did anyone else go to ‘the spirit level’ lectures in ak this week..?
..takeaways..?
..and i wd urge those in regions south..
..to go and have defined for themselves..
..what actually needs to be done..
..(when they come to your town..1200 in ak is the target to beat..c’mon..!..you know you can see off the jafas..eh..?..
..i’m looking @ you..wellington..)
..as made by the authors..(to 1200 people in ak last nite..)..
..the case could not be clearer..
..(that was my takeaway..)
(..another sub-takeaway was the pointed comment from one of the authors..
..that the evidence clearly shows the last labour govt did virtually nothing to lessen the inequalites engendered by the rightwing-revolution/attack on the welfare state in the 1980’s..
..started by labour..and enthusiastically carried on by national..
..let’s hope they take all that blinding-evidence on board..
Had to have my nearly 20 year old dog put to sleep recently. I miss him so much. Dogs are wonderful companions and such trusting souls. Nice hearing about your dog Phil. Give Lucy a pat from me.
Armstrong praisies Labour & Cunliffe – sort of – as ong as they look like National Lite, and don’t, you know, return to its roots, advocate for the poor and struggling Kiwis. Cause according to Armstrong, there is no problem for those on low incomes.
A bit of a twist from Mr Armstrong. There is a positive mood shift. The announcement of Opposition Policies can now go ahead post-Budget and leaves National less time to counter any positive feedback that comes from those policies.
An old guy at a bus stop recently rambled on to me about the carelessness of young people today (litter in the streets). He then kind of back tracked and said his generation got criticised a lot by older people. then he said something about the hard times that are coming. I thought he was going to say something about an economic crash, and/or climate change. So I said, “Really?”. He then launched into a bit of a rant about the reports he’d read of conflict in an Avondale mosque, and how “those people” shouldn’t bring their fights to NZ.
First of all, do you mean anti-Muslim rhetoric in the sense of al-Qaeda etc, or anti-Muslim rhetoric against Muslim NZ citizens? I doubt they would the latter because there would be nothing to gained from it, and if you had regular contact with the NZ Muslim community you would soon find that, having minds of their own, and depending on whether they are Shia or Sunna, and depending on their country of origin, may very well agree with the newspaper article.
The author of the Daily piece seems to have an axe to grind with the NZMA that goes well beyond this single event.
Also I fail to see how desiring to keep foreign sectarian conflict out of New Zealand is in any way racist, prejudiced or even bad. It would be naive in the extreme to ignore what has happened in countries even more liberal than ours like Sweden and the Netherlands.
Well, it can often be hard to tell whether media beatups about (alleged) Muslim Jihads are motivated by Islamaphobia, but it does feed into fairly widely spread Islamophobia discourse.
The guy I talked to at the bus stop was explicitly anti-Islam.
Yes, that was the story I mentioned before which you had already posted. The author appears to have an agenda against the NZMA.
I doubt xenophobic old coots are indicative of much – they’ve been around forever.
. The present dominant affect of anxiety is also known as precarity. Precarity is a type of insecurity which treats people as disposable so as to impose control. Precarity differs from misery in that the necessities of life are not simply absent. They are available, but withheld conditionally.
For many young job-starters the lack of job security and unclear future careers must contribute to this precarity. Being on contracts where you only work when the manager needs you in the unholy name of “flexibility” must hurt.
Hooton believes that we only work well if scared. Well, that’s of course depends, if we are already wealthy then we do best being over paid. And if anyone says otherwise they are mean, raging, envious, and hate filled. So speaks the pure petulant voice of the right.
Thanks. It’s thought provoking, and I tend to agree with the basic premis: that capitalism stimulates resisistance, then capitalism reacts to neutralise the resistance…. then a new form of resistance forms.
However, I think the periodised labels for each phase of resistance is pretty superficial – and US-based. Bored people in the 60s, tended to be amongst the more middle classes – and white and male. As they also state, there was always anxiety around sexuality – well that would include most women, and anyone who didn’t conform to sexual norms.
Anxiety now, would be more likely to be those in the middle incomes/wealth brackets – the most precarious have lives of daily struggle.
For ages I’ve been trying to put into words what is going wrong with trying to taking any kind of group action – the paralysis of the current age that he describes and the reasons for it. His analysis of this state and how we find ourselves here is an outstanding overview.
The only collective action that I’ve been involved in that hasn’t been seriously infected with it has been something I’ve been doing with a group of very well off middle-class people who are mostly a long way off precarious compared to people like me (though of course they are affected, just not infected). I’ve felt such a sense of frustration at this project powering ahead while just about every other collective action I’ve tried has floundered or limped meekly along without achieving anything much beyond just continuing to exist. Treading water, yet important causes and outstanding people rendered powerless.
edit: Embarrassed by my unthinking sexism in ascribing the article a male writer.
On Kim Hill’s Saturday Morning show today Harriet Sergeant was pontificating about the significance of the UKIP vote in local government elections in Britain. It made me feel ill – the more so because of the sycophantic way Hill treated this rightwing ideologue.
On the RNZ website Sergeant’s self description from her website was reproduced verbatim –
“a journalist, author and Research Fellow of the Centre for Policy Studies, an independent Think Tank…”
Instead of simply repeating Sergeant’s self-description, they should have mentioned that the Centre for Policy Studies is a right wing, neoliberal policy think tank which claims to be non-partisan but which has strong historical links to the British Conservative Party.
Unless, of course, Hill was deliberately trying to present a well known rightwing ideologue as a politically neutral researcher/commentator.
I emailed RNZ about this and it was not read out but Hill did mention the fact that the CPS has historical links to the Tory Party – having been set up by Thatcher.
Acknowledgement of having been caught out on sloppy research at best and political bias at worst would have been good but at least the record was set straight to some extent.
Yes TWW I too thought that the fact that she was from a right wing think tank should have been made clear, though that became obvious when she gave her analysis.
She lumped Milliband in with Cameron and Clegg, where in fact he is not a public school toff like them but went to a comprehensive.
I also hated the way she dished public education in the UK (snotty), and the way she made out Farage, a right-wing populist, was a good guy. Show me the policies Farage.
She also failed to mention that if these poll results were replicated next year Labour would be likely to get elected without the need for a coalition partner. Like the rest of the Tory press she had written her analysis before Labour’s good results in London came in.
Was pleased to see Hammersmith and Fulham won back from the tories, the 11 seats won taking them to a 26 – 20 majority.
Now at least I have something to cheer about Fulham this year.
Cameron’s favourite, so I read. Can Imagine a few being sunk tonight on the broadways.
Enjoy the ride, ours got us a few minutes away from a penalty shoot out for the ueffa cup, and rid of that bizarre MJ statue.
I don’t care too much, just as long as Derby beat QPR. Looking forward to an easy six pointer next term 😉
Its common place to see moderate progressives of the left matched with right-wing revolutionary conservative types who peddle the extremism which their opponents have not the time or language to deconstruct. When growth was assured (cheap energy trending lower) the right got more extreme and stupid. It was easy living for parasites, to argue for more nothing and claim victory when achieved, and so much work kicking the poor, unions, communities.
We will have high taxes on the rich again, since we cannot afford to leave people in precarity where their time is spent getting by rather than growing the economy.
The rebuttal to the surgeon who is dealing with women who are facing ongoing and debilitating issues, was “Associate Professor Malcolm Frazer – The urogynaecology spokesperson for the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, and the immediate past vice chair of the Urogynaecological Society of Australasia.”
No mention of the fact that he derives income from other sources such as:
“Declaration of interest
Malcolm Frazer holds contracts as a preceptor for Johnson & Johnson Gynecare as well as American Medical Systems mesh products for which he receives a fee. He has received financial support from both organisations to attend scientific conferences as an invited lecturer.”
This declaration of interest can be found on one of his articles on the benefits of surgical mesh that he continues to write, and get income from the company that is undergoing a class action suit.
That would provide clarity to the discussion. I haven’t listened to the whole interview, but understand that National Women’s have stopped using this mesh because of the complications, and are keeping on the QT. ACC is continuing to refuse payment and treatment to those who have had complications from these mesh implants.
In reference to the latest sensationalist article in the NZ Herald, no one declared ‘jihad’ at the security guard. What actually happened is that the security guard was smoking inside (which is against the law) and walking in the mosque with shoes on, something that is unacceptable in a mosque (similar to a marae). When someone told him that he shouldn’t be doing that, the security guard made up a story about threats of jihad to take attention away from him disrespecting the mosque
Meanwhile, as the Immigration Service ordered the deportation of all four nannies employed to look after the couple’s five children, dotcon says “”The nannies are crying. They are completely destroyed,”
Why did kim not employ NZ nannies? Maybe hone can help find some kiwi staff for the mega mansion as part of the keep it New Zealand campaign. That would be great move to reduce unemployment and show his coalition partner has a handle on poverty in his adopted (for a little bit longer at least) country.
“Or why not look after their own kids instead of paying someone else to bring them up.”
Indeed, or better still, government makes it an option to pay one parent to stay at home to raise babies while the other works.
“I think that the twins are autistic so they need extra care which is what less wealthy parents of autistic would desperately need and wish for.”
Sad indictment on this country if we don’t have suitably qualified staff to do that good work.
And right, less well off parents could do with the help. Hope the next government will grant the wish.
You don’t know that “local labour is more than capable of doing” the role at all – you just suppose it – for instance we (generally) only know one language (english) here – could it be that they may have wanted a german speaking nanny? I don’t know but i’d allow for the possibility, certainly before adding this tidbit to the stack of ammunition used to attack dotcom, Hone and Mana.
I also think that many kiwi nannies around the world wouldn’t be too fussed with your foreign labour angle.
No, not bitter, more a black comedy observation on the mismatch in interests here. Only nanny I ever knew was Mary Poppins and my nan, who in fact introduced me to her one Saturday movie matinee afternoon back in the early 70s.
As for my status, I don’t know for sure. I’ll cheer anything with a lion or a rose on it, but most of the time I’ve assimilated quite well. I bred with a local woman and got married and had a child born here, who holds a NZ passport in her name, just like her mother, her grandmother and her great grandmother.
Mostly I consider myself, after 13 years on the good waka Aotearoa as one of the crew, but sometimes it’s not just the flow of the ocean lapping at the hull where I find resistance.
Legally, my 10 year passport with my permanent residency silver dollar stickers ran out 4 years ago, I found out I was a shoe in for citizenship, and though a little affronted at not only being asked to pay near 5 hundy membership fee, despite 14 years of A ok service and going 50% in a fantastic little kiwi chick, I’m comfortable in the knowledge I didn’t sink 50 grand into Bank’s campaign fund after hearing from the horses mouth it was to keep it secret and anonymous, or if believed, 200k, I didn’t get it because I needed a little red box audio interface box of magic (though sadly it hasn’t made my cathatic musical musings any easier to listen to).
As for Hone, I mean him no ill, and though I’m no politician, robust debate should come as nothing new to him. He even built his career on it, so no harm done. That’s why I’, not bothered by the bitter thing. I wouldn’t read that much into it.
Happy to concede it could be the delivery and style.
You’re all good, Mars, eh. See, even talking like you lot now, though you’ll have to imagine it coming in a less put on Michael Caine sort of way).
Well I for one am pleased you are here adding your bit to the cause.
I probably am oversensitive with the comedy – my father was english and, well, to be truthful, we didn’t get on very well – coloured me rotten that did, tainted me.
