No. He would like to see that investment shift from gobbling up existing homes ( some of which sit empty or have 1 student offspring in it) into new homes to create a more energised new home build market.
The Govt is also legislating against foreign ownership?
But in doing so (creating a more energised new home build market) it will be adding upward pressure, thus squeezing local buyers out. With the displacement resulting in the ripple effect.
Merely shifting demand and not ceasing it won’t prevent offshore investors gobbling up our land and homes. Albeit new ones.
Especially with limited tradesman to build more homes. If all this did was increase the numebr of homes being built great. i can’t see that happening and the price to build a new home will go up.
Allowing this upward pressure is a big mistake that will come back to haunt Labour.
It will clash with Kiwibuild.
I’d suggest they look at a form of tax as a disincentive to substantially slow this form of investment. It’s not the type of offshore investment we require.
Failing to get business leadership to harness common purpose for this country has the capacity to cripple this administration as it nearly did for the first term of Clark.
Seeing I don’t want a Depression or a Revolution, I think engaging with business
and not scaring the horses makes sense. They have a part to ply in our economy. / sarc
The breathless, sycophantic hagiography of Moir and Jenna Lynch on Newshub yesterday is sickening. They come across as National Party PR flunkies not journalists. I am not surprised but it emphasises yet again how poorly we are served by the MSM.
O’Sullivan’s piece on the other hand was worth reading.
You do wonder whether it’s a case of bias, but rather ignorance, laziness, bias and incompetence.
These people have been picked because they are cheap ad they get little journalistic training. They are obsessed with their own egos. They are in the entertainment business not news business.
They stand for nothing.
And more propaganda to be found in the Herald by Trevett.
55% of the voters in this country did not vote for the National Party.
About 70% of the adult population did not vote for the National Party.
Yet over 75% or more of the opinion pieces advocate for the right wing.
Stuart Nash has been the best MP for Napier since the 156-year-old electorate was red for all but 17 years since the first Labour MP was elected in 1922.
The only bad Labour MP Napier ever had was Russell Fairbrother who he shocked us all when he closed our Historic iconic Napier hospital and that cost labour the 2008 election.
Thank God we have re-secured Napier again as a labour strong hold.
James you have a long history of bad mouthing any other party except National, and on those grounds i have this comment here as a bad mouthing of Stuart Nash “figuratively” speaking.
We look forward to any statement from you that favours the current Government in future.
We do need to give the Labour coalition Governement a fair go, and a chance to succeed as we will all benefit from this.
To quote james;
“Shortly after, Labour MP Stuart Nash walked in trying to sell some bloody story about cops.
He looked shocked, almost offended at my face.”
“He would indulge in sexual touching while working on the set (Top of the Pops or Jim’ll Fix It) and, on at least one occasion, he was actually on camera.
“Savile would seize the opportunity for sexual contact even in public places such as corridors, staircases and canteens.”
….the honours committee advised then-Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher against recommending Savile for a knighthood because of public warning signs about the presenter, even if the BBC failed to see them. ….
“GROPERS” is presented by GroperWatch, a division of Daisycutter Sports Inc.
More gropers. Collect the series!…
No.1 George Herbert Walker Bush; No. 2 Bill O’Reilly; No. 3 Al Franken; No. 4 Robin Brooke; No. 5 Lester Beck; No. 6 Arnold Schwarzenegger; No. 7 Joe Biden; No. 8 Rolf Harris; No. 9 Harold Bloom
Heh. While I really wish the Clintons would just go away and enjoy their millions away from the spotlight and we never hear from them again, I gotta admit this article makes some good points about the upsides of Hillary for 2020.
Fuckwits made up so much about her health last election, I’m amazed she’s still alive. She’d be the oldest president taking office if she won (record currently held by Trump). Put those two together, every time she clears her throat the fuckwits will be diagnosing terminal lung cancer.
Another Saturday, another confused story from John Roughan in the Herald. Seriously, does John “no will use the bus way” Roughan have a fucking clue?
I THINK his bewildering article, which starts with a sweeping anachronistic generalisation, makes an unsubstantiated assertion, creates a straw man based on a flat out wrong assumption of the past before making another tiresome declaration of the superiority of the market model is actually an inchoate attempt to address the issue of where we direct our tertiarty funding. But who knows with Roughan, the guy is a 1980s dinosaur with but a fleeting connection to the dynamics of New Zealand in 2017.
Seriously, why does the Herald cling to these old, out of touch op-ed writers? Surely they could find a young woman to write opinion pieces, or maybe an Asian bloke under 40? And surely they’d be more bracing and up to date in their views than have retreads who recycle the same predictable rubbish?
Just for the record, NZ Universities were always free, or practically free, before the government abandoned it’s core role in tertiary education. when Victoria College was established in 1899, its founding Act stated that the highest fee charged to students by the college was not to exceed the lowest fee set at any other college in New Zealand. Up until 1911, the fee set by Victoria was one and a half guineas (32 shillings, just over one and a half pounds), which was then doubled in 1912. This was when the an unskilled labourer earned on average 140 pounds a year. Based on the minimum wage that would make 1912 university fees about $1500 in todays money. Is Roughan really trying to claim the university funding system that existed before 1990s produced academically inferior universities? Because all the evidence points to the complete opposite.
Aging ideological halfwits like Roughan like to harrumph from their supposed rarified heights about the fake news and the like – but it is their obsession with ideology and their need to force every fact and every interpretation in that ideological lens, that laid the groudwork for todays fake news world.
Fuck off and retire Roughan. You’re a handbrake on the countries future.
You must be an extremely wealthy person.
Any one who can say, apparently with a straight face, that
“NZ Universities were always free, or practically free”
and follow it, a couple of lines later, that
“that would make 1912 university fees about $1500 in todays money”
is clearly a great deal better off than I am.
Are you seriously proposing the $1500 is a mere bagatelle and really not worth anything at all? Are you so rich that you consider $1500 indistinguishable from “free”?
I believe it was after WWII that tertiary education did become free. The time of the NZ,s and the West’s greatest growth and development. And then neo-liberalism got implemented around the world and things have downhill for them since.
Although, the inflation calculator says that today’s price for that one and a half pounds would be ~$250 and not $1500.
Any one who can say, apparently with a straight face, that
“NZ Universities were always free, or practically free”
Do you not recall the bursary system?.
There are, of course, various important conditions governing such matters as eligibility and tenure; for detailed information, reference should be made to the University Bursaries Regulations 1962. The following summary will, however, serve to illustrate the general purpose and nature of the bursaries.
1 Fees Bursary: This is, in general, available to all students who hold the University Entrance qualification or the Endorsed School Certificate. The bursary is tenable for the minimum period of time in which the student, pursuing his course full time, could complete that course. It provides for the payment of full tuition fees.
2 Fees and Allowances Bursary: This is available to students who have qualified for the Higher School Certificate. In addition, students who in their first year of tenure of a fees bursary have been credited with passes in three units of an arts or science degree or their equivalent may then become entitled to the fees and allowances bursary. The bursary provides for the payment of full tuition fees and a bursary allowance increasing from £40 in the first year to £100 in the fourth or any subsequent year. It is tenable for the minimum period required for the bachelor’s course.
3 Master’s Bursary: Students who have completed a bachelor’s degree course in not more than one year in excess of the minimum period and who wish to take a master’s degree may be awarded a master’s bursary for this purpose. The bursary is awarded for one year, with provision for extension. The value is the same as for the fourth and subsequent years of the fees and allowances bursary.
The tenure of all these bursaries is dependent on the continued satisfactory progress of the student bursar, and there is provision in the regulations referred to above for suspension, reinstatement, and termination of any bursary.
No, I hadn’t forgotten them.
I was a recipient of that largesse. However Sanctuary described the Universities as having always been near free and then quoted numbers from 1912 which didn’t look anything like that.
It was a great deal easier to do such things in the 50s and 60s. Vic had about 3,000 students when I was originally there and there were probably only about 15,000 in the whole country. A lot of the courses, law for example, were part time.
This appears to be a reply to me.
Can you tell me what the relevance of 1977 is and who you are talking about when you say “We will see who is right.”.
The government needs to make sweeping reforms to the media so apologists for the 1% like Lynch, Roughan, Hosking, Moir, Garner, Soper, du Plessis Allen, etc have 1% of the airtime.
Roughan only has a job because he says what the owner of NZME want the public of NZ to hear.
He is a tool for the 1%.
The owners of NZME
‘he JMAD New Zealand media ownership report 2016 observes that New Zealand media institutions are facing major changes in ownership and management, but it is not clear what combinations will eventually emerge.
For the first time in six years, New Zealand media companies are exclusively owned by financial institutions. ’
Leaving aside Roughan’s twitterings, it’s my personal observation that during the period in the 80’s NZ Universities went through the transition from ‘virtually free’ to ‘fee paying’ they began to become less attractive places.
Specifically academic staff could no longer treat students purely on merit, but had to incorporate some awareness that their own salaries were now linked in some manner to their ‘clients’ success.
That and the disaster that was ‘continuous assessment’ which greatly diminished the social and intellectual life of the place … has placed our Universities on a path of decreasing global value.
Having actually lived and worked in Russia for a short period I rather wish the West would grow out of this pointless Russophobia. Ordinary Russians are a fine people pretty much just like the rest of us.
As with China, with Russia there are different political and philosophical variants in play that we need to be intelligent and discriminating about engaging with. But ultimately the West is far better served by working towards rapprochement than a reflexive isolation.
Ordinary Russians are fine people, as are ordinary Chinese, most ordinary Americans, ordinary Indians etc.
But the elites that hold the levers of power are different, and they operate in different ways. Best not to be naive about how cunning and malicious they can be in service of their long term interests.
