My copy of Hager’s book has not arrived yet, so I haven’t read it!
But, from what I have gathered, the operation was given the go-ahead by Key himself.
If that was indeed the case, it seems inconceivable that he would not have been ‘fully’ briefed on the outcome of the raid, including that there were civilian deaths and injuries.
So, if a cover-up was ordered, isn’t it more than possible it originated from the 9th floor of the Beehive?
We need an independent investigation to determine ‘where the buck stops’!
Riverton’s Heritage Harvest Festival on this weekend; the hall and marquees are chocka with fruit and vegetables, preserves and people (or they will be as soon as the sun comes up 🙂 and the workshops are almost full already, the most popular so far being the seaweed foraging, with herb growing not far behind. I’m doing an interview on RadioLive at 8:00 and there are tours of my forest garden at 4:30 today and tomorrow. It’s going to be a big two days!
Kirsty Johnston, in the NZ Herald today, reports that a UN Report in 2011 came to similar conclucions to the book Hit and Run, about the same or a similar incident in 2010 in the same area of Afghanistan.
Although the incident sounds very similar to the book’s description of the SAS raid, the Weekend Herald has not been able to verify that both accounts are about the same event.
“International military forces conducted an investigation into an air strike on 22 August in Tala Wa Barfak district in Baghlan province that caused six civilian deaths and four injuries,” the report said.
…
The report was issued jointly by the Human Rights Unit of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA Human Rights) with the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC) in 2011.
It reported that during 2010 there were 2777 civilians killed in Afghanistan, with 2080 attributed to Anti-Government Elements, and 440 deaths to Pro-Government Forces.
The UN recommended international military forces undertake thorough, impartial and transparent investigations into all incidents involving civilian casualties, and take any disciplinary action necessary.
Technically, “insurgents” come from outside a particular area, so includes AQ international migrants but also folk whose cultural area overflows the artificial or ill-defined national borders.
Then the “Taliban” isn’t very hierarchical as an organisation, but is a conglomeration of regional groups frequently controlled by charismatic leadership rather than a formal structure. These groups vary significantly in their religious and cultural zealotry. David Adams went to Afghanistan to do a documentary when it was under Taliban control and found that some “Taliban” commanders even wanted their picture taken, whereas others barely tolerated his presence and were very strict about not filming people.
And finally the actual logistical support and even ambushes can be subcontracted to unemployed locals as one-off jobs.
So, basically, anyone shooting at or bombing government forces and their allies.
President Trump has just killed the vote on his health reforms.
That is one huge campaign promise probably fully dead.
After his bodacious-scale brinkmanship to demand all Republicans vote for it and that he would “go after them” if they didn’t , they stared him down. They won, and he looks really weak as a result. I don’t think this will come to a vote again.
For a multiple of reasons, Donald Trump is looking like the best broad voter lesson against the Republicans in many, many years.
He should have been the great uniting force that brought all the Congress majority, all the Senate majority, all the Republican state legislatures, all the Republican governorships, into one grand front, unite the party, and roll out a full and comprehensive reform programme.
Instead we have total chaos in government across Washington – all inside around 100 days since he was inaugurated.
I was always pretty confident Trump is so fundamentally incompetent that this kind of debacle would be a regular feature. But there was always the nagging doubt in my judgement and that maybe Trump had actual abilities he was cleverly hiding.
Pence is now the big worry. He looks like he’s treading the fine line of keeping enough separation from Trump’s screwups but still being seen to be a team player. So when Trump’s gone, Pence seems more much more likely to have the skills to get these things through.
For the sake of the stability of US politics, I would hope that the Republican leadership and the White House now have a bit of a cup of tea together and figure out what they should have figured out before Trump was elected:
a policy platform and legislative agenda that they agree on achieving together.
My other, minor instinct is to watch the Republicans draining their own swamp simply by pulling their own plug while swimming in it, and while flapping about, take the knives to each other in righteous blame and disembowel each other.
The latter however is the Bannon view: burn the system down and let the market of ideas and populism and commercial power run cross the land unfettered. Great theatre, but very bad for the world.
To Ad: There are important reasons why Trump’s reforms, health care bill etc will not pass through the lower house. One only needs to look at the people who have taken control of the Republican Party, know their political aims and as a result a good number of Republican members will take that second sober look and not follow Donald Trump, Some of the rich and influential personalities, pulling the Republican Party towards the far right are Robert and Rebekka Mercer.
Sure, you can look in it as a failure caused by specific individuals, or Ryan as Speaker, but in the end it’s absolutely the biggest shock to a new US government we’ve ever seen.
Why is it that a fully stacked deck of Republicans can go backwards faster than Obama – in control of almost nothing – went forwards?
That’s not just a few individuals.
That’s a really deep sickness inside the entire Republican movement.
To Ad: “Why is it that a fully stacked deck of Republicans can go backwards faster than Obama – in control of almost nothing – went forwards?” Perhaps you need to reread my comment again. I’ll put it in simpler terms. Many moderate Republicans will not support the scrapping of Obama’s Affordable Care Act and leave some 24 million voters without insurance. That would have meant committing possible political suicide for many moderate Republicans.
I don’t see that at all. Getting rid of Obamacare was a common Republican promise across all layers of power for Republicans.
From the commentary from the Freedom Republicans it looked much more like there was insufficient eradication of abortion funding, plus the fear that the Koch brothers would de-fund the mid-term campaign of any Republican member who voted for it.
IF I had been Sean Spicer that’s the line I would have run a little further on: he’s already commented today that
“we don’t live in a dictatorship”, and the constitutional levers are working in that a Republican lock isn’t running over the whole country.
Sorry to disagree. Don’t know what you mean by getting rid of Obamacare.
Moderate Republicans and Democrats are happy to modify the Affordable Care Act.
My understanding is that the Koch Brothers did not like it and flexed their muscle as the owners of most of the Republican politicians. The Koch Brothers are the ones who really run the Republican party.
A network of top Republican donors, led by the Koch brothers, are launching an 11th hour bid to sink the health care bill with a new fund for the 2018 midterms available only to members who vote “No”.
Americans for Prosperity and Freedom Partners announced the “seven-figure fund” on Wednesday night. They oppose the bill because it falls short of a full Obamacare repeal.
I wonder which little NGO in Wellington could have had the focus and intellectual grunt to assist the Maori Party to fight solely on the point of GMO Ministerial call-ins?
Sure as hell this is the first time in a long time a significant change has been made between second and third readings of a bill.
Has anyone seen exactly what is in the agreement that the Maori Party say they have achieved with the Govt on the RLM Bill ? It is the GMO Ministerial call-ins that have been the sticking point ….. but I cannot find anything which clarifies whether the Maori Party succeeded in preventing these Miniserial call-ins.
Does anyone know ?
The Freshwater and Natural Resources Iwi Leaders Groups supports the gains that the Maori Party has achieved to amend the Resource Management Act this week.
… Selwyn Parata, Chair of the Natural Resources Iwi Leaders group, “Mana Whakahono a Rohe agreements and the other gains made by the Maori Party provide a new platform for iwi and hapu to engage with Councils that will support Councils to have clarity over how tangata whenua want to be engaged with and to encourage the wealth of knowledge held by Maori communities to be better shared to protect our natural environments for all New Zealanders for today and for tomorrow”.
Even if you read through all the papers, including Section D360 in full you would not know what Maori have agreed to or achieved. Unless there is a philosophical agreement on grounds of water being made a profitable avenue for the benefit of the few? Lets see what is happening in another 5 years time – wondering whether there is some handshaking going on that will be to the detriment to all.
The RMA has been of great benefit to Maori but of cause when money is at play things change and everything has a price and is for sale after all.
The death knell of the Maori Party as it has decided to support massively developer-friendly and landscape inimical reforms proposed by its National Party mates.
The RMA has been gutted now. The checks and balances of the right to appeal to the Environment Court has been largely removed for the public, though not for developers of course.
Its not all about votes Ad. Labour and the Greens should campaign hard on reversing the latest RMA changes which have nothing to do with solving the housing crisis and everything to do with lining developers pockets.
I agree it is complicated and so difficult to put across in a campaign but when people in Wanaka (for instance) see intrusive subdivisions and lakeside building monstrosities rammed through degrading the landscape with no chance to to make public submissions or appeal to the court they are going to be up in arms.
“Labour has withdrawn support for the Point England Development Enabling Bill that would allow the government to sell nearly 12ha of public land in east Auckland to Ngāti Pāoa as part of its Treaty settlement.”
Ngāti Pāoa Iwi Trust chief executive Hauauru Rawiri said without the land there would be no Treaty settlement.
“By opposing the legislation, Labour is opposing a Treaty settlement bill for the first time in the history of the Treaty settlement process,” Mr Rawiri said.
Labour was suggesting Ngāti Pāoa was being “duped” by the government to advance its housing programme.
“This is a supremely patronising and condescending attitude that reflects poorly on its proponents.”
Mr Rawiri said the iwi deliberately sought the land for housing because it was close to its marae site.
He called Labour’s stance hypocritical as it did not oppose the transfer of reserve land in Takapuna to a hapū five years ago as part of a Treaty settlement.
The argument other land was available was not true, he said.
“Tamaki Regeneration Company land is not Crown land and is not available for Treaty redress.”
jeepers how are those non-placing on the list looking now – some drips of cold sweat slowly sliding down the brow methinks.
And the spin from The Māori Party is scathing
“This week the leader of Labour relegates all his Māori MPs off the party list to avoid their humiliation of being named at the bottom of it, and today the Labour Party denies Ngāti Paoa their right to settle part of their treaty claims through the Pt England Enabling Bill.”
“It is a betrayal of the support that Māori have given to Labour and our people of the Tamaki Mākaurau electorate and all other electorates need to remember this come September 23,” says Māori Party Co-Leader, Te Ururoa Flavell…
…“Particularly given the housing shortage in Auckland, Labour’s opposition is especially abhorrent. For Labour to bemoan the housing crisis for Auckland, and then deny iwi an opportunity to play a part in sorting the issues of housing shortages through plans to develop on their whenua, just shows how desperate Labour is to govern at the expense of our people.”
I suppose – and does it show that the Labour Māori seats and their Members of Parliament have been cut loose? Or is it that there are more important issues for Labour to worry about? or is it that Little’s Labour are floundering around like a fish on the beach?
Giving free shots is not the way to win imo – I despair for the left with this shit going down
That is a bad move by Labour. It seems that the Iwi has been quite pragmatic about this, and utilising the opportunity to get useful land for their chosen purposes and Labour is unwilling to support it and is sacrificing this fine opportunity for the Iwi so they can fire a few brickbats at Gnashional. Bad, stupid idea!
Maori have always had trouble with housing because of their refusal to mortgage their land to gain funds for housing provision. If they have funds or a scheme that enables house building on this land, and it is close enough to the marae to enable services and for it to be a centre for Maori to enhance their cultural and social life, it should be a no-brainer. Who or what directs what passes for thinking and strategy with Labour?
And a pdf from the Whangarei District Council: (Note the meaning of papakainga – ‘a nurturing place to return to’. Planning for Papakainga Housing – Whangarei District Council
wdc.govt.nz/CommunitySafetyandSupport/Housing/…/Papakainga-housing-brochure….
literal meaning of Papakainga housing is, ‘a nurturing place to return to’. … District Council and Maori Land Court so it has been difficult … Advice/Funding. http://wdc.govt.nz/CommunitySafetyandSupport/Housing/Documents/Papakainga-housing-brochure.pdf
(This does not have a discernable date! Surely a serious error for those seeking relevant timely info.)
