Toby Manhire: "Campbell, who did a good job at keeping things rolling, at one point observed, “You sound like you’re both on auto-pilot,” he was mostly right, except that would have required leaving the ground."
Trish Sherson: "Real politics is live, off script, a contest of ideas with tough questions. Collins owned it."
Morgan Godfery: "The prime minister had it all over her: on the border, on housing, on education, and in personality. "
Ben Thomas: "Ardern was strangely hesitant."
Justin Giovannetti: "When asked about her plan for poverty reduction, Collins responded with ripping up the RMA. Campbell was incredulous, voters were probably confused."
Madeleine Chapman: "both leaders argued about who could commit the hardest to not taxing property. In my mind, we all lost tonight. And I will spend the next seven working days of my life fake-smiling and announcing “my husband is Samoan, so talofa” to everyone I meet. In that sense, Judith Collins won simply by saying something so ridiculous that she’ll be living rent-free in my brain until the next debate."
Steve Braunias has written an article for the Guardian on the leaders' debate. The link is below. One notable quote…
After the curious stage direction, Campbell gave a warm welcome to Ardern and Collins, and revealed that he was holding nothing more sinister than a brand new clipboard. The next 90 minutes were all downhill.
“I tell you what, John,” she kept saying, and one of the things she told him over and over is that she had experience as a small business owner. “I once was one.” She treated the debate as a kind of autobiography in instalments.
Old Jude's really quite skillful, don't you think? No flies on her in this regard.
When there is very little of relevance that you can confidently dominate the debate with, revert to repetitive and vague historical recollections, including inane self promotion.
And then hope that it might appeal to the emotions of a number of the disillusioned or worried, (in this case small and medium business operators), or any other target audience which you know will be feeling some pain or distress at the time you take to the podium.
Then hope like Hell that your murmurings will convince the target audience that their suffering and predicament was brought about by your opponent, or those who advised him or her and also by those who continue to do so.
Maybe Ardern was just plain tired , pandemic to navigate NZ through since March and electioneering since July. She knew it and had to tread cautiously first time around.
Janet I would think you're 100% right. The knowledge that the election would be over now if not having to be fitted round wilfully ignorant people undoing the efforts of those really doing God's work on earth leads to pockets of depression. She may have been on the edge of one of them.
And for those not wishing to sleepwalk to the polls, just roll over and go back to sleep, (perhaps until 2023).
Another way, if are worried that you might be accused of NOT voting or you are getting a bit nervous about being caught out abstaining from the three yearly habit, is to go to the nearest polling place, walk in, and then out.
After you've done and then just mill around (smoke a ciggy if you're that way inclined, or sip on a water for about 20 minutes) and then leave with an old "I voted" sticker from 2017 or 2014 that you brought with you, stuck to your jacket, shirt or blouse.
Collins made her points rather than answer the actual questions. The arrogance was on show with those cutaway shots so her media minders have work to do unless that's the desired outcome.
Collin's is hardly going to make any impact trying to play Ardern at her particular skills, because a) she isn’t that cuddly feely, b) She would look incincere, so pointing out basic points is pretty much all she has to go with at this late stage I think.
I did think Collins got the better of Ardern with coming across to your average normal voter who doesn't particularly follow politics, with plain speak tbh, while Ardern's normally excellent communication skills kind of had an off night.
If anything, to me it looked oddly like Ardern had just over practiced the thing and was just sticking to a routine or script, with no improv' when Collins pointed things out.
If you like full on cringe you would have picked Collins over Ardern. Her performance was on par with what a certain Don Brash could produce, even Bridges probably would have been more convincing.
Collins response of "that we know of!" to Ardern's statement on the tiny amount of border/quarantine breaches was one such example.
I guess it comes down to how you prefer you leader to come across.
Different voters prefer different things. If you like the touchy feely persona, Ardern is always going to win (although she had an off night last night). If you prefer just basic truthful points rammed at you then you would go Collins.
And if you are a die hard voter for either party, you are going to view each persons performance with rose coloured glasses and ignore the flaws of your preferred.
An old trick that seasoned or street smart politicians on the offensive often come up with is having it appear that they are trying to be polite and truthful, when all they are trying to do is to dislodge their opponent and dominate the debate.
Ardern seems to be aware of this tactic and has obviously been quite well coached in relation to avoiding repetitive distraction. For example, repetitive title errors or name pronunciations"errors".
Expressing opinion as to package it as a "truthful presentation" is another tactic which is well used. It is commonly acceptable just as long as the opinion expressed cannot be legitimately challenged as being erroneous or non-factual at the time that opinion is provided.
This is as old a trick as using percentages of percentages to embellish or appear to exaggerate a statement so as to give it impact.
Say the unemployment figure for women in NZ from Sept 2017 through to Sept 2018 decreased from 5.4% to 4%, some might convey it this way; "The number of registered unemployed women in NZ dropped by about 22% during Sept 2017 and Sept 2018".
Quite entertaining really.
All I am suggesting is that we all need to be careful with our definition of the word; "truthful", especially when quoting politicians lines.
No matter what her minders have told her she must change – and it's obvious her minders have said there's a lot she needs to change – there's nothing Collins can do to mask her abject narcissism and multiple personality disorders.
I was a bit put off by the hype- Wendy Petrie over the poll results, as if they were handed down to Moses as gospel to the repeated gushy ad with Campbell.
I am not the target audience, I have made up my mind and will be early voting.
@ Dennis Frank …yep with you there..I fucking love political debates, and this one I actually thought was pretty good, it showed for anyone who bothered to watch the whole thing where both political parties lined up and where the light was between them…the environment was obviously the most stark difference between them, while Madeleine Chapman summed up housing and capital gains (which is also of course directly related to inequality and poverty outcomes etc)…"both leaders argued about who could commit the hardest to not taxing property. In my mind, we all lost tonight."
I found Ardern to be quite uncharismatic which combined with an awful semi pleading delivery style was quite hard to watch, while Collins left me with the feeling that I cannot excuse anyone who would actually vote for someone so seething with uncontrolled rage and a barely contained nasty streak that spilled out time and time again in almost every sideways look and glance she made at Ardren..she seemed to me to be quite unhinged.
Indeed. Someone ought to explain biological signalling to her! Viewers read the plea as a sign of weakness. Sincere, genuine leftists use the plea style out of habit, presuming others have rapport, empathy, and will give the reasoning due consideration. My guess is that their assumption is valid for about 20% of the audience. Inept politics to use it then, eh?
" Sincere, genuine leftists use the plea style out of habit" exactly right, which is why I have been advocating taking a hard line for years…stop asking and start demanding change from these fuckers..no more bended knees and more clenched fists of righteous outrage imo.
The problem in NZ is that we have never strung up any politician from a lamp post by their feet, so there is no historical reference for them to have any fear of us..hence their demeaning, insulting and frankly outrageous shift over the past thirty or so years to regarding the population as mere consumers rather active citizens.
Really? I can't think of any Leftist politicians or activists that do/have ever done the plea gesture so often..if at all..ever.
It has certainly never been used to create change or forward momentum. Infact the only political figures who tend towards that sort of thing are possibly James Shaw and Justin Trudeau..add Ardern to that list..and it looks rather like a Centrist's trying hard not to look like centrists technique…pleading with the voters to buy into their fragile narrative with its elusive promises.
That being said..qudos to Shaw for managing to talk about inequality at the finance debate…
“…so seething with uncontrolled rage and a barely contained nasty streak that spilled out time and time again in almost every sideways look and glance she made at Ardern…she seemed to me to be quite unhinged."
Spot on, wholly accurate assessment. I cannot add a thing to it. Would be good if the commentators had the balls to say so, too, although many wouldn't have the tools to detect it.
A lot of dreams are in tatters around the town, and a lot who thought it was all over in April are going like never before, so a very interesting town right now.
It's a bit different to actually have an election campaign in town, usually it's a pretty subdued affair with just the local candidates and maybe a senior Nat down on a fundraiser. This time the work is going in and it's all on. Labour actually putting up a viable local candidate along with the current situation has really got things going.
They played a short clip on breakfast news and I couldn't believe how much Robertson – who doesn't normally seem a big man – towered over the pipsqueaks on either side of him. One of whom was Goldsmith.
Tova just now reckoned that Seymour won. He seems to be flavour of the month, so wouldn't surprise me.
"ACT leader David Seymour announced the party's tourism policy at an event at the Te Anau Club last night, calling for privately run managed isolation facilities, and allowing rich foreigners to pay to use them for a New Zealand holiday. "
edit
We need to be retreating from barefoot tourism but still need to keep overseas tourists' money cycling through the economy. You express horror at the idea of wealthy coming here to managed isolation prior to being able to tour round the country using some of the expensive infrastructure set up for such people. And also it would I hope have a dedicated set of workers earning, is not a disgraceful or impractical idea.
Until we get organised shipping set up that perhaps follows the seasons, and sails around the tornado areas as much as possible, then having an airline running reducing kilometres to bring people here, and enable NZs to go to certain places, requires the two-way coming and going numbers to keep viable.
Who has thought about how shipping could serve us? Can we expand the numbers of berths on container ships? I have an old advertisement advertising these on a 'banana boat'. And can we provide business for the Greeks again? The Fairstar and the Fairsky ships were owned by Onassiss I think. They did a busy trade in the 1960-70s.
" You express horror at the idea of wealthy coming here to managed isolation prior to being able to tour round the country using some of the expensive infrastructure set up for such people. And also it would I hope have a dedicated set of workers earning, is not a disgraceful or impractical idea."
I express horror? Dont imagine what I express. I merely stated
" Lets not forget what act really is… "
and linked to an article. But hey your comment paints a picture.
Well you know what thought thought…Anyway you seem to want to be on both ends of the game. You decry neoliberalism…while praising an idea that stems exactly from there. Huh?
Thanks to both neolib nats and neolib "labour". NZ did away with our our NZ Apprenticeship scheme and became a hospitality/waiter/waitress/touristguide/bartender/service industry neolib playground.
If you cant see the Irony here? I cant help you across the road to it.
Labour seems to be getting back to what they are supposed to be. I really hope so.
No. I briefly thought I should watch it, then decided a better use of my time would be to find a rusty old can-opener and give myself an anesthetic-free vasectomy.
Did not watch. Working. Caught the odd snippet here and there.
I doubt I missed much, to be honest. I find Collins personally repellent and I try to avoid watching her in the same way I actively avoid reading anything written by Mike Hosking and his similarly awful wife. Life is too short to spend it shrieking at the television. I've spend decades watching National ruin everything they touch, and National would have to stop being National for me to ever consider voting for them. The current incarnation is probably the worst I've ever witnessed.
"National ruin everything they touch", unlike Lange and the Graham Scott Puppet Show.
"In late 1979 Mr Scott moved to the Treasury, eventually becoming secretary in 1986. He worked closely with the fourth Labour Government as it reformed the New Zealand economy in the 1980s."
The main point of a debate is the post-debate momentum- did an underdog 'wipe the floor' with their opponent? Was there a "show me the money" moment? Did someone drop a clanger?
Facts matter, but most people won't have watched the debate. They will probably see the distilled coverage, though. That's the bit that affects the outcome.
The problem with debates is that they are not easy to fact check on the fly. Nationals claims tend to lose in the long run when properly fact checked.
National tend to claim a lot of things that when fact checked are shown to be made up of cherry picked data that falls over, or put up claims they are they ones who could better balance the books when they can not even seam to get the accounting right on their alternate budget.
Look at the holes slowly showing up in Nationals alternate budget as people start to go through the numbers. First an easy to catch mistake they have owned up to and now a second big hole they are not admitting to.
Judith's claims that NSW in Australia dealt better with Covid 19 than NZ with fewer restriction, another claim that falls over when the full numbers are looked at and not cherry picked.
National in a debate are like a boxer that hits below the belt every time the ref is not looking to win a match. They toss in cherry picked and misleading data all the time to win debates and it is hard to win a debate against someone with actual facts when they have "Alternate Facts" they will use to score points on you.
Quite right Anne – I play my TV through a good Hi Fi sound system, and distinctly heard 'Miss Ardern'. Mind you, I doubt if it matters in terms of votes. Judith is trying to sound nice, but every so often I find myself wondering if she is a sour cow or a sour sow. That may sound sexist, so maybe I should balance it with full of bull, and boring bore..
The nasty Muldoon persona does not help. It is actually a bit piggy, I think.
The debate needed a better camera person/s. We were often looking at the back of Jacinda's head, though we never saw the back of John's or Judith's!! What was that about??
Leaders debates like this are about personality and not the facts, about building popularity through charisma rather than informing people and have them make informed choices.
Because of this I consider such debates detrimental to democracy.
Ardern, for her part, a now hardened political professional, seemed determined to avoid creating a viral Internet meme out of the night. If that were the intent, she achieved it.
The tactic from Collins seems to try to get under Ardern’s skin, while Ardern seemed to be trying to be relentlessly optimistic and nice – presumably to draw a contrast between the two. She consistently hewed back to Labour talking points. Both leaders fell back to entrenched positions and didn't answer a lot of questions.
How much extra tax did it bring to the coffers. They will need some to help pay for their coffins.
However we need extra tax to help provide living people with decent basics, of which we have a thriving market selling off to toffs from NZ and overseas. Come and buy anything you like, our houses for instance, (and our farms, by the dozens), and get lots of moolah. Then pile it in one of your spare rooms with a diving board like Grandpa Duck used, though that silly duffer had piles of gold coins. But the wealthy aren't too sensitive, he probably never noticed the hard edges.
