, you have the power to enroll vote and change this. Please do.
Yes james many fools have believed the polling – if you actually knew what they do, how they do it and then the interpretation of what information they receive – then you would not follow their lines so easily – but as a gnat voter you are easily led.
James! Saturday night!
“For the trolls, know-it-alls and daredevils among us, the above options may seem laughably tame. After all this is your time to shine!
Fear not. Any and all situations can be turned into an opportunity for you to demonstrate your penchant for provocation with aplomb.
You know you’re the smartest. Elections are the time to make that apparent. Election night is the crescendo of your campaign of intellectual superiority and you cannot let it go to waste. In the mood for company? Wear a controversial t-shirt. Interrupt people loudly. Make your thoughts on controversial issues crystal clear. Staying in? Use the internet as it was intended: taunting, goading and antagonising those you disagree with.
You may not make friends but you will MAKE YOURSELF HEARD. And after all – isn’t that what democracy is all about? “
James
Everyone is so nice and polite to you. Bugger that. You have said that it is going to be a National led government I don’t know how many times. You are
just a stupid troll who doesn’t know that elections are a competition for ideas and methods of government. It’s not a sporting match, it’s not my side against yours and getting the ball over the line is the big deal.
This is about life and you waste our time, but not yours because you don’t know how to value time and effort. So you come here for amusement and interrupt the grown-ups. As time goes by, you and we may not be so polite when we are fighting for our lives and resources and have reached the end of our tether.
Hooray marty mars – roll out the red carpet, we know what colour is the best for
a flying carpet.
yep if you look up on Saturday night and see a shooting star- then you will know we are just flying around here in the bay 🙂
Only a landslide can defeat ‘counting fraud’…
It’s who counts the votes…
No doubt there is a shift and ground swell rising MM…
If it doesn’t sweep this time, the nats will be gone forever should they have another 3 years…
Kia Kaha Aotearoa
Marty… Maureen Pugh doesnt get back in? I’m so down with that, that leader ad happened again, lololol 7 weeks in a row, super funny. She’s already removed her hoardings from the main street here, Hooray.
May I add to that prediction please, Greens gain at least one more seat 2 weeks later after the special are counted.
lets hope saint nick gets an early christmas and is banished to the workshop with the elves. Come on Matt get on up there!!!!!
Here’s some exciting music and images to carry the fight and spirit on.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y3cXcS49D64
O Fortuna we cry.
Toby Manhire tweeted a quote from Clarke Gayford:
He;s just “a hunka-hunka burnin’ lerve”.
That came out of a very, very short interlude in Jacinda being interviewed by Duncan Garner this morning.
A very good and positive interview worth watching despite the title.
http://www.newshub.co.nz/home/election/2017/09/clarke-gayford-looking-forward-to-being-first-ladyman.html
According to Toby, Jacinda’s schedule today is gruelling – 12 media intteractions and five public events – plus her grandmother’s funeral in Waikato.
Kia kaha to Jacinda and family.
Looks like I found my Mark we will see who wins !!!!!!!! I already no
Election time in NZ should never be source of severe angst and anxiety to any segment of the population. We should all be able to be confident that, whatever the outcome we will be able to accept it. But in what I thought I’d never see happen in NZ, the outcome of a general election is now literally a matter of life or death for some- make that a lot more than some, it’s multiplying every 3 years. So that anxiety is more than justified.
Those who are yet to vote, please also consider the literal lives of your fellow human beings/citizens.
Indeed , Kay ,… it is PROFOUNDLY crazy that this country , … has gotten to the point that there is anxiety about who wins this election. And its not just the sort of anxiety of team pride ,… it is something completely different ,… it is the same sort of anxiety experienced by many in third world country’s that are war torn,…
Whereby for many , – it is a matter of urgency of life or death.
That is ridiculous in a country full of natural resources like this. And it is even more ridiculous that it is present in a country that was once the 6th wealthiest ( per head of population ) in the late 1960s.
And , it is a direct result of 33 years of neo liberalism.
That’s beautifully put, Kay and so true. There is a great deal of unnecessary anxiousness out in the community that benefits no one. I hope that tomorrow night, there’ll be a great deal less. In the towns and cities anyway 🙂
I hear you, Kay, and please remember that voting is personal but it’s not personal, if you know what I mean. Some people care, some don’t. I don’t know you but I still care for you and for my fellow humans. Is my vote going to make a difference? A vote is just a vote, once every three years. It is pretty meaningless in the greater scheme of things unless you let it define your life. I know this may sounds very patronizing – it is to some extent – but those who have a one or two-seat majority in Parliament do not own me, they are not telling me what to think, say or do. They have as much power over me as I’m willing to give to them. Stay strong, find other strong people and join forces and help and love each other. Kia kaha, Kay! [I’m as pakeha as they come]
After tomorrow I look forward to driving all the way down a six lane highway to our holiday house on the Coromandel in our new Bentayga. The future is bright. Abigail and Felicity are doing well at school and looking forward to their trip to Italy with their school chums.
The MSM should not be printing rubbish like I saw this morning. It brings the country down when we are so buoyant and everything is great. We truly are in ‘Godzone.’
