Whilst Key and Goff jibed at one another about how they were going to improve the lot of ordinary NZers last night other events were occuring that will make eithers wishes impossible. Whilst Goff clearly expressed a more cogent and less venal BAU position, BAU just wont be possible.
Those who watch the markets will have noted that despite the forced casino optomism on Wall St and the money escaping the financial meltdown that is Europe stocks have dipped below the years starting point. Worldwide governments dont have the cash to pay the interest on their bonds, default is going to be the song they sing (or sell state assets a la Key). More importantly the false “recovery” and demand over supply sees oil going back through the $100 mark, that despite consumer demand falling off badly. Indicating there is definitely a lot less able to be pumped. All up the party is well over.
For us what does it mean? Who ever wins the election is in deep do dos, and Key will answer by selling the silver and locking the chest. A vote for National is a gauranteed way to keep your tax cut, lose your job and to watch your share in NZ sold to your new masters.
More so now with the latest comments out of China suggesting that they’ll be looking after their own economy thanks very much and not bailing out the USA or Eu.
And what is going to happen when China starts “looking after its own” and then the US govt starts defaulting on its China-owned debt (this must become a popular policy there eventually): World War III?
I now prefer the term DAU (disaster as usual) instead of BAU (business as usual) to describe current economic, social and environmental arrangements, though the term BAU will undoubtedly be used for quite a while yet.
This morning must have been something of a shock to anyone who has heavily invested in DAU, what with the Dow down 2.56% (in numerical terms around what it was in 1999, and in inflation-adjusted terms down by around 70% over the decade); oil down due to the severe demand destruction that is a consequence of collapsing economies; even gold down! (something of a mystery -but then the price is clearly being manipulated): so much ‘hot money’ and nowhere for it to go as so-called investment managers alternate between chasing higher returns and safety. Asia-Pacific markets are in for a bumpy ride.
Meanwhile, everything that people need to pay for to survive in the NZ province of the global industrial catastrophe just keeps going up -rates, insurance, energy costs, food. And the fall in the Kiwi dollar will result in a surge in prices for most imported goods. Anyone who failed to heed the numerous warnings about establishing a food supply will soon be in deep trouble.
The entire system, which is predicated on fraudulent creation of money and exploitation of people and resources, hit the wall when global oil extraction hit peak over 2005 to 2008. The Earth has LESS and LESS to give but we still have maniacs in charge who demand MORE and MORE. And an uniformed populace that thinks it is entitled to more and more.
Since all political parties are offering their own versions of a ‘better, brighter future’ based on various delusions about economic growth we will witness a magnificent COLLISION WITH REALITY which will play out extremely badly for the vast majority of people over the coming year or so. As Dr Colin Cambell (co-founder of ASPO) said many years ago: If you don’t deal with reality reality will deal with you.
‘A vote for National is a gauranteed way to keep your tax cut, lose your job and to watch your share in NZ sold to your new masters.’
I agree on the ‘lose your job’ and ‘watch your share of assets sold to your new masters’ aspects but I suspect people will not keep their tax cuts: any incoming government is likely to raise taxes (either directly or indirectly) to prevent a fairly instantaneous implosion of its finances. And in doing so will cause one. In other words, orthodox economics offers no way out of the hole we are in because orthodox economics is what created the hole we are in.
A while ago you said you realised people were not listening to what you had to say and you turned your attention instead to preparing yourself. What was this preparation?
Uturn, that is a very pertinent question so a quick answer on behalf of AFKTT:
1. Quit as much debt as possible, preferably be freehold or low cost rent, kill the credit card.
2. Learn to live within your means, start substituting wants with real needs.
3. Learn to trade your skills with others for needs, learn to grow food.
In other words do what your grandparents did without thinking.
From a government viewpoint the trick is the same, pay off/ reneg on debt, balance trade accounts, balance tax versus expenditure. And most importantly make sure that the infrastructure required for the new low energy economy is owned by the state, and people trained with real life skills that can be converted into real economic output (as opposed to accounting / lawyering / speculating).
1. I got out of the big city I was living in and moved to a small one (couldn’t get to where I wanted to be due to financial constriants).
2. I established an orchard and started working on improving soil quality for other food production.
3. I installed some passive solar.
4. I cut my expenseses. I still have a car but normally only drive about 20km a week. Most of the time I cycle or walk -very unfashionable. I am in the process of disengaging from the consumer society.
Thanks, Bored and AFKTT. Apart from establising an orchard, seems we’ve arrived at the same conclusions from different approaches. My route has been a bit less organised – I followed my nose along a trail of things that either looked right or wrong when compared to the reality of the life I’d lived. I left the country to come back to the city for financial reasons. Co-incidentally my country skills – or what Bored refers to as grandparent skills – naturally recreated what they knew worked, in an urban environment.
There is a serious flaw to this existence as far as prescribing it to others goes, that I’m sure you are aware of, though. There is no way urban environments can support the density of population, without major shifts in the idea of land use and ownership. Sure urban and community gardens are a good start to get people thinking in a larger perspective, but eventually the limitations will be clear. It’s a domino effect of enlightenment for people who begin thinking and reality isn’t appeased by a few potatoes growing in a bag on the balcony. This is just one of many problems.
While I could shoot back out to the country and dig in, I plan to stick it out here a while longer and see what happens and what practical solutions emerge for the urban question. There may be none. Urban people are strange (no offence intended) or should I say their actions display a wildly different perspective to mine. While Vege World, The Aussie Butcher and the supermarket exist and while credit is being plied, few will understand that working 9-5 in an office and paying your taxes isn’t the “real world” at all. Bridging the gap is a challenge in the extreme, but then nothing is easy. Realism says there is no point, I’ll wait a while longer for a miracle. Best of luck to you both with your plans.
I’ve seen a lot of people write Kevin Moore’s views off as insanity, but having now read (all of) The Easy Way, it’s clear the statements are based on fact and the conclusions are solid.
I was disappointed that he invoked the controversy over 9/11 in support of his arguments. Not because I think the “official story” is correct – I don’t, far from it – but because in the minds of many this will automatically put Moore in the “tinfoil hat” category, and the rest of the book will be tarred with that brush.
But I do see his points, and I do agree that everything is going to turn to shit – possibly not as soon as he makes out (society does have the ability to adjust to a degree), but over time, it’s obvious that that’s how things will go. I’ve given the book to friends of mine to read, and some of them have said “yes but technology and innovation will get us out of it, don’t worry.” Let’s say they have much more faith in that than I do.
I plan to start some preparations myself, although I’m now locked into a mortgage on an asset with declining value, which makes things difficult – and makes me a slave. Thankfully that’s the only debt I have, and I have a small amount of land on which to “experiment” with growing my own veges etc. Ideally, though, I’d like to get some land out the back-end of nowhere and set myself up permanently before dropping off the grid.
So much easier said than done, though. And that’s the way “they” want it.
Would not mind the fall out shelter as a garden shed……chicken coop perhaps. Uturn makes a good point that you cant do everything, that urban life makes food independence etc impossible. Actually social capital is the best investment going forward, you cant be an island. Suppose that is why we dont just give up on politics per se, it is the macro form of social organisation to deliver our needs.
1. I got out of the big city I was living in and moved to a small one (couldn’t get to where I wanted to be due to financial constriants).
2. I established an orchard and started working on improving soil quality for other food production.
3. I installed some passive solar.
Afewknowthetruth
AFKTT it is all very commendable the measures you have taken, to protect your family’s future.
I don’t think your efforts will be enough. The collapse threatens to be so vast and all encompassing that individualistic solutions will be crushed and swept aside, along with everything else.
For the vast majority of the population, (here and overseas), who don’t have the luxury of being able to buy even the smallest viable landholding out in the country, one way or another we will not take the DAU lying down.
This may sound ominous and threatening to some, but for more than A Few of us, we have not completely given up on civil society just yet.
There is still hope for a genuine democratically decided – ‘best outcome’, for the greatest number.
I like “we have not completely given up on civil society just yet. There is still hope for a genuine democratically decided – ‘best outcome’, for the greatest number.”
What I suspect will happen is that if the current democratic institutions fail to meet muster new democratic institutions that are fit for purpose will replace them. And I cant quite see the established property based interests playing ball nicely, they are likely to be the first to eject popular democracy as too injurious to their privileges. Forceful ejection may be required. To quote Cromwell, “You have sat too long for all the good that you have done. Begone.”
Bored, afktt, U
Much the same here.
I have downsized from 17 acres to 1/4 acre and moved to a small coastal town where I no longer have to travel to do the things I enjoy. I now enjoy a much better lifestyle. Much better food, and a farmers market where I get to meet and know the people who grow the food I am unable to.
Like you I watch the machinations of DAU (I like that and shall steal it! 🙂 ) with increasing dismay as the greed of the players pushes the world towards the collapse of civilisation as it is now perceived. What the world will be like when my grandchildren are of age I shudder o think.
Moving your accounts to a NZ owned bank such as Kiwi Bank, the TSB or the Cooperative Bank is one of the few direct and painless ways to impact New Zealand’s private indebtedness. David Cunliffe has identified that $2.5 billion leaves the New Zealand economy each year in profits to Australian banks.
I had a spell with Kiwibank and found the whole process terrible (sorry). The customer service was very poor, so much so they managed to forget to pay the ASB the mortgage money for our home when we were transferring to Kiwibank.
It took several calls to the banking ombudsman to sort the issue – did the one year fixed rate and promptly went back to the original provider, who is sadly Aussie owned.
I have had an account with TSB for years – and never had any problems – even though I live well away from New Plymouth and have visited there only once in the past 40+ years. They are only a free phone call away if I need to speak to someone and everything else is done online or occassional deposit thru a Postshop.
Using Kiwibank for a business account, great service, but they seem very risk averse in their lending so I doubt I’d try to finance anything through them.
I had a spell with Kiwibank and found the whole process terrible (sorry).
When? I know when they first opened they were a… little immature I suppose would be the best description. They seem to have gotten better since my first opening of an account there.
They seem to have gotten better since my first opening of an account there
They have. I opened a business account there when they first started and it was underwhelming, but improved as time went on. A few years ago I started some personal banking with them and it’s fine – easily as good as other banks I’ve used. But yeah, Joe90 is right about being risk averse… however given the banking meltdown in the last few years that’s not necessarily a bad thing.
Want to substantially reduce hypocricy in politics? Want to rid Parliament of a collection of mysoginists, liars and supposed perk busters who instead have feasted in the public trough? Want to get rid of a party that harboured in its ranks an MP who had previously stole the identity of a dead baby?
Then vote Paul Goldsmith as MP for Epsom! (Feck did I just say that?)
Why have I got an email invitation latish last night from Mediaworks to answer a survey so they “can better tailor our prizes, content and advertising mix to your preferences.”?
I am not aware of having registerd at any of their websites, and the email went to an address that I don’t use on website forums, logins etc.
Could be youtube. If you view youtube while signed into gmail their tracking system has your information and now shares it. I see that they are pushing advertising by making a viewer answer a survey question before they allow the chosen video to play. So much for the much espoused online freedom. Looks like the internet will eventually collapse under the wieght of it’s own self interest.
Youtube assigns advertising to match your location – you won’t get American ad’s if you dial in from Auckland. The questions you answer to view are collated for NZ advertisers, not Americans or anyone else. Mediaworks are just one client. Youtube knows your email address if you visit there while you are signed into your Google account/blogger or anything else Google owned. If you have forwarding enabled on your gmail, your other email addresses will be accessible. If you back up your Google password with an alternative email address or a phone number, you hand over that information. They ask you for backups for security reasons, but money gets the last word. It’s just Google walking in Facebook’s shoes, one step behind to stay legal, but still unethical.
And the major intelligence services have software consoles which extract all info from Facebook etc. These consoles are built right into the software by Facebook etc, for various gov agencies. They are not add-ons.
They like the fact that you friend people, tell them up to date info on where you’ve been, provide details of the networks of contacts you talk to, photos of places and people important to you etc.
The email address that the survey invitation was sent to, was not one I use for online forums, facebook, twitter etc. It’s not a gmail addie either. And I haven’t logged into youtube for months. So I’m not sure what triggered it.
“Why have I got an email invitation latish last night from Mediaworks to answer a survey so they “can better tailor our prizes, content and advertising mix to your preferences.”?”
I got the same thing! I did wonder if I had signed up at one stage, but on reflection I am sure I didn’t…
Good idea, ianmac. Answered with BS selections till I got to the agree to terms and conditions page. Just a lot of question about household, job, income, credit/loyalty cards, hobbies, cars/transport, TV and Internet use…. sky, pay per viewing….
All these companies asking us to complete surveys should be more honest…. it’s not to make things better for customers so much, as ultimately being about increasing or maintaining their profits. Mediaworks is offering entering a draw for prizes for completing the survey. We should send them an invoice for helping their business.
“Just a lot of question about household, job, income, credit/loyalty cards, hobbies, cars/transport, TV and Internet use…. sky, pay per viewing….”
Interestingly, the survey assumes that you *do* in fact watch TV 3 and 4 on demand, something I have never done. I don’t watch TV3 at all, but for the news, which I have watched only twice in the past 7 weeks! It also assumes that you do want pay per view, and gives no options such as “I’d sooner crawl over broken glass”. I don’t watch American programming, although Prime is the only way to avoid it.
I will turn back on the comment auto remember of names, emails, and websites as well as the wsiwyg comment editor. These all have problems with the cache system I had to put on last night to cope with the load after the debate.
These will all move to using client side JavaScript, which has problems with a few people’s systems, but works with the majority. It doesn’t have issues with cached names and preferences for other people being sent from the server. The code was written and tested last year so I just have to extract it from subversion.
I have the next couple of days off from work so I can help with eDay stuff for several electorates. So this will be lower on the priority list than that.
If you want to avoid all of this, then register and use a login (or just use a login if you have one already). That serves up pages for each logged in user individually.
Goff’s dilemma highlighted by the debate:
– Peters says he won’t go into goverment with anyone
– Labour has to have NZF support to have any chance of leading a coalition
– Goff needs Peters to go against his word to have any chance of going into government
Another Peters post election betrayal is Goff’s only chance.
As Goff said numerous times last night, the Election has not happened yet,
Maybe we wait for the Voters to present the actual situation,
then you can have your aneurism
or you could try thinking for yourself and ignore the propoganda of manipulative politicians whose self interested actions show up the hypocrisy of every single agreement ever made under MMP.
