Latest analysis from the New Zealand Election Study’s Jack Vowles (hot off the Press and just launched by Helen Clark at Victoria University) raises a series of interesting points about Green support:
Which isn’t to say the Green Constituency sees itself as subjectively “working class” exactly … their voters tend to eschew any class identity. They’re also more likely than average to be university educated.
(2) The Greens’ dependable core-vote is probably smaller than most pundits assume.
The NZES flow-of-the-Vote data suggests less than half of 2011 Green voters remained loyal at the 2014 General Election. About a quarter of 2011 Greens swung to Labour, with a little less than one fifth going to the Nats and NZF (each).
However, there were significant reciprocal swings. The Greens lost more to Labour than they gained from the Larger Centre-Left Party, but most of the vote inflow that the Green’s did receive in 2014 came from former Labour supporters as well as from previous Non-voters – thus largely (but not entirely) compensating for their lost 2011 votes.
As Vowles argues: ” … the apparent stability of Green voting support is something of an illusion”
In other words … not the same 11% voting Green in 2011 and 2014. Around 5% of all voters (just under half of 2011 Greens) voted Green in both Elections, the rest were new.
And this isn’t actually anything new – go back to earlier NZES polling (late 90s / early zeros Elections) and you’ll see the same inherent volatility in the Green vote.
Clearly, at the very least a large minority (and quite possibly a majority) of Green voters in both 2011 and 2014 had been Labour supporters at some time in the recent past. A lot of movement back and forth between the two parties over consecutive Elections.
So, I’d argue the Greens’ base vote is more like 5%.
Jacindamania + the Greens turmoil in this campaign will probably mean the Party won’t receive its usual amount of (significant and vital) Labour-supporter froth on top of that core vote. Probably just enough to raise it to 6-8%.
NOTE: If the Greens are averaging anything less than about 6.5% in the final round of pre-Election Polls then I myself am going to be forced to switch my Party Vote from Labour to the Vegetable Rights and Peace Party, just to ensure they return.
(3) The NZES confirms once again (as in previous NZES studies) that Green voters view themselves – and are viewed by others – as ideologically to the Left of Labour. The Greens constituency is essentially Left-libertarian (there are relatively few Blue-Greens among the Party’s support-base), with a particularly marked emphasis not on the liberal attitudes that most pundits might assume but rather on the economic Left dimension. While Social libertarians are certainly much more likely to vote Green than Social authoritarians … holding Left-wing economic views is still around 3 times more important in predicting Green electoral support than moral liberalism.
So the idea popular among pundits that there exists some kind of mis-match between the Greens’ left-wing social justice policies and their supposedly affluent, centrist, morally-liberal but purely environmentalist urban support-base really holds no water.
I went to the GP fundraiser of Inconvenient Sequel. If I was ever wavering, I’m not now. They need to be in government, we’re long out of time re climate change. The social consequences will be massive hence the pointlessness of being blue-green.
swordfish
Interesting analysis, though it’d be good to see the numbers firsthand. Is there an online database, or is it solely a printed academic work that has be be purchased?
I do think that the GP have moved on a bit from this:
I do think that the GP have moved on a bit from this
Yeah, but ask yourself this, Dspare – at which Annual Party Conference are you most likely to hear the following sentence:
“Rik ! Rik ! You’re gonna freak man !!! , “Look at me I’m Krishna !!!”
(I mean, OK, I can almost imagine an overly-excited Steven Joyce screaming this at a National Party delegate – especially if Joyce had been given too many sugary
drinks – but more likely to happen at the Greens Annual Conference, I should’ve thought)
Some journalists have also suggested that the Greens’ failure to attract voters on the right was less about the ability to demonstrate a capacity for economic management and environmental pragmatism, and more about how their position on issues of social justice connected or did not connect with their electoral support. For example, political commentator Duncan Garner (2014) argued that ‘the Greens talk poverty and social justice, but the poor aren’t listening—and they’re certainly not voting for them’. He identified ‘telling statistics’ from party vote data across electorates: the Green Party polled much better in upper-income electorates than in those with high proportions of people on lower incomes. But Garner’s observation is based on what is known as the ecological fallacy: it is dangerous to infer individual behaviour from differences between large groups of people such as those contained in electorates. At the individual level, as Chapter 4 has shown, the Greens were slightly more likely to gain votes from people on lower incomes than those on upper incomes.
