Recently, CV posted his predictions for the 2017 election – predictions, in my opinion, well off line. Unless . . .
So, here’s some reflections on the political year 2016 – from an observer, not a politician.
1. The most obvious conclusion to draw from the last year is that a massive and world-wide swing away from the failed policies of neo-liberalism is happening. Corbyn’s election as Labour Party leader and the huge numbers who joined, the Brexit vote, the ‘yuge’ support for the Democratic Socialist, Bernie Sanders and the election of the anti-establishment (at least, he said so) Donald Trump.
2. The efforts by the old elite / bankers to fight back were also marked. The continuing campaign by the MSM to discredit Jeremy and by the politicians to delay or derail Brexit, the shafting of Bernie by the DNC and the old elite/bankers etc taking most, if not all of the cabinet positions under Trump.
3. The centrist Hillary Clinton did not appeal enough to beat the least qualified candidate the USA has probably ever put up for election. If that isn’t an indictment of ‘third way’ policies – well, I don’t know what more convincing our Labour Party needs.
4. The NZ Labour Party is tobacco stained with the neo-liberal taint and they haven’t really been able to wash the marks away – yet. At a time when they should have been gaining traction against a bloody awful Nat. government, they have made little progress in the polls – languishing at around 30 – 35% for all of 2016.
The obvious conclusion to draw – from this overly simplistic summary – is that the Labour Party has to TURN LEFT! Jeremy and Bernie pointed the way – the NZLP must present a viable and appealing alternative to neo-liberalism. If they do a Clinton and mouth a few words about reform while not intending to do anything to upset the 1%ers – then CV’s predictions may well come true!
They should be promising to take this country by its collective collar and shake the hell out of it – so all the rich cockroaches fall to the ground and can be stomped on! [Figuratively, not literally!] God knows, the future looks precarious enough – some radical solutions are needed!
2017 – I would like it if the left got going in earnest this year – globally, but especially in NZ. Knock that orange atrocity off the front page of all the news platforms.
The issue is everyone has a different idea of ‘left’ and ‘ centre’. Personally I think Labour has turned left already, they said no to TPPA and they have the MoU with the Greens.
If they turn too far left then they start competing with the Greens and Mana and leave the centre open to National and NZ First….
Totally agree that Labour have been too far right or schizophrenic in their policy and too blindly supportive of neoliberalism in the past… but do feel they have turned the corner and now people have to stop bagging them and start supporting them and bagging National.
National are the ones doing horrendous damage to our country, environment and society.
There are pretty well defined definitions of Left> Center < Right.
The problem is that over the last 30 years Parties such as Labour have been selling Centrist Policies and passing them off as being Left wing. And I for one am struggling to see any sure well defined 'turning of the corner' from previous Labour policies.
My own thoughts are that 'The Centrist' labourites should just grow up and step up. State their position clearly and form their own Political Parties.
The perfect starting point would be the English Labour Party Centrists, whose obsession with destroying Corbyn is guaranteed to condemn the Party to oblivion for atleast the next Election cycle.
Nash and the crew could get things started here.
Though of course you answered this yourself, by pointing out that Labour ARE occupying the Centre position, and, like you say, its a position that can just as easily be filled by National.
In other words…National and Labour are pretty darned close to being interchangeable.
Is that really the Labour Party we want as we try and survive the current economic and social quagmire sweeping the World as Neo Liberalism and Free Market capitalism gives its last desperate death throes??
ps Andrew Little and Labour have NOT said NO to TPP..they want a ‘better’ TPP. Do we know what that actually means??
Labour HAS said No to TPP.
But we’re a trading nation so Labour would like to see some fair and reasonable trade agreements, not these trumped up multi-corp arrangements.
He says the same on the Labour Party website. That was my point.
Andrew Little is very vocal in supporting Free Trade, and, from reading his statement, is very proud of the deal Labour struck with the free trade deal with China. Which, while being great for the so called ‘economy’ is part and parcel with the destruction of our wages, employment rights, and some claim, housing situation. How many of us have gone from relatively secure employment to being ‘private contractors’, short term employees etc etc as our industries try to compete in a free for all with the Global Economy.
I think this is a great idea, that centrist split from Labour would probably get around 10% of the party vote and be a natural coalition partner for National.
I don’t see any downside in this, great for Labour, they can become the party of leftist purity it’s members so desperately seem to want and great for National, they can keep on running the country without having to deal with NZ First.
Win win for everyone.
Tony Veitch (not the partner-bashing 3rd rate broadcaster 1.2.1.1.2.1
NZF have some good MP’s and are making good progress throughout the country I believe they will pick up a percentage of the disillusioned National Party vote.
Likewise I believe a coalition between Labour Greens NZF is the most likely post Election arrangement, Winston has been in coalition with Labour and National.
The arrangement with National ended in a mess when Shipley overthrew Bolger and then proceeded to shaft Winston, hence I doubt whether Winston will trust National again, once bitten twice shy.
+ 100% saveNZ – time people stopped the bagging of Labour, read up on the policies, and Policy Platform, and started to help Labour get the word out –
Labour is returning to its roots.
@Jenny Kirk, I don’t agree that Labour is returning to it’s roots, or if it is, that memo must have passed me by.
Here is a quote from their own site, in regards to the housing disaster…
“Instead of fixing the problem, National is siding with property speculators. They are too focused on looking after those at the top rather than families in the middle.”
Not a mumbling word about poor and working families, they then go on to state that they will build ‘affordable’ houses in the $500,000-600,000 range
(in AKL), do you believe that families where the income is from full time cleaning, aged care work etc can afford a $500,000 home, no either do I…so again, I have to say Labour doesn’t look or sound like a party that is finding it’s Socialist roots to me.
@ Adrian Thornton
The housing situation in NZ is made up roughly of 1/3 renters, 1/3 homeowners with mortgages and 1/3 homeowners without mortgages.
So the centre of housing issues might not be where you think it is!
Although I do agree that Labour are too Nat Lite on housing and it is a joke to consider $500 -$600 k affordable on NZ wages. They will go bankrupt as soon as mortgages rise.
Many of the renters should be in secure state housing in my view and National should not be selling them off! That is where Labour are missing the boat.
The Auckland housing situation is driven by 166,000 working visas being issued to students and 70,000 new migrants per year coming. but nobody wants to mention it.
The government has so little imagination they think that selling land and dodgy degrees is a sustainable business for NZ and apparently we can’t stop now as who will fill the apartments being built.
I’m all for immigration but not at the levels and types of people that are coming all for the wrong reasons. I’d like to see more creative type of immigrants, professionals with new ideas and an exchange of minds and cultures, not more tilers, restaurant managers and fruit pickers. Nothing wrong with that but how about training some of our youth to do that as much of it can be taught in a quick course.
If you don’t think having one of the biggest self imposed immigration levels in the world per capita has an effect on property, services and the environment (especially with our current government polluters at the helm with wadable water and sell off state houses and get social bonds going) – you are in la la land.
Did I hear you say Labour’s going to restore basic benefit rates to a livable level, reinstate the special benefit, get rid of punitive welfare policies including the ones Labour introduced and/or voted with the nats on, ditch user pays in health and education, bring back a state housing system that abolishes homelessness with an emphasis on homeownership for everyone? Wow. That’s fantastic.
I like what you are saying very much Tony , but I fear that “Capital” ( or Deep State or whatever) is far more powerful and has what is pretty much a stranglehold. One good example is their ownership of the media and the ability to control the message.
All ‘uprisings’ for change just haven’t been able to get enough traction , even the huge overseas movements have basically floundered pretty rapidly because the game is so stacked.
Sadly for NZ we do not have a champion to lead in the need for change.
Personally I think we (humans) are frogs in a heating pot of water and are too stupid to do anything before it is too late.
