I read Mike Hosking’s piece telling the people in the Bella Vista episode to accept the offer and move on: “It’s not right, it’s not fair, but the Bella Vista fight isn’t worth it.”
I understand some of the sentiment but it’s easy for someone well off telling others to suck it up and accept they’ve been done over. I can imagine some situations where his voice would be encouraging fighting to the end and vigorously slamming the miscreant party. And vigorously exhorting others to hammer them.
The thing is, as he would say, we don’t know why he uses that voice. In my memory still is that he was an ‘ambassador’ for Skycity and there was no way that could not affect his perspective or voice.
Sad to see no lesson learnt after Leaky buildings and our new rush to resource consent everything without adequate regulations in place.
Also sad to see the victims and those who pay millions for the screw ups are still the homeowners who bought the houses and in particular the rate payers.
Those that will get away with out much liability are those that allowed the land to be built on without adequate engineering, the private companies and developers that put in poor building and resource plans and those that approved them at council, the management at council that allow this to occur and those that did poor building work but was still signed off by poor council inspectors.
Party this is also due to bad regulations in NZ under the RMA and building code, a free market approach to standards and the ability for practically any plans to be approved due to our rubber stamping resource consenting of such narrow interpretation of effects and risks so that it is hard to fail any consent. Our system is getting worse now because it takes tens of thousands to challenge a resource consent, and the system is designed to rubber stamp consents because most effects are not allowed to be challenged and therefore it does not actually produce safe and long term construction and safe and fair allocation of resources. But poor quality and expensive construction and unfair allocation of resources and risks.
The winners are the lawyers and those that grabbed their quick dirty profit from NZ flawed process of the construction industry.
The establishment media agenda has consistently been to play gotcha with Winston Peters, to paint him as an eccentric flake, or the tail wagging the dog, or as an erratic loose cannon.
The establishment media resents the way he won’t treat them as equal players in the political game and instead humiliates them by refusing to answer their questions and being sarcastic.
That’s pretty much my take on it too. You get the impression the media see themselves as the real power in this democracy of ours and don’t take kindly to anyone challenging or threatening their reign.
There was an interesting article by Tracey Watkins about the media attitude to Peters. She seems of the view that Peters enjoys ‘baiting’ the media and that it’s a bit of a game between consenting adults. I can’t see that, there’s far too much malice and personal animus for it to be that innocent.
Poll: Do you put off going to the dentist due to fear or cost?
3 hours ago
Former health minister Dame Annette King says dental therapists could help provide affordable oral health care to older Kiwis, but first they need their own regulatory body.
Her comments are a major push on the right to affordable dental care for adults and the “key role” that dental therapists could play in making dental care more available.
Do you need to go to the dentist, but are currently putting it off due to fear or cost?
And paying your electriticity bill off on time gets you a prompt payment discount.
And not going into debt for basic living items means that you don’t pay interest.
And registering your car on time means you don’t get pinged for a couple of hundred if you happen to get a parking ticket because you couldn’t bail from work to shift your car because you’re not the boss.
And installing solar panels and a wind turbine will give you cheaper electricity.
Ain’t it grand how the more money someone has, the less they actually need to spend? /sarc
I havnt been for ten years or more my vote would be scrap the nxt major motorway extension for a few years and give everyone in the country free dentistry instead !
“Yet for some reason, Canterbury’s finances are being kept on such a tight leash that CDHB’s annual accounts show it is actually getting less Government money this year than it might have done if there had never been any earthquakes to contend with.
In a nutshell, pre-quake CDHB used to get 11.3 per cent of national funding. Today – despite a rebuilding programme which will be the biggest in New Zealand hospital history – that share has dropped to 10.94 per cent.
And for mental health, last year CDHB was funded $222 per head of population compared to a national average of $243. This year, the disparity grew even greater with Canterbury getting $207 against a national average of $251.
Not surprisingly this is creating angry comment. Canterbury Employers’ Chamber of Commerce chief executive Peter Townsend recently said the funding gap was “negative interference” from Wellington.
And many, like Labour health spokesperson Annette King, believe a dysfunctional relationship between the MoH and CDHB lies at the heart of this systematic under-funding.
King says when it comes to talk of the possibility of a personality clash, it is easy to point to some history.”
A sad, sorry saga which points to a level of vindictiveness and arrogance that sums up what was allowed, nay, even encouraged, under the previous Government.
A pity Clark is claiming to be unaware of any issues with Hundleby’s relationship with the beleaguered DHBs.
It seems suspicious about MOH when you hear of dysfunction with the Christchurch Health Board. A similar attitude situation to Waikato DHB? I think, where the exec there didn’t give them the whole picture of their needs. And IIRR this was because people at the top didn’t want to know, perhaps because they thought it would be bad for their own health and wellbeing!
Hundleby and the MoH, Director-General [Chuah] both sound like ratbags sent by the former National Government to slash and cut services to save lying John Keys’ corrupt administration.
They did this over the former “emergency dental subsidy” Labour had in place before 2008 and national scrapped in 2009.
Cronyism being a hallmark of the Previous Gummint it was hardly surprising these two would stay close over the years.
There are others at the Misery of Health with similar close working history who are hopefully feeling a little less secure right now.
And I know that NZ is a small country and it would be difficult to find higher- ups who had not worked together previously at some stage. But one has to carefully scrutinize performance under these circumstances to ensure that poor performance and attitudes do not become accumulative.
They did this over the former “emergency dental subsidy” Labour had in place before 2008 and national scrapped in 2009.
cleangreen, you really need to check your facts before posting. (I was flabbergasted a month or so ago when you put up a comment on TDB claiming how bad WINZ had been since it was part of MBIE. It has never been under MBIE. It is part of MSD and has been for years.)
I am by no means trying to defend the National Govt (couldn’t stand them) but they did not “scrap” (ie remove) the “emergency dental grant” of $300 per year. WINZ simply did not give out many of these grants – or advance loans for dental work – over the period of National being the Government.
However, these provisions for Emergency Dental Grants ($300 per year) and repayable loans for dental work remained on the books and are available again now – see these up to date links to the WINZ website. (The website was revamped about a month or so ago to be much more informative and positive, and less punitive. Some related websites such as the Citizens Advice one have not yet caught up with the much better WINZ information.)
I can confirm that WINZ are again giving out both Emergency Dental Grants AND loans for emergency dental work – because just in the last six weeks I was granted both the non-repayable $300 Grant and a loan to cover costs over the $300.
My partner applied for a loan from WINZ to address some serious dental issues and we were told to use the last of our meagre savings first. Fair enough…but that’s our ‘disposal of our rotting corpses’ money so the kids are not left out of pocket. (Short explanation here…some years of struggling on the Invalid’s/ Supported Living Payment had seen both my tetraplegic partner and myself deny ourselves the pleasure of professional dentistry. Transitioning to the super Super mean’t we could just afford to pay back a WINZ loan…Peter’s teeth being in such a state that chewing food was difficult and choking a very real danger. (In days of old, Peter’s dentistry was done at the local hospital that was better equipped to accommodate wheelchair and transfers and dodgy breathing and potentially hazardous spasticity.)
“We have funeral grants you know.” said disturbingly cheerful WINZ Senior Citizens section worker.
So, The Offspring are instructed to dump our rotting corpses at the door of the local WINZ office.
I have done some minor activism and lobbying to remind the Current Incumbents that they promised to make WINZ as less horrible place where you can depend on getting kicked while your begging for help. Our Waikato Central Office has (the last time I checked) removed the cones blocking the disabled parking places but the uniformed security guards were still doing the ‘are you on our clipboarded list?…if not bugger off!’ thing in Kaitaia a couple of weeks ago.
I am pleased you got the cuddles and hugs treatment veutoviper and it’s great that you’ve been able to go and beg at WINZ after having had awful negative experiences in the past.
For some its going to take a while longer before we’re willing to put our heads on the block.
Rosemary, I have followed your and Peter’s situation for many years, and really admire you for what you have done and fought for and support you in this. I have lived with some disabilities all of my life, nothing like Peter’s but enough to cause discomfort and pain, limit my mobility and what I could do sportwise etc when growing up, and result in some major surgery when younger. I managed a full life and career and by rights should have been comfortable in my retirement. It was not to be, thanks to a corrupt financial advisor and the loss of decades of retirement savings, and the onset/diagnosis of two further major health problems at the same time which have caused further deterioration in mobility etc. Hence my personal experiences of WINZ over more recent years both sides of 65.
I understand your negativity etc and why you are reluctant to have any faith that things will change for the better. I too have been fighting for change in respect of those with disabilities in my own way behind the scenes both during my career and since retirement, having worked in the Wellington public service/parliament bubble.
I still maintain a degree of cynicism but also believe that change is slowing coming but it will not happen overnight. As well as my recent experiences I reported above and yesterday, a few weeks ago I also reported here on TS small improvements I saw at the Newtown WINZ service centre – eg I was not checked in per se by the security staff, much more welcoming greeting from reception, sign for toilets etc. Small seemingly superficial changes, but nevertheless small steps forward. It may take longer to see these changes at more remote centres.
” I managed a full life and career and by rights should have been comfortable in my retirement.”
Peter too. He returned to his full time mainstream job and kept at that for 30 years or so. He saved. He was financially prudent. He took responsibility for his health. His comfortable retirement was pretty much stuffed when he had the audacity to think that “an ordinary life” that those with disabilities were told told aspire to included a partner and children in it.
No. The partner and children are counted as de facto ‘assets and means’ when it comes to the allocation for funding for disability supports.
The only good thing is that had we not have shacked up in 1999, by 2001 he would have been bundled off from his own home and into a residential facility as this was when the Ministry of Health refused to fund the types of advanced personal care he needs.
We only found this out in 2002 when we sought external carers so I could address my own health needs. We always thought that the option was there for having outside help so I could return to work.
There’s been National and Labour and National and now Labour again…its going to take something fairly dramatic to convince me that with respect to non ACC disabled the colour of the flashing lights on the roundabout is the only thing that’s changed.
IMHO MoH has been a disaster area for years; ditto the overall the lack of support for disability issues across the board in the ps. I saw a number of good people go into MoH and come out wrecks. Personally I did not ever consider going to work there (or ACC) – although I would have liked to work in the disabilities area. Anyway, all we can do is go on fighting if necessary – and support one another. Hang in there, Rosemary.
“Novichok victim Charlie Rowley has revealed how he blames himself over girlfriend Dawn Sturgess’ death – after giving her the Novichok nerve agent that killed her as a gift.”
What a jerk. Where did he find this nerve agent? If you are going to pick things up cheap, caveat emptor. If you are going to pick things up from the ground or dumpster even more so. You’re running the risk of cheap and nasty. He should have just pinched some flowers out of the park for a bouquet. Probably they would have just brought on hayfever.
Seems reasonable to me that they did the deed, walked away, and dropped the murder weapon as soon as possible.
You have to remember that, regardless of who did it, we are talking about professional sociopaths here. They might have a moral framework that constrains their activities to the interests of the state or highest bidder, but we’re not talking about people with much empathy or care for fellow human beings. And they probably had quite a bit of desensitisation training to get that way.
Their priority is to do the job and escape without detection. As soon as the contamination was done, the bottle is a liability that connects them to the crime. Disposal is the concern, safe disposal is not.
The British man poisoned with the nerve agent novichok has claimed the substance that killed his girlfriend and left him critically ill came in a bottle disguised as a legitimate perfume in a sealed box.
…
But if Rowley is correct about the perfume bottle being boxed and sealed, it may undermine the line of inquiry that the novichok that he and Sturgess came into contact with had been discarded by the attackers of the Skripals.
It also opens up the possibility that there may yet be more novichok that has not been found in Wiltshire.
Rowley said he had found a sealed box in a cellophane wrapper containing a perfume bottle some days before he and Sturgess fell ill, and had kept it at his home in Amesbury, eight miles north of Salisbury, before handing it to his partner of two years as a gift.
He said he was struggling to remember where he had originally found the item but was convinced it was legitimate, as it looked like it hadn’t been used, “Which made me think it was quite safe,” he said.
Rowley also said it was a perfume that Sturgess recognised. “It’s very strange. It’s quite scary to think that something can be disguised in that manner and left to be found in public.
“It looked expensive, unfortunately it turned out to be a bad find.”
As others have said, the story has probably had the ‘Chinese Whisper’ treatment but I did find this bit odd….
“He said he was struggling to remember where he had originally found the item but was convinced it was legitimate, as it looked like it hadn’t been used, “Which made me think it was quite safe,” he said.”
