Wayne Mapp says that the attack was justified because the NZers were under attack. They were entitled to defend themselves. Seems a bit odd as on the night, apart from some bullets there is no mention of weapons found or being fired at the NZers.
I currently don’t believe their excuse, that NZer’s were under attack as the reason to their behaviour, and I won’t believe it until I see the video footage, because there will be video of it.
On the night in question there was no report of “coming under fire.” Only some bullets were found
Therefore the justification must be that 2 weeks previously their patrol had been attacked. Therefore this would form the “self-defence” response. The attack had been from the direction of the valley and those two villages.
Seems to be a tenuous excuse to me, but maybe that is what happens in a messy war. If so, let it be part of the Terms of Engagement.
‘coming under fire’ would only be believable as an excuse if it happened in the immediate moments prior to their attack.
Revenge takes time to plan, maybe two weeks? Someone has stoked a fire, in times of ‘war’ it is easy to do, a good solider follows orders. Only some bullets were found, i wonder whose bullets and when they were fired? (i’m still reading the book, digesting it)
No wonder so many SAS have spoken to the authors, the decision of a few affecting the lives of many, not only deaths and casualties of innocents, but the PTSD and burden of guilt on those whom were good soldiers, following orders.
“Naturally the common people don’t want war; neither in Russia, nor in England, nor in America, nor in Germany. That is understood.
But after all, it is the leaders of the country who determine policy, and it is always a simple matter to drag the people along, whether it is a democracy, or a fascist dictatorship, or a parliament, or a communist dictatorship.
Voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy.
All you have to do is to tell them they are being attacked, and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same in any country.”
– Hermann Göring (Nazi and Hitler Successor, death by suicide in 1946)
“Hitler appointed the following as the new Cabinet and as leaders of the nation:
President of the Reich (Reichspräsident), Minister of War (Kriegsminister) and Commander-in-Chief of the Navy (Oberbefehlshaber der Kriegsmarine): Grand Admiral Karl Dönitz
Chancellor of the Reich (Reichskanzler): Dr. Joseph Goebbels
Party Minister (Parteiminister): Martin Bormann
Foreign Minister (Aussenminister): Arthur Seyss-Inquart
Interior Minister (Innenminister): Gauleiter Paul Giesler
Commander-in-Chief of the Army (Oberbefehlshaber des Heeres): Field Marshal Ferdinand Schörner
Commander-in-Chief of the Air Force (Oberbefehlshaber der Luftwaffe): Field Marshal Robert Ritter von Greim
Reichsführer-SS and Chief of Police (Reichsführer-SS und Chef der Deutschen Polizei): Gauleiter Karl Hanke
Minister of Economy (Wirtschaft): Walther Funk
Minister of Agriculture (Landwirtschaft): Herbert Backe
Minister of Justice (Justiz): Otto Thierack
Minister of Culture (Kultur): Dr. Gustav Adolf Scheel
Minister of Propaganda (Propaganda): Dr. Werner Naumann
Minister of Finance (Finanzen): Johann Ludwig Graf Schwerin von Krosigk
Minister of Labour (Arbeit): Dr. Theo Hupfauer
Minister of Munitions (Rüstung): Karl-Otto Saur
Director of the German Labour Front and member of the Cabinet (Leiter der Deutschen Arbeitsfront und Mitglied des Reichskabinetts: Reichsminister) Dr. Robert Ley”
EDIT… Words spoken by Herman Goring (Nazi, in 1941 Hitler designated him as his successor and deputy in all his offices. However… When Goring was informed on 22 April 1945 that Hitler intended to commit suicide, Göring sent a telegram to Hitler requesting permission to assume control of the Reich. Considering it an act of treason, Hitler removed Göring from all his positions, expelled him from the party, and ordered his arrest.) to Gustave Gilbert.
Part of a conversation Gilbert held with a dejected Hermann Goering in his cell on the evening of 18 April 1946, as the trials were halted for a three-day Easter recess:
Is that better red hand?
“Do you train for passing tests or do you train for creative inquiry?,” Noam Chomsky
Ian, you’re just causing trouble. When our friend Wayne told his lies to his colleagues in the National caucus, they accepted what he said without demur, as did our leading journalists, such as Duncan Garner, Mark Richardson and Mike Hosking.
Apple paid no tax in New Zealand for at least a decade, reports say
Investigation says company paid nothing to Inland Revenue Department because parent company registered in Australia
….So the National party immigration and foreign ownership policy mostly helps businesses, businesses only contribute about 15% of NZ taxes and some like Apple earning billions in NZ and paying no tax at all.
so those actually living here probably middle NZ, have to pay most of the taxes, local businesses compete against billion dollar companies who pay nothing and now many Kiwis don’t even have a home to rent, let alone own.
Does not make sense!
No wonder NZ is going backwards!! The global economic experiment has failed and it’s not just NZ – it is all around the world. Inequality has risen with neoliberalism.
The New Zealand Housing Foundation’s Affordable Rental scheme
• Helps low-income Kiwis buy homes under a shared-ownership model
• Must be a first time home buyer
• Must have minimum deposit of $10,000
• Have a regular combined household income, (in Auckland, between $55 000 and $95,000)
• Have a good credit record
• Currently looking for applicants for housing devolopment in Waimahia Inlet, Weymouth, Flat Bush, Hobsonville, Awatea, Christchurch and Hornby, Christchurch
There is no indication of the price of the house OR the on going mortgage payments.
The saving effort was/is impressive
She and her partner were able to buy the home, valued at $580,000 at the time, thanks to two things – the acceptance of their application for support from the New Zealand Housing Foundation, and their knuckled-down efforts to save $13,000 in five months.
What’s this scheme and how can I get in on it? Servicing a $567,000 mortgage on $55k a year? That’s tight, even for a singleton/no kids.
yep, good on the family for getting their own home and the sacrifices they made but when you are homeless and on the benefit how realistic is it to save $250 a week?
It seems like it is legal for Apple and many other corporations to pay no tax – so you have to wonder why do the NZ government and other governments allow it and discriminate against their own people paying tax and big companies can pay nothing?
Likewise if NZ is opened up to global housing trade and have to compete against real wages overseas and god knows how many tax advantages off shore people have and the massive amount of people in the world, not only is it not moral, it is not fair.
“We know that the Maori Party is using its negotiating position to demand concessions that National would never usually give,” says Mr Seymour.
“Today ACT and UnitedFuture are offering the Prime Minister another option in order to pass the bill without undermining the rights of property owners and local communities.”
Lest we forget the mass hysteria that pervaded this site recently and in fond memory of CV
1 the russians have not been shown to have engaged in anything more than the usual “intellegence” that is ongoing.
( i do not cite to prove a negative , that would violate logic!)
1: trump specifically said that his phones in trump tower had been “tapped”. Even Nunes rejects that in his statement
2: it says ” incidentally collected information about U.S. citizens involved in the Trump transition.”. Not Trump personally, and not that the “US citizens involved in the Trump transition” were the targets of that surveillance. A farcical example of that would be if Ivanka was photographed buying a hot dog from a vendor who was under surveillance for being a message hub for an international criminal cartel.
4: did Nunes say any damned thing about the Russians? I must have missed it.
5: to recap: Trump is still a paranoid wee oompah-loompah who mashes words together.
So you are suggesting a report on what he said “really means” somehow trumps (pun intended) the actual video of him saying it?
I do agree with your point 5 ! (Yes i really do!) but would add that he is also Is cunning as a rattlesnake and has honed his skills in media manipulation over many series of the apprentice . I am not fooled for a minute that the “obama tapped my phones” tweet was unintended or unproveable he is playing the media at their own game and winning. In the end i am convinced that 1. everyone with any profile had their phones tapped. 2. Obama knew this . Yes that is only my uncited conviction but notwithstanding the atlantic’s spin, That has to be the most likely truth (to set along side “fake truth” and “alternative truth”)
OK, where in the 1m15s video wikileaks have taken out of context does Nunes say trump’s phone was tapped, that trump himself was under surveillance, or the individuals close to trump’s campaign were targets of surveillance (as opposed to being seen connected with legitimate targets of surveillance)?
Because what I said and the Atlantic article says are consistent with the wikileaks video. They are all irrelevant to the claim that trump’s phones were tapped by obama, or even that trump himself came under any surveillance whatsoever.
I would suggest that:
Any communications across the US border were monitored automatically; and
anyone in the Trump campaign who made contact with an actual target of surveillance (either from spying or international crime) would have been logged as having that contact.
But then we know all that everyone is under those conditions, because Snowden and Flynn.
What I think is [insert word “odd” here] is the idea that Obama ordered any intelligence agency to make trump a surveillance target. For what – Democrats to lose the presidency and […], enabling world domination?