Perhaps if Trump destroys the USA we may get change for the better? Now there’s a pipe dream! More likely to get WW3 instead.
Still no real actions over the elephant in the room (CC) either.
Tony Veitch (not the partner-bashing 3rd rate broadcaster 1.3.1
The message has to be so ‘radical’ that the MSM and Deep State simply cannot ignore it – a moderate message will simply get tucked away on page 17. It’s also got to offer some hope to those at the bottom so they will be encouraged to get out and vote.
Another pipe dream – wouldn’t it be lovely to have California secede from the union!
And yes, I agree – climate change will, literally, change everything!
Labour’s been captured and won’t be seeing freedom any time soon (if ever).
Shaw has kind of narrowed the distance between Labour and Green (bad thing).
The media are pants (pants thing).
I’m waiting for TOPS climate policy before punting them as a circuit breaker, but their policies so far aren’t too bad in comparison to Labour or Green policy… and I detected more than a whiff of sour grapes from the Greens in a piece linked to here the other day.
The fact that TOPS do not want to be in government (are going to occupy the cross benches) is a big plus in my book.
US President Donald Trump has signed an executive order to withdraw from the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal (TPP).
The trade pact – which was a linchpin of former President Barack Obama’s pivot to Asia – was signed by 12 nations, including New Zealand, and covered 40 percent of the world’s economy.
The directive was part of a series of executive orders planned for Monday to begin reshaping US trade policies.
Mr Trump had vowed to quit the TPP during his presidential campaign.
He has criticised the trade agreement as a “potential disaster for our country”, arguing it harmed the US manufacturing sector.
The massive trade deal was negotiated in 2015 by nations including New Zealand, the US, Japan, Malaysia, Australia, Canada and Mexico
New Zealand’s parliament passed a bill allowing it to ratify the TPP last year, but it had not yet been ratified by all the individual countries.
President Donald Trump moved to pull the United States out of the proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership trade pact today, fulfilling a campaign promise as he began his first full week in office.
“Great thing for the American worker that we just did,” Trump said as he signed a notice in the Oval Office..
I beg to differ because Trump’s move is based on all the wrong reasons. In any case, much of the legal groundwork for a (the) TPPA has already been done here in NZ and elsewhere and it appears that National/Bill English have not given up yet.
As a side note, unpredictability and uncertainty are on the increase, which coincidentally leads to a rise of pseudo-Nostradamus wannabees, and under such conditions the Precariat is unlikely to experience any real and sustainable improvement despite some political rhetoric (…) trying to convince us otherwise.
The TPP protests were useful at bringing people together, showing how to non-violently win, and educating the govt about what citizens would not accept. Those are all transferable to the next similar fight.
But seeing Sanders get traction off the back of slamming free trade and then hearing from potential voters who had lost good jobs and been plunged into uncertainty and poverty…
Or maybe he’s always been more of a protectionist. On that front, I simply don’t know.
The epic scale of political conflict in the US is fantastic theatre – so much so it risks making New Zealand’s problems seem trivial.
Donald Trump’s policies also have a big impact on us. Whether it is through trade or the extent to which he fires up the US economy – influencing currency, interest rates and inflation all over world.
But let’s face it, it makes turning back to the big domestic issues in New Zealand hard work.
“Hard work” , in this regard ,I suggedt you up your u tube hyper links postings and duplicate across threads, plus repeat the same posting on multiple days, Ooops sorry you are already doing that
Thanks for the interesting and informative links RTM …I find it’s always good to learn the fuller picture of what has brought us to the here and now …
At present we ‘benefit’ from a lot of modern slavery …. which like the old forms is built on abuse of power and injustice.
This is done through main stream media silence …… and outright Government propaganda, ….. such as this statement from mfat.govt.nz regarding the gangster nation Indonesia ….” since democracy was restored in 1998.”
Presumably mfat are referring to this ….. ” the Indonesian women’s movement, the entire trade union movement, intellectuals, teachers, and the ethnic Chinese, and also land reform advocates. So, within somewhere—within a year, somewhere between half a million and two-and-a-half million people were killed in what was really one of the very largest genocides in our history.
And it was reported in the United States as good news. It was reported in The New York Times and Time magazine fairly accurately in terms of the death tolls, but with headlines like “A Gleam of Light in Asia,”. https://www.democracynow.org/2013/7/19/the_act_of_killing_new_film
‘Old news’ someone like James would say ……..
But the problem is that the children of the murdered are presently being exploited in slave labor conditions ………. or cleared from their land again.
And if they should try and join a union …. or speak out for land rights, protecting the environment etc ..
They can be murdered with impunity ……….. just like their parents were.
Make no mistake…. Indonesia is a country which would have murdered and tortured our late and great Helen Kelly.
We should not be encouraging the Gangsters who currently run/own indonesia ….
“July 2016: Prime Minister John Key and Trade Minister Todd McClay traveled to Indonesia for an official visit along with a high-level business delegation.”
Tax havens like National made NZ into play a large roll in supporting enslavement, poverty and war in the world ….
BREAKING: Trump places hiring freeze on some federal workers, cuts off funding for international groups that perform abortions.— The Associated Press (@AP) January 23, 2017
Unsafe abortion accounts for 13% of all maternal deaths globally. Trump's reinstating the 'Global Gag Rule' will be deadly.— Laura Bassett (@LEBassett) January 23, 2017
there has been a fair bit of talk about trolls on this site,
words and the evolution of meaning interest me
now troll has three meanings that precede its blog meaning
1 a nasty creature that lives under a bridge and grabs you as you try and cross
2 to systematically search an area
3 to tow a lure and hope some sucker grabs it
for me a (blog) troll brings images of the third , tow a lure and hope for a sucker
do some of you have an image of the first, nasty creature that jumps out?
or even the second, a systematic coverage of an area?
there are certainly elements of all three meanings in the use of (blog) troll
just interested cause words do matter but meaning is in the hearing
Pretty much all three. Blog trolls tend to lurk around the posts waiting for a flamewar to flare. Sometimes they will drop incendiary and usually diversionary statements out to start the fire. Sometimes they will reinterpret someone elses comments to provoke them and others.
Generally, moderators will tend to ignore a lot of the flaming because it fits under robust debate. It isn’t in the interests of the site of the commenters to shield people from the disagreements in society or from political debate. The only way to develop counters to arguments present in the wider society is to hear them expressed. However there is enough siloing of political debate already in both the media and other blogs.
We look at the behaviour patterns of commenters and if they actually contribute anything to the ongoing debates. If the patterns of behaviour are unthinkingly repetitive or seem to be designed to just take over debate to drown out the voices of others then we treat the perpetrators as trolls as a rapidly escalating response.
Which brings up the key attribute of trolls that you seem to have missed. They seem to have real problems both learning the boundaries of behaviour, and they usually hate their own behaviors and tactics being reflected back at themselves in nastier and more extreme forms. So you will see some moderators (mainly me at present) abbreviating the process by deliberately provoking them with exaggerated and very disdainful trolling behaviors aimed very personally at them in a demonstration of the net adage that there is always a bigger and better skilled arsehole on the net – they are often called sysops.
• Sample taken from Cox’s Creek near Cox’s Bay revealed E. coli levels of 590 cfu/100ml
• Sample taken at the head of Cox’s Creek just behind Kelmarna Ave found E. coli at 190,000 cfu/100mls – a level more than 1500 times the upper safe limit and a serious threat to human health.
• The limit for recreation should be below 126 per 100mls.
• Samples were collected last Thursday and tested by Watercare.
Little’s misreading the signals. The Mp must surely be set to ditch the nats. They’re coming home. The Mp has never been about right-wing policies. Going with the nats was a strategy to try to achieve “real” gains for Maori.
