Depends what you mean. There was a general stoppage of comments last night by accident. In the post edit screen there is a button to moderate comments for that post.
//=====
In the discussion settings screen there is a setting to require that only logged in users are able to comment. This is used by some sites who want to restrict comment writing access. Kiwiblog is probably the most noticeable.
We use different techniques which tend to allow a wider and less selective participation.
However, the setting screen used when banning commenters, and releasing them from bans. Which is a bit of a nuisance as the toggle gets hit by accident and turned on. Especially by overly sensitive touchpad clickareas. It has happened a few times over the last decade.
When I get my machines set up again (just moving apartments), I’ll get the style sheet to hide the button.
//=====
If you mean that certain posts get full moderation (ie they must be released by a moderator). That happens occasionally, and usually on guest posts from politicians or posts about client change or ones that outrage misogynist idiots. That is to reduce the workload on moderators cleaning up after children who can’t behave with any degree of decorum
//=============
Could you please try to be more precise when asking questions. My toleration for wide open diffuse questions is pretty limited.
Sorry, some of the new topics today require a commenter to be logged in with WordPress to be able to comment. I think that’s the first of the two options you provided.
Nice to know that after all this time Bill English at last thinks its time to concentrate on jobs and incomes . . .
About the only thing in those he would be concerned with would be the wages and how to lower them to ‘make us more competitive’. One way to do that is to import people to fill job slots.
The student spoke on the condition of anonymity because most in the programme had signed non-disclosure agreements before starting on the programme.
She believed the complaints and leaks to the media were driven by one or two interns who had a beef with the programme. She claimed one was dropped from a leadership position on the programme after allegedly taking bottles of wine from Labour MP Jenny Salesa’s house after Salesa hosted a meal for them.
…
She said it was disappointing to read comments in the media about “sweatshop” conditions and “slave labour”.
“Three meals a day, every single day, were provided. The care they have provided is comprehensive. The one thing that has cause a bit of chatter is the cubicle situation, which I understand is not ideal. But the sweatshop conditions, where we were rallied into a line and forced to work, that’s not true at all.”
She defended Awataha marae, saying most were moved into proper living quarters on the marae which are “more than ideal”.
“The food is great and they are very accommodating.”
She said many others shared her view but could not speak because of the non-disclosure agreements.
McCarten’s (and the Marae) supporters come out in support of McCarten and Te Awataha Marae:
So the students were offered something that turned out to be not true, but the students are very aware of who is at fault and it is not the Labour party leadership, but those running the campaign, most of who do not have paid authority in the Labour party.
The NZ Herald also has a good article this morning from an interview with a different intern. The Marae have also defended themselves and their facilities on the radio news
It appears the biggest issue is that the people running the scheme tried to go too big and were a bit ‘creative’ with the promotion of the scheme to try and entice Sanders & Corbyn supporters down to NZ to bring their enthusiasm and desire for social change to NZ.
I am beginning to think this is definitely more a manufactured crisis than a real one.
“So the students were offered something that turned out to be not true, but the students are very aware of who is at fault and it is not the Labour party leadership, but those running the campaign, most of who do not have paid authority in the Labour party.”
I don’t care if the law has been breached or not, the supposed worker’s party should not be asking people to come and work here for fuck all wages that’s what we expect from right wing scum.
Oh James, how lovely to see you back, I was very concerned we hadn’t seen you commenting during the whole Barclay alleged breaking the law affair, but glad to see you back now commenting on a volunteer intern scheme (possibly blown up by a disgruntled wine thief).
Biased as heck???? Pot… kettle….
Its because Im out of the country and only online a little. Glad to hear you missed me.
Re Barclay – the guys and idiot and gets everything he deserves. English was an idiot on the way he handled it. Other than that I havnt read too much on it – Enjoying the sun too much.
Because there appears to be one story saying it is all labours fault and multiple stories saying it was a cock up by the Change campaign after the people involved left labour to run the campaign that labour is now fixing because of the perceived connections.
Also now there are more stories which are disputing the “all volunteers/students feel ripped off” story line, and it looks like it was between 5-10 people who had a bit of a beef with the organisation
“I was out to the Marae 2 weeks ago having a look around at what they were doing. I had a meal with them, talked with some of the volunteers. They were fantastic young people who were loving the adventure of it all.”
“Firstly, let’s be clear of the timeline here. Bryce Edwards had mentioned this program 20 days ago on June 1st… …”another type of resource is being utilised by the Labour Party this election – comrades from the US and UK. The party is currently importing dozens of young leftwing activists who are staying at an Auckland Marae”,”
“…and Bryce’s mention was after a news story on the 20th of April – a full month ago, where Hone was attacking Labour for doing this. ”
“The spluttering shock and hyperventilation of the corporate media at a story that is over a month old right when English was getting screwed seems remarkably good timing for National.”
“The perception of political hypocrisy is a mainstream media generated one, …”
With this first electioneering shot from our pro-nat media …. the only thing missing is Dong Liu
I wonder how many foreign students are helping with the National Party campaign? I doubt they have many volunteers so another question is, are they being paid by the taxpayer via Parliamentary Services?
Probably more foreign donations or ‘sweet’ deals u want to look for. Lucky with Skycity & 0 tax havens laundering conditions r favourable for the Natz.
So looks like it was a wish list made by the change programme when asked by unions to provide a plan to get them to provide funding. A wishlist which never made it into a real plan nor proposal, nor appears to have been approved by anyone, and no statement from anyone on if it is actually real… so basically garbage
At the risk of kicking a hornets nest:
In the context of change the government, the common refrain is a vote for anyone other than Labour/green is a wasted vote/or a vote for national….
I am of the opinion that if I vote for a minor party that is to the left of labour, and national govern again after the election, then labour weren’t ready to be an alternative government.
Labour may need another period of time in opposition to get it to move ‘left’. Especially if it looses votes to the ‘left/non neo-liberal’ parties.
The old left right paradigm may not be relevant any more.
I forget who put the theory up about there being a triangular aspect to politics (left, right, not neo-liberal) but having an option of a non neo liberal party really appeals.
There is greens & mana on the left.
Labour is a liberal centre party that’s gonna go in the direction voters indicate in elections. If it’s greens & mana it will push labour left. If it’s national it will push them right, if it’s nzfirst it will push them conservative centre. So if u r a leftie & for some inexplicable Reason U don’t vote, u r the ones pushing the parties right. Don’t whine about the middle class, rich & corporations and how to blame they r next election if u don’t vote, blame yourself!
Also my guess is it’s last chances for the public to choose a different future, because at the rate of state house sell offs , rising rents & lowering wages & asset sales from the national party and their grab of power across the state sectors, the poor are being socially cleansed.
The cost of houses of over 1 million in Auckland and the price of rents rising & prices spreading rapidly ( just saw a do up 90m2 villa in arrow town for 1.1million).
Even if u don’t live in Auckland the social cleansing & immigration practices going on will generate votes for the national party, giving them a long term advantage in ongoing elections. Auckland is 1/3 of the vote apparently.
so vote Green. The problem is lefties voting Mana or TOP and those votes being wasted if Mana don’t gain TTT and TOP don’t get to 5%. That’s a gift to National.
Sorry, I am away from my fone for the rest of the day.
That is my point, my vote isn’t wasted, rather it is invested.
If Labour lose this election but shift profoundly left/non neo-liberal for the next cycle.
Probably the other vibe I want to articulate is: is a Labour government that much of a change?
Gsays the message u send to labour is the opposite. If people r voting for the right political parties only – it’s sending all the left parties to the right because that is what the voters r telling them to do.
In my view that has been nationals biggest dirty politic propagating the message that labour is national. So don’t bother voting.
That’s the national tactic to vulnerable people. Don’t bother voting.
Voters need to send a message back to national – I reject your policy by voting against them.
yes. Also the people that criticise the Greens for not being more radical or left than they are but who haven’t been voting for them, well that’s why the Greens have become more mainstream. If there was a viable party further on the left I would agree with voting for them, but there really isn’t. Voting Mana or TOP as a protest vote will have very little effect on Labour or the Greens (if it was going to move them left it would have already).
“If Labour lose this election but shift profoundly left/non neo-liberal for the next cycle.”
Yes, that’s the bet. But it’s a risk IMO. A few % to Mana or TOP isn’t going to change Labour’s mind if they lose but it might cause them to lose. Little will probably be replaced as leader. What more left wing MP is there to take his place?
And why not just vote Green who are to the left of Labour already? To me your argument is very FPP. It’s not about Labour losing the election, it’s about the parliamentary left as a whole. I hope Harawira wins TTT and that Mana get another crack at parliament, but they don’t need left wing party votes to do that. They blew it at the last election, so it’s on them to rebuild over time if they want more MPs.
TOP aren’t left wing and are basically capitalism with more social justice than we have now so long as it’s framed in economics (that’s neoliberal imo).
“Probably the other vibe I want to articulate is: is a Labour government that much of a change?”
That one irks. For one, it won’t be a Labour govt. It will be a L/G govt or a L/G/NZF govt or a L/NZF one. That alone is a bloody good reason to vote Labour or Green. Best thing for the left right now is a L/G govt that doesn’t need Peters. In order for that to happen we need more people voting Labour or Green not less.
The other aspect is that if you compare policy Labour are very different to National in ways that impact directly on people and the country as a whole. Add in Green policy and on almost every area you can name a L/G govt would be substantially different to National. It beggars belief that we are still arguing about this on the left, are people not reading actual policy? If you want to understand the difference, have a look at water, welfare, and housing. It’s glaring.
hi weka,
i can see we aren’t gonna see eye to eye on this.
mana blowing it last election is a point of view, the internet thing didn’t help.
i do feel labour did not help at all either, which is form for them and the way they can treat parties to the left of them.
“Probably the other vibe I want to articulate is: is a Labour government that much of a change?”
i certainly accept labour and national have differing polices, but as you and bill and others have pointed out, we need RADICAL changes to the way we live.
electric cars and vegetarian tuesdays isn’t gonna save our bacon.
labour will still be beholden to the status quo and lobbyists.
fair enough labour/green govt will help some of those that need it most.
labour, green, and 2,3,4 mana mps will be even better for the disadvantaged.
cheers for your input. hopefully the feathers arent too ruffled.
Also ‘investing’ your vote is something a neoliberal day trader would think of.
Have u by chance, had something pop into your social media accounts? Because I heard that’s how trump won.
data mining social media & sending individualised fear messages to voters. Ie Hillary Clinton thinks black men r predators to Black voters to make them not vote.
hi save, cheers for yr responses.
kinda hard to have a nuanced conversation, via text only, hours between responses.
believe it or not the standard is my social media.
no facebook, if you are on facebook you are not the customer you are the product.
no instantgram or twitter.
ts, rnz and stuff for the odd sports story/result is the limit cyber wise.
much rather engage with people in the flesh.
i am aware of trumps team use of targetted facebook posts, brilliant and dastardly use of a tool.
i think at the heart of this is i resent the implication that i must vote with the crowd.
mana last time round resonated with me.
Labour might think “oh gee, we’d better try nationalising everything as a policy because nobody is voting for us now”, but you know there will be loads of advice to “just go a little bit lmore like national to capture the middle ground”.
As investments go, that one’s pretty high risk. You might waste money on sports betting, but it’s not really an “investment”.
And I genuinely think that at least a labgrn government will improve the lives of thousands of people, even if it won’t bring about the revolution. I for one support the idea of less homeless people, but in a “give them homes and support” way, not a “move them out of my sight” way.
I forget who put the theory up about there being a triangular aspect to politics (left, right, not neo-liberal) but having an option of a non neo liberal party really appeals.
I think those three would be: Left, Right, Not Capitalist
Going Left or Right while maintaining capitalism maintains all the problems of the status quo. Although, going Left is more likely to lead to the removal of capitalism.
Just wondering what others think of the idea of foreign (mostly US) people campaigning for Labour? Would kiwis respond positively to someone flown in from another country telling them how to vote? I don’t think it’s a very good idea.
Over the years, I’ve seen a lot of activists heading to Aussie, UK, and US as volunteers in their elections. Plus quite a few who have acted as observers in elections all around the world. I have also seen small numbers of overseas volunteers coming here.
It is a way to transfer information about different electoral systems and the way that campaigns and elections are run – for better or for worse.
For instance, explaining the nuances of MMP campaigns to overseas volunteers has been a private amusement for quite a while. Always nice when you can see the light of understanding in their eyes.
Update: I see that Anne said much the same thing further down.
What you refer to as globalism, is basically globalisation by and for the wealthy and corporates. They have their wealthy international think tanks, Bildeberg groups and other networks.
The best way to combat this internationalisation of the power of the elites, is to work collaboratively with other less powerful individuals and groups across countries. Pulling up the draw bridge, and isolating the less well off in individual countries, will be no defense against the international reach of the powerful and wealthy elites.
This scheme has been operating for some 20 plus years and political parties of all persuasions do it. Kiwis have gone to America, to Aussie, to England. Americans have gone to England, to Aussie and now to NZ. Aussies have gone to… and on it goes.
It’s an excellent way for young people of like mind to meet their counterparts in other countries and gain experience along the way.
What a closed mind you and other detractors must have.
TC
It’s hard to try and move forward when having to drag a concrete Noah’s Ark from your left leg full of survival animals who can’t think anything different than what they’ve always had without squawking in fright.
I don’t have a problem with it being a resource, I just think that Labour needs to get our young people politically motivated as a priority.
While overseas volunteer supporters of like minded parties may look forward to coming over and having the experience. It is not necessarily true that the policies of similar positioned parties are the same. They have a lot of trust that the campaign they are working on follows their values until they get here. They are also unaware of any of the political happenings in the last three years for NZ, where US and UK politics can be easily followed on this side of the world.
A non-partisan encouragement of young people, presenting the overriding issues and looking for comprehensive solutions would be a great vehicle to get this started. If Labour and the Greens were involved, they would have to place trust in NZers that once they are informed, they would no longer accept trite assurances from Ministers and media that everything is hunky-dory. But the pay-off would most likely benefit those parties involved, and the left side of NZ politics as a whole. When people work together successfully, they are more inclined to view the wider community as their responsibility and with care.
I don’t have a problem with it being a resource, I just think that Labour needs to get our young people politically motivated as a priority.
Which is exactly what has been happening under the radar for some time Molly. I have noticed the increasing number of young people who have joined the Labour Party in recent years. It has almost seemed like a revival of the Norman Kirk years when many young people – including me – were motivated to join Labour.
A few weeks ago I attended a public meeting in Glenfield, Auckland which had been called to discuss the local housing crisis. There were several guest speakers including Phil Twyford. I was surprised to see there were an equal number of young people present as there were older people.
Oh and for the detractors, many of those young people present were not members of the Labour Party, but who chose to attend because they were interested to hear what Phil Twford had to tell them.
“Which is exactly what has been happening under the radar for some time Molly. I have noticed the increasing number of young people who have joined the Labour Party in recent years. It has almost seemed like a revival of the Norman Kirk years when many young people – including me – were motivated to join Labour.”
