So it is true then – The Government’s largesse with tax payers’ money will go to the rich first. Not surprised at that.
However doesn’t this confirm that the planners are locked in 19th century mindsets.
I would have thought that the digital world could completely change how we organise ourselves.
(QWERTY is a mechanical invention and now effectively redundant.
The “alphabetical” order of arranging the world is a mechanical thing – the instant digital search available renders that redundant.)
And so with UFB roll out. Why work from the City out? Why not start at the geographical centre of Auckland – probably a street in Ellerslie? OR even more equitable, start in a depressed suburb of Auckland and allow it to blossom and become a “centre of excellence”.
Joky Hen’s basic English fails the standards. It’s back to school for John. If he said as reported on Stuff …
“Obviously if the Australian media are not accredited then they’ll [RWC] have less exposure and less opportunities and that would be very disappointing,” he said last night.
Less exposure and fewer opportunities, John Boy. Add that to your regular use of ‘There’s lots of” instead of “There are lots of”… tch tch.
Less exposure and fewer opportunities, John Boy. Add that to your regular use of ‘There’s lots of” instead of “There are lots of”… tch tch.
Added to my horror file! (I have a language blog for ESOL students, where I list common errors they must avoid… ) I have heard reporters on RNZ says “she leaped” (should be leapt) and my recent favourite “a orange” to use an example, what’s with the constant use of ‘a’ instead of ‘an’ in front of a noun starting with a vowel? Also, they all seem to use ‘unable’ when they mean disable! Have they never even heard the word ‘disable’?
Yes we must address the institutional racism and racial profiling but they are symptoms – the real issue is deeper and can only be sorted by truthfully looking at this country, by looking at who we are, by looking in the mirror.
Correct! Seems to me that people committing violent crimes are most likely to be tasered and that ethnic breakdown quoted sort of corresponds to the ethnicity ratio of those committing violent crime.
Good point but it’s the “why” that leads to a ridiculous amount of crap in this country. Topped off with cries of “racism” and “poverty” etc. at any opportunity. NZ is not ready for a rational discussion on the “why” but until there is one, we will only look at statistics like this with anger (regardless of your political stance).
The ‘why’ has to be addressed and I agree that unfortunately we cannot yet have a rational argument as a country on this.
The attitude expressed by the poster below leaves me wondering if we ever will… no sense of ‘why’ there at all
“Yet Keith Locke says:
“Certainly they’re being fired disproportionately at Maori. The reasons for that are something we should look into.”
What Keith should be asking, is how many Maori lives were saved by the Police being able to use a taser to disarm an armed offender, without shooting them?”
Some shameless self promotion here: I’ll be on Vinnie Eastwood’s radio show from 10-12 AM today.
I’ll be talking about BofA in slomo collapse. John Key’s shares in that bank and his obvious conflict of interest having to serve two masters: The international bankster syndicate and the Kiwi population who’s interests are diametrically opposed to those of the banksters.
I will also be talking about John Key’s announcement to redirect millions of dollars of taxpayers money allocated for development aid to the forces who destroyed the Libyan infrastructure in order to rebuild Libya and to “help” the Libyan population.
Other subject which might pass are Fukushima’s ongoing disaster and the spread of hotspots throughout Japan and the contamination of foodstuffs and why we are still importing said foodstuffs from Japan.
This should not be hidden in the middle of the NZ Herald, it should be far more public
A potential strike by security guards hangs over the Rugby World Cup as a key operator faces a protest over working conditions.
The Unite Union has planned a picket from 9am today outside the Newmarket headquarters of Darien Rush Security, the firm which has won the lucrative contract to patrol Eden Park and North Harbour Stadium during the World Cup.
Late wage payments, intimidation from management, poor training and anti-union discrimination were among the problems the picket sought to highlight, said organiser and veteran protester John Minto.
The protest was sparked by an email from the company’s managing director, Darien Rush, when approached about negotiating a collective employment agreement.
“Darien Rush Security is a non-union site and will remain so,” Mr Rush replied in the email, which has been forwarded to the Herald.
“Furthermore, you are instructed not to contact any of my clients… I also put you on notice that all/any Unite Union organisers/management will be formally trespassed and the police advised if you attempt to enter the private property of Darien Rush Security
at any time as you are not welcome.”
According to NZ employment law
It is illegal for an employer to discriminate against workers because they joined a union, and unions are legally allowed to enter a workplace to represent members.
You gotta hand it to Farrar he is capable of running the most ridiculous lines that the gullible and feeble fall for.
Sorry to disappoint you Nick but Labour has little money like it always has and the unions are struggling. If you want to see real money in politics ask your local National Party MP about the Ruahine and the Waitemata Trusts.
Pigs will fly before any of our rich listers offer to do this.
Sixteen executives, including Europe’s richest woman, the L’Oreal heiress Liliane Bettencourt, had offered in an open letter to pay a “special contribution” in a spirit of “solidarity”.
And still NZ won’t tax the rich and is promoting NZ as a financial centre with zero tax on overseas funds, at the same time some of the rich in Europe and the USA see the problem of tax inequality and Switzerland has just struck a deal with the UK so banks governments can get hold of tax evaders’ unpaid tax. Wake up NZ!
Good news – Otago uni has found important information about the genome of the new kiwifruit
disease. Good stuff. I understand that the Ministries of primary produce etc are all going to be amalgamated and scientists will be lost.
Is this wise or just another nightmare dreamed up by NACT, the false prophets of a supposed vital society. Actually they are leading us into a cul de sac of incompetence and sovereign weakness. With their systems we are vulnerable to the illnesses being passed to us from our contacts with the global financial diseases.
Biosecurity from the Farmers party laissez it will be Right. Cut front line jobs again 29 last time now more when we have extra people coming Dumb dumb and dumber. Typical National party short sighted idiots.Last time they were in power they cut front line officers .We ended up with a $400million clean up job painted apple moth.Labour increased frontline officers by 350 2000to2008!
Dead right, Anne, well spotted! For the Herald this is pretty damning stuff. And the first dozen comments backing it till the righties pop up. One of whom ventured this bit of delusional thinking:
“The face behind this Editorial should realise that readers have brains. Is the NZ Herald now on a campaign to try and up the Labour Party stakes to win the General Election? Looks like it! ”
Granny pointing out the blindingly obvious fact that the team behind Key are lightweights is not a sign of a pro-Labour campaign brewing. I wish! It might actually be a sign that in a recession, advertising spend drops. And that could be a factor in APN’s share price plunging from $2.50 in the New Year to a dollar now, with 60 cents gone in just the last 30 days. I can see a powerful motivation to tweak Key’s ears right there, eh.
“The face behind this Editorial should realise that readers have brains. Is the NZ Herald now on a campaign to try and up the Labour Party stakes to win the General Election? Looks like it!
Here’s Barnaby’s Herald comment response TVoR Boy, they have had no other target in mind since the last election! The ‘Herald’ is now the virtual official mouthpiece of the Labour Party. Look at the lineup of journalists and feature writers who echo the socialst policies of the newspaper’s UK owners.
Don’t know who is laughing the loudest – the Left or the Herald’s editorial writers.
The issue might have just come to Cabinet level, or somebody was mine-sweeping for issues that could bite the Government at the election…
Guyon Espiner described it, on Breakfast, this week as the government trying to sand off the sharp bits before the election.
Youth Unemployment
Mines inspectors
Cleaning up lake Elsmere (sic?)
Swap of land in Northland for land in Napier
These are just the beginning of the misdirection from feel good stories that the Prime Magician and his poodles will be putting out until the election.
The Nia Glassie coroner has some “radical” recommendations that Petulant Bean says are “already under discussion”.
All parents of under 5 year olds, should be subject to “unskedyooled” sic) inspections, and all single parents and solo parents on benefits, should be forced to comply.
(Why the distinction? Non-beneficiaries are ‘single parents’, beneficiaries are ‘solo parents’. Is this the not-terribly-bright 3 News reporter’s distinction, or the coroner’s?
Seems it’s the reporter’s distinction and yes, it’s pejorative. The coroner used ‘single parent families’.
The coroner seems to think all children should be monitored. Recommendation 5 (pdf, p25)
That all children from birth be compulsory registered with government agencies and health providers and other voluntary organisations and monitored from birth through to and including the age of five. That monitoring to include scheduled and unscheduled visits to the homes where young children are living so that monitoring will ensure they are kept safe and then provided with the necessities of life
Recommendation 6 expands on state intervention and the monitoring oversight of the care of children of single parents – working or or on a benefit – and children that have previously come to the notice of CYFS or where there is domestic violence in the home.
Interesting when single parent families end though – 2 weeks after the boyfriend moves in? or never?
