The media was again incredibly frustrating at the 4pm covid update yesterday, and in this mornings Herald.
Having Audrey Young doing a grumpy old woman routine asking the same gotcha question a million times ("why are we not told these business now?", and the switcheroo "why were this businesses blindsided by releasing their information before informing them?") was bad enough but her personal annoyance has become the subject of her piece this morning in the paper, where for some vague reason the PM needs to be involved to rev up the MOH over some quibble that Audrey doesn't like.
What is frustrating is ONE WHOLE YEAR after the COVID pandemic began the main media companies are STILL treating the pandemic as primarily a POLITICAL story, using courtier journalists who were excoriated by the public for their addiction to the gotcha dialogue of banter politics and viewing everything through the lens of horse race political analysis. Why was Audrey Young there? Why has the NZ Herald still not got a health journalist to cover this story?
The media operate with an insular and defensive arrogance that cannot accept criticism. indeed, they interpret criticism only as proof of their own infallibility.
The MSM seems to have learnt nothing from the blow covid dealt to their reputation last year.
"The MSM seems to have learnt nothing from the blow covid dealt to their reputation last year."
They are incapable of reforming themselves. When public discourse has been emptied of any real debate due to a the broader Nat-Lab neoliberal consensus – all that is left is courtier-like gossip, squabbling over trivialities, playing favourites, tribal allegiance and settling scores from past grievances.
There is one word to describe the MSM's attitude – elitism.
They really do believe they are a cut above the public. I know because many years ago I worked in broadcasting. The well used phrase to describe the public then was "the peasants".
The people staffing the businesses involved would have known they'd been on-site at the same time as this person via the app if they were scanning on entry like they're supposed to. If Audrey wants someone to blame for them not knowing about it, start there.
just having a read, but jfc way to go with the negative framing. Rogernomics wrecked NZ and we still haven't recovered. Not the best introduction to fast radical change needed for the climate/ecological emergencies.
"This time, Carr and his fellow commissioners (and the governments that receive their advice) will need to succeed where leaders of the 1980s failed, by transforming the country without the mass pain and job losses that accompanied Rogernomics."
if they want people to get on board, telling them it's going to be worse than Rogernomics is a really, really bad thing to do. Yes, there are good things in the piece, but the overall framing, the stuff that stressed people will process at the gut level, is telling us that it's going to be bad, that there will be losers. Some people like myself will respond with anger, others will simply just switch off. People already feeling despair will have to put effort into not despairing more and some won't want to or be able to. People who know climate action is important but don't have that active in their lives yet will be less like to engage and make the changes needed.
Putting in counterbalances to all that helps mitigate it, but it's still a shit framing.
Comparisons with Rogernomics could have been done without that framing and in ways that help us learn from the mistakes of the past.
Using the example of Rogernomics as a yardstick for the level of change required is logical in the NZ context as there is nothing else within living memory to use as a comparison….whatever anyone thinks of those reforms there is no doubt it was visionary, radical and implemented at pace…all elements that are required now.
Binary?…..meh
And I may add that not everyone shares your apparent abhorrence of the term, as subsequent election results have shown.
I never ever saw Rogernomics as visionary but more a return to the laissez-faire economics of our past. Indeed we are seeing exactly the same results (increased inequality, slum landlords, churches profiting off the poor) that we saw previously under it's strictures.
Visionary was the abandonment of it for a more collective, caring society with concepts like a fair days work for a fair days pay, where education and public transport was valued as a public good, where utilities were run by the state and not for extracting profit, where benefit rates were set to enable people to be part of society.
Rogernomics was simply a tried and true recipe for capitalism to work with minimal fettering.
large numbers of people don't want to 'do it again', and tying something they really don't want to experience to climate action is not going to help them to change. It's more likely they will switch off or resist.
In case it's not clear, many, many people in NZ have had their quality of life seriously negatively impacted by Rogernomics. Why on earth would they want to do that again? On top of what is already being experienced.
Those same people you refer too are likely the same people who have been calling for the reversal of Rogernomics since its implementation….are you telling them they must continue to rely on incrementalism?….thats what weve had since the 80's.
Carr is announcing that incrementalism needs to be over….so now the opportunity is there to redo Rogernomics….we can take that opportunity or not.
Not everybody in NZ will look at this with an academic mind analysing the probabilities of getting out of the next cycle of economic renewal (which incidentally I would say it is) alive, refreshed and nothing lost but so much gained.
There is a lot of transition required before anything applicable is sustainable and livable. Mind you, some would argue that the earth can do without people very nicely. This interim time will be difficult as the current economic model does work on a winner takes all platform.
UBI would be a solution, but it takes so much courage to tax those multinationals and those who amass the resources right now, I really cannot see this cotton wool brigade doing anything at all. And I may add I have been through the Rogernomic years and seen a lot of carnage. People seem to forget Enron etc… those who have pilfered the resources paid for by taxpayers. Oops, sounds familiar… 16 Billions later…These people will not change, ever. This is the lesson and lets not repeat this please.
There is no denying Douglas (et al) had a vision for a very different future for NZ from that that would have developed under the existing settings…..acknowledging such is not approval of the vision.
telling them it's going to be worse than Rogernomics is a really, really bad thing to do.
On that I really have to agree. Dumbarse framing all round.
Personally I think most people are at some level, perhaps even subconsciously, quite ready to wean ourselves off fossil fuels and move onto the next stage. They'd greet a constructive pathway to get there with some relief and joy even.
"The shifts required to run our economy without fossil fuels will make the economic changes of the late 1980s “look like a trial period”, in the words of Climate Change Commission chair Rod Carr."
yes Pat, and as you know that's not what we were talking about.
You and I and James Shaw all know we need to be doing much more. Getting enough of NZ on board so that the govt is free to act needs approaches that don't put people off. Tying climate action to Rogernomics is daft, for all the reasons explained.
Using the 80s reforms (rogernomics) to quantify the scale of change needed is sensible especially as many of those required to drive that change are the beneficiaries of those rerforms….they will be encouraged to accept that change as an opportunity.
you dont like the 'framing'…thats fine, it isnt aimed at you..its aimed at those who dont wish to risk that which they have (opposed to change) …if you look at the demographics of the climate change recalcitrants they are overwhelmingly National and Act supporters…..or supporters of Rogernomics if you like…those that opposed the effects of 'Rogernomics already support change.
Anyone who pretends there was anything positive about Rogergnomics will not have my confidence for whatever carbon strategy they bodge up. Is this fellow a scientist? If not, his prescriptions will likely be inadequate. If he likes Rogergnomics, his measures will be characterised by the massive corruption that consumed all of what should have been the public benefits of Rogergnomics.
Might as well sack him now – no credibility whatsoever.
You suggest that I am a Troll. May I suggest that, at least when it comes to discussions about the Cullen Fund you, Madam, are ignorant.
The Cullen Fund is probably the silliest thing that any New Zealand Government has done in this century. All we are doing is borrowing money for a group of Investment Bankers to invest in overseas assets. Can I introduce you to Michael Littlewood. He was the founder of the Retirement Policy and Research Centre at the University of Auckland. He is the foremost New Zealand expert on the subject.
I suggest that you read the linked article where he explains why the Cullen Fund is crazy and will do exactly nothing to reduce the future cost of New Zealand Super. He proposes that the scheme should be wound up and the money already in it shpuld be used to help pay for the Covid Recovery. I fully agree with him.
As Michael proposes
"Can someone in the Government please explain to New Zealanders why we taxpayers will be borrowing $25.13 billion to pass on to the fund's Guardians to invest on our behalf?"
"The fund will not reduce the future cost of NZ Super by one dollar – it may very partially 'smooth' the incidence of funding that cost but will not change it. The Government’s contributions won’t change the cost of NZ Super; neither will a stellar nor a poor investment performance by the fund's guardians."
"The cost of any pension scheme, private or public, is the benefits actually paid by the scheme (plus administration costs) and that doesn’t have anything to do with how it is paid for."
"Its presence has mistakenly led some to believe that the fund makes New Zealand Superannuation more secure and sustainable. It doesn’t. The fund is a political placebo; a fiscal hall of mirrors."
Please read the whole linked article. The scheme is nuts and should be wound up.
Trolling is so subjective, an example of the subjectivity of the term is that this comment in no way seems like trolling to me, ironically enough it seems like a reasoned rebuttal to the claim of being termed a troll from where I am sitting…
Funny how two different people can read or hear the same thing but take away different interpretations and meaning isn't it?
It has been brought to our attention that one Sir Peter Ivan Talijancich KNZM, hereafter known as TALLEY, has been dumping filthy pollutants down the drain and outraging fine, decent "Kiwis", or oiks.
We would like to point out that the rogue TALLEY is an aberration, an abomination, an irritant, a boor, and a cad. An arsehole, if one were to employ the vernacular. The rest of New Zealand’s, and indeed the Empire’s, knights, however, are men of the highest character. As one of our esteemed number said of himself some years ago after indulging in a seven minute radio rant against cheeky darkies, we are GOOD MEN.
So let’s condemn this errant knight TALLEY by all means, but let us also praise good men and true, like the following exemplars of moral courage and intellectual excellence…..