Thanks Anne. Always interested to hear from someone who knows the history and current position of Labour, as opposed to those who view it from an outside perspective.
A couple of questions, for clarity rather than inquisition:
1. Why is it under the radar? Is that a resources issue, a failure to see future value, or an intended choice?
2. There is a difference between motivating the young to get involved in politics – and getting the young involved in party politics.
I’m thinking that the resurgence in youth politics in Scotland and the UK, has been instigated by the Scottish referendum (and all the non-partisan grassroots community meetings held in support and against) and the Brexit referendum.
I would love to see a true initiative to get the youth electorate voting – regardless of party.
This would require the parties on the left to work together and would require them to have a lot of trust in the electorate, but would pay dividends on election day to the benefit of the left opposition.
Not only does it show how like minded parties can work together for the benefit of the public, it shows how valuable political engagement and knowledge can be. Once awakened, that skill and judgement will be deployed over the course of their voting lives. Political commentators and politicians will be working with a voting public that has the skills to more keenly judge media reports and obfuscations.
I was hoping the internship was something along these lines, but it doesn’t appear to have been in it’s current form.
Because it is fundamentally about people going somewhere to learn how others political systems operate by getting involved in them. It isn’t about making continuous press releases or a big deal about it.
The media will have known about these kinds of programmes for a long time. They really aren’t news – well at least not until National’s spinners like Hooten and Farrar need a diversionary story and someone is found to provide kernel of it.
The question was more about how to make it known to the youth in NZ, so they can intern, rather than the media for commentary. (In particular, youth not currently aligned with the Labour party).
As for the internship initiative, given the quality and depth of the reporting, it seems the typical “sound and fury, signifying nothing” distraction.
Hi Molly. I wasn’t being critical of your comment @ 9.2.2
Just wanted to let you know Labour are doing what they can to get the youth to take part in politics. And of course the Greens are doing like-wise. I also believe the young are coming to recognise their futures don’t look too bright under the current regime. They have every reason to worry about their ability to ever have a home of their own, and of course Climate Change [rightly] hangs heavy on their minds. It wouldn’t surprise me if they are starting to look seriously at wanting a change of regime in NZ.
“What a closed mind you and other detractors must have.”
Wow- what a nasty response to a question imagining how kiwis might respond to doorknocking by American interns.
If that’s an example of how a Labour Party Aucklander replies to a genuine question, glad I’m a Southern Greenie.
[lprent: What a delicate wee lazy flower you must be. Read the policy – especially that about robust debate.
Learn not to make simpleminded presumptions about others nor to try to use a typical troll ‘victim’ act. Because I really don’t like lazy fuckwits like you who try to impose your obnoxious rules on this site. That is my and the moderator’s job. We don’t pass it out to opinionated idiots like you. If I see you try it again, I will amend your behaviour with a sudden permanent ban for violating the rules of this site.
Sorry, warning taken on board. I really wasn’t meaning to impose any rules and, yeah, being a bit sensitive about the closed mind bit. Haven’t been commenting for a while, need to toughen up.
I’ve been involved with overseas volunteers on local revegetation projects, they’ve been great. All I had heard about re the ones this week was about them campaigning/door knocking for Labour and I wondered how that would work out. Now I know more about this type of thing thanks to the other comments.
I’ve noticed a lot of interest in our political culture from some of the Americans I interact with at the gallery. They are intrigued that we have a much more constructive political conversation than they are used to. Several have asked about internships. From where I’m seeing it, it’s not surprising that this got overwhelmed with interest. Tis’ a bugga being popular…
This item on NBC sort of touches on it and explains a lot of how we are place du jour in America right now
It wasn’t the best idea. Yet, it seems Labour gave this little consideration.
In fact, they didn’t even clear the legality of it, which should have been one of the first things to do. Moreover, they are carrying on with it while it is still unclear.
This won’t inspire voter confidence in their ability to run the country.
I’m not a fan – in principle parties should cultivate a local activist or volunteer base.
It may not be illegal but it’s going to cost a couple of points. Looks to me like some middle echelons wanted an entry to the lucrative US political job market.
Garner and that other odious prick held a poll on the AM show this morning asking if the Labour migrant scandal was of more concern than the Barclay affair That odious bit of shit was using terminology like slave ships slave labour etc and Garner in his usual style was reading out the most blatant rightwing crap people supposedly was writing in. with the usual discussions that Labour was not beyond redemption if they change their leader etc etc ad nauseam
That odious prick was most upset when at the last time I saw it more people were concerned about the Barclay affair than Labours. Also it was delightful to see Ardern put hysterical Benefit well and truly in her place.
Has anyone seen the whole morning programme and what was the result of the biased poll they had. because I think people are beginning to wake up the shit by the Garners, Gowers Hoskins and Johnny come lately odious Mark whatever his surname is.
did you see how Ardern had garner eating out of her hand and saying that labour had acting in the right way as opposed to the nats spending a year lying and such.
here that you nat scum the truth will set you free
I haven’t not bothered reading about this labour intern issue, sounds more to me like a msm distraction to drum up, now that national are on the rocks with Barclay etc
No-one brings bashing upon themselves. Bashing is different from holding to account.
“If it wasn’t for Labour messing up, there be no bashing from the left.”
Obviously. But we’re all humans here and all of us make mistakes. I’m far more interested in how we handle those mistakes than in everyone having to be perfect and never make any. As far as I can tell Little fronted up well on this and Labour are doing the work to sort out the actual problem not just the perceived political one.
It’s time to change the government. Your own incessantly negative approach appears to work against that.
“I’m far more interested in how we handle those mistakes”
Indeed, it’s the putting right that counts. Many mess up, not many put it right.
However, in this instance the putting right looks as if it may unravel. I’m concerned Labour are starting to dig a larger hole.
As highlighted, sorting out the legality should be a priority. The media will have a field day with Labour continuing on if it turns out to be illegal. Therefore, this could potentially get far worse.
There is even paperwork bringing their excuse (it was over subscribed) into question.
Labour have been round long enough to know how the game is played, yet they aren’t playing too well, hence we’ve got to keep their feet to the fire.
That’s a pretty ugly metaphor, but useful to know that you think people asked to be damaged and that damaging people is warranted. Including natural allies.
It has been raised by government ministers. Of course Labour is now going to do due diligence..
But it’d be interesting if National are willing to extend this kind of scrutiny to all volunteers who are housed on a Marae. I’m sure that the Maori Party will want a say in that. Or Lions and Rotary who also have widespread international volunteer program. Or churches. Or…. whatever – you may understand the point.
Not to mention kiwis going offshore to do things like VSA, or the volunteers that DOC uses.
“Of course Labour is now going to do due diligence..”
Having a political party associated to an illegal act (not that it has yet been established) isn’t a good look, therefore this should have been cleared up from the get go.
No that is wrong and you are quoting The Hub of all places as a reliable source, you must be joking
Garner kept trying to put words into Kirton’s mouth and kept repeating “does that mean you don’t’ know if you have broken the law yet is that what you are saying”, to which Kirton replied “Oh look I don’t actually but that doesn’t mean anything really and I am focussing on the welfare of these volunteers.” which was more or less repeated a little later by Arderne “I wouldn’t know enough about the explicit rules around someone who’s here on a short-term voluntary basis. I wouldn’t have thought so… we’ve got to be absolutely sure,”
So it is NOT coming from Labour.
If someone said my car had flat tyres I would check to see if they needed inflating but that doesn’t mean I would be admitting that I have been driving around with flat tyres. As I can see the same dirty politics coming into play with this election with all the shit being bounded around about slave ships and sweat shops by labour I am pleased they are checking the law.
Did you know that proven liar Prime Minister John key left and Bill English took over and has been caught lying too only he is a bit more yaap so he’s no good at it. That makes the last two gnat leaders caught lying. Breathe it in bm these are the last of the good days for you old bean.
I haven’t really followed it that closely, beltway stuff.
The issue with the Labour “interns” though…
Oh, how we laughed. The PM lying about what he knew of a crime and his involvement in helping covering it up? Beltway stuff, nothing of interest there. A couple of disgruntled Labour interns, though? Disgusting! Heads must roll!
When asked if Labour has broken any immigration laws, Kirton replied he’s still getting to the bottom of it. Therefore, clearly they’re unsure.
Moreover, the fact he didn’t know, hence wasn’t able to refute it, leaves the thought (it may be illegal) hanging in peoples minds.
This is something they should have cleared up right from the get go.
But here’s another problem, Kirton believes whether it’s legal doesn’t mean anything. However it does. This will look far worse if it turns out to be illegal, yet Kirton can’t see it.
It will be back in the headlines if it is.
And while that would explain why they are carrying on, it’s disappointing they can’t see the potential storm they’re sailing into if it turns out to be illegal.
Meanwhile, the head of the Auckland marae at the centre of the complaints about living conditions said it had been unfairly smeared for political purposes.
Awataha Marae chief executive Anthony Wilson said most interns he had spoken to had loved their stay.
He said politicians had seized on the publicity and the marae was being booted back and forth like a political football, which has upset some kaumatua.
Someone I know intimated something along these lines two weeks ago.
[posted in another thread, but seems pertinent and was offtopic in the other thread so deleted it]
For an engineer in the political machine, McCarten seems to be a bit shit with paperwork. Although it could also be supervision – a few people involved and the person doing the recruiting didn’t tell the colleagues or McCarten how many people were coming.
Actually, I wonder if they just didn’t expect the usual rush of applications at the last minute? Every year I am part of the organising committee for an event, and every year we start shitting ourselves that we’ve overcatered and nobody will show up, and it’s always in the last week/ten days that a solid 80% of attendees register. Fucks my blood pressure up and no mistake. But failing to have the guts to tell people “no, time’s up, we’ll put you on a list of alternates if you want” could have gotten them into this position.
Yes. There does seem to have been a bit of the… left hand not knowing what the right hand was doing. It also sounds like more people took up the offer than they had prepared for, but heaven forbid… nobody committed any crimes, and it’s something everybody has experienced when organising an event or a family reunion. There’s always a hitch of some sort which rears its ugly head at the last minute.
It most certainly didn’t warrant the attention or the vitriol that was heaped on Labour by the MSM over the past 24 hours. They behaved like a pack of howling, rabid dogs. I hope they have sought medical assistance for their hysterical nonsense.
On the plus side, the Labour thing looks like a bit of a flash in the pan, whereas the deBarclay is a long and steady burner. He’s hanging around like a persistent pimple, and we’ll see if a search warrant comes by this time.
1. The Iraqi government and US military have a plan to rebuild built infrastructure, the Mosque, schools and hospitals and housing, to start to make Mosul a liveable place again.
2. Iran just waits for the post-victory near-anomie, uses proxies to gain a stronger hold with the Iraqi government, carves the area up informally with the Kurds, and Mosul becomes a shell of a place.
Given that the U.s.a has just sold $120 Billion of weapons to the Saudis …. and that they seem to be a military industrial society that needs to export these weapons of democracy to stay afloat.
And the fact they help fund Isis … and act as its air-force at crucial moments in Syria.
Then I would suggest it would be the u,s,a ( and Nato ), who continue the destructive conflicts in the middle east ….. that they started with illegal wars/invasions, launched under false pretenses.
What do you think Iran would be like today, if the u.s.a and Brits had not attacked and overthrown their democracy way back in 1953 Ad? ….
Mossadegh was a good man…. and the west has treated the Iranian people with malevolence ever since they overthrew their democratically elected leader.
Go ahead and defend Iran. Because you clearly can’t see I’m not defending either Iran or the USA.
Always amusing to see another moist leftie look for the last European regime it can find to assign the ills of the world upon. It was them colonialists who instigated the comprehensively fundamentalist, misogynist, fanatical , murderous and corrupt 1979 Revolution? And the lack of any reform since?
Have a nice armchair-general time running your alternative history.
Meantime, first coalition to come up with a post-war plan wins.
Well we can know for certain that the `1979 revolution would not have happened if Iran was allowed to continue as a peaceful secular democracy.
We know that the Shah imposed upon the Iranians was a murderous thieving thug.
Ayatollah Khomeini was the fanatical blow back that removed the unpopular Shah.
The average Iranian is obviously far worse off thanks to the real … not alternative ….. history behind the present.
No 1953 coup ,,, no 1979 Ayatollah
And basically evidence since Yugoslavia onward s points to the fact.
That from the west.
The plan Is war ….
For profit …. to the few.
The fate of Mosul ….. going on its history since the u.s.a turned Iraq into one huge war crime ….. is that it will see more shells and bombing and death squads than building.
“The Kurdistan region of Iraq enjoys more stability, economic development, and political pluralism than the rest of the country. And public opinion under the Kurdistan Regional Government demands rule-of-law-based governance. But power is concentrated in the hands of the ruling parties and families, who perpetuate a nondemocratic, sultanistic system. These dynamics could foster instability in Kurdistan and its neighborhood, but could also provide a rare window of opportunity for democratization.”
Well with the Billions of weapons being pumped into the middle east I think the destruction rate ( 3.5 million refugees Iraq ) will continue.
Who are we bombing ?” 3mins 43
P.s I thought Saddam, another c.i.a installed thug, should have been hung when he used Sarin nerve gas on the Iranians with coordination and coordinates from the usa …
Muammar Gaddafi on the other hand with his bloodless coup …… demonstrated socialism working ….. by the largest improvements of living standards for the people of Libya …., in the shortest period of time …. in any country anywhere in the world ….. in the 20th century.
Nato will be able to take credit for the quickest reversal …..
Muammar Gaddafi on the other hand with his bloodless coup
then it was all down hill – mass arrests and detention, torture, disappearances, televised executions, the assassination of expat opponents abroad, nuclear ambitions, war with his neighbours, the financing of ETA in Spain, the IRA and the Italian Red Brigades, as well as groups in Japan, Turkey, Thailand and the Philippines……
You sound like your reeling of the actions of the cia/u.s.a in south america or Iraq or Vietnam Joe90 ….. or to quote Nelson Mandela …….“If you look at those matters, you will come to the conclusion that the attitude of the United States of America is a threat to world peace. If there is a country that has committed unspeakable atrocities in the world, it is the USA. They don’t care for human beings.”
I on the other hand was talking about a man using the resources of his country ( instead of BP getting it ), ……. and lowering infant mortality from over 100 deaths per thousand live births down to approx 14
Who granted equal Human rights to women in 1972 ….. something the fundamentalist terrorists Hated …… like the British sponsored “Manchester Boys” …. and other religious extremists used by the west.
He vastly improved housing from most living in slums ….. and declared housing a human right.
He vastly improved access to and quality of medical care … free
He was ridding the country of illiteracy and had full enrollments of children into schools
University education was free …… and of course women could attend.
He took Libya from one of the most impoverished countrys in the world …….. and before being Mob murdered had Libya with the highest standard of living in Africa and a life expectancy comparable to Europe.
No other country in the world improved the standard of living for its citizens by such an amount in such a short time ……. through Socialism.
