Open mike 24/03/2019

Written By: - Date published: 7:00 am, March 24th, 2019 - 108 comments
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Open mike is your post.

For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose.

The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the Policy).

Step up to the mike …

108 comments on “Open mike 24/03/2019 ”

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  1. WeTheBleeple 1
    24 March 2019 at 7:28 am

    I hope the Herald gets sued and royally hauled over the coals for this morning publishing the two inch tantrums full name and details of his rantings.

    Tone deaf and illegal.

    It’s about time our government hauled those haughty motherfuckers all the way to court.

    The Article ‘How the Terrorist was Radicalised – tells us nothing.

    The Article ‘Why the Concert was Evacuated tells us nothing.

    But we click.

    • tc 1.1
      24 March 2019 at 8:05 am

      It’s the only way we’ll get some decency and better behaviour back into these money making messaging houses. Fine them, money is the only language they respond to.

      The issue is they wouldn’t know how to behave like a serious responsible media outlet, they know that after moving toward a driven from the top model.

      Collins passed up on a regulator stating they can look after themselves…..she should be made to eat that statement every time she pops her nasty head above the national parapet.

      The govt must have bollocks, timings pretty good. Granny’s just handed them a starter for 10. Flush out the horror show that is RNZ currently also.

    • Skunk Weed 1.2
      24 March 2019 at 3:14 pm

      USA Fairfax what do you expect from white trash ?

  2. WeTheBleeple 2
    24 March 2019 at 8:42 am

    This kind of thing has been playing on my mind, and likely others, for the week.

    Tales for the Terrorist.

    Somewhere, isolated in a reinforced concrete cell, sits NZ’s public enemy number one. Of all the things we’d like to say to him kindness and compassion might not even make the list.

    Let’s be clear here, I am coming from a place of revenge and vengeance, I want this man to suffer 50 lifetimes worth of shame and guilt. But as he has no shame, other measures are called for.

    I want this man to have paraded before him the media of love and compassion. The murals of Muslim heroes, the story of Eggboy, the coverage of the outpouring of love and solidarity New Zealanders have shown in this time of need.

    In Stanley Kubrick’s ‘A Clockwork Orange’, Alex was subject to ‘therapy’ consisting of enforced media of atrocities and violence. I want this terrorist to suffer a similar fate but flipped around. The media of love and kindness, relentlessly portrayed.

    I want him to see the hakas, the Mob members who’ve ditched the Nazi regalia, the social media mouthpieces who have suddenly gone silent as they furiously delete and delete. I want him to see that he has brought into light a cancer we needed to excise – and that the scalpels are out.

    I want daily press releases of white supremacists getting locked up read to his cell. I want Trumps downfall broadcast to him in detail.

    I want him to see the image of Jacinda hugging a woman adorning the highest building in the world. I want him to see Arabic commentators from around the world praise her. I want him to see commentators of hate being shamed and called out. I want him to hear of all the divestment from platforms of hate.

    I want him to know his literary efforts are pathetic, and also banned. That his name is fading, and all his stupid chan buddies are due for a door knock.

    I want to remind him he started something his dumb brain could never comprehend. A movement of love and compassion spreading virally through the world.

    I want him to see me today, a white man, planting flowers for the local Mosque.

    I want him to know he is the loser every day for the rest of his pathetic life.

    • cleangreen 2.1
      24 March 2019 at 8:59 am

      Yesterday BBC announced that Teresa May was left in a dark dim room with no windows in Brussels sitting in that room left alone for five hours waiting for a meeting with the EU to request an extension of the Brexit deal.

      Looks as if Brussels is teaching the British leader how isolated she will be, when UK leaves the EU?

      They are staunch arse-holes that I would be glad to also leave on my plate as they are also demanding UK pay $32Billion EU to leave without a deal!!!!!!!.

      F—-k them.

      • greywarshark 2.1.1
        24 March 2019 at 10:03 am

        cleangreen
        You are letting your emotions stop you from looking at the whole picture. It may be helpful if on this thread we looked at matters from the EUs point of view and
        that of stability in Europe of nations that are doing as well as can be expected in these times. We have had an example right in our country of government throwing aside a system for a promise of another supposedly better one. I am not impressed with the new system yet it seems we are stuck with it, and getting stucker by the moment. It seems a new situation, and deserves a new word – ‘stucker’ which rhymes with sucker.

        • ScottGN 2.1.1.1
          24 March 2019 at 11:33 am

          I’m with cleangreen – fuck ‘em.

          • greywarshark 2.1.1.1.1
            24 March 2019 at 11:52 am

            Okay ScottGN
            A very therapeutic, short and sweet rant. After the release of emotion, then comes the application of reason. A short fart and then work at the other end of the body eh!

            • ScottGN 2.1.1.1.1.1
              24 March 2019 at 5:08 pm

              You can spare me the condescending drivel greywarshark.
              Your comment at 2.1.1 is meaningless rubbish really.
              cleangreen was merely making the observation (as have a fair few others too) that Brussels, in their efforts to remind other eurosceptic-minded members that leaving is going to be really, really tough haven’t really given brexit voters in the UK much reason to reconsider.
              The PM May, the Tory government and in fact the whole political establishment in the UK has, become a total, dysfunctional mess but the EU grandees in Brussels should take some responsibility for that state of affairs too.

              • greywarshark …
                24 March 2019 at 5:15 pm

                Your drivel is better than mine ScottGN. If cleangreen decided I was wrong he can say so himself. You don’t have to pile in with your sour negative beating up. I don’t like the way that this is happening on this blog. So just talk about the subject. I was jokey. You could be too if you knew how. If you disagree – put your own POV up as you have and don’t think that you can take me down as seems to be an attitude amongst some here.

                • ScottGN …
                  24 March 2019 at 5:55 pm

                  Not interested in taking anyone down greywarshark. I was simply trying to communicate the idea that I agreed with cleangreen. Maybe I shouldn’t have replied to your reply to cleangreen, anything, anywhere to do with Brexit seems to have become hyper difficult as the mess has intensified. Sorry if I missed your jokey tone, though I find that humour often gets missed in these sorts of environments.

                  • cleangreen …
                    24 March 2019 at 8:25 pm

                    Yes Scott.

                    I wanted to demonstrate what a set of ‘bad actors’ the EU lot are, and by treating one of the most ‘enduing nations’ of Europe who stood up for those nations enslaved under the NAZI regime, in two bloody wars that bankrupted Britain after they restored Germany to economic health after the Marshall Plan was agreed to in 1946/47.

                    So now that Britain has chosen to take its own path, let them do this with the dignity they greatly deserve, not shut their leader in a dark windowless room without company for 5 hours.

                    That is disgraceful to say it kindly.

                    I as a Auckland born kiwi, married an English Rose in Toronto in 1976 and we have a very enduring partnership today that has taught me to respect the English for their ‘enduring grace and kindness so I felt the need to stick up for my English part of our family here.

                    Incidentally I was born on the very day the British and Americans marched into Paris to ‘Liberate’ Paris and take the City back from the NAZI’s. 25th August 1944.

      • McFlock 2.1.2
        24 March 2019 at 3:13 pm

        If you don’t want to pay the bill, don’t sign up in the first place.

        The UK has fucked itself. Or at least England fucked itself. Bring on devolution.

    • Blazer 2.2
      24 March 2019 at 9:17 am

      So you want him to see just what an effect he has had ,do you.

      Just like the arsonist who can’t resist watching the results of his twisted actions and the vicarious satisfaction it imbues.

      • WeTheBleeple 2.2.1
        24 March 2019 at 9:25 am

        Not really.

        He wanted to sow discord and hate and see his name everywhere. I’d like him to see that he failed. He imagined a media filled with revenge attacks and chaos. He failed. He utterly failed.

        I want him to see all the Muslim leaders applaud as Winston tells them he’ll spend the rest of his life in isolation. I want him to see close ups of their smiles.

        I’ve read your comments, you are much smarter than this one.

        • solkta 2.2.1.1
          24 March 2019 at 9:34 am

          I’m thinking a cell of bullet proof glass with multiple large screen monitors behind streaming this stuff on endless loops.

          • WeTheBleeple 2.2.1.1.1
            24 March 2019 at 10:19 am

            Yea that sounds good.

            I’m a bit concerned that (some of) my motives in the post are from a dark place. The desire for revenge is understandable but ultimately adds pain to pain. My concerns for me are not my largest concern however.

            Many people are feeling a desire for revenge. So we are not alien, and it is healthier to be honest about this crap.

            Love and hate emanating from the same soul. It can be confusing. They say the two cannot exist together. I think we’re more complex than twee proverbs.

            The desire for revenge in people who (at the very least perceive they) have been minimized is palpable. The word utu has been used lately and it is not an invalid thought.

            When you harm a stoic people they show strength and mana as they lend their persecutors seemingly endless rope. But when you attack their guests you cross the line. Lifetimes of restraint might be pulled taught like crossbow strings, to be unleashed by such a heinous insult.

            I ask Maori people and other minorities who’ve had a gutsful:

            Please consider that we must fight the institutions to stamp out institutionalized racism. That the time is ripe for reform, not revenge. That the fuse point has been lit and we might implode and destroy ourselves or explode into the world an example it desperately needs.

            We who have inhaled the long white cloud
            To dream upon its hills
            Do you remember then the call to peace
            To embrace our Mother Earth.

            • Molly 2.2.1.1.1.1
              24 March 2019 at 11:53 am

              “I ask Maori people and other minorities who’ve had a gutsful:

              Please consider that we must fight the institutions to stamp out institutionalized racism. That the time is ripe for reform, not revenge. That the fuse point has been lit and we might implode and destroy ourselves or explode into the world an example it desperately needs.”

              I’m Māori.

              “That the time is ripe for reform, not revenge.”
              Why you think that applies to me, let alone all Māori people and other minorities, is an good example of entrenched racism.

              How casual and well-meaning, but ultimately misplaced is your comment, where you indulge and openly acknowledge personal revenge scenarios, and then follow up with a exhortation to Māori to control themselves.

              Have a look again at your comment WTB, and see if you recognise it.

