Can we please have just one Green MP that can control themselves (like an adult), that does not require to either go on a course of "de-escalation", or need help for mental health issues and the leaders do not have to apologise for their actions.
They need to get into the 20s if they want to influence the policy direction of the next government.
The Greens achieved their best election result (15 seats, including three electorate seats) last year.
They’ve never been above 12% of the party vote, and yet have had some influence on govt policy direction in some areas. Just my opinion – like all political parties and politicians, they will continue to fall short on occasion, but remain my favorite NZ political party, in part for their longer-term focus in selected areas of concern.
If getting the policy architecture in place to facilitate implementation is one measure of political success, then the Greens have achieved credible action on many fronts.
Agreed James….but the establishment doesn't want this and will do anything to portray the Greens as a disorganised rabble.
As a Green voter for many years, I used to dream of them holding steady at 12-13 per cent. But every CC event/disaster now adds a fraction to their vote so 20 per cent is no longer a dream..
I don't care if someone says fuck in the House (the Speaker can deal with any issues around that). He didn't direct it at anyone or use it as a term of abuse.
The problem I have is the lack of discipline that leads to yet another round of MSM negative attention on the Greens. Maybe they're getting it all out of the way this year.
I get what you are saying and I share your frustration.
That said, JAG is guilty of aggressively waving some documents in a bloke's face while simultaneously committing the sin of being totally correct about what they were actually arguing about.
RMM said a potty word.
On the other hand the government is blatantly corrupt, is dismantling everything Labour does often for no other reason than because Labour did it.
Can we plz have concern trolls that out up a better example
Of far greater concern to 'us' is an MP that 'overlooked' 10s of thousands of dollars of bribes donations while chairing a committee that met his donor's interests, in my opinion.
Sometimes, it’s a fine line between a concern troll and a useful idiot and Jimmy’s obviously having an identity crisis and cannot choose. Going forward, this is important because some Mods here struggle to tell the difference.
If only you knew how often I have to put my hands in my pockets clench my jaw and walk past jimmys efforts so as to not upset you mods , you'd put me up for a saint hood.
Concurrently, the outcome of the most sadistic policies implemented by the Tories is finally getting a proper inquiry. Policies that were heavily influencing the last Nat government, and would likely have been implemented had they secured a 4th term.
You may like to check the timeline of the scandal before you get all unhappy with the Conservative Party.
The product was installed in 1999 and the prosecutions started almost immediately and ran until 2015.
There was a Labour Government there from 1997 until 2010. The system went in and the prosecutions were largely during their reign. The Conservative Party were certainly culpable for the slowness in cleaning it up but even you would agree that the real blame for it happening was Labour's?
And the MP who campaigned for justice for the postmasters was James Arbuthnot (played by Alex Jennings in the recreation), who (inconveniently for Patricia) is a Conservative.
Christchurch homeowner's house featured in social housing post
Beth said a blunder like this from the National Party was unacceptable
"If you are going to build 1500 social housing houses, then I think maybe you should have a better idea of what exactly it is you are going to be building, rather than taking an image from somewhere. Who knows how they got the image of our houses, and posting it up as something that is blatantly not true," she said
Yep. It'll be "NO frills" . After all, they are the New Victorians , who Charles Dickens would recognise as such . The phrase "Nothing so cold as Charity" will assume extra meaning in NZ under NActFirst.
Well well, well. Sunak has called a probably catastrophic early election early because the knives were out for him on the back benches. The Tories are committing seppuku – they are utterly spent, pre-occupied with interminable infighting to the extent Sunak has called a July election as an act of spite against his internal enemies and still get to California in time to see his kids into school for the new term.
Meanwhile, I see Adrian Orr has written the death note for this government – it is going to be a one term wonder because we are now looking at a three year recession. Richard Harman at Politik – the uber centrist purveyor of received wisdom – is busy peddling the line that this is all the result of Labour's COVID spending so the govt might get away with it, but the thing is Luxon wasn't elected to fix the economy via Osbornian austerity. he was elected to do something about the squeezed middle class and the cost of living crisis. He can't and anyway doesn't want to deliver on that promise so they will be toast.
Everybody knows austerity in the face of a recession leads to double (if not the Osborne tripple) dipping the recession. The conclusion should be that, yes, Luxon was elected on the promise to carry that out.
Sadly, the political situation in Great Britain is almost identical to the U.S.: a choice between two unconscionable options.
There are, of course, a few decent and honourable politicians, like George Galloway, whose recent return to parliament drove both major party leaders into displays of Blimpish outrage.
And there is Andrew Feinstein, who is trying to unseat Keir Starmer,,,
Over 200 Conservative MP's that face losing their seats have just seen an easy NZ$95k go up in smoke because Rishi has called the election 6 months early for no good reason. (A backbencher earns NZ$190k a year).
He hung on the just about the last legal moment before recognising that his Government was dead and smelling rather a lot. Still, he got all his losing MPs a pay packet for as long as he could. Too bad for New Zealand of course.
I used to know one-time PM Jack Marshall. He was a member of a Government which went to the polls after 2 years, not 3, over the waterfront issue in 1951.
He said, when asked, that the only effect in the long term was that they served for 8 years, 1949 – 1957, instead of 9 for 3 full terms from 1949 to 1958. That was the only effect.
Why should anyone hold an early election, whether the are likely to win it, or lose it?
I read that Harman comment and thought that was a bit rich, blaming it all on Covid when some of the bank commentators are unsettled by the whole tax cut scenario and the expectation that it is more likely to fuel domestic inflation, the very thing the RBNZ is trying to curb.
Exactly Nic, the Luxonites are the most likely beneficiaries of austerity, another 10% on the weekly shop means bugger all when there’s a nice multi million dollar pillow to lay one’s head on after a hard days rorting.
The local problem is Greedflation and that’s a real bastard to control.
Just in case anyone is still running the lines about "would you rather have a live daughter or a dead son?"
"Individuals who underwent gender-affirming surgery had a 12.12-fold higher suicide attempt risk than those who did not (3.47% vs. 0.29%, RR 95% CI 9.20-15.96, p < 0.0001). Compared to the tubal ligation/vasectomy controls, the risk was 5.03-fold higher before propensity matching and remained significant at 4.71-fold after matching (3.50% vs. 0.74%, RR 95% CI 2.46-9.024, p < 0.0001) for the gender affirmation patients with similar results with the pharyngitis controls. Conclusion Gender-affirming surgery is significantly associated with elevated suicide attempt risks, underlining the necessity for comprehensive post-procedure psychiatric support."
FFS you cannot compare the risks of self harm and suicide post Gender-Affirming surgery to longterm contraception or a sore throat[ pharyngitis].
The self harm and suicidality exists before the surgery, do people not realize that most Gender Affirmation is not male to female but female to male. The surgery is but another form of bodily self harm as part of complex Borderline Personality Disorders.
Actually, the critical group NOT included in the study is the incidence of suicide in transgender patients who do NOT undergo affirmation surgery. If affirmation surgery decreases the incidence of suicide in trans people, then gender-affirming surgery has a positive effect overall. I don't understand why an emergency visit was included in the study. Perhaps, without the emergency visit, the stats don't look so good.
"The study involved four cohorts: cohort A, adults aged 18-60 who had gender-affirming surgery and an emergency visit (N = 1,501); cohort B, control group of adults with emergency visits but no gender-affirming surgery (N = 15,608,363); and cohort C, control group of adults with emergency visits, tubal ligation or vasectomy, but no gender-affirming surgery (N = 142,093). Propensity matching was applied to cohorts A and C."
It's irreversible (no, you cannot replace a healthy breast with an implant, you can't un-invert a penis, and you can't take skin from a neophallus and put it back on a shucked forearm, sorry if anyone loses their lunch, but this is reality)
It's performed (unless you are rich) by inexperienced surgeons, because this is what happens when the demand for a type of surgery suddenly outstrips the number of competent and experienced surgeons
It will (at a minimum) make sex awkward and may make it impossible and painful, and previous use of puberty blockers are likely to make orgasm impossible, for the rest of the patient's life.
And it's all in pursuit of an impossible goal, because men are not women and you can't stop people accurately sexing you, in the same way that you can't stop yourself from determining which way is up and which way is down.
Of course people with SDPS (Sexual Dysfunction Producing Surgery) are getting down. They are victims, they are vulnerable, they have been promised a lie by people claiming expertise and authority, and when reality hits (usually in the mid-twenties) it's too late.
It's performed (unless you are rich) by inexperienced surgeons, because this is what happens when the demand for a type of surgery suddenly outstrips the number of competent and experienced surgeons
That, and the surgeons who are doing experimental surgeries on the genitals of teenagers, without informed consent, often botching them, not really knowing how to fix that, leaving young people to face a lifetime of pain and regret, and doing that because they love the cutting edge of transhumanism.
Is that better?
#notallSRSsurgeons obviously. But we don't know how many eh, which is the point. Fuck No Debate.
True to form national are proved to be dishonest, they attacked labour for not going far enough with first home grants, I even believe they said they wouldn't cut the grants, but here we are.