Contrary to Garner’s claims, lower incomes and fewer assets are associated with Green voting. However, as Figure 7.2 shows, Green voters are not working class and do not see themselves as such. They also do not identify as middle class, given the width of the confidence intervals, mainly identifying with no class at all.
Duncan Garner certainly wasn’t the only journo to rely on seat-by-seat data
In his 2012 Listener Interview with Russel Norman – Guyon Espiner suggested
.
If you doubt the rich bias among Green voters, consider this: in the country’s wealthiest electorate of Epsom, 4424 people gave their party vote to the Greens. That is more than the combined total of Green voters in the poor Auckland electorates of Mangere (962), Manurewa (995) and Manukau East (913)..
Apart from falling for the ecological fallacy – what Guyon also conspicuously failed to notice was the marked discrepancy between similarly affluent seats like Epsom (Green 4424 in 2011) & Wellington Central (10903)
or
very Low Income Dunedin North (Green 7010 in 2011) & either the 3 poorer South Auckland electorates or indeed affluent Epsom
Normally you just have to make an ideological choice to decide which categorization is correct/superior in these cases (and when its important and tangible like in medical studies).
“In other words … not the same 11% voting Green in 2011 and 2014. Around 5% of all voters (just under half of 2011 Greens) voted Green in both Elections, the rest were new.”
I was one of those, and ….
“NOTE: If the Greens are averaging anything less than about 6.5% in the final round of pre-Election Polls then I myself am going to be forced to switch my Party Vote from Labour to the Vegetable Rights and Peace Party, just to ensure they return.”
I too was thinking along those lines, BUT my god they are making it hard to do that.
Too many mainstream journalists and commentators have been hammering the GP since they promoted strong support for improving the social welfare system.
In spite of that, they have started an important discussion and opened up important voices on the damaging welfare system. There has been a significant amount of support for that.
“NOTE: If the Greens are averaging anything less than about 6.5% in the final round of pre-Election Polls then I myself am going to be forced to switch my Party Vote from Labour to the Vegetable Rights and Peace Party, just to ensure they return.”
In this now entirely feasible situation a Labour/Green government could easily be formed without the need for NZF. A dream scenario that cannot happen without the Greens.
GP needs at least 8% (possibly 9%) to bring Jack McDonald into parliament. He is a very strong candidate and the government would really benefit from his presence.
we don’t know if thats feasible at this stage….we need a series of polls to determine whether that is the case or not and the Greens are currently harming the chances of that scenario which is disappointing as when MT launched the strategy of engaging the disengaged (which attracted the hatchet job,sadly) the Greens appeared to have learnt that their most productive role was to be the gatherer of those votes for the left that Labour couldn’t actively seek without upsetting their more centrist voters (as ACT does/did for National)…now they appear to be spitting the dummy and putting the whole “change the government” goal risk (at worst) or (at best) excluding themselves from any meaningful role within a new gov.
I think you are dreaming if you think that Labour will not try to make an aliiance with NZ First, even if they don’t need them to govern. Basically, Labour would not put themselves in a position to be beholden only to the GP, no matter how strong the GP vote.
Labour will try to balance the GP against NZ First, and possibly also the Maori Party, to give Labour more control and alternatives.
The only way to ensure NZ First has as little influence as possible, is for there to be a very strong vote for the GP.
