I hope whomever getting there subsidized tesla today is greatful to this medium income solo dad who has donated $4000 in ute tax for buying a low budget but most economical ute .
All I can suggest is take Minister Woods advice. Take a shorter shower, turn off the lights and heater to counter the governments inability to cut their own spending.
Don’t worry lad- National want single storey houses connected by single lane roads submerged in water all through the North Island. They’ll give you a dollar back on your tax and then ensure you can’t get insurance. Nothing like a party with vision, eh?
Only one Tesla model sells for under the eighty grand according the Automobile Association. This is a period of transition, moving from old to new technology has all sorts of challenges and contradictions along the way–but as the saying goes, “what planet are you on?” https://www.aa.co.nz/cars/buying-a-car/car-buying-guide/new-cars/new-car-prices/tesla/
I have had an EV for a year now, driving past gas stations–priceless.
58% of EV imports to NZ in the year to March 23 are Chinese brands. In a couple of years time I predict that this will be 80%. Elon is discounting now because he can’t compete with the Chinese.
More worrying is that EX imports rose 127% to $1.23 billion to the year March 23. NZ's current account is suffering at the moment, partly because of EV imports. We are living beyond our means.
I had a 2012 Honda Fit RS hybrid until it found the St Georges Bay River in a cyclone. I thought that was amazingly efficient at about 5.5l/100km (I usually found it to be about 6-6.5). Way better than my old ICE Caldina. Not to mention was amazingly snappy to drive in sport. Also had 40L tank compared to the 60L in the Caldina and lasted weeks longer doing my minimal around town driving.
After the insurance company wrote off the Fit because of wet carpets and possible electrics.
So I got a 2014 Honda Fit RS hybrid. That is rated at 3.9L/100km if you drove like an old man.
Drove myself, partner, and luggage to Bay of Islands – 246km starting with a full tank. Did some running around there probably another 100km. Drove back another 246km. Had quarter of a tank showing when I got home. Filled up with 25 litres. Roughly 4.1-4.2L.
I wasn’t exactly driving conservatively. Drove at speed limit on ECO except when passing. Then I’d flip into sport and pass fast. This included passing lanes going uphill at from 80km/hr to 160km/hour in a couple seconds testing the little 1500cc engine.
What's your reasoning for buying a new, or fresh import, 'budget' ute?
Would have thought going for a second hand item that will get you through a couple of years until electrics arrive, and they are certainly coming, would have been a better bet.
Although if you need the certainty / reliability of a new vehicle (not necessarily guaranteed) then it's a different story.
I miss my VE Commodore, it died about 18 months ago. Cost a bomb to keep the bloody thing on the road. In the end the steering, timing chain and transmission all needed replacing for over $7k and it didn't seem worth it any more.
Bought a 2016 Atenza (diesel turbo) a couple of months later. Damn thing was even worse. Took it for a drive to Wellington, the turbo shat itself and fscked up the engine, needing a $10k repair job (I just got rid of it).
China will cease production of all combustion vehicles by 2035.
Singapore will stop registration of all combustion vehicles in 7 years.
Australia as of last month is putting penalties on importing all combusion vehicles and bringing in much stricter emission controls.
Those three – plus Japan – are the places we get our used vehicles from.
So inside 7 years we are all going to feel your same pain as we renew vehicles.
we're going to have to wait for the big fleets like Police and rental companies before we get a proper used electric car and ute surge to help the proletariat.
If we wanted real subsidy we'd turn ourselves into a steel company.
If we wanted real subsidy we’d turn ourselves into a steel company.
That won’t make one iota of difference if we didn’t retain NZ ownership. And if we did, we would lose considerable negotiating power with the government to attract subsidies. Multinational companies simply chase the best deals & locations and have very little sympathy for the little local guys on the ground and little attachment to the land they occupy. It’s just business to them, nothing personal.
"Our" negotiating power is extremely narrow since the electricity generators are no longer able to be controlled by the state as they are now only bare-majority shareholders.
NZ has long had a Comprador Capitalist bourgeoisie, where generally the local ruling class subordinates to offshore imperialist powers and corporates, as evidenced in years gone by with the meat industry, and now with the ‘big 4’ Aussie banks.
The current account deficit also tells the story of brands that operate in NZ but export their profits to the parent company overseas. The oil industry are experts at transfer pricing and the tech companies at tax dodging.
If Labour and Greens get back in there is better chances of housing prices continuing to flatten, making asset classes other than housing more attractive …
… for those who have the money to invest.
Also for those who have saved, the rate of those withdrawing $20,000 or more from Kiwisaver over the last 6 months is now pretty high.
I am not giving advice on anything, just noticing.
Well, as some have noted a capital gains based economy for many (on property) has starved investment in other areas.
And since the union busting 1991 Employment Contracts Act, which reduced workers power substantially, some SME owners got into the Bach, boat and BMW groove rather than development and improvement–which I observe living on the coast in the Far North.
Reduced union levels make a mockery of claims that wage rises affect inflation substantially.
Those three – plus Japan – are the places we get our used vehicles from.
The Japanese have been late to the BEV market and Toyota is betting the farm on hydrogen powered ICE vehicles, which may turn out to be the betamax moment for the Japanese auto industry.
NZ is already the discounted dumping ground for unable to sell elsewhere right hand drive ICE vehicles, and that will slow electric vehicle adoption here big time.
“This forecast is actually a really big signal for Fonterra suppliers and every other dairy farmer in New Zealand to sit back and say is my business worth carrying on in this current situation or do I need to start making alternative investment decisions or system changes,” Davison said.
Plus near to $1bi for M.bovis eradication. Oh ye of short memory. “At last count some $660 million had been spent over four years tackling M.Bovis out of an allocated funding pool of just under $870 million. Around $200 million of the $660 million was compensation to farmers, Ardern said" in 2022.
Tasers were meant to be substitutes for lethal force (in the NZ cops pitch to obtain them anyway). In reality they are often used as punishment and compliance devices by more sadistic plods.
Police execution by firearm have included distressed people wielding a golf club (Steven Wallace) builders hammers, knives and the unarmed. A few shots to the torso (heart) as per police weapons training soon sorted them out.
Police culture in Australia, NZ, and USA is still largely bent, violent, racist and misogynist–which needs to change asap.
That's a tough argument to make when the MSM is splashing ramraid videos everywhere and 501s are changing the dynamic of the NZ underworld.
We ought to think carefully before disempowering cops — I'd prefer not to follow the dumb "defund the Police" movement that has ruined Portland, Oregon
Disagree with you completely, Tiger Mountain. The NZ Police have significantly tightened their act up since the 80s, when we had the Muldoon-militia Red Squad, corrupt drug squads in cahoots with dealers, and bad boy behaviour like the long-term sexual predation experienced by Louise Nicholas.
The establishment of the Independent Police Conduct Authority, and the outcome of the Louise Nichols investigation resulted in significant cultural change in the Police. A push for diversity and more women in recruiting have also had downstream effects.
The NZ Police are nothing like the self-'policing' and racist culture in Australia and the US. And England's (but not Scotland's) police can be lumped in there. I do have to say some Australian State governments, like Palaszczuk's, are having a go at improving Police culture.
There is a real cringe factor the way some NZers fawn over NZ Police, some how thinking subservience will protect them. Unless you grew up in Sunday school and have lived a very quiet life you might realise that indiscretions by the law are common, not down to ‘bad apples’.
–Rare is the day IPCA finds against a cop, or even criticises one.
–NZ Police got facial recognition technology under way without proper authority and when caught out attempted to deny it.
–They illegally photograph and cherrypick young Māori–stopped for driving a car while Māori.
–Police discriminated when targeting a group of young African men in Auckland
They have a difficult job (though paramedics, adequate mental health workers, tow truck drivers and civilian search and rescue could likely do some of their work anyway), the officers are drawn from the same society we all live in, but they should set a better example if they want wider support.
I did not mention defunding. How about just making cops more accountable for their actions and less knee jerk thuggish. What would inspire a fit young man to think a 95 year old needed a good old cardiac threatening tasering?
If mental health services were working better there might be less of the “the mad the sad and the bad” for Police to deal with in the first place.
Didn’t read the stuff article obviously. Their answer:
No, but RW trolls like frothing over something.
The pictures showing politicians holding birds before their release into the wild are done with trained handlers and not as part of a constant exploitation program done during daytime for nocturnal creatures.
Creatives are undervalued, underpaid and burned out:
CNZ and NZ On Air have combined for a second time on this body of work to produce A Profile of Creative Professionals 2023 and the reading – while important – isn't pretty.
The quick take: creatives still are nowhere near the average wage earners in Aotearoa.
The research underlines that New Zealand’s creative professionals’ median income is $37,000, compared to the median of $61,800 for salary and wage earners in this country. But that's even an inaccurate view – given that 44% of creative professionals supplement their income with 'other work'; the median income from creative pursuits alone is $19,500 a year.
Creative New Zealand CEO, Stephen Wainwright states “The research continues to paint a bleak picture of remuneration in some parts of the arts sector and the sustainability of creative careers. Income growth is very low, and it continues to be a struggle for the majority of creative professionals to plan financially and to secure important loans such as mortgages.
“It’s not surprising seeing the stats to understand why 68% of creative professionals believe their income is not fair and over half report experiencing burnout in the last year.”
As Wainwright suggests, there has been little shock in the announcement – artists underpaid? who knew?? – but there's a growing frustration that the gap isn't just not closing, it's widening. Only a quarter of creative professionals are living comfortably on their present income.
The Big Idea fielded some strong reactions to Manatū Taonga Ministry for Culture and Heritage's (MCH) recent report touting that arts and creative is now a $12.9 billion sector in Aotearoa. There's been plenty to suggest that's not the reality for those on the ground.
Henri De Toulouse-Lautrec, Rembrandt, El Greco, Modigliani, Vermeer, Gauguin, and Van Gough all died in poverty.
If your genius means you are called to be an artist, poet, sculptor or writer don't expect your art to generate great wealth. At least not while you are still around to enjoy it.
Creative work isn't just fine art, If you think it isn’t worth paying for I trust you don’t consume writing, television, film, games, performance, music or any other things produced by creatives then:
People who create the art you consume deserve a living for their efforts. It is an antiquated attitude to romanticise the 'starving artist' trope:
Romanticizing the idea of impoverished artists struggling to create art at the expense of financial security reinforces the notion that artists should create “for the sake of art” alone, with no expectation of compensation, and normalizes the idea that an inability to support one’s self is an inherent part of life as an artist.
