In case it is a discussion topic again today, the Public Records Act says councils and other agencies have to *keep* records. It does not control them *making available* that information to the public.
And there she was, being given a talking to and threatened with 24 hour trespass for a peaceful, quiet protest outside of parliament. Frank expressed surprise that such actions were not allowed…(news for you Frank…try simply handing out flyers!)
We’d moved our little act of sedition out onto the footpath three years earlier…Penny folded up her tent because she didn’t wan’t to jeopardize her chance of meeting with the Justice and Electoral Select Committee.
”
However, Ms Bright pointed out a number of areas where New Zealand lacked a domestic legislative framework for genuine transparency,
lobbying – there currently being no ‘Register of Lobbyists’, or ‘Code of Conduct for Lobbyists’,
and ‘State Capture’ – where vested interests gained influence at ‘policy’ level, prior to legislation being passed.
On the issue of civil servants and political figures leaving the public service and entering the private sector (eg; consultancy-work) – Ms Bright denounced the practice of the “revolving door”, and recommended a “quarantine period”.
A policy of ‘post-separation employment’ could deny sensitive information from being used for personal gain.
It was also pointed out that, at Local Government level, there was no mandatory requirement for a ‘Register of Interests’ for elected representatives (unlike central government MPs).”
I share Penny’s opinion on many issues to do with the way our elected representatives behave and how they spend our tax and rates dollars. I want to know who is up who and who is paying.
Putting the specifics aside for a moment, this is what activism looks like: taking a strong and principled stand against a perceived wrong or injustice to raise awareness and to evoke a change.
James…have YOU ever made a stand on “principle” about anything?
“principle” definition
“noun
1.
a fundamental truth or proposition that serves as the foundation for a system of belief or behaviour or for a chain of reasoning.
“the basic principles of justice” ”
Or do you merely gumbeat from behind the safety of your keyboard?
Well for starters if she dosn’t they will sell her house from under her.
Being that it will be a forced sale – she will quite possibly get a lot lower price than if it wasnt.
and if you cannot work out any other reasons – like all the people who contribute and pay their rates – then there is no way to explain basic concepts.
Because currently she’s using all the services that the council provides and not contributing to them. Rates pay for parks, sewers, roads, community venues, etc. etc.
She’s a tax dodger.
Had a quick look at your comment history…it indicates a base level ‘thinker’…if that…
To your question…
I’m 100% in support of any human being who takes a stand on principal, on behalf of others, against the covered-up and fraudulant practices, entities such as AKL Council preside over…
Go dig a hole and take that dump you’re choking up on….bro!
no and I have no interest – I trust the council to work in the best interest of the city (despite him not being a mayor I voted for), and I do my part paying my rates – like almost everyone else.
Penny blight is a disgrace – and I am glad that the council are holding her to account.
” I trust the council to work in the best interest of the city “
It would be in the best interest of the city, for processes to be transparent.
You refer that your payment is willingly given, and that is fine. But you also include the assumption above, that allocation of payments is for those services that are required for a well-planned city and its communities.
Whenever I have attended a council consultation in Auckland, Penny Bright has been there, and her level of knowledge and questions are reasonable given the lack of information provided. That does not mean that it is comfortable for those questioned, and those who dismiss her do so to discredit her, not because her questions are not important or pertinent.
You seem to be definite on a lot of issues on which you have little knowledge. It may pay for you to read more, and comment less.
I don’t like what my Taxes are being spent on. I don’t believe there was transparency in the Coalition Agreement. I believe that the PM dishonestly withheld her pregnancy.
Do you think that I and others who agree should withhold my Income Tax as a fair protest?
(Interesting that you already know what your taxes will be spent on…)
“I don’t believe there was transparency in the Coalition Agreement. “
Same amount of transparency has been available for all coalition agreements. Why does this one bother you so?
“I believe that the PM dishonestly withheld her pregnancy.”
This sentence makes no sense at all.
Penny Bright has been advocating for transparency, and also IIRC the charging of GST on what is essentially a tax on property.
“Do you think that I and others who agree should withhold my Income Tax as a fair protest?”
Given your comment, I would guess that you would be unable to risk your liberty to make such protest. It is a personal choice, to decide what priorities and values you hold, and how much you are willing to risk to see the right outcomes. Kudos to you if you have such an issue.
Penny Bright does not advocate for an individual benefit, but for a systematic change. I admire her for her commitment, because I believe that she has over time shown consistency and integrity – and dogmatic faith in the right outcome being the desired result – rather than personal vindication.
In person, her arguments seem to be easier to absorb than her writings, but I just assume that her writing reflects the fact that many people don’t know even the basics on issues, and she takes them through a lot of detail to finally get to the point she is trying to make. Her level of knowledge is more apparent in question and answer sessions, but she does aggravate the representatives of council when they give a insubstantial and irrelevant reply to her queries.
I don’t know if I would have the same admiration for you – given your lack of detail provided – but many already do avoid taxes, and often they are the ones most able to pay them without hardship.
How do you feel about the current lack of prosecutions and asset taking to address those avoiders and evaders, who are not making any stand on issues – just want to have more cash available for their personal (or company) use?
How come you never applied “Pay your share” to the likes of John Key …. or the economic segregation laws his Nact government passed James ????.
“The numbers are staggering. More than $2 trillion in U.S.-based multinational profits currently sit in offshore accounts, representing, by credible estimates, in excess of $500 billion in unpaid taxes.”
“The crisis in multinational corporate tax avoidance is growing exponentially.”.
How come you are so strident in relation to Penny who is taking an anti-corruption stance …..?
But so silent in relation to the massive corruption that John key was fighting and legislating for ? .
She saw something she felt was unjust.
She refused to kowtow to a law in order to challenge that injustice.
She is facing the consequences of that refusal head on, rather than trying to evade them in some way. Challenge, yes, but not evade.
My nose is a fine James ….. it detects stinkers throwing around words and concepts like “fair share”quite well…..and as stinkers do not believe in ‘fairness’ I feel quite entitled to show real examples of Greedy people not paying their “fair share”.
Your the one who took that route to attack Pennys protest …. I’m judging you, not her.
Rich people skipping out of paying their fair share is done for Greed … and its what John Key described as “working creatively” …..
Heres the reporting at the time for a John Shewan art work ….. a strong depiction of bank robbery.
“TAX FACTOR
Five big banks face about $2.4 billion of disputed tax assessments for 22 structured finance transactions.
Who owes what:
Westpac: $961 million in tax and interest. High Court case lost, but expected to appeal.
Bank of New Zealand: $654m in tax and interest. High Court case lost, but will appeal.
ANZ and National: $562m in dispute, court case pending.
Commonwealth Bank of Australia/ASB Bank: $280m in dispute, case pending.
Note: The figures do not include possible penalties, which could range from 20 per cent to 100 per cent of the tax owed.”
+100 Rosemary McDonald If there is know transparency in government organizations local or central they are hiding deceit full practices stealing off the people or providing shoddy services getting kick backs from developers there many avenues for these people who are elected to serve in the best interest of the people and not line there own pockets or there associates / family this is the reason our waste and water services are inadequate . We are a wealth country with dum future planning for the esencial services we pay for .Look at all the complaints about common tourist crapping in inappropriate places, I say the councils should put portaloos in all these places Its a know brainer the commen people spend money in NZ to get with it NZ . A lot of these young people won;t all ways be poor lets look after them like we do for the wealthy .Ana to kai heres the link
Ata marie eco maori. There should never be any reason/excuse to see “legally confidential and privileged” or “commercially sensitive” on any document pertaining to the expenditure of taxes, levies and rates or to do with any activity by statutory bodies.
Speaking of democracy… (*Tangentiality Alert*)
Of all the ironically named CCOs (Council-Controlled Organisations) which came with Rodney Hide’s supercity vanity project; the most sinister is, perhaps, Auckland Transport. Auckland ratepayers, those archetypal “sleepy hobbits” are financing a massive proliferation of CCTV cameras. No discussion, no accountability, not even any kind of cost/benefit analysis. Total surveillance anyone? So, Auckland Transport are now major Deep State players, and will be very much a partner with NZ Police in their new Facial Recognition project which I have mentioned previously.
There should never be any reason/excuse to see “legally confidential and privileged” or “commercially sensitive” on any document pertaining to the expenditure of taxes, levies and rates or to do with any activity by statutory bodies.
The only way to get to that state of affairs is to lobby central govt for law changes – not to hound a local body who is following the law as it currently is.
Citizens are entitled to lodge official information requests or conduct court cases. We are *not* legally or democratically entitled to get line-by-line accounts or see every single contract entered into on our behalves.
There are grounds in the LGOIMA for evaluating what to release or withhold and councils must follow those. Councils cannot change the laws that govern their conduct.
Yet where has Ms Bright’s righteous indignation been directed to date? Be an activist by all means, just not a stupid one.
There are different flavours of democracy. New Zealand’s does not involve direct citizen access to most decisions or to line-item accounting. ‘Consultation’ is not a vote. Mob rule is not part of the system.
By all means make a case, build a movement and get the govt to change our laws to what you believe we should have.
Unfortunately most elected local government are just that – comfortable middle aged retired folk. And then add on a slice or two of vested interest – and what do you have? A nice cosy cabal of white folk looking after number 1 and peeing in each others pockets.
Down the chain its no different.
I think that is what P B is really campaigning about – and if the LGOIMA does not allow for more open govt then it needs to be changed. ACC has recently had examples where administrators were found guilty of corrupt practice http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=11763594
And I know for a fact that that sort of behaviour of accepting box seats at the rugby etc by council staff – in all areas has been going on for years.
+100 Rosemary McDonald If there is know transparency in government organizations local or central they are hiding deceit full practices stealing off the people or providing shoddy services getting kick backs from developers there many avenues for these people who are elected to serve in the best interest of the people and not line there own pockets or there associates / family this is the reason our waste and water services are inadequate . We are a wealth country with dum future planning for the esencial services we pay for .Look at all the complaints about common tourist crapping in inappropriate places, I say the councils should put portaloos in all these places Its a know brainer the commen people spend money in NZ to get with it NZ . A lot of these young people won;t all ways be poor lets look after them like we do for the wealthy .Ana to kai heres the link
Someone is stuffing with my computer at least we know the new government is transparent look at the treasury story the neo liberals would have covered that story up about getting the stats wrong on child poverty .Ka pai
My moko was born at 1145 am today baby girl curly hair and a Maori nose Ka pai . This is the reason Im pushing for Equality for Ladys Equality for all I say and a clean environment for all OUR mokos . We are only carers of Papatuanuku we live such a short life and are but a fraction of time its not on that the greedy should ruin it for the vast future of mother earth and all her living beings {This will change under my watch} .Ka kite ano
I have no problem with someone being an activist about organisational transparency – just with tactics like lying about what fundamental laws say and conducting arguments in bad faith.
“How is a ‘public’ record ‘public’ Sacha – if it’s not readily accessible for public scrutiny?”
Does the Public Records Act cover the management of public records, rather than being a public record of documents? Seems like a fundamental misunderstanding of the title on Penny’s part.
The PRA stipulates keeping records properly so that they are accessible for other laws to decide *whether* to make them publicly available. The PRA itself does not make information available. That is not its job. Never has been.
The law simply does not say what Ms Bright says it means (look at the words for yourself) and her claim that council is breaking it is therefore false. When people have shown you so, many times in explicit detail, repeating such a claim becomes a deliberate lie.
I have no idea how she has persisted so long in her delusion about those different functions but it really does not help when media broadcasts her bogus claims and misleads the public. RNZ Checkpoint has just done it for the second day in a row. I am deeply unimpressed.
“Sorry I was a bit snippy there. Busy day, meetings, lots to get through. I hope Rosemary will also understand where I was coming from.”
I potter off to do stuff and the conversation went on without me!
Sacha…I get that it irks that PB seems to be expecting her desired outcome from perhaps the wrong legislation … and your comments around 1.22 pm onwards (I’ve lost the numbery things on my screen) gave me much pause for thought while I was getting on with stuff I needed to do.
Do you agree that there needs to be more transparency from central and local government?
Many of us don’t trust those elected to govern because of sometimes appalling lack of transparency to the point that when we are given information by Our Rulers…we question their motives. That is how deep this distrust goes.
So changing it is really important…and the situation has got so bad, to the detriment of so many, that this change needs come faster than an electoral cycle.
That’s why I’m going to be challenging Clare Curran…she claimed to be keen on greater transparency.
Trust is the right word. I want to see more genuine public engagement – beyond just transparency – from all public agencies. Digital platforms can help do that but it requires way more than technology.
Very hard thing to achieve and certainly not helped by amateur theatrics. If I did not care about the overall kaupapa, the destructive behaviour would not annoy me so much.
can’t see how it’s much different from you hassling PR repeatedly tbh (and not backing it up) 😉
I’ve seen Sacha tackle this with Penny many times, where he makes clear and pertinent points and quotes the relevant legislation. He’s not lazy and his having run out of patience makes sense given her inability to deal with the actual points Sacha raises.
I think he’s talking about the time you tried to make a thread about something else a discussion about Muslims. You got a long ban for it. I’m sure you remember.
I get banned so often its hard to keep track 😉 but seriously I try not to post anything racist but i guess there are certain subjects that can lead to…misunderstandings
I say it is excellent having a new person with a positive view on environmentally friendly issues on Breakfast show on TVNZ ONE Hayley Holts Ka pai .
Good morning to Jack and the rest of the crew on Breakfast I know this new show will be exciting educational and fair can not watch for to long got to go to work.
All the best from Eco Maori .Ka kite ano
Simon Black makes a good point regarding the US govt shutdown
“There’s been all sorts of fear surrounding the possibility of a shutdown. And now that it’s here, it turns out there’s not really much of a major impact.
There’s still food on the shelves and gas at the pumps. The economy is still functioning.
There are simply fewer people to slow it all down.
And let’s be honest– it’s not a complete government shutdown. Any function deemed ‘essential’ is still at work, including the military, federal courts, air traffic control, etc.
Social Security recipients will keep receiving their benefits too.