Carolyn_nth
That’s how I see it, and is much how National have done it with having more voting partners than they strictly needed. One factor to be considered is that Labour MPs may not always vote along party lines, so there needs to be a buffer against defections.
From what I’ve seen of the GP supporters, on and offline, in Auckland, I’d say they are more ethnically mixed than generally supposed, with some degree of support from Māori and Pacific people.
Looking at that analysis there is a potential pool of 17% of the electorate that may vote Green-this is huge.
And why, if you are interested in Climate Change action (our nuclear-free moment) and clean rivers and lakes, would you vote for very pale green Labour when you can vote for the real Green?
The problem is usually to get them to actually vote, closely followed by the problem for them to vote Green.
Using the same kinds of criteria of who has ever voted for it, the potential voters for Peter Dunnes hair (which appears to live a life of its own) is probably in the order of 15-20%.
In the same line, the potential pool of voters for Labour would be something like 75%. After all there are all of those RWNJ trolls who usually start with the line like “well I used to vote for Labour but then [insert bigotry here], and now I’m proud to vote for Act.
https://cheekygames.ghost.io/untitled-3/
A blog inspired by Danyl Mclauchlan’s Spinoff piece and the RNZ interview of Martin O’Malley. Talking ’bout my generation’s potential to provide leadership to meet the existential challenges of our times.
I thought McLaughlan’s piece had some very interesting parts to it. However, I thought it was a quite sophisticated version of what many centrists do: take some views/policies/positions from the left; then take some from the right; then show why a balance between the two main polarities is the most reasonable position.
Basically, such an analysis depends on the positions that are selected intitally.
An alternative way to develop a political position is to start with the kind with the kind of society desired; then to look at where and how society falls short; then develop policies and positions to move towards the preferred kind of society.
Or to look at the problems in society that require solutions, then examine the evidence for how well each solution will work.
An alternative way to develop a political position is to start with the kind with the kind of society desired; then to look at where and how society falls short; then develop policies and positions to move towards the preferred kind of society.
I’d say that was the only way to develop society. Doing things the way we are is resulting in society stagnating and heading towards collapse because of that stagnation.
To me, the Greens are as if they got the vision a value-system, the whole integrated picture (see also https://thestandard.org.nz/climate-change-and-transport-the-greens-integrated-policy/), and are looking in from the outside as it were. The other parties are embedded and starting from the centre of the status quo, by and large, and looking outwards to an emptiness that scares the living daylight out of them. But like light that cannot escape from a black hole they cannot achieve much more than some tinkering & tweaking with piecemeal (‘pragmatic’) policies and reductionist approaches. What’s needed is not a modification of what we (think) know and have but a complete paradigm shift to what we really want. My intuition tells me that this is simultaneously much harder and much easier than we believe …
National and Coleman a ‘no show’ at a live streamed ChCh health forum.
“Organiser Marney Ainsworth, of the health coalition YesWeCare, said Health Minister Jonathan Coleman was invited to the event and offered several dates, but declined four weeks out, saying he had other engagements”
What’s up with this election, is national no show becoming a common theme?
Here in Motueka we have a “meet the candidates” today at 1:30pm at the senior citizens hall behind the library. I wonder if Maureen Pugh from National will show up? I’ll be there, I’ve some questions to ask the government.
Cinny (3) … you state … “What’s up with this election, is national no show becoming a common theme?”
One word … arrogance!
Natz is obviously picking and choosing which events it attends and they will be those which favour government! Anything or anyone else gets the one finger salute.
It’s imperative Natz are removed from government on 23 September.
Hey Mary, it’s either arrogance or fear, as they do not appear to have much public support out there at all.
Looking forward to this afternoon, will update later how it went.
PS While driving towards the Mot River the other day my girls spotted one of the new labour party hoardings, “Clean Rivers… Let’s Do This” beautiful placement of that hoarding. My girls said ‘look mum it’s the ‘Red Princess’ she’s going to be the new Prime Minister, give her a toot mum’ To which I obliged, toot toot on the truck airhorns 😀
Mary I would suggest it’s fear that keeps the likes of Coleman from appearing. His insistence that the health vote has kept up with health needs in the last three years has been exposed for what it is….nonsense.
