In late 1918, after the war had ended, New Zealand and Australian soldiers rounded up more than one hundred boys and men in the Palestinian village of Surafend, then methodically clubbed them to death. After that, the ANZAC soldiers burned the village to the ground/
General Allenby called these ANZAC troops “cowards and murderers”.
Far from apologizing for the massacre, the RSA ran poems in its magazine praising it.
Well done to those who attended Dawn parade. Those of you who did attend showed more respect than former PM Helen Clark who refused to attend dawn parade. It seemed that she could not be bothered getting out of bed early on that one day of the year. [r0b: Moved this comment from the Anzac day post to Open Mike. Also banned BB for a year on the charge of inappropriate politicisation and being a POS.]
Helen attended several ANZAC services on each ANZAC day while she was in parliament. I usually saw her at the Mt Albert one, starting in 1990 when I shifted back to that one. She routinely did several around Mt Albert, Mt Roskill, Avondale, Pt Chev and other local ones around her home.
She attended the War Memorial dawn service frequently… At least as frequently as I did, and I was a soldier.
Many of her family were soldiers in various of our wars.
FFS This can be found with a simple google. Why didn’t you do one? Rather than just lying.
You sound like another lazy armchair general. Too damn lazy to get off your arse to volunteer for anything. A critic of those who do. Playing the patriotic card to send other parents kids to fight for you. Basically a parasite on society and as r0b said, generally a piece of shit
BFD, i get up before dawn every fucking morning to go to work you moron. what pisses me off is the sheep who go to the dawn parades then go to the warehouse or malls or cafes feeling superior to us who refuse to be sucked in to celebrating & supporting military conflict, so fuck you you sanctimonious dick.
last one I went to was in Cambridge a few years back .When the local Nat MP/lance -Adams Schider used tyhe whole time telling us how we needed Nuclear Powered Ships.Never been since.Any way I do not have to attend such meetings to realise the horror of war.
Of course it was rot. RWNJs have to lie and put others down so as to put themselves up on a pedestal of their own delusion, to tell themselves how much better they are than everyone else.
This sort of censorship would make Kim Jong-un blush. It reflects very poorly on the site and your ideology. Though it is to be expected from a Clark apologist.
When people see this it drives them into JK’s arms, as the lessor of two evils.
I want a decent choice in the next election and if the left continues the way it is going, I will be denied that choice.
BB claimed Helen Clark never attended Dawn Services. This is a repeat of a common lie – a lie that can be readily shown for the smear it is with a few seconds googling.
BB is not expressing an honest opinion. He knows he is lying, and continues to do it over many years. This is not behaviour we are obliged to tolerate.
There is a difference between ideas and opinions – and behaviour. This site has long tolerated the expression of a very wide range of opinions, but does not allow repeated bad behaviour to disrupt the debate.
Then expose their lies. Surely that is a better approach. It also makes things much more interesting.
If JK told a lie you could expose, would you really want to hide the lie and stop him telling more lies ? With thinking like that, you must have been a Labour strategist in the past few elections.
The “behavior” argument is at best subjective and at worst unconvincing.
bb is well known here. For years he posted here in a similar vein. He’s said that lie many times before and been pointed to the correct information before. An honest person would accept the correct information and not repeat the mistake. There would be no problem this at all.
But knowingly repeating a lie is a different thing to expressing an honestly held opinion. Then it becomes bad behaviour.
I agree that this can be a subjective thing. I used to moderate here for years (I don’t have the time nor inclination to do it any more) and I know it is not easy deciding where the boundaries are. But there is no doubt that boundary exists, and the site owners are entitled to make up their minds as to where it lies.
The comment directly beneath BB’s refutes his lies.
What would be “interesting” about allowing disruptive tr*lls to ruin the discourse? There are plenty of live issues to pick over without resuscitating long dead zombies.
big bruv…my uncle never attended the RSA or ANZAC Day …let alone Dawn Parades… so disgusted was he with the futility and tragic waste of war….if it was good enough for him not to attend , it is good enough for any of the rest of us to remember in our own way….and hopefully we will simply remember their sacrifice … the tragedy that is war ….and resolve to strive for peace
my uncle, the navigator in the tail of a Lancaster, was shot down over Germany ( only he and one other survived)…ended up on a German forest….walked for a week at night trying to get into France and then back to the UK ….ended up in a POW camp and then towards the end of the war did the Long March in winter( he said they would not have survived without the Red Cross and their parcels)
…i remember him and those returned servicemen ( many of them scarred) of my childhood who did not want to talk about war but who wanted to live!…..and who loved life!…and believed fervently in PEACE
(incidentally he never said a bad word about the Germans because he was reasonably well treated and he recognised that we are all capable of war atrocities)
No doubt there were incidents similar to this in French and Belgian villages; petty thievery is universal. Yet it is unthinkable that New Zealand and Australian soldiers would have contemplated the mass murder of innocent civilians in a French or Belgian village. The Arabs in Palestine, on the other hand, were regarded with contempt by many of the soldiers; they were untermenschen on a level with the natives of Australia and New Zealand.
The New Zealand establishment has continued to refuse to apologize for this massacre—doggerel poems in the RSA magazine treated the murderers as heroes. It renders hollow this morning’s words by the Governor General, praising the “courage, compassion and mateship in adversity” and “moments of astonishing humanity”, and the Prime Minister’s words about those who “fought so gallantly for what we believe in.”
what is it with all the folk having to go to cafes, burger chains etc on this solemn morning.
i have long ranted about businesses that choose to open on anzac day and vowed not to darken their doors during the rest of the year.
it occurs to me the businesses are just doing as businesses do. meeting a demand.
couldnt we skip the trim flat white and bacon and eggs (not too hard please), and instead gather together at the local rsa, or at someones home and break bread together?
We stopped at a cafe this morning – as we always do, with my father-in-law and another resident from the retirement home, and enjoyed the morning coffee with them. It is the one regular visit out for one of them, and I’m glad that we did it.
I am one of those who commemorate the wastefulness of war and conflict with sadness and contemplation, and to be surrounded by others who seem to be celebrating is quite disconcerting.
I am finding the emphasis of the Gallipoli celebrations this year to be particularly disheartening, in light of the deployment of troops to Iraq. I don’t want to participate in this appropriation of loss by those who have their own agenda, or who “enjoy” this day. Our local MP used one ANZAC service to speak about his politics for over 20 minutes – a gross display of disrespect.
I don’t need a particular day to join with others in regretting our continued involvement in other people’s conflicts – without a decent strategy or exit plan. This is happening for me every day, the waste of human potential is always depressing.
hi molly, my experience of todays dawn service was far from celebratory.
two speakers, local high school boy, and returned soldier.
both eloquent, the veteran cited casualty numbers and gave context with the population of our town in 1915.
there was plenty of contemplation, solemnity, sacrifice (it was cold), coming together, reflection.
the experience with your mp electioneering, says more about that member than anzac service.
our mayor gave the g.g. address and that was the politics over with.
i do share your disheartedness re troops deployed.
i simply feel, surely some things are sacred.
maybe we could sacrifice by going without a visit to the cafe?
disclaimer- i work in hospitality.
i am curious, what was the atmosphere in the cafe this morning?
Very quiet in the cafe this morning. The realist in me thinks this is due to the carpark being empty because of the retail stores not being open, rather than attendance at ANZAC day or a recognition of sacrifice.
…”surely some things are sacred”…”
Strangely enough, I agree with you there. Except my heart and my mind recognise this sacredness every day, every time it is considered. To my oftentimes awkward realisation – I have never been someone who is entirely comfortable with requiring others to share my sentiments at “appropriate” times, so I find it difficult to do myself. If I observed this day in the way that you do, I would be assuming a persona specifically to say – to paraphrase Keri Hulme – “I wear my heart on my sleeve, mind you look at my sleeve”. The sincerity of the action would not be present. I consider this to be disrespectful in itself.
My thoughts on this topic are fairly constant. And if engaged on the thought of war and engagement, I will express my thoughts with anyone on any day of the year, in order to have a better understanding. This is how I personally recognise the “sacred” that you observe on this day. My approach can be contentious, and requires a lot of internal fortitude, particularly coming up to ANZAC day – but for me it is the only way I can see for myself to come to grips with past and present deployments of our troops, and the consequences for those that live in the countries where they are deployed. I am past the point where I need others to agree with me by the end of the discussion, so I am more adept at keeping discussions flowing, but the ego in me, does try to make them understand my point of view.
hi molly,
thanks for expanding on yr thoughts. a lot of it resonates with me.
especially “I am past the point where I need others to agree with me by the end of the discussion, so I am more adept at keeping discussions flowing, but the ego in me, does try to make them understand my point of view.”
for some there is just little meaning in this day, as they might not be New Zealanders by birth i.e. Tourists and the likes.
for some, they might not need a particular day to remember the death, especially in a world where on every other day we have no issue not only in forgetting the death, but often in blaming the death for their own demise…Gaza comes to mind, or Africa, or other parts of the world, where the dead are not ours.
for another lot, they might plant a tree instead, or go out and clean a river from pollution.
