“In November support for the newly elected Labour/NZ First/Greens Government was 54.5% (up 6% since early October) ahead of National/Act NZ on 41% (down 5.5%) with minor parties outside Parliament attracting the remaining 4.5% of support.”
Michelle Levine goes on to say:
“Ardern’s rise to the top job has seen an unprecedented spike in the Roy Morgan Government Confidence Rating – with 66.5% (up 8% since October) of New Zealanders saying New Zealand is ‘heading in the right direction’ contributing to a Roy Morgan Government Confidence Rating of 146.5 – the highest in nearly 8 years.”
New Zealanders saying New Zealand is ‘heading in the right direction’ contributing to a Roy Morgan Government Confidence Rating of 146.5 – the highest in nearly 8 years.”
The new government is enjoying a very good Confidence Rating – very similar to the levels of the last new government.
North
Can you discuss the ideas please and stop showing your unreasoning bias and prejudice in your attitude to CV?
I’m thinking here about the hostile personal response that CV seems to draw from a group of commenters here. It should be noted how this is an example of human behaviour that arises and leads to awful behaviour if unchecked. Someone is set up to be a pariah and vengeful negative attitudes are expressed and this builds in certain others. They combine and feel justified in joining in some negative action. In this case, in this forum, it takes the form of constant pecking by some commenters at the person themself, and heavy disagreement and contention with everything said in an effort to change the opinion to what is agreeable to the inquisitors, and there is animal-like hostile behaviour.
It is different from taking exception to someone who is an everyday RW wingnut. This person has a sincere fixed opinion that is not simply Party-oriented, rote learned and part of the accepted wisdom of the comfortable classes. Instead of mining the view and trying to gain perspective, the
intransigence of the commenter in taking a different line, is to be stifled and demolished.
tq. Holding onto fair and useful behaviour standards that work for us is important.
Because many civilised standards we thought were base to us and set in concrete are slipping away or just getting lip service, we become in danger of them being replaced by rigid authoritarian purist ‘strong-man’ or classist controls. We need balance and to hold that balance or we’ll get society that allows exclusion, hate and force at will.
Just to carry through on this thought. Think gun use in USA. and their lack of personal control and apparent inability to have reasonable redress through mediation on annoying situations. It has become acceptable to deal with people using force.
And the growth of diminishment and harrassment of people defined as ‘other’ and ‘them’ shows up in this example from Nazi Germany. As time went on and Jewish people were turned into pariahs by the authorities, no Jewish, or part Jewish family was allowed to keep a pet. ‘All pets should live in good Aryan homes.’ Just read it when I was reading some Klemperer, for those who are interested; it was classed as sadism by him. (I add that Victor Klemperer was amazed at the solidarity examples he met every day from ordinary Germans, who wished him well. They might give him some extra meat, or swear at the Fuhrer etc. You don’t hear much about the German people under the Nazi boot. But he notices it is from the proles that he receives these thoughtful honours, from communists and socialists.)
Cheers grey, well said.
It reminds me of two wise women- Helenen Kelly and my nana.
“Be kind to each other” and “if you can’t say anything nice, don’t say anything at all”
With this quote ‘there are no economists picking a recession for Jacinda Ardern’s Government.’ Dann proves he knows very little about what independent economists are saying.
I assume he takes the words of the BNZ, Westpac and ANZ economists at face value….
Has he heard of the term ‘ vested interests ‘?
There is a reason those banks are playing it down.
To banks and their economists and the wealthy people riding the prosperity wave, NZ is an investment vehicle, something that can travel on land or water! They have a licence to drive it, and they want to go wherever they wish.
Funny thing was he didn’t think much of the Forbes article because if he did it would have meant nats had been useless with nz finances. (End of the clip on the link)
He still talked a lot of shite about most other things however
George Monbiot
‘Our relentless consumption is trashing the planet.’
‘When you hear that something makes economic sense, this means it makes the opposite of common sense. Those sensible men and women who run the world’s treasuries and central banks, who see an indefinite rise in consumption as normal and necessary, are beserkers: smashing through the wonders of the living world, destroying the prosperity of future generations to sustain a set of figures that bear ever less relation to general welfare.
Green consumerism, material decoupling, sustainable growth: all are illusions, designed to justify an economic model that is driving us to catastrophe. The current system, based on private luxury and public squalor, will immiserate us all: under this model, luxury and deprivation are one beast with two heads.
We need a different system, rooted not in economic abstractions but in physical realities, that establish the parameters by which we judge its health. We need to build a world in which growth is unnecessary, a world of private sufficiency and public luxury. And we must do it before catastrophe forces our hand.’
‘Because here we are in 2016. The planet is burning in front of our eyes but we’re still going to buy those gifts, damn it! Because the world’s a grim and depressing place, so shut up and let me do this for strangers, as well as friends and family. I want to make them smile. Don’t judge me!
But I am going to judge you, and judge you hard. Strap yourself in.
If you’re not consciously thinking about this stuff, then you’re part of the problem.
Study after study shows that consumption now dwarfs population as the main environmental threat on earth.
Indeed, most of the extra consumption has so far been – but is rapidly changing – in wealthy countries that have long since stopped adding substantial numbers to their population. Like us.
Moreover, is it making anybody happy? Will those carefully wrapped presents in all their plastic glory keep anyone deeply delighted for more than an hour or two? Let’s be honest with ourselves.
Sure, I get that you want to please your kids but, really? Is this the way to go? Is there not an argument for opting out of this madness and telling them why?
I’m sure that most Secret Santa fans (and many bog-standard Xmas worshippers) are sane, rational human beings. They’re among the first to jump on social media and lament the loss of hundreds of species a day, or the vast inequality and poverty we see in our own country and around the world.
Except ironically, there appears to be this huge disconnect about what causes these events. Capitalism will literally be the death of us, our children, and humanity. But still we turn away, avert our eyes and do little to change the perfect storm bearing down on us.
It’s getting beyond urgent but, hey, let’s all have a cutesy cultural norm of a festive season. The economy depends on it, and the unequal wealth generated from it needs to be distributed to the usual suspects. Growth, growth, growth!
While you’re sitting around the tucker table and raising a glass to family, all misty-eyed about how much you care about future generations, raise the subject of just how serious climate change is becoming. How the Arctic ice is melting as quickly as the ice cream left out of the freezer by Uncle Bob. See how that conversation goes down.
They’ll call you “Grinch” and tell you to just enjoy the day. There’s nothing you can do about it anyway. Which is exactly how we got into this hellbeast of a planetary mess.’
All the evidence tells us that we should stop doing what we are but our politicians and rich people tell us that it can be no other way, There Is No Alternative (TINA).
This is, of course, bollocks. A few people just don’t want all the wealth and power that they’ve absconded with taken from them as it needs to be.
Country of origin labling should be part of the consumers guarantees act so we can chose wisely the quality of what we eat that’s the angle I would take on that subject of food labeling .
If I see or find a good Idea I don’t care were It comes from I will use it as the good idea will make me more successful and could save time and money so don’t listen to the bullies people talk about China controlling there people.
OUR world can see that our coalition government is honest and humane government
and Jacinda popularity is rising and so is OUR’s with her ka pai Forbes well they are all about the wealthy !!!!!!! so there statements are bullshit. Remember this Iwi it is not a fact until it is proven to be a fact 300 od years ago we would believe that OUR earth is flat now we no it is not flat but some idiot is spending heaps of money to try and prove that it is flat well that’s what the bullies are trying to do to they are making statements to try and damage Eco Maori Me YEA Right this shows the quality of our civil servants left to us from 9 years of national Its not about Justice Its about the system is always being right. Winston that’s exactly what I was thinking that one would have to be a soothsayer to answer Jack’s question . Ka pai
If I see or find a good Idea I don’t care were It comes from I will use it as the good idea will make me more successful and could save time and money so don’t listen to the bullies people talk about China controlling there people.
China is building influence around the world in subtle and not so subtle ways.
We should be concerned about this. China should not have influence upon our politicians or any other country’s politicians.
Remember this Iwi it is not a fact until it is proven to be a fact 300 od years ago we would believe that OUR earth is flat…
The idea of a spherical Earth appeared in Greek philosophy with Pythagoras (6th century BC), although most pre-Socratics (6th – 5th century BC) retained the flat Earth model. Aristotle provided evidence for the spherical shape of the Earth on empirical grounds by around 330 BC. Knowledge of the spherical Earth gradually began to spread beyond the Hellenistic world from then on.
But, yes, belief still existed beyond that. The same can be said of capitalism. It’s been proven to be a failure, time and time again, and yet still people believe it to be the only workable socio-economic system.
But, after all that, I still have NFI WTF you were going on about. There’s no context and no logical progression to your rant.
Well I’m thinking of running in my local elections next time they come up I will stir them up and make them serve the people and mother earth.
On shortages of labour these people are crying that they need 5000 workers . In reality it is much cheaper for business to hire foreign labour It is cheaper to recruit them and pay them . So the big picture is Business will have to part with more cash to recruit Kiwi’s as OUR unemployment rate aint O% so Kiwi workers are there waiting for work and business will have to treat OUR kiwi workers like diamonds and polish and look after them which is what happens under a left lead Government. I can remember when
the Helen Clark Government won our election the price of fuel went up this is big business response to a Government that puts Iwi before there profits WHAT big business has not grasped is that the more evenly that OUR resources are spread the more we have to spend an the more profits they make everyone’s happy so if I was a big business CEO I would be backing OUR new coalition government . Many thanks to OUR lady’s sports teams for there win’s I can see that you don’t like publicity but this is the way OUR world works and this is what is needed to get more ladies into power to run OUR world in a humane way Kia Kaha ladies I like horses they are wonderful intelligent beings as all animals are .Ka pai
Eco, we in the Greens have been wanting “country of origin” labelling for years. If my memory serves me well it was turned down by Helen’s lot. The food industry has powerful lobbyists and doesn’t want us to know the truth about our foods in so many ways.
The woman said she was “shocked and confused” by Harris’s actions.
“I certainly didn’t flirt with him. He could have been my grandfather,” she said. She did not complain to the police at the time because even her father was dismissive when he heard what happened, the court was told.
After telling her father Harris was a “dirty old man” and had “a bit of a go”, she said he replied: “you shouldn’t have worn that tight pink jumper”.
“GROPERS” is presented by GroperWatch, a division of Daisycutter Sports Inc. More gropers…
No.1 George Herbert Walker Bush; No. 2 Bill O’Reilly; No. 3 Al Franken; No. 4 Robin Brooke; No. 5 Lester Beck; No. 6 Arnold Schwarzenegger; No. 7 Joe Biden
Yes of course. Clinton was the arch-groper, before the arrival of that alien life force that now pretends to be a president. Keep an eye out, my friend!
Deadbeat Dads
No. 5: This Old Etonian pig f***er treated his eight year old daughter with almost the same cavalier disregard as he treated the poor.
Its disclosure in the Sun newspaper has the potential to embarrass Cameron, coming on the day the government launched a fresh drive to tackle “problem families” who lead chaotic lives and cost taxpayers millions of pounds in policing and welfare costs.
Cameron and his wife Samantha only discovered their eldest child was missing when they returned to their official country residence, Chequers in Buckinghamshire, 40 miles northwest of London.
Working For Families is not included in the review and gets its own review.
Other members of the group will be announced before Christmas and will include a diverse range of tax and finance experts, Robertson said. Final recommendations are expected by February 2019, but significant changes would not come into force until the 2021 tax year – as promised on the election campaign.
Certain areas will be outside the group’s scope, including increasing income tax rates, the rate of GST, inheritance tax and changes that would apply to the family home or the land beneath it.
This is going to cost $4 million!
Reading the Herald article I reckon they could do it for the price of a single copy of the paper. All you would have to do is cut out Robertson’s instructions and hand them back to him. He has told them every thing the are to put in, or leave out, right there.
Meanwhile another $4,000,000.00 goes down the drain.
