“Shane Jones’ partner, Dot Pumipi, says the MP’s greatest fear in making the decision to resign was that his phone would stop ringing and he would get withdrawal symptoms from the sudden lack of attention.”
And this question says so much about the quality of journalism in 2014 New Zealand.
“Asked whether she was to Mr Jones’ career what Yoko Ono was to John Lennon’s, she laughed and said she had told him she’d support him whatever he did.”
Oh well, if Shane isn’t challenging the supermarkets, its o.k. To shop there again.
Doesn’t matter if nothing about their practices has actually changed or not.
“She said there was a further upside to his decision: “I can go back to Countdown.””
How exactly is that narcissim, im sure that would be a natural reaction for most people leaving a high profile job, how about instead of crying on here you go read Claire Trevetts article r.e Jones and the Toxic Greens not only is it highly accurate you might actually learn something about the man you have dedicated 5 posts to this morning
What you will not hear is the evidence he possessed on the supermarkets which has vanished along with what little credibility he had with all those working class folks the jonolists allege he was looking out for.
Well played national and progressive but it’s a double edged sword especially when meddling McCully is involved.
When is Claire Trevell going move jobs to the print media she is most suited to? I.e., for the Women’s Weekly. Apologies to the Woman’s Weekly. Claire with her puff pieces really belongs with the WW, not as the Deputy Political Editor of the country major newspaper.
I think her content is entirely in keeping with the trivial propaganda sheet that the Herald has become in the past few years. It’s always been a right wing rag, but recently it has descended further into a tabloid telling tales of celebrities and sport.
The only think toxic is the waste that will be kept out of our rivers when the Greens get into power.
When your kids are swimming in that nice clean river and breathing clean air, you will have the Greens to thank. They will introduce regulation that stop profit making companies from dumping toxic waste into our rivers and making us all sick.
The only think toxic is the waste that will be kept out of our rivers when the Greens get into power.
When your kids are swimming in that nice clean river and breathing clean air, you will have the Greens to thank. They will introduce regulation that stop profit making companies from dumping toxic waste into our rivers and making us all sick.
“When your kids are swimming ……you will have the Greens to thank. They will introduce regulation that stop profit making companies from dumping toxic waste into our rivers and making us all sick.”
Does that mean that the Greens now think its okay for non-profit making companies to dump toxic waste into our rivers……?
Why are the Greens so upset that some companies make profits?
The only think toxic is the waste that will be kept out of our rivers when the Greens get into power.
When your kids are swimming in that nice clean river and breathing clean air, you will have the Greens to thank. They will introduce regulation that stop profit making companies from dumping toxic waste into our rivers and making us all sick.
Did you used to swim in the river when you were a kid? Why do you want to deprive kids today of what you had?
If you go to the back country the rivers are pristine. Plus most kids swim in aquatic centres and urban pools. How about some cost-benefit analysis of what you are proposing?
Srylands knows of all of this, I sense.
Comments made to be provocative in the way some kids do whose social skills have a way to go.
He craves attention.
You have no problem with cattle shit and other toxins being dumped into the rivers?
Would you advocate the nuclear power possessing countries to dump their spent nuclear wastes into their water ways? It is cheaper!
“How exactly is that narcissim, im sure that would be a natural reaction for most people leaving a high profile job, how about instead of crying on here you go read Claire Trevetts article r.e Jones and the Toxic Greens not only is it highly accurate you might actually learn something about the man you have dedicated 5 posts to this morning”
Of course Trevett didn’t even impy that the GP was toxic. She did report that the reasons Jones was leaving were because he wasn’t going to be PM or Finance Minister, and he could earn more money in another job. So yes, thank-you, I have learned something about the man – that he is self-centred and self-serving (which makes for a shitty MP).
When is Claire Trevell going move jobs to the print media she is most suited to? I.e., for the Women’s Weekly. Apologies to the Woman’s Weekly, nothing too much wrong there. Claire with her puff pieces really belongs with you, not as the Deputy Political Editor of the country major newspaper.
The right wing contributors on this site rant and rave about how the Greens will destroy NZ’s economy.
I’d be more worried by the present jokers remaining in power.
Gradually indebting the country to foreign interests.
And yet pr, BM, fisiani and others slavishly support them.
Pathetic, really.
“Government debt has reached $60 billion, having climbed $27 million a day since John Key became prime minister – and forecasts show it will rise for years to come.
Despite tax revenue being higher than expected and expenses lower in recent months, Treasury figures show net Crown debt reached the highest yet at $60,015,000,000 at the end of September.
It already equates to 28 per cent of New Zealand’s economic output, is more than $13,000 for every person in New Zealand and is forecast to climb by another $10b by 2017.
When National took control of the Beehive in 2008, debt was just over $10b.”
..it’s been so long since i’ve done/dismissed them..
..i really can’t see the point of all those bullshit capital letters/sentence-structures/paragraphs..etc..
..they seem as archaic/arcane as all those swirls/whorls from previous superseded versions of the ‘right’ way to write..why don’t you still do/bend the knee to them..?
..and despite yr last line..
..i now find my way ‘clearer’/easier to read/more flowing…..
All those ‘arcane swirls/whorls’ you are so dismissive of are an extra layer of texture and context for your readers.
You may know exactly what you intend to say phil – in your own head. But you depend on all these written symbols to convey that meaning to your readers.
By ignoring the textural conventions that most people are familiar with you make it harder for us to decode your meaning. Quite necessarily so. It’s directly analogous to someone whose verbal speech is mumbled and mangled.
After a while people get the sense that you just can’t be bothered respecting your readers enough to communicate clearly. And they just stop reading.
I write using conventional grammar and sentence structure that other people are familiar with.
I make some effort to clean it up before I hit ‘submit’ and quite frequently go back to edit out mistakes as well. I do this out of respect for other people who may chose to read me.
By contrast your ‘stream of consciousness’ style makes no such effort. It stinks of an ‘all about me’ attitude.
But if your best argument is to dismissively invite us all to ‘scroll on by’, would it then be logical to save pixels by simply deleting all your posts ?
Because when you choose to write in a lazy, disrespectful style that few people can be bothered reading, it’s the equivalent of self-censoring mumbling. Yet oddly enough censorship is one thing that gets you very agitated.
+1 Deliberately makes his communication harder to understand (as a point of vanity as far as I can tell), and then expects everyone else to make extra effort to make sense of what he is saying. Then has the gall to tell other people that they don’t know whether something is garbled or not to them. It’s all about phil.
Lolz…Phillip…understands His…Babble…every word…even the … …some obscure poet… long ago…penned a few poems…in the same lack of style…don’t you know…its Phill’s ‘art’…
Just makes it harder to follow.
As long as Phil realise that and doesn’t mind, that’s ok.
At least his comments don’t swamp this site with monotony – in the form of Pete g.
pretty much the same here, unless a meaningful phrase jumps out. Those are few and far between. Often read the people who argue with him, though, just to get a gist of what’s going on.
People who are too prosaic miss a lot that can be learned from poetry and the non literal and the non verbal and the aesthetic and the psychic and the mystical and the allusional….(helped occasionally with a little you know what)
…in other words the glasses and focus of Yang Scientism and literalism has brought about an ecological crisis…the world is too Yang and unbalanced…….in the mind and spirit…. …lol…lol ( and dont eat the little critters or you will have a bad reincarnation)
@ Phil ….
let’s pretend NuZulls a cumpinny en Jawnkey’s running it!
Please don’t ask = its probably on the agenda already!
.
There’s already a hijeckd meedya masquerading as a 4th Estate that’s too lazy to get off its arse and delve into his years as the “smoilung asessun” working in Ayezzzha!.
Most of them, whilst goan beart their daily buzzniss, couldin unna Sten the goi. They did when skeweritty garz were loinung up ta scort thin off the premizzizz
Watch and wait Phull
Their lazinusses are really going to claim integrity in Jonolustuk velyas when the shut hitsth fen. Watch em all…. even the ones fresh from Media Studies papuzz en gradjatshum hired by 3 (based on essays and Lecturers pets, that were completely and utterly plagiarised and/or written for them).
(Btw …. As a former tutor, I’m still trying to understand why a decent enough lecturer/researcher – and a hierarchy that was fairly on to it – could fail to see the bleeding obvious) – but there ya go – bay-sick-ly tik-a-box commercialoizayshun of the tertiary sektah – of which there’s a Heck Yea and a choyce-Jorrrrrse leading the charge).
[….Phil, and perhaps Rhino: watch tonights “tree Newz” – did I hear Nukki kay say something like “biggerings” relating to the Chinese ban on infant formyilla?. I think oi dud – but maybe not – it’s hard to woch the likes of Nukki sometimes. “What I would say – is ….. me mate Nafe Goi hes been skolling me and praviding me with ‘learnings’ of the subjek]
Sometimes I really wonder why the trolls keep it up – but we can rest assured they’ll be the first to squeal like stuffed pigs when it all happens (if it happens, though I’m not that confident given how long its taken thus far to realoise the Empra hes nah closthes) ….. but I reckon they’ve allowed their inflated egos to get in the way of logic.
It’s all a but like Fairfecks subbies; ‘Hubs’; destruction of that 4th as a konsquince of what’s deemed to be corporate sense; a misunderstanding of journalistic values (kind of like that new slogan “Miss Selling”); make me a star ….. you get the idea.
Anyway – this is turning into a bit of a rave.
Preps oi shid jess get Pedey Jorge to go do sim Fek Chuckin.
The con-machine sure as hell is working overtime this week though!
….. Oh – btw Phil – should I call you Phil or Phylis? Bad 12 calls you that often, and baby …. I jisss lerv BOTH yer work! :p
But, but, but, its the RockStar economy don’t you know, by the time the IMF gets in on the act there will be little left to sell off and the real fun will have begun…
b12
It’s not Rockstar..with yet another NZ company dismissing 79 workers in Dunedin it’s more of a Wagnerian economy, but who in Epsom or Helensville gives a hoot about those sawmillers down there.
Anzac Day. Red poppies everywhere. Whichever muppet decided to give a white poppy equal prominence on the banner headline above has a viewpoint that is not shared by the majority. Fair enough. Your decision. A picture is worth more than a thousand words.
[lprent: probably the difference between this who have actually served in the army like myself and the idle armchair warriors like yourself with their mindless romanticism. ]
I don’t think I ever met so many fervent believers in peace in civilian life as I did inside the army. Due to the range clearing philosophy at Waiouru when I did my training, I rapidly became a believer myself.
A friendly advice for you : Whatever war you support, make sure you don’t say anything against uncle Tom anymore unless you wish for a drone to hover over your head. The price of freedom, justice and fair play. Collateral damage justified by lies and spin.
Uncle Tom???, you are thinking of ”Uncle Sam” are you not, the same ”Uncle Sam” that is now dropping US troops in to places like Poland and the Ukraine in the hope? that the pro-Russian militias will find cause to harm some of them perhaps…
“old ex-soldiers tend to be somewhat more reflective and self-aware.”
This is true, am I still banned?
[lprent: Yes. I have a vague idea about doing another general amnesty while I have the time to deal with the idiots next week. However the time is being rapidly sucked up with things to do.
The trick is generally not to get banned in the first place. ]
Fisiani and his fellow right wingers go on about how they are off to the dawn parade to “remember the fallen” who died fighting tyrannical governments, but I wager that if the Chinese decided to take this country by force, they would be down by Queen Street waving their little Chinese flags as the PLA marches up the street..
… idle armchair warriors like yourself with their mindless romanticism.
Now, be fair. If mental midgets can’t think of Anzac Day in terms of mindless romanticism, how are they going to think of it? You can’t put a quart in a pint pot.
“probably the difference between this [those?] who have actually served in the army like myself and the idle armchair warriors like yourself with their mindless romanticism.”
PLUS [+] (any number) doesn’t seem to cut it! – but +1
@ Fizz – have you ever?
btw …. Probably also those in the military who’ve climbed the ladder by arse-licking, and who’re expecting dizzy heights – perhaps a serial gummint departmint CEOze appointment, or even a guv genrill appointment. Prolly Shane will arrange the next one – preferably one that can use a bit of holdtight on the partial plate when delivering the honours.
(Christ I can be a bitch I know – but these munters and their cronyism – really ARE becoming quite pathetic!)
A Harley Davidson at the Tex Payuzz xpense would probably be a damn sight cheaper for all concerned – we could get Chris Finlayson to bestow the honours too without all the ‘kerfuffle’
Personally I’D RATHER we honour the deserving – and there are quite a few. There really IS a hierarchy that lets them down though.
wew were discussing something yesterday that got lost in the old maelstrom a bit, so I’ll just cut iand pastes it over here, as I’m keen to hear your reckon.
As I noted, the data isn’t as good as we might like it, but it’s what we have, unless you have better data to share of course.
Give that, as you said:
“Fact checking isn’t a waste of time – it can help people perceive more accurately and not get fooled by party propaganda and ignorance.”
Could you have a quick look at the following statements, and see if the facts revealed by that polling data can help clear up any propaganda or ignorance regarding what people think:
1) “Labour looks out of touch with people and out of touch with reality. If they don’t turn this around very soon it could be terminal.”
2) ” The perception of the party is tending towards pathetic.”
3) “Ex Labour minister Michael Bassett may not be a party favourite but what he said on Radio New Zealand half an hour ago about Labour now are common sentiments”
Perhaps you’re trying to be too clever for me. What point are you trying to make? That any opinion expressed here should be supported by an opinion poll? I’ll try polling your opinion.
1) Do you think Labour looks in touch with people and in touch with reality?
2) Do you think there are no perceptions the party is tending towards pathetic?
3) Do you think what Michael Basset expressed are not common sentiments?
I’m not trying be clever at all Pete. Nor am I suggesting that all opinions should be supported by polling.
I am saying that the data in that reid polling contradicts your statements about what people think.
In particular, the polling shows that Key is seen as being out of touch with normal kiwis far more than the Labour leader has been, for quite some time.
For the last year, a majority in the poll has said that Key is ‘out of touch’.
The following statement is about something that we can only know from polling:
“Labour looks out of touch with people and out of touch with reality.”
It’s talking about what the electorate thinks, and the evidence we have about what the electorate thinks on that particular question doesn’t really support it.
And yet it is something pundits talk about a lot, and you repeat seemingly without thinking about whether or not you have any evidence for it.
Even when presented with the evidence we have, you can’t bring yourself to talk about it.
So,
“Fact checking isn’t a waste of time – it can help people perceive more accurately and not get fooled by party propaganda and ignorance.”
The talking point in the media by various pundits and analysts, which is repeated by you in various statements, that ‘Labour is dangerously out of touch especially in comparison to the down to earth Key led national party’, seems to be “party propaganda and ignorance” that could be assisted by a bit of fact checking, no?
