One unexpected benefit might be for pedestrians walking along the esplanade, and not have unheard cycles from behind pass a sideways step away from collision, as they do, as cyclists will have a safe and dedicated path.
As Mrs Mac1 found out yesterday on a Wellington footpath, uneven surfaces can lead to sudden changes of direction and falls. A passing cyclist would have compounded the issue.
If cyclists are threatened by motorists opening doors without checking, as they do, then at least the cyclist won’t have to escape (or be pushed out) into car traffic, but will have a footpath to seek refuge.
And I’ve ridden on half and half paths where pedestrians walk side by side taking up the entire path and not fucken looking thus endangering both cyclists and pedestrians.
Long-time cycleway opponent Jane Byrnesaid the “silent majority” was speaking up because they felt the road was too narrow, while the cycleway was too wide and poorly signposted.
No, that would be the noisy minority making even more noise.
The new layout and raised pedestrian crossings were actually having a positive impact on safety, because they were slowing down motorists who had been ignoring the 50kmh and 30kmh limits along The Parade, Wade-Brown said.
Yep, that’s something that’s been found around the world. Narrower streets slow cars down and reduce crashes (I would link the article but I can’t find it).
Government controlled by party purporting to stand up for the workers is detaining workers for being unable to do their job as a result of policies implemented by that very same government.
No more ironic than a government purporting to be interested in economics running failed neo-liberal cultist policies until their country is $105 billion in debt.
The same Government that is receiving plaudits worldwide for it’s economic performance during a very difficult period that included the GFC and major earthquakes.
Looking at Bowalley Road and lifted this from a comment there. Haven’t read it but it sounds interesting – relating to housing. It refers to Hugh Pavletich who is a developer or speculator or both, of housing and has a vested interest in his own projects and himself.
So interesting to see what line he is pushing. Usually these people are going for more greenfields development, more supply etc .
Hugh Pavletich is touting this:
PLANNING RULES THE CAUSE OF HOUSING CRISIS … TWYFORD & HARTWICH … NEW ZEALAND HERALD
Hartwich’s previous job was with the libertarian thinktank, CIS in Australia.
Twyford is being stupid in agreeing with the govt’s analysis that our housing problem is all about land and councils, rather than financial market factors as well.
Twyford has finally woken up. You only have to look at your new CV to see that it is the land values that are rising fast not the value of the building. Those of us who live in the real world have known this for years.
Jeez Labour, no need to be so quick to condemn beneficiaries for trading their food grant for cash. Are these even legitimate incidences or is it just Tolley and BM playing on their fake Trade Me and other accounts to stir up further hatred (?)
I’ve been searching for it without luck. I thought it was 7am but it must have been the 7 30 update. It went something like: Labours Carmel Sepuloni condemns misuse of hardship grant cards..
Fuck I reckon, Labour should be arguing that the cards are a stupid idea, thats a better angle, differentiate themselves from National. I try to like Labour, I do like Andrew Little, but they sure do make it hard. (& of course, could be media ‘gotcha’ politics, mps speaking without thinking, etc…)
Political parties usually avoid that by directing their caucuses firmly and hiring comms experts. Labour seems to have forgotten that basic approach for about the last 8 years.
It’s Christmas. Deck the halls with holly and find a smile and good word when you see a good person. Don’t bother about Nats, Act (don’t), and take the curate’s egg approach to Labour. All other earnest tryers for good give love and support to at Christmas-time. https://www.goodreads.com/work/quotes/3097440-a-christmas-carol?page=4
“the only time I know of, in the long calendar of the year, when men and women seem by one consent to open their shut-up hearts freely, and to think of people below them as if they really were fellow-passengers to the grave, and not another race of creatures bound on other journeys.”
― Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol
Merry Christmas! What right have you to be merry? What reason have you to be merry? You’re poor enough.” “Come, then,” returned the nephew gaily. “What right have you to be dismal? What reason have you to be morose? You’re rich enough.”
― Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol
“There was nothing very cheerful in the climate or the town, and yet was there an air of cheerfulness abroad that the clearest summer air and brightest summer sun might have endeavoured to diffuse in vain.”
― Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol
The idea of it is good, the implementation a bit of a bugger’s muddle IN THE NZ context. I note the claim that this is of international design, and commonplace overseas. Unfortunately, Kiwis are not very good drivers as has been discussed elsewhere eg.
– 2 second rule more like the 1 second rule for MOST drivers
– indiscriminate lane changing and trying to get ahead (i.e. driving as though it was all some sort of competition)
– travelling over the speed limit (and as the signs suggest) treating the limit as though it’s a target
– inability to keep within lanes (probably to do with an inability to judge the size of their vehicle – especially SUVs)
– etc.
(and I concede too that not only are NZers not very good drivers, many are not very good cyclists)
I might actually go and take a look at it in the flesh.
Whilst I am all for encouraging people to get onto bikes, walk, run, etc. for health reasons as much as anything else, I’m not sure that designing things in a way that can impact on public transport – which carries many more people – is the way to go.
@ Chairman – I’m interested in your thoughts too.
OK @ Chairman – now I’ve seen it in the flesh.
What I like:
The environment and implementation reinforces the idea that this road is actually SUBurban – i.e. not the racetrack it once was – although there’d been efforts to achieve that previously
What I don’t like:
It’s actually been done on the cheap – YET again (short term-ism).
The road going northward has a berm on the left hand side. The road southward does not.
With a little more investment and commitment to the concept – given the available space, it could have been better. AND it could have included trees on the southward (i.e EAST side) had they thought about it more.
With a little more thought, and shifting things like guttering, we could have had things like (from the property/housing frontage perspective going outward to the road centre line), and with trees on BOTH sides of the road:
– a property frontage
– a minimal berm, equipped with trees (and whatever – even community vege and other gardens)
– a footpath with adequate (though not excessive) width (for the traffic involved)
– a directional cycle lane
– a street parking area
– a street thoroughfare – and one which takes account of the necessities of things like trolleybus lines
– a centre line (probably with ‘no overtaking’)
we could probably have also had things like bus stop bays AND walkways and cycleways that are in-the-main ….. STRAIGHT – but I guess straightness and order is not very trendy these days. WCC and power companies can’t even get positioning of lamp posts consistent (so much so that installation of fibre channels have to wend their merry way around a variety of bullshit obstructions – not so bad though if you’re a Chorus contractor trying to clip the ticket at every twist and turn).
So there ya go. Now tell me what you think of it all
As a student of Sciology, perhaps what this suggests is:
– the average Kiwi bloke is dissatisfied with the size of his dick
– feels the need to forever prove himslef
– as a result, has an inferiority complex
Jeez, maybe I’ve jiss explained JFK.
NOW …. how the fuck to we explain Max. Answer: JOHN
I don’t generally support the slowing of traffic. It largely defeats the purpose of having cars and negatively impacts on productivity.
Ideally, cyclists, motorists and pedestrians need to be separated as much as possible. Therefore, I would have opted for dividing (with a median barrier) and extending the footpath.
OK.
Well perhaps with a little more thought as to how the available space could be used, combined with existing trees and planting others on the other side, as well as relocating curbing …… that separation could have been achieved.
The Parade is fairly wide. In places the footpaths are wider than need be.
But, as I said (above), it has been done on a budget and it seems to have needlessly pissed a lot of people off as a result.
I’m not sure about some of the complaints I’ve seen though – such as the road carriage way not being wide enough.
NO
It’s been a very long long time since I was a SysProg but it looks like that string has been something exrtacted from a DB.
I have some advice though for you (BM) and other IT geeks:
Firstly ….. there’s actually a shitload more to life – especially as you get older.
Secondly ….. reinventing wheels only serves to prop up you own ego if its just as inefficient and ‘in-effective’. I could even argue that the only advances in modern times have occurred at the “PRESENTATION layer’ – if you comprenez VOUS – and I’m sure that you do!
Thirdly …. humans should drive technology – not the other way round
Fourthly (as I often hear when following ‘IT professionals’ discussing their various projects – and believe me its UNINTENTIONAL’) as I walk thru’ the Streets of Wellington and hear them wanking each other off …… reinventing wheels is ekshully not that ‘S M A R T’. In fek it’s really a bit pathetic
Fourthly ….. trying to make yourself indispensable by coding methods that are (to say the least) fucking stupid – e.g. hardcoding IDs rather than referencing a table that Joseph Bloggs (or in your case Joseph Goebles) is going to be a losing battle,
I don’t really think I should carry on. Steven Joooooice (Choooooice Bro – with reference to a dainty little Ayshun from Mermaids) would have a harda tek.
There could be a fifthly, and a sixthly ……… etc.
I’m perfikly happy to deal with it as you see fit.
But PLEASE PLEASE don’t come moaning when the inevitable happens
come to think about it …. BM are the initials of one of the biggest wankers I ever came across – we could go into details – but best not. It’s the thing that LEAST interests me in life as I watch on in amusement.
It’s a bit like blokes that think they know better than an instruction manual authored by someone whose constructed some bullshit-well-needed-essential-app.
are you in Wellington? Spark? Datacom?
Formerly engaged in some earth-shattering project such as INCIS, or in the health sector, or anywhere else for that matter – the record is pretty fukng bleak wherever it was – but then of course you’ve had learnings as to why, and none of it could possibly EVER have been your fault.
no forget that question …. it’s illegal given the terms and conditions.
It’s a condition that comes with engaging with the likes of you. There’s no known cure. The worst part of it is forgetting not to bother in the first place. Some call it troll feeding I think.
Thanks though. I’ll remember not to in future.
It is a bug left over from last weeks WordPress upgrade. The JavaScript I put in to set the first field got invalidated. But work, patchwork sleeping and Damn shopping haven’t left time for coding blocks at home.
From the NZHerald today, an analyst from McKinseys telling the New Zealand government that active leadership to diversify our economy is absolutely critical. And that oil exploration is the wrong way to diversify, because it is as much a commodity product as milk.
Just to let you know BM – The economy is a subset of the environment – not the other way round. You trash the environment – you trash the economy – end of story.
This is what Layla Parker-Katiraee advocates. This could be helped if more students were exposed to science and critical analysis in their education.
“In the meantime, there are a few things we can do:
1) Encourage children in our circle of influence to take science classes in high school and college, even if they’re pursuing a career in an unrelated field.
2) Scientists should step up their communication skills. There aren’t many scientists in the private sector involved in science communication or education. Many of us have been trained in presentation skills. Giving concise explanations or pitches are often required in the private sector. There’s no reason why you can’t expand that skill into a part time hobby.
3) Remember that we all have gaps in our knowledge. Working to fill those gaps rather than mocking them will go a long way.”
If we worked to educate ourselves and others in understanding the role and nature of science and in critical thinking then society would be better able to handle “controversial” scientific issues requiring democratic decisions.