I don’t think I’m on my own when I say I can point to exactly where I have found items of value decades after I discovered them. A phone, a wallet, a new bottle of perfume…don’t we all remember exactly where we picked items like this up?
I reckon it was probably a spare then. Or maybe the first drop was in the wrong location, they got a replacement, and that was the lost bottle. Shit sometimes goes pear-shaped.
If it was one of the Bill-style scenarios where the poisoning was an accident that the Skripal’s didn’t want to own up to, then the box wouldn’t have been held with no symptoms for days until it was opened. Besides, they could have just said “strange person sold me perfume, now I feel funny”.
Speculation, à la ‘Tinker Tailor’, is such fun. The ‘back up team‘ ditched their standard issue Novichok-laced perfume kit before they realised that the primary team had failed in their ‘mission’.
Teams 3 and 4 are just itching for Sergei to let his guard down. The evil Ruskies have secret supplies of Novichok cached all over Salisbury – beware of smelly knobs.
I’m not going to waste time right now going back through news reports from weeks ago but this latest report has the poisoned perfume in a spray bottle which somehow the ubiquitously named Charlie managed to “spill” on his hands.
Hmmm…now, its been a while since I last treated myself to a bottle of Yardley’s Lavender, but if memory serves a spray bottle of perfume is sealed…you don’t spill it, you squirt it.
If it were a leaking bottle…there could be no squirting…as it couldn’t squirt…but it might spill.
from the above linked Guardian article, it seems the Rowley attached the spray nozzle to the bottle:
“I guess that’s how she applied it and became ill. I guess how I got in contact with it is when I put the spray part to the bottle … I ended up tipping some on my hands but I washed it off under the tap.
okay…so since the last time I bought perfume one can buy spray bottles to fill with the perfume of one’s choice. BUT…I’ll bet that the high- end perfumes will be sold in totally sealed and tamper proof bottles. One’s suspicions would surely be aroused if the quality scent you’d scavenged from somewhere for your lady love was in a bottle with a removable top. Since you claim it came/was found under a hedge in intact packaging.
Or not.
This is all very entertaining, but methinks we are trying to make sense of a story that has been poorly constructed.
Some perfumes aren’t even supposed to be sprayed, but dabbed.
You could possibly attach a spray part from something else to them, though, if you’re a bit of a bodger.
Dunno about by design – we’re on the other side of the planet reading edited details from stories written by people who might or might not be unconsciously adding their own assumptions.
Seems to me that there would be fail safes if some of that poison was lost or damaged ie multiple samples – If a dead drop wasn’t used then the contents would be discarded. Hardly a big stretch imo.
Pretty certain I read reports from the past few days claiming the bottle was broken.
Which (McFlock!) kinda dovetailed into my “what else fits the evidence, bar attempted assassination of a long since dealt with/to spy” muckings around.
And then I read that report that, no, the bottle was boxed, and I thought “Who dumps boxed consumer goods “just because”?”
Then I thought – What if the container was leaking and the contents had permeated the wrapping, got onto hands – from hands to car interior and door handle – from door handle to PC Whatisname…. ? (Yawn)
And whatnot and whatever, I’m fairly persuaded the person who took the stuff into Britain is already a “guest” of UK authorities.
And I’m pretty sure we’ll likely never be told why it was smuggled into the country, who wanted it smuggled into the country, or who the intended victim/target was.
A RadioNZ heading for a newa item ‘Honours for Australian cave divers’.
Have these gone to political journalists reporting the truth of the goings-on of the Australian Parliament?
Your empathy etc antenna is really “off” this morning, grey, with this off remark, and the one about the Novichok victim at 10.1.
Honours for the Adelaide doctor and other Australian cave divers who took part in the rescue of the Thai cave victims have been fast tracked by the Australian government following public pressure. Here is the RNZ item:
Grey, the one thing you have posted this morning of any merit IMO is your post about the excellent item on Nine to Noon re people trapped in insurmountable debt because of increased charges and punitive treatment by big banks and other financial institutions – and the fact that submissions to the government close next week on the review of the Credit Contracts and Consumer Finance Act.
“…. with this off remark, and the one about the Novichok victim at 10.1.”
I assumed that Grey had read/watched some of the alt commentary around the ‘scent bottle found somewhere just lying around so I gave it to her and she squirted it all over even though it would have smelt like catspiss’ story and was being oblique, and not just a tad ironic. (one of the Young People was youtubing such stuff last night and I made a point of doing some extra verifying)
Play nice folks.
I though we agreed ages ago that the real story will never be known.
I really feel for these people – so fast and devastating – and the human side of hugging and huddling with family and friends when death is there – brings it all home and makes it real cos we would do the same.
So many homeless and dead and the countryside devastated. I am thinking of these people suffering there today and tomorrow.
And I wonder what long term effect it will have.
“The dam is a key component of the country’s controversial ambition to become the “battery of Asia” by selling power to its neighbours. Eleven large hydropower dams on the main Mekong River, and 120 tributary dams, are planned over the next 20 years.”
The direction was set when agreements were made after the election. The dominant people in the Labour caucus always favoured NZF over the Greens. That was evident to me, even before the election.
The Greens got limited possibilities for traction within the cabinet.
Davidson is still finding her feet and could well make an impact in the future. Genter has had some impact, and probably will do so in the future.
Meanwhile, unless a woman politician goes the celebrity route (Ardern) or the brutal sensationalist route (Judith Colllins & Paula Bennett) it’s not so easy for women leaders to get cut through into the MSM.
I got a reply from Genter the other day which leaves me wondering if perhaps she has conserved her energies and attention and focused on issues other than MOH disability issues. Fair enough…she’s off on maternity leave soon.
“…it’s not so easy for women leaders to get cut through into the MSM.”
Catherine Delahunty, although not a “leader”, managed to get in the front of a few issues and gave awesome support to the family carers case.
A pity the Greens have no-one to step into the disability field now.
Or a Green’s person could go on morning TV, and when Mike Hosking does a pro-Trump spiel at them, shout at him, “Look I’m literally a communist, you idiot”. And then wait for communism to become the new cool in NZ…?
“Meanwhile, unless a woman politician goes the celebrity route (Ardern) or the brutal sensationalist route (Judith Colllins & Paula Bennett) it’s not so easy for women leaders to get cut through into the MSM.”
I don’t think Judith Collins has gone that route for cut through but rather shes taking the route she believes in
“When I passed this legislation in 2009, I said that confiscating and destroying the vehicles of the worst, repeat offenders would be the ultimate deterrent,” Collins said last year.
“Critics of this law have completely missed the point. The number of deaths, injuries and crashes due to illegal street racing have plummeted.
“This shows that the law has been an extremely effective deterrent. It has made our streets safer and saved lives.”
According to figures released by Collins’ office, there were 15 crashes where “racing” was a factor in 2015, compared to 70 crashes in 2001.
Racing-related crashes peaked in 2007, when there were 116 accidents, that number declined following the introduction of the crushing law, according to Collins’ figures.
Collins said the law sent a strong message and it had worked as intended.
“Double bunking in cells could increase the risk of prisoner-on-prisoner assaults and reduce rehabilitation opportunities at Waikeria Prison, a cabinet paper says.”
As I’ve always said the Greens are Labours doormat, ever since the Greens said no to even talking with National Labour have known that they can take the Greens for granted
All the Greens would have to do is announce they’re willing to talk with National, just talk nothing else, and they’d get a much better deal from Labour
Maybe the Kermadecs would go ahead, maybe there wouldn’t be exploration in dolphin sanctuaries, who knows but at the moment NZFirst and Labour know they can dish out whatever they like to the Greens and the Greens will say thank you very much Sir
Yes, but at least after 9 long years Labour got back and Greens in government… so the coalition can’t have been that bad a move for them both… of course now is their chance so do something meaningful for voters so they vote them back in… and not get too arrogant and out of touch or pander to those that don’t actually vote for them at the expense of many others, aka big business and foreign policy …
The doormat could yet prove slippery for Labour, but more likely the analogy doesn’t apply as much as you think – too early to differentiate yet. I agree with those who’d like a little more of a Greens taking a definite stand on issues, but I sympathise with our parliamentarians feeling the need to be good team players.
Next month’s conference they’ll want to suss out how attendees are feeling about them. Y’know, ain’t a surprise to see Greens motivated to work for the common good. The government is the main focus for that currently, yet we remain anchored in the broader Green movement so we don’t lose focus on the big picture either.
Re Nats, the ball’s in their court. We keep waiting for them to toss it our way, they keep doing their ineffective opposition act. Just another way SB is failing to demonstrate political nous & leadership.
I mean hey NZFirst only has billions to buy a safe seat and what do the Greens get, the crumbs and then Labour will take credit for whatever positive story the Greens come up with anyway
“Re Nats, the ball’s in their court. We keep waiting for them to toss it our way, they keep doing their ineffective opposition act”
No. I’m not talking about serious discussions I mean the Greens simply saying they’re open to discussions, thats all they need to do.
They don’t need to announce anything, they don’t need to formulate nothing, all they need to do is say we’re open to discussion.
Well true I mean its only 2 billion (and counting) that NZFirst managed to claw out of Labour, its not like the Greens couldn’t have found a use for any of that
Too early in the electoral cycle. Nats could be brainstorming the support party scenario, not quite ready to do strategic planning.
Re Labour taking credit for Green initiatives, to an extent that will happen. Some will note the greening of the Labour Party as better late than never. Others will hallucinate them morphing into the Green Labour party. Inasmuch as career politicians always put their career ahead of common cause, some of our leftist MPs may even hope for such a future and join them if it happens. Zero-sum thinking is a powerful political tradition.
My guess is that the friendship formed between Jacinda & James in London 12 years ago is just as likely to extend the status quo in the hope of embedding their collaboration in a multi-term future of governance. In MMP strength derives from parties collaborating – not from union into a monolith.
I’m inclined to agree with you. Winston’s approach is largely why he wields the leverage he does.
“We will work with any party that our members feel will best accommodate our core principles.” I think it’s a reasonable position to adopt.
Commentators will query “So you’d work with National?”
“If they start ticking off items on our wish-list, our members will listen to what any seat winning party has to say.” A response of this order is not a sell-out. As per Puckish and NZ First’s form, I think it could generate increased influence in decisions.
“I mean hey NZFirst only has billions to buy a safe seat and what do the Greens get, the crumbs and then Labour will take credit for whatever positive story the Greens come up with anyway”
Labour are allowing the Greens to be the face of new climate related charges/taxes. Like increasing the cost of dumping waste.
One wonders if the Greens have anything to offer the poor to help them mitigate those new additional costs?
I’ve been watching the Vietnam series on nettyflix – just up to may 1970. Very sobering and sad. Such a waste of everything and the poor innocents caught up in the middle – being killed, children crying over dead parents and parents crying over dead children. The past shows the lessons which we just refuse to learn. And people continue to be murdered – t.rump is leading the US deeper into these dark dark times again imo.
Hear that people? At *Best*, self-driving cars will be many times *less efficient* than a normal everyday train network. Shove that in your transport-futures pipe and choke on its fumes.
Entire thread needs reading.
People who think that self-driving cars will eliminate congestion and be more efficient than good public transport are simply refusing to accept reality.
Breaking. The Canadian neo-nazis are not coming to NZ. Court action by Freeze Peach Coalition called off. Canadian couple claims victory according to RNZ… eh?
The Free Speech Coalition said on Wednesday time had run out, and an urgent court hearing planned for Monday to challenge their banning from an Auckland Council venue will now occur later in the year.
…
The Free Speech Coalition is claiming as a “partial victory” correspondence from the council which said Goff had had no part in the decision to cancel the booking, and it would have been improper for him to do so.
Why are they so intent on challenging the Council?
Stable genius managed to go bust with casinos and Manhattan real estate.
‘Murica, it’s your turn.
President Trump on Tuesday is expected to announce help for farmers who are being hit hard by billions of dollars in tariffs on their products.
The Trump administration, which has been talking about providing emergency aid to the agriculture industry, could offer upward of $12 billion in help to calm rising concerns about the trade war that could hit U.S. farmers hardest, Politico first reported.
David has just signed off the equity for workers in the mental health and addiction services today. $3.00 an hour for 5000 aprox $5.00 an hour for a number and backpay.
Should have been the first job done when Parliament came back after the Xmas break as it was an obvious and serious omission when the care workers were sorted.