The talking point in the media by various pundits and analysts, which is repeated by you in various statements, that ‘Labour is dangerously out of touch especially in comparison to the down to earth Key led national party’, seems to be “party propaganda and ignorance” that could be assisted by a bit of fact checking, no?
Do you have poll to back your “party propaganda and ignorance” claim?
I haven’t compared Labour to National on down to earthiness.
“Do you have poll to back your “party propaganda and ignorance” claim?”
That reid one is what makes it seem to be so Pete. It strongly suggests the majority of people do not think labour is out of touch. Whatever problems Labour has, it isn’t that. So people who are claiming otherwise, are wrong. This might be because of ignorance, or for propaganda reasons
This is very simple.
You made claims that labour is seen as being out of touch.
The best available data that I’m aware of suggests that isn’t the case.
Maybe you have other data that suggests it is the case, which supports your statements. If so you should share it.
Your wriggling is giving me the impression that you are more interested in something other than fact checking to assist people to “perceive more accurately and not get fooled by party propaganda and ignorance.”
That depends on the media to a large extent. Our media has shown to be personality and sensation driven and has come across so far as pretty inept and useless fourth estate, instead of being a responsible and unbiased pillar of democracy in informing the public on policy issues.
the gap will narrow, I burst out laughing. what wishful thinking. This has eerie similarities of 2002 with the how low can you go limbo dance of political demise.
You really think that policies bribes or any dodgy offer will make a difference when the economy is booming, wages are rising, employment is ring and 1,600 a week are coming off benefits? I have a bridge to sell you.
I think it’s important to figure out the difference between opinions – ‘I think Labour looks out of touch’ – and provable statements – ‘The majority of people think Labour looks out of touch.’
Statement 1 is a little bit in-between, but statements 2 and 3 above are provable (not perfectly, because there are always questions around polling methods etc. and how we define whether a sentiment is ‘common’ could be argued, but nevertheless.)
They can’t however be proved by ‘polling’ one commenter on a blog site, and I have to say, Pete, that this kind of tactic is something I’ve seen several people call you out on. You have made statements and, although I respect that you generally comment here in a personal capacity, and not as editor of Politicheck, you aren’t showing willing to back those statements up, and are avoiding having to answer them with a silly little charade of a one-man opinion poll.
Unfortunately, Pete George has indicated in previous comments that he does not understand statistics. He does not consider them to be facts and instead believes that because one can misrepresent statistics to ‘prove’ a certain point (e.g. by cherry picking data points), then the entire field of statistics is completely arbitrary. His comments regarding the “statistical poverty line” also show that he has a poor understanding of averages (either the median or the mean) and he does not understand the effects that changes in the underlying distribution of a parameter would have on these averages.
I really have no idea how he can be qualified to be a “fact-checker”, let alone a “fact-checking editor”.
That’s a very good point, wtl. Of course it’s good for a fact-checker to be aware of the ways statistics can be misused – it’s probably a prerequisite for the job – but that level of ignorance is just embarrassing.
I’ve always thought, and I’ve seen others here comment, that a basic grounding in concepts like mean vs. median would raise the level of political debate in NZ. And I did hope when I saw Politicheck getting launched that it could be a vehicle for that kind of thing. I guess not!
Thanks Pascal. The “experts” like Bassett certainly paint a dismal picture, which is not borne out by the Reid Polls. With more exposure later this year people will be able to compare and contrast. And maybe those little comments like trucks on motorways and trailer registrations etc serve the purpose of being known by thousands who have yet to notice David or the serious life affecting policies yet to be delivered.
Thanks for the link. Have Bookmarked it.
1 Yes
2 Wrong
3 Bassett is a very nasty malicious animal
(Note Pete is away with the fairies @ 5.1?)
The link to 3News was distorted but FPP suggested one thing but MMP showed that: “Support for the National Party has dipped in the latest political opinion poll and the Greens have jumped.
The Roy Morgan poll released yesterday showed National down three points to 45.5 percent. Labour rose a point to 31.5 percent and the Greens jumped 3.5 points to 14 percent.
If a national election were held now it would be too close to call, pollster Gary Morgan said.
So what was your point Petey lad?
Not only that there is also NO mention of David Cunliffe in any of the charts. His name is nowhere to be found. So that makes it a Shearer poll. One which has me in a quandary, because Cunliffe won the Leadership in sept 2013, and these polls are supposedly up till Jan 2014.
So the question is this: Is the whole lot just reid research just making up numbers? because it just don’t make sense.
I haven’t commented so far on Shane Jones’ departure from Labour and Parliament and will not do so other than saying that after my initial shock, IMO it is the best thing he could do. He was never an easy fit in Labour. While in his first term, I thought he did well, thereafter until the leadership contest and since, he was a non-entity apart from the ‘occasional incident’. If I was in Cunliffe’s shoes, I think I would be sighing a sigh of relief that the ‘loose cannon’ is going.
On this day when we remember those who fought, and died, for our freedom and democracy, we need to also look forward to hopefully strengthen our resolve to protect these.
So, in my opinion, it is time to put Shane Jones behind us – and look forward to, and be thankful that his going means that Kelvin Davis is coming back.
I was impressed by the way that he handled the situation and media within a very short time of the announcement of Jones’ decision.
But I am even more impressed by his Facebook post setting out his first four priorities – posted yesterday. –
It is a definite must read in full, so I am not going to give a summary.
Apologies if this has already been posted (and I think it is well worth a full post), but it gave me a real surge of positivity at a time when all around seemed to be negativity.
Seeing as you said that Kelvin Davis’s Facebook page was a must read, i did, to be kind, Kelvin will be a perfect fit into middle class Labour and should represent the interests of that middle class really well,
Education, education, education, if this were to be the solution then WHAT has gone so seriously wrong with the education system in Te Tai Tokerau for so long,
Kelvin managed to have me seeing RED with His little allusion to ‘Nutters’ in His opening remarks, ‘Nutters’ have become thus for a reason and far from the snide inferences their way Davis would far better serve His electorate to avail Himself of the causes rather than poke the iron at the symptoms,
Am unimpressed, another business as usual candidate for Labour…
I wish I hadn’t read that bad12. I agree entirely with your conclusions.
He either doesn’t get it or he doesn’t want to, (and they both merge into a giant ‘I’m alright Jack,’ anyway.)
Davis wants to get to feel like one of the good guys as he props up the mythology that is destroying so many of us. Pagani must love him.
A complete denial of the structural causes of the woes faced by Maaori, denial of patriarchy in sexual and physical abuse (man-up ffs!) and airbrushing the poverty, structural inequality and racism that underpin both in the community he hopes to represent.
Nothing major needs to change, the barriers can be overcome by a bit of elbow-grease and a particular (still patriarchal) definition of a “real man”. As you were etc.
Can you be more specific as to where you see actual denial?
You might be right, but it’s also possible that as a politician in a mainstream party he talks in ways that his constituents will understand, or he is pragmatic enough to understand where he has power and where he doesn’t. It’s not like he can talk about the patriarchy or colonisation outright and still be an electable Labour MP.
I would be very surprised if he was unaware of colonisation and its impact on Māori, or unaware of the structural issues.
What do you think he meant by this?
Te Tai Tokerau has endured it’s own tragedy, but it happened over 40 years not 40 seconds. The effects on our people have been equally devastating in the long run.
“a particular (still patriarchal) definition of a “real man”. As you were etc.”
Hardly as you were. He makes a long, explicit statement to men that being a man includes respect for women and children. This is consistent with Māori kaupapa and is something I would like to see within Pākehā culture, esp politicians.
His statement about te reo is radical and one I wholeheartedly support.
His statement about te reo is radical and one I wholeheartedly support.
Apart from the word ‘radical’ we are agreed about this.
I could go into more detail but I don’t think any good would come of it. The way I see it, he fits perfectly with the current Labour Party. No challenge, no change, just more of the same. I’m sure he sincerely hopes that he can push a few more kids into ‘real person’ (middle-class) status through the power of education, which is nice I guess. But in desperate times, with the scale of need, and the crises we have breathing down our necks, the kids that don’t “make it” are bound for under the bus, and it’s brutal.
Just now the future seems unremittingly grim for more and more people and I just wonder who has to be affected for it to start mattering.
Davis does seem pretty moderate to me – but an improvement on Jones. I think if the Labor caucus shift more strongly towards founding Labour principles, Davis will most likely go with it.
…from Kelvin Davis not a word on Charter Schools and Standards testing
….this is a worry, because he comes out of a hopelessly compromised Ministry of Education…. which is following an ACT agenda …..espoused by private PR companies working on the advice of USA Charter School business ( which in orientation is right wing and religious fundamentalist)
….where is Labour’s Education policy?
…like the retirement age issue….full employment for youth …raised minimum incomes for workers……Education is an important issue for Labour .
…Labour should be for State Education and equality of opportunity …not Private education
I want to hear Kelvin Davis’s views on education ….and Labour’s policies on Education
I am sure you are and I am sure you will. There are still 5 months till the lection. Surely, would you want want Labour to announce all their important policies now so
that
(a) the media give it some publicity now rather than close to the election?
(b) the nasty Nats can go on spinning about all kinds of exaggerated faults?
(c) the notorious Nats can copy some aspects of the policies to pretend it is theirs?
(d) the voters not have them fresh in their minds just before they cast their votes?
Hey people, give the guy a break. It was a facebook posting.
His priorities are right on. Education, well that’s appropriate given he’s a teacher, he’s going to be concerned about this. His electorate. Te Reo. Violence against women and children.
Can anyone really argue with these four priorities?????
I agree with Weka, I can’t see him denying structural causes. He didn’t mention them as he needs to keep it succinct. Labour get criticized on this site, for their media stuff and not doing sound bites.
Labour haven’t released their education policy yet.
I didn’t like the nutter comments but I am not going to right the guy off for them. I am not sure who he means, maybe some of the right wing people posting on TS.
+1 It’s his first statement about his intentions as an MP. They seem appropriate to the party he is in and assume that he wants to work towards something achievable. If we want something more radical try Mana or the GP.
“Apart from the word ‘radical’ we are agreed about this.”
He’s basically saying that we should take action to make conversational reo normal in NZ. How is that not radical?
“The way I see it, he fits perfectly with the current Labour Party. No challenge, no change, just more of the same”
I don’t see Labour doing any of the things he talks about. How is it more of the same? I think what you perhaps mean is that he’s not an obvious shift left for Labour. I don’t know, I’m just going on what I read on the FB page. But I do think that we need solid, mainstream MPs in Labour, because so much of the country is mainstream in their politics.
The best criticism that’s been made is that Pagani will like him. That makes me worry.
Wow now that’s what’s needed from a Labour Politician. And yep the Nutters probably those of Fishy and Petey George to name but a couple But reading down I’ll add Bad 12 and Just saying to that list of T 🙄 s and Nutters too judging by their comments.
I decided to place this link here and not in the Anzac post from MS. It is not my intention to cause upset but to add some thoughts to ANZAC day I felt would be misunderstood in that post’s comment section. So here goes:
A word of warning to all well meaning Kiwi’s honoring their ancestors and the recent young man and women who died in wars we where dragged into by our “leaders.
Will we be doing this for people dying in more wars in the future and if so will those wars be remembered through the same patriotic glasses without a shred of criticism for those sending the brave men and women to their deaths in them?
“A word of warning to all well meaning Kiwi’s honoring their ancestors and the recent young man and women who died in wars we where dragged into by our “leaders.”
Which wars are you talking about that we were ‘dragged into by our leaders’ ?
So glad you asked. How about every war financed by and for the bankers for starters. Oh oops, that would be as far back as the Napoleonic wars and counting.
US involvement in WWI was driven by the Wall St banking fraternity who did not want to see France and England lose the war against Germany – which would have resulted in massive Wall St loan losses as France and England would never have paid back the loans that Wall St had made to them.
Yep and apart from the PTB behind the throne the Bush family made quite a bundle from Auschwitz after they helped to finance Hitler to get him into power
It’s well known that the Bush family was trading with Germany well into 1942. In fact, if the US hadn’t invented the law about war profiteering Prescott Bush would have been hung as a traitor.
I’ve no idea if this has been covered before, but…polls.
Strikes me that a majority of ‘undecideds’ are probably left bloc voters who haven’t decided which party of the left will get their vote, rather than people wavering between left and right. So on that basis, if these ‘undecideds’ aren’t factored into poll results, then of course the right wing vote will be over reported. Polls that present percentages based on only those who state preferences (adding the decideds up to a 100%) are of no more use than soggy loo paper, no…unless your looking to generate a self fulfilling prophesy?
So anyway, why is the publication of such skewed nonsense acceptable?
Good point Bill about just who the undecided are. I vacillate between Labour/Green but last time nearly considered NZF strategically.
But 20% undecided leaves the field ripe for persuasion.
I don’t even know the %age of undecideds ianmac, (is it 20% or is that just a number you threw out there?) but I’m definitely picking it’s predominantly made up of left wing voters.
One of the polls definitely said 20% undecided. An earlier one was 11%. But I can’t find the source. It seemed by my dodgy memory for a year or two back further back the undecided was about 5%.
However Paddy and others are reluctant to quote say 20% undecided, as it would mock the usefulness of the polls especially with the dodgy use of FPP seats in parliament line.
And I wonder if the Labour Green being apparently behind will spur the efforts of we mortals?
So okay…what that could suggest is that the vote for Labour is dropping as the number of undecideds rises. A pile of formerly Labour voters thinking of going with the Greens? Definitely possible. Meanwhile, the actual left vote is being under-reported by dint of the way polling results are formulated.
Strikes me that a majority of ‘undecideds’ are probably left bloc voters who haven’t decided which party of the left will get their vote, rather than people wavering between left and right.
That’s a bold claim Bill, but I don’t think it’s supported by evidence.
I’ve seen some pollster analysis that claims undecideds are about as spread as the decideds. But they are the hardest to get a preference from – they are pushed to make a decision, so a guess like your’s is just a guess.
And undecideds are less likely to decide at election time and vote so less of a factor.
So Pete, the fact (yes, it’s a fact) that there are more parties on the left competing more evenly for left votes than the fewer and more clearly delineated parties on the right, has no impact on the likely voting intentions of those polling as ‘undecided’. Seriously!?
Try applying some fcking logic sometime Pete…..actually, just any degree of thought would be an improvement for you.
You might find it illustrative to peruse ‘ts’ comments re voting intentions. Right wing votes are set. They’re voting National. (A wee few for ACT). The left wing votes on the other hand are much more fluid and constantly moving between Labour, the Greens and Mana. Just read the comments over time.
