The Prime Minister has ordered a paid national day off work on the death of the Queen
The death of 50 Muslim men women and children murdered in Christchurch got only two minutes.
What does this say about us?
Christchurch mosque shootings: Two-minute silence on Friday to honour the dead, PM Jacinda Ardern announces
In your opinion which is more ridiculous? A one whole day national stoppage for the death on the other side of the world of the Queen of England in her bed? Or the two minutes national stoppage for innocent deaths of Muslims murdered at prayer in this country?
I would like to ask you, DB which commemoration is more ridiculous?
I know which one I think is more 'ridiculous'
DB I can't help thinking how much more significant and worthwhile it would have been for us if the PM had ordered the country to take a day off for us to reflect on the lives and cruel deaths of of 51 defenceless innocent Muslim men women and children here in our country at the hands of a racist white supremacist?
How much more significant and worthwhile this would have been than ordering the country to take the day off in honour of the life and death of an uber rich white women on the other side of the world?
Maybe our leaders could pass legislation as they have done for the Queen's death, order that on the next significant anniversary of the Christchurch killings, that we are insightful and caring enough to mark out of respect for the dead in the terrible tragedy in Christchurch with a one off day off.
I played the ball she replies with a bunch of personal pleas like one of those email ads trying to sell us a course for a motivational speaker. It may go on and on but I'm done with that speaker on that topic.
Also, you might have noticed – I short-ban myself if I get too tetchy.
Fuck off you and your clown shoes. I called you out when you, by name several times, tried drag me into your pathetic charade. You utter fuckwit.
[lprent: Less of that, please. While that is how I often think of you, I really don’t think that it adds anything to the debate. It is the act of a simpleton with poor control and no argument. ]
We could have a real debate to examine the real cost of private transport on deaths and environmental damage, and how to effectively lower the road toll.
Why should one off commemorations be limited to celebrating royalty?
Maybe having one off paid days off work could be the way to have a national discussion and debate to examine and reflect on such major questions. It may very well be a way to engage the public and enhance our democracy.
Anyone who believes that a day off work involves people engaging in national discussion and debate on major questions, is invited to observe how the majority of Kiwis spend Waitangi Day.
“Do you think there should be a day off for the Pike River miners as well?”
Jimmy
Yes.
It should have been done.
We can have a one off day for the death of the figurehead of one of the most brutal empires in the history of the world, but we can't have a day off to commemorate the deaths of honest working men who died arguably unnecessary deaths in the service of a fossil fuel company. .
Maybe if we had had a one off day to commemorate those men's deaths, it would have given us a chance to have a national debate to examine our collective consciences over whether those workers should have been engaged in that dangerous and environmentally damaging practice in the first place.
…..The most dangerous form of energy for workers is:
In raw number of deaths: coal (by a long shot).
….Britain built itself on dangerous coal mines. The Oaks colliery disaster in 1866 killed more than 380 miners, close to the number who have probably died in Soma. Industrial advancement has invariably killed thousands of coal miners. It's true that now, better means of extraction are available. But coal mining remains inherently dangerous. Maybe it's time for a better way to modernise?
Coal is a fossil fuel, and is the dirtiest of them all, responsible for over 0.3C of the 1C increase in global average temperatures. This makes it the single largest source of global temperature rise…..
Instead of being treated as adults and equals we are made to passively consume images of empty pageantry and rituals of a dying empire on the other side of the world. Spoon fed endless mindless discussion and debate over the smallest minutia of the British Royals' lives (and deaths). Not that any of this has any relevancy at all to most people's real lived experience. Except as a form of escapism.
we are made to passively consume images of empty pageantry and rituals of a dying empire on the other side of the world.
Ah, no. You are perfectly free to switch the channel on the TV coverage (should you actually watch that archaic form of media), and read/watch something else.
As, based on your frequent posts on international affairs, you clearly have done.
No one is forcing you to watch anything – either passively or actively.
Just as I (oh, heresy in NZ) am not particularly interested in rugby, and don't enjoy/watch or 'passively consume' the endless forensic analysis of the latest AB win or loss – and, therefore, choose not to watch/listen/read the coverage. However, I don't demand that the coverage cease to be produced for the benefit of those who do enjoy it – simply because I'm not interested.
A lot of time and money and effort has been put into encouraging us to become passive consumers of the pageantry and rituals of a moribund empire on the other side of the world. The purpose of course is not to change it. (to paraphrase mangle Marx)
Well, yes. That is just as true of the Kardashians, Johnny Depp & whoever the latest sports royalty is.
Railing against press coverage of something which demonstrably has a significant degree of popular interest – but which you don't happen to like – is an entirely futile activity.
With the wall to wall coverage, that would have been hard.
Even if you were actively averting your eyes I am sure Belladonna that you would have viewed at least some of this footage or been aware of the massive fandom generated by it. If you did the opposite and watched the MSM media all you liked and you would have found it hard to get news of the terrible climate disaster in Pakistan unfolding before our eyes, removed from before our eyes.
With the wall to wall coverage, hard to do in this case.
And I sure Belladonna that you, and probably everyone you know, would have watched at least some of it.
And even if you didn't, you would still have been aware of the massive Stan-dom being generated by this wall to wall coverage and hype.
But let's say, for arguments sake, you did the opposite to what you advocate, and didn't boycott the mainstream media.
The climate disaster and resulting deaths of ordinary people in Pakistan unfolding in front of our eyes removed from in front of our eyes, replaced with wall to wall coverage of the death of one, very white, very rich, very old lady.
You would have to be a hermit living in a cave to not be aware of the Queen's death. But you could easily be unaware of the climate catastrophe in Pakistan. Which is still ongoing, with little relief for the people caught in it.
Royal pageantry and ritual is the original and oldest way of generating Stan Culture. As Juvenal said give them circuses to keep the people diverted from public policy and civic duty.
"Bread and circuses"
…. is attributed to a poet active in the late first and early second century CE, and is used commonly in cultural, particularly political, contexts.
…..The phrase implies a population's erosion or ignorance of civic duty as a [political] priority....
The Queen's greatest public service, for which she has been heaped endless praise and honours, has been to rehabilitate the reputation of imperialism and colonialism.
King Charles will be allowed to continue his mother's work and carry out his main political duty to white wash imperialism.
But Charles Windsor the former Prince of Wales has been reminded (more than once) of his civic duty, now that he is King, not to agitate on climate change and to concentrate on his main role.
……environmental campaigners will be watching closely to see if he continues to advocate for climate action and is able to help drive change as monarch.
In his first speech to the nation as monarch on Friday evening, Charles warned his new role will now limit his activism.
"It will no longer be possible for me to give so much of my time and energies to the charities and issues for which I care so deeply," he said in a televised address. "But I know this important work will go on in the trusted hands of others.”
Unfortunately all the gold braid and pageantry in the world will not save us, or our King.
[You failed to provide the link to Wikipedia for your quote on “Bread and circuses”.
You changed the quoted text (aka butchered it) in a way that was not clear and this only became clear by going to the original text.
This may not seem a big deal, this time, even relatively harmless, but this apparent clumsiness with selective quoting, altering text, removing context, et cetera, is often used as a tool for influencing and manipulating.
When you quote we have to trust you that your quote is a perfect representation (aka copy & paste) of the original text and an accurate representation of the meaning/message. Please lift your game – Incognito]
Not really hard to avoid at all.
I chose to stay up and watch the actual funeral coverage (I happen to like old buildings, pageantry and church music)
But it was a deliberate choice – it was hardly in prime time viewing (from about 10pm onwards).
And haven't paid attention to any other coverage subsequently. I read the papers online, and simply choose not to read any of the articles. And, in common with the majority of Kiwis under 60, I don’t watch TV news – and catch up with any programmes on demand (i.e I choose what to watch and when to watch it)
It hasn't been hard.
Disasters in Pakistan would still not have had high profile coverage in NZ – regardless of any royal pageantry. Our media is fairly parochial – and those of us with wider interests know that we have to supplement them from overseas.
Luckily, in this modern age, this is relatively easy to do.
Your complaint about saturation coverage might have had validity in the 1950s (King George VI's funeral and Elizabeth's coronation) – when there were few (if any) media alternatives in NZ – the local paper and the TV channel were the sum total. These days – people's consumption of media comes from so many sources that it's virtually impossible to achieve the slanted presentation that you appear to believe is the secret plan of the British monarchy.
I can assure you, that the coverage of the Kardashians, Johnny Depp and Roger Federer continues unabated (based on a quick sample of my newsfeeds this morning). All continuing to suck media attention away from Pakistan, Ukraine & climate change. Why are those circuses (without even bread) not a target for your ire?
"Those who forget history are condemned to repeat it"
George Santayana
If the government passed legislation that at the next significant anniversary of the Christchurch massacre a one off national day of reflection on the causes of this tragedy, it would be sign of our maturity as a nation.
We commemorate the war dead of the First and Second World Wars. We don't commemorate the war dead of the New Zealand Wars.
We condemn German and Japanese fascism but we don’t condemn British imperialism or colonialism.
Because alongside our culture of remembering and commemorating historical events, we have another culture of forgetting historical events that we don't want to remember.
I have heard a number of commentators saying that the death and life of the Queen of England will be remembered for ever in history. They are probably right.
How about this: Heeding George Santayana's caution, taking the precedent of a one off day to remember and reflect on life and death of the British Monarch. the government legislate; That at the next anniversary milestone of the Christchurch massacre a one off day stoppage will be called to reflect on this terrible tragedy committed in our midst, to learn and never forget, so that such a thing is never repeated.
We should all be heartilly sick of being global followers. John Key wanted us to be 'Fast Followers' It's time we stopped being followers and started being leaders. I have long supported calls for this country to be a global leader, in social in climate justice and peace issues.
P.S. It was very heartening to see on TV1 News tonight that New Zealand will be taking a global lead on dealing with plastic waste, especially encouraging are moves to sheet the responsibility back to the big plastic polluters at the point of production instead of the public at the point of consumption. Something I have long argued was sorely needed
Yeah I saw this. These economists and their banking buddies are worse than useless, they're detrimental to society.
The plan here is to make many people poor so they can't afford to participate in society. This will in turn reduce demand for goods so prices drop and rich people can get cheaper goods.
We could have put ceilings on corporate profitability – the prices got jacked by corporations, not consumers. We could have retrospectively hit them with windfall taxes, of course we have not.
They blame supply and demand. They blame employment figures. They blame subprime mortgages, wars, pandemics, markets – anything but the truth of bank and corporate roles in society today – to take everything they can get their grubby hands on.
Yesterday, after widespread advertising for stories of supermarket profit gouging, I noticed several exorbitant prices have suddenly shrunk overnight. Flax meal, tahini, dried fruit, nuts, seeds, vegan mayo – all came down significantly since the last shop… Almost like they've been taking the absolute piss.
These people are a fucking disgrace. But just try stop the profit gouging – communism!
