Much gets made of the tax advantages of investing in property, leading to bizarre proposals to “fix it” like Gareth Morgan’s comprehensive capital tax. But the way investing in New Zealand businesses is like jumping into a viper pit is possibly a bigger reason why New Zealanders prefer property. Brain Gaynor explains some of the problems.
Yes. I wouldn’t dream of investing in NZ business rather than property, because it’s a game rigged in favour of the old boys’ club running it. The various fruitless attempts to deal with investment company owners who basically stole their investors’ money and got away with it, and the government’s complete lack of interest in doing something about it, makes it completely insane to invest in NZ business. Buy a house, at least some Grammar alumnus can’t steal that and face no consequences for it.
The NZX and kiwi business are a laughing stock amongst global fund managers.
Weldon did squat except fill his pockets and do as the boys club wanted. I recall Tony Gibbs broke ranks over one of Markys more avaricious remuneration proposals, probably because he wasn’t getting enough of the pie.
Rebstock, Weldon and Diplock presided over some of the most flagrant breaches of fiduciary duties and crony/insider behaviour handing out wet bus tickets to club members.
Now more recently against a backdrop of shonky dealer PM and his dealing cabinet room where they showed time and again that all you need is cash and nothing can’t be done for you.
We totally deserve to be shunned by savvy business investors because unless they are club members as they’ll not do so well. That’s the clear signal the NZX has been sending for a long time now.
Does anyone at about this time go into a major mall and, since you’ve done all your shopping, simply stand in the middle with an icecream and enjoy everyone else’s stress?
So now we are getting back to a nuclear arms race, courtesy of prime macho-posturers, Trump & Putin.
It means that younger generations, along with all the worries about climate change, global financial collapse, etc – also get to experience the nuclear fears that older generations experienced in their youth.
On a positive note, at least Sting’s “Russians” is now relevant once again. They may no longer be “Soviets”, but that’s about all that’s changed apparently. The circle of stupid is now complete. Welcome to Cold War 2.0 kids.
I don’t think that’s the case. Trumps a business man and so is his Sec of State. They’re not warmongers, and its likely the US and Russia will start working together in some way. The Middle east is likely to be a safer place too with less terrorism and US involvement. Our warhawk media would love to incite war by a Trump tweet or a Putin pic though.
I watched Putin do his live annual press meeting last night, it appears to me that some media are messing with his words a bit re nuclear. However it does appear that it is important to putin to be well armed as it makes him appear tough or strong, boys and their toys. Really interesting Q&A with Putin this year.
Yes war is great for business.
And Trump and Putin probably believe that the best way to ensure peace is to prepare for war. So money is still been made via military spending etc.
But the media was spinning the nuclear thing yesterday, like a bunch of warhawks. Bad news sells.
“Trumps a business man and so is his Sec of State. They’re not warmongers, and its likely the US and Russia will start working together in some way.”
mauī
War is business. by other means.
As usually happens with these things, Trump’s threatened trade war against China, will break out into a shooting war at some stage.
Yes, Mauī you are right, ‘the US and Russia will start working together in some way,’ but it won’t be a good way.
Trump is busy working to form an axis with Russia against China.
The joint arms race is to intimidate (or if that fails, anihilate) the Chinese when their economy collapses under US tarriff trade barriers. And in their desperation they to make some sort of military break out.
The most likely hot spots for this miltiary break out will be some sort of border dispute, leading to full scale invasion and territory grab, either Tibet/India, or the North vs South Korean peninsular. Or even Vietnam China border.
Not sure if I agree with that Jenny. Russia and China are much closer partners than the US and Russia. And I think the US economy, like lots of other well off western countries is reliant on China and they won’t want to see the global ponzi economy come under any additional pressures.
I don’t think you have been listening mauī.
Putin has Trump in his pocket – after all it was Russian money that has kept the “Trump” Empire afloat via Deutsche Bank, as Wall St would not lend to him anymore. His business affairs have heavily involved Russian interests, His intended Secretary of State has a Russian Honor presented to him by Putin himself. The meddling in the US election by Russia was not coincidental.
On the other hand.. Trumps hamfisted “diplomatic” incursions via Tweeting and the social media wrt to China have stirred up much resentment within China, and there has been a great deal of sabre rattling and increasing aggressive statements towards the US in the government sponsored Chinese Press in recent days. Statements calling for an early response to the Taiwanese situation include hinted threats of invasion.
The US should well remember that if there ever was to be conflict between China and the US, one of the first casualties would be their ability to cloth themselves. The US is actually clothed by China. Trump may have his suits hand made in NY – but for the rest of the population, their Levis are sewn in China.
Which is why I say that production of defence equipment should not be done by profiteering businesses and that means that it must fully be done by government.
Another nail in the coffin of those, like PM, who believe the lies about the rebels of Wast Aleppo.
6 independent journalists and now the ex-British Ambassador to Syria say it’s a lie.
PM, Peter Swift and a few other gullible victims of the msm say it’s not.
The ex-British Ambassador to Syria has accused the Foreign Office of lying over the country’s civil war and said British policy there has “made the situation worse”.
Peter Ford said the Whitehall department led by Boris Johnson and Philip Hammond before him had “gotten Syria wrong every step of the way”, and was now falsely claiming Bashar Assad could not control the country when he is “well on the way to doing so”.
It comes after the Syrian army reported that it had taken full control of Aleppo following weeks of heavy bombing and fighting in and around the city.
Mr Ford, who was Britain’s ambassador to Syria from 1999 to 2003, claimed that the UK had misread and misrepresented the situation in the country since the start of the conflict.
He said: “The British Foreign Office to which I used to belong, I’m sorry to say has gotten Syria wrong every step of the way.
“They told us at the beginning that Assad’s demise was imminent. They told us he’d be gone by Christmas. They didn’t say which Christmas, so they could still be proven correct.
“But then they told us that the opposition was dominated by these so-called moderates. That proved not to be the case and now they’re telling us another big lie – that Assad can’t control the rest of the country. Well I’ve got news for them – he’s well on the way to doing so.”
They say what’s a lie, Paul? You never actually say what you mean, merely posting other people’s opinions on the subject. How about actually saying something yourself for once? What lies are you claiming I believe, and what lies are you claiming have been exposed by the people you keep quoting every day as though there were some point to it?
You seem to misunderstand the burden of proof, but I’ll play along. I believe that a lot of the rebels in east Aleppo are people who’ve had enough of living under a despotic hereditary dictatorship, and have therefore had the Assad regime and the Russian air force bombarding their city for years as punishment. There are also some al-Qaeda-affiliated religio-fascist murderers in east Aleppo, but no-one has a definitive answer on what the proportion is (well, the regime, Russia and Iran are happy to put numbers on it, but there’s an obvious reason for that which has nothing to do with a great love of accuracy). I personally find it dissatisfying to see a brutal dictator and his great-power patron carrying out a massive bombing campaign against a civilian population, but apparently some people are fine with it – Paul included, judging by the regime propaganda he posts. As to where I get that belief from: everything I see and read on the subject. Even Paul’s pal Cockburn says the Syrian government settles for simply bombarding rebel-held areas because it doesn’t have the ground forces to do much else.
So the proof that you’re offering is:
“everything I see and read on the subject.”
Do you believe this account?
Do I believe an account by a regime shill? Er, no, and for fairly obvious reasons. Are you imagining the Assad regime is a source of truth on this subject? That said, it is worthwhile having a look through the stuff Vanessa Beeley and Eva Barrett are putting out, as it gives you an idea of how the regime would like you to view its actions.
You didn’t watch that link did you?
You are a funny fellow.
Now.
Which ‘regime shill’ have Paul or I quoted or offered links to their work?
Of those that you think are, you need to offer proof that they are a ‘regime shill’.
Oh yeah, I’m a laugh riot. Funny how you guys can never resist a personality assessment while you’re at it.
How do I know Vanessa Beeley is a regime shill? Well, let’s see – she entered east Aleppo courtesy of the Assad regime, talked to people the Assad regime let her talk to, and includes in her commentary only content that’s flattering to the Assad regime. Now, it could be that to you those are the hallmarks of independent journalism, but to me they’re hallmarks of a regime shill.
You’re al Qaeda. You’re being supported by the United States in your jihad to impose extremist rule on Syria, but you still have a PR problem; too many people remember all that unpleasant business from so long ago when you blew up a few buildings in the US. What can you do?
Well, first you change the name of your Syrian branch two or three times. You make sure your spokesmen — who actually get respectfully quoted in the US media! — say moderate things in English but speak with genocidal sectarian fury in Arabic. So far, so good. But what if your new US media buddies actually got a peek at how you operate on the ground in Syria — cutting off heads, hoarding food aid, colluding with ISIS, slaughtering religious minorities, oppressing women, etc.? That’s easy: as Patrick Cockburn noted this week, you simply make the zones you control so dangerous for reporters – killing them, kidnapping them, etc. — that they don’t go there anymore. Instead they “report” on your activities from far away, relying on you to provide their information, telling the story you want told.
And presto chango, that’s how those who murdered Americans have become America’s newest heroes, the brave defenders of freedom in Syria. What’s more, anyone who dares point out the true nature of your organization, and how you operate, are now denounced as apologists for the loathsome Assad regime, or as Putin-lovers, even as traitors! Think of it; just a few years ago, you were the most reviled and hated group Americans had ever known — and now Americans across the media and political spectrum hail you as heroes and defend you from all attacks!
Sure, you’ve lost your foothold in Aleppo, where for years you systematically persecuted people and forcibly prevented them from leaving. But America’s still got your back, AQ! Even when you attack relief convoys in an attempt to scuttle a peace deal that would allow anyone who wants to leave East Aleppo to go free, the American media will fudge the headlines so no one will know that it was you who did the deed.