That tells anyone they are marginal occupations best left to the semi-retired or rich.
Unemployment is still so low at 3.4% that there's plenty of opportunity to get out of low paid occupations and get into something more financially rewarding.
Creatives will continue to be undervalued if the elitist attitudes you express are continually promulgated.
In times of crisis, arts, culture and creative experiences play an essential role. Whether through a music gig, a performing arts festival, a visual art exhibit or a well-thumbed book—these bring joy, comfort, and relief in troubled times.
Taking part in creative activities and events boosts individual and collective wellbeing, brings communities together, and keeps our social bonds in tune.
But the full potential of arts, culture and creativity to create positive social change has been held back by cycles of crisis in Aotearoa New Zealand’s creative sector.
Over 3000 research studies inform a World Health Organisation report published in 2020 that clearly links the arts to individual and community health. Some of that research makes it clear that the arts are cheaper and more effective interventions in mental health than medical therapies. Research shows the arts helped many people cope with lockdowns. It seems ludicrous then, as we recover from Covid, in the barren wasteland of cones and $2 shops in the CBD, we have a mayor who threatens the existence of the arts as a publicly-funded good.
Research demonstrates that the arts are lifelines for many of our young people in this city. They provide the reason to get out of bed, to mix and meet with others. To cut community youth arts programmes will feel like further abandonment for those who have used the arts as gateways to return to meaningful purposeful lives. The proposed cuts in this context are both cruel and short-sighted.
Right. So your moan is you don’t think they pay you enough. Join the long line behind nurses, teachers, bus drivers, barristas etc … all providing a service people want.
Failing that, if you’re non union, suggest you have a word with your employer directly and try convince them why you think you are worth more.
Luxon has become the gift that keeps on giving. I really thought the Nats were serious about winning the election this year.
But his stupid comments around free prescriptions, flip-flop on housing intensification, $1.4 billion dollar accounting error from his alt budget, mythical tax cuts for the wealthy, etc etc… offers nothing for ordinary Kiwis.
Luxo is spending too much time talking to farmers and cadaverous Rotarians, calls them the "real people", while disrespecting Māori and complaining about Te Reo. No wonder he is losing in the polls.
I think you are right about Luxon talking only to the people he is comfortable with…that is the impression I get.
The flip flop on housing densification loses him many votes among the young who are yet to buy a house ….but he doesn't talk to them….he has 7 houses after all.
Yeah he's too focused on the landlord class. Problem is he says the quiet stuff out loud. John Key was much more subtle and deceptive by crapping on about the underclass to get elected (then doing approximately zilch for them)
Yes, John Key was sly & subtle, which is how he earned his nickname of ‘smiling assassin’. Luxon is as subtle & shambolic as a blundering bouncer on steroids, politically speaking.
Policy has always been a National Party weakness. They seem to do better with feel-good fluff pieces and minimal difficult questions, and to take pot shots at government errors while promising pie in the sky solutions.
But if the candidates are basically unlikeable the PR stuff is pushing shit uphill
He seems desperate, flailing around for something, anything that might get traction. Would have been far better to state a bunch of principles and ambitions – NZ needs a leader with vision, not some guy randomly making up policy on the hoof
No tacking for Luxon; rowing in circles and catching crabs.
I do like those Big Hairy News snippets. From 10 min onwards is a discussion with Horizon pollster of how NZers saw Luxon in Nov 2022, and of vote pattern shifts from 2020 election. At the start, this poll shows NZ First still a critical player.
He must be doing something right. According to tonights One News poll he is going to be PM after the election with a National -ACT coalition.
In this post-Budget poll National is up by 3%, ACT is steady, Labour is down by 1% and The Green Party have dropped by 4%. Meanwhile Hipkins has dropped in the PM stakes and Luxon is up.
The problem for Luxon is that most ACT supporters would prefer Seymour as PM, that keeps him lower than Hipkins
That was once a problem for Clark before becoming PM (the numbers preferring Peters as Leader of the Oppositon – problem solved when Peters went with National in 1996).
PS Polls are showing L-G-TPM 62-58, then NACT 62-58. It's a race not yet run.
You are probably correct about the PM numbers. It is only the ACT party, out of all the minor parties in Parliament, who has a leader who can even be considered as a possibility for PM.
Can you imagine anyone who thinks that Davidson, Shaw, Ngarewa-Packer or Waititi could possibly be PM?
I agree that the numbers are far too close to call.
Luxon certainly doesn't have the popular appeal of a Key or an Ardern – but, then neither did Helen Clark before being elected (IIRC – I can't find the preferred PM results that far back)
However, that's a known issue for National (he's never been Mr Popularity).
What must be concerning for Labour is that Hipkins isn't exactly resonating with the electorate either.
Of course, that only matters for people who vote for a party based on whether or not they like the leader. Perhaps we'll see an election that is more about policy and less about personality.
He might need heavy protective gear to make it that far – the entitled ones resent leaders that have no sinecures to grant. I can smell the barbecue already.
Given the extent of the offending, the planning and strategising, and the number of women assaulted, it's hard to see why they should be let out again unless they can demonstrate remorse, substantial change in attitude, and reparation. Not that NZ law allows for that.
They used a WhatsApp group to share their rape/sexual assault videos and images. Only three were on trial but dollars to donuts there were more than three group members and if there's any justice to be had, those group members will be scared to fucking death waiting for the knock on the door.
Signs for National's "Get NZ Back On Track" tour have popped up around the district over the last couple of days, seems they might be starting in Queenstown.
Have we got an guerrilla songwriters around who can come up with some images of modern trains to plaster across them… Leave the National logo in the top left, and "Get NZ Back On Track" in bottom right, but the rest a train. Much better billboard.
My local (new) barber just left Queenstown, to get that place on track they need to ban AirBNB. Normal workers cannot live anywhere nearby and end up sleeping in cars
I venture a solid health and safety case could be made against employers who leave workers living in vehicles for any length of time. Fatigue is a risk.
They're Sweeney Todding themselves and don't even realise it. Come and work in Queenstown where you will have splendid views of spectacular empty mansions from the bridge you're sleeping under. Spend your minimum wage on overpriced groceries.
There's a clear choice this election – a choice between the 'Coalition of Chaos' or a National-led government that will fix the economy to lower the cost-of-living, restore law and order, improve our schools and healthcare, and Get New Zealand Back on Track.
National has a plan to fix our economy by stopping wasteful spending, providing tax relief
The unaware irony of them. A choice, between the 'Coalition of Chaos' OR a National-led government ? !….like a Nact govt wouldnt literally be the Coalition of Chaos for the majority of NZ : (
And stopping wasteful spending? Geez yea, about that…
Getting back on track is appropriate for National because the (railway) tracks will one of the first thing that the ACT Party will demand is sold off if their junior coalition partners National win the election this year.
But as for Queenstown?
Preaching to the converted I'd say.
Incidentally, I noticed in downtown Masterton today, the National candidate Mike Butterick opened up a campaign office just a few doors down from Labour's Keiran McAnulty's existing office.
"Get NZ Back on Track" has a nice ring to it, hopefully some Government whether National or Labour will start governing for the people and not themselves and their cronies.
From Trump’s instagram account: a fake Twitter spaces video (including fake DeSantis audio) w/ DeSantis, Elon, George Soros, Hitler, the FBI, Dick Cheney, The Devil, and others.
April 30 was going to be the day we’d be calling Mum from London to wish her a happy birthday. Then it became the day we would be going to St. Paul's at Evensong to remember her. The aim of the cathedral builders was to find a way to make their ...
Rob MacCulloch writes – Can’t remember the last book by a Kiwi author you read? Think the NZ government should spend less on the arts in favor of helping the homeless? If so, as far as Newsroom is concerned, you probably deserve to be called a cultural ignoramus ...
Eric Crampton writes – Grudges are bad. Better to move on. But it can be fun to keep a couple of really trivial ones, so you’re not tempted to have other ones. For example, because of the rootkit fiasco of 2005, no Sony products in our household. ...
A new report warns an estimated third of the adult population have unmet need for health care.Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāHere’s the six key things I learned about Aotaroa’s political economy this week around housing, climate and poverty:Politics - Three opinion polls confirmed support for PM Christopher Luxon ...
Today is May the fourth. Which was just a regular day when my mother took me to see the newly released Star Wars at the Odeon in Rotorua. The queue was right around the corner. Some years later this day became known as Star Wars Day, the date being a ...
Buzz from the Beehive Much more media attention is being paid to something Winston Peters said about former Australian Foreign Minister Bob Carr than to a speech he delivered to the New Zealand China Council. One word is missing from the speech: AUKUS. But AUKUS loomed large in his considerations ...
Is the economy in another long stagnation? If so, why?This is about the time that the Treasury will be locking up its economic forecasts to be published in the 2024 Budget Economic and Fiscal Update (BEFU) on budget day, 30 May. I am not privy to what they will be ...
The annual list of who's been bribing our politicians is out, and journalists will no doubt be poring over it to find the juiciest and dirtiest bribes. The government's fast-track invite list is likely to be a particular focus, and we already know of one company on the list which ...
In the weeks after the October 7 Hamas attacks on Southern Israel I wrote about the possible 2nd, 3rd and even 4th order effects of the conflict. These included new fronts being opened in the West Bank (with Hamas), Golan … Continue reading → ...
Peter Dunne writes – It is one of the oldest truisms that there is never a good time for MPs to get a pay rise. This week’s announcement of pay raises of around 2.8% backdated to last October could hardly have come at a worse time, with the ...
David Farrar writes – Newshub reports: Newshub can reveal a fresh allegation of intimidation against Green MP Julie-Anne Genter. Genter is subject to a disciplinary process for aggressively waving a book in the face of National Minister Matt Doocey in the House – but it’s not the first time ...
The Treasury has published a paper today on the global productivity slowdown and how it is playing out in New Zealand: The productivity slowdown: implications for the Treasury’s forecasts and projections. The Treasury Paper examines recent trends in productivity and the potential drivers of the slowdown. Productivity for the whole economy ...
Winston Peters’ comments about former Australian foreign minister look set to be an ongoing headache for both him and Luxon. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The podcast above of the weekly ‘hoon’ webinar for subscribers features co-hosts and , along with regular guests on Gaza and ...
These puppet strings don't pull themselvesYou're thinking thoughts from someone elseHow much time do you think you have?Are you prepared for what comes next?The debating chamber can be a trying place for an opposition MP. What with the person in charge, the speaker, typically being an MP from the governing ...
