National may as well just admit that they work for Ardern.
The only time in a term that National has had Labour in any Parliamentary trouble was yesterday when the Speaker started warning Ardern for the urgency bill on mandates.
Played well in the public it could have become another Auckland cycleway moment.
Then, shanking Bridges late last night, Collins has cleared the media week for Ardern to do absolutely anything she wants. Way to pull out the 5-year-old hit file Judith.
Collins just gave Ardern her Christmas gift early.
Bridges must surely have signalled that he was going to challenge: there's no other reason for Collins to pull the hit file.
National MP Simon O'Connor said today: "One thing clear to me is that Judith Collins must resign."
It's clear to Simon? hahahahahahaha … 5 million people already worked it out long ago, and now the Brains Trust who think they should be running the country have finally latched on.
At least one Employment Court judge understands when an employer is being unreasonable.
[165] Good faith is a developing concept. Its scope is informed by particular circumstances. The Act focuses on maintaining and preserving employment relationships, rather than terminating them. It is arguable that in circumstances such as the COVID-19 context, where a “no jab, no job” outcome is under consideration, there is an active obligation on the employer to constructively consider and consult on alternatives where there is an objectively justifiable reason not to be vaccinated.47
[166] In summary, I find that it is arguable that, in light of the process points discussed, the steps taken by AIAL were not those a fair and reasonable employer could have taken.
Our Parliament has failed us spectacularly as the Speaker castigates his own Party and an opposition party eviscerates itself … all late at night …. all under "urgency"
Transphobes like Stock are anti-feminist, anti-queer and anti-intellectual, they are harmful and dangerous to trans people. They’re spiteful bootlickers, with Stock alone spitting out years worth of tweets, articles and organizing that make her distaste for our existence abundantly clear.
But guess what?
We are not up for debate. We cannot be reasoned out of existence. And we will not let people try to.
They camouflage their transphobia in academic language, in fake feminism, in "reasonable concerns", and then we suffer the real material consequences of it.
University of Sussex have continued to employ Stock whilst her rhetoric has contributed to the dire state of unsafety for trans people in this colonial shit-hole, whilst she profits from transphobia, and whilst students here have been resigned to stomach the influence and impact of her transphobia. This university is actively enabling and encouraging her transphobia by not firing her, which whilst not surprising, has continued for far too long.
We’ve fucking had enough.
We are an anonymous, unaffiliated group of queer, trans and non-binary students who will not allow our community to be slandered and harmed by someone who’s salary comes from our pockets. If you care for our community like we do, spread the word, get people angry, angry enough to do something about it.
Our demand is simple: fire Kathleen Stock. Until then, you’ll see us around.
I always enjoy the Triggernometry guys' informal wee chats. It is so important to spend actual time speaking with a person…to get to the heart of where they're coming from. This one's an extra good effort.
To me their very anonymity enables them to cross many lines where reasonableness and a knowledge of who they actually were may have been a more potent way of approaching things. Instead they focus their anonymity on someone who has no similar shield available to them. In other words there is no inbuilt holding back because others may know who they are ie a sense that they have to live now and in the future in their community. .
One point that I might have not grasped correctly is this – are the UK legislators 'walking back' the legislation or proposed legislation relating to changing the birth documents on the basis of feeling or averring. I got this from a reference that one of the guys said that Stonewall may not be as influential with the policy people in Govt as they once were. Is this correct?
Many government departments were receiving advice from Stonewall about HR policies and diversity. Some were paying for workshops, others were paying to be part of the diversity champions scheme, and the equality index (where Stonewall rated companies for their actions regarding diversity. Feedback or correspondence between companies and Stonewall was confidential and not to be disseminated.
Therefore NHS and the Scottish government received "advice" on how to improve their ratings by doing such things as removing words such as women and replacing with gender neutral language.
As this advice was confidential, and the involvement in the schemes was across the board, the influence was very effective and efficient, striking members of the public as pervasive and seemingly coming out of nowhere.
Some government departments and institutions may have withdrawn from the scheme, but the structures put in place (eg. Workplace Diversity Champion positions and groups) will remain, and still may hold tremendous influence.
The political zeitgeist also remains. You only have to look at this video from Family First regarding the select committee to understand how difficult it will be to have a proper conversation about resolving unintended issues from legislative change here in NZ. (I know….. Bob McKroskie?)
The guardian a scary New Covid variant B1.1.529 found in Botswanna and South Africa ,also in a returning traveller from South Africa to Hong Kong.This variant is able to avoid the bodies defence mechanisms.
Keeping MIQ in place is a must just opening our borders could be a disaster!
Quite frankly, who gives an single solitary shit if Bridges at some point did the blokey thing and offended a female colleague? This is politics, it is by it's very nature dirty and uncouth and, well, political. I don't know about anyone else but his, and any other politician's, shameful behaviour is unsurprising and barely worth a mention when there are more important things we ought to be paying attention to.
What is more important is just why his boss chose that particular moment in time to haul out that stale wee turd and fling it.
Not that you'd know it from a quick perusal of this morning's headlines in MSN and the two supposedly lefty blogsites but a very important piece of legislation was rammed through the House under urgency yesterday that even had The Speaker of the House up in arms.
Mallard suggested the Government could have taken a day for each of the bill’s three readings, and included a shortened select committee process to hear public submissions in between.
He said the Government, which announced its plans for a “traffic light system” in October, should have made public its policy decision, legal drafting instructions and early drafts of the bill.
He also criticised MPs outside the Government, who sit on select committees, for not seeking a committee inquiry into the prospective law.
This is not the first time I have been personally affected by a rushed through piece of legislation that came on the back of many years of legal wranglings and a concerted effort by Ministry of Health bureaucrats to portray family carers of disabled New Zealanders with very high support needs (that were often unfunded by the Ministry anyway because they required RN level that they refused to fund in the home).
The Ministry of Health bureaucrats lied. They repeatedly demonstrated that they had an extraordinarily poor grasp of the reality of life with a significant disability and in their arrogance dismissed and indeed denigrated those of us who did…and still do.