IMO, there’s two parts to the problem that we see here.
The first problem is education and the lack there of both in the basics facts and how to think logically and critically.
The second part is specialisation in that people have become overly specialised and have little to no knowledge of other areas. This prevents people from joining the dots in logical progression to come to the correct answer despite not having the same knowledge of a subject as a specialist would have.
Apparently it will released at 2.15pm. Sorry – no link as word of mouth.
Timing is interesting not only because of Xmas, but because the hearing only finished on Nov 24. So one of the fastest court decisions that I can recall for such a complex case.
MSM is now reporting the expected release – eg The Herald here
I find it unhelpful to have a “heads will roll culture” because my experience in the workplace is that when things go wrong it is often systemic. It is to do with the culture of the place. sometimes its a commitment to doing things the cheapest way possible and making as much profit as possible. Scapegoating one person will not solve systemic problems. I have also had experience of the wrong person being blamed in the case I was thinking of a manager had done some dodgy figures but managed to blame it on the manager under her in the hierarchy who got demoted. A thorough examination of the whole culture of the place and the systems that were operating might have done something to effect real change. As it was it really was pretty much business as usual.
With the lack of culpability witnessed, I question whether we actually suffer from a culture of blame.
I agree that on some occasions problems can be systemic within an enterprise. However, CEO’s and such are there to oversee such issues are rectified. A CEO should be aware of the culture within their organization. Therefore, I disagree with your notion.
As for people being wrongly accused, I agree examinations require to be thorough, with any blame being laid solely at the feet of those responsible.
I think there’s a distinction around that how accountability occurs following a failure.
Presenting this in an adventure aviation context is interesting, here there’s a culture of finding “what” went wrong in an adverse event and working to prevent it happening again. This is quite different to the “who” scapegoating that often appears in political and media culture.
It’s rare outside criminal intent or negligence that an adverse event has a single point of accountability, and we have laws and legal accountabilities to deal with these aspects. And these legal sanctions should be robust and with out favour.
However business failures, like aviation accidents have a multitude of causes, often totally unrelated that line up produce carnage. An air accident investigation tries to determine as many of these aspects as possible so that better outcomes can be achieved from similar situations in the future. This has allowed aviation to progress from what was pretty dodgy in 1920 to safer than driving, and probably walking now.
When we focus on finding individual scapegoats we get other things happening. First we miss the real causes of the failure, maybe the weakest, financially, politically or socially goes down masking everything else, and then everyone gets really risk adverse.
I don’t think this sort of accountability culture is going to produce an environment where people can confidently and easily move from one career to another. We need a culture where failure is seen as a positive learning experience and shared. A culture change around this could be rather disruptive of our political environment.
It’s only logical to find out what went wrong in order to help prevent it from reoccurring. However, doing so generally points to whom (if anyone) was at fault.
It may be that accountability may have to be shared. And although we do have laws to deal with criminal intent or negligence (if and when identified) you seem to be overlooking professional accountability.
I’m not advocating we seek out scapegoats to scalp, but I am pointing out professional accountability can’t be overlooked and those accountable must be held to account.
Therefore, while I agree with a number of your points, I reject the notion that failure should only be seen as a positive learning experience and shared. If investigations show people are culpable, they require to be held to account.
It’s conservative thinking that seeks certainty and the elimination of risk, and then trys to abrogate responsibility when it all turn to shit. The trap here is in thinking that we can eliminate ALL risk. You can’t, there’s just too many unrelated and random variables. So, when we progress, as in try something new, we are going to get some honest failures, along with spectacular wins. We should celebrate both.
Dishonest activities however, both failures and “wins”, must be jumped on, hard.
It doesn’t follow that all failure is dishonest, and it’s bloody tragic to see otherwise honest and honourable people go down for doing dishonest things as their lives and /or business falls to bits. A better attitude to, and management of failure would save a lot of grief.
Holding the culpable to account is not an attempt to eliminate risk, but it does help set in place an accepted framework and expected level of professionalism.
Removing accountability opens the door to excessive risk taking and a culture of failure acceptance.
While taking risk can produce benefits and lead to a company’s progression, excessive risk can result in a company’s collapse.
Growing too fast, taking on excessive risk and ultimately collapsing is an opportunity wasted, thus not a model for future success.
Therefore, it’s not a model to be encouraged and expanded by removing accountability and celebrating failure.
a culture of blame works all ways…..as was highlighted by Keys stated cause of child poverty. Thought the article in its entirety provoked interest it what they will release next year….heres hoping it is something inspiring.
I find it incredible that some posters think it is acceptable on a thread about alleged rape humour to call me Fisi-anal or some such moniker. Not a single Leftist has called out shame. The hypocrisy of the Left is gob smacking. My noble African name is sacred and no matter what I post such gutter language is surely unacceptable to any person with some sense of decency. It is a particularly childish and nasty form of internet bullying. It will not silence me.
You condone such behaviour. Disgraceful. This blog is not surely just an echo chamber for the deluded. I never compared the insults aimed at me with rape. Can you not read?
I think you insult the intelligence of everyone here with pretty much every damned comment you make, and you don’t even have the decency to be honest about it and call people names.
1: it’s not football. It’s not a game.
2: fuck that guy. There’s room for disagreement, then there’s that tory trooll. He’s worked hard for it and earned the abuse.
And the divine economy might or might not exist. But as respect between humans is earned, so are scorn, defiance, slight regard and contempt. Of which fisiani has earned a plenitude.
fisiani
Aren’t you the guy that loves Key and can’t understand why no one else here does, I don’t know why you don’t try kiwiblog, they share similar view point to you and have a similar level of intellect, you’d be right at home.
I don’t know if realise what you just said?
“You should be able to love Key with out being called a name”
I didn’t condone the supposed name calling, I merely suggested an alternative spot where he could go and not receive any grief, I don’t know if you read the posts that are in dispute, but McFlock’s comments were appropriate, everybody has the right to free speech, even you.
So just to clarify, we’re allowed to suggest someone’ “sounds like” they’ve done enough wrong to be imprisoned, but we’re not allowed to use rude words or show other poor form according to you?
Yeah, nah. My insults are direct. Yours are duplicitous. Get off your hypocritical high horse.
Christ! For once “I’m inclined to agree with you Mathew”. However As far as I can see so far, I haven’t seen your mates on the roster (“hard Rightists”) call people out either.
Who’s on duty tonight btw?
Do you do The Daily Blog as well? There now seems to be six at least hitting the dislike button. You should congratulate yourselves – that’s an increase of 50% (going forward). Could be a brighter future eh?
Good to see that you now fully appreciate the nastiness of Key’s behaviour.
I hope you will now also call him out for his hypocrisy on – oh! so many things – such as being an ambassador for white ribbon and at the same time indulging in jokes about prison rape, failing to apologize to Tania over his Govt’s appalling handling of her sexual assault and claiming it was a political stunt, calling many women MPs who have been the subject of abuse – “rape apologists”, being an habitual predator handling the pony tails of young girls and women, and twisting the apology of David Cunliffe on behalf of men to women – when NZ has one of the highest rates of abuse in the western world, etc.
When you have called out Key on his appalling hypocrisy maybe then we might apologize for calling you names.
The problem is that the site policy allow for such “abuse” provided the moderators can see a point to it, just as they allow for you to comment with your own opinions and to provide your own take on the opinions of others. We couldn’t give a damn if you choose or don’t choose to use the provided room for pointed attacks and abuse or not. That is your choice.
Personally, I find that I use whatever I need to when I want to get a point across. My nastiest attacks when I want to have a go at someone use absolutely no “abuse”. I simply read their previous comments and figure out suggestions or explanations for the ‘reasoning’ behind the formation of their views and opinions.
There are very few people that I can’t set off like a rocket at guy fawkes with those kinds of attacks at their world views without ever “abusing” them if I feel the inclination. This is a skill developed after decades around the net is probably why I don’t feel the need to level the playing field where you do. In my opinion, all that does is to give way too much weight to net experience. Allowing robust debate and pointed abuse evens up the playing field somewhat because it means that people can express themselves more freely at whatever level they feel comfortable with.
What you are proposing allows a dissection using manners that gives the advantage to whoever has the most experience within the implied rules. I don’t like that 18th century farce. As far as I’m concerned it should have died with the French monarchy at Versailles in 1789, but which unfortunately survived up until after the second world war.
As it is I keep a vigilant eye for people trying to game the system and deliberately pressing people into the policy electric fence that they know about and the other does not.
Abyway trying to change the rules on this site is a dangerous tactic if you aren’t an author, because for those of us who actually work on the site, it becomes highly irritating to argue with people who don’t and who have no real idea about what is going on. Especially since they are always so damn repetitive about repetitively screaming what they want (like a spoilt child) rather than considering what authors and others might want. Plus not considering why these rules were set at the position that they were. Which appears to be what you are doing.
But you should be pretty aware of this already. It isn’t like I try to conceal my attitudes about the best way to deal with people without skin in the site trying to help us out by suggesting directly or indirectly how we should run the site.
Fact, in 2011, there were fewer new homes built in NZ that year than were built in (wait for it) 1965, and now a housing shortage.
An interesting aspect to the large influx of refugees into Germany, over 800,000, was how would Germany house them all.
It seems Germany has an interesting housing policy, they maintain a surplus of relatively cheap housing stock, ensuring real affordability for there own work force, they also regulate the housing industry, there reasoning is that these workers are considered a very important part of a successful economy, by keeping rents and housing prices relatively low, the work force has more money in their pockets to spend in the local economy, this all forms part of a wider economic strategy.
They found that the workers were more productive if they didn’t feel they were only going to work to pay the rent.
Of the 800,000 refugees, most will get work, and they will end up very loyal employees.
For a right wing Govt, it’s unusual to see a smart, common sense approach to the way in which they treat their work force, there maybe some lessons to be learned here.
we have a housing policy where it’s more profitable to leave them vacant and flip them to other speculators than it is to actually provide homes for people.
Yeah, and who profits from that, Germany in is an industrial nation of 110m , they’ve realised over the long term that a highly productive work force is more profitable than short term speculation, every one needs a roof over their head.
I suppose that is the crux of it, a long term economic plan that will lift the countries prosperity
“What could possibly go wrong?”
That is funny, I don’t know if you meant it to be.
Hasn’t it already gone wrong, Key is the man without a plan for the future of NZ, I just wish his tenure was a short term.
Unfortunately much of the appeal of neo-liberalism to the current government is that divesting state services enables ministers to be lazier and less accountable. They have no desire to actually govern, and think that destroying state capacity is a positive achievement. Most third world countries are better governed, perhaps in part because their citizens would not tolerate the kind of pathetic crap that our Gnat MPs get up to. The neo part of Labour isn’t much better.
