[Please note, we are trialling something new for Open Mike and Daily Review.
In order to keep OM and DR free for other conversations, all comments, link postings etc about the US election now need to go in the dedicated US election discussion here.
If you are unsure, post in that thread rather than here. It’s not possible for moderators to shift comments from OM to there, so any comments here may get deleted.
“The California prison system made $58m profit from the work of prison inmates in the financial year 2014-15, according to a study by the Solidarity Research Center, which also found that 4,000 incarcerated workers earn $2 a day fighting California wildfires.”
And on the NZ front – for those concerned about democracy… and considering that Maori are over represented in prisons, maybe think about why National has taken away prisoner voting rights.
Next week – 26 & 27 October, a Full Bench of 5 judges of the Court of Appeal will hear the Crown’s appeal against Justice Heath’s Decision on 24 July 2015 to grant a Declaration of Inconsistency on the Act of Parliament which bans prisoner voting. Top silk Victoria Casey QC represents the Speaker.
[All US election comments and links need to go in the dedicate threads. See the note at top and bottom of OM. Please repost this in a US election dedicated thread and then I will delete the one here – weka]
“I think Jenny is more interested in why there hasn’t been a single direct question about the climate change to the would be presidents…” save nz
Well actually no.
While this is a concern and disgrace, my comment was aimed at our upcoming election cycle.
[I’ve removed the link. If you post in OM again about the US election, or ignore a moderator, expect a ban. It will probably be lengthy because of the amount of time having to be spend moderating you and putting in short bans – weka]
“Another experienced building industry source, who asked not to be named, said the defective repair issue was “huge”.
“The way I summarise it is, at probably no time in history, in European history, has so many private individuals been screwed over by a Government who said they were going to fix their asset and instead ruined their asset.
“You and I, the taxpayer, are paying for it to be done and done again, and sometimes again, and again,” they said.
“It’s huge. It’s so big, it’s bigger than the leaky home crisis – thousands and thousands of homes have been ruined.”
Leaky buildings on steroids…..this Governments gift to NZ taxpayers…..enjoy
A nice metaphor for the way National have been running things, fast & shoddy, then when you get down to see the foundations you see that they are cracked & will take years to fix. Nice one Joyce, Brownlee & Key.
Leaky building all over again. The government ‘fast track’, ‘low regulation’ and ‘importing low cost labour’ model for everything and then leaving it to the homeowners to sort out.
In Auckland anyone can do plans for a resource consent without any qualifications and you don’t need any engineering either a lot of the time. Qualifications if at all come AFTER the resource consent is granted where the building consent people have to hobble together all the mess to try to make it work and you can change the resource consent anyway by putting different materials i.e. cladding in, post consent as long as you find a ‘friendly’ ear at council.
One of the biggest leaky building cases going to court at present at 40 million the Victopia building in Auckland. What is interesting is that the developer had numerous names and companies over the years (KNZ International Co Ltd, formerly named Ganada Development Co Ltd and Dae Ju Developments Co Ltd) and that the architect which also has other leaky buildings in litigation such as the Spencer On Byron building, is ex Mainzeal another bankrupt company.
The design alone should have alerted anyone well before it leaked, that there were going to be big problems. The victims are the poor owners who bought them and those who also bought around the monstrosity – and have to both view it and then live through the remedial work which looks like lasting for years. And if the other parties go bust, then I think the Auckland council aka the Auckland ratepayers have to pick up the rebuild tab.
Win win for the incompetent all round. sarc. If you can be put in prison for a WINZ benefit fraud of a few thousand dollars by the testimony of some angry boyfriend, I’m not sure why more of these developers are not going to prison after years of litigation, that cost owners and taxpayers millions of dollars.
No, that isn’t the case. All building work, including plans and specifications must be approved by a Certified Building Professional. Each trade being approved by a CBP for that trade.
This legislation was brought in in 2009
The concept is of limited use in the real world and has put a huge amount of risk onto small contractors.
The common factor is that the CFP prefer to go belly up rather than face litigation. This leaves you either having a go at the insurance company (if applicable) or the product manufacturer (if you can prove that it was inherent to the product rather than faulty installation) or the council (if you can prove faulty inspection).
Notice how many contractors will have tools and plant owned by one entity that leases these to the building company. Notice how many of these companies go under leaving sub-contractors unpaid. Notice how sub-contractors never get paid a decent percentage of the retentions, so end up building it into the first 90% of the contract.
@Bridget. I’m talking about the Resource consent, not the building consent. It’s crazy you don’t need to be qualified to put the plans in. Also that is why so many developers just go to the resource consent and then sell. They leave all the problems for someone else as you can pretty much put anything thing onto the resource consent and 99% are approved no matter how crappy and unworkable the design.
As the world witnesses a desperate dictator bombing his country’s cities with the help of his foreign allies, many wonder what is happening? Is Syria the same a Iraq where the US is trying to invade and take over another Arab country?
The act of liberation can only be an act of the people themselves.
My thoughts on the Syrian revolution and civil war.
The difference between Iraq and Syria, is the Arab Spring.
The people of the Middle East have for a long time been cursed to be ruled by a plethora of oppressive dictatorships and autocracies. Most of these regimes are a holdover from the division of the Middle East by the rival global empirialists of the 19th and 20 century, who set their borders, and have backed and installed the long line of despotic strongmen and autocrats we see ruling the region today.
Most of these regimes are armed to the teeth and have a whole apparatus of oppression to maintain their rule. With massive armies and brutal internal security forces, supplied with arms and money in the form of military aid by The their superpower sponsors, who in return gain concessions to exploit the mineral wealth and people of the region.
Eventually, it was inevitable, that there would be a region wide uprising against this state of affairs.
It had been my opinion for a long time, even before the term “Arab Spring” had been coined, that the place for this outbreak to start would have been Iraq. Unfortunately the US war and invasion, aborted this potential.
(Maybe this is what the US feared most).
Democracy and independence, in Iraq, in Egypt, in Syria, in Saudi Arabia, in Jordan would mean the end of imperial domination and subjection of the region. It would also mean the end of the apartheid colonial state of Israel.
The Arab Spring was/is the biggest democratic uprising in human history dwarfing in sheer scale and size of the numbers involved, and who took to the streets across the region, any other grass roots political movement in human history.
Those who support the Regime of Basha Assad that I have debated with, and who can be (reluctantly), drawn to comment on the Arab Spring, and who more commonly refuse to acknowledge it all, dismiss the Arab Spring as a CIA, US, Saudi plot.
But though it is hardly mentioned any more, it is through gaining a real understanding of the Arab Spring that we can understand the dispute in Syria.
Jenny, your rambling and confused words, and your absurd spelling errors, show you have done no serious reading or thinking about Syria. And, no, watching television and reading blog sites does not constitute serious reading or thinking.
Could I suggest you actually invest some time in educating yourself? The following would be a good beginning for you….
[Gday, Morrissey. Spelling mistakes happen regularly here, particularly if people are using smart phones or autocorrect or dictionaries that default to American English. Sneering about minor inaccuracies is poor form and discourages people for whom writing doesn’t come naturally from contributing. And, as someone who is notoriously inaccurate, I would have though you’d be the last person to go down the pedantry route. Petard, hoist etc. Concentrate on the ideas, not the expression of them, OK? TRP]
Patrick Cockburn has a lot more insight than many and he highlights the bias of the reporting of western media by comparing the reports of the sieges of Aleppo and Mosul.
I recommend Jenny reads him as well as watch Adam Curtis’s recent film ‘Hypernormalisation’ which looks at perception management.
The colour revolutions and the Arab spring are not exactly what they seem….
Ignore the ad hominems Morrissey.
Your work is appreciated by many.
As is your work, my friend. I do very much appreciate your support, Paul, as well as that of “reason” and “fender”.
Interestingly, this business of intensely scrutinizing every tiny inaccuracy in my transcripts—or transcrapts, as our friend Te Reo sometimes calls them—first started when the venerable Standardista Lanthanide objected to a post I had made in August 2011, targeting…. Hekia Parata.
Yes I did Paul! As always, Dita Di Boni was excellent.
I’ve also just watched Robert Reid reducing a regular Mora guest, poor old Michelle Boag, to an incoherent, spluttering puddle of anger on Q+A. Unfortunately, however, just as she was about to be mopped up permanently, the affable gorgeous emptiness that is Greg Boyed saved her by laughingly intervening and insisting they go to a commercial break.
‘Poor output’ clearly refers to the inaccuracy of the transcripts. TRP is hardly the first person on ts to say that. It’s not abuse of you personally, it’s a characterisation of that part of your work, which you can dispute if you think it’s an unfair or inaccurate characterisation.
There are many instances in the archives where your transcripts have been roundly dismissed for being nothing like the events they were portraying to advance your own pointed agenda.
