Some discussion yesterday (on both the Redlogix and NATWATCH threads) around the allegedly unprecedented popularity of both John Key (as Preferred PM) and the current third-term National-led Government (particularly in relation to Clark’s popularity and that of her Labour-led Government at the same point in its third-term).
This mirrors a series of dubious MSM memes regularly regurgitated over the last few months – memes that I’m in the process of closely scrutinising in a post that I’ll publish on Sub-Zero Politics at some point in the next few days.
UPOV 91
One of the other treaties that TPP countries are required to join is the International
Convention for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants 1991 (UPOV91).
UPOV91emphasises seed company rights over farmers’ rights compared to UPOV78. For example:
UPOV 91 requires IP protection to be provided to all species (compared to UPOV78’s 24 species)
UPOV91 requires IP protection for 20 or 25 years (compared to UPOV78’s 15 or 18
years)
UPOV91 stops farmers from exchanging their seed (something which is allowed under
UPOV78) which is inconsistent with the practices of farmers in many developing
nations, where seeds are exchanged for purposes of crop and variety rotation
+100 TMM…”emphasises seed company rights over farmers’ rights”….this is very scary….would seem to make New Zealand farmers susceptible to multinationals and genetic modification of seeds
( what about the GM swede scandal in Southland? …cows going belly up?…what would happen to a human if they ate these swedes?)
farmers organisations….the Labour Party and Opposition parties should be jumping up and down about this…In Europe I am told they are increasingly against genetically modified seeds and produce
…TPP has the potential to cut new Zealand farmers and horticulturalists and orchardists off from many markets in Europe …including Russia which is increasingly going organic
Yep, what we can do is being ever more confined at the behest of the corporations. Capitalism is slowly taking our freedoms and turning us more and more into serfs and slaves.
Monsanto were on the verge of bankruptcy when they discovered the glysophate herbicide, Round Up the commercial name, now I am lead to believe they control 80% of the worlds seed supply and are one of the worlds largest Agrochemical companies, scary stuff the amount of control these multinationals have over the worlds food supply?
Thank you for posting on this issue – intellectual property in relation to farming and food production is of huge concern to all New Zealanders.
One of my big concerns about the TPPA is that it diminishes New Zealand’s protections against large scale industrial food production and processes that will be damaging to our environment, our farmers and workers, our international reputation for food safety and quality, and our own health, by consuming inferior food.
I have watched a lot of documentaries and done a lot of reading about this in the last few months.
This documentary is a good start for anyone interested…and we all should be interested.
Food Inc (2008). It runs for 130+ minutes, if you haven’t got time, skip to the third minute of the film for a glimpse of the horror of a beef CAFO (Confined Animal Feeding Operation). These animals live in pens on dirt, eat corn and anti-biotics, are filled with e.coli, stand ankle-deep in their own faeces all their 5-month long lives and when slaughtered their carcasses washed in bleach to kill all the e.coli bacteria that proliferates in their gut due to the corn-diet.
What’s the complaint, exactly? If it’s that IP protection is being extended in an unreasonable way by the TPPA, as has happened with copyright, then yes, that’s bad. But if it’s that companies that develop new plant varieties shouldn’t have a right to protection of their IP for a period so they can recover costs, the complaint lacks merit. It’s not clear which of the two is involved here.
The TPP, just like all other FTAs isn’t about jobs or the benefit of the nations signing but about making the rich richer. Looks like it’s going to do that well. Everyone else though will be fucked – just as planned.
No but it’s main effects in NZ has, for the majority of people, been detrimental. It’s not of much good if it leaves the people who live here struggling to get a house while rich offshore owners are reaping massive capital gains.
Under TPP “NZ is projected to lose 6,000 jobs over a 10 year period.
“The Trans-Pacific Partnership meant to create the world’s largest free trade area will cost Canada 58,000 jobs and increase income inequality, says a new U.S. study.” The U.S. is estimated to lose 448,000 jobs over the same 10 year period.
“Perhaps more surprisingly, the study found that the two largest economies in the TPP — the U.S. and Japan — would actually shrink as a result of the trade deal, and that the deal would result in fewer jobs overall in all the participating countries.”
“In all, the study estimates that the 12 countries involved in the proposed free trade deal would lose a net total of 771,000 jobs in the 10 years after the deal comes into force.”
1) FULL ARTICLE: http://huff.to/1TdyueC
2) Global Development & Environment Institute at Tufts University: http://bit.ly/23jVi0C
__________________
This study will of course be nonsense. The Tufts academics are claiming there is a net loss of jobs across all TPP nations, notwithstanding all TPP nations benefit (according to the World Bank).
No doubt the Tufts study has been done as part of the campaign to persuade Congress not to ratify. But I suspect the Tufts academics will have limited influence on Republican members of Congress. It would the equivalent of Jane Kelsey being a major influence on Tim Groser.
As I have noted before, the whole TPP issue is now really being fought in the US on the issue of Congressional ratification. This will be a huge fight. President Obama will pitch into it. It was part of his State of the Nation address.
However, fundamentally the Republicans are in control of the outcome. If they want it, TPP will go through, no doubt with limited Democrat support.In contrast if Canada does not ratify, that will not be a deal breaker, although it might influence some members of Congress.
“This study will of course be nonsense.”
..which indicates a prejudgement…surprise surprise
and of course the MFAT analysis has been a robust credible example that hasn’t used unsubstantiated assumptions nor ignored inconvenient cost implications….Tui moment
“The estimates are based on modelling undertaken prior to conclusion of the negotiations, using a Computable General Equilibrium (CGE) model.4 A commentary on the modelling5 concluded that, while CGE models are commonly used to model trade policy changes, their validity depends on crude assumptions about how real-world markets function and their results are very sensitive to errors in these assumptions.
The commentary found that the standard of documentation of the modelling is dreadfully inadequate – just 20 pages of text in the published report. The authors should have chosen, or been asked to present, a much weightier and more detailed account of every facet of the data, assumptions, modelling and results.”
The World Bank says that the TPPA will be good for nations?
What a fucking laugh. Is there a single country that the World Bank has been involved with which hasn’t been brought to its economic knees and lost its sovereignty to corporate interests?
Thanks, that’ll save me having to read it just as you seem to have done.
”No doubt the Tufts study has been done as part of the campaign to persuade Congress not to ratify.”
Your supreme confidence has a calming effect on me and saves me having to take my medication.
”It would the equivalent of Jane Kelsey being a major influence on Tim Groser.”
What is poor old Jane going to do when Groser is off to Washington? Maybe she could do a sabbatical over there?
”As I have noted before, the whole TPP issue is now really being fought in the US on the issue of Congressional ratification.”
Indeed, it is a fait accompli and we here in little old NZ shouldn’t lose any sleep over it and just get on with our daily ordinary lives and leave the fight to the Republicans and Democrats in the US. What were we thinking that there are 12 signatories to the TPPA? They are mostly there to fill one A4 of the Agreement with little doodles signatures to make it look pretty and impressive.
I recognise good arguments when I see them, Wayne 😉
The establishment elite is gradually losing legitimacy with the citizens that they are supposedly leading.
In the US, this is represented by the mass popularity of alternative candidates like Trump and Sanders.
Wayne is well aware that his reach – and the reach of his six figure income ruling class friends – extends fuck all distance into the actual community.
We are forever in your debt, Wayne, for pointing out the kernel of this TPP issue in your comment. Truly, you are an towering beacon of constitutional incandencence; and a steel-trap mind combined with political perspicacity and wrapped up in lapidary prose. Is it true that your students sometimes could not talk for three days from the wonder of your law lectures? O Master! O Grand Regal Legal Beagle!
Because what you raise is the fact that the Americans, even with the crazy plutocratic political system that they have, ARE ALLOWED A REAL VOTE ON THE TPP. A VOTE!! In fact, their process has given them one already and they will have another if Obama looks like winning, as you incisively perceive.
Whereas in New Zealand the proto-fascist National gang of hoods (OK, proto-totalitarian for the squeamish) does not trust us with the right to vote on this crucial issue, that pries so aggressively into our Kiwi polity. Key and Groser etc., do not understand democracy. Or sovereignty. Or nationhood. Or citizenship. They don’t give a flying feck for NZ full stop. How else to explain their acquiescence in the terms of the Agreement and their unbelievable insulting arrogance and acquiescence in having the TPPA signed two days before Waitangi Day. It wouldn’t surprise me that they suggested it themselves.
You have a nice day Wayne, I’m off to practice my whakapohane.
ON THE FACE OF IT John Key has made a serious tactical blunder.
By insisting on hosting the signing of the Trans-pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA) in New Zealand, just two days before Waitangi Day, at the country’s most notorious beneficiary of crony capitalism, he would appear to have given his opponents an unparalleled opportunity to rally their forces and reinvigorate their campaign.
Frankly, I’m suspicious.
Because John Key is not prone to making tactical blunders.
Which raises the worrying possibility that the readily predictable consequences of his decision – mass protest action outside Sky City, with a high probability of violence and property damage – may be exactly what he wants to happen.