The land around Lyme Regis, where Meryl Streep once stood, in a hood, on the Cobb, is falling into the sea.MerylThe land around Lyme Regis, around the Cobb that made it rich, has always been falling slowly but surely into the sea. Read more ...
Buzz from the Beehive Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters was bound to win headlines when he set out his thinking about AUKUS in his speech to the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs. The headlines became bigger when – during an interview on RNZ’s Morning Report today – he criticised ...
The Post reports on how the government is refusing to release its advice on its corrupt Muldoonist fast-track law, instead using the "soon to be publicly available" refusal ground to hide it until after select committee submissions on the bill have closed. Fast-track Minister Chris Bishop's excuse? “It's not ...
As pressure on it grows, the livestock industry’s approach to the transition to Net Zero is increasingly being compared to that of fossil fuel interests. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / Getty ImagesTL;DR: Here’s the top five news items of note in climate news for Aotearoa-NZ this week, and a discussion above ...
The New Zealand Herald reports – Stats NZ has offered a voluntary redundancy scheme to all of its workers as a way to give staff some control over their “future” amidst widespread job losses in the public sector. In an update to staff this morning, seen by the Herald, Statistics New Zealand ...
On Werewolf/Scoop, I usually do two long form political columns a week. From now on, there will be an extra column each week about music and movies. But first, some late-breaking political events:The rise in unemployment numbers for the March quarter was bigger than expected – and especially sharp ...
David Farrar writes – The Herald reports: TVNZ says it is dealing with about 50 formal complaints over its coverage of the latest 1News-Verian political poll, with some viewers – as well as the Prime Minister and a former senior Labour MP – critical of the tone of the 6pm report. ...
Muriel Newman writes – When Meridian Energy was seeking resource consents for a West Coast hydro dam proposal in 2010, local Maori “strenuously” objected, claiming their mana was inextricably linked to ‘their’ river and could be damaged. After receiving a financial payment from the company, however, the Ngai Tahu ...
Alwyn Poole writes – “An SEP,’ he said, ‘is something that we can’t see, or don’t see, or our brain doesn’t let us see, because we think that it’s somebody else’s problem. That’s what SEP means. Somebody Else’s Problem. The brain just edits it out, it’s like a ...
Our trust in our political institutions is fast eroding, according to a Maxim Institute discussion paper, Shaky Foundations: Why our democracy needs trust. The paper – released today – raises concerns about declining trust in New Zealand’s political institutions and democratic processes, and the role that the overuse of Parliamentary urgency ...
This article was prepared for publication yesterday. More ministerial announcements have been posted on the government’s official website since it was written. We will report on these later today …. Buzz from the BeehiveThere we were, thinking the environment is in trouble, when along came Jones. Shane Jones. ...
New Zealand now has the fourth most depressed construction sector in the world behind China, Qatar and Hong Kong. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy at 8:46am on Thursday, May 2:The Lead: ...
Hi,I am just going to state something very obvious: American police are fucking crazy.That was a photo gracing the New York Times this morning, showing New York City police “entering Columbia University last night after receiving a request from the school.”Apparently in America, protesting the deaths of tens of thousands ...
Winston Peters’ much anticipated foreign policy speech last night was a work of two halves. Much of it was a standard “boilerplate” Foreign Ministry overview of the state of the world. There was some hardening up of rhetoric with talk of “benign” becoming “malign” and old truths giving way to ...
Graham Adams assesses the fallout of the Cass Review — The press release last Thursday from the UN Special Rapporteur on violence against women and girls didn’t make the mainstream news in New Zealand but it really should have. The startling title of Reem Alsalem’s statement — “Implementation of ‘Cass ...
This open-for-business, under-new-management cliché-pockmarked government of Christopher Luxon is not the thing of beauty he imagines it to be. It is not the powerful expression of the will of the people that he asserts it to be. It is not a soaring eagle, it is a malodorous vulture. This newest poll should make ...
The latest labour market statistics, showing a rise in unemployment. There are now 134,000 unemployed - 14,000 more than when the National government took office. Which is I guess what happens when the Reserve Bank causes a recession in an effort to Keep Wages Low. The previous government saw a ...
Three opinion polls have been released in the last two days, all showing that the new government is failing to hold their popular support. The usual honeymoon experienced during the first year of a first term government is entirely absent. The political mood is still gloomy and discontented, mainly due ...
National's Finance Minister once met a poor person.A scornful interview with National's finance guru who knows next to nothing about economics or people.There might have been something a bit familiar if that was the headline I’d gone with today. It would of course have been in tribute to the article ...
Rob MacCulloch writes – Throughout the pandemic, the new Vice-Chancellor-of-Otago-University-on-$629,000 per annum-Can-you-believe-it-and-Former-Finance-Minister Grant Robertson repeated the mantra over and over that he saved “lives and livelihoods”.As we update how this claim is faring over the course of time, the facts are increasingly speaking differently. NZ ...
Chris Trotter writes – IT’S A COMMONPLACE of political speeches, especially those delivered in acknowledgement of electoral victory: “We’ll govern for all New Zealanders.” On the face of it, the pledge is a strange one. Why would any political leader govern in ways that advantaged the huge ...
Bryce Edwards writes – The list of former National Party Ministers being given plum and important roles got longer this week with the appointment of former Deputy Prime Minister Paula Bennett as the chair of Pharmac. The Christopher Luxon-led Government has now made key appointments to Bill ...
TL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy at 10:06am on Wednesday, May 1:The Lead: Business confidence fell across the board in April, falling in some areas to levels last seen during the lockdowns because of a collapse in ...
Over the past 36 hours, Christopher Luxon has been dong his best to portray the centre-right’s plummeting poll numbers as a mark of virtue. Allegedly, the negative verdicts are the result of hard economic times, and of a government bravely set out on a perilous rescue mission from which not ...
Auckland Transport have started rolling out new HOP card readers around the network and over the next three months, all of them on buses, at train stations and ferry wharves will be replaced. The change itself is not that remarkable, with the new readers looking similar to what is already ...
Completed reads for April: The Difference Engine, by William Gibson and Bruce Sterling Carnival of Saints, by George Herman The Snow Spider, by Jenny Nimmo Emlyn’s Moon, by Jenny Nimmo The Chestnut Soldier, by Jenny Nimmo Death Comes As the End, by Agatha Christie Lord of the Flies, by ...
On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
Have a story to share about St Paul’s, but today just picturesPopular novels written at this desk by a young man who managed to bootstrap himself out of father’s imprisonment and his own young life in a workhouse Read more ...
The list of former National Party Ministers being given plum and important roles got longer this week with the appointment of former Deputy Prime Minister Paula Bennett as the chair of Pharmac. The Christopher Luxon-led Government has now made key appointments to Bill English, Simon Bridges, Steven Joyce, Roger Sowry, ...
Newsroom has a story today about National's (fortunately failed) effort to disestablish the newly-created Inspector-General of Defence. The creation of this agency was the key recommendation of the Inquiry into Operation Burnham, and a vital means of restoring credibility and social licence to an agency which had been caught lying ...
Holding On To The Present:The moment a political movement arises that attacks the whole idea of social progress, and announces its intention to wind back the hands of History’s clock, then democracy, along with its unwritten rules, is in mortal danger.IT’S A COMMONPLACE of political speeches, especially those delivered in ...
Stuck In The Middle With You:As Christopher Luxon feels the hot breath of Act’s and NZ First’s extremists on the back of his neck and, as he reckons with the damage their policies are already inflicting upon a country he’s described as “fragile”, is there not some merit in reaching out ...
The unpopular coalition government is currently rushing to repeal section 7AA of the Oranga Tamariki Act. The clause is Oranga Tamariki's Treaty clause, and was inserted after its systematic stealing of Māori children became a public scandal and resulted in physical resistance to further abductions. The clause created clear obligations ...
Buzz from the Beehive The government’s official website – which Point of Order monitors daily – not for the first time has nothing much to say today about political happenings that are grabbing media headlines. It makes no mention of the latest 1News-Verian poll, for example. This shows National down ...
It Takes A Train To Cry:Surely, there is nothing lonelier in all this world than the long wail of a distant steam locomotive on a cold Winter’s night.AS A CHILD, I would lie awake in my grandfather’s house and listen to the traffic. The big wooden house was only a ...
Packing A Punch: The election of the present government, including in its ranks politicians dedicated to reasserting the rights of the legislature in shaping and determining the future of Māori and Pakeha in New Zealand, should have alerted the judiciary – including its anomalous appendage, the Waitangi Tribunal – that its ...
Dead Woman Walking: New Zealand’s media industry had been moving steadily towards disaster for all the years Melissa Lee had been National’s media and communications policy spokesperson, and yet, when the crisis finally broke, on her watch, she had nothing intelligent to offer. Christopher Luxon is a patient man - but he’s not ...
Chris Trotter writes – New Zealand politics is remarkably easy-going: dangerously so, one might even say. With the notable exception of John Key’s flat ruling-out of the NZ First Party in 2008, all parties capable of clearing MMP’s five-percent threshold, or winning one or more electorate seats, tend ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Polling shows that Wellington Mayor Tory Whanau has the lowest approval rating of any mayor in the country. Siting at -12 per cent, the proportion of constituents who disapprove of her performance outweighs those who give her the thumbs up. This negative rating is ...
Luxon will no doubt put a brave face on it, but there is no escaping the pressure this latest poll will put on him and the government. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on Aotearoa-NZ’s political ...
This is a re-post from The Climate Brink by Andrew Dessler In the wake of any unusual weather event, someone inevitably asks, “Did climate change cause this?” In the most literal sense, that answer is almost always no. Climate change is never the sole cause of hurricanes, heat waves, droughts, or ...
Something odd happened yesterday, and I’d love to know if there’s more to it. If there was something which preempted what happened, or if it was simply a throwaway line in response to a journalist.Yesterday David Seymour was asked at a press conference what the process would be if the ...
Hi,From time to time, I want to bring Webworm into the real world. We did it last year with the Jurassic Park event in New Zealand — which was a lot of fun!And so on Saturday May 11th, in Los Angeles, I am hosting a lil’ Webworm pop-up! I’ve been ...
Education Minister Erica Standford yesterday unveiled a fundamental reform of the way our school pupils are taught. She would not exactly say so, but she is all but dismantling the so-called “inquiry” “feel good” method of teaching, which has ruled in our classrooms since a major review of the New ...