They now see the error in that “better to be inside the tent” strategy. This also coincides with a general belief that Labour’s been punished enough for the F&S, and that it’s now time now to unite for what’s best for all Maori. Hone would not be dealing with the Mp in any way whatsoever if it meant helping the Mp to provide support that puts the nats back in government.
If Little’s serious about winning the election then trying to chastise the Mp isn’t the way to go. He’s confusing the Mp’s beliefs with their strategy. There should be a far greater consistency between Labour and the Mp than the nats and the Mp. Little should not be afraid of Mana and the Mp taking the Maori seats, and if they do then at least work with those parties to achieve better outcomes for Maori, if not form the government with those parties.
Little and Labour must be pretty stupid or have short memories if they think the Mp going with the nats was because the Mp embraced nat ideology. They don’t. And with everything that’s going on now Labour is completely dumb to slag them off.
Labour should be bloody courting the Mp, not trying to alienate them. Heck, the party needs all the help it can get, especially when there’s no guarantee NZF won’t go with English.
But then again, strategy and common sense have never been strong points for Labour, so no surprises there.
More evidence that not all people in sports are meatheads and cowards
Sadly, we have recently seen the unedifying spectacle of cowardly coaches like Pittsburgh Steelers’ Mike Tomlin and the New Zealand Maoris’ Colin Cooper bullying their most thoughtful and intelligent players into dropping their political protests.
But there ARE some decent people in big-time sports. People like Gregg Popovich, the coach of the San Antonio Spurs….
Uber New Zealand Technologies paid $9397 in tax in 2014/15 despite earning revenue of more than $1 million from New Zealanders, we were confused. A person on $45,000 a year pays about $7800 in PAYE tax.
Trump and the endless reporting of his malapropisms, executive deductions, decision, etc will fill our media with Radionz or RNZ constantly reporting their tragedies and disasters and riots etc. (the other day there was a tornado over there did you know), don’t know what the private stations do. Perhaps ignore it and put on some romantic or rock.
Can we please have a Trump and USA permanent post and everything be done there. Otherwise we are accepting our own brain washing which is a public relations and social psychology triumph for the PR and mind-bending fraternity.
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Chris Trotter writes – MELISSA LEE should be deprived of her ministerial warrant. Her handling – or non-handling – of the crisis engulfing the New Zealand news media has been woeful. The fate of New Zealand’s two linear television networks, a question which the Minister of Broadcasting, Communications ...
TL;DR: The podcast above features co-hosts and , along with regular guests Robert Patman on Gaza and AUKUS II, and on climate change.The six things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the ...
Policymakers rarely wish to make plain or visible their desire to dismantle environmental policy, least of all to the young. Photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: Here’s the top five news items of note in climate news for Aotearoa-NZ this week, and a discussion above between Bernard Hickey and The Kākā’s climate correspondent ...
I like to keep an eye on what’s happening in places like the UK, the US, and over the ditch with our good mates the Aussies. Let’s call them AUKUS, for want of a better collective term. More on that in a bit.It used to be, not long ago, that ...
TL;DR: The global economy will be one fifth smaller than it would have otherwise been in 2050 as a result of climate damage, according to a new study by the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) and published in the journal Nature. (See more detail and analysis below, and ...
New Zealand is said to be suffering from ‘serious populist discontent’. An IPSOS MORI survey has reported that we have an increasing preference for strong leaders, think that the economy is rigged toward the rich and powerful, and political elites are ignoring ‘hard-working people’. The data is from February this ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters is understood to be planning a major speech within the next fortnight to clear up the confusion over whether or not New Zealand might join the AUKUS submarine project. So far, there have been conflicting signals from the Government. RNZ reported the Prime Minister yesterday in ...
Life throws curveballs, and sometimes, those curveballs necessitate wiping your iPhone clean and starting anew. Whether you’re facing persistent software glitches, preparing to sell your device, or simply wanting a fresh start, knowing how to factory reset iPhone without a computer is a valuable skill. While using a computer with ...
Gone are the days when communication was limited to landline phones and physical proximity. Today, computers have become powerful tools for connecting with people across the globe through voice and video calls. But with a plethora of applications and methods available, how to call someone on a computer might seem ...
Open access notables Glacial isostatic adjustment reduces past and future Arctic subsea permafrost, Creel et al., Nature Communications:Sea-level rise submerges terrestrial permafrost in the Arctic, turning it into subsea permafrost. Subsea permafrost underlies ~ 1.8 million km2 of Arctic continental shelf, with thicknesses in places exceeding 700 m. Sea-level variations over glacial-interglacial cycles control ...
The operating system (OS) is the heart and soul of a computer, orchestrating every action and interaction between hardware and software. But have you ever wondered where on a computer is the operating system generally stored? The answer lies in the intricate dance between hardware and software components, particularly within ...
Laptops have become essential tools for work, entertainment, and communication, offering portability and functionality. However, with rising energy costs and growing environmental concerns, understanding a laptop’s power consumption is more important than ever. So, how many watts does a laptop use? The answer, unfortunately, isn’t straightforward. It depends on several ...
Screen recording has become an essential tool for various purposes, such as creating tutorials, capturing gameplay footage, recording online meetings, or sharing information with others. Fortunately, Dell laptops offer several built-in and external options for screen recording, catering to different needs and preferences. This guide will explore various methods on ...
A cracked or damaged laptop screen can be a frustrating experience, impacting productivity and enjoyment. Fortunately, laptop screen repair is a common service offered by various repair shops and technicians. However, the cost of fixing a laptop screen can vary significantly depending on several factors. This article delves into the ...
Gaming laptops represent a significant investment for passionate gamers, offering portability and powerful performance for immersive gaming experiences. However, a common concern among potential buyers is their lifespan. Unlike desktop PCs, which allow for easier component upgrades, gaming laptops have inherent limitations due to their compact and integrated design. This ...
The annual inventory report of New Zealand's greenhouse gas emissions has been released, showing that gross emissions have dropped for the third year in a row, to 78.4 million tons: All-told gross emissions have decreased by over 6 million tons since the Zero Carbon Act was passed in 2019. ...
Experiencing a locked computer can be frustrating, especially when you need access to your files and applications urgently. The methods to unlock your computer will vary depending on the specific situation and the type of lock you encounter. This guide will explore various scenarios and provide step-by-step instructions on how ...
While the world has largely transitioned to digital communication, faxing still holds relevance in certain industries and situations. Fortunately, gone are the days of bulky fax machines and dedicated phone lines. Today, you can easily send and receive faxes directly from your computer, offering a convenient and efficient way to ...
In our increasingly digital world, home computers have become essential tools for work, communication, entertainment, and more. However, this increased reliance on technology also exposes us to various cyber threats. Understanding these threats and taking proactive steps to protect your home computer is crucial for safeguarding your personal information, finances, ...
In the ever-evolving world of technology, server-based computing has emerged as a cornerstone of modern digital infrastructure. This article delves into the concept of server-based computing, exploring its various forms, benefits, challenges, and its impact on the way we work and interact with technology. Understanding Server-Based Computing: At its core, ...
The absolute brass neck of this guy.We want more medical doctors, not more spin doctors, Luxon was saying a couple of weeks ago, and now we’re told the guy has seven salaried adults on TikTok duty. Sorry, doing social media. The absolute brass neck of it. The irony that the ...
Buzz from the Beehive Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones relishes spatting and eagerly takes issue with environmentalists who criticise his enthusiasm for resource development. He relishes helping the fishing industry too. And so today, while the media are making much of the latest culling in the public service to ...
Having written, taught and worked for the US government on issues involving unconventional warfare and terrorism for 30-odd years, two things irritate me the most when the subject is discussed in public. The first is the Johnny-come-lately academics-turned-media commentators who … Continue reading → ...