The Chinese philosopher-general, Sun Tzu, wrote: “If your enemy is of choleric temper – irritate him.”
Few would argue that, at present, the opponents of the TPPA are in a very bad mood indeed. Even fewer would suggest that they have not been extremely irritated by the National Government’s decision to host the official signing of the TPPA at Sky City in Auckland on 4 February.
Is John Key setting them up?
That might be the case if it was within John Key’s power to refuse to host (or, at least, delay) the signing ceremony. To decline this honour (as the NZ Herald describes it) would, however, involve a tremendous loss of face by Key’s government.
It was, after all, New Zealand that set the whole process in motion more than a decade ago. It would be an unthinkable humiliation for its government to ask another signatory to host the signing ceremony.
But if Key has no option but to host the signing of the TPPA, he most certainly does have a choice as to where it takes place.
Which raises the question: Why Sky City?
The ceremony could just as easily have been staged at the exclusive Millbrook Resort outside Queenstown.
This was where President Clinton stayed in 1999, and where the Intelligence Directors of the “Five Eyes” nations gathered just a few years ago.
Far away from New Zealand’s major cities, and easily defensible by a relatively small number of police and security personnel, the Millbrook Resort would not only have offered splendid “visuals” but also the smallest chance of disruption.
Which brings us back to Sun Tzu.
What does the Prime Minister know, that the people he is goading into besieging the Sky City complex do not know?
…….
_________________________________________________
In my view, the choice of Sky City as the venue for the proposed signing of the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA) is a deliberately provocative venue.
Back in December 2012, a peaceful anti-TPPA protest (outside Sky City) was hijacked, in my view, by provocateurs who arbitrarily changed the demand from ‘don’t sign the TPPA’ to ‘close down the TPPA’.
For the public record – I am absolutely opposed to any form of violent protest / ‘riot’ outside Sky City on 4 February 2016.
Although I totally understand how frustrated and angry many people feel about the TPPA – any form of violent protest / ‘riot’ will just be used as an excuse to clamp down on the democratic rights and civil liberties of ALL New Zealanders.
I for one am advocating a HUGE peaceful protest of New Zealanders against the signing of the TPPA on 4 February 2016, from 12 noon to 1pm, that starts at Aotea Square and ends at Britomart, and does NOT go to Sky City.
That those who are in paid employment in Auckland can therefore peacefully protest during their lunchtime, and the world can see WHY New Zealanders are opposed to this effective pro-corporate attack on our national sovereignty, where our banners and placards can ‘do the talking’ – because the WORLD will be watching …
In my view, the choice of Sky City as the venue for the proposed signing of the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA) is a deliberately provocative venue.
You make some good points Penny Bright. Imo, that is exactly what Key and his mates are hoping for – a violent confrontation. They have nothing to worry about of course because they will be heavily protected. The trick will be to launch a large and effective protest without resorting to any physical violence.
dress in the sunday finest,
be silent on your march – after all it is a funeral
bring the national flag – not the teatowel
and just stand there, do nothing, say nothing, be witness to the burial of the country. Maybe turn your backs when the Leader and his posse arrives.
+100 sabine…”bring the national flag – not the teatowel”…(agreed not jonkeys teatowel corporate take over flag)…
btw our NZ flag representing the founding legal Treaty of Waitangi agreement between Maori and Pakeha can be got from the Two Dollar shop for $5….(a nice big NZ flag)
….this told to me on the last anti -TPP demonstration by Maori carrying and waving the New Zealand flag…many Maori were carrying the NZ flag
In the 1930’s Maori considered entering a Partnership with The USA and the French however through their investigations they felt the British were the best alternative, hence the Union Jack is symbolic on the NZ Flag.
Key is putting the cart before the horse, he has not consulted with Maori, and wants to sign an agreement with the USA with out consulting the NZ Public and at the same time he wants to change the country’s flag which resembles my old
Auntys tea towel.
In the 1930’s Maori considered entering a Partnership with The USA and the French however through their investigations they felt the British were the best alternative, hence the Union Jack is symbolic on the NZ Flag.
I’d like to see a mass silent vigil outside the signing venue, with protesters standing hands joined with heads bowed. There will be no excuse whatsoever for police to interfere with us then, as it will be a peaceful protest.
However, should police attempt to harass us, then we should sit down, offering no resistance, only if it’s necessary to protect ourselves from harm. Let the police expose their boss FJK to the rest of the world as the filthy, treasonous despot we already know he is!
How Obama has sold TPP was to create US jobs – the opposite it true. Good video showing how the agreement is stacked in favour of corporations. Corporations can sue governments but the governments can not sue corporations.
The Democratic Party has been selling out workers for decades now. Bill Clinton destroyed millions of US blue collar jobs with NAFTA, now Obama continues the very same work on behalf of the transnational corporate class.
Rod Oram spells out the dangers of the TPPA to NZ on Stuff this morning :
Rod Oram: Dark clouds on the horizon
The benefits for New Zealand’s from the Trans-Pacific Partnership deal will be meagre.
The weaknesses and dangers of the Trans Pacific Partnership Agreement are analysed in a set of research papers now available at bit.ly/TPPApapers .
This columnist contributed sections on TPPA’s likely influence on value chains and 21^st century trade agreements. The conclusions for New Zealand are ominous.
TPPA will likely reinforce our position as a commodity producer and hinder our progress up the value chain where greater economic prosperity lies.
For example, large-scale overseas companies with close connections to their consumers will find it easier to tap into our resources than our small companies will find it to develop relationships with overseas consumers.
Similarly, restrictions on labelling through the TPPA’s sanitary and phytosanitary measures may restrict opportunities for our food exporters to build a high quality, differentiated market position.
The TPPA will also protect the US and other heavy users of agricultural subsidies. This will hinder WTO efforts to reduce them.
Overall, TPPA reads very much like a charter for incumbent businesses, dominated by US ones, which are attempting to hold back the tides of economic change the world needs.
Click on this link to read the rest of Rod’s column :
+100 Jenny Kirk…this jonkey nact government is treacherous to be signing this TPP without democratic consultation of New Zealanders who are overwhelmingly against !
I already annoyed at councils selling housing but it’s all part of the right wing plan.
Of course here in NZ we’re giving private landlords subsidies while refusing to give councils who are a large social housing provider the same support.
More on strategy and tactics for the upcoming TPPA protests,
Is Divide And Conquer The New TPPA Strategy?
Why did the government offer to host the signing of the Trans Pacific Partnership Agreement? (TPPA)
Why at an Auckland Casino and not parliament?
Why on February 4th before parliament sits for the new year?
Why do it just 2 days before Waitangi Day which has often been a focus of protest over Treaty related issues ( and knowing that the TPPA raises significant concerns over Treaty obligations and Sovereignty)?
Have these decisions been the result of sheer stupidity with no thought to pressure and unnecessary costs it puts on our police over security issues ?
Or the result of political cunning?
While stupidity can’t be ruled out, those of us who remember the 1981 Springbok Tour protests against sporting contacts with apartheid South Africa, haven’t forgotten how the then Prime Minister -National’s Robert Muldoon- was able to turn peaceful demonstrations into a law and order issue through the use of baton wielding riot squads.
Why? Because he had his eye on the election later that year and he wanted to present himself as a strong leader.
It put the police into the invidious position of behaving like Muldoon’s private army
and it damaged their relationship with the New Zealand public (that is so dependent on trust) for a very long time.
Does the Key government want to spin legitimate concerns over the TPPA into a law and order issue?
Or has National simply blundered in their timing and created a security nightmare for our police?
I don’t know.
What I know is the police are practicing their riot drills and that if protestors confront the police on February 4th with anything but peaceful demonstration, the TV pictures of violent clashes will allow Key to paint the protestors a an unruly mob of radicals who want to stop ‘what’s best for New Zealand’.
So let’s not give him that opportunity.
Let’s not get arrested.
Let’s remember what a previous National Prime Minister did
By all means let’s protest on the day, but let’s be clever about it.
Really the New Zealand Labour Party led by Andrew Little should be coming out in force on this march/demonstration and on Waitangi Day to protect New Zealanders and New Zealand
…and to help prevent any possible violence from Jonkey’s lackeys
Sources in the financial markets throughout Europe have confirmed to SuperStation95 that “These bank runs will spread” to other countries, with one analyst saying “This is the beginning of the end for all of Europe.”
In fact, it is likely to spread to Germany next. Just this week, Germany’s largest bank, Deutsch Bank, revealed they will post a loss of 6.7 BILLION Euros for last year; the worst loss in that bank’s entire history! Investors were stunned by this news and there is now open and public worry that Deutsch Bank may not be solvent.
Yet those concerns, those instincts, have considerable substance. Kiwis are naturally concerned when they see a large proportion of our national economy and productive capacity passing into foreign hands – a larger proportion, as it happens, than for almost any other developed country. They don’t need degrees in economics to understand that if the ownership of income-bearing assets changes, so too does the right to the income. Assets that used to benefit New Zealand owners now produce income for foreign owners – and the repatriation of that income overseas imposes a further burden on our already overstretched balance of payments.
