It is all but certain that human activity has caused a steady increase in global temperatures over the past 60 years, leading to warmer oceans and an acceleration in sea-level rise, according to the most recent climate change report by an international panel of scientists…..
…..A report on Maryland sea-level rise released in June by the state’s Climate Change Commission estimated that the rise would range from slightly less than a foot to two feet by 2050, and from two to six feet by 2100, depending on several factors, including glacial ice melt.
Up to six feet of sea-level rise can be devastating when effects from storm surge are factored in, said Donald Boesch, president of the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science.
In addition to projections, the document reported several facts. Carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has increased by more than 20
percent since 1958 and 40 percent since 1750, “virtually all due to burning of fossil fuels and deforestation, and a small contribution from cement production”.
We cancel a project that would inject $115m into household incomes over its construction period, create over a thousand permanent jobs, and would when completed power 170,000 New Zealand homes with renewable energy.
Why?
Because planet destroying coal fired electricity is so cheap and abundant
…..Waikato District Council Mayor Allan Sanson said he was not too surprised by the news.
“It was always going to be marginal in relation to the fact that there was already generating capacity and surplus available.”
Waikato Chamber of Commerce CEO Sandra Perry said the news was just another disappointment for the region, especially for those in the energy sector following last week’s Huntly Coal Mine lay-offs.
There you have it. Not only is the bankrupt coal industry laying off workers. It is keeping another 1033 hundred others out of work.
It is way past time that our leaders in government rationalised the real cost of coal, the cost in human misery, illness and death, and the cost of pollution and climate damage. To justly reflect the real cost of fossil fuels and to make renewables competitive.
If any government had foresight vision and the guts to do this. Renewables would then become viable, creating tens of thousands of new jobs.
Instead our leaders crawl on their bellies to the fossil fuel moguls at every opportunity. Instead of investing in renewables, politicians offer the polluters $multimillion subsidies to come here to plunder our natural resources, to increase pollution, and to continue our dependence on fossil fuels.
Humanity is facing an existential crisis like none ever faced before, we have no need for the corporate suits, or bureaucratically appointed leaders who have leadership handed to them.
We need leaders leaders with vision, leaders with courage and conviction. Leaders with passion, leaders with boldness, inspired and informed by the past. But solidly rooted in the real world. Well aware of the danger we are in, and of the necessary measures needed to combat it.
Leaders with a mandate to act.
We need political scrappers
Unafraid to fight for that mandate.
Their task, to overcome the impasse that sees humanity careening down a road to certain destruction, and put us on another, safer saner track.
Will the Labour Party have the courage and the foresight to choose such a leader.
Lynn Prentice has accused me of grandstanding, by raising the issue of climate change as a matter in this leadership contest. So let us see, how long the above comment stands.
Will Lynn show his hand, this early in the piece. To try and keep climate change from being an election issue? As Lynn maintains, it is politics 101, that we can’t waste political capital on this issue.
I am sorry Lynn but I missed that class. Though I am pretty sure that civilisation collapse and possible human extinction wasn’t discussed.
Arg. Comment in wrong place. Deleted original comment.
Jenny – so much wrong with your assumptions above. Often I don’t read your comments because your judgements often seem poor, IMO, and then you get very aggressive when anyone disagrees with you.
Are you saying you expect Lynn to delete your comment above because he disagrees with you on a point of political strategy? Just shows your poor judgement. By all means have your say. But your confrontational brinkwomanship is pure bullying, as well as ill-judged. As is always the case, you comments will stand as long as you don’t infringe TS rules.
Jenny that is utter bovine defecation, it was moved to Open Mike because it’s content has little or nothing to do with the leader of the opposition quitting,
Have a look at most comments that get moved,the comment usually appears from whomever moved it once it has been moved,
The real laugh here is that you are obviously begging for a fight, sooner or later you will put up one a bit to s**t comment to far and then will cop what any of the Wing-Nuts who carry on in the vein that you are gets,
There will be little sympathy for such martyrdom over what is essentially your position which is simply untrue, just laughter at you…
Instead of blocking and dumping my comments and attacking me personally. Don’t you think it would be far more astute to actually argue against the points I raise. And if you can’t muster any counter argument then just leave them in place?
[lprent: I have never dumped your comments. That is an outright lie. They have been moved several times. Top-level off topic comments in a post are often moved to OpenMike to prevent them disrupting the post.
However I’m tired of this bullshit martyrdom play. 6 week ban (4th of October). That should give me more time to deal with the site and the actual trolling that will happen over the period of this leadership debate.
You can find another over worked sysop to bug. YourNZ or No Minister would seem to be a good choice. They’d probably appreciate getting the real info on climate change direct from Arctic News. 😈 ]
Do you genuinely believe that leading with a climate change platform is what will win the leadership and then win the election? Perhaps people are reading your post and thinking you see it as the main vote winning platform?
Your points Jenny, the ones that are not outright bullshit have been ‘argued’ with you ad nauseum,
But, back you come with the same old tripe ”wah wah wah the Greens have sold out on climate change wah wah wah” in spite of the fact that it has been shown to you that every week in the Parliament the Green Party has a go at National over climate change,
Because in your little world the mass media do not report these ongoing examination of National’s attitude to climate change in the Parliament by the Green Party you choose to see this as the Green Party having sold out,
Your attitude of posting what are in essence absolute bullshit as a comment and then demanding debate upon what simply is not the truth is tiresome and only worthy of the Wing-Nuts who leak over here from the sewer,
i like most usually choose to surf past your comments…
The sad thing is that if Jenny did say anything worthwhile, I’d miss it because I’ve given up on reading her unsubstantiated raves. At least I try to keep my own unsubstantiated raves short.
You’re all climate change deniers, condemning the human race to a future of alternate roasting and drowning, and every other biblical end to the world! If only a political party would run on this platform they would sweep the 2014 election. Struth!
I have no issue with your commentary about environmental issues. But I think your approach (and is purely an opinion which we are all entitled to) sums up why Labour can not get its act together.
Labour need to elect a leader who has the skills to run caucus and manage many ego’s. So it should be based on their ability to clearly articulate policy, clearly show leadership skills, and clearly portray some overall acumen when it comes to the economy.
Electing a leader based on their personal agenda’s will get labour where they currently are – in opposition.
Helen Clark was a leader, thats what I admired about her – how she held the team together.
So who will be your leader – not who has an agenda that matches yours.
Look at what narratives journos are running. Think about what narratives are useful to the left, and which ones are not. Feed the the former, and starve the latter. Even if that means not responding to something some fuckwit says. Respond in private places.
In short, act like members of a political party that has its shit together.