Nato will bear responsibility for the quickest decline
He supported the Palestinians which infuriated the Israelis
I tend to think that the hard facts and statistics regarding health, education…..water and housing projects. The improvements in living standards are there for anyone to find on the internet.
Speaks more to me of the man than tony Blair , or Cameron type hyperbole…… the types who give safe harbors to ‘Manchester Boys’.
You can see Cameron in action in the video I linked to above.
EF Schumacher on small economics. Too bad 40 years on we turned our backs on this stuff and doubled down on waste, consumption and greed. It looks like we’re going to learn the hard way.
Was thinking that John key has haijacked the ‘third way’ for the national party that politicians like tony blair did for Labour Party in th UK. It goes too far and the leaders turn into arguably criminal liars and their obsession with networking & likeability drag their counties into war, debt & division.
For the national party voters, that hanker after the ‘old values’ of the national party before they became asset selling, migration touting, arrogant careerists that don’t give a crap about their constituents and spend their days drinking & lunching & day trading & doing real estate deals like hotels & conference centres, nz first is a good alternative. It’s the national party of old! Hope winston does a killing in all the Natz stronghold provinces!
if labour & greens pick up the missing million as well, then the the public can kick the ‘third way’ Natz to the curb – hopefully in a landslide to send that message home!
Hope that makes National nervous. I wonder how many of those National voters saying they won’t vote National are talking about the party vote or the seat vote.
From my personal acquaintances who vote nat, and a very small sample, split between not voting, see who the new candidate is, Mark Patterson (NZF candidate) / National pv, NZF / NZF.
Prior to toddles’ departure (Monday, Tue morning) you could take out the new candidate option. Patterson was getting a lot of interest and maybe that triggered the end game.
My comment about the missing million. It could affect National just like it got Labour in 2008. And for exactly the same reason, arrogance and moved too far into opposition territory to try and hold onto the centre voters.
The Government has been dealt a huge blow as the High Court ruled its benefit cap is unlawful and illegally discriminates against single parents with young children.
#notsurprised
If we could take our government to court over their benefit policies we’d probably get the same ruling.
Also, to those who think an Upper House works, this must have got past the UKs House of Lords.
………………… June 5-7 ………… June 21-22 Corbyn ………… 32 …………………… 35 …… + 3 May …………….. 43 …………………… 34 ……. – 9
The first time YouGov have a Labour leader ahead a Tory leader on the best PM question since the summer of 2007.(although 35% still a long way from wildly popular)
The only way to fight “terror” in the region is to reclaim a shared vision that transcends tribalism and sectarianism.
The discourse on terrorism has itself been narrowed down so much that there is little or no space in mainstream media for any other ideas on how to combat it
“What 95 percent of all suicide attacks have in common, since 1980, is not religion, but a specific strategic motivation to respond to a military intervention, often specifically a military occupation, of territory that the terrorists view as their homeland or prize greatly. From Lebanon and the West Bank in the 80s and 90s, to Iraq and Afghanistan, and up through the Paris suicide attacks we’ve just experienced in the last days, military intervention – and specifically when the military intervention is occupying territory – that’s what prompts suicide terrorism more than anything else.”
Such findings – based on examining 4,600 suicide attacks – had no influence on US foreign policy.
Many who applied terror against their own people, or funded terrorism elsewhere, are not hesitating to accuse others of terrorism
We are being lied to to justify invasion into other countries.
Anyone got anything similar for our local scene? I know the strike rate with ACT is high enough that trouble with the law feels like a near prerequisite to serving in Parliament, but I’ve got no feel for how the balance looks for other parties.
Bryce Edwards stirring it around again. He is from Christchurch and seems all shook up with the earthquakes and that, and hasn’t settled and found stability in his political discourse so up bubbles a lot of liquefaction. Which faction it is differs from week to week.
Regardless what “we” might think or like or dislike about this Student Internship Calamity Recruitment Campaign Drive ….the Hack LSM & Hoots are going to keep on kicking this story all the way to the election.
Its a fuck up in anyone’s book & the fault lies with all involved who’ve forgotten the golden rule, dont piss your workers off! And also remember; the first rule is the same as the 2nd & the 3rd, you dont talk about …
So, a collective “Fuck this Fuck’n mess!” Time to shore up the dyke because the latest RM Polls out & that is just going to compound this almighty fuck up.
Heard Nick Smith on the wireless saying the new nelson branch of the young Nat’s is thriving, dang are there only six members = 5 white males, 1 white female?
April has been a quiet month at A Phuulish Fellow. I have had an exceptionally good reading month, and a decently productive writing month – for original fiction, anyway – but not much has caught my eye that suggested a blog article. It has been vaguely frustrating, to be honest. ...
A listing of 31 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, April 21, 2024 thru Sat, April 27, 2024. Story of the week Anthropogenic climate change may be the ultimate shaggy dog story— but with a twist, because here ...
Hi,I spent about a year on Webworm reporting on an abusive megachurch called Arise, and it made me want to stab my eyes out with a fork.I don’t regret that reporting in 2022 and 2023 — I am proud of it — but it made me angry.Over three main stories ...
The new Victoria University Vice-Chancellor decided to have a forum at the university about free speech and academic freedom as it is obviously a topical issue, and the Government is looking at legislating some carrots or sticks for universities to uphold their obligations under the Education and Training Act. They ...
Do you remember when Melania Trump got caught out using a speech that sounded awfully like one Michelle Obama had given? Uncannily so.Well it turns out that Abraham Lincoln is to Winston Peters as Michelle was to Melania. With the ANZAC speech Uncle Winston gave at Gallipoli having much in ...
She was born 25 years ago today in North Shore hospital. Her eyes were closed tightly shut, her mouth was silently moving. The whole theatre was all quiet intensity as they marked her a 2 on the APGAR test. A one-minute eternity later, she was an 8. The universe was ...
Skeptical Science is partnering with Gigafact to produce fact briefs — bite-sized fact checks of trending claims. This fact brief was written by Sue Bin Park in collaboration with members from our Skeptical Science team. You can submit claims you think need checking via the tipline. Is Antarctica gaining land ice? ...
Images of US students (and others) protesting and setting up tent cities on US university campuses have been broadcast world wide and clearly demonstrate the growing rifts in US society caused by US policy toward Israel and Israel’s prosecution of … Continue reading → ...
Barrie Saunders writes – Dear Paul As the new Minister of Media and Communications, you will be inundated with heaps of free advice and special pleading, all in the national interest of course. For what it’s worth here is my assessment: Traditional broadcasting free to air content through ...
Many criticisms are being made of the Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill, including by this writer. But as with everything in politics, every story has two sides, and both deserve attention. It’s important to understand what the Government is trying to achieve and its arguments for such a bold reform. ...
Peter Dunne writes – The great nineteenth British Prime Minister, William Gladstone, once observed that “the first essential for a Prime Minister is to be a good butcher.” When a later British Prime Minister, Harold Macmillan, sacked a third of his Cabinet in July 1962, in what became ...
Ele Ludemann writes – New Zealanders had the OECD’s second highest tax increase last year: New Zealanders faced the second-biggest tax raises in the developed world last year, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) says. The intergovernmental agency said the average change in personal income tax ...
We all know something’s not right with our elections. The spread of misinformation, people being targeted with soundbites and emotional triggers that ignore the facts, even the truth, and influence their votes.The use of technology to produce deep fakes. How can you tell if something is real or not? Can ...
This video includes conclusions of the creator climate scientist Dr. Simon Clark. It is presented to our readers as an informed perspective. Please see video description for references (if any). This year you will be lied to! Simon Clark helps prebunk some misleading statements you'll hear about climate. The video includes ...
It is all very well cutting the backrooms of public agencies but it may compromise the frontlines. One of the frustrations of the Productivity Commission’s 2017 review of universities is that while it observed that their non-academic staff were increasing faster than their academic staff, it did not bother to ...
Buzz from the Beehive Two speeches delivered by Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters at Anzac Day ceremonies in Turkey are the only new posts on the government’s official website since the PM announced his Cabinet shake-up. In one of the speeches, Peters stated the obvious: we live in a troubled ...
1. Which of these would you not expect to read in The Waikato Invader?a. Luxon is here to do business, don’t you worry about thatb. Mr KPI expects results, and you better believe itc. This decisive man of action is getting me all hot and excitedd. Melissa Lee is how ...
…it has a restricted jurisdiction which must not be abused: it is not an inquisitionNOTE – this article was published before the High Court ruled that Karen Chhour does not have to appear before the Waitangi Tribunal Gary Judd writes – The High Court ...
Lindsay Mitchell writes – One of reasons Oranga Tamariki exists is to prevent child neglect. But could the organisation itself be guilty of the same?Oranga Tamariki’s statistics show a decrease in the number and age of children in care. “There are less children ...
David Farrar writes: Graeme Edgeler wrote in 2017: In the first five years after three strikes came into effect 5248 offenders received a ‘first strike’ (that is, a “stage-1 conviction” under the three strikes sentencing regime), and 68 offenders received a ‘second strike’. In the five years prior to ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has surprised everyone with his ruthlessness in sacking two of his ministers from their crucial portfolios. Removing ministers for poor performance after only five months in the job just doesn’t normally happen in politics. That’s refreshing and will be extremely ...
TL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the two days to 6:06am on Thursday, April 25:Politics: PM Christopher Luxon has set up a dual standard for ministerial competence by demoting two National Cabinet ministers while leaving also-struggling ...
Hi,Today I mainly want to share some of your thoughts about the recent piece I wrote about success and failure, and the forces that seemingly guide our lives. But first, a quick bit of housekeeping: I am doing a Webworm popup in Los Angeles on Saturday May 11 at 2pm. ...
It is hard to see what Melissa Lee might have done to “save” the media. National went into the election with no public media policy and appears not to have developed one subsequently. Lee claimed that she had prepared a policy paper before the election but it had been decided ...
Open access notablesIce acceleration and rotation in the Greenland Ice Sheet interior in recent decades, Løkkegaard et al., Communications Earth & Environment:In the past two decades, mass loss from the Greenland ice sheet has accelerated, partly due to the speedup of glaciers. However, uncertainty in speed derived from satellite products ...
Buzz from the Beehive A statement from Children’s Minister Karen Chhour – yet to be posted on the Government’s official website – arrived in Point of Order’s email in-tray last night. It welcomes the High Court ruling on whether the Waitangi Tribunal can demand she appear before it. It does ...
Mr Bombastic:Ironically, the media the academic experts wanted is, in many ways, the media they got. In place of the tyrannical editors of yesteryear, advancing without fear or favour the interests of the ruling class; the New Zealand news media of today boasts a troop of enlightened journalists dedicated to ...
It's hard times try to make a livingYou wake up every morning in the unforgivingOut there somewhere in the cityThere's people living lives without mercy or pityI feel good, yeah I'm feeling fineI feel better then I have for the longest timeI think these pills have been good for meI ...
In 1974, the US Supreme Court issued its decision in United States v. Nixon, finding that the President was not a King, but was subject to the law and was required to turn over the evidence of his wrongdoing to the courts. It was a landmark decision for the rule ...
Every day now just seems to bring in more fresh meat for the grinder.In their relentlessly ideological drive to cut back on the “excessive bloat” (as they see it) of the previous Labour-led government, on the mountains of evidence accumulated in such a short period of time do not ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Megan Valére SosouMarket gardening site of the Itchèléré de Itagui agricultural cooperative in Dassa-Zoumè (Image credit: Megan Valère Sossou) For the residents of Dassa-Zoumè, a city in the West African country of Benin, choosing between drinking water and having enough ...
Buzz from the Beehive Melissa Lee – as may be discerned from the screenshot above – has not been demoted for doing something seriously wrong as Minister of ...
Morning in London Mother hugs beloved daughter outside the converted shoe factory in which she is living.Afternoon in London Travelling writer takes himself and his wrist down to A&E, just to be sure. Read more ...
Mike Grimshaw writes – The recent announcement of the University Advisory Group, chaired by Sir Peter Gluckman, makes very clear where the Government’s focus and priorities lie. The remit of the Advisory Group is that Group members will consider challenges and opportunities for improvement in the university sector including: ...
Eric Crampton writes – The Reserve Bank of New Zealand desperately wants to find reasons to have workstreams in climate change. It makes little sense. They’ve run another stress test on the banks looking to see if they could find a prudential regulation case. They couldn’t. They ...
Rob MacCullough writes – Pundits from the left and the right are arguing that National’s Fast Track Bill that is designed to speed up infrastructure decisions could end up becoming mired in a cesspool of corruption. Political commentator ...
Looking at the headlines this morning it’s hard to feel anything other than pessimistic about the future of humanity.Note that I’m not speaking about the future of mankind, but the survival of our humanity. The values that we believe in seem to be ebbing away, by the day.Perhaps every generation ...
Swabbing mixed breed baby chicks to test for avian influenzaUh oh. Bird flu – often deadly to humans – is not only being transmitted from infected birds to dairy cows, but is now travelling between dairy cows. As of last Friday, Bloomberg News reports, there were 32 American dairy herds ...
On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
What is it with the mining industry? Its not enough for them to pillage the earth - they apparently can't even be bothered getting resource consent to do so: The proponent behind a major mine near the Clutha River had already been undertaking activity in the area without a ...
Photo # 1 I am a huge fan of Singapore’s approach to housing, as described here two years ago by copying and pasting from The ConversationWhat Singapore has that Australia does not is a public housing developer, the Housing Development Board, which puts new dwellings on public and reclaimed land, ...
Buzz from the Beehive Reactions to news of the government’s readiness to make urgent changes to “the resource management system” through a Bill to amend the Resource Management Act (RMA) suggest a balanced approach is being taken. The Taxpayers’ Union says the proposed changes don’t go far enough. Greenpeace says ...
I’m starting to wonder if Anna Burns-Francis might be the best political interviewer we’ve got. That might sound unlikely to you, it came as a bit of a surprise to me.Jack Tame can be excellent, but has some pretty average days. I like Rebecca Wright on Newshub, she asks good ...
Chris Trotter writes – Willie Jackson is said to be planning a “media summit” to discuss “the state of the media and how to protect Fourth Estate Journalism”. Not only does the Editor of The Daily Blog, Martyn Bradbury, think this is a good idea, but he has also ...
Graeme Edgeler writes – This morning [April 21], the Wellington High Court is hearing a judicial review brought by Hon. Karen Chhour, the Minister for Children, against a decision of the Waitangi Tribunal. This is unusual, judicial reviews are much more likely to brought against ministers, rather than ...
Both of Parliament’s watchdogs have now ripped into the Government’s Fast-track Approvals Bill. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāMy pick of the six newsey things to know from Aotearoa’s political economy and beyond on the morning of Tuesday, April 23 are:The Lead: The Auditor General,John Ryan, has joined the ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Sarah SpengemanPeople wait to board an electric bus in Pune, India. (Image credit: courtesy of ITDP) Public transportation riders in Pune, India, love the city’s new electric buses so much they will actually skip an older diesel bus that ...
The infrastructure industry yesterday issued a “hurry up” message to the Government, telling it to get cracking on developing a pipeline of infrastructure projects.The hiatus around the change of Government has seen some major projects cancelled and others delayed, and there is uncertainty about what will happen with the new ...