You could lobby the government to declare Anzac Day a day where no one but First Responders, Nurses and other medical staff at hospitals, and Police are allowed to work.
We are closed on Monday, but we are open today. First customer of the day a US American on a visit in NZ…all others were Kiwis coming back from the dawn service buying breakfast items to be shared at home with family.
My staff is off, but my Hubby and I are working.
We are one of those famous small Mum and Pop business, and keeping a day off is not really an option in these times general austerity.
So observance that doesn’t involve turning up to a sanctioned memorial isn’t ‘observance’? Righteous bullshit.
Never been to a dawn anything. Never will. You remember the dead in your way, I mine. But don’t tell me my grief isn’t the same as yours because you demanded businesses close.
Hi stephanie, molly, tigger,
The motive for my posting was twofold: testing the waters re anzac days
sacredness, and garner sympathy for some of the lesser paid, sometimes exploited work force.
Deputy P.M tries comedy–‘The Government has effectively left nothing “undone” to tackle sky-rocketing house prices in Auckland, Finance Minister Bill English says’
In less than surprising, but utterly sickening news from the UK….
The former Conservative deputy prime minister (Michael Heseltine) is being lined up by the shadow business secretary, Chuka Umunna, to advise Labour in government.”
& (cause that’s not all folks!)
Labour also hopes to sign up the business secretary, Vince Cable, (Lib Dem)and his predecessor Lord Mandelson (Blairite).
Extraordinary, isn’t it. If there’s one thing UK Labour have conspicuously failed to do since the last Election, it’s win over 2010 Tory voters. They’ve won over a huge chunk of the 2010 Lib Dem vote and made inroads into the Non-vote but next to no Tories (most polls suggest about 3 or 4% of 2010 Conservatives have swung to Labour, representing at most 1.4% of all voters. The Tories have attracted roughly the same proportion – comprising about 1.0% of all voters – from Labour). Nothing suggests this is suddenly going to change over the next few weeks.
The reality is that if Labour manage to cobble together a Government after this Election (as seems more than likely) then – compared to the Blair regime – it will be far less dependent on keeping newly-won-over former Tory voters happy. It will be a Government firmly grounded in a social democratic support-base – voters who have stayed with Labour through thick and thin, voters who swung to Labour from the Lib Dems the moment the latter went into coalition with the Tories, decidedly Left-leaning SNP supporters, along with Greens, the communitarian-socialist Plaid Cymru, Ulster’s SDLP, not to mention the member for Bradford West (even if in some cases, we’re talking about informal/tacit/policy-by-policy support).
Unfortunately, the Blairites still hold some sway in the Party (even if their voice isn’t quite as dominant as it once was).
🙂 I take it you haven’t heard Sturgeon openly saying the SNP will court Labour’s left wing mps to kill austerity/Blairite/Tory lite policies?
I’m looking forward to the unofficial ‘grand alliance’ of Tory/Labour that’s going to come into being in order to push through unpopular policies. Well, the reaction to it from the voting public. 😉
I’m hoping at that point, people will realise that the labour party is the boot at the neck of working people.
It is good to see many Kiwis understand it here. Labour keeps worshipping at the altar of liberalism, and wonders why people don’t want a bar of them. Poll after poll and little or no movement for labour. When will they wake up and notice the wind change?
Plus their latest email with overview of the actions being taken. I’m starting to be quite impressed with this group (although I’m not sure I agree with using the “je suis…” line in situations like this)
More than 90,000 people like you signed petitions to save Campbell Live.
More than 3000 of you wrote emails to MediaWorks or sent messages to Campbell Live sponsor Mazda.
Campbell Live was TV3’s top rated show last night.
Hundreds of people showed up at rallies across the country today.
John Campbell and his team came out to meet and thank our campaigners today, saying: “Thank you so much to everyone involved, from petition organisers and signers, to video makers. Thank you all.”
All in all, as Bill Ralston said yesterday, this has been an amazing display of people power and it seems MediaWorks would prefer it if we went away quietly. When Laura showed up at the MediaWorks office today to deliver those 90,000 signatures, MediaWorks CEO Mark Weldon and Head of News Mark Jennings refused to meet her.
As you know, this petition was originally to be delivered via a crowdfunded television commercial:
More than 1100 of you chipped in to make this video explaining why Campbell Live matters to so many New Zealanders, but when Marianne tried to secure an advertising spot on TV3, they flat-out refused.
In other words, not only will TV3 bosses not meet with someone representing 90,000 fans of their top rated show, they also refuse to accept paid advertising from fans of the show. What they have done, however, is delay the announcement of the outcome of their review of Campbell Live for a few weeks, no doubt in the hope that we’ll all get bored, stop watching and go away. But we don’t give up that easily.
Our job for the next two weeks is to keep Campbell Live in the forefront of people’s minds. This beautiful video, made by people like you, is the perfect way to do it. So we are going to put this video all over the internet!
Will you chip in $10 to put our member-funded video all over the internet? Or if you can’t chip in right now, you can still help by watching and sharing the video with your friends and networks.
MediaWorks may refuse to meet us and refuse to air our ad, but they cannot ignore 90,000 of us, not when our video is all over the internet!
I wish to pay a tribute to my late uncle and the many others who served overseas today, He volunteered during WW2 and went off with the 1st Echelon to the Middle East and served for 4 years. His given peacetime occupation was a printer so he was placed with the Sappers. He defused bombs and set charges on important installations like bridges etc all of this time and escaped death twice from strafing while on land convoys in the desert. He was a cynic through and through and was knicknamed “why” for obvious reasons. He was a dynamic and delightful man but had no time for the military. On his return he and the other returned servicemen had to apply for their service medals (if they chose to) and he naturally told them to put them where the sun doesn’t shine. His thoughts were if they hadn’t the courtesy to take the trouble to send the medals personally they weren’t worth having. He never attended ANZAC Day services but always remembered his mates he served with with much affection and pride. He was above all a man with bravery in his heart and honour deep into his bones.
I, like him do not attend the ceremonies – there is a history world wide of veterans not being looked after like they should be and the grandstanding at these commemorations doesn’t do it for me one little bit. I salute my Uncle today and will have a drink or two and chat with him off and on throughout the day – he is one of the thousands of treasures we have in this country – Lest We Forget”.
i cant be leave how nasty the people on this site are calling the prime minister a pervert or worse where is your respect for the high office and your betters John key is leader of this nation and you should hold your noses and bow before him. just make sure your wearing protection hat or swimming cap
This comment is perfectly placed downthread from big bruv’s attempt to smear Helen Clark’s memory. The right do love to trot out the “respect your betters” line … as long as it’s the betters they personally agree with.
The Key is my harrasser; I shall not be silent.
He maketh me to let down my golden locks: he fondles my hair beside the till.
He violateth my locks: he grabbeth me on the way to serve for his name’s sake.
Yea, though I walk between the tables of the Tories of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art not near me; thy rod and thy staff they will not touch me.
I preparest a table before you in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with pudgy fingers; my bile runneth over.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and my story will live in the blog of the Bomber for ever.
I feel really uneasy at the whole glorfication of the whole ANZAC thing. I dont blame the vets or even the RSA though. Its the politicians and media who are milking the whole thing.
I think we can find way better ways of defining ourselves than by war and militarism.
Gallipoli – Memorial at Anzac Cove by Ataturk.
“Those heroes that shed their blood and lost their lives…
You are now lying in the soil of a friendly country. Therefore rest in peace. There is no difference between the Johnnies and the Mehmets to us where they lie side by side here in this country of ours…
You, the mothers, who sent their sons from faraway countries wipe away your tears; your sons are now lying in our bosom and are in peace, after having lost their lives on this land they have become our sons as well.”
Ataturk, 1934
I was very moved to read these words at Anzac Cove ten years ago. Such generosity of spirit and a call to reconciliation.
How markedly different from our current crop of leaders.
John Armstrong in the Herald this morning is hilarious – sage advice against premature us of the “R” word re Trichy-Key. I take that as an apology for his bullshit outburst
over the 11 year old letter and Cunliffe. Even if not intended. His words today condemn his words of last year.
And, of course, just the previous year, NZ invaded Samoa and ruled it as a colony for the next near-50 years, carrying out the Black Saturday massacre, and caring so little for Samoan lives that thousands died during the influenza epidemic after the war: https://rdln.wordpress.com/2011/08/28/samoa-what-new-zealand-did/
I always understood Gallipoli as a catastrophe. My grandmother’s younger sister’s husband served right through WW1 and his War Diary – while constrained and understated – makes no bones of what an inglorious and disgraceful business it all was.
And this is the reason why Gallipoli ranked so highly in the minds of the New Zealanders who lived through it. Before Gallipoli most New Zealanders still regarded Britain as the mother country; and themselves as citizens of the Empire. The images of naive young farm-boys queuing up for conscription, loading their farm horses onto ships for an ‘adventure’ in Europe are bitter indeed.