I would like to see a bit of research on increases in child abuse since changes to postnatal care in the 1990s led to reduced home visits by health services and assistance for new parents. I’m not sure if it is worse, and if it’s worse whether less care, more deprivation, changing social mores or a combination of all is implicated.
Is marital status a ground for discrimination under the human rights act? Income status certainly is.
I was appalled at the suggestion that only single parent families should be subjected to random raids. If this is something that really is necessary for reducing child abuse lets raid all households with children. (And for the record I don’t believe this kind of intrusion would make a jot of diffference.)
But no, families with two parents in residence have rights.
I noted that the judge suggested that beneficiaries who didn’t submit to the regime should have their benefits docked. That’ll really help the children.
It has become so socially acceptable to denigrate beneficaries that the judiciary making ignorant and discriminatory statements like this have become a regular occurence. It was only a couple of weeks ago that a woman convicted of benefit fraud was told that it was people like her that made the public think all beneficiaries are criminals. Imagine the outcry if he’d said the same about fraudster lawyers.
I’m thinking that all men who move into a house with children that are not their own should be monitored – and have their benefits docked if they don’t comply. Imagine the outrage at the denigration of all stepfathers (btw – my children have an awesome stepfather).
It’s a trade off.. it makes sense to focus on the segments of society matching the profile for potential child abuse. It’s a direct approach to the shameful statistics for underprivileged NZ kids.
(long term approaches addressing the plight of the “underclass” will require decades)
True Ropata, and I understand where you are coming from. But I don’t believe that further humiliation of people under the greatest stress will provide any solutions to our horrendous problem with child abuse. And abuse is rife in all strata of society. I know of cases of long-term abuse in “respectable” middle-class families. The children didn’t die, but they will carry the effects of the abuse for their lifetimes. Should kids these kinds of families be allowed to continue to be cloaked by their “respectablility”.
I don’t believe discrimination and state-sanctioned contempt will make the lives of children any better.
I shouldn’t have relied on the tv news for my information about the recommendations. It seems it was recommended that all households with children up to five years receive scheduled and unscheduled visits. Solo parent and beneficiary households (as well as those in which there has been documented abuse – how lovely that sole parents and beneficiaries should be included in this camp) however should receive this mandatory oversight indefinitely.
Lets see which of the recommendations are taken up. What the tv reported gives a big clue.
As I have noted before the whole concern and direction of the discussion about these welfare policies is about children. The obvious thing is that some parents need a lot of help and all parents should be able to access help when wanted whether some child-care, medical, subsidies, holiday camps, or whatever. But no, children just appear on this earth and then become the focus of attention and in the background, some people usually look after and feed them, though not very important people, called parents.
And won’t it be lovely to have the uberwelfare person come round, sharp eyes ready to criticise, and find fault. Ooh, shouting at your kid, I caught you out there. This house isn’t very clean, a good housekeeper puts toys away. You had better take that child to the GP and have that cough checked. But you can’t use your car it hasn’t an approved car seat for any of your children, etc etc.
Hi Colonial V. If the Ms types equal the Anatolleys and the Ruthless Richardsons then heaven save us from these harpies. They are reincarnations of the class-oriented snobs of the 19th century, who are not far away in time, and have been merely dormant waiting to rise out of the ground like zombies.
Yeah,
I’m thinking that this coroner isn’t expecting that he’d be subjected to random inspections/raids (if he has kids himself). Maybe his partner might be inspected during the day (although he’d be well aware how unlikely that would be) but him – they wouldn’t dare.
He’s somebody
Prism, I agree there should be more focus on parents’ needs. And yes, parents need access to childcare (ECE), health care etc, but I think you’re mixing up 2 things when you move on to notions of interference in home life – the first is the control of parents and the second is care of children and support for parents, especially new parents, and especially when the parents have poor social networks.
I don’t care for the language that the coroner used, but there are a lot of parents failing out there and this could be turned around with a bit more advice and assistance. For parents with very young babies this is best provided in the home – where the parenting is done. If this happens the call for control may well be reduced. There needs to be some consensus on up-skilling parents and protecting children and to write-all intervention as control is not helpful.
@rosy You are drawing a positive picture but I fear that it will just degenerate in many areas into a welfare officer to parent being treated as a child relationship, very top down. I know that many parents are failing and it’s a struggle for them to cope.
One of the problems with many parents today is that they want to be friends with their children, they stand back from decision making and taking parental responsibility. They need to have goals and be helped to achieve them. The joy and satisfaction of being able to handle their life now and have an opportunity to work towards future dreams would change a lot in their minds and their actions towards their kiddies.
My idea is that many have not even had a decent education, and have sunk into peer groups who find a low common standard and slosh around there together. I think that some home visits, and some learning at a structured outside venue, with childrens supervised play so parents can concentrate would be best. For those with poor social networks it would open their life a bit more. Its good to get out of the home after a while, away from the cabin fever. There would need to be a minibus that would provide transport to ensure that they got to the sessions. It would be good to be with others all learning stuff that’s relevant. I think that an ncea credit could be offered for those who have an ambition for building skills.
@Prism – If visits are based on health and education it can be positive. But I know if it comes from an authoritarian view it won’t. That’s why some consensus is needed.
“I think that some home visits, and some learning at a structured outside venue, with childrens supervised play so parents can concentrate would be best. For those with poor social networks it would open their life a bit more.”
Yes, I agree. Plunket family centres do a wonderful job here, but women almost have to feel like failures before they go – They can be improved by incorporating health and education into everyday life can help people realise feelings of inadequacy are normal. Parent Centre groups can also provide useful and networks and strong bonds between women. It seems these are more of a resource for women who already have resources though.
The thing that gets me most is that there are a lot of people out there who have never even held a baby, never fed one, never bathed one. There is all sorts of excitement and interest until the baby is born and then the new parent is left. It’s not just those single parents – how many couples have had enormous problems because they only have the other for support? New mothers have trouble functioning and are dreadfully unhappy simply because they are alone and without advice. This is a bigger problem than many people realise (I’ve done a bit of research on it). And it’s not only the deprived. However the deprived do not have they resources to pay for help and advice, others may. Provide advice and set good coping strategies at the beginning and half the problem is solved.
The obvious thing is that some parents need a lot of help and all parents should be able to access help when wanted whether some child-care, medical, subsidies, holiday camps, or whatever.
As I found out in the 1980s, though, asking for any kind of assistance gets you ‘marked’ by CYFS, and monitored – until you prove (in my case by waving the Plunket book under the woman’s nose) that you’re ‘safe’. (A neighbour had dobbed me in I suspect, because she was peeved that I was fed up with having her drop in for an evening when she had locked herself out – again! We lived in a block of council flats in Welly, and she had issues – which manifested in part, by the fact that she couldn’t remember to take her door key to work.)
Yes, you and I are both very aware of these sorts of things, given our histories. This is one reason why information needs to be out there that all sorts of parents struggle. Normalise the situation (sort of like John Kirwan with his depression ads) – don’t let society think that there is a ‘problem’ with only particular groups.
I was lucky with T., because my mother was still alive, and with G., I had my ex’s aunt – and then with L., I had my sisters around me. Ideally, mothers would have extended family around.. although that’s increasingly rare…
Rosy I wish your approach and ideas could come to fruition as you seem to have a good and practical handle on what would improve parents lives and skills. Some politician reading this blog please take notice you couldn’t do better for the people of NZ than to provide intelligent useful help to parents of all classes, just different approaches and levels depending on money available and education and financial situation of the particular parents involved.
Oh dear… Rosy I did post a reply to you last night, but it seems it didn’t go, as I was having connection issues…
I am reminded of how, in 1972, I had my first son, as a single mother. The law then mandated that all children of solo mothers had to be ‘inspected’ by a social worker.
The woman arrived one sunny winter evening. I was a teen, at home with my parents, and I answered the door. She bluesed in, looking around and bellowed “I hear you have a lilttle illegit. Let’s see the sprog!” My parents and I were very unimpressed… and not at all sure that this woman would have known the signs of abuse if she’d seen them! My father was all for keeping her away from T., and for preference, throwing her out the house, but she quoted the law at him.
14 years later, when I found T’s adopted mother she told me that she had burned the file that came with him, noting only my name, in case of a future law change (she had wanted an open adoption but the law didn’t allow that then.) The file contained a heap of details she said T., did not need to know – such as my father’s conviction for keeping an armoury… and his psycholoigical profile! Given that he’d died less than 2 years after the above incident and T., had been adopted 6 weeks later, it was utterly irrelevant. 🙁
My plunket nurse when I was a teen was an absolute saint. Although having a completely intolerant one with my last child was eye-opening experience. Wouldn’t have wanted her when I was young and alone!
