I do find it hilarious that a website publicising the prices of goods is somehow regarded by the regime as a weapon of economic sabotage. Leftist thinking is so totally screwed sometimes.
Gooseman the US prints money the EU is in the process of printing 1.4 trillion dollars.
Are they wrong.
Your a right wing fundamentalist who’s policies are being foisted on Greece their Economy has been in continual decline.
Argentina had the same policies foisted on them by the World Bank and IMF it caused a continual decline in their Economy.
So both left and right wing fundamentalist are bad for economies
Except right wing policies eventually lead to economic growth whereas left wing economic policies like that in Venezuela eventually lead to economic collapse. A simple question for you. How can you see Venezuela getting out if the mess they are in other than to ditch their leftist economic policies such as price controls and rationing and following more right wing ones?
You Are joking when do right wing policies work not ever show me an economy that hasn’t relied upon a mix of policy including printing money and stimulating their Economy.
Find an economy that relies purely on the free market.
Gooseman it doesn’t exist.
Greece is suffering as much as Venezuela, Venezuela’s command and control economy is as bad as Greece’s Right wing Austerity programming.
Trade embargoes CIA destablization the Drug lords control of 40% of Venezuela’s population fuelled by the failed war on drugs.
Greece fucked over by Goldman Sachs and their ratings agencies.
Now bailed out with printed Ponzi money at exorbitant rates.
Where is your free market Goose.
The UK printed £100s of billions .
All the big trading blocks have printed trillions to stimulate growth the minions (NZ govt borrowed $70 billion the NZ private Sector have borrowed at least $100billion on speculative investments)eventually this house of card will fall over so where eventually is your Free market economy.
Tell us all Guillible Gosman.
You can say that again. State dominated by a pack of right wing thugs aided and abetted by America. You still haven’t answered what I asked, I never asked you if the government was right wing
But I will ask again. How is the economy going in the Ukraine.
Really badly as a result of the State playing too big a role in the economy. It needs to reform the economy so that the private sector is able to operate without the corrupt and oppressive influence of government.
Venezuela is a basket case economy. With the collapse of the price of oil, Maduro’s government is desperate for cash. The country is in desperate needs of imported goods. The joys of socialism.
Under the previous right wing murderist facist dictators propped up the US before the 1950’s then by the CIA post 1950 Venezuela has been no different .
The Drug lords control large areas of Venezuela their profits help the CIA run covert operations .
Venezuela is a basket case full stop.
Because it was badly run before that excuses how badly run it is now in your mind does it?
Venezuela used to be regarded as one of the better performing nations in Latin America. No more though. Largely due to left wing policies and ideas that are very similar to those expressed by many here.
Lots of nations that rely on oil have not had their economies implode due to the fall in the price of oil. Venezuela seems to be rather unique in that regard. Might have something to do with the massive increases in government spending when the price of oil was higher. Still don’t you lefties think spending more on social services is always a good idea?
Except it is the left wing policies that are causing the economic hardship I Venezuela. What us happening there us entirely predictable. The government imposes price controls on goods. What do you think will happen? Of course there is shortages. The government subsidizes the price of oil so it us dirt cheap. What do you think will happen? Of course people smuggle it to neighbouring countries to me easy money. The government spends billions on social services when it has not money to pay for it. What do you think will happen? Of course inflation sky rockets.
Do you not see how one leads inevitably to the other?
What is your explanation for the super free market non socialist capitalist king country in the world, USA, to be in massive government debt exceeding 18 Trillion dollars ($18,000,000,000,000) with interest alone being over 3 Trillion dollars per year ($3,000,000,000,000) and its total national debt being at over $61 trillion dollars ($61,000,000,000,000,000) and growing like there is no tomorrow?
not really due to the drop in oil prices. I have a piece of research from April 2014 which showed Venezuela (at the time) needed an oil price of $121 per barrel just to break even…….
Okay, give me one nation that is a part of the global market economy where there are no levels of onerous poverty and no corresponding small ultra rich clique and where health and education and adequate shelter are equally available to all?
Venezuela is no different to any other potential examples for the question I asked above. Venezuela is a part of the global market economy, but Venezuela practices a fair amount of intervention. It isn’t a command economy though.
So, what have the interventions done? Decreased poverty and illiteracy? Increased access to health care, food, adequate shelter etc? Yes.
What has the market economy done? Gone into a recession/depression.
I was about to say there is a significant racial/class subtext in Venezuela. I ran into a bunch of all-white, well off (better off than me, anyway) Venezuelans who showed up on their own yacht in Ibiza a few years back. They were lovely, until you got to know them and then you heard a little of their views of things back home.
Based on that experience I agree with the comment in one of the articles posted above:
“…White supremacy endures in Venezuela often resembling the United States and other settler colonial countries founded on conquest and slavery…”
Those are the kinds of people who utterly despised Chavez educating ordinary people in poor towns on the importance of participating in the political process. (Which generally involved ensuring that people could read and write so that they could interpret the Venezuelan constitution and participate in elections.
Hey Gosman, You are always ranting on about Venezuela, how the socialist’s are running it in to the ground and how socialism doesn’t work, Well mate it works very well in this country for :-
Reo Tinto
Warners
Grants to private schools
and the latest bail out by Parata of a Charter School.
NZ is developing its own corrupt crony capitalist class that is enamoured with foreign corporations and foreign money, just like Venezuela, and I reckon you do support it.
A crisp millitary salute to that CV. It has sent Gosman to ground, he probably had to get into his cheerleading kit readying himself for slippery John’s interview on The Nation.
After watching Key’s half cut pitch I notice the narrative has moved strongly towards privatisation. Unfortunately for the Nats Serco has flattened the tire and the wheel has come off. Good interview with Kelvin Davis, right now I think Key would prefer that Hone had beat Kelvin in the TTT seat.
“This link highlights what the problem with Ukraine’s economy – The State.”
Yeah but they don’t say Socialist state.
Hey mate I am not going to debate with you further as you talk nothing but crap
You have a very simplistic point of view and that is right wing good left wing terrible. Anybody with an once of intelligence knows it is not as simple as that
Personally I am not a socialist though the way the world is going it is driving me more to the left, but I have a very strong social conscience, and as I have said before when I was a kid thank the fuck other right wingers thought the same. This is something this breed of greedy bastards don’t understand the word let alone practice.
http://www.putatara.net/2015/07/serco-debate/ one of the ‘Urewera 4’ writes a very thoughtful article on NZ prisons & that they are all badly run, & makes an interesting point that tax payers are funding gang training & recruitment, would now like to see the jamboree of right wing regulars here get their knickers in a twist about that!
Is it
a) the housing crisis in Auckland caused by a lack of rules to stop NZ and foreign speculators
b) the imminent collapse of our economy due to crashing dairy prices
c) prison crisis
d) the imminent signing of the TPPA
….”That’s roughly $32 billion,” says Tee. “The Canadian government said: ‘We don’t want your money anymore’ and that capital is now hitting the Sydney market.”
“There is a mountain of liquidity. China is bursting with flight capital. They can’t go to the US, they can’t get it into Singapore anymore, or Hong Kong.”
Tee’s comments come at a time of increasing concern that a generation of young Australians have been locked out of the property markets of Melbourne and Sydney due to spiralling house prices….
Tee says recent figures in the media which put Chinese investment in the Sydney property market at 25 per cent of total sales were too low. He says it might be twice this level but it is hard to tell because of the lack of transparency on ownership.
Most Chinese purchases hide behind trustees and proxies. Third parties such as friends and relatives were often used.
“Chinese students are being paid 2 per cent of the purchase price of the property to purchase property on behalf of relatives,” says Tee.
Another person au fait with Chinese property transactions in Australia told Fairfax Media it was simple for Chinese investors to get around the foreign capital restrictions.
“The money never really moves. In a simple example, Kunlun is a forex trading and money exchange company. It has bank accounts in many countries with significant cash balances. So if someone wants $40 million in Australia they put the money in a Kunlun China account and Kunlun transfers the money from their Australian accounts to the person’s friend’s Australian account.
“Kunlun is just one example – any large trading multinational will hold large reserves of cash in each country so they can effect a transfer with an internal paper transaction. No banks or government scrutiny involved. And given that they don’t do effective reporting in this country, who will ever trace it?…”Kunlun is just one example – any large trading multinational will hold large reserves of cash in each country so they can effect a transfer with an internal paper transaction. No banks or government scrutiny involved. And given that they don’t do effective reporting in this country, who will ever trace it?
“The current situation is that one of the best assets a local Chinese can have is a permanent Australian residence. They will have ‘friends’ lining up to ‘loan’ them money to buy properties in Australia.
All the government needs to do is follow the cash.”
Sadly, for a generation of young homebuyers it seems the government is not interested in following the cash. Otherwise our politicians, of both major parties, would have introduced the second tranche of AML legislation by now and real estate agents would have to prove that their clients’ funds were legitimate.
who says I am blaming the Chinese…that is your spin…I am citing facts given by Chinese
…..I am blaming this Nact Government for not getting statistics and not putting controls on overseas buy up of scarce New Zealand houses …which should be for New Zealanders
…jonkey Nact are betraying young New Zealanders and future generations of New Zealanders
…you think it is right that New Zealanders are priced out of their own country ?