Sure imported inflation was coming down and the impact of the weather events of early 2023 have gone – so we were going to get to 3% by the end of the year.
Many presumed therefore that the 5.5% OCR had done its jobs and it would go down – this year even.
This was never likely. So for them a shot across the bows.
This is because domestic inflation will hold the rate at 3% through 2025 and beyond – rates (infrastructure) and insurance (adjusting for impact on infrastructure of GW) are going up year by year at rates not seen before AND loss of (construction) workers to Oz (seeking secure jobs and better wages) increasing costs.
Chickens coming home to roost – economic growth via migrant labour inflow population increase decreases productivity (we needed investment in more efficient use of resources) and it increases infrastructure cost.
It does expose a limitation in the OCR approach – the lower imported inflation would allow a lower dollar (improved returns to exporters), if there was an alternative mechanism for internal inflation management.
Such as a reduction of the OCR to 5% and the impost of a mortgage surcharge (0.25%, then 0.5%) – the government surely needs the money.
More money paid in rent – less GST spending. Less tax off rent income (landlords giveaway). No rise in wages (25 cents an hour MW no FPA etc). Will company tax make up the shortfall …
That all said, Zollner may be right, in correcting the misplaced optimisim of a fall from the 5.5% level – a fall is still likely
That all said, Zollner may be right, in correcting the misplaced optimism of a (n early) fall from the 5.5% level – (so banks do not rush cuts), a fall is still likely (albeit in the latter half of 2025, than the first half – as even the wiser ones thought a few months ago).
Currently, minerals generate export earnings of $1 billion annually, $21 million in royalties and more than 5000 direct jobs for New Zealanders, Jones said. He wants to double export value to $2 billion by 2035 and provide more than 7000 jobs.
I presume the environmental cost met by government is far higher than the risible amount of royalties received.
Simon Court – an ACT MP – thinks if we drill for oil here we get cheaper energy – we do not refine the oil, it would have to go overseas and be refined there and sent back – it would be no cheaper to us than the world market rate.
Already, 218 MSD staff have taken voluntary redundancy. On Thursday, a new proposal emerged to cut a further 97 existing roles. But the ministry also confirmed that hundreds of staff have left, and not been replaced, since December.
All up, the ministry on Thursday confirmed that it expected to employ 700 fewer people as a result of the cost cutting measures it was proposing.
MSD deputy chief executive Nadine Kilmister said the ministry’s hiring freeze, in place since December, had led to 341 fewer people working at the ministry
The number of staff leaving straight off (to get new jobs asap and the others waiting for the voluntary redundancy option then going) is indicative of people who do not want to be clients. Nor work for a National led government.
The number of public sector employees (excluding local government) rose by 65,784 (19%) in just 6 years to 2023.
The number employed by MSD rose from 6,799 @ June 2017 to 9,077 @ June 2023, an increase of 2,277 or 33%.
The population of NZ increased by 11% between 2017 and 2023. So, MSD employee numbers rose by a factor 3 over the population growth. I'm surprised it's only 700.
In the six months to December 2023, Public Service organisations spent a total of $344.6 million in OPEX and $181.6 million in CAPEX on contractors and consultants, for a total spend of $526.2 million.
As a share of workforce spend, operating expenditure (OPEX) on contractors and consultants decreased to 9.6% in the first half of 2023/24, the lowest it’s been since measurement began (2018).
And this
Public Service contractor and consultant data for the 2017/18 year was the first to be published using our new guidance on how to report contractor and consultant expenditure. Before the new guidance, there was inconsistency in how organisations reported this expenditure.
And also
The Ministry of Social Development (up 271 FTEs, or 3.1%) across a range of service delivery initiatives, including response to the North Island Weather Events of 2023, the joint venture to eliminate family violence and sexual violence, and increasing coordination across the social sector through the establishment of the Social Sector Commissioning Hub, as well as supporting delivery of MSD’s core services.
1.no useful consultant figures until 2018 (even if only at the aggregate spend)
2.30% is less than wage increases in the period, so no apparent increase in number of consultants.
3.the reason for the staff increases in MSD in 2023 was explained.
4.as a share of workforce spend, operating expenditure (OPEX) on contractors and consultants decreased to 9.6% in the first half of 2023/24, the lowest it’s been since measurement began (2018).
One wonders if National will continue with this measurable comparison or not – so consultant spend increase is hidden.
Relevance? The figures I quoted are based on 2018 onwards because Labour were elected at the end of 2017.
Relevance? It is the increase in spending that matters.
There will always be 'reasons'.
‘As a share of the workforce’! Have you thought about what you’re saying?
The % of spend on c&c’s went down because the workforce went up at such a high rate!
Public Service contractor and consultant data for the 2017/18 year was the first to be published using our new guidance on how to report contractor and consultant expenditure. Before the new guidance, there was inconsistency in how organisations reported this expenditure.
Not relating cost increase to wage levels or inflation means the figures are without context.
The reasons – managing help after weather events and to manage down levels of reduce were rather good.
Under National will the increased cost of consultants to total spending be higher or lower relative to permanent staff number changes?
The employee data is numbers, not $'s, so inflation and wage levels are irrelevant.
To your point about consultants and contractors – spending increased 30% in 5 years, well above the rate of population growth AND the rate of inflation over the same period (21.1%).
“The reasons – managing help after weather events and to manage down levels of reduce were rather good.”
Seriously? A 33% increase in staff to manage weather events? AT MSD?
Then by your reasoning, the cost of consultants was out of control – being 50% higher than general inflation (even if it only reflected a rising cost of pay to people doing the same work as 5 years earlier).
And the measure by which we can determine if National is able to manage out of control consultancy cost.
I think this unfair, but if it is the one you will hold National to, I'll not quibble about that.
SPC it's you that raised spending on consultants. I was commenting on the growth in the workforce. But yes, spending on consultants rising 30% is out of control. And absolutely I will hold any government to account if the growth in the public sector we've seen in the past 6 years is repeated.
Stuff looks at why Ginny Anderson (moving into the role of Louisa Wall – closing a loophole in Harmful Digital Communications Act) has developed a private members bill – hoping to prod the government to do something.
Leonetti believed police needed more training to deal with stalking: I don’t think front line officers, for the most part, know what stalking is or know how harmful it is to victims."
As the victim of a stalker for a good number of years I can attest to that.
My stalker kept a close 'eye' on everything I did. There were numerous nuisance phone calls – the silent variety. My home was broken into twice and on one occasion obscene messaging left on a bathroom cabinet door. False accusations to my Public Service bosses surfaced which led to hostility towards me. I eventually had to leave.
There were numerous bizarre incidents, including mysterious injuries to pets.
It was all done covertly but I was eventually able to identify the culprit. The motivation was part political and part personal and involved at least one other person.
The police were hopeless. They had no comprehension of the huge amount of damage it did to me. They…did… not… have… a… clue.
Double dipton and his "independent "reviewers took up $500 000 out of the emergency housing fund, it'd make me laugh if only I didn't want to swear more.
Another Government attack on people with disabilities – this time school-age children. Rather than recognising and accepting that some of their specific needs might be relieved by attending out-of-school daytime programmes, the Government expects the children to comply with a strict routine/regime of school attendance. The full transcript in the following link shows the inflexible, ideological mindset of the Government and their disregard for evidence of beneficial interventions.
"10. Hon PRIYANCA RADHAKRISHNAN (Labour) to the Minister for Disability Issues: Why have disability support funding criteria changed recently to now exclude the use of funding during school hours, and does she accept that many disabled people and children rely on flexible funding to be able to access critical support?
Hon LOUISE UPSTON (Minister for Disability Issues): ………The recent changes to the purchasing guidelines reflected the Ministry of Disabled People's view that the Ministry of Education is responsible for funding support during school hours. I sympathise with all children and families who may have different support due to the changes and I acknowledge that this may have caused distress. The independent review of disability support funding will be looking into how the whole-of-Government support work together so that disabled people get the essential support they need.
Hon Priyanca Radhakrishnan: What does she say to the mum whose 11-year-old daughter diagnosed with autism and ADHD and chronic health challenges, who relies on a special one-to-one gymnastic therapy class to help improve her muscle tone and regulate her anxiety levels, will no longer be able to access support because of this new change?
Hon LOUISE UPSTON: As I said, I sympathise with the impact that any changes may have had. The primary question was about the use of funding during school hours, and our Government recognises the importance of school attendance, so much so that we have set a target to ensure children are attending school—this is all children, and an expectation that all children get the education they deserve.
Hon Priyanca Radhakrishnan: What does she say to the mum whose 12-year-old son attends Mockingbird, that helps autistic children cope with school and is offered only during school hours……
Hon LOUISE UPSTON: As I said, I understand how challenging it is for parents. Having navigated the system as a parent of a child who needed additional support at school, I understand how challenging it is. But our Government is committed to ensuring that children are at school during school hours and that education provides a support and assistance while children are at school. It is unfortunate that important services like this are operating during school hours when we actually want children to be in school and get the support for their education at school.