Sounds like T got an enlightened adoptive mother, sorry you’ve had to go through all that bureaucratic judgement.
Sounds like T got an enlightened adoptive mother, sorry you’ve had to go through all that bureaucratic judgement.
She was and she is! (I wrote to her last nignt, T., is in rehab, being adopted truly messed him up… I’d never say that to her, I know she really meant well, which is the very sad thing.) She’s a lovely woman and ironically ended up a solo mother herself – her first husband being worse than useless and oddly paranoid about me tracking them down and taking my son back! Yet 2 years ago, he was pleading with me to do just that, because of T’s drug problem..
Funnily enough, the one time I really needed to be watched and helped was when I was married, as my confidence went down the toilet altogether..
It’s time for a non-partisan, evidence based, national consensus and initiative on the care of our children.
Yes, it means a return to some aspects of the old “socialist New Zealand” – increases in district nurses, plunket, state-monitoring, monitored health, healthy homes. Maybe not cradle to grav e but certainly cradle to school.
Add to that a liveable wage, reduction in inequality (one of the biggest things that threatens the peace of the otherwise compliant western world.)
Some fantastic news tonight. Lake Ellesmere, NZs most polluted is set for a clean up. The regional councils, farmers bodies etc have finally recognised what has been obvious for years, the whole Selwyn Ellesmere system has been an agricultural sewer. That in itself is great news, recognition that there is a problem, but better, a willingness to do something.
I am not sure that the dollars will be sufficient or the strategy right but it is a start. As a goal if the clean up results in a quarter of the trout running up the river that were recorded in the 1920s then it will be a huge success, a fishery to compare with Taupo with the resultant tourist dollars. Good work canterbury, now for the Manawatu system……..
Today Environment Minister Nick Smith announced that one of New Zealand’s most polluted lakes will receive clean up funding. Lake Ellesmere has become heavily polluted, with little care taken by local farmers, which has resulted in high levels of Nitrogen and Phosphorous from unchecked effluent run off. Fonterra will contributed only $1.3 m of the $11.6 million fund, despite them profiteering directly from the environmental destruction…
There has been quite a bit of eyebrow raising (and little else) to comments relating to Libya and Joky Hen’s public statements. It was a surprise to hear his announcement of aid to this oil rich nation and also that he had already signed us up to some form of accord. Just what else has he negotiated on our behalf, in secret…? It would be nice if just for once Garner and Espiner did some delving instead of repeating the dross of opinion poll analysis?
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This story was originally published by Grist and is part of Covering Climate Now, a global journalism collaboration strengthening coverage of the climate story. This story is part of a collaboration with Grist and WABE to demystify the Georgia Public Service Commission, the small but powerful state-elected board that makes critical decisions about everything from raising ...
This is a guest post from Robert McLachlan Global warming is accelerating; 2023 was off the charts. We need to stop burning fossil fuels. In New Zealand, transport accounts for half of all fossil fuels burnt. In the Emissions Reduction Plan, transport emissions fall 41% by 2035. As the ...
Labour productivity has been receding rapidly over the past two years, reversing a post-lockdown rise. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: My six things to note in Aotearoa’s political economy as at 6:26am on Tuesday, March 26 include:Workers have been treading water in output per hour worked for 12 years, ...
TL;DR: The key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to April 2 include:Today, Parliament resumes sitting at 2pm for the second week of a two-week session. Officials for SIS and GCSB report their annual reviews in public to the Intelligence and Security Select Committee from 5.10pm.Tomorrow, ...
Faced with a barrage of criticism over the promised tax cuts from usually supportive commentators, Finance Minister Nicola Willis yesterday reaffirmed her intention to include them in this year’s Budget. The Government is up against it over the cuts just about every way it turns. Commentators like Fran O’Sullivan, Matthew ...
Here’s my pick of today’s substack posts as of 6:26pm on Monday, March 25: writes via his substack that Market-rate housing will make your city cheaper writes via his substack about the problems talking to double-cab ute (truck) drivers about their vehicles. today about moments of radicalisation in ...
Buzz from the Beehive Just before Christmas, Finance Minister Nicola Willis delivered something that was pitched as a mini-budget and brayed about the decisive action being taken to repair the Government books and support income tax relief in Budget 2024. In a statement headed Fiscal repair job underway. she introduced ...
My sister Belinda asked Dad yesterday what one word would describe Mum best. He said: vivacious.If you only knew her from the photos on the slideshow we've made for today,you might wonder about that, because the camera tended to lie with Mum.If ever she saw a camera pointed at her, she ...
There are two major public consultations closing in the next week, Auckland Council’s Long Term Plan (LTP), and the draft Government Policy Statement on Land Transport (GPS). Closing dates and times: LTP closes Thursday 28 February, at 11.59pm – a minute to midnight! GPS closes Tuesday 2 April, at 12pm noon – note that’s ...
From Kiwiblog’s David Farrar – Bryce Wilkinson writes: Senior Fellow Bryce Wilkinson’s analysis reveals that since March 2009, New Zealand has spent $158 billion more overseas than it has earned, but its NIIP has only fallen by $32 billion.Statistics New Zealand shows that receipts from overseas reinsurers have ...
Is she hinting that the Coalition Government will have to back down on key promises it made in Opposition? Brian Easton writes – The Minister of Finance, Nicola Willis, is telling an evolving story about her fiscal challenges. In Opposition she was confident that she could ...
Dear Nicola Willis,Right now you’ve probably got lots of competing demands coming at you. Ministers who’ve inherited quite a mess, or so you’ve told us, looking for money in the budget to improve things. I imagine that’s why they came to parliament - to make things better.You’ll have to make ...
The Local Government, Transport and Auckland Minister hasthreatened councils with intervention if they don’t merge water assets to take them off balance sheet, just as the now-repealed Three Waters plan directed. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: My six things of note this morning for Monday, March 25 include:Simeon ...
A listing of 36 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 17, 2024 thru Sat, March 23, 2024. Story of the week Thanks to John Mason having the stamina to sit down to watch "Climate - the Movie" ...
This morning the Q&A programme had Simeon Brown on to talk about National’s replacement for Three Waters. In case anyone’s forgotten the three are - drinking water, waste water, and sewerage. It’s quite important not to get them mixed up. In much the same way that you wouldn’t want to ...
Today’s newsletter comes with a mini-podcast conversation between me and my buddy Liv Tennet, talking about her time as a child actor in Lord of the Rings. It’s a conversation with a lot of giggles as she talks about falling off a horse, and becoming a meme. Read ...
The Desmog Climate Disinformation Database documents, "individuals and organisations that have helped to delay and distract the public and our elected leaders from taking needed action to reduce greenhouse gas pollution and fight global warming." It's a who's who of the organised climate change denial movement, in other words. In ...
Bob Edlin writes – A High Court judge has decided miscreants who have mana – or who claim to have mana – should be treated differently from miscreants who have none. It’s a ruling that suggests indigenous law-breakers have a better chance of securing a discharge without conviction ...
Welcome to the first, and possibly last, edition of Brickbats, Bouquets and Bull’s Wool. In which I’ll take a look at the events of the last week or so, and rate them.In such ratings the numbers usually have more to do with the opinions of the reviewer, than the actual ...
Roger Partridge writes – My earlier column this month, New Zealand’s highest court could be facing a turning point, prompted a flood of feedback from business readers and lawyers alike. A common query was what Parliament can do to restrain an overreaching judiciary. This week I discuss two steps Parliament ...
TL;DR: In today’s ‘six-stack’ of substacks at 6.16pm on Friday, March 22: writes about New Zealand's Building Boom—And What the World Must Learn From It over at his substack. challenges the Auckland Council’s use of a 3.8 degrees of warming forecast to oppose a wave-park and data centre project ...
Is she hinting that the Coalition Government will have to back down on key promises it made in Opposition?The Minister of Finance, Nicola Willis, is telling an evolving story about her fiscal challenges. In Opposition she was confident that she could deliver her promised income tax cuts. Appointed minister, she ...
Buzz from the Beehive Ministers of the Crown have drawn attention to one sector of the science sector which is unlikely to be subjected to heavy spending cuts, a state-funded broadcaster which is doing nicely, thank you, and a sporting event that had $5.4 million from the public purse puffed ...
Abbott’s Freestyle Libre sensors allow continuous glucose monitoring (CGM). The sensor is applied to the back of the patient’s arm, with a thin filament under the skin measuring glucose levels constantly. But it costs around $100 per sensor and must be replaced once every 14 days. Photo by BSIP/Universal Images ...
