Most people don’t drop further into desperation each time another unfavourable poll result is released, they may glance and shrug but will just carry on with their lives.
You should do something about your Political Delusion/Paranoia Disorder.
Really, the country will keep chugging along ok, sometimes a little better, sometimes a little worse, but it won’t fall off the edge of the earth.
The Camping Collywobbles are just a passing phase.
PeteG is up early today and is off on his morning troll.
I was talking about the state of the country, stupid.
You know the better New Zealand that Key promised where kids eat cockroaches to get by. Where third world diseases have appeared. Where unemployment has soared. Where the economy is out of control and we have just had a budget constructed of lies and pixie dust.
Where our most profitable sector per head pays less tax than our retired. Where our elected representatives ensure they can gouge themselves on luxuries while at the same time they slash budgets for very important programmes.
You should get your head out of your arse and have a look around.
Or maybe one of the aims of the blog is to discuss, debate, challenge. No?
We don’t all have to piss into the same bottle on command.
The answer to that is that we’d like the comments in a post to be at least vaguely related to that post. If you want to waffle on something else (and where it does not relate to the drift of the threads) then go to OpenMike. It is preferable to my other alternatives.
The so-called cream in that post has proven to be a bit curdled.
But back to being related to that post – is the level or proposed minimum wage rise sensible:
– at a time of already high youth unemployment?
– after three difficult years for many businesses?
– at a time when wage growth is predicted to spurt anyway?
Well, I suppose that’s where some of the $1b in government savings is going to come from. Of course, they could have done better just by cutting the unecinomic RoNS out all together – that would save $10b.
“The renewal and maintenance budgets are proposed to be held at close to current levels to drive further efficiencies in delivery,” he said.
If we don’t pay for them it becomes more efficient 😆
Possibly this is where some of the savings will come from.
RONS is a slightly different thing. The RONS projects are larger scale and the B/Cs on these projects are generally much higher (to the point where most of the projects being cut provide a significant return on the money spent). And the projects affected by this announcement still need to be done, whereas the RONS projects are much harder to justify using complex things like logic. So I suppose calling this a cut is unfair, it’s an indefinite postponement.
Another thing to consider, part of this investment in infrastructure would have had people doing work, getting paid, that sort of thing. Cutting Indefinitely postponing this work means these jobs are lost. Thanks National.
What about STOPPING the bloody useless Holiday highway?????? A cut in improvements?? they gonna stop painting the green cycleway lane on every highway, and I have seen some (Cycle Ways) that you would need to have a death wish to use them.
It seems that the govt is happy to give handouts to companies – Tourism Holdings earnings were up after the quake – all those caravans that no one used (but the govt still paid for) made a big difference to their bottom line – now, I wonder which ministers have interests in tourism holdings or related companies….
Didn’t Goff look hopelessly out of his depth on the news last night? Labour would only spend $800m on the R&D tax credit (because that is all they have) but Goff had no idea about how they make sure they stayed under this cap. Didn’t know if the credit would be available to foreign owned companies. Two days after announcing his flagship policy he clearly has no idea what it it about.
What with the most recent poll, maybe Labour has nothing to lose by changing leaders.
Not as hopelessly out of depth as shonky did on Hard Talk – maybe National should replace him – oh that’s right he is leaving once he has destroyed the country and ‘earned’ his knighthood.
58 less 28 is bullshit polling, that’s what it is – people that believe in what they are doing and saying don’t have to point to what other people apparently think in order to make their point.
Unfortunately for Mr Goff, in a democracy, politics is a popularity contest. If people do not like what you are saying, they will not vote for you. So, if Labour wants to ever again get power, they will have to work out how to be more popular.
In a democracy it is supposed to be a policy contest, not a ‘popularity’ contest.
Smile and wave, or sneer and wave as it has become, is not a policy, it is a distraction, and the sooner people realize that, the sooner we will be rid of Shonky and the misguided cult of personality that surrounds this charlatan.
LOL – it’s people like you that make suggestions that include calling people ‘idiots’ reasonable
Though, becuase I’m not into blaming people for being mislead, I would have gone for:
“People of New Zealand, stop fawning over the lying asshole that is trying to destroy your future”
I’m willing to give you another chance too – though something tells me it will be wasted.
Why do all the trolls try and make out like the left think people are stupid? The very reason the left is still in this to win is bcause they know that people are not. People can be mislead by a complacent MSM and a corrupt government – but eventually they will see through the bullshit.
If anyone it is National that thinks people are stupid – they are banking on it – because neither their persons nor their policies stand up to scrutiny.
Is that that the best criticism you have got? Spelling? Lame bro, lame – how about you turn off your spell check (it’s disabled in my browser currently) and see how well you do.
As for hating stupid people, or just people generally – I’m pretty sure that’s you mate.
Doesn’t make pleasant reading. It starts of sounding a bit like spin, but by the end of it it sounds like Goff really should be doing better, as leader.
Perhaps the media’s continued piling on about Labour is a result of Goff’s poor PR handling. Much as we see Key acting like a child in parliament which never seems to filter back into the media, perhaps Goff acting like a child with the media is what they report on.
They asked him for policy details and got upset that they weren’t told them. Meanwhile, they’re not even asking Nact for policy details, ie, where are the $1b in government savings coming from? How much did they cut each departments budget to get those savings?
‘Insider view’ Lanth? The whole article reeked of shonky love – I agree completely with Goff – if it weren’t for the fact that Duncan is fat and Guyon skinny it would be hard to tell the rubbish that comes out of their mouths apart.
“Insider” in the sense that a journalist has described what actually happened at the stand up, instead of writing a story about what Goff said (or didn’t say).
Maybe they’re biased. But it’s still an uncommon report of an apparently weekly tradition.
More evidence of slipping standards at National Radio [from Friday 20 May]
On Friday 20 May, this writer (i.e., moi) was challenged by a rather confused and uninformed (these traits always go together) but dramatically ambitious joe90. Unfortunately, our friend Joe did not linger long enough to post up his response to my corrections of his quibbles.
Perhaps joe90 would like to make a reasoned (i.e., no indolent flinging of empty and abusive epithets like “wingnut”) response at his leisure…
Nice attempt at dramatisation, my friend. You should approach that tired old codger John Barnett about a screenwriting job; the ones he employs on his movies are certainly not much chop.
However, while your dialoguing shows promise, you need to pay attention to your understanding of content, which is sadly lacking. I’ll deal with just the most glaring errors….
1.) Me….what’s contentious, the US position is bla .bla, the Israeli position is bla..bla..
Actually, it’s the US and the whole world versus Israel.
2.) Morrissey…..I’m right and all the world thinks so too.
That is correct. You are trying to scoff at this writer (i.e., moi) as out on a limb; actually, my position is the mainstream one.
3.) Me…. Palestine is a fuck up but at least someone is trying,…
WHO is trying, Joe? And who is it that is responsible for it being a “fuck up”?
4.) …you’re starting to mirror the wingnuts who as long as they get to be on what they think is the right side don’t give a rats about the people on the other side.
There you go again! It’s easy to throw around empty epithets like “wingnuts”, especially when you aren’t up to speed on an issue. Have you been listening to that penetrating analyst Leighton Smith on NewstalkZB, by any chance?
5.) Last word to ME.. he may not have met my expectations but Obama winning another term is the first real opportunity since Begin and Sadat for a lasting peace in the region.
On what basis do you make that statement? Obama has done precisely nothing to stop Israel’s depredations in Gaza or the West Bank. You would know that if you had any familiarity with Israeli and Palestinian politics.
Now there was a fair bit of bagging the budget before it even hit the printing press. Many taking their cues from Nationals indication that the 2011 budget would deliver more of the same ineffectual and outdated policy’s that have led to New Zealands financial difficulties in the first place. As the dust settles, the Jackal decided to have a look at Bill English’s baby, and it’s not a pretty sight.
Heard on Radionz 8.20 this morning.