But I wonder how much CGT here would have raised because the poor here do feel the hard edges of everything.
Bomber's cultural analysis features the Top 8 Green Party Woke Alienations. The photo of the Wellington Twitteratti Green Activists ready for their next micro aggression policing social media lynch mob shows the traditional side of wokesterism.
It’s like the woke middle class identity politics mummy blogger trans ally Green Party cancel culture militant cyclist humourless vegan micro aggression policing activists are incapable of understanding how their behaviour over the last 3 years on social media has done nothing other than alienate voters to the point the Greens are now in danger of sinking beneath 5%.
Not only like that. It is that. They think
they are speaking truth to power by endlessly calling people out for breaches of woke mantra, but to everyone else they are simply toxic.
When you are class left, the demarkation of power in society is between the richest 1% and their 9% enablers vs the 90% rest of us, that’s how we win the democratic majority, but when you are a woke Identity Politics activist, all men are rapists, all white people are racist and anyone supporting free speech is an actual uniform wearing Nazi.
Yes, yes, but that's been obvious the past year or more, so why not learn the lesson? He can't – he's so fixated on bitching about the problem. If a faction seems to discredit a party in the public mind, you fix that problem by changing the public mind. That's what political management is for.
Why have the Green caucus not used their moral authority to make that happen? Because too many of them are wokesters themselves, perhaps. Because those who aren't lack sufficient leverage. It's a failure of collective leadership.
Bradbury has been banging on about the same thing for some time. I think he is ageing mentally, getting into that inflexible style of thinking that is so prevalent in the older age group.
Perhaps his blog has had its day as a therapeutic outlet for his boiling stresses, and he has gone to excess so often that he has poisoned any fertile ground around him where inspiration and creatively beneficial ideas might grow about better policies and wise politicians.
" woke middle class identity politics mummy blogger trans ally Green Party cancel culture militant cyclist humourless vegan micro aggression policing activists"
This interests me. As the world we are living in becomes more and more complex; ideas surface and add to those already circulating, they fracture and multiply like the brooms of the Sorcerer's apprentice, do we dig our heels in and sweep the nuanced plethora of new ideas away with our broom of conservatism and condemnation (listen to Magic talkback if you don't know what I mean) or do we surge forward, into the morass of fractionated thinking; meet those challenging ideas head-on and ride the wave of knowledge they represent? I reckon, catch the wave. Bomber seems to want to build a sandcastle on the beach, while wearing a knotted handkerchief on his head.
The irony of his past three years line – is he started the three years saying the same thing and has repeated it ad nauseum throughout the entire period.
He basically wants to silence the Green Party on identity politics society concerns and reduce it to class and environment economics (not sure how that relates to historic party support for Maori self-government/revival aspiration, multi-cultural society and feminist concerns).
He has basically taken up the Free Speech rights are at risk line of the ACT Party protecting white race man civilisation from the woke threat – which is what one would expect from someone who keeps meeting Sean Plunkett and the insolvent wage subsidy dependent libertarian.
He will claim the polls prove him right – but that is cynical – minor parties in government lose support, and minor parties out of it but in parliament gain. As per 2002 – Alliance down and United Party up. This time NZF and Greens down and ACT up.
Awlful to watch. Did anyone else think Campbell cut Jacinda off far more than Collins. ? I also noticed quite frequently when Jacinda was talking the camera went to Judith. And I am not sure about this but an after thought was that the camera angle favoured Judith. ……..interested to hear if others noticed this.
Thought Jacinda was not at her best. This is rare. Seem to remember first tv debate Jacinda was in with English didn’t go so well.
I think it would be great if someone fact checked the debate. Collins said something about building houses and that I am sure was crap.
campbell didn’t address competency of the two parties. I think that is a serious omission.
national could spout any policy, but surely it blindingly obvious that they. Have lied, acted unethically and made major mistakes
"Did anyone else think Campbell cut Jacinda off far more than Collins.?"
YES
"I also noticed quite frequently when Jacinda was talking the camera went to Judith. And I am not sure about this but an afterthought was that the camera angle favoured Judith. ……..interested to hear if others noticed this."
YES. Also, I noticed that the focus was on Collins pulling stupid faces and slightly off focus on Ardern. Being a photographer this is a technique used to highlight the main subject,
Also Campbell did not shut Collins up when Ardern was speaking so Ardern could not finish what she was saying.
Agreed 100% John Campbell may live for these debates but he did not ask any clarifying questions, nor was he actively listening to what Jacinda was saying, cutting her off at the end of her first point, more than once.
The camera work and the lighting favoured Judith greatly, shaving at least 15 years off her face. The shadows showed Jacinda's almost gaunt look of 3 years of unrelenting responsibility, and the knowledge of what is ahead.
However, I feel Jacinda's lack of reaction led to overconfidence on Judith's part, and Judith clearly showed her lack of respect and her scoffing "give back double" nature.
The insincere swap between charm and scoffing was quite marked
Jesicca Much MacKay is excited to lead "her" next debate!! "Judith did so well." "When is yours?" says John…..the ego of these people is amazing. It is all about them of course.
I didn't watch the debate because Collins repulses me. So l appreciate the updates. Sounds like Collins had more energy on the night but Ardern stuck to her high road approach.
Ardern's main weapon is that she is a normal adult humanbeing and comes across as such. Sadly a rarity among senior politicians.
I didn't watch because I just find it all incredibly stupid anyway … and I find Judith's mantra of "hurting people double who hurt her" incredibly juvenile.
Making enemies just means there are fewer and fewer people on your side and fewer people willing to go the extra mile to help you. It seems like an odd way to be a politician.
Excellent comment! How many non-voters would have been enticed to vote now after watching this show on TV, if they watched at all? Is this format good for voter engagement?
I did not watch for one reason only – Judith Collins' sheer nastiness. I just don't choose to spend my time witnessing that sort of behaviour. We have had more than enough of National Party members and hangers on behaving disgracefully this year.
Talking to friends this morning, they picked up on the eye rolling etc.etc. One used the words 'hate her' which is their usual way of talking.
"Shifting Arctic ice, raging wildfires in western US states and elsewhere, and methane leaks in the North Sea are all warning signs that we are approaching a tipping point on climate change, when protecting the future of civilisation will require dramatic interventions.
Under a “climate lockdown,” governments would limit private-vehicle use, ban consumption of red meat, and impose extreme energy-saving measures, while fossil-fuel companies would have to stop drilling. To avoid such a scenario, we must overhaul our economic structures and do capitalism differently.
Many think of the climate crisis as distinct from the health and economic crises caused by the pandemic. But the three crises – and their solutions – are interconnected."
The letter from Public Service Association (PSA) union members to senior managers was written in February this year but workers say little has changed since.
The Chief Ombudsman inspected the unit in March and found it breached the United Nations Convention against Torture and Other Cruel or Degrading Treatment.
In the strongly worded letter to Capital and Coast District Health Board, 28 staff detailed a list of what they called urgent and critical problems.
They described the ward – Te Whare O Matairangi, Wellington's acute in-patient mental health facility – as severely overcrowded, under-resourced and unsafe – both for workers and patients.
The letter gave examples such as a homicidal patient showing up with a bag of weapons, and a staff member being sexually assaulted.
At the time it was written, most of the patients in the unit had a criminal or violent past including assaulting staff, significant stalking behaviour, arson and drug use.
PSA organiser Alexandra Ward said the 29-bed unit was over capacity for 11 months of the past year, sometimes caring for 34 people at a time.
so our pm who odds on will be on after the election still PM and could also govern alone, and then any legislation resulting from the cannabis vote can be whatever labour decides (captains call)will not tell us what her personal views are. Ffs you are a leader what are you afraid of ?? That your opinions may result is losing a few votes. Your opinion has more than any other in deciding how any law is shaped.
imo this is steep walking to a victory, I hope that labour does not govern alone because they do not deserve to allow NZ to drift further. And their First past the post strategy just shows how they think the greens deserve to be managed… with distaste.
I don't agree, remember Keys support of the flag, many people voted to keep the flag to spite Key. Adern staying out of it is sensible, as well as her right, to keep her decision private. Also, the euthanasia bill being supported by Seymour makes me question by own beliefs around it (I support it, or do I? I'm not 100% sure, coz Seymour supports it, loudly).
Our PM and labour keeping out of it is ALL political as IMO they want to win and govern on their own and will do whatever to achieve this (no team including The Greens). What happens if the vote is 45-55 or even 50-50?We have been given no indication as to what any law will look like or if should the vote be too close what then? So totally disagree.
Labour will be averse to taking risks that might dent their commanding lead over the National opposition party in recent political opinion polls. I'm guessing their strategists are pretty comfortable letting National indulge in risky business, and there's been plenty of that since the Bridges-Ross spat kicked off, Boag-Walker, Andrew ‘Balloon-Falloon’, and ‘Merv from Manurewa’ being recent examples.
It's worse than that. Brexit has antagonized the US and Eu leading to a probable economic crisis on which Judith does not seem to have a constructive position.
[This user handle and e-mail address are now blacklisted. Please use the pair that you last used on 21 Aug and that we had agreed on previously, thanks.
You are wasting Moderator time each time you change your user name and/or e-mail address and you have never provided a good reason why you are doing it.
I did ask you again only 2 days ago but you simply ignored the note so I wasted even more time on your antics when I gave you the benefit of doubt – Incognito]
Thoughts from abroad – Headlines from UK The Telegraph: You will have to search for more details yourself. This is just to show the drift of the thinking of the UK.
'Despite 10,000 new cases a day the French are embracing life – not imposing new rules.. From the Travel Correspondent.
(The French have large numbers of cases of Covid19 and are still enjoying life. Fool or hardy? Sounds like an oxymoron to me.)
Oxford’s Sir John Bell: ‘We’re not going to beat the second wave’ Oxford University has announced that clinical trials of its coronavirus vaccine are to resume in the UK At lunchtime on Tuesday, Sir John Bell received a call telling him that the groundbreaking Oxford coronavirus vaccine trial would, regretfully, be paused.
(So UK is at sixes and sevens. But they know what they are doing, right. Trust us to do the right thing is the Conservative approach – now they've kicked Labour and Corbyn to the side.)
'We can beat Covid without lockdowns, says top German virologist Hendrik Streeck argues big gatherings in closed spaces amplify the spread, but going to shops or hairdressers are manageable levels of risk'
Margaret Atwood wants to see The Handmaid's Tale scenario remain a fiction!
And Brexit, the entitled classes from which Boris has arisen stamps its foot over EU intransigence or something. It's all their fault. The bad-faith EU is furious that the UK now has a backstop of its own The PM is offering Brussels a choice: negotiate fairly, or the whole country will leave without a deal
Are we feeling a little anxious while we wait for the election and the Right waffle on about things, and thrust sharp things into the thread of our democracy and then grab our arms and say 'Look at these holes we found', that they made themselves? And all the time the Left are doing a pretty-good job. Here is Jonathan Pie relating the cares and woes of the UK people about their Right government, that is attempting to lead them all up the garden path, like a character out of P.G.Wodehouse.
Boris is advancing fast, he's a father now, and getting into confused grandfather territory at supersonic speed; reminiscent of the joke I got out of the paper years ago and put on the fridge:
"My grandfather's a little forgetful, but he likes to give me advice. One day he took me aside, and left me there." Ron Richards* (Witty & Wise.)
*Ron Richards (22 January 1929 – 30 April 2009) was a British record producer, manager and promoter, best known for discovering The Hollies. and – The record producer Ron Richards played a central part in the British “beat boom” of the 1960s, taking charge of the Beatles' first recording .. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ron_Richards_(producer)
A friend who is a mortgage advisor told me that the banks apparently refuse to lend to people whose businesses either received the wage subsidy or who did receive the wage subsidy themselves. So yeah, anyone who thought that the low lever interests would benefit the houseless is in for serious disappointment.
At this stage the housing market – private, social and commercial – and the official response to it is nothing more but a farce.
Yes, Judith Collins sat down with an “adoring supporter” who has a tattoo of the latest leader of the opposition on one of his thighs. Could this be a turning point in Collins' election campaign (worked for Trump) – maybe we'll all see more of her soon.
It is with the cost of paying a mortgage or limitation on access to finance to buy.
A guy called Bollard said he would not need to increase the OCR to constrain inflation resulting from rising land and property value if the government introduced a mortgage surcharge instead – then the OCR would be lower and so would the dollar to the advantage of exporters.
But now over a decade later and still nothing. The RBG gets rid of the equity requirement and cuts the OCR and so of course property values will rise.
This will change as soon as the government adds a mortgage surcharge or taxes equity in property (TOP) or a land tax. Of course only taxing property equity wealth over $M is Green policy.
Lower interest rates only benefit those with access to property finance, a mortgage surcharge is the balance to this so that government can help tenants and finance homes for first home buyers or build more state houses.
We used as first home buyers, to get a 25 year mortgage at an affordable rate, and that was a good start. It encouraged people to settle into stable lives etc etc. But though you would think that good people in government roles would want that, I think that this evil neolib economics is actually keen to keep people on the hop, make them work harder, not be complacent, and ensure that they didn't have anything to sink savings into, underpay them so they had to borrow so business would profit from the interest they had to pay to provide the necessities demanded in a 'developed' economy, and keeping more money flowing in the economy.
It is such a twisted approach that ordinary people don't comprehend it; don't understand the diabolical nature of the financial people at the top who twiddle the economy's knobs.
It used to be expressed that government gave first home buyers a step up into the housing market to get them started. But neolib doesn't want people to even get started. Don Brash didn't think that people should be tying their money up in their own house. Though the system produced a stable and relatively happy country pleased and proud most of the time.