Sir Paul Holmes, Sir Thomas Eichelbaum, Sir James Savile, Sir William Gallagher,
Dame Denise L’Estrange-Corbet, Sir Peter Leitch, Sir Jeremiah Mateparae, Sir John Key, Sir Clive Woodward, Sir Robert Jones
Ah, Sir Talley–what a splendid record “Talleys” company towns and fish businesses have…
decapitation at sea, cleaner hoisted under chin by meat hook on chain, worker crushed to death by badly stacked frozen carcasses, worker burned almost to death, life ruined, at AFFCO Moerewa in boiler explosion, legal action taken against meatworkers personal use of Facebook, Women fish filleters discriminated against on basis of sex, Open Country Cheese lockout, Waikato 2009, Invercargill workers recruited and transported to actively scab on Dairy Workers Union members! Security guards harassment of union delegates and organisers, Need I go on…
Time and again Talleys lose in all Employment Courts, Authorities and other forums, but they go there to make unions use up valuable membership funds on legal expenses and time off organising. Scum of the earth, should be closed down for good and prohibited from running a business again.
Hard to tell who are the adhominems amoung [sic] that group.
Every one of them is, or was, a reprehensible human being. They were chosen to show the low calibre of person that can be the recipient of royal "honours".
[Oh my, an orgy of ad homs by the ad hom Master himself!
I counted 10 “reprehensible human being[s]” and they are obviously easy targets.
However, you’d been warned only three days ago to lift your game and stop the ad hommery.
Take 10 days off, one day for each “reprehensible human being” and next time it will increase.
However, if you cannot help yourself, just say the word and we can all save ourselves a lot of time and make it a permanent ban without undue delay – Incognito]
Are you also banning others for giving their opinions?
Re-read the Moderation(s) note and read it properly. You have form, you have been warned, you are begging for a permanent ban here and only just got let off the hook recently for another of your faux pas, for which you gave a sincere and genuine apology. You have not obtained impunity from banning.
Take heed of the Moderation notes and lift your game or accept the consequence of your refusal.
I see you have commented on my thread…why? just stop micro managing everyone.
" If this were a relationship, a counsellor might suggest breaking up and separating, amicably and while there still is smidgen of (self-)respect left … "
That is the remark you left me…maybe you need to look at your relationship with Morrissey, as it is obvious to everyone you single him out and treat him quite unfairly.
Why do you take it personal when it was clearly directed at a number of commenters? FYI, it was a comment, not a moderation. If you can’t handle it, ignore it or go somewhere else instead of whining here.
You don’t think the question is valid? It is obvious to everyone that you are stuck in a groove that creates a bad vibe. Your avoidance is telling, sadly 🙁
I/we have been more than fair to Morrissey. Anyway, it is none of your business how we manage The Standard. Read the Policy.
If it were only Talley it wouldn't be so bad – for all that he has few redeeming features. That story reveals ongoing systematic corruption and government collusion with it. The laws have been on the books for decades – but never enforced. A majority of companies are failing repeatedly. It just isn't good enough.
Councils are due a mighty hefty 'please explain' and maybe they too need to be fined if they fail or decline to enforce the laws we have.
It's about time they were hunted – persistent lawbreakers setting bad examples for their marginally less corrupt corporate mates. What are we, Russia? Kleptocrats don't belong here.
I thought you were calling him a prostitute at first there, and perhaps rightly so; in abandoning social acceptability for money. But then this got stuck in my head until I played it through:
Now, you said it was yesterday (yesterday's another day)
Had a lot of make believe, I don't know if it's you or
If it's me
oh, I don't know, (I don't know)
Tally ho (tally ho!)
With the “lamb’s brains”, bathtub drooling (around 2:05), and general fever-dreaminess of the video, it is tempting to retcon it’s meaning as what happens to those exposed to polluters slime.
Chelsea Clinton is mocked after claiming that she told her son Aidan, four, that 'it’s the 21st day of the 21st year in the 21st century' and he responded 'Yeah, but it’s cooler it's Joe Biden's first full day in the White House'.
The post attracted attention from Twitter users who responded with disbelief ….
I was at a childs birthday party on the 22nd and I commented that next February it would be 2/2/2022. As well 22/2/2022 in the same month. The 21st day of the 21st year in the 21st century is very rare.
And so you were. However the part I thought was really clever was the understatement at the end when you said "The 21st day of the 21st year in the 21st century is very rare.". Very rare indeed. For the life of me I cannot see how it can be described as anything other than the much stronger statement the it is unique.
Further proof ( if you needed it ) that the death cult a.k.a. neoliberal capitalism must be swept away, just an the Ancient Regime was thrown out in 1789.
The rich are a real problem to the health of humanity and the earth’s ecosystems.
Oxfam? They are, of course. one of those groups that manage to get themselves registered as a charity. Thus they don't pay tax and any donations they get become eligible for a tax deduction by the donor.
Thus for every $1,000 they receive as a donation means that the tax revenues of the State are reduced by $330 dollars. That is money that could help provide all those nice things that Oxfam say they are in favour of.
Bugger them. They, just like Greenpeace, the Helen Clark Foundation and hundreds of others of their ilk, are registered as charities. They are merely political pressure groups and, just like the political parties, should be wholly financed by their adherents. They shouldn't have a big chunk of their funds come from tax deductions that could be spent on genuinely useful activities by the Crown.
I should note that I have a vested interest in the activities that Oxfam are whinging about. Like John Hart I am also significantly better off than I was a year ago. Some years ago I put quite a lot of money into FPH. They are manufacturers of things that are genuinely useful to humanity during this pandemic. That is quite different to the actions of people like Oxfam who are about as useful as tits on a bull.
???? Greenpeace is far more than simply a pressure group. It's an activist organization as well.
Do you think Oxfam should not study structural and political causes of poverty? Do you think they should just stay quiet and leave it to the politicians?
While doing the 'over there' pointing at China and the treatment of Uighurs, they conveniently overlook the fact that the worst abuses, that so far have not been conclusively proven, have been perpetrated on an alleged one million people. While not diminishing the seriousness of such human rights abuses, the same Deputies have no qualms about overlooking the manner in which the Israeli Government treats the two million Gazans who live in an open prison and in the West Bank who constantly face indiscriminate human rights abuses perpetrated by the IDF and settlers in the name of the Zionist State.
The current Deputies lack morality and discredit themselves with their intention to use the Holocaust Memorial Day as a vehicle for pushing a dubious political agenda. The Guardian is also compromised in that it hastily surrendered its journalistic integrity by removing its report – no doubt at the behest of the Board of Deputies.
The Board of Deputies are hardline, militant supporters of the occupation of the West Bank and the siege of Gaza. It's encouraging to see many people, including yourself, aom, calling them out for their hypocrisy.
Another hardline supporter of Israeli aggression who posed as a humanitarian was the late Elie Wiesel. When he spoke at Saint Louis University on December 1, 2009, three women challenged him to break his silence about Gaza and to travel with them on the Gaza Freedom March to see for himself the devastation caused by Israel’s Operation Cast Lead in December 2008 and the ongoing siege….
New Zealand is again having to reconcile conflicting pressures from its military and its trade interests. Should we join Pillar Two of AUKUS and risk compromising our markets in China? For a century after New Zealand was founded in 1840, its external security arrangements and external economics arrangements were aligned. ...
The ‘50 Shades of Green’ farmers’ protest in 2019 was heavy on climate change denial, but five years on, scepticism and criticism about the idea that pine forests can save us is growing across the board. File photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: Here’s the top six news items of note in climate ...
This morning the sky was bright.The birds, in their usual joyous bliss. Nature doesn’t seem to feel the heat of what might angst humans.Their calls are clear and beautiful.Just some random thoughts:MāoriPaul Goldsmith has announced his government will roll back the judiciary’s rulings on Māori Customary Marine Title, which recognises ...
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The northern expressway extension from Warkworth to Whangarei is likely to require radical changes to legislation if it is going to be built within the foreseeable future. The Government’s powers to purchase land, the planning process and current restrictions on road tolling are all going to need to be changed ...
Text within this block will maintain its original spacing when publishedFirst they came for the doctors But I was confused by the numbers and costs So I didn't speak up Then they came for our police and nurses And I didn't think we could afford those costs anyway So I ...
Photo by Joshua J. Cotten on UnsplashWe’re back again after our mid-winter break. We’re still with the ‘new’ day of the week (Thursday rather than Friday) when we have our ‘hoon’ webinar with paying subscribers to The Kākā for an hour at 5 pm.Jump on this link on YouTube Livestream ...
Notes: This is a free article. Abuse in Care themes are mentioned. Video is at the bottom.BackgroundYesterday’s report into Abuse in Care revealed that at least 1 in 3 of all who went through state and faith based care were abused - often horrifically. At least, because not all survivors ...
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Some of the recent announcements from the government have reminded us of posts we’ve written in the past. Here’s one from early 2020. There were plenty of reactions to the government’s infrastructure announcement a few weeks ago which saw them fund a bunch of big roading projects. One of ...
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Hi,I felt a small wet tongue snaking through one of the holes in my Crocs. It explored my big toe, darting down one side, then the other. “He’s looking for some toe cheese,” said the woman next to me, words that still haunt me to this day.Growing up in New ...
Yesterday I happily quoted the Prime Minister without fact-checking him and sure enough, it turns out his numbers were all to hell. It’s not four kg of Royal Commission report, it’s fourteen.My friend and one-time colleague-in-comms Hazel Phillips gently alerted me to my error almost as soon as I’d hit ...