1 Kiwirail are worried about low use of Gisborne-Nspier railway. By coincidence I am reading a crime thriller and the hero travels by AmTrack. The author digresses into the history of AmTrack – American Track which was underwritten by the government trying to save the railways from collapse after they had backed freight while discarding passengers by offering them deteriorating services, but then freight went to large trucks. Sound familiar?
AmTrack did offer a service to travellers taking their cars who drive into a rail van enabling long distance travel in relative ease. If we NZ had that service and used it a lot, and also made car purchases too difficult and expensive for young guys, it could slash our road accidents and release the police to work catching crims and trying to turn saveable youth rather than personning road blocks interfering with thousands of people to catch the trace of gold or rather dross hundred or so over the limit.
2 Pharmac is one bureaucracy that you would think that a NACT government would like and call efficient and effective. The USA medical system is one of the most expensive in the world and not efficient and effective because only heaps of money will give good outcomes and the devil take the (poor) hindmost. Their medicines are so dear that where USA and Canada are close enough to wave to each other, USA people cross the border and buy their medical needs in Canada.
If we get a PPPPTTA or whatever the acronym for being throttled with USA ‘free trade’, at the cost of losing Pharmac, we lose in almost all directions. They will screw us abroad and at home, and do the highwayman with our pharmaceuticals demanding – ‘Your money or your life’.
Gareth Morgan has written a stirring defence of Pharmac and concern should National trade its independence for a “Free” Trade deal with USA. “The drug company claims that Pharmac has failed are based on the fact that New Zealand’s pharmaceutical budget is much lower and is growing slower than other countries. To suggest this is a bad thing completely misses the point of having Pharmac in the first place. If anything this is a sign of Pharmac’s success. …………National shot itself in the food on the whole Herceptin issue. At the time it was a cynical political vote grab, but now it faces the consequences. http://www.nzherald.co.nz/opinion/news/article.cfm?c_id=466&objectid=10727573
ianmac – I really enjoyed reading Gareth’s racy style which speaks veritas, no lightweight fluff. Our butter and wool USA – let’s swop for your Harley Davidsons! Now that’s a good idea.
Brave SEAL teams keeping the world safe—from Grenada and Panama
National Radio, Monday 23.5.2011
Noelle McCarthy interviews ex-Navy Seal STEPHEN TEMPLIN, co-author of a book called SEAL Team Six: Memoirs of an Elite Navy SEAL Sniper.
Back on March 8th, when she interviewed the reptilian supporter of grave-robbing and knife-killing, Garth McVicar, Noelle McCarthy struggled to disguise her contempt and revulsion. See the transcript of that interview HERE… http://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-09032011/#comment-306178
With today’s guest, however, Noelle managed to keep a lid on her feelings. Her guest was Stephen Templin, an ex-U.S. Navy SEAL sniper. Rather than confront Templin like she did McTheKnife, this time she let her interviewee hang himself by simply outlining what it was he and his brave mates did, and more to the point, who they did it to.
What they did and do is standard boys’ own, gung-ho stuff—one per cent of applicants get in, basic training is hell, and no SEAL is allowed to tell even his room-mate what mission he’s been assigned to. A Navy SEAL has to be as fit as a professional triathlete, and be able to swim like a fish. Their commanders have to be skilled lobbyists, in order to keep getting funded by Congress, so that they are supplied with the very latest technology—like Stealth helicopters. All very exciting and derring-do.
And then, we find out just who are the targets of all this training and firepower. Here, the illusions fall apart somewhat. Noelle had the sense not to challenge him, but instead just let him talk, so that the listeners could savour the absurdity of his message.
Because anyone with a heart, or a shred of conscience, would be appalled by what Templin revealed….
NOELLE: What kind of missions have you been on?
TEMPLIN: Well, the big one was Grenada. Everybody wanted a piece of Grenada!
NOELLE: Mmmm hmmmm….
TEMPLIN: Then there was Panama! And there’s a lot of problems with pirates in Somalia. Seal Team 6 took down the pirates on that boat in Somalia…”
So that’s it, then! How lucky the American people are to have an elite force ready and waiting and fully armed and loaded, at all times, just itching to “have a piece” of tiny, defenceless, third world countries.
Look out, Tokelau! SEAL Team Six could be headed your way soon!
“NZ does not have a debt problem, NZ has a long-term growth problem. NZ is 22nd in the OECD. We lost 79,000 people last year. Our growth is basically anaemic.”
Draco gets the prize. It was John Key after the Budget 2008 on Campbell Live. His next sentence was “We can run the economy much better and I think NZers should trust us to do that”.
Israel’s military intelligence capabilities are legendary—a tiny country of peace lovers can’t survive amidst a sea of hostile Arabs without such powers.
Today we witnessed the best of Israel’s elite undercover crack commando operatives in action as they…arrested and beat up unarmed teenagers.
Here is the link to a French inhabitant of Tokyo who has been keeping everybody posted about the Fukushima power plant over the last two months. According to him the Government of Japan has just announced that reactors no 2 and 3 also melted down in the direct aftermath of the Earthquake.
What a disgraceful show it was. Jim’s guests were Graham Bell and John Dunne, the brother of the M.P. for Khandallah.
The way they went after that woman from the council was ridiculous. Neither of them listened to a word she said. And neither did Jim, sadly.
Bell is a hard-bitten old cop who is accustomed to others deferring to his bluster. Only occasionally is he paired up with someone prepared to challenge him. Gordon Campbell certainly did, and Bell got very upset and angry. He forgot that it wasn’t the squad-room at the CIB, and Campbell is not a man to be intimidated. A pity that the same can’t be said for Jeremy Elwood and Chris Trotter, who have both bent over backwards to agree with Bell.
Dunne is a great, great football commentator—far and away the best to cover Canterbury games in the last twenty years. That’s where his talents end, though. His opinions are conservative, which is fine if there is evidence of some thought behind them. Sadly, there seems to be little, on this afternoon’s evidence. Although he has a marvellous, sonorous voice, there’s not a lot going on upstairs from the mouth.
I’m tired of these sad old self-styled “curmudgeons”—Don Donovan, Garth George and Rosemary McLeod are three more—and their gouty prejudices. They seem to think their advancing years lend them some sort of wisdom, or authority. As we heard this afternoon with the rabid, cloth-eared attack on the council woman, that’s not true at all.
Yes Morrissy. They are depressing. I gave up after 40 minutes. Note that Bell reckons NZers love to see how their society works bt watching his crime show. If that is so, we are all drunken, sleazy, deviants. But not the people that I know.
Christian Right pressure group “Family First” will be holding its annual “Forum on “the Family” in Auckland on July 6, 2011. Will this ‘pro-family’ group be discussing *real* issues of importance to mainstream New Zealand families like housing, social service cutbacks, access to medical services, income maintenance and support, quality public education, affordable food, homelessness and poverty.
Well…no. It will, however, have New Right anti-welfare activist *Lindsay Mitchell* as one of its *keynote scheduled speakers*. Note that there is *no one* scheduled to provide a balancing perspective on welfare policy from mainstream social service providers at the coalface. If I were the Coalition for Social Justice, I’d email Family First and ask why. I’ve already tipped off Sue Bradford (hee hee hee)…
Oh, and brave Phil Goff is going to be quizzed on his deviation from social conservative ideological purity (their version of political correctness) when it comes to (deep breath) abortion, euthanasia, same-sex marriage, prostitution, welfare policy etc etc, along with Key. Incidentally, why is Key never this forthcoming with LGBT interviewers, progressive journalists or media outlets?
Oh, and fundamentalist pop parenting guru Ian Grant and Jim Wallace of the fundie “Australian Christian Lobby,” notorious for ranting and raving against Muslim Australians and same-sex marriage proper on Anzac Day…
AFAIK, Ian Grant is not a fundamentalist! You really have to stretch the meaning of fundamentalist to get it to include him. (In fact I would love to know your definition of fundamentalist)
Vicky
He opposed the Hero Parade in the nineties and acknowledges that his stance on ‘family’ owes a lot to US Christian Right groups like “Focus on the Family’. Yes, he is a fundie.