Belive me I'm less than pleased that just when I finally got into a wage bracket that I thought might give me a chance of getting some security for my future, just got gobbled by the inflation monster, but I don't want 50,000 extra people on the dole to fix it for me.
No wasn't 'going there at all'. A large portion of the inflation is beyond NZ's control and would not matter who was in government.
Some though is definitely due to the reserve bank.
I genuinely think that making ends meet and affording petrol, groceries, mortgage and rent payments are the biggest and most immediate concern to many NZers. Many people have had pay increases this year (and it is a good time to ask the boss for a rise), but I think it will really tighten up next year with many companies unable to afford to give further pay increases.
As NZ inflation is mostly less than our trading partners.
No. It is not due to the reserve bank.
Except, of course for the house price inflation over the last several decades, Which is due to tax policy since the 90's, lack of curbs on foriegn "investment" and imported cheap labour numbers.
NZ inflation is greater then all our trading partners except the Americas and Europe.
The NZ $/US$ of which all trade is realized to include Freight and insurance has depreciated 14.4% YTD,
Our current account is 7.1% of gdp and is nearing the worst it has been,our debt loading is increasing as is government debt and with an increasing interest bill on sovereign debt doubling over the next 2 years.
High interest rates are here to stay,the days of easy money are gone,and can only be dampened when core inflation ( shelter,utilities and service inflation) reduces.
Nah, if there is such a concern of govt spending impacting interest rates then there will be a quiet conversation between Orr and Robertson (in a smoke filled room), followed by another round of QE and the govt owning more of its own debt.
If the RBNZ wanted interest rates at zero it could of course lower the OCR just as it has raised it recently.
This means sweet FA, but may well send you into a commenting frenzy.
The RBNZ balance sheet has increased around 7 billion since march,the so called QT has not happened as the RBNZ lent at OCR rates to Banks ( 12 billion to xmas)
NZ debt is firmly in the hands of the kindness of strangers very similar to the UK were debt rates go through the roof.
Nabarro at Citi said the changes in the markets will not have escaped the BoE's Monetary Policy Committee which will see declining investor confidence in British assets as an unwelcome complication in its fight against inflation and could leave interest rates higher for longer.
"We suspect at least some on the committee have observed the simultaneous sell-off in sterling and gilts with no small degree of concern," Nabarro said. "In our view, these risks should increasingly be at the centre of the UK policy discussion."
The only entity which can bankrupt a central bank is its legislature. This makes the question of central bank profit, loss and equity completely irrelevant. Unlike most entities, negative equity has zero impact on central banks ability to function.
Of course the way Citi bank talks about policy is in those terms because this is just the common language for "we recon the BofE should keep bumping interest rates up" (which co-incidentally helps Citi's profits). But, as Japans central bank policy is highlighting, alternate policies can equally be pursued at their discretion, including to lower interest rates.
Japan has 2 trillion in foreign exchange sitting in overseas banks,earning increasing interest payments.Its offshore investments outweigh its onshore foreign liabilities,this weak its 10 yr bond did not trade for 3 days.
The RBA decreased the ability to raise funds to protect its currency or Interest rates it de levered.
Sure, the RBA probably did for some combination of those reasons. But for some reason you didn't put it that way instead focusing on the "cost" of economic policy as if the RBA has any need to earn profits.
And regarding the BoJ (or other central banks) we can only evaluate any external limitations to its policy when they visibly buck market expectations and considering how that works. Highlighting foreign exchange reserves on a balance sheet is about as credible as the old story that, Japans long history of avoiding inflation while running QE for decades, was due to Japanese house wives saving rates.
Obviously when we consider some of the actual outcomes of RBNZ policy (e.g maybe 50,000 additional unemployed) some people are proposing its time to actually run some of the experiments and see how these theories stack up. Frankly if the NZ exchange rate fluctuates 2% off US inflation coming in low (but somehow also above market expectations), we could maybe focus on the economic policy bits we can actually control.
The Japanese household saving rate in July (last data) was 37.7% of disposable income..
With unemployment and some model showing 50k,would it not be better to reduce immigration,( which is a similar number) or would there be just a pool of unemployable.
Jobs full time positions increased by 7000 in the week ending 14/8.When the data reflects a decrease in value,the first affects will be in the service industry which it seems is not affected.
Sure, maintaining the lower immigration rate does seem to be having some positive outcomes for NZ.
As far as RBNZ policy implementation goes, their official policy position of running a raised cash rate, is supposed to flow through to the economy via elevated unemployment. AFAIK their expectations should be that domestic inflation will not decrease without the extra 50,000 unemployed. But this seems to have changed since they were initially just saying the country would need to accept the transitory (e.g. supply side) inflation and spread its burden fairly until it abated.
And inputs expensive…and it is all relative as your 'trading partner inflation rate' comment indicates.
A major issue is our exchange rate volatility….it makes long term investment decisions problematic…who will (either onshore or off) commit capital when any decision can be rendered a loser with a currency swing such as we have been subjected to the past 40 years?…a low of 0.39 to near parity with the world default trading currency and widly variable in between.
True,some will have local substitution possibilities such as cereal imported from Aus,where a new bulker on the coast will make shipping competitive SI-NI,cheaper then oz-nz. (up 70m in August)
How much further away from a notion of a decent society is that 5% of the people should be unemployed so that others may prosper. This latest advocate talks of a necessary pain. One Mark Lister gives away the mantle of altruism to the unemployed when he would better serve us and himself by trying a little altruism in his own life.
“You’ve got to cause some pain. You’ve
got to create some unemployment” he said. Marlborough Express Sept 23 2022 page 7 Business section
Have these people not twigged the inherent stupidity of their version of an economy where it is argued that we need more workers and also we need more unemployment?
If it's supply and demand issues, then we must get rid of the useless from the workforce, not the actual workers who produce the supply! Anything else would be madness. We know who is essential now (we've always known), the people who actually keep the lights on.
But there are others:
Economists are clearly useless, how many of them are there?
There's bound to be plenty of middle management playing paper-go-round in plenty of places.
Economists are funny, one day they say we need more unemployment to reduce inflation BUT the next day they say the economy lacks workers and we need more migration.
These two things are not coherent. They and their neo-liberal school are out of their depth in the real world 2022.
I'll note that when Muldoon was PM 1976-1981 there was 5 years of wage growth/inflation during which house prices flatlined and fell in real terms.
Inflation reduces the real value of assets (which one can note are overvalued) and debt (good for coming out of the QE debt of the GFC and pandemic). Containing inflation by holding down wages merely to preserve the asset wealth of a privileged elite (after a period of extreme inequality) is risible.
RBG's applying neo-liberal policy are going to risk populist pressure to the democratic fabric in way not seen since the 1930's.
You can have both national proved that I believe last time , flood the country with cheep foreign labour ,have kiwis on the dole , added bonus is a bigger target for right wingers to hate on.
… they'll allow prison for profit growth to manage homelessness (known as three strikes and clearances for urban renewal in the USA and here to manage the lack of housing).
one day they say we need more unemployment to reduce inflation BUT the next day they say the economy lacks workers and we need more migration.
That is actually coherent. More imported cheap labour = in their minds, more unemployed, less wage rises and less inflation.
The idea that you fight inflation by driving down wage price pressure regardless of other factors.
Obviously it means workers, and unemployed pay all the coats of reducing inflation. But we can't have banks and assett/housing speculators taking the pain instead, can we??
Hubby and I banked with ANZ – well firstly the National Bank, for 55 years. We told them where to go 3 years ago and moved to Kiwibank. We'd had enough of their utterings from John Key and the CEO in Melbourne (who I believe is a Kiwi) who threatened to close the N Z division down. I guess he was bluffing, but sheesh, what a tosser. Sharon Zollner also needs to pull her head in, but of course the unemployment subject is a favourite among such pointy heads who wouldn't be at all affected by such a move. Just don't get me going on the report in the Herald today about the Mood of the Boardroom
The Former Guy claims he declassified the documents he removed from the White House just by thinking about it. We didn't know he has the amazing superpower of teledeclassification.
Plotting, scheming, embezzling, gouging, dodging, lying, bullying–all skills Mr Mango Mussolini has amply demonstrated–but thinking? is a stretch.
In a fairer world Mr Trump would have been locked up years ago, but the US political establishment really has not chosen its battles with the ex President wisely at all.
New Zealand's very own Fox News, the NZ Herald, running their annual hit job on the left today. It is laughably titled, "The Mood of the Boardroom" – a name so suffused with fake gravitas it can only have come from the ponderously dull Fran O'Sullivan. The conclusion of 90 CEOs and 18 Directors is that this is the worst government since Muldoon. Yawn – rich, powerful private sector interests wanting the playing field tipped in their favour, and completely without irony, equating that with good economic management.
The winter of discontent team leader (2000) also ran an ad/editorial demanding New Zealand voters prevent a Labour-Green government (2005). Must have been so sad there when one law for all, across the board tax cuts (less money for poor families), keep interest on tertiary loans Don Brash was defeated
(Winston Peters kept his word to go with the party with more votes – Labour)(but in its way NZH represents the Koch brothers denial of need for global warming action and maintenance of a neo-liberal global regime)
Yep, and one of the Herald and ZB adherents – who also happens to be a relative – told me yesterday we have a Communist government and its going to go next year before we are all destroyed.
Does anyone know where I can locate a membership form for the VFF crowd so I can send it to her? Or the Brash crowd will do – Hobson's Choice they call themselves? 😛
But, but, but if we have a Communist Government it is headed by a 'pretty little communist' isn't it and that must count for something surely. I mean better a pretty little communist than some idiot riding a bear? Your relative should thank their lucky stars. I didn't see the man on the bear being pressed to speak at the UN or being invited to the Queen's funeral.
I know the 'pretty little comm' is correct as I read it on a poster on the tractors and trucks in the Groundswill protest. And farmers know everything don't they? Those ones do anyway.
Perhaps get a membership form for Groundswell too so she can feel the faint pulse of this crowd from the rural sector. They are not supported by the majority of rural dwellers that I can see so should be a good match for VFF & Brash's rush of blood to the head group.
Actually I think it is the "pretty little communist:" who started it cos the plc is very attractive and intelligent and she's younger and oh so popular with her overseas peers.
Its called jealousy and afflicts a lot of women. HDPA is another example.
As a swing voter looking for excuses to stay with Labour, I'm finding it harder by the day. This so called '' hit job'' on Labour was in reality a reflection of what many voting people are pondering. Grant Robertson taking at hit in the ratings should be ringing alarm bells. He has generally until now been well tolerated by the opposition and general public. For me there were some surprises in the survey. Co-governance having some support for example. Labour has been given fair warning. They can continue to flip off such findings as the deluded rantings of rich white boys wanting more bucks in their pockets, or they can cross reference this survey with public opinion polls, gain a reality check, and do something about it.