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The Official Information Act has always been a battle between requesters seeking information, and governments seeking to control it. Information is power, so Ministers and government agencies want to manage what is released and when, for their own convenience, and legality and democracy be damned. Their most recent tactic for ...
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I live my life (woo-ooh-ooh)With no control in my destinyYea-yeah, yea-yeah (woo-ooh-ooh)I can bleed when I want to bleedSo come on, come on (woo-ooh-ooh)You can bleed when you want to bleedYea-yeah, come on (woo-ooh-ooh)Everybody bleed when they want to bleedCome on and bleedGovernments face tough challenges. Selling unpopular decisions to ...
Please note:To skip directly to the- parliamentary footage in the video, scroll to 1:21 To skip to audio please click on the headphone iconon the left hand side of the screenThis video / audio section is under development. ...
Given the crackdown on wasteful government spending, it behooves me to point to a high profile example of spending by the Luxon government that looks like a big, fat waste of time and money. I’m talking about the deployment of NZDF personnel to support the US-led coalition in the Red ...
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As I reported about the city centre, Auckland’s rail network is also going through a difficult and disruptive period which is rapidly approaching a culmination, this will result in a significant upgrade to the whole network. Hallelujah. Also like the city centre this is an upgrade predicated on the City ...
Today, a 4 kilogram report will be delivered to Parliament. We know this is what the report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in State and Faith-based Care weighs, because our Prime Minister told us so.Some reporter had blindsided him by asking a question about something done by ...
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What has happened to it all?Crazy, some'd sayWhere is the life that I recognise?(Gone away)But I won't cry for yesterdayThere's an ordinary worldSomehow I have to findAnd as I try to make my wayTo the ordinary worldYesterday morning began as many others - what to write about today? I began ...
TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:00 am on Monday, July 22 are:Today’s Must Read: Father and son live in a tent, and have done for four years, in a million ...
TL;DR: As of 7:00 am on Monday, July 22, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:US President Joe Biden announced via X this morning he would not stand for a second term.Multinational professional services firm ...
A listing of 32 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, July 14, 2024 thru Sat, July 20, 2024. Story of the week As reflected by preponderance of coverage, our Story of the Week is Project 2025. Until now traveling ...
This weekend, a friend pointed out someone who said they’d like to read my posts, but didn’t want to pay. And my first reaction was sympathy.I’ve already told folks that if they can’t comfortably subscribe, and would like to read, I’d be happy to offer free subscriptions. I don’t want ...
National: The Party of ‘Law and Order’ IntroductionThis weekend, the Government formally kicked off one of their flagship policy programs: a military style boot camp that New Zealand has experimented with over the past 50 years. Cartoon credit: Guy BodyIt’s very popular with the National Party’s Law and Orderimage, ...
Day one of the solo leg of my long journey home begins with my favourite sound: footfalls in an empty street. 5.00 am and it’s already light and already too warm, almost.If I can make the train that leaves Budapest later this hour I could be in Belgrade by nightfall; ...
Do you remember Y2K, the threat that hung over humanity in the closing days of the twentieth century? Horror scenarios of planes falling from the sky, electronic payments failing and ATMs refusing to dispense cash. As for your VCR following instructions and recording your favourite show - forget about it.All ...
Climate Change Minister Simon Watts being questioned by The Kākā’s Bernard Hickey.TL;DR: My top six things to note around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the week to July 20 were:1. A strategy that fails Zero Carbon Act & Paris targetsThe National-ACT-NZ First Coalition Government finally unveiled ...
Summary:As New Zealand loses at least 12 leaders in the public service space of health, climate, and pharmaceuticals, this month alone, directly in response to the Government’s policies and budget choices, what lies ahead may be darker than it appears. Tui examines some of those departures and draws a long ...
The Minister of Housing’s ambition is to reduce markedly the ratio of house prices to household incomes. If his strategy works it would transform the housing market, dramatically changing the prospects of housing as an investment.Leaving aside the Minister’s metaphor of ‘flooding the market’ I do not see how the ...
As previously noted, my historical fantasy piece, set in the fifth-century Mediterranean, was accepted for a Pirate Horror anthology, only for the anthology to later fall through. But in a good bit of news, it turned out that the story could indeed be re-marketed as sword and sorcery. As of ...
An employee of tobacco company Philip Morris International demonstrates a heated tobacco device. Photo: Getty ImagesTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy on Friday, July 19 are:At a time when the Coalition Government is cutting spending on health, infrastructure, education, housing ...
TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 8:30 am on Friday, July 19 are:Scoop: NZ First Minister Casey Costello orders 50% cut to excise tax on heated tobacco products. The minister has ...
Kia ora, it’s time for another Friday roundup, in which we pull together some of the links and stories that caught our eye this week. Feel free to add more in the comments! Our header image this week shows a foggy day in Auckland town, captured by Patrick Reynolds. ...
TL;DR : Here’s the top six items climate news for Aotearoa this week, as selected by Bernard Hickey and The Kākā’s climate correspondent Cathrine Dyer. A discussion recorded yesterday is in the video above and the audio of that sent onto the podcast feed.The Government released its draft Emissions Reduction ...
Save some money, get rich and old, bring it back to Tobacco Road.Bring that dynamite and a crane, blow it up, start all over again.Roll up. Roll up. Or tailor made, if you prefer...Whether you’re selling ciggies, digging for gold, catching dolphins in your nets, or encouraging folks to flutter ...
Waiting In The Wings:For truly, if Trump is America’s un-assassinated Caesar, then J.D. Vance is America’s Octavian, the Republic’s youthful undertaker – and its first Emperor.DONALD TRUMP’S SELECTION of James D. Vance as his running-mate bodes ill for the American republic. A fervent supporter of Viktor Orban, the “illiberal” prime ...
TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Friday, July 19, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:The PSAannounced the Employment Relations Authority (ERA) had ruled in the PSA’s favour in its case against the Ministry ...
TL;DR: The podcast above of the weekly ‘hoon’ webinar for paying subscribers last night features co-hosts and talking with:The Kākā’s climate correspondent talking about the National-ACT-NZ First Government’s release of its first Emissions Reduction Plan;University of Otago Foreign Relations Professor and special guest Dr Karin von ...
Open access notablesImproving global temperature datasets to better account for non-uniform warming, Calvert, Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society:To better account for spatial non-uniform trends in warming, a new GITD [global instrumental temperature dataset] was created that used maximum likelihood estimation (MLE) to combine the land surface ...
A late change to charter school legislation will cheat educators out of fair pay and negotiating power proving charter schools are just a vehicle to make profit out of our education system. ...
In 2004 te iwi Māori rallied against the Crown’s attempt to confiscate our coastlines and moana with the Foreshore and Seabed Act. This led to the largest hīkoi of a generation and the birth of Te Pāti Māori. 20 years later, history is repeating itself. Today the government has announced ...
It has been five and a half years since the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care was established to investigate the abuse of children, young people, and vulnerable adults within state and faith-based institutions. Yesterday, the final report - Whanaketia through pain and trauma, from darkness to light ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to take action off the back of the International Court of Justice ruling on Israel’s illegal occupation of Palestine. ...
On Friday the International Court of Justice reaffirmed what Palestinian’s have been telling us for decades: that the occupation and colonisation of Palestinian lands by Israel is illegal and must end immediately. They also called for reparations for Palestinian’s who have lived under Israeli occupation since it began in 1967. ...
Labour calls on the Government to act after the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled that Israel’s occupation of Palestinian Territories is illegal. ...
The 53.7 percent rise in benefit sanctions over the last year is more proof of this Government’s disdain for our communities most in need of support. ...
Aotearoa could be a country where every child grows up feeling safe, loved and with a sense of belonging in their whānau and community. But for some of our children, this is far from reality. Instead, they are trapped in a maze of intergenerational harm that they can’t escape on ...
Te Pāti Māori are calling for David Seymour to resign as Associate Health Minister in response to his call for Pharmac to ignore the Treaty of Waitangi. “This announcement is just another example of the government’s anti-Tiriti, anti-Māori agenda.” Said Co-leader and spokesperson for health, Debbie Ngarewa-Packer. “Seymour thinks it ...
The soaring price of renting is driving the rise of inflation in this country - with latest figures from Stats NZ showing rents are up 4.8 per cent on average while annual inflation is at 3.3 per cent. ...
National’s Emissions Reduction Plan will take New Zealand further from the economy we need to ensure the next generation has a stable climate and secure livelihoods. ...
Following consultation with named parties and thorough consideration of privacy interests, the Green Party is in a position to release the Executive Summary of the final report from the independent investigation into Darleen Tana. ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon should be asking serious questions of his Minister for Resources Shane Jones now it’s been revealed he misled the public about a dinner with mining companies that he didn’t declare and said wasn’t pre-arranged. ...
Te Pāti Māori have submitted to the Justice Select Committee against the Sentencing (Reinstating Three Strikes) Amendment Bill. The bill will further entrench racism in our justice system and fails to focus on rehabilitation. “Reinstating Three Strikes will empower a systematically racist system and exacerbate the overrepresentation of Māori in ...