That non-list malarkey was always only a desperate (and bloody stupid) move. (I believe you previously commented in a similar vein).
Unless there are seven high list places for Maori on the list, then Labour runs the real risk of becoming markedly less representative than it already is…and the knock on effect of that is that parliament as a whole also becomes less representative than it already is.
But then, when all you want to do is eat everything to your left…
It’s a personal perspective (obviously) – but if someone attempted those stand over/ fear tactics on me, I’d quite happily pick up a shovel, dig them a hole and get on the phone to book some bands for a party.
move the middle means getting them to vote for you when last time they voted for someone else – ultimately focusing on self centred issues for that middle and showing how a vote for the preferred party will either give them more of what they want and less of what they don’t want.
I get you. I wouldn’t term that ‘moving the middle’ is all – more ‘contesting the middle’ to my way of looking at things. (Meaning no movement; stagnation coming off the back of a process that diminishes options)
“Unless there are seven high list places for Maori on the list, then Labour runs the real risk of becoming markedly less representative than it already is…”
If the Labour candidates were high on the Labour Party list, then a vote for mana or the Maori Party could result in two Maori mps being returned to parliament for each contested electorate where Labour lose the electorate. (And depending on list placings, regardless of whether Labour win or lose those electorates) That’s pretty straight forward.
If no Maori are high on the Labour list, then no matter what, only one Maori mp gets returned for each electorate contest.
If no Maori are high on the Labour list ,and Labour lose all those electorates, then the Labour caucus will have fewer Maori mps than if they hadn’t pulled this silly stunt.
And if there are Maori mps placed high up on the list, then this silly stunt wasn’t just just silly but fucking dishonest.
Davis said the ‘two for one’ deal was ending. Kind of is, kind of isn’t. Karen linked to a piece below indicating high list places for Maori. So we have a clutch of experienced Labour mps potentially hitting the bin? Hey – ho.
Two for one is about being able to seat vote Mana and party vote Labour (it’s vastly stupid phrase given MMP and we all have two votes). That’s what Labour are wanting to undermine. I don’t think they’ve been dishonest about that part.
“So we have a clutch of experienced Labour mps potentially hitting the bin? Hey – ho.”
I’m not sure that’s what’s going to happen. We don’t yet know how many Māori will be on the list or what placing. I guess Jackson will be put into the top 30, but I don’t know who else, or even which other current Māori but non-Māori seat MPs will be on the list or where. Pretty hard to speculate much until that is known (although I am appreciating Karen’s input on this.
Two for one is… Uh-huh. And Davis implied something quite different – ie, that the choice was to vote Labour and only Labour because no-one would be coming in off the Labour list.
That’s the dishonest part given that Maori will be on the list (just not those who are contesting the electorates)
The “I’m not sure that’s going to happen” is an odd way to respond to a comment that revolved around the word “potentially”. But anyway.
Which just demonstrates how stupid the whole thing is. I’ve been hearing commentators use a different definition, but it’s certainly unclear. I think this is seat specific i.e. the voters are looking at their electorate vote in ways that most Pākehā don’t because we don’t really have that kind of representation.
“The “I’m not sure that’s going to happen” is an odd way to respond to a comment that revolved around the word “potentially”. But anyway.”
That was me being polite. That Labour would lose all the Māori seats is so far out in terms of probability that it’s probably not even worth considering 😉
Two for one is a message from previous elections that you can have Labour in govt *and a Mana MP. Labour are saying nope, if you want Davis as an MP you have to vote for him on the electorate vote, and if you want us in govt, you have to party vote Labour.
“In the Maori seats there is something very special going on and Labour’s Maori MPs are standing there saying vote for us, vote for our voice, we’ve got a track record and it’s better than anything any other party can offer,” he said.
The policy is a direct challenge to the alliance that has formed between the Maori Party and Mana Party and their decision not compete against each other for the Maori seats.
Labour currently hold six Maori seats, with the seventh held by Maori Party co-leader Te Ururoa Flavell.
Hauraki-Waikato MP Nanaia Mahuta said the message was simple.
“We are eliminating the two-for-one message because in order to get us into government you need to be able to vote for our party as well,” she said.
Huge assumption there, Bill. You don’t think the Māori electorate MPs are capable of making decisions for themselves?
Also, I’d suggest you go and look at the candidates so far – I think you will see quite a bit of diversity. We need to wait till the list comes out to get an idea of how it will look post election.
Huge assumption there, Bill. You don’t think the Māori electorate MPs are capable of making decisions for themselves?
Not this shit again? Nowhere have I said or implied that the decision wasn’t made by the Maori electorate mps. The assumptions being made are all your own.
” if someone attempted those stand over/ fear tactics on me, I’d quite happily pick up a shovel, dig them a hole and get on the phone to book some bands for a party.”
I based my comment on this – it seems I have misinterpreted what you meant by this so for that I apologise.
As to the number of Māori MPs post election – the Māori Party have not announced their candidates for two seats so I will leave them out of my calculation for now. I am sure Te Uroroa Flavell will win his seat and the MP will get enough party votes to get Marama Fox (at least) in on the list. I don’t think Hone will win TTT because Kelvin has decided to go list only and (in spite of what many here believe) he has significantly increased his support in the electorate since the last election. They won’t want to lose him. Personally I have a lot of time for Hone and I’d like a resurgence of Mana but I don’t see it happening this election.
My prediction is Labour will get at least 4 and probably 6 of the electorate seats. Paul Eagle and Louisa Wall are in very safe Labour seats so they will definitely be there. I expect Kiri Allen, Willie Jackson, Willow Jean Prime and Tamati Coffey to all be given high placings, but I may be wrong – we will have to wait for the list to come out.
So there is a strong possibility there will be 12 Māori MPs in the caucus and there could be more if Labour does well. It will become clearer in a couple of months time.
If it’s still not entirely clear, I meant that’s how I’d react as a voter. (By way of reacting to Kelvin Davis declaring that peeps electorate vote Labour or lose Labour’s Maori mps)
Very talented young Māori guy has been chosen as Labour’s candidate in your old seat (now Northcote and a lot bigger than in your day). Unseating Coleman would be a difficult task (unless something really damning comes out of the NZDF enquiry) but I’m hoping he gets a list placing that puts him in with a chance if Labour does a lot better than in 2014.
This is a lot more complicated story than this suggests Marty. Ngāti Paoa are not even mentioned in the bill and it didn’t go to the Māori Select Committee as Treaty Settlements usually do. Also Ngāti Paoa only get 20% of the development but are likely to get all the backlash from the community at the loss of open space in what is about to become one of the most intensive housing areas – this is a not a good deal for Ngāti Paoa. There was an opportunity for them to get a share of the Tamaki Regeneration land (in spite of what Hauauru says) and this was what should have happened. Obviously there will need to be another solution found now , but the Flavell wading in isn’t going to be helpful.
Have a look at Peeni’s twitter feed before you decide how he feels.
Peeni Henare
@PeeniHenare
@Ellipsister when we advised Paoa of our decision my tuakana took the decision with integrity and class now this
BTW at the 2014 election Peeni, Rino Tirikatene and Adrian Ruawhe all decided not to be on the list and seek the support of their electorate only – the only thing that is new is the all Māori electorate MPs decided to make a united statement of their intent to remove their names from the list.
You also may want to look at Denny Paoa’s twitter feed – he’s been campaigning against this deal for some time.
DenPaoa @DennyPaoa 2h2 hours ago
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@DennyPaoa The Negotiators have abandoned their Fiduciary Duty to the iwi by misleading them. No Minutes taken at Special Meeting(s)!
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DenPaoa @DennyPaoa 2h2 hours ago
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The Wharepaku Maori Party get it wrong again!Its not a Treaty Settlement!Its a commercial arrangement btw iwi&Crown http://ln.is/www.waateanews.com/w/2eCHn …
not sure the last post was posted. see http://www.saveourreserves.org.nz for more on this complicated stuff. but found the pointengland page to explain the bill part well.
Graeme Edgeler has an important view on the question of Hit and Run Inquiry or Police Prosecution.
” And this is the problem with all the calls for an inquiry to date. Lots of people are saying that there appear to be war crimes. No-one appears to have appreciated what that means. It means we need an investigation into war crimes. In New Zealand, this is a job for the Police.”…..
“But holding an inquiry is not enough for New Zealand to meet its obligation to investigate allegations of war crimes. Holding an inquiry, while not conducting an investigation would compound any breach of international humanitarian law. The independent commission of inquiry Hager seeks would have the power to demand documents, and summon witnesses. But Commissions of Inquiry have limited purposes….”
It appears they have got this spot on. The truth matters, especially given it is the first casualty of any war. I want to defend the writers’ honour. These men have produced a fine piece of investigative journalism.
Don’t let your prejudice get in the way of what I believe is a very dark and devious cover-up by our Defence Force and a complicit Government.
He also praises Wayne Mapp….
…but then goes on to praise John key as an excellent PM. Seems it goes back to Garner spending a “night on the town” with Key soon after Key became National leader. And that for me points to a major problem.
I’m not surprised he’s gone. I spent a night on the town with him 10 years ago after he became National’s leader and he told me then he’d like to do three terms and then pack it in. He also floated the idea that night that Bill could take over.
I rate Key and before him, Helen Clark, as our two best prime ministers ever.
Both read the public mood well, both understood MMP, both had a killer instinct and both were overwhelmingly pragmatic.
Key could have done more with his political capital – but being popular mattered above all else in the end.
He had his critics and haters. But the reality is we are still an overwhelmingly successful country with a strong economy where hundreds of thousands of immigrants are banging down the door to get in.
I constantly read from the getgo, what a good PM Key would be. This seemed to come from journos who got too close to Key, and somehow saw in him a guy they’d like to have a beer with.
This says more about the journos than any objective understanding of Key the politician. They saw something in him that reflected their values. Somehow the divided country with increasingly visible homelessness, and people struggling, does not compute with those that see a successful economy under Key.
To me, watching him in the media, Key always looked like a slippery used car salesman. And, on the ground, I’ve seen first hand the state of some over-priced rental flats, along with the stagnant incomes for the least well-off.
Steve Braunias: The final Secret Diary of John Key ends on this note that Duncan should read.
“I turned at the door and took a last look around to see if I’d left anything behind, maybe something of value. But the room was bare. It was like I’d never been there.”
Wicked? http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11824754
where hundreds of thousands of immigrants are banging down the door to get in…. yep millennials with a level 5 qualification in cookery and willing to work below minimum wages in petrol stations… possibly NZ is the only country willing to take anybody this poorly qualified for migration.
We really are attracting the best and brightest. sarc.
I think you are incorrect to some degree. But as with all emotional statements, reason goes out the window.
Yes, there are some that take advantage by means of student entries and we had a fair share of news about these issues.
But what is not mentioned is, that many immigrants have established businesses and/or working in employment contributing to the wider NZ community and pay their fair share on taxes (unlike those faceless multinationals). It is well known that farmers would have difficulties to get the harvest in without workers from overseas as kiwis do not want to do that kind of work. I had recently a conversation with kiwis returning to NZ and they are not impressed with the attitudes they encounter.