It’s not a product for sale — it’s a memorial, a tribute. First of all, to me, it doesn’t seem appropriate. It really was just an expression that I felt was important for me offer to these families, and for other people to hear so that they could have a voice for what they were feeling inside, because a lot of the dialogue that we hear in the media doesn’t give us the opportunity to grieve a way that is respectful to the families. I wanted to offer that to everyone, especially the families. I wanted them to see that there are people who understand their pain and are not just trying to make a headline out of their tragedy.
The point being that there is a long history to central banks creating money for productive spending – the idea did not begin nor end with Jeremy Corbyn or Richard Murphy. Indeed, throughout history many states have successfully used their money creating powers to grow their economies (without triggering hyperinflation).
The empirical reality, both when looking at quantitative data and qualitative descriptions of what actually happens in hyperinflations, shows that they are not the results of well-governed states abusing the money creation process.
Indeed, the case study of Weimar Republic shows that it was not even state-led money creation but private bank money creation that triggered hyperinflation.
The lessons from the above case studies suggest that hyperinflations do not happen simply because of an increase in money creation; indeed, the private banking sector in the UK more than doubled the money stock from 1997-2007 and we did not see experience hyperinflation. Hyperinflation in Germany and Zimbabwe was preceded by a fundamental collapse in the productive capacity of the economy, which started the inflationary pressure.
Throughout history, governments have used their ability to create money to fund public spending. While none of these policies were called, “People’s QE”, “Sovereign Money Creation”, or “Helicopter Money”, they shared the common trait of using newly created state money to finance government spending, rather than relying on commercial banks to create new money through lending.
The times when this state-led money creation has resulted in high inflation or even hyperinflation (inflation of over 50% a year) have been well documented. However, the times when governments have created money in a careful and responsible manner to grow the economy are usually ignored or overlooked. At Positive Money, we want to set the record straight and bring to light the many case studies where state-led money creation has successfully boosted the economy without leading to economic disaster.
Money creation by the state is the answer to our financial difficulties such as poverty and inequality.
This type of story pisses me off – blame it on computer generated letters?? bullshit!!!
“Then the second letter came, claiming that even though the agency had now seen Leger’s medical certificates, he still needed to be “actively seeking work”.
Leger said the suggestion of sending out CVs from his hospital bed sounded like a bad joke.
“It’s that extra stress that you don’t need at this time going through the treatment,” he said.”
It wouldn’t surprise me if those computer generated letters were designed to upset people, you know, so they get out of their sick beds and get a job.
gnat 101
extra stress = more motivation
less money = more motivation
persistent hassle = more motivation
ridicule = more motivation
cut additional benefits = more motivation
desperation = more motivation
loss of dignity = more motivation
not enough money = more motivation
begging for help = more motivation
…….Corrrrrrr Blimey. That gnat 101 stuff is rilly rilly esprashunul eh? Now I know where all those street “beggars” I just encountered walking from Courtenay Place to Lambton Quay are going wrong. I guess they really should just pull themselves together as ‘get with the programme’
Ekshully, I must remember to give them a right good letchering the next time I pass.
There are obviously Pulla Bent and Soimun Brudgizz type learnings to be learned. I’ll give them a set of bootstraps – how they choose to use them of course…. is up to them
No that can’t be right marty. When I look about at the top execs and CEO’s they very loudly claim that the exact opposite of all those things = more motivation.
It wouldn’t surprise me if those computer generated letters were designed to upset people, you know, so they get out of their sick beds and get a job.
I think it’s more what is said later in the article,
“She said it’s not us it’s just a system generated message that can’t separate who’s got what sickness or what amount of sickness.
Which is basically that when they scraped sickness benefit the system they put in place was done incompetently. If you want to see where National are doing evil there, it’s more likely to be in monkey wrenching the system over time so that eventually they’ve got an excuse to privatise.
“Which is basically that when they scraped sickness benefit the system they put in place was done incompetently.”
yes done incompetently and the system they put in was incompetent too – deliberately? Is monkey wrenching when they chuck a monkey wrench in and wait and see what shit happens or is it when the place it into position to create shit.
I’m lucky I spose I can see multiple layers of incompetence, mistakes and deliberate design all over the system and I agree the end goal is some type of privatisation agenda.
There are many preventable calamities at this time of year – kia kaha to all those dealing with this system.
Yeah, it’s always that weird mix of creepy ideology and incompetence and hard to tell how much of which each time. And with WINZ we can add in the fact that it was already a system pretty stressed by meddling from multiple governments, instead of taking care of something important.
“In my day, school report cards did not mince words to mollycoddle fragile little darlings or confuse litigious parents.
In similar spirit, here’s Prime Minister John Key’s report for 2015.
English
Oral. John has plenty to say on behalf of all New Zealanders. His pronunciation – which often compresses syllables into sausage meat – would benefit from speech therapy.
Written. We have not sighted any prose (or poetry) we are confident is John’s original work. Apparently he pays a huddle of crack spin doctors to produce his essays behind the bike sheds. F”
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In 2003, the Court of Appeal delivered its decision in Ngati Apa v Attorney-General, ruling that Māori customary title over the foreshore and seabed had not been universally extinguished, and that the Māori Land Court could determine claims and confirm title if the facts supported it. This kicked off the ...
Earlier this week at Parliament, Labour leader Chris Hipkins was applauded for saying that the response to the final report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care had to be “bigger than politics.” True, but the fine words, apologies and “we hear you” messages will soon ring ...
TL;DR: In news breaking this morning:The Ministry of Education is cutting $2 billion from its school building programme so the National-ACT-NZ First Coalition Government has enough money to deliver tax cuts; The Government has quietly lowered its child poverty reduction targets to make them easier to achieve;Te Whatu Ora-Health NZ’s ...
Kia ora. These are some stories that caught our eye this week – as always, feel free to share yours in the comments. Our header image this week (via Eke Panuku) shows the planned upgrade for the Karanga Plaza Tidal Swimming Steps. The week in Greater Auckland On ...
1. What's not to love about the way the Harris campaign is turning things around?a. Nothingb. Love all of itc. God what a reliefd. Not that it will be by any means easye. All of the above 2. Documents released by the Ministry of Health show Associate Health Minister Casey ...
Trust in me in all you doHave the faith I have in youLove will see us through, if only you trust in meWhy don't you, you trust me?In a week that saw the release of the 3,000 page Abuse in Care report Christopher Luxon was being asked about Boot Camps. ...
TL;DR: The podcast above of the weekly ‘hoon’ webinar for paying subscribers last night features co-hosts and talking about the Royal Commission Inquiry into Abuse in Carereport released this week, and with:The Kākā’s climate correspondent on a UN push to not recognise carbon offset markets and ...
TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Friday, July 26, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:Transport: Simeon Brown announced$802.9 million in funding for 18 new trains on the Wairarapa and Manawatū rail lines, which ...
The northern expressway extension from Warkworth to Whangarei is likely to require radical changes to legislation if it is going to be built within the foreseeable future. The Government’s powers to purchase land, the planning process and current restrictions on road tolling are all going to need to be changed ...
Text within this block will maintain its original spacing when publishedFirst they came for the doctors But I was confused by the numbers and costs So I didn't speak up Then they came for our police and nurses And I didn't think we could afford those costs anyway So I ...
Photo by Joshua J. Cotten on UnsplashWe’re back again after our mid-winter break. We’re still with the ‘new’ day of the week (Thursday rather than Friday) when we have our ‘hoon’ webinar with paying subscribers to The Kākā for an hour at 5 pm.Jump on this link on YouTube Livestream ...
Notes: This is a free article. Abuse in Care themes are mentioned. Video is at the bottom.BackgroundYesterday’s report into Abuse in Care revealed that at least 1 in 3 of all who went through state and faith based care were abused - often horrifically. At least, because not all survivors ...
Luxon speaks in Parliament yesterday about the Abuse in Care report. Photo: Hagen Hopkins/Getty ImagesTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy today are:PM Christopher Luxon said yesterday in tabling the Abuse in Carereport in Parliament he wanted to ‘do the ...
About a decade ago I worked with a bloke called Steve. He was the grizzled veteran coder, a few years older than me, who knew where the bodies were buried - code wise. Despite his best efforts to be approachable and friendly he could be kind of gruff, through to ...
Some of the recent announcements from the government have reminded us of posts we’ve written in the past. Here’s one from early 2020. There were plenty of reactions to the government’s infrastructure announcement a few weeks ago which saw them fund a bunch of big roading projects. One of ...
TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:00 am on Thursday, July 25 are:News: Why Electric Kiwi is closing to new customers - and why it matters RNZ’s Susan EdmundsScoop: Government drops ...
Hi,I felt a small wet tongue snaking through one of the holes in my Crocs. It explored my big toe, darting down one side, then the other. “He’s looking for some toe cheese,” said the woman next to me, words that still haunt me to this day.Growing up in New ...
Yesterday I happily quoted the Prime Minister without fact-checking him and sure enough, it turns out his numbers were all to hell. It’s not four kg of Royal Commission report, it’s fourteen.My friend and one-time colleague-in-comms Hazel Phillips gently alerted me to my error almost as soon as I’d hit ...
TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Thursday, July 25, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day were:The Abuse in Care Royal Commission of Inquirypublished its final report yesterday.PM Christopher Luxon and The Minister responsible for ...
The Official Information Act has always been a battle between requesters seeking information, and governments seeking to control it. Information is power, so Ministers and government agencies want to manage what is released and when, for their own convenience, and legality and democracy be damned. Their most recent tactic for ...
TL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy today are:Transport and Energy Minister Simeon Brown is accelerating plans to spend at least $10 billion through Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) to extend State Highway One as a four-lane ‘Expressway’ from Warkworth to Whangarei ...
I live my life (woo-ooh-ooh)With no control in my destinyYea-yeah, yea-yeah (woo-ooh-ooh)I can bleed when I want to bleedSo come on, come on (woo-ooh-ooh)You can bleed when you want to bleedYea-yeah, come on (woo-ooh-ooh)Everybody bleed when they want to bleedCome on and bleedGovernments face tough challenges. Selling unpopular decisions to ...
Please note:To skip directly to the- parliamentary footage in the video, scroll to 1:21 To skip to audio please click on the headphone iconon the left hand side of the screenThis video / audio section is under development. ...
Given the crackdown on wasteful government spending, it behooves me to point to a high profile example of spending by the Luxon government that looks like a big, fat waste of time and money. I’m talking about the deployment of NZDF personnel to support the US-led coalition in the Red ...
TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:40 am on Wednesday, July 24 are:Deep Dive: Chipping away at the housing crisis, including my comments RNZ/Newsroom’s The DetailNews: Government softens on asset sales, ...