Eric Crampton writes – Kainga Ora is the government’s house building agency. It’s been building a lot of social housing. Kainga Ora has its own (but independent) consenting authority, Consentium. It’s a neat idea. Rather than have to deal with building consents across each different territorial authority, Kainga Ora ...
Muriel Newman writes – The Coalition Government says it is moving with speed to deliver campaign promises and reverse the damage done by Labour. One of their key commitments is to “defend the principle that New Zealanders are equal before the law.” To achieve this, they have pledged they “will not advance ...
Chris Trotter writes – The absence of anything resembling a fightback from the public servants currently losing their jobs is interesting. State-sector workers’ collective fatalism in the face of Coalition cutbacks indicates a surprisingly broad acceptance of impermanence in the workplace. Fifty years ago, lay-offs in the thousands ...
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. ...
Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey and his Government colleagues have made a meal of their mental health commitments, showing how flimsy their efforts to champion the issue truly are, says Labour Mental Health spokesperson Ingrid Leary. ...
Māori are yet to see anything from this Government except cuts, reversals and taking our people backwards, Māori Development spokesperson Willie Jackson said. ...
The Coalition Government’s refusal to commit to ongoing funding for social housing is seeing the sector pull back on developments and families watch their dreams of securing a home fade away, says Labour Housing spokesperson Kieran McAnulty. ...
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 ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon today paid tribute to Singapore’s outgoing Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. Meeting in Singapore today immediately before Prime Minister Lee announced he was stepping down, Prime Minister Luxon warmly acknowledged his counterpart’s almost twenty years as leader, and the enduring legacy he has left for Singapore and South East ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon held a bilateral meeting today with Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. While in Singapore as part of his visit to South East Asia this week, Prime Minister Luxon also met with Singapore President Tharman Shanmugaratnam and will meet with Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong. During today’s meeting, Prime Minister Luxon ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has made further appointments to the Board of Antarctica New Zealand as part of a continued effort to ensure the Scott Base Redevelopment project is delivered in a cost-effective and efficient manner. The Minister has appointed Neville Harris as a new member of the Board. Mr ...
Finance Minister Nicola Willis will travel to the United States on Tuesday to attend a meeting of the Five Finance Ministers group, with counterparts from Australia, the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. “I am looking forward to meeting with our Five Finance partners on how we can work ...
The coalition Government has today announced purrfect and pawsitive changes to the Residential Tenancies Act to give tenants with pets greater choice when looking for a rental property, says Housing Minister Chris Bishop. “Pets are important members of many Kiwi families. It’s estimated that around 64 per cent of New ...
State Highway 1 (SH1) through Wellington City is heavily congested at peak times and while planning continues on the duplicate Mt Victoria Tunnel and Basin Reserve project, the Government has also asked NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) to consider and provide advice on a Long Tunnel option, Transport Minister Simeon Brown ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Foreign Minister Winston Peters have condemned Iran’s shocking and illegal strikes against Israel. “These attacks are a major challenge to peace and stability in a region already under enormous pressure," Mr Luxon says. "We are deeply concerned that miscalculation on any side could ...
Hundreds of people in little over a week have turned out in Northland to hear Regional Development Minister Shane Jones speak about plans for boosting the regional economy through infrastructure. About 200 people from the infrastructure and associated sectors attended an event headlined by Mr Jones in Whangarei today. Last ...
Health Minister Dr Shane Reti has today thanked outgoing Health New Zealand – Te Whatu Ora Chair Dame Karen Poutasi for her service on the Board. “Dame Karen tendered her resignation as Chair and as a member of the Board today,” says Dr Reti. “I have asked her to ...
The NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) has signalled their proposed delivery approach for the Government’s 15 Roads of National Significance (RoNS), with the release of the State Highway Investment Proposal (SHIP) today, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Boosting economic growth and productivity is a key part of the Government’s plan to ...
New Zealand is renewing its connections with a world facing urgent challenges by pursuing an active, energetic foreign policy, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “Our country faces the most unstable global environment in decades,” Mr Peters says at the conclusion of two weeks of engagements in Egypt, Europe and the United States. “We cannot afford to sit back in splendid ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has announced the Australian Governor-General, His Excellency General The Honourable David Hurley and his wife Her Excellency Mrs Linda Hurley, will make a State visit to New Zealand from Tuesday 16 April to Thursday 18 April. The visit reciprocates the State visit of former Governor-General Dame Patsy Reddy ...
Associate Health Minister David Seymour has announced that Medsafe has approved 11 cold and flu medicines containing pseudoephedrine. Pharmaceutical suppliers have indicated they may be able to supply the first products in June. “This is much earlier than the original expectation of medicines being available by 2025. The Government recognised ...
New Zealand and the United States have recommitted to their strategic partnership in Washington DC today, pledging to work ever more closely together in support of shared values and interests, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “The strategic environment that New Zealand and the United States face is considerably more ...
April 11, 2024 Joint Declaration by United States Secretary of State the Honorable Antony J. Blinken and New Zealand Minister of Foreign Affairs the Right Honourable Winston Peters We met today in Washington, D.C. to recommit to the historic partnership between our two countries and the principles that underpin it—rule ...
By Koroi Hawkins, RNZ Pacific editor in Honiara Solomon Islands’ incumbent prime minister Manasseh Sogavare has been re-elected in the East Choiseul constituency. It is the opening move in the political chess match to form the country’s next government. Returning officer Christopher Makoni made the declaration late last night after ...
Headline: The moment of friction. – 36th Parallel Assessments In strategic studies “friction” is a term that it is used to describe the moment when military action encounters adversary resistance. “Friction” is one of four (along with an unofficial fifth) “F’s” in military strategy, which includes force (kinetic mass), ...
The Fast-track Bill, if passed, would allow three Ministers, unchallenged and unchecked, to approve the immediate extraction and exhaustion of one-off resources. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Stephen Duckett, Honorary Enterprise Professor, School of Population and Global Health, and Department of General Practice and Primary Care, The University of Melbourne iamharin/Shutterstock For many people, the term “bulk billed” refers to a GP visit they don’t have to pay ...
Emmas Hislop, Sidnam and Wehipeihana discuss what’s in a name. Emma Sidnam: Hello Emmas! Thank you so much for agreeing to do this with me. My first question for you is related to what’s been on my mind for a while. It’s very important. You see we’ve recently had some ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michael Sievers, Research Fellow, Global Wetlands Project, Australia Rivers Institute, Griffith University Chris Brown Humans love the coast. But we love it to death, so much so we’ve destroyed valuable coastal habitat – in the case of some types of habitat, ...
Josh Thomson on the 80s milk ad jingle he can’t stop singing, the beauty of The Simpsons, why Jersey Shore is as good as Shakespeare and more. For someone who spends a lot of time on our screens, popping up in everything from 7 Days to Taskmaster, Educators to Good ...
In apparent defiance of the Biden administration, the Netanyahu government has now initiated missile strikes against Iran. Last Saturday night (Sunday morning in New Zealand) Iran launched more than 300 drones, cruise missiles and ballistic missiles against Israeli military targets. With the assistance of US, UK and possibly French forces, ...
Māori representation brings a perspective that encompasses not only the interests of Māori communities but also a broader, holistic approach to environmental stewardship and community well-being, principles deeply embedded in Te Ao Māori (the Māori ...
The summer was wonderful. Evie was wonderful, too; finally a teenager, finally worthy of long, hot days. She shaved her legs for the first time and bought cut-off shorts from the op-shop that made them look long. She got a Warehouse singlet so tight on her new shape that her ...
When Thomas James was on his solo camp as part of Outward Bound, the keen outdoorsman didn’t find it too challenging, as others often do. In what might just be the perfect illustration of his character, he saw it as a great opportunity to solve a few problems. “I thought, ...