After Gallipoli the monstrous, incompetent and catastrophic bungling of the British High Command was laid bare. Their unspoken, but palpable contempt for the lives to the ‘colonials’ they so culpably threw away in a futile, pointless campaign – was seared into the minds of many. It marked the critical turning point in the conciousness of this nation – and gave birth to a determination for New Zealand to grow as a nation with it’s own political agency.
To my generation and earlier I believe this was a widespread understanding. The Dawn Services I attended as a youth were sombre, solemn affairs. The still living returned servicemen in attendance would not tolerate much foolish jingoism or flag-waving. They were there to remember their mates. And to grieve for their own loss of innocence.
“The Dawn Services I attended as a youth were sombre, solemn affairs. The still living returned servicemen in attendance would not tolerate much foolish jingoism or flag-waving. They were there to remember their mates. And to grieve for their own loss of innocence.”
This reflects my experience too.
Have avoided the ANZAC parades since my son left the scouts many years ago, and the last I attended was the aforementioned one which was appropriated for a party political broadcast by our local National MP.
I watch the children decked out in the medals of their unmet ancestors and I wonder at their knowledge of what it truly means. I understand the need to make sense of the loss, I’m just not sure the current method of doing so will lead us in the right direction, but unfortunately I have no answers to what will.
To my generation and earlier I believe this was a widespread understanding. The Dawn Services I attended as a youth were sombre, solemn affairs. The still living returned servicemen in attendance would not tolerate much foolish jingoism or flag-waving. They were there to remember their mates. And to grieve for their own loss of innocence.
Mine too. They were grim people about what happened in war. And quiet about it. Incredibly staunch if they felt that something needed to be done. Very reluctant to put younger bodies on the line if they didn’t think it was required. Very inclined to get drunk after the remembrances. Especially the ones who cleared Europe in 1945.
It wasn’t until I went into the army in 1977 and ran across RF who’d been active in Vietnam, who would occasionally talk about it (usually when drinking), that I started to understand. Mind you, clearing the range of sheep with bren gun was a pretty graphic introduction.
It goes both ways.
Being a pacifist when you have conscienceless sociopathic arseholes around isn’t an option. At a local level, and just for an example, how on earth Cameron Slater got a gun license is an good example.
On the other hand you don’t want inexperienced parasites like John Key who appears to have no background in any activity that doesn’t directly benefit himself being able play the ‘patriotic card’. because he will screw it up by the numbers. I am thinking about bloody David Lange thinking that he could send the troops into Fiji during the first coup as an example.
The ideal would be to make sure that we have a counterbalance in the system that protects soldiers from the daft politicians, yet allows them to be used when they are useful. In the latter case East Timor comes to mind.
The question, that is, isn’t whether or not Key likes to characterise himself as a ‘joker’. Instead, it’s what he uses his ‘joking’ for?
If the waitress’ account is anything to go by, it seems his ‘banter’ had the effect on the waitress of dominating, demeaning and cowing her while, simultaneously, asserting his power in the situation.
As the research on humour makes clear, far from being entirely ‘innocent’ and ‘naive’ such “horsing around” may function primarily to aggress against and control others.
That would be my take on JK’s joking. He’s using it to show his power over others.
Hawkes Bay wedding photographer and syndicated columist Eva Bradley says in the Wairarapa Times Age today that New Zealanders didn’t die at Gallipoli so that we could worry about silly things like the Prime Minister repeatedly fondling a waitress’s hair.
anna stretton has penned something along those lines too, its online somewhere i really don’t want to look at it again. ‘its hardly a crime’ she opines.
we don’t want to bloody worry about it – she should send a text to John Key because he has let us and our ancestors down – he has disrespected everyone.
Did Hawkes Bay wedding photographer and syndicated columist Eva Bradley say in the Wairarapa Times Age today that New Zealanders didn’t die at Gallipoli so that we could have a Prime Minister who could take away our rights?
Did Hawkes Bay wedding photographer and syndicated columist Eva Bradley say in the Wairarapa Times Age today that New Zealanders didn’t die at Gallipoli so that we could have a Prime Minister who was a dicktator?
it’s not exactly what one might call an enlightened read.
And so this week in order to never be able to forget the sacrifice made by my forebears I have been making sure I know what there is to remember. I have been consuming the Gallipoli ‘‘special edition’’ sections of the various media, asking the odd old person in my life about what they knew about it as young tykes and soaking up history Hollywood-style with a couple of the flood of films timed to coincide with the anniversary.
little wonder her view of the PM’s actions are so submissive
“Thom discusses fast-track and the TPP with Rep. Alan Grayson and whether European officials are pushing for regime change in Greece with Mark Weisbrot of the Center for Economic and Policy Research. In a special edition of Conversations with Great Minds, Thom talks with Constitution Society for Law and Policy’s Caroline Fredrickson, author of the new book ‘Under the Bus: How Working Women Are Being Run Over’….
When a group of pre-adolescent Chilean schoolgirls were leaving on a trip to Wellington, the president, Michelle Bachelet, was asked if she had any advice for them. With a completely straight face, she said “Don’t have lunch with the Prime Minister.”
Do you think anyone who jokes about FJK should be chastised? I’d hate to think it was just me. And while we’re at it, get whatever’s stuck up your bum surgically removed. You might develop a reasonable facsimile of a sense of humour after that.
Good to know you don’t like what I say. I don’t aim to please the site’s leading Tory apologist.
The thing that hits home to me is that we have learned that the man who is our PM has been acting in the same manner as a sexually aggressive 12 year old and almost no one has come out and said “John Key would never do that. I don’t believe it.” Apart from one or two, most people seemed to have expected reports of something like this sooner or later and are not at all surprised. How low has our society sunk when we get to this?
well i did NOT expect it from a New Zealand Prime Minister!
….however now that the waitress Amanda Bailey has come forward with her story I find it entirely believable and would not be surprised if there are other women who have been similarly harassed ( eg. Bill Clinton did not make an inappropriate pass at just one woman….generally these abuses of power are serial)
( and btw congratulations are due to Bomber for breaking the story so sensitively with Amanda’s own account)
“…almost no one has come out and said “John Key would never do that. I don’t believe it.”
Its not how low has our society sunk, but how low has John Key taken us Murray R.
And I personally think there has been so little surprise because we’ve been waiting for something to come out into the open ever since we learned about the “suppressed important NZer” indecent assault charges and the resultant buy-election. Something had to give : these things can’t be kept secret for ever in a small society like NZ – and the fact that there are now popping up on Facebook and other places many photos of the sleazy creepy PM fondling young girls’ hair indicates people have been keeping these pics in the wings, waiting for the right time to bring ’em out.
+100 agreed jenny kirk…there does seem to be a pattern of power abuse and corruption and hidden secrets and blatant, arrogant, cover ups with this Nact government led by John Key
….so it does conform to this pattern and therefore is not surprising at a subliminal level
We are a country of many secrets Jenny. You rightly made reference to this in respect of the Waikato Maori wrongly imprisoned at North Head during WW1 because they refused to fight for a crown who stole their land. How many NZer’s would be aware of that story do you think? An important part of asserting pakeha dominance and their laws.
I often wonder how many errant son’s were sent to these shores by their embarrassed family. This country grew up with secrets.
We wouldn’t know the half of it. We have an ingrained culture of turning a blind eye or sweeping under the carpet and silence. Don;t we?
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Buzz from the Beehive A statement from Children’s Minister Karen Chhour – yet to be posted on the Government’s official website – arrived in Point of Order’s email in-tray last night. It welcomes the High Court ruling on whether the Waitangi Tribunal can demand she appear before it. It does ...
Mr Bombastic:Ironically, the media the academic experts wanted is, in many ways, the media they got. In place of the tyrannical editors of yesteryear, advancing without fear or favour the interests of the ruling class; the New Zealand news media of today boasts a troop of enlightened journalists dedicated to ...
It's hard times try to make a livingYou wake up every morning in the unforgivingOut there somewhere in the cityThere's people living lives without mercy or pityI feel good, yeah I'm feeling fineI feel better then I have for the longest timeI think these pills have been good for meI ...
In 1974, the US Supreme Court issued its decision in United States v. Nixon, finding that the President was not a King, but was subject to the law and was required to turn over the evidence of his wrongdoing to the courts. It was a landmark decision for the rule ...
Every day now just seems to bring in more fresh meat for the grinder.In their relentlessly ideological drive to cut back on the “excessive bloat” (as they see it) of the previous Labour-led government, on the mountains of evidence accumulated in such a short period of time do not ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Megan Valére SosouMarket gardening site of the Itchèléré de Itagui agricultural cooperative in Dassa-Zoumè (Image credit: Megan Valère Sossou) For the residents of Dassa-Zoumè, a city in the West African country of Benin, choosing between drinking water and having enough ...