Exactly where are we seriously going with this government and its policies? That is, apart from following what may as well be a Truss-Lite approach on the purported economic “plan“, and Victorian-era regression when it comes to social policy.Oh it’ll work this time of course, we’re basically assured, “the ...
Hey Uncle Dave, When the Poms joined the EEC, I wasn't one of those defeatists who said, Well, that’s it for the dairy job. And I was right, eh? The Chinese can’t get enough of our milk powder and eventually, the Poms came to their senses and backed up the ute ...
Polling shows that Wellington Mayor Tory Whanau has the lowest approval rating of any mayor in the country. Siting at -12 per cent, the proportion of constituents who disapprove of her performance outweighs those who give her the thumbs up. This negative rating is higher than for any other mayor ...
Buzz from the Beehive Pharmac has been given a financial transfusion and a new chair to oversee its spending in the pharmaceutical business. Associate Health Minister David Seymour described the funding for Pharmac as “its largest ever budget of $6.294 billion over four years, fixing a $1.774 billion fiscal cliff”. ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Many criticisms are being made of the Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill, including by this writer. But as with everything in politics, every story has two sides, and both deserve attention. It’s important to understand what the Government is trying to achieve and its ...
TL;DR: Here’s my top 10 ‘pick ‘n’ mix of links to news, analysis and opinion articles as of 10:10am on Monday, April 29:Scoop: The children's ward at Rotorua Hospital will be missing a third of its beds as winter hits because Te Whatu Ora halted an upgrade partway through to ...
span class=”dropcap”>As hideous as David Seymour can be, it is worth keeping in mind occasionally that there are even worse political figures (and regimes) out there. Iran for instance, is about to execute the country’s leading hip hop musician Toomaj Salehi, for writing and performing raps that “corrupt” the nation’s ...
Yesterday marked 10 years since the first electric train carried passengers in Auckland so it’s a good time to look back at it and the impact it has had. A brief history The first proposals for rail electrification in Auckland came in the 1920’s alongside the plans for earlier ...
Right now, in Aotearoa-NZ, our ‘animal spirits’ are darkening towards a winter of discontent, thanks at least partly to a chorus of negative comments and actions from the Government Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on ...
The Government is again adding to New Zealand’s growing unemployment, this time cutting jobs at the agencies responsible for urban development and growing much needed housing stock. ...
With Minister Karen Chhour indicating in the House today that she either doesn’t know or care about the frontline cuts she’s making to Oranga Tamariki, we risk seeing more and more of our children falling through the cracks. ...
The Labour Party is saddened to learn of the death of Sir Robert Martin, a globally renowned disability advocate who led the way for disability rights both in New Zealand and internationally. ...
Labour is calling for the Government to urgently rethink its coalition commitment to restart live animal exports, Labour animal welfare spokesperson Rachel Boyack said. ...
Today’s Financial Stability Report has once again highlighted that poverty and deep inequality are political choices - and this Government is choosing to make them worse. ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to do more for our households in most need as unemployment rises and the cost of living crisis endures. ...
Unemployment is on the rise and it’s only going to get worse under this Government, Labour finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds said. Stats NZ figures show the unemployment rate grew to 4.3 percent in the March quarter from 4 percent in the December quarter. “This is the second rise in unemployment ...
The New Zealand Labour Party welcomes the entering into force of the European Union and New Zealand free trade agreement. This agreement opens the door for a huge increase in trade opportunities with a market of 450 million people who are high value discerning consumers of New Zealand goods and ...
The National-led Government continues its fiscal jiggery pokery with its Pharmac announcement today, Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall says. “The government has increased Pharmac funding but conceded it will only make minimal increases in access to medicine”, said Ayesha Verrall “This is far from the bold promises made to fund ...
This afternoon’s interim Waitangi Tribunal report must be taken seriously as it affects our most vulnerable children, Labour children’s spokesperson Willow-Jean Prime. ...
Te Pāti Māori are demanding the New Zealand Government support an international independent investigation into mass graves that have been uncovered at two hospitals on the Gaza strip, following weeks of assault by Israeli troops. Among the 392 bodies that have been recovered, are children and elderly civilians. Many of ...
Our two-tiered system for veterans’ support is out of step with our closest partners, and all parties in Parliament should work together to fix it, Labour veterans’ affairs spokesperson Greg O’Connor said. ...
Stripping two Ministers of their portfolios just six months into the job shows Christopher Luxon’s management style is lacking, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said. ...
Tonight’s court decision to overturn the summons of the Children’s Minister has enabled the Crown to continue making decisions about Māori without evidence, says Te Pāti Māori spokesperson for Children, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi. “The judicial system has this evening told the nation that this government can do whatever they want when ...
It appears Nicola Willis is about to pull the rug out from under the feet of local communities still dealing with the aftermath of last year’s severe weather, and local councils relying on funding to build back from these disasters. ...
The Government is making short-sighted changes to the Resource Management Act (RMA) that will take away environmental protection in favour of short-term profits, Labour’s environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
Labour welcomes the release of the report into the North Island weather events and looks forward to working with the Government to ensure that New Zealand is as prepared as it can be for the next natural disaster. ...
The Labour Party has called for the New Zealand Government to recognise Palestine, as a material step towards progressing the two-State solution needed to achieve a lasting peace in the region. ...
Some of our country’s most important work, stopping the sexual exploitation of children and violent extremism could go along with staff on the frontline at ports and airports. ...
The Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill will give projects such as new coal mines a ‘get out of jail free’ card to wreak havoc on the environment, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said today. ...
The government's decision to reintroduce Three Strikes is a destructive and ineffective piece of law-making that will only exacerbate an inherently biased and racist criminal justice system, said Te Pāti Māori Justice Spokesperson, Tākuta Ferris, today. During the time Three Strikes was in place in Aotearoa, Māori and Pasifika received ...
Cuts to frontline hospital staff are not only a broken election promise, it shows the reckless tax cuts have well and truly hit the frontline of the health system, says Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall. ...
The Green Party has joined the call for public submissions on the fast-track legislation to be extended after the Ombudsman forced the Government to release the list of organisations invited to apply just hours before submissions close. ...
New Zealand’s good work at reducing climate emissions for three years in a row will be undone by the National government’s lack of ambition and scrapping programmes that were making a difference, Labour Party climate spokesperson Megan Woods said today. ...
More essential jobs could be on the chopping block, this time Ministry of Education staff on the school lunches team are set to find out whether they're in line to lose their jobs. ...
Te Pāti Māori is disgusted at the confirmation that hundreds are set to lose their jobs at Oranga Tamariki, and the disestablishment of the Treaty Response Unit. “This act of absolute carelessness and out of touch decision making is committing tamariki to state abuse.” Said Te Pāti Māori Oranga Tamariki ...
The Government is trying to bring in a law that will allow Ministers to cut corners and kill off native species, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said. ...
Cancelling urgently needed new Cook Strait ferries and hiking the cost of public transport for many Kiwis so that National can announce the prospect of another tunnel for Wellington is not making good choices, Labour Transport Spokesperson Tangi Utikere said. ...
A laundry list of additional costs for Tāmaki Makarau Auckland shows the Minister for the city is not delivering for the people who live there, says Labour Auckland Issues spokesperson Shanan Halbert. ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters discussed the need for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, and enhanced cooperation in the Pacific with German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock during her first official visit to New Zealand today. "New Zealand and Germany enjoy shared interests and values, including the rule of law, democracy, respect for the international system ...
The Minister Responsible for RMA Reform, Chris Bishop today released his decision on four recommendations referred to him by the Western Bay of Plenty District Council, opening the door to housing growth in the area. The Council’s Plan Change 92 allows more homes to be built in existing and new ...
Thank you, John McKinnon and the New Zealand China Council for the invitation to speak to you today. Thank you too, all members of the China Council. Your effort has played an essential role in helping to build, shape, and grow a balanced and resilient relationship between our two ...
The Government is modernising insurance law to better protect Kiwis and provide security in the event of a disaster, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly announced today. “These reforms are long overdue. New Zealand’s insurance law is complicated and dated, some of which is more than 100 years old. ...
The coalition Government is refreshing its approach to supporting pay equity claims as time-limited funding for the Pay Equity Taskforce comes to an end, Public Service Minister Nicola Willis says. “Three years ago, the then-government introduced changes to the Equal Pay Act to support pay equity bargaining. The changes were ...
Structured literacy will change the way New Zealand children learn to read - improving achievement and setting students up for success, Education Minister Erica Stanford says. “Being able to read and write is a fundamental life skill that too many young people are missing out on. Recent data shows that ...
Trade Minister Todd McClay says Canada’s refusal to comply in full with a CPTPP trade dispute ruling in our favour over dairy trade is cynical and New Zealand has no intention of backing down. Mr McClay said he has asked for urgent legal advice in respect of our ‘next move’ ...
The rights of our children and young people will be enhanced by changes the coalition Government will make to strengthen oversight of the Oranga Tamariki system, including restoring a single Children’s Commissioner. “The Government is committed to delivering better public services that care for our most at-risk young people and ...
The Government is making it easier for minor changes to be made to a building consent so building a home is easier and more affordable, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “The coalition Government is focused on making it easier and cheaper to build homes so we can ...
New Zealand lost a true legend when internationally renowned disability advocate Sir Robert Martin (KNZM) passed away at his home in Whanganui last night, Disabilities Issues Minister Louise Upston says. “Our Government’s thoughts are with his wife Lynda, family and community, those he has worked with, the disability community in ...
Good evening – Before discussing the challenges and opportunities facing New Zealand’s foreign policy, we’d like to first acknowledge the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs. You have contributed to debates about New Zealand foreign policy over a long period of time, and we thank you for hosting us. ...
From today, passengers travelling internationally from Auckland Airport will be able to keep laptops and liquids in their carry-on bags for security screening thanks to new technology, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Creating a more efficient and seamless travel experience is important for holidaymakers and businesses, enabling faster movement through ...
People with an interest in the health of Northland’s marine ecosystems are invited to a public meeting to discuss how to deal with kina barrens, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones will lead the discussion, which will take place on Friday, 10 May, at Awanui Hotel in ...
Kiwi exporters are $100 million better off today with the NZ EU FTA entering into force says Trade Minister Todd McClay. “This is all part of our plan to grow the economy. New Zealand's prosperity depends on international trade, making up 60 per cent of the country’s total economic activity. ...
There are heartening signs that the extractive sector is once again becoming an attractive prospect for investors and a source of economic prosperity for New Zealand, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. “The beginnings of a resurgence in extractive industries are apparent in media reports of the sector in the past ...