So far as I can tell, they operate the same way in every country: with a very high degree of impunity. Once again, ethnicity has nothing to do with it.
Looking at the two pieces by Lynch and Moir again it is the relentless one-sidedness of them that is so obvious.
There is no attempt at a balanced assessment of these potential National Party leaders. No hint of the stench of corruption that hangs around Collins, or Bridge’s politicking with 10 (no) bridges for Northland, Coleman’s incompetence, any evidence of what Kaye has actually achieved and so on.
Personally I don’t care who they choose as obviously I’m not impressed with any of them and out of that lot whomever they choose will make the government look better.
Lynch:
He (Bridges) had an aggressive start to this Parliamentary term, turning the House upside down and showing Labour who is boss on the opening day. The symbolism of the show of force he exerted by making the Government question its numbers while trying to do a procedural election of a Speaker is that he is ready to take them on.
Yep, we get it. As Ed says, you think Simon is amazing.
He’s had a succession of good jobs and none of his ministerial portfolios have caused him any grief.
They’ve caused us some grief though. Building largely pointless motorways and not investing in ways to build a sustainable transport system that’s not so harmful to the environment and get more huge trucks off our over-stressed roading system has been a successful approach.
He had a regular head-to-head slot with Jacinda Ardern on morning television in his early days, so he’s proven he can match her.
At what? Appearing on morning TV?
And ever since then, like the Crown prosecutor he is by trade, he is building a compelling case.
Was he any good?
Just 12 months later he’s found himself on the Opposition benches and has launched a series of blistering attacks on the new Government, whether in the House, through brutally worded press releases or by baiting Ministers on social media.
Beneath the Brylcreem exterior lurks a nasty piece of work (much like Key).
Judith Collins – Remains a total threat, performing incredibly in Opposition.
Really? Oh, I get it. Judith is amazing too.
Amy Adams – The former Justice Minister has already landed some solid strikes on the new Government and has been given portfolios that will continue to hit where it hurts – particularly Workplace Relations. Her move on Paid Parental Leave was a masterstroke.
Masterstroke? Or just empty posturing and duplicitious points-scoring?
Paula Bennett – The job seemed hers a while ago, but at the moment, the desire doesn’t seem to be there. She seems happy taking a back seat after losing the Deputy Prime Minister spot.
Wonder why?
Nikki Kaye – Represents the future and is National’s face of Auckland. She’s also beaten Jacinda Ardern twice in Auckland Central.
One is now the PM the other an opposition MP who doesn’t seem to have achieved much.
Steven Joyce – He rose rapidly through the ranks and has done pretty much everything but.
Done pretty much everything just not very well.
Moir:
The party says it wants English in the leadership and many are still sore about how much of the vote they won and it not being enough to keep them in Government.
So they are delusional and still don’t understand MMP then. Great credentials for party that wants to govern again.
Some have taken to Opposition like a duck to water with the likes of Nikki Kaye and Judith Collins barking at everything passing by them.
Like dogs chasing cars, that’s smart.
Kaye and Bridges have been tag teaming as they create chaos for Education Minister and Leader of the House Chris Hipkins and tertiary spokesman Paul Goldsmith, almost invisible in Government, seems to be basking in his newfound Opposition freedom.
Create chaos? Really? And Goldsmith was useless as a minister but good in opposition? Yep that’s the right way round.
Both Collins and Bridges are class acts in Opposition – they’re fast on their feet and they’ve both got a bit of pitbull in them.
Class acts? Seriously, Oriveda Collins? Pitbull? Collins maybe but Bridges seems more like a yappy little terrier, one of those brainless dogs that runs along a residential front fenceline yapping at you as you walk past.
Kaye is ambitious and can dine out on the fact she beat the hugely popular Ardern in the Auckland Central seat twice.
So what? How long will this keep getting trotted out?
Coleman wouldn’t have any qualms about giving it another crack but he’s going to have to school up fast on how Opposition works.
Pity he didn’t school up on being a minister. This is the guy that ran down our health system and was pretty much a disaster as health minister.
Then there’s Amy Adams. She’s smart – don’t forget she got given just about every portfolio there was in the last government, given how competent she is.
Maybe because the others were so useless but at least she didn’t drop the ball like so many of them.
Did Lynch ask Collins orBridges to ghost write the article for her?
Trevett’s article is ghastly too. These people cannot be called journalists.
We do not have a democratic media. We have one owned by financial institutions who have a message they want the NZ public to hear. And they own some willing narcissistic puppets ( Lynch, Moir, Hosking, Garner, Roughan, du Plessis-Allan, Soper, Street, Tame) happy to peddle their lies.
I agree these people are undermining democracy Ed. I get frustratef when if you criticise someone like Hosking for some rant on TV you are told that he’s entitled to his opinion and if you don’t like it then don’t watch/listen.
That would be valid if we had a healthy media presenting balanced points of view encouraging vigorous debate. But we don’t. We have a biased media following what seems to be an orchestrated plan to present information and opinion from a very narrow perspective with very specific messages.
And when the media is owned by interests who benefit from spreading those messages then I dont know how we reform it.
Having a viable, independent public broadcasting service would be a start.
We can’t ‘reform’ the media. Constitutionalism as we know it doesn’t allow that. What we do have are more and more sources of information about the things which touch us, and the opportunity to publicly lampoon. Those aghast at “social media” are lamenting their loss of control that’s all…….there’s no morality to it. It’s money/vainglory. Poor stressed darlings.
+++
A great line-by-line audit! What if TS started a regular page like this… like BLiP’s list, it could make an archive of what already looks and quacks like an orchestrated litany.
You mean the way they refer to whites as ‘European’? But of course, clearly in your eyes, only whites are racist.
Strangely enough, we refer to them as ‘Asian’ because they inhabit the continent of Asia.
[TheStandard: A moderator moved this comment to Open Mike as being off topic or irrelevant in the post it was made in. Be more careful in future.]
[there was nothing in CV’s comment to suggest that he believes only whites are racist. Your supposition/accusation is exactly the kind of inflammatory comment that leads to reactionary threads. If you disagree with the points someone has made, then address those points. Don’t make shit up about what they are saying. – weka]
Way in the distant past I had a go at Fran O’Sullivan in very strong terms. Well time passes and we all change:
As Luxon said, “We will all get the country — the environment, the society and the economy — we all deserve.
“Building a sustainable and better New Zealand is a cause well worth putting all our collective efforts and energy behind as business leaders working together with government and community leaders.
“Fundamentally, business needs a strong society and society needs strong business. The two are intrinsically linked and mutually reinforcing.”
My truck purring when I found the radiator cap loose this had caused the bearing in the water pump to wear out and the temperature to spike I put black pepper in radiator to stop the bearing leaking and when I changed the water pump I found a hose clip on the bottom of the radiator lose it was finger tight
What the______. Now you people that are doing this shit why don’t you act like real Men and stop getting contracted lies whom are exactly like Frank Gallagher from the TV show Shamles who will say anything for there next drink and hit of pee real Men would arrested me and take me to court and try and confirm Your contracted lies To the hole WORLD. O THAT’S right I’m not human in your eyes Im just a Criminal Maori Iv got a good story that will piss the gisborne man off tomorrow. Kia kaha
The NZ media is totally owned by financial institutions.
This means that people relying on the NZ corporate media have no idea of what is going on in the world of economics.
They have no idea of the elite’s plan for the next financial crisis. Media and neo-liberal Governments are conspiring against their citizens in this.
The comeback of the last eight years is artificial. A crisis of even greater proportions is imminent.
Read James Rickards, Steve Keen and other independent economists.
Ignore the Herald and other media puppets of the finance industry.
Many thanks to Ngai Tahu IWI for choseing the right person for the job to lead there IWI into there bright and prosperous future who is a Maori Lady Lisa Tumahai Ka pai. My IWI have close historical ties to them and Maori always respect OUR Lady’s this changed with colonialism. Kia Kaha
I agree that there is only one race, the human race. But you say racism isn’t about race, a statement which I would imagine many people would dismiss as cloud cuckoo land stuff. (and who could blame them)
If as you stated you agree that having a shared understanding of what racism is is important and a good starting point, then perhaps you need to stop trying to change the definition that most people understand and know in order to have a definition that better suits your own opinions on racism, which are definitely not in line with the majority of people. (In my opinion)
So are you implying when you say it’s about culture and ethnicity, that a person can be a racist about a culture (amongst other things) rather than a race ??
So as an example. If I was to say that I believe female genital mutilation is a barbaric practice and I think those cultures within which such a thing is practiced should be made to abolish it. Certainly it should be made clear that it is forbidden in our country regardless of how ‘multi-cultural’ we are. Any culture which permits such a thing as far as I’m concerned is backward, uncivilized and needs to evolve.
Is that a racist statement?? (No)
By the way for those here that think Canada is a beacon of progressive success. They have their ‘multi-culturalism’ enshrined in law and according to Mr Trudeau, to criticize a culture for practicing female genital mutilation would be offensive to that culture and criminal because it is part of someone’s culture, therefore is beyond reproach and somehow acceptable. This s how warped ‘progressive’ (more like regressive) thinking is becoming. Any normal, caring, human being with any common sense would say that there are things about other cultures which are simply not acceptable in our civilized, secular, modern , ‘progressive’ society and would put their own culture ahead of that which practices such things, especially when it is that other culture coming to our country.
Dislike of, criticism of, or even complete disregard of any particular culture due to unacceptable (to any normal moral person) things, that are acceptable within that culture, are perfectly legitimate positions to take should a person choose to do so and they in no way mean that person is a racist. Not standing up for what is right for fear of offending someone or hurting their feelings about their cultural barbarity’s is a cowardly position to take.