              • WeTheBleeple …
                24 March 2019 at 3:58 pm

                Well actually Molly, I was replying to a call for utu that I have heard from three sources now.

                I am talking to those who are considering such acts. I do not assume that includes you and apologise if my statement was too broad.

                The only revenge scenario I have considered involves the state playing him positive media.

                You are right I was a patronising twat. I should have appealed to all people considering a violent reaction.

                • Molly …
                  24 March 2019 at 4:21 pm

                  Thanks WTB. I appreciate you taking the time to consider my comment.

                  “I do not assume that includes you and apologise if my statement was too broad.”
                  Using the term Māori and other minorities was lazy and racist, whether you meant that generalisation or not.

                  It is an accepted turn of phrase to use the collective Māori, when speaking about anything to do with Te Ao Māori, or any group or individual within it. This acceptance unfortunately feeds the prejudice as news items and commentary is often dealing with negative actions or issues, and so the collective gets the blame in this way, every time.

                  ” I was replying to a call for utu that I have heard from three sources now.”
                  Three Māori individuals or sources do not speak for the Māori race or indeed Māori tikanga – that excuse is quite lame.

                  You have got it absolutely spot on in your last sentence: “I should have appealed to all people considering a violent reaction.”, but I’m not yet sure that you understand how entrenched this is in NZ to speak in this way about Māori, and other minority groups.

                  (I used to do it myself without thinking, and had to train myself to do otherwise. Still slip up every now and then, though.)

                  • WeTheBleeple …
                    24 March 2019 at 4:59 pm

                    A friend and I took Margaret Mutu’s Te Ao Maori at Auckland University. It was an eye opener for sure. We suffered white guilt for some time I had no idea. After the guilt I felt quite furious.

                    In my wild youth they called me n***** lover in various places and I got a couple of my scars defending my right to not be a nazi.

                    So now, how could I possibly be patronising 😀 (joking)

                    So easy to be mindless aye. Today I went to do some planting work, threw on some socks only figuring they were thermal when I got out in the sun. Talk about sweat and suffer. Why? It was at a Moslem Temple and I didn’t know if bare feet would be wrong or shirtless even though we were outside and I was too shy to ask thinking they must’ve had enough patronising white folks for the day… Such a dick.

                    I’ll screw three things up tomorrow. And hopefully learn four.

                    • Molly …
                      24 March 2019 at 5:05 pm

                      “Why? It was at a Moslem Temple and I didn’t know if bare feet would be wrong or shirtless even though we were outside and I was too shy to ask thinking they must’ve had enough patronising white folks for the day… Such a dick”
                      … and such a lovely person. The human condition.

                      Gardening is such an inclusive activity and endeavour, what an ideal way to practice common-unity. (BTW, A much better way to spend the day than mine, walking into scaffolding poles and trying to install guttering.)

          • Robert Guyton 2.2.1.1.2
            24 March 2019 at 10:22 am

            I’m surprised to learn that we’re feeding that wolf.

            “One evening, an elderly Cherokee brave told his grandson about a battle that goes on inside people. He said, ‘My son, the battle is between two wolves inside us all.

            One is evil. It is anger, envy, jealousy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego.

            The other wolf is good. It is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion and faith.’

            The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked, ‘Grandpa, which wolf wins?’

            The old Cherokee simply replied, ‘The one that you feed.’”

            • WeTheBleeple 2.2.1.1.2.1
              24 March 2019 at 10:28 am

              Read post I posted as you wrote Robert.

            • Marcus Morris 2.2.1.1.2.2
              24 March 2019 at 10:34 am

              Brilliant Robert.

              Here is a link to an article in Snope that, in my opinion, everyone should read.
              https://snopescom.cmail19.com/t/ViewEmail/j/05BED2BD65180DAD2540EF23F30FEDED/75EEB567988F57F9F351F20C80B74D5E?fbclid=IwAR1X6LQ2tuP_gIJJLg7iP4RDh5HmCXBcgJ7f-Ad6FPDPdgTIgTqQ7UrUob8.

              There is a classic example of inappropriate and unhelpful “whataboutery” in the Weekend Herald opinion section. The reference to Nigeria is exactly what the Snope article is referring to – I have others referring to the same “incident” so clearly they are quoting from the same website.

              • reason …
                24 March 2019 at 8:31 pm

                Thanks Marcus Morris … excellent link .

                If I could give one suggestion … that is to do a couple of quotes from your link …. for the people who do not click through .

                That way their view / information makes it onto TS pages ….

                “Memes about how many people have been killed by Muslims are definitely going around” on social media in the aftermath of New Zealand, said Elon University computer science Professor Megan Squire. “It’s whataboutism. It’s just classic, ‘Hey, look over there’ misdirection.”

                “Research shows that crimes committed by Muslims receive vastly more media attention than similar acts committed by non-Muslims.”

                “A January 2019 report published by the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) found that every fatal act of violence resulting from extremism in the U.S. in 2018 was linked to far-right ideologies. ”

                “The ( NZ ) killings also coincided with a surge of anti-Muslim hate crimes in other regions of the world, including the United Kingdom and Canada, while in the U.S., such crimes have spiked to all-time highs. ”

                “Meanwhile, researchers at the University of Warwick in England have found a strong statistical correlation between tweets posted by U.S. President Donald Trump on Islam-related topics and anti-Muslim hate crimes.

                The New Zealand massacre drew attention to what Suleiman sees as related problems: the proliferation of anti-Muslim hate speech on the internet, the mainstreaming of such rhetoric, and the willingness of some who consume such material to take that online activity into the real world with acts of violence and intimidation.”

                https://twitter.com/miqdaad/status/1107564382685446144

                  • reason …
                    24 March 2019 at 8:46 pm

                    Changing the names from the usa link …. and seeing if the NZ shoe fits …

                    Some people doubt the scale of Islamophobia in the media, claim it is limited to certain views of Karl du Frense, Ian Wishhart and Judith Collins, and believe the far-right attitudes come from extreme rather than mainstream sources. This thread aims to challenge such assumptions.

                    https://pbs.twimg.com/media/D17X768XgAAWdAL.png

                    • Shadrach …
                      24 March 2019 at 10:06 pm

                      Islam as an ideology, as practised in Islamic nations and as taught in many western countries, is fundamentally incompatible with a modern liberal democracy. There are many Muslims who are calling for an Islamic reformation, unfortunately their voices are, as yet, not being heard.

                • Shadrach …
                  24 March 2019 at 10:00 pm

                  ““A January 2019 report published by the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) found that every fatal act of violence resulting from extremism in the U.S. in 2018 was linked to far-right ideologies. ””

                  Which is a good illustration of why the ADL have zero credibility. Firstly because they have conveniently limited the ‘acts of violence’ to those that caused death, and secondly because they missed at least one causing death by a convert to Islam who stabbed 3 people (killing 1) on 12th March 2018.

                  “…while in the U.S., such crimes have spiked to all-time highs. ””
                  If that is true, it is hardly surprising given the hatred being preached across the US by Islamic leaders, particularly anti-Semitic diatribes.

                  • reason …
                    24 March 2019 at 11:42 pm

                    Your a dishonest fool Shadrach …. Islamic extremism has been financed and fueled ever since we called Osama Bin Laden a freedom fighter ….. ” The Muslim Terrorist Apparatus was Created by US Intelligence as a Geopolitical Weapon ”

                    ” Brzezinski. He confirms what opponents have charged: that the US began covert sponsorship of Muslim extremists five months *before* the Soviets invaded Afghanistan.”

                    …” they have used it continuously; and that we are seeing the fruits of this policy. Most recently we have seen the real essence of the Brzezinski doctrine in the horrendous events this past week in Russia (culminating in the school attack) and Israel (the double bus bombing).”

                    exceropt of a interview with Brezinski ,,,Brezinski can be compared to Kissinger…..

                    “Le Nouvel Observateur: And also, don’t you regret having helped future terrorists, having given them weapons and advice?

                    Zbigniew Brzezinski: What is most important for world history? The Taliban or the fall of the Soviet Empire? Some Islamic hotheads or the liberation of Central Europe and the end of the cold war? ”

                    Le Nouvel Observateur: “Some hotheads?” But it has been said time and time again: today Islamic fundamentalism represents a world-wide threat…

                    Zbigniew Brzezinski: Rubbish! ” http://emperors-clothes.com/interviews/brz.htm

                    And here is our Muslim ‘extremists’ who you are fear-mongering against Shradrach …. you could learn something from them …. your a disgrace to normal NZers

                    https://twitter.com/hashtag/50lives?src=hash

                    https://twitter.com/KhaledBeydoun

                    • Shadrach …
                      25 March 2019 at 9:13 am

                      Islamic extremism goes back before OBL was even a twinkle in his old mans eye. You’re defence of the indefensible is sickening.

            • OnceWasTim 2.2.1.1.2.3
              24 March 2019 at 10:58 am

              True that!
              And those wolves are inherent in everyone and across faiths and religions.

              Sikhs (for example) have the 5 Virtues and the 5 Thieves, others have something similar.
              The Virtues: Sat, Santokh, Daya, Nimrata and Pyaar – or loosely – Truth, Contentment, Compassion, Humility/Benevolence and Love

              The Thieves: Kaam, Krodh, Lobh, Moh and Hankaar – or loosely – Lust, Anger, Greed, Attachment (to materialism), and Ego/Pride

              It seems the Thieves are constantly being fed both consciously and unconsciously, and too often it’s all too hard for the Virtues to survive

              • greywarshark …
                24 March 2019 at 11:57 am

                OWT
                I hadn’t heard of those – thanks.

                Reminds me of one bit of lore i know coming from Confucius:

                The Three Ways of Acquiring Wisdom – one being taught it as you grow up, the second observing and learning from events and others around you, and the third by personal experience – the bitterest.

                For NZ as an entity we have just had an example of the third. It will be bitter indeed if we can’t acquire wisdom as a result of it.

                • OnceWasTim …
                  24 March 2019 at 12:39 pm

                  I don’t (now) subscribe to any religion although I do occasionally go to a couple of places of worship with friends and family, and I subscribe to the concept of the ‘Virtues and Thieves’.
                  The reason being that too often I see various values (not necessarily those as defined above) becoming ritualistic rather than actual belief and practice. Especially so when I see a couple of our politicians constantly veering toward thievery and generally hell bent on making life hard for others. I’m not sure how else to explain it.