[And hey, let’s not forget what America’s been doing for you in Yemen! Remember how the Houthis had you on the ropes, nearly ridding the country of your presence — and then the Americans stepped in with their Saudi allies, bombing the holy hell out of the place, choking off food and medicine supplies, destroying the infrastructure for basic survival, killing thousands of civilians and putting millions of people at dire risk of starvation! And suddenly you were back, making great gains, stronger than ever! You simply couldn’t ask for a better friend, could you?]
So buck up, AQ! With the full weight of the American media and political establishment behind you, no doubt there are still great days ahead! In fact, the president has just made it easier for you guys to get even more American weapons so you can carry on your noble quest! It’s just our way of saying Merry Christmas!
Umm, Paul you yourself quoted a report saying that AQ only made up around 11% of the insurgents in Aleppo. If that’s true how can you say that supporting the rebels was ipso facto supporting AQ?
Your quote;
“The reality is that al-Qaeda in Syria, now rebranded as Jabhat Fatah al-Sham (JFS) and ostensibly severed from al-Qaeda, had at most 900 fighters inside Aleppo City when this assault began, about 11% of a total insurgent force of 8,000, which has always been dominated in this area by nationalists. ”
There’s a maths problem to be worked out here. ISIS had no presence in Aleppo and the islamist Al Nusra are reported to have made up only 11% of the rebel forces in Aleppo. If the remaining 89% of the insurgents aren’t al-Queda or Daesh then what are they?
Lesser-known swamp things: politicians and lobbyists get the high profile attention. But the creatures that lurk in the shadows claiming “science” to legitimise their paid lies might be even more vile.
In this instance, I’m referring to economists. That just make up stories to justify monopoly-making mergers. Trading on their “credentials” as “scientific experts”. The harm these guys do goes way beyond just increasing corporate power to rip us all off, they also destroy confidence in actual expertise leading to the situation where leaders can just dismiss experts presenting irrefutable facts with a breezy “I can provide you with another one that will give you a counterview.”
Interesting twitter feed exploration on ‘Bana’ – the seven year old girl who allegedly tweeted from eastern Aleppo and who was then pictured on Erdoğan’s lap just the other day after apparently being evacuated from Aleppo along the terrorist’s corridor as opposed to the one used by civilians and moderates.
I notice you still haven’t been able to write down what you’re actually trying to say with all the posts you make about the Syrian civil war, Paul. What conclusions are you trying to lead us to? Or do you just post things at random as some kind of spam project?
The conclusion I have come to ( after reading and listening to Fisk, Cockburn, Oborne, Pilger, Bartlett, Hitchens and the ex-British Ambassador to Syria) is that we are being lied to by the western media about the events in Syria and in particular Aleppo.
I don’t know why the BBC, the Guardian, the New York Post and other news sources have become propaganda outlets. It could be, as Peter Hitchens generously says, that they don’t have the staff on the ground and innocently take those feeds. Or it could be that they are deliberately forming a pro-establishment narrative. The UK is heavily compromised by its relationship with Saudi Arabia; that I do know.
Anyway you have the right to come to your own opinion.
As do I.
“I don’t know why the BBC, the Guardian, the New York Post and other news sources have become propaganda outlets”…well they are ‘propoganda outlets’ on pretty much everything else..so why not Syria??
As you clearly know, the only way to even get a glimpse of ‘The Truth’, or something like it, is to engage in wide spread research from as many sources as possible.
Understanding Syria from the main News sources is about as realistic as flying to the moon in a 1968 Trekka.
Yes the Scots learnt how biased the BBC could be during the 2014 Scottish independence referendum.
As to Syria, I don’t know the exact motivation for the bias.
The conclusion I have come to ( after reading and listening to Fisk, Cockburn, Oborne, Pilger, Bartlett, Hitchens and the ex-British Ambassador to Syria) is that we are being lied to by the western media about the events in Syria and in particular Aleppo.
Well, it would be odd if we weren’t – the first casualty of war is truth. However, you seem to have come to the conclusion that, because the western media are lying to us (more accurately, haven’t dwelt to Robert Fisk’s satisfaction on the involvement of Islamofascists on the rebel side), the stuff that regime supporters are peddling must be the truth. It’s real face-palm stuff.
Also, it’s a spam project and getting really, really tedious. We all know that Syria is a hellhole and know where to read about it if we want to. Paul’s endless stream of fully quoted articles and videos is wrecking the conversation on TS.
I think you mean well, but give it a rest please Paul. You aren’t participating in dialogue, you are shouting and spamming content with no effort to state your own goddamn opinion. Please stop abusing this forum.
we are being lied to by the western media about the events in Syria and in particular Aleppo.
Yes, the most important thing is damning the media elites and their collaboration with western imperialism because, well, you can’t possibly do that and condemn Assad, Twelvers, and their Russian offsiders as murderous thugs intent on suppressing any and all opposition by whatever means necessary, can you.
/
Selling public assets for less than half their worth should have been a public scandal that brought down a government or at least halted the looting of NZ’s state houses. Instead the deal went ahead with barely a whimper from the opposition.
The UN got around to doing a Security Council vote on condemning Israeli settlements, with the US abstaining. Despite Trump and Netanyahu trying to delay it so it would go away later.
While it doesn’t even have the power of a wet bus ticket, it’s still a worthwhile symbolic move.
And immensly pleased to see that NZ was one of the four countries requesting the vote. At least we have done something positive in our term on the security council.
Of course the Chump immediately tweeted.
“As to the UN, things will be different after Jan 20.”
🙄
However, nice to see a US official say:
that “that until Trump’s inauguration on 20 January there was one US president – Obama.”
🙂
Of course the Chump immediately tweeted.
“As to the UN, things will be different after Jan 20.”
So this ugly, ignorant gorilla (as opposed to all the beautiful real gorillas) with the orange mop atop his head think he’s going to be in charge of the UN as well as the US? Because their HQ is domiciled in New York… does he think its an American institution? Wouldn’t surprise one little bit.
yep the chump is already the most idiotic pre-president ever and after he is in officially I am sure he will become the most idiotic president ever, if not the last one.
So if progressive states secede from the union, the progressive west coast will get most of the movie and IT industry. What’ll happen to the CIA & FBI given Virginia as fairly mixed state politically? Ditto Mayland home of the NSA?
“ugly, ignorant gorilla”
Hmmm a rather percipient choice of words there Anne..
Did you have Carl Paladino in mind as well?
I think he trumps Trump in disgusting
No Macro I didn’t. I have only just caught up with Master Carl Paladino comments. To be honest, I can’t think of a word in the English dictionary that suitably describes such a detestable specimen of humanity.
The Plight of New Zealand’s Freshwater Biodiversity
New Zealand, a land marketed as clean and green. A land of green lush fields for cows to graze on and beautiful drinkable fresh river water at every turn. In reality, this marketing campaign couldn’t be more of a lie.
A recent report led by two of New Zealand’s leading freshwater ecologists titled ‘The Plight of New Zealand’s Freshwater Diversity’ lists the following as contributors to New Zealand’s widespread pollution of freshwater waterways:
rapid intensification of lowland agriculture – dairy farming
increased urbanisation and development
rising nitrate and phosphate nutrient run off levels causing algal blooms
extraction of water
human and industrial waste discharged to waterways
Massey University’s Dr Mike Joy and Professor Russell Death helped conclude that 74% of our native freshwater fish, mussel and crayfish species are now listed as threatened with extinction, as well as the number of freshwater invertebrate species now at risk increasing from 17 in 2005, up to 82 in 2013.
On top of this, 96% of all lowland catchments and 100% of all urban catchments failed the current standard of pathogens for safe swimming, while 80% of sites exceeded current nutrient guideline levels.
The science here is very clear; we are allowing the systematic destruction of our waterways which so many people rely on for livelihoods, recreation, not to mention basic survival.
Penelope Cruz features in a very powerful short video called ‘Nature is Speaking’as the voice of water and says, “I am water. To humans, I am simply just there. I am something they just take for granted, but there’s only so much of me, and more and more of them every single day.”
The warning is clear. Freshwater sources are depleting very quickly around the world thanks to our actions.
Will we listen?
The recommendations from the report include:
Change legislation to adequately protect native and endemic fish species and invertebrates, including those harvested commercially and recreationally.
Protect habitat critical to the survival of New Zealand’s freshwater species.
Include river habitat health to protect ecosystem health in the National Objectives Framework for the National Policy Statement on Freshwater Management.
Establish monitoring and recovery plans for New Zealand’s freshwater invertebrate fauna.
Develop Policy and best management practices for freshwater catchments which include wetlands, estuaries and groundwater ecosystems.
Establish, improve and maintain appropriately wide riparian zones that connect across entire water catchments.
Touted as a great leap forward by the Government, the latest national water quality standards are a scientific scam that will allow nitrate pollution to reach levels that will kill aquatic life and proliferate algal blooms, says Massey University ecologist and zoologist Dr Mike Joy.
Joy spoke of the current state and future poisoning of New Zealand’s waterways, and the associated cost to taxpayers and profits to the dairy industry, in a talk in Nelson last night.
In a separate interview, Joy said the Government’s new National Policy Statement of Freshwater Management, which comes into force on August 1, would see nitrate levels allowed to rise to 6.9 milligrams per litre – 10 times above current levels.
He also sounded a warning to the Tasman District Council saying plans to build the Waimea Community Dam would result in increased land intensification.
The NPS’s new nitrate level was “like increasing the suburban speed limit from 50 kilometres and hour to 500kmh. It would allow New Zealand’s rivers to become more polluted than the Yangtze in China, the Seine in France or the Thames in England”.
Joy said the first point was for New Zealanders to realise the lack of regulation helped increase pollution.
