Really? I didn't even think your comment was obscure, vto; quite prosaic and pithy in fact. It interests me, the various ways people "hear" what others have said. I mean no criticism of you, One Two; this happens all the time in the council I sit on and sometimes I just can't fathom the wide variance of meaning taken, or not taken, from seemingly simple statements.
I think I know why this stuff happens (but am probably kidding myself). All meaning is relative to context. That's just Einstein's relativity principle generalised (in physics, measurements are relative to the user's frame of reference, so I generalised measurements into meaning, then jumped it outside of physics as a general principle).
And of course in the psyche of the individual, reality is socially constructed as well as learnt from experience. So our right-brain hemisphere relates info to prior learning to contextualise it. Since we all have a different learning trajectory, different unique natures, and emanate from different social niches, we all interpret the info somewhat differently. That's how human nature works.
To get onto the same page, we must transcend the idiosyncratic take we make from the info. There's a discipline mentally imposed to simulate such objectivity – some are good at that, others not. If we feel the necessity, we discuss the info to form common ground…
“I’ve seen things you people wouldn’t believe. Attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion. I watched C-beams glitter in the dark near the Tannhäuser Gate. All those moments will be lost in time, like tears in rain. Time to die.”
The Government has got the numbers wrong (again!!!) and has not allocated enough funding to honour its promise to end discrimination against family carers.
Another brilliant headline for the Coalition that fades under the most superficial of inspections.
No doubt this will go the way of Kiwibuild and it will be back to the drawing board.
Despite the fact that ALL the relevant information and data are right there and available.
And to be honest, it may not cost that much more. Furthermore…
In the event that the Tribunal’s decision were to encourage others in need to apply for their support entitlements, then while this may be fiscally expensive, this reflects neither a change in the policy framework nor the Tribunal’s decision but a reduction in the failure of delivery coverage within the framework.
There is absolutely excuse for yet another bunch of politicians to run around like headless chickens trying to work this out, and frame a narrative to justify the expense.
Moves boost the number of family carers paid to look after disabled relatives could be kneecapped by a funding shortfall. From next year the government plans to allow partners and spouses of a disabled adult and parents caring for a disabled child under the age of 18 to claim funded family care. But RNZs analysis shows there won't be enough money to properly pay the 600 new families that are expected to join the scheme
They don't really care Rosemary. As with so many of their stories they get a great big headline about how caring they are, and how terrible National were supposed to have been, and then they just forget about it.
The MSM may give a tiny little mention to it but they certainly aren't going to give it anything like the original splash in the news.
Business as usual for the CoL. All hat and no cattle as a Texan might say.
The social evil of the Rentier capitalist: the modern cult of landlordism:
Governments have built a heaven for landlords and a hell for tenants. It’s time to change the system. ( Where is a CGT!? with some bite? 60%)
By George Monbiot, published in the Guardian 17th July 2019
I have a friend who works almost every waking hour, mainly to pay the rent. Her landlord lives on a beach, 4000 miles away. He seldom responds to her requests, and grudgingly pays for the minimum of maintenance. But every so often, he writes to inform her that he is raising the rent. He does not have to work, because she and other tenants work on his behalf. He is able to live the life of his choice, because they give their time to him. As there is an absolute shortage of accessible housing, they have no choice but to pay his exorbitant fees.
Rents charged at such rates – far beyond the costs of capital and maintenance – are, in these circumstances, a form of private taxation, levied by the rich on the poor. The penalty for failing to pay this tax is arguably greater than the penalty for failing to pay taxes owed to the state: eviction and homelessness. People say “I work for Tesco” or “I work for Deliveroo”, but the reality for many is that they work for their landlord. While the average mortgaged household spends 12% of its income on housing, the average renting household spends 36%. I have met plenty of people who hand over 50% or more. https://www.monbiot.com/2019/07/19/private-taxation/
The Right, both in Gods own mess in New Zealand and Australia, and in the United Kingdom, has been given the means to crush the people who do the work – in town and in the slums and in the farms.
The Obscene laughter around every Right Oval Table – is full of clotted Laughter of how the slaves work like niggers, with scarcely any money or food – fot the benefit of the Monarchy, The House of Lords, the Corrupts of Bankers and spoilt children of the Posh.
The meanest of mean persons is the make up of the Blighted Kingdom. The Filthiest Nation on the Planet.
The battle is finally over and it looks like from October 1 I will be paying full price to continue taking the same brand of medication I've been taking for over 20 years that keeps me alive. The so called 'application for special circumstances funding' (which even Pharmac strongly hinted I apply for in correspondence with them) is actually a completely rigged system in their favour where they pretty much decline almost all the applications, even the clinically valid ones submitted by specialists. To the point where said Specialists aren't even bothering to write the applications because they know they'll be declined.
On the positive side- for once I have something nice to say about a huge Big Pharma company: they could've quite easily pulled this brand out of NZ after it was delisted, as happens frequently, but they haven't, so at least it's still accessible to the many of us who need to stay on it. And I've learned just how pissed off a lot of medical specialists are with the way Pharmac are behaving.
It's a huge chunk out of my food budget but I'm sure all the politicians out there who refuse to increase the Pharmac budget and increase disability benefits will be extremley pleased at the sacrifices a lot of us will be making (and the many who already are- we're not the first this is happened to and won't be the last) to use what little money we have to save the hard working tax payers massive hospital bills. /sarc
I'm sure all the politicians out there who refuse to increase the Pharmac budget and increase disability benefits will be extremely pleased at the sacrifices a lot of us will be making …
My thinking is that they have ascribed to the 'what doesn't kill them makes them stronger' philosophy. Ipso facto Kay, they are actually doing you a favour. /sarc
however i liked his answer as to 'can a president charged for crimes once his tenure has ended', Mr. Mueller "Yes". And i guess that is what the orange shitgibbon takes offense to. 🙂
" i don't think it was to change something " I am pretty sure it was to change something, it was conducted to somehow bring impeachment against Trump, something that will never happen, and of course keep fanning the fires of the Russiagate conspiracy, which needs constant fanning because it has been exposed as being such a load of bullshit that now only the most extreme believers still push it.
Couple of those extremists still lurk around on this site I believe.
Yknow what's more annoying than people who speak in statistics? It's people who speak in academic talk. It's amazing how people can construct such technically sound and pretty looking comments, Y'know with links and quotes and grammar and shit, and be totally and utterly wrong. It's fucken amazing.
Adrian's comments about "Russiagate conspiracy" could have come straight from the likes of Louie Gohmert or Devin Nunes or any other Drumpfkin desperate to deflect from the huge amount of evidence that Russia did indeed indulge in election fuckery to benefit the Dork from New York, and that the loofah-faced shitgibbon's campaign eagerly welcomed that fuckery and openly encouraged more of it.
That Mueller's team didn't feel they found enough evidence to establish a chargeable conspiracy is down to extreme prosecutorial caution. Plus successful obstruction, incompetence, and sheer dumb luck on the part of the campaign members involved.
Well Mueller previous statements to the house said there was evidence of WMD in Iraq and the supply to terrorists was a clear and present danger.
That's not actually what Mueller said, in the clip, though. He said that Powell had presented evidence Iraq had failed to disarm its WMD (he had. Turned out to be faked). He then said the FBI's concern was WMD going to terrorists from Iraq. Nor did he say "clear and present danger" (thanks, Tom fucking Clancy).
Iraqi WMD wasn't his problem. After 911, US domestic terrorists getting WMD was his problem.
So he spread false news on WMD (he had the same access to information that powell had)
Chief Judge Learned Hand … interpreted the [clear and present danger] phrase as follows: 'In each case, [courts] must ask whether the gravity of the "evil", discounted by its improbability, justifies such invasion of free speech as is necessary to avoid the danger.' We adopt this statement of the rule. As articulated by Chief Judge Hand, it is as succinct and inclusive as any other we might devise at this time. It takes into consideration those factors which we deem relevant, and relates their significances. More we cannot expect from words.
I know the term "clear and present danger". I also know when it became popular outside of polsci or cspan conferences.
He did not spread false news on WMD. He said that someone in another job presented evidence to do with their job. His job was to figure out how those claims impacted on his patch, not second-guess the intelligence agencies that deal with other nations.
Links! We need more links for those assertions! the goal posts! they are shifting! Quick some one find a quote! the tone of the debate is falling! the standard faces legal dilemmas. LMFAO!!!
Sambam, the link is in the comment of 2:48pm. That's Mueller saying pretty much what I put. He did not, in that link, present any evidence or claims of the existence of WMDs, he said that his interest was in regards to terrorists getting them.
Its not even necessary to meet your standards of relevance when you can't even articulate with as much precision as your extremely long arch that Russia did it. And now the whole backlash just goes poof. LMFAO
Serious question: if you won't be persuaded by evidence or argument, is there any conceivable way you could discover that one of your many opinions is wrong?
Thats just you looking for the easy way out in an attempt to appeal to authority and try and have me banned. You woke de woke Dee's are just so predictable. Y'know if you pile up all of Trumps Bodies it wouldn't even come close to either Saddam's, Bush or Obamas body count yet your backlash is far more precise for Trump and I'm just not going to sip from your kool aid.
That doesn't work against Trumo since he's utilizing zero percent or even negative interest rates. Your backlash would not be an advantage. Please don't take yourself to seriously.
Here's a piece discussing whether Mueller's involvement in the Iraq WMD bullshit discredits his Russia investigation (spoiler: it doesn't).
At the time he was FBI Director, which is domestic and has very limited overlap with any foreign operations which fall under CIA. the military and other agencies. He made it clear in that cherry-picked bit of his remarks he was relying on what was given to him by those other sources. For context, here's the prepared text of his testimony.
Finally, who popularised this particular bit of cherry-picked background and why? Interesting question …
Man that is so fucking awesome, I am seriously gong to keep this post saved for future reference, you guys have allowed yourself’s to climb so far down the rabbit hole of this bullshit Russia con job, that you are now actually defending the integrity of a former head of the FBI..holy shit! …remember, when you lay down with dogs you get up with fleas…getting itchy yet.