And whilst that is a clear abuse of free speech, TRP’s is simply not.
Reporting fact can never be personal abuse.
These posts where you have been called out for falsely interpretating for your own gain are all in the archives. Regular readers will know this to be true. You also know this as truth as you’ve counter argued in them.
Do you really not remember? Or is it convenient to forget?
Or are you just playing at dumb?
As you say, I’ve counter-argued in them, in fact, I’ve refuted their quibbles, which are almost entirely indignant claims that someone like Chris Trotter did not speak in a certain tone of voice, or that the long silences that often follow an inane Jim Mora statement are not “awkward”.
Once again, I ask: who are you?
[not sure what you are asking there Morrissey, but as you know it’s a site rule that no-one has to say who they are. This is to protect people who need that for RL ID reasons, and to focus the debate on the content of what people say rather than say trying to get personal about it – weka]
So that’s an acceptance your transcript reporting and impartiality have, on numerous occasions, been taken to task and rejected as self serving.
As far as ‘output’ goes, that’s definitely poor.
Peter Swift is a troll ……………… trolls are internet enabled self-sending dic pics …
presumptuous little dic pic swift peter has some balls ….. thinking a dic pic should have a decent humane like Morrissey justify themselves to a repeated & offensive……… prick.
I have appreciated reading Morrissey high grade posts which I generally find educating and interesting ….
trp, weka …… and peter swift couldn’t have done a better trolls job at derailing Morrisseys accurate calling out of Jennys hard core and disturbing war propaganda ….than if all three were trolls.
Looked like a pretty wanky three way handshake to me …..
Jennys posting …… which I would describe as a patchwork of war propaganda ….. is some seriously sick confused rubbish that is offensive to read.
batshit crazy war propaganda …. delivered like a sick sunday service.
Ouch, Reason, you’re a sharp one. You totally cut me up and sliced me real good. A dic (sic), with balls, well I never did.
With wit like that, you should come with a safety warning attached. lol
I suppose that someone who can’t transcribe for shit can’t be expected to correctly remember the arguments they had about the accuracy (lack thereof) of those “transcripts”.
I didn’t see the failed guess, which would have been wrong who ever it was, but thanks to Weka for protecting and enforcing my shared right to post anonymously in the face of unmerited intrusion.
Weka, “fender” is not my identity. [deleted] was not an identity either. I believe the term is a moniker? I admire your enthusiasm but you might be getting a little carried away.
Don’t worry “Peter Swift”, no one was trying to guess your real life identity.
[I didn’t say real life identity. People have all sorts of reasons for using the pseudonyms they do, including changing them if they need to for reasons that might not be visible to you but are nevertheless important. You have no way of knowing if the name you are guessing is outing someone or not. I have no idea if you are right about your guess, but it’s against the rules here to do so. I take this very seriously. Because you have reused the name after a moderator asked you not to, I’m going to put you in premod until you acknowledge this second moderation, thanks – weka]
“Jenny, your rambling and confused words, and your absurd spelling errors, show you have done no serious reading or thinking about Syria.” Morrissey
That my absurd spelling errors gave you some amusement, is all for the good.
About my rambling I make no apology. I was indulging in a stream of consciousness trying to figure out how The Standard Authors like Colonial Viper and Bill can support a mass murdering dictator, who slaughters his people from the air.
Morrissey, in thinking that I have done no serious reading or thinking about Syria, you are seriously mistaken. After having been in Syria in late 2010, I have followed subsequent events there very closely.
From my time in Syria I can tell you, that I know an oppressive and grotesque police state when I see one.
It is those who peddle the narrative of a foreign CIA conspiracy to topple the dictator who have a very shallow understanding of Syria or indeed of the Arab people. That the Arab people don’t have the wit or the courage to try and overthrough their oppressors, and are not dupes in a big foreign conspiracy, is patronising and dare I say it racist.
Here is a video report by New Zealand’s own Anita McNaught inside Syria at the start of the genocidal aerial bombardment of the liberated areas by the dictator. I think it destroys the stupid and shallow narrative of a foreign CIA/US/Saudi plot.
About my rambling I make no apology. I was indulging in a stream of consciousness…
What this issue needs more than ever is honest, intelligent discussion. Please leave the rambling and stream-of-consciousness nonsense to the likes of Mike Hosking, Leighton Smith, and Paul Henry—all of whom, by the way, share your support for the Al Qaeda insurrection in Syria.
… trying to figure out how The Standard Authors like Colonial Viper and Bill can support a mass murdering dictator, who slaughters his people from the air.
Neither of those two Standard regulars do that. You are willfully misrepresenting them.
Morrissey, in thinking that I have done no serious reading or thinking about Syria, you are seriously mistaken.
Really? Your views, which seem to be nothing more than automatic acceptance of the State Department’s brutal propaganda, are dangerously naïve.
After having been in Syria in late 2010, I have followed subsequent events there very closely. From my time in Syria I can tell you,
Who did you talk to in Syria? Just going there is no guarantee that you learned anything or had a serious look at the situation.
…that I know an oppressive and grotesque police state when I see one.
The United States is being revealed every day to be an oppressive and grotesque police state, at least in regard to poor blacks and Latinos and native Americans. Would you support a bloody insurrection in the U.S., led by religious fanatics and funded by a foreign state, as is happening in Syria?
It is those who peddle the narrative of a foreign CIA conspiracy to topple the dictator who have a very shallow understanding of Syria or indeed of the Arab people.
“Peddle the narrative”? You’re pretending that there is NOT a U.S./U.K./Saudi/Turkish conspiracy to topple Assad? Are you serious?
That the Arab people don’t have the wit or the courage to try and overthrough [sic] their oppressors, and are not dupes in a big foreign conspiracy, is patronising and dare I say it racist.
It is not “the Arab people” that is behind this bloody insurrection, it is Al Qaeda, and its state supporters—the United States, United Kingdom, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey.
Here is a video report by New Zealand’s own Anita McNaught inside Syria at the start of the genocidal aerial bombardment of the liberated areas by the dictator. I think it destroys the stupid and shallow narrative of a foreign CIA/US/Saudi plot.
Anita McNaught is hardly a credible journalist. As I said yesterday, you need to read something other than propaganda. I suggest you start sooner rather than later.
Ever since the protest and occupation of the drill ship in New Plymouth by Lucy Lawless and other climate activists the continuing fight against extreme fossil fuel technologies like deep sea oil and arctic oil drillling the links between New Zealand and Norway are being drawn again.
Tomorrow, the President of the native Sami People of Norway is joining a gathering of Maori and locals on the Marae Aripara in the far north at 1pm to celebrate a victory over deep sea oil drilling in this country.
Meantime James Hansen has penned a letter to the Prime Minister of Norway asking for a halt in Artic oil drilling.
Dear Prime Minister Solberg
by Web Team | October 19, 2016
Category: Blog
October 18th, 2016
Dear Prime Minister Solberg,
A year ago I wrote an open letter urging you to carry out an act of transformational climate leadership. I held the faint hope that your government might yet waken to the realities of climate change, heed the call of thousands of Norwegians and rescind the 23rd licensing round, which allows oil companies to exploit massive fossil resources in the Barents Sea. That act of responsible stewardship – pulling out of an Arctic oil race that puts all of humanity at risk – would have salvaged Norway’s reputation as an environmental champion and set a bold example for the rest of the world. It would also have secured your legacy as one of a handful of political leaders reacting decisively to the greatest threat civilization has ever faced……
The wit and wisdom of Michelle Boag Q+A, TV1, Sunday 23 October 2016
The embarrassingly inept Hekia Parata will soon be gone, no doubt having been “encouraged” strongly to leave by the brains of the National Party, Mr Joyce, who has more than once been required to move in and clean up after her. Despite her embarrassingly substandard performance, there are some people who will do their duty and stick up up for her. People like Michelle Boag, who delivered the following eulogy this morning….
“Hekia is a change agent. She is totally dedicated to education. The children in New Zealand could not be in better hands….”
Thanks Morrissey.
I, for one, really enjoy your transcripts, particularly those that parody the trite nonsense and platitudes of Mora’s Panel.
On that matter, any chance you could produce one of your masterpieces on the public shaming of ‘gentleman Jim’ by Dita da Boni?
It can often be very challenging for the children of those who suicide. They often need a lot of support immediately after and access to it when they need it down the track. Of course they are a subset of all children who need help. They are all waiting too long for support – this MUST be improved. Kia kaha to all.
Here in Australia it’s finally getting some attention. Six men are killing themselves every day and almost nothing was being said about it. Yes you read that right … six every day.
Many of these men were employed in manufacturing, construction, farming and mining, Hickie said, fields which over the past few years have experienced high levels of redundancies and uncertainty.