The old analogy of selling off the family silver and then living off the proceeds is not easily dismissed. And it is not only the income stream that we lose; we also give up the rights of ownership and control over more and more of our economy, so that decisions of great importance to us are made in foreign boardrooms far away by people who know little and care less about our interests.
This really is common sense and yet the people who most loudly proclaim that common sense should be followed will be telling us that the selling of NZ is good for us.
The title gave it away, didn’t it – the usual click bait. Hide has long ceased writing original pieces and has become so predictable it is boring. He’s not the only ex-ACT person that has run out of ideas and meaningful things to say. What a waste of space.
The NZH has a bad habit of not loading comments over the weekend; they’ll appear sometime Monday morning or in the afternoon. It is a real killer for online debate, which just shows that the NZH has no real interest in giving its readers an opportunity to engage in important debates or simply provide an opinion on relevant issues. The Editorial on Euthanasia is not even open for comments, which is ironic given the title ”Time’s running out for debate”.
He’d probably go up in the polls.
I just keep getting the feeling he’s doing it for a grand piss take, a commentary on the share stupidity of of at least 30% of humans.
I read somewhere that he’s actually managed to avoid spending much of his own cash, and that in fact most of the campaign expenses have been met by donations. Don’t remember if it said where the cash came from, tho.
“George Soros, the financier who forced Britain out of the European exchange rate mechanism by betting against the pound, used his appearance at Davos to warn that a hard landing for China was now “unavoidable”. Soros stressed that he was not offering a prediction. “I’m not expecting it,” he said. “I’m observing it.”
For Guthrie, Fred Trump came to personify all the viciousness of the racist codes that continued to put decent housing – both public and private – out of reach for so many of his fellow citizens:
I suppose
Old Man Trump knows
Just how much
Racial Hate
he stirred up
In the bloodpot of human hearts
When he drawed
That color line
Here at his
Eighteen hundred family project ….
And as if to leave no doubt over Trump’s personal culpability in perpetuating black Americans’ status as internal refugees – strangers in their own strange land – Guthrie reworked his signature Dust Bowl ballad “I Ain’t Got No Home” into a blistering broadside against his landlord:
Beach Haven ain’t my home!
I just cain’t pay this rent!
My money’s down the drain!
And my soul is badly bent!
Beach Haven looks like heaven
Where no black ones come to roam!
No, no, no! Old Man Trump!
Old Beach Haven ain’t my home!
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Back in January a StatsNZ employee gave a speech at Rātana on behalf of tangata whenua in which he insulted and criticised the government. The speech clearly violated the principle of a neutral public service, and StatsNZ started an investigation. Part of that was getting an external consultant to examine ...
Renting for life: Shared ownership initiatives are unlikely to slow the slide in home ownership by much. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy today are:A Deloittereport for Westpac has projected Aotearoa’s home-ownership rate will ...
You're broken down and tiredOf living life on a merry go roundAnd you can't find the fighterBut I see it in you so we gonna walk it outAnd move mountainsWe gonna walk it outAnd move mountainsAnd I'll rise upI'll rise like the dayI'll rise upI'll rise unafraidI'll rise upAnd I'll ...
There’s been a change in Myers Park. Down the steps from St. Kevin’s Arcade, past the grassy slopes, the children’s playground, the benches and that goat statue, there has been a transformation. The underpass for Mayoral Drive has gone from a barren, grey, concrete tunnel, to a place that thrums ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections Global society may have finally slammed on the brakes for climate-warming pollution released by human fossil fuel combustion. According to the Carbon Monitor Project, the total global climate pollution released between February and May 2024 declined slightly from the amount released during the same ...
TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:00 am on Tuesday, July 23 are:Deep Dive: Penlink: where tolling rhetoric meets reality BusinessDesk-$$$’sOliver LewisScoop:Te Pūkenga plans for regional polytechs leak out ...
TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Tuesday, July 23, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:Health: Shane Reti announcedthe Board of Te Whatu Ora-Health New Zealand was being replaced with Commissioner Lester Levy ...
Health NZ warned the Government at the end of March that it was running over Budget. But the reasons it gave were very different to those offered by the Prime Minister yesterday. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon blamed the “botched merger” of the 20 District Health Boards (DHBs) to create Health ...
Long ReadKey Summary: Although National increased the health budget by $1.4 billion in May, they used an old funding model to project health system costs, and never bothered to update their pre-election numbers. They were told during the Health Select Committees earlier in the year their budget amount was deficient, ...
As a momentous, historic weekend in US politics unfolded, analysts and commentators grasped for precedents and comparisons to help explain the significance and power of the choice Joe Biden had made. The 46th president had swept the Democratic party’s primaries but just over 100 days from the election had chosen ...
TL;DR: I’m casting around for new ideas and ways of thinking about Aotearoa’s political economy to find a few solutions to our cascading and self-reinforcing housing, poverty and climate crises.Associate Professor runs an online masters degree in the economics of sustainability at Torrens University in Australia and is organising ...
The Finance and Expenditure Committee has reported back on National's Local Government (Water Services Preliminary Arrangements) Bill. The bill sets up water for privatisation, and was introduced under urgency, then rammed through select committee with no time even for local councils to make a proper submission. Naturally, national's select committee ...
Some years ago, I bought a book at Dunedin’s Regent Booksale for $1.50. As one does. Vandrad the Viking (1898), by J. Storer Clouston, is an obscure book these days – I cannot find a proper online review – but soon it was sitting on my shelf, gathering dust alongside ...
History is not on the side of the centre-left, when Democratic presidents fall behind in the polls and choose not to run for re-election. On both previous occasions in the past 75 years (Harry Truman in 1952, Lyndon Johnson in 1968) the Democrats proceeded to then lose the White House ...
This is a free articleCoverageThis morning, US President Joe Biden announced his withdrawal from the Presidential race. And that is genuinely newsworthy. Thanks for your service, President Biden, and all the best to you and yours.However, the media in New Zealand, particularly the 1News nightly bulletin, has been breathlessly covering ...
A homeless person’s camp beside a blocked-off slipped damage walkway in Freeman’s Bay: we are chasing our tail on our worsening and inter-related housing, poverty and climate crises. Photo: Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy ...
What has happened to it all?Crazy, some'd sayWhere is the life that I recognise?(Gone away)But I won't cry for yesterdayThere's an ordinary worldSomehow I have to findAnd as I try to make my wayTo the ordinary worldYesterday morning began as many others - what to write about today? I began ...
TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:00 am on Monday, July 22 are:Today’s Must Read: Father and son live in a tent, and have done for four years, in a million ...
TL;DR: As of 7:00 am on Monday, July 22, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:US President Joe Biden announced via X this morning he would not stand for a second term.Multinational professional services firm ...
A listing of 32 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, July 14, 2024 thru Sat, July 20, 2024. Story of the week As reflected by preponderance of coverage, our Story of the Week is Project 2025. Until now traveling ...
This weekend, a friend pointed out someone who said they’d like to read my posts, but didn’t want to pay. And my first reaction was sympathy.I’ve already told folks that if they can’t comfortably subscribe, and would like to read, I’d be happy to offer free subscriptions. I don’t want ...
National: The Party of ‘Law and Order’ IntroductionThis weekend, the Government formally kicked off one of their flagship policy programs: a military style boot camp that New Zealand has experimented with over the past 50 years. Cartoon credit: Guy BodyIt’s very popular with the National Party’s Law and Orderimage, ...
Day one of the solo leg of my long journey home begins with my favourite sound: footfalls in an empty street. 5.00 am and it’s already light and already too warm, almost.If I can make the train that leaves Budapest later this hour I could be in Belgrade by nightfall; ...
Do you remember Y2K, the threat that hung over humanity in the closing days of the twentieth century? Horror scenarios of planes falling from the sky, electronic payments failing and ATMs refusing to dispense cash. As for your VCR following instructions and recording your favourite show - forget about it.All ...
Climate Change Minister Simon Watts being questioned by The Kākā’s Bernard Hickey.TL;DR: My top six things to note around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the week to July 20 were:1. A strategy that fails Zero Carbon Act & Paris targetsThe National-ACT-NZ First Coalition Government finally unveiled ...
Summary:As New Zealand loses at least 12 leaders in the public service space of health, climate, and pharmaceuticals, this month alone, directly in response to the Government’s policies and budget choices, what lies ahead may be darker than it appears. Tui examines some of those departures and draws a long ...
The Minister of Housing’s ambition is to reduce markedly the ratio of house prices to household incomes. If his strategy works it would transform the housing market, dramatically changing the prospects of housing as an investment.Leaving aside the Minister’s metaphor of ‘flooding the market’ I do not see how the ...
As previously noted, my historical fantasy piece, set in the fifth-century Mediterranean, was accepted for a Pirate Horror anthology, only for the anthology to later fall through. But in a good bit of news, it turned out that the story could indeed be re-marketed as sword and sorcery. As of ...
