He doesn't care about the name, he cares about the reason for it. I guess it does give the wrong impression if you don't know the origin of the name but it seems like there are way more worthy things for people to give their energy to.
It appears to be one of those "World famous in New Zealand" nomenclatures. Remember the mystery and then release of the name for the NZ cricket team… wait for it… drum roll "The Black Caps!" And that was followed by a plethora of national team names (Black Socks, Black Sticks, Black Magic … Black Ferns – the list goes on). The problem is that when these teams travel they are invariably referred to as New Zealand. And even the All Blacks are listed and introduced when playing internationals as "New Zealand". They used to play smaller county and rugby matches as the All Blacks and were referred to by those unions outside NZ as The All Blacks. A bit like the MCC which is the official title for the English touring team but they are England when it comes to test matches.
A moderator has been trying to get your attention for a few days K (Incognito above). Please take some time to read the links to get clear on what is going on.
It's a good idea when coming onto TS each day to check the replies tab to see who has replied. If it's an author/or mod, please read.
Gridiron is an odd game, I'll give you that, but I would have the split between handling and kicking would be about the same as in rugby. And Australian rule for that matter?
The game is called, bizarrely, football. The "gridiron" is the very narrow field, marked up oppressively with lines every ten yards, on which it is played.
but I would have the split between handling and kicking would be about the same as in rugby.
No, it is completely different. Kicking is the primary skill in rugby; there is only one way to move the ball forward, apart from carrying it, and that is to kick it. Kicking is routine in rugby, and it's the reason why the game opens up and flows, rather than being a form of trench warfare. To kick the ball in general play is utterly unthinkable in American (and Canadian) football—which is football in name only.
And Australian rules for that matter?
As in rugby, kicking is paramount in Australian football. Although the ridiculous "handball"—punching the ball from a closed fist instead of kicking it as in rugby— has marred the game for decades.
Of course, running the ball instead of kicking it is always an option. But kicking is essential a lot of the time. Look at the way the Tricolors destroyed the All Blacks in the 1999 World Cup semi-final: all three of their tries in the second half were the result of kicking the ball.
Some things can never be forgotten. I'll bet the players will never forget it. Neither will the French of course. They never forget anything.
I was in Paris about 3 years ago. At lunch my wife and I were eating in a Bistro when a couple of French men nearby asked where we came from. When we said New Zealand they insisted on apologizing for the bombing of the Rainbow Warrior. I could, only just, remember exactly which year it was. They behaved as if it was just yesterday.
The NZRU, which has allowed Sky Television to ruin every broadcast by insisting on “exclusive” interviews with coaches during matches, and inflicting seemingly endless talking heads shows on us, and is busy selling the “brand” to a New York venture capital outfit, is hardly a credible or reliable source for anything relating to the history and heritage of the game. And no one except those boofheads on Sky uses the puerile five-letter word for football.
Can't comment, not being a Sky Sports subscriber, but this 'boofhead' refers to NZ's national game by that "puerile five-letter word".
Imho the tide’s going out on the term 'rugby football' in NZ (where everyone knows rugby's name), but I admire your 'reverse Cnut' principles. Time will tell whether your (bitter?) rearguard action bears fruit.
Oh ffs ,I carefully decided to go with football due to having had uptight tossers rant when I've called it soccer. Although you successfully stopped any conversation on whether the all whites should drop ther name.
Changing the All Whites name because some people (who have no interest in football anyway) can't get over their amateur phychology of projecting racism is not going to be popular.
How long will it be before some perverted reporter thinks we will have to know about the contents of the woman's drawers, unless some enterprising cereal manufacturer gets in first to use her to advertise their burka friendly new product.
Let's leave Ms Aden and her family alone so that she and her and they can become ordinary New Zealanders who contribute to the rich fabric of the country. She doesn't need 10,000,000 eyes looking over her shoulder to see if she is putting together a bloodthirsty Caliphate that will over-run the country.
Parliament TV in the afternoon for democracy in a Level 4 Lockdown. You're welcome, any more delusions you are suffering from need assistance. Enjoy your 1pm walks and if necessary mask up and pop into your local supermarket and slyly turn a couple of magazines around, you'll feel so much better.
Here we go. Quote from the Herald. (Don't have a link.)
"Robertson is the first of a line-up of ministers expected to front to Opposition and other MPs in virtual select committees this week after the Prime Minister's decision to suspend the sitting of Parliament."
I believe some of these are being broadcast on Parliament TV. So in fact they are a replacement to debate in the house. whoosh.
Democracy in action.
The select committee meeting schedule lists the time, date, and venue for each select committee meeting planned for the coming week. It also shows the business items that will be considered at each meeting. To find out who is booked to speak at select committee hearings please see the submitters list.
Under COVID-19 Alert Level 4 any select committees meetings will take place virtually over Zoom. The schedule is subject to change at short notice and the meeting format is dependent on changes in the COVID alert levels.
Parliament TV is in no way a replacement for Parliament. It's TV for goodness sake! MPs can't interact with it.
Most everyone else has been able to conduct business via Teams, Zoom or some other forum. Meanwhile Ardern cancels Parliament. Why when there is no need. There are technology solutions to allow Parliament to continue virtually.
Settle Petal, it's you being slow, I suspect on purpose. Parliament TV is where you can watch Democracy in Action, the opposition questioning the government during the lockdown. You were whining about the PM not being able to run Democracy Virtually. We have pointed out that is exactly what they are managing to do. Get a grip.
I love the idea that David might think that when MPs aren't in the House they're actually watching parliament TV rather than doing all the parliamentary business that isn't in the House.
Or is it some sort of tory shorthand for zoom meetings rather than infecting each other face-to-face?
OMG. David. Even RNZ had live coverage of the committee ZOOM meeting holding the government to account. The ZOOM meeting with David Seymour and Shayne Reti asking Grant Robertson and Ashley Bloomfield questions. How much flipping democracy do you want.
Mate, no spark needed: everyone can see you a mile off.
Select committees are as much a part of parliament as debates in the House.
You don't even want all business conducted in the House to be done. You just want the opposition to yell nonsensicalities as soundbites for the 6pm news.
boohoo. The nats continued implosion can be put on hold for a couple of weeks.
There hasn't been any debate for a very long time. All we've seen are petty and childish stunts by an opposition that have proven what a waste of space and taxpayers funds they have become.
I blush at the thought. Far too many commo agitating, lefty comrade, fellow travelling, pinko, woke, virtue-signallers already without Parliament being prorouged!
In principle debate in the house is really important. But in practice it is asinine. If the opposition respected the institution enough to ask relevant questions and research and meticulously critique government policy and actions, you'd have a good point.
Sadly, Parliament disgraces itself pretty much every day. It is quite dispensable for the duration of lockdown.
….lobster complaint upheld by parliamentary committee
Bonnie Flaws – Stuff.co.nz, Aug 23, 2021
Last week, Parliament’s Regulations Review Committee released a report agreeing with the Animal Law Association position that freezing lobsters prior to slaughter was not consistent with the objectives and intentions of the Animal Welfare Act 1999…..
…..Stedman said slaughter practices were based on outdated scientific knowledge. Lobsters experience significant pain and distress when chilled and boiled alive, according to research…..
Lobsters that have been frozen then boiled will recover consciousness and experience pain during the boiling process, and evidence shows they also remained conscious for longer as a result of the freezing and had complex nervous systems, she said.
MPI had worked with the industry to ensure people were aware that lobsters were sentient and needed to be stunned and killed according to regulations, an MPI spokeswoman previously said.
Good job by govt there, the way we treat all sea animals is usually pretty horrific…now they need to get on to banning big game fishing which is without doubt the most disgusting and violent 'sport' legal in this country…once the cruelty of it is witnessed by any human with any empathy for animals, it can never be forgotten.
Early political learning for me, that basically NZ didn't give a shit morally about politician's private lives. Open secret, media weren't reporting. Unlike say the UK where it would have been a scandal.
Most of the election coverage is online somewhere on Youtube and as a tragic, I rewatched some of it last election. Even knowing the outcome, the 2005 election coverage is amusing as Mike Williams spends all night predicting that Labour will come from behind on the back of South Auckland and is proven right in the last hour or two.
The worst election result for New Zealand in it's post war history IMO..the end of the NZ Labour Party as a serious political machine for workers and the dispossessed, marked the introduction and ascension of centrist third way neo-liberalism into New Zealand like an incurable cancer…I for one had no idea what I was voting for at the time to be honest, I was young idealistic and could only see the anti nuke position, taught me a good lesson though..governments lie, and always be a critical thinker, especially when it comes to politics and politicians.
Labour lost a lot of core supporters after the Lange years. Left voters had no representation for 20-odd years because of constant neoliberal bait and switches.
… latest Heylen Poll suggests we should have a Socialist Govt by Midnight … (Heylen 7 July 1984 … Lab 49.1%, Nat 33.2%, Socred 8.9%, NZP 8.8%).
But bear in mind, the Nats were still in front as recently as May (Heylen 26 May 1984 … Nat 43.8%, Lab 42.7%) … so might still be a little nail-biting … can't entirely rule out Muldoon once again clinging to power by his fingertips …
But overall, looking forward to a decisive return to the protection of working class interests & local industry and a censure of the ostentatiously wealthy under a superb team of Socialist Intellectuals: Mr Douglas, Mr Prebble & Dr Bassett in particular. Rest assured, the Country will be in mighty safe hands.
But let’s sit back with the popcorn & see what Mr Bryant & Mr Cockram & their exciting state-of-the-art technical wizardry deliver us.
Yes Reality, that Adams has a need to paint Jacinda as an "indoctrinated religious crafty politician". Trying to paint her nature as Mormon kindness, because…
I think he is muddling her with Scot Morrison. Now there is a crafty religious nutter with ties to Hillside and a henchman called Dutton.
This is a balanced and highly informative article on how children might be affected by Covid-19 and what role this might play in the overall thinking and approach to the pandemic. Note that there are no exaggerated conclusions or extrapolations from what we currently know and do. The language is plain and non-technical for a general audience.
A fair chunk of the British Press seem to have cooled of in their opinion of our PM it would appear.
"Mark Dolan from the GB News took aim at New Zealand and Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern for putting the country into lockdown"
"Living with this virus is going to be the only show in town. Zero COVID leads to zero economies, zero society, zero freedom and zero democracy."
"Another writer from the Telegraph wrote a brutal opinion piece on Ardern's decision to move New Zealand to a level 4 lockdown. Matthew Lesh called the decision "poetic justice" and New Zealand's approach has "frightening consequences".
"Elimination becomes a costly strategy with very limited benefit. What's the point of lockdowns and maintaining closed borders for a virus that, with vaccines in the mix, no longer causes much harm to individual people?"
