A week is not a very credible period to be complaining over looking for staff. And, for working people, Queenstown is damned inconvenient, with accommodation costs so high it's basically not worth considering. As with most other "labour shortages" it will prove solvable when remuneration sufficiently exceeds cost of living.
You do wonder about these starry-eyed screw-ups though. Never thought to do any labour planning, but expect to fix everything in a week. Mark of what passes for professionalism in NZ – rofl.
A couple of added dynamics in Queenstown are covid and economic effects of.
Hospo workers aren’t that keen on working in an environment where they could contract it and have moved to safer jobs. The other is the economic health of the employer, the bar across the street from us has had more staff than punters during the day for the last few weeks. They can’t do that for long.
Good stable employers don’t seem to be having too much trouble, a barista job went at the Resort College last month and they had plenty of applicants and got a very good appointment in the process
What on earth do immigration think they are doing? I read page one and my jaw dropped. Accounting and clerical vacancies per the main websites are still running at around 60% of pre covid vacancies and there has been an abysmal training record in this area for years. This years grads plus some more training on the job for them would fill the bulk of this. Plus moving jobs outside Auckland instead of trapping them in the noe city. Plus these are female heavy occupations where unemployment has hit hard.
As to aircraft engineers – Air New Zealand laid off some of those. Why not let the market sort out those who can't offer a viable job – isn't this how it is supposed to work. Plus anyone who wants a visa should have to prove that they have provided training to anyone who wants to upskill.
Nelson lawyer John Sandston, who was formerly the New Zealand Law Society’s inaugural youth justice spokesperson and has been a youth advocate for 25 years, said the trend seemed to have “come out of nowhere”. “I can’t think of a case [in the Youth Court] in the past year or two where it hasn’t related to either a gadget such as a phone, or a game, or internet usage.
And it's wise to be wary of adopting any of the technology being pushed at you.
If Robertson wishes to force the RBNZ to do the governments job for them re house price inflation he in return will be forced to explain what alternative negative outcome the government prefers….be careful what you wish for.
Orr should offer to just give Treasury a direct overdraft in future, rather than the effective equivalent of secondary market purchases. Its time, the public trusts the govt to fund itself.
Then he could offer to "reverse" the QE by writing off all the govt debt it now holds.
The Treasury and the Reserve Bank have the following individual responsibilities:
the Treasury is the Government’s lead advisor on macroeconomics (other than on matters relating to the formulating and implementing of monetary policy), wider economic policy and all matters related to fiscal policy.
the Reserve Bank is New Zealand’s central bank. The Bank is the Government’s lead advisor on matters relating to the formulation and implementation of monetary policy, prudential supervision, macro-prudential policy and financial markets.
Must the government heed the Treasury? What sanctions would be on the government for not doing so? Is there no room for government to act independently and not be eviscerated by the usual suspects?
Parliament is sovereign so no need to heed any body, but theoretically Treasury (or other departments) have the expertise that MPs dont necessarily have..however Governments are elected to govern so they have the obligation to make the decisions.
Am unsure who the 'usual suspects' are in your post
…oh, and would add theres no love lost between the RBNZ and Treasury and has been that way as long as I can remember
Well the usual suspects would likely be, the Opposition, possibly business interests like NZ Initiative, the bank economists, the Property owners and renters bodies, and anyone who is having their gravy train pushed to a siding from the main line.
I find it really offensive and insulting that this has become a stoush between Robertson and the Reserve Bank. If this Labour were worth its salt it would immediately curb rampant house price inflation by imposing CGT on all but the family home. Tax the shit out of residential property speculators. It's not about "mum and dad investors' or "getting on the property ladder."
Get back into a huge state house building programme. Couple it with trade training schemes to upskill our own people. Invest in NZ firms which can provide modern spec, flat pack affordable houses.
The cause of poverty in NZ is unaffordable rents, which take up so much of benefits and low wages.
Oh, and get rid of landbankers, real estate agents, and property developers.
Ie what’s happened to core Labour vision and principles?
As a lifetime Labour voter, I’m struggling to make sense of it all.
Yet a week ago our PM was justifying the independence of the reserve bank and having a go at the opposition for suggesting to give RB direction. How quickly things change especially as the govt has been caught out being totally ineffective. But don't worry after being the government for 3 years they are looking for "I have also sought advice on further demand side measures that can add to the initiatives that we have already taken". Do your 🤬 job you were elected
"But Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern is concerned about influencing the Reserve Bank, which operates independently of the Government.
"That seems a significant departure for a political party in New Zealand to move away from what has been long-term consensus around the separation between politicians and the Reserve Bank," she said in response to National's suggestions.
"I'd say that is concerning. There's very good reason we have those separations."
So how is our Finance minister writing a letter to the RB with suggestions on changing the remit regarding (un) affordability keeping politicians at arms length ? If we want the reserve bank distant from public pressure what then motivated our Min of Finance ?
"One proposal I am seeking advice from the Reserve Bank on is whether to include stability in house prices as a factor for consideration in the Remit when formulating monetary policy,"
Yes read that and glad that the RB does pay attention – Think how the property market would be otherwise. Its not functioning for the benefit of the country currently and what of the social damage being caused as a unintended consequence of the policies put into place.
Though a frequent customer at a nice cafe, I wonder if the problem getting staff is that there are so many cafes in some places. Some may be struggling to cover costs. Is there a need for a food truck in Wanaka when there are likely to be several cafes already. Is accommodation hard to find there, which would deter some prospective chefs. Especially if the work is irregular.
There may be some places for single staff. But your better cooks do marry, just like folk in other professions. A family home in Queenstown would use up a salary on a par with Adrian Orr.
A coronavirus outbreak in Shanghai has been traced to two cargo handlers who cleaned a container that had just arrived from North America, Chinese health officials have said.
Hundreds of flights were cancelled at Shanghai’s Pudong International airport, one of the world’s busiest transport hubs, amid chaotic scenes caused by a sudden decision to test airport staff on Sunday.
So ad..let's say you are a kiwi working in oz…and a local labour party supporter said that..what would your thoughts/reactions be..?..would you need those words and immediately decamp to the airport..?..or would you dismiss those words as xenophobic/nativist..?
So do you agree with what Nash said about freedom campers? Your tone suggests you do, but you haven't addressed the point of Zoe Hannah's piece, which was a direct response to Nash's remarks. You could get a job in Judith Collins' comms team.
Spaceships owner James Rolleston – who owns a fleet of 600 campervans with 0 toilets onboard, had the best subliminal line on this:
"We have 15 years of operating that business and we've put a huge amount of focus into education about how to camp, where to camp, how to look after the environment. It's actually a complex issue… I think just cubbyholing a business like Spaceship rentals is a bit rough."
James Rolleston gains millions in rent rent by selling 600 "cubbyholes" for over 1200 people to live and work in. He should be treated as a landlord and subject to the same quality standards as a landlord.
He only gets away with being a slumlord by being classed a tourism operator.
In fact James Rolleston has duped tens of thousands of Zoe Hannah's into being willingly oppressed and enjoying the scenery while they shit all over it.
The Zoe Hannah's of this world should be stopped from entering at the border, and get in line for an actual sustainable job that is proven cannot be done by a New Zealander first.
It's good you've made your position clear. It's a shame it's such a fucked up position. Blinkin' heck. Keep that up and Judith Collins will be knocking on your door very soon. The You and Stu Show. Fuck me. Nothing to say to that.
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin will put $455 billion in unspent Cares Act funding into an account that his presumed successor, former Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen, will need authorization from Congress to use.
Mnuchin plans to place the money into the agency’s General Fund, a Treasury Department spokesperson said Tuesday. Moving the funds, the bulk of which had gone to support Federal Reserve emergency-lending facilities, will make it virtually impossible for Yellen, if confirmed by the Senate as Treasury secretary, to deploy on her own.
A DOG was lying upon a manger full of hay. An Ox, being hungry, came near, and offered to eat of the hay; but the envious, ill-natured cur, getting up and snarling at him, would not suffer him to touch it, Upon which the Ox, in the bitterness of his heart, said, A curse light on thee, for a malicious wretch, who wilt neither eat hay thyself, nor suffer others to do it.
THE APPLICATION
C. Whittingham (1814)
Envy is the most unnatural and unaccountable of all the passions. There is scarce any other emotion of the mind, however unreasonable, but may have something said in excuse for it; and there are many of these weaknesses of the soul, which, notwithstanding the wrongness and irregularity of them, swell the heart, while they last, with pleasure and gladness. But the envious man has no such apology as this to make; the stronger the passion is, the greater torment he endures, and subjects himself to a continual real pain, bv only wishing ill to others. Revenge is sweet, though cruel and inhuman; and though it sometimes thirsts even for blood, yet may be glutted and satiated. Avarice is something highly monstrous and absurd; yet, as it is a desire after riches, every little acquisition gives it pleasure; and to behold and feel the hoarded treasure, to a covetous man is a constant, uncloying enjoyment. But envy, which is an anxiety arising in our minds, upon our observing accomplishments in others, which we want ourselves, can never receive any true comfort, unless in a deluge, a conflagration, a plague, or some general calamity that should befal mankind: for, as long as there is a creature living, that enjoys its being happily within the envious man’s sphere, it will afford nourishment to his distempered mind: but such nourishment as will make him pine, and fret, and emaciate himself to nothing.