Let us vote, then let us have MMP for once.
If it really does not deliver a better government FOR ALL NEW ZEALANDERS
then go ahead and have your manipulative agreements, your delusional bindings of confidence and supply, your saccharine soaked empty phrases that mean less than the good behaviour promises of a toddler at Christmas.
Voters have asked for MMP , let them see how it might actually work, just once.
Dump the defacto FPP and let NZ have a representative parliament that they voted for.
Dump the defacto FPP and let NZ have a representative parliament that they voted for.
Bingo.
There really shouldn’t be a “government” there should just be parliament with the whole lot voting on policy based upon the facts. Would probably need to vote in the president separate of the general election if we got that though.
I remember in the past you lamenting the ‘negative’ approach of Labour, but it seems to me that you are being very negative about Goff (and Peters) in your recent comments. Perhaps you should take your own advice and take a positive approach in getting support for UF?
When it comes down to it, it is starting to get a bit pointless to speculate about possible governments. Let’s all just wait until Saturday and see what the numbers are.
UF’s dilemma:
– Dunne has unequivocally hitched his star to Key
– Key’s a phoney and a lightweight with nothing left in the tank
– People seem to be noticing that they’ve been sold a bill of goods
Except that:
– a majority people disagree with you about Key
– National have proven to be a reliable government (mostly) through an exceptionally difficult term, and
– UF has proven to be a reliable contributior to government.
– We’ll see
– Difficult because the government has no interest in governing
– UF has proven to be a sinecure for Dunne and Ohariu has had enough of it.
Disunited No-future has never been anying other than a bunch of opportunistic clowns who are completely disconneced from reality and have nothing to offer.
‘UF has proven to be a reliable contributior to government’
Have been a reliable contributor to wrecking the next generation’s future via Disaster As Usual economics.
And that’s what UF are offering this time round, is it not?
We in the Ohariu electorate recently received a pamphlet from Peter Dunne. Unfortunately I threw it out or I’d link a picture, but it had absolutely no policy information: Just a bunch of quotes from various people and publications about how wonderful Peter Dunne is.
Pretty sure you could haul-up similar information from sympathetic sources on practically any MP you like.
Let’s not forget National are all about shrinking the public service, and the Ohariu electorate has the highest percentage of public service workers in the country. And they’re not stupid: They know a vote for Dunne is a vote for Key, and I’d bet they’re not willing to risk losing their jobs so The Hair can make a return to parliament.
Policy evidently isn’t all that important to United Future. And why would it be? UF has thrown its lot in with National whose policies are deeply unpopular. If Bill English was leader of the Nats they wouldn’t have a hope in hell at this election with the policies they have. It’s entirely reliant on Brand Key. And Peter Dunne isn’t closely enough associated with Brand Key to get the votes he needs, so he’s got to rely on bullshit quotes of positive opinion from whatever source he find.
The United Future pamphlet doesn’t fit that decription at all. It details four key policies:
– reform tax for middle income families
– a sensible super scheme with choice of age (Labour said they are considering this)
– access to all New Zealanders to our outdoors
– limit asset sales
There is no excuse to be ignorant of it, there is plenty of detail on the website, on vote.co.nz and UF policy is being detailed and compared on many media election sites. Saying there is no policy evident is blatant misrepresentation or deliberate lies.
There is more chance of United Future policy being implemented next term than Labour policy, Mana policy, NZF policy and Green policy.
We’re definitely not talking about the same pamphlet then. This particular pamphlet was clearly campaigning for the electorate seat, so it may not have gone out to all electorates.
I love how you respond to me telling me I have “no excuses” to be ignorant of UF policy, Pete, but don’t touch with a barge pole my many other comments about the hollowness of the party and their leader.
Choosing your arguments is all well and good, but what you choose to remain silent on says much more about UF and their “Fairness and Choice (as long as you’re like us and do what we want you to)” policies than the points you choose to argue.
I note, however, that UF’s flagship Income Sharing tax policy – which can be found at http://www.unitedfuture.org.nz/assets/Income%20Sharing.pdf – goes into no detail whatsoever about how the scheme would be funded. If you’re going to tax (your definition of) families less, who’s picking up the tab for that?
I don’t know if you saw my question to you the other day – at number 8 in the UF list, what percentage of vote would be needed to get you into parliament?
Wrong, it’s more tax reform for the rich. Their income splitting will only benefit the rich exactly the same as the tax cuts that NAct put through. Nobody else will be better off.
a sensible super scheme with choice of age
Sensible would be one that worked and this one won’t. Neither will Labours’. You need resources to be able to maintain society and all parties are all about using up the resources ASAP so that we can have more piles of nothing money.
access to all New Zealanders to our outdoors
And what, exactly, does that mean?
I can already go outdoors, I can go to the beach and the stream. Probably can’t eat the shellfish or go swimming in the stream though as they’ve either been poisoned by industrialism/farming or over fished. Thing is, I’m sure UF is one of those parties that want to continue the destructive ways (more industrialism, farming and over fishing) that have been built up over the last few centuries and are now brining us to an anthropogenic Extinction Level Event.
limit asset sales
Rather than doing the rational thing and opposing asset sales altogether. Why would anyone want to vote for a party that is obviously insane?
DTB could not agree with you re income splitting. Lab has been at pains regarding “A fairer tax” yet how is it that IRD regard the calc of tax by the individual and welfare/benefits by family unit. So what for all those families that have made sacrifices to enable a stay at home parent (Many actively involved in NPO and child care/school help that the community and society benefit from). How is it fair on these family units? Taxed to the max.
And your concern regarding only benefiting the rich is a lazy generalisation, that if such a concerns exists can be managed by placing a limit on the amount to be split. It is not difficult to manage, just needs a little will power.
Yet in the handout Lab is campaiging for the choice (with govt financial assistance) for this same position of allowing parents to stay at home, pity the sentiment is not made regarding poor and middle class families as well. http://www.whaleoil.co.nz/2011/11/labour-is-the-nasty-party-ctd-19/
Anyone else been to that OnTheFence.co.nz website? Seems to be giving an interesting bias – this from Twitter:
– John: Did that stupid on the fence thing. United Future 88%? WHAT AND MANA?. GET OUT.
– Charlotte Yee: LOL just did onthefence.co.nz I think it’s rigged my “top 3 parties” are labour, united future and mana… #really?
– Beth: I did that dumb on the fence sheep game and I got 19% United Future as my top match.
– Naly_D: according to http://onthefence.co.nz my best-suited political party is United Future (20%). Because, y’know, I’m 50.
– l•x•ndr•: @lethifolds I’ll be surprised if you don’t get told to vote for United Future lolol prove me wrong
– NICOLE C: @Naly_D I got 50% United Future …. Could it be bias ahaha
– Michael Parry: Has anyone got a result other than United Future on onthefence.co.nz ????
– Moata Tamaira @Michael_J_Parry @librarykris I got United Future too…which I found a bit odd.
– Lisa Rapley: @Naly_D I got united future too, then Labour then Mana. I just don’t even…
– Katherine Chisholm: Just played http://onthefence.co.nz. Where did United Future come from??
– Frazer Skinner: @Naly_D Who published the site? UF 97%, Labour 55%, Mana 39% Um.. no thanks
Does everyone secretly love United Future or is there something else in play here?
“National have proven to be a reliable government….”. for whom – themselves???
UF is a ‘thin- ice skating on’ party. What a strange party to choose to represent Pete G.- and even worse, by choosing them, have to support National just to get into office ( only this time hopefully not). There must be a better way to spend your life????
The Peoples Union Health clinic in Newtown, Wellington is facing closure, the DHB is going to take $300,000 of funding away from them. This is a vital service for poor people, refugees, new immigrants. Tony Ryall promised no front line cuts in Health, but of course he’s a liar like the rest of that grubby pack of plunderers.
I am getting freaked out by all the greaseballs on Teevee who think they and only they know the outcome of the election before it has been held.
especially gluon and the dunnycan.
how did New Zealand end up with these manques?
newsflash: beenit preparing legislation so all beneficiaries will be told not only how to spend their money but who to vote for.
you heard it hear first.
that graphic is hilarious. Labour drops 1/2% and loses two of their little red guys. National lose 5% yet don’t lose one of the little blue guys.
Classy stuff by the Herald ! I think not.
A few days of almost being balanced, now back on regular form.
just had a long FB debate with an ‘undecided but leaning to National’ voter who despite admitting they don’t know much about the other parties believes john key will back down on Asset Sales as people don’t want them!
If John Key wanted to back down on asset sales, he would have done it months or weeks ago before the height of the campaign now. He could have taken out a major aggravating factor to his campaign to cement his hold for the second term.
The reality is he will go the whole hog with asset sales because he is there precisely to advance that agenda to shift the assets and more wealth to his cronies, the puppet masters and himself.
The reality is he will go the whole hog with asset sales because he is there precisely to advance that agenda to shift the assets and more wealth to his cronies, the puppet masters and himself.
Yep and I’m reasonable certain that they’ll go for 100% sales as well because 49% won’t raise enough (note that Blinglish is reported to have said that they won’t raise as much as expected).
“The reality is he will go the whole hog with asset sales because he is there precisely to advance that agenda to shift the assets and more wealth to his cronies, the puppet masters and himself.”
Exactly Jim N. There can be no other reason for him to sell and risk losing his precious position(even if he eventually wants to go to Hawaii) as very few Kiwis want him to sell. He has been told to ‘asset strip’ in NZ. Wonder who he is working for , ‘cos it sure ain’t New Zealand.
Fucked if I know. Just had a conversation where the RWNJ (there really is no other description) argued that having less than 40% of the vote (National government in several FPP elections) was democratic and that MMP, where majority actually had their say, was undemocratic.
It’s the mindset of the comfortably self-satisfied “I’ve got mine, and screw the rest”.
Anything that secures an endless inflation of property, rentals, and less wealth to the lower classes.
As ugly as it sounds, the prospect that Banks will ‘defend’ the good white wealthy folk of Epsom from sex crazed unemployed polynesian drug addicts probably resonates with a significant portion of voters in that electorate. There does seem to be a a nasty racist streak running through a large chunk of the New Zealand population, one that Brash flirted with in his Hollowman ‘Iwi/Kiwi’ Orewa speech , the same one that Banks and Peters exploited with their antiAsian rants during the 90s (somewhere ’round that time anyway.)
Conversely:
allowing young men to work for finance companies or as money traders is a failure- criminality, sucking off the suffering of ordinary people, forcing thousands into unemployment, greed, psychopathic behaviour. It’s time it stopped!
I note that another socialist government in Europe has been consigned to history. The Spanish Socialist party plummeted from 169 seats to 110, their lowest ever representation whilst the conservative Popular Party went from 154 to 186 seats, giving them an absolute majority.
During the last 7 years of socialism, unemployment has reached heights greater than during any previous crisis, with the rate reaching 21.5% in October.
Spain has elected a career politician, who in a previous government failed spectacularly, with a reputation for playing favourites and has failed to articulate any clear plan to voters about how he’ll handle a faltering economy.
The prospect of seeing the PP in power again after 8 years is not a happy one. While I’m no fan of the PSOE (I think I called them ‘the very worst party in Spain’ at one point, though I can’t find a link), my suspicion is that before long many who loathe the Socialists will remember how much more they loathed the PP last time they governed.
Such reminds me of the 1990 election here. The majority were really pissed off with Labour and so National got back in power but the truth is that nobody wanted National either it’s just that there wasn’t a whole lot of choice.
The socialists were doing the austerity that the Spaniards didn’t want and the new party is going to do the same thing. They’ll try to vote them (PP) out next term but, again, they won’t actually get any choice as to what actually happens in their country.
To be honest that’s what I reckon is happening in this election. No one really wants National even many National supporters aren’t particularly happy with them they just don’t see much choice.
That’s basically why I don’t think Labour’s strategy of attacking National has been a good one. Noone is that stoked with National anyway but just attacking doesn’t automatically make you the viable alternative.
Labour released policy, costings and a vision for the future and then pointed out that National weren’t doing too well in the trust. Breaking promises, ruling for the few at the top and not addressing the problems that the GFC had caused.
I think it’s hit home for a lot of people – now just need them to vote.
Not sure anyone goes back and looks at prior days open mikes but oh well.
I agree Labour have released policy – it was even policy that many people prefered to Nationals. However they have chosen to not really focus on their own policy instead their entire campaign has been based on attacking National and its policy.
It’s a valid strategy but I can’t help thinking that had they actually done what they originally said they were going to do and keep the election about the policy (but make it about their policies not Nationals) they would have done a lot better (and I mean that whatever the outcome of the election).
Obviously its a moot argument but still I think it would’ve made it a lot more interesting.
Ivvy leaguer Italy France and Germany are going democratic socialist .Spain has always had higher unemployment than northern European countries, more corruption in southern European countries and no one pays tax .
The Ambrose court hearing is underway and the Listener’s Election blog is providing tweets from Derek Ching on what is happening if anyone is interested
Disclaimer – know I have referred to this blog several times of late – no connections at all. I am just finding it a useful site to quickly keep up to date on what is happening throughout the day. Their take on last night’s debate is also interesting and entertaining. Link is in the right had column of the above link. Wish I had found their Bingo cards before last night!
Feng Shui Master has just said celestial line-up and his divination point to increasing NZ crises and difficulties associated with astrological castings done on John Key.
An anology was also given about Key that he is like rot behind the walls at homes.
The Arab Spring hangs in balance, as protesters in Cairo’s Tahrir Square and in other cities in Egypt battle the riot police of the ruling Egyptian military junta.
Hundreds of thousands of protesters are braving tear gas, rubber bullets, water cannon and live ammunition in demonstrations against the ruling military council in Egypt.
Despite promising elections, (which are being continually put back), Mubarak’s generals are demanding that the military have power above any elected civilian authority. Meanwhile protesters are still being tried in military courts and torture by the military and police is still routine.
By late on 20 November there were an estimated 100,000 in Tahrir Square according to eyewitness accounts and thousands protesting in every major city in Egypt. Their demands are clear: the downfall of Marshal Tantawi and Mubarak’s generals. As of Sunday 5 people at least had been killed and around 1000 injured.
The Egyptian Federation of Independent Trade Unions issued a call on Saturday 19 November to its 1.4 million members in affiliated unions to join the protests in Tahrir.