But any government function deemed ‘nonessential’ has been shut down… which raises an interesting question:
Why does the government do anything that’s non-essential to begin with?”
Definitions of ‘essential’ and ‘non-essential’ usually contain the notion of time.
Is it essential I pay my power bill today? No. Is it essential that I pay it before the power company cuts me off in a few weeks? Yes. With public infrastructure the timeframes are much longer but the work is still important.
I don’t think we should allow semantic wooliness around the meaning of ‘essential’ to be used as a weapon by loony advocates of small government.
The US system is pretty rigid and inflexible. Had this situation occurred in a Westminster style system, the government would have resigned, dissolved parliament and gone to the country for a fresh mandate.
Stony silence from Jim Mora as Penny Ashton rebuked Paula Bennett yesterday; he’s possibly in for a bollocking from Richard Griffin for failing to shut her down. The Panel, RNZ National, Monday 22 January 2018
Jim Mora, Penny Ashton, Bernard Hickey, Caitlin Cherry
This little discussion was just before the end of the show. It was pretty uneventful, until Penny Ashton made a comment about the hypocrisy of Paula Bennett. Either accidentally or on purpose, music swelled up as she delivered her rebuke….
Weighing up gastric bypass
Former deputy Prime Minister Paula Bennett has revealed she’s had gastric bypass surgery. She’s now recovering well but the news has ignited the conversation about how effective the surgery is for those strugglign with thier weight and whether it should be publicly funded. We ask the panelists what they think and Bernard Hickey tells us his experience with the operation. https://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/thepanel/audio/2018629006/weighing-up-gastric-bypass
JIM MORA: Uh, Paula Bennett has, ahhh, revived the conversation about gastric bypass surgery. “Haters can hate,” she says of her decision to have the surgery, and she says on Facebook that she is now “at the beginning of what I plan to be a much healthier, active life. After years of weight gain and loss, I can see a clear path ahead.” And, uh, gastric bypass or bariatric surgery, uh, we’ve probably heard most of us about the success stories and possibly the lack of success stories too. The Ministry of Health tells us there were four hundred and eighty ni-i-i-i-ine publicly funded bariatric surgical procedures in the 2016-17 financial year, the largest number so far. Paula Bennett’s surgery though was private. And a lot of people have had it now, and they include Bernard Hickey.
BERNARD HICKEY: Yes that’s right. Nine years ago I paid for it. It’s had an amazing effect, and I’m sure will keep me alive for quite a bit longer and keep me away from the public hospital system.
PENNY ASHTON: Exactly.
BERNARD HICKEY: The great irony here is that we’re happy to fork out 20, 30, 40 K for a hip replacement to obviously improve the quality of someone’s life, and fair enough too. But you could easily pay the 20 to 30 K for bariatric surgery and save yourselves hundreds of thousands of dollars, and the various treatments for diabetes and heart disease and all sorts of other things that happen to people who are overweight. And it strikes me that this is a simple case of a cost benefit analysis that hasn’t been done, to work out that we would be better off if we did pay for more publicly funded weight loss surgery.
MORA: What are the pitfalls? I know you can drink the calories, and your tummy can expand again, and many of us probably know a person or two for whom it didn’t work. And you’ve just outlined the benefits. How often do you reckon it does work, from your experience?
BERNARD HICKEY: Ah, well—
MORA: Most of the time?
BERNARD HICKEY: yeah I’d have to look at the stats, I haven’t—
MORA: The stats are hard to come by and there’s some dispute as you can imagine.
BERNARD HICKEY: Yeah. I mean, I know from personal experience and from some of the people around me that it has worked. You’re right, there have been a few that it hasn’t, and it’s no substitute for, you know, eating and drinking less and doing more exercise. But the immediate effects, and certainly around diabetes reduction, and the stats from overseas where there is better data, shows that it certainly reduces the amount of really expensive hospital care that people need in later life. Not to mention the lost production and all the other things—- MORA: Yeah.
BERNARD HICKEY: —-that you get when you’re overweight and—
MORA: And yet it would seem every time this subject comes up, Bernard, that it certainly does have its haters, people who think if you hadn’t eaten so much you wouldn’t need the surgery. And this point of view resurfaces every time.
BERNARD HICKEY: Yeah, it’s similar in a way to the debate that we have about drugs and whether it’s a medical issue or whether it’s some sort of moral issue. It’s clear, all the research shows that diets don’t work for people who are overweight. We live in an obesogenic environment. Every billboard, every shop that you walk into is trying to sell you sugar, not to mention lots of other things as well. And we’ve created a culture which is about making people overweight. So we shouldn’t be too surprised when some people become overweight. And if you’re gonna have an across the board attack on this sort of high, ahhh, high weight problems for people, because it’s not just a few people, it’s a lot of people, then you should be doing lots of things, and weight loss surgery of course—it’s a bit like the ambulance at the bottom of the cliff but along with other things it’s something that you do to attack this problem.
PENNY ASHTON: Well it feels like it’s also a little bit at the TOP, because then you’re stopping the diabetes and the heart disease and stuff, so maybe it’s the ambulance halfway down.
BERNARD HICKEY: Hmmmmm.
MORA: It’s interesting, as you say, you have to think that people may conveniently forget whatever bad habits they may have that will, you know, require public medical funding down the road. There are a LOT of things that people do that are going to require that, but there is some extra judgmental process applied to bariatric surgery.
PENNY ASHTON: Yeah. And I’d just like to say that I think, you know, Paula Bennett is brave coming out and saying this and talking about it, and I think that’s fantastic. Obviously I’m a very staunch Labour supporter but, you know, anybody that’s fat-shaming her over this and making jokes about it is terrible. Um, she did say, however, she made this comment: “People treat you differently when you’re overweight and when you’re seriously overweight from when you’re not. People have this perception of people who are overweight, that it’s all in their own hands, and they’re just greedy people and they can’t control how they eat.” My husband made a little alteration to it and put it on Facebook, that said: “People, I think people have this perception of people who are POOR, — [orchestral music swells up from this point]—- and that it’s all in their own hands and that they’re just lazy people and they can’t control how they spend.” So I’m just putting that out there for a little alternative to her thing on her Ministry portfolio.
MORA: How many rescues do you think you’re entitled to on the public purse, d’you think? One time tattoos removal, drug rehab. one time, gastric bypass. This is the other interesting question, isn’t it.
BERNARD HICKEY: Yeah. I, I, ummmm, you certainly wouldn’t want more than one gastric bypass.
PENNY ASHTON: No. I think we don’t live in America and we have good public health funding, which is good.
As you well know, that is how they end every edition of that show – it is just a signal from the producer to wrap up.
But this was not the segment that ended the show. The segment that ended the show was the one about bus shelters in Dunedin. I thought there was something odd about this when I was transcribing it. I was pretty sure that there was no music swelling up as Penny Ashton spoke when I heard it live. Curiously, on the archived link, music appears, even though it was not there originally. I checked on other links from the same episode—such as the Mahia rocket segment—but there is no music at the end of them. But, for some reason, music has been superimposed on Penny Ashton’s voice after the live recording.
No tinfoil, sorry.
What is the point of that crack? Are you trying to be funny, or are you suggesting something serious?
The issue i have with this is Penny is basically ignoring the issue (gastric bypass for health) and just using it as an excuse to bring up something else (poor people bashing)
People have enough of a moral high horse when it comes to this, the old “you’re fat because you’re lazy” thing or it gives people an excuse to sanctimoniously give “advice”, just eat this and do that and you’ll lose weight kind of thing but really they don’t about the issue or person just that they get to spew out their brand bulls**t
Personally I think gastric bypasses should be funded because it will save pain, money and productivity over the long term
I don’t have a problem with it being publicly funded as it will save millions down the line. What I find strange is that she will lead ‘a much healthier, active life’ AFTER the surgery.
This is like people who go into Christmas planning on dieting in the new year… and then don’t.
There is plenty she can be doing now, instead of waiting for the surgery hoping it will solve the problem for her.
Just know through observing others that later usually means never.
You do realise that you don’t just rock up to hospital and they stick the knife in? There is quite a bit of preparing for an operation like this and the mental side is just as important as the physical.
Through my observations via the news media of Bennett over the years, her flippancy won’t get her through this.
Mora puts out an outside shell of the concerned and erudite liberal.
But he’s not.
He is a superficial shill for the right wing.
A grasping and greedy individual who hides the facts he has no principles, courage and integrity behind his jolly Jim persona.
He never seems erudite to me, in spite of the considerable efforts he makes to use big, obscure, latinate words whenever possible. He constantly misuses the word “alluded”, and his reading seems to consist almost entirely of the New York Times (he’s often quoted the vicious right wing columnist David Brooks) and the Daily Telegraph.
Like everyone else, he knows his show is largely trivial, even insultingly so, as we can see by his constant, pathetic assurances that the inconsequential research of the day “comes from a reputable university.”
Only 56 percent of the delegates in the former German capital opted for formal coalition talks with the conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and its Bavarian sister party, the Christian Social Union (CSU). The SPD isn’t exactly euphoric about the prospect of a new coalition government.
The Social Democrat Leader is going to have to take the proposal back to his membership. That will not be pretty. It is hard to see the Social Democrat leader surviving this.
However the alternative is that the coalition talks fail, Germany has a fresh election, the far right rises in power even more, and Merkel has to do a deal similar to that in Austria with the far right.
After that the EU as the final remaining node of any consistent form of idealism in global politics will be under real threat.
So, a fair amount riding on this coalition negotiation in Germany.
I see they read the 101 Guide on how to destroy your ostensibly centre-left political party and have your vote split amongst a strongly left-wing party and a libertarian party. I think that guide was written by Francois Hollande…
The SPD are suckers. They should have told Merkel to get lost and forced another election. AfD has peaked, and their vote would collapse, like FN and UKIP. The rise of Europe’s far right is an illusion. Now they are going to be stuck in what is essentially a right wing government for 4 years.
will this be a case of the Attorney General, on behalf of etc; etc; etc; etc; etc; etc, having chosen to do the crime, now requiring the rest of NZ to have to do the time.
yes andrew murray I believe this will be a case where AG does the crime and we pick up the bill.
however Dotcom has suggested, https://twitter.com/KimDotcom/status/954783482730856448
that a significant portion of that money (when he is finally successful!) will be recycled to address homelessness and suicide.
Such touching concern! Any concern for the live ones in the detention centres for which you imply your support?
And if live boat people were to reach NZ, you would be joyously blaming Jacinda, wouldn’t you? Hence your touching concern?
Don’t play innocent, James. You implied support for Australia’s hard stance, and you know well that Jacinda has been criticised by some already for ‘undermining’ that stance. But now is not a good time to be called out about it, so…
Thanks for clearing the murky air. But I wouldn’t rush to heed the opinion of the Tory Telegraph.. Just remember that some of the boat people who did not die are having a grim time in the detention centre… You don’t want them to die, but you have no concern about how they live. Shallow much?
What the Aussie approach ignores is that people are prepared to risk their lives to escape where they are.
The Aussies are still intercepting boats. Which means people are still dying.
They’re just taking different routes so that the results are swept under the australian carpet – It’s easier to hide a boatload of cheap labour in Sydney than it is in Auckland, whatever the asylum seekers say or were told.
Nobody is sailing to NZ. I’ll believe otherwise when they run aground on Cape Reinga.
What the Aussie approach ignores is that people are prepared to risk their lives to escape where they are.
I’d be more impressed if they’d be willing to risk their lives to change their own country to be a place that they’d like to live rather than simply abandoning it and expecting others to pick the bill for their selfishness.
70,000 per year won’t take long to have 1 million immigrate and we still don’t know what the carrying capacity for NZ is.
That’s reality.
When Climate Change really hits and the equator becomes uninhabitable where do you think all those hundreds of millions are going to go? Most will go north, some will come south and some of those will come to NZ. A small amount of a huge number is still more than we can cope with.
No. It’s you pulling dramatic statements out of your arse again.
If it becomes necessary to put a hard cap on immigration controls, the 15 year timeframe you’re talking about is more than enough time to do so well before we reach the mythic million.
The reality is that our major immigration problem consists of the Thiels, KDCs etc of the world – rich people buying up NZ with extreme political and property-rights views, and the money to throw at our representatives.
We all might end up in the bilges of lifeboatNZ, while they have vineyards and estates.
The only way to address people trying to illegally immigrate to another country is to address the problems in the country that they’re trying to leave.
Thing is, we can’t actually do that. Only the people of that country can which includes those trying to leave.
We have to take care of those already here (which we’re really doing very well at) and we really can’t afford to take people in arbitrarily.
Those terrible ‘boat people’ ……… formally known as refugees.
I was watching a relatively low grade documentary the other day ….. regarding rich Chinese immigrants into Canada …. and I say low grade because it seemed to be focusing on race and culture instead of money and legalized corruption.
But it did quote one thing that made my ears prick up ……the gist of it being ….,
That the average refugee paid more in tax to the Canadian government …. than rich corrupt Chinese immigrants do …. which makes sense given the corrupts use of tax havens, shell companies etc,….
The rich corrupt immigrants also speculate on property …. pushing honest working citizens out of the market.
Sounds like the last 9 years in New Zealand …………..
We should cut immigrants and raise our refugee quota.
Oh gawd. If today had been being a struggle Ad, that would have killed the last vestiges of hope I had in me and sent me shuffling off to the darkness and silence beneath several layers of duvets.
Who’s compromising? from your link:
“Ardern refused to put a time frame on when the fair pay legislation would be introduced but Lees-Galloway has previously put a 12 month time frame on consultation.”
So simply repeating what’s already been said because people are twitchy again results in tories pretending there’s been a change in plan.
You guys really need to read better. Try linking to something that doesn’t contradict your lie, for example.
“We long flagged that was something we needed to spend extra time working alongside our union and business communities, so we are putting that on a longer track.”
Sure sounds like taking a deep breath and not rushing don’t you think
“Longer” is a comparison. Longer track than what? Oh, a longer track than “Legislation to introduce fairness in the work place will be finalised Thursday and introduced before the end of Labour’s first 100 days, on February 2”.