What the hell is the point if increasing income tax rates, GST rates, inheritance tax and land tax are out of scope? Those are exactly the things that need to change!
I’m a little…uneasy about all this. Do people get second chances or not, is he “allowed” to go back to his former occupation as others have and if not why not?
Is tv presenting a job or is it something exalted so is a privilege, if he was a storeperson or a builder or something else would people still care
Sure. I can’t imagine Himmler saying “Actually I feel pretty bad about the Holocaust now” and everyone saying “Oh, he’s sorry now, give him another chance.”
Veitch would be redeemable, but there are a few things involved in redemption. First up is remorse – Veitch has never shown any. If anything, he considers himself a constant victim of liberal virtue-signallers.
Next up is self-reflection and awareness of why people are angry about what you did. Veitch’s level of self-awareness is well illustrated by his tweet describing his new show as “hard-hitting.”
PR, the thing with domestic violence is they usually have been given many second chances. There’s usually been many more incidents before one gets the police involved.
If Veitch were working for some outfit in their media stable would Stuff have been so condemnatory? (Don’t for heaven’s sake suggest they wouldn’t take him on because they have ethics or morals.)
I don’t like him at all in his work. I do not like his style of person. He eminently suits the way the media operates in 2017.
For some to say he shouldn’t be given a platform though, he’s had a prominent radio platform for some years since his case. There is no reason if those protesting are to be consistent that the campaign against him cannot be taken to NZME.
Having said that, there are some who seemingly still wouldn’t be be satisfied even if he committed Hara-Kiri on the steps of Parliament.
At least Veitch can smile about the Veitch type hyperbole and ‘journalism’ from Kylie Klein Nixon on Stuff: “Do you know what it takes to break a human back? Apparently it’s roughly 4000 newtons, or enough force to bend a car door in half.”
She mightn’t have had much to do with others who’ve had bones broken in their backs but she sure listened to the advice about spicing up an article.
Well, yes, she could just have written “You have to kick someone pretty fucking hard to fracture their spine” instead, but I don’t think Veitchy comes out of that smelling any sweeter.
I stopped listening to radiosport when they re employed him with unseemly haste and advised SKY this morning I woukd cancel that subscription. Both stances are about the brushing aside of domestic violence cos sport is king and so forth
Media roles are public roles. These days, whether you’re a politician, sports player, or talking head, people look up to you. You set an example. It’s part of the job.
Part of Veitch’s problem is that he not only did a seriously bad thing, but he still really has no idea why it was bad and is completely tone deaf when it comes to his actions. See milt’s comment for what “redemption” can mean.
edit: the thing about media personalities is that they leverage their work off their image. So if they do something that screws with their image and then complain that they can’t get work, it’s like me downloading viruses onto my work computer and complaining that the thing is running slow.
You do not get to choose to be a role model. Children choose who they look up to based on many reasons from pleasing tgeir parents to marketing. So those who say “he shouldnt be a role model” educate yourselves. The reason media get inflated salaries is precisely because we have distorted views of them. It irks me when people say this shit.
If he was a builder would he have had access to the NZHerald pages to claim that he was actually the victim while not apologising for the harm that he had caused?
For me i think the issue is that he is in the public eye, a public figure, and a sporting figure. I feel that’s different from being say a tradesperson, who would not be in the public eye, won’t be on any billboards etc.
Yeah I think that’s my hang up about it all. Sounds a bit two faced, one law for public figures and another for everyone else, but it’s how I feel. Maybe because I see someone who is a public figure as a possible role model for others, a public representation of a companies brand etc. And maybe my feelings have a bit to do with the whole macho sports thing, which seems to be cropping up again and again of late.
Maybe I would feel different about it if he had say made an effort to acknowledge his wrong doings by speaking to kids about domestic violence, like doing a boys school road show etc. Doing something rather than donating $ etc.
I heard on the wireless that he didn’t even apologise to the lady whose back he broke.
Honestly have no clue where his political preferences sit.
I suppose you must have a job to do that takes up some of your time.
I think it would probably be a full time occupation trying to keep up a record of all the times they flip/flop on a pledge.
Fortunately my job does come with a computer but unfortunately they kind of expect me to produce work every now and then so i won’t be able to list all of the governments failings
Mostly because I work so I can’t really spend as much time as I’d like on here because as enjoyable as this is sometimes its not as enjoyable as getting paid
“Partnership with the private sector is one thing, but misleading the public about the ambition of the policy is another. Because the 50 million trees a year private industry currently plants is almost entirely replanting, replacing trees which they’ve already cut down. In other words, that’s just planting to stand still. Worse, the required replanting rate is going to soar over the next decade, as the forests that were planted in the 1990’s are harvested. If private industry wants to avoid deforesting land (and paying the carbon costs for doing so), it will probably end up planting that billion trees itself.”
“More”? I suppose that 1, if it eventually occurs, is “more” than 0.
Based on this case, it seems that your comment is interchangable with “Don’t worry I’m sure there will be lots more consistent policy commitments being reiterated and achieved by the government”.
Excellent grassroots, bottom up initiative and with ten thousand of these, or more, say one in every town and every city suburb, we will have the basis of a living country we can all be proud of. What about a series of articles put out on government media, and under the heading of Growth in Micro-business, and added to each time an authenticated, well-run, near target, or not for profit business is ready to be exhibited to encourage the others? We need a pragmatic but not capitalistic manager with flexibility to lead this. And don’t have it anywhere near Stuart Nash Minister of Small Business.
The couple are still together… these guys abused their positions as police officers ( so will lose their jobs?)? And only 1 family supported the actions?
Really? From a legal perspective I am surprised. Thought they had mitigation arguments for sentencing but cannot see how they are not guilty of charges?
Well I decided to change the water pump in my truck well had to the fan belts were squeaking that means the bearing are gone there was movement in the pump. I rang around and found the cheapest pump in Rotorua but when I went pick it up the price had gone up buy $60 so I brought it I tried to get the original price but the boy just would not budge he gave me a cheap price to get me into the shop and change the price this shop is across the road from Repco I’m not going there again Ka pai. Now you iwi with vehicles that’s has a 21st well you must change the oil every six months because the oil is like the blood of the motor even if the oil is full if you do not charge the oil the oil gets thick as sludge and makes your car use more fuel and over heat and the gaskets will dry out and leak oil should only cost $50 for a petrol car for oil and filter and use you tube to show you how to change the oil on the make of your car type in make and year and how to change oil and you are away it’s good you got YouTube I had to learn by trial and error blew up 2 cars before I figure that out you will save $50 on your fuel bill in one month. lol Ka pai
PS Google how to change air filter to but you just have to give this a bang and vacuum the dust out of it if you can not afford a new air filter and that will save you fuel and money Ka Pai
Like to be a fly on the wall at the upper level’s of both WorkSafe, and Whittal’s insurance company right now.
And why should parties who engage in illegal and /or corrupt practices to avoid prosecution not be held accountable for both the corrupt / illegal practice and the original unlawful activity?
On the basis that the suppression of the charges was illegally purchased, therefore shouldn’t count.
Although that opens up a further can of worms about “charges dropped – 5 years later SURPRISE! They’re back on!”
It would be poetic that anyone complicit in such a deal should face sentencing according to the likely sentences of the original charges, had they obtained a conviction.
edit: although being on the same side as James does give me pause for thought, lol
“It is accepted by them that orders to set aside the
decision to offer no evidence and to require the prosecution to proceed is no longer an
available option with the passage of time”
Translation: an insurance company can buy you out of a worksafe charge, appeal it through the entire court system, and by the time the transaction is overruled you get away with it.
Considering that does seem to be what happened then charges of corruption need to be laid.
Unfortunately, we probably don’t have such charges. The lack of such charges seems to be based on the but we’re the least corrupt country in the world argument.
The company let Whittal take the fall in return for the insurance payout and then he woukd never have to defend himself which woukd probably impact a Board member or more?
I think he should. The charges were dropped on the understanding that >$3 million dollars was going to be paid to the families. Immediately after the charges were dropped the company would up and no payment was made.
And that >$3 million plus interest should now come directly out of his pocket.
Yeah, it was. I quickly read in an article this morning that they’d received no payment but that must have been the company that hadn’t paid because it got folded up before hand.
Are you actually claiming that no payment was ever made?
If that is what you mean do you have any evidence for that claim?
It wasn’t the mine owners who were supposed to be paying, and who were the company that was wound up.
It was their Insurance company.
The decision makes an interesting read. Examining the machinations required to make the illegal appear legal is truly fascinating.
I’m not overly impressed that… “Further legal advice was then taken from in-house counsel, as well from Mr Stanaway and Crown Law, although privilege in the advice was not waived and details are not before the Court.”
You’d think that under the circumstances, some pressure would be brought to bear to waive such privilege…..
The Marlborough Wairau plain sank a metre in the 1848 earthquake allowing vessels to ply the Opawa river to the site where Blenheim now stands. So both land movement and sea level change is possible, up or down. I understand that northern Europe is rising in reaction to the Ice Age being no more in a phenomenon called glacial rebound. ( Not that I’m trying to deny climate change).
Kiribati is a coral based island group I think and susceptible to undersea erosion. But still it doesn’t really matter to the people, as wet feet are very real and the future is grim. Considering the relatively tiny population it should be possible to rehouse in places like NZ.
ya think?…Christchurch cant manage to rehouse a few 10s of people in Southshore post quake…how will we deal with the likes of South Dunedin (i.e)?….the public and political will is not there….”Im alright Jack” exemplified
p.s on rereading i realise i have misinterpreted your post but will keep the post as the question is still valid
Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: My top six things to note around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the week to July 27 were:1. The Minister for Ford Rangers strikes againTransport Minister Simeon Brown was again the busiest of the Cabinet ministers this week, announcing an ...
You got a fast carAnd I want a ticket to anywhereMaybe we make a dealMaybe together we can get somewhereAny place is betterYesterday’s newsletter, Trust In Me, on the report of abuse in state care, and by religious organisations, between 1950 and 2019, coupled with the hypocrisy of Christopher Luxon ...
New Zealand is again having to reconcile conflicting pressures from its military and its trade interests. Should we join Pillar Two of AUKUS and risk compromising our markets in China? For a century after New Zealand was founded in 1840, its external security arrangements and external economics arrangements were aligned. ...
The ‘50 Shades of Green’ farmers’ protest in 2019 was heavy on climate change denial, but five years on, scepticism and criticism about the idea that pine forests can save us is growing across the board. File photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: Here’s the top six news items of note in climate ...
This morning the sky was bright.The birds, in their usual joyous bliss. Nature doesn’t seem to feel the heat of what might angst humans.Their calls are clear and beautiful.Just some random thoughts:MāoriPaul Goldsmith has announced his government will roll back the judiciary’s rulings on Māori Customary Marine Title, which recognises ...
In 2003, the Court of Appeal delivered its decision in Ngati Apa v Attorney-General, ruling that Māori customary title over the foreshore and seabed had not been universally extinguished, and that the Māori Land Court could determine claims and confirm title if the facts supported it. This kicked off the ...
Earlier this week at Parliament, Labour leader Chris Hipkins was applauded for saying that the response to the final report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care had to be “bigger than politics.” True, but the fine words, apologies and “we hear you” messages will soon ring ...
TL;DR: In news breaking this morning:The Ministry of Education is cutting $2 billion from its school building programme so the National-ACT-NZ First Coalition Government has enough money to deliver tax cuts; The Government has quietly lowered its child poverty reduction targets to make them easier to achieve;Te Whatu Ora-Health NZ’s ...
Kia ora. These are some stories that caught our eye this week – as always, feel free to share yours in the comments. Our header image this week (via Eke Panuku) shows the planned upgrade for the Karanga Plaza Tidal Swimming Steps. The week in Greater Auckland On ...