……………..
Hon Priyanca Radhakrishnan: Has the Minister sought confirmation from the education Minister that her Government will fund schools to cover the cost of these programmes now that they can no longer be claimed through disability support funding, and, if not, why not?
Hon LOUISE UPSTON: As I said, there are different Government agencies that deliver services for disabled people. For disabled school children, the expectation is that they are at school. …..".
This sort of Ministerial Q and A performance was why the files behind Monty Python and Yes Minister emerged from the cleaners union staff servicing Whitehall.
Short version
It is now with the Education Ministry to manage costs for their care, but they require the disabled children to be in a mainstream school or special school during school hours …
when in current practice schools allow medical cause time outs (just funded from the disability budget).
Is Louise Upston going to get away with the inept performance of the sort that her predecessor was removed for? Because she is National and gets her face alongside Luxon in photos? Or because the PM does not care either?
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Another week, another roundup of things that caught our eye on our favourite topics of transport, housing and how to make cities a little bit greater. This Week in Greater Auckland On Monday, Connor wrote about Kāinga Ora’s role as an urban development agency Tuesday’s guest post by ...
Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The podcast above of the weekly ‘hoon’ webinar for paying subscribers features co-hosts and talking with:The Kākā’s climate correspondent about the National-ACT-NZ First Government’s moves this week to take farming out of the ETS and encourage more mining and oil and ...
In 2019, Shane Jones addressed the “50 Shades of Green” protest at Parliament: Now he is part of a government giving those farmers a pass on becoming part of the ETS, as well as threatening to lock in offshore oil exploration and mining for decades. Photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: Here’s the ...
Hi,Today’s newsletter is all about how easy it is to get sucked into “rage bait” online, and how easy it is to get played.But first I wanted to share something that elicited the exact opposite of rage in me — something that made me feel incredibly proud, whilst also making ...
Seymour said lower speed limits “drained the joy from life as people were forced to follow rules they knew made no sense.” File Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: My six things to note in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Friday, June 14 were:The National/ACT/NZ First ...
It sounded like the best word to describe yesterday’s talks between Chinese Premier Li Qiang and his heavyweight delegation of Ministers and officials and Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and New Zealand Ministers and officials was “frank.” But it was the kind of frankness that friends can indulge in. It ...
Open access notables Wildfire smoke impacts lake ecosystems, Farruggia et al., Global Change Biology:We introduce the concept of the lake smoke-day, or the number of days any given lake is exposed to smoke in any given fire season, and quantify the total lake smoke-day exposure in North America from 2019 ...
Photo by Mathias Elle on UnsplashIt’s that new day of the week (Thursday rather than Friday) when we have our ‘hoon’ webinar with paying subscribers to The Kākā for an hour at 5 pm.Jump on this link on YouTube Livestream for our chat about the week’s news with special guests:5.00 ...
Don’t put it all at risk. That’s likely to be the take-home message for New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon in his meetings with Li Qiang, the Chinese Premier. Li’s visit to Wellington this week is the highest-ranking visit by a Chinese official since 2017. The trip down under – ...
I know the feelingIt is the real thingThe essence of the soulThe perfect momentThat golden momentI know you feel it tooI know the feelingIt is the real thingYou can't refuse the embraceNo?Sometimes we face the things we most dislike. A phobia or fear that must be confronted so it doesn’t ...
Struth, what a week. Having made sure the rural sector won’t have to pay any time soon for its pollution, PM Christopher Luxon yesterday chose Fieldays 2024 to launch a parliamentary inquiry into rural banking services, to see how the banks have been treating farmers faced with high interest rates. ...
In April, 17,656 people left Aotearoa-NZ to live overseas, averaging 588 a day, with just over half of those likely to have gone to Australia. Photo: Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: My six things to note in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Thursday, June 13 ...
Auckland’s draft Regional Land Transport Plan (RLTP) 2024 is open for feedback – and you only have until Monday 17 June to submit. Do it! Join the thousands of Aucklanders who are speaking up for wise strategic investment that will dig us out of traffic and give us easy and ...
Chinese Premier Li Qiang arrives in Wellington today for a three-day visit to the country. The visit will take place amid uncertainty about the future of the New Zealand-China relationship. Li hosted a formal welcome and then lunch for then-Prime Minister Chris Hipkins in Beijing a year ago. The pair ...
We are still in France, getting from A to B.Possibly for only another week, though; Switzerland and Germany are looming now. On we pedal, towards Budapest, at about 20 km per hour.What are are mostly doing is inhaling a country, loving its ways and its food. Rolling, talking, quietly thinking. ...
The big problem with the last Labour government was that they were chickenshits who did nothing with the absolute majority we had given them. They governed as if they were scared of their own shadows, afraid of making decisions lest it upset someone - usually someone who would never have ...
This morning I did something I seldom do, I looked at the Twitter newsfeed. Normally I take the approach of something that I’m not sure is an American urban legend, or genuinely something kids do over there. The infamous bag of dog poo on the front porch, set it on ...
We have some news on the upcoming War of the Rohirrim anime. It will apparently be two and a half hours in length, with Peter Jackson as Executive Producer, and Helm’s daughter Hera will be the main character. Also, pictures: The bloke in the middle picture is Freca’s ...
The cows will keep burping and farting and climate change will keep accelerating - but farmers can stop worrying about being included in the ETS. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: My six things to note in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Wednesday, June 12 were:The ...
This is a guest post by our friend Darren Davis. It originally appeared on his excellent blog, Adventures in Transitland, which features “musings about public transport and other cool stuff in Aotearoa/ New Zealand and around the globe.” With Te Huia now having funding secure through to 2026, now is ...
In some ways, there may be less than meets the eye to the Government announcement yesterday that the He Waka Eke Noa proposal for farmers to pay for greenhouse gas emissions has been scrapped. The spectre of farmers still having to pay at some point in the future remains. That, ...
On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
Since entering office, National has unravelled practically every climate policy, leaving us with no effective way of reducing emissions or meeting our emissions budgets beyond magical thinking around the ETS. And today they've announced another step: removing agriculture entirely. At present, following the complete failure of he waka eka noa, ...
The blue billionaireDistraction no interactionOr movement outside these glazed over eyesThe new great divideFew fight the tide to be glorifiedBut will he be satisfied?Can we accept this without zoom?The elephant in the roomNot much happens in politics on a Monday. Bugger all in fact. Although yesterday Christopher Luxon found he ...
What if New Zealand threw a fossil fuel party, and nobody came? On the weekend, Resources Minister Shane Jones sent out the invitations and strung up the balloons, but will anyone really want to invest big time in resuming oil and gas exploration in our corner of the planet? Yes, ...
This is a guest post by Meredith Dale, senior urban designer and strategist at The Urban Advisory.There’s a saying that goes something like: ‘what you measure is what you value’. An RNZ article last week claimed that Auckland was ‘hurting’ because of a more affordable supply of homes, particularly townhouses ...
A Prime Minister directs his public service to inquire into the actions of the opposition political party which is his harshest critic. Something from Orban's Hungary, or Putin's Russia? No, its happening right here in Aotearoa: Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has announced the Public Service Commission will launch an ...
This is a repost from a Yale Climate Connections article by SueEllen Campbell published on June 3, 2024. The articles listed can help you tell fact from fiction when it comes to solar and wind energy. Some statements you hear about solar and wind energy are just plain false. ...
Politics were going on all around us yesterday, and we barely noticed, rolling along canal paths, eating baguettes. It wasn’t until my mate got to the headlines last night that we learned there had been a dismayingly strong far right result in the EU elections and Macron had called a ...
Respect Existence, Or Expect Resistance? There may well have been 50,000 pairs of feet “Marching For Nature” down Auckland’s Queen Street on Saturday afternoon, but the figure that impresses the Coalition Government is the 1,450,000 pairs of Auckland feet that were somewhere else.IN THE ERA OF DRONES and Artificial Intelligence, ...
Selwyn Manning and I discuss varieties of post colonial blowback and the implications its has for the rise of the Global South. Counties discussed include Palestine/Israel, France/New Caledonia, England/India, apartheid/post-apartheid South Africa and post-colonial New Zealand. It is a bit … Continue reading → ...
Victims of family violence could fall through the gaps in New Zealand, as Police stop responding to some call outs and the Government chooses to prioritise other things. ...
The lack of bids at today’s ETS auction is a sad indictment on this Government's staggering indifference to the climate crisis and their lack of a plan. ...
“I am deeply disappointed in the National Party's budget. Their broken promises and cuts to essential services, including health, education, and support for vulnerable groups, will have long-lasting negative impacts” – Raymor, Auckland ...
Today marks the beginning of Schools Pride Week in New Zealand, an important calendar event largely run by rainbow rangitahi to advocate for safer, more inclusive school environments. ...
The Government’s announcement of a roadshow consultation on work health and safety is a smokescreen for its plan to throw out regulations which keep workers safe. ...
The Government has reportedly scrapped a policy that would have gone far to fix gender and ethnic pay gaps and instead is implementing a watered-down voluntary system. ...