Maybe you can read, but just don’t understand calendars? The 12 months previously mentioned by Lees-Galloway is longer than 100 days.
Come on, at least try to make exposing your lies a challenge.
It was all supposed to happen by Feb 2, the first 100 days but instead its been pushed back due to a drop in business confidence so its fair to assume that had there not been a drop it would have happened sooner
Legislation to introduce fairness in the work place will be finalised Thursday and introduced before the end of Labour’s first 100 days, on February 2.
A cabinet committee is expected to sign it off this week, and it will include reversing the previous National Government’s unpopular rest and meal break legislation, and make changes to the 90 day “right to fire” provisions by providing a resolution service for workers and employers.
Ardern said the changes had been well flagged by Labour on the campaign trail and should come as no surprise to anyone.
But as the drop in business confidence threatens another “winter of discontent” she signalled Labour would move more slowly on one of the more contentious aspects of its industrial relations policy, industry wide fair pay agreements.
Uncertainty over their effect on business has contributed to business unease.
In an overture to business, Ardern said Labour acknowledged the need for a collaborative approach on the legislation.
“We long flagged that was something we needed to spend extra time working alongside our union and business communities, so we are putting that on a longer track.”
Labour never included the industry-wide fair pay agreements in part of their hundred days package.
When they announced the I-WFPAs in August “”We would give ourselves 12 months to sit down with business and unions to look at how the process of bargaining for an FPA would be initiated,”.
When they announced the new governments 100 day plan, I-WFPAs weren’t on it.
Your claim that I-WFPAs were “all supposed to happen by Feb 2, the first 100 days but instead its been pushed back due to a drop in business confidence” is an outright lie.
they’ve done a full schedule of the first hundred days programme, and there’s nothing to indicate that they decided to bring forward the IWFPAs by nine months. Everything about the FPAs was scheduled to take a year, because it’s more complex than the minwage increase or what have you.
Business confidence has nothing to do with the govt schedule, as far as anything you’ve offered indicates – although the recent drop in BC is a good sign the government is on track. Must be a shock, having a government actually follow through on its election pledges.
Not only that… Business confidence?? Why would Labour take any notice at all? Most Business bosses vote National, so they would say their delicate confidence has been shattered, wouldn’t they? Might as well poll the old Business Round Table about whether they are happy to have a Labour Govt.
Pockish R – Business Confidence has about as much credibility as Root Canal Appetite.
Better not comprimise too much. You cannot eliminate child poverty with WINZ payments alone (or, aspiration for that matter). You need good Union Jobs with a living wage and good benefits.
While there is much to be said for a positive outlook on life, this can actually mutate into nothing more than the most perverse joke (or taunt actually, to be honest) to those who find themselves in circumstances that are totally unavoidable more often than not, and who are then often angrily berated by those who consider themselves somehow “better” that it’s essentially their own fault.
Oh God…. how very, very true.
And then there’s the types who think everyone should tootle around the place with massive smiles on their faces from morning to night. Hello everyone, I’ve just broken a leg and an arm, my partner’s walked out on me, the bank’s taken my home and I’ve just lost my job but hey… I’m so happy, happy happy.
Yeah I know, some people are natural smilers – our new PM is one of them but – well. read the article.
I see we have a Hosking/Hawkesby Household double act now in the Herald. Mike and Kate can address an issue from two angles (but not opposing). Just imagine the dinner table conversations now. Will there be competition for “likes/dislikes”? How long before there is a Kate’s minute on the Herald website.
And Hosking on Te Reo.
Good old Mike, world famous in NZ. Just like the language he dismisses.
Try telling the Welsh, Irish, Scotts, Flemish, Afrikaners, et al that their language is of no commericial advantage.
Hosking/Hawkesby double act? Like the two flush buttons on the top of the toilet.
(Te Reo is of commercial advantage in New Zealand. And I’d imagine a Chinese businessperson coming to New Zealand wanting to do big business would find it advantageous too.)
Hes really funny, his timing is excellent, he has a wide range of facial expressions that add to the humour, his laugh is also amusing, good rapport with everyone else on 8 out of 10 cats does countdown, his hosting of big, fat quiz of the year is really good, never heckle him
Hes basically a funny guy that is very well known for a type of humour
He is fascinating. Lots of people are fascinating. Doesn’t mean you’d marry them, trust them to look after your kids (or marry them), or be your doctor.
I wonder how many people that thought that ‘Glittertits” was asking for it, or was attention seeking and shouldn’t be given the media space will complain about Carr being offensive.
Glittertits-gate happens, people talk about how she was asking for it, dressing for attention, too many people getting upset, she should be charged for assault as well, PC gone mad, dress appropriately, guy was drunk…. all excuses which say the drunk guy can do what he wants and people getting upset are wrong, and if she didn’t want people grabbing your tits, then don’t leave them hanging out. I.e. don’t expect a leopord to change his spots
Jimmy Carr, a professional comedian whose whole thing is saying horribly offensive things, says a horribly offensive thing and people jump to saying he shouldn’t do that and get offended by it…
See the connection? Esp. the type of people that would have complained about the girl and about the comedian….
“Esp. the type of people that would have complained about the girl and about the comedian”
I really don’t think that there are very many people who combine those two traits.
I think that it is the same people who approve of the assault on that woman who seem to like the sort of “humour” that Carr offers.
Take someone like Trump. He gets his kicks out or putting up Twitter rants that abuse and insult people who are in no position to respond. Rather like Carr isn’t it?
He also has a long history of sexual assaults on woman.
He certainly isn’t the sort of person you are trying to personify is he?
I think that the sort of people you mention who talk about her “asking for it” probably also like the abusive humour that Carr offers.
Not if it is aimed at them of course. It is only if other people cop it. In just the same way they may approve of the assault taking place, as long as it isn’t them who catches it.
I can’t be sure of course. I don’t know anyone who did take the view about the body-painted woman you talk about. Do you actually know, either personally or by the comments they may have made on line, anyone who really does show the same pair of characteristics you propose or is it just a supposition?
“”Throughout this time, he was a tireless but potent advocate for the children of Northland and beyond, especially those who were less fortunate, either socially or because of their disability or health needs.”
Spencer Beasley recalls a trip with him through the northern reaches of Northland.
“He pointed out a rural school which was to be closed because the academic performance of its students was so extraordinarily poor.
“He visited it and determined its students were severely malnourished. He negotiated a reprieve, organised for milk and fresh produce to be delivered each day, and watched the consequent improvement in their learning. The school stayed open.””
Hi Rosemary, did you know Dr Beasley at some point? It was good to see that link, a story I’d have otherwise missed. I crossed paths with him many, many years ago, too young to remember the exact circumstances but I certainly remember the name. About to contact a relative who can fill in the details.
Gerry Brownlee today.””Her insistence that Australia allow New Zealand to handpick 150 asylum seekers who meet UN refugee status, while Australia handles the rest, on top of the message this sends to human traffickers and those desperate to attempt to reach Australia, shows a disregard to the complexity of the problem.”
in 2016 though we had this. “New Zealand would take 150 refugees each year from Australian detention centres each year if asked to, Prime Minister John Key says.
Brownlee is full of hypocrisy?
Get rid of six of those letters and replace them with a t and you have a more economical way of accurately saying the same thing.
Hypocrisy is a distinct form of two-faced, lying, knowingly dishonest behaviour. It has overtones of the hypocrite thinking he can get away with it, and the smugness of that, and it also belittles the audience listening to the hypocrite because he thinks he is too smart for them with his deception.
Ponyboy’s government would’ve looked the other way and whistled while Austrylya casually slipped a company directorship or two into their hip pocket, and called that vetting.
Arabs allied with Western European countries to rid themselves of their Ottoman oppressors and 100 years later, Erdogan goes full Ottoman.
An Ottoman-style military band performed in the border province of Hatay as a show of support for troops taking part in Turkey’s Olive Branch Operation in Syria’s Afrin on Jan. 22.
The sandflies are destroying my Lawn mowing client base .They impose there presence on everyone of my clients this is a fact I will carry on mowing till the last client leaves they are ignorant _______holes this is more money they are going to have to fork out when I SUE them PS I have a back up plan for self employment I will reveal this soon this is the only dum move they can win on how . .This is how pathetic the sandflys are attacking my employment Kia kaha
I have been on this site before in the past month, warning people about the oncoming crash.
It seems I am not alone. The IMF are also painting a dim view of the near future.
A global recession “may be closer than we think” and the biggest risk to the world economy is complacency, the International Monetary Fund has warned at Davos.
The Chief Economist at the International Monetary Fund agrees with me.
Maurice Obstfeld, of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), said developed economies should brace themselves for an era of lower growth, with long-term prospects of around 1.5 per cent a year.
On the eve of the World Economic Forum, Obstfeld urged politicians and regulators to take action to prepare for another crash
“The next recession may be closer than we think, and the ammunition with which to combat it is much more limited than a decade ago, notably because public debts are so much higher.”
The Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund agrees with me.
Christine Lagarde, the IMF’s managing director, also pointed to a “troubling” increase in debt levels across many countries and warned policymakers against complacency, saying now was the time to address structural deficiencies in their economies.
Interesting take on cryptocurrency and its impact on budget pc gaming. Cheap computers full stop, with the price of ram going through the roof. 10 min video.
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Cancelling urgently needed new Cook Strait ferries and hiking the cost of public transport for many Kiwis so that National can announce the prospect of another tunnel for Wellington is not making good choices, Labour Transport Spokesperson Tangi Utikere said. ...
A laundry list of additional costs for Tāmaki Makarau Auckland shows the Minister for the city is not delivering for the people who live there, says Labour Auckland Issues spokesperson Shanan Halbert. ...
Te Pāti Māori co-leader Rawiri Waititi, and Mema Paremata mō Tāmaki-Makaurau, Takutai Tarsh Kemp, will travel to the Gold Coast to strengthen ties with Māori in Australia next week (15-21 April). The visit, in the lead-up to the 9th Australian National Kapa haka Festival, will be an opportunity for both ...
The Green Party has today launched a step-by-step guide to help New Zealanders make their voice heard on the Government’s democracy dodging and anti-environment fast track legislation. ...
The National Government’s proposed changes to the Residential Tenancies Act will mean tenants can be turfed from their homes by landlords with little notice, Labour housing spokesperson Kieran McAnulty said. ...
Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson is calling on all parties to support a common-sense change that’s great for the planet and great for consumers after her member’s bill was drawn from the ballot today. ...
A significant milestone has been reached in the fight to strike an anti-Pasifika and unfair law from the country’s books after Teanau Tuiono’s members’ bill passed its first reading. ...
New Zealand has today missed the opportunity to uphold the right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment, says James Shaw after his member’s bill was voted down in its first reading. ...
Hon Paula Bennett has been appointed as member and chair of the Pharmac board, Associate Health Minister David Seymour announced today. "Pharmac is a critical part of New Zealand's health system and plays a significant role in ensuring that Kiwis have the best possible access to medicines,” says Mr Seymour. ...
Hundreds of New Zealand families affected by Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) will benefit from a new Government focus on prevention and treatment, says Health Minister Dr Shane Reti. “We know FASD is a leading cause of preventable intellectual and neurodevelopmental disability in New Zealand,” Dr Reti says. “Every day, ...
Regional Development Minister Shane Jones today attended the official opening of Kaikohe’s new $14.7 million sports complex. “The completion of the Kaikohe Multi Sports Complex is a fantastic achievement for the Far North,” Mr Jones says. “This facility not only fulfils a long-held dream for local athletes, but also creates ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters’ engagements in Türkiye this week underlined the importance of diplomacy to meet growing global challenges. “Returning to the Gallipoli Peninsula to represent New Zealand at Anzac commemorations was a sombre reminder of the critical importance of diplomacy for de-escalating conflicts and easing tensions,” Mr Peters ...
Ambassador Millar, Burgemeester, Vandepitte, Excellencies, military representatives, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen – good morning and welcome to this sacred Anzac Day dawn service. It is an honour to be here on behalf of the Government and people of New Zealand at Buttes New British Cemetery, Polygon Wood – a deeply ...
Distinguished guests - It is an honour to return once again to this site which, as the resting place for so many of our war-dead, has become a sacred place for generations of New Zealanders. Our presence here and at the other special spaces of Gallipoli is made ...
Mai ia tawhiti pamamao, te moana nui a Kiwa, kua tae whakaiti mai matou, ki to koutou papa whenua. No koutou te tapuwae, no matou te tapuwae, kua honoa pumautia. Ko nga toa kua hinga nei, o te Waipounamu, o te Ika a Maui, he okioki tahi me o ...
Paul Goldsmith will take on responsibility for the Media and Communications portfolio, while Louise Upston will pick up the Disability Issues portfolio, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon announced today. “Our Government is relentlessly focused on getting New Zealand back on track. As issues change in prominence, I plan to adjust Ministerial ...
Recreational catch limits will be reduced in areas of Fiordland and the Chatham Islands to help keep those fisheries healthy and sustainable, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. The lower recreational daily catch limits for a range of finfish and shellfish species caught in the Fiordland Marine Area and ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed an important milestone in New Zealand’s hydrogen future, with the opening of the country’s first network of hydrogen refuelling stations in Wiri. “I want to congratulate the team at Hiringa Energy and its partners K one W one (K1W1), Mitsui & Co New Zealand ...
The coalition Government is delivering on its commitment to improve resource management laws and give greater certainty to consent applicants, with a Bill to amend the Resource Management Act (RMA) expected to be introduced to Parliament next month. RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop has today outlined the first RMA Amendment ...
Overseas models for regulating the oil and gas sector, including their decommissioning regimes, are being carefully scrutinised as a potential template for New Zealand’s own sector, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. The Coalition Government is focused on rebuilding investor confidence in New Zealand’s energy sector as it looks to strengthen ...
Emergency Management and Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell has today released the Report of the Government Inquiry into the response to the North Island Severe Weather Events. “The report shows that New Zealand’s emergency management system is not fit-for-purpose and there are some significant gaps we need to address,” Mr Mitchell ...
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith is today travelling to Europe where he’ll update the United Nations Human Rights Council on the Government’s work to restore law and order. “Attending the Universal Periodic Review in Geneva provides us with an opportunity to present New Zealand’s human rights progress, priorities, and challenges, while ...