The return of the historic Ō-Rākau battle site to the descendants of those who fought there moved one step closer today with the first reading of Te Pire mō Ō-Rākau, Te Pae o Maumahara / The Ō-Rākau Remembrance Bill. The Bill will entrust the 9.7-hectare battle site, five kilometres west ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has announced 25 new high-speed EV charging hubs along key routes between major urban centres and outlined the Government’s plan to supercharge New Zealand’s EV infrastructure. The hubs will each have several chargers and be capable of charging at least four – and up to 10 ...
The coalition Government will not proceed with the previous Government’s plans to regulate residential property managers, Housing Minister Chris Bishop says. “I have written to the Chairperson of the Social Services and Community Committee to inform him that the Government does not intend to support the Residential Property Managers Bill ...
The Government has announced an independent review into the disability support system funded by the Ministry of Disabled People – Whaikaha. Disability Issues Minister Louise Upston says the review will look at what can be done to strengthen the long-term sustainability of Disability Support Services to provide disabled people and ...
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith has attended the Universal Periodic Review in Geneva and outlined the Government’s plan to restore law and order. “Speaking to the United Nations Human Rights Council provided us with an opportunity to present New Zealand’s human rights progress, priorities, and challenges, while responding to issues and ...
The Government and Rotorua Lakes Council are committed to working closely together to end the use of contracted emergency housing motels in Rotorua. Associate Minister of Housing (Social Housing) Tama Potaka says the Government remains committed to ending the long-term use of contracted emergency housing motels in Rotorua by the ...
Trade Minister Todd McClay heads overseas today for high-level trade talks in the Gulf region, and a key OECD meeting in Paris. Mr McClay will travel to Riyadh to meet with counterparts from Saudi Arabia and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). “New Zealand’s goods and services exports to the Gulf region ...
Education Minister Erica Stanford has outlined six education priorities to deliver a world-leading education system that sets Kiwi kids up for future success. “I’m putting ambition, achievement and outcomes at the heart of our education system. I want every child to be inspired and engaged in their learning so they ...
The new NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) App is a secure ‘one stop shop’ to provide the services drivers need, Transport Minister Simeon Brown and Digitising Government Minister Judith Collins say. “The NZTA App will enable an easier way for Kiwis to pay for Vehicle Registration and Road User Charges (RUC). ...
Whānau with tamariki growing up in emergency housing motels will be prioritised for social housing starting this week, says Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka. “Giving these whānau a better opportunity to build healthy stable lives for themselves and future generations is an essential part of the Government’s goal of reducing ...
Racing Minister Winston Peters has paid tribute to an icon of the industry with the recent passing of Dave O’Sullivan (OBE). “Our sympathies are with the O’Sullivan family with the sad news of Dave O’Sullivan’s recent passing,” Mr Peters says. “His contribution to racing, initially as a jockey and then ...
Assalaamu alaikum, greetings to you all. Eid Mubarak, everyone! I want to extend my warmest wishes to you and everyone celebrating this joyous occasion. It is a pleasure to be here. I have enjoyed Eid celebrations at Parliament before, but this is my first time joining you as the Minister ...
Associate Health Minister David Seymour has announced Pharmac’s largest ever budget of $6.294 billion over four years, fixing a $1.774 billion fiscal cliff. “Access to medicines is a crucial part of many Kiwis’ lives. We’ve committed to a budget allocation of $1.774 billion over four years so Kiwis are ...
Hon Paula Bennett has been appointed as member and chair of the Pharmac board, Associate Health Minister David Seymour announced today. "Pharmac is a critical part of New Zealand's health system and plays a significant role in ensuring that Kiwis have the best possible access to medicines,” says Mr Seymour. ...
Hundreds of New Zealand families affected by Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) will benefit from a new Government focus on prevention and treatment, says Health Minister Dr Shane Reti. “We know FASD is a leading cause of preventable intellectual and neurodevelopmental disability in New Zealand,” Dr Reti says. “Every day, ...
Regional Development Minister Shane Jones today attended the official opening of Kaikohe’s new $14.7 million sports complex. “The completion of the Kaikohe Multi Sports Complex is a fantastic achievement for the Far North,” Mr Jones says. “This facility not only fulfils a long-held dream for local athletes, but also creates ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters’ engagements in Türkiye this week underlined the importance of diplomacy to meet growing global challenges. “Returning to the Gallipoli Peninsula to represent New Zealand at Anzac commemorations was a sombre reminder of the critical importance of diplomacy for de-escalating conflicts and easing tensions,” Mr Peters ...
Ambassador Millar, Burgemeester, Vandepitte, Excellencies, military representatives, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen – good morning and welcome to this sacred Anzac Day dawn service. It is an honour to be here on behalf of the Government and people of New Zealand at Buttes New British Cemetery, Polygon Wood – a deeply ...
Distinguished guests - It is an honour to return once again to this site which, as the resting place for so many of our war-dead, has become a sacred place for generations of New Zealanders. Our presence here and at the other special spaces of Gallipoli is made ...
Mai ia tawhiti pamamao, te moana nui a Kiwa, kua tae whakaiti mai matou, ki to koutou papa whenua. No koutou te tapuwae, no matou te tapuwae, kua honoa pumautia. Ko nga toa kua hinga nei, o te Waipounamu, o te Ika a Maui, he okioki tahi me o ...
Paul Goldsmith will take on responsibility for the Media and Communications portfolio, while Louise Upston will pick up the Disability Issues portfolio, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon announced today. “Our Government is relentlessly focused on getting New Zealand back on track. As issues change in prominence, I plan to adjust Ministerial ...
Recreational catch limits will be reduced in areas of Fiordland and the Chatham Islands to help keep those fisheries healthy and sustainable, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. The lower recreational daily catch limits for a range of finfish and shellfish species caught in the Fiordland Marine Area and ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed an important milestone in New Zealand’s hydrogen future, with the opening of the country’s first network of hydrogen refuelling stations in Wiri. “I want to congratulate the team at Hiringa Energy and its partners K one W one (K1W1), Mitsui & Co New Zealand ...
The coalition Government is delivering on its commitment to improve resource management laws and give greater certainty to consent applicants, with a Bill to amend the Resource Management Act (RMA) expected to be introduced to Parliament next month. RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop has today outlined the first RMA Amendment ...
Overseas models for regulating the oil and gas sector, including their decommissioning regimes, are being carefully scrutinised as a potential template for New Zealand’s own sector, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. The Coalition Government is focused on rebuilding investor confidence in New Zealand’s energy sector as it looks to strengthen ...
Genterwocky After a hard days marching, Sir Doocey calls in at the Village Tavern For a pint of ale and a pork pie. The grim villagers stare at him. “Do not be travelling on the forest road,” warns a crusty old beak. “And why is that, antique peasant?” Grins Sir ...
Political conferences after a party returns to power are usually a chance for some healthy, even unhealthy backslapping. Yet National Party president Sylvia Wood’s address to its mainland representatives on Saturday hardly contained the unalloyed delight that one might have expected following National’s escape from the wilderness of opposition. Yes, ...
Comment: Almost half the world is voting in national elections this year and artificial intelligence is the elephant in the room. There are genuine fears AI-generated or AI-edited deepfakes will potentially manipulate election outcomes not just in the US and UK, but critically in countries such as India. For that ...
Ahead of the reality franchise’s return to New Zealand, allow us to introduce the eight brides and grooms. Chuck on a veil and tie back your man bun, because it’s time to say “I do” to a new season of Married at First Sight NZ. The reality TV “social experiment” ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andrew Norton, Professor in the Practice of Higher Education Policy, Australian National University Every year on June 1, student debt in Australia is indexed to inflation. In 2023, high inflation pushed the indexation rate to 7.1%, the highest since 1990. This ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Changes in the May 14 budget will cut the student debt of more than three million people, wiping more than $3 billion from what people owe. The government will cap the HELP indexation rate ...
Asia Pacific Report The prosecutor’s office at the International Criminal Court (ICC) has appealed for an end to what it calls intimidation of its staff, saying such threats could constitute an offence against the “administration of justice” by the world’s permanent war crimes court. The Hague-based office of ICC Prosecutor ...
By Patrick Decloitre, RNZ Pacific correspondent French Pacific desk A women’s union in New Caledonia has staged a sit-in protest this week to support senior Kanak indigenous journalist Thérèse Waia, who works for public broadcaster Nouvelle-Calédonie la Première, after a smear attack by critics. The peaceful demonstration was held on ...
New Zealand Food Safety is monitoring overseas recalls of Indian packaged spice products manufactured by MDH and Everest due to concerns over a cancer-causing pesticide. ...
By Stephen Wright and Stefan Armbruster of BenarNews Fiji’s ranking in a global press freedom index has jumped into the top tier of countries with free or mostly free media after its government last year repealed a draconian law that threatened journalists with prison for doing their jobs. Fiji’s improvement ...
We might be in Invercargill but all anyone can talk about is Gore. Specifically, Salford Street. That’s where three-year-old Lachlan Jones lived, south of the centre of town, between the A&P Showgrounds and the Mataura River. Roughly 1.2 km away from the single level home he lived in with his ...
MONDAY I lined up the latest round of civil servants from city hall against the wall, and signalled for the firing squad to drop their rifles. I stepped up onto a wooden crate to look at the office workers in the eye. But that didn’t feel right, so I found ...
Keen hiker and second-year MSc student Liam Hewson wears two hats when he’s in the great outdoors. “The scientist in me appreciates nature and goes, ‘Oh, there’s that thing and there’s another thing,’ but then the tramper and the outdoorsy person in me thinks, ‘Cool bush.’” Born and bred in ...
After a long and illustrious career as a goal kicker, Dan Carter’s favourite way to unwind is… kicking goals. Why can’t he get enough of it? And what it’s like to watch him do it for an hour straight? A semicircle of people wielding cameras and phones has formed in ...
Dame Susan Devoy takes us through her life in television, including late night ER debriefs, her proudest CTI moment and the show she watches in secret. Quite aside from her four world champion squash titles, Dame Susan Devoy will likely go down in history as one of the best Celebrity ...
Hera Lindsay Bird reveals the best places in Ōtepoti to score more for your apocalypse-prep book hoard.Sometimes I get the feeling I’ve been killed in a car crash, and this second half of my life is just the brain unspooling itself, like one of those episodes of a hospital ...