“..it can also be unconscious…” I’ve heard this nonsense floating around, what an unbelievable claim to make. If this were true then how could anyone ever even know they were a racist, let alone stop being racist?? Maybe the ‘unconscious’ thought police could manage such a thing. Racism is something that requires conscious thought, decision making and/or action. If racism could be unconscious then for all we know, you, me and every person on the planet could be racist, it could be part of our DNA and none of us would even know it about ourselves.
(yes I know that there are tests which suggest such a phenomenon, but for every test there are plenty of experts who rubbish the methodologies and claims)
Regardless of what you think should or shouldn’t happen Weka, you can’t just redefine words to suit your worldview. The way some people throw around words like racist at pretty much anyone who brings up anything about the Chinese or Asians or any ‘non-white’ foreigners is a disgrace in my opinion. It simply cheapens the word, insults those victims of real racism and diminishes the seriousness of real racism. Some of the things you cry racism at are nothing of the sort.
I’ve lost count of the times I’ve been accused of making a racist statement for things such as simply stating an observable fact. ‘Racist’, ‘Nazi’, ‘Facist’, etc are all terms increasingly used to try and shut down discussions and debates when unable to make rational counter arguments.
It seems many people still, no matter how much information they are given, haven’t figured out why Trump won.
[TheStandard: A moderator moved this comment to Open Mike as being off topic or irrelevant in the post it was made in. Be more careful in future.]
“But you say racism isn’t about race, a statement which I would imagine many people would dismiss as cloud cuckoo land stuff. (and who could blame them)”
You’re on a progressive political blog. There’s an expectation here that people get themselves up to speed on political concepts. That race doesn’t exist but racism does is neither new nor unknown. It’s a common enough idea amongst the left irrespective of whether one agrees with it or not. As I’ve said elsewhere, semantics don’t serve us very well when dealing with racism in the real world. Better to work with concept and ideas that are being used by people in their lives.
I’m not trying to change the definition of racism, I’m sharing opinion based on the various definitions of racism that exist independent of me. I’m not making this stuff up. If you are unfamiliar with it I suggest googling racism 101.
The rest of your comment is pretty far off topic especially given you are basically denying the existence of systemic racism, which is in part what the post was about. So I’m moving this one to Open Mike.
What on earth does this mean?’There’s an expectation here that people get themselves up to speed on political concepts.’-concept
ˈkɒnsɛpt/Submit
noun
plural noun: concepts
an abstract idea.
“structuralism is a difficult concept”
synonyms: idea, notion, conception, abstraction, conceptualization; More
a plan or intention.
As one grey to another, thanks for this. Very informative and helped join some dots for me. There were some very relevant echoes to our situation and it reinforced that what we’re up against is a global issue.
Thanks Grey. I get good background and reliable info here, enough to keep me informed on what is actually happening, and reciprocate. I feel we all have to be grown up birds looking for our own fodder and fly from the comforting RW nest instead of sitting there with our beaks open waiting for propaganda birds to drop in morsels they regurgitate for the dependent flock.
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On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
Buzz from the Beehive China has loomed large in Beehive considerations over the past 24 hours, largely because of that country’s mischief-making in the cyber espionage department. Two media statements emerged on that subject hard on the heels of the PM baulking at questions put to him on RNZ’s Morning ...
Chris Trotter writes – WHY IS THE NATIONAL PARTY doing so much for landlords, property developers, trucking, and construction companies, and so little for everybody who isn’t already pretty well-off? It’s as if protecting landlords’ investments and building apartments and roads now constitute the whole of National’s ...
Bryce Edwards writes – When she was campaigning to be Minister of Finance last year, Nicola Willis pledged that she would resign from the job if she failed to deliver tax cuts in her first Budget. Now, it’s that pledge, along with Prime Minister Christopher Luxon’s ...
Robert MacCulloch writes – The Reserve Bank has doubled staff numbers in five years to 510, with personnel costs rising to $80 million in 2023 from $32 million in 2018 – up by a whopping 150%. I guess when you print $50 billion and flood markets with liquidity, ...
The furore. In case you didn’t notice there was a controversy in the weekend involving dolphins in a little town off the South Island. Don’t panic, they haven’t declared independence and resumed whaling, this was simply a sailing event.The problem began when racing was cancelled on the opening day of ...
For 20 years or more, the case for a meaningful capital tax gains has been mulled over and analysed to death, including by the tax working group chaired by Sir Michael Cullen. More than once, the International Monetary Fund has said a CGT would be a good idea for New ...
TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: The Public Health Communications Centre (PHCC) call for urgent preventive action and a risk assessment survey of long covid in this briefing noteLocal scoop: NZ road deaths surpass OECD rates, so why is the govt reversing safety plans? ...
This story was originally published by Grist and is part of Covering Climate Now, a global journalism collaboration strengthening coverage of the climate story. This story is part of a collaboration with Grist and WABE to demystify the Georgia Public Service Commission, the small but powerful state-elected board that makes critical decisions about everything from raising ...
This is a guest post from Robert McLachlan Global warming is accelerating; 2023 was off the charts. We need to stop burning fossil fuels. In New Zealand, transport accounts for half of all fossil fuels burnt. In the Emissions Reduction Plan, transport emissions fall 41% by 2035. As the ...
Labour productivity has been receding rapidly over the past two years, reversing a post-lockdown rise. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: My six things to note in Aotearoa’s political economy as at 6:26am on Tuesday, March 26 include:Workers have been treading water in output per hour worked for 12 years, ...
TL;DR: The key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to April 2 include:Today, Parliament resumes sitting at 2pm for the second week of a two-week session. Officials for SIS and GCSB report their annual reviews in public to the Intelligence and Security Select Committee from 5.10pm.Tomorrow, ...
Faced with a barrage of criticism over the promised tax cuts from usually supportive commentators, Finance Minister Nicola Willis yesterday reaffirmed her intention to include them in this year’s Budget. The Government is up against it over the cuts just about every way it turns. Commentators like Fran O’Sullivan, Matthew ...
Here’s my pick of today’s substack posts as of 6:26pm on Monday, March 25: writes via his substack that Market-rate housing will make your city cheaper writes via his substack about the problems talking to double-cab ute (truck) drivers about their vehicles. today about moments of radicalisation in ...
Buzz from the Beehive Just before Christmas, Finance Minister Nicola Willis delivered something that was pitched as a mini-budget and brayed about the decisive action being taken to repair the Government books and support income tax relief in Budget 2024. In a statement headed Fiscal repair job underway. she introduced ...
My sister Belinda asked Dad yesterday what one word would describe Mum best. He said: vivacious.If you only knew her from the photos on the slideshow we've made for today,you might wonder about that, because the camera tended to lie with Mum.If ever she saw a camera pointed at her, she ...
There are two major public consultations closing in the next week, Auckland Council’s Long Term Plan (LTP), and the draft Government Policy Statement on Land Transport (GPS). Closing dates and times: LTP closes Thursday 28 February, at 11.59pm – a minute to midnight! GPS closes Tuesday 2 April, at 12pm noon – note that’s ...
From Kiwiblog’s David Farrar – Bryce Wilkinson writes: Senior Fellow Bryce Wilkinson’s analysis reveals that since March 2009, New Zealand has spent $158 billion more overseas than it has earned, but its NIIP has only fallen by $32 billion.Statistics New Zealand shows that receipts from overseas reinsurers have ...
Is she hinting that the Coalition Government will have to back down on key promises it made in Opposition? Brian Easton writes – The Minister of Finance, Nicola Willis, is telling an evolving story about her fiscal challenges. In Opposition she was confident that she could ...
Dear Nicola Willis,Right now you’ve probably got lots of competing demands coming at you. Ministers who’ve inherited quite a mess, or so you’ve told us, looking for money in the budget to improve things. I imagine that’s why they came to parliament - to make things better.You’ll have to make ...
The Local Government, Transport and Auckland Minister hasthreatened councils with intervention if they don’t merge water assets to take them off balance sheet, just as the now-repealed Three Waters plan directed. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: My six things of note this morning for Monday, March 25 include:Simeon ...
A listing of 36 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 17, 2024 thru Sat, March 23, 2024. Story of the week Thanks to John Mason having the stamina to sit down to watch "Climate - the Movie" ...
This morning the Q&A programme had Simeon Brown on to talk about National’s replacement for Three Waters. In case anyone’s forgotten the three are - drinking water, waste water, and sewerage. It’s quite important not to get them mixed up. In much the same way that you wouldn’t want to ...
Today’s newsletter comes with a mini-podcast conversation between me and my buddy Liv Tennet, talking about her time as a child actor in Lord of the Rings. It’s a conversation with a lot of giggles as she talks about falling off a horse, and becoming a meme. Read ...
The Desmog Climate Disinformation Database documents, "individuals and organisations that have helped to delay and distract the public and our elected leaders from taking needed action to reduce greenhouse gas pollution and fight global warming." It's a who's who of the organised climate change denial movement, in other words. In ...
Bob Edlin writes – A High Court judge has decided miscreants who have mana – or who claim to have mana – should be treated differently from miscreants who have none. It’s a ruling that suggests indigenous law-breakers have a better chance of securing a discharge without conviction ...
Welcome to the first, and possibly last, edition of Brickbats, Bouquets and Bull’s Wool. In which I’ll take a look at the events of the last week or so, and rate them.In such ratings the numbers usually have more to do with the opinions of the reviewer, than the actual ...
Roger Partridge writes – My earlier column this month, New Zealand’s highest court could be facing a turning point, prompted a flood of feedback from business readers and lawyers alike. A common query was what Parliament can do to restrain an overreaching judiciary. This week I discuss two steps Parliament ...