As I reported about the city centre, Auckland’s rail network is also going through a difficult and disruptive period which is rapidly approaching a culmination, this will result in a significant upgrade to the whole network. Hallelujah. Also like the city centre this is an upgrade predicated on the City ...
Today, a 4 kilogram report will be delivered to Parliament. We know this is what the report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in State and Faith-based Care weighs, because our Prime Minister told us so.Some reporter had blindsided him by asking a question about something done by ...
TL;DR: As of 7:00 am on Wednesday, July 24, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:Beehive:Transport Minister Simeon Brownannounced plans to use PPPs to fund, build and run a four-lane expressway between Auckland ...
NewstalkZB host Mike Hosking, who can usually be relied on to give Prime Minister Christopher Luxon an easy run, did not do so yesterday when he interviewed him about the HealthNZ deficit. Luxon is trying to use a deficit reported last year by HealthNZ as yet another example of the ...
Back in January a StatsNZ employee gave a speech at Rātana on behalf of tangata whenua in which he insulted and criticised the government. The speech clearly violated the principle of a neutral public service, and StatsNZ started an investigation. Part of that was getting an external consultant to examine ...
Renting for life: Shared ownership initiatives are unlikely to slow the slide in home ownership by much. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy today are:A Deloittereport for Westpac has projected Aotearoa’s home-ownership rate will ...
You're broken down and tiredOf living life on a merry go roundAnd you can't find the fighterBut I see it in you so we gonna walk it outAnd move mountainsWe gonna walk it outAnd move mountainsAnd I'll rise upI'll rise like the dayI'll rise upI'll rise unafraidI'll rise upAnd I'll ...
There’s been a change in Myers Park. Down the steps from St. Kevin’s Arcade, past the grassy slopes, the children’s playground, the benches and that goat statue, there has been a transformation. The underpass for Mayoral Drive has gone from a barren, grey, concrete tunnel, to a place that thrums ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections Global society may have finally slammed on the brakes for climate-warming pollution released by human fossil fuel combustion. According to the Carbon Monitor Project, the total global climate pollution released between February and May 2024 declined slightly from the amount released during the same ...
TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:00 am on Tuesday, July 23 are:Deep Dive: Penlink: where tolling rhetoric meets reality BusinessDesk-$$$’sOliver LewisScoop:Te Pūkenga plans for regional polytechs leak out ...
TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Tuesday, July 23, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:Health: Shane Reti announcedthe Board of Te Whatu Ora-Health New Zealand was being replaced with Commissioner Lester Levy ...
Health NZ warned the Government at the end of March that it was running over Budget. But the reasons it gave were very different to those offered by the Prime Minister yesterday. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon blamed the “botched merger” of the 20 District Health Boards (DHBs) to create Health ...
Long ReadKey Summary: Although National increased the health budget by $1.4 billion in May, they used an old funding model to project health system costs, and never bothered to update their pre-election numbers. They were told during the Health Select Committees earlier in the year their budget amount was deficient, ...
As a momentous, historic weekend in US politics unfolded, analysts and commentators grasped for precedents and comparisons to help explain the significance and power of the choice Joe Biden had made. The 46th president had swept the Democratic party’s primaries but just over 100 days from the election had chosen ...
TL;DR: I’m casting around for new ideas and ways of thinking about Aotearoa’s political economy to find a few solutions to our cascading and self-reinforcing housing, poverty and climate crises.Associate Professor runs an online masters degree in the economics of sustainability at Torrens University in Australia and is organising ...
The Finance and Expenditure Committee has reported back on National's Local Government (Water Services Preliminary Arrangements) Bill. The bill sets up water for privatisation, and was introduced under urgency, then rammed through select committee with no time even for local councils to make a proper submission. Naturally, national's select committee ...
Some years ago, I bought a book at Dunedin’s Regent Booksale for $1.50. As one does. Vandrad the Viking (1898), by J. Storer Clouston, is an obscure book these days – I cannot find a proper online review – but soon it was sitting on my shelf, gathering dust alongside ...
History is not on the side of the centre-left, when Democratic presidents fall behind in the polls and choose not to run for re-election. On both previous occasions in the past 75 years (Harry Truman in 1952, Lyndon Johnson in 1968) the Democrats proceeded to then lose the White House ...
This is a free articleCoverageThis morning, US President Joe Biden announced his withdrawal from the Presidential race. And that is genuinely newsworthy. Thanks for your service, President Biden, and all the best to you and yours.However, the media in New Zealand, particularly the 1News nightly bulletin, has been breathlessly covering ...
A homeless person’s camp beside a blocked-off slipped damage walkway in Freeman’s Bay: we are chasing our tail on our worsening and inter-related housing, poverty and climate crises. Photo: Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy ...
What has happened to it all?Crazy, some'd sayWhere is the life that I recognise?(Gone away)But I won't cry for yesterdayThere's an ordinary worldSomehow I have to findAnd as I try to make my wayTo the ordinary worldYesterday morning began as many others - what to write about today? I began ...
TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:00 am on Monday, July 22 are:Today’s Must Read: Father and son live in a tent, and have done for four years, in a million ...
TL;DR: As of 7:00 am on Monday, July 22, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:US President Joe Biden announced via X this morning he would not stand for a second term.Multinational professional services firm ...
A listing of 32 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, July 14, 2024 thru Sat, July 20, 2024. Story of the week As reflected by preponderance of coverage, our Story of the Week is Project 2025. Until now traveling ...
This weekend, a friend pointed out someone who said they’d like to read my posts, but didn’t want to pay. And my first reaction was sympathy.I’ve already told folks that if they can’t comfortably subscribe, and would like to read, I’d be happy to offer free subscriptions. I don’t want ...
National: The Party of ‘Law and Order’ IntroductionThis weekend, the Government formally kicked off one of their flagship policy programs: a military style boot camp that New Zealand has experimented with over the past 50 years. Cartoon credit: Guy BodyIt’s very popular with the National Party’s Law and Orderimage, ...
Day one of the solo leg of my long journey home begins with my favourite sound: footfalls in an empty street. 5.00 am and it’s already light and already too warm, almost.If I can make the train that leaves Budapest later this hour I could be in Belgrade by nightfall; ...
Do you remember Y2K, the threat that hung over humanity in the closing days of the twentieth century? Horror scenarios of planes falling from the sky, electronic payments failing and ATMs refusing to dispense cash. As for your VCR following instructions and recording your favourite show - forget about it.All ...
Climate Change Minister Simon Watts being questioned by The Kākā’s Bernard Hickey.TL;DR: My top six things to note around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the week to July 20 were:1. A strategy that fails Zero Carbon Act & Paris targetsThe National-ACT-NZ First Coalition Government finally unveiled ...
Summary:As New Zealand loses at least 12 leaders in the public service space of health, climate, and pharmaceuticals, this month alone, directly in response to the Government’s policies and budget choices, what lies ahead may be darker than it appears. Tui examines some of those departures and draws a long ...
The Minister of Housing’s ambition is to reduce markedly the ratio of house prices to household incomes. If his strategy works it would transform the housing market, dramatically changing the prospects of housing as an investment.Leaving aside the Minister’s metaphor of ‘flooding the market’ I do not see how the ...
As previously noted, my historical fantasy piece, set in the fifth-century Mediterranean, was accepted for a Pirate Horror anthology, only for the anthology to later fall through. But in a good bit of news, it turned out that the story could indeed be re-marketed as sword and sorcery. As of ...
An employee of tobacco company Philip Morris International demonstrates a heated tobacco device. Photo: Getty ImagesTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy on Friday, July 19 are:At a time when the Coalition Government is cutting spending on health, infrastructure, education, housing ...
TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 8:30 am on Friday, July 19 are:Scoop: NZ First Minister Casey Costello orders 50% cut to excise tax on heated tobacco products. The minister has ...
Kia ora, it’s time for another Friday roundup, in which we pull together some of the links and stories that caught our eye this week. Feel free to add more in the comments! Our header image this week shows a foggy day in Auckland town, captured by Patrick Reynolds. ...
TL;DR : Here’s the top six items climate news for Aotearoa this week, as selected by Bernard Hickey and The Kākā’s climate correspondent Cathrine Dyer. A discussion recorded yesterday is in the video above and the audio of that sent onto the podcast feed.The Government released its draft Emissions Reduction ...
Save some money, get rich and old, bring it back to Tobacco Road.Bring that dynamite and a crane, blow it up, start all over again.Roll up. Roll up. Or tailor made, if you prefer...Whether you’re selling ciggies, digging for gold, catching dolphins in your nets, or encouraging folks to flutter ...
Waiting In The Wings:For truly, if Trump is America’s un-assassinated Caesar, then J.D. Vance is America’s Octavian, the Republic’s youthful undertaker – and its first Emperor.DONALD TRUMP’S SELECTION of James D. Vance as his running-mate bodes ill for the American republic. A fervent supporter of Viktor Orban, the “illiberal” prime ...
TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Friday, July 19, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:The PSAannounced the Employment Relations Authority (ERA) had ruled in the PSA’s favour in its case against the Ministry ...
TL;DR: The podcast above of the weekly ‘hoon’ webinar for paying subscribers last night features co-hosts and talking with:The Kākā’s climate correspondent talking about the National-ACT-NZ First Government’s release of its first Emissions Reduction Plan;University of Otago Foreign Relations Professor and special guest Dr Karin von ...
Open access notablesImproving global temperature datasets to better account for non-uniform warming, Calvert, Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society:To better account for spatial non-uniform trends in warming, a new GITD [global instrumental temperature dataset] was created that used maximum likelihood estimation (MLE) to combine the land surface ...
A late change to charter school legislation will cheat educators out of fair pay and negotiating power proving charter schools are just a vehicle to make profit out of our education system. ...
In 2004 te iwi Māori rallied against the Crown’s attempt to confiscate our coastlines and moana with the Foreshore and Seabed Act. This led to the largest hīkoi of a generation and the birth of Te Pāti Māori. 20 years later, history is repeating itself. Today the government has announced ...
It has been five and a half years since the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care was established to investigate the abuse of children, young people, and vulnerable adults within state and faith-based institutions. Yesterday, the final report - Whanaketia through pain and trauma, from darkness to light ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to take action off the back of the International Court of Justice ruling on Israel’s illegal occupation of Palestine. ...
On Friday the International Court of Justice reaffirmed what Palestinian’s have been telling us for decades: that the occupation and colonisation of Palestinian lands by Israel is illegal and must end immediately. They also called for reparations for Palestinian’s who have lived under Israeli occupation since it began in 1967. ...
Labour calls on the Government to act after the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled that Israel’s occupation of Palestinian Territories is illegal. ...