                  I’m also not surprised why various indigenous people and ‘minorities’ eventually get really pissed off, and how too often we tell them how they’re entitled to get angry, but just so long as they do it according to our standards of politeness.
                  Jehan Casinader has quite a good take on things on Stuffed:
                  https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/christchurch-shooting/111449286/christchurch-mosque-shootings-the-last-thing-we-should-do-right-now-is-close-our-eyes.

                  It also goes to the way some of our public services have been operating and now the need for an inquiry.

                  Sorry….constant interruptions so the above might be a bit all over the place……. Might complete my rave later

                  • greywarshark …
                    24 March 2019 at 1:24 pm

                    Good rave Owt. And I can see why minorities get angry. But I would rather they stick to methods of politeness; and also why we
                    should try everything along that line until it shows its getting nowhere. And then contemplate other ways.

                    Think of how the Brit women acted to get the vote.
                    They had asked for it and been put off.
                    They served in one of the early wars, Boer and/or WW1 to show that they were individuals who could act as loyal citizens and then asked for the vote and were put off.
                    They had to sacrifice themselves, make a nuisance of themselves that couldn’t be brushed off. They chained themselves to monuments to formal, pompous government. They were jailed. They went on a hunger strike. They were force-fed with tubes put down into their stomachs. One threw herself onto the public racetrack to die under the Queen’s racehorse.

                    That was acting against the establishment without making everyone a victim.

                    But it is better if we can be firm and stick to the kaupapa, like Tuhoe. Be invaded by the country’s forces and put through the trauma of that and being taken to Court. And hold firm and get your Treaty settlement. That is an example of superior strategy and high collective control and mana equal to Ghandis. That has not been understood and honoured by most NZs.

                    I don’t know if this actually speaks to your comment. But I just wanted to say it all anyway. Let’s press forward being kind to each other, and trying to keep on track, so we can work collectively and well to initiate what we can after thinking, deciding, planning – to cope with the frightening future. We may have to sacrifice ourselves, have a shorter life than we and others expect, but look for worthy, good-natured companions. Without bloodshed and grief that could be avoided.

                    I like the French group singing with Edith Piaf who seem to represent the strength and togetherness of the French after WW2 and belief that they have something good that will triumph over the dark past. Their religion is to the fore in this video, with nostalgic model village, which has brought dark moments itself, yet one feels that they will overcome this also.

                    This is the group with Edith Piaf on stage.
                    (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rVuKLxx-ETY

                    • OnceWasTim …
                      24 March 2019 at 2:10 pm

                      I’m not in total disagreement with you @ grey.
                      But I also remember how we used to treat the battered wife (the woifey, the missus, the possession) constantly being given the biff and told to get back in the kitchen.
                      At one time, we’d remind her of the sanctity of marriage, then marriage guidance – which if nothing was resolved, a few more appointments, then a few more, then a few more might help.
                      Now the best advice is to get the hell out of there in the first instance. And in some cases it takes a bloody crane to get her to do so.

                      Yesterday’s Open Mike was a bit of an eye-opener to me I have to say.
                      Consider https://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-23-03-2019/#comment-1599314.
                      After all the hand wringing, and in a lot of cases, exercising of egos and all that went on in that thread – I got 2 replies: WtB and Anne – both of whom I pick have suffered a bit of shit in their lives.

                      Realistically, the guy that assaulted my ‘second/extended’ family member is not going to change without a fight. (He’s sooooo tuff).

                      I posted it because I was interested in the reactions.
                      I (actually he, the victim – because it’s his decision) has a few options – such as an assault complaint, the HRC, and even INZ who could, and should rescind the prick’s visa.
                      But like others have experienced, results in the past haven’t been all that flash.

                      But we’ll see I guess.

                    • OnceWasTim …
                      24 March 2019 at 2:38 pm

                      just a P.S.
                      The only thing I feel the need to comply with are the terms and conditions of this site, although I do appreciate some might be offended within those confines.

                      (I’m half expecting an @ Wayne to pop up at any moment with some sage advice preaching an Alfred Lord Fuckywucky’s idea on law – I’ll remember the Good Lord’s real name the minute I hit the key )

            • marty mars 2.2.1.1.2.4
              24 March 2019 at 12:10 pm

              Sorry

              “The story was first published in a 1978 book called “The Holy Spirit: Activating God’s Power in Your Life,” by Billy Graham. Graham admitted he invented the story for a sermon some 40 years ago.

              …The story was meant to drive home the concept that we are all born with evil inside us. Our inner darkness, or the “original sin” if you will.

              …Which is ironic, because he used a Native American elder to tell a story that a Native American elder would never tell because it’s centered in Christian belief not Native American beliefs.”

              https://crossingenres.com/you-know-that-charming-story-about-the-two-wolves-its-a-lie-d0d93ea4ebff

              • Robert Guyton …
                24 March 2019 at 4:34 pm

                Hi Marty.
                That’s an interesting bit of background information. I’m not surprised the wolf story is a construct – it sounds “twee”, like the starfish on the beach and other stories of that nature. I didn’t read it as “original sin” at all, more the tendency to catastrophise, attack, blame, plot revenge, replay horror scenes in our minds; all things that humans do (I think) and suffer accordingly. One “wolf” is that soul-destroying behaviour, the other, forgiveness and avoidance of indulging in such thoughts. The response from the Muslim community in New Zealand seems to be to have chosen the life-affirming path, where others are churning through thoughts of revenge and punishment.
                That’s how I see it anyway. I’m pretty sure there are religious leaders who have noticed the phenomenon and preached forgiveness as a tool for freeing one’s self of the wolf that gnaws.

              • WeTheBleeple …
                24 March 2019 at 4:38 pm

                Oh, that old pal of Nixon.

                And his son, the Trump sympathizer.

                Soothsayers since forever.

    • WeTheBleeple 2.3
      24 March 2019 at 11:04 am

      I hope people will stop invalidating the feelings of others:

      Rather, acknowledge their feelings or leave them to talk to others who understand.

      Anger is simply part of the grieving process. It is normal, you are not a fiend. Do not act out, talk about it.

    • Adrian Thornton 2.4
      24 March 2019 at 11:06 am

      “In Stanley Kubrick’s ‘A Clockwork Orange’, Alex was subject to ‘therapy’ consisting of enforced media of atrocities and violence. I want this terrorist to suffer a similar fate but flipped around. The media of love and kindness, relentlessly portrayed”

      Don’t know if this would work, but I do quite like the idea, maybe done over a long period of time in very slow and subtle ways, carefully curating all his movie, book, media intake etc, of course at the same time have the right people dive deep into the reasons why he ended up internalizing so much hate and anger.

      • greywarshark 2.4.1
        24 March 2019 at 12:05 pm

        Adrian That is an interesting idea. Alex was left very sensitive and almost like a goat in a pride of lions, and on a measure of mind strength as vulnerable as he was callous and vicious before.

        But your idea could give a new meaning to brain ‘washing’. Wiping the layers of dirt and festering nasty ideas away. Trying to fill his brain for a length of time with positive things, visualisation of himself as a powerfully good person, and overcoming the bad things he comes across, or tolerating the small things as not to make them seem part of a bad tapestry but more like occasional insect bites.
        If it worked he might come out being like Superman or Batman or one of the Heroes in popular culture. That would be better I think.

        • Incognito 2.4.1.1
          24 March 2019 at 12:19 pm

          Why does he deserve all the good stuff? What about others? What about us?

          • greywarshark 2.4.1.1.1
            24 March 2019 at 12:39 pm

            Incognito
            One of my reckons is that we are probably so smart that we can do all our own brainwashing, or not. Uncertainty. I would like to come here and be filled with positivity when I get up to rush off and spread it around.

            Unfortunately I am not smart, and keep coming here and try to put positivity in, and get negativity back. Some times I turn and try putting negativity in to see if its like a match and I can strike a wee flame of positivity, but rising damp usually prevails. I keep trying though. How long is too long? Why should I give my good stuff away, and get brown things that some say are beans back. Will they grow I wonder, and if so, into what?

            • Incognito 2.4.1.1.1.1
              24 March 2019 at 3:17 pm

              All good.

              One calls it brainwashing, another calls it (re-)education.

              If we know how turn (convert) somebody who has committed atrocities into a ‘Super Hero’ why do we wait, why don’t we get on with it and turn all of us into super heroes? My guess is that we don’t know shit about these things and increasing societal problems are not just signs, they are evidence of our ignorance, denial, and refusal to learn and adapt. Just look at our bulging prison population, or (domestic) violence, or …

              Due to its dualistic nature, there is no positivity without negativity. You need both to get work done.

              You keep trying till you give up but you will never stop moving.

    • patricia bremner 2.5
      24 March 2019 at 4:58 pm

      What a lovely gesture WTB. A lasting ray of hope. Good for you.

      • WeTheBleeple 2.5.1
        24 March 2019 at 5:23 pm

        I have the permaculture people to thank, it was their idea and I asked to help. It was very cathartic for me.

        You might like what happened next too.

        At the bus stop going home I caught an obviously distressed guys eye and smiled. He came over and sat down, and no bull, the conversation goes

        “How are you today”

        “Well I’ve taken all my medication, but I’m still really upset.

        My girl said she loved me then went off with her ex. Mum says there’s plenty of fish in the ocean but I’m still really sad”

        “Well of course you are sad. Losing someone hurts.”

        “Yes” and he smiles.

        His halitosis was peeling paint off the bus seat.

        “It’s good you’ve recognized that taking your medication is important when you are feeling hurt, but what about your other self care. Have you eaten today?”

        “No”

        “Yeah it’s hard to even think of eating sometimes. But it’s important, especially when we’re upset, to take care of ourselves. When I’m upset, I eat pies. Mince and cheese, yum. I like to eat the pie and think about the pie and be grateful for the wonderful pie.”

        He laughs.

        My bus was pulling in.