TL;DR: In today’s ‘six-stack’ of substacks at 6.16pm on Friday, March 22: writes about New Zealand's Building Boom—And What the World Must Learn From It over at his substack. challenges the Auckland Council’s use of a 3.8 degrees of warming forecast to oppose a wave-park and data centre project ...
Is she hinting that the Coalition Government will have to back down on key promises it made in Opposition?The Minister of Finance, Nicola Willis, is telling an evolving story about her fiscal challenges. In Opposition she was confident that she could deliver her promised income tax cuts. Appointed minister, she ...
Buzz from the Beehive Ministers of the Crown have drawn attention to one sector of the science sector which is unlikely to be subjected to heavy spending cuts, a state-funded broadcaster which is doing nicely, thank you, and a sporting event that had $5.4 million from the public purse puffed ...
Abbott’s Freestyle Libre sensors allow continuous glucose monitoring (CGM). The sensor is applied to the back of the patient’s arm, with a thin filament under the skin measuring glucose levels constantly. But it costs around $100 per sensor and must be replaced once every 14 days. Photo by BSIP/Universal Images ...
The Inspector General of Intelligence and Security (IGIS) recently released a report in which he exposes the existence of a foreign intelligence partner-controlled technological “capability” inside the headquarters of the GCSB, NZ’s 5 Eyes-affiliated signals intelligence collection and analysis agency. … Continue reading → ...
Peter Dunne writes – Nearly three decades after the introduction of MMP and multiparty governments there should be a greater level of understanding about their finer points than often appears to be the case. The reaction to the despicable outburst from the Deputy Prime Minister at the weekend highlights ...
The sweet kisses from fruit of summerHave slowly been turning dullerYou say, "those times"And "remember the daysWhen we went outside and there still was the shade?"Taking no reason into play…Autumn. Clear, blue days shortening to longer nights, growing colder. Aotearoa.That’s us. The temperature dropping, the looming car crash - so ...
Bryce Edwards writes – “It is often said that behind every great man is a great woman”. This is the pitch by the National Party Botany electorate branch to attend their “Ladies Afternoon Tea with Amanda Luxon”. For $110 including GST, you can turn up on Saturday 20 April ...
David Farrar writes – The Electoral Commission has published the expense returns for political parties for the 2023 election. I’ve put them in a table with how many votes a party got so we can see the spend per vote. National only spent $3.34 for every vote they got, almost ...
Winston Peters’ headline-making actions over the past week may have been a show of political power intended to strengthen his hand in Budget negotiations. It was no accident that his State of the Nation speech was as it was. He made it as New Zealand First Leader, not as Deputy ...
Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the last week included:Former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson bowed out of politics this week, giving a series of exit ...
Graham Adams writes — If you love the law or sausages, as the saying goes, best not to look too closely at how they are made. And after watching the orgy of self-pity when Newshub’s closure was announced on February 28, television journalism should definitely be added to the list of those ...
Venerable New Zealand political commentator, Chris Trotter (https://bowalleyroad.blogspot.com/), is a sad creature these days. Once one of the most reliable Leftist writers out there – Economic Left at that – Trotter seems to have absorbed the worldview of Auckland culture-war obsessives. It is not for me to categorise what he ...
The cruelty of short-term memory loss is that each time you ask where she is, you get the fresh shock and grief of the news. That was Dad's day yesterday.Comfortingly, it seems to be less so today. Last night he looked crumpled, today he seems more settled. There's a card ...
Photo by Alvan Nee on UnsplashIt’s that new day of the week (Thursday rather than Friday) when and I co-host our ‘hoon’ webinar with paying subscribers to The Kākā for an hour at 5 pm. Jump on this link on YouTube Livestream for our chat about the week’s news ...
Buzz from the Beehive One minister is talking tough while a colleague – whose ministry had acted tough and drawn a barrage of flak – has shown an official softening. Some ministers are doing what Labour was good at, which is distributing public funds to causes regarded as worthy or ...
A ballot for 4 Member's Bills was held today, and the following bills were drawn: Insurance Contracts Bill (Duncan Webb) Income Tax (Clean Transport FBT Exclusion) Amendment Bill (Julie Anne Genter) Crimes (Increased Penalties for Slavery Offences) Amendment Bill (Greg Fleming) Pae Ora (Healthy Futures) ...
The Coalition Government’s plan to ‘get Auckland moving’ is a cuts cover-up that will ultimately cost Aucklanders more to move around the city, says Labour Auckland Issues spokesperson Shanan Halbert. ...
Slashing the Ministry of Pacific Peoples by 40% will have a devastating impact on pacific communities and further highlights how little this government cares about anything other than cutting taxes for the wealthiest few. ...
Labour has proposed an urgent inquiry to investigate the ever-increasing profits of supermarkets, aiming to lower costs for shoppers and food producers alike, says Labour Spokesperson for Commerce and Consumer Affairs Arena Williams and Primary Production Spokesperson Cushla Tangaere-Manuel. ...
With 14% of jobs on the line at the Ministry for Ethnic Communities, the responsible Minister Melissa Lee is failing to stand up for the very communities she’s meant to be representing. ...
COURT OF APPEAL: TRIFECTA OF VICTORY FOR NZ FIRST, TRIFECTA OF FAILURE FOR OPPONENTS For the third time since April 2020, New Zealand First has defeated the Serious Fraud Office and all those complicit in a malicious attack against a political party going about its lawful business in a lawful ...
The Green Party stands with people who live in public housing, people in dire housing need, experts and advocates in demanding better than the Government’s archaic approach to housing those who need our support the most. ...
New Zealand has recently lost the hosting rights of some major international sporting events including the America’s Cup, the Rugby Championship, Netball World Cup, and the Wellington Sevens. We are now at a huge risk of losing SailGP as well. And it won’t stop there. The recent issues with SailGP ...
A Member’s Bill drawn this week would modernise insurance law and make things fairer and more transparent for consumers, Christchurch Central MP Duncan Webb said. ...
The Minister for Disability Issues has confirmed she was aware of funding issues in mid-December and did nothing to stop it. On 14 March, she signed off on changes that were announced and implemented on 18 March without any consultation with disability communities. ...
Green Party MP Julie Anne Genter says her members' bill is an opportunity for the coalition government to plug the gap in electric vehicle incentives. ...
The National Government continues to talk about irresponsible tax cuts that will only drive up inflation, despite the country entering a technical recession. ...
The Minister for Disability Issues must act urgently to reinstate flexibility around the funding for disability support and apologise to disabled carers. ...
This story has been initiated by a leftie shill reporter who proactively sought to call a member of a former band, which disbanded twelve years ago, give their biased appraisal of what was said in my speech, and concocted a ham-fisted attempt at a story that does nothing but show ...
The Government has accepted Labour’s change to the Road User Charge (RUC) discount for hybrid vehicles, meaning there will still be some incentive for people to buy greener vehicles. ...
Many in the mainstream media have taken what was said in New Zealand First’s State of the Nation Speech in Palmerston North on Sunday and deliberately, deceitfully, and ignorantly misrepresented what I said and why I said it. The headlines and commentary on the news stated that I compared ‘co-governance ...
Kicking the most vulnerable people out of state housing and pushing them towards homelessness will result in a proliferation of poverty and trauma across our most vulnerable communities. ...
Te Pāti Māori co-leader and MP for Waiariki, Rawiri Waititi has penned a letter asking MPs to support his members bill to remove GST from all food. The bill is expected to go through its first reading in parliament this Wednesday. “I’m calling on all political parties to support my ...
Good afternoon. Thank you for, in your very busy lives, turning up to this meeting today. On October 14th last year New Zealanders overwhelmingly voted for change. That is exactly what this new government is bringing. New Zealand First campaigned to ‘take back our country’ and stop the disastrous economic ...
This year is about getting real with Kiwis and discussing the tough issues, as the National Government exacerbates inequality and divides New Zealand, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said ...
The Government adding Significant Natural Areas (SNAs) to its already roaring environmental policy bonfire is an assault on the future of wildlife that makes Aotearoa unique. ...
After 12 years of fighting to protect our moana we are finding ourselves back at square one and back at court. Today, the Environmental Protection Agency is sitting in Hawera to reconsider an application from Trans-Tasman Resources to dig up 50 million tonnes of the seabed in South Taranaki. This ...
Minister Shane Jones’ decision to step away from a seabed mining project is evidence of the murky waters surrounding the Government’s fast-track legislation. ...
The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last government in a bid to get greater coherence in the publicservice on Treaty matters. When ministers first considered the need for tighter oversight in 2021, there ...
The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last government in a bid to get greater coherence in the publicservice on Treaty matters. When ministers first considered the need for tighter oversight in 2021, there ...
The Coalition Government’s miscalculation saga continues as it has forgotten an eyewatering $90 million gap in its interest deductibility cost figures, say Labour Finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds and Revenue Spokesperson Deborah Russell. ...
He Pou a Rangi Climate Change Commission has today released advice that says if the Government doesn’t act now New Zealand is at risk of not meeting its climate goals. ...
The Coalition Government has today confirmed it is abandoning first home buyers who are struggling to get ahead, says Labour Finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds. ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed the passing of legislation to move light electric vehicles (EVs) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) into the road user charges system from 1 April. “It was always intended that EVs and PHEVs would be exempt from road user charges until they reached two ...
New Zealand is strengthening its ability to combat illegal fishing outside its domestic waters and beef up regulation for its own commercial fishers in international waters through a Bill which had its first reading in Parliament today. The Fisheries (International Fishing and Other Matters) Amendment Bill 2023 sets out stronger ...
Economists Carl Hansen and Professor Prasanna Gai have been appointed to the Reserve Bank Monetary Policy Committee, Finance Minister Nicola Willis announced today. The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) is the independent decision-making body that sets the Official Cash Rate which determines interest rates. Carl Hansen, the executive director of Capital ...