After the debacle at Dunedin last week where they were fair hounded out of the city, I imagine every appearance will be carefully stage managed now to ensure only positive media coverage. Potentially a smart game, as long as nobody actually says anything in the media about it.
What’s up with this election, is national no show becoming a common theme?
It’s been a common theme for quite a few years now. It’s somewhat surprising that they’re extending it into the election period but not answering tough questions does seem to be National’s MO.
OAB –
By NCEA criteria, you have ‘Achieved’.
You could have gained ‘Achieved with Merit’ by adding the words ‘most certainly’.
You could have gained ‘Achieved with Excellence’ by adding the word ‘Oh’ before ‘yes’.
(But you still did very well.)
Yes Hilary Barry we can do with out plastic lets get ride of the vile stuff .
If we went back to glass bottles they could be washed and reused . A price could be payed for the bottles returned .
This would create a small industry that we use to have and our kids etc would make pocket money from this .
This could influence some children’s into the work culture and provide pocket money or saving for them.
Lett’s get rid of all the plastic we can we need the GREEN PARTY to get to 15% or the Main party’s may put this issue like this into the to hard basket.
Lett’s change the building code to design our new housing so that all new houses are designed to be change slightly so that all new house have a solar passive design and the heating and cooling bills would come down this idea has been well documented .
But the people in power do not like ideas that wont make our economy grow.
National would not even ban incandescence light bulbs.
There are a lot of ideas that would save us money and we could live more efficient healthy lives.
But again this will have a negative effect on our economy which anyone with a brain knows can not grow for ever our chase the growth system is unsustainable and FUCKEN stupid !!!!!!!!
This government’s failure to put a 10c levy on supermarket plastic bags is scandalous. In the UK this has reduced bag usage by 80-85%. Vote Green and this will happen.
Brazil’s government has abolished a vast national reserve in the Amazon to open up the area to mining.
The area, covering 46,000 sq km (17,800 sq miles), straddles the northern states of Amapa and Para, and is thought to be rich in gold, and other minerals.
An indication that poor quality rentals are damaging people’s health – and that so some landlords can profit financially from some people’s ill health.
The real headline here is that 32% of people see Jacinda as the person to run the country against 10% for Little. A massive gain. Jacindaphoria continues.
Interesting that Winnie is slipping-watch NZF vote slide too.
National extending the $10k Auckland bonus for teachers who stay in their roles. Now applicable across all Auckland schools, not just low decile, hard to staff schools.
How much of this money will end up in the pockets of landlords? Looks like another taxpayer subsidy to property investors.
The negative Nats latest strategy is to go all out to discredit Labour’s new policies as new taxes. This is to be expected, but I say – stay strong Labour and Greens – kia kaha. Stay relentlessly on message: increasing inequality, increasing homelessness in our cities and towns, lack of care for the mentally unwell, the impossible cost of housing, our filthy rivers and lakes, etc etc., have all got worse. They have had 9 years to begin to improve these, but have not. For the future of Aotearoa New Zealand, there must be a change.
The ever so un-charming Barry Soper is being particularly snarky/snide in the Herald. Saying Aucklanders think English is more capable than Jacinda. Considering he has been around forever like an old slipper, I think Jacinda as a new leader is proving herself very very quickly.
Aucklanders in Remuera and Parnell maybe. Soper’s obviously been suffering the negative effects of premature senility and really needs to take himself off to a retirement village somewhere.
There’s a small distinction between “running” the country, which would be the technocratic lever pulling, which Bill is demonstrably reasonably capable of, and “leading” the country.