Meanwhile, a bit of a bold ( and not entirely free from stupid) claim there Petey about ‘undecideds’ being less likely to vote. Not voting and undecided as who to vote for are actually markedly different things
Well said Bill. And Pete saying,”I’ve seen some pollster analysis that claims undecideds are about as spread as the decideds.”
If undecided, that might mean ummm Undecided. It does seem more likely that so far the likely Left voter would be waiting to get a handle on just what Labour/Green would bring, whereas the writing is on the wall by the performance of the current lot.
We therefore know most of what Nats are offering, so what alternative do we have? Persuade me (but not too soon with policy as it gives Key’s monstrous huge team of researchers and PR people time to negate and undermine and pinch good policy, like parental leave for instance.)
Yes, National are shameless thieves who steal from the services for the poor and the less well off in society and help the wealthy instead, and steal Labour’s past and present social policies to steal some potentially left wing votes.
There’s nothing set looking about that. Other polls have had a similar degree of variation.
You may be correct that right wing votes are set, but there’s a lot in the centre sloshing about. Most of the uncertainty and undecided is with swing voters who could go any of several ways.
Asking you a favour Pete. Please don’t respond to any of my comments in future. The reason? Disagreement and debate is fine by me and even potentially informative. But you’re comments tend to be blithering wastes of space that, while devoid of intelligence, are unfortunately and routinely pregnant with unpleasantly dead shit that serves to choke debate/discussion.
Pete. I’ve no problem with criticism. Thing is, criticism requires a modicum of intelligence. Criticism in no way comprises of the tangential or irrelevant nonsense that marks the bulk of your comments. Your nonsense (as I’ve commented above but that you appear to have been incapable of grasping first time around) is effectively dead shit that chokes up any flow of critical (or otherwise) debate and discussion.
Don’t respond to this and never again question my desire to have critical and/or intelligent debate when my core point (How often would I have to repeat this before your obstinate levels of comprehension stopped looking upwards in bewildered blankness at the point?) is that you kill the potential for critical and/or intelligent exchanges with your rubbish.
At those levels, the margin for error is 3%. Look at that jump from the low of 43 to the high of 48.5%. The first could be as high as 46%, the second as low as 45.5%.
And that’s without looking at vacillating undecideds bouncing between left and DNR.
You comprehensively failed to support your assertion that there’s a lot in the centre sloshing about. You might well just be grasping at an artifact in sampling.
I agree. I am not sure why the poll companies do not state the % of voters who are undecided. Such a poll is more accurate and meaningful.
Another point I wonder is why don’t the four or five main polling companies stagger their polls weekly, one after the other? Surely, they could come to a mutual agreement on that? What stops them from doing that?
I could be generous and suggest that polling companies are running polls better suited to the ‘either/or’ scenario of FPP elections. But having said that, even the Scottish independence polls (which is a straight binary choice) incorporate the undecideds into their results and state when they have stripped the undecideds out for the sake of % age comparisons of those who have decided which way they intend to vote.
Maybe in NZ a clearer picture would emerge if people were asked which bloc they were going to vote for alongside or instead of which party. Slight problems in designating some parties to a left or right bloc, but as long as the make up of each was consistent over time….
Last Roy Morgan Poll showed only 5% did not name a Party (Undecided?). And that was the 48% for National one. Be interesting for the next poll, away from that Princeling fellow and his celebrity wifey.
Strikes me that a majority of ‘undecideds’ are probably left bloc voters who haven’t decided which party of the left will get their vote, rather than people wavering between left and right. So on that basis, if these ‘undecideds’ aren’t factored into poll results, then of course the right wing vote will be over reported.
How can you factor ‘undecideds’ into poll results?
Gavin White of UMR claims (via research) that since 1999 polls have tended to have National and Greens too high, they are up and down on Labour, and have NZ First too low. That doesn’t fit with right being over-reported and left being under-reported.
Hmm am not that impressed with iPredict, however found this press release on ‘It’s Our Future’ website which contains an interesting analysis:
“National’s chances of leading the next government have eased from 74% to 70% over the last week, compared with 87% at the same point in the 2011 election cycle, according to the combined wisdom of the 7000 registered traders on New Zealand’s online predictions market…”
A good opening comment from Kelvin Davis in the Herald ex Northern Advocate – Mike Dinsdale.
“Mr Davis, who spent one term as a Labour list MP, said he would push several key issues when back in the House – Maori education, regional development, improving the number of people speaking te reo Maori, and “being the male in Parliament who stands up and says enough is enough over domestic violence”.
And “…after missing out by 832 votes to Hone Harawira in the Te Tai Tokerau electorate race in the 2011 election …”
Do I barrack for Hone or for Kelvin? Aye. There’s the rub. http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11244080
Wait for the Labour list to come out and if Davis is high enough, electorate vote Mana. And give your party vote to the GP 😉 Win, win, win, for the left.
The Greens already have their core about 10-12% support from around the country.
I would like the Mana.Com alliance (if in action) to clear the 5% threshold.
So, it would make more sense for the left voters THERE to give the electorate vote to Hone (if Kelvin is fairly guaranteed a list position under 25th) and party vote to Mana.Com alliance (to help the 5% clearance) or Labour (to ensure more Labour Reps than other lefties) or the Greens(if you wish Greens to wield extra power over Labour) or NZF (for super gold card and things) or National (if one is silly to boost Key’s ego during his retirement troty in Hawaii) or ACT (if you love insects and the rich) or UF (if you like ex Labour party turn coats and hairdos)
Labour say they will win Napier and Christchurch Central so do you really think a hetero sensible bloke like Kelvin will be placed higher in the list than the sisterhood.
The ACT Party and other Right Wingers often claim that people are poor and/or criminal because they choose to be, through a lack of will power, and/or moral fibre.
The strangest things often cause me to ponder this assumption.
Yesterday I went to the supermarket to get some paper vacuum cleaner bags for my vacuum, they come in a slim pack of five for $11.
On approaching the check out I noticed that the bottom of the packet had a neat slit cut in it and instead of having five vacuum liner bags there were only four. The check out operator said she would not let me have the packet for less than the full $11, so I had to walk back down the aisle to get a new complete intact pack.
While I was making this long walk, it occurred to me that there must be some very house proud poor person moved to steal just one vacuum bag. Since the pack of five was hardly much bigger than one single bag, this person would have taken a greater risk of being found out by slitting open the packet and removing one liner, than just concealing the whole pack.
I wondered, was this house proud shoplifter having some sort of moral debate with themselves that it would be less of crime if they took just one bag? Did they balance this crime against the moral dilemma of leaving their house dirty?
Should the members of ACT be worried that there are house proud poor people with moral scruples driven to wandering the aisles of New Zealand’s supermarkets armed with sharp knives?
In west Auckland supermarkets, we now have to ask the checkout operator if we want to pr=urchase council rubbish bags. This is because too many were being stolen. But, waht do poor people do if they can’t affford the bags needed to dispose of their rubbish?
That’s the nature of private sector efficiency – they just price a large proportion of people out of the market so that it’s easier, and thus more profitable, to supply the service.
In Marlborough the rubbish bags are still part of rates. Each house gets 52 bags per year. And nearly all of my bag contents are disposed packaging.
(We get one knee-high bin for recyclable and my compost gets the rest.)
Having saved the $23 for a miniscule tube of zovirax a young solo parent I know arrived home and found the blister pack had been sliced open and the tube replaced with an empty one. When she returned the packaging and empty tube the supermarket accused her of trying to scam them and denied her a replacement leaving her out of pocket, wearing the two 20Km return trips and forced to suffer miserably for another week while an easily treated flare-up rampaged on.
Sometimes you gotta fight for your rights. And unfortunately that means escalating the noise level at the service desk until they take you seriously. Or finding a friend who can dress up all prim and proper so that the service desk takes you seriously.
Hint – if you want to go drug free find some high quality Vitamin E nutritional supplement capsules. When you feel the very start of a cold sore attack coming on break into the capsule and smear the vitamin E gel around the affected area of the lips. The same capsule will have enough for a few applications in a day. Keep using for a couple of days even after the symptoms go away. Usually holds off or minimises the cold sore outbreak (in my personal experience).
I use L-Lysine. That is an amino acid. 1 gr in the morning, one in the evening for a couple of days when the burning starts and you won’t even get to the blister stage. The amino acid interferes with the virus’s ability to procreate and it will go back to dormant again.
I used to carry a notebook and pen. When anything like that happened, I’d ask for a replacement and write down everything the person said. When they asked why, I’d say I had a poor memory. I usually got a replacement fairly quickly, including a front wheel, tyre, and disc brakes for a bike I’d bought, then later found a crack in the wheel.
Another option is to write up what happened and print out a few copies, then stand outside the shop handing them out. That worked once when a friend of mine had worked a week for a café, with the owner then deciding he wouldn’t pay because it was a trial. In the end, he paid for the week, and the extra hour while she stood outside his shop handing out the leaflets. We’re not as helpless as we’re taught to be.
Yes, it is petty politicking and nasty, but Cunliffe needs to be on guard as he is constantly in the gaze of the media and the right wing nasties and anti Labour spies. If Key had taken that photo, they would have give it a different favourable spin.
If Key had taken that photo, they would have give it a different favourable spin.
Yes, and if Key had been the one responding to an (urgent?) message he would not have been photographed because it would have been regarded as acceptable. Cunliffe does it and there is the usual puerile attempt to paint it as “disrespectful”.
Under duress I went to look at WO. I suppose the proNAT/ACT are bound to make something out of nothing. After all they have reason to be afraid of David. I read all the comments, (yes I know) and wondered about the endless repetitions. I suppose it is like Captions on the Standard but here it is often meant to be funny. Over there it sounds like a dirge. Is that the best that they can do?
I went too. But unlike you I gave up after 1 page of ‘comments’. Now I am off to have a bath and scrub myself clean. Shudder.. They should use WO as a punishment for prisoners.
1) It’s on whaleoil, a site run by a boy who has openly admitted that he edits video to change the meaning of things people say, and who has said at various times that truth is not important and that truth is whatever he says it is at the time.
2) No-one knows what David was doing. In one pic he seems to be taking a photo, so it’s not a huge leap to suggest that he might have been turning on a camera app rather than checking messages or tweeting or whatever terrible crime Cameron is charging him with.
3) No-one knows what was happening at the time. I’m going to take a stab and say it wasn’t during The Ode.
Is it worse than time the PM skipped out a military funeral to watch his kid play rounders, coincidentally meaning the GCSB had to get the Acting PM to sign a warrant in an attempt to keep the fact they illegally spied on someone from being exposed in court? And then when the PM got back in the country after the rounders expedition everyone ‘forgot’ to mention anything to him.
But the soldiers at least got their funeral. But not with the PM there.
Occasionally I think that he’s someone who can think at least as well as a five year old but most of the time I figure sorrylands is just a well programmed bot.
Paul
You must be forgetting that the vast majority of the shares are New Zealand owned, so the reality is
New Zealand will benefit when the left doesn’t win the election. The truth is the left is bad for business confidence and bad for employment. I guess this is just another one of your lame attempts to spin bullshit
to karol.
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Abstract: Soccer, the global phenomenon captivating millions worldwide, has a rich history that spans centuries. Its origins trace back to ancient civilizations, but the modern version we know and love emerged through a complex interplay of cultural influences and innovations. This article delves into the fascinating journey of soccer’s evolution, ...
Tinting car windows offers numerous benefits, including enhanced privacy, reduced glare, UV protection, and a more stylish look for your vehicle. However, the cost of window tinting can vary significantly depending on several factors. This article provides a comprehensive guide to help you understand how much you can expect to ...
The pungent smell of gasoline in your car can be an alarming and potentially dangerous problem. Not only is the odor unpleasant, but it can also indicate a serious issue with your vehicle’s fuel system. In this article, we will explore the various reasons why your car may smell like ...
Our two-tiered system for veterans’ support is out of step with our closest partners, and all parties in Parliament should work together to fix it, Labour veterans’ affairs spokesperson Greg O’Connor said. ...
Stripping two Ministers of their portfolios just six months into the job shows Christopher Luxon’s management style is lacking, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said. ...
It appears Nicola Willis is about to pull the rug out from under the feet of local communities still dealing with the aftermath of last year’s severe weather, and local councils relying on funding to build back from these disasters. ...
The Government is making short-sighted changes to the Resource Management Act (RMA) that will take away environmental protection in favour of short-term profits, Labour’s environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
Labour welcomes the release of the report into the North Island weather events and looks forward to working with the Government to ensure that New Zealand is as prepared as it can be for the next natural disaster. ...
The Labour Party has called for the New Zealand Government to recognise Palestine, as a material step towards progressing the two-State solution needed to achieve a lasting peace in the region. ...
Some of our country’s most important work, stopping the sexual exploitation of children and violent extremism could go along with staff on the frontline at ports and airports. ...
The Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill will give projects such as new coal mines a ‘get out of jail free’ card to wreak havoc on the environment, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said today. ...
Cuts to frontline hospital staff are not only a broken election promise, it shows the reckless tax cuts have well and truly hit the frontline of the health system, says Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall. ...
The Green Party has joined the call for public submissions on the fast-track legislation to be extended after the Ombudsman forced the Government to release the list of organisations invited to apply just hours before submissions close. ...
New Zealand’s good work at reducing climate emissions for three years in a row will be undone by the National government’s lack of ambition and scrapping programmes that were making a difference, Labour Party climate spokesperson Megan Woods said today. ...
More essential jobs could be on the chopping block, this time Ministry of Education staff on the school lunches team are set to find out whether they're in line to lose their jobs. ...
The Government is trying to bring in a law that will allow Ministers to cut corners and kill off native species, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said. ...
Cancelling urgently needed new Cook Strait ferries and hiking the cost of public transport for many Kiwis so that National can announce the prospect of another tunnel for Wellington is not making good choices, Labour Transport Spokesperson Tangi Utikere said. ...
A laundry list of additional costs for Tāmaki Makarau Auckland shows the Minister for the city is not delivering for the people who live there, says Labour Auckland Issues spokesperson Shanan Halbert. ...
The Green Party has today launched a step-by-step guide to help New Zealanders make their voice heard on the Government’s democracy dodging and anti-environment fast track legislation. ...
The National Government’s proposed changes to the Residential Tenancies Act will mean tenants can be turfed from their homes by landlords with little notice, Labour housing spokesperson Kieran McAnulty said. ...
Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson is calling on all parties to support a common-sense change that’s great for the planet and great for consumers after her member’s bill was drawn from the ballot today. ...
A significant milestone has been reached in the fight to strike an anti-Pasifika and unfair law from the country’s books after Teanau Tuiono’s members’ bill passed its first reading. ...
New Zealand has today missed the opportunity to uphold the right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment, says James Shaw after his member’s bill was voted down in its first reading. ...