This week in Auckland, a group of young people took over the microphone at a ministerial press conference, to explain why they oppose the Fast-Track Approvals Bill. One young woman said, ‘We’re here because we love Aotearoa New Zealand. We want to raise our children in an environment that’s thriving, ...
From the unstable and drippy to the hi-tech and pretty, here’s our ranking of all the tunnels you can drive through in this country. The first tunnel seems to have been built in 2200BC in Babylonia, kicking off a global phenomenon for digging holes in order to get places more ...
Lucinda Bennett on the art of being greedy but resourceful. This is an excerpt from our weekly food newsletter, The Boil Up. When I picture the market, it is always this time of year. Crisp air, dripping nose, counting coins with cold fingers. Sunlight pale, filtered through specks of dew still ...
Zoë Colling’s favourite piece in the ‘That’s So Last Century’ collection is a lubrication chart for a sewing machine from the ’60s. It’s about the size of a postcard, and carefully maintained. “I like it that this piece of ephemera highlights that manual and technical side of the skill involved ...
Kia Ora Gaza A passionate haka reverberated through Auckland International Airport as a medical team of three New Zealand doctors received an emotional farewell from a big crowd of supporters before flying to Turkey to join the international Freedom Flotilla to Gaza. The doctors, who left Auckland yesterday, hope to ...
With submissions closing today, Macassey-Pickard says groups around the country have been supporting a huge range of people to make their submissions. ...
Our response to the new legislation is informed by targeted conversations with practitioners working in the system and through an implementation lens. ...
The new ‘Fast-track Approvals Bill’ would give just three Ministers the power to approve or deny development projects. They would avoid the usual checks and balances that are in place to protect rivers, land, the ocean, and communities. ...
COMMENTARY:By Eugene Doyle Helen Clark, how I miss you. The former New Zealand Prime Minister — the safest pair of hands this country has had in living memory — gave a masterclass on the importance of maintaining an independent foreign policy when she spoke at an AUKUS symposium held ...
The government's released the list of organisations provided with information on how to apply - just hours before public submissions on the bill close. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Milton Speer, Visiting Fellow, School of Mathematical and Physical Sciences, University of Technology Sydney Before climate change really got going, eastern Australia’s flash floods tended to concentrate on our coastal regions, east of the Great Dividing Range. But that’s changing. Now ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Elizabeth Finkel, Vice-Chancellor’s Fellow, La Trobe University Sia Duff / South Australian Museum In February, the South Australian Museum “re-imagined” itself. In the face of rising costs and inadequate government funds, CEO David Gaimster, who took the reins last June, declared ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alan Pearce, Professor, School of Allied Heath, Human Services & Sport, La Trobe University, La Trobe University This week, Collingwood AFL player Nathan Murphy announced his retirement, brought on by his concussion history and ongoing issues. The 24-year-old’s seemingly sudden retirement, ...
The Mental Health Foundation provides support and resources for those facing the loss of their job, so it’s wrong in the very week the Government adds another 1000 jobs to its tally of cuts, that this is happening. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alexander Howard, Senior Lecturer, Discipline of English and Writing, University of Sydney Daniel Boud/Sydney Theatre Company Decay, terror, revulsion. These are three of the central themes of Thomas Bernhard’s rarely performed play The President. The Austrian is one of the greatest ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon says threats by ministers Shane Jones and David Seymour to reform or close down the Waitangi Tribunal were “ill-considered”, as legal experts say the ministers may have breached Cabinet Manual conventions. “I think those comments are ill-considered and we expect all ministers to actually exercise good ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ye In (Jane) Hwang, Postdoctoral Research Associate at School of Population Health, UNSW Sydney Shutterstock You’d be hard pressed to find any aspect of daily life that doesn’t require some form of digital literacy. We need only to look back ten ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rob Newton, Professor of Exercise Medicine, Edith Cowan University Pexels/RDNE stock project You’re not in your 20s or 30s anymore and you know regular health checks are important. So you go to your GP. During the appointment they measure your waist. ...
A new poem by Evangeline Riddiford Graham. Mitochondrial Problem I. It was long drive to Kansas for the man and his dog but you have to understand he said She doesn’t fly. Which calls to mind not carsick shitting barking or whining but a dog who chooses not to as ...
The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington.AUCKLAND1 Hemingway’s Goblet by Dermot Ross (Mary Egan Publishing, $38)Hot off the press, this debut ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Laura Wajnryb McDonald, PhD candidate in Criminology, University of Sydney Less than 24 hours after Ashlee Good was murdered in Bondi Junction, her family released a statement requesting the media take down photographs they had reproduced of Ashlee and her family without ...
Chief executive Shaun Robinson said it has not had any government funding cut, but government-funded contracts have not kept pace with rising costs. ...
The Ministry of Health has delayed the release of its evidence brief on the safety, reversibility and mental health and wellbeing outcomes for puberty blockers. While we wait, Julia de Bres speaks to those with firsthand experience. Best practice gender-affirming healthcare is based on trans people’s self-determination and agency. The ...
Barcelona’s city streets have gone from traffic-clogged to pedestrian-friendly. How? Superblocks. Ellen Rykers explains. This is an excerpt from our weekly environmental newsletter Future Proof. Sign up here. Last week I read a great interview with renowned urbanist Janette Sadik-Khan by The Spinoff’s Wellington editor Joel MacManus: “You can reimagine streets, ...
Student groups ‘Climate Action VUW’, Schools Strike 4 Climate and VUWSA will be on the street in Wellington today, the last day for submissions on the Fast-track Approvals Bill, with a message that the fight against the Government’s ‘War on ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sofia Ammassari, Research Fellow, Griffith University Since 2014, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s popularity has grown exponentially – and so has the formidable organisational machine of his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). These two factors will be key to delivering the BJP a ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Brendon Hyndman, Associate Professor of Education (Adjunct) & Senior Manager (BCE), Charles Sturt University During COVID almost all Australian students and their families experienced online learning. But while schools have long since gone back to in-person teaching, online learning has not gone ...
Yes, they’re better for the environment. No, that’s not a good enough reason for me to use them. Once every 26 days or so, my period arrives, and if struck by an act of God, I am caught red-crotched without products. How, after 17 years of this, do I still ...
“It will cause significant harm to our environment and communities. It is completely at odds with New Zealanders’ relationship with nature and our need for a low-carbon, sustainable economic future." ...
The Chair of the National Maori Authority, Matthew Tukaki, has warned a Parliamentary Select Committee that fast-tracking legislation is a perilous practice that undermines the core tenets of democracy, transparency, and accountability. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tim Tenbensel, Associate Professor, Health Policy, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau Getty Images Since coming into power, the coalition government has adopted a simple but shrewd see-how-fast-we-can-move political strategy. However, in the health sector this need for speed entails ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Anastasia Hronis, Clinical Psychologist, University of Technology Sydney Darya Sannikova/Pexels Whether you’re watching TV, attending a footy game, or eating a meal at your local pub, gambling is hard to escape. Although the rise of gambling is not unique to Australia, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mark Wong, Forrest Fellow, School of Biological Sciences, The University of Western Australia Have you ever wondered if there are more insects out at night than during the day? We set out to answer this question by combing through the scientific ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Carol T Kulik, Research Professor, University of South Australia IR Stone/Shutterstock In Australia, it’s not the done thing to know – let alone ask – what our colleagues are paid. Yet, it’s easy to see how pay transparency can make pay ...
The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) is sounding a warning to migrants, that running foul of the law may see them leaving the country prematurely. ...
The government’s plan to get 50,000 people off jobseeker support by 2030 has had a rocky start, writes Catherine McGregor in this excerpt from The Bulletin, The Spinoff’s morning news round-up. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here. Beneficiary numbers are up – and so are ...