“If there are two farmers side by side and one does the least mitigation, he will make more money.”
Mitigation, such as fencing and planting streams reduced the rate of phosphate run-off but heavy nitrogen loading, produced by urine in quantity from intensive farming, could not be taken up by plants and ran into waterways creating algal growth and affecting aquatic life.
Joy said the current national nitrogen limit, which was already exceeded in a number of waterways, was low enough not to allow algal growth.
“But the industry and the Government want to double dairy production. To get around the science the bottom line for nutrients is only set at the toxicity limit for nitrogen – it’s a single-unit scam.”
He said the policy received a direct hit from the Ruataniwha Dam Board of Inquiry, which confirmed nitrogen leaching levels from agriculture at 0.8mg a litre, which would ensure the ability of rivers to sustain life.
By making toxicity the new national nitrogen bottom line in waterways the Ministry for the Environment was closing the door after the horse had bolted, Joy said.
“Before toxic level are reached, algal growth will have smothered a stream. The board of inquiry set a precedent. New Zealand cannot keep expanding its intensive farming.”
Not only was expansion costing the country’s waterways but it also cost taxpayers with the profits going to industry and individual farmers.
“Only a few are profitting from this and they are destroying our ability to maintain the Clean Green image.
“It costs $250,000 to clean one tonne of nitrates from Lake Rotorua, but only $6600 in lost profit for a farmer to not put that on his land.
“And the surprising thing is that our productivity has dropped in the past 10 years. Production has gone up – however the cost of imported inputs, such as palm kernel, have risen faster.”
However Guy Beatson, deputy secretary of policy at the Ministry for the Environment, said the NPS would not allow the degradation of rivers. “The bottom lines are not a minimum standard – instead the existing condition is the starting point for managing water quality, which in most cases is above the national bottom lines.”
And the NPS did not suggest or endorse a single nutrient management approach. “Regional councils will need to set an objective for periphyton ([slime] in their regional plans, and adopt appropriate management options to achieve that objective,” Beatson said. “Where necessary, this will require them to set limits on nitrogen and phosphorus and manage other factors that promote weed growth such as shade, temperature and flow levels.”
Councils have to enforce the new NPS standards by 2025.
Defending TDC is an interesting stance – considering the major conflicts of interest the mayor and several councillors have with regard to the Lee Valley Dam. They push the story that we will be in dire straits if there is another drought but fail to mention that those who benefit the most from the dam include themselves and their own properties and businesses.
yes his research is what he should use , but claiming all animals would / should be out of the food chain by 2050 just makes him look like a loony fool,
🙄
Ever heard of Phosphates?
Take a look at the Corn belts of North America and the effects they have had on groundwater and surface runoff into the Great Lakes.
We are not talking dairy – or beef – production. Purely intensive mono culture maintained by massive quanties of artificial fertilisers.
Interesting comment. And probably true.
If one does not ‘toe the Party line’ you tend to be on the out. Though to its credit Massey is now far more supportive. But anyway, its called having principles and stating the facts as you see them, oh, yeah, and the facts as can be proven with Science.. But hey, what would a Senior Lecturer in Ecology / Zoology know.
Then again you have the likes of Waikato University professor of agri-business Dr Jacqueline Rowarth (a favorite in the NBR) who has boldly claimed…”it was “naive” to expect water quality in waterways could be restored to pristine conditions when it was already safe to drink.”
I would like to extend a personal invitation to Dr Rowarth to come down to the Bay and have a nice cup of water from the Tukituki.
Comparing hort to dairying doesn’t mean that hort is non-polluting, you’re looking at the wrong scale. We are so far from anything resembling sustainable despite the fact that we already have sustainable farming and land use tech in NZ. Promotion of export hort is akin to saying bring on climate change.
elephant in the room…..irrespective of whether we control agri/hort/aqua culture to preserve water quality and subsequently the environment the problem remains the same.
The equation is incredibly simple and at the same time impossible….the planet cannot support 7 plus billion human beings regardless ….either the population degrades or the environment does.
ultimately the population will collapse either way.
Well,as we all know Greenwald is a paragon of balanced journalism.
Actually Paul, just about anything you post seems to entirely come from activists with an agenda, or journalists who are notoriously opposed to the West. So in your view anything by the BCC, CNN, the Guardian et al is simply propaganda, but if it is from RT then obviously it is the truth. In the old days you would have been seen as a fellow traveller.
Of course it is your world view, but don’t expect your posts (with their long quotes from people you deem to be “authorities”) to be seen as anything other than partisan.
You might want to read and research these journalists, Wayne. You should know of them given the fact you were a MP….
Or was that last entry just a spray and run away?
France on Thursday inaugurated the world’s first “solar highway”, a road paved with solar panels providing enough energy to power the street lights of the small Normandy town of Tourouvre.
The one-kilometre (half-mile) “Wattway” covered with 2,800 square metres (30,000 square feet) of resin-coated solar panels was hooked up to the local power grid as Environment Minister Segolene Royal looked on.
“This new use of solar energy takes advantage of large swathes of road infrastructure already in use… to produce electricity without taking up new real estate,” Royal said in a statement.
Such a scheme is certainly worth looking into especially when we consider just how much land area roads take up.
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Something odd happened yesterday, and I’d love to know if there’s more to it. If there was something which preempted what happened, or if it was simply a throwaway line in response to a journalist.Yesterday David Seymour was asked at a press conference what the process would be if the ...
Hi,From time to time, I want to bring Webworm into the real world. We did it last year with the Jurassic Park event in New Zealand — which was a lot of fun!And so on Saturday May 11th, in Los Angeles, I am hosting a lil’ Webworm pop-up! I’ve been ...
Education Minister Erica Standford yesterday unveiled a fundamental reform of the way our school pupils are taught. She would not exactly say so, but she is all but dismantling the so-called “inquiry” “feel good” method of teaching, which has ruled in our classrooms since a major review of the New ...
Exactly where are we seriously going with this government and its policies? That is, apart from following what may as well be a Truss-Lite approach on the purported economic “plan“, and Victorian-era regression when it comes to social policy.Oh it’ll work this time of course, we’re basically assured, “the ...
Hey Uncle Dave, When the Poms joined the EEC, I wasn't one of those defeatists who said, Well, that’s it for the dairy job. And I was right, eh? The Chinese can’t get enough of our milk powder and eventually, the Poms came to their senses and backed up the ute ...
Polling shows that Wellington Mayor Tory Whanau has the lowest approval rating of any mayor in the country. Siting at -12 per cent, the proportion of constituents who disapprove of her performance outweighs those who give her the thumbs up. This negative rating is higher than for any other mayor ...
Buzz from the Beehive Pharmac has been given a financial transfusion and a new chair to oversee its spending in the pharmaceutical business. Associate Health Minister David Seymour described the funding for Pharmac as “its largest ever budget of $6.294 billion over four years, fixing a $1.774 billion fiscal cliff”. ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Many criticisms are being made of the Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill, including by this writer. But as with everything in politics, every story has two sides, and both deserve attention. It’s important to understand what the Government is trying to achieve and its ...
TL;DR: Here’s my top 10 ‘pick ‘n’ mix of links to news, analysis and opinion articles as of 10:10am on Monday, April 29:Scoop: The children's ward at Rotorua Hospital will be missing a third of its beds as winter hits because Te Whatu Ora halted an upgrade partway through to ...
span class=”dropcap”>As hideous as David Seymour can be, it is worth keeping in mind occasionally that there are even worse political figures (and regimes) out there. Iran for instance, is about to execute the country’s leading hip hop musician Toomaj Salehi, for writing and performing raps that “corrupt” the nation’s ...
Yesterday marked 10 years since the first electric train carried passengers in Auckland so it’s a good time to look back at it and the impact it has had. A brief history The first proposals for rail electrification in Auckland came in the 1920’s alongside the plans for earlier ...
Right now, in Aotearoa-NZ, our ‘animal spirits’ are darkening towards a winter of discontent, thanks at least partly to a chorus of negative comments and actions from the Government Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on ...
You make people evil to punish the paststuck inside a sequel with a rotating castThe following photos haven’t been generated with AI, or modified in any way. They are flesh and blood, human beings. On the left is Galatea Young, a young mum, and her daughter Fiadh who has Angelman ...
April has been a quiet month at A Phuulish Fellow. I have had an exceptionally good reading month, and a decently productive writing month – for original fiction, anyway – but not much has caught my eye that suggested a blog article. It has been vaguely frustrating, to be honest. ...
A listing of 31 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, April 21, 2024 thru Sat, April 27, 2024. Story of the week Anthropogenic climate change may be the ultimate shaggy dog story— but with a twist, because here ...
Hi,I spent about a year on Webworm reporting on an abusive megachurch called Arise, and it made me want to stab my eyes out with a fork.I don’t regret that reporting in 2022 and 2023 — I am proud of it — but it made me angry.Over three main stories ...
The new Victoria University Vice-Chancellor decided to have a forum at the university about free speech and academic freedom as it is obviously a topical issue, and the Government is looking at legislating some carrots or sticks for universities to uphold their obligations under the Education and Training Act. They ...
Do you remember when Melania Trump got caught out using a speech that sounded awfully like one Michelle Obama had given? Uncannily so.Well it turns out that Abraham Lincoln is to Winston Peters as Michelle was to Melania. With the ANZAC speech Uncle Winston gave at Gallipoli having much in ...
She was born 25 years ago today in North Shore hospital. Her eyes were closed tightly shut, her mouth was silently moving. The whole theatre was all quiet intensity as they marked her a 2 on the APGAR test. A one-minute eternity later, she was an 8. The universe was ...