The Government knew its changes to the school lunch programme would risk achievement, attendance, nutrition and wellbeing of New Zealand children, as well as having wider impacts on reducing child poverty, and made the changes anyway, new documents show. ...
Two months have passed since the National Government said it was a question of ”when, not if” New Zealand would recognise Palestine, in response to Labour’s call. ...
Today the coalition government has announced that a select committee inquiry into banking competition will be led by the Finance and Expenditure Select Committee.New Zealand First campaigned to take on foreign owned banks, and we committed to that in our coalition agreement by ensuring the inquiry has a broad ...
The National Government is doing everything it can to delay taking action on climate as it announces that years of work on agricultural emissions will start from scratch. ...
Tens of thousands of people showed up to have their voices heard and march against National’s unpopular Fast Track Approvals Bill in Auckland over the weekend. ...
The Government deciding to lift the oil and gas ban in the middle of a climate crisis is a severe step backwards that will have serious consequences for our future. ...
This week the Justice Select Committee has heard numerous submissions on the removal of Māori Wards. “I am feeling invigorated by the powerful oral submissions that I have heard throughout the week.” Said Local Government spokesperson, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi. “People from all facets of life: whānau Māori, whānau Pākehā, rangatahi, kaumātua, ...
Today’s March for Nature sends a clear message that our country is deeply against the Fast Track Approvals Bill proceeding because the cost to the environment would be unacceptable. ...
The recent attacks on Te Pāti Māori and its MP’s are part of a continuing narrative of attack on all matters Māori. If we could respond to baseless inuendo we would. If there is any evidence then show us so we have a reason to engage in a conversation. The ...
The Government’s move to pour billions into potholes whilst remaining inactive on climate change does nothing to solve our transport system's core problems. ...
“The Government needs to provide leadership for New Zealand’s mental health sector, which appears to have lost out in the Budget despite the promises Minister for Mental Health Matt Doocey made on the campaign trail,” said Labour mental health spokesperson Ingrid Leary. ...
Today’s announcement that would see some workers’ entitlement to sick leave reduce flies in the face of yet another promise National made during the election campaign. ...
Cutting a third of the staff at Ministry for the Environment will undermine years of work to clean up our fresh water and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and leave us unprepared for a changing climate. ...
School attendance data released today shows an increase in the number of students regularly attending school to 61.7 per cent in term one. This compares to 59.5 per cent in term one last year and 53.6 per cent in term four. “It is encouraging to see more children getting to ...
The Government has announced a record 41 per cent increase in indicative funding for public transport services and operations, and confirmed the rollout of the National Ticketing Solution (NTS) that will enable contactless debit and credit card payments starting this year in Auckland, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says.“This Government is ...
GDP figures for the March quarter reinforce the importance of restoring fiscal discipline to public spending and driving more economic growth, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. Data released today by Stats NZ shows GDP has risen 0.2 per cent for the quarter to March. “While today’s data is technically in ...
Women’s representation on public sector boards and committees has reached 50 per cent or above for the fourth consecutive year, with women holding 53.9 per cent of public sector board roles, Acting Minister for Women Louise Upston says. “This is a fantastic achievement, but the work is not done. To ...
The Coalition Government is supporting Māori to boost development and the Māori economy through investment in projects that benefit the regions, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones and Māori Development Minister Tama Potaka say. “As the Regional Development Minister, I am focused on supporting Māori to succeed. The Provincial Growth Fund ...
Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk has announced that the review into better managing the risks of earthquake-prone buildings has commenced. “The terms of reference published today demonstrate the Government’s commitment to ensuring we get the balance right between public safety and costs to building owners,” Mr Penk says. “The Government ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has just finished a successful three-day visit to Japan, where he strengthened political relationships and boosted business links. Mr Luxon’s visit culminated in a bilateral meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio followed by a state dinner. “It was important for me to meet Prime Minister Kishida in person ...
Significant business deals have been closed during the visit of Prime Minister Christopher Luxon to Japan this week, including in the areas of space, renewable energy and investment. “Commercial deals like this demonstrate that we don’t just export high-quality agricultural products to Japan, but also our world-class technology, expertise, and ...
Minasan, konnichiwa, kia ora and good afternoon everyone. Thank you for the invitation to speak to you today and thank you to our friends at the Institute for International Socio-Economic Studies and NEC for making this event possible today. It gives me great pleasure to be here today, speaking with ...
The National Infrastructure Pipeline, which provides a national view of current or planned infrastructure projects, from roads, to water infrastructure, to schools, and more, has climbed above $120 billion, Infrastructure Minister Chris Bishop says. “Our Government is investing a record amount in modern infrastructure that Kiwis can rely on as ...
The Government is modernising the Public Works Act to make it easier to build infrastructure, Minister for Land Information Chris Penk announced today. An independent panel will undertake an eight-week review of the Act and advise on common sense changes to enable large scale public works to be built faster and ...
New Zealand will enhance its defence contributions to monitoring violations of sanctions against North Korea, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon announced today. The enhancement will see the New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) increase its contributions to North Korea sanctions monitoring, operating out of Japan. “This increase reflects the importance New Zealand ...
Good afternoon everyone. It’s great to be with you all today before we wrap up Day One of the annual Safeguard National Health and Safety Conference. Thank you to the organisers and sponsors of this conference, for the chance to talk to you about the upcoming health and safety consultation. ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed an important milestone for the Ōtaki to north of Levin Road of National Significance (RoNS), following the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) signing interim alliance agreements with two design and construction teams who will develop and ultimately build the new expressway.“The Government’s priority for transport ...
The Department of Internal Affairs [Department] is making a significant upgrade to their Digital Child Exploitation Filtering System, which blocks access to websites known to host child sexual abuse material, says Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden. “The Department will incorporate the up-to-date lists of websites hosting child sexual ...
A vaccine to prevent an infectious disease that costs New Zealand cattle farmers more than $190 million each year could radically improve the health of our cows and boost on-farm productivity, Associate Agriculture Minister Andrew Hoggard says. The Ministry for Primary Industries is backing a project that aims to develop ...
The Government has today announced that it is making it easier for people to build granny flats, Acting Prime Minister Winston Peters and RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop say. “Making it easier to build granny flats will make it more affordable for families to live the way that suits them ...
Attorney-General Judith Collins today announced the appointment of Auckland King’s Counsel Gregory Peter Blanchard as a High Court Judge. Justice Blanchard attended the University of Auckland from 1991 to 1995, graduating with an LLB (Honours) and Bachelor of Arts (English). He was a solicitor with the firm that is now Dentons ...
Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says new data released today shows encouraging growth in the health workforce, with a continued increase in the numbers of doctors, nurses and midwives joining Health New Zealand. “Frontline healthcare workers are the beating heart of the healthcare system. Increasing and retaining our health workforce ...
Associate Justice Minister Nicole McKee has today announced a comprehensive programme to reform New Zealand's outdated and complicated firearms laws. “The Arms Act has been in place for over 40 years. It has been amended several times – in a piecemeal, and sometimes rushed way. This has resulted in outdated ...
The coalition Government is delivering record levels of targeted investment in specialist schools so children with additional needs can thrive. As part of Budget 24, $89 million has been ringfenced to redevelop specialist facilities and increase satellite classrooms for students with high needs. This includes: $63 million in depreciation funding ...
A substantial consultation on work health and safety will begin today with a roadshow across the regions over the coming months, says Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden. This the first step to deliver on the commitment to reforming health and safety law and regulations, set out in ...
Forestry Minister Todd McClay, today announced the start of the Government’s plan to restore certainty and confidence in the forestry and wood processing sector. “This government will drive investment to unlock the industry’s economic potential for growth,” Mr McClay says. “Forestry’s success is critical to rebuilding New Zealand’s economy, boosting ...
Annual service charges in the forestry Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) will be cancelled for 2023/24, Forestry Minister Todd McClay says. “The sector has told me the costs imposed on forestry owners by the previous government were excessive and unreasonable and I agree,” Mr McClay says. “They have said that there ...
Introduction Thank you for having me here today and welcome to Wellington, the home of the Hurricanes, the next Super Rugby champions. Infrastructure – the challenge This government has inherited a series of big challenges in infrastructure. I don’t need to tell an audience as smart as this one that ...
Trade and Agriculture Minister Todd McClay and Food Safety Minister Andrew Hoggard welcomed outcomes to boost agricultural and food trade between New Zealand and China. A number of documents were signed today at Government House that will improve the business environment between New Zealand and China, and help reduce barriers, including on infant formula ...
Trade Minister Todd McClay, and China’s Commerce Minister Wang Wentao, today announced the official launch of Negotiations on Services Trade between the two countries. “The Government is focused on opening doors for services exporters to grow the New Zealand’s economy,” Mr McClay says. As part of the 2022 New Zealand-China Free Trade Agreement Upgrade ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon met with Chinese Premier Li Qiang at Government House in Wellington today. “I was pleased to welcome Premier Li to Wellington for his first official visit, which marks 10 years since New Zealand and China established a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership,” Mr Luxon says. “The Premier and ...