Apartment owners and buyers will soon have greater protections as further changes to the law on unit titles come into effect, Housing Minister Chris Bishop says. “The Unit Titles (Strengthening Body Corporate Governance and Other Matters) Amendment Act had already introduced some changes in December 2022 and May 2023, and ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters will travel to Egypt and Europe from this weekend. “This travel will focus on a range of New Zealand’s traditional diplomatic and security partnerships while enabling broad engagement on the urgent situation in Gaza,” Mr Peters says. Mr Peters will attend the NATO Foreign ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown is encouraging all road users to stay safe, plan their journeys ahead of time, and be patient with other drivers while travelling around this Easter long weekend. “Road safety is a responsibility we all share, and with increased traffic on our roads expected this Easter we ...
About 1.4 million New Zealanders will receive cost of living relief through increased government assistance from April 1 909,000 pensioners get a boost to Superannuation, including 5000 veterans 371,000 working-age beneficiaries will get higher payments 45,000 students will see an increase in their allowance Over a quarter of New Zealanders ...
Ensuring social housing is being provided to those with the greatest needs is front of mind as the Government restarts social housing tenancy reviews, Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka says. “Our relentless focus on building a strong economy is to ensure we can deliver better public services such as social ...
The Kermadec Ocean Sanctuary will not go ahead, with Cabinet deciding to stop work on the proposed reserve and remove the Bill that would have established it from Parliament’s order paper. “The Kermadec Ocean Sanctuary Bill would have created a 620,000 sq km economic no-go zone,” Oceans and Fisheries Minister ...
Dam safety regulations are being amended so that smaller dams won’t be subject to excessive compliance costs, Minister for Building and Construction Chris Penk says. “The coalition Government is focused on reducing costs and removing unnecessary red tape so we can get the economy back on track. “Dam safety regulations ...
The coalition Government is expanding the medium-scale adverse event classification to parts of the North Island as dry weather conditions persist, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced today. “I have made the decision to expand the medium-scale adverse event classification already in place for parts of the South Island to also cover the ...
The passing of legislation giving effect to coalition Government tax commitments has been welcomed by Finance Minister Nicola Willis. “The Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill will help place New Zealand on a more secure economic footing, improve outcomes for New Zealanders, and make our tax system ...
Science, Innovation and Technology Minister Judith Collins and Tertiary Education and Skills Minister Penny Simmonds today announced plans to transform our science and university sectors to boost the economy. Two advisory groups, chaired by Professor Sir Peter Gluckman, will advise the Government on how these sectors can play a greater ...
The Budget will deliver urgently-needed tax relief to hard-working New Zealanders while putting the government’s finances back on a sustainable track, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The Finance Minister made the comments at the release of the Budget Policy Statement setting out the Government’s Budget objectives. “The coalition Government intends ...
The coalition Government will look at options to address a zoning issue that limits how much financial support Queenstown residents can get for accommodation. Cabinet has agreed on a response to the Petitions Committee, which had recommended the geographic information MSD uses to determine how much accommodation supplement can be ...
Cabinet has agreed to a short extension to the final reporting timeframe for the Royal Commission into Abuse in Care from 28 March 2024 to 26 June 2024, Internal Affairs Minister Brooke van Velden says. “The Royal Commission wrote to me on 16 February 2024, requesting that I consider an ...
The coalition Government is delivering an $18 million boost to New Zealanders needing to travel for specialist health treatment, Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says. “These changes are long overdue – the National Travel Assistance (NTA) scheme saw its last increase to mileage and accommodation rates way back in 2009. ...
The Government is recognising the innovative and rising talent in New Zealand’s growing space sector, with the Prime Minister and Space Minister Judith Collins announcing the new Prime Minister’s Prizes for Space today. “New Zealand has a growing reputation as a high-value partner for space missions and research. I am ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has confirmed New Zealand’s concerns about cyber activity have been conveyed directly to the Chinese Government. “The Prime Minister and Minister Collins have expressed concerns today about malicious cyber activity, attributed to groups sponsored by the Chinese Government, targeting democratic institutions in both New ...
Independent Reviewers appointed for School Property Inquiry Education Minister Erica Stanford today announced the appointment of three independent reviewers to lead the Ministerial Inquiry into the Ministry of Education’s School Property Function. The Inquiry will be led by former Minister of Foreign Affairs Murray McCully. “There is a clear need ...
State Highway 1 across the Brynderwyns will be open for Easter weekend, with work currently underway to ensure the resilience of this critical route being paused for Easter Weekend to allow holiday makers to travel north, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Today I visited the Brynderwyn Hills construction site, where ...
Introduction Good morning to you all, and thanks for having me bright and early today. I am absolutely delighted to be the Minister for Infrastructure alongside the Minister of Housing and Resource Management Reform. I know the Prime Minister sees the three roles as closely connected and he wants me ...
New Zealand stands with the United Kingdom in its condemnation of People’s Republic of China (PRC) state-backed malicious cyber activity impacting its Electoral Commission and targeting Members of the UK Parliament. “The use of cyber-enabled espionage operations to interfere with democratic institutions and processes anywhere is unacceptable,” Minister Responsible for ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters and Defence Minister Judith Collins today announced New Zealand will provide logistics support for the upcoming Solomon Islands election. “We’re sending a team of New Zealand Defence Force personnel and two NH90 helicopters to provide logistics support for the election on 17 April, at the request ...
The European Union Free Trade Agreement Legislation Amendment Bill received Royal Assent today, completing the process for New Zealand’s ratification of its free trade agreement with the European Union. “I am pleased to announce that today, in a small ceremony at the Beehive, New Zealand notified the European Union ...
Public consultation on the terms of reference for the Royal Commission into COVID-19 Lessons has concluded, Internal Affairs Minister Hon Brooke van Velden says. “I have been advised that there were over 11,000 submissions made through the Royal Commission’s online consultation portal.” Expanding the scope of the Royal Commission of ...
Hardworking families are set to benefit from a new credit to help them meet their early childcare education (ECE) costs, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. From 1 July, parents and caregivers of young children will be supported to manage the rising cost of living with a partial reimbursement of their ...
A specialised Independent Technical Advisory Group (ITAG) tasked with preparing and publishing independent non-binding advice on the design of a "green" (sustainable finance) taxonomy rulebook is being established, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. “Comprising experts and market participants, the ITAG's primary goal is to deliver comprehensive recommendations to the ...
Defence Minister Judith Collins has thanked the Chief of Army, Major General John Boswell, DSD, for his service as he leaves the Army after 40 years. “I would like to thank Major General Boswell for his contribution to the Army and the wider New Zealand Defence Force, undertaking many different ...
25 March 2024 Minister to meet Australian counterparts and Manufacturing Industry Leaders Small Business, Manufacturing, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly will travel to Australia for a series of bi-lateral meetings and manufacturing visits. During the visit, Minister Bayly will meet with his Australian counterparts, Senator Tim Ayres, Ed ...
Government commits almost $3 million for period products in schools The Coalition Government has committed $2.9 million to ensure intermediate and secondary schools continue providing period products to those who need them, Minister of Education Erica Stanford announced today. “This is an issue of dignity and ensuring young women don’t ...
Good morning, it’s great to be here. First, I would like to acknowledge the New Zealand Institute of Building Surveyors and thank you for the opportunity to be here this morning. I would like to use this opportunity to outline the Government’s ambitious plan and what we hope to ...
Minister for Pacific Peoples Dr Shane Reti has announced the Government’s commitment to the Auckland Secondary Schools Māori and Pacific Islands Cultural Festival, more commonly known as Polyfest. “The Ministry for Pacific Peoples is a longtime supporter of Polyfest and, as it celebrates 49 years in 2024, I’m proud to ...
Before moving onto the substance of today’s address, I want to recognise the very significant and ongoing contribution the Breast Cancer Foundation makes to support the lives of New Zealand women and their families living with breast cancer. I very much enjoy working with you. I also want to recognise ...
New Zealand has notched up a first with the launch of University of Canterbury research to the International Space Station, Science, Innovation and Technology and Space Minister Judith Collins says. The hardware, developed by Dr Sarah Kessans, is designed to operate autonomously in orbit, allowing scientists on Earth to study ...
Introduction Thank you for inviting me to speak with you today and I’m sorry I can’t be there in person. Yesterday I started in Wellington for Breakfast TV, spoke to a property conference in Auckland, and finished the day speaking to local government in Christchurch, so it would have been ...
The Coalition Government is contributing more than $1 million to support the establishment of an emergency multi-agency coordination centre in Northland. Emergency Management and Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell announced the contribution today during a visit of the Whangārei site where the facility will be constructed. “Northland has faced a number ...
New Zealanders have enjoyed a broader range of voices telling the story of Aotearoa thanks to the creation of Whakaata Māori 20 years ago, says Māori Development Minister Tama Potaka. The minister spoke at a celebration marking the national indigenous media organisation’s 20th anniversary at their studio in Auckland on ...
Commercial catch limits for some fisheries have been increased following a review showing stocks are healthy and abundant, Ocean and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. The changes, along with some other catch limit changes and management settings, begin coming into effect from 1 April 2024. "Regular biannual reviews of fish ...
Jesus had dinner with his 12 disciples right before he died. Noted historian Madeleine Chapman finds out who really deserved to be there.First published in 2018 but let’s be honest, the subject is timeless. As you sit on your couch this Easter Sunday, eating a chocolate egg you know ...
The newly-promoted Northern League club is on a mission to return to the National League for the first time in two decades. Plenty about domestic football in New Zealand has changed in that time – but the sense that this amateur competition is not an entirely level playing field remains. ...