“Those with better employment prospects in these fields a decade ago are now experiencing a downturn, they often have families to support and mortgages to pay and they are then losing their jobs and losing their connection to friends and financial security. They become disconnected.
“Sometimes their families fall apart as a result and they find themselves going through a divorce and personal upheaval too.”
It is now the leading cause of pre-mature death in middle-aged men in Australia, almost 18% of deaths. An absolute epidemic that until very recently nobody wanted to talk about.
And this is without even considering the impact on all the families, friends and co-workers left behind. That’s a whole other story as well.
I wondered when I heard n the rad that police were visiting women who’d been at the meeting, if they or any of their neighbours were waiting for visits from the police because they’d been burgled. Waiting but not getting attention because the police were busy with important stuff.
The legal people have their views, and expressed them in the article, “may have over-stepped the mark” and “unusual for those details (name and addresses) to be requested ahead of a breath-test”.
“As the commission doubtless knows, no government would impose such charges, or shut down northern airports to allow Heathrow to grow. Having approved the extra capacity, the government will discover that it’s incompatible with our commitments under the climate change act, mull the consequences for a minute or two, then quietly abandon the commitments. It’s this simple: a third runway at Heathrow means that the UK will not meet its carbon targets. Hold me to that in 2050.”
[In order to keep OM and DR free for other conversations, all comments, link postings etc about the US election now need to go in the dedicated US election discussion here.
If you are unsure, post in that thread rather than here. It’s not possible for moderators to shift comments from OM to there, so any comments here may get deleted – weka]
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The appointment of Elizabeth Longworth as Chair of the New Zealand National Commission for UNESCO was one of just two press statements on the government’s official website today. Perhaps that’s because ministers have been busy preparing speeches for the Labour Party faithful who have gathered in Wellington for the party’s ...
Alarm bells have been rung by the department after its Deputy Director-General for Operations warns, ‘the initial view shows that we do not have sufficient funding to cover our basic running costs’.Thomas Cranmer writes – Following last week’s budget, alarm bells have been rung by the Department ...
Luxon went after the NIMBY vote, declaring National’s 2021 bipartisan deal with Labour to make it much easier to put three townhouses on a regular section ‘wrong’. File Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTLDR: The week’s news in Aotearoa’s political economy I covered via The Kākā for subscribers included:The Labour ...
Hello! This is the Saturday edition of More Than A Feilding, catching you up on the week.Here’s what you may have missed.Last Sunday’s column was about the budget A big chunk of this year’s budget coverage was brought to us by the words crass, gauche and venal. The big questions ...
Hi,Usually Webworms are quite focussed — this one is the opposite. No rhyme or reason. A bit like my brain: sometimes ultra-focussed, other times utterly unable to settle on a goddamn thing. And as we head into the weekend, there are a bunch of things buzzing around in my head ...
The Mainstream Media, and especially the New Zealand Herald, regularly carry misinformed columns on the causes of the country’s low-grade economic performance over recent years. One old codger, John Gascoigne, who describes himself as “a Cambridge-based economic commentator” (not the university, alas!) correctly told us early this week that New ...
The Treasury released its budget economic forecasts. What do they say about the economy over the next four months?Let me begin me with an irritation. One post-budget headline was ‘Treasury optimistic over recession risk in Budget 2023'. Treasury being optimistic is almost an oxymoron. They fire down the centre.It is ...
1. Who most likely gave LOTO Luxon the idea to pull the rug on the urban density policy?a. A leading thinker on affordable housing b. A leading thinker on 15 minute cities c. A leading thinker on sustainable urban planning d. National-Party-supporting property developers2 . With what was this illustration made?a. Artificial inseminationb. ...
Buzz from the BeehivePoint of Order tallied $314.4 million of spending in the latest ministerial statements posted on the government’s official website. This includes a lump of money to – yes, really – help identify businesses in tourism and hospitality which treat their staffs well and to fund the ...
It’s that time of the week for an ‘Ask Me Anything’ session for paying subscribers about the week that was for an hour from midday (my apologies for the late start today), including:the Government’s payment of $130 million of Climate Emergency Fund money to NZ Steel to help it cut ...
National/ACT would have 62 seats in a 120 seat Parliament if the latest poll results were replicated in the October election, but micro-movements around the median and the size of Te Pāti Māori’s caucus will decide who governs. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: National/ACT could govern alone after October ...
Welcome to Friday – again! Hard to believe we’re almost in June. Here’s our latest roundup of stories that caught our eye this week. The Week in Greater Auckland On Monday, Matt covered the transport highlights from this year’s Budget. On Tuesday, Matt asked if the end is ...
What should one make of the Reserve Bank Governor’s extraordinary donation of a hostage to fortune in forecasting an end to interest rate hikes? Conspiracy theorists will be scratching their tinfoil hats and mumbling about positioning for a whacking great payoff on being forced out by a new government. ...
Shocking The Pakeha: An entirely forgivable impulse, some might say, given how easily so many Pakeha are shocked. Merely to suggest that Te Tiriti o Waitangi should be taken seriously is sufficient to set some Pakeha off. Others are shocked by the inclusion of more than a word or two ...
National will be buoyed, and Labour possibly slightly depressed after last night’s One News Kantar poll. National and ACT on 48 per cent with 62 seats between them, enough to form a Government. Meanwhile, Labour was down one per cent to 35, and the Greens dropped four per cent ...
It’s been an eventful week for the New Zealand economy. On one side, the Reserve Bank was seen as putting the brakes on the Official Cash Rate, with a 25 basis points increase heralded as good news for mortgage-holders. On another, NZ’s record current account deficit is seen as posing ...
Luxon told voters in Birkenhead yesterday that the Medium Density Residential Standards (MDRS) that his deputy Nicola Willis shaped with Labour Housing Minister Megan Woods in 2021 were a mistake. File photo: Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR:National Leader Christopher Luxon looks set to abandon within weeks the ...
I have already found four different reasons today to walk down into the village, enjoy the blue sky and belated Autumn sun and put off writing, again, about the leader of the opposition. But here it comes anyway, because this guy —this policy dimwit on issues ranging from universality to ...
Yesterday EECA launched its usual winter energy-saving campaign. Normally this is aimed at reducing energy usage, to reduce the risk of a blackout. If successful, it also reduces spot-market prices, so also reducing whining at the government from big corporate users. But this year, someone had the brilliant idea of ...
In the second episode of our podcast this year, Selwyn Manning and I discuss the stability and near-term future prospects for Vladimir Putin’s regime in Russia. All is not well. ...
Yesterday marked the third anniversary of Sinead Boucher’s acquisition of Stuff but questions still remain unanswered about the media group’s governance structure and the identity of its backers.Thomas Cranmer writes – As the general election looms, the media will play an increasingly critical role in presenting ...
Buzz from the Beehive Budget 2023 continues to provide grist for the mills of ministerial spin doctors charged with drawing favourable attention to the government’s largesse. Goodies generated by Defence appropriations in budgets past are winning headlines today, too. Defence Minister Andrew Little has been enthusing about the arrival of ...
Yikes. If either Donald Trump or Florida governor Ron De Santis win next year’s presidential contest with Joe Biden, the commander-in-chief of the world’s greatest nuclear arsenal will be beholden to millions of voters who expect Armageddon to occur during their lifetimes. Unfortunately, the Republican Party is being led by ...
Katie Kenny from Stuff published an article today with a lazy attempt at so-called ‘fact checking’ my recent comments on the World Health Organisation’s concerning new regulations being developed. What is most surprising is that throughout this entire ‘fact checking’ process, Kenny never once rang me asking for my side ...
The National Party has released another confused and rushed policy that will only further worsen the inequality that is driven by unaffordable housing. ...
Welcome to sunny and calm Wellington, which I know those of you who are visiting would of course expect to be the case. It’s been a busy week since we put forward the 2023 Budget. Labour MPs have been out across the motu giving the good oil on the Budget. ...
Kia orana, Talofa lava, Mālo e lelei, Taloha ni, Fakaalofa lahi atu, Noa’ia e mauri, Ni sa bula vinaka, Kia ora, Tena Koutou Katoa. Labour Party President Jill Day, Prime Minister Hipkins, Party faithful, delegates and comrades, whānau and friends, it’s a privilege to be here today. I begin my ...
One of my kaumātua up North stood before the Waitangi Tribunal and said: ‘He aha kē ahau, te tangata kore hara i mua i te Atua, e tu nei kia whakawaatia e koe, te tangata tāhae, te tangata hara, te tangata kore tikanga?Ko koe kē te tika, kia tū ...
New Zealanders will be highly concerned that the World Health Organisation proposes to effectively take control of independent decision making away from sovereign countries and place control with the Director General. W.H.O International Health Regulations on future outbreaks of disease aim to give the Director General extraordinary and wide-sweeping powers. ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to take responsibility for reducing inflation by taxing wealth instead of leaving RBNZ to continue hiking the Official Cash Rate. ...