You know, you can love Mother Russia and recognise the utter corruption of its rulers now ady. Nobody's going to put polonium in your samovar, probably.
Really?, that is exactly not what historical fact say, but then is seems that facts are a mystery to you, unless they fit with your view of the world vis a vie The Gaurdian, TWP etc.
Now there's a joke. If the Democrats cared about those deplorable voters, why did the corrupt and incompetent DNC, led by that masterly strategist and top thinker Debbie Wasserman Schultz, conspire in 2016 to shut out the most popular political candidate in the country and elect someone as toxic as this creature?
How the hell did "the most popular candidate in the country" lose to the toxic creature by more than 3.6 million freely cast votes (that's losing by more than 12%)? Amongst the small segment of the population self-selected to be politically closest to his views? Maybe he wasn't quite so popular after all?
So not only are the pay increase being delayed now schools will have to source out of their operating budget to fund some of the increases. Pity that this will result in students missing out.
Hipkins "If there was a way to speed up the process, I'd make it happen. "As if Novopay and our bungling minister (and a Labour one at that 🤬) didn't realise that many of the changes that were agreed to were not signaled during the negotiations ?
"Novopay said teachers would have to wait until mid-September to receive their pay rises, prompting NZEI to file legal action for compliance and penalties."
Bye, bye Mr Hipkins. Why not just admit that, like so many actions of this Government they never allowed for the cost of their promises and they have simply fallen into the great big financial black hole that Stephen Joyce warned us about.
Didn't realise the Labour minister who engaged Novopay in 2005 quit at the last election🤔It may pay to refresh your memory regarding the timeline mentioned in this link
"He said he would be investigating how the previous Labour government conducted the tender for the Novopay system in 2007 and entered into a contract with Talent2 in 2008.
you mean Novopay who has been fucking up since 2008 at the very least and none of the nine years of fucking up under the No Mates Party saw anything wrong with it?
seven years into the No Mates Party reign – and hte Hairpuller just about 2 years off from quitting his job with a one weeks notice a post on this humble blog accounting for the waste of Novopay under the No mates party 🙂
i mean this can go on and on and on and no matter how much you screech about this and that and list up the Labour Party Members and MP's that you would like to see gone, you literally only make yourself look like the fool you are.
be better, or maybe be best? Not sure, but yeah, be better at this.
Where was our leader in Ed ? Did he not inquire to those within the ministry and/or Novopay as to their ability to enact in a timely manner changes in pay rates, when the negotiations were in progress ?
The "talks" were going on for over a year, remember teachers received a NIL pay rise from the time the last agreement lapsed and this one being implemented as of July 19.
He is paid the big bucks to lead. Leadership is not JUST being important enough to be seen on the TV news.
All true, but I discussed the matter with an experienced finance lady in my school today, and she agreed with me that all previous salary providers were able to efficiently introduce new pay rises in time – because they had plenty of people to rise to the occasion and key it all in.
Some IT moron convinced some moronic Govt that Novopay with far fewer people (big savings in salaries, but more unemployment?) could do the same job.
A lie, of course, as current situation shows.
Teacher unions, if there were any justice, should be able to take legal action against the guilty parties.
But we know that there will be no justice..
Asking schools to bear the burden temporarily is an act of bad faith that will be admired by neither teachers nor Boards of Trustees.
The same is at many aged care facilities (those that are are profit driven vrs those that are "charities" ) as there is no drive for profit and on the face of it have greater staff nos and a more friendly environment.
Not sure why the govt is protecting Novapay (Nats were the same) Wonder if there will be some profit ramifications for the provider for not delivering on what they are contracted to deliver 🤭. How we are being expected to accept poor delivery
Many "bosses" appear to have the 1st call for action to reduce staff. All those MBA's and they address staff !!
Novopay was a basic 9-5 payroll system hacked into a multiuser schools payroll format, overseen by incompetent ministers at the client end. Every time something new is done with it, there will be a new problem come up because none of its original purpose involved an education-system level of diversity in roles, FTE time allocations, allowances, pay grades, schedules or anything else.
Trouble is that the nats fully committed so that just reactivating the old system wasn't an option. Lots of money asnd would probably take longer to fix than Novopay itself – it's what happens when you burn business relationships in favour of a competitor, and then it falls through.
Pisser was the Wellington Board of Education did exactly the same thing in 1993 when computerising their regional payroll system and the ensuing clusterfuck. Literally a textbook example on how not to implement a new computer system. Now the example is novopay lol.
Matthew Parris from UK on Johnson – Waste-no-time-wasting-Cabinet – PM.
“Dominic Raab has been made Foreign Secretary, Raab the man who put Raab into rabies basically, he’s a really rabid Brexiteer. He’s a clever man, but it’s not the sort of steady hand you would expect.”
This was a revenge re-shuffle, Parris says.
“He has kicked in the shins anyone who has ever kicked him in the shins and installed a whole lot of people who are going to be in favour of crashing out without a deal on the 31st of October if we have to do it.
Claire Trevett, from just in front of the pay-wall: "Johnson had once declared his chances of becoming Prime Minister "are about as good as the chances of finding Elvis on Mars, or my being reincarnated as an olive"."
Now that it has just happened, could be the next Mars lander will get a re-program, eh? I wonder if he will change his surname to Trump now. Johnson is so boring, really. The Don will be agonising over whether to despatch a hairdresser to Downing St, or send a case of brylcreem over, or both.
Peas in a pod ianmac. One is a Yank and the other is a Pom and they play their games in a slightly different way.
Between the two of them they should have no problem starting another war and thus keep the peasants’ minds away from the gross incompetence of their respective administrations.
Well Spoken Anne. The two septic PlayBoys Mr Donald and Mr Boris, have united in the sacred bonds of war mongering. and each have announced that their respective Nations are about to be the Greatest Country ever to have been Conceived, Suckled and strewn on Planet Earth.
They are both relatively unpopulated Nations given their land mass. England 60 millions. United States 308 millions.
The Union of Europe (EU) – has 511 Millions.
Mr Boris, a studied comedian, has already snubbed his nose at Europe and is going to fight EU into oblivion. – Using his Eccentric adoring 60 Million nicompoops. Capitan Boris, after Sex with the unbeloved– will put his sea boots on soonest. I think he may have kept Mrs Thatcher's under arm tuft of hair – as a Clutch.
The Germans, The French, They of the Guillotine The Nordics, The Commonwealth, The Asians, The Indians – The Africans, Pakistans and all the other Stans – rather think the English are quaint. Mr Boris is quite like an inedible fish that wriggles unexpectedly.
England – be grateful for what you get. After all, you asked for it.
Its not good that people who get a colonoscopy privately are going to live and the lower classes who can't afford the procedure will die is that a 2 class system or what.
Awesome te Rangiti are not drinking as much as the last generation it actually give Eco Maori a sore face I say no more.
Thanks to our government for increasing kindergarten teachers pay parity with their counterparts in primary and secondary schools teaches te mokopuna are very important to Eco Maori
Its is climate change that is causing the heat wave over Europe and America at the minute but people like ——— are sceptical about our nuclear moments for our generation. HUMAN caused climate change is poking us in thee EYES .
trump what about the institutional racism towards the African American and Hispanic tangata you muppet. Innocent people will die because of your policies .All so I know for a fact that not all police officers are honest and honorable people hence innocent people are going to die try putting yourself in their shoes
Ka pai for Jacinda and her tangata whenua Mps for brokering a solution to the Ihumatau whenua issue in Auckland awesome. Thanks to Henare a Willy for going to Auckland to talk to the tangata about the issue they have with that whenua let's hope te tangata behave honorable to you.
Its awesome that the whenua is being returned to Maori and they are going to build a education center up there by the old telescope is it to many people in my whare I missed the story + Eco Maori needs to learn Te reo.
Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: My top six things to note around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the week to July 27 were:1. The Minister for Ford Rangers strikes againTransport Minister Simeon Brown was again the busiest of the Cabinet ministers this week, announcing an ...
You got a fast carAnd I want a ticket to anywhereMaybe we make a dealMaybe together we can get somewhereAny place is betterYesterday’s newsletter, Trust In Me, on the report of abuse in state care, and by religious organisations, between 1950 and 2019, coupled with the hypocrisy of Christopher Luxon ...
New Zealand is again having to reconcile conflicting pressures from its military and its trade interests. Should we join Pillar Two of AUKUS and risk compromising our markets in China? For a century after New Zealand was founded in 1840, its external security arrangements and external economics arrangements were aligned. ...
The ‘50 Shades of Green’ farmers’ protest in 2019 was heavy on climate change denial, but five years on, scepticism and criticism about the idea that pine forests can save us is growing across the board. File photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: Here’s the top six news items of note in climate ...
This morning the sky was bright.The birds, in their usual joyous bliss. Nature doesn’t seem to feel the heat of what might angst humans.Their calls are clear and beautiful.Just some random thoughts:MāoriPaul Goldsmith has announced his government will roll back the judiciary’s rulings on Māori Customary Marine Title, which recognises ...
In 2003, the Court of Appeal delivered its decision in Ngati Apa v Attorney-General, ruling that Māori customary title over the foreshore and seabed had not been universally extinguished, and that the Māori Land Court could determine claims and confirm title if the facts supported it. This kicked off the ...
Earlier this week at Parliament, Labour leader Chris Hipkins was applauded for saying that the response to the final report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care had to be “bigger than politics.” True, but the fine words, apologies and “we hear you” messages will soon ring ...
TL;DR: In news breaking this morning:The Ministry of Education is cutting $2 billion from its school building programme so the National-ACT-NZ First Coalition Government has enough money to deliver tax cuts; The Government has quietly lowered its child poverty reduction targets to make them easier to achieve;Te Whatu Ora-Health NZ’s ...
Kia ora. These are some stories that caught our eye this week – as always, feel free to share yours in the comments. Our header image this week (via Eke Panuku) shows the planned upgrade for the Karanga Plaza Tidal Swimming Steps. The week in Greater Auckland On ...