Our brothers and sisters in Egypt inspired us all with their courage over the past ten months. Without them, would we have seen the Occupy movement? How would our own struggles against austerity and cuts look without the model of the Egyptian revolution, and the knowledge that ordinary people can change the world?
If the Arab Spring is crushed in Egypt…..
…..the military rulers of Syria will be strengthened in their slaughter of unarmed protesters.
If the Arab Spring is crushed in Egypt…….
……. it will be major setback for the Arab Spring throughout the Middle East!
If the Arab Spring is crushed in the Middle East……
…… this will remove a major brake on the West’s move to war against Iran.
If the Arab Spring is crushed in the Middle East, major conflagration with Iran will be inevitable, as the US and Israel’s invasion plans can only succeed with the support of compliant Western backed right wing regimes retaining power in the Middle East.
If the Arab Spring is crushed in Egypt, the movement for democracy and against tyranny and war and recession, throughout the world, will suffer a major setback.
Responding to appeals from Egyptian activists, Middle East and North Africa, Solidarity in Britain is forwarding the following call for international solidarity action to the whole world. Please respond immediately.
Tahrir has inspired a wave of movements around the world. We must not let it go down to defeat!
If you are organising a protest or a picket, particularly if you can mobilise support from the trade union movement in solidarity with the call from the Egyptian Federation of Independent Trade Unions, please let the world know.
Many people interpret the times we are living in as Biblical ‘End Times’.
Irrespective of that, there is no question that the entire North Africa-Middle East region is a tinderbox awaiting a spark.
I see that the war-of-words over Iran has started again, after a period of relative quiet. An attack on Iran would almost certainly bring the global economic system to a halt in a matter of weeks if it resulted in blockage of the Straits of Hormuz.
“Many people interpret the times we are living in as Biblical ‘End Times’.”
Interestingly, a good 50% of my ESOL students (Chinese, secular and 17-20 years old) believe something similar. The topic today was sports, and when I said brightly “The next Olympics will be held in London in 2012”, a couple of them said “But the world is going to end in 2012!” I was gobsmacked. Where has this come from?
The religious channels in SKY TV when I surf through them often are on the topic of end times- earthquakes, tsunamis, “it seems that the world is crying out to be delivered.”
It is a sign of narcissism, I believe, that people believe that the end times are going to come in their life-time. It seems part of the conservative psyche.
History is littered with such false prophecy. I often imagine, when engaged in this topic, the Monty Pythonesque dialogue of disgruntled failed end-timers coming down off the mountain top muttering about their leader who got it wrong.
‘I’ve seen a lot of people write Kevin Moore’s views off as insanity, but having now read (all of) The Easy Way, it’s clear the statements are based on fact and the conclusions are solid.’
‘will automatically put Moore in the “tinfoil hat” category’
It is a lot easier for people to dimiss arguments without checking the facts than to do the necessary research and present logical arguments. We are now at the stage of witnessing people self-select for learning the hard way (or even perishing).
It will be very interesting to revue this ‘conversation’ one year from now.
Several years ago I likened the situation in most western societies to tossing a coin. At the moment it always lands with the face that shows ‘complacency and denial’ exposed. One day it will land with the obverse face exposed. That says: ‘panic’.
Some parents have been branded abusers because of the bizarre names of their children.
Family Court Judge Rob Murfitt stated his concerns in a written decision after a custody hearing in New Plymouth revealed a couple had named their child Talula Does The Hula From Hawaii.
He was so disturbed at the effect on the nine-year-old that he ordered her temporarily placed under court guardianship so a suitable name could be chosen.
LOL- ‘Follow Me on Twat’. Excellent work as always.
I expect RWNJ’s burst a few blood vessels watching that Child Poverty doco tonight. It was basically a giant ad for ‘Commie Pinko’ politics. Full of ads for Labour and the Greens too 🙂
When I heard Phil Goff saying how silly it was to sell the house to pay the mortgage off I thought of all the sensible people doing exactly that as they move on to better things.
It was magnificent! This is reality in NZ. I know because I see it regularly. Please wake up dear voters and vote with your heart and soul. Our chidren are our future, it’s in our hands! Congrats to the makers of this doco. Well done!
Agreed Lyn. It needs a huge rethink since the declared intent of a certain political grouping is intent on reducing housing, education and health. Wonder if that excellent doco touched many?
The doco certainly touched me Ianmac. Bryan Bruce did a phenomenal job investigating this horror and presenting it to us in such a clear manner. Our poor children and their parents, who are all to often facing a heartbreaking battle to provide for them. Thought the sights I saw tonight had been consigned to history.
What is our government up to? Can’t they manage to run a country properly? They appear to have the wrong spending priorities. Our children deserve so much more.
Post of the week from the Bog relating to the bad case of worms that seems to have infected the place..
quinnjin (12) Says:
November 22nd, 2011 at 5:49 pm
Yeah right farrar you tory turd. Key got his arse kicked, and it turns out the test audience was fairly picked. Your slimey liitle mate in parliament just got his arse kicked, why? cause hes full of shit. eat it up and stop mewling your pathetic excuses.
Trying to comment again, but suspect I will be dumped into ‘spam’. But on the off -chance this gets through, somebody with more knowledge of the in’s and out’s might want to post on the fact that a fuck of a lot of comments from regular contributors are going into ‘trash’. (Seems I’m the only one going down the ‘spam’ route)
Hmm, but still wondering, what’s with the umpteen comments from regular commentators in ‘trash’? Some, though not all, are duplicated as comments on the page.
Oops! Got something to say afterall. There goes the tourist industry. Thomas Cook (How big are they in the scheme of things? Certainly not ‘small fry’) in emergency talks with banks and shares down 51%.
Who would have thunk that a global depression would mean people not going on holiday? Wonder what plans the illustrious NZ minister of tourism has up his sleeve (or in his ball pocket) for the shoit that that suddenly appears to be hovering waiting for gravity assisted splash?
Ah, but the market decides how things work! So, they all try to undercut each other to get the customers, who can’t actually afford their package holidays to Spain, meanwhile the airlines have rising fuel costs and can’t afford to pay the leases on their big shiny aircraft, which are leased from very big banks.
But don’t worry, they’ll be paid out by governments, who will in turn tax the poor.
Bit late now but TV1 late news said that with the help of the Ombudsman, they have discovered that Govt had no real evidence or official advice about the predicted uptake of shares in the Asset Sale. Key has been saying that official advice shows that at least 85% of the share sales will be taken up in NZ hands. There has be no official advice other than a few oral discussions.
Key has lied – again. Could be a big story.
ian along with low share prices and no money around for kiwis to invest Aussie super fund will grab the lions share titbits after goldman sachs has gouged its price out
Powerco is the poster child for how things turn out when a public asset is flogged off.
11 years from formation through to compulsory acquisition by offshore owners.
April 1993: New Plymouth Energy (the electricity division of the New Plymouth District Council) merges with Taranaki Electricity (former Taranaki Electric Power Board) to become Taranaki Energy Limited
November 2004: It is now moving to compulsorily acquire the remaining shares and remove Powerco from the New Zealand stock exchange.
Rob MacCulloch writes – Can’t remember the last book by a Kiwi author you read? Think the NZ government should spend less on the arts in favor of helping the homeless? If so, as far as Newsroom is concerned, you probably deserve to be called a cultural ignoramus ...
Eric Crampton writes – Grudges are bad. Better to move on. But it can be fun to keep a couple of really trivial ones, so you’re not tempted to have other ones. For example, because of the rootkit fiasco of 2005, no Sony products in our household. ...
A new report warns an estimated third of the adult population have unmet need for health care.Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāHere’s the six key things I learned about Aotaroa’s political economy this week around housing, climate and poverty:Politics - Three opinion polls confirmed support for PM Christopher Luxon ...
Today is May the fourth. Which was just a regular day when my mother took me to see the newly released Star Wars at the Odeon in Rotorua. The queue was right around the corner. Some years later this day became known as Star Wars Day, the date being a ...
Buzz from the Beehive Much more media attention is being paid to something Winston Peters said about former Australian Foreign Minister Bob Carr than to a speech he delivered to the New Zealand China Council. One word is missing from the speech: AUKUS. But AUKUS loomed large in his considerations ...
Is the economy in another long stagnation? If so, why?This is about the time that the Treasury will be locking up its economic forecasts to be published in the 2024 Budget Economic and Fiscal Update (BEFU) on budget day, 30 May. I am not privy to what they will be ...
The annual list of who's been bribing our politicians is out, and journalists will no doubt be poring over it to find the juiciest and dirtiest bribes. The government's fast-track invite list is likely to be a particular focus, and we already know of one company on the list which ...
In the weeks after the October 7 Hamas attacks on Southern Israel I wrote about the possible 2nd, 3rd and even 4th order effects of the conflict. These included new fronts being opened in the West Bank (with Hamas), Golan … Continue reading → ...
Peter Dunne writes – It is one of the oldest truisms that there is never a good time for MPs to get a pay rise. This week’s announcement of pay raises of around 2.8% backdated to last October could hardly have come at a worse time, with the ...
David Farrar writes – Newshub reports: Newshub can reveal a fresh allegation of intimidation against Green MP Julie-Anne Genter. Genter is subject to a disciplinary process for aggressively waving a book in the face of National Minister Matt Doocey in the House – but it’s not the first time ...
The Treasury has published a paper today on the global productivity slowdown and how it is playing out in New Zealand: The productivity slowdown: implications for the Treasury’s forecasts and projections. The Treasury Paper examines recent trends in productivity and the potential drivers of the slowdown. Productivity for the whole economy ...
Winston Peters’ comments about former Australian foreign minister look set to be an ongoing headache for both him and Luxon. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The podcast above of the weekly ‘hoon’ webinar for subscribers features co-hosts and , along with regular guests on Gaza and ...
These puppet strings don't pull themselvesYou're thinking thoughts from someone elseHow much time do you think you have?Are you prepared for what comes next?The debating chamber can be a trying place for an opposition MP. What with the person in charge, the speaker, typically being an MP from the governing ...
The land around Lyme Regis, where Meryl Streep once stood, in a hood, on the Cobb, is falling into the sea.MerylThe land around Lyme Regis, around the Cobb that made it rich, has always been falling slowly but surely into the sea. Read more ...
Buzz from the Beehive Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters was bound to win headlines when he set out his thinking about AUKUS in his speech to the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs. The headlines became bigger when – during an interview on RNZ’s Morning Report today – he criticised ...
The Post reports on how the government is refusing to release its advice on its corrupt Muldoonist fast-track law, instead using the "soon to be publicly available" refusal ground to hide it until after select committee submissions on the bill have closed. Fast-track Minister Chris Bishop's excuse? “It's not ...
As pressure on it grows, the livestock industry’s approach to the transition to Net Zero is increasingly being compared to that of fossil fuel interests. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / Getty ImagesTL;DR: Here’s the top five news items of note in climate news for Aotearoa-NZ this week, and a discussion above ...
The New Zealand Herald reports – Stats NZ has offered a voluntary redundancy scheme to all of its workers as a way to give staff some control over their “future” amidst widespread job losses in the public sector. In an update to staff this morning, seen by the Herald, Statistics New Zealand ...
On Werewolf/Scoop, I usually do two long form political columns a week. From now on, there will be an extra column each week about music and movies. But first, some late-breaking political events:The rise in unemployment numbers for the March quarter was bigger than expected – and especially sharp ...
David Farrar writes – The Herald reports: TVNZ says it is dealing with about 50 formal complaints over its coverage of the latest 1News-Verian political poll, with some viewers – as well as the Prime Minister and a former senior Labour MP – critical of the tone of the 6pm report. ...
Muriel Newman writes – When Meridian Energy was seeking resource consents for a West Coast hydro dam proposal in 2010, local Maori “strenuously” objected, claiming their mana was inextricably linked to ‘their’ river and could be damaged. After receiving a financial payment from the company, however, the Ngai Tahu ...
Alwyn Poole writes – “An SEP,’ he said, ‘is something that we can’t see, or don’t see, or our brain doesn’t let us see, because we think that it’s somebody else’s problem. That’s what SEP means. Somebody Else’s Problem. The brain just edits it out, it’s like a ...
Our trust in our political institutions is fast eroding, according to a Maxim Institute discussion paper, Shaky Foundations: Why our democracy needs trust. The paper – released today – raises concerns about declining trust in New Zealand’s political institutions and democratic processes, and the role that the overuse of Parliamentary urgency ...
This article was prepared for publication yesterday. More ministerial announcements have been posted on the government’s official website since it was written. We will report on these later today …. Buzz from the BeehiveThere we were, thinking the environment is in trouble, when along came Jones. Shane Jones. ...
New Zealand now has the fourth most depressed construction sector in the world behind China, Qatar and Hong Kong. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy at 8:46am on Thursday, May 2:The Lead: ...
Hi,I am just going to state something very obvious: American police are fucking crazy.That was a photo gracing the New York Times this morning, showing New York City police “entering Columbia University last night after receiving a request from the school.”Apparently in America, protesting the deaths of tens of thousands ...
Winston Peters’ much anticipated foreign policy speech last night was a work of two halves. Much of it was a standard “boilerplate” Foreign Ministry overview of the state of the world. There was some hardening up of rhetoric with talk of “benign” becoming “malign” and old truths giving way to ...
Graham Adams assesses the fallout of the Cass Review — The press release last Thursday from the UN Special Rapporteur on violence against women and girls didn’t make the mainstream news in New Zealand but it really should have. The startling title of Reem Alsalem’s statement — “Implementation of ‘Cass ...
This open-for-business, under-new-management cliché-pockmarked government of Christopher Luxon is not the thing of beauty he imagines it to be. It is not the powerful expression of the will of the people that he asserts it to be. It is not a soaring eagle, it is a malodorous vulture. This newest poll should make ...
The latest labour market statistics, showing a rise in unemployment. There are now 134,000 unemployed - 14,000 more than when the National government took office. Which is I guess what happens when the Reserve Bank causes a recession in an effort to Keep Wages Low. The previous government saw a ...
Three opinion polls have been released in the last two days, all showing that the new government is failing to hold their popular support. The usual honeymoon experienced during the first year of a first term government is entirely absent. The political mood is still gloomy and discontented, mainly due ...
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Rob MacCulloch writes – Throughout the pandemic, the new Vice-Chancellor-of-Otago-University-on-$629,000 per annum-Can-you-believe-it-and-Former-Finance-Minister Grant Robertson repeated the mantra over and over that he saved “lives and livelihoods”.As we update how this claim is faring over the course of time, the facts are increasingly speaking differently. NZ ...