The Transport and Infrastructure Committee is set to make a determination on the Residential Tenancies Amendment (RTA) Bill in the coming weeks. “This legislation will give landlords the power to kick our whānau out onto the street for no reason” said Housing spokesperson, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi. “Their solution to the housing ...
“National’s campaign was about tackling crime and the best they can do is a two-year long Ministerial Advisory Group,” Labour justice spokesperson Duncan Webb said. ...
“There are more examples of charter schools failing their students than there are success stories. The coalition Government is driving to dismantle our public school system and instead promote a privatised, competitive structure that puts profits before kids,” Jan Tinetti said. ...
“This government is choosing to deliberately mislead and withhold information, keeping our people in the dark about this government’s agenda and the future of our mokopuna,” said co-leader and spokesperson for Health, Debbie Ngarewa-Packer. The call comes after the demand from the Chief Ombudsman that Associate Minister of Health, Casey ...
“Today’s climate announcement by Simon Watts makes clear the National Government is simply paying lip service to meeting its climate change targets,” Megan Woods said. ...
National is choosing to make life harder for workers by taking away the rights our communities have fought hard for. Here's how they’re taking workers backwards. ...
Australia, Canada and New Zealand today issued the following statement on the need for an urgent ceasefire in Gaza and the risk of expanded conflict between Hizballah and Israel. The situation in Gaza is catastrophic. The human suffering is unacceptable. It cannot continue. We remain unequivocal in our condemnation of ...
Attorney-General Judith Collins today reminded all State and faith-based institutions of their legal obligation to preserve records relevant to the safety and wellbeing of those in its care. “The Abuse in Care Inquiry’s report has found cases where records of the most vulnerable people in State and faith‑based institutions were ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says the Government’s online safety website for children and young people has reached one million page views. “It is great to see so many young people and their families accessing the site Keep It Real Online to learn how to stay safe online, and manage ...
Tēnā tātou katoa, Ngā mihi te rangi, ngā mihi te whenua, ngā mihi ki a koutou, kia ora mai koutou. Thank you for the opportunity to be here and the invitation to speak at this 50th anniversary conference. I acknowledge all those who have gone before us and paved the ...
New Zealand’s payroll providers have successfully prepared to ensure 3.5 million individuals will, from Wednesday next week, be able to keep more of what they earn each pay, says Finance Minister Nicola Willis and Revenue Minister Simon Watts. “The Government's tax policy changes are legally effective from Wednesday. Delivering this tax ...
An experimental vineyard which will help futureproof the wine sector has been opened in Blenheim by Associate Regional Development Minister Mark Patterson. The covered vineyard, based at the New Zealand Wine Centre – Te Pokapū Wāina o Aotearoa, enables controlled environmental conditions. “The research that will be produced at the Experimental ...
The Coalition Government has confirmed the indicative regional breakdown of North Island Weather Event (NIWE) funding for state highway recovery projects funded through Budget 2024, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Regions in the North Island suffered extensive and devastating damage from Cyclone Gabrielle and the 2023 Auckland Anniversary Floods, and ...
Indonesia’s Foreign Minister, Retno Marsudi, will visit New Zealand next week, Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced. “Indonesia is important to New Zealand’s security and economic interests and is our closest South East Asian neighbour,” says Mr Peters, who is currently in Laos to engage with South East Asian partners. ...
He aha te kai a te rangatira? He kōrero, he kōrero, he kōrero. The government has reaffirmed its commitment to supporting the aspirations of Ngāti Maniapoto, Minister for Māori Development Tama Potaka says. “My thanks to Te Nehenehenui Trust – Ngāti Maniapoto for bringing their important kōrero to a ministerial ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has thanked outgoing Chair of the Civil Aviation Authority, Janice Fredric, for her service to the board.“I have received Ms Fredric’s resignation from the role of Chair of the Civil Aviation Authority,” Mr Brown says.“On behalf of the Government, I want to thank Ms Fredric for ...
The Government is proposing legislation to overturn a Court of Appeal decision and amend the Marine and Coastal Area Act in order to restore Parliament’s test for Customary Marine Title, Treaty Negotiations Minister Paul Goldsmith says. “Section 58 required an applicant group to prove they have exclusively used and occupied ...
Regulation Minister David Seymour says that opposition parties have united in bad faith, opposing what they claim are ‘dangerous changes’ to the Early Childhood Education sector, despite no changes even being proposed yet. “Issues with affordability and availability of early childhood education, and the complexity of its regulation, has led ...
After receiving more than 740 submissions in the first 20 days, Regulation Minister David Seymour is asking the Ministry for Regulation to extend engagement on the early childhood education regulation review by an extra two weeks. “The level of interest has been very high, and from the conversations I’ve been ...
The Coalition Government is investing $802.9 million into the Wairarapa and Manawatū rail lines as part of a funding agreement with the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA), KiwiRail, and the Greater Wellington and Horizons Regional Councils to deliver more reliable services for commuters in the lower North Island, Transport Minister Simeon ...
Local Government Minister Simeon Brown has announced his intention to appoint a Crown Manager to both Hawke’s Bay Regional and Wairoa District Councils to speed up the delivery of flood protection work in Wairoa."Recent severe weather events in Wairoa this year, combined with damage from Cyclone Gabrielle in 2023 have ...
Mr Speaker, this is a day that many New Zealanders who were abused in State care never thought would come. It’s the day that this Parliament accepts, with deep sorrow and regret, the Report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care. At the heart of this report are the ...
For the first time, the Government is formally acknowledging some children and young people at Lake Alice Psychiatric Hospital experienced torture. The final report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in State and Faith-based Care “Whanaketia – through pain and trauma, from darkness to light,” was tabled in Parliament ...
The Government has acknowledged the nearly 2,400 courageous survivors who shared their experiences during the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Historical Abuse in State and Faith-Based Care. The final report from the largest and most complex public inquiry ever held in New Zealand, the Royal Commission Inquiry “Whanaketia – through ...
With a week to go before hard-working New Zealanders see personal income tax relief for the first time in fourteen years, 513,000 people have used the Budget tax calculator to see how much they will benefit, says Finance Minister Nicola Willis. “Tax relief is long overdue. From next Wednesday, personal income ...
Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden says a bill that has passed its first reading will improve parental leave settings and give non-biological parents more flexibility as primary carer for their child. The Regulatory Systems Amendment Bill (No3), passed its first reading this morning. “It includes a change ...
Two Bills designed to improve regulation and make it easier to do business have passed their first reading in Parliament, says Economic Development Minister Melissa Lee. The Regulatory Systems (Economic Development) Amendment Bill and Regulatory Systems (Immigration and Workforce) Amendment Bill make key changes to legislation administered by the Ministry ...
New legislation paves the way for greater competition in sectors such as banking and electricity, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly says. “Competitive markets boost productivity, create employment opportunities and lift living standards. To support competition, we need good quality regulation but, unfortunately, a recent OECD report ranked New ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says lotteries for charitable purposes, such as those run by the Heart Foundation, Coastguard NZ, and local hospices, will soon be allowed to operate online permanently. “Under current laws, these fundraising lotteries are only allowed to operate online until October 2024, after which ...
The Coalition Government is accelerating work on the new four-lane expressway between Auckland and Whangārei as part of its Roads of National Significance programme, with an accelerated delivery model to deliver this project faster and more efficiently, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “For too long, the lack of resilient transport connections ...
Sir Don McKinnon will travel to Viet Nam this week as a Special Envoy of the Government, Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced. “It is important that the Government give due recognition to the significant contributions that General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong made to New Zealand-Viet Nam relations,” Mr ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says newly appointed Commissioner, Grant Illingworth KC, will help deliver the report for the first phase of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into COVID-19 Lessons, due on 28 November 2024. “I am pleased to announce that Mr Illingworth will commence his appointment as ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters travels to Laos this week to participate in a series of Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)-led Ministerial meetings in Vientiane. “ASEAN plays an important role in supporting a peaceful, stable and prosperous Indo-Pacific,” Mr Peters says. “This will be our third visit to ...
Construction of a new mental health facility at Te Nikau Grey Hospital in Greymouth is today one step closer, Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey says. “This $27 million facility shows this Government is delivering on its promise to boost mental health care and improve front line services,” Mr Doocey says. ...
New Zealand is committing nearly $50 million to a package supporting sustainable Pacific fisheries development over the next four years, Foreign Minister Winston Peters and Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones announced today. “This support consisting of a range of initiatives demonstrates New Zealand’s commitment to assisting our Pacific partners ...
Associate Education Minister David Seymour says proposed changes to the Education and Training Amendment Bill will ensure charter schools have more flexibility to negotiate employment agreements and are equipped with the right teaching resources. “Cabinet has agreed to progress an amendment which means unions will not be able to initiate ...
In response to serious concerns around oversight, overspend and a significant deterioration in financial outlook, the Board of Health New Zealand will be replaced with a Commissioner, Health Minister Dr Shane Reti announced today. “The previous government’s botched health reforms have created significant financial challenges at Health NZ that, without ...
Minister for Space and Science, Innovation and Technology Judith Collins will travel to Adelaide tomorrow for space and science engagements, including speaking at the Australian Space Forum. While there she will also have meetings and visits with a focus on space, biotechnology and innovation. “New Zealand has a thriving space ...