The Green Party has released its list of candidates for the 2023 election. With a mix of familiar faces, fresh new talent, and strong tangata whenua voices, this exceptional group of candidates are ready to set the direction of the next Government. ...
Thank you for your invitation to be here, after yesterday's budget, and for the opportunity to talk with you. In the economic and social turmoil following the arrival of COVID 19 in New Zealand many concerns emerged. How would we keep our economy going and maintain our exports which are ...
At the heart of Budget 2023 is a cost of living package, designed to ease the pressure on New Zealanders in the face of global inflation and the challenges of rebuilding from extreme weather events. It provides practical cost of living relief across some of the core expenses facing Kiwis ...
A long standing Green Party policy has been extended yet again in this year’s Budget. This will deliver warmer homes for thousands of people, lower power bills, and cut climate pollution. ...
The Green Party is fully on board with free bus and train travel for under 12s and half price travel for under 25s - next stop, free travel for all under 18s, students, and apprentices. ...
The Green Party welcomes today’s release of the report of the Ministerial Inquiry into slash and sediment, and are clear that the forestry industry must foot more of the bill. ...
When Chris Hipkins appeared on the BBC’sSunday with Laura Kuenssberg, he described himself as a “technical republican”. At least it was clearer than when he stumbled over what a woman is. In theblue corner, the other “Chris” said, “New Zealand will become a republic, eventually.” Of course, they both supported ...
The Government’s Research and Development Tax Incentive has supported more than $2 billion of New Zealand business innovation – an increase of around $1 billion in less than nine months. "Research and innovation are essential in helping us meet the biggest challenges and seize opportunities facing New Zealand. It’s fantastic ...
The next ‘giant leap’ in New Zealand’s space journey has been taken today with the launch of the National Space Policy, Economic Development Minister Barbara Edmonds announced. “Our space sector is growing rapidly. Each year New Zealand is becoming a more and more attractive place for launches, manufacturing space-related technology ...
A new Year 7-13 designated character wharekura will be built in Pāpāmoa, Associate Minister of Education Kelvin Davis has announced. The wharekura will focus on science, mathematics and creative technologies while connecting ākonga to the whakapapa of the area. The decision follows an application by the Ngā Pōtiki ā Tamapahore ...
Protecting the environment by establishing a stronger, more consistent system for freedom camping Supporting councils to better manage freedom camping in their region and reduce the financial and social impacts on communities Ensuring that self-contained vehicle owners have time to prepare for the new system The Self-Contained Motor Vehicle ...
A new law passed last night could see up to 25 percent of Family Court judges’ workload freed up in order to reduce delays, Minister of Justice Kiri Allan said. The Family Court (Family Court Associates) Legislation Bill will establish a new role known as the Family Court Associate. The ...
New Zealand businesses will begin reaping the rewards of our gold-standard free trade agreement with the United Kingdom (UK FTA) from today. “The New Zealand UK FTA enters into force from today, and is one of the seven new or upgraded Free Trade Agreements negotiated by Labour to date,” Prime ...
The Government will reform outdated surrogacy laws to improve the experiences of children, surrogates, and the growing number of families formed through surrogacy, by adopting Labour MP Tāmati Coffey’s Member’s Bill as a Government Bill, Minister Kiri Allan has announced. “Surrogacy has become an established method of forming a family ...
Defence Minister Andrew Little departs for Singapore tomorrow to attend the 20th annual Shangri-La Dialogue for Defence Ministers from the Indo-Pacific region. “Shangri-La brings together many countries to speak frankly and express views about defence issues that could affect us all,” Andrew Little said. “New Zealand is a long-standing participant ...
Research, Science and Innovation Minister Dr Ayesha Verrall and the Chinese Minister of Science and Technology Wang Zhigang met in Wellington today and affirmed the two countries’ long-standing science relationship. Minister Wang was in New Zealand for the 6th New Zealand-China Joint Commission Meeting on Science and Technology Cooperation. Following ...
5 percent uplift clearer and simpler to navigate Domestic productions can access more funding sources 20 percent rebate confirmed for post-production, digital and visual effects Qualifying expenditure for post-production, digital and visual effects rebate dropped to $250,000 to encourage more smaller productions The Government is making it easier for the ...
Deputy Prime Minister and Associate Minister of Foreign Affairs (Pacific Region) Carmel Sepuloni will represent New Zealand at Samoa’s 61st Anniversary of Independence commemorations in Apia. “Aotearoa New Zealand is pleased to share in this significant occasion, alongside other invited Pacific leaders, and congratulates Samoa on the milestone of 61 ...
The Government is continuing to support retailers with additional funding for the highly popular Fog Cannon Subsidy Scheme, Police and Small Business Minister Ginny Andersen announced today. “The Government is committed to improving retailers’ safety,” Ginny Andersen said. “I’ve seen first-hand the difference fog cannons are making. Not only do ...
The Government has received the first independent review of the Intelligence and Security Act 2017, Prime Minister Chris Hipkins says. The review, considered by the Parliamentary Intelligence and Security Committee, was presented to the House of Representatives today. “Ensuring the safety and security of New Zealanders is of the utmost ...
Prime Minister Chris Hipkins has expressed condolences on behalf of New Zealand to the Kingdom of Tonga following the death of Her Royal Highness Princess Mele Siu’ilikutapu Kalaniuvalu Fotofili. “New Zealand sends it’s heartfelt condolences to the people of Tonga, and to His Majesty King Tupou VI at this time ...
Prime Minister Chris Hipkins has expressed condolences on behalf of New Zealand to the Kingdom of Tonga following the death of Her Royal Highness Princess Mele Siu’ilikutapu Kalaniuvalu Fotofili. “New Zealand sends it’s heartfelt condolences to the people of Tonga, and to His Majesty King Tupou VI at this time ...
Defence Minister Andrew Little and Foreign Affairs Minister Nanaia Mahuta have today announced the extension of the New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) deployment to Solomon Islands, as part of the regionally-led Solomon Islands International Assistance Force (SIAF). “Aotearoa New Zealand has a long history of working alongside the Royal Solomon ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Nanaia Mahuta will travel to the Republic of Korea today to attend the Korea–Pacific Leaders’ Summit in Seoul and Busan. “Korea is an important partner for Aotearoa New Zealand and the Pacific region. I am eager for the opportunity to meet and discuss issues that matter to our ...
Trade and Export Growth Minister Damien O’Connor joined ministerial representatives at a meeting in Detroit, USA today to announce substantial conclusion of negotiations of a new regional supply chains agreement among 14 Indo-Pacific countries. The Supply Chains agreement is one of four pillars being negotiated within the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework ...
Our most spoken Pacific language is taking centre stage this week with Vaiaso o le Gagana Samoa – Samoa Language Week kicking off around the country. “Understanding and using the Samoan language across our nation is vital to its survival,” Barbara Edmonds said. “The Samoan population in New Zealand are ...
Over 90 per cent of New Zealanders are expected to receive this year’s nationwide test of the Emergency Mobile Alert system tonight between 6-7pm. “Emergency Mobile Alert is a tool that can alert people when their life, health, or property, is in danger,” Kieran McAnulty said. “The annual nationwide test ...
ENGLISH: Whakatōhea and the Crown sign Deed of Settlement A Deed of Settlement has been signed between Whakatōhea and the Crown, 183 years to the day since Whakatōhea rangatira signed the Treaty of Waitangi, Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations Andrew Little has announced. Whakatōhea is an iwi based in ...
Elizabeth Longworth has been appointed as the Chair of the New Zealand National Commission for UNESCO, Associate Minister of Education Jo Luxton announced today. UNESCO is the United Nations agency responsible for promoting cooperative action among member states in the areas of education, science, culture, social science (including peace and ...
Tourism and hospitality employer accreditation scheme to recognise quality employers Better education and career opportunities in tourism Cultural competency to create more diverse and inclusive workplaces Innovation and technology acceleration to drive satisfying, skilled jobs Strengthening our tourism workers and supporting them into good career pathways, pay and working conditions ...
Tourism and hospitality employer accreditation scheme to recognise quality employers Better education and career opportunities in tourism Cultural competency to create more diverse and inclusive workplaces Innovation and technology acceleration to drive satisfying, skilled jobs Strengthening our tourism workers and supporting them into good career pathways, pay and working conditions ...
Greater access to primary care, including 193 more front line clinical staff More hauora services and increased mental health support Boost for maternity and early years programmes Funding for cancers, HIV and longer term conditions Greater access to primary care, improved maternity care and mental health support are ...
Greater access to primary care, including 193 more front line clinical staff More hauora services and increased mental health support Boost for maternity and early years programmes Funding for cancers, HIV and longer term conditions Greater access to primary care, improved maternity care and mental health support are ...