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Recently, CV posted his predictions for the 2017 election – predictions, in my opinion, well off line. Unless . . .
So, here’s some reflections on the political year 2016 – from an observer, not a politician.
1. The most obvious conclusion to draw from the last year is that a massive and world-wide swing away from the failed policies of neo-liberalism is happening. Corbyn’s election as Labour Party leader and the huge numbers who joined, the Brexit vote, the ‘yuge’ support for the Democratic Socialist, Bernie Sanders and the election of the anti-establishment (at least, he said so) Donald Trump.
2. The efforts by the old elite / bankers to fight back were also marked. The continuing campaign by the MSM to discredit Jeremy and by the politicians to delay or derail Brexit, the shafting of Bernie by the DNC and the old elite/bankers etc taking most, if not all of the cabinet positions under Trump.
3. The centrist Hillary Clinton did not appeal enough to beat the least qualified candidate the USA has probably ever put up for election. If that isn’t an indictment of ‘third way’ policies – well, I don’t know what more convincing our Labour Party needs.
4. The NZ Labour Party is tobacco stained with the neo-liberal taint and they haven’t really been able to wash the marks away – yet. At a time when they should have been gaining traction against a bloody awful Nat. government, they have made little progress in the polls – languishing at around 30 – 35% for all of 2016.
The obvious conclusion to draw – from this overly simplistic summary – is that the Labour Party has to TURN LEFT! Jeremy and Bernie pointed the way – the NZLP must present a viable and appealing alternative to neo-liberalism. If they do a Clinton and mouth a few words about reform while not intending to do anything to upset the 1%ers – then CV’s predictions may well come true!
They should be promising to take this country by its collective collar and shake the hell out of it – so all the rich cockroaches fall to the ground and can be stomped on! [Figuratively, not literally!] God knows, the future looks precarious enough – some radical solutions are needed!
2017 – I would like it if the left got going in earnest this year – globally, but especially in NZ. Knock that orange atrocity off the front page of all the news platforms.
@Tony Veitch (not the partner-bashing 3rd rate broadcaster…
+1 Turn Labour Left!
The issue is everyone has a different idea of ‘left’ and ‘ centre’. Personally I think Labour has turned left already, they said no to TPPA and they have the MoU with the Greens.
If they turn too far left then they start competing with the Greens and Mana and leave the centre open to National and NZ First….
Totally agree that Labour have been too far right or schizophrenic in their policy and too blindly supportive of neoliberalism in the past… but do feel they have turned the corner and now people have to stop bagging them and start supporting them and bagging National.
National are the ones doing horrendous damage to our country, environment and society.
There are pretty well defined definitions of Left> Center < Right.
The problem is that over the last 30 years Parties such as Labour have been selling Centrist Policies and passing them off as being Left wing. And I for one am struggling to see any sure well defined 'turning of the corner' from previous Labour policies.
My own thoughts are that 'The Centrist' labourites should just grow up and step up. State their position clearly and form their own Political Parties.
The perfect starting point would be the English Labour Party Centrists, whose obsession with destroying Corbyn is guaranteed to condemn the Party to oblivion for atleast the next Election cycle.
Nash and the crew could get things started here.
Though of course you answered this yourself, by pointing out that Labour ARE occupying the Centre position, and, like you say, its a position that can just as easily be filled by National.
In other words…National and Labour are pretty darned close to being interchangeable.
Is that really the Labour Party we want as we try and survive the current economic and social quagmire sweeping the World as Neo Liberalism and Free Market capitalism gives its last desperate death throes??
ps Andrew Little and Labour have NOT said NO to TPP..they want a ‘better’ TPP. Do we know what that actually means??
Labour HAS said No to TPP.
But we’re a trading nation so Labour would like to see some fair and reasonable trade agreements, not these trumped up multi-corp arrangements.
“After being reluctant to make his party’s position clear, Mr Little has finally said Labour does not support the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) in its current form.”
http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/political/295195/little-attempts-to-keep-lid-on-tpp-tensions
He says the same on the Labour Party website. That was my point.
Andrew Little is very vocal in supporting Free Trade, and, from reading his statement, is very proud of the deal Labour struck with the free trade deal with China. Which, while being great for the so called ‘economy’ is part and parcel with the destruction of our wages, employment rights, and some claim, housing situation. How many of us have gone from relatively secure employment to being ‘private contractors’, short term employees etc etc as our industries try to compete in a free for all with the Global Economy.
I think this is a great idea, that centrist split from Labour would probably get around 10% of the party vote and be a natural coalition partner for National.
I don’t see any downside in this, great for Labour, they can become the party of leftist purity it’s members so desperately seem to want and great for National, they can keep on running the country without having to deal with NZ First.
Win win for everyone.
BM – you are truly ‘BC.’
NZF have some good MP’s and are making good progress throughout the country I believe they will pick up a percentage of the disillusioned National Party vote.
Likewise I believe a coalition between Labour Greens NZF is the most likely post Election arrangement, Winston has been in coalition with Labour and National.
The arrangement with National ended in a mess when Shipley overthrew Bolger and then proceeded to shaft Winston, hence I doubt whether Winston will trust National again, once bitten twice shy.
+1 To a Labour/Green/NZ First coalition.
+ 100% saveNZ – time people stopped the bagging of Labour, read up on the policies, and Policy Platform, and started to help Labour get the word out –
Labour is returning to its roots.
@Jenny Kirk, I don’t agree that Labour is returning to it’s roots, or if it is, that memo must have passed me by.
Here is a quote from their own site, in regards to the housing disaster…
“Instead of fixing the problem, National is siding with property speculators. They are too focused on looking after those at the top rather than families in the middle.”
Not a mumbling word about poor and working families, they then go on to state that they will build ‘affordable’ houses in the $500,000-600,000 range
(in AKL), do you believe that families where the income is from full time cleaning, aged care work etc can afford a $500,000 home, no either do I…so again, I have to say Labour doesn’t look or sound like a party that is finding it’s Socialist roots to me.
Turn Labour Left.
@ Adrian Thornton
The housing situation in NZ is made up roughly of 1/3 renters, 1/3 homeowners with mortgages and 1/3 homeowners without mortgages.
So the centre of housing issues might not be where you think it is!
Although I do agree that Labour are too Nat Lite on housing and it is a joke to consider $500 -$600 k affordable on NZ wages. They will go bankrupt as soon as mortgages rise.
Many of the renters should be in secure state housing in my view and National should not be selling them off! That is where Labour are missing the boat.
The Auckland housing situation is driven by 166,000 working visas being issued to students and 70,000 new migrants per year coming. but nobody wants to mention it.
The government has so little imagination they think that selling land and dodgy degrees is a sustainable business for NZ and apparently we can’t stop now as who will fill the apartments being built.
I’m all for immigration but not at the levels and types of people that are coming all for the wrong reasons. I’d like to see more creative type of immigrants, professionals with new ideas and an exchange of minds and cultures, not more tilers, restaurant managers and fruit pickers. Nothing wrong with that but how about training some of our youth to do that as much of it can be taught in a quick course.
If you don’t think having one of the biggest self imposed immigration levels in the world per capita has an effect on property, services and the environment (especially with our current government polluters at the helm with wadable water and sell off state houses and get social bonds going) – you are in la la land.
Did I hear you say Labour’s going to restore basic benefit rates to a livable level, reinstate the special benefit, get rid of punitive welfare policies including the ones Labour introduced and/or voted with the nats on, ditch user pays in health and education, bring back a state housing system that abolishes homelessness with an emphasis on homeownership for everyone? Wow. That’s fantastic.
Bill English also agrees labour should go hard left
Who gives a fuck what Bill Engish thinks Labour should do?
Hard left to English means warm homes, full bellies and that kids go to school.