Buzz from the Beehive Melissa Lee – as may be discerned from the screenshot above – has not been demoted for doing something seriously wrong as Minister of ...
Morning in London Mother hugs beloved daughter outside the converted shoe factory in which she is living.Afternoon in London Travelling writer takes himself and his wrist down to A&E, just to be sure. Read more ...
Mike Grimshaw writes – The recent announcement of the University Advisory Group, chaired by Sir Peter Gluckman, makes very clear where the Government’s focus and priorities lie. The remit of the Advisory Group is that Group members will consider challenges and opportunities for improvement in the university sector including: ...
Eric Crampton writes – The Reserve Bank of New Zealand desperately wants to find reasons to have workstreams in climate change. It makes little sense. They’ve run another stress test on the banks looking to see if they could find a prudential regulation case. They couldn’t. They ...
Rob MacCullough writes – Pundits from the left and the right are arguing that National’s Fast Track Bill that is designed to speed up infrastructure decisions could end up becoming mired in a cesspool of corruption. Political commentator ...
Looking at the headlines this morning it’s hard to feel anything other than pessimistic about the future of humanity.Note that I’m not speaking about the future of mankind, but the survival of our humanity. The values that we believe in seem to be ebbing away, by the day.Perhaps every generation ...
Swabbing mixed breed baby chicks to test for avian influenzaUh oh. Bird flu – often deadly to humans – is not only being transmitted from infected birds to dairy cows, but is now travelling between dairy cows. As of last Friday, Bloomberg News reports, there were 32 American dairy herds ...
On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
What is it with the mining industry? Its not enough for them to pillage the earth - they apparently can't even be bothered getting resource consent to do so: The proponent behind a major mine near the Clutha River had already been undertaking activity in the area without a ...
Photo # 1 I am a huge fan of Singapore’s approach to housing, as described here two years ago by copying and pasting from The ConversationWhat Singapore has that Australia does not is a public housing developer, the Housing Development Board, which puts new dwellings on public and reclaimed land, ...
Buzz from the Beehive Reactions to news of the government’s readiness to make urgent changes to “the resource management system” through a Bill to amend the Resource Management Act (RMA) suggest a balanced approach is being taken. The Taxpayers’ Union says the proposed changes don’t go far enough. Greenpeace says ...
I’m starting to wonder if Anna Burns-Francis might be the best political interviewer we’ve got. That might sound unlikely to you, it came as a bit of a surprise to me.Jack Tame can be excellent, but has some pretty average days. I like Rebecca Wright on Newshub, she asks good ...
Chris Trotter writes – Willie Jackson is said to be planning a “media summit” to discuss “the state of the media and how to protect Fourth Estate Journalism”. Not only does the Editor of The Daily Blog, Martyn Bradbury, think this is a good idea, but he has also ...
Graeme Edgeler writes – This morning [April 21], the Wellington High Court is hearing a judicial review brought by Hon. Karen Chhour, the Minister for Children, against a decision of the Waitangi Tribunal. This is unusual, judicial reviews are much more likely to brought against ministers, rather than ...
Both of Parliament’s watchdogs have now ripped into the Government’s Fast-track Approvals Bill. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāMy pick of the six newsey things to know from Aotearoa’s political economy and beyond on the morning of Tuesday, April 23 are:The Lead: The Auditor General,John Ryan, has joined the ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Sarah SpengemanPeople wait to board an electric bus in Pune, India. (Image credit: courtesy of ITDP) Public transportation riders in Pune, India, love the city’s new electric buses so much they will actually skip an older diesel bus that ...
The infrastructure industry yesterday issued a “hurry up” message to the Government, telling it to get cracking on developing a pipeline of infrastructure projects.The hiatus around the change of Government has seen some major projects cancelled and others delayed, and there is uncertainty about what will happen with the new ...
Hi,Over the weekend I revisited a podcast I really adore, Dead Eyes. It’s about a guy who got fired from Band of Brothers over two decades ago because Tom Hanks said he had “dead eyes”.If you don’t recall — 2001’s Band of Brothers was part of the emerging trend of ...
Buzz from the Beehive The 180 or so recipients of letters from the Government telling them how to submit infrastructure projects for “fast track” consideration includes some whose project applications previously have been rejected by the courts. News media were quick to feature these in their reports after RMA Reform Minister Chris ...
It would not be a desirable way to start your holiday by breaking your back, your head, or your wrist, but on our first hour in Singapore I gave it a try.We were chatting, last week, before we started a meeting of Hazel’s Enviro Trust, about the things that can ...
Calling all journalists, academics, planners, lawyers, political activists, environmentalists, and other members of the public who believe that the relationships between vested interests and politicians need to be scrutinised. We need to work together to make sure that the new Fast-Track Approvals Bill – currently being pushed through by the ...
Feel worried. Shane Jones and a couple of his Cabinet colleagues are about to be granted the power to override any and all objections to projects like dams, mines, roads etc even if: said projects will harm biodiversity, increase global warming and cause other environmental harms, and even if ...
Bryce Edwards writes- The ability of the private sector to quickly establish major new projects making use of the urban and natural environment is to be supercharged by the new National-led Government. Yesterday it introduced to Parliament one of its most significant reforms, the Fast Track Approvals Bill. ...
Michael Bassett writes – If you think there is a move afoot by the radical Maori fringe of New Zealand society to create a parallel system of government to the one that we elect at our triennial elections, you aren’t wrong. Over the last few days we have ...
Without a corresponding drop in interest rates, it’s doubtful any changes to the CCCFA will unleash a massive rush of home buyers. Photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: The six things that stood out to me in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, poverty and climate on Monday, April 22 included:The Government making a ...
Sunday was a lazy day. I started watching Jack Tame on Q&A, the interviews are usually good for something to write about. Saying the things that the politicians won’t, but are quite possibly thinking. Things that are true and need to be extracted from between the lines.As you might know ...
In our Weekly Roundup last week we covered news from Auckland Transport that the WX1 Western Express is going to get an upgrade next year with double decker electric buses. As part of the announcement, AT also said “Since we introduced the WX1 Western Express last November we have seen ...
TL;DR: The six key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to April 29 include:PM Christopher Luxon is scheduled to hold a post-Cabinet news conference at 4 pm today. Stats NZ releases its statutory report on Census 2023 tomorrow.Finance Minister Nicola Willis delivers a pre-Budget speech at ...
A listing of 29 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, April 14, 2024 thru Sat, April 20, 2024. Story of the week Our story of the week hinges on these words from the abstract of a fresh academic ...
The ability of the private sector to quickly establish major new projects making use of the urban and natural environment is to be supercharged by the new National-led Government. Yesterday it introduced to Parliament one of its most significant reforms, the Fast Track Approvals Bill. The Government says this will ...
This is a column to say thank you. So many of have been in touch since Mum died to say so many kind and thoughtful things. You’re wonderful, all of you. You’ve asked how we’re doing, how Dad’s doing. A little more realisation each day, of the irretrievable finality of ...
Identifying the engine type in your car is crucial for various reasons, including maintenance, repairs, and performance upgrades. Knowing the specific engine model allows you to access detailed technical information, locate compatible parts, and make informed decisions about modifications. This comprehensive guide will provide you with a step-by-step approach to ...
Introduction: The allure of racing is undeniable. The thrill of speed, the roar of engines, and the exhilaration of competition all contribute to the allure of this adrenaline-driven sport. For those who yearn to experience the pinnacle of racing, becoming a race car driver is the ultimate dream. However, the ...
Introduction Automobiles have become ubiquitous in modern society, serving as a primary mode of transportation and a symbol of economic growth and personal mobility. With countless vehicles traversing roads and highways worldwide, it begs the question: how many cars are there in the world? Determining the precise number is a ...
Maintaining a safe and reliable vehicle requires regular inspections. Whether it’s a routine maintenance checkup or a safety inspection, knowing how long the process will take can help you plan your day accordingly. This article delves into the factors that influence the duration of a car inspection and provides an ...
Mazda Motor Corporation, commonly known as Mazda, is a Japanese multinational automaker headquartered in Fuchu, Aki District, Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan. The company was founded in 1920 as the Toyo Cork Kogyo Co., Ltd., and began producing vehicles in 1931. Mazda is primarily known for its production of passenger cars, but ...
Your car battery is an essential component that provides power to start your engine, operate your electrical systems, and store energy. Over time, batteries can weaken and lose their ability to hold a charge, which can lead to starting problems, power failures, and other issues. Replacing your battery before it ...
In most states, you cannot register a car without a valid driver’s license. However, there are a few exceptions to this rule. Exceptions to the RuleIf you are under 18 years old: In some states, you can register a car in your name even if you do not ...
Mazda, a Japanese automotive manufacturer with a rich history of innovation and engineering excellence, has emerged as a formidable player in the global car market. Known for its reputation of producing high-quality, fuel-efficient, and driver-oriented vehicles, Mazda has consistently garnered praise from industry experts and consumers alike. In this article, ...