1. What's not to love about the way the Harris campaign is turning things around?a. Nothingb. Love all of itc. God what a reliefd. Not that it will be by any means easye. All of the above 2. Documents released by the Ministry of Health show Associate Health Minister Casey ...
Trust in me in all you doHave the faith I have in youLove will see us through, if only you trust in meWhy don't you, you trust me?In a week that saw the release of the 3,000 page Abuse in Care report Christopher Luxon was being asked about Boot Camps. ...
TL;DR: The podcast above of the weekly ‘hoon’ webinar for paying subscribers last night features co-hosts and talking about the Royal Commission Inquiry into Abuse in Carereport released this week, and with:The Kākā’s climate correspondent on a UN push to not recognise carbon offset markets and ...
TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Friday, July 26, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:Transport: Simeon Brown announced$802.9 million in funding for 18 new trains on the Wairarapa and Manawatū rail lines, which ...
The northern expressway extension from Warkworth to Whangarei is likely to require radical changes to legislation if it is going to be built within the foreseeable future. The Government’s powers to purchase land, the planning process and current restrictions on road tolling are all going to need to be changed ...
Text within this block will maintain its original spacing when publishedFirst they came for the doctors But I was confused by the numbers and costs So I didn't speak up Then they came for our police and nurses And I didn't think we could afford those costs anyway So I ...
Photo by Joshua J. Cotten on UnsplashWe’re back again after our mid-winter break. We’re still with the ‘new’ day of the week (Thursday rather than Friday) when we have our ‘hoon’ webinar with paying subscribers to The Kākā for an hour at 5 pm.Jump on this link on YouTube Livestream ...
Notes: This is a free article. Abuse in Care themes are mentioned. Video is at the bottom.BackgroundYesterday’s report into Abuse in Care revealed that at least 1 in 3 of all who went through state and faith based care were abused - often horrifically. At least, because not all survivors ...
Luxon speaks in Parliament yesterday about the Abuse in Care report. Photo: Hagen Hopkins/Getty ImagesTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy today are:PM Christopher Luxon said yesterday in tabling the Abuse in Carereport in Parliament he wanted to ‘do the ...
About a decade ago I worked with a bloke called Steve. He was the grizzled veteran coder, a few years older than me, who knew where the bodies were buried - code wise. Despite his best efforts to be approachable and friendly he could be kind of gruff, through to ...
Some of the recent announcements from the government have reminded us of posts we’ve written in the past. Here’s one from early 2020. There were plenty of reactions to the government’s infrastructure announcement a few weeks ago which saw them fund a bunch of big roading projects. One of ...
TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:00 am on Thursday, July 25 are:News: Why Electric Kiwi is closing to new customers - and why it matters RNZ’s Susan EdmundsScoop: Government drops ...
Hi,I felt a small wet tongue snaking through one of the holes in my Crocs. It explored my big toe, darting down one side, then the other. “He’s looking for some toe cheese,” said the woman next to me, words that still haunt me to this day.Growing up in New ...
Yesterday I happily quoted the Prime Minister without fact-checking him and sure enough, it turns out his numbers were all to hell. It’s not four kg of Royal Commission report, it’s fourteen.My friend and one-time colleague-in-comms Hazel Phillips gently alerted me to my error almost as soon as I’d hit ...
TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Thursday, July 25, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day were:The Abuse in Care Royal Commission of Inquirypublished its final report yesterday.PM Christopher Luxon and The Minister responsible for ...
The Official Information Act has always been a battle between requesters seeking information, and governments seeking to control it. Information is power, so Ministers and government agencies want to manage what is released and when, for their own convenience, and legality and democracy be damned. Their most recent tactic for ...
TL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy today are:Transport and Energy Minister Simeon Brown is accelerating plans to spend at least $10 billion through Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) to extend State Highway One as a four-lane ‘Expressway’ from Warkworth to Whangarei ...
I live my life (woo-ooh-ooh)With no control in my destinyYea-yeah, yea-yeah (woo-ooh-ooh)I can bleed when I want to bleedSo come on, come on (woo-ooh-ooh)You can bleed when you want to bleedYea-yeah, come on (woo-ooh-ooh)Everybody bleed when they want to bleedCome on and bleedGovernments face tough challenges. Selling unpopular decisions to ...
Please note:To skip directly to the- parliamentary footage in the video, scroll to 1:21 To skip to audio please click on the headphone iconon the left hand side of the screenThis video / audio section is under development. ...
Given the crackdown on wasteful government spending, it behooves me to point to a high profile example of spending by the Luxon government that looks like a big, fat waste of time and money. I’m talking about the deployment of NZDF personnel to support the US-led coalition in the Red ...
TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:40 am on Wednesday, July 24 are:Deep Dive: Chipping away at the housing crisis, including my comments RNZ/Newsroom’s The DetailNews: Government softens on asset sales, ...
As I reported about the city centre, Auckland’s rail network is also going through a difficult and disruptive period which is rapidly approaching a culmination, this will result in a significant upgrade to the whole network. Hallelujah. Also like the city centre this is an upgrade predicated on the City ...
Today, a 4 kilogram report will be delivered to Parliament. We know this is what the report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in State and Faith-based Care weighs, because our Prime Minister told us so.Some reporter had blindsided him by asking a question about something done by ...
TL;DR: As of 7:00 am on Wednesday, July 24, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:Beehive:Transport Minister Simeon Brownannounced plans to use PPPs to fund, build and run a four-lane expressway between Auckland ...
NewstalkZB host Mike Hosking, who can usually be relied on to give Prime Minister Christopher Luxon an easy run, did not do so yesterday when he interviewed him about the HealthNZ deficit. Luxon is trying to use a deficit reported last year by HealthNZ as yet another example of the ...
Back in January a StatsNZ employee gave a speech at Rātana on behalf of tangata whenua in which he insulted and criticised the government. The speech clearly violated the principle of a neutral public service, and StatsNZ started an investigation. Part of that was getting an external consultant to examine ...
Renting for life: Shared ownership initiatives are unlikely to slow the slide in home ownership by much. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy today are:A Deloittereport for Westpac has projected Aotearoa’s home-ownership rate will ...
You're broken down and tiredOf living life on a merry go roundAnd you can't find the fighterBut I see it in you so we gonna walk it outAnd move mountainsWe gonna walk it outAnd move mountainsAnd I'll rise upI'll rise like the dayI'll rise upI'll rise unafraidI'll rise upAnd I'll ...
There’s been a change in Myers Park. Down the steps from St. Kevin’s Arcade, past the grassy slopes, the children’s playground, the benches and that goat statue, there has been a transformation. The underpass for Mayoral Drive has gone from a barren, grey, concrete tunnel, to a place that thrums ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections Global society may have finally slammed on the brakes for climate-warming pollution released by human fossil fuel combustion. According to the Carbon Monitor Project, the total global climate pollution released between February and May 2024 declined slightly from the amount released during the same ...
TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:00 am on Tuesday, July 23 are:Deep Dive: Penlink: where tolling rhetoric meets reality BusinessDesk-$$$’sOliver LewisScoop:Te Pūkenga plans for regional polytechs leak out ...
TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Tuesday, July 23, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:Health: Shane Reti announcedthe Board of Te Whatu Ora-Health New Zealand was being replaced with Commissioner Lester Levy ...
Health NZ warned the Government at the end of March that it was running over Budget. But the reasons it gave were very different to those offered by the Prime Minister yesterday. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon blamed the “botched merger” of the 20 District Health Boards (DHBs) to create Health ...
Long ReadKey Summary: Although National increased the health budget by $1.4 billion in May, they used an old funding model to project health system costs, and never bothered to update their pre-election numbers. They were told during the Health Select Committees earlier in the year their budget amount was deficient, ...
As a momentous, historic weekend in US politics unfolded, analysts and commentators grasped for precedents and comparisons to help explain the significance and power of the choice Joe Biden had made. The 46th president had swept the Democratic party’s primaries but just over 100 days from the election had chosen ...
TL;DR: I’m casting around for new ideas and ways of thinking about Aotearoa’s political economy to find a few solutions to our cascading and self-reinforcing housing, poverty and climate crises.Associate Professor runs an online masters degree in the economics of sustainability at Torrens University in Australia and is organising ...
The Finance and Expenditure Committee has reported back on National's Local Government (Water Services Preliminary Arrangements) Bill. The bill sets up water for privatisation, and was introduced under urgency, then rammed through select committee with no time even for local councils to make a proper submission. Naturally, national's select committee ...
Some years ago, I bought a book at Dunedin’s Regent Booksale for $1.50. As one does. Vandrad the Viking (1898), by J. Storer Clouston, is an obscure book these days – I cannot find a proper online review – but soon it was sitting on my shelf, gathering dust alongside ...
History is not on the side of the centre-left, when Democratic presidents fall behind in the polls and choose not to run for re-election. On both previous occasions in the past 75 years (Harry Truman in 1952, Lyndon Johnson in 1968) the Democrats proceeded to then lose the White House ...
This is a free articleCoverageThis morning, US President Joe Biden announced his withdrawal from the Presidential race. And that is genuinely newsworthy. Thanks for your service, President Biden, and all the best to you and yours.However, the media in New Zealand, particularly the 1News nightly bulletin, has been breathlessly covering ...
A homeless person’s camp beside a blocked-off slipped damage walkway in Freeman’s Bay: we are chasing our tail on our worsening and inter-related housing, poverty and climate crises. Photo: Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy ...
What has happened to it all?Crazy, some'd sayWhere is the life that I recognise?(Gone away)But I won't cry for yesterdayThere's an ordinary worldSomehow I have to findAnd as I try to make my wayTo the ordinary worldYesterday morning began as many others - what to write about today? I began ...
TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:00 am on Monday, July 22 are:Today’s Must Read: Father and son live in a tent, and have done for four years, in a million ...
TL;DR: As of 7:00 am on Monday, July 22, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:US President Joe Biden announced via X this morning he would not stand for a second term.Multinational professional services firm ...
A listing of 32 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, July 14, 2024 thru Sat, July 20, 2024. Story of the week As reflected by preponderance of coverage, our Story of the Week is Project 2025. Until now traveling ...
This weekend, a friend pointed out someone who said they’d like to read my posts, but didn’t want to pay. And my first reaction was sympathy.I’ve already told folks that if they can’t comfortably subscribe, and would like to read, I’d be happy to offer free subscriptions. I don’t want ...
National: The Party of ‘Law and Order’ IntroductionThis weekend, the Government formally kicked off one of their flagship policy programs: a military style boot camp that New Zealand has experimented with over the past 50 years. Cartoon credit: Guy BodyIt’s very popular with the National Party’s Law and Orderimage, ...
Day one of the solo leg of my long journey home begins with my favourite sound: footfalls in an empty street. 5.00 am and it’s already light and already too warm, almost.If I can make the train that leaves Budapest later this hour I could be in Belgrade by nightfall; ...
Do you remember Y2K, the threat that hung over humanity in the closing days of the twentieth century? Horror scenarios of planes falling from the sky, electronic payments failing and ATMs refusing to dispense cash. As for your VCR following instructions and recording your favourite show - forget about it.All ...
Climate Change Minister Simon Watts being questioned by The Kākā’s Bernard Hickey.TL;DR: My top six things to note around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the week to July 20 were:1. A strategy that fails Zero Carbon Act & Paris targetsThe National-ACT-NZ First Coalition Government finally unveiled ...
Summary:As New Zealand loses at least 12 leaders in the public service space of health, climate, and pharmaceuticals, this month alone, directly in response to the Government’s policies and budget choices, what lies ahead may be darker than it appears. Tui examines some of those departures and draws a long ...
The Minister of Housing’s ambition is to reduce markedly the ratio of house prices to household incomes. If his strategy works it would transform the housing market, dramatically changing the prospects of housing as an investment.Leaving aside the Minister’s metaphor of ‘flooding the market’ I do not see how the ...