ThreeNow’s new murder mystery series takes us on a dark, damp journey into the Australian wilderness.This is an excerpt from our weekly pop culture newsletter Rec Room. Sign up here. High Country is ThreeNow’s new Australian eight-part crime drama, set in a remote part of the Victorian highlands. It tells ...
Introducing a new way to read The Spinoff every weekend. After nearly 10 years of being an online magazine, we’re finally embracing the weekend liftout. Despite our best efforts to convince you otherwise, writers and editors at The Spinoff don’t work weekend. It is through the sheer power of technology ...
Tip one: let yourself be nurtured by this big old man. Tip two: don’t ask him to adopt you. So, you’ve arrived at your first session with a new therapist. He tells you to make yourself comfortable and you opt for the tweed armchair, hoping it makes you look like ...
I didn’t know books could open you back up; that there were books that stayed with you, where reading was like a chemical event. I knew nothing.The Sunday Essay is made possible thanks to the support of Creative New Zealand.Not too long ago, I was listening to the American ...
Former Olympic swimmer James Magnussen has already started training for the Enhanced games, though says he won’t start taking performance enhancing substances until about nine months out from the competition. The Australian world champion was the first athlete to be announced by Enhanced, but he says the organisation has had ...
Everyone thinks he’s dead. Every day they expect his body to be washed up along the coast. Most likely up Karitane way, the way the tide’s running. But nobody’ll be too surprised if his body’s never found. Even in death he wouldn’t have wished for such attention. He would have ...
Council members voted 21 to 4 in favour of Ahluwalia returning to the Laucala campus following a much-awaited meeting in Vanuatu this week. It comes as USP and its two unions — the Association of the University of the South Pacific Staff (AUSPS) and the Administration and Support Staff Union ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Nicola Henry, Professor & Australian Research Council Future Fellow, Social and Global Studies Centre, RMIT University Shutterstock Following an emergency meeting of the National Cabinet this week, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has announced a raft of measures to tackle the problem ...
Analysis - A poll showing the opposition is more popular than the government raises questions, politicians go through their 'trial by pay rise' and a Green MP loses her cool in the debating chamber. ...
The entire stretch of Tokomaru Bay on the East Coast will be subject to a joint customary marine title for two hapū, and extending up to four miles out to sea. A High Court judge has found the two groups, who during the case settled a dispute over boundaries for ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By James Hall, Lecturer, Media & Cultural Studies, Edith Cowan University A longstanding feud between TikTok and Universal Music Group seems to have finally reached an end, with both parties signing a deal that will see Universal-backed music returned to the social media ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Siobhan O’Dean, Postdoctoral Research Associate, The Matilda Centre for Research in Mental Health and Substance Use, University of Sydney After several highly publicised alleged murders of women in Australia, the Albanese government this week pledged more than A$925 million over five years ...
Political parties have now fully disclosed the donations they received last year - with National getting more than double the cash of any other party. ...
A Pacific regionalism expert has called out New Zealand's Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters for withholding information from the public on AUKUS military pact. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Richard de Grijs, Professor of Astrophysics, Macquarie University Bruno Scramgnon/Pexels All systems are “go” for tonight’s launch of China’s next step in a carefully planned lunar exploration program. Placed on top of a powerful Long March 5 rocket, the Chang’e 6 ...
National returned a massive donation the day after a Newsroom story linked the donors to a property being investigated for operating unlawfully as a migrant workers’ hostel. The party’s 2023 donation filings, released on Friday, show it returned a $200,000 donation from Buen Holdings on August 23. That was the ...
Pacific Media Watch New Zealand has slumped to an unprecedented 19th place in the annual Reporters Without Borders World Press Freedom Index survey released today on World Press Freedom Day — May 3. This was a drop of six places from 13th last year when it slipped out of its ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Joshua Black, Political Historian and Administrator Officer, Australian Historical Association, Australian National University Australia has had its fair share of public record-keeping controversies in recent years. Some have been mere farce, as in the case of two formerly government-owned filing cabinets (containing ...
Heavenly Culture, World Peace, Restoration of Light (HWPL), a United Nations-affiliated organization dedicated to fostering peace through civilian-led initiatives, has issued a statement in response to the escalating conflict between Israel and Iran. ...
A poem by Tessa Keenan, from AUP New Poets 10. Mātou These days we are a photograph; one of a farm strewn with cows that used to be bright harakeke or swamp. The kids point at it and say the sun sits behind a smudge (left by someone at Christmas); ...
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 Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan (Faber & Faber, $25)The masterful Irish writer ...
Marriage and civil union statistics record the number of marriages and civil unions registered in New Zealand each year, and divorce statistics record the number of divorces granted in New Zealand each year. Key facts Marriages and civil unions In ...
Marriage and civil union statistics record the number of marriages and civil unions registered in New Zealand each year, and divorce statistics record the number of divorces granted in New Zealand each year. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Lennon Y.C. Chang, Associate Professor of Cyber Risk and Policy, Deakin University Taiwan stands out as a beacon of democracy, innovation and resilience in an increasingly autocratic region. But this is under growing threat. In recent years, China has used a variety ...
In this excerpt from her new memoir, Dame Susan Devoy remembers her turn as star contestant on the 2022 season of Celebrity Treasure Island. The most anxious time of every day was pre-elimination, when you knew this could be your final day on the show. I felt such contradictory emotions, ...
A week that began in triumph ended in an all-too-familiar disaster for the Green Party. Duncan Greive asks if there’s something in the mission that breaks its best and brightest. A long, strange week for the Green party began with a fantastic poll result. On one level this is hardly ...
By Lydia Lewis, RNZ Pacific journalist Vanuatu’s former prime minister and opposition MP Ishmael Kalsakau has stepped down — just two days after he confirmed he was the rightful opposition leader. Kalsakau, MP for Port Vila, confirmed to ABC’s Pacific Beat, and the Vanuatu Daily Post on Thursday that he ...
What’s to blame for the coalition’s choppy start? Six months in, and the mojo meter is in the doldrums. A new poll would put National out of power and sees its leader, Chris Luxon, sliding in popularity. How much is it about policy, how much coalition management and a perception ...
The striking report goes far beyond the proposed repeal of the Oranga Tamariki Act’s Treaty of Waitangi provision, and its impact should be felt far beyond the unique circumstances of the claim it addresses. Earlier this week, the Waitangi Tribunal released an interim report on the government’s proposed repeal of ...
The world has been experiencing a productivity slowdown, from which New Zealand has not been exempt. COVID-19 temporarily boosted labour productivity, but more recently, productivity has retreated. The overall trend since 2007 has been one of slow productivity ...
What’s more wasteful than spending $315k on syrup and machine maintenance? Trying to drum up a controversy about it.Cast your mind back to the pre-pandemic idylls of 2019. A “rat” was a disgusting rodent and not a self-administered plague test; the sixth Labour government was in power; and the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kate Fitz-Gibbon, Professor of Social Sciences, Faculty of Arts, Monash University, Monash University Ken stocker/Shutterstock In the wake of numerous killings of women allegedly by men’s violence in 2024, thousands of Australians have joined rallies across the country to demand action ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Henry Cutler, Professor and Director, Macquarie University Centre for the Health Economy, Macquarie University Oleg Ivanov IL/Shutterstock Waiting times for public hospital elective surgery have been in the news ahead of this year’s federal budget. That’s the type of non-emergency surgery ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Konstantine Panegyres, McKenzie Postdoctoral Fellow, Historical and Philosophical Studies, The University of Melbourne Amna Artist/Shutterstock One of the earliest descriptions of someone with cancer comes from the fourth century BC. Satyrus, tyrant of the city of Heracleia on the Black Sea, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Rose, Professor of Sustainable Future Transport, University of Sydney LanaElcova/Shutterstock Electric vehicles are often seen as the panacea to cutting emissions – and air pollution – from transport. Is this view correct? Yes – but only once uptake accelerates. Despite the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Giselle Natassia Woodley, Researcher and Phd Candidate, Edith Cowan University There is widespread agreement Australia needs to do better when it comes to gender-based violence. Anger and frustration at the numbers of women being killed saw national rallies over the weekend and ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By James Graham, Lecturer in Economics, University of Sydney Mark and Anna Photography/Shutterstock As home ownership moves further out of reach for many Australians, “rentvesting” is being touted as a lifesaver. Rentvesting is the practice of renting one property to live ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sukhmani Khorana, Associate Professor, Faculty of Arts, Design and Architecture, UNSW Sydney Netflix The new season of Heartbreak High is garnering mixed reviews. Critics are writing about the racy story lines, comparing it to other coming-of-age series about teenage relationships and ...
Bob Carr intends to launch legal action against Winston Peters and Julie Anne Genter is facing a second allegation of bullying. Both sucked the air out of an announcement on education, writes Anna Rawhiti-Connell in this excerpt from The Bulletin, The Spinoff’s morning news round-up. To receive The Bulletin in ...
In 1995, Sally Clark went out on her own in a bold and unorthodox attempt to join an illustrious group of equestrian riders conquering the world. In the days of glovebox road maps, brick cell phones, and the hit song How Bizarre, Clark refused to follow Sir Mark Todd, Blyth ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ben Beaglehole, Senior Lecturer, Department of Psychological Medicine, University of Otago niphon/Getty Images The number of people accessing medication for attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in Aotearoa New Zealand increased significantly between 2006 and 2022. But the disorder is still under-diagnosed and ...
I hope whomever getting there subsidized tesla today is greatful to this medium income solo dad who has donated $4000 in ute tax for buying a low budget but most economical ute .
This country is becoming seriously screwed up.
All I can suggest is take Minister Woods advice. Take a shorter shower, turn off the lights and heater to counter the governments inability to cut their own spending.
Don’t worry lad- National want single storey houses connected by single lane roads submerged in water all through the North Island. They’ll give you a dollar back on your tax and then ensure you can’t get insurance. Nothing like a party with vision, eh?
The rebate ceiling is $80,000.
https://www.nzta.govt.nz/vehicles/clean-car-programme/clean-car-discount/clean-car-discount-1-july-2023-changes/
Only one Tesla model sells for under the eighty grand according the Automobile Association. This is a period of transition, moving from old to new technology has all sorts of challenges and contradictions along the way–but as the saying goes, “what planet are you on?”
https://www.aa.co.nz/cars/buying-a-car/car-buying-guide/new-cars/new-car-prices/tesla/
I have had an EV for a year now, driving past gas stations–priceless.
Tiger-Thank you for some common sense on this issue.