Today’s advice from the Climate Change Commission paints a sobering reality of the challenge we face in combating climate change, especially in light of recent Government policy announcements. ...
Minister for Disability Issues Penny Simmonds appears to have delayed a report back to Cabinet on the progress New Zealand is making against international obligations for disabled New Zealanders. ...
The Government’s newly announced review of methane emissions reduction targets hints at its desire to delay Aotearoa New Zealand’s urgent transition to a climate safe future, the Green Party said. ...
The Government must commit to the Maitai School building project for students with high and complex needs, to ensure disabled students from the top of the South Island have somewhere to learn. ...
Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey and his Government colleagues have made a meal of their mental health commitments, showing how flimsy their efforts to champion the issue truly are, says Labour Mental Health spokesperson Ingrid Leary. ...
Paul Goldsmith will take on responsibility for the Media and Communications portfolio, while Louise Upston will pick up the Disability Issues portfolio, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon announced today. “Our Government is relentlessly focused on getting New Zealand back on track. As issues change in prominence, I plan to adjust Ministerial ...
Recreational catch limits will be reduced in areas of Fiordland and the Chatham Islands to help keep those fisheries healthy and sustainable, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. The lower recreational daily catch limits for a range of finfish and shellfish species caught in the Fiordland Marine Area and ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed an important milestone in New Zealand’s hydrogen future, with the opening of the country’s first network of hydrogen refuelling stations in Wiri. “I want to congratulate the team at Hiringa Energy and its partners K one W one (K1W1), Mitsui & Co New Zealand ...
The coalition Government is delivering on its commitment to improve resource management laws and give greater certainty to consent applicants, with a Bill to amend the Resource Management Act (RMA) expected to be introduced to Parliament next month. RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop has today outlined the first RMA Amendment ...
Overseas models for regulating the oil and gas sector, including their decommissioning regimes, are being carefully scrutinised as a potential template for New Zealand’s own sector, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. The Coalition Government is focused on rebuilding investor confidence in New Zealand’s energy sector as it looks to strengthen ...
Emergency Management and Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell has today released the Report of the Government Inquiry into the response to the North Island Severe Weather Events. “The report shows that New Zealand’s emergency management system is not fit-for-purpose and there are some significant gaps we need to address,” Mr Mitchell ...
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith is today travelling to Europe where he’ll update the United Nations Human Rights Council on the Government’s work to restore law and order. “Attending the Universal Periodic Review in Geneva provides us with an opportunity to present New Zealand’s human rights progress, priorities, and challenges, while ...
Associate Agriculture Minister, Mark Patterson, formally reopened the world’s largest wool processing facility today in Awatoto, Napier, following a $50 million rebuild and refurbishment project. “The reopening of this facility will significantly lift the economic opportunities available to New Zealand’s wool sector, which already accounts for 20 per cent of ...
Hon Andrew Bayly, Minister for Small Business and Manufacturing At the Southland Otago Regional Engineering Collective (SOREC) Summit, 18 April, Dunedin Ngā mihi nui, Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Ko Whanganui aho Good Afternoon and thank you for inviting me to open your summit today. I am delighted ...
The Government is delivering on its commitment to bring back the Three Strikes legislation, Associate Justice Minister Nicole McKee announced today. “Our Government is committed to restoring law and order and enforcing appropriate consequences on criminals. We are making it clear that repeat serious violent or sexual offending is not ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has today announced four new diplomatic appointments for New Zealand’s overseas missions. “Our diplomats have a vital role in maintaining and protecting New Zealand’s interests around the world,” Mr Peters says. “I am pleased to announce the appointment of these senior diplomats from the ...
New Zealand is contributing NZ$7 million to support communities affected by severe food insecurity and other urgent humanitarian needs in Ethiopia and Somalia, Foreign Minister Rt Hon Winston Peters announced today. “Over 21 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance across Ethiopia, with a further 6.9 million people ...
Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage Paul Goldsmith is congratulating Mataaho Collective for winning the Golden Lion for best participant in the main exhibition at the Venice Biennale. "Congratulations to the Mataaho Collective for winning one of the world's most prestigious art prizes at the Venice Biennale. “It is good ...
The Government is reforming financial services to improve access to home loans and other lending, and strengthen customer protections, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly and Housing Minister Chris Bishop announced today. “Our coalition Government is committed to rebuilding the economy and making life simpler by cutting red tape. We are ...
“China remains a strong commercial opportunity for Kiwi exporters as Chinese businesses and consumers continue to value our high-quality safe produce,” Trade and Agriculture Minister Todd McClay says. Mr McClay has returned to New Zealand following visits to Beijing, Harbin and Shanghai where he met ministers, governors and mayors and engaged in trade and agricultural events with the New ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has completed a successful trip to Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines, deepening relationships and capitalising on opportunities. Mr Luxon was accompanied by a business delegation and says the choice of countries represents the priority the New Zealand Government places on South East Asia, and our relationships in ...
New Zealand is demonstrating its commitment to reducing global greenhouse emissions, and supporting clean energy transition in South East Asia, through a contribution of NZ$41 million (US$25 million) in climate finance to the Asian Development Bank (ADB)-led Energy Transition Mechanism (ETM). Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Climate Change Minister Simon Watts announced ...
The Government is today releasing a list of organisations who received letters about the Fast-track applications process, says RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop. “Recently Ministers and agencies have received a series of OIA requests for a list of organisations to whom I wrote with information on applying to have a ...
Attorney-General Judith Collins today announced the appointment of Wellington Barrister David Jonathan Boldt as a Judge of the High Court, and the Honourable Justice Matthew Palmer as a Judge of the Court of Appeal. Justice Boldt graduated with an LLB from Victoria University of Wellington in 1990, and also holds ...
Education Minister Erica Stanford will lead the New Zealand delegation at the 2024 International Summit on the Teaching Profession (ISTP) held in Singapore. The delegation includes representatives from the Post Primary Teachers’ Association (PPTA) Te Wehengarua and the New Zealand Educational Institute (NZEI) Te Riu Roa. The summit is co-hosted ...
A stopbank upgrade project in Tairawhiti partly funded by the Government has increased flood resilience for around 7000ha of residential and horticultural land so far, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones today attended a dawn service in Gisborne to mark the end of the first stage of the ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters will represent the Government at Anzac Day commemorations on the Gallipoli Peninsula next week and engage with senior representatives of the Turkish government in Istanbul. “The Gallipoli campaign is a defining event in our history. It will be a privilege to share the occasion ...
Science, Innovation and Technology and Defence Minister Judith Collins will next week attend the OECD Science and Technology Ministerial conference in Paris and Anzac Day commemorations in Belgium. “Science, innovation and technology have a major role to play in rebuilding our economy and achieving better health, environmental and social outcomes ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon held a bilateral meeting today with the President of the Philippines, Ferdinand Marcos Jr. The Prime Minister was accompanied by MP Paulo Garcia, the first Filipino to be elected to a legislature outside the Philippines. During today’s meeting, Prime Minister Luxon and President Marcos Jr discussed opportunities to ...
The Government has announced that $20 million in funding will be made available to Westport to fund much needed flood protection around the town. This measure will significantly improve the resilience of the community, says Local Government Minister Simeon Brown. “The Westport community has already been allocated almost $3 million ...
The Government is proud to support the first ever Repco Supercars Championship event in Taupō as up to 70,000 motorsport fans attend the Taupō International Motorsport Park this weekend, says Economic Development Minister Melissa Lee. “Anticipation for the ITM Taupō Super400 is huge, with tickets and accommodation selling out weeks ...
Local Government Minister Simeon Brown has announced an increase to the Rates Rebate Scheme, putting money back into the pockets of low-income homeowners. “The coalition Government is committed to bringing down the cost of living for New Zealanders. That includes targeted support for those Kiwis who are doing things tough, such ...
The Coalition Government is investing in a project to boost survival rates of New Zealand mussels and grow the industry, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones has announced. “This project seeks to increase the resilience of our mussels and significantly boost the sector’s productivity,” Mr Jones says. “The project - ...
Benefit figures released today underscore the importance of the Government’s plan to rebuild the economy and have 50,000 fewer people on Jobseeker Support, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “Benefit numbers are still significantly higher than when National was last in government, when there was about 70,000 fewer ...
The Government’s commitment to doubling New Zealand’s renewable energy capacity is backed by new data showing that clean energy has helped the country reach its lowest annual gross emissions since 1999, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. New Zealand’s latest Greenhouse Gas Inventory (1990-2022) published today, shows gross emissions fell ...
The Government is bringing the earthquake-prone building review forward, with work to start immediately, and extending the deadline for remediations by four years, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “Our Government is focused on rebuilding the economy. A key part of our plan is to cut red tape that ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and his Thai counterpart, Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, have today agreed that New Zealand and the Kingdom of Thailand will upgrade the bilateral relationship to a Strategic Partnership by 2026. “New Zealand and Thailand have a lot to offer each other. We have a strong mutual desire to build ...
RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop and Transport Minister Simeon Brown have today announced the Coalition Government’s intention to extend port coastal permits for a further 20 years, providing port operators with certainty to continue their operations. “The introduction of the Resource Management Act in 1991 required ports to obtain coastal ...
Today’s announcement that inflation is down to 4 per cent is encouraging news for Kiwis, but there is more work to be done - underlining the importance of the Government’s plan to get the economy back on track, acting Finance Minister Chris Bishop says. “Inflation is now at 4 per ...
Refreshed health guidance released today will help parents and schools make informed decisions about whether their child needs to be in school, addressing one of the key issues affecting school attendance, says Associate Education Minister David Seymour. In recent years, consistently across all school terms, short-term illness or medical reasons ...
Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones is streamlining high-level oceans management while maintaining a focus on supporting the sector’s role in the export-led recovery of the economy. “I am working to realise the untapped potential of our fishing and aquaculture sector. To achieve that we need to be smarter with ...
Associate Agriculture Minister Mark Patterson is speaking at the International Wool Textile Organisation Congress in Adelaide, promoting New Zealand wool, and outlining the coalition Government’s support for the revitalisation the sector. "New Zealand’s wool exports reached $400 million in the year to 30 June 2023, and the coalition Government ...
The Government is making legislative changes to make it easier for new early learning services to be established, and for existing services to operate, Associate Education Minister David Seymour says. The changes involve repealing the network approval provisions that apply when someone wants to establish a new early learning service, ...
Changes to the Resource Management Act will align consenting for coal mining to other forms of mining to reduce barriers that are holding back economic development, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. “The inconsistent treatment of coal mining compared with other extractive activities is burdensome red tape that fails to acknowledge ...
Trade, Agriculture and Forestry Minister Todd McClay has concluded productive discussions with ministerial counterparts in Beijing today, in support of the New Zealand-China trade and economic relationship. “My meeting with Commerce Minister Wang Wentao reaffirmed the complementary nature of the bilateral trade relationship, with our Free Trade Agreement at its ...
Asia Pacific Report Students and activist staff at Australia’s University of Sydney (USyd) have set up a Gaza solidarity encampment in support of Palestinians and similar student-led protests in the United States. The camp was pitched as mass graves, crippled hospitals, thousands of civilian deaths and the near-total destruction of ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By James B. Dorey, Lecturer in Biological Sciences, University of Wollongong Australian teddy bear bees are cute and fluffy, but get a look at that massive (unbarbed) stinger! James Dorey Photography Most of us have been stung by a bee and we ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jen Roberts, Senior Lecturer, School of Humanities and Social Inquiry, University of Wollongong Aussie~mobs/FlickrVictor Farr, a private in the 1st Infantry Battalion, was among the first to land at Anzac Cove just before dawn on April 25 1915. Victor Farr ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Gregory Moore, Senior Research Associate, School of Ecosystem and Forest Sciences, The University of Melbourne Gregory Moore I had the good fortune to care for the sugar gum at The University of Melbourne’s Burnley Gardens in Victoria where I worked for ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Hawkins, Senior Lecturer, Canberra School of Politics, Economics and Society, University of Canberra BagzhanSadvakassov/Upsplash, CC BY-SA Australia’s inflation rate has fallen for the fifth successive quarter, and it’s now less than half of what it was back in late 2022. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rachel Ong ViforJ, ARC Future Fellow & Professor of Economics, Curtin University Just when we think the price of rentals could not get any worse, this week’s Rental Affordability Snapshot by Anglicare has revealed low-income Australians are facing a housing crisis like ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Meighen McCrae, Associate Professor of Strategic & Defence Studies, Australian National University American and Australian stretcher bearers working together near the front line during the Battle of Hamel in 1918.Australian War Memorial While the AUKUS alliance is new, the Australian-American partnership ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tracey Holmes, Professorial Fellow in Sport, University of Canberra When the news broke last weekend that 23 Chinese swimmers had tested positive to a banned drug in early 2021 and were allowed to compete at the Tokyo Olympic Games six months later ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Cally Jetta, Senior Lecturer and Academic Lead; College for First Nations, University of Southern Queensland Australian War MemorialAboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised this article contains names and images of deceased people, as well as sensitive historical information ...
RNZ News Melissa Lee has been ousted from New Zealand’s coalition cabinet and stripped of the Media portfolio, and Penny Simmonds has lost the Disability Issues portfolio in a reshuffle. Climate Change and Revenue Minister Simon Watts will take Lee’s spot in cabinet. Simmonds was a minister outside of cabinet. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By David Lindenmayer, Professor, Fenner School of Environment and Society, Australian National University laurello/Shutterstock Some reports and popular books, such as Bill Gammage’s Biggest Estate on Earth, have argued that extensive areas of Australia’s forests were kept open through frequent burning by ...
Analysis - Christopher Luxon framing the demotion of two ministers as the portfolios getting "too complex" is a charitable way of saying they weren't up to the job. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra With Jim Chalmers’s third budget on May 14, Australians will be looking for some more cost-of-living relief – beyond the tax cuts – although they have been warned extra measures will be modest. As ...
Analysis: Melissa Lee has lost the media portfolio and her spot in Cabinet after multiple failed attempts to find solutions for a media industry in crisis. On Wednesday, the Prime Minister announced Lee would be losing her spot in Cabinet along with her media and communications ministerial portfolio. The job ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Simon Wilmot, Senior Lecturer, Film, Deakin University Among the many Australian who served during the second world war, there is a small group of people whose stories remain largely untold. These are the Muslim men and women who, while small in number, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kelly Saunders, PhD Candidate, University of Canberra There has been much analysis and praise of Justice Michael Lee’s recent judgement in Bruce Lehrmann’s defamation case against Channel Ten. Many people were openly relieved to read Lee’s “forensic” and “nuanced” application of law ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kathy Gibbs, Program Director for the Bachelor of Education, Griffith University zEdward_Indy/Shutterstock Around one in 20 people has attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). It’s one of the most common neurodevelopmental disorders in childhood and often continues into adulthood. ADHD is diagnosed ...