Publishing this sort of stuff before an election is unethical. What happened to integrity? Thank goodness we have a man like Mr English at the top. Hopefully such an ethical man, of such strong religious views and moral perspective, will see that nonsense like this will never be allowed to be printed.
The publishers of the Herald and the midwife should be the first into his new bootcamps.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11924968
God forbid that this Midwife should work in Remuera where the effects of long term inbreeding are also too obvious.
Great slant Pete. Touch of irony?
A touch of irony would be not being able to top up the 13l+/100km transport because some Northern scum had buggered up delivery of the supplies!
Great confidence that Bull will have St Judith on that case though. Might stop in to see her on the way through actually. Just in for a cup of tea like. Now, how many kms from the airport? In what direction? ….
Pete,like the cut of your jib.
… ” The publishers of the Herald and the midwife should be the first into his new bootcamps ” …
Yep , – I can just see it now , Herr English and Herr Joyce in their riding boots , peaked caps and bullwhips. The image suits them well. A sign with the words ‘Arbeit macht frei’ would be a suitable backdrop to ram the message home as well….
That’s right Ianmac .Tory numbers will come down in my view & Labour
up…but not enough for Labour /Greens to govern alone unfortunately.Hope
Jacinda chooses the right single malt
If I don’t post on here again, just want to wish everyone good luck. Hopefully we will see a change of government.
If National does get back in, Ill probably won’t post for a little bit, at least until the trolls lose interest. But we shall see.
On the bright side, it’s going to be a warm weekend forecast, and daylight saving kicks off this weekend.
mate I like your posts (mainly) – whatever happens we will need your shoulder – go well, refresh and come back fire breathing and flying. Kia kaha.
Know how you feel Millsy. Let’s keep popping in with some interesting tidbit. And we may yet make it through the night.
Millsy the youth are turning out. Lines of them at most polling booths. Yesterday, 178785 people voted. It was reported many were young and enrolling as well.
Today on facebook the lines are 20 deep at all unis, so they are responding. Chin up.
in the 2005 election 172,052 advance votes were made in total.
The future is arriving pretty god damn fast
A breakthrough in soft robotics means scientists are now one step closer to creating lifelike machines. Researchers at Columbia Engineering have developed a 3D printed synthetic tissue that can act as active muscle
https://www.engadget.com/2017/09/21/synthetic-muscle-soft-robot-breakthrough/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=145&v=1J47difr3oo
So I just hope that whatever way the result goes we can all accept it with good grace and that we call get in behind whatever government is formed
Even if the government formed is not the one we’re hoping for its still the government of NZ so we should all get in behind and support it however we can
We don’t want to be (at least I hope we don’t) like the USA and have protests, start a petition etc etc
NZ is the overall best country in the world and we have one of the most stable political systems in the world as well and we should proud of that
Go democracy!
[I’ve done a couple of moderation requests on top of previous moderations. Given it’s the election and I don’t want to have to think about this for a while, I’m banning you for 4 weeks. When you come back you still need to answer the questions that have been asked. See https://thestandard.org.nz/is-nz-doomed-to-lying-politics-now/#comment-1388685 – weka]
The Maori Party is investigating allegations its first Chinese candidate threatened violence against a journalist.
https://www.tvnz.co.nz/one-news/new-zealand/ill-beat-him-up-maori-party-investigating-allegations-candidate-threatened-nz-herald-reporter
The Scream..Jacinda Ardern.
https://www.trademe.co.nz/Browse/Listing.aspx?id=1422629158
And sorry if someone has already posted it.
Does the ban on talking bout politics from midnight tonight apply to the Standard?-can I still come here to be depressed?
Does anyone know whether there is any requirement for an MP or more importantly a Minister to have full control of his/her mental faculties?
Available evidence suggests not.
Section 80 of the Electoral Act 1993 prohibits someone from being a candidate if they’re being detained for treatment under order or if they’re unfit to stand trial, but that’s a pretty massive threshold.
If you can breath and write your name, you can be a candidate and therefore a minister (with a few other exceptions, like prinoners or defence force personnel).
Not in Nationals MP’s requirements.-nick smith sets the mental target,a goal they all strive to achieve.
Im not joking…..having dealt with a parent with dementia for the past 5 years I was seriously concerned to read this a short time ago….
“Richard Prosser responds:
Morning Tim
Just for clarity, my statement concerning the re-nationalisation of power company shares was not wrong as your otherwise splendid article proclaims.
Perhaps the Member for Northland had simply changed his mind and not bothered to tell anyone else. Or perhaps he had forgotten our established and agreed position. Or perhaps he simply forgot that he’d changed his mind.
Recent behavioural trends lead me to suspect that any of the above are possibilities.