This is cajoling disparate groups to some sort of agreement and building a consensus and inspiring the country as a whole to move in a cohesive direction. Key had this, as did Clark, Lange, Kirk and Muldoon to an extent. Jacinda has the qualities of a leader as well.
Leadership is the question that should have been asked.
Such blatant lies would be punished at the ballot box. Which must be why that pesky democratic oversight was abandoned just when the rebuild stopped being putoff. Still, ejecting National from the health ministry this election will be a way of exercising voting rights stripped from the SDHB:
The Southern District Health Board’s performance has slipped on key hospital targets since the commissioner team was installed… Commissioner Kathy Grant was installed in June 2015 to eliminate the deficit… In elective surgery access, the board ranked near the bottom of the DHBs’ table.
Not one of the six health targets, three of which relate to community-based health, was achieved.
At the same time two years ago, one of the six was achieved (elective surgery).
In general, SDHB’s performance against other DHBs had slipped…
Mrs Grant said in a statement health targets were ”only one measure”… At the height of the patient care crisis at Dunedin Hospital this month, the commissioner team issued a public statement that said health targets improved in their first year while the deficit went down.
The Prefu has a hidden message according to Thomas Coughlan:
“Chief amongst the Treasury’s assumptions for slowing GDP growth is a decline in immigration – a drastic decline. Using data from Statistics New Zealand, Treasury is assuming that net migration will fall from 72, 540 in 2017 to 20, 000 in June 2021, falling eventually to 15, 000 in 2022.”…..
“…In March, ASB projected a level of around 60, 000 a year would last for at least the next three years.”
So immigration a major factor in the blossoming economy but figures in the slowing in the next few years as immigration falls away. Or not.
The most obvious assumption Treasury always makes is that the economy will slow under Labour led governments. The fact that the opposite is true doesn’t fit their dogma, so they discount it.
I agree the economy will pickup with A government that distributes more resource to the lower classes. National have been taking money out of the economy and scratching there heads why the GDP did not grow all there m8 they gave tax cuts to stashed there money in the stock market it’s not rocket science National answer to growth. Is immigration
Treasury’s forecasts on migration have been wrong (though they were highlighting the expected problems if it continued, the Nats just ignored the offered advice as usual) but the forecast could be said to be wholly dependent of the election result…i.e. Treasury are predicting a Labour led gov post sept ,with the consequent reduction in inward migration…should the Nats retain power i suspect they will revise their projections upwards (and/or outwards)
So they broke the law. Watch the mayhem as those so adamant that Metiria Turei should have the book chucked at her, especially because someone in her position should be purer than pure, go crazy seeking accountability and consequences for the GCSB.
If the legislation that retrospectively legitimized the spying against Dotcom was formed without acknowledging these other illegalities then does that not now (re)open the door for Dotcoms $2billion suit against the NZ govt?
The can is open again and all those dratted worms are wriggling out and crawling all over everything.
I do think that only a very large payout will have an effect on the GCSB so in the long run it will be best for all NZ if Dotcom succeeds in his civil suit against the police and GCSB $2billion is not that big a cost if it reins in these dickheads
“So what are you going to do when you’re driving a corrections vehicle from South Auckland to Mount Eden, and end up in a situation where your prisoners just get out at the lights and run into the dairy or something?”
“Nothing,” interjected deputy Prime Minister Paula Bennett, shaking her head. “There’s nothing you can do.”
“That’s why we’re pledging an initial investment of $4 billion to construct a fast-moving expressway that will cut the average trip to prison by 10 minutes for one of our nation’s poorest communities,” said the Prime Minister.
He clapped, then stopped clapping to ask Bennett to also clap, then continued to clap.
Hilarious alright. I take it that’s a $4 billion traffic-free expressway on which there’ll be no stops. So the demons won’t be able to get out and rob the TAB during the stops ‘cos there’ll be none. Stops that is. Not traffic. Right you are !