I like what you are saying very much Tony , but I fear that “Capital” ( or Deep State or whatever) is far more powerful and has what is pretty much a stranglehold. One good example is their ownership of the media and the ability to control the message.
All ‘uprisings’ for change just haven’t been able to get enough traction , even the huge overseas movements have basically floundered pretty rapidly because the game is so stacked.
Sadly for NZ we do not have a champion to lead in the need for change.
Personally I think we (humans) are frogs in a heating pot of water and are too stupid to do anything before it is too late.
Perhaps if Trump destroys the USA we may get change for the better? Now there’s a pipe dream! More likely to get WW3 instead.
Still no real actions over the elephant in the room (CC) either.
Garibaldi:
The message has to be so ‘radical’ that the MSM and Deep State simply cannot ignore it – a moderate message will simply get tucked away on page 17. It’s also got to offer some hope to those at the bottom so they will be encouraged to get out and vote.
Another pipe dream – wouldn’t it be lovely to have California secede from the union!
And yes, I agree – climate change will, literally, change everything!
+1
Turn Labour left.
+ 1 Turn Labour Left.
Funny isnt it – we all want the same things – but we expect different results from it.
Labour’s been captured and won’t be seeing freedom any time soon (if ever).
Shaw has kind of narrowed the distance between Labour and Green (bad thing).
The media are pants (pants thing).
I’m waiting for TOPS climate policy before punting them as a circuit breaker, but their policies so far aren’t too bad in comparison to Labour or Green policy… and I detected more than a whiff of sour grapes from the Greens in a piece linked to here the other day.
The fact that TOPS do not want to be in government (are going to occupy the cross benches) is a big plus in my book.
Guyon gets taught a lesson on TPP, by Jane Kelsey this morning on RNZ…hope he was taking notes….
http://www.radionz.co.nz/audio/player?audio_id=201830460
ha ha ha
Go Prof!
Espiner again shows he is a bagman for the neoliberal establishment. His tone, manner and bias seep through every question he asks.
Good news.
Trump executive order pulls United States out of TPP trade deal
Donald Trump signs memorandum to leave Trans-Pacific Partnership
And my Twitter feed says:
plus
Government for the people? Which people?
I beg to differ because Trump’s move is based on all the wrong reasons. In any case, much of the legal groundwork for a (the) TPPA has already been done here in NZ and elsewhere and it appears that National/Bill English have not given up yet.
As a side note, unpredictability and uncertainty are on the increase, which coincidentally leads to a rise of pseudo-Nostradamus wannabees, and under such conditions the Precariat is unlikely to experience any real and sustainable improvement despite some political rhetoric (…) trying to convince us otherwise.
The dismantling of the TPP is good news.
For these reasons.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b58VxhRSk9g
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9SOokUdKYcM
So.. I was right about the TPP. Even when it was signed here in NZ I said it wouldn’t happen.
What a waste of time protesting.
GG.
The TPP protests were useful at bringing people together, showing how to non-violently win, and educating the govt about what citizens would not accept. Those are all transferable to the next similar fight.
Also, the corresponding opposition to it in the US, and the reasons for that opposition, won Trump the election.
“educating the govt about what citizens would not accept”
That should be about what SOME citizens would not accept.
There were a lot of us that were fine with it.
Actually – I think its a bad thing that it did not go ahead, but “hey” its dead and we just move on.
It’s always about some citizens, yes.
A lot, yes, but still a minority.
Funny that – most people seem to think it was the protests that prompted politicians to turn against the TPP.
http://www.radionz.co.nz/audio/player?audio_id=201830460
It was plain obvious this shit wouldn’t pass. America was getting dicked. It was signaled a few years ago that a change in US govt would kill it.
Many thousands of people would disagree with your assessment.
But hey, what do they know?
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/nov/28/tpp-protests-mass-opposition-worked-trump-presidency
https://www.rt.com/usa/331356-tpp-signing-protests-usa/
http://www.cnbc.com/2016/09/17/germans-march-against-trade-deals-with-us-and-canada-stop-ceta-ttip.html
“America was getting dicked. ”
An interesting take on the nature of the agreement as negotiated, including all the kowtowing to US IP laws, but hey.
I don’t think the protestors influenced Trump at all
You would think that.
That’s a troll comment if ever there was 🙂
No, I think Trump was looking for ways to disparage Obama and Clinton and then it happened to coincide with others groups ideals
If Trump was specifically swayed by protestors, well he has enough protests to pick from at the moment
At least he thinks rather than cut and paste
Maybe not. Maybe even ‘probably not’ 😉
But seeing Sanders get traction off the back of slamming free trade and then hearing from potential voters who had lost good jobs and been plunged into uncertainty and poverty…
Or maybe he’s always been more of a protectionist. On that front, I simply don’t know.
Well those are good points
Well, it’s not political,however the day has finally dawned,
PJ Harvey plays tonight in Auckland.
Got tickets the day they came on sale.
One of the greats to come out of the 90s.
Let’s stick to NZ issues and not allow US issues to swamp our own pressing issues.
Liam Dann: Trump show risks swamping NZ’s big issues
“Hard work” , in this regard ,I suggedt you up your u tube hyper links postings and duplicate across threads, plus repeat the same posting on multiple days, Ooops sorry you are already doing that
You do realise that I take the fact you dislike my postings as evidence that they are of some use.
My posts must be really useful then 🙂
Credit to Otago Daily Times journalist Bruce Munro, who has exposed some of Otago’s links to the slave trade:
https://www.odt.co.nz/lifestyle/magazine/chained-sorry-trade
http://readingthemaps.blogspot.co.nz/2017/01/sometimes-silence-screams-bruce-munro.html
Time for a memorial to the victims of NZ slavery?
National memorial…yeah I wouldn’t be opposed to that
Thanks for the interesting and informative links RTM …I find it’s always good to learn the fuller picture of what has brought us to the here and now …
At present we ‘benefit’ from a lot of modern slavery …. which like the old forms is built on abuse of power and injustice.
This is done through main stream media silence …… and outright Government propaganda, ….. such as this statement from mfat.govt.nz regarding the gangster nation Indonesia ….” since democracy was restored in 1998.”
Presumably mfat are referring to this ….. ” the Indonesian women’s movement, the entire trade union movement, intellectuals, teachers, and the ethnic Chinese, and also land reform advocates. So, within somewhere—within a year, somewhere between half a million and two-and-a-half million people were killed in what was really one of the very largest genocides in our history.
And it was reported in the United States as good news. It was reported in The New York Times and Time magazine fairly accurately in terms of the death tolls, but with headlines like “A Gleam of Light in Asia,”. https://www.democracynow.org/2013/7/19/the_act_of_killing_new_film
‘Old news’ someone like James would say ……..
But the problem is that the children of the murdered are presently being exploited in slave labor conditions ………. or cleared from their land again.
And if they should try and join a union …. or speak out for land rights, protecting the environment etc ..
They can be murdered with impunity ……….. just like their parents were.
Make no mistake…. Indonesia is a country which would have murdered and tortured our late and great Helen Kelly.
We should not be encouraging the Gangsters who currently run/own indonesia ….
“July 2016: Prime Minister John Key and Trade Minister Todd McClay traveled to Indonesia for an official visit along with a high-level business delegation.”
Tax havens like National made NZ into play a large roll in supporting enslavement, poverty and war in the world ….
Dismantling it should be a priority https://www.oxfam.org/en/even-it/inequality-and-poverty-hidden-costs-tax-dodging
No argument from me, reason. But Kiwis are so dislocated from any of this. Sad.
True words In Vino ……….. but we have been kept in the dark to a large extent, and I cant blame the average person for that.