Struts are an essential part of a car’s suspension system. They are responsible for supporting the weight of the car and damping the oscillations of the springs. Struts are typically made of steel or aluminum and are filled with hydraulic fluid. How Do Struts Work? Struts work by transferring the ...
Car registration is a mandatory process that all vehicle owners must complete annually. This process involves registering your car with the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) and paying an associated fee. The registration process ensures that your vehicle is properly licensed and insured, and helps law enforcement and other authorities ...
Zoom is a video conferencing service that allows you to share your screen, webcam, and audio with other participants. In addition to sharing your own audio, you can also share the audio from your computer with other participants. This can be useful for playing music, sharing presentations with audio, or ...
Building your own computer can be a rewarding and cost-effective way to get a high-performance machine tailored to your specific needs. However, it also requires careful planning and execution, and one of the most important factors to consider is the time it will take. The exact time it takes to ...
Sleep mode is a power-saving state that allows your computer to quickly resume operation without having to boot up from scratch. This can be useful if you need to step away from your computer for a short period of time but don’t want to shut it down completely. There are ...
Introduction Computer-Assisted Translation (CAT) has revolutionized the field of translation by harnessing the power of technology to assist human translators in their work. This innovative approach combines specialized software with human expertise to improve the efficiency, accuracy, and consistency of translations. In this comprehensive article, we will delve into the ...
In today’s digital age, mobile devices have become an indispensable part of our daily lives. Among the vast array of portable computing options available, iPads and tablet computers stand out as two prominent contenders. While both offer similar functionalities, there are subtle yet significant differences between these two devices. This ...
A computer is an electronic device that can be programmed to carry out a set of instructions. The basic components of a computer are the processor, memory, storage, input devices, and output devices. The Processor The processor, also known as the central processing unit (CPU), is the brain of the ...
Voice Memos is a convenient app on your iPhone that allows you to quickly record and store audio snippets. These recordings can be useful for a variety of purposes, such as taking notes, capturing ideas, or recording interviews. While you can listen to your voice memos on your iPhone, you ...
Laptop screens are essential for interacting with our devices and accessing information. However, when lines appear on the screen, it can be frustrating and disrupt productivity. Understanding the underlying causes of these lines is crucial for finding effective solutions. Types of Screen Lines Horizontal lines: Also known as scan ...
Right-clicking is a common and essential computer operation that allows users to access additional options and settings. While most desktop computers have dedicated right-click buttons on their mice, laptops often do not have these buttons due to space limitations. This article will provide a comprehensive guide on how to right-click ...
Powering up and shutting down your ASUS laptop is an essential task for any laptop user. Locating the power button can sometimes be a hassle, especially if you’re new to ASUS laptops. This article will provide a comprehensive guide on where to find the power button on different ASUS laptop ...
Dell laptops are renowned for their reliability, performance, and versatility. Whether you’re a student, a professional, or just someone who needs a reliable computing device, a Dell laptop can meet your needs. However, if you’re new to Dell laptops, you may be wondering how to get started. In this comprehensive ...
Te Pāti Māori are demanding the New Zealand Government support an international independent investigation into mass graves that have been uncovered at two hospitals on the Gaza strip, following weeks of assault by Israeli troops. Among the 392 bodies that have been recovered, are children and elderly civilians. Many of ...
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. ...
Tonight’s court decision to overturn the summons of the Children’s Minister has enabled the Crown to continue making decisions about Māori without evidence, says Te Pāti Māori spokesperson for Children, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi. “The judicial system has this evening told the nation that this government can do whatever they want when ...
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. ...
The government's decision to reintroduce Three Strikes is a destructive and ineffective piece of law-making that will only exacerbate an inherently biased and racist criminal justice system, said Te Pāti Māori Justice Spokesperson, Tākuta Ferris, today. During the time Three Strikes was in place in Aotearoa, Māori and Pasifika received ...
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. ...
Te Pāti Māori is disgusted at the confirmation that hundreds are set to lose their jobs at Oranga Tamariki, and the disestablishment of the Treaty Response Unit. “This act of absolute carelessness and out of touch decision making is committing tamariki to state abuse.” Said Te Pāti Māori Oranga Tamariki ...
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. ...
Te Pāti Māori co-leader Rawiri Waititi, and Mema Paremata mō Tāmaki-Makaurau, Takutai Tarsh Kemp, will travel to the Gold Coast to strengthen ties with Māori in Australia next week (15-21 April). The visit, in the lead-up to the 9th Australian National Kapa haka Festival, will be an opportunity for both ...
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. ...
Ambassador Millar, Burgemeester, Vandepitte, Excellencies, military representatives, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen – good morning and welcome to this sacred Anzac Day dawn service. It is an honour to be here on behalf of the Government and people of New Zealand at Buttes New British Cemetery, Polygon Wood – a deeply ...
Distinguished guests - It is an honour to return once again to this site which, as the resting place for so many of our war-dead, has become a sacred place for generations of New Zealanders. Our presence here and at the other special spaces of Gallipoli is made ...
Mai ia tawhiti pamamao, te moana nui a Kiwa, kua tae whakaiti mai matou, ki to koutou papa whenua. No koutou te tapuwae, no matou te tapuwae, kua honoa pumautia. Ko nga toa kua hinga nei, o te Waipounamu, o te Ika a Maui, he okioki tahi me o ...
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 ...
I was initially resistant to the idea often suggested to me that the Government should deliver an arts strategy. The whole point of the arts and creativity is that people should do whatever the hell they want, unbound by the dictates of politicians in Wellington. Peter Jackson, Kiri Te Kanawa, Eleanor ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Anastasia Powell, Professor, Family and Sexual Violence, RMIT University It has been a particularly distressing start to the year. There is little that can ease the current grief of individuals, families and communities who have needlessly lost a loved one to men’s ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Gregory Moore, Senior Research Associate, School of Ecosystem and Forest Sciences, The University of Melbourne Lichen, the first described example of symbiosis.AdeJ Artventure/Shutterstock Once known only to those studying biology, the word symbiosis is now widely used. Symbiosis is the intimate ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kim Hemsley, Head, Childhood Dementia Research Group, Flinders Health and Medical Research Institute, College of Medicine and Public Health, Flinders University Olena Ivanova/Shutterstock “Childhood” and “dementia” are two words we wish we didn’t have to use together. But sadly, around 1,400 ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Whiteford, Professor, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University The government’s Economic Inclusion Advisory Committee has just published its second report. It was set up by Treasurer Jim Chalmers and Minister for Social Services Amanda Rishworth in 2022 to provide: ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Beaumont, Election Analyst (Psephologist) at The Conversation; and Honorary Associate, School of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of Melbourne The Queensland state election will be held in October. A YouGov poll for The Courier Mail, conducted April 9–17 from a sample ...
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Why you should NOT wear a red poppy
In late 1918, after the war had ended, New Zealand and Australian soldiers rounded up more than one hundred boys and men in the Palestinian village of Surafend, then methodically clubbed them to death. After that, the ANZAC soldiers burned the village to the ground/
General Allenby called these ANZAC troops “cowards and murderers”.
Far from apologizing for the massacre, the RSA ran poems in its magazine praising it.
http://alh-research.tripod.com/Light_Horse/index.blog?topic_id=1115959
http://www.theage.com.au/national/massacre-that-stained-the-light-horse-20090723-dv3o.html
Thanks Morrisey, from memory there is also an example of Kiwi troops war crime on display in the Auckland War Memorial museum.
War is an ugly and complex thing and I imagine that there are plenty of examples of this, fuelled by seeing one of your mates killed.
This is the Anzac tradition followed by FJK and Abbott. The Australian Light Horse machine gunning unarmed demonstrators in Egypt also plays a role.
Well done to those who attended Dawn parade. Those of you who did attend showed more respect than former PM Helen Clark who refused to attend dawn parade. It seemed that she could not be bothered getting out of bed early on that one day of the year. [r0b: Moved this comment from the Anzac day post to Open Mike. Also banned BB for a year on the charge of inappropriate politicisation and being a POS.]
Big bruv you are going to have to let it go. Helen has not been PM for 7 years now. We have an ex merchant banker hair fetishist in control now.
Besides it appears that what you say is not true.
It appears she attended a dawn ceremony in 2005 (http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0505/S00060.htm), and 2006 (https://books.google.co.nz/books?id=0d_QAQAAQBAJ&pg=PA55&lpg=PA55&dq=%22helen+clark%22+attends+anzac+dawn+parade&source=bl&ots=Ih2WMKgweW&sig=JuUefIPLjqgGmraJaI6edCG51Zk&hl=en&sa=X&ei=8Ko6Ve6VEqi1mwXFnIHQAQ&ved=0CEoQ6AEwCA#v=onepage&q=%22helen%20clark%22%20attends%20anzac%20dawn%20parade&f=false). In fact Google suggests that she attended a huge number of ceremonies.
In 20 years time BB are you still going to have your obsession with Helen?