As previously noted, my historical fantasy piece, set in the fifth-century Mediterranean, was accepted for a Pirate Horror anthology, only for the anthology to later fall through. But in a good bit of news, it turned out that the story could indeed be re-marketed as sword and sorcery. As of ...
An employee of tobacco company Philip Morris International demonstrates a heated tobacco device. Photo: Getty ImagesTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy on Friday, July 19 are:At a time when the Coalition Government is cutting spending on health, infrastructure, education, housing ...
TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 8:30 am on Friday, July 19 are:Scoop: NZ First Minister Casey Costello orders 50% cut to excise tax on heated tobacco products. The minister has ...
Kia ora, it’s time for another Friday roundup, in which we pull together some of the links and stories that caught our eye this week. Feel free to add more in the comments! Our header image this week shows a foggy day in Auckland town, captured by Patrick Reynolds. ...
TL;DR : Here’s the top six items climate news for Aotearoa this week, as selected by Bernard Hickey and The Kākā’s climate correspondent Cathrine Dyer. A discussion recorded yesterday is in the video above and the audio of that sent onto the podcast feed.The Government released its draft Emissions Reduction ...
Save some money, get rich and old, bring it back to Tobacco Road.Bring that dynamite and a crane, blow it up, start all over again.Roll up. Roll up. Or tailor made, if you prefer...Whether you’re selling ciggies, digging for gold, catching dolphins in your nets, or encouraging folks to flutter ...
Waiting In The Wings:For truly, if Trump is America’s un-assassinated Caesar, then J.D. Vance is America’s Octavian, the Republic’s youthful undertaker – and its first Emperor.DONALD TRUMP’S SELECTION of James D. Vance as his running-mate bodes ill for the American republic. A fervent supporter of Viktor Orban, the “illiberal” prime ...
TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Friday, July 19, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:The PSAannounced the Employment Relations Authority (ERA) had ruled in the PSA’s favour in its case against the Ministry ...
Te Rangi e tu nei (The sky above us) Te Papa e takoto nei (The land beneath us) Tatou katoa te hunga ora (To us all the living) Tena koutou katoa (Greetings) ...
A late change to charter school legislation will cheat educators out of fair pay and negotiating power proving charter schools are just a vehicle to make profit out of our education system. ...
In 2004 te iwi Māori rallied against the Crown’s attempt to confiscate our coastlines and moana with the Foreshore and Seabed Act. This led to the largest hīkoi of a generation and the birth of Te Pāti Māori. 20 years later, history is repeating itself. Today the government has announced ...
It has been five and a half years since the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care was established to investigate the abuse of children, young people, and vulnerable adults within state and faith-based institutions. Yesterday, the final report - Whanaketia through pain and trauma, from darkness to light ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to take action off the back of the International Court of Justice ruling on Israel’s illegal occupation of Palestine. ...
On Friday the International Court of Justice reaffirmed what Palestinian’s have been telling us for decades: that the occupation and colonisation of Palestinian lands by Israel is illegal and must end immediately. They also called for reparations for Palestinian’s who have lived under Israeli occupation since it began in 1967. ...
Labour calls on the Government to act after the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled that Israel’s occupation of Palestinian Territories is illegal. ...
The 53.7 percent rise in benefit sanctions over the last year is more proof of this Government’s disdain for our communities most in need of support. ...
Aotearoa could be a country where every child grows up feeling safe, loved and with a sense of belonging in their whānau and community. But for some of our children, this is far from reality. Instead, they are trapped in a maze of intergenerational harm that they can’t escape on ...
Te Pāti Māori are calling for David Seymour to resign as Associate Health Minister in response to his call for Pharmac to ignore the Treaty of Waitangi. “This announcement is just another example of the government’s anti-Tiriti, anti-Māori agenda.” Said Co-leader and spokesperson for health, Debbie Ngarewa-Packer. “Seymour thinks it ...
The soaring price of renting is driving the rise of inflation in this country - with latest figures from Stats NZ showing rents are up 4.8 per cent on average while annual inflation is at 3.3 per cent. ...
National’s Emissions Reduction Plan will take New Zealand further from the economy we need to ensure the next generation has a stable climate and secure livelihoods. ...
Following consultation with named parties and thorough consideration of privacy interests, the Green Party is in a position to release the Executive Summary of the final report from the independent investigation into Darleen Tana. ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon should be asking serious questions of his Minister for Resources Shane Jones now it’s been revealed he misled the public about a dinner with mining companies that he didn’t declare and said wasn’t pre-arranged. ...
Te Pāti Māori have submitted to the Justice Select Committee against the Sentencing (Reinstating Three Strikes) Amendment Bill. The bill will further entrench racism in our justice system and fails to focus on rehabilitation. “Reinstating Three Strikes will empower a systematically racist system and exacerbate the overrepresentation of Māori in ...
The Transport and Infrastructure Committee is set to make a determination on the Residential Tenancies Amendment (RTA) Bill in the coming weeks. “This legislation will give landlords the power to kick our whānau out onto the street for no reason” said Housing spokesperson, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi. “Their solution to the housing ...
“National’s campaign was about tackling crime and the best they can do is a two-year long Ministerial Advisory Group,” Labour justice spokesperson Duncan Webb said. ...
“There are more examples of charter schools failing their students than there are success stories. The coalition Government is driving to dismantle our public school system and instead promote a privatised, competitive structure that puts profits before kids,” Jan Tinetti said. ...
“This government is choosing to deliberately mislead and withhold information, keeping our people in the dark about this government’s agenda and the future of our mokopuna,” said co-leader and spokesperson for Health, Debbie Ngarewa-Packer. The call comes after the demand from the Chief Ombudsman that Associate Minister of Health, Casey ...
“Today’s climate announcement by Simon Watts makes clear the National Government is simply paying lip service to meeting its climate change targets,” Megan Woods said. ...
National is choosing to make life harder for workers by taking away the rights our communities have fought hard for. Here's how they’re taking workers backwards. ...
Australia, Canada and New Zealand today issued the following statement on the need for an urgent ceasefire in Gaza and the risk of expanded conflict between Hizballah and Israel. The situation in Gaza is catastrophic. The human suffering is unacceptable. It cannot continue. We remain unequivocal in our condemnation of ...
Attorney-General Judith Collins today reminded all State and faith-based institutions of their legal obligation to preserve records relevant to the safety and wellbeing of those in its care. “The Abuse in Care Inquiry’s report has found cases where records of the most vulnerable people in State and faith‑based institutions were ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says the Government’s online safety website for children and young people has reached one million page views. “It is great to see so many young people and their families accessing the site Keep It Real Online to learn how to stay safe online, and manage ...
Tēnā tātou katoa, Ngā mihi te rangi, ngā mihi te whenua, ngā mihi ki a koutou, kia ora mai koutou. Thank you for the opportunity to be here and the invitation to speak at this 50th anniversary conference. I acknowledge all those who have gone before us and paved the ...
New Zealand’s payroll providers have successfully prepared to ensure 3.5 million individuals will, from Wednesday next week, be able to keep more of what they earn each pay, says Finance Minister Nicola Willis and Revenue Minister Simon Watts. “The Government's tax policy changes are legally effective from Wednesday. Delivering this tax ...
An experimental vineyard which will help futureproof the wine sector has been opened in Blenheim by Associate Regional Development Minister Mark Patterson. The covered vineyard, based at the New Zealand Wine Centre – Te Pokapū Wāina o Aotearoa, enables controlled environmental conditions. “The research that will be produced at the Experimental ...
The Coalition Government has confirmed the indicative regional breakdown of North Island Weather Event (NIWE) funding for state highway recovery projects funded through Budget 2024, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Regions in the North Island suffered extensive and devastating damage from Cyclone Gabrielle and the 2023 Auckland Anniversary Floods, and ...
Indonesia’s Foreign Minister, Retno Marsudi, will visit New Zealand next week, Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced. “Indonesia is important to New Zealand’s security and economic interests and is our closest South East Asian neighbour,” says Mr Peters, who is currently in Laos to engage with South East Asian partners. ...
He aha te kai a te rangatira? He kōrero, he kōrero, he kōrero. The government has reaffirmed its commitment to supporting the aspirations of Ngāti Maniapoto, Minister for Māori Development Tama Potaka says. “My thanks to Te Nehenehenui Trust – Ngāti Maniapoto for bringing their important kōrero to a ministerial ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has thanked outgoing Chair of the Civil Aviation Authority, Janice Fredric, for her service to the board.“I have received Ms Fredric’s resignation from the role of Chair of the Civil Aviation Authority,” Mr Brown says.“On behalf of the Government, I want to thank Ms Fredric for ...
The Government is proposing legislation to overturn a Court of Appeal decision and amend the Marine and Coastal Area Act in order to restore Parliament’s test for Customary Marine Title, Treaty Negotiations Minister Paul Goldsmith says. “Section 58 required an applicant group to prove they have exclusively used and occupied ...
Regulation Minister David Seymour says that opposition parties have united in bad faith, opposing what they claim are ‘dangerous changes’ to the Early Childhood Education sector, despite no changes even being proposed yet. “Issues with affordability and availability of early childhood education, and the complexity of its regulation, has led ...
After receiving more than 740 submissions in the first 20 days, Regulation Minister David Seymour is asking the Ministry for Regulation to extend engagement on the early childhood education regulation review by an extra two weeks. “The level of interest has been very high, and from the conversations I’ve been ...
The Coalition Government is investing $802.9 million into the Wairarapa and Manawatū rail lines as part of a funding agreement with the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA), KiwiRail, and the Greater Wellington and Horizons Regional Councils to deliver more reliable services for commuters in the lower North Island, Transport Minister Simeon ...
Local Government Minister Simeon Brown has announced his intention to appoint a Crown Manager to both Hawke’s Bay Regional and Wairoa District Councils to speed up the delivery of flood protection work in Wairoa."Recent severe weather events in Wairoa this year, combined with damage from Cyclone Gabrielle in 2023 have ...
Mr Speaker, this is a day that many New Zealanders who were abused in State care never thought would come. It’s the day that this Parliament accepts, with deep sorrow and regret, the Report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care. At the heart of this report are the ...
For the first time, the Government is formally acknowledging some children and young people at Lake Alice Psychiatric Hospital experienced torture. The final report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in State and Faith-based Care “Whanaketia – through pain and trauma, from darkness to light,” was tabled in Parliament ...
The Government has acknowledged the nearly 2,400 courageous survivors who shared their experiences during the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Historical Abuse in State and Faith-Based Care. The final report from the largest and most complex public inquiry ever held in New Zealand, the Royal Commission Inquiry “Whanaketia – through ...
With a week to go before hard-working New Zealanders see personal income tax relief for the first time in fourteen years, 513,000 people have used the Budget tax calculator to see how much they will benefit, says Finance Minister Nicola Willis. “Tax relief is long overdue. From next Wednesday, personal income ...
Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden says a bill that has passed its first reading will improve parental leave settings and give non-biological parents more flexibility as primary carer for their child. The Regulatory Systems Amendment Bill (No3), passed its first reading this morning. “It includes a change ...
Two Bills designed to improve regulation and make it easier to do business have passed their first reading in Parliament, says Economic Development Minister Melissa Lee. The Regulatory Systems (Economic Development) Amendment Bill and Regulatory Systems (Immigration and Workforce) Amendment Bill make key changes to legislation administered by the Ministry ...
New legislation paves the way for greater competition in sectors such as banking and electricity, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly says. “Competitive markets boost productivity, create employment opportunities and lift living standards. To support competition, we need good quality regulation but, unfortunately, a recent OECD report ranked New ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says lotteries for charitable purposes, such as those run by the Heart Foundation, Coastguard NZ, and local hospices, will soon be allowed to operate online permanently. “Under current laws, these fundraising lotteries are only allowed to operate online until October 2024, after which ...
The Coalition Government is accelerating work on the new four-lane expressway between Auckland and Whangārei as part of its Roads of National Significance programme, with an accelerated delivery model to deliver this project faster and more efficiently, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “For too long, the lack of resilient transport connections ...