Associate Agriculture Minister, Mark Patterson, formally reopened the world’s largest wool processing facility today in Awatoto, Napier, following a $50 million rebuild and refurbishment project. “The reopening of this facility will significantly lift the economic opportunities available to New Zealand’s wool sector, which already accounts for 20 per cent of ...
Hon Andrew Bayly, Minister for Small Business and Manufacturing At the Southland Otago Regional Engineering Collective (SOREC) Summit, 18 April, Dunedin Ngā mihi nui, Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Ko Whanganui aho Good Afternoon and thank you for inviting me to open your summit today. I am delighted ...
The Government is delivering on its commitment to bring back the Three Strikes legislation, Associate Justice Minister Nicole McKee announced today. “Our Government is committed to restoring law and order and enforcing appropriate consequences on criminals. We are making it clear that repeat serious violent or sexual offending is not ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has today announced four new diplomatic appointments for New Zealand’s overseas missions. “Our diplomats have a vital role in maintaining and protecting New Zealand’s interests around the world,” Mr Peters says. “I am pleased to announce the appointment of these senior diplomats from the ...
New Zealand is contributing NZ$7 million to support communities affected by severe food insecurity and other urgent humanitarian needs in Ethiopia and Somalia, Foreign Minister Rt Hon Winston Peters announced today. “Over 21 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance across Ethiopia, with a further 6.9 million people ...
Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage Paul Goldsmith is congratulating Mataaho Collective for winning the Golden Lion for best participant in the main exhibition at the Venice Biennale. "Congratulations to the Mataaho Collective for winning one of the world's most prestigious art prizes at the Venice Biennale. “It is good ...
The Government is reforming financial services to improve access to home loans and other lending, and strengthen customer protections, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly and Housing Minister Chris Bishop announced today. “Our coalition Government is committed to rebuilding the economy and making life simpler by cutting red tape. We are ...
“China remains a strong commercial opportunity for Kiwi exporters as Chinese businesses and consumers continue to value our high-quality safe produce,” Trade and Agriculture Minister Todd McClay says. Mr McClay has returned to New Zealand following visits to Beijing, Harbin and Shanghai where he met ministers, governors and mayors and engaged in trade and agricultural events with the New ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has completed a successful trip to Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines, deepening relationships and capitalising on opportunities. Mr Luxon was accompanied by a business delegation and says the choice of countries represents the priority the New Zealand Government places on South East Asia, and our relationships in ...
New Zealand is demonstrating its commitment to reducing global greenhouse emissions, and supporting clean energy transition in South East Asia, through a contribution of NZ$41 million (US$25 million) in climate finance to the Asian Development Bank (ADB)-led Energy Transition Mechanism (ETM). Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Climate Change Minister Simon Watts announced ...
The Government is today releasing a list of organisations who received letters about the Fast-track applications process, says RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop. “Recently Ministers and agencies have received a series of OIA requests for a list of organisations to whom I wrote with information on applying to have a ...
Attorney-General Judith Collins today announced the appointment of Wellington Barrister David Jonathan Boldt as a Judge of the High Court, and the Honourable Justice Matthew Palmer as a Judge of the Court of Appeal. Justice Boldt graduated with an LLB from Victoria University of Wellington in 1990, and also holds ...
Education Minister Erica Stanford will lead the New Zealand delegation at the 2024 International Summit on the Teaching Profession (ISTP) held in Singapore. The delegation includes representatives from the Post Primary Teachers’ Association (PPTA) Te Wehengarua and the New Zealand Educational Institute (NZEI) Te Riu Roa. The summit is co-hosted ...
A stopbank upgrade project in Tairawhiti partly funded by the Government has increased flood resilience for around 7000ha of residential and horticultural land so far, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones today attended a dawn service in Gisborne to mark the end of the first stage of the ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters will represent the Government at Anzac Day commemorations on the Gallipoli Peninsula next week and engage with senior representatives of the Turkish government in Istanbul. “The Gallipoli campaign is a defining event in our history. It will be a privilege to share the occasion ...
Science, Innovation and Technology and Defence Minister Judith Collins will next week attend the OECD Science and Technology Ministerial conference in Paris and Anzac Day commemorations in Belgium. “Science, innovation and technology have a major role to play in rebuilding our economy and achieving better health, environmental and social outcomes ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon held a bilateral meeting today with the President of the Philippines, Ferdinand Marcos Jr. The Prime Minister was accompanied by MP Paulo Garcia, the first Filipino to be elected to a legislature outside the Philippines. During today’s meeting, Prime Minister Luxon and President Marcos Jr discussed opportunities to ...
The Government has announced that $20 million in funding will be made available to Westport to fund much needed flood protection around the town. This measure will significantly improve the resilience of the community, says Local Government Minister Simeon Brown. “The Westport community has already been allocated almost $3 million ...
The Government is proud to support the first ever Repco Supercars Championship event in Taupō as up to 70,000 motorsport fans attend the Taupō International Motorsport Park this weekend, says Economic Development Minister Melissa Lee. “Anticipation for the ITM Taupō Super400 is huge, with tickets and accommodation selling out weeks ...
Local Government Minister Simeon Brown has announced an increase to the Rates Rebate Scheme, putting money back into the pockets of low-income homeowners. “The coalition Government is committed to bringing down the cost of living for New Zealanders. That includes targeted support for those Kiwis who are doing things tough, such ...
The Coalition Government is investing in a project to boost survival rates of New Zealand mussels and grow the industry, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones has announced. “This project seeks to increase the resilience of our mussels and significantly boost the sector’s productivity,” Mr Jones says. “The project - ...
Benefit figures released today underscore the importance of the Government’s plan to rebuild the economy and have 50,000 fewer people on Jobseeker Support, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “Benefit numbers are still significantly higher than when National was last in government, when there was about 70,000 fewer ...
The Government’s commitment to doubling New Zealand’s renewable energy capacity is backed by new data showing that clean energy has helped the country reach its lowest annual gross emissions since 1999, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. New Zealand’s latest Greenhouse Gas Inventory (1990-2022) published today, shows gross emissions fell ...
The Government is bringing the earthquake-prone building review forward, with work to start immediately, and extending the deadline for remediations by four years, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “Our Government is focused on rebuilding the economy. A key part of our plan is to cut red tape that ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and his Thai counterpart, Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, have today agreed that New Zealand and the Kingdom of Thailand will upgrade the bilateral relationship to a Strategic Partnership by 2026. “New Zealand and Thailand have a lot to offer each other. We have a strong mutual desire to build ...
RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop and Transport Minister Simeon Brown have today announced the Coalition Government’s intention to extend port coastal permits for a further 20 years, providing port operators with certainty to continue their operations. “The introduction of the Resource Management Act in 1991 required ports to obtain coastal ...
Asia Pacific Report A score of Palestine solidarity protesters draped themselves in white shrouds with mock blood in a sombre “die-in” demonstration at Te Komitanga Square — the heart of Auckland, New Zealand’s largest city — today as speakers urged people to take a stronger boycott against Israeli products. The ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Tackling violence against women will be the sole agenda item for a national cabinet meeting Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has convened for Wednesday. The meeting, held remotely, follows thousands of Australians attending rallies across ...
The protest outside the White House correspondents’ dinner hotel. Image: Anatolu video screenshot APR More than two dozen Palestinian journalists had called for a boycott of the dinner, writing an open letter urging their American colleagues not to attend. “You have a unique responsibility to speak truth to power and ...
“Our exporters should, therefore, be deeply concerned that the Fast-track Approvals Bill was not assessed for consistency with any of our free trade commitments prior to being introduced to the House,” says Gary Taylor, Chief Executive of the Environmental ...
NZCTU President Richard Wagstaff is calling on all political parties to support the new Member’s Bill from Labour’s workplace relations and safety spokesperson Camilla Belich MP that would ensure negligent companies are held accountable when their employees ...
A historian with an uncanny track record of predicting US election winners tells RNZ's Sunday Morning that President Biden looks to be on track for another term, but things could still go very wrong for him. ...
A historian with a track record of predicting US election winners tells RNZ's Sunday Morning that President Biden looks to be on track for another term, but things could still go wrong for him. ...
Ngaio Marsh House is one of Christchurch’s best kept secrets – and contains more than a few mysteries of its own.Trust Ngaio Marsh to leave more than a few mysteries scattered through her house long after her departure. For a start, there’s the curious concrete portal in the garden, ...
Appointment viewing has been lost to the mists of time, but memories of Montana Sunday Theatre can still be conjured by hitting play on a particular piece of classical music. “You’re not going to be able to sell it.” Over 30 years on, Karen Bieleski still recalls how the task ...
Performance Review King Luxon sat behind His massive polished oak desk. It is Performance Review time. There is a knock on the door. “Enter!” says the King. In steps Minister of Disabilities and Carer Pedicures, Penny Simmonds. “I can explain everything …” she begins. “Fine,” says King Luxon, pressing the ...
The pair opened their first fully collaborative exhibition, Nina for Flowers, last Saturday. Gabi Lardies visited their studio to find out who Nina is and what working together was like.‘It didn’t start out like, ‘This is a show about Nina,’” says Josephine Jelicich, gripping a thermos of peppermint tea. ...
Thank you, Dr Maximilian Oskar Bircher-Benner, for your brilliant invention. I’m another mid-20s Kiwi who had an OE last year. I hopped on my bicycle where France meets the Atlantic and cycled east. I pedalled through the Loire Valley, down rivers lined with willows and ancient wisteria-draped chateaus. I relished ...
Asia Pacific Report From France to Australia, university pro-Palestine protests in the United States have now spread to several countries with students pitching on-campus camps. And students at Columbia and other US universities remain defiant as campuses have witnessed the biggest protests since the anti-Vietnam war and anti-apartheid eras in ...
Analysis by Dr Bryce Edwards, Democracy Project (https://democracyproject.nz)New Zealand Government’s Fast Track legislation. Many criticisms are being made of the Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill, including by this writer. But as with everything in politics, every story has two sides, and both deserve attention. It’s important to understand what the Government ...
Tara Ward talks to presenter Naomi Toilalo about the new TV show that turns food waste into a three course feast. Naomi Toilalo is standing in the warehouse at Good Neighbour Tauranga, helping unpack the two-and-a-half tonnes of rejected food that will arrive at the community support hub that day. ...
Scout is our latest Dog of the Month. This feature was offered as a reward during our What’s Eating Aotearoa PledgeMe campaign. Thank you to Scout’s human, Avril, for her support. Dog name: Scout (named after the little girl in To Kill a Mockingbird – she inherited the independent spirit ...
Megan Alatini takes us through her life in TV, including ‘terrible’ daytime TV, the class of Carol Hirschfeld and her most embarrassing TrueBliss moment. When she responded to a vague newspaper ad asking “do you have what it takes to be a popstar?” 25 years ago, Megan Alatini never guessed ...
A new exhibition in Wellington showcases the faces behind your local goods and services. Back in 1977, when I was a fine arts student at the University of Canterbury, I took a series of photographs of Christchurch shopkeepers. The photos were for a calendar – a project for my end ...
Toomaj and his resistance to tyranny through his songs have become an icon for the youth of Iran, so his sentence has hit the nation hard. Toomaj Salehi is not the first artist to pay the price for standing with the people. ...
My cousin Dylan and I spotted these big eels under the bridge that summer. We watched them lounging under the dark weed, facing into the flow of water, their mouths frozen open. Dylan and I couldn’t stop thinking about those eels. The night we went down to the creek, we ...
Newsroom, home of satire. My long-running weekly satirical series The Secret Diary has moved to Newsroom and will appear every Saturday, with Victor Billot’s wildly popular satirical Odes continuing to appear every Sunday. Diaries, Odes – while serious political columnists toil at meaningful opinions and stroke their chins to an ...
Tara Ward unravels the many nuanced layers of a cartoon about talking dogs.This is an excerpt from our weekly pop culture newsletter Rec Room. Sign up here. It’s not often an episode of a children’s cartoon has adults sobbing into their sleeves, but that’s exactly what happened this week when ...
Working as a doctor in developing countries to help communities achieve better health outcomes is nothing short of a life goal for Jessica Tater. The University of Otago medical student has her sights firmly set on joining the international humanitarian organisation Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) when she qualifies ...
There’s an island in the far reaches of Auckland’s territory, sitting off the tip of the Coromandel Peninsula, 30 minutes by air from the city or four hours on the slow boat. Aotea Great Barrier is off-grid, it has a population of fewer than a thousand people … and most ...
Asia Pacific Report An Australian author and advocate, Jim Aubrey, today led a national symbolic one minute’s silence to mark the “blood debt” owed to Papuan allies during the Second World War indigenous resistance against the invading Japanese forces. “A promise to most people is a promise,” Aubrey said in ...
Asia Pacific Report The Freedom Flotilla is ready to sail to Gaza, reports Kia Ora Gaza. All the required paperwork has been submitted to the port authority, and the cargo has been loaded and prepared for the humanitarian trip to the besieged enclave. However, organisers received word of an “administrative ...
Pacific Media Watch Palestine solidarity protesters today demonstrated at the Auckland headquarters of Television New Zealand, accusing the country’s major TV network of broadcasting “propaganda” backing Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza. About 50 protesters targeted the main entrance to the TVNZ building near Sky Tower and also picketed a side ...
Opinion by Lynley Hood. Forty years on from my 1985 Fulbright Grant, my disquiet over the war in Gaza evoked some troubling questions. The answer to my first question – What is the primary purpose of the Fulbright Programme? – was on the Fulbright NZ website. It says: US Senator, ...