Skeptical Science is partnering with Gigafact to produce fact briefs — bite-sized fact checks of trending claims. This fact brief was written by Sue Bin Park in collaboration with members from our Skeptical Science team. You can submit claims you think need checking via the tipline. Is Antarctica gaining land ice? ...
Images of US students (and others) protesting and setting up tent cities on US university campuses have been broadcast world wide and clearly demonstrate the growing rifts in US society caused by US policy toward Israel and Israel’s prosecution of … Continue reading → ...
Barrie Saunders writes – Dear Paul As the new Minister of Media and Communications, you will be inundated with heaps of free advice and special pleading, all in the national interest of course. For what it’s worth here is my assessment: Traditional broadcasting free to air content through ...
Many criticisms are being made of the Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill, including by this writer. But as with everything in politics, every story has two sides, and both deserve attention. It’s important to understand what the Government is trying to achieve and its arguments for such a bold reform. ...
Peter Dunne writes – The great nineteenth British Prime Minister, William Gladstone, once observed that “the first essential for a Prime Minister is to be a good butcher.” When a later British Prime Minister, Harold Macmillan, sacked a third of his Cabinet in July 1962, in what became ...
Ele Ludemann writes – New Zealanders had the OECD’s second highest tax increase last year: New Zealanders faced the second-biggest tax raises in the developed world last year, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) says. The intergovernmental agency said the average change in personal income tax ...
We all know something’s not right with our elections. The spread of misinformation, people being targeted with soundbites and emotional triggers that ignore the facts, even the truth, and influence their votes.The use of technology to produce deep fakes. How can you tell if something is real or not? Can ...
This video includes conclusions of the creator climate scientist Dr. Simon Clark. It is presented to our readers as an informed perspective. Please see video description for references (if any). This year you will be lied to! Simon Clark helps prebunk some misleading statements you'll hear about climate. The video includes ...
It is all very well cutting the backrooms of public agencies but it may compromise the frontlines. One of the frustrations of the Productivity Commission’s 2017 review of universities is that while it observed that their non-academic staff were increasing faster than their academic staff, it did not bother to ...
Buzz from the Beehive Two speeches delivered by Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters at Anzac Day ceremonies in Turkey are the only new posts on the government’s official website since the PM announced his Cabinet shake-up. In one of the speeches, Peters stated the obvious: we live in a troubled ...
1. Which of these would you not expect to read in The Waikato Invader?a. Luxon is here to do business, don’t you worry about thatb. Mr KPI expects results, and you better believe itc. This decisive man of action is getting me all hot and excitedd. Melissa Lee is how ...
…it has a restricted jurisdiction which must not be abused: it is not an inquisitionNOTE – this article was published before the High Court ruled that Karen Chhour does not have to appear before the Waitangi Tribunal Gary Judd writes – The High Court ...
Lindsay Mitchell writes – One of reasons Oranga Tamariki exists is to prevent child neglect. But could the organisation itself be guilty of the same?Oranga Tamariki’s statistics show a decrease in the number and age of children in care. “There are less children ...
David Farrar writes: Graeme Edgeler wrote in 2017: In the first five years after three strikes came into effect 5248 offenders received a ‘first strike’ (that is, a “stage-1 conviction” under the three strikes sentencing regime), and 68 offenders received a ‘second strike’. In the five years prior to ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has surprised everyone with his ruthlessness in sacking two of his ministers from their crucial portfolios. Removing ministers for poor performance after only five months in the job just doesn’t normally happen in politics. That’s refreshing and will be extremely ...
TL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the two days to 6:06am on Thursday, April 25:Politics: PM Christopher Luxon has set up a dual standard for ministerial competence by demoting two National Cabinet ministers while leaving also-struggling ...
Hi,Today I mainly want to share some of your thoughts about the recent piece I wrote about success and failure, and the forces that seemingly guide our lives. But first, a quick bit of housekeeping: I am doing a Webworm popup in Los Angeles on Saturday May 11 at 2pm. ...
It is hard to see what Melissa Lee might have done to “save” the media. National went into the election with no public media policy and appears not to have developed one subsequently. Lee claimed that she had prepared a policy paper before the election but it had been decided ...
Open access notablesIce acceleration and rotation in the Greenland Ice Sheet interior in recent decades, Løkkegaard et al., Communications Earth & Environment:In the past two decades, mass loss from the Greenland ice sheet has accelerated, partly due to the speedup of glaciers. However, uncertainty in speed derived from satellite products ...
Buzz from the Beehive A statement from Children’s Minister Karen Chhour – yet to be posted on the Government’s official website – arrived in Point of Order’s email in-tray last night. It welcomes the High Court ruling on whether the Waitangi Tribunal can demand she appear before it. It does ...
Mr Bombastic:Ironically, the media the academic experts wanted is, in many ways, the media they got. In place of the tyrannical editors of yesteryear, advancing without fear or favour the interests of the ruling class; the New Zealand news media of today boasts a troop of enlightened journalists dedicated to ...
It's hard times try to make a livingYou wake up every morning in the unforgivingOut there somewhere in the cityThere's people living lives without mercy or pityI feel good, yeah I'm feeling fineI feel better then I have for the longest timeI think these pills have been good for meI ...
In 1974, the US Supreme Court issued its decision in United States v. Nixon, finding that the President was not a King, but was subject to the law and was required to turn over the evidence of his wrongdoing to the courts. It was a landmark decision for the rule ...
Every day now just seems to bring in more fresh meat for the grinder.In their relentlessly ideological drive to cut back on the “excessive bloat” (as they see it) of the previous Labour-led government, on the mountains of evidence accumulated in such a short period of time do not ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Megan Valére SosouMarket gardening site of the Itchèléré de Itagui agricultural cooperative in Dassa-Zoumè (Image credit: Megan Valère Sossou) For the residents of Dassa-Zoumè, a city in the West African country of Benin, choosing between drinking water and having enough ...
Buzz from the Beehive Melissa Lee – as may be discerned from the screenshot above – has not been demoted for doing something seriously wrong as Minister of ...
Morning in London Mother hugs beloved daughter outside the converted shoe factory in which she is living.Afternoon in London Travelling writer takes himself and his wrist down to A&E, just to be sure. Read more ...
Mike Grimshaw writes – The recent announcement of the University Advisory Group, chaired by Sir Peter Gluckman, makes very clear where the Government’s focus and priorities lie. The remit of the Advisory Group is that Group members will consider challenges and opportunities for improvement in the university sector including: ...
Eric Crampton writes – The Reserve Bank of New Zealand desperately wants to find reasons to have workstreams in climate change. It makes little sense. They’ve run another stress test on the banks looking to see if they could find a prudential regulation case. They couldn’t. They ...
Rob MacCullough writes – Pundits from the left and the right are arguing that National’s Fast Track Bill that is designed to speed up infrastructure decisions could end up becoming mired in a cesspool of corruption. Political commentator ...
Looking at the headlines this morning it’s hard to feel anything other than pessimistic about the future of humanity.Note that I’m not speaking about the future of mankind, but the survival of our humanity. The values that we believe in seem to be ebbing away, by the day.Perhaps every generation ...
Swabbing mixed breed baby chicks to test for avian influenzaUh oh. Bird flu – often deadly to humans – is not only being transmitted from infected birds to dairy cows, but is now travelling between dairy cows. As of last Friday, Bloomberg News reports, there were 32 American dairy herds ...
On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
What is it with the mining industry? Its not enough for them to pillage the earth - they apparently can't even be bothered getting resource consent to do so: The proponent behind a major mine near the Clutha River had already been undertaking activity in the area without a ...
Photo # 1 I am a huge fan of Singapore’s approach to housing, as described here two years ago by copying and pasting from The ConversationWhat Singapore has that Australia does not is a public housing developer, the Housing Development Board, which puts new dwellings on public and reclaimed land, ...
This afternoon’s interim Waitangi Tribunal report must be taken seriously as it affects our most vulnerable children, Labour children’s spokesperson Willow-Jean Prime. ...
Te Pāti Māori are demanding the New Zealand Government support an international independent investigation into mass graves that have been uncovered at two hospitals on the Gaza strip, following weeks of assault by Israeli troops. Among the 392 bodies that have been recovered, are children and elderly civilians. Many of ...
Our two-tiered system for veterans’ support is out of step with our closest partners, and all parties in Parliament should work together to fix it, Labour veterans’ affairs spokesperson Greg O’Connor said. ...
Stripping two Ministers of their portfolios just six months into the job shows Christopher Luxon’s management style is lacking, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said. ...
Tonight’s court decision to overturn the summons of the Children’s Minister has enabled the Crown to continue making decisions about Māori without evidence, says Te Pāti Māori spokesperson for Children, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi. “The judicial system has this evening told the nation that this government can do whatever they want when ...
It appears Nicola Willis is about to pull the rug out from under the feet of local communities still dealing with the aftermath of last year’s severe weather, and local councils relying on funding to build back from these disasters. ...
The Government is making short-sighted changes to the Resource Management Act (RMA) that will take away environmental protection in favour of short-term profits, Labour’s environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
Labour welcomes the release of the report into the North Island weather events and looks forward to working with the Government to ensure that New Zealand is as prepared as it can be for the next natural disaster. ...
The Labour Party has called for the New Zealand Government to recognise Palestine, as a material step towards progressing the two-State solution needed to achieve a lasting peace in the region. ...
Some of our country’s most important work, stopping the sexual exploitation of children and violent extremism could go along with staff on the frontline at ports and airports. ...
The Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill will give projects such as new coal mines a ‘get out of jail free’ card to wreak havoc on the environment, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said today. ...
The government's decision to reintroduce Three Strikes is a destructive and ineffective piece of law-making that will only exacerbate an inherently biased and racist criminal justice system, said Te Pāti Māori Justice Spokesperson, Tākuta Ferris, today. During the time Three Strikes was in place in Aotearoa, Māori and Pasifika received ...