Not many people would have heard of Edward S. Lancaster. He’s a forgettable kind of guy. Mr Lancaster is the head honcho of an Aussie mining exploration company called Grey Wolf Resources NL, which has recently been sniffing around New Zealands resources. But before we get ahead of ourselves, there’s one thing you need to know about Mr Lancaster, he’s a complete conman and has a long history of fraudulence and deceit. No wonder Mr Lancaster has come out in support of Nationals plundering policies. It appears that birds of a feather really do flock together.
The usual IMF solution, involving preserving capital at workers’ expense – a package including wage and benefit cuts, less social spending, privatizing state resources, mass layoffs, deregulation, lower corporate taxes, maintaining debt service, and harsh crackdowns on resisters.
In the 1980s, it was Reaganomics, trickle down, and Thatcherism. Today it’s “shock therapy,” and forced austerity, the same scheme pitting capital against people – disposable workers tossed out for big money’s gain, bankers most of all.
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This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Bob HensonIn this aerial view, fingers of meltwater flow from the melting Isunnguata Sermia glacier descending from the Greenland Ice Sheet on July 11, 2024, near Kangerlussuaq, Greenland. According to the Programme for Monitoring of the Greenland Ice Sheet (PROMICE), the ...
In August, I wrote an article about David Seymour1 with a video of his testimony, to warn that there were grave dangers to his Ministry of Regulation:David Seymour's Ministry of Slush Hides Far Greater RisksWhy Seymour's exorbitant waste of taxpayers' money could be the least of concernThe money for Seymour ...
Willis is expected to have to reveal the bitter fiscal fruits of her austerity strategy in the HYEFU later today. Photo: Lynn Grieveson/TheKakaMōrena. Long stories short, the six things that matter in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Tuesday, December 17 in The Kākā’s Dawn Chorus podcast ...
On Friday the government announced it would double the number of toll roads in New Zealand as well as make a few other changes to how toll roads are used in the country. The real issue though is not that tolling is being used but the suggestion it will make ...
The Prime Minister yesterday engaged in what looked like a pre-emptive strike designed to counter what is likely to be a series of depressing economic statistics expected before the end of the week. He opened his weekly post-Cabinet press conference with a recitation of the Government’s achievements. “It certainly has ...
This whooping cough story from south Auckland is a good example of the coalition government’s approach to social need – spend money on urging people to get vaccinated but only after you’ve cut the funding to where they could get vaccinated. This has been the case all year with public ...
And if there is a GodI know he likes to rockHe likes his loud guitarsHis spiders from MarsAnd if there is a GodI know he's watching meHe likes what he seesBut there's trouble on the breezeSongwriter: William Patrick Corgan Read more ...
Here’s a quick round up of today’s political news:1. MORE FOOD BANKS, CHARITIES, DOMESTIC VIOLENCE SHELTERS AND YOUTH SOCIAL SERVICES SET TO CLOSE OR SCALE BACK AROUND THE COUNTRY AS GOVT CUTS FUNDINGSome of Auckland's largest foodbanks are warning they may need to close or significantly reduce food parcels after ...
Iain Rennie, CNZMSecretary and Chief Executive to the TreasuryDear Secretary, Undue restrictions on restricted briefings This week, the Treasury barred representatives from four organisations, including the New Zealand Council of Trade Unions Te Kauae Kaimahi, from attending the restricted briefing for the Half-Year Economic and Fiscal Update. We had been ...
This is a guest post by Tim Adriaansen, a community, climate, and accessibility advocate.I won’t shut up about climate breakdown, and whenever possible I try to shift the focus of a climate conversation towards solutions. But you’ll almost never hear me give more than a passing nod to ...
A grassroots backlash has forced a backdown from Brown, but he is still eyeing up plenty of tolls for other new roads. And the pressure is on Willis to ramp up the Government’s austerity strategy. Photo: Getty ImagesMōrena. Long stories short, the six things that matter in Aotearoa’s political economy ...
Hi all,I'm pretty overwhelmed by all your messages and emails today; thank you so very much.As much as my newsletter this morning was about money, and we all need to earn money, it was mostly about world domination if I'm honest. 😉I really hate what’s happening to our country, and ...
A listing of 23 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, December 8, 2024 thru Sat, December 14, 2024. Listing by Category Like last week's summary this one contains the list of articles twice: based on categories and based on ...
I started writing this morning about Hobson’s Pledge, examining the claims they and their supporters make, basically ripping into them. But I kept getting notifications coming through, and not good ones.Each time I looked up, there was another un-subscription message, and I felt a bit sicker at the thought of ...
Once, long before there was Harry and Meghan and Dodi and all those episodes of The Crown, they came to spend some time with us, Charles and Diana. Was there anyone in the world more glamorous than the Princess of Wales?Dazzled as everyone was by their company, the leader of ...
The collective right have a problem.The entire foundation for their world view is antiscientific. Their preferred economic strategies have been disproven. Their whole neoliberal model faces accusations of corporate corruption and worsening inequality. Climate change not only definitely exists, its rapid progression demands an immediate and expensive response in order ...
Just ten days ago, South Korea's president attempted a self-coup, declaring martial law and attempting to have opposition MPs murdered or arrested in an effort to seize unconstrained power. The attempt was rapidly defeated by the national assembly voting it down and the people flooding the streets to defend democracy. ...
Hi,“What I love about New Zealanders is that sometimes you use these expressions that as Americans we have no idea what those things mean!"I am watching a 30-something year old American ramble on about how different New Zealanders are to Americans. It’s his podcast, and this man is doing a ...
What Chris Penk has granted holocaust-denier and equal-opportunity-bigot Candace Owens is not “freedom of speech”. It’s not even really freedom of movement, though that technically is the right she has been granted. What he has given her is permission to perform. Freedom of SpeechIn New Zealand, the right to freedom ...
All those tears on your cheeksJust like deja vu flow nowWhen grandmother speaksSo tell me a story (I'll tell you a story)Spell it out, I can't hear (What do you want to hear?)Why you wear black in the morning?Why there's smoke in the air? Songwriter: Greg Johnson.Mōrena all ☀️Something a ...
2024 is now officially my best-ever year for short stories. My 1,850-word dark fantasy piece, As Our Power Lessens, has been accepted for the upcoming solstice edition of Eternal Haunted Summer (https://eternalhauntedsummer.com/), thereby making that six published short stories for the calendar year. As always, see the Bibliography page for ...
Brooke van Velden has wasted six years of work from businesses, unions, and government by binning planned Holidays Act reforms, said Acting CTU President Rachel Mackintosh in response to today’s announcement from Minister for Workplace Relations and Safety. “The Minister has cynically kicked the can on Holiday Act reform even ...
Words, playing me deja vuLike a radio tune, I swear I've heard beforeChill, is it something real?Or the magic I'm feeding off your fingersWho do you need?Who do you love?When you come undoneSongwriters: John Taylor / Simon Le Bon / Nick Rhodes / Warren Cuccurullo.When this three-way coalition was being ...
National has only been in power for a year, but everywhere you look, its choices are taking New Zealand a long way backwards. In no particular order, here are the National Government's Top 50 Greatest Misses of its first year in power. ...
The Government is quietly undertaking consultation on the dangerous Regulatory Standards Bill over the Christmas period to avoid too much attention. ...
The Government’s planned changes to the freedom of speech obligations of universities is little more than a front for stoking the political fires of disinformation and fear, placing teachers and students in the crosshairs. ...
The Ministry of Regulation’s report into Early Childhood Education (ECE) in Aotearoa raises serious concerns about the possibility of lowering qualification requirements, undermining quality and risking worse outcomes for tamariki, whānau, and kaiako. ...
A Bill to modernise the role of Justices of the Peace (JP), ensuring they remain active in their communities and connected with other JPs, has been put into the ballot. ...
Labour will continue to fight unsustainable and destructive projects that are able to leap-frog environment protection under National’s Fast-track Approvals Bill. ...
The Green Party has warned that a Green Government will revoke the consents of companies who override environmental protections as part of Fast-Track legislation being passed today. ...