Blimey ! You appear to be the first tragically-smug Woke dogmatist here to conspicuously break ranks from the well-rehearsed narrative that Vitamin D is all part of some Far Right Trumpist conspiracy theory to deliberately perplex the hoi polloi who lack the "unusually refined moral & intellectual sensibilities" of those wannabe elites trapped in your stifling little echo-chamber.
How did dear old muttonbird put it, again ? … oh yes:
The conspiracy theorists will be disappointed, Anne. Perhaps drowning their sorrows with horse-paste and Vitamin D cocktails under tin foil umbrellas.
Meanwhile the Medical Council of NZ says that Vitamin D supplementation is not required, except in some very specific population categories:
Supplementation is not recommended for the general population, but it can be considered for individuals from groups at risk of vitamin D deficiency.
At-risk groups are identified in this guidance: people with deeply pigmented skin, especially those who wear full-body coverage clothing; people who actively avoid sun exposure; people with low mobility who are frail or housebound; people in southern regions who spend a limited amount of time outdoors; and people with certain medical disorders (eg, kidney failure, malabsorption syndromes).
Unlike the Northern Hemisphere, Kiwis in general get enough sun exposure to ensure our levels are well within the healthy range.
Vitamin D prescription in NZ doesn't correlate with a reduction in the known medical consequences of low rates (rickets, etc). And is no longer prescribed for prevention of osteoporisis (no clinical benefit). It seems as though most prescriptions are to the 'worried well'
Collectively, these findings suggest that the supplementation of vitamin D in New Zealand needs to change. Although vitamin D supplements are inexpensive to prescribe to an individual, their widespread use creates substantial costs for the health system and individual patients, and there is no clear clinical benefit from this expenditure.
Stuart-listen to this afternoon's The Panel on RNZ. Fran O'Sullivan got a roasting, got pissed off and basically fell apart when questioned by Panel members about the Mood of the Boardroom survey.
I'm going to differ with you there. Fran is a damned good journalist when she sets her mind to it. I'll grant you, that may be less than half the time, but she knocks sad idiot panel hacks out of the park from time to time. It's just that she spends too much time rubbing elbows with CEOs to be a full-on Blomkvist.
Perhaps Shanreagh and Anne describe it better below, but I stand by the fact that O'Sullivan was very unimpressive, mostly because she was defending the indefensible because the Mood of the Boardroom survey is wrong to attack the performance of this government.
From about 10.00 in. But, but, splutter is a good summary of Fran's response to some of Simon Wilson's questions…she quickly switched to saying it was a snapshot of a mood and overseas there was inflation that the CE's were reflecting on.
Most unimpressive but then these are not a group given to self reflection or acknowledgement that we have faced tough times. She did not seem to have an answer to the query about pushback on paying workers more being a way to lift people out of poverty……something that the CE's group are ostensibly concerned about.
The best response was made by Wallace Chapman when he pointed out that the report did not acknowledge the fact this government had been through a major pandemic that no other government in NZ has had to grapple with, and was able to bring NZ through in far better shape than most other countries.
I note Fran O'Sullivan immediately changed tack and pointed out that the pandemic emergency has passed, and the CEO's are concerned about what is happening now.
I paraphrase both responses.
Surely what is happening now is a direct consequence of that pandemic and the world wide disruptions etc. it created. All the blame cannot be laid at the feet of the government. It will take time to re-establish normality in all sections of society including the business sector, so it is disingenuous to pass judgement at this stage of the procedure.
I gather also there was no mention of the impact being felt over the Russia/Ukraine conflict.
Yes Anne, 'disingenuous' is a good word to describe the responses from the CEOs being discussed with Fran O'Sullivan.
As well there have been thoughts that while the situation was 'fluid' we could generally have a look at whether we wanted to go back to BAU circa 2021 or if we could be 'nimble' and take the opportunities for change.
NZ used to have a reputation for this nimbleness in days gone by not so long ago. Nimbleness is not a product of $$$$ or of handouts but of far-sightedness in business and brains working. Also adequate R & D and product and market investigation and investment.
Perhaps the CEs have been struck down by a late arriving variant of the Moaning Minnie virus that my ‘research’ showed accompanied earlier Covid variants in the general population.
This Covid virus has been long lasting, we have had to help those affected and so we have had to take time to deal with it. Some of the responses I have seen have built on the bull kaka that every country in the world except NZ has moved on. Partner is in the south of Italy travelling by public transport and says operators of public transport are fanatical about continued mask wearing on buses etc. NB NZ has no mask wearing restrictions on public transport.
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TL;DR: The podcast above features co-hosts and , along with regular guests Robert Patman on Gaza and AUKUS II, and on climate change.The six things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the ...
Policymakers rarely wish to make plain or visible their desire to dismantle environmental policy, least of all to the young. Photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: Here’s the top five news items of note in climate news for Aotearoa-NZ this week, and a discussion above between Bernard Hickey and The Kākā’s climate correspondent ...
I like to keep an eye on what’s happening in places like the UK, the US, and over the ditch with our good mates the Aussies. Let’s call them AUKUS, for want of a better collective term. More on that in a bit.It used to be, not long ago, that ...
TL;DR: The global economy will be one fifth smaller than it would have otherwise been in 2050 as a result of climate damage, according to a new study by the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) and published in the journal Nature. (See more detail and analysis below, and ...
New Zealand is said to be suffering from ‘serious populist discontent’. An IPSOS MORI survey has reported that we have an increasing preference for strong leaders, think that the economy is rigged toward the rich and powerful, and political elites are ignoring ‘hard-working people’. The data is from February this ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters is understood to be planning a major speech within the next fortnight to clear up the confusion over whether or not New Zealand might join the AUKUS submarine project. So far, there have been conflicting signals from the Government. RNZ reported the Prime Minister yesterday in ...
Life throws curveballs, and sometimes, those curveballs necessitate wiping your iPhone clean and starting anew. Whether you’re facing persistent software glitches, preparing to sell your device, or simply wanting a fresh start, knowing how to factory reset iPhone without a computer is a valuable skill. While using a computer with ...
Gone are the days when communication was limited to landline phones and physical proximity. Today, computers have become powerful tools for connecting with people across the globe through voice and video calls. But with a plethora of applications and methods available, how to call someone on a computer might seem ...
Open access notables Glacial isostatic adjustment reduces past and future Arctic subsea permafrost, Creel et al., Nature Communications:Sea-level rise submerges terrestrial permafrost in the Arctic, turning it into subsea permafrost. Subsea permafrost underlies ~ 1.8 million km2 of Arctic continental shelf, with thicknesses in places exceeding 700 m. Sea-level variations over glacial-interglacial cycles control ...
The operating system (OS) is the heart and soul of a computer, orchestrating every action and interaction between hardware and software. But have you ever wondered where on a computer is the operating system generally stored? The answer lies in the intricate dance between hardware and software components, particularly within ...
Laptops have become essential tools for work, entertainment, and communication, offering portability and functionality. However, with rising energy costs and growing environmental concerns, understanding a laptop’s power consumption is more important than ever. So, how many watts does a laptop use? The answer, unfortunately, isn’t straightforward. It depends on several ...
Screen recording has become an essential tool for various purposes, such as creating tutorials, capturing gameplay footage, recording online meetings, or sharing information with others. Fortunately, Dell laptops offer several built-in and external options for screen recording, catering to different needs and preferences. This guide will explore various methods on ...
A cracked or damaged laptop screen can be a frustrating experience, impacting productivity and enjoyment. Fortunately, laptop screen repair is a common service offered by various repair shops and technicians. However, the cost of fixing a laptop screen can vary significantly depending on several factors. This article delves into the ...
Gaming laptops represent a significant investment for passionate gamers, offering portability and powerful performance for immersive gaming experiences. However, a common concern among potential buyers is their lifespan. Unlike desktop PCs, which allow for easier component upgrades, gaming laptops have inherent limitations due to their compact and integrated design. This ...
The annual inventory report of New Zealand's greenhouse gas emissions has been released, showing that gross emissions have dropped for the third year in a row, to 78.4 million tons: All-told gross emissions have decreased by over 6 million tons since the Zero Carbon Act was passed in 2019. ...
Experiencing a locked computer can be frustrating, especially when you need access to your files and applications urgently. The methods to unlock your computer will vary depending on the specific situation and the type of lock you encounter. This guide will explore various scenarios and provide step-by-step instructions on how ...
While the world has largely transitioned to digital communication, faxing still holds relevance in certain industries and situations. Fortunately, gone are the days of bulky fax machines and dedicated phone lines. Today, you can easily send and receive faxes directly from your computer, offering a convenient and efficient way to ...
In our increasingly digital world, home computers have become essential tools for work, communication, entertainment, and more. However, this increased reliance on technology also exposes us to various cyber threats. Understanding these threats and taking proactive steps to protect your home computer is crucial for safeguarding your personal information, finances, ...
In the ever-evolving world of technology, server-based computing has emerged as a cornerstone of modern digital infrastructure. This article delves into the concept of server-based computing, exploring its various forms, benefits, challenges, and its impact on the way we work and interact with technology. Understanding Server-Based Computing: At its core, ...
The absolute brass neck of this guy.We want more medical doctors, not more spin doctors, Luxon was saying a couple of weeks ago, and now we’re told the guy has seven salaried adults on TikTok duty. Sorry, doing social media. The absolute brass neck of it. The irony that the ...
Buzz from the Beehive Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones relishes spatting and eagerly takes issue with environmentalists who criticise his enthusiasm for resource development. He relishes helping the fishing industry too. And so today, while the media are making much of the latest culling in the public service to ...
Having written, taught and worked for the US government on issues involving unconventional warfare and terrorism for 30-odd years, two things irritate me the most when the subject is discussed in public. The first is the Johnny-come-lately academics-turned-media commentators who … Continue reading → ...
Eric Crampton writes – Kainga Ora is the government’s house building agency. It’s been building a lot of social housing. Kainga Ora has its own (but independent) consenting authority, Consentium. It’s a neat idea. Rather than have to deal with building consents across each different territorial authority, Kainga Ora ...
Muriel Newman writes – The Coalition Government says it is moving with speed to deliver campaign promises and reverse the damage done by Labour. One of their key commitments is to “defend the principle that New Zealanders are equal before the law.” To achieve this, they have pledged they “will not advance ...
Chris Trotter writes – The absence of anything resembling a fightback from the public servants currently losing their jobs is interesting. State-sector workers’ collective fatalism in the face of Coalition cutbacks indicates a surprisingly broad acceptance of impermanence in the workplace. Fifty years ago, lay-offs in the thousands ...
Mariupol, on the Azov Sea coast, was one of the first cities to suffer almost complete destruction after the start of the Ukraine War started in late February 2022. We remember the scenes of absolute destruction of the houses and city structures. The deaths of innocent civilians – many of ...
Lindsay Mitchell writes – Ten years ago, I wrote the following in a Listener column: Every year around one in five new-born babies will be reliant on their caregivers benefit by Christmas. This pattern has persisted from at least 1993. For Maori the number jumps to over one in three. ...
