Exactery. Problem is that while your turkey will end up somewhere around Moa Point, Banks will probably get some cushy little number on a board somewhere.
Well that assumes a few things, that boardrooms want over the hill neo-liberals. Or left dotcom high and dry despite Dotcoms money. Does Banks really enhance shareholder value?
true, but then did the Shipleys ever ‘enhance WESTPAC shareholder value’ just for starters. And then of course there’s always SOE’s like Solid Energy to consider
I’d be picking Banks is likely more toxic than anything sloshing around Moa Point, but then apparently some semi-literate money trader that exists on an out-of-date ideology learned parrot-fashion is fit enough to become a Proim Munsta. Stranger things happen at sea.
That semi-literate money trader was also once deemed to be “krismetuk’ by our ‘mainstream’ media as well (i.e. them there that profess to be the voice of the people – the incisive, the investigative foreskins of journalsim who challenge a status quo calling themselves the 4th Estate).
Along similar lines to the Aspire Scholarship implemented by Heather Roy.
Fundamentally, schemes like this subsidise private schools.
They also stop the discussion about the outcomes that we want. AG provides networking along with academics – and it is the networking in later years that contribute quite a lot to personal career opportunities and wealth. Are the InZone students going to be included in that? I doubt it.
And shouldn’t we be asking the question about what a successful Maori or Pasifika student is anyway? (For that matter, – we should be asking that for every student).
Surely, it doesn’t have to be the one and only model of attending a private school and going to university – and often disconnecting from his childhood community and support systems? Where are the tradespeople, teachers, community builders, the sustainable business entrepreneurs, volunteers, the vast army of quiet contributors?
Ultimately such schemes provide Māori and Tāngata Pasifika with options and choice. Why should rangatahi be deprived of an educational experience that may expand their present worldview. For that matter, why should students that attend such schools because they can, be denied the opportunity of meeting our youth kanohi ki te kanohi.
I know many people who have benefited enormously from private school education. Think Hato Paora, Hato Petera, St Josephs Māori Girls College. We are not above re-interpreting what private education is about. Charter schools will work for us because we have already set a benchmark in Kohanga Reo.
Mainstream education is what is failing our Māori youth. Teachers may wax lyrical about their so called professional standards but when it comes to teaching Māori youth – the statistics speak for themselves.
Please don’t even attempt to blame the majority of the parents. To do so is to simply highlight my point.
Yes, you are right. There will be success stories from this project, and your examples highlight some of the best on offer for Māori students.
But the InZone project is only for AG – and the premise that it is the best on offer. Efeso Collins wrote much more succinctly on a similar topic a few weeks ago on TDB – Brown Flight
So – as these projects roll out – I believe that there has to be a discussion alongside it about the other success stories, AND the uplift of outcomes for all students whether they participate or not.
I went through a period of researching charter schools many years ago, and have come to the conclusion that while they can be a vehicle for some to achieve – as a state funded use of educational money – others, often the most vulnerable, are left behind. And have even less chance of achieving.
I’m not convinced that these projects have no costs for education as a whole, and the most vulnerable students in our country.
Surely, it doesn’t have to be the one and only model of attending a private school and going to university – and often disconnecting from his childhood community and support systems?
Have you considered that it may be that disconnect that’s producing such extreme results? Being taken out of a negative environment and put in a positive one can, and will, have massive effect upon the kids.
You equate “childhood community and support systems” as a negative.
Which it may be, but that is not a given.
It is most likely, that these InZone students have quite a positive family and community support system.
Otherwise, you are correct: taking someone from a negative environment and putting them into a supportive one will be more likely to produce good results.
However, there are also downsides for those students – and the disconnect from their communities and families is one that occurs often with scholarship students.
You equate “childhood community and support systems” as a negative.
No I don’t. I only put forward the option that may be the cause of them not doing too well at school previously to going to the new system.
It is most likely, that these InZone students have quite a positive family and community support system.
May have a positive family environment but who are their friends, who do they play with at school? What are their attitudes? Taking them away from them and putting them in with others who also have a similar positive family environment could be the reason for the change.
One of the points I’ve made about kids is my belief that just throwing them at school with no social learning from many adults around them results in negative socialisation.
However, there are also downsides for those students – and the disconnect from their communities and families is one that occurs often with scholarship students.
This guy should declare himself a union – I hear they don’t pay their PAYE and the IRD just turns a blind eye. Good ‘ol NZ eh… Protection for the parasites and punishment for the producers.
Classic tory – steal taxpayer money as a beneficiary, and you’re scum. Steal taxpayer money by refusing to pay your employees’ taxes, and you’re just using innovative business pracises.
Well, given that as far as I know he’s not gone to gaol or whined to the media about it like a tory, I suspect a mutually satisfactory accommodation was made.
The U$K continues down the austerity for the poor handouts for the well off neoliberal plug hole. The same ideology Keyshine boy believes is the only way, hence the poverty we have here in NZ.
Over in the USK it’s draconian here is a man suffering from a heart condition, diabetes and emphysema whose had his disability extra allowance cut to encourage him back to work! He is now dependent on food banks..
” Access to the necessities of life should be a human right by now, not just another venture for capital gain. Rates of violence, drug abuse, mental problems, and societal stress would all go down if everyone had these vital life essentials. Politicians and business leaders praise our supposed economic freedom, yet ironically most of the world’s effort is wasted on trying to survive. “
And now a Christmas message from the head of the English class system whose offspring Shonkey will welcome to our land next year, HER ROYAL MAJESTY QUEEN ELIZABETH, HEAD OF THE COMMONWEALTH. Although there’s not much of that left, Shonkey continues to flog it off to make his rich class mated richer. 🙁
Just in case anyone missed it Cameron Brewer declared his trip back in 2011 so I guess now all those that accused him of being as untrustworthy as Len “I will always tell the truth, but always with a limit” Brown will now register their apologies
When did he email council, (notifying kind of implies he did it as per spec, which he didn’t) and when did Drinnan publish the snippet about his junket?
A: Looks like he emailed the council the day before Drinnan published on the 9th. Drinnan rang him on the 8th, the email was sent on the 8th. All a big ol’ coinkydink I’m sure.
Nah, you should keep going with the false moral outrage. As soon as you start admiring deception and talking like it’s a game, you reveal that your previous moral bluster was contrived.
Of course its a game otherwise you’d have to deal with the realization that there’s 2/5s of f**k all difference between Labour and National and that since the 80s theres been no real change between the parties at all
This means that all the money, time and effort has been for nothing, that there a 2-3 term cycle and that for opposition parties and its workers its pointless doing anything because you won’t win and even if you do win you’ll only ever nibble at the edges of the changes you want to make
Lets say Labour/Greens/NZfirst/Mana win the next election nothing much will change because Labour want the treasury benches and won’t give anything other then minor roles to the support parties (except that Winnie will get what he wants) and the reverse is true for National and whoever else they drag in
No-one gets to live a full adult life and have no regrets. There are no perfect people – despite our best intentions, we are all ignorant and we all make mistakes that haunt us one way or another. There are things that trouble my conscience.
Unfortunately a small group of people with a probable genetic defect called psychopaths have no conscience or sense of shame.
You may have just have just self-diagnosed buddy. In fairness to you I hope not.
Thanks PB this adds a whole lot of context to Brewer’s claims today. The latest is that on Facebook he has “reflected” and decided to offer a $1k donation to charity obviously as some sort of atonement for his sins …
Yep. I heard it too. Commented in response to today’s Herald article:
Anne 41.1
23 December 2013 at 8:52 am
Actually if you listened to Radio NZ’s political correspondent this morning you get a different picture. Essentially, Brewer rang someone and told them about the trip but only after having been advised to… and he still wriggled out of a formal declaration of interest. He also accepted another gift – something to do with Sky City I think – that wasn’t declared. In essence, the journalist was saying he’s dancing on the head of a pin.