An employee of tobacco company Philip Morris International demonstrates a heated tobacco device. Photo: Getty ImagesTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy on Friday, July 19 are:At a time when the Coalition Government is cutting spending on health, infrastructure, education, housing ...
TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 8:30 am on Friday, July 19 are:Scoop: NZ First Minister Casey Costello orders 50% cut to excise tax on heated tobacco products. The minister has ...
Kia ora, it’s time for another Friday roundup, in which we pull together some of the links and stories that caught our eye this week. Feel free to add more in the comments! Our header image this week shows a foggy day in Auckland town, captured by Patrick Reynolds. ...
TL;DR : Here’s the top six items climate news for Aotearoa this week, as selected by Bernard Hickey and The Kākā’s climate correspondent Cathrine Dyer. A discussion recorded yesterday is in the video above and the audio of that sent onto the podcast feed.The Government released its draft Emissions Reduction ...
Save some money, get rich and old, bring it back to Tobacco Road.Bring that dynamite and a crane, blow it up, start all over again.Roll up. Roll up. Or tailor made, if you prefer...Whether you’re selling ciggies, digging for gold, catching dolphins in your nets, or encouraging folks to flutter ...
Waiting In The Wings:For truly, if Trump is America’s un-assassinated Caesar, then J.D. Vance is America’s Octavian, the Republic’s youthful undertaker – and its first Emperor.DONALD TRUMP’S SELECTION of James D. Vance as his running-mate bodes ill for the American republic. A fervent supporter of Viktor Orban, the “illiberal” prime ...
TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Friday, July 19, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:The PSAannounced the Employment Relations Authority (ERA) had ruled in the PSA’s favour in its case against the Ministry ...
TL;DR: The podcast above of the weekly ‘hoon’ webinar for paying subscribers last night features co-hosts and talking with:The Kākā’s climate correspondent talking about the National-ACT-NZ First Government’s release of its first Emissions Reduction Plan;University of Otago Foreign Relations Professor and special guest Dr Karin von ...
Open access notablesImproving global temperature datasets to better account for non-uniform warming, Calvert, Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society:To better account for spatial non-uniform trends in warming, a new GITD [global instrumental temperature dataset] was created that used maximum likelihood estimation (MLE) to combine the land surface ...
A late change to charter school legislation will cheat educators out of fair pay and negotiating power proving charter schools are just a vehicle to make profit out of our education system. ...
In 2004 te iwi Māori rallied against the Crown’s attempt to confiscate our coastlines and moana with the Foreshore and Seabed Act. This led to the largest hīkoi of a generation and the birth of Te Pāti Māori. 20 years later, history is repeating itself. Today the government has announced ...
It has been five and a half years since the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care was established to investigate the abuse of children, young people, and vulnerable adults within state and faith-based institutions. Yesterday, the final report - Whanaketia through pain and trauma, from darkness to light ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to take action off the back of the International Court of Justice ruling on Israel’s illegal occupation of Palestine. ...
On Friday the International Court of Justice reaffirmed what Palestinian’s have been telling us for decades: that the occupation and colonisation of Palestinian lands by Israel is illegal and must end immediately. They also called for reparations for Palestinian’s who have lived under Israeli occupation since it began in 1967. ...
Labour calls on the Government to act after the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled that Israel’s occupation of Palestinian Territories is illegal. ...
The 53.7 percent rise in benefit sanctions over the last year is more proof of this Government’s disdain for our communities most in need of support. ...
Aotearoa could be a country where every child grows up feeling safe, loved and with a sense of belonging in their whānau and community. But for some of our children, this is far from reality. Instead, they are trapped in a maze of intergenerational harm that they can’t escape on ...
Te Pāti Māori are calling for David Seymour to resign as Associate Health Minister in response to his call for Pharmac to ignore the Treaty of Waitangi. “This announcement is just another example of the government’s anti-Tiriti, anti-Māori agenda.” Said Co-leader and spokesperson for health, Debbie Ngarewa-Packer. “Seymour thinks it ...
The soaring price of renting is driving the rise of inflation in this country - with latest figures from Stats NZ showing rents are up 4.8 per cent on average while annual inflation is at 3.3 per cent. ...
National’s Emissions Reduction Plan will take New Zealand further from the economy we need to ensure the next generation has a stable climate and secure livelihoods. ...
Following consultation with named parties and thorough consideration of privacy interests, the Green Party is in a position to release the Executive Summary of the final report from the independent investigation into Darleen Tana. ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon should be asking serious questions of his Minister for Resources Shane Jones now it’s been revealed he misled the public about a dinner with mining companies that he didn’t declare and said wasn’t pre-arranged. ...
Te Pāti Māori have submitted to the Justice Select Committee against the Sentencing (Reinstating Three Strikes) Amendment Bill. The bill will further entrench racism in our justice system and fails to focus on rehabilitation. “Reinstating Three Strikes will empower a systematically racist system and exacerbate the overrepresentation of Māori in ...
The Transport and Infrastructure Committee is set to make a determination on the Residential Tenancies Amendment (RTA) Bill in the coming weeks. “This legislation will give landlords the power to kick our whānau out onto the street for no reason” said Housing spokesperson, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi. “Their solution to the housing ...
“National’s campaign was about tackling crime and the best they can do is a two-year long Ministerial Advisory Group,” Labour justice spokesperson Duncan Webb said. ...
“There are more examples of charter schools failing their students than there are success stories. The coalition Government is driving to dismantle our public school system and instead promote a privatised, competitive structure that puts profits before kids,” Jan Tinetti said. ...
“This government is choosing to deliberately mislead and withhold information, keeping our people in the dark about this government’s agenda and the future of our mokopuna,” said co-leader and spokesperson for Health, Debbie Ngarewa-Packer. The call comes after the demand from the Chief Ombudsman that Associate Minister of Health, Casey ...
“Today’s climate announcement by Simon Watts makes clear the National Government is simply paying lip service to meeting its climate change targets,” Megan Woods said. ...
National is choosing to make life harder for workers by taking away the rights our communities have fought hard for. Here's how they’re taking workers backwards. ...
Australia, Canada and New Zealand today issued the following statement on the need for an urgent ceasefire in Gaza and the risk of expanded conflict between Hizballah and Israel. The situation in Gaza is catastrophic. The human suffering is unacceptable. It cannot continue. We remain unequivocal in our condemnation of ...
Attorney-General Judith Collins today reminded all State and faith-based institutions of their legal obligation to preserve records relevant to the safety and wellbeing of those in its care. “The Abuse in Care Inquiry’s report has found cases where records of the most vulnerable people in State and faith‑based institutions were ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says the Government’s online safety website for children and young people has reached one million page views. “It is great to see so many young people and their families accessing the site Keep It Real Online to learn how to stay safe online, and manage ...
Tēnā tātou katoa, Ngā mihi te rangi, ngā mihi te whenua, ngā mihi ki a koutou, kia ora mai koutou. Thank you for the opportunity to be here and the invitation to speak at this 50th anniversary conference. I acknowledge all those who have gone before us and paved the ...
New Zealand’s payroll providers have successfully prepared to ensure 3.5 million individuals will, from Wednesday next week, be able to keep more of what they earn each pay, says Finance Minister Nicola Willis and Revenue Minister Simon Watts. “The Government's tax policy changes are legally effective from Wednesday. Delivering this tax ...
An experimental vineyard which will help futureproof the wine sector has been opened in Blenheim by Associate Regional Development Minister Mark Patterson. The covered vineyard, based at the New Zealand Wine Centre – Te Pokapū Wāina o Aotearoa, enables controlled environmental conditions. “The research that will be produced at the Experimental ...
The Coalition Government has confirmed the indicative regional breakdown of North Island Weather Event (NIWE) funding for state highway recovery projects funded through Budget 2024, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Regions in the North Island suffered extensive and devastating damage from Cyclone Gabrielle and the 2023 Auckland Anniversary Floods, and ...
Indonesia’s Foreign Minister, Retno Marsudi, will visit New Zealand next week, Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced. “Indonesia is important to New Zealand’s security and economic interests and is our closest South East Asian neighbour,” says Mr Peters, who is currently in Laos to engage with South East Asian partners. ...
He aha te kai a te rangatira? He kōrero, he kōrero, he kōrero. The government has reaffirmed its commitment to supporting the aspirations of Ngāti Maniapoto, Minister for Māori Development Tama Potaka says. “My thanks to Te Nehenehenui Trust – Ngāti Maniapoto for bringing their important kōrero to a ministerial ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has thanked outgoing Chair of the Civil Aviation Authority, Janice Fredric, for her service to the board.“I have received Ms Fredric’s resignation from the role of Chair of the Civil Aviation Authority,” Mr Brown says.“On behalf of the Government, I want to thank Ms Fredric for ...
The Government is proposing legislation to overturn a Court of Appeal decision and amend the Marine and Coastal Area Act in order to restore Parliament’s test for Customary Marine Title, Treaty Negotiations Minister Paul Goldsmith says. “Section 58 required an applicant group to prove they have exclusively used and occupied ...