….I thought you were supposed to be a Lefty!…and a supporter of the Labour Party?…seems that is all pretence
NZers were priced out of Auckland by 2005; your outrage is a decade too late. Ban foreign buyers, but houses in Auckland will stay over $500,000 and out of reach.
for your information many New Zealanders have been concerned about foreign ownership of New Zealand assets and property for a very long time…more than 35 years in the case of CAFCA ( but I guess before your time)
…I would add many Labour Party members and supporters are also concerned…especially recently when the scale of buy up has been massive and New Zealanders are being priced out of their own land
“In this episode of the Keiser Report, Max Keiser and Stacy Herbert discuss Greek prime ministers bearing referendums as privatisation schemes move full steam ahead as billionaires and celebrities begin buying up Greek islands on the cheap.
In the second half, Max interviews Eddy Travia of Coinsilium.com about the company’s upcoming IPO on the Alternative Investment Market (AIM) in London. Coinsilium Group facilitates the implementation of blockchain technology products and services alongside media and corporate advisory services.”
Some things are too important to sell….some things should not be sold!
I listened to this interesting TEDX talk this morning about how humans have taken over the world due to the ability to work collectively, flexibly with imagination. Everything from economic systems to money to corporations to religion are really only the result of a story which enough people believe. Perhaps we need to start imagining and telling some new stories about how the world could be.
Fairy Godmother
If you can find some new stories for us, I think we will listen and be heartened. Sp here’s hoping.
I like ones about people doing things that present problems and ask us to stir ourselves and direct our interests in the right way.
I have written about the man who comes all the way from Murchison to sell woollen socks at the local market.
There is the woman at the market whose husband died recently after being nursed through a long illness from a car crash, she is 64 and is being harried into getting a job so has some months of that before she is, thankfully, 65 and entitled to retirement. She was there on the Greens desk, because she is so solidly behind the precepts of humane and thoughtful living.
Forest and Bird have people going round trying to get funds for an onslaught on the uncaring barbarians that we have elected, to try and save the Maui dolphin off the west coast of North Island, off Taranaki. They and other sea creatures are badly affected by the nets that local and foreign fishers are using. The filaments are too fine and don’t deflect the sonar signal of the fish that swim right into them unaware.
I thought it was just the size of the mesh, but it is also the thinness of it causing the deaths. I am short of money but promised to talk about it to the young German lobbyist, who explained very well, probably gets a commission and was just a wee bit sorry that I couldn’t commit.
But perhaps we need more stories about things that are happening and changing things for the better, with humans at the forefront, and technology as an aid, not a substitute.
Oh dear – to say Mischele Boag was not pleased to see me this morning outside Sky City, where I was standing, quietly and peacefully as delegates entered the Casino for their 79th Conference, would have to be a bit of an understatement?
“Good morning Mischele!” I called, in a friendly way.
“Pay your rates Penny! Pay your rates!” was Mischele’s angry response.
“I will once the Council tells us where the money is being spent,” I replied.
“Don’t you support transparency Mischele?” I asked as she flounced off, in an obviously poisonous mood.
Maybe she didn’t like the wording on my placards?
Most National delegates were friendly, including Nick Smith, who didn’t reply to my question,
“What’s in the TPPA for dairy Nick?”
Maybe he didn’t hear the question – to be fair.
In fact – it was such fun – I think I’ll go back for the lunch break, and let my placards do the talking …..
You’re worth more than a penny, Penny. Wearing down stone is slow, but you keep persisting. Apparently a primitive method of splitting stone is to pour water and salt into a crack when the weather is freezing. So unexpected results may occur with your simple methods of fronting-up used frequently.
Good on you Penny. I admire your dedication and hard work for great causes you fight for. Wish all voters in a democracy were as clued on as you. It is people like you that really deserve national awards of honour.
I’ve been watching the newspapers for reports on the court ruling on the Problem Gambling Foundation case. I haven’t seen any news at all, has anyone else seen anything?
The absence of media coverage is mystifying because it’s big news and very much in the public interest. The judge found countless breaches of the Mandatory Rules for Procurement by Departments with the extent being so great there were strong grounds for concluding bias and conflicts of interest.
People might recall the Problem Gambling Foundation were the harshest critics of SkyCity and it was alluded at the time they were refused the new contract because of their objections against SkyCity.
Yet more fuel to the fire of the SkyCity deal so why aren’t the media reporting on it….. or has that question just answered itself?
Thanks Ergo Robertina. Either I’ve been missing what was in front of me or they were well buried, I’ve been watching both Stuff and the Herald for reports since Thursday and saw neither of those.
I’m afraid I can’t agree with the comments about prisoners being given the right to votes. As I see it, being sent to prison means being denied rights and privileges and one of the basic privileges is the right to vote. While someone is incarcerated they should not be given the right to vote, apart from anything else can you imagine the distortion that would be caused as prisoners would likely vote against the current government because it was under the current government that they were lock up! I don’t see any problems with them resuming the right to vote once released from prison though as they have returned to society with all its rights and privileges associated with that freedom.
When a person can cast a vote this can lead to better circumstances. I do not know if inmates are ever polled. It appears that some surveys are required in NZ prisons and/or some research. I do not think that Serco would be in favour of a survey or a research project.
Denise, people are sent to prison AS punishment not FOR punishment. Being locked up is punishment enough. They are still humans with human rights, including access to voting.
Although under this government people are being sent to prison for more and more punishment regardless of the severity of their original crime.
Thank-you Sirenia for saying what needs to be said.
Every person – I repeat EVERY PERSON- has the right to vote. To disenfranchise anyone is an act of treachery. There are many criminals who don’t go to prison and the majority of them are wealthy and/or powerful so can buy/blackmail their way out of punishment.
To blithely say as you have said Denise Frost that prisoners be denied their sovereign rights shows a level of ignorance which is sadly all too common among right-wing NZers.
Denise Frost. Do you mean that prisoners (who are the people in society most affected by the strong coercive powers of the state – and often the same, people most let down by the state) should also then have no say in the running of that state?
In contrast to you, I believe that a NZ prisoner remains a citizen of NZ, and there are rights which are inalienable to such a status: such as voting and as access to their local MP.
@Denise
That’s a bit simple. You stop being a citizen when you go to prison? And the simple and censorious want to stop them ever having a vote.even when they come out.
Yet how many people are out there commiting offences who aren’t yet in prison. And those who have stolen millions and been able to avoid prison, unlike someone who has done something annoying or stolen something replaceable.
We would like those in prison to come out better, not try to erase them for ever from being citizens. There is a case for withholding voting for a very few who are more bad than mad, but the rest should be encouraged to use the time to work out a new plan, get new skills, and go forth and act rightly.
Professor James Hansen, formerly of NASA and now of Columbia University, and 16 other climate scientists argue in the study that a safe limit to global warming decided by politicians in 2009 may actually lead to disastrous ice melt.
Well, I suppose those extended wharves that Auckland Ports want won’t be worth it after all.
I’ve been consulting Homer Simpson on matters of State.
Asked what I should say to Labour as to why they weren’t successful in winning the last election he suggested an oblique approach. Ooh, a graduate student huh? How come you guys can go to the moon but can’t make my shoes smell good?
He said the reply might be tedious and result in me exclaiming – Sweet Merciful Crap!
But then I became unsure of the value of his clear-sighted consideration of my problem when he asked – Hey, can you take the wheel for a second, I have to scratch my self in two places at once.
And I thought that was too similar (but more vulgar) to USA politician President Lyndon Johnson’s put-down of an opponent who, he said in a sanitised version, couldn’t do two things at once, walk and chew gum for instance.
Just back from the Book Writers Festival with Nicky Hager. When asked if he had thought about what chance National had of winning or not at the last election he said that he believed that National were having their doubts.
“So to lift their chances they tossed Judith Collins out of their hot air balloon to make it rise higher.”
So apt!
A wealthy couple who have donated generously to the National Party are cashing up more than $26 million of property in Auckland.
Zhao Wu Shen and Susan Chou have given more than $370,000 to National through their company Contue Jinwan Enterprise Group, or in the name of Ms Chou, since 2010.
Mr Shen was also the biggest shareholder in Mega until selling his 25.9 per cent stake this month and resigning from the board of the online encryption service founded by Kim Dotcom.
The sale of the Mega shares comes as the Hong Kong-based couple try sell more than $26 million of property in Auckland, including a luxury home on a cliff top in Herne Bay with a council valuation of $11.5 million, which sold last month.
Once owned by Rich Listers Colin and Jennifer Giltrap, the 2049sq m site was bought by Mr Shen and Ms Chou for $10.75 million in late 2013 – one of the most expensive homes sold in Auckland that year.
But the 695sqm mansion is just one of a number of properties Mr Shen and Ms Chou are cashing up.
Listed as students on the electoral roll, the couple also sold a clifftop mansion in Howick for $7.5 million in May and another Auckland home for $1.6 million last year.
———————————————————————————————————————
lets leave the reflexive screams of racism aside for a moment please.
SO they are listed as studends on the elctoral role, they are multimillionaire students that were Main Share holders of Mega and donors to National.
does this read like a bond novel, or is it just me?
no the thing gets me they a held the main shares of Mega aka Dotcom and own multiple million dollar properties and are students who gave 370.000 to National.
SO they are listed as students on the electoral role,… (typos fixed).
That’s enough to tell anyone that… all is NOT what it seems in certain property investment portfolios.
But even more telling… they have given more than $370,000 to the National Party. And there’s your reason why this govt. is refusing to release information that could confirm or otherwise whether Chinese foreign investors are distorting the Auckland market. I would take a guess the Nats are richer to the tune of several million dollars courtesy of foreign property speculators. You scratch our back and we’ll scratch yours. Bloody disgusting!
typos, i am so good at them. really i am bad at writing, typing is easier then hand writing tho,. thanks for fixing my butchering of ze english language 🙂
I think they need to cut their fingernails and keep their hands to themselves before the gouging and troughing spreads any more bloody disgusting stats around.