I may have got the wrong end of the stick about Sky City…. haven’t had time to check yet.
In the court of public opinion its done and dusted, Brewers been exonerated… I’m not saying there isn’t any other things to get him on but this isn’t one of them
I disagree but what was more interesting to me was when the herald started the story is was easy to find but trying to find the new story was difficult…
In the court of public opinion its done and dusted, Brewers been exonerated…
If by “public opinion” you mean a few ACT-supporting dunderheads, which of course includes a couple of extreme right wing radio hosts, then your statement is correct. In the real world, however, your statement makes as much sense as the one posted by poor old “Tracey” a couple of days ago, when she asserted, in apparent high seriousness, that Brewer had “admitted nothing”; what he had done (according to Tracey) was “merely confirmed what others discovered”.
Many of my family and friends are National supporters or sympathizers, and without exception, every single one of them who has mentioned this topic has condemned Brewer. So even National Party supporters, who necessarily swallow the slimiest rats, are not prepared to support that hypocrite.
“The court of public opinion”? You really have no idea.
Congrats to Labour. Great idea. Feel free to send John Key one of the Xmas cards. Only your first name will be included. I chose ‘the living wage’ but incorporated the others in my message. The more people who send the better…
The unsubscribe ‘button’ is on the bottom of the opening gambit which contains membership details karol. I suspect you will only receive an email when they have another such campaign like the Asset Sales referendum and this Xmas card campaign. There is always and unsubscribe button at the bottom of the actual email so you can opt out the first time you receive one.
It’s hard to ignore the blitz of messages espousing the virtues of growth. Jobs and prosperity, we’re told, happen only through growth. When growth doesn’t happen, we experience a recession, and that’s bad. Growth has become the mantra and god of governments around the world.
And yet it’s impossible to have infinite growth on a finite planet.
(Ironically, it appears that much of our national strategy lies in exploiting and exporting non-renewable resources.)
And where have we seen that before? Oh, that would be from this government and the previous one and the one before that…Mine more, farm more, sell, sell, sell. We never hear anything different and then wonder why our society is producing more and more poverty.
The implication is a limitless planet with limitless resources. Run out of copper? Just move on and find a new mine. Run out of oil? Just drill a new well.
Just one example; the median gold ore grade currently being dug up by the worlds 10 largest miners these days is around than 1g/tonne. That’s down from over 4g/tonne about 15 yrs ago.
By far the largest production cost in conventional mining is the energy cost of getting the raw rock out of the mine and into the processing plant. The implication of these numbers is startling – these miners are now digging up 5 times more rock than they were just 15 years ago.
When the grade drops to 0.5% as it surely will in less than a decade they will have to double again the amount of rock they are digging up.
This law of diminishing returns is playing out in every important resource sector – this is the fundamental limit we are ignoring in our magical “infinite growth, forever technology” belief system.
But here is the kicker. I actually don’t think that the resource limit will be hit first. I’m beginning to think that ordinary people will simply will simply stop buying all the crap that we are meant to be buying. I think a lot of people are waking up to the realisation that this gross excess of materialistic crap that is being force-fed onto us – is making us sick.
We really need something else – love, compassion and the opportunity to be creative, to excel or to be of service to others.
I think a lot of people will wake up to the realisation that this gross excess of materialistic crap that is being force-fed onto us – is making us sick.
I truly hope so and I see this (video) of an indication of that swing.
When Cunliffe mentions growth I think Labour needs to get some better economic advisors so that they can actually propose an economic plan that factors in the issues described in the post and differentiate themselves from National and provide a future for the people of NZ. There is plenty of literature and studied options but vested interests hold the politicians, country and the planet captive.
The machinery of government cannot see past GDP so everyone uses the same rhetoric. Cannot see much of a diff in economic plan between Nat and Labour.
When trade and competitive advantage is replaced by rent extraction and economic toll booths
Yes, it’s coming from the fact that for the 99%, their income’s going down and for the 1% they’re making capital gains and interest. The 1% have the 99% of the population in debt to themselves, so they’re collecting and it’s like a siphon taking all the wealth upwards. And first the 1% are looking for all the income that the 99% have to be pledged to pay the debt and then they want all the assets. So the wealth gap is coming.
Look who the latest shill for mass killing is.
U.S. military propaganda merchants truly have no shame
Monday 23 December 2013
Santa Claus has been associated with some pretty dodgy products, like smoking [1], brothels [2], and some really disgusting people [3], so it’s hard to be shocked at the crassness of Santa-related shilling of products. But the tail-end of tonight’s Television One news, the light-hearted bit after the weather, still managed to shock me and I’m sure anyone else who was actually paying attention.
It was a jokey little piece of product placement by the American military. Introduced in jovial tone by Wendy Petrie, this “whimsical” piece informed viewers, in mock-serious tone, that NORAD has been tracking Santa for the last sixty years—cue clever graphics of jet-planes flanking a sleigh—and deploying an “anti-grinch” device. Ho ho ho.
Odd that Television One studiously avoids more than the most cursory mention of the real activities of NORAD, yet is prepared to grant a considerable amount of time to a fantasy about a benign NORAD.
‘Various studies have found that as a person’s level of wealth increases, their feelings of compassion and empathy go down, and their feelings of entitlement, of deservingness and their ideology of self-interest increases.’
They also looked at helping behaviour – known as pro-social behaviour – to understand who is more likely to offer help to another person, someone who is rich or someone who is poor.
Anyone who has hitch-hiked as much as I did in my 20’s knows this for an absolute fact. No fancy research really needed.
(The exceptions, ie the flash cars or wealthy people who picked you up almost invariably were ‘paying it back’ from when they were young and had hitched themselves.)
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Family First NZ is supporting a call by the Police to raise the drinking age, which echoes previous calls by the NZ Medical Association, but says that other factors around price, availability, penalties and addiction services must be part of the ...
West Papua solidarity activists met yesterday and resolved to call on the Prime Minister to step up to help resolve the escalating crisis in West Papua. ...
Landmark Report Released into Maori Aging and Disabilities “Manaaki Pakeke” – New Zealand Maori Council calls for a policy shift and greater focus The New Zealand Maori Council has released a comprehensive policy statement challenging the ...
MANATŪ TAONGA MINISTRY FOR CULTURE AND HERITAGE MEDIA RELEASE 25 August 2019 Privacy breach identified with the Tuia 250 Voyage Trainee website Manatū Taonga Ministry for Culture and Heritage is investigating a serious digital privacy breach involving ...
‘Original Sin’ of Land Confiscation at Ihumātao is a wrong that can be put right by Government says Justice & Peace Commission of Catholic Diocese of Auckland ...
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern told a press conference on August 19 that her government is likely to impose new restrictions on prisoners’ rights to send letters. She said the law could be changed in “weeks.” ...
Heart-warming images of House Speaker Trevor Mallard cradling a baby in Parliament have been welcomed around New Zealand, but the Public Service Association warns most families can only dream of such support in the workplace. ...
Applying New Zealand’s international human rights commitments, particularly those in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, can help in resolving the situation at Ihumātao, Chief Human Rights Commissioner Paul Hunt says. ...
Climate campaigners impersonating bank staff have taken to the streets this week to expose ANZ Bank’s sponsorship of the fossil fuel industry. In the series of satirical actions in Wellington, Dunedin, and Auckland, the ‘bank staff’ promoted ...
Auckland Action Against Poverty joins the Children’s Commissioner , The Green Party , The New Zealand Drugs Foundation , Child Poverty Action Group and other organisations in the calls for an immediate end to the drug testing benefit sanctions. ...
Negotiations between Port Otago workers represented by the Rail and Maritime Transport Union (RMTU) and the Maritime Union of New Zealand (MUNZ) and management failed today and the unions have issued notice of an overtime ban from Saturday 7th September. ...