1. What's not to love about the way the Harris campaign is turning things around?a. Nothingb. Love all of itc. God what a reliefd. Not that it will be by any means easye. All of the above 2. Documents released by the Ministry of Health show Associate Health Minister Casey ...
Trust in me in all you doHave the faith I have in youLove will see us through, if only you trust in meWhy don't you, you trust me?In a week that saw the release of the 3,000 page Abuse in Care report Christopher Luxon was being asked about Boot Camps. ...
TL;DR: The podcast above of the weekly ‘hoon’ webinar for paying subscribers last night features co-hosts and talking about the Royal Commission Inquiry into Abuse in Carereport released this week, and with:The Kākā’s climate correspondent on a UN push to not recognise carbon offset markets and ...
TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Friday, July 26, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:Transport: Simeon Brown announced$802.9 million in funding for 18 new trains on the Wairarapa and Manawatū rail lines, which ...
The northern expressway extension from Warkworth to Whangarei is likely to require radical changes to legislation if it is going to be built within the foreseeable future. The Government’s powers to purchase land, the planning process and current restrictions on road tolling are all going to need to be changed ...
Text within this block will maintain its original spacing when publishedFirst they came for the doctors But I was confused by the numbers and costs So I didn't speak up Then they came for our police and nurses And I didn't think we could afford those costs anyway So I ...
Photo by Joshua J. Cotten on UnsplashWe’re back again after our mid-winter break. We’re still with the ‘new’ day of the week (Thursday rather than Friday) when we have our ‘hoon’ webinar with paying subscribers to The Kākā for an hour at 5 pm.Jump on this link on YouTube Livestream ...
Notes: This is a free article. Abuse in Care themes are mentioned. Video is at the bottom.BackgroundYesterday’s report into Abuse in Care revealed that at least 1 in 3 of all who went through state and faith based care were abused - often horrifically. At least, because not all survivors ...
Luxon speaks in Parliament yesterday about the Abuse in Care report. Photo: Hagen Hopkins/Getty ImagesTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy today are:PM Christopher Luxon said yesterday in tabling the Abuse in Carereport in Parliament he wanted to ‘do the ...
About a decade ago I worked with a bloke called Steve. He was the grizzled veteran coder, a few years older than me, who knew where the bodies were buried - code wise. Despite his best efforts to be approachable and friendly he could be kind of gruff, through to ...
Some of the recent announcements from the government have reminded us of posts we’ve written in the past. Here’s one from early 2020. There were plenty of reactions to the government’s infrastructure announcement a few weeks ago which saw them fund a bunch of big roading projects. One of ...
TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:00 am on Thursday, July 25 are:News: Why Electric Kiwi is closing to new customers - and why it matters RNZ’s Susan EdmundsScoop: Government drops ...
Hi,I felt a small wet tongue snaking through one of the holes in my Crocs. It explored my big toe, darting down one side, then the other. “He’s looking for some toe cheese,” said the woman next to me, words that still haunt me to this day.Growing up in New ...
Yesterday I happily quoted the Prime Minister without fact-checking him and sure enough, it turns out his numbers were all to hell. It’s not four kg of Royal Commission report, it’s fourteen.My friend and one-time colleague-in-comms Hazel Phillips gently alerted me to my error almost as soon as I’d hit ...
TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Thursday, July 25, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day were:The Abuse in Care Royal Commission of Inquirypublished its final report yesterday.PM Christopher Luxon and The Minister responsible for ...
The Official Information Act has always been a battle between requesters seeking information, and governments seeking to control it. Information is power, so Ministers and government agencies want to manage what is released and when, for their own convenience, and legality and democracy be damned. Their most recent tactic for ...
TL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy today are:Transport and Energy Minister Simeon Brown is accelerating plans to spend at least $10 billion through Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) to extend State Highway One as a four-lane ‘Expressway’ from Warkworth to Whangarei ...
I live my life (woo-ooh-ooh)With no control in my destinyYea-yeah, yea-yeah (woo-ooh-ooh)I can bleed when I want to bleedSo come on, come on (woo-ooh-ooh)You can bleed when you want to bleedYea-yeah, come on (woo-ooh-ooh)Everybody bleed when they want to bleedCome on and bleedGovernments face tough challenges. Selling unpopular decisions to ...
Please note:To skip directly to the- parliamentary footage in the video, scroll to 1:21 To skip to audio please click on the headphone iconon the left hand side of the screenThis video / audio section is under development. ...
Given the crackdown on wasteful government spending, it behooves me to point to a high profile example of spending by the Luxon government that looks like a big, fat waste of time and money. I’m talking about the deployment of NZDF personnel to support the US-led coalition in the Red ...
TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:40 am on Wednesday, July 24 are:Deep Dive: Chipping away at the housing crisis, including my comments RNZ/Newsroom’s The DetailNews: Government softens on asset sales, ...
As I reported about the city centre, Auckland’s rail network is also going through a difficult and disruptive period which is rapidly approaching a culmination, this will result in a significant upgrade to the whole network. Hallelujah. Also like the city centre this is an upgrade predicated on the City ...
Today, a 4 kilogram report will be delivered to Parliament. We know this is what the report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in State and Faith-based Care weighs, because our Prime Minister told us so.Some reporter had blindsided him by asking a question about something done by ...
TL;DR: As of 7:00 am on Wednesday, July 24, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:Beehive:Transport Minister Simeon Brownannounced plans to use PPPs to fund, build and run a four-lane expressway between Auckland ...
NewstalkZB host Mike Hosking, who can usually be relied on to give Prime Minister Christopher Luxon an easy run, did not do so yesterday when he interviewed him about the HealthNZ deficit. Luxon is trying to use a deficit reported last year by HealthNZ as yet another example of the ...
Back in January a StatsNZ employee gave a speech at Rātana on behalf of tangata whenua in which he insulted and criticised the government. The speech clearly violated the principle of a neutral public service, and StatsNZ started an investigation. Part of that was getting an external consultant to examine ...
Renting for life: Shared ownership initiatives are unlikely to slow the slide in home ownership by much. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy today are:A Deloittereport for Westpac has projected Aotearoa’s home-ownership rate will ...
You're broken down and tiredOf living life on a merry go roundAnd you can't find the fighterBut I see it in you so we gonna walk it outAnd move mountainsWe gonna walk it outAnd move mountainsAnd I'll rise upI'll rise like the dayI'll rise upI'll rise unafraidI'll rise upAnd I'll ...
There’s been a change in Myers Park. Down the steps from St. Kevin’s Arcade, past the grassy slopes, the children’s playground, the benches and that goat statue, there has been a transformation. The underpass for Mayoral Drive has gone from a barren, grey, concrete tunnel, to a place that thrums ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections Global society may have finally slammed on the brakes for climate-warming pollution released by human fossil fuel combustion. According to the Carbon Monitor Project, the total global climate pollution released between February and May 2024 declined slightly from the amount released during the same ...
TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:00 am on Tuesday, July 23 are:Deep Dive: Penlink: where tolling rhetoric meets reality BusinessDesk-$$$’sOliver LewisScoop:Te Pūkenga plans for regional polytechs leak out ...
TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Tuesday, July 23, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:Health: Shane Reti announcedthe Board of Te Whatu Ora-Health New Zealand was being replaced with Commissioner Lester Levy ...
Health NZ warned the Government at the end of March that it was running over Budget. But the reasons it gave were very different to those offered by the Prime Minister yesterday. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon blamed the “botched merger” of the 20 District Health Boards (DHBs) to create Health ...
Long ReadKey Summary: Although National increased the health budget by $1.4 billion in May, they used an old funding model to project health system costs, and never bothered to update their pre-election numbers. They were told during the Health Select Committees earlier in the year their budget amount was deficient, ...
As a momentous, historic weekend in US politics unfolded, analysts and commentators grasped for precedents and comparisons to help explain the significance and power of the choice Joe Biden had made. The 46th president had swept the Democratic party’s primaries but just over 100 days from the election had chosen ...
TL;DR: I’m casting around for new ideas and ways of thinking about Aotearoa’s political economy to find a few solutions to our cascading and self-reinforcing housing, poverty and climate crises.Associate Professor runs an online masters degree in the economics of sustainability at Torrens University in Australia and is organising ...
The Finance and Expenditure Committee has reported back on National's Local Government (Water Services Preliminary Arrangements) Bill. The bill sets up water for privatisation, and was introduced under urgency, then rammed through select committee with no time even for local councils to make a proper submission. Naturally, national's select committee ...
Some years ago, I bought a book at Dunedin’s Regent Booksale for $1.50. As one does. Vandrad the Viking (1898), by J. Storer Clouston, is an obscure book these days – I cannot find a proper online review – but soon it was sitting on my shelf, gathering dust alongside ...
History is not on the side of the centre-left, when Democratic presidents fall behind in the polls and choose not to run for re-election. On both previous occasions in the past 75 years (Harry Truman in 1952, Lyndon Johnson in 1968) the Democrats proceeded to then lose the White House ...
This is a free articleCoverageThis morning, US President Joe Biden announced his withdrawal from the Presidential race. And that is genuinely newsworthy. Thanks for your service, President Biden, and all the best to you and yours.However, the media in New Zealand, particularly the 1News nightly bulletin, has been breathlessly covering ...
A homeless person’s camp beside a blocked-off slipped damage walkway in Freeman’s Bay: we are chasing our tail on our worsening and inter-related housing, poverty and climate crises. Photo: Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy ...
What has happened to it all?Crazy, some'd sayWhere is the life that I recognise?(Gone away)But I won't cry for yesterdayThere's an ordinary worldSomehow I have to findAnd as I try to make my wayTo the ordinary worldYesterday morning began as many others - what to write about today? I began ...
TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:00 am on Monday, July 22 are:Today’s Must Read: Father and son live in a tent, and have done for four years, in a million ...
TL;DR: As of 7:00 am on Monday, July 22, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:US President Joe Biden announced via X this morning he would not stand for a second term.Multinational professional services firm ...