Productivity gain can only be achieved by higher output with less resource. So either automation (which will happen) or very low pay. It remains to be seen whether the conventional economic model actually works as NZ has finite resources and land.
Just some small fact: a very large proportion of people coming to NZ are returning citizen.
The conventional economic model does not work because it is based on exploitation and environmental destruction. And every problem is made more acute when we jam more and more people into our small country.
Productivity gain can only be achieved by higher output with less resource
What bullshit is this. We don’t need more productivity, we are drowning in fucken productivity. Our Cows are super productive. Our landfills are overflowing with plastic crap. Our roads are clogged with metallic instruments of social destruction.
We need more equity and proper redistribution of wealth. We need to stop the Aussie banks taking $30 billion out of the NZ economy every year. We need to totally reform the tax system and throw some rich prick financiers in jail, like Mark Hotchin. We need to give the SFO some teeth and OIO some balls to stop the fire sale of NZ. Increasing productivity has just made things worse. We need an increase in justice.
Ropata, the comment I made about productivity was not one for it, but rather in response to the assertion what SaveNZ made:
“No wonder our productivity is so low”.
Yes, the productivity mantra I S what I referred to in what is currently the orthodoxy:
My comment “It remains to be seen whether the conventional economic model actually works as NZ has finite resources and land”
Please re read my comment and you will see that your anger is misdirected.
PS.: Immigration is not the cause but its exploitation is adding to the problem.
FJK’s charisma did not make up for his dirty politics, doing nothing about inequality, and flogging public assets to his rich mates. Garner and the rest of our media were seduced by Key’s dubious charm and wealth. Kiwis were all sucked in and are worse off for it.
Trouble in the new Waterview Tunnel motorway ? A 3 month delay for opening day according to NZ Herald this morning. Issues with sprinklers and ventilation. I remember at the very beginning when construction was just beginning that the public raised concerns about ventilation and the shafts.
If you’re not at the table, you’re on the menu: The relationship between power, policy, environment, and the inclusiveness of growth
What are the implications of challenging policy-making, the assumptions we make; the powerful actors’ we disturb? Are we better to focus on writing our own policy, or on how policy is made? The social implications of markets organized in favour of those ‘at the table’, are exaggerated by unequal environments. Unequal environments enable inequality of access to information, to opportunity, to influence.
These are the underlying concerns of ‘governance’ – how governments, citizens and communities interact to design and implement policy. An increasingly interdependent global economy faces challenges from automation, artificial intelligence, sharpening public opinion and voter behaviour. And we start in an unequal position! How do these challenges impact our ability to restore an inclusive, equitable and sustainable economy? Chris Mahony responds to these questions based on his work confronting similar assumptions at the World Bank, and the United Nations Development Program.
When
March 27th, 2017 6:30 PM through 8:00 PM
Location
12 Grafton Road
Business School
Owen Glenn Building, University of Auckland
Auckland, AUK
New Zealand
Keep ignoring the facts and cherry picking rubbish that barely supports your claim. That poll is one of the “rate these in importance” types. Not very accurate and that government / public policy / housing is a pretty broad brush stroke
Confidence in the government is still higher than most of last year. At 62%, almost two thirds of the country think the government is doing the right thing. How’s your mandate?
[TheStandard: A moderator moved this comment to Open Mike as being off topic or irrelevant in the post it was made in. Be more careful in future.]
These were replies to OAB’s comments which were also off topic. So another commentor is allowed head off topic but only the replies to those comments get moved? I think ruins to continuity of the argument and tells commenters like OAB that it’s ok to run off topic.
I can’t put the link up because it is from facebook but if you search for Marae the program and find this
“Willie Jackson goes toe to toe with Rahui Papa and Tukoroirangi Morgan in the second part of our debate. Will Kingi Tuheitia’s endorsement of Rahui Papa be able to change the minds of voters in the Hauraki-Waikato electorate?”
you will see the video.
I recommend it to those who wonder what the attributes of Māori politics are. Many of those attributes are displayed in this debate/interview and it is a delight to watch – the lines, the counters, the coming together and pulling apart, the laughter and serious bits – it is all there in microcosm.
Read an interesting snippet in The Insider column of The Business in the Herald on Friday 24th.
“Parliamentary Service is seeking registrations of interest in its “quest” to replace the Beehive lifts, which have been the source of much embarrassment over the years. The elevator shafts are quite small by modern standards, and the lifts are not capable of carrying great weights. There have been a number of stand-offs when larger-than-usual politicians or bureaucrats have triggered the overweight alarms and someone has had to get off”.
First thoughts come to mind, as the Government is so hell-bent on austerity and making a lot of people’s lives a misery, they should leave the existing lifts in situ and suggest that people who are over weight should use the stairs to get some of the excess off. Secondly maybe Bellamy’s should be replacing the current menu with more healthy weight-reducing meals for the culprits. Thirdly maybe their gym they have in the Parliamentary Building should be made a mandatory part of their job description – such as an hour a day. Way to go.
Big Gerry probably needs the entire lift to himself and there are some pretty weighty ladies who sit in the House that I can think of who would benefit from the gym and stair walking – Pulla is one of them.
Ad – are you saying I am shaming them for being over-weight – well you may be right there. I am of the opinion that if you are representing the country you should set an example, trying to get kids to eat healthily is hard enough without those in control of our affairs not leading the way. Airlines are now finding passengers in the obese area are far too overweight and others have to pay for it with spillage over the sides of the seats next to them. When its all going to end – somebody has to start making the hard choices about our rampant weight problem which is world wide. Of course I am being tough – an old doctor once said to me “there is only one way to keep the weight off ‘ stop putting so much food in your mouth” – simple really – the staff at the Parliament Building are on a whacking good income and can afford to eat healthy and keep the excess off. Its always the way – do as I say not do as I do” – easy way out which is typical of people in control of our lives.
What is wrong with fat shaming – pity more people didn’t do it.
Whether people are overweight or not has nothing to do with their ability as an MP.
Whether you think people are overweight has nothing to do with whether those people are healthy or not. And no, you don’t get to decide that.
Whether people can get on an airline or not has nothing to do with their ability as an MP.
Whether MPs eat healthily or not may well affect how you vote for them. But if you are voting for people on that basis, out the door goes Norman Kirk, David Lange, Richard Seddon, and for the hellavit almost all Maori and Pacific Island MPs I have ever seen.
No, you’re not “being tough”. You are being an asshole.
Parliament is not a health camp. It’s the only place where the entire population gets represented. Of all shapes, abilities, ethnicities, and beliefs. It’s called Parliament.
In your thoughts you can judge people how you like. But by expressing how you judge people with such blatant disregard for human rights, you yourself illustrate the values you stand for.
Ad – wow you sure have your knickers in a twist. You are most certainly entitled to your own opinion as I am mine. Obesity is a massive problem in this country, diabetes is costing this country a fortune, as is heart disease. It is stretching the health budget and making life at the coal face of medicine extremely difficult. Schools struggle to teach kids to eat well and keep their weight under control. Waiting lists are long and dialysis is extremely costly and ongoing. Have you ever known anybody who has died from Type 2 Diabetes – I have and its a terrible chronic disease to eventually die from . Its mostly a dietary problem (belly fat) and it can be kept at bay. Medical Specialists reiterate in journals how difficult it is for them manage the massive problem that is looming in the future. Your tax payer money (if you pay any) has to contribute to all this expensive and often unnecessary intervention and in a perfect world it would not have to be.
I didn’t say that MP’s would lack ability in their job if they were over weight, I just stated that they should set an example right from the top. As for being called an asshole – its a first time for me but hey that’s life. I can live with it – just keep your cool and relax.
I see where you all are coming from with fat shaming.
Cigarette smoking also is correlated with poverty but we shame smokers by raising the tax on cigarettes to an almost impossible cost for the poor. We ban them outside from clubs and bars and treat their smoking like it is leprosy. For a smoker it can be humiliating for them to be treated so. We shame drinkers who imbibe and raise the taxes on their drinking habits. As for recreational drug use, that enjoyment is now just a figment of the imagination for some. A lowly toke can now make a person unemployable – hows that not shaming for them.
Obesity is just as serious a health problem as all of the above but people who ask the obese to own their problem are reviled and called fat shamers. You state that there are illnesses that cause obesity – it will be a very small percentage of the entire obesity statistics. Ask any first responder in the health industry be it GP or A & E Department and they will say that obesity is a massive problem for this country – a ticking time bomb for Type 2 Diabetes and heart disease. It’s also very hard on the backs of our nursing staff as an aside – ask any nurse who has had to handle an obese patient. We now have children presenting with symptoms of Type 2 Diabetes which has always been considered a chronic illness of the middle-aged and upwards.
It’s time this country had a mature conversation about the rising obesity rates which are not accepted by the health industry but are considered as fat shaming and insulting – it’s a problem which isn’t going to go away anytime soon.
An attitude to life which seeks fulfilment in the single-minded pursuit of wealth – in short, materialism – does not fit into this world, because it contains within itself no limiting principle.while the environment in which it is placed is strictly limited.
Already, the environment is trying to tell us that certain stresses are becoming excessive. As one problem is being ‘solved’, ten new problems arise as a result of the first ‘solution’….the new problems are not the consequences of incidental failure but of technological success,
In reality the issue is that 50% of the population has only 4% of the nation’s wealth, while 10% have 60% of it. This can be corrected easily by some reasonably modest redistribution. The inequality effect on people’s lives is far greater than that caused by 1% vs 2% economic growth etc.
This rubbish from Labour is very weak and disappointing!
Not at all – notice I said nothing about the nats in my comment. I despise the attitude and cuts of the nats.
My concern is that Labour is singing from the same song sheet as national, particularly on the broad framing of the situation. It is the overall neoliberal worldview that is totally wrong – and Labour remains locked within it, even if their intentions are better.
TL;DR: Here’s the top six news items of note in climate news for Aotearoa-NZ this week, and a discussion above that was recorded yesterday afternoon above between and The Kākā’s climate correspondent : An independent review panel into the emergency response to Cyclone Gabrielle in Hawkes Bayconcluded “that ...
There are now only a few days left to give feedback on the Draft Government Policy Statement (GPS) on Land Transport 2024-34 (see our earlier post this week on GPS submission guides). As we’ve reported, the GPS is a disaster for Local Government, so we were particularly interested to hear ...
Willis has pledged to go ahead with the debt-funded tax cuts, despite growing opposition from her own supporters worried about appearing fiscally irresponsible. 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 ...
Open access notables A survey of interventions to actively conserve the frozen North, van Wijngaarden et al., Climatic Change:The frozen elements of the high North are thawing as the region warms much faster than the global mean. The dangers of sea level rise due to melting glacier ice, increased ...
Bryce Edwards writes – New Zealand’s biggest-ever political donations scandal is finally at an end. But what is the conclusion? No one can really be sure. The Court of Appeal released its judgement on Tuesday about the Serious Fraud Office case against the NZ First Foundation. On ...
In 2015, then-Prime Minister John Key announced plans for a huge ocean sanctuary around the Kermadec Islands, banning fishing and mining from 15% of Aotearoa's EEZ. It was bold, it was ambitious, and it suggested that National might actually care about the environment. Except they fucked it up: Key failed ...