        “I’m sorry, I have to go, will you be OK”

        “Yes” he says.

        He gets up and moves off, across the front of the bus as I board. I watch him cross the road, head up, he turns the corner and goes into Wendys.

        That’s some comfort food there too.

        • patricia bremner 2.5.1.1
          24 March 2019 at 8:45 pm

          Yes You are right… got me pegged.. old softy. Cheers.

          • OnceWasTim 2.5.1.1.1
            25 March 2019 at 1:36 pm

            Less of the old softy eh!
            Maybe a bit more of what is the natural (before a shitload of dysfuntion and artificial construct came along to disrupt it all).
            And try not to laugh when they all end up wearing their various colosotmy bags trying to keep it all in, within their own perceptions of a polite company.
            MSM for example are scurrying around now if you hadn’t noticed (as is dear wee Soimon) trying hard to present themselves as people familiar with a bit of humility – some with an even harder row to hoe, trying to protest their membership to the human race.
            And Jesus ….. even Soimon is trying his best to redeem himself by calling for a Royl Kwoiry whilst toding his best not to appear as a cunning shithouse rat who’s more familiar with scuttling up a darinpipe.

            I’m not sure of the Caci Clinic’s base hourly rate, nor that of the spin doctor’s fee, or even what the newly discovered Murry is expected to pay to gai membership.

            The mathematics of it all should be obvious, even tho’ we might not live to see it all play out

            @PB – you really really are awful (but I like you)

  3. cleangreen 3
    24 March 2019 at 8:49 am

    Climate change now showing it’s devastating effects in Southern Africa now sadly.

    BBC today showed that helicopters flew over central Africa and it looked like an inland sea and the aid rescue was abandoned when the Helicopter failed to locate the “usual land markers” as they were all submersed under water.
    https://www.bbc.com/news/live/world-africa-47609136

    https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/mar/19/cyclone-idai-worst-weather-disaster-to-hit-southern-hemisphere-mozambique-malawi

    • greywarshark 3.1
      24 March 2019 at 10:13 am

      Here is a guy telling climate change like I don’t want to know about. Got to take my medicine though, knowing that it might not make me better but I have to at least listen.

      David Wallace-Wells on Big Think
      Tech billionaires could end climate change. So why aren’t they?
      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DvDDDj7GkiM

      This is what the world will be like if we do not act on climate change.
      (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=17aE91SBMoY
      Big Think
      Published on Mar 14, 2019
      – The best-case scenario of climate change is that world gets just 2°C hotter, which scientists call the “threshold of catastrophe”.

      – Why is that the good news? Because if humans don’t change course now, the planet is on a trajectory to reach 4°C at the end of this century, which would bring $600 trillion in global climate damages, double the warfare, and a refugee crisis 100x worse than the Syrian exodus.

      – David Wallace-Wells explains what would happen at an 8°C and even 13°C increase. These predictions are horrifying, but should not scare us into complacency. “It should make us focus on them more intently,” he says.

      David Wallace-Wells is a national fellow at the New America foundation and a columnist and deputy editor at New York magazine. He was previously the deputy editor of The Paris Review. He lives in New York City. His latest book is The Uninhabitable Earth: Life After Warming (https://goo.gl/ih35YX)

    • corodale 3.2
      25 March 2019 at 12:59 am

      Increased solar activity could be related: “BIG SUNSPOT: Four days ago, sunspot AR2736 didn’t exist. Now the rapidly-growing active region stretches across more than 100,000 km of the solar surface and contains multiple dark cores larger than Earth. Moreover, it has a complicated magnetic field that is crackling with C-class solar flares…”

  4. Jenny - How to get there? 4
    24 March 2019 at 9:16 am

    ‘
    NRA: ‘Only Thing That Stops A Bad Guy With A Gun Is A Good Guy With A Gun’*

    https://www.npr.org/2012/12/21/167824766/nra-only-thing-that-stops-a-bad-guy-with-a-gun-is-a-good-guy-with-a-gun

    Busted:

    It seems that on the day of the massacre in Christchurch, that the police and the SAS were coincidentally conducting a full blown mass shooting incident exercise in the city. And could not have been better prepared to react to the mass shooting when it broke out.

    https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/christchurch-shooting/111404324/global-expert-sharpshooters-were-training-in-the-city-just-as-the-christchurch-mosque-shooting-unfolded

    *(On the news that the NRA want to stick their oar into the New Zealand debate on Gun violence)

    https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/new-zealand/2019/03/national-rifle-association-in-the-us-offers-to-help-nz-gun-owners.html?utm_source=actionstation&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=blast1621&source=actionstation&bucket=blast1621&fbclid=IwAR2d5mVdi47XuTfLfQmVPFw5LrTs1JBba04VeuXlhxcm-LCqtBPR07MwJYs

    • aj 4.1
      24 March 2019 at 9:33 am

      ‘Only Thing That Stops A Bad Guy With A Gun Is A Good Guy With A Gun’

      Is the NRA now advocating that all muslims should be armed?

      ‘After the Sandy Hook massacre in 2012NRA chairman Wayne LaPierre doubled down on its pro-gun stance, rejecting any gun control and blaming violent video games instead’
      ‘”Isn’t fantasising about killing people as a way to get your kicks really the filthiest form of pornography.”

      When these ‘men’ at gun clubs are firing their MSSA at silhouettes of people Wayne, what are they fantasizing about? can you be sure about what they are thinking? perhaps some of your members are getting kicks out of exactly that?

      • Peter 4.1.1
        24 March 2019 at 10:39 am

        The NRA would have everyone at every mosque and church and temple armed with loaded weapons. All would be facing towards the doors so they could not be surprised by evil entrants with murderous intent behind them.

    • Andre 4.2
      24 March 2019 at 9:42 am

      Yet with all that expert firepower on the spot, guns contributed somewhere between very little and precisely zero to stopping and apprehending the fuckwit.

      He was driven off from his second attack at the Linwood mosque by a good man who grabbed the nearest solid object as a makeshift weapon. Then as he was driving away, skilled police driving stopped his car and officers manhandled him out of the car and onto the ground.

      I have yet to see any reports that even a single shot was actually fired at the fuckwit. At most, it’s possible that having a gun pointed at him in his disabled car might have persuaded him to get out of his car relatively quietly rather than trying to grab one of his remaining guns to carry on his fuckwittery.

      edit: But “good man with a gun” fantasies contributed to making the situation even worse, when at least one private citizen turned up with a gun, diverting police attention and resources to dealing with an apparently expanded threat.

      • aj 4.2.1
        24 March 2019 at 9:56 am

        The ‘good man with a gun’ theory explodes quickly as good men probably won’t all arrive at the same time. The first good man to arrive finds the bad man shooting. The second good man to arrive sees two people shooting, the third good man finds……you get the picture. Even if the first good man puts the shooter down, the second good man to arrive sees a man with a gun and people down. I don’t think he’s going to conduct an interview to determine if the armed man standing is good or bad. And the problem escalates from there.

        • greywarshark 4.2.1.1
          24 March 2019 at 1:31 pm

          Tue that all points to how dangerous it is to make split-second decisions when holding a split-second killing machine ready to go.

    • Incognito 4.3
      24 March 2019 at 11:53 am

      How to solve a moral dilemma and avoid an existential crisis.

      When not sure whether you are a good or a bad guy, find a good guy, tell them they are a good guy, and then ask them whether you are a good guy. The answer will set you free.

      When not sure whether you are a good or a bad guy, find a bad guy, tell them they are a bad guy, and then ask them whether you are a bad guy. The answer will set you free.

    • AB 4.4
      24 March 2019 at 7:11 pm

      “‘Only Thing That Stops A Bad Guy With A Gun Is A Good Guy With A Gun’”

      The Christchurch lunatic thought he WAS “the good guy with a gun” FFS.
      When it comes to front-line law ‘n order I would prefer on the whole to leave the determination of who are the good guys and the bad guys to an uncorrupted, tax-payer funded police force.
      NRA are lunatics – declare them a terrorist organisation and arrest and deport any one of them who comes here.

  5. joe90 5
    24 March 2019 at 9:34 am

    Fossil fuel execs recorded having a giggle at a Ritz Carlton ….but her emails!

    Trump himself was a driving force behind deregulating the energy industry, ordering the government in 2017 to weed out federal rules “that unnecessarily encumber energy production.” In a 2017 order, Zinke called for his deputy secretary—Bernhardt—to make sure the department complied with Trump’s regulatory rollbacks.

    The petroleum association was just one industry group pushing for regulatory relief — the American Petroleum Institute, the U.S. Oil and Gas Association and the Western Energy Alliance also were active. But since IPAA created its wish list, the Interior Department has acceded to nearly all its requests:

    * Rescinded fracking rules meant to control water pollution.

    […]

    * Withdrawn rules that limit climate-change causing methane gas releases.

    […]

    * Abandoned environmental restoration of public land damaged by oil development.

    […]

    * Ended long-standing protections for migratory birds.

    […]

    “Scott Pruitt, he came from Oklahoma, and we have a lot of friends in common and I thought that’s what we were going to talk about, we did that for about three minutes,” Russell said. “And then he started asking very technical questions about methane, about ozone … and if Scott Pruitt thought he was going to go deep nerd …”

    The audience began laughing.

    “And what was really great is there was about four or five EPA staffers there, who were all like, ‘Write that down, write that down,’ all the way through this,’’ Russell continued. “And when we left, I said that was just our overview.”

    The audience laughed again.

    “So it’s really a new world for us and very, very helpful.”

    https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2019/03/23/trump-big-oil-industry-influence-investigation-zinke-226106

    • Sabine 5.1
      24 March 2019 at 10:33 am

      well they wanted him to shake things up.

      guess what, he is shaking things up.

      this is what you get when you vote for a destroyer rather then a bridge builder who may not build the best bridges but who at least does not burn down the last bridge usable.

      So no they and all his enablers and facilitators and excuse makers shall reap the misery they planted.
      Its gonna suck for us too, but chances are we will be better prepared as we don’t expect anything but a burned to the ground earth.