Helen attended several ANZAC services on each ANZAC day while she was in parliament. I usually saw her at the Mt Albert one, starting in 1990 when I shifted back to that one. She routinely did several around Mt Albert, Mt Roskill, Avondale, Pt Chev and other local ones around her home.
She attended the War Memorial dawn service frequently… At least as frequently as I did, and I was a soldier.
Many of her family were soldiers in various of our wars.
FFS This can be found with a simple google. Why didn’t you do one? Rather than just lying.
You sound like another lazy armchair general. Too damn lazy to get off your arse to volunteer for anything. A critic of those who do. Playing the patriotic card to send other parents kids to fight for you. Basically a parasite on society and as r0b said, generally a piece of shit
BFD, i get up before dawn every fucking morning to go to work you moron. what pisses me off is the sheep who go to the dawn parades then go to the warehouse or malls or cafes feeling superior to us who refuse to be sucked in to celebrating & supporting military conflict, so fuck you you sanctimonious dick.
+1
Never gone to a dawn service, probably never will.
last one I went to was in Cambridge a few years back .When the local Nat MP/lance -Adams Schider used tyhe whole time telling us how we needed Nuclear Powered Ships.Never been since.Any way I do not have to attend such meetings to realise the horror of war.
what’s a POS?
piece of shit.
ah. It was a good piece of moderation from r0b.
PIECE OF SHIT I believe;-)
😀
My recollection is that Helen went to Gallipoli and certainly spoke out about her uncle who died there if my memory serves me right.
What does POS stand for? Primeval Old Shit by any chance?
Oops… weka has already asked. Oh well, I wasn’t far out.
Probably more accurate though 😈
What rot! It was Helen Clark who solemnly unveiled the tomb of the unknown warrior in Wellington.
Of course it was rot. RWNJs have to lie and put others down so as to put themselves up on a pedestal of their own delusion, to tell themselves how much better they are than everyone else.
Can we please get some better trolls around here? The ones we have are getting far too predictable and boring.
This sort of censorship would make Kim Jong-un blush. It reflects very poorly on the site and your ideology. Though it is to be expected from a Clark apologist.
When people see this it drives them into JK’s arms, as the lessor of two evils.
I want a decent choice in the next election and if the left continues the way it is going, I will be denied that choice.
Oh, look at that. Another RWNJ telling lies.
but but, you could always vote for dear leader as the lesser of two evils, or the only evil left tugging 🙂
BB claimed Helen Clark never attended Dawn Services. This is a repeat of a common lie – a lie that can be readily shown for the smear it is with a few seconds googling.
BB is not expressing an honest opinion. He knows he is lying, and continues to do it over many years. This is not behaviour we are obliged to tolerate.
There is a difference between ideas and opinions – and behaviour. This site has long tolerated the expression of a very wide range of opinions, but does not allow repeated bad behaviour to disrupt the debate.
Then expose their lies. Surely that is a better approach. It also makes things much more interesting.
If JK told a lie you could expose, would you really want to hide the lie and stop him telling more lies ? With thinking like that, you must have been a Labour strategist in the past few elections.
The “behavior” argument is at best subjective and at worst unconvincing.
bb is well known here. For years he posted here in a similar vein. He’s said that lie many times before and been pointed to the correct information before. An honest person would accept the correct information and not repeat the mistake. There would be no problem this at all.
But knowingly repeating a lie is a different thing to expressing an honestly held opinion. Then it becomes bad behaviour.
I agree that this can be a subjective thing. I used to moderate here for years (I don’t have the time nor inclination to do it any more) and I know it is not easy deciding where the boundaries are. But there is no doubt that boundary exists, and the site owners are entitled to make up their minds as to where it lies.
The comment directly beneath BB’s refutes his lies.
What would be “interesting” about allowing disruptive tr*lls to ruin the discourse? There are plenty of live issues to pick over without resuscitating long dead zombies.
big bruv…my uncle never attended the RSA or ANZAC Day …let alone Dawn Parades… so disgusted was he with the futility and tragic waste of war….if it was good enough for him not to attend , it is good enough for any of the rest of us to remember in our own way….and hopefully we will simply remember their sacrifice … the tragedy that is war ….and resolve to strive for peace
my uncle, the navigator in the tail of a Lancaster, was shot down over Germany ( only he and one other survived)…ended up on a German forest….walked for a week at night trying to get into France and then back to the UK ….ended up in a POW camp and then towards the end of the war did the Long March in winter( he said they would not have survived without the Red Cross and their parcels)
…i remember him and those returned servicemen ( many of them scarred) of my childhood who did not want to talk about war but who wanted to live!…..and who loved life!…and believed fervently in PEACE
(incidentally he never said a bad word about the Germans because he was reasonably well treated and he recognised that we are all capable of war atrocities)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_March_%281945%29
….fuelled by seeing one of your mates killed.
No doubt there were incidents similar to this in French and Belgian villages; petty thievery is universal. Yet it is unthinkable that New Zealand and Australian soldiers would have contemplated the mass murder of innocent civilians in a French or Belgian village. The Arabs in Palestine, on the other hand, were regarded with contempt by many of the soldiers; they were untermenschen on a level with the natives of Australia and New Zealand.
The New Zealand establishment has continued to refuse to apologize for this massacre—doggerel poems in the RSA magazine treated the murderers as heroes. It renders hollow this morning’s words by the Governor General, praising the “courage, compassion and mateship in adversity” and “moments of astonishing humanity”, and the Prime Minister’s words about those who “fought so gallantly for what we believe in.”
More media on John Key – not sure if funny or more disturbing.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sJCqnInb1MM
this is a bit funny
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ckqN454YO14
Indeed freedom that is just a bit funny.
but if you want disturbing go to facebook and look for
Ace Lady Network
and a little animation called #PONYPONY
😮 ONCE SEEN IT CANNOT BE UNSEEN 😮
i must get this off my chest.
what is it with all the folk having to go to cafes, burger chains etc on this solemn morning.
i have long ranted about businesses that choose to open on anzac day and vowed not to darken their doors during the rest of the year.
it occurs to me the businesses are just doing as businesses do. meeting a demand.
couldnt we skip the trim flat white and bacon and eggs (not too hard please), and instead gather together at the local rsa, or at someones home and break bread together?
come on folks, just for today.
We stopped at a cafe this morning – as we always do, with my father-in-law and another resident from the retirement home, and enjoyed the morning coffee with them. It is the one regular visit out for one of them, and I’m glad that we did it.
I am one of those who commemorate the wastefulness of war and conflict with sadness and contemplation, and to be surrounded by others who seem to be celebrating is quite disconcerting.
I am finding the emphasis of the Gallipoli celebrations this year to be particularly disheartening, in light of the deployment of troops to Iraq. I don’t want to participate in this appropriation of loss by those who have their own agenda, or who “enjoy” this day. Our local MP used one ANZAC service to speak about his politics for over 20 minutes – a gross display of disrespect.
I don’t need a particular day to join with others in regretting our continued involvement in other people’s conflicts – without a decent strategy or exit plan. This is happening for me every day, the waste of human potential is always depressing.
as it is, molly, exactly as it is.
hi molly, my experience of todays dawn service was far from celebratory.
two speakers, local high school boy, and returned soldier.
both eloquent, the veteran cited casualty numbers and gave context with the population of our town in 1915.
there was plenty of contemplation, solemnity, sacrifice (it was cold), coming together, reflection.
the experience with your mp electioneering, says more about that member than anzac service.
our mayor gave the g.g. address and that was the politics over with.
i do share your disheartedness re troops deployed.
i simply feel, surely some things are sacred.
maybe we could sacrifice by going without a visit to the cafe?
disclaimer- i work in hospitality.
i am curious, what was the atmosphere in the cafe this morning?
Hi gsays,
Very quiet in the cafe this morning. The realist in me thinks this is due to the carpark being empty because of the retail stores not being open, rather than attendance at ANZAC day or a recognition of sacrifice.
…”surely some things are sacred”…”
Strangely enough, I agree with you there. Except my heart and my mind recognise this sacredness every day, every time it is considered. To my oftentimes awkward realisation – I have never been someone who is entirely comfortable with requiring others to share my sentiments at “appropriate” times, so I find it difficult to do myself. If I observed this day in the way that you do, I would be assuming a persona specifically to say – to paraphrase Keri Hulme – “I wear my heart on my sleeve, mind you look at my sleeve”. The sincerity of the action would not be present. I consider this to be disrespectful in itself.
My thoughts on this topic are fairly constant. And if engaged on the thought of war and engagement, I will express my thoughts with anyone on any day of the year, in order to have a better understanding. This is how I personally recognise the “sacred” that you observe on this day. My approach can be contentious, and requires a lot of internal fortitude, particularly coming up to ANZAC day – but for me it is the only way I can see for myself to come to grips with past and present deployments of our troops, and the consequences for those that live in the countries where they are deployed. I am past the point where I need others to agree with me by the end of the discussion, so I am more adept at keeping discussions flowing, but the ego in me, does try to make them understand my point of view.