The Fairer Future coalition of anti-poverty groups say Whaikaha must be properly funded going forward, and that to argue that poor financial management of the new Ministry is a red herring by the Prime Minister. ...
The Taxpayers’ Union is today congratulating Hon. Paul Goldsmith on his appointment as Minister for Media and Communications and urges him to rule out state intervention in the private media sector. ...
Asia Pacific Report The West Papuan resistance OPM leader has condemned Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and US President Joe Biden, accusing their countries of “six decades of treachery” over Papuan independence. The open letter was released today by OPM chairman Jeffrey P Bomanak on the eve of ANZAC Day ...
Welcome to The Spinoff Books Confessional, in which we get to know the reading habits and quirks of New Zealanders at large. This week: writer and one of Time Magazine’s 100 most influential people of 2024, Lauren Groff.The book I wish I’d writtenIf I wish I’d written a ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By David Fechner, Research Fellow, Social Marketing, Griffith University mavo/Shutterstock Imagine having dinner at a restaurant. The menu offers plant-based meat alternatives made mostly from vegetables, mushrooms, legumes and wheat that mimic meat in taste, texture and smell. Despite being given that ...
“Three Strikes is a dead-end policy proposed by a dead-end government. The Three Strikes law ignores the causes of crime, instead just brutalising people already crushed by the cost of living.” ...
By Don Wiseman, RNZ Pacific senior journalist An Australian-born judge in Kiribati could well face deportation later this week after a tribunal ruling that he should be removed from his post. The tribunal’s report has just been tabled in the Kiribati Parliament and is due to be debated by MPs ...
With its clear mandate for police use, political nuances, and nuanced public trust, Denmark's insights provide valuable considerations for Australia and New Zealand. ...
Books editor Claire Mabey reviews poet Louise Wallace’s debut novel. A famous poet once said to me that he’s always suspicious when a poet publishes a novel. I never really understood why but maybe it’s something to do with cheating on your first form. Louise Wallace is a poet. She’s ...
For a few months at the turn of the millennium, TrueBliss burned bright as the biggest pop stars in the country. Alex Casey chats to two superfans who still hold the flame. During a humble backyard wedding in Nelson, 1999, one of the cordially invited guests had to excuse themselves ...
How will the recent wave of job cuts impact ethnic diversity in the media? In November last year, I was working a very busy day in the newsroom of a large online news site, interviewing whānau about their concerns over the imminent closure of one of the few puna reo ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ruth Knight, Researcher, Queensland University of Technology Have you ever felt sick at work? Perhaps you had food poisoning or the flu. Your belly hurt, or you felt tired, making it hard to concentrate and be productive. How likely would you be ...
Despite heavy criticism and an ongoing select committee process, the Police Minister says the Government will forge ahead with a ban on gang patches. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sam Whiting, Lecturer – Creative Industries, University of South Australia Shutterstock Everyone has a favourite band, or a favourite composer, or a favourite song. There is some music which speaks to you, deeply; and other music which might be the current ...
A new survey says ‘outlook not great’ for those charged with building infrastructure, while RMA changes delight farmers and depress environmentalists, writes Anna Rawhiti-Connell in this excerpt from The Bulletin, The Spinoff’s morning news round-up. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here. First RMA changes announced ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Olli Hellmann, Associate Professor of Political Science, University of Waikato Getty Images When New Zealanders commemorate Anzac Day on April 25, it’s not only to honour the soldiers who lost their lives in World War I and subsequent conflicts, but also ...
A leaked document shows the Canterbury/Waitaha arm of health agency Te Whatu Ora is scurrying to save $13.3 million by July. The “financial sustainability target”, which was “allocated” to Waitaha, is consistent with what’s happening in other districts, says Sarah Dalton, executive director of the Association of Salaried Medical Specialists. ...
A look at the state of the previous government’s affordable housing scheme, and what could come next.Remind me: What’s KiwiBuild again?First announced in 2012, KiwiBuild was a flagship policy of the Labour Party heading into both its 2014 and 2017 election campaigns. With Jacinda Ardern as prime minister, ...
Labour in opposition will be shocked to learn which party had six years in power but squandered any chance to make real change. Grant Robertson’s valedictory speech was a predictably entertaining trip down memory lane. The acid-tongued incoming Otago University chancellor administered a sick burn to the coalition government. He ...
Taiwan’s semiconductor industry is seen some as its ‘silicon shield’ against invasion – but how will overseas expansion affect that protection? The post The state of Taiwan’s silicon shield appeared first on Newsroom. ...
There’s relief for building owners bending under the weight of earthquake strengthening rules – and costs – that came into force seven years ago. Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk has announced a scheduled 2027 review of the earthquake-prone building regulations will now start this year. Owners will also get ...
Opinion: It has been announced that nine percent of roles at Oranga Tamariki will be disestablished, presumably to help fund the tax cuts promised by the coalition Government. I am reminded of the graphics used to illustrate pandemic events, where five thousand people are standing in a field and then ...
After more than two sleepless days, running through savage terrain, Greig Hamilton didn’t know if he was going to finish one of the most gruelling psychological assaults in sport. He was metres away from the finish line, a yellow gate made famous in a Netflix documentary; a race he’d dreamed ...
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The following interview with former Green Party MP Sue Kedgley came about because she features in the new memoir Hine Toa by activist Ngāhuia te Awekōtuku; the two knew each other at the University of Auckland in the early 70s, when they were both took on leadership roles in the ...
COMMENTARY:By Murray Horton New Zealand needs to get tough with Israel. It’s not as if we haven’t done so before. When NZ authorities busted a Mossad operation in Auckland 20 years ago, the government didn’t say: “Oh well, Israel has the right to defend itself.” No, it arrested, prosecuted, ...
NEWSMAKERS:By Vijay Narayan, news director of FijiVillage Blessed to be part of the University of Fiji (UniFiji) faculty to continue to teach and mentor those who want to join our noble profession, and to stand for truth and justice for the people of the country. I was privileged to ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Martin, Visiting Fellow, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University Three weeks from now, some of us will be presented with a mountain of budget papers, and just about all of us will get to hear about them on radio, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Dan Lowry, Ice Sheet & Climate Modeller, GNS Science Hugh Chittock/Antarctica New Zealand, CC BY-SA As the climate warms and Antarctica’s glaciers and ice sheets melt, the resulting rise in sea level has the potential to displace hundreds of millions of ...
The government's plan to reintroduce a three strikes regime is being strongly opposed by lawyers, who argue there is no evidence it reduces crime or helps people rehabilitate. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Dan Jerker B. Svantesson, Professor specialising in Internet law, Bond University Do Australian courts have the right to decide what foreign citizens, located overseas, view online on a foreign-owned platform? Anyone inclined to answer “yes” to this question should perhaps also ask ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Giovanni E Ferreira, NHMRC Emerging Leader Research Fellow, Institute of Musculoskeletal Health, University of Sydney Last week in a post on X, owner of the platform Elon Musk recommended people look into disc replacement if they’re experiencing severe neck or back pain. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By David Hayward, Emeritus Professor of Public Policy, RMIT University anek.soowannaphoom/Shutterstock NSW Treasurer Daniel Mookhey caught the headlines yesterday, courtesy of a blistering speech condemning the latest GST carve-up. New South Wales, he claimed, would be A$11.9 billion worse off over the ...
While police are "broadly in favour", the government's proposed anti-gang laws are facing pushback from lawyers, rights groups and former gang members. ...
While police are "broadly in favour", the government's proposed anti-gang laws are facing pushback from lawyers, rights groups and former gang members. ...
By Miriam Zarriga in Port Moresby Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has arrived at Kokoda Station, Northern province, at the start of his state visit to Papua New Guinea. Both Albanese and Prime Minister James Marape will meet with the locals and the Northern Provincial government before they begin their ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Chris Wallace, Professor, School of Politics Economics & Society, Faculty of Business Government & Law, University of Canberra Shutterstock An important principle was invoked by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese last week in defence of the government’s Future Made in Australia industry ...
Wow. Jones’ partner tells it!
Narcissism.
“Shane Jones’ partner, Dot Pumipi, says the MP’s greatest fear in making the decision to resign was that his phone would stop ringing and he would get withdrawal symptoms from the sudden lack of attention.”
And this question says so much about the quality of journalism in 2014 New Zealand.
“Asked whether she was to Mr Jones’ career what Yoko Ono was to John Lennon’s, she laughed and said she had told him she’d support him whatever he did.”
Jones isn’t nearly as interesting as he thinks he is.
Oh well, if Shane isn’t challenging the supermarkets, its o.k. To shop there again.
Doesn’t matter if nothing about their practices has actually changed or not.
“She said there was a further upside to his decision: “I can go back to Countdown.””
How exactly is that narcissim, im sure that would be a natural reaction for most people leaving a high profile job, how about instead of crying on here you go read Claire Trevetts article r.e Jones and the Toxic Greens not only is it highly accurate you might actually learn something about the man you have dedicated 5 posts to this morning
Still waiting to hear what Jones had hoped to achieve for the working and unemployed classes – or even for a better NZ generally.
What you will not hear is the evidence he possessed on the supermarkets which has vanished along with what little credibility he had with all those working class folks the jonolists allege he was looking out for.
Well played national and progressive but it’s a double edged sword especially when meddling McCully is involved.
Greatest fear..the lack of attention.
That’s narcissism
When is Claire Trevell going move jobs to the print media she is most suited to? I.e., for the Women’s Weekly. Apologies to the Woman’s Weekly. Claire with her puff pieces really belongs with the WW, not as the Deputy Political Editor of the country major newspaper.
I think her content is entirely in keeping with the trivial propaganda sheet that the Herald has become in the past few years. It’s always been a right wing rag, but recently it has descended further into a tabloid telling tales of celebrities and sport.
The only think toxic is the waste that will be kept out of our rivers when the Greens get into power.
When your kids are swimming in that nice clean river and breathing clean air, you will have the Greens to thank. They will introduce regulation that stop profit making companies from dumping toxic waste into our rivers and making us all sick.
The only think toxic is the waste that will be kept out of our rivers when the Greens get into power.
When your kids are swimming in that nice clean river and breathing clean air, you will have the Greens to thank. They will introduce regulation that stop profit making companies from dumping toxic waste into our rivers and making us all sick.
“When your kids are swimming ……you will have the Greens to thank. They will introduce regulation that stop profit making companies from dumping toxic waste into our rivers and making us all sick.”
Does that mean that the Greens now think its okay for non-profit making companies to dump toxic waste into our rivers……?
Why are the Greens so upset that some companies make profits?
These companies make private profits for a few, while pushing the costs of their dirty business on to the local community.
So you are happy with that situation, but many including the Greens are not.
The only think toxic is the waste that will be kept out of our rivers when the Greens get into power.
When your kids are swimming in that nice clean river and breathing clean air, you will have the Greens to thank. They will introduce regulation that stop profit making companies from dumping toxic waste into our rivers and making us all sick.
Did you used to swim in the river when you were a kid? Why do you want to deprive kids today of what you had?
Where is your decency?
If you go to the back country the rivers are pristine. Plus most kids swim in aquatic centres and urban pools. How about some cost-benefit analysis of what you are proposing?
Im sure the good people of West Virginia would see the fact that they have to boil their drinking water as a big cost.
CBA?
“100% pure”: $15bn per year
When you hit that in costs of not putting shit in our rivers, get back to us.
Srylands knows of all of this, I sense.
Comments made to be provocative in the way some kids do whose social skills have a way to go.
He craves attention.
@ srylands
….how do you factor in the costs to tourism and our overseas branding of ‘NZ Pure’….people like you don’t factor them in…but overseas visitors notice
….many down stream rivers I swam in as a child are a trickle and a contaminated trickle compared with what they once were
You have no problem with cattle shit and other toxins being dumped into the rivers?
Would you advocate the nuclear power possessing countries to dump their spent nuclear wastes into their water ways? It is cheaper!
“How exactly is that narcissim, im sure that would be a natural reaction for most people leaving a high profile job, how about instead of crying on here you go read Claire Trevetts article r.e Jones and the Toxic Greens not only is it highly accurate you might actually learn something about the man you have dedicated 5 posts to this morning”
Of course Trevett didn’t even impy that the GP was toxic. She did report that the reasons Jones was leaving were because he wasn’t going to be PM or Finance Minister, and he could earn more money in another job. So yes, thank-you, I have learned something about the man – that he is self-centred and self-serving (which makes for a shitty MP).
I thought he was married with 9 kids? Partner? confused.
Did have – separated.
Google.co.nz
7 Kids, separated, new partner…
Calling Pete George, fact check required in aisle 9..
[RL: Deleted. Sneering, sexist, homophobic and plain wrong. Too far.]
Is that the most mature point you are capable of?
You need to return to the sandpit, young lad.
Shane Who???, a regular Kiwi bloke, Ha ha ha that just shows us all that if you are not a fool you easily are, fooled that is…
Great article from Glucina
When is Claire Trevell going move jobs to the print media she is most suited to? I.e., for the Women’s Weekly. Apologies to the Woman’s Weekly, nothing too much wrong there. Claire with her puff pieces really belongs with you, not as the Deputy Political Editor of the country major newspaper.
Claire Triffid is nothing but a gossip columnist. Forty years ago the Herald wouldn’t have considered running such rubbish stories.
Says about the editorial team at the Herald…
The right wing contributors on this site rant and rave about how the Greens will destroy NZ’s economy.
I’d be more worried by the present jokers remaining in power.
Gradually indebting the country to foreign interests.
And yet pr, BM, fisiani and others slavishly support them.
Pathetic, really.
“Government debt has reached $60 billion, having climbed $27 million a day since John Key became prime minister – and forecasts show it will rise for years to come.
Despite tax revenue being higher than expected and expenses lower in recent months, Treasury figures show net Crown debt reached the highest yet at $60,015,000,000 at the end of September.
It already equates to 28 per cent of New Zealand’s economic output, is more than $13,000 for every person in New Zealand and is forecast to climb by another $10b by 2017.
When National took control of the Beehive in 2008, debt was just over $10b.”
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/9380846/Public-debt-climbs-by-27m-a-day
let’s pretend nz is a company/corporation..
..and john key is running it..
..now..when key yook over control of the company..
..the extenal debt held by the company was $10 billion..
..under keys’ stewardship of the company..
..that external debt has blown out to $60 billion..
..now..if you were one of the owners/shareholders of this company called nz that is under the aegis/care of key..
..around about now..wouldn’t you be going:
..’w.t.f are doing..?..mr key..?…why have you run up such a horrendous level of debt..?