Hi,Over the weekend I revisited a podcast I really adore, Dead Eyes. It’s about a guy who got fired from Band of Brothers over two decades ago because Tom Hanks said he had “dead eyes”.If you don’t recall — 2001’s Band of Brothers was part of the emerging trend of ...
Buzz from the Beehive The 180 or so recipients of letters from the Government telling them how to submit infrastructure projects for “fast track” consideration includes some whose project applications previously have been rejected by the courts. News media were quick to feature these in their reports after RMA Reform Minister Chris ...
It would not be a desirable way to start your holiday by breaking your back, your head, or your wrist, but on our first hour in Singapore I gave it a try.We were chatting, last week, before we started a meeting of Hazel’s Enviro Trust, about the things that can ...
Calling all journalists, academics, planners, lawyers, political activists, environmentalists, and other members of the public who believe that the relationships between vested interests and politicians need to be scrutinised. We need to work together to make sure that the new Fast-Track Approvals Bill – currently being pushed through by the ...
Feel worried. Shane Jones and a couple of his Cabinet colleagues are about to be granted the power to override any and all objections to projects like dams, mines, roads etc even if: said projects will harm biodiversity, increase global warming and cause other environmental harms, and even if ...
Bryce Edwards writes- The ability of the private sector to quickly establish major new projects making use of the urban and natural environment is to be supercharged by the new National-led Government. Yesterday it introduced to Parliament one of its most significant reforms, the Fast Track Approvals Bill. ...
Michael Bassett writes – If you think there is a move afoot by the radical Maori fringe of New Zealand society to create a parallel system of government to the one that we elect at our triennial elections, you aren’t wrong. Over the last few days we have ...
Without a corresponding drop in interest rates, it’s doubtful any changes to the CCCFA will unleash a massive rush of home buyers. Photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: The six things that stood out to me in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, poverty and climate on Monday, April 22 included:The Government making a ...
Sunday was a lazy day. I started watching Jack Tame on Q&A, the interviews are usually good for something to write about. Saying the things that the politicians won’t, but are quite possibly thinking. Things that are true and need to be extracted from between the lines.As you might know ...
In our Weekly Roundup last week we covered news from Auckland Transport that the WX1 Western Express is going to get an upgrade next year with double decker electric buses. As part of the announcement, AT also said “Since we introduced the WX1 Western Express last November we have seen ...
TL;DR: The six key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to April 29 include:PM Christopher Luxon is scheduled to hold a post-Cabinet news conference at 4 pm today. Stats NZ releases its statutory report on Census 2023 tomorrow.Finance Minister Nicola Willis delivers a pre-Budget speech at ...
A listing of 29 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, April 14, 2024 thru Sat, April 20, 2024. Story of the week Our story of the week hinges on these words from the abstract of a fresh academic ...
The ability of the private sector to quickly establish major new projects making use of the urban and natural environment is to be supercharged by the new National-led Government. Yesterday it introduced to Parliament one of its most significant reforms, the Fast Track Approvals Bill. The Government says this will ...
This is a column to say thank you. So many of have been in touch since Mum died to say so many kind and thoughtful things. You’re wonderful, all of you. You’ve asked how we’re doing, how Dad’s doing. A little more realisation each day, of the irretrievable finality of ...
Identifying the engine type in your car is crucial for various reasons, including maintenance, repairs, and performance upgrades. Knowing the specific engine model allows you to access detailed technical information, locate compatible parts, and make informed decisions about modifications. This comprehensive guide will provide you with a step-by-step approach to ...
Introduction: The allure of racing is undeniable. The thrill of speed, the roar of engines, and the exhilaration of competition all contribute to the allure of this adrenaline-driven sport. For those who yearn to experience the pinnacle of racing, becoming a race car driver is the ultimate dream. However, the ...
Introduction Automobiles have become ubiquitous in modern society, serving as a primary mode of transportation and a symbol of economic growth and personal mobility. With countless vehicles traversing roads and highways worldwide, it begs the question: how many cars are there in the world? Determining the precise number is a ...
Maintaining a safe and reliable vehicle requires regular inspections. Whether it’s a routine maintenance checkup or a safety inspection, knowing how long the process will take can help you plan your day accordingly. This article delves into the factors that influence the duration of a car inspection and provides an ...
Mazda Motor Corporation, commonly known as Mazda, is a Japanese multinational automaker headquartered in Fuchu, Aki District, Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan. The company was founded in 1920 as the Toyo Cork Kogyo Co., Ltd., and began producing vehicles in 1931. Mazda is primarily known for its production of passenger cars, but ...
Your car battery is an essential component that provides power to start your engine, operate your electrical systems, and store energy. Over time, batteries can weaken and lose their ability to hold a charge, which can lead to starting problems, power failures, and other issues. Replacing your battery before it ...
Te Pāti Māori are demanding the New Zealand Government support an international independent investigation into mass graves that have been uncovered at two hospitals on the Gaza strip, following weeks of assault by Israeli troops. Among the 392 bodies that have been recovered, are children and elderly civilians. Many of ...
Our two-tiered system for veterans’ support is out of step with our closest partners, and all parties in Parliament should work together to fix it, Labour veterans’ affairs spokesperson Greg O’Connor said. ...
Stripping two Ministers of their portfolios just six months into the job shows Christopher Luxon’s management style is lacking, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said. ...
Tonight’s court decision to overturn the summons of the Children’s Minister has enabled the Crown to continue making decisions about Māori without evidence, says Te Pāti Māori spokesperson for Children, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi. “The judicial system has this evening told the nation that this government can do whatever they want when ...
It appears Nicola Willis is about to pull the rug out from under the feet of local communities still dealing with the aftermath of last year’s severe weather, and local councils relying on funding to build back from these disasters. ...
The Government is making short-sighted changes to the Resource Management Act (RMA) that will take away environmental protection in favour of short-term profits, Labour’s environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
Labour welcomes the release of the report into the North Island weather events and looks forward to working with the Government to ensure that New Zealand is as prepared as it can be for the next natural disaster. ...
The Labour Party has called for the New Zealand Government to recognise Palestine, as a material step towards progressing the two-State solution needed to achieve a lasting peace in the region. ...
Some of our country’s most important work, stopping the sexual exploitation of children and violent extremism could go along with staff on the frontline at ports and airports. ...
The Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill will give projects such as new coal mines a ‘get out of jail free’ card to wreak havoc on the environment, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said today. ...
The government's decision to reintroduce Three Strikes is a destructive and ineffective piece of law-making that will only exacerbate an inherently biased and racist criminal justice system, said Te Pāti Māori Justice Spokesperson, Tākuta Ferris, today. During the time Three Strikes was in place in Aotearoa, Māori and Pasifika received ...
Cuts to frontline hospital staff are not only a broken election promise, it shows the reckless tax cuts have well and truly hit the frontline of the health system, says Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall. ...
The Green Party has joined the call for public submissions on the fast-track legislation to be extended after the Ombudsman forced the Government to release the list of organisations invited to apply just hours before submissions close. ...
New Zealand’s good work at reducing climate emissions for three years in a row will be undone by the National government’s lack of ambition and scrapping programmes that were making a difference, Labour Party climate spokesperson Megan Woods said today. ...
More essential jobs could be on the chopping block, this time Ministry of Education staff on the school lunches team are set to find out whether they're in line to lose their jobs. ...
Te Pāti Māori is disgusted at the confirmation that hundreds are set to lose their jobs at Oranga Tamariki, and the disestablishment of the Treaty Response Unit. “This act of absolute carelessness and out of touch decision making is committing tamariki to state abuse.” Said Te Pāti Māori Oranga Tamariki ...
The Government is trying to bring in a law that will allow Ministers to cut corners and kill off native species, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said. ...
Cancelling urgently needed new Cook Strait ferries and hiking the cost of public transport for many Kiwis so that National can announce the prospect of another tunnel for Wellington is not making good choices, Labour Transport Spokesperson Tangi Utikere said. ...
A laundry list of additional costs for Tāmaki Makarau Auckland shows the Minister for the city is not delivering for the people who live there, says Labour Auckland Issues spokesperson Shanan Halbert. ...
Te Pāti Māori co-leader Rawiri Waititi, and Mema Paremata mō Tāmaki-Makaurau, Takutai Tarsh Kemp, will travel to the Gold Coast to strengthen ties with Māori in Australia next week (15-21 April). The visit, in the lead-up to the 9th Australian National Kapa haka Festival, will be an opportunity for both ...
The Green Party has today launched a step-by-step guide to help New Zealanders make their voice heard on the Government’s democracy dodging and anti-environment fast track legislation. ...
The National Government’s proposed changes to the Residential Tenancies Act will mean tenants can be turfed from their homes by landlords with little notice, Labour housing spokesperson Kieran McAnulty said. ...
Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson is calling on all parties to support a common-sense change that’s great for the planet and great for consumers after her member’s bill was drawn from the ballot today. ...
A significant milestone has been reached in the fight to strike an anti-Pasifika and unfair law from the country’s books after Teanau Tuiono’s members’ bill passed its first reading. ...
New Zealand has today missed the opportunity to uphold the right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment, says James Shaw after his member’s bill was voted down in its first reading. ...
Hon Paula Bennett has been appointed as member and chair of the Pharmac board, Associate Health Minister David Seymour announced today. "Pharmac is a critical part of New Zealand's health system and plays a significant role in ensuring that Kiwis have the best possible access to medicines,” says Mr Seymour. ...
Hundreds of New Zealand families affected by Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) will benefit from a new Government focus on prevention and treatment, says Health Minister Dr Shane Reti. “We know FASD is a leading cause of preventable intellectual and neurodevelopmental disability in New Zealand,” Dr Reti says. “Every day, ...
Regional Development Minister Shane Jones today attended the official opening of Kaikohe’s new $14.7 million sports complex. “The completion of the Kaikohe Multi Sports Complex is a fantastic achievement for the Far North,” Mr Jones says. “This facility not only fulfils a long-held dream for local athletes, but also creates ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters’ engagements in Türkiye this week underlined the importance of diplomacy to meet growing global challenges. “Returning to the Gallipoli Peninsula to represent New Zealand at Anzac commemorations was a sombre reminder of the critical importance of diplomacy for de-escalating conflicts and easing tensions,” Mr Peters ...
Ambassador Millar, Burgemeester, Vandepitte, Excellencies, military representatives, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen – good morning and welcome to this sacred Anzac Day dawn service. It is an honour to be here on behalf of the Government and people of New Zealand at Buttes New British Cemetery, Polygon Wood – a deeply ...
Distinguished guests - It is an honour to return once again to this site which, as the resting place for so many of our war-dead, has become a sacred place for generations of New Zealanders. Our presence here and at the other special spaces of Gallipoli is made ...
Mai ia tawhiti pamamao, te moana nui a Kiwa, kua tae whakaiti mai matou, ki to koutou papa whenua. No koutou te tapuwae, no matou te tapuwae, kua honoa pumautia. Ko nga toa kua hinga nei, o te Waipounamu, o te Ika a Maui, he okioki tahi me o ...
Paul Goldsmith will take on responsibility for the Media and Communications portfolio, while Louise Upston will pick up the Disability Issues portfolio, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon announced today. “Our Government is relentlessly focused on getting New Zealand back on track. As issues change in prominence, I plan to adjust Ministerial ...
Recreational catch limits will be reduced in areas of Fiordland and the Chatham Islands to help keep those fisheries healthy and sustainable, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. The lower recreational daily catch limits for a range of finfish and shellfish species caught in the Fiordland Marine Area and ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed an important milestone in New Zealand’s hydrogen future, with the opening of the country’s first network of hydrogen refuelling stations in Wiri. “I want to congratulate the team at Hiringa Energy and its partners K one W one (K1W1), Mitsui & Co New Zealand ...
The coalition Government is delivering on its commitment to improve resource management laws and give greater certainty to consent applicants, with a Bill to amend the Resource Management Act (RMA) expected to be introduced to Parliament next month. RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop has today outlined the first RMA Amendment ...
Overseas models for regulating the oil and gas sector, including their decommissioning regimes, are being carefully scrutinised as a potential template for New Zealand’s own sector, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. The Coalition Government is focused on rebuilding investor confidence in New Zealand’s energy sector as it looks to strengthen ...
Emergency Management and Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell has today released the Report of the Government Inquiry into the response to the North Island Severe Weather Events. “The report shows that New Zealand’s emergency management system is not fit-for-purpose and there are some significant gaps we need to address,” Mr Mitchell ...
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith is today travelling to Europe where he’ll update the United Nations Human Rights Council on the Government’s work to restore law and order. “Attending the Universal Periodic Review in Geneva provides us with an opportunity to present New Zealand’s human rights progress, priorities, and challenges, while ...
Associate Agriculture Minister, Mark Patterson, formally reopened the world’s largest wool processing facility today in Awatoto, Napier, following a $50 million rebuild and refurbishment project. “The reopening of this facility will significantly lift the economic opportunities available to New Zealand’s wool sector, which already accounts for 20 per cent of ...
Hon Andrew Bayly, Minister for Small Business and Manufacturing At the Southland Otago Regional Engineering Collective (SOREC) Summit, 18 April, Dunedin Ngā mihi nui, Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Ko Whanganui aho Good Afternoon and thank you for inviting me to open your summit today. I am delighted ...
The Government is delivering on its commitment to bring back the Three Strikes legislation, Associate Justice Minister Nicole McKee announced today. “Our Government is committed to restoring law and order and enforcing appropriate consequences on criminals. We are making it clear that repeat serious violent or sexual offending is not ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has today announced four new diplomatic appointments for New Zealand’s overseas missions. “Our diplomats have a vital role in maintaining and protecting New Zealand’s interests around the world,” Mr Peters says. “I am pleased to announce the appointment of these senior diplomats from the ...
New Zealand is contributing NZ$7 million to support communities affected by severe food insecurity and other urgent humanitarian needs in Ethiopia and Somalia, Foreign Minister Rt Hon Winston Peters announced today. “Over 21 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance across Ethiopia, with a further 6.9 million people ...
Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage Paul Goldsmith is congratulating Mataaho Collective for winning the Golden Lion for best participant in the main exhibition at the Venice Biennale. "Congratulations to the Mataaho Collective for winning one of the world's most prestigious art prizes at the Venice Biennale. “It is good ...
The Government is reforming financial services to improve access to home loans and other lending, and strengthen customer protections, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly and Housing Minister Chris Bishop announced today. “Our coalition Government is committed to rebuilding the economy and making life simpler by cutting red tape. We are ...
“China remains a strong commercial opportunity for Kiwi exporters as Chinese businesses and consumers continue to value our high-quality safe produce,” Trade and Agriculture Minister Todd McClay says. Mr McClay has returned to New Zealand following visits to Beijing, Harbin and Shanghai where he met ministers, governors and mayors and engaged in trade and agricultural events with the New ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has completed a successful trip to Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines, deepening relationships and capitalising on opportunities. Mr Luxon was accompanied by a business delegation and says the choice of countries represents the priority the New Zealand Government places on South East Asia, and our relationships in ...