The Green Party says the Half Year Economic and Fiscal Update shows how the Government is failing to address the massive social and infrastructure deficits our country faces. ...
The Government’s latest move to reduce the earnings of migrant workers will not only hurt migrants but it will drive down the wages of Kiwi workers. ...
Te Pāti Māori has this morning issued a stern warning to Fast-Track applicants with interests in mining, pledging to hold them accountable through retrospective liability and to immediately revoke Fast-Track consents under a future Te Pāti Māori government. This warning comes ahead of today’s third reading of the Fast-Track Approvals ...
The Government’s announcement today of a 1.5 per cent increase to minimum wage is another blow for workers, with inflation projected to exceed the increase, meaning it’s a real terms pay reduction for many. ...
All the Government has achieved from its announcement today is to continue to push responsibility back on councils for its own lack of action to help bring down skyrocketing rates. ...
The Government has used its final post-Cabinet press conference of the year to punch down on local government without offering any credible solutions to the issues our councils are facing. ...
The Government has failed to keep its promise to ‘super charge’ the EV network, delivering just 292 chargers - less than half of the 670 chargers needed to meet its target. ...
The Green Party is calling for the Government to stop subsidising the largest user of the country’s gas supplies, Methanex, following a report highlighting the multi-national’s disproportionate influence on energy prices in Aotearoa. ...
The Green Party is appalled with the Government’s new child poverty targets that are based on a new ‘persistent poverty’ measure that could be met even with an increase in child poverty. ...
New independent analysis has revealed that the Government’s Emissions Reduction Plan (ERP) will reduce emissions by a measly 1 per cent by 2030, failing to set us up for the future and meeting upcoming targets. ...
The loss of 27 kaimahi at Whakaata Māori and the end of its daily news bulletin is a sad day for Māori media and another step backwards for Te Tiriti o Waitangi justice. ...
Yesterday the Government passed cruel legislation through first reading to establish a new beneficiary sanction regime that will ultimately mean more households cannot afford the basic essentials. ...
Today's passing of the Government's Residential Tenancies Amendment Bill–which allows landlords to end tenancies with no reason–ignores the voice of the people and leaves renters in limbo ahead of the festive season. ...
After wasting a year, Nicola Willis has delivered a worse deal for the Cook Strait ferries that will end up being more expensive and take longer to arrive. ...
Green Party co-leader Chlöe Swarbrick has today launched a Member’s Bill to sanction Israel for its unlawful presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, as the All Out For Gaza rally reaches Parliament. ...
After years of advocacy, the Green Party is very happy to hear the Government has listened to our collective voices and announced the closure of the greyhound racing industry, by 1 August 2026. ...
In response to a new report from ERO, the Government has acknowledged the urgent need for consistency across the curriculum for Relationship and Sexuality Education (RSE) in schools. ...
The Green Party is appalled at the Government introducing legislation that will make it easier to penalise workers fighting for better pay and conditions. ...
Thank you for the invitation to speak with you tonight on behalf of the political party I belong to - which is New Zealand First. As we have heard before this evening the Kinleith Mill is proposing to reduce operations by focusing on pulp and discontinuing “lossmaking paper production”. They say that they are currently consulting on the plan to permanently shut ...
Auckland Central MP, Chlöe Swarbrick, has written to Mayor Wayne Brown requesting he stop the unnecessary delays on St James Theatre’s restoration. ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has appointed Sarah Ottrey to the APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC). “At my first APEC Summit in Lima, I experienced firsthand the role that ABAC plays in guaranteeing political leaders hear the voice of business,” Mr Luxon says. “New Zealand’s ABAC representatives are very well respected and ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has announced four appointments to New Zealand’s intelligence oversight functions. The Honourable Robert Dobson KC has been appointed Chief Commissioner of Intelligence Warrants, and the Honourable Brendan Brown KC has been appointed as a Commissioner of Intelligence Warrants. The appointments of Hon Robert Dobson and Hon ...
Improvements in the average time it takes to process survey and title applications means housing developments can progress more quickly, Minister for Land Information Chris Penk says. “The government is resolutely focused on improving the building and construction pipeline,” Mr Penk says. “Applications to issue titles and subdivide land are ...
The Government’s measures to reduce airport wait times, and better transparency around flight disruptions is delivering encouraging early results for passengers ahead of the busy summer period, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Improving the efficiency of air travel is a priority for the Government to give passengers a smoother, more reliable ...
The Government today announced the intended closure of the Apollo Hotel as Contracted Emergency Housing (CEH) in Rotorua, Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka says. This follows a 30 per cent reduction in the number of households in CEH in Rotorua since National came into Government. “Our focus is on ending CEH in the Whakarewarewa area starting ...
The Government will reshape vocational education and training to return decision making to regions and enable greater industry input into work-based learning Tertiary Education and Skills Minister, Penny Simmonds says. “The redesigned system will better meet the needs of learners, industry, and the economy. It includes re-establishing regional polytechnics that ...
The Government is taking action to better manage synthetic refrigerants and reduce emissions caused by greenhouse gases found in heating and cooling products, Environment Minister Penny Simmonds says. “Regulations will be drafted to support a product stewardship scheme for synthetic refrigerants, Ms. Simmonds says. “Synthetic refrigerants are found in a ...
People travelling on State Highway 1 north of Hamilton will be relieved that remedial works and safety improvements on the Ngāruawāhia section of the Waikato Expressway were finished today, with all lanes now open to traffic, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says.“I would like to acknowledge the patience of road users ...
Tertiary Education and Skills Minister, Penny Simmonds, has announced a new appointment to the board of Education New Zealand (ENZ). Dr Erik Lithander has been appointed as a new member of the ENZ board for a three-year term until 30 January 2028. “I would like to welcome Dr Erik Lithander to the ...
The Government will have senior representatives at Waitangi Day events around the country, including at the Waitangi Treaty Grounds, but next year Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has chosen to take part in celebrations elsewhere. “It has always been my intention to celebrate Waitangi Day around the country with different ...
Two more criminal gangs will be subject to the raft of laws passed by the Coalition Government that give Police more powers to disrupt gang activity, and the intimidation they impose in our communities, Police Minister Mark Mitchell says. Following an Order passed by Cabinet, from 3 February 2025 the ...
Attorney-General Judith Collins today announced the appointment of Justice Christian Whata as a Judge of the Court of Appeal. Justice Whata’s appointment as a Judge of the Court of Appeal will take effect on 1 August 2025 and fill a vacancy created by the retirement of Hon Justice David Goddard on ...
The latest economic figures highlight the importance of the steps the Government has taken to restore respect for taxpayers’ money and drive economic growth, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. Data released today by Stats NZ shows Gross Domestic Product fell 1 per cent in the September quarter. “Treasury and most ...
Tertiary Education and Skills Minister Penny Simmonds and Associate Minister of Education David Seymour today announced legislation changes to strengthen freedom of speech obligations on universities. “Freedom of speech is fundamental to the concept of academic freedom and there is concern that universities seem to be taking a more risk-averse ...
Police Minister, Mark Mitchell, and Internal Affairs Minister, Brooke van Velden, today launched a further Public Safety Network cellular service that alongside last year’s Cellular Roaming roll-out, puts globally-leading cellular communications capability into the hands of our emergency responders. The Public Safety Network’s new Cellular Priority service means Police, Wellington ...
State Highway 1 through the Mangamuka Gorge has officially reopened today, providing a critical link for Northlanders and offering much-needed relief ahead of the busy summer period, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says.“The Mangamuka Gorge is a vital route for Northland, carrying around 1,300 vehicles per day and connecting the Far ...
The Government has welcomed decisions by the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) and Ashburton District Council confirming funding to boost resilience in the Canterbury region, with construction on a second Ashburton Bridge expected to begin in 2026, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Delivering a second Ashburton Bridge to improve resilience and ...
The Government is backing the response into high pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in Otago, Biosecurity Minister Andrew Hoggard says. “Cabinet has approved new funding of $20 million to enable MPI to meet unbudgeted ongoing expenses associated with the H7N6 response including rigorous scientific testing of samples at the enhanced PC3 ...