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Packing A Punch: The election of the present government, including in its ranks politicians dedicated to reasserting the rights of the legislature in shaping and determining the future of Māori and Pakeha in New Zealand, should have alerted the judiciary – including its anomalous appendage, the Waitangi Tribunal – that its ...
Dead Woman Walking: New Zealand’s media industry had been moving steadily towards disaster for all the years Melissa Lee had been National’s media and communications policy spokesperson, and yet, when the crisis finally broke, on her watch, she had nothing intelligent to offer. Christopher Luxon is a patient man - but he’s not ...
Chris Trotter writes – New Zealand politics is remarkably easy-going: dangerously so, one might even say. With the notable exception of John Key’s flat ruling-out of the NZ First Party in 2008, all parties capable of clearing MMP’s five-percent threshold, or winning one or more electorate seats, tend ...
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Luxon will no doubt put a brave face on it, but there is no escaping the pressure this latest poll will put on him and the government. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on Aotearoa-NZ’s political ...
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Something odd happened yesterday, and I’d love to know if there’s more to it. If there was something which preempted what happened, or if it was simply a throwaway line in response to a journalist.Yesterday David Seymour was asked at a press conference what the process would be if the ...
Hi,From time to time, I want to bring Webworm into the real world. We did it last year with the Jurassic Park event in New Zealand — which was a lot of fun!And so on Saturday May 11th, in Los Angeles, I am hosting a lil’ Webworm pop-up! I’ve been ...
Education Minister Erica Standford yesterday unveiled a fundamental reform of the way our school pupils are taught. She would not exactly say so, but she is all but dismantling the so-called “inquiry” “feel good” method of teaching, which has ruled in our classrooms since a major review of the New ...
Exactly where are we seriously going with this government and its policies? That is, apart from following what may as well be a Truss-Lite approach on the purported economic “plan“, and Victorian-era regression when it comes to social policy.Oh it’ll work this time of course, we’re basically assured, “the ...
Hey Uncle Dave, When the Poms joined the EEC, I wasn't one of those defeatists who said, Well, that’s it for the dairy job. And I was right, eh? The Chinese can’t get enough of our milk powder and eventually, the Poms came to their senses and backed up the ute ...
Polling shows that Wellington Mayor Tory Whanau has the lowest approval rating of any mayor in the country. Siting at -12 per cent, the proportion of constituents who disapprove of her performance outweighs those who give her the thumbs up. This negative rating is higher than for any other mayor ...
Buzz from the Beehive Pharmac has been given a financial transfusion and a new chair to oversee its spending in the pharmaceutical business. Associate Health Minister David Seymour described the funding for Pharmac as “its largest ever budget of $6.294 billion over four years, fixing a $1.774 billion fiscal cliff”. ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Many criticisms are being made of the Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill, including by this writer. But as with everything in politics, every story has two sides, and both deserve attention. It’s important to understand what the Government is trying to achieve and its ...
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span class=”dropcap”>As hideous as David Seymour can be, it is worth keeping in mind occasionally that there are even worse political figures (and regimes) out there. Iran for instance, is about to execute the country’s leading hip hop musician Toomaj Salehi, for writing and performing raps that “corrupt” the nation’s ...
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The Government is again adding to New Zealand’s growing unemployment, this time cutting jobs at the agencies responsible for urban development and growing much needed housing stock. ...
With Minister Karen Chhour indicating in the House today that she either doesn’t know or care about the frontline cuts she’s making to Oranga Tamariki, we risk seeing more and more of our children falling through the cracks. ...
The Labour Party is saddened to learn of the death of Sir Robert Martin, a globally renowned disability advocate who led the way for disability rights both in New Zealand and internationally. ...
Labour is calling for the Government to urgently rethink its coalition commitment to restart live animal exports, Labour animal welfare spokesperson Rachel Boyack said. ...
Today’s Financial Stability Report has once again highlighted that poverty and deep inequality are political choices - and this Government is choosing to make them worse. ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to do more for our households in most need as unemployment rises and the cost of living crisis endures. ...
Unemployment is on the rise and it’s only going to get worse under this Government, Labour finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds said. Stats NZ figures show the unemployment rate grew to 4.3 percent in the March quarter from 4 percent in the December quarter. “This is the second rise in unemployment ...
The New Zealand Labour Party welcomes the entering into force of the European Union and New Zealand free trade agreement. This agreement opens the door for a huge increase in trade opportunities with a market of 450 million people who are high value discerning consumers of New Zealand goods and ...
The National-led Government continues its fiscal jiggery pokery with its Pharmac announcement today, Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall says. “The government has increased Pharmac funding but conceded it will only make minimal increases in access to medicine”, said Ayesha Verrall “This is far from the bold promises made to fund ...
This afternoon’s interim Waitangi Tribunal report must be taken seriously as it affects our most vulnerable children, Labour children’s spokesperson Willow-Jean Prime. ...
Te Pāti Māori are demanding the New Zealand Government support an international independent investigation into mass graves that have been uncovered at two hospitals on the Gaza strip, following weeks of assault by Israeli troops. Among the 392 bodies that have been recovered, are children and elderly civilians. Many of ...
Our two-tiered system for veterans’ support is out of step with our closest partners, and all parties in Parliament should work together to fix it, Labour veterans’ affairs spokesperson Greg O’Connor said. ...
Stripping two Ministers of their portfolios just six months into the job shows Christopher Luxon’s management style is lacking, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said. ...
Tonight’s court decision to overturn the summons of the Children’s Minister has enabled the Crown to continue making decisions about Māori without evidence, says Te Pāti Māori spokesperson for Children, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi. “The judicial system has this evening told the nation that this government can do whatever they want when ...
It appears Nicola Willis is about to pull the rug out from under the feet of local communities still dealing with the aftermath of last year’s severe weather, and local councils relying on funding to build back from these disasters. ...
The Government is making short-sighted changes to the Resource Management Act (RMA) that will take away environmental protection in favour of short-term profits, Labour’s environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
Labour welcomes the release of the report into the North Island weather events and looks forward to working with the Government to ensure that New Zealand is as prepared as it can be for the next natural disaster. ...
The Labour Party has called for the New Zealand Government to recognise Palestine, as a material step towards progressing the two-State solution needed to achieve a lasting peace in the region. ...
Some of our country’s most important work, stopping the sexual exploitation of children and violent extremism could go along with staff on the frontline at ports and airports. ...
The Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill will give projects such as new coal mines a ‘get out of jail free’ card to wreak havoc on the environment, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said today. ...
The government's decision to reintroduce Three Strikes is a destructive and ineffective piece of law-making that will only exacerbate an inherently biased and racist criminal justice system, said Te Pāti Māori Justice Spokesperson, Tākuta Ferris, today. During the time Three Strikes was in place in Aotearoa, Māori and Pasifika received ...
Cuts to frontline hospital staff are not only a broken election promise, it shows the reckless tax cuts have well and truly hit the frontline of the health system, says Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall. ...
The Green Party has joined the call for public submissions on the fast-track legislation to be extended after the Ombudsman forced the Government to release the list of organisations invited to apply just hours before submissions close. ...
New Zealand’s good work at reducing climate emissions for three years in a row will be undone by the National government’s lack of ambition and scrapping programmes that were making a difference, Labour Party climate spokesperson Megan Woods said today. ...
More essential jobs could be on the chopping block, this time Ministry of Education staff on the school lunches team are set to find out whether they're in line to lose their jobs. ...
Te Pāti Māori is disgusted at the confirmation that hundreds are set to lose their jobs at Oranga Tamariki, and the disestablishment of the Treaty Response Unit. “This act of absolute carelessness and out of touch decision making is committing tamariki to state abuse.” Said Te Pāti Māori Oranga Tamariki ...
The Government is trying to bring in a law that will allow Ministers to cut corners and kill off native species, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said. ...
Cancelling urgently needed new Cook Strait ferries and hiking the cost of public transport for many Kiwis so that National can announce the prospect of another tunnel for Wellington is not making good choices, Labour Transport Spokesperson Tangi Utikere said. ...
A laundry list of additional costs for Tāmaki Makarau Auckland shows the Minister for the city is not delivering for the people who live there, says Labour Auckland Issues spokesperson Shanan Halbert. ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters discussed the need for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, and enhanced cooperation in the Pacific with German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock during her first official visit to New Zealand today. "New Zealand and Germany enjoy shared interests and values, including the rule of law, democracy, respect for the international system ...
The Minister Responsible for RMA Reform, Chris Bishop today released his decision on four recommendations referred to him by the Western Bay of Plenty District Council, opening the door to housing growth in the area. The Council’s Plan Change 92 allows more homes to be built in existing and new ...
Thank you, John McKinnon and the New Zealand China Council for the invitation to speak to you today. Thank you too, all members of the China Council. Your effort has played an essential role in helping to build, shape, and grow a balanced and resilient relationship between our two ...
The Government is modernising insurance law to better protect Kiwis and provide security in the event of a disaster, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly announced today. “These reforms are long overdue. New Zealand’s insurance law is complicated and dated, some of which is more than 100 years old. ...
The coalition Government is refreshing its approach to supporting pay equity claims as time-limited funding for the Pay Equity Taskforce comes to an end, Public Service Minister Nicola Willis says. “Three years ago, the then-government introduced changes to the Equal Pay Act to support pay equity bargaining. The changes were ...
Structured literacy will change the way New Zealand children learn to read - improving achievement and setting students up for success, Education Minister Erica Stanford says. “Being able to read and write is a fundamental life skill that too many young people are missing out on. Recent data shows that ...
Trade Minister Todd McClay says Canada’s refusal to comply in full with a CPTPP trade dispute ruling in our favour over dairy trade is cynical and New Zealand has no intention of backing down. Mr McClay said he has asked for urgent legal advice in respect of our ‘next move’ ...
The rights of our children and young people will be enhanced by changes the coalition Government will make to strengthen oversight of the Oranga Tamariki system, including restoring a single Children’s Commissioner. “The Government is committed to delivering better public services that care for our most at-risk young people and ...
The Government is making it easier for minor changes to be made to a building consent so building a home is easier and more affordable, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “The coalition Government is focused on making it easier and cheaper to build homes so we can ...
New Zealand lost a true legend when internationally renowned disability advocate Sir Robert Martin (KNZM) passed away at his home in Whanganui last night, Disabilities Issues Minister Louise Upston says. “Our Government’s thoughts are with his wife Lynda, family and community, those he has worked with, the disability community in ...
Good evening – Before discussing the challenges and opportunities facing New Zealand’s foreign policy, we’d like to first acknowledge the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs. You have contributed to debates about New Zealand foreign policy over a long period of time, and we thank you for hosting us. ...
From today, passengers travelling internationally from Auckland Airport will be able to keep laptops and liquids in their carry-on bags for security screening thanks to new technology, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Creating a more efficient and seamless travel experience is important for holidaymakers and businesses, enabling faster movement through ...
People with an interest in the health of Northland’s marine ecosystems are invited to a public meeting to discuss how to deal with kina barrens, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones will lead the discussion, which will take place on Friday, 10 May, at Awanui Hotel in ...
Kiwi exporters are $100 million better off today with the NZ EU FTA entering into force says Trade Minister Todd McClay. “This is all part of our plan to grow the economy. New Zealand's prosperity depends on international trade, making up 60 per cent of the country’s total economic activity. ...
There are heartening signs that the extractive sector is once again becoming an attractive prospect for investors and a source of economic prosperity for New Zealand, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. “The beginnings of a resurgence in extractive industries are apparent in media reports of the sector in the past ...
The return of the historic Ō-Rākau battle site to the descendants of those who fought there moved one step closer today with the first reading of Te Pire mō Ō-Rākau, Te Pae o Maumahara / The Ō-Rākau Remembrance Bill. The Bill will entrust the 9.7-hectare battle site, five kilometres west ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has announced 25 new high-speed EV charging hubs along key routes between major urban centres and outlined the Government’s plan to supercharge New Zealand’s EV infrastructure. The hubs will each have several chargers and be capable of charging at least four – and up to 10 ...
The coalition Government will not proceed with the previous Government’s plans to regulate residential property managers, Housing Minister Chris Bishop says. “I have written to the Chairperson of the Social Services and Community Committee to inform him that the Government does not intend to support the Residential Property Managers Bill ...
The Government has announced an independent review into the disability support system funded by the Ministry of Disabled People – Whaikaha. Disability Issues Minister Louise Upston says the review will look at what can be done to strengthen the long-term sustainability of Disability Support Services to provide disabled people and ...
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith has attended the Universal Periodic Review in Geneva and outlined the Government’s plan to restore law and order. “Speaking to the United Nations Human Rights Council provided us with an opportunity to present New Zealand’s human rights progress, priorities, and challenges, while responding to issues and ...
The Government and Rotorua Lakes Council are committed to working closely together to end the use of contracted emergency housing motels in Rotorua. Associate Minister of Housing (Social Housing) Tama Potaka says the Government remains committed to ending the long-term use of contracted emergency housing motels in Rotorua by the ...
Trade Minister Todd McClay heads overseas today for high-level trade talks in the Gulf region, and a key OECD meeting in Paris. Mr McClay will travel to Riyadh to meet with counterparts from Saudi Arabia and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). “New Zealand’s goods and services exports to the Gulf region ...
Education Minister Erica Stanford has outlined six education priorities to deliver a world-leading education system that sets Kiwi kids up for future success. “I’m putting ambition, achievement and outcomes at the heart of our education system. I want every child to be inspired and engaged in their learning so they ...
The new NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) App is a secure ‘one stop shop’ to provide the services drivers need, Transport Minister Simeon Brown and Digitising Government Minister Judith Collins say. “The NZTA App will enable an easier way for Kiwis to pay for Vehicle Registration and Road User Charges (RUC). ...
Whānau with tamariki growing up in emergency housing motels will be prioritised for social housing starting this week, says Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka. “Giving these whānau a better opportunity to build healthy stable lives for themselves and future generations is an essential part of the Government’s goal of reducing ...
Racing Minister Winston Peters has paid tribute to an icon of the industry with the recent passing of Dave O’Sullivan (OBE). “Our sympathies are with the O’Sullivan family with the sad news of Dave O’Sullivan’s recent passing,” Mr Peters says. “His contribution to racing, initially as a jockey and then ...