New Zealand is demonstrating its commitment to reducing global greenhouse emissions, and supporting clean energy transition in South East Asia, through a contribution of NZ$41 million (US$25 million) in climate finance to the Asian Development Bank (ADB)-led Energy Transition Mechanism (ETM). Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Climate Change Minister Simon Watts announced ...
The Government is today releasing a list of organisations who received letters about the Fast-track applications process, says RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop. “Recently Ministers and agencies have received a series of OIA requests for a list of organisations to whom I wrote with information on applying to have a ...
Attorney-General Judith Collins today announced the appointment of Wellington Barrister David Jonathan Boldt as a Judge of the High Court, and the Honourable Justice Matthew Palmer as a Judge of the Court of Appeal. Justice Boldt graduated with an LLB from Victoria University of Wellington in 1990, and also holds ...
Education Minister Erica Stanford will lead the New Zealand delegation at the 2024 International Summit on the Teaching Profession (ISTP) held in Singapore. The delegation includes representatives from the Post Primary Teachers’ Association (PPTA) Te Wehengarua and the New Zealand Educational Institute (NZEI) Te Riu Roa. The summit is co-hosted ...
A stopbank upgrade project in Tairawhiti partly funded by the Government has increased flood resilience for around 7000ha of residential and horticultural land so far, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones today attended a dawn service in Gisborne to mark the end of the first stage of the ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters will represent the Government at Anzac Day commemorations on the Gallipoli Peninsula next week and engage with senior representatives of the Turkish government in Istanbul. “The Gallipoli campaign is a defining event in our history. It will be a privilege to share the occasion ...
Science, Innovation and Technology and Defence Minister Judith Collins will next week attend the OECD Science and Technology Ministerial conference in Paris and Anzac Day commemorations in Belgium. “Science, innovation and technology have a major role to play in rebuilding our economy and achieving better health, environmental and social outcomes ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon held a bilateral meeting today with the President of the Philippines, Ferdinand Marcos Jr. The Prime Minister was accompanied by MP Paulo Garcia, the first Filipino to be elected to a legislature outside the Philippines. During today’s meeting, Prime Minister Luxon and President Marcos Jr discussed opportunities to ...
The Government has announced that $20 million in funding will be made available to Westport to fund much needed flood protection around the town. This measure will significantly improve the resilience of the community, says Local Government Minister Simeon Brown. “The Westport community has already been allocated almost $3 million ...
The Government is proud to support the first ever Repco Supercars Championship event in Taupō as up to 70,000 motorsport fans attend the Taupō International Motorsport Park this weekend, says Economic Development Minister Melissa Lee. “Anticipation for the ITM Taupō Super400 is huge, with tickets and accommodation selling out weeks ...
Local Government Minister Simeon Brown has announced an increase to the Rates Rebate Scheme, putting money back into the pockets of low-income homeowners. “The coalition Government is committed to bringing down the cost of living for New Zealanders. That includes targeted support for those Kiwis who are doing things tough, such ...
The Coalition Government is investing in a project to boost survival rates of New Zealand mussels and grow the industry, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones has announced. “This project seeks to increase the resilience of our mussels and significantly boost the sector’s productivity,” Mr Jones says. “The project - ...
Benefit figures released today underscore the importance of the Government’s plan to rebuild the economy and have 50,000 fewer people on Jobseeker Support, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “Benefit numbers are still significantly higher than when National was last in government, when there was about 70,000 fewer ...
The Government’s commitment to doubling New Zealand’s renewable energy capacity is backed by new data showing that clean energy has helped the country reach its lowest annual gross emissions since 1999, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. New Zealand’s latest Greenhouse Gas Inventory (1990-2022) published today, shows gross emissions fell ...
The Government is bringing the earthquake-prone building review forward, with work to start immediately, and extending the deadline for remediations by four years, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “Our Government is focused on rebuilding the economy. A key part of our plan is to cut red tape that ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and his Thai counterpart, Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, have today agreed that New Zealand and the Kingdom of Thailand will upgrade the bilateral relationship to a Strategic Partnership by 2026. “New Zealand and Thailand have a lot to offer each other. We have a strong mutual desire to build ...
RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop and Transport Minister Simeon Brown have today announced the Coalition Government’s intention to extend port coastal permits for a further 20 years, providing port operators with certainty to continue their operations. “The introduction of the Resource Management Act in 1991 required ports to obtain coastal ...
The protest outside the White House correspondents’ dinner hotel. Image: Anatolu video screenshot APR More than two dozen Palestinian journalists had called for a boycott of the dinner, writing an open letter urging their American colleagues not to attend. “You have a unique responsibility to speak truth to power and ...
“Our exporters should, therefore, be deeply concerned that the Fast-track Approvals Bill was not assessed for consistency with any of our free trade commitments prior to being introduced to the House,” says Gary Taylor, Chief Executive of the Environmental ...
NZCTU President Richard Wagstaff is calling on all political parties to support the new Member’s Bill from Labour’s workplace relations and safety spokesperson Camilla Belich MP that would ensure negligent companies are held accountable when their employees ...
A historian with a track record of predicting US election winners tells RNZ's Sunday Morning that President Biden looks to be on track for another term, but things could still go wrong for him. ...
A historian with an uncanny track record of predicting US election winners tells RNZ's Sunday Morning that President Biden looks to be on track for another term, but things could still go very wrong for him. ...
Ngaio Marsh House is one of Christchurch’s best kept secrets – and contains more than a few mysteries of its own.Trust Ngaio Marsh to leave more than a few mysteries scattered through her house long after her departure. For a start, there’s the curious concrete portal in the garden, ...
Appointment viewing has been lost to the mists of time, but memories of Montana Sunday Theatre can still be conjured by hitting play on a particular piece of classical music. “You’re not going to be able to sell it.” Over 30 years on, Karen Bieleski still recalls how the task ...
Performance Review King Luxon sat behind His massive polished oak desk. It is Performance Review time. There is a knock on the door. “Enter!” says the King. In steps Minister of Disabilities and Carer Pedicures, Penny Simmonds. “I can explain everything …” she begins. “Fine,” says King Luxon, pressing the ...
The pair opened their first fully collaborative exhibition, Nina for Flowers, last Saturday. Gabi Lardies visited their studio to find out who Nina is and what working together was like.‘It didn’t start out like, ‘This is a show about Nina,’” says Josephine Jelicich, gripping a thermos of peppermint tea. ...
Thank you, Dr Maximilian Oskar Bircher-Benner, for your brilliant invention. I’m another mid-20s Kiwi who had an OE last year. I hopped on my bicycle where France meets the Atlantic and cycled east. I pedalled through the Loire Valley, down rivers lined with willows and ancient wisteria-draped chateaus. I relished ...
Asia Pacific Report From France to Australia, university pro-Palestine protests in the United States have now spread to several countries with students pitching on-campus camps. And students at Columbia and other US universities remain defiant as campuses have witnessed the biggest protests since the anti-Vietnam war and anti-apartheid eras in ...
Analysis by Dr Bryce Edwards, Democracy Project (https://democracyproject.nz)New Zealand Government’s Fast Track legislation. Many criticisms are being made of the Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill, including by this writer. But as with everything in politics, every story has two sides, and both deserve attention. It’s important to understand what the Government ...
Tara Ward talks to presenter Naomi Toilalo about the new TV show that turns food waste into a three course feast. Naomi Toilalo is standing in the warehouse at Good Neighbour Tauranga, helping unpack the two-and-a-half tonnes of rejected food that will arrive at the community support hub that day. ...
Scout is our latest Dog of the Month. This feature was offered as a reward during our What’s Eating Aotearoa PledgeMe campaign. Thank you to Scout’s human, Avril, for her support. Dog name: Scout (named after the little girl in To Kill a Mockingbird – she inherited the independent spirit ...
Megan Alatini takes us through her life in TV, including ‘terrible’ daytime TV, the class of Carol Hirschfeld and her most embarrassing TrueBliss moment. When she responded to a vague newspaper ad asking “do you have what it takes to be a popstar?” 25 years ago, Megan Alatini never guessed ...
A new exhibition in Wellington showcases the faces behind your local goods and services. Back in 1977, when I was a fine arts student at the University of Canterbury, I took a series of photographs of Christchurch shopkeepers. The photos were for a calendar – a project for my end ...
Toomaj and his resistance to tyranny through his songs have become an icon for the youth of Iran, so his sentence has hit the nation hard. Toomaj Salehi is not the first artist to pay the price for standing with the people. ...
My cousin Dylan and I spotted these big eels under the bridge that summer. We watched them lounging under the dark weed, facing into the flow of water, their mouths frozen open. Dylan and I couldn’t stop thinking about those eels. The night we went down to the creek, we ...
Newsroom, home of satire. My long-running weekly satirical series The Secret Diary has moved to Newsroom and will appear every Saturday, with Victor Billot’s wildly popular satirical Odes continuing to appear every Sunday. Diaries, Odes – while serious political columnists toil at meaningful opinions and stroke their chins to an ...
Tara Ward unravels the many nuanced layers of a cartoon about talking dogs.This is an excerpt from our weekly pop culture newsletter Rec Room. Sign up here. It’s not often an episode of a children’s cartoon has adults sobbing into their sleeves, but that’s exactly what happened this week when ...
Working as a doctor in developing countries to help communities achieve better health outcomes is nothing short of a life goal for Jessica Tater. The University of Otago medical student has her sights firmly set on joining the international humanitarian organisation Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) when she qualifies ...
There’s an island in the far reaches of Auckland’s territory, sitting off the tip of the Coromandel Peninsula, 30 minutes by air from the city or four hours on the slow boat. Aotea Great Barrier is off-grid, it has a population of fewer than a thousand people … and most ...
Asia Pacific Report An Australian author and advocate, Jim Aubrey, today led a national symbolic one minute’s silence to mark the “blood debt” owed to Papuan allies during the Second World War indigenous resistance against the invading Japanese forces. “A promise to most people is a promise,” Aubrey said in ...
Asia Pacific Report The Freedom Flotilla is ready to sail to Gaza, reports Kia Ora Gaza. All the required paperwork has been submitted to the port authority, and the cargo has been loaded and prepared for the humanitarian trip to the besieged enclave. However, organisers received word of an “administrative ...
Pacific Media Watch Palestine solidarity protesters today demonstrated at the Auckland headquarters of Television New Zealand, accusing the country’s major TV network of broadcasting “propaganda” backing Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza. About 50 protesters targeted the main entrance to the TVNZ building near Sky Tower and also picketed a side ...
Opinion by Lynley Hood. Forty years on from my 1985 Fulbright Grant, my disquiet over the war in Gaza evoked some troubling questions. The answer to my first question – What is the primary purpose of the Fulbright Programme? – was on the Fulbright NZ website. It says: US Senator, ...
The ministers responsible for green-lighting major projects need to be open about potential conflicts of interest, says Transparency International. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Anastasia Powell, Professor, Family and Sexual Violence, RMIT University It has been a particularly distressing start to the year. There is little that can ease the current grief of individuals, families and communities who have needlessly lost a loved one to men’s ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Gregory Moore, Senior Research Associate, School of Ecosystem and Forest Sciences, The University of Melbourne Lichen, the first described example of symbiosis.AdeJ Artventure/Shutterstock Once known only to those studying biology, the word symbiosis is now widely used. Symbiosis is the intimate ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kim Hemsley, Head, Childhood Dementia Research Group, Flinders Health and Medical Research Institute, College of Medicine and Public Health, Flinders University Olena Ivanova/Shutterstock “Childhood” and “dementia” are two words we wish we didn’t have to use together. But sadly, around 1,400 ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Whiteford, Professor, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University The government’s Economic Inclusion Advisory Committee has just published its second report. It was set up by Treasurer Jim Chalmers and Minister for Social Services Amanda Rishworth in 2022 to provide: ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Beaumont, Election Analyst (Psephologist) at The Conversation; and Honorary Associate, School of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of Melbourne The Queensland state election will be held in October. A YouGov poll for The Courier Mail, conducted April 9–17 from a sample ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Amin Naeni, PhD candidate at Alfred Deakin Institute for Citizenship and Globalisation, Deakin University There’s been much talk in recent months about what a possible second Donald Trump presidency in the United States could mean for Europe, Russia’s war in Ukraine, the ...
A brief round-up of submissions on the controversial proposed law. This is an excerpt from our weekly environmental newsletter Future Proof. Sign up here. Last week, submissions on the controversial Fast-track Approvals Bill closed just hours after the government released a list of stakeholder organisations who were sent letters advising how they could ...
A poem from Robin Peace’s new collection Detritus of Empire: feather / grass / rock. Cereal giving I see a woman’s hands, see her curious hands break a stalk as she walks through the tall prairie, the savannah, the steppe, wherever it was. See her idly bite the grass that ...
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 Hemingway’s Goblet by Dermot Ross (Mary Egan Publishing, $38)A handsomely produced (debossed cover, lovely ...
The Commissioner's decision validates the longstanding efforts of the local community and ensures that Awataha Marae will be managed to serve the needs of the local community, particularly for hosting tangihanga. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tristan Salles, Associate professor, University of Sydney Examples of Australian landscapes.Unsplash Seventy thousand years ago, the sea level was much lower than today. Australia, along with New Guinea and Tasmania, formed a connected landmass known as Sahul. Around this time – ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Felicity Castagna, Lecturer, Creative Writing, Western Sydney University Day Day Market, ParramattaPhoto: Garry Trinh I live on the edge of Parramatta, Australia’s fastest-growing city, on the kind of old-fashioned suburban street that has 1950s fibros constructed in the post-war housing boom, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michael Ryan, Teaching Fellow in Economics, University of Waikato GettyImagesfatido/Getty Images There is an ongoing global debate over whether the high inflation seen in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic can be lowered without a recession. New Zealand is not ...
The ‘Wicked Game’ heartthrob is in his late 60s now. That didn’t stop him putting on a lively, goofy and very sparkly show. Apart from ‘Wicked Game’, which graces a sultry playlist of mine simply called 💋, my last sustained Chris Isaak listening session took place when I was about ...
Analysis - Two ministers were stripped of portfolios in a warning to Cabinet, drama broke out at the Waitangi Tribunal, and the gang patch ban bill ran into opposition. ...
Tara Ward makes an impassioned plea for some vital pop culture merch. In April 1999, I became obsessed with a new reality television show called Popstars. Every Tuesday night, five strangers transformed into music royalty before my very eyes as Joe, Keri, Carly, Erika and Megan were chosen to form ...
PNG Post-Courier In the early hours of ANZAC Day, aerial photographs captured an impressive gathering of Australians and Papua New Guineans at Isurava in the Northern (Oro) Province. The solemn dawn service yesterday was held at a site steeped in history, where some of the fiercest battles of World War ...