I try and spread the word of the truth tellers …as I hope they and the truth will catch on
For the good of everyone
More great insight from Paulsky
[stop the trolling. Site-wide warning. – weka]
[TheStandard: A moderator moved this comment to Open Mike as being off topic or irrelevant in the post it was made in. Be more careful in future.]
67 trolls now.More interesting than the tripe you continually cut and paste.
You do seem to get swarmed by the dick pics that our trolls are Paul …
Attack of the rotten members club ….
I Always try and use them to further expand inform and educate on the subject I’m posting about ………… for the normal readers and people.
After all….. It’s only fitting that a dick pic should be used as a tool 🙂
here are some quotes and context from the julian assange live press conference last thursday
http://wearechange.org/assange-talks-brennan-cia-future-journalism/
The Chump fires his first shots as pres in his war on women.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/donald-trump-abortion-men_us_5886369be4b0e3a7356a7910?section=us_politics
Goes global.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/donald-trump-global-gag-rule_us_58822355e4b070d8cad1f774?2h0qxx9cl5edrc0udi
edit:
edit:
Indeed.
there has been a fair bit of talk about trolls on this site,
words and the evolution of meaning interest me
now troll has three meanings that precede its blog meaning
1 a nasty creature that lives under a bridge and grabs you as you try and cross
2 to systematically search an area
3 to tow a lure and hope some sucker grabs it
for me a (blog) troll brings images of the third , tow a lure and hope for a sucker
do some of you have an image of the first, nasty creature that jumps out?
or even the second, a systematic coverage of an area?
there are certainly elements of all three meanings in the use of (blog) troll
just interested cause words do matter but meaning is in the hearing
You forgot
4 someone who says something I don’t like and/or agree with
ahh that would be a new meaning specific to troll(blog). (but yes some do use it in that way here IMHO)
altho as ugly/nasty are subjective it really just a restatement of 1
(or is that just an example of 3. a lure!)
My lips are sealed 🙂
Pretty much all three. Blog trolls tend to lurk around the posts waiting for a flamewar to flare. Sometimes they will drop incendiary and usually diversionary statements out to start the fire. Sometimes they will reinterpret someone elses comments to provoke them and others.
Generally, moderators will tend to ignore a lot of the flaming because it fits under robust debate. It isn’t in the interests of the site of the commenters to shield people from the disagreements in society or from political debate. The only way to develop counters to arguments present in the wider society is to hear them expressed. However there is enough siloing of political debate already in both the media and other blogs.
We look at the behaviour patterns of commenters and if they actually contribute anything to the ongoing debates. If the patterns of behaviour are unthinkingly repetitive or seem to be designed to just take over debate to drown out the voices of others then we treat the perpetrators as trolls as a rapidly escalating response.
Which brings up the key attribute of trolls that you seem to have missed. They seem to have real problems both learning the boundaries of behaviour, and they usually hate their own behaviors and tactics being reflected back at themselves in nastier and more extreme forms. So you will see some moderators (mainly me at present) abbreviating the process by deliberately provoking them with exaggerated and very disdainful trolling behaviors aimed very personally at them in a demonstration of the net adage that there is always a bigger and better skilled arsehole on the net – they are often called sysops.
As promised, more from Abby Martin – This time the Washington’s Women’s March. Short video – just over a minute.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_vKKGWOd6NU
http://www.stuff.co.nz/auckland/local-news/nor-west-news/88673292/astonishing-first-ever-nz-sighting-of-redfooted-booby
Always a good day when you can spot a booby
define resisting 🙂
soon it my be a ‘hate crime’ to ‘resist’ arrest – at least in Louisianan if this goes through.
Mind i can see other follow suit, rejoice private prison complex, i can see a few cheques coming your way.
http://www.rawstory.com/2017/01/louisiana-police-chief-pushes-blue-lives-matter-law-to-make-resisting-arrest-a-felony-hate-crime/
They are.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-11-09/private-prison-stocks-are-surging-after-trump-s-win
Interview of Mark Ames by Abby Martin
Empire Files: Post-Soviet Russia, Made in the U.S.A.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e7HwvFyMg7A&t=1s
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/88710686/gareth-morgan-v-winston-peters–political-sledging-in-full-force-at-ratana
Well at least the election won’t be a complete snore fest
Clean green New Zealand.
Auckland’s water shock: Bacteria levels ‘dangerously high’
So it’s outdoor lakes, etc that are polluted? I always boil my drinking water in Auckland – no faith in the system.
I think both rural and urban areas have problems due to a lack of rules.
In other news dear leader’s election was prophesied by a moose and heralded with a new moon in the heavens and a National Day of Patriotic Devotion.
Bad move for Little to criticise the Mp like this:
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/88703698/labour-leader-andrew-little-has-accused-the-maori-party-of-doing-nothing-for-their-people
Little’s misreading the signals. The Mp must surely be set to ditch the nats. They’re coming home. The Mp has never been about right-wing policies. Going with the nats was a strategy to try to achieve “real” gains for Maori.
They now see the error in that “better to be inside the tent” strategy. This also coincides with a general belief that Labour’s been punished enough for the F&S, and that it’s now time now to unite for what’s best for all Maori. Hone would not be dealing with the Mp in any way whatsoever if it meant helping the Mp to provide support that puts the nats back in government.
If Little’s serious about winning the election then trying to chastise the Mp isn’t the way to go. He’s confusing the Mp’s beliefs with their strategy. There should be a far greater consistency between Labour and the Mp than the nats and the Mp. Little should not be afraid of Mana and the Mp taking the Maori seats, and if they do then at least work with those parties to achieve better outcomes for Maori, if not form the government with those parties.
Little and Labour must be pretty stupid or have short memories if they think the Mp going with the nats was because the Mp embraced nat ideology. They don’t. And with everything that’s going on now Labour is completely dumb to slag them off.
Labour should be bloody courting the Mp, not trying to alienate them. Heck, the party needs all the help it can get, especially when there’s no guarantee NZF won’t go with English.
But then again, strategy and common sense have never been strong points for Labour, so no surprises there.
More evidence that not all people in sports are meatheads and cowards
Sadly, we have recently seen the unedifying spectacle of cowardly coaches like Pittsburgh Steelers’ Mike Tomlin and the New Zealand Maoris’ Colin Cooper bullying their most thoughtful and intelligent players into dropping their political protests.
But there ARE some decent people in big-time sports. People like Gregg Popovich, the coach of the San Antonio Spurs….
https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2017/jan/22/gregg-popovich-donald-trump-criticism-san-antonio-spurs-nba#comment-91696470
Uber NZ earns $1m, pays $9000 in tax
Uber New Zealand Technologies paid $9397 in tax in 2014/15 despite earning revenue of more than $1 million from New Zealanders, we were confused. A person on $45,000 a year pays about $7800 in PAYE tax.
http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/308581/uber's-'extremely-elaborate'-tax-arrangements
https://www.facebook.com/ActionStationNZ/photos/a.231204660335083.49804.194540734001476/1085764938212380/?type=3&theater
Can everyone have state houses for life – I’d like to put several on back order for my children and their children.
[Fuck off] – Bill
[TheStandard: A moderator moved this comment to Open Mike as being off topic or irrelevant in the post it was made in. Be more careful in future.]
Norman Finkelstein has been attacked by a dead sheep
Is there a stupider, more hapless politician anywhere in the world than Marco Rubio?
http://normanfinkelstein.com/2017/01/23/finkelstein-under-attack/
Trump and the endless reporting of his malapropisms, executive deductions, decision, etc will fill our media with Radionz or RNZ constantly reporting their tragedies and disasters and riots etc. (the other day there was a tornado over there did you know), don’t know what the private stations do. Perhaps ignore it and put on some romantic or rock.
Can we please have a Trump and USA permanent post and everything be done there. Otherwise we are accepting our own brain washing which is a public relations and social psychology triumph for the PR and mind-bending fraternity.