Now, about David’s ‘diplomacy’ regarding Hundleby…
” Association of Salaried Medical Specialists executive director Ian Powell said in his view he got on well with Hundleby on a personal level, but was acutely aware that district health board staff “found him very abrasive”.
Powell said Hundleby had never developed a trust relationship with district health boards, or realised the importance of doing so.
Health Minister Dr David Clark told Stuff he was “not aware of any particular issues”. ”
‘Cos David would be the only person involved in the NZ health sector…ie, who has a pulse…who wasn’t aware of issues with this person.
But Nurses have not been offered backpay for a MECCA that expired a year ago, and Mental Health workers given a higher % than offered nurses, another offer today, just the same as the previous three. Expect more strike action.
Since most Nurses work for the DHBs and the relationship between the DHBs and the MOH Executive as been described as ‘toxic’ and David isn’t aware of that particular issue, then yes…expect more strike action. And more power to their collective elbow.
Mental health workers earn shit all for very hard work. Just like nurses and they are different roles with different agreements and a different union. I fully support nurses and any action the members vote for.
The disturbing story behind Willie Apiata’s Victoria Cross.
Paula Penfold challenges the “cowardly” Lt. Col. Tim Keating to come clean. The Panel, RNZ National, Wednesday 27 June 2018
Jim Mora, Paula Penfold, Allan Blackman, Caitlin Cherry
JIM MORA: …. Thank you, that’s interesting from you. Allan Blackman. And—Paula Penfold.
PAULA PENFOLD: I would like to talk about the soon to be departed Chief of Defence, Lieutenant General Tim Keating, who I see has been doing a series of media interviews today. I haven’t heard it yet, unfortunately, but I understand he was on Nine to Noon this morning with Kathryn Ryan, and I know that he’s done at least one other interview with journalists, I imagine there are probably more. I find that intriguing, because we at Stuff Circuit have been asking Lieutenant General Keating for an interview for four years now. And, knowing that he was about to depart his post, we went to see him as he was departing a Select Committee a couple of weeks ago.
He wasn’t, I suppose it has to be said, best pleased to see us, but we did get to ask him a couple of questions because we have been doing this investigation for quite some time now. And after we published The Valley in August last year he put out a thirty-four page statement responding to much of what we said, and said that he would be investigating the allegations that we raised abut the 2004 battle in Uruzgan, which led to the Victoria Cross for Willie Apiata. Now I wanted to know what had happened with that investigation because he said that he would be responding publicly and then he never did, so I wanted to know whether that was going anywhere. And he said yes indeed, that it was undergoing a legal investigation but I’m interested in the fact that this man who, this Chief of Defence who held a conference on transparency in the NZDF at the end of last year, has elected to do some media interviews, and I’m sure those journalists did a very good job, but they’re not the ones who have been investigating and publishing these allegations; we are, and he won’t answer my questions.
I’ve issued a public apolog— uh, “apology”!—a public invitation to him on this very program previously to front up and answer some questions from us because these are allegations that are serious allegations about what our SAS troopers did in that firefight, including that we provoked that firefight ourselves, that we mistreated the bodies of the dead enemy by strapping them to the bonnets of our military vehicles and dropping them on the ground in the village bazaar, that we kicked in doors, and that we flexi-cuffed innocent civilians. He has not answered those questions. He does say that there’s an investigation under way, but he will be departed by the time that investigation is completed, and he said yes it’s the warrant of his office under which that investigation happens. But I thank that personally, as the, you know, chief executive of a government department, he should have fronted and answered those questions before he left. And so I think Lieutenant General Keating, in making the selective choices he has about media appearances, has been cowardly. And I would also like to add that we have had contact from very, very many serving soldiers who say that he will not be missed.
JIM MORA: All right, so you’re seeking further elucidation from the outgoing Chief of Defence before he finally departs.
PAULA PENFOLD: I am. He said when we fronted up to him at parliament that he will not be tried by media, to which I said, That’s not the intent, the intent is simply to answer, uh, to ask you some questions. That’s all we want to do.
JIM MORA: Paula Penfold, Allan Blackman on the Panel. Thank you both.
My name is Kate Marvel, and I’m a climate scientist at Columbia University and the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies. I want to stress that nothing I say here reflects the official view of these institutions, although it damn well should……
……Burning fossil fuels puts carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. This makes the planet warmer. We have known this for over a hundred years, longer than we’ve known about DNA and internet and second world wars.
Asking a climate scientist whether global warming is real is like asking a physicist how come stuff falls down. We’ve learned things over the past few centuries, and we use these things to ask new and more interesting questions. This is why the collider at CERN is not just a giant inclined plane that people roll things down to see what happens, and why modern chemists do more than mix vinegar and baking soda together (I assume; I don’t know many chemists).
I don’t mean to suggest that there’s no science left to do. After all, I show up to work every day. Some people believe this is because I am engaged in a global conspiracy that has somehow managed to coordinate the actions of scientists, the US military, the finance and insurance industries, most world governments, and, you know, the atmosphere and ocean. Such a conspiracy may exist, but I’m afraid I am not invited to their meetings, which sound much more fun than your average scientific conference and probably have open bars. But I do my job precisely because there’s still so much to learn about this planet.
channel 31. newborn enrollments bill seems like the first step on the road to microchipping all newborns. nicky wagner mangling the walk the walk saying now. trying to justify microchipping babies.
Good Morning The Am Show I hope those people who are working on the new weed bill actually change the laws so we get benefits to our society like less people in jail and our sick people have it for medication .What makes me laugh is that 50 years later some American industrialist decided to minuplate OUR reality on weed and get it classed as a harm full drug a medicine that nuns used to help people with pains .
Don’t you think Its a joke that because these people want to make money from alcohol .Thats the reason it was made illegal just so the 00.1% could make more money from the common people .These wealthy corrupt minuplaters are still effecting OUR logical decisions on OUR future come on use your own brain on this subject. And lets use all the things the Gods gave us in a positive way.
Ka kite ano P.S Mark I like watching the Block show I have watched it from the first show they had in Australia its Awsome.
I say you are a straight up Kiwi Eco Maori likes those good quality’s
These people like to create drama they use race and religion and skin color to stir up tangata emotions they don’t care who gets hurt from the words they spray around Papatuanuku. Lets get this straight it not about skin color or religion to Eco Maori every Maori knows that we cannot denie our European heritage we just want to be treated the same as our European cousins Equality is were its at for Eco Maori.
So its not about skin color or religion its about ones attitude and the way they treat other peoples . You don’t go around Papatuanuku broad casting a attitude that you are superior to every other Great culture on Papatuanuku and imposing your ideals on the rest of Papatuanuku especially when we know that those ideals will create chaos and unrest all around Papatuanuku . It is harmony that Te tangata of Papatuanuku needs and wants to sort out the mess we have made to Papatuanuku.s Environment
This is a typical way that some people try and cover there true colors
Zero-carbon economy may not be worth the cost they use a word like may or could to make the audience think they are a neutral by stander giving there opinion.
In reality they are a right wing neo libreal who’s main goal is to be swimming in money .
They think we can’t see through there false facts and figure’s and see he is a climate change denier.
What really shows the real person they are is that they show more affection to MONEY than any of the other beautiful beings that are on Papatuanuku at the minute .
And that——————Eco Maori the link is below ka kite ano
This video includes conclusions of the creator climate scientist Dr. Adam Levy. It is presented to our readers as an informed perspective. Please see video description for references (if any). Climate change is everywhere. And when something's everywhere it can feel like it's nowhere. So how do we get our heads ...
Its a law like gravity: whenever a right-wing government is elected, they start attacking democracy. And now, after talking to their Republican and Tory and Fidesz chums at the International Democracy Union forum in Wellington, National is doing it here, announcing plans to remove election-day enrolment. Or, to put it ...
Yesterday Winston Peters focussed his attention on the important matter at hand. Tweeting. Like the former, and quite possibly next, orange POTUS, from whom he takes much of his political strategy, Winston is an avid X’er.His message didn’t resemble an historic address this time. In fact it was more reminiscent ...
Buzz from the Beehive A significant decline in natural gas production has given Resources Minister Shane Jones an opportunity to reiterate his enthusiasm for the mining and burning of coal. For good measure, he has praised an announcement from Genesis Energy that it will resume importing coal. He and Energy ...
“Follow the money” is the classic directive to journalists trying to understand where power and influence lie in society. In terms of uncovering who influences various New Zealand political parties and governments, it therefore pays to look at who is funding them. The political parties are legally obliged to make ...
Rob MacCullough writes – Here is my subjective ranking on a “most-left” to “most-right” scale of most of our major NZ Universities, with some anecdotal (and at times amusing) evidence to back up the claim.Extreme Left Auckland University of TechnologyEvidenceThe ...
Eric Crampton writes – I hadn’t thought about this one until a helpful email showed up in my inbox.It’s pretty obvious that income tax thresholds should automatically index with inflation – whether to anchor the thresholds in percentiles of the income distribution, or to anchor against a real ...
Jacqui Van Der Kaay writes – Parliament’s speaker had no option but to refer Green MP Julie Anne Genter to the Privileges Committee for her behaviour in the House last Wednesday evening. The incident, in which she crossed the floor to wave a book and yell at National ...
Gary Judd writes – The Dean of the law school at the Auckland University of Technology is someone called Khylee Quince. I have been sent her social media posting in which she has, over the LawNews headline “Senior King’s Counsel files complaint about compulsory tikanga Maori studies for ...
Cleo Paskal writes – WASHINGTON, D.C.: ‘Many of us have received phone calls from [the opposing camp] telling them if they join the camp they will be given projects for their wards and $300,000 [around US$35,000] each’, says former Malaita Premier Daniel Suidani. The elections in Solomon Islands aren’t ...
With hindsight, it was inevitable that (a) Hamas would agree to the ceasefire deal brokered by Egypt and Qatar and that ( b) Israel would then immediately launch attacks on Rafah, regardless. We might have hoped the concessions made by Hamas would cause Israel to desist from slaughtering thousands more ...
Placards and mourners outside the Kilbirnie Mosque following the Christchurch terror attack: MSD has terminated the Kaiwhakaoranga service, which has been used by 415 families since the attacks. Photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: The Government’s pledge to only cut ‘back office’ staff rather than ‘frontline’ services is on increasingly shaky ground, with ...
There’s been a few smaller public transport announcements over the last week or so that I thought I’d cover in a single post. Fareshare I’ve long called for Auckland Transport to offer a way to enable employer-subsidised public transport options. The need for this took on even more importance ...
Parliament’s speaker had no option but to refer Green MP Julie Anne Genter to the Privileges Committee for her behaviour in the House last Wednesday evening. The incident, in which she crossed the floor to wave a book and yell at National Minister Matt Doocey, reflects poorly on Genter and ...
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 ...
Who likes being sneered at? Nobody. Worse yet, when the sneerer has their facts all wrong, and might well be an idiot.The sneer in question is The adults are in charge now, and it is a sneer offered in retort to criticism of this new Government, no matter how well ...
When in government, Labour pushed to extend the Parliamentary term to four years, to reduce accountability and our ability to vote out a bad government. And now, they're trying to do it through the member's ballot, with a Four-Year Parliamentary Term Legislation Bill. The bill at least requires a referendum ...
A ballot for a single Member's Bill was held today, and the following bill was drawn: Public Works (Prohibition of Compulsory Acquisition of Māori Land) Amendment Bill (Hūhana Lyndon) The bill would prevent the government from stealing Māori land in breach of Te Tiriti o Waitangi. It ...
Simeon Brown, alongside Wayne Brown, is favouring a political figleaf now in exchange for loading up tens of millions in extra interest costs on Auckland ratepayers. Photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: Ratings agency Standard & Poor’s is pushing back hard at suggestions from Local Government Minister Simeon Brown and Mayor Wayne Brown ...
Buzz from the Beehive One headline-grabber from the Beehive yesterday was the OECD’s advice that the government must bring the Budget deficit under control or face higher interest rates. Another was the announcement of a $1.9 billion “investment” in Corrections over the next four years. In the best interests of ...
Chris Trotter writes – Had Zheng He’s fleet sailed east, not west, in the early Fifteenth Century, how different our world would be. There is little reason to suppose that the sea-going junks of the Ming Dynasty, among the largest and most sophisticated sailing vessels ever constructed, would have failed ...
David Farrar writes – Two articles give a useful contrast in balance. Both seek to be neutral explainer articles. This one in the Herald on Social Investment covers the pros and cons nicely. It links to critical pieces and talks about aspects that failed and aspects that are more ...