He states very clearly that having identified members of trump team as incidental to the target of survellance , these names and details were then disseminated thru the intelligence community ie they became targets themselves.
Let me put this another way (dramatic reconstruction, actual facts may differ!)
Scene one (combined intellegence headquarters)
“how can we get trump?” “I know say the russians helped him to win” this while not true can be proven (heh heh) , of course the russians can be shown to have tried to infuence the us election just as they always do and we always do. And trump won, “brilliant lets do it”
scene two (trump in his regal slendour of trump towers surrounded by cheap gold plated bathroomware)
“Hmm how about this” i accuse obama of ordering the tapping of my phones this can be proven even tho its not true (“heh heh”) everyone knows the cia taps everyones phone and because the cia reports to the president he technically has ordered all that they do.
Scene three (news room of theatlantic.com)
(ChIef editor)
“Ha ha trump has accused obama of tapping his phones we can shoot this down easily by showing that it was all just normal activity and the president had nothing personally to do with it,”
(Junior copywrtier) ” but dosn’t that approach rather undermine the russians helped trump line”
First of all, “i.e.” does not mean “I’ve just said A, now I will pretend B is A”. Having your name go through the intelligence cycle does not mean you are a target of surveillance. It just means you have been associated with one.
Secondly, the US intelligence services do not tap everyone’s phone. They monitor international calls, and those domestic calls for which they have a court order. That is not “everyone’s phone”. It is nowhere close.
Thirdly, the president cannot legally order phones to be tapped. If the president were dumb enough to interfere in an investigation, the tap would still need a court order. That is why the allegation Trump made is a big deal: he was accusing Obama of breaking a multitude of laws, for which Obama had no motive. That is not business as usual by intelligence services, it is a highly unusual and illegal act.
Either Obama goes to jail, or Trump is full of shit.
Well, either you have read a fair chunk of what Snowden and others released and matched it against what Nunes actually said, or you have no idea what you’re talking about when you use sentences like “target of survellance” and your comments are the product of wishful thinking and orange fantasies.
yes but the thing is my (dramatic reconstruction actual facts may differ) still offers a more plausable and believable scenario (that both stories are bullshit and one is designed to head off the other) than your uncited certainties. why is that?
well, your scenario revolves around the logical impossibility of something that is untrue being “proven”, so I guess you have an alternative definition of “plausible”.
BTW, pretty much everything in this discussion is “uncited”, including trump’s claim that obama ordered him to be wiretapped. Your comments included.
I can tell you that many things that are untrue can be “proven” particularly when they are reputational attacks. The whole point is that you need to have a healthy scepticism …. especially if you dont like the person being inpugned … or their politics
The other point is that you have a pretty weird idea of what “proven” means.
Trump made a massive claim. He has a history of making claims that turned out to be bullshit. He just says whatever is convenient at the time. There is no reason to think that his massive claim about Obama ordering trump tower to be wiretapped is any different.
He might be a genius masquerading as an oaf. It might be an amazing act. But so far the signs point to him being a privileged, stupid bully who got richer and powerful because capitalism rewards privileged, stupid bullies.
managed to come back from a ban and get another one within hours. It was pretty funny – he got back from a ban that was for making up unsubstantiated shit, then got another ban for making up unsubstantiated (and incorrect) shit about his previous ban.
Worthy aspiration. So why show us a clip of a deeply partisan political hack disseminated by an outlet that seems to have developed a penchant for manipulative partisan political games?
Nunes has made clear by his actions he’s more interested in protecting Trump than finding and publicising what actually happened. So his credibility is on the same level as Trump’s. There’s no discernible relationship between his words and reality. That wikileaks choose to spread this fertilizer in an apparent attempt to defend their past actions further trashes their credibility.
Digby reckons it’s just another coincidence in a big fat series of coincidences.
Then on March 15, in the wake of the president’s manic early-morning tweetstorm accusing former President Barack Obama of arranging for him to be wiretapped, Trump demonstrated his own awe-inspiring clairvoyance. Trump told Fox News’ Tucker Carlson that despite all the denials from every institution and person in a position to know, “You’re going to find some very interesting items coming to the forefront over the next two weeks.”
Wouldn’t you know it? On Wednesday House Intelligence Committee chair Rep. Devin Nunes, R-Calif., was shown some documents by a “source” that had him so up in arms he couldn’t even take the time to alert the other committee members before he ran to the White House to show the president. When asked if he felt vindicated by this alleged bombshell, Trump replied:
I somewhat do. I must tell you I somewhat do. I very much appreciated the fact that they found what they found, I somewhat do.
It’s amazing how Trump and his people are able to see into the future this way, isn’t it?
Andre
I am unable to discern any actual content in your last post. Apart from attacks on the credibility of sources based on attacks on their credibility…….. nothing!
WTF ? ?? is this what substituts for discorse here?
A hoot yet a good point:
“A conservation trust manager angry at Environment Minister Nick Smith’s swimmable river stance has challenged him to a boxing match – with the loser to “frolic” in one of Christchurch’s most polluted swimming holes.” http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11824103
Just watched it thanks Cinny. Jacinda calm measured questions well ordered.
Paula discomfited, unable to answer for the PM, lacking her usual spite/arrogance.
Well done Jacinda.
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“America the Beautiful!”, staunch defender of democracy, freedom and… a whole lot of despotic tyrants that play nice with what is called “the Washington Consensus.” America is indeed capable of immense good, but like any Nation, and most assuredly any aspirant to the mantle of Empire, great, immense evil. All ...
Image credit:The beginner’s guide to blogging I notice a few regulars no longer allow public access to the site counters. This may happen accidentally when the blog format is altered. If your blog is ...
1080 is used to control pests in NZ. Its use is contested by a noisy few. A new report claims high levels of 1080 in rats washed up on a beach. Flora and Fauna of Aotearoa (F&F) won’t name the laboratory that did their testing. It has sparked a hunt ...
What Kind Of Empire? The thing for Kiwis to decide is what kind of empire they want to belong to. The kind that, while offering its own citizens democratic rights, demands absolute obedience from its “friends”? Or, the kind that, while authoritarian at home, takes a relaxed attitude to the ...
It hasn't been a good week for the Conservatives, pollwise. All major recent polls are showing their lead shrinking.Comparing each pollster's current (between 29/11 and 22/11) and previous most recent poll.Com Res - Conservative lead down 3 points.You Gov - Conservative lead down 1 point.Kantar - Conservative lead down 4 ...
Within quick succession, Countdown maths wizard and twitterer Rachel Riley, alleged comedian David Baddiel and prominent lawyer Andrew Julius have all expressed very similar opinions / ideas:
These #3billboards are going round London today, organised by ex-Labour people, horrified by what their party has become. Their principles haven’t changed, they’re ...
So, there have been a bunch of bad polls out for Labour, and even the Leftie's friend, Survation, have recently given the Conservatives a rip-snorting 11% lead. You Gov's much vaunted MRP poll - which pretty much nailed the result in 2015 - is currently predicting a comfortable majority for ...
The European Parliament has voted overwhelmingly to declare a climate emergency:The European parliament has declared a global “climate and environmental emergency” as it urged all EU countries to commit to net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. The vote came as scientists warned that the world may have already crossed ...
Pure Fear: Worse than Heroin, this drug’s addictive power was terrifying. People under its influence didn’t drift off to Elysium. Nor did it persuade inadequate individuals that they could conquer the world. No, this drug – pure crystal methamphetamine, “P” for short – unlocked the gates of Hell itself. It ...
As the rate of measles infection, and of deaths, continues to climb in Samoa, antivaccination activists infectious disease proponents seem intent on doubling down on their claims about vaccination. (Check pretty much any news-media FB post about measles & you’ll see exactly what I mean.) Unfortunately, some of them have ...
New Zealand First MP Darroch Ball’s bill introducing a six-month minimum sentence for assaults on first responders has passed its first reading in Parliament. Mr Ball said the new offence of "injuring a first responder or prison officer with intent" would target people who attacked paramedics, police, firefighters, and corrections ...
New Zealand First leader Winston Peters gave his final interview for 2019 on The Country to tell farmers they have never had it better under the current coalition Government. “Here you've got these record returns [for farmers]. These returns would be nothing like a record if the currency under the ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters said that New Zealand's Cook Islands High Commissioner, Tessa Temata, has died over the weekend. Ms Temata, 52, died in Palmerston North and had returned to New Zealand for medical treatment. She was the first New Zealand High Commissioner to the Cook Islands of Cook Island ...
A new defence report has mapped out how New Zealand's soldiers will navigate rising seas, and a year after the Defence Force announced its need to prepare for climate change. In the “Responding to the Climate Crisis” report, the Force restates its operational plan and sets goals to tackle climate ...