The coalition Government is taking action to reduce the gender pay gap in New Zealand through the development of a voluntary calculation tool. “Gender pay gaps have impacted women for decades, which is why we need to continue to drive change in New Zealand,” Acting Minister for Women Louise Upston ...
The coalition Government is boosting funding for Rural Support Trusts to provide more help to farmers and growers under pressure, Rural Communities Minister Mark Patterson announced today. “A strong and thriving agricultural sector is crucial to the New Zealand economy and one of the ways to support it is to ...
Spending on contractors and consultants continues to fall and the size of the Public Service workforce has started to decrease after years of growth, according to the latest data released today by the Public Service Commission. Workforce data for the quarter from 31 December 23 to 31 March 24 shows ...
Thank you to the Law Association for inviting me to speak this morning. As a former president under its previous name — the Auckland District Law Society — I take particular satisfaction in seeing this organisation, and its members, in such good heart. As Attorney-General, I am grateful for these ...
New Zealand is committed to working closely with Timor-Leste to support its prosperity and resilience, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “This year is the 25th anniversary of New Zealand sending peacekeepers to Timor-Leste, who contributed to the country’s stabilisation and ultimately its independence,” Mr Peters says. “A quarter ...
Promoting robust competition in the banking sector is vital to rebuilding the economy, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. “New Zealanders deserve a banking sector that is as competitive as possible. Banking services play an important role in our communities and in the economy. Kiwis rely on access to lending when ...
Regulation Minister David Seymour, Environment Minister Penny Simmonds, and Food Safety Minister Andrew Hoggard have today announced a regulatory sector review on the approval process for new agricultural and horticultural products. “Red tape stops farmers and growers from getting access to products that have been approved by other OECD countries. ...
The Coalition Government will reverse Labour’s blanket speed limit reductions by 1 July 2025 through a new Land Transport Rule released for public consultation today, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. The draft speed limit rule will deliver on the National-ACT coalition commitment to reverse the previous government’s blanket speed limit ...
Minister Paul Goldsmith is making major leadership changes within both his Arts and Media portfolios. “I am delighted to announce Carmel Walsh will be officially stepping into the role of Chair of the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, having been acting Chair since April,” Arts Minister Paul Goldsmith says. “Carmel is ...
Food and fibre export revenue is tipped to reach $54.6 billion this year and hit a record $66.6b in 2028 as the Government focuses on getting better access to markets and cutting red tape, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay and Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones say. “This achievement is testament ...
A new export exemption proposal for food businesses demonstrates the coalition Government’s commitment to reducing regulatory barriers for industry and increasing the value of New Zealand exports, which gets safe New Zealand food to more markets, says Food Safety Minister Andrew Hoggard. “The coalition Government has listened to the concerns ...
New Zealand and Philippines are continuing to elevate our relationship, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “The leaders of New Zealand and Philippines agreed in April 2024 to lift our relationship to a Comprehensive Partnership by 2026,” Mr Peters says. “Our visit to Manila this week has been an excellent ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Chris Kirkland, Professor of Geochronology, Curtin University Lukas Gojda / Shutterstock Our planet was born around 4.5 billion years ago. To understand this mind-bendingly long history, we need to study rocks and the minerals they are made of. The oldest rocks ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra No one doubts Peter Dutton has a huge task to sell his radical nuclear plan, with many experts throwing buckets of cold water over it. But on Thursday the opposition leader received some welcome backing. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jordana Hunter, School Education Program Director, Grattan Institute The Victorian Auditor-General has just released an audit of Victoria’s A$1.2 billion tutoring program designed to help struggling students post-COVID. The report found the program “did not significantly improve students’ learning compared to ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Marta Khomyn, Lecturer, University of Adelaide Jonathan Borba/Pexels The Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) has just seen the listing of its first bitcoin spot exchange-traded fund – “ETF” for short. Issued by investment management firm VanEck, the new investment product is ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alana Lentin, Professor in Cultural and Social Analysis, Western Sydney University Prudence Upton/Sydney Theatre Company Anchuli Felicia King’s new one-performer piece, American Signs, written for the talented Catherine Văn-Davies, thrusts us into the world of a campus hire at “The Firm”, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ian Parmeter, Research Scholar, Centre for Arab and Islamic Studies, Australian National University Among the many sayings attributed to Winston Churchill is, “Those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it.” This sentiment seems appropriate as Israel potentially appears ...
New Zealand Nurses Organisation Tōpūtanga Tapuhi Kaitiaki o Aotearoa (NZNO) have voiced concerns about Health New Zealand Te Whatu Ora restricting the employment of graduate nurses into their workforce due to budget constraints. ...
The NZCTU is slamming a decision by the Government in Budget 2024 to cut a programme which ensured that disabled workers are paid the minimum wage. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ian Lowe, Emeritus Professor, School of Environment and Science, Griffith University Martin Lisner/Shutterstock It is very difficult to take Opposition Leader Peter Dutton’s nuclear announcement seriously. His proposal for seven nuclear power stations is, at present, legally impossible, technically improbable, economically ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Milad Haghani, Senior Lecturer of Urban Mobility, Public Safety & Disaster Risk, UNSW Sydney Each year, millions of Muslims from across the world embark on the Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca in Saudi Arabia. The mass migration is unparalleled in scale, and pilgrims ...
The Committee has recommended that the Bill be passed with minor amendments. The bill will create 12 new high protection areas, 5 new seafloor protection areas and 2 extensions to existing marine reserves. ...
“The Green Party campaigned on protecting 30 percent of our oceans. We will continue to fight for our marine environment so it can be enjoyed across future generations,” says Marama Davidson. ...
We asked public organisations for an update on their response to the recommendations in our 2022 report Improving value through better Crown entity monitoring. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra After beating a first-term South Australian Liberal government in 2022, Labor premier Peter Malinauskas has gone on to be a reform advocate on issues including social media and politcal donations. His government is looking ...
The economy keeps limping along, and people keep getting poorer. GDP per capita has fallen yet again, and it's now been in freefall for well over a year. ...
Alex Casey and Tara Ward look back at the best and brightest New Zealanders to appear in the greatest reality franchise of all time. It’s the hugely addictive reality show with a little bit of everything. “It’s got the high octane Hell’s Kitchen action in the chef’s galley, the nouveau ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kate Galloway, Professor of Law and Social Justice, Australian Catholic University Commonwealth Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus has announced that the Australian Law Reform Commission (ALRC) would review the Native Title Act to “rectify any inefficacy, inequality or unfairness”. The purpose of the ...
COMMENTARY:By Nick Rockel in Tāmaki Makaurau This morning I did something I seldom do, I looked at the Twitter newsfeed. Normally I take the approach of something that I’m not sure is an American urban legend, or genuinely something kids do over there. The infamous bag of dog poo ...
The Palestine Solidarity Network Aotearoa (PSNA) has issued the government a "letter of demand" for complicity with Israel’s genocidal war in Gaza. ...
You might say the best way not to be an arsehole is to avoid leaving any notes on cars, but if you must, here’s the etiquette. A fun fact that never fails to make me laugh is that something like 90% of drivers believe they’re in the top 5% of ...
Criminal justice advocacy group JustSpeak and human rights movement Amnesty International Aotearoa New Zealand are raising alarm bells about the social justice issues highlighted in this year’s data. ...
By Caleb Fotheringham, RNZ Pacific journalist All parties, including West Papuan pro-independence fighters who took Phillip Mehrtens hostage, want the New Zealand pilot released but freeing him is “complicated”. In February 2023, Mehrtens, a husband and father from Christchurch, was working for Indonesian airline, Susi Air, when he landed his ...
The current coalition not lasting beyond this parliamentary term is an idea that’s been seized on by its opponents. History suggests it’s unlikely – but not impossible. Gabi Lardies explains.‘We have a very good chance of making this a one-term government,” said Labour leader Chris Hipkins at his party’s ...
FIRST Union members at St John have voted to take further strike action that commences today, with the aim of seeking public support for a fully functioning ambulance service before industrial action intensifies to the point of withdrawing labour. ...
By Patrick Decloitre, RNZ Pacific correspondent French Pacific desk New Caledonia’s security forces have arrested eight people believed to be involved in the organisation of pro-independence-related riots that broke out in the French Pacific territory last month. The eight include leaders of the so-called Field Action Coordinating Cell (CCAT), a ...
New Zealand air traffic controller trainees who previously spent up to 18 months training without being treated or paid as employees will now be considered employees ...
Close to a million artefacts found in post-quake Christchurch are now available to be viewed by the public. Alex Casey speaks to the founder of Museum of Archeology Ōtautahi.Charles Henry Cox would’ve got away with it, if it hadn’t been for those damn meddling archeologists. The talented grifter proudly ...
The director and actor shares what it means to commit to the work.Anapela Polataivao ONZM is an award-winning director and actor. She is a recipient of the Arts Foundation New Generation Award (2014), the Contemporary Pacific Art Award (2019), and Best Director at the Auckland Theatre Awards (2016). Her ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Liam Byrne, Honorary Fellow, School of Historical and Philosophical Studies, The University of Melbourne When British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced the UK general election outside 10 Downing Street in the pouring rain last month, the ignominy of the moment was compounded ...