Climate Change Minister Simon Watts will travel to China on Saturday to attend the Ministerial on Climate Action meeting held in Wuhan. “Attending the Ministerial on Climate Action is an opportunity to advocate for New Zealand climate priorities and engage with our key partners on climate action,” Mr Watts says. ...
Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones is travelling to the Solomon Islands tomorrow for meetings with his counterparts from around the Pacific supporting collective management of the region’s fisheries. The 23rd Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Committee and the 5th Regional Fisheries Ministers’ Meeting in Honiara from 23 to 26 July ...
The Government today launched the Military Style Academy Pilot at Te Au rere a te Tonga Youth Justice residence in Palmerston North, an important part of the Government’s plan to crackdown on youth crime and getting youth offenders back on track, Minister for Children, Karen Chhour said today. “On the ...
The Government has welcomed news the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) has begun work to replace nine priority bridges across the country to ensure our state highway network remains resilient, reliable, and efficient for road users, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says.“Increasing productivity and economic growth is a key priority for the ...
Acting Prime Minister David Seymour has been in contact throughout the evening with senior officials who have coordinated a whole of government response to the global IT outage and can provide an update. The Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet has designated the National Emergency Management Agency as the ...
New Zealand and Japan will continue to step up their shared engagement with the Pacific, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “New Zealand and Japan have a strong, shared interest in a free, open and stable Pacific Islands region,” Mr Peters says. “We are pleased to be finding more ways ...
New developments in the heart of North Island forestry country will reinvigorate their communities and boost economic development, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones visited Kaingaroa and Kawerau in Bay of Plenty today to open a landmark community centre in the former and a new connecting road in ...
President Adeang, fellow Ministers, honourable Diet Member Horii, Ambassadors, distinguished guests. Minasama, konnichiwa, and good afternoon, everyone. Distinguished guests, it’s a pleasure to be here with you today to talk about New Zealand’s foreign policy reset, the reasons for it, the values that underpin it, and how it ...
Last summer when Matairangi burned, Ginny and Tom stood at the window of their lounge, watching kākā shoot skyward from the burning trees. From the distance, they looked to Ginny like pages torn from books and thrown into a bonfire. It was Tom, voice tight, who told her it was ...
Opinion: The Canadian short story writer Alice Munro – winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2013 – died in May at the age of 92. Her work was about “the damage people inflict on one another in the name of love”, Deborah Treisman wrote in the New Yorker. ...
This month marks two years since the most powerful telescope ever built sent its first pictures back to earth. From its lofty vantage point, beyond the moon in orbit around the sun, the James Webb Space Telescope was tuned to observe the first stars and galaxies being born soon after ...
Comment: After Climate Change Minister Simon Watts’ preview several weeks ago, I had some optimism about the Government’s emissions reduction plan. Now I’ve read the discussion document, that hope has been dashed. How can the Government propose a plan that wants to take New Zealand taxpayers’ hard-earned money, and spend ...
Christopher Luxon: hurdles The little man from National jumps hurdles in his sleep. He’s quite good at it in his dreams and even though the reality doesn’t quite match up you have to give him credit for getting up every morning and crashing into the very first hurdle of the ...
Comment: It was a good two hours into the conversation when Tyrone Marks raised the most basic of questions when I first spoke to him in 2017. “They didn’t explain the things they did to me. They never told me why. And they still haven’t. There’s no explanation for it. ...
Madeleine Chapman rounds out Death Week on The Spinoff with a final recommendation. You can read all of our Death Week coverage here. Nothing forces you to reflect on your life and relationships quite like proximity to death. For those whose nearest and dearest have died, there are reasonably obvious ...
Whitney Greene takes us through her life in television, including the TV character she’d like to plan a funeral for and her cow lung catastrophe on The Traitors NZ. “If the phone rings, I have to answer it,” Whitney Greene from The Traitors NZ warns as we begin our My ...
Maddie Ballard reviews the debut essay collection of Pōneke writer Flora Feltham.In ‘The Raw Material’, the longest essay in Flora Feltham’s dazzling debut collection, the author heads out for a run after hours of weaving and sees the world turn to textile. “Pounding along the Parade, I saw the ...
Andy Christiansen, one half of the experimental rock-pop duo TRiPS, shares the tunes inspiring the band’s perfect weekend and new release. “Good speakers, good food, good music, no distractions”: that’s all you need to enjoy the psychedelic stylings of TRiPS, a new band formed by Fly My Pretties’ Barnaby Weir ...
Celebrating our quadrennial opportunity to become experts in a bunch of sports we never normally watch.The games of the XXXIII Olympiad are upon us. Paris will host this year’s showcase of sporting and athletic prowess, which means some late-night and early-morning viewing for us in Aotearoa.But what sports ...
The photograph is striking and beautiful, but also disturbing – a reminder that my love for John was often entangled in shame.The Sunday Essay is made possible thanks to the support of Creative New Zealand.In the spring of 1980, in Dunedin, shortly before his death, someone took a photograph ...
Get to know Babushka, our latest Dog of the Month. This feature was offered as a reward during our What’s Eating Aotearoa PledgeMe campaign. Thank you to Babu’s humans, Jo and Isabel, for their support. Dog name: Babushka (Babu for short) Age: 2Breed: Border Collie X poodleIf rescued, ...
Pacific Media Watch A Lebanese photojournalist who was severely wounded during an Israeli air strike in south Lebanon carried the Olympic torch in Paris this week in honour of her peers who have been wounded and killed in the field — especially in Gaza and Lebanon. Christina Assi of Agence ...
The first report in a five-part web series focused on the 15th Triennial Conference of Pacific Women taking place in the Marshall Islands this week.SPECIAL REPORT:By Netani Rika in Majuro Women continue to fight for justice 70 years after the first nuclear tests by the United States caused ...
Christopher Luxon has joined with Australia and Canada's leaders in voicing support for US President Joe Biden's ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra The 2022 election brought the “teal wave” into parliament. The next election will test whether teals, who occupy what were Liberal seats, and other independents can maintain their momentum. Joining us on the Podcast ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ian Musgrave, Senior lecturer in Pharmacology, University of Adelaide Pixavri/Shutterstock A major Federal Court class action has been dismissed this week after Justice Michael Lee ruled there was not enough evidence to prove the weedkiller Roundup causes cancer. Plaintiff Kelvin ...
In The Week in Politics: politicians have to decide what to do about child abuse, Health NZ is booked in for major surgery and Darleen Tana returns. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Clare Corbould, Associate Professor, Contemporary Histories Research Group, Deakin University Mainstream media are surprisingly muted at the prospect of the world’s most powerful nation being led for the first time by a woman – specifically a woman of colour, Vice President Kamala ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rebecca Bennett, PhD Student, Associate Research Fellow, Deakin University Last week, a drone delivery company called Wing (owned by Google’s parent company, Alphabet) started operating in Melbourne. Some 250,000 residents in parts of the city’s eastern suburbs can now order food from ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jonathan Foo, Lecturer, Physiotherapy, Monash University pikselstock/Shutterstock In the next 40 years in Australia, it’s predicted the number of Australians aged 65 and over will more than double, while the number of people aged 85 and over will more than triple. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Katrina Grant, Research Associate, Power Institute for Arts and Visual Culture, University of Sydney Jonas Åkerström’s 1790 work, Session of the Accademia dell’Arcadia on August 17 1788.Nationalmuseum/Cecilia Heisser Ever wondered whether you’d have a better chance at winning an Olympic gold ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alexandra Jones, Program Lead, Food Governance, George Institute for Global Health wavebreakmedia/Shutterstock On Thursday, Australian and New Zealand food ministers at state, federal and national levels met to thrash out what’s next for health star ratings on packaged foods. Now, after ...
The Abuse in Care report found many Pacific survivors lost their connections to their culture and language, resulting in trauma that has been carried from generation to generation. ...
In the regulatory review, ECC intends to suggest that ERO focus on curriculum delivery reviews rather than the Ministry, because it’s not efficient or effective to have two agencies with radically different approaches climbing over each other. ...
Te Rūnanga Nui o Ngā Kura Kaupapa Māori invites the current government to work in partnership with them to develop a pathway forward, including the development of a parallel pathway and meaningful policy and strategy for Kura Kaupapa Māori ...
If you haven’t started watching yet, Tara Ward begs you to reconsider. This is an excerpt from our weekly pop culture newsletter Rec Room. Sign up here. In the world of New Zealand reality television, we have many gems in our crown. There’s the delicious second season of the Celebrity Treasure ...
A new poem by Fiona Kidman. The clothes of the dead I did not keep my mother’s furry red beret for long nor the stringy scarves that adorned the necks of my aunts, although I have kept tag ends of gold, the rings and trinkets they wore, the brooches no ...
The government’s announcement that it will re-open the foreshore and seabed controversy by changing the rules on recognising centuries-old Māori customary title for a third time goes against the rule of law and New Zealand values,” Mr Tipa says. ...
The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington.AUCKLAND1 Lioness by Emily Perkins (Bloomsbury, $25) Roarrrr! Perkins’ brilliant, award-winning, Marian-Keyes anointed, darkly funny, long ...
The 2004 Act vested ownership of the foreshore and seabed in the Crown, extinguishing any Māori claims to ownership and causing widespread outrage and protests among Māori communities. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Antje Deckert, Associate Professor (Criminology), Auckland University of Technology Getty Images Despite the connection between institutional harm and gang membership made clear in this week’s mammoth royal commission abuse-in care report, the government seems unlikely to soften its “get tough on ...