Mark Patterson, Spokesperson for Primary Industries New Zealand First spokesperson for Primary Industries, Mark Patterson, has called for awareness to be raised and more stringent biosecurity checks to be put in place for African Swine Fever (ASF), a widespread virus that is uncontrolled in most of Asia and a serious ...
Jenny Marcroft MP, Spokesperson for Human Rights A critical step has been taken to end gender based violence against women and girls in Parliament this evening. New Zealand First Spokesperson for Human Rights Jenny Marcroft MP has welcomed the passing of the first reading of the Crimes (Definition of Female ...
New Zealand First MP Shane Jones says it's time to recognise market forces haven't led to the expected reduction in Māori smoking rates and try a new approach. The Party had recently invoked the agree to disagree clause in their Coalition Agreement with the Labour Party, and will not support ...
Live from the Whanganui Opera House, on the final day of the 2019 Labour Party Conference, Jacinda Ardern announced the largest investment in school property in 25 years. ...
The Coalition Government will be banning foreign donations to political parties and candidates, ahead of next year’s general elections. Legislation will be introduced to Parliament and passed under urgency – emphasising the need for such restrictions to safeguard our democracy. The bill introduces a new requirement that party secretaries and ...
Associate Transport Minister Shane Jones opened Taipā's $19 million bridge recently, improving transport infrastructure in the Northland region. The two-lane bridge is 107m long with a 2.5m-wide shared walking and cycling path, and will reduce the congestion that the old one-lane bridge was notorious for. The project had also included ...
The Overseas Investment Office have rejected the application of Mercury Agriculture LP, which is 92 per cent controlled by Canadian interests, to purchase more than 2000 hectares of South Canterbury and Otago land. Mercury wanted to buy 2000ha at Rangitata, 1494ha near Ashburton, 816ha near Cromwell and 212ha near Temuka. ...
This weekend was Labour's 103rd Party Conference! We welcomed over 500 of our Labour whānau in red to Whanganui, where we reflected on the last two years in Government, and looked ahead to 2020 and beyond. We know the long-term challenges facing New Zealand won't be tackled overnight, but we're making ...
Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones announced that the Provincial Growth Fund will invest $9.6 million to seal the final unsealed section of State Highway 43 from Stratford to Taumarunui. The Minister said sealing the 12-kilometre gravel section of the highway – also called the “Forgotten World Highway” - through ...
Former Finance Minister and former chair of the Tax Working Group, Sir Michael Cullen, has voiced his support for New Zealand First’s decision to oppose the planned increase in tobacco excise tax. In an interview with The Weekend Collective, he said that increasing the price was no longer effective in ...
Māori are natural storytellers. On the marae we use stories to tell our history, to teach the next generation life lessons and to let people know, in our most creative of ways, who we are and where we have come from. ...
Rt Hon Winston Peters, New Zealand First Leader New Zealand First has invoked the ‘Agree to Disagree’ provisions of the Coalition Agreement because it cannot support the announced 11.46 percent increase in the tobacco excise from 1 January 2020. “Studies show that the automatic tobacco excise increases are having less effect ...
Taupō-based company Geo40 has made a breakthrough in extracting near battery-grade lithium from geothermal fluid which its says could be a gamechanger. Its chief executive John Worth said the earth mineral was highly prized, with battery-grade lithium selling for US$10,000 (NZ$15,600) a tonne. Geo40 was founded in 2010 to find ...
Crown research institute AgResearch Ltd, as part of its Future Footprint plan, had intended to relocate top scientists and support staff — particularly those focused on sheep genetics and genomics — from Invermay to Lincoln. However, those plans seem to have been shelved at the request of the Coalition Government. ...
Ten engineering firms in Southland are receiving a total of $2.13 million in Provincial Growth Fund funding to lift productivity and create new jobs. Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones announced in Invercargill that the 10 engineering and manufacturing firms would receive funding to assist them with buying equipment that ...
The number of new residents to New Zealand is the lowest it has been in nearly two decades and it has earned the ire of the immigration industry. The industry alleges that 'Trump-style extreme vetting' is being put in place aimed at keeping a lid on immigration numbers. June Ranson, ...
The Royal New Zealand Air Force is one step closer to modernising its fleet after the United States State Department recently approved the sale of five new C-130J Hercules aircraft to New Zealand. Arms manufacturer Lockheed Martin, in Fort Worth, Texas, will provide the aircraft, but as a "foreign military ...
Hon Ron Mark, Minister of DefenceTērā te haeata takiri ana mai i runga o Pukaha!Ara tai uru, whai uru, whai uru!Ara whai ato, whai ato, whai ato!Ara rā tini, ara rā tini, ara ri!The rays of the morning sun strike a new dawn upon Pukaha ...
Rt Hon Winston Peters, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Foreign Affairs Foreign Minister Winston Peters announced today the appointment of diplomat Sarah Lee as New Zealand’s High Commissioner to South Africa. She will be the first female Head of Mission to represent New Zealand in Africa. “New Zealand’s relationship with South ...
Forestry Minister Shane Jones wants to create a log barging facility at Hicks Bay and turn the area into a Special Economic Zone. The move would be part of protecting New Zealand's forests from being depleted by India and China, he said. It follows his announcement last week to strengthen ...
New Zealand First supports the changes recommended by the Winter Grazing Taskforce to improve animal welfare outcomes through the winter months, and the establishment of a pan-sector action group to implement them. New Zealand First Primary Industries Spokesperson Mark Patterson says the report highlights areas of concern about the animal ...
Former prime ministers Helen Clark and Sir John Key, formerly from the Labour and National parties respectively, have joined forces in support of New Zealand First’s plan to relocate Auckland's port to Whangārei. While Ms Clark and Sir John spent their political careers on opposite sides of the political divide, ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters is in Japan for the Foreign Ministers' meeting of the G20 grouping of countries as one of nine "invited" countries. He has used the opportunity to cast a spotlight on the plight of Pacific countries, calling out countries which still offered subsidies or Government assistance to ...
The days of vulnerable consumers falling victim to loan sharks, truck shops and other predatory lenders are numbered, following the Credit Contracts Legislation Amendment Bill passing its third reading tonight. “Too many Kiwis are being given loans that are unaffordable and unsuitable, trapping them in debt and leaving their families ...
A Bill that prevents terrorism and supports the de-radicalisation of New Zealanders returning from overseas has passed its third reading, Justice Minister Andrew Little says. The Terrorism Suppression (Control Orders) Bill is a carefully targeted response to manage the risk posed by a small number of New Zealanders who have ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters and Minister for Pacific Peoples Aupito William Sio will travel to Samoa on Friday, where New Zealand medical teams are helping Samoa respond to an outbreak of measles. “New Zealand has been working closely with the Government of Samoa and offering our assistance from the ...
The Government has changed the law to improve student safety and welfare in university halls of residence and other student accommodation. The Education (Pastoral Care) Amendment Bill passed its third reading this afternoon and details of an interim Code of Practice setting out the Government’s expectations of tertiary providers have also been released. ...
A new tool to help councils fund and finance infrastructure could mean some housing developments happen a decade earlier than currently planned, Urban Development Minister Phil Twyford said today. “This new tool, developed by the Government in partnership with industry and high-growth councils, will allow councils to access private debt ...
Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor has welcomed the release of a bold new vision for the country’s vital food and fibre sector. “I’m delighted that New Zealand’s major farmer and grower organisations are today supporting the Primary Sector Council’s vision – Fit for a Better World,” he said. “The international consumers ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has congratulated the Government of Papua New Guinea and the Autonomous Bougainville Government for completing a well-conducted referendum on the future political status of Bougainville. “New Zealand supported the referendum process by providing technical advice through the New Zealand Electoral Commission and leading a Regional Police ...
In light of Cabinet’s position that freight operations on prime land in downtown Auckland are no longer viable, the Government will now embark on a short work programme to enable decision-making in the first half of next year, Associate Transport Minister Shane Jones says. Minister Jones is today releasing the ...
Associate Health Minister Julie Anne Genter has received the report back from a surgical mesh restorative justice process undertaken by Victoria University. The process heard stories, either in person or online submission, from more than 600 people affected by surgical mesh. “The report made for heart-breaking and confronting reading,” says ...
The Water Services Regulator Bill – Taumata Arowai , introduced to Parliament today, is a milestone for drinking water safety in New Zealand and will help improve environmental outcomes for urban waterways, rivers and lakes. “This is a breakthrough for New Zealanders in terms of providing safe drinking water throughout ...