I’m a vegan who adores vegetables and he’s a big meat-eater totally suspicious of them. Help me! Want Hera’s help? Email your problem to helpme@thespinoff.co.nzKia ora Hera,I need my partner to eat some vegetables and I don’t know how.I have a lovely partner: he’s caring, supportive and meets me where ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Hussein Dia, Professor of Future Urban Mobility, Swinburne University of Technology algre/Shutterstock Just last year, data suggested plug-in hybrid cars were on the way out in Australia. But they’re back. New data shows plug-in hybrids and conventional hybrids combined have overtaken ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Robyn Schofield, Associate Professor and Associate Dean (Environment and Sustainability), The University of Melbourne ESA Communications companies such as Starlink plan to launch tens of thousands of satellites into orbit around Earth over the next decade or so. The growing swarm ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ganna Pogrebna, Executive Director, AI and Cyber Futures Institute, Charles Sturt University Shutterstock In the ever-evolving online gaming landscape, one seemingly simple online game has captivated players. The free-to-play clicker Banana has amassed more than 850,000 concurrent players on the gaming ...
Data this morning will reveal whether or not the country has pulled out of recession, writes Stewart Sowman-Lund in this extract from The Bulletin. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here. Have ...
There is no suggestion the contents of Seymour’s messages were inappropriate, but some of his former correspondents say the interactions shouldn’t have happened The post Seymour fronts up on Snapchats with school kids appeared first on Newsroom. ...
Never fear! The rogue Māori is here! To be honest I’m pretty fūcken peeved at having to join the chorus, late, of witless Pākehā who have thoughts on Paul Moon’s book Ans Westra: A Life In Photography. Steve Braunias is all right, we are friends, but I wasn’t happy about ...
A housing minister willing to publicly discuss house price falls is encouraging, but true affordability is likely to remain a long way off, writes Max Rashbrooke. House prices must always rise. For as long as I can recall, this has been one of the core assumptions of Kiwi politics. It ...
Lange and Muldoon clash, two days after the election. Our live updates editor is on the case. In a ranking of the most dramatic, unhinged days in New Zealand politics, July 16, 1984 would be right up there. David Lange would later call the day “perhaps the most extraordinary of ...
Opinion: According to UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, a record 117.3 million peoples were forcibly displaced at the end of 2023 due to conflict, violence, or climate-related disasters. This is nearly equivalent to the populations of the United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia combined. Alarmingly, the number of forcibly displaced peoples ...
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Can we please have just one Green MP that can control themselves (like an adult), that does not require to either go on a course of "de-escalation", or need help for mental health issues and the leaders do not have to apologise for their actions.
NZ politics live: Green MP unleashes f-bomb in Parliament | Stuff
Another MSM beat-up Jimmy; they must be really worried about the polls.
The Greens are on 12% so must be doing something right on things like policies, which the MSM seems less interested in.
12% isn't great.
They need to get into the 20s if they want to influence the policy direction of the next government.
The Greens achieved their best election result (15 seats, including three electorate seats) last year.
They’ve never been above 12% of the party vote, and yet have had some influence on govt policy direction in some areas. Just my opinion – like all political parties and politicians, they will continue to fall short on occasion, but remain my favorite NZ political party, in part for their longer-term focus in selected areas of concern.
Exactly.
If they want to move past the status of a party that props up Labour governments, then they need to exceed their 2023 result – by a large margin.
Every minor party will have policy wins. Look at NZF and Act at the moment.
But we want a Green Party that dominates a government.
Agreed James….but the establishment doesn't want this and will do anything to portray the Greens as a disorganised rabble.
As a Green voter for many years, I used to dream of them holding steady at 12-13 per cent. But every CC event/disaster now adds a fraction to their vote so 20 per cent is no longer a dream..
Oh I don't know… it's a rare thing as a voter to feel like my views and attitudes are being represented by my representative.
Jimmy we get that you have no time for the left, as your past posts are mainly whinges.
On one hand, I've never liked Riccardo Mendez-March and found him, in general, to be a political liability for the Greens.
On the other, dropping an f-bomb in Parliament is objectively hilarious and awesome.
I don't care if someone says fuck in the House (the Speaker can deal with any issues around that). He didn't direct it at anyone or use it as a term of abuse.
The problem I have is the lack of discipline that leads to yet another round of MSM negative attention on the Greens. Maybe they're getting it all out of the way this year.
Marama was just on RadioNZ news saying that all the parties swear every day in parliament.
RadioNZ introduced her comment by saying that the Greens admit that their members swear in parliament every day. WTF?
Most of it being while the person is not addressing the House.
In the House?
At the same time could we please have a National MP that can do basic maths and not forget to carry the 1?
They need your help badly Jimmy, go tiger!
Fuck !!!really that's fucking disgusting , sack the fucker immediately!!!
I get what you are saying and I share your frustration.
That said, JAG is guilty of aggressively waving some documents in a bloke's face while simultaneously committing the sin of being totally correct about what they were actually arguing about.
RMM said a potty word.
On the other hand the government is blatantly corrupt, is dismantling everything Labour does often for no other reason than because Labour did it.
Let's keep this in fucking perspective.
+100 that guy
Can we plz have concern trolls that out up a better example
Of far greater concern to 'us' is an MP that 'overlooked' 10s of thousands of dollars of
bribesdonations while chairing a committee that met his donor's interests, in my opinion.Sometimes, it’s a fine line between a concern troll and a useful idiot and Jimmy’s obviously having an identity crisis and cannot choose. Going forward, this is important because some Mods here struggle to tell the difference.
If only you knew how often I have to put my hands in my pockets clench my jaw and walk past jimmys efforts so as to not upset you mods , you'd put me up for a saint hood.
I/we didn’t know because when you put your hands in your pocket you cannot type a comment for TS. But I/we admire and appreciate your fortitude.
Tories have called an early election in the UK, early July. Tories currently trailing 20 points in polls.
https://amp.theguardian.com/politics/article/2024/may/22/rishi-sunak-will-call-general-election-for-july-in-surprise-move-sources
edited to correct who is trailing in the polls.
Concurrently, the outcome of the most sadistic policies implemented by the Tories is finally getting a proper inquiry. Policies that were heavily influencing the last Nat government, and would likely have been implemented had they secured a 4th term.
https://www.theguardian.com/society/article/2024/may/22/inquiry-to-begin-into-dwps-treatment-of-ill-and-disabled-people-on-benefits
Yes Kay, the true doco of "Mr Bates against the Post Office", gives a view of their punishing lying use of power.
You may like to check the timeline of the scandal before you get all unhappy with the Conservative Party.
The product was installed in 1999 and the prosecutions started almost immediately and ran until 2015.
There was a Labour Government there from 1997 until 2010. The system went in and the prosecutions were largely during their reign. The Conservative Party were certainly culpable for the slowness in cleaning it up but even you would agree that the real blame for it happening was Labour's?
Wouldn't you?
And the MP who campaigned for justice for the postmasters was James Arbuthnot (played by Alex Jennings in the recreation), who (inconveniently for Patricia) is a Conservative.
Don't frighten me. Tories trailing by 20 points
god, sorry. That will teach me for posting too early in the morning. Editing the commentnow.
Just clueless fwits. So fixated on their "vision" (which will be dire for the majority of NZ), that they blithely/blindly roll on, and over, all.
Again the use of "House" as opposed to "Places." Bishop and Luxon being naughty?
Well…..thats a given. Stretttching the bounds is nothing new.
Allocating $140M for 1500 houses is $100,000 per house. Sounds like a bedsit inside social housing provider building.
Yep. It'll be "NO frills" . After all, they are the New Victorians , who Charles Dickens would recognise as such . The phrase "Nothing so cold as Charity" will assume extra meaning in NZ under NActFirst.
Na itlll be nothing, just a convenient lie from national .
Well well, well. Sunak has called a probably catastrophic early election early because the knives were out for him on the back benches. The Tories are committing seppuku – they are utterly spent, pre-occupied with interminable infighting to the extent Sunak has called a July election as an act of spite against his internal enemies and still get to California in time to see his kids into school for the new term.
Meanwhile, I see Adrian Orr has written the death note for this government – it is going to be a one term wonder because we are now looking at a three year recession. Richard Harman at Politik – the uber centrist purveyor of received wisdom – is busy peddling the line that this is all the result of Labour's COVID spending so the govt might get away with it, but the thing is Luxon wasn't elected to fix the economy via Osbornian austerity. he was elected to do something about the squeezed middle class and the cost of living crisis. He can't and anyway doesn't want to deliver on that promise so they will be toast.
Everybody knows austerity in the face of a recession leads to double (if not the Osborne tripple) dipping the recession. The conclusion should be that, yes, Luxon was elected on the promise to carry that out.
Sadly, the political situation in Great Britain is almost identical to the U.S.: a choice between two unconscionable options.