The Inspector General of Intelligence and Security (IGIS) recently released a report in which he exposes the existence of a foreign intelligence partner-controlled technological “capability” inside the headquarters of the GCSB, NZ’s 5 Eyes-affiliated signals intelligence collection and analysis agency. … Continue reading → ...
Peter Dunne writes – Nearly three decades after the introduction of MMP and multiparty governments there should be a greater level of understanding about their finer points than often appears to be the case. The reaction to the despicable outburst from the Deputy Prime Minister at the weekend highlights ...
The sweet kisses from fruit of summerHave slowly been turning dullerYou say, "those times"And "remember the daysWhen we went outside and there still was the shade?"Taking no reason into play…Autumn. Clear, blue days shortening to longer nights, growing colder. Aotearoa.That’s us. The temperature dropping, the looming car crash - so ...
Bryce Edwards writes – “It is often said that behind every great man is a great woman”. This is the pitch by the National Party Botany electorate branch to attend their “Ladies Afternoon Tea with Amanda Luxon”. For $110 including GST, you can turn up on Saturday 20 April ...
David Farrar writes – The Electoral Commission has published the expense returns for political parties for the 2023 election. I’ve put them in a table with how many votes a party got so we can see the spend per vote. National only spent $3.34 for every vote they got, almost ...
Winston Peters’ headline-making actions over the past week may have been a show of political power intended to strengthen his hand in Budget negotiations. It was no accident that his State of the Nation speech was as it was. He made it as New Zealand First Leader, not as Deputy ...
Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the last week included:Former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson bowed out of politics this week, giving a series of exit ...
Graham Adams writes — If you love the law or sausages, as the saying goes, best not to look too closely at how they are made. And after watching the orgy of self-pity when Newshub’s closure was announced on February 28, television journalism should definitely be added to the list of those ...
Venerable New Zealand political commentator, Chris Trotter (https://bowalleyroad.blogspot.com/), is a sad creature these days. Once one of the most reliable Leftist writers out there – Economic Left at that – Trotter seems to have absorbed the worldview of Auckland culture-war obsessives. It is not for me to categorise what he ...
The cruelty of short-term memory loss is that each time you ask where she is, you get the fresh shock and grief of the news. That was Dad's day yesterday.Comfortingly, it seems to be less so today. Last night he looked crumpled, today he seems more settled. There's a card ...
The Coalition Government’s plan to ‘get Auckland moving’ is a cuts cover-up that will ultimately cost Aucklanders more to move around the city, says Labour Auckland Issues spokesperson Shanan Halbert. ...
Slashing the Ministry of Pacific Peoples by 40% will have a devastating impact on pacific communities and further highlights how little this government cares about anything other than cutting taxes for the wealthiest few. ...
Labour has proposed an urgent inquiry to investigate the ever-increasing profits of supermarkets, aiming to lower costs for shoppers and food producers alike, says Labour Spokesperson for Commerce and Consumer Affairs Arena Williams and Primary Production Spokesperson Cushla Tangaere-Manuel. ...
With 14% of jobs on the line at the Ministry for Ethnic Communities, the responsible Minister Melissa Lee is failing to stand up for the very communities she’s meant to be representing. ...
COURT OF APPEAL: TRIFECTA OF VICTORY FOR NZ FIRST, TRIFECTA OF FAILURE FOR OPPONENTS For the third time since April 2020, New Zealand First has defeated the Serious Fraud Office and all those complicit in a malicious attack against a political party going about its lawful business in a lawful ...
The Green Party stands with people who live in public housing, people in dire housing need, experts and advocates in demanding better than the Government’s archaic approach to housing those who need our support the most. ...
New Zealand has recently lost the hosting rights of some major international sporting events including the America’s Cup, the Rugby Championship, Netball World Cup, and the Wellington Sevens. We are now at a huge risk of losing SailGP as well. And it won’t stop there. The recent issues with SailGP ...
A Member’s Bill drawn this week would modernise insurance law and make things fairer and more transparent for consumers, Christchurch Central MP Duncan Webb said. ...
The Minister for Disability Issues has confirmed she was aware of funding issues in mid-December and did nothing to stop it. On 14 March, she signed off on changes that were announced and implemented on 18 March without any consultation with disability communities. ...
Green Party MP Julie Anne Genter says her members' bill is an opportunity for the coalition government to plug the gap in electric vehicle incentives. ...
The National Government continues to talk about irresponsible tax cuts that will only drive up inflation, despite the country entering a technical recession. ...
The Minister for Disability Issues must act urgently to reinstate flexibility around the funding for disability support and apologise to disabled carers. ...
This story has been initiated by a leftie shill reporter who proactively sought to call a member of a former band, which disbanded twelve years ago, give their biased appraisal of what was said in my speech, and concocted a ham-fisted attempt at a story that does nothing but show ...
The Government has accepted Labour’s change to the Road User Charge (RUC) discount for hybrid vehicles, meaning there will still be some incentive for people to buy greener vehicles. ...
Many in the mainstream media have taken what was said in New Zealand First’s State of the Nation Speech in Palmerston North on Sunday and deliberately, deceitfully, and ignorantly misrepresented what I said and why I said it. The headlines and commentary on the news stated that I compared ‘co-governance ...
Kicking the most vulnerable people out of state housing and pushing them towards homelessness will result in a proliferation of poverty and trauma across our most vulnerable communities. ...
Te Pāti Māori co-leader and MP for Waiariki, Rawiri Waititi has penned a letter asking MPs to support his members bill to remove GST from all food. The bill is expected to go through its first reading in parliament this Wednesday. “I’m calling on all political parties to support my ...
Good afternoon. Thank you for, in your very busy lives, turning up to this meeting today. On October 14th last year New Zealanders overwhelmingly voted for change. That is exactly what this new government is bringing. New Zealand First campaigned to ‘take back our country’ and stop the disastrous economic ...
This year is about getting real with Kiwis and discussing the tough issues, as the National Government exacerbates inequality and divides New Zealand, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said ...
The Government adding Significant Natural Areas (SNAs) to its already roaring environmental policy bonfire is an assault on the future of wildlife that makes Aotearoa unique. ...
After 12 years of fighting to protect our moana we are finding ourselves back at square one and back at court. Today, the Environmental Protection Agency is sitting in Hawera to reconsider an application from Trans-Tasman Resources to dig up 50 million tonnes of the seabed in South Taranaki. This ...
Minister Shane Jones’ decision to step away from a seabed mining project is evidence of the murky waters surrounding the Government’s fast-track legislation. ...
The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last government in a bid to get greater coherence in the publicservice on Treaty matters. When ministers first considered the need for tighter oversight in 2021, there ...
The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last government in a bid to get greater coherence in the publicservice on Treaty matters. When ministers first considered the need for tighter oversight in 2021, there ...
The Coalition Government’s miscalculation saga continues as it has forgotten an eyewatering $90 million gap in its interest deductibility cost figures, say Labour Finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds and Revenue Spokesperson Deborah Russell. ...
He Pou a Rangi Climate Change Commission has today released advice that says if the Government doesn’t act now New Zealand is at risk of not meeting its climate goals. ...
The Coalition Government has today confirmed it is abandoning first home buyers who are struggling to get ahead, says Labour Finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds. ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed the passing of legislation to move light electric vehicles (EVs) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) into the road user charges system from 1 April. “It was always intended that EVs and PHEVs would be exempt from road user charges until they reached two ...
New Zealand is strengthening its ability to combat illegal fishing outside its domestic waters and beef up regulation for its own commercial fishers in international waters through a Bill which had its first reading in Parliament today. The Fisheries (International Fishing and Other Matters) Amendment Bill 2023 sets out stronger ...
Economists Carl Hansen and Professor Prasanna Gai have been appointed to the Reserve Bank Monetary Policy Committee, Finance Minister Nicola Willis announced today. The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) is the independent decision-making body that sets the Official Cash Rate which determines interest rates. Carl Hansen, the executive director of Capital ...
Apartment owners and buyers will soon have greater protections as further changes to the law on unit titles come into effect, Housing Minister Chris Bishop says. “The Unit Titles (Strengthening Body Corporate Governance and Other Matters) Amendment Act had already introduced some changes in December 2022 and May 2023, and ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters will travel to Egypt and Europe from this weekend. “This travel will focus on a range of New Zealand’s traditional diplomatic and security partnerships while enabling broad engagement on the urgent situation in Gaza,” Mr Peters says. Mr Peters will attend the NATO Foreign ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown is encouraging all road users to stay safe, plan their journeys ahead of time, and be patient with other drivers while travelling around this Easter long weekend. “Road safety is a responsibility we all share, and with increased traffic on our roads expected this Easter we ...