The Government continues progress on the survivor-led independent redress system for historic abuse in care, with the announcement of the design and advisory group members today. “The main recommendation of the Royal Commission of Inquiry’s Abuse in Care interim redress report was for a survivor-led independent redress system, and the ...
Aotearoa New Zealand is providing NZ$7.75 million to respond to urgent humanitarian needs in the Horn of Africa, Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta announced today. The Horn of Africa is experiencing its most severe drought in decades, with five consecutive failed rainy seasons. At least 43.3 million people require lifesaving and ...
Health Minister Ayesha Verrall has opened two new state-of-the-art mental health facilities at the Christchurch Hillmorton Hospital campus, as the Government ramps up its efforts to build a modern fit for purpose mental health system. The buildings, costing $81.8 million, are one of 16 capital projects the Government has funded ...
The Government is continuing to invest in our regional economies by announcing another $24 million worth of investment into ten diverse projects, Regional Development Minister Kiri Allan says. “Our regions are the backbone of our economy and today’s announcement continues to build on the Government’s investment to boost regional economic ...
An $8 million boost to New Zealand Māori Tourism will help operators insulate themselves for the future. Spread over the next four years, the investment acknowledges the on-going challenges faced by the industry and the significant contribution Māori make to tourism in Aotearoa. It builds on the $15 million invested ...
Defence Minister Andrew Little has marked the arrival of the first 18 Bushmaster protected mobility vehicles for the New Zealand Army, alongside personnel at Trentham Military Camp today. “The arrival of the Bushmaster fleet represents a significant uplift in capability and protection for defence force personnel, and a milestone in ...
Aotearoa New Zealand is providing NZ$3.5 million to help meet urgent humanitarian needs in Sudan, Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta announced today. The severe fighting between the Sudan Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces has had devastating impacts for civilians. At least 705 people have been killed and 5,287 injured. ...
Repairing a Hawke’s Bay organic composting facility devastated by Cyclone Gabrielle is among the latest waste reduction projects getting Government backing, Associate Environment Minister Rachel Brooking announced today. “Helping communities get back on their feet after the devastating weather that hit the northern parts of the country this year is ...
About 6,100 more GP, community nurses and kaiāwhina will be eligible for pay rises of 8% on average to reduce pay disparities with nurses in hospitals, Minister of Health Dr Ayesha Verrall announced today. The top up comes from a $200 million fund established to remove pay disparities between nurses ...
New Jobs and Skills Hub to begin construction in Hawke’s Bay The Hub will support the building of $1.1billion worth of homes in the region and support Cyclone Gabrielle rebuild and recovery. Over 2,200 people have been supported into industry specific employment, apprenticeships and training, by these Hubs across NZ ...
Tēnā koutou e nga maata waka. Kia koutou te mana whenua tēnā koutou Ngā mate huhua o te waa, haere, haere, haere atu ra. Hoki mai kia tātou te kanohi ora e tau nei, Tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā tātou katoa. Tēnā koutou i runga i te kaupapa o te ...
The Government has launched a new tool to help small business owner-operators manage and improve their mental wellbeing, Small Business Minister Ginny Andersen announced today. The Brave in Business e-Learning series is another tool the Government has delivered to support small businesses with their mental health and wellbeing. “A pandemic, ...
Minister for Racing Kieran McAnulty has announced the approval of a 25-year partnership between TAB NZ and UK betting company Entain that delivers at least $900 million in guaranteed funding for the racing industry over the next five years. Entain, a UK based group that operates multiple sports betting providers ...
The Government has delivered the first of three significant water security projects in Northland, boosting regional business and climate resilience, with the opening of Matawii reservoir today, Regional Development Minister Kiri Allan announced. A $68 million Government investment supported the construction of the reservoir, along with two other water storage ...
EDS has lodged its submission on “ Strengthening National Direction on Renewable Electricity Generation and Electricity Transmission ”, a consultation document prepared by the Ministry of Business, Innovation & Employment and the Ministry ...
A nationwide poll on pay gaps shows nearly 2 out of every 3 New Zealanders consider pay gaps to be a ‘significant’ or ‘very significant’ issue (64%), with a similar number supporting new pay transparency policies to address the issue (63%). ...
When it was first unveiled, the government’s extension in this year’s Budget of 20 hours free early childhood education to 2-year-olds from next March was hailed as a masterstroke. The Minister of Finance said it would save qualifying households ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By James Pang, Research Fellow in Psychology, Monash University Shutterstock The human brain is made up of around 86 billion neurons, linked by trillions of connections. For decades, scientists have believed that we need to map this intricate connectivity in detail ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Stephen Gapps, Historian and Conjoint Lecturer, University of Newcastle Benjamin Duterrau, The Conciliation 1840, oil on canvas. Purchased by the Friends of TMAG and the Board of Trustees, 1945. Collection: Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery, AG79.Note of warning: This article ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Magdalena Plebanski, Professor of Immunology, RMIT University Philippe Leone/Unsplash Influenza, or the flu, is a virus transmitted by respiratory droplets from coughing and sneezing. It can cause the sudden onset of a fever, cough, runny nose, sore throat, headache, muscle ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Steven J Lade, Resilience researcher at Australian National University, Australian National University Shutterstock People once believed the planet could always accommodate us. That the resilience of the Earth system meant nature would always provide. But we now know this is ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Vera Weisbecker, Associate Professor, Flinders University Shutterstock Australia’s dingo fence is an internationally renowned mega-structure. Stretching more than 5,600 kilometres, it was completed in the 1950s to keep sheep safe from dingoes. But it also inadvertently protects some native ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Reza M. Monem, Professor of Accounting, Griffith University In 2008 Australia’s federal, state and territory governments set the goal of halving the employment gap between First Nations Australians and others within a decade. That required, by 2018, lifting the employment rate for ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jonathan Barrett, Associate Professor in Commercial Law and Taxation, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington Getty Images It’s no secret that Revenue Minister David Parker has long been interested in tax reform in New Zealand. In 2022, he ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Lily Moore, PhD Candidate in Classics and Archaeology, The University of Melbourne A Woman Drinking, Andrea Mantegna. about 1495-1506 The National Gallery, London. The ancient Romans venerated wine. It was accessible to the masses, a fundamental staple of mainstream life ...
Objectors continue to push for the canning of a mooted new Central Otago airport as the company pushing it buys the critical final piece of the site A Christchurch City Council committee has expressed concern about one of its subsidiary companies, Christchurch International Airport, pushing ahead with a proposed airport ...
While your grocery bills suggest otherwise, high inflation is not all bad news – especially if you’ve got a New Zealand student loan, Emma Vitz explains. High inflation sucks. The price of lettuce appears to be doubling every time you go to the supermarket. People who bought into the property ...
Welcome to the authors, illustrators and publishers on the shortlist for this year’s New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults. Books editor Claire Mabey offers her thoughts, alongside comments from student readers.It’s hard to write a great children’s book. The kind that will be reprinted and re-gifted ...
It’s unclear why AI-generated images in advertising are more or less deceptive or ethically questionable than using modelsOpinion: There has been a recent furore about the use of AI-generated images featuring people used by the National Party in a political advertisement. My immediate reaction was that this was a storm in ...
When countries send their iconic and precious animals to be cared for overseas, who and what makes sure they're being cared for appropriately?A kiwi encounter at an American zoo has caused outrage, and raised questions about how our taonga species are treated when they go overseas. But Save the Kiwi ...
Paddy Richardson is swept away by a magical new novel I love novels that you fall into and languish, trusting that each word will be perfectly placed, that each action will be either consistent or surprising, that each character will be rounded and real. Fiona Farrell’s sumptuously written, ...
Why would – and how does – a bank get involved in dealing with private capital? In our final podcast in conjunction with BNZ, we meet a woman who introduces fledgling businesses with committed, long-term investors. Head of Private Capital, BNZ, Linda Sturgess tells Emile Donovan why paying it forward is a ...
‘Kia kaha, kia māia, be brave and lean into it.' Newsroom speaks to Spark's Māori development lead Riki Hollings about what it means to be on a te ao Māori journey – and the best way to support that | Content Partnership Riki Hollings is a descendant of Ngāti Ranginui and Ngai ...
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Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Martin Drum, Professor of Politics and International Relations, University of Notre Dame Australia With the withdrawal of his principal challengers and the implicit endorsement from key factions within the Labor party, Roger Cook will become Western Australia’s 31st premier. We can expect ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra As well as her interviews with politicians and experts, Politics with Michelle Grattan includes “Word from The Hill”, where she discusses the news with members of The Conversation’s politics team. In this podcast Michelle and ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Robert Breunig, Professor of Economics and Director, Tax and Transfer Policy Institute, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University Shutterstock The Morrison government’s decision to give a special deal to Western Australia for the distribution of the income from the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Robert Breunig, Professor of Economics and Director, Tax and Transfer Policy Institute, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University Shutterstock The Morrison government’s decision to give a special deal to Western Australia for the distribution of the income from the ...