A listing of 32 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, July 14, 2024 thru Sat, July 20, 2024. Story of the week As reflected by preponderance of coverage, our Story of the Week is Project 2025. Until now traveling ...
This weekend, a friend pointed out someone who said they’d like to read my posts, but didn’t want to pay. And my first reaction was sympathy.I’ve already told folks that if they can’t comfortably subscribe, and would like to read, I’d be happy to offer free subscriptions. I don’t want ...
National: The Party of ‘Law and Order’ IntroductionThis weekend, the Government formally kicked off one of their flagship policy programs: a military style boot camp that New Zealand has experimented with over the past 50 years. Cartoon credit: Guy BodyIt’s very popular with the National Party’s Law and Orderimage, ...
Day one of the solo leg of my long journey home begins with my favourite sound: footfalls in an empty street. 5.00 am and it’s already light and already too warm, almost.If I can make the train that leaves Budapest later this hour I could be in Belgrade by nightfall; ...
Do you remember Y2K, the threat that hung over humanity in the closing days of the twentieth century? Horror scenarios of planes falling from the sky, electronic payments failing and ATMs refusing to dispense cash. As for your VCR following instructions and recording your favourite show - forget about it.All ...
Climate Change Minister Simon Watts being questioned by The Kākā’s Bernard Hickey.TL;DR: My top six things to note around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the week to July 20 were:1. A strategy that fails Zero Carbon Act & Paris targetsThe National-ACT-NZ First Coalition Government finally unveiled ...
Summary:As New Zealand loses at least 12 leaders in the public service space of health, climate, and pharmaceuticals, this month alone, directly in response to the Government’s policies and budget choices, what lies ahead may be darker than it appears. Tui examines some of those departures and draws a long ...
The Minister of Housing’s ambition is to reduce markedly the ratio of house prices to household incomes. If his strategy works it would transform the housing market, dramatically changing the prospects of housing as an investment.Leaving aside the Minister’s metaphor of ‘flooding the market’ I do not see how the ...
As previously noted, my historical fantasy piece, set in the fifth-century Mediterranean, was accepted for a Pirate Horror anthology, only for the anthology to later fall through. But in a good bit of news, it turned out that the story could indeed be re-marketed as sword and sorcery. As of ...
An employee of tobacco company Philip Morris International demonstrates a heated tobacco device. Photo: Getty ImagesTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy on Friday, July 19 are:At a time when the Coalition Government is cutting spending on health, infrastructure, education, housing ...
TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 8:30 am on Friday, July 19 are:Scoop: NZ First Minister Casey Costello orders 50% cut to excise tax on heated tobacco products. The minister has ...
Kia ora, it’s time for another Friday roundup, in which we pull together some of the links and stories that caught our eye this week. Feel free to add more in the comments! Our header image this week shows a foggy day in Auckland town, captured by Patrick Reynolds. ...
TL;DR : Here’s the top six items climate news for Aotearoa this week, as selected by Bernard Hickey and The Kākā’s climate correspondent Cathrine Dyer. A discussion recorded yesterday is in the video above and the audio of that sent onto the podcast feed.The Government released its draft Emissions Reduction ...
Save some money, get rich and old, bring it back to Tobacco Road.Bring that dynamite and a crane, blow it up, start all over again.Roll up. Roll up. Or tailor made, if you prefer...Whether you’re selling ciggies, digging for gold, catching dolphins in your nets, or encouraging folks to flutter ...
Waiting In The Wings:For truly, if Trump is America’s un-assassinated Caesar, then J.D. Vance is America’s Octavian, the Republic’s youthful undertaker – and its first Emperor.DONALD TRUMP’S SELECTION of James D. Vance as his running-mate bodes ill for the American republic. A fervent supporter of Viktor Orban, the “illiberal” prime ...
TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Friday, July 19, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:The PSAannounced the Employment Relations Authority (ERA) had ruled in the PSA’s favour in its case against the Ministry ...
Te Rangi e tu nei (The sky above us) Te Papa e takoto nei (The land beneath us) Tatou katoa te hunga ora (To us all the living) Tena koutou katoa (Greetings) ...
A late change to charter school legislation will cheat educators out of fair pay and negotiating power proving charter schools are just a vehicle to make profit out of our education system. ...
In 2004 te iwi Māori rallied against the Crown’s attempt to confiscate our coastlines and moana with the Foreshore and Seabed Act. This led to the largest hīkoi of a generation and the birth of Te Pāti Māori. 20 years later, history is repeating itself. Today the government has announced ...
It has been five and a half years since the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care was established to investigate the abuse of children, young people, and vulnerable adults within state and faith-based institutions. Yesterday, the final report - Whanaketia through pain and trauma, from darkness to light ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to take action off the back of the International Court of Justice ruling on Israel’s illegal occupation of Palestine. ...
On Friday the International Court of Justice reaffirmed what Palestinian’s have been telling us for decades: that the occupation and colonisation of Palestinian lands by Israel is illegal and must end immediately. They also called for reparations for Palestinian’s who have lived under Israeli occupation since it began in 1967. ...
Labour calls on the Government to act after the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled that Israel’s occupation of Palestinian Territories is illegal. ...
The 53.7 percent rise in benefit sanctions over the last year is more proof of this Government’s disdain for our communities most in need of support. ...
Aotearoa could be a country where every child grows up feeling safe, loved and with a sense of belonging in their whānau and community. But for some of our children, this is far from reality. Instead, they are trapped in a maze of intergenerational harm that they can’t escape on ...
Te Pāti Māori are calling for David Seymour to resign as Associate Health Minister in response to his call for Pharmac to ignore the Treaty of Waitangi. “This announcement is just another example of the government’s anti-Tiriti, anti-Māori agenda.” Said Co-leader and spokesperson for health, Debbie Ngarewa-Packer. “Seymour thinks it ...
The soaring price of renting is driving the rise of inflation in this country - with latest figures from Stats NZ showing rents are up 4.8 per cent on average while annual inflation is at 3.3 per cent. ...
National’s Emissions Reduction Plan will take New Zealand further from the economy we need to ensure the next generation has a stable climate and secure livelihoods. ...
Following consultation with named parties and thorough consideration of privacy interests, the Green Party is in a position to release the Executive Summary of the final report from the independent investigation into Darleen Tana. ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon should be asking serious questions of his Minister for Resources Shane Jones now it’s been revealed he misled the public about a dinner with mining companies that he didn’t declare and said wasn’t pre-arranged. ...
Te Pāti Māori have submitted to the Justice Select Committee against the Sentencing (Reinstating Three Strikes) Amendment Bill. The bill will further entrench racism in our justice system and fails to focus on rehabilitation. “Reinstating Three Strikes will empower a systematically racist system and exacerbate the overrepresentation of Māori in ...
The Transport and Infrastructure Committee is set to make a determination on the Residential Tenancies Amendment (RTA) Bill in the coming weeks. “This legislation will give landlords the power to kick our whānau out onto the street for no reason” said Housing spokesperson, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi. “Their solution to the housing ...
“National’s campaign was about tackling crime and the best they can do is a two-year long Ministerial Advisory Group,” Labour justice spokesperson Duncan Webb said. ...
“There are more examples of charter schools failing their students than there are success stories. The coalition Government is driving to dismantle our public school system and instead promote a privatised, competitive structure that puts profits before kids,” Jan Tinetti said. ...
“This government is choosing to deliberately mislead and withhold information, keeping our people in the dark about this government’s agenda and the future of our mokopuna,” said co-leader and spokesperson for Health, Debbie Ngarewa-Packer. The call comes after the demand from the Chief Ombudsman that Associate Minister of Health, Casey ...
“Today’s climate announcement by Simon Watts makes clear the National Government is simply paying lip service to meeting its climate change targets,” Megan Woods said. ...
National is choosing to make life harder for workers by taking away the rights our communities have fought hard for. Here's how they’re taking workers backwards. ...
Australia, Canada and New Zealand today issued the following statement on the need for an urgent ceasefire in Gaza and the risk of expanded conflict between Hizballah and Israel. The situation in Gaza is catastrophic. The human suffering is unacceptable. It cannot continue. We remain unequivocal in our condemnation of ...
Attorney-General Judith Collins today reminded all State and faith-based institutions of their legal obligation to preserve records relevant to the safety and wellbeing of those in its care. “The Abuse in Care Inquiry’s report has found cases where records of the most vulnerable people in State and faith‑based institutions were ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says the Government’s online safety website for children and young people has reached one million page views. “It is great to see so many young people and their families accessing the site Keep It Real Online to learn how to stay safe online, and manage ...
Tēnā tātou katoa, Ngā mihi te rangi, ngā mihi te whenua, ngā mihi ki a koutou, kia ora mai koutou. Thank you for the opportunity to be here and the invitation to speak at this 50th anniversary conference. I acknowledge all those who have gone before us and paved the ...
New Zealand’s payroll providers have successfully prepared to ensure 3.5 million individuals will, from Wednesday next week, be able to keep more of what they earn each pay, says Finance Minister Nicola Willis and Revenue Minister Simon Watts. “The Government's tax policy changes are legally effective from Wednesday. Delivering this tax ...
An experimental vineyard which will help futureproof the wine sector has been opened in Blenheim by Associate Regional Development Minister Mark Patterson. The covered vineyard, based at the New Zealand Wine Centre – Te Pokapū Wāina o Aotearoa, enables controlled environmental conditions. “The research that will be produced at the Experimental ...
The Coalition Government has confirmed the indicative regional breakdown of North Island Weather Event (NIWE) funding for state highway recovery projects funded through Budget 2024, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Regions in the North Island suffered extensive and devastating damage from Cyclone Gabrielle and the 2023 Auckland Anniversary Floods, and ...
Indonesia’s Foreign Minister, Retno Marsudi, will visit New Zealand next week, Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced. “Indonesia is important to New Zealand’s security and economic interests and is our closest South East Asian neighbour,” says Mr Peters, who is currently in Laos to engage with South East Asian partners. ...