Auckland Council has put a deadline on new weather-impacted property owners applying for categorisation as government funding looks set to run out. Councillors have voted to support a deadline of September 30 for property owners who haven’t accessed support to come forward and engage with the council’s recovery office. It ...
NONFICTION 1 BBQ Economics by Liam Dann (Penguin Random House, $40) “It’s official,” wrote Dann nine days ago in the Herald, where he works as business editor at large, “we’re in recession.” Yeah, great. He delivered the bad stats: “GDP fell 0.1 percent in the December 2023 quarter, compared with ...
Comment: Every year on February 2, a dozen men in tuxedos and top hats approach the burrow of a groundhog in Gobbler’s Knob, Pennsylvania and entice the beaver-like rodent to emerge and predict the weather. If the groundhog, named Punxsutawney Phil, sees its own shadow when it is summoned, legend ...
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By Anneke Smith, RNZ News political reporter A petition urging the New Zealand government to provide urgent humanitarian assistance to the Palestinian people has been tabled in the House. More than 200 people gathered on Parliament’s forecourt today and they were met by MPs from Labour, the Greens and Te ...
Pacific Media Watch The Paris-based global media freedom watchdog RSF (Reporters Without Borders) has appealed for information about the “disappearance” of Palestinian journalist Bayan Abusultan. She was reportedly last seen on March 19 among people “sequestered” in this week’s raid and siege of Al Shifa hospital by Israeli troops in ...
EDITORIAL:The Jakarta Post It happens again and again; indigenous Papuans fall victim to Indonesian soldiers. This time, we have photographic evidence for the brutality, with videos on social media showing a Papuan man being tortured by a group of plainclothes men alleged to be the Indonesian Military (TNI) members. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Robyn J. Whitaker, Director of the Wesley Centre for Theology, Ethics, and Public Policy & Associate Professor, New Testament, Pilgrim Theological College, University of Divinity A strange and eclectic range of activities takes place across these few weeks of the year. Some ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Panizza Allmark, Professor Visual & Cultural Studies, Edith Cowan University It’s Easter weekend, which means many of us will be kicking back with the greatest hits on repeat. But whether you’re a boomer, or an ‘80s or ’90s kid, you might be ...
RNZ Pacific Fiji’s Acting Public Prosecutor has filed an appeal against the sentences of former prime minister Voreqe Bainimarama and suspended police chief Sitiveni Qiliho in their corruption case. Bainimarama was granted an absolute discharge for attempting to pervert the course of justice while Qiliho received a conditional discharge with ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Arosha Weerakoon, Senior Lecturer and General Dentist, School of Dentistry, The University of Queensland Casezy idea/Shutterstock How does toothpaste work? What did people use before toothpaste was invented? – Amelia, age 7, Meanjin (Brisbane) Thanks for your ...
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“Mr Twyford said the new regulations will still allow investment in new homes and he hopes the effect will repeat the Australian experience.
“He said in Australia a ban on existing home purchases, effectively channelled $30 billion of foreign investment into new homes.
“That’s a problem that we would love to have here,” he told RNZ.
http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/political/344083/twyford-not-worried-about-chinese-real-estate-promo
So Labour’s housing Minister would love to have offshore investors adding upward pressure in our new housing sector, thus squeezing local buyers out?
No. He would like to see that investment shift from gobbling up existing homes ( some of which sit empty or have 1 student offspring in it) into new homes to create a more energised new home build market.
The Govt is also legislating against foreign ownership?
But in doing so (creating a more energised new home build market) it will be adding upward pressure, thus squeezing local buyers out. With the displacement resulting in the ripple effect.
Merely shifting demand and not ceasing it won’t prevent offshore investors gobbling up our land and homes. Albeit new ones.
I agree TC. This tinkering still doesn’t address the problem of escalating prices, or accessibility of housing.
Especially with limited tradesman to build more homes. If all this did was increase the numebr of homes being built great. i can’t see that happening and the price to build a new home will go up.
Allowing this upward pressure is a big mistake that will come back to haunt Labour.
It will clash with Kiwibuild.
I’d suggest they look at a form of tax as a disincentive to substantially slow this form of investment. It’s not the type of offshore investment we require.
A hefty tax on ghost houses would likely be effective in reducing
Homelessness
Rental costs
House price inflation
House banking
Any threat to kiwibuild
And so it begins…
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/opinion/99208027/bill-english-needs-to-be-more-visible-if-hes-serious-about-staying-on-as-leader
Over by Christmas?
English gone after gossip over the Xmas barbies-he’ll be out by February/March.
Adams/Bridges my pick.
Excellent post from Fran O’Sullivan critiquing the Prime Minister and Minister of Finance for not engaging hard with business:
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=11947706
Failing to get business leadership to harness common purpose for this country has the capacity to cripple this administration as it nearly did for the first term of Clark.
Catering to business is what’s causing the problems that we have.
Seeing I don’t want a Depression or a Revolution, I think engaging with business
and not scaring the horses makes sense. They have a part to ply in our economy. / sarc
The breathless, sycophantic hagiography of Moir and Jenna Lynch on Newshub yesterday is sickening. They come across as National Party PR flunkies not journalists. I am not surprised but it emphasises yet again how poorly we are served by the MSM.
O’Sullivan’s piece on the other hand was worth reading.
Jo Moir really does love National MPS like Collins and Bridges. Wonder if she benefits from their hard right economic philosophies?
You do wonder whether it’s a case of bias, but rather ignorance, laziness, bias and incompetence.
These people have been picked because they are cheap ad they get little journalistic training. They are obsessed with their own egos. They are in the entertainment business not news business.
They stand for nothing.
And more propaganda to be found in the Herald by Trevett.
55% of the voters in this country did not vote for the National Party.
About 70% of the adult population did not vote for the National Party.
Yet over 75% or more of the opinion pieces advocate for the right wing.
Why?
Media ownership.
We need a democratic media.
I read the Jenna lynch gush piece. A shocker. I wonder who’s pocket she is in?
She’s had it in for Labour ever since Nash asked after her health one day.
After her heath ? Trying to rewrite history there muttonbird.
Shortly after, Labour MP Stuart Nash walked in trying to sell some bloody story about cops.
He looked shocked, almost offended at my face.
“Gosh, did you have a rough night?”
James;
Showing your right wing skirt again?
Stuart Nash has been the best MP for Napier since the 156-year-old electorate was red for all but 17 years since the first Labour MP was elected in 1922.
The only bad Labour MP Napier ever had was Russell Fairbrother who he shocked us all when he closed our Historic iconic Napier hospital and that cost labour the 2008 election.
Thank God we have re-secured Napier again as a labour strong hold.
Showing you lack of reading ability’s agaim.
Mutton said he asked about her health.
He didn’t he was commenting on her appearance for not wearing makeup.
I was pointing out mutton bird was telling lies. Nothing to do with anything else.
James you have a long history of bad mouthing any other party except National, and on those grounds i have this comment here as a bad mouthing of Stuart Nash “figuratively” speaking.
We look forward to any statement from you that favours the current Government in future.
We do need to give the Labour coalition Governement a fair go, and a chance to succeed as we will all benefit from this.
To quote james;
“Shortly after, Labour MP Stuart Nash walked in trying to sell some bloody story about cops.
He looked shocked, almost offended at my face.”
“Gosh, did you have a rough night?”
You are an idiot – thats not quoting me – thats quoting the woman that Nash offended by commenting on her looks for not wearing makeup to work.
Edit and Muttonbird is an enabler – as he lies and calls it asking about her health.
Don’t want to add clicks so won’t ask for link.
What was the gist of Lynch’s propaganda?
Just found it.
She thinks Bridges is amazing.
He is hard right.
Bridges is a lying twerp, and yes Ed he is far right, so much that he is a bloody human disgrace.
next National Party leadet then?
GROPERS
No. 10: Sir Jimmy Savile
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-yv4Nmrwtg4
“GROPERS” is presented by GroperWatch, a division of Daisycutter Sports Inc.
More gropers. Collect the series!…
No.1 George Herbert Walker Bush; No. 2 Bill O’Reilly; No. 3 Al Franken; No. 4 Robin Brooke; No. 5 Lester Beck; No. 6 Arnold Schwarzenegger; No. 7 Joe Biden; No. 8 Rolf Harris; No. 9 Harold Bloom
Heh. While I really wish the Clintons would just go away and enjoy their millions away from the spotlight and we never hear from them again, I gotta admit this article makes some good points about the upsides of Hillary for 2020.
https://www.salon.com/2017/11/24/heres-your-leftover-turkey-the-case-for-hillary-clinton-2020/
I very much doubt Hillary will run in 2020.
Fuckwits made up so much about her health last election, I’m amazed she’s still alive. She’d be the oldest president taking office if she won (record currently held by Trump). Put those two together, every time she clears her throat the fuckwits will be diagnosing terminal lung cancer.
Another Saturday, another confused story from John Roughan in the Herald. Seriously, does John “no will use the bus way” Roughan have a fucking clue?
I THINK his bewildering article, which starts with a sweeping anachronistic generalisation, makes an unsubstantiated assertion, creates a straw man based on a flat out wrong assumption of the past before making another tiresome declaration of the superiority of the market model is actually an inchoate attempt to address the issue of where we direct our tertiarty funding. But who knows with Roughan, the guy is a 1980s dinosaur with but a fleeting connection to the dynamics of New Zealand in 2017.
Seriously, why does the Herald cling to these old, out of touch op-ed writers? Surely they could find a young woman to write opinion pieces, or maybe an Asian bloke under 40? And surely they’d be more bracing and up to date in their views than have retreads who recycle the same predictable rubbish?