His Excellency Dr Davies and I wish to extend our deepest condolences to His Majesty King Tupou VI and the Tongan Royal Family following the recent passing of Princess Mele Siu'ilikutapu Kalaniuvalu Fotofili. Her Royal Highness committed her life to ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Robert Freestone, Professor of Planning, School of Built Environment, UNSW Sydney Shutterstock Australia has not had a national urban policy since the Rudd government. A troika of Liberal PMs followed. Tony Abbott wasn’t interested. Malcolm Turnbull didn’t quite live up ...
Local comedy veteran couple Jackie Van Beek and Jesse Griffin’s next TV project has been revealed – and it’s an Australian version of the British-turned-American comedy institution The Office. The series, confirmed for 2024, will see David Brent and Michael Scott replaced by a female lead for the first time. ...
Three’s take on the overseas hit format is one of the year’s bravest shows, writes Chris Schulz. This is an excerpt from The Spinoff’s weekly Friday newsletter Rec Room. Sign up for regular instalments here. Emma wants Parrish to be more romantic. She doesn’t want to have to keep telling ...
Three’s take on the overseas hit format is one of the year’s bravest shows, writes Chris Schulz. This is an excerpt from The Spinoff’s weekly Friday newsletter Rec Room. Sign up for regular instalments here. Emma wants Parrish to be more romantic. She doesn’t want to have to keep telling ...
PPTA members will vote next week on new offers for settlement of the secondary teachers’ and area school teachers’ collective agreements that were received yesterday. “PPTA Te Wehengarua national executive met last night to consider the offers and we don’t ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra After a marathon debate, the House of Representatives on Wednesday morning passed the bill for the referendum for an Indigenous Voice to Parliament to be inserted into the Constitution. The bill now goes to ...
The Auditor-General intends to publish the following report this Thursday, 1 June: Four initiatives supporting improved outcomes for Māori We have more information about this report on our website . You will be sent a link to this report shortly ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Louise Hull, Professor and Endometriosis Group Leader, The Robinson Research Institute, University of Adelaide Shutterstock Human reproduction is completely dependent on the healthy function of an underestimated but vital organ: the endometrium. This is the spongy tissue that lines the ...
A senior cabinet minister has criticised National Party MP Simon O’Connor for saying it is the responsibility of a mother and a father to raise a child. During a debate on a child support amendment bill in parliament yesterday, Tāmaki MP O’Connor, who is well known to hold socially conservative ...
A senior cabinet minister has criticised National Party MP Simon O’Connor for saying it is the responsibility of a mother and a father to raise a child. During a debate on a child support amendment bill in parliament yesterday, Tāmaki MP O’Connor, who is well known to hold socially conservative ...
For the last few years, Jen Cloher has been on a journey into their whakapapa. Their latest album, I am the River, the River is Me, is the culmination of the knowledge they’ve gained since.I meet Jen Cloher at a wine bar in Ponsonby with menus written in both ...
For the last few years, Jen Cloher has been on a journey into their whakapapa. Their latest album, I am the River, the River is Me, is the culmination of the knowledge they’ve gained since.I meet Jen Cloher at a wine bar in Ponsonby with menus written in both ...
Press Release: Rt Hon Winston Peters Katie Kenny from Stuff published an article today with a lazy attempt at so-called ‘fact checking’ my recent comments on the World Health Organisation’s concerning new regulations being developed. What ...
This week on our pop culture podcast we talk about a star-studded week of award shows and musicals, as well as the premiere of a new season of The Kardashians and momentous Treasure Island anniversary. This week we take you inside the glitz* and glamour** of the Voyager ...
The Aotearoa Legalise Cannabis Party is pleased to announce that co Leaders Michael Appleby and Maki Herbert will be leading the Party in the 2023 Election. Michael Appleby will be standing again in his electorate of Wellington Central and Maki Herbert ...
Former National Party MP Parmjeet Parmar will stand for the Act Party in this year’s election. Parmar was a list MP first elected in 2014, before missing out on a spot back in parliament after National’s 2020 election performance. She had also previously contested the Mount Roskill electorate. “I expect ...
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[Please note, we are trialling something new for Open Mike and Daily Review.
In order to keep OM and DR free for other conversations, all comments, link postings etc about the US election now need to go in the dedicated US election discussion here.
If you are unsure, post in that thread rather than here. It’s not possible for moderators to shift comments from OM to there, so any comments here may get deleted.
Have fun folks – weka]
Growth industry in US – slavery
“The California prison system made $58m profit from the work of prison inmates in the financial year 2014-15, according to a study by the Solidarity Research Center, which also found that 4,000 incarcerated workers earn $2 a day fighting California wildfires.”
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/oct/22/inside-us-prison-strike-labor-protest
And on the NZ front – for those concerned about democracy… and considering that Maori are over represented in prisons, maybe think about why National has taken away prisoner voting rights.
Next week – 26 & 27 October, a Full Bench of 5 judges of the Court of Appeal will hear the Crown’s appeal against Justice Heath’s Decision on 24 July 2015 to grant a Declaration of Inconsistency on the Act of Parliament which bans prisoner voting. Top silk Victoria Casey QC represents the Speaker.
http://thedailyblog.co.nz/2016/10/18/guest-blog-arthur-taylor-the-most-important-constitutional-law-hearing-to-be-held-in-over-25-years/
Let us hope that we can do better.
[deleted]
[All US election comments and links need to go in the dedicate threads. See the note at top and bottom of OM. Please repost this in a US election dedicated thread and then I will delete the one here – weka]
Are you blind?
Could you expand on that BM?
Ahem, look at #1 above.
I think Jenny is more interested in why there hasn’t been a single direct question about the climate change to the would be presidents…
And she is welcome to ask that on the dedicated thread, lest this one degenerates rapidly as earlier ones did.
Well actually no.
While this is a concern and disgrace, my comment was aimed at our upcoming election cycle.
[I’ve removed the link. If you post in OM again about the US election, or ignore a moderator, expect a ban. It will probably be lengthy because of the amount of time having to be spend moderating you and putting in short bans – weka]
“Another experienced building industry source, who asked not to be named, said the defective repair issue was “huge”.
“The way I summarise it is, at probably no time in history, in European history, has so many private individuals been screwed over by a Government who said they were going to fix their asset and instead ruined their asset.
“You and I, the taxpayer, are paying for it to be done and done again, and sometimes again, and again,” they said.
“It’s huge. It’s so big, it’s bigger than the leaky home crisis – thousands and thousands of homes have been ruined.”
Leaky buildings on steroids…..this Governments gift to NZ taxpayers…..enjoy
http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/industries/84610272/vetting-problems-poor-repair-strategies-create-backlog-of-defective-repairs-in-canterbury
A nice metaphor for the way National have been running things, fast & shoddy, then when you get down to see the foundations you see that they are cracked & will take years to fix. Nice one Joyce, Brownlee & Key.
+1
yes could serve as a very apt metaphor for their whole approach to the economy….short term. no logical basis and only for appearances.
Leaky building all over again. The government ‘fast track’, ‘low regulation’ and ‘importing low cost labour’ model for everything and then leaving it to the homeowners to sort out.
In Auckland anyone can do plans for a resource consent without any qualifications and you don’t need any engineering either a lot of the time. Qualifications if at all come AFTER the resource consent is granted where the building consent people have to hobble together all the mess to try to make it work and you can change the resource consent anyway by putting different materials i.e. cladding in, post consent as long as you find a ‘friendly’ ear at council.
One of the biggest leaky building cases going to court at present at 40 million the Victopia building in Auckland. What is interesting is that the developer had numerous names and companies over the years (KNZ International Co Ltd, formerly named Ganada Development Co Ltd and Dae Ju Developments Co Ltd) and that the architect which also has other leaky buildings in litigation such as the Spencer On Byron building, is ex Mainzeal another bankrupt company.
The design alone should have alerted anyone well before it leaked, that there were going to be big problems. The victims are the poor owners who bought them and those who also bought around the monstrosity – and have to both view it and then live through the remedial work which looks like lasting for years. And if the other parties go bust, then I think the Auckland council aka the Auckland ratepayers have to pick up the rebuild tab.
Win win for the incompetent all round. sarc. If you can be put in prison for a WINZ benefit fraud of a few thousand dollars by the testimony of some angry boyfriend, I’m not sure why more of these developers are not going to prison after years of litigation, that cost owners and taxpayers millions of dollars.
No, that isn’t the case. All building work, including plans and specifications must be approved by a Certified Building Professional. Each trade being approved by a CBP for that trade.
This legislation was brought in in 2009
The concept is of limited use in the real world and has put a huge amount of risk onto small contractors.