We are obviously stuck in this time warp until the vaccination status of the population gets up to at least a second world country status. The virus isn't going to go away. We will have to live with it unless we go over to the world of North Korea and lock everyone up for ever. Well stop talking about how wonderful our approach is supposed to be and get on with the vaccination of everyone who wants to have it. Then, as an old Negro spiritual put it "Let my people go!"
A fair chunk of the British Press seem to have cooled of in their opinion of our PM it would appear.
The extreme right wing British press, which you have chosen to quote here, was never laudatory of Jacinda Ardern. Your case was dead in the water the moment you chose to quote the partisan and scabrous filth that is the Daily Torygraph.
"Living with this virus is going to be the only show in town…"
"Living with the virus" is a completely meaningless phrase – because every response to date by every government around the world is a version of "living with the virus". That's because the virus exists – and so by definition we have to live with it. These different versions of living with the virus do differ from each other in how much death and disease they will tolerate in the community.
What we are seeing is an appropriation of "living with the virus" to mean one particular version of living with the virus that has a particularly high tolerance for death and disease. It is scummy propaganda of the highest order – because instead of having to justify their high tolerance for death and disease, its sociopathic proponents can hide behind an illusion of inevitability. A decent media with half a brain would shoot down this filthy deceit.
When I have had my 2 doses of the vaccine, and we have booster shots available I think my chances of surviving, even at my age, are pretty good. I might get ill but I am unlikely to die from the disease.
With those precautions I don't think it will be any more dangerous than flu is. Yes there will be a chance of dying but I will accept that for the chance to travel overseas, and have people travel here.
After all, a complete closure of the borders and having no one enter the country without a couple of weeks of quarantine is going to end sometime anyway. Politicians are never going to accept that limitation on their lifestyle.
Perhaps you could tell us why we should still have that barbaric method of testing for Covid 19? Do you like the thought of the discomfort for yourself or is it the idea that someone else will be affected that gives you a frisson of excitement?
There are comments from experts in the subject that using this method instead of saliva tests is a factor in preventing the country from keeping up with the outbreak. It is being portrayed in New Zealand as not being accurate but at least one authority says.
"“It's frustrating that this [accuracy] is still a question and shows how much misinformation has been passed onto the NZ public."
Much of the probing, prodding, surgery, and treatments in modern medicine are pretty barbaric when you think about it, e.g., cut it, amputate it, it burn it, freeze it, radiate it, poison it, et cetera.
I don’t necessarily buy the argument that saliva tests will make a fundamental change in the current environment. It depends on what the limiting factors are. It could increase the pressure on the testing labs, which are already straining, as I mentioned last night here: https://thestandard.org.nz/daily-review-23-08-2021/#comment-1810984.
Perhaps you could tell me which countries managed to get on top of the Delta variant thanks to saliva testing. I could not find that info in your link. NZ can learn so much from others because we’re so much behind the eight ball.
Got to wonder why the sudden brit campaign by Murderoch to slag off the NZ response. Right wing regime seeks likeminded for free trade and virus swapping?
Well, somehow I can't insert a text extract from FB so I'll just type what was said by Ciaran Irvine:
"The right wing media here (and also in the rest of the world) NEED Jacinda to fail at this – because how she has handled Covid indicts them all as not just clueless spoofers but in many countries actual mass murderers,
"The Right has been utterly, catastrophically, psychotically Wrong all over the world at every single step of this pandemic, so Aotearoa's success thus far infuriates them and they NEED us to fail."
No idea who Ciaran Irvine is, but their comment seems absolutely to the point.
What an appalling rant from Kate Hawkesby in the Herald yesterday(?). Venomous woman filled with loathing. Actually that shows in her face, as are the embedded sneers of Hosking.
I've also heard so much commentary about how lockdowns create uncertainty and how this is difficult for people to manage. It leads to emotional stress and mental health problems (I have no doubt about this being the case for some people).
Personally, I like living with the certainty that we will have lockdowns rather than the uncertainly of who I’m going to contract a life-altering / life-threatening illness from if we have to “learn to live” with the virus in the community before we understand and can safely manage the game of catch-up between variants and vaccines.
I do understand that it is really important to have certainty about what you need to do – tomorrow, in a week’s time, in a month. What I don’t get is how the people who are upset by the uncertainty lockdowns bring, are probably not the same people who worry about the uncertainty that people in the precariat live with every single day of their working lives.
@LewSOS is being a bit trollish today… maybe he got out of the wrong side of bed this morning. Keeps equating socialism with mass murder. Calls himself a moderate?!
He's using a specific definition of socialism. Here's a list of socialist states. He's not wrong about the lots of murdering thing. Not so sure he's right about there being very few examples what have been non-murdering, or whether it's a feature of socialism rather than other sociopolitical dynamics.
The trollishness comes from not engaging the original argument for economic justice and obsession with counting dead bodies. Bloody revolutions were a desperate response to unbearable suffering, Marxism was the vehicle in some cases. But bloody revolutions were also necessary to overthrow feudalism and institute democracy; it's just that they didn't happen in living memory
Well, there is a discussion to be had about whether the "revolution" is restricted solely to the overthrow of the monarchy, or includes (in the case of the USSR) the following process of repelling multiple massive invasions and turning an agrarian-peasant economy into an industrial power.
But really, it all turns into a "no true Scotsman" argument: socialist nations that didn't get particularly murdery get labelled "social democratic" or whatevs while capitalist countries that get murdery are "imperialist" rather than capitalist, and on the other side murdery socialist govts get called "failed dictatorships of the proletariat" (at best) and reasonably stable and humane mixed economies have their benefits attributed to socialism and negatives attributed to capitalism.
What did you think of Lew's original point, that many people viewing socialism through a freedom vs totalitarianism lens is due to socialism's history of murder rather than contemporary lack of class analysis? (I'd guess it is both).
Meh. Seems largely bollocks to me (especially in regards to yanks worried about "socialism", but we have it here, too).
"Socialism" as a scareword is devoid of meaning, it's a label applied to a number of different nations without reference to the situations faced at the time.
Is that label "socialism" more or less murdery than capitalist/imperialist nations? That's like arguing which billionaire is more wealthy today – comparisons are pretty meaningless when you get to that level. Take Cambodia, and then the Bengal famine. Did Beria kill more people than Zaharoff? Who really cares.
And that's with a reasonably unbiased assessment – throw on decades of propaganda in both directions, and most people wouldn't recognise the polsci definition of "socialism" or "capitalism" if it hit them in the face (and the latter often does).
But start talking about bosses and fair tax rates, and pretty soon the people who think socialism is a bit murdery start supporting policies that get them healthcare – until Fox calls it "socialism".
I quite like Plato’s cave allegory, ever since I had to translate that piece of text. This whole pandemic apparently started with a bat out of hell. So, staying in the cave sounds pretty safe. I wonder what cavemen would have done when a cave bear tried to enter the cave they were in: would they fight for their lives and defend themselves and the cave or run away and be exposed to all other dangers as well as having the bear chasing them? We will never know the answer, of course.
Mr Bombastic:Ironically, the media the academic experts wanted is, in many ways, the media they got. In place of the tyrannical editors of yesteryear, advancing without fear or favour the interests of the ruling class; the New Zealand news media of today boasts a troop of enlightened journalists dedicated to ...
It's hard times try to make a livingYou wake up every morning in the unforgivingOut there somewhere in the cityThere's people living lives without mercy or pityI feel good, yeah I'm feeling fineI feel better then I have for the longest timeI think these pills have been good for meI ...
In 1974, the US Supreme Court issued its decision in United States v. Nixon, finding that the President was not a King, but was subject to the law and was required to turn over the evidence of his wrongdoing to the courts. It was a landmark decision for the rule ...
Every day now just seems to bring in more fresh meat for the grinder.In their relentlessly ideological drive to cut back on the “excessive bloat” (as they see it) of the previous Labour-led government, on the mountains of evidence accumulated in such a short period of time do not ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Megan Valére SosouMarket gardening site of the Itchèléré de Itagui agricultural cooperative in Dassa-Zoumè (Image credit: Megan Valère Sossou) For the residents of Dassa-Zoumè, a city in the West African country of Benin, choosing between drinking water and having enough ...
Buzz from the Beehive Melissa Lee – as may be discerned from the screenshot above – has not been demoted for doing something seriously wrong as Minister of ...
Morning in London Mother hugs beloved daughter outside the converted shoe factory in which she is living.Afternoon in London Travelling writer takes himself and his wrist down to A&E, just to be sure. Read more ...
Mike Grimshaw writes – The recent announcement of the University Advisory Group, chaired by Sir Peter Gluckman, makes very clear where the Government’s focus and priorities lie. The remit of the Advisory Group is that Group members will consider challenges and opportunities for improvement in the university sector including: ...
Eric Crampton writes – The Reserve Bank of New Zealand desperately wants to find reasons to have workstreams in climate change. It makes little sense. They’ve run another stress test on the banks looking to see if they could find a prudential regulation case. They couldn’t. They ...
Rob MacCullough writes – Pundits from the left and the right are arguing that National’s Fast Track Bill that is designed to speed up infrastructure decisions could end up becoming mired in a cesspool of corruption. Political commentator ...
Looking at the headlines this morning it’s hard to feel anything other than pessimistic about the future of humanity.Note that I’m not speaking about the future of mankind, but the survival of our humanity. The values that we believe in seem to be ebbing away, by the day.Perhaps every generation ...
Swabbing mixed breed baby chicks to test for avian influenzaUh oh. Bird flu – often deadly to humans – is not only being transmitted from infected birds to dairy cows, but is now travelling between dairy cows. As of last Friday, Bloomberg News reports, there were 32 American dairy herds ...
On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
What is it with the mining industry? Its not enough for them to pillage the earth - they apparently can't even be bothered getting resource consent to do so: The proponent behind a major mine near the Clutha River had already been undertaking activity in the area without a ...
Photo # 1 I am a huge fan of Singapore’s approach to housing, as described here two years ago by copying and pasting from The ConversationWhat Singapore has that Australia does not is a public housing developer, the Housing Development Board, which puts new dwellings on public and reclaimed land, ...
Buzz from the Beehive Reactions to news of the government’s readiness to make urgent changes to “the resource management system” through a Bill to amend the Resource Management Act (RMA) suggest a balanced approach is being taken. The Taxpayers’ Union says the proposed changes don’t go far enough. Greenpeace says ...
I’m starting to wonder if Anna Burns-Francis might be the best political interviewer we’ve got. That might sound unlikely to you, it came as a bit of a surprise to me.Jack Tame can be excellent, but has some pretty average days. I like Rebecca Wright on Newshub, she asks good ...
Chris Trotter writes – Willie Jackson is said to be planning a “media summit” to discuss “the state of the media and how to protect Fourth Estate Journalism”. Not only does the Editor of The Daily Blog, Martyn Bradbury, think this is a good idea, but he has also ...
Graeme Edgeler writes – This morning [April 21], the Wellington High Court is hearing a judicial review brought by Hon. Karen Chhour, the Minister for Children, against a decision of the Waitangi Tribunal. This is unusual, judicial reviews are much more likely to brought against ministers, rather than ...