Kia ora koutouE ngā mana, e ngā reo, e ngā matā wakaTēnā koutou katoaHaere ngā, moe maiKoutou ma ngā Rangatira Ko Anaru ahauKo au te Minita mo ngā TureHe Honore tino nui kei roto I ahau No reira tena koutou katoa Today, we are releasing two reports that are the ...
The Government is looking to turn around the long-term challenges of criminal justice by taking a new approach to break the cycle of offending to ensure there are fewer victims of crime. Justice Minister Andrew Little released two reports today, Turuki! Turuki! from Te Uepū Hāpai I te Ora, and ...
New Zealand firms expanding beyond the start-up phase are set for more support after today’s passage of the Venture Capital Fund Bill, Associate Finance Minister David Parker said. The Bill, which establishes a $300 million Venture Capital Fund, puts in place a key initiative of the Wellbeing Budget’s economic package. ...
E ngā mana, e ngā reo, e ngā iwi, e ngā rau rangatira mā. Tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou katoa. Señora Presidenta, Excellencies, Delegates. International action A common thread that runs through the Paris Agreement is the commitment we have made to each other to do what we can to ...
The Government is lifting capital investment to the highest level in more than 20 years as it takes the next step to future-proof New Zealand. Finance Minister Grant Robertson has announced $12 billion of new investment, with $8 billion for specific capital projects and $4 billion to be added to ...
The Government is forecast to run $12 billion worth of surpluses across the four years to 2023/24 as the economy continues to grow. The surpluses will help fund day-to-day capital requirements each year. These include fixing leaky hospitals, building new classrooms to cover population growth and take pressure off class ...
Budget 2020 will continue the Coalition Government’s focus on tackling the long-term challenges facing New Zealand while also investing to future-proof the economy. When the Government took office in 2017 it was left with crumbling infrastructure, severe underinvestment in public services, degraded rivers and lakes, a housing crisis and rising ...
The Minister responsible for the Marine and Coastal Area (Takutai Moana) Act 2011 (te Takutai Moana Act 2011), Andrew Little has welcomed the launch of an online geospatial tool that provides data-rich, dynamic coastline maps that will significantly boost research and evidence-gathering under the Act. Te Kete Kōrero a Te ...
The Chief Victims Advisor to Government Dr Kim McGregor, QSO, has been reappointed in her role for a further two years. Dr McGregor has held the role since it was established in November 2015. She provides independent advice to government on how to improve the criminal justice system for victims. ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters and Civil Defence Minister Peeni Henare have today announced the deployment of a network of DART (Deep-ocean Assessment and Reporting of Tsunami) buoys. “New Zealand and the Pacific region are particularly vulnerable to natural disasters. It is vital we have adequate warning systems in place,” ...
DART Buoys Announcement Aotea Wharf, 9.30am 11 December 2019 Acknowledgements Acknowledgements to Minister for Civil Defence Hon Peeni Henare also here today. White Island It is with regret that this event shadows the tragic natural disaster two days ago. The volcanic eruptions on White Island have claimed 5 lives, ...
Racing Minister Winston Peters has welcomed the first reading of the Racing Industry Bill in parliament today. This is the second of two Bills that have been introduced this year to revitalise New Zealand’s racing industry. “Our domestic racing industry has been in serious decline. The Government is committed to ...
Minister for Disability Issues, Carmel Sepuloni, is pleased to announce that $291,321 is to be awarded to national and local community initiatives to maintain and promote the use of New Zealand Sign Language (NZSL). “New Zealand is one of the few countries in the world where Sign Language is an ...
Minister for Veterans Ron Mark has announced today the Coalition Government’s initial response to work completed by the independent statutory body, the Veterans’ Advisory Board. “When Professor Ron Paterson completed his review of the Veterans’ Support Act in 2018, he made a number of recommendations, including one which I referred ...
The Government will fund the bulk of the cost of a rural water supply for the Ohakea community affected by PFAS contamination, Environment Minister David Parker announced today at a meeting of local residents. This new water scheme will provide a reliable and clean source of drinking water to the ...
I have had the opportunity to be briefed on the details of the volcanic eruption of Whakaari/White Island, off the coast of Whakatane in the Bay of Plenty. The eruption happened at 2.11pm today. It continues to be an evolving situation. We know that there were a number of tourists ...
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Minister of Civil Defence Peeni Henare have today confirmed initial Government support of $100,000 for communities affected by the severe weather that swept across the South Island and lower North Island over the weekend. The contribution will be made to Mayoral relief funds across the ...
New Zealand's High Commissioner to the Cook Islands, Tessa Temata, died in Palmerston North over the weekend, Foreign Minister Winston Peters said today. Ms Temata, 52, had recently returned to New Zealand for medical treatment. "On behalf of the Government and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, we extend ...
Transport Minister Phil Twyford today announced construction is underway on Wellington commuter rail upgrades which will mean more frequent services and fewer breakdowns. The upgrades include converting the Trentham to Upper Hutt single track section to a double track, with a new signalling system, upgraded stations and level crossings, and ...
Minister of Defence Ron Mark and Minister for Climate Change James Shaw have announced the release of a Defence Climate Change Implementation Work Plan, titled Responding to the Climate Crisis: An Implementation Plan. The plan sets out a series of recommendations based on the 2018 New Zealand Defence Assessment, The ...
A medium-scale adverse event has been declared for the South Canterbury district, which will see up to $50,000 in funding made available to support farming communities which have been significantly affected by recent heavy rain and flooding in the area, says Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor. “Two weeks of solid rain ...
Thank you Professor Juliet Gerrard and your team for the comprehensive and extremely helpful report and recommendations. Thank you too to all the stakeholders and interested parties who have contributed ideas and thinking to it. “Making best practice, standard practice” is a great framework for change and the action plan ...
The Government will phase out more single-use plastics following the success of its single-use plastic bag ban earlier this year and the release today of a pivotal report for dealing with waste. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has welcomed the Rethinking Plastics in Aotearoa New Zealandreport, released by her Chief Science Advisor ...
International education continues to thrive as the Government focuses on quality over quantity, Education Minister Chris Hipkins said. The tuition revenue from international education increased to $1.16 billion last year with the average tuition fee per student increasing by $960. The total number of international students enrolled in New Zealand ...
I want to talk about one of the most pressing issues in our national life: the housing crisis and the poor performance of our cities. The argument I want to make to you is that generations of urban land use policy have lacked a decent grounding in economics. The consequences ...
Health Minister Dr David Clark says new appointments to DHBs represent a significant changing of the guard, with 13 new chairs including four Māori chairs. Today 76 appointments have been announced to complement elected board members, as well as eight elected members appointed as either chair or deputy chair. Four ...
Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Foreign Affairs, Fletcher Tabuteau, is travelling to Germany, Poland, Austria, and Spain next week to bolster New Zealand’s political and trade relationships in Europe. While in Spain, Mr Tabuteau will represent New Zealand at the 14th Asia-Europe (ASEM) Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in Madrid. “New Zealand strongly supports ...
“I’ve spoken to Minister Faafoi, who has apologised for his poor handling of this issue,” Jacinda Ardern said. “I have confidence in Kris as a hardworking and effective Minister, but this should have been dealt with in a much clearer manner, and I’ve made my views on that very clear ...
Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters met with Tongan Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pohiva Tu'i'onetoa in Wellington today. The pair signed a Statement of Partnership setting out joint priorities for cooperation out to 2023. “We welcomed Prime Minister Tu'i'onetoa on his first visit to New Zealand as Prime Minister. Tonga ...
The Minister of Police Stuart Nash says his sympathies are with the family of a man who died after being shot by Police in Kurow. “Initial reports are that Police were called by a family member to help the man who was threatening to harm himself,” Mr Nash says. “However ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Scott Morrison is picking up that Australia’s devastating, prolonged fires are producing a soured, anti-government mood among many in the community. It may not be entirely rational for people to turn on politicians in such ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Katharine Kemp, Senior Lecturer, Faculty of Law, UNSW, and Co-Leader, ‘Data as a Source of Market Power’ Research Stream of The Allens Hub for Technology, Law and Innovation, UNSW Today, the federal government responded to the recommendations of the Australian Competition and ...
Winston Peters hopes mergers of NZME and Stuff and RNZ and TVNZ will save local journalism. Bernard Hickey argues they are more likely to again prove costly diversions. ...
The foreign affairs minister Winston Peters will be travelling to Samoa tomorrow to visit hospitals and medical teams dealing with the ongoing measles outbreak. ...
Andrew Little says the justice system is “taking wrecked lives and wrecking them just a little bit more”, but will the Govt cough up with what's needed for transformative change? ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Lidia Morawska, Professor, Science and Engineering Faculty; Director, International Laboratory for Air Quality and Health (WHO CC for Air Quality and Health); Director – Australia, Australia – China Centre for Air Quality Science and Management (ACC-AQSM), Queensland University of Technology Bushfire smoke ...