..you have been telling us that you had to have a firesale of the assets held by the company/country..
..because you ‘didn’t want to run to the foreign bankers..like labour/the greens want to do..’
..wasn’t that the story you have been spinning us..?
..so/but not only have you sold off our energy-assets at firesale pieces..(to raise in total some $5 billion..?)
..all the time you were saying/preaching this…you increased our debts to those foreign banks you were telling scary stories about..
..from $10 billion..
..to $60 billion..
..please explain..!
Is it possible you could write without all those gaps, dots and question marks?
It would make your pints easy to grasp.
yeah.! .nah..! eh..?
..and i don’t really ‘grasp pints’ these days..eh..?..
It was just a suggestion.
I think more people would read your comments if they were clearer.
i can’t write yr way anymore..
..it’s been so long since i’ve done/dismissed them..
..i really can’t see the point of all those bullshit capital letters/sentence-structures/paragraphs..etc..
..they seem as archaic/arcane as all those swirls/whorls from previous superseded versions of the ‘right’ way to write..why don’t you still do/bend the knee to them..?
..and despite yr last line..
..i now find my way ‘clearer’/easier to read/more flowing…..
All those ‘arcane swirls/whorls’ you are so dismissive of are an extra layer of texture and context for your readers.
You may know exactly what you intend to say phil – in your own head. But you depend on all these written symbols to convey that meaning to your readers.
By ignoring the textural conventions that most people are familiar with you make it harder for us to decode your meaning. Quite necessarily so. It’s directly analogous to someone whose verbal speech is mumbled and mangled.
After a while people get the sense that you just can’t be bothered respecting your readers enough to communicate clearly. And they just stop reading.
c’mon..!..get a grip..!
..it’s not that hard to read..
..i’m not using hieroglyphics/cryptic-codes..
..yr fretting/insistances have all the tone/timbre of a first world linguistic-problem..
..and reading it isn’t compulsory..
..surely i’m just making it easier for you to know when to scroll on by..
I write using conventional grammar and sentence structure that other people are familiar with.
I make some effort to clean it up before I hit ‘submit’ and quite frequently go back to edit out mistakes as well. I do this out of respect for other people who may chose to read me.
By contrast your ‘stream of consciousness’ style makes no such effort. It stinks of an ‘all about me’ attitude.
But if your best argument is to dismissively invite us all to ‘scroll on by’, would it then be logical to save pixels by simply deleting all your posts ?
Because when you choose to write in a lazy, disrespectful style that few people can be bothered reading, it’s the equivalent of self-censoring mumbling. Yet oddly enough censorship is one thing that gets you very agitated.
Why do you do it to yourself then?
+1 Deliberately makes his communication harder to understand (as a point of vanity as far as I can tell), and then expects everyone else to make extra effort to make sense of what he is saying. Then has the gall to tell other people that they don’t know whether something is garbled or not to them. It’s all about phil.
“.. It’s all about phil…”
heh..!
chrs 4 the guffaw..!
I agree.
Phil, your style sucks dog dicks, it’s got no redeeming features, do every one a favor and write like every one else.
“..By contrast your ‘stream of consciousness’ style makes no such effort..”
i actually do ‘make such effort’..
..the pale imitations others try should make that clear..
[@Philp ure]
..Yeah?..
..How about this imitation then, ye?..
..given the increasingly proven cancer/premature-death etc.-causing properties of our main exports..
..(animal bits/bye-products..)
.(we really..as a country..are the merchants of death..eh..?..)
..hand in hand with the soon-to-be production of lab/warehouse grown meat..(with no animals/cruelties involved..in countries of consumption…)
..wouldn’t it make some sense to flog all the meat-farms off to foreigners..?
..and then to sit back and watch/wait for them to go (inevitably) broke..
..then we can buy the farms back cheap..
..and start growing real food on them..?
..(just saying..!
..it’s a plan..!..)
the alternative of course is to start switching to growing real food now..eh..?..)
..pale..ye?..
..nah..!..
i like your writing style Phil !
..i really can’t see the point of all those bullshit capital letters/sentence-structures/paragraphs..etc..
Yes – what has legibility ever done for written communication, eh? Totally overrated…
Lolz…Phillip…understands His…Babble…every word…even the … …some obscure poet… long ago…penned a few poems…in the same lack of style…don’t you know…its Phill’s ‘art’…
Just makes it harder to follow.
As long as Phil realise that and doesn’t mind, that’s ok.
At least his comments don’t swamp this site with monotony – in the form of Pete g.
yup…and us Chooks like it ….so there!…we like poetry
I just don’t bother reading it Paul
pretty much the same here, unless a meaningful phrase jumps out. Those are few and far between. Often read the people who argue with him, though, just to get a gist of what’s going on.
Ditto.
In defence of Philip Ure and his Odes
People who are too prosaic miss a lot that can be learned from poetry and the non literal and the non verbal and the aesthetic and the psychic and the mystical and the allusional….(helped occasionally with a little you know what)
…in other words the glasses and focus of Yang Scientism and literalism has brought about an ecological crisis…the world is too Yang and unbalanced…….in the mind and spirit…. …lol…lol ( and dont eat the little critters or you will have a bad reincarnation)
LOOSEN UP YOU BASTARDS and STAY COOL
If one wishes to communicate with the prosaic, one should use conventional prose…
@ Phil ….
let’s pretend NuZulls a cumpinny en Jawnkey’s running it!
Please don’t ask = its probably on the agenda already!
.
There’s already a hijeckd meedya masquerading as a 4th Estate that’s too lazy to get off its arse and delve into his years as the “smoilung asessun” working in Ayezzzha!.
Most of them, whilst goan beart their daily buzzniss, couldin unna Sten the goi. They did when skeweritty garz were loinung up ta scort thin off the premizzizz
Watch and wait Phull
Their lazinusses are really going to claim integrity in Jonolustuk velyas when the shut hitsth fen. Watch em all…. even the ones fresh from Media Studies papuzz en gradjatshum hired by 3 (based on essays and Lecturers pets, that were completely and utterly plagiarised and/or written for them).
(Btw …. As a former tutor, I’m still trying to understand why a decent enough lecturer/researcher – and a hierarchy that was fairly on to it – could fail to see the bleeding obvious) – but there ya go – bay-sick-ly tik-a-box commercialoizayshun of the tertiary sektah – of which there’s a Heck Yea and a choyce-Jorrrrrse leading the charge).
[….Phil, and perhaps Rhino: watch tonights “tree Newz” – did I hear Nukki kay say something like “biggerings” relating to the Chinese ban on infant formyilla?. I think oi dud – but maybe not – it’s hard to woch the likes of Nukki sometimes. “What I would say – is ….. me mate Nafe Goi hes been skolling me and praviding me with ‘learnings’ of the subjek]
Sometimes I really wonder why the trolls keep it up – but we can rest assured they’ll be the first to squeal like stuffed pigs when it all happens (if it happens, though I’m not that confident given how long its taken thus far to realoise the Empra hes nah closthes) ….. but I reckon they’ve allowed their inflated egos to get in the way of logic.
It’s all a but like Fairfecks subbies; ‘Hubs’; destruction of that 4th as a konsquince of what’s deemed to be corporate sense; a misunderstanding of journalistic values (kind of like that new slogan “Miss Selling”); make me a star ….. you get the idea.
Anyway – this is turning into a bit of a rave.
Preps oi shid jess get Pedey Jorge to go do sim Fek Chuckin.
The con-machine sure as hell is working overtime this week though!
….. Oh – btw Phil – should I call you Phil or Phylis? Bad 12 calls you that often, and baby …. I jisss lerv BOTH yer work! :p
But, but, but, its the RockStar economy don’t you know, by the time the IMF gets in on the act there will be little left to sell off and the real fun will have begun…
b12
It’s not Rockstar..with yet another NZ company dismissing 79 workers in Dunedin it’s more of a Wagnerian economy, but who in Epsom or Helensville gives a hoot about those sawmillers down there.
As if i do not fully understand where Rock Bottom is as far as the economy goes, ever heard of being ironic…
More “Air Guitar” economy Then Rock Star
Yea. I did get your irony ( and thought i was supporting it).
Isn’t Rockstar Games the company behind Grand Theft Auto?
Maybe that’s the society the nats are after – gated comunities for the ultra-rich, techno-Hobbesian violence for the rest.
Rock star economy for multinational investments banks.
Anzac Day. Red poppies everywhere. Whichever muppet decided to give a white poppy equal prominence on the banner headline above has a viewpoint that is not shared by the majority. Fair enough. Your decision. A picture is worth more than a thousand words.
[lprent: probably the difference between this who have actually served in the army like myself and the idle armchair warriors like yourself with their mindless romanticism. ]
Fish head isn’t there a war someplace you can go and volunteer to be a hero in…
This is his war, alot safer and probably better paid.
“has a viewpoint that is not shared by the majority”
This coming from an ACT supporter who thinks National is a left wing organisation.
🙄
Armchair warriors…always the most ferocious….
Oh the irony
That reminds me, really appreciate seeing the white poppy in the banner…
+1
That was rocky. I used to just put the red poppy up. One year she asked if it could be used. I looked at it and decided it was a good complement.
i like the white poppy too….as i suspect would have many a returned serviceman and airman….a white poppy for Peace is what they believed in
I don’t think I ever met so many fervent believers in peace in civilian life as I did inside the army. Due to the range clearing philosophy at Waiouru when I did my training, I rapidly became a believer myself.
A friendly advice for you : Whatever war you support, make sure you don’t say anything against uncle Tom anymore unless you wish for a drone to hover over your head. The price of freedom, justice and fair play. Collateral damage justified by lies and spin.
Uncle Tom???, you are thinking of ”Uncle Sam” are you not, the same ”Uncle Sam” that is now dropping US troops in to places like Poland and the Ukraine in the hope? that the pro-Russian militias will find cause to harm some of them perhaps…
oops, yes, Sam.
US foreign policy has created more problems than helped in world peace. Diplomacy is a far better weapon than weapons.
Ummm. I do it every year.
I suspect that my years of service in both the army and this site give me the right to do whatever I feel like.
Unlike idle munters like yourself, old ex-soldiers tend to be somewhat more reflective and self-aware.
But hey, we also provide the space for you to make a fool of yourself.
“old ex-soldiers tend to be somewhat more reflective and self-aware.”
This is true, am I still banned?
[lprent: Yes. I have a vague idea about doing another general amnesty while I have the time to deal with the idiots next week. However the time is being rapidly sucked up with things to do.
The trick is generally not to get banned in the first place. ]
Fisiani and his fellow right wingers go on about how they are off to the dawn parade to “remember the fallen” who died fighting tyrannical governments, but I wager that if the Chinese decided to take this country by force, they would be down by Queen Street waving their little Chinese flags as the PLA marches up the street..
… idle armchair warriors like yourself with their mindless romanticism.
Now, be fair. If mental midgets can’t think of Anzac Day in terms of mindless romanticism, how are they going to think of it? You can’t put a quart in a pint pot.
Indeed. I couldn’t have put it better myself.
“probably the difference between this [those?] who have actually served in the army like myself and the idle armchair warriors like yourself with their mindless romanticism.”
PLUS [+] (any number) doesn’t seem to cut it! – but +1
@ Fizz – have you ever?
btw …. Probably also those in the military who’ve climbed the ladder by arse-licking, and who’re expecting dizzy heights – perhaps a serial gummint departmint CEOze appointment, or even a guv genrill appointment. Prolly Shane will arrange the next one – preferably one that can use a bit of holdtight on the partial plate when delivering the honours.
(Christ I can be a bitch I know – but these munters and their cronyism – really ARE becoming quite pathetic!)
A Harley Davidson at the Tex Payuzz xpense would probably be a damn sight cheaper for all concerned – we could get Chris Finlayson to bestow the honours too without all the ‘kerfuffle’
Personally I’D RATHER we honour the deserving – and there are quite a few. There really IS a hierarchy that lets them down though.
Hi Pete,
wew were discussing something yesterday that got lost in the old maelstrom a bit, so I’ll just cut iand pastes it over here, as I’m keen to hear your reckon.
It was about these poll results:
http://www.reidresearch.co.nz/TV3+POLL+RESULTS.html
As I noted, the data isn’t as good as we might like it, but it’s what we have, unless you have better data to share of course.
Give that, as you said:
“Fact checking isn’t a waste of time – it can help people perceive more accurately and not get fooled by party propaganda and ignorance.”
Could you have a quick look at the following statements, and see if the facts revealed by that polling data can help clear up any propaganda or ignorance regarding what people think:
1) “Labour looks out of touch with people and out of touch with reality. If they don’t turn this around very soon it could be terminal.”
2) ” The perception of the party is tending towards pathetic.”
3) “Ex Labour minister Michael Bassett may not be a party favourite but what he said on Radio New Zealand half an hour ago about Labour now are common sentiments”
cheers.
Hi Pascal’s bookie
Perhaps you’re trying to be too clever for me. What point are you trying to make? That any opinion expressed here should be supported by an opinion poll? I’ll try polling your opinion.
1) Do you think Labour looks in touch with people and in touch with reality?
2) Do you think there are no perceptions the party is tending towards pathetic?
3) Do you think what Michael Basset expressed are not common sentiments?
I’m not trying be clever at all Pete. Nor am I suggesting that all opinions should be supported by polling.
I am saying that the data in that reid polling contradicts your statements about what people think.
In particular, the polling shows that Key is seen as being out of touch with normal kiwis far more than the Labour leader has been, for quite some time.
For the last year, a majority in the poll has said that Key is ‘out of touch’.
The following statement is about something that we can only know from polling:
“Labour looks out of touch with people and out of touch with reality.”
It’s talking about what the electorate thinks, and the evidence we have about what the electorate thinks on that particular question doesn’t really support it.
And yet it is something pundits talk about a lot, and you repeat seemingly without thinking about whether or not you have any evidence for it.
Even when presented with the evidence we have, you can’t bring yourself to talk about it.
So,
“Fact checking isn’t a waste of time – it can help people perceive more accurately and not get fooled by party propaganda and ignorance.”
The talking point in the media by various pundits and analysts, which is repeated by you in various statements, that ‘Labour is dangerously out of touch especially in comparison to the down to earth Key led national party’, seems to be “party propaganda and ignorance” that could be assisted by a bit of fact checking, no?
Do you have poll to back your “party propaganda and ignorance” claim?
I haven’t compared Labour to National on down to earthiness.
“Do you have poll to back your “party propaganda and ignorance” claim?”
That reid one is what makes it seem to be so Pete. It strongly suggests the majority of people do not think labour is out of touch. Whatever problems Labour has, it isn’t that. So people who are claiming otherwise, are wrong. This might be because of ignorance, or for propaganda reasons
This is very simple.