Moves were under way last night to avoid a messy leadership runoff, but the wider party may push for a contest that would give unions and the wider membership a say.
So Team Robertson have learned nothing, still want to avoid membership having a say in the choice of leader, and are feeding the MSM with tales to make it seem the most likely and best way forward?
It’s complicated and us punters are in the dark to an extent. We don;t know who is talking and journos won’t say, and we don’t even know if journos are using the quotes in ways the quote givers intend. Don’t read too much into what journos conject. Especially about ‘the wider party’ or the electorate.
Don’t feed the ‘irreconcilably divided party narrative’ though. Don’t feed Key’s narratives either.
I’d suggest talking to mps. Let your feelings be known. Be polite and concerned. talk about what narratives are in the media that suck, and explain to them how frustrating that is, as an activist, to see the party undermined by storylines that don’t reflect the reality of a party that is ultimately on the same side.
” David Cunliffe is not as popular in the caucus as he is outside” Vernon Small
If true, then caucus need to remember they get 34 votes in an election (assuming no one votes for a Cunnliffe led Labour party.
People who make decisions in the Labour party need to understand this is a contest, someone will “win” and someone will “lose. The idea is that at the end EVERYONE pulls together to create the NZ they claim they want, not waste energy on undermining the one who “won.”
If this party and some of its supporters don’t grow up, and quickly, the Greens wont be enough to save us from NACTUNITED.
My view is that Vernon Small is practicing Jonolism here, Vernon plugging Grant Robertson could be said to be anointing Grant with the tainted chalice,
Small even calls a democratic vote by the Caucus/Union Affiliates/Membership as messy like it’s something to be avoided at all cost instead the increased democratization of the Party which it is,
My hope is that those in Labour with the mana to intervene in these things attempt to put together a Cunliffe/Robertson ticket which i believe is the best combination of leadership which has the ability to not only unite the Party but more importantly has the ability to consistently knock the shine off of the current Prime Minister,
The stuff poll is a giggle, running first at the moment is Jacinda Adhern, closely followed by Cunliffe with Grant Robertson gaining third with the next substantial number of votes…
The fucking journalists are going to be the ones first up against the wall when all this spying security state stuff comes to pass…you would think that some of them would have enough self preservation instincts left to push for more democracy, not less.
But the Herald has learned MP Maryan Street was preparing a motion of no confidence in Mr Shearer for Tuesday’s meeting.
Plans were also being made to send a delegation to him before that to ask him to stand down rather than force the confidence vote.
The MPs involved were certain the motion would have succeeded if it had been required.
Ms Street would not comment yesterday, but it is understood she decided to front the motion because of growing concerns among MPs over Mr Shearer’s inability to fire as leader and his poor poll ratings.
I trust Shearer to have done what he thinks is best for the party. He seems to be that kind of guy. For all that people have written and said about him no-one that I can recall, has called him egotistic.
i am pretty sure that Dave Shearers final straw was being Narked on by Slippery the Prime Minister for having engaged in a little private politicing over the GCSB Legislation,
i have the sneaking suspicion that it wasn’t only the Green Party that Shearer didn’t bother to talk to about that little meeting with the PM,
If my sneaking suspicion is correct and Cunliffe wins the leadership contest for the Labour Party leadership then i fully expect Poetic Justice to triumph at the 2014 election where the 30 pieces of silver Slippery will have earned by having ‘set up’ Shearer will be turned to brass by a Cunliffe lead Labour kicking this abysmal awful Government back to the Opposition Benches where they richly deserve to be…
This country needs consistent, competent, inclusive, united, socially-just, and ethical leadership with a good dose of feet-on-the-ground common sense. At the moment it is not getting it.
I am agnostic when it comes to personalities, but I think the choices are fairly clear.
Whoever it is, he or she needs our consistent and united support in these times.
The ongoing tremors around Seddon show how fragile things can be.
I was depressed that RNZ tried to interview Richard Prebble for an “insiders” take on the party leadership this morning. Prebble loathes Labour and has not been anywhere near the party for – what? – twenty years??? Why would you even bother? It is like interviewing a bitter old man about balls left out on the neighbours lawn.
However, my gloom lifted when the phone line went dead and the interview terminated after about 30 seconds.
This is the time for all those frustrated and/or disillusioned lefties to come back to the Labour fold.
Do you want to change the economic order?
Do you want to shrink the gap between the low-tax paying well to do and the highly-taxed PAYE worker?
Do you want to see export led growth in well paid jobs?
Get behind the Labour Party. Call on Cunliffe to put himself forward.
The NSA & Director of National Inteligence issue a rare joint statement debunking yesterday’s Wall Street Journal report on Section 702 collection
Press reports Based on an article in today’s Wall Street Journal mischaracterize aspects of activities conducted under Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. The NSA does not sift through and have unfettered access to 75% of the United States’ online communications.
The following are the facts . . .
Tim Barnett was talking on Morning Report with Geoff-the-aran-sweater-Robinson.
Robinson “John Key says the Labour Party is a deeply divided party.”
Barnett responded with a denial and a long diatribe.
One day we will get the leadership of the party responding to such a comment from Key with a straight forward response… something like, “Yeah, well he would say that, wouldn’t he!”
My biggest hope is that Mallard is shown the back benches, and is given a hint or 3 that it’s not necessary to put his name forward next year. Along with Goff, King, Fa Foi, and Hipkins. The ABC club needs to learn that they are not the be all, and end all of he Labour Party. Unfortunately, they have been damaging the Labour brand for years. This needs to stop NOW!
“Barnett responded with a denial and a long diatribe.”
sigh.
“haha look John Key can say what he likes, but if he spent a bit more time on his portfolios and a bit less reciting Bob Hope jokes he wouldn’t have a 100% pure gcsb shambles on his plate”
It was delightful to see the noisy fool Potty Gower ignored by Shearer as he left Parliament yesterday, as much as that was perfectly understandable in the moment. In contrast Robertson fell over his words just a little in response to said noisy fool.
The likes of Gower are positively fizzing at the moment. It’s Christmas time for them in the “look at me” stakes. Let their odious gases float off into the ether. And when that frustrates them to the point of childish rancour……..smash them with a few well conceived words.
I mean there’s no profound depth or grey matter there. Their callow vanity is their chink. Rise above !
An Ardern Cunliffe dou would help achieve the objective of uniting the party and winning the 2014 election.
So would Louisa Wall (who actually won an electorate) and Sue Moroney (who actually won an electorate) and many other Labour women.
Ardern, like Jones and Little, never won an electorate. IMO they are second class MPs.
Ardern, like Jones, has not won the hearts and minds of the Party Membership: they both decided that the way up the Labour ladder was to play the Caucus insider game.