'Social Capital' hasn't been in the talk for a while. I'm just reading Bowling Alone – The Collapse and Revival of American Community by Robert D Putnam. Big well backed with stats, good hypotheses, over 400 pages of good thinking. This updated version published 2000. Hopefully at a library near you – I had to request it.
There are heavy stats on how television has diminished communities and co-operative society. You can't goggle and boggle at the same time – it doesn't give you time to think before the next amazing scene, tragedy, kitten, whale, comes before you. Passivity is the name of the game, unless the game is watching sport!
Have you just come back from some sort of timewarp..?…where the deleterious outcomes from watching television is the moral-panic du jour..?…oh..!..what we'd give for those much simpler times back/again..eh..?
Almost spiteful Phillip Ure. Can you can the negative comments that I notice you specialise in amongst your so many contributions! I am looking for perspectives and solutions to our pressing problems in NZ and I don't need your superior opinions expressed in your sardonic way. They are not at all helpful.
If you leave doors wide open…I'm gonna walk right thru them…and that fretting over tv watching is such a door…you will be relieved to learn that the kids don't really watch much tv anymore….so your initial problem is no more…people now yearn for the times when families watched TV together…now everyone is in their own online world…but 'spiteful'..?..I really don't think so..
Clever, funny skit in the Spinoff about JAs 'carnng' persona. I have to say that I can't bear to listen to any of Jacinda's Facebook stints that appear on my wife's Facebook page these days. They seem so insincere.
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 ...
TL;DR: In today’s ‘six-stack’ of substacks at 6.06pm on Tuesday, March 19:Kāinga Ora’s dry rot The Spinoff DailyBill McKibben on ‘Climate Superfunds’ making Big Oil pay for climate damage The Crucial YearsPreston Mui on returning to 1980s-style productivity growth NoahpinionAndy Boenau on NIMBYs needing unusual bedfellows Urbanism SpeakeasyNed Resnikoff's case ...
Negative yesterday, negative today. Negative all year, according to one departing reader telling me I’ve grown strident and predictable. Fair enough. If it’s any help, every time I go to write about a certain topic that begins with C and ends with arrrrs, I do brace myself and ask: Again? Are ...
Bryce Edwards writes – It’s been a tumultuous time in politics in recent months, as the new National-led Government has driven through its “First 100 Day programme”. During this period there’s been a handful of opinion polls, which overall just show a minimal amount of flux in public support ...
Inspirational: The Family of Man is a glorious hymn to human equality, but, more than that, it is a clarion call to human freedom. Because equality, unleavened by liberty, is a broken piano, an unstrung harp; upon which the songs of fraternity will never be played.“Somebody must have been telling lies about ...
Tax Lawyer Barbara Edmonds vs Emperor Justinian I- Nolo Contendere: False historical explanations of pivotal events are very far from being inconsequential.WHEN BARBARA EDMONDS made reference to the Roman Empire, my ears pricked up. It is, lamentably, very rare to hear a politician admit to any kind of familiarity ...
It’s been a tumultuous time in politics in recent months, as the new National-led Government has driven through its “First 100 Day programme”. During this period there’s been a handful of opinion polls, which overall just show a minimal amount of flux in public support for the various parties in ...
Buzz from the Beehive Housing Minister Chris Bishop delivered news – packed with the ingredients to enflame political passions – worthy of supplanting Winston Peters in headline writers’ priorities. He popped up at the post-Cabinet press conference to promise a crackdown on unruly and antisocial state housing tenants. His ...
Ele Ludemann writes – The Reserve Bank is advertising for a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion advisor. The Bank has one mandate – to keep inflation between one and three percent. It has failed in that and is only slowly getting inflation back down to the upper limit. Will it ...
Last week former National Party leader Simon Bridges was appointed by the Government as the new chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA). You can read about the appointment in Thomas Coughlan’s article, Simon Bridges to become chair of NZ Transport Agency Waka KotahiThe fact that a ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Last week former National Party leader Simon Bridges was appointed by the Government as the new chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA). You can read about the appointment in Thomas Coughlan’s article, Simon Bridges to become chair of NZ Transport Agency ...
TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Gavin Jacobson talks to Thomas Piketty 10 years on from Capital in the 21st CenturyThe SalvoLocal scoop: Green MP’s business being investigated over migrant exploitation claims StuffSteve KilgallonLocal deep-dive: The commercial contractors making money from School ...
It’s a home - but Kāinga Ora tenants accused of “abusing the privilege” may lose it. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The Government announced a crackdown on Kāinga Ora tenants who were unruly and/or behind on their rent, with Housing Minister Chris Bishop saying a place in a state ...
This is a guest post by Connor Sharp of Surface Light Rail Light rail in Auckland: A way forward sooner than you think With the coup de grâce of Auckland Light Rail (ALR) earlier this year, and the shift of the government’s priorities to roads, roads, and more roads, it ...
Note: As a paid-up Webworm member, I’ve recorded this Webworm as a mini-podcast for you as well. Some of you said you liked this option - so I aim to provide it when I get a chance to record! Read more ...
TL;DR: In my ‘six-stack’ of substacks at 6.06pm on Monday, March 18:IKEA is accused of planting big forests in New Zealand to green-wash; REDD-MonitorA City for People takes a well-deserved victory lap over Wellington’s pro-YIMBY District Plan votes; A City for PeopleSteven Anastasiou takes a close look at the sticky ...
Buzz from the Beehive Here’s hoping for a lively post-cabinet press conference when the PM and – perhaps – some of his ministers tell us what was discussed at their meeting today. Until then, Point of Order has precious little Beehive news to report after its latest monitoring of the ...
David Farrar writes – We now have almost all 2023 data in, which has allowed me to update my annual table of how labour went against its promises. This is basically their final report card. The promiseThe result Build 100,000 affordable homes over 10 ...
I’m a bit worried that I’ve started a previous newsletter with the words “just when you think they couldn’t get any worse…” Seems lately that I could begin pretty much every issue with that opening. Such is the nature of our coalition government that they seem to be outdoing each ...
Geoffrey Miller writes – Timing is everything. And from China’s perspective, this week’s visit by its foreign minister to New Zealand could be coming at just the right moment. The visit by Wang Yi to Wellington will be his first since 2017. Anniversaries are important to Beijing. ...
Depictions of Islam in Western popular culture have rarely been positive, even before 9/11. Five years on from the mosque shootings, this is one of the cultural headwinds that the Muslim community has to battle against. Whatever messages of tolerance and inclusion are offered in daylight, much of our culture ...
Last week Transport Minster Simeon Brown and Mayor Wayne Brown opened the new Auckland Rail Operations Centre. The new train control centre will see teams from KiwiRail, Auckland Transport and Auckland One Rail working more closely together to improve train services across the city. The Auckland Rail Operations Centre in ...
Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Retiring former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson said in an exit interview with Q+A yesterday the Government can and should sustain more debt to invest in infrastructure for future generations. Elsewhere in the news in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy at 6:36am: Read more ...
Timing is everything. And from China’s perspective, this week’s visit by its foreign minister to New Zealand could be coming at just the right moment. The visit by Wang Yi to Wellington will be his first since 2017. Anniversaries are important to Beijing. It is more than just a happy ...
TL;DR: The key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to March 18 include:China’s Foreign Minister visiting Wellington today;A post-cabinet news conference this afternoon; the resumption of Parliament on Tuesday for two weeks before Easter;retiring former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson gives his valedictory speech in Parliament; ...
New Zealand First Leader Winston Peters’s state-of-the-nation speech on Sunday was really a state-of-Winston-First speech. He barely mentioned any of the Government’s key policies and could not even wholly endorse its signature income tax cuts. Instead, he rehearsed all of his complaints about the Ardern Government, including an extraordinary claim ...
A listing of 35 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 10, 2024 thru Sat, March 16, 2024. Story of the week This week we'll give you a little glimpse into how we collect links to share and ...
A listing of 35 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 10, 2024 thru Sat, March 16, 2024. Story of the week This week we'll give you a little glimpse into how we collect links to share and ...
“I’ve been internalising a really complicated situation in my head.”When they kept telling us we should wait until we get to know him, were they taking the piss? Was it a case of, if you think this is bad, wait till you get to know the real Christopher, after the ...
Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
.“$10 and a target that bleeds” - Bleeding Targets for Under $10!.Thanks for reading Frankly Speaking ! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.This government appears hell-bent on either scrapping life-saving legislation or reintroducing things that - frustrated critics insist - will be dangerous and likely ...
“It hardly strikes me as fair to criticise a government for doing exactly what it said it was going to do. For actually keeping its promises.”THUNDER WAS PLAYING TAG with lightning flashes amongst the distant peaks. Its rolling cadences interrupted by the here-I-come-here-I-go Doppler effect of the occasional passing car. ...
Subversive & Disruptive Technologies: Just as happened with that other great regulator of the masses, the Medieval Church, the advent of a new and hard-to-control technology – the Internet – is weakening the ties that bind. Then, and now, those who enjoy a monopoly on the dissemination of lies, cannot and will ...
Been Here Before: To find the precedents for what this Coalition Government is proposing, it is necessary to return to the “glory days” of Muldoonism.THE COALITION GOVERNMENT has celebrated its first 100 days in office by checking-off the last of its listed commitments. It remains, however, an angry government. It ...
Bob Edlin writes – And what is the world watching today…? The email newsletter from Associated Press which landed in our mailbox early this morning advised: In the news today: The father of a school shooter has been found guilty of involuntary manslaughter; prosecutors in Trump’s hush-money case ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Is another Green MP on their way out? And are the Greens severely tarnished by another integrity scandal? For the second time in three months, the Green Party has secretly suspended an MP over integrity issues. Mystery is surrounding the party’s decision to ...
For the last few years, the Green Party has been the party that has managed to avoid the plague of multiple scandals that have beleaguered other political parties. It appears that their luck has run out with a second scandal which, unfortunately for them, coincided with Golraz Ghahraman, the focus ...
TL;DR: The six newsey things that stood out to me as of 6:46am on Saturday, March 16.Andy Foster has accidentally allowed a Labour/Green amendment to cut road user chargers for plug-in hybrid vehicles, which the Government might accept; NZ HeraldThomas CoughlanSimeon Brown has rejected a plea from Westport ...
What seemed a booming success a couple of years ago has collapsed into fraud convictions.I looked at the crash of FTX (short for ‘Futures Exchange’) in November 2022 to see whether it would impact on the financial system as a whole. Fortunately there was barely a ripple, probably because it ...
Anybody following the situation in Ukraine and Russia would probably have been amused by a recent Tweet on X NATO seems to be putting in an awful lot of effort to influence what is, at least according to them, a sham election in an autocracy.When do the Ukrainians go to ...
TL;DR:Shaun Baker on Wynyard Quarter's transformation. Magdalene Taylor on the problem with smart phones. How private equity are now all over reinsurance. Dylan Cleaver on rugby and CTE. Emily Atkin on ‘Big Meat’ looking like ‘Big Oil’.Bernard’s six-stack of substacks at 6pm on March 15Photo by Jeppe Hove Jensen ...
Buzz from the Beehive Finance Minister Nicola Willis had plenty to say when addressing the Auckland Business Chamber on the economic growth that (she tells us) is flagging more than we thought. But the government intends to put new life into it: We want our country to be a ...
The Transport and Infrastructure Committee has reported back on the Road User Charges (Light Electric RUC Vehicles) Amendment Bill, basicly rubberstamping it. While there was widespread support among submitters for the principle that EV and PHEV drivers should pay their fair share for the roads, they also overwhelmingly disagreed with ...
Peter Dunne writes – This week’s government bailout – the fifth in the last eighteen months – of the financially troubled Ruapehu Alpine Lifts company would have pleased many in the central North Island ski industry. The government’s stated rationale for the $7 million funding was that it ...
See if you can spot the difference. An Iranian born female MP from a progressive party is accused of serial shoplifting. Her name is leaked to the media, which goes into a pack frenzy even before the Police launch an … Continue reading → ...
Ele Ludemann writes – The government is omitting general Treaty references from 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 public service on Treaty ...
What was that judge thinking?Peter Williams writes – That Golriz Ghahraman and District Court Judge Maria Pecotic were once lawyer colleagues is incontrovertible. There is published evidence that they took at least one case to the Court of Appeal together. There was a report on ...
TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read:Climate Scorpion – the sting is in the tail. Introducing planetary solvency. A paper via the University of Exeter’s Institute and Faculty of Actuaries.Local scoop:Kāinga Ora starts pulling out of its Auckland projects and selling land RNZ ...
Wellington’s massively upzoned District Plan adds the opportunity for tens of thousands of new homes not just in the central city (such as these Webb St new builds) but also close to the CBD and public transport links. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Wellington gave itself the chance of ...
It’s Friday and we’re halfway through March Madness. Here’s some of the things that caught our attention this week. This Week in Greater Auckland On Monday Matt asked how we can get better event trains and an option for grade separating Morningside Dr. On Tuesday Matt looked into ...
Something you might not know about me is that I’m quite a stubborn person. No, really. I don’t much care for criticism I think’s unfair or that I disagree with. Few of us do I suppose.Back when I was a drinker I’d sometimes respond defensively, even angrily. There are things ...
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:PM Christopher Luxon said the reversal of interest deductibility for landlords was done to help renters, who ...
It was not so much the Labour Party but really the Chris Hipkins party yesterday at Labour’s caucus retreat in Martinborough. The former Prime Minister was more or less consistent on wealth tax, which he was at best equivocal about, and social insurance, which he was not willing to revisit. ...
Buzz from the BeehiveThe text reproduced above appears on a page which records all the media statements and speeches posted on the government’s official website by Melissa Lee as Minister of Media and Communications and/or by Jenny Marcroft, her Parliamentary Under-secretary. It can be quickly analysed ...
For forty years, Robert Muldoon has been a dirty word in our politics. His style of government was so repulsive and authoritarian that the backlash to it helped set and entrench our constitutional norms. His pig-headedness over forcing through Think Big eventually gave us the RMA, with its participation and ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Is the new government reducing tax on rental properties to benefit landlords or to cut the cost of rents? That’s the big question this week, after Associate Finance Minister David Seymour announced on Sunday that the Government would be reversing the Labour Government’s removal ...
Saudi Arabia is rarely far from the international spotlight. The war in Gaza has brought new scrutiny to Saudi plans to normalise relations with Israel, while the fifth anniversary of the controversial killing of Jamal Khashoggi was marked shortly before the war began on October 7. And as the home ...
Questions need to be asked on both sides of the worldPeter Williams writes – The NRL Judiciary hands down an eight week suspension to Sydney Roosters forward Spencer Leniu , an Auckland-born Samoan, after he calls Ezra Mam, Sydney-orn but of Aboriginal and Torres Strait ...
Ele Ludemann writes – Contrary to what many headlines and news stories are saying, residential landlords are not getting a tax break. The government is simply restoring to them the tax deductibility of interest they had until the previous government removed it. There is no logical reason ...
I can't remember when it was goodMoments of happiness in bloomMaybe I just misunderstoodAll of the love we left behindWatching our flashbacks intertwineMemories I will never findIn spite of whatever you becomeForget that reckless thing turned onI think our lives have just begunI think our lives have just begunDoes anyone ...
Michael Bassett writes – At first reading, a front-page story in the New Zealand Herald on 13 March was bizarre. A group of severely intellectually limited teenagers, with little understanding of the law, have been pleading to the Justice Select Committee not to pass a bill dealing with ram ...
How much political capital is Christopher Luxon willing to burn through in order to deliver his $2.9 billion gift to landlords? Evidently, Luxon is: (a) unable to cost the policy accurately. As Anna Burns-Francis pointed out to him on Breakfast TV, the original ”rock solid” $2.1 billion cost he was ...
TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read:Jonathon Porritt calling bullshit in his own blog post on mainstream climate science as ‘The New Denialism’.Local scoop:The Wellington City Council’s list of proposed changes to the IHP recommendations to be debated later today was leaked this ...
TL;DR:Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said yesterday tenants should be grateful for the reinstatement of interest deductibility because landlords would pass on their lower tax costs in the form of lower rents. That would be true if landlords were regulated monopolies such as Transpower or Auckland Airport1, but they’re not, ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Tom Toro Tom Toro is a cartoonist and author. He has published over 200 cartoons in The New Yorker since 2010. His cartoons appear in Playboy, the Paris Review, the New York Times, American Bystander, and elsewhere. Related: What 10 EV lovers ...
The business section of the NZ Herald is full of opinion. Among the more opinionated of all is the ex-Minister of Transport, ex-Minister of Railways, ex MP for Auckland Central (1975-93, Labour), Wellington Central (1996-99, ACT, then list-2005), ex-leader of the ACT Party, uncle to actor Antonia, the veritable granddaddy ...