Both of Parliament’s watchdogs have now ripped into the Government’s Fast-track Approvals Bill. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāMy pick of the six newsey things to know from Aotearoa’s political economy and beyond on the morning of Tuesday, April 23 are:The Lead: The Auditor General,John Ryan, has joined the ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Sarah SpengemanPeople wait to board an electric bus in Pune, India. (Image credit: courtesy of ITDP) Public transportation riders in Pune, India, love the city’s new electric buses so much they will actually skip an older diesel bus that ...
The infrastructure industry yesterday issued a “hurry up” message to the Government, telling it to get cracking on developing a pipeline of infrastructure projects.The hiatus around the change of Government has seen some major projects cancelled and others delayed, and there is uncertainty about what will happen with the new ...
Hi,Over the weekend I revisited a podcast I really adore, Dead Eyes. It’s about a guy who got fired from Band of Brothers over two decades ago because Tom Hanks said he had “dead eyes”.If you don’t recall — 2001’s Band of Brothers was part of the emerging trend of ...
Buzz from the Beehive The 180 or so recipients of letters from the Government telling them how to submit infrastructure projects for “fast track” consideration includes some whose project applications previously have been rejected by the courts. News media were quick to feature these in their reports after RMA Reform Minister Chris ...
It would not be a desirable way to start your holiday by breaking your back, your head, or your wrist, but on our first hour in Singapore I gave it a try.We were chatting, last week, before we started a meeting of Hazel’s Enviro Trust, about the things that can ...
Calling all journalists, academics, planners, lawyers, political activists, environmentalists, and other members of the public who believe that the relationships between vested interests and politicians need to be scrutinised. We need to work together to make sure that the new Fast-Track Approvals Bill – currently being pushed through by the ...
Feel worried. Shane Jones and a couple of his Cabinet colleagues are about to be granted the power to override any and all objections to projects like dams, mines, roads etc even if: said projects will harm biodiversity, increase global warming and cause other environmental harms, and even if ...
Bryce Edwards writes- The ability of the private sector to quickly establish major new projects making use of the urban and natural environment is to be supercharged by the new National-led Government. Yesterday it introduced to Parliament one of its most significant reforms, the Fast Track Approvals Bill. ...
Michael Bassett writes – If you think there is a move afoot by the radical Maori fringe of New Zealand society to create a parallel system of government to the one that we elect at our triennial elections, you aren’t wrong. Over the last few days we have ...
Without a corresponding drop in interest rates, it’s doubtful any changes to the CCCFA will unleash a massive rush of home buyers. Photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: The six things that stood out to me in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, poverty and climate on Monday, April 22 included:The Government making a ...
Sunday was a lazy day. I started watching Jack Tame on Q&A, the interviews are usually good for something to write about. Saying the things that the politicians won’t, but are quite possibly thinking. Things that are true and need to be extracted from between the lines.As you might know ...
In our Weekly Roundup last week we covered news from Auckland Transport that the WX1 Western Express is going to get an upgrade next year with double decker electric buses. As part of the announcement, AT also said “Since we introduced the WX1 Western Express last November we have seen ...
TL;DR: The six key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to April 29 include:PM Christopher Luxon is scheduled to hold a post-Cabinet news conference at 4 pm today. Stats NZ releases its statutory report on Census 2023 tomorrow.Finance Minister Nicola Willis delivers a pre-Budget speech at ...
A listing of 29 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, April 14, 2024 thru Sat, April 20, 2024. Story of the week Our story of the week hinges on these words from the abstract of a fresh academic ...
The ability of the private sector to quickly establish major new projects making use of the urban and natural environment is to be supercharged by the new National-led Government. Yesterday it introduced to Parliament one of its most significant reforms, the Fast Track Approvals Bill. The Government says this will ...
This is a column to say thank you. So many of have been in touch since Mum died to say so many kind and thoughtful things. You’re wonderful, all of you. You’ve asked how we’re doing, how Dad’s doing. A little more realisation each day, of the irretrievable finality of ...
Identifying the engine type in your car is crucial for various reasons, including maintenance, repairs, and performance upgrades. Knowing the specific engine model allows you to access detailed technical information, locate compatible parts, and make informed decisions about modifications. This comprehensive guide will provide you with a step-by-step approach to ...
Introduction: The allure of racing is undeniable. The thrill of speed, the roar of engines, and the exhilaration of competition all contribute to the allure of this adrenaline-driven sport. For those who yearn to experience the pinnacle of racing, becoming a race car driver is the ultimate dream. However, the ...
Introduction Automobiles have become ubiquitous in modern society, serving as a primary mode of transportation and a symbol of economic growth and personal mobility. With countless vehicles traversing roads and highways worldwide, it begs the question: how many cars are there in the world? Determining the precise number is a ...
Maintaining a safe and reliable vehicle requires regular inspections. Whether it’s a routine maintenance checkup or a safety inspection, knowing how long the process will take can help you plan your day accordingly. This article delves into the factors that influence the duration of a car inspection and provides an ...
Mazda Motor Corporation, commonly known as Mazda, is a Japanese multinational automaker headquartered in Fuchu, Aki District, Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan. The company was founded in 1920 as the Toyo Cork Kogyo Co., Ltd., and began producing vehicles in 1931. Mazda is primarily known for its production of passenger cars, but ...
Your car battery is an essential component that provides power to start your engine, operate your electrical systems, and store energy. Over time, batteries can weaken and lose their ability to hold a charge, which can lead to starting problems, power failures, and other issues. Replacing your battery before it ...
In most states, you cannot register a car without a valid driver’s license. However, there are a few exceptions to this rule. Exceptions to the RuleIf you are under 18 years old: In some states, you can register a car in your name even if you do not ...
Mazda, a Japanese automotive manufacturer with a rich history of innovation and engineering excellence, has emerged as a formidable player in the global car market. Known for its reputation of producing high-quality, fuel-efficient, and driver-oriented vehicles, Mazda has consistently garnered praise from industry experts and consumers alike. In this article, ...
Struts are an essential part of a car’s suspension system. They are responsible for supporting the weight of the car and damping the oscillations of the springs. Struts are typically made of steel or aluminum and are filled with hydraulic fluid. How Do Struts Work? Struts work by transferring the ...
Car registration is a mandatory process that all vehicle owners must complete annually. This process involves registering your car with the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) and paying an associated fee. The registration process ensures that your vehicle is properly licensed and insured, and helps law enforcement and other authorities ...
Zoom is a video conferencing service that allows you to share your screen, webcam, and audio with other participants. In addition to sharing your own audio, you can also share the audio from your computer with other participants. This can be useful for playing music, sharing presentations with audio, or ...
Building your own computer can be a rewarding and cost-effective way to get a high-performance machine tailored to your specific needs. However, it also requires careful planning and execution, and one of the most important factors to consider is the time it will take. The exact time it takes to ...
Sleep mode is a power-saving state that allows your computer to quickly resume operation without having to boot up from scratch. This can be useful if you need to step away from your computer for a short period of time but don’t want to shut it down completely. There are ...
Introduction Computer-Assisted Translation (CAT) has revolutionized the field of translation by harnessing the power of technology to assist human translators in their work. This innovative approach combines specialized software with human expertise to improve the efficiency, accuracy, and consistency of translations. In this comprehensive article, we will delve into the ...
In today’s digital age, mobile devices have become an indispensable part of our daily lives. Among the vast array of portable computing options available, iPads and tablet computers stand out as two prominent contenders. While both offer similar functionalities, there are subtle yet significant differences between these two devices. This ...
A computer is an electronic device that can be programmed to carry out a set of instructions. The basic components of a computer are the processor, memory, storage, input devices, and output devices. The Processor The processor, also known as the central processing unit (CPU), is the brain of the ...
Voice Memos is a convenient app on your iPhone that allows you to quickly record and store audio snippets. These recordings can be useful for a variety of purposes, such as taking notes, capturing ideas, or recording interviews. While you can listen to your voice memos on your iPhone, you ...
Laptop screens are essential for interacting with our devices and accessing information. However, when lines appear on the screen, it can be frustrating and disrupt productivity. Understanding the underlying causes of these lines is crucial for finding effective solutions. Types of Screen Lines Horizontal lines: Also known as scan ...
Right-clicking is a common and essential computer operation that allows users to access additional options and settings. While most desktop computers have dedicated right-click buttons on their mice, laptops often do not have these buttons due to space limitations. This article will provide a comprehensive guide on how to right-click ...
Powering up and shutting down your ASUS laptop is an essential task for any laptop user. Locating the power button can sometimes be a hassle, especially if you’re new to ASUS laptops. This article will provide a comprehensive guide on where to find the power button on different ASUS laptop ...
Dell laptops are renowned for their reliability, performance, and versatility. Whether you’re a student, a professional, or just someone who needs a reliable computing device, a Dell laptop can meet your needs. However, if you’re new to Dell laptops, you may be wondering how to get started. In this comprehensive ...
Two-thirds of the country think that “New Zealand’s economy is rigged to advantage the rich and powerful”. They also believe that “New Zealand needs a strong leader to take the country back from the rich and powerful”. These are just two of a handful of stunning new survey results released ...
In today’s digital world, screenshots have become an indispensable tool for communication and documentation. Whether you need to capture an important email, preserve a website page, or share an error message, screenshots allow you to quickly and easily preserve digital information. If you’re an Asus laptop user, there are several ...
A factory reset restores your Gateway laptop to its original factory settings, erasing all data, apps, and personalizations. This can be necessary to resolve software issues, remove viruses, or prepare your laptop for sale or transfer. Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to factory reset your Gateway laptop: Method 1: ...
“You talking about me?”The neoliberal denigration of the past was nowhere more unrelenting than in its depiction of the public service. The Post Office and the Railways were held up as being both irremediably inefficient and scandalously over-manned. Playwright Roger Hall’s “Glide Time” caricatures were presented as accurate depictions of ...
Roger Partridge writes – When the Coalition Government took office last October, it inherited a country on a precipice. With persistent inflation, decades of insipid productivity growth and crises in healthcare, education, housing and law and order, it is no exaggeration to suggest New Zealand’s first-world status was ...
Rob MacCulloch writes – In 2022, the Curriculum Centre at the Ministry of Education employed 308 staff, according to an Official Information Request. Earlier this week it was announced 202 of those staff were being cut. When you look up “The New Zealand Curriculum” on the Ministry of ...
Chris Bishop’s bill has stirred up a hornets nest of opposition. Photo: Lynn Grieveson for The KākāTL;DR: The six things that stood out to me in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, poverty and climate from the last day included:A crescendo of opposition to the Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill is ...
Monday left me brokenTuesday, I was through with hopingWednesday, my empty arms were openThursday, waiting for love, waiting for loveThe end of another week that left many of us asking WTF? What on earth has NZ gotten itself into and how on earth could people have voluntarily signed up for ...