The ministers responsible for green-lighting major projects need to be open about potential conflicts of interest, says Transparency International. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Anastasia Powell, Professor, Family and Sexual Violence, RMIT University It has been a particularly distressing start to the year. There is little that can ease the current grief of individuals, families and communities who have needlessly lost a loved one to men’s ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Gregory Moore, Senior Research Associate, School of Ecosystem and Forest Sciences, The University of Melbourne Lichen, the first described example of symbiosis.AdeJ Artventure/Shutterstock Once known only to those studying biology, the word symbiosis is now widely used. Symbiosis is the intimate ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kim Hemsley, Head, Childhood Dementia Research Group, Flinders Health and Medical Research Institute, College of Medicine and Public Health, Flinders University Olena Ivanova/Shutterstock “Childhood” and “dementia” are two words we wish we didn’t have to use together. But sadly, around 1,400 ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Whiteford, Professor, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University The government’s Economic Inclusion Advisory Committee has just published its second report. It was set up by Treasurer Jim Chalmers and Minister for Social Services Amanda Rishworth in 2022 to provide: ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Beaumont, Election Analyst (Psephologist) at The Conversation; and Honorary Associate, School of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of Melbourne The Queensland state election will be held in October. A YouGov poll for The Courier Mail, conducted April 9–17 from a sample ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Amin Naeni, PhD candidate at Alfred Deakin Institute for Citizenship and Globalisation, Deakin University There’s been much talk in recent months about what a possible second Donald Trump presidency in the United States could mean for Europe, Russia’s war in Ukraine, the ...
A brief round-up of submissions on the controversial proposed law. This is an excerpt from our weekly environmental newsletter Future Proof. Sign up here. Last week, submissions on the controversial Fast-track Approvals Bill closed just hours after the government released a list of stakeholder organisations who were sent letters advising how they could ...
A poem from Robin Peace’s new collection Detritus of Empire: feather / grass / rock. Cereal giving I see a woman’s hands, see her curious hands break a stalk as she walks through the tall prairie, the savannah, the steppe, wherever it was. See her idly bite the grass that ...
The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington.AUCKLAND1 Hemingway’s Goblet by Dermot Ross (Mary Egan Publishing, $38)A handsomely produced (debossed cover, lovely ...
The Commissioner's decision validates the longstanding efforts of the local community and ensures that Awataha Marae will be managed to serve the needs of the local community, particularly for hosting tangihanga. ...
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Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michael Ryan, Teaching Fellow in Economics, University of Waikato GettyImagesfatido/Getty Images There is an ongoing global debate over whether the high inflation seen in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic can be lowered without a recession. New Zealand is not ...
The ‘Wicked Game’ heartthrob is in his late 60s now. That didn’t stop him putting on a lively, goofy and very sparkly show. Apart from ‘Wicked Game’, which graces a sultry playlist of mine simply called 💋, my last sustained Chris Isaak listening session took place when I was about ...
Analysis - Two ministers were stripped of portfolios in a warning to Cabinet, drama broke out at the Waitangi Tribunal, and the gang patch ban bill ran into opposition. ...
Tara Ward makes an impassioned plea for some vital pop culture merch. In April 1999, I became obsessed with a new reality television show called Popstars. Every Tuesday night, five strangers transformed into music royalty before my very eyes as Joe, Keri, Carly, Erika and Megan were chosen to form ...
PNG Post-Courier In the early hours of ANZAC Day, aerial photographs captured an impressive gathering of Australians and Papua New Guineans at Isurava in the Northern (Oro) Province. The solemn dawn service yesterday was held at a site steeped in history, where some of the fiercest battles of World War ...
The PSA is shocked that Oranga Tamariki has used the cost cutting drive to downgrade its commitment to Te Ao Māori and remove many specialist Māori roles. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ian Kemish, Adjunct Professor, School of Historical and Philosophical Inquiry, The University of Queensland There can be no more powerful symbol of the relationship between Australia and Papua New Guinea than the prime ministers of these neighbouring countries walking together on the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sharon Robinson, Distinguished Professor and Deputy Director of ARC Securing Antarctica’s Environmental Future (SAEF), University of Wollongong, University of Wollongong Andrew Netherwood Over the last 25 years, the ozone hole which forming over Antarctica each spring has started to shrink. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Viktoria Kahui, Senior Lecturer in Environmental Economics, University of Otago Getty Images/Amy Toensing Biodiversity is declining at rates unprecedented in human history. This suggests the ways we currently use to manage our natural environment are failing. One emerging concept focuses on ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Timothy Colin Bednall, Associate Professor in Management, Swinburne University of Technology marvent/Shutterstock Finding the best person to fill a position can be tough, from drafting a job ad to producing a shortlist of top interview candidates. Employers typically consider information from ...
Wondering where to host your next BYO? Whether its a small gathering or a massive party, we’ve got some recommendations. I was first introduced to the concept of BYOs at Dunedin’s India Gardens, a legendary but sadly defunct establishment, which purveyed enormous quantities of mango chicken to Aotearoa’s drunkest future ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Julien Cooper, Honorary Lecturer, Department of History and Archaeology, Macquarie University Julien Cooper The hyper-arid desert of Eastern Sudan, the Atbai Desert, seems like an unlikely place to find evidence of ancient cattle herders. But in this dry environment, my new ...
The sector says it’s hopeful her replacement Paul Goldsmith will be able to throw it a lifeline, after six months with a minister deemed missing in action, writes Catherine McGregor in this excerpt from The Bulletin, The Spinoff’s morning news round-up. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign ...
The government can't just rely on axing public sector jobs and has to do more to cut spending, says the chief economist at a free market think tank. ...
In case it is a discussion topic again today, the Public Records Act says councils and other agencies have to *keep* records. It does not control them *making available* that information to the public.
Read for yourself the section often cited by a certain stubborn fool: http://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/2005/0040/latest/DLM345729.html
I like to do my homework Sacha, and when I was looking into this Penny Bright person one of the fairest articles I read was this…https://fmacskasy.wordpress.com/tag/penny-bright/
And there she was, being given a talking to and threatened with 24 hour trespass for a peaceful, quiet protest outside of parliament. Frank expressed surprise that such actions were not allowed…(news for you Frank…try simply handing out flyers!)
We’d moved our little act of sedition out onto the footpath three years earlier…Penny folded up her tent because she didn’t wan’t to jeopardize her chance of meeting with the Justice and Electoral Select Committee.
”
However, Ms Bright pointed out a number of areas where New Zealand lacked a domestic legislative framework for genuine transparency,
lobbying – there currently being no ‘Register of Lobbyists’, or ‘Code of Conduct for Lobbyists’,
and ‘State Capture’ – where vested interests gained influence at ‘policy’ level, prior to legislation being passed.
On the issue of civil servants and political figures leaving the public service and entering the private sector (eg; consultancy-work) – Ms Bright denounced the practice of the “revolving door”, and recommended a “quarantine period”.
A policy of ‘post-separation employment’ could deny sensitive information from being used for personal gain.
It was also pointed out that, at Local Government level, there was no mandatory requirement for a ‘Register of Interests’ for elected representatives (unlike central government MPs).”
I share Penny’s opinion on many issues to do with the way our elected representatives behave and how they spend our tax and rates dollars. I want to know who is up who and who is paying.
There is way too much dodgy shit going on ….
Perhaps. But she still has to pay her rates.
She is suffering the consequences for her actions and it’s deserved.
Pay your share penny.
Putting the specifics aside for a moment, this is what activism looks like: taking a strong and principled stand against a perceived wrong or injustice to raise awareness and to evoke a change.
Not paying (the) rates is taking such a stand …
James…have YOU ever made a stand on “principle” about anything?
“principle” definition
“noun
1.
a fundamental truth or proposition that serves as the foundation for a system of belief or behaviour or for a chain of reasoning.
“the basic principles of justice” ”
Or do you merely gumbeat from behind the safety of your keyboard?
I have principles – I pay my bills and money I owe on time.
If she had any she would do the same. There are many ways for her to protest without not paying her fair share.
Spoken like a true capitalist – the only principles that come to your mind involve money.
We will see where your principles are when she loses her house and how far you are willing to dip into your own pockets to help her out.
Talk is cheap.
So are you.
Why does she have to pay her rates, James…
Do tell…
Well for starters if she dosn’t they will sell her house from under her.
Being that it will be a forced sale – she will quite possibly get a lot lower price than if it wasnt.
and if you cannot work out any other reasons – like all the people who contribute and pay their rates – then there is no way to explain basic concepts.
Predictable reaponse from you,James…
But you’ve not answered the question…and I have no doubt that you’ve never made a principled stand which was against your own interest…
Do you pay your rates?
nothing huh?
“Do you pay your rates?”
He sounds like a renter
Ignore him.
Because currently she’s using all the services that the council provides and not contributing to them. Rates pay for parks, sewers, roads, community venues, etc. etc.
She’s a tax dodger.
No, she is NOT a tax dodger..
That’s a moronic response…
“No, she is NOT a tax dodger..
That’s a moronic response…”
So you think bludging off the rate payers is ok?
If i had my way she would be digging a hole in the back lawn when she wanted to have a dump.
Had a quick look at your comment history…it indicates a base level ‘thinker’…if that…
To your question…
I’m 100% in support of any human being who takes a stand on principal, on behalf of others, against the covered-up and fraudulant practices, entities such as AKL Council preside over…
Go dig a hole and take that dump you’re choking up on….bro!
Judith Collins and the Nact party support tax dodgers…… and its all done for the noble motive of Greed Naki man …
Do you see the difference with Penny ?.
Heres some more differences …
“In 2006, corporations held roughly $600 billion offshore. That sum would soon double, then triple.”
“The Herald reported last month that the 20 multinational companies most aggressive in shifting profits out of New Zealand paid virtually no tax,”
All New Zealanders not using tax havens are paying for the Real tax cheats .
What are your rates being spent on James?
Have you viewed the budgets lately, and seen how many contracts have been awarded without following due process and with no transparency?
If so, you may find Penny Bright’s actions both understandable and commendable.
no and I have no interest – I trust the council to work in the best interest of the city (despite him not being a mayor I voted for), and I do my part paying my rates – like almost everyone else.
Penny blight is a disgrace – and I am glad that the council are holding her to account.
” I trust the council to work in the best interest of the city “
It would be in the best interest of the city, for processes to be transparent.
You refer that your payment is willingly given, and that is fine. But you also include the assumption above, that allocation of payments is for those services that are required for a well-planned city and its communities.
But there has been a lack of transparency over many decisions, for example, the millions given to the V8 in Pukekohe, and even councillors are querying the existence of ATEED and the funding they receive.
Whenever I have attended a council consultation in Auckland, Penny Bright has been there, and her level of knowledge and questions are reasonable given the lack of information provided. That does not mean that it is comfortable for those questioned, and those who dismiss her do so to discredit her, not because her questions are not important or pertinent.
You seem to be definite on a lot of issues on which you have little knowledge. It may pay for you to read more, and comment less.
I don’t like what my Taxes are being spent on. I don’t believe there was transparency in the Coalition Agreement. I believe that the PM dishonestly withheld her pregnancy.
Do you think that I and others who agree should withhold my Income Tax as a fair protest?
(Interesting that you already know what your taxes will be spent on…)
“I don’t believe there was transparency in the Coalition Agreement. “
Same amount of transparency has been available for all coalition agreements. Why does this one bother you so?
“I believe that the PM dishonestly withheld her pregnancy.”
This sentence makes no sense at all.
Penny Bright has been advocating for transparency, and also IIRC the charging of GST on what is essentially a tax on property.
“Do you think that I and others who agree should withhold my Income Tax as a fair protest?”
Given your comment, I would guess that you would be unable to risk your liberty to make such protest. It is a personal choice, to decide what priorities and values you hold, and how much you are willing to risk to see the right outcomes. Kudos to you if you have such an issue.
Penny Bright does not advocate for an individual benefit, but for a systematic change. I admire her for her commitment, because I believe that she has over time shown consistency and integrity – and dogmatic faith in the right outcome being the desired result – rather than personal vindication.
In person, her arguments seem to be easier to absorb than her writings, but I just assume that her writing reflects the fact that many people don’t know even the basics on issues, and she takes them through a lot of detail to finally get to the point she is trying to make. Her level of knowledge is more apparent in question and answer sessions, but she does aggravate the representatives of council when they give a insubstantial and irrelevant reply to her queries.
I don’t know if I would have the same admiration for you – given your lack of detail provided – but many already do avoid taxes, and often they are the ones most able to pay them without hardship.
How do you feel about the current lack of prosecutions and asset taking to address those avoiders and evaders, who are not making any stand on issues – just want to have more cash available for their personal (or company) use?
“I believe that the PM dishonestly withheld her pregnancy”
LOL, from who?? Her partner?? It’s nobody elses fucking business you idiot.
How come you never applied “Pay your share” to the likes of John Key …. or the economic segregation laws his Nact government passed James ????.
“The numbers are staggering. More than $2 trillion in U.S.-based multinational profits currently sit in offshore accounts, representing, by credible estimates, in excess of $500 billion in unpaid taxes.”
“The crisis in multinational corporate tax avoidance is growing exponentially.”.
How come you are so strident in relation to Penny who is taking an anti-corruption stance …..?
But so silent in relation to the massive corruption that John key was fighting and legislating for ? .
You Smell like trolls bullshit to me …. James
you need to get your nose looked at.
and you are just making a ton of false equivalences because you cannot justify her actions.
She saw something she felt was unjust.
She refused to kowtow to a law in order to challenge that injustice.
She is facing the consequences of that refusal head on, rather than trying to evade them in some way. Challenge, yes, but not evade.
What part of that needs justification?
“She is facing the consequences of that refusal head on, rather than trying to evade them in some way.”
Indeed she is – and I admire her for that.
Truth is there are many other ways she could have protested rather than bludging off other rate payers – by not paying her rates.
If she has a legal point, she’s not bludging.
As it seems at the moment, she’ll pay anyway.
But at least we agree she’s staunch.
My nose is a fine James ….. it detects stinkers throwing around words and concepts like “fair share”quite well…..and as stinkers do not believe in ‘fairness’ I feel quite entitled to show real examples of Greedy people not paying their “fair share”.
Your the one who took that route to attack Pennys protest …. I’m judging you, not her.
Rich people skipping out of paying their fair share is done for Greed … and its what John Key described as “working creatively” …..
Heres the reporting at the time for a John Shewan art work ….. a strong depiction of bank robbery.