The 53.7 percent rise in benefit sanctions over the last year is more proof of this Government’s disdain for our communities most in need of support. ...
Aotearoa could be a country where every child grows up feeling safe, loved and with a sense of belonging in their whānau and community. But for some of our children, this is far from reality. Instead, they are trapped in a maze of intergenerational harm that they can’t escape on ...
Te Pāti Māori are calling for David Seymour to resign as Associate Health Minister in response to his call for Pharmac to ignore the Treaty of Waitangi. “This announcement is just another example of the government’s anti-Tiriti, anti-Māori agenda.” Said Co-leader and spokesperson for health, Debbie Ngarewa-Packer. “Seymour thinks it ...
The soaring price of renting is driving the rise of inflation in this country - with latest figures from Stats NZ showing rents are up 4.8 per cent on average while annual inflation is at 3.3 per cent. ...
National’s Emissions Reduction Plan will take New Zealand further from the economy we need to ensure the next generation has a stable climate and secure livelihoods. ...
Following consultation with named parties and thorough consideration of privacy interests, the Green Party is in a position to release the Executive Summary of the final report from the independent investigation into Darleen Tana. ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon should be asking serious questions of his Minister for Resources Shane Jones now it’s been revealed he misled the public about a dinner with mining companies that he didn’t declare and said wasn’t pre-arranged. ...
Te Pāti Māori have submitted to the Justice Select Committee against the Sentencing (Reinstating Three Strikes) Amendment Bill. The bill will further entrench racism in our justice system and fails to focus on rehabilitation. “Reinstating Three Strikes will empower a systematically racist system and exacerbate the overrepresentation of Māori in ...
The Transport and Infrastructure Committee is set to make a determination on the Residential Tenancies Amendment (RTA) Bill in the coming weeks. “This legislation will give landlords the power to kick our whānau out onto the street for no reason” said Housing spokesperson, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi. “Their solution to the housing ...
“National’s campaign was about tackling crime and the best they can do is a two-year long Ministerial Advisory Group,” Labour justice spokesperson Duncan Webb said. ...
“There are more examples of charter schools failing their students than there are success stories. The coalition Government is driving to dismantle our public school system and instead promote a privatised, competitive structure that puts profits before kids,” Jan Tinetti said. ...
“This government is choosing to deliberately mislead and withhold information, keeping our people in the dark about this government’s agenda and the future of our mokopuna,” said co-leader and spokesperson for Health, Debbie Ngarewa-Packer. The call comes after the demand from the Chief Ombudsman that Associate Minister of Health, Casey ...
“Today’s climate announcement by Simon Watts makes clear the National Government is simply paying lip service to meeting its climate change targets,” Megan Woods said. ...
National is choosing to make life harder for workers by taking away the rights our communities have fought hard for. Here's how they’re taking workers backwards. ...
Australia, Canada and New Zealand today issued the following statement on the need for an urgent ceasefire in Gaza and the risk of expanded conflict between Hizballah and Israel. The situation in Gaza is catastrophic. The human suffering is unacceptable. It cannot continue. We remain unequivocal in our condemnation of ...
Attorney-General Judith Collins today reminded all State and faith-based institutions of their legal obligation to preserve records relevant to the safety and wellbeing of those in its care. “The Abuse in Care Inquiry’s report has found cases where records of the most vulnerable people in State and faith‑based institutions were ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says the Government’s online safety website for children and young people has reached one million page views. “It is great to see so many young people and their families accessing the site Keep It Real Online to learn how to stay safe online, and manage ...
Tēnā tātou katoa, Ngā mihi te rangi, ngā mihi te whenua, ngā mihi ki a koutou, kia ora mai koutou. Thank you for the opportunity to be here and the invitation to speak at this 50th anniversary conference. I acknowledge all those who have gone before us and paved the ...
New Zealand’s payroll providers have successfully prepared to ensure 3.5 million individuals will, from Wednesday next week, be able to keep more of what they earn each pay, says Finance Minister Nicola Willis and Revenue Minister Simon Watts. “The Government's tax policy changes are legally effective from Wednesday. Delivering this tax ...
An experimental vineyard which will help futureproof the wine sector has been opened in Blenheim by Associate Regional Development Minister Mark Patterson. The covered vineyard, based at the New Zealand Wine Centre – Te Pokapū Wāina o Aotearoa, enables controlled environmental conditions. “The research that will be produced at the Experimental ...
The Coalition Government has confirmed the indicative regional breakdown of North Island Weather Event (NIWE) funding for state highway recovery projects funded through Budget 2024, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Regions in the North Island suffered extensive and devastating damage from Cyclone Gabrielle and the 2023 Auckland Anniversary Floods, and ...
Indonesia’s Foreign Minister, Retno Marsudi, will visit New Zealand next week, Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced. “Indonesia is important to New Zealand’s security and economic interests and is our closest South East Asian neighbour,” says Mr Peters, who is currently in Laos to engage with South East Asian partners. ...
He aha te kai a te rangatira? He kōrero, he kōrero, he kōrero. The government has reaffirmed its commitment to supporting the aspirations of Ngāti Maniapoto, Minister for Māori Development Tama Potaka says. “My thanks to Te Nehenehenui Trust – Ngāti Maniapoto for bringing their important kōrero to a ministerial ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has thanked outgoing Chair of the Civil Aviation Authority, Janice Fredric, for her service to the board.“I have received Ms Fredric’s resignation from the role of Chair of the Civil Aviation Authority,” Mr Brown says.“On behalf of the Government, I want to thank Ms Fredric for ...
The Government is proposing legislation to overturn a Court of Appeal decision and amend the Marine and Coastal Area Act in order to restore Parliament’s test for Customary Marine Title, Treaty Negotiations Minister Paul Goldsmith says. “Section 58 required an applicant group to prove they have exclusively used and occupied ...
Regulation Minister David Seymour says that opposition parties have united in bad faith, opposing what they claim are ‘dangerous changes’ to the Early Childhood Education sector, despite no changes even being proposed yet. “Issues with affordability and availability of early childhood education, and the complexity of its regulation, has led ...
After receiving more than 740 submissions in the first 20 days, Regulation Minister David Seymour is asking the Ministry for Regulation to extend engagement on the early childhood education regulation review by an extra two weeks. “The level of interest has been very high, and from the conversations I’ve been ...
The Coalition Government is investing $802.9 million into the Wairarapa and Manawatū rail lines as part of a funding agreement with the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA), KiwiRail, and the Greater Wellington and Horizons Regional Councils to deliver more reliable services for commuters in the lower North Island, Transport Minister Simeon ...
Local Government Minister Simeon Brown has announced his intention to appoint a Crown Manager to both Hawke’s Bay Regional and Wairoa District Councils to speed up the delivery of flood protection work in Wairoa."Recent severe weather events in Wairoa this year, combined with damage from Cyclone Gabrielle in 2023 have ...
Mr Speaker, this is a day that many New Zealanders who were abused in State care never thought would come. It’s the day that this Parliament accepts, with deep sorrow and regret, the Report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care. At the heart of this report are the ...
For the first time, the Government is formally acknowledging some children and young people at Lake Alice Psychiatric Hospital experienced torture. The final report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in State and Faith-based Care “Whanaketia – through pain and trauma, from darkness to light,” was tabled in Parliament ...
The Government has acknowledged the nearly 2,400 courageous survivors who shared their experiences during the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Historical Abuse in State and Faith-Based Care. The final report from the largest and most complex public inquiry ever held in New Zealand, the Royal Commission Inquiry “Whanaketia – through ...
With a week to go before hard-working New Zealanders see personal income tax relief for the first time in fourteen years, 513,000 people have used the Budget tax calculator to see how much they will benefit, says Finance Minister Nicola Willis. “Tax relief is long overdue. From next Wednesday, personal income ...
Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden says a bill that has passed its first reading will improve parental leave settings and give non-biological parents more flexibility as primary carer for their child. The Regulatory Systems Amendment Bill (No3), passed its first reading this morning. “It includes a change ...
Two Bills designed to improve regulation and make it easier to do business have passed their first reading in Parliament, says Economic Development Minister Melissa Lee. The Regulatory Systems (Economic Development) Amendment Bill and Regulatory Systems (Immigration and Workforce) Amendment Bill make key changes to legislation administered by the Ministry ...
New legislation paves the way for greater competition in sectors such as banking and electricity, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly says. “Competitive markets boost productivity, create employment opportunities and lift living standards. To support competition, we need good quality regulation but, unfortunately, a recent OECD report ranked New ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says lotteries for charitable purposes, such as those run by the Heart Foundation, Coastguard NZ, and local hospices, will soon be allowed to operate online permanently. “Under current laws, these fundraising lotteries are only allowed to operate online until October 2024, after which ...
The Coalition Government is accelerating work on the new four-lane expressway between Auckland and Whangārei as part of its Roads of National Significance programme, with an accelerated delivery model to deliver this project faster and more efficiently, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “For too long, the lack of resilient transport connections ...
Sir Don McKinnon will travel to Viet Nam this week as a Special Envoy of the Government, Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced. “It is important that the Government give due recognition to the significant contributions that General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong made to New Zealand-Viet Nam relations,” Mr ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says newly appointed Commissioner, Grant Illingworth KC, will help deliver the report for the first phase of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into COVID-19 Lessons, due on 28 November 2024. “I am pleased to announce that Mr Illingworth will commence his appointment as ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters travels to Laos this week to participate in a series of Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)-led Ministerial meetings in Vientiane. “ASEAN plays an important role in supporting a peaceful, stable and prosperous Indo-Pacific,” Mr Peters says. “This will be our third visit to ...
Construction of a new mental health facility at Te Nikau Grey Hospital in Greymouth is today one step closer, Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey says. “This $27 million facility shows this Government is delivering on its promise to boost mental health care and improve front line services,” Mr Doocey says. ...
New Zealand is committing nearly $50 million to a package supporting sustainable Pacific fisheries development over the next four years, Foreign Minister Winston Peters and Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones announced today. “This support consisting of a range of initiatives demonstrates New Zealand’s commitment to assisting our Pacific partners ...
Associate Education Minister David Seymour says proposed changes to the Education and Training Amendment Bill will ensure charter schools have more flexibility to negotiate employment agreements and are equipped with the right teaching resources. “Cabinet has agreed to progress an amendment which means unions will not be able to initiate ...
In response to serious concerns around oversight, overspend and a significant deterioration in financial outlook, the Board of Health New Zealand will be replaced with a Commissioner, Health Minister Dr Shane Reti announced today. “The previous government’s botched health reforms have created significant financial challenges at Health NZ that, without ...
Minister for Space and Science, Innovation and Technology Judith Collins will travel to Adelaide tomorrow for space and science engagements, including speaking at the Australian Space Forum. While there she will also have meetings and visits with a focus on space, biotechnology and innovation. “New Zealand has a thriving space ...