Sir Don McKinnon will travel to Viet Nam this week as a Special Envoy of the Government, Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced. “It is important that the Government give due recognition to the significant contributions that General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong made to New Zealand-Viet Nam relations,” Mr ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says newly appointed Commissioner, Grant Illingworth KC, will help deliver the report for the first phase of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into COVID-19 Lessons, due on 28 November 2024. “I am pleased to announce that Mr Illingworth will commence his appointment as ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters travels to Laos this week to participate in a series of Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)-led Ministerial meetings in Vientiane. “ASEAN plays an important role in supporting a peaceful, stable and prosperous Indo-Pacific,” Mr Peters says. “This will be our third visit to ...
Construction of a new mental health facility at Te Nikau Grey Hospital in Greymouth is today one step closer, Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey says. “This $27 million facility shows this Government is delivering on its promise to boost mental health care and improve front line services,” Mr Doocey says. ...
New Zealand is committing nearly $50 million to a package supporting sustainable Pacific fisheries development over the next four years, Foreign Minister Winston Peters and Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones announced today. “This support consisting of a range of initiatives demonstrates New Zealand’s commitment to assisting our Pacific partners ...
Associate Education Minister David Seymour says proposed changes to the Education and Training Amendment Bill will ensure charter schools have more flexibility to negotiate employment agreements and are equipped with the right teaching resources. “Cabinet has agreed to progress an amendment which means unions will not be able to initiate ...
In response to serious concerns around oversight, overspend and a significant deterioration in financial outlook, the Board of Health New Zealand will be replaced with a Commissioner, Health Minister Dr Shane Reti announced today. “The previous government’s botched health reforms have created significant financial challenges at Health NZ that, without ...
Minister for Space and Science, Innovation and Technology Judith Collins will travel to Adelaide tomorrow for space and science engagements, including speaking at the Australian Space Forum. While there she will also have meetings and visits with a focus on space, biotechnology and innovation. “New Zealand has a thriving space ...
Climate Change Minister Simon Watts will travel to China on Saturday to attend the Ministerial on Climate Action meeting held in Wuhan. “Attending the Ministerial on Climate Action is an opportunity to advocate for New Zealand climate priorities and engage with our key partners on climate action,” Mr Watts says. ...
Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones is travelling to the Solomon Islands tomorrow for meetings with his counterparts from around the Pacific supporting collective management of the region’s fisheries. The 23rd Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Committee and the 5th Regional Fisheries Ministers’ Meeting in Honiara from 23 to 26 July ...
The Government today launched the Military Style Academy Pilot at Te Au rere a te Tonga Youth Justice residence in Palmerston North, an important part of the Government’s plan to crackdown on youth crime and getting youth offenders back on track, Minister for Children, Karen Chhour said today. “On the ...
The Government has welcomed news the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) has begun work to replace nine priority bridges across the country to ensure our state highway network remains resilient, reliable, and efficient for road users, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says.“Increasing productivity and economic growth is a key priority for the ...
Acting Prime Minister David Seymour has been in contact throughout the evening with senior officials who have coordinated a whole of government response to the global IT outage and can provide an update. The Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet has designated the National Emergency Management Agency as the ...
New Zealand and Japan will continue to step up their shared engagement with the Pacific, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “New Zealand and Japan have a strong, shared interest in a free, open and stable Pacific Islands region,” Mr Peters says. “We are pleased to be finding more ways ...
New developments in the heart of North Island forestry country will reinvigorate their communities and boost economic development, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones visited Kaingaroa and Kawerau in Bay of Plenty today to open a landmark community centre in the former and a new connecting road in ...
President Adeang, fellow Ministers, honourable Diet Member Horii, Ambassadors, distinguished guests. Minasama, konnichiwa, and good afternoon, everyone. Distinguished guests, it’s a pleasure to be here with you today to talk about New Zealand’s foreign policy reset, the reasons for it, the values that underpin it, and how it ...
Last summer when Matairangi burned, Ginny and Tom stood at the window of their lounge, watching kākā shoot skyward from the burning trees. From the distance, they looked to Ginny like pages torn from books and thrown into a bonfire. It was Tom, voice tight, who told her it was ...
Opinion: The Canadian short story writer Alice Munro – winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2013 – died in May at the age of 92. Her work was about “the damage people inflict on one another in the name of love”, Deborah Treisman wrote in the New Yorker. ...
This month marks two years since the most powerful telescope ever built sent its first pictures back to earth. From its lofty vantage point, beyond the moon in orbit around the sun, the James Webb Space Telescope was tuned to observe the first stars and galaxies being born soon after ...
Comment: After Climate Change Minister Simon Watts’ preview several weeks ago, I had some optimism about the Government’s emissions reduction plan. Now I’ve read the discussion document, that hope has been dashed. How can the Government propose a plan that wants to take New Zealand taxpayers’ hard-earned money, and spend ...
Christopher Luxon: hurdles The little man from National jumps hurdles in his sleep. He’s quite good at it in his dreams and even though the reality doesn’t quite match up you have to give him credit for getting up every morning and crashing into the very first hurdle of the ...
Comment: It was a good two hours into the conversation when Tyrone Marks raised the most basic of questions when I first spoke to him in 2017. “They didn’t explain the things they did to me. They never told me why. And they still haven’t. There’s no explanation for it. ...
Madeleine Chapman rounds out Death Week on The Spinoff with a final recommendation. You can read all of our Death Week coverage here. Nothing forces you to reflect on your life and relationships quite like proximity to death. For those whose nearest and dearest have died, there are reasonably obvious ...
Whitney Greene takes us through her life in television, including the TV character she’d like to plan a funeral for and her cow lung catastrophe on The Traitors NZ. “If the phone rings, I have to answer it,” Whitney Greene from The Traitors NZ warns as we begin our My ...
Maddie Ballard reviews the debut essay collection of Pōneke writer Flora Feltham.In ‘The Raw Material’, the longest essay in Flora Feltham’s dazzling debut collection, the author heads out for a run after hours of weaving and sees the world turn to textile. “Pounding along the Parade, I saw the ...
Andy Christiansen, one half of the experimental rock-pop duo TRiPS, shares the tunes inspiring the band’s perfect weekend and new release. “Good speakers, good food, good music, no distractions”: that’s all you need to enjoy the psychedelic stylings of TRiPS, a new band formed by Fly My Pretties’ Barnaby Weir ...
Celebrating our quadrennial opportunity to become experts in a bunch of sports we never normally watch.The games of the XXXIII Olympiad are upon us. Paris will host this year’s showcase of sporting and athletic prowess, which means some late-night and early-morning viewing for us in Aotearoa.But what sports ...
The photograph is striking and beautiful, but also disturbing – a reminder that my love for John was often entangled in shame.The Sunday Essay is made possible thanks to the support of Creative New Zealand.In the spring of 1980, in Dunedin, shortly before his death, someone took a photograph ...
Get to know Babushka, our latest Dog of the Month. This feature was offered as a reward during our What’s Eating Aotearoa PledgeMe campaign. Thank you to Babu’s humans, Jo and Isabel, for their support. Dog name: Babushka (Babu for short) Age: 2Breed: Border Collie X poodleIf rescued, ...
Pacific Media Watch A Lebanese photojournalist who was severely wounded during an Israeli air strike in south Lebanon carried the Olympic torch in Paris this week in honour of her peers who have been wounded and killed in the field — especially in Gaza and Lebanon. Christina Assi of Agence ...
The first report in a five-part web series focused on the 15th Triennial Conference of Pacific Women taking place in the Marshall Islands this week.SPECIAL REPORT:By Netani Rika in Majuro Women continue to fight for justice 70 years after the first nuclear tests by the United States caused ...
Christopher Luxon has joined with Australia and Canada's leaders in voicing support for US President Joe Biden's ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra The 2022 election brought the “teal wave” into parliament. The next election will test whether teals, who occupy what were Liberal seats, and other independents can maintain their momentum. Joining us on the Podcast ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ian Musgrave, Senior lecturer in Pharmacology, University of Adelaide Pixavri/Shutterstock A major Federal Court class action has been dismissed this week after Justice Michael Lee ruled there was not enough evidence to prove the weedkiller Roundup causes cancer. Plaintiff Kelvin ...
In The Week in Politics: politicians have to decide what to do about child abuse, Health NZ is booked in for major surgery and Darleen Tana returns. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Clare Corbould, Associate Professor, Contemporary Histories Research Group, Deakin University Mainstream media are surprisingly muted at the prospect of the world’s most powerful nation being led for the first time by a woman – specifically a woman of colour, Vice President Kamala ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rebecca Bennett, PhD Student, Associate Research Fellow, Deakin University Last week, a drone delivery company called Wing (owned by Google’s parent company, Alphabet) started operating in Melbourne. Some 250,000 residents in parts of the city’s eastern suburbs can now order food from ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jonathan Foo, Lecturer, Physiotherapy, Monash University pikselstock/Shutterstock In the next 40 years in Australia, it’s predicted the number of Australians aged 65 and over will more than double, while the number of people aged 85 and over will more than triple. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Katrina Grant, Research Associate, Power Institute for Arts and Visual Culture, University of Sydney Jonas Åkerström’s 1790 work, Session of the Accademia dell’Arcadia on August 17 1788.Nationalmuseum/Cecilia Heisser Ever wondered whether you’d have a better chance at winning an Olympic gold ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alexandra Jones, Program Lead, Food Governance, George Institute for Global Health wavebreakmedia/Shutterstock On Thursday, Australian and New Zealand food ministers at state, federal and national levels met to thrash out what’s next for health star ratings on packaged foods. Now, after ...
The Abuse in Care report found many Pacific survivors lost their connections to their culture and language, resulting in trauma that has been carried from generation to generation. ...
In the regulatory review, ECC intends to suggest that ERO focus on curriculum delivery reviews rather than the Ministry, because it’s not efficient or effective to have two agencies with radically different approaches climbing over each other. ...
Te Rūnanga Nui o Ngā Kura Kaupapa Māori invites the current government to work in partnership with them to develop a pathway forward, including the development of a parallel pathway and meaningful policy and strategy for Kura Kaupapa Māori ...
If you haven’t started watching yet, Tara Ward begs you to reconsider. This is an excerpt from our weekly pop culture newsletter Rec Room. Sign up here. In the world of New Zealand reality television, we have many gems in our crown. There’s the delicious second season of the Celebrity Treasure ...
A new poem by Fiona Kidman. The clothes of the dead I did not keep my mother’s furry red beret for long nor the stringy scarves that adorned the necks of my aunts, although I have kept tag ends of gold, the rings and trinkets they wore, the brooches no ...
The government’s announcement that it will re-open the foreshore and seabed controversy by changing the rules on recognising centuries-old Māori customary title for a third time goes against the rule of law and New Zealand values,” Mr Tipa says. ...
The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington.AUCKLAND1 Lioness by Emily Perkins (Bloomsbury, $25) Roarrrr! Perkins’ brilliant, award-winning, Marian-Keyes anointed, darkly funny, long ...
The 2004 Act vested ownership of the foreshore and seabed in the Crown, extinguishing any Māori claims to ownership and causing widespread outrage and protests among Māori communities. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Antje Deckert, Associate Professor (Criminology), Auckland University of Technology Getty Images Despite the connection between institutional harm and gang membership made clear in this week’s mammoth royal commission abuse-in care report, the government seems unlikely to soften its “get tough on ...
From Lewis Clareburt in the swimming to the start of the rowing – the first seven days of Paris 2024 promise to be big for New Zealand. There are few events that bring the country together quite like an Olympic Games. Nothing quite matches the excitement of getting up in ...