Queenstown Lakes District Council’s comments that it has applied for a consent to pollute waterways to avoid 'prosecutions by the Otago Regional Council' are unacceptable,’ Fish & Game New Zealand Chief Executive Martin Taylor says. ...
On March 15, the real world impact of online hate became abundantly, horrifically clear. As a shooter opened fire at two Christchurch mosques, the online image board 8chan anticipated, celebrated and amplified his killing spree. ...
Friday, 23 August: Government delegates from around the world, including New Zealand, are meeting in New York for the third of four meetings at the United Nations to agree a Global Oceans Treaty that could help to protect 30% of our oceans by 2030. Greenpeace ...
The excuses about a reportedly unwanted $57,000 payrise for Dunedin City Council CEO Sue Bidrose are laughable, says the New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union. ...
The Auckland Ratepayers’ Alliance has launched the “Ratepayer Protection Pledge” committing to no more than 2% annual rate hikes over the next Council term, and has written to all Mayoral and Council candidates asking them to sign. The pledge will ...
This Saturday, Pakuranga Hunt Day at the Ellerslie Racecourse will see anti-horse racing protesters demonstrating at the corner of Ascot Avenue and Greenlane East. ...
Mayoral candidate John Tamihere will meet with Pacific Island leaders and community elders today at Puhunui Reserve in South Auckland to commit to a Pasefika Cultural Centre. ...
Cruel and invalid Forced Swim Tests carried out at Victoria University of Wellington, will be exposed at the University Open Day today, so prospective students can be warned about the flawed and unethical research being conducted at the institute. ...
The organiser of the annual YWCA Equal Pay Awards has expressed her disappointment with the latest Gender Pay Gap figure for New Zealand workers. The figure rose slightly from 9.2% in 2018 to 9.3% for the quarter ended 30 June 2019. ...
The Council of Licenced Firearm Owners (COLFO) is urging firearms owners to pass on information to the Royal Commission of Inquiry into the Attack on Christchurch Mosques now that the period for submissions has been extended to 27 September. ...
An application was filed in the Employment Relations Authority in Wellington today, seeking an injunction to prevent the Board of the New Zealand Nurses Organisation from removing the President from office. ...
The Government’s commitment to support literacy and numeracy training in the workplace is a strong signal from Government on recognising the importance of upskilling, reskilling and increasing productivity alongside their commitment to address the challenges ...
“The infrastructure sector sees a major role for the New Zealand Infrastructure Commission/Te Waihanga in lifting the nation’s sagging infrastructure performance,” says Paul Blair, incoming CEO of Infrastructure NZ. ...
The AA is calling on the Government to bring forward critical highway projects while time is spent properly developing the plans for a rapid transit system in Auckland. ...
Between 2015/16 and 2017/18, DHBs spent $280 million treating patients due to adverse drug reactions, reveals the New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union in its latest briefing paper on health productivity . ...
The Pay Equity Coalition Auckland (PECA) is pleased the gender pay gap has decreased slightly. Statistics released today show the gap is now 11.9%, nearly 2 percent less than last year. ...
The Council of Licenced Firearm Owners (COLFO) is urging firearms owners to make sure they pass on any information they have to the Royal Commission of Inquiry into the Attack on Christchurch Mosques before submissions close tomorrow (Friday). ...
The big electricity companies consider solar energy “disruptive” and want pricing to suppress it. In contrast, advocates of local energy say that solar, energy efficiency, and other local energy solutions are the cheapest ways to reduce carbon emissions. ...
The Earthquake Commission and Shine Lawyers are delighted to announce that EQC has reached an agreement with the Gibling family, agreeing to cover the cost of repairs of remaining earthquake damage on their property. ...
Four months into the inquiry, the Royal Commission is gathering significant information and continues to receive valuable submissions from the public, from current and former State servants, experts and community groups. ...
While Fish & Game New Zealand is pleased to see Federated Farmers Environment Spokesperson Chris Allen say that 'we all want good, fresh water', he conveniently overlooks some key facts. ...
What: Wellington demo “Save the Amazon Forest/Salve a Amazônia!” When: Friday, 6 September 2019 from 12:30-13:30 Where: Embassy of Brazil in Wellingtona ...
Rt Hon Trevor Mallard, Speaker of the New Zealand House of Representatives, welcomes the visit of His Excellency Eduardo Ferro Rodrigues, President of the Assembly of the Republic of Portugal. ...
A cross political Mental Health and Addictions Wellbeing group will be launched on Wednesday 28 August hosted by Sir John Kirwan and Moe Milne (ONZM) who have both been at the forefront of our country’s often difficult conversations about mental ...
Confirmation that the government will be progressing an independent Parliamentary Budget Office is great news for democracy and transparency, Federated Farmers says. ...
At first glance, Simon Bridges’ strident opposition to the government’s proposal to establish an independent office to cost political parties’ election spending plans looks childish and petty. ...
Euthanasia-Free NZ is appalled that Parliament spent so little time debating Part 2 of the End of Life Choice Bill and voted to leave it full of holes. ...
Jordan Williams, a spokesman for the Auckland Ratepayers’ Alliance and its nationwide sister group the New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union is slamming Auckland Mayor Phil Goff for his comments today that John Tamihere would need the Government’s support to ...
A ‘one size fits all’, inflexible and punitive regulatory regime for water quality just gets backs - and costs - up and most importantly will not work, Federated Farmers says. ...
Mediation yesterday between secondary principals and the government has resulted in a deal that the principals' negotiating team is recommending to its members. ...
Clubs New Zealand welcomes the decision of Justice Minister Andrew Little to put forward a bill amending the Sale and Supply of Alcohol Act to allow all licensed premises to remain open for Rugby World Cup matches. ...
The Australia and New Zealand Ministerial Forum on Food Regulation has ordered a review looking at labelling of added sugars in food and drinks. An option under investigation is ‘a pictorial approach applied to sugary beverages / sugar-sweetened beverages’ ...
Editor’s Note: Here below is a list of the main issues currently under discussion in New Zealand and links to media coverage.New Zealand Parliament Buildings, Wellington, New Zealand.Today’s content by Dr Bryce Edwards.Privacy breach at Ministry for Culture and Heritage Audrey Young (Herald): How latest privacy breach ...
Auckland mayoral rival John Tamihere is pitching himself as a low-cost candidate but the incumbent Phil Goff says Mr Tamihere lacks a basic understanding of finances. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Elyse Methven, Lecturer in Law, University of Technology Sydney As the state election loomed last year, the NSW government rushed through a new crime targeting drug suppliers. A person who supplies a prohibited drug for profit can now be prosecuted for homicide ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Julia Talbot-Jones, Lecturer, Victoria University of Wellington Last week, voter enrolment for the 2019 local government elections closed in New Zealand and concerns about low voter turnout resurfaced. During a panel discussion run by Auckland Council, the idea was raised to pay ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By James Dunk, Research Fellow, University of Sydney Last week, one of the world’s leading medical journals declared the medical community must act now to limit the health effects of climate change. In a stark editorial, readers of the New England Journal of ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Goss, School Education Program Director, Grattan Institute Australia’s young high achievers are turning their backs on teaching. They want to make a difference in their careers, and they are interested in teaching, but when it comes to the crunch they choose ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Carl Grodach, Professor and Director of Urban Planning & Design, Monash University Since 2000, planning authorities in Australia have overseen a massive rezoning of inner-city industrial land to make way for mixed-use residential development. They claim central industrial space is obsolete in ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Lara Owen, PhD Candidate, Monash University Last week, menstrual pad brand Libra launched their Blood Normal commercial in Australia, running it during prime time television shows including The Bachelor, The Project, and Gogglebox. Australia is a little late to the party: Blood ...