Ardern has a very aloof manner when she fleetingly attends membership gigs. Auckland Central is not coming back to Labour soon unless she changes her game.
Ardern needs to develop a little humility, show respect to the membership and earn her stripes.
Macindoe is Ham West I think. Sue ran against Bennett on the East side.
But anyway it’s Hamilton bro, you could stick a blue rosette on a retarded scarecrow and win, (which, funnily enough, is exactly what National did in both cases.)
Louisa Wall won a seat. She sold gay marriage to a majority conservative government. Not only that, she did it with grace and class. Move her up in the next shuffle at the very least.
Not sure if this was a reply to me or not. Anyhow, I don’t put much weight on the fact that Louisa Wall won a seat. The Manurewa seat would be one of Labour’s safest seats in the country so would not have required anything from her to win it.
However, I agree with the comment about gay marriage she has rightly got a lot of credit for that and she definitely deserves rewards for it.
She also sold the Bill to a lot of social and religious conservatives in her own electorate. Not an easy thing to do, and not that she convinced everyone, but people knew that she listened to them and did so seriously.
Helen Kelly was elected Labour leader and was parachuted into the Christchurch East electorate. Probably won’t happen but isn’t it about time she moved into Parliament?
Presumably she will if and when she wants to and can get a selection (none of these things are givens).
In the meantime as a word of caution, please remember that she is an author here, and I have this thing about protecting site authors that is expressed in the policy.
In this if’ness scenario… If she does get elected and goes into parliament, then she will no longer be writing here as a site author. How could she bear to give that up (oh and maybe the union work as well) 😈
Christchurch East isn’t Christian dominated. Christchurch Central elected a gay M.P. several times, then kicked out his hetero replacement. It is, however, one of the most deprived electorates outside South Auckland (It also has some wealthy areas further north). Any good Labour candidate should be able to win here, it is just a matter of getting out the vote.
Anyway fair point Tracey, I do still think that it wouldn’t matter who Labour stood in that seat they would win it, but it probably would have been harder for Louisa Wall compared to many other candidates.
What Prebble or Bassett or Whaleoil or DPF or any right-wing commentators say should of course be completely ignored. The opposite of what they are saying is probably a good idea.
Helen Kelly on RadioNZ, ‘ the Union Affiliates will use their vote to elect the Labour Leader they think has the best chance of winning the 2014 election’,
Good skills Helen, my pick to achieve that goal would be a Cunliffe/Robertson leadership, they are Labour’s best performers in the House…
Ok. The site looks stressed but stable. But there isn’t much spare CPU available to cope with peaks.
I’ll put another server on line between now and tomorrow sometime to spread the load when the site peaks up. Or increase the amount of CPU this one can access. I’d better head to work.
Ditto for me. Seems pretty aggressive, too – I can only open one page every few seconds.
My thanks, also, for keeping the site up and running. I actually the site was served from CloudFlare or some sort of similar CDN? There were international traffic issues, if I recall…
It had to be when we were serving hundreds of pages per minute (usually we peak at 50)and getting arbitrary spiking. The problem is that the site is highly dynamic. So a CDN serves the statics like graphics. But the index and post pages have to be calculated.
But it is now the weekend and I have some time to deal with the peak situations that showed during the GCSB and resignation. So I will ramp servers up and relax it.
“Australia has old-fashioned union arrangements and needs “a dose of Margaret Thatcher,” says Mark Adamson, the British chief executive of Fletcher Building.
On a media call following the release of Fletcher’s annual profit, Adamson said he had been “amazed” at both the level of salaries and inefficiencies in Australia. He took the top job at Fletcher last October, having run the company’s Laminex & Panels division, based in the US.”
“Telecom says it will keep cutting costs, as it this morning reported an earnings lift in a year where it laid off more than 1200 workers. ‘ With a smile and a cheer from CEO and shareholders.
This is nothing to do with him being gay BTW, although the local Taliban might get their rocks off running a smear campaign, and Colin Craig might have a crack at picking up a few PI votes.
GR is more at home in a Newtown cafe rather than a workingman’s club in Wainiuiomata or a state housing suburb in Otara.
Cometh the hour, cometh the man. David Cunliffe is the only pick. With Little as deputy, the dour enforcer, smashing all opposition to trade unions.
GR of course would be useful in Tertiary Education, and Shearer would tackle the foreign affairs portfolio, with his experience with the UN.
It very much looks like that this will be a defining moment in the history of the Labour Party, where Rogernomics and Third-way Blarism give way to a new 21st century socialism.
He and others need to learn patience. There is almost no job worth having that you didn’t work hard to get to and put in the time.
I bump into heaps of young lawyers, who think they are worth more than $75k per year… after 3 years in the job. Bide your time, learn, experience, and become better for it.
Lolz, and you are of course telling us that Dave Cunliffe is right at home in the Otara HousingNZ estate,
That’s one hell of a laugh, as part of the ‘other Dave campaign’ a while back someone put up a video of Dave Cunliffe campaigning in South Auckland at the 2011 election, off the back of a flatbed truck with a loud hailer Dave’s contribution made me cringe,
Yelling at the mostly brown faces about what National was going to do ‘to them’ i could almost see those little cartoon bubbles above the heads of His audience flashing in concert a collective ‘WTF’,
Not once did Dave Cunliffe promise even 1 extra State House for these people, the last to be hired and the first to be fired, what was Labour going to accomplish for those people of South Auckland, well from what that particular speech to the crowd promised the answer was Nothing, simply trying to use fear as a tactic to leverage votes was in that particular piece of electioneering the stuff of ‘lead balloons’
You seem to be suggesting here that Grant Robertson, when not involved with the machiavellian smoke and mirrors of politics simply hob-nobs it with the Haves, this is far from the true picture as i KNOW that Robertson is active right across His electorate from the Soup Kitchen, to the Town Hall, to the Night Shelter, i have bumped into Him in all three of those places,
Casting aspersions as what you have done which intend to show Robertson as some form of ‘snob politician’ is taking politics down to a petty level,
Having said all of that, i have a strong belief that Cunliffe and Robertson should both stand for the leadership of the Labour Party so as to allow everyone to see democracy in action, i further believe that whoever of those 2 should win should offer the Deputy position to the runner
up,
“and you are of course telling us that Dave Cunliffe is right at home in the Otara HousingNZ estate,
That’s one hell of a laugh ……”, this from Bad12.
Well – I have news for you, Bad12. David Cunliffe IS right at home with state housing low income people.
I watched him give a straight-forward down-to-earth clear presentation of the country’s economic state and what could be done about it to an audience of low income, state housing residents (mostly Maori) in a low decile area of Whangarei. They lapped it up. They understood him,.