Unlike our personal legislative little shit pile the one passed last night does still allow for folks to take their objections to the Courts…but as one legal experts says…
“But the point is filing an action in the High Court is not cheap. One of the problems that the applicants have had so far in these [vaccine mandate] cases – and I'm not someone who would like them to succeed, I have to admit – but one of the problems they've had is getting the evidence together, or how do they really contest, realistically contest, the weight of the Ministry of Health?
“The courts have shown that they're very deferential at the moment to the Ministry of Health's calculus and I think for good reasons. What does a High Court judge know about vaccination? They're just going to say, 'Well it looks good', and they have been saying that.
“Actually, this is a really significant intrusion on some people who object to the vaccination. They have the choice of either getting a substance they don't like put [in their] bodies, or they basically will be socially excluded.”
For a wee while there there was some Opposition in the House about this…but Judith's little shit-fling seems to have put paid to that.
Funny that. Politics, eh? Great spectator sport, bring popcorn. Just don't ever, ever give any thought to those who find themselves affected by this.
Funny that. Politics, eh? Great spectator sport, bring popcorn. Just don't ever, ever give any thought to those who find themselves affected by this.
Agree, Rosemary.
Those that primarily look at politics as a team sport or entertainment seem to be those most likely insulated against the impact of badly constructed legislation. For them it's point scoring, for those affected it is often life-changing (usually detrimentally).
I appreciate your reminders to think deeply and look wider in these discussions.
This will be one of the largest expansions of our total national safety net since the formation of ACC.
We are going to get a tax increase of 1-2% to pay for it.
He may well have taken 1.5 political terms to do it, but Roberston is delivering to core Labour values. He's my favourite NZ politician over two terms.
Two-tier benefit system, differentiating between the deserving and undeserving beneficiaries?
No surprises there from Grant Robertson.
Unlike you, I don't think he deserves accolades. (Can’t read article to see details. Will hold back censure until it comes out in full, but previous Robertson quotes on this were concerning in terms of division of those in financial stress.)
he is going to pay some people 80% of their last income as unemployment benefit.
The rest that does not fall in this group of super duper lucky good unemployed people as identified by Grant Robertson get the usual starvation rate and a food parcel if they find a charity that still has some to give out.
So theres been a lot of talk about the Kyle Rittenhouse court case and I'm not going to rehash whats already been said and done because, well its already been said and done
Instead I want to point out more evidence of bias from the MSM because there seems to be more questioning of the narrative of the MSM when they put out stories and hopefully this will continue
One of the stranger things that came out of the case was the 'what if the races were reversed'
Firstly because CNN and others played the race card up themselves, ie when talking about Kyle they always mentioned that he was white and that he shot Black Lives Matter activists and that led to quite a few people here and in the USA to believing that Kyle had shot black people.
Does anyone think if Jacob Blake was white he would have got the same treatment:
When Jacob Blake was shot (not killed) he had Joe Biden call him up, he had protests (later riots) start up in his name and 'Prosecutors also announced that Blake would not face any new charges and they dropped previous sexual assault and trespassing charges against Blake in exchange for him pleading guilty to two misdemeanor counts of disorderly conduct, for which he was then sentenced to two years of probation.'
So I don't think in this instance race was the determining factor, it is political ideology that would determine the outcome
Remember also that Kyle was also described in the MSM, variously, as white supremacist, a murderer, a terriorist, in the KKK, you name it
Joe Biden even linked him to White supremacism and even after the verdict and the evidence has been seen people on the left are still vilifying him and saying things that the trial refuted.
Hell Facebook banned people supporting Kyle and gofundme wouldn't allow him to use their site to fund raise for his own defence, innocent until proven?
So lets look at Darrell Brooks, the man that allegedly killed 6 (so far) people and injured over 60 and see what the MSM are saying about him, if you can find the articles, and to make it more interesting count the articles featuring Kyle Rittenhouse and the articles featuring Darrell Brookes
CNN, MSNBC, The Washington Times, NBC News, CBC News, New York Times etc
If Darrell Brooks was white would there be more coverage or less (could hardly be less), if Darrell Brooks was white would the media say he was white, if Darrell Brookes was white would CNN describe him a 'parade crash suspect' or something else
Yes Fox News is biased, absolutely and so is every other MSM news outlet, they're not just getting it wrong.
They are deliberately lying to us, they are telling us what to think.
“The Party told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears. It was their final, most essential command.”
I think I was looking at different page. Still all three are couched in the most anodyne framing possible.
But while we're there I see the Arberry Ahmoud jury returned guilty verdicts as I mentioned yesterday. That is good news – despite the elites doing their level best to make everything about race – ordinary people on juries are getting it right more often than not.
No other country in the world would let teenagers, or anybody for that matter, fetishsise, possess, threaten or go wherever TF they like with sole purpose weapons, kill each other and then walk away claiming self-defence.
America, FUCK YEAH! ..more unhinged by the day.
A pregnant Florida woman is dead after allegedly initiating a road rage incident with a motorcyclist in Orange City on Saturday, police say.
Sara Nicole Morales, 35, hit Andrew Derr's motorcycle intentionally with her blue Kia along the 1400 block of North Volusia Avenue around 5 p.m., according to investigators. Derr was not injured in the minor accident, and he and witnesses followed Morales while she drove away from the scene.
[…]
When Morales reached home, she went inside and reportedly retrieved a firearm. She confronted Derr and the witnesses in the street while they were on the phone with 911, according to the police.
Derr, who has a valid Florida concealed weapons permit, drew his firearm and fired multiple rounds, striking Morales.
No mention of colour, no one describing this as deliberate, no mention of terrorism, no mention of racism and its already off the front page, no going through his tweets or facebook like with Kyle, any democrat politicians been out to the victims…
You have to listen to what people don't say to start understanding their private thoughts.
Interesting idea. Since people don't say far more than they do say, it sounds like a recipe for getting caught up in endless paranoiac speculation. I find it serviceable to assume that people don't have private thoughts at all (or at least that these are totally unknowable) and just go around being a benign old chap who treats people at face value.
Fair points. And entirely relevant to ordinary day to day interactions with most people. But in the public domain that approach can be more than a tad naive.