1. Who has just been given the accolade New Zealander of the Year?a. The Kokakob. The Cook Strait Ferryc. Fair God. Dr Jim Salinger 2. Which of these is an affront to decent society?a. Dame Edna Everageb. Mrs Doubtfire c. Dr. Frank-N-Furterd. Brian 3. Who is Penny Simmonds?a. The aspiring actress in Big ...
New Zealand’s biggest-ever political donations scandal is finally at an end. But what is the conclusion? No one can really be sure.The Court of Appeal released its judgement on Tuesday about the Serious Fraud Office case against the NZ First Foundation. On the face of it, the court found ...
Buzz from the Beehive Waves of rain are set to lash much of the North Island during Easter Weekend as a low-pressure system forms east of New Zealand, according to a weather forecast published in the past day or so. Niwa was warning of a “moisture-laden” long weekend, with rain expected ...
Look around us…Nicola Willis’ promises of balancing the books, of cutting spending without reducing services, and of delivering game changing tax cuts are disappearing before her eyes.Everyday we see stories of violent crime ending in horrific injuries, or worse. The cost of living worsens, whereas the PM claimed renters would ...
TL;DR: My top six news of note on the morning of Thursday, March 28 include:The Government will have to borrow between $10 billion to $15 billion more than previously expected in order to make up for a slowing economy and to pay for $14.9 billion of tax cuts, according to ...
This story by Naveena Sadasivam and Kate Yoder was originally published by Grist and is part of Covering Climate Now, a global journalism collaboration strengthening coverage of the climate story. The long-awaited jobs board for the American Climate Corps, promised early in the Biden administration, will open next month, according to details shared exclusively ...
Should landlords be able to deduct the interest on the loans they take out to bankroll their property speculation? The US Senate Budget Committee and Bloomberg News don’t think this is a good idea, for reasons set out below. Regardless, our coalition government has been burning through a ton of ...
Treasury’s first report on the economy since the change of government presents a damning indictment of Labour’s economic management. The problem for National is that it is so damning that logically, coupled with a rapidly slowing economy, Finance Minister Nicola Willis should respond to it by postponing or even cancelling ...
Budget tensions are becoming evident within the Coalition Government. Winston Peters made numerous political points in his speech to the NZF annual conference. But the attack on his own government’s fiscal policies raised issues of substance. ‘Today in the Sunday Star Times, journalist and former advisor to the Labour ...
Buzz from the Beehive The media – sure enough – have been binging on Finance Minister Nicola Willis’ release of the Budget Policy Statement and a statement headed Government announces Budget priorities This assures us – or rather, this parrots the Luxon team mantra – that the Budget “will deliver ...
The Ides of March brought me COVID followed by a bereavement. No wonder they tell you to be careful of them.I’m home now and have resumed the interrupted recuperation. Very much looking forward to getting back to regular things. Meanwhile, some thoughts…OneThis new Prime Minister guy just keeps getting more dire. ...
News that the Chinese ATP 40 cyber-hacking unit penetrated parliamentary internet networks in 2021 has renewed concerns about the PRC’s malign intentions in Aotearoa. But is the hack that significant given the length of time that has passed since its … Continue reading → ...
When Parliament passed the Intelligence and security Act in 2017, they assured us all that it was full of safeguards. Any intrusive surveillance of New Zealanders would be subject to a "triple lock", requiring the approval of the Minister and (supposedly independent) Commissioner of Intelligence Warrants, as well as post-facto ...
Eric Crampton writes – Richard Harman’s Politik newsletter provides a bit of the context that ought to have been showing up in other media reports on potential reductions in public service staffing. Media has been reporting on staffing cuts on the order of about 7%. Is that ...
Mike Grimshaw writes – It’s becoming increasingly apparent that many perceive free speech to have become the preserve of the politically right wing, the religiously conservative, the libertarian fringe, the anti-trans, the anti-Māori and…. well, just fill in with whatever groups or individuals you don’t like and don’t ...
Don Brash writes – As everybody who is not blind and deaf is aware, there is a huge political preoccupation with climate change at the moment, a widespread (though by no means unanimous) belief that global temperatures are rising mainly as a result of the greenhouse gases created ...
TL;DR: My six things to note in Aotearoa’s political economy on Wednesday, March 27 include:Chris Bishop laid out his vision for filling Aotearoa-NZ’s $100 billion infrastructure deficit in a speech yesterday, emphasising user pays and private funding, but failed to say how to achieve bipartisanship on population, public borrowing and ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Former Finance Minister Grant Robertson and former Prime Minister Chris Hipkins have been conveying how unhappy they are with the tax system. Last week in his valedictory speech, Robertson called for the introduction of a wealth or capital gains tax. And this week Hipkins ...
On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
Buzz from the Beehive China has loomed large in Beehive considerations over the past 24 hours, largely because of that country’s mischief-making in the cyber espionage department. Two media statements emerged on that subject hard on the heels of the PM baulking at questions put to him on RNZ’s Morning ...
Chris Trotter writes – WHY IS THE NATIONAL PARTY doing so much for landlords, property developers, trucking, and construction companies, and so little for everybody who isn’t already pretty well-off? It’s as if protecting landlords’ investments and building apartments and roads now constitute the whole of National’s ...
Bryce Edwards writes – When she was campaigning to be Minister of Finance last year, Nicola Willis pledged that she would resign from the job if she failed to deliver tax cuts in her first Budget. Now, it’s that pledge, along with Prime Minister Christopher Luxon’s ...
Robert MacCulloch writes – The Reserve Bank has doubled staff numbers in five years to 510, with personnel costs rising to $80 million in 2023 from $32 million in 2018 – up by a whopping 150%. I guess when you print $50 billion and flood markets with liquidity, ...
The furore. In case you didn’t notice there was a controversy in the weekend involving dolphins in a little town off the South Island. Don’t panic, they haven’t declared independence and resumed whaling, this was simply a sailing event.The problem began when racing was cancelled on the opening day of ...
For 20 years or more, the case for a meaningful capital tax gains has been mulled over and analysed to death, including by the tax working group chaired by Sir Michael Cullen. More than once, the International Monetary Fund has said a CGT would be a good idea for New ...
TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: The Public Health Communications Centre (PHCC) call for urgent preventive action and a risk assessment survey of long covid in this briefing noteLocal scoop: NZ road deaths surpass OECD rates, so why is the govt reversing safety plans? ...
This story was originally published by Grist and is part of Covering Climate Now, a global journalism collaboration strengthening coverage of the climate story. This story is part of a collaboration with Grist and WABE to demystify the Georgia Public Service Commission, the small but powerful state-elected board that makes critical decisions about everything from raising ...
This is a guest post from Robert McLachlan Global warming is accelerating; 2023 was off the charts. We need to stop burning fossil fuels. In New Zealand, transport accounts for half of all fossil fuels burnt. In the Emissions Reduction Plan, transport emissions fall 41% by 2035. As the ...
Labour productivity has been receding rapidly over the past two years, reversing a post-lockdown rise. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: My six things to note in Aotearoa’s political economy as at 6:26am on Tuesday, March 26 include:Workers have been treading water in output per hour worked for 12 years, ...
TL;DR: The key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to April 2 include:Today, Parliament resumes sitting at 2pm for the second week of a two-week session. Officials for SIS and GCSB report their annual reviews in public to the Intelligence and Security Select Committee from 5.10pm.Tomorrow, ...
Faced with a barrage of criticism over the promised tax cuts from usually supportive commentators, Finance Minister Nicola Willis yesterday reaffirmed her intention to include them in this year’s Budget. The Government is up against it over the cuts just about every way it turns. Commentators like Fran O’Sullivan, Matthew ...
Here’s my pick of today’s substack posts as of 6:26pm on Monday, March 25: writes via his substack that Market-rate housing will make your city cheaper writes via his substack about the problems talking to double-cab ute (truck) drivers about their vehicles. today about moments of radicalisation in ...
Buzz from the Beehive Just before Christmas, Finance Minister Nicola Willis delivered something that was pitched as a mini-budget and brayed about the decisive action being taken to repair the Government books and support income tax relief in Budget 2024. In a statement headed Fiscal repair job underway. she introduced ...
My sister Belinda asked Dad yesterday what one word would describe Mum best. He said: vivacious.If you only knew her from the photos on the slideshow we've made for today,you might wonder about that, because the camera tended to lie with Mum.If ever she saw a camera pointed at her, she ...
There are two major public consultations closing in the next week, Auckland Council’s Long Term Plan (LTP), and the draft Government Policy Statement on Land Transport (GPS). Closing dates and times: LTP closes Thursday 28 February, at 11.59pm – a minute to midnight! GPS closes Tuesday 2 April, at 12pm noon – note that’s ...
From Kiwiblog’s David Farrar – Bryce Wilkinson writes: Senior Fellow Bryce Wilkinson’s analysis reveals that since March 2009, New Zealand has spent $158 billion more overseas than it has earned, but its NIIP has only fallen by $32 billion.Statistics New Zealand shows that receipts from overseas reinsurers have ...
Is she hinting that the Coalition Government will have to back down on key promises it made in Opposition? Brian Easton writes – The Minister of Finance, Nicola Willis, is telling an evolving story about her fiscal challenges. In Opposition she was confident that she could ...
Dear Nicola Willis,Right now you’ve probably got lots of competing demands coming at you. Ministers who’ve inherited quite a mess, or so you’ve told us, looking for money in the budget to improve things. I imagine that’s why they came to parliament - to make things better.You’ll have to make ...
The Local Government, Transport and Auckland Minister hasthreatened councils with intervention if they don’t merge water assets to take them off balance sheet, just as the now-repealed Three Waters plan directed. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: My six things of note this morning for Monday, March 25 include:Simeon ...
A listing of 36 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 17, 2024 thru Sat, March 23, 2024. Story of the week Thanks to John Mason having the stamina to sit down to watch "Climate - the Movie" ...
This morning the Q&A programme had Simeon Brown on to talk about National’s replacement for Three Waters. In case anyone’s forgotten the three are - drinking water, waste water, and sewerage. It’s quite important not to get them mixed up. In much the same way that you wouldn’t want to ...
Today’s newsletter comes with a mini-podcast conversation between me and my buddy Liv Tennet, talking about her time as a child actor in Lord of the Rings. It’s a conversation with a lot of giggles as she talks about falling off a horse, and becoming a meme. Read ...
The Desmog Climate Disinformation Database documents, "individuals and organisations that have helped to delay and distract the public and our elected leaders from taking needed action to reduce greenhouse gas pollution and fight global warming." It's a who's who of the organised climate change denial movement, in other words. In ...
Bob Edlin writes – A High Court judge has decided miscreants who have mana – or who claim to have mana – should be treated differently from miscreants who have none. It’s a ruling that suggests indigenous law-breakers have a better chance of securing a discharge without conviction ...
Welcome to the first, and possibly last, edition of Brickbats, Bouquets and Bull’s Wool. In which I’ll take a look at the events of the last week or so, and rate them.In such ratings the numbers usually have more to do with the opinions of the reviewer, than the actual ...
Roger Partridge writes – My earlier column this month, New Zealand’s highest court could be facing a turning point, prompted a flood of feedback from business readers and lawyers alike. A common query was what Parliament can do to restrain an overreaching judiciary. This week I discuss two steps Parliament ...