Hey……you didn’t say anything about other traffic. So there WILL be stops. Mmmmm. So the TABs are safe during the saved 10 minutes but not for the rest of the trip ? Right you are !
It is time to turn the heat up on hosking – he is a racist and that is the conclusion that is unmistakable from his lying apology and continued belligerent attitude to the Māori Party. And make no mistake this is NOT about the MP but about hosking the racist.
ASB Bank should withdraw its support from Seven Sharp for comments Mike Hosking made about the Māori Party, says party co-leader Marama Fox.
Fox was responding to Hosking’s clarification on his Thursday night show where he blamed the Māori Party for being “confused” by his suggestion only Maori could vote for them.
“His correction was absolute rubbish, and he tried to turn it around to say it was our confusion,” Fox said to Stuff on Friday. “He deliberately misled the public, and then when he tried to clarify it he got it wrong again.”
For a while I thought hosking was just thick and dim but now I realise he is those things and sneaky and slimey and he has deliberately muddied the waters for his own intemperate pleasure. He thinks he is in control – well it is time to pull his hind legs out and watch him slide to the floor where he belongs.
Good article with some good pointers on what to say and do if you have concerns about someone who may be contemplating suicide. Some tough commentary from young people in this article.
Shocked into action by the suspected suicide of their 12-year-old friend, a group of teens approached reporter David Burroughs to talk about why it can be so much harder just being a kid these days.
“The award is described as honoring “people for their contribution to the well-being of New Zealand”.
“Proven, inspirational and passionate, these are the people that New Zealanders are proud to call their own,” the New Zealander of the Year Awards website stated.”
I note he says it is not the party it was under Jeanetter and Rod and yet Jeanette is getting behind the Greens and is fronting many of their email appeals.
By crikey the meet the candidates event in Motueka this afternoon was interesting. Nine candidates standing for West Coast/Tasman attended. I’ve never heard Kate Fulton from the Greens speak, she was great as was Damien O’Connor and the lovely lady who is a NZ First Candidate. A special mention to social democrats candidate Jack Collins, he was so brave when asked about euthenasia, as he recently lost his wife to cancer and held back the tears to share his story.
Due to the moderator helping the national party list mp avoid answering my question about offering better education to all, I had to follow Maureen Pugh around afterwards in order to get my answer. In the end she told me that I didn’t want to hear her answer and walked off on me. Say what? Now that’s avoidance, and Maureen don’t tell me how I feel, and don’t walk away from me to avoid answering a simple question.
Was approached by some lovely oldies who told me that thought it was shocking how rude Maureen had been to me, and told me that they too think that education is important for everyone, and that teritiary education costs are preventing so many people from upskilling to enhance their lives and our community as a whole.
The meeting took a long time due to the volumne of candidates, school finished and my eldest came over to the hall, she had a question about the rivers, and stood around Maureen waiting to ask her, Maureen kept walking off on her, my daughter found that rude and upsetting and ended up in tears, after a cuddle and some reassurance from me, finally she had her chance and was told a story about a lake on the west coast that was cleaned up. My daughter now knows how politicians use little stories to avoid giving straight answers.
Maureens side kick went on to tell my daughter it was her fault that the water was polluted because she used the toilet, I told him our rates covers our sewer. He then went on to tell her he didn’t have a problem swimming in rivers where cows had been shitting in the water, and neither should she. Then he laid into me, my daughter burst into tears again at how her mother was being treated, she didn’t take kindly to an old boy talking down to me and bullying her.
Well Maureen if you wanted to make an impression you sure did, from when you said that our electorate is massive and it’s hard to cover it all (weak excuse for being absent in our area, our local MP has no problems covering the area, but he is a hard worker); to your rudeness and avoidance which was noticed by many.
Only a few people clapped for the National Party candidate, times are changing.
And Maureen it wasn’t me that graffitted “No Thanks” on your hoarding on the main street, I’m not into vandalism, but I am into accountability.