Not the way we are now with an attitude of the quick or the dead, and lack of generosity towards others, competing for stuff all the time. To the people at the top the hoi polloi are just to be used as if life was a cockfight, and the hens get slaughtered if they don't produce enough eggs. As you can tell, I am pretty disillusioned – the NZ spirit is mainly found in bottles now.
Judith Collins is just a trashy piece of trailer trash. Her "poor wee thing" describing Jacinda Adern is classic "how low can you get" – uncouth is another description or as my old grannie used to say to me "all hair oil and no socks". She is a disgrace to any position of responsibility or representation of our country. Jacinda Adern should never have to be put in a position that she has to even engage with her. Fine porcelain versus crude pottery. Trump is the company Collins deserves.
I think it's a major miscalculation to think people are flocking to Labour and a self described bold progressive because they think she'll be moderate and consersative.
What if labours rise in the polls is due to non voters who jacindas boldness turned on and who need change and former Nat voters whose lives have fallen apart and this moderate tinkering approach makes them stay home. Honestly. Labours dropped in the polls since it announced policy and showed it's cautious af direction. Labours messaging just seems so wrong for the times.
Labour desperately needs to start exciting people again. People who were excited are getting bored and despondent. Maybe I'm wrong maybe people are flocking to her because they want a self described transformational progressive to not be bold or transformational and middle class people are flocking to Labour cos they want everything to stay the same. I think it's a bit of both
They'll need a cast-iron gut to keep the meal down – but it's a dirty job that needs doing. They might even become a genuine conservative (in the best sense of the word) party. One worthy of respect – which we don't have at present.
Trust the hard left to whine about it. Calling an anxious voter looking for policy change 'hard left' is hard Ad. It's nervousness really – probably better left unsaid at this stage.
Maybe those who really want "bold transformational progressives" have already flocked – the rest are hunkering down, still hoping to weather a 'storm' that shall not pass.
A former senior government manager planted a spy camera in an Auckland gym's changing room capturing video of a naked couple, then went on to plant the camera on at least three more occasions, the Auckland High Court has heard.
Police appealing the man's discharge without conviction and permanent name suppression, argued his offending, which took place on at least four separate days, was not taken into account by District Court Judge Clare Bennett.
RNZ and NZME also challenged the man's name suppression.
I wonder if we have here the Judge adopting Queen Victoria’s moral levels whereby if one doesn’t want one’s mind to be sullied by distasteful scuttlebutt, one just doesn’t listen. The Queen is supposed to have said, “I don’t want to know that.” The better secondary schools now probably don’t even study DH Lawrence Lady Chatterley’s Lover.
‘We’re better than that’, is the quote of the new century, to be applied to bloody massacres, and derelictions of duty by well-paid government officials. I can say that, without a qualm, that bit about well-paid, because it seems to be an absolute dead cert these days as the anointed move up the line following the well-worn Peter’s Principle Curve.
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 ...
TL;DR: In today’s ‘six-stack’ of substacks at 6.06pm on Tuesday, March 19:Kāinga Ora’s dry rot The Spinoff DailyBill McKibben on ‘Climate Superfunds’ making Big Oil pay for climate damage The Crucial YearsPreston Mui on returning to 1980s-style productivity growth NoahpinionAndy Boenau on NIMBYs needing unusual bedfellows Urbanism SpeakeasyNed Resnikoff's case ...
Negative yesterday, negative today. Negative all year, according to one departing reader telling me I’ve grown strident and predictable. Fair enough. If it’s any help, every time I go to write about a certain topic that begins with C and ends with arrrrs, I do brace myself and ask: Again? Are ...
Bryce Edwards writes – It’s been a tumultuous time in politics in recent months, as the new National-led Government has driven through its “First 100 Day programme”. During this period there’s been a handful of opinion polls, which overall just show a minimal amount of flux in public support ...
Inspirational: The Family of Man is a glorious hymn to human equality, but, more than that, it is a clarion call to human freedom. Because equality, unleavened by liberty, is a broken piano, an unstrung harp; upon which the songs of fraternity will never be played.“Somebody must have been telling lies about ...
Tax Lawyer Barbara Edmonds vs Emperor Justinian I- Nolo Contendere: False historical explanations of pivotal events are very far from being inconsequential.WHEN BARBARA EDMONDS made reference to the Roman Empire, my ears pricked up. It is, lamentably, very rare to hear a politician admit to any kind of familiarity ...
It’s been a tumultuous time in politics in recent months, as the new National-led Government has driven through its “First 100 Day programme”. During this period there’s been a handful of opinion polls, which overall just show a minimal amount of flux in public support for the various parties in ...
Buzz from the Beehive Housing Minister Chris Bishop delivered news – packed with the ingredients to enflame political passions – worthy of supplanting Winston Peters in headline writers’ priorities. He popped up at the post-Cabinet press conference to promise a crackdown on unruly and antisocial state housing tenants. His ...
Ele Ludemann writes – The Reserve Bank is advertising for a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion advisor. The Bank has one mandate – to keep inflation between one and three percent. It has failed in that and is only slowly getting inflation back down to the upper limit. Will it ...
Last week former National Party leader Simon Bridges was appointed by the Government as the new chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA). You can read about the appointment in Thomas Coughlan’s article, Simon Bridges to become chair of NZ Transport Agency Waka KotahiThe fact that a ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Last week former National Party leader Simon Bridges was appointed by the Government as the new chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA). You can read about the appointment in Thomas Coughlan’s article, Simon Bridges to become chair of NZ Transport Agency ...
TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Gavin Jacobson talks to Thomas Piketty 10 years on from Capital in the 21st CenturyThe SalvoLocal scoop: Green MP’s business being investigated over migrant exploitation claims StuffSteve KilgallonLocal deep-dive: The commercial contractors making money from School ...
It’s a home - but Kāinga Ora tenants accused of “abusing the privilege” may lose it. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The Government announced a crackdown on Kāinga Ora tenants who were unruly and/or behind on their rent, with Housing Minister Chris Bishop saying a place in a state ...
This is a guest post by Connor Sharp of Surface Light Rail Light rail in Auckland: A way forward sooner than you think With the coup de grâce of Auckland Light Rail (ALR) earlier this year, and the shift of the government’s priorities to roads, roads, and more roads, it ...
Note: As a paid-up Webworm member, I’ve recorded this Webworm as a mini-podcast for you as well. Some of you said you liked this option - so I aim to provide it when I get a chance to record! Read more ...
TL;DR: In my ‘six-stack’ of substacks at 6.06pm on Monday, March 18:IKEA is accused of planting big forests in New Zealand to green-wash; REDD-MonitorA City for People takes a well-deserved victory lap over Wellington’s pro-YIMBY District Plan votes; A City for PeopleSteven Anastasiou takes a close look at the sticky ...
Buzz from the Beehive Here’s hoping for a lively post-cabinet press conference when the PM and – perhaps – some of his ministers tell us what was discussed at their meeting today. Until then, Point of Order has precious little Beehive news to report after its latest monitoring of the ...
David Farrar writes – We now have almost all 2023 data in, which has allowed me to update my annual table of how labour went against its promises. This is basically their final report card. The promiseThe result Build 100,000 affordable homes over 10 ...
I’m a bit worried that I’ve started a previous newsletter with the words “just when you think they couldn’t get any worse…” Seems lately that I could begin pretty much every issue with that opening. Such is the nature of our coalition government that they seem to be outdoing each ...
Geoffrey Miller writes – Timing is everything. And from China’s perspective, this week’s visit by its foreign minister to New Zealand could be coming at just the right moment. The visit by Wang Yi to Wellington will be his first since 2017. Anniversaries are important to Beijing. ...
Depictions of Islam in Western popular culture have rarely been positive, even before 9/11. Five years on from the mosque shootings, this is one of the cultural headwinds that the Muslim community has to battle against. Whatever messages of tolerance and inclusion are offered in daylight, much of our culture ...
Last week Transport Minster Simeon Brown and Mayor Wayne Brown opened the new Auckland Rail Operations Centre. The new train control centre will see teams from KiwiRail, Auckland Transport and Auckland One Rail working more closely together to improve train services across the city. The Auckland Rail Operations Centre in ...
Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Retiring former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson said in an exit interview with Q+A yesterday the Government can and should sustain more debt to invest in infrastructure for future generations. Elsewhere in the news in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy at 6:36am: Read more ...
Timing is everything. And from China’s perspective, this week’s visit by its foreign minister to New Zealand could be coming at just the right moment. The visit by Wang Yi to Wellington will be his first since 2017. Anniversaries are important to Beijing. It is more than just a happy ...
TL;DR: The key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to March 18 include:China’s Foreign Minister visiting Wellington today;A post-cabinet news conference this afternoon; the resumption of Parliament on Tuesday for two weeks before Easter;retiring former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson gives his valedictory speech in Parliament; ...
New Zealand First Leader Winston Peters’s state-of-the-nation speech on Sunday was really a state-of-Winston-First speech. He barely mentioned any of the Government’s key policies and could not even wholly endorse its signature income tax cuts. Instead, he rehearsed all of his complaints about the Ardern Government, including an extraordinary claim ...
A listing of 35 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 10, 2024 thru Sat, March 16, 2024. Story of the week This week we'll give you a little glimpse into how we collect links to share and ...
A listing of 35 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 10, 2024 thru Sat, March 16, 2024. Story of the week This week we'll give you a little glimpse into how we collect links to share and ...
“I’ve been internalising a really complicated situation in my head.”When they kept telling us we should wait until we get to know him, were they taking the piss? Was it a case of, if you think this is bad, wait till you get to know the real Christopher, after the ...
Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
.“$10 and a target that bleeds” - Bleeding Targets for Under $10!.Thanks for reading Frankly Speaking ! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.This government appears hell-bent on either scrapping life-saving legislation or reintroducing things that - frustrated critics insist - will be dangerous and likely ...
“It hardly strikes me as fair to criticise a government for doing exactly what it said it was going to do. For actually keeping its promises.”THUNDER WAS PLAYING TAG with lightning flashes amongst the distant peaks. Its rolling cadences interrupted by the here-I-come-here-I-go Doppler effect of the occasional passing car. ...
Subversive & Disruptive Technologies: Just as happened with that other great regulator of the masses, the Medieval Church, the advent of a new and hard-to-control technology – the Internet – is weakening the ties that bind. Then, and now, those who enjoy a monopoly on the dissemination of lies, cannot and will ...
Been Here Before: To find the precedents for what this Coalition Government is proposing, it is necessary to return to the “glory days” of Muldoonism.THE COALITION GOVERNMENT has celebrated its first 100 days in office by checking-off the last of its listed commitments. It remains, however, an angry government. It ...
Bob Edlin writes – And what is the world watching today…? The email newsletter from Associated Press which landed in our mailbox early this morning advised: In the news today: The father of a school shooter has been found guilty of involuntary manslaughter; prosecutors in Trump’s hush-money case ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Is another Green MP on their way out? And are the Greens severely tarnished by another integrity scandal? For the second time in three months, the Green Party has secretly suspended an MP over integrity issues. Mystery is surrounding the party’s decision to ...
For the last few years, the Green Party has been the party that has managed to avoid the plague of multiple scandals that have beleaguered other political parties. It appears that their luck has run out with a second scandal which, unfortunately for them, coincided with Golraz Ghahraman, the focus ...
TL;DR: The six newsey things that stood out to me as of 6:46am on Saturday, March 16.Andy Foster has accidentally allowed a Labour/Green amendment to cut road user chargers for plug-in hybrid vehicles, which the Government might accept; NZ HeraldThomas CoughlanSimeon Brown has rejected a plea from Westport ...
What seemed a booming success a couple of years ago has collapsed into fraud convictions.I looked at the crash of FTX (short for ‘Futures Exchange’) in November 2022 to see whether it would impact on the financial system as a whole. Fortunately there was barely a ripple, probably because it ...
Anybody following the situation in Ukraine and Russia would probably have been amused by a recent Tweet on X NATO seems to be putting in an awful lot of effort to influence what is, at least according to them, a sham election in an autocracy.When do the Ukrainians go to ...
TL;DR:Shaun Baker on Wynyard Quarter's transformation. Magdalene Taylor on the problem with smart phones. How private equity are now all over reinsurance. Dylan Cleaver on rugby and CTE. Emily Atkin on ‘Big Meat’ looking like ‘Big Oil’.Bernard’s six-stack of substacks at 6pm on March 15Photo by Jeppe Hove Jensen ...
Buzz from the Beehive Finance Minister Nicola Willis had plenty to say when addressing the Auckland Business Chamber on the economic growth that (she tells us) is flagging more than we thought. But the government intends to put new life into it: We want our country to be a ...
The Transport and Infrastructure Committee has reported back on the Road User Charges (Light Electric RUC Vehicles) Amendment Bill, basicly rubberstamping it. While there was widespread support among submitters for the principle that EV and PHEV drivers should pay their fair share for the roads, they also overwhelmingly disagreed with ...
Peter Dunne writes – This week’s government bailout – the fifth in the last eighteen months – of the financially troubled Ruapehu Alpine Lifts company would have pleased many in the central North Island ski industry. The government’s stated rationale for the $7 million funding was that it ...
See if you can spot the difference. An Iranian born female MP from a progressive party is accused of serial shoplifting. Her name is leaked to the media, which goes into a pack frenzy even before the Police launch an … Continue reading → ...