  6. greywarshark 6
    24 March 2019 at 10:33 am

    This academic specialising in history and watching the white supremacist movement gave a learning experience to me. I knew that there were large groups devoted to the idea, but didn’t take in the breadth. It seems a cult, a bit like Exclusive Brethren in that they divide off from society in their commitments to each other, just interfacing with society as required to do well; are actually hostile to society, but keeping this hidden most of the time.

    The historian interviewed is from the USA and has a very good overview of the white supremacists.
    https://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/sunday/audio/2018687962/professor-kathleen-belew-christchurch-terrorist-driven-by-classic-white-power-ideologies

    Professor Kathleen Belew: Christchurch terrorist driven by classic white power ideologies
    The Associate Professor of U.S. History and the College at the University of Chicago is the author of Bring the War Home: The White Power Movement and Paramilitary America. In the book she says the soldiers of white power — which the alleged Christchurch mosque shooter claimed to be — “are not lone wolves but highly organised cadres motivated by a coherent and deeply troubling worldview of white supremacy, anticommunism and apocalypse”.

    She joins the show to look at the case of the Christchurch shooter and how his tragic story is just the latest in a shocking series of violent events carried out by a small section of society hellbent on starting a race war

  7. Cinny 7
    24 March 2019 at 12:15 pm

    This weeks episode of The Listening Post … first story up the medias reaction to the terrorist attack in ChCh. It’s a MUST watch, the story on ChCh is excellent, IMHO.

    If the scum bag grew up in Aussie, did the media play a part? Rupert Murdoch…. the narrative his publications spin is in part to blame for the tragedy in ChCh.

    Murdoch has been using his media monopoly in Aussie to fuel Islamophobia for decades. Lining his pockets with click bait headlines which distort reality and push a much more sinister agenda.

    Media as accessory to the crime?

    Nothing comes from nothing: we trace the history of Islamophobia in the western media
    (first story up, around 10 mins long)

    • Sabine 7.1
      24 March 2019 at 1:45 pm

      the politicians role, growing up under Howard in OZ, Bush in the US and the invasion of Iraq and Afghanistan and the beginning of endless war would have also had an affect.

    • Kat 7.2
      24 March 2019 at 2:49 pm

      Cinny, that episode highlights why I try and call out the fish wrap aka the herald every time they publish some blatantly biased political propaganda by the usual poodles who we are now all hopefully aware of.

      The “white redemption” angle is interesting and needs further investigation. The media versus the media, screening by the media, at a media outlet near you could be the bleeding edge journalism of the times.

      I would have to think that Jacinda Ardern’s response was purely her humanity on display and not some act to be part of an organised “white redemption” by media. The media, wittingly or unwittingly, have been using the Goebbels playbook for over half a century.

  8. marty mars 8
    24 March 2019 at 1:06 pm

    Nice.

    “While the whole country is mourning, and we as a nation are having to confront the white supremacy which we let grow in our backyard, we at The Pantograph Punch think it is of the utmost importance to ensure we are continuing to centre the voices of our Muslim brothers and sisters. Following the terrorist attack on the Muslim community in Ōtautahi, we’ve compiled an incomplete reading list of voices to listen to, from Muslim perspectives surround the attacks, how to combat white defensiveness and how to talk about tragedies to our children.”

    https://www.pantograph-punch.com/post/amplifying-muslim-voice-a-reading-list

  9. joe90 9
    24 March 2019 at 2:04 pm

    Heat the pot and it will boil over – stochastic terrorism.

    Using the Anti-Defamation League’s Hate, Extremism, Anti-Semitism, Terrorism map data (HEAT map), we examined whether there was a correlation between the counties that hosted one of Trump’s 275 presidential campaign rallies in 2016 and increased incidents of hate crimes in subsequent months.

    To test this, we aggregated hate-crime incident data and Trump rally data to the county level and then used statistical tools to estimate a rally’s impact. We included controls for factors such as the county’s crime rates, its number of active hate groups, its minority populations, its percentage with college educations, its location in the country and the month when the rallies occurred.

    We found that counties that had hosted a 2016 Trump campaign rally saw a 226 percent increase in reported hate crimes over comparable counties that did not host such a rally.

    Of course, our analysis cannot be certain it was Trump’s campaign rally rhetoric that caused people to commit more hate crimes in the host county. However, suggestions that this effect can be explained through a plethora of faux hate crimes are at best unrealistic. In fact, this charge is frequently used as a political tool to dismiss concerns about hate crimes. Research shows it is far more likely that hate crime statistics are considerably lower because of underreporting.

    http://archive.li/sxHuV

    • Macro 9.1
      24 March 2019 at 2:36 pm

      We found that counties that had hosted a 2016 Trump campaign rally saw a 226 percent increase in reported hate crimes over comparable counties that did not host such a rally.

      Is anyone really surprised with this? His rallies are little more than a rant of vitriol; spouting violence, bigotry, and hate. The true believers are numbed beyond reason and emerge from these rallies full of mindless cant. Whatever he says – that is what they will believe. The Trumpist cult is here and now, full of religious fervour, and willing to do his bidding.

  10. greywarshark 10
    24 March 2019 at 4:56 pm

    Air NZ has parted company with Virgin over Tasman. Virgin had a consequent drop in business and may have to revert to its budget arm Tiger.

    Airnz also seems to be cuddling up to Qantas, a koala bear with sharp teeth. But it is playing a long game which it hopes will win, but Qantas has slit our tyres before.

    Earlier,Air New Zealand was pouring hundreds of millions of dollars into Virgin, lifting its equity stake to 26 per cent, and answered the call for more cash five years ago at a time when it was fighting a brutal domestic capacity war with Qantas, then on its knees because of international losses….

    About seven million passengers last year crossed the Tasman, regarded as one of the most hotly contested airline routes in the world.
    For Virgin, the Tasman represents about 5 per cent of its capacity – it makes its money flying the dense eastern Australian domestic routes. But for Air NZ, the Tasman is where it has around 22 per cent of its seats. It has to get it right….

    Luxon and Virgin Australia’s chief executive John Borghetti, who by one account haven’t spoken in two years…
    Borghetti – who missed out on the top job at Qantas in 2010 -and Luxon are polar opposites.

    Both has their own style: Borghetti, with his tailored Italian suits and fast cars, is different to Luxon, a non-drinking Christian (and someone who has previously talked of his interest in a decidedly un-flashy car – a 1966 Riley Elf). The pair clashed when Luxon sat on the Virgin board…

    Virgin is now in improving financial shape, in August posting its best underlying result in 10 years, and Borghetti is due to leave the airline within the next year.

    Airnz had reps in Australia, who seem to have built up kudos with Qantas .
    Former Air New Zealand executives Lesley Grant and Andrew David were among the Qantas team, there with Air NZ’s chief revenue officer Cam Wallace.

    https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=12147795
    Oct 2018 – Air NZ and Qantas hook up this weekend as Virgin Australia goes it alone

    The Australian airline carries about 24 million passengers a year, with about 5 per cent of that capacity on the Tasman routes….
    Air New Zealand, which has about 39 per cent of Tasman traffic, is operating now more widebody jets across the Tasman now and has put more capacity into Brisbane.

    Asked about the analyst’s report, a Virgin spokeswoman said three new routes which added an extra 17 percent capacity to its operations in the market and contributed to the lower load factor for November.
    https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=12215405

    There is no room for complacency in the airline market obviously. It appears that there will be competitive pricing across the Tasman for the near future.

    • greywarshark 10.1
      24 March 2019 at 5:11 pm

      Just thinking re above the viewpoint is all about growth still. And somewhere in the articles I was reading it said that Australia is the biggest by far for incoming passengers to NZ. We could start introducing Visas and have a range of results, including cutting our airline traffic between countries to a manageable level. And
      perhaps look at having our AirNZ employees working for the country’s best interests and not their own. I find it hard to think that they could think entirely clearly about NZ when they might be offered a job in Qantas for being a good co-operative player between the two companies when the individual thought fit.

  12. Anne 12
    24 March 2019 at 6:42 pm

    Attached are about 1800 comments. About halfway through they became more and more vile and include calls for the “assassination of NZ PM”. No, I’m not going to use her name.

    The majority of the vile comments come from people with English sounding names and good English skills.

    • Muttonbird 12.1
      24 March 2019 at 6:54 pm

      I’m a little concerned about the safety of our Prime Minister, particularly after the global praise for her leadership. It’s at times like these, when a socially conscious leader is drawing huge support that they are most at risk.

      I hope her detail and the police in general have recognised the increased threat from right wing extremists against Jacinda Ardern. Already frothing at the bit, I suspect some will begin to go into full meltdown at the sight of among other things, her image on the tallest building in the world embracing Muslins, and the idea she would be nominated for a Nobel peace prize.

      • Anne 12.1.1
        24 March 2019 at 7:02 pm

        That’s why I put the link up.

        I’m sure the authorities are well aware and protection has been hugely increased. The thing is, it’s going to have to continue at an optimum level for a long time.

      • Skunk Weed 12.1.2
        24 March 2019 at 7:04 pm

        RWNJ’s will be seething with the good press our PM is getting.

        • Muttonbird 12.1.2.1
          24 March 2019 at 7:11 pm

          I think they are in shock at the moment.

          I hope this event and the PM’s response has helped them take a step back and review their values but I suspect most will double down.

          They are already arguing that their speech is being threatened but just how much oppressive speech by the most powerful group in the world should be let go?

          • In Vino 12.1.2.1.1
            24 March 2019 at 7:46 pm

            The same chilling fears for Jacinda Ardern’s safety also struck me. Without wanting to sound bloodthirsty, I think, or hope, that even the nuttiest Super-Right nutter would have to consider that Jacinda is the mother of a young child, one of the most popular PMs we have had at this time, and anyone who hurt her would be likely to have a very hard time in prison, maybe be lucky to make it to court alive (look at Lee Harvey Oswald), and be bloody lucky to live comfortably afterwards… I hope the fear goes both ways and works as a deterrent.
            Horribly uncivilised, but some people work at that horribly uncivilised level – like that cretin last Friday.