Teslas made up 24% of the popular EV's sold in NZ in April, and most of these would not have qualified for a clean car discount.
https://www.canstar.co.nz/nz-car-insurance/top-selling-electric-cars-in-nz/
58% of EV imports to NZ in the year to March 23 are Chinese brands. In a couple of years time I predict that this will be 80%. Elon is discounting now because he can’t compete with the Chinese.
More worrying is that EX imports rose 127% to $1.23 billion to the year March 23. NZ's current account is suffering at the moment, partly because of EV imports. We are living beyond our means.
https://www.chinadaily.com.cn/a/202305/02/WS645097c5a310b6054fad0baf.html
Yup, I got a modern hybrid a couple of years ago and the difference in fuel efficiency is ridiculous. Our next vehicle purchase will be a pure BEV.
I had a 2012 Honda Fit RS hybrid until it found the St Georges Bay River in a cyclone. I thought that was amazingly efficient at about 5.5l/100km (I usually found it to be about 6-6.5). Way better than my old ICE Caldina. Not to mention was amazingly snappy to drive in sport. Also had 40L tank compared to the 60L in the Caldina and lasted weeks longer doing my minimal around town driving.
After the insurance company wrote off the Fit because of wet carpets and possible electrics.
So I got a 2014 Honda Fit RS hybrid. That is rated at 3.9L/100km if you drove like an old man.
Drove myself, partner, and luggage to Bay of Islands – 246km starting with a full tank. Did some running around there probably another 100km. Drove back another 246km. Had quarter of a tank showing when I got home. Filled up with 25 litres. Roughly 4.1-4.2L.
I wasn’t exactly driving conservatively. Drove at speed limit on ECO except when passing. Then I’d flip into sport and pass fast. This included passing lanes going uphill at from 80km/hr to 160km/hour in a couple seconds testing the little 1500cc engine.
Fair point, if you want to divert from the fact that it ain't all jafas buying remuera tractors,getting caught by this tax,
Elon is grateful and says ‘thank you’.
You'd have to be pretty thick or a shit stirrer if you think I think musk benifits,
So which one are ya?
Neither
The maker of your new ute likely purchased carbon credits from Musk.
https://www.green.earth/news/teslas-carbon-credit-sales-soared-to-1.78-billion-in-2022
What's your reasoning for buying a new, or fresh import, 'budget' ute?
Would have thought going for a second hand item that will get you through a couple of years until electrics arrive, and they are certainly coming, would have been a better bet.
Although if you need the certainty / reliability of a new vehicle (not necessarily guaranteed) then it's a different story.
1 piece of mind , it's the first time I've ever bought new, and that warrantee feels good.
1a I might keep this till they plant me as I don't do many KS a year now
2 been searching the 2nd hand market for awhile to get anything ghat is under 100 000 Kms is not that different from going new.
3 definitely an element of because I can.
4 my one was burning oil needed a warrantee a reg and had other spends coming and is a discontinued make, holden.
If in 5 years there's an electric that can do 500kms in my bracket I'll be in .
I miss my VE Commodore, it died about 18 months ago. Cost a bomb to keep the bloody thing on the road. In the end the steering, timing chain and transmission all needed replacing for over $7k and it didn't seem worth it any more.
Bought a 2016 Atenza (diesel turbo) a couple of months later. Damn thing was even worse. Took it for a drive to Wellington, the turbo shat itself and fscked up the engine, needing a $10k repair job (I just got rid of it).
ICE needs to die
China will cease production of all combustion vehicles by 2035.
Singapore will stop registration of all combustion vehicles in 7 years.
Australia as of last month is putting penalties on importing all combusion vehicles and bringing in much stricter emission controls.
Those three – plus Japan – are the places we get our used vehicles from.
So inside 7 years we are all going to feel your same pain as we renew vehicles.
we're going to have to wait for the big fleets like Police and rental companies before we get a proper used electric car and ute surge to help the proletariat.
If we wanted real subsidy we'd turn ourselves into a steel company.
That won’t make one iota of difference if we didn’t retain NZ ownership. And if we did, we would lose considerable negotiating power with the government to attract subsidies. Multinational companies simply chase the best deals & locations and have very little sympathy for the little local guys on the ground and little attachment to the land they occupy. It’s just business to them, nothing personal.
New Zealand does not own Blue Scope.
Nor does New Zealand own NZ Aluminium Smelter.
"Our" negotiating power is extremely narrow since the electricity generators are no longer able to be controlled by the state as they are now only bare-majority shareholders.
One of New Zealand's structural economic problems, going back since forever, has been a chronically weak capital formation.
It's has a long and complex history – and our failure to address this lies at the root of so many of the problems NZ now faces.
NZ has long had a Comprador Capitalist bourgeoisie, where generally the local ruling class subordinates to offshore imperialist powers and corporates, as evidenced in years gone by with the meat industry, and now with the ‘big 4’ Aussie banks.
The current account deficit also tells the story of brands that operate in NZ but export their profits to the parent company overseas. The oil industry are experts at transfer pricing and the tech companies at tax dodging.
If Labour and Greens get back in there is better chances of housing prices continuing to flatten, making asset classes other than housing more attractive …
… for those who have the money to invest.
Also for those who have saved, the rate of those withdrawing $20,000 or more from Kiwisaver over the last 6 months is now pretty high.
I am not giving advice on anything, just noticing.
Well, as some have noted a capital gains based economy for many (on property) has starved investment in other areas.
And since the union busting 1991 Employment Contracts Act, which reduced workers power substantially, some SME owners got into the Bach, boat and BMW groove rather than development and improvement–which I observe living on the coast in the Far North.
Reduced union levels make a mockery of claims that wage rises affect inflation substantially.
+100
Though our savings rate was still bad before that.
Bloody fed up with utes everywhere. Get a proper car.
I'm pretty sure my path and yours never cross out here in the boonies
Those three – plus Japan – are the places we get our used vehicles from.
The Japanese have been late to the BEV market and Toyota is betting the farm on hydrogen powered ICE vehicles, which may turn out to be the betamax moment for the Japanese auto industry.
NZ is already the discounted dumping ground for unable to sell elsewhere right hand drive ICE vehicles, and that will slow electric vehicle adoption here big time.
Great news: a better-functioning New Zealand market for farmers' milk.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/farming/agribusiness/132117381/fonterra-cuts-this-seasons-milk-price-announces-lower-price-for-next-season
“This forecast is actually a really big signal for Fonterra suppliers and every other dairy farmer in New Zealand to sit back and say is my business worth carrying on in this current situation or do I need to start making alternative investment decisions or system changes,” Davison said.
Without factoring in the 24 billion in corporate welfare we’ll be paying for them in climate bills.
Plus near to $1bi for M.bovis eradication. Oh ye of short memory. “At last count some $660 million had been spent over four years tackling M.Bovis out of an allocated funding pool of just under $870 million. Around $200 million of the $660 million was compensation to farmers, Ardern said" in 2022.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/farming/300580701/government-announces-strengthened-biosecurity-funding-and-mbovis-milestone
This went from bad to worse. Why oh why did a cop thinking tasering a 95 year old was a good idea?
Indeed.
Tasers were meant to be substitutes for lethal force (in the NZ cops pitch to obtain them anyway). In reality they are often used as punishment and compliance devices by more sadistic plods.
Police execution by firearm have included distressed people wielding a golf club (Steven Wallace) builders hammers, knives and the unarmed. A few shots to the torso (heart) as per police weapons training soon sorted them out.
Police culture in Australia, NZ, and USA is still largely bent, violent, racist and misogynist–which needs to change asap.
"Police culture… needs to change asap"
That's a tough argument to make when the MSM is splashing ramraid videos everywhere and 501s are changing the dynamic of the NZ underworld.
We ought to think carefully before disempowering cops — I'd prefer not to follow the dumb "defund the Police" movement that has ruined Portland, Oregon
Disagree with you completely, Tiger Mountain. The NZ Police have significantly tightened their act up since the 80s, when we had the Muldoon-militia Red Squad, corrupt drug squads in cahoots with dealers, and bad boy behaviour like the long-term sexual predation experienced by Louise Nicholas.
The establishment of the Independent Police Conduct Authority, and the outcome of the Louise Nichols investigation resulted in significant cultural change in the Police. A push for diversity and more women in recruiting have also had downstream effects.
The NZ Police are nothing like the self-'policing' and racist culture in Australia and the US. And England's (but not Scotland's) police can be lumped in there. I do have to say some Australian State governments, like Palaszczuk's, are having a go at improving Police culture.
UK confidence in Police sinks to 53% in two years
Queensland Police racism disclosed
The most recent surveys show NZers' satisfaction with Police was at 77%.
Independent survey of public satisfaction with NZ Police
Righto…Police commission own survey…
There is a real cringe factor the way some NZers fawn over NZ Police, some how thinking subservience will protect them. Unless you grew up in Sunday school and have lived a very quiet life you might realise that indiscretions by the law are common, not down to ‘bad apples’.
–Rare is the day IPCA finds against a cop, or even criticises one.
–NZ Police got facial recognition technology under way without proper authority and when caught out attempted to deny it.
–They illegally photograph and cherrypick young Māori–stopped for driving a car while Māori.
–Police discriminated when targeting a group of young African men in Auckland
They have a difficult job (though paramedics, adequate mental health workers, tow truck drivers and civilian search and rescue could likely do some of their work anyway), the officers are drawn from the same society we all live in, but they should set a better example if they want wider support.
I did not mention defunding. How about just making cops more accountable for their actions and less knee jerk thuggish. What would inspire a fit young man to think a 95 year old needed a good old cardiac threatening tasering?
If mental health services were working better there might be less of the “the mad the sad and the bad” for Police to deal with in the first place.
A lot of handwringing and hypocrisy over woke criticism of a kiwi being handled at Miami Zoo, especially from DOC.. E.g.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/environment/300887468/you-can-hold-a-kiwi-in-nz-too-do-we-have-a-double-standard
https://twitter.com/DavisAndrew88/status/1661455904787791872
Have you been reading "The Croaking Wokes" by John Wind'emup?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Kraken_Wakes
LOL. John Wyndham actually wrote some pretty good books back in the day. That is one I have read. Also, the Day of the Triffids amongst others.
That user name.
/
https://maori.english-dictionary.help/maori-to-english-meaning-tikaokao-nui
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/88_(number)#In_neo-Nazism
The 88 is a dead giveaway, a hard right provocateur acting in bad faith
I seem to remember him being very reluctant to explain the 88. It may have been on The Malevolent Gnome's site.