Ele Ludemann writes – The government is omitting general Treaty references from legislation : The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last Government in a bid to get greater coherence in the public service on Treaty ...
What was that judge thinking?Peter Williams writes – That Golriz Ghahraman and District Court Judge Maria Pecotic were once lawyer colleagues is incontrovertible. There is published evidence that they took at least one case to the Court of Appeal together. There was a report on ...
TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read:Climate Scorpion – the sting is in the tail. Introducing planetary solvency. A paper via the University of Exeter’s Institute and Faculty of Actuaries.Local scoop:Kāinga Ora starts pulling out of its Auckland projects and selling land RNZ ...
Wellington’s massively upzoned District Plan adds the opportunity for tens of thousands of new homes not just in the central city (such as these Webb St new builds) but also close to the CBD and public transport links. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Wellington gave itself the chance of ...
It’s Friday and we’re halfway through March Madness. Here’s some of the things that caught our attention this week. This Week in Greater Auckland On Monday Matt asked how we can get better event trains and an option for grade separating Morningside Dr. On Tuesday Matt looked into ...
Something you might not know about me is that I’m quite a stubborn person. No, really. I don’t much care for criticism I think’s unfair or that I disagree with. Few of us do I suppose.Back when I was a drinker I’d sometimes respond defensively, even angrily. There are things ...
Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the last week included:PM Christopher Luxon said the reversal of interest deductibility for landlords was done to help renters, who ...
It was not so much the Labour Party but really the Chris Hipkins party yesterday at Labour’s caucus retreat in Martinborough. The former Prime Minister was more or less consistent on wealth tax, which he was at best equivocal about, and social insurance, which he was not willing to revisit. ...
Buzz from the BeehiveThe text reproduced above appears on a page which records all the media statements and speeches posted on the government’s official website by Melissa Lee as Minister of Media and Communications and/or by Jenny Marcroft, her Parliamentary Under-secretary. It can be quickly analysed ...
For forty years, Robert Muldoon has been a dirty word in our politics. His style of government was so repulsive and authoritarian that the backlash to it helped set and entrench our constitutional norms. His pig-headedness over forcing through Think Big eventually gave us the RMA, with its participation and ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Is the new government reducing tax on rental properties to benefit landlords or to cut the cost of rents? That’s the big question this week, after Associate Finance Minister David Seymour announced on Sunday that the Government would be reversing the Labour Government’s removal ...
Saudi Arabia is rarely far from the international spotlight. The war in Gaza has brought new scrutiny to Saudi plans to normalise relations with Israel, while the fifth anniversary of the controversial killing of Jamal Khashoggi was marked shortly before the war began on October 7. And as the home ...
Questions need to be asked on both sides of the worldPeter Williams writes – The NRL Judiciary hands down an eight week suspension to Sydney Roosters forward Spencer Leniu , an Auckland-born Samoan, after he calls Ezra Mam, Sydney-orn but of Aboriginal and Torres Strait ...
Ele Ludemann writes – Contrary to what many headlines and news stories are saying, residential landlords are not getting a tax break. The government is simply restoring to them the tax deductibility of interest they had until the previous government removed it. There is no logical reason ...
I can't remember when it was goodMoments of happiness in bloomMaybe I just misunderstoodAll of the love we left behindWatching our flashbacks intertwineMemories I will never findIn spite of whatever you becomeForget that reckless thing turned onI think our lives have just begunI think our lives have just begunDoes anyone ...
Michael Bassett writes – At first reading, a front-page story in the New Zealand Herald on 13 March was bizarre. A group of severely intellectually limited teenagers, with little understanding of the law, have been pleading to the Justice Select Committee not to pass a bill dealing with ram ...
How much political capital is Christopher Luxon willing to burn through in order to deliver his $2.9 billion gift to landlords? Evidently, Luxon is: (a) unable to cost the policy accurately. As Anna Burns-Francis pointed out to him on Breakfast TV, the original ”rock solid” $2.1 billion cost he was ...
TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read:Jonathon Porritt calling bullshit in his own blog post on mainstream climate science as ‘The New Denialism’.Local scoop:The Wellington City Council’s list of proposed changes to the IHP recommendations to be debated later today was leaked this ...
TL;DR:Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said yesterday tenants should be grateful for the reinstatement of interest deductibility because landlords would pass on their lower tax costs in the form of lower rents. That would be true if landlords were regulated monopolies such as Transpower or Auckland Airport1, but they’re not, ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Tom Toro Tom Toro is a cartoonist and author. He has published over 200 cartoons in The New Yorker since 2010. His cartoons appear in Playboy, the Paris Review, the New York Times, American Bystander, and elsewhere. Related: What 10 EV lovers ...
The business section of the NZ Herald is full of opinion. Among the more opinionated of all is the ex-Minister of Transport, ex-Minister of Railways, ex MP for Auckland Central (1975-93, Labour), Wellington Central (1996-99, ACT, then list-2005), ex-leader of the ACT Party, uncle to actor Antonia, the veritable granddaddy ...
Hi,Just quickly — I’m blown away by the stories you’ve shared with me over the last week since I put out the ‘Gary’ podcast, where I told you about the time my friend’s flatmate killed the neighbour.And you keep telling me stories — in the comments section, and in my ...
The first season of Rings of Power was not awful. It was thoroughly underwhelming, yes, and left a lingering sense of disappointment, but it was more expensive mediocrity than catastrophe. I wrote at length about the series as it came out (see the Review section of the blog, and go ...
Buzz from the Beehive Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden told Auckland Business Chamber members they were the first audience to hear her priorities as a minister in a government committed to cutting red tape and regulations. She brandished her liberalising credentials, saying Flexible labour markets are the ...
Chris Trotter writes – TO UNDERSTAND WHY NEWSHUB FAILED, it is necessary to understand how TVNZ changed. Up until 1989, the state broadcaster had been funded by a broadcasting licence fee, collected from every citizen in possession of a television set, supplemented by a relatively modest (compared ...
Bob Edlin writes – The Māori Party has been busy issuing a mix of warnings and threats as its expresses its opposition to interest deductibility for landlords and the plans of seabed miners. It remains to be seen whether they follow the example of indigenous litigants in Australia, ...
The Government has accepted Labour’s change to the Road User Charge (RUC) discount for hybrid vehicles, meaning there will still be some incentive for people to buy greener vehicles. ...
Kicking the most vulnerable people out of state housing and pushing them towards homelessness will result in a proliferation of poverty and trauma across our most vulnerable communities. ...
Te Pāti Māori co-leader and MP for Waiariki, Rawiri Waititi has penned a letter asking MPs to support his members bill to remove GST from all food. The bill is expected to go through its first reading in parliament this Wednesday. “I’m calling on all political parties to support my ...
This year is about getting real with Kiwis and discussing the tough issues, as the National Government exacerbates inequality and divides New Zealand, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said ...
The Government adding Significant Natural Areas (SNAs) to its already roaring environmental policy bonfire is an assault on the future of wildlife that makes Aotearoa unique. ...
After 12 years of fighting to protect our moana we are finding ourselves back at square one and back at court. Today, the Environmental Protection Agency is sitting in Hawera to reconsider an application from Trans-Tasman Resources to dig up 50 million tonnes of the seabed in South Taranaki. This ...
Minister Shane Jones’ decision to step away from a seabed mining project is evidence of the murky waters surrounding the Government’s fast-track legislation. ...
The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last government in a bid to get greater coherence in the publicservice on Treaty matters. When ministers first considered the need for tighter oversight in 2021, there ...
The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last government in a bid to get greater coherence in the publicservice on Treaty matters. When ministers first considered the need for tighter oversight in 2021, there ...
The Coalition Government’s miscalculation saga continues as it has forgotten an eyewatering $90 million gap in its interest deductibility cost figures, say Labour Finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds and Revenue Spokesperson Deborah Russell. ...
He Pou a Rangi Climate Change Commission has today released advice that says if the Government doesn’t act now New Zealand is at risk of not meeting its climate goals. ...
The Coalition Government has today confirmed it is abandoning first home buyers who are struggling to get ahead, says Labour Finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds. ...
The New Zealand public voted for a change in direction at the 2023 general election and that is exactly what this coalition government has been delivering in its first 100 days. There was an immediate focus on the economy, easing the cost of living, cracking down on law and order ...
The Government has left the health system as an afterthought, announcing half-baked targets at the last minute of their 100-day plan, says Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall. ...
Kiwis are still waiting for their promised cost of living support after 100 days of a National Government that is taking us backwards, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said today. ...
The National Government has spent its first 100 days stopping, cutting and reversing. They have scrapped stuff for stuff for the sake of it, without putting up any solutions of their own – and it’s hardworking New Zealanders who will pay for it. ...
100 days of National taking NZ backwardsThe National Government has spent its first 100 days stopping, cutting and reversing. They have scrapped stuff for stuff for the sake of it, without putting up any solutions of their own – and it’s hardworking New Zealanders who will pay for it. ...
The Government must commit to funding free and healthy school lunches, as thousands of people sign the petition to keep them, education spokesperson Jan Tinetti says. ...
If the Government was serious about moving families into public housing, they would build more houses so there is actually somewhere for people to go. ...
The free and healthy school lunches programme feeds our kids, helps them to learn, and saves families money – but it is at risk under this Government, education spokesperson Jan Tinetti said. ...
The Government’s proposed changes to Firearms Prohibition Orders (FPO) add almost nothing new and are merely an attempt to distract from its plans to loosen gun laws, police spokesperson Ginny Andersen and justice spokesperson Dr Duncan Webb said. ...
The great Victorian era English politician Lord Macauley stood in the British House of Parliament and said, "The gallery in which the reporters sit has become a fourth estate of the realm".He understood and outlined even way back then, the significant role and influence media have in a democracy. ...
"The Government is moving quickly to realise an additional $46 million in tariff savings in the EU market this season for Kiwi exporters,” Minister for Trade and Agriculture, Todd McClay says. Parliament is set, this week, to complete the final legislative processes required to bring the New Zealand – European ...
New Zealand’s social workers are qualified, experienced, and more representative of the communities they serve, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “I want to acknowledge and applaud New Zealand’s social workers for the hard work they do, providing invaluable support for our most vulnerable. “To coincide with World ...
Cabinet has agreed to a reduced road user charge (RUC) rate for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. Owners of PHEVs will be eligible for a reduced rate of $38 per 1,000km once all light electric vehicles (EVs) move into the RUC system from 1 April. ...
Minister of Agriculture and Trade, Todd McClay, says that today’s opening of Riverland Foods manufacturing plant in Christchurch is a great example of how trade access to overseas markets creates jobs in New Zealand. Speaking at the official opening of this state-of-the-art pet food factory the Minister noted that exports ...
Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Wellington today. “It was a pleasure to host Foreign Minister Wang Yi during his first official visit to New Zealand since 2017. Our discussions were wide-ranging and enabled engagement on many facets of New Zealand’s relationship with China, including trade, ...
Kāinga Ora – Homes & Communities has been instructed to end the Sustaining Tenancies Framework and take stronger measures against persistent antisocial behaviour by tenants, says Housing Minister Chris Bishop. “Earlier today Finance Minister Nicola Willis and I sent an interim Letter of Expectations to the Board of Kāinga Ora. ...
Tēna koutou katoa. Greetings everyone. Thank you to the Auckland Chamber of Commerce and the Honourable Simon Bridges for hosting this address today. I acknowledge the business leaders in this room, the leaders and governors, the employers, the entrepreneurs, the investors, and the wealth creators. The coalition Government shares your ...
Minister Winston Peters completed the final leg of his visit to South and South East Asia in Singapore today, where he focused on enhancing one of New Zealand’s indispensable strategic partnerships. “Singapore is our most important defence partner in South East Asia, our fourth-largest trading partner and a ...
Minister of Internal Affairs and Workplace Relations and Safety, Hon. Brooke van Velden, will travel to the Republic of Korea to represent New Zealand at the Third Summit for Democracy on 18 March. The summit, hosted by the Republic of Korea, was first convened by the United States in 2021, ...
ICNZ Speech 7 March 2024, Auckland Acknowledgements and opening Mōrena, ngā mihi nui. Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho. Good morning, it’s a privilege to be here to open the ICNZ annual conference, thank you to Mark for the Mihi Whakatau My thanks to Tim Grafton for inviting me ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Lead Coordination Minister Judith Collins have expressed their deepest sympathy on the five-year anniversary of the Christchurch terror attacks. “March 15, 2019, was a day when families, communities and the country came together both in sorrow and solidarity,” Mr Luxon says. “Today we pay our respects to the 51 shuhada ...
Speech for Financial Advice NZ Conference 5 March 2024 Acknowledgements and opening Morena, Nga Mihi Nui. Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho. Thanks Nate for your Mihi Whakatau Good morning. It’s a pleasure to formally open your conference this morning. What a lovely day in Wellington, What a great ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters held discussions in Jakarta today about the future of relations between New Zealand and South East Asia’s most populous country. “We are in Jakarta so early in our new government’s term to reflect the huge importance we place on our relationship with Indonesia and South ...
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters has announced that the Foreign Minister of China, Wang Yi, will visit New Zealand next week. “We look forward to re-engaging with Foreign Minister Wang Yi and discussing the full breadth of the bilateral relationship, which is one of New Zealand’s ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has today opened the new Auckland Rail Operations Centre, which will bring together KiwiRail, Auckland Transport, and Auckland One Rail to improve service reliability for Aucklanders. “The recent train disruptions in Auckland have highlighted how important it is KiwiRail and Auckland’s rail agencies work together to ...