“TAX FACTOR
Five big banks face about $2.4 billion of disputed tax assessments for 22 structured finance transactions.
Who owes what:
Westpac: $961 million in tax and interest. High Court case lost, but expected to appeal.
Bank of New Zealand: $654m in tax and interest. High Court case lost, but will appeal.
ANZ and National: $562m in dispute, court case pending.
Commonwealth Bank of Australia/ASB Bank: $280m in dispute, case pending.
Note: The figures do not include possible penalties, which could range from 20 per cent to 100 per cent of the tax owed.”
+100 Rosemary McDonald If there is know transparency in government organizations local or central they are hiding deceit full practices stealing off the people or providing shoddy services getting kick backs from developers there many avenues for these people who are elected to serve in the best interest of the people and not line there own pockets or there associates / family this is the reason our waste and water services are inadequate . We are a wealth country with dum future planning for the esencial services we pay for .Look at all the complaints about common tourist crapping in inappropriate places, I say the councils should put portaloos in all these places Its a know brainer the commen people spend money in NZ to get with it NZ . A lot of these young people won;t all ways be poor lets look after them like we do for the wealthy .Ana to kai heres the link
https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/100771514/poo-and-loo-paper-littering-akaroa-anger-locals-who-demand-tougher-action-on-freedom-campers Ka kite ano
Ata marie eco maori. There should never be any reason/excuse to see “legally confidential and privileged” or “commercially sensitive” on any document pertaining to the expenditure of taxes, levies and rates or to do with any activity by statutory bodies.
Ever.
+111
As a democracy the people actually need to know so that they can make informed decisions.
Speaking of democracy… (*Tangentiality Alert*)
Of all the ironically named CCOs (Council-Controlled Organisations) which came with Rodney Hide’s supercity vanity project; the most sinister is, perhaps, Auckland Transport. Auckland ratepayers, those archetypal “sleepy hobbits” are financing a massive proliferation of CCTV cameras. No discussion, no accountability, not even any kind of cost/benefit analysis. Total surveillance anyone? So, Auckland Transport are now major Deep State players, and will be very much a partner with NZ Police in their new Facial Recognition project which I have mentioned previously.
https://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-18-01-2018/#comment-1437039
“No matter how paranoid you are, you’re not paranoid enough.” (Susanne Modeski: The X-Files)
The only way to get to that state of affairs is to lobby central govt for law changes – not to hound a local body who is following the law as it currently is.
Citizens are entitled to lodge official information requests or conduct court cases. We are *not* legally or democratically entitled to get line-by-line accounts or see every single contract entered into on our behalves.
There are grounds in the LGOIMA for evaluating what to release or withhold and councils must follow those. Councils cannot change the laws that govern their conduct.
Yet where has Ms Bright’s righteous indignation been directed to date? Be an activist by all means, just not a stupid one.
Democracy requires that sort of access.
There are different flavours of democracy. New Zealand’s does not involve direct citizen access to most decisions or to line-item accounting. ‘Consultation’ is not a vote. Mob rule is not part of the system.
By all means make a case, build a movement and get the govt to change our laws to what you believe we should have.
But only one which is actually democratic – participatory democracy.
And there we see your problem – you’ve bought the lies of the capitalists.
Democracy is not mob rule. It’s people making informed decisions. Something that our present system prevents to allow the few to rule.
Democracy is balancing the interests of all citizens – which does not mean majority rule. That tends to work best for (gasp) comfortable white folk.
Participatory democracy is not one thing. Compare Switzerland with NZ for example.
The moment a council invokes “commercial secrecy” we know we’re being lied to.
Unfortunately most elected local government are just that – comfortable middle aged retired folk. And then add on a slice or two of vested interest – and what do you have? A nice cosy cabal of white folk looking after number 1 and peeing in each others pockets.
Down the chain its no different.
I think that is what P B is really campaigning about – and if the LGOIMA does not allow for more open govt then it needs to be changed. ACC has recently had examples where administrators were found guilty of corrupt practice
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=11763594
And I know for a fact that that sort of behaviour of accepting box seats at the rugby etc by council staff – in all areas has been going on for years.
+100 Rosemary McDonald If there is know transparency in government organizations local or central they are hiding deceit full practices stealing off the people or providing shoddy services getting kick backs from developers there many avenues for these people who are elected to serve in the best interest of the people and not line there own pockets or there associates / family this is the reason our waste and water services are inadequate . We are a wealth country with dum future planning for the esencial services we pay for .Look at all the complaints about common tourist crapping in inappropriate places, I say the councils should put portaloos in all these places Its a know brainer the commen people spend money in NZ to get with it NZ . A lot of these young people won;t all ways be poor lets look after them like we do for the wealthy .Ana to kai heres the link
https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/100771514/poo-and-loo-paper-littering-akaroa-anger-locals-who-demand-tougher-action-on-freedom-campers Ka kite ano
Someone is stuffing with my computer at least we know the new government is transparent look at the treasury story the neo liberals would have covered that story up about getting the stats wrong on child poverty .Ka pai
My moko was born at 1145 am today baby girl curly hair and a Maori nose Ka pai . This is the reason Im pushing for Equality for Ladys Equality for all I say and a clean environment for all OUR mokos . We are only carers of Papatuanuku we live such a short life and are but a fraction of time its not on that the greedy should ruin it for the vast future of mother earth and all her living beings {This will change under my watch} .Ka kite ano
Blessings for your mokopuna
and +100 on what you say.
I have no problem with someone being an activist about organisational transparency – just with tactics like lying about what fundamental laws say and conducting arguments in bad faith.
The issue deserves better representation.
“…just with tactics like lying about what fundamental laws say and conducting arguments in bad faith.”
Help me out here Sacha…where can I find a link to where PB did this?
Many times, on here and elsewhere. Try searching for ‘public records act’ for a start, and lately anything to do with cycleways.
You know you did not answer Rosemary McDonald’s question, just bluster.
The go google it yourself argument is lazy at best – down right rude at worst.
Some of us have day jobs. And I meant searching on this site for ‘public records act’.
Here are a few to get you started:
https://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-19012017/#comment-1288975
https://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-10122015/#comment-1106972
https://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-14122016/#comment-1274870
Looking at that first link.
“How is a ‘public’ record ‘public’ Sacha – if it’s not readily accessible for public scrutiny?”
Does the Public Records Act cover the management of public records, rather than being a public record of documents? Seems like a fundamental misunderstanding of the title on Penny’s part.
The PRA stipulates keeping records properly so that they are accessible for other laws to decide *whether* to make them publicly available. The PRA itself does not make information available. That is not its job. Never has been.
The law simply does not say what Ms Bright says it means (look at the words for yourself) and her claim that council is breaking it is therefore false. When people have shown you so, many times in explicit detail, repeating such a claim becomes a deliberate lie.
I have no idea how she has persisted so long in her delusion about those different functions but it really does not help when media broadcasts her bogus claims and misleads the public. RNZ Checkpoint has just done it for the second day in a row. I am deeply unimpressed.
Sorry I was a bit snippy there. Busy day, meetings, lots to get through. I hope Rosemary will also understand where I was coming from.
“Sorry I was a bit snippy there. Busy day, meetings, lots to get through. I hope Rosemary will also understand where I was coming from.”
I potter off to do stuff and the conversation went on without me!
Sacha…I get that it irks that PB seems to be expecting her desired outcome from perhaps the wrong legislation … and your comments around 1.22 pm onwards (I’ve lost the numbery things on my screen) gave me much pause for thought while I was getting on with stuff I needed to do.
Do you agree that there needs to be more transparency from central and local government?
Many of us don’t trust those elected to govern because of sometimes appalling lack of transparency to the point that when we are given information by Our Rulers…we question their motives. That is how deep this distrust goes.
So changing it is really important…and the situation has got so bad, to the detriment of so many, that this change needs come faster than an electoral cycle.
That’s why I’m going to be challenging Clare Curran…she claimed to be keen on greater transparency.
I’t would be great to talk tactics….
Trust is the right word. I want to see more genuine public engagement – beyond just transparency – from all public agencies. Digital platforms can help do that but it requires way more than technology.
Very hard thing to achieve and certainly not helped by amateur theatrics. If I did not care about the overall kaupapa, the destructive behaviour would not annoy me so much.
can’t see how it’s much different from you hassling PR repeatedly tbh (and not backing it up) 😉
I’ve seen Sacha tackle this with Penny many times, where he makes clear and pertinent points and quotes the relevant legislation. He’s not lazy and his having run out of patience makes sense given her inability to deal with the actual points Sacha raises.
Funny thing is i’m now quite interested in what he thinks I wrote so I’m looking forward to a link being posted
I think he’s talking about the time you tried to make a thread about something else a discussion about Muslims. You got a long ban for it. I’m sure you remember.
I get banned so often its hard to keep track 😉 but seriously I try not to post anything racist but i guess there are certain subjects that can lead to…misunderstandings
And that in big long sentence is my problem with you right there Puckish Rogue, why can you lie so easy?
https://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-25012017/#comment-1291618
I say it is excellent having a new person with a positive view on environmentally friendly issues on Breakfast show on TVNZ ONE Hayley Holts Ka pai .
Good morning to Jack and the rest of the crew on Breakfast I know this new show will be exciting educational and fair can not watch for to long got to go to work.
All the best from Eco Maori .Ka kite ano
Simon Black makes a good point regarding the US govt shutdown
“There’s been all sorts of fear surrounding the possibility of a shutdown. And now that it’s here, it turns out there’s not really much of a major impact.
There’s still food on the shelves and gas at the pumps. The economy is still functioning.
There are simply fewer people to slow it all down.
And let’s be honest– it’s not a complete government shutdown. Any function deemed ‘essential’ is still at work, including the military, federal courts, air traffic control, etc.
Social Security recipients will keep receiving their benefits too.
But any government function deemed ‘nonessential’ has been shut down… which raises an interesting question:
Why does the government do anything that’s non-essential to begin with?”
It would depend whether you and they agree what is “essential”.
Definitions of ‘essential’ and ‘non-essential’ usually contain the notion of time.
Is it essential I pay my power bill today? No. Is it essential that I pay it before the power company cuts me off in a few weeks? Yes. With public infrastructure the timeframes are much longer but the work is still important.
I don’t think we should allow semantic wooliness around the meaning of ‘essential’ to be used as a weapon by loony advocates of small government.
The US system is pretty rigid and inflexible. Had this situation occurred in a Westminster style system, the government would have resigned, dissolved parliament and gone to the country for a fresh mandate.
Shock Doctrine mrk Trump ?
Stony silence from Jim Mora as Penny Ashton rebuked Paula Bennett yesterday; he’s possibly in for a bollocking from Richard Griffin for failing to shut her down.
The Panel, RNZ National, Monday 22 January 2018
Jim Mora, Penny Ashton, Bernard Hickey, Caitlin Cherry
This little discussion was just before the end of the show. It was pretty uneventful, until Penny Ashton made a comment about the hypocrisy of Paula Bennett. Either accidentally or on purpose, music swelled up as she delivered her rebuke….
JIM MORA: Uh, Paula Bennett has, ahhh, revived the conversation about gastric bypass surgery. “Haters can hate,” she says of her decision to have the surgery, and she says on Facebook that she is now “at the beginning of what I plan to be a much healthier, active life. After years of weight gain and loss, I can see a clear path ahead.” And, uh, gastric bypass or bariatric surgery, uh, we’ve probably heard most of us about the success stories and possibly the lack of success stories too. The Ministry of Health tells us there were four hundred and eighty ni-i-i-i-ine publicly funded bariatric surgical procedures in the 2016-17 financial year, the largest number so far. Paula Bennett’s surgery though was private. And a lot of people have had it now, and they include Bernard Hickey.
BERNARD HICKEY: Yes that’s right. Nine years ago I paid for it. It’s had an amazing effect, and I’m sure will keep me alive for quite a bit longer and keep me away from the public hospital system.
PENNY ASHTON: Exactly.
BERNARD HICKEY: The great irony here is that we’re happy to fork out 20, 30, 40 K for a hip replacement to obviously improve the quality of someone’s life, and fair enough too. But you could easily pay the 20 to 30 K for bariatric surgery and save yourselves hundreds of thousands of dollars, and the various treatments for diabetes and heart disease and all sorts of other things that happen to people who are overweight. And it strikes me that this is a simple case of a cost benefit analysis that hasn’t been done, to work out that we would be better off if we did pay for more publicly funded weight loss surgery.
MORA: What are the pitfalls? I know you can drink the calories, and your tummy can expand again, and many of us probably know a person or two for whom it didn’t work. And you’ve just outlined the benefits. How often do you reckon it does work, from your experience?
BERNARD HICKEY: Ah, well—
MORA: Most of the time?
BERNARD HICKEY: yeah I’d have to look at the stats, I haven’t—
MORA: The stats are hard to come by and there’s some dispute as you can imagine.
BERNARD HICKEY: Yeah. I mean, I know from personal experience and from some of the people around me that it has worked. You’re right, there have been a few that it hasn’t, and it’s no substitute for, you know, eating and drinking less and doing more exercise. But the immediate effects, and certainly around diabetes reduction, and the stats from overseas where there is better data, shows that it certainly reduces the amount of really expensive hospital care that people need in later life. Not to mention the lost production and all the other things—-
MORA: Yeah.
BERNARD HICKEY: —-that you get when you’re overweight and—
MORA: And yet it would seem every time this subject comes up, Bernard, that it certainly does have its haters, people who think if you hadn’t eaten so much you wouldn’t need the surgery. And this point of view resurfaces every time.
BERNARD HICKEY: Yeah, it’s similar in a way to the debate that we have about drugs and whether it’s a medical issue or whether it’s some sort of moral issue. It’s clear, all the research shows that diets don’t work for people who are overweight. We live in an obesogenic environment. Every billboard, every shop that you walk into is trying to sell you sugar, not to mention lots of other things as well. And we’ve created a culture which is about making people overweight. So we shouldn’t be too surprised when some people become overweight. And if you’re gonna have an across the board attack on this sort of high, ahhh, high weight problems for people, because it’s not just a few people, it’s a lot of people, then you should be doing lots of things, and weight loss surgery of course—it’s a bit like the ambulance at the bottom of the cliff but along with other things it’s something that you do to attack this problem.