Legislation that will repeal all advertising restrictions for broadcasters on Sundays and public holidays has passed through first reading in Parliament today, Media Minister Paul Goldsmith says. “As a growing share of audiences get their news and entertainment from streaming services, these restrictions have become increasingly redundant. New Zealand on ...
Today the House agreed to Brendan Horsley being appointed Inspector-General of Defence, Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith says. “Mr Horsley’s experience will be invaluable in overseeing the establishment of the new office and its support networks. “He is currently Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security, having held that role since June 2020. ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says the Government has agreed to the final regulations for the levy on insurance contracts that will fund Fire and Emergency New Zealand from July 2026. “Earlier this year the Government agreed to a 2.2 percent increase to the rate of levy. Fire ...
The Government is delivering regulatory relief for New Zealand businesses through changes to the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism Act. “The Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism Amendment Bill, which was introduced today, is the second Bill – the other being the Statutes Amendment Bill - that ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed further progress on the Hawke’s Bay Expressway Road of National Significance (RoNS), with the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) Board approving funding for the detailed design of Stage 1, paving the way for main works construction to begin in late 2025.“The Government is moving at ...
The Government today released a request for information (RFI) to seeking interest in partnerships to plant trees on Crown-owned land with low farming and conservation value (excluding National Parks) Forestry Minister Todd McClay announced. “Planting trees on Crown-owned land will drive economic growth by creating more forestry jobs in our regions, providing more wood ...
Court timeliness, access to justice, and improving the quality of existing regulation are the focus of a series of law changes introduced to Parliament today by Associate Minister of Justice Nicole McKee. The three Bills in the Regulatory Systems (Justice) Amendment Bill package each improve a different part of the ...
A total of 41 appointments and reappointments have been made to the 12 community trusts around New Zealand that serve their regions, Associate Finance Minister Shane Jones says. “These trusts, and the communities they serve from the Far North to the deep south, will benefit from the rich experience, knowledge, ...
The Government has confirmed how it will provide redress to survivors who were tortured at the Lake Alice Psychiatric Hospital Child and Adolescent Unit (the Lake Alice Unit). “The Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care found that many of the 362 children who went through the Lake Alice Unit between 1972 and ...
It has been a busy, productive year in the House as the coalition Government works hard to get New Zealand back on track, Leader of the House Chris Bishop says. “This Government promised to rebuild the economy, restore law and order and reduce the cost of living. Our record this ...
“Accelerated silicosis is an emerging occupational disease caused by unsafe work such as engineered stone benchtops. I am running a standalone consultation on engineered stone to understand what the industry is currently doing to manage the risks, and whether further regulatory intervention is needed,” says Workplace Relations and Safety Minister ...
Mehemea he pai mō te tangata, mahia – if it’s good for the people, get on with it. Enhanced reporting on the public sector’s delivery of Treaty settlement commitments will help improve outcomes for Māori and all New Zealanders, Māori Crown Relations Minister Tama Potaka says. Compiled together for the ...
Mr Roger Holmes Miller and Ms Tarita Hutchinson have been appointed to the Charities Registration Board, Community and Voluntary Sector Minister Louise Upston says. “I would like to welcome the new members joining the Charities Registration Board. “The appointment of Ms Hutchinson and Mr Miller will strengthen the Board’s capacity ...
More building consent and code compliance applications are being processed within the statutory timeframe since the Government required councils to submit quarterly data, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “In the midst of a housing shortage we need to look at every step of the build process for efficiencies ...
Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey is proud to announce the first three recipients of the Government’s $10 million Mental Health and Addiction Community Sector Innovation Fund which will enable more Kiwis faster access to mental health and addiction support. “This fund is part of the Government’s commitment to investing in ...
New Zealand is providing Vanuatu assistance following yesterday's devastating earthquake, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. "Vanuatu is a member of our Pacific family and we are supporting it in this time of acute need," Mr Peters says. "Our thoughts are with the people of Vanuatu, and we will be ...
The Government welcomes the Commerce Commission’s plan to reduce card fees for Kiwis by an estimated $260 million a year, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly says.“The Government is relentlessly focused on reducing the cost of living, so Kiwis can keep more of their hard-earned income and live a ...
Regulation Minister David Seymour has welcomed the Early Childhood Education (ECE) regulatory review report, the first major report from the Ministry for Regulation. The report makes 15 recommendations to modernise and simplify regulations across ECE so services can get on with what they do best – providing safe, high-quality care ...
The Government‘s Offshore Renewable Energy Bill to create a new regulatory regime that will enable firms to construct offshore wind generation has passed its first reading in Parliament, Energy Minister Simeon Brown says.“New Zealand currently does not have a regulatory regime for offshore renewable energy as the previous government failed ...
Legislation to enable new water service delivery models that will drive critical investment in infrastructure has passed its first reading in Parliament, marking a significant step towards the delivery of Local Water Done Well, Local Government Minister Simeon Brown and Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly say.“Councils and voters ...
New Zealand is one step closer to reaping the benefits of gene technology with the passing of the first reading of the Gene Technology Bill, Science, Innovation and Technology Minister Judith Collins says. "This legislation will end New Zealand's near 30-year ban on gene technology outside the lab and is ...
New Zealand has ratified the Upgrade to the Agreement establishing the ASEAN-Australia-New Zealand Free Trade Area (AANZFTA), Minister for Trade Todd McClay announced today. “ASEAN which is comprised of Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam, is New Zealand’s fourth largest trading partner in two-way trade – ...
Asia Pacific Report “It looks like Hiroshima. It looks like Germany at the end of World War Two,” says an Israeli-American historian and professor of holocaust and genocide studies at Brown University about the horrifying reality of Gaza. Professor Omer Bartov, has described Israel’s ongoing war on Gaza as an ...
The New Zealand government coalition is tweaking university regulations to curb what it says is an increasingly “risk-averse approach” to free speech. The proposed changes will set clear expectations on how universities should approach freedom of speech issues. Each university will then have to adopt a “freedom of speech statement” ...
Report by Dr David Robie – Café Pacific. – COMMENTARY: By Caitlin Johnstone New York prosecutors have charged Luigi Mangione with “murder as an act of terrorism” in his alleged shooting of health insurance CEO Brian Thompson earlier this month. This news comes out at the same time as ...
Pacific Media Watch The union for Australian journalists has welcomed the delivery by the federal government of more than $150 million to support the sustainability of public interest journalism over the next four years. Combined with the announcement of the revamped News Bargaining Initiative, this could result in up to ...
MONDAY“Merry Xmas, and praise the Lord,” said Sheriff Luxon, and smiled for the camera. There was a flash of smoke when the shutter pressed down on the magnesium powder. The sheriff had arranged for a photographer from the Dodge Gazette to attend a ceremony where he handed out food parcels to ...
It’s a little under two months since the White Ferns shocked the cricketing world, deservedly taking home the T20 World Cup. Since then the trophy has had a tour around the country, five of the squad have played in the WBBL in Australia while most others have returned to domestic ...
Comment: If we say the word ‘dementia’, many will picture an older person struggling to remember the names of their loved ones, maybe a grandparent living out their final years in an aged care facility. Dementia can also occur in people younger than 65, but it can take time before ...
Piracy is a reality of modern life – but copyright law has struggled to play catch-up for as long as the entertainment industry has existed. As far back as 1988, the House of Lords criticised copyright law’s conflict with the reality of human behaviour in the context of burning cassette ...
As he makes a surprise return to Shortland Street, actor Craig Parker takes us through his life in television. Craig Parker has been a fixture on television in Aotearoa for nearly four decades. He had starring roles in iconic local series like Gloss, Mercy Peak and Diplomatic Immunity, featured in ...
The Ōtautahi musician shares the 10 tracks he loves to spin, including the folk classic that cured him of a ‘case of the give-ups’. When singer-songwriter Adam McGrath returns to Kumeu’s Auckland Folk Festival from January 24-27, he’s not planning on simply idling his way through – he wants the late ...