Hello! Here comes the Saturday edition of More Than A Feilding, catching you up on the past week’s editions.State of humanity, 20242024, it feels, keeps presenting us with ever more challenges, ever more dismay.Do you give up yet? It seems to ask.No? How about this? Or this?How about this?Full story Share ...
Determining the hardest sport in the world is a subjective matter, as the difficulty level can vary depending on individual abilities, physical attributes, and experience. However, based on various factors including physical demands, technical skills, mental fortitude, and overall accomplishment, here is an exploration of some of the most challenging ...
The allure of sport transcends age, culture, and geographical boundaries. It captivates hearts, ignites passions, and provides unparalleled entertainment. Behind the spectacle, however, lies a fascinating world of financial investment and expenditure. Among the vast array of competitive pursuits, one question looms large: which sport carries the hefty title of ...
Introduction Pickleball, a rapidly growing paddle sport, has captured the hearts and imaginations of millions around the world. Its blend of tennis, badminton, and table tennis elements has made it a favorite among players of all ages and skill levels. As the sport’s popularity continues to surge, the question on ...
Our two-tiered system for veterans’ support is out of step with our closest partners, and all parties in Parliament should work together to fix it, Labour veterans’ affairs spokesperson Greg O’Connor said. ...
Stripping two Ministers of their portfolios just six months into the job shows Christopher Luxon’s management style is lacking, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said. ...
It appears Nicola Willis is about to pull the rug out from under the feet of local communities still dealing with the aftermath of last year’s severe weather, and local councils relying on funding to build back from these disasters. ...
The Government is making short-sighted changes to the Resource Management Act (RMA) that will take away environmental protection in favour of short-term profits, Labour’s environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
Labour welcomes the release of the report into the North Island weather events and looks forward to working with the Government to ensure that New Zealand is as prepared as it can be for the next natural disaster. ...
The Labour Party has called for the New Zealand Government to recognise Palestine, as a material step towards progressing the two-State solution needed to achieve a lasting peace in the region. ...
Some of our country’s most important work, stopping the sexual exploitation of children and violent extremism could go along with staff on the frontline at ports and airports. ...
The Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill will give projects such as new coal mines a ‘get out of jail free’ card to wreak havoc on the environment, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said today. ...
Cuts to frontline hospital staff are not only a broken election promise, it shows the reckless tax cuts have well and truly hit the frontline of the health system, says Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall. ...
The Green Party has joined the call for public submissions on the fast-track legislation to be extended after the Ombudsman forced the Government to release the list of organisations invited to apply just hours before submissions close. ...
New Zealand’s good work at reducing climate emissions for three years in a row will be undone by the National government’s lack of ambition and scrapping programmes that were making a difference, Labour Party climate spokesperson Megan Woods said today. ...
More essential jobs could be on the chopping block, this time Ministry of Education staff on the school lunches team are set to find out whether they're in line to lose their jobs. ...
The Government is trying to bring in a law that will allow Ministers to cut corners and kill off native species, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said. ...
Cancelling urgently needed new Cook Strait ferries and hiking the cost of public transport for many Kiwis so that National can announce the prospect of another tunnel for Wellington is not making good choices, Labour Transport Spokesperson Tangi Utikere said. ...
A laundry list of additional costs for Tāmaki Makarau Auckland shows the Minister for the city is not delivering for the people who live there, says Labour Auckland Issues spokesperson Shanan Halbert. ...
The Green Party has today launched a step-by-step guide to help New Zealanders make their voice heard on the Government’s democracy dodging and anti-environment fast track legislation. ...
The National Government’s proposed changes to the Residential Tenancies Act will mean tenants can be turfed from their homes by landlords with little notice, Labour housing spokesperson Kieran McAnulty said. ...
Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson is calling on all parties to support a common-sense change that’s great for the planet and great for consumers after her member’s bill was drawn from the ballot today. ...
A significant milestone has been reached in the fight to strike an anti-Pasifika and unfair law from the country’s books after Teanau Tuiono’s members’ bill passed its first reading. ...
New Zealand has today missed the opportunity to uphold the right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment, says James Shaw after his member’s bill was voted down in its first reading. ...
Today’s advice from the Climate Change Commission paints a sobering reality of the challenge we face in combating climate change, especially in light of recent Government policy announcements. ...
Minister for Disability Issues Penny Simmonds appears to have delayed a report back to Cabinet on the progress New Zealand is making against international obligations for disabled New Zealanders. ...
The Government’s newly announced review of methane emissions reduction targets hints at its desire to delay Aotearoa New Zealand’s urgent transition to a climate safe future, the Green Party said. ...
The Government must commit to the Maitai School building project for students with high and complex needs, to ensure disabled students from the top of the South Island have somewhere to learn. ...
Paul Goldsmith will take on responsibility for the Media and Communications portfolio, while Louise Upston will pick up the Disability Issues portfolio, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon announced today. “Our Government is relentlessly focused on getting New Zealand back on track. As issues change in prominence, I plan to adjust Ministerial ...
Recreational catch limits will be reduced in areas of Fiordland and the Chatham Islands to help keep those fisheries healthy and sustainable, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. The lower recreational daily catch limits for a range of finfish and shellfish species caught in the Fiordland Marine Area and ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed an important milestone in New Zealand’s hydrogen future, with the opening of the country’s first network of hydrogen refuelling stations in Wiri. “I want to congratulate the team at Hiringa Energy and its partners K one W one (K1W1), Mitsui & Co New Zealand ...
The coalition Government is delivering on its commitment to improve resource management laws and give greater certainty to consent applicants, with a Bill to amend the Resource Management Act (RMA) expected to be introduced to Parliament next month. RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop has today outlined the first RMA Amendment ...
Overseas models for regulating the oil and gas sector, including their decommissioning regimes, are being carefully scrutinised as a potential template for New Zealand’s own sector, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. The Coalition Government is focused on rebuilding investor confidence in New Zealand’s energy sector as it looks to strengthen ...
Emergency Management and Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell has today released the Report of the Government Inquiry into the response to the North Island Severe Weather Events. “The report shows that New Zealand’s emergency management system is not fit-for-purpose and there are some significant gaps we need to address,” Mr Mitchell ...
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith is today travelling to Europe where he’ll update the United Nations Human Rights Council on the Government’s work to restore law and order. “Attending the Universal Periodic Review in Geneva provides us with an opportunity to present New Zealand’s human rights progress, priorities, and challenges, while ...
Associate Agriculture Minister, Mark Patterson, formally reopened the world’s largest wool processing facility today in Awatoto, Napier, following a $50 million rebuild and refurbishment project. “The reopening of this facility will significantly lift the economic opportunities available to New Zealand’s wool sector, which already accounts for 20 per cent of ...
Hon Andrew Bayly, Minister for Small Business and Manufacturing At the Southland Otago Regional Engineering Collective (SOREC) Summit, 18 April, Dunedin Ngā mihi nui, Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Ko Whanganui aho Good Afternoon and thank you for inviting me to open your summit today. I am delighted ...
The Government is delivering on its commitment to bring back the Three Strikes legislation, Associate Justice Minister Nicole McKee announced today. “Our Government is committed to restoring law and order and enforcing appropriate consequences on criminals. We are making it clear that repeat serious violent or sexual offending is not ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has today announced four new diplomatic appointments for New Zealand’s overseas missions. “Our diplomats have a vital role in maintaining and protecting New Zealand’s interests around the world,” Mr Peters says. “I am pleased to announce the appointment of these senior diplomats from the ...
New Zealand is contributing NZ$7 million to support communities affected by severe food insecurity and other urgent humanitarian needs in Ethiopia and Somalia, Foreign Minister Rt Hon Winston Peters announced today. “Over 21 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance across Ethiopia, with a further 6.9 million people ...
Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage Paul Goldsmith is congratulating Mataaho Collective for winning the Golden Lion for best participant in the main exhibition at the Venice Biennale. "Congratulations to the Mataaho Collective for winning one of the world's most prestigious art prizes at the Venice Biennale. “It is good ...
The Government is reforming financial services to improve access to home loans and other lending, and strengthen customer protections, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly and Housing Minister Chris Bishop announced today. “Our coalition Government is committed to rebuilding the economy and making life simpler by cutting red tape. We are ...
“China remains a strong commercial opportunity for Kiwi exporters as Chinese businesses and consumers continue to value our high-quality safe produce,” Trade and Agriculture Minister Todd McClay says. Mr McClay has returned to New Zealand following visits to Beijing, Harbin and Shanghai where he met ministers, governors and mayors and engaged in trade and agricultural events with the New ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has completed a successful trip to Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines, deepening relationships and capitalising on opportunities. Mr Luxon was accompanied by a business delegation and says the choice of countries represents the priority the New Zealand Government places on South East Asia, and our relationships in ...
New Zealand is demonstrating its commitment to reducing global greenhouse emissions, and supporting clean energy transition in South East Asia, through a contribution of NZ$41 million (US$25 million) in climate finance to the Asian Development Bank (ADB)-led Energy Transition Mechanism (ETM). Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Climate Change Minister Simon Watts announced ...
The Government is today releasing a list of organisations who received letters about the Fast-track applications process, says RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop. “Recently Ministers and agencies have received a series of OIA requests for a list of organisations to whom I wrote with information on applying to have a ...
Attorney-General Judith Collins today announced the appointment of Wellington Barrister David Jonathan Boldt as a Judge of the High Court, and the Honourable Justice Matthew Palmer as a Judge of the Court of Appeal. Justice Boldt graduated with an LLB from Victoria University of Wellington in 1990, and also holds ...
Education Minister Erica Stanford will lead the New Zealand delegation at the 2024 International Summit on the Teaching Profession (ISTP) held in Singapore. The delegation includes representatives from the Post Primary Teachers’ Association (PPTA) Te Wehengarua and the New Zealand Educational Institute (NZEI) Te Riu Roa. The summit is co-hosted ...
A stopbank upgrade project in Tairawhiti partly funded by the Government has increased flood resilience for around 7000ha of residential and horticultural land so far, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones today attended a dawn service in Gisborne to mark the end of the first stage of the ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters will represent the Government at Anzac Day commemorations on the Gallipoli Peninsula next week and engage with senior representatives of the Turkish government in Istanbul. “The Gallipoli campaign is a defining event in our history. It will be a privilege to share the occasion ...
Science, Innovation and Technology and Defence Minister Judith Collins will next week attend the OECD Science and Technology Ministerial conference in Paris and Anzac Day commemorations in Belgium. “Science, innovation and technology have a major role to play in rebuilding our economy and achieving better health, environmental and social outcomes ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon held a bilateral meeting today with the President of the Philippines, Ferdinand Marcos Jr. The Prime Minister was accompanied by MP Paulo Garcia, the first Filipino to be elected to a legislature outside the Philippines. During today’s meeting, Prime Minister Luxon and President Marcos Jr discussed opportunities to ...