From Lewis Clareburt in the swimming to the start of the rowing – the first seven days of Paris 2024 promise to be big for New Zealand. There are few events that bring the country together quite like an Olympic Games. Nothing quite matches the excitement of getting up in ...
Groundbreaking local science just showed up in the most surprising of places: the season finale of The Kardashians. In the season five finale of The Kardashians last night, several members of the family gathered together in one of their signature empty, cream-coloured rooms to hear test results that had been ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Amin Saikal, Emeritus professor of Middle Eastern and Central Asian Studies, Australian National University The Middle East is on the brink of a possibly devastating regional war, with hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah reaching an extremely dangerous level. Washington has engaged in ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Laura Elizabeth Eades, Rheumatologist, Monash University Lupus is an inflammatory autoimmune illness, where the body’s immune system mistakenly attacks itself. Lupus can affect virtually any part of the body, although it most commonly affects the skin, joints and kidneys. The symptoms ...
A law firm that specialises in working with survivors of abuse in State care is disappointed that the Government fails to recognise that its boot camps can be directly compared to previous boot camps from the 1990s and 2000s. ...
Dying is a natural part of life, like updating your Wof or seeing your hairdresser, but without the word-of-mouth recs that help guarantee a good service. What if we changed that? Dying Reviews received by The Spinoff have had the names of organisations redacted while Hospice NZ collects further data. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jonti Horner, Professor (Astrophysics), University of Southern Queensland Mike Lewinski/Flickr, CC BY On any clear night, if you gaze skywards long enough, chances are you’ll see a meteor streaking through the sky. Some nights, however, are better than others. At ...
Despite having no bars or other designated spaces for lesbians, Auckland boasts a small but mighty lesbian museum. So how did it get here? The past 18 months has brought increasing hostility towards the queer community across Aotearoa. Kellie-Jay Keen-Minshull’s anti-trans rally in Tamaki Makaurau last March led to a ...
Poneke Antifascist Coalition has invited Wellingtonians to stand in solidarity with the Kanak people at 12pm today outside the French Embassy in Wellington. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Layton, Visiting Fellow, Strategic Studies, Griffith University Drones are the signature technology of the Ukraine war. A few miniature aircraft designs were used in the war’s early days, but an incredible array of drones have now evolved. There are different types, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mark Slee, Associate Professor, Clinical Academic Neurologist, Flinders University Francisco Gonzelez/Unsplash Migraine is many things, but one thing it’s not is “just a headache”. “Migraine” comes from the Greek word “hemicrania”, referring to the common experience of migraine being predominantly ...
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Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Vaughan Cruickshank, Senior Lecturer in Health and Physical Education, University of Tasmania Paris is about to host its third summer Olympics. While we don’t yet know what the legacy of this year’s games will be, let’s take the opportunity to reflect on ...
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The media was again incredibly frustrating at the 4pm covid update yesterday, and in this mornings Herald.
Having Audrey Young doing a grumpy old woman routine asking the same gotcha question a million times ("why are we not told these business now?", and the switcheroo "why were this businesses blindsided by releasing their information before informing them?") was bad enough but her personal annoyance has become the subject of her piece this morning in the paper, where for some vague reason the PM needs to be involved to rev up the MOH over some quibble that Audrey doesn't like.
What is frustrating is ONE WHOLE YEAR after the COVID pandemic began the main media companies are STILL treating the pandemic as primarily a POLITICAL story, using courtier journalists who were excoriated by the public for their addiction to the gotcha dialogue of banter politics and viewing everything through the lens of horse race political analysis. Why was Audrey Young there? Why has the NZ Herald still not got a health journalist to cover this story?
The media operate with an insular and defensive arrogance that cannot accept criticism. indeed, they interpret criticism only as proof of their own infallibility.
The MSM seems to have learnt nothing from the blow covid dealt to their reputation last year.
I assume you’re referring to this:
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/audrey-young-where-is-jacinda-arderns-collectivism-when-it-is-needed-for-covid-19/EL5P6LGK4G5DHKPNFBOQCSFZ4Q/ [paywalled]
Can you please add the link yourself from now on, thanks?
"The MSM seems to have learnt nothing from the blow covid dealt to their reputation last year."
They are incapable of reforming themselves. When public discourse has been emptied of any real debate due to a the broader Nat-Lab neoliberal consensus – all that is left is courtier-like gossip, squabbling over trivialities, playing favourites, tribal allegiance and settling scores from past grievances.
There is one word to describe the MSM's attitude – elitism.
They really do believe they are a cut above the public. I know because many years ago I worked in broadcasting. The well used phrase to describe the public then was "the peasants".
Tawdrey Young hacks away at the govt on behalf of the national party as per usual.
Granny's been consistently favouring the political aspect over the health/public safety angle from day 1.
Thanks for that TC, couldn't agree more.
The people staffing the businesses involved would have known they'd been on-site at the same time as this person via the app if they were scanning on entry like they're supposed to. If Audrey wants someone to blame for them not knowing about it, start there.
I posted this link on lprent's post on frog hoping. I thought I would put it here too.
Mark Cohen in a series of korero concerning regenerative ag and our relationship (or lack thereof) with nature.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Z1jzWwbwNOI
40 minutes well spent, especially those of us in the lower Te Ika a Maui.
Happy holiday.
"The biggest economic transformation since the 1980s is coming – and many of us don’t even know it."
Rather, it should be, but time will tell if they have the vision (and will) to implement it.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/environment/climate-news/124001781/the-change-thatll-make-rogernomics-look-like-a-trial-period
just having a read, but jfc way to go with the negative framing. Rogernomics wrecked NZ and we still haven't recovered. Not the best introduction to fast radical change needed for the climate/ecological emergencies.
jfc???
and ..
"This time, Carr and his fellow commissioners (and the governments that receive their advice) will need to succeed where leaders of the 1980s failed, by transforming the country without the mass pain and job losses that accompanied Rogernomics."
Jesus F'ing Christ
Ah..ic…so many acronyms its hard to keep up
Funnily enough I misunderstood
to mean you were challenging my objection to the article, not that you didn't understand what jfc meant.
if they want people to get on board, telling them it's going to be worse than Rogernomics is a really, really bad thing to do. Yes, there are good things in the piece, but the overall framing, the stuff that stressed people will process at the gut level, is telling us that it's going to be bad, that there will be losers. Some people like myself will respond with anger, others will simply just switch off. People already feeling despair will have to put effort into not despairing more and some won't want to or be able to. People who know climate action is important but don't have that active in their lives yet will be less like to engage and make the changes needed.
Putting in counterbalances to all that helps mitigate it, but it's still a shit framing.
Comparisons with Rogernomics could have been done without that framing and in ways that help us learn from the mistakes of the past.
Or we can carry on pretending that nothing really has to change
you can keep on with your binary thinking Pat. It's pretty clear that I'm not arguing for head in the sand at all.
Using the example of Rogernomics as a yardstick for the level of change required is logical in the NZ context as there is nothing else within living memory to use as a comparison….whatever anyone thinks of those reforms there is no doubt it was visionary, radical and implemented at pace…all elements that are required now.
Binary?…..meh
And I may add that not everyone shares your apparent abhorrence of the term, as subsequent election results have shown.
do you know what I mean when I say framing?
I already said that there's no problem with comparing with Rogernomics, it's about how it's done.
Logic is necessary but not sufficient to get people on board.
Rogernomics as visionary… meh. If people experience Rogernomics as harmful, that's what they will take into this framing.
Yes weka, I know what framing means…do you know what yardstick means?
However people experienced Rogernomics they will know they have done it before and can do it again….the greatest fear is the fear of the unknown.
visionary
adjective
UK /ˈvɪʒ.ən.ri/ US /ˈvɪʒ.er.i/
visionary adjective (ABLE TO IMAGINE THE FUTURE)
with the ability to imagine how a country, society, industry, etc. will develop in the future:
I never ever saw Rogernomics as visionary but more a return to the laissez-faire economics of our past. Indeed we are seeing exactly the same results (increased inequality, slum landlords, churches profiting off the poor) that we saw previously under it's strictures.
Visionary was the abandonment of it for a more collective, caring society with concepts like a fair days work for a fair days pay, where education and public transport was valued as a public good, where utilities were run by the state and not for extracting profit, where benefit rates were set to enable people to be part of society.
Rogernomics was simply a tried and true recipe for capitalism to work with minimal fettering.
https://www.investopedia.com/terms/l/laissezfaire.asp#:~:text=The%20driving%20principle%20behind%20laissez,part%20of%20free%20market%20capitalism.
I wish we could dispense with calling it Rogernomics like it was something unique. Rogernomics, Thatcherism, Reganism, same shit different country.
@ Solkta
Unfortunately that is what it is widely defined as in NZ….and it serves as shorthand for a complexity that most over a certain age understand.
large numbers of people don't want to 'do it again', and tying something they really don't want to experience to climate action is not going to help them to change. It's more likely they will switch off or resist.
In case it's not clear, many, many people in NZ have had their quality of life seriously negatively impacted by Rogernomics. Why on earth would they want to do that again? On top of what is already being experienced.
Why?…to do it better.