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Govt rejects idea to ban petrol car imports in 2035, firefighters say they’re facing a workforce crisis, and Tamihere pledges rate freeze.A strange sort of stoush erupted at the end of last week around petrol and diesel car sales. On Friday, Newsroom reported ...
Kiwi boxer Troy Garton, who defied medical advice to produce one of the most remarkable performances in NZ sport, now has her sights set firmly on the Tokyo Olympics. ...
Victoria University of Wellington's Anne Goulding discusses the paradox of New Zealanders wanting to safeguard our personal data, while frequently and freely giving it away. ...
Lisa McMillan is an adrenaline junkie. Instead of skydiving or driving race cars, she collects rooms full of naked strangers. Josie Adams went along to the Naked Dinner and found it stimulated all the wrong hormones.In a tealight-lit lounge in a rented Symonds Street flat, I milled around with 23 ...
Brazil’s rainforests are ablaze, and even from the distance of New Zealand, many of us are losing sleep. For the climate and for humanity, we can do something profound and simple, writes Kena DuignanI’ve asked my dad to look after my kids yesterday so I could write this, after a ...
Meng Foon has been a fixture in Gisborne local government for more than two decades. Today he starts a new role, as race relations commissioner. Alice Webb-Lidall heads over to his Gisborne home for dinner, to find out what he’ll miss as mayor, and how he’ll approach his new jobThis ...
In the final of our series on the loss of faith in free market economics we ask New Zealand business leaders how they’re grappling with the almighty power of a technology that barely existed 20 years ago. Hands up who’s read the Financial Markets Authority’s website. Come on, be honest.No, of ...
Is New Zealand in danger of becoming a bio-tech backwater because of our strict GE rules, or should we retain them to sell our clean image overseas? ...
ANALYSIS:By David Robie Indonesia’s harsh policies towards West Papua ought to be scrapped. Whatever happened to the brief window of enlightenment ushered in by President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo in 2015 with promises of a more “open door” policy towards foreign journalists and human rights groups? They were supposed ...
The House - The grammar of being an MP is harder than you might think. MPs in Parliament choose their words with care, and it just got more complicated. ...
As a format it predates almost all reality TV, and that’s precisely why it works in 2019, writes Duncan Greive.There’s something deeply comforting about watching Celebrity Treasure Island. It is a very pure form of escapism, largely because it explicitly recalls a world without the internet, and before everything started ...
Residents in Los Angeles and Orange County warned to check for symptoms after an infected NZ teen visited theme parks including Disneyland and Universal Studios earlier this month.Californian health authorities have issued warnings to residents and visitors after a New Zealand teenager was found to have spent five days in ...
When you crave fresh, bright flavours but summer veges seem far away, throw together this simple salad.Growing up we often ate this salad, or one very similar to it. My mum is a fantastic cook and this dish is one she still makes to this day – though I must ...
Analysis of New Zealand media headlines reveals a lot of people slamming a lot of other people.Slamming is at epidemic levels in New Zealand news. Drawn from just the last month, we present a selection of slamming.On July 27A union boss slammed David ClarkOn July 29Police slammed a dangerous photographerOn ...
Vana Manasiadis wrote a collection of poetry in the wake of her mother’s death. In this essay, ahead of her appearance at the Going West festival, she argues that as a nation Aotearoa needs to learn to make space for mourning. When Mum died in Athens, I cried loudly and publicly ...
The giant hand that captivated, delighted and disgusted the nation is now settling into its new Wellington home. For City Gallery Wellington’s blog, Spinoff arts editor Megan Dunn talked to Ronnie van Hout, the man who made Quasi.“Quasi is in the wrong place,” wrote art critic Warren Feeney in 2016, ...
At school camp, the children are banned from having phones, laptops, lollies, chocolate, money, cotton clothing or independent thoughts. They, are, however, allowed home baking – but it’s gotta be hearty. How hearty are you? We are packing for a school camp. If you’re thinking that the middle of winter is ...
Phil Goff’s rival has already pledged an 0800-Jacinda homeless hotline and an 18-lane harbour bridge. What’s next? The two most important people in the 2019 campaign for the Auckland mayoralty faced each other down on Wednesday night across the desk in the NZME debate: Bernard Orsman and Simon Wilson. Correction: it ...
Split Level View Finder: Theo Schoon and New Zealand Art is the exhibition that sparked a protest over issues of cultural appropriation and institutional representation. Theo Schoon is a divisive historical figure. But is his art any good? Martin Patrick reviews.British novelist L.P. Hartley once wrote that “the past is ...
Ahead of debuting her solo show at New Zealand Fashion Week, Korean-NZ couture designer Cecilia Kang talks about growing up ‘feminine’, being influenced by the LGBTQ+ community, and why an ‘administrative error’ at Fashion Week left her so shaken up. ‘I like something big,” says Cecilia Kang, gesturing to the giant ...
The Labour Party is distancing itself from one of its members who is strongly pro-Beijing and has caused controversy in the Chinese community by standing for local office in Auckland. ...
Faced with staff shortages, equipment failures, cancer risks, and a jump in critical calls that can leave them traumatised, some firefighters are wondering if it’s time to hang up the hose. Gareth Shute reports on the dissatisfaction inside Fire and Emergency New Zealand.The state of our nation’s fire service is ...
“She comes over. You’re my mother, she says. Yes, I say. I don’t know you, she says”: a mother and child seaside story by Wellington author Jan Pryor. Photo by Peter Black. ...
On Monday the government announced its new five-year strategy to reduce the Māori prison population. Emilie Rākete looks at another ‘kaupapa Māori’ prison initiative that degrades prisoners and asks if Corrections are capable of seeing it through.On August 19th, the Department of Corrections announced Hōkai Rangi, its new strategy intended ...
By Michael Andrew The Indonesian media is contributing to resentment and racism toward Papuans, according to a human rights researcher and former journalist. Andreas Harsono of Human Rights Watch Jakarta told Pacific Media Watch many Indonesian journalists either view Papuans as enemy “separatists” or deviants and their reporting tends to convey these ...
Analysis - The prime minister puts a stake in the ground over petrol prices, National balks at having its election promises costed and the government puts millions into helping the homeless. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Danilo Ignacio de Urzedo, PhD candidate, University of Sydney Record fires are raging in Brazil’s Amazon rainforest, with more than 2,500 fires currently burning. They are collectively emitting huge amounts of carbon, with smoke plumes visible thousands of kilometres away. Fires in ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sean Docking, Post-doctoral researcher, La Trobe University Basketball fans around the world were recently sickened by the footage of NBA star Kevin Durant’s Achilles tendon rupturing during a game. But while many think it’s only elite athletes who suffer from Achilles tendon ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Bruce Mountain, Director, Victoria Energy Policy Centre, Victoria University The possibility of blackouts affecting half of Victoria has attracted plenty of attention to a document once read only by industry insiders and policy wonks: the Electricity Statement of Opportunities. The Statement, updated ...
George Clooney sold his tequila company for a billion dollars – but is the stuff any good? The Spinoff finds out. Imagine being so stupidly sexy you sneeze and sell a billion-dollar booze company. That’s what George Clooney did last year, flicking off the tequila business he started accidentally with an ...
The departure of "two Pākehā men" from the government's justice reform group will not hurt the quality of its final report, another member of the team says. ...