TL;DR: In today’s ‘six-stack’ of substacks at 6.16pm on Friday, March 22: writes about New Zealand's Building Boom—And What the World Must Learn From It over at his substack. challenges the Auckland Council’s use of a 3.8 degrees of warming forecast to oppose a wave-park and data centre project ...
Is she hinting that the Coalition Government will have to back down on key promises it made in Opposition?The Minister of Finance, Nicola Willis, is telling an evolving story about her fiscal challenges. In Opposition she was confident that she could deliver her promised income tax cuts. Appointed minister, she ...
Buzz from the Beehive Ministers of the Crown have drawn attention to one sector of the science sector which is unlikely to be subjected to heavy spending cuts, a state-funded broadcaster which is doing nicely, thank you, and a sporting event that had $5.4 million from the public purse puffed ...
Abbott’s Freestyle Libre sensors allow continuous glucose monitoring (CGM). The sensor is applied to the back of the patient’s arm, with a thin filament under the skin measuring glucose levels constantly. But it costs around $100 per sensor and must be replaced once every 14 days. Photo by BSIP/Universal Images ...
The Inspector General of Intelligence and Security (IGIS) recently released a report in which he exposes the existence of a foreign intelligence partner-controlled technological “capability” inside the headquarters of the GCSB, NZ’s 5 Eyes-affiliated signals intelligence collection and analysis agency. … Continue reading → ...
Peter Dunne writes – Nearly three decades after the introduction of MMP and multiparty governments there should be a greater level of understanding about their finer points than often appears to be the case. The reaction to the despicable outburst from the Deputy Prime Minister at the weekend highlights ...
The sweet kisses from fruit of summerHave slowly been turning dullerYou say, "those times"And "remember the daysWhen we went outside and there still was the shade?"Taking no reason into play…Autumn. Clear, blue days shortening to longer nights, growing colder. Aotearoa.That’s us. The temperature dropping, the looming car crash - so ...
Bryce Edwards writes – “It is often said that behind every great man is a great woman”. This is the pitch by the National Party Botany electorate branch to attend their “Ladies Afternoon Tea with Amanda Luxon”. For $110 including GST, you can turn up on Saturday 20 April ...
David Farrar writes – The Electoral Commission has published the expense returns for political parties for the 2023 election. I’ve put them in a table with how many votes a party got so we can see the spend per vote. National only spent $3.34 for every vote they got, almost ...
Winston Peters’ headline-making actions over the past week may have been a show of political power intended to strengthen his hand in Budget negotiations. It was no accident that his State of the Nation speech was as it was. He made it as New Zealand First Leader, not as Deputy ...
Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the last week included:Former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson bowed out of politics this week, giving a series of exit ...
Graham Adams writes — If you love the law or sausages, as the saying goes, best not to look too closely at how they are made. And after watching the orgy of self-pity when Newshub’s closure was announced on February 28, television journalism should definitely be added to the list of those ...
Venerable New Zealand political commentator, Chris Trotter (https://bowalleyroad.blogspot.com/), is a sad creature these days. Once one of the most reliable Leftist writers out there – Economic Left at that – Trotter seems to have absorbed the worldview of Auckland culture-war obsessives. It is not for me to categorise what he ...
The cruelty of short-term memory loss is that each time you ask where she is, you get the fresh shock and grief of the news. That was Dad's day yesterday.Comfortingly, it seems to be less so today. Last night he looked crumpled, today he seems more settled. There's a card ...
Photo by Alvan Nee on UnsplashIt’s that new day of the week (Thursday rather than Friday) when and I co-host our ‘hoon’ webinar with paying subscribers to The Kākā for an hour at 5 pm. Jump on this link on YouTube Livestream for our chat about the week’s news ...
Buzz from the Beehive One minister is talking tough while a colleague – whose ministry had acted tough and drawn a barrage of flak – has shown an official softening. Some ministers are doing what Labour was good at, which is distributing public funds to causes regarded as worthy or ...
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 ...
Analysis by Keith Rankin. Keith Rankin, trained as an economic historian, is a retired lecturer in Economics and Statistics. He lives in Auckland, New Zealand. My earlier article – Can ‘Good’ be the Greater Evil? – looked at the issue of how wars should end, and how Good versus Evil ...
The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington.AUCKLAND1 AMMA by Saraid de Silva (Moa Press, $38)A stunning debut novel reviewed by Brannavan ...
From Steve Martin to Ricky Stanicky, a pick’n’mix of things worth watching and listening to this long weekend. This is an excerpt from our weekly pop culture newsletter Rec Room. Sign up here. If you’re at a loss for something to occupy yourself with this Easter, don’t panic: The Spinoff’s got ...
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 ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Suzanne Rutland, Professor Emerita, University of Sydney In his latest book, Jewish Life in Medieval Spain, Jonathan Ray focuses on the tumult of the 14th century in Spain – a time of the plague, civil strife and war between the two largest ...
While creating a slate of world-class shows, Whakaata Māori also developed a generation of world-class creatives. Television is an odd word. It mixes the Ancient Greek and Latin languages, and its most literal meaning is “far-off sight”. In the contemporary and living language of te reo Māori, “whakaata” as a ...
Yesterday the UN Security Council passed a resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire in Israel’s war on Gaza. This significant step and the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Gaza prompted an urgent debate in the New Zealand Parliament. Leader ...
The Government’s decision to reduce access to continuous glucose monitors (CGM) not only threatens the lives of children with type 1 diabetes and increases the potential for ‘Dead in Bed’ syndrome, but also threatens the health of their parents an ...
Apples are available year-round, but the wide variety on offer involves intensive scientific research – and large-scale commercialisation. What’s beautiful, red, sweet and crunchy? Tony Martin’s favourite kind of apple: Sassy. The CEO of apple and pear breeding organisation Prevar, Martin’s fondness for Sassy represents professional success as well as ...
Family violence specialist service Shine is calling on employers to stop asking for proof of domestic violence in order for employees to access domestic violence leave. The call comes five years after the introduction of the Domestic Violence ...
The Deputy Chairperson of the Finance and Expenditure Committee is calling for public submissions on the Budget Policy Statement 2024. The Budget Policy Statement 2024 (BPS) sets out the Government's priorities for the 2024 Budget. It explains the approach ...
Brutal government spending cuts that will see the size of the Ministry for Pacific Peoples slashed by 40% will hit Pasifika communities hard, the PSA says. The Ministry has told staff that it is seeking voluntary redundancies, and to redeploy and reassign ...
I live with five people I mostly love, but our different ideas about generosity are starting to really irk me.Want Hera’s help? Email your problem to helpme@thespinoff.co.nzDear Hera,This is a bit of a random one but here goes. I’m 22 and work an OK job (OK meaning I get paid ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Maria Nicholas, Senior Lecturer in Language and Literacy Education, Deakin University Earlier this month, the New South Wales government announced it would roll out programs for gifted students in every public school in the state. This comes amid concerns gifted school ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Christopher Rudge, Law lecturer, University of Sydney Massachusetts General Hospital In a world first, we heard last week that US surgeons had transplanted a kidney from a gene-edited pig into a living human. News reports said the procedure was a ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By David Tombs, Howard Paterson Chair of Theology and Public Issues, University of Otago The 5th-century Maskell panel showing Jesus in a loincloth.British Museum, CC BY-NC-SA When Jesus is shown on the cross, he is almost always depicted wearing a loincloth around ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Panizza Allmark, Professor Visual & Cultural Studies, Edith Cowan University Shutterstock When you think about a red object, you might picture a red carpet, or the massive ruby in the Queen’s crown. Indeed, Western monarchies and marketing from brands such ...
COMMENTARY:Jewish Voice for Peace The UN Security Council passed a resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire in Gaza on Monday — and for the first time since the beginning of the Israeli military’s genocide of Palestinians, the United States abstained rather than vetoing it. Security Council resolutions are legally binding, ...
Asia Pacific Report A New Zealand investigative journalist and author says the US spy system hosted by the Government Communications Security Bureau (GCSB) appears to be a controversial intelligence system used in global capture-kill operations. Writing a commentary for RNZ News today, Nicky Hager, author of Secret Power, a 1996 ...
While Nicola Willis wouldn’t give any details on its size, she said a package of tax cuts is definitely still coming in this year’s budget, writes Catherine McGregor in this excerpt from The Bulletin, The Spinoff’s morning news round-up. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here. ...
The Taxpayers’ Union is welcoming the investigation into the Department of Internal Affairs after it was revealed that the Department’s Chief Executive personally reached out to expedite a DJs passport application. Taxpayers’ Union Campaigns ...
Finance minister Nicola Willis delivers her first budget statement, and unwittingly helps Joel MacManus save his relationship. Nicola Willis strode into the Beehive Theatrette. Around me, on the green foldout seats, were the country’s top business and political journalists. They were all here to see her announce the Budget Policy ...
Twenty years ago today, Māori Television launched after much controversy. Jamie Tahana looks back on its survival and impact across two decades. Chad Chambers stepped onto the stage, the brim of his cap casting a shadow across his face. His smile beamed as bright as his white freezing works gumboots, ...
Tauranga, Rotorua, Wellsford, Onehunga, Westhaven marina – Gavin Strawhan walks the meanish streets of New Zealand in his entertaining debut novel The Call, almost sure to roar into the number 1 position on the Nielsen bestseller chart, its front cover bearing a rave from somebody: “A really good and genuinely ...
On a Thursday in February, at Wellington’s Conservation House, the Conservation Authority, a statutory body advising the eponymous department and minister, Tama Potaka, opened its 195th meeting. Under consideration that afternoon was an agenda item written by Tim Bamford, chief advisor in the Department of Conservation’s biodiversity, heritage and visitors ...
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A lengthy response to the recently released draft Government policy statement on transport will soon be delivered from Auckland Council to Minister of Transport Simeon Brown. A submission raising concerns about funding distribution and the plan’s treatment of Auckland passed through the council’s transport committee on Wednesday, despite some councillors ...
The unidentified foreign intelligence operation discussed in a scathing report by New Zealand’s Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security (IGIS) last week appears to be a controversial United States intelligence system. The IGIS report said the Government Communications Security Bureau (GCSB) decision to host a foreign system from 2012-2020 was “improper” ...
My copy of Hager’s book has not arrived yet, so I haven’t read it!
But, from what I have gathered, the operation was given the go-ahead by Key himself.
If that was indeed the case, it seems inconceivable that he would not have been ‘fully’ briefed on the outcome of the raid, including that there were civilian deaths and injuries.
So, if a cover-up was ordered, isn’t it more than possible it originated from the 9th floor of the Beehive?
We need an independent investigation to determine ‘where the buck stops’!
If Key gave the go ahead then the buck stops at Key.
That said, it will also involve a lot of other higher-ups across the bureaucracy.
Riverton’s Heritage Harvest Festival on this weekend; the hall and marquees are chocka with fruit and vegetables, preserves and people (or they will be as soon as the sun comes up 🙂 and the workshops are almost full already, the most popular so far being the seaweed foraging, with herb growing not far behind. I’m doing an interview on RadioLive at 8:00 and there are tours of my forest garden at 4:30 today and tomorrow. It’s going to be a big two days!
Kirsty Johnston, in the NZ Herald today, reports that a UN Report in 2011 came to similar conclucions to the book Hit and Run, about the same or a similar incident in 2010 in the same area of Afghanistan.