He aha te kai a te rangatira? He kōrero, he kōrero, he kōrero. The government has reaffirmed its commitment to supporting the aspirations of Ngāti Maniapoto, Minister for Māori Development Tama Potaka says. “My thanks to Te Nehenehenui Trust – Ngāti Maniapoto for bringing their important kōrero to a ministerial ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has thanked outgoing Chair of the Civil Aviation Authority, Janice Fredric, for her service to the board.“I have received Ms Fredric’s resignation from the role of Chair of the Civil Aviation Authority,” Mr Brown says.“On behalf of the Government, I want to thank Ms Fredric for ...
The Government is proposing legislation to overturn a Court of Appeal decision and amend the Marine and Coastal Area Act in order to restore Parliament’s test for Customary Marine Title, Treaty Negotiations Minister Paul Goldsmith says. “Section 58 required an applicant group to prove they have exclusively used and occupied ...
Regulation Minister David Seymour says that opposition parties have united in bad faith, opposing what they claim are ‘dangerous changes’ to the Early Childhood Education sector, despite no changes even being proposed yet. “Issues with affordability and availability of early childhood education, and the complexity of its regulation, has led ...
After receiving more than 740 submissions in the first 20 days, Regulation Minister David Seymour is asking the Ministry for Regulation to extend engagement on the early childhood education regulation review by an extra two weeks. “The level of interest has been very high, and from the conversations I’ve been ...
The Coalition Government is investing $802.9 million into the Wairarapa and Manawatū rail lines as part of a funding agreement with the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA), KiwiRail, and the Greater Wellington and Horizons Regional Councils to deliver more reliable services for commuters in the lower North Island, Transport Minister Simeon ...
Local Government Minister Simeon Brown has announced his intention to appoint a Crown Manager to both Hawke’s Bay Regional and Wairoa District Councils to speed up the delivery of flood protection work in Wairoa."Recent severe weather events in Wairoa this year, combined with damage from Cyclone Gabrielle in 2023 have ...
Mr Speaker, this is a day that many New Zealanders who were abused in State care never thought would come. It’s the day that this Parliament accepts, with deep sorrow and regret, the Report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care. At the heart of this report are the ...
For the first time, the Government is formally acknowledging some children and young people at Lake Alice Psychiatric Hospital experienced torture. The final report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in State and Faith-based Care “Whanaketia – through pain and trauma, from darkness to light,” was tabled in Parliament ...
The Government has acknowledged the nearly 2,400 courageous survivors who shared their experiences during the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Historical Abuse in State and Faith-Based Care. The final report from the largest and most complex public inquiry ever held in New Zealand, the Royal Commission Inquiry “Whanaketia – through ...
With a week to go before hard-working New Zealanders see personal income tax relief for the first time in fourteen years, 513,000 people have used the Budget tax calculator to see how much they will benefit, says Finance Minister Nicola Willis. “Tax relief is long overdue. From next Wednesday, personal income ...
Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden says a bill that has passed its first reading will improve parental leave settings and give non-biological parents more flexibility as primary carer for their child. The Regulatory Systems Amendment Bill (No3), passed its first reading this morning. “It includes a change ...
Two Bills designed to improve regulation and make it easier to do business have passed their first reading in Parliament, says Economic Development Minister Melissa Lee. The Regulatory Systems (Economic Development) Amendment Bill and Regulatory Systems (Immigration and Workforce) Amendment Bill make key changes to legislation administered by the Ministry ...
New legislation paves the way for greater competition in sectors such as banking and electricity, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly says. “Competitive markets boost productivity, create employment opportunities and lift living standards. To support competition, we need good quality regulation but, unfortunately, a recent OECD report ranked New ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says lotteries for charitable purposes, such as those run by the Heart Foundation, Coastguard NZ, and local hospices, will soon be allowed to operate online permanently. “Under current laws, these fundraising lotteries are only allowed to operate online until October 2024, after which ...
The Coalition Government is accelerating work on the new four-lane expressway between Auckland and Whangārei as part of its Roads of National Significance programme, with an accelerated delivery model to deliver this project faster and more efficiently, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “For too long, the lack of resilient transport connections ...
Sir Don McKinnon will travel to Viet Nam this week as a Special Envoy of the Government, Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced. “It is important that the Government give due recognition to the significant contributions that General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong made to New Zealand-Viet Nam relations,” Mr ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says newly appointed Commissioner, Grant Illingworth KC, will help deliver the report for the first phase of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into COVID-19 Lessons, due on 28 November 2024. “I am pleased to announce that Mr Illingworth will commence his appointment as ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters travels to Laos this week to participate in a series of Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)-led Ministerial meetings in Vientiane. “ASEAN plays an important role in supporting a peaceful, stable and prosperous Indo-Pacific,” Mr Peters says. “This will be our third visit to ...
Construction of a new mental health facility at Te Nikau Grey Hospital in Greymouth is today one step closer, Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey says. “This $27 million facility shows this Government is delivering on its promise to boost mental health care and improve front line services,” Mr Doocey says. ...
New Zealand is committing nearly $50 million to a package supporting sustainable Pacific fisheries development over the next four years, Foreign Minister Winston Peters and Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones announced today. “This support consisting of a range of initiatives demonstrates New Zealand’s commitment to assisting our Pacific partners ...
Associate Education Minister David Seymour says proposed changes to the Education and Training Amendment Bill will ensure charter schools have more flexibility to negotiate employment agreements and are equipped with the right teaching resources. “Cabinet has agreed to progress an amendment which means unions will not be able to initiate ...
In response to serious concerns around oversight, overspend and a significant deterioration in financial outlook, the Board of Health New Zealand will be replaced with a Commissioner, Health Minister Dr Shane Reti announced today. “The previous government’s botched health reforms have created significant financial challenges at Health NZ that, without ...
Minister for Space and Science, Innovation and Technology Judith Collins will travel to Adelaide tomorrow for space and science engagements, including speaking at the Australian Space Forum. While there she will also have meetings and visits with a focus on space, biotechnology and innovation. “New Zealand has a thriving space ...
Climate Change Minister Simon Watts will travel to China on Saturday to attend the Ministerial on Climate Action meeting held in Wuhan. “Attending the Ministerial on Climate Action is an opportunity to advocate for New Zealand climate priorities and engage with our key partners on climate action,” Mr Watts says. ...
Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones is travelling to the Solomon Islands tomorrow for meetings with his counterparts from around the Pacific supporting collective management of the region’s fisheries. The 23rd Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Committee and the 5th Regional Fisheries Ministers’ Meeting in Honiara from 23 to 26 July ...
The Government today launched the Military Style Academy Pilot at Te Au rere a te Tonga Youth Justice residence in Palmerston North, an important part of the Government’s plan to crackdown on youth crime and getting youth offenders back on track, Minister for Children, Karen Chhour said today. “On the ...
The Government has welcomed news the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) has begun work to replace nine priority bridges across the country to ensure our state highway network remains resilient, reliable, and efficient for road users, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says.“Increasing productivity and economic growth is a key priority for the ...
Acting Prime Minister David Seymour has been in contact throughout the evening with senior officials who have coordinated a whole of government response to the global IT outage and can provide an update. The Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet has designated the National Emergency Management Agency as the ...
New Zealand and Japan will continue to step up their shared engagement with the Pacific, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “New Zealand and Japan have a strong, shared interest in a free, open and stable Pacific Islands region,” Mr Peters says. “We are pleased to be finding more ways ...
New developments in the heart of North Island forestry country will reinvigorate their communities and boost economic development, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones visited Kaingaroa and Kawerau in Bay of Plenty today to open a landmark community centre in the former and a new connecting road in ...
President Adeang, fellow Ministers, honourable Diet Member Horii, Ambassadors, distinguished guests. Minasama, konnichiwa, and good afternoon, everyone. Distinguished guests, it’s a pleasure to be here with you today to talk about New Zealand’s foreign policy reset, the reasons for it, the values that underpin it, and how it ...
Last summer when Matairangi burned, Ginny and Tom stood at the window of their lounge, watching kākā shoot skyward from the burning trees. From the distance, they looked to Ginny like pages torn from books and thrown into a bonfire. It was Tom, voice tight, who told her it was ...
Opinion: The Canadian short story writer Alice Munro – winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2013 – died in May at the age of 92. Her work was about “the damage people inflict on one another in the name of love”, Deborah Treisman wrote in the New Yorker. ...
This month marks two years since the most powerful telescope ever built sent its first pictures back to earth. From its lofty vantage point, beyond the moon in orbit around the sun, the James Webb Space Telescope was tuned to observe the first stars and galaxies being born soon after ...
Comment: After Climate Change Minister Simon Watts’ preview several weeks ago, I had some optimism about the Government’s emissions reduction plan. Now I’ve read the discussion document, that hope has been dashed. How can the Government propose a plan that wants to take New Zealand taxpayers’ hard-earned money, and spend ...
Christopher Luxon: hurdles The little man from National jumps hurdles in his sleep. He’s quite good at it in his dreams and even though the reality doesn’t quite match up you have to give him credit for getting up every morning and crashing into the very first hurdle of the ...
Comment: It was a good two hours into the conversation when Tyrone Marks raised the most basic of questions when I first spoke to him in 2017. “They didn’t explain the things they did to me. They never told me why. And they still haven’t. There’s no explanation for it. ...
Madeleine Chapman rounds out Death Week on The Spinoff with a final recommendation. You can read all of our Death Week coverage here. Nothing forces you to reflect on your life and relationships quite like proximity to death. For those whose nearest and dearest have died, there are reasonably obvious ...
Whitney Greene takes us through her life in television, including the TV character she’d like to plan a funeral for and her cow lung catastrophe on The Traitors NZ. “If the phone rings, I have to answer it,” Whitney Greene from The Traitors NZ warns as we begin our My ...
Maddie Ballard reviews the debut essay collection of Pōneke writer Flora Feltham.In ‘The Raw Material’, the longest essay in Flora Feltham’s dazzling debut collection, the author heads out for a run after hours of weaving and sees the world turn to textile. “Pounding along the Parade, I saw the ...