Open mike 23/12/2013 
My wife and I have had dogs for the whole of our 52 years of married life – and that has meant sharing our lives with our little furry friends. Because we usually spend a good part of our evenings watching television, it also means that our dogs have learned ...23 hours ago
. . Former Police, Corrections, and Justice Minister in the previous John Key government, Judith Collins, has been ridiculed on social media after posting a comment on Twitter that was patently untrue; . Wrong!! National did not remove Prisoners’ ability to vote. Parliament voted through a Private Member’s Bill ...2 days ago
Speaker Trevor Mallard was left to look after Jones, while his usual caretaker, Winston Peters, underwent surgery. A truly adorable scene from Parliament yesterday has gone viral, after Speaker Trevor Mallard cradled an extremely drunk Shane Jones in his arms while the House was in session. Loud “awwww”s could be ...3 days ago
Western media have defended their decision not to cover the fires so as not to give them any oxygen. Social media outrage continues to grow around the sentiment that mainstream western media is devoting too little coverage to an ongoing series of fires in the Amazon rainforest, and in doing ...3 days ago
A Long Time Ago, In A Parallel Universe Far, Far Away: The political journalist scratched his head in confusion. Only then did he notice the name of the building: ‘The Jacinda Ardern Presidential Library and Public Resource Centre’. Making his way inside to the information desk, he asked the librarian ...3 days ago
3 days ago
Nothing from me tody - I'm off to Christchurch to pretend to be other people for a weekend. Normal bloggage should resume on Tuesday. ...3 days ago
Spark is bracing for a customer backlash as rugby fans all across the country struggle to get a picture on their wireless router. With the Rugby World Cup fast approaching, an elderly Taranaki couple are furious after being told that they still won’t be able to watch the tournament, even ...3 days ago
Several explosions have been reported across Auckland, as well-meaning environmentalists have already begun purchasing too much petrol Starting from next week, customers will no longer need a car to purchase petrol directly from the pump, a development that two major fuel providers are billing as an opportunity to help fight ...4 days ago
A new study claims to find that a mother’s exposure to fluoridated water during pregnancy may decrease the IQ of male children – but is it correct? (Photo: Getty Images) Anti-fluoride campaigners are promoting ... 4 days ago
by Jan Rivers More than 30 years ago a Commission of Inquiry was held in New Zealand to investigate, amongst other things, whether women with cervical cancer were aware that they had been part of a research project and whether they were properly informed of the treatment options ...6 days ago
Everyone Wants To Be Fuhrer: When fascist groups are discussed, the image conjured-up in the minds of most New Zealanders is one of pathetic misfits. This negative impression is reinforced by the latter’s idiotic embrace of the swastika. Even in the second decade of the twenty-first century, the baleful legacy ...6 days ago
In the previous two posts, I laid out the context and set the theoretical framework to answer a question: whether indigenous economies should take the LEAP. This final part outlines ways to conceive of practicing mana motuhake within the existing legal system by carving out special jurisdictions that enable Indigenous ...1 week ago
Fully Informed? Labour’s 2017 promises raised expectations that were little short of revolutionary. Unfortunately, they were never adequately shaken through the fiscal sieve. The hard economic work was not done – and it shows. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern’s critics have long complained that her grasp of the way the New ...1 week ago
You cannot expect to pound communities into the ground day after day, year after year, decade after decade and just expect them to take it lying down. There’s a point at which the place will explode. And we’re faced with some very big ructions on both sides of the Atlantic ...1 week ago
1 week ago
Going Down? Once truth and propaganda become fused in the minds of one’s followers, debate and discussion become redundant. If one’s opponents are all outrageous liars, then engaging with them in any way is pointless. Rather than waste its time, a political party should, instead, target all its messages at ...1 week ago
We need to fundamentally reframe our systems settings to address the drivers causing and underpinning inequality; structural change in systems especially financial. The Equality Network Hui was held in Wellington on 27 June 2019. The hui covered important topics such as child poverty; a living wage; taxation; public health; mental ...2 weeks ago
The views-per-page for some of my recent postings:Depressing, isn't it? Provide thoughtful and wise commentary on the mainstream of British politics and no-one notices. Make a passing reference to Tommy DICKHEAD Robinson in a thread title and you get hundreds of views. Write something about anti-Semitism and you get another ...2 weeks ago
The government has announced plans to move the Treaty of Waitangi and other taonga to a new site. Great news! So where are they going? Right next to the old one:The new plan will see a new 22,000-square-metre archive built on the former site of Defence House - the former ...2 weeks ago
Back in June, StatsNZ went public about a project to track population data on an hourly level by using people's cellphones. It wasn't as bad as it initially looked - they were receiving no individual data, only counts by suburb - but there was still a huge consent problem, so ...2 weeks ago
I did an interview on the TVNZ Breakfast Show about the situation in Hong Kong. I tried to frame the issue as a collective action problem between two sides with very different end games. The video is here. Because of time constraints we could not discuss the fact that the ...2 weeks ago
Image Credit: Wild Rose College A new study reporting the ranges of values for kidney and liver parameters in a healthy population is being actively misrepresented by anti-fluoride campaigners. The Fluoride Action Network’s (FAN) latest ... 2 weeks ago
Alone, Alone. All, All Alone: Will it be a good or a bad thing, when humanity’s bright blue spacecraft is stricken by the civilisation-destroying problem of Climate Change, that no Huston Control will be standing-by to rescue the crew?“WE HAVE A PROBLEM, HUSTON.” These were the words used by the ...2 weeks ago
Divided Loyalties: Can the Prime Minister, Jacinda Ardern, be relied upon? That’s what the boys and girls at Foggy Bottom and the Pentagon needed to be reassured about. Because, from the perspective of Washington, it’s looking more and more like Jacinda Ardern and her Labour Party comrades are getting ready ...2 weeks ago
This handy Queer Theory Glossary is from thetranswidow.com In case you’ve had trouble keeping up with the spate of new queer theory terms, here’s a handy glossary for your reference. Queer – A straight person with an interesting haircut. Non-binary/genderqueer – A chubby young female, typically 16-28, who has ...2 weeks ago
The winter grazing issue is becoming a highly sensitised one that I hope will not become so politicised that it delays solutions and results in the suicides of some very stressed farmers.Winter grazing has hit the headlines after a determined campaign, including the release of a video of some very ...2 weeks ago
Opportunities to dodge tax are shrinking with the completion of a new tax agreement with Switzerland, Revenue Minister Stuart Nash announced today. Mr Nash and the Swiss Ambassador David Vogelsanger have today signed documents to update the double tax agreement (DTA). The previous DTA was signed in 1980. “Double tax ...3 weeks ago
The Campaign for Better Transport ( CBT ) is pleased to hear the government has announced the start of train services from Hamilton to Papakura but is concerned about some of the features of the proposed service. ...46 mins ago
Editor’s Note: Here below is a list of the main issues currently under discussion in New Zealand and links to media coverage.