The tikanga regulations will compel law students to be taught that a system which does not conform with the rule of law is nevertheless law which should be observed and applied…Gary Judd KC writes – I have made a complaint to Parliament’s Regulation ...
The future of Te Huia, the train between Hamilton and Auckland, has been getting a lot of attention recently as current funding for it is only in place till the end of June. The government initially agreed to a five year trial, through to April 2026, but that was subject ...
TL;DR: Hamas has just agreed to Israel’s ceasefire plan. Nelson hospital’s rebuild has been cut back to save money. The OECD suggests New Zealand break up network monopolies, including in electricity. PM Christopher Luxon’s news conference on a prison expansion announcement last night was his messiest yet.Here’s my top six ...
A homicide in Ponsonby, a manhunt with a killer on the run. The nation’s leader stands before a press conference reassuring a frightened nation that he’ll sort it out, he’ll keep them safe, he’ll build some new prison spaces.Sorry what? There’s a scary dude on the run with a gun ...
Hi,I know it’s been awhile since there’s been any Webworm merch — and today that all changes!Over the last four months, I’ve been working with New Zealand artist Jess Johnson to create a series of t-shirts, caps and stickers that are infused with Webworm DNA — and as of right ...
The OECD’s chief economist yesterday laid it on the line for the new Government: bring the deficit under control or face higher Reserve Bank interest rates for longer. And to bring the deficit under control, she meant not borrowing for tax cuts. But there was more. Without policy changes—introducing a ...
After a hiatus of over four months Selwyn Manning and I finally got it together to re-start the “A View from Afar” podcast series. We shall see how we go but aim to do 2 episodes per month if possible. … Continue reading → ...
In 2008, the UK Parliament passed the Climate Change Act 2008. The law established a system of targets, budgets, and plans, with inbuilt accountability mechanisms; the aim was to break the cycle of empty promises and replace it with actual progress towards emissions reduction. The law was passed with near-universal ...
Buzz from the Beehive Local Water Done Well – let’s be blunt – is a silly name, but the first big initiative to put it into practice has gone done well. This success is reflected in the headline on an RNZ report:District mayors welcome Auckland’s new water deal with ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate ConnectionsA farmworker cleans the solar panels of a solar water pump in the village of Jagadhri, Haryana Country, India. (Photo credit: Prashanth Vishwanathan/ IWMI) Decisions made in India over the next few years will play a key role in global ...
Lindsay Mitchell writes – The Children’s Minister, Karen Chhour, intends to repeal Section 7AA from the Oranga Tamariki Act 1989 because it creates conflict between claimed Crown Treaty obligations and the child’s best interests. In her words, “Oranga Tamariki’s governing principles and its act should be colour ...
Geoffrey Miller writes – The gloves are off. That might seem to be the undertone of surprisingly tough talk from New Zealand’s foreign and trade ministers. Winston Peters, the foreign minister, may be facing legal action after making allegations about former Australian foreign minister Bob Carr on Radio New Zealand. ...
Brian Easton writes – 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 (I will report on them ...
TL;DR:Winston Peters is reported to have won a budget increase for MFAT. David Seymour wanted his Ministry of Regulation to be three times bigger than the Productivity Commission. Simeon Brown is appointing a Crown Monitor to Watercare to protect the Claytons Crown Guarantee he had to give ratings agencies ...
The gloves are off. That might seem to be the undertone of surprisingly tough talk from New Zealand’s foreign and trade ministers. Winston Peters, the foreign minister, may be facing legal action after making allegations about former Australian foreign minister Bob Carr on Radio New Zealand. Carr had made highly ...
I could be a florist'Round the corner from Rye LaneI'll be giving daisies to craziesBut, baby, I'll wrap you up real safe Oh, I can give you flowers At the end of every dayFor the center of your table, a rainbowIn case you have people 'round to stay Depending on ...
TL;DR: The six key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to May 12 include:PM Christopher Luxon is scheduled to hold a post-Cabinet news conference at 4 pm today. Finance Minister Nicola Willis will give a pre-budget speech on Thursday.Parliament sits from Question Time at 2pm on ...
The price of the foreign affairs “reset” is now becoming apparent, with Defence set to get a funding boost in the Budget. Finance Minister Nicola Willis has confirmed that it will be one of the few votes, apart from Health and Education and possibly Police, which will get an increase ...
A listing of 26 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, April 28, 2024 thru Sat, May 4, 2024. Story of the week "It’s straight out of Big Tobacco’s playbook. In fact, research by John Cook and his colleagues ...
Yesterday I received come lovely feedback following my Star Wars themed newsletter. A few people mentioned they’d enjoyed reading the personal part at the beginning.I often begin newsletters with some memories, or general thoughts, before commencing the main topic. This hopefully sets the mood and provides some context in which ...
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 ...
Photo by Jari Hytönen on UnsplashIt’s that new day of the week (Thursday rather than Friday) when and I co-host our ‘hoon’ webinar with paying subscribers to The Kākā for an hour at 5 pm. Jump on this link on YouTube Livestream for our chat about the week’s news ...
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 ...
The Green Party is welcoming the announcement by the Minister Responsible for RMA Reform Chris Bishop to approve most of the Wellington City Council’s District Plan recommendations. ...
David Seymour has failed to get the sweeping cuts he wanted to the free and healthy school lunch programme, Labour education spokesperson Jan Tinetti said. ...
Hon Willie Jackson has been invited by the Oxford Union to debate the motion “This House Believes British Museums are not Very British’ on May 23rd. ...
Green Party MP Hūhana Lyndon says her Public Works (Prohibition of Compulsory Acquisition of Māori Land) Amendment Bill is an opportunity to right some past wrongs around the alienation of Māori land. ...
A senior, highly respected King’s Counsel with decades of experience in our law courts, Gary Judd KC, has filed a complaint about compulsory tikanga Māori studies for law students - highlighting the utter depths of absurdity this woke cultural madness has taken our society. The tikanga regulations will compel law ...
The Government needs to be clear with the people of the Nelson Marlborough region about the changes it is considering for the Nelson Hospital rebuild, Labour health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall said. ...
Ministers must front up about which projects it will push through under its Fast Track Approvals legislation, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
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. ...
Your Excellency Ambassador Meredith, Members of the Diplomatic Corps and Ambassadors from European Union Member States, Ministerial colleagues, Members of Parliament, and other distinguished guests, Thank you everyone for joining us. Ladies and gentlemen - In diplomacy, we often speak of ‘close’ and ‘long-standing’ relations. ...
The Therapeutic Products Act (TPA) will be repealed this year so that a better regime can be put in place to provide New Zealanders safe and timely access to medicines, medical devices and health products, Associate Health Minister Casey Costello announced today. “The medicines and products we are talking about ...
The Minister Responsible for RMA Reform, Chris Bishop, today released his decision on twenty recommendations referred to him by the Wellington City Council relating to its Intensification Planning Instrument, after the Council rejected those recommendations of the Independent Hearings Panel and made alternative recommendations. “Wellington notified its District Plan on ...
Rape Awareness Week (6-10 May) is an important opportunity to acknowledge the continued effort required by government and communities to ensure that all New Zealanders can live free from violence, say Ministers Karen Chhour and Louise Upston. “With 1 in 3 women and 1 in 8 men experiencing sexual violence ...
Associate Education Minister David Seymour has today announced that the Government will be delivering a more efficient Healthy School Lunches Programme, saving taxpayers approximately $107 million a year compared to how Labour funded it, by embracing innovation and commercial expertise. “We are delivering on our commitment to treat taxpayers’ money ...
New research on the impacts of extreme weather on coastal marine habitats in Tairāwhiti and Hawke’s Bay will help fishery managers plan for and respond to any future events, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. A report released today on research by Niwa on behalf of Fisheries New Zealand ...
Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Winston Peters will lead a broad political delegation on a five-stop Pacific tour next week to strengthen New Zealand’s engagement with the region. The delegation will visit Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu, New Caledonia, and Tuvalu. “New Zealand has deep and ...
There has been a material decline in gas production according to figures released today by the Gas Industry Co. Figures released by the Gas Industry Company show that there was a 12.5 per cent reduction in gas production during 2023, and a 27.8 per cent reduction in gas production in the ...
Defence Minister Judith Collins tonight announced the recipients of the Minister of Defence Awards of Excellence for Industry, saying they all contribute to New Zealanders’ security and wellbeing. “Congratulations to this year’s recipients, whose innovative products and services play a critical role in the delivery of New Zealand’s defence capabilities, ...
Welcome to you all - it is a pleasure to be here this evening.I would like to start by thanking Greg Lowe, Chair of the New Zealand Defence Industry Advisory Council, for co-hosting this reception with me. This evening is about recognising businesses from across New Zealand and overseas who in ...
It is a pleasure to be speaking to you as the Minister for Digitising Government. I would like to thank Akolade for the invitation to address this Summit, and to acknowledge the great effort you are making to grow New Zealand’s digital future. Today, we stand at the cusp of ...
New Zealand is urging both Israel and Hamas to agree to an immediate ceasefire to avoid the further humanitarian catastrophe that military action in Rafah would unleash, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “The immense suffering in Gaza cannot be allowed to worsen further. Both sides have a responsibility to ...
A new online data dashboard released today as part of the Government’s school attendance action plan makes more timely daily attendance data available to the public and parents, says Associate Education Minister David Seymour. The interactive dashboard will be updated once a week to show a national average of how ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced Rosemary Banks will be New Zealand’s next Ambassador to the United States of America. “Our relationship with the United States is crucial for New Zealand in strategic, security and economic terms,” Mr Peters says. “New Zealand and the United States have a ...
The Government is considering creating a new tier of minerals permitting that will make it easier for hobby miners to prospect for gold. “New Zealand was built on gold, it’s in our DNA. Our gold deposits, particularly in regions such as Otago and the West Coast have always attracted fortune-hunters. ...
Minister for Trade Todd McClay today announced that New Zealand and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) will commence negotiations on a free trade agreement (FTA). Minister McClay met with his counterpart UAE Trade Minister Dr Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi in Dubai, where they announced the launch of negotiations on a ...
New Zealand Sign Language Week is an excellent opportunity for all Kiwis to give the language a go, Disabilities Issues Minister Louise Upston says. This week (May 6 to 12) is New Zealand Sign Language (NZSL) Week. The theme is “an Aotearoa where anyone can sign anywhere” and aims to ...
Six tertiary students have been selected to work on NASA projects in the US through a New Zealand Space Scholarship, Space Minister Judith Collins announced today. “This is a fantastic opportunity for these talented students. They will undertake internships at NASA’s Ames Research Center or its Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), where ...
New Zealanders will be safer because of a $1.9 billion investment in more frontline Corrections officers, more support for offenders to turn away from crime, and more prison capacity, Corrections Minister Mark Mitchell says. “Our Government said we would crack down on crime. We promised to restore law and order, ...
The OECD’s latest report on New Zealand reinforces the importance of bringing Government spending under control, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The OECD conducts country surveys every two years to review its members’ economic policies. The 2024 New Zealand survey was presented in Wellington today by OECD Chief Economist Clare Lombardelli. ...
The Government has delivered on its election promise to provide a financially sustainable model for Auckland under its Local Water Done Well plan. The plan, which has been unanimously endorsed by Auckland Council’s Governing Body, will see Aucklanders avoid the previously projected 25.8 per cent water rates increases while retaining ...
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 ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra The Albanese government is talking up the crucial role of gas as a transition fuel “through to 2050 and beyond”. In a gas strategy to be released on Thursday, the government envisages the fuel’s ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Next week the government will again next try to get its legislation through to deal with non-citizens who won’t cooperate with efforts to deport them. The bill, which the opposition and crossbench refused to rush ...
A long-term project that will set out an alternative vision for Aotearoa that looks beyond the narrow confines of the policy straight jacket adopted by successive governments. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Bree Hurst, Associate Professor, Faculty of Business and Law, QUT, Queensland University of Technology TK Kurikawa/Shutterstock A much-awaited report into Coles and Woolworths has found what many customers have long believed – Australia’s big supermarkets engage in price gouging. What started ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Daniel Ghezelbash, Associate Professor and Deputy Director, Kaldor Centre for International Refugee Law, UNSW Law & Justice, UNSW Sydney The Albanese government wanted to avoid an inquiry into its migration amendment bill. The report, handed down yesterday by a senate committee that ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Joo-Cheong Tham, Professor, Melbourne Law School, The University of Melbourne Lobbying is at the heart of government. Who has access to and influence over key government officials shapes the decisions governments make – and how they make them. The ability to influence ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Myfany Turpin, Associate Professor, Ethnomusicology, Linguistics and Ethnobiology, University of Sydney The act representing Australia at this year’s Eurovision contest has sadly not qualified for the grand final. Yet for Zaachariaha Fielding and Michael Ross, the duo that makes up Electric Fields, ...