You made claims that labour is seen as being out of touch.
The best available data that I’m aware of suggests that isn’t the case.
Maybe you have other data that suggests it is the case, which supports your statements. If so you should share it.
Your wriggling is giving me the impression that you are more interested in something other than fact checking to assist people to “perceive more accurately and not get fooled by party propaganda and ignorance.”
And as the Election year progresses and David and Labour policy is better known, the gap will narrow.
That depends on the media to a large extent. Our media has shown to be personality and sensation driven and has come across so far as pretty inept and useless fourth estate, instead of being a responsible and unbiased pillar of democracy in informing the public on policy issues.
the gap will narrow, I burst out laughing. what wishful thinking. This has eerie similarities of 2002 with the how low can you go limbo dance of political demise.
How do you know? There are still 5 months to go for the elections and all policies are not yet announced. Are you coming across as Ken’s ring.
You really think that policies bribes or any dodgy offer will make a difference when the economy is booming, wages are rising, employment is ring and 1,600 a week are coming off benefits? I have a bridge to sell you.
I think it’s important to figure out the difference between opinions – ‘I think Labour looks out of touch’ – and provable statements – ‘The majority of people think Labour looks out of touch.’
Statement 1 is a little bit in-between, but statements 2 and 3 above are provable (not perfectly, because there are always questions around polling methods etc. and how we define whether a sentiment is ‘common’ could be argued, but nevertheless.)
They can’t however be proved by ‘polling’ one commenter on a blog site, and I have to say, Pete, that this kind of tactic is something I’ve seen several people call you out on. You have made statements and, although I respect that you generally comment here in a personal capacity, and not as editor of Politicheck, you aren’t showing willing to back those statements up, and are avoiding having to answer them with a silly little charade of a one-man opinion poll.
PG’s inability to grasp such basic concepts does suggest that he is impaired for the job at politicheck.
Unfortunately, Pete George has indicated in previous comments that he does not understand statistics. He does not consider them to be facts and instead believes that because one can misrepresent statistics to ‘prove’ a certain point (e.g. by cherry picking data points), then the entire field of statistics is completely arbitrary. His comments regarding the “statistical poverty line” also show that he has a poor understanding of averages (either the median or the mean) and he does not understand the effects that changes in the underlying distribution of a parameter would have on these averages.
I really have no idea how he can be qualified to be a “fact-checker”, let alone a “fact-checking editor”.
That’s a very good point, wtl. Of course it’s good for a fact-checker to be aware of the ways statistics can be misused – it’s probably a prerequisite for the job – but that level of ignorance is just embarrassing.
I’ve always thought, and I’ve seen others here comment, that a basic grounding in concepts like mean vs. median would raise the level of political debate in NZ. And I did hope when I saw Politicheck getting launched that it could be a vehicle for that kind of thing. I guess not!
“(either the median or the mean)”
and then there is the mode,
a deliberately overlooked statistic when averages + wages are discussed in the same breath
Thanks Pascal. The “experts” like Bassett certainly paint a dismal picture, which is not borne out by the Reid Polls. With more exposure later this year people will be able to compare and contrast. And maybe those little comments like trucks on motorways and trailer registrations etc serve the purpose of being known by thousands who have yet to notice David or the serious life affecting policies yet to be delivered.
Thanks for the link. Have Bookmarked it.
1 Yes
2 Wrong
3 Bassett is a very nasty malicious animal
(Note Pete is away with the fairies @ 5.1?)
I don’t think RR polling is particularly good but don’t you think you should put up the most recent results (still a month out of date) ?
https://www.3news.co.nz/Politics/3NewsReidResearchPoll.aspx
Those are the results for different questions, Not Petey.
If you want to find out what people think about who is more “in touch”, you have to ask them that question.
You’re welcome.
The link to 3News was distorted but FPP suggested one thing but MMP showed that:
“Support for the National Party has dipped in the latest political opinion poll and the Greens have jumped.
The Roy Morgan poll released yesterday showed National down three points to 45.5 percent. Labour rose a point to 31.5 percent and the Greens jumped 3.5 points to 14 percent.
If a national election were held now it would be too close to call, pollster Gary Morgan said.
So what was your point Petey lad?
I looked at the TV3 Poll and I understand that its considered to be the most accurate one by those to the Left. (Do correct me if Im wrong there tho)
So is the “fact” that Cunliffe cant even get to 0% in the “preferred PM” poll of any concern to you?
Not only that there is also NO mention of David Cunliffe in any of the charts. His name is nowhere to be found. So that makes it a Shearer poll. One which has me in a quandary, because Cunliffe won the Leadership in sept 2013, and these polls are supposedly up till Jan 2014.
So the question is this: Is the whole lot just reid research just making up numbers? because it just don’t make sense.
There you go Petey. Fact check that!
I haven’t commented so far on Shane Jones’ departure from Labour and Parliament and will not do so other than saying that after my initial shock, IMO it is the best thing he could do. He was never an easy fit in Labour. While in his first term, I thought he did well, thereafter until the leadership contest and since, he was a non-entity apart from the ‘occasional incident’. If I was in Cunliffe’s shoes, I think I would be sighing a sigh of relief that the ‘loose cannon’ is going.
On this day when we remember those who fought, and died, for our freedom and democracy, we need to also look forward to hopefully strengthen our resolve to protect these.
So, in my opinion, it is time to put Shane Jones behind us – and look forward to, and be thankful that his going means that Kelvin Davis is coming back.
I was impressed by the way that he handled the situation and media within a very short time of the announcement of Jones’ decision.
But I am even more impressed by his Facebook post setting out his first four priorities – posted yesterday. –
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Kelvin-Davis/776784779020038?fref=nf
It is a definite must read in full, so I am not going to give a summary.
Apologies if this has already been posted (and I think it is well worth a full post), but it gave me a real surge of positivity at a time when all around seemed to be negativity.
Seeing as you said that Kelvin Davis’s Facebook page was a must read, i did, to be kind, Kelvin will be a perfect fit into middle class Labour and should represent the interests of that middle class really well,
Education, education, education, if this were to be the solution then WHAT has gone so seriously wrong with the education system in Te Tai Tokerau for so long,
Kelvin managed to have me seeing RED with His little allusion to ‘Nutters’ in His opening remarks, ‘Nutters’ have become thus for a reason and far from the snide inferences their way Davis would far better serve His electorate to avail Himself of the causes rather than poke the iron at the symptoms,
Am unimpressed, another business as usual candidate for Labour…
I wish I hadn’t read that bad12. I agree entirely with your conclusions.
He either doesn’t get it or he doesn’t want to, (and they both merge into a giant ‘I’m alright Jack,’ anyway.)
Davis wants to get to feel like one of the good guys as he props up the mythology that is destroying so many of us. Pagani must love him.
Can you explain that js? On the face of it I can’t see much wrong with his priorities.
A complete denial of the structural causes of the woes faced by Maaori, denial of patriarchy in sexual and physical abuse (man-up ffs!) and airbrushing the poverty, structural inequality and racism that underpin both in the community he hopes to represent.
Nothing major needs to change, the barriers can be overcome by a bit of elbow-grease and a particular (still patriarchal) definition of a “real man”. As you were etc.
Sounds like bollocks to me.
Can you be more specific as to where you see actual denial?
You might be right, but it’s also possible that as a politician in a mainstream party he talks in ways that his constituents will understand, or he is pragmatic enough to understand where he has power and where he doesn’t. It’s not like he can talk about the patriarchy or colonisation outright and still be an electable Labour MP.
I would be very surprised if he was unaware of colonisation and its impact on Māori, or unaware of the structural issues.
What do you think he meant by this?
Te Tai Tokerau has endured it’s own tragedy, but it happened over 40 years not 40 seconds. The effects on our people have been equally devastating in the long run.
“a particular (still patriarchal) definition of a “real man”. As you were etc.”
Hardly as you were. He makes a long, explicit statement to men that being a man includes respect for women and children. This is consistent with Māori kaupapa and is something I would like to see within Pākehā culture, esp politicians.
His statement about te reo is radical and one I wholeheartedly support.
His statement about te reo is radical and one I wholeheartedly support.
Apart from the word ‘radical’ we are agreed about this.
I could go into more detail but I don’t think any good would come of it. The way I see it, he fits perfectly with the current Labour Party. No challenge, no change, just more of the same. I’m sure he sincerely hopes that he can push a few more kids into ‘real person’ (middle-class) status through the power of education, which is nice I guess. But in desperate times, with the scale of need, and the crises we have breathing down our necks, the kids that don’t “make it” are bound for under the bus, and it’s brutal.
Just now the future seems unremittingly grim for more and more people and I just wonder who has to be affected for it to start mattering.
Davis does seem pretty moderate to me – but an improvement on Jones. I think if the Labor caucus shift more strongly towards founding Labour principles, Davis will most likely go with it.
I felt that his ‘main sincere priority aims’ are primarily geared towards his election platform to get more votes.
…from Kelvin Davis not a word on Charter Schools and Standards testing
….this is a worry, because he comes out of a hopelessly compromised Ministry of Education…. which is following an ACT agenda …..espoused by private PR companies working on the advice of USA Charter School business ( which in orientation is right wing and religious fundamentalist)
….where is Labour’s Education policy?
…like the retirement age issue….full employment for youth …raised minimum incomes for workers……Education is an important issue for Labour .
…Labour should be for State Education and equality of opportunity …not Private education
I want to hear Kelvin Davis’s views on education ….and Labour’s policies on Education
I am sure you are and I am sure you will. There are still 5 months till the lection. Surely, would you want want Labour to announce all their important policies now so
that
(a) the media give it some publicity now rather than close to the election?
(b) the nasty Nats can go on spinning about all kinds of exaggerated faults?
(c) the notorious Nats can copy some aspects of the policies to pretend it is theirs?
(d) the voters not have them fresh in their minds just before they cast their votes?
Clemgeopin….lets hope Labour is keeping its powder dry then …I hope this is the case
I hope so too!…The powder will be dry as long as disloyal incontinental turncoats like Jones don’t uncontrollably cough over it.
Hey people, give the guy a break. It was a facebook posting.
His priorities are right on. Education, well that’s appropriate given he’s a teacher, he’s going to be concerned about this. His electorate. Te Reo. Violence against women and children.
Can anyone really argue with these four priorities?????
I agree with Weka, I can’t see him denying structural causes. He didn’t mention them as he needs to keep it succinct. Labour get criticized on this site, for their media stuff and not doing sound bites.
Labour haven’t released their education policy yet.
I didn’t like the nutter comments but I am not going to right the guy off for them. I am not sure who he means, maybe some of the right wing people posting on TS.
+1 It’s his first statement about his intentions as an MP. They seem appropriate to the party he is in and assume that he wants to work towards something achievable. If we want something more radical try Mana or the GP.
“Apart from the word ‘radical’ we are agreed about this.”
He’s basically saying that we should take action to make conversational reo normal in NZ. How is that not radical?
“The way I see it, he fits perfectly with the current Labour Party. No challenge, no change, just more of the same”
I don’t see Labour doing any of the things he talks about. How is it more of the same? I think what you perhaps mean is that he’s not an obvious shift left for Labour. I don’t know, I’m just going on what I read on the FB page. But I do think that we need solid, mainstream MPs in Labour, because so much of the country is mainstream in their politics.
The best criticism that’s been made is that Pagani will like him. That makes me worry.
Wow now that’s what’s needed from a Labour Politician. And yep the Nutters probably those of Fishy and Petey George to name but a couple But reading down I’ll add Bad 12 and Just saying to that list of T 🙄 s and Nutters too judging by their comments.
I decided to place this link here and not in the Anzac post from MS. It is not my intention to cause upset but to add some thoughts to ANZAC day I felt would be misunderstood in that post’s comment section. So here goes:
A word of warning to all well meaning Kiwi’s honoring their ancestors and the recent young man and women who died in wars we where dragged into by our “leaders.
Will we be doing this for people dying in more wars in the future and if so will those wars be remembered through the same patriotic glasses without a shred of criticism for those sending the brave men and women to their deaths in them?
“A word of warning to all well meaning Kiwi’s honoring their ancestors and the recent young man and women who died in wars we where dragged into by our “leaders.”
Which wars are you talking about that we were ‘dragged into by our leaders’ ?
So glad you asked. How about every war financed by and for the bankers for starters. Oh oops, that would be as far back as the Napoleonic wars and counting.
Nuts
….monkey thinking about its next meal, I presume.
US involvement in WWI was driven by the Wall St banking fraternity who did not want to see France and England lose the war against Germany – which would have resulted in massive Wall St loan losses as France and England would never have paid back the loans that Wall St had made to them.
Yep and apart from the PTB behind the throne the Bush family made quite a bundle from Auschwitz after they helped to finance Hitler to get him into power
🙄
Oh P, that’s OK with you?
It’s well known that the Bush family was trading with Germany well into 1942. In fact, if the US hadn’t invented the law about war profiteering Prescott Bush would have been hung as a traitor.
And here is why John “We should have been in Iraq” Key can can get away with murder.
I’ve no idea if this has been covered before, but…polls.
Strikes me that a majority of ‘undecideds’ are probably left bloc voters who haven’t decided which party of the left will get their vote, rather than people wavering between left and right. So on that basis, if these ‘undecideds’ aren’t factored into poll results, then of course the right wing vote will be over reported. Polls that present percentages based on only those who state preferences (adding the decideds up to a 100%) are of no more use than soggy loo paper, no…unless your looking to generate a self fulfilling prophesy?
So anyway, why is the publication of such skewed nonsense acceptable?
Good point Bill about just who the undecided are. I vacillate between Labour/Green but last time nearly considered NZF strategically.
But 20% undecided leaves the field ripe for persuasion.
I don’t even know the %age of undecideds ianmac, (is it 20% or is that just a number you threw out there?) but I’m definitely picking it’s predominantly made up of left wing voters.
One of the polls definitely said 20% undecided. An earlier one was 11%. But I can’t find the source. It seemed by my dodgy memory for a year or two back further back the undecided was about 5%.
However Paddy and others are reluctant to quote say 20% undecided, as it would mock the usefulness of the polls especially with the dodgy use of FPP seats in parliament line.
And I wonder if the Labour Green being apparently behind will spur the efforts of we mortals?
So okay…what that could suggest is that the vote for Labour is dropping as the number of undecideds rises. A pile of formerly Labour voters thinking of going with the Greens? Definitely possible. Meanwhile, the actual left vote is being under-reported by dint of the way polling results are formulated.
Although I suspect a respectable portion of those undecided voters never quite ‘decide’ and dont make it to the booth.
That’s a bold claim Bill, but I don’t think it’s supported by evidence.