The Government has announced that $20 million in funding will be made available to Westport to fund much needed flood protection around the town. This measure will significantly improve the resilience of the community, says Local Government Minister Simeon Brown. “The Westport community has already been allocated almost $3 million ...
The Government is proud to support the first ever Repco Supercars Championship event in Taupō as up to 70,000 motorsport fans attend the Taupō International Motorsport Park this weekend, says Economic Development Minister Melissa Lee. “Anticipation for the ITM Taupō Super400 is huge, with tickets and accommodation selling out weeks ...
Local Government Minister Simeon Brown has announced an increase to the Rates Rebate Scheme, putting money back into the pockets of low-income homeowners. “The coalition Government is committed to bringing down the cost of living for New Zealanders. That includes targeted support for those Kiwis who are doing things tough, such ...
The Coalition Government is investing in a project to boost survival rates of New Zealand mussels and grow the industry, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones has announced. “This project seeks to increase the resilience of our mussels and significantly boost the sector’s productivity,” Mr Jones says. “The project - ...
Benefit figures released today underscore the importance of the Government’s plan to rebuild the economy and have 50,000 fewer people on Jobseeker Support, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “Benefit numbers are still significantly higher than when National was last in government, when there was about 70,000 fewer ...
The Government’s commitment to doubling New Zealand’s renewable energy capacity is backed by new data showing that clean energy has helped the country reach its lowest annual gross emissions since 1999, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. New Zealand’s latest Greenhouse Gas Inventory (1990-2022) published today, shows gross emissions fell ...
The Government is bringing the earthquake-prone building review forward, with work to start immediately, and extending the deadline for remediations by four years, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “Our Government is focused on rebuilding the economy. A key part of our plan is to cut red tape that ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and his Thai counterpart, Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, have today agreed that New Zealand and the Kingdom of Thailand will upgrade the bilateral relationship to a Strategic Partnership by 2026. “New Zealand and Thailand have a lot to offer each other. We have a strong mutual desire to build ...
RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop and Transport Minister Simeon Brown have today announced the Coalition Government’s intention to extend port coastal permits for a further 20 years, providing port operators with certainty to continue their operations. “The introduction of the Resource Management Act in 1991 required ports to obtain coastal ...
Today’s announcement that inflation is down to 4 per cent is encouraging news for Kiwis, but there is more work to be done - underlining the importance of the Government’s plan to get the economy back on track, acting Finance Minister Chris Bishop says. “Inflation is now at 4 per ...
Refreshed health guidance released today will help parents and schools make informed decisions about whether their child needs to be in school, addressing one of the key issues affecting school attendance, says Associate Education Minister David Seymour. In recent years, consistently across all school terms, short-term illness or medical reasons ...
Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones is streamlining high-level oceans management while maintaining a focus on supporting the sector’s role in the export-led recovery of the economy. “I am working to realise the untapped potential of our fishing and aquaculture sector. To achieve that we need to be smarter with ...
Associate Agriculture Minister Mark Patterson is speaking at the International Wool Textile Organisation Congress in Adelaide, promoting New Zealand wool, and outlining the coalition Government’s support for the revitalisation the sector. "New Zealand’s wool exports reached $400 million in the year to 30 June 2023, and the coalition Government ...
The Government is making legislative changes to make it easier for new early learning services to be established, and for existing services to operate, Associate Education Minister David Seymour says. The changes involve repealing the network approval provisions that apply when someone wants to establish a new early learning service, ...
Changes to the Resource Management Act will align consenting for coal mining to other forms of mining to reduce barriers that are holding back economic development, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. “The inconsistent treatment of coal mining compared with other extractive activities is burdensome red tape that fails to acknowledge ...
Trade, Agriculture and Forestry Minister Todd McClay has concluded productive discussions with ministerial counterparts in Beijing today, in support of the New Zealand-China trade and economic relationship. “My meeting with Commerce Minister Wang Wentao reaffirmed the complementary nature of the bilateral trade relationship, with our Free Trade Agreement at its ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Magdalena M.E. Bunbury, Postdoctoral Researcher, James Cook University Burial with a horse at the Rákóczifalva site, Hungary (8th century AD).Sándor Hegedűs, Hungarian National Museum, CC BY How do we understand past societies? For centuries, our main sources of information have been ...
Amanda Thompson doesn’t really do Anzac Day. But what she does do is remember the people she knew who had a lifetime to remember stuff they didn’t really want to, because of a war they didn’t ask for. And she does make Anzac biscuits.First published in 2021.All my ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kathryn Willis, Postdoctoral Researcher, CSIRO Xavier Boulenger/Shutterstock In the two decades to 2019, global plastic production doubled. By 2040, plastic manufacturing and processing could consume as much as 20% of global oil production and use up 15% of the annual carbon ...
With our collective remembrance, and steadfast belief in our common humanity, we strengthen our hope and resolve to do what we can to foster dialogue and understanding, and to heal divisions in our pursuit of peace. ...
Principal reasons for the opposition is the loss of the public’s democratic right to have “a fair say” and the vital need for a government free from corruption, said Casey Cravens of Dunedin, president of the New Zealand Federation of Freshwater ...
Never mind the scoreboard – in the 2000 Bledisloe Cup decider, the real trans-Tasman battle was won before kickoff.First published in 2016. The dawn of the new millennium was a dark time for the All Blacks. Their final game pre-Y2K was a 22-18 loss to South Africa in the ...
I’m on the wrong side of 40, I never pursued creative work and now my job is killing my soul. Help! Want Hera’s help? Email your problem to helpme@thespinoff.co.nzDear Hera,May I start with the least original conversation opener you’re likely to hear around the motu at the moment, particularly in Wellington: ...
“Never again - No AUKUS” was the message of the wreath laid at this morning’s national ANZAC Day commemorative service at Pukeahu National War Memorial Park this morning by the Stop AUKUS group. ...
Until this month, Auckland swimmer Hazel Ouwehand had never met a qualifying time in an Olympic event for a New Zealand team, even as a junior. Now she’s very likely off to the Paris Olympics after swimming well under the qualifying standard in the 100m butterfly twice – both in ...
While Anzac Day has experienced a resurgence in recent years, our other day of remembrance has slowly faded from view.The Sunday Essay is made possible thanks to the support of Creative New Zealand. Original illustrations by Hope McConnell.First published in 2022.The high school’s head girl and ...
Australian and New Zealand volunteers fought together in the Waikato War, yet still its place in the Anzac tradition is unacknowledged by our defence forces or Returned Services Association.First published in 2018.When I was a boy cub I attended Anzac Day services in the South Auckland suburb of ...
A poem by Wellington writer Tayi Tibble.Hoki Mai She kisses him goodbye with her eyes still wet and alight from their last swim in the Awatere river. At the train station celebration, she leads the Kapa Haka but her voice keeps breaking under and over itself like waves. ...
A poem from Bill Manhire’s 2017 book of verse Some Things to Place in a Coffin.My World War I Poem Inside each trench, the sound of prayer. Inside each prayer, the sound of digging. Image courtesy of Auckland War Memorial Museum. ...
There are three books I have wolfed down in one sitting over the last two years. Colleen Maria Lenihan’s gorgeous and sad debut Kōhine, Noelle McCarthy’s memoir Grand about becoming her mother and then unbecoming her, and now Hine Toa, a staunch yet gentle self-portrait by living legend Ngāhuia te ...
Loading…(function(i,s,o,g,r,a,m){var ql=document.querySelectorAll('A[quiz],DIV[quiz],A[data-quiz],DIV[data-quiz]'); if(ql){if(ql.length){for(var k=0;k<ql.length;k++){ql[k].id='quiz-embed-'+k;ql[k].href="javascript:var i=document.getElementById('quiz-embed-"+k+"');try{qz.startQuiz(i)}catch(e){i.start=1;i.style.cursor='wait';i.style.opacity='0.5'};void(0);"}}};i['QP']=r;i[r]=i[r]||function(){(i[r].q=i[r].q||[]).push(arguments)},i[r].l=1*new Date();a=s.createElement(o),m=s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];a.async=1;a.src=g;m.parentNode.insertBefore(a,m)})(window,document,'script','https://take.quiz-maker.com/3012/CDN/quiz-embed-v1.js','qp'); Got a good quiz question?Send Newsroom your questions. The post Newsroom daily quiz, Thursday 25 April appeared first on Newsroom. ...
Asia Pacific Report Students and activist staff at Australia’s University of Sydney (USyd) have set up a Gaza solidarity encampment in support of Palestinians and similar student-led protests in the United States. The camp was pitched as mass graves, crippled hospitals, thousands of civilian deaths and the near-total destruction of ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By James B. Dorey, Lecturer in Biological Sciences, University of Wollongong Australian teddy bear bees are cute and fluffy, but get a look at that massive (unbarbed) stinger! James Dorey Photography Most of us have been stung by a bee and we ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jen Roberts, Senior Lecturer, School of Humanities and Social Inquiry, University of Wollongong Aussie~mobs/FlickrVictor Farr, a private in the 1st Infantry Battalion, was among the first to land at Anzac Cove just before dawn on April 25 1915. Victor Farr ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Gregory Moore, Senior Research Associate, School of Ecosystem and Forest Sciences, The University of Melbourne Gregory Moore I had the good fortune to care for the sugar gum at The University of Melbourne’s Burnley Gardens in Victoria where I worked for ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Hawkins, Senior Lecturer, Canberra School of Politics, Economics and Society, University of Canberra BagzhanSadvakassov/Upsplash, CC BY-SA Australia’s inflation rate has fallen for the fifth successive quarter, and it’s now less than half of what it was back in late 2022. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rachel Ong ViforJ, ARC Future Fellow & Professor of Economics, Curtin University Just when we think the price of rentals could not get any worse, this week’s Rental Affordability Snapshot by Anglicare has revealed low-income Australians are facing a housing crisis like ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Meighen McCrae, Associate Professor of Strategic & Defence Studies, Australian National University American and Australian stretcher bearers working together near the front line during the Battle of Hamel in 1918.Australian War Memorial While the AUKUS alliance is new, the Australian-American partnership ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tracey Holmes, Professorial Fellow in Sport, University of Canberra When the news broke last weekend that 23 Chinese swimmers had tested positive to a banned drug in early 2021 and were allowed to compete at the Tokyo Olympic Games six months later ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Cally Jetta, Senior Lecturer and Academic Lead; College for First Nations, University of Southern Queensland Australian War MemorialAboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised this article contains names and images of deceased people, as well as sensitive historical information ...
RNZ News Melissa Lee has been ousted from New Zealand’s coalition cabinet and stripped of the Media portfolio, and Penny Simmonds has lost the Disability Issues portfolio in a reshuffle. Climate Change and Revenue Minister Simon Watts will take Lee’s spot in cabinet. Simmonds was a minister outside of cabinet. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By David Lindenmayer, Professor, Fenner School of Environment and Society, Australian National University laurello/Shutterstock Some reports and popular books, such as Bill Gammage’s Biggest Estate on Earth, have argued that extensive areas of Australia’s forests were kept open through frequent burning by ...