Cuts to frontline hospital staff are not only a broken election promise, it shows the reckless tax cuts have well and truly hit the frontline of the health system, says Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall. ...
The Green Party has joined the call for public submissions on the fast-track legislation to be extended after the Ombudsman forced the Government to release the list of organisations invited to apply just hours before submissions close. ...
New Zealand’s good work at reducing climate emissions for three years in a row will be undone by the National government’s lack of ambition and scrapping programmes that were making a difference, Labour Party climate spokesperson Megan Woods said today. ...
More essential jobs could be on the chopping block, this time Ministry of Education staff on the school lunches team are set to find out whether they're in line to lose their jobs. ...
Te Pāti Māori is disgusted at the confirmation that hundreds are set to lose their jobs at Oranga Tamariki, and the disestablishment of the Treaty Response Unit. “This act of absolute carelessness and out of touch decision making is committing tamariki to state abuse.” Said Te Pāti Māori Oranga Tamariki ...
The Government is trying to bring in a law that will allow Ministers to cut corners and kill off native species, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said. ...
Cancelling urgently needed new Cook Strait ferries and hiking the cost of public transport for many Kiwis so that National can announce the prospect of another tunnel for Wellington is not making good choices, Labour Transport Spokesperson Tangi Utikere said. ...
A laundry list of additional costs for Tāmaki Makarau Auckland shows the Minister for the city is not delivering for the people who live there, says Labour Auckland Issues spokesperson Shanan Halbert. ...
Te Pāti Māori co-leader Rawiri Waititi, and Mema Paremata mō Tāmaki-Makaurau, Takutai Tarsh Kemp, will travel to the Gold Coast to strengthen ties with Māori in Australia next week (15-21 April). The visit, in the lead-up to the 9th Australian National Kapa haka Festival, will be an opportunity for both ...
The Green Party has today launched a step-by-step guide to help New Zealanders make their voice heard on the Government’s democracy dodging and anti-environment fast track legislation. ...
The National Government’s proposed changes to the Residential Tenancies Act will mean tenants can be turfed from their homes by landlords with little notice, Labour housing spokesperson Kieran McAnulty said. ...
Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson is calling on all parties to support a common-sense change that’s great for the planet and great for consumers after her member’s bill was drawn from the ballot today. ...
The return of the historic Ō-Rākau battle site to the descendants of those who fought there moved one step closer today with the first reading of Te Pire mō Ō-Rākau, Te Pae o Maumahara / The Ō-Rākau Remembrance Bill. The Bill will entrust the 9.7-hectare battle site, five kilometres west ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has announced 25 new high-speed EV charging hubs along key routes between major urban centres and outlined the Government’s plan to supercharge New Zealand’s EV infrastructure. The hubs will each have several chargers and be capable of charging at least four – and up to 10 ...
The coalition Government will not proceed with the previous Government’s plans to regulate residential property managers, Housing Minister Chris Bishop says. “I have written to the Chairperson of the Social Services and Community Committee to inform him that the Government does not intend to support the Residential Property Managers Bill ...
The Government has announced an independent review into the disability support system funded by the Ministry of Disabled People – Whaikaha. Disability Issues Minister Louise Upston says the review will look at what can be done to strengthen the long-term sustainability of Disability Support Services to provide disabled people and ...
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith has attended the Universal Periodic Review in Geneva and outlined the Government’s plan to restore law and order. “Speaking to the United Nations Human Rights Council provided us with an opportunity to present New Zealand’s human rights progress, priorities, and challenges, while responding to issues and ...
Trade Minister Todd McClay heads overseas today for high-level trade talks in the Gulf region, and a key OECD meeting in Paris. Mr McClay will travel to Riyadh to meet with counterparts from Saudi Arabia and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). “New Zealand’s goods and services exports to the Gulf region ...
Education Minister Erica Stanford has outlined six education priorities to deliver a world-leading education system that sets Kiwi kids up for future success. “I’m putting ambition, achievement and outcomes at the heart of our education system. I want every child to be inspired and engaged in their learning so they ...
The new NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) App is a secure ‘one stop shop’ to provide the services drivers need, Transport Minister Simeon Brown and Digitising Government Minister Judith Collins say. “The NZTA App will enable an easier way for Kiwis to pay for Vehicle Registration and Road User Charges (RUC). ...
Whānau with tamariki growing up in emergency housing motels will be prioritised for social housing starting this week, says Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka. “Giving these whānau a better opportunity to build healthy stable lives for themselves and future generations is an essential part of the Government’s goal of reducing ...
Racing Minister Winston Peters has paid tribute to an icon of the industry with the recent passing of Dave O’Sullivan (OBE). “Our sympathies are with the O’Sullivan family with the sad news of Dave O’Sullivan’s recent passing,” Mr Peters says. “His contribution to racing, initially as a jockey and then ...
Assalaamu alaikum, greetings to you all. Eid Mubarak, everyone! I want to extend my warmest wishes to you and everyone celebrating this joyous occasion. It is a pleasure to be here. I have enjoyed Eid celebrations at Parliament before, but this is my first time joining you as the Minister ...
Associate Health Minister David Seymour has announced Pharmac’s largest ever budget of $6.294 billion over four years, fixing a $1.774 billion fiscal cliff. “Access to medicines is a crucial part of many Kiwis’ lives. We’ve committed to a budget allocation of $1.774 billion over four years so Kiwis are ...
Hon Paula Bennett has been appointed as member and chair of the Pharmac board, Associate Health Minister David Seymour announced today. "Pharmac is a critical part of New Zealand's health system and plays a significant role in ensuring that Kiwis have the best possible access to medicines,” says Mr Seymour. ...
Hundreds of New Zealand families affected by Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) will benefit from a new Government focus on prevention and treatment, says Health Minister Dr Shane Reti. “We know FASD is a leading cause of preventable intellectual and neurodevelopmental disability in New Zealand,” Dr Reti says. “Every day, ...
Regional Development Minister Shane Jones today attended the official opening of Kaikohe’s new $14.7 million sports complex. “The completion of the Kaikohe Multi Sports Complex is a fantastic achievement for the Far North,” Mr Jones says. “This facility not only fulfils a long-held dream for local athletes, but also creates ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters’ engagements in Türkiye this week underlined the importance of diplomacy to meet growing global challenges. “Returning to the Gallipoli Peninsula to represent New Zealand at Anzac commemorations was a sombre reminder of the critical importance of diplomacy for de-escalating conflicts and easing tensions,” Mr Peters ...
Ambassador Millar, Burgemeester, Vandepitte, Excellencies, military representatives, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen – good morning and welcome to this sacred Anzac Day dawn service. It is an honour to be here on behalf of the Government and people of New Zealand at Buttes New British Cemetery, Polygon Wood – a deeply ...
Distinguished guests - It is an honour to return once again to this site which, as the resting place for so many of our war-dead, has become a sacred place for generations of New Zealanders. Our presence here and at the other special spaces of Gallipoli is made ...
Mai ia tawhiti pamamao, te moana nui a Kiwa, kua tae whakaiti mai matou, ki to koutou papa whenua. No koutou te tapuwae, no matou te tapuwae, kua honoa pumautia. Ko nga toa kua hinga nei, o te Waipounamu, o te Ika a Maui, he okioki tahi me o ...
Paul Goldsmith will take on responsibility for the Media and Communications portfolio, while Louise Upston will pick up the Disability Issues portfolio, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon announced today. “Our Government is relentlessly focused on getting New Zealand back on track. As issues change in prominence, I plan to adjust Ministerial ...
Recreational catch limits will be reduced in areas of Fiordland and the Chatham Islands to help keep those fisheries healthy and sustainable, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. The lower recreational daily catch limits for a range of finfish and shellfish species caught in the Fiordland Marine Area and ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed an important milestone in New Zealand’s hydrogen future, with the opening of the country’s first network of hydrogen refuelling stations in Wiri. “I want to congratulate the team at Hiringa Energy and its partners K one W one (K1W1), Mitsui & Co New Zealand ...
The coalition Government is delivering on its commitment to improve resource management laws and give greater certainty to consent applicants, with a Bill to amend the Resource Management Act (RMA) expected to be introduced to Parliament next month. RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop has today outlined the first RMA Amendment ...
Overseas models for regulating the oil and gas sector, including their decommissioning regimes, are being carefully scrutinised as a potential template for New Zealand’s own sector, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. The Coalition Government is focused on rebuilding investor confidence in New Zealand’s energy sector as it looks to strengthen ...
Emergency Management and Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell has today released the Report of the Government Inquiry into the response to the North Island Severe Weather Events. “The report shows that New Zealand’s emergency management system is not fit-for-purpose and there are some significant gaps we need to address,” Mr Mitchell ...
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith is today travelling to Europe where he’ll update the United Nations Human Rights Council on the Government’s work to restore law and order. “Attending the Universal Periodic Review in Geneva provides us with an opportunity to present New Zealand’s human rights progress, priorities, and challenges, while ...
Associate Agriculture Minister, Mark Patterson, formally reopened the world’s largest wool processing facility today in Awatoto, Napier, following a $50 million rebuild and refurbishment project. “The reopening of this facility will significantly lift the economic opportunities available to New Zealand’s wool sector, which already accounts for 20 per cent of ...
Hon Andrew Bayly, Minister for Small Business and Manufacturing At the Southland Otago Regional Engineering Collective (SOREC) Summit, 18 April, Dunedin Ngā mihi nui, Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Ko Whanganui aho Good Afternoon and thank you for inviting me to open your summit today. I am delighted ...