In announcing changes to the school lunches programme, David Seymour said kids would no longer be served ‘woke’ foods. To clear up any confusion, The Spinoff has compiled a guide to the wokeness levels of some common food items. Apple = NOT WOKE Avocado = WOKE Avocado, smashed = EVEN ...
The Minister Responsible for GCSB and the Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security have been notified of this review, and have been provided a finalised Terms of Reference. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Minglu Chen, Senior Lecturer, Government and International Relations, University of Sydney Robert Way/Shutterstock As the past few years have illustrated so clearly, the Australia-China relationship is complicated. As such, it is crucial for Australians to develop a more nuanced understanding of ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mariana Campbell, Research Lecturer, Conservation, Charles Darwin University Marilyn Connell Australian freshwater turtles are facing an alarming trend. Almost half of these species are listed as vulnerable, endangered or critically endangered. The Mary River turtle (Elusor macrurus) is one of Australia’s ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Debbie Passey, Digital Health Research Fellow, The University of Melbourne Algorithms have become integral to our lives. From social media apps to Netflix, algorithms learn your preferences and prioritise the content you are shown. Google Maps and artificial intelligence are nothing without ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Josephine Barbaro, Associate Professor, Principal Research Fellow, Psychologist, La Trobe University Unsplash We’ve come a long way in terms of understanding that everyone thinks, interacts and experiences the world differently. In the past, autistic people, people with attention deficit hyperactive disorder ...
PNG Post-Courier Papua New Guinea’s deputy opposition leader James Nomane has accused the government of “reckless economic management” that has forced devaluation to manage loan repayments in foreign currency and placate the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Prime Minister James Marape “must stop lying to the people of Papua New Guinea”, ...
Welcome to The Spinoff Bookseller Confessional, in which we get to know Aotearoa’s booksellers. This week: Jane Arthur, author of Brown Bird, and former bookseller at Good Books.The book I wish I’d writtenI have been working on not comparing myself to others. On accepting that what I can ...
The final decision on the Wellington District Plan makes it official: High-density housing is legal across most of Wellington. Housing minister Chris Bishop has announced his decision on the Wellington District Plan, approving a series of amendments to radically upzone most of Wellington, allowing tens of thousands of new townhouses ...
Analysis by Dr Bryce Edwards – Democracy Project (https://democracyproject.nz)Political scientist, Dr Bryce Edwards. “Follow the money” is the classic directive to journalists trying to understand where power and influence lie in society. In terms of uncovering who influences various New Zealand political parties and governments, it therefore pays to ...
RNZ News As Israel presses ahead with strikes in Rafah and seizing the Rafah crossing from Egypt, aid agencies are sounding the alarm of a “catastrophic humanitarian situation”. Rafah was “significant” because it was the only part in Gaza that had not been terribly damaged by the conflict, United Nations ...
With funding set to be scrapped for the Hamilton-Auckland commuter train, Te Huia enthusiast Georgie Dansey argues for it to be thrown a lifeline. It’s 5.45am and the chain of my crappy old bike falls off slugging up the one hill in Hamilton. I contemplate yeeting the bike into the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Anna Cooke, Honorary Fellow, School of the Environment, The University of Queensland We feel ecological grief when we lose places, species or ecosystems we value and love. These losses are a growing threat to mental health and wellbeing globally. We all see ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Shauna Brail, Associate Professor, Institute for Management & Innovation, University of Toronto A shift to hybrid and remote work continues to affect worker presence in Toronto’s downtown.(Shutterstock) Downtown Toronto, the core of Canada’s largest city, continues to reel from the lingering ...
Responding to an Auditor-General's report slamming failures in the administration of the 2023 General Election, Taxpayers’ Union Policy and Public Affairs Manager, James Ross, said: ...
Productivity apps now make up a big chunk of the software market. But do they work? And why do they all have AI integrations?Despite being firmly on the record as a physical planner fan, I sometimes dream of something better than my pretty diary and its scrawled, ugly, interior ...
The Taxpayers’ Union says the Beehive need to lead by example, following reports of more than $50,000 spent upgrading video conferencing equipment and furniture in the Prime Minister’s office. Taxpayers’ Union Campaign Manager, Connor Molloy, ...
An objective list of the 50 most powerful people in New Zealand, as judged by the Spinoff Editorial Board. It’s power list season, baby, and we want in on the action. Sure, there’s the rich list and the powerful “c-suite” list and the young people with power (hmmm) but here, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Thalia Anthony, Professor of Law, University of Technology Sydney ShutterstockThis article contains information on deaths in custody and the names of deceased people, and describes ongoing colonial violence towards Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. First Nations people in Australia ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alex Simpson, Senior Lecturer in Criminology, Macquarie University Netflix Baby Reindeer’s phenomenal success has much to do with its writer and lead, Richard Gadd, who plays Donny in a tender semi-autobiographical account of sexual abuse, harassment and stalking. Gadd’s story has ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Clare Collins, Laureate Professor in Nutrition and Dietetics, University of Newcastle KarolinaGrabowska/Pexels If you didn’t have food allergies as a child, is it possible to develop them as an adult? The short answer is yes. But the reasons why are much ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Paul Moon, Professor of History, Auckland University of Technology Ans Westra, self-portrait, c. 1963. National Library ref AWM-0705-F They try but invariably fail – those writers who believe they are capable of encapsulating in prose or verse the essence of ...
Stewart Sowman-Lund looks at the growing concern around the world in this extract from The Bulletin. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here. What’s all this? When Covid-19 arrived on our shores in early 2020, some argued we were too slow, or crucially, ill-prepared for a pandemic. So ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Franco Montalto, Professor of Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering and Director, Sustainable Water Resource Engineering Laboratory, Drexel University Water runs into a storm drain in a Los Angeles alley on Aug. 19, 2023, during Tropical Storm Hilary.Citizen of the Planet/Universal Images ...
The inquest into the death of Gore toddler Lachlan Jones has turned up a new witness who says he saw two teenagers and a small child in a high vis vest in the area where the boy’s body was found the day he died. Lachie’s body was discovered face up ...
Stories from the tenancy trenches, featuring spider infestations, cupboard rats and same-sex discrimination. Lucy’s brother was living in a damp 1930s building in Mt Eden where “he had to tie the cupboard doors closed so the rats didn’t get in”. Although he shared custody of his six-year-old son, his property ...
Simeon Brown, Chris Luxon, and Wayne Brown climbed into a hole and announced a plan to solve Auckland’s water woes. This is how it’ll work. New Zealand’s pipes are munted. They’re cracked and leaking, and struggling to handle all the extra poos excreted by our rising population. It’s a big, ...
Opinion: ‘Reference-class forecasting’ is at the heart of improving pricing a project and identifying the expected timeframe but it doesn’t appear to be in use here The post ‘Think fast and act slowly’ is failing big projects appeared first on Newsroom. ...
What do a sombrero in Argentina and cognitive driving tests have in common? Don’t worry, we’re not setting up a bad joke. Hinengaro Clinic dementia clinician Gregory Winkelman has the answer on today’s episode of The Detail. “We ask a patient’s spouse or son or daughter: If you went to ...
Wellington long jumper Phoebe Edwards is back and she’s having fun again. Until this year, Edwards, a top athlete in her teens, had never competed as a senior athlete in New Zealand. In March, the 26-year-old won a national long jump title in a lifetime best of 6.28m after ...
After replacing a fifth of their caucus in just four months, the Greens’ opportunity to reset, reshuffle and refocus on the Government is quickly slipping away The post Persistent Green Party scandals delay caucus reset appeared first on Newsroom. ...
I knew Taika Waititi quite well when he was a kid. His mother lived in a tall narrow house in Aro St, and my youngest sister had a similar house two doors along. They were both single mums, they each had a son aged seven. Taika and my nephew Stepan ...
Opinion: “As time passes, knowledge of the circumstances of the August 2016 outbreak will fade and its immediate impact will be lost.” This statement is from the 2017 report of the Official Inquiry into the Havelock North campylobacteriosis outbreak. The then National-led government established the inquiry after the outbreak left ...
Opinion: Nicholas Khoo looks at two key points in the high-stakes foreign policy pact debate – and asks if NZ can engage with as little drama as possible. The post Where to next for the Aukus ruckus? appeared first on Newsroom. ...
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ANALYSIS:By Olli Hellmann, University of Waikato When New Zealanders commemorate Anzac Day today on April 25, it’s not only to honour the soldiers who lost their lives in World War I and subsequent conflicts, but also to mark a defining event for national identity. The battle of Gallipoli against ...
By Robin Martin, RNZ News reporter A New Zealand local authority, Whanganui District Council, has passed a motion calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, condemnation of all acts of violence and terror against civilians on both sides of the conflict and the immediate return of hostages. It comes as ...
Asia Pacific Report The Aotearoa chapter of the Women’s International league for Peace and Freedom (WILPF) has appealed to the New Zealand government to call out Israel over the “cruel and barbaric use of force” in Gaza and demand a permanent ceasefire. The league’s open letter was sent to Prime ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra The Albanese government will invest $566 million over a decade on data, maps and other tools to promote exploration and development in Australia’s resources industry. The project will fund “the first comprehensive map of what’s ...
Asia Pacific Report Following an open letter by Auckland University academics speaking out in support of their students’ right to protest against the genocidal Israeli war on Gaza, a group of academics at Otago University have today also called on New Zealand academic institutions to “repair colonial violence” and end ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Linda J. Graham, Professor and Director of the Centre for Inclusive Education, Queensland University of Technology Ryan Tauss/ Unsplash, CC BY Two male students have been expelled from a Melbourne private school for their involvement in a list ranking female students. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Martin, Visiting Fellow, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University The Reserve Bank is now assuming Australians will see no interest rate cuts this year – and quite possibly none before the next federal election, due next May. That’s ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By David Hayward, Emeritus Professor of Public Policy, RMIT University The Victorian budget offered more of the same on Tuesday, with the only change being how the budget papers were packaged. The usual shrink wrap was gone, hinting at savings in the pages ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra The Coalition is demanding extensive amendments to the government’s legislation targeting non-citizens who refuse to co-operate with their removal. In a dissenting report to the senate inquiry into the legislation, the Coalition says it ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Vanita Yadav, Senior Research Fellow, Urban Transformations Research Centre, Western Sydney University Brett Boardman/Belvoir The complex and grappling issue of violence against women takes centre stage in the soul-stirring solo dance drama Nayika: A Dancing Girl. During a dinner conversation ...
https://i.stuff.co.nz/world/americas/105732494/us-attorney-general-jeff-sessions-laughs-off-lock-her-up-chant-at-dc-speech
Deep State mocks voters who still believe their voice and the rule of law matter.
Most commentary I’ve read are saying he joined in as the top law maker in the US and once again showed what a t.rump arsehole he is.
I read Mike Hosking’s piece telling the people in the Bella Vista episode to accept the offer and move on: “It’s not right, it’s not fair, but the Bella Vista fight isn’t worth it.”
I understand some of the sentiment but it’s easy for someone well off telling others to suck it up and accept they’ve been done over. I can imagine some situations where his voice would be encouraging fighting to the end and vigorously slamming the miscreant party. And vigorously exhorting others to hammer them.
The thing is, as he would say, we don’t know why he uses that voice. In my memory still is that he was an ‘ambassador’ for Skycity and there was no way that could not affect his perspective or voice.
That sounds like financial advice – I hope he is suitably qualified and has indemnity insurance.
Reading a mike hoskin piece is a fail right away. Do not pass go, do not collect a damaged masserati.
Damaged masserati? What are you on about?
Quite. It was a munted Alfa.
Sad to see no lesson learnt after Leaky buildings and our new rush to resource consent everything without adequate regulations in place.
Also sad to see the victims and those who pay millions for the screw ups are still the homeowners who bought the houses and in particular the rate payers.
Those that will get away with out much liability are those that allowed the land to be built on without adequate engineering, the private companies and developers that put in poor building and resource plans and those that approved them at council, the management at council that allow this to occur and those that did poor building work but was still signed off by poor council inspectors.