The MSM is driving race hatred in the USA, what happens in the USA eventually happens here
The media used to, more or less, tell us what happened and we decided how we felt about it, now the MSM decides what to show us and how we think about it
Are you saying that all MSM news outlets are deliberately lying to us and telling us what to think because they said Rittenhouse shot Black Lives Matter activists and some people believed from that he had shot black people?
'Are you saying that all MSM news outlets are deliberately lying to us and telling us what to think'
– Is what I'm saying
'because they said Rittenhouse shot Black Lives Matter activists and some people believed from that he had shot black people?'
– I can't list all of the lies the MSM said but heres some about this case:
Kyle did not take a rifle over state lines
Kyle works in Kenosha
Kyle has family in Kenosha
He did not carry an assault rifle
He was legally carrying a legal firearm.
The crowd turned on Kyle when he put out a fire
The child sodomiser and domestic abuser was armed with a chain, threatened Kyles life, chased after Kyle and tried to take his rifle away before Kyle defended himself
The child sodomiser and domestic abuser also quite liberally used the N word
The multiple domestic abuser attacked Kyle and hit him with the skateboard, twice, before Kyle defended himself
The last guy Kyle shot had an illegal pistol, had a felony charge of drunk in charge of a weapon and Kyle only shot him when he raised and aimed the pistol at Kyle.
Thats just this case, how about the Covington kids, Hands up don't shoot, Ferguson, the Steele dossier, Hunter Biden, Christine Blasey Ford/Tara Reade
How many other examples do you need before you start to think that maybe theres an agenda, that maybe the MSM arn't you the whole story or even if what they're saying has any veracity to it all
None of this means the other team doesn't play it's own games as well – but the only way to stop this madness is to stop rewarding the media for their lies.
Yeah 100%, I don't want people to watch only Fox or Sky News Australia but just don't accept without question what someone is trying to sell you, sorry I mean trying to tell you
I agree PR you played it well about JC. I know how you must be feeling as I felt the same way when David Cunliffe went……
Your contribution on this site is very valuable. I haven't looked at the video stuff of Karl Rittenhouse, because I don't really follow things in the US. But I trust what you write and believe that it was likely a media narrative that lead most people including myself to believe he was guilty (that was at superficial glance). You have obviously. followed and presented good evidence.
Quite simply, if in the media it said Rittenhouse shot Black Lives Matter activists and from that some people believed he had shot black people, that is down to the people and their imaginations not the media.
Should the media have said "Rittenhouse shot Black Lives Matter activists" and then described the ethnicity of the dead?
"Gun fired in South Auckland" in our media should be followed by the ethnicity of the victims and the alleged or arrested perpetrators? "Accountant arrested in $11m fraud case" the same?
Kyles ethnicity was all over the media 'Kyle Rittenhouse, who is white, is accused of' to make it quite clear the ethnicity of the accused yet they then don't mention the ethnicity of the men he shot
Why not
Why not make it clear the ethnicity of the men that were shot or did they want to hide it for as long as they could
By stating the ethnicity of Kyle but not stating the ethnicity of the people he defended himself against and emphasizing that they were Black Lives Matter activists/protestors instead of calling them just protestors/activists or, more accurately, rioters it made people assume Kyle three black people
Considering the amount of people that thought Kyle had indeed shot only black people it worked.
Wouldn't adding a grenade launcher make it a destructive device and require a tax stamp?
Regardless of what the specific configuration of his weapon was, the distinction between "assault rifle" and "AR15" is trivial and contrived. You're clutching at too many pearls, there.
Somehow you seem to think that the distinction between what some people think of as an "assault rifle" and what is not an "assault rifle" is written in stone. If people can "bump fire" an "AR15" without any alteration as you suggest, there's no difference.
I'm pretty sure you're aware that the case had a verdict in, so we're left with matters of opinion. Are you worried that people might have a bad opinion of Rittenhouse if he took an "assault rifle", but not an "AR15"?
An assault rifle would have been illegal for Kyle to carry.
That is the assertion of fact based upon an alleged legal definition of "assault rifle" that you have not provided. Which is why I do not accept that assertion.
But for someone het up on the semantic difference between an "AR15" and an "assault rifle", you wouldn't be conflating "assault rifle" with the legally-defined "assault weapon" (in contradiction to the last paragraph in your "assault rifle" wikipedia link), would you?
Because someone who cares about the informal but apparently-legally-meaningless distinction between "assault rifle" and "ar15" should also be aware of the distinction between "assault rifle" and the actual-in-real-life-in-USA-legally-defined "assault weapon".
because a baseless assertion made by someone with the maturity of a three year old really needs some manner of link to legislative sources to be credible.
Given that even the judge admitted to his inability to decide exactly what the law might have meant in this case; I'm calling an end to this unproductive exchange.
However, the most damaging moment came outside of the presence of the jury when the judge drilled down on the law. He told the prosecutors “I have been wrestling with this statute with, I’d hate to count the hours I’ve put into it, I’m still trying to figure out what it says, what’s prohibited. I have a legal education.” He added that he failed to understand how an “ordinary citizen” could understand what is illegal.
An assault rifle would have been illegal for Kyle to carry, because an assault rifle is deemed to be a machine gun
Why do you not accept this ?
[RL: If you didn’t see my mod note above – fair enough. But none of the moderators here have any toleration for playing games. Consider deleting this comment.]
Key's back at the wheel? Luxon will do as he's told while his training wheels are still strapped to him. He will be let loose bit by bit and Key will sink back into anonymity.
It may not happen straight away but it will happen.
Edit: So Mark Mitchell is in the race. Had a feeling that was going to happen. They might go with him in the meantime while Luxon continues to learn the ropes.
Mr Robinson needs to be promoting good evidence based treatment for people with OCD. Helping professionals to get trained properly in these treatments. Like happens in the UK, but not here so much.
'Gender stereotyping and discrimination are consequential and recurring contributions to low electoral participation. Explicit sexism is based on gender stereotypes, prejudice, and discrimination. One in five Canadians hold explicitly sexist views, making them less likely to nominate or vote for female politicians. Women internalize such overt sexism, which contributes to their lack of confidence and, ultimately, lowers their interest in running for office. '
There's no way JC was a victim of sexism. Her toxic nature was to blame. She now needs to resign from parliament completely, but because she's a lazy entitled trougher I'm guessing she wont.