The PSA is shocked that Oranga Tamariki has used the cost cutting drive to downgrade its commitment to Te Ao Māori and remove many specialist Māori roles. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ian Kemish, Adjunct Professor, School of Historical and Philosophical Inquiry, The University of Queensland There can be no more powerful symbol of the relationship between Australia and Papua New Guinea than the prime ministers of these neighbouring countries walking together on the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sharon Robinson, Distinguished Professor and Deputy Director of ARC Securing Antarctica’s Environmental Future (SAEF), University of Wollongong, University of Wollongong Andrew Netherwood Over the last 25 years, the ozone hole which forming over Antarctica each spring has started to shrink. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Viktoria Kahui, Senior Lecturer in Environmental Economics, University of Otago Getty Images/Amy Toensing Biodiversity is declining at rates unprecedented in human history. This suggests the ways we currently use to manage our natural environment are failing. One emerging concept focuses on ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Timothy Colin Bednall, Associate Professor in Management, Swinburne University of Technology marvent/Shutterstock Finding the best person to fill a position can be tough, from drafting a job ad to producing a shortlist of top interview candidates. Employers typically consider information from ...
Wondering where to host your next BYO? Whether its a small gathering or a massive party, we’ve got some recommendations. I was first introduced to the concept of BYOs at Dunedin’s India Gardens, a legendary but sadly defunct establishment, which purveyed enormous quantities of mango chicken to Aotearoa’s drunkest future ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Julien Cooper, Honorary Lecturer, Department of History and Archaeology, Macquarie University Julien Cooper The hyper-arid desert of Eastern Sudan, the Atbai Desert, seems like an unlikely place to find evidence of ancient cattle herders. But in this dry environment, my new ...
The sector says it’s hopeful her replacement Paul Goldsmith will be able to throw it a lifeline, after six months with a minister deemed missing in action, writes Catherine McGregor in this excerpt from The Bulletin, The Spinoff’s morning news round-up. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign ...
The government can't just rely on axing public sector jobs and has to do more to cut spending, says the chief economist at a free market think tank. ...
Rock The Vote NZ, known for its advocacy for minor party unity and its role within the Freedoms NZ Coalition during the 2023 General Election, celebrates this merger as a strategic enhancement of its operational strength and outreach. ...
Test comment to check that they are now possible.
A flag got flipped
Yay being able to comment
Just checking – is there a reason for some of the topics requiring logging in to reply?
Depends what you mean. There was a general stoppage of comments last night by accident. In the post edit screen there is a button to moderate comments for that post.
//=====
In the discussion settings screen there is a setting to require that only logged in users are able to comment. This is used by some sites who want to restrict comment writing access. Kiwiblog is probably the most noticeable.
We use different techniques which tend to allow a wider and less selective participation.
However, the setting screen used when banning commenters, and releasing them from bans. Which is a bit of a nuisance as the toggle gets hit by accident and turned on. Especially by overly sensitive touchpad clickareas. It has happened a few times over the last decade.
When I get my machines set up again (just moving apartments), I’ll get the style sheet to hide the button.
//=====
If you mean that certain posts get full moderation (ie they must be released by a moderator). That happens occasionally, and usually on guest posts from politicians or posts about client change or ones that outrage misogynist idiots. That is to reduce the workload on moderators cleaning up after children who can’t behave with any degree of decorum
//=============
Could you please try to be more precise when asking questions. My toleration for wide open diffuse questions is pretty limited.
Sorry, some of the new topics today require a commenter to be logged in with WordPress to be able to comment. I think that’s the first of the two options you provided.
Bill English says we need to concentrate on important issues likes jobs and incomes and prospects (Morning Report this morning: http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/morningreport/audio/201848564/barclay-saga-threatens-to-overshadow-national-party-conference ) – but then we hear that at the National Party conference there will be no policy announcements. Surely he isn’t trying to distract us from something else!
Nice to know that after all this time Bill English at last thinks its time to concentrate on jobs and incomes . . .
About the only thing in those he would be concerned with would be the wages and how to lower them to ‘make us more competitive’. One way to do that is to import people to fill job slots.
Enough semi-hysteria and hyperbole over the so-called Labour Party ‘student intern scandal’?
Let’s have some proper investigation based upon FACTS, EVIDENCE and the underpinning LAW?
1) What exactly were these student ‘interns’ offered?
2) What exactly did these student ‘interns’ receive?
3) What exactly is the law covering immigration and ’employment’ in these circumstances?
4) Where exactly has the law been breached (if it has?)
Penny Bright
2017 Independent candidate for Tamaki.
Exposing the $1.6 billion Tamaki ‘Regeneration’ – GENTRIFICATION $CAM.
In the NZ Herald an opinion piece: “US intern defends Labour’s ‘fellowship’ campaign programme from ‘sweatshop’ claims”
McCarten’s (and the Marae) supporters come out in support of McCarten and Te Awataha Marae:
Bradbury on The Daily Blog: “Why the Labour Party Student Intern ‘scandal’ is a smear”
Moana Maniapoto on Twitter:
From the links and news posts abound yesterday, this appears to be the best
http://www.95bfm.com/news/exclusive-transcript-with-labour-student-intern
So the students were offered something that turned out to be not true, but the students are very aware of who is at fault and it is not the Labour party leadership, but those running the campaign, most of who do not have paid authority in the Labour party.
The NZ Herald also has a good article this morning from an interview with a different intern. The Marae have also defended themselves and their facilities on the radio news
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/politics/news/article.cfm?c_id=280&objectid=11880781
It appears the biggest issue is that the people running the scheme tried to go too big and were a bit ‘creative’ with the promotion of the scheme to try and entice Sanders & Corbyn supporters down to NZ to bring their enthusiasm and desire for social change to NZ.
I am beginning to think this is definitely more a manufactured crisis than a real one.
“So the students were offered something that turned out to be not true, but the students are very aware of who is at fault and it is not the Labour party leadership, but those running the campaign, most of who do not have paid authority in the Labour party.”
Then the next question is, if the people running the campaign had no authority in Labour, why were they advertising the fact that people would be coming to New Zealand to help Labour?
https://umichpicsannouncements.wordpress.com/2017/02/24/labour-party-campaign-fellowship-in-new-zealand/
https://casit.illinoisstate.edu/sites/pol/2017/04/12/2017-labour-campaign-fellowship/
https://www.tilburguniversity.edu/students/news/show/news-labour-campaign-fellowship/
http://stage.wp.hum.uu.nl/170424-2-new-zealand-labour-party-2017-campaign-fellowship/
https://bskstage.weblog.leidenuniv.nl/2017/05/12/internship-2017-labour-campaign-fellowship-new-zealand/
https://www.tilburguniversity.edu/students/news/show/news-labour-campaign-fellowship/
I don’t care if the law has been breached or not, the supposed worker’s party should not be asking people to come and work here for fuck all wages that’s what we expect from right wing scum.
Read this story in the Herald, Penny Bright, and get a corrected version on the overseas student “interns” story.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/politics/news/article.cfm?c_id=280&objectid=11880781
So Jenny – whats makes this version a ‘corrected version’ as opposed to the others stories?
Because this one makes labour look less bad and you are biased as heck?
Oh James, how lovely to see you back, I was very concerned we hadn’t seen you commenting during the whole Barclay alleged breaking the law affair, but glad to see you back now commenting on a volunteer intern scheme (possibly blown up by a disgruntled wine thief).
Biased as heck???? Pot… kettle….
Its because Im out of the country and only online a little. Glad to hear you missed me.
Re Barclay – the guys and idiot and gets everything he deserves. English was an idiot on the way he handled it. Other than that I havnt read too much on it – Enjoying the sun too much.
Because there appears to be one story saying it is all labours fault and multiple stories saying it was a cock up by the Change campaign after the people involved left labour to run the campaign that labour is now fixing because of the perceived connections.
Also now there are more stories which are disputing the “all volunteers/students feel ripped off” story line, and it looks like it was between 5-10 people who had a bit of a beef with the organisation
“and it looks like it was between 5-10 people who had a bit of a beef with the organisation”
According to one person.
One person, and the Marae…
and 85 people have the beef according to one person…
Funny you take the view of the first story (broken by a partisan source) and ignore further developments as biased.
But you know, continue with your confirmation bias, I am ensuring I keep updated with new information
update, at least 2 people, if not 3 people plus the marae saying not squalid conditions, but actually quite nice
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/93997696/internal-docs-on-labour-intern-scheme-wishful-thinking
Most stories from volunteers saying not labour’s fault, just the change campaigns disorganisation
It’s election time …. and our media becomes dirty mis-informers….. just like last election….. and the one before that….
Although not popular here, Martyn Bradbury credibly dismantles this dirty media manufactured bullshit.
. https://thedailyblog.co.nz/2017/06/23/why-the-labour-party-student-intern-scandal-is-a-smear/
“I was out to the Marae 2 weeks ago having a look around at what they were doing. I had a meal with them, talked with some of the volunteers. They were fantastic young people who were loving the adventure of it all.”
“Firstly, let’s be clear of the timeline here. Bryce Edwards had mentioned this program 20 days ago on June 1st… …”another type of resource is being utilised by the Labour Party this election – comrades from the US and UK. The party is currently importing dozens of young leftwing activists who are staying at an Auckland Marae”,”
“…and Bryce’s mention was after a news story on the 20th of April – a full month ago, where Hone was attacking Labour for doing this. ”
“The spluttering shock and hyperventilation of the corporate media at a story that is over a month old right when English was getting screwed seems remarkably good timing for National.”
“The perception of political hypocrisy is a mainstream media generated one, …”
With this first electioneering shot from our pro-nat media …. the only thing missing is Dong Liu
I wonder how many foreign students are helping with the National Party campaign? I doubt they have many volunteers so another question is, are they being paid by the taxpayer via Parliamentary Services?
First you have to establish if there are any.
No one would willingly donate their time to the NACt, so yeah none and so no problems there….
Probably more foreign donations or ‘sweet’ deals u want to look for. Lucky with Skycity & 0 tax havens laundering conditions r favourable for the Natz.
Interesting read
https://www.scribd.com/document/351981366/Labour-Intern-Scheme
Other than it was uploaded by NewShrub… any clue if that is a real document and who wrote it?
Most likely by a gutter hog or a reverse young Nat an Old Nat.
So looks like it was a wish list made by the change programme when asked by unions to provide a plan to get them to provide funding. A wishlist which never made it into a real plan nor proposal, nor appears to have been approved by anyone, and no statement from anyone on if it is actually real… so basically garbage
According to the General Secretary of the Labour Party, Andrew Kirton it was Matt McCarten and his Auckland Labour party side kicks that wrote it.
Was that leaked?
At the risk of kicking a hornets nest:
In the context of change the government, the common refrain is a vote for anyone other than Labour/green is a wasted vote/or a vote for national….
I am of the opinion that if I vote for a minor party that is to the left of labour, and national govern again after the election, then labour weren’t ready to be an alternative government.
Labour may need another period of time in opposition to get it to move ‘left’. Especially if it looses votes to the ‘left/non neo-liberal’ parties.
The old left right paradigm may not be relevant any more.
I forget who put the theory up about there being a triangular aspect to politics (left, right, not neo-liberal) but having an option of a non neo liberal party really appeals.
There is greens & mana on the left.
Labour is a liberal centre party that’s gonna go in the direction voters indicate in elections. If it’s greens & mana it will push labour left. If it’s national it will push them right, if it’s nzfirst it will push them conservative centre. So if u r a leftie & for some inexplicable Reason U don’t vote, u r the ones pushing the parties right. Don’t whine about the middle class, rich & corporations and how to blame they r next election if u don’t vote, blame yourself!
Also my guess is it’s last chances for the public to choose a different future, because at the rate of state house sell offs , rising rents & lowering wages & asset sales from the national party and their grab of power across the state sectors, the poor are being socially cleansed.
The cost of houses of over 1 million in Auckland and the price of rents rising & prices spreading rapidly ( just saw a do up 90m2 villa in arrow town for 1.1million).
Even if u don’t live in Auckland the social cleansing & immigration practices going on will generate votes for the national party, giving them a long term advantage in ongoing elections. Auckland is 1/3 of the vote apparently.
If u care, vote now.
so vote Green. The problem is lefties voting Mana or TOP and those votes being wasted if Mana don’t gain TTT and TOP don’t get to 5%. That’s a gift to National.
Yep agree with weka, best bet greens or labour dep on where u sit. Safest way to change the government.
Sorry, I am away from my fone for the rest of the day.
That is my point, my vote isn’t wasted, rather it is invested.
If Labour lose this election but shift profoundly left/non neo-liberal for the next cycle.
Probably the other vibe I want to articulate is: is a Labour government that much of a change?
Gsays the message u send to labour is the opposite. If people r voting for the right political parties only – it’s sending all the left parties to the right because that is what the voters r telling them to do.
In my view that has been nationals biggest dirty politic propagating the message that labour is national. So don’t bother voting.
That’s the national tactic to vulnerable people. Don’t bother voting.
Voters need to send a message back to national – I reject your policy by voting against them.
yes. Also the people that criticise the Greens for not being more radical or left than they are but who haven’t been voting for them, well that’s why the Greens have become more mainstream. If there was a viable party further on the left I would agree with voting for them, but there really isn’t. Voting Mana or TOP as a protest vote will have very little effect on Labour or the Greens (if it was going to move them left it would have already).
“If Labour lose this election but shift profoundly left/non neo-liberal for the next cycle.”
Yes, that’s the bet. But it’s a risk IMO. A few % to Mana or TOP isn’t going to change Labour’s mind if they lose but it might cause them to lose. Little will probably be replaced as leader. What more left wing MP is there to take his place?
And why not just vote Green who are to the left of Labour already? To me your argument is very FPP. It’s not about Labour losing the election, it’s about the parliamentary left as a whole. I hope Harawira wins TTT and that Mana get another crack at parliament, but they don’t need left wing party votes to do that. They blew it at the last election, so it’s on them to rebuild over time if they want more MPs.
TOP aren’t left wing and are basically capitalism with more social justice than we have now so long as it’s framed in economics (that’s neoliberal imo).
“Probably the other vibe I want to articulate is: is a Labour government that much of a change?”
That one irks. For one, it won’t be a Labour govt. It will be a L/G govt or a L/G/NZF govt or a L/NZF one. That alone is a bloody good reason to vote Labour or Green. Best thing for the left right now is a L/G govt that doesn’t need Peters. In order for that to happen we need more people voting Labour or Green not less.
The other aspect is that if you compare policy Labour are very different to National in ways that impact directly on people and the country as a whole. Add in Green policy and on almost every area you can name a L/G govt would be substantially different to National. It beggars belief that we are still arguing about this on the left, are people not reading actual policy? If you want to understand the difference, have a look at water, welfare, and housing. It’s glaring.
+111
hi weka,
i can see we aren’t gonna see eye to eye on this.
mana blowing it last election is a point of view, the internet thing didn’t help.
i do feel labour did not help at all either, which is form for them and the way they can treat parties to the left of them.