Hi,Just quickly — I’m blown away by the stories you’ve shared with me over the last week since I put out the ‘Gary’ podcast, where I told you about the time my friend’s flatmate killed the neighbour.And you keep telling me stories — in the comments section, and in my ...
The first season of Rings of Power was not awful. It was thoroughly underwhelming, yes, and left a lingering sense of disappointment, but it was more expensive mediocrity than catastrophe. I wrote at length about the series as it came out (see the Review section of the blog, and go ...
Buzz from the Beehive Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden told Auckland Business Chamber members they were the first audience to hear her priorities as a minister in a government committed to cutting red tape and regulations. She brandished her liberalising credentials, saying Flexible labour markets are the ...
Chris Trotter writes – TO UNDERSTAND WHY NEWSHUB FAILED, it is necessary to understand how TVNZ changed. Up until 1989, the state broadcaster had been funded by a broadcasting licence fee, collected from every citizen in possession of a television set, supplemented by a relatively modest (compared ...
Bob Edlin writes – The Māori Party has been busy issuing a mix of warnings and threats as its expresses its opposition to interest deductibility for landlords and the plans of seabed miners. It remains to be seen whether they follow the example of indigenous litigants in Australia, ...
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. ...
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 ...
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. ...
The New Zealand public voted for a change in direction at the 2023 general election and that is exactly what this coalition government has been delivering in its first 100 days. There was an immediate focus on the economy, easing the cost of living, cracking down on law and order ...
The Government has left the health system as an afterthought, announcing half-baked targets at the last minute of their 100-day plan, says Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall. ...
Kiwis are still waiting for their promised cost of living support after 100 days of a National Government that is taking us backwards, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said today. ...
The National Government has spent its first 100 days stopping, cutting and reversing. They have scrapped stuff for stuff for the sake of it, without putting up any solutions of their own – and it’s hardworking New Zealanders who will pay for it. ...
100 days of National taking NZ backwardsThe National Government has spent its first 100 days stopping, cutting and reversing. They have scrapped stuff for stuff for the sake of it, without putting up any solutions of their own – and it’s hardworking New Zealanders who will pay for it. ...
The Government must commit to funding free and healthy school lunches, as thousands of people sign the petition to keep them, education spokesperson Jan Tinetti says. ...
If the Government was serious about moving families into public housing, they would build more houses so there is actually somewhere for people to go. ...
The free and healthy school lunches programme feeds our kids, helps them to learn, and saves families money – but it is at risk under this Government, education spokesperson Jan Tinetti said. ...
The Government’s proposed changes to Firearms Prohibition Orders (FPO) add almost nothing new and are merely an attempt to distract from its plans to loosen gun laws, police spokesperson Ginny Andersen and justice spokesperson Dr Duncan Webb said. ...
The great Victorian era English politician Lord Macauley stood in the British House of Parliament and said, "The gallery in which the reporters sit has become a fourth estate of the realm".He understood and outlined even way back then, the significant role and influence media have in a democracy. ...
The government’s attack on Māori health this week is committing tangata-whenua to a premature death, says Te Pāti Māori. “The government have begun their onslaught on Māori health with the abolishment of the Māori Health Authority and smokefree laws in the same day” said health spokesperson and co-leader, Debbie Ngarewa-Packer. ...
"The Government is moving quickly to realise an additional $46 million in tariff savings in the EU market this season for Kiwi exporters,” Minister for Trade and Agriculture, Todd McClay says. Parliament is set, this week, to complete the final legislative processes required to bring the New Zealand – European ...
New Zealand’s social workers are qualified, experienced, and more representative of the communities they serve, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “I want to acknowledge and applaud New Zealand’s social workers for the hard work they do, providing invaluable support for our most vulnerable. “To coincide with World ...
Cabinet has agreed to a reduced road user charge (RUC) rate for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. Owners of PHEVs will be eligible for a reduced rate of $38 per 1,000km once all light electric vehicles (EVs) move into the RUC system from 1 April. ...
Minister of Agriculture and Trade, Todd McClay, says that today’s opening of Riverland Foods manufacturing plant in Christchurch is a great example of how trade access to overseas markets creates jobs in New Zealand. Speaking at the official opening of this state-of-the-art pet food factory the Minister noted that exports ...
Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Wellington today. “It was a pleasure to host Foreign Minister Wang Yi during his first official visit to New Zealand since 2017. Our discussions were wide-ranging and enabled engagement on many facets of New Zealand’s relationship with China, including trade, ...
Kāinga Ora – Homes & Communities has been instructed to end the Sustaining Tenancies Framework and take stronger measures against persistent antisocial behaviour by tenants, says Housing Minister Chris Bishop. “Earlier today Finance Minister Nicola Willis and I sent an interim Letter of Expectations to the Board of Kāinga Ora. ...
Tēna koutou katoa. Greetings everyone. Thank you to the Auckland Chamber of Commerce and the Honourable Simon Bridges for hosting this address today. I acknowledge the business leaders in this room, the leaders and governors, the employers, the entrepreneurs, the investors, and the wealth creators. The coalition Government shares your ...
Minister Winston Peters completed the final leg of his visit to South and South East Asia in Singapore today, where he focused on enhancing one of New Zealand’s indispensable strategic partnerships. “Singapore is our most important defence partner in South East Asia, our fourth-largest trading partner and a ...
Minister of Internal Affairs and Workplace Relations and Safety, Hon. Brooke van Velden, will travel to the Republic of Korea to represent New Zealand at the Third Summit for Democracy on 18 March. The summit, hosted by the Republic of Korea, was first convened by the United States in 2021, ...
ICNZ Speech 7 March 2024, Auckland Acknowledgements and opening Mōrena, ngā mihi nui. Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho. Good morning, it’s a privilege to be here to open the ICNZ annual conference, thank you to Mark for the Mihi Whakatau My thanks to Tim Grafton for inviting me ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Lead Coordination Minister Judith Collins have expressed their deepest sympathy on the five-year anniversary of the Christchurch terror attacks. “March 15, 2019, was a day when families, communities and the country came together both in sorrow and solidarity,” Mr Luxon says. “Today we pay our respects to the 51 shuhada ...
Speech for Financial Advice NZ Conference 5 March 2024 Acknowledgements and opening Morena, Nga Mihi Nui. Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho. Thanks Nate for your Mihi Whakatau Good morning. It’s a pleasure to formally open your conference this morning. What a lovely day in Wellington, What a great ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters held discussions in Jakarta today about the future of relations between New Zealand and South East Asia’s most populous country. “We are in Jakarta so early in our new government’s term to reflect the huge importance we place on our relationship with Indonesia and South ...
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters has announced that the Foreign Minister of China, Wang Yi, will visit New Zealand next week. “We look forward to re-engaging with Foreign Minister Wang Yi and discussing the full breadth of the bilateral relationship, which is one of New Zealand’s ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has today opened the new Auckland Rail Operations Centre, which will bring together KiwiRail, Auckland Transport, and Auckland One Rail to improve service reliability for Aucklanders. “The recent train disruptions in Auckland have highlighted how important it is KiwiRail and Auckland’s rail agencies work together to ...
The Government is proud to support the 10th edition of Crankworx Rotorua as the Crankworx World Tour returns to Rotorua from 16-24 March 2024, says Minister for Economic Development Melissa Lee. “Over the past 10 years as Crankworx Rotorua has grown, so too have the economic and social benefits that ...
Legislation implementing coalition Government tax commitments and addressing long-standing tax anomalies will be progressed in Parliament next week, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The legislation is contained in an Amendment Paper to the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill issued today. “The Amendment Paper represents ...
Associate Environment Minister Andrew Hoggard has today announced that the Government has agreed to suspend the requirement for councils to comply with the Significant Natural Areas (SNA) provisions of the National Policy Statement for Indigenous Biodiversity for three years, while it replaces the Resource Management Act (RMA).“As it stands, SNAs ...
Agriculture Minister Todd McClay has classified the drought conditions in the Marlborough, Tasman, and Nelson districts as a medium-scale adverse event, acknowledging the challenging conditions facing farmers and growers in the district. “Parts of Marlborough, Tasman, and Nelson districts are in the grip of an intense dry spell. I know ...
The Government is helping farmers eradicate the significant impact of facial eczema (FE) in pastoral animals, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced. “A $20 million partnership jointly funded by Beef + Lamb NZ, the Government, and the primary sector will save farmers an estimated NZD$332 million per year, and aims to ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has completed a successful visit to India, saying it was an important step in taking the relationship between the two countries to the next level. “We have laid a strong foundation for the Coalition Government’s priority of enhancing New Zealand-India relations to generate significant future benefit for both countries,” says Mr Peters, ...