Climate Change Minister Simon Watts will travel to China on Saturday to attend the Ministerial on Climate Action meeting held in Wuhan. “Attending the Ministerial on Climate Action is an opportunity to advocate for New Zealand climate priorities and engage with our key partners on climate action,” Mr Watts says. ...
Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones is travelling to the Solomon Islands tomorrow for meetings with his counterparts from around the Pacific supporting collective management of the region’s fisheries. The 23rd Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Committee and the 5th Regional Fisheries Ministers’ Meeting in Honiara from 23 to 26 July ...
The Government today launched the Military Style Academy Pilot at Te Au rere a te Tonga Youth Justice residence in Palmerston North, an important part of the Government’s plan to crackdown on youth crime and getting youth offenders back on track, Minister for Children, Karen Chhour said today. “On the ...
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Happy Solstice everyone 🙂
+1
“Bike-lash”
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/75315964/Wellingtons-Island-Bay-cycleway-has-left-residents-confused-and-angry
Thoughts?
One unexpected benefit might be for pedestrians walking along the esplanade, and not have unheard cycles from behind pass a sideways step away from collision, as they do, as cyclists will have a safe and dedicated path.
As Mrs Mac1 found out yesterday on a Wellington footpath, uneven surfaces can lead to sudden changes of direction and falls. A passing cyclist would have compounded the issue.
If cyclists are threatened by motorists opening doors without checking, as they do, then at least the cyclist won’t have to escape (or be pushed out) into car traffic, but will have a footpath to seek refuge.
I have been on European streets where the footpath is split half and half for bikes and pedestrians. It works well. We should get used to it.
And I’ve ridden on half and half paths where pedestrians walk side by side taking up the entire path and not fucken looking thus endangering both cyclists and pedestrians.
+1
Separate the traffic.
No, that would be the noisy minority making even more noise.
Yep, that’s something that’s been found around the world. Narrower streets slow cars down and reduce crashes (I would link the article but I can’t find it).
Oh the bitter sweet irony.
Government controlled by party purporting to stand up for the workers is detaining workers for being unable to do their job as a result of policies implemented by that very same government.
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/dec/21/venezuela-frees-pepsi-workers-it-arrested-for-not-making-enough-pepsi
No more ironic than a government purporting to be interested in economics running failed neo-liberal cultist policies until their country is $105 billion in debt.
The same Government that is receiving plaudits worldwide for it’s economic performance during a very difficult period that included the GFC and major earthquakes.
Looking at Bowalley Road and lifted this from a comment there. Haven’t read it but it sounds interesting – relating to housing. It refers to Hugh Pavletich who is a developer or speculator or both, of housing and has a vested interest in his own projects and himself.
So interesting to see what line he is pushing. Usually these people are going for more greenfields development, more supply etc .
Hugh Pavletich is touting this:
PLANNING RULES THE CAUSE OF HOUSING CRISIS … TWYFORD & HARTWICH … NEW ZEALAND HERALD
http://m.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=11553128
Paveletich is a long-time sprawl-promoter who pimps Demographia’s annual surveys, debunked in a series of posts on Transportblog (latest: http://transportblog.co.nz/2015/06/03/how-wrong-is-demographia-a-proof-by-contradiction/).
Hartwich’s previous job was with the libertarian thinktank, CIS in Australia.
Twyford is being stupid in agreeing with the govt’s analysis that our housing problem is all about land and councils, rather than financial market factors as well.
Twyford has finally woken up. You only have to look at your new CV to see that it is the land values that are rising fast not the value of the building. Those of us who live in the real world have known this for years.
So increase the density (shouldn’t cause you any issues) and use less land per residence.
Seems like the natural progression to me..
+1
Especially when the exponential costs of sprawl are taken into account.
Jeez Labour, no need to be so quick to condemn beneficiaries for trading their food grant for cash. Are these even legitimate incidences or is it just Tolley and BM playing on their fake Trade Me and other accounts to stir up further hatred (?)
link?
All I found was this stuff article with no mention of Labour
Carmel Sepaloni (apologies if spelt wrong) on RNZ news this morn
latest firefox update doesn’t seem to play the rnz links. bugger.
works now, still can’t find it. What time news?
I’ve been searching for it without luck. I thought it was 7am but it must have been the 7 30 update. It went something like: Labours Carmel Sepuloni condemns misuse of hardship grant cards..
well you’re hardly going to say it’s fine. I’d expect a follow-on along the lines of saying it’s rare and hurts families in genuine need, though.
Fuck I reckon, Labour should be arguing that the cards are a stupid idea, thats a better angle, differentiate themselves from National. I try to like Labour, I do like Andrew Little, but they sure do make it hard. (& of course, could be media ‘gotcha’ politics, mps speaking without thinking, etc…)
+1
“mps speaking without thinking”
Political parties usually avoid that by directing their caucuses firmly and hiring comms experts. Labour seems to have forgotten that basic approach for about the last 8 years.
It’s Christmas. Deck the halls with holly and find a smile and good word when you see a good person. Don’t bother about Nats, Act (don’t), and take the curate’s egg approach to Labour. All other earnest tryers for good give love and support to at Christmas-time.
https://www.goodreads.com/work/quotes/3097440-a-christmas-carol?page=4
“the only time I know of, in the long calendar of the year, when men and women seem by one consent to open their shut-up hearts freely, and to think of people below them as if they really were fellow-passengers to the grave, and not another race of creatures bound on other journeys.”
― Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol
Merry Christmas! What right have you to be merry? What reason have you to be merry? You’re poor enough.” “Come, then,” returned the nephew gaily. “What right have you to be dismal? What reason have you to be morose? You’re rich enough.”
― Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol
“There was nothing very cheerful in the climate or the town, and yet was there an air of cheerfulness abroad that the clearest summer air and brightest summer sun might have endeavoured to diffuse in vain.”
― Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol
@ Chairman
The idea of it is good, the implementation a bit of a bugger’s muddle IN THE NZ context. I note the claim that this is of international design, and commonplace overseas. Unfortunately, Kiwis are not very good drivers as has been discussed elsewhere eg.
– 2 second rule more like the 1 second rule for MOST drivers
– indiscriminate lane changing and trying to get ahead (i.e. driving as though it was all some sort of competition)
– travelling over the speed limit (and as the signs suggest) treating the limit as though it’s a target
– inability to keep within lanes (probably to do with an inability to judge the size of their vehicle – especially SUVs)
– etc.
(and I concede too that not only are NZers not very good drivers, many are not very good cyclists)
I might actually go and take a look at it in the flesh.
Whilst I am all for encouraging people to get onto bikes, walk, run, etc. for health reasons as much as anything else, I’m not sure that designing things in a way that can impact on public transport – which carries many more people – is the way to go.
@ Chairman – I’m interested in your thoughts too.
OK @ Chairman – now I’ve seen it in the flesh.
What I like:
The environment and implementation reinforces the idea that this road is actually SUBurban – i.e. not the racetrack it once was – although there’d been efforts to achieve that previously
What I don’t like:
It’s actually been done on the cheap – YET again (short term-ism).
The road going northward has a berm on the left hand side. The road southward does not.
With a little more investment and commitment to the concept – given the available space, it could have been better. AND it could have included trees on the southward (i.e EAST side) had they thought about it more.
With a little more thought, and shifting things like guttering, we could have had things like (from the property/housing frontage perspective going outward to the road centre line), and with trees on BOTH sides of the road:
– a property frontage
– a minimal berm, equipped with trees (and whatever – even community vege and other gardens)
– a footpath with adequate (though not excessive) width (for the traffic involved)
– a directional cycle lane
– a street parking area
– a street thoroughfare – and one which takes account of the necessities of things like trolleybus lines
– a centre line (probably with ‘no overtaking’)
we could probably have also had things like bus stop bays AND walkways and cycleways that are in-the-main ….. STRAIGHT – but I guess straightness and order is not very trendy these days. WCC and power companies can’t even get positioning of lamp posts consistent (so much so that installation of fibre channels have to wend their merry way around a variety of bullshit obstructions – not so bad though if you’re a Chorus contractor trying to clip the ticket at every twist and turn).
So there ya go. Now tell me what you think of it all
As a student of Sciology, perhaps what this suggests is:
– the average Kiwi bloke is dissatisfied with the size of his dick
– feels the need to forever prove himslef
– as a result, has an inferiority complex
Jeez, maybe I’ve jiss explained JFK.
NOW …. how the fuck to we explain Max. Answer: JOHN
I don’t generally support the slowing of traffic. It largely defeats the purpose of having cars and negatively impacts on productivity.
Ideally, cyclists, motorists and pedestrians need to be separated as much as possible. Therefore, I would have opted for dividing (with a median barrier) and extending the footpath.
OK.
Well perhaps with a little more thought as to how the available space could be used, combined with existing trees and planting others on the other side, as well as relocating curbing …… that separation could have been achieved.
The Parade is fairly wide. In places the footpaths are wider than need be.
But, as I said (above), it has been done on a budget and it seems to have needlessly pissed a lot of people off as a result.
I’m not sure about some of the complaints I’ve seen though – such as the road carriage way not being wide enough.
@ lprent …. a bug perhaps? or merely an inexplicable glitch not worth the time and effort given it might be a set of circumstances that’s so rare ….
My previous comment on this thread was a reply to Chairman (I.e. replying to his asking for comments [2] above).
It went into a black hole.
I came back to repost and found the following appended to th” Name (Required) * –
field
i.e. in my case >>>>>
“Once was Tim 100 SabineÃÂÃÂÃÂâÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂæour ancestors lived frugally and wel ”
actually now I think about it, my last comment was a reply (on another thread) to Sabine
Just thought you might be interested (being a perfectionist and coding fiddler – that’s a compliment btw)
Are you copying and pasting from word?
NO
It’s been a very long long time since I was a SysProg but it looks like that string has been something exrtacted from a DB.
I have some advice though for you (BM) and other IT geeks:
Firstly ….. there’s actually a shitload more to life – especially as you get older.
Secondly ….. reinventing wheels only serves to prop up you own ego if its just as inefficient and ‘in-effective’. I could even argue that the only advances in modern times have occurred at the “PRESENTATION layer’ – if you comprenez VOUS – and I’m sure that you do!
Thirdly …. humans should drive technology – not the other way round
Fourthly (as I often hear when following ‘IT professionals’ discussing their various projects – and believe me its UNINTENTIONAL’) as I walk thru’ the Streets of Wellington and hear them wanking each other off …… reinventing wheels is ekshully not that ‘S M A R T’. In fek it’s really a bit pathetic
Fourthly ….. trying to make yourself indispensable by coding methods that are (to say the least) fucking stupid – e.g. hardcoding IDs rather than referencing a table that Joseph Bloggs (or in your case Joseph Goebles) is going to be a losing battle,
I don’t really think I should carry on. Steven Joooooice (Choooooice Bro – with reference to a dainty little Ayshun from Mermaids) would have a harda tek.