The state houses in the photo look like they’re in good condition and well looked after. What’s the bet they’re privately owned and are no longer state houses.
Yes who knows about those houses, but in that photo the third house from the left is covered in dirt or mold or both.
Drive around Glenn Innes aggressive pit bulls are it seems everywhere.
GI has so many problems that a family with kids may turn down a state house in that area for safety reasons.
Have you got a journalistic project that you want to complete, but can’t get enough money or time to do it?
If so, a Bruce Jesson journalism award may be able to help. Applications for the 2015 awards are now open, and close on Friday 18 September.
There are two awards, a senior one to fund a planned journalistic project and a journalism student award for work that has already been published.
The senior award is unique in New Zealand because it funds time and research costs of up to $4000 in advance for projects that could be newspaper or magazine articles, reports on the internet, books, films, radio or TV documentaries or “any other publication which is aimed at, and accessible by, the general public of New Zealand or any part of New Zealand”. http://www.brucejesson.com/?page_id=14
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From the United-For-Now States of America comes the thrilling news that a New Zealander may be at the very heart of the current coup. Punching above our weight on the world stage once more! Wait, you may be asking, what New Zealander? I speak of Peter Thiel, made street legal ...
Even Stevens: Over the 33 years between 1990 and 2023 (and allowing for the aberrant 2020 result) the average level of support enjoyed by the Left and Right blocs, at roughly 44.5 percent each, turns out to be, as near as dammit, identical.WORLDWIDE, THE PARTIES of the Left are presented ...
Back in 2023, a "prominent political figure" went on trial for historic sex offences. But we weren't allowed to know who they were or what political party they were "prominent" in, because it might affect the way we voted. At the time, I said that this was untenable; it was ...
I'm going, I'm goingWhere the water tastes like wineI'm going where the water tastes like wineWe can jump in the waterStay drunk all the timeI'm gonna leave this city, got to get awayI'm gonna leave this city, got to get awayAll this fussing and fighting, man, you know I sure ...
Waitangi Day is a time to honour Te Tiriti o Waitangi and stand together for a just and fair Aotearoa. Across the motu, communities are gathering to reflect, kōrero, and take action for a future built on equity and tino rangatiratanga. From dawn ceremonies to whānau-friendly events, there are ...
Subscribe to Mountain Tūī ! Where you too can learn about exciting things from a flying bird! Tweet.Yes - I absolutely suck at marketing. It’s a fact.But first -My question to all readers is:How should I set up the Substack model?It’s been something I’ve been meaning to ask since November ...
Here’s the key news, commentary, reports and debate around Aotearoa’s political economy on politics and in the week to Feb 3:PM Christopher Luxon began 2025’s first day of Parliament last Tuesday by carrying on where left off in 2024, letting National’s junior coalition partner set the political agenda and dragging ...
The PSA have released a survey of 4000 public service workers showing that budget cuts are taking a toll on the wellbeing of public servants and risking the delivery of essential services to New Zealanders. Economists predict that figures released this week will show continued increases in unemployment, potentially reaching ...
The Prime Minister’s speech 10 days or so ago kicked off a flurry of commentary. No one much anywhere near the mainstream (ie excluding Greens supporters) questioned the rhetoric. New Zealand has done woefully poorly on productivity for a long time and we really need better outcomes, and the sorts ...
President Trump on the day he announced tariffs against Mexico, Canada and China, unleashing a shock to supply chains globally that is expected to slow economic growth and increase inflation for most large economies. Photo: Getty ImagesLong stories short, the top six things in our political economy around housing, climate ...
Photo by Towfiqu barbhuiya on UnsplashHere’s what we’re watching in the week to February 9 and beyond in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty:Monday, February 3Politics: New Zealand Government cabinet meeting usually held early afternoon with post-cabinet news conference possible at 4 pm, although they have not been ...
Trump being Trump, it won’t come as a shock to find that he regards a strong US currency (bolstered by high tariffs on everything made by foreigners) as a sign of America’s virility, and its ability to kick sand in the face of the world. Reality is a tad more ...
A listing of 24 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, January 26, 2025 thru Sat, February 1, 2025. This week's roundup is again published soleley by category. We are still interested in feedback to hone the categorization, so if ...
What seems to be the common theme in the US, NZ, Argentina and places like Italy under their respective rightwing governments is what I think of as “the politics of cruelty.” Hate-mongering, callous indifference in social policy-making, corporate toadying, political bullying, intimidation and punching down on the most vulnerable with ...
If you are confused, check with the sunCarry a compass to help you alongYour feet are going to be on the groundYour head is there to move you aroundSo, stand in the place where you liveSongwriters: Bill Berry / Michael Mills / Michael Stipe / Peter Buck.Hot in the CityYesterday, ...
Shane Jones announced today he would be contracting out his thinking to a smarter younger person.Reclining on his chaise longue with a mouth full of oysters and Kina he told reporters:Clearly I have become a has-been, a palimpsest, an epigone, a bloviating fossil. I find myself saying such things as: ...
Warning: This post contains references to sexual assaultOn Saturday, I spent far too long editing a video on Tim Jago, the ACT Party President and criminal, who has given up his fight for name suppression after 2 years. He voluntarily gave up just in time for what will be a ...
Skeptical Science is partnering with Gigafact to produce fact briefs — bite-sized fact checks of trending claims. This fact brief was written by Sue Bin Park from the Gigafact team in collaboration with members from our team. You can submit claims you think need checking via the tipline. Is global warming ...
Our low-investment, low-wage, migration-led and housing-market-driven political economy has delivered poorer productivity growth than the rest of the OECD, and our performance since Covid has been particularly poor. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāLong stories short, the top six things in our political economy around housing, climate and poverty this ...
..Thanks for reading Frankly Speaking ! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.As far as major government announcements go, a Three Ministers Event is Big. It can signify a major policy development or something has gone Very Well, or an absolute Clusterf**k. When Three Ministers assemble ...
One of those blasts from the past. Peter Dunne – originally neoliberal Labour, then leader of various parties that sought to work with both big parties (generally National) – has taken to calling ...
Completed reads for January: I Am Legend, by Richard Matheson The Black Spider, by Jeremias Gotthelf The Spider and the Fly (poem), by Mary Howitt A Noiseless Patient Spider (poem), by Walt Whitman August Heat, by W.F. Harvey Charlotte’s Web, by E.B. White The Shrinking Man, by Richard Matheson ...
Do its Property Right Provisions Make Sense?Last week I pointed out that it is uninformed to argue that the New Zealand’s apparently poor economic performance can be traced only to poor regulations. Even were there evidence they had some impact, there are other factors. Of course, we should seek to ...
Richard Wagstaff It was incredibly jarring to hear the hubris from the Prime Minister during his recent state of the nation address. I had just spent close to a week working though the stories and thoughts shared with us by nearly 2000 working people as part of our annual Mood ...
Odd fact about the Broadcasting Standards Authority: for the last few years, they’ve only been upholding about 5% of complaints. Why? I think there’s a range of reasons. Generally responsible broadcasters. Dumb complaints. Complaints brought under the wrong standard. Greater adherence to broadcasters’ rights to freedom of expression in the ...
And I said, "Mama, mama, mama, why am I so alone"'Cause I can't go outside, I'm scared I might not make it homeWell I'm alive, I'm alive, but I'm sinking inIf there's anyone at home at your place, darlingWhy don't you invite me in?Don't try to feed me'Cause I've been ...
Climate Change Minister Simon Watts’ star is on the rise, having just added the Energy, Local Government and Revenue portfolios to his responsibilities - but there is nothing ambitious about the Government’s new climate targets. Photo: SuppliedLong stories short, the top six things in our political economy around housing, climate ...
It may have been a short week but there’s been no shortage of things that caught our attention. Here is some of the most interesting. This week in Greater Auckland On Tuesday Matt took a look at public transport ridership in 2024 On Thursday Connor asked some questions ...
The East Is Red: Journalists and commentators are referring to the sudden and disruptive arrival of DeepSeek as a second “Sputnik moment”. (Sputnik being the name given by the godless communists of the Soviet Union to the world’s first artificial satellite which, to the consternation and dismay of the Americans, ...
Hi,Back on inauguration day we launched a ridiculous RFK Jr. “brain worms” tee on the Webworm store, and I told you I’d be throwing my profits over to Mutual Aid LA and Rainbow Youth New Zealand. Just to show I am not full of shit, here are the receipts. I ...
The podcast above of the weekly ‘Hoon’ webinar for paying subscribers on Thursday night features co-hosts & talking about the week’s news with regular and special guests, including: on the week in geopolitics, including the latest from Donald Trump over Gaza and Ukraine.Health expert and author David Galler ...
In an uncompromising paper Treasury has basically told the Government that its plan for a third medical school at Waikato University is a waste of money. Furthermore, the country cannot afford it. That advice was released this week by the Treasury under the Official Information Act. And it comes as ...
Back in November, He Pou a Rangi provided the government with formal advice on the domestic contribution to our next Paris target. Not what the target should be, but what we could realistically achieve, by domestic action alone, without resorting to offshore mitigation. Their answer was startling: depending on exactly ...
Photo by Mauricio Fanfa on UnsplashKia oraCome and join us for our weekly ‘Hoon’ webinar with paying subscribers to The Kākā for an hour at 5 pm today.Jump on this link on YouTube Livestream for our chat about the week’s news with myself , plus regular guest David Patman and ...