Perhaps after a few years, this too will pass.
hi molly,
thanks for expanding on yr thoughts. a lot of it resonates with me.
especially “I am past the point where I need others to agree with me by the end of the discussion, so I am more adept at keeping discussions flowing, but the ego in me, does try to make them understand my point of view.”
Never again.
Deeply moving ….
http://tewharewhero.blogspot.co.nz/
for some there is just little meaning in this day, as they might not be New Zealanders by birth i.e. Tourists and the likes.
for some, they might not need a particular day to remember the death, especially in a world where on every other day we have no issue not only in forgetting the death, but often in blaming the death for their own demise…Gaza comes to mind, or Africa, or other parts of the world, where the dead are not ours.
for another lot, they might plant a tree instead, or go out and clean a river from pollution.
You could lobby the government to declare Anzac Day a day where no one but First Responders, Nurses and other medical staff at hospitals, and Police are allowed to work.
We are closed on Monday, but we are open today. First customer of the day a US American on a visit in NZ…all others were Kiwis coming back from the dawn service buying breakfast items to be shared at home with family.
My staff is off, but my Hubby and I are working.
We are one of those famous small Mum and Pop business, and keeping a day off is not really an option in these times general austerity.
hi sabine,
i accept that anzac day aint for all.
it is an important part of our heritage, identity and culture.
i, too, work for a mom and pop business.
i fortunately have the ability to say i am not available today.
the rest of the staff arent.
oops.. last line wrong.
the rest of the staff will not.
So observance that doesn’t involve turning up to a sanctioned memorial isn’t ‘observance’? Righteous bullshit.
Never been to a dawn anything. Never will. You remember the dead in your way, I mine. But don’t tell me my grief isn’t the same as yours because you demanded businesses close.
hi tigger
So observance that doesn’t involve turning up to a sanctioned memorial isn’t ‘observance’? Righteous bullshit.
i have no comment on yr observance.
nor do i wish to comment on yr grief.
i simply fail to see the need to excercise my consumer rights on this day is all.
Funny how you’ve gone from complaining about what other people choose to do with their time to pretending it’s just about your ~personal preference~.
Hi stephanie, molly, tigger,
The motive for my posting was twofold: testing the waters re anzac days
sacredness, and garner sympathy for some of the lesser paid, sometimes exploited work force.
Third para strikes a chord…..
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jeffrey-sachs/the-path-to-happiness-les_b_7127124.html
+1
A must read.
Considering the ever increasing corruption in our government and businesses how much do we trust each other today?
EDIT: This applies
Deputy P.M tries comedy–‘The Government has effectively left nothing “undone” to tackle sky-rocketing house prices in Auckland, Finance Minister Bill English says’
‘The Government has effectively left nothing “done” to tackle sky-rocketing house prices in Auckland, Finance Minister Bill English says’
There fixed it for you.
In less than surprising, but utterly sickening news from the UK….
& (cause that’s not all folks!)
http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2015/apr/24/labour-to-call-on-michael-heseltine-if-it-wins-election
Tory lite…
Extraordinary, isn’t it. If there’s one thing UK Labour have conspicuously failed to do since the last Election, it’s win over 2010 Tory voters. They’ve won over a huge chunk of the 2010 Lib Dem vote and made inroads into the Non-vote but next to no Tories (most polls suggest about 3 or 4% of 2010 Conservatives have swung to Labour, representing at most 1.4% of all voters. The Tories have attracted roughly the same proportion – comprising about 1.0% of all voters – from Labour). Nothing suggests this is suddenly going to change over the next few weeks.
The reality is that if Labour manage to cobble together a Government after this Election (as seems more than likely) then – compared to the Blair regime – it will be far less dependent on keeping newly-won-over former Tory voters happy. It will be a Government firmly grounded in a social democratic support-base – voters who have stayed with Labour through thick and thin, voters who swung to Labour from the Lib Dems the moment the latter went into coalition with the Tories, decidedly Left-leaning SNP supporters, along with Greens, the communitarian-socialist Plaid Cymru, Ulster’s SDLP, not to mention the member for Bradford West (even if in some cases, we’re talking about informal/tacit/policy-by-policy support).
Unfortunately, the Blairites still hold some sway in the Party (even if their voice isn’t quite as dominant as it once was).
🙂 I take it you haven’t heard Sturgeon openly saying the SNP will court Labour’s left wing mps to kill austerity/Blairite/Tory lite policies?
I’m looking forward to the unofficial ‘grand alliance’ of Tory/Labour that’s going to come into being in order to push through unpopular policies. Well, the reaction to it from the voting public. 😉
I’m hoping at that point, people will realise that the labour party is the boot at the neck of working people.
It is good to see many Kiwis understand it here. Labour keeps worshipping at the altar of liberalism, and wonders why people don’t want a bar of them. Poll after poll and little or no movement for labour. When will they wake up and notice the wind change?
Some feel good from Action Station on Campbell Live http://www.actionstation.org.nz/video_campbell
Plus their latest email with overview of the actions being taken. I’m starting to be quite impressed with this group (although I’m not sure I agree with using the “je suis…” line in situations like this)
Refused to met them! Gutless wonders.
Bloody impressive action indeed.
I wish to pay a tribute to my late uncle and the many others who served overseas today, He volunteered during WW2 and went off with the 1st Echelon to the Middle East and served for 4 years. His given peacetime occupation was a printer so he was placed with the Sappers. He defused bombs and set charges on important installations like bridges etc all of this time and escaped death twice from strafing while on land convoys in the desert. He was a cynic through and through and was knicknamed “why” for obvious reasons. He was a dynamic and delightful man but had no time for the military. On his return he and the other returned servicemen had to apply for their service medals (if they chose to) and he naturally told them to put them where the sun doesn’t shine. His thoughts were if they hadn’t the courtesy to take the trouble to send the medals personally they weren’t worth having. He never attended ANZAC Day services but always remembered his mates he served with with much affection and pride. He was above all a man with bravery in his heart and honour deep into his bones.
I, like him do not attend the ceremonies – there is a history world wide of veterans not being looked after like they should be and the grandstanding at these commemorations doesn’t do it for me one little bit. I salute my Uncle today and will have a drink or two and chat with him off and on throughout the day – he is one of the thousands of treasures we have in this country – Lest We Forget”.
+100 Barbara
thank you barbara.
Tautoko Barbara.
i cant be leave how nasty the people on this site are calling the prime minister a pervert or worse where is your respect for the high office and your betters John key is leader of this nation and you should hold your noses and bow before him. just make sure your wearing protection hat or swimming cap
Ha! Full burqa to be really safe?
John Key may be “better” than someone but for the life of me I just can’t imagine who!!
Gerry Brownlee – makes Key look like a cross between Gandhi and Einstein…
C’mon Stuart. You cannot mention Brownlie in the same sentence as Einstein, and I don’t think he measures up ( sorry- down) to Gandhi’s somatic s.
This comment is perfectly placed downthread from big bruv’s attempt to smear Helen Clark’s memory. The right do love to trot out the “respect your betters” line … as long as it’s the betters they personally agree with.
I think keyman may be being sarcastic there but it’s hard to tell.
yep, parody.
his english is even better then mine, 🙂
The Key is my harrasser; I shall not be silent.
He maketh me to let down my golden locks: he fondles my hair beside the till.
He violateth my locks: he grabbeth me on the way to serve for his name’s sake.
Yea, though I walk between the tables of the Tories of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art not near me; thy rod and thy staff they will not touch me.
I preparest a table before you in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with pudgy fingers; my bile runneth over.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and my story will live in the blog of the Bomber for ever.
Very good. Some of us got it.
I feel really uneasy at the whole glorfication of the whole ANZAC thing. I dont blame the vets or even the RSA though. Its the politicians and media who are milking the whole thing.
I think we can find way better ways of defining ourselves than by war and militarism.
This interview on rnz/checkpoint is well worth a listen:
http://www.radionz.co.nz/audio/player/201751897
Former Aussie army officer and now historian, James Brown is saying what so many of us have been saying in the past week.
Gallipoli – Memorial at Anzac Cove by Ataturk.
“Those heroes that shed their blood and lost their lives…
You are now lying in the soil of a friendly country. Therefore rest in peace. There is no difference between the Johnnies and the Mehmets to us where they lie side by side here in this country of ours…
You, the mothers, who sent their sons from faraway countries wipe away your tears; your sons are now lying in our bosom and are in peace, after having lost their lives on this land they have become our sons as well.”
Ataturk, 1934
I was very moved to read these words at Anzac Cove ten years ago. Such generosity of spirit and a call to reconciliation.
How markedly different from our current crop of leaders.
Though the sentiment is compassionate and statesmanlike, not all is as it seems.
jacina adern needs cover up with creepykey on the loose
Key on preys on women that don’t have power.
that whole troy shit pile preys on any group that doesn’t have power not just women horrible horrible people .