Those same people you refer too are likely the same people who have been calling for the reversal of Rogernomics since its implementation….are you telling them they must continue to rely on incrementalism?….thats what weve had since the 80's.
Carr is announcing that incrementalism needs to be over….so now the opportunity is there to redo Rogernomics….we can take that opportunity or not.
Opportnuity to un-do rogernomics would be more persuasive.
spot on Sacha.
Not everybody in NZ will look at this with an academic mind analysing the probabilities of getting out of the next cycle of economic renewal (which incidentally I would say it is) alive, refreshed and nothing lost but so much gained.
There is a lot of transition required before anything applicable is sustainable and livable. Mind you, some would argue that the earth can do without people very nicely. This interim time will be difficult as the current economic model does work on a winner takes all platform.
UBI would be a solution, but it takes so much courage to tax those multinationals and those who amass the resources right now, I really cannot see this cotton wool brigade doing anything at all. And I may add I have been through the Rogernomic years and seen a lot of carnage. People seem to forget Enron etc… those who have pilfered the resources paid for by taxpayers. Oops, sounds familiar… 16 Billions later…These people will not change, ever. This is the lesson and lets not repeat this please.
Again..
visionary
adjective
UK /ˈvɪʒ.ən.ri/ US /ˈvɪʒ.er.i/
visionary adjective (ABLE TO IMAGINE THE FUTURE)
with the ability to imagine how a country, society, industry, etc. will develop in the future:
There is no denying Douglas (et al) had a vision for a very different future for NZ from that that would have developed under the existing settings…..acknowledging such is not approval of the vision.
Hitler was a visionary. Funny how people don't call him that though..
Nah he had a vision for himself and his mates.
The rest of New Zealand could get stuffed – and it did.
yes he was…as was Stalin…as said, it dosnt mean you support the vision, but democracy allows us to decide which visions are implemented….if we engage
"Opportnuity to un-do rogernomics would be more persuasive."
Then take it.
telling them it's going to be worse than Rogernomics is a really, really bad thing to do.
On that I really have to agree. Dumbarse framing all round.
Personally I think most people are at some level, perhaps even subconsciously, quite ready to wean ourselves off fossil fuels and move onto the next stage. They'd greet a constructive pathway to get there with some relief and joy even.
Assume you havn't read the article…..
"The shifts required to run our economy without fossil fuels will make the economic changes of the late 1980s “look like a trial period”, in the words of Climate Change Commission chair Rod Carr."
cant see 'worse' anywhere
Rogernomics harmed many individuals and the country as a whole. That was the trial period for what we are about to do next.
Worse doesn't need spelling out.
"Climate Change Minister James Shaw has said he thinks many people will be shocked by how much New Zealand needs to cut its emissions.
But the alternative – inaction and climate catastrophe – would be worse."
The worse is indeed spelt out
yes Pat, and as you know that's not what we were talking about.
You and I and James Shaw all know we need to be doing much more. Getting enough of NZ on board so that the govt is free to act needs approaches that don't put people off. Tying climate action to Rogernomics is daft, for all the reasons explained.
Using the 80s reforms (rogernomics) to quantify the scale of change needed is sensible especially as many of those required to drive that change are the beneficiaries of those rerforms….they will be encouraged to accept that change as an opportunity.
for the third time, using a comparison with Rogernomics isn’t wrong, it’s how they’ve done it this time. i.e. the framing.
you dont like the 'framing'…thats fine, it isnt aimed at you..its aimed at those who dont wish to risk that which they have (opposed to change) …if you look at the demographics of the climate change recalcitrants they are overwhelmingly National and Act supporters…..or supporters of Rogernomics if you like…those that opposed the effects of 'Rogernomics already support change.
Carr isnt as silly as he looks
Is this a case of lets kill the patient or are we happy with substantial human collateral?
Anyone who pretends there was anything positive about Rogergnomics will not have my confidence for whatever carbon strategy they bodge up. Is this fellow a scientist? If not, his prescriptions will likely be inadequate. If he likes Rogergnomics, his measures will be characterised by the massive corruption that consumed all of what should have been the public benefits of Rogergnomics.
Might as well sack him now – no credibility whatsoever.
can't tell how much of the poor framing was Carr or the journos.
Where in the article is there any positive reinforcemnt of the effects of 'Rogernomics'.?…time for some rational thought
my house just shook.
series of quakes on the East Coast in the last half hour
https://www.geonet.org.nz/earthquake
Isolation hotels in Rotorua. There would need to be an evacuation plan.
were the quakes that big?
Quakes are not big enough for an evacuation. This does not rule out an evacuation being required were a stronger earth quake to occur.
2. Will the Common Wealth Games go ahead in Birmingham in 2022?
3. Is it possible to combine the Common Wealth and the Olympic Games and hold them at two different venues?
2. probably not
3. why?
3. why?
The planning which has occurred by the host countries and the athletes.
Fair point. I meant why combine them and use different venues?
I was thinking outside the box so both games could be held in a modified form.
Edit Commonwealth.
Key knighted Talley.
And we now find another reason why that was such a wonderful decision.
They dump their contaminants down the drain.
What a wonderful company!
What a wonderful man!
And further evidence of New Zealand being such a clean green nation.
They dump https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/in-depth/435111/revealed-the-companies-dumping-contaminants-down-the-drain
"Key knighted Talley"
Oh well. The Government of the day got a fair number of such things wrong didn't they?
I mean they knighted Michael Cullen! How low could they go?
Hoping that the very civilised Mr Cullen has time to finish his book – so we get to read about how deranged Douglas and co were.
Alwyn Cullen introduced Kiwi Saver and the so called "Cullen Fund" now worth 54 billion plus. You "Sir" are a troll.
You suggest that I am a Troll. May I suggest that, at least when it comes to discussions about the Cullen Fund you, Madam, are ignorant.
The Cullen Fund is probably the silliest thing that any New Zealand Government has done in this century. All we are doing is borrowing money for a group of Investment Bankers to invest in overseas assets. Can I introduce you to Michael Littlewood. He was the founder of the Retirement Policy and Research Centre at the University of Auckland. He is the foremost New Zealand expert on the subject.
I suggest that you read the linked article where he explains why the Cullen Fund is crazy and will do exactly nothing to reduce the future cost of New Zealand Super. He proposes that the scheme should be wound up and the money already in it shpuld be used to help pay for the Covid Recovery. I fully agree with him.
As Michael proposes
"Can someone in the Government please explain to New Zealanders why we taxpayers will be borrowing $25.13 billion to pass on to the fund's Guardians to invest on our behalf?"
"The fund will not reduce the future cost of NZ Super by one dollar – it may very partially 'smooth' the incidence of funding that cost but will not change it. The Government’s contributions won’t change the cost of NZ Super; neither will a stellar nor a poor investment performance by the fund's guardians."
"The cost of any pension scheme, private or public, is the benefits actually paid by the scheme (plus administration costs) and that doesn’t have anything to do with how it is paid for."
"Its presence has mistakenly led some to believe that the fund makes New Zealand Superannuation more secure and sustainable. It doesn’t. The fund is a political placebo; a fiscal hall of mirrors."
Please read the whole linked article. The scheme is nuts and should be wound up.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/121584355/we-should-use-nz-super-fund-billions-to-help-pay-for-covid19-recovery
[You were definitely diversion-trolling, for which you receive a one-week ban in return.
In addition, you get another week for your arrogant ad hom, which was uncalled for.
For a supposedly clever man, you’re a slow learner – Incognito]
LOL Alwyn, a man who worked in tax evasion schemes no less!!
Have you got the right Michael Littlewood?
Good to see a shift in position Alwyn, from the recent concern that dementia suffers would shortly bankrupt the country.
See my Moderation note @ 7:01 PM.
Where does it say “For diversion trolling and arrogant put downs of other commenters”?
Oh well, I guess it doesn’t.
Trolling is so subjective, an example of the subjectivity of the term is that this comment in no way seems like trolling to me, ironically enough it seems like a reasoned rebuttal to the claim of being termed a troll from where I am sitting…
Funny how two different people can read or hear the same thing but take away different interpretations and meaning isn't it?
Thanks for posting that Ed. Just unbelievable though. Sickening. Why are there not more prosecutions, and with meaningful penalties?
A Message from the Knights of the British Empire
It has been brought to our attention that one Sir Peter Ivan Talijancich KNZM, hereafter known as TALLEY, has been dumping filthy pollutants down the drain and outraging fine, decent "Kiwis", or oiks.
We would like to point out that the rogue TALLEY is an aberration, an abomination, an irritant, a boor, and a cad. An arsehole, if one were to employ the vernacular. The rest of New Zealand’s, and indeed the Empire’s, knights, however, are men of the highest character. As one of our esteemed number said of himself some years ago after indulging in a seven minute radio rant against cheeky darkies, we are GOOD MEN.
So let’s condemn this errant knight TALLEY by all means, but let us also praise good men and true, like the following exemplars of moral courage and intellectual excellence…..