Andy Christiansen, one half of the experimental rock-pop duo TRiPS, shares the tunes inspiring the band’s perfect weekend and new release. “Good speakers, good food, good music, no distractions”: that’s all you need to enjoy the psychedelic stylings of TRiPS, a new band formed by Fly My Pretties’ Barnaby Weir ...
Celebrating our quadrennial opportunity to become experts in a bunch of sports we never normally watch.The games of the XXXIII Olympiad are upon us. Paris will host this year’s showcase of sporting and athletic prowess, which means some late-night and early-morning viewing for us in Aotearoa.But what sports ...
The photograph is striking and beautiful, but also disturbing – a reminder that my love for John was often entangled in shame.The Sunday Essay is made possible thanks to the support of Creative New Zealand.In the spring of 1980, in Dunedin, shortly before his death, someone took a photograph ...
Get to know Babushka, our latest Dog of the Month. This feature was offered as a reward during our What’s Eating Aotearoa PledgeMe campaign. Thank you to Babu’s humans, Jo and Isabel, for their support. Dog name: Babushka (Babu for short) Age: 2Breed: Border Collie X poodleIf rescued, ...
Pacific Media Watch A Lebanese photojournalist who was severely wounded during an Israeli air strike in south Lebanon carried the Olympic torch in Paris this week in honour of her peers who have been wounded and killed in the field — especially in Gaza and Lebanon. Christina Assi of Agence ...
The first report in a five-part web series focused on the 15th Triennial Conference of Pacific Women taking place in the Marshall Islands this week.SPECIAL REPORT:By Netani Rika in Majuro Women continue to fight for justice 70 years after the first nuclear tests by the United States caused ...
Christopher Luxon has joined with Australia and Canada's leaders in voicing support for US President Joe Biden's ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra The 2022 election brought the “teal wave” into parliament. The next election will test whether teals, who occupy what were Liberal seats, and other independents can maintain their momentum. Joining us on the Podcast ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ian Musgrave, Senior lecturer in Pharmacology, University of Adelaide Pixavri/Shutterstock A major Federal Court class action has been dismissed this week after Justice Michael Lee ruled there was not enough evidence to prove the weedkiller Roundup causes cancer. Plaintiff Kelvin ...
In The Week in Politics: politicians have to decide what to do about child abuse, Health NZ is booked in for major surgery and Darleen Tana returns. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Clare Corbould, Associate Professor, Contemporary Histories Research Group, Deakin University Mainstream media are surprisingly muted at the prospect of the world’s most powerful nation being led for the first time by a woman – specifically a woman of colour, Vice President Kamala ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rebecca Bennett, PhD Student, Associate Research Fellow, Deakin University Last week, a drone delivery company called Wing (owned by Google’s parent company, Alphabet) started operating in Melbourne. Some 250,000 residents in parts of the city’s eastern suburbs can now order food from ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jonathan Foo, Lecturer, Physiotherapy, Monash University pikselstock/Shutterstock In the next 40 years in Australia, it’s predicted the number of Australians aged 65 and over will more than double, while the number of people aged 85 and over will more than triple. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Katrina Grant, Research Associate, Power Institute for Arts and Visual Culture, University of Sydney Jonas Åkerström’s 1790 work, Session of the Accademia dell’Arcadia on August 17 1788.Nationalmuseum/Cecilia Heisser Ever wondered whether you’d have a better chance at winning an Olympic gold ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alexandra Jones, Program Lead, Food Governance, George Institute for Global Health wavebreakmedia/Shutterstock On Thursday, Australian and New Zealand food ministers at state, federal and national levels met to thrash out what’s next for health star ratings on packaged foods. Now, after ...
The Abuse in Care report found many Pacific survivors lost their connections to their culture and language, resulting in trauma that has been carried from generation to generation. ...
In the regulatory review, ECC intends to suggest that ERO focus on curriculum delivery reviews rather than the Ministry, because it’s not efficient or effective to have two agencies with radically different approaches climbing over each other. ...
Te Rūnanga Nui o Ngā Kura Kaupapa Māori invites the current government to work in partnership with them to develop a pathway forward, including the development of a parallel pathway and meaningful policy and strategy for Kura Kaupapa Māori ...
If you haven’t started watching yet, Tara Ward begs you to reconsider. This is an excerpt from our weekly pop culture newsletter Rec Room. Sign up here. In the world of New Zealand reality television, we have many gems in our crown. There’s the delicious second season of the Celebrity Treasure ...
A new poem by Fiona Kidman. The clothes of the dead I did not keep my mother’s furry red beret for long nor the stringy scarves that adorned the necks of my aunts, although I have kept tag ends of gold, the rings and trinkets they wore, the brooches no ...
The government’s announcement that it will re-open the foreshore and seabed controversy by changing the rules on recognising centuries-old Māori customary title for a third time goes against the rule of law and New Zealand values,” Mr Tipa says. ...
The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington.AUCKLAND1 Lioness by Emily Perkins (Bloomsbury, $25) Roarrrr! Perkins’ brilliant, award-winning, Marian-Keyes anointed, darkly funny, long ...
The 2004 Act vested ownership of the foreshore and seabed in the Crown, extinguishing any Māori claims to ownership and causing widespread outrage and protests among Māori communities. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Antje Deckert, Associate Professor (Criminology), Auckland University of Technology Getty Images Despite the connection between institutional harm and gang membership made clear in this week’s mammoth royal commission abuse-in care report, the government seems unlikely to soften its “get tough on ...
From Lewis Clareburt in the swimming to the start of the rowing – the first seven days of Paris 2024 promise to be big for New Zealand. There are few events that bring the country together quite like an Olympic Games. Nothing quite matches the excitement of getting up in ...
Groundbreaking local science just showed up in the most surprising of places: the season finale of The Kardashians. In the season five finale of The Kardashians last night, several members of the family gathered together in one of their signature empty, cream-coloured rooms to hear test results that had been ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Amin Saikal, Emeritus professor of Middle Eastern and Central Asian Studies, Australian National University The Middle East is on the brink of a possibly devastating regional war, with hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah reaching an extremely dangerous level. Washington has engaged in ...
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https://youtu.be/f1JiJhWkM9M
So amazing. Did mindfulness last night looking at the photos below – so many layers of beauty out there and in there.
https://www.mnn.com/earth-matters/animals/blogs/macro-photographs-highlight-intricate-beauty-butterfly-wings?
Oh my goodness!!
Those butterflies are incredible artists! Texture, colour and balance. And to think that the human race is blundering around and destroying so much.
Brilliant. Supports the truth that the truth is found as easily within a single atom as it is within the entire universe.
truth supports truth
easily
single atom
entire universe
Are you able to explain?
A kōan cannot be explained; it has to be experienced by the individual. A crude analogy is trying to explain a joke to someone who does not get it.
Well put thanks Incognito – was wanting to respond something along those lines but the brain cells weren't up to the connections this morning …
Really? I didn't even think your comment was obscure, vto; quite prosaic and pithy in fact. It interests me, the various ways people "hear" what others have said. I mean no criticism of you, One Two; this happens all the time in the council I sit on and sometimes I just can't fathom the wide variance of meaning taken, or not taken, from seemingly simple statements.
Whenever I read the word truth…I am usually intrigued to understand more about the use…hence the request for explanation
Council sessions have the benefit of sight and sound, Robert…and even with sensory advantage … well…you've signalled what can eventuate…
I'd have preferred to read what else vto had in response to my query…
I think I know why this stuff happens (but am probably kidding myself). All meaning is relative to context. That's just Einstein's relativity principle generalised (in physics, measurements are relative to the user's frame of reference, so I generalised measurements into meaning, then jumped it outside of physics as a general principle).
And of course in the psyche of the individual, reality is socially constructed as well as learnt from experience. So our right-brain hemisphere relates info to prior learning to contextualise it. Since we all have a different learning trajectory, different unique natures, and emanate from different social niches, we all interpret the info somewhat differently. That's how human nature works.
To get onto the same page, we must transcend the idiosyncratic take we make from the info. There's a discipline mentally imposed to simulate such objectivity – some are good at that, others not. If we feel the necessity, we discuss the info to form common ground…
https://www.abc.net.au/news/health/2019-07-24/virtual-reality-tool-investigated-to-promote-sleep/11323134
The new future?
RIP Rutger Hauer
Rutger Hauer was able to play the good guy role with humour to balance out his movie portfolio
Brief mention on Natrad this morning about an issue that was raised here about a week ago. https://thestandard.org.nz/labour-to-repeal-ban-on-family-caregivers-seeking-justice/#comment-1636088
The Government has got the numbers wrong (again!!!) and has not allocated enough funding to honour its promise to end discrimination against family carers.
Another brilliant headline for the Coalition that fades under the most superficial of inspections.
No doubt this will go the way of Kiwibuild and it will be back to the drawing board.
Despite the fact that ALL the relevant information and data are right there and available.
And to be honest, it may not cost that much more. Furthermore…
In the event that the Tribunal’s decision were to encourage others in need to apply for their support entitlements, then while this may be fiscally expensive, this reflects neither a change in the policy framework nor the Tribunal’s decision but a reduction in the failure of delivery coverage within the framework.
https://www.eastonbh.ac.nz/2008/10/evidence-to-the-human-rights-review-tribunal/
There is absolutely excuse for yet another bunch of politicians to run around like headless chickens trying to work this out, and frame a narrative to justify the expense.
This work has already been done.
Just get on with it.
Piece on Natrad…
https://www.rnz.co.nz/audio/player?audio_id=2018705686
Moves boost the number of family carers paid to look after disabled relatives could be kneecapped by a funding shortfall. From next year the government plans to allow partners and spouses of a disabled adult and parents caring for a disabled child under the age of 18 to claim funded family care. But RNZs analysis shows there won't be enough money to properly pay the 600 new families that are expected to join the scheme
Whoops
They don't really care Rosemary. As with so many of their stories they get a great big headline about how caring they are, and how terrible National were supposed to have been, and then they just forget about it.