I’ve seen some pollster analysis that claims undecideds are about as spread as the decideds. But they are the hardest to get a preference from – they are pushed to make a decision, so a guess like your’s is just a guess.
And undecideds are less likely to decide at election time and vote so less of a factor.
So Pete, the fact (yes, it’s a fact) that there are more parties on the left competing more evenly for left votes than the fewer and more clearly delineated parties on the right, has no impact on the likely voting intentions of those polling as ‘undecided’. Seriously!?
Try applying some fcking logic sometime Pete…..actually, just any degree of thought would be an improvement for you.
You might find it illustrative to peruse ‘ts’ comments re voting intentions. Right wing votes are set. They’re voting National. (A wee few for ACT). The left wing votes on the other hand are much more fluid and constantly moving between Labour, the Greens and Mana. Just read the comments over time.
Meanwhile, a bit of a bold ( and not entirely free from stupid) claim there Petey about ‘undecideds’ being less likely to vote. Not voting and undecided as who to vote for are actually markedly different things
Well said Bill. And Pete saying,”I’ve seen some pollster analysis that claims undecideds are about as spread as the decideds.”
If undecided, that might mean ummm Undecided. It does seem more likely that so far the likely Left voter would be waiting to get a handle on just what Labour/Green would bring, whereas the writing is on the wall by the performance of the current lot.
We therefore know most of what Nats are offering, so what alternative do we have? Persuade me (but not too soon with policy as it gives Key’s monstrous huge team of researchers and PR people time to negate and undermine and pinch good policy, like parental leave for instance.)
Yes, National are shameless thieves who steal from the services for the poor and the less well off in society and help the wealthy instead, and steal Labour’s past and present social policies to steal some potentially left wing votes.
You’re making a lot of calls there Bill, unsupported by facts.
National support has been all over the place. Take the Roy Morgan results this year:
43.5
47
48
48.5
45.5
43
48.5
There’s nothing set looking about that. Other polls have had a similar degree of variation.
You may be correct that right wing votes are set, but there’s a lot in the centre sloshing about. Most of the uncertainty and undecided is with swing voters who could go any of several ways.
Asking you a favour Pete. Please don’t respond to any of my comments in future. The reason? Disagreement and debate is fine by me and even potentially informative. But you’re comments tend to be blithering wastes of space that, while devoid of intelligence, are unfortunately and routinely pregnant with unpleasantly dead shit that serves to choke debate/discussion.
Asking you a favour Bill. If you post questionable claims be big enough to accept some criticism.
You seem to be trying to “choke debate/discussion” by your “asking a favour”.
Pete. I’ve no problem with criticism. Thing is, criticism requires a modicum of intelligence. Criticism in no way comprises of the tangential or irrelevant nonsense that marks the bulk of your comments. Your nonsense (as I’ve commented above but that you appear to have been incapable of grasping first time around) is effectively dead shit that chokes up any flow of critical (or otherwise) debate and discussion.
Don’t respond to this and never again question my desire to have critical and/or intelligent debate when my core point (How often would I have to repeat this before your obstinate levels of comprehension stopped looking upwards in bewildered blankness at the point?) is that you kill the potential for critical and/or intelligent exchanges with your rubbish.
pete, that was meaningless.
At those levels, the margin for error is 3%. Look at that jump from the low of 43 to the high of 48.5%. The first could be as high as 46%, the second as low as 45.5%.
And that’s without looking at vacillating undecideds bouncing between left and DNR.
You comprehensively failed to support your assertion that there’s a lot in the centre sloshing about. You might well just be grasping at an artifact in sampling.
I agree. I am not sure why the poll companies do not state the % of voters who are undecided. Such a poll is more accurate and meaningful.
Another point I wonder is why don’t the four or five main polling companies stagger their polls weekly, one after the other? Surely, they could come to a mutual agreement on that? What stops them from doing that?
I could be generous and suggest that polling companies are running polls better suited to the ‘either/or’ scenario of FPP elections. But having said that, even the Scottish independence polls (which is a straight binary choice) incorporate the undecideds into their results and state when they have stripped the undecideds out for the sake of % age comparisons of those who have decided which way they intend to vote.
Maybe in NZ a clearer picture would emerge if people were asked which bloc they were going to vote for alongside or instead of which party. Slight problems in designating some parties to a left or right bloc, but as long as the make up of each was consistent over time….
Last Roy Morgan Poll showed only 5% did not name a Party (Undecided?). And that was the 48% for National one. Be interesting for the next poll, away from that Princeling fellow and his celebrity wifey.
Clemgeopin
Also why don’t they mention the percent of awful respondents (like me who say.’Oh F**k off)?
Bugger the polls I say..or has that already been said?
How can you factor ‘undecideds’ into poll results?
Gavin White of UMR claims (via research) that since 1999 polls have tended to have National and Greens too high, they are up and down on Labour, and have NZ First too low. That doesn’t fit with right being over-reported and left being under-reported.
http://sayit.co.nz/blog/what-political-polls-tell-us
If there is evidence that things are different right now I’d be (genuinely) interested to see it.
Hmm am not that impressed with iPredict, however found this press release on ‘It’s Our Future’ website which contains an interesting analysis:
http://www.itsourfuture.org.nz/ipredict-2014-election-update-14-labour-makes-gains/
A good opening comment from Kelvin Davis in the Herald ex Northern Advocate – Mike Dinsdale.
“Mr Davis, who spent one term as a Labour list MP, said he would push several key issues when back in the House – Maori education, regional development, improving the number of people speaking te reo Maori, and “being the male in Parliament who stands up and says enough is enough over domestic violence”.
And “…after missing out by 832 votes to Hone Harawira in the Te Tai Tokerau electorate race in the 2011 election …”
Do I barrack for Hone or for Kelvin? Aye. There’s the rub.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11244080
Davis will probably be given a high enough list placing in order to ensure Labour has a Maori MP in the far North.
It is a real dilemma for the voters there!
I wonder what is the best way to ensure both Labour and Mana pareties benefit to the maximum extent?
Wait for the Labour list to come out and if Davis is high enough, electorate vote Mana. And give your party vote to the GP 😉 Win, win, win, for the left.
The Greens already have their core about 10-12% support from around the country.
I would like the Mana.Com alliance (if in action) to clear the 5% threshold.
So, it would make more sense for the left voters THERE to give the electorate vote to Hone (if Kelvin is fairly guaranteed a list position under 25th) and party vote to Mana.Com alliance (to help the 5% clearance) or Labour (to ensure more Labour Reps than other lefties) or the Greens(if you wish Greens to wield extra power over Labour) or NZF (for super gold card and things) or National (if one is silly to boost Key’s ego during his retirement troty in Hawaii) or ACT (if you love insects and the rich) or UF (if you like ex Labour party turn coats and hairdos)
No? Why not!
….Just musing…..
“Davis will probably be given a high enough list placing in order to ensure Labour has a Maori MP in the far North.”
Let us hope so.
Labour say they will win Napier and Christchurch Central so do you really think a hetero sensible bloke like Kelvin will be placed higher in the list than the sisterhood.
I hope this is the case. I think Parliament would be better for having both of them in it.
The philosophy of poverty.
The ACT Party and other Right Wingers often claim that people are poor and/or criminal because they choose to be, through a lack of will power, and/or moral fibre.
The strangest things often cause me to ponder this assumption.
Yesterday I went to the supermarket to get some paper vacuum cleaner bags for my vacuum, they come in a slim pack of five for $11.
On approaching the check out I noticed that the bottom of the packet had a neat slit cut in it and instead of having five vacuum liner bags there were only four. The check out operator said she would not let me have the packet for less than the full $11, so I had to walk back down the aisle to get a new complete intact pack.
While I was making this long walk, it occurred to me that there must be some very house proud poor person moved to steal just one vacuum bag. Since the pack of five was hardly much bigger than one single bag, this person would have taken a greater risk of being found out by slitting open the packet and removing one liner, than just concealing the whole pack.
I wondered, was this house proud shoplifter having some sort of moral debate with themselves that it would be less of crime if they took just one bag? Did they balance this crime against the moral dilemma of leaving their house dirty?
Should the members of ACT be worried that there are house proud poor people with moral scruples driven to wandering the aisles of New Zealand’s supermarkets armed with sharp knives?
In west Auckland supermarkets, we now have to ask the checkout operator if we want to pr=urchase council rubbish bags. This is because too many were being stolen. But, waht do poor people do if they can’t affford the bags needed to dispose of their rubbish?
Society is now user pays.
If you can’t pay, sorry, you are now out of society.
That’s the nature of private sector efficiency – they just price a large proportion of people out of the market so that it’s easier, and thus more profitable, to supply the service.
In Marlborough the rubbish bags are still part of rates. Each house gets 52 bags per year. And nearly all of my bag contents are disposed packaging.
(We get one knee-high bin for recyclable and my compost gets the rest.)
And in Wellington Supermarkets including the ones serving the well off areas. In Dunedin the students were burying the rubbish in their gardens.
Having saved the $23 for a miniscule tube of zovirax a young solo parent I know arrived home and found the blister pack had been sliced open and the tube replaced with an empty one. When she returned the packaging and empty tube the supermarket accused her of trying to scam them and denied her a replacement leaving her out of pocket, wearing the two 20Km return trips and forced to suffer miserably for another week while an easily treated flare-up rampaged on.
Sometimes you gotta fight for your rights. And unfortunately that means escalating the noise level at the service desk until they take you seriously. Or finding a friend who can dress up all prim and proper so that the service desk takes you seriously.
Hint – if you want to go drug free find some high quality Vitamin E nutritional supplement capsules. When you feel the very start of a cold sore attack coming on break into the capsule and smear the vitamin E gel around the affected area of the lips. The same capsule will have enough for a few applications in a day. Keep using for a couple of days even after the symptoms go away. Usually holds off or minimises the cold sore outbreak (in my personal experience).
I use L-Lysine. That is an amino acid. 1 gr in the morning, one in the evening for a couple of days when the burning starts and you won’t even get to the blister stage. The amino acid interferes with the virus’s ability to procreate and it will go back to dormant again.
nice. better than feeding Big Pharma your money.
I used to carry a notebook and pen. When anything like that happened, I’d ask for a replacement and write down everything the person said. When they asked why, I’d say I had a poor memory. I usually got a replacement fairly quickly, including a front wheel, tyre, and disc brakes for a bike I’d bought, then later found a crack in the wheel.
Another option is to write up what happened and print out a few copies, then stand outside the shop handing them out. That worked once when a friend of mine had worked a week for a café, with the owner then deciding he wouldn’t pay because it was a trial. In the end, he paid for the week, and the extra hour while she stood outside his shop handing out the leaflets. We’re not as helpless as we’re taught to be.
What makes you think it was a customer?
Good to see David Cunliffe paying his respects on ANZAC morning.
http://www.whaleoil.co.nz/2014/04/youd-expect-prime-minister/
Not the greatest look from the Leader of the Opposition – why not just not go if it bores you silly?
Put up a real link and we might take a look at it (WO spew doesn’t count as meaningful commentary on anything).
Petty modern days politicising on ANZAC Day.
My you RWNJs go low.
Sociopath.
Yes, it is petty politicking and nasty, but Cunliffe needs to be on guard as he is constantly in the gaze of the media and the right wing nasties and anti Labour spies. If Key had taken that photo, they would have give it a different favourable spin.
Yup….progressive parties must be aware of how low some in the right will go to win.
Yes, and if Key had been the one responding to an (urgent?) message he would not have been photographed because it would have been regarded as acceptable. Cunliffe does it and there is the usual puerile attempt to paint it as “disrespectful”.
It is puerile.
Reminds of some kids we had to tolerate when I was a teenager.
Still, it’s good to see how scared Cameron – and therefore the PM’s office – is of Cunliffe.
Under duress I went to look at WO. I suppose the proNAT/ACT are bound to make something out of nothing. After all they have reason to be afraid of David. I read all the comments, (yes I know) and wondered about the endless repetitions. I suppose it is like Captions on the Standard but here it is often meant to be funny. Over there it sounds like a dirge. Is that the best that they can do?
I went too. But unlike you I gave up after 1 page of ‘comments’. Now I am off to have a bath and scrub myself clean. Shudder.. They should use WO as a punishment for prisoners.
Meh Jimmie, what a boring story.
1) It’s on whaleoil, a site run by a boy who has openly admitted that he edits video to change the meaning of things people say, and who has said at various times that truth is not important and that truth is whatever he says it is at the time.
2) No-one knows what David was doing. In one pic he seems to be taking a photo, so it’s not a huge leap to suggest that he might have been turning on a camera app rather than checking messages or tweeting or whatever terrible crime Cameron is charging him with.
3) No-one knows what was happening at the time. I’m going to take a stab and say it wasn’t during The Ode.
haven’t looked.
Is it worse than time the PM skipped out a military funeral to watch his kid play rounders, coincidentally meaning the GCSB had to get the Acting PM to sign a warrant in an attempt to keep the fact they illegally spied on someone from being exposed in court? And then when the PM got back in the country after the rounders expedition everyone ‘forgot’ to mention anything to him.
But the soldiers at least got their funeral. But not with the PM there.
I’m guessing, ‘not worse’.
Nah that was ok ‘cos as Key said at the time – actual words* – his kid “makes lots of sacrifices”.
*close enough, happy to be corrected.
how much is whale boil paying jimmie to shiil his blog here?
oh I forgot.
Jimmie is just another of the fat ones aliases anyway.
nothing to see here.
How many aliases do you think he has?
Better heading.
‘Wealthy overseas interests will benefit if the left doesn’t win election.’
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=11243535
The left will win the election. There are no right wing parties contesting it.
The Tories under Thatcher were too centrist for you
The nonsense you speak is not worth responding to, apart from a request that you don’t bother engaging. Thank you
Occasionally I think that he’s someone who can think at least as well as a five year old but most of the time I figure sorrylands is just a well programmed bot.
This idiot, like Hooton, probably thinks that he can convince us by his right wing lies and propaganda.
Paul
You must be forgetting that the vast majority of the shares are New Zealand owned, so the reality is
New Zealand will benefit when the left doesn’t win the election. The truth is the left is bad for business confidence and bad for employment. I guess this is just another one of your lame attempts to spin bullshit
The point that you don’t understand is that that that’s not a bad thing.
Whenever a rwnj says “the reality is” you can be sure you’re about to hear a description of a parallel universe.
No, “NZ” doesn’t benefit. A tiny amount of already wealthy NZers do.
+1
The nonsense you speak is not worth responding to, apart from a request that you don’t bother engaging.
to karol.
in some middle eastern countries there are whole apartmentblocks that hve been abandoned because no infrastructure was ever put in place to take out the trash and the inhabitants just stored it all in the spare rooms until if became to foul to tolerate anymore.