There are, of course, a few decent and honourable politicians, like George Galloway, whose recent return to parliament drove both major party leaders into displays of Blimpish outrage.
And there is Andrew Feinstein, who is trying to unseat Keir Starmer,,,
https://x.com/DoubleDownNews/status/1792858765600899124
Rishi Sunak doing a 1984 Muldoon. It didn't go too well for Muldoon.
Some things never change. Its a case of… if I'm going to go down in smoke, I'll make sure the rest of you come down with me. 😉
Over 200 Conservative MP's that face losing their seats have just seen an easy NZ$95k go up in smoke because Rishi has called the election 6 months early for no good reason. (A backbencher earns NZ$190k a year).
Shame. (sarc)
They should have listened to Hipkins.
He hung on the just about the last legal moment before recognising that his Government was dead and smelling rather a lot. Still, he got all his losing MPs a pay packet for as long as he could. Too bad for New Zealand of course.
I'm gonna bet you a chocolate fish this mob if bandits in government in nz will go to the polls early .
Why on earth would they?
I used to know one-time PM Jack Marshall. He was a member of a Government which went to the polls after 2 years, not 3, over the waterfront issue in 1951.
He said, when asked, that the only effect in the long term was that they served for 8 years, 1949 – 1957, instead of 9 for 3 full terms from 1949 to 1958. That was the only effect.
Why should anyone hold an early election, whether the are likely to win it, or lose it?
Coalition collapse
I note that Harmon does not link to the RBG statement ….
https://www.politik.co.nz/orrs-warning-three-years-of-austerity/
https://www.stuff.co.nz/money/350286984/home-loan-cuts-story-next-year
I read that Harman comment and thought that was a bit rich, blaming it all on Covid when some of the bank commentators are unsettled by the whole tax cut scenario and the expectation that it is more likely to fuel domestic inflation, the very thing the RBNZ is trying to curb.
Exactly Nic, the Luxonites are the most likely beneficiaries of austerity, another 10% on the weekly shop means bugger all when there’s a nice multi million dollar pillow to lay one’s head on after a hard days rorting.
The local problem is Greedflation and that’s a real bastard to control.
What “Harman comment” and where??
A link would be good.
Relevant to what was discussed here a couple of days ago. Well referenced and supported.
Risk of Suicide and Self-Harm Following Gender-Affirmation Surgery
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38699117/
Just in case anyone is still running the lines about "would you rather have a live daughter or a dead son?"
"Individuals who underwent gender-affirming surgery had a 12.12-fold higher suicide attempt risk than those who did not (3.47% vs. 0.29%, RR 95% CI 9.20-15.96, p < 0.0001). Compared to the tubal ligation/vasectomy controls, the risk was 5.03-fold higher before propensity matching and remained significant at 4.71-fold after matching (3.50% vs. 0.74%, RR 95% CI 2.46-9.024, p < 0.0001) for the gender affirmation patients with similar results with the pharyngitis controls. Conclusion Gender-affirming surgery is significantly associated with elevated suicide attempt risks, underlining the necessity for comprehensive post-procedure psychiatric support."
FFS you cannot compare the risks of self harm and suicide post Gender-Affirming surgery to longterm contraception or a sore throat[ pharyngitis].
The self harm and suicidality exists before the surgery, do people not realize that most Gender Affirmation is not male to female but female to male. The surgery is but another form of bodily self harm as part of complex Borderline Personality Disorders.
please don't put your email address in the URL field, it displays it publicly. You can leave the URL field blank.
sorry autofill
Actually, the critical group NOT included in the study is the incidence of suicide in transgender patients who do NOT undergo affirmation surgery. If affirmation surgery decreases the incidence of suicide in trans people, then gender-affirming surgery has a positive effect overall. I don't understand why an emergency visit was included in the study. Perhaps, without the emergency visit, the stats don't look so good.
"The study involved four cohorts: cohort A, adults aged 18-60 who had gender-affirming surgery and an emergency visit (N = 1,501); cohort B, control group of adults with emergency visits but no gender-affirming surgery (N = 15,608,363); and cohort C, control group of adults with emergency visits, tubal ligation or vasectomy, but no gender-affirming surgery (N = 142,093). Propensity matching was applied to cohorts A and C."
It's risky
It's irreversible (no, you cannot replace a healthy breast with an implant, you can't un-invert a penis, and you can't take skin from a neophallus and put it back on a shucked forearm, sorry if anyone loses their lunch, but this is reality)
It's performed (unless you are rich) by inexperienced surgeons, because this is what happens when the demand for a type of surgery suddenly outstrips the number of competent and experienced surgeons
It will (at a minimum) make sex awkward and may make it impossible and painful, and previous use of puberty blockers are likely to make orgasm impossible, for the rest of the patient's life.
And it's all in pursuit of an impossible goal, because men are not women and you can't stop people accurately sexing you, in the same way that you can't stop yourself from determining which way is up and which way is down.
Of course people with SDPS (Sexual Dysfunction Producing Surgery) are getting down. They are victims, they are vulnerable, they have been promised a lie by people claiming expertise and authority, and when reality hits (usually in the mid-twenties) it's too late.
That, and the Dr Frankenstein surgeons.
Seriously? We're at that level of name-calling now?
Let me rephrase then.
That, and the surgeons who are doing experimental surgeries on the genitals of teenagers, without informed consent, often botching them, not really knowing how to fix that, leaving young people to face a lifetime of pain and regret, and doing that because they love the cutting edge of transhumanism.
Is that better?
#notallSRSsurgeons obviously. But we don't know how many eh, which is the point. Fuck No Debate.
a couple of receipts from things I've seen recently.
Detrans man, Ritchie Heron's thread from today,
https://x.com/TullipR/status/1793660665426850225
The surgeon who did experimental cross genital surgery on Jazz Jennings at age 17,
https://x.com/TTExulansic/status/1792304132277317974
https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2024/05/housing-minister-chris-bishop-admits-government-scrapping-first-home-grants-unpopular-will-cause-some-pain.html
True to form national are proved to be dishonest, they attacked labour for not going far enough with first home grants, I even believe they said they wouldn't cut the grants, but here we are.
Lets see if any of the media sock puppets take this up with our ex tobacco lobbyist housing minister.
Im sure he will have a response ready as hes skilled in these matters.
I thought they did yesterday and his smirky response was "that was then, this is now".
A please explain wouldn't hurt so bishop can dig himself in or surprise us all with an intelligent response.
I am not surprised by the RBG take.
Sure imported inflation was coming down and the impact of the weather events of early 2023 have gone – so we were going to get to 3% by the end of the year.
Many presumed therefore that the 5.5% OCR had done its jobs and it would go down – this year even.
This was never likely. So for them a shot across the bows.
This is because domestic inflation will hold the rate at 3% through 2025 and beyond – rates (infrastructure) and insurance (adjusting for impact on infrastructure of GW) are going up year by year at rates not seen before AND loss of (construction) workers to Oz (seeking secure jobs and better wages) increasing costs.
Chickens coming home to roost – economic growth via migrant labour inflow population increase decreases productivity (we needed investment in more efficient use of resources) and it increases infrastructure cost.
It does expose a limitation in the OCR approach – the lower imported inflation would allow a lower dollar (improved returns to exporters), if there was an alternative mechanism for internal inflation management.
Such as a reduction of the OCR to 5% and the impost of a mortgage surcharge (0.25%, then 0.5%) – the government surely needs the money.
More money paid in rent – less GST spending. Less tax off rent income (landlords giveaway). No rise in wages (25 cents an hour MW no FPA etc). Will company tax make up the shortfall …
That all said, Zollner may be right, in correcting the misplaced optimisim of a fall from the 5.5% level – a fall is still likely
https://www.politik.co.nz/orrs-warning-three-years-of-austerity/
https://www.stuff.co.nz/money/350286984/home-loan-cuts-story-next-year
That all said, Zollner may be right, in correcting the misplaced optimism of a (n early) fall from the 5.5% level – (so banks do not rush cuts), a fall is still likely (albeit in the latter half of 2025, than the first half – as even the wiser ones thought a few months ago).
I remember paying 18% on a commercial loan in 1990 ….5.5% doesn't sound so bad.
Tony Alexander looks at the economy and rides his horse away from the elephant.
https://www.oneroof.co.nz/news/tony-alexander-in-the-most-dangerous-part-of-the-cycle-time-to-call-it-quits-45557
Yet more proof that we need to reinvent how we tackle inflation .
Yeah the, don't feed the Damien Grant's of this world, warning is chilling.
Sir Ian Taylor wants a smart investment plan, rather than keeping doors open to the old industry economy.
Re-wiring the nation (so extra power is not more expensive) from the farm up.
Geothermal
Bio-forestry
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/opinion-a-letter-to-shane-jones-sir-ian-taylor/MBOYHVJWEZAFNN5N5YW3R5XKNU/
https://archive.li/aHb2M
Sign of the times – Auckland inner city police have to focus on daylight robbery of food.