Assalaamu alaikum, greetings to you all. Eid Mubarak, everyone! I want to extend my warmest wishes to you and everyone celebrating this joyous occasion. It is a pleasure to be here. I have enjoyed Eid celebrations at Parliament before, but this is my first time joining you as the Minister ...
Associate Health Minister David Seymour has announced Pharmac’s largest ever budget of $6.294 billion over four years, fixing a $1.774 billion fiscal cliff. “Access to medicines is a crucial part of many Kiwis’ lives. We’ve committed to a budget allocation of $1.774 billion over four years so Kiwis are ...
Hon Paula Bennett has been appointed as member and chair of the Pharmac board, Associate Health Minister David Seymour announced today. "Pharmac is a critical part of New Zealand's health system and plays a significant role in ensuring that Kiwis have the best possible access to medicines,” says Mr Seymour. ...
Hundreds of New Zealand families affected by Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) will benefit from a new Government focus on prevention and treatment, says Health Minister Dr Shane Reti. “We know FASD is a leading cause of preventable intellectual and neurodevelopmental disability in New Zealand,” Dr Reti says. “Every day, ...
Regional Development Minister Shane Jones today attended the official opening of Kaikohe’s new $14.7 million sports complex. “The completion of the Kaikohe Multi Sports Complex is a fantastic achievement for the Far North,” Mr Jones says. “This facility not only fulfils a long-held dream for local athletes, but also creates ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters’ engagements in Türkiye this week underlined the importance of diplomacy to meet growing global challenges. “Returning to the Gallipoli Peninsula to represent New Zealand at Anzac commemorations was a sombre reminder of the critical importance of diplomacy for de-escalating conflicts and easing tensions,” Mr Peters ...
Ambassador Millar, Burgemeester, Vandepitte, Excellencies, military representatives, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen – good morning and welcome to this sacred Anzac Day dawn service. It is an honour to be here on behalf of the Government and people of New Zealand at Buttes New British Cemetery, Polygon Wood – a deeply ...
Distinguished guests - It is an honour to return once again to this site which, as the resting place for so many of our war-dead, has become a sacred place for generations of New Zealanders. Our presence here and at the other special spaces of Gallipoli is made ...
Mai ia tawhiti pamamao, te moana nui a Kiwa, kua tae whakaiti mai matou, ki to koutou papa whenua. No koutou te tapuwae, no matou te tapuwae, kua honoa pumautia. Ko nga toa kua hinga nei, o te Waipounamu, o te Ika a Maui, he okioki tahi me o ...
Paul Goldsmith will take on responsibility for the Media and Communications portfolio, while Louise Upston will pick up the Disability Issues portfolio, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon announced today. “Our Government is relentlessly focused on getting New Zealand back on track. As issues change in prominence, I plan to adjust Ministerial ...
Recreational catch limits will be reduced in areas of Fiordland and the Chatham Islands to help keep those fisheries healthy and sustainable, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. The lower recreational daily catch limits for a range of finfish and shellfish species caught in the Fiordland Marine Area and ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed an important milestone in New Zealand’s hydrogen future, with the opening of the country’s first network of hydrogen refuelling stations in Wiri. “I want to congratulate the team at Hiringa Energy and its partners K one W one (K1W1), Mitsui & Co New Zealand ...
The coalition Government is delivering on its commitment to improve resource management laws and give greater certainty to consent applicants, with a Bill to amend the Resource Management Act (RMA) expected to be introduced to Parliament next month. RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop has today outlined the first RMA Amendment ...
Overseas models for regulating the oil and gas sector, including their decommissioning regimes, are being carefully scrutinised as a potential template for New Zealand’s own sector, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. The Coalition Government is focused on rebuilding investor confidence in New Zealand’s energy sector as it looks to strengthen ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Changes in the May 14 budget will cut the student debt of more than three million people, wiping more than $3 billion from what people owe. The government will cap the HELP indexation rate ...
Asia Pacific Report The prosecutor’s office at the International Criminal Court (ICC) has appealed for an end to what it calls intimidation of its staff, saying such threats could constitute an offence against the “administration of justice” by the world’s permanent war crimes court. The Hague-based office of ICC Prosecutor ...
By Patrick Decloitre, RNZ Pacific correspondent French Pacific desk A women’s union in New Caledonia has staged a sit-in protest this week to support senior Kanak indigenous journalist Thérèse Waia, who works for public broadcaster Nouvelle-Calédonie la Première, after a smear attack by critics. The peaceful demonstration was held on ...
New Zealand Food Safety is monitoring overseas recalls of Indian packaged spice products manufactured by MDH and Everest due to concerns over a cancer-causing pesticide. ...
By Stephen Wright and Stefan Armbruster of BenarNews Fiji’s ranking in a global press freedom index has jumped into the top tier of countries with free or mostly free media after its government last year repealed a draconian law that threatened journalists with prison for doing their jobs. Fiji’s improvement ...
We might be in Invercargill but all anyone can talk about is Gore. Specifically, Salford Street. That’s where three-year-old Lachlan Jones lived, south of the centre of town, between the A&P Showgrounds and the Mataura River. Roughly 1.2 km away from the single level home he lived in with his ...
Keen hiker and second-year MSc student Liam Hewson wears two hats when he’s in the great outdoors. “The scientist in me appreciates nature and goes, ‘Oh, there’s that thing and there’s another thing,’ but then the tramper and the outdoorsy person in me thinks, ‘Cool bush.’” Born and bred in ...
MONDAY I lined up the latest round of civil servants from city hall against the wall, and signalled for the firing squad to drop their rifles. I stepped up onto a wooden crate to look at the office workers in the eye. But that didn’t feel right, so I found ...
After a long and illustrious career as a goal kicker, Dan Carter’s favourite way to unwind is… kicking goals. Why can’t he get enough of it? And what it’s like to watch him do it for an hour straight? A semicircle of people wielding cameras and phones has formed in ...
Dame Susan Devoy takes us through her life in television, including late night ER debriefs, her proudest CTI moment and the show she watches in secret. Quite aside from her four world champion squash titles, Dame Susan Devoy will likely go down in history as one of the best Celebrity ...
Hera Lindsay Bird reveals the best places in Ōtepoti to score more for your apocalypse-prep book hoard.Sometimes I get the feeling I’ve been killed in a car crash, and this second half of my life is just the brain unspooling itself, like one of those episodes of a hospital ...
ThreeNow’s new murder mystery series takes us on a dark, damp journey into the Australian wilderness.This is an excerpt from our weekly pop culture newsletter Rec Room. Sign up here. High Country is ThreeNow’s new Australian eight-part crime drama, set in a remote part of the Victorian highlands. It tells ...
Introducing a new way to read The Spinoff every weekend. After nearly 10 years of being an online magazine, we’re finally embracing the weekend liftout. Despite our best efforts to convince you otherwise, writers and editors at The Spinoff don’t work weekend. It is through the sheer power of technology ...
Tip one: let yourself be nurtured by this big old man. Tip two: don’t ask him to adopt you. So, you’ve arrived at your first session with a new therapist. He tells you to make yourself comfortable and you opt for the tweed armchair, hoping it makes you look like ...
I didn’t know books could open you back up; that there were books that stayed with you, where reading was like a chemical event. I knew nothing.The Sunday Essay is made possible thanks to the support of Creative New Zealand.Not too long ago, I was listening to the American ...
Former Olympic swimmer James Magnussen has already started training for the Enhanced games, though says he won’t start taking performance enhancing substances until about nine months out from the competition. The Australian world champion was the first athlete to be announced by Enhanced, but he says the organisation has had ...
Everyone thinks he’s dead. Every day they expect his body to be washed up along the coast. Most likely up Karitane way, the way the tide’s running. But nobody’ll be too surprised if his body’s never found. Even in death he wouldn’t have wished for such attention. He would have ...
Council members voted 21 to 4 in favour of Ahluwalia returning to the Laucala campus following a much-awaited meeting in Vanuatu this week. It comes as USP and its two unions — the Association of the University of the South Pacific Staff (AUSPS) and the Administration and Support Staff Union ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Nicola Henry, Professor & Australian Research Council Future Fellow, Social and Global Studies Centre, RMIT University Shutterstock Following an emergency meeting of the National Cabinet this week, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has announced a raft of measures to tackle the problem ...
Analysis - A poll showing the opposition is more popular than the government raises questions, politicians go through their 'trial by pay rise' and a Green MP loses her cool in the debating chamber. ...
The entire stretch of Tokomaru Bay on the East Coast will be subject to a joint customary marine title for two hapū, and extending up to four miles out to sea. A High Court judge has found the two groups, who during the case settled a dispute over boundaries for ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By James Hall, Lecturer, Media & Cultural Studies, Edith Cowan University A longstanding feud between TikTok and Universal Music Group seems to have finally reached an end, with both parties signing a deal that will see Universal-backed music returned to the social media ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Siobhan O’Dean, Postdoctoral Research Associate, The Matilda Centre for Research in Mental Health and Substance Use, University of Sydney After several highly publicised alleged murders of women in Australia, the Albanese government this week pledged more than A$925 million over five years ...
Political parties have now fully disclosed the donations they received last year - with National getting more than double the cash of any other party. ...
A Pacific regionalism expert has called out New Zealand's Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters for withholding information from the public on AUKUS military pact. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Richard de Grijs, Professor of Astrophysics, Macquarie University Bruno Scramgnon/Pexels All systems are “go” for tonight’s launch of China’s next step in a carefully planned lunar exploration program. Placed on top of a powerful Long March 5 rocket, the Chang’e 6 ...
National returned a massive donation the day after a Newsroom story linked the donors to a property being investigated for operating unlawfully as a migrant workers’ hostel. The party’s 2023 donation filings, released on Friday, show it returned a $200,000 donation from Buen Holdings on August 23. That was the ...
Pacific Media Watch New Zealand has slumped to an unprecedented 19th place in the annual Reporters Without Borders World Press Freedom Index survey released today on World Press Freedom Day — May 3. This was a drop of six places from 13th last year when it slipped out of its ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Joshua Black, Political Historian and Administrator Officer, Australian Historical Association, Australian National University Australia has had its fair share of public record-keeping controversies in recent years. Some have been mere farce, as in the case of two formerly government-owned filing cabinets (containing ...
Heavenly Culture, World Peace, Restoration of Light (HWPL), a United Nations-affiliated organization dedicated to fostering peace through civilian-led initiatives, has issued a statement in response to the escalating conflict between Israel and Iran. ...
A poem by Tessa Keenan, from AUP New Poets 10. Mātou These days we are a photograph; one of a farm strewn with cows that used to be bright harakeke or swamp. The kids point at it and say the sun sits behind a smudge (left by someone at Christmas); ...
The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington.AUCKLAND1 Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan (Faber & Faber, $25)The masterful Irish writer ...
Marriage and civil union statistics record the number of marriages and civil unions registered in New Zealand each year, and divorce statistics record the number of divorces granted in New Zealand each year. Key facts Marriages and civil unions In ...
Marriage and civil union statistics record the number of marriages and civil unions registered in New Zealand each year, and divorce statistics record the number of divorces granted in New Zealand each year. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Lennon Y.C. Chang, Associate Professor of Cyber Risk and Policy, Deakin University Taiwan stands out as a beacon of democracy, innovation and resilience in an increasingly autocratic region. But this is under growing threat. In recent years, China has used a variety ...
In this excerpt from her new memoir, Dame Susan Devoy remembers her turn as star contestant on the 2022 season of Celebrity Treasure Island. The most anxious time of every day was pre-elimination, when you knew this could be your final day on the show. I felt such contradictory emotions, ...
A week that began in triumph ended in an all-too-familiar disaster for the Green Party. Duncan Greive asks if there’s something in the mission that breaks its best and brightest. A long, strange week for the Green party began with a fantastic poll result. On one level this is hardly ...
By Lydia Lewis, RNZ Pacific journalist Vanuatu’s former prime minister and opposition MP Ishmael Kalsakau has stepped down — just two days after he confirmed he was the rightful opposition leader. Kalsakau, MP for Port Vila, confirmed to ABC’s Pacific Beat, and the Vanuatu Daily Post on Thursday that he ...
What’s to blame for the coalition’s choppy start? Six months in, and the mojo meter is in the doldrums. A new poll would put National out of power and sees its leader, Chris Luxon, sliding in popularity. How much is it about policy, how much coalition management and a perception ...
The striking report goes far beyond the proposed repeal of the Oranga Tamariki Act’s Treaty of Waitangi provision, and its impact should be felt far beyond the unique circumstances of the claim it addresses. Earlier this week, the Waitangi Tribunal released an interim report on the government’s proposed repeal of ...
The world has been experiencing a productivity slowdown, from which New Zealand has not been exempt. COVID-19 temporarily boosted labour productivity, but more recently, productivity has retreated. The overall trend since 2007 has been one of slow productivity ...
What’s more wasteful than spending $315k on syrup and machine maintenance? Trying to drum up a controversy about it.Cast your mind back to the pre-pandemic idylls of 2019. A “rat” was a disgusting rodent and not a self-administered plague test; the sixth Labour government was in power; and the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kate Fitz-Gibbon, Professor of Social Sciences, Faculty of Arts, Monash University, Monash University Ken stocker/Shutterstock In the wake of numerous killings of women allegedly by men’s violence in 2024, thousands of Australians have joined rallies across the country to demand action ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Henry Cutler, Professor and Director, Macquarie University Centre for the Health Economy, Macquarie University Oleg Ivanov IL/Shutterstock Waiting times for public hospital elective surgery have been in the news ahead of this year’s federal budget. That’s the type of non-emergency surgery ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Konstantine Panegyres, McKenzie Postdoctoral Fellow, Historical and Philosophical Studies, The University of Melbourne Amna Artist/Shutterstock One of the earliest descriptions of someone with cancer comes from the fourth century BC. Satyrus, tyrant of the city of Heracleia on the Black Sea, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Rose, Professor of Sustainable Future Transport, University of Sydney LanaElcova/Shutterstock Electric vehicles are often seen as the panacea to cutting emissions – and air pollution – from transport. Is this view correct? Yes – but only once uptake accelerates. Despite the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Giselle Natassia Woodley, Researcher and Phd Candidate, Edith Cowan University There is widespread agreement Australia needs to do better when it comes to gender-based violence. Anger and frustration at the numbers of women being killed saw national rallies over the weekend and ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By James Graham, Lecturer in Economics, University of Sydney Mark and Anna Photography/Shutterstock As home ownership moves further out of reach for many Australians, “rentvesting” is being touted as a lifesaver. Rentvesting is the practice of renting one property to live ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sukhmani Khorana, Associate Professor, Faculty of Arts, Design and Architecture, UNSW Sydney Netflix The new season of Heartbreak High is garnering mixed reviews. Critics are writing about the racy story lines, comparing it to other coming-of-age series about teenage relationships and ...