I don't like to spend all my time complaining about our government, so let me complain about the media first.Senior journalistic Herald person Thomas Coughlan reported that Treasury replied yeah nah, wrong bro to Luxon's claim that our benighted little country has been in recession for three years.His excitement rose ...
Back in 2022, when the government was consulting internally about proactive release of cabinet papers, the SIS opposed it. The basis of their opposition was the "mosaic effect" - people being able to piece together individual pieces of innocuous public information in a way which supposedly harms "national security" (effectively: ...
With The Stroke Of A Pen:Populism, especially right-wing populism, invests all the power of an electoral/parliamentary majority in a single political leader because it no longer trusts the bona fides of the sprawling political class among whom power is traditionally dispersed. Populism eschews traditional politics, because, among populists, traditional politics ...
I’ve spent the last week writing a fairly substantial review of a recent book (“Australia’s Pandemic Exceptionalism: How we crushed the curve but lost the race”) by a couple of Australian academic economists on Australia’s pandemic policies and experiences. For all its limitations, there isn’t anything similar in New Zealand. ...
Our originating document, theTreaty of Waitangi, was signed on February 6, 1840. An agreement between Māori and the British Crown. Initially inked by Ngā Puhi in Waitangi, further signatures were added as it travelled south. The intention was to establish a colony with the cession of sovereignty to the Crown, ...
Te Whatu Ora Chief Executive Margie Apa leaving her job four months early is another symptom of this government’s failure to deliver healthcare for New Zealanders. ...
The Green Party is calling for the Prime Minister to show leadership and be unequivocal about Aotearoa New Zealand’s opposition to a proposal by the US President to remove Palestinians from Gaza. ...
The latest unemployment figures reveal that job losses are hitting Māori and Pacific people especially hard, with Māori unemployment reaching a staggering 9.7% for the December 2024 quarter and Pasifika unemployment reaching 10.5%. ...
Waitangi 2025: Waitangi Day must be community and not politically driven - Shane Jones Our originating document, theTreaty of Waitangi, was signed on February 6, 1840. An agreement between Māori and the British Crown. Initially inked by Ngā Puhi in Waitangi, further signatures were added as it travelled south. ...
Despite being confronted every day with people in genuine need being stopped from accessing emergency housing – National still won’t commit to building more public houses. ...
The Green Party says the Government is giving up on growing the country’s public housing stock, despite overwhelming evidence that we need more affordable houses to solve the housing crisis. ...
Before any thoughts of the New Year and what lies ahead could even be contemplated, New Zealand reeled with the tragedy of Senior Sergeant Lyn Fleming losing her life. For over 38 years she had faithfully served as a front-line Police officer. Working alongside her was Senior Sergeant Adam Ramsay ...
Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson will return to politics at Waitangi on Monday the 3rd of February where she will hold a stand up with fellow co-leader Chlöe Swarbrick. ...
Te Pāti Māori is appalled by the government's blatant mishandling of the school lunch programme. David Seymour’s ‘cost-saving’ measures have left tamariki across Aotearoa with unidentifiable meals, causing distress and outrage among parents and communities alike. “What’s the difference between providing inedible food, and providing no food at all?” Said ...
The Government is doubling down on outdated and volatile fossil fuels, showing how shortsighted and destructive their policies are for working New Zealanders. ...
Green Party MP Steve Abel this morning joined Coromandel locals in Waihi to condemn new mining plans announced by Shane Jones in the pit of the town’s Australian-owned Gold mine. ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to strengthen its just-announced 2030-2035 Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) under the Paris Agreement and address its woeful lack of commitment to climate security. ...
Today marks a historic moment for Taranaki iwi with the passing of the Te Pire Whakatupua mō Te Kāhui Tupua/Taranaki Maunga Collective Redress Bill in Parliament. "Today, we stand together as descendants of Taranaki, and our tūpuna, Taranaki Maunga, is now formally acknowledged by the law as a living tūpuna. ...
Labour is relieved to see Children’s Minister Karen Chhour has woken up to reality and reversed her government’s terrible decisions to cut funding from frontline service providers – temporarily. ...
It is the first week of David Seymour’s school lunch programme and already social media reports are circulating of revolting meals, late deliveries, and mislabelled packaging. ...
The Green Party says that with no-cause evictions returning from today, the move to allow landlords to end tenancies without reason plunges renters, and particularly families who rent, into insecurity and stress. ...
The Government’s move to increase speed limits substantially on dozens of stretches of rural and often undivided highways will result in more serious harm. ...
In her first announcement as Economic Growth Minister, Nicola Willis chose to loosen restrictions for digital nomads from other countries, rather than focus on everyday Kiwis. ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to stand firm and work with allies to progress climate action as Donald Trump signals his intent to pull out of the Paris Climate Accords once again. ...
The Government’s commitment to get New Zealand’s roads back on track is delivering strong results, with around 98 per cent of potholes on state highways repaired within 24 hours of identification every month since targets were introduced, Transport Minister Chris Bishop says. “Increasing productivity to help rebuild our economy is ...
The former Cadbury factory will be the site of the Inpatient Building for the new Dunedin Hospital and Health Minister Simeon Brown says actions have been taken to get the cost overruns under control. “Today I am giving the people of Dunedin certainty that we will build the new Dunedin ...
From today, Plunket in Whāngarei will be offering childhood immunisations – the first of up to 27 sites nationwide, Health Minister Simeon Brown says. The investment of $1 million into the pilot, announced in October 2024, was made possible due to the Government’s record $16.68 billion investment in health. It ...
New Zealand’s strong commitment to the rights of disabled people has continued with the response to an important United Nations report, Disability Issues Minister Louise Upston has announced. Of the 63 concluding observations of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD), 47 will be progressed ...
Resources Minister Shane Jones has launched New Zealand’s national Minerals Strategy and Critical Minerals List, documents that lay a strategic and enduring path for the mineral sector, with the aim of doubling exports to $3 billion by 2035. Mr Jones released the documents, which present the Coalition Government’s transformative vision ...
Firstly I want to thank OceanaGold for hosting our event today. Your operation at Waihi is impressive. I want to acknowledge local MP Scott Simpson, local government dignitaries, community stakeholders and all of you who have gathered here today. It’s a privilege to welcome you to the launch of the ...
Racing Minister, Winston Peters has announced the Government is preparing public consultation on GST policy proposals which would make the New Zealand racing industry more competitive. “The racing industry makes an important economic contribution. New Zealand thoroughbreds are in demand overseas as racehorses and for breeding. The domestic thoroughbred industry ...
Business confidence remains very high and shows the economy is on track to improve, Economic Growth Minister Nicola Willis says. “The latest ANZ Business Outlook survey, released yesterday, shows business confidence and expected own activity are ‘still both very high’.” The survey reports business confidence fell eight points to +54 ...
Enabling works have begun this week on an expanded radiology unit at Hawke’s Bay Fallen Soldiers’ Memorial Hospital which will double CT scanning capacity in Hawke’s Bay to ensure more locals can benefit from access to timely, quality healthcare, Health Minister Simeon Brown says. This investment of $29.3m in the ...
The Government has today announced New Zealand’s second international climate target under the Paris Agreement, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. New Zealand will reduce emissions by 51 to 55 per cent compared to 2005 levels, by 2035. “We have worked hard to set a target that is both ambitious ...
Nine years of negotiations between the Crown and iwi of Taranaki have concluded following Te Pire Whakatupua mō Te Kāhui Tupua/the Taranaki Maunga Collective Redress Bill passing its third reading in Parliament today, Treaty Negotiations Minister Paul Goldsmith says. “This Bill addresses the historical grievances endured by the eight iwi ...
As schools start back for 2025, there will be a relentless focus on teaching the basics brilliantly so all Kiwi kids grow up with the knowledge, skills and competencies needed to grow the New Zealand of the future, Education Minister Erica Stanford says. “A world-leading education system is a key ...
Housing Minister Chris Bishop and Associate Agriculture Minister Mark Patterson have welcomed Kāinga Ora’s decision to re-open its tender for carpets to allow wool carpet suppliers to bid. “In 2024 Kāinga Ora issued requests for tender (RFTs) seeking bids from suppliers to carpet their properties,” Mr Bishop says. “As part ...
Associate Education Minister David Seymour has today visited Otahuhu College where the new school lunch programme has served up healthy lunches to students in the first days of the school year. “As schools open in 2025, the programme will deliver nutritious meals to around 242,000 students, every school day. On ...
Minister for Children Karen Chhour has intervened in Oranga Tamariki’s review of social service provider contracts to ensure Barnardos can continue to deliver its 0800 What’s Up hotline. “When I found out about the potential impact to this service, I asked Oranga Tamariki for an explanation. Based on the information ...
A bill to make revenue collection on imported and exported goods fairer and more effective had its first reading in Parliament, Customs Minister Casey Costello said today. “The Customs (Levies and Other Matters) Amendment Bill modernises the way in which Customs can recover the costs of services that are needed ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says the Department of Internal Affairs [the Department] has achieved significant progress in completing applications for New Zealand citizenship. “December 2024 saw the Department complete 5,661 citizenship applications, the most for any month in 2024. This is a 54 per cent increase compared ...
Reversals to Labour’s blanket speed limit reductions begin tonight and will be in place by 1 July, says Minister of Transport Chris Bishop. “The previous government was obsessed with slowing New Zealanders down by imposing illogical and untargeted speed limit reductions on state highways and local roads. “National campaigned on ...
Finance Minister Nicola Willis has announced Budget 2025 – the Growth Budget - will be delivered on Thursday 22 May. “This year’s Budget will drive forward the Government’s plan to grow our economy to improve the incomes of New Zealanders now and in the years ahead. “Budget 2025 will build ...