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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) ...
One of the strongest narratives about "our" spy agencies is that they are basically institutional traitors, working for foreign powers (or just themselves), without any control or oversight by the elected government. And today, we have yet another report from the Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security which explicitly confirms this. ...
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. ...
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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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 ...
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 ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Brett Hallam, Associate professor, UNSW Sydney IM Imagery/Shutterstock Solar SunShot is well named. The Australian government announced today it would plough A$1 billion into bringing back solar manufacturing to Australia, boosting energy security, swapping coal and gas jobs for those ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Clare Dix, Research Fellow in Nutrition & Dietetics, The University of Queensland Easter is the time for chocolate. The shops are full of fantastically packaged and shiny chocolates in all shapes and sizes, making trips to the supermarket with children more challenging ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Emma Felton, Adjunct Senior Researcher, University of South Australia Even in a stubborn cost-of-living crisis, it seems there’s one luxury most Australians won’t sacrifice – their daily cup of coffee. Coffee sales have largely remained stable, even as financial pressures have ...
Mining company Trans-Tasman Resources has unexpectedly withdrawn its application for a consent to suck the valuable metals vanadium and titanium from the Taranaki seafloor, as it apparently wagers on the Government’s new fast-track process. It had spent two-and-a-half days putting its case to the Environmental Protection Agency’s decision-making committee, at ...
Contrary to the Associate Minister of Education’s claims, analysis of Healthy School Lunches Programme - Ka Ora, Ka Ako assessments has revealed it provides excellent value for the taxpayer dollar, as a groundswell of public opposition to Government ...
Greenpeace says wannabe Taranaki seabed miner Trans-Tasman Resources is likely banking on Christopher Luxon’s fast-track process to side-step proper scrutiny of its Taranaki seabed mining proposal by bailing out of the Environmental Protection Agency hearing ...
Kiwis Against Seabed mining today slammed Australian owned would-be seabed miner Trans Tasman Resources (TTR) for abandoning its application to the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) to mine the seabed of the South Taranaki Bight. The company ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Katie Attwell, Associate Professor, School of Social Sciences, The University of Western Australia Ground Picture/Shutterstock Months after COVID vaccines were introduced in 2021, governments and private organisations mandated them for various groups. Health and aged care workers were among the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andrew Dzurak, Scientia Professor Andrew Dzurak, CEO and Founder of Diraq, UNSW Sydney Diraq For decades, the pursuit of quantum computing has struggled with the need for extremely low temperatures, mere fractions of a degree above absolute zero (0 Kelvin or ...
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 A national Essential poll, conducted March 20–24 from a sample of 1,150, gave the Coalition a 50–44 lead including undecided, a reversal ...
The Taxpayers’ Union has today made a formal request under the Regulations of the People’s Republic of China on Open Government Information () for information held about how New Zealand Members of Parliament are spending taxpayer ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Robert Nelson, Honorary Principal Fellow, The University of Melbourne A Byzantine depiction of the Eucharist in Saint Sophia Cathedral, Kyiv.Jacek555/Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA A nasty quarrel arose in the 11th century over what kind of bread should be used in holy ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Patrick Hesp, Professor, Flinders University Patrick Hesp In some parts of Australia, coastal dunes are retreating from the ocean at an alarming rate, as waves carve up the beach and wind blows the sand inland. But coastal communities are largely ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Luke Heemsbergen, Senior Lecturer, Digital, Political, Media, Deakin University With an impressive 60% of the US smartphone market, Apple is undeniably big, but not a clear monopoly. Yet, years of innovation by Apple have effectively given the company its own exclusive ...
Whether you’re facing layoffs or are just an emotional junior staffer, it’s always a good idea to scout out a good crying place before you need it. It’s an incredibly hard time for Wellington. Across the city, thousands of public servants are hearing tough news about redundancies and layoffs. Government ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By James Miller-Jones, Professor, Curtin University Nuclear explosions on a neutron star feed its jets. Danielle Futselaar and Nathalie Degenaar, Anton Pannekoek Institute, University of Amsterdam, CC BY-SA How fast can a neutron star drive powerful jets into space? The answer, it ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Daryl Adair, Associate Professor of Sport Management, University of Technology Sydney Earlier this week, independent MP Andrew Wilkie accused the AFL of conducting “off the books” illicit drug testing to identify players using substances of abuse, then inappropriately withdrawing them from matches ...
The Government’s announcement that it will scrap plans for a vast marine sanctuary around the Kermadec Islands is ‘shameful’ and will make it impossible for Aotearoa New Zealand to meet its international commitments, says the World Wide Fund for Nature ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Quiggin, Professor, School of Economics, The University of Queensland Shutterstock The federal government has bowed to pressure from the car industry, announcing it will relax proposed emissions rules for utes and vans and delay enforcement of the new standards ...
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Bridges is going on the am show just after 7 , retiring? excuses?or war???
Who knew what and why the incident is being looked into now??
Had to go to work
Wont someone think if the popcorn?
National may as well just admit that they work for Ardern.
The only time in a term that National has had Labour in any Parliamentary trouble was yesterday when the Speaker started warning Ardern for the urgency bill on mandates.
Played well in the public it could have become another Auckland cycleway moment.
Then, shanking Bridges late last night, Collins has cleared the media week for Ardern to do absolutely anything she wants. Way to pull out the 5-year-old hit file Judith.
Collins just gave Ardern her Christmas gift early.
Bridges must surely have signalled that he was going to challenge: there's no other reason for Collins to pull the hit file.
JC has more pressing issues as it is about her and being the leader of the National Party.
Should be a big entertaining day at Parliament today.
National MP Simon O'Connor said today: "One thing clear to me is that Judith Collins must resign."
It's clear to Simon? hahahahahahaha … 5 million people already worked it out long ago, and now the Brains Trust who think they should be running the country have finally latched on.
Unbelievable.
At least one Employment Court judge understands when an employer is being unreasonable.