John Armstrong in the Herald this morning is hilarious – sage advice against premature us of the “R” word re Trichy-Key. I take that as an apology for his bullshit outburst
over the 11 year old letter and Cunliffe. Even if not intended. His words today condemn his words of last year.
A couple of plugs:
Gallipoli invasion – a dirty and bloody business: https://rdln.wordpress.com/2012/04/24/gallipoli-invasion-a-dirty-and-bloody-business/
The absurdity and obscenity of Gallipoli – three NZ writers accounts: https://rdln.wordpress.com/2015/04/24/the-absurdity-and-obscenity-of-gallipoli-three-new-zealand-writers-accounts/
And, of course, just the previous year, NZ invaded Samoa and ruled it as a colony for the next near-50 years, carrying out the Black Saturday massacre, and caring so little for Samoan lives that thousands died during the influenza epidemic after the war: https://rdln.wordpress.com/2011/08/28/samoa-what-new-zealand-did/
Then the NZ state compounded its disgraceful behaviour in relation to Samoa: https://rdln.wordpress.com/2011/08/29/depriving-samoans-of-immigration-and-citizenship-rights/
I always understood Gallipoli as a catastrophe. My grandmother’s younger sister’s husband served right through WW1 and his War Diary – while constrained and understated – makes no bones of what an inglorious and disgraceful business it all was.
And this is the reason why Gallipoli ranked so highly in the minds of the New Zealanders who lived through it. Before Gallipoli most New Zealanders still regarded Britain as the mother country; and themselves as citizens of the Empire. The images of naive young farm-boys queuing up for conscription, loading their farm horses onto ships for an ‘adventure’ in Europe are bitter indeed.
After Gallipoli the monstrous, incompetent and catastrophic bungling of the British High Command was laid bare. Their unspoken, but palpable contempt for the lives to the ‘colonials’ they so culpably threw away in a futile, pointless campaign – was seared into the minds of many. It marked the critical turning point in the conciousness of this nation – and gave birth to a determination for New Zealand to grow as a nation with it’s own political agency.
To my generation and earlier I believe this was a widespread understanding. The Dawn Services I attended as a youth were sombre, solemn affairs. The still living returned servicemen in attendance would not tolerate much foolish jingoism or flag-waving. They were there to remember their mates. And to grieve for their own loss of innocence.
“The Dawn Services I attended as a youth were sombre, solemn affairs. The still living returned servicemen in attendance would not tolerate much foolish jingoism or flag-waving. They were there to remember their mates. And to grieve for their own loss of innocence.”
This reflects my experience too.
Have avoided the ANZAC parades since my son left the scouts many years ago, and the last I attended was the aforementioned one which was appropriated for a party political broadcast by our local National MP.
I watch the children decked out in the medals of their unmet ancestors and I wonder at their knowledge of what it truly means. I understand the need to make sense of the loss, I’m just not sure the current method of doing so will lead us in the right direction, but unfortunately I have no answers to what will.
Mine too. They were grim people about what happened in war. And quiet about it. Incredibly staunch if they felt that something needed to be done. Very reluctant to put younger bodies on the line if they didn’t think it was required. Very inclined to get drunk after the remembrances. Especially the ones who cleared Europe in 1945.
It wasn’t until I went into the army in 1977 and ran across RF who’d been active in Vietnam, who would occasionally talk about it (usually when drinking), that I started to understand. Mind you, clearing the range of sheep with bren gun was a pretty graphic introduction.
It goes both ways.
Being a pacifist when you have conscienceless sociopathic arseholes around isn’t an option. At a local level, and just for an example, how on earth Cameron Slater got a gun license is an good example.
On the other hand you don’t want inexperienced parasites like John Key who appears to have no background in any activity that doesn’t directly benefit himself being able play the ‘patriotic card’. because he will screw it up by the numbers. I am thinking about bloody David Lange thinking that he could send the troops into Fiji during the first coup as an example.
The ideal would be to make sure that we have a counterbalance in the system that protects soldiers from the daft politicians, yet allows them to be used when they are useful. In the latter case East Timor comes to mind.
PMs just wanna have fun …
That would be my take on JK’s joking. He’s using it to show his power over others.
Yep that article is bang on and a great read thx.
Hawkes Bay wedding photographer and syndicated columist Eva Bradley says in the Wairarapa Times Age today that New Zealanders didn’t die at Gallipoli so that we could worry about silly things like the Prime Minister repeatedly fondling a waitress’s hair.
anna stretton has penned something along those lines too, its online somewhere i really don’t want to look at it again. ‘its hardly a crime’ she opines.
She’s wrong. Sexual harassment is a crime.
we don’t want to bloody worry about it – she should send a text to John Key because he has let us and our ancestors down – he has disrespected everyone.
Did Hawkes Bay wedding photographer and syndicated columist Eva Bradley say in the Wairarapa Times Age today that New Zealanders didn’t die at Gallipoli so that we could have a Prime Minister who could take away our rights?
Did Hawkes Bay wedding photographer and syndicated columist Eva Bradley say in the Wairarapa Times Age today that New Zealanders didn’t die at Gallipoli so that we could have a Prime Minister who was a dicktator?
it’s not exactly what one might call an enlightened read.
little wonder her view of the PM’s actions are so submissive
A foul colonisation of Anzac Day by Anna Stretton.
Todays war… financial and sovereignty takeover is more subtle and by stealth and subterfuge ?….corporate takeover via TPP?
‘Rep. Alan Grayson blasts TPP’
http://rt.com/shows/big-picture/252605-us-tpp-eu-greece/
“Thom discusses fast-track and the TPP with Rep. Alan Grayson and whether European officials are pushing for regime change in Greece with Mark Weisbrot of the Center for Economic and Policy Research. In a special edition of Conversations with Great Minds, Thom talks with Constitution Society for Law and Policy’s Caroline Fredrickson, author of the new book ‘Under the Bus: How Working Women Are Being Run Over’….
When a group of pre-adolescent Chilean schoolgirls were leaving on a trip to Wellington, the president, Michelle Bachelet, was asked if she had any advice for them. With a completely straight face, she said “Don’t have lunch with the Prime Minister.”
lol
You have a reputable source for this story do you Murray?
Something better than your fertile imagination I hope?
Please provide a reference.
Loosen up alwyn. Read it again, reflect on the events of a recent NZ prison escapee, Key’s press interview comments that followed.
I suspect that these might have been the words the president might have said to the children if such a trip existed.
Thanks for the laugh. You never fail to meet my expectations.
Just what I expected. It’s old b.s Murray at work again.
It was so much better on this site when you were banned.
Do you think anyone who jokes about FJK should be chastised? I’d hate to think it was just me. And while we’re at it, get whatever’s stuck up your bum surgically removed. You might develop a reasonable facsimile of a sense of humour after that.
Good to know you don’t like what I say. I don’t aim to please the site’s leading Tory apologist.
alwyn is taking things seriously.
PM needs to do the same.
I’d be surprised if more women didn’t come forward before this is all finished.
yes i have been waiting for this too
The thing that hits home to me is that we have learned that the man who is our PM has been acting in the same manner as a sexually aggressive 12 year old and almost no one has come out and said “John Key would never do that. I don’t believe it.” Apart from one or two, most people seemed to have expected reports of something like this sooner or later and are not at all surprised. How low has our society sunk when we get to this?
well i did NOT expect it from a New Zealand Prime Minister!
….however now that the waitress Amanda Bailey has come forward with her story I find it entirely believable and would not be surprised if there are other women who have been similarly harassed ( eg. Bill Clinton did not make an inappropriate pass at just one woman….generally these abuses of power are serial)
( and btw congratulations are due to Bomber for breaking the story so sensitively with Amanda’s own account)
“…almost no one has come out and said “John Key would never do that. I don’t believe it.”
Its not how low has our society sunk, but how low has John Key taken us Murray R.
And I personally think there has been so little surprise because we’ve been waiting for something to come out into the open ever since we learned about the “suppressed important NZer” indecent assault charges and the resultant buy-election. Something had to give : these things can’t be kept secret for ever in a small society like NZ – and the fact that there are now popping up on Facebook and other places many photos of the sleazy creepy PM fondling young girls’ hair indicates people have been keeping these pics in the wings, waiting for the right time to bring ’em out.
In the age of the internet, nothing goes away.
+100 agreed jenny kirk…there does seem to be a pattern of power abuse and corruption and hidden secrets and blatant, arrogant, cover ups with this Nact government led by John Key
….so it does conform to this pattern and therefore is not surprising at a subliminal level
We are a country of many secrets Jenny. You rightly made reference to this in respect of the Waikato Maori wrongly imprisoned at North Head during WW1 because they refused to fight for a crown who stole their land. How many NZer’s would be aware of that story do you think? An important part of asserting pakeha dominance and their laws.
I often wonder how many errant son’s were sent to these shores by their embarrassed family. This country grew up with secrets.
We wouldn’t know the half of it. We have an ingrained culture of turning a blind eye or sweeping under the carpet and silence. Don;t we?