The MSM may give a tiny little mention to it but they certainly aren't going to give it anything like the original splash in the news.
Business as usual for the CoL. All hat and no cattle as a Texan might say.
Correction there alwyn, as bad a National were.
And Labour before them.
SSDD
Not good to hear, Rosemary.
I was hoping your reserved optimism at the initial news would be rewarded.
The social evil of the Rentier capitalist: the modern cult of landlordism:
Governments have built a heaven for landlords and a hell for tenants. It’s time to change the system. ( Where is a CGT!? with some bite? 60%)
By George Monbiot, published in the Guardian 17th July 2019
I have a friend who works almost every waking hour, mainly to pay the rent. Her landlord lives on a beach, 4000 miles away. He seldom responds to her requests, and grudgingly pays for the minimum of maintenance. But every so often, he writes to inform her that he is raising the rent. He does not have to work, because she and other tenants work on his behalf. He is able to live the life of his choice, because they give their time to him. As there is an absolute shortage of accessible housing, they have no choice but to pay his exorbitant fees.
Rents charged at such rates – far beyond the costs of capital and maintenance – are, in these circumstances, a form of private taxation, levied by the rich on the poor. The penalty for failing to pay this tax is arguably greater than the penalty for failing to pay taxes owed to the state: eviction and homelessness. People say “I work for Tesco” or “I work for Deliveroo”, but the reality for many is that they work for their landlord. While the average mortgaged household spends 12% of its income on housing, the average renting household spends 36%. I have met plenty of people who hand over 50% or more. https://www.monbiot.com/2019/07/19/private-taxation/
"Don't let them intimidate you."
The Guffaw
The Right, both in Gods own mess in New Zealand and Australia, and in the United Kingdom, has been given the means to crush the people who do the work – in town and in the slums and in the farms.
The Obscene laughter around every Right Oval Table – is full of clotted Laughter of how the slaves work like niggers, with scarcely any money or food – fot the benefit of the Monarchy, The House of Lords, the Corrupts of Bankers and spoilt children of the Posh.
The meanest of mean persons is the make up of the Blighted Kingdom. The Filthiest Nation on the Planet.
Correct. Is why so many our ancestors fled those horrid lands as refugees.
Fled.
Escaped.
The battle is finally over and it looks like from October 1 I will be paying full price to continue taking the same brand of medication I've been taking for over 20 years that keeps me alive. The so called 'application for special circumstances funding' (which even Pharmac strongly hinted I apply for in correspondence with them) is actually a completely rigged system in their favour where they pretty much decline almost all the applications, even the clinically valid ones submitted by specialists. To the point where said Specialists aren't even bothering to write the applications because they know they'll be declined.
On the positive side- for once I have something nice to say about a huge Big Pharma company: they could've quite easily pulled this brand out of NZ after it was delisted, as happens frequently, but they haven't, so at least it's still accessible to the many of us who need to stay on it. And I've learned just how pissed off a lot of medical specialists are with the way Pharmac are behaving.
It's a huge chunk out of my food budget but I'm sure all the politicians out there who refuse to increase the Pharmac budget and increase disability benefits will be extremley pleased at the sacrifices a lot of us will be making (and the many who already are- we're not the first this is happened to and won't be the last) to use what little money we have to save the hard working tax payers massive hospital bills. /sarc
I'm sure all the politicians out there who refuse to increase the Pharmac budget and increase disability benefits will be extremely pleased at the sacrifices a lot of us will be making …
My thinking is that they have ascribed to the 'what doesn't kill them makes them stronger' philosophy. Ipso facto Kay, they are actually doing you a favour. /sarc
I feel so much stronger already 🙂
Neat Kay !
Rosemary too !
Pharmac is going to supply marijuana – which will put the healthy and wealthy to sleep.
The Placebo has had enough and wants to be put to bed – for a variety of reasons.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qnoxKXkPqEE
Tempting…what's the going rate? Cheaper than Lamictal?
A good summary of Mueller's testimony to the House today.
https://theintercept.com/2019/07/24/updates-robert-muellers-congressional-testimony/
Here is a good summery of Mueller's dud testimony….as expected.
Mueller's Seven-Hour Testimony Changed Nothing…
i don't think it was to change something……
however i liked his answer as to 'can a president charged for crimes once his tenure has ended', Mr. Mueller "Yes". And i guess that is what the orange shitgibbon takes offense to. 🙂
" i don't think it was to change something " I am pretty sure it was to change something, it was conducted to somehow bring impeachment against Trump, something that will never happen, and of course keep fanning the fires of the Russiagate conspiracy, which needs constant fanning because it has been exposed as being such a load of bullshit that now only the most extreme believers still push it.
Couple of those extremists still lurk around on this site I believe.
Still pushing your Repug talking points?
Yknow what's more annoying than people who speak in statistics? It's people who speak in academic talk. It's amazing how people can construct such technically sound and pretty looking comments, Y'know with links and quotes and grammar and shit, and be totally and utterly wrong. It's fucken amazing.
No just pushing the facts, what you are pushing is a free ride for Trump to the Whitehouse in 2020.
Also you might want to keep in mind you are in effect being used as a FBI mouthpiece right now.
????
Adrian's comments about "Russiagate conspiracy" could have come straight from the likes of Louie Gohmert or Devin Nunes or any other Drumpfkin desperate to deflect from the huge amount of evidence that Russia did indeed indulge in election fuckery to benefit the Dork from New York, and that the loofah-faced shitgibbon's campaign eagerly welcomed that fuckery and openly encouraged more of it.
That Mueller's team didn't feel they found enough evidence to establish a chargeable conspiracy is down to extreme prosecutorial caution. Plus successful obstruction, incompetence, and sheer dumb luck on the part of the campaign members involved.
Well Mueller previous statements to the house said there was evidence of WMD in Iraq and the supply to terrorists was a clear and present danger.
https://twitter.com/ggreenwald/status/1154022466345476097
That's not actually what Mueller said, in the clip, though. He said that Powell had presented evidence Iraq had failed to disarm its WMD (he had. Turned out to be faked). He then said the FBI's concern was WMD going to terrorists from Iraq. Nor did he say "clear and present danger" (thanks, Tom fucking Clancy).
Iraqi WMD wasn't his problem. After 911, US domestic terrorists getting WMD was his problem.
So he spread false news on WMD (he had the same access to information that powell had)
Chief Judge Learned Hand … interpreted the [clear and present danger] phrase as follows: 'In each case, [courts] must ask whether the gravity of the "evil", discounted by its improbability, justifies such invasion of free speech as is necessary to avoid the danger.' We adopt this statement of the rule. As articulated by Chief Judge Hand, it is as succinct and inclusive as any other we might devise at this time. It takes into consideration those factors which we deem relevant, and relates their significances. More we cannot expect from words.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clear_and_present_danger
I know the term "clear and present danger". I also know when it became popular outside of polsci or cspan conferences.
He did not spread false news on WMD. He said that someone in another job presented evidence to do with their job. His job was to figure out how those claims impacted on his patch, not second-guess the intelligence agencies that deal with other nations.
Links! We need more links for those assertions! the goal posts! they are shifting! Quick some one find a quote! the tone of the debate is falling! the standard faces legal dilemmas. LMFAO!!!
Sambam, the link is in the comment of 2:48pm. That's Mueller saying pretty much what I put. He did not, in that link, present any evidence or claims of the existence of WMDs, he said that his interest was in regards to terrorists getting them.
I am truely, sorry, Mc, Flock 😄
But I do not drink kool aid. LMFAO
Yeah, what he actually said in the clip vs what was said he said ain't koolaid.
Evil is subjective. The concept of evil by George Bush and Saddam's standards has no value to your story or narrative.
Your comment has no relevance to the preceding discussion.
Its not even necessary to meet your standards of relevance when you can't even articulate with as much precision as your extremely long arch that Russia did it. And now the whole backlash just goes poof. LMFAO
If you read the Mueller report, you didn't understand it.
Yoire still drinking your own kool aid. LMFAO
Serious question: if you won't be persuaded by evidence or argument, is there any conceivable way you could discover that one of your many opinions is wrong?
Thats just you looking for the easy way out in an attempt to appeal to authority and try and have me banned. You woke de woke Dee's are just so predictable. Y'know if you pile up all of Trumps Bodies it wouldn't even come close to either Saddam's, Bush or Obamas body count yet your backlash is far more precise for Trump and I'm just not going to sip from your kool aid.
You really do spend more time responding to your own delusions than you do to anything anyone else has written.
That doesn't work against Trumo since he's utilizing zero percent or even negative interest rates. Your backlash would not be an advantage. Please don't take yourself to seriously.
…evidence or argument…
Don't come round 'ere with yer evidence and argument, they're no match for Sam's sneers about 'woke' and 'kool aid.'
I think Sam does quite well, for an eight year old.
Agree, PM. I wonder if SAM is an acronym… Smart Ass Mystifier?
Here's a piece discussing whether Mueller's involvement in the Iraq WMD bullshit discredits his Russia investigation (spoiler: it doesn't).
At the time he was FBI Director, which is domestic and has very limited overlap with any foreign operations which fall under CIA. the military and other agencies. He made it clear in that cherry-picked bit of his remarks he was relying on what was given to him by those other sources. For context, here's the prepared text of his testimony.
Finally, who popularised this particular bit of cherry-picked background and why? Interesting question …
Man that is so fucking awesome, I am seriously gong to keep this post saved for future reference, you guys have allowed yourself’s to climb so far down the rabbit hole of this bullshit Russia con job, that you are now actually defending the integrity of a former head of the FBI..holy shit! …remember, when you lay down with dogs you get up with fleas…getting itchy yet.
Mueller and Barr’s Real History of Cover-ups
http://accuracy.org/release/mueller-and-barrs-real-history-of-cover-ups/
Former FBI Director Robert Mueller’s History of Cover-Ups
https://www.globalresearch.ca/former-fbi-director-robert-muellers-history-of-cover-ups/5635272
Adrian, I don't know what our friend Andre looks like, but I suspect it's something like the following.