[165] Good faith is a developing concept. Its scope is informed by particular circumstances. The Act focuses on maintaining and preserving employment relationships, rather than terminating them. It is arguable that in circumstances such as the COVID-19 context, where a “no jab, no job” outcome is under consideration, there is an active obligation on the employer to constructively consider and consult on alternatives where there is an objectively justifiable reason not to be vaccinated.47
[166] In summary, I find that it is arguable that, in light of the process points discussed, the steps taken by AIAL were not those a fair and reasonable employer could have taken.
https://www.employmentcourt.govt.nz/assets/Documents/Decisions/EMPC-356-2021-WXN-v-Auckland-International-Airport-Ltd-jud-231121.pdf
why are we going to let tourists back in?
best thing about the pandemic has been the decimation of tourism (apologies to those biz operators affected of course)
they bring no net benefit, only net loss
nobody wants them back other than tourism operators
an inanity of humanity
More poetry becoming applicable:
The Second Coming
by William Butler Yeats
Turning and turning in the widening gyre
The falcon cannot hear the falconer;
Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;
Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,
The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere
The ceremony of innocence is drowned;
The best lack all conviction, while the worst
Are full of passionate intensity.
Our Parliament has failed us spectacularly as the Speaker castigates his own Party and an opposition party eviscerates itself … all late at night …. all under "urgency"
This is how low our beloved country has fallen.
Some of the most prescient and memorable words ever written.
One hour interview with Kathleen Stock – for those who want to find out more, about her views.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YrjLEpE6Ep4
To understand the concerted campaign, you can see visit the website used to co-ordinate and maintain the harassment: Antiterf Sussex.
You can read the whole manifesto focused on Stock that gave police concerns. Bolding as original.
I always enjoy the Triggernometry guys' informal wee chats. It is so important to spend actual time speaking with a person…to get to the heart of where they're coming from. This one's an extra good effort.
I'd never seen them before. Their interview style here was really good.
Good grief.
To me their very anonymity enables them to cross many lines where reasonableness and a knowledge of who they actually were may have been a more potent way of approaching things. Instead they focus their anonymity on someone who has no similar shield available to them. In other words there is no inbuilt holding back because others may know who they are ie a sense that they have to live now and in the future in their community. .
One point that I might have not grasped correctly is this – are the UK legislators 'walking back' the legislation or proposed legislation relating to changing the birth documents on the basis of feeling or averring. I got this from a reference that one of the guys said that Stonewall may not be as influential with the policy people in Govt as they once were. Is this correct?
Many government departments were receiving advice from Stonewall about HR policies and diversity. Some were paying for workshops, others were paying to be part of the diversity champions scheme, and the equality index (where Stonewall rated companies for their actions regarding diversity. Feedback or correspondence between companies and Stonewall was confidential and not to be disseminated.
Therefore NHS and the Scottish government received "advice" on how to improve their ratings by doing such things as removing words such as women and replacing with gender neutral language.
As this advice was confidential, and the involvement in the schemes was across the board, the influence was very effective and efficient, striking members of the public as pervasive and seemingly coming out of nowhere.
Some government departments and institutions may have withdrawn from the scheme, but the structures put in place (eg. Workplace Diversity Champion positions and groups) will remain, and still may hold tremendous influence.
The political zeitgeist also remains. You only have to look at this video from Family First regarding the select committee to understand how difficult it will be to have a proper conversation about resolving unintended issues from legislative change here in NZ. (I know….. Bob McKroskie?)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hrp1UeTcDTY
The guardian a scary New Covid variant B1.1.529 found in Botswanna and South Africa ,also in a returning traveller from South Africa to Hong Kong.This variant is able to avoid the bodies defence mechanisms.
Keeping MIQ in place is a must just opening our borders could be a disaster!
Quite frankly, who gives an single solitary shit if Bridges at some point did the blokey thing and offended a female colleague? This is politics, it is by it's very nature dirty and uncouth and, well, political. I don't know about anyone else but his, and any other politician's, shameful behaviour is unsurprising and barely worth a mention when there are more important things we ought to be paying attention to.
What is more important is just why his boss chose that particular moment in time to haul out that stale wee turd and fling it.
Not that you'd know it from a quick perusal of this morning's headlines in MSN and the two supposedly lefty blogsites but a very important piece of legislation was rammed through the House under urgency yesterday that even had The Speaker of the House up in arms.
Mallard suggested the Government could have taken a day for each of the bill’s three readings, and included a shortened select committee process to hear public submissions in between.
He said the Government, which announced its plans for a “traffic light system” in October, should have made public its policy decision, legal drafting instructions and early drafts of the bill.
He also criticised MPs outside the Government, who sit on select committees, for not seeking a committee inquiry into the prospective law.
This is not the first time I have been personally affected by a rushed through piece of legislation that came on the back of many years of legal wranglings and a concerted effort by Ministry of Health bureaucrats to portray family carers of disabled New Zealanders with very high support needs (that were often unfunded by the Ministry anyway because they required RN level that they refused to fund in the home).
The Ministry of Health bureaucrats lied. They repeatedly demonstrated that they had an extraordinarily poor grasp of the reality of life with a significant disability and in their arrogance dismissed and indeed denigrated those of us who did…and still do.
Unlike our personal legislative little shit pile the one passed last night does still allow for folks to take their objections to the Courts…but as one legal experts says…
“But the point is filing an action in the High Court is not cheap. One of the problems that the applicants have had so far in these [vaccine mandate] cases – and I'm not someone who would like them to succeed, I have to admit – but one of the problems they've had is getting the evidence together, or how do they really contest, realistically contest, the weight of the Ministry of Health?
“The courts have shown that they're very deferential at the moment to the Ministry of Health's calculus and I think for good reasons. What does a High Court judge know about vaccination? They're just going to say, 'Well it looks good', and they have been saying that.
“Actually, this is a really significant intrusion on some people who object to the vaccination. They have the choice of either getting a substance they don't like put [in their] bodies, or they basically will be socially excluded.”
For a wee while there there was some Opposition in the House about this…but Judith's little shit-fling seems to have put paid to that.
Funny that. Politics, eh? Great spectator sport, bring popcorn. Just don't ever, ever give any thought to those who find themselves affected by this.