Auckland mayoral rival John Tamihere is pitching himself as a low-cost candidate but the incumbent Phil Goff says Mr Tamihere lacks a basic understanding of finances. ...36 mins ago
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Govt rejects idea to ban petrol car imports in 2035, firefighters say they’re facing a workforce crisis, and Tamihere pledges rate freeze.A strange sort of stoush erupted at the end of last week around petrol and diesel car sales. On Friday, Newsroom reported ...2 hours ago
University law revues can be clever, satirical, and entertaining. Not this one, some say. ...3 hours ago
In this week's MediaRoom column Mark Jennings looks at the big changes at Sky TV. ...3 hours ago
Conservationists say a bill aimed to save freshwater fish fails to protect thousands of eels from being minced in hydroelectricity dam turbines. ...4 hours ago
Investigations into alleged offending on aid project in Vanuatu find new "persons of interest" - including an NZ citizen. ...4 hours ago
Kiwi boxer Troy Garton, who defied medical advice to produce one of the most remarkable performances in NZ sport, now has her sights set firmly on the Tokyo Olympics. ...4 hours ago
Victoria University of Wellington's Anne Goulding discusses the paradox of New Zealanders wanting to safeguard our personal data, while frequently and freely giving it away. ...4 hours ago
If the Government gave everyone an extra $1000 to spend, would we all be better off? Bernard Hickey looks into the theory of helicopter money. ...4 hours ago
Is New Zealand in danger of becoming a bio-tech backwater because of our strict GE rules, or should we retain them to sell our clean image overseas? ...4 hours ago
ANALYSIS: By David Robie Indonesia’s harsh policies towards West Papua ought to be scrapped. Whatever happened to the brief window of enlightenment ushered in by President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo in 2015 with promises of a more “open door” policy towards foreign journalists and human rights groups? They were supposed ...15 hours ago
As a format it predates almost all reality TV, and that’s precisely why it works in 2019, writes Duncan Greive.There’s something deeply comforting about watching Celebrity Treasure Island. It is a very pure form of escapism, largely because it explicitly recalls a world without the internet, and before everything started ...18 hours ago
Residents in Los Angeles and Orange County warned to check for symptoms after an infected NZ teen visited theme parks including Disneyland and Universal Studios earlier this month.Californian health authorities have issued warnings to residents and visitors after a New Zealand teenager was found to have spent five days in ...21 hours ago
Vana Manasiadis wrote a collection of poetry in the wake of her mother’s death. In this essay, ahead of her appearance at the Going West festival, she argues that as a nation Aotearoa needs to learn to make space for mourning. When Mum died in Athens, I cried loudly and publicly ...1 day ago
The giant hand that captivated, delighted and disgusted the nation is now settling into its new Wellington home. For City Gallery Wellington’s blog, Spinoff arts editor Megan Dunn talked to Ronnie van Hout, the man who made Quasi.“Quasi is in the wrong place,” wrote art critic Warren Feeney in 2016, ...1 day ago
At school camp, the children are banned from having phones, laptops, lollies, chocolate, money, cotton clothing or independent thoughts. They, are, however, allowed home baking – but it’s gotta be hearty. How hearty are you? We are packing for a school camp. If you’re thinking that the middle of winter is ...2 days ago
Phil Goff’s rival has already pledged an 0800-Jacinda homeless hotline and an 18-lane harbour bridge. What’s next? The two most important people in the 2019 campaign for the Auckland mayoralty faced each other down on Wednesday night across the desk in the NZME debate: Bernard Orsman and Simon Wilson. Correction: it ...2 days ago
Split Level View Finder: Theo Schoon and New Zealand Art is the exhibition that sparked a protest over issues of cultural appropriation and institutional representation. Theo Schoon is a divisive historical figure. But is his art any good? Martin Patrick reviews.British novelist L.P. Hartley once wrote that “the past is ...2 days ago
Ahead of debuting her solo show at New Zealand Fashion Week, Korean-NZ couture designer Cecilia Kang talks about growing up ‘feminine’, being influenced by the LGBTQ+ community, and why an ‘administrative error’ at Fashion Week left her so shaken up. ‘I like something big,” says Cecilia Kang, gesturing to the giant ...2 days ago
The Labour Party is distancing itself from one of its members who is strongly pro-Beijing and has caused controversy in the Chinese community by standing for local office in Auckland. ...2 days ago
Faced with staff shortages, equipment failures, cancer risks, and a jump in critical calls that can leave them traumatised, some firefighters are wondering if it’s time to hang up the hose. Gareth Shute reports on the dissatisfaction inside Fire and Emergency New Zealand.The state of our nation’s fire service is ...2 days ago
“She comes over. You’re my mother, she says. Yes, I say. I don’t know you, she says”: a mother and child seaside story by Wellington author Jan Pryor. Photo by Peter Black. ...2 days ago
On Monday the government announced its new five-year strategy to reduce the Māori prison population. Emilie Rākete looks at another ‘kaupapa Māori’ prison initiative that degrades prisoners and asks if Corrections are capable of seeing it through.On August 19th, the Department of Corrections announced Hōkai Rangi, its new strategy intended ...2 days ago
By Michael Andrew The Indonesian media is contributing to resentment and racism toward Papuans, according to a human rights researcher and former journalist. Andreas Harsono of Human Rights Watch Jakarta told Pacific Media Watch many Indonesian journalists either view Papuans as enemy “separatists” or deviants and their reporting tends to convey these ...2 days ago
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Danilo Ignacio de Urzedo, PhD candidate, University of Sydney Record fires are raging in Brazil’s Amazon rainforest, with more than 2,500 fires currently burning. They are collectively emitting huge amounts of carbon, with smoke plumes visible thousands of kilometres away. Fires in ...3 days ago
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sean Docking, Post-doctoral researcher, La Trobe University Basketball fans around the world were recently sickened by the footage of NBA star Kevin Durant’s Achilles tendon rupturing during a game. But while many think it’s only elite athletes who suffer from Achilles tendon ...3 days ago
Internet freedom advocates have slammed the Government for proposing censorship of online gambling sites. ...3 days ago
George Clooney sold his tequila company for a billion dollars – but is the stuff any good? The Spinoff finds out. Imagine being so stupidly sexy you sneeze and sell a billion-dollar booze company. That’s what George Clooney did last year, flicking off the tequila business he started accidentally with an ...3 days ago
As Indonesia cracks down on protests in the disputed West Papua territory, the Government has declined to condemn the violence. ...3 days ago
how spook-nervous are you..?
http://whoar.co.nz/2013/apple-webcam-may-be-spying-on-you-ed-this-seems-a-good-time-to-introduce-to-the-market-the-whoar-spook-stopper-the-most-efficientlow-cost-spook-shield-that-will-protect-you-from-be/
..i have a solution for a large part of that ongoing unease/malaise….
..i had this utterly brilliant/lightbulb-going-on-in-head idea..
..eh.?
phillip ure..
John Banks on morning report is really looking forward to his day in court next year.
Yeah-right and my turkey is really looking forward to Christmas.
Just like a meal at Milliways.
Exactery. Problem is that while your turkey will end up somewhere around Moa Point, Banks will probably get some cushy little number on a board somewhere.
Well that assumes a few things, that boardrooms want over the hill neo-liberals. Or left dotcom high and dry despite Dotcoms money. Does Banks really enhance shareholder value?
“Does Banks really enhance shareholder value?”
true, but then did the Shipleys ever ‘enhance WESTPAC shareholder value’ just for starters. And then of course there’s always SOE’s like Solid Energy to consider
I’d be picking Banks is likely more toxic than anything sloshing around Moa Point, but then apparently some semi-literate money trader that exists on an out-of-date ideology learned parrot-fashion is fit enough to become a Proim Munsta. Stranger things happen at sea.
That semi-literate money trader was also once deemed to be “krismetuk’ by our ‘mainstream’ media as well (i.e. them there that profess to be the voice of the people – the incisive, the investigative foreskins of journalsim who challenge a status quo calling themselves the 4th Estate).
Funny ‘ole world ain’t it!
Really looking forward to the day in court that he tried his hardest to avoid.
Yep. Definitely nothing to fear there. 😳
The idea that this is providing a “better” education for our Maori and Pasifika students – is flawed.
Along similar lines to the Aspire Scholarship implemented by Heather Roy.
Fundamentally, schemes like this subsidise private schools.
They also stop the discussion about the outcomes that we want. AG provides networking along with academics – and it is the networking in later years that contribute quite a lot to personal career opportunities and wealth. Are the InZone students going to be included in that? I doubt it.
And shouldn’t we be asking the question about what a successful Maori or Pasifika student is anyway? (For that matter, – we should be asking that for every student).
Surely, it doesn’t have to be the one and only model of attending a private school and going to university – and often disconnecting from his childhood community and support systems? Where are the tradespeople, teachers, community builders, the sustainable business entrepreneurs, volunteers, the vast army of quiet contributors?
Tēnā koe, Molly
Ultimately such schemes provide Māori and Tāngata Pasifika with options and choice. Why should rangatahi be deprived of an educational experience that may expand their present worldview. For that matter, why should students that attend such schools because they can, be denied the opportunity of meeting our youth kanohi ki te kanohi.