Party this is also due to bad regulations in NZ under the RMA and building code, a free market approach to standards and the ability for practically any plans to be approved due to our rubber stamping resource consenting of such narrow interpretation of effects and risks so that it is hard to fail any consent. Our system is getting worse now because it takes tens of thousands to challenge a resource consent, and the system is designed to rubber stamp consents because most effects are not allowed to be challenged and therefore it does not actually produce safe and long term construction and safe and fair allocation of resources. But poor quality and expensive construction and unfair allocation of resources and risks.
The winners are the lawyers and those that grabbed their quick dirty profit from NZ flawed process of the construction industry.
The MSM at its worst, shitstirring and whipping up controversy over nothing just to sell more copy.
“Winston Peters demands Australia changes its flag”
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12094528
Next we’ll hear the view from Australia who no doubt will react with outrage. And so it starts….
The establishment media agenda has consistently been to play gotcha with Winston Peters, to paint him as an eccentric flake, or the tail wagging the dog, or as an erratic loose cannon.
The establishment media resents the way he won’t treat them as equal players in the political game and instead humiliates them by refusing to answer their questions and being sarcastic.
That’s pretty much my take on it too. You get the impression the media see themselves as the real power in this democracy of ours and don’t take kindly to anyone challenging or threatening their reign.
There was an interesting article by Tracey Watkins about the media attitude to Peters. She seems of the view that Peters enjoys ‘baiting’ the media and that it’s a bit of a game between consenting adults. I can’t see that, there’s far too much malice and personal animus for it to be that innocent.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/opinion/105058015/give-winston-peters-a-fair-go-rather-than-firing-him-for-being-a-tad-late
Good move by Greens. Hopefully to be rolled out as law for all politicians and local government!
Green Party Ministers open diaries to public
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA1807/S00190/green-party-ministers-open-diaries-to-public.htm
Protest is not a crime
“Repeal the Anadarko Amendment”
https://www.stuff.co.nz/environment/105614395/greenpeace-activists-oil-ship-protest-was-just-low-level-disobedience
A poll today on Newshub said 89% say they dont go for dental repairs because of the high cost.
https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/shows/2018/07/poll-do-you-need-to-go-to-the-dentist-but-are-currently-putting-it-off-due-to-fear-or-cost.html
Poll: Do you put off going to the dentist due to fear or cost?
3 hours ago
Former health minister Dame Annette King says dental therapists could help provide affordable oral health care to older Kiwis, but first they need their own regulatory body.
Her comments are a major push on the right to affordable dental care for adults and the “key role” that dental therapists could play in making dental care more available.
Do you need to go to the dentist, but are currently putting it off due to fear or cost?
Vote in The AM Show poll below.
I did for years until it was too late. Ended up costing me around 4 to 5k.
Would have been in the hundreds of I’d done it when I should have.
It’s not that expensive. Go to a dental hygienist once a year and it will save you a bucket load
Yeah.
And paying your electriticity bill off on time gets you a prompt payment discount.
And not going into debt for basic living items means that you don’t pay interest.
And registering your car on time means you don’t get pinged for a couple of hundred if you happen to get a parking ticket because you couldn’t bail from work to shift your car because you’re not the boss.
And installing solar panels and a wind turbine will give you cheaper electricity.
Ain’t it grand how the more money someone has, the less they actually need to spend? /sarc
I havnt been for ten years or more my vote would be scrap the nxt major motorway extension for a few years and give everyone in the country free dentistry instead !
Oh dear. This is so sad. Another high ranking official at the Misery of Health appears to have finally found the exit….
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/health/105712034/top-ministry-of-health-official-michael-hundleby-on-gardening-leave
Media articles featuring the good work done by this senior public Servant are legion…but this one kind of sums it up….
https://www.stuff.co.nz/the-press/news/84952020/Bad-blood-or-sly-moves-Canterburys-health-funding-puzzle
“Yet for some reason, Canterbury’s finances are being kept on such a tight leash that CDHB’s annual accounts show it is actually getting less Government money this year than it might have done if there had never been any earthquakes to contend with.
In a nutshell, pre-quake CDHB used to get 11.3 per cent of national funding. Today – despite a rebuilding programme which will be the biggest in New Zealand hospital history – that share has dropped to 10.94 per cent.
And for mental health, last year CDHB was funded $222 per head of population compared to a national average of $243. This year, the disparity grew even greater with Canterbury getting $207 against a national average of $251.
Not surprisingly this is creating angry comment. Canterbury Employers’ Chamber of Commerce chief executive Peter Townsend recently said the funding gap was “negative interference” from Wellington.
And many, like Labour health spokesperson Annette King, believe a dysfunctional relationship between the MoH and CDHB lies at the heart of this systematic under-funding.
King says when it comes to talk of the possibility of a personality clash, it is easy to point to some history.”
A sad, sorry saga which points to a level of vindictiveness and arrogance that sums up what was allowed, nay, even encouraged, under the previous Government.
A pity Clark is claiming to be unaware of any issues with Hundleby’s relationship with the beleaguered DHBs.
Maybe he is practicing diplomacy?
It seems suspicious about MOH when you hear of dysfunction with the Christchurch Health Board. A similar attitude situation to Waikato DHB? I think, where the exec there didn’t give them the whole picture of their needs. And IIRR this was because people at the top didn’t want to know, perhaps because they thought it would be bad for their own health and wellbeing!
Hundleby and the MoH, Director-General [Chuah] both sound like ratbags sent by the former National Government to slash and cut services to save lying John Keys’ corrupt administration.
They did this over the former “emergency dental subsidy” Labour had in place before 2008 and national scrapped in 2009.
Those two worked together at the CDHB back in the day…https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/67464926/bureaucrat-faced-probe-into-pay
Cronyism being a hallmark of the Previous Gummint it was hardly surprising these two would stay close over the years.
There are others at the Misery of Health with similar close working history who are hopefully feeling a little less secure right now.
And I know that NZ is a small country and it would be difficult to find higher- ups who had not worked together previously at some stage. But one has to carefully scrutinize performance under these circumstances to ensure that poor performance and attitudes do not become accumulative.
http://www.ssc.govt.nz/sites/all/files/pif-review-health-dec2017.pdf
(p 56 tells the story.)
They did this over the former “emergency dental subsidy” Labour had in place before 2008 and national scrapped in 2009.
cleangreen, you really need to check your facts before posting. (I was flabbergasted a month or so ago when you put up a comment on TDB claiming how bad WINZ had been since it was part of MBIE. It has never been under MBIE. It is part of MSD and has been for years.)
I am by no means trying to defend the National Govt (couldn’t stand them) but they did not “scrap” (ie remove) the “emergency dental grant” of $300 per year. WINZ simply did not give out many of these grants – or advance loans for dental work – over the period of National being the Government.
See this 2015 article – https://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/272803/shrinking-winz-dental-loans
However, these provisions for Emergency Dental Grants ($300 per year) and repayable loans for dental work remained on the books and are available again now – see these up to date links to the WINZ website. (The website was revamped about a month or so ago to be much more informative and positive, and less punitive. Some related websites such as the Citizens Advice one have not yet caught up with the much better WINZ information.)
https://www.workandincome.govt.nz/eligibility/health-and-disability/dental-treatment.html#null
I can confirm that WINZ are again giving out both Emergency Dental Grants AND loans for emergency dental work – because just in the last six weeks I was granted both the non-repayable $300 Grant and a loan to cover costs over the $300.
I actually mentioned that here on TS yesterday when I reported the much better experiences I have had dealing with WINZ over the last month or so. https://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-24-07-2018/#comment-1506230
My partner applied for a loan from WINZ to address some serious dental issues and we were told to use the last of our meagre savings first. Fair enough…but that’s our ‘disposal of our rotting corpses’ money so the kids are not left out of pocket. (Short explanation here…some years of struggling on the Invalid’s/ Supported Living Payment had seen both my tetraplegic partner and myself deny ourselves the pleasure of professional dentistry. Transitioning to the super Super mean’t we could just afford to pay back a WINZ loan…Peter’s teeth being in such a state that chewing food was difficult and choking a very real danger. (In days of old, Peter’s dentistry was done at the local hospital that was better equipped to accommodate wheelchair and transfers and dodgy breathing and potentially hazardous spasticity.)
“We have funeral grants you know.” said disturbingly cheerful WINZ Senior Citizens section worker.
So, The Offspring are instructed to dump our rotting corpses at the door of the local WINZ office.
I have done some minor activism and lobbying to remind the Current Incumbents that they promised to make WINZ as less horrible place where you can depend on getting kicked while your begging for help. Our Waikato Central Office has (the last time I checked) removed the cones blocking the disabled parking places but the uniformed security guards were still doing the ‘are you on our clipboarded list?…if not bugger off!’ thing in Kaitaia a couple of weeks ago.
I am pleased you got the cuddles and hugs treatment veutoviper and it’s great that you’ve been able to go and beg at WINZ after having had awful negative experiences in the past.
For some its going to take a while longer before we’re willing to put our heads on the block.
Rosemary, I have followed your and Peter’s situation for many years, and really admire you for what you have done and fought for and support you in this. I have lived with some disabilities all of my life, nothing like Peter’s but enough to cause discomfort and pain, limit my mobility and what I could do sportwise etc when growing up, and result in some major surgery when younger. I managed a full life and career and by rights should have been comfortable in my retirement. It was not to be, thanks to a corrupt financial advisor and the loss of decades of retirement savings, and the onset/diagnosis of two further major health problems at the same time which have caused further deterioration in mobility etc. Hence my personal experiences of WINZ over more recent years both sides of 65.
I understand your negativity etc and why you are reluctant to have any faith that things will change for the better. I too have been fighting for change in respect of those with disabilities in my own way behind the scenes both during my career and since retirement, having worked in the Wellington public service/parliament bubble.
I still maintain a degree of cynicism but also believe that change is slowing coming but it will not happen overnight. As well as my recent experiences I reported above and yesterday, a few weeks ago I also reported here on TS small improvements I saw at the Newtown WINZ service centre – eg I was not checked in per se by the security staff, much more welcoming greeting from reception, sign for toilets etc. Small seemingly superficial changes, but nevertheless small steps forward. It may take longer to see these changes at more remote centres.
” I managed a full life and career and by rights should have been comfortable in my retirement.”
Peter too. He returned to his full time mainstream job and kept at that for 30 years or so. He saved. He was financially prudent. He took responsibility for his health. His comfortable retirement was pretty much stuffed when he had the audacity to think that “an ordinary life” that those with disabilities were told told aspire to included a partner and children in it.
No. The partner and children are counted as de facto ‘assets and means’ when it comes to the allocation for funding for disability supports.
The only good thing is that had we not have shacked up in 1999, by 2001 he would have been bundled off from his own home and into a residential facility as this was when the Ministry of Health refused to fund the types of advanced personal care he needs.
We only found this out in 2002 when we sought external carers so I could address my own health needs. We always thought that the option was there for having outside help so I could return to work.
There’s been National and Labour and National and now Labour again…its going to take something fairly dramatic to convince me that with respect to non ACC disabled the colour of the flashing lights on the roundabout is the only thing that’s changed.
IMHO MoH has been a disaster area for years; ditto the overall the lack of support for disability issues across the board in the ps. I saw a number of good people go into MoH and come out wrecks. Personally I did not ever consider going to work there (or ACC) – although I would have liked to work in the disabilities area. Anyway, all we can do is go on fighting if necessary – and support one another. Hang in there, Rosemary.
Heh. RWNJs are trying to scaremonger about vocally progressive Dems like Ocasio-Cortez by talking about actual policies. It’s not going too well.
https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2018/07/fox-news-ocasio-cortez-scares-helping-democratic-socialists.html?via=homepage_taps_top
Poor bloke – terrible terrible situation.
“Novichok victim Charlie Rowley has revealed how he blames himself over girlfriend Dawn Sturgess’ death – after giving her the Novichok nerve agent that killed her as a gift.”
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/news/article.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=12094845
What a jerk. Where did he find this nerve agent? If you are going to pick things up cheap, caveat emptor. If you are going to pick things up from the ground or dumpster even more so. You’re running the risk of cheap and nasty. He should have just pinched some flowers out of the park for a bouquet. Probably they would have just brought on hayfever.
wtf
You’re the jerk.
+11111
+1
it’s a weird story. Why would anybody leave a perfume bottle laced with novichok in a sealed container, in a public place? Is this credible?
Or maybe he intervened in a drop?
Seems reasonable to me that they did the deed, walked away, and dropped the murder weapon as soon as possible.