The UN has killed and debilitated more people, then civilians killed in or injured in Afghanistan.
https://www.un.org/press/en/2016/sgsm18323.doc.htm
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2010_Haiti_cholera_outbreak
And 2 wrongs do not make 1 right.
Carolyn. Who are Anti-Government Elements?
I guess “insurgents”, which are largely Taliban, but may include some Al Qaeda (at least in 2010).
Wikipedia on insurgence in Afghanistan following US-led invasion of 2001
Complicated question.
Technically, “insurgents” come from outside a particular area, so includes AQ international migrants but also folk whose cultural area overflows the artificial or ill-defined national borders.
Then the “Taliban” isn’t very hierarchical as an organisation, but is a conglomeration of regional groups frequently controlled by charismatic leadership rather than a formal structure. These groups vary significantly in their religious and cultural zealotry. David Adams went to Afghanistan to do a documentary when it was under Taliban control and found that some “Taliban” commanders even wanted their picture taken, whereas others barely tolerated his presence and were very strict about not filming people.
And finally the actual logistical support and even ambushes can be subcontracted to unemployed locals as one-off jobs.
So, basically, anyone shooting at or bombing government forces and their allies.
E.coli discharged into Tukituki River from sewage plant was seven times over limit
http://www.stuff.co.nz/environment/90706509/ecoli-discharged-into-tukituki-river-from-sewage-plant-was-seven-times-over-limit
President Trump has just killed the vote on his health reforms.
That is one huge campaign promise probably fully dead.
After his bodacious-scale brinkmanship to demand all Republicans vote for it and that he would “go after them” if they didn’t , they stared him down. They won, and he looks really weak as a result. I don’t think this will come to a vote again.
For a multiple of reasons, Donald Trump is looking like the best broad voter lesson against the Republicans in many, many years.
He should have been the great uniting force that brought all the Congress majority, all the Senate majority, all the Republican state legislatures, all the Republican governorships, into one grand front, unite the party, and roll out a full and comprehensive reform programme.
Instead we have total chaos in government across Washington – all inside around 100 days since he was inaugurated.
“He should have been the great uniting force…”
Out of curiosity, did you think that was ever going to be possible?
I was always pretty confident Trump is so fundamentally incompetent that this kind of debacle would be a regular feature. But there was always the nagging doubt in my judgement and that maybe Trump had actual abilities he was cleverly hiding.
Pence is now the big worry. He looks like he’s treading the fine line of keeping enough separation from Trump’s screwups but still being seen to be a team player. So when Trump’s gone, Pence seems more much more likely to have the skills to get these things through.
Definitely.
Still plenty of policy areas left in the tank for them to focus their collective minds on.
Does that mean you see this as a failure of politics rather than an issue of general competency?
For the sake of the stability of US politics, I would hope that the Republican leadership and the White House now have a bit of a cup of tea together and figure out what they should have figured out before Trump was elected:
a policy platform and legislative agenda that they agree on achieving together.
My other, minor instinct is to watch the Republicans draining their own swamp simply by pulling their own plug while swimming in it, and while flapping about, take the knives to each other in righteous blame and disembowel each other.
The latter however is the Bannon view: burn the system down and let the market of ideas and populism and commercial power run cross the land unfettered. Great theatre, but very bad for the world.
I was thinking more about what’s possible rather than what we might hope for 🙁
To Ad: There are important reasons why Trump’s reforms, health care bill etc will not pass through the lower house. One only needs to look at the people who have taken control of the Republican Party, know their political aims and as a result a good number of Republican members will take that second sober look and not follow Donald Trump, Some of the rich and influential personalities, pulling the Republican Party towards the far right are Robert and Rebekka Mercer.
https://www.democracynow.org/2017/3/23/jane_mayer_on_robert_mercer_the
also: Jane Mayer on Robert Mercer & the Dark Money Behind Trump and Bannon
Sure, you can look in it as a failure caused by specific individuals, or Ryan as Speaker, but in the end it’s absolutely the biggest shock to a new US government we’ve ever seen.
Why is it that a fully stacked deck of Republicans can go backwards faster than Obama – in control of almost nothing – went forwards?
That’s not just a few individuals.
That’s a really deep sickness inside the entire Republican movement.
To Ad: “Why is it that a fully stacked deck of Republicans can go backwards faster than Obama – in control of almost nothing – went forwards?” Perhaps you need to reread my comment again. I’ll put it in simpler terms. Many moderate Republicans will not support the scrapping of Obama’s Affordable Care Act and leave some 24 million voters without insurance. That would have meant committing possible political suicide for many moderate Republicans.
I don’t see that at all. Getting rid of Obamacare was a common Republican promise across all layers of power for Republicans.
From the commentary from the Freedom Republicans it looked much more like there was insufficient eradication of abortion funding, plus the fear that the Koch brothers would de-fund the mid-term campaign of any Republican member who voted for it.
I see Democracy is alive and well in the USA.
IF I had been Sean Spicer that’s the line I would have run a little further on: he’s already commented today that
“we don’t live in a dictatorship”, and the constitutional levers are working in that a Republican lock isn’t running over the whole country.
LIpstick on a pig.
Sorry to disagree. Don’t know what you mean by getting rid of Obamacare.
Moderate Republicans and Democrats are happy to modify the Affordable Care Act.
Which moderate Republicans in Senate or Congress have said they would prefer to reform Obamacare rather than repeal it? Or are they dog whisperers?
…your reason(s) for Trump’s health bill not passing is…..?
My understanding is that the Koch Brothers did not like it and flexed their muscle as the owners of most of the Republican politicians. The Koch Brothers are the ones who really run the Republican party.
Deep pockets.
A network of top Republican donors, led by the Koch brothers, are launching an 11th hour bid to sink the health care bill with a new fund for the 2018 midterms available only to members who vote “No”.
Americans for Prosperity and Freedom Partners announced the “seven-figure fund” on Wednesday night. They oppose the bill because it falls short of a full Obamacare repeal.
https://www.axios.com/koch-bros-announce-2018-fund-reserved-for-health-care-holdouts-2325630078.html
Govt’s RMA proposal set to go ahead
http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/political/327292/govt's-rma-proposal-set-to-go-ahead
Democracy as horse trading.
I wonder which little NGO in Wellington could have had the focus and intellectual grunt to assist the Maori Party to fight solely on the point of GMO Ministerial call-ins?
Sure as hell this is the first time in a long time a significant change has been made between second and third readings of a bill.
Any guesses people?
Has anyone seen exactly what is in the agreement that the Maori Party say they have achieved with the Govt on the RLM Bill ? It is the GMO Ministerial call-ins that have been the sticking point ….. but I cannot find anything which clarifies whether the Maori Party succeeded in preventing these Miniserial call-ins.
Does anyone know ?
these people have outlined their view of where they see the wins from the Māori Party
http://www.waateanews.com/waateanews/x_story_id/MTU5NDk=/National/Freshwater-Iwi-Leaders-Group-welcomes-the-Maori-Party-support-of-changes-to-the-RMA
an interesting perspective
http://www.waateanews.com/waateanews/x_story_id/MTU5NDk=/National/Freshwater-Iwi-Leaders-Group-welcomes-the-Maori-Party-support-of-changes-to-the-RMA
Please note I am not necessarily agreeing with this group just putting up a different view for contrast.
Even if you read through all the papers, including Section D360 in full you would not know what Maori have agreed to or achieved. Unless there is a philosophical agreement on grounds of water being made a profitable avenue for the benefit of the few? Lets see what is happening in another 5 years time – wondering whether there is some handshaking going on that will be to the detriment to all.
The RMA has been of great benefit to Maori but of cause when money is at play things change and everything has a price and is for sale after all.
The death knell of the Maori Party as it has decided to support massively developer-friendly and landscape inimical reforms proposed by its National Party mates.
The RMA has been gutted now. The checks and balances of the right to appeal to the Environment Court has been largely removed for the public, though not for developers of course.
+1 Bearded Git
Are there really any election votes that would change over this bill?
Its not all about votes Ad. Labour and the Greens should campaign hard on reversing the latest RMA changes which have nothing to do with solving the housing crisis and everything to do with lining developers pockets.
I agree it is complicated and so difficult to put across in a campaign but when people in Wanaka (for instance) see intrusive subdivisions and lakeside building monstrosities rammed through degrading the landscape with no chance to to make public submissions or appeal to the court they are going to be up in arms.
Edge of Lake Te Anau included in Govt tenders for oil and gas block exploration
http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/industries/90756740/edge-of-lake-te-anau-included-in-govt-tenders-for-oil-and-gas-block-exploration?cid=facebook.post.90756740
As the leader does so the followers follow
“Labour has withdrawn support for the Point England Development Enabling Bill that would allow the government to sell nearly 12ha of public land in east Auckland to Ngāti Pāoa as part of its Treaty settlement.”
http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/political/327431/labour-'supremely-patronising'-over-iwi's-housing-plan
jeepers how are those non-placing on the list looking now – some drips of cold sweat slowly sliding down the brow methinks.
And the spin from The Māori Party is scathing
http://www.waateanews.com/waateanews/x_story_id/MTU5NTA=/National/x_story/Labour-abandons-M%C4%81ori-again
Not as if Labour was ever going to win Pakuranga anyway, so what was the point?
I suppose – and does it show that the Labour Māori seats and their Members of Parliament have been cut loose? Or is it that there are more important issues for Labour to worry about? or is it that Little’s Labour are floundering around like a fish on the beach?
Giving free shots is not the way to win imo – I despair for the left with this shit going down
That is a bad move by Labour. It seems that the Iwi has been quite pragmatic about this, and utilising the opportunity to get useful land for their chosen purposes and Labour is unwilling to support it and is sacrificing this fine opportunity for the Iwi so they can fire a few brickbats at Gnashional. Bad, stupid idea!
Maori have always had trouble with housing because of their refusal to mortgage their land to gain funds for housing provision. If they have funds or a scheme that enables house building on this land, and it is close enough to the marae to enable services and for it to be a centre for Maori to enhance their cultural and social life, it should be a no-brainer. Who or what directs what passes for thinking and strategy with Labour?
There are quite a few google entries for Maori housing (papakainga). This is one link to the legal situation:
http://www.hobec.co.nz/news-resources/content/posts/environment-resource-mangement/papakainga-development.aspx
And a pdf from the Whangarei District Council: (Note the meaning of papakainga – ‘a nurturing place to return to’.
Planning for Papakainga Housing – Whangarei District Council
wdc.govt.nz/CommunitySafetyandSupport/Housing/…/Papakainga-housing-brochure….
literal meaning of Papakainga housing is, ‘a nurturing place to return to’. … District Council and Maori Land Court so it has been difficult … Advice/Funding.
http://wdc.govt.nz/CommunitySafetyandSupport/Housing/Documents/Papakainga-housing-brochure.pdf
(This does not have a discernable date! Surely a serious error for those seeking relevant timely info.)
This is Pt England which is in the Maungakiekie electorate. I thought you were an Aucklander?
That non-list malarkey was always only a desperate (and bloody stupid) move. (I believe you previously commented in a similar vein).
Unless there are seven high list places for Maori on the list, then Labour runs the real risk of becoming markedly less representative than it already is…and the knock on effect of that is that parliament as a whole also becomes less representative than it already is.