The Government is proud to support the 10th edition of Crankworx Rotorua as the Crankworx World Tour returns to Rotorua from 16-24 March 2024, says Minister for Economic Development Melissa Lee. “Over the past 10 years as Crankworx Rotorua has grown, so too have the economic and social benefits that ...
Legislation implementing coalition Government tax commitments and addressing long-standing tax anomalies will be progressed in Parliament next week, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The legislation is contained in an Amendment Paper to the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill issued today. “The Amendment Paper represents ...
Associate Environment Minister Andrew Hoggard has today announced that the Government has agreed to suspend the requirement for councils to comply with the Significant Natural Areas (SNA) provisions of the National Policy Statement for Indigenous Biodiversity for three years, while it replaces the Resource Management Act (RMA).“As it stands, SNAs ...
Agriculture Minister Todd McClay has classified the drought conditions in the Marlborough, Tasman, and Nelson districts as a medium-scale adverse event, acknowledging the challenging conditions facing farmers and growers in the district. “Parts of Marlborough, Tasman, and Nelson districts are in the grip of an intense dry spell. I know ...
The Government is helping farmers eradicate the significant impact of facial eczema (FE) in pastoral animals, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced. “A $20 million partnership jointly funded by Beef + Lamb NZ, the Government, and the primary sector will save farmers an estimated NZD$332 million per year, and aims to ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has completed a successful visit to India, saying it was an important step in taking the relationship between the two countries to the next level. “We have laid a strong foundation for the Coalition Government’s priority of enhancing New Zealand-India relations to generate significant future benefit for both countries,” says Mr Peters, ...
Cabinet has agreed to provide $7 million to ensure the 2024 ski season can go ahead on the Whakapapa ski field in the central North Island but has told the operator Ruapehu Alpine Lifts it is the last financial support it will receive from taxpayers. Cabinet also agreed to provide ...
Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says the launch of a new mobile breast screening unit in Counties Manukau reinforces the coalition Government’s commitment to drive better cancer services for all New Zealanders. Speaking at the launch of the new mobile clinic, Dr Reti says it’s a great example of taking ...
Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says the launch of a new mobile breast screening unit in Counties Manukau reinforces the coalition Government’s commitment to drive better cancer services for all New Zealanders. Speaking at the launch of the new mobile clinic, Dr Reti says it’s a great example of taking ...
Unlocking economic growth and land for housing are critical elements of the Government’s plan for our transport network, and planned upgrades to State Highway 29 (SH29) near Tauriko will deliver strongly on those priorities, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “The SH29 upgrades near Tauriko will improve safety at the intersections ...
Unlocking economic growth and land for housing are critical elements of the Government’s plan for our transport network, and planned upgrades to State Highway 29 (SH29) near Tauriko will deliver strongly on those priorities, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “The SH29 upgrades near Tauriko will improve safety at the intersections ...
Lower fruit and vegetable prices are welcome news for New Zealanders who have been doing it tough at the supermarket, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. Stats NZ reported today the price of fruit and vegetables has dropped 9.3 percent in the 12 months to February 2024. “Lower fruit and vege ...
Tēnā koutou katoa and greetings to you all. Chair, I am honoured to address the sixty-eighth session of the Commission on the Status of Women. I acknowledge the many crises impacting the rights of women and girls. Heightened global tensions, war, climate related and humanitarian disasters, and price inflation all ...
Tēnā koutou katoa and greetings to you all. Chair, I am honoured to address the 68th session of the Commission on the Status of Women. I acknowledge the many crises impacting the rights of women and girls. Heightened global tensions, war, climate related and humanitarian disasters, and price inflation all ...
The coalition Government is supporting farmers to enhance land management practices by investing $3.3 million in locally led catchment groups, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced. “Farmers and growers deliver significant prosperity for New Zealand and it’s vital their ongoing efforts to improve land management practices and water quality are supported,” ...
Good evening everyone and thank you for that lovely introduction. Thank you also to the Honourable Simon Bridges for the invitation to address your members. Since being sworn in, this coalition Government has hit the ground running with our 100-day plan, delivering the changes that New Zealanders expect of us. ...
Recommendations from the Climate Change Commission for New Zealand on the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) auction and unit limit settings for the next five years have been tabled in Parliament, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. “The Commission provides advice on the ETS annually. This is the third time the ...
The coalition Government is beginning its fight to lower building costs and reduce red tape by exempting minor building work from paying the building levy, says Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk. “Currently, any building project worth $20,444 including GST or more is subject to the building levy which is ...
Proposed changes to tax legislation to prevent the over-taxation of low-earning trusts are welcome, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The changes have been recommended by Parliament’s Finance and Expenditure Committee following consideration of submissions on the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill. “One of the ...
Assalaamu alaikum. السَّلَام عليكم In light of the holy month of Ramadan, I want to extend my warmest wishes to our Muslim community in New Zealand. Ramadan is a time for spiritual reflection, renewed devotion, perseverance, generosity, and forgiveness. It’s a time to strengthen our bonds and appreciate the diversity ...
Former Transport Minister and CEO of the Auckland Business Chamber Hon Simon Bridges has been appointed as the new Board Chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) for a three-year term, Transport Minister Simeon Brown announced today. “Simon brings extensive experience and knowledge in transport policy and governance to the role. He will ...
Good morning all, it is a pleasure to be here as Minister of Science, Innovation and Technology. It is fantastic to see how connected and collaborative the life science and biotechnology industry is here in New Zealand. I would like to thank BioTechNZ and NZTech for the invitation to address ...
Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says he is looking forward to the day when three key water projects in Northland are up and running, unlocking the full potential of land in the region. Mr Jones attended a community event at the site of the Otawere reservoir near Kerikeri on Friday. ...
Associate Finance Minister David Seymour has today announced that the Government has agreed to restore deductibility for mortgage interest on residential investment properties. “Help is on the way for landlords and renters alike. The Government’s restoration of interest deductibility will ease pressure on rents and simplify the tax code,” says ...
Sport and Recreation Minister Chris Bishop will travel to Switzerland today to attend an Executive Committee meeting and Symposium of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). Mr Bishop will then travel on to London where he will attend a series of meetings in his capacity as Infrastructure Minister. “New Zealanders believe ...
Pacific Media Watch Earthwise hosts Lois and Martin Griffiths. Earthwise presenters Lois and Martin Griffiths on Plains FM 96.9 community radio talk to Dr David Robie, a New Zealand author, independent journalist and media educator with a passion for the Asia-Pacific region. David talks about the struggle to raise awareness ...
Pacific Media Watch Ismail al-Ghoul, an Al Jazeera Arabic correspondent who was held for 12 hours at Gaza’s al-Shifa hospital, says Israeli forces rounded up Palestinian journalists at the facility and made them kneel on the ground for hours, while naked and blindfolded. “The occupation forces handcuffed and blindfolded us ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tony Wood, Program Director, Energy, Grattan Institute chinasong, Shutterstock Electricity customers in four Australian states can breathe a sigh of relief. After two years in a row of 20% price increases, power prices have finally stabilised. In many places they’re ...
Chumbawamba have reportedly issued the deputy PM a cease-and-desist notice after he used their song 'Tubthumping' before his state of the nation speech. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Deborah Lupton, SHARP Professor, Vitalities Lab, Centre for Social Research in Health and Social Policy Centre, and the ARC Centre of Excellence for Automated Decision-Making and Society, UNSW Sydney kitzcorner/Shutterstock The assertion from Queensland’s chief health officer John Gerrard that ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Martin, Visiting Fellow, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University Shutterstock Why are musicians so keen to get played on the radio? It can’t be because of the money. In Australia they are paid at rates so low they ...
"Farmers make a point not to tell our urban cousins how to live, yet Chlöe from central Auckland is hell-bent on having her say about farmers," says ACT Rural Communities spokesman Mark Cameron. “On her first day in the House as Green ...
Analysis by Dr Bryce Edwards – Democracy Project (https://democracyproject.nz)Political scientist, Dr Bryce Edwards. It’s been a tumultuous time in politics in recent months, as the new National-led Government has driven through its “First 100 Day programme”. During this period there’s been a handful of opinion polls, which overall just ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tim Curran, Associate Professor of Ecology, Lincoln University, New Zealand Getty Images/Gerald Corsi In the latest move to reform environmental laws in New Zealand, the coalition government has introduced a bill to fast-track consenting processes for projects deemed to ...
Uber has argued it does not have as much control over drivers as the unions suggest, and wants a judgment ruling that drivers are employees and not contractors set aside and sent back to the Employment Court. The 2022 ruling followed a three-week hearing in which four drivers sought to ...
What can and can’t be purchased by disabled people or their carers has been slashed in an effort by the Ministry of Disabled People Whaikaha to save money. The purchasing guidelines, a set of rules that sets out what can be purchased using the various streams of Government disability funding, ...
The Treasury has published today a new Analytical Note by Tod Wright and Hien Nguyen, Fiscal incidence in New Zealand: The effects of taxes and benefits on household incomes in tax year 2018/19 . Analyses of the distributional impact of taxation and government ...
The Treasury has published today a new Analytical Note by Cory Davis, Boston Hart and Benjamin Stubbing, Household cost-of-living impacts from the Emissions Trading Scheme and using transfers to mitigate regressive outcomes . This Analytical Note ...
A coalition of public transport and climate organisations, united as ‘Transport for All’, is actively opposing the government’s transport proposals. The draft Government Policy Statement (GPS) includes plans for higher fares for public transport, ...
Greater Wellington is inviting feedback on proposed changes to its Revenue and Financing Policy. The Revenue and Financing Policy covers the Council’s various sources of funding, and how the cost of services is shared across the region. This includes ...
Labour has conceded it could have done more to deal with disruptive state housing tenants while in government but says the current coalition is going too far. ...
The band has asked their record label to issue a cease and desist to stop the NZ First leader using their 1997 hit to support his ‘misguided political views’. “I get knocked down, but I get up again,” blared through the speakers on Sunday as Winston Peters took the stage ...
By Lydia Lewis, RNZ Pacific journalist Food rationing is underway in remote areas in Papua New Guinea’s Highlands following torrential rain and flash flooding. More than 20 people have been reported dead in Chimbu Province. In nearby Enga Province, the centre of last month’s massacre, a 15-year-old boy has been ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andrew Hughes, Lecturer, Research School of Management, Australian National University After months of debate and intrigue, the AFL’s 19th and newest team, the Tasmania Devils, finally launched its jumper, logo and colours in Devonport this week. The Devils will wear green, ...
Brannavan Gnanalingam reviews the debut novel by Saraid de Silva.One of the most baffling things for children who move to a new country is what their parents’ (or grandparents’) lives were like prior to moving – for kids in particular, they’re too busy trying to fit in in their ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Stephen Gaunson, Associate Professor in Cinema Studies, RMIT University Narelle Portanier/Binge “If you don’t know who your mob are, you don’t know who you are,” Detective Andrea “Andie” Whitford (played by Leah Purcell) is told early into the new crime ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Elise Klein, Associate professor, Australian National University It’s commonly accepted that women do the vast majority of caregiving in Australian society. But less appreciated is that Indigenous women do larger amounts of unpaid care than any other group. Working with the Aboriginal ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Beaumont, Election Analyst (Psephologist) at The Conversation; and Honorary Associate, School of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of Melbourne Joe Biden and Donald Trump have both secured their parties’ nominations for the November 5 United States general election by winning a ...
Comment: There has been a striking contrast in trans-Tasman interest about Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi’s visit to New Zealand and Australia. While the Australian press has been full of articles about the visit – including his curious decision to meet with former prime minister and China booster Paul Keating ...
After years of pressuring banks and other institutions to stop investing in fossil fuels, climate campaigners are making some progress. So how does divestment work?For years, climate activists have been pushing banks and other big institutions to divest from fossil fuels. New research from climate advocacy group 350 Aotearoa ...
For Boba, Ethan and Ashley, K-pop is a place to belong, a way to express themselves, and a bridge to connect with others. The three young Polynesians are part of a K-pop fan community in Tāmaki Makaurau. It’s one of many that have sprung up worldwide as K-pop has gone ...
For Boba, Ethan and Ashley, K-pop is a place to belong, a way to express themselves, and a bridge to connect with others. This one-off documentary presents three intimate portraits of young Polynesians who are pulled into a Korean cultural phenomenon. K-POLYS is directed by Litia Tuiburelevu, Produced by Hex ...
There’s ample evidence demonstrating free school lunch programmes provide wide benefits across schools, households and communities according to public health researchers. ACT Minister David Seymour wants to reduce the spending on Aotearoa New Zealand’s ...
By Wata Shaw in Suva Fiji is facing an exodus of Fijians as many are leaving for overseas seeking employment and education and others are migrating, says Opposition MP Viliame Naupoto. Speaking in Parliament, he said: “His Excellency’s speech (Ratu Wiliame Katonivere) comes after a little over one year of ...
The Taxpayers’ Union is welcoming comments from Christopher Luxon this morning recommitting to ‘no new taxes’ as part of Budget 2024. “Mr Luxon’s refusal at the Post-Cabinet press conference yesterday to repeat the ‘no new taxes’ promise ...
SAFE is urgently calling on the Environment Committee to reject the Government’s Fast-Track Approvals Bill, and is urging New Zealanders to rally behind the call. The proposed Bill, currently under consideration with the Environment select committee, ...
Teammates who spend all their time picking fights with spectators are only helpful for the other team, writes Madeleine Chapman. Anyone who has ever played a team sport competitively, particularly as a child and particularly, for some reason, basketball, will know that there’s a lot of politics involved. While there ...