Winston Peters is bemoaning how long a decision on Northport is taking, saying if you're faced with inevitability, you should act. But Cabinet ministers have put off making a call until next year. ...
A review of the ANZ Bank New Zealand's missteps over the past year has found complacency at the most senior level, leading to the departure of its long serving chief executive. ...
Dr Bryce Edwards.In his big-spending infrastructure announcement yesterday, Grant Robertson reinforced what many political commentators say about him – he’s electorally smart, but way too conservative to be a genuine leftwing minister of finance. Robertson does what is right for winning votes, but not necessarily what is in the ...
Council of Licenced Firearms Owners (COLFO) says the announcement today of three changes to the Arms Bill should be the start of a large-scale rewrite, or even eventual abandonment. ...
The failure of high-growth councils to supply enough infrastructure to support housing development has led to some serious social and economic problems, the NZ Productivity Commission states in a local government funding and financing report released today. ...
Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG) says that while the Budget Policy Statement 2020 promises to extend Budget 2019’s 'Wellbeing' framework and states "reducing child poverty and improving child wellbeing" as a priority, spending plans don’t ...
The National Party's new health platform includes $50 million a year for cancer drugs, a boost to Pharmac funding and the reintroduction of National Health Targets. ...
Local Government New Zealand (LGNZ) is lamenting the lack of courage shown in the Productivity Commission’s Local Government Funding Report, saying that while it makes many worthy recommendations, its play-it-safe-approach relegates the report ...
Wellington 12 December 2019: The Government’s announcement to future-proof New Zealand with a $12billion investment in infrastructure is a positive sign for the country’s future. ...
19-year-old Benee’s track ‘Glitter’ is climbing international charts thanks to being given a TikTok dance. How does that work? Josie Adams explains what a TikTok dance is, and how this social media app is the new MTV.Who is Benee?Benee has had a huge 2019, with the Aucklander riding sparkling pop ...
Newsroom has asked the district court to end a defamation action by business site NBR over a news story discussing NBR and ex National MP Steven Joyce. ...
Today, at a meeting of Auckland Council’s Governing Body, councillors voted unanimously for a series of resolutions that will require greater direct involvement in resolving the ongoing dispute between unions and NZ Bus from Auckland Transport and the Minister ...
“Important policy and legislative developments have landed today which could enable a bolder, more streamlined way of delivering new infrastructure for the benefit all New Zealanders,” says Infrastructure New Zealand CEO Paul Blair. ...
The Public Service Association welcomes the announcement of a new strategic direction for the justice system, but says union members want to be properly included in designing the system they will eventually implement. ...
The success stories of people with extra struggles may not get awards and trophies, but they’re worth celebrating all the same, says Jai Breitnauer.It’s the time of year for awards assemblies and prize-givings, for clubs and teams handing out certificates and trophies. It’s traditional, as we approach Christmas and the ...
Millions of dollars worth of New Zealand fruit and grapes were at risk of rotting on the branch due to a shortage of local pickers. So a visionary group of Central Otago growers. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Katherine Gibney, NHMRC early career fellow, The Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity The pacific island nation of Samoa has been making headlines over the past month due to a significant measles outbreak. At last count, 4,995 measles cases had been ...
Two newspaper reports illustrate the contrasting involvements of science and spiritual beliefs in the aftermath of the White Island eruption. Meanwhile several iwi have placed rāhui over their customary coastal areas. This effectively represents a customary prohibition on all maritime activities for the whole of the Eastern Bay of Plenty ...
From Middle Earth to outer space, New Zealand business has covered a lot of ground in the last 10 years. Business editor Maria Slade looks back.As the world emerged blinking from the chaos of the 2008/2009 global financial crisis, New Zealand began the 2010s in relatively good shape. We’d recovered ...
The Spinoff’s cartoonist Toby Morris chats and draws with New Zealand’s doodlers in the webseries Two Sketches. This episode, Toby is the guest of Sir Michael Hill… Jeweller.To close out the season, and potentially the series, Toby boards the super yacht of jeweller, entrepreneur, rich lister and, now, cartoonist, Michael ...
Today's release of Turuki Turuki will be welcome news for people in prison and all those working in the criminal justice system. But its most important message is that all sides need to come together. Turuki Turuki is a call for political ...
The New Zealand First leader Winston Peters says the coalition Government agrees RNZ and TVNZ need protecting at a time when media industry is in dire straights. ...
When Barbara Cox joined a football team in 1973, she was one of the first women in the country to do so. She’s still fighting for women in the sport to get the respect they deserve. Auckland women didn’t play football in 1972. Auckland women cooked and cleaned and looked after ...
Richard MacManus meets Aimee – the digital assistant with a human touch. For years we’ve been worried about robots taking our jobs, but in fact it’s “digital humans” that are increasingly joining the workforce. At least, that seems to be the case in customer service. Southern Cross Health Society, New Zealand’s ...
Election rallies ain’t what they used to be. Boris’s election eve shindig was an invitation-only event for party faithful. The location (at a smallish venue in the London Olympic park) was disclosed to attendees only on the day (presumably to head off the risk of protest).The set-up is for ...
New Zealanders waiting for hip and knee surgery and other medical procedures, and families struggling to put food on the table will be funding increased profits for banks and corporate investors following Finance Minister Grant Robertson's $12 billion ...
Business is Boring is a podcast series presented by The Spinoff in association with Callaghan Innovation. Host Simon Pound speaks with innovators and commentators focused on the future of New Zealand. This week he talks to Campbell Ellison from Callaghan Innovation and Alexandra Allan, CEO of Food Bowl.One of the ...
The Taxpayers’ Union has published the 2019 ‘Public Sector CEO Rich List’ at www.taxpayers.org.nz/ceo_rich_list Taxpayers’ Union spokesman Louis Houlbrooke says, “This year taxpayers will pay $62 million in salaries for just 140 people. ...
The first step in making things fairer, for those that have experienced a miscarriage or stillbirth, got closer with the passing of the first reading of Labour MP Ginny Anderson’s Holidays Act (Bereavement Leave for Miscarriage) Amendment Bill on Tuesday. ...
All over the world, driver error and risk-taking is a leading cause of road crashes [1]. For many employees, driving is the riskiest activity they undertake at work. Organisations looking to encourage and manage safe driving behaviours will benefit ...
The greatest show to ever air on New Zealand TV screens, and arguably any screens ever, had a tenure of just three tragically short years.It was on air from March 1997 to September 1999. It had an ensemble of impossibly jazzy New Zealand children and a live studio audience. It ...
Editor’s Note: Here below is a list of the main issues currently under discussion in New Zealand and links to media coverage.New Zealand Parliament Buildings, Wellington, New Zealand.Government infrastructure spending, fiscal policy Chris Trotter: Grant Robertson Spends Up Large – On The Establishment Thomas Coughlan (Stuff): Politics and economics ...
Thursday, 12 December: Great South has today released a profile of Southland’s emission sources for the 2018 calendar year. It shows that agricultural-related emissions were identified to be the largest emission source for Southland, representing 69% ...
Britain votes today in an election brought on by the ongoing failure of the House of Commons to approve any of the Brexit deals put before it over the last couple of years by successive Prime Ministers, Theresa May and now Boris Johnson. Mr Johnson ...
The case for a complete relocation of Auckland’s Waitematā Harbour freight port is far from established. Nevertheless, Auckland will grow over the long term, and the freight operations need to move away from the area close to the downtown Ferry Terminal. This area should become like Sydney’s Circular Quay. The ...
Climate change crisis; - “transport emissions are a major culprit causing horrendous weather events.” At CEAC; we will watch with interest of how the transport funds will be used to improve our transport infrastructure and lower our climate change ...
Finance Minister Grant Robertson unveiled a $12 billion infrastructure spending boost that was at the top end of most short-term political expectations. ...
From unpaid teachers to match fixing to sex in a toilet, these are the news stories that outraged New Zealand in the 2010s.Paul HenryThe decade in NZ scandal started out strong thanks to TV and radio host Paul Henry (for the edification of younger readers, he was like Mike Hosking, ...
The Minister for the Environment, Hon David Parker, has this evening launched EDS’s final report on its Resource Management Law Reform Project at a function in Wellington. The project took a first-principles look at how New Zealand’s resource management ...
The power of government to order users and companies to decrypt encrypted data and devices needs stronger privacy protections and additional safeguards, according to a study published by researchers at the University of Waikato. ...