Alex Casey spends an afternoon on the job with River, the rescue dog on a mission to spread joy to Ōtautahi rest homes.Almost everyone says it is never enough time. But River the rescue dog, a jet black huntaway border collie cross, has to keep a tight pace to ...
Asia Pacific Report Fiji activists have recreated the nativity scene at a solidarity for Palestine gathering in Fiji’s capital Suva just days before Christmas. The Fiji Women’s Crisis Centre and Fijians for Palestine Solidarity Network recreated the scene at the FWCC compound — a baby Jesus figurine lies amidst the ...
By 1News Pacific correspondent Barbara Dreaver and 1News reporters A number of Kiwis have been successfully evacuated from Vanuatu after a devastating earthquake shook the Pacific island nation earlier this week. The death toll was still unclear, though at least 14 people were killed according to an earlier statement from ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Richard Scully, Professor in Modern History, University of New England Bunker.Image courtesy of Michael Leunig, CC BY-NC-SA Michael Leunig – who died in the early hours of Thursday December 19, surrounded by “his children, loved ones, and sunflowers” – was the ...
The House - On Parliament's last day of the year, there was the rare occurrence of a personal (conscience) vote on selling booze over the Easter weekend. While it didn't have the numbers to pass, it was a chance to get a rare glimpse of the fact ...
A new poem by Holly Fletcher. bejeweled log i was dreaming about wasps / wee darlings that followed me / ducking under objects / that i was fated to pickup / my fingers seeking / and meeting with tiny proboscis’s / but instead / i wake up / roll sideways ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Flora Hui, Research Fellow, Centre for Eye Research Australia and Honorary Fellow, Department of Surgery (Ophthalmology), The University of Melbourne Versta/Shutterstock Australians are exposed to some of the highest levels of solar ultraviolet (UV) radiation in the world. While we ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andrew Terry, Professor of Business Regulation, University of Sydney Michael von Aichberger/Shutterstock Even if you’ve no idea how the business model underpinning franchises works, there’s a good chance you’ve spent money at one. Franchising is essentially a strategy for cloning ...
If something big is going to happen in Ferndale, it’s going to happen at Christmas. This is an excerpt from our weekly pop culture newsletter Rec Room. Sign up here. If there’s one episode of Shortland Street you should watch each year, it’s the annual Christmas cliffhanger. The final episode of ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By William A. Stoltz, Lecturer and expert Associate, National Security College, Australian National University US President-elect Donald Trump has named most of the members of his proposed cabinet. However, he’s yet to reveal key appointees to America’s powerful cyber warfare and intelligence institutions. ...
Announcing the top 10 books of the the year at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington.AUCKLAND1 Intermezzo by Sally Rooney (Faber & Faber, $37) The phenomenal Irish writer is the unsurprising chart topper for 2024 with her fourth novel that, much like her first ...
The government has confirmed its plan to break up Te Pūkenga / New Zealand Institute of Skills and Technology and re-establish independent polytechnics. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jon Whittle, Director, Data61 Ganjalex / Shutterstock I’m a computer scientist and a bad Christmas shopper. Over the weekend, I wondered whether AI systems might be able to help me out. Could I just prompt ChatGPT to pick a personalised ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mark Crosby, Professor of Economics, Monash University Michael Leslie/Shutterstock This week, the value of the Australian dollar fell to 62 US cents, its lowest level since October 2022. The acute cause? A revelation by the United States Federal Reserve that ...
A couple of weeks after Spotify Wrapped comes a much more comprehensive survey of New Zealand’s listening. Duncan Greive casts an eye over the official 2024 end of year music charts. Streaming has changed music listening, and what we know about it, forever. Where once our charts were sales driven, ...
For those who need some humor in this increasingly desperate NZ check out #BrashRaps on twitter.
Most people don’t drop further into desperation each time another unfavourable poll result is released, they may glance and shrug but will just carry on with their lives.
You should do something about your Political Delusion/Paranoia Disorder.
Really, the country will keep chugging along ok, sometimes a little better, sometimes a little worse, but it won’t fall off the edge of the earth.
The Camping Collywobbles are just a passing phase.
PeteG is up early today and is off on his morning troll.
I was talking about the state of the country, stupid.
You know the better New Zealand that Key promised where kids eat cockroaches to get by. Where third world diseases have appeared. Where unemployment has soared. Where the economy is out of control and we have just had a budget constructed of lies and pixie dust.
Where our most profitable sector per head pays less tax than our retired. Where our elected representatives ensure they can gouge themselves on luxuries while at the same time they slash budgets for very important programmes.
You should get your head out of your arse and have a look around.
And then be very afraid …
And it’s a country where the PM’s first example of a growth industry is EQC. FFS!
Where our most profitable sector per head pays less tax than our retired.
Can you back up this amazing claim?
Like I said PeteG you should:
1. Remove head
2. Put into air
3. Open eyes
4. Look around
5. Try comprehending
Then ask all the questions you like.
You do read the site don’t you Pete? Try this post on the tax payments of dairy farmers called Creaming It.
I am puzzled how you could have written comments in the post here and here. But then I realized that neither comment had anything to do with the post.
In that line of thought… Your comment
Or maybe one of the aims of the blog is to discuss, debate, challenge. No?
We don’t all have to piss into the same bottle on command.
The answer to that is that we’d like the comments in a post to be at least vaguely related to that post. If you want to waffle on something else (and where it does not relate to the drift of the threads) then go to OpenMike. It is preferable to my other alternatives.
The so-called cream in that post has proven to be a bit curdled.
But back to being related to that post – is the level or proposed minimum wage rise sensible:
– at a time of already high youth unemployment?
– after three difficult years for many businesses?
– at a time when wage growth is predicted to spurt anyway?
I think some of us would prefer your other alternatives.
In answer to your original question, it has just been proven that PeteG does, in fact, have a reading problem.
National proposes to invest less in infrastructure.
Today it’s a cut in improvements to local roads. The proposed cut is at least $60m and may be up to $200m.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/transport/news/article.cfm?c_id=97&objectid=10727451
Let’s chuck this on to the list of National’s broken promises.
Well, I suppose that’s where some of the $1b in government savings is going to come from. Of course, they could have done better just by cutting the unecinomic RoNS out all together – that would save $10b.
If we don’t pay for them it becomes more efficient 😆
Possibly this is where some of the savings will come from.
RONS is a slightly different thing. The RONS projects are larger scale and the B/Cs on these projects are generally much higher (to the point where most of the projects being cut provide a significant return on the money spent). And the projects affected by this announcement still need to be done, whereas the RONS projects are much harder to justify using complex things like logic. So I suppose calling this a cut is unfair, it’s an indefinite postponement.
Another thing to consider, part of this investment in infrastructure would have had people doing work, getting paid, that sort of thing.
CuttingIndefinitely postponing this work means these jobs are lost. Thanks National.What about STOPPING the bloody useless Holiday highway?????? A cut in improvements?? they gonna stop painting the green cycleway lane on every highway, and I have seen some (Cycle Ways) that you would need to have a death wish to use them.
Forgive me if the following topic has already been covered and if I might be repeating it here.
As a point to compare and contrast the screams against lifting the minimum wage and the so-called austerity push to slash Kiwisaver:
– what is the Government doing about capping the rise in ministerial pay packets and benefits?
– by how much are the superannuation schemes of parliamentarians being cut back?
It seems that the govt is happy to give handouts to companies – Tourism Holdings earnings were up after the quake – all those caravans that no one used (but the govt still paid for) made a big difference to their bottom line – now, I wonder which ministers have interests in tourism holdings or related companies….
Didn’t Goff look hopelessly out of his depth on the news last night? Labour would only spend $800m on the R&D tax credit (because that is all they have) but Goff had no idea about how they make sure they stayed under this cap. Didn’t know if the credit would be available to foreign owned companies. Two days after announcing his flagship policy he clearly has no idea what it it about.
What with the most recent poll, maybe Labour has nothing to lose by changing leaders.
Not as hopelessly out of depth as shonky did on Hard Talk – maybe National should replace him – oh that’s right he is leaving once he has destroyed the country and ‘earned’ his knighthood.