The long-running Wellington music festival is too focused on the Jim Beam-ness and not enough on the Homegrown-ness.There is something about Homegrown that’s difficult to place. A barely perceptible-ness. Like feeling a ghost is watching you from the corner of the room but when you look, there’s nothing there. ...
The latest Ipsos New Zealand Issues Monitor reveals that fewer New Zealanders believe crime / law and order is one of the top issues facing our country. In 2018, Ipsos New Zealand started tracking the key issues facing New Zealand. In this wave ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kate Griffiths, Deputy Program Director, Budgets and Government, Grattan Institute Australia’s political donations rules are woefully inadequate, but donations reform is finally on the agenda. The federal government has signalled its interest in reform and will soon begin briefing MPs on its ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mark Patrick Taylor, Chief Environmental Scientist, EPA Victoria; Honorary Professor, School of Natural Sciences, Macquarie University Naiyana Somchitkaeo/Shutterstock A recent study published in the prestigious New England Journal of Medicine has linked microplastics with risk to human health. The study ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Albert Van Dijk, Professor, Water and Landscape Dynamics, Fenner School of Environment & Society, Australian National University Global climate records were shattered in 2023, from air and sea temperatures to sea-level rise and sea-ice extent. Scores of countries recorded their hottest year ...
As part of our series exploring how New Zealanders live and our relationship with money, a teacher explains why he and his partner are in frugal mode – and how they’re making it work. Gender: Male Age: 35Ethnicity: Pākehā Role: I am an intermediate school teacher and my partner is ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sarah Bendall, Senior Lecturer, Institute for Humanities and Social Sciences, Australian Catholic University Binge Mary & George, the new British television drama series, depicts the real-life story of Mary Villiers and her son George, and their social climbing at the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jason Nassios, Associate Professor, Centre of Policy Studies, Victoria University This article is part of The Conversation’s series examining the housing crisis. Read the other articles in the series here. Australian state and federal governments spend money in many ways to ...
The finance minister is denying that there’s a $5.6b shortfall in paying for the government’s campaign promises, including tax cuts. At his post-cabinet press conference yesterday, the PM refused to rule out new taxes to pay for the cuts, writes Anna Rawhiti-Connell in this excerpt from The Bulletin, The Spinoff’s ...
Kāinga Ora tenants abused by their neighbours are doubting the government's crackdown on disruptive tenants will make a difference on their behaviour. ...
Kāinga Ora is New Zealand’s biggest residential landlord, housing more than 180,000 vulnerable people in more than 67,000 properties. Yesterday the government announced a crackdown on its tenants who fall behind on rent. One longtime Kāinga Ora tenant shares her experience.For 18 years I lived in a 1960s standalone ...
Why does this myth persist, and what’s the real reason our skin is suffering?It’s one of the biggest international grievances New Zealanders hold, up there with the sinking of the Rainbow Warrior and 1981’s underarm incident. We’re quick to tell international travellers that the world’s pollution led to the ...
Bob’s relationship with certain members of Lincoln’s academic staff continued to deteriorate in the 1990s. Others supported him publicly, though articles such as Roland Clark’s 1993 piece in Growing Today cannot have pleased the university management. Clark wrote that Bob was selling onions from the Biological Husbandry Unit to a ...
SailGP’s races feature in-your-face action, with agile, hydro-foiling catamarans tacking and jibing for the title over several days. However, public comments ahead of the global series’ return to New Zealand have left this past year’s controversy in the shadows, as a key appointment attracts criticism from dolphin advocates. A year ...
Opinion: We are fast approaching a fundamental change in prisons. As the number of people on custodial remand looks set to overtake the number of sentenced prisoners, the main function of prisons in New Zealand may become incarcerating un-sentenced people who may not be guilty of offending. We have already ...
A huge seven months lies in store for the White Ferns, beginning this week with the visit of England and culminating with the T20 World Cup in Bangladesh in September and October. Starting on Tuesday in Dunedin, the world ranked No. 2 visitors will play five T20s and three ODIs, ...
Opinion: In a move that has shocked road safety advocates across the country, the new Minister of Transport, Simeon Brown, is poised to abandon the previous government’s speed limit reduction policy, particularly around schools. Even more alarmingly, he wants school speed limits to be variable rather than full-time, arguing ...
Auckland Council is opposing a fast-track development backed by Sir John Kirwan and Spark NZ, because it doesn’t meet stringent new climate adaptation requirements The post Surf-data centre faces new 3.8C climate warming rules appeared first on Newsroom. ...
When the Criminal Proceeds (Recovery) Act was introduced in 2009 it was firmly targeted at gangs and drugs. The legislation means police no longer need a conviction to seize assets that criminals can’t prove were paid for legitimately, as long as their alleged offences are punishable by more than a ...
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The letters, which were published last week, were addressed to Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) Chairperson Megawati Sukarnoputri, National Democrat Party (NasDem) Chairperson Surya Paloh, National Awakening Party (PKB) Chairperson Muhaimin Iskandar, Justice and Prosperity Party (PKS) President Ahmad Syaikhu and United Development Party (PPP) Chairperson Muhammad Mardiono. In ...
Evicting more people from state housing is ignorant to the consequences of poverty, the Greens say, but the Housing Minister says it's a privilege that can be taken away if abused. ...
Evicting more people from state housing is ignorant to the consequences of poverty, the Greens say, but the Housing Minister says it's a privilege that can be taken away if abused. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Emerald L King, Lecturer in Humanities, University of Tasmania IMDB Between Netflix’s 2023 live-action version of One Piece, and its latest take on Avatar: The Last Airbender, fans are once again asking: why are live-action anime adaptations so tricky to ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Emerald L King, Lecturer in Humanities, University of Tasmania IMDB Between Netflix’s 2023 live-action version of One Piece, and its latest take on Avatar: The Last Airbender, fans are once again asking: why are live-action anime adaptations so tricky to ...
The government says it still intends to deliver tax cuts by July, but will not lock them in until they have got them past their coalition partners. ...
Spinoff has a team verdict on the leaders' debate: https://thespinoff.co.nz/politics/22-09-2020/leaders-debate-the-verdicts/
Toby Manhire: "Campbell, who did a good job at keeping things rolling, at one point observed, “You sound like you’re both on auto-pilot,” he was mostly right, except that would have required leaving the ground."
Trish Sherson: "Real politics is live, off script, a contest of ideas with tough questions. Collins owned it."
Morgan Godfery: "The prime minister had it all over her: on the border, on housing, on education, and in personality. "
Ben Thomas: "Ardern was strangely hesitant."
Justin Giovannetti: "When asked about her plan for poverty reduction, Collins responded with ripping up the RMA. Campbell was incredulous, voters were probably confused."
Madeleine Chapman: "both leaders argued about who could commit the hardest to not taxing property. In my mind, we all lost tonight. And I will spend the next seven working days of my life fake-smiling and announcing “my husband is Samoan, so talofa” to everyone I meet. In that sense, Judith Collins won simply by saying something so ridiculous that she’ll be living rent-free in my brain until the next debate."
Steve Braunias has written an article for the Guardian on the leaders' debate. The link is below. One notable quote…
Braunias is such a good writer.
First TV debate between Ardern and Collins avoids being a horror show
She told him what.
Exactly Dennis. It's a good one.
Old Jude's really quite skillful, don't you think? No flies on her in this regard.
When there is very little of relevance that you can confidently dominate the debate with, revert to repetitive and vague historical recollections, including inane self promotion.
And then hope that it might appeal to the emotions of a number of the disillusioned or worried, (in this case small and medium business operators), or any other target audience which you know will be feeling some pain or distress at the time you take to the podium.
Then hope like Hell that your murmurings will convince the target audience that their suffering and predicament was brought about by your opponent, or those who advised him or her and also by those who continue to do so.
Ardern has done truckloads of speeches with radiant anecdotes and transcendent aspiration.
Absent.
Maybe she prefers we just sleepwalk to the polls.
Maybe Ardern was just plain tired , pandemic to navigate NZ through since March and electioneering since July. She knew it and had to tread cautiously first time around.
Janet I would think you're 100% right. The knowledge that the election would be over now if not having to be fitted round wilfully ignorant people undoing the efforts of those really doing God's work on earth leads to pockets of depression. She may have been on the edge of one of them.
And for those not wishing to sleepwalk to the polls, just roll over and go back to sleep, (perhaps until 2023).
Another way, if are worried that you might be accused of NOT voting or you are getting a bit nervous about being caught out abstaining from the three yearly habit, is to go to the nearest polling place, walk in, and then out.
After you've done and then just mill around (smoke a ciggy if you're that way inclined, or sip on a water for about 20 minutes) and then leave with an old "I voted" sticker from 2017 or 2014 that you brought with you, stuck to your jacket, shirt or blouse.
That'll be sure to do the trick.
Personally found the whole debate totally underwhelming.
Thought Ardern was flat and Collins, was just stating points we all knew, and Campbell was just irritating.
Collin's probably pipped it, but neither were particularly inspiring me to think vote for them.
Collins made her points rather than answer the actual questions. The arrogance was on show with those cutaway shots so her media minders have work to do unless that's the desired outcome.
Different styles I think.
Collin's is hardly going to make any impact trying to play Ardern at her particular skills, because a) she isn’t that cuddly feely, b) She would look incincere, so pointing out basic points is pretty much all she has to go with at this late stage I think.
I did think Collins got the better of Ardern with coming across to your average normal voter who doesn't particularly follow politics, with plain speak tbh, while Ardern's normally excellent communication skills kind of had an off night.
If anything, to me it looked oddly like Ardern had just over practiced the thing and was just sticking to a routine or script, with no improv' when Collins pointed things out.
If you like full on cringe you would have picked Collins over Ardern. Her performance was on par with what a certain Don Brash could produce, even Bridges probably would have been more convincing.
Collins response of "that we know of!" to Ardern's statement on the tiny amount of border/quarantine breaches was one such example.
I guess it comes down to how you prefer you leader to come across.
Different voters prefer different things. If you like the touchy feely persona, Ardern is always going to win (although she had an off night last night). If you prefer just basic truthful points rammed at you then you would go Collins.
And if you are a die hard voter for either party, you are going to view each persons performance with rose coloured glasses and ignore the flaws of your preferred.
"truthful points" Judith? spare us!! Se incognito’s quotes.
Codger? Truthful? C'mon man.
An old trick that seasoned or street smart politicians on the offensive often come up with is having it appear that they are trying to be polite and truthful, when all they are trying to do is to dislodge their opponent and dominate the debate.
Ardern seems to be aware of this tactic and has obviously been quite well coached in relation to avoiding repetitive distraction. For example, repetitive title errors or name pronunciations"errors".
Expressing opinion as to package it as a "truthful presentation" is another tactic which is well used. It is commonly acceptable just as long as the opinion expressed cannot be legitimately challenged as being erroneous or non-factual at the time that opinion is provided.
This is as old a trick as using percentages of percentages to embellish or appear to exaggerate a statement so as to give it impact.
Say the unemployment figure for women in NZ from Sept 2017 through to Sept 2018 decreased from 5.4% to 4%, some might convey it this way; "The number of registered unemployed women in NZ dropped by about 22% during Sept 2017 and Sept 2018".
Quite entertaining really.
All I am suggesting is that we all need to be careful with our definition of the word; "truthful", especially when quoting politicians lines.
No matter what her minders have told her she must change – and it's obvious her minders have said there's a lot she needs to change – there's nothing Collins can do to mask her abject narcissism and multiple personality disorders.
Straw poll….how many subjected themselves to the full 90 mins?
Yes…..0
No….1
Another no from me, I tried to stay engaged.
I was a bit put off by the hype- Wendy Petrie over the poll results, as if they were handed down to Moses as gospel to the repeated gushy ad with Campbell.
I am not the target audience, I have made up my mind and will be early voting.
who was the target audience I wonder?…insomniacs?
Psychiatrists.
Yes for me. And regretted it.
Yes…..1
No….2
Yes I watched it all. Regret? Not really – you risk missing a gotcha or king-hit moment if you yield to the tedium.
@ Dennis Frank …yep with you there..I fucking love political debates, and this one I actually thought was pretty good, it showed for anyone who bothered to watch the whole thing where both political parties lined up and where the light was between them…the environment was obviously the most stark difference between them, while Madeleine Chapman summed up housing and capital gains (which is also of course directly related to inequality and poverty outcomes etc)…"both leaders argued about who could commit the hardest to not taxing property. In my mind, we all lost tonight."
I found Ardern to be quite uncharismatic which combined with an awful semi pleading delivery style was quite hard to watch, while Collins left me with the feeling that I cannot excuse anyone who would actually vote for someone so seething with uncontrolled rage and a barely contained nasty streak that spilled out time and time again in almost every sideways look and glance she made at Ardren..she seemed to me to be quite unhinged.
awful semi pleading delivery
Indeed. Someone ought to explain biological signalling to her! Viewers read the plea as a sign of weakness. Sincere, genuine leftists use the plea style out of habit, presuming others have rapport, empathy, and will give the reasoning due consideration. My guess is that their assumption is valid for about 20% of the audience. Inept politics to use it then, eh?
" Sincere, genuine leftists use the plea style out of habit" exactly right, which is why I have been advocating taking a hard line for years…stop asking and start demanding change from these fuckers..no more bended knees and more clenched fists of righteous outrage imo.
The problem in NZ is that we have never strung up any politician from a lamp post by their feet, so there is no historical reference for them to have any fear of us..hence their demeaning, insulting and frankly outrageous shift over the past thirty or so years to regarding the population as mere consumers rather active citizens.