Half lion heart, that’ll account for the being up for it bit 😆
Wrong person to speak to about tainted as I’m quite sure there are a few who’s opinion on my place of birth has altered for the negative through meeting me and not always with justification, but then that could say more about them than I. I’m too busy paddling and keeping one eye on the bailing bucket not the life raft to take it all to heart.
lol perhaps it does account for me being an obnoxious, argumentative bastard sometimes, perhaps not – we are all made up of many strands of whakapapa, many connections and that is common to every single one of us on this planet (not counting aliens of course)
If you really want to know why they didn’t employ NZ nannies, why not send him an email and ask? There could be any number of reasons.
I also don’t think that Hone acting as an employment agency for the mansion would do much at all to reduce unemployment. Did you make this stuff up yourself, or get it from WhaleSpew?
Thought of it myself and sadsack’s opinions have never interested me one bit. If anything I should be accused of envy politics about how money buys hired help while those without have sod all, and that’s hardly wo material.
Like stated, a black comedy observation on the bizarre nature of the political union.
And in an opinion dedicated forum of my peers. How dare I? lol
Hey Phil don’t judge Sue Morony by 5 minutes on the Nation, she is not the enemy my friend.
Compared to most of the LP MP’s, Sue has the lowest income earners firmly in mind. I’ve known her since we were in our early 20’s when she was fighting the fight as a young Union organiser. She has never faultered from that fight, not once. I credit Moroney for unseating Shearer as Leader and fighting to get Labour back Left. First you have to gain power to make the nessasary social changes. Like many I detest the ‘middle vote rhetoric’ however it’s all about mopping up soft votes. There is enough dog whistling to the low income group from Labour to attract the vote. Remember Matt McCarten is ‘monitoring the noise level.’
You sit back and relax as you do, the Red Dragon is steady on a Left course. Let us do the hard work and you reap the rewards of our hard toil.
..i am just expressing my dismay at no clear policies from labour to help the worst off..
..(and i am aware of moroneys’ placement in the ideological-rainbow that is labour..)
..and y’know..’once bitten etc..’..eh..?..( the last labour govt..they promised to end neo-liberalism to get elected..then did nothing..
..so..y’know..!..my concerns do have some grounding in fact/history..eh..?
..and i am just pointing out that there is a vacuum there..
..and with mana/internet party offering concrete-policies to deal to inequality/the gross-poverty-stricken society we have become..since that rightwing-revolution in the 80’s..
.it is to them those missing-million voters will turn..
..which..as a mana voter..suits me..
..but i have my commentary-hat on when i warn you of this..
Pity Brendon Who’s insipid smoking gun used against Winston this week was so lacking in substance ae Phillip, if there was a knotted noose evident anywhere in Brendon Who’s allegations we might have seen a repetition of 2008 for NZFirst which would have clarified ‘options’ greatly,
Specially If as i suspect, an alliance of Mana/Internet would produce a resultant 3–4% of the party vote for that entity…
Fair enough Phil. The problem is many Lefties like yourself and I turned off Labour in disgust, dating back to the treachery of Douglas & Prebble. It allowed the Right within the party to hold sway, reflected in their candidate/MP selections. The bottom straw was Goff taking the leadership, I walked in protest (after 4 years) and only came back after his dismissal. I realise you can only make change from within.
Referring to Mana, I believe they are about to make a huge mistake by aligning with The Inernet Party. Dotcom isstarting to look like the shady character that he is, and lets face it had he not got busted he would probably have been quite happy to be donating to the ACT party.
How do you defend a man who in a recent interview has the opinion that Government needs ‘less regulations.’ Now how can a political party like Mana entertain forming any arrangement with a Party that’s founder his this neo-liberal ideology.
Bradford has understandably balked at any suggestion of joining forces. What the heck is Minto thinking? And you for that matter? Hone having got to know him is a alpha male type fuckwit who I can see getting rolled by Kelvin Davis if the merger happens? Outside of Bradford, Annette Sykes I have a fair bit of time for, however she is weak by not fronting the their alpha ape Leader. Sykes has a great chance of unseating Favell, however Labour look like fucking that up by throat slitting the candidate vote. The Left fail to grasp howto play MMP, or should I say refuse to bend and work as a team.
And I’m with Bradford on being wary of the Internet Party – which is pretty much KDC’s baby. I need more than a few election-focused policies. I would need to see how the party operates if they gets any MPs.
My vote will go to the Greens – I have more of an idea of what I’m getting, and more info about the consistency of their underlying values – such values will inform how any MP operates when they are faced with new situations once in government.
This is my choice, others may make a different choice.
Bradford has string left principles – it’s not about getting votes by compromising on principles.
Bradford has also said that it takes longer to build a movement – as she sees Mana – not just as a party. She has said something about linking to the Internet Party as a short cut that, ultimately will not help build a strong movement.
I am surprised you cannot see the potential problems of being linked with the Internet Party if they don’t support left wing policies once in the House; that you can’t see the concerns about linking with a pretty unknown quantity politically.
But, whatever – I prefer to go with those with a track record that I feel I can trust.
What does that mean? – because it sounds quite offensive to me and if my interpretation is correct then you can get fucked you pretend-insider arsehole but I could have it wrong and if so then all the words after ‘because’ can be disregarded.
Tax cuts would do a fat load of good for those on low incomes. A lot less then a wage hike would be for? Plus it will leave less for things like health and education.
”My major claims are that 10% of those who have or do use tobacco products and have a Lung Cancer at any time is not a reliable statistic which shows cause and effect when 90% of the users of the same product never have a Lung Cancer at any time”,
And,
”IF 50% of those who have ever used tobacco products will die of either Cancer or Heart Disease, SO WHAT, even treated in the most kind manner the statistics show that 49% of people who have never used tobacco products will also die of a Cancer or Heart disease”,
The reply to the Moot:
”As i said, you’ve got no fucken evidence to refute decades of evidence from the actual people who know what they’re talking about”,
Now that is what i call a really compelling argument that 90% of those who have ever used tobacco products WILL NOT develop Lung Cancer therefor using tobacco products is the cause of 10% of such users developing Lung Cancer,
An unsustainable suspect ‘statistic i would suggest, and as for have ‘No evidence’, Pfft, theres this,
”The Welcome Trust Sanger Institutes cancer genome project is lead jointly by Professor Mike Stratton and Dr Peter Campbell”,
”All cancers occur due to abnormalities in the DNA sequence. Cancer affects people at all ages with risks for most cancer types increasing with age”
That to me simply says that the 10% those who develop Lung Cancer and have smoked have a specific genetic anomaly and the 90% who have smoked and never develop a Lung Cancer do not have that same genetic anomaly,
The proof of my little assertion there will be when the studies of the genome become advanced enough where they compare the genome of smokers who did not develop Lung Cancer with those that did,(i have yet to come across such a study but such research is still in its infancy),
Cancers occur when mistakes occur in cell replication at a genetic level, across all cancers, smokers/never smoked there is one point 60–70 years of age that is the commonality,
Contrary views are that as industrialized tobacco production and therefor higher rates of tobacco use occurred in the previous century rates of all cancers increased does not explain the increase in the rates of cancer for those who never smoked whereas the age at which we live to also increased during the latter part of the previous century,
In the future genetic science will identify exactly which gene(s) are at the center of the mistakes in cell reproduction which produce cancers and hopefully find a means of stopping those mistakes occurring…
According to the Dr Tashkin you linked us all to last week Phillip, your dope smoking has you well on the way to developing cancerous growths in your airways,
No need to switch to the ciggies my friend, just roll another spliff…
The Nation on TV3 today had a very good segment on Inequality fronted by the authors of the Spirit level. They are well spoken, fair and intelligent experts on the subject, in contrast to the ‘critic’ in the panel, Hooton, who pretends to be some sort of expert on everything with his pretty useless low level comments. Boring and completely biased commentator. Waste of time trying to listen to his ‘expert’ views!
Indeed. I mean the idea that CEO’s would notice some slashing to their incomes would effect
them, but their employees who could be paid more would not notice, was totally missed on him.
Despite being the whole point of inequality at its heart. Hooton is a very smart moron.
Hooton was totally shown up on the subject, and it showed by his usual ‘selective narrative’ I laughed as the interviewer/host quickly shot poor old ‘snake oil’ salesman Matthew down over his 20% company tax claim.
The highlight was the Hosts introduction of Hooton ‘former National Party staffer’ oh did you see Hooton wince, such pain being described as a ‘has been.’
I bet poor old Matty is currently sitting at a bar alone in Ponsonby Rd, on the sauce half sozzled by now, after making a nuisance of himself drunkenly rambling of better days gone by when he use to be someone within National.
So what does inequality look like? Well the richest
would be able to pay their taxes, who pay more of the
tax base as inequality grows. Housing would become
scarce as the poorest couldn’t afford new houses
(leave for OZ, live more to a home, rent in decaying homes), demand
for decades would fall, and housing prices would rise
further pushing more people out.
Let’s understand The Rich do not pay taxes, not the way trusts are set up in NZ. One of the highest on the Rich List is wont to boast he owns nothing, earns nothing … all safely taken care of by Queen Street accountants in family trusts. I think it is the greatest rort of them all, and should be challenged and changed.
Exactly yeshe! I bet a dollar that in spite of being very rich John Key would pay minimal tax. A wage/salary earner cannot avoid but Trusts of the wealthy hide billions.
crosby textors tactics against an nz milk brand revealled today by a whistleblower. stuff article very clearly states key and national use and have close links with crosby textor.
Edit: BTW, that article says Phillip Morris is one of the corporates that helps pay C-T’s bills. Apparently advising political parties doesn’t bring much money for them.
Edit: BTW, that article says Phillip Morris is one of the corporates that helps pay C-T’s bills. Apparently advising political parties doesn’t bring much money directly for them.
Just for accuracy.
A strong Tory neoliberal government will always lead to a more permissive environment for corporates and the 1% i.e. the CT client base.
Thus CT will be very busy advising corporates on how to effectively lobby government, lobby political parties and lobby MPs. In such activities CT can therefore also truthfully claim that they ‘don’t advise political parties very much.’
hopefully those who feel precious about our diarying, like judith collins (just joking), will see the strategy referred to here and assume they do the same for other clients like key and national. perhaps why fairfax wanted to water down the john key lies, article ahead of this one.
“those who feel precious about our dairying, like judith collins (just joking)”
I laughed on a couple of levels. The oravida politics bit and because Judith, more and more, looks like the hi-de-hi camp comedian’s butt of the joke, silly old cow mother-in-law.
Lighten’s a miserable Saturday afternoon with a two for one special.
At the crux of any prejudice is the idea that “I” am different, separate and, ultimately “superior”. To live with this delusion, we must keep ourselves apart from those we believe “inferior”.
Because it’s at the centre of the divide between rich and poor.
At the same time as the Abbott govt and it’s coalition partner are squabbling about how to dismantle the previous Labour govt intitiatives on climate change:
If Sydney’s balmy late autumn feels unusual, there’s a good reason.
If the mercury reaches at least 23 degrees on Saturday – 25 is forecast – Sydney will post its longest warm spell in records going back to 1910, says Sarah Perkins, a leading heatwave expert at the University of NSW.
Sydney’s 25.1 degrees on Friday matched the previous longest heatwave – defined as at least three consecutive days in the warmest 10 per cent for each date – of seven days set in August 1995. Including Saturday, that burst could stretch to at least 14 days.
”It’s actually quite scary, especially if it lasts for two weeks – that’s incredible,” Dr Perkins said.
”That’s blitzing records.”
Australia’s program to rein in pollution is losing momentum, the latest in a series of setbacks for the international effort to tackle global warming.
With the highest per-capita fossil fuel emissions among industrial countries, Australia’s participation in United Nations-led climate talks is seen as crucial to sway China and India to step up pollution controls even as conditions in developed nations worsen.
Now, Australia’s environmental stance is undergoing an about-face as the country’s new coalition government and its political opponents haggle over the best way to dismantle earlier regulations.