Climate change is expected to generate more and more extreme events, delivering a sort of structural shock to inflation that central banks will have to react to as if they were short-term cyclical issues. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāMy pick of the six newsey things to know from Aotearoa’s ...
It’s a simple deal. We pay taxes in order to finance the social services we want and need. The carnage now occurring across the public sector though, is breaking that contract. Over 3,000 jobs have been lost so far. Many are in crucial areas like Education where the impact of ...
Hi,A friend had their 40th over the weekend and decided to theme it after Curb Your Enthusiasm fashion icon Susie Greene. Captured in my tiny kitchen before I left the house, I ending up evoking a mix of old lesbian and Hillary Clinton — both unintentional.Me vs Hillary ClintonIf you’re ...
This is a re-post from Andrew Dessler at the Climate Brink blogIn 2023, the Earth reached temperature levels unprecedented in modern times. Given that, it’s reasonable to ask: What’s going on? There’s been lots of discussions by scientists about whether this is just the normal progression of global warming or if something ...
The schools are on holiday and the sun is shining in the seaside village and all day long I have been seeing bunches of bikes; Mums, Dads, teens and toddlers chattering, laughing, happy, having a bloody great time together. Cheers, AT, for the bits of lane you’ve added lately around the ...
Today in our National-led authoritarian nightmare: Shane Jones thinks Ministers should be above the law: New Zealand First MP Shane Jones is accusing the Waitangi Tribunal of over-stepping its mandate by subpoenaing a minister for its urgent hearing on the Oranga Tamariki claim. The tribunal is looking into the ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Politicians across the political spectrum are implicated in the New Zealand media’s failing health. Either through neglect or incompetent interventions, successive governments have failed to regulate, foster, and allow a healthy Fourth Estate that can adequately hold politicians and the powerful to account. ...
Citizen Science writes – Last week saw two significant developments in the debate over the treatment of trans-identifying children and young people – the release in Britain of the final report of Dr Hilary Cass’s review into gender healthcare, and here in New Zealand, the news that the ...
One night while sleeping in my bed I had a beautiful dreamThat all the people of the world got together on the same wavelengthAnd began helping one anotherNow in this dream, universal love was the theme of the dayPeace and understanding and it happened this wayAfter such an eventful day ...
This is a guest post by Oscar Simms who is a housing activist, volunteer for the Coalition for More Homes, and was the Labour Party candidate for Auckland Central at the last election. ...
Turning what Labour called the “holiday highway” into a four-lane expressway from Auckland to Whangarei could bring at least an economic benefit of nearly two billion a year for Northland each year. And it could help bring an end to poverty in one of New Zealand’s most deprived regions. The ...
Tonight’s six-stack includes: launching his substack with a bunch of his previous documentaries, including this 1992 interview with Dame Whina Cooper. and here crew give climate activists plenty to do, including this call to submit against the Fast Track Approvals bill. writes brilliantly here on his substack ...
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 ...
You're in the mall when you hear it: some kind of popping sound in the distance, kids with fireworks, maybe. But then a moment of eerie stillness is followed by more of the fireworks sound and there’s also screaming and shrieking and now here come people running for their lives.Does ...
Karl du Fresne writes – There’s a crisis in the news media and the media are blaming it on everyone except themselves. Culpability is being deflected elsewhere – mainly to the hapless Minister of Communications, Melissa Lee, and the big social media platforms that are accused of hoovering ...
I don’t normally send out two newsletters in a day but I figured I’d say something about… the news. If two newsletters is a bit much then maybe just skip one, I don’t want to overload people. Alternatively if you’d be interested in sometimes receiving multiple, smaller updates from me, ...
Buzz from the Beehive David Seymour and Winston Peters today signalled that at least two ministers of the Crown might be in Wellington today. Seymour (as Associate Minister of Education) announced the removal of more red tape, this time to make it easier for new early learning services to be ...
Politicians across the political spectrum are implicated in the New Zealand media’s failing health. Either through neglect or incompetent interventions, successive governments have failed to regulate, foster, and allow a healthy Fourth Estate that can adequately hold politicians and the powerful to account. Our political system is suffering from the ...
David Farrar writes – The Broadcasting Standards Authority ruled: Comments by radio host Kate Hawkesby suggesting Māori and Pacific patients were being prioritised for surgery due to their ethnicity were misleading and discriminatory, the Broadcasting Standards Authority has found. It is a fact such patients are prioritised. ...
PRC and its proxies in Solomons have been preparing for these elections for a long time.A lot of money, effort and intelligence have gone into ensuring an outcome that won’t compromise Beijing’s plans. Cleo Paskall writes – On April 17th the Solomon Islands, a country of ...
Is speeding up the trip to and from Wellington airport by 12 minutes worth spending up more than $10 billion? Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The six news items that stood out to me in the last day to 8:26 am today are:The Lead: Transport Minister Simeon Brownannounced ...
You're a fraud, and you know itBut it's too good to throw it all awayAnyone would do the sameYou've got 'em goingAnd you're careful not to show itSometimes you even fool yourself a bitIt's like magicBut it's always been a smoke and mirrors gameAnyone would do the sameForty six billion ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections The June general election in Mexico could mark a turning point in ensuring that the country’s climate policies better reflect the desire of its citizens to address the climate crisis, with both leading presidential candidates expressing support for renewable energy. Mexico is the ...
2024, it feels, keeps presenting us with ever more challenges, ever more dismay.Do you give up yet? It seems to ask.No? How about this? Or this?How about this?When I say 2024 I really mean the state of humanity in 2024.Saturday night, we watched Civil War because that is one terrifying cliff we've ...
Buzz from the Beehive A pet project and governmental tunnel vision jump out from the latest batch of ministerial announcements. The government is keen to assure us of its concern for the wellbeing of our pets. It will be introducing pet bonds in a change to the Residential Tenancies Act ...
A recent report generated from a Growing Up in New Zealand (GUiNZ) survey of 1,224 rangatahi Māori aged 11-12 found: Cultural connectedness was associated with fewer depression symptoms, anxiety symptoms and better quality of life. That sounds cut and dry. But further into the report the following appears: Cultural connectedness is ...
David Farrar writes – The Herald reports: From the gory details of job-cuts news, you’d think the public service was being eviscerated. While the media’s view of the cuts is incomplete, it’s also true that departments have been leaking the particulars faster than a Wellington ...
Remember the good old days, back when New Zealand had a PM who could think and speak calmly and intelligently in whole sentences without blustering? Even while Iran’s drones and missiles were still being launched, Helen Clark was live on TVNZ expertly summing up the latest crisis in the Middle ...
Costello did not pass on analysis of the benefits of the smokefree reforms to Cabinet, emphasising instead the extra tax revenues of repealing them. Photo: Hagen Hopkins, Getty Images TL;DR: The six news items that stood out to me at 7:26 am today are:The Lead: Casey Costello never passed on ...
True loveYou're the one I'm dreaming ofYour heart fits me like a gloveAnd I'm gonna be true blueBaby, I love youI’ve written about the job cuts in our news media last week. The impact on individuals, and the loss to Aotearoa of voices covering our news from different angles.That by ...
While commentators, including former Prime Minister Helen Clark, are noting a subtle shift in New Zealand’s foreign policy, which now places more emphasis on the United States, many have missed a key element of the shift. What National said before the election is not what the government is doing now. ...
The Green Party has joined the call for public submissions on the fast-track legislation to be extended after the Ombudsman forced the Government to release the list of organisations invited to apply just hours before submissions close. ...
New Zealand’s good work at reducing climate emissions for three years in a row will be undone by the National government’s lack of ambition and scrapping programmes that were making a difference, Labour Party climate spokesperson Megan Woods said today. ...
More essential jobs could be on the chopping block, this time Ministry of Education staff on the school lunches team are set to find out whether they're in line to lose their jobs. ...
The Government is trying to bring in a law that will allow Ministers to cut corners and kill off native species, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said. ...
Cancelling urgently needed new Cook Strait ferries and hiking the cost of public transport for many Kiwis so that National can announce the prospect of another tunnel for Wellington is not making good choices, Labour Transport Spokesperson Tangi Utikere said. ...
A laundry list of additional costs for Tāmaki Makarau Auckland shows the Minister for the city is not delivering for the people who live there, says Labour Auckland Issues spokesperson Shanan Halbert. ...
The Green Party has today launched a step-by-step guide to help New Zealanders make their voice heard on the Government’s democracy dodging and anti-environment fast track legislation. ...
The National Government’s proposed changes to the Residential Tenancies Act will mean tenants can be turfed from their homes by landlords with little notice, Labour housing spokesperson Kieran McAnulty said. ...
Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson is calling on all parties to support a common-sense change that’s great for the planet and great for consumers after her member’s bill was drawn from the ballot today. ...
A significant milestone has been reached in the fight to strike an anti-Pasifika and unfair law from the country’s books after Teanau Tuiono’s members’ bill passed its first reading. ...
New Zealand has today missed the opportunity to uphold the right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment, says James Shaw after his member’s bill was voted down in its first reading. ...
Today’s advice from the Climate Change Commission paints a sobering reality of the challenge we face in combating climate change, especially in light of recent Government policy announcements. ...
Minister for Disability Issues Penny Simmonds appears to have delayed a report back to Cabinet on the progress New Zealand is making against international obligations for disabled New Zealanders. ...
The Government’s newly announced review of methane emissions reduction targets hints at its desire to delay Aotearoa New Zealand’s urgent transition to a climate safe future, the Green Party said. ...
The Government must commit to the Maitai School building project for students with high and complex needs, to ensure disabled students from the top of the South Island have somewhere to learn. ...
Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey and his Government colleagues have made a meal of their mental health commitments, showing how flimsy their efforts to champion the issue truly are, says Labour Mental Health spokesperson Ingrid Leary. ...
Māori are yet to see anything from this Government except cuts, reversals and taking our people backwards, Māori Development spokesperson Willie Jackson said. ...
The Coalition Government’s refusal to commit to ongoing funding for social housing is seeing the sector pull back on developments and families watch their dreams of securing a home fade away, says Labour Housing spokesperson Kieran McAnulty. ...
Changes to minimum wage and benefit indexation means many New Zealanders will get less this year, as the Government gives a big tax break to landlords instead. ...
New Zealand is demonstrating its commitment to reducing global greenhouse emissions, and supporting clean energy transition in South East Asia, through a contribution of NZ$41 million (US$25 million) in climate finance to the Asian Development Bank (ADB)-led Energy Transition Mechanism (ETM). Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Climate Change Minister Simon Watts announced ...
The Government is today releasing a list of organisations who received letters about the Fast-track applications process, says RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop. “Recently Ministers and agencies have received a series of OIA requests for a list of organisations to whom I wrote with information on applying to have a ...
Attorney-General Judith Collins today announced the appointment of Wellington Barrister David Jonathan Boldt as a Judge of the High Court, and the Honourable Justice Matthew Palmer as a Judge of the Court of Appeal. Justice Boldt graduated with an LLB from Victoria University of Wellington in 1990, and also holds ...