Really? I can't think of any Leftist politicians or activists that do/have ever done the plea gesture so often..if at all..ever.
It has certainly never been used to create change or forward momentum. Infact the only political figures who tend towards that sort of thing are possibly James Shaw and Justin Trudeau..add Ardern to that list..and it looks rather like a Centrist's trying hard not to look like centrists technique…pleading with the voters to buy into their fragile narrative with its elusive promises.
That being said..qudos to Shaw for managing to talk about inequality at the finance debate…
It's the tedium that’s interesting to see.
“…so seething with uncontrolled rage and a barely contained nasty streak that spilled out time and time again in almost every sideways look and glance she made at Ardern…she seemed to me to be quite unhinged."
Spot on, wholly accurate assessment. I cannot add a thing to it. Would be good if the commentators had the balls to say so, too, although many wouldn't have the tools to detect it.
Got bored after 10 mins.
Queenstown one was much better.
Would have been a good night, 400 turnout is pretty good for Queenstown But we're right at the front end with Covid economic effects, so a lot of motivated people.
A lot of dreams are in tatters around the town, and a lot who thought it was all over in April are going like never before, so a very interesting town right now.
It's a bit different to actually have an election campaign in town, usually it's a pretty subdued affair with just the local candidates and maybe a senior Nat down on a fundraiser. This time the work is going in and it's all on. Labour actually putting up a viable local candidate along with the current situation has really got things going.
They played a short clip on breakfast news and I couldn't believe how much Robertson – who doesn't normally seem a big man – towered over the pipsqueaks on either side of him. One of whom was Goldsmith.
Tova just now reckoned that Seymour won. He seems to be flavour of the month, so wouldn't surprise me.
Did anyone learn anything of import at the Queenstown debate?
Yes. Act really is on a roll.
Goldsmith is flat.
Robertson needs a lot better lines than "we've got policy coming"
Lets not forget what act really is…
"ACT leader David Seymour announced the party's tourism policy at an event at the Te Anau Club last night, calling for privately run managed isolation facilities, and allowing rich foreigners to pay to use them for a New Zealand holiday. "
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/political/426599/act-tourism-policy-bold-but-operators-question-uptake
edit
We need to be retreating from barefoot tourism but still need to keep overseas tourists' money cycling through the economy. You express horror at the idea of wealthy coming here to managed isolation prior to being able to tour round the country using some of the expensive infrastructure set up for such people. And also it would I hope have a dedicated set of workers earning, is not a disgraceful or impractical idea.
Until we get organised shipping set up that perhaps follows the seasons, and sails around the tornado areas as much as possible, then having an airline running reducing kilometres to bring people here, and enable NZs to go to certain places, requires the two-way coming and going numbers to keep viable.
Who has thought about how shipping could serve us? Can we expand the numbers of berths on container ships? I have an old advertisement advertising these on a 'banana boat'. And can we provide business for the Greeks again? The Fairstar and the Fairsky ships were owned by Onassiss I think. They did a busy trade in the 1960-70s.
" You express horror at the idea of wealthy coming here to managed isolation prior to being able to tour round the country using some of the expensive infrastructure set up for such people. And also it would I hope have a dedicated set of workers earning, is not a disgraceful or impractical idea."
I express horror? Dont imagine what I express. I merely stated
" Lets not forget what act really is… "
and linked to an article. But hey your comment paints a picture.
I thought that you thought that the idea was a significant one. It actually is important whether ACT said it or not.
Well you know what thought thought…Anyway you seem to want to be on both ends of the game. You decry neoliberalism…while praising an idea that stems exactly from there. Huh?
Thanks to both neolib nats and neolib "labour". NZ did away with our our NZ Apprenticeship scheme and became a hospitality/waiter/waitress/touristguide/bartender/service industry neolib playground.
If you cant see the Irony here? I cant help you across the road to it.
Labour seems to be getting back to what they are supposed to be. I really hope so.
so no then.
Yes an no.
Was listening to the stream on the web while watching TV, and tbf for a bit of it, my attention to the tv won over the stream in my attention span
10 minutes was plenty.
NO and that is the right question !
Not a single second.
Yes
No. I briefly thought I should watch it, then decided a better use of my time would be to find a rusty old can-opener and give myself an anesthetic-free vasectomy.
Did not watch. Working. Caught the odd snippet here and there.
I doubt I missed much, to be honest. I find Collins personally repellent and I try to avoid watching her in the same way I actively avoid reading anything written by Mike Hosking and his similarly awful wife. Life is too short to spend it shrieking at the television. I've spend decades watching National ruin everything they touch, and National would have to stop being National for me to ever consider voting for them. The current incarnation is probably the worst I've ever witnessed.
"National ruin everything they touch", unlike Lange and the Graham Scott Puppet Show.
"In late 1979 Mr Scott moved to the Treasury, eventually becoming secretary in 1986. He worked closely with the fourth Labour Government as it reformed the New Zealand economy in the 1980s."
http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/804306/An-old-hand-sees-the-parallels
Didn't watch.
The main point of a debate is the post-debate momentum- did an underdog 'wipe the floor' with their opponent? Was there a "show me the money" moment? Did someone drop a clanger?
Facts matter, but most people won't have watched the debate. They will probably see the distilled coverage, though. That's the bit that affects the outcome.
The problem with debates is that they are not easy to fact check on the fly. Nationals claims tend to lose in the long run when properly fact checked.
National tend to claim a lot of things that when fact checked are shown to be made up of cherry picked data that falls over, or put up claims they are they ones who could better balance the books when they can not even seam to get the accounting right on their alternate budget.
Look at the holes slowly showing up in Nationals alternate budget as people start to go through the numbers. First an easy to catch mistake they have owned up to and now a second big hole they are not admitting to.
Judith's claims that NSW in Australia dealt better with Covid 19 than NZ with fewer restriction, another claim that falls over when the full numbers are looked at and not cherry picked.
National in a debate are like a boxer that hits below the belt every time the ref is not looking to win a match. They toss in cherry picked and misleading data all the time to win debates and it is hard to win a debate against someone with actual facts when they have "Alternate Facts" they will use to score points on you.
Collins said that Agriculture contributed 0.02 % to the Worlds pollution.
Quite true but the Agriculture contributing 48% of NZ's pollution more relevant. But who cares in such a non debate.
Sort of interesting that she 'knew" that, when she she was well out with number of covid deaths in aust states.
And her 'scrapping' the RMA fills me with dread. Remember what happened last time the Natz did that —LEAKY BUILDINGS.
Mould deserves freedom, you know.
Jacinda, "Ms Ardern" pointed that out, and that transport was a further 20%.
Actually I'm sure she was saying "Miss Ardern" Patricia.
The one thing I took away from the debate is that Judith Collins showed us what a nasty cow she really is.
Quite right Anne – I play my TV through a good Hi Fi sound system, and distinctly heard 'Miss Ardern'. Mind you, I doubt if it matters in terms of votes. Judith is trying to sound nice, but every so often I find myself wondering if she is a sour cow or a sour sow. That may sound sexist, so maybe I should balance it with full of bull, and boring bore..
The nasty Muldoon persona does not help. It is actually a bit piggy, I think.
Or how about crushing boar?
I reckon Piggy Jude is about right. Muldoon reincarnated in female form.
She is nowhere near as competent as Muldoon was in his prime..
True, but she doesn't know it. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning%E2%80%93Kruger_effect
The debate needed a fact checker.
The debate needed a better camera person/s. We were often looking at the back of Jacinda's head, though we never saw the back of John's or Judith's!! What was that about??
Yes I particularly noticed that too – the lighting was not balanced over the two speakers – often a bit "dark "on Ardern .
Good – we need aware viewers to complain and let TVNZ know that we understand their biased editing techniques.
With an electric shock capability.
Leaders debates like this are about personality and not the facts, about building popularity through charisma rather than informing people and have them make informed choices.
Because of this I consider such debates detrimental to democracy.
What a smart line from Madeline Chapman. (See No 1 Dennis @ 6.19 from Spinoff.)
I thought her line "In my mind we all lost tonight" was the closer to the mark
CGT did nothing to Australia's housing market.
There are other ways of reigning in the ponzi scheme….if the will is there.
How much extra tax did it bring to the coffers. They will need some to help pay for their coffins.
However we need extra tax to help provide living people with decent basics, of which we have a thriving market selling off to toffs from NZ and overseas. Come and buy anything you like, our houses for instance, (and our farms, by the dozens), and get lots of moolah. Then pile it in one of your spare rooms with a diving board like Grandpa Duck used, though that silly duffer had piles of gold coins. But the wealthy aren't too sensitive, he probably never noticed the hard edges.
But I wonder how much CGT here would have raised because the poor here do feel the hard edges of everything.
I guess because it was poorly executed.
Green voter attacks Green Party: https://thedailyblog.co.nz/2020/09/23/why-are-the-greens-dying-and-what-happens-if-they-do/
Bomber's cultural analysis features the Top 8 Green Party Woke Alienations. The photo of the Wellington Twitteratti Green Activists ready for their next micro aggression policing social media lynch mob shows the traditional side of wokesterism.
Not only like that. It is that. They think
Yes, yes, but that's been obvious the past year or more, so why not learn the lesson? He can't – he's so fixated on bitching about the problem. If a faction seems to discredit a party in the public mind, you fix that problem by changing the public mind. That's what political management is for.
Why have the Green caucus not used their moral authority to make that happen? Because too many of them are wokesters themselves, perhaps. Because those who aren't lack sufficient leverage. It's a failure of collective leadership.
The answer is in the question.
Bradbury has been banging on about the same thing for some time. I think he is ageing mentally, getting into that inflexible style of thinking that is so prevalent in the older age group.
Perhaps his blog has had its day as a therapeutic outlet for his boiling stresses, and he has gone to excess so often that he has poisoned any fertile ground around him where inspiration and creatively beneficial ideas might grow about better policies and wise politicians.
" woke middle class identity politics mummy blogger trans ally Green Party cancel culture militant cyclist humourless vegan micro aggression policing activists"
This interests me. As the world we are living in becomes more and more complex; ideas surface and add to those already circulating, they fracture and multiply like the brooms of the Sorcerer's apprentice, do we dig our heels in and sweep the nuanced plethora of new ideas away with our broom of conservatism and condemnation (listen to Magic talkback if you don't know what I mean) or do we surge forward, into the morass of fractionated thinking; meet those challenging ideas head-on and ride the wave of knowledge they represent? I reckon, catch the wave. Bomber seems to want to build a sandcastle on the beach, while wearing a knotted handkerchief on his head.
That rant reveals more about Bradbury than the party. What a word salad.
The irony of his past three years line – is he started the three years saying the same thing and has repeated it ad nauseum throughout the entire period.
He basically wants to silence the Green Party on identity politics society concerns and reduce it to class and environment economics (not sure how that relates to historic party support for Maori self-government/revival aspiration, multi-cultural society and feminist concerns).
He has basically taken up the Free Speech rights are at risk line of the ACT Party protecting white race man civilisation from the woke threat – which is what one would expect from someone who keeps meeting Sean Plunkett and the insolvent wage subsidy dependent libertarian.
He will claim the polls prove him right – but that is cynical – minor parties in government lose support, and minor parties out of it but in parliament gain. As per 2002 – Alliance down and United Party up. This time NZF and Greens down and ACT up.
Bradbury is a pain in the ass.
I think it would be great if someone fact checked the debate. Collins said something about building houses and that I am sure was crap.
campbell didn’t address competency of the two parties. I think that is a serious omission.
national could spout any policy, but surely it blindingly obvious that they. Have lied, acted unethically and made major mistakes
Some fact-checking:
https://interactives.stuff.co.nz/2020/08/election-2020-the-whole-truth/#/1193304839/the-avocados-will-be-fine
https://interactives.stuff.co.nz/2020/08/election-2020-the-whole-truth/#/1193304232/collins-jobless-numbers-claim
"Did anyone else think Campbell cut Jacinda off far more than Collins.?"
YES
"I also noticed quite frequently when Jacinda was talking the camera went to Judith. And I am not sure about this but an afterthought was that the camera angle favoured Judith. ……..interested to hear if others noticed this."
YES. Also, I noticed that the focus was on Collins pulling stupid faces and slightly off focus on Ardern. Being a photographer this is a technique used to highlight the main subject,
Also Campbell did not shut Collins up when Ardern was speaking so Ardern could not finish what she was saying.
Agree with you on all points U made
Agreed 100% John Campbell may live for these debates but he did not ask any clarifying questions, nor was he actively listening to what Jacinda was saying, cutting her off at the end of her first point, more than once.
The camera work and the lighting favoured Judith greatly, shaving at least 15 years off her face. The shadows showed Jacinda's almost gaunt look of 3 years of unrelenting responsibility, and the knowledge of what is ahead.
However, I feel Jacinda's lack of reaction led to overconfidence on Judith's part, and Judith clearly showed her lack of respect and her scoffing "give back double" nature.
The insincere swap between charm and scoffing was quite marked
Jesicca Much MacKay is excited to lead "her" next debate!! "Judith did so well." "When is yours?" says John…..the ego of these people is amazing. It is all about them of course.
I watched the first 5 minutes, but then found this!!! Really interesting!
"New Zealand's oldest surviving observatory falling down in a field, held up only by a tree"
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/122815070/new-zealands-oldest-surviving-observatory-falling-down-in-a-field-held-up-only-by-a-tree
Judith looked liked she was auditioning for Mean Girls.
John doing his fanboy impersonation.
Jacinda the only adult in the room.