“Probably the other vibe I want to articulate is: is a Labour government that much of a change?”
i certainly accept labour and national have differing polices, but as you and bill and others have pointed out, we need RADICAL changes to the way we live.
electric cars and vegetarian tuesdays isn’t gonna save our bacon.
labour will still be beholden to the status quo and lobbyists.
fair enough labour/green govt will help some of those that need it most.
labour, green, and 2,3,4 mana mps will be even better for the disadvantaged.
cheers for your input. hopefully the feathers arent too ruffled.
Also ‘investing’ your vote is something a neoliberal day trader would think of.
Have u by chance, had something pop into your social media accounts? Because I heard that’s how trump won.
data mining social media & sending individualised fear messages to voters. Ie Hillary Clinton thinks black men r predators to Black voters to make them not vote.
hi save, cheers for yr responses.
kinda hard to have a nuanced conversation, via text only, hours between responses.
believe it or not the standard is my social media.
no facebook, if you are on facebook you are not the customer you are the product.
no instantgram or twitter.
ts, rnz and stuff for the odd sports story/result is the limit cyber wise.
much rather engage with people in the flesh.
i am aware of trumps team use of targetted facebook posts, brilliant and dastardly use of a tool.
i think at the heart of this is i resent the implication that i must vote with the crowd.
mana last time round resonated with me.
Labour might think “oh gee, we’d better try nationalising everything as a policy because nobody is voting for us now”, but you know there will be loads of advice to “just go a little bit lmore like national to capture the middle ground”.
As investments go, that one’s pretty high risk. You might waste money on sports betting, but it’s not really an “investment”.
And I genuinely think that at least a labgrn government will improve the lives of thousands of people, even if it won’t bring about the revolution. I for one support the idea of less homeless people, but in a “give them homes and support” way, not a “move them out of my sight” way.
I think those three would be: Left, Right, Not Capitalist
Going Left or Right while maintaining capitalism maintains all the problems of the status quo. Although, going Left is more likely to lead to the removal of capitalism.
Just wondering what others think of the idea of foreign (mostly US) people campaigning for Labour? Would kiwis respond positively to someone flown in from another country telling them how to vote? I don’t think it’s a very good idea.
Not a good idea. People want a break from globalism esp those not doing so well.
Over the years, I’ve seen a lot of activists heading to Aussie, UK, and US as volunteers in their elections. Plus quite a few who have acted as observers in elections all around the world. I have also seen small numbers of overseas volunteers coming here.
It is a way to transfer information about different electoral systems and the way that campaigns and elections are run – for better or for worse.
For instance, explaining the nuances of MMP campaigns to overseas volunteers has been a private amusement for quite a while. Always nice when you can see the light of understanding in their eyes.
Update: I see that Anne said much the same thing further down.
What you refer to as globalism, is basically globalisation by and for the wealthy and corporates. They have their wealthy international think tanks, Bildeberg groups and other networks.
The best way to combat this internationalisation of the power of the elites, is to work collaboratively with other less powerful individuals and groups across countries. Pulling up the draw bridge, and isolating the less well off in individual countries, will be no defense against the international reach of the powerful and wealthy elites.
This scheme has been operating for some 20 plus years and political parties of all persuasions do it. Kiwis have gone to America, to Aussie, to England. Americans have gone to England, to Aussie and now to NZ. Aussies have gone to… and on it goes.
It’s an excellent way for young people of like mind to meet their counterparts in other countries and gain experience along the way.
What a closed mind you and other detractors must have.
One could argue Labour were being closed minded for failing to consider the negative reaction some would have to their use of foreign volunteers.
TC
It’s hard to try and move forward when having to drag a concrete Noah’s Ark from your left leg full of survival animals who can’t think anything different than what they’ve always had without squawking in fright.
I don’t have a problem with it being a resource, I just think that Labour needs to get our young people politically motivated as a priority.
While overseas volunteer supporters of like minded parties may look forward to coming over and having the experience. It is not necessarily true that the policies of similar positioned parties are the same. They have a lot of trust that the campaign they are working on follows their values until they get here. They are also unaware of any of the political happenings in the last three years for NZ, where US and UK politics can be easily followed on this side of the world.
A non-partisan encouragement of young people, presenting the overriding issues and looking for comprehensive solutions would be a great vehicle to get this started. If Labour and the Greens were involved, they would have to place trust in NZers that once they are informed, they would no longer accept trite assurances from Ministers and media that everything is hunky-dory. But the pay-off would most likely benefit those parties involved, and the left side of NZ politics as a whole. When people work together successfully, they are more inclined to view the wider community as their responsibility and with care.
I don’t have a problem with it being a resource, I just think that Labour needs to get our young people politically motivated as a priority.
Which is exactly what has been happening under the radar for some time Molly. I have noticed the increasing number of young people who have joined the Labour Party in recent years. It has almost seemed like a revival of the Norman Kirk years when many young people – including me – were motivated to join Labour.
A few weeks ago I attended a public meeting in Glenfield, Auckland which had been called to discuss the local housing crisis. There were several guest speakers including Phil Twyford. I was surprised to see there were an equal number of young people present as there were older people.
Oh and for the detractors, many of those young people present were not members of the Labour Party, but who chose to attend because they were interested to hear what Phil Twford had to tell them.
“Which is exactly what has been happening under the radar for some time Molly. I have noticed the increasing number of young people who have joined the Labour Party in recent years. It has almost seemed like a revival of the Norman Kirk years when many young people – including me – were motivated to join Labour.”
Thanks Anne. Always interested to hear from someone who knows the history and current position of Labour, as opposed to those who view it from an outside perspective.
A couple of questions, for clarity rather than inquisition:
1. Why is it under the radar? Is that a resources issue, a failure to see future value, or an intended choice?
2. There is a difference between motivating the young to get involved in politics – and getting the young involved in party politics.
I’m thinking that the resurgence in youth politics in Scotland and the UK, has been instigated by the Scottish referendum (and all the non-partisan grassroots community meetings held in support and against) and the Brexit referendum.
I would love to see a true initiative to get the youth electorate voting – regardless of party.
This would require the parties on the left to work together and would require them to have a lot of trust in the electorate, but would pay dividends on election day to the benefit of the left opposition.
Not only does it show how like minded parties can work together for the benefit of the public, it shows how valuable political engagement and knowledge can be. Once awakened, that skill and judgement will be deployed over the course of their voting lives. Political commentators and politicians will be working with a voting public that has the skills to more keenly judge media reports and obfuscations.
I was hoping the internship was something along these lines, but it doesn’t appear to have been in it’s current form.
Because it is fundamentally about people going somewhere to learn how others political systems operate by getting involved in them. It isn’t about making continuous press releases or a big deal about it.
The media will have known about these kinds of programmes for a long time. They really aren’t news – well at least not until National’s spinners like Hooten and Farrar need a diversionary story and someone is found to provide kernel of it.
The question was more about how to make it known to the youth in NZ, so they can intern, rather than the media for commentary. (In particular, youth not currently aligned with the Labour party).
As for the internship initiative, given the quality and depth of the reporting, it seems the typical “sound and fury, signifying nothing” distraction.
Hi Molly. I wasn’t being critical of your comment @ 9.2.2
Just wanted to let you know Labour are doing what they can to get the youth to take part in politics. And of course the Greens are doing like-wise. I also believe the young are coming to recognise their futures don’t look too bright under the current regime. They have every reason to worry about their ability to ever have a home of their own, and of course Climate Change [rightly] hangs heavy on their minds. It wouldn’t surprise me if they are starting to look seriously at wanting a change of regime in NZ.
“What a closed mind you and other detractors must have.”
Wow- what a nasty response to a question imagining how kiwis might respond to doorknocking by American interns.
If that’s an example of how a Labour Party Aucklander replies to a genuine question, glad I’m a Southern Greenie.
[lprent: What a delicate wee lazy flower you must be. Read the policy – especially that about robust debate.
Learn not to make simpleminded presumptions about others nor to try to use a typical troll ‘victim’ act. Because I really don’t like lazy fuckwits like you who try to impose your obnoxious rules on this site. That is my and the moderator’s job. We don’t pass it out to opinionated idiots like you. If I see you try it again, I will amend your behaviour with a sudden permanent ban for violating the rules of this site.
This is your warning. ]
Highlighting that it’s been going on for 20+ years and has never had an issue is nasty?
Or was it that you got your closed mind pointed out that hurt?
There are benefits to such exchanges as has been pointed out.
Sorry, warning taken on board. I really wasn’t meaning to impose any rules and, yeah, being a bit sensitive about the closed mind bit. Haven’t been commenting for a while, need to toughen up.
I’ve been involved with overseas volunteers on local revegetation projects, they’ve been great. All I had heard about re the ones this week was about them campaigning/door knocking for Labour and I wondered how that would work out. Now I know more about this type of thing thanks to the other comments.
I’ve noticed a lot of interest in our political culture from some of the Americans I interact with at the gallery. They are intrigued that we have a much more constructive political conversation than they are used to. Several have asked about internships. From where I’m seeing it, it’s not surprising that this got overwhelmed with interest. Tis’ a bugga being popular…
This item on NBC sort of touches on it and explains a lot of how we are place du jour in America right now
http://www.nbcnews.com/megyn-kelly/video/the-americans-are-coming-the-obsession-with-new-zealand-970813507783
It wasn’t the best idea. Yet, it seems Labour gave this little consideration.
In fact, they didn’t even clear the legality of it, which should have been one of the first things to do. Moreover, they are carrying on with it while it is still unclear.
This won’t inspire voter confidence in their ability to run the country.
They may do. Depends upon the Kiwi and their understanding of the way similar parties cooperate across the globe.
I’m not a fan – in principle parties should cultivate a local activist or volunteer base.
It may not be illegal but it’s going to cost a couple of points. Looks to me like some middle echelons wanted an entry to the lucrative US political job market.
Corokia
That’s a very good point.
POLL: Does the Labour Party look like a government-in-waiting?
http://www.radiolive.co.nz/home/newshub/2017/06/poll–does-the-labour-party-look-like-a-government-in-waiting-.html
Currently 66% say yes. Heh.
Garner and that other odious prick held a poll on the AM show this morning asking if the Labour migrant scandal was of more concern than the Barclay affair That odious bit of shit was using terminology like slave ships slave labour etc and Garner in his usual style was reading out the most blatant rightwing crap people supposedly was writing in. with the usual discussions that Labour was not beyond redemption if they change their leader etc etc ad nauseam
That odious prick was most upset when at the last time I saw it more people were concerned about the Barclay affair than Labours. Also it was delightful to see Ardern put hysterical Benefit well and truly in her place.
Has anyone seen the whole morning programme and what was the result of the biased poll they had. because I think people are beginning to wake up the shit by the Garners, Gowers Hoskins and Johnny come lately odious Mark whatever his surname is.
It is Mark Richarsoaaaaaaaaaggggggghhhhhhhhhh
When I looked earlier it was something like 51% said Barclay/English was worse. Which is pretty good given the bias it was presented with.
did you see how Ardern had garner eating out of her hand and saying that labour had acting in the right way as opposed to the nats spending a year lying and such.
here that you nat scum the truth will set you free
If it wasn’t for this botched intern scheme the support for Labour could have possibly been higher.
If it wasn’t for lefties running round bashing Labour it could possibly have been higher.
+100%
I haven’t not bothered reading about this labour intern issue, sounds more to me like a msm distraction to drum up, now that national are on the rocks with Barclay etc
Why bother biting?
There’s a need to push back a bit because the dirty politics on this is strong enough to undermine the left.
If it wasn’t for Labour messing up, there be no bashing from the left. They bring it upon themselves.
Moreover, if we don’t hold them to account, we can’t expect them to improve.
One hopes more isn’t revealed or develops.
No-one brings bashing upon themselves. Bashing is different from holding to account.
“If it wasn’t for Labour messing up, there be no bashing from the left.”
Obviously. But we’re all humans here and all of us make mistakes. I’m far more interested in how we handle those mistakes than in everyone having to be perfect and never make any. As far as I can tell Little fronted up well on this and Labour are doing the work to sort out the actual problem not just the perceived political one.
It’s time to change the government. Your own incessantly negative approach appears to work against that.
“No-one brings bashing upon themselves”.
Perhaps not willingly, but evidently, they do.
“I’m far more interested in how we handle those mistakes”
Indeed, it’s the putting right that counts. Many mess up, not many put it right.
However, in this instance the putting right looks as if it may unravel. I’m concerned Labour are starting to dig a larger hole.
As highlighted, sorting out the legality should be a priority. The media will have a field day with Labour continuing on if it turns out to be illegal. Therefore, this could potentially get far worse.
There is even paperwork bringing their excuse (it was over subscribed) into question.
Labour have been round long enough to know how the game is played, yet they aren’t playing too well, hence we’ve got to keep their feet to the fire.
Thanks weka @10.2.1 So true.
It doesn’t looked botched.
The media coverage was light on background, balance, presented as a “gotcha” and picked up a few willing commentators ready to be outraged.
Count yourself among them.
“It doesn’t looked botched.”
Rubbish. They don’t even know if it’s legal, yet they are carrying on regardless.
Lowering the bar and making excuses won’t encourage them to up their game.
If we want Labour to move left and improve, we are going to have to hold their feet to the fire.
That’s a pretty ugly metaphor, but useful to know that you think people asked to be damaged and that damaging people is warranted. Including natural allies.
I didn’t say people ask to be damage. However, of course people will get flak when they mess up.
Would you rather we lower the bar and allow them to get away with it?
“Would you rather we lower the bar and allow them to get away with it?”
You’re really not listening to what I am saying. Critique good, bash bad.
Can you provide an example of where you believe I’ve bashed them.
“They don’t even know if it’s legal,”
That my friend is being promoted by the media because what their delightful obnoxious character Toddy did was CRIMINAL
Say it enough times and it will become Labour does it too
And as Foxy pointed out on twitter, “When you are running the same line as Matthew Hooton you need to check yourself.”
No. That is coming from Labour. See link below.
http://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2017/06/labour-investigating-whether-scheme-broke-visa-laws.html
It has been raised by government ministers. Of course Labour is now going to do due diligence..
But it’d be interesting if National are willing to extend this kind of scrutiny to all volunteers who are housed on a Marae. I’m sure that the Maori Party will want a say in that. Or Lions and Rotary who also have widespread international volunteer program. Or churches. Or…. whatever – you may understand the point.
Not to mention kiwis going offshore to do things like VSA, or the volunteers that DOC uses.
“Of course Labour is now going to do due diligence..”
Having a political party associated to an illegal act (not that it has yet been established) isn’t a good look, therefore this should have been cleared up from the get go.
To The Chairman @ 12.52 pm
No that is wrong and you are quoting The Hub of all places as a reliable source, you must be joking
Garner kept trying to put words into Kirton’s mouth and kept repeating “does that mean you don’t’ know if you have broken the law yet is that what you are saying”, to which Kirton replied “Oh look I don’t actually but that doesn’t mean anything really and I am focussing on the welfare of these volunteers.” which was more or less repeated a little later by Arderne “I wouldn’t know enough about the explicit rules around someone who’s here on a short-term voluntary basis. I wouldn’t have thought so… we’ve got to be absolutely sure,”
So it is NOT coming from Labour.