There could be a fifthly, and a sixthly ……… etc.
I’m perfikly happy to deal with it as you see fit.
But PLEASE PLEASE don’t come moaning when the inevitable happens
come to think about it …. BM are the initials of one of the biggest wankers I ever came across – we could go into details – but best not. It’s the thing that LEAST interests me in life as I watch on in amusement.
It’s a bit like blokes that think they know better than an instruction manual authored by someone whose constructed some bullshit-well-needed-essential-app.
are you in Wellington? Spark? Datacom?
Formerly engaged in some earth-shattering project such as INCIS, or in the health sector, or anywhere else for that matter – the record is pretty fukng bleak wherever it was – but then of course you’ve had learnings as to why, and none of it could possibly EVER have been your fault.
no forget that question …. it’s illegal given the terms and conditions.
You seem a bit unhinged there, Tim.
Might want to go back to your doctor and get him to triple your dosage.
It’s a condition that comes with engaging with the likes of you. There’s no known cure. The worst part of it is forgetting not to bother in the first place. Some call it troll feeding I think.
Thanks though. I’ll remember not to in future.
It is a bug left over from last weeks WordPress upgrade. The JavaScript I put in to set the first field got invalidated. But work, patchwork sleeping and Damn shopping haven’t left time for coding blocks at home.
From the NZHerald today, an analyst from McKinseys telling the New Zealand government that active leadership to diversify our economy is absolutely critical. And that oil exploration is the wrong way to diversify, because it is as much a commodity product as milk.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=11564682
Nothing new, but all sound points.
The bit at the bottom left out the rather important fact that Kinley Salmon is a raging environmentalist.
He’s hardly going to be pro primary products.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/nelson-mail/lifestyle-entertainment/3235009/From-Nayland-to-Cambridge
I guess primary production is all Gnats can visualise – never got past primary school most of them.
BM, that’s the least important point.
But you neocons are all about attacking the messenger and ignoring the evidence.
Just to let you know BM – The economy is a subset of the environment – not the other way round. You trash the environment – you trash the economy – end of story.
+1
Democracy and expert advice on scientific issues
IMO, there’s two parts to the problem that we see here.
The first problem is education and the lack there of both in the basics facts and how to think logically and critically.
The second part is specialisation in that people have become overly specialised and have little to no knowledge of other areas. This prevents people from joining the dots in logical progression to come to the correct answer despite not having the same knowledge of a subject as a specialist would have.
Court Decision Alert
The Kim Dotcom and others Extradition decision will be released tomorrow.
https://twitter.com/CourtsofNZ/status/679115520180793345
No doubt whoever loses will appeal, so not the end yet.
Interesting!
We had the judge’s decision on the Hager case last week – less than 2 weeks before Xmas. Now we have the Dotcom case – two days before Xmas.
You do have to wonder about the timing – just before Xmas when most people are otherwise engaged.
Apparently it will released at 2.15pm. Sorry – no link as word of mouth.
Timing is interesting not only because of Xmas, but because the hearing only finished on Nov 24. So one of the fastest court decisions that I can recall for such a complex case.
MSM is now reporting the expected release – eg The Herald here
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/news/article.cfm?&objectid=11564885
Link to actual item:
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11564885
Little says he wants to see a shift away from a ‘culture of blame’ – where there is a call for heads to roll when an enterprise fails.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/74985370/andrew-little-finds-success-in-stability-as-labour-recovers-from-2014-nosedive
The statement comes across as if he’s attempting to remove accountability.
Your thoughts?
I find it unhelpful to have a “heads will roll culture” because my experience in the workplace is that when things go wrong it is often systemic. It is to do with the culture of the place. sometimes its a commitment to doing things the cheapest way possible and making as much profit as possible. Scapegoating one person will not solve systemic problems. I have also had experience of the wrong person being blamed in the case I was thinking of a manager had done some dodgy figures but managed to blame it on the manager under her in the hierarchy who got demoted. A thorough examination of the whole culture of the place and the systems that were operating might have done something to effect real change. As it was it really was pretty much business as usual.
With the lack of culpability witnessed, I question whether we actually suffer from a culture of blame.
I agree that on some occasions problems can be systemic within an enterprise. However, CEO’s and such are there to oversee such issues are rectified. A CEO should be aware of the culture within their organization. Therefore, I disagree with your notion.
As for people being wrongly accused, I agree examinations require to be thorough, with any blame being laid solely at the feet of those responsible.
I think there’s a distinction around that how accountability occurs following a failure.
Presenting this in an adventure aviation context is interesting, here there’s a culture of finding “what” went wrong in an adverse event and working to prevent it happening again. This is quite different to the “who” scapegoating that often appears in political and media culture.
It’s rare outside criminal intent or negligence that an adverse event has a single point of accountability, and we have laws and legal accountabilities to deal with these aspects. And these legal sanctions should be robust and with out favour.
However business failures, like aviation accidents have a multitude of causes, often totally unrelated that line up produce carnage. An air accident investigation tries to determine as many of these aspects as possible so that better outcomes can be achieved from similar situations in the future. This has allowed aviation to progress from what was pretty dodgy in 1920 to safer than driving, and probably walking now.
When we focus on finding individual scapegoats we get other things happening. First we miss the real causes of the failure, maybe the weakest, financially, politically or socially goes down masking everything else, and then everyone gets really risk adverse.
I don’t think this sort of accountability culture is going to produce an environment where people can confidently and easily move from one career to another. We need a culture where failure is seen as a positive learning experience and shared. A culture change around this could be rather disruptive of our political environment.
It’s only logical to find out what went wrong in order to help prevent it from reoccurring. However, doing so generally points to whom (if anyone) was at fault.
It may be that accountability may have to be shared. And although we do have laws to deal with criminal intent or negligence (if and when identified) you seem to be overlooking professional accountability.
I’m not advocating we seek out scapegoats to scalp, but I am pointing out professional accountability can’t be overlooked and those accountable must be held to account.
Therefore, while I agree with a number of your points, I reject the notion that failure should only be seen as a positive learning experience and shared. If investigations show people are culpable, they require to be held to account.
It’s conservative thinking that seeks certainty and the elimination of risk, and then trys to abrogate responsibility when it all turn to shit. The trap here is in thinking that we can eliminate ALL risk. You can’t, there’s just too many unrelated and random variables. So, when we progress, as in try something new, we are going to get some honest failures, along with spectacular wins. We should celebrate both.
Dishonest activities however, both failures and “wins”, must be jumped on, hard.
It doesn’t follow that all failure is dishonest, and it’s bloody tragic to see otherwise honest and honourable people go down for doing dishonest things as their lives and /or business falls to bits. A better attitude to, and management of failure would save a lot of grief.
Holding the culpable to account is not an attempt to eliminate risk, but it does help set in place an accepted framework and expected level of professionalism.
Removing accountability opens the door to excessive risk taking and a culture of failure acceptance.
While taking risk can produce benefits and lead to a company’s progression, excessive risk can result in a company’s collapse.
Growing too fast, taking on excessive risk and ultimately collapsing is an opportunity wasted, thus not a model for future success.
Therefore, it’s not a model to be encouraged and expanded by removing accountability and celebrating failure.
a culture of blame works all ways…..as was highlighted by Keys stated cause of child poverty. Thought the article in its entirety provoked interest it what they will release next year….heres hoping it is something inspiring.
When it comes to the poor, there does seem to be a culture of blame among the right.
I find it incredible that some posters think it is acceptable on a thread about alleged rape humour to call me Fisi-anal or some such moniker. Not a single Leftist has called out shame. The hypocrisy of the Left is gob smacking. My noble African name is sacred and no matter what I post such gutter language is surely unacceptable to any person with some sense of decency. It is a particularly childish and nasty form of internet bullying. It will not silence me.
Refences to the anal area are not references to rape.
But yes, you are frequently disrespected and insulted. Because that is the level of respect you have diligently earned – see sentence 1.
You condone such behaviour. Disgraceful. This blog is not surely just an echo chamber for the deluded. I never compared the insults aimed at me with rape. Can you not read?
liberals don’t need to read cos they’re always right.
You called it hypocrisy, not me.
I think you insult the intelligence of everyone here with pretty much every damned comment you make, and you don’t even have the decency to be honest about it and call people names.
“you do it too” is no defense.
Maybe not.
But it sure as hell is an accusation.
bullshit. play the ball not the man.
1: it’s not football. It’s not a game.
2: fuck that guy. There’s room for disagreement, then there’s that tory trooll. He’s worked hard for it and earned the abuse.
so there’s this thing called metaphor…
in the divine economy there is no earning of abuse.
Some metaphors are more appropriate than others.
And the divine economy might or might not exist. But as respect between humans is earned, so are scorn, defiance, slight regard and contempt. Of which fisiani has earned a plenitude.
I missed it – but you are right.
You should not be insulted.
I support you on that.
You would not annoy people if you were to stop trolling so regularly.
And that name is not a reference to rape.
Apologist for bad behaviour. Duh!
fisiani
Aren’t you the guy that loves Key and can’t understand why no one else here does, I don’t know why you don’t try kiwiblog, they share similar view point to you and have a similar level of intellect, you’d be right at home.
the point is name calling. people should be able to love key anywhere they want without being called names.
I don’t know if realise what you just said?
“You should be able to love Key with out being called a name”
I didn’t condone the supposed name calling, I merely suggested an alternative spot where he could go and not receive any grief, I don’t know if you read the posts that are in dispute, but McFlock’s comments were appropriate, everybody has the right to free speech, even you.
yeah McFlock is blaming his poor netiquette on Fisiani’s trolling. “you’ve earned the abuse” – sounds like the guy’s done some time in prison.
If you click on the name fisiani you will find this is a tr0ll who (metaphorically speaking) has done time for many indiscretions in the past.
North calling fisiani fused anus was an accurate description for someone so consistently full of shit.
it’s in poor taste.
worse is that you’d take a troll so seriously. some lines off blake:
mock on, mock on, voltaire, rousseau
mock on, mock on, tis all in vain
you throw the sand against the wind
the wind blows it back again
lol
So just to clarify, we’re allowed to suggest someone’ “sounds like” they’ve done enough wrong to be imprisoned, but we’re not allowed to use rude words or show other poor form according to you?
Yeah, nah. My insults are direct. Yours are duplicitous. Get off your hypocritical high horse.
horses may be more easily forgiven for shitting freely in public.