Analysis - Christopher Luxon framing the demotion of two ministers as the portfolios getting "too complex" is a charitable way of saying they weren't up to the job. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra With Jim Chalmers’s third budget on May 14, Australians will be looking for some more cost-of-living relief – beyond the tax cuts – although they have been warned extra measures will be modest. As ...
Analysis: Melissa Lee has lost the media portfolio and her spot in Cabinet after multiple failed attempts to find solutions for a media industry in crisis. On Wednesday, the Prime Minister announced Lee would be losing her spot in Cabinet along with her media and communications ministerial portfolio. The job ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Simon Wilmot, Senior Lecturer, Film, Deakin University Among the many Australian who served during the second world war, there is a small group of people whose stories remain largely untold. These are the Muslim men and women who, while small in number, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kelly Saunders, PhD Candidate, University of Canberra There has been much analysis and praise of Justice Michael Lee’s recent judgement in Bruce Lehrmann’s defamation case against Channel Ten. Many people were openly relieved to read Lee’s “forensic” and “nuanced” application of law ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kathy Gibbs, Program Director for the Bachelor of Education, Griffith University zEdward_Indy/Shutterstock Around one in 20 people has attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). It’s one of the most common neurodevelopmental disorders in childhood and often continues into adulthood. ADHD is diagnosed ...
The Fairer Future coalition of anti-poverty groups say Whaikaha must be properly funded going forward, and that to argue that poor financial management of the new Ministry is a red herring by the Prime Minister. ...
The Taxpayers’ Union is today congratulating Hon. Paul Goldsmith on his appointment as Minister for Media and Communications and urges him to rule out state intervention in the private media sector. ...
Asia Pacific Report The West Papuan resistance OPM leader has condemned Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and US President Joe Biden, accusing their countries of “six decades of treachery” over Papuan independence. The open letter was released today by OPM chairman Jeffrey P Bomanak on the eve of ANZAC Day ...
Welcome to The Spinoff Books Confessional, in which we get to know the reading habits and quirks of New Zealanders at large. This week: writer and one of Time Magazine’s 100 most influential people of 2024, Lauren Groff.The book I wish I’d writtenIf I wish I’d written a ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By David Fechner, Research Fellow, Social Marketing, Griffith University mavo/Shutterstock Imagine having dinner at a restaurant. The menu offers plant-based meat alternatives made mostly from vegetables, mushrooms, legumes and wheat that mimic meat in taste, texture and smell. Despite being given that ...
“Three Strikes is a dead-end policy proposed by a dead-end government. The Three Strikes law ignores the causes of crime, instead just brutalising people already crushed by the cost of living.” ...
By Don Wiseman, RNZ Pacific senior journalist An Australian-born judge in Kiribati could well face deportation later this week after a tribunal ruling that he should be removed from his post. The tribunal’s report has just been tabled in the Kiribati Parliament and is due to be debated by MPs ...
With its clear mandate for police use, political nuances, and nuanced public trust, Denmark's insights provide valuable considerations for Australia and New Zealand. ...
Books editor Claire Mabey reviews poet Louise Wallace’s debut novel. A famous poet once said to me that he’s always suspicious when a poet publishes a novel. I never really understood why but maybe it’s something to do with cheating on your first form. Louise Wallace is a poet. She’s ...
For a few months at the turn of the millennium, TrueBliss burned bright as the biggest pop stars in the country. Alex Casey chats to two superfans who still hold the flame. During a humble backyard wedding in Nelson, 1999, one of the cordially invited guests had to excuse themselves ...
How will the recent wave of job cuts impact ethnic diversity in the media? In November last year, I was working a very busy day in the newsroom of a large online news site, interviewing whānau about their concerns over the imminent closure of one of the few puna reo ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ruth Knight, Researcher, Queensland University of Technology Have you ever felt sick at work? Perhaps you had food poisoning or the flu. Your belly hurt, or you felt tired, making it hard to concentrate and be productive. How likely would you be ...
Despite heavy criticism and an ongoing select committee process, the Police Minister says the Government will forge ahead with a ban on gang patches. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sam Whiting, Lecturer – Creative Industries, University of South Australia Shutterstock Everyone has a favourite band, or a favourite composer, or a favourite song. There is some music which speaks to you, deeply; and other music which might be the current ...
A new survey says ‘outlook not great’ for those charged with building infrastructure, while RMA changes delight farmers and depress environmentalists, writes Anna Rawhiti-Connell in this excerpt from The Bulletin, The Spinoff’s morning news round-up. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here. First RMA changes announced ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Olli Hellmann, Associate Professor of Political Science, University of Waikato Getty Images When New Zealanders commemorate Anzac Day on April 25, it’s not only to honour the soldiers who lost their lives in World War I and subsequent conflicts, but also ...
A leaked document shows the Canterbury/Waitaha arm of health agency Te Whatu Ora is scurrying to save $13.3 million by July. The “financial sustainability target”, which was “allocated” to Waitaha, is consistent with what’s happening in other districts, says Sarah Dalton, executive director of the Association of Salaried Medical Specialists. ...
A look at the state of the previous government’s affordable housing scheme, and what could come next.Remind me: What’s KiwiBuild again?First announced in 2012, KiwiBuild was a flagship policy of the Labour Party heading into both its 2014 and 2017 election campaigns. With Jacinda Ardern as prime minister, ...
Labour in opposition will be shocked to learn which party had six years in power but squandered any chance to make real change. Grant Robertson’s valedictory speech was a predictably entertaining trip down memory lane. The acid-tongued incoming Otago University chancellor administered a sick burn to the coalition government. He ...
Taiwan’s semiconductor industry is seen some as its ‘silicon shield’ against invasion – but how will overseas expansion affect that protection? The post The state of Taiwan’s silicon shield appeared first on Newsroom. ...
There’s relief for building owners bending under the weight of earthquake strengthening rules – and costs – that came into force seven years ago. Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk has announced a scheduled 2027 review of the earthquake-prone building regulations will now start this year. Owners will also get ...
Opinion: It has been announced that nine percent of roles at Oranga Tamariki will be disestablished, presumably to help fund the tax cuts promised by the coalition Government. I am reminded of the graphics used to illustrate pandemic events, where five thousand people are standing in a field and then ...
After more than two sleepless days, running through savage terrain, Greig Hamilton didn’t know if he was going to finish one of the most gruelling psychological assaults in sport. He was metres away from the finish line, a yellow gate made famous in a Netflix documentary; a race he’d dreamed ...
Apparently there is a movement gaining momentum to change the nz football team's name from the All Whites,
Peak stupid rapidly approaching.
You care that much? Really? Teams change their names on all the time, get over it.
He doesn't care about the name, he cares about the reason for it. I guess it does give the wrong impression if you don't know the origin of the name but it seems like there are way more worthy things for people to give their energy to.
It appears to be one of those "World famous in New Zealand" nomenclatures. Remember the mystery and then release of the name for the NZ cricket team… wait for it… drum roll "The Black Caps!" And that was followed by a plethora of national team names (Black Socks, Black Sticks, Black Magic … Black Ferns – the list goes on). The problem is that when these teams travel they are invariably referred to as New Zealand. And even the All Blacks are listed and introduced when playing internationals as "New Zealand". They used to play smaller county and rugby matches as the All Blacks and were referred to by those unions outside NZ as The All Blacks. A bit like the MCC which is the official title for the English touring team but they are England when it comes to test matches.
Until it goes mainstream it's just a bunch of fringe idiots who have an empty life.
Please attend to the Moderation note before you post anymore comments here, thanks.
FYI:
https://thestandard.org.nz/the-covid-vaccine-may-not-be-the-nirvana/#comment-1810589
https://thestandard.org.nz/the-covid-vaccine-may-not-be-the-nirvana/#comment-1810431
This is your final opportunity.
A moderator has been trying to get your attention for a few days K (Incognito above). Please take some time to read the links to get clear on what is going on.
It's a good idea when coming onto TS each day to check the replies tab to see who has replied. If it's an author/or mod, please read.
The NZ football team is called the All Blacks.
Not according to the Fédération Internationale de Football Association, though they do feature on the governing world rugby website.
Only in your world. 😉
The word Football was dropped from the name New Zealand Rugby Football Union (NZRFU), in 2006.
Quiet day in your neck of the woods? Looking to wind up a few boof-heads.
I trust you are keeping well and the lockdowns aren’t getting you down.
It's football all right. What do you think they kick around the field—a cricket ball?
Except most of the contact in rugby is with the hands.
There's a great deal of kicking in rugby football. That's why it's called football.
Your argument is valid in the case of that American "game" in which hardly anyone ever kicks the ball, and "play" stops after a couple of seconds.
Gridiron is an odd game, I'll give you that, but I would have the split between handling and kicking would be about the same as in rugby. And Australian rule for that matter?
Gridiron is an odd game, I'll give you that,
The game is called, bizarrely, football. The "gridiron" is the very narrow field, marked up oppressively with lines every ten yards, on which it is played.
but I would have the split between handling and kicking would be about the same as in rugby.
No, it is completely different. Kicking is the primary skill in rugby; there is only one way to move the ball forward, apart from carrying it, and that is to kick it. Kicking is routine in rugby, and it's the reason why the game opens up and flows, rather than being a form of trench warfare. To kick the ball in general play is utterly unthinkable in American (and Canadian) football—which is football in name only.
And Australian rules for that matter?
As in rugby, kicking is paramount in Australian football. Although the ridiculous "handball"—punching the ball from a closed fist instead of kicking it as in rugby— has marred the game for decades.
Was punching of the ball in Australian Rules not part of the game originally?
Your just going back to outdated stereotypes. Modern Rugby teams prefer to run the ball out.
Of course, running the ball instead of kicking it is always an option. But kicking is essential a lot of the time. Look at the way the Tricolors destroyed the All Blacks in the 1999 World Cup semi-final: all three of their tries in the second half were the result of kicking the ball.
You can let it go, it was 22 years ago.
Some things can never be forgotten. I'll bet the players will never forget it. Neither will the French of course. They never forget anything.
I was in Paris about 3 years ago. At lunch my wife and I were eating in a Bistro when a couple of French men nearby asked where we came from. When we said New Zealand they insisted on apologizing for the bombing of the Rainbow Warrior. I could, only just, remember exactly which year it was. They behaved as if it was just yesterday.
As we both know, they kick a rugby ball. Although more exciting teams don't kick as much as less entertaining teams do.
As we both know, they kick a rugby ball.
They kick a football.