I know many people who have benefited enormously from private school education. Think Hato Paora, Hato Petera, St Josephs Māori Girls College. We are not above re-interpreting what private education is about. Charter schools will work for us because we have already set a benchmark in Kohanga Reo.
Mainstream education is what is failing our Māori youth. Teachers may wax lyrical about their so called professional standards but when it comes to teaching Māori youth – the statistics speak for themselves.
Please don’t even attempt to blame the majority of the parents. To do so is to simply highlight my point.
Yes, you are right. There will be success stories from this project, and your examples highlight some of the best on offer for Māori students.
But the InZone project is only for AG – and the premise that it is the best on offer. Efeso Collins wrote much more succinctly on a similar topic a few weeks ago on TDB – Brown Flight
So – as these projects roll out – I believe that there has to be a discussion alongside it about the other success stories, AND the uplift of outcomes for all students whether they participate or not.
I went through a period of researching charter schools many years ago, and have come to the conclusion that while they can be a vehicle for some to achieve – as a state funded use of educational money – others, often the most vulnerable, are left behind. And have even less chance of achieving.
I’m not convinced that these projects have no costs for education as a whole, and the most vulnerable students in our country.
Have you considered that it may be that disconnect that’s producing such extreme results? Being taken out of a negative environment and put in a positive one can, and will, have massive effect upon the kids.
You equate “childhood community and support systems” as a negative.
Which it may be, but that is not a given.
It is most likely, that these InZone students have quite a positive family and community support system.
Otherwise, you are correct: taking someone from a negative environment and putting them into a supportive one will be more likely to produce good results.
However, there are also downsides for those students – and the disconnect from their communities and families is one that occurs often with scholarship students.
No I don’t. I only put forward the option that may be the cause of them not doing too well at school previously to going to the new system.
May have a positive family environment but who are their friends, who do they play with at school? What are their attitudes? Taking them away from them and putting them in with others who also have a similar positive family environment could be the reason for the change.
One of the points I’ve made about kids is my belief that just throwing them at school with no social learning from many adults around them results in negative socialisation.
Yep, I’m aware of that as well.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/industries/9546980/Employer-accuses-IRD-of-vendetta
This guy should declare himself a union – I hear they don’t pay their PAYE and the IRD just turns a blind eye. Good ‘ol NZ eh… Protection for the parasites and punishment for the producers.
workers are the producers; rentier capitalists and money exporters are the parasites.
He got caught stealing which, IIRC, usually gets you all riled up.
Classic tory – steal taxpayer money as a beneficiary, and you’re scum. Steal taxpayer money by refusing to pay your employees’ taxes, and you’re just using innovative business pracises.
Thats reminds me, has this been paid back yet?
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=10740987
Well, given that as far as I know he’s not gone to gaol or whined to the media about it like a tory, I suspect a mutually satisfactory accommodation was made.
So he hasn’t then
Mutually satisfactory with the IRD usually means that they have paid actually.
I really think you should do some research before you accuse the IRD of not doing what they can to collect taxes.
Well if you “heard” it it must be true, especially if you heard it from Cameron Slater.
I thought that the Nats were supposed to be regulating Alcohol sales, and yet here’s Pull ya benefit promoting Alcohol.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/politics/news/article.cfm?c_id=280&objectid=11176800
And all to get into Upper Harbour on a wave of Chardonnay
The U$K continues down the austerity for the poor handouts for the well off neoliberal plug hole. The same ideology Keyshine boy believes is the only way, hence the poverty we have here in NZ.
Over in the USK it’s draconian here is a man suffering from a heart condition, diabetes and emphysema whose had his disability extra allowance cut to encourage him back to work! He is now dependent on food banks..
” Access to the necessities of life should be a human right by now, not just another venture for capital gain. Rates of violence, drug abuse, mental problems, and societal stress would all go down if everyone had these vital life essentials. Politicians and business leaders praise our supposed economic freedom, yet ironically most of the world’s effort is wasted on trying to survive. “
And now a Christmas message from the head of the English class system whose offspring Shonkey will welcome to our land next year, HER ROYAL MAJESTY QUEEN ELIZABETH, HEAD OF THE COMMONWEALTH. Although there’s not much of that left, Shonkey continues to flog it off to make his rich class mated richer. 🙁
Nothing has changed.
http://mobile.nytimes.com/2013/12/19/opinion/gordon-brown-stumbling-toward-the-next-crash.html?_r=2
nope, it’s still all set up to gift our wealth to the already rich.
National’s cutting of the public service inevitably results in it costing more.
I’d call them numpties but, as it happens every time, it’s probably planned.
Indeed. DtB.
It’s the kind of intentional theft of public monies that would probably give dear old burt a coronary …
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11176844
Just in case anyone missed it Cameron Brewer declared his trip back in 2011 so I guess now all those that accused him of being as untrustworthy as Len “I will always tell the truth, but always with a limit” Brown will now register their apologies
What is more interesting is he didn’t know he had declared it.
I’ll be interested to see if any posters retract their condemnation of Brewer, such as this:
I hadn’t commented before but I will now: he seems like slimy Tory trash to me.
um..!..hate to burst yer bubble there..chris 73..
..but brewer filed notification when he found out the herald story was going to be published..
..he filed the day before the story was published..
..(and i reckon those spinning the ‘look..!..nothing to see here!’ spin..
..do deserve some sort of special bullshitting-award..)
..so..just putting the ‘con’ in ‘condemnation’ there..chris 73..eh..?
phillip ure..
but brewer filed notification when he found out the herald story was going to be published
Is that on the level philip?
Because until now I’ve had nothing much to say about Brewer – but if this is accurate that could change real fast.
This is just Phil out of his head. Brewer notified it back in 2011, when it happened.Don’t let an inconvenient little truth bother you though.
Check the timeline.
When did he email council, (notifying kind of implies he did it as per spec, which he didn’t) and when did Drinnan publish the snippet about his junket?
A: Looks like he emailed the council the day before Drinnan published on the 9th. Drinnan rang him on the 8th, the email was sent on the 8th. All a big ol’ coinkydink I’m sure.
Tweets by Zagzigger
Lens spin doctors really need to be taking notes on this, this is how you shut a story down
Nah, you should keep going with the false moral outrage. As soon as you start admiring deception and talking like it’s a game, you reveal that your previous moral bluster was contrived.
Of course its a game otherwise you’d have to deal with the realization that there’s 2/5s of f**k all difference between Labour and National and that since the 80s theres been no real change between the parties at all
This means that all the money, time and effort has been for nothing, that there a 2-3 term cycle and that for opposition parties and its workers its pointless doing anything because you won’t win and even if you do win you’ll only ever nibble at the edges of the changes you want to make
Lets say Labour/Greens/NZfirst/Mana win the next election nothing much will change because Labour want the treasury benches and won’t give anything other then minor roles to the support parties (except that Winnie will get what he wants) and the reverse is true for National and whoever else they drag in
I guess that’s the difference here c73.
Politics is how we decide what kind of society we live in – and the rules that everyone has to abide by. And this affects the real lives of everyone.
And I just don’t see other people as disposable pawns in a game. You do.
Then you’re more likely to feel more let down and dissapointed with the politicians and parties that we have then me
If you imagine that a hard-shelled cynicism will protect you from the disappointment and hurt of being let down by other people – you are right.
But it’ll do nothing on the day your conscience awakens your own sense of shame.
I’m ok with my conscience, are you with yours?
The short answer to your question is no.
No-one gets to live a full adult life and have no regrets. There are no perfect people – despite our best intentions, we are all ignorant and we all make mistakes that haunt us one way or another. There are things that trouble my conscience.
Unfortunately a small group of people with a probable genetic defect called psychopaths have no conscience or sense of shame.
You may have just have just self-diagnosed buddy. In fairness to you I hope not.
Wake up! Wake up! Hmmm. Clearly today is not the day RL is referring to.