They asked him questions ….. and they wanted more. They kept asking the school principal where the meeting had been held for weeks afterwards if that David Cunliffe would come back again to explain more details. You cannot buy that sort of testimony, and of course absolutely no-one from the media (let alone rightwing MSM) were there to witness it. But it happened.
Cunliffe has the ability to reach out to people, and at the same time he’s quick, articulate, and can foot it with someone as slippery as John Key.
Which just goes to show you that no-one is all good or all bad, but, the video from the 2011election certainly in my opinion highlighted Dave Cunliffe in less than a good light,
We are yet to see if that last bit is simply an urban myth Jenny Kirk, only time will tell if David Cunliffe can truly kick the shine of the Slippery little shyster Key…
Hi
Ever since the recent upgrade my ipad always defaults to the mobile view. Can this be changed or something. I just use safari. I have to scroll to the bottom of the page and choose desktop view.
Is anyone else having this?
The Green Party, which obtained the documents under the Official Information Act, said it showed Social Development Minister Paula Bennett had ignored the facts when crafting the new requirements.
“The Ministry of Education told Paula Bennett that the primary concern was that there wasn’t enough provision for early childhood education for 3 year olds, and that the key barrier for Maori, Pasifika and lower-socioeconomic families was suitable supply,” said Green Party co-leader Metiria Turei.
“She is demonising these families when she has been told over and over again by various ministries that her social obligations and work obligations will cause more harm.”
And National is proved to have ignored the facts and thus will be causing massive harm to people.
I am a bit intrigued by this one, Rafael Correa, Presidente del Equador, admittedly a hero to protect Julian Assange, but not a hero for press freedom. But hey, here he is singing along Quilapayun from Chile. I wonder how sincere that is, but then again, I will not endeavour to prejudice.
The world is changing every day, in and out, so prepare for surprises.
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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: ...
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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 ...
In most states, you cannot register a car without a valid driver’s license. However, there are a few exceptions to this rule. Exceptions to the RuleIf you are under 18 years old: In some states, you can register a car in your name even if you do not ...
Mazda, a Japanese automotive manufacturer with a rich history of innovation and engineering excellence, has emerged as a formidable player in the global car market. Known for its reputation of producing high-quality, fuel-efficient, and driver-oriented vehicles, Mazda has consistently garnered praise from industry experts and consumers alike. In this article, ...
Struts are an essential part of a car’s suspension system. They are responsible for supporting the weight of the car and damping the oscillations of the springs. Struts are typically made of steel or aluminum and are filled with hydraulic fluid. How Do Struts Work? Struts work by transferring the ...
Car registration is a mandatory process that all vehicle owners must complete annually. This process involves registering your car with the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) and paying an associated fee. The registration process ensures that your vehicle is properly licensed and insured, and helps law enforcement and other authorities ...
Zoom is a video conferencing service that allows you to share your screen, webcam, and audio with other participants. In addition to sharing your own audio, you can also share the audio from your computer with other participants. This can be useful for playing music, sharing presentations with audio, or ...
Building your own computer can be a rewarding and cost-effective way to get a high-performance machine tailored to your specific needs. However, it also requires careful planning and execution, and one of the most important factors to consider is the time it will take. The exact time it takes to ...
Sleep mode is a power-saving state that allows your computer to quickly resume operation without having to boot up from scratch. This can be useful if you need to step away from your computer for a short period of time but don’t want to shut it down completely. There are ...
Introduction Computer-Assisted Translation (CAT) has revolutionized the field of translation by harnessing the power of technology to assist human translators in their work. This innovative approach combines specialized software with human expertise to improve the efficiency, accuracy, and consistency of translations. In this comprehensive article, we will delve into the ...
In today’s digital age, mobile devices have become an indispensable part of our daily lives. Among the vast array of portable computing options available, iPads and tablet computers stand out as two prominent contenders. While both offer similar functionalities, there are subtle yet significant differences between these two devices. This ...
A computer is an electronic device that can be programmed to carry out a set of instructions. The basic components of a computer are the processor, memory, storage, input devices, and output devices. The Processor The processor, also known as the central processing unit (CPU), is the brain of the ...
Voice Memos is a convenient app on your iPhone that allows you to quickly record and store audio snippets. These recordings can be useful for a variety of purposes, such as taking notes, capturing ideas, or recording interviews. While you can listen to your voice memos on your iPhone, you ...
Laptop screens are essential for interacting with our devices and accessing information. However, when lines appear on the screen, it can be frustrating and disrupt productivity. Understanding the underlying causes of these lines is crucial for finding effective solutions. Types of Screen Lines Horizontal lines: Also known as scan ...
Right-clicking is a common and essential computer operation that allows users to access additional options and settings. While most desktop computers have dedicated right-click buttons on their mice, laptops often do not have these buttons due to space limitations. This article will provide a comprehensive guide on how to right-click ...
Powering up and shutting down your ASUS laptop is an essential task for any laptop user. Locating the power button can sometimes be a hassle, especially if you’re new to ASUS laptops. This article will provide a comprehensive guide on where to find the power button on different ASUS laptop ...
Dell laptops are renowned for their reliability, performance, and versatility. Whether you’re a student, a professional, or just someone who needs a reliable computing device, a Dell laptop can meet your needs. However, if you’re new to Dell laptops, you may be wondering how to get started. In this comprehensive ...
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. ...
Today’s advice from the Climate Change Commission paints a sobering reality of the challenge we face in combating climate change, especially in light of recent Government policy announcements. ...
Minister for Disability Issues Penny Simmonds appears to have delayed a report back to Cabinet on the progress New Zealand is making against international obligations for disabled New Zealanders. ...
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 ...
Today’s announcement that inflation is down to 4 per cent is encouraging news for Kiwis, but there is more work to be done - underlining the importance of the Government’s plan to get the economy back on track, acting Finance Minister Chris Bishop says. “Inflation is now at 4 per ...
Refreshed health guidance released today will help parents and schools make informed decisions about whether their child needs to be in school, addressing one of the key issues affecting school attendance, says Associate Education Minister David Seymour. In recent years, consistently across all school terms, short-term illness or medical reasons ...
Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones is streamlining high-level oceans management while maintaining a focus on supporting the sector’s role in the export-led recovery of the economy. “I am working to realise the untapped potential of our fishing and aquaculture sector. To achieve that we need to be smarter with ...
I was initially resistant to the idea often suggested to me that the Government should deliver an arts strategy. The whole point of the arts and creativity is that people should do whatever the hell they want, unbound by the dictates of politicians in Wellington. Peter Jackson, Kiri Te Kanawa, Eleanor ...
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. ...
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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. ...