The Government is delivering on its commitment to bring back the Three Strikes legislation, Associate Justice Minister Nicole McKee announced today. “Our Government is committed to restoring law and order and enforcing appropriate consequences on criminals. We are making it clear that repeat serious violent or sexual offending is not ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has today announced four new diplomatic appointments for New Zealand’s overseas missions. “Our diplomats have a vital role in maintaining and protecting New Zealand’s interests around the world,” Mr Peters says. “I am pleased to announce the appointment of these senior diplomats from the ...
New Zealand is contributing NZ$7 million to support communities affected by severe food insecurity and other urgent humanitarian needs in Ethiopia and Somalia, Foreign Minister Rt Hon Winston Peters announced today. “Over 21 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance across Ethiopia, with a further 6.9 million people ...
Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage Paul Goldsmith is congratulating Mataaho Collective for winning the Golden Lion for best participant in the main exhibition at the Venice Biennale. "Congratulations to the Mataaho Collective for winning one of the world's most prestigious art prizes at the Venice Biennale. “It is good ...
The Government is reforming financial services to improve access to home loans and other lending, and strengthen customer protections, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly and Housing Minister Chris Bishop announced today. “Our coalition Government is committed to rebuilding the economy and making life simpler by cutting red tape. We are ...
“China remains a strong commercial opportunity for Kiwi exporters as Chinese businesses and consumers continue to value our high-quality safe produce,” Trade and Agriculture Minister Todd McClay says. Mr McClay has returned to New Zealand following visits to Beijing, Harbin and Shanghai where he met ministers, governors and mayors and engaged in trade and agricultural events with the New ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has completed a successful trip to Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines, deepening relationships and capitalising on opportunities. Mr Luxon was accompanied by a business delegation and says the choice of countries represents the priority the New Zealand Government places on South East Asia, and our relationships in ...
New Zealand is demonstrating its commitment to reducing global greenhouse emissions, and supporting clean energy transition in South East Asia, through a contribution of NZ$41 million (US$25 million) in climate finance to the Asian Development Bank (ADB)-led Energy Transition Mechanism (ETM). Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Climate Change Minister Simon Watts announced ...
The Government is today releasing a list of organisations who received letters about the Fast-track applications process, says RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop. “Recently Ministers and agencies have received a series of OIA requests for a list of organisations to whom I wrote with information on applying to have a ...
Attorney-General Judith Collins today announced the appointment of Wellington Barrister David Jonathan Boldt as a Judge of the High Court, and the Honourable Justice Matthew Palmer as a Judge of the Court of Appeal. Justice Boldt graduated with an LLB from Victoria University of Wellington in 1990, and also holds ...
Education Minister Erica Stanford will lead the New Zealand delegation at the 2024 International Summit on the Teaching Profession (ISTP) held in Singapore. The delegation includes representatives from the Post Primary Teachers’ Association (PPTA) Te Wehengarua and the New Zealand Educational Institute (NZEI) Te Riu Roa. The summit is co-hosted ...
A stopbank upgrade project in Tairawhiti partly funded by the Government has increased flood resilience for around 7000ha of residential and horticultural land so far, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones today attended a dawn service in Gisborne to mark the end of the first stage of the ...
A Waitangi Tribunal inquiry report has warned government that a repeal of Section 7AA of the Oranga Tamariki Act could cause harm to children in care. ...
The Treasury has published today three new papers covering government consumption multipliers, automatic stabilisers and the impacts of global shocks on New Zealand’s economy. ...
Asia Pacific Report The Pacific state of Hawai’i’s House of Representatives has joined the state’s Senate in calling for a ceasefire in Israel’s war on Gaza, becoming the first state to pass such a resolution, reports Hawaii News Now. In March, the Senate passed a ceasefire resolution with a 24–1 ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Christopher Ferrie, A/Prof, UTS Chancellor’s Postdoctoral Research and ARC DECRA Fellow, University of Technology Sydney PsiQuantum The Australian government has announced a pledge of approximately A$940 million (US$617 million) to PsiQuantum, a quantum computing start-up company based in Silicon Valley. Half ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Hunter Bennett, Lecturer in Exercise Science, University of South Australia Cameron Prins/Shutterstock If you spend a lot of time exploring fitness content online, you might have come across the concept of heart rate zones. Heart rate zone training has become more ...
SPECIAL REPORT:By Eugene Doyle He is the most popular Palestinian leader alive today — and yet few people in the West even know his name. Absolutely no one in Gaza or the West Bank does not know him. That difference speaks volumes about who dominates the media narrative that ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Will McCallum, PhD Candidate – School of Communication and Creative Arts, Deakin University Earlier this year, Opposition Leader Peter Dutton accused Prime Minister Anthony Albanese of not supporting Operation Sovereign Borders – the military-led border security operation that has “closed Australia’s borders ...
By Melyne Baroi in Port Moresby A Papua New Guinea MP, Peter Isoaimo, who had been ousted by the National Court in an alleged bribery case, has been reinstated by the Supreme Court on appeal. A three-member Supreme Court bench found that the National Court had erred in finding that ...
Publisher Chris Holdaway reflects on the unique project of collecting the work of the late, terrific poet Schaeffer Lemalu. One of the nice things you can do as a truly independent publisher is to make the books that writers want to make, whatever they happen to be. That’s how I’ve ...
Those profiled in the stamp series served on overseas deployments from 1995 onwards, and all have been awarded theNew Zealand Operational Service Medal. ...
Last night’s dismal poll result for the coalition government shows the limits of trying to govern as an opposition, argues Joel MacManus. There’s a quote from the American political activist Barbara Deming: “Vengeance is not the point; change is. But the trouble is that in most people’s minds, the thought ...
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Much gets made of the tax advantages of investing in property, leading to bizarre proposals to “fix it” like Gareth Morgan’s comprehensive capital tax. But the way investing in New Zealand businesses is like jumping into a viper pit is possibly a bigger reason why New Zealanders prefer property. Brain Gaynor explains some of the problems.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/opinion/news/article.cfm?c_id=466&objectid=11772481
Yes. I wouldn’t dream of investing in NZ business rather than property, because it’s a game rigged in favour of the old boys’ club running it. The various fruitless attempts to deal with investment company owners who basically stole their investors’ money and got away with it, and the government’s complete lack of interest in doing something about it, makes it completely insane to invest in NZ business. Buy a house, at least some Grammar alumnus can’t steal that and face no consequences for it.
The NZX and kiwi business are a laughing stock amongst global fund managers.
Weldon did squat except fill his pockets and do as the boys club wanted. I recall Tony Gibbs broke ranks over one of Markys more avaricious remuneration proposals, probably because he wasn’t getting enough of the pie.
Rebstock, Weldon and Diplock presided over some of the most flagrant breaches of fiduciary duties and crony/insider behaviour handing out wet bus tickets to club members.
Now more recently against a backdrop of shonky dealer PM and his dealing cabinet room where they showed time and again that all you need is cash and nothing can’t be done for you.
We totally deserve to be shunned by savvy business investors because unless they are club members as they’ll not do so well. That’s the clear signal the NZX has been sending for a long time now.
You could be right about the viper pit image of NZX investing as an important influence on people putting their money into unlisted property.
The NZX has historically delivered steady growth and reliable dividends, and has outperformed in recent years.
https://milfordasset.com/2015-share-market-returns-kiwi-investors-the-big-winners/
https://www.newzealandnow.govt.nz/investing-in-nz/opportunities-outlook/economic-overview
Some of the successful (so far) IPOs not mentioned in Gaynor’s article
https://www.nzx.com/markets/NZSX/securities/PEB
https://www.nzx.com/markets/NZSX/securities/ATM
https://www.nzx.com/markets/NZSX/securities/XRO
Does anyone at about this time go into a major mall and, since you’ve done all your shopping, simply stand in the middle with an icecream and enjoy everyone else’s stress?
Nah. My family is having our Christmas meal today. Just not looking forward to the traffic getting across town to it.
Then tomorrow I’ll have a lie in and a laid back day.
A friend says it’s very European to celebrate on Christmas eve.
We had my side’s major dinner last night, then there’s the other half’s one on Christmas Day itself.
Similar reason for our family having it today – some family members have other families to be with tomorrow.
Was that your foot I ‘accidentally’ trod on the other day?
So now we are getting back to a nuclear arms race, courtesy of prime macho-posturers, Trump & Putin.
It means that younger generations, along with all the worries about climate change, global financial collapse, etc – also get to experience the nuclear fears that older generations experienced in their youth.
Merry Xmas, war is not over.
On a positive note, at least Sting’s “Russians” is now relevant once again. They may no longer be “Soviets”, but that’s about all that’s changed apparently. The circle of stupid is now complete. Welcome to Cold War 2.0 kids.
https://youtu.be/wHylQRVN2Qs
And Dylan’s “Hard Rain’s Gonna Fall” was thought to be about a nuclear holocaust – but maybe also so much more. Good choice for the Nobel gig.
Patti Smith nailed it IMO, even when she messed up, made it all the more poignant
I don’t think that’s the case. Trumps a business man and so is his Sec of State. They’re not warmongers, and its likely the US and Russia will start working together in some way. The Middle east is likely to be a safer place too with less terrorism and US involvement. Our warhawk media would love to incite war by a Trump tweet or a Putin pic though.
Agree with you Maui about that.
I watched Putin do his live annual press meeting last night, it appears to me that some media are messing with his words a bit re nuclear. However it does appear that it is important to putin to be well armed as it makes him appear tough or strong, boys and their toys. Really interesting Q&A with Putin this year.
https://www.rt.com/news/371502-putin-conference-wrap-up/
Yes war is great for business.
And Trump and Putin probably believe that the best way to ensure peace is to prepare for war. So money is still been made via military spending etc.
But the media was spinning the nuclear thing yesterday, like a bunch of warhawks. Bad news sells.