You have to remember that, regardless of who did it, we are talking about professional sociopaths here. They might have a moral framework that constrains their activities to the interests of the state or highest bidder, but we’re not talking about people with much empathy or care for fellow human beings. And they probably had quite a bit of desensitisation training to get that way.
Their priority is to do the job and escape without detection. As soon as the contamination was done, the bottle is a liability that connects them to the crime. Disposal is the concern, safe disposal is not.
Seems reasonable to me that they did the deed, walked away, and dropped the murder weapon as soon as possible.
But the survivor is reported to have found the perfume bottle in a “sealed container” ie still in a cellophane wrapper.
Maybe merely the cap on. Maybe it was a spare and there’s another lying around that was un”sealed” in order to apply it.
The “oily” description was interesting. Easier to apply, more weatherable, less likely to leak.
No. It was the box that was sealed, and disguised as a legitimate perfume, according to the Guardian:
As others have said, the story has probably had the ‘Chinese Whisper’ treatment but I did find this bit odd….
“He said he was struggling to remember where he had originally found the item but was convinced it was legitimate, as it looked like it hadn’t been used, “Which made me think it was quite safe,” he said.”
I don’t think I’m on my own when I say I can point to exactly where I have found items of value decades after I discovered them. A phone, a wallet, a new bottle of perfume…don’t we all remember exactly where we picked items like this up?
Yeah, but are you a “scavenger” who routinely picks up a lot of stuff from all over, and are now recovering from neurotoxin poisoning?
Oh cool, good link.
I reckon it was probably a spare then. Or maybe the first drop was in the wrong location, they got a replacement, and that was the lost bottle. Shit sometimes goes pear-shaped.
If it was one of the Bill-style scenarios where the poisoning was an accident that the Skripal’s didn’t want to own up to, then the box wouldn’t have been held with no symptoms for days until it was opened. Besides, they could have just said “strange person sold me perfume, now I feel funny”.
Back up supplies, in case first lot wasted. Of course, just speculation …
Or back up team, with supplies in case first team failed.
Possibly.
Snap! With McFlock above. LOL.
Speculation, à la ‘Tinker Tailor’, is such fun. The ‘back up team‘ ditched their standard issue Novichok-laced perfume kit before they realised that the primary team had failed in their ‘mission’.
Teams 3 and 4 are just itching for Sergei to let his guard down. The evil Ruskies have secret supplies of Novichok cached all over Salisbury – beware of smelly knobs.
I was waiting to see who bit. Congratulations, Drowsy. LOL
Something, well a few things, don’t quite add up.
I’m not going to waste time right now going back through news reports from weeks ago but this latest report has the poisoned perfume in a spray bottle which somehow the ubiquitously named Charlie managed to “spill” on his hands.
Hmmm…now, its been a while since I last treated myself to a bottle of Yardley’s Lavender, but if memory serves a spray bottle of perfume is sealed…you don’t spill it, you squirt it.
If it were a leaking bottle…there could be no squirting…as it couldn’t squirt…but it might spill.
Very confusing, and by design, methinks.
from the above linked Guardian article, it seems the Rowley attached the spray nozzle to the bottle:
okay…so since the last time I bought perfume one can buy spray bottles to fill with the perfume of one’s choice. BUT…I’ll bet that the high- end perfumes will be sold in totally sealed and tamper proof bottles. One’s suspicions would surely be aroused if the quality scent you’d scavenged from somewhere for your lady love was in a bottle with a removable top. Since you claim it came/was found under a hedge in intact packaging.
Or not.
This is all very entertaining, but methinks we are trying to make sense of a story that has been poorly constructed.
By design.
Some perfumes aren’t even supposed to be sprayed, but dabbed.
You could possibly attach a spray part from something else to them, though, if you’re a bit of a bodger.
Dunno about by design – we’re on the other side of the planet reading edited details from stories written by people who might or might not be unconsciously adding their own assumptions.
But there will be a coronial inquest now.
Seems to me that there would be fail safes if some of that poison was lost or damaged ie multiple samples – If a dead drop wasn’t used then the contents would be discarded. Hardly a big stretch imo.
It is not credible…
Pretty certain I read reports from the past few days claiming the bottle was broken.
Which (McFlock!) kinda dovetailed into my “what else fits the evidence, bar attempted assassination of a long since dealt with/to spy” muckings around.
And then I read that report that, no, the bottle was boxed, and I thought “Who dumps boxed consumer goods “just because”?”
Then I thought – What if the container was leaking and the contents had permeated the wrapping, got onto hands – from hands to car interior and door handle – from door handle to PC Whatisname…. ? (Yawn)
And whatnot and whatever, I’m fairly persuaded the person who took the stuff into Britain is already a “guest” of UK authorities.
And I’m pretty sure we’ll likely never be told why it was smuggled into the country, who wanted it smuggled into the country, or who the intended victim/target was.
I’m sure this will have been posted before…but hey, can’t get enough of a good thing.
https://syrianobservatoryforhumanwrongs.wordpress.com/2018/07/09/an-idiots-guide-to-the-skripal-affair/
”
“Hmm”
By Panopticon
A sad, funny story of Sergei and Yulia –
not ‘funny ha-ha’, but funny peculiar…
One Sunday in March they decided to eat
at a nice little café, then stopped at a seat
where they both felt unwell at the very same minute –
now I think that’s quite a coincidence, ‘innit?
So an ambulance came for the pair, as requested.
But when they were studied, and prodded, and tested,
nefarious substances in them were found –
and not only there, but spread all around
old Salisbury town, up hill and down valley –
(the High Street is now known as ‘Chemical Alley’).
A passing D.S. who just happened to be there,
was poisoned like them when he went off to see where…..”
A RadioNZ heading for a newa item ‘Honours for Australian cave divers’.
Have these gone to political journalists reporting the truth of the goings-on of the Australian Parliament?
Your empathy etc antenna is really “off” this morning, grey, with this off remark, and the one about the Novichok victim at 10.1.
Honours for the Adelaide doctor and other Australian cave divers who took part in the rescue of the Thai cave victims have been fast tracked by the Australian government following public pressure. Here is the RNZ item:
http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/ninetonoon/audio/2018655100/honours-for-australian-cave-divers
Grey, the one thing you have posted this morning of any merit IMO is your post about the excellent item on Nine to Noon re people trapped in insurmountable debt because of increased charges and punitive treatment by big banks and other financial institutions – and the fact that submissions to the government close next week on the review of the Credit Contracts and Consumer Finance Act.
BUT you posted that on yesterday’s Daily Review rather than here on OM where more people are likely to see it.
https://thestandard.org.nz/daily-review-24-07-2018/#comment-1506554
For people interested – and I highly recommend it – here is the link to the RNZ Nine to Noon indepth item on this.
http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/ninetonoon/audio/2018655098/living-and-retiring-in-debt
“…. with this off remark, and the one about the Novichok victim at 10.1.”
I assumed that Grey had read/watched some of the alt commentary around the ‘scent bottle found somewhere just lying around so I gave it to her and she squirted it all over even though it would have smelt like catspiss’ story and was being oblique, and not just a tad ironic. (one of the Young People was youtubing such stuff last night and I made a point of doing some extra verifying)
Play nice folks.
I though we agreed ages ago that the real story will never be known.
may never be known not will never be known imo
I don’t tolerate victim blaming from anyone especially when it is vindictive against a person who has just lost someone they care about.
I really feel for these people – so fast and devastating – and the human side of hugging and huddling with family and friends when death is there – brings it all home and makes it real cos we would do the same.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/jul/24/greek-fire-survivors-all-we-have-seen-is-tragedy-and-loss
So many homeless and dead and the countryside devastated. I am thinking of these people suffering there today and tomorrow.
And I wonder what long term effect it will have.
“The dam is a key component of the country’s controversial ambition to become the “battery of Asia” by selling power to its neighbours. Eleven large hydropower dams on the main Mekong River, and 120 tributary dams, are planned over the next 20 years.”
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/jul/24/laos-dam-collapse-hundreds-missing
That’s devastating.
Okay. So Guyon Espiner is not everyone’s cuppa and his interviewing style, mmmmm, grates a tad, but he is making some good points in his piece here…
https://www.radionz.co.nz/news/on-the-inside/362574/the-green-party-needs-to-speak-up
There’s little twixt NZF and the Greens…% of votewise…so maybe the Greens need to find an area in which they can distinguish themselves?
An area neglected by the other parties.
An area in which Green advocacy has been outstanding in the past.
The direction was set when agreements were made after the election. The dominant people in the Labour caucus always favoured NZF over the Greens. That was evident to me, even before the election.
The Greens got limited possibilities for traction within the cabinet.
Davidson is still finding her feet and could well make an impact in the future. Genter has had some impact, and probably will do so in the future.
Meanwhile, unless a woman politician goes the celebrity route (Ardern) or the brutal sensationalist route (Judith Colllins & Paula Bennett) it’s not so easy for women leaders to get cut through into the MSM.
I got a reply from Genter the other day which leaves me wondering if perhaps she has conserved her energies and attention and focused on issues other than MOH disability issues. Fair enough…she’s off on maternity leave soon.
“…it’s not so easy for women leaders to get cut through into the MSM.”
Catherine Delahunty, although not a “leader”, managed to get in the front of a few issues and gave awesome support to the family carers case.
A pity the Greens have no-one to step into the disability field now.
Or a Green’s person could go on morning TV, and when Mike Hosking does a pro-Trump spiel at them, shout at him, “Look I’m literally a communist, you idiot”. And then wait for communism to become the new cool in NZ…?
This is what Ash Sarkar shouted at Piers Morgan on UK morning TV – instant fame and media attention.
The video interview with Sarkar by Owen Jones at the link is fun – she has a story about her mum meeting a flatulent Mao Tse Tung.
So it’s apparently about making communism (or is it anarcho-syndacalism) fun – and becoming a celebrity in the process.
But will it only be 15 minutes of fame?
“Meanwhile, unless a woman politician goes the celebrity route (Ardern) or the brutal sensationalist route (Judith Colllins & Paula Bennett) it’s not so easy for women leaders to get cut through into the MSM.”
I don’t think Judith Collins has gone that route for cut through but rather shes taking the route she believes in
3-cars Collins?
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/98513231/just-three-cars-destroyed-under-crusher-collins-law
“When I passed this legislation in 2009, I said that confiscating and destroying the vehicles of the worst, repeat offenders would be the ultimate deterrent,” Collins said last year.
“Critics of this law have completely missed the point. The number of deaths, injuries and crashes due to illegal street racing have plummeted.
“This shows that the law has been an extremely effective deterrent. It has made our streets safer and saved lives.”
According to figures released by Collins’ office, there were 15 crashes where “racing” was a factor in 2015, compared to 70 crashes in 2001.
Racing-related crashes peaked in 2007, when there were 116 accidents, that number declined following the introduction of the crushing law, according to Collins’ figures.
Collins said the law sent a strong message and it had worked as intended.
Correlation != causation.
We need more than just her say so that it actually worked as intended.
I thought it was the fear of having a high-heeled Anne Tolley dance on their bonnets that did it!
Oh, come on, according puckish they’d be paying to see that.
“We need more than just her say so that it actually worked as intended.”
No we don’t.
For those of us who live in reality – yeah we do.
Pokemon Go related injuries have also declined. All hail the Soul Eater!
Soul Eater! You put that success down to Collins as well?
That, and the decline in lion-tamer injuries that occurred after she started to stalk the earth.
That she hasn’t been canonised yet is a crying shame
No, those are the tears of the sexual assault victims she laughed about.
What was that again?
double bunking
Double bunking, you mean what Labour is helping happen?
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/105560303/doublebunking-booed-in-waikeria-prison-expansion-plan
“Double bunking in cells could increase the risk of prisoner-on-prisoner assaults and reduce rehabilitation opportunities at Waikeria Prison, a cabinet paper says.”
That’s the stuff. Yes it’s wrong.
It’s even more wrong to joke about it. That’s the sort of sadism that makes collins nat leadership material.
Do you mean shot out of a canon? Better still, a cannon
We haven’t found a big enough cannon puckers.
Or one that spews bile.