If someone said my car had flat tyres I would check to see if they needed inflating but that doesn’t mean I would be admitting that I have been driving around with flat tyres. As I can see the same dirty politics coming into play with this election with all the shit being bounded around about slave ships and sweat shops by labour I am pleased they are checking the law.
Lets be honest it’s amateur hour on steroids.
A government in waiting I don’t think so,
Honest, yes, let’s be. The Barclay debacle was the height of professionalism. A Government in freefall, BM.
I haven’t really followed it that closely, beltway stuff.
The issue with the Labour “interns” though, disgraceful, hypocritical, maybe even illegal, heads definitely need to roll.
Did you know that proven liar Prime Minister John key left and Bill English took over and has been caught lying too only he is a bit more yaap so he’s no good at it. That makes the last two gnat leaders caught lying. Breathe it in bm these are the last of the good days for you old bean.
Mate, I really don’t care who wins the next election.
If labour manages to scrape together a coalition and gains power nothing is really going to change, it’s going to be business as usual.
The only change will be English retiring and Collins taking the reins.
I haven’t really followed it that closely, beltway stuff.
The issue with the Labour “interns” though…
Oh, how we laughed. The PM lying about what he knew of a crime and his involvement in helping covering it up? Beltway stuff, nothing of interest there. A couple of disgruntled Labour interns, though? Disgusting! Heads must roll!
Lol yeah you don’t care all right – after key scurried away many die-hard gnat lovers have felt the same. I feel ya…
@ Halfcrown
When asked if Labour has broken any immigration laws, Kirton replied he’s still getting to the bottom of it. Therefore, clearly they’re unsure.
Moreover, the fact he didn’t know, hence wasn’t able to refute it, leaves the thought (it may be illegal) hanging in peoples minds.
This is something they should have cleared up right from the get go.
But here’s another problem, Kirton believes whether it’s legal doesn’t mean anything. However it does. This will look far worse if it turns out to be illegal, yet Kirton can’t see it.
It will be back in the headlines if it is.
And while that would explain why they are carrying on, it’s disappointing they can’t see the potential storm they’re sailing into if it turns out to be illegal.
“Count yourself among them.”
+1
Indeed, and on past performances I reckon our friend has an intent to foment discord.
Here is another poll for you weka…Roy Morgan
https://www.roymorgan.com/findings/7259-roy-morgan-new-zealand-voting-intention-june-2017-201706230945
It has Labour @ 25.5% down by 3% from last month. But some good news for the greens they are steady on 14% 🙂
The latest RNZ story to come out on the MSM labelled “Intern Scandal”.
http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/political/333625/labour-party-programme-got-out-of-control
Someone I know intimated something along these lines two weeks ago.
[posted in another thread, but seems pertinent and was offtopic in the other thread so deleted it]
For an engineer in the political machine, McCarten seems to be a bit shit with paperwork. Although it could also be supervision – a few people involved and the person doing the recruiting didn’t tell the colleagues or McCarten how many people were coming.
Actually, I wonder if they just didn’t expect the usual rush of applications at the last minute? Every year I am part of the organising committee for an event, and every year we start shitting ourselves that we’ve overcatered and nobody will show up, and it’s always in the last week/ten days that a solid 80% of attendees register. Fucks my blood pressure up and no mistake. But failing to have the guts to tell people “no, time’s up, we’ll put you on a list of alternates if you want” could have gotten them into this position.
Yes. There does seem to have been a bit of the… left hand not knowing what the right hand was doing. It also sounds like more people took up the offer than they had prepared for, but heaven forbid… nobody committed any crimes, and it’s something everybody has experienced when organising an event or a family reunion. There’s always a hitch of some sort which rears its ugly head at the last minute.
It most certainly didn’t warrant the attention or the vitriol that was heaped on Labour by the MSM over the past 24 hours. They behaved like a pack of howling, rabid dogs. I hope they have sought medical assistance for their hysterical nonsense.
True, that.
On the plus side, the Labour thing looks like a bit of a flash in the pan, whereas the deBarclay is a long and steady burner. He’s hanging around like a persistent pimple, and we’ll see if a search warrant comes by this time.
The latest on getting rid of ISIS out of Mosul:
https://southfront.org/map-update-iraqi-security-forces-storming-last-isis-bastion-in-mosul/
And which one is more likely:
1. The Iraqi government and US military have a plan to rebuild built infrastructure, the Mosque, schools and hospitals and housing, to start to make Mosul a liveable place again.
2. Iran just waits for the post-victory near-anomie, uses proxies to gain a stronger hold with the Iraqi government, carves the area up informally with the Kurds, and Mosul becomes a shell of a place.
I sure know what I’d like to see.
Given that the U.s.a has just sold $120 Billion of weapons to the Saudis …. and that they seem to be a military industrial society that needs to export these weapons of democracy to stay afloat.
And the fact they help fund Isis … and act as its air-force at crucial moments in Syria.
Then I would suggest it would be the u,s,a ( and Nato ), who continue the destructive conflicts in the middle east ….. that they started with illegal wars/invasions, launched under false pretenses.
What do you think Iran would be like today, if the u.s.a and Brits had not attacked and overthrown their democracy way back in 1953 Ad? ….
Mossadegh was a good man…. and the west has treated the Iranian people with malevolence ever since they overthrew their democratically elected leader.
Whats your excuse ?.
Go ahead and defend Iran. Because you clearly can’t see I’m not defending either Iran or the USA.
Always amusing to see another moist leftie look for the last European regime it can find to assign the ills of the world upon. It was them colonialists who instigated the comprehensively fundamentalist, misogynist, fanatical , murderous and corrupt 1979 Revolution? And the lack of any reform since?
Have a nice armchair-general time running your alternative history.
Meantime, first coalition to come up with a post-war plan wins.
Weak As Ad.
Why did the 1979 revolution happen …… 1953 coup.
What do you think Iran would be like today, if the u.s.a and Brits had not attacked and overthrown their democracy way back in 1953 Ad? ….
Mossadegh was a good man…. and the west has treated the Iranian people with malevolence ever since they overthrew their democratically elected leader.
What you complain about is known as “blow-back”
What do you think Iran would be like today, if the u.s.a and Brits had not attacked and overthrown their democracy way back in 1953 Ad? ….
You tell me what it would be like. It’s your story.
See if that’s fruitful to the impending fall of Mosul and any plan thereafter.
Well we can know for certain that the `1979 revolution would not have happened if Iran was allowed to continue as a peaceful secular democracy.
We know that the Shah imposed upon the Iranians was a murderous thieving thug.
Ayatollah Khomeini was the fanatical blow back that removed the unpopular Shah.
The average Iranian is obviously far worse off thanks to the real … not alternative ….. history behind the present.
No 1953 coup ,,, no 1979 Ayatollah
And basically evidence since Yugoslavia onward s points to the fact.
That from the west.
The plan Is war ….
For profit …. to the few.
The fate of Mosul ….. going on its history since the u.s.a turned Iraq into one huge war crime ….. is that it will see more shells and bombing and death squads than building.
Look to Fallujah
There is no fate.
An equally valid alternative, if the Iraqi government lets them, and if Iran is supportive, is to look to Kurdish Erbil:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iraqi_Kurdistan
“The Kurdistan region of Iraq enjoys more stability, economic development, and political pluralism than the rest of the country. And public opinion under the Kurdistan Regional Government demands rule-of-law-based governance. But power is concentrated in the hands of the ruling parties and families, who perpetuate a nondemocratic, sultanistic system. These dynamics could foster instability in Kurdistan and its neighborhood, but could also provide a rare window of opportunity for democratization.”
Stranger things have happened.
Well with the Billions of weapons being pumped into the middle east I think the destruction rate ( 3.5 million refugees Iraq ) will continue.
Who are we bombing ?” 3mins 43
P.s I thought Saddam, another c.i.a installed thug, should have been hung when he used Sarin nerve gas on the Iranians with coordination and coordinates from the usa …
Muammar Gaddafi on the other hand with his bloodless coup …… demonstrated socialism working ….. by the largest improvements of living standards for the people of Libya …., in the shortest period of time …. in any country anywhere in the world ….. in the 20th century.
Nato will be able to take credit for the quickest reversal …..
then it was all down hill – mass arrests and detention, torture, disappearances, televised executions, the assassination of expat opponents abroad, nuclear ambitions, war with his neighbours, the financing of ETA in Spain, the IRA and the Italian Red Brigades, as well as groups in Japan, Turkey, Thailand and the Philippines……
You sound like your reeling of the actions of the cia/u.s.a in south america or Iraq or Vietnam Joe90 ….. or to quote Nelson Mandela …….“If you look at those matters, you will come to the conclusion that the attitude of the United States of America is a threat to world peace. If there is a country that has committed unspeakable atrocities in the world, it is the USA. They don’t care for human beings.”
I on the other hand was talking about a man using the resources of his country ( instead of BP getting it ), ……. and lowering infant mortality from over 100 deaths per thousand live births down to approx 14
Who granted equal Human rights to women in 1972 ….. something the fundamentalist terrorists Hated …… like the British sponsored “Manchester Boys” …. and other religious extremists used by the west.
He vastly improved housing from most living in slums ….. and declared housing a human right.
He vastly improved access to and quality of medical care … free
He was ridding the country of illiteracy and had full enrollments of children into schools
University education was free …… and of course women could attend.
He took Libya from one of the most impoverished countrys in the world …….. and before being Mob murdered had Libya with the highest standard of living in Africa and a life expectancy comparable to Europe.
No other country in the world improved the standard of living for its citizens by such an amount in such a short time ……. through Socialism.
Nato will bear responsibility for the quickest decline
The most famous terrorist he supported was one Nelson Mandela ….. http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article37301.htm
He supported the Palestinians which infuriated the Israelis
I tend to think that the hard facts and statistics regarding health, education…..water and housing projects. The improvements in living standards are there for anyone to find on the internet.
Speaks more to me of the man than tony Blair , or Cameron type hyperbole…… the types who give safe harbors to ‘Manchester Boys’.
You can see Cameron in action in the video I linked to above.
Such huge bullshitters
EF Schumacher on small economics. Too bad 40 years on we turned our backs on this stuff and doubled down on waste, consumption and greed. It looks like we’re going to learn the hard way.
Was thinking that John key has haijacked the ‘third way’ for the national party that politicians like tony blair did for Labour Party in th UK. It goes too far and the leaders turn into arguably criminal liars and their obsession with networking & likeability drag their counties into war, debt & division.
For the national party voters, that hanker after the ‘old values’ of the national party before they became asset selling, migration touting, arrogant careerists that don’t give a crap about their constituents and spend their days drinking & lunching & day trading & doing real estate deals like hotels & conference centres, nz first is a good alternative. It’s the national party of old! Hope winston does a killing in all the Natz stronghold provinces!
if labour & greens pick up the missing million as well, then the the public can kick the ‘third way’ Natz to the curb – hopefully in a landslide to send that message home!
This is probably a fairly good cross section of Clutha Southland, they’re not happy
http://www.scene.co.nz/the-south-today/?video=5478401942001
Quite possible that the “missing million” won’t so much be the left’s to pick up, but National’s to loose this election.
Hope that makes National nervous. I wonder how many of those National voters saying they won’t vote National are talking about the party vote or the seat vote.
From my personal acquaintances who vote nat, and a very small sample, split between not voting, see who the new candidate is, Mark Patterson (NZF candidate) / National pv, NZF / NZF.
Prior to toddles’ departure (Monday, Tue morning) you could take out the new candidate option. Patterson was getting a lot of interest and maybe that triggered the end game.
So English’s involvement and behaviour isn’t changing the party vote?
Don’t think Bill’s coming out of this exactly smelling of roses. More and more people are getting sick of the lies, and the liars winning.
True, but I suspect that many of those Nat voters will hold their noses and party vote Nat anyway. Swing ones are another matter I guess.
My comment about the missing million. It could affect National just like it got Labour in 2008. And for exactly the same reason, arrogance and moved too far into opposition territory to try and hold onto the centre voters.
The “faithful” say bugger ya, and stay at home
that’s a good point.
I think NZF is getting some traction in the provinces, won’t get any help from NZ’s Tory media though.
Tory Government’s benefit cap is unlawful and causes ‘real misery for no good purpose’, High Court rules
#notsurprised
If we could take our government to court over their benefit policies we’d probably get the same ruling.
Also, to those who think an Upper House works, this must have got past the UKs House of Lords.
Latest YouGov poll
Corbyn now rated as best PM for first time
………………… June 5-7 ………… June 21-22
Corbyn ………… 32 …………………… 35 …… + 3
May …………….. 43 …………………… 34 ……. – 9
The first time YouGov have a Labour leader ahead a Tory leader on the best PM question since the summer of 2007.(although 35% still a long way from wildly popular)
More telling contrast = In first YouGov poll after calling the General Election (18-19 April) … May was leading Corbyn by 54%-15% on best PM
… So May down 20 points … Corbyn up 20
You gotta smile at the world we live in.
Herald online suggesting Prince Harry is in trouble: ” Stripping off in Vegas is one thing, but speaking the unvarnished truth is quite another.”
And on this side of the world Bill English is in trouble for telling unvarnished lies.
I’m hoping the next Queen will change the UK national anthem from God Save the Queen to My Milkshake Brings All The Boys To The Yard.
The Arab vision for fighting terrorism
We are being lied to to justify invasion into other countries.
Heh.
http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2017/06/our-score-so-far-republicans-89-democrats-1/
Anyone got anything similar for our local scene? I know the strike rate with ACT is high enough that trouble with the law feels like a near prerequisite to serving in Parliament, but I’ve got no feel for how the balance looks for other parties.
Standard “gotcha” column inches entitled “Labour Gives Up Search For Missing Million”
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11881038
Sigh.
Bryce Edwards stirring it around again. He is from Christchurch and seems all shook up with the earthquakes and that, and hasn’t settled and found stability in his political discourse so up bubbles a lot of liquefaction. Which faction it is differs from week to week.
Regardless what “we” might think or like or dislike about this Student Internship Calamity Recruitment Campaign Drive ….the Hack LSM & Hoots are going to keep on kicking this story all the way to the election.
Its a fuck up in anyone’s book & the fault lies with all involved who’ve forgotten the golden rule, dont piss your workers off! And also remember; the first rule is the same as the 2nd & the 3rd, you dont talk about …
So, a collective “Fuck this Fuck’n mess!” Time to shore up the dyke because the latest RM Polls out & that is just going to compound this almighty fuck up.
http://www.roymorgan.com/findings/7259-roy-morgan-new-zealand-voting-intention-june-2017-201706230945
We need to “grow some” donate enrol and vote. Leave the hair shirt at home.
Heard Nick Smith on the wireless saying the new nelson branch of the young Nat’s is thriving, dang are there only six members = 5 white males, 1 white female?
Heh. In case you are around, there’s a post going up tomorrow about the Greens running a de-seat Smith campaign in Nelson.
To busy with rugby and yatching sorry, like to see something on labors 25p. Though
feel free to submit a Guest Post 😈