Campbell, can you see the difference? What is 53 less 28?
58 less 28 is bullshit polling, that’s what it is – people that believe in what they are doing and saying don’t have to point to what other people apparently think in order to make their point.
Unfortunately for Mr Goff, in a democracy, politics is a popularity contest. If people do not like what you are saying, they will not vote for you. So, if Labour wants to ever again get power, they will have to work out how to be more popular.
This is not a problem Key presently has.
Yes, it is strange that people like a proven liar. Perhaps the problem is that the MSM isn’t pointing out that he is a proven liar.
In a democracy it is supposed to be a policy contest, not a ‘popularity’ contest.
Smile and wave, or sneer and wave as it has become, is not a policy, it is a distraction, and the sooner people realize that, the sooner we will be rid of Shonky and the misguided cult of personality that surrounds this charlatan.
“…and the sooner people realize that, the sooner we will be rid of Shonky…”
That’s Labour’s plan. Hoping people “wake up”.
I can see the billboards now:
“Idiot people of New Zealand, stop being stupid. Vote Labour”.
LOL – it’s people like you that make suggestions that include calling people ‘idiots’ reasonable
Though, becuase I’m not into blaming people for being mislead, I would have gone for:
“People of New Zealand, stop fawning over the lying asshole that is trying to destroy your future”
I’m willing to give you another chance too – though something tells me it will be wasted.
Why do all the trolls try and make out like the left think people are stupid? The very reason the left is still in this to win is bcause they know that people are not. People can be mislead by a complacent MSM and a corrupt government – but eventually they will see through the bullshit.
If anyone it is National that thinks people are stupid – they are banking on it – because neither their persons nor their policies stand up to scrutiny.
Don’t you just hate stupid people? Oh, and I think you meant “misled” (twice).
Is that that the best criticism you have got? Spelling? Lame bro, lame – how about you turn off your spell check (it’s disabled in my browser currently) and see how well you do.
As for hating stupid people, or just people generally – I’m pretty sure that’s you mate.
Here’s an “insider view” of Goff at yesterday morning’s weekly press stand-up meeting:
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/blogs/what-s-he-said/5043611/Labouring-the-point
Doesn’t make pleasant reading. It starts of sounding a bit like spin, but by the end of it it sounds like Goff really should be doing better, as leader.
Perhaps the media’s continued piling on about Labour is a result of Goff’s poor PR handling. Much as we see Key acting like a child in parliament which never seems to filter back into the media, perhaps Goff acting like a child with the media is what they report on.
They asked him for policy details and got upset that they weren’t told them. Meanwhile, they’re not even asking Nact for policy details, ie, where are the $1b in government savings coming from? How much did they cut each departments budget to get those savings?
Exactly. Key says “could loose 6,000 jobs.” Interviewer should say “Prove it Mr Key.” But no.
‘Insider view’ Lanth? The whole article reeked of shonky love – I agree completely with Goff – if it weren’t for the fact that Duncan is fat and Guyon skinny it would be hard to tell the rubbish that comes out of their mouths apart.
“Insider” in the sense that a journalist has described what actually happened at the stand up, instead of writing a story about what Goff said (or didn’t say).
Maybe they’re biased. But it’s still an uncommon report of an apparently weekly tradition.
More evidence of slipping standards at National Radio [from Friday 20 May]
On Friday 20 May, this writer (i.e., moi) was challenged by a rather confused and uninformed (these traits always go together) but dramatically ambitious joe90. Unfortunately, our friend Joe did not linger long enough to post up his response to my corrections of his quibbles.
Perhaps joe90 would like to make a reasoned (i.e., no indolent flinging of empty and abusive epithets like “wingnut”) response at his leisure…
joe’s original post can be found HERE…
http://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-20052011/
And here is the Breen response…
Nice attempt at dramatisation, my friend. You should approach that tired old codger John Barnett about a screenwriting job; the ones he employs on his movies are certainly not much chop.
However, while your dialoguing shows promise, you need to pay attention to your understanding of content, which is sadly lacking. I’ll deal with just the most glaring errors….
1.) Me….what’s contentious, the US position is bla .bla, the Israeli position is bla..bla..
Actually, it’s the US and the whole world versus Israel.
2.) Morrissey…..I’m right and all the world thinks so too.
That is correct. You are trying to scoff at this writer (i.e., moi) as out on a limb; actually, my position is the mainstream one.
3.) Me…. Palestine is a fuck up but at least someone is trying,…
WHO is trying, Joe? And who is it that is responsible for it being a “fuck up”?
4.) …you’re starting to mirror the wingnuts who as long as they get to be on what they think is the right side don’t give a rats about the people on the other side.
There you go again! It’s easy to throw around empty epithets like “wingnuts”, especially when you aren’t up to speed on an issue. Have you been listening to that penetrating analyst Leighton Smith on NewstalkZB, by any chance?
5.) Last word to ME.. he may not have met my expectations but Obama winning another term is the first real opportunity since Begin and Sadat for a lasting peace in the region.
On what basis do you make that statement? Obama has done precisely nothing to stop Israel’s depredations in Gaza or the West Bank. You would know that if you had any familiarity with Israeli and Palestinian politics.
Worst Budget Ever
http://thejackalman.blogspot.com/2011/05/worst-budget-ever.html
Now there was a fair bit of bagging the budget before it even hit the printing press. Many taking their cues from Nationals indication that the 2011 budget would deliver more of the same ineffectual and outdated policy’s that have led to New Zealands financial difficulties in the first place. As the dust settles, the Jackal decided to have a look at Bill English’s baby, and it’s not a pretty sight.
Heard on Radionz 8.20 this morning.
1 Kiwirail are worried about low use of Gisborne-Nspier railway. By coincidence I am reading a crime thriller and the hero travels by AmTrack. The author digresses into the history of AmTrack – American Track which was underwritten by the government trying to save the railways from collapse after they had backed freight while discarding passengers by offering them deteriorating services, but then freight went to large trucks. Sound familiar?
AmTrack did offer a service to travellers taking their cars who drive into a rail van enabling long distance travel in relative ease. If we NZ had that service and used it a lot, and also made car purchases too difficult and expensive for young guys, it could slash our road accidents and release the police to work catching crims and trying to turn saveable youth rather than personning road blocks interfering with thousands of people to catch the trace of gold or rather dross hundred or so over the limit.
2 Pharmac is one bureaucracy that you would think that a NACT government would like and call efficient and effective. The USA medical system is one of the most expensive in the world and not efficient and effective because only heaps of money will give good outcomes and the devil take the (poor) hindmost. Their medicines are so dear that where USA and Canada are close enough to wave to each other, USA people cross the border and buy their medical needs in Canada.
If we get a PPPPTTA or whatever the acronym for being throttled with USA ‘free trade’, at the cost of losing Pharmac, we lose in almost all directions. They will screw us abroad and at home, and do the highwayman with our pharmaceuticals demanding – ‘Your money or your life’.
Gareth Morgan has written a stirring defence of Pharmac and concern should National trade its independence for a “Free” Trade deal with USA.
“The drug company claims that Pharmac has failed are based on the fact that New Zealand’s pharmaceutical budget is much lower and is growing slower than other countries. To suggest this is a bad thing completely misses the point of having Pharmac in the first place. If anything this is a sign of Pharmac’s success. …………National shot itself in the food on the whole Herceptin issue. At the time it was a cynical political vote grab, but now it faces the consequences.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/opinion/news/article.cfm?c_id=466&objectid=10727573
ianmac – I really enjoyed reading Gareth’s racy style which speaks veritas, no lightweight fluff. Our butter and wool USA – let’s swop for your Harley Davidsons! Now that’s a good idea.
Brave SEAL teams keeping the world safe—from Grenada and Panama
National Radio, Monday 23.5.2011
Noelle McCarthy interviews ex-Navy Seal STEPHEN TEMPLIN, co-author of a book called SEAL Team Six: Memoirs of an Elite Navy SEAL Sniper.