Regulation Minister David Seymour says that opposition parties have united in bad faith, opposing what they claim are ‘dangerous changes’ to the Early Childhood Education sector, despite no changes even being proposed yet. “Issues with affordability and availability of early childhood education, and the complexity of its regulation, has led ...
After receiving more than 740 submissions in the first 20 days, Regulation Minister David Seymour is asking the Ministry for Regulation to extend engagement on the early childhood education regulation review by an extra two weeks. “The level of interest has been very high, and from the conversations I’ve been ...
The Coalition Government is investing $802.9 million into the Wairarapa and Manawatū rail lines as part of a funding agreement with the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA), KiwiRail, and the Greater Wellington and Horizons Regional Councils to deliver more reliable services for commuters in the lower North Island, Transport Minister Simeon ...
Local Government Minister Simeon Brown has announced his intention to appoint a Crown Manager to both Hawke’s Bay Regional and Wairoa District Councils to speed up the delivery of flood protection work in Wairoa."Recent severe weather events in Wairoa this year, combined with damage from Cyclone Gabrielle in 2023 have ...
Mr Speaker, this is a day that many New Zealanders who were abused in State care never thought would come. It’s the day that this Parliament accepts, with deep sorrow and regret, the Report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care. At the heart of this report are the ...
For the first time, the Government is formally acknowledging some children and young people at Lake Alice Psychiatric Hospital experienced torture. The final report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in State and Faith-based Care “Whanaketia – through pain and trauma, from darkness to light,” was tabled in Parliament ...
The Government has acknowledged the nearly 2,400 courageous survivors who shared their experiences during the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Historical Abuse in State and Faith-Based Care. The final report from the largest and most complex public inquiry ever held in New Zealand, the Royal Commission Inquiry “Whanaketia – through ...
With a week to go before hard-working New Zealanders see personal income tax relief for the first time in fourteen years, 513,000 people have used the Budget tax calculator to see how much they will benefit, says Finance Minister Nicola Willis. “Tax relief is long overdue. From next Wednesday, personal income ...
Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden says a bill that has passed its first reading will improve parental leave settings and give non-biological parents more flexibility as primary carer for their child. The Regulatory Systems Amendment Bill (No3), passed its first reading this morning. “It includes a change ...
Two Bills designed to improve regulation and make it easier to do business have passed their first reading in Parliament, says Economic Development Minister Melissa Lee. The Regulatory Systems (Economic Development) Amendment Bill and Regulatory Systems (Immigration and Workforce) Amendment Bill make key changes to legislation administered by the Ministry ...
New legislation paves the way for greater competition in sectors such as banking and electricity, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly says. “Competitive markets boost productivity, create employment opportunities and lift living standards. To support competition, we need good quality regulation but, unfortunately, a recent OECD report ranked New ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says lotteries for charitable purposes, such as those run by the Heart Foundation, Coastguard NZ, and local hospices, will soon be allowed to operate online permanently. “Under current laws, these fundraising lotteries are only allowed to operate online until October 2024, after which ...
The Coalition Government is accelerating work on the new four-lane expressway between Auckland and Whangārei as part of its Roads of National Significance programme, with an accelerated delivery model to deliver this project faster and more efficiently, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “For too long, the lack of resilient transport connections ...
Sir Don McKinnon will travel to Viet Nam this week as a Special Envoy of the Government, Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced. “It is important that the Government give due recognition to the significant contributions that General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong made to New Zealand-Viet Nam relations,” Mr ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says newly appointed Commissioner, Grant Illingworth KC, will help deliver the report for the first phase of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into COVID-19 Lessons, due on 28 November 2024. “I am pleased to announce that Mr Illingworth will commence his appointment as ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters travels to Laos this week to participate in a series of Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)-led Ministerial meetings in Vientiane. “ASEAN plays an important role in supporting a peaceful, stable and prosperous Indo-Pacific,” Mr Peters says. “This will be our third visit to ...
Construction of a new mental health facility at Te Nikau Grey Hospital in Greymouth is today one step closer, Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey says. “This $27 million facility shows this Government is delivering on its promise to boost mental health care and improve front line services,” Mr Doocey says. ...
New Zealand is committing nearly $50 million to a package supporting sustainable Pacific fisheries development over the next four years, Foreign Minister Winston Peters and Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones announced today. “This support consisting of a range of initiatives demonstrates New Zealand’s commitment to assisting our Pacific partners ...
Associate Education Minister David Seymour says proposed changes to the Education and Training Amendment Bill will ensure charter schools have more flexibility to negotiate employment agreements and are equipped with the right teaching resources. “Cabinet has agreed to progress an amendment which means unions will not be able to initiate ...
In response to serious concerns around oversight, overspend and a significant deterioration in financial outlook, the Board of Health New Zealand will be replaced with a Commissioner, Health Minister Dr Shane Reti announced today. “The previous government’s botched health reforms have created significant financial challenges at Health NZ that, without ...
Minister for Space and Science, Innovation and Technology Judith Collins will travel to Adelaide tomorrow for space and science engagements, including speaking at the Australian Space Forum. While there she will also have meetings and visits with a focus on space, biotechnology and innovation. “New Zealand has a thriving space ...
Climate Change Minister Simon Watts will travel to China on Saturday to attend the Ministerial on Climate Action meeting held in Wuhan. “Attending the Ministerial on Climate Action is an opportunity to advocate for New Zealand climate priorities and engage with our key partners on climate action,” Mr Watts says. ...
Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones is travelling to the Solomon Islands tomorrow for meetings with his counterparts from around the Pacific supporting collective management of the region’s fisheries. The 23rd Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Committee and the 5th Regional Fisheries Ministers’ Meeting in Honiara from 23 to 26 July ...
The Government today launched the Military Style Academy Pilot at Te Au rere a te Tonga Youth Justice residence in Palmerston North, an important part of the Government’s plan to crackdown on youth crime and getting youth offenders back on track, Minister for Children, Karen Chhour said today. “On the ...
The Government has welcomed news the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) has begun work to replace nine priority bridges across the country to ensure our state highway network remains resilient, reliable, and efficient for road users, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says.“Increasing productivity and economic growth is a key priority for the ...
Acting Prime Minister David Seymour has been in contact throughout the evening with senior officials who have coordinated a whole of government response to the global IT outage and can provide an update. The Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet has designated the National Emergency Management Agency as the ...
New Zealand and Japan will continue to step up their shared engagement with the Pacific, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “New Zealand and Japan have a strong, shared interest in a free, open and stable Pacific Islands region,” Mr Peters says. “We are pleased to be finding more ways ...
New developments in the heart of North Island forestry country will reinvigorate their communities and boost economic development, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones visited Kaingaroa and Kawerau in Bay of Plenty today to open a landmark community centre in the former and a new connecting road in ...
President Adeang, fellow Ministers, honourable Diet Member Horii, Ambassadors, distinguished guests. Minasama, konnichiwa, and good afternoon, everyone. Distinguished guests, it’s a pleasure to be here with you today to talk about New Zealand’s foreign policy reset, the reasons for it, the values that underpin it, and how it ...
Comment: It was a good two hours into the conversation when Tyrone Marks raised the most basic of questions when I first spoke to him in 2017. “They didn’t explain the things they did to me. They never told me why. And they still haven’t. There’s no explanation for it. ...
Last summer when Matairangi burned, Ginny and Tom stood at the window of their lounge, watching kākā shoot skyward from the burning trees. From the distance, they looked to Ginny like pages torn from books and thrown into a bonfire. It was Tom, voice tight, who told her it was ...
Opinion: The Canadian short story writer Alice Munro – winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2013 – died in May at the age of 92. Her work was about “the damage people inflict on one another in the name of love”, Deborah Treisman wrote in the New Yorker. ...
This month marks two years since the most powerful telescope ever built sent its first pictures back to earth. From its lofty vantage point, beyond the moon in orbit around the sun, the James Webb Space Telescope was tuned to observe the first stars and galaxies being born soon after ...
Comment: After Climate Change Minister Simon Watts’ preview several weeks ago, I had some optimism about the Government’s emissions reduction plan. Now I’ve read the discussion document, that hope has been dashed. How can the Government propose a plan that wants to take New Zealand taxpayers’ hard-earned money, and spend ...
Christopher Luxon: hurdles The little man from National jumps hurdles in his sleep. He’s quite good at it in his dreams and even though the reality doesn’t quite match up you have to give him credit for getting up every morning and crashing into the very first hurdle of the ...
Madeleine Chapman rounds out Death Week on The Spinoff with a final recommendation. You can read all of our Death Week coverage here. Nothing forces you to reflect on your life and relationships quite like proximity to death. For those whose nearest and dearest have died, there are reasonably obvious ...
Whitney Greene takes us through her life in television, including the TV character she’d like to plan a funeral for and her cow lung catastrophe on The Traitors NZ. “If the phone rings, I have to answer it,” Whitney Greene from The Traitors NZ warns as we begin our My ...