Pascal’s bookie – according to the Herald, Brewer notified the Council on 8 September 2011, not 8 December 2013.
Yes, 8th of september 2011, the day before the 9th of September 2011 when Drinnan published this:
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=10750417
He rang Brewer on the 8th, Brewer shot off an email also on the 8th, the story was published on the 9th.
Thanks PB this adds a whole lot of context to Brewer’s claims today. The latest is that on Facebook he has “reflected” and decided to offer a $1k donation to charity obviously as some sort of atonement for his sins …
@red..i heard it on natrad today..
..phillip ure..
Yep. I heard it too. Commented in response to today’s Herald article:
I may have got the wrong end of the stick about Sky City…. haven’t had time to check yet.
I’m still wondering if declaring it in an email, notoriously insecure, without a signed affidavit is actually legally declaring it.
In the court of public opinion its done and dusted, Brewers been exonerated… I’m not saying there isn’t any other things to get him on but this isn’t one of them
In the court of public opinion …. the damage is already done. It’s too late for Brewer, Chris, he’s just going to remembered as a hypocrite now.
I disagree but what was more interesting to me was when the herald started the story is was easy to find but trying to find the new story was difficult…
You polling on this then? Coz his ‘explaining’ came few days after the ‘everyone’s doing it meme, and it’s pretty much xmas now.
In the court of public opinion its done and dusted, Brewers been exonerated…
If by “public opinion” you mean a few ACT-supporting dunderheads, which of course includes a couple of extreme right wing radio hosts, then your statement is correct. In the real world, however, your statement makes as much sense as the one posted by poor old “Tracey” a couple of days ago, when she asserted, in apparent high seriousness, that Brewer had “admitted nothing”; what he had done (according to Tracey) was “merely confirmed what others discovered”.
Many of my family and friends are National supporters or sympathizers, and without exception, every single one of them who has mentioned this topic has condemned Brewer. So even National Party supporters, who necessarily swallow the slimiest rats, are not prepared to support that hypocrite.
“The court of public opinion”? You really have no idea.
Doubtful. Especially when email details like to/from/date etc. can be easily spammed or falsified.
Yeah, that’s what I’m thinking. When was the email really sent?
brewer is now admitting the call from drinnan ‘may’ have happened just before he filed his register..
..but he ‘can’t remember’..
..and those who called me a liar/accused me of making shit up..over this..
..well they can form an orderly line on the right..eh..?
..and the dates show the email to brewer from drinnan…was the day before he filed his notification of the perk…
..mm-kay..?
phillip ure..
Congrats to Labour. Great idea. Feel free to send John Key one of the Xmas cards. Only your first name will be included. I chose ‘the living wage’ but incorporated the others in my message. The more people who send the better…
http://christmas-cards-to-key.co.nz/
Good idea, but
By sending a card you agree to receive occasional email from Labour on this and similar campaigns. You can opt out at any time.
Why can’t we opt out from the get go?
The unsubscribe ‘button’ is on the bottom of the opening gambit which contains membership details karol. I suspect you will only receive an email when they have another such campaign like the Asset Sales referendum and this Xmas card campaign. There is always and unsubscribe button at the bottom of the actual email so you can opt out the first time you receive one.
It’s Time to Turn Away From the God of Economic Growth
And yet it’s impossible to have infinite growth on a finite planet.
And where have we seen that before? Oh, that would be from this government and the previous one and the one before that…Mine more, farm more, sell, sell, sell. We never hear anything different and then wonder why our society is producing more and more poverty.
Here’s just one line from that article DtB:
Just one example; the median gold ore grade currently being dug up by the worlds 10 largest miners these days is around than 1g/tonne. That’s down from over 4g/tonne about 15 yrs ago.
http://www.caseyresearch.com/cdd/peak-gold
By far the largest production cost in conventional mining is the energy cost of getting the raw rock out of the mine and into the processing plant. The implication of these numbers is startling – these miners are now digging up 5 times more rock than they were just 15 years ago.
When the grade drops to 0.5% as it surely will in less than a decade they will have to double again the amount of rock they are digging up.
This law of diminishing returns is playing out in every important resource sector – this is the fundamental limit we are ignoring in our magical “infinite growth, forever technology” belief system.
But here is the kicker. I actually don’t think that the resource limit will be hit first. I’m beginning to think that ordinary people will simply will simply stop buying all the crap that we are meant to be buying. I think a lot of people are waking up to the realisation that this gross excess of materialistic crap that is being force-fed onto us – is making us sick.
We really need something else – love, compassion and the opportunity to be creative, to excel or to be of service to others.
Income insufficiency is making a lot of people realise – through necessity – that a different way of living and thinking is possible
Also see below – article on economic rent extraction – which is very relevant.
I truly hope so and I see this (video) of an indication of that swing.
+GPP (Gross Planetary Product)
When Cunliffe mentions growth I think Labour needs to get some better economic advisors so that they can actually propose an economic plan that factors in the issues described in the post and differentiate themselves from National and provide a future for the people of NZ. There is plenty of literature and studied options but vested interests hold the politicians, country and the planet captive.
The machinery of government cannot see past GDP so everyone uses the same rhetoric. Cannot see much of a diff in economic plan between Nat and Labour.
When trade and competitive advantage is replaced by rent extraction and economic toll booths
http://www.truth-out.org/news/item/20788-trade-advantage-replaced-by-rent-extraction
Look who the latest shill for mass killing is.
U.S. military propaganda merchants truly have no shame
Monday 23 December 2013
Santa Claus has been associated with some pretty dodgy products, like smoking [1], brothels [2], and some really disgusting people [3], so it’s hard to be shocked at the crassness of Santa-related shilling of products. But the tail-end of tonight’s Television One news, the light-hearted bit after the weather, still managed to shock me and I’m sure anyone else who was actually paying attention.
It was a jokey little piece of product placement by the American military. Introduced in jovial tone by Wendy Petrie, this “whimsical” piece informed viewers, in mock-serious tone, that NORAD has been tracking Santa for the last sixty years—cue clever graphics of jet-planes flanking a sleigh—and deploying an “anti-grinch” device. Ho ho ho.
Odd that Television One studiously avoids more than the most cursory mention of the real activities of NORAD, yet is prepared to grant a considerable amount of time to a fantasy about a benign NORAD.
Encouragingly, though, there are more astute and moral people in the world than the people who run television news in this country. This item from Denver, Colorado shows that not all Americans are meekly accepting such contemptuous propaganda….
http://www.ravallirepublic.com/news/national/article_9194eaba-da44-5537-9402-67a323406bad.html
[1] http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2008/10/06/business/07adco3_190.jpg
[2] http://www.retronaut.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/2.png
http://resources3.news.com.au/images/2013/12/12/1226781/422623-6ec592a4-6211-11e3-be16-1445237cc09f.jpg
[3] http://assets.thefiscaltimes.com/TFT2_20101228/App_Data/MediaFiles/9/8/1/%7B981A14BC-41C8-49F3-B45F-5C6D005DA98D%7D12202011_Trump_Santa_article.jpg
‘Various studies have found that as a person’s level of wealth increases, their feelings of compassion and empathy go down, and their feelings of entitlement, of deservingness and their ideology of self-interest increases.’
Looks like someone has had an epiphany.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/opinion/news/article.cfm?c_id=466&objectid=11176785
From the DHC article linked:
Anyone who has hitch-hiked as much as I did in my 20’s knows this for an absolute fact. No fancy research really needed.
(The exceptions, ie the flash cars or wealthy people who picked you up almost invariably were ‘paying it back’ from when they were young and had hitched themselves.)
She probably watched the this vid of the experiments…
http://www.upworthy.com/take-two-normal-people-add-money-to-just-one-of-them-and-watch-what-happens-next?c=ufb2
Seems all would be well if the world went back to the old ways, with the right people in charge of course.
/
http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304367204579268301043949952