Bob Carr intends to launch legal action against Winston Peters and Julie Anne Genter is facing a second allegation of bullying. Both sucked the air out of an announcement on education, writes Anna Rawhiti-Connell in this excerpt from The Bulletin, The Spinoff’s morning news round-up. To receive The Bulletin in ...
In 1995, Sally Clark went out on her own in a bold and unorthodox attempt to join an illustrious group of equestrian riders conquering the world. In the days of glovebox road maps, brick cell phones, and the hit song How Bizarre, Clark refused to follow Sir Mark Todd, Blyth ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ben Beaglehole, Senior Lecturer, Department of Psychological Medicine, University of Otago niphon/Getty Images The number of people accessing medication for attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in Aotearoa New Zealand increased significantly between 2006 and 2022. But the disorder is still under-diagnosed and ...
To celebrate the start of New Zealand music month, we look back at the best local tuneage that managed to weasel its way into Hollywood productions. There’s nothing quite like the thrilling zap of recognition when New Zealand weasels its way into a glamorous Hollywood production. Crack open a Tui ...
People trust other people more than institutions. So how can the media gain that trust through journalists without losing what’s important about the institution? Anna Rawhiti-Connell reflects on two years of curating the news for The Bulletin.Amonth ago, armed cops descended on my neighbourhood as calls to “lock your ...
Essay: If the Crown harms children, how do you hold it accountable? Analysis by Aaron Smale in light of the Waitangi Tribunal court decision. The post The Crown versus Māori Children appeared first on Newsroom. ...
Opinion: PFAS – per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances – are a class of thousands of man-made chemicals used widely in everyday consumer items such as textiles, packaging, and cookware, popular for their water, grease and stain-repellent properties. However, the very properties that make PFAS so attractive to manufacturers are also what ...
NONFICTION 1 The Last Secret Agent by Pippa Latour & Jude Dobson (Allen & Unwin, $37.99)’ This is the hottest book in New Zealand, number one with a bullet in its first week, selling more than any overseas title, and demand is so huge that it’s already been reprinted. A ...
Whilst Key and Goff jibed at one another about how they were going to improve the lot of ordinary NZers last night other events were occuring that will make eithers wishes impossible. Whilst Goff clearly expressed a more cogent and less venal BAU position, BAU just wont be possible.
Those who watch the markets will have noted that despite the forced casino optomism on Wall St and the money escaping the financial meltdown that is Europe stocks have dipped below the years starting point. Worldwide governments dont have the cash to pay the interest on their bonds, default is going to be the song they sing (or sell state assets a la Key). More importantly the false “recovery” and demand over supply sees oil going back through the $100 mark, that despite consumer demand falling off badly. Indicating there is definitely a lot less able to be pumped. All up the party is well over.
For us what does it mean? Who ever wins the election is in deep do dos, and Key will answer by selling the silver and locking the chest. A vote for National is a gauranteed way to keep your tax cut, lose your job and to watch your share in NZ sold to your new masters.
More so now with the latest comments out of China suggesting that they’ll be looking after their own economy thanks very much and not bailing out the USA or Eu.
But how is China going to have an economy without Western markets for their niknaks – isn’t global capitalism a big loop?
Uke and HS both got it right, its a big inter related loop. When one counttry gets a cold the contagion follows.
And what is going to happen when China starts “looking after its own” and then the US govt starts defaulting on its China-owned debt (this must become a popular policy there eventually): World War III?
Bored.
Absolutely right!
I now prefer the term DAU (disaster as usual) instead of BAU (business as usual) to describe current economic, social and environmental arrangements, though the term BAU will undoubtedly be used for quite a while yet.
This morning must have been something of a shock to anyone who has heavily invested in DAU, what with the Dow down 2.56% (in numerical terms around what it was in 1999, and in inflation-adjusted terms down by around 70% over the decade); oil down due to the severe demand destruction that is a consequence of collapsing economies; even gold down! (something of a mystery -but then the price is clearly being manipulated): so much ‘hot money’ and nowhere for it to go as so-called investment managers alternate between chasing higher returns and safety. Asia-Pacific markets are in for a bumpy ride.
Meanwhile, everything that people need to pay for to survive in the NZ province of the global industrial catastrophe just keeps going up -rates, insurance, energy costs, food. And the fall in the Kiwi dollar will result in a surge in prices for most imported goods. Anyone who failed to heed the numerous warnings about establishing a food supply will soon be in deep trouble.
The entire system, which is predicated on fraudulent creation of money and exploitation of people and resources, hit the wall when global oil extraction hit peak over 2005 to 2008. The Earth has LESS and LESS to give but we still have maniacs in charge who demand MORE and MORE. And an uniformed populace that thinks it is entitled to more and more.
Since all political parties are offering their own versions of a ‘better, brighter future’ based on various delusions about economic growth we will witness a magnificent COLLISION WITH REALITY which will play out extremely badly for the vast majority of people over the coming year or so. As Dr Colin Cambell (co-founder of ASPO) said many years ago: If you don’t deal with reality reality will deal with you.
‘A vote for National is a gauranteed way to keep your tax cut, lose your job and to watch your share in NZ sold to your new masters.’
I agree on the ‘lose your job’ and ‘watch your share of assets sold to your new masters’ aspects but I suspect people will not keep their tax cuts: any incoming government is likely to raise taxes (either directly or indirectly) to prevent a fairly instantaneous implosion of its finances. And in doing so will cause one. In other words, orthodox economics offers no way out of the hole we are in because orthodox economics is what created the hole we are in.
A while ago you said you realised people were not listening to what you had to say and you turned your attention instead to preparing yourself. What was this preparation?
Uturn, that is a very pertinent question so a quick answer on behalf of AFKTT:
1. Quit as much debt as possible, preferably be freehold or low cost rent, kill the credit card.
2. Learn to live within your means, start substituting wants with real needs.
3. Learn to trade your skills with others for needs, learn to grow food.
In other words do what your grandparents did without thinking.
From a government viewpoint the trick is the same, pay off/ reneg on debt, balance trade accounts, balance tax versus expenditure. And most importantly make sure that the infrastructure required for the new low energy economy is owned by the state, and people trained with real life skills that can be converted into real economic output (as opposed to accounting / lawyering / speculating).
U.
1. I got out of the big city I was living in and moved to a small one (couldn’t get to where I wanted to be due to financial constriants).
2. I established an orchard and started working on improving soil quality for other food production.
3. I installed some passive solar.
4. I cut my expenseses. I still have a car but normally only drive about 20km a week. Most of the time I cycle or walk -very unfashionable. I am in the process of disengaging from the consumer society.
Anyone who has read this:
http://www.publishme.co.nz/shop/theeasyway-p-684.html
will understand exactly where we are headed and what to do.
Thanks, Bored and AFKTT. Apart from establising an orchard, seems we’ve arrived at the same conclusions from different approaches. My route has been a bit less organised – I followed my nose along a trail of things that either looked right or wrong when compared to the reality of the life I’d lived. I left the country to come back to the city for financial reasons. Co-incidentally my country skills – or what Bored refers to as grandparent skills – naturally recreated what they knew worked, in an urban environment.
There is a serious flaw to this existence as far as prescribing it to others goes, that I’m sure you are aware of, though. There is no way urban environments can support the density of population, without major shifts in the idea of land use and ownership. Sure urban and community gardens are a good start to get people thinking in a larger perspective, but eventually the limitations will be clear. It’s a domino effect of enlightenment for people who begin thinking and reality isn’t appeased by a few potatoes growing in a bag on the balcony. This is just one of many problems.
While I could shoot back out to the country and dig in, I plan to stick it out here a while longer and see what happens and what practical solutions emerge for the urban question. There may be none. Urban people are strange (no offence intended) or should I say their actions display a wildly different perspective to mine. While Vege World, The Aussie Butcher and the supermarket exist and while credit is being plied, few will understand that working 9-5 in an office and paying your taxes isn’t the “real world” at all. Bridging the gap is a challenge in the extreme, but then nothing is easy. Realism says there is no point, I’ll wait a while longer for a miracle. Best of luck to you both with your plans.
I’ve seen a lot of people write Kevin Moore’s views off as insanity, but having now read (all of) The Easy Way, it’s clear the statements are based on fact and the conclusions are solid.
I was disappointed that he invoked the controversy over 9/11 in support of his arguments. Not because I think the “official story” is correct – I don’t, far from it – but because in the minds of many this will automatically put Moore in the “tinfoil hat” category, and the rest of the book will be tarred with that brush.
But I do see his points, and I do agree that everything is going to turn to shit – possibly not as soon as he makes out (society does have the ability to adjust to a degree), but over time, it’s obvious that that’s how things will go. I’ve given the book to friends of mine to read, and some of them have said “yes but technology and innovation will get us out of it, don’t worry.” Let’s say they have much more faith in that than I do.
I plan to start some preparations myself, although I’m now locked into a mortgage on an asset with declining value, which makes things difficult – and makes me a slave. Thankfully that’s the only debt I have, and I have a small amount of land on which to “experiment” with growing my own veges etc. Ideally, though, I’d like to get some land out the back-end of nowhere and set myself up permanently before dropping off the grid.
So much easier said than done, though. And that’s the way “they” want it.
I do believe those are the first specific courses of action I’ve seen you advocate here.
They seem fairly reasonable. I was half-imagining you sitting in a fallout shelter in the wilderness.
Would not mind the fall out shelter as a garden shed……chicken coop perhaps. Uturn makes a good point that you cant do everything, that urban life makes food independence etc impossible. Actually social capital is the best investment going forward, you cant be an island. Suppose that is why we dont just give up on politics per se, it is the macro form of social organisation to deliver our needs.
Lots here.
http://blog.opensourceecology.org/
http://opensourceecology.org/wiki/Main_Page
AFKTT it is all very commendable the measures you have taken, to protect your family’s future.
I don’t think your efforts will be enough. The collapse threatens to be so vast and all encompassing that individualistic solutions will be crushed and swept aside, along with everything else.
For the vast majority of the population, (here and overseas), who don’t have the luxury of being able to buy even the smallest viable landholding out in the country, one way or another we will not take the DAU lying down.
This may sound ominous and threatening to some, but for more than A Few of us, we have not completely given up on civil society just yet.
There is still hope for a genuine democratically decided – ‘best outcome’, for the greatest number.
Ka Whawhai Tonu Matou, Ake! Ake! Ake!
I like “we have not completely given up on civil society just yet. There is still hope for a genuine democratically decided – ‘best outcome’, for the greatest number.”
What I suspect will happen is that if the current democratic institutions fail to meet muster new democratic institutions that are fit for purpose will replace them. And I cant quite see the established property based interests playing ball nicely, they are likely to be the first to eject popular democracy as too injurious to their privileges. Forceful ejection may be required. To quote Cromwell, “You have sat too long for all the good that you have done. Begone.”
Bored, afktt, U
Much the same here.
I have downsized from 17 acres to 1/4 acre and moved to a small coastal town where I no longer have to travel to do the things I enjoy. I now enjoy a much better lifestyle. Much better food, and a farmers market where I get to meet and know the people who grow the food I am unable to.
Like you I watch the machinations of DAU (I like that and shall steal it! 🙂 ) with increasing dismay as the greed of the players pushes the world towards the collapse of civilisation as it is now perceived. What the world will be like when my grandchildren are of age I shudder o think.
The creation of New Zealand’s Cooperative Bank – the PSIS has registered as a bank – has gone unremarked here so far.
http://www.psis.co.nz
Moving your accounts to a NZ owned bank such as Kiwi Bank, the TSB or the Cooperative Bank is one of the few direct and painless ways to impact New Zealand’s private indebtedness. David Cunliffe has identified that $2.5 billion leaves the New Zealand economy each year in profits to Australian banks.
http://www.wanganuichronicle.co.nz/news/tax-changes-make-sense-says-labour/1113674/
The more people who stop using foreign owned banks the better. Foreign ownership of our businesses is bad for our economy and our society.
I had a spell with Kiwibank and found the whole process terrible (sorry). The customer service was very poor, so much so they managed to forget to pay the ASB the mortgage money for our home when we were transferring to Kiwibank.
It took several calls to the banking ombudsman to sort the issue – did the one year fixed rate and promptly went back to the original provider, who is sadly Aussie owned.
I have had an account with TSB for years – and never had any problems – even though I live well away from New Plymouth and have visited there only once in the past 40+ years. They are only a free phone call away if I need to speak to someone and everything else is done online or occassional deposit thru a Postshop.
Using Kiwibank for a business account, great service, but they seem very risk averse in their lending so I doubt I’d try to finance anything through them.
When? I know when they first opened they were a… little immature I suppose would be the best description. They seem to have gotten better since my first opening of an account there.
They have. I opened a business account there when they first started and it was underwhelming, but improved as time went on. A few years ago I started some personal banking with them and it’s fine – easily as good as other banks I’ve used. But yeah, Joe90 is right about being risk averse… however given the banking meltdown in the last few years that’s not necessarily a bad thing.
To all Epsom voters.
Want to substantially reduce hypocricy in politics? Want to rid Parliament of a collection of mysoginists, liars and supposed perk busters who instead have feasted in the public trough? Want to get rid of a party that harboured in its ranks an MP who had previously stole the identity of a dead baby?
Then vote Paul Goldsmith as MP for Epsom! (Feck did I just say that?)
You may find a few like minded folk here, Mickey:
https://www.facebook.com/hipstersforgoldsmith
Why have I got an email invitation latish last night from Mediaworks to answer a survey so they “can better tailor our prizes, content and advertising mix to your preferences.”?
I am not aware of having registerd at any of their websites, and the email went to an address that I don’t use on website forums, logins etc.
Wondering the same thing, Carol.
Could be youtube. If you view youtube while signed into gmail their tracking system has your information and now shares it. I see that they are pushing advertising by making a viewer answer a survey question before they allow the chosen video to play. So much for the much espoused online freedom. Looks like the internet will eventually collapse under the wieght of it’s own self interest.
or u could use Orbit downloader to download the ackshull video u want to watch
Eh? What’s the connection between Mediaworks and Google/Youtube?