Back on March 8th, when she interviewed the reptilian supporter of grave-robbing and knife-killing, Garth McVicar, Noelle McCarthy struggled to disguise her contempt and revulsion. See the transcript of that interview HERE…
http://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-09032011/#comment-306178
With today’s guest, however, Noelle managed to keep a lid on her feelings. Her guest was Stephen Templin, an ex-U.S. Navy SEAL sniper. Rather than confront Templin like she did McTheKnife, this time she let her interviewee hang himself by simply outlining what it was he and his brave mates did, and more to the point, who they did it to.
What they did and do is standard boys’ own, gung-ho stuff—one per cent of applicants get in, basic training is hell, and no SEAL is allowed to tell even his room-mate what mission he’s been assigned to. A Navy SEAL has to be as fit as a professional triathlete, and be able to swim like a fish. Their commanders have to be skilled lobbyists, in order to keep getting funded by Congress, so that they are supplied with the very latest technology—like Stealth helicopters. All very exciting and derring-do.
And then, we find out just who are the targets of all this training and firepower. Here, the illusions fall apart somewhat. Noelle had the sense not to challenge him, but instead just let him talk, so that the listeners could savour the absurdity of his message.
Because anyone with a heart, or a shred of conscience, would be appalled by what Templin revealed….
NOELLE: What kind of missions have you been on?
TEMPLIN: Well, the big one was Grenada. Everybody wanted a piece of Grenada!
NOELLE: Mmmm hmmmm….
TEMPLIN: Then there was Panama! And there’s a lot of problems with pirates in Somalia. Seal Team 6 took down the pirates on that boat in Somalia…”
So that’s it, then! How lucky the American people are to have an elite force ready and waiting and fully armed and loaded, at all times, just itching to “have a piece” of tiny, defenceless, third world countries.
Look out, Tokelau! SEAL Team Six could be headed your way soon!
Quiz Time: Who said this?
“NZ does not have a debt problem, NZ has a long-term growth problem. NZ is 22nd in the OECD. We lost 79,000 people last year. Our growth is basically anaemic.”
And the answer is?
I’m guessing Brash.
Nope, pretty sure that was JKey in either 2k7 or 2k8
Draco gets the prize. It was John Key after the Budget 2008 on Campbell Live. His next sentence was “We can run the economy much better and I think NZers should trust us to do that”.
And now after 2.5 years he now have the answer to that statement. You Can’t run the economy better, and we don’t trust you to do that.
Super-Scary Israeli Commandos in Action
May 16, 2011
Israel’s military intelligence capabilities are legendary—a tiny country of peace lovers can’t survive amidst a sea of hostile Arabs without such powers.
Today we witnessed the best of Israel’s elite undercover crack commando operatives in action as they…arrested and beat up unarmed teenagers.
http://www.kabobfest.com/2011/05/super-scary-israeli-commandos-in-action.html
Labour’s Chch MPs are still putting out their Christchurch Earthquake Bulletins btw. They’re up to 47 now.
Here is the link to a French inhabitant of Tokyo who has been keeping everybody posted about the Fukushima power plant over the last two months. According to him the Government of Japan has just announced that reactors no 2 and 3 also melted down in the direct aftermath of the Earthquake.
Gawd, Jim Mora is on the radio with a couple of old grumpy men who know everything and insist on voicing prejudices rather than see the nuances.
I like public broadcasting but it needs to be seriously sorted out.
What a disgraceful show it was. Jim’s guests were Graham Bell and John Dunne, the brother of the M.P. for Khandallah.
The way they went after that woman from the council was ridiculous. Neither of them listened to a word she said. And neither did Jim, sadly.
Bell is a hard-bitten old cop who is accustomed to others deferring to his bluster. Only occasionally is he paired up with someone prepared to challenge him. Gordon Campbell certainly did, and Bell got very upset and angry. He forgot that it wasn’t the squad-room at the CIB, and Campbell is not a man to be intimidated. A pity that the same can’t be said for Jeremy Elwood and Chris Trotter, who have both bent over backwards to agree with Bell.
Dunne is a great, great football commentator—far and away the best to cover Canterbury games in the last twenty years. That’s where his talents end, though. His opinions are conservative, which is fine if there is evidence of some thought behind them. Sadly, there seems to be little, on this afternoon’s evidence. Although he has a marvellous, sonorous voice, there’s not a lot going on upstairs from the mouth.
I’m tired of these sad old self-styled “curmudgeons”—Don Donovan, Garth George and Rosemary McLeod are three more—and their gouty prejudices. They seem to think their advancing years lend them some sort of wisdom, or authority. As we heard this afternoon with the rabid, cloth-eared attack on the council woman, that’s not true at all.
Yes Morrissy. They are depressing. I gave up after 40 minutes. Note that Bell reckons NZers love to see how their society works bt watching his crime show. If that is so, we are all drunken, sleazy, deviants. But not the people that I know.
Then you obviously don’t mix with people from ACT or the S.S. Trust.
New Horizon Poll showing Lab and Nat coalition blocks “neck and neck”, even though labour still on 26%.
In spite of MSM it gives hope McFlock.
Christian Right pressure group “Family First” will be holding its annual “Forum on “the Family” in Auckland on July 6, 2011. Will this ‘pro-family’ group be discussing *real* issues of importance to mainstream New Zealand families like housing, social service cutbacks, access to medical services, income maintenance and support, quality public education, affordable food, homelessness and poverty.
Well…no. It will, however, have New Right anti-welfare activist *Lindsay Mitchell* as one of its *keynote scheduled speakers*. Note that there is *no one* scheduled to provide a balancing perspective on welfare policy from mainstream social service providers at the coalface. If I were the Coalition for Social Justice, I’d email Family First and ask why. I’ve already tipped off Sue Bradford (hee hee hee)…
Oh, and brave Phil Goff is going to be quizzed on his deviation from social conservative ideological purity (their version of political correctness) when it comes to (deep breath) abortion, euthanasia, same-sex marriage, prostitution, welfare policy etc etc, along with Key. Incidentally, why is Key never this forthcoming with LGBT interviewers, progressive journalists or media outlets?
(ugh): Forum on “the Family”: http://www.forumonthefamily.org.nz
Is the S.S. leader Garth McVicar scheduled to speak, by any chance?
Oh, and fundamentalist pop parenting guru Ian Grant and Jim Wallace of the fundie “Australian Christian Lobby,” notorious for ranting and raving against Muslim Australians and same-sex marriage proper on Anzac Day…
AFAIK, Ian Grant is not a fundamentalist! You really have to stretch the meaning of fundamentalist to get it to include him. (In fact I would love to know your definition of fundamentalist)
Vicky
He opposed the Hero Parade in the nineties and acknowledges that his stance on ‘family’ owes a lot to US Christian Right groups like “Focus on the Family’. Yes, he is a fundie.
Why is the RWC being touted as being a winner for our economy (now a big loser ecomonic wise) when we are giving money away and jobs that we cannot afford to. Whos country and economy is this and who benefits and suffers from these crap decisions??
And why has that useless opposition (labour no good for anything) not got hold of these and run with them hard in the media and at the conference. (If they did then why was there nothing when searching on the net)
http://www.worldcup2011newzealand.com/2011/05/tax-breaks-for-rugby-bodies/
http://tvnz.co.nz/national-news/outrage-over-visa-extensions-rugby-world-cup-4186681
Asshole of the Week Award – Edward S. Lancaster
http://thejackalman.blogspot.com/2011/05/asshole-of-week-award-edward-s.html
Not many people would have heard of Edward S. Lancaster. He’s a forgettable kind of guy. Mr Lancaster is the head honcho of an Aussie mining exploration company called Grey Wolf Resources NL, which has recently been sniffing around New Zealands resources. But before we get ahead of ourselves, there’s one thing you need to know about Mr Lancaster, he’s a complete conman and has a long history of fraudulence and deceit. No wonder Mr Lancaster has come out in support of Nationals plundering policies. It appears that birds of a feather really do flock together.
Spanish Voters Reject Austerity
Sound like anywhere close?