Didn’t read the stuff article obviously. Their answer:
No, but RW trolls like frothing over something.
The pictures showing politicians holding birds before their release into the wild are done with trained handlers and not as part of a constant exploitation program done during daytime for nocturnal creatures.
Creatives are undervalued, underpaid and burned out:
https://thebigidea.nz/stories/lowdown-creatives-income-research-paints-grim-picture
Henri De Toulouse-Lautrec, Rembrandt, El Greco, Modigliani, Vermeer, Gauguin, and Van Gough all died in poverty.
If your genius means you are called to be an artist, poet, sculptor or writer don't expect your art to generate great wealth. At least not while you are still around to enjoy it.
Thanks for proving my point.
Creative work isn't just fine art, If you think it isn’t worth paying for I trust you don’t consume writing, television, film, games, performance, music or any other things produced by creatives then:
People who create the art you consume deserve a living for their efforts. It is an antiquated attitude to romanticise the 'starving artist' trope:
https://copyrightalliance.org/stop-romanticizing-starving-artist/
That tells anyone they are marginal occupations best left to the semi-retired or rich.
Unemployment is still so low at 3.4% that there's plenty of opportunity to get out of low paid occupations and get into something more financially rewarding.
Many people in this economy are doing it.
Yet more reinforcement of my point.
Creatives will continue to be undervalued if the elitist attitudes you express are continually promulgated.
https://www.wgtn.ac.nz/news/2023/02/we-need-to-break-the-cycle-of-crisis-in-aotearoas-arts-and-culture
https://www.newsroom.co.nz/ideasroom/we-deserve-better-than-aucklands-art-vandal
A bit presumptuous to assume creatives “deserve a living” if you are creating content no one wants to consume.
I write copious amounts of poetry and build the odd sand castle. I certainly don’t expect to be paid, little own earn a living, from it.
As my links say, professional creatives (people making things that are paid for and consumed) are undervalued by those who consume their art.
You are once again arguing against something I never claimed.
If you were employed to write poetry then you would deserve a living for it. It's not complicated.
If you’re not earning a living, bit of a stretch to say professional me thinks.
Who’s employed to write poetry???
If someone is paying you for a skill that you possess due to your training and qualifications, that is definitionally a profession.
If you actually want to learn more: https://www.creativenz.govt.nz/-/media/Project/Creative-NZ/CreativeNZ/PublicationsFiles/2023-Profile-of-Creative-Professionals/Profile-of-Creative-Professionals—Easy-Read—PDF.pdf
Right. So your moan is you don’t think they pay you enough. Join the long line behind nurses, teachers, bus drivers, barristas etc … all providing a service people want.
Failing that, if you’re non union, suggest you have a word with your employer directly and try convince them why you think you are worth more.
It's almost as if the problem is systemic and structural; a consequence of political choices.
I do agree with you though, everyone should join their union.
Luxon has become the gift that keeps on giving. I really thought the Nats were serious about winning the election this year.
But his stupid comments around free prescriptions, flip-flop on housing intensification, $1.4 billion dollar accounting error from his alt budget, mythical tax cuts for the wealthy, etc etc… offers nothing for ordinary Kiwis.
Luxo is spending too much time talking to farmers and cadaverous Rotarians, calls them the "real people", while disrespecting Māori and complaining about Te Reo. No wonder he is losing in the polls.
I predict he will resign on election night.
I think you are right about Luxon talking only to the people he is comfortable with…that is the impression I get.
The flip flop on housing densification loses him many votes among the young who are yet to buy a house ….but he doesn't talk to them….he has 7 houses after all.
Yeah he's too focused on the landlord class. Problem is he says the quiet stuff out loud. John Key was much more subtle and deceptive by crapping on about the underclass to get elected (then doing approximately zilch for them)
Yes, John Key was sly & subtle, which is how he earned his nickname of ‘smiling assassin’. Luxon is as subtle & shambolic as a blundering bouncer on steroids, politically speaking.
Policy has always been a National Party weakness. They seem to do better with feel-good fluff pieces and minimal difficult questions, and to take pot shots at government errors while promising pie in the sky solutions.
But if the candidates are basically unlikeable the PR stuff is pushing shit uphill
Key tacked centrally. Luxon is tacking right.
Perhaps liberals in the party are done with him and he is clinging on to his leadership with the votes of the religious conservatives in his caucus.
He seems desperate, flailing around for something, anything that might get traction. Would have been far better to state a bunch of principles and ambitions – NZ needs a leader with vision, not some guy randomly making up policy on the hoof
No tacking for Luxon; rowing in circles and catching crabs.
I do like those Big Hairy News snippets. From 10 min onwards is a discussion with Horizon pollster of how NZers saw Luxon in Nov 2022, and of vote pattern shifts from 2020 election. At the start, this poll shows NZ First still a critical player.
BHN interview Graeme Colman of Horizon Research on voter poll
He must be doing something right. According to tonights One News poll he is going to be PM after the election with a National -ACT coalition.
In this post-Budget poll National is up by 3%, ACT is steady, Labour is down by 1% and The Green Party have dropped by 4%. Meanwhile Hipkins has dropped in the PM stakes and Luxon is up.
What do you base your opinion on?
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/132140611/national-given-budget-boost-in-latest-political-poll
The problem for Luxon is that most ACT supporters would prefer Seymour as PM, that keeps him lower than Hipkins
That was once a problem for Clark before becoming PM (the numbers preferring Peters as Leader of the Oppositon – problem solved when Peters went with National in 1996).
PS Polls are showing L-G-TPM 62-58, then NACT 62-58. It's a race not yet run.
You are probably correct about the PM numbers. It is only the ACT party, out of all the minor parties in Parliament, who has a leader who can even be considered as a possibility for PM.
Can you imagine anyone who thinks that Davidson, Shaw, Ngarewa-Packer or Waititi could possibly be PM?
I agree that the numbers are far too close to call.
Luxon certainly doesn't have the popular appeal of a Key or an Ardern – but, then neither did Helen Clark before being elected (IIRC – I can't find the preferred PM results that far back)
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/leader-factor-is-what-counts/ONEDFGGKXUDINMWXNSPGVCPAJM/
However, that's a known issue for National (he's never been Mr Popularity).
What must be concerning for Labour is that Hipkins isn't exactly resonating with the electorate either.
Of course, that only matters for people who vote for a party based on whether or not they like the leader. Perhaps we'll see an election that is more about policy and less about personality.
He might need heavy protective gear to make it that far – the entitled ones resent leaders that have no sinecures to grant. I can smell the barbecue already.
A whole 8 years to bring these predators to justice.
https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/new-zealand/2023/05/mama-hooch-danny-and-roberto-jaz-named-as-men-who-drugged-sexually-assaulted-women-in-christchurch.html?fbclid=IwAR03DbkBYQyO_dzv3VXZ-fAeGFk9VhGMrgB7gu7IMYa4DXGK_GqwW8–Gw0
do you know when sentencing is?
Given the extent of the offending, the planning and strategising, and the number of women assaulted, it's hard to see why they should be let out again unless they can demonstrate remorse, substantial change in attitude, and reparation. Not that NZ law allows for that.
sentencing is in August
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/crime/132052656/extreme-hardship-if-mama-hooch-sexual-predators-are-named-judge-told
They used a WhatsApp group to share their rape/sexual assault videos and images. Only three were on trial but dollars to donuts there were more than three group members and if there's any justice to be had, those group members will be scared to fucking death waiting for the knock on the door.
Signs for National's "Get NZ Back On Track" tour have popped up around the district over the last couple of days, seems they might be starting in Queenstown.
Have we got an guerrilla songwriters around who can come up with some images of modern trains to plaster across them… Leave the National logo in the top left, and "Get NZ Back On Track" in bottom right, but the rest a train. Much better billboard.
Heh..!
My local (new) barber just left Queenstown, to get that place on track they need to ban AirBNB. Normal workers cannot live anywhere nearby and end up sleeping in cars
A squalid town ruled by a grasping elite
But its private property and the owners can do as they please, I know that must be very aggravating for you, but that is reality.
I wonder how much Q'town property is actually owned by New Zealanders – what I find aggravating is global capital bleeding Aotearoa dry.
I don’t know about ownership per se, although this data can be accessed, but data on property transfers is easily accessible:
https://www.stats.govt.nz/information-releases/property-transfer-statistics-march-2023-quarter/
I venture a solid health and safety case could be made against employers who leave workers living in vehicles for any length of time. Fatigue is a risk.
They're Sweeney Todding themselves and don't even realise it. Come and work in Queenstown where you will have splendid views of spectacular empty mansions from the bridge you're sleeping under. Spend your minimum wage on overpriced groceries.
The unaware irony of them. A choice, between the 'Coalition of Chaos' OR a National-led government ? !….like a Nact govt wouldnt literally be the Coalition of Chaos for the majority of NZ : (
And stopping wasteful spending? Geez yea, about that…
And of course…tax relief. For those who dont even need any. Just extra gravy…as always.
Anway Graeme…hope all good with you? Best of .
Getting back on track is appropriate for National because the (railway) tracks will one of the first thing that the ACT Party will demand is sold off if their junior coalition partners National win the election this year.
But as for Queenstown?
Preaching to the converted I'd say.
Incidentally, I noticed in downtown Masterton today, the National candidate Mike Butterick opened up a campaign office just a few doors down from Labour's Keiran McAnulty's existing office.
Too close for comfort?
Good idea. Made my day. Especially as Nats hate trains lol.
Shades of “Make Merica Great again”
"Get NZ Back on Track" has a nice ring to it, hopefully some Government whether National or Labour will start governing for the people and not themselves and their cronies.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/business/490626/cancer-diagnostics-company-posts-loss-after-investment
It’s very tough competing out there even when you have a sound high-value product and some help from the NZ government.
Will Luxon reverse this too? I think he might.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/490627/pay-boost-for-thousands-of-gp-and-community-nurses
Hopefully from this morning's disaster De Santis has realised he can't trust Elon Musk.
Biden's comms are on their game.
@JoeBiden
This link works:
https://twitter.com/JoeBiden/status/1661496322980028423
Trump's media team is on their game too… petty but enjoyable
https://twitter.com/EudaimoniaEsq/status/1661543467401502721?s=20
From Trump’s instagram account: a fake Twitter spaces video (including fake DeSantis audio) w/ DeSantis, Elon, George Soros, Hitler, the FBI, Dick Cheney, The Devil, and others.
Da or DeSantis – The Police investigate.