    • Anne 12.2
      24 March 2019 at 8:15 pm

      Btw, if the comments don’t appear just click onto title at top of video @ 12

    • WeTheBleeple 12.3
      24 March 2019 at 8:27 pm

      I’ve been reporting hundreds of hate comments under NZ coverage all week. This is new though and very disturbing.

      When I report comments, they vanish from my view, but I wonder, does they also vanish from others view?

  13. Incognito 13
    24 March 2019 at 7:19 pm

    Stuff’s editors’ picks: Parliament’s mass staff walkout.

    Stuff’s most popular: Nearly 30 back office workers have quit Parliament in three months.

    The headlines in Stuff’s politics section: Parliament’s mass staff walkout. Parliament’s back office staff are quitting in droves, costing taxpayers almost $250,000.

    Turns out it the exact number is 28, five of whom were executives and it included one retirement. This is from a total of “just over 700 staff” with no data given for the ‘normal’ churn.

    It’s understood many of those who have left worked in human resources.

    I got a very different impression from those headlines.

    After a very quick search I found that “the average turnover rate is around 10 percent” and that last year the turnover was at an all-time high of 16%.

    http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL1812/S00114/highest-annual-turnover-of-staff-ever-at-parliament.htm

    • greywarshark 13.1
      24 March 2019 at 8:46 pm

      I think that someone expressed an opinion about parliamentary staff and how they would find it hard to change from their basic behaviour over the last nine years of National. Perhaps that accounts for the 16% that left last year. There may be a chance of having a new approach to the politicians passing through, and the people they administer policies to.

      • Incognito 13.1.1
        24 March 2019 at 10:13 pm

        Yes, but I was intrigued how these headlines raise an expectation (with me) before even reading the article. The manufacturing (of consent or discontent) process acts through very simple cues, especially when placed ‘at eye level’.

        It has now moved to the National section on Stuff’s landing page (online front page), with a photo. So, clearly they (?) want people to read it …

  14. Muttonbird 14
    24 March 2019 at 7:23 pm

    Lol. Perhaps they might call an enquiry into their association with islamaphobic blog sites instead.

    https://www.radionz.co.nz/news/chch-terror/385460/national-calls-for-inquiry-into-nz-s-intelligence-agencies

  15. corodale 15
    25 March 2019 at 1:03 am

    Ok, silly question time:

    “Has anyone here actually seen the video in question? Any comments on a comparison between the official narrative and the evidence in the video?”

    (Side note: since the NZ attack, Youtube have removed the time dated search feature.)

    • corodale 15.1
      25 March 2019 at 1:08 am

      Actually I’v quickly done the maths on the back of my overdue tax return: don’t answer the above question unless you’re sure you know the correct answer.

    • McFlock 15.2
      25 March 2019 at 2:01 am

      “official narrative”.

      Fuck off.

      I know in real life a few people who were in the area at the time. I know, in real life, one or two people who did watch the full thing with more professional background than someone who will use the term “official narrative”.

      I chose not to view it because I already knew enough. So the correct answer is “fuck off”.

      • corodale 15.2.1
        25 March 2019 at 2:52 am

        Certainly sounds like a Nazi puncher – they could use you on the streets in France right now, where the Army has been given the go to shoot the unarmed civilians…

        …and by “professional”, do you mean people who will work for money? What happened to respect for unpaid, and charity work? Your politics would benefit from more time with women’s-rights-groups.

  16. Eco Maori 16
    26 March 2019 at 8:30 am

    Kia ora The AM Show duncan your m8 have had some there true chameleon colours revealed lately there is more dirt to come Iam manukāwhaki coffee social media muppet.
    Ka pai to the new social media on line movie makers the old movie maker have been controlled so only content is positive for the 00.1 % and every other class voice is silence a lot of good people use film to get the truth out to the PEOPLE PEOPLE PEOPLE The new Age is here and now.
    The west coast mayor is a climate change denier fool.
    duncan We know you are lieing you go on the net all the time to read my post you and your m8s have been attacking social media because it gives Eco Maori part of my Mana that is quite plain to see but social media is like Eco Maori all ready out of the box and know one CAN STOP US.
    I know I have Bill Gates attention he thinks it OK the Way of the world’s society is at the minute YEA RIGHT.
    If the billionaire were socially considering they would be pouring billion in to protecting our Mokopunas future by putting money into green energy and 3 world nation not just drip feeding these problems.
    There you go wanker airing this dick heads story he was probably a kid taken into state care abuse by the state hence he commtied those crimes the IDIOT is and was never going to get out of jail with the proal system this is just another kick of dirt in the face of Maori it could have been dead a buryed years ago. But it show how incredibly incompetent the police force is they set up Porter they set him up and new someone was still at large committing these crimes against Wahine WTF.
    royal cover up commission look at the little Pike River Mine desaster they got everyone’s to sign a letter of confidentiality What are they hiding. The force is covering its Ass its CORRUPT.
    So long as the school systems changes start dilivering better OUT COMEs for the Maori and the lower classes its OK.
    The education system is not giving Maori tamariki a fair start up they ladders of Life everyone’s else has a huge head start over OUR Tamariki we need to install a culture in Maori that education is a MUST to achieveing a good life this will lift Maori Mana we need Maori doctors nurses coders every professional sector is lacking in Maori people in them that has to change .
    What a load of shit mark just because your lot get the best out of the education system it ain’t delivering the same results for Maori and NZ future will be stained by not correcting the wrongs of a racily biest education system.
    Artificial intelligence is a program that learns by its mistakes but a supercomputer can make trillions of choice in second it could run the word once Quntam computers are master no data will be safe they are storing all the world data even the incypted data they are storing that so when they master Quntam computers they will be able to de code the data no secrets in the world will be kept SAFE.
    Yes I say that the people the spy’s have been focusing on are not a threat Maori green Muslim people ights these are leftys people they are pro peace that tell me that the spy’s agree with the Alt ight white supremacists that is plan to SEE that backs up my words against these fools. Can see that ational shonky loaded the spy’s up with his redneck m8s and focuses them on people who would take his power away from him plan to see that. Ka kite ano

  17. Eco Maori 17
    26 March 2019 at 10:12 am

    Some Eco Maori Music for the minute.

  18. Eco Maori 18
    26 March 2019 at 10:43 am

    This is what we have to focouse on human caused climate change not trump brexit all the other bullshit the oil barrons throw up to stop the world taking there power of control on the world with CARBON it is the comidity that controls the world these greedy fools will burn our world for there neanderthal power.
    Thanks to Chinas manufacturing power solar wind are cheaper than carbon thermal power green energy uses a fraction of the water that carbon thermal power uses .
    Sir David Attenborough has announced his new documentary topic: climate change.
    The “urgent” one-off film will focus on the various threats climate change poses and any possible solutions.
    Titled Climate Change: The Facts, the new documentary will feature footage from around the world, showcasing the damage and impact global warming has already had on our planet, as well as interviews with climatologists and meteorologists.
    He will work to explore the science behind extreme weather conditions experienced all around the world, with a focus on the wildfires in California at the end of 2018.

    https://www.stuff.co.nz/environment/climate-news/111478391/trees-slow-climate-change

    https://www.stuff.co.nz/environment/climate-news/111541194/sir-david-attenborough-tackles-climate-change-in-new-documentary

  19. Eco Maori 19
    26 March 2019 at 11:26 am

    The NZ UN justice system.
    How recruitment works all the boss are Christian so people with the same self righteous ideology rise to the top fast Maori join the force he/she see undignified behaviour he/she is told to ignore it that the system image is protected first and formost.
    They are not happy they leave after 6 years because they joined the forces to make a better society for Maori they can see that they were pushing shit uphill.
    A bright snot nose self righteous Christian joins his dad was a cop he has been bullied at school has a problem with brown people he rise quickly up the ranks because he has the same opinion as the boss he gets a job with the sis or gcsb be for she /he is 30 years old he now has all the power of and minupulating of the NZ JUSTICE SYSTEM at his fingers tips he can bribe narks under cover witness who one can not defend themselves from to sing a tune against someone Gisborne man his boss has sighted him on a person Next Minute Eco Maori and he loses his marbles his m8 takes over
    You see people there is know protacal for people to be given a promotion in the force its up to the bosses who give there redneck m8 all the rizes in rank and pay hence we end up with a justice system that treats the lower classes like shit instead of doing there job and protecting the People
    And Maori the lower classes of people have a impossible task at rising up the ranks of the unjustified system.
    Ka kite ano

  20. Eco Maori 20
    26 March 2019 at 11:35 am

    Some Eco Maori Music for the minute.

  21. Eco Maori 21
    26 March 2019 at 12:32 pm

    This is after trump has thrown a spanner in the green energy works and tryed to atificaly in flate carbon prices the carbon barons OWN HIS ASS
    Around three-quarters of US coal production is now more expensive than solar and wind energy in providing electricity to American households, according to a new study.
    “Even without major policy shift we will continue to see coal retire pretty rapidly,” said Mike O’Boyle, the co-author of the report for Energy Innovation, a renewables analysis firm. “Our analysis shows that we can move a lot faster to replace coal with wind and solar. The fact that so much coal could be retired right now shows we are off the pace.”
    The study’s authors used public financial filings and data from the Energy Information Agency (EIA) to work out the cost of energy from coal plants compared with wind and solar options within a 35-mile radius. They found that 211 gigawatts of current US coal capacity, 74% of the coal fleet, is providing electricity that’s more expensive than wind or solar.