The final Cabinet meeting of the year is on Monday, but an announcement on the future of public broadcasting may not be made until next year given there's only be two of after that. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rob Manwaring, Senior Lecturer, Politics and Public Policy, Flinders University The cost of running the 2017 UK general election was estimated at £140 million (A$270 million). It’s likely to be higher this time. In 2017, the Conservatives, Labour and the Liberal Democrats ...
National Leader Simon Bridges is accusing the Government of "screwing up the economy," after new Treasury figures revealed the books would be going into deficit next year. ...
Government unveils $12b infrastructure boost, much of it focused on roads and rail; and much awaited report on combatting foreign interference in elections delivered. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adam Brumm, ARC Future Fellow, Griffith University Our team has discovered a cave painting in Indonesia that is at least 44,000 years old and which may cast new light on the beginnings of modern religious culture. This ancient painting from the island ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Sweller, Emeritus Professor, UNSW This is the first of two essays exploring key theories – cognitive load theory and constructivism – underlying teaching methods used today. Explicit guidance and feedback from teachers is more effective in teaching students new content and ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Chris Hartley, Research Fellow (Housing and Homelessness) at the Centre for Social Impact, UNSW A private member’s bill, moved by Labor MP Josh Burns, recently called on the Australian government “to help build more affordable homes” in response to the growing homelessness ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Salvatore Ferraro, PhD candidate, RMIT University The board of Australia’s second-biggest bank is in for some stick at its annual general meeting today, as Westpac shareholders vent their displeasure at the scandal involving breaches of anti-money-laundering rules. But though it will be ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ayesha Scott, Senior Lecturer – Finance, Auckland University of Technology In the 12 years since New Zealand introduced the retirement fund KiwiSaver, nearly three million New Zealanders have enrolled and 30 KiwiSaver providers are now collectively managing NZ$57 billion in investments. But ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tanya Dalziell, Associate Professor, English and Literary Studies, University of Western Australia Nick Broomfield’s latest documentary, Marianne & Leonard: Words of Love tells the story of the fabled relationship between Leonard Cohen and Marianne Ihlen, which unfolded after they met on the ...
Two more victims of the Whakaari-White Island eruption have died overnight, taking the death toll to eight, with eight others believed dead on the island. ...
Two new reports both recommend fresh approaches to the way criminal justice is approached. Today, changes to the system will come into effect immediately. ...
Open Mike 23/03/2017 
If you want to study propagandist techniques, you are typically told to study Dictatorships. Not unfair, but what’s always been more interesting to me is so-called “democratic” countries and their broader information systems. Why? Because people opt for it, even as they decry “totalitarian regimes!”.. It’s quite an eye ...8 hours ago
Introducing legislation which shits on the public's right to know seems to have become a daily occurrence for this government. Today's example is the Infrastructure Funding and Financing Bill. The bill establishes a framework for the establishment of "special purpose vehicles" (SPVs) to hide debt from local government balance sheets ...11 hours ago
Below is the longlist of words and phrases generated in the korero phase of Public Address Word of the Year 2019, with some editorial moderation. Now it's time to vote. As you'll doubtless be able to see, you get three ranked choices. Use your power wisely. Or frivolously, whatever.As usual, ...11 hours ago
by Daphna Whitmore This week 800 unionised bus drivers in Auckland were suspended from work after they refused to collect fares as part of a campaign of industrial action. Drivers working for Auckland’s largest bus company NZ Bus are asking for more pay and better working conditions after being offered ...15 hours ago
As details emerge about what unfolded on Whakaari / White Island two days ago, my thoughts go out to all the families affected by this terrible event. My thoughts are also with the first responders who worked in perilous circumstances to assist and protect those affected. Both local and ...16 hours ago
BMG research have unleashed their final poll of the 2019 campaign:Westminster voting intention: CON: 41% (-)LAB: 32% (-)LDEM: 14% (-)GRN: 4% (-)BREX: 3% (-1)via @BMGResearch , 06 - 11 Dec Chgs. w/ 06 Dec That's a bit of a "Dunno why we bothered" sort of poll. "Phillip, I'm afraid I've been a ...17 hours ago
Grant Keeps On Trucking: Out of the $12 billion Robertson has announced for infrastructure investment, $8 billion will be allocated to specific projects, with the balance of $4 billion held in reserve. What does it say about this Government's "transformational" ambitions that 85 percent of that $8 billion is to ...18 hours ago
I love data. It’s amazing the sort of “discoveries” I can make given a data set and computer statistical package. It’s just so easy to search for relationships and test their statistical significance. Maybe relationships which ... 3 days ago
The state of the United Kingdom is fractured, torn up, shredded. The Empire is gone, it died a long time ago. And yet, the country is still tracking with a lead in favour of the ones who play to the ingrained, class-bound division for political gain. It is a disgrace ...5 days ago
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While much of the NZ left has transitioned to postmodern and identity politics in relation to transgender ideology, there are some very good articles about that deploy Marxist methodology in relation to this subject. The one below is from the British marxist group Counterfire and appeared on their site here ...1 week ago
“America the Beautiful!”, staunch defender of democracy, freedom and… a whole lot of despotic tyrants that play nice with what is called “the Washington Consensus.” America is indeed capable of immense good, but like any Nation, and most assuredly any aspirant to the mantle of Empire, great, immense evil. All ...2 weeks ago
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New Zealand First MP Darroch Ball’s bill introducing a six-month minimum sentence for assaults on first responders has passed its first reading in Parliament. Mr Ball said the new offence of "injuring a first responder or prison officer with intent" would target people who attacked paramedics, police, firefighters, and corrections ...1 day ago
Live from the Whanganui Opera House, on the final day of the 2019 Labour Party Conference, Jacinda Ardern announced the largest investment in school property in 25 years. ...1 week ago
The days of vulnerable consumers falling victim to loan sharks, truck shops and other predatory lenders are numbered, following the Credit Contracts Legislation Amendment Bill passing its third reading tonight. “Too many Kiwis are being given loans that are unaffordable and unsuitable, trapping them in debt and leaving their families ...8 hours ago
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Scott Morrison is picking up that Australia’s devastating, prolonged fires are producing a soured, anti-government mood among many in the community. It may not be entirely rational for people to turn on politicians in such ...2 hours ago
Winston Peters hopes mergers of NZME and Stuff and RNZ and TVNZ will save local journalism. Bernard Hickey argues they are more likely to again prove costly diversions. ...3 hours ago
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Andrew Little says the justice system is “taking wrecked lives and wrecking them just a little bit more”, but will the Govt cough up with what's needed for transformative change? ...5 hours ago
Light rail along Dominion Rd is further behind than many might have thought. ...6 hours ago
The Environmental Defence Society has launched an insightful, bold and practical roadmap for reforming our resource management system. ...7 hours ago
A review of the ANZ Bank New Zealand's missteps over the past year has found complacency at the most senior level, leading to the departure of its long serving chief executive. ...8 hours ago
Council of Licenced Firearms Owners (COLFO) says the announcement today of three changes to the Arms Bill should be the start of a large-scale rewrite, or even eventual abandonment. ...8 hours ago
The National Party's new health platform includes $50 million a year for cancer drugs, a boost to Pharmac funding and the reintroduction of National Health Targets. ...9 hours ago
Newsroom has asked the district court to end a defamation action by business site NBR over a news story discussing NBR and ex National MP Steven Joyce. ...9 hours ago
The success stories of people with extra struggles may not get awards and trophies, but they’re worth celebrating all the same, says Jai Breitnauer.It’s the time of year for awards assemblies and prize-givings, for clubs and teams handing out certificates and trophies. It’s traditional, as we approach Christmas and the ...10 hours ago
A building developer is asking the Christchurch City Council to cordon off his defective multi-storey block in the main shopping zone. ...10 hours ago
Millions of dollars worth of New Zealand fruit and grapes were at risk of rotting on the branch due to a shortage of local pickers. So a visionary group of Central Otago growers. ...11 hours ago
Two newspaper reports illustrate the contrasting involvements of science and spiritual beliefs in the aftermath of the White Island eruption. Meanwhile several iwi have placed rāhui over their customary coastal areas. This effectively represents a customary prohibition on all maritime activities for the whole of the Eastern Bay of Plenty ...11 hours ago
The New Zealand First leader Winston Peters says the coalition Government agrees RNZ and TVNZ need protecting at a time when media industry is in dire straights. ...12 hours ago
Election rallies ain’t what they used to be. Boris’s election eve shindig was an invitation-only event for party faithful. The location (at a smallish venue in the London Olympic park) was disclosed to attendees only on the day (presumably to head off the risk of protest). The set-up is for ...13 hours ago
NZ's media industry has found a surprising ally - of sorts - in the NZ First leader. ...15 hours ago
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The Finance Minister says reducing carbon emissions is one of the focus of a $12 billion boost to infrastructure. ...17 hours ago
National Leader Simon Bridges is accusing the Government of "screwing up the economy," after new Treasury figures revealed the books would be going into deficit next year. ...17 hours ago
Government unveils $12b infrastructure boost, much of it focused on roads and rail; and much awaited report on combatting foreign interference in elections delivered. ...17 hours ago
Two more victims of the Whakaari-White Island eruption have died overnight, taking the death toll to eight, with eight others believed dead on the island. ...17 hours ago
Partial reinstall of the search mechanism.