The shift in Australia comes just ahead of a series of global climate talks set for later this year. The UN is aiming to craft an agreement in 2015 that would include 190 nations.
The remarkable thing is how deeply unpopular Abbott has made himself in just 8 short months. It’s almost at the point where the backbench revolt is going to force Joe Hockey into a deeply embarrassing U-turn on some Budget measures.
But Abbott is a soft-target for my anger and despair. The truth is taking effect action against climate change is not the kind of thing democracies are good at imposing on an unenthusiastic population. If we thought telling them not to spank their kiddies was fraught – trying to take their cars off them (even if just symbolically), and all the other changes implied by real action – is going to be way, way harder.
JMG has taken a well-earned break from his series of remarkable essays, but the last two are to my mind the climax of the entire body of work:
We didn’t make that collective choice when it still could have made a difference: when peak oil was still decades in the future, anthropogenic climate change hadn’t yet begun to destabilize the planet’s ice sheets and weather patterns, and the variables that define the crisis of our age—depletion rates, CO2 concentrations, global population, and the rest of them—were a good deal less overwhelming than they’ve now become. As The Limits to Growth pointed out more than four decades ago, any effort to extract industrial civilization from the trap it made for itself had to get under way long before the jaws of that trap began to bite, because the rising economic burden inflicted by the ongoing depletion of nonrenewable resources and the impacts of pollution and ecosystem degradation were eating away at the surplus wealth needed to meet the costs of the transition to sustainability.
That prediction has now become our reality. Grandiose visions of vast renewable-energy buildouts and geoengineering projects on a global scale, of the kind being hawked so ebulliently these days by the prophets of eternal business as usual, fit awkwardly with the reality that a great many industrial nations can no longer afford to maintain basic infrastructures or to keep large and growing fractions of their populations from sliding into desperate poverty. The choice that I discussed in last week’s post, reduced to its hard economic bones, was whether we were going to put what remained of our stock of fossil fuels and other nonrenewable resources into maintaining our current standard of living for a while longer, or whether we were going to put it into building a livable world for our grandchildren.
The great majority of us chose the first option, and insisting at the top of our lungs that of course we could have both did nothing to keep the second from slipping away into the realm of might-have-beens. The political will to make the changes and accept the sacrifices that would be required to do anything else went missing in action in the 1980s and hasn’t been seen since. That’s the trap that was hidden in the crisis of our age: while the costs of transition were still small enough that we could have met them without major sacrifice, the consequences of inaction were still far enough in the future that most people could pretend they weren’t there; by the time the consequences were hard to ignore, the costs of transition had become too great for most people to accept—and not too long after that, they had become too great to be met at all. .
The remarkable thing is how deeply unpopular Abbott has made himself in just 8 short months. It’s almost at the point where the backbench revolt is going to force Joe Hockey into a deeply embarrassing U-turn on some Budget measures.
Sweet F.A. people wanted Abbott as PM, and that’s even including Coalition supporters. But Labour made themselves totally toxic, so that’s what you get.
The truth is taking effect action against climate change is not the kind of thing democracies are good at imposing on an unenthusiastic population
While true in many ways, Labor/Rudd got voted in on a clear carbon trading scheme/climate change action platform. Giving in to corporate and factional pressure fucked Australian Labor in the eyes of the electorate and their polls dived.
The lesson being – electorates are often far more progressive than politicians who sound brave and forward thinking on the campaign trail, but rapidly become risk averse and befuddled when under the sway of lobbyists and factional considerations after taking office.
It is really great to use the net to catch up on programs. This Native Affairs program is awesome and covers really interesting subjects that are important in this election year.
The titford stuff shows the underlying agenda of a few racist, big moneyed men and women. They have an agenda!!!!! It is the same agenda that they use for everything and it is designed to help them gain more influence and money. It is not a coincidence that a lot of them used to be and often still are, ‘in’ political parties. These moneyed people are trying both overtly and covertly to ‘own’ this country, set the agenda and, as I have said, gain influence and money – and with the election coming up they will be and are, up to their usual tricks. They are scum. They create illusion, distrust and division. They are working hard right now to implement their agenda. Be awake and aware – if not, they will trample you, your family and everything/everyone you believe in and hold dear, to make an extra dollar.
We had plenty of feedback about this story both for and against Allan Titford. However it’s the people behind him and their political agendas that have come under scrutiny.
Native Affairs was contacted by several supporters of Alan Titford about our story including Ross Baker from the One NZ Foundation.
When we invited him to appear this evening he declined because he lives in Australia. Muriel Newman, Mickael John Winkel, and Martin Doutre also declined.
Joining Mihingarangi Forbes to discuss this is Treaty gate blogger John Ansell and treaty lawyer and Mana Party President Annette Sykes.
”28.5 teaspoons of sugar in one jar of ”Chicken tonight” sweet and sour simmer sauce”, Source–Herald online,
At a time when we as a country are faced with an epidemic of type 2 diabetes the use of such obscene amounts of sugar in products should not be tolerated,
The world health organization has just lowered its recommended daily sugar intake to 6 teaspoons max and four people dining on a dinner containing the whole jar of the product highlighted by the Herald-online would be already over that recommendation without taking into account anything else any of them had ate during the rest of the day…
and four people dining on a dinner containing the whole jar
I seriously doubt if the whole jar would be used. Certainly not in any meal I make – I only use two desert spoons full in each serving of stir-fry that I make.
At a time when we as a country are faced with an epidemic of type 2 diabetes the use of such obscene amounts of sugar in products should not be tolerated,
Manufacturers use large amounts of salt, sugar and flavour enhancer (MSG) to disguise how poor quality and tasteless the base ingredients in their products are.
National’s policy of looking at whole of life spending is reaping huge benefits for those involved. A 20 year old on a benefit at age 20 currently spends another 20 years on a benefit. National have arranged mentors to assist young people to get off a benefit and into employment or training. This is expensive up front but well worthwhile in the long term. There is less crime and thus less imprisonment thus saving incarceration costs. Area by area the public service is looking at ways to reduce spending in future years. Compare this with the lolly scramble mentality of Labour that splashes money without regard to outcomes.
I haven’t mentioned Green or Mana policies. I don’t read joke books. The scary thing is that such nutbars would be Ministers in a Cunliffe led government. Sadly a collection of losers can trump the first place getter. That’s why first place has to be over 50%.
The Prime Minister says he's really comfortable with us not knowing the reoffending rate for his boot camp programme.They asked him for it at yesterday’s press conference, and he said, nah, not telling, have to respect people's privacy.Okay I'll bite. Let's say they release this information to us:The rate of ...
Warning 1: There is a Nazi theme at the end of this article related to the disabled community. Warning 2: This article could be boring!One day, last year, I excitedly opened up a Substack post that was about how to fight back, and the answer at the end was disappointing ...
This may be rhetorical but here goes: did any of you invest in the $Libra memecoin endorsed and backed by Argentine president and darling of the global Right Javier Milei (who admitted to being paid a fee for his promotion of the token)? You know, the one that soared above ...
Last week various of the great and good of New Zealand economics and public policy trooped off to Hamilton (of all places) for the annual Waikato Economics Forum, one of the successful marketing drives of university’s Vice-Chancellor. My interest was in the speeches delivered by the Minister of Finance and ...
The Prime Minister says the Government would be open to sending peacekeepers to Ukraine if a ceasefire was reached. The government has announced a $30 million spend on tourism infrastructure and biodiversity projects, including $11m spent to improve popular visitor sites and further $19m towards biodiversity efforts. A New Zealand-born ...
This is a re-post from The Climate Brink by Andrew Dessler “But what about when the sun doesn't shine?!” Ah yes, the energy debate’s equivalent of “The Earth is flat!” Every time someone mentions solar or wind power, some self-proclaimed energy expert emerges from the woodwork to drop this supposedly devastating truth bomb: ...
This post by Nicolas Reid was originally published on Linked in. It is republished here with permission.In this article I look into data on how well the rail network serve New Zealanders, and how many people might be able to travel by train… if we ran more than a ...
Hi,Before we get into Hayden Donnell’s new column about how yes, Donald Trump is definitely the Antichrist, I wanted to touch on something feral that happened in New Zealand last week.Members of Destiny Church pushed and punched their way into an Auckland library, apparently angry it was part of Pride ...
Despite delays, logjams and overcrowding in our emergency departments, funding constraints are limiting the numbers of nurses and doctors being trained. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāLong stories short, the top six things in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Tuesday, February 18 are:A NZ Herald investigation ...
Now that the US has ripped up the Atlantic alliance, Europe is more vulnerable now than at any time since the mid-1930s. Apparently, Europe and Ukraine itself will not have a seat at the table in the talks between US President Donald Trump and Russian leader Vladimir Putin that will ...
Olivia and Noah and Hana are going to the library!It is fun to go to the library. It has books and songs and mat time and people who smile at you and say, Hello Olivia, what have you been doing this morning?The library is more fun than the mall. At ...
New World Orders: The challenge facing Christopher Luxon and Chris Hipkins is how to keep their small and vulnerable nation safe and stable in a world whose economic and political climate the forty-seventh American president is changing so profoundly.IT IS, SURELY, the ultimate Millennial revenge fantasy. Calling senior Baby-Boomer and Gen-X ...
“This might surprise you, Laurie, but I reckon Trump’s putting on a bloody impressive performance.”“GOODNESS ME, HANNAH, just look at all those Valentine’s Day cards!”“Occupational hazard, Laurie, the more beer I serve, the more my customers declare their undying love!”“Crikey! I had no idea business was so good.” Laurie squinted ...
In 2005, Labour repealed the long-standing principle of birthright citizenship in Aotearoa. Why? As with everything else Labour does, it all came down to austerity: "foreign mothers" were supposedly "coming to this country to give birth", and this was "put[ting] pressure on hospitals". Then-Immigration Minister George Hawkins explicitly gave this ...
And I just hope that you can forgive usBut everything must goAnd if you need an explanation, nationThen everything must goSongwriters: James Dean Bradfield / Sean Anthony Moore / Nicholas Allen Jones.Today, I’d like to talk about a couple of things that happened over the weekend:Brian Tamaki’s Library Invasion and ...
New reporting highlights how Brooke van Velden refuses to meet with the CTU but is happy to meet with fringe Australian-based unions. Van Velden is pursuing reckless changes to undermine the personal grievance system against the advice of her own officials. Engineering New Zealand are saying that hundreds of engineers ...
The NZCTU strongly supports the Employment Relations (Employee Remuneration Disclosure) Amendment Bill. This Bill represents a positive step towards addressing serious issues around unlawful disparities in pay by protecting workers’ rights to discuss their pay and conditions. This Bill also provides welcome support for helping tackle the prevalent gender and ...
Years of hard work finally paid off last week as the country’s biggest and most important transport project, the City Rail Link reached a major milestone with the first test train making its way slowly though the tunnels for the first time. This is a fantastic achievement and it is ...
Engineers are pleading for the Government to free up funds to restart stalled projects. File Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāLong stories short, the top six things in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Monday, February 17 are:Engineering New Zealand CEO Richard Templer said yesterday hundreds of ...
It’s one of New Zealand’s great sustaining myths: the spirit of ANZAC, our mates across the ditch, the spirit of Earl’s Court, Antipodeans united against the world. It is also a myth; it is not reality. That much was clear from a series of speakers, including a former Australian Prime ...
Many people have been unsatisfied for years that things have not improved for them, some as individuals, many more however because their families are clearly putting in more work, for less money – and certainly far less purchase on society. This general discontent has grown exponentially since the GFC. ...