Education Minister Erica Stanford will lead the New Zealand delegation at the 2024 International Summit on the Teaching Profession (ISTP) held in Singapore. The delegation includes representatives from the Post Primary Teachers’ Association (PPTA) Te Wehengarua and the New Zealand Educational Institute (NZEI) Te Riu Roa. The summit is co-hosted ...
A stopbank upgrade project in Tairawhiti partly funded by the Government has increased flood resilience for around 7000ha of residential and horticultural land so far, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones today attended a dawn service in Gisborne to mark the end of the first stage of the ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters will represent the Government at Anzac Day commemorations on the Gallipoli Peninsula next week and engage with senior representatives of the Turkish government in Istanbul. “The Gallipoli campaign is a defining event in our history. It will be a privilege to share the occasion ...
Science, Innovation and Technology and Defence Minister Judith Collins will next week attend the OECD Science and Technology Ministerial conference in Paris and Anzac Day commemorations in Belgium. “Science, innovation and technology have a major role to play in rebuilding our economy and achieving better health, environmental and social outcomes ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon held a bilateral meeting today with the President of the Philippines, Ferdinand Marcos Jr. The Prime Minister was accompanied by MP Paulo Garcia, the first Filipino to be elected to a legislature outside the Philippines. During today’s meeting, Prime Minister Luxon and President Marcos Jr discussed opportunities to ...
The Government has announced that $20 million in funding will be made available to Westport to fund much needed flood protection around the town. This measure will significantly improve the resilience of the community, says Local Government Minister Simeon Brown. “The Westport community has already been allocated almost $3 million ...
The Government is proud to support the first ever Repco Supercars Championship event in Taupō as up to 70,000 motorsport fans attend the Taupō International Motorsport Park this weekend, says Economic Development Minister Melissa Lee. “Anticipation for the ITM Taupō Super400 is huge, with tickets and accommodation selling out weeks ...
Local Government Minister Simeon Brown has announced an increase to the Rates Rebate Scheme, putting money back into the pockets of low-income homeowners. “The coalition Government is committed to bringing down the cost of living for New Zealanders. That includes targeted support for those Kiwis who are doing things tough, such ...
The Coalition Government is investing in a project to boost survival rates of New Zealand mussels and grow the industry, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones has announced. “This project seeks to increase the resilience of our mussels and significantly boost the sector’s productivity,” Mr Jones says. “The project - ...
Benefit figures released today underscore the importance of the Government’s plan to rebuild the economy and have 50,000 fewer people on Jobseeker Support, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “Benefit numbers are still significantly higher than when National was last in government, when there was about 70,000 fewer ...
The Government’s commitment to doubling New Zealand’s renewable energy capacity is backed by new data showing that clean energy has helped the country reach its lowest annual gross emissions since 1999, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. New Zealand’s latest Greenhouse Gas Inventory (1990-2022) published today, shows gross emissions fell ...
The Government is bringing the earthquake-prone building review forward, with work to start immediately, and extending the deadline for remediations by four years, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “Our Government is focused on rebuilding the economy. A key part of our plan is to cut red tape that ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and his Thai counterpart, Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, have today agreed that New Zealand and the Kingdom of Thailand will upgrade the bilateral relationship to a Strategic Partnership by 2026. “New Zealand and Thailand have a lot to offer each other. We have a strong mutual desire to build ...
RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop and Transport Minister Simeon Brown have today announced the Coalition Government’s intention to extend port coastal permits for a further 20 years, providing port operators with certainty to continue their operations. “The introduction of the Resource Management Act in 1991 required ports to obtain coastal ...
Today’s announcement that inflation is down to 4 per cent is encouraging news for Kiwis, but there is more work to be done - underlining the importance of the Government’s plan to get the economy back on track, acting Finance Minister Chris Bishop says. “Inflation is now at 4 per ...
Refreshed health guidance released today will help parents and schools make informed decisions about whether their child needs to be in school, addressing one of the key issues affecting school attendance, says Associate Education Minister David Seymour. In recent years, consistently across all school terms, short-term illness or medical reasons ...
Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones is streamlining high-level oceans management while maintaining a focus on supporting the sector’s role in the export-led recovery of the economy. “I am working to realise the untapped potential of our fishing and aquaculture sector. To achieve that we need to be smarter with ...
Associate Agriculture Minister Mark Patterson is speaking at the International Wool Textile Organisation Congress in Adelaide, promoting New Zealand wool, and outlining the coalition Government’s support for the revitalisation the sector. "New Zealand’s wool exports reached $400 million in the year to 30 June 2023, and the coalition Government ...
The Government is making legislative changes to make it easier for new early learning services to be established, and for existing services to operate, Associate Education Minister David Seymour says. The changes involve repealing the network approval provisions that apply when someone wants to establish a new early learning service, ...
Changes to the Resource Management Act will align consenting for coal mining to other forms of mining to reduce barriers that are holding back economic development, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. “The inconsistent treatment of coal mining compared with other extractive activities is burdensome red tape that fails to acknowledge ...
Trade, Agriculture and Forestry Minister Todd McClay has concluded productive discussions with ministerial counterparts in Beijing today, in support of the New Zealand-China trade and economic relationship. “My meeting with Commerce Minister Wang Wentao reaffirmed the complementary nature of the bilateral trade relationship, with our Free Trade Agreement at its ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon today paid tribute to Singapore’s outgoing Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. Meeting in Singapore today immediately before Prime Minister Lee announced he was stepping down, Prime Minister Luxon warmly acknowledged his counterpart’s almost twenty years as leader, and the enduring legacy he has left for Singapore and South East ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon held a bilateral meeting today with Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. While in Singapore as part of his visit to South East Asia this week, Prime Minister Luxon also met with Singapore President Tharman Shanmugaratnam and will meet with Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong. During today’s meeting, Prime Minister Luxon ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has made further appointments to the Board of Antarctica New Zealand as part of a continued effort to ensure the Scott Base Redevelopment project is delivered in a cost-effective and efficient manner. The Minister has appointed Neville Harris as a new member of the Board. Mr ...
Finance Minister Nicola Willis will travel to the United States on Tuesday to attend a meeting of the Five Finance Ministers group, with counterparts from Australia, the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. “I am looking forward to meeting with our Five Finance partners on how we can work ...
The coalition Government has today announced purrfect and pawsitive changes to the Residential Tenancies Act to give tenants with pets greater choice when looking for a rental property, says Housing Minister Chris Bishop. “Pets are important members of many Kiwi families. It’s estimated that around 64 per cent of New ...
State Highway 1 (SH1) through Wellington City is heavily congested at peak times and while planning continues on the duplicate Mt Victoria Tunnel and Basin Reserve project, the Government has also asked NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) to consider and provide advice on a Long Tunnel option, Transport Minister Simeon Brown ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Foreign Minister Winston Peters have condemned Iran’s shocking and illegal strikes against Israel. “These attacks are a major challenge to peace and stability in a region already under enormous pressure," Mr Luxon says. "We are deeply concerned that miscalculation on any side could ...
Hundreds of people in little over a week have turned out in Northland to hear Regional Development Minister Shane Jones speak about plans for boosting the regional economy through infrastructure. About 200 people from the infrastructure and associated sectors attended an event headlined by Mr Jones in Whangarei today. Last ...
Health Minister Dr Shane Reti has today thanked outgoing Health New Zealand – Te Whatu Ora Chair Dame Karen Poutasi for her service on the Board. “Dame Karen tendered her resignation as Chair and as a member of the Board today,” says Dr Reti. “I have asked her to ...
The NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) has signalled their proposed delivery approach for the Government’s 15 Roads of National Significance (RoNS), with the release of the State Highway Investment Proposal (SHIP) today, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Boosting economic growth and productivity is a key part of the Government’s plan to ...
New Zealand is renewing its connections with a world facing urgent challenges by pursuing an active, energetic foreign policy, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “Our country faces the most unstable global environment in decades,” Mr Peters says at the conclusion of two weeks of engagements in Egypt, Europe and the United States. “We cannot afford to sit back in splendid ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has announced the Australian Governor-General, His Excellency General The Honourable David Hurley and his wife Her Excellency Mrs Linda Hurley, will make a State visit to New Zealand from Tuesday 16 April to Thursday 18 April. The visit reciprocates the State visit of former Governor-General Dame Patsy Reddy ...
Associate Health Minister David Seymour has announced that Medsafe has approved 11 cold and flu medicines containing pseudoephedrine. Pharmaceutical suppliers have indicated they may be able to supply the first products in June. “This is much earlier than the original expectation of medicines being available by 2025. The Government recognised ...
New Zealand and the United States have recommitted to their strategic partnership in Washington DC today, pledging to work ever more closely together in support of shared values and interests, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “The strategic environment that New Zealand and the United States face is considerably more ...
April 11, 2024 Joint Declaration by United States Secretary of State the Honorable Antony J. Blinken and New Zealand Minister of Foreign Affairs the Right Honourable Winston Peters We met today in Washington, D.C. to recommit to the historic partnership between our two countries and the principles that underpin it—rule ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced further New Zealand cooperation with the United States in the Pacific Islands region through $16.4 million in funding for initiatives in digital connectivity and oceans and fisheries research. “New Zealand can achieve more in the Pacific if we work together more urgently and ...
Kia Ora Gaza A passionate haka reverberated through Auckland International Airport as a medical team of three New Zealand doctors received an emotional farewell from a big crowd of supporters before flying to Turkey to join the international Freedom Flotilla to Gaza. The doctors, who left Auckland yesterday, hope to ...
With submissions closing today, Macassey-Pickard says groups around the country have been supporting a huge range of people to make their submissions. ...
Our response to the new legislation is informed by targeted conversations with practitioners working in the system and through an implementation lens. ...
The new ‘Fast-track Approvals Bill’ would give just three Ministers the power to approve or deny development projects. They would avoid the usual checks and balances that are in place to protect rivers, land, the ocean, and communities. ...
COMMENTARY:By Eugene Doyle Helen Clark, how I miss you. The former New Zealand Prime Minister — the safest pair of hands this country has had in living memory — gave a masterclass on the importance of maintaining an independent foreign policy when she spoke at an AUKUS symposium held ...
The government's released the list of organisations provided with information on how to apply - just hours before public submissions on the bill close. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Milton Speer, Visiting Fellow, School of Mathematical and Physical Sciences, University of Technology Sydney Before climate change really got going, eastern Australia’s flash floods tended to concentrate on our coastal regions, east of the Great Dividing Range. But that’s changing. Now ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Elizabeth Finkel, Vice-Chancellor’s Fellow, La Trobe University Sia Duff / South Australian Museum In February, the South Australian Museum “re-imagined” itself. In the face of rising costs and inadequate government funds, CEO David Gaimster, who took the reins last June, declared ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alan Pearce, Professor, School of Allied Heath, Human Services & Sport, La Trobe University, La Trobe University This week, Collingwood AFL player Nathan Murphy announced his retirement, brought on by his concussion history and ongoing issues. The 24-year-old’s seemingly sudden retirement, ...