Maddie Ballard reviews the debut essay collection of Pōneke writer Flora Feltham.In ‘The Raw Material’, the longest essay in Flora Feltham’s dazzling debut collection, the author heads out for a run after hours of weaving and sees the world turn to textile. “Pounding along the Parade, I saw the ...
Andy Christiansen, one half of the experimental rock-pop duo TRiPS, shares the tunes inspiring the band’s perfect weekend and new release. “Good speakers, good food, good music, no distractions”: that’s all you need to enjoy the psychedelic stylings of TRiPS, a new band formed by Fly My Pretties’ Barnaby Weir ...
Celebrating our quadrennial opportunity to become experts in a bunch of sports we never normally watch.The games of the XXXIII Olympiad are upon us. Paris will host this year’s showcase of sporting and athletic prowess, which means some late-night and early-morning viewing for us in Aotearoa.But what sports ...
The photograph is striking and beautiful, but also disturbing – a reminder that my love for John was often entangled in shame.The Sunday Essay is made possible thanks to the support of Creative New Zealand.In the spring of 1980, in Dunedin, shortly before his death, someone took a photograph ...
Get to know Babushka, our latest Dog of the Month. This feature was offered as a reward during our What’s Eating Aotearoa PledgeMe campaign. Thank you to Babu’s humans, Jo and Isabel, for their support. Dog name: Babushka (Babu for short) Age: 2Breed: Border Collie X poodleIf rescued, ...
Pacific Media Watch A Lebanese photojournalist who was severely wounded during an Israeli air strike in south Lebanon carried the Olympic torch in Paris this week in honour of her peers who have been wounded and killed in the field — especially in Gaza and Lebanon. Christina Assi of Agence ...
The first report in a five-part web series focused on the 15th Triennial Conference of Pacific Women taking place in the Marshall Islands this week.SPECIAL REPORT:By Netani Rika in Majuro Women continue to fight for justice 70 years after the first nuclear tests by the United States caused ...
Christopher Luxon has joined with Australia and Canada's leaders in voicing support for US President Joe Biden's ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra The 2022 election brought the “teal wave” into parliament. The next election will test whether teals, who occupy what were Liberal seats, and other independents can maintain their momentum. Joining us on the Podcast ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ian Musgrave, Senior lecturer in Pharmacology, University of Adelaide Pixavri/Shutterstock A major Federal Court class action has been dismissed this week after Justice Michael Lee ruled there was not enough evidence to prove the weedkiller Roundup causes cancer. Plaintiff Kelvin ...
In The Week in Politics: politicians have to decide what to do about child abuse, Health NZ is booked in for major surgery and Darleen Tana returns. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Clare Corbould, Associate Professor, Contemporary Histories Research Group, Deakin University Mainstream media are surprisingly muted at the prospect of the world’s most powerful nation being led for the first time by a woman – specifically a woman of colour, Vice President Kamala ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rebecca Bennett, PhD Student, Associate Research Fellow, Deakin University Last week, a drone delivery company called Wing (owned by Google’s parent company, Alphabet) started operating in Melbourne. Some 250,000 residents in parts of the city’s eastern suburbs can now order food from ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jonathan Foo, Lecturer, Physiotherapy, Monash University pikselstock/Shutterstock In the next 40 years in Australia, it’s predicted the number of Australians aged 65 and over will more than double, while the number of people aged 85 and over will more than triple. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Katrina Grant, Research Associate, Power Institute for Arts and Visual Culture, University of Sydney Jonas Åkerström’s 1790 work, Session of the Accademia dell’Arcadia on August 17 1788.Nationalmuseum/Cecilia Heisser Ever wondered whether you’d have a better chance at winning an Olympic gold ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alexandra Jones, Program Lead, Food Governance, George Institute for Global Health wavebreakmedia/Shutterstock On Thursday, Australian and New Zealand food ministers at state, federal and national levels met to thrash out what’s next for health star ratings on packaged foods. Now, after ...
The Abuse in Care report found many Pacific survivors lost their connections to their culture and language, resulting in trauma that has been carried from generation to generation. ...
In the regulatory review, ECC intends to suggest that ERO focus on curriculum delivery reviews rather than the Ministry, because it’s not efficient or effective to have two agencies with radically different approaches climbing over each other. ...
Te Rūnanga Nui o Ngā Kura Kaupapa Māori invites the current government to work in partnership with them to develop a pathway forward, including the development of a parallel pathway and meaningful policy and strategy for Kura Kaupapa Māori ...
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Some discussion yesterday (on both the Redlogix and NATWATCH threads) around the allegedly unprecedented popularity of both John Key (as Preferred PM) and the current third-term National-led Government (particularly in relation to Clark’s popularity and that of her Labour-led Government at the same point in its third-term).
This mirrors a series of dubious MSM memes regularly regurgitated over the last few months – memes that I’m in the process of closely scrutinising in a post that I’ll publish on Sub-Zero Politics at some point in the next few days.
can you let us know please when you post this analysis, swordfish . thanks.
“dubious MSM memes”
I totally agree with this and I hope you can dispel this circle jerk.
Yeah, the latest Roy Morgan poll had National down 2% and the opposition up by 0.5%
http://www.interest.co.nz/news/79652/pollsters-roy-morgan-says-labourgreens-opposition-eat-nationals-lead-new-year-also-claim
TPP and sharing of seeds
UPOV 91
One of the other treaties that TPP countries are required to join is the International
Convention for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants 1991 (UPOV91).
UPOV91emphasises seed company rights over farmers’ rights compared to UPOV78. For example:
UPOV 91 requires IP protection to be provided to all species (compared to UPOV78’s 24 species)
UPOV91 requires IP protection for 20 or 25 years (compared to UPOV78’s 15 or 18
years)
UPOV91 stops farmers from exchanging their seed (something which is allowed under
UPOV78) which is inconsistent with the practices of farmers in many developing
nations, where seeds are exchanged for purposes of crop and variety rotation
https://wikileaks.org/tpp-ip3/upov/UPOV%20and%20NZ.pdf
+1 TMM
+100 TMM…”emphasises seed company rights over farmers’ rights”….this is very scary….would seem to make New Zealand farmers susceptible to multinationals and genetic modification of seeds
( what about the GM swede scandal in Southland? …cows going belly up?…what would happen to a human if they ate these swedes?)
farmers organisations….the Labour Party and Opposition parties should be jumping up and down about this…In Europe I am told they are increasingly against genetically modified seeds and produce
…TPP has the potential to cut new Zealand farmers and horticulturalists and orchardists off from many markets in Europe …including Russia which is increasingly going organic
http://www.collective-evolution.com/2015/10/07/heres-why-19-countries-in-europe-just-completely-banned-genetically-modified-crops/
http://ecowatch.com/2015/10/05/european-union-ban-gmos/
http://rbth.com/business/2015/03/25/sanctions_boost_russian_organic_food_production_44629.html
Yep, what we can do is being ever more confined at the behest of the corporations. Capitalism is slowly taking our freedoms and turning us more and more into serfs and slaves.
Monsanto were on the verge of bankruptcy when they discovered the glysophate herbicide, Round Up the commercial name, now I am lead to believe they control 80% of the worlds seed supply and are one of the worlds largest Agrochemical companies, scary stuff the amount of control these multinationals have over the worlds food supply?
Thank you for posting on this issue – intellectual property in relation to farming and food production is of huge concern to all New Zealanders.
One of my big concerns about the TPPA is that it diminishes New Zealand’s protections against large scale industrial food production and processes that will be damaging to our environment, our farmers and workers, our international reputation for food safety and quality, and our own health, by consuming inferior food.
I have watched a lot of documentaries and done a lot of reading about this in the last few months.
This documentary is a good start for anyone interested…and we all should be interested.
Food Inc (2008). It runs for 130+ minutes, if you haven’t got time, skip to the third minute of the film for a glimpse of the horror of a beef CAFO (Confined Animal Feeding Operation). These animals live in pens on dirt, eat corn and anti-biotics, are filled with e.coli, stand ankle-deep in their own faeces all their 5-month long lives and when slaughtered their carcasses washed in bleach to kill all the e.coli bacteria that proliferates in their gut due to the corn-diet.
http://www.filmsforaction.org/watch/food_inc/
What’s the complaint, exactly? If it’s that IP protection is being extended in an unreasonable way by the TPPA, as has happened with copyright, then yes, that’s bad. But if it’s that companies that develop new plant varieties shouldn’t have a right to protection of their IP for a period so they can recover costs, the complaint lacks merit. It’s not clear which of the two is involved here.
“Independent economists: TPP will kill 450,000 US jobs; 75,000 Japanese jobs, 58,000 Canadian jobs”
http://www.newsforage.com/2016/01/independent-economists-tpp-will-kill.html?spref=fb
Jobs, jobs, jobs, not under TPP….
+100 savenz…we should not be signing the TPP….who is this agreement for?…certainly not for New Zealanders
The TPP, just like all other FTAs isn’t about jobs or the benefit of the nations signing but about making the rich richer. Looks like it’s going to do that well. Everyone else though will be fucked – just as planned.