A listing of 34 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, February 9, 2025 thru Sat, February 15, 2025. This week's roundup is again published soleley by category. We are still interested in feedback to hone the categorization, so if ...
The Salvation Army’s State of the Nation report shows worsening food poverty and housing shortages mean more than 400,000 people now need welfare support, the highest level since the 1990s. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāLong stories short, the top six things in our political economy around housing, climate and ...
You're just too too obscure for meOh you don't really get through to meAnd there's no need for you to talk that wayIs there any less pessimistic things to say?Songwriters: Graeme DownesToday, I thought we’d take a look at some of the most cringe-inducing moments from last week, but don’t ...
Please note: I’ve delayed my “What can we do?” article for this video.The video above shows Destiny Church members assaulting staff and librarians as they pushed through to a room of terrified parents and young children.It was posted to social media last night.But if you read Sinead Boucher’s Stuff, you ...
Skeptical Science is partnering with Gigafact to produce fact briefs — bite-sized fact checks of trending claims. You can submit claims you think need checking via the tipline. Is sea level rise exaggerated? Sea levels are rising at an accelerating rate, not stagnating or decreasing. Warming global temperatures cause land ice ...
Here is a scenario, but first a historical parallel. Hitler and the Nazis could well have accomplished everything that they wanted to do within German borders, including exterminating Jews, so long as they confined their ambitious to Germany itself. After all, the world pretty much sat and watched as the ...
I’ve spent the last couple of days in Hamilton covering Waikato University’s annual NZ Economics Forum, where (arguably) three of the most influential people in our political economy right now laid out their thinking in major speeches about the size and role of Government, their views on for spending, tax ...
Simeon Brown’s Ideology BentSimeon Brown once told Kiwis he tries to represent his deep sense of faith by interacting “with integrity”.“It’s important that there’s Christians in Parliament…and from my perspective, it’s great to be a Christian in Parliament and to bring that perspective to [laws, conversations and policies].”And with ...
Severe geological and financial earthquakes are inevitable. We just don’t know how soon and how they will play out. Are we putting the right effort into preparing for them?Every decade or so the international economy has a major financial crisis. We cannot predict exactly when or exactly how it will ...
Questions1. How did Old Mate Grabaseat describe his soon-to-be-Deputy-PM’s letter to police advocating for Philip Polkinghorne?a.Ill-advisedb.A perfect letterc.A letter that will live in infamyd.He had me at hello2. What did Seymour say in response?a.What’s ill-advised is commenting when you don’t know all the facts and ...
NZCTU Te Kauae Kaimahi President Richard Wagstaff has called on OJI Fibre Solutions to work with the government, unions, and the community before closing the Kinleith Paper Mill. “OJI has today announced 230 job losses in what will be a devastating blow for the community. OJI needs to work with ...
NZCTU Te Kauae Kaimahi President Richard Wagstaff is sounding the alarm about the latest attack on workers from Minister of Workplace Relations and Safety Brooke van Velden, who is ignoring her own officials to pursue reckless changes that would completely undermine the personal grievance system. “Brooke van Velden’s changes will ...
Hi,When I started writing Webworm in 2020, I wrote a lot about the conspiracy theories that were suddenly invading our Twitter timelines and Facebook feeds. Four years ago a reader, John, left this feedback under one of my essays:It’s a never ending labyrinth of lunacy which, as you have pointed ...
And if you said this life ain't good enoughI would give my world to lift you upI could change my life to better suit your moodBecause you're so smoothAnd it's just like the ocean under the moonOh, it's the same as the emotion that I get from youYou got the ...
Aotearoa remains the minority’s birthright, New Zealand the majority’s possession. WAITANGI DAY commentary see-saws manically between the warmly positive and the coldly negative. Many New Zealanders consider this a good thing. They point to the unexamined patriotism of July Fourth and Bastille Day celebrations, and applaud the fact that the ...
The podcast above of the weekly ‘Hoon’ webinar for paying subscribers on Thursday night features co-hosts & talking about the week’s news with regular and special guests, including: and on the week in geopolitics, including the latest from Donald Trump’s administration over Gaza and Ukraine; on the ...
Up until now, the prevailing coalition view of public servants was that there were simply too many of them. But yesterday the new Public Service Commissioner, handpicked by the Luxon Government, said it was not so much numbers but what they did and the value they produced that mattered. Sir ...
In a moment we explore the question: What is Andrew Bayly wanting to tell ACC, and will it involve enjoying a small wine tasting and then telling someone to fuck off? But first, for context, a broader one: What do we look for in a government?Imagine for a moment, you ...
As expected, Donald Trump just threw Ukraine under the bus, demanding that it accept Russia's illegal theft of land, while ruling out any future membership of NATO. Its a colossal betrayal, which effectively legitimises Russia's invasion, while laying the groundwork for the next one. But Trump is apparently fine with ...
A ballot for a single member's bill was held today, and the following bill was drawn: Employment Relations (Collective Agreements in Triangular Relationships) Amendment Bill (Adrian Rurawhe) The bill would extend union rights to employees in triangular relationships, where they are (nominally) employed by one party, but ...
This is a guest post by George Weeks, reviewing a book called ‘How to Fly a Horse’ by Kevin AshtonBook review: ‘How to Fly a Horse’ by Kevin Ashton (2015) – and what it means for Auckland. The title of this article might unnerve any Greater Auckland ...
This story was originally published by Capital & Main and is part of Covering Climate Now, a global journalism collaboration strengthening coverage of the climate story. Within just a week, the sheer devastation of the Los Angeles wildfires has pushed to the fore fundamental questions about the impact of the climate crisis that have been ...
In this world, it's just usYou know it's not the same as it wasSongwriters: Harry Edward Styles / Thomas Edward Percy Hull / Tyler Sam JohnsonYesterday, I received a lovely message from Caty, a reader of Nick’s Kōrero, that got me thinking. So I thought I’d share it with you, ...
In past times a person was considered “unserious” or “not a serious” person if they failed to grasp, behave and speak according to the solemnity of the context in which they were located. For example a serious person does not audibly pass gas at Church, or yell “gun” at a ...
Long stories short, the top six things in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Thursday, February 13 are:The coalition Government’s early 2024 ‘fiscal emergency’ freeze on funding, planning and building houses, schools, local roads and hospitals helped extend and deepen the economic and jobs recession through calendar ...
For obvious reasons, people feel uneasy when the right to be a citizen is sold off to wealthy foreigners. Even selling the right to residency seems a bit dubious, when so many migrants who are not millionaires get turned away or are made to jump through innumerable hoops – simply ...
A new season of White Lotus is nearly upon us: more murder mystery, more sumptuous surroundings, more rich people behaving badly.Once more we get to identify with the experience of the pampered tourist or perhaps the poorly paid help; there's something in White Lotus for all New Zealanders.And unlike the ...
In 2016, Aotearoa shockingly plunged to fourth place in the Transparency International Corruption Perceptions Index. Nine years later, and we're back there again: New Zealand has seen a further slip in its global ranking in the latest Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI). [...] In the latest CPI New Zealand's score ...
1. You’ve started ranking your politicians on how much they respect the rule of law2. You’ve stopped paying attention to those news publications3. You’ve developed a sudden interest in a particular period of history4. More and more people are sounding like your racist, conspiracist uncle.5. Someone just pulled a Nazi ...
Transforming New Zealand: Brian EastonBrian Easton will discuss the above topic at 2/57 Willis Street, Wellington at 5:30pm on Tuesday 26 February at 2/57 Willis Street, WellingtonThe sub-title to the above is "Why is the Left failing?" Brian Easton's analysis is based on his view that while the ...
Salvation Army’s State of the Nation 2025 report highlights falling living standards, the highest unemployment rates since the 1990s and half of all Pacific children going without food. There are reports of hundreds if not thousands of people are applying for the same jobs in the wake of last year’s ...
Mountain Tui is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.Correction: On the article The Condundrum of David Seymour, Luke Malpass conducted joint reviews with Bryce Wilkinson, the architect of the Regulatory Standards Bill - not Bryce Edwards. The article ...
Tomorrow the council’s Transport, Resilience and Infrastructure Committee meet and agenda has a few interesting papers. Council’s Letter of Expectation to Auckland Transport Every year the council provide a Letter of Expectation to Auckland Transport which is part of the process for informing AT of the council’s priorities and ...
All around in my home townThey're trying to track me down, yeahThey say they want to bring me in guiltyFor the killing of a deputyFor the life of a deputySongwriter: Robert Nesta Marley.Support Nick’s Kōrero today with a 20% discount on a paid subscription to receive all my newsletters directly ...
Hi,I think all of us have probably experienced the power of music — that strange, transformative thing that gets under our skin and helps us experience this whole life thing with some kind of sanity.Listening and experiencing music has always been such a huge part of my life, and has ...
Business frustration over the stalled economy is growing, and only 34% of voters are confidentNicola Willis can deliver. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāLong stories short, the top six things in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Wednesday, February 12 are:Business frustration is growing about a ...
I have now lived long enough to see a cabinet minister go both barrels on their Prime Minister and not get sacked.It used to be that the PM would have a drawer full of resignations signed by ministers on the day of their appointment, ready for such an occasion. But ...
This session will feature Simon McCallum, Senior Lecturer in Engineering and Computer Science (VUW) and recent Labour Party candidate in the Southland Electorate talking about some of the issues around AI and how this should inform Labour Party policy. Simon is an excellent speaker with a comprehensive command of AI ...
The proposed Waimate garbage incinerator is dead: The company behind a highly-controversial proposal to build a waste-to-energy plant in the Waimate District no longer has the land. [...] However, SIRRL director Paul Taylor said the sales and purchase agreement to purchase land from Murphy Farms, near Glenavy, lapsed at ...
The US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act has been a vital tool in combatting international corruption. It forbids US companies and citizens from bribing foreign public officials anywhere in the world. And its actually enforced: some of the world's biggest companies - Siemens, Hewlett Packard, and Bristol Myers Squibb - have ...
December 2024 photo - with UK Tory Boris Johnson (Source: Facebook)Those PollsFor hours, political poll results have resounded across political hallways and commentary.According to the 1News Verizon poll, 50% of the country believe we are heading in the “wrong direction”, while 39% believe we are “on the right track”.The left ...
A Tai Rāwhiti mill that ran for 30 years before it was shut down in late 2023 is set to re-open in the coming months, which will eventually see nearly 300 new jobs in the region. A new report from Massey University shows that pensioners are struggling with rising costs. ...
As support continues to fall, Luxon also now faces his biggest internal ructions within the coalition since the election, with David Seymour reacting badly to being criticised by the PM. File photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāLong stories short, the top six things in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate ...
Not since 1988 when Richard Prebble openly criticised David Lange have we seen such a challenge to a Prime Minister as that of David Seymour to Christopher Luxon last night. Prebble suggested Lange had mental health issues during a TV interview and was almost immediately fired. Seymour hasn’t gone quite ...
Three weeks in, and the 24/7 news cycle is not helping anyone feel calm and informed about the second Trump presidency. One day, the US is threatening 25% trade tariffs on its friends and neighbours. The reasons offered by the White House are absurd, such as stopping fentanyl coming in ...
This video includes personal musings and conclusions of the creator climate scientist Dr. Adam Levy. It is presented to our readers as an informed perspective. Please see video description for references (if any). Wherever you look, you'll hear headlines claiming we've passed 1.5 degrees of global warming. And while 2024 saw ...
“The ACT Party can’t be bothered putting an MP on one of the Justice subcommittees hearing submissions on their own Treaty Principles Bill,” Labour Justice Spokesperson Duncan Webb said. ...
The Government’s newly announced funding for biodiversity and tourism of $30-million over three years is a small fraction of what is required for conservation in this country. ...