Groundbreaking local science just showed up in the most surprising of places: the season finale of The Kardashians. In the season five finale of The Kardashians last night, several members of the family gathered together in one of their signature empty, cream-coloured rooms to hear test results that had been ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Amin Saikal, Emeritus professor of Middle Eastern and Central Asian Studies, Australian National University The Middle East is on the brink of a possibly devastating regional war, with hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah reaching an extremely dangerous level. Washington has engaged in ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Laura Elizabeth Eades, Rheumatologist, Monash University Lupus is an inflammatory autoimmune illness, where the body’s immune system mistakenly attacks itself. Lupus can affect virtually any part of the body, although it most commonly affects the skin, joints and kidneys. The symptoms ...
A law firm that specialises in working with survivors of abuse in State care is disappointed that the Government fails to recognise that its boot camps can be directly compared to previous boot camps from the 1990s and 2000s. ...
Dying is a natural part of life, like updating your Wof or seeing your hairdresser, but without the word-of-mouth recs that help guarantee a good service. What if we changed that? Dying Reviews received by The Spinoff have had the names of organisations redacted while Hospice NZ collects further data. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jonti Horner, Professor (Astrophysics), University of Southern Queensland Mike Lewinski/Flickr, CC BY On any clear night, if you gaze skywards long enough, chances are you’ll see a meteor streaking through the sky. Some nights, however, are better than others. At ...
Despite having no bars or other designated spaces for lesbians, Auckland boasts a small but mighty lesbian museum. So how did it get here? The past 18 months has brought increasing hostility towards the queer community across Aotearoa. Kellie-Jay Keen-Minshull’s anti-trans rally in Tamaki Makaurau last March led to a ...
Poneke Antifascist Coalition has invited Wellingtonians to stand in solidarity with the Kanak people at 12pm today outside the French Embassy in Wellington. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Layton, Visiting Fellow, Strategic Studies, Griffith University Drones are the signature technology of the Ukraine war. A few miniature aircraft designs were used in the war’s early days, but an incredible array of drones have now evolved. There are different types, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mark Slee, Associate Professor, Clinical Academic Neurologist, Flinders University Francisco Gonzelez/Unsplash Migraine is many things, but one thing it’s not is “just a headache”. “Migraine” comes from the Greek word “hemicrania”, referring to the common experience of migraine being predominantly ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Lee White, Senior Lecturer and Horizon Fellow, School of Social and Political Sciences, University of Sydney Australia was slow to introduce minimum building standards for energy efficiency. The Nationwide House Energy Rating Scheme (NatHERS) only came into force in 2003. Older homes ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Steven Sherwood, Professor of Atmospheric Sciences, Climate Change Research Centre, UNSW Sydney The past century of human-induced warming has increased rainfall variability over 75% of the Earth’s land area – particularly over Australia, Europe and eastern North America, new research shows. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tony Heynen, Program Coordinator, Sustainable Energy, The University of Queensland A temporary stadium in the Champ-de-Mars, ParisEkaterina Pokrovsky/Shutterstock As Paris prepares to host the Olympic and Paralympic Games, the sustainability of the event is coming under scrutiny. The organisers have promoted ...
A night of karaoke and community in a pub that feels like a memory. You’d barely even notice it, unless you knew to look. Tucked away behind a liquor store on busy Constable Street is the capital’s last great pub. Newtown Sports Bar is an emblem of the pub culture ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ian Wright, Professor in Marine Geology, University of Canterbury Louise Corcoran/Getty Images The decline in the number of doctoral candidates at New Zealand universities is a worrying sign for the country’s effort to build a knowledge-based economy. Aotearoa New Zealand’s ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Laurie Berg, Associate Professor, University of Technology Sydney defotoberg/Shutterstock Migrant worker exploitation is entrenched in workplaces across Australia. Tragically, a deep fear of immigration consequences means most unlawful employer conduct goes unreported. On Wednesday, however, the government officially launched a ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Vaughan Cruickshank, Senior Lecturer in Health and Physical Education, University of Tasmania Paris is about to host its third summer Olympics. While we don’t yet know what the legacy of this year’s games will be, let’s take the opportunity to reflect on ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Hugh Breakey, Deputy Director, Institute for Ethics, Governance & Law, Griffith University In the wake of the assassination attempt on former US President Donald Trump, there were calls from bothsides of US politics, as well as internationally, to reduce the brutal, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Keith Rathbone, Senior Lecturer, Modern European History and Sports History, Macquarie University Two high-profile assaults on Australians in Paris have raised concerns about security ahead of the Olympic Games. On Saturday evening, a young woman was allegedly sexually assaulted by a ...
Dying is inevitable and, so it seems, is it costing a lot, writes Stewart Sowman-Lund in today’s extract from The Bulletin. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here.The cost of dying ...
The government took Joyce Harris's first baby and sent her off to a girls' home. Half a century on - and out of oceans of hurt - it asked her to be a mother figure. ...
It’s the deadliest fictional town in the country, but which death has been the most bonkers? Alex Casey looks back at 10 seasons of The Brokenwood Mysteries to find out. Warning: The following ranking story contains famous New Zealand actors appearing to be dead (not alive). The Spinoff has been ...
Water cremation is the biggest thing to happen to the death industry in the last 100 years. Alex Casey meets the people trying to bring it to Aotearoa. Through a set of mirrored doors down the industrial end of Christchurch’s St Asaph Street, death is getting a new lease on ...
Opinion: New Health NZ commissioner Lester Levy is authorised to assume operational leadership – chief executive Margie Apa is effectively relegated to his operational deputy The post All-powerful Levy is feudal baron of a $28b fiefdom appeared first on Newsroom. ...
Roy Morgan
http://roymorgan.com/findings/7419-roy-morgan-new-zealand-voting-intention-november-2017-201711220740
“In November support for the newly elected Labour/NZ First/Greens Government was 54.5% (up 6% since early October) ahead of National/Act NZ on 41% (down 5.5%) with minor parties outside Parliament attracting the remaining 4.5% of support.”
Michelle Levine goes on to say:
“Ardern’s rise to the top job has seen an unprecedented spike in the Roy Morgan Government Confidence Rating – with 66.5% (up 8% since October) of New Zealanders saying New Zealand is ‘heading in the right direction’ contributing to a Roy Morgan Government Confidence Rating of 146.5 – the highest in nearly 8 years.”
The new government is enjoying a very good Confidence Rating – very similar to the levels of the last new government.
So, I guess the “minority government” attack line will be wearing a bit thin already – next spin line , please?
Not exactly; National still knows that the LAB/GR election result is only 2.5% higher than the LAB/GR losing election result in 2008.
National knows that erosion around the edges is all that is needed for 2020.
Are you finding the Authoritarian Right more and more attractive CV?
North
Can you discuss the ideas please and stop showing your unreasoning bias and prejudice in your attitude to CV?
I’m thinking here about the hostile personal response that CV seems to draw from a group of commenters here. It should be noted how this is an example of human behaviour that arises and leads to awful behaviour if unchecked. Someone is set up to be a pariah and vengeful negative attitudes are expressed and this builds in certain others. They combine and feel justified in joining in some negative action. In this case, in this forum, it takes the form of constant pecking by some commenters at the person themself, and heavy disagreement and contention with everything said in an effort to change the opinion to what is agreeable to the inquisitors, and there is animal-like hostile behaviour.
It is different from taking exception to someone who is an everyday RW wingnut. This person has a sincere fixed opinion that is not simply Party-oriented, rote learned and part of the accepted wisdom of the comfortable classes. Instead of mining the view and trying to gain perspective, the
intransigence of the commenter in taking a different line, is to be stifled and demolished.
Hear hear, greywarshark!
Agree.
GW, you have a delivery which is thoughtful, explanatory and perceptive
tq. Holding onto fair and useful behaviour standards that work for us is important.
Because many civilised standards we thought were base to us and set in concrete are slipping away or just getting lip service, we become in danger of them being replaced by rigid authoritarian purist ‘strong-man’ or classist controls. We need balance and to hold that balance or we’ll get society that allows exclusion, hate and force at will.
Just to carry through on this thought. Think gun use in USA. and their lack of personal control and apparent inability to have reasonable redress through mediation on annoying situations. It has become acceptable to deal with people using force.
And the growth of diminishment and harrassment of people defined as ‘other’ and ‘them’ shows up in this example from Nazi Germany. As time went on and Jewish people were turned into pariahs by the authorities, no Jewish, or part Jewish family was allowed to keep a pet. ‘All pets should live in good Aryan homes.’ Just read it when I was reading some Klemperer, for those who are interested; it was classed as sadism by him. (I add that Victor Klemperer was amazed at the solidarity examples he met every day from ordinary Germans, who wished him well. They might give him some extra meat, or swear at the Fuhrer etc. You don’t hear much about the German people under the Nazi boot. But he notices it is from the proles that he receives these thoughtful honours, from communists and socialists.)
An upsurge of hatred against the other.
Mladic found guilty for Bosnia genocide and war crimes.
https://euobserver.com/justice/139981
Cheers grey, well said.
It reminds me of two wise women- Helenen Kelly and my nana.
“Be kind to each other” and “if you can’t say anything nice, don’t say anything at all”
Seen the comments…….fair enough.
on the flipside, I just didn’t want to get into another fucking argument about him yet again. My opinion’s pretty close to yours.
What Recession?
Liam Dann in the Herald
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=11946855
With this quote ‘there are no economists picking a recession for Jacinda Ardern’s Government.’ Dann proves he knows very little about what independent economists are saying.
I assume he takes the words of the BNZ, Westpac and ANZ economists at face value….
Has he heard of the term ‘ vested interests ‘?
There is a reason those banks are playing it down.
Ann Pettifor
http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/brexit-economy-economists-predict-financial-crash-recession-2008-michael-fish-austerity-cant-solve-a7513416.html
Steve Keen
http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/sunday/audio/201845436/steve-keen-the-coming-crash
To banks and their economists and the wealthy people riding the prosperity wave, NZ is an investment vehicle, something that can travel on land or water! They have a licence to drive it, and they want to go wherever they wish.
Good stuff. joyce is talking about the dodgy Forbes article on radiolive at around 7.20am this morning, standby for the lies and the spin.
Don’t listen, boycott Natz, and take the ratings down.
But if you can’t help it, count how many times can Joyce say ‘minority government’.
Maybe as many as Teresa May says ‘safe and stable’?
No doubt they have similar advisers.
Funny thing was he didn’t think much of the Forbes article because if he did it would have meant nats had been useless with nz finances. (End of the clip on the link)
He still talked a lot of shite about most other things however
http://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2017/11/steven-joyce-brushes-off-controversial-forbes-article.html
George Monbiot
‘Our relentless consumption is trashing the planet.’
‘When you hear that something makes economic sense, this means it makes the opposite of common sense. Those sensible men and women who run the world’s treasuries and central banks, who see an indefinite rise in consumption as normal and necessary, are beserkers: smashing through the wonders of the living world, destroying the prosperity of future generations to sustain a set of figures that bear ever less relation to general welfare.
Green consumerism, material decoupling, sustainable growth: all are illusions, designed to justify an economic model that is driving us to catastrophe. The current system, based on private luxury and public squalor, will immiserate us all: under this model, luxury and deprivation are one beast with two heads.
We need a different system, rooted not in economic abstractions but in physical realities, that establish the parameters by which we judge its health. We need to build a world in which growth is unnecessary, a world of private sufficiency and public luxury. And we must do it before catastrophe forces our hand.’
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/nov/22/black-friday-consumption-killing-planet-growth
And Rachel Stewart on the same subject.
‘Why Christmas is killing us all.’
‘Because here we are in 2016. The planet is burning in front of our eyes but we’re still going to buy those gifts, damn it! Because the world’s a grim and depressing place, so shut up and let me do this for strangers, as well as friends and family. I want to make them smile. Don’t judge me!
But I am going to judge you, and judge you hard. Strap yourself in.
If you’re not consciously thinking about this stuff, then you’re part of the problem.
Study after study shows that consumption now dwarfs population as the main environmental threat on earth.
Indeed, most of the extra consumption has so far been – but is rapidly changing – in wealthy countries that have long since stopped adding substantial numbers to their population. Like us.