Best regards
Richard Prosser”
https://www.newsroom.co.nz/2017/09/21/49216/winstons-last-stand
On the other hand, given NZ1st’s slide in the polls and Mr Prosser’s change in list position from 3rd to 15th, he may … erm…not perhaps be the most reliable witness.
perhaps…but on top of his bizarre performance on RNZ the other day (was it last week?) the questions mount
nice article from a farmers son
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/opinion/97062007/on-the-eve-of-the-election-a-farmers-sons-letter-to-his-father
What a dag. It’s all Labour no Greens fault and the farmers just need to handle it right and get out of jail free./sarc
Today’s word is “dotard”.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/onpolitics/2017/09/21/dotard-trump-kim-jong-un-merriam-webster/691564001/
Lil’Kim wins this round.
Turns out the young Syrian man bagged by the usual suspects in their efforts to vilify refugees, had nothing to do with Parson’s Green attack.
The second suspect detained was named as Yahyah Farroukh, a 21-year-old Syrian refugee who was arrested outside a chicken shop in Hounslow on Saturday night.
He was released with no further action by the Metropolitan Police on Thursday.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/parsons-green-attack-latest-teenager-17-sixth-person-arrested-london-underground-bomb-a7958486.html
Voted at 2:22 on the 22nd (Spring Equinox) 😀 Crikey it was busy at the polling booth in Motueka, am on the unpublished roll so have do a a special vote, and by crikey the specials ballot box was bursting at the seams with special votes, that’s a good sign 😀
I can feel a youthquake!
IKR 😀 so good
Ye gods and little fishes….
Michelle Boag adroitly manages to shift a conversation about the poor sod who immolated himself yesterday to one about Nikki Kaye wanting to encourage ‘resilience’ in our youth. My bad for having ‘Giggles With Jim’ on in the background.
(I’m not going to link to the show, mods…masochists can find it for themselves. 😉
Great, now she and Mike Williams are having a pretend fight…great for ratings…
However, not why I’m here.
Went to a busy Pak n Save today and observed that a very high proportion of shoppers were using the small trolleys, rather than the large family sized ones.
Commented on such to the understandably bored looking Checkout Operator, with the tongue in cheek explanation that perhaps folk were preparing for when National get back in tomorrow and austerity bites even harder.
Eyeroll from CO…”they’re all the same so I don’t bother…”
I think, using the little amount of subtle diplomacy I am capable of, I managed to persuade her that a vote for Labour, and one for the Greens (to keep Labour honest) would be beneficial for for those workers struggling to make ends meet. I told her that National supporters are crapping themselves at the thought of any revision of labour regulations and raising the minimum wage. I explained to her that there was more to the Greens than pollution and legalising dope.
Also had a similar conversation with a young person on a casual contract working in a bank….
Never too late. 🙂
Great, now she and Mike Williams are having a pretend fight…great for ratings…
How did that end? With Williams declaring that he agreed with her, Napoleon and then the ashtray?
Williams declared at the start of the show that he’d promised a friend not to ‘agree with Michele.’
If I remember rightly he had a reputation for agreeing with Hooten too often so, maybe, that was the ‘friend’ he was referring to?
Boag was dreadful (so at least consistent) on RNZ’s The Panel this afternoon, referring (at ~7:45 minutes) to “The children who are going to be the problems of tomorrow.” In Boag’s value system, these children don’t have problems, they are the problem. Odious.
http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/thepanel/audio/201859613/the-panel-with-michelle-boag-and-mike-williams-part-2
Her finest hour….http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10369999
“When the former National Party president Michelle Boag left her passport at home before an international flight yesterday, she did the obvious thing – called the Westpac rescue helicopter to fetch it for her.
Ms Boag, who is chairwoman of the Auckland Rescue Helicopter Foundation, made the 5.30am call on her way to Auckland Airport after she realised her passport was still at home on Waiheke Island.
The chopper, with the mandatory crew of three including a paramedic, flew from Mechanics Bay to Waiheke and then out to the helipad near the international terminal. It then returned to Mechanics Bay. ”
If there ever was a good reason to distrust and despise anyone and everyone aligned with the National Party….this is it.
Facebook finally admits that it is now a major determinant in the outcome of elections and starts regulating itself for political advertising:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/facebook-fec-election-ads_us_59c4251be4b0cdc773300bf8?ncid=inblnkushpmg00000009
Good link Ad the double edged sword of the internet we need to sort that shit out cannot have another like that person off the Simpson fuck that.
Those idiots in Tauranga think that because they zip around in there flash cars I won’t notice them. Just like one lot that thought that wearing a black beanie would make them invisible WTF they are costing me thousands in lost good will and lost income
but they have given me some big targets I will keep you up to date with my process
I no they have jack shit on me and the police are still trying to damage my credibility and undermine my social media credibility So don’t believe there bullshit they are barking up the wrong tree.Like there masters national
Ffs. Just seen PARTAY GIRL Bennett on The Bus leading the sing along while strap hanging Billy Liar was very excited about the amount of POSITIVE TOOTS they have been getting.
Can’t unsee it now. Question. How can you tell if a toot is positive?.
Bennett was also screaming a hysterical sounding song from the steps of the bus to a crowd of ummm- 3 journalists.
I no what’s going to happen landslide win for Labour Green’s and Maori Party . That reporter for bill doesn’t have enough fingers
don’t stress I WON’T comment again I like your show
I got the big picture I want a game of chest with who organized this illusion !!!!!!!!