The Mental Health Foundation provides support and resources for those facing the loss of their job, so it’s wrong in the very week the Government adds another 1000 jobs to its tally of cuts, that this is happening. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alexander Howard, Senior Lecturer, Discipline of English and Writing, University of Sydney Daniel Boud/Sydney Theatre Company Decay, terror, revulsion. These are three of the central themes of Thomas Bernhard’s rarely performed play The President. The Austrian is one of the greatest ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ye In (Jane) Hwang, Postdoctoral Research Associate at School of Population Health, UNSW Sydney Shutterstock You’d be hard pressed to find any aspect of daily life that doesn’t require some form of digital literacy. We need only to look back ten ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon says threats by ministers Shane Jones and David Seymour to reform or close down the Waitangi Tribunal were “ill-considered”, as legal experts say the ministers may have breached Cabinet Manual conventions. “I think those comments are ill-considered and we expect all ministers to actually exercise good ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rob Newton, Professor of Exercise Medicine, Edith Cowan University Pexels/RDNE stock project You’re not in your 20s or 30s anymore and you know regular health checks are important. So you go to your GP. During the appointment they measure your waist. ...
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The Prime Minister has ordered a paid national day off work on the death of the Queen
The death of 50 Muslim men women and children murdered in Christchurch got only two minutes.
What does this say about us?
What a ridiculous comparison.
Ridiculous?
How?
DB could you expand on your objection
In your opinion which is more ridiculous? A one whole day national stoppage for the death on the other side of the world of the Queen of England in her bed? Or the two minutes national stoppage for innocent deaths of Muslims murdered at prayer in this country?
I would like to ask you, DB which commemoration is more ridiculous?
I know which one I think is more 'ridiculous'
DB I can't help thinking how much more significant and worthwhile it would have been for us if the PM had ordered the country to take a day off for us to reflect on the lives and cruel deaths of of 51 defenceless innocent Muslim men women and children here in our country at the hands of a racist white supremacist?
How much more significant and worthwhile this would have been than ordering the country to take the day off in honour of the life and death of an uber rich white women on the other side of the world?
Maybe our leaders could pass legislation as they have done for the Queen's death, order that on the next significant anniversary of the Christchurch killings, that we are insightful and caring enough to mark out of respect for the dead in the terrible tragedy in Christchurch with a one off day off.
Would that be ridiculous or too much to ask?
You may ask of me nothing you ridiculous fake.
'
"…..they should have been safe in New Zealand."
Prime Minister Ardern, March 20, 2019
There goes my Good Friday …
I played the ball she replies with a bunch of personal pleas like one of those email ads trying to sell us a course for a motivational speaker. It may go on and on but I'm done with that speaker on that topic.
Also, you might have noticed – I short-ban myself if I get too tetchy.
Sorry, you took it the wrong way – it was meant as a very subtle response to Jenny’s … musings. I used capitals …
"I played the ball she replies with a bunch of personal pleas…."
DB Brown
With respect DB, you didn't play the ball you replied to me with an ad hominem insult.
"You may ask of me nothing you ridiculous fake."
DB Brown
Fuck off you and your clown shoes. I called you out when you, by name several times, tried drag me into your pathetic charade. You utter fuckwit.
[lprent: Less of that, please. While that is how I often think of you, I really don’t think that it adds anything to the debate. It is the act of a simpleton with poor control and no argument. ]
Do you think there should be a day off for the Pike River miners as well?
And certainly one for the people killed in road accidents (over 350 of them every year)
Now there's a thought.
Great idea.
Again. Why not?
We could have a real debate to examine the real cost of private transport on deaths and environmental damage, and how to effectively lower the road toll.
Why should one off commemorations be limited to celebrating royalty?
Maybe having one off paid days off work could be the way to have a national discussion and debate to examine and reflect on such major questions. It may very well be a way to engage the public and enhance our democracy.
Bring on this national debate I say.
Anyone who believes that a day off work involves people engaging in national discussion and debate on major questions, is invited to observe how the majority of Kiwis spend Waitangi Day.
‘
“Do you think there should be a day off for the Pike River miners as well?”
Jimmy
Yes.
It should have been done.
We can have a one off day for the death of the figurehead of one of the most brutal empires in the history of the world, but we can't have a day off to commemorate the deaths of honest working men who died arguably unnecessary deaths in the service of a fossil fuel company. .
Maybe if we had had a one off day to commemorate those men's deaths, it would have given us a chance to have a national debate to examine our collective consciences over whether those workers should have been engaged in that dangerous and environmentally damaging practice in the first place.
Instead of being treated as adults and equals we are made to passively consume images of empty pageantry and rituals of a dying empire on the other side of the world. Spoon fed endless mindless discussion and debate over the smallest minutia of the British Royals' lives (and deaths). Not that any of this has any relevancy at all to most people's real lived experience. Except as a form of escapism.
Ah, no. You are perfectly free to switch the channel on the TV coverage (should you actually watch that archaic form of media), and read/watch something else.
As, based on your frequent posts on international affairs, you clearly have done.
No one is forcing you to watch anything – either passively or actively.
Just as I (oh, heresy in NZ) am not particularly interested in rugby, and don't enjoy/watch or 'passively consume' the endless forensic analysis of the latest AB win or loss – and, therefore, choose not to watch/listen/read the coverage. However, I don't demand that the coverage cease to be produced for the benefit of those who do enjoy it – simply because I'm not interested.
Point taken.
If I hadn't rushed I would have written;
A lot of time and money and effort has been put into encouraging us to become passive consumers of the pageantry and rituals of a moribund empire on the other side of the world. The purpose of course is not to change it. (to
paraphrasemangle Marx)Public opinion is a manufactured product.
Well, yes. That is just as true of the Kardashians, Johnny Depp & whoever the latest sports royalty is.
Railing against press coverage of something which demonstrably has a significant degree of popular interest – but which you don't happen to like – is an entirely futile activity.
Vote with your feet (or eyes in this case).
“Vote with your feet (or eyes in this case).”
With the wall to wall coverage, that would have been hard.
Even if you were actively averting your eyes I am sure Belladonna that you would have viewed at least some of this footage or been aware of the massive fandom generated by it. If you did the opposite and watched the MSM media all you liked and you would have found it hard to get news of the terrible climate disaster in Pakistan unfolding
before our eyes, removed from before our eyes.[deleted]
I’ve deleted the paragraphs that looked like they were copy and pastes but didn’t have any formatting to show that and didn’t link to the source.
‘
"Vote with your feet (or eyes in this case)."
Belladonna
With the wall to wall coverage, hard to do in this case.
And I sure Belladonna that you, and probably everyone you know, would have watched at least some of it.
And even if you didn't, you would still have been aware of the massive Stan-dom being generated by this wall to wall coverage and hype.
But let's say, for arguments sake, you did the opposite to what you advocate, and didn't boycott the mainstream media.
The climate disaster and resulting deaths of ordinary people in Pakistan
unfolding in front of our eyesremoved from in front of our eyes, replaced with wall to wall coverage of the death of one, very white, very rich, very old lady.You would have to be a hermit living in a cave to not be aware of the Queen's death. But you could easily be unaware of the climate catastrophe in Pakistan. Which is still ongoing, with little relief for the people caught in it.
Royal pageantry and ritual is the original and oldest way of generating Stan Culture. As Juvenal said give them circuses to keep the people diverted from public policy and civic duty.
The Queen's greatest public service, for which she has been heaped endless praise and honours, has been to rehabilitate the reputation of imperialism and colonialism.
King Charles will be allowed to continue his mother's work and carry out his main political duty to white wash imperialism.
But Charles Windsor the former Prince of Wales has been reminded (more than once) of his civic duty, now that he is King, not to agitate on climate change and to concentrate on his main role.
Unfortunately all the gold braid and pageantry in the world will not save us, or our King.
[You failed to provide the link to Wikipedia for your quote on “Bread and circuses”.
You changed the quoted text (aka butchered it) in a way that was not clear and this only became clear by going to the original text.
This may not seem a big deal, this time, even relatively harmless, but this apparent clumsiness with selective quoting, altering text, removing context, et cetera, is often used as a tool for influencing and manipulating.
When you quote we have to trust you that your quote is a perfect representation (aka copy & paste) of the original text and an accurate representation of the meaning/message. Please lift your game – Incognito]
Mod note
Not really hard to avoid at all.
I chose to stay up and watch the actual funeral coverage (I happen to like old buildings, pageantry and church music)
But it was a deliberate choice – it was hardly in prime time viewing (from about 10pm onwards).
And haven't paid attention to any other coverage subsequently. I read the papers online, and simply choose not to read any of the articles. And, in common with the majority of Kiwis under 60, I don’t watch TV news – and catch up with any programmes on demand (i.e I choose what to watch and when to watch it)
It hasn't been hard.
Disasters in Pakistan would still not have had high profile coverage in NZ – regardless of any royal pageantry. Our media is fairly parochial – and those of us with wider interests know that we have to supplement them from overseas.
Luckily, in this modern age, this is relatively easy to do.
Your complaint about saturation coverage might have had validity in the 1950s (King George VI's funeral and Elizabeth's coronation) – when there were few (if any) media alternatives in NZ – the local paper and the TV channel were the sum total. These days – people's consumption of media comes from so many sources that it's virtually impossible to achieve the slanted presentation that you appear to believe is the secret plan of the British monarchy.
I can assure you, that the coverage of the Kardashians, Johnny Depp and Roger Federer continues unabated (based on a quick sample of my newsfeeds this morning). All continuing to suck media attention away from Pakistan, Ukraine & climate change. Why are those circuses (without even bread) not a target for your ire?
It says alot about you.
Trying to beat up a story where none exists.
'
"Those who forget history are condemned to repeat it"
George Santayana
If the government passed legislation that at the next significant anniversary of the Christchurch massacre a one off national day of reflection on the causes of this tragedy, it would be sign of our maturity as a nation.
We commemorate the war dead of the First and Second World Wars. We don't commemorate the war dead of the New Zealand Wars.
We condemn German and Japanese fascism but we don’t condemn British imperialism or colonialism.
Because alongside our culture of remembering and commemorating historical events, we have another culture of forgetting historical events that we don't want to remember.
I have heard a number of commentators saying that the death and life of the Queen of England will be remembered for ever in history. They are probably right.
How about this: Heeding George Santayana's caution, taking the precedent of a one off day to remember and reflect on life and death of the British Monarch. the government legislate; That at the next anniversary milestone of the Christchurch massacre a one off day stoppage will be called to reflect on this terrible tragedy committed in our midst, to learn and never forget, so that such a thing is never repeated.
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/57322/for-the-fallen
Do you think we needed to have assassinated the queen before we were entitled to a day off?