All the Free Trade Agreement with China has done is increase Chinese immigration and boosted Chinese house investment in Auckland?
No but it’s main effects in NZ has, for the majority of people, been detrimental. It’s not of much good if it leaves the people who live here struggling to get a house while rich offshore owners are reaping massive capital gains.
Under TPP “NZ is projected to lose 6,000 jobs over a 10 year period.
“The Trans-Pacific Partnership meant to create the world’s largest free trade area will cost Canada 58,000 jobs and increase income inequality, says a new U.S. study.” The U.S. is estimated to lose 448,000 jobs over the same 10 year period.
“Perhaps more surprisingly, the study found that the two largest economies in the TPP — the U.S. and Japan — would actually shrink as a result of the trade deal, and that the deal would result in fewer jobs overall in all the participating countries.”
“In all, the study estimates that the 12 countries involved in the proposed free trade deal would lose a net total of 771,000 jobs in the 10 years after the deal comes into force.”
1) FULL ARTICLE: http://huff.to/1TdyueC
2) Global Development & Environment Institute at Tufts University: http://bit.ly/23jVi0C
__________________
In todays Stuff (of all places) “The TPPA will also protect the US and other heavy users of agricultural subsidies. This will hinder WTO efforts to reduce them.” Rod Oram http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/opinion-analysis/76114721/Rod-Oram-Dark-clouds-on-the-horizon
Rod Oram is one of the few independent voices you will hear in the media.
@Paul
+1
This study will of course be nonsense. The Tufts academics are claiming there is a net loss of jobs across all TPP nations, notwithstanding all TPP nations benefit (according to the World Bank).
No doubt the Tufts study has been done as part of the campaign to persuade Congress not to ratify. But I suspect the Tufts academics will have limited influence on Republican members of Congress. It would the equivalent of Jane Kelsey being a major influence on Tim Groser.
As I have noted before, the whole TPP issue is now really being fought in the US on the issue of Congressional ratification. This will be a huge fight. President Obama will pitch into it. It was part of his State of the Nation address.
However, fundamentally the Republicans are in control of the outcome. If they want it, TPP will go through, no doubt with limited Democrat support.In contrast if Canada does not ratify, that will not be a deal breaker, although it might influence some members of Congress.
“This study will of course be nonsense.”
..which indicates a prejudgement…surprise surprise
and of course the MFAT analysis has been a robust credible example that hasn’t used unsubstantiated assumptions nor ignored inconvenient cost implications….Tui moment
MFAT wouldn’t have a clue as they are not the ones doing the growing or the exporting, it would be a hypothesis on an Excel Spreadsheet.
not quite…but not much better
“The estimates are based on modelling undertaken prior to conclusion of the negotiations, using a Computable General Equilibrium (CGE) model.4 A commentary on the modelling5 concluded that, while CGE models are commonly used to model trade policy changes, their validity depends on crude assumptions about how real-world markets function and their results are very sensitive to errors in these assumptions.
The commentary found that the standard of documentation of the modelling is dreadfully inadequate – just 20 pages of text in the published report. The authors should have chosen, or been asked to present, a much weightier and more detailed account of every facet of the data, assumptions, modelling and results.”
https://tpplegal.files.wordpress.com/2015/12/ep5-economics.pdf
Of course Groser would never listen to Kelsey, “Ignorance is strength” is the Gnatzi credo.
I doubt whether Groser or Key have ever worked in the real world and I sincerely doubt whether either of them would know how to grow a cabbage?
The World Bank says that the TPPA will be good for nations?
What a fucking laugh. Is there a single country that the World Bank has been involved with which hasn’t been brought to its economic knees and lost its sovereignty to corporate interests?
” This study will of course be nonsense.”
Thanks, that’ll save me having to read it just as you seem to have done.
”No doubt the Tufts study has been done as part of the campaign to persuade Congress not to ratify.”
Your supreme confidence has a calming effect on me and saves me having to take my medication.
”It would the equivalent of Jane Kelsey being a major influence on Tim Groser.”
What is poor old Jane going to do when Groser is off to Washington? Maybe she could do a sabbatical over there?
”As I have noted before, the whole TPP issue is now really being fought in the US on the issue of Congressional ratification.”
Indeed, it is a fait accompli and we here in little old NZ shouldn’t lose any sleep over it and just get on with our daily ordinary lives and leave the fight to the Republicans and Democrats in the US. What were we thinking that there are 12 signatories to the TPPA? They are mostly there to fill one A4 of the Agreement with little
doodlessignatures to make it look pretty and impressive.I recognise good arguments when I see them, Wayne 😉
The establishment elite is gradually losing legitimacy with the citizens that they are supposedly leading.
In the US, this is represented by the mass popularity of alternative candidates like Trump and Sanders.
Wayne is well aware that his reach – and the reach of his six figure income ruling class friends – extends fuck all distance into the actual community.
Yes, agreed; he’s not even trying to make a real effort or even pretending anymore.
At least it’s open to democratic scrutiny in the United States.
If the benefits are so amazing, Key should put his pen down and have a proper public debate.
We’re seriously all reliant on the US Republicans to let the public voice be heard?
There is nothing inconsistent in jobs being lost while owners of capital increase profits. Very common trend.
@ Wayne – one of the studies is the world bank – good enough for you?
They also have found negliable economic benefit and that is against the extreme negative risks.
What government sells itself out for corporations to sue them in separate courts, – but they can’t sue corporations?
Makes zero sense for any government doing due diligence to sign it.
We are forever in your debt, Wayne, for pointing out the kernel of this TPP issue in your comment. Truly, you are an towering beacon of constitutional incandencence; and a steel-trap mind combined with political perspicacity and wrapped up in lapidary prose. Is it true that your students sometimes could not talk for three days from the wonder of your law lectures? O Master! O Grand Regal Legal Beagle!
Because what you raise is the fact that the Americans, even with the crazy plutocratic political system that they have, ARE ALLOWED A REAL VOTE ON THE TPP. A VOTE!! In fact, their process has given them one already and they will have another if Obama looks like winning, as you incisively perceive.
Whereas in New Zealand the proto-fascist National gang of hoods (OK, proto-totalitarian for the squeamish) does not trust us with the right to vote on this crucial issue, that pries so aggressively into our Kiwi polity. Key and Groser etc., do not understand democracy. Or sovereignty. Or nationhood. Or citizenship. They don’t give a flying feck for NZ full stop. How else to explain their acquiescence in the terms of the Agreement and their unbelievable insulting arrogance and acquiescence in having the TPPA signed two days before Waitangi Day. It wouldn’t surprise me that they suggested it themselves.
You have a nice day Wayne, I’m off to practice my whakapohane.
Wayne!
Well done mate.
You managed a whole comment plugging the TPPA without once using the words “free” or “trade”.
A step up my son, a step up.
http://thedailyblog.co.nz/2016/01/22/lets-not-lose-our-tempers-if-john-key-wants-a-riot-outside-sky-city-dont-give-him-one/#.dpuf
ON THE FACE OF IT John Key has made a serious tactical blunder.
By insisting on hosting the signing of the Trans-pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA) in New Zealand, just two days before Waitangi Day, at the country’s most notorious beneficiary of crony capitalism, he would appear to have given his opponents an unparalleled opportunity to rally their forces and reinvigorate their campaign.
Frankly, I’m suspicious.
Because John Key is not prone to making tactical blunders.
Which raises the worrying possibility that the readily predictable consequences of his decision – mass protest action outside Sky City, with a high probability of violence and property damage – may be exactly what he wants to happen.
The Chinese philosopher-general, Sun Tzu, wrote: “If your enemy is of choleric temper – irritate him.”
Few would argue that, at present, the opponents of the TPPA are in a very bad mood indeed. Even fewer would suggest that they have not been extremely irritated by the National Government’s decision to host the official signing of the TPPA at Sky City in Auckland on 4 February.
Is John Key setting them up?
That might be the case if it was within John Key’s power to refuse to host (or, at least, delay) the signing ceremony. To decline this honour (as the NZ Herald describes it) would, however, involve a tremendous loss of face by Key’s government.
It was, after all, New Zealand that set the whole process in motion more than a decade ago. It would be an unthinkable humiliation for its government to ask another signatory to host the signing ceremony.
But if Key has no option but to host the signing of the TPPA, he most certainly does have a choice as to where it takes place.
Which raises the question: Why Sky City?
The ceremony could just as easily have been staged at the exclusive Millbrook Resort outside Queenstown.
This was where President Clinton stayed in 1999, and where the Intelligence Directors of the “Five Eyes” nations gathered just a few years ago.
Far away from New Zealand’s major cities, and easily defensible by a relatively small number of police and security personnel, the Millbrook Resort would not only have offered splendid “visuals” but also the smallest chance of disruption.
Which brings us back to Sun Tzu.
What does the Prime Minister know, that the people he is goading into besieging the Sky City complex do not know?
…….