About 1.4 million New Zealanders will receive cost of living relief through increased government assistance from April 1 909,000 pensioners get a boost to Superannuation, including 5000 veterans 371,000 working-age beneficiaries will get higher payments 45,000 students will see an increase in their allowance Over a quarter of New Zealanders ...
Ensuring social housing is being provided to those with the greatest needs is front of mind as the Government restarts social housing tenancy reviews, Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka says. “Our relentless focus on building a strong economy is to ensure we can deliver better public services such as social ...
The Kermadec Ocean Sanctuary will not go ahead, with Cabinet deciding to stop work on the proposed reserve and remove the Bill that would have established it from Parliament’s order paper. “The Kermadec Ocean Sanctuary Bill would have created a 620,000 sq km economic no-go zone,” Oceans and Fisheries Minister ...
Dam safety regulations are being amended so that smaller dams won’t be subject to excessive compliance costs, Minister for Building and Construction Chris Penk says. “The coalition Government is focused on reducing costs and removing unnecessary red tape so we can get the economy back on track. “Dam safety regulations ...
The coalition Government is expanding the medium-scale adverse event classification to parts of the North Island as dry weather conditions persist, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced today. “I have made the decision to expand the medium-scale adverse event classification already in place for parts of the South Island to also cover the ...
The passing of legislation giving effect to coalition Government tax commitments has been welcomed by Finance Minister Nicola Willis. “The Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill will help place New Zealand on a more secure economic footing, improve outcomes for New Zealanders, and make our tax system ...
Science, Innovation and Technology Minister Judith Collins and Tertiary Education and Skills Minister Penny Simmonds today announced plans to transform our science and university sectors to boost the economy. Two advisory groups, chaired by Professor Sir Peter Gluckman, will advise the Government on how these sectors can play a greater ...
The Budget will deliver urgently-needed tax relief to hard-working New Zealanders while putting the government’s finances back on a sustainable track, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The Finance Minister made the comments at the release of the Budget Policy Statement setting out the Government’s Budget objectives. “The coalition Government intends ...
The coalition Government will look at options to address a zoning issue that limits how much financial support Queenstown residents can get for accommodation. Cabinet has agreed on a response to the Petitions Committee, which had recommended the geographic information MSD uses to determine how much accommodation supplement can be ...
Cabinet has agreed to a short extension to the final reporting timeframe for the Royal Commission into Abuse in Care from 28 March 2024 to 26 June 2024, Internal Affairs Minister Brooke van Velden says. “The Royal Commission wrote to me on 16 February 2024, requesting that I consider an ...
The coalition Government is delivering an $18 million boost to New Zealanders needing to travel for specialist health treatment, Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says. “These changes are long overdue – the National Travel Assistance (NTA) scheme saw its last increase to mileage and accommodation rates way back in 2009. ...
The Government is recognising the innovative and rising talent in New Zealand’s growing space sector, with the Prime Minister and Space Minister Judith Collins announcing the new Prime Minister’s Prizes for Space today. “New Zealand has a growing reputation as a high-value partner for space missions and research. I am ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has confirmed New Zealand’s concerns about cyber activity have been conveyed directly to the Chinese Government. “The Prime Minister and Minister Collins have expressed concerns today about malicious cyber activity, attributed to groups sponsored by the Chinese Government, targeting democratic institutions in both New ...
Independent Reviewers appointed for School Property Inquiry Education Minister Erica Stanford today announced the appointment of three independent reviewers to lead the Ministerial Inquiry into the Ministry of Education’s School Property Function. The Inquiry will be led by former Minister of Foreign Affairs Murray McCully. “There is a clear need ...
State Highway 1 across the Brynderwyns will be open for Easter weekend, with work currently underway to ensure the resilience of this critical route being paused for Easter Weekend to allow holiday makers to travel north, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Today I visited the Brynderwyn Hills construction site, where ...
Introduction Good morning to you all, and thanks for having me bright and early today. I am absolutely delighted to be the Minister for Infrastructure alongside the Minister of Housing and Resource Management Reform. I know the Prime Minister sees the three roles as closely connected and he wants me ...
New Zealand stands with the United Kingdom in its condemnation of People’s Republic of China (PRC) state-backed malicious cyber activity impacting its Electoral Commission and targeting Members of the UK Parliament. “The use of cyber-enabled espionage operations to interfere with democratic institutions and processes anywhere is unacceptable,” Minister Responsible for ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters and Defence Minister Judith Collins today announced New Zealand will provide logistics support for the upcoming Solomon Islands election. “We’re sending a team of New Zealand Defence Force personnel and two NH90 helicopters to provide logistics support for the election on 17 April, at the request ...
The European Union Free Trade Agreement Legislation Amendment Bill received Royal Assent today, completing the process for New Zealand’s ratification of its free trade agreement with the European Union. “I am pleased to announce that today, in a small ceremony at the Beehive, New Zealand notified the European Union ...
Public consultation on the terms of reference for the Royal Commission into COVID-19 Lessons has concluded, Internal Affairs Minister Hon Brooke van Velden says. “I have been advised that there were over 11,000 submissions made through the Royal Commission’s online consultation portal.” Expanding the scope of the Royal Commission of ...
Hardworking families are set to benefit from a new credit to help them meet their early childcare education (ECE) costs, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. From 1 July, parents and caregivers of young children will be supported to manage the rising cost of living with a partial reimbursement of their ...
A specialised Independent Technical Advisory Group (ITAG) tasked with preparing and publishing independent non-binding advice on the design of a "green" (sustainable finance) taxonomy rulebook is being established, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. “Comprising experts and market participants, the ITAG's primary goal is to deliver comprehensive recommendations to the ...
Defence Minister Judith Collins has thanked the Chief of Army, Major General John Boswell, DSD, for his service as he leaves the Army after 40 years. “I would like to thank Major General Boswell for his contribution to the Army and the wider New Zealand Defence Force, undertaking many different ...
25 March 2024 Minister to meet Australian counterparts and Manufacturing Industry Leaders Small Business, Manufacturing, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly will travel to Australia for a series of bi-lateral meetings and manufacturing visits. During the visit, Minister Bayly will meet with his Australian counterparts, Senator Tim Ayres, Ed ...
Government commits almost $3 million for period products in schools The Coalition Government has committed $2.9 million to ensure intermediate and secondary schools continue providing period products to those who need them, Minister of Education Erica Stanford announced today. “This is an issue of dignity and ensuring young women don’t ...
Good morning, it’s great to be here. First, I would like to acknowledge the New Zealand Institute of Building Surveyors and thank you for the opportunity to be here this morning. I would like to use this opportunity to outline the Government’s ambitious plan and what we hope to ...
Minister for Pacific Peoples Dr Shane Reti has announced the Government’s commitment to the Auckland Secondary Schools Māori and Pacific Islands Cultural Festival, more commonly known as Polyfest. “The Ministry for Pacific Peoples is a longtime supporter of Polyfest and, as it celebrates 49 years in 2024, I’m proud to ...
Before moving onto the substance of today’s address, I want to recognise the very significant and ongoing contribution the Breast Cancer Foundation makes to support the lives of New Zealand women and their families living with breast cancer. I very much enjoy working with you. I also want to recognise ...
New Zealand has notched up a first with the launch of University of Canterbury research to the International Space Station, Science, Innovation and Technology and Space Minister Judith Collins says. The hardware, developed by Dr Sarah Kessans, is designed to operate autonomously in orbit, allowing scientists on Earth to study ...
Introduction Thank you for inviting me to speak with you today and I’m sorry I can’t be there in person. Yesterday I started in Wellington for Breakfast TV, spoke to a property conference in Auckland, and finished the day speaking to local government in Christchurch, so it would have been ...
The Coalition Government is contributing more than $1 million to support the establishment of an emergency multi-agency coordination centre in Northland. Emergency Management and Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell announced the contribution today during a visit of the Whangārei site where the facility will be constructed. “Northland has faced a number ...
New Zealanders have enjoyed a broader range of voices telling the story of Aotearoa thanks to the creation of Whakaata Māori 20 years ago, says Māori Development Minister Tama Potaka. The minister spoke at a celebration marking the national indigenous media organisation’s 20th anniversary at their studio in Auckland on ...
Commercial catch limits for some fisheries have been increased following a review showing stocks are healthy and abundant, Ocean and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. The changes, along with some other catch limit changes and management settings, begin coming into effect from 1 April 2024. "Regular biannual reviews of fish ...
Analysis - Nicola Willis is holding firm on tax cuts despite the economic outlook being worse than forecast and critics urging her to wait, writes Peter Wilson for The Week In Politics. ...