Now that would’ve been an event worth commemorating with a day off. [Sarc.]
We're just following the practice of others – to commemorate the end of an era of a head of state. These are (normative) national occasions.
The argument for the utility of another memorial is a separate matter – and there was a planned one (annual, pandemic impacted).
'
"We're just following the practice of others…."
SPC
We should all be heartilly sick of being global followers. John Key wanted us to be 'Fast Followers' It's time we stopped being followers and started being leaders. I have long supported calls for this country to be a global leader, in social in climate justice and peace issues.
.https://thestandard.org.nz/our-plan-to-change-the-government/#comment-1183829
P.S. It was very heartening to see on TV1 News tonight that New Zealand will be taking a global lead on dealing with plastic waste, especially encouraging are moves to sheet the responsibility back to the big plastic polluters at the point of production instead of the public at the point of consumption. Something I have long argued was sorely needed
https://i.stuff.co.nz/business/129960960/50000-people-may-need-to-lose-their-jobs-to-bring-inflation-under-control
Maybe the cold hearted zolner lady needs to go and come up with a better plan than fucking people lives to lower inflation
Yeah I saw this. These economists and their banking buddies are worse than useless, they're detrimental to society.
The plan here is to make many people poor so they can't afford to participate in society. This will in turn reduce demand for goods so prices drop and rich people can get cheaper goods.
We could have put ceilings on corporate profitability – the prices got jacked by corporations, not consumers. We could have retrospectively hit them with windfall taxes, of course we have not.
They blame supply and demand. They blame employment figures. They blame subprime mortgages, wars, pandemics, markets – anything but the truth of bank and corporate roles in society today – to take everything they can get their grubby hands on.
Yesterday, after widespread advertising for stories of supermarket profit gouging, I noticed several exorbitant prices have suddenly shrunk overnight. Flax meal, tahini, dried fruit, nuts, seeds, vegan mayo – all came down significantly since the last shop… Almost like they've been taking the absolute piss.
These people are a fucking disgrace. But just try stop the profit gouging – communism!
Banks have taken 30$ per week in PROFIT from every person in NZ
Can you link to where that figure came from? Sounds excessive…
It's more like $22 per person…..x52 x5million.
Last quarter 1.74 billion profit / 5 mill in 12 weeks
Is 29$
That's $7.8 billion in bank profits per annum I think they are about $6 billion altogether so that would be $23 per week from every person in NZ
Ouch
Don't shoot the messenger, wags. Thats just a more or less plain english description of what the RBNZ is planning to achieve via monetary policy.
The messenger is part of the establishment, so fuck im ,fire at will!!
'been spending most of life….living in a banksters….paradise'!
"THERE HAS GOT TO BE A BETTER WAY "
the profit Lenny Kravitz I believe
I think, in general, that jobs might be lost if people demanded higher wages to compensate for the inflation. That would seem to be the theory.
Belive me I'm less than pleased that just when I finally got into a wage bracket that I thought might give me a chance of getting some security for my future, just got gobbled by the inflation monster, but I don't want 50,000 extra people on the dole to fix it for me.
Now that you have received an increase in income, do you feel that you are better off than before?
Yes but inflation has nicked a decent chunk of it, and no I don't think it's 'cindys' fault if that's where you going jimmy old boy.
No wasn't 'going there at all'. A large portion of the inflation is beyond NZ's control and would not matter who was in government.
Some though is definitely due to the reserve bank.
I genuinely think that making ends meet and affording petrol, groceries, mortgage and rent payments are the biggest and most immediate concern to many NZers. Many people have had pay increases this year (and it is a good time to ask the boss for a rise), but I think it will really tighten up next year with many companies unable to afford to give further pay increases.
As NZ inflation is mostly less than our trading partners.
No. It is not due to the reserve bank.
Except, of course for the house price inflation over the last several decades, Which is due to tax policy since the 90's, lack of curbs on foriegn "investment" and imported cheap labour numbers.
NZ inflation is greater then all our trading partners except the Americas and Europe.
The NZ $/US$ of which all trade is realized to include Freight and insurance has depreciated 14.4% YTD,
Our current account is 7.1% of gdp and is nearing the worst it has been,our debt loading is increasing as is government debt and with an increasing interest bill on sovereign debt doubling over the next 2 years.
High interest rates are here to stay,the days of easy money are gone,and can only be dampened when core inflation ( shelter,utilities and service inflation) reduces.
Nah, if there is such a concern of govt spending impacting interest rates then there will be a quiet conversation between Orr and Robertson (in a smoke filled room), followed by another round of QE and the govt owning more of its own debt.
If the RBNZ wanted interest rates at zero it could of course lower the OCR just as it has raised it recently.
This means sweet FA, but may well send you into a commenting frenzy.
The RBNZ balance sheet has increased around 7 billion since march,the so called QT has not happened as the RBNZ lent at OCR rates to Banks ( 12 billion to xmas)
https://www.rbnz.govt.nz/statistics/series/reserve-bank/our-balance-sheet
The Australian RBA took a hit removing all equity for a 36b loss on the effects of QE .
https://www.cnbc.com/2022/09/21/australias-central-bank-has-equity-wiped-out-by-billions-in-bond-losses.html
NZ debt is firmly in the hands of the kindness of strangers very similar to the UK were debt rates go through the roof.
https://www.reuters.com/world/uk/suspicious-minds-leave-uk-assets-all-shook-up-2022-09-14/
The only entity which can bankrupt a central bank is its legislature. This makes the question of central bank profit, loss and equity completely irrelevant. Unlike most entities, negative equity has zero impact on central banks ability to function.
Of course the way Citi bank talks about policy is in those terms because this is just the common language for "we recon the BofE should keep bumping interest rates up" (which co-incidentally helps Citi's profits). But, as Japans central bank policy is highlighting, alternate policies can equally be pursued at their discretion, including to lower interest rates.
Japan has 2 trillion in foreign exchange sitting in overseas banks,earning increasing interest payments.Its offshore investments outweigh its onshore foreign liabilities,this weak its 10 yr bond did not trade for 3 days.
The RBA decreased the ability to raise funds to protect its currency or Interest rates it de levered.
Sure, the RBA probably did for some combination of those reasons. But for some reason you didn't put it that way instead focusing on the "cost" of economic policy as if the RBA has any need to earn profits.
And regarding the BoJ (or other central banks) we can only evaluate any external limitations to its policy when they visibly buck market expectations and considering how that works. Highlighting foreign exchange reserves on a balance sheet is about as credible as the old story that, Japans long history of avoiding inflation while running QE for decades, was due to Japanese house wives saving rates.
Obviously when we consider some of the actual outcomes of RBNZ policy (e.g maybe 50,000 additional unemployed) some people are proposing its time to actually run some of the experiments and see how these theories stack up. Frankly if the NZ exchange rate fluctuates 2% off US inflation coming in low (but somehow also above market expectations), we could maybe focus on the economic policy bits we can actually control.
The Japanese household saving rate in July (last data) was 37.7% of disposable income..
With unemployment and some model showing 50k,would it not be better to reduce immigration,( which is a similar number) or would there be just a pool of unemployable.
Jobs full time positions increased by 7000 in the week ending 14/8.When the data reflects a decrease in value,the first affects will be in the service industry which it seems is not affected.
https://www.stats.govt.nz/information-releases/employment-indicators-weekly-as-at-19-september-2022/
Sure, maintaining the lower immigration rate does seem to be having some positive outcomes for NZ.
As far as RBNZ policy implementation goes, their official policy position of running a raised cash rate, is supposed to flow through to the economy via elevated unemployment. AFAIK their expectations should be that domestic inflation will not decrease without the extra 50,000 unemployed. But this seems to have changed since they were initially just saying the country would need to accept the transitory (e.g. supply side) inflation and spread its burden fairly until it abated.
The fundamental question appears unstated….what can the NZD provide?
The answer is very little…. and even less if it is undesired offshore.
A low nz$ makes assets very cheap,especially rural land.
And inputs expensive…and it is all relative as your 'trading partner inflation rate' comment indicates.
A major issue is our exchange rate volatility….it makes long term investment decisions problematic…who will (either onshore or off) commit capital when any decision can be rendered a loser with a currency swing such as we have been subjected to the past 40 years?…a low of 0.39 to near parity with the world default trading currency and widly variable in between.
True,some will have local substitution possibilities such as cereal imported from Aus,where a new bulker on the coast will make shipping competitive SI-NI,cheaper then oz-nz. (up 70m in August)
So. Most of them. As I said.
No .not by price or volume.
https://www.worldstopexports.com/new-zealands-top-trade-partners/
Trading partners are not only "exports".
From your own link. Which is about export reciepts.
Imported inflation comes from imports and services supplied from overseas, does it not?
Global inflation tracker: see how your country compares on rising prices | Financial Times (ft.com)
Of the top 10 import countries into NZ,only the US and Germany have higher inflation rates.
The largest increases in cost are actually freight rates,insurance etc,with import values include CIF, which are now starting to contract.
The argument was not all our trading partners have high inflation,which excluding the Americas and Europe (excluding switzerland) they do not.
President of France Jacques Chirac knew in 1996. Hs told the ILO that the economy serves the people and not the other way round.
https://www.ilo.org/global/about-the-ilo/newsroom/news/WCMS_008059/lang–en/index.htm
How much further away from a notion of a decent society is that 5% of the people should be unemployed so that others may prosper. This latest advocate talks of a necessary pain. One Mark Lister gives away the mantle of altruism to the unemployed when he would better serve us and himself by trying a little altruism in his own life.
“You’ve got to cause some pain. You’ve
got to create some unemployment” he said. Marlborough Express Sept 23 2022 page 7 Business section
Anybody's pain but mine…….
What a truly ugly man
Have these people not twigged the inherent stupidity of their version of an economy where it is argued that we need more workers and also we need more unemployment?
Locally in Rotorua its 11%. – per the pre election report from the current Rotorua council.
5%unemployment in Rotorua currently would be awesome.
Shift the pain and 50 thousand pawns, play the blame game!!!
Will somebody please ask Luxon for his 'wisdom' on this.
Wisdom? Best laugh of the day Barfly!! Opinion yes… Wisdom lol, no!! He will lead with his arrogant chin.
Here's an interesting take on this:
Which 50 000 has to go?
If it's supply and demand issues, then we must get rid of the useless from the workforce, not the actual workers who produce the supply! Anything else would be madness. We know who is essential now (we've always known), the people who actually keep the lights on.
But there are others:
Economists are clearly useless, how many of them are there?
There's bound to be plenty of middle management playing paper-go-round in plenty of places.
Who must go?
Reminds me of the Douglas Adams Golgafrinchams
https://www.bbc.co.uk/cult/hitchhikers/guide/golgafrincham.shtml
We do know that the social value of a banker is negative but hospital cleaners add x15 the value of their salary.