Skynet bro skynet
Youtube assigns advertising to match your location – you won’t get American ad’s if you dial in from Auckland. The questions you answer to view are collated for NZ advertisers, not Americans or anyone else. Mediaworks are just one client. Youtube knows your email address if you visit there while you are signed into your Google account/blogger or anything else Google owned. If you have forwarding enabled on your gmail, your other email addresses will be accessible. If you back up your Google password with an alternative email address or a phone number, you hand over that information. They ask you for backups for security reasons, but money gets the last word. It’s just Google walking in Facebook’s shoes, one step behind to stay legal, but still unethical.
And the major intelligence services have software consoles which extract all info from Facebook etc. These consoles are built right into the software by Facebook etc, for various gov agencies. They are not add-ons.
They like the fact that you friend people, tell them up to date info on where you’ve been, provide details of the networks of contacts you talk to, photos of places and people important to you etc.
Basically you are doing all their work for them.
Yep. Genuinely random spam is pretty rare – it isn’t cost effective.
The email address that the survey invitation was sent to, was not one I use for online forums, facebook, twitter etc. It’s not a gmail addie either. And I haven’t logged into youtube for months. So I’m not sure what triggered it.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/science/FB-tracks-sites-you-visit-even-after-logging-off/articleshow/10810818.cms
Seems unlikely that it would be sent from a mediaworks.co.nz email address if that were the case.
“Why have I got an email invitation latish last night from Mediaworks to answer a survey so they “can better tailor our prizes, content and advertising mix to your preferences.”?”
I got the same thing! I did wonder if I had signed up at one stage, but on reflection I am sure I didn’t…
Did you answer? Be interesting to look for “curious” questions. Go through the questions but quit before final send.
Good idea, ianmac. Answered with BS selections till I got to the agree to terms and conditions page. Just a lot of question about household, job, income, credit/loyalty cards, hobbies, cars/transport, TV and Internet use…. sky, pay per viewing….
All these companies asking us to complete surveys should be more honest…. it’s not to make things better for customers so much, as ultimately being about increasing or maintaining their profits. Mediaworks is offering entering a draw for prizes for completing the survey. We should send them an invoice for helping their business.
“Just a lot of question about household, job, income, credit/loyalty cards, hobbies, cars/transport, TV and Internet use…. sky, pay per viewing….”
Interestingly, the survey assumes that you *do* in fact watch TV 3 and 4 on demand, something I have never done. I don’t watch TV3 at all, but for the news, which I have watched only twice in the past 7 weeks! It also assumes that you do want pay per view, and gives no options such as “I’d sooner crawl over broken glass”. I don’t watch American programming, although Prime is the only way to avoid it.
I will turn back on the comment auto remember of names, emails, and websites as well as the wsiwyg comment editor. These all have problems with the cache system I had to put on last night to cope with the load after the debate.
These will all move to using client side JavaScript, which has problems with a few people’s systems, but works with the majority. It doesn’t have issues with cached names and preferences for other people being sent from the server. The code was written and tested last year so I just have to extract it from subversion.
I have the next couple of days off from work so I can help with eDay stuff for several electorates. So this will be lower on the priority list than that.
If you want to avoid all of this, then register and use a login (or just use a login if you have one already). That serves up pages for each logged in user individually.
Goff’s dilemma highlighted by the debate:
– Peters says he won’t go into goverment with anyone
– Labour has to have NZF support to have any chance of leading a coalition
– Goff needs Peters to go against his word to have any chance of going into government
Another Peters post election betrayal is Goff’s only chance.
As Goff said numerous times last night, the Election has not happened yet,
Maybe we wait for the Voters to present the actual situation,
then you can have your aneurism
Before they present the situation voters need to evaluate the likely possibilities and decide.
Labour almost certainly would need NZ First to govern, which means Peters would need to exchange his word for baubles.
or you could try thinking for yourself and ignore the propoganda of manipulative politicians whose self interested actions show up the hypocrisy of every single agreement ever made under MMP.
Let us vote, then let us have MMP for once.
If it really does not deliver a better government FOR ALL NEW ZEALANDERS
then go ahead and have your manipulative agreements, your delusional bindings of confidence and supply, your saccharine soaked empty phrases that mean less than the good behaviour promises of a toddler at Christmas.
Voters have asked for MMP , let them see how it might actually work, just once.
Dump the defacto FPP and let NZ have a representative parliament that they voted for.
Bingo.
There really shouldn’t be a “government” there should just be parliament with the whole lot voting on policy based upon the facts. Would probably need to vote in the president separate of the general election if we got that though.
I remember in the past you lamenting the ‘negative’ approach of Labour, but it seems to me that you are being very negative about Goff (and Peters) in your recent comments. Perhaps you should take your own advice and take a positive approach in getting support for UF?
When it comes down to it, it is starting to get a bit pointless to speculate about possible governments. Let’s all just wait until Saturday and see what the numbers are.
Haha.
UF’s dilemma:
– Dunne has unequivocally hitched his star to Key
– Key’s a phoney and a lightweight with nothing left in the tank
– People seem to be noticing that they’ve been sold a bill of goods
lolz
Except that:
– a majority people disagree with you about Key
– National have proven to be a reliable government (mostly) through an exceptionally difficult term, and
– UF has proven to be a reliable contributior to government.
pfft.
– We’ll see
– Difficult because the government has no interest in governing
– UF has proven to be a sinecure for Dunne and Ohariu has had enough of it.
Unbalanced Follicles
Useless Fakehairs
Pityrosporum folliculitis?
go and peddle your bullshit somewhere else trollwhore
your endless crap today is pissing me off
PG
Disunited No-future has never been anying other than a bunch of opportunistic clowns who are completely disconneced from reality and have nothing to offer.
‘UF has proven to be a reliable contributior to government’
Have been a reliable contributor to wrecking the next generation’s future via Disaster As Usual economics.
And that’s what UF are offering this time round, is it not?
We in the Ohariu electorate recently received a pamphlet from Peter Dunne. Unfortunately I threw it out or I’d link a picture, but it had absolutely no policy information: Just a bunch of quotes from various people and publications about how wonderful Peter Dunne is.
Pretty sure you could haul-up similar information from sympathetic sources on practically any MP you like.
Let’s not forget National are all about shrinking the public service, and the Ohariu electorate has the highest percentage of public service workers in the country. And they’re not stupid: They know a vote for Dunne is a vote for Key, and I’d bet they’re not willing to risk losing their jobs so The Hair can make a return to parliament.
Policy evidently isn’t all that important to United Future. And why would it be? UF has thrown its lot in with National whose policies are deeply unpopular. If Bill English was leader of the Nats they wouldn’t have a hope in hell at this election with the policies they have. It’s entirely reliant on Brand Key. And Peter Dunne isn’t closely enough associated with Brand Key to get the votes he needs, so he’s got to rely on bullshit quotes of positive opinion from whatever source he find.
Scraping the bottom of the barrel, eh?
The United Future pamphlet doesn’t fit that decription at all. It details four key policies:
– reform tax for middle income families
– a sensible super scheme with choice of age (Labour said they are considering this)
– access to all New Zealanders to our outdoors
– limit asset sales
There is no excuse to be ignorant of it, there is plenty of detail on the website, on vote.co.nz and UF policy is being detailed and compared on many media election sites. Saying there is no policy evident is blatant misrepresentation or deliberate lies.
There is more chance of United Future policy being implemented next term than Labour policy, Mana policy, NZF policy and Green policy.
We’re definitely not talking about the same pamphlet then. This particular pamphlet was clearly campaigning for the electorate seat, so it may not have gone out to all electorates.
I love how you respond to me telling me I have “no excuses” to be ignorant of UF policy, Pete, but don’t touch with a barge pole my many other comments about the hollowness of the party and their leader.
Choosing your arguments is all well and good, but what you choose to remain silent on says much more about UF and their “Fairness and Choice (as long as you’re like us and do what we want you to)” policies than the points you choose to argue.
I note, however, that UF’s flagship Income Sharing tax policy – which can be found at http://www.unitedfuture.org.nz/assets/Income%20Sharing.pdf – goes into no detail whatsoever about how the scheme would be funded. If you’re going to tax (your definition of) families less, who’s picking up the tab for that?
Key’s already ruled out more tax cuts anyway.
I don’t know who UF thinks they’re kidding with this income splitting for taxation purposes.
I don’t know if you saw my question to you the other day – at number 8 in the UF list, what percentage of vote would be needed to get you into parliament?
Wrong, it’s more tax reform for the rich. Their income splitting will only benefit the rich exactly the same as the tax cuts that NAct put through. Nobody else will be better off.
Sensible would be one that worked and this one won’t. Neither will Labours’. You need resources to be able to maintain society and all parties are all about using up the resources ASAP so that we can have more piles of
nothingmoney.And what, exactly, does that mean?
I can already go outdoors, I can go to the beach and the stream. Probably can’t eat the shellfish or go swimming in the stream though as they’ve either been poisoned by industrialism/farming or over fished. Thing is, I’m sure UF is one of those parties that want to continue the destructive ways (more industrialism, farming and over fishing) that have been built up over the last few centuries and are now brining us to an anthropogenic Extinction Level Event.
Rather than doing the rational thing and opposing asset sales altogether. Why would anyone want to vote for a party that is obviously insane?
DTB could not agree with you re income splitting. Lab has been at pains regarding “A fairer tax” yet how is it that IRD regard the calc of tax by the individual and welfare/benefits by family unit. So what for all those families that have made sacrifices to enable a stay at home parent (Many actively involved in NPO and child care/school help that the community and society benefit from). How is it fair on these family units? Taxed to the max.
And your concern regarding only benefiting the rich is a lazy generalisation, that if such a concerns exists can be managed by placing a limit on the amount to be split. It is not difficult to manage, just needs a little will power.
Yet in the handout Lab is campaiging for the choice (with govt financial assistance) for this same position of allowing parents to stay at home, pity the sentiment is not made regarding poor and middle class families as well.
http://www.whaleoil.co.nz/2011/11/labour-is-the-nasty-party-ctd-19/
There is one word to describe United Future and – dare I say it – all of it’s supporters, and it’s… beige.
I’ve done my little bit to help Charles smash Dunne this year. Fingers crossed.
Peter dunne has been in coalition with Wiston Peters twice now
People voting with their feet record numbers leave for Australia
Anyone else been to that OnTheFence.co.nz website? Seems to be giving an interesting bias – this from Twitter:
– John: Did that stupid on the fence thing. United Future 88%? WHAT AND MANA?. GET OUT.
– Charlotte Yee: LOL just did onthefence.co.nz I think it’s rigged my “top 3 parties” are labour, united future and mana… #really?
– Beth: I did that dumb on the fence sheep game and I got 19% United Future as my top match.
– Naly_D: according to http://onthefence.co.nz my best-suited political party is United Future (20%). Because, y’know, I’m 50.
– l•x•ndr•: @lethifolds I’ll be surprised if you don’t get told to vote for United Future lolol prove me wrong
– NICOLE C: @Naly_D I got 50% United Future …. Could it be bias ahaha
– Michael Parry: Has anyone got a result other than United Future on onthefence.co.nz ????
– Moata Tamaira @Michael_J_Parry @librarykris I got United Future too…which I found a bit odd.
– Lisa Rapley: @Naly_D I got united future too, then Labour then Mana. I just don’t even…
– Katherine Chisholm: Just played http://onthefence.co.nz. Where did United Future come from??
– Frazer Skinner: @Naly_D Who published the site? UF 97%, Labour 55%, Mana 39% Um.. no thanks
Does everyone secretly love United Future or is there something else in play here?
Haha, I did it, got a bit bored so exited early.
Apparently my top 3 choices are UF at 5%, Labour and Greens at 2%.
Considering I answered almost all left-leaning on every single question…
Me too, got bored so completed less than half of the topics and scored 11% towards UF so I’d say the site is a jack up by United Follicular.
@Pete G 9.37am
“National have proven to be a reliable government….”. for whom – themselves???
UF is a ‘thin- ice skating on’ party. What a strange party to choose to represent Pete G.- and even worse, by choosing them, have to support National just to get into office ( only this time hopefully not). There must be a better way to spend your life????
http://tvnz.co.nz/national-news/school-faces-closure-after-funding-change-4555829
This is the school that Key used before the 2008 election…. They even made a dvd here blah blah blah
Now theyre closing it.It costs $150k a year to keep running.
85 % success rate for troubled kids
Awesome coverage last night before the leaders debate on the news but has obviously been overlooked
Im disgusted places like this will be forced to close
I have a nephew in Christchurch who attends a school like this and theyre also facing the chop
He has come so far and all the hard work will be in vain
Enough is a fuking nuff
This pissass bunch called National doint give a fuck about anyone but their tory assed schools and mates
The Peoples Union Health clinic in Newtown, Wellington is facing closure, the DHB is going to take $300,000 of funding away from them. This is a vital service for poor people, refugees, new immigrants. Tony Ryall promised no front line cuts in Health, but of course he’s a liar like the rest of that grubby pack of plunderers.
John Key:
Money, assets and resources for me and my mates … but not for you
The implosion of the US continues unabated but the elites hope to delay the day of reckoning by a year.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/nov/21/us-automatic-cuts-supercommittee-defeat
Meanwhile Spain gets into deeper trouble
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/nov/21/mariano-rajoy-spain-debt-crisis
There really are too many crises to fit on one page these days.
One thing is for sure: as everything gets worse the blame game will escalate.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2011/nov/21/gloomy-britons-blame-labour-poll
I am getting freaked out by all the greaseballs on Teevee who think they and only they know the outcome of the election before it has been held.
especially gluon and the dunnycan.
how did New Zealand end up with these manques?
It’s the result of a socio-economic system that rewards psychopathy.
Here is another one for your John Key voting mates:
http://aotearoaawiderperspective.wordpress.com/2011/11/22/six-degrees-of-separation-or-how-close-is-john-key-to-the-key-players-in-the-global-banker-take-over/
newsflash: beenit preparing legislation so all beneficiaries will be told not only how to spend their money but who to vote for.
you heard it hear first.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10765223
that graphic is hilarious. Labour drops 1/2% and loses two of their little red guys. National lose 5% yet don’t lose one of the little blue guys.
Classy stuff by the Herald ! I think not.
A few days of almost being balanced, now back on regular form.