For the Government, 2025 will bring a relentless focus on unleashing the growth we need to lift incomes, strengthen local businesses and create opportunity. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon today laid out the Government’s growth agenda in his Statement to Parliament. “Just over a year ago this Government was elected by ...
Associate Education Minister David Seymour welcomes students back to school with a call to raise attendance from last year. “The Government encourages all students to attend school every day because there is a clear connection between being present at school and setting yourself up for a bright future,” says Mr ...
The Government is relaxing visitor visa requirements to allow tourists to work remotely while visiting New Zealand, Economic Growth Minister Nicola Willis, Immigration Minister Erica Stanford and Tourism Minister Louise Upston say. “The change is part of the Government’s plan to unlock New Zealand’s potential by shifting the country onto ...
The opening of Kāinga Ora’s development of 134 homes in Epuni, Lower Hutt will provide much-needed social housing for Hutt families, Housing Minister Chris Bishop says. “I’ve been a strong advocate for social housing on Kāinga Ora’s Epuni site ever since the old earthquake-prone housing was demolished in 2015. I ...
Trade and Investment Minister Todd McClay will travel to Australia today for meetings with Australian Trade Minister, Senator Don Farrell, and the Australia New Zealand Leadership Forum (ANZLF). Mr McClay recently hosted Minister Farrell in Rotorua for the annual Closer Economic Relations (CER) Trade Ministers’ meeting, where ANZLF presented on ...
A new monthly podiatry clinic has been launched today in Wairoa and will bring a much-needed service closer to home for the Wairoa community, Health Minister Simeon Brown says.“Health New Zealand has been successful in securing a podiatrist until the end of June this year to meet the needs of ...
The Judicial Conduct Commissioner has recommended a Judicial Conduct Panel be established to inquire into and report on the alleged conduct of acting District Court Judge Ema Aitken in an incident last November, Attorney-General Judith Collins said today. “I referred the matter of Judge Aitken’s alleged conduct during an incident ...
Students who need extra help with maths are set to benefit from a targeted acceleration programme that will give them more confidence in the classroom, Education Minister Erica Stanford says. “Last year, significant numbers of students did not meet the foundational literacy and numeracy level required to gain NCEA. To ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters has announced three new diplomatic appointments. “Our diplomats play an important role in ensuring New Zealand’s interests are maintained and enhanced across the world,” Mr Peters says. “It is a pleasure to announce the appointment of these senior diplomats from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and ...
Ki te kahore he whakakitenga, ka ngaro te Iwi – without a vision, the people will perish. The Government has achieved its target to reduce the number of households in emergency housing motels by 75 per cent five years early, Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka says. The number of households ...
The opening of Palmerston North’s biggest social housing development will have a significant impact for whānau in need of safe, warm, dry housing, Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka says. The minister visited the development today at North Street where a total of 50 two, three, and four-bedroom homes plus a ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced the new membership of the Public Advisory Committee on Disarmament and Arms Control (PACDAC), who will serve for a three-year term. “The Committee brings together wide-ranging expertise relevant to disarmament. We have made six new appointments to the Committee and reappointed two existing members ...
Ka nui te mihi kia koutou. Kia ora, good morning, talofa, malo e lelei, bula vinaka, da jia hao, namaste, sat sri akal, assalamu alaikum. It’s so great to be here and I’m ready and pumped for 2025. Can I start by acknowledging: Simon Bridges – CEO of the Auckland ...
The Government has unveiled a bold new initiative to position New Zealand as a premier destination for foreign direct investment (FDI) that will create higher paying jobs and grow the economy. “Invest New Zealand will streamline the investment process and provide tailored support to foreign investors, to increase capital investment ...
Science, Innovation and Technology Minister Judith Collins today announced the largest reset of the New Zealand science system in more than 30 years with reforms which will boost the economy and benefit the sector. “The reforms will maximise the value of the $1.2 billion in government funding that goes into ...
Turbocharging New Zealand’s economic growth is the key to brighter days ahead for all Kiwis, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon says. In the Prime Minister’s State of the Nation Speech in Auckland today, Christopher Luxon laid out the path to the prosperity that will affect all aspects of New Zealanders’ lives. ...
The latest set of accounts show the Government has successfully checked the runaway growth of public spending, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. “In the previous government’s final five months in office, public spending was almost 10 per cent higher than for the same period the previous year. “That is completely ...
The Government’s welfare reforms are delivering results with the number of people moving off benefits into work increasing year-on-year for six straight months. “There are positive signs that our welfare reset and the return consequences for job seekers who don't fulfil their obligations to prepare for or find a job ...
Jon Kroll and Aimee McCammon have been appointed to the New Zealand Film Commission Board, Arts Minister Paul Goldsmith says. “I am delighted to appoint these two new board members who will bring a wealth of industry, governance, and commercial experience to the Film Commission. “Jon Kroll has been an ...
Finance Minister Nicola Willis has hailed a drop in the domestic component of inflation, saying it increases the prospect of mortgage rate reductions and a lower cost of living for Kiwi households. Stats NZ reported today that inflation was 2.2 per cent in the year to December, the second consecutive ...
Two new appointed members and one reappointed member of the Employment Relations Authority have been announced by Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden today. “I’m pleased to announce the new appointed members Helen van Druten and Matthew Piper to the Employment Relations Authority (ERA) and welcome them to ...
ACT Party leader David Seymour said he wrote to police about the treatment of Philip Polkinghorne because it's an electorate MP's job to pass on the concerns of their constituents. ...
MEDIAWATCH:By Colin Peacock, RNZ Mediawatch presenter By the time US President Donald Trump announced tariffs on China and Canada last Monday which could kickstart a trade war, New Zealand’s diplomats in Washington, DC, had already been deployed on another diplomatic drama. Republican Senator Ted Cruz had said on social ...
By Caleb Fotheringham, RNZ Pacific journalist Cook Islands Prime Minister Mark Brown says New Zealand is asking for too much oversight over its deal with China, which is expected to be penned in Beijing next week. Brown told RNZ Pacific the Cook Islands-New Zealand relationship was reciprocal. “They certainly did ...
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 Byelections occurred on Saturday in the Victorian state seats of Prahran and Werribee. The Liberals gained Prahran from the Greens by a ...
A long time ago, Brian Turner wrote a poem in which, among the mountains, as he slept on a river flat … My speechless ancestors played like mice among my dreamsand he woke to the river running over my bed of stone. I have come to know that where a ...
Pacific Media Watch President Donald Trump has frozen billions of dollars around the world in aid projects, including more than $268 million allocated by Congress to support independent media and the free flow of information. Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has denounced this decision, which has plunged NGOs, media outlets, and ...
Otago University professor of international relations Robert Patman says New Zealand should provide a robust response to Donald Trump's Gaza plan, and also "should stop tip-toeing" around Trump. ...
The new minister of transport has opened the door for public consultation on at least some of the speed limit changes the government said would be automatic. ...
Officially, they’re called ‘memecoins,’ but Kōura Wealth founder Rupert Carlyon says the crypto world has another name for them: ‘shitcoins’.In digital finance, that phrase is used for tokens that have no true value – in essence, a money-grab.A few days before his inauguration, US President Donald Trump launched his own ...
Madeleine Chapman reflects on the week that was. Guy Williams has made a whole show off the joke that he is a “volunteer” journalist. So getting publicly owned by David Seymour while trying to act as a journalist is a good and timely reminder not to underestimate the nuance and ...
Many of Sāmoa’s beloved dishes are the result of cultural collaboration, writes Madeleine Chapman. All photos by Jin FelletIf you ever find yourself at a barbecue in a Sāmoan home, there’s 99% chance that sapasui (chop suey) will be on the table. For the past century, sapasui has ...
The funnyman takes us through his life in television, including Jono and Ben mayhem, live Telethon flubs, and funnelling all those experiences into his new comedy Vince. There’s an inciting incident in Three’s new comedy Vince where morning television presenter Vince Walters (Jono Pryor) is visiting sick kids in hospital ...
People often claim they just want Waitangi Day to be a celebration. At Waitangi, away from the headlined political acrimony and the marae ātea, celebrating is what most people are doing. The Spinoff Essay showcases the best essayists in Aotearoa, on topics big and small. Made possible by the generous ...
Is there anything more fashionable than a Māori get together? One of the best things about Northland is that nobody cares what they look like — probably because they’re all naturally more stylish than the rest of us, famously. Māori from the Far North, especially. In 27 degree heat, wearing ...
I’ve been in love with him since last July, but it’s only now in this tepid hotel room that I find myself wondering why. The first thing he does when we arrive is smoke a cone in the bathroom – he emerges, hacking up a lung, fists thrust into his ...
MONDAY“Name,” barked a representative of the lower orders.I regarded him with a look of stern disapproval, and told him from up high, “May I remind you that I have name suppression. I shall also thank you to ask with more respect as befits a former president of the Act Party, ...
Books of Mana: 180 Māori-Authored Books of Significance, edited by Jacinta Ruru, Angela Wanhalla and Jeanette Wikaira has just been released by Otago University Press. In this essay, Books are Taonga, Jeanette Wikaira explores her personal relationship to books and their value.For me, books are taonga. The knowledge ...
Get to know Tara, our latest Dog of the Month. This feature was offered as a reward during our What’s Eating Aotearoa PledgeMe campaign. Thank you to Tara’s human for their support! Dog name: Tara Age: Two Breed: Mostly Border Collie and a little bit Catahoula Leopard dog If dog ...