Hands off NZ Football? Try searching the NZRU website for "football" or “footy“. C'mon footy players, it's only change – just run with it.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Football_(word)#New_Zealand
The NZRU, which has allowed Sky Television to ruin every broadcast by insisting on “exclusive” interviews with coaches during matches, and inflicting seemingly endless talking heads shows on us, and is busy selling the “brand” to a New York venture capital outfit, is hardly a credible or reliable source for anything relating to the history and heritage of the game. And no one except those boofheads on Sky uses the puerile five-letter word for football.
Can't comment, not being a Sky Sports subscriber, but this 'boofhead' refers to NZ's national game by that "puerile five-letter word".
Imho the tide’s going out on the term 'rugby football' in NZ (where everyone knows rugby's name), but I admire your 'reverse Cnut' principles. Time will tell whether your (bitter?) rearguard action bears fruit.
https://www.newzealand.com/nz/rugby/
Stand up for Football, Morrisey.
Oh ffs ,I carefully decided to go with football due to having had uptight tossers rant when I've called it soccer. Although you successfully stopped any conversation on whether the all whites should drop ther name.
Changing the All Whites name because some people (who have no interest in football anyway) can't get over their amateur phychology of projecting racism is not going to be popular.
I'm not a big fan of them 'fuck your feelings' tshirts cobbah..
Put the bong down gabby and speak English
Your comment made my day! I reckon you deserve free subscription to The Standard for a year.
Oh really – do we really have to know that "Islamic State-affiliate Suhayra Aden's family moved to New Zealand after Australia refused to accept her" as reported by Stuff. Besides, how is she still and 'affiliate'. If she was, she wouldn't be here – doh!
How long will it be before some perverted reporter thinks we will have to know about the contents of the woman's drawers, unless some enterprising cereal manufacturer gets in first to use her to advertise their burka friendly new product.
Let's leave Ms Aden and her family alone so that she and her and they can become ordinary New Zealanders who contribute to the rich fabric of the country. She doesn't need 10,000,000 eyes looking over her shoulder to see if she is putting together a bloodthirsty Caliphate that will over-run the country.
Couldn't agree more.
Most of us do daft things in our youth and most of us get away with it gaining knowledge of a lesson well learnt
People are saying she’s been seen with leading members of the opposition!
Adern can chair an APEC leaders summit virtually but apparently not a democracy.
She doesn't chair parliament
The thing I love most about right-wingers is their accuracy and attention to detail.
That being said can you please tell me who the hell this "Adern" is?
Parliament TV in the afternoon for democracy in a Level 4 Lockdown. You're welcome, any more delusions you are suffering from need assistance. Enjoy your 1pm walks and if necessary mask up and pop into your local supermarket and slyly turn a couple of magazines around, you'll feel so much better.
Wooooosssssh
Maybe explain what your point is then. This isn't FB.
Point is Parliament TV is not a replacement for debate in the house / over a virtual forum! It is a way to the public to watch. No more, no less.
Here we go. Quote from the Herald. (Don't have a link.)
"Robertson is the first of a line-up of ministers expected to front to Opposition and other MPs in virtual select committees this week after the Prime Minister's decision to suspend the sitting of Parliament."
I believe some of these are being broadcast on Parliament TV. So in fact they are a replacement to debate in the house. whoosh.
Democracy in action.
Here ya go.
Schedule of meetings
The select committee meeting schedule lists the time, date, and venue for each select committee meeting planned for the coming week. It also shows the business items that will be considered at each meeting. To find out who is booked to speak at select committee hearings please see the submitters list.
Under COVID-19 Alert Level 4 any select committees meetings will take place virtually over Zoom. The schedule is subject to change at short notice and the meeting format is dependent on changes in the COVID alert levels.
Meetings marked as 'Parliament TV' can be viewed at Freeview 31, Sky 86, Vodafone 86, Parliament On Demand or the Covid-19 Response select committees page.
Items marked “open to the public” will continue to be livestreamed to the committee's Facebook page.
https://www.parliament.nz/en/pb/sc/schedule-of-meetings/
Yawn! This is not Parliament!
Jeepers, you really are slow aren't you!
Parliament TV is in no way a replacement for Parliament. It's TV for goodness sake! MPs can't interact with it.
Most everyone else has been able to conduct business via Teams, Zoom or some other forum. Meanwhile Ardern cancels Parliament. Why when there is no need. There are technology solutions to allow Parliament to continue virtually.
Wooossh.
Settle Petal, it's you being slow, I suspect on purpose. Parliament TV is where you can watch Democracy in Action, the opposition questioning the government during the lockdown. You were whining about the PM not being able to run Democracy Virtually. We have pointed out that is exactly what they are managing to do. Get a grip.
I love the idea that David might think that when MPs aren't in the House they're actually watching parliament TV rather than doing all the parliamentary business that isn't in the House.
Or is it some sort of tory shorthand for zoom meetings rather than infecting each other face-to-face?
I suspect he knows exactly how ridiculous he sounds, but once he’s thrown out a Nat/Act slogan there’s no going back for him.
A spark of light might have come on in your second paragraph McFlock. The Red Blooded One still seems all at sea.
Apparently everyone else can do zoom, but Ardern is a bit special and needs to cancel rather than move to the virtual world.
OMG. David. Even RNZ had live coverage of the committee ZOOM meeting holding the government to account. The ZOOM meeting with David Seymour and Shayne Reti asking Grant Robertson and Ashley Bloomfield questions. How much flipping democracy do you want.
Sorry I’ll have to give up on you and cut you loose.
A select committee is not parliament!
This was your rant that I was reacting to.
"Adern can chair an APEC leaders summit virtually but apparently not a democracy"
No mention of Parliament, only Democracy.
Yep, happy to have you give up on me, cause we can see right through you. Bye bye.
You are soooo right; for your further edification: https://www.parliament.nz/en/visit-and-learn/how-parliament-works/fact-sheets/pbrief7/
HTH
Mate, no spark needed: everyone can see you a mile off.
Select committees are as much a part of parliament as debates in the House.
You don't even want all business conducted in the House to be done. You just want the opposition to yell nonsensicalities as soundbites for the 6pm news.
boohoo. The nats continued implosion can be put on hold for a couple of weeks.
There hasn't been any debate for a very long time. All we've seen are petty and childish stunts by an opposition that have proven what a waste of space and taxpayers funds they have become.
Yes
Be good if some one could list 10 salient point the nat and act have made about covid.
Are you advocating we do away with Parliament?
I guess it’s an option. History is littered with countries that have given that option a go.
Wooooosssssh
If anything, I think they’re advocating doing away with the current Opposition and build back better.
They're not a complete waste of space – consider their entertainment value. Collins' eyebrows (not joking – or am eye?), Seymour's twerking, Bridges' cavorting at a recent party conference, a Bridge too far (Merv from Manuwera), Boag, Ngāti Goldsmith, Woodhouse's concern for the homeless – and who could forget Maureen Pugh.
Such fascinating creatures. Calling Puckish Rogue – come in Puck.
Btw, what's Luxon (Local Govt, Māori Development, Assoc. Transport) been up to lately? https://christopherluxon.national.org.nz/news
Edgeler explains.
https://twitter.com/GraemeEdgeler/status/1429655136188604424
"prorouged"? Heaven forbid.
I blush at the thought. Far too many commo agitating, lefty comrade, fellow travelling, pinko, woke, virtue-signallers already without Parliament being prorouged!
Better check under the beds!
In principle debate in the house is really important. But in practice it is asinine. If the opposition respected the institution enough to ask relevant questions and research and meticulously critique government policy and actions, you'd have a good point.
Sadly, Parliament disgraces itself pretty much every day. It is quite dispensable for the duration of lockdown.
I wonder if can you tell the difference between a stag night and a marriage?
Democracy has a chair!? Just as well I was sitting down when I read that.
The kindest parliament on earth
Even crustaceans are cared for.
The government is being kind to lobsters
Good job by govt there, the way we treat all sea animals is usually pretty horrific…now they need to get on to banning big game fishing which is without doubt the most disgusting and violent 'sport' legal in this country…once the cruelty of it is witnessed by any human with any empathy for animals, it can never be forgotten.
Kids are pretty smart.
https://twitter.com/SaraBWarf/status/1429290430370304004
If you are bored, someone has put the 1984 election coverage up on YouTube..
https://youtu.be/5GkuvSsiFp0
that TVNZ opening music is so 80s.
Naomi Lange not looking too happy.
Naomi wasn't looking too happy…heh!
I was doing a metal voiceover, though I would hate to disparage the memory of Big Dave by sharing.
Lol.
Early political learning for me, that basically NZ didn't give a shit morally about politician's private lives. Open secret, media weren't reporting. Unlike say the UK where it would have been a scandal.
Devil's in the detail, but public opinion changes – sometimes for the better.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colin_Moyle#Opposition_and_the_Moyle_affair
Most of the election coverage is online somewhere on Youtube and as a tragic, I rewatched some of it last election. Even knowing the outcome, the 2005 election coverage is amusing as Mike Williams spends all night predicting that Labour will come from behind on the back of South Auckland and is proven right in the last hour or two.
The worst election result for New Zealand in it's post war history IMO..the end of the NZ Labour Party as a serious political machine for workers and the dispossessed, marked the introduction and ascension of centrist third way neo-liberalism into New Zealand like an incurable cancer…I for one had no idea what I was voting for at the time to be honest, I was young idealistic and could only see the anti nuke position, taught me a good lesson though..governments lie, and always be a critical thinker, especially when it comes to politics and politicians.
Labour lost a lot of core supporters after the Lange years. Left voters had no representation for 20-odd years because of constant neoliberal bait and switches.
.
This is gonna be a Big Big Night ! …
… latest Heylen Poll suggests we should have a Socialist Govt by Midnight … (Heylen 7 July 1984 … Lab 49.1%, Nat 33.2%, Socred 8.9%, NZP 8.8%).
But bear in mind, the Nats were still in front as recently as May (Heylen 26 May 1984 … Nat 43.8%, Lab 42.7%) … so might still be a little nail-biting … can't entirely rule out Muldoon once again clinging to power by his fingertips …
But overall, looking forward to a decisive return to the protection of working class interests & local industry and a censure of the ostentatiously wealthy under a superb team of Socialist Intellectuals: Mr Douglas, Mr Prebble & Dr Bassett in particular. Rest assured, the Country will be in mighty safe hands.
But let’s sit back with the popcorn & see what Mr Bryant & Mr Cockram & their exciting state-of-the-art technical wizardry deliver us.
.
Fantastic !!! young Peter Dunne currently ahead of Templeton in Ohariu by 162 votes ! Peter has a big future in Left politics.
That gawky little trouper Helen Clark looks consigned to to bumbling around forgotten committees.
Very strange and rather sick critique of the PM by a Graham Adams in today's Herald. Wonder if he will do a follow-up of Judith Collins.
Yes Reality, that Adams has a need to paint Jacinda as an "indoctrinated religious crafty politician". Trying to paint her nature as Mormon kindness, because…
I think he is muddling her with Scot Morrison. Now there is a crafty religious nutter with ties to Hillside and a henchman called Dutton.