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2009/dec/14/new-economics-foundation-social-value
Economists are funny, one day they say we need more unemployment to reduce inflation BUT the next day they say the economy lacks workers and we need more migration.
These two things are not coherent. They and their neo-liberal school are out of their depth in the real world 2022.
I'll note that when Muldoon was PM 1976-1981 there was 5 years of wage growth/inflation during which house prices flatlined and fell in real terms.
Inflation reduces the real value of assets (which one can note are overvalued) and debt (good for coming out of the QE debt of the GFC and pandemic). Containing inflation by holding down wages merely to preserve the asset wealth of a privileged elite (after a period of extreme inequality) is risible.
RBG's applying neo-liberal policy are going to risk populist pressure to the democratic fabric in way not seen since the 1930's.
You can have both national proved that I believe last time , flood the country with cheep foreign labour ,have kiwis on the dole , added bonus is a bigger target for right wingers to hate on.
… they'll allow prison for profit growth to manage homelessness (known as three strikes and clearances for urban renewal in the USA and here to manage the lack of housing).
That is actually coherent. More imported cheap labour = in their minds, more unemployed, less wage rises and less inflation.
The idea that you fight inflation by driving down wage price pressure regardless of other factors.
Obviously it means workers, and unemployed pay all the coats of reducing inflation. But we can't have banks and assett/housing speculators taking the pain instead, can we??
All the costs???
Both will take the hit…a consequence of the interest rate hikes is asset depreciation. (or revaluation)
Wealth destruction,global sharemarkets 25 trillion ytd,Crypto 2 trillion,Housing will be big here as the half billion pumped bubble implodes.
https://edition.cnn.com/markets/fear-and-greed
Why do you think, speculators and banks are so keen on wages taking the hit to contain inflation?
So they don't, of course!
I would argue the stimulus from population growth (more migrants) would in fact increase demand/inflation.
Hubby and I banked with ANZ – well firstly the National Bank, for 55 years. We told them where to go 3 years ago and moved to Kiwibank. We'd had enough of their utterings from John Key and the CEO in Melbourne (who I believe is a Kiwi) who threatened to close the N Z division down. I guess he was bluffing, but sheesh, what a tosser. Sharon Zollner also needs to pull her head in, but of course the unemployment subject is a favourite among such pointy heads who wouldn't be at all affected by such a move. Just don't get me going on the report in the Herald today about the Mood of the Boardroom
Exactly Jilly Bee.
The Former Guy claims he declassified the documents he removed from the White House just by thinking about it. We didn't know he has the amazing superpower of teledeclassification.
https://m.dailykos.com/stories/2022/9/22/2124549/-Donald-Trump-claims-he-declassified-documents-by-thinking-about-it-but-that-s-not-the-worst-thing
Plotting, scheming, embezzling, gouging, dodging, lying, bullying–all skills Mr Mango Mussolini has amply demonstrated–but thinking? is a stretch.
In a fairer world Mr Trump would have been locked up years ago, but the US political establishment really has not chosen its battles with the ex President wisely at all.
Donald who?
He's not a well man.
https://twitter.com/ZTPetrizzo/status/1573012229661810694
New Zealand's very own Fox News, the NZ Herald, running their annual hit job on the left today. It is laughably titled, "The Mood of the Boardroom" – a name so suffused with fake gravitas it can only have come from the ponderously dull Fran O'Sullivan. The conclusion of 90 CEOs and 18 Directors is that this is the worst government since Muldoon. Yawn – rich, powerful private sector interests wanting the playing field tipped in their favour, and completely without irony, equating that with good economic management.
The winter of discontent team leader (2000) also ran an ad/editorial demanding New Zealand voters prevent a Labour-Green government (2005). Must have been so sad there when one law for all, across the board tax cuts (less money for poor families), keep interest on tertiary loans Don Brash was defeated
(Winston Peters kept his word to go with the party with more votes – Labour)(but in its way NZH represents the Koch brothers denial of need for global warming action and maintenance of a neo-liberal global regime)
The government must be doing something right then.
Yep, and one of the Herald and ZB adherents – who also happens to be a relative – told me yesterday we have a Communist government and its going to go next year before we are all destroyed.
Does anyone know where I can locate a membership form for the VFF crowd so I can send it to her? Or the Brash crowd will do – Hobson's Choice they call themselves? 😛
But, but, but if we have a Communist Government it is headed by a 'pretty little communist' isn't it and that must count for something surely. I mean better a pretty little communist than some idiot riding a bear? Your relative should thank their lucky stars. I didn't see the man on the bear being pressed to speak at the UN or being invited to the Queen's funeral.
I know the 'pretty little comm' is correct as I read it on a poster on the tractors and trucks in the Groundswill protest. And farmers know everything don't they? Those ones do anyway.
Perhaps get a membership form for Groundswell too so she can feel the faint pulse of this crowd from the rural sector. They are not supported by the majority of rural dwellers that I can see so should be a good match for VFF & Brash's rush of blood to the head group.
Actually I think it is the "pretty little communist:" who started it cos the plc is very attractive and intelligent and she's younger and oh so popular with her overseas peers.
Its called jealousy and afflicts a lot of women. HDPA is another example.
Yes indeed.
The Mood of the Boardroom in the Herald is just more right wing propaganda. Plenty more to come daily from Ganny Herald folks.
As a swing voter looking for excuses to stay with Labour, I'm finding it harder by the day. This so called '' hit job'' on Labour was in reality a reflection of what many voting people are pondering. Grant Robertson taking at hit in the ratings should be ringing alarm bells. He has generally until now been well tolerated by the opposition and general public. For me there were some surprises in the survey. Co-governance having some support for example. Labour has been given fair warning. They can continue to flip off such findings as the deluded rantings of rich white boys wanting more bucks in their pockets, or they can cross reference this survey with public opinion polls, gain a reality check, and do something about it.
25-26% of rain forest loss …
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sIdwf717p0w
A study on Vitamin D levels and health outcomes.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8541492/
.
Blimey ! You appear to be the first tragically-smug Woke dogmatist here to conspicuously break ranks from the well-rehearsed narrative that Vitamin D is all part of some Far Right Trumpist conspiracy theory to deliberately perplex the hoi polloi who lack the "unusually refined moral & intellectual sensibilities" of those wannabe elites trapped in your stifling little echo-chamber.
How did dear old muttonbird put it, again ? … oh yes:
https://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-03-08-2022/#comment-1903527
I was posting John Campbell on this back in 2020. and also on old fashioned “aspiration” in vaccination.
The only reason I take my vitamins is when instructed by my partner, and I don't think they are doing anything either.
I will now compare myself to Niels Bohr.
https://www.laphamsquarterly.org/magic-shows/miscellany/niels-bohrs-lucky-horseshoe
Meanwhile the Medical Council of NZ says that Vitamin D supplementation is not required, except in some very specific population categories:
Unlike the Northern Hemisphere, Kiwis in general get enough sun exposure to ensure our levels are well within the healthy range.
Vitamin D prescription in NZ doesn't correlate with a reduction in the known medical consequences of low rates (rickets, etc). And is no longer prescribed for prevention of osteoporisis (no clinical benefit). It seems as though most prescriptions are to the 'worried well'
https://journal.nzma.org.nz/journal-articles/vitamin-d-deficiency-supplementation-and-testing-have-we-got-it-right-in-new-zealand
Has anyone seen this rating of each Auckland Councillor?
Rating every Auckland councillor: Bernard Orsman and Simon Wilson give their verdicts – NZ Herald
It's Herald Premium content – but Aucklander's with a library card should be able to view it using Press Reader, through the library website.
I think this is absolutely accurate
CEOs give the govt. a fail report card. 'Wost Govt since Muldoon': Ardern, Robertson blasted by business leaders in CEO survey (msn.com)
Even from the title the illiteracy of said CEOs suggests their opinion is less than bankable.
Yes just get woser and woser really.
Stuart-listen to this afternoon's The Panel on RNZ. Fran O'Sullivan got a roasting, got pissed off and basically fell apart when questioned by Panel members about the Mood of the Boardroom survey.
Here it is:
https://www.rnz.co.nz/audio/player?audio_id=2018859987
Fran O….ex NBR…now with NZ Herald ….is so biased it's hard to take her…seriously.
I'm going to differ with you there. Fran is a damned good journalist when she sets her mind to it. I'll grant you, that may be less than half the time, but she knocks sad idiot panel hacks out of the park from time to time. It's just that she spends too much time rubbing elbows with CEOs to be a full-on Blomkvist.
"Fran O'Sullivan got a roasting, got pissed off and basically fell apart when questioned by Panel members about the Mood of the Boardroom survey."
Think we must have listened to a different panel discussion
Perhaps Shanreagh and Anne describe it better below, but I stand by the fact that O'Sullivan was very unimpressive, mostly because she was defending the indefensible because the Mood of the Boardroom survey is wrong to attack the performance of this government.
From about 10.00 in. But, but, splutter is a good summary of Fran's response to some of Simon Wilson's questions…she quickly switched to saying it was a snapshot of a mood and overseas there was inflation that the CE's were reflecting on.
Most unimpressive but then these are not a group given to self reflection or acknowledgement that we have faced tough times. She did not seem to have an answer to the query about pushback on paying workers more being a way to lift people out of poverty……something that the CE's group are ostensibly concerned about.
The group does not include large NGOs
The best response was made by Wallace Chapman when he pointed out that the report did not acknowledge the fact this government had been through a major pandemic that no other government in NZ has had to grapple with, and was able to bring NZ through in far better shape than most other countries.
I note Fran O'Sullivan immediately changed tack and pointed out that the pandemic emergency has passed, and the CEO's are concerned about what is happening now.
I paraphrase both responses.
Surely what is happening now is a direct consequence of that pandemic and the world wide disruptions etc. it created. All the blame cannot be laid at the feet of the government. It will take time to re-establish normality in all sections of society including the business sector, so it is disingenuous to pass judgement at this stage of the procedure.
I gather also there was no mention of the impact being felt over the Russia/Ukraine conflict.
Yes Anne, 'disingenuous' is a good word to describe the responses from the CEOs being discussed with Fran O'Sullivan.
As well there have been thoughts that while the situation was 'fluid' we could generally have a look at whether we wanted to go back to BAU circa 2021 or if we could be 'nimble' and take the opportunities for change.
NZ used to have a reputation for this nimbleness in days gone by not so long ago. Nimbleness is not a product of $$$$ or of handouts but of far-sightedness in business and brains working. Also adequate R & D and product and market investigation and investment.
Perhaps the CEs have been struck down by a late arriving variant of the Moaning Minnie virus that my ‘research’ showed accompanied earlier Covid variants in the general population.
This Covid virus has been long lasting, we have had to help those affected and so we have had to take time to deal with it. Some of the responses I have seen have built on the bull kaka that every country in the world except NZ has moved on. Partner is in the south of Italy travelling by public transport and says operators of public transport are fanatical about continued mask wearing on buses etc. NB NZ has no mask wearing restrictions on public transport.