The Government's sudden cancellation of the tertiary education funding increase is a reckless move that risks widespread job losses and service reductions across New Zealand's universities. ...
National’s cuts to disability support funding and freezing of new residential placements has resulted in significant mental health decline for intellectually disabled people. ...
The hundreds of jobs lost needlessly as a result of the Kinleith Mill paper production closure will have a devastating impact on the Tokoroa community - something that could have easily been avoided. ...
Today Te Pāti Māori MP for Te Tai Tokerau, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi, released her members bill that will see the return of tamariki and mokopuna Māori from state care back to te iwi Māori. This bill will establish an independent authority that asserts and protects the rights promised in He Whakaputanga ...
The Whangarei District Council being forced to fluoridate their local water supply is facing a despotic Soviet-era disgrace. This is not a matter of being pro-fluoride or anti-fluoride. It is a matter of what New Zealanders see and value as democracy in our country. Individual democratically elected Councillors are not ...
Nicola Willis’ latest supermarket announcement is painfully weak with no new ideas, no real plan, and no relief for Kiwis struggling with rising grocery costs. ...
Half of Pacific children sometimes going without food is just one of many heartbreaking lowlights in the Salvation Army’s annual State of the Nation report. ...
The Salvation Army’s State of the Nation report is a bleak indictment on the failure of Government to take steps to end poverty, with those on benefits, including their children, hit hardest. ...
New Zealand First has today introduced a Member’s Bill which would restore decision-making power to local communities regarding the fluoridation of drinking water. The ‘Fluoridation (Referendum) Legislation Bill’ seeks to repeal the Health (Fluoridation of Drinking Water) Amendment Act 2021 that granted centralised authority to the Direct General of Health ...
New Zealand First has introduced a Member’s Bill aimed at preventing banks from refusing their services to businesses because of the current “Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) Framework”. “This Bill ensures fairness and prevents ESG standards from perpetuating woke ideology in the banking sector being driven by unelected, globalist, climate ...
Erica Stanford has reached peak shortsightedness if today’s announcement is anything to go by, picking apart immigration settings piece by piece to the detriment of the New Zealand economy. ...
Our originating document, theTreaty of Waitangi, was signed on February 6, 1840. An agreement between Māori and the British Crown. Initially inked by Ngā Puhi in Waitangi, further signatures were added as it travelled south. The intention was to establish a colony with the cession of sovereignty to the Crown, ...
Te Whatu Ora Chief Executive Margie Apa leaving her job four months early is another symptom of this government’s failure to deliver healthcare for New Zealanders. ...
The Green Party is calling for the Prime Minister to show leadership and be unequivocal about Aotearoa New Zealand’s opposition to a proposal by the US President to remove Palestinians from Gaza. ...
The latest unemployment figures reveal that job losses are hitting Māori and Pacific people especially hard, with Māori unemployment reaching a staggering 9.7% for the December 2024 quarter and Pasifika unemployment reaching 10.5%. ...
Waitangi 2025: Waitangi Day must be community and not politically driven - Shane Jones Our originating document, theTreaty of Waitangi, was signed on February 6, 1840. An agreement between Māori and the British Crown. Initially inked by Ngā Puhi in Waitangi, further signatures were added as it travelled south. ...
Despite being confronted every day with people in genuine need being stopped from accessing emergency housing – National still won’t commit to building more public houses. ...
The Green Party says the Government is giving up on growing the country’s public housing stock, despite overwhelming evidence that we need more affordable houses to solve the housing crisis. ...
Before any thoughts of the New Year and what lies ahead could even be contemplated, New Zealand reeled with the tragedy of Senior Sergeant Lyn Fleming losing her life. For over 38 years she had faithfully served as a front-line Police officer. Working alongside her was Senior Sergeant Adam Ramsay ...
Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson will return to politics at Waitangi on Monday the 3rd of February where she will hold a stand up with fellow co-leader Chlöe Swarbrick. ...
Te Pāti Māori is appalled by the government's blatant mishandling of the school lunch programme. David Seymour’s ‘cost-saving’ measures have left tamariki across Aotearoa with unidentifiable meals, causing distress and outrage among parents and communities alike. “What’s the difference between providing inedible food, and providing no food at all?” Said ...
The Government is doubling down on outdated and volatile fossil fuels, showing how shortsighted and destructive their policies are for working New Zealanders. ...
Green Party MP Steve Abel this morning joined Coromandel locals in Waihi to condemn new mining plans announced by Shane Jones in the pit of the town’s Australian-owned Gold mine. ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to strengthen its just-announced 2030-2035 Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) under the Paris Agreement and address its woeful lack of commitment to climate security. ...
The Government’s commitment to get New Zealand’s roads back on track is delivering strong results, with around 98 per cent of potholes on state highways repaired within 24 hours of identification every month since targets were introduced, Transport Minister Chris Bishop says. “Increasing productivity to help rebuild our economy is ...
The former Cadbury factory will be the site of the Inpatient Building for the new Dunedin Hospital and Health Minister Simeon Brown says actions have been taken to get the cost overruns under control. “Today I am giving the people of Dunedin certainty that we will build the new Dunedin ...
From today, Plunket in Whāngarei will be offering childhood immunisations – the first of up to 27 sites nationwide, Health Minister Simeon Brown says. The investment of $1 million into the pilot, announced in October 2024, was made possible due to the Government’s record $16.68 billion investment in health. It ...
New Zealand’s strong commitment to the rights of disabled people has continued with the response to an important United Nations report, Disability Issues Minister Louise Upston has announced. Of the 63 concluding observations of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD), 47 will be progressed ...
Resources Minister Shane Jones has launched New Zealand’s national Minerals Strategy and Critical Minerals List, documents that lay a strategic and enduring path for the mineral sector, with the aim of doubling exports to $3 billion by 2035. Mr Jones released the documents, which present the Coalition Government’s transformative vision ...
Firstly I want to thank OceanaGold for hosting our event today. Your operation at Waihi is impressive. I want to acknowledge local MP Scott Simpson, local government dignitaries, community stakeholders and all of you who have gathered here today. It’s a privilege to welcome you to the launch of the ...
Racing Minister, Winston Peters has announced the Government is preparing public consultation on GST policy proposals which would make the New Zealand racing industry more competitive. “The racing industry makes an important economic contribution. New Zealand thoroughbreds are in demand overseas as racehorses and for breeding. The domestic thoroughbred industry ...
Business confidence remains very high and shows the economy is on track to improve, Economic Growth Minister Nicola Willis says. “The latest ANZ Business Outlook survey, released yesterday, shows business confidence and expected own activity are ‘still both very high’.” The survey reports business confidence fell eight points to +54 ...
Enabling works have begun this week on an expanded radiology unit at Hawke’s Bay Fallen Soldiers’ Memorial Hospital which will double CT scanning capacity in Hawke’s Bay to ensure more locals can benefit from access to timely, quality healthcare, Health Minister Simeon Brown says. This investment of $29.3m in the ...
The Government has today announced New Zealand’s second international climate target under the Paris Agreement, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. New Zealand will reduce emissions by 51 to 55 per cent compared to 2005 levels, by 2035. “We have worked hard to set a target that is both ambitious ...
Nine years of negotiations between the Crown and iwi of Taranaki have concluded following Te Pire Whakatupua mō Te Kāhui Tupua/the Taranaki Maunga Collective Redress Bill passing its third reading in Parliament today, Treaty Negotiations Minister Paul Goldsmith says. “This Bill addresses the historical grievances endured by the eight iwi ...
As schools start back for 2025, there will be a relentless focus on teaching the basics brilliantly so all Kiwi kids grow up with the knowledge, skills and competencies needed to grow the New Zealand of the future, Education Minister Erica Stanford says. “A world-leading education system is a key ...
Housing Minister Chris Bishop and Associate Agriculture Minister Mark Patterson have welcomed Kāinga Ora’s decision to re-open its tender for carpets to allow wool carpet suppliers to bid. “In 2024 Kāinga Ora issued requests for tender (RFTs) seeking bids from suppliers to carpet their properties,” Mr Bishop says. “As part ...
Associate Education Minister David Seymour has today visited Otahuhu College where the new school lunch programme has served up healthy lunches to students in the first days of the school year. “As schools open in 2025, the programme will deliver nutritious meals to around 242,000 students, every school day. On ...
Minister for Children Karen Chhour has intervened in Oranga Tamariki’s review of social service provider contracts to ensure Barnardos can continue to deliver its 0800 What’s Up hotline. “When I found out about the potential impact to this service, I asked Oranga Tamariki for an explanation. Based on the information ...
Comment: The recent attack by Destiny Church front groups on a Drag science show at Te Atatū library crossed a line. This wasn’t the first time that Brian Tamaki, the multimillionaire self-appointed ‘apostle’, has ordered acts of aggression against the queer community. Last year, Drag Story Time events were targeted, ...
Martina Salmon is well versed in the fast-paced action on a netball court, but even she was caught by surprise with the speed at which her career changed tack last year.Staying in the fast lane is only part of her drive this season.Fresh off a nine-day camp in Sydney with ...
Last night I may as well have been in Taihape. Or, closer to home, for me at least, somewhere in the Wairarapa. Or Tūrangi, even – which is near where we used to spend the summer when I was a child. For there was that same gorgeous small town feeling ...
Having Auckland’s food scraps dumped onto your rural backyard sounds scandalous, but in the North Island town of Reporoa there’s no fuss about the thousands of tonnes carted here every week.From the same site as one truck drops the waste, another truck picks up fertiliser to spread on local sheep ...
Negotiating rights over freshwater in Treaty settlement negotiations could have extended negotiations a decade, a Ngāi Tahu leader says.Tribal leaders, and its umbrella body, Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu, have taken the Attorney-General to court in a bid to have the Crown recognise its rangatiratanga (chiefly authority) over wai māori ...
Analysis: Poor safeguarding of New Zealanders’ data could be a widespread practice within the public service and certainly within the health system, according to the findings of an independent inquiry into allegations of misused census and Covid-19 vaccination information.The Public Service Commission’s review, led by consultant Pania Gray and former ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jennifer Stone, Principal Research Fellow, School of Population and Global Health, The University of Western Australia Gorodenkoff/Shutterstock Having dense breasts is a clear risk factor for breast cancer. It can also make cancers hard to spot on mammograms. Yet you ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra The National Anti-Corruption Commission will finally investigate whether six people referred to it by the royal commission into Robodebt engaged in corrupt conduct. This follows an independent reconsideration by former High Court judge Geoffrey ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Blaxland, Professor, Strategic and Defence Studies Centre, Australian National University Last week in Europe, the United States sent some very strong messages it is prepared to upend the established global order. US Vice President JD Vance warned a stunned Munich ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra The Reserve Bank has delivered the expected modest rate cut of a quarter of a percentage point, and we’re set for the predictable frenzy of speculation about an April election. The cut is unlikely to ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Hawkins, Senior Lecturer, Canberra School of Politics, Economics and Society, University of Canberra The Reserve Bank cut official interest rates on Tuesday, the first decrease in four years, saying inflationary pressures are easing “a little more quickly than expected”. However, the ...
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did anyone else go to ‘the spirit level’ lectures in ak this week..?
..takeaways..?
..and i wd urge those in regions south..
..to go and have defined for themselves..
..what actually needs to be done..
..(when they come to your town..1200 in ak is the target to beat..c’mon..!..you know you can see off the jafas..eh..?..
..i’m looking @ you..wellington..)
..as made by the authors..(to 1200 people in ak last nite..)..
..the case could not be clearer..
..(that was my takeaway..)
(..another sub-takeaway was the pointed comment from one of the authors..