The common factor is that the CFP prefer to go belly up rather than face litigation. This leaves you either having a go at the insurance company (if applicable) or the product manufacturer (if you can prove that it was inherent to the product rather than faulty installation) or the council (if you can prove faulty inspection).
Notice how many contractors will have tools and plant owned by one entity that leases these to the building company. Notice how many of these companies go under leaving sub-contractors unpaid. Notice how sub-contractors never get paid a decent percentage of the retentions, so end up building it into the first 90% of the contract.
@Bridget. I’m talking about the Resource consent, not the building consent. It’s crazy you don’t need to be qualified to put the plans in. Also that is why so many developers just go to the resource consent and then sell. They leave all the problems for someone else as you can pretty much put anything thing onto the resource consent and 99% are approved no matter how crappy and unworkable the design.
As the world witnesses a desperate dictator bombing his country’s cities with the help of his foreign allies, many wonder what is happening? Is Syria the same a Iraq where the US is trying to invade and take over another Arab country?
The act of liberation can only be an act of the people themselves.
My thoughts on the Syrian revolution and civil war.
The difference between Iraq and Syria, is the Arab Spring.
The people of the Middle East have for a long time been cursed to be ruled by a plethora of oppressive dictatorships and autocracies. Most of these regimes are a holdover from the division of the Middle East by the rival global empirialists of the 19th and 20 century, who set their borders, and have backed and installed the long line of despotic strongmen and autocrats we see ruling the region today.
Most of these regimes are armed to the teeth and have a whole apparatus of oppression to maintain their rule. With massive armies and brutal internal security forces, supplied with arms and money in the form of military aid by The their superpower sponsors, who in return gain concessions to exploit the mineral wealth and people of the region.
Eventually, it was inevitable, that there would be a region wide uprising against this state of affairs.
It had been my opinion for a long time, even before the term “Arab Spring” had been coined, that the place for this outbreak to start would have been Iraq. Unfortunately the US war and invasion, aborted this potential.
(Maybe this is what the US feared most).
Democracy and independence, in Iraq, in Egypt, in Syria, in Saudi Arabia, in Jordan would mean the end of imperial domination and subjection of the region. It would also mean the end of the apartheid colonial state of Israel.
The Arab Spring was/is the biggest democratic uprising in human history dwarfing in sheer scale and size of the numbers involved, and who took to the streets across the region, any other grass roots political movement in human history.
Those who support the Regime of Basha Assad that I have debated with, and who can be (reluctantly), drawn to comment on the Arab Spring, and who more commonly refuse to acknowledge it all, dismiss the Arab Spring as a CIA, US, Saudi plot.
But though it is hardly mentioned any more, it is through gaining a real understanding of the Arab Spring that we can understand the dispute in Syria.
http://peacetour.org/Egypt-revolution
Jenny, your rambling and confused words, and your absurd spelling errors, show you have done no serious reading or thinking about Syria. And, no, watching television and reading blog sites does not constitute serious reading or thinking.
Could I suggest you actually invest some time in educating yourself? The following would be a good beginning for you….
http://www.medialens.org/index.php/alerts/alert-archive/2016/825-propagandising-for-war-the-bbc-today-programme-on-syria.html
[Gday, Morrissey. Spelling mistakes happen regularly here, particularly if people are using smart phones or autocorrect or dictionaries that default to American English. Sneering about minor inaccuracies is poor form and discourages people for whom writing doesn’t come naturally from contributing. And, as someone who is notoriously inaccurate, I would have though you’d be the last person to go down the pedantry route. Petard, hoist etc. Concentrate on the ideas, not the expression of them, OK? TRP]
Patrick Cockburn has a lot more insight than many and he highlights the bias of the reporting of western media by comparing the reports of the sieges of Aleppo and Mosul.
I recommend Jenny reads him as well as watch Adam Curtis’s recent film ‘Hypernormalisation’ which looks at perception management.
The colour revolutions and the Arab spring are not exactly what they seem….
http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/iraq-syria-aleppo-mosul-patrick-cockburn-propaganda-we-consume-a7373951.html
Ignore the ad hominems Morrissey.
Your work is appreciated by many.
As is your work, my friend. I do very much appreciate your support, Paul, as well as that of “reason” and “fender”.
Interestingly, this business of intensely scrutinizing every tiny inaccuracy in my transcripts—or transcrapts, as our friend Te Reo sometimes calls them—first started when the venerable Standardista Lanthanide objected to a post I had made in August 2011, targeting…. Hekia Parata.
https://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-30082011/#comment-369467
Did you see how Dita da Boni showed up how right wing and reactionary ‘gentle and liberal’ Jim Mora is?
Yes I did Paul! As always, Dita Di Boni was excellent.
I’ve also just watched Robert Reid reducing a regular Mora guest, poor old Michelle Boag, to an incoherent, spluttering puddle of anger on Q+A. Unfortunately, however, just as she was about to be mopped up permanently, the affable gorgeous emptiness that is Greg Boyed saved her by laughingly intervening and insisting they go to a commercial break.
Saw that (Robert Reid reducing Michelle Boag into an incoherent, spluttering puddle of anger on Q+A).
http://tvnz.co.nz/q-and-a-news/our-billion-dollar-forestry-industry-panel-video-6498866
Some very good advice there, my friend; my post was largely un-gallant and I apologize to Jenny and the wider Standard family.
I have just one quibble: you claim, without posting any evidence, that I am “someone who is notoriously inaccurate”. Could you back that up please?
(I don’t think you can.)
I refer you to your many previous transcrapts, whose tenuous relationship to their claimed subject matter put the awe into awful 😉
That’s simply personal abuse, Te Reo. You have nothing substantial to back up your claim.
No, it’s not. The comment refers to your poor output not you personally. I’m shocked you don’t know the difference. Shocked, I tell ya.
My “poor output”? That is personal abuse, and inaccurate. I don’t think even my enemies would describe my oeuvre in such terms.
As you are well aware, Te Reo, I work extremely hard at writing good, presentable items for this site.
‘Poor output’ clearly refers to the inaccuracy of the transcripts. TRP is hardly the first person on ts to say that. It’s not abuse of you personally, it’s a characterisation of that part of your work, which you can dispute if you think it’s an unfair or inaccurate characterisation.
Thanks for that, weka. As always, I appreciate your frank and well considered criticism.
There are many instances in the archives where your transcripts have been roundly dismissed for being nothing like the events they were portraying to advance your own pointed agenda.
And whilst that is a clear abuse of free speech, TRP’s is simply not.
Reporting fact can never be personal abuse.
Could you give one example of this? And, by the way, who ARE you?
These posts where you have been called out for falsely interpretating for your own gain are all in the archives. Regular readers will know this to be true. You also know this as truth as you’ve counter argued in them.
Do you really not remember? Or is it convenient to forget?
Or are you just playing at dumb?
As you say, I’ve counter-argued in them, in fact, I’ve refuted their quibbles, which are almost entirely indignant claims that someone like Chris Trotter did not speak in a certain tone of voice, or that the long silences that often follow an inane Jim Mora statement are not “awkward”.
Once again, I ask: who are you?
[not sure what you are asking there Morrissey, but as you know it’s a site rule that no-one has to say who they are. This is to protect people who need that for RL ID reasons, and to focus the debate on the content of what people say rather than say trying to get personal about it – weka]
So that’s an acceptance your transcript reporting and impartiality have, on numerous occasions, been taken to task and rejected as self serving.
As far as ‘output’ goes, that’s definitely poor.
Ignore the ad hominems Morrissey.
Your work is appreciated by many.
Peter Swift is a troll ……………… trolls are internet enabled self-sending dic pics …
presumptuous little dic pic swift peter has some balls ….. thinking a dic pic should have a decent humane like Morrissey justify themselves to a repeated & offensive……… prick.
I have appreciated reading Morrissey high grade posts which I generally find educating and interesting ….
trp, weka …… and peter swift couldn’t have done a better trolls job at derailing Morrisseys accurate calling out of Jennys hard core and disturbing war propaganda ….than if all three were trolls.
Looked like a pretty wanky three way handshake to me …..
Jennys posting …… which I would describe as a patchwork of war propaganda ….. is some seriously sick confused rubbish that is offensive to read.
batshit crazy war propaganda …. delivered like a sick sunday service.
Bullshit & bad behavior …………
Shit house
Ouch, Reason, you’re a sharp one. You totally cut me up and sliced me real good. A dic (sic), with balls, well I never did.
With wit like that, you should come with a safety warning attached. lol
lol
I suppose that someone who can’t transcribe for shit can’t be expected to correctly remember the arguments they had about the accuracy (lack thereof) of those “transcripts”.