Nearly everyone has experienced the frustration of something you use breaking and being difficult or expensive to fix. Proposed legislation could change that. It’s been raining on and off all Sunday afternoon but people are lining up outside a building in a corner of Gribblehirst Park in Sandringham, Auckland. In ...
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It’s not that long ago Eliza McCartney was seriously wondering if the Paris Olympics would be her pole vaulting swansong. After years of being hounded by injury after injury, the Rio Olympics bronze medallist was still confident she would compete at her second Olympics in Paris in July, unless something ...
FICTION 1 Take Two by Danielle Hawkins (Allen & Unwin, $36.99) There’s commercial fiction, like this book, and then there’s quality fiction, quality writers, quality literature; the forthcoming Auckland Writers Festival is full of quality, and ReadingRoom has two tickets to give away to the following events: Paul Lynch (Dublin ...
Loading…(function(i,s,o,g,r,a,m){var ql=document.querySelectorAll('A[quiz],DIV[quiz],A[data-quiz],DIV[data-quiz]'); if(ql){if(ql.length){for(var k=0;k<ql.length;k++){ql[k].id='quiz-embed-'+k;ql[k].href="javascript:var i=document.getElementById('quiz-embed-"+k+"');try{qz.startQuiz(i)}catch(e){i.start=1;i.style.cursor='wait';i.style.opacity='0.5'};void(0);"}}};i['QP']=r;i[r]=i[r]||function(){(i[r].q=i[r].q||[]).push(arguments)},i[r].l=1*new Date();a=s.createElement(o),m=s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];a.async=1;a.src=g;m.parentNode.insertBefore(a,m)})(window,document,'script','https://take.quiz-maker.com/3012/CDN/quiz-embed-v1.js','qp'); Got a good quiz question?Send Newsroom your questions. The post Newsroom daily quiz, Friday 26 April appeared first on Newsroom. ...
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Amanda Thompson doesn’t really do Anzac Day. But what she does do is remember the people she knew who had a lifetime to remember stuff they didn’t really want to, because of a war they didn’t ask for. And she does make Anzac biscuits.First published in 2021.All my ...
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The Labour Party is at a cross roads
The country is at a cross roads
The world is at a cross roads
Which way will we go?
What does New Zealand do?
We cancel a project that would inject $115m into household incomes over its construction period, create over a thousand permanent jobs, and would when completed power 170,000 New Zealand homes with renewable energy.
Why?
Because planet destroying coal fired electricity is so cheap and abundant
There you have it. Not only is the bankrupt coal industry laying off workers. It is keeping another 1033 hundred others out of work.
It is way past time that our leaders in government rationalised the real cost of coal, the cost in human misery, illness and death, and the cost of pollution and climate damage. To justly reflect the real cost of fossil fuels and to make renewables competitive.
If any government had foresight vision and the guts to do this. Renewables would then become viable, creating tens of thousands of new jobs.
Instead our leaders crawl on their bellies to the fossil fuel moguls at every opportunity. Instead of investing in renewables, politicians offer the polluters $multimillion subsidies to come here to plunder our natural resources, to increase pollution, and to continue our dependence on fossil fuels.
Humanity is facing an existential crisis like none ever faced before, we have no need for the corporate suits, or bureaucratically appointed leaders who have leadership handed to them.
We need leaders leaders with vision, leaders with courage and conviction. Leaders with passion, leaders with boldness, inspired and informed by the past. But solidly rooted in the real world. Well aware of the danger we are in, and of the necessary measures needed to combat it.
Leaders with a mandate to act.
We need political scrappers
Unafraid to fight for that mandate.
Their task, to overcome the impasse that sees humanity careening down a road to certain destruction, and put us on another, safer saner track.
Will the Labour Party have the courage and the foresight to choose such a leader.
http://www.labour.org.nz/news/speech-the-dolphin-and-the-dole-queue
Lynn Prentice has accused me of grandstanding, by raising the issue of climate change as a matter in this leadership contest. So let us see, how long the above comment stands.
Will Lynn show his hand, this early in the piece. To try and keep climate change from being an election issue? As Lynn maintains, it is politics 101, that we can’t waste political capital on this issue.
I am sorry Lynn but I missed that class. Though I am pretty sure that civilisation collapse and possible human extinction wasn’t discussed.
Arg. Comment in wrong place. Deleted original comment.
Jenny – so much wrong with your assumptions above. Often I don’t read your comments because your judgements often seem poor, IMO, and then you get very aggressive when anyone disagrees with you.
Are you saying you expect Lynn to delete your comment above because he disagrees with you on a point of political strategy? Just shows your poor judgement. By all means have your say. But your confrontational brinkwomanship is pure bullying, as well as ill-judged. As is always the case, you comments will stand as long as you don’t infringe TS rules.
He already has, all but. Moving it into the oubliette and not even giving direction to where it had gone in an effort to stop people reading it.
That is why I have pasted it here again.
And yes I do get angry. Because I expect better from the left.
Jenny, do you not read what people say? You have just shown yet again, that your perception is off.
There’s no arguing with someone who does not read and understand what is written in front of them.
Jenny that is utter bovine defecation, it was moved to Open Mike because it’s content has little or nothing to do with the leader of the opposition quitting,
Have a look at most comments that get moved,the comment usually appears from whomever moved it once it has been moved,
The real laugh here is that you are obviously begging for a fight, sooner or later you will put up one a bit to s**t comment to far and then will cop what any of the Wing-Nuts who carry on in the vein that you are gets,
There will be little sympathy for such martyrdom over what is essentially your position which is simply untrue, just laughter at you…
Instead of blocking and dumping my comments and attacking me personally. Don’t you think it would be far more astute to actually argue against the points I raise. And if you can’t muster any counter argument then just leave them in place?
[lprent: I have never dumped your comments. That is an outright lie. They have been moved several times. Top-level off topic comments in a post are often moved to OpenMike to prevent them disrupting the post.
However I’m tired of this bullshit martyrdom play. 6 week ban (4th of October). That should give me more time to deal with the site and the actual trolling that will happen over the period of this leadership debate.
You can find another over worked sysop to bug. YourNZ or No Minister would seem to be a good choice. They’d probably appreciate getting the real info on climate change direct from Arctic News. 😈 ]
Do you genuinely believe that leading with a climate change platform is what will win the leadership and then win the election? Perhaps people are reading your post and thinking you see it as the main vote winning platform?