Opposition MPs and unions are criticising a proposal by New Zealand’s Ministry of Pacific Peoples to cut staff by 40 percent. The country’s largest trade union — The Public Service Association — says the ministry has informed staff that it is looking to shed 63 of 156 positions. Opposition MPs ...
A poem by Poetry Aotearoa Yearbook 2024 featured poet Carin Smeaton. Daughtr of the 90s when she gets promoted to usherette a baby blu eel carries her all the way up to mothership she’s hovering high she lets the underaged in to see keanu reeves she lets the only lonely ...
Analysis by Keith Rankin. Keith Rankin, trained as an economic historian, is a retired lecturer in Economics and Statistics. He lives in Auckland, New Zealand. My earlier article – Can ‘Good’ be the Greater Evil? – looked at the issue of how wars should end, and how Good versus Evil ...
The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington.AUCKLAND1 AMMA by Saraid de Silva (Moa Press, $38)A stunning debut novel reviewed by Brannavan ...
From Steve Martin to Ricky Stanicky, a pick’n’mix of things worth watching and listening to this long weekend. This is an excerpt from our weekly pop culture newsletter Rec Room. Sign up here. If you’re at a loss for something to occupy yourself with this Easter, don’t panic: The Spinoff’s got ...
Jesus had dinner with his 12 disciples right before he died. Noted historian Madeleine Chapman finds out who really deserved to be there.First published in 2018 but let’s be honest, the subject is timeless. As you sit on your couch this Easter Sunday, eating a chocolate egg you know ...
The newly-promoted Northern League club is on a mission to return to the National League for the first time in two decades. Plenty about domestic football in New Zealand has changed in that time – but the sense that this amateur competition is not an entirely level playing field remains. ...
Comment: Every year on February 2, a dozen men in tuxedos and top hats approach the burrow of a groundhog in Gobbler’s Knob, Pennsylvania and entice the beaver-like rodent to emerge and predict the weather. If the groundhog, named Punxsutawney Phil, sees its own shadow when it is summoned, legend ...
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Auckland Council has put a deadline on new weather-impacted property owners applying for categorisation as government funding looks set to run out. Councillors have voted to support a deadline of September 30 for property owners who haven’t accessed support to come forward and engage with the council’s recovery office. It ...
NONFICTION 1 BBQ Economics by Liam Dann (Penguin Random House, $40) “It’s official,” wrote Dann nine days ago in the Herald, where he works as business editor at large, “we’re in recession.” Yeah, great. He delivered the bad stats: “GDP fell 0.1 percent in the December 2023 quarter, compared with ...
By Anneke Smith, RNZ News political reporter A petition urging the New Zealand government to provide urgent humanitarian assistance to the Palestinian people has been tabled in the House. More than 200 people gathered on Parliament’s forecourt today and they were met by MPs from Labour, the Greens and Te ...
Pacific Media Watch The Paris-based global media freedom watchdog RSF (Reporters Without Borders) has appealed for information about the “disappearance” of Palestinian journalist Bayan Abusultan. She was reportedly last seen on March 19 among people “sequestered” in this week’s raid and siege of Al Shifa hospital by Israeli troops in ...
EDITORIAL:The Jakarta Post It happens again and again; indigenous Papuans fall victim to Indonesian soldiers. This time, we have photographic evidence for the brutality, with videos on social media showing a Papuan man being tortured by a group of plainclothes men alleged to be the Indonesian Military (TNI) members. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Robyn J. Whitaker, Director of the Wesley Centre for Theology, Ethics, and Public Policy & Associate Professor, New Testament, Pilgrim Theological College, University of Divinity A strange and eclectic range of activities takes place across these few weeks of the year. Some ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Panizza Allmark, Professor Visual & Cultural Studies, Edith Cowan University It’s Easter weekend, which means many of us will be kicking back with the greatest hits on repeat. But whether you’re a boomer, or an ‘80s or ’90s kid, you might be ...
RNZ Pacific Fiji’s Acting Public Prosecutor has filed an appeal against the sentences of former prime minister Voreqe Bainimarama and suspended police chief Sitiveni Qiliho in their corruption case. Bainimarama was granted an absolute discharge for attempting to pervert the course of justice while Qiliho received a conditional discharge with ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Arosha Weerakoon, Senior Lecturer and General Dentist, School of Dentistry, The University of Queensland Casezy idea/Shutterstock How does toothpaste work? What did people use before toothpaste was invented? – Amelia, age 7, Meanjin (Brisbane) Thanks for your ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Brett Hallam, Associate professor, UNSW Sydney IM Imagery/Shutterstock Solar SunShot is well named. The Australian government announced today it would plough A$1 billion into bringing back solar manufacturing to Australia, boosting energy security, swapping coal and gas jobs for those ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Clare Dix, Research Fellow in Nutrition & Dietetics, The University of Queensland Easter is the time for chocolate. The shops are full of fantastically packaged and shiny chocolates in all shapes and sizes, making trips to the supermarket with children more challenging ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Emma Felton, Adjunct Senior Researcher, University of South Australia Even in a stubborn cost-of-living crisis, it seems there’s one luxury most Australians won’t sacrifice – their daily cup of coffee. Coffee sales have largely remained stable, even as financial pressures have ...
Mining company Trans-Tasman Resources has unexpectedly withdrawn its application for a consent to suck the valuable metals vanadium and titanium from the Taranaki seafloor, as it apparently wagers on the Government’s new fast-track process. It had spent two-and-a-half days putting its case to the Environmental Protection Agency’s decision-making committee, at ...
Contrary to the Associate Minister of Education’s claims, analysis of Healthy School Lunches Programme - Ka Ora, Ka Ako assessments has revealed it provides excellent value for the taxpayer dollar, as a groundswell of public opposition to Government ...
Greenpeace says wannabe Taranaki seabed miner Trans-Tasman Resources is likely banking on Christopher Luxon’s fast-track process to side-step proper scrutiny of its Taranaki seabed mining proposal by bailing out of the Environmental Protection Agency hearing ...
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So it is true then – The Government’s largesse with tax payers’ money will go to the rich first. Not surprised at that.
However doesn’t this confirm that the planners are locked in 19th century mindsets.
I would have thought that the digital world could completely change how we organise ourselves.
(QWERTY is a mechanical invention and now effectively redundant.
The “alphabetical” order of arranging the world is a mechanical thing – the instant digital search available renders that redundant.)
And so with UFB roll out. Why work from the City out? Why not start at the geographical centre of Auckland – probably a street in Ellerslie? OR even more equitable, start in a depressed suburb of Auckland and allow it to blossom and become a “centre of excellence”.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10747282
Joky Hen’s basic English fails the standards. It’s back to school for John. If he said as reported on Stuff …
“Obviously if the Australian media are not accredited then they’ll [RWC] have less exposure and less opportunities and that would be very disappointing,” he said last night.
Less exposure and fewer opportunities, John Boy. Add that to your regular use of ‘There’s lots of” instead of “There are lots of”… tch tch.
Added to my horror file! (I have a language blog for ESOL students, where I list common errors they must avoid… ) I have heard reporters on RNZ says “she leaped” (should be leapt) and my recent favourite “a orange” to use an example, what’s with the constant use of ‘a’ instead of ‘an’ in front of a noun starting with a vowel? Also, they all seem to use ‘unable’ when they mean disable! Have they never even heard the word ‘disable’?
Articles like this make life so much seimplr.
Yes all those Labour provincial MPs are doing such a great job…
These statistics tell a terrible story
ETHNICITIES
During the 11 months to August 9, police tasered 88 people including:
* Maori: 35
* Pacific Islanders: 16
* Europeans: 35
* Asians: 1
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10747277
Yes we must address the institutional racism and racial profiling but they are symptoms – the real issue is deeper and can only be sorted by truthfully looking at this country, by looking at who we are, by looking in the mirror.
Would seem fairly close in percentage terms to the ethnic groups locked up in prision.
Correct! Seems to me that people committing violent crimes are most likely to be tasered and that ethnic breakdown quoted sort of corresponds to the ethnicity ratio of those committing violent crime.
Can’t see the issue there!
it’s the why not the what which was my point
Good point but it’s the “why” that leads to a ridiculous amount of crap in this country. Topped off with cries of “racism” and “poverty” etc. at any opportunity. NZ is not ready for a rational discussion on the “why” but until there is one, we will only look at statistics like this with anger (regardless of your political stance).
The ‘why’ has to be addressed and I agree that unfortunately we cannot yet have a rational argument as a country on this.
The attitude expressed by the poster below leaves me wondering if we ever will… no sense of ‘why’ there at all
“Yet Keith Locke says:
“Certainly they’re being fired disproportionately at Maori. The reasons for that are something we should look into.”