But then, when all you want to do is eat everything to your left…
It’s a personal perspective (obviously) – but if someone attempted those stand over/ fear tactics on me, I’d quite happily pick up a shovel, dig them a hole and get on the phone to book some bands for a party.
I suppose if you want the middle to move you focus energy on the middle – bit like a punch in the guts for some though…
Hmm. I’d have thought if the idea was to ‘move the middle’ then the positioning would be ‘over here’ with an invitation sent out, no?
Labour aren’t interested in moving the middle, and to be honest, I think they lack the imagination to envisage anything that isn’t middle.
Does this end well for Labour? I can’t see how.
move the middle means getting them to vote for you when last time they voted for someone else – ultimately focusing on self centred issues for that middle and showing how a vote for the preferred party will either give them more of what they want and less of what they don’t want.
I get you. I wouldn’t term that ‘moving the middle’ is all – more ‘contesting the middle’ to my way of looking at things. (Meaning no movement; stagnation coming off the back of a process that diminishes options)
“Unless there are seven high list places for Maori on the list, then Labour runs the real risk of becoming markedly less representative than it already is…”
How so?
If the Labour candidates were high on the Labour Party list, then a vote for mana or the Maori Party could result in two Maori mps being returned to parliament for each contested electorate where Labour lose the electorate. (And depending on list placings, regardless of whether Labour win or lose those electorates) That’s pretty straight forward.
If no Maori are high on the Labour list, then no matter what, only one Maori mp gets returned for each electorate contest.
If no Maori are high on the Labour list ,and Labour lose all those electorates, then the Labour caucus will have fewer Maori mps than if they hadn’t pulled this silly stunt.
And if there are Maori mps placed high up on the list, then this silly stunt wasn’t just just silly but fucking dishonest.
Ok, I thought you meant representation within Labour.
It’s extremely unlikely that Labour would lose all or even most of the Māori seats. They might lose TTT.
(btw, some of the Māori seat MPs weren’t on the list last time, by choice).
“And if there are Maori mps placed high up on the list, then this silly stunt wasn’t just just silly but fucking dishonest.”
Where’s the dishonesty? By high on the list, I assume you mean within the number of seats currently held (give or take).
Davis said the ‘two for one’ deal was ending. Kind of is, kind of isn’t. Karen linked to a piece below indicating high list places for Maori. So we have a clutch of experienced Labour mps potentially hitting the bin? Hey – ho.
As long as Davis is gone, I’ll be happy enough.
Two for one is about being able to seat vote Mana and party vote Labour (it’s vastly stupid phrase given MMP and we all have two votes). That’s what Labour are wanting to undermine. I don’t think they’ve been dishonest about that part.
“So we have a clutch of experienced Labour mps potentially hitting the bin? Hey – ho.”
I’m not sure that’s what’s going to happen. We don’t yet know how many Māori will be on the list or what placing. I guess Jackson will be put into the top 30, but I don’t know who else, or even which other current Māori but non-Māori seat MPs will be on the list or where. Pretty hard to speculate much until that is known (although I am appreciating Karen’s input on this.
Two for one is… Uh-huh. And Davis implied something quite different – ie, that the choice was to vote Labour and only Labour because no-one would be coming in off the Labour list.
That’s the dishonest part given that Maori will be on the list (just not those who are contesting the electorates)
The “I’m not sure that’s going to happen” is an odd way to respond to a comment that revolved around the word “potentially”. But anyway.
Which just demonstrates how stupid the whole thing is. I’ve been hearing commentators use a different definition, but it’s certainly unclear. I think this is seat specific i.e. the voters are looking at their electorate vote in ways that most Pākehā don’t because we don’t really have that kind of representation.
“The “I’m not sure that’s going to happen” is an odd way to respond to a comment that revolved around the word “potentially”. But anyway.”
That was me being polite. That Labour would lose all the Māori seats is so far out in terms of probability that it’s probably not even worth considering 😉
Two for one is a message from previous elections that you can have Labour in govt *and a Mana MP. Labour are saying nope, if you want Davis as an MP you have to vote for him on the electorate vote, and if you want us in govt, you have to party vote Labour.
“In the Maori seats there is something very special going on and Labour’s Maori MPs are standing there saying vote for us, vote for our voice, we’ve got a track record and it’s better than anything any other party can offer,” he said.
The policy is a direct challenge to the alliance that has formed between the Maori Party and Mana Party and their decision not compete against each other for the Maori seats.
Labour currently hold six Maori seats, with the seventh held by Maori Party co-leader Te Ururoa Flavell.
Hauraki-Waikato MP Nanaia Mahuta said the message was simple.
“We are eliminating the two-for-one message because in order to get us into government you need to be able to vote for our party as well,” she said.
http://home.nzcity.co.nz/news/article.aspx?id=244752
Huge assumption there, Bill. You don’t think the Māori electorate MPs are capable of making decisions for themselves?
Also, I’d suggest you go and look at the candidates so far – I think you will see quite a bit of diversity. We need to wait till the list comes out to get an idea of how it will look post election.
Huge assumption there, Bill. You don’t think the Māori electorate MPs are capable of making decisions for themselves?
Not this shit again? Nowhere have I said or implied that the decision wasn’t made by the Maori electorate mps. The assumptions being made are all your own.
” if someone attempted those stand over/ fear tactics on me, I’d quite happily pick up a shovel, dig them a hole and get on the phone to book some bands for a party.”
I based my comment on this – it seems I have misinterpreted what you meant by this so for that I apologise.
As to the number of Māori MPs post election – the Māori Party have not announced their candidates for two seats so I will leave them out of my calculation for now. I am sure Te Uroroa Flavell will win his seat and the MP will get enough party votes to get Marama Fox (at least) in on the list. I don’t think Hone will win TTT because Kelvin has decided to go list only and (in spite of what many here believe) he has significantly increased his support in the electorate since the last election. They won’t want to lose him. Personally I have a lot of time for Hone and I’d like a resurgence of Mana but I don’t see it happening this election.
My prediction is Labour will get at least 4 and probably 6 of the electorate seats. Paul Eagle and Louisa Wall are in very safe Labour seats so they will definitely be there. I expect Kiri Allen, Willie Jackson, Willow Jean Prime and Tamati Coffey to all be given high placings, but I may be wrong – we will have to wait for the list to come out.
So there is a strong possibility there will be 12 Māori MPs in the caucus and there could be more if Labour does well. It will become clearer in a couple of months time.
If it’s still not entirely clear, I meant that’s how I’d react as a voter. (By way of reacting to Kelvin Davis declaring that peeps electorate vote Labour or lose Labour’s Maori mps)
I agree it is a risk – I don’t think it is a big one, but I could be wrong. I am continually getting surprised at how people vote.
In the Gisborne Herald today Meka Whaitiri has put forward her reasons for wanting to go list only:
http://gisborneherald.co.nz/opinion/2716615-135/labours-maori-caucus-united
+ 100 % Karen. That’s been my thinking as well – a Labour caucus with a strong Maori team within it. This is a smart move for Labour.
Very talented young Māori guy has been chosen as Labour’s candidate in your old seat (now Northcote and a lot bigger than in your day). Unseating Coleman would be a difficult task (unless something really damning comes out of the NZDF enquiry) but I’m hoping he gets a list placing that puts him in with a chance if Labour does a lot better than in 2014.
Forgot to include his name!
It’s Shanan Halbert but you probably already know.
This is a lot more complicated story than this suggests Marty. Ngāti Paoa are not even mentioned in the bill and it didn’t go to the Māori Select Committee as Treaty Settlements usually do. Also Ngāti Paoa only get 20% of the development but are likely to get all the backlash from the community at the loss of open space in what is about to become one of the most intensive housing areas – this is a not a good deal for Ngāti Paoa. There was an opportunity for them to get a share of the Tamaki Regeneration land (in spite of what Hauauru says) and this was what should have happened. Obviously there will need to be another solution found now , but the Flavell wading in isn’t going to be helpful.
Have a look at Peeni’s twitter feed before you decide how he feels.
Peeni Henare
@PeeniHenare
@Ellipsister when we advised Paoa of our decision my tuakana took the decision with integrity and class now this
BTW at the 2014 election Peeni, Rino Tirikatene and Adrian Ruawhe all decided not to be on the list and seek the support of their electorate only – the only thing that is new is the all Māori electorate MPs decided to make a united statement of their intent to remove their names from the list.
You also may want to look at Denny Paoa’s twitter feed – he’s been campaigning against this deal for some time.
DenPaoa @DennyPaoa 2h2 hours ago
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@DennyPaoa The Negotiators have abandoned their Fiduciary Duty to the iwi by misleading them. No Minutes taken at Special Meeting(s)!
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DenPaoa @DennyPaoa 2h2 hours ago
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The Wharepaku Maori Party get it wrong again!Its not a Treaty Settlement!Its a commercial arrangement btw iwi&Crown http://ln.is/www.waateanews.com/w/2eCHn …
yep it certainly sounds complicated – I have gone and read some links
http://savepe.org.nz/
http://www.maoritelevision.com/news/regional/locals-plead-ngati-paoa-stop-development
Sadly everything gets used to further some political agenda these days.
+1. I also think that when you deny people and communities true agency and wellbeing they will fight over what they can get.
see here also for more info. http://www.saveourreserves.org.nz. But as has already been covered, it is complicated.
not sure the last post was posted. see http://www.saveourreserves.org.nz for more on this complicated stuff. but found the pointengland page to explain the bill part well.
Thanks for that. I made the links clickable.
Peeni
who???
Graeme Edgeler has an important view on the question of Hit and Run Inquiry or Police Prosecution.
” And this is the problem with all the calls for an inquiry to date. Lots of people are saying that there appear to be war crimes. No-one appears to have appreciated what that means. It means we need an investigation into war crimes. In New Zealand, this is a job for the Police.”…..
“But holding an inquiry is not enough for New Zealand to meet its obligation to investigate allegations of war crimes. Holding an inquiry, while not conducting an investigation would compound any breach of international humanitarian law. The independent commission of inquiry Hager seeks would have the power to demand documents, and summon witnesses. But Commissions of Inquiry have limited purposes….”
“…those implicated in the allegations contained in Hit & Run are going to get legal advice, and that advice will be very clear, especially for those on the ground who took part in the raids: shut up.”
https://publicaddress.net/legalbeagle/a-war-crimes-inquiry-or-why-nicky-hager-is/
This op from Duncan Garner starts off well. He praises Hit and Run (whatever anyone thinks of Hager and Stephenson, Garner reckons the truth needs to be told.
He also praises Wayne Mapp….
…but then goes on to praise John key as an excellent PM. Seems it goes back to Garner spending a “night on the town” with Key soon after Key became National leader. And that for me points to a major problem.
I constantly read from the getgo, what a good PM Key would be. This seemed to come from journos who got too close to Key, and somehow saw in him a guy they’d like to have a beer with.
This says more about the journos than any objective understanding of Key the politician. They saw something in him that reflected their values. Somehow the divided country with increasingly visible homelessness, and people struggling, does not compute with those that see a successful economy under Key.
To me, watching him in the media, Key always looked like a slippery used car salesman. And, on the ground, I’ve seen first hand the state of some over-priced rental flats, along with the stagnant incomes for the least well-off.