Just for the record, NZ Universities were always free, or practically free, before the government abandoned it’s core role in tertiary education. when Victoria College was established in 1899, its founding Act stated that the highest fee charged to students by the college was not to exceed the lowest fee set at any other college in New Zealand. Up until 1911, the fee set by Victoria was one and a half guineas (32 shillings, just over one and a half pounds), which was then doubled in 1912. This was when the an unskilled labourer earned on average 140 pounds a year. Based on the minimum wage that would make 1912 university fees about $1500 in todays money. Is Roughan really trying to claim the university funding system that existed before 1990s produced academically inferior universities? Because all the evidence points to the complete opposite.
Aging ideological halfwits like Roughan like to harrumph from their supposed rarified heights about the fake news and the like – but it is their obsession with ideology and their need to force every fact and every interpretation in that ideological lens, that laid the groudwork for todays fake news world.
Fuck off and retire Roughan. You’re a handbrake on the countries future.
You must be an extremely wealthy person.
Any one who can say, apparently with a straight face, that
“NZ Universities were always free, or practically free”
and follow it, a couple of lines later, that
“that would make 1912 university fees about $1500 in todays money”
is clearly a great deal better off than I am.
Are you seriously proposing the $1500 is a mere bagatelle and really not worth anything at all? Are you so rich that you consider $1500 indistinguishable from “free”?
I believe it was after WWII that tertiary education did become free. The time of the NZ,s and the West’s greatest growth and development. And then neo-liberalism got implemented around the world and things have downhill for them since.
Although, the inflation calculator says that today’s price for that one and a half pounds would be ~$250 and not $1500.
Do you not recall the bursary system?.
There are, of course, various important conditions governing such matters as eligibility and tenure; for detailed information, reference should be made to the University Bursaries Regulations 1962. The following summary will, however, serve to illustrate the general purpose and nature of the bursaries.
1 Fees Bursary: This is, in general, available to all students who hold the University Entrance qualification or the Endorsed School Certificate. The bursary is tenable for the minimum period of time in which the student, pursuing his course full time, could complete that course. It provides for the payment of full tuition fees.
2 Fees and Allowances Bursary: This is available to students who have qualified for the Higher School Certificate. In addition, students who in their first year of tenure of a fees bursary have been credited with passes in three units of an arts or science degree or their equivalent may then become entitled to the fees and allowances bursary. The bursary provides for the payment of full tuition fees and a bursary allowance increasing from £40 in the first year to £100 in the fourth or any subsequent year. It is tenable for the minimum period required for the bachelor’s course.
3 Master’s Bursary: Students who have completed a bachelor’s degree course in not more than one year in excess of the minimum period and who wish to take a master’s degree may be awarded a master’s bursary for this purpose. The bursary is awarded for one year, with provision for extension. The value is the same as for the fourth and subsequent years of the fees and allowances bursary.
The tenure of all these bursaries is dependent on the continued satisfactory progress of the student bursar, and there is provision in the regulations referred to above for suspension, reinstatement, and termination of any bursary.
https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:WNJsj67B9asJ:https://teara.govt.nz/en/1966/education-special-aspects-scholarships-and-bursaries+&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=nz&client=firefox-b
No, I hadn’t forgotten them.
I was a recipient of that largesse. However Sanctuary described the Universities as having always been near free and then quoted numbers from 1912 which didn’t look anything like that.
It was a great deal easier to do such things in the 50s and 60s. Vic had about 3,000 students when I was originally there and there were probably only about 15,000 in the whole country. A lot of the courses, law for example, were part time.
Because you didnt need to go to uni to get a job back then. Most white collar jobs and vocational situations had cadetships and inhouse training.
I would say that the destruction of entry level white collar jobs in this country is one of the greatest economic tragedies of the past 30 years.
I have asked Vic Uni for a schedule of all fees and charges from 1977 under the OIA. We will see who is right.
This appears to be a reply to me.
Can you tell me what the relevance of 1977 is and who you are talking about when you say “We will see who is right.”.
The government needs to make sweeping reforms to the media so apologists for the 1% like Lynch, Roughan, Hosking, Moir, Garner, Soper, du Plessis Allen, etc have 1% of the airtime.
Roughan only has a job because he says what the owner of NZME want the public of NZ to hear.
He is a tool for the 1%.
The owners of NZME
‘he JMAD New Zealand media ownership report 2016 observes that New Zealand media institutions are facing major changes in ownership and management, but it is not clear what combinations will eventually emerge.
For the first time in six years, New Zealand media companies are exclusively owned by financial institutions. ’
http://www.aut.ac.nz/study-at-aut/study-areas/communications/research/journalism,-media-and-democracy-research-centre/journalists-and-projects/new-zealand-media-ownership-report
Leaving aside Roughan’s twitterings, it’s my personal observation that during the period in the 80’s NZ Universities went through the transition from ‘virtually free’ to ‘fee paying’ they began to become less attractive places.
Specifically academic staff could no longer treat students purely on merit, but had to incorporate some awareness that their own salaries were now linked in some manner to their ‘clients’ success.
That and the disaster that was ‘continuous assessment’ which greatly diminished the social and intellectual life of the place … has placed our Universities on a path of decreasing global value.
PEEOTUS and the Kremlin: the start of a beautiful friendship.
https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2017/11/19/trump-first-moscow-trip-215842
Having actually lived and worked in Russia for a short period I rather wish the West would grow out of this pointless Russophobia. Ordinary Russians are a fine people pretty much just like the rest of us.
As with China, with Russia there are different political and philosophical variants in play that we need to be intelligent and discriminating about engaging with. But ultimately the West is far better served by working towards rapprochement than a reflexive isolation.
Ordinary Russians are fine people, as are ordinary Chinese, most ordinary Americans, ordinary Indians etc.
But the elites that hold the levers of power are different, and they operate in different ways. Best not to be naive about how cunning and malicious they can be in service of their long term interests.
+1
So far as I can tell, they operate the same way in every country: with a very high degree of impunity. Once again, ethnicity has nothing to do with it.
Looking at the two pieces by Lynch and Moir again it is the relentless one-sidedness of them that is so obvious.
There is no attempt at a balanced assessment of these potential National Party leaders. No hint of the stench of corruption that hangs around Collins, or Bridge’s politicking with 10 (no) bridges for Northland, Coleman’s incompetence, any evidence of what Kaye has actually achieved and so on.
Personally I don’t care who they choose as obviously I’m not impressed with any of them and out of that lot whomever they choose will make the government look better.
Lynch:
He (Bridges) had an aggressive start to this Parliamentary term, turning the House upside down and showing Labour who is boss on the opening day. The symbolism of the show of force he exerted by making the Government question its numbers while trying to do a procedural election of a Speaker is that he is ready to take them on.
Yep, we get it. As Ed says, you think Simon is amazing.
He’s had a succession of good jobs and none of his ministerial portfolios have caused him any grief.
They’ve caused us some grief though. Building largely pointless motorways and not investing in ways to build a sustainable transport system that’s not so harmful to the environment and get more huge trucks off our over-stressed roading system has been a successful approach.
He had a regular head-to-head slot with Jacinda Ardern on morning television in his early days, so he’s proven he can match her.
At what? Appearing on morning TV?
And ever since then, like the Crown prosecutor he is by trade, he is building a compelling case.
Was he any good?
Just 12 months later he’s found himself on the Opposition benches and has launched a series of blistering attacks on the new Government, whether in the House, through brutally worded press releases or by baiting Ministers on social media.
Beneath the Brylcreem exterior lurks a nasty piece of work (much like Key).
Judith Collins – Remains a total threat, performing incredibly in Opposition.
Really? Oh, I get it. Judith is amazing too.
Amy Adams – The former Justice Minister has already landed some solid strikes on the new Government and has been given portfolios that will continue to hit where it hurts – particularly Workplace Relations. Her move on Paid Parental Leave was a masterstroke.
Masterstroke? Or just empty posturing and duplicitious points-scoring?
Paula Bennett – The job seemed hers a while ago, but at the moment, the desire doesn’t seem to be there. She seems happy taking a back seat after losing the Deputy Prime Minister spot.
Wonder why?
Nikki Kaye – Represents the future and is National’s face of Auckland. She’s also beaten Jacinda Ardern twice in Auckland Central.
One is now the PM the other an opposition MP who doesn’t seem to have achieved much.
Steven Joyce – He rose rapidly through the ranks and has done pretty much everything but.
Done pretty much everything just not very well.
Moir:
The party says it wants English in the leadership and many are still sore about how much of the vote they won and it not being enough to keep them in Government.
So they are delusional and still don’t understand MMP then. Great credentials for party that wants to govern again.
Some have taken to Opposition like a duck to water with the likes of Nikki Kaye and Judith Collins barking at everything passing by them.
Like dogs chasing cars, that’s smart.
Kaye and Bridges have been tag teaming as they create chaos for Education Minister and Leader of the House Chris Hipkins and tertiary spokesman Paul Goldsmith, almost invisible in Government, seems to be basking in his newfound Opposition freedom.
Create chaos? Really? And Goldsmith was useless as a minister but good in opposition? Yep that’s the right way round.
Both Collins and Bridges are class acts in Opposition – they’re fast on their feet and they’ve both got a bit of pitbull in them.
Class acts? Seriously, Oriveda Collins? Pitbull? Collins maybe but Bridges seems more like a yappy little terrier, one of those brainless dogs that runs along a residential front fenceline yapping at you as you walk past.
Kaye is ambitious and can dine out on the fact she beat the hugely popular Ardern in the Auckland Central seat twice.
So what? How long will this keep getting trotted out?
Coleman wouldn’t have any qualms about giving it another crack but he’s going to have to school up fast on how Opposition works.
Pity he didn’t school up on being a minister. This is the guy that ran down our health system and was pretty much a disaster as health minister.