Sir Paul Holmes, Sir Thomas Eichelbaum, Sir James Savile, Sir William Gallagher,
Dame Denise L’Estrange-Corbet, Sir Peter Leitch, Sir Jeremiah Mateparae, Sir John Key, Sir Clive Woodward, Sir Robert Jones
https://www.tvnz.co.nz/one-news/new-zealand/-we-should-not-be-calling-him-sir-businessman-s-knighthood-questioned-6328823
@ Morrissey, Exactly right…+1
Ah, Sir Talley–what a splendid record “Talleys” company towns and fish businesses have…
decapitation at sea, cleaner hoisted under chin by meat hook on chain, worker crushed to death by badly stacked frozen carcasses, worker burned almost to death, life ruined, at AFFCO Moerewa in boiler explosion, legal action taken against meatworkers personal use of Facebook, Women fish filleters discriminated against on basis of sex, Open Country Cheese lockout, Waikato 2009, Invercargill workers recruited and transported to actively scab on Dairy Workers Union members! Security guards harassment of union delegates and organisers, Need I go on…
Time and again Talleys lose in all Employment Courts, Authorities and other forums, but they go there to make unions use up valuable membership funds on legal expenses and time off organising. Scum of the earth, should be closed down for good and prohibited from running a business again.
Hard to tell who are the adhominems amoung that group.
Maybe we should have an official list of people who declined Knighthoods?
Hard to tell who are the adhominems amoung [sic] that group.
Every one of them is, or was, a reprehensible human being. They were chosen to show the low calibre of person that can be the recipient of royal "honours".
[Oh my, an orgy of ad homs by the ad hom Master himself!
I counted 10 “reprehensible human being[s]” and they are obviously easy targets.
However, you’d been warned only three days ago to lift your game and stop the ad hommery.
Take 10 days off, one day for each “reprehensible human being” and next time it will increase.
However, if you cannot help yourself, just say the word and we can all save ourselves a lot of time and make it a permanent ban without undue delay – Incognito]
See my Moderation note @ 4:41 PM.
Re-read the Moderation(s) note and read it properly. You have form, you have been warned, you are begging for a permanent ban here and only just got let off the hook recently for another of your faux pas, for which you gave a sincere and genuine apology. You have not obtained impunity from banning.
Take heed of the Moderation notes and lift your game or accept the consequence of your refusal.
I see you have commented on my thread…why? just stop micro managing everyone.
" If this were a relationship, a counsellor might suggest breaking up and separating, amicably and while there still is smidgen of (self-)respect left … "
That is the remark you left me…maybe you need to look at your relationship with Morrissey, as it is obvious to everyone you single him out and treat him quite unfairly.
Oh, it was “your” thread?
Why do you take it personal when it was clearly directed at a number of commenters? FYI, it was a comment, not a moderation. If you can’t handle it, ignore it or go somewhere else instead of whining here.
You don’t think the question is valid? It is obvious to everyone that you are stuck in a groove that creates a bad vibe. Your avoidance is telling, sadly 🙁
I/we have been more than fair to Morrissey. Anyway, it is none of your business how we manage The Standard. Read the Policy.
OK stop micro managing 'us' then…
If it were only Talley it wouldn't be so bad – for all that he has few redeeming features. That story reveals ongoing systematic corruption and government collusion with it. The laws have been on the books for decades – but never enforced. A majority of companies are failing repeatedly. It just isn't good enough.
Councils are due a mighty hefty 'please explain' and maybe they too need to be fined if they fail or decline to enforce the laws we have.
Talley – ho
A huntsman's cry to the hounds on sighting a fox.
It's about time they were hunted – persistent lawbreakers setting bad examples for their marginally less corrupt corporate mates. What are we, Russia? Kleptocrats don't belong here.
You got it.
I thought you were calling him a prostitute at first there, and perhaps rightly so; in abandoning social acceptability for money. But then this got stuck in my head until I played it through:
With the “lamb’s brains”, bathtub drooling (around 2:05), and general fever-dreaminess of the video, it is tempting to retcon it’s meaning as what happens to those exposed to polluters slime.
In areas of water management Councils have/are failing all over this country.
WDC stand around like stunned mullet wibbling about their failures. They seem to be expecting sympathy for the 'we don't know how to fix it' atitude.
They've failed along with many others, times up so get on with it central govt.
Does the minister see her goal as fixing the problem or waiting out the complainers until she gets a more prestigious portfolio?
Went on their face book and told them I would not buy their products any more. Have found a better vegan yoghurt at half the price.
Très, très uncool. No. 1: CHELSEA CLINTON
Chelsea Clinton is mocked after claiming that she told her son Aidan, four, that 'it’s the 21st day of the 21st year in the 21st century' and he responded 'Yeah, but it’s cooler it's Joe Biden's first full day in the White House'.
The post attracted attention from Twitter users who responded with disbelief ….
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9175573/Chelsea-Clinton-mocked-Twitter-posting-exchange-son.html
Chelsea Clinton made a goat of herself after the Christchurch massacre in 2019….
Très, très uncool is compiled and presented by Serena Sopwith-Fotherington, for Daisycutter Sports Inc.
I was at a childs birthday party on the 22nd and I commented that next February it would be 2/2/2022. As well 22/2/2022 in the same month. The 21st day of the 21st year in the 21st century is very rare.
I would think that the second date is even better if you use a 2 digit month.
It is then properly symmetrical with the digits reading 22022022
That is a special being a palindrome date
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palindrome#:~:text=A%20palindrome%20is%20a%20word,such%20as%20madam%20or%20racecar.
Thanks for that, I had not thought about it. I thought I was being clever!
"I was being clever".
And so you were. However the part I thought was really clever was the understatement at the end when you said "The 21st day of the 21st year in the 21st century is very rare.". Very rare indeed. For the life of me I cannot see how it can be described as anything other than the much stronger statement the it is unique.
What a precocious 4yo little Aidan is tobesure. By precocious I mean annoying.
Très, très cute: https://www.stuff.co.nz/entertainment/bravo/news/124045797/kate-middleton-and-prince-williams-new-puppy-will-pawsitively-melt-your-heart
Graeme Hart gains $3.4 billion during COVID.
Further proof ( if you needed it ) that the death cult a.k.a. neoliberal capitalism must be swept away, just an the Ancient Regime was thrown out in 1789.
The rich are a real problem to the health of humanity and the earth’s ecosystems.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/435132/graeme-hart-s-3-point-4b-gain-proves-need-for-taxing-wealth-oxfam
Oxfam? They are, of course. one of those groups that manage to get themselves registered as a charity. Thus they don't pay tax and any donations they get become eligible for a tax deduction by the donor.
Thus for every $1,000 they receive as a donation means that the tax revenues of the State are reduced by $330 dollars. That is money that could help provide all those nice things that Oxfam say they are in favour of.
Bugger them. They, just like Greenpeace, the Helen Clark Foundation and hundreds of others of their ilk, are registered as charities. They are merely political pressure groups and, just like the political parties, should be wholly financed by their adherents. They shouldn't have a big chunk of their funds come from tax deductions that could be spent on genuinely useful activities by the Crown.
I should note that I have a vested interest in the activities that Oxfam are whinging about. Like John Hart I am also significantly better off than I was a year ago. Some years ago I put quite a lot of money into FPH. They are manufacturers of things that are genuinely useful to humanity during this pandemic. That is quite different to the actions of people like Oxfam who are about as useful as tits on a bull.
Just as well Oxfam aren't billionaires isn't it. Think of all the tax revenue we'd be losing.
They are merely political pressure groups…
???? Greenpeace is far more than simply a pressure group. It's an activist organization as well.
Do you think Oxfam should not study structural and political causes of poverty? Do you think they should just stay quiet and leave it to the politicians?
"they should just stay quiet and leave it to the politicians".
No, not at all. However I don't think that they are a Charity, and they certainly shouldn't be treated like one.
That doesn't mean in any shape or form that they should be silenced.
Good on you, alwyn.![yes yes](https://cdn.ckeditor.com/4.11.3/full-all/plugins/smiley/images/thumbs_up.png)
The Board of Deputies (UK) have now provided a classic example to explain the term 'virtue signalling' through a report that was quickly removed from the Guardian this morning!
While doing the 'over there' pointing at China and the treatment of Uighurs, they conveniently overlook the fact that the worst abuses, that so far have not been conclusively proven, have been perpetrated on an alleged one million people. While not diminishing the seriousness of such human rights abuses, the same Deputies have no qualms about overlooking the manner in which the Israeli Government treats the two million Gazans who live in an open prison and in the West Bank who constantly face indiscriminate human rights abuses perpetrated by the IDF and settlers in the name of the Zionist State.
The current Deputies lack morality and discredit themselves with their intention to use the Holocaust Memorial Day as a vehicle for pushing a dubious political agenda. The Guardian is also compromised in that it hastily surrendered its journalistic integrity by removing its report – no doubt at the behest of the Board of Deputies.
The Board of Deputies are hardline, militant supporters of the occupation of the West Bank and the siege of Gaza. It's encouraging to see many people, including yourself, aom, calling them out for their hypocrisy.
Another hardline supporter of Israeli aggression who posed as a humanitarian was the late Elie Wiesel. When he spoke at Saint Louis University on December 1, 2009, three women challenged him to break his silence about Gaza and to travel with them on the Gaza Freedom March to see for himself the devastation caused by Israel’s Operation Cast Lead in December 2008 and the ongoing siege….
Being in opposition in NZ now must be a nightmare.
Anything you say about Covid,the largest ship in port will be seen to be barking at cars. (Sorry for the mixed metaphor)
But Bishop and Seymour just can’t help themselves. Terriers or labradors?