[deleted]
[trying to guess someone’s identity is not on – weka]
I didn’t see the failed guess, which would have been wrong who ever it was, but thanks to Weka for protecting and enforcing my shared right to post anonymously in the face of unmerited intrusion.
Weka, “fender” is not my identity. [deleted] was not an identity either. I believe the term is a moniker? I admire your enthusiasm but you might be getting a little carried away.
Don’t worry “Peter Swift”, no one was trying to guess your real life identity.
[I didn’t say real life identity. People have all sorts of reasons for using the pseudonyms they do, including changing them if they need to for reasons that might not be visible to you but are nevertheless important. You have no way of knowing if the name you are guessing is outing someone or not. I have no idea if you are right about your guess, but it’s against the rules here to do so. I take this very seriously. Because you have reused the name after a moderator asked you not to, I’m going to put you in premod until you acknowledge this second moderation, thanks – weka]
oh yes my mistake weka, I’ll change my name on a regular basis too
That my absurd spelling errors gave you some amusement, is all for the good.
About my rambling I make no apology. I was indulging in a stream of consciousness trying to figure out how The Standard Authors like Colonial Viper and Bill can support a mass murdering dictator, who slaughters his people from the air.
Morrissey, in thinking that I have done no serious reading or thinking about Syria, you are seriously mistaken. After having been in Syria in late 2010, I have followed subsequent events there very closely.
From my time in Syria I can tell you, that I know an oppressive and grotesque police state when I see one.
It is those who peddle the narrative of a foreign CIA conspiracy to topple the dictator who have a very shallow understanding of Syria or indeed of the Arab people. That the Arab people don’t have the wit or the courage to try and overthrough their oppressors, and are not dupes in a big foreign conspiracy, is patronising and dare I say it racist.
Here is a video report by New Zealand’s own Anita McNaught inside Syria at the start of the genocidal aerial bombardment of the liberated areas by the dictator. I think it destroys the stupid and shallow narrative of a foreign CIA/US/Saudi plot.
https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=captured+syrian+pilot+you+tube&view=detail&mid=DFD73E031467791E0C66DFD73E031467791E0C66&FORM=VIRE
http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2012/08/20128213363370291.html
About my rambling I make no apology. I was indulging in a stream of consciousness…
What this issue needs more than ever is honest, intelligent discussion. Please leave the rambling and stream-of-consciousness nonsense to the likes of Mike Hosking, Leighton Smith, and Paul Henry—all of whom, by the way, share your support for the Al Qaeda insurrection in Syria.
… trying to figure out how The Standard Authors like Colonial Viper and Bill can support a mass murdering dictator, who slaughters his people from the air.
Neither of those two Standard regulars do that. You are willfully misrepresenting them.
Morrissey, in thinking that I have done no serious reading or thinking about Syria, you are seriously mistaken.
Really? Your views, which seem to be nothing more than automatic acceptance of the State Department’s brutal propaganda, are dangerously naïve.
After having been in Syria in late 2010, I have followed subsequent events there very closely. From my time in Syria I can tell you,
Who did you talk to in Syria? Just going there is no guarantee that you learned anything or had a serious look at the situation.
…that I know an oppressive and grotesque police state when I see one.
The United States is being revealed every day to be an oppressive and grotesque police state, at least in regard to poor blacks and Latinos and native Americans. Would you support a bloody insurrection in the U.S., led by religious fanatics and funded by a foreign state, as is happening in Syria?
It is those who peddle the narrative of a foreign CIA conspiracy to topple the dictator who have a very shallow understanding of Syria or indeed of the Arab people.
“Peddle the narrative”? You’re pretending that there is NOT a U.S./U.K./Saudi/Turkish conspiracy to topple Assad? Are you serious?
That the Arab people don’t have the wit or the courage to try and overthrough [sic] their oppressors, and are not dupes in a big foreign conspiracy, is patronising and dare I say it racist.
It is not “the Arab people” that is behind this bloody insurrection, it is Al Qaeda, and its state supporters—the United States, United Kingdom, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey.
Here is a video report by New Zealand’s own Anita McNaught inside Syria at the start of the genocidal aerial bombardment of the liberated areas by the dictator. I think it destroys the stupid and shallow narrative of a foreign CIA/US/Saudi plot.
Anita McNaught is hardly a credible journalist. As I said yesterday, you need to read something other than propaganda. I suggest you start sooner rather than later.
Ever since the protest and occupation of the drill ship in New Plymouth by Lucy Lawless and other climate activists the continuing fight against extreme fossil fuel technologies like deep sea oil and arctic oil drillling the links between New Zealand and Norway are being drawn again.
Tomorrow, the President of the native Sami People of Norway is joining a gathering of Maori and locals on the Marae Aripara in the far north at 1pm to celebrate a victory over deep sea oil drilling in this country.
https://tehiku.nz/te-hiku-radio/kuaka-marangaranga/4432/mike-smith-on-the-president-of-sami-visiting-te-taitokerau
Meantime James Hansen has penned a letter to the Prime Minister of Norway asking for a halt in Artic oil drilling.
Correction: The President of the Sami People will be in Ahipara on Tuesday, not Monday.
All welcome to join the celebrations.
The wit and wisdom of Michelle Boag
Q+A, TV1, Sunday 23 October 2016
The embarrassingly inept Hekia Parata will soon be gone, no doubt having been “encouraged” strongly to leave by the brains of the National Party, Mr Joyce, who has more than once been required to move in and clean up after her. Despite her embarrassingly substandard performance, there are some people who will do their duty and stick up up for her. People like Michelle Boag, who delivered the following eulogy this morning….
incoherent rambling continues….
http://tvnz.co.nz/q-and-a-news/superfund-s-move-away-fossil-fuels-panel-video-6498859
Thanks Morrissey.
I, for one, really enjoy your transcripts, particularly those that parody the trite nonsense and platitudes of Mora’s Panel.
On that matter, any chance you could produce one of your masterpieces on the public shaming of ‘gentleman Jim’ by Dita da Boni?
Has anyone got a link to the Mora/Dita de Boni exchange?
http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/thepanel/audio/201820768/the-panel-with-barry-corbett-and-dita-de-boni-part-2
from min 19 I’m guessing
It can often be very challenging for the children of those who suicide. They often need a lot of support immediately after and access to it when they need it down the track. Of course they are a subset of all children who need help. They are all waiting too long for support – this MUST be improved. Kia kaha to all.
http://i.stuff.co.nz/national/health/85509692/thousand-of-kiwi-kids-waiting-for-mental-health-treatment
Here in Australia it’s finally getting some attention. Six men are killing themselves every day and almost nothing was being said about it. Yes you read that right … six every day.
http://www.smh.com.au/comment/suicide-rate-we-need-to-stop-the-scourge-killing-our-men-20160309-gnf7un.html
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2016/mar/09/highest-australian-suicide-rate-in-13-years-driven-by-men-aged-40-to-44
It is now the leading cause of pre-mature death in middle-aged men in Australia, almost 18% of deaths. An absolute epidemic that until very recently nobody wanted to talk about.
And this is without even considering the impact on all the families, friends and co-workers left behind. That’s a whole other story as well.
Gavin MacFadyen, founder and director of the Centre for Investigative Journalism and associate of Julian Assange, has died.
Standing by for the Clinton death pool nonsense……
http://tcij.org/gavin-macfadyen
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gavin_MacFadyen
“Did police use booze checkpoint to target elderly women at euthanasia meeting?”
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/crime/85652982/did-police-use-booze-checkpoint-to-targets-elderly-women-at-euthanasia-meeting
I wondered when I heard n the rad that police were visiting women who’d been at the meeting, if they or any of their neighbours were waiting for visits from the police because they’d been burgled. Waiting but not getting attention because the police were busy with important stuff.
The legal people have their views, and expressed them in the article, “may have over-stepped the mark” and “unusual for those details (name and addresses) to be requested ahead of a breath-test”.
To me it sounds like the stuff of a Police state.
“As the commission doubtless knows, no government would impose such charges, or shut down northern airports to allow Heathrow to grow. Having approved the extra capacity, the government will discover that it’s incompatible with our commitments under the climate change act, mull the consequences for a minute or two, then quietly abandon the commitments. It’s this simple: a third runway at Heathrow means that the UK will not meet its carbon targets. Hold me to that in 2050.”
http://www.monbiot.com/2016/10/19/the-flight-of-reason/
a reaction I suspect we will see imitated here…
[In order to keep OM and DR free for other conversations, all comments, link postings etc about the US election now need to go in the dedicated US election discussion here.
If you are unsure, post in that thread rather than here. It’s not possible for moderators to shift comments from OM to there, so any comments here may get deleted – weka]
There was some discussion of the Philippines the other day after CV’s post. This is the Economist’s take on it:
http://www.economist.com/news/asia/21708984-philippines-until-now-staunch-american-ally-falling-chinese-camp-dutertes-pivot