Agree, Rosemary.
Those that primarily look at politics as a team sport or entertainment seem to be those most likely insulated against the impact of badly constructed legislation. For them it's point scoring, for those affected it is often life-changing (usually detrimentally).
I appreciate your reminders to think deeply and look wider in these discussions.
Roberston is going to massively expand social welfare, paying 80% of the income of people laid off.
Government finalises massive expansion of social safety net, funded by 1-2 per cent tax hike – NZ Herald
This will be one of the largest expansions of our total national safety net since the formation of ACC.
We are going to get a tax increase of 1-2% to pay for it.
He may well have taken 1.5 political terms to do it, but Roberston is delivering to core Labour values. He's my favourite NZ politician over two terms.
Two-tier benefit system, differentiating between the deserving and undeserving beneficiaries?
No surprises there from Grant Robertson.
Unlike you, I don't think he deserves accolades. (Can’t read article to see details. Will hold back censure until it comes out in full, but previous Robertson quotes on this were concerning in terms of division of those in financial stress.)
nah,
he is going to pay some people 80% of their last income as unemployment benefit.
The rest that does not fall in this group of super duper lucky good unemployed people as identified by Grant Robertson get the usual starvation rate and a food parcel if they find a charity that still has some to give out.
*Trigger warning, sh**ting on msm again*
So theres been a lot of talk about the Kyle Rittenhouse court case and I'm not going to rehash whats already been said and done because, well its already been said and done
Instead I want to point out more evidence of bias from the MSM because there seems to be more questioning of the narrative of the MSM when they put out stories and hopefully this will continue
One of the stranger things that came out of the case was the 'what if the races were reversed'
Firstly because CNN and others played the race card up themselves, ie when talking about Kyle they always mentioned that he was white and that he shot Black Lives Matter activists and that led to quite a few people here and in the USA to believing that Kyle had shot black people.
Does anyone think if Jacob Blake was white he would have got the same treatment:
When Jacob Blake was shot (not killed) he had Joe Biden call him up, he had protests (later riots) start up in his name and 'Prosecutors also announced that Blake would not face any new charges and they dropped previous sexual assault and trespassing charges against Blake in exchange for him pleading guilty to two misdemeanor counts of disorderly conduct, for which he was then sentenced to two years of probation.'
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shooting_of_Jacob_Blake
So I don't think in this instance race was the determining factor, it is political ideology that would determine the outcome
Remember also that Kyle was also described in the MSM, variously, as white supremacist, a murderer, a terriorist, in the KKK, you name it
Joe Biden even linked him to White supremacism and even after the verdict and the evidence has been seen people on the left are still vilifying him and saying things that the trial refuted.
Hell Facebook banned people supporting Kyle and gofundme wouldn't allow him to use their site to fund raise for his own defence, innocent until proven?
So lets look at Darrell Brooks, the man that allegedly killed 6 (so far) people and injured over 60 and see what the MSM are saying about him, if you can find the articles, and to make it more interesting count the articles featuring Kyle Rittenhouse and the articles featuring Darrell Brookes
CNN, MSNBC, The Washington Times, NBC News, CBC News, New York Times etc
If Darrell Brooks was white would there be more coverage or less (could hardly be less), if Darrell Brooks was white would the media say he was white, if Darrell Brookes was white would CNN describe him a 'parade crash suspect' or something else
Yes Fox News is biased, absolutely and so is every other MSM news outlet, they're not just getting it wrong.
They are deliberately lying to us, they are telling us what to think.
“The Party told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears. It was their final, most essential command.”
Yes. I checked out CNN's front page last night – not a single mention of the Brookes story. Scrubbed clean.
You have to listen to what people don't say to start understanding their private thoughts.
I won't hold my breath but maybe there'll be a change: https://www.cnbc.com/2021/11/18/john-malone-says-warnermedia-discovery-getting-rid-of-cnn-would-be-the-cowards-way-out.html
If enough people want it
Three on the front page.
https://edition.cnn.com/us
I think I was looking at different page. Still all three are couched in the most anodyne framing possible.
But while we're there I see the Arberry Ahmoud jury returned guilty verdicts as I mentioned yesterday. That is good news – despite the elites doing their level best to make everything about race – ordinary people on juries are getting it right more often than not.
No other country in the world would let teenagers, or anybody for that matter, fetishsise, possess, threaten or go wherever TF they like with sole purpose weapons, kill each other and then walk away claiming self-defence.
America, FUCK YEAH! ..more unhinged by the day.
A pregnant Florida woman is dead after allegedly initiating a road rage incident with a motorcyclist in Orange City on Saturday, police say.
Sara Nicole Morales, 35, hit Andrew Derr's motorcycle intentionally with her blue Kia along the 1400 block of North Volusia Avenue around 5 p.m., according to investigators. Derr was not injured in the minor accident, and he and witnesses followed Morales while she drove away from the scene.
[…]
When Morales reached home, she went inside and reportedly retrieved a firearm. She confronted Derr and the witnesses in the street while they were on the phone with 911, according to the police.
Derr, who has a valid Florida concealed weapons permit, drew his firearm and fired multiple rounds, striking Morales.
https://www.foxnews.com/us/florida-pregnant-woman-killed-road-rage-initiated-shooting-cops
Really? Not exactly front page is it but fair enough how do they describe him
https://edition.cnn.com/2021/11/24/us/waukesha-car-parade-crowd-wednesday/index.html
No mention of colour, no one describing this as deliberate, no mention of terrorism, no mention of racism and its already off the front page, no going through his tweets or facebook like with Kyle, any democrat politicians been out to the victims…
https://edition.cnn.com/
https://www.cnn.com/
Would the coverage be the same if Darrell Brookes was white?
https://www.wisconsinrightnow.com/2021/11/24/darrell-brooks-criminal-complaint/
Interesting idea. Since people don't say far more than they do say, it sounds like a recipe for getting caught up in endless paranoiac speculation. I find it serviceable to assume that people don't have private thoughts at all (or at least that these are totally unknowable) and just go around being a benign old chap who treats people at face value.