Then there’s Amy Adams. She’s smart – don’t forget she got given just about every portfolio there was in the last government, given how competent she is.
Maybe because the others were so useless but at least she didn’t drop the ball like so many of them.
She’s not an obvious leader …
Bit like English then.
Did Lynch ask Collins orBridges to ghost write the article for her?
Trevett’s article is ghastly too. These people cannot be called journalists.
We do not have a democratic media. We have one owned by financial institutions who have a message they want the NZ public to hear. And they own some willing narcissistic puppets ( Lynch, Moir, Hosking, Garner, Roughan, du Plessis-Allan, Soper, Street, Tame) happy to peddle their lies.
Reform the media.
I agree these people are undermining democracy Ed. I get frustratef when if you criticise someone like Hosking for some rant on TV you are told that he’s entitled to his opinion and if you don’t like it then don’t watch/listen.
That would be valid if we had a healthy media presenting balanced points of view encouraging vigorous debate. But we don’t. We have a biased media following what seems to be an orchestrated plan to present information and opinion from a very narrow perspective with very specific messages.
And when the media is owned by interests who benefit from spreading those messages then I dont know how we reform it.
Having a viable, independent public broadcasting service would be a start.
.
We can’t ‘reform’ the media. Constitutionalism as we know it doesn’t allow that. What we do have are more and more sources of information about the things which touch us, and the opportunity to publicly lampoon. Those aghast at “social media” are lamenting their loss of control that’s all…….there’s no morality to it. It’s money/vainglory. Poor stressed darlings.
+++
A great line-by-line audit! What if TS started a regular page like this… like BLiP’s list, it could make an archive of what already looks and quacks like an orchestrated litany.
You mean the way they refer to whites as ‘European’? But of course, clearly in your eyes, only whites are racist.
Strangely enough, we refer to them as ‘Asian’ because they inhabit the continent of Asia.
[TheStandard: A moderator moved this comment to Open Mike as being off topic or irrelevant in the post it was made in. Be more careful in future.]
[there was nothing in CV’s comment to suggest that he believes only whites are racist. Your supposition/accusation is exactly the kind of inflammatory comment that leads to reactionary threads. If you disagree with the points someone has made, then address those points. Don’t make shit up about what they are saying. – weka]
You happy being called an Australasian? In fact, have you ever been called one once, twice, more?? Do tell.
Can you explain the circumstances where being white has resulted in your being discriminated or oppressed?
Way in the distant past I had a go at Fran O’Sullivan in very strong terms. Well time passes and we all change:
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=11947706
While I’m sure Luxon and I might quibble the shadings and weightings; this is a starting point the left could surely work with.
Biggest,beat up non story for years.
[TheStandard: A moderator moved this comment to Open Mike as being off topic or irrelevant in the post it was made in. Be more careful in future.]
My truck purring when I found the radiator cap loose this had caused the bearing in the water pump to wear out and the temperature to spike I put black pepper in radiator to stop the bearing leaking and when I changed the water pump I found a hose clip on the bottom of the radiator lose it was finger tight
What the______. Now you people that are doing this shit why don’t you act like real Men and stop getting contracted lies whom are exactly like Frank Gallagher from the TV show Shamles who will say anything for there next drink and hit of pee real Men would arrested me and take me to court and try and confirm Your contracted lies To the hole WORLD. O THAT’S right I’m not human in your eyes Im just a Criminal Maori Iv got a good story that will piss the gisborne man off tomorrow. Kia kaha
https://www.odt.co.nz/opinion/true-syrian-picture-may-not-be-painted-media
From October 2012
What level of deceit is exerted throughout NZ media, and indeed [name the country] using a facade of NGO’s, and other foreign funded entities…
Observing NZ media across the spectrum, it looks as though interference is close to 100%
The NZ media is totally owned by financial institutions.
This means that people relying on the NZ corporate media have no idea of what is going on in the world of economics.
They have no idea of the elite’s plan for the next financial crisis. Media and neo-liberal Governments are conspiring against their citizens in this.
The comeback of the last eight years is artificial. A crisis of even greater proportions is imminent.
Read James Rickards, Steve Keen and other independent economists.
Ignore the Herald and other media puppets of the finance industry.
Become informed.
+1
Also, I don’t read any of that shit and refuse to watch TV, NZ TV that is, and do read Steve Keen.
Is this China’s Civic Creche moment?
Or is it just Fairfax media having another one?
Many thanks to Ngai Tahu IWI for choseing the right person for the job to lead there IWI into there bright and prosperous future who is a Maori Lady Lisa Tumahai Ka pai. My IWI have close historical ties to them and Maori always respect OUR Lady’s this changed with colonialism. Kia Kaha
Yet an awful lot of people prefer to ignore what they know.
https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/934190255753674752
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lin-a2lTelg
I agree that there is only one race, the human race. But you say racism isn’t about race, a statement which I would imagine many people would dismiss as cloud cuckoo land stuff. (and who could blame them)
If as you stated you agree that having a shared understanding of what racism is is important and a good starting point, then perhaps you need to stop trying to change the definition that most people understand and know in order to have a definition that better suits your own opinions on racism, which are definitely not in line with the majority of people. (In my opinion)
So are you implying when you say it’s about culture and ethnicity, that a person can be a racist about a culture (amongst other things) rather than a race ??
So as an example. If I was to say that I believe female genital mutilation is a barbaric practice and I think those cultures within which such a thing is practiced should be made to abolish it. Certainly it should be made clear that it is forbidden in our country regardless of how ‘multi-cultural’ we are. Any culture which permits such a thing as far as I’m concerned is backward, uncivilized and needs to evolve.
Is that a racist statement?? (No)
By the way for those here that think Canada is a beacon of progressive success. They have their ‘multi-culturalism’ enshrined in law and according to Mr Trudeau, to criticize a culture for practicing female genital mutilation would be offensive to that culture and criminal because it is part of someone’s culture, therefore is beyond reproach and somehow acceptable. This s how warped ‘progressive’ (more like regressive) thinking is becoming. Any normal, caring, human being with any common sense would say that there are things about other cultures which are simply not acceptable in our civilized, secular, modern , ‘progressive’ society and would put their own culture ahead of that which practices such things, especially when it is that other culture coming to our country.
Dislike of, criticism of, or even complete disregard of any particular culture due to unacceptable (to any normal moral person) things, that are acceptable within that culture, are perfectly legitimate positions to take should a person choose to do so and they in no way mean that person is a racist. Not standing up for what is right for fear of offending someone or hurting their feelings about their cultural barbarity’s is a cowardly position to take.
“..it can also be unconscious…” I’ve heard this nonsense floating around, what an unbelievable claim to make. If this were true then how could anyone ever even know they were a racist, let alone stop being racist?? Maybe the ‘unconscious’ thought police could manage such a thing. Racism is something that requires conscious thought, decision making and/or action. If racism could be unconscious then for all we know, you, me and every person on the planet could be racist, it could be part of our DNA and none of us would even know it about ourselves.
(yes I know that there are tests which suggest such a phenomenon, but for every test there are plenty of experts who rubbish the methodologies and claims)
Regardless of what you think should or shouldn’t happen Weka, you can’t just redefine words to suit your worldview. The way some people throw around words like racist at pretty much anyone who brings up anything about the Chinese or Asians or any ‘non-white’ foreigners is a disgrace in my opinion. It simply cheapens the word, insults those victims of real racism and diminishes the seriousness of real racism. Some of the things you cry racism at are nothing of the sort.
I’ve lost count of the times I’ve been accused of making a racist statement for things such as simply stating an observable fact. ‘Racist’, ‘Nazi’, ‘Facist’, etc are all terms increasingly used to try and shut down discussions and debates when unable to make rational counter arguments.
It seems many people still, no matter how much information they are given, haven’t figured out why Trump won.
[TheStandard: A moderator moved this comment to Open Mike as being off topic or irrelevant in the post it was made in. Be more careful in future.]
“But you say racism isn’t about race, a statement which I would imagine many people would dismiss as cloud cuckoo land stuff. (and who could blame them)”
You’re on a progressive political blog. There’s an expectation here that people get themselves up to speed on political concepts. That race doesn’t exist but racism does is neither new nor unknown. It’s a common enough idea amongst the left irrespective of whether one agrees with it or not. As I’ve said elsewhere, semantics don’t serve us very well when dealing with racism in the real world. Better to work with concept and ideas that are being used by people in their lives.
I’m not trying to change the definition of racism, I’m sharing opinion based on the various definitions of racism that exist independent of me. I’m not making this stuff up. If you are unfamiliar with it I suggest googling racism 101.
The rest of your comment is pretty far off topic especially given you are basically denying the existence of systemic racism, which is in part what the post was about. So I’m moving this one to Open Mike.
What on earth does this mean?’There’s an expectation here that people get themselves up to speed on political concepts.’-concept
ˈkɒnsɛpt/Submit
noun
plural noun: concepts
an abstract idea.
“structuralism is a difficult concept”
synonyms: idea, notion, conception, abstraction, conceptualization; More
a plan or intention.
USA Trump etc – trying to make sense about it.
Thomas Frank – Listen Liberal
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jZbzsSzu7rQ 9m44s
and
What to Make of the Age of Trump by Thomas Frank
1.32.22
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UPYlE72OzZA
As one grey to another, thanks for this. Very informative and helped join some dots for me. There were some very relevant echoes to our situation and it reinforced that what we’re up against is a global issue.
Thanks Grey. I get good background and reliable info here, enough to keep me informed on what is actually happening, and reciprocate. I feel we all have to be grown up birds looking for our own fodder and fly from the comforting RW nest instead of sitting there with our beaks open waiting for propaganda birds to drop in morsels they regurgitate for the dependent flock.