In some areas horseshit is not just forgiven, but actively sought.
In other areas, the person taking the horse for a ride is blamed.
hope your xmassy thing went well, though.
No – they mustn’t do it in the streets and frighten the horses.
They should do it on kiwiblog where the audience appreciates it and gimp suits and lashings of whale oil are provided for that purpose.
Christ! For once “I’m inclined to agree with you Mathew”. However As far as I can see so far, I haven’t seen your mates on the roster (“hard Rightists”) call people out either.
Who’s on duty tonight btw?
Do you do The Daily Blog as well? There now seems to be six at least hitting the dislike button. You should congratulate yourselves – that’s an increase of 50% (going forward). Could be a brighter future eh?
BAM CRRRAAACK BIFF BOFF KAPOW Brilliant
Good to see that you now fully appreciate the nastiness of Key’s behaviour.
I hope you will now also call him out for his hypocrisy on – oh! so many things – such as being an ambassador for white ribbon and at the same time indulging in jokes about prison rape, failing to apologize to Tania over his Govt’s appalling handling of her sexual assault and claiming it was a political stunt, calling many women MPs who have been the subject of abuse – “rape apologists”, being an habitual predator handling the pony tails of young girls and women, and twisting the apology of David Cunliffe on behalf of men to women – when NZ has one of the highest rates of abuse in the western world, etc.
When you have called out Key on his appalling hypocrisy maybe then we might apologize for calling you names.
“Not a single Leftist has called out shame.”
Actually I have. And some have agreed with me.
The problem is that the site policy allow for such “abuse” provided the moderators can see a point to it, just as they allow for you to comment with your own opinions and to provide your own take on the opinions of others. We couldn’t give a damn if you choose or don’t choose to use the provided room for pointed attacks and abuse or not. That is your choice.
Personally, I find that I use whatever I need to when I want to get a point across. My nastiest attacks when I want to have a go at someone use absolutely no “abuse”. I simply read their previous comments and figure out suggestions or explanations for the ‘reasoning’ behind the formation of their views and opinions.
There are very few people that I can’t set off like a rocket at guy fawkes with those kinds of attacks at their world views without ever “abusing” them if I feel the inclination. This is a skill developed after decades around the net is probably why I don’t feel the need to level the playing field where you do. In my opinion, all that does is to give way too much weight to net experience. Allowing robust debate and pointed abuse evens up the playing field somewhat because it means that people can express themselves more freely at whatever level they feel comfortable with.
What you are proposing allows a dissection using manners that gives the advantage to whoever has the most experience within the implied rules. I don’t like that 18th century farce. As far as I’m concerned it should have died with the French monarchy at Versailles in 1789, but which unfortunately survived up until after the second world war.
As it is I keep a vigilant eye for people trying to game the system and deliberately pressing people into the policy electric fence that they know about and the other does not.
Abyway trying to change the rules on this site is a dangerous tactic if you aren’t an author, because for those of us who actually work on the site, it becomes highly irritating to argue with people who don’t and who have no real idea about what is going on. Especially since they are always so damn repetitive about repetitively screaming what they want (like a spoilt child) rather than considering what authors and others might want. Plus not considering why these rules were set at the position that they were. Which appears to be what you are doing.
But you should be pretty aware of this already. It isn’t like I try to conceal my attitudes about the best way to deal with people without skin in the site trying to help us out by suggesting directly or indirectly how we should run the site.
“My noble African name is sacred”.
Citation please. No amount of earnest Googling in good faith on my part can verify that statement.
All I know is “The baby was cut out of the womb”.
Whose that, eh?
Fact, in 2011, there were fewer new homes built in NZ that year than were built in (wait for it) 1965, and now a housing shortage.
An interesting aspect to the large influx of refugees into Germany, over 800,000, was how would Germany house them all.
It seems Germany has an interesting housing policy, they maintain a surplus of relatively cheap housing stock, ensuring real affordability for there own work force, they also regulate the housing industry, there reasoning is that these workers are considered a very important part of a successful economy, by keeping rents and housing prices relatively low, the work force has more money in their pockets to spend in the local economy, this all forms part of a wider economic strategy.
They found that the workers were more productive if they didn’t feel they were only going to work to pay the rent.
Of the 800,000 refugees, most will get work, and they will end up very loyal employees.
For a right wing Govt, it’s unusual to see a smart, common sense approach to the way in which they treat their work force, there maybe some lessons to be learned here.
we have a housing policy where it’s more profitable to leave them vacant and flip them to other speculators than it is to actually provide homes for people.
Yeah, and who profits from that, Germany in is an industrial nation of 110m , they’ve realised over the long term that a highly productive work force is more profitable than short term speculation, every one needs a roof over their head.
I suppose that is the crux of it, a long term economic plan that will lift the countries prosperity
Whereas NZ has elected a short-term currency gambler and an unreconstructed 80s Treasury wideboy. What could possibly go wrong?
“What could possibly go wrong?”
That is funny, I don’t know if you meant it to be.
Hasn’t it already gone wrong, Key is the man without a plan for the future of NZ, I just wish his tenure was a short term.
Unfortunately much of the appeal of neo-liberalism to the current government is that divesting state services enables ministers to be lazier and less accountable. They have no desire to actually govern, and think that destroying state capacity is a positive achievement. Most third world countries are better governed, perhaps in part because their citizens would not tolerate the kind of pathetic crap that our Gnat MPs get up to. The neo part of Labour isn’t much better.
+1
Sky-Crane 2: Daughter of Skycrane.
Game changer.
Chris Westling
@chriswestling
Falcon 9 brought cost of a 13-tonne payload to LEO from $110m to $56m. With landing & reuse, #SpaceX is projecting new cost of <$8m. #BFD
https://twitter.com/chriswestling/status/679124127144394754
Médecins Sans Frontières – a year in pictures.
https://msf.exposure.co/a-year-in-pictures
(light version for shitty connections https://msf.exposure.co/a-year-in-pictures?slow=1 )
Aloe Blacc on his Christmas tribute.
It’s not a product for sale — it’s a memorial, a tribute. First of all, to me, it doesn’t seem appropriate. It really was just an expression that I felt was important for me offer to these families, and for other people to hear so that they could have a voice for what they were feeling inside, because a lot of the dialogue that we hear in the media doesn’t give us the opportunity to grieve a way that is respectful to the families. I wanted to offer that to everyone, especially the families. I wanted them to see that there are people who understand their pain and are not just trying to make a headline out of their tragedy.
http://www.npr.org/2015/12/10/459109275/songs-we-love-aloe-blacc-merry-christmas-mr-brown
The History of People’s QE – Neither Right nor Left, Just the Way Forward
Part 2
Part 3
Money creation by the state is the answer to our financial difficulties such as poverty and inequality.
The private creation of credit is one of the most fiercely and brutally guarded privileges of all.
Spot on Draco
This type of story pisses me off – blame it on computer generated letters?? bullshit!!!
“Then the second letter came, claiming that even though the agency had now seen Leger’s medical certificates, he still needed to be “actively seeking work”.
Leger said the suggestion of sending out CVs from his hospital bed sounded like a bad joke.
“It’s that extra stress that you don’t need at this time going through the treatment,” he said.”
http://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/news/wellington/75373823/leukaemia-patient-told-by-work-and-income-to-find-a-job-or-risk-his-benefit
It wouldn’t surprise me if those computer generated letters were designed to upset people, you know, so they get out of their sick beds and get a job.
gnat 101
extra stress = more motivation
less money = more motivation
persistent hassle = more motivation
ridicule = more motivation
cut additional benefits = more motivation
desperation = more motivation
loss of dignity = more motivation
not enough money = more motivation
begging for help = more motivation
and so on to infinity and back
…….Corrrrrrr Blimey. That gnat 101 stuff is rilly rilly esprashunul eh? Now I know where all those street “beggars” I just encountered walking from Courtenay Place to Lambton Quay are going wrong. I guess they really should just pull themselves together as ‘get with the programme’
Ekshully, I must remember to give them a right good letchering the next time I pass.
There are obviously Pulla Bent and Soimun Brudgizz type learnings to be learned. I’ll give them a set of bootstraps – how they choose to use them of course…. is up to them
No that can’t be right marty. When I look about at the top execs and CEO’s they very loudly claim that the exact opposite of all those things = more motivation.
Agreed marty mars that is not only appalling behaviour for a human being, it is actually just bloody stupid.
The National Party government is highlighted in all of its ignorant ideology with this poor fulla’s plight.
Just stupid, brainless, lacks any form of logic, no common sense.
The nacts are frikkin’ loopy
and that is the problem with conservatives when they try to change things….
because they are afraid of change they do not know how to undertake it, and hence make a big hash of things….
conservatives should stay in the hold like the useless ballast that they are
Labour’s frightened of change. That’s more the problem.
It wouldn’t surprise me if those computer generated letters were designed to upset people, you know, so they get out of their sick beds and get a job.
I think it’s more what is said later in the article,
“She said it’s not us it’s just a system generated message that can’t separate who’s got what sickness or what amount of sickness.
Which is basically that when they scraped sickness benefit the system they put in place was done incompetently. If you want to see where National are doing evil there, it’s more likely to be in monkey wrenching the system over time so that eventually they’ve got an excuse to privatise.
“Which is basically that when they scraped sickness benefit the system they put in place was done incompetently.”
yes done incompetently and the system they put in was incompetent too – deliberately? Is monkey wrenching when they chuck a monkey wrench in and wait and see what shit happens or is it when the place it into position to create shit.
I’m lucky I spose I can see multiple layers of incompetence, mistakes and deliberate design all over the system and I agree the end goal is some type of privatisation agenda.
There are many preventable calamities at this time of year – kia kaha to all those dealing with this system.
Yeah, it’s always that weird mix of creepy ideology and incompetence and hard to tell how much of which each time. And with WINZ we can add in the fact that it was already a system pretty stressed by meddling from multiple governments, instead of taking care of something important.
Amazing flip flop from Trotter who seems to have stopped fighting …for anything.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/opinion/75307377/chris-trotter-my-surprise-pick-for-politician-of-the-year
good grief.
Little gem here from The North…
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/northern-advocate/news/article.cfm?c_id=1503450&objectid=11564706
Joanne McNeil: PM gets an F for Social Studies
“In my day, school report cards did not mince words to mollycoddle fragile little darlings or confuse litigious parents.
In similar spirit, here’s Prime Minister John Key’s report for 2015.
English
Oral. John has plenty to say on behalf of all New Zealanders. His pronunciation – which often compresses syllables into sausage meat – would benefit from speech therapy.
Written. We have not sighted any prose (or poetry) we are confident is John’s original work. Apparently he pays a huddle of crack spin doctors to produce his essays behind the bike sheds. F”
and so on…
Very good.