Health NZ's CEO has resigned, but frontline healthworkers are sceptical that installing new leadership will make any difference to a system grappling with problems. ...
Health NZ's CEO has resigned, but frontline healthworkers are sceptical that installing new leadership will make any difference to a system grappling with problems. ...
Gail Duncan, Chairperson of the St Peter’s on Willis Social Justice Group, one of the organisations invited to submit on the Bill, says the Government’s actions are unprecedented. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Amani Kasherwa, School of Nursing, Midwifery and Social Work, The University of Queensland In late January, a rebel group that has long caused mayhem in the sprawling African nation of Democratic Republic of Congo took control of Goma, a major city of ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Yee-Fui Ng, Associate Professor, Faculty of Law, Monash University An ad falsely depicting independent candidate Alex Dyson as a Greens member.ABC News/Supplied The highly pertinent case of a little-known independent candidate in the Victorian seat of Wannon has exposed a gaping ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Lauren Ball, Professor of Community Health and Wellbeing, The University of Queensland Nik/Unsplash You might have heard that eating too many eggs will cause high cholesterol levels, leading to poor health. Researchers have examined the science behind this myth again, and ...
Everything you missed from the third day of the Treaty principles bill hearings, when the Justice Committee heard four hours of oral submission. Read our recaps of day one of the hearings here, and day two here. Parliament was quiet on Friday for the third day of hearings on the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Thomas Jeffries, Senior Lecturer in Microbiology, Western Sydney University Tijana Simic/Shutterstock The news last week that three people in Sydney were hospitalised with botulism after receiving botox injections has raised questions about the regulation of the cosmetic injectables industry. The ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jens Blotevogel, Principal Research Scientist and Team Leader for Remediation Technologies, CSIRO Mino Surkala, Shutterstock Lithium-ion batteries are part of everyday life. They power small rechargeable devices such as mobile phones and laptops. They enable electric vehicles. And larger versions store ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Edith Jennifer Hill, Associate Lecturer, Learning & Teaching Innovation, Flinders University Netflix Netflix’s new limited series, Apple Cider Vinegar, tells the story of the elaborate cancer con orchestrated by Australian blogger Annabelle (Belle) Gibson. The first episode opens with Gibson’s ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Dee Ninis, Earthquake Scientist, Monash University Greece’s government has just declared a state of emergency on the island of Santorini, as earthquakes shake the island multiple times a day and sometimes only minutes apart. The “earthquake swarm” is also affecting other ...
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Venezuela’s steady economic decline is accelerating as expected due to the leftist policies of the current regime.
http://www.economist.com/news/americas/21659764-government-prints-money-hyperinflation-looms-crackers-caracas
I do find it hilarious that a website publicising the prices of goods is somehow regarded by the regime as a weapon of economic sabotage. Leftist thinking is so totally screwed sometimes.
Gooseman the US prints money the EU is in the process of printing 1.4 trillion dollars.
Are they wrong.
Your a right wing fundamentalist who’s policies are being foisted on Greece their Economy has been in continual decline.
Argentina had the same policies foisted on them by the World Bank and IMF it caused a continual decline in their Economy.
So both left and right wing fundamentalist are bad for economies
Except right wing policies eventually lead to economic growth whereas left wing economic policies like that in Venezuela eventually lead to economic collapse. A simple question for you. How can you see Venezuela getting out if the mess they are in other than to ditch their leftist economic policies such as price controls and rationing and following more right wing ones?
That’s a bullshit article of a bullshit faith
Economic growth for the top 1% or top 5% maybe
+1
Right-wing policies always lead to collapse as The Great Depression and the GFC proved.
and the Asian melt down in 1999?
And not to forget 1987
You Are joking when do right wing policies work not ever show me an economy that hasn’t relied upon a mix of policy including printing money and stimulating their Economy.
Find an economy that relies purely on the free market.
Gooseman it doesn’t exist.
Greece is suffering as much as Venezuela, Venezuela’s command and control economy is as bad as Greece’s Right wing Austerity programming.
Trade embargoes CIA destablization the Drug lords control of 40% of Venezuela’s population fuelled by the failed war on drugs.
Greece fucked over by Goldman Sachs and their ratings agencies.
Now bailed out with printed Ponzi money at exorbitant rates.
Where is your free market Goose.
The UK printed £100s of billions .
All the big trading blocks have printed trillions to stimulate growth the minions (NZ govt borrowed $70 billion the NZ private Sector have borrowed at least $100billion on speculative investments)eventually this house of card will fall over so where eventually is your Free market economy.
Tell us all Guillible Gosman.
Libya?
Iraq
And other countries where your friends applied their Shock Doctrine?
Ummm…. what right wing economic policies are being followed in those places?
No silly, those are applications of the USA’s right wing policies.
How’s the economy going in the Ukraine Gosman?
Why do you think the Ukrainian government is right wing when it is in fact still very State dominated.
This link highlights what the problem with Ukraine’s economy – The State.
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-26767864
You can say that again. State dominated by a pack of right wing thugs aided and abetted by America. You still haven’t answered what I asked, I never asked you if the government was right wing
But I will ask again. How is the economy going in the Ukraine.
Really badly as a result of the State playing too big a role in the economy. It needs to reform the economy so that the private sector is able to operate without the corrupt and oppressive influence of government.
Still loitering like a wet fart, are you Gossip
Flaunting your Venezuelan fetish again like a pre-programmed idiot
Gossip must play the banjo
Venezuela is a basket case economy. With the collapse of the price of oil, Maduro’s government is desperate for cash. The country is in desperate needs of imported goods. The joys of socialism.
Under the previous right wing murderist facist dictators propped up the US before the 1950’s then by the CIA post 1950 Venezuela has been no different .
The Drug lords control large areas of Venezuela their profits help the CIA run covert operations .
Venezuela is a basket case full stop.
Because it was badly run before that excuses how badly run it is now in your mind does it?
Venezuela used to be regarded as one of the better performing nations in Latin America. No more though. Largely due to left wing policies and ideas that are very similar to those expressed by many here.
No solely due to the collapse in the price of oil.
Lots of nations that rely on oil have not had their economies implode due to the fall in the price of oil. Venezuela seems to be rather unique in that regard. Might have something to do with the massive increases in government spending when the price of oil was higher. Still don’t you lefties think spending more on social services is always a good idea?
But it is such a silly argument.
Country A has a socialist government.
Country A’s economy is failing.
Socialism is therefore bad.
Facetious’s argument is the same although he does admit the collapse of the oil price is part of the problem.
Although I do agree that relying on one export, be it oil or milk, is a very unsafe thing to do.
Except it is the left wing policies that are causing the economic hardship I Venezuela. What us happening there us entirely predictable. The government imposes price controls on goods. What do you think will happen? Of course there is shortages. The government subsidizes the price of oil so it us dirt cheap. What do you think will happen? Of course people smuggle it to neighbouring countries to me easy money. The government spends billions on social services when it has not money to pay for it. What do you think will happen? Of course inflation sky rockets.
Do you not see how one leads inevitably to the other?
I can certainly see how allowing greedy, sociopathic people control over the economy would result in that which is what RWNJ policies do.
What is your explanation for the super free market non socialist capitalist king country in the world, USA, to be in massive government debt exceeding 18 Trillion dollars ($18,000,000,000,000) with interest alone being over 3 Trillion dollars per year ($3,000,000,000,000) and its total national debt being at over $61 trillion dollars ($61,000,000,000,000,000) and growing like there is no tomorrow?
not really due to the drop in oil prices. I have a piece of research from April 2014 which showed Venezuela (at the time) needed an oil price of $121 per barrel just to break even…….
http://i.imgur.com/CjNUUHh.png
a little something for the mantelpiece Gosman 🙂
There’s a rather large elephant in the room too.
http://www.voanews.com/content/are-race-and-class-at-the-root-of-venezuelas-political-crisis/1886458.html
http://venezuelanalysis.com/analysis/10547
The elephant in the room is the elephant that is not in the room.
Where are all the successful socialist economies that prove that socialist economics work, and Venezuela’s failure is an aberration?
Where are all the market economies that work?
Okay, give me one nation that is a part of the global market economy where there are no levels of onerous poverty and no corresponding small ultra rich clique and where health and education and adequate shelter are equally available to all?
Venezuela is no different to any other potential examples for the question I asked above. Venezuela is a part of the global market economy, but Venezuela practices a fair amount of intervention. It isn’t a command economy though.
So, what have the interventions done? Decreased poverty and illiteracy? Increased access to health care, food, adequate shelter etc? Yes.
What has the market economy done? Gone into a recession/depression.
A renewed and fierce global downturn is already underway…
+1
Well said Bill.
I was about to say there is a significant racial/class subtext in Venezuela. I ran into a bunch of all-white, well off (better off than me, anyway) Venezuelans who showed up on their own yacht in Ibiza a few years back. They were lovely, until you got to know them and then you heard a little of their views of things back home.
Based on that experience I agree with the comment in one of the articles posted above:
“…White supremacy endures in Venezuela often resembling the United States and other settler colonial countries founded on conquest and slavery…”
Those are the kinds of people who utterly despised Chavez educating ordinary people in poor towns on the importance of participating in the political process. (Which generally involved ensuring that people could read and write so that they could interpret the Venezuelan constitution and participate in elections.
How’s the economy going in the Ukraine?
Hey Gosman, You are always ranting on about Venezuela, how the socialist’s are running it in to the ground and how socialism doesn’t work, Well mate it works very well in this country for :-
Reo Tinto
Warners
Grants to private schools
and the latest bail out by Parata of a Charter School.