Steve Braunias: The final Secret Diary of John Key ends on this note that Duncan should read.
“I turned at the door and took a last look around to see if I’d left anything behind, maybe something of value. But the room was bare. It was like I’d never been there.”
Wicked?
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11824754
where hundreds of thousands of immigrants are banging down the door to get in…. yep millennials with a level 5 qualification in cookery and willing to work below minimum wages in petrol stations… possibly NZ is the only country willing to take anybody this poorly qualified for migration.
We really are attracting the best and brightest. sarc.
No wonder our productivity is so low.
I think you are incorrect to some degree. But as with all emotional statements, reason goes out the window.
Yes, there are some that take advantage by means of student entries and we had a fair share of news about these issues.
But what is not mentioned is, that many immigrants have established businesses and/or working in employment contributing to the wider NZ community and pay their fair share on taxes (unlike those faceless multinationals). It is well known that farmers would have difficulties to get the harvest in without workers from overseas as kiwis do not want to do that kind of work. I had recently a conversation with kiwis returning to NZ and they are not impressed with the attitudes they encounter.
Productivity gain can only be achieved by higher output with less resource. So either automation (which will happen) or very low pay. It remains to be seen whether the conventional economic model actually works as NZ has finite resources and land.
Just some small fact: a very large proportion of people coming to NZ are returning citizen.
The conventional economic model does not work because it is based on exploitation and environmental destruction. And every problem is made more acute when we jam more and more people into our small country.
What bullshit is this. We don’t need more productivity, we are drowning in fucken productivity. Our Cows are super productive. Our landfills are overflowing with plastic crap. Our roads are clogged with metallic instruments of social destruction.
We need more equity and proper redistribution of wealth. We need to stop the Aussie banks taking $30 billion out of the NZ economy every year. We need to totally reform the tax system and throw some rich prick financiers in jail, like Mark Hotchin. We need to give the SFO some teeth and OIO some balls to stop the fire sale of NZ. Increasing productivity has just made things worse. We need an increase in justice.
Ropata, the comment I made about productivity was not one for it, but rather in response to the assertion what SaveNZ made:
“No wonder our productivity is so low”.
Yes, the productivity mantra I S what I referred to in what is currently the orthodoxy:
My comment “It remains to be seen whether the conventional economic model actually works as NZ has finite resources and land”
Please re read my comment and you will see that your anger is misdirected.
PS.: Immigration is not the cause but its exploitation is adding to the problem.
FJK’s charisma did not make up for his dirty politics, doing nothing about inequality, and flogging public assets to his rich mates. Garner and the rest of our media were seduced by Key’s dubious charm and wealth. Kiwis were all sucked in and are worse off for it.
So. A Fixed Term Parliament Act.
It instantly kills all the strategic disagreement around whether ‘sitting at the cabinet table’ is selling out or the only way to get things done.
edit – Oops. The comment I was responding to has gone 🙂
Trouble in the new Waterview Tunnel motorway ? A 3 month delay for opening day according to NZ Herald this morning. Issues with sprinklers and ventilation. I remember at the very beginning when construction was just beginning that the public raised concerns about ventilation and the shafts.
Chris Mahony – If you’re not at the table, you’re on the menu – AKL
Keep ignoring the facts and cherry picking rubbish that barely supports your claim. That poll is one of the “rate these in importance” types. Not very accurate and that government / public policy / housing is a pretty broad brush stroke
How about this from the same polling outfit
http://www.roymorgan.com/morganpoll/new-zealand/nz-government-confidence
Confidence in the government is still higher than most of last year. At 62%, almost two thirds of the country think the government is doing the right thing. How’s your mandate?
[TheStandard: A moderator moved this comment to Open Mike as being off topic or irrelevant in the post it was made in. Be more careful in future.]
These were replies to OAB’s comments which were also off topic. So another commentor is allowed head off topic but only the replies to those comments get moved? I think ruins to continuity of the argument and tells commenters like OAB that it’s ok to run off topic.
H fee, cunliffe the messiah, allegedly dirty politics, the moment of truth….
All these opportunities to score and each time an own goal
[TheStandard: A moderator moved this comment to Open Mike as being off topic or irrelevant in the post it was made in. Be more careful in future.]
I can’t put the link up because it is from facebook but if you search for Marae the program and find this
“Willie Jackson goes toe to toe with Rahui Papa and Tukoroirangi Morgan in the second part of our debate. Will Kingi Tuheitia’s endorsement of Rahui Papa be able to change the minds of voters in the Hauraki-Waikato electorate?”
you will see the video.
I recommend it to those who wonder what the attributes of Māori politics are. Many of those attributes are displayed in this debate/interview and it is a delight to watch – the lines, the counters, the coming together and pulling apart, the laughter and serious bits – it is all there in microcosm.
ACT Party at lunch….
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iodpggkj80c
Read an interesting snippet in The Insider column of The Business in the Herald on Friday 24th.
“Parliamentary Service is seeking registrations of interest in its “quest” to replace the Beehive lifts, which have been the source of much embarrassment over the years. The elevator shafts are quite small by modern standards, and the lifts are not capable of carrying great weights. There have been a number of stand-offs when larger-than-usual politicians or bureaucrats have triggered the overweight alarms and someone has had to get off”.
First thoughts come to mind, as the Government is so hell-bent on austerity and making a lot of people’s lives a misery, they should leave the existing lifts in situ and suggest that people who are over weight should use the stairs to get some of the excess off. Secondly maybe Bellamy’s should be replacing the current menu with more healthy weight-reducing meals for the culprits. Thirdly maybe their gym they have in the Parliamentary Building should be made a mandatory part of their job description – such as an hour a day. Way to go.
Big Gerry probably needs the entire lift to himself and there are some pretty weighty ladies who sit in the House that I can think of who would benefit from the gym and stair walking – Pulla is one of them.
You ever head the term “fat shaming”?
Good alternative suggestions, Whispering Kate – and cost-free !
And I don’t agree this is fat-shaming. Its realistic.
Ad – are you saying I am shaming them for being over-weight – well you may be right there. I am of the opinion that if you are representing the country you should set an example, trying to get kids to eat healthily is hard enough without those in control of our affairs not leading the way. Airlines are now finding passengers in the obese area are far too overweight and others have to pay for it with spillage over the sides of the seats next to them. When its all going to end – somebody has to start making the hard choices about our rampant weight problem which is world wide. Of course I am being tough – an old doctor once said to me “there is only one way to keep the weight off ‘ stop putting so much food in your mouth” – simple really – the staff at the Parliament Building are on a whacking good income and can afford to eat healthy and keep the excess off. Its always the way – do as I say not do as I do” – easy way out which is typical of people in control of our lives.
What is wrong with fat shaming – pity more people didn’t do it.
Where to begin.
Whether people are overweight or not has nothing to do with their ability as an MP.
Whether you think people are overweight has nothing to do with whether those people are healthy or not. And no, you don’t get to decide that.
Whether people can get on an airline or not has nothing to do with their ability as an MP.
Whether MPs eat healthily or not may well affect how you vote for them. But if you are voting for people on that basis, out the door goes Norman Kirk, David Lange, Richard Seddon, and for the hellavit almost all Maori and Pacific Island MPs I have ever seen.
No, you’re not “being tough”. You are being an asshole.
Parliament is not a health camp. It’s the only place where the entire population gets represented. Of all shapes, abilities, ethnicities, and beliefs. It’s called Parliament.
In your thoughts you can judge people how you like. But by expressing how you judge people with such blatant disregard for human rights, you yourself illustrate the values you stand for.
Ad – wow you sure have your knickers in a twist. You are most certainly entitled to your own opinion as I am mine. Obesity is a massive problem in this country, diabetes is costing this country a fortune, as is heart disease. It is stretching the health budget and making life at the coal face of medicine extremely difficult. Schools struggle to teach kids to eat well and keep their weight under control. Waiting lists are long and dialysis is extremely costly and ongoing. Have you ever known anybody who has died from Type 2 Diabetes – I have and its a terrible chronic disease to eventually die from . Its mostly a dietary problem (belly fat) and it can be kept at bay. Medical Specialists reiterate in journals how difficult it is for them manage the massive problem that is looming in the future. Your tax payer money (if you pay any) has to contribute to all this expensive and often unnecessary intervention and in a perfect world it would not have to be.
I didn’t say that MP’s would lack ability in their job if they were over weight, I just stated that they should set an example right from the top. As for being called an asshole – its a first time for me but hey that’s life. I can live with it – just keep your cool and relax.
Do you think obesity is a personal choice for everyone?
Because if you accept that some people have genuine issues that give them a tendency to gain weight, then the lifts need an upgrade.
And as for airline seats, that’s the airlines packing ans many people in as possible. Same with buses.
Obesity often correlates with poverty and depression, fat shaming just makes it worse. Slow clap
I see where you all are coming from with fat shaming.
Cigarette smoking also is correlated with poverty but we shame smokers by raising the tax on cigarettes to an almost impossible cost for the poor. We ban them outside from clubs and bars and treat their smoking like it is leprosy. For a smoker it can be humiliating for them to be treated so. We shame drinkers who imbibe and raise the taxes on their drinking habits. As for recreational drug use, that enjoyment is now just a figment of the imagination for some. A lowly toke can now make a person unemployable – hows that not shaming for them.
Obesity is just as serious a health problem as all of the above but people who ask the obese to own their problem are reviled and called fat shamers. You state that there are illnesses that cause obesity – it will be a very small percentage of the entire obesity statistics. Ask any first responder in the health industry be it GP or A & E Department and they will say that obesity is a massive problem for this country – a ticking time bomb for Type 2 Diabetes and heart disease. It’s also very hard on the backs of our nursing staff as an aside – ask any nurse who has had to handle an obese patient. We now have children presenting with symptoms of Type 2 Diabetes which has always been considered a chronic illness of the middle-aged and upwards.
It’s time this country had a mature conversation about the rising obesity rates which are not accepted by the health industry but are considered as fat shaming and insulting – it’s a problem which isn’t going to go away anytime soon.
I like this from Schumacher’s Small is Beautiful:
An attitude to life which seeks fulfilment in the single-minded pursuit of wealth – in short, materialism – does not fit into this world, because it contains within itself no limiting principle.while the environment in which it is placed is strictly limited.
Already, the environment is trying to tell us that certain stresses are becoming excessive. As one problem is being ‘solved’, ten new problems arise as a result of the first ‘solution’….the new problems are not the consequences of incidental failure but of technological success,
Sadly, Labour continues to promulgate the neoliberal lie that our lack of social spending is a function of the state of the economy:
http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/business/327447/strong-economy-allows-for-more-social-spending-labour
In reality the issue is that 50% of the population has only 4% of the nation’s wealth, while 10% have 60% of it. This can be corrected easily by some reasonably modest redistribution. The inequality effect on people’s lives is far greater than that caused by 1% vs 2% economic growth etc.
This rubbish from Labour is very weak and disappointing!
So you are happy to let the Nats keep cutting services in the name of your ideological purity? Give me a break
Not at all – notice I said nothing about the nats in my comment. I despise the attitude and cuts of the nats.
My concern is that Labour is singing from the same song sheet as national, particularly on the broad framing of the situation. It is the overall neoliberal worldview that is totally wrong – and Labour remains locked within it, even if their intentions are better.