Still to do…
1. It doesn’t remember your advanced settings
2. The @author isn’t working well.
3. Nor is the multiple selections
Could probably do with an update to the search form to allow more advanced searches.
But it is FAST. Try the topical search for “Wayne Mapp” or “robinsod”
Incidentally for mods. I know the easy way to leave message son a post before publication… It is a weird trick…
…. and now I’m sounding like one of those come-on net ads
@lprent “Replies” is working well and I love it.
Using “Replies” is really the only way a debate can develop on a posting over a period of a few days or longer.
I was pleased with that when I got it operating cleanly and without excessive overhead a few year ago.
wow, that is fast. Looks better than google by site too, I’d forgotten what it does.
Wayne Mapp says that the attack was justified because the NZers were under attack. They were entitled to defend themselves. Seems a bit odd as on the night, apart from some bullets there is no mention of weapons found or being fired at the NZers.
Listen to Wayne Mapp interview from Morning Report: http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/morningreport/audio/201837663/mapp-sas-not-guilty-of-war-crimes-operation-a-fiasco
He says that the soldiers were under constant attack from the village, and that bomb makers lived there. Was that confirmed in the book?
I currently don’t believe their excuse, that NZer’s were under attack as the reason to their behaviour, and I won’t believe it until I see the video footage, because there will be video of it.
On the night in question there was no report of “coming under fire.” Only some bullets were found
Therefore the justification must be that 2 weeks previously their patrol had been attacked. Therefore this would form the “self-defence” response. The attack had been from the direction of the valley and those two villages.
Seems to be a tenuous excuse to me, but maybe that is what happens in a messy war. If so, let it be part of the Terms of Engagement.
‘coming under fire’ would only be believable as an excuse if it happened in the immediate moments prior to their attack.
Revenge takes time to plan, maybe two weeks? Someone has stoked a fire, in times of ‘war’ it is easy to do, a good solider follows orders. Only some bullets were found, i wonder whose bullets and when they were fired? (i’m still reading the book, digesting it)
No wonder so many SAS have spoken to the authors, the decision of a few affecting the lives of many, not only deaths and casualties of innocents, but the PTSD and burden of guilt on those whom were good soldiers, following orders.
“Naturally the common people don’t want war; neither in Russia, nor in England, nor in America, nor in Germany. That is understood.
But after all, it is the leaders of the country who determine policy, and it is always a simple matter to drag the people along, whether it is a democracy, or a fascist dictatorship, or a parliament, or a communist dictatorship.
Voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy.
All you have to do is to tell them they are being attacked, and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same in any country.”
– Hermann Göring (Nazi and Hitler Successor, death by suicide in 1946)
Goering was not Hitler’s appointed successor.
“Hitler appointed the following as the new Cabinet and as leaders of the nation:
President of the Reich (Reichspräsident), Minister of War (Kriegsminister) and Commander-in-Chief of the Navy (Oberbefehlshaber der Kriegsmarine): Grand Admiral Karl Dönitz
Chancellor of the Reich (Reichskanzler): Dr. Joseph Goebbels
Party Minister (Parteiminister): Martin Bormann
Foreign Minister (Aussenminister): Arthur Seyss-Inquart
Interior Minister (Innenminister): Gauleiter Paul Giesler
Commander-in-Chief of the Army (Oberbefehlshaber des Heeres): Field Marshal Ferdinand Schörner
Commander-in-Chief of the Air Force (Oberbefehlshaber der Luftwaffe): Field Marshal Robert Ritter von Greim
Reichsführer-SS and Chief of Police (Reichsführer-SS und Chef der Deutschen Polizei): Gauleiter Karl Hanke
Minister of Economy (Wirtschaft): Walther Funk
Minister of Agriculture (Landwirtschaft): Herbert Backe
Minister of Justice (Justiz): Otto Thierack
Minister of Culture (Kultur): Dr. Gustav Adolf Scheel
Minister of Propaganda (Propaganda): Dr. Werner Naumann
Minister of Finance (Finanzen): Johann Ludwig Graf Schwerin von Krosigk
Minister of Labour (Arbeit): Dr. Theo Hupfauer
Minister of Munitions (Rüstung): Karl-Otto Saur
Director of the German Labour Front and member of the Cabinet (Leiter der Deutschen Arbeitsfront und Mitglied des Reichskabinetts: Reichsminister) Dr. Robert Ley”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Last_will_and_testament_of_Adolf_Hitler
EDIT… Words spoken by Herman Goring (Nazi, in 1941 Hitler designated him as his successor and deputy in all his offices. However… When Goring was informed on 22 April 1945 that Hitler intended to commit suicide, Göring sent a telegram to Hitler requesting permission to assume control of the Reich. Considering it an act of treason, Hitler removed Göring from all his positions, expelled him from the party, and ordered his arrest.) to Gustave Gilbert.
Part of a conversation Gilbert held with a dejected Hermann Goering in his cell on the evening of 18 April 1946, as the trials were halted for a three-day Easter recess:
Is that better red hand?
“Do you train for passing tests or do you train for creative inquiry?,” Noam Chomsky
Ian, you’re just causing trouble. When our friend Wayne told his lies to his colleagues in the National caucus, they accepted what he said without demur, as did our leading journalists, such as Duncan Garner, Mark Richardson and Mike Hosking.
All MSM personalities are falling over themselves to be apologists for our military blunders.
None of those are journalists. You have referenced an egotist, a sports jock/egotist and a self centered tosser/egotist.
Apple paid no tax in New Zealand for at least a decade, reports say
Investigation says company paid nothing to Inland Revenue Department because parent company registered in Australia
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/mar/23/apple-paid-no-tax-in-new-zealand-for-at-least-a-decade-reports-say
Eleanor Catton’s new book is about rich Americans buying NZ boltholes
http://www.stuff.co.nz/waikato-times/entertainment/90447796/Eleanor-Cattons-new-book-is-about-rich-Americans-buying-NZ-boltholes
contrast with….
Stressed homeless mother’s desperate plea: ‘It’s too much for me’
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/rotorua-daily-post/news/article.cfm?c_id=1503438&objectid=11821826
….So the National party immigration and foreign ownership policy mostly helps businesses, businesses only contribute about 15% of NZ taxes and some like Apple earning billions in NZ and paying no tax at all.
so those actually living here probably middle NZ, have to pay most of the taxes, local businesses compete against billion dollar companies who pay nothing and now many Kiwis don’t even have a home to rent, let alone own.
Does not make sense!
No wonder NZ is going backwards!! The global economic experiment has failed and it’s not just NZ – it is all around the world. Inequality has risen with neoliberalism.
Yet there are pathways to succeed…http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11822488
From the article
What’s this scheme and how can I get in on it? Servicing a $567,000 mortgage on $55k a year? That’s tight, even for a singleton/no kids.
yep, good on the family for getting their own home and the sacrifices they made but when you are homeless and on the benefit how realistic is it to save $250 a week?
It seems like it is legal for Apple and many other corporations to pay no tax – so you have to wonder why do the NZ government and other governments allow it and discriminate against their own people paying tax and big companies can pay nothing?
Likewise if NZ is opened up to global housing trade and have to compete against real wages overseas and god knows how many tax advantages off shore people have and the massive amount of people in the world, not only is it not moral, it is not fair.
“We know that the Maori Party is using its negotiating position to demand concessions that National would never usually give,” says Mr Seymour.
“Today ACT and UnitedFuture are offering the Prime Minister another option in order to pass the bill without undermining the rights of property owners and local communities.”
http://act.org.nz/act-and-unitedfuture-offer-national-a-way-out-of-rma-quagmire/
Super eyerolling at that.
Lest we forget the mass hysteria that pervaded this site recently and in fond memory of CV
1 the russians have not been shown to have engaged in anything more than the usual “intellegence” that is ongoing.
( i do not cite to prove a negative , that would violate logic!)