PENNY ASHTON: Well it feels like it’s also a little bit at the TOP, because then you’re stopping the diabetes and the heart disease and stuff, so maybe it’s the ambulance halfway down.
BERNARD HICKEY: Hmmmmm.
MORA: It’s interesting, as you say, you have to think that people may conveniently forget whatever bad habits they may have that will, you know, require public medical funding down the road. There are a LOT of things that people do that are going to require that, but there is some extra judgmental process applied to bariatric surgery.
PENNY ASHTON: Yeah. And I’d just like to say that I think, you know, Paula Bennett is brave coming out and saying this and talking about it, and I think that’s fantastic. Obviously I’m a very staunch Labour supporter but, you know, anybody that’s fat-shaming her over this and making jokes about it is terrible. Um, she did say, however, she made this comment: “People treat you differently when you’re overweight and when you’re seriously overweight from when you’re not. People have this perception of people who are overweight, that it’s all in their own hands, and they’re just greedy people and they can’t control how they eat.” My husband made a little alteration to it and put it on Facebook, that said: “People, I think people have this perception of people who are POOR, — [orchestral music swells up from this point]—- and that it’s all in their own hands and that they’re just lazy people and they can’t control how they spend.” So I’m just putting that out there for a little alternative to her thing on her Ministry portfolio.
[Extended awkward silence. Penny Ashton snickers nervously.]
MORA: How many rescues do you think you’re entitled to on the public purse, d’you think? One time tattoos removal, drug rehab. one time, gastric bypass. This is the other interesting question, isn’t it.
BERNARD HICKEY: Yeah. I, I, ummmm, you certainly wouldn’t want more than one gastric bypass.
PENNY ASHTON: No. I think we don’t live in America and we have good public health funding, which is good.
“Either accidentally or on purpose, music swelled up as she delivered her rebuke”
As you well know, that is how they end every edition of that show – it is just a signal from the producer to wrap up. No tinfoil, sorry.
As you well know, that is how they end every edition of that show – it is just a signal from the producer to wrap up.
But this was not the segment that ended the show. The segment that ended the show was the one about bus shelters in Dunedin. I thought there was something odd about this when I was transcribing it. I was pretty sure that there was no music swelling up as Penny Ashton spoke when I heard it live. Curiously, on the archived link, music appears, even though it was not there originally. I checked on other links from the same episode—such as the Mahia rocket segment—but there is no music at the end of them. But, for some reason, music has been superimposed on Penny Ashton’s voice after the live recording.
No tinfoil, sorry.
What is the point of that crack? Are you trying to be funny, or are you suggesting something serious?
The issue i have with this is Penny is basically ignoring the issue (gastric bypass for health) and just using it as an excuse to bring up something else (poor people bashing)
People have enough of a moral high horse when it comes to this, the old “you’re fat because you’re lazy” thing or it gives people an excuse to sanctimoniously give “advice”, just eat this and do that and you’ll lose weight kind of thing but really they don’t about the issue or person just that they get to spew out their brand bulls**t
Personally I think gastric bypasses should be funded because it will save pain, money and productivity over the long term
I don’t have a problem with it being publicly funded as it will save millions down the line. What I find strange is that she will lead ‘a much healthier, active life’ AFTER the surgery.
This is like people who go into Christmas planning on dieting in the new year… and then don’t.
There is plenty she can be doing now, instead of waiting for the surgery hoping it will solve the problem for her.
“There is plenty she can be doing now, instead of waiting for the surgery hoping it will solve the problem for her.”
This is the issue I’m trying to highlight, essentially what you’re saying is why doesn’t she just buck her ideas up and get on with it
Would you say to someone with depression to just go outside for a walk and you’ll feel better?
Not at all.
Just know through observing others that later usually means never.
You do realise that you don’t just rock up to hospital and they stick the knife in? There is quite a bit of preparing for an operation like this and the mental side is just as important as the physical.
Through my observations via the news media of Bennett over the years, her flippancy won’t get her through this.
Everybody has different coping mechanisms and, hopefully, it works out for her and she doesn’t suffer the post-operation depression
That she realises there are certain things she can’t have (fizzy drink is no good for staples)
That she might stop liking certain foods or indeed stop getting much pleasure food overall
That as a result of the operation it helps her become happy and healthy
She’s just highlighting Pullya’s selective empathy puckfish.
Yeah she may well be but what it also does is take the focus away from the issue of public funding for gastric bypasses
Poor Jim. I just don’t think he has a brain
He has a brain all right, and he no doubt has empathy. What he lacks is courage and integrity.
https://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-21102013/#comment-714200
https://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-14062013/#comment-648511
Mora puts out an outside shell of the concerned and erudite liberal.
But he’s not.
He is a superficial shill for the right wing.
A grasping and greedy individual who hides the facts he has no principles, courage and integrity behind his jolly Jim persona.
He never seems erudite to me, in spite of the considerable efforts he makes to use big, obscure, latinate words whenever possible. He constantly misuses the word “alluded”, and his reading seems to consist almost entirely of the New York Times (he’s often quoted the vicious right wing columnist David Brooks) and the Daily Telegraph.
Like everyone else, he knows his show is largely trivial, even insultingly so, as we can see by his constant, pathetic assurances that the inconsequential research of the day “comes from a reputable university.”
I agree.
He tries to show off he knows long words.
He has no authenticity.
Germany’s Social Democrats going into serious coalition talks with Angela Merkel.
They have issues.
http://www.dw.com/en/the-major-sticking-points-in-germanys-upcoming-coalition-talks/a-42264291
Only 56 percent of the delegates in the former German capital opted for formal coalition talks with the conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and its Bavarian sister party, the Christian Social Union (CSU). The SPD isn’t exactly euphoric about the prospect of a new coalition government.
The Social Democrat Leader is going to have to take the proposal back to his membership. That will not be pretty. It is hard to see the Social Democrat leader surviving this.
However the alternative is that the coalition talks fail, Germany has a fresh election, the far right rises in power even more, and Merkel has to do a deal similar to that in Austria with the far right.
After that the EU as the final remaining node of any consistent form of idealism in global politics will be under real threat.
So, a fair amount riding on this coalition negotiation in Germany.
I see they read the 101 Guide on how to destroy your ostensibly centre-left political party and have your vote split amongst a strongly left-wing party and a libertarian party. I think that guide was written by Francois Hollande…
The SPD are suckers. They should have told Merkel to get lost and forced another election. AfD has peaked, and their vote would collapse, like FN and UKIP. The rise of Europe’s far right is an illusion. Now they are going to be stuck in what is essentially a right wing government for 4 years.
“The rise of Europe’s far right is an illusion.”
No, they are continuing to rise, and rise fast.
https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/2017-europe-populist-right/
Worse, Left-wing parties across Europe have plummeted for years:
https://www.economist.com/news/briefing/21695887-centre-left-sharp-decline-across-europe-rose-thou-art-sick
But is the EU’s ideology a valid one?
From what we’ve seen as to how it’s trashed a few national economies is actually isn’t.
Everything is about preserving the least-worst for as long as possible.
The EU Prime Ministers who opted for quantitative easing and budget austerity are reaping a long and bitter harvest.
But yes, the EU is worth preserving.
The EU needs to be fixed big time though. And fixing doesn’t involve turning it into a Fourth Reich.
Murky only HAS to do a deal to the extent of her desperation to cling to power.
https://t.co/65fyyCW6bU
the Dotcom slow train wreck moves forward.
Dotcom’s lawyers will be pleased, the German slot machine keeps paying out regardless of whether the winning numbers come up.
will this be a case of the Attorney General, on behalf of etc; etc; etc; etc; etc; etc, having chosen to do the crime, now requiring the rest of NZ to have to do the time.
yes andrew murray I believe this will be a case where AG does the crime and we pick up the bill.
however Dotcom has suggested,
https://twitter.com/KimDotcom/status/954783482730856448
that a significant portion of that money (when he is finally successful!) will be recycled to address homelessness and suicide.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11980067
NZ – the new destination for boat people?
I wonder if some will try to make it all to NZ.
The deaths have stopped due to Austs hard stance on boat people – I hope none die trying to get to NZ.
New Zealand will feel hard moral and operational debates that Australia has had a decade to consider if migrants arrive by boat.
I hope that the scale of the Tasman Sea continues to dissuade them.
I would rather it dissuade them as opposed to kill them.
Such touching concern! Any concern for the live ones in the detention centres for which you imply your support?
And if live boat people were to reach NZ, you would be joyously blaming Jacinda, wouldn’t you? Hence your touching concern?
I think you will find that the boat people are not coming from the detention centers.
Havn’t seen Jacinda doing or talking about them any time recently.
Don’t play innocent, James. You implied support for Australia’s hard stance, and you know well that Jacinda has been criticised by some already for ‘undermining’ that stance. But now is not a good time to be called out about it, so…
I do support Australias stance. And while I hope it dosnt happen – I do believe that Jacindas stance will end up resulting in deaths,
As a result of her meddling, they are now talking about trying to make the trip to NZ.
“New Zealand offer to house Manus Island asylum seekers fuels smuggle trade, intelligence sources”
https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/national/new-zealand-offer-to-house-manus-island-asylum-seekers-fuels-smuggle-trade-intelligence-sources/news-story/c1980409bc0c79a1eb178f719f03aa95
Thanks for clearing the murky air. But I wouldn’t rush to heed the opinion of the Tory Telegraph.. Just remember that some of the boat people who did not die are having a grim time in the detention centre… You don’t want them to die, but you have no concern about how they live. Shallow much?
Yes the usual concern trolling from James
the usual boring reply from Ed.
At least they’re safe from whatever threatened their lives in their homelands v. Perhaps the threat has subsided and they can return.
Unintended consequences perhaps
Does being an agitator on a blog site which is of no ‘interest’ to you..
Tickle your fancy, James…
When such articles are recycled by the NZH, do you feel that ‘rush’ just before you click ‘publish’…
Go take a look in the mirror…
See if you like what it responds with…
“Go take a look in the mirror…
See if you like what it responds with…”
I do.
“When such articles are recycled by the NZH, do you feel that ‘rush’ just before you click ‘publish’…”
Im sorry I picked an article that dosnt fit with your bias and is uncomfortable for you.
here is a rar-rar article about Jacinda and her upcoming baby – it may be more to your liking:
https://www.stuff.co.nz/life-style/parenting/100721182/jacinda-ardern-an-inspiration-for-a-generation
Shows how little attention you pay, eh james…
Because you pay little attention (phoney,narissistic traits) you’ve missed that I do not support any government…
While the naked pants down approach you pretend are your ‘actual views’, they are simply that…a pretence….
Don’t be a phoney…homie..
“Because you pay little attention”
I give all your post the attention they deserve.
” I hope none die trying to get to NZ.”
Well Jesus man do something.
Get yer boat and go out and meet them.
Don’t forget the barbie
that wasnt even a good troll attempt.
says the expert in crap troll attempts.
And yet here you are replying.
Good reply, Brigid – hence James’s denial. Yes, a maritime Barbie with Porkie bangers all round, courtesy of James the Compassionate.
Porkie Bangers does not a barbie make.
If its pork – Im more likely to do a tenderloin or a pulled pork from the boston butt / shoulder.
it’s, not its. Are your barbies as bad as your written language?
Thats getting pretty pathetic and desperate.
sorry …. that’s
Western Australia?
What bollocks.
What the Aussie approach ignores is that people are prepared to risk their lives to escape where they are.
The Aussies are still intercepting boats. Which means people are still dying.
They’re just taking different routes so that the results are swept under the australian carpet – It’s easier to hide a boatload of cheap labour in Sydney than it is in Auckland, whatever the asylum seekers say or were told.
Nobody is sailing to NZ. I’ll believe otherwise when they run aground on Cape Reinga.
I’d be more impressed if they’d be willing to risk their lives to change their own country to be a place that they’d like to live rather than simply abandoning it and expecting others to pick the bill for their selfishness.
The sentiment of a true chairborne ranger.
They should at least be informed of the widespread poverty in NZ so they can make an informed decision.
No, the sentiment of someone who understands reality.
We cannot afford to have all of the world immigrate here. We probably can’t afford to have even a million immigrate here in a short time span.
Neither of those options are at all likely to occur at the arse end of the planet.
So much for “reality”.
70,000 per year won’t take long to have 1 million immigrate and we still don’t know what the carrying capacity for NZ is.
That’s reality.
When Climate Change really hits and the equator becomes uninhabitable where do you think all those hundreds of millions are going to go? Most will go north, some will come south and some of those will come to NZ. A small amount of a huge number is still more than we can cope with.
That’s reality.
No. It’s you pulling dramatic statements out of your arse again.
If it becomes necessary to put a hard cap on immigration controls, the 15 year timeframe you’re talking about is more than enough time to do so well before we reach the mythic million.
The reality is that our major immigration problem consists of the Thiels, KDCs etc of the world – rich people buying up NZ with extreme political and property-rights views, and the money to throw at our representatives.
We all might end up in the bilges of lifeboatNZ, while they have vineyards and estates.
The only way to address people trying to illegally immigrate to another country is to address the problems in the country that they’re trying to leave.
Thing is, we can’t actually do that. Only the people of that country can which includes those trying to leave.
We have to take care of those already here (which we’re really doing very well at) and we really can’t afford to take people in arbitrarily.
Those terrible ‘boat people’ ……… formally known as refugees.
I was watching a relatively low grade documentary the other day ….. regarding rich Chinese immigrants into Canada …. and I say low grade because it seemed to be focusing on race and culture instead of money and legalized corruption.
But it did quote one thing that made my ears prick up ……the gist of it being ….,
That the average refugee paid more in tax to the Canadian government …. than rich corrupt Chinese immigrants do …. which makes sense given the corrupts use of tax havens, shell companies etc,….
The rich corrupt immigrants also speculate on property …. pushing honest working citizens out of the market.
Sounds like the last 9 years in New Zealand …………..
We should cut immigrants and raise our refugee quota.