This is what happens when population increases by 2.9%, but economic growth is 0.6%
https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/new-zealand/2024/05/alleged-whittaker-s-chocolate-thief-chased-through-auckland-cbd-as-police-crack-down-on-retail-crime-hundreds-of-charges-laid.html
I presume the environmental cost met by government is far higher than the risible amount of royalties received.
https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2024/05/resources-minister-shane-jones-announces-plan-to-double-export-earnings-from-mining-says-industry-is-back-in-business.html
The growth in mining royalties is from $6.5M in 2010.
So we get stuff all from the gold then ..
https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/3502112/6-5m-royalties-from-mining-the-cherry-on-the-top
Simon Court – an ACT MP – thinks if we drill for oil here we get cheaper energy – we do not refine the oil, it would have to go overseas and be refined there and sent back – it would be no cheaper to us than the world market rate.
https://www.1news.co.nz/2024/05/23/mining-back-in-business-with-plan-to-double-export-value-govt/
The number of staff leaving straight off (to get new jobs asap and the others waiting for the voluntary redundancy option then going) is indicative of people who do not want to be clients. Nor work for a National led government.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/politics/350287893/ministry-social-development-looks-shed-700-staff
Workforce Data – Workforce size – Te Kawa Mataaho Public Service Commission
The number of public sector employees (excluding local government) rose by 65,784 (19%) in just 6 years to 2023.
The number employed by MSD rose from 6,799 @ June 2017 to 9,077 @ June 2023, an increase of 2,277 or 33%.
The population of NZ increased by 11% between 2017 and 2023. So, MSD employee numbers rose by a factor 3 over the population growth. I'm surprised it's only 700.
Do you do consultant numbers as well?
What is the comparison from 2017 to 2023?
Oh, there is stuff you did not mention
And this
And also
From Workforce Data – Workforce size – Te Kawa Mataaho Public Service Commission.
Total contractor and consultant spend (Opex & Capex) in the year to June 2018 = $900.2m
Total contractor and consultant spend (Opex & Capex) in the year to June 2023 = $1,268.5m
An increase in 5 years of 30%.
What was the point you were trying to make?
1.no useful consultant figures until 2018 (even if only at the aggregate spend)
2.30% is less than wage increases in the period, so no apparent increase in number of consultants.
3.the reason for the staff increases in MSD in 2023 was explained.
4.as a share of workforce spend, operating expenditure (OPEX) on contractors and consultants decreased to 9.6% in the first half of 2023/24, the lowest it’s been since measurement began (2018).
One wonders if National will continue with this measurable comparison or not – so consultant spend increase is hidden.
The % of spend on c&c’s went down because the workforce went up at such a high rate!
Reposted, read…
Not relating cost increase to wage levels or inflation means the figures are without context.
The reasons – managing help after weather events and to manage down levels of reduce were rather good.
Under National will the increased cost of consultants to total spending be higher or lower relative to permanent staff number changes?
The employee data is numbers, not $'s, so inflation and wage levels are irrelevant.
To your point about consultants and contractors – spending increased 30% in 5 years, well above the rate of population growth AND the rate of inflation over the same period (21.1%).
“The reasons – managing help after weather events and to manage down levels of reduce were rather good.”
Seriously? A 33% increase in staff to manage weather events? AT MSD?
3.1% in 2023 for that and other reasons.
Wage inflation was higher than 20%, relevance to staffing numbers as that figure is not available for consultants.
Wage inflation is irrelevant when comparing employee numbers.
Employee numbers went up 19%, when population only rose 11%.
Spending on consultants and contractors up 30% over 5 years when inflation only rose 21%.
Whichever way you spin this, whichever comparisons you use, the increase in the public sector was out of control.
Then by your reasoning, the cost of consultants was out of control – being 50% higher than general inflation (even if it only reflected a rising cost of pay to people doing the same work as 5 years earlier).
And the measure by which we can determine if National is able to manage out of control consultancy cost.
I think this unfair, but if it is the one you will hold National to, I'll not quibble about that.
SPC it's you that raised spending on consultants. I was commenting on the growth in the workforce. But yes, spending on consultants rising 30% is out of control. And absolutely I will hold any government to account if the growth in the public sector we've seen in the past 6 years is repeated.
Stuff looks at why Ginny Anderson (moving into the role of Louisa Wall – closing a loophole in Harmful Digital Communications Act) has developed a private members bill – hoping to prod the government to do something.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/nz-news/350281878/its-epidemic-calls-stalking-be-made-illegal-new-zealand
From the link;
As the victim of a stalker for a good number of years I can attest to that.
My stalker kept a close 'eye' on everything I did. There were numerous nuisance phone calls – the silent variety. My home was broken into twice and on one occasion obscene messaging left on a bathroom cabinet door. False accusations to my Public Service bosses surfaced which led to hostility towards me. I eventually had to leave.
There were numerous bizarre incidents, including mysterious injuries to pets.
It was all done covertly but I was eventually able to identify the culprit. The motivation was part political and part personal and involved at least one other person.
The police were hopeless. They had no comprehension of the huge amount of damage it did to me. They…did… not… have… a… clue.
In some cases it is done by those who the police would protect, rather than investigate.
Yes, the thought has crossed my mind.
https://newsroom.co.nz/2024/05/23/govt-paid-kainga-ora-reviewers-out-of-urgent-housing-fund/
Double dipton and his "independent "reviewers took up $500 000 out of the emergency housing fund, it'd make me laugh if only I didn't want to swear more.
$63 000 for 26 days, !!!
10 percent of a first home buyers house, for 26 fucking days , fucking hell
It made Bomber bombastic.
https://thedailyblog.co.nz/2024/05/22/here-they-come-for-state-housing-how-compromised-is-bill-english/
Susan St John responds to a Taxpayers Union email – preparing the way for the budget
https://thedailyblog.co.nz/2024/05/21/will-the-true-debt-figure-please-stand-up/
Women in Medicine organised a panel discussion – with 3 wise men – to listen at their feet.
https://thedailyblog.co.nz/2024/05/20/guest-blog-ian-powell-health-system-synthesis-from-time-to-culture-struggle-and-hope/
Another Government attack on people with disabilities – this time school-age children. Rather than recognising and accepting that some of their specific needs might be relieved by attending out-of-school daytime programmes, the Government expects the children to comply with a strict routine/regime of school attendance. The full transcript in the following link shows the inflexible, ideological mindset of the Government and their disregard for evidence of beneficial interventions.
From Question Time today:
https://www.parliament.nz/en/pb/hansarddebates/rhr/combined/HansDeb_20240523_20240523_24
"10. Hon PRIYANCA RADHAKRISHNAN (Labour) to the Minister for Disability Issues: Why have disability support funding criteria changed recently to now exclude the use of funding during school hours, and does she accept that many disabled people and children rely on flexible funding to be able to access critical support?
Hon LOUISE UPSTON (Minister for Disability Issues): ………The recent changes to the purchasing guidelines reflected the Ministry of Disabled People's view that the Ministry of Education is responsible for funding support during school hours. I sympathise with all children and families who may have different support due to the changes and I acknowledge that this may have caused distress. The independent review of disability support funding will be looking into how the whole-of-Government support work together so that disabled people get the essential support they need.
Hon Priyanca Radhakrishnan: What does she say to the mum whose 11-year-old daughter diagnosed with autism and ADHD and chronic health challenges, who relies on a special one-to-one gymnastic therapy class to help improve her muscle tone and regulate her anxiety levels, will no longer be able to access support because of this new change?
Hon LOUISE UPSTON: As I said, I sympathise with the impact that any changes may have had. The primary question was about the use of funding during school hours, and our Government recognises the importance of school attendance, so much so that we have set a target to ensure children are attending school—this is all children, and an expectation that all children get the education they deserve.
Hon Priyanca Radhakrishnan: What does she say to the mum whose 12-year-old son attends Mockingbird, that helps autistic children cope with school and is offered only during school hours……
Hon LOUISE UPSTON: As I said, I understand how challenging it is for parents. Having navigated the system as a parent of a child who needed additional support at school, I understand how challenging it is. But our Government is committed to ensuring that children are at school during school hours and that education provides a support and assistance while children are at school. It is unfortunate that important services like this are operating during school hours when we actually want children to be in school and get the support for their education at school.
……………..
Hon Priyanca Radhakrishnan: Has the Minister sought confirmation from the education Minister that her Government will fund schools to cover the cost of these programmes now that they can no longer be claimed through disability support funding, and, if not, why not?
Hon LOUISE UPSTON: As I said, there are different Government agencies that deliver services for disabled people. For disabled school children, the expectation is that they are at school. …..".
This sort of Ministerial Q and A performance was why the files behind Monty Python and Yes Minister emerged from the cleaners union staff servicing Whitehall.
Short version
It is now with the Education Ministry to manage costs for their care, but they require the disabled children to be in a mainstream school or special school during school hours …
when in current practice schools allow medical cause time outs (just funded from the disability budget).
Is Louise Upston going to get away with the inept performance of the sort that her predecessor was removed for? Because she is National and gets her face alongside Luxon in photos? Or because the PM does not care either?