2 trumps communications were “Surveiled”
https://mobile.twitter.com/wikileaks/status/844632137072623616/video/1
I am disapointed that so many here seem to welcome gladly being misled
lol
1: trump specifically said that his phones in trump tower had been “tapped”. Even Nunes rejects that in his statement
2: it says ” incidentally collected information about U.S. citizens involved in the Trump transition.”. Not Trump personally, and not that the “US citizens involved in the Trump transition” were the targets of that surveillance. A farcical example of that would be if Ivanka was photographed buying a hot dog from a vendor who was under surveillance for being a message hub for an international criminal cartel.
4: did Nunes say any damned thing about the Russians? I must have missed it.
5: to recap: Trump is still a paranoid wee oompah-loompah who mashes words together.
better than wikileaks
So you are suggesting a report on what he said “really means” somehow trumps (pun intended) the actual video of him saying it?
I do agree with your point 5 ! (Yes i really do!) but would add that he is also Is cunning as a rattlesnake and has honed his skills in media manipulation over many series of the apprentice . I am not fooled for a minute that the “obama tapped my phones” tweet was unintended or unproveable he is playing the media at their own game and winning. In the end i am convinced that 1. everyone with any profile had their phones tapped. 2. Obama knew this . Yes that is only my uncited conviction but notwithstanding the atlantic’s spin, That has to be the most likely truth (to set along side “fake truth” and “alternative truth”)
OK, where in the 1m15s video wikileaks have taken out of context does Nunes say trump’s phone was tapped, that trump himself was under surveillance, or the individuals close to trump’s campaign were targets of surveillance (as opposed to being seen connected with legitimate targets of surveillance)?
Because what I said and the Atlantic article says are consistent with the wikileaks video. They are all irrelevant to the claim that trump’s phones were tapped by obama, or even that trump himself came under any surveillance whatsoever.
I would suggest that:
Any communications across the US border were monitored automatically; and
anyone in the Trump campaign who made contact with an actual target of surveillance (either from spying or international crime) would have been logged as having that contact.
But then we know all that everyone is under those conditions, because Snowden and Flynn.
What I think is [insert word “odd” here] is the idea that Obama ordered any intelligence agency to make trump a surveillance target. For what – Democrats to lose the presidency and […], enabling world domination?
He states very clearly that having identified members of trump team as incidental to the target of survellance , these names and details were then disseminated thru the intelligence community ie they became targets themselves.
Let me put this another way (dramatic reconstruction, actual facts may differ!)
Scene one (combined intellegence headquarters)
“how can we get trump?” “I know say the russians helped him to win” this while not true can be proven (heh heh) , of course the russians can be shown to have tried to infuence the us election just as they always do and we always do. And trump won, “brilliant lets do it”
scene two (trump in his regal slendour of trump towers surrounded by cheap gold plated bathroomware)
“Hmm how about this” i accuse obama of ordering the tapping of my phones this can be proven even tho its not true (“heh heh”) everyone knows the cia taps everyones phone and because the cia reports to the president he technically has ordered all that they do.
Scene three (news room of theatlantic.com)
(ChIef editor)
“Ha ha trump has accused obama of tapping his phones we can shoot this down easily by showing that it was all just normal activity and the president had nothing personally to do with it,”
(Junior copywrtier) ” but dosn’t that approach rather undermine the russians helped trump line”
Trump “heh heh”
🙄
First of all, “i.e.” does not mean “I’ve just said A, now I will pretend B is A”. Having your name go through the intelligence cycle does not mean you are a target of surveillance. It just means you have been associated with one.
Secondly, the US intelligence services do not tap everyone’s phone. They monitor international calls, and those domestic calls for which they have a court order. That is not “everyone’s phone”. It is nowhere close.
Thirdly, the president cannot legally order phones to be tapped. If the president were dumb enough to interfere in an investigation, the tap would still need a court order. That is why the allegation Trump made is a big deal: he was accusing Obama of breaking a multitude of laws, for which Obama had no motive. That is not business as usual by intelligence services, it is a highly unusual and illegal act.
Either Obama goes to jail, or Trump is full of shit.
gosh you are an expert on the internals of the CIA, who wouda thunk it.
well thats a great relief to everyone . carry on
Well, either you have read a fair chunk of what Snowden and others released and matched it against what Nunes actually said, or you have no idea what you’re talking about when you use sentences like “target of survellance” and your comments are the product of wishful thinking and orange fantasies.
yes but the thing is my (dramatic reconstruction actual facts may differ) still offers a more plausable and believable scenario (that both stories are bullshit and one is designed to head off the other) than your uncited certainties. why is that?
well, your scenario revolves around the logical impossibility of something that is untrue being “proven”, so I guess you have an alternative definition of “plausible”.
BTW, pretty much everything in this discussion is “uncited”, including trump’s claim that obama ordered him to be wiretapped. Your comments included.
I can tell you that many things that are untrue can be “proven” particularly when they are reputational attacks. The whole point is that you need to have a healthy scepticism …. especially if you dont like the person being inpugned … or their politics
The other point is that you have a pretty weird idea of what “proven” means.
Trump made a massive claim. He has a history of making claims that turned out to be bullshit. He just says whatever is convenient at the time. There is no reason to think that his massive claim about Obama ordering trump tower to be wiretapped is any different.
He might be a genius masquerading as an oaf. It might be an amazing act. But so far the signs point to him being a privileged, stupid bully who got richer and powerful because capitalism rewards privileged, stupid bullies.
Where is CV? Is he banned again?
managed to come back from a ban and get another one within hours. It was pretty funny – he got back from a ban that was for making up unsubstantiated shit, then got another ban for making up unsubstantiated (and incorrect) shit about his previous ban.
I think this one was for until october.
Ooooo – [uses reactivated search function] here’s the episode in glorious Panavision.
Hehe oops
Here’s some bedtime stories for you Xanthe.
BTW, do you really think Nunes is the best source to back up an argument about Trump’s campaign possibly having inappropriate contact with Russia?
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/nunes-trump-russia-investigation_us_58d2e0b5e4b02d33b748452d?ncid=inblnkushpmg00000009
http://edition.cnn.com/2017/03/22/politics/us-officials-info-suggests-trump-associates-may-have-coordinated-with-russians/index.html
http://www.politico.com/story/2017/03/schiff-russia-trump-collusion-236386
I prefer source documents to editorialising personally
Worthy aspiration. So why show us a clip of a deeply partisan political hack disseminated by an outlet that seems to have developed a penchant for manipulative partisan political games?
Because it was raw source , not someone elses opinion about what It means , who published it is not relevant
Nunes has made clear by his actions he’s more interested in protecting Trump than finding and publicising what actually happened. So his credibility is on the same level as Trump’s. There’s no discernible relationship between his words and reality. That wikileaks choose to spread this fertilizer in an apparent attempt to defend their past actions further trashes their credibility.
Digby reckons it’s just another coincidence in a big fat series of coincidences.
Then on March 15, in the wake of the president’s manic early-morning tweetstorm accusing former President Barack Obama of arranging for him to be wiretapped, Trump demonstrated his own awe-inspiring clairvoyance. Trump told Fox News’ Tucker Carlson that despite all the denials from every institution and person in a position to know, “You’re going to find some very interesting items coming to the forefront over the next two weeks.”
Wouldn’t you know it? On Wednesday House Intelligence Committee chair Rep. Devin Nunes, R-Calif., was shown some documents by a “source” that had him so up in arms he couldn’t even take the time to alert the other committee members before he ran to the White House to show the president. When asked if he felt vindicated by this alleged bombshell, Trump replied:
I somewhat do. I must tell you I somewhat do. I very much appreciated the fact that they found what they found, I somewhat do.
It’s amazing how Trump and his people are able to see into the future this way, isn’t it?
http://digbysblog.blogspot.co.nz/2017/03/yes-it-almost-certainly-came-from-white.html
well good on “Digby” …….. I guess that settles it then!
Andre
I am unable to discern any actual content in your last post. Apart from attacks on the credibility of sources based on attacks on their credibility…….. nothing!
WTF ? ?? is this what substituts for discorse here?
A hoot yet a good point:
“A conservation trust manager angry at Environment Minister Nick Smith’s swimmable river stance has challenged him to a boxing match – with the loser to “frolic” in one of Christchurch’s most polluted swimming holes.”
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11824103
I suspect the manager will be powered by righteous fury and pummel Smith.
Jacinda totally OWNED Paula in Parliament today.
Feeling very proud of Labours Deputy 😀
Yes pullya is going to be fun to watch as karma cycles back to run over her dogma
Just watched it thanks Cinny. Jacinda calm measured questions well ordered.
Paula discomfited, unable to answer for the PM, lacking her usual spite/arrogance.
Well done Jacinda.
Rogue state thirsting for blood
http://normanfinkelstein.com/2017/03/21/the-vampire-state-thirsting-for-blood/