I love fishing – Just found Clarke Gayford’s TV show.
http://fishoftheday.tv
Some beautiful shots and some really yummy recipies from “NZ First man of fishing”
The whole baked Rainbow trout looks beautiful:
http://fishoftheday.tv/recipes/38-pan-seared-wahoo-with-prawns-chilli-salsa-and-vanilla-coconut-sauce-2
“I love fishing…”
We noticed.
““NZ First man of fishing””
Now…are you doing that really shitty American thing with the “First” label or are you telling us that Mr. Gayford is NZ First’s man of fishing?
Confusing.
Im doing that really shitty American thing, oh, and quoting Jacinda Ardern:
https://twitter.com/jacindaardern/status/954109869509914624
And alongside the “royal baby” thang…you think all ‘traditional’ bases have been well enough covered off?
Maybe there’s a trifecta, and I’m just missing something to do with emperors or some such. Who knows? 🙂
They have to get married.
Now, that’s the trifecta.
But she can save that for Year 3 of the second term.
Oh gawd. If today had been being a struggle Ad, that would have killed the last vestiges of hope I had in me and sent me shuffling off to the darkness and silence beneath several layers of duvets.
😁
😆
I’m starting to enjoy it now, mostly because of the schadenfreude if the baby/christening/first steps, and marriage etc give Labour more than 3 terms.
Does mean we will have our work cut out for us, but still an improvement on the last decade.
It will the the schadenfreude of watching tories trying to douse confelicity. There’s a moral in there somewhere…
They ‘have to’ get married?
And the requisite ensuing divorce would bring a new wave of sympathy for a 5th term? Can we sustain this success rate indefinitely?
Maybe she can bowl the first ball at an ODI?
Pardon a lamb from Christmas dinner…
All the classic photo-ops.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/100788057/no-rush-on-controversial-employment-law-changes-says-ardern
A good call this, sometimes its better to compromise and take a deep breath rather than charge on through
Who’s compromising? from your link:
“Ardern refused to put a time frame on when the fair pay legislation would be introduced but Lees-Galloway has previously put a 12 month time frame on consultation.”
So simply repeating what’s already been said because people are twitchy again results in tories pretending there’s been a change in plan.
You guys really need to read better. Try linking to something that doesn’t contradict your lie, for example.
Do you need glasses?
“We long flagged that was something we needed to spend extra time working alongside our union and business communities, so we are putting that on a longer track.”
Sure sounds like taking a deep breath and not rushing don’t you think
“Longer” is a comparison. Longer track than what? Oh, a longer track than “Legislation to introduce fairness in the work place will be finalised Thursday and introduced before the end of Labour’s first 100 days, on February 2”.
Maybe you can read, but just don’t understand calendars? The 12 months previously mentioned by Lees-Galloway is longer than 100 days.
Come on, at least try to make exposing your lies a challenge.
It was all supposed to happen by Feb 2, the first 100 days but instead its been pushed back due to a drop in business confidence so its fair to assume that had there not been a drop it would have happened sooner
Again you might like to consider this: https://www.specsavers.co.nz/
Legislation to introduce fairness in the work place will be finalised Thursday and introduced before the end of Labour’s first 100 days, on February 2.
A cabinet committee is expected to sign it off this week, and it will include reversing the previous National Government’s unpopular rest and meal break legislation, and make changes to the 90 day “right to fire” provisions by providing a resolution service for workers and employers.
Ardern said the changes had been well flagged by Labour on the campaign trail and should come as no surprise to anyone.
But as the drop in business confidence threatens another “winter of discontent” she signalled Labour would move more slowly on one of the more contentious aspects of its industrial relations policy, industry wide fair pay agreements.
Uncertainty over their effect on business has contributed to business unease.
In an overture to business, Ardern said Labour acknowledged the need for a collaborative approach on the legislation.
“We long flagged that was something we needed to spend extra time working alongside our union and business communities, so we are putting that on a longer track.”
Labour never included the industry-wide fair pay agreements in part of their hundred days package.
When they announced the I-WFPAs in August “”We would give ourselves 12 months to sit down with business and unions to look at how the process of bargaining for an FPA would be initiated,”.
When Labour announced its 100 day plan before the election, I-WFPAs weren’t on it.
When they announced the new governments 100 day plan, I-WFPAs weren’t on it.
Your claim that I-WFPAs were “all supposed to happen by Feb 2, the first 100 days but instead its been pushed back due to a drop in business confidence” is an outright lie.
Are you saying that if business confidence hadn’t dropped they wouldn’t have pushed this through as well
Yup.
they’ve done a full schedule of the first hundred days programme, and there’s nothing to indicate that they decided to bring forward the IWFPAs by nine months. Everything about the FPAs was scheduled to take a year, because it’s more complex than the minwage increase or what have you.
Business confidence has nothing to do with the govt schedule, as far as anything you’ve offered indicates – although the recent drop in BC is a good sign the government is on track. Must be a shock, having a government actually follow through on its election pledges.
“having a government actually follow through on its election pledges.”
Why do 10 Northland bridges come to mind?
Not only that… Business confidence?? Why would Labour take any notice at all? Most Business bosses vote National, so they would say their delicate confidence has been shattered, wouldn’t they? Might as well poll the old Business Round Table about whether they are happy to have a Labour Govt.
Pockish R – Business Confidence has about as much credibility as Root Canal Appetite.
Better not comprimise too much. You cannot eliminate child poverty with WINZ payments alone (or, aspiration for that matter). You need good Union Jobs with a living wage and good benefits.
Got to say exhAlanT’s latest blog (see blog) resonated with me.
https://exhalantblog.wordpress.com/2018/01/22/stop-with-this-incessant-happiness-frankly-its-actually-depressing/
Opening paragraph:
Oh God…. how very, very true.
And then there’s the types who think everyone should tootle around the place with massive smiles on their faces from morning to night. Hello everyone, I’ve just broken a leg and an arm, my partner’s walked out on me, the bank’s taken my home and I’ve just lost my job but hey… I’m so happy, happy happy.
Yeah I know, some people are natural smilers – our new PM is one of them but – well. read the article.
First line should read (see sidebar)…
Like those people who carry on about going to India and seeing how happy the people were there despite the fact that they lived in cardboard boxes.
I see we have a Hosking/Hawkesby Household double act now in the Herald. Mike and Kate can address an issue from two angles (but not opposing). Just imagine the dinner table conversations now. Will there be competition for “likes/dislikes”? How long before there is a Kate’s minute on the Herald website.
And Hosking on Te Reo.
Good old Mike, world famous in NZ. Just like the language he dismisses.
Try telling the Welsh, Irish, Scotts, Flemish, Afrikaners, et al that their language is of no commericial advantage.
Right wing couples seem to get that deal.
There is also Soper and du Plessis Allen who get a double barrel to fire at the left.
Hah!
Irrelevant broadcaster holds forth about irrelevance.
There’s a certain symmetry there…
Give that man a mirror.
Hosking/Hawkesby double act? Like the two flush buttons on the top of the toilet.
(Te Reo is of commercial advantage in New Zealand. And I’d imagine a Chinese businessperson coming to New Zealand wanting to do big business would find it advantageous too.)
Is this the same person that the PM seemed to find so fascinating just a few days ago when she interviewed him on TV3?
Surely she isn’t really a fan of such a creep?
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/entertainment/news/article.cfm?c_id=1501119&objectid=11980068
I hope he doesn’t come back to New Zealand when Winston is doing his stand-in job a bit later in the year. That would be even worse.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/entertainment/news/article.cfm?c_id=1501119&objectid=11550576
What do people see in that dreadful man?
Hes really funny, his timing is excellent, he has a wide range of facial expressions that add to the humour, his laugh is also amusing, good rapport with everyone else on 8 out of 10 cats does countdown, his hosting of big, fat quiz of the year is really good, never heckle him
Hes basically a funny guy that is very well known for a type of humour
He’s a bit like South Park – shock and disgust humour overlays some pretty deep and complex social commentary.
And heckling responses are part of the live act.
I’d have thought his brand of humour would be pretty well known by now. Also this is how you handle a scandal (depending on the scandal of course)
first 60 secs are pretty mediocre tbh.
It gets better though 🙂
He is fascinating. Lots of people are fascinating. Doesn’t mean you’d marry them, trust them to look after your kids (or marry them), or be your doctor.
I wonder how many people that thought that ‘Glittertits” was asking for it, or was attention seeking and shouldn’t be given the media space will complain about Carr being offensive.
Glittertits?
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11968384
Ahh ok
What strange connections your mind seems to make.
Glittertits-gate happens, people talk about how she was asking for it, dressing for attention, too many people getting upset, she should be charged for assault as well, PC gone mad, dress appropriately, guy was drunk…. all excuses which say the drunk guy can do what he wants and people getting upset are wrong, and if she didn’t want people grabbing your tits, then don’t leave them hanging out. I.e. don’t expect a leopord to change his spots
Jimmy Carr, a professional comedian whose whole thing is saying horribly offensive things, says a horribly offensive thing and people jump to saying he shouldn’t do that and get offended by it…
See the connection? Esp. the type of people that would have complained about the girl and about the comedian….
“Esp. the type of people that would have complained about the girl and about the comedian”
I really don’t think that there are very many people who combine those two traits.
I think that it is the same people who approve of the assault on that woman who seem to like the sort of “humour” that Carr offers.
Take someone like Trump. He gets his kicks out or putting up Twitter rants that abuse and insult people who are in no position to respond. Rather like Carr isn’t it?
He also has a long history of sexual assaults on woman.
He certainly isn’t the sort of person you are trying to personify is he?
I think that the sort of people you mention who talk about her “asking for it” probably also like the abusive humour that Carr offers.
Not if it is aimed at them of course. It is only if other people cop it. In just the same way they may approve of the assault taking place, as long as it isn’t them who catches it.
I can’t be sure of course. I don’t know anyone who did take the view about the body-painted woman you talk about. Do you actually know, either personally or by the comments they may have made on line, anyone who really does show the same pair of characteristics you propose or is it just a supposition?
Activist passes…
https://www.stuff.co.nz/auckland/local-news/northland/100802482/distinguished-pediatrician-dies-aged-97
“”Throughout this time, he was a tireless but potent advocate for the children of Northland and beyond, especially those who were less fortunate, either socially or because of their disability or health needs.”
Spencer Beasley recalls a trip with him through the northern reaches of Northland.
“He pointed out a rural school which was to be closed because the academic performance of its students was so extraordinarily poor.
“He visited it and determined its students were severely malnourished. He negotiated a reprieve, organised for milk and fresh produce to be delivered each day, and watched the consequent improvement in their learning. The school stayed open.””
Hi Rosemary, did you know Dr Beasley at some point? It was good to see that link, a story I’d have otherwise missed. I crossed paths with him many, many years ago, too young to remember the exact circumstances but I certainly remember the name. About to contact a relative who can fill in the details.
No, I didn’t know of him…the first I had heard about the Beasley Institute was a few years ago in an a series of articles here..
https://publicaddress.net/access/some-aspects-of-new-zealands-disability-history/
https://publicaddress.net/access/some-aspects-of-new-zealands-disability-history-1/
https://publicaddress.net/access/some-aspects-of-new-zealands-disability-history-2/
https://publicaddress.net/access/some-aspects-of-new-zealands-disability-history-3/
…worth a read, if you haven’t already…and the comments are good too…which is where I think Beasley was mentioned.
I think there will be some interesting discussion in some places about Beasley, the old IHC, and the Institute.
Disability Politics…way more complicated than AB/mainstream!
Gerry Brownlee today.””Her insistence that Australia allow New Zealand to handpick 150 asylum seekers who meet UN refugee status, while Australia handles the rest, on top of the message this sends to human traffickers and those desperate to attempt to reach Australia, shows a disregard to the complexity of the problem.”
http://www.voxy.co.nz/politics/5/302104
in 2016 though we had this. “New Zealand would take 150 refugees each year from Australian detention centres each year if asked to, Prime Minister John Key says.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11664913
Some inconsistency here in Gerry’s dig at Ardern forgetting what his government offered.
Or is Brownlee trying to say that Key’s government would not have vetted their 150 asylum seekers?
Brownlee is full of hypocrisy.
Brownlee is full of hypocrisy?
Get rid of six of those letters and replace them with a t and you have a more economical way of accurately saying the same thing.
I prefer my word; it is also unparliamentary.
Hypocrisy is a distinct form of two-faced, lying, knowingly dishonest behaviour. It has overtones of the hypocrite thinking he can get away with it, and the smugness of that, and it also belittles the audience listening to the hypocrite because he thinks he is too smart for them with his deception.
Shit is far too mild.
Ponyboy’s government would’ve looked the other way and whistled while Austrylya casually slipped a company directorship or two into their hip pocket, and called that vetting.
Arabs allied with Western European countries to rid themselves of their Ottoman oppressors and 100 years later, Erdogan goes full Ottoman.
An Ottoman-style military band performed in the border province of Hatay as a show of support for troops taking part in Turkey’s Olive Branch Operation in Syria’s Afrin on Jan. 22.
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/ottoman-military-band-performs-at-turkey-syria-border-126102
The operation has the most newspeak name I’ve heard in a while —
“Operation Olive Branch”
The sandflies are destroying my Lawn mowing client base .They impose there presence on everyone of my clients this is a fact I will carry on mowing till the last client leaves they are ignorant _______holes this is more money they are going to have to fork out when I SUE them PS I have a back up plan for self employment I will reveal this soon this is the only dum move they can win on how . .This is how pathetic the sandflys are attacking my employment Kia kaha
I have been on this site before in the past month, warning people about the oncoming crash.
It seems I am not alone. The IMF are also painting a dim view of the near future.
The Chief Economist at the International Monetary Fund agrees with me.
The Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund agrees with me.
IMF warns global recession ‘may be closer than we think’
testing….
Good to see this at women’s march in Chicago.
http://www.fightbacknews.org/2018/1/21/palestinians-demand-free-ahed-tamimi-chicago-women-s-march
Interesting take on cryptocurrency and its impact on budget pc gaming. Cheap computers full stop, with the price of ram going through the roof. 10 min video.