Fair points. And entirely relevant to ordinary day to day interactions with most people. But in the public domain that approach can be more than a tad naive.
Especially when the sanity of the US President is in question
I think Biden's heart is largely in the right place – it's just his mind has trouble keeping up at times.
Plus it's becoming increasingly obvious that Biden's advisors have an outsized influence.
How much juice can you squeeze out of this …Orange!
Or in your case – what people don't want to hear.
The MSM is driving race hatred in the USA, what happens in the USA eventually happens here
The media used to, more or less, tell us what happened and we decided how we felt about it, now the MSM decides what to show us and how we think about it
Ha!
Are you saying that all MSM news outlets are deliberately lying to us and telling us what to think because they said Rittenhouse shot Black Lives Matter activists and some people believed from that he had shot black people?
'Are you saying that all MSM news outlets are deliberately lying to us and telling us what to think'
– Is what I'm saying
'because they said Rittenhouse shot Black Lives Matter activists and some people believed from that he had shot black people?'
– I can't list all of the lies the MSM said but heres some about this case:
Thats just this case, how about the Covington kids, Hands up don't shoot, Ferguson, the Steele dossier, Hunter Biden, Christine Blasey Ford/Tara Reade
How many other examples do you need before you start to think that maybe theres an agenda, that maybe the MSM arn't you the whole story or even if what they're saying has any veracity to it all
All solid factual points.
None of this means the other team doesn't play it's own games as well – but the only way to stop this madness is to stop rewarding the media for their lies.
Yeah 100%, I don't want people to watch only Fox or Sky News Australia but just don't accept without question what someone is trying to sell you, sorry I mean trying to tell you
Probably why I'm spending more and more time on youtube because guys like this: https://www.youtube.com/c/RekietaLaw/videos were absolutely killing it
BTW – commiserations. You played it well.
No no its all part of the very, long plan…a really, really very long plan.
I'll look forward to it.
Not going to lie but it might take a while…
Grandmother of the nation?
Might be Mummy of the nation at this rate…
A saint is canonised. Will she be mummified?
I agree PR you played it well about JC. I know how you must be feeling as I felt the same way when David Cunliffe went……
Your contribution on this site is very valuable. I haven't looked at the video stuff of Karl Rittenhouse, because I don't really follow things in the US. But I trust what you write and believe that it was likely a media narrative that lead most people including myself to believe he was guilty (that was at superficial glance). You have obviously. followed and presented good evidence.
Keep posting PR
Well thank you.
I do think the way the media manipulates people is a bad thing and if the least I can do is point it out then thats what I'll do
Cheers
Quite simply, if in the media it said Rittenhouse shot Black Lives Matter activists and from that some people believed he had shot black people, that is down to the people and their imaginations not the media.
Should the media have said "Rittenhouse shot Black Lives Matter activists" and then described the ethnicity of the dead?
"Gun fired in South Auckland" in our media should be followed by the ethnicity of the victims and the alleged or arrested perpetrators? "Accountant arrested in $11m fraud case" the same?
Kyles ethnicity was all over the media 'Kyle Rittenhouse, who is white, is accused of' to make it quite clear the ethnicity of the accused yet they then don't mention the ethnicity of the men he shot
Why not
Why not make it clear the ethnicity of the men that were shot or did they want to hide it for as long as they could
I responded to you saying that they (the media) deliberately lied to us and told us what to think because the ethnicity of the dead wasn't stated.
I'm struggling to see how the media can tell us how to think by not saying something.
By stating the ethnicity of Kyle but not stating the ethnicity of the people he defended himself against and emphasizing that they were Black Lives Matter activists/protestors instead of calling them just protestors/activists or, more accurately, rioters it made people assume Kyle three black people
Considering the amount of people that thought Kyle had indeed shot only black people it worked.
What was the rifle KR used then pr out of curiosity ?
He did not use an assault rifle, an assault rifle is a specific thing.
He used an AR-15 type rifle which looks like an assault rifle but isn't an assault rifle
yeah i assumed it was an AR15 but if thats not an assault rifle whats the difference ?
Essentially an AR-15 type rifle can only be fired in semi-auto mode whereas an assault rifle can be fired in either semi-auto or full auto mode
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assault_rifle
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_rifle
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AR-15_style_rifle
Thanks i guess i couldve worked that out myself if i,d thought about it !
incidently did you ever meet arthur tayler ?
No I haven't and I'd do my best avoid him if I ever saw him out and about
Unless, of course, your AR15 has a bump-stock, a variety of trigger adaptations to reset the firing process while maintaining trigger pressure, or some other device to let it shoot hundreds of rounds a minute while claiming it's "semi auto".
The difference is solely in the legal semantics of manufacturers who want to sell rapid-fire weapons to whomever wants one.
Did Kyle do any of those things to his rifle?
Don't bother answering, no he didn't.
He also didn’t attach a grenade launcher or shot gun to his rifle either
Its also not that difficult to bump fire a weapon without a bump stock (google it) but I'm sure you knew that already.
Wouldn't adding a grenade launcher make it a destructive device and require a tax stamp?
Regardless of what the specific configuration of his weapon was, the distinction between "assault rifle" and "AR15" is trivial and contrived. You're clutching at too many pearls, there.
You do know I didn't come up with the classification of what an assault rifle is or isn't
But OK for the sake of argument let's say Kyle was carrying an assault rifle (we'll make it legal for him to carry it)
What difference does it make to the case?
Somehow you seem to think that the distinction between what some people think of as an "assault rifle" and what is not an "assault rifle" is written in stone. If people can "bump fire" an "AR15" without any alteration as you suggest, there's no difference.
I'm pretty sure you're aware that the case had a verdict in, so we're left with matters of opinion. Are you worried that people might have a bad opinion of Rittenhouse if he took an "assault rifle", but not an "AR15"?
I've answered your questions, you answer mine for a change.
What difference would it make to the case?
As far as I know, none.
One reason I'm somewhat bemused as to why the distinction is so important to you.
Because the distinction is accurate, legally defined and the truth.
Kyle carried an AR-15 type rifle.
An AR-15 type rifle is legal for Kyle to carry
An assault rifle would have been illegal for Kyle to carry
Why do you not accept this?