    Most US coal plants are contaminating groundwater with toxins, analysis finds
    Read more

    By 2025 the picture becomes even clearer, with nearly the entire US coal system out-competed on cost by wind and solar, even when factoring in the construction of new wind turbines and solar panels.
    “We’ve seen we are at the ‘coal crossover’ point in many parts of the country but this is actually more widespread than previously thought,” O’Boyle said. “There is a huge potential for wind and solar to replace coal, while saving Ka kite ano P.S The stea tarrifs were aimed at green energy construction links below

    https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/mar/25/coal-more-expensive-wind-solar-us-energy-study

  22. Eco Maori 22
    26 March 2019 at 1:51 pm

    The sandflys have my son caught up in their Web of deceit they have there m8 caught in their hinaki because their mother has never supported my MANA They don’t listen to my advice I tryed to get there in laws to help but to no avail they would rather risk there my Mokopunas future prosperity than expose the puppet caught in the sandflys web of Decite Ma te wa I will have the last laugh at them Ka kite ano

  24. Eco Maori 24
    26 March 2019 at 6:32 pm

    Kia ora Newshub what’s the west port mayor saying now about human caused climate change is he still in denial Eco Maori just hopes no people lose their lives.
    Yes the Mana of Wai is awesome that is why we must respect Papatuanukue.
    NO comment on Saint John the ones in the bay of plenty will know why.
    That is not on Wahine being internally searched in Prison illegally you see the authorities play with the innocent people who don’t no there human ights they have tryed and are trying that on Eco Maori I give them the titi but I feel for the people who are innocent that is why the people need to get a education. As for trump the wealthy 00.1 % would rather have a racist bigot who hands them out cash than a person who will look after all the people. What a SHAM he was shit scared before Muler report was released that told me he was guilty now that they have not shown the TRUTH he is using it as a weapon tipical REDNECK. I Seen Muler he is worried
    At scotmo is just jumping on that subject to boost his popularity that’s what I see. Ka kite ano

  25. Eco Maori 25
    26 March 2019 at 6:50 pm

    Kia ora Te ao Maori News let’s hope the Crown treats Maori fairly and not just play lip service on the issue Maori have with the way Wai is being treated by some around the Moutu and the other issues we have with water. Hehe I got shonky pulled from the Ngati-porou website I just about chucked up when I seen a photo of him giving one of our great leaders a Hongi he definitely was playing with MAORI MANA. Not just Muslims human rights are being breach but good on them for rising the issue. I have said that Wai Awa needs to be given more respect. The Kaituna awa deaths that local tangata whenua have conserns about. Ka kite ano

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  • The Kākā’s Pick 'n' Mix for Monday, July 22

    TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:00 am on Monday, July 22 are:Today’s Must Read: Father and son live in a tent, and have done for four years, in a million ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • The Kākā’s Journal of Record for Monday, July 22

    TL;DR: As of 7:00 am on Monday, July 22, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:US President Joe Biden announced via X this morning he would not stand for a second term.Multinational professional services firm ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #29

    A listing of 32 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, July 14, 2024 thru Sat, July 20, 2024. Story of the week As reflected by preponderance of coverage, our Story of the Week is Project 2025. Until now traveling ...
    Skeptical Science
    6 days ago
  • I'd like to share what I did this weekend

    This weekend, a friend pointed out someone who said they’d like to read my posts, but didn’t want to pay. And my first reaction was sympathy.I’ve already told folks that if they can’t comfortably subscribe, and would like to read, I’d be happy to offer free subscriptions. I don’t want ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    6 days ago
  • For the children – Why mere sentiment can be a misleading force in our lives, and lead to unex...

    National: The Party of ‘Law and Order’ IntroductionThis weekend, the Government formally kicked off one of their flagship policy programs: a military style boot camp that New Zealand has experimented with over the past 50 years. Cartoon credit: Guy BodyIt’s very popular with the National Party’s Law and Order image, ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    6 days ago
  • A friend in uncertain times

    Day one of the solo leg of my long journey home begins with my favourite sound: footfalls in an empty street. 5.00 am and it’s already light and already too warm, almost.If I can make the train that leaves Budapest later this hour I could be in Belgrade by nightfall; ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    6 days ago
  • The Chaotic World of Male Diet Influencers

    Hi,We’ll get to the horrific world of male diet influencers (AKA Beefy Boys) shortly, but first you will be glad to know that since I sent out the Webworm explaining why the assassination attempt on Donald Trump was not a false flag operation, I’ve heard from a load of people ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    6 days ago
  • It's Starting To Look A Lot Like… Y2K

    Do you remember Y2K, the threat that hung over humanity in the closing days of the twentieth century? Horror scenarios of planes falling from the sky, electronic payments failing and ATMs refusing to dispense cash. As for your VCR following instructions and recording your favourite show - forget about it.All ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 week ago
  • Bernard’s Saturday Soliloquy for the week to July 20

    Climate Change Minister Simon Watts being questioned by The Kākā’s Bernard Hickey.TL;DR: My top six things to note around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the week to July 20 were:1. A strategy that fails Zero Carbon Act & Paris targetsThe National-ACT-NZ First Coalition Government finally unveiled ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago
  • Pharmac Director, Climate Change Commissioner, Health NZ Directors – The latest to quit this m...

    Summary:As New Zealand loses at least 12 leaders in the public service space of health, climate, and pharmaceuticals, this month alone, directly in response to the Government’s policies and budget choices, what lies ahead may be darker than it appears. Tui examines some of those departures and draws a long ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    1 week ago
  • Flooding Housing Policy

    The Minister of Housing’s ambition is to reduce markedly the ratio of house prices to household incomes. If his strategy works it would transform the housing market, dramatically changing the prospects of housing as an investment.Leaving aside the Minister’s metaphor of ‘flooding the market’ I do not see how the ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    1 week ago
  • A Voyage Among the Vandals: Accepted (Again!)

    As previously noted, my historical fantasy piece, set in the fifth-century Mediterranean, was accepted for a Pirate Horror anthology, only for the anthology to later fall through. But in a good bit of news, it turned out that the story could indeed be re-marketed as sword and sorcery. As of ...
    A Phuulish FellowBy strda221
    1 week ago
  • The Kākā's Chorus for Friday, July 19

    An employee of tobacco company Philip Morris International demonstrates a heated tobacco device. Photo: Getty ImagesTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy on Friday, July 19 are:At a time when the Coalition Government is cutting spending on health, infrastructure, education, housing ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago
  • The Kākā’s Pick 'n' Mix for Friday, July 19

    TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 8:30 am on Friday, July 19 are:Scoop: NZ First Minister Casey Costello orders 50% cut to excise tax on heated tobacco products. The minister has ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago
  • Weekly Roundup 19-July-2024

    Kia ora, it’s time for another Friday roundup, in which we pull together some of the links and stories that caught our eye this week. Feel free to add more in the comments! Our header image this week shows a foggy day in Auckland town, captured by Patrick Reynolds. ...
    Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland
    1 week ago
  • Weekly Climate Wrap: A market-led plan for failure

    TL;DR : Here’s the top six items climate news for Aotearoa this week, as selected by Bernard Hickey and The Kākā’s climate correspondent Cathrine Dyer. A discussion recorded yesterday is in the video above and the audio of that sent onto the podcast feed.The Government released its draft Emissions Reduction ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago
  • Tobacco First

    Save some money, get rich and old, bring it back to Tobacco Road.Bring that dynamite and a crane, blow it up, start all over again.Roll up. Roll up. Or tailor made, if you prefer...Whether you’re selling ciggies, digging for gold, catching dolphins in your nets, or encouraging folks to flutter ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 week ago
  • Trump’s Adopted Son.

    Waiting In The Wings: For truly, if Trump is America’s un-assassinated Caesar, then J.D. Vance is America’s Octavian, the Republic’s youthful undertaker – and its first Emperor.DONALD TRUMP’S SELECTION of James D. Vance as his running-mate bodes ill for the American republic. A fervent supporter of Viktor Orban, the “illiberal” prime ...
    Bowalley Road
    1 week ago
  • The Kākā’s Journal of Record for Friday, July 19

    TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Friday, July 19, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:The PSA announced the Employment Relations Authority (ERA) had ruled in the PSA’s favour in its case against the Ministry ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago
  • The Hoon around the week to July 19

    TL;DR: The podcast above of the weekly ‘hoon’ webinar for paying subscribers last night features co-hosts and talking with:The Kākā’s climate correspondent talking about the National-ACT-NZ First Government’s release of its first Emissions Reduction Plan;University of Otago Foreign Relations Professor and special guest Dr Karin von ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago
  • Skeptical Science New Research for Week #29 2024

    Open access notables Improving global temperature datasets to better account for non-uniform warming, Calvert, Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society: To better account for spatial non-uniform trends in warming, a new GITD [global instrumental temperature dataset] was created that used maximum likelihood estimation (MLE) to combine the land surface ...
    Skeptical Science
    1 week ago

  • Joint statement from the Prime Ministers of Canada, Australia and New Zealand

    Australia, Canada and New Zealand today issued the following statement on the need for an urgent ceasefire in Gaza and the risk of expanded conflict between Hizballah and Israel. The situation in Gaza is catastrophic. The human suffering is unacceptable. It cannot continue.  We remain unequivocal in our condemnation of ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    16 hours ago
  • AG reminds institutions of legal obligations

    Attorney-General Judith Collins today reminded all State and faith-based institutions of their legal obligation to preserve records relevant to the safety and wellbeing of those in its care. “The Abuse in Care Inquiry’s report has found cases where records of the most vulnerable people in State and faith‑based institutions were ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    19 hours ago
  • More young people learning about digital safety

    Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says the Government’s online safety website for children and young people has reached one million page views.  “It is great to see so many young people and their families accessing the site Keep It Real Online to learn how to stay safe online, and manage ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    20 hours ago
  • Speech to the Conference for General Practice 2024

    Tēnā tātou katoa,  Ngā mihi te rangi, ngā mihi te whenua, ngā mihi ki a koutou, kia ora mai koutou. Thank you for the opportunity to be here and the invitation to speak at this 50th anniversary conference. I acknowledge all those who have gone before us and paved the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    22 hours ago
  • Employers and payroll providers ready for tax changes

    New Zealand’s payroll providers have successfully prepared to ensure 3.5 million individuals will, from Wednesday next week, be able to keep more of what they earn each pay, says Finance Minister Nicola Willis and Revenue Minister Simon Watts.  “The Government's tax policy changes are legally effective from Wednesday. Delivering this tax ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    24 hours ago
  • Experimental vineyard futureproofs wine industry

    An experimental vineyard which will help futureproof the wine sector has been opened in Blenheim by Associate Regional Development Minister Mark Patterson. The covered vineyard, based at the New Zealand Wine Centre – Te Pokapū Wāina o Aotearoa, enables controlled environmental conditions. “The research that will be produced at the Experimental ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Funding confirmed for regions affected by North Island Weather Events