..that the evidence clearly shows the last labour govt did virtually nothing to lessen the inequalites engendered by the rightwing-revolution/attack on the welfare state in the 1980’s..
..started by labour..and enthusiastically carried on by national..
..let’s hope they take all that blinding-evidence on board..
..and do better next time..
..eh..?..)
apropos of not much..
..my 16 yr old dog..(her name is lucy..)..is lying on her foam squab…just behind me..(within arms’ reach..)..
..she is covered by her ‘banky’..and has her head resting on her pillow..
..and she is wagging her tail..
..as i drop pieces of toast smeared with peanut butter and jam – into her mouth..
..(it’s a thing we do..and that all cheers me no end..)
cheers me too, Phillip ! 🙂
Had to have my nearly 20 year old dog put to sleep recently. I miss him so much. Dogs are wonderful companions and such trusting souls. Nice hearing about your dog Phil. Give Lucy a pat from me.
@ belladonna..
..sorry to hear about yr dog..
..a dread i have to (not) look forward too..
..this is pretty cool..
..and will confirm what you already know..
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/05/22/dogs-feelings_n_5374334.html
one of mine is in my lap and the other lies beside me with a paw on my thigh. i understand your bond.
Synthetic cannabis fuelling Yemen’s terrorism ? Some revealing stats in this story …
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/05/23/how-synthetic-weed-fuels-yemen-s-terrorism.html?utm_medium=email&utm_source=newsletter&utm_campaign=cheatsheet_morning&cid=newsletter%3Bemail%3Bcheatsheet_morning&utm_term=Cheat%20Sheet
Armstrong praisies Labour & Cunliffe – sort of – as ong as they look like National Lite, and don’t, you know, return to its roots, advocate for the poor and struggling Kiwis. Cause according to Armstrong, there is no problem for those on low incomes.
A bit of a twist from Mr Armstrong. There is a positive mood shift. The announcement of Opposition Policies can now go ahead post-Budget and leaves National less time to counter any positive feedback that comes from those policies.
The nats will also be talking up anti-Muslim rhetoric.
An old guy at a bus stop recently rambled on to me about the carelessness of young people today (litter in the streets). He then kind of back tracked and said his generation got criticised a lot by older people. then he said something about the hard times that are coming. I thought he was going to say something about an economic crash, and/or climate change. So I said, “Really?”. He then launched into a bit of a rant about the reports he’d read of conflict in an Avondale mosque, and how “those people” shouldn’t bring their fights to NZ.
First of all, do you mean anti-Muslim rhetoric in the sense of al-Qaeda etc, or anti-Muslim rhetoric against Muslim NZ citizens? I doubt they would the latter because there would be nothing to gained from it, and if you had regular contact with the NZ Muslim community you would soon find that, having minds of their own, and depending on whether they are Shia or Sunna, and depending on their country of origin, may very well agree with the newspaper article.
The author of the Daily piece seems to have an axe to grind with the NZMA that goes well beyond this single event.
Also I fail to see how desiring to keep foreign sectarian conflict out of New Zealand is in any way racist, prejudiced or even bad. It would be naive in the extreme to ignore what has happened in countries even more liberal than ours like Sweden and the Netherlands.
Well, it can often be hard to tell whether media beatups about (alleged) Muslim Jihads are motivated by Islamaphobia, but it does feed into fairly widely spread Islamophobia discourse.
The guy I talked to at the bus stop was explicitly anti-Islam.
Martyn Bradbury also has included in his post today, repsonses from someone else from the Muslim community. It certainly shows that there is a pretty one-sided view being presented in the MSM.
Yes, that was the story I mentioned before which you had already posted. The author appears to have an agenda against the NZMA.
I doubt xenophobic old coots are indicative of much – they’ve been around forever.
Hmm…
. The present dominant affect of anxiety is also known as precarity. Precarity is a type of insecurity which treats people as disposable so as to impose control. Precarity differs from misery in that the necessities of life are not simply absent. They are available, but withheld conditionally.
http://www.weareplanc.org/we-are-all-very-anxious/
For many young job-starters the lack of job security and unclear future careers must contribute to this precarity. Being on contracts where you only work when the manager needs you in the unholy name of “flexibility” must hurt.
Hooton believes that we only work well if scared. Well, that’s of course depends, if we are already wealthy then we do best being over paid. And if anyone says otherwise they are mean, raging, envious, and hate filled. So speaks the pure petulant voice of the right.
+1
The mindset of feudal lords, slave drivers and tyrants
Thanks. It’s thought provoking, and I tend to agree with the basic premis: that capitalism stimulates resisistance, then capitalism reacts to neutralise the resistance…. then a new form of resistance forms.
However, I think the periodised labels for each phase of resistance is pretty superficial – and US-based. Bored people in the 60s, tended to be amongst the more middle classes – and white and male. As they also state, there was always anxiety around sexuality – well that would include most women, and anyone who didn’t conform to sexual norms.
Anxiety now, would be more likely to be those in the middle incomes/wealth brackets – the most precarious have lives of daily struggle.
I agree karol – and thanks joe for the fabulous linky love as always.
I’m off to have a long read of that entire planc site. At first glance it’s the most intriuguing thing I’ve seen in ages.
Thanks Joe90
For ages I’ve been trying to put into words what is going wrong with trying to taking any kind of group action – the paralysis of the current age that he describes and the reasons for it. His analysis of this state and how we find ourselves here is an outstanding overview.
The only collective action that I’ve been involved in that hasn’t been seriously infected with it has been something I’ve been doing with a group of very well off middle-class people who are mostly a long way off precarious compared to people like me (though of course they are affected, just not infected). I’ve felt such a sense of frustration at this project powering ahead while just about every other collective action I’ve tried has floundered or limped meekly along without achieving anything much beyond just continuing to exist. Treading water, yet important causes and outstanding people rendered powerless.
edit: Embarrassed by my unthinking sexism in ascribing the article a male writer.
On Kim Hill’s Saturday Morning show today Harriet Sergeant was pontificating about the significance of the UKIP vote in local government elections in Britain. It made me feel ill – the more so because of the sycophantic way Hill treated this rightwing ideologue.
On the RNZ website Sergeant’s self description from her website was reproduced verbatim –
“a journalist, author and Research Fellow of the Centre for Policy Studies, an independent Think Tank…”
Instead of simply repeating Sergeant’s self-description, they should have mentioned that the Centre for Policy Studies is a right wing, neoliberal policy think tank which claims to be non-partisan but which has strong historical links to the British Conservative Party.
Unless, of course, Hill was deliberately trying to present a well known rightwing ideologue as a politically neutral researcher/commentator.
I emailed RNZ about this and it was not read out but Hill did mention the fact that the CPS has historical links to the Tory Party – having been set up by Thatcher.
Acknowledgement of having been caught out on sloppy research at best and political bias at worst would have been good but at least the record was set straight to some extent.
They do this the whole time.
Farrar is never described as a National Party pollster.
+1 Paul
“Farrar is never described as a National Party pollster.”
I’ll just leave these here…
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/hawkes-bay-today/opinion/news/article.cfm?c_id=1503459&objectid=11254285
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/5069779/Anti-MMP-plan-leaked
http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/morningreport/audio/2594442/political-observers-weigh-in-on-williamson-resignation
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/8717357/Seriously-happy-to-upset-the-status-quo
(And there are many more, FYI)
Yes TWW I too thought that the fact that she was from a right wing think tank should have been made clear, though that became obvious when she gave her analysis.
She lumped Milliband in with Cameron and Clegg, where in fact he is not a public school toff like them but went to a comprehensive.
I also hated the way she dished public education in the UK (snotty), and the way she made out Farage, a right-wing populist, was a good guy. Show me the policies Farage.
She also failed to mention that if these poll results were replicated next year Labour would be likely to get elected without the need for a coalition partner. Like the rest of the Tory press she had written her analysis before Labour’s good results in London came in.
Was pleased to see Hammersmith and Fulham won back from the tories, the 11 seats won taking them to a 26 – 20 majority.
Now at least I have something to cheer about Fulham this year.
Yes TA great result in H and F-a Tory flagship council.
As a Burnley fan you will appreciate I’m cheering on two counts.
Cameron’s favourite, so I read. Can Imagine a few being sunk tonight on the broadways.
Enjoy the ride, ours got us a few minutes away from a penalty shoot out for the ueffa cup, and rid of that bizarre MJ statue.
I don’t care too much, just as long as Derby beat QPR. Looking forward to an easy six pointer next term 😉
Its common place to see moderate progressives of the left matched with right-wing revolutionary conservative types who peddle the extremism which their opponents have not the time or language to deconstruct. When growth was assured (cheap energy trending lower) the right got more extreme and stupid. It was easy living for parasites, to argue for more nothing and claim victory when achieved, and so much work kicking the poor, unions, communities.
We will have high taxes on the rich again, since we cannot afford to leave people in precarity where their time is spent getting by rather than growing the economy.
Similar story with the discussion on surgical mesh a couple of days ago – on Radio NZ.
The rebuttal to the surgeon who is dealing with women who are facing ongoing and debilitating issues, was “Associate Professor Malcolm Frazer – The urogynaecology spokesperson for the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, and the immediate past vice chair of the Urogynaecological Society of Australasia.”
No mention of the fact that he derives income from other sources such as:
“Declaration of interest
Malcolm Frazer holds contracts as a preceptor for Johnson & Johnson Gynecare as well as American Medical Systems mesh products for which he receives a fee. He has received financial support from both organisations to attend scientific conferences as an invited lecturer.”
This declaration of interest can be found on one of his articles on the benefits of surgical mesh that he continues to write, and get income from the company that is undergoing a class action suit.
That would provide clarity to the discussion. I haven’t listened to the whole interview, but understand that National Women’s have stopped using this mesh because of the complications, and are keeping on the QT. ACC is continuing to refuse payment and treatment to those who have had complications from these mesh implants.
Dammit yes, she should have thrown tea cakes at him and set fire to herself in protest
Seems the NZH only told one side of the story and it appears they even got that wrong http://thedailyblog.co.nz/2014/05/24/the-truth-behind-the-avondale-mosque-stand-off/
I’m not sure that anti-NZMA screed is all that accurate either
This will be a litmus test of NZ’s clean green credentials.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/animals/news/article.cfm?c_id=500834&objectid=11257720
moroney seems to have just confirmed that labour will be doing nothing for many of the poorest..
..when asked specifically..
..she said that labour would give benificiary-families the $60 p.w tax credit..
..and raise minimum-wage to $15..
..nothing for the poorest/homeless/single unemployed..
..s.f.a…
..and for the very first time.. i had to agree with a part of a sentence from e.t.-impersonter colin craig..
..when he advocated tax cuts for the poorest..
.(.to end the bizarre ritual of taxing the unemployment-benefit..for starters..w.t.f. is the/any logic in that ..?..
..call taxing benefits for what it is..
..cutting benefits..)
..moroney shied away from that idea like a startled-horse..
Meanwhile, as the Immigration Service ordered the deportation of all four nannies employed to look after the couple’s five children, dotcon says “”The nannies are crying. They are completely destroyed,”
Why did kim not employ NZ nannies? Maybe hone can help find some kiwi staff for the mega mansion as part of the keep it New Zealand campaign. That would be great move to reduce unemployment and show his coalition partner has a handle on poverty in his adopted (for a little bit longer at least) country.
Or why not look after their own kids instead of paying someone else to bring them up.
Child neglect is common at both ends of town from the looks of it.
I think that the twins are autistic so they need extra care which is what less wealthy parents of autistic would desperately need and wish for.
“Or why not look after their own kids instead of paying someone else to bring them up.”
Indeed, or better still, government makes it an option to pay one parent to stay at home to raise babies while the other works.