Your points Jenny, the ones that are not outright bullshit have been ‘argued’ with you ad nauseum,
But, back you come with the same old tripe ”wah wah wah the Greens have sold out on climate change wah wah wah” in spite of the fact that it has been shown to you that every week in the Parliament the Green Party has a go at National over climate change,
Because in your little world the mass media do not report these ongoing examination of National’s attitude to climate change in the Parliament by the Green Party you choose to see this as the Green Party having sold out,
Your attitude of posting what are in essence absolute bullshit as a comment and then demanding debate upon what simply is not the truth is tiresome and only worthy of the Wing-Nuts who leak over here from the sewer,
i like most usually choose to surf past your comments…
Well said.
The sad thing is that if Jenny did say anything worthwhile, I’d miss it because I’ve given up on reading her unsubstantiated raves. At least I try to keep my own unsubstantiated raves short.
You’re all climate change deniers, condemning the human race to a future of alternate roasting and drowning, and every other biblical end to the world! If only a political party would run on this platform they would sweep the 2014 election. Struth!
I have no issue with your commentary about environmental issues. But I think your approach (and is purely an opinion which we are all entitled to) sums up why Labour can not get its act together.
Labour need to elect a leader who has the skills to run caucus and manage many ego’s. So it should be based on their ability to clearly articulate policy, clearly show leadership skills, and clearly portray some overall acumen when it comes to the economy.
Electing a leader based on their personal agenda’s will get labour where they currently are – in opposition.
Helen Clark was a leader, thats what I admired about her – how she held the team together.
So who will be your leader – not who has an agenda that matches yours.
I don’t think Jenny is a member of the Labour Party.
Read the news.
Look at what narratives journos are running. Think about what narratives are useful to the left, and which ones are not. Feed the the former, and starve the latter. Even if that means not responding to something some fuckwit says. Respond in private places.
In short, act like members of a political party that has its shit together.
You mean, news like this from Vernon Small?
So Team Robertson have learned nothing, still want to avoid membership having a say in the choice of leader, and are feeding the MSM with tales to make it seem the most likely and best way forward?
It’s complicated and us punters are in the dark to an extent. We don;t know who is talking and journos won’t say, and we don’t even know if journos are using the quotes in ways the quote givers intend. Don’t read too much into what journos conject. Especially about ‘the wider party’ or the electorate.
Don’t feed the ‘irreconcilably divided party narrative’ though. Don’t feed Key’s narratives either.
I’d suggest talking to mps. Let your feelings be known. Be polite and concerned. talk about what narratives are in the media that suck, and explain to them how frustrating that is, as an activist, to see the party undermined by storylines that don’t reflect the reality of a party that is ultimately on the same side.
” David Cunliffe is not as popular in the caucus as he is outside” Vernon Small
If true, then caucus need to remember they get 34 votes in an election (assuming no one votes for a Cunnliffe led Labour party.
People who make decisions in the Labour party need to understand this is a contest, someone will “win” and someone will “lose. The idea is that at the end EVERYONE pulls together to create the NZ they claim they want, not waste energy on undermining the one who “won.”
If this party and some of its supporters don’t grow up, and quickly, the Greens wont be enough to save us from NACTUNITED.
My view is that Vernon Small is practicing Jonolism here, Vernon plugging Grant Robertson could be said to be anointing Grant with the tainted chalice,
Small even calls a democratic vote by the Caucus/Union Affiliates/Membership as messy like it’s something to be avoided at all cost instead the increased democratization of the Party which it is,
My hope is that those in Labour with the mana to intervene in these things attempt to put together a Cunliffe/Robertson ticket which i believe is the best combination of leadership which has the ability to not only unite the Party but more importantly has the ability to consistently knock the shine off of the current Prime Minister,
The stuff poll is a giggle, running first at the moment is Jacinda Adhern, closely followed by Cunliffe with Grant Robertson gaining third with the next substantial number of votes…
agreed. His article about why Shearer resigned is mostly about Robertson becoming leader and why democracy should be avoided.
Why do journalists seem to despise democracy so much?
Because it gives people a say in their own governance.
The fucking journalists are going to be the ones first up against the wall when all this spying security state stuff comes to pass…you would think that some of them would have enough self preservation instincts left to push for more democracy, not less.
Yup, for some reason they think that “they” could never be in the position Vance was in. Slow Learners?
“Vance was in slow learners”……only in some things…….
nice
And it seems, according to Clare Trevett on the NZ Herald:
The Herald is a mouthpiece for large corporates.
What do you expect them to be saying?
I trust Shearer to have done what he thinks is best for the party. He seems to be that kind of guy. For all that people have written and said about him no-one that I can recall, has called him egotistic.
i am pretty sure that Dave Shearers final straw was being Narked on by Slippery the Prime Minister for having engaged in a little private politicing over the GCSB Legislation,
i have the sneaking suspicion that it wasn’t only the Green Party that Shearer didn’t bother to talk to about that little meeting with the PM,
If my sneaking suspicion is correct and Cunliffe wins the leadership contest for the Labour Party leadership then i fully expect Poetic Justice to triumph at the 2014 election where the 30 pieces of silver Slippery will have earned by having ‘set up’ Shearer will be turned to brass by a Cunliffe lead Labour kicking this abysmal awful Government back to the Opposition Benches where they richly deserve to be…
This country needs consistent, competent, inclusive, united, socially-just, and ethical leadership with a good dose of feet-on-the-ground common sense. At the moment it is not getting it.
I am agnostic when it comes to personalities, but I think the choices are fairly clear.
Whoever it is, he or she needs our consistent and united support in these times.
The ongoing tremors around Seddon show how fragile things can be.
Well said Raa
I was depressed that RNZ tried to interview Richard Prebble for an “insiders” take on the party leadership this morning. Prebble loathes Labour and has not been anywhere near the party for – what? – twenty years??? Why would you even bother? It is like interviewing a bitter old man about balls left out on the neighbours lawn.
However, my gloom lifted when the phone line went dead and the interview terminated after about 30 seconds.
Yes, he and Michael Bassett always joined the wrong party, realised and turned it into national…
This is the time for all those frustrated and/or disillusioned lefties to come back to the Labour fold.
Do you want to change the economic order?
Do you want to shrink the gap between the low-tax paying well to do and the highly-taxed PAYE worker?
Do you want to see export led growth in well paid jobs?
Get behind the Labour Party. Call on Cunliffe to put himself forward.
The NSA & Director of National Inteligence issue a rare joint statement debunking yesterday’s Wall Street Journal report on Section 702 collection
Press reports Based on an article in today’s Wall Street Journal mischaracterize aspects of activities conducted under Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. The NSA does not sift through and have unfettered access to 75% of the United States’ online communications.
The following are the facts . . .
http://www.nsa.gov/public_info/_files/speeches_testimonies/2013_08_21_Joint_Statement_ODNI_NSA.pdf
The Labour Party don’t seem to get it …
Tim Barnett was talking on Morning Report with Geoff-the-aran-sweater-Robinson.