Left-leaning voters should take that as an added incentive to step out, go to the Ballot Box and correct the tory lies perpetrated by the media.
just had a long FB debate with an ‘undecided but leaning to National’ voter who despite admitting they don’t know much about the other parties believes john key will back down on Asset Sales as people don’t want them!
How do you combat a mindset that deluded.?
If John Key wanted to back down on asset sales, he would have done it months or weeks ago before the height of the campaign now. He could have taken out a major aggravating factor to his campaign to cement his hold for the second term.
The reality is he will go the whole hog with asset sales because he is there precisely to advance that agenda to shift the assets and more wealth to his cronies, the puppet masters and himself.
Yep and I’m reasonable certain that they’ll go for 100% sales as well because 49% won’t raise enough (note that Blinglish is reported to have said that they won’t raise as much as expected).
“The reality is he will go the whole hog with asset sales because he is there precisely to advance that agenda to shift the assets and more wealth to his cronies, the puppet masters and himself.”
Exactly Jim N. There can be no other reason for him to sell and risk losing his precious position(even if he eventually wants to go to Hawaii) as very few Kiwis want him to sell. He has been told to ‘asset strip’ in NZ. Wonder who he is working for , ‘cos it sure ain’t New Zealand.
Cyanide or 1080
Fucked if I know. Just had a conversation where the RWNJ (there really is no other description) argued that having less than 40% of the vote (National government in several FPP elections) was democratic and that MMP, where majority actually had their say, was undemocratic.
It’s the mindset of the comfortably self-satisfied “I’ve got mine, and screw the rest”.
Anything that secures an endless inflation of property, rentals, and less wealth to the lower classes.
http://thestandard.org.nz/banks-in-his-own-words/#comment-399554
Conversely:
Christian Heritage aren’t even a registered party to contest the election. Why are they in the poll?
I note that another socialist government in Europe has been consigned to history. The Spanish Socialist party plummeted from 169 seats to 110, their lowest ever representation whilst the conservative Popular Party went from 154 to 186 seats, giving them an absolute majority.
During the last 7 years of socialism, unemployment has reached heights greater than during any previous crisis, with the rate reaching 21.5% in October.
Spain has elected a career politician, who in a previous government failed spectacularly, with a reputation for playing favourites and has failed to articulate any clear plan to voters about how he’ll handle a faltering economy.
http://www.thebadrash.com/2011/11/19/spain-elections-the-view-from-the-edge-of-the-precipice/
The prospect of seeing the PP in power again after 8 years is not a happy one. While I’m no fan of the PSOE (I think I called them ‘the very worst party in Spain’ at one point, though I can’t find a link), my suspicion is that before long many who loathe the Socialists will remember how much more they loathed the PP last time they governed.
Such reminds me of the 1990 election here. The majority were really pissed off with Labour and so National got back in power but the truth is that nobody wanted National either it’s just that there wasn’t a whole lot of choice.
The socialists were doing the austerity that the Spaniards didn’t want and the new party is going to do the same thing. They’ll try to vote them (PP) out next term but, again, they won’t actually get any choice as to what actually happens in their country.
To be honest that’s what I reckon is happening in this election. No one really wants National even many National supporters aren’t particularly happy with them they just don’t see much choice.
That’s basically why I don’t think Labour’s strategy of attacking National has been a good one. Noone is that stoked with National anyway but just attacking doesn’t automatically make you the viable alternative.
Labour released policy, costings and a vision for the future and then pointed out that National weren’t doing too well in the trust. Breaking promises, ruling for the few at the top and not addressing the problems that the GFC had caused.
I think it’s hit home for a lot of people – now just need them to vote.
Not sure anyone goes back and looks at prior days open mikes but oh well.
I agree Labour have released policy – it was even policy that many people prefered to Nationals. However they have chosen to not really focus on their own policy instead their entire campaign has been based on attacking National and its policy.
It’s a valid strategy but I can’t help thinking that had they actually done what they originally said they were going to do and keep the election about the policy (but make it about their policies not Nationals) they would have done a lot better (and I mean that whatever the outcome of the election).
Obviously its a moot argument but still I think it would’ve made it a lot more interesting.
Ivvy leaguer Italy France and Germany are going democratic socialist .Spain has always had higher unemployment than northern European countries, more corruption in southern European countries and no one pays tax .
The Ambrose court hearing is underway and the Listener’s Election blog is providing tweets from Derek Ching on what is happening if anyone is interested
http://www.listener.co.nz/nz-election-2011-live/tuesday-22-november/
Wonderful cartoon at the top of the page!
Disclaimer – know I have referred to this blog several times of late – no connections at all. I am just finding it a useful site to quickly keep up to date on what is happening throughout the day. Their take on last night’s debate is also interesting and entertaining. Link is in the right had column of the above link. Wish I had found their Bingo cards before last night!
See post on this topic.
Sorry – missed that post.
Not a problem in any way! I was just trying to steer any followup comments there…
Feng Shui Master has just said celestial line-up and his divination point to increasing NZ crises and difficulties associated with astrological castings done on John Key.
An anology was also given about Key that he is like rot behind the walls at homes.
Very good analogy.
The Atlantic: What George Orwell Can Teach Us About OWS and Police Brutality.
A call for international solidarity with protests in Egypt
MENA Solidarity Network (Solidarity with workers in the Middle East)
The Arab Spring hangs in balance, as protesters in Cairo’s Tahrir Square and in other cities in Egypt battle the riot police of the ruling Egyptian military junta.
Hundreds of thousands of protesters are braving tear gas, rubber bullets, water cannon and live ammunition in demonstrations against the ruling military council in Egypt.
Despite promising elections, (which are being continually put back), Mubarak’s generals are demanding that the military have power above any elected civilian authority. Meanwhile protesters are still being tried in military courts and torture by the military and police is still routine.
By late on 20 November there were an estimated 100,000 in Tahrir Square according to eyewitness accounts and thousands protesting in every major city in Egypt. Their demands are clear: the downfall of Marshal Tantawi and Mubarak’s generals. As of Sunday 5 people at least had been killed and around 1000 injured.
The Egyptian Federation of Independent Trade Unions issued a call on Saturday 19 November to its 1.4 million members in affiliated unions to join the protests in Tahrir.
Our brothers and sisters in Egypt inspired us all with their courage over the past ten months. Without them, would we have seen the Occupy movement? How would our own struggles against austerity and cuts look without the model of the Egyptian revolution, and the knowledge that ordinary people can change the world?
If the Arab Spring is crushed in Egypt…..
…..the military rulers of Syria will be strengthened in their slaughter of unarmed protesters.
If the Arab Spring is crushed in Egypt…….
……. it will be major setback for the Arab Spring throughout the Middle East!
If the Arab Spring is crushed in the Middle East……
…… this will remove a major brake on the West’s move to war against Iran.
If the Arab Spring is crushed in the Middle East, major conflagration with Iran will be inevitable, as the US and Israel’s invasion plans can only succeed with the support of compliant Western backed right wing regimes retaining power in the Middle East.
If the Arab Spring is crushed in Egypt, the movement for democracy and against tyranny and war and recession, throughout the world, will suffer a major setback.
Responding to appeals from Egyptian activists, Middle East and North Africa, Solidarity in Britain is forwarding the following call for international solidarity action to the whole world. Please respond immediately.
Tahrir has inspired a wave of movements around the world. We must not let it go down to defeat!
If you are organising a protest or a picket, particularly if you can mobilise support from the trade union movement in solidarity with the call from the Egyptian Federation of Independent Trade Unions, please let the world know.
Email menasolidarity@gmail.com.
MENA will list as many protests as they can.
Send pictures and they will publish them too.
Many people interpret the times we are living in as Biblical ‘End Times’.
Irrespective of that, there is no question that the entire North Africa-Middle East region is a tinderbox awaiting a spark.
I see that the war-of-words over Iran has started again, after a period of relative quiet. An attack on Iran would almost certainly bring the global economic system to a halt in a matter of weeks if it resulted in blockage of the Straits of Hormuz.
We need to be prepared for almost anything.
“Many people interpret the times we are living in as Biblical ‘End Times’.”
Interestingly, a good 50% of my ESOL students (Chinese, secular and 17-20 years old) believe something similar. The topic today was sports, and when I said brightly “The next Olympics will be held in London in 2012”, a couple of them said “But the world is going to end in 2012!” I was gobsmacked. Where has this come from?
The religious channels in SKY TV when I surf through them often are on the topic of end times- earthquakes, tsunamis, “it seems that the world is crying out to be delivered.”
It is a sign of narcissism, I believe, that people believe that the end times are going to come in their life-time. It seems part of the conservative psyche.
History is littered with such false prophecy. I often imagine, when engaged in this topic, the Monty Pythonesque dialogue of disgruntled failed end-timers coming down off the mountain top muttering about their leader who got it wrong.
A bit like the Nats on Sunday really…………
Ben
‘I’ve seen a lot of people write Kevin Moore’s views off as insanity, but having now read (all of) The Easy Way, it’s clear the statements are based on fact and the conclusions are solid.’
‘will automatically put Moore in the “tinfoil hat” category’
It is a lot easier for people to dimiss arguments without checking the facts than to do the necessary research and present logical arguments. We are now at the stage of witnessing people self-select for learning the hard way (or even perishing).
It will be very interesting to revue this ‘conversation’ one year from now.
Several years ago I likened the situation in most western societies to tossing a coin. At the moment it always lands with the face that shows ‘complacency and denial’ exposed. One day it will land with the obverse face exposed. That says: ‘panic’.
.
That’s for sure.
Only in America! http://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/news/video.cfm?c_id=2&gal_cid=2&gallery_id=122772
Anything they can do we can do too.
Some parents have been branded abusers because of the bizarre names of their children.
Family Court Judge Rob Murfitt stated his concerns in a written decision after a custody hearing in New Plymouth revealed a couple had named their child Talula Does The Hula From Hawaii.
He was so disturbed at the effect on the nine-year-old that he ordered her temporarily placed under court guardianship so a suitable name could be chosen.
More loons.
Some more PICS to do the rounds
http://www.flickr.com/photos/19473099@N05/?saved=1
LOL- ‘Follow Me on Twat’. Excellent work as always.
I expect RWNJ’s burst a few blood vessels watching that Child Poverty doco tonight. It was basically a giant ad for ‘Commie Pinko’ politics. Full of ads for Labour and the Greens too 🙂
Great work William – love theTwitter one!
When I heard Phil Goff saying how silly it was to sell the house to pay the mortgage off I thought of all the sensible people doing exactly that as they move on to better things.
Go back to your poor and woman hating hole thank you very much..
Hope the TV3 doco on Child Poverty finishing at 8:30 gets wide viewing.
It was magnificent! This is reality in NZ. I know because I see it regularly. Please wake up dear voters and vote with your heart and soul. Our chidren are our future, it’s in our hands! Congrats to the makers of this doco. Well done!
Agreed Lyn. It needs a huge rethink since the declared intent of a certain political grouping is intent on reducing housing, education and health. Wonder if that excellent doco touched many?
I live in hope.
The doco certainly touched me Ianmac. Bryan Bruce did a phenomenal job investigating this horror and presenting it to us in such a clear manner. Our poor children and their parents, who are all to often facing a heartbreaking battle to provide for them. Thought the sights I saw tonight had been consigned to history.
What is our government up to? Can’t they manage to run a country properly? They appear to have the wrong spending priorities. Our children deserve so much more.
Lol – zombie slater door knocking : )
Oops… was supposed to be reply to Williams photo stream above
Post of the week from the Bog relating to the bad case of worms that seems to have infected the place..
hahaha…too funny !!!
hhahahahaha made my day
I lasted all of 1 hour there
Aint been banned from Trademe boards yet- some of the torys there are jus plain nasty ( as in fucked up)
Loved the prog on Child Poverty in NZ tonite
honest and hard hitting
HNZ ,you should be ashamed of yourselves.
National well dont really need to say sfa.
Trademe boards huh ?
Fucked up torys eh ?
Black to the future i reckon !!!
Trying to comment again, but suspect I will be dumped into ‘spam’. But on the off -chance this gets through, somebody with more knowledge of the in’s and out’s might want to post on the fact that a fuck of a lot of comments from regular contributors are going into ‘trash’. (Seems I’m the only one going down the ‘spam’ route)
First comment in three days that ‘came up’….and just for once, I’ve nothing to say goddamnit!
Fixed the spam trigger. Have new moderators learning the ropes.
Hmm, but still wondering, what’s with the umpteen comments from regular commentators in ‘trash’? Some, though not all, are duplicated as comments on the page.
Oops! Got something to say afterall. There goes the tourist industry. Thomas Cook (How big are they in the scheme of things? Certainly not ‘small fry’) in emergency talks with banks and shares down 51%.
Who would have thunk that a global depression would mean people not going on holiday? Wonder what plans the illustrious NZ minister of tourism has up his sleeve (or in his ball pocket) for the shoit that that suddenly appears to be hovering waiting for gravity assisted splash?
sell air new zealand for fifty cents
Ah, but the market decides how things work! So, they all try to undercut each other to get the customers, who can’t actually afford their package holidays to Spain, meanwhile the airlines have rising fuel costs and can’t afford to pay the leases on their big shiny aircraft, which are leased from very big banks.
But don’t worry, they’ll be paid out by governments, who will in turn tax the poor.
Bit late now but TV1 late news said that with the help of the Ombudsman, they have discovered that Govt had no real evidence or official advice about the predicted uptake of shares in the Asset Sale. Key has been saying that official advice shows that at least 85% of the share sales will be taken up in NZ hands. There has be no official advice other than a few oral discussions.
Key has lied – again. Could be a big story.
ian along with low share prices and no money around for kiwis to invest Aussie super fund will grab the lions share titbits after goldman sachs has gouged its price out
Imperator has written about this too and given a link:
http://tvnz.co.nz/election-2011/ombudsman-called-in-over-asset-sales-secrets-4559548
‘Key has lied – again. Could be a big story.” I do hope so Ianmac
Powerco is the poster child for how things turn out when a public asset is flogged off.
11 years from formation through to compulsory acquisition by offshore owners.
April 1993: New Plymouth Energy (the electricity division of the New Plymouth District Council) merges with Taranaki Electricity (former Taranaki Electric Power Board) to become Taranaki Energy Limited
November 2004: It is now moving to compulsorily acquire the remaining shares and remove Powerco from the New Zealand stock exchange.