“I think that the twins are autistic so they need extra care which is what less wealthy parents of autistic would desperately need and wish for.”
Sad indictment on this country if we don’t have suitably qualified staff to do that good work.
And right, less well off parents could do with the help. Hope the next government will grant the wish.
They were probably crying because he pays shit
200k offered to Banks, so that proves you get what you pay for.
“Why did kim not employ NZ nannies?”
My gods you sound bitter allen – got your wee jibes into Hone and Mana as well as Kim. How is your status here different to his?
It’s a fair point. Why import foreign labour to do what local labour is more than capable of doing?
You don’t know that “local labour is more than capable of doing” the role at all – you just suppose it – for instance we (generally) only know one language (english) here – could it be that they may have wanted a german speaking nanny? I don’t know but i’d allow for the possibility, certainly before adding this tidbit to the stack of ammunition used to attack dotcom, Hone and Mana.
I also think that many kiwi nannies around the world wouldn’t be too fussed with your foreign labour angle.
Hello Marty
No, not bitter, more a black comedy observation on the mismatch in interests here. Only nanny I ever knew was Mary Poppins and my nan, who in fact introduced me to her one Saturday movie matinee afternoon back in the early 70s.
As for my status, I don’t know for sure. I’ll cheer anything with a lion or a rose on it, but most of the time I’ve assimilated quite well. I bred with a local woman and got married and had a child born here, who holds a NZ passport in her name, just like her mother, her grandmother and her great grandmother.
Mostly I consider myself, after 13 years on the good waka Aotearoa as one of the crew, but sometimes it’s not just the flow of the ocean lapping at the hull where I find resistance.
Legally, my 10 year passport with my permanent residency silver dollar stickers ran out 4 years ago, I found out I was a shoe in for citizenship, and though a little affronted at not only being asked to pay near 5 hundy membership fee, despite 14 years of A ok service and going 50% in a fantastic little kiwi chick, I’m comfortable in the knowledge I didn’t sink 50 grand into Bank’s campaign fund after hearing from the horses mouth it was to keep it secret and anonymous, or if believed, 200k, I didn’t get it because I needed a little red box audio interface box of magic (though sadly it hasn’t made my cathatic musical musings any easier to listen to).
As for Hone, I mean him no ill, and though I’m no politician, robust debate should come as nothing new to him. He even built his career on it, so no harm done. That’s why I’, not bothered by the bitter thing. I wouldn’t read that much into it.
Happy to concede it could be the delivery and style.
You’re all good, Mars, eh. See, even talking like you lot now, though you’ll have to imagine it coming in a less put on Michael Caine sort of way).
Well I for one am pleased you are here adding your bit to the cause.
I probably am oversensitive with the comedy – my father was english and, well, to be truthful, we didn’t get on very well – coloured me rotten that did, tainted me.
Half lion heart, that’ll account for the being up for it bit 😆
Wrong person to speak to about tainted as I’m quite sure there are a few who’s opinion on my place of birth has altered for the negative through meeting me and not always with justification, but then that could say more about them than I. I’m too busy paddling and keeping one eye on the bailing bucket not the life raft to take it all to heart.
lol perhaps it does account for me being an obnoxious, argumentative bastard sometimes, perhaps not – we are all made up of many strands of whakapapa, many connections and that is common to every single one of us on this planet (not counting aliens of course)
Nah, how it works for al1ens too, and all the better for it.
If you really want to know why they didn’t employ NZ nannies, why not send him an email and ask? There could be any number of reasons.
I also don’t think that Hone acting as an employment agency for the mansion would do much at all to reduce unemployment. Did you make this stuff up yourself, or get it from WhaleSpew?
Thought of it myself and sadsack’s opinions have never interested me one bit. If anything I should be accused of envy politics about how money buys hired help while those without have sod all, and that’s hardly wo material.
Like stated, a black comedy observation on the bizarre nature of the political union.
And in an opinion dedicated forum of my peers. How dare I? lol
Hey Phil don’t judge Sue Morony by 5 minutes on the Nation, she is not the enemy my friend.
Compared to most of the LP MP’s, Sue has the lowest income earners firmly in mind. I’ve known her since we were in our early 20’s when she was fighting the fight as a young Union organiser. She has never faultered from that fight, not once. I credit Moroney for unseating Shearer as Leader and fighting to get Labour back Left. First you have to gain power to make the nessasary social changes. Like many I detest the ‘middle vote rhetoric’ however it’s all about mopping up soft votes. There is enough dog whistling to the low income group from Labour to attract the vote. Remember Matt McCarten is ‘monitoring the noise level.’
You sit back and relax as you do, the Red Dragon is steady on a Left course. Let us do the hard work and you reap the rewards of our hard toil.
@ skinny..
..i am not attacking moroney..
..i am just expressing my dismay at no clear policies from labour to help the worst off..
..(and i am aware of moroneys’ placement in the ideological-rainbow that is labour..)
..and y’know..’once bitten etc..’..eh..?..( the last labour govt..they promised to end neo-liberalism to get elected..then did nothing..
..so..y’know..!..my concerns do have some grounding in fact/history..eh..?
..and i am just pointing out that there is a vacuum there..
..and with mana/internet party offering concrete-policies to deal to inequality/the gross-poverty-stricken society we have become..since that rightwing-revolution in the 80’s..
.it is to them those missing-million voters will turn..
..which..as a mana voter..suits me..
..but i have my commentary-hat on when i warn you of this..
Pity Brendon Who’s insipid smoking gun used against Winston this week was so lacking in substance ae Phillip, if there was a knotted noose evident anywhere in Brendon Who’s allegations we might have seen a repetition of 2008 for NZFirst which would have clarified ‘options’ greatly,
Specially If as i suspect, an alliance of Mana/Internet would produce a resultant 3–4% of the party vote for that entity…
Fair enough Phil. The problem is many Lefties like yourself and I turned off Labour in disgust, dating back to the treachery of Douglas & Prebble. It allowed the Right within the party to hold sway, reflected in their candidate/MP selections. The bottom straw was Goff taking the leadership, I walked in protest (after 4 years) and only came back after his dismissal. I realise you can only make change from within.
Referring to Mana, I believe they are about to make a huge mistake by aligning with The Inernet Party. Dotcom isstarting to look like the shady character that he is, and lets face it had he not got busted he would probably have been quite happy to be donating to the ACT party.
How do you defend a man who in a recent interview has the opinion that Government needs ‘less regulations.’ Now how can a political party like Mana entertain forming any arrangement with a Party that’s founder his this neo-liberal ideology.
Bradford has understandably balked at any suggestion of joining forces. What the heck is Minto thinking? And you for that matter? Hone having got to know him is a alpha male type fuckwit who I can see getting rolled by Kelvin Davis if the merger happens? Outside of Bradford, Annette Sykes I have a fair bit of time for, however she is weak by not fronting the their alpha ape Leader. Sykes has a great chance of unseating Favell, however Labour look like fucking that up by throat slitting the candidate vote. The Left fail to grasp howto play MMP, or should I say refuse to bend and work as a team.
working backwards..
“..The Left fail to grasp howto play MMP, or should I say refuse to bend and work as a team..”
i agree..
“..Now how can a political party like Mana entertain forming any arrangement with a Party that’s founder his this neo-liberal ideology..”
..i understand that mana has no problems with the internet party policies..
..so they can’t be that ‘neo-iberal’..
“..Bradford has understandably balked at any suggestion of joining forces..”
an aspect of bradfords’ objections puzzles me..(in fact i have never heard/seen her actual objections detailed..)
..in that she was part of the alliance..a ,mix of 5 parties..including social credit..
..next to that..this hook-up looks simple..
..and i don’t agree with yr ‘mistake’ ..call..
..and i made a prediction this morning..and the reasons for..
http://whoar.co.nz/2014/come-my-revolution-the-apathetic-will-get-their-say-commentwhoar-what-percentage-of-the-vote-will-the-mana-partyinternet-party-get-i-make-a-call-and-for-why/
Interesting read Phil, 10% way out there on that one. 2.5% is a good result 3% outstanding.
skinny..they are getting that result now..
..before the campaigning has even started…
..you can’t see a good..nay..inspirational..campaign..
..(aimed at those non-voters/missing million voters..)
..piling 5% on top of that..?
..i can..
Really, phil? You haven’t looked very far if you haven’t seen/heard Sue Bradford state her objections.
And I’m with Bradford on being wary of the Internet Party – which is pretty much KDC’s baby. I need more than a few election-focused policies. I would need to see how the party operates if they gets any MPs.
My vote will go to the Greens – I have more of an idea of what I’m getting, and more info about the consistency of their underlying values – such values will inform how any MP operates when they are faced with new situations once in government.
This is my choice, others may make a different choice.
@ karol..
..i read yr link..
..and i am still left with the question..
..what are the logical/rational reasons why mana and internet parties should not do an alliance-lite deal to fight this election..?
..all i can see is that he is rich..has a criminal record from when young..
..that he gave banks some money..
..and i am surprised that bradford cannot see the possibilty of the internet party standing alone..getting..say..4.5% of the vote..
..and if that happened..those anti-govt votes would be wasted..
..i am puzzled that bradford cannot see this:..
http://whoar.co.nz/2014/original-whoar-cartoon-why-the-mana-party-and-the-internet-party-should-coalesce/
Bradford has string left principles – it’s not about getting votes by compromising on principles.
Bradford has also said that it takes longer to build a movement – as she sees Mana – not just as a party. She has said something about linking to the Internet Party as a short cut that, ultimately will not help build a strong movement.
I am surprised you cannot see the potential problems of being linked with the Internet Party if they don’t support left wing policies once in the House; that you can’t see the concerns about linking with a pretty unknown quantity politically.
But, whatever – I prefer to go with those with a track record that I feel I can trust.
“..Bradford has also said that it takes longer to build a movement ..”
yes..well..
it’s been how many years..?
..and the /movement’ wasn’t even registering 1% support..
..i feel the urgencies to fix what is broken/get rid of these rightwing bastards..
.. is more important than an individuals niceties about how it ‘should’ be done..
..especially when that way has been so glacial in growth/outcomes..
..we don’t have the luxury of that time to wait..
..seriously..!..i see no rational thought/logic in that argument..
..’tis a nonsense..
..i joined the mana party when it first started..because i saw the mana party as the best vehicle for the changes i want to see..
..i don’t want mana to be one percent..or less..
..i want them in parliament..kicking arse..
“by not fronting the their alpha ape Leader”
What does that mean? – because it sounds quite offensive to me and if my interpretation is correct then you can get fucked you pretend-insider arsehole but I could have it wrong and if so then all the words after ‘because’ can be disregarded.
No, there’s no logic in it but if you take that to it’s logical end then there’s no point in taxing any government employees income.
Tax cuts would do a fat load of good for those on low incomes. A lot less then a wage hike would be for? Plus it will leave less for things like health and education.
And does Craig really favour cutting the MW?
what can you mean..?
..a tax-free threshold of..say..$15-$20,000..as part of a multi-faceted ending-poverty program of legislation..
..will most certainly ‘help those on low incomes’..
..and how to pay for it..?
..for starters..treasury did research that showed that a small financial transaction tax on inter-bank interactions..
..would raise enough money to be able to do away with gst altogether..
..as i said..’for starters’..
..it’s all just a matter of changed/different priorities..
..eh..?
an episode of tv so bad it sets a new benchmark..
..the guy from the civilian..and gower..trying to do a comedy-routine..
..it is gobsmackingly awful…
‘hoots’ hooten sets his own new benchmark..
..after scoffing at/scorning any calls to end inequality..
..he pleads ‘to end the inequality of our companies paying a higher corporate tax than norway’..(!)