Robinson “John Key says the Labour Party is a deeply divided party.”
Barnett responded with a denial and a long diatribe.
One day we will get the leadership of the party responding to such a comment from Key with a straight forward response… something like, “Yeah, well he would say that, wouldn’t he!”
…or Mrs Collins and Mrs Tolley speaking out about civil liberties and being slapped down by Mr Key looks quite divisive too.
Please not Little, I nearly fell asleep listening to him on TV3 the other day and he is too easy a target because of his union background.
My biggest hope is that Mallard is shown the back benches, and is given a hint or 3 that it’s not necessary to put his name forward next year. Along with Goff, King, Fa Foi, and Hipkins. The ABC club needs to learn that they are not the be all, and end all of he Labour Party. Unfortunately, they have been damaging the Labour brand for years. This needs to stop NOW!
“Barnett responded with a denial and a long diatribe.”
sigh.
“haha look John Key can say what he likes, but if he spent a bit more time on his portfolios and a bit less reciting Bob Hope jokes he wouldn’t have a 100% pure gcsb shambles on his plate”
Right on PB @ 3 and Logie 97 @ 8 above !
It was delightful to see the noisy fool Potty Gower ignored by Shearer as he left Parliament yesterday, as much as that was perfectly understandable in the moment. In contrast Robertson fell over his words just a little in response to said noisy fool.
The likes of Gower are positively fizzing at the moment. It’s Christmas time for them in the “look at me” stakes. Let their odious gases float off into the ether. And when that frustrates them to the point of childish rancour……..smash them with a few well conceived words.
I mean there’s no profound depth or grey matter there. Their callow vanity is their chink. Rise above !
f.w.i.w…from a non-insiders’ point of view..
..i want cunnliffe as leader..and ardern as his deputy..
..(i see them as the most effective pairing..and the one that will appeal most to most of the electorate..)
..and that there be no revenge-moves against any losing faction..
..the likes of shearer/robertson need front-bench roles..
..and internicine-warfare will guarantee defeat..
..and a third-term for key..
..and as a country/people..
..we can’t afford that..
phillip ure..
An Ardern Cunliffe dou would help achieve the objective of uniting the party and winning the 2014 election.
So would Louisa Wall (who actually won an electorate) and Sue Moroney (who actually won an electorate) and many other Labour women.
Ardern, like Jones and Little, never won an electorate. IMO they are second class MPs.
Ardern, like Jones, has not won the hearts and minds of the Party Membership: they both decided that the way up the Labour ladder was to play the Caucus insider game.
Ardern has a very aloof manner when she fleetingly attends membership gigs. Auckland Central is not coming back to Labour soon unless she changes her game.
Ardern needs to develop a little humility, show respect to the membership and earn her stripes.
Sue Moroney lost by 4500 votes to Tim Macindoe.
Macindoe is Ham West I think. Sue ran against Bennett on the East side.
But anyway it’s Hamilton bro, you could stick a blue rosette on a retarded scarecrow and win, (which, funnily enough, is exactly what National did in both cases.)
Not sure where you get that from, both Hamilton East and Hamilton West have had a roughly equal number of Labour and National winners:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hamilton_East_(New_Zealand_electorate)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hamilton_West_(New_Zealand_electorate)
Moroney has actually had a go at both of these (Ham West in 2011 and East in 2008).
Louisa Wall won a seat. She sold gay marriage to a majority conservative government. Not only that, she did it with grace and class. Move her up in the next shuffle at the very least.
Not sure if this was a reply to me or not. Anyhow, I don’t put much weight on the fact that Louisa Wall won a seat. The Manurewa seat would be one of Labour’s safest seats in the country so would not have required anything from her to win it.
However, I agree with the comment about gay marriage she has rightly got a lot of credit for that and she definitely deserves rewards for it.
She also sold the Bill to a lot of social and religious conservatives in her own electorate. Not an easy thing to do, and not that she convinced everyone, but people knew that she listened to them and did so seriously.
Last night I had a strange dream.
Helen Kelly was elected Labour leader and was parachuted into the Christchurch East electorate. Probably won’t happen but isn’t it about time she moved into Parliament?
Presumably she will if and when she wants to and can get a selection (none of these things are givens).
In the meantime as a word of caution, please remember that she is an author here, and I have this thing about protecting site authors that is expressed in the policy.
In this if’ness scenario… If she does get elected and goes into parliament, then she will no longer be writing here as a site author. How could she bear to give that up (oh and maybe the union work as well) 😈
All I can say is it worked well for Bob Hawke. I think there should be space for “captain’s picks” every now and then.
An openly gay woman winning a seat in a Christian dominated electorate was no mean feat.
Christchurch East isn’t Christian dominated. Christchurch Central elected a gay M.P. several times, then kicked out his hetero replacement. It is, however, one of the most deprived electorates outside South Auckland (It also has some wealthy areas further north). Any good Labour candidate should be able to win here, it is just a matter of getting out the vote.
weren’t we talking about Wall and Manurewa???
Thought we were talking about Moroney and Ham East…
Yeah this thread has jumped quite a bit randomly.
Anyway fair point Tracey, I do still think that it wouldn’t matter who Labour stood in that seat they would win it, but it probably would have been harder for Louisa Wall compared to many other candidates.
2 gigantic old fuckwits on radio nz right now.
good to hear they are backing cunliffe at least.
Haha Richard Prebble thinks Robertson will be the next leader! What an endorsement!
(:-)
All we need now is the head of the Business Roundtable and the NBR to chime in with their picks!
Phil O’Reilly will speak soon I am sure.
What Prebble or Bassett or Whaleoil or DPF or any right-wing commentators say should of course be completely ignored. The opposite of what they are saying is probably a good idea.
How would doing the opposite of what they say constitute ignoring them?
Helen Kelly on RadioNZ, ‘ the Union Affiliates will use their vote to elect the Labour Leader they think has the best chance of winning the 2014 election’,
Good skills Helen, my pick to achieve that goal would be a Cunliffe/Robertson leadership, they are Labour’s best performers in the House…
On RadioNZ right now, Labour’s Shane Jones, ‘scratch’ him from your race card people He has just said He doesn’t see Himself as Party leader…
there’s a relief
LOLZ, for relief contact Shane he is said to be expert in the field…
Ok. The site looks stressed but stable. But there isn’t much spare CPU available to cope with peaks.
I’ll put another server on line between now and tomorrow sometime to spread the load when the site peaks up. Or increase the amount of CPU this one can access. I’d better head to work.
I suspect that we are going to need it
Thanks for keeping her ticking over LPrent. I suspect it’s going to get significantly and progressivley busier the closer we get to the election.