_________________________________________________
In my view, the choice of Sky City as the venue for the proposed signing of the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA) is a deliberately provocative venue.
Back in December 2012, a peaceful anti-TPPA protest (outside Sky City) was hijacked, in my view, by provocateurs who arbitrarily changed the demand from ‘don’t sign the TPPA’ to ‘close down the TPPA’.
For the public record – I am absolutely opposed to any form of violent protest / ‘riot’ outside Sky City on 4 February 2016.
Although I totally understand how frustrated and angry many people feel about the TPPA – any form of violent protest / ‘riot’ will just be used as an excuse to clamp down on the democratic rights and civil liberties of ALL New Zealanders.
I for one am advocating a HUGE peaceful protest of New Zealanders against the signing of the TPPA on 4 February 2016, from 12 noon to 1pm, that starts at Aotea Square and ends at Britomart, and does NOT go to Sky City.
That those who are in paid employment in Auckland can therefore peacefully protest during their lunchtime, and the world can see WHY New Zealanders are opposed to this effective pro-corporate attack on our national sovereignty, where our banners and placards can ‘do the talking’ – because the WORLD will be watching …
Penny Bright
2016 Auckland Mayoral candidate.
You make some good points Penny Bright. Imo, that is exactly what Key and his mates are hoping for – a violent confrontation. They have nothing to worry about of course because they will be heavily protected. The trick will be to launch a large and effective protest without resorting to any physical violence.
dress in the sunday finest,
be silent on your march – after all it is a funeral
bring the national flag – not the teatowel
and just stand there, do nothing, say nothing, be witness to the burial of the country. Maybe turn your backs when the Leader and his posse arrives.
We could take inspiration from the http://www.afscme.org/union/history/mlk
+100 sabine…”bring the national flag – not the teatowel”…(agreed not jonkeys teatowel corporate take over flag)…
btw our NZ flag representing the founding legal Treaty of Waitangi agreement between Maori and Pakeha can be got from the Two Dollar shop for $5….(a nice big NZ flag)
….this told to me on the last anti -TPP demonstration by Maori carrying and waving the New Zealand flag…many Maori were carrying the NZ flag
In the 1930’s Maori considered entering a Partnership with The USA and the French however through their investigations they felt the British were the best alternative, hence the Union Jack is symbolic on the NZ Flag.
Key is putting the cart before the horse, he has not consulted with Maori, and wants to sign an agreement with the USA with out consulting the NZ Public and at the same time he wants to change the country’s flag which resembles my old
Auntys tea towel.
This represents how the guys mind works?
In the 1930’s Maori considered entering a Partnership with The USA and the French however through their investigations they felt the British were the best alternative, hence the Union Jack is symbolic on the NZ Flag.
wut
Hear hear Sabine (5.1.2).
I’d like to see a mass silent vigil outside the signing venue, with protesters standing hands joined with heads bowed. There will be no excuse whatsoever for police to interfere with us then, as it will be a peaceful protest.
However, should police attempt to harass us, then we should sit down, offering no resistance, only if it’s necessary to protect ourselves from harm. Let the police expose their boss FJK to the rest of the world as the filthy, treasonous despot we already know he is!
The simplest way for those who are opposed to potential violence / ‘riots’ outside Sky City, is to AVOID Sky City on 4 February 2016?
I for one, as a very experienced ‘veteran’ protestor, have no intention of being drawn into, (in my opinion) an obvious TRAP.
In terms of my proven commitment to effective, non-violent protest, I’ll rely on my track record that goes back over 40 years.
Let’s FILL Queen Street on 4 February 2016 – with a MASSIVE lunchtime PEACEFUL protest against the signing of the TPPA!
Penny Bright
2016 Auckland Mayoral candidate.
Why not take the protest to Auckland International Airport?
“You make some good points”
Credit where due – the top two thirds is by Chris Trotter.
Police Infiltrate Peaceful Protest Dressed as Black Bloc Anarchists
Read more at http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=570_1321357264#sbAMK4Pe2ZdyByxd.99
This.
When National start talking about violence at a demonstration one has to wonder if they’ve already hired the thugs.
How Obama has sold TPP was to create US jobs – the opposite it true. Good video showing how the agreement is stacked in favour of corporations. Corporations can sue governments but the governments can not sue corporations.
The Democratic Party has been selling out workers for decades now. Bill Clinton destroyed millions of US blue collar jobs with NAFTA, now Obama continues the very same work on behalf of the transnational corporate class.
Rod Oram spells out the dangers of the TPPA to NZ on Stuff this morning :
Rod Oram: Dark clouds on the horizon
The benefits for New Zealand’s from the Trans-Pacific Partnership deal will be meagre.
The weaknesses and dangers of the Trans Pacific Partnership Agreement are analysed in a set of research papers now available at bit.ly/TPPApapers .
This columnist contributed sections on TPPA’s likely influence on value chains and 21^st century trade agreements. The conclusions for New Zealand are ominous.
TPPA will likely reinforce our position as a commodity producer and hinder our progress up the value chain where greater economic prosperity lies.
For example, large-scale overseas companies with close connections to their consumers will find it easier to tap into our resources than our small companies will find it to develop relationships with overseas consumers.
Similarly, restrictions on labelling through the TPPA’s sanitary and phytosanitary measures may restrict opportunities for our food exporters to build a high quality, differentiated market position.
The TPPA will also protect the US and other heavy users of agricultural subsidies. This will hinder WTO efforts to reduce them.
Overall, TPPA reads very much like a charter for incumbent businesses, dominated by US ones, which are attempting to hold back the tides of economic change the world needs.
Click on this link to read the rest of Rod’s column :
http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/opinion-analysis/76114721/Rod-Oram-Dark-clouds-on-the-horizon
+100 Jenny Kirk…this jonkey nact government is treacherous to be signing this TPP without democratic consultation of New Zealanders who are overwhelmingly against !
Key defends TPP as Ratana crowd boos
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11578964
http://www.theguardian.com/society/2016/jan/23/ministers-want-to-get-rid-of-social-housing-former-civil-service-chief-to-say
I already annoyed at councils selling housing but it’s all part of the right wing plan.
Of course here in NZ we’re giving private landlords subsidies while refusing to give councils who are a large social housing provider the same support.
A solid rejection of violence and a call for solidarity! John Key wants war between Pakeha and Maori. Are you going to let him?
Orchestrated by Crosby Textor
Totally!
Barry Brickell RIP.
Deep Green, made a difference, from beginning to the end.
More on strategy and tactics for the upcoming TPPA protests,
https://www.facebook.com/www.redsky.tv/photos/a.334553779960314.75108.334536643295361/948396165242736/
Really the New Zealand Labour Party led by Andrew Little should be coming out in force on this march/demonstration and on Waitangi Day to protect New Zealanders and New Zealand
…and to help prevent any possible violence from Jonkey’s lackeys
Labour Party where are you?
Shear Panic?
If true, this is going to hurt.
Eating the Seed Corn
This really is common sense and yet the people who most loudly proclaim that common sense should be followed will be telling us that the selling of NZ is good for us.
The risks associated with money laundering don’t go away just because the National Party gets a cut.
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Pimping for the rich.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=11578853
I did start reading it, but the “What, this shit again?” reaction was so strong I didn’t get past the first couple of paragraphs.
The title gave it away, didn’t it – the usual click bait. Hide has long ceased writing original pieces and has become so predictable it is boring. He’s not the only ex-ACT person that has run out of ideas and meaningful things to say. What a waste of space.
Hear, hear Incognito, Psycho Milt and Paul – I have just had another look at the article and no one has even bothered to comment. Says it all really.
The NZH has a bad habit of not loading comments over the weekend; they’ll appear sometime Monday morning or in the afternoon. It is a real killer for online debate, which just shows that the NZH has no real interest in giving its readers an opportunity to engage in important debates or simply provide an opinion on relevant issues. The Editorial on Euthanasia is not even open for comments, which is ironic given the title ”Time’s running out for debate”.
http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/jan/24/donald-trump-says-he-could-shoot-somebody-and-still-not-lose-voters
…frighteningly he’s probably right.
He’d probably go up in the polls.
I just keep getting the feeling he’s doing it for a grand piss take, a commentary on the share stupidity of of at least 30% of humans.
it would be a bloody expensive piss-take….hes funding himself
I read somewhere that he’s actually managed to avoid spending much of his own cash, and that in fact most of the campaign expenses have been met by donations. Don’t remember if it said where the cash came from, tho.
John Pilgers documentaries available for free
http://johnpilger.com/filmography
“George Soros, the financier who forced Britain out of the European exchange rate mechanism by betting against the pound, used his appearance at Davos to warn that a hard landing for China was now “unavoidable”. Soros stressed that he was not offering a prediction. “I’m not expecting it,” he said. “I’m observing it.”
http://www.theguardian.com/business/2016/jan/24/stock-markets-world-financial-crisis-oil-china
Woody Guthrie wrote a song about Fred Trump.
https://theconversation.com/woody-guthrie-old-man-trump-and-a-real-estate-empires-racist-foundations-53026