What Keith should be asking, is how many Maori lives were saved by the Police being able to use a taser to disarm an armed offender, without shooting them?”
http://www.kiwiblog.co.nz/2011/08/would_they_rather_the_police_shot_them.html
Some shameless self promotion here: I’ll be on Vinnie Eastwood’s radio show from 10-12 AM today.
I’ll be talking about BofA in slomo collapse. John Key’s shares in that bank and his obvious conflict of interest having to serve two masters: The international bankster syndicate and the Kiwi population who’s interests are diametrically opposed to those of the banksters.
I will also be talking about John Key’s announcement to redirect millions of dollars of taxpayers money allocated for development aid to the forces who destroyed the Libyan infrastructure in order to rebuild Libya and to “help” the Libyan population.
Other subject which might pass are Fukushima’s ongoing disaster and the spread of hotspots throughout Japan and the contamination of foodstuffs and why we are still importing said foodstuffs from Japan.
This should not be hidden in the middle of the NZ Herald, it should be far more public
According to NZ employment law
It is owned by a few Auckland rich listers – people need to make a stand against these crooks!
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10747310
Big money in politics:
http://www.kiwiblog.co.nz/2011/08/who_plans_to_spend_money.html
You gotta hand it to Farrar he is capable of running the most ridiculous lines that the gullible and feeble fall for.
Sorry to disappoint you Nick but Labour has little money like it always has and the unions are struggling. If you want to see real money in politics ask your local National Party MP about the Ruahine and the Waitemata Trusts.
Pigs will fly before any of our rich listers offer to do this.
Sixteen executives, including Europe’s richest woman, the L’Oreal heiress Liliane Bettencourt, had offered in an open letter to pay a “special contribution” in a spirit of “solidarity”.
Google translation of the original petition.
And still NZ won’t tax the rich and is promoting NZ as a financial centre with zero tax on overseas funds, at the same time some of the rich in Europe and the USA see the problem of tax inequality and Switzerland has just struck a deal with the UK so banks governments can get hold of tax evaders’ unpaid tax. Wake up NZ!
Good news – Otago uni has found important information about the genome of the new kiwifruit
disease. Good stuff. I understand that the Ministries of primary produce etc are all going to be amalgamated and scientists will be lost.
Is this wise or just another nightmare dreamed up by NACT, the false prophets of a supposed vital society. Actually they are leading us into a cul de sac of incompetence and sovereign weakness. With their systems we are vulnerable to the illnesses being passed to us from our contacts with the global financial diseases.
Biosecurity from the Farmers party laissez it will be Right. Cut front line jobs again 29 last time now more when we have extra people coming Dumb dumb and dumber. Typical National party short sighted idiots.Last time they were in power they cut front line officers .We ended up with a $400million clean up job painted apple moth.Labour increased frontline officers by 350 2000to2008!
Is it time for a NZ Spring?
Brilliant! 😀
WJ Very good idea thats where we need young people to blog their mates email twitter and facebook just to get out and vote registrar as well
The editorial below is worthy of a Standard post:
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/politics/news/article.cfm?c_id=280&objectid=10747232
Dead right, Anne, well spotted! For the Herald this is pretty damning stuff. And the first dozen comments backing it till the righties pop up. One of whom ventured this bit of delusional thinking:
“The face behind this Editorial should realise that readers have brains. Is the NZ Herald now on a campaign to try and up the Labour Party stakes to win the General Election? Looks like it! ”
Granny pointing out the blindingly obvious fact that the team behind Key are lightweights is not a sign of a pro-Labour campaign brewing. I wish! It might actually be a sign that in a recession, advertising spend drops. And that could be a factor in APN’s share price plunging from $2.50 in the New Year to a dollar now, with 60 cents gone in just the last 30 days. I can see a powerful motivation to tweak Key’s ears right there, eh.
“The face behind this Editorial should realise that readers have brains. Is the NZ Herald now on a campaign to try and up the Labour Party stakes to win the General Election? Looks like it!
Here’s Barnaby’s Herald comment response TVoR
Boy, they have had no other target in mind since the last election! The ‘Herald’ is now the virtual official mouthpiece of the Labour Party. Look at the lineup of journalists and feature writers who echo the socialst policies of the newspaper’s UK owners.
Don’t know who is laughing the loudest – the Left or the Herald’s editorial writers.
Guyon Espiner described it, on Breakfast, this week as the government trying to sand off the sharp bits before the election.
Youth Unemployment
Mines inspectors
Cleaning up lake Elsmere (sic?)
Swap of land in Northland for land in Napier
These are just the beginning of the misdirection from feel good stories that the Prime Magician and his poodles will be putting out until the election.
The Nia Glassie coroner has some “radical” recommendations that Petulant Bean says are “already under discussion”.
All parents of under 5 year olds, should be subject to “unskedyooled” sic) inspections, and all single parents and solo parents on benefits, should be forced to comply.
(Why the distinction? Non-beneficiaries are ‘single parents’, beneficiaries are ‘solo parents’. Is this the not-terribly-bright 3 News reporter’s distinction, or the coroner’s?
Seems it’s the reporter’s distinction and yes, it’s pejorative. The coroner used ‘single parent families’.
The coroner seems to think all children should be monitored. Recommendation 5 (pdf, p25)
Recommendation 6 expands on state intervention and the monitoring oversight of the care of children of single parents – working or or on a benefit – and children that have previously come to the notice of CYFS or where there is domestic violence in the home.
Interesting when single parent families end though – 2 weeks after the boyfriend moves in? or never?
I would like to see a bit of research on increases in child abuse since changes to postnatal care in the 1990s led to reduced home visits by health services and assistance for new parents. I’m not sure if it is worse, and if it’s worse whether less care, more deprivation, changing social mores or a combination of all is implicated.
Is marital status a ground for discrimination under the human rights act? Income status certainly is.
I was appalled at the suggestion that only single parent families should be subjected to random raids. If this is something that really is necessary for reducing child abuse lets raid all households with children. (And for the record I don’t believe this kind of intrusion would make a jot of diffference.)
But no, families with two parents in residence have rights.
I noted that the judge suggested that beneficiaries who didn’t submit to the regime should have their benefits docked. That’ll really help the children.
It has become so socially acceptable to denigrate beneficaries that the judiciary making ignorant and discriminatory statements like this have become a regular occurence. It was only a couple of weeks ago that a woman convicted of benefit fraud was told that it was people like her that made the public think all beneficiaries are criminals. Imagine the outcry if he’d said the same about fraudster lawyers.
I’m thinking that all men who move into a house with children that are not their own should be monitored – and have their benefits docked if they don’t comply. Imagine the outrage at the denigration of all stepfathers (btw – my children have an awesome stepfather).
It’s a trade off.. it makes sense to focus on the segments of society matching the profile for potential child abuse. It’s a direct approach to the shameful statistics for underprivileged NZ kids.
(long term approaches addressing the plight of the “underclass” will require decades)
True Ropata, and I understand where you are coming from. But I don’t believe that further humiliation of people under the greatest stress will provide any solutions to our horrendous problem with child abuse. And abuse is rife in all strata of society. I know of cases of long-term abuse in “respectable” middle-class families. The children didn’t die, but they will carry the effects of the abuse for their lifetimes. Should kids these kinds of families be allowed to continue to be cloaked by their “respectablility”.
I don’t believe discrimination and state-sanctioned contempt will make the lives of children any better.
I shouldn’t have relied on the tv news for my information about the recommendations. It seems it was recommended that all households with children up to five years receive scheduled and unscheduled visits. Solo parent and beneficiary households (as well as those in which there has been documented abuse – how lovely that sole parents and beneficiaries should be included in this camp) however should receive this mandatory oversight indefinitely.
Lets see which of the recommendations are taken up. What the tv reported gives a big clue.
As I have noted before the whole concern and direction of the discussion about these welfare policies is about children. The obvious thing is that some parents need a lot of help and all parents should be able to access help when wanted whether some child-care, medical, subsidies, holiday camps, or whatever. But no, children just appear on this earth and then become the focus of attention and in the background, some people usually look after and feed them, though not very important people, called parents.
And won’t it be lovely to have the uberwelfare person come round, sharp eyes ready to criticise, and find fault. Ooh, shouting at your kid, I caught you out there. This house isn’t very clean, a good housekeeper puts toys away. You had better take that child to the GP and have that cough checked. But you can’t use your car it hasn’t an approved car seat for any of your children, etc etc.
Welcome in Ms Nanny State.