Am still getting ‘Your access to this site has been limited’ messages.
Ditto for me. Seems pretty aggressive, too – I can only open one page every few seconds.
My thanks, also, for keeping the site up and running. I actually the site was served from CloudFlare or some sort of similar CDN? There were international traffic issues, if I recall…
It had to be when we were serving hundreds of pages per minute (usually we peak at 50)and getting arbitrary spiking. The problem is that the site is highly dynamic. So a CDN serves the statics like graphics. But the index and post pages have to be calculated.
But it is now the weekend and I have some time to deal with the peak situations that showed during the GCSB and resignation. So I will ramp servers up and relax it.
Isn’t this the real target??
“Australia has old-fashioned union arrangements and needs “a dose of Margaret Thatcher,” says Mark Adamson, the British chief executive of Fletcher Building.
On a media call following the release of Fletcher’s annual profit, Adamson said he had been “amazed” at both the level of salaries and inefficiencies in Australia. He took the top job at Fletcher last October, having run the company’s Laminex & Panels division, based in the US.”
“Telecom says it will keep cutting costs, as it this morning reported an earnings lift in a year where it laid off more than 1200 workers. ‘ With a smile and a cheer from CEO and shareholders.
What a sanctimonious lackey of the 0.1%. Doesn’t even mind stating baldly that he wants to thieve from his workers to give to the elite.
Go long guillotine manufacturers, I say.
better to squabble about who gets promoted by their choice of new leader though.
Grant Robertson as Labour leader?
NO FUCKING WAY.
This is nothing to do with him being gay BTW, although the local Taliban might get their rocks off running a smear campaign, and Colin Craig might have a crack at picking up a few PI votes.
GR is more at home in a Newtown cafe rather than a workingman’s club in Wainiuiomata or a state housing suburb in Otara.
Cometh the hour, cometh the man. David Cunliffe is the only pick. With Little as deputy, the dour enforcer, smashing all opposition to trade unions.
GR of course would be useful in Tertiary Education, and Shearer would tackle the foreign affairs portfolio, with his experience with the UN.
It very much looks like that this will be a defining moment in the history of the Labour Party, where Rogernomics and Third-way Blarism give way to a new 21st century socialism.
He and others need to learn patience. There is almost no job worth having that you didn’t work hard to get to and put in the time.
I bump into heaps of young lawyers, who think they are worth more than $75k per year… after 3 years in the job. Bide your time, learn, experience, and become better for it.
Lolz, and you are of course telling us that Dave Cunliffe is right at home in the Otara HousingNZ estate,
That’s one hell of a laugh, as part of the ‘other Dave campaign’ a while back someone put up a video of Dave Cunliffe campaigning in South Auckland at the 2011 election, off the back of a flatbed truck with a loud hailer Dave’s contribution made me cringe,
Yelling at the mostly brown faces about what National was going to do ‘to them’ i could almost see those little cartoon bubbles above the heads of His audience flashing in concert a collective ‘WTF’,
Not once did Dave Cunliffe promise even 1 extra State House for these people, the last to be hired and the first to be fired, what was Labour going to accomplish for those people of South Auckland, well from what that particular speech to the crowd promised the answer was Nothing, simply trying to use fear as a tactic to leverage votes was in that particular piece of electioneering the stuff of ‘lead balloons’
You seem to be suggesting here that Grant Robertson, when not involved with the machiavellian smoke and mirrors of politics simply hob-nobs it with the Haves, this is far from the true picture as i KNOW that Robertson is active right across His electorate from the Soup Kitchen, to the Town Hall, to the Night Shelter, i have bumped into Him in all three of those places,
Casting aspersions as what you have done which intend to show Robertson as some form of ‘snob politician’ is taking politics down to a petty level,
Having said all of that, i have a strong belief that Cunliffe and Robertson should both stand for the leadership of the Labour Party so as to allow everyone to see democracy in action, i further believe that whoever of those 2 should win should offer the Deputy position to the runner
up,
“and you are of course telling us that Dave Cunliffe is right at home in the Otara HousingNZ estate,
That’s one hell of a laugh ……”, this from Bad12.
Well – I have news for you, Bad12. David Cunliffe IS right at home with state housing low income people.
I watched him give a straight-forward down-to-earth clear presentation of the country’s economic state and what could be done about it to an audience of low income, state housing residents (mostly Maori) in a low decile area of Whangarei. They lapped it up. They understood him,.
They asked him questions ….. and they wanted more. They kept asking the school principal where the meeting had been held for weeks afterwards if that David Cunliffe would come back again to explain more details. You cannot buy that sort of testimony, and of course absolutely no-one from the media (let alone rightwing MSM) were there to witness it. But it happened.
Cunliffe has the ability to reach out to people, and at the same time he’s quick, articulate, and can foot it with someone as slippery as John Key.
Which just goes to show you that no-one is all good or all bad, but, the video from the 2011election certainly in my opinion highlighted Dave Cunliffe in less than a good light,
We are yet to see if that last bit is simply an urban myth Jenny Kirk, only time will tell if David Cunliffe can truly kick the shine of the Slippery little shyster Key…
cunnliffe + robertson – cunnliffe + little – cunnliffe + ardern..
..they all work for me..
..phillip ure..
From The Guardian:
“American soldier formerly known as Bradley issues statement saying he hopes to begin hormone therapy as soon as possible”
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/aug/22/bradley-manning-woman-chelsea-gender-reassignment
National. Time for a change.
A change of credit downgrade from A+A+ to AA.
National. A brighter future.
Climate change resulting in more sunny days.
National. ABC, (Anyone but Collins). ABk, (Anyone but key).
Although it was inevitable I’m wondering how any new on-line ID system would work.
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/08/22/huffington-post-ends-commenter-anonymity-because-trolls-are-getting-more-aggressive/
Chris Slane cartoons (@Slanecartoons): Dirty Pipes
David Shearer’s Resignation – The Opera
Hi
Ever since the recent upgrade my ipad always defaults to the mobile view. Can this be changed or something. I just use safari. I have to scroll to the bottom of the page and choose desktop view.
Is anyone else having this?
Turei: Govt ignored warning
And National is proved to have ignored the facts and thus will be causing massive harm to people.
I am a bit intrigued by this one, Rafael Correa, Presidente del Equador, admittedly a hero to protect Julian Assange, but not a hero for press freedom. But hey, here he is singing along Quilapayun from Chile. I wonder how sincere that is, but then again, I will not endeavour to prejudice.
The world is changing every day, in and out, so prepare for surprises.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sNdn_l05I4o
Viva Chile, viva el libertad!
Viva la revolution, viva el chile – y el continente de sudamerica!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5nwWXr9vwgo