    The Coalition Government has confirmed the indicative regional breakdown of North Island Weather Event (NIWE) funding for state highway recovery projects funded through Budget 2024, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Regions in the North Island suffered extensive and devastating damage from Cyclone Gabrielle and the 2023 Auckland Anniversary Floods, and ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Indonesian Foreign Minister to visit

    Indonesia’s Foreign Minister, Retno Marsudi, will visit New Zealand next week, Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced.   “Indonesia is important to New Zealand’s security and economic interests and is our closest South East Asian neighbour,” says Mr Peters, who is currently in Laos to engage with South East Asian partners. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Strengthening partnership with Ngāti Maniapoto

    He aha te kai a te rangatira? He kōrero, he kōrero, he kōrero. The government has reaffirmed its commitment to supporting the aspirations of Ngāti Maniapoto, Minister for Māori Development Tama Potaka says. “My thanks to Te Nehenehenui Trust – Ngāti Maniapoto for bringing their important kōrero to a ministerial ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Transport Minister thanks outgoing CAA Chair

    Transport Minister Simeon Brown has thanked outgoing Chair of the Civil Aviation Authority, Janice Fredric, for her service to the board.“I have received Ms Fredric’s resignation from the role of Chair of the Civil Aviation Authority,” Mr Brown says.“On behalf of the Government, I want to thank Ms Fredric for ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Test for Customary Marine Title being restored

    The Government is proposing legislation to overturn a Court of Appeal decision and amend the Marine and Coastal Area Act in order to restore Parliament’s test for Customary Marine Title, Treaty Negotiations Minister Paul Goldsmith says.  “Section 58 required an applicant group to prove they have exclusively used and occupied ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Opposition united in bad faith over ECE sector review

    Regulation Minister David Seymour says that opposition parties have united in bad faith, opposing what they claim are ‘dangerous changes’ to the Early Childhood Education sector, despite no changes even being proposed yet.  “Issues with affordability and availability of early childhood education, and the complexity of its regulation, has led ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Kiwis having their say on first regulatory review

    After receiving more than 740 submissions in the first 20 days, Regulation Minister David Seymour is asking the Ministry for Regulation to extend engagement on the early childhood education regulation review by an extra two weeks.  “The level of interest has been very high, and from the conversations I’ve been ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Government upgrading Lower North Island commuter rail

    The Coalition Government is investing $802.9 million into the Wairarapa and Manawatū rail lines as part of a funding agreement with the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA), KiwiRail, and the Greater Wellington and Horizons Regional Councils to deliver more reliable services for commuters in the lower North Island, Transport Minister Simeon ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Government moves to ensure flood protection for Wairoa

    Local Government Minister Simeon Brown has announced his intention to appoint a Crown Manager to both Hawke’s Bay Regional and Wairoa District Councils to speed up the delivery of flood protection work in Wairoa."Recent severe weather events in Wairoa this year, combined with damage from Cyclone Gabrielle in 2023 have ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • PM speech to Parliament – Royal Commission of Inquiry’s Report into Abuse in Care

    Mr Speaker, this is a day that many New Zealanders who were abused in State care never thought would come. It’s the day that this Parliament accepts, with deep sorrow and regret, the Report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care.  At the heart of this report are the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Government acknowledges torture at Lake Alice

    For the first time, the Government is formally acknowledging some children and young people at Lake Alice Psychiatric Hospital experienced torture. The final report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in State and Faith-based Care “Whanaketia – through pain and trauma, from darkness to light,” was tabled in Parliament ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Government acknowledges courageous abuse survivors

    The Government has acknowledged the nearly 2,400 courageous survivors who shared their experiences during the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Historical Abuse in State and Faith-Based Care. The final report from the largest and most complex public inquiry ever held in New Zealand, the Royal Commission Inquiry “Whanaketia – through ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Half a million people use tax calculator

    With a week to go before hard-working New Zealanders see personal income tax relief for the first time in fourteen years, 513,000 people have used the Budget tax calculator to see how much they will benefit, says Finance Minister Nicola Willis.  “Tax relief is long overdue. From next Wednesday, personal income ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Paid Parental Leave improvements pass first reading

    Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden says a bill that has passed its first reading will improve parental leave settings and give non-biological parents more flexibility as primary carer for their child. The Regulatory Systems Amendment Bill (No3), passed its first reading this morning. “It includes a change ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Rebuilding the economy through better regulation

    Two Bills designed to improve regulation and make it easier to do business have passed their first reading in Parliament, says Economic Development Minister Melissa Lee. The Regulatory Systems (Economic Development) Amendment Bill and Regulatory Systems (Immigration and Workforce) Amendment Bill make key changes to legislation administered by the Ministry ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • ‘Open banking’ and ‘open electricity’ on the way

    New legislation paves the way for greater competition in sectors such as banking and electricity, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly says. “Competitive markets boost productivity, create employment opportunities and lift living standards. To support competition, we need good quality regulation but, unfortunately, a recent OECD report ranked New ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Charity lotteries to be permitted to operate online

    Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says lotteries for charitable purposes, such as those run by the Heart Foundation, Coastguard NZ, and local hospices, will soon be allowed to operate online permanently. “Under current laws, these fundraising lotteries are only allowed to operate online until October 2024, after which ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Accelerating Northland Expressway

    The Coalition Government is accelerating work on the new four-lane expressway between Auckland and Whangārei as part of its Roads of National Significance programme, with an accelerated delivery model to deliver this project faster and more efficiently, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “For too long, the lack of resilient transport connections ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Sir Don to travel to Viet Nam as special envoy

    Sir Don McKinnon will travel to Viet Nam this week as a Special Envoy of the Government, Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced.    “It is important that the Government give due recognition to the significant contributions that General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong made to New Zealand-Viet Nam relations,” Mr ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Grant Illingworth KC appointed as transitional Commissioner to Royal Commission

    Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says newly appointed Commissioner, Grant Illingworth KC, will help deliver the report for the first phase of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into COVID-19 Lessons, due on 28 November 2024.  “I am pleased to announce that Mr Illingworth will commence his appointment as ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • NZ to advance relationships with ASEAN partners

    Foreign Minister Winston Peters travels to Laos this week to participate in a series of Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)-led Ministerial meetings in Vientiane.    “ASEAN plays an important role in supporting a peaceful, stable and prosperous Indo-Pacific,” Mr Peters says.   “This will be our third visit to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Backing mental health services on the West Coast

    Construction of a new mental health facility at Te Nikau Grey Hospital in Greymouth is today one step closer, Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey says. “This $27 million facility shows this Government is delivering on its promise to boost mental health care and improve front line services,” Mr Doocey says. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • NZ support for sustainable Pacific fisheries

    New Zealand is committing nearly $50 million to a package supporting sustainable Pacific fisheries development over the next four years, Foreign Minister Winston Peters and Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones announced today. “This support consisting of a range of initiatives demonstrates New Zealand’s commitment to assisting our Pacific partners ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Students’ needs at centre of new charter school adjustments

    Associate Education Minister David Seymour says proposed changes to the Education and Training Amendment Bill will ensure charter schools have more flexibility to negotiate employment agreements and are equipped with the right teaching resources. “Cabinet has agreed to progress an amendment which means unions will not be able to initiate ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Commissioner replaces Health NZ Board

    In response to serious concerns around oversight, overspend and a significant deterioration in financial outlook, the Board of Health New Zealand will be replaced with a Commissioner, Health Minister Dr Shane Reti announced today.  “The previous government’s botched health reforms have created significant financial challenges at Health NZ that, without ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Minister to speak at Australian Space Forum

    Minister for Space and Science, Innovation and Technology Judith Collins will travel to Adelaide tomorrow for space and science engagements, including speaking at the Australian Space Forum.  While there she will also have meetings and visits with a focus on space, biotechnology and innovation.  “New Zealand has a thriving space ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Climate Change Minister to attend climate action meeting in China

    Climate Change Minister Simon Watts will travel to China on Saturday to attend the Ministerial on Climate Action meeting held in Wuhan.  “Attending the Ministerial on Climate Action is an opportunity to advocate for New Zealand climate priorities and engage with our key partners on climate action,” Mr Watts says. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Oceans and Fisheries Minister to Solomons

    Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones is travelling to the Solomon Islands tomorrow for meetings with his counterparts from around the Pacific supporting collective management of the region’s fisheries. The 23rd Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Committee and the 5th Regional Fisheries Ministers’ Meeting in Honiara from 23 to 26 July ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    7 days ago
  • Government launches Military Style Academy Pilot

    The Government today launched the Military Style Academy Pilot at Te Au rere a te Tonga Youth Justice residence in Palmerston North, an important part of the Government’s plan to crackdown on youth crime and getting youth offenders back on track, Minister for Children, Karen Chhour said today. “On the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    7 days ago
  • Nine priority bridge replacements to get underway

    The Government has welcomed news the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) has begun work to replace nine priority bridges across the country to ensure our state highway network remains resilient, reliable, and efficient for road users, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says.“Increasing productivity and economic growth is a key priority for the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Update on global IT outage

    Acting Prime Minister David Seymour has been in contact throughout the evening with senior officials who have coordinated a whole of government response to the global IT outage and can provide an update. The Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet has designated the National Emergency Management Agency as the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • New Zealand, Japan renew Pacific partnership

    New Zealand and Japan will continue to step up their shared engagement with the Pacific, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says.    “New Zealand and Japan have a strong, shared interest in a free, open and stable Pacific Islands region,” Mr Peters says.    “We are pleased to be finding more ways ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • New infrastructure energises BOP forestry towns

    New developments in the heart of North Island forestry country will reinvigorate their communities and boost economic development, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones visited Kaingaroa and Kawerau in Bay of Plenty today to open a landmark community centre in the former and a new connecting road in ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • 'Pacific Futures'

    President Adeang, fellow Ministers, honourable Diet Member Horii, Ambassadors, distinguished guests.    Minasama, konnichiwa, and good afternoon, everyone.    Distinguished guests, it’s a pleasure to be here with you today to talk about New Zealand’s foreign policy reset, the reasons for it, the values that underpin it, and how it ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

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