Cabinet has agreed to provide $7 million to ensure the 2024 ski season can go ahead on the Whakapapa ski field in the central North Island but has told the operator Ruapehu Alpine Lifts it is the last financial support it will receive from taxpayers. Cabinet also agreed to provide ...
Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says the launch of a new mobile breast screening unit in Counties Manukau reinforces the coalition Government’s commitment to drive better cancer services for all New Zealanders. Speaking at the launch of the new mobile clinic, Dr Reti says it’s a great example of taking ...
Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says the launch of a new mobile breast screening unit in Counties Manukau reinforces the coalition Government’s commitment to drive better cancer services for all New Zealanders. Speaking at the launch of the new mobile clinic, Dr Reti says it’s a great example of taking ...
Unlocking economic growth and land for housing are critical elements of the Government’s plan for our transport network, and planned upgrades to State Highway 29 (SH29) near Tauriko will deliver strongly on those priorities, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “The SH29 upgrades near Tauriko will improve safety at the intersections ...
Unlocking economic growth and land for housing are critical elements of the Government’s plan for our transport network, and planned upgrades to State Highway 29 (SH29) near Tauriko will deliver strongly on those priorities, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “The SH29 upgrades near Tauriko will improve safety at the intersections ...
Lower fruit and vegetable prices are welcome news for New Zealanders who have been doing it tough at the supermarket, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. Stats NZ reported today the price of fruit and vegetables has dropped 9.3 percent in the 12 months to February 2024. “Lower fruit and vege ...
Tēnā koutou katoa and greetings to you all. Chair, I am honoured to address the 68th session of the Commission on the Status of Women. I acknowledge the many crises impacting the rights of women and girls. Heightened global tensions, war, climate related and humanitarian disasters, and price inflation all ...
Tēnā koutou katoa and greetings to you all. Chair, I am honoured to address the sixty-eighth session of the Commission on the Status of Women. I acknowledge the many crises impacting the rights of women and girls. Heightened global tensions, war, climate related and humanitarian disasters, and price inflation all ...
The coalition Government is supporting farmers to enhance land management practices by investing $3.3 million in locally led catchment groups, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced. “Farmers and growers deliver significant prosperity for New Zealand and it’s vital their ongoing efforts to improve land management practices and water quality are supported,” ...
Good evening everyone and thank you for that lovely introduction. Thank you also to the Honourable Simon Bridges for the invitation to address your members. Since being sworn in, this coalition Government has hit the ground running with our 100-day plan, delivering the changes that New Zealanders expect of us. ...
Recommendations from the Climate Change Commission for New Zealand on the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) auction and unit limit settings for the next five years have been tabled in Parliament, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. “The Commission provides advice on the ETS annually. This is the third time the ...
The coalition Government is beginning its fight to lower building costs and reduce red tape by exempting minor building work from paying the building levy, says Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk. “Currently, any building project worth $20,444 including GST or more is subject to the building levy which is ...
Proposed changes to tax legislation to prevent the over-taxation of low-earning trusts are welcome, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The changes have been recommended by Parliament’s Finance and Expenditure Committee following consideration of submissions on the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill. “One of the ...
Assalaamu alaikum. السَّلَام عليكم In light of the holy month of Ramadan, I want to extend my warmest wishes to our Muslim community in New Zealand. Ramadan is a time for spiritual reflection, renewed devotion, perseverance, generosity, and forgiveness. It’s a time to strengthen our bonds and appreciate the diversity ...
Former Transport Minister and CEO of the Auckland Business Chamber Hon Simon Bridges has been appointed as the new Board Chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) for a three-year term, Transport Minister Simeon Brown announced today. “Simon brings extensive experience and knowledge in transport policy and governance to the role. He will ...
Good morning all, it is a pleasure to be here as Minister of Science, Innovation and Technology. It is fantastic to see how connected and collaborative the life science and biotechnology industry is here in New Zealand. I would like to thank BioTechNZ and NZTech for the invitation to address ...
Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says he is looking forward to the day when three key water projects in Northland are up and running, unlocking the full potential of land in the region. Mr Jones attended a community event at the site of the Otawere reservoir near Kerikeri on Friday. ...
Associate Finance Minister David Seymour has today announced that the Government has agreed to restore deductibility for mortgage interest on residential investment properties. “Help is on the way for landlords and renters alike. The Government’s restoration of interest deductibility will ease pressure on rents and simplify the tax code,” says ...
Sport and Recreation Minister Chris Bishop will travel to Switzerland today to attend an Executive Committee meeting and Symposium of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). Mr Bishop will then travel on to London where he will attend a series of meetings in his capacity as Infrastructure Minister. “New Zealanders believe ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Deborah Lupton, SHARP Professor, Vitalities Lab, Centre for Social Research in Health and Social Policy Centre, and the ARC Centre of Excellence for Automated Decision-Making and Society, UNSW Sydney kitzcorner/Shutterstock The assertion from Queensland’s chief health officer John Gerrard that ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Martin, Visiting Fellow, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University Shutterstock Why are musicians so keen to get played on the radio? It can’t be because of the money. In Australia they are paid at rates so low they ...
"Farmers make a point not to tell our urban cousins how to live, yet Chlöe from central Auckland is hell-bent on having her say about farmers," says ACT Rural Communities spokesman Mark Cameron. “On her first day in the House as Green ...
Analysis by Dr Bryce Edwards – Democracy Project (https://democracyproject.nz)Political scientist, Dr Bryce Edwards. It’s been a tumultuous time in politics in recent months, as the new National-led Government has driven through its “First 100 Day programme”. During this period there’s been a handful of opinion polls, which overall just ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tim Curran, Associate Professor of Ecology, Lincoln University, New Zealand Getty Images/Gerald Corsi In the latest move to reform environmental laws in New Zealand, the coalition government has introduced a bill to fast-track consenting processes for projects deemed to ...
Uber has argued it does not have as much control over drivers as the unions suggest, and wants a judgment ruling that drivers are employees and not contractors set aside and sent back to the Employment Court. The 2022 ruling followed a three-week hearing in which four drivers sought to ...
What can and can’t be purchased by disabled people or their carers has been slashed in an effort by the Ministry of Disabled People Whaikaha to save money. The purchasing guidelines, a set of rules that sets out what can be purchased using the various streams of Government disability funding, ...
The Treasury has published today a new Analytical Note by Tod Wright and Hien Nguyen, Fiscal incidence in New Zealand: The effects of taxes and benefits on household incomes in tax year 2018/19 . Analyses of the distributional impact of taxation and government ...
The Treasury has published today a new Analytical Note by Cory Davis, Boston Hart and Benjamin Stubbing, Household cost-of-living impacts from the Emissions Trading Scheme and using transfers to mitigate regressive outcomes . This Analytical Note ...
A coalition of public transport and climate organisations, united as ‘Transport for All’, is actively opposing the government’s transport proposals. The draft Government Policy Statement (GPS) includes plans for higher fares for public transport, ...
Greater Wellington is inviting feedback on proposed changes to its Revenue and Financing Policy. The Revenue and Financing Policy covers the Council’s various sources of funding, and how the cost of services is shared across the region. This includes ...
Labour has conceded it could have done more to deal with disruptive state housing tenants while in government but says the current coalition is going too far. ...
The band has asked their record label to issue a cease and desist to stop the NZ First leader using their 1997 hit to support his ‘misguided political views’. “I get knocked down, but I get up again,” blared through the speakers on Sunday as Winston Peters took the stage ...
By Lydia Lewis, RNZ Pacific journalist Food rationing is underway in remote areas in Papua New Guinea’s Highlands following torrential rain and flash flooding. More than 20 people have been reported dead in Chimbu Province. In nearby Enga Province, the centre of last month’s massacre, a 15-year-old boy has been ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andrew Hughes, Lecturer, Research School of Management, Australian National University After months of debate and intrigue, the AFL’s 19th and newest team, the Tasmania Devils, finally launched its jumper, logo and colours in Devonport this week. The Devils will wear green, ...
Brannavan Gnanalingam reviews the debut novel by Saraid de Silva.One of the most baffling things for children who move to a new country is what their parents’ (or grandparents’) lives were like prior to moving – for kids in particular, they’re too busy trying to fit in in their ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Stephen Gaunson, Associate Professor in Cinema Studies, RMIT University Narelle Portanier/Binge “If you don’t know who your mob are, you don’t know who you are,” Detective Andrea “Andie” Whitford (played by Leah Purcell) is told early into the new crime ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Elise Klein, Associate professor, Australian National University It’s commonly accepted that women do the vast majority of caregiving in Australian society. But less appreciated is that Indigenous women do larger amounts of unpaid care than any other group. Working with the Aboriginal ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Beaumont, Election Analyst (Psephologist) at The Conversation; and Honorary Associate, School of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of Melbourne Joe Biden and Donald Trump have both secured their parties’ nominations for the November 5 United States general election by winning a ...