Moreover, is it making anybody happy? Will those carefully wrapped presents in all their plastic glory keep anyone deeply delighted for more than an hour or two? Let’s be honest with ourselves.
Sure, I get that you want to please your kids but, really? Is this the way to go? Is there not an argument for opting out of this madness and telling them why?
I’m sure that most Secret Santa fans (and many bog-standard Xmas worshippers) are sane, rational human beings. They’re among the first to jump on social media and lament the loss of hundreds of species a day, or the vast inequality and poverty we see in our own country and around the world.
Except ironically, there appears to be this huge disconnect about what causes these events. Capitalism will literally be the death of us, our children, and humanity. But still we turn away, avert our eyes and do little to change the perfect storm bearing down on us.
It’s getting beyond urgent but, hey, let’s all have a cutesy cultural norm of a festive season. The economy depends on it, and the unequal wealth generated from it needs to be distributed to the usual suspects. Growth, growth, growth!
While you’re sitting around the tucker table and raising a glass to family, all misty-eyed about how much you care about future generations, raise the subject of just how serious climate change is becoming. How the Arctic ice is melting as quickly as the ice cream left out of the freezer by Uncle Bob. See how that conversation goes down.
They’ll call you “Grinch” and tell you to just enjoy the day. There’s nothing you can do about it anyway. Which is exactly how we got into this hellbeast of a planetary mess.’
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/opinion/news/article.cfm?c_id=466&objectid=11770187
All the evidence tells us that we should stop doing what we are but our politicians and rich people tell us that it can be no other way, There Is No Alternative (TINA).
This is, of course, bollocks. A few people just don’t want all the wealth and power that they’ve absconded with taken from them as it needs to be.
Country of origin labling should be part of the consumers guarantees act so we can chose wisely the quality of what we eat that’s the angle I would take on that subject of food labeling .
If I see or find a good Idea I don’t care were It comes from I will use it as the good idea will make me more successful and could save time and money so don’t listen to the bullies people talk about China controlling there people.
OUR world can see that our coalition government is honest and humane government
and Jacinda popularity is rising and so is OUR’s with her ka pai Forbes well they are all about the wealthy !!!!!!! so there statements are bullshit. Remember this Iwi it is not a fact until it is proven to be a fact 300 od years ago we would believe that OUR earth is flat now we no it is not flat but some idiot is spending heaps of money to try and prove that it is flat well that’s what the bullies are trying to do to they are making statements to try and damage Eco Maori Me YEA Right this shows the quality of our civil servants left to us from 9 years of national Its not about Justice Its about the system is always being right. Winston that’s exactly what I was thinking that one would have to be a soothsayer to answer Jack’s question . Ka pai
+1 ecoMaori, “Country of origin labling should be part of the consumers guarantees act so we can chose”
China is building influence around the world in subtle and not so subtle ways.
We should be concerned about this. China should not have influence upon our politicians or any other country’s politicians.
The Ancient Greeks worked out that the Earth wasn’t flat over 2500 years ago:
But, yes, belief still existed beyond that. The same can be said of capitalism. It’s been proven to be a failure, time and time again, and yet still people believe it to be the only workable socio-economic system.
But, after all that, I still have NFI WTF you were going on about. There’s no context and no logical progression to your rant.
Well I’m thinking of running in my local elections next time they come up I will stir them up and make them serve the people and mother earth.
On shortages of labour these people are crying that they need 5000 workers . In reality it is much cheaper for business to hire foreign labour It is cheaper to recruit them and pay them . So the big picture is Business will have to part with more cash to recruit Kiwi’s as OUR unemployment rate aint O% so Kiwi workers are there waiting for work and business will have to treat OUR kiwi workers like diamonds and polish and look after them which is what happens under a left lead Government. I can remember when
the Helen Clark Government won our election the price of fuel went up this is big business response to a Government that puts Iwi before there profits WHAT big business has not grasped is that the more evenly that OUR resources are spread the more we have to spend an the more profits they make everyone’s happy so if I was a big business CEO I would be backing OUR new coalition government . Many thanks to OUR lady’s sports teams for there win’s I can see that you don’t like publicity but this is the way OUR world works and this is what is needed to get more ladies into power to run OUR world in a humane way Kia Kaha ladies I like horses they are wonderful intelligent beings as all animals are .Ka pai
If you believe in something, stand up for it. Kia kaha brother.
Eco, we in the Greens have been wanting “country of origin” labelling for years. If my memory serves me well it was turned down by Helen’s lot. The food industry has powerful lobbyists and doesn’t want us to know the truth about our foods in so many ways.
Gull got 10 cent discount today till 12 am tomorrow once again I filled up yesterday at Gull Ka pai
GROPERS
No. 8: Rolf Harris
https://donaldelley.files.wordpress.com/2014/07/rhs_rolfharris0.jpg
“GROPERS” is presented by GroperWatch, a division of Daisycutter Sports Inc.
More gropers…
No.1 George Herbert Walker Bush; No. 2 Bill O’Reilly; No. 3 Al Franken; No. 4 Robin Brooke; No. 5 Lester Beck; No. 6 Arnold Schwarzenegger; No. 7 Joe Biden
Plan on doing on on Bill Clinton ?
Yes of course. Clinton was the arch-groper, before the arrival of that alien life force that now pretends to be a president. Keep an eye out, my friend!
i’d call bill a sprayer as well as a groper loloololz, sorry couldn’t help it.
Deadbeat Dads
No. 5: This Old Etonian pig f***er treated his eight year old daughter with almost the same cavalier disregard as he treated the poor.
If you think that John Key is a deadbeat dad you are an idiot.
The evidence is there for you to see, if you look at it….
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/entertainment/news/article.cfm?c_id=1501119&objectid=11737059
LOL – so the kid say something stupid (and it was).
He apologies, and his father calls it out as inappropriate in a nation wide paper.
He tells his son its not appropiate – and gets the kids promise not to do it again.
Thats been a good father – not a deadbeat dad.
Poor Maxie, struggling to find his identity.
Google loves you. Well your compliance and money – that it really loves.
The Rock keeps a smile on my face when i drive to work Kia Kaha IwI
Sorry cannot separate each video, but the first one Capitalism, if it wasn’t so true it would be funny.
https://www.facebook.com/pg/gritpost/videos/?ref=page_internal
Sir Michael Cullen will lead the Tax Working Group.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=11947072
Working For Families is not included in the review and gets its own review.
Other members of the group will be announced before Christmas and will include a diverse range of tax and finance experts, Robertson said. Final recommendations are expected by February 2019, but significant changes would not come into force until the 2021 tax year – as promised on the election campaign.
Certain areas will be outside the group’s scope, including increasing income tax rates, the rate of GST, inheritance tax and changes that would apply to the family home or the land beneath it.
Any change won’t come into effect until 2021.
This is going to cost $4 million!
Reading the Herald article I reckon they could do it for the price of a single copy of the paper. All you would have to do is cut out Robertson’s instructions and hand them back to him. He has told them every thing the are to put in, or leave out, right there.
Meanwhile another $4,000,000.00 goes down the drain.
C’mon now Michael needs a fine taxpayer trough to gorge at now that his gig at NZ Post has finished.
National and Labour looking after their own since forever – a pox on them all.
You are right, $4M could get us 1/6th of a flag referendum.
What did the job summit cost? And the “nothing to see here but we will look anyway” trust investigation ( not as a result of panama papers)?
What the hell is the point if increasing income tax rates, GST rates, inheritance tax and land tax are out of scope? Those are exactly the things that need to change!
Look like they’re targeting company tax and capital gains taxes – which are also things that need to change.
But yeah, GST and personal income taxes especially need to be nuked and made more progressive, respectively.
Veitch quits the new show before he starts:
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/entertainment/news/article.cfm?c_id=1501119&objectid=11947097
I’m a little…uneasy about all this. Do people get second chances or not, is he “allowed” to go back to his former occupation as others have and if not why not?
Is tv presenting a job or is it something exalted so is a privilege, if he was a storeperson or a builder or something else would people still care
Are some crimes irredeemable?
Have you not known he has been on Radiosport for years?
As for second chances, most beneficiaries get no chances in NZ and they didn’t break anyone’s back.
Don’t listen to Radiosport but does this mean you don’t think he should go back to doing what he was doing before?
No it means he is not without a job
Are some crimes irredeemable?
Sure. I can’t imagine Himmler saying “Actually I feel pretty bad about the Holocaust now” and everyone saying “Oh, he’s sorry now, give him another chance.”
Veitch would be redeemable, but there are a few things involved in redemption. First up is remorse – Veitch has never shown any. If anything, he considers himself a constant victim of liberal virtue-signallers.
Next up is self-reflection and awareness of why people are angry about what you did. Veitch’s level of self-awareness is well illustrated by his tweet describing his new show as “hard-hitting.”
Last up is humility. He has none.
PM
+1
PM
+1 and I do like your last line
“Last up is humility. He has none.”
Well said. P M
That pretty much covers it, yeah.
Hear, hear.
PR, the thing with domestic violence is they usually have been given many second chances. There’s usually been many more incidents before one gets the police involved.
I don’t watch or listen to the guy but would the reaction be the same if he was a tradesman, would people still be saying he shouldn’t be a builder?
Some of it is sounding uncomfortably like its because hes on the “wrong” team he shouldn’t have a job in broadcasting
If Veitch were working for some outfit in their media stable would Stuff have been so condemnatory? (Don’t for heaven’s sake suggest they wouldn’t take him on because they have ethics or morals.)
I don’t like him at all in his work. I do not like his style of person. He eminently suits the way the media operates in 2017.
For some to say he shouldn’t be given a platform though, he’s had a prominent radio platform for some years since his case. There is no reason if those protesting are to be consistent that the campaign against him cannot be taken to NZME.
Having said that, there are some who seemingly still wouldn’t be be satisfied even if he committed Hara-Kiri on the steps of Parliament.
At least Veitch can smile about the Veitch type hyperbole and ‘journalism’ from Kylie Klein Nixon on Stuff: “Do you know what it takes to break a human back? Apparently it’s roughly 4000 newtons, or enough force to bend a car door in half.”
She mightn’t have had much to do with others who’ve had bones broken in their backs but she sure listened to the advice about spicing up an article.
Well, yes, she could just have written “You have to kick someone pretty fucking hard to fracture their spine” instead, but I don’t think Veitchy comes out of that smelling any sweeter.
Plenty of people would be quite satisfied if he took up a building job and never made the public spotlight again.
I stopped listening to radiosport when they re employed him with unseemly haste and advised SKY this morning I woukd cancel that subscription. Both stances are about the brushing aside of domestic violence cos sport is king and so forth
And he shouldn’t have. Not until he’s adequately apologised and shown that he understands that what he did was wrong.
I expect Hell to freeze over first.
Media roles are public roles. These days, whether you’re a politician, sports player, or talking head, people look up to you. You set an example. It’s part of the job.
Part of Veitch’s problem is that he not only did a seriously bad thing, but he still really has no idea why it was bad and is completely tone deaf when it comes to his actions. See milt’s comment for what “redemption” can mean.
edit: the thing about media personalities is that they leverage their work off their image. So if they do something that screws with their image and then complain that they can’t get work, it’s like me downloading viruses onto my work computer and complaining that the thing is running slow.
+1m
You do not get to choose to be a role model. Children choose who they look up to based on many reasons from pleasing tgeir parents to marketing. So those who say “he shouldnt be a role model” educate yourselves. The reason media get inflated salaries is precisely because we have distorted views of them. It irks me when people say this shit.
He. Has. A. Job.
If he was a builder would he have had access to the NZHerald pages to claim that he was actually the victim while not apologising for the harm that he had caused?
Going to be straight up honest with you PR
For me i think the issue is that he is in the public eye, a public figure, and a sporting figure. I feel that’s different from being say a tradesperson, who would not be in the public eye, won’t be on any billboards etc.