..(he seemed quite sincere..quivering lower-lip and all..
..he had me reaching for the tissues..on this/heir behalf..)’
homage to mathew hootON! graham chapman
http://m.youtube.com/?#/watch?v=X0DqEdaVEBg
Armed only with their bodily fluids, members of a rack Public Films commando unit attacked and successfully desecrated a right-wing monument in South Auckland yesterday:
http://readingthemaps.blogspot.co.nz/2014/05/honouring-obelisk.html
The Moot:
”My major claims are that 10% of those who have or do use tobacco products and have a Lung Cancer at any time is not a reliable statistic which shows cause and effect when 90% of the users of the same product never have a Lung Cancer at any time”,
And,
”IF 50% of those who have ever used tobacco products will die of either Cancer or Heart Disease, SO WHAT, even treated in the most kind manner the statistics show that 49% of people who have never used tobacco products will also die of a Cancer or Heart disease”,
The reply to the Moot:
”As i said, you’ve got no fucken evidence to refute decades of evidence from the actual people who know what they’re talking about”,
Now that is what i call a really compelling argument that 90% of those who have ever used tobacco products WILL NOT develop Lung Cancer therefor using tobacco products is the cause of 10% of such users developing Lung Cancer,
An unsustainable suspect ‘statistic i would suggest, and as for have ‘No evidence’, Pfft, theres this,
http://www.sanger.ac.uk/research/projects/cancergenome/
”The Welcome Trust Sanger Institutes cancer genome project is lead jointly by Professor Mike Stratton and Dr Peter Campbell”,
”All cancers occur due to abnormalities in the DNA sequence. Cancer affects people at all ages with risks for most cancer types increasing with age”
That to me simply says that the 10% those who develop Lung Cancer and have smoked have a specific genetic anomaly and the 90% who have smoked and never develop a Lung Cancer do not have that same genetic anomaly,
The proof of my little assertion there will be when the studies of the genome become advanced enough where they compare the genome of smokers who did not develop Lung Cancer with those that did,(i have yet to come across such a study but such research is still in its infancy),
Cancers occur when mistakes occur in cell replication at a genetic level, across all cancers, smokers/never smoked there is one point 60–70 years of age that is the commonality,
Contrary views are that as industrialized tobacco production and therefor higher rates of tobacco use occurred in the previous century rates of all cancers increased does not explain the increase in the rates of cancer for those who never smoked whereas the age at which we live to also increased during the latter part of the previous century,
In the future genetic science will identify exactly which gene(s) are at the center of the mistakes in cell reproduction which produce cancers and hopefully find a means of stopping those mistakes occurring…
well..that’s me convinced..!
..i’m off to buy a packet of marlboro..and an ashtray..
According to the Dr Tashkin you linked us all to last week Phillip, your dope smoking has you well on the way to developing cancerous growths in your airways,
No need to switch to the ciggies my friend, just roll another spliff…
The Nation on TV3 today had a very good segment on Inequality fronted by the authors of the Spirit level. They are well spoken, fair and intelligent experts on the subject, in contrast to the ‘critic’ in the panel, Hooton, who pretends to be some sort of expert on everything with his pretty useless low level comments. Boring and completely biased commentator. Waste of time trying to listen to his ‘expert’ views!
Indeed. I mean the idea that CEO’s would notice some slashing to their incomes would effect
them, but their employees who could be paid more would not notice, was totally missed on him.
Despite being the whole point of inequality at its heart. Hooton is a very smart moron.
Hooton was totally shown up on the subject, and it showed by his usual ‘selective narrative’ I laughed as the interviewer/host quickly shot poor old ‘snake oil’ salesman Matthew down over his 20% company tax claim.
The highlight was the Hosts introduction of Hooton ‘former National Party staffer’ oh did you see Hooton wince, such pain being described as a ‘has been.’
I bet poor old Matty is currently sitting at a bar alone in Ponsonby Rd, on the sauce half sozzled by now, after making a nuisance of himself drunkenly rambling of better days gone by when he use to be someone within National.
at antoines surely, for pre opening drinkies
Ha ha that sounds about right Tracey.
So what does inequality look like? Well the richest
would be able to pay their taxes, who pay more of the
tax base as inequality grows. Housing would become
scarce as the poorest couldn’t afford new houses
(leave for OZ, live more to a home, rent in decaying homes), demand
for decades would fall, and housing prices would rise
further pushing more people out.
Of course, no inequality in NZ say Key.
Let’s understand The Rich do not pay taxes, not the way trusts are set up in NZ. One of the highest on the Rich List is wont to boast he owns nothing, earns nothing … all safely taken care of by Queen Street accountants in family trusts. I think it is the greatest rort of them all, and should be challenged and changed.
+111
Exactly yeshe! I bet a dollar that in spite of being very rich John Key would pay minimal tax. A wage/salary earner cannot avoid but Trusts of the wealthy hide billions.
crosby textors tactics against an nz milk brand revealled today by a whistleblower. stuff article very clearly states key and national use and have close links with crosby textor.
read online at stuff
Thanks.
The links between Key National and Crosby Textor or have been in the public domain for a long time, and owned by key & National.
Evidence of this particular campaign is new – and it also reveals something of CT’s strategies.
Also written about in Aussie’s The Age.
Edit: BTW, that article says Phillip Morris is one of the corporates that helps pay C-T’s bills. Apparently advising political parties doesn’t bring much money for them.
Karol .. the CT/Phillip Morris link might explain the sudden emergence of those new Nat candidates freshly stinking from the smoking lobby.
Just for accuracy.
A strong Tory neoliberal government will always lead to a more permissive environment for corporates and the 1% i.e. the CT client base.
Thus CT will be very busy advising corporates on how to effectively lobby government, lobby political parties and lobby MPs. In such activities CT can therefore also truthfully claim that they ‘don’t advise political parties very much.’
It’s just more sophistry and spin of course.
didnt a well known professional lobbyist hautily write recently he doesnt work for political parties… as if stating he doesnt influence politics.
It’s like a parallel universe where these people think they are so smart and that the rest of us all came down in the last sun shower.
hopefully those who feel precious about our diarying, like judith collins (just joking), will see the strategy referred to here and assume they do the same for other clients like key and national. perhaps why fairfax wanted to water down the john key lies, article ahead of this one.
“those who feel precious about our dairying, like judith collins (just joking)”
I laughed on a couple of levels. The oravida politics bit and because Judith, more and more, looks like the hi-de-hi camp comedian’s butt of the joke, silly old cow mother-in-law.
Lighten’s a miserable Saturday afternoon with a two for one special.
the Minister for Dairies
And a play on words for the third, Judith’s dairy sells a range of illegal lows
Autism and Human Rights
This is the bit that stood out to me:
Because it’s at the centre of the divide between rich and poor.
And a large part of it is simply a moralistic, self righteous division of self-exaltation.
BTW both the Right and the Left do this.
At the same time as the Abbott govt and it’s coalition partner are squabbling about how to dismantle the previous Labour govt intitiatives on climate change:
Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/environment/weather/climate-angst-rises-with-record-temperatures-20140523-38uek.html#ixzz32b0f78j3
Auckland’s autumn has been pretty balmy this year as well. Hardly need any heating at all, except maybe if I’m still up later at night/early hours.
Also, this from Bloomberg News, on Stuff.
The remarkable thing is how deeply unpopular Abbott has made himself in just 8 short months. It’s almost at the point where the backbench revolt is going to force Joe Hockey into a deeply embarrassing U-turn on some Budget measures.
But Abbott is a soft-target for my anger and despair. The truth is taking effect action against climate change is not the kind of thing democracies are good at imposing on an unenthusiastic population. If we thought telling them not to spank their kiddies was fraught – trying to take their cars off them (even if just symbolically), and all the other changes implied by real action – is going to be way, way harder.
JMG has taken a well-earned break from his series of remarkable essays, but the last two are to my mind the climax of the entire body of work:
http://thearchdruidreport.blogspot.com.au/2014/04/the-time-of-seedbearers.html
Sweet F.A. people wanted Abbott as PM, and that’s even including Coalition supporters. But Labour made themselves totally toxic, so that’s what you get.
While true in many ways, Labor/Rudd got voted in on a clear carbon trading scheme/climate change action platform. Giving in to corporate and factional pressure fucked Australian Labor in the eyes of the electorate and their polls dived.
The lesson being – electorates are often far more progressive than politicians who sound brave and forward thinking on the campaign trail, but rapidly become risk averse and befuddled when under the sway of lobbyists and factional considerations after taking office.
Video of storm moving in across Dunedin Harbour.
Yeah it was quite something
Money creation and the nz economy
A slideshow showing the illogic and irrationality of our monetary system.
It is really great to use the net to catch up on programs. This Native Affairs program is awesome and covers really interesting subjects that are important in this election year.
The titford stuff shows the underlying agenda of a few racist, big moneyed men and women. They have an agenda!!!!! It is the same agenda that they use for everything and it is designed to help them gain more influence and money. It is not a coincidence that a lot of them used to be and often still are, ‘in’ political parties. These moneyed people are trying both overtly and covertly to ‘own’ this country, set the agenda and, as I have said, gain influence and money – and with the election coming up they will be and are, up to their usual tricks. They are scum. They create illusion, distrust and division. They are working hard right now to implement their agenda. Be awake and aware – if not, they will trample you, your family and everything/everyone you believe in and hold dear, to make an extra dollar.
http://www.maoritelevision.com/tv/shows/native-affairs/S08E010/native-affairs
and the follow up
http://www.maoritelevision.com/news/national/native-affairs-tall-tales
”28.5 teaspoons of sugar in one jar of ”Chicken tonight” sweet and sour simmer sauce”, Source–Herald online,
At a time when we as a country are faced with an epidemic of type 2 diabetes the use of such obscene amounts of sugar in products should not be tolerated,
The world health organization has just lowered its recommended daily sugar intake to 6 teaspoons max and four people dining on a dinner containing the whole jar of the product highlighted by the Herald-online would be already over that recommendation without taking into account anything else any of them had ate during the rest of the day…
I seriously doubt if the whole jar would be used. Certainly not in any meal I make – I only use two desert spoons full in each serving of stir-fry that I make.
Manufacturers use large amounts of salt, sugar and flavour enhancer (MSG) to disguise how poor quality and tasteless the base ingredients in their products are.
National’s policy of looking at whole of life spending is reaping huge benefits for those involved. A 20 year old on a benefit at age 20 currently spends another 20 years on a benefit. National have arranged mentors to assist young people to get off a benefit and into employment or training. This is expensive up front but well worthwhile in the long term. There is less crime and thus less imprisonment thus saving incarceration costs. Area by area the public service is looking at ways to reduce spending in future years. Compare this with the lolly scramble mentality of Labour that splashes money without regard to outcomes.
Compare this with the lolly scramble mentality of Labour that splashes money without regard to outcomes.
Citations needed.
How about spending more money on health and getting less operations.
That’s not a citation. Try again.
http://www.beehive.govt.nz/release/record-numbers-elective-surgery
Open to debate. And Annette King adds to the criticism. And was behind recommendations that never got picked up.
And you still haven’t presented any citations about Labour’s policies with respect to getting people into jobs.
Here’s a clue.
And another.
And you haven’t mentioned the Greens or Mana policies, either.
I haven’t mentioned Green or Mana policies. I don’t read joke books. The scary thing is that such nutbars would be Ministers in a Cunliffe led government. Sadly a collection of losers can trump the first place getter. That’s why first place has to be over 50%.
No, you read delusional ones. That’s why a) you have no sense of humour and b) believe everything that National says.
Don’t bother DtB. fisi is a pet troll we keep around because it’s kind of cute how he cares enough to keep pestering us all these years …..