War is business. by other means.
As usually happens with these things, Trump’s threatened trade war against China, will break out into a shooting war at some stage.
Yes, Mauī you are right, ‘the US and Russia will start working together in some way,’ but it won’t be a good way.
Trump is busy working to form an axis with Russia against China.
The joint arms race is to intimidate (or if that fails, anihilate) the Chinese when their economy collapses under US tarriff trade barriers. And in their desperation they to make some sort of military break out.
The most likely hot spots for this miltiary break out will be some sort of border dispute, leading to full scale invasion and territory grab, either Tibet/India, or the North vs South Korean peninsular. Or even Vietnam China border.
Not sure if I agree with that Jenny. Russia and China are much closer partners than the US and Russia. And I think the US economy, like lots of other well off western countries is reliant on China and they won’t want to see the global ponzi economy come under any additional pressures.
I don’t think you have been listening mauī.
Putin has Trump in his pocket – after all it was Russian money that has kept the “Trump” Empire afloat via Deutsche Bank, as Wall St would not lend to him anymore. His business affairs have heavily involved Russian interests, His intended Secretary of State has a Russian Honor presented to him by Putin himself. The meddling in the US election by Russia was not coincidental.
On the other hand.. Trumps hamfisted “diplomatic” incursions via Tweeting and the social media wrt to China have stirred up much resentment within China, and there has been a great deal of sabre rattling and increasing aggressive statements towards the US in the government sponsored Chinese Press in recent days. Statements calling for an early response to the Taiwanese situation include hinted threats of invasion.
The US should well remember that if there ever was to be conflict between China and the US, one of the first casualties would be their ability to cloth themselves. The US is actually clothed by China. Trump may have his suits hand made in NY – but for the rest of the population, their Levis are sewn in China.
Arm’s races are always good for business.
Unfortunately, so are wars.
Which is why I say that production of defence equipment should not be done by profiteering businesses and that means that it must fully be done by government.
Yep trump and Putin what a pair of arseholes and dirty warmongers as anyone with a brain knew.
The problem is the Americans had a choice between a known warmonger and a loose cannon.
That is no longer the problem.
True that.
The problem now is Trump’s Orwellian propaganda
Another nail in the coffin of those, like PM, who believe the lies about the rebels of Wast Aleppo.
6 independent journalists and now the ex-British Ambassador to Syria say it’s a lie.
PM, Peter Swift and a few other gullible victims of the msm say it’s not.
Former UK ambassador to Syria accuses Foreign Office of lying about the country’s civil war.
They say what’s a lie, Paul? You never actually say what you mean, merely posting other people’s opinions on the subject. How about actually saying something yourself for once? What lies are you claiming I believe, and what lies are you claiming have been exposed by the people you keep quoting every day as though there were some point to it?
What do you believe, and why do you believe it? What evidence (i.e.reportage from witnesses at the scene) can you provide to support what you believe.
I think his sources are the White Helmets.
Laugh Out rather Loudly
What do you believe, and why do you believe it?
You seem to misunderstand the burden of proof, but I’ll play along. I believe that a lot of the rebels in east Aleppo are people who’ve had enough of living under a despotic hereditary dictatorship, and have therefore had the Assad regime and the Russian air force bombarding their city for years as punishment. There are also some al-Qaeda-affiliated religio-fascist murderers in east Aleppo, but no-one has a definitive answer on what the proportion is (well, the regime, Russia and Iran are happy to put numbers on it, but there’s an obvious reason for that which has nothing to do with a great love of accuracy). I personally find it dissatisfying to see a brutal dictator and his great-power patron carrying out a massive bombing campaign against a civilian population, but apparently some people are fine with it – Paul included, judging by the regime propaganda he posts. As to where I get that belief from: everything I see and read on the subject. Even Paul’s pal Cockburn says the Syrian government settles for simply bombarding rebel-held areas because it doesn’t have the ground forces to do much else.
So the proof that you’re offering is:
“everything I see and read on the subject.”
Do you believe this account?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mgnTskvdYi0
If not, why not?
You are wasting your breath, Brigid.
I have posted the accounts of 6 independent journalists ( you now make it 7) and the ex-British Ambassador to Syria, who all challenge the narrative.
But pm knows better.
What narrative? And in what way do they challenge it? You still haven’t said.
So the proof that you’re offering is:
“everything I see and read on the subject.”
Do you believe this account?
Do I believe an account by a regime shill? Er, no, and for fairly obvious reasons. Are you imagining the Assad regime is a source of truth on this subject? That said, it is worthwhile having a look through the stuff Vanessa Beeley and Eva Barrett are putting out, as it gives you an idea of how the regime would like you to view its actions.
You didn’t watch that link did you?
You are a funny fellow.
Now.
Which ‘regime shill’ have Paul or I quoted or offered links to their work?
Of those that you think are, you need to offer proof that they are a ‘regime shill’.
Otherwise who is likely to believe you?
Oh yeah, I’m a laugh riot. Funny how you guys can never resist a personality assessment while you’re at it.
How do I know Vanessa Beeley is a regime shill? Well, let’s see – she entered east Aleppo courtesy of the Assad regime, talked to people the Assad regime let her talk to, and includes in her commentary only content that’s flattering to the Assad regime. Now, it could be that to you those are the hallmarks of independent journalism, but to me they’re hallmarks of a regime shill.
How perfectly reasonable. Demanding someone tells you their beliefs and requiring them to provide reasons and links for their personally held views.
Personally held views being propagated publicly and violently expressed.
sorry, which side are you talking about again?
Also, you forgot to quote these bits:
Ford, who has been accused of being an apologist for the Syrian regime…
…argued that Assad would win because “repression works”.
Top bloke, I can see why you like him.
An al Qaeda Christmas: the Touching Tale of How Hate Figures Became American Heroes
Umm, Paul you yourself quoted a report saying that AQ only made up around 11% of the insurgents in Aleppo. If that’s true how can you say that supporting the rebels was ipso facto supporting AQ?
Your quote;
“The reality is that al-Qaeda in Syria, now rebranded as Jabhat Fatah al-Sham (JFS) and ostensibly severed from al-Qaeda, had at most 900 fighters inside Aleppo City when this assault began, about 11% of a total insurgent force of 8,000, which has always been dominated in this area by nationalists. ”
What looks to be the original source;
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-mideast-crisis-syria-nusra-idUSKBN12E0R6
I am quoting sources to help you make an informed decision.
How about you answer the question Paul.
There’s a maths problem to be worked out here. ISIS had no presence in Aleppo and the islamist Al Nusra are reported to have made up only 11% of the rebel forces in Aleppo. If the remaining 89% of the insurgents aren’t al-Queda or Daesh then what are they?
Lesser-known swamp things: politicians and lobbyists get the high profile attention. But the creatures that lurk in the shadows claiming “science” to legitimise their paid lies might be even more vile.
In this instance, I’m referring to economists. That just make up stories to justify monopoly-making mergers. Trading on their “credentials” as “scientific experts”. The harm these guys do goes way beyond just increasing corporate power to rip us all off, they also destroy confidence in actual expertise leading to the situation where leaders can just dismiss experts presenting irrefutable facts with a breezy “I can provide you with another one that will give you a counterview.”
http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2016/12/these-professors-make-more-thousand-bucks-hour-peddling-mega-mergers
Another view on the strength of oligopolies in the US at present.
http://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2016/12/23/14052804/oligopoly-tim-wu
Interesting twitter feed exploration on ‘Bana’ – the seven year old girl who allegedly tweeted from eastern Aleppo and who was then pictured on Erdoğan’s lap just the other day after apparently being evacuated from Aleppo along the terrorist’s corridor as opposed to the one used by civilians and moderates.
https://twitter.com/BBassem7/status/811592983464198144
Don’t post other people’s opinions on the matter, Bill. It upsets pm.
He prefers to hear our own opinions- based on no evidence I guess.
Wow, that Bassem’s a real ugly piece of work.
I notice you still haven’t been able to write down what you’re actually trying to say with all the posts you make about the Syrian civil war, Paul. What conclusions are you trying to lead us to? Or do you just post things at random as some kind of spam project?
I have said this before.
The conclusion I have come to ( after reading and listening to Fisk, Cockburn, Oborne, Pilger, Bartlett, Hitchens and the ex-British Ambassador to Syria) is that we are being lied to by the western media about the events in Syria and in particular Aleppo.
I don’t know why the BBC, the Guardian, the New York Post and other news sources have become propaganda outlets. It could be, as Peter Hitchens generously says, that they don’t have the staff on the ground and innocently take those feeds. Or it could be that they are deliberately forming a pro-establishment narrative. The UK is heavily compromised by its relationship with Saudi Arabia; that I do know.
Anyway you have the right to come to your own opinion.
As do I.
“I don’t know why the BBC, the Guardian, the New York Post and other news sources have become propaganda outlets”…well they are ‘propoganda outlets’ on pretty much everything else..so why not Syria??
As you clearly know, the only way to even get a glimpse of ‘The Truth’, or something like it, is to engage in wide spread research from as many sources as possible.
Understanding Syria from the main News sources is about as realistic as flying to the moon in a 1968 Trekka.
Yes the Scots learnt how biased the BBC could be during the 2014 Scottish independence referendum.
As to Syria, I don’t know the exact motivation for the bias.
The fact Syria has so much coverage is bias in itself. Though I can guess why no one wants to talk about Yemen. .
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZyUX7e7g_Zs
https://www.theguardian.com/world/yemen
The conclusion I have come to ( after reading and listening to Fisk, Cockburn, Oborne, Pilger, Bartlett, Hitchens and the ex-British Ambassador to Syria) is that we are being lied to by the western media about the events in Syria and in particular Aleppo.