I didn't watch the debate because Collins repulses me. So l appreciate the updates. Sounds like Collins had more energy on the night but Ardern stuck to her high road approach.
Ardern's main weapon is that she is a normal adult humanbeing and comes across as such. Sadly a rarity among senior politicians.
I didn't watch because I just find it all incredibly stupid anyway … and I find Judith's mantra of "hurting people double who hurt her" incredibly juvenile.
Making enemies just means there are fewer and fewer people on your side and fewer people willing to go the extra mile to help you. It seems like an odd way to be a politician.
This is totally anecdotal but a friend of a friend works for a Nat List MP. She said they’ve all started looking for new jobs.
Goldsmith's staff who check his numbers have clocked off already too.
Well if anyone still has the will to do so after last night we can vote in 10 days (and counting)
Excellent comment! How many non-voters would have been enticed to vote now after watching this show on TV, if they watched at all? Is this format good for voter engagement?
How many non voters would waste their time watching a non debate?
bullseye.
I did not watch for one reason only – Judith Collins' sheer nastiness. I just don't choose to spend my time witnessing that sort of behaviour. We have had more than enough of National Party members and hangers on behaving disgracefully this year.
Talking to friends this morning, they picked up on the eye rolling etc.etc. One used the words 'hate her' which is their usual way of talking.
"Shifting Arctic ice, raging wildfires in western US states and elsewhere, and methane leaks in the North Sea are all warning signs that we are approaching a tipping point on climate change, when protecting the future of civilisation will require dramatic interventions.
Under a “climate lockdown,” governments would limit private-vehicle use, ban consumption of red meat, and impose extreme energy-saving measures, while fossil-fuel companies would have to stop drilling. To avoid such a scenario, we must overhaul our economic structures and do capitalism differently.
Many think of the climate crisis as distinct from the health and economic crises caused by the pandemic. But the three crises – and their solutions – are interconnected."
https://www.interest.co.nz/opinion/107187/mariana-mazzucato-sees-no-alternative-radical-overhaul-corporate-governance-finance
They will have a policy for this, right? Surely?
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12367232
so our pm who odds on will be on after the election still PM and could also govern alone, and then any legislation resulting from the cannabis vote can be whatever labour decides (captains call)will not tell us what her personal views are. Ffs you are a leader what are you afraid of ?? That your opinions may result is losing a few votes. Your opinion has more than any other in deciding how any law is shaped.
imo this is steep walking to a victory, I hope that labour does not govern alone because they do not deserve to allow NZ to drift further. And their First past the post strategy just shows how they think the greens deserve to be managed… with distaste.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12355405
I don't agree, remember Keys support of the flag, many people voted to keep the flag to spite Key. Adern staying out of it is sensible, as well as her right, to keep her decision private. Also, the euthanasia bill being supported by Seymour makes me question by own beliefs around it (I support it, or do I? I'm not 100% sure, coz Seymour supports it, loudly).
Our PM and labour keeping out of it is ALL political as IMO they want to win and govern on their own and will do whatever to achieve this (no team including The Greens). What happens if the vote is 45-55 or even 50-50?We have been given no indication as to what any law will look like or if should the vote be too close what then? So totally disagree.
We appear to have a risk averse Labour Party.
Labour will be averse to taking risks that might dent their commanding lead over the National opposition party in recent political opinion polls. I'm guessing their strategists are pretty comfortable letting National indulge in risky business, and there's been plenty of that since the Bridges-Ross spat kicked off, Boag-Walker, Andrew ‘Balloon-Falloon’, and ‘Merv from Manurewa’ being recent examples.
There’s a lot riding on Collins’ eyebrows.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opinion_polling_for_the_2020_New_Zealand_general_election#Graphical_summary
At the end, when Campbell was wrapping up, he spoke of one of the two leaders being the Prime Minister.
Interestingly, Ardern was looking straight ahead and Collins? She was looking at Ardern.
It's the eyes that give us away………….
It's worse than that. Brexit has antagonized the US and Eu leading to a probable economic crisis on which Judith does not seem to have a constructive position.
[This user handle and e-mail address are now blacklisted. Please use the pair that you last used on 21 Aug and that we had agreed on previously, thanks.
You are wasting Moderator time each time you change your user name and/or e-mail address and you have never provided a good reason why you are doing it.
I did ask you again only 2 days ago but you simply ignored the note so I wasted even more time on your antics when I gave you the benefit of doubt – Incognito]
See my second Moderation note to you in 2 days @ 11:59 AM.
Thoughts from abroad – Headlines from UK The Telegraph: You will have to search for more details yourself. This is just to show the drift of the thinking of the UK.
'Despite 10,000 new cases a day the French are embracing life – not imposing new rules.. From the Travel Correspondent.
(The French have large numbers of cases of Covid19 and are still enjoying life. Fool or hardy? Sounds like an oxymoron to me.)
Oxford’s Sir John Bell: ‘We’re not going to beat the second wave’
Oxford University has announced that clinical trials of its coronavirus vaccine are to resume in the UK
At lunchtime on Tuesday, Sir John Bell received a call telling him that the groundbreaking Oxford coronavirus vaccine trial would, regretfully, be paused.
(So UK is at sixes and sevens. But they know what they are doing, right. Trust us to do the right thing is the Conservative approach – now they've kicked Labour and Corbyn to the side.)
'We can beat Covid without lockdowns, says top German virologist
Hendrik Streeck argues big gatherings in closed spaces amplify the spread, but going to shops or hairdressers are manageable levels of risk'
Margaret Atwood wants to see The Handmaid's Tale scenario remain a fiction!
And Brexit, the entitled classes from which Boris has arisen stamps its foot over EU intransigence or something. It's all their fault.
The bad-faith EU is furious that the UK now has a backstop of its own
The PM is offering Brussels a choice: negotiate fairly, or the whole country will leave without a deal
Are we feeling a little anxious while we wait for the election and the Right waffle on about things, and thrust sharp things into the thread of our democracy and then grab our arms and say 'Look at these holes we found', that they made themselves? And all the time the Left are doing a pretty-good job. Here is Jonathan Pie relating the cares and woes of the UK people about their Right government, that is attempting to lead them all up the garden path, like a character out of P.G.Wodehouse.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JXdd8WzaK-Q
Boris is advancing fast, he's a father now, and getting into confused grandfather territory at supersonic speed; reminiscent of the joke I got out of the paper years ago and put on the fridge:
"My grandfather's a little forgetful, but he likes to give me advice. One day he took me aside, and left me there." Ron Richards* (Witty & Wise.)
* Ron Richards (22 January 1929 – 30 April 2009) was a British record producer, manager and promoter, best known for discovering The Hollies. and – The record producer Ron Richards played a central part in the British “beat boom” of the 1960s, taking charge of the Beatles' first recording .. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ron_Richards_(producer)
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/122845115/tick-tick-podcast-the-economic-phoney-war-and-what-will-happen-to-house-prices
House prices will not take a hit because the wealthy will continue to buy them all up so nobody else can afford them.
A friend who is a mortgage advisor told me that the banks apparently refuse to lend to people whose businesses either received the wage subsidy or who did receive the wage subsidy themselves. So yeah, anyone who thought that the low lever interests would benefit the houseless is in for serious disappointment.
At this stage the housing market – private, social and commercial – and the official response to it is nothing more but a farce.
Yes, Judith Collins sat down with an “adoring supporter” who has a tattoo of the latest leader of the opposition on one of his thighs. Could this be a turning point in Collins' election campaign (worked for Trump) – maybe we'll all see more of her soon.
https://www.ktnv.com/now-trending/ohio-man-has-donald-trumps-face-tattooed-on-arm
https://www.wnep.com/article/news/local/trump-stamp-man-gets-trump-tattoo-on-lower-back-after-losing-bet/523-a89bac84-d7eb-4523-9551-83a5e89c7825
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3937678/British-roofer-38-gets-huge-tattoo-Donald-Trump-leg-says-doesn-t-mind-criticism-great-art-controversial.html
@ 22 The "minds" (I use the term advisedly : ) of them . Gotta laugh
Let me know if you'd like some more.
[TheStandard: A moderator moved this comment to Open Mike as being off topic or irrelevant in the post it was made in. Be more careful in future.]
would you like to be out for the day?
Once a month I'm allowed out for the day.
The way to reduce house prices is known.
It is with the cost of paying a mortgage or limitation on access to finance to buy.
A guy called Bollard said he would not need to increase the OCR to constrain inflation resulting from rising land and property value if the government introduced a mortgage surcharge instead – then the OCR would be lower and so would the dollar to the advantage of exporters.
But now over a decade later and still nothing. The RBG gets rid of the equity requirement and cuts the OCR and so of course property values will rise.
This will change as soon as the government adds a mortgage surcharge or taxes equity in property (TOP) or a land tax. Of course only taxing property equity wealth over $M is Green policy.
Lower interest rates only benefit those with access to property finance, a mortgage surcharge is the balance to this so that government can help tenants and finance homes for first home buyers or build more state houses.
We used as first home buyers, to get a 25 year mortgage at an affordable rate, and that was a good start. It encouraged people to settle into stable lives etc etc. But though you would think that good people in government roles would want that, I think that this evil neolib economics is actually keen to keep people on the hop, make them work harder, not be complacent, and ensure that they didn't have anything to sink savings into, underpay them so they had to borrow so business would profit from the interest they had to pay to provide the necessities demanded in a 'developed' economy, and keeping more money flowing in the economy.
It is such a twisted approach that ordinary people don't comprehend it; don't understand the diabolical nature of the financial people at the top who twiddle the economy's knobs.
Yes a government could waive the mortgage surcharge for first home buyers …
It used to be expressed that government gave first home buyers a step up into the housing market to get them started. But neolib doesn't want people to even get started. Don Brash didn't think that people should be tying their money up in their own house. Though the system produced a stable and relatively happy country pleased and proud most of the time.
Not the way we are now with an attitude of the quick or the dead, and lack of generosity towards others, competing for stuff all the time. To the people at the top the hoi polloi are just to be used as if life was a cockfight, and the hens get slaughtered if they don't produce enough eggs. As you can tell, I am pretty disillusioned – the NZ spirit is mainly found in bottles now.
I think Collins sounded more like Trump. Me me me, I know best, Vote for me,
Judith Collins is just a trashy piece of trailer trash. Her "poor wee thing" describing Jacinda Adern is classic "how low can you get" – uncouth is another description or as my old grannie used to say to me "all hair oil and no socks". She is a disgrace to any position of responsibility or representation of our country. Jacinda Adern should never have to be put in a position that she has to even engage with her. Fine porcelain versus crude pottery. Trump is the company Collins deserves.
She is starting to make John Key look reasonable.
I'll tell you what. The sooner this election comes round, the better.
I think it's a major miscalculation to think people are flocking to Labour and a self described bold progressive because they think she'll be moderate and consersative.
What if labours rise in the polls is due to non voters who jacindas boldness turned on and who need change and former Nat voters whose lives have fallen apart and this moderate tinkering approach makes them stay home. Honestly. Labours dropped in the polls since it announced policy and showed it's cautious af direction. Labours messaging just seems so wrong for the times.
Labour desperately needs to start exciting people again. People who were excited are getting bored and despondent. Maybe I'm wrong maybe people are flocking to her because they want a self described transformational progressive to not be bold or transformational and middle class people are flocking to Labour cos they want everything to stay the same. I think it's a bit of both
Labour still has the highest polling it's had in thirty years.
Sure we're not exciting, but not-exciting is effectively eating National.
Trust the hard left to whine about it.
"Labour … is effectively eating National"
They'll need a cast-iron gut to keep the meal down – but it's a dirty job that needs doing. They might even become a genuine conservative (in the best sense of the word) party. One worthy of respect – which we don't have at present.
Trust the hard left to whine about it. Calling an anxious voter looking for policy change 'hard left' is hard Ad. It's nervousness really – probably better left unsaid at this stage.
If people want bold transformational progressives, why aren't they flocking to the Greens?
Good question
Maybe those who really want "bold transformational progressives" have already flocked – the rest are hunkering down, still hoping to weather a 'storm' that shall not pass.
edit
This is a good bit of goss and shows our system is working at weeding out the baddies eventually, somewhat.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/426737/spy-camera-case-police-appeal-suppression-of-former-government-employee
A former senior government manager planted a spy camera in an Auckland gym's changing room capturing video of a naked couple, then went on to plant the camera on at least three more occasions, the Auckland High Court has heard.
Police appealing the man's discharge without conviction and permanent name suppression, argued his offending, which took place on at least four separate days, was not taken into account by District Court Judge Clare Bennett.
RNZ and NZME also challenged the man's name suppression.
I wonder if we have here the Judge adopting Queen Victoria’s moral levels whereby if one doesn’t want one’s mind to be sullied by distasteful scuttlebutt, one just doesn’t listen. The Queen is supposed to have said, “I don’t want to know that.” The better secondary schools now probably don’t even study DH Lawrence Lady Chatterley’s Lover.
‘We’re better than that’, is the quote of the new century, to be applied to bloody massacres, and derelictions of duty by well-paid government officials. I can say that, without a qualm, that bit about well-paid, because it seems to be an absolute dead cert these days as the anointed move up the line following the well-worn Peter’s Principle Curve.
"Westpac has agreed to pay a record $A1.3 billion ($NZ1.4b) fine for major breaches of money laundering and terror financing laws."
https://www.odt.co.nz/business/westpac-cops-record-fine-australia
I've often wondered….why is westpac our NZ Govt's Bank? Maybe Kiwibank should be…