Just to name a few.
Do you support those policies in NZ then? I know I certainly don’t.
NZ is developing its own corrupt crony capitalist class that is enamoured with foreign corporations and foreign money, just like Venezuela, and I reckon you do support it.
A crisp millitary salute to that CV. It has sent Gosman to ground, he probably had to get into his cheerleading kit readying himself for slippery John’s interview on The Nation.
After watching Key’s half cut pitch I notice the narrative has moved strongly towards privatisation. Unfortunately for the Nats Serco has flattened the tire and the wheel has come off. Good interview with Kelvin Davis, right now I think Key would prefer that Hone had beat Kelvin in the TTT seat.
“This link highlights what the problem with Ukraine’s economy – The State.”
Yeah but they don’t say Socialist state.
Hey mate I am not going to debate with you further as you talk nothing but crap
You have a very simplistic point of view and that is right wing good left wing terrible. Anybody with an once of intelligence knows it is not as simple as that
Personally I am not a socialist though the way the world is going it is driving me more to the left, but I have a very strong social conscience, and as I have said before when I was a kid thank the fuck other right wingers thought the same. This is something this breed of greedy bastards don’t understand the word let alone practice.
Do you support those policies in NZ then? I know I certainly don’t.
Are you another non society Randian fuckwit who follow the likes of Rimmer Got your Hologram sign yet?
Who gives a shit who and what I support
Very thoughtful article on what it is like in NZ prisons by one of the ‘Urewera 4’ Te Rangikaiwhiria Kemara http://www.putatara.net/2015/07/serco-debate/
http://www.putatara.net/2015/07/serco-debate/ one of the ‘Urewera 4’ writes a very thoughtful article on NZ prisons & that they are all badly run, & makes an interesting point that tax payers are funding gang training & recruitment, would now like to see the jamboree of right wing regulars here get their knickers in a twist about that!
Is there something going on in NZ that Gosman etal don’t want discussed?
This feels like desperate distraction by Gosman.
Privatisation is failing across the board just as the Left, back in the 1980s, predicted it would. Just as it did back in feudal times.
In fact, the one lesson we should draw from the last 5000 years of recorded history is that privatisation and wealth owned by the few always fails.
Is it
a) the housing crisis in Auckland caused by a lack of rules to stop NZ and foreign speculators
b) the imminent collapse of our economy due to crashing dairy prices
c) prison crisis
d) the imminent signing of the TPPA
e) The Saudi sheep gate and the coming resurrection of J. Collins.
Here is the scale of the housing problem…anyone who denies this is ignorant or disingenuous…this applies to Australia …..and New Zealand
http://www.smh.com.au/business/comment-and-analysis/wall-of-chinese-capital-buying-up-australian-properties-20150628-ghztdf.html#ixzz3gVPV2Oew
….”That’s roughly $32 billion,” says Tee. “The Canadian government said: ‘We don’t want your money anymore’ and that capital is now hitting the Sydney market.”
“There is a mountain of liquidity. China is bursting with flight capital. They can’t go to the US, they can’t get it into Singapore anymore, or Hong Kong.”
Tee’s comments come at a time of increasing concern that a generation of young Australians have been locked out of the property markets of Melbourne and Sydney due to spiralling house prices….
Tee says recent figures in the media which put Chinese investment in the Sydney property market at 25 per cent of total sales were too low. He says it might be twice this level but it is hard to tell because of the lack of transparency on ownership.
Most Chinese purchases hide behind trustees and proxies. Third parties such as friends and relatives were often used.
“Chinese students are being paid 2 per cent of the purchase price of the property to purchase property on behalf of relatives,” says Tee.
Another person au fait with Chinese property transactions in Australia told Fairfax Media it was simple for Chinese investors to get around the foreign capital restrictions.
“The money never really moves. In a simple example, Kunlun is a forex trading and money exchange company. It has bank accounts in many countries with significant cash balances. So if someone wants $40 million in Australia they put the money in a Kunlun China account and Kunlun transfers the money from their Australian accounts to the person’s friend’s Australian account.
“Kunlun is just one example – any large trading multinational will hold large reserves of cash in each country so they can effect a transfer with an internal paper transaction. No banks or government scrutiny involved. And given that they don’t do effective reporting in this country, who will ever trace it?…”Kunlun is just one example – any large trading multinational will hold large reserves of cash in each country so they can effect a transfer with an internal paper transaction. No banks or government scrutiny involved. And given that they don’t do effective reporting in this country, who will ever trace it?
“The current situation is that one of the best assets a local Chinese can have is a permanent Australian residence. They will have ‘friends’ lining up to ‘loan’ them money to buy properties in Australia.
All the government needs to do is follow the cash.”
Sadly, for a generation of young homebuyers it seems the government is not interested in following the cash. Otherwise our politicians, of both major parties, would have introduced the second tranche of AML legislation by now and real estate agents would have to prove that their clients’ funds were legitimate.
Property boom has been going on unchecked in Sydney for more than 10 years. The Chinese are just the latest factor.
admit it….crisis by massive scale of buy up of scarce housing resources now!
…when up to 50% of your housing stock is being bought up by Chinese
….and this said by an HONEST Chinese ( this is not racism…this is fact)
…we are betraying New Zealand youth and New Zealanders to allow this to happen!
Blame the Chinese all you like, it won’t change a thing.
who says I am blaming the Chinese…that is your spin…I am citing facts given by Chinese
…..I am blaming this Nact Government for not getting statistics and not putting controls on overseas buy up of scarce New Zealand houses …which should be for New Zealanders
…jonkey Nact are betraying young New Zealanders and future generations of New Zealanders
…you think it is right that New Zealanders are priced out of their own country ?
….I thought you were supposed to be a Lefty!…and a supporter of the Labour Party?…seems that is all pretence
NZers were priced out of Auckland by 2005; your outrage is a decade too late. Ban foreign buyers, but houses in Auckland will stay over $500,000 and out of reach.
who says I am outraged….and too late…only you
for your information many New Zealanders have been concerned about foreign ownership of New Zealand assets and property for a very long time…more than 35 years in the case of CAFCA ( but I guess before your time)
eg. New Zealand First, the Greens and CAFCA
http://canterbury.cyberplace.co.nz/community/CAFCA/
http://www.historicalwatchdog.blogspot.co.nz/
…I would add many Labour Party members and supporters are also concerned…especially recently when the scale of buy up has been massive and New Zealanders are being priced out of their own land
New Zealander’s land and culture and assets are in danger of being sold for a song…like Greece
http://www.rt.com/shows/keiser-report/310334-episode-max-keiser-786/
“In this episode of the Keiser Report, Max Keiser and Stacy Herbert discuss Greek prime ministers bearing referendums as privatisation schemes move full steam ahead as billionaires and celebrities begin buying up Greek islands on the cheap.
In the second half, Max interviews Eddy Travia of Coinsilium.com about the company’s upcoming IPO on the Alternative Investment Market (AIM) in London. Coinsilium Group facilitates the implementation of blockchain technology products and services alongside media and corporate advisory services.”
Some things are too important to sell….some things should not be sold!
I listened to this interesting TEDX talk this morning about how humans have taken over the world due to the ability to work collectively, flexibly with imagination. Everything from economic systems to money to corporations to religion are really only the result of a story which enough people believe. Perhaps we need to start imagining and telling some new stories about how the world could be.
http://www.ted.com/talks/yuval_noah_harari_what_explains_the_rise_of_humans?utm_source=newsletter_daily&utm_campaign=daily&utm_medium=email&utm_content=button__2015-07-24
Fairy Godmother
If you can find some new stories for us, I think we will listen and be heartened. Sp here’s hoping.
I like ones about people doing things that present problems and ask us to stir ourselves and direct our interests in the right way.
I have written about the man who comes all the way from Murchison to sell woollen socks at the local market.
There is the woman at the market whose husband died recently after being nursed through a long illness from a car crash, she is 64 and is being harried into getting a job so has some months of that before she is, thankfully, 65 and entitled to retirement. She was there on the Greens desk, because she is so solidly behind the precepts of humane and thoughtful living.
Forest and Bird have people going round trying to get funds for an onslaught on the uncaring barbarians that we have elected, to try and save the Maui dolphin off the west coast of North Island, off Taranaki. They and other sea creatures are badly affected by the nets that local and foreign fishers are using. The filaments are too fine and don’t deflect the sonar signal of the fish that swim right into them unaware.
I thought it was just the size of the mesh, but it is also the thinness of it causing the deaths. I am short of money but promised to talk about it to the young German lobbyist, who explained very well, probably gets a commission and was just a wee bit sorry that I couldn’t commit.
But perhaps we need more stories about things that are happening and changing things for the better, with humans at the forefront, and technology as an aid, not a substitute.
Oh dear – to say Mischele Boag was not pleased to see me this morning outside Sky City, where I was standing, quietly and peacefully as delegates entered the Casino for their 79th Conference, would have to be a bit of an understatement?
“Good morning Mischele!” I called, in a friendly way.
“Pay your rates Penny! Pay your rates!” was Mischele’s angry response.
“I will once the Council tells us where the money is being spent,” I replied.
“Don’t you support transparency Mischele?” I asked as she flounced off, in an obviously poisonous mood.
Maybe she didn’t like the wording on my placards?
Most National delegates were friendly, including Nick Smith, who didn’t reply to my question,
“What’s in the TPPA for dairy Nick?”
Maybe he didn’t hear the question – to be fair.
In fact – it was such fun – I think I’ll go back for the lunch break, and let my placards do the talking …..