Comment: There has been a striking contrast in trans-Tasman interest about Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi’s visit to New Zealand and Australia. While the Australian press has been full of articles about the visit – including his curious decision to meet with former prime minister and China booster Paul Keating ...
After years of pressuring banks and other institutions to stop investing in fossil fuels, climate campaigners are making some progress. So how does divestment work?For years, climate activists have been pushing banks and other big institutions to divest from fossil fuels. New research from climate advocacy group 350 Aotearoa ...
For Boba, Ethan and Ashley, K-pop is a place to belong, a way to express themselves, and a bridge to connect with others. The three young Polynesians are part of a K-pop fan community in Tāmaki Makaurau. It’s one of many that have sprung up worldwide as K-pop has gone ...
For Boba, Ethan and Ashley, K-pop is a place to belong, a way to express themselves, and a bridge to connect with others. This one-off documentary presents three intimate portraits of young Polynesians who are pulled into a Korean cultural phenomenon. K-POLYS is directed by Litia Tuiburelevu, Produced by Hex ...
There’s ample evidence demonstrating free school lunch programmes provide wide benefits across schools, households and communities according to public health researchers. ACT Minister David Seymour wants to reduce the spending on Aotearoa New Zealand’s ...
By Wata Shaw in Suva Fiji is facing an exodus of Fijians as many are leaving for overseas seeking employment and education and others are migrating, says Opposition MP Viliame Naupoto. Speaking in Parliament, he said: “His Excellency’s speech (Ratu Wiliame Katonivere) comes after a little over one year of ...
The Taxpayers’ Union is welcoming comments from Christopher Luxon this morning recommitting to ‘no new taxes’ as part of Budget 2024. “Mr Luxon’s refusal at the Post-Cabinet press conference yesterday to repeat the ‘no new taxes’ promise ...
SAFE is urgently calling on the Environment Committee to reject the Government’s Fast-Track Approvals Bill, and is urging New Zealanders to rally behind the call. The proposed Bill, currently under consideration with the Environment select committee, ...
Teammates who spend all their time picking fights with spectators are only helpful for the other team, writes Madeleine Chapman. Anyone who has ever played a team sport competitively, particularly as a child and particularly, for some reason, basketball, will know that there’s a lot of politics involved. While there ...
The long-running Wellington music festival is too focused on the Jim Beam-ness and not enough on the Homegrown-ness.There is something about Homegrown that’s difficult to place. A barely perceptible-ness. Like feeling a ghost is watching you from the corner of the room but when you look, there’s nothing there. ...
The latest Ipsos New Zealand Issues Monitor reveals that fewer New Zealanders believe crime / law and order is one of the top issues facing our country. In 2018, Ipsos New Zealand started tracking the key issues facing New Zealand. In this wave ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kate Griffiths, Deputy Program Director, Budgets and Government, Grattan Institute Australia’s political donations rules are woefully inadequate, but donations reform is finally on the agenda. The federal government has signalled its interest in reform and will soon begin briefing MPs on its ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mark Patrick Taylor, Chief Environmental Scientist, EPA Victoria; Honorary Professor, School of Natural Sciences, Macquarie University Naiyana Somchitkaeo/Shutterstock A recent study published in the prestigious New England Journal of Medicine has linked microplastics with risk to human health. The study ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Albert Van Dijk, Professor, Water and Landscape Dynamics, Fenner School of Environment & Society, Australian National University Global climate records were shattered in 2023, from air and sea temperatures to sea-level rise and sea-ice extent. Scores of countries recorded their hottest year ...
As part of our series exploring how New Zealanders live and our relationship with money, a teacher explains why he and his partner are in frugal mode – and how they’re making it work. Gender: Male Age: 35Ethnicity: Pākehā Role: I am an intermediate school teacher and my partner is ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sarah Bendall, Senior Lecturer, Institute for Humanities and Social Sciences, Australian Catholic University Binge Mary & George, the new British television drama series, depicts the real-life story of Mary Villiers and her son George, and their social climbing at the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jason Nassios, Associate Professor, Centre of Policy Studies, Victoria University This article is part of The Conversation’s series examining the housing crisis. Read the other articles in the series here. Australian state and federal governments spend money in many ways to ...
The finance minister is denying that there’s a $5.6b shortfall in paying for the government’s campaign promises, including tax cuts. At his post-cabinet press conference yesterday, the PM refused to rule out new taxes to pay for the cuts, writes Anna Rawhiti-Connell in this excerpt from The Bulletin, The Spinoff’s ...
Kāinga Ora tenants abused by their neighbours are doubting the government's crackdown on disruptive tenants will make a difference on their behaviour. ...
Kāinga Ora is New Zealand’s biggest residential landlord, housing more than 180,000 vulnerable people in more than 67,000 properties. Yesterday the government announced a crackdown on its tenants who fall behind on rent. One longtime Kāinga Ora tenant shares her experience.For 18 years I lived in a 1960s standalone ...
Why does this myth persist, and what’s the real reason our skin is suffering?It’s one of the biggest international grievances New Zealanders hold, up there with the sinking of the Rainbow Warrior and 1981’s underarm incident. We’re quick to tell international travellers that the world’s pollution led to the ...
Opinion: In a move that has shocked road safety advocates across the country, the new Minister of Transport, Simeon Brown, is poised to abandon the previous government’s speed limit reduction policy, particularly around schools. Even more alarmingly, he wants school speed limits to be variable rather than full-time, arguing ...
Auckland Council is opposing a fast-track development backed by Sir John Kirwan and Spark NZ, because it doesn’t meet stringent new climate adaptation requirements The post Surf-data centre faces new 3.8C climate warming rules appeared first on Newsroom. ...
When the Criminal Proceeds (Recovery) Act was introduced in 2009 it was firmly targeted at gangs and drugs. The legislation means police no longer need a conviction to seize assets that criminals can’t prove were paid for legitimately, as long as their alleged offences are punishable by more than a ...
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Bob’s relationship with certain members of Lincoln’s academic staff continued to deteriorate in the 1990s. Others supported him publicly, though articles such as Roland Clark’s 1993 piece in Growing Today cannot have pleased the university management. Clark wrote that Bob was selling onions from the Biological Husbandry Unit to a ...
SailGP’s races feature in-your-face action, with agile, hydro-foiling catamarans tacking and jibing for the title over several days. However, public comments ahead of the global series’ return to New Zealand have left this past year’s controversy in the shadows, as a key appointment attracts criticism from dolphin advocates. A year ...
Opinion: We are fast approaching a fundamental change in prisons. As the number of people on custodial remand looks set to overtake the number of sentenced prisoners, the main function of prisons in New Zealand may become incarcerating un-sentenced people who may not be guilty of offending. We have already ...
A huge seven months lies in store for the White Ferns, beginning this week with the visit of England and culminating with the T20 World Cup in Bangladesh in September and October. Starting on Tuesday in Dunedin, the world ranked No. 2 visitors will play five T20s and three ODIs, ...
The letters, which were published last week, were addressed to Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) Chairperson Megawati Sukarnoputri, National Democrat Party (NasDem) Chairperson Surya Paloh, National Awakening Party (PKB) Chairperson Muhaimin Iskandar, Justice and Prosperity Party (PKS) President Ahmad Syaikhu and United Development Party (PPP) Chairperson Muhammad Mardiono. In ...
Evicting more people from state housing is ignorant to the consequences of poverty, the Greens say, but the Housing Minister says it's a privilege that can be taken away if abused. ...
Evicting more people from state housing is ignorant to the consequences of poverty, the Greens say, but the Housing Minister says it's a privilege that can be taken away if abused. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Emerald L King, Lecturer in Humanities, University of Tasmania IMDB Between Netflix’s 2023 live-action version of One Piece, and its latest take on Avatar: The Last Airbender, fans are once again asking: why are live-action anime adaptations so tricky to ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Emerald L King, Lecturer in Humanities, University of Tasmania IMDB Between Netflix’s 2023 live-action version of One Piece, and its latest take on Avatar: The Last Airbender, fans are once again asking: why are live-action anime adaptations so tricky to ...
The government says it still intends to deliver tax cuts by July, but will not lock them in until they have got them past their coalition partners. ...
Kiingi Tuheitia Pootatau Te Wherowhero VII has hosted members of the Green Party Caucus at Tuurangawaewae Marae in Ngaaruawahia. The audience follows the King’s Hui-aa-Motu on 20 January, where more than 10,000 people gathered to discuss national ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Dr Rachael Potter, Research Associate and Lecturer in Work and Organisational Psychology, University of South Australia Ground Picture/Shutterstock Pregnant women and workers with children are often unfairly treated by their bosses and colleagues, despite laws to protect against workplace discrimination ...