"legally defined"
Then why did you provide the wikipedia link, rather than the legal definition?
Kyle carried an AR-15 type rifle.
An AR-15 type rifle is legal for Kyle to carry
An assault rifle would have been illegal for Kyle to carry
Why do you not accept this?
You asserted that "assault rifle" is legally defined and therefore somehow relevant to the case.
I haven't found that definition. Please enlighten me.
Kyle carried an AR-15 type rifle.
An AR-15 type rifle is legal for Kyle to carry
An assault rifle would have been illegal for Kyle to carry.
Why do you not accept this?
That is the assertion of fact based upon an alleged legal definition of "assault rifle" that you have not provided. Which is why I do not accept that assertion.
"Machine gun", fine. "Assault weapon", sure.
But for someone het up on the semantic difference between an "AR15" and an "assault rifle", you wouldn't be conflating "assault rifle" with the legally-defined "assault weapon" (in contradiction to the last paragraph in your "assault rifle" wikipedia link), would you?
Kyle carried an AR-15 type rifle.
An AR-15 type rifle is legal for Kyle to carry.
An assault rifle would have been illegal for Kyle to carry.
Why do you not accept this?
Because you are making it up.
I mean, if you weren’t you’d be supplying the legislative links rather than cut and pasting your unsupported assertions.
Kyle carried an AR-15 type rifle
An AR-15 type rifle is legal for Kyle to carry.
An assault rifle would have been illegal for Kyle to carry.
Why do you not accept this?
Because your assertions of fact are as unsubstantiated as they are pedantic and irrelevant.
Kyle carried an AR-15 type rifle.
An AR-15 type rifle is legal for Kyle to carry.
An assault rifle would have been illegal for Kyle to carry.
Why do you not accept this ?
Because repeating baseless assertions doesn't make them true.
Kyle carried an AR-15 type rifle.
An AR-15 type rifle is legal for Kyle to carry.
An assault rifle would have been illegal for Kyle to carry .
Why do you not accept this?
Because someone who cares about the informal but apparently-legally-meaningless distinction between "assault rifle" and "ar15" should also be aware of the distinction between "assault rifle" and the actual-in-real-life-in-USA-legally-defined "assault weapon".
because a baseless assertion made by someone with the maturity of a three year old really needs some manner of link to legislative sources to be credible.
because your third assertion is apparently incorrect.
Because you're wrong.
Kyle carried an AR-15 type rifle.
An AR-15 type rifle is legal for Kyle to carry .
An assault rifle would have been illegal for Kyle to carry .
Why do you not accept this ?
https://www.reactiongifs.com/r/ywrng.gif
Kyle carried an AR-15 type rifle .
An AR-15 type rifle is legal for Kyle to carry .
An assault rifle would have been illegal for Kyle to carry .
Why do you not accept this ?
Because you're wrong.
You're still two behind.
Given that even the judge admitted to his inability to decide exactly what the law might have meant in this case; I'm calling an end to this unproductive exchange.
https://jonathanturley.org/2021/11/14/was-rittenhouses-possession-of-the-ar-15-unlawful/
(Claiming the last word)
Kyle carried an AR-15 type rifle.
An AR-15 type rifle is legal for Kyle to carry.
An assault rifle would have been illegal for Kyle to carry, because an assault rifle is deemed to be a machine gun
Why do you not accept this ?
[RL: If you didn’t see my mod note above – fair enough. But none of the moderators here have any toleration for playing games. Consider deleting this comment.]
Europe is now a high risk covid region,and travellers from europe should be treated as such.
https://twitter.com/WHO_Europe/status/1463191115780268032?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1463191115780268032%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fpublish.twitter.com%2F%3Fquery%3Dhttps3A2F2Ftwitter.com2FWHO_Europe2Fstatus2F1463191115780268032widget%3DTweet
.
https://vimeo.com/402787629
Those ridiculously large feet get me every time, so cute
Roughly whereabouts? Up or downstream of Tawa Station?
Downstream. Just a tad.
If Luxon gets appointed to LOO will Key be the Puppetmaster. I see he is lurking around again.
…will Key be the Puppetmaster.
Key's back at the wheel? Luxon will do as he's told while his training wheels are still strapped to him. He will be let loose bit by bit and Key will sink back into anonymity.
It may not happen straight away but it will happen.
Edit: So Mark Mitchell is in the race. Had a feeling that was going to happen. They might go with him in the meantime while Luxon continues to learn the ropes.
Of course Mitchell will be in the race, He ran against Collins last time after all.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/127084165/spotlight-criticised-for-ignorant-and-disrespectful-ocd-christmas-items
really?
Mr Robinson needs to be promoting good evidence based treatment for people with OCD. Helping professionals to get trained properly in these treatments. Like happens in the UK, but not here so much.
Hmm. so one of the busiest border crossings in the world has been closed for 18 months?
But I thought really busy transit points couldn't be closed to control covid, and that's why places like the UK were covid clusterfucks? guess not.
.
Fantastic Cult Film / Fantastic Cult Party.
Gun fetishism. It's a thing.
https://whatwouldjackdo.org/2021/04/02/gun-fetishism-the-false-optics-of-courage-without-having-any-courage-of-conviction/
Hi Jenny
Are you or this guy aware of just how few deaths in the USA are caused by AR-15s?
Check this out:
https://ucr.fbi.gov/crime-in-the-u.s/2019/crime-in-the-u.s.-2019/tables/expanded-homicide-data-table-8.xls
Really should be concentrating on handguns but those AR-15s sure are scary arn't they
https://ipolitics.ca/2021/02/01/why-dont-more-women-run-for-office/
'Gender stereotyping and discrimination are consequential and recurring contributions to low electoral participation. Explicit sexism is based on gender stereotypes, prejudice, and discrimination. One in five Canadians hold explicitly sexist views, making them less likely to nominate or vote for female politicians. Women internalize such overt sexism, which contributes to their lack of confidence and, ultimately, lowers their interest in running for office. '
There's no way JC was a victim of sexism. Her toxic nature was to blame. She now needs to resign from parliament completely, but because she's a lazy entitled trougher I'm guessing she wont.