WARNING: Viewers of the following will be bombarded by ten minutes of extreme imbecility and the saddest kind of fanaticism….
Poor Adrian—you’ve just been savaged by a dead sheep.
You know, you can love Mother Russia and recognise the utter corruption of its rulers now ady. Nobody's going to put polonium in your samovar, probably.
Fuck off, I know critical thinking doesn’t come naturally to you Ruaaiagaters, but at least try and pretend.
Pointing out the corruption and absurdity of the Democrat "leadership" is in no way to endorse "Mother Russia" or Donald Trump and his wacky gang.
An actual Russian notes the comparison.
https://twitter.com/Kasparov63/status/1154065508720959491
" In the waning days of Russian democracy" exactly when was that?
When Putin fitted himself up as prime minister.
Really?, that is exactly not what historical fact say, but then is seems that facts are a mystery to you, unless they fit with your view of the world vis a vie The Gaurdian, TWP etc.
But the Democrats are doing it to impress voters…
Now there's a joke. If the Democrats cared about those deplorable voters, why did the corrupt and incompetent DNC, led by that masterly strategist and top thinker Debbie Wasserman Schultz, conspire in 2016 to shut out the most popular political candidate in the country and elect someone as toxic as this creature?
How the hell did "the most popular candidate in the country" lose to the toxic creature by more than 3.6 million freely cast votes (that's losing by more than 12%)? Amongst the small segment of the population self-selected to be politically closest to his views? Maybe he wasn't quite so popular after all?
The…. Russians did it?
So not only are the pay increase being delayed now schools will have to source out of their operating budget to fund some of the increases. Pity that this will result in students missing out.
Hipkins "If there was a way to speed up the process, I'd make it happen. "As if Novopay and our bungling minister (and a Labour one at that 🤬) didn't realise that many of the changes that were agreed to were not signaled during the negotiations ?
"Novopay said teachers would have to wait until mid-September to receive their pay rises, prompting NZEI to file legal action for compliance and penalties."
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/education/114491866/schools-stung-by-teacher-pay-shock
time to fire Novopay?
Fire the person responsible perhaps?
Bye, bye Mr Hipkins. Why not just admit that, like so many actions of this Government they never allowed for the cost of their promises and they have simply fallen into the great big financial black hole that Stephen Joyce warned us about.
Maybe fire the person responsible for Novapay. Oops. Can't really. He quit at the last election.
Didn't realise the Labour minister who engaged Novopay in 2005 quit at the last election🤔It may pay to refresh your memory regarding the timeline mentioned in this link
"He said he would be investigating how the previous Labour government conducted the tender for the Novopay system in 2007 and entered into a contract with Talent2 in 2008.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/8230140/Novopay-not-first-failure-for-provider
you mean Novopay who has been fucking up since 2008 at the very least and none of the nine years of fucking up under the No Mates Party saw anything wrong with it?
https://education.govt.nz/assets/Documents/Ministry/Information-releases/Novopay-information-release/MIN130501InquiryReport.pdf
oh but then in 2013 – 5 years into the reign of the Hairpuller in Chief and the NO mates Party …..it was Labours fault 🙂
http://www.stuff.co.nz/southland-times/opinion/8356200/Novopay-mess-due-to-Labour
seven years into the No Mates Party reign – and hte Hairpuller just about 2 years off from quitting his job with a one weeks notice a post on this humble blog accounting for the waste of Novopay under the No mates party 🙂
https://thestandard.org.nz/novopay-cost-us-45-million/
i mean this can go on and on and on and no matter how much you screech about this and that and list up the Labour Party Members and MP's that you would like to see gone, you literally only make yourself look like the fool you are.
be better, or maybe be best? Not sure, but yeah, be better at this.
Where was our leader in Ed ? Did he not inquire to those within the ministry and/or Novopay as to their ability to enact in a timely manner changes in pay rates, when the negotiations were in progress ?
The "talks" were going on for over a year, remember teachers received a NIL pay rise from the time the last agreement lapsed and this one being implemented as of July 19.
He is paid the big bucks to lead. Leadership is not JUST being important enough to be seen on the TV news.
All true, but I discussed the matter with an experienced finance lady in my school today, and she agreed with me that all previous salary providers were able to efficiently introduce new pay rises in time – because they had plenty of people to rise to the occasion and key it all in.
Some IT moron convinced some moronic Govt that Novopay with far fewer people (big savings in salaries, but more unemployment?) could do the same job.
A lie, of course, as current situation shows.
Teacher unions, if there were any justice, should be able to take legal action against the guilty parties.
But we know that there will be no justice..
Asking schools to bear the burden temporarily is an act of bad faith that will be admired by neither teachers nor Boards of Trustees.
The same is at many aged care facilities (those that are are profit driven vrs those that are "charities" ) as there is no drive for profit and on the face of it have greater staff nos and a more friendly environment.
Not sure why the govt is protecting Novapay (Nats were the same) Wonder if there will be some profit ramifications for the provider for not delivering on what they are contracted to deliver 🤭. How we are being expected to accept poor delivery
Many "bosses" appear to have the 1st call for action to reduce staff. All those MBA's and they address staff !!
Novopay was a basic 9-5 payroll system hacked into a multiuser schools payroll format, overseen by incompetent ministers at the client end. Every time something new is done with it, there will be a new problem come up because none of its original purpose involved an education-system level of diversity in roles, FTE time allocations, allowances, pay grades, schedules or anything else.
Trouble is that the nats fully committed so that just reactivating the old system wasn't an option. Lots of money asnd would probably take longer to fix than Novopay itself – it's what happens when you burn business relationships in favour of a competitor, and then it falls through.
Pisser was the Wellington Board of Education did exactly the same thing in 1993 when computerising their regional payroll system and the ensuing clusterfuck. Literally a textbook example on how not to implement a new computer system. Now the example is novopay lol.
More crazy conspiracy theory….
This classic dates back to February, but it's still hilarious.
Matthew Parris from UK on Johnson – Waste-no-time-wasting-Cabinet – PM.
“Dominic Raab has been made Foreign Secretary, Raab the man who put Raab into rabies basically, he’s a really rabid Brexiteer. He’s a clever man, but it’s not the sort of steady hand you would expect.”
This was a revenge re-shuffle, Parris says.
“He has kicked in the shins anyone who has ever kicked him in the shins and installed a whole lot of people who are going to be in favour of crashing out without a deal on the 31st of October if we have to do it.
lol "revenge re-shuffle".
The old Yes Minister line about the PM's personal motto: "In defeat, malice. In victory, revenge!"
Claire Trevett, from just in front of the pay-wall: "Johnson had once declared his chances of becoming Prime Minister "are about as good as the chances of finding Elvis on Mars, or my being reincarnated as an olive"."
Now that it has just happened, could be the next Mars lander will get a re-program, eh? I wonder if he will change his surname to Trump now. Johnson is so boring, really. The Don will be agonising over whether to despatch a hairdresser to Downing St, or send a case of brylcreem over, or both.
He'll send over some of that off-colour spray-tan and some cut-in-half ping-pong balls to put over his eyes when he sprays it on.
Trump has surrounded himself by Yes men and Women who seem to be incompetent. Has Johnson done the same?
Peas in a pod ianmac. One is a Yank and the other is a Pom and they play their games in a slightly different way.
Between the two of them they should have no problem starting another war and thus keep the peasants’ minds away from the gross incompetence of their respective administrations.
Peas in a Pod Anne
Well Spoken Anne. The two septic PlayBoys Mr Donald and Mr Boris, have united in the sacred bonds of war mongering. and each have announced that their respective Nations are about to be the Greatest Country ever to have been Conceived, Suckled and strewn on Planet Earth.
They are both relatively unpopulated Nations given their land mass. England 60 millions. United States 308 millions.
The Union of Europe (EU) – has 511 Millions.
Mr Boris, a studied comedian, has already snubbed his nose at Europe and is going to fight EU into oblivion. – Using his Eccentric adoring 60 Million nicompoops. Capitan Boris, after Sex with the unbeloved– will put his sea boots on soonest. I think he may have kept Mrs Thatcher's under arm tuft of hair – as a Clutch.
The Germans, The French, They of the Guillotine The Nordics, The Commonwealth, The Asians, The Indians – The Africans, Pakistans and all the other Stans – rather think the English are quaint. Mr Boris is quite like an inedible fish that wriggles unexpectedly.
England – be grateful for what you get. After all, you asked for it.
Kia ora Newshub.
Its not good that people who get a colonoscopy privately are going to live and the lower classes who can't afford the procedure will die is that a 2 class system or what.
Awesome te Rangiti are not drinking as much as the last generation it actually give Eco Maori a sore face I say no more.
Thanks to our government for increasing kindergarten teachers pay parity with their counterparts in primary and secondary schools teaches te mokopuna are very important to Eco Maori
Its is climate change that is causing the heat wave over Europe and America at the minute but people like ——— are sceptical about our nuclear moments for our generation. HUMAN caused climate change is poking us in thee EYES .
trump what about the institutional racism towards the African American and Hispanic tangata you muppet. Innocent people will die because of your policies .All so I know for a fact that not all police officers are honest and honorable people hence innocent people are going to die try putting yourself in their shoes
Ka kite ano
Ka pai for Jacinda and her tangata whenua Mps for brokering a solution to the Ihumatau whenua issue in Auckland awesome. Thanks to Henare a Willy for going to Auckland to talk to the tangata about the issue they have with that whenua let's hope te tangata behave honorable to you.
Its awesome that the whenua is being returned to Maori and they are going to build a education center up there by the old telescope is it to many people in my whare I missed the story + Eco Maori needs to learn Te reo.
Ka kite ano
Its Its awesome to see the next generation of tangata whenua uniteing to fix the wrongs that have been served up to Maori
Ka kite ano
Some Eco Maori music for the minute
https://youtu.be/u9Dg-g7t2l4
Thanks for the MANA