Reacting to Prime Minister Christopher Luxon’s refusal to rule out introducing new taxes at the budget, Taxpayers’ Union Campaigns Manager, Connor Molloy, said: “Today’s refusal to rule out new taxes suggests the Government is nothing more ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Stephen Duckett, Honorary Enterprise Professor, School of Population and Global Health, and Department of General Practice and Primary Care, The University of Melbourne Aila Images/Shutterstock Aged-care workers will receive a significant pay increase after the Fair Work Commission ruled they ...
He’s bringing ‘Sophie’ back, yeah. Goodshirt’s ‘Sophie’ music video is one of the most instantly recognisable New Zealand music videos of all time. Featuring a woman listening to the song on headphones while her entire house is burgled behind her, the video won the New Zealand music award for Best ...
“I have been advertising for chefs and cooks for over a week now on various platforms and I have had zero applications,” Roper said.
A week and her whinefest is in the papers? Entitled much?
Employers have had unrestricted access to migrant visas for so long that they have lost essential skills like hiring.
From real estate agents to pet groomers: These are the jobs that New Zealanders can't or won't do | Stuff.co.nz
i am in Queenstown at this very moment. Every second shop is advertising for staff so what the article says is very real.
A week is not a very credible period to be complaining over looking for staff. And, for working people, Queenstown is damned inconvenient, with accommodation costs so high it's basically not worth considering. As with most other "labour shortages" it will prove solvable when remuneration sufficiently exceeds cost of living.
You do wonder about these starry-eyed screw-ups though. Never thought to do any labour planning, but expect to fix everything in a week. Mark of what passes for professionalism in NZ – rofl.
If they're not getting applications the conditions they're offering are not meeting what the market demands.
Funny that.
A couple of added dynamics in Queenstown are covid and economic effects of.
Hospo workers aren’t that keen on working in an environment where they could contract it and have moved to safer jobs. The other is the economic health of the employer, the bar across the street from us has had more staff than punters during the day for the last few weeks. They can’t do that for long.
Good stable employers don’t seem to be having too much trouble, a barista job went at the Resort College last month and they had plenty of applicants and got a very good appointment in the process
Ms Roper is wanting cooks for a food truck.
Full time work?
Hours of work? Split shifts?
Pay rate?
Will Ms Roper be investing in her staff by upskilling, cross training, or help formalizing experience with courses?
It is what is not said in these articles that is most interesting.
What on earth do immigration think they are doing? I read page one and my jaw dropped. Accounting and clerical vacancies per the main websites are still running at around 60% of pre covid vacancies and there has been an abysmal training record in this area for years. This years grads plus some more training on the job for them would fill the bulk of this. Plus moving jobs outside Auckland instead of trapping them in the noe city. Plus these are female heavy occupations where unemployment has hit hard.
As to aircraft engineers – Air New Zealand laid off some of those. Why not let the market sort out those who can't offer a viable job – isn't this how it is supposed to work. Plus anyone who wants a visa should have to prove that they have provided training to anyone who wants to upskill.
When a person has a work visa do they need to have that visa tied to just the one job and for a specific period of time?
How long does the average worker last if not tied to the above?
There has been a few more of these landlord / tenant stories lately.
Auckland tenant's sons got angry, put 41 holes in walls and doors of rental | Stuff.co.nz
https://www.stuff.co.nz/sunday-star-times/123416587/device-addiction-leading-to-increase-in-youth-violence-against-parents
Addiction to electronic devices appears to be fuelling an increase in serious violence caused by young people within the family home.
Triggered by disputes over devices, when parents put their foot down to limit access to the internet the reaction can be extreme – leading to property damage, serious assaults and threats to kill.
Nelson lawyer John Sandston, who was formerly the New Zealand Law Society’s inaugural youth justice spokesperson and has been a youth advocate for 25 years, said the trend seemed to have “come out of nowhere”.
“I can’t think of a case [in the Youth Court] in the past year or two where it hasn’t related to either a gadget such as a phone, or a game, or internet usage.
And it's wise to be wary of adopting any of the technology being pushed at you.
https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-44765830
A recent report by the New York Times detailed examples of "technology-facilitated abuse".
This involves devices being activated remotely in order to cause fear or confusion – such as remotely altering the temperature or locking doors.
In my post a few days ago I set out the buildup of political judgement against the Reserve Bank putting $28billion of untagged debt into our banks.
Minister Robertson publically releasing his letter to the Reserve Bank yesterday is a hot political move.
The Reserve Bank was scheduled to hold its big media conference today. That makes this battle fully live.
Orr will be forced to explain what he is going to do about rising house prices as requested by the Minister of Finance.
Orr can continue to defend or demonstrate really clearly the positive effects of his policies.
Tail, meet Dog.
If Robertson wishes to force the RBNZ to do the governments job for them re house price inflation he in return will be forced to explain what alternative negative outcome the government prefers….be careful what you wish for.
Agree.
Feels like a bad ball offload.
exactly, do your job Grant and then let Orr do his. This govt needs to grow a pair and rip a few pages up.
A battle of egos? A battle for power? A PR battle, which pundits and MSM will love? I wonder on whose side the Opposition is …
It is telling the opposition are supporting Robertson.
If we wish the RBNZ to become politicians (and write policy) then perhaps we should add the role of RBNZ Governor to the voting ballot.
Supporting Robertson? They're saying hes doing what they told him to do !
Indeed they are….is that not support?
As close as an opposition party can get i spose
Orr should offer to just give Treasury a direct overdraft in future, rather than the effective equivalent of secondary market purchases. Its time, the public trusts the govt to fund itself.
Then he could offer to "reverse" the QE by writing off all the govt debt it now holds.
Is there a difference between Treasury and the Reserve Bank and if so what is it?
They are obviously the same organisation with two totally different names to confuse the natives.
The Treasury and the Reserve Bank have the following individual responsibilities:
https://www.treasury.govt.nz/about-treasury/our-work/key-relationships/relationship-reserve-bank-new-zealand
Thanks for the info.
Must the government heed the Treasury? What sanctions would be on the government for not doing so? Is there no room for government to act independently and not be eviscerated by the usual suspects?
Parliament is sovereign so no need to heed any body, but theoretically Treasury (or other departments) have the expertise that MPs dont necessarily have..however Governments are elected to govern so they have the obligation to make the decisions.
Am unsure who the 'usual suspects' are in your post
…oh, and would add theres no love lost between the RBNZ and Treasury and has been that way as long as I can remember
Well the usual suspects would likely be, the Opposition, possibly business interests like NZ Initiative, the bank economists, the Property owners and renters bodies, and anyone who is having their gravy train pushed to a siding from the main line.
Ah , those suspects….thats quite a lot of voters
State o play: https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/political/431372/reserve-bank-governor-adrian-orr-defends-approach-tackling-inflation-amid-runaway-house-prices
Reading between the lines: https://thespinoff.co.nz/politics/25-11-2020/grant-robertson-v-adrian-orr-those-letters-decoded/
I find it really offensive and insulting that this has become a stoush between Robertson and the Reserve Bank. If this Labour were worth its salt it would immediately curb rampant house price inflation by imposing CGT on all but the family home. Tax the shit out of residential property speculators. It's not about "mum and dad investors' or "getting on the property ladder."
Get back into a huge state house building programme. Couple it with trade training schemes to upskill our own people. Invest in NZ firms which can provide modern spec, flat pack affordable houses.
The cause of poverty in NZ is unaffordable rents, which take up so much of benefits and low wages.
Oh, and get rid of landbankers, real estate agents, and property developers.
Ie what’s happened to core Labour vision and principles?
As a lifetime Labour voter, I’m struggling to make sense of it all.
Yet a week ago our PM was justifying the independence of the reserve bank and having a go at the opposition for suggesting to give RB direction. How quickly things change especially as the govt has been caught out being totally ineffective. But don't worry after being the government for 3 years they are looking for "I have also sought advice on further demand side measures that can add to the initiatives that we have already taken". Do your 🤬 job you were elected
https://www.beehive.govt.nz/release/government-review-housing-settings
"But Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern is concerned about influencing the Reserve Bank, which operates independently of the Government.
"That seems a significant departure for a political party in New Zealand to move away from what has been long-term consensus around the separation between politicians and the Reserve Bank," she said in response to National's suggestions.
"I'd say that is concerning. There's very good reason we have those separations."
https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2020/11/national-s-call-to-ask-reserve-bank-hard-questions-on-rising-house-prices-concerns-jacinda-ardern.html
"There's very good reason we have those separations".
Someone should ask her, at a Press Conference preferably, to tell us what those reasons are. The stuttering and waffling would be a marvel to behold.