The mud continues to be slung by nationals herald in many forms.
Scotty the other day shall we look forward to a Pauline Hanson oped soon.
This is a balanced and highly informative article on how children might be affected by Covid-19 and what role this might play in the overall thinking and approach to the pandemic. Note that there are no exaggerated conclusions or extrapolations from what we currently know and do. The language is plain and non-technical for a general audience.
https://www.newsroom.co.nz/how-the-delta-strain-will-affect-kiwi-kids
What might life be like, post-oil?
This magazine article explores the possibilities.
https://www.yesmagazine.org/environment/2020/02/25/life-after-oil
I like the vision here.ay it come to fruition.
A fair chunk of the British Press seem to have cooled of in their opinion of our PM it would appear.
"Mark Dolan from the GB News took aim at New Zealand and Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern for putting the country into lockdown"
"Living with this virus is going to be the only show in town. Zero COVID leads to zero economies, zero society, zero freedom and zero democracy."
"Another writer from the Telegraph wrote a brutal opinion piece on Ardern's decision to move New Zealand to a level 4 lockdown. Matthew Lesh called the decision "poetic justice" and New Zealand's approach has "frightening consequences".
"Elimination becomes a costly strategy with very limited benefit. What's the point of lockdowns and maintaining closed borders for a virus that, with vaccines in the mix, no longer causes much harm to individual people?"
We are obviously stuck in this time warp until the vaccination status of the population gets up to at least a second world country status. The virus isn't going to go away. We will have to live with it unless we go over to the world of North Korea and lock everyone up for ever. Well stop talking about how wonderful our approach is supposed to be and get on with the vaccination of everyone who wants to have it. Then, as an old Negro spiritual put it "Let my people go!"
https://www.msn.com/en-nz/news/national/isolated-dystopia-world-reacts-to-nzs-bad-to-worse-frightening-lockdown-move-nearly-a-week-on/ar-AANCkUg?ocid=msedgntp
A fair chunk of the British Press seem to have cooled of in their opinion of our PM it would appear.
The extreme right wing British press, which you have chosen to quote here, was never laudatory of Jacinda Ardern. Your case was dead in the water the moment you chose to quote the partisan and scabrous filth that is the Daily Torygraph.
https://www.thenational.scot/news/18539457.norman-tebbit-telegraph-cant-let-off-hook-rewriting-nazi-history/
"Living with this virus is going to be the only show in town…"
"Living with the virus" is a completely meaningless phrase – because every response to date by every government around the world is a version of "living with the virus". That's because the virus exists – and so by definition we have to live with it. These different versions of living with the virus do differ from each other in how much death and disease they will tolerate in the community.
What we are seeing is an appropriation of "living with the virus" to mean one particular version of living with the virus that has a particularly high tolerance for death and disease. It is scummy propaganda of the highest order – because instead of having to justify their high tolerance for death and disease, its sociopathic proponents can hide behind an illusion of inevitability. A decent media with half a brain would shoot down this filthy deceit.
How do you fancy your chances of surviving an epidemic of influenza or Covid-19 in NZ with open borders? Do ya feel lucky?
When I have had my 2 doses of the vaccine, and we have booster shots available I think my chances of surviving, even at my age, are pretty good. I might get ill but I am unlikely to die from the disease.
With those precautions I don't think it will be any more dangerous than flu is. Yes there will be a chance of dying but I will accept that for the chance to travel overseas, and have people travel here.
After all, a complete closure of the borders and having no one enter the country without a couple of weeks of quarantine is going to end sometime anyway. Politicians are never going to accept that limitation on their lifestyle.
So I feel lucky. What about you, punk?
Lucky you and who am I to burst your bubble? Apparently, the Covid-19 response reduced the number of deaths in winter overall by about 1,600! But I’d already told you that 2 days ago here: https://thestandard.org.nz/the-importance-of-jacindas-1-pm-press-conferences/#comment-1810675. Oh, how time flies in lockdown!
Stay safe and well, Alwyn.
I feel your excitement, Alwyn!
Yes, palpable and exhilarating, like a nasal swab!
Perhaps you could tell us why we should still have that barbaric method of testing for Covid 19? Do you like the thought of the discomfort for yourself or is it the idea that someone else will be affected that gives you a frisson of excitement?
There are comments from experts in the subject that using this method instead of saliva tests is a factor in preventing the country from keeping up with the outbreak. It is being portrayed in New Zealand as not being accurate but at least one authority says.
"“It's frustrating that this [accuracy] is still a question and shows how much misinformation has been passed onto the NZ public."
https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/126151636/slow-saliva-testing-rollout-hurting-new-zealands-ability-to-get-on-top-of-outbreak-scientist?cid=PDM711657&bid=1391011913
Much of the probing, prodding, surgery, and treatments in modern medicine are pretty barbaric when you think about it, e.g., cut it, amputate it, it burn it, freeze it, radiate it, poison it, et cetera.
I don’t necessarily buy the argument that saliva tests will make a fundamental change in the current environment. It depends on what the limiting factors are. It could increase the pressure on the testing labs, which are already straining, as I mentioned last night here: https://thestandard.org.nz/daily-review-23-08-2021/#comment-1810984.
I commented 2 days ago on saliva testing here: https://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-22-08-2021/#comment-1810628.
Perhaps you could tell me which countries managed to get on top of the Delta variant thanks to saliva testing. I could not find that info in your link. NZ can learn so much from others because we’re so much behind the eight ball.
Got to wonder why the sudden brit campaign by Murderoch to slag off the NZ response. Right wing regime seeks likeminded for free trade and virus swapping?
passing the "130,000 dead" threshold might have some asking questions about whether it's really "over" despite all the partying…
Well, somehow I can't insert a text extract from FB so I'll just type what was said by Ciaran Irvine:
"The right wing media here (and also in the rest of the world) NEED Jacinda to fail at this – because how she has handled Covid indicts them all as not just clueless spoofers but in many countries actual mass murderers,
"The Right has been utterly, catastrophically, psychotically Wrong all over the world at every single step of this pandemic, so Aotearoa's success thus far infuriates them and they NEED us to fail."
No idea who Ciaran Irvine is, but their comment seems absolutely to the point.
Sums the media and our resident right wing posters here up perfectly.
Majority responce from a group of at risk teens offered covid vaccination – nope, not having that, the gummint will use it to track me.
Well done to the fucks who platformed/spread this shit.
//
was that teens you know?
Frontliner's anecdote.
What an appalling rant from Kate Hawkesby in the Herald yesterday(?). Venomous woman filled with loathing. Actually that shows in her face, as are the embedded sneers of Hosking.
Those two deserve one another.
I set my radio alarm to her show in the morning
She is aural shit the bed
I understand they have children and one has to worry about the effect those two nasty negative people, from the same household have on them
Best response
https://twitter.com/Te_Taipo/status/1429654059057704960?s=20
Thread.
https://twitter.com/Jenene/status/1429560918917074947
https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1429560918917074947.html
That's an excellent thread
I've also heard so much commentary about how lockdowns create uncertainty and how this is difficult for people to manage. It leads to emotional stress and mental health problems (I have no doubt about this being the case for some people).
Personally, I like living with the certainty that we will have lockdowns rather than the uncertainly of who I’m going to contract a life-altering / life-threatening illness from if we have to “learn to live” with the virus in the community before we understand and can safely manage the game of catch-up between variants and vaccines.
I do understand that it is really important to have certainty about what you need to do – tomorrow, in a week’s time, in a month. What I don’t get is how the people who are upset by the uncertainty lockdowns bring, are probably not the same people who worry about the uncertainty that people in the precariat live with every single day of their working lives.
@LewSOS is being a bit trollish today… maybe he got out of the wrong side of bed this morning. Keeps equating socialism with mass murder. Calls himself a moderate?!
Does he?
He's using a specific definition of socialism. Here's a list of socialist states. He's not wrong about the lots of murdering thing. Not so sure he's right about there being very few examples what have been non-murdering, or whether it's a feature of socialism rather than other sociopolitical dynamics.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_socialist_states
The trollishness comes from not engaging the original argument for economic justice and obsession with counting dead bodies. Bloody revolutions were a desperate response to unbearable suffering, Marxism was the vehicle in some cases. But bloody revolutions were also necessary to overthrow feudalism and institute democracy; it's just that they didn't happen in living memory
The deaths in Stalinist Russia weren't just from the revolution though, right? They went on for a long time and were extremely excessive.
Well, there is a discussion to be had about whether the "revolution" is restricted solely to the overthrow of the monarchy, or includes (in the case of the USSR) the following process of repelling multiple massive invasions and turning an agrarian-peasant economy into an industrial power.
But really, it all turns into a "no true Scotsman" argument: socialist nations that didn't get particularly murdery get labelled "social democratic" or whatevs while capitalist countries that get murdery are "imperialist" rather than capitalist, and on the other side murdery socialist govts get called "failed dictatorships of the proletariat" (at best) and reasonably stable and humane mixed economies have their benefits attributed to socialism and negatives attributed to capitalism.
Yes in Marxist theory the revolution is not over until the state "withers away".
What did you think of Lew's original point, that many people viewing socialism through a freedom vs totalitarianism lens is due to socialism's history of murder rather than contemporary lack of class analysis? (I'd guess it is both).
Meh. Seems largely bollocks to me (especially in regards to yanks worried about "socialism", but we have it here, too).
"Socialism" as a scareword is devoid of meaning, it's a label applied to a number of different nations without reference to the situations faced at the time.
Is that label "socialism" more or less murdery than capitalist/imperialist nations? That's like arguing which billionaire is more wealthy today – comparisons are pretty meaningless when you get to that level. Take Cambodia, and then the Bengal famine. Did Beria kill more people than Zaharoff? Who really cares.
And that's with a reasonably unbiased assessment – throw on decades of propaganda in both directions, and most people wouldn't recognise the polsci definition of "socialism" or "capitalism" if it hit them in the face (and the latter often does).
But start talking about bosses and fair tax rates, and pretty soon the people who think socialism is a bit murdery start supporting policies that get them healthcare – until Fox calls it "socialism".
Tis disingenuous to draw attention to 'socialist' revolutions and death tolls.
Societal breakdowns generally involve murder and death irrespective of their 'ism'
it is entirely likely that a future death toll will be laid at the door of 'environmentalism'.
Further to the idea that overseas politicians and media need us to surrender in order to stop making them look callous and/or incompetent: scomo thinks delta resistance is futile and we need to get out of the cave.
I quite like Plato’s cave allegory, ever since I had to translate that piece of text. This whole pandemic apparently started with a bat out of hell. So, staying in the cave sounds pretty safe. I wonder what cavemen would have done when a cave bear tried to enter the cave they were in: would they fight for their lives and defend themselves and the cave or run away and be exposed to all other dangers as well as having the bear chasing them? We will never know the answer, of course.
I would like to think that with those words he has formed the basis of a great irony.