Yeah I think that’s my hang up about it all. Sounds a bit two faced, one law for public figures and another for everyone else, but it’s how I feel. Maybe because I see someone who is a public figure as a possible role model for others, a public representation of a companies brand etc. And maybe my feelings have a bit to do with the whole macho sports thing, which seems to be cropping up again and again of late.
Maybe I would feel different about it if he had say made an effort to acknowledge his wrong doings by speaking to kids about domestic violence, like doing a boys school road show etc. Doing something rather than donating $ etc.
I heard on the wireless that he didn’t even apologise to the lady whose back he broke.
Honestly have no clue where his political preferences sit.
Hope that makes sense 🙂
Looks like they saw him as potentially impacting their share price,
Heavens above its tiring work keeping up with the governments flip-flops/backtracks/misspokes 🙂
http://norightturn.blogspot.co.nz/2017/11/climate-change-fudging-on-trees.html?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/politics/news/article.cfm?c_id=280&objectid=11946729
But, helpfully, kiwiblog has a couple of new counters on its site, the kiwibuild deficit and the tree deficit, good of him to help out I guess
https://www.kiwiblog.co.nz/
We can all compare it to BlIps. You rated BlIps stuff ay?
Nationals not in power so now its the present governments turn to have to live up to its pre-election promises
Don’t worry I promise not to enjoy pointing out every single time the government fails to live up to its pledges 🙂
I suppose you must have a job to do that takes up some of your time.
I think it would probably be a full time occupation trying to keep up a record of all the times they flip/flop on a pledge.
Fortunately my job does come with a computer but unfortunately they kind of expect me to produce work every now and then so i won’t be able to list all of the governments failings
Kind of annoying really 🙂
nah, like you he just parrots lines from the dirty politics team and is pretty much done in five minutes.
Mostly because I work so I can’t really spend as much time as I’d like on here because as enjoyable as this is sometimes its not as enjoyable as getting paid
As long as you have an awareness of your hypocrisy 🙂
All good PR, although I will never tire of saying it’s all Nationals fault, for the next 9 years.
Yawn. I take it the trees link is what I saw in the paper today where apparently two times 500million trees does not equal 1 billion trees planted?
Math says different.
“Partnership with the private sector is one thing, but misleading the public about the ambition of the policy is another. Because the 50 million trees a year private industry currently plants is almost entirely replanting, replacing trees which they’ve already cut down. In other words, that’s just planting to stand still. Worse, the required replanting rate is going to soar over the next decade, as the forests that were planted in the 1990’s are harvested. If private industry wants to avoid deforesting land (and paying the carbon costs for doing so), it will probably end up planting that billion trees itself.”
Computer says no
Computer says you can’t backtrack by repeating what you originally announced.
Don’t worry i’m sure there’ll be lots more back tracking to come 🙂
“More”? I suppose that 1, if it eventually occurs, is “more” than 0.
Based on this case, it seems that your comment is interchangable with “Don’t worry I’m sure there will be lots more consistent policy commitments being reiterated and achieved by the government”.
LOL
Smart thinking by live NZs with Heart, Kindness and Practicality. Three attributes that will take us in the right direction to some happiness and security of conditions.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/environment/98817463/wellington-op-shop-helping-divert-landfill-waste-with-firstofitskind-sewing-initiative
Excellent grassroots, bottom up initiative and with ten thousand of these, or more, say one in every town and every city suburb, we will have the basis of a living country we can all be proud of. What about a series of articles put out on government media, and under the heading of Growth in Micro-business, and added to each time an authenticated, well-run, near target, or not for profit business is ready to be exhibited to encourage the others? We need a pragmatic but not capitalistic manager with flexibility to lead this. And don’t have it anywhere near Stuart Nash Minister of Small Business.
That is totally awesome, thanks for sharing. I like your ideas Grey.
NZ WHISTLE-BLOWER UPDATE!
(Thursday 23 November 2017)
DIRECT ACTION WORKS!
‘Pocket’ occupation on Old Mill Rd traffic island, Westmere, Auckland stops the Auckland Transport juggernaut in its tracks…
https://i.stuff.co.nz/auckland/99019915/Auckland-Transport-faces-rising-backlash-as-shop-owners-across-super-city-say-it-is-destroying-their-businesses
”Auckland Transport faces rising backlash as shop owners across super city say it is destroying their businesses | Stuff.co.nz”
Who will benefit if small local businesses wither and die?
The multi-national malls?
Overseas investor$ and property developer$?
Follow the dollar ….
#ThinkForYourself
#StopKillingLocalBusinesses
#NoParkingNoStoppingNoShopping
#CyclewaysSavingThePlanetByDestroyingLocalCommunities
#WellDoneLisaPrager
#BringingLocalBackIntoAucklandLocalGovernment
“Two police officers have been found not guilty of kidnapping a 17-year-old boy to end a young love affair.”
A wise and fair decision.
that’s… surprising.
I guess in this day and age you can still be run out of town by the sherriff…
She was underage but then he was only 17 so its certainly one way to try to end it…
https://www.stuff.co.nz/auckland/99121504/jury-finds-police-officers-not-guilty-of-kidnapping-a-teenager
Yeah, but it’s not up to the cops to do that. Especially if they’re doing it because they know the family.
I’m glad they didn’t get convicted. Losing their jobs/careers seems enough. Fine balance though and I’d love to know what the tikanga argument was.
Not so sure. The trauma this young man suffered is real. For being in love in a consenting relationship? It smacks of major retro patriarchy to me.
The couple are still together… these guys abused their positions as police officers ( so will lose their jobs?)? And only 1 family supported the actions?
Really? From a legal perspective I am surprised. Thought they had mitigation arguments for sentencing but cannot see how they are not guilty of charges?
seems they gave the jury an out by saying he knew it was just a pretend arrest.
Well I decided to change the water pump in my truck well had to the fan belts were squeaking that means the bearing are gone there was movement in the pump. I rang around and found the cheapest pump in Rotorua but when I went pick it up the price had gone up buy $60 so I brought it I tried to get the original price but the boy just would not budge he gave me a cheap price to get me into the shop and change the price this shop is across the road from Repco I’m not going there again Ka pai. Now you iwi with vehicles that’s has a 21st well you must change the oil every six months because the oil is like the blood of the motor even if the oil is full if you do not charge the oil the oil gets thick as sludge and makes your car use more fuel and over heat and the gaskets will dry out and leak oil should only cost $50 for a petrol car for oil and filter and use you tube to show you how to change the oil on the make of your car type in make and year and how to change oil and you are away it’s good you got YouTube I had to learn by trial and error blew up 2 cars before I figure that out you will save $50 on your fuel bill in one month. lol Ka pai
PS Google how to change air filter to but you just have to give this a bang and vacuum the dust out of it if you can not afford a new air filter and that will save you fuel and money Ka Pai
If you wash your car with washing soap powder you will get it clean and it will shine to Ka pai
You are such a good buzz Eco 🙂
Supreme Court rules….http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/344548/pike-river-prosecution-withdrawal-unlawful-supreme-court
“…the payment was in exchange for the withdrawal of the prosecution and was unlawful.”
We all knew that…but makes my day to hear the Supreme Court agrees.
Well done.
+100
Bring it.
Yes. It seems as though big business can avoid prosecution by being Big. Erebus Inquiry anyone? Winebox enquiry?
https://www.courtsofnz.govt.nz/cases/anna-elizabeth-osborne-and-sonya-lynne-rockhouse-v-worksafe-new-zealand/@@images/fileDecision?r=661.823221568
Enjoy!
The one thing I really disagree with in this is that if it was unlawful he should still face the charges.
Like to be a fly on the wall at the upper level’s of both WorkSafe, and Whittal’s insurance company right now.
And why should parties who engage in illegal and /or corrupt practices to avoid prosecution not be held accountable for both the corrupt / illegal practice and the original unlawful activity?
Is it perverting the course of justice? Interesting question…
Who is the ultimate boss of WorkSafe. That may be the real question.
Wouldn’t the buck stop with Michael Woodhouse? As he was the minister in charge.
On what basis?
On the basis that the suppression of the charges was illegally purchased, therefore shouldn’t count.
Although that opens up a further can of worms about “charges dropped – 5 years later SURPRISE! They’re back on!”
It would be poetic that anyone complicit in such a deal should face sentencing according to the likely sentences of the original charges, had they obtained a conviction.
edit: although being on the same side as James does give me pause for thought, lol
I am confused. James is saying this should not result in charges being relaid?
oh – damn, I read it that he was saying charges should be relaid.
Yeah, he wrote it down in a very confusing manner.
There was a near double negative in there
Indeed I did.
What I was saying is that one only bit I disagreed with is the point that charges are not going to be laid.
If there are charges to be faced – he should indeed face them.
He won’t, James, and I actually thought that was what you mean’t…but I too was guilty of assuming you’d commented to piss on the parade.
Sincere apologies.
“It is accepted by them that orders to set aside the
decision to offer no evidence and to require the prosecution to proceed is no longer an
available option with the passage of time”
Translation: an insurance company can buy you out of a worksafe charge, appeal it through the entire court system, and by the time the transaction is overruled you get away with it.
Considering that does seem to be what happened then charges of corruption need to be laid.
Unfortunately, we probably don’t have such charges. The lack of such charges seems to be based on the but we’re the least corrupt country in the world argument.
Agree
Justice still for sale…
The company let Whittal take the fall in return for the insurance payout and then he woukd never have to defend himself which woukd probably impact a Board member or more?
I think he should. The charges were dropped on the understanding that >$3 million dollars was going to be paid to the families. Immediately after the charges were dropped the company would up and no payment was made.
And that >$3 million plus interest should now come directly out of his pocket.
I thought the payment from whitall was covered by insurance, the company skipped payment of the fine by folding up
Yeah, it was. I quickly read in an article this morning that they’d received no payment but that must have been the company that hadn’t paid because it got folded up before hand.
Are you actually claiming that no payment was ever made?
If that is what you mean do you have any evidence for that claim?
It wasn’t the mine owners who were supposed to be paying, and who were the company that was wound up.
It was their Insurance company.
” Immediately after the charges were dropped the company would up and no payment was made.”
Not quite, DTB.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/pike-river-mine-disaster/9553523/Payout-to-Pike-River-families-under-way
The decision makes an interesting read. Examining the machinations required to make the illegal appear legal is truly fascinating.
I’m not overly impressed that… “Further legal advice was then taken from in-house counsel, as well from Mr Stanaway and Crown Law, although privilege in the advice was not waived and details are not before the Court.”
You’d think that under the circumstances, some pressure would be brought to bear to waive such privilege…..
Another report says in exchange for suppressing a prosecution!
Deutsche Weller documentary on how Kiribati is quickly dying as a nation through sea level rise::
http://www.dw.com/en/top-stories/documentary-report/s-32861
It’s pretty dark.
they are the refugees we should be preparing for , but most likely we’ll wait till at least one island gets wiped clean in a storm first
Silly question but is the sea level rising or the land sinking? The Marlborough Sounds as sunken valleys are very slowly sinking further.
The Marlborough Wairau plain sank a metre in the 1848 earthquake allowing vessels to ply the Opawa river to the site where Blenheim now stands. So both land movement and sea level change is possible, up or down. I understand that northern Europe is rising in reaction to the Ice Age being no more in a phenomenon called glacial rebound. ( Not that I’m trying to deny climate change).
Kiribati is a coral based island group I think and susceptible to undersea erosion. But still it doesn’t really matter to the people, as wet feet are very real and the future is grim. Considering the relatively tiny population it should be possible to rehouse in places like NZ.
ya think?…Christchurch cant manage to rehouse a few 10s of people in Southshore post quake…how will we deal with the likes of South Dunedin (i.e)?….the public and political will is not there….”Im alright Jack” exemplified
p.s on rereading i realise i have misinterpreted your post but will keep the post as the question is still valid