I don't believe she has the slightest idea what the reasons, if any, are.
to keep politicians (who are susceptible to public pressure) away from the levers
So how is our Finance minister writing a letter to the RB with suggestions on changing the remit regarding (un) affordability keeping politicians at arms length ? If we want the reserve bank distant from public pressure what then motivated our Min of Finance ?
"One proposal I am seeking advice from the Reserve Bank on is whether to include stability in house prices as a factor for consideration in the Remit when formulating monetary policy,"
the 'note' written to the RBNZ Governor was explicit in noting the Act was not going to be changed….it was Robertson playing politics (badly)
Sadly this gov has squandered the previous 3 years in power and are now intent on wasting the opportunity that Orr has been telling them to seize
Did you notice the reply he got from the RBNZ?
In response to the query asking whether they could include house prices in their work the response was very simple. It was "We already do so"
Yes read that and glad that the RB does pay attention – Think how the property market would be otherwise. Its not functioning for the benefit of the country currently and what of the social damage being caused as a unintended consequence of the policies put into place.
Totally agree. I have no problem with speculators but they should pay tax on capital gains in the same way we pay tax on our salaries.
Is it still possible to BDM Sodastream now that SnoopDogg is their brand ambassador?
Pressing issues of our time..
Though a frequent customer at a nice cafe, I wonder if the problem getting staff is that there are so many cafes in some places. Some may be struggling to cover costs. Is there a need for a food truck in Wanaka when there are likely to be several cafes already. Is accommodation hard to find there, which would deter some prospective chefs. Especially if the work is irregular.
There may be some places for single staff. But your better cooks do marry, just like folk in other professions. A family home in Queenstown would use up a salary on a par with Adrian Orr.
The tRump bot.
A coronavirus outbreak in Shanghai has been traced to two cargo handlers who cleaned a container that had just arrived from North America, Chinese health officials have said.
Hundreds of flights were cancelled at Shanghai’s Pudong International airport, one of the world’s busiest transport hubs, amid chaotic scenes caused by a sudden decision to test airport staff on Sunday.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/nov/23/shanghai-covid-outbreak-traced-to-cargo-from-north-america
https://www.stuff.co.nz/travel/news/300166361/we-know-were-privileged-to-be-here-but-were-also-all-youve-got-right-now
An accurate response to the shit that poured from Nash's mouth the other day.
They are welcome to apply for citizenship like anyone else.
The skill criteria of what we need are published for all to see.
With growing unemployment of our own people, we should hire our own people for our own stuff.
So ad..let's say you are a kiwi working in oz…and a local labour party supporter said that..what would your thoughts/reactions be..?..would you need those words and immediately decamp to the airport..?..or would you dismiss those words as xenophobic/nativist..?
So do you agree with what Nash said about freedom campers? Your tone suggests you do, but you haven't addressed the point of Zoe Hannah's piece, which was a direct response to Nash's remarks. You could get a job in Judith Collins' comms team.
Spaceships owner James Rolleston – who owns a fleet of 600 campervans with 0 toilets onboard, had the best subliminal line on this:
"We have 15 years of operating that business and we've put a huge amount of focus into education about how to camp, where to camp, how to look after the environment. It's actually a complex issue… I think just cubbyholing a business like Spaceship rentals is a bit rough."
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/430923/tourism-providers-split-over-minister-s-freedom-camper-rhetoric
James Rolleston gains millions in rent rent by selling 600 "cubbyholes" for over 1200 people to live and work in. He should be treated as a landlord and subject to the same quality standards as a landlord.
He only gets away with being a slumlord by being classed a tourism operator.
In fact James Rolleston has duped tens of thousands of Zoe Hannah's into being willingly oppressed and enjoying the scenery while they shit all over it.
The Zoe Hannah's of this world should be stopped from entering at the border, and get in line for an actual sustainable job that is proven cannot be done by a New Zealander first.
'New zealand(er) first' ..there..!…fixed that for you…
I'm sure I saw you as an extra in The Grapes of Wrath
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fOuAZLA_jWQ
It's good you've made your position clear. It's a shame it's such a fucked up position. Blinkin' heck. Keep that up and Judith Collins will be knocking on your door very soon. The You and Stu Show. Fuck me. Nothing to say to that.
Bob's not dead.
https://popculture.com/music/news/bob-dylan-is-not-dead-despite-msnbc-on-air-report/
Last time he toured here his performance was so bad that he may as well have been dead.
Tens of millions suffering and the tRump gang blocks access to hundreds of billions of unspent relief appropriations.
Cruelty is the point.
https://twitter.com/AliVelshi/status/1330161985577684994
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin will put $455 billion in unspent Cares Act funding into an account that his presumed successor, former Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen, will need authorization from Congress to use.
Mnuchin plans to place the money into the agency’s General Fund, a Treasury Department spokesperson said Tuesday. Moving the funds, the bulk of which had gone to support Federal Reserve emergency-lending facilities, will make it virtually impossible for Yellen, if confirmed by the Senate as Treasury secretary, to deploy on her own.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-11-24/mnuchin-to-put-455-billion-in-funds-out-of-yellen-s-easy-reach
THE FABLE
A DOG was lying upon a manger full of hay. An Ox, being hungry, came near, and offered to eat of the hay; but the envious, ill-natured cur, getting up and snarling at him, would not suffer him to touch it, Upon which the Ox, in the bitterness of his heart, said, A curse light on thee, for a malicious wretch, who wilt neither eat hay thyself, nor suffer others to do it.
THE APPLICATION
C. Whittingham (1814)
Envy is the most unnatural and unaccountable of all the passions. There is scarce any other emotion of the mind, however unreasonable, but may have something said in excuse for it; and there are many of these weaknesses of the soul, which, notwithstanding the wrongness and irregularity of them, swell the heart, while they last, with pleasure and gladness. But the envious man has no such apology as this to make; the stronger the passion is, the greater torment he endures, and subjects himself to a continual real pain, bv only wishing ill to others. Revenge is sweet, though cruel and inhuman; and though it sometimes thirsts even for blood, yet may be glutted and satiated. Avarice is something highly monstrous and absurd; yet, as it is a desire after riches, every little acquisition gives it pleasure; and to behold and feel the hoarded treasure, to a covetous man is a constant, uncloying enjoyment. But envy, which is an anxiety arising in our minds, upon our observing accomplishments in others, which we want ourselves, can never receive any true comfort, unless in a deluge, a conflagration, a plague, or some general calamity that should befal mankind: for, as long as there is a creature living, that enjoys its being happily within the envious man’s sphere, it will afford nourishment to his distempered mind: but such nourishment as will make him pine, and fret, and emaciate himself to nothing.
https://fablesofaesop.com/the-dog-in-the-manger.html
Fable: the new zealand labour party..
application: smear/cake it with neoliberal-incrementalism..
Something I saw last year and worth repeating this year.
Sorry can't locate the source.
"Black Friday Discounts Save 100% Stay at Home"
Lol
Too funny.
https://twitter.com/JohnFugelsang/status/1331401556265226240
Possibly not troo funny.
https://twitter.com/JaneLytv/status/1331382801984319488
Who knows. I hope it's incompetence.
TBF, if it turns out the app required identity details and despite years of being told to beware, users handed them over….
'Social Capital' hasn't been in the talk for a while. I'm just reading Bowling Alone – The Collapse and Revival of American Community by Robert D Putnam. Big well backed with stats, good hypotheses, over 400 pages of good thinking. This updated version published 2000. Hopefully at a library near you – I had to request it.
There are heavy stats on how television has diminished communities and co-operative society. You can't goggle and boggle at the same time – it doesn't give you time to think before the next amazing scene, tragedy, kitten, whale, comes before you. Passivity is the name of the game, unless the game is watching sport!
Have you just come back from some sort of timewarp..?…where the deleterious outcomes from watching television is the moral-panic du jour..?…oh..!..what we'd give for those much simpler times back/again..eh..?
Almost spiteful Phillip Ure. Can you can the negative comments that I notice you specialise in amongst your so many contributions! I am looking for perspectives and solutions to our pressing problems in NZ and I don't need your superior opinions expressed in your sardonic way. They are not at all helpful.
If you leave doors wide open…I'm gonna walk right thru them…and that fretting over tv watching is such a door…you will be relieved to learn that the kids don't really watch much tv anymore….so your initial problem is no more…people now yearn for the times when families watched TV together…now everyone is in their own online world…but 'spiteful'..?..I really don't think so..
It's a good read. Tends to debunk the melting pot story too.
Clever, funny skit in the Spinoff about JAs 'carnng' persona. I have to say that I can't bear to listen to any of Jacinda's Facebook stints that appear on my wife's Facebook page these days. They seem so insincere.
That is very good…the last paragraph especially so…
Superb Koff…. thanks for that. It is only funny because it is (largely) true.