Hi Colonial V. If the Ms types equal the Anatolleys and the Ruthless Richardsons then heaven save us from these harpies. They are reincarnations of the class-oriented snobs of the 19th century, who are not far away in time, and have been merely dormant waiting to rise out of the ground like zombies.
Yeah,
I’m thinking that this coroner isn’t expecting that he’d be subjected to random inspections/raids (if he has kids himself). Maybe his partner might be inspected during the day (although he’d be well aware how unlikely that would be) but him – they wouldn’t dare.
He’s somebody
Prism, I agree there should be more focus on parents’ needs. And yes, parents need access to childcare (ECE), health care etc, but I think you’re mixing up 2 things when you move on to notions of interference in home life – the first is the control of parents and the second is care of children and support for parents, especially new parents, and especially when the parents have poor social networks.
I don’t care for the language that the coroner used, but there are a lot of parents failing out there and this could be turned around with a bit more advice and assistance. For parents with very young babies this is best provided in the home – where the parenting is done. If this happens the call for control may well be reduced. There needs to be some consensus on up-skilling parents and protecting children and to write-all intervention as control is not helpful.
@rosy You are drawing a positive picture but I fear that it will just degenerate in many areas into a welfare officer to parent being treated as a child relationship, very top down. I know that many parents are failing and it’s a struggle for them to cope.
One of the problems with many parents today is that they want to be friends with their children, they stand back from decision making and taking parental responsibility. They need to have goals and be helped to achieve them. The joy and satisfaction of being able to handle their life now and have an opportunity to work towards future dreams would change a lot in their minds and their actions towards their kiddies.
My idea is that many have not even had a decent education, and have sunk into peer groups who find a low common standard and slosh around there together. I think that some home visits, and some learning at a structured outside venue, with childrens supervised play so parents can concentrate would be best. For those with poor social networks it would open their life a bit more. Its good to get out of the home after a while, away from the cabin fever. There would need to be a minibus that would provide transport to ensure that they got to the sessions. It would be good to be with others all learning stuff that’s relevant. I think that an ncea credit could be offered for those who have an ambition for building skills.
@Prism – If visits are based on health and education it can be positive. But I know if it comes from an authoritarian view it won’t. That’s why some consensus is needed.
“I think that some home visits, and some learning at a structured outside venue, with childrens supervised play so parents can concentrate would be best. For those with poor social networks it would open their life a bit more.”
Yes, I agree. Plunket family centres do a wonderful job here, but women almost have to feel like failures before they go – They can be improved by incorporating health and education into everyday life can help people realise feelings of inadequacy are normal. Parent Centre groups can also provide useful and networks and strong bonds between women. It seems these are more of a resource for women who already have resources though.
The thing that gets me most is that there are a lot of people out there who have never even held a baby, never fed one, never bathed one. There is all sorts of excitement and interest until the baby is born and then the new parent is left. It’s not just those single parents – how many couples have had enormous problems because they only have the other for support? New mothers have trouble functioning and are dreadfully unhappy simply because they are alone and without advice. This is a bigger problem than many people realise (I’ve done a bit of research on it). And it’s not only the deprived. However the deprived do not have they resources to pay for help and advice, others may. Provide advice and set good coping strategies at the beginning and half the problem is solved.
As I found out in the 1980s, though, asking for any kind of assistance gets you ‘marked’ by CYFS, and monitored – until you prove (in my case by waving the Plunket book under the woman’s nose) that you’re ‘safe’. (A neighbour had dobbed me in I suspect, because she was peeved that I was fed up with having her drop in for an evening when she had locked herself out – again! We lived in a block of council flats in Welly, and she had issues – which manifested in part, by the fact that she couldn’t remember to take her door key to work.)
Yes, you and I are both very aware of these sorts of things, given our histories. This is one reason why information needs to be out there that all sorts of parents struggle. Normalise the situation (sort of like John Kirwan with his depression ads) – don’t let society think that there is a ‘problem’ with only particular groups.
I was lucky with T., because my mother was still alive, and with G., I had my ex’s aunt – and then with L., I had my sisters around me. Ideally, mothers would have extended family around.. although that’s increasingly rare…
Rosy I wish your approach and ideas could come to fruition as you seem to have a good and practical handle on what would improve parents lives and skills. Some politician reading this blog please take notice you couldn’t do better for the people of NZ than to provide intelligent useful help to parents of all classes, just different approaches and levels depending on money available and education and financial situation of the particular parents involved.
Oh dear… Rosy I did post a reply to you last night, but it seems it didn’t go, as I was having connection issues…
I am reminded of how, in 1972, I had my first son, as a single mother. The law then mandated that all children of solo mothers had to be ‘inspected’ by a social worker.
The woman arrived one sunny winter evening. I was a teen, at home with my parents, and I answered the door. She bluesed in, looking around and bellowed “I hear you have a lilttle illegit. Let’s see the sprog!” My parents and I were very unimpressed… and not at all sure that this woman would have known the signs of abuse if she’d seen them! My father was all for keeping her away from T., and for preference, throwing her out the house, but she quoted the law at him.
14 years later, when I found T’s adopted mother she told me that she had burned the file that came with him, noting only my name, in case of a future law change (she had wanted an open adoption but the law didn’t allow that then.) The file contained a heap of details she said T., did not need to know – such as my father’s conviction for keeping an armoury… and his psycholoigical profile! Given that he’d died less than 2 years after the above incident and T., had been adopted 6 weeks later, it was utterly irrelevant. 🙁
My plunket nurse when I was a teen was an absolute saint. Although having a completely intolerant one with my last child was eye-opening experience. Wouldn’t have wanted her when I was young and alone!
Sounds like T got an enlightened adoptive mother, sorry you’ve had to go through all that bureaucratic judgement.
She was and she is! (I wrote to her last nignt, T., is in rehab, being adopted truly messed him up… I’d never say that to her, I know she really meant well, which is the very sad thing.) She’s a lovely woman and ironically ended up a solo mother herself – her first husband being worse than useless and oddly paranoid about me tracking them down and taking my son back! Yet 2 years ago, he was pleading with me to do just that, because of T’s drug problem..
Funnily enough, the one time I really needed to be watched and helped was when I was married, as my confidence went down the toilet altogether..
No that would mean Dinosaur dons ex’s would have to comply also Paula Bennetts daughter.PEASANTS ONLY SORRY
It’s time for a non-partisan, evidence based, national consensus and initiative on the care of our children.
Yes, it means a return to some aspects of the old “socialist New Zealand” – increases in district nurses, plunket, state-monitoring, monitored health, healthy homes. Maybe not cradle to grav e but certainly cradle to school.
Add to that a liveable wage, reduction in inequality (one of the biggest things that threatens the peace of the otherwise compliant western world.)
The Fukushima robot diaries.
Some fantastic news tonight. Lake Ellesmere, NZs most polluted is set for a clean up. The regional councils, farmers bodies etc have finally recognised what has been obvious for years, the whole Selwyn Ellesmere system has been an agricultural sewer. That in itself is great news, recognition that there is a problem, but better, a willingness to do something.
I am not sure that the dollars will be sufficient or the strategy right but it is a start. As a goal if the clean up results in a quarter of the trout running up the river that were recorded in the 1920s then it will be a huge success, a fishery to compare with Taupo with the resultant tourist dollars. Good work canterbury, now for the Manawatu system……..
The Polluters Should Pay
Today Environment Minister Nick Smith announced that one of New Zealand’s most polluted lakes will receive clean up funding. Lake Ellesmere has become heavily polluted, with little care taken by local farmers, which has resulted in high levels of Nitrogen and Phosphorous from unchecked effluent run off. Fonterra will contributed only $1.3 m of the $11.6 million fund, despite them profiteering directly from the environmental destruction…
There has been quite a bit of eyebrow raising (and little else) to comments relating to Libya and Joky Hen’s public statements. It was a surprise to hear his announcement of aid to this oil rich nation and also that he had already signed us up to some form of accord. Just what else has he negotiated on our behalf, in secret…? It would be nice if just for once Garner and Espiner did some delving instead of repeating the dross of opinion poll analysis?
Nasty pack of NIMBYs in the news this evening. Dont want those icky troubled (brown) kids having a school in posh Bucklands Beach
http://www.3news.co.nz/Protest-over-Bucklands-Beach-school-for-troubled-kids/tabid/423/articleID/223532/Default.aspx
Does Auckland need an integrated school bus system to end this segregation?
More generally, Auckland needs an integrated public transport system full stop.
The Wellington overlords have decreed a holiday highway to Wellsford is a greater need (for their construction mates)
Credit where it’s due department, potential United Future voter Pete George handles the big questions well!
(Takes forever to load, just make a cuppa and get settled. The fun starts about the 15 minute mark.)