Well, it would be odd if we weren’t – the first casualty of war is truth. However, you seem to have come to the conclusion that, because the western media are lying to us (more accurately, haven’t dwelt to Robert Fisk’s satisfaction on the involvement of Islamofascists on the rebel side), the stuff that regime supporters are peddling must be the truth. It’s real face-palm stuff.
Also, it’s a spam project and getting really, really tedious. We all know that Syria is a hellhole and know where to read about it if we want to. Paul’s endless stream of fully quoted articles and videos is wrecking the conversation on TS.
I think you mean well, but give it a rest please Paul. You aren’t participating in dialogue, you are shouting and spamming content with no effort to state your own goddamn opinion. Please stop abusing this forum.
Read this, bullet points 5 and 6
https://thestandard.org.nz/policy/#banning
Yes, the most important thing is damning the media elites and their collaboration with western imperialism because, well, you can’t possibly do that and condemn Assad, Twelvers, and their Russian offsiders as murderous thugs intent on suppressing any and all opposition by whatever means necessary, can you.
/
Susie Ferguson acting as a propaganda outlet for the establishment narrative.
‘The regime MP for Aleppo defends its approach to liberating Aleppo – and laughs when asked about civilian deaths’
She does not like it when people question her parroting of propaganda on her twitter feed.
Bruce King
@SusieFergusonNZ
A reason why I feel like giving up voting;
“Government sells off Tauranga’s state housing portfolio to Accessible Properties”
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/property/news/article.cfm?c_id=8&objectid=11771757
Selling public assets for less than half their worth should have been a public scandal that brought down a government or at least halted the looting of NZ’s state houses. Instead the deal went ahead with barely a whimper from the opposition.
Bomber sums up 2016 well.
Christmas 2016 – it’s a broken and cold Hallelujah
If you think this year has been bad – just wait until next year when the Chump takes office…
Then we surely will be on the Highway to Hell.
The UN got around to doing a Security Council vote on condemning Israeli settlements, with the US abstaining. Despite Trump and Netanyahu trying to delay it so it would go away later.
While it doesn’t even have the power of a wet bus ticket, it’s still a worthwhile symbolic move.
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-israel-palestinians-un-idUSKBN14C1IV
Agreed Andre
And immensly pleased to see that NZ was one of the four countries requesting the vote. At least we have done something positive in our term on the security council.
Of course the Chump immediately tweeted.
“As to the UN, things will be different after Jan 20.”
🙄
However, nice to see a US official say:
that “that until Trump’s inauguration on 20 January there was one US president – Obama.”
🙂
Of course the Chump immediately tweeted.
“As to the UN, things will be different after Jan 20.”
So this ugly, ignorant gorilla (as opposed to all the beautiful real gorillas) with the orange mop atop his head think he’s going to be in charge of the UN as well as the US? Because their HQ is domiciled in New York… does he think its an American institution? Wouldn’t surprise one little bit.
yep the chump is already the most idiotic pre-president ever and after he is in officially I am sure he will become the most idiotic president ever, if not the last one.
What makes you think that he’d be the last president?
He’ll fuck it up so bad the place will disintegrate into fiefdoms.
California has already stated that it will protect its citizens should the federal government overstep its mandate
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/california-immigration-bills_us_5845f08ee4b02f60b02498e4
So if progressive states secede from the union, the progressive west coast will get most of the movie and IT industry. What’ll happen to the CIA & FBI given Virginia as fairly mixed state politically? Ditto Mayland home of the NSA?
It will never happen. Things are a bit more sophisticated than when the ‘Souixt’ happened in 1861.
Though when Trump takes his hands off that bible, all bets are pretty much off.
“ugly, ignorant gorilla”
Hmmm a rather percipient choice of words there Anne..
Did you have Carl Paladino in mind as well?
I think he trumps Trump in disgusting
Did you have Carl Paladino in mind as well?
No Macro I didn’t. I have only just caught up with Master Carl Paladino comments. To be honest, I can’t think of a word in the English dictionary that suitably describes such a detestable specimen of humanity.
God help America!
I heard on the 4 oclock news that Israel has withdrawn its Ambassador.
Oh Dear! How Sad! Never mind…
Fine by me. There’s no point in having any sort of relationship with such a despotic regime.
My thoughts entirely.
The Plight of New Zealand’s Freshwater Biodiversity
The Plight of New Zealand’s Freshwater Biodiversity
74 percent of freshwater life now threatened with extinction
NZ rivers will be ‘like Yangtze’
NZ rivers will be ‘like Yangtze’
Toxic algae found in Selwyn River at Glentunnel
Don’t tell me.
Is Russel Norman continuing his didymo spreading canoe tour of the South Island river systems?
Another rwnj happy with the destruction of our environment.
We need your hero president Assad to sort this out
Dr Joy should have a good walkabout of the Waimea Plains area before making pronouncements decrying all intensification.
The agricultural intensification that continues there is not dairy, it’s horticulture.
Hroticulture has far fewer downsides than dairy.
Also, a few years ago the area had a really intense drought, which would be pretty motivating.
Also, Tasman District Council appears to have done a far better job of public engagement than say Ruataniwha, so far.
Horticulture is on track to quickly surpass beef production as a New Zealand export earner.
Defending big ag.
That’s a brave stance.
OK…..
Nope, defending horticulture.
I made a clear distinction between dairy and horticulture.
Dr Joy does himself no favors sometimes.
Defending TDC is an interesting stance – considering the major conflicts of interest the mayor and several councillors have with regard to the Lee Valley Dam. They push the story that we will be in dire straits if there is another drought but fail to mention that those who benefit the most from the dam include themselves and their own properties and businesses.
Full list of the Tasman District Council Register of Interests, though still awaiting the new Council one from the new Councillors:
http://www.google.co.nz/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=3&ved=0ahUKEwig0pPnhIzRAhUCkJQKHarhD5QQFggoMAI&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.tasman.govt.nz%2Fdocument%2Fserve%2FInterest%2520Register%2520as%2520at%2520June%25202016.pdf%3Fpath%3D%2FEDMS%2FPublic%2FOther%2FCouncil%2F000000428249&usg=AFQjCNFnhEVyu7pHUGXnZ8SxRPFFclCCXw&sig2=lUL1_ZGpeXMaBbVr4pxKSg
Are there elected member interests that are missing that you can document?
Got research to back up what you say?
joy has lost all chance of being included with his grandstanding the man is a fool
Got research?
Because Joy does.
Course not
yes his research is what he should use , but claiming all animals would / should be out of the food chain by 2050 just makes him look like a loony fool,
If we want to maintain billions of people then he’s probably right.
🙄
Ever heard of Phosphates?
Take a look at the Corn belts of North America and the effects they have had on groundwater and surface runoff into the Great Lakes.
We are not talking dairy – or beef – production. Purely intensive mono culture maintained by massive quanties of artificial fertilisers.
+1
Then there is cropping to support the dairy industry. etc. It’s all just wrong.
Interesting comment. And probably true.
If one does not ‘toe the Party line’ you tend to be on the out. Though to its credit Massey is now far more supportive. But anyway, its called having principles and stating the facts as you see them, oh, yeah, and the facts as can be proven with Science.. But hey, what would a Senior Lecturer in Ecology / Zoology know.
Then again you have the likes of Waikato University professor of agri-business Dr Jacqueline Rowarth (a favorite in the NBR) who has boldly claimed…”it was “naive” to expect water quality in waterways could be restored to pristine conditions when it was already safe to drink.”
I would like to extend a personal invitation to Dr Rowarth to come down to the Bay and have a nice cup of water from the Tukituki.
Comparing hort to dairying doesn’t mean that hort is non-polluting, you’re looking at the wrong scale. We are so far from anything resembling sustainable despite the fact that we already have sustainable farming and land use tech in NZ. Promotion of export hort is akin to saying bring on climate change.
elephant in the room…..irrespective of whether we control agri/hort/aqua culture to preserve water quality and subsequently the environment the problem remains the same.
The equation is incredibly simple and at the same time impossible….the planet cannot support 7 plus billion human beings regardless ….either the population degrades or the environment does.
ultimately the population will collapse either way.
In depth journalism looking at our prison system.
Private business, public failure
Alec Baldwin feels sorry for Trump coz no one with any talent wants to go near his inauguration. So he’s offered to perform.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/alec-baldwin-fires-one-hell-of-a-zinger-at-donald-trumps-inauguration_us_585d549be4b0eb58648622b5
Glenn Greenwald: The State Of Journalism In The US
Well,as we all know Greenwald is a paragon of balanced journalism.
Actually Paul, just about anything you post seems to entirely come from activists with an agenda, or journalists who are notoriously opposed to the West. So in your view anything by the BCC, CNN, the Guardian et al is simply propaganda, but if it is from RT then obviously it is the truth. In the old days you would have been seen as a fellow traveller.
Of course it is your world view, but don’t expect your posts (with their long quotes from people you deem to be “authorities”) to be seen as anything other than partisan.
Do you trust ………
Patrick Cockburn?
Peter Hitchens ?
Robert Fisk ?
John Pilger ?
Peter Oborne ?
Or the ex-British Ambassador to Syria Peter Ford?
Would you describe these people as ‘ activists with an agenda, or journalists who are notoriously opposed to the West.’
Just wondering……
No I don’t trust them, they all have an axe to grind one way or another
Do you know who they are?
You might want to read and research these journalists, Wayne. You should know of them given the fact you were a MP….
Or was that last entry just a spray and run away?
Food for thought.
What did you think about the final analysis of the new cabinet?
More proof that private ownership which returns money without doing anything (otherwise known as usury) is simply bad for society.
Road paved with solar panels powers French town
Such a scheme is certainly worth looking into especially when we consider just how much land area roads take up.