As I’ve always said the Greens are Labours doormat, ever since the Greens said no to even talking with National Labour have known that they can take the Greens for granted
All the Greens would have to do is announce they’re willing to talk with National, just talk nothing else, and they’d get a much better deal from Labour
Maybe the Kermadecs would go ahead, maybe there wouldn’t be exploration in dolphin sanctuaries, who knows but at the moment NZFirst and Labour know they can dish out whatever they like to the Greens and the Greens will say thank you very much Sir
Yes, but at least after 9 long years Labour got back and Greens in government… so the coalition can’t have been that bad a move for them both… of course now is their chance so do something meaningful for voters so they vote them back in… and not get too arrogant and out of touch or pander to those that don’t actually vote for them at the expense of many others, aka big business and foreign policy …
The doormat could yet prove slippery for Labour, but more likely the analogy doesn’t apply as much as you think – too early to differentiate yet. I agree with those who’d like a little more of a Greens taking a definite stand on issues, but I sympathise with our parliamentarians feeling the need to be good team players.
Next month’s conference they’ll want to suss out how attendees are feeling about them. Y’know, ain’t a surprise to see Greens motivated to work for the common good. The government is the main focus for that currently, yet we remain anchored in the broader Green movement so we don’t lose focus on the big picture either.
Re Nats, the ball’s in their court. We keep waiting for them to toss it our way, they keep doing their ineffective opposition act. Just another way SB is failing to demonstrate political nous & leadership.
I mean hey NZFirst only has billions to buy a safe seat and what do the Greens get, the crumbs and then Labour will take credit for whatever positive story the Greens come up with anyway
“Re Nats, the ball’s in their court. We keep waiting for them to toss it our way, they keep doing their ineffective opposition act”
No. I’m not talking about serious discussions I mean the Greens simply saying they’re open to discussions, thats all they need to do.
They don’t need to announce anything, they don’t need to formulate nothing, all they need to do is say we’re open to discussion.
But they can’t even do that
Very wise of them and comes about because they tell the truth.
Well true I mean its only 2 billion (and counting) that NZFirst managed to claw out of Labour, its not like the Greens couldn’t have found a use for any of that
Too early in the electoral cycle. Nats could be brainstorming the support party scenario, not quite ready to do strategic planning.
Re Labour taking credit for Green initiatives, to an extent that will happen. Some will note the greening of the Labour Party as better late than never. Others will hallucinate them morphing into the Green Labour party. Inasmuch as career politicians always put their career ahead of common cause, some of our leftist MPs may even hope for such a future and join them if it happens. Zero-sum thinking is a powerful political tradition.
My guess is that the friendship formed between Jacinda & James in London 12 years ago is just as likely to extend the status quo in the hope of embedding their collaboration in a multi-term future of governance. In MMP strength derives from parties collaborating – not from union into a monolith.
I’m inclined to agree with you. Winston’s approach is largely why he wields the leverage he does.
“We will work with any party that our members feel will best accommodate our core principles.” I think it’s a reasonable position to adopt.
Commentators will query “So you’d work with National?”
“If they start ticking off items on our wish-list, our members will listen to what any seat winning party has to say.” A response of this order is not a sell-out. As per Puckish and NZ First’s form, I think it could generate increased influence in decisions.
“I mean hey NZFirst only has billions to buy a safe seat and what do the Greens get, the crumbs and then Labour will take credit for whatever positive story the Greens come up with anyway”
Labour are allowing the Greens to be the face of new climate related charges/taxes. Like increasing the cost of dumping waste.
One wonders if the Greens have anything to offer the poor to help them mitigate those new additional costs?
I’ve been watching the Vietnam series on nettyflix – just up to may 1970. Very sobering and sad. Such a waste of everything and the poor innocents caught up in the middle – being killed, children crying over dead parents and parents crying over dead children. The past shows the lessons which we just refuse to learn. And people continue to be murdered – t.rump is leading the US deeper into these dark dark times again imo.
https://youtu.be/YdVMGKOFIwY
Thanks Neil for writing that song.
Bridget Burdett
@Bridget_Burdett
Entire thread needs reading.
People who think that self-driving cars will eliminate congestion and be more efficient than good public transport are simply refusing to accept reality.
These sorts of Islamophobic media releases are really unnecessary…
https://www.smh.com.au/world/asia/kuwaiti-social-media-star-ignites-backlash-over-racist-video-20180725-p4ztfw.html
Breaking. The Canadian neo-nazis are not coming to NZ. Court action by Freeze Peach Coalition called off. Canadian couple claims victory according to RNZ… eh?
https://www.stuff.co.nz/auckland/105744525/rightwing-canadian-speakers-visit-canned-legal-action-on-back-burner
Why are they so intent on challenging the Council?
Yeah a partial victory…..
Yessss
We got all this money….
Stable genius managed to go bust with casinos and Manhattan real estate.
‘Murica, it’s your turn.
President Trump on Tuesday is expected to announce help for farmers who are being hit hard by billions of dollars in tariffs on their products.
The Trump administration, which has been talking about providing emergency aid to the agriculture industry, could offer upward of $12 billion in help to calm rising concerns about the trade war that could hit U.S. farmers hardest, Politico first reported.
http://thehill.com/policy/finance/398542-trump-expected-to-announce-help-for-farms-hard-hit-by-tariffs
David has just signed off the equity for workers in the mental health and addiction services today. $3.00 an hour for 5000 aprox $5.00 an hour for a number and backpay.
Jolly good show.
Should have been the first job done when Parliament came back after the Xmas break as it was an obvious and serious omission when the care workers were sorted.
Now, about David’s ‘diplomacy’ regarding Hundleby…
” Association of Salaried Medical Specialists executive director Ian Powell said in his view he got on well with Hundleby on a personal level, but was acutely aware that district health board staff “found him very abrasive”.
Powell said Hundleby had never developed a trust relationship with district health boards, or realised the importance of doing so.
Health Minister Dr David Clark told Stuff he was “not aware of any particular issues”. ”
‘Cos David would be the only person involved in the NZ health sector…ie, who has a pulse…who wasn’t aware of issues with this person.
But Nurses have not been offered backpay for a MECCA that expired a year ago, and Mental Health workers given a higher % than offered nurses, another offer today, just the same as the previous three. Expect more strike action.
Since most Nurses work for the DHBs and the relationship between the DHBs and the MOH Executive as been described as ‘toxic’ and David isn’t aware of that particular issue, then yes…expect more strike action. And more power to their collective elbow.
OTOH…these headlines being promoted by the Right…https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12094472
“Defence Minister confirms 17 NZDF nurses worked in hospitals during strike ”
…what on earth was that about???
Mental health workers earn shit all for very hard work. Just like nurses and they are different roles with different agreements and a different union. I fully support nurses and any action the members vote for.
Yep can’t wait for that backpay. Good work to all involved.
The disturbing story behind Willie Apiata’s Victoria Cross.
Paula Penfold challenges the “cowardly” Lt. Col. Tim Keating to come clean.
The Panel, RNZ National, Wednesday 27 June 2018
Jim Mora, Paula Penfold, Allan Blackman, Caitlin Cherry
Paula Penfold’s challenge starts at the 04:44 mark.
https://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/thepanel/audio/2018651165/panel-says
JIM MORA: …. Thank you, that’s interesting from you. Allan Blackman. And—Paula Penfold.
PAULA PENFOLD: I would like to talk about the soon to be departed Chief of Defence, Lieutenant General Tim Keating, who I see has been doing a series of media interviews today. I haven’t heard it yet, unfortunately, but I understand he was on Nine to Noon this morning with Kathryn Ryan, and I know that he’s done at least one other interview with journalists, I imagine there are probably more. I find that intriguing, because we at Stuff Circuit have been asking Lieutenant General Keating for an interview for four years now. And, knowing that he was about to depart his post, we went to see him as he was departing a Select Committee a couple of weeks ago.
He wasn’t, I suppose it has to be said, best pleased to see us, but we did get to ask him a couple of questions because we have been doing this investigation for quite some time now. And after we published The Valley in August last year he put out a thirty-four page statement responding to much of what we said, and said that he would be investigating the allegations that we raised abut the 2004 battle in Uruzgan, which led to the Victoria Cross for Willie Apiata. Now I wanted to know what had happened with that investigation because he said that he would be responding publicly and then he never did, so I wanted to know whether that was going anywhere. And he said yes indeed, that it was undergoing a legal investigation but I’m interested in the fact that this man who, this Chief of Defence who held a conference on transparency in the NZDF at the end of last year, has elected to do some media interviews, and I’m sure those journalists did a very good job, but they’re not the ones who have been investigating and publishing these allegations; we are, and he won’t answer my questions.
I’ve issued a public apolog— uh, “apology”!—a public invitation to him on this very program previously to front up and answer some questions from us because these are allegations that are serious allegations about what our SAS troopers did in that firefight, including that we provoked that firefight ourselves, that we mistreated the bodies of the dead enemy by strapping them to the bonnets of our military vehicles and dropping them on the ground in the village bazaar, that we kicked in doors, and that we flexi-cuffed innocent civilians. He has not answered those questions. He does say that there’s an investigation under way, but he will be departed by the time that investigation is completed, and he said yes it’s the warrant of his office under which that investigation happens. But I thank that personally, as the, you know, chief executive of a government department, he should have fronted and answered those questions before he left. And so I think Lieutenant General Keating, in making the selective choices he has about media appearances, has been cowardly. And I would also like to add that we have had contact from very, very many serving soldiers who say that he will not be missed.
JIM MORA: All right, so you’re seeking further elucidation from the outgoing Chief of Defence before he finally departs.
PAULA PENFOLD: I am. He said when we fronted up to him at parliament that he will not be tried by media, to which I said, That’s not the intent, the intent is simply to answer, uh, to ask you some questions. That’s all we want to do.
JIM MORA: Paula Penfold, Allan Blackman on the Panel. Thank you both.
https://interactives.stuff.co.nz/the-valley/#
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/stuff-circuit/104709342/defence-boss-tim-keating-launches-investigation-into-2004-sas-raid
World respected scientific journal Scientific American has launched a new climate change column, headed by serving NASA scientist Kate Marvel.
Welcome to Scientific American’s New Climate Science Column
It’s about this beautiful, messy, funny, tragic planet and the terrible, wonderful humans who live here
Kate Marvel – June 8, 2018
channel 31. newborn enrollments bill seems like the first step on the road to microchipping all newborns. nicky wagner mangling the walk the walk saying now. trying to justify microchipping babies.
Good Morning The Am Show I hope those people who are working on the new weed bill actually change the laws so we get benefits to our society like less people in jail and our sick people have it for medication .What makes me laugh is that 50 years later some American industrialist decided to minuplate OUR reality on weed and get it classed as a harm full drug a medicine that nuns used to help people with pains .
Don’t you think Its a joke that because these people want to make money from alcohol .Thats the reason it was made illegal just so the 00.1% could make more money from the common people .These wealthy corrupt minuplaters are still effecting OUR logical decisions on OUR future come on use your own brain on this subject. And lets use all the things the Gods gave us in a positive way.
Ka kite ano P.S Mark I like watching the Block show I have watched it from the first show they had in Australia its Awsome.
I say you are a straight up Kiwi Eco Maori likes those good quality’s
These people like to create drama they use race and religion and skin color to stir up tangata emotions they don’t care who gets hurt from the words they spray around Papatuanuku. Lets get this straight it not about skin color or religion to Eco Maori every Maori knows that we cannot denie our European heritage we just want to be treated the same as our European cousins Equality is were its at for Eco Maori.
So its not about skin color or religion its about ones attitude and the way they treat other peoples . You don’t go around Papatuanuku broad casting a attitude that you are superior to every other Great culture on Papatuanuku and imposing your ideals on the rest of Papatuanuku especially when we know that those ideals will create chaos and unrest all around Papatuanuku . It is harmony that Te tangata of Papatuanuku needs and wants to sort out the mess we have made to Papatuanuku.s Environment
https://www.stuff.co.nz/auckland/105625016/farright-canadian-speakers-lauren-southern-and-stefan-molyneux-granted-visas
Ka kite ano
This is a typical way that some people try and cover there true colors
Zero-carbon economy may not be worth the cost they use a word like may or could to make the audience think they are a neutral by stander giving there opinion.
In reality they are a right wing neo libreal who’s main goal is to be swimming in money .
They think we can’t see through there false facts and figure’s and see he is a climate change denier.
What really shows the real person they are is that they show more affection to MONEY than any of the other beautiful beings that are on Papatuanuku at the minute .
And that——————Eco Maori the link is below ka kite ano
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/opinion/105725231/zerocarbon-economy-may-not-be-worth-the-cost P.S I will try and be nice to these idiots The Christ Church Quakes was not directly connected to global warming but we can see that a disaster could be on the same scale and cost the same 40 billion
Ka pai E hoa the link is below
http://spy.nzherald.co.nz/spy-news/heartbreak-island-winner-gives-back-to-homeless/
Some Eco Maori music