Penny Bright
TPPA – WALK AWAY!
+100… GO PENNY…we are with you!
You’re worth more than a penny, Penny. Wearing down stone is slow, but you keep persisting. Apparently a primitive method of splitting stone is to pour water and salt into a crack when the weather is freezing. So unexpected results may occur with your simple methods of fronting-up used frequently.
Good on you Penny. I admire your dedication and hard work for great causes you fight for. Wish all voters in a democracy were as clued on as you. It is people like you that really deserve national awards of honour.
I’ve been watching the newspapers for reports on the court ruling on the Problem Gambling Foundation case. I haven’t seen any news at all, has anyone else seen anything?
The absence of media coverage is mystifying because it’s big news and very much in the public interest. The judge found countless breaches of the Mandatory Rules for Procurement by Departments with the extent being so great there were strong grounds for concluding bias and conflicts of interest.
People might recall the Problem Gambling Foundation were the harshest critics of SkyCity and it was alluded at the time they were refused the new contract because of their objections against SkyCity.
Yet more fuel to the fire of the SkyCity deal so why aren’t the media reporting on it….. or has that question just answered itself?
DH I referred yesterday to Andrew Geddis column @ Pundit. Covers the ground very well.
http://www.pundit.co.nz/content/bliss-was-it-in-that-dawn-to-be-alive
Thanks ianmac, wrong link though….
http://www.pundit.co.nz/content/the-governments-problem-with-problem-gambling
He does cover it well and further reinforces my puzzlement over the lack of media coverage. It is genuinely newsworthy.
Thanks DH. My error.Tried to find exactly when this decision was reached. Think it was very recent so will watch MSM with interest.
It was covered on Checkpoint.
http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/checkpoint/audio/201763588/black-eye-for-health-ministry-in-big-win-for-gambling-workers
http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/checkpoint/audio/201763610/anti-gambling-jobs-saved-by-high-court
Note National Radio acted. Papers? Not yet.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11485857
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/health/70497630/problem-gambling-foundation-beats-ministry-of-health-in-court
Thanks Ergo. The paper reports were pretty neutral in tone compared to the emblazing of minor Opposition errors.
Thanks Ergo Robertina. Either I’ve been missing what was in front of me or they were well buried, I’ve been watching both Stuff and the Herald for reports since Thursday and saw neither of those.
I’m afraid I can’t agree with the comments about prisoners being given the right to votes. As I see it, being sent to prison means being denied rights and privileges and one of the basic privileges is the right to vote. While someone is incarcerated they should not be given the right to vote, apart from anything else can you imagine the distortion that would be caused as prisoners would likely vote against the current government because it was under the current government that they were lock up! I don’t see any problems with them resuming the right to vote once released from prison though as they have returned to society with all its rights and privileges associated with that freedom.
When a person can cast a vote this can lead to better circumstances. I do not know if inmates are ever polled. It appears that some surveys are required in NZ prisons and/or some research. I do not think that Serco would be in favour of a survey or a research project.
Denise, people are sent to prison AS punishment not FOR punishment. Being locked up is punishment enough. They are still humans with human rights, including access to voting.
Although under this government people are being sent to prison for more and more punishment regardless of the severity of their original crime.
Thank-you Sirenia for saying what needs to be said.
Every person – I repeat EVERY PERSON- has the right to vote. To disenfranchise anyone is an act of treachery. There are many criminals who don’t go to prison and the majority of them are wealthy and/or powerful so can buy/blackmail their way out of punishment.
To blithely say as you have said Denise Frost that prisoners be denied their sovereign rights shows a level of ignorance which is sadly all too common among right-wing NZers.
The way I see it, you are a human being whether you are on the inside or on the outside.
Denise Frost. Do you mean that prisoners (who are the people in society most affected by the strong coercive powers of the state – and often the same, people most let down by the state) should also then have no say in the running of that state?
In contrast to you, I believe that a NZ prisoner remains a citizen of NZ, and there are rights which are inalienable to such a status: such as voting and as access to their local MP.
@Denise
That’s a bit simple. You stop being a citizen when you go to prison? And the simple and censorious want to stop them ever having a vote.even when they come out.
Yet how many people are out there commiting offences who aren’t yet in prison. And those who have stolen millions and been able to avoid prison, unlike someone who has done something annoying or stolen something replaceable.
We would like those in prison to come out better, not try to erase them for ever from being citizens. There is a case for withholding voting for a very few who are more bad than mad, but the rest should be encouraged to use the time to work out a new plan, get new skills, and go forth and act rightly.
A “right” is not a “privilege”.
Prison is detention for the safety of the community and, theoretically, punishment and time for reflection and rehabilitation.
Concomitant abuse of rights is just a dick move.
Simulation shows ‘unavoidable’ 3m Auckland sea level rise
Well, I suppose those extended wharves that Auckland Ports want won’t be worth it after all.
I’ve been consulting Homer Simpson on matters of State.
Asked what I should say to Labour as to why they weren’t successful in winning the last election he suggested an oblique approach.
Ooh, a graduate student huh? How come you guys can go to the moon but can’t make my shoes smell good?
He said the reply might be tedious and result in me exclaiming –
Sweet Merciful Crap!
But then I became unsure of the value of his clear-sighted consideration of my problem when he asked –
Hey, can you take the wheel for a second, I have to scratch my self in two places at once.
And I thought that was too similar (but more vulgar) to USA politician President Lyndon Johnson’s put-down of an opponent who, he said in a sanitised version, couldn’t do two things at once, walk and chew gum for instance.
I gave up after his next confidential statement –
Guys are always patting my bald head for luck, pinching my belly to hear my girlish laugh.
http://www.angelfire.com/hi3/pearly/homer/quotes-homer.html
One thing is clear from the National Party Conference…National Party is more than happy to sell NZ land to cash rich foreigners.
http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/political/279671/english-backs-lotu-iiga-at-party-conference
We are not alone.
Great video, great analysis.
Clarke and Dawe – Ineluctable
Just back from the Book Writers Festival with Nicky Hager. When asked if he had thought about what chance National had of winning or not at the last election he said that he believed that National were having their doubts.
“So to lift their chances they tossed Judith Collins out of their hot air balloon to make it rise higher.”
So apt!
I see they have found Planet Key, He will be pleased. Cheerio John.
i really would like someone to explain this too me, cause really it confuses me.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11486547
A wealthy couple who have donated generously to the National Party are cashing up more than $26 million of property in Auckland.
Zhao Wu Shen and Susan Chou have given more than $370,000 to National through their company Contue Jinwan Enterprise Group, or in the name of Ms Chou, since 2010.
Mr Shen was also the biggest shareholder in Mega until selling his 25.9 per cent stake this month and resigning from the board of the online encryption service founded by Kim Dotcom.
The sale of the Mega shares comes as the Hong Kong-based couple try sell more than $26 million of property in Auckland, including a luxury home on a cliff top in Herne Bay with a council valuation of $11.5 million, which sold last month.
Once owned by Rich Listers Colin and Jennifer Giltrap, the 2049sq m site was bought by Mr Shen and Ms Chou for $10.75 million in late 2013 – one of the most expensive homes sold in Auckland that year.
But the 695sqm mansion is just one of a number of properties Mr Shen and Ms Chou are cashing up.
Listed as students on the electoral roll, the couple also sold a clifftop mansion in Howick for $7.5 million in May and another Auckland home for $1.6 million last year.
———————————————————————————————————————
lets leave the reflexive screams of racism aside for a moment please.
SO they are listed as studends on the elctoral role, they are multimillionaire students that were Main Share holders of Mega and donors to National.
does this read like a bond novel, or is it just me?
And they are stated in the article as being Hong Kong based as well as being listed as students? forget the racism it just smells to me.
no the thing gets me they a held the main shares of Mega aka Dotcom and own multiple million dollar properties and are students who gave 370.000 to National.
Bond, my name is Bond.
that can’t be for real?
SO they are listed as students on the electoral role,… (typos fixed).
That’s enough to tell anyone that… all is NOT what it seems in certain property investment portfolios.
But even more telling… they have given more than $370,000 to the National Party. And there’s your reason why this govt. is refusing to release information that could confirm or otherwise whether Chinese foreign investors are distorting the Auckland market. I would take a guess the Nats are richer to the tune of several million dollars courtesy of foreign property speculators. You scratch our back and we’ll scratch yours. Bloody disgusting!
typos, i am so good at them. really i am bad at writing, typing is easier then hand writing tho,. thanks for fixing my butchering of ze english language 🙂
and yes, that whole article is just strange.
😉
I think they need to cut their fingernails and keep their hands to themselves before the gouging and troughing spreads any more bloody disgusting stats around.
Just read this, maybe some of the people turn down houses as they are broken down crap.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/70545026/Paula-Bennett-signals-crackdown-on-state-tenants-who-turn-down-houses
The state houses in the photo look like they’re in good condition and well looked after. What’s the bet they’re privately owned and are no longer state houses.
Yes who knows about those houses, but in that photo the third house from the left is covered in dirt or mold or both.
Drive around Glenn Innes aggressive pit bulls are it seems everywhere.
GI has so many problems that a family with kids may turn down a state house in that area for safety reasons.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/70546135/nick-smith-eyes-ways-to-boost-private-sector-role-in-building-resource-consents
Nick Smith eyes ways to boost private sector role in building, resource consents
Wants to allow private co to give consents.
Private building co wind up under lim liability and the liability falls on council so they are very pedantic
SO if the is a problem with private constant then they will be liable so they will then be very pendandtic or wind up.
Sound like Serco
Yup. Privatisation by stealth.
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