Not sure if there will be another ‘meet the candidates’ in Motueka, which is a shame as many people work during the day and I’m sure they have questions to ask the candidates as well.
So… was this when Honest John was still in charge of our secret services? Still if is not as bad as having people flat with you as a solo mum when you were 23
So. This guy is a fucking moron. Yet another inbred wastrel sucking on the taxpayer’s tit for no return.
17 members of the parliament are elected by actual people, and another 9 are appointed by “nobles”. The “Tongan nobility”, King included, have no nobility at all.
Granted we live in a constitutional monarchy ourselves here in New Zealand. But actually in Australasia the Queen hasn’t acted like that in 50 years.
The Tongan monarchy do nothing but provide fealty services and negative rewards, for a country that has gone nowhere and backwards fast , other than as a client state of everyone else’s remittances from New Zealand and Australia.
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The tikanga regulations will compel law students to be taught that a system which does not conform with the rule of law is nevertheless law which should be observed and applied…Gary Judd KC writes – I have made a complaint to Parliament’s Regulation ...
The future of Te Huia, the train between Hamilton and Auckland, has been getting a lot of attention recently as current funding for it is only in place till the end of June. The government initially agreed to a five year trial, through to April 2026, but that was subject ...
TL;DR: Hamas has just agreed to Israel’s ceasefire plan. Nelson hospital’s rebuild has been cut back to save money. The OECD suggests New Zealand break up network monopolies, including in electricity. PM Christopher Luxon’s news conference on a prison expansion announcement last night was his messiest yet.Here’s my top six ...
A homicide in Ponsonby, a manhunt with a killer on the run. The nation’s leader stands before a press conference reassuring a frightened nation that he’ll sort it out, he’ll keep them safe, he’ll build some new prison spaces.Sorry what? There’s a scary dude on the run with a gun ...
Hi,I know it’s been awhile since there’s been any Webworm merch — and today that all changes!Over the last four months, I’ve been working with New Zealand artist Jess Johnson to create a series of t-shirts, caps and stickers that are infused with Webworm DNA — and as of right ...
The OECD’s chief economist yesterday laid it on the line for the new Government: bring the deficit under control or face higher Reserve Bank interest rates for longer. And to bring the deficit under control, she meant not borrowing for tax cuts. But there was more. Without policy changes—introducing a ...
After a hiatus of over four months Selwyn Manning and I finally got it together to re-start the “A View from Afar” podcast series. We shall see how we go but aim to do 2 episodes per month if possible. … Continue reading → ...
In 2008, the UK Parliament passed the Climate Change Act 2008. The law established a system of targets, budgets, and plans, with inbuilt accountability mechanisms; the aim was to break the cycle of empty promises and replace it with actual progress towards emissions reduction. The law was passed with near-universal ...
Buzz from the Beehive Local Water Done Well – let’s be blunt – is a silly name, but the first big initiative to put it into practice has gone done well. This success is reflected in the headline on an RNZ report:District mayors welcome Auckland’s new water deal with ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate ConnectionsA farmworker cleans the solar panels of a solar water pump in the village of Jagadhri, Haryana Country, India. (Photo credit: Prashanth Vishwanathan/ IWMI) Decisions made in India over the next few years will play a key role in global ...
Lindsay Mitchell writes – The Children’s Minister, Karen Chhour, intends to repeal Section 7AA from the Oranga Tamariki Act 1989 because it creates conflict between claimed Crown Treaty obligations and the child’s best interests. In her words, “Oranga Tamariki’s governing principles and its act should be colour ...
Geoffrey Miller writes – The gloves are off. That might seem to be the undertone of surprisingly tough talk from New Zealand’s foreign and trade ministers. Winston Peters, the foreign minister, may be facing legal action after making allegations about former Australian foreign minister Bob Carr on Radio New Zealand. ...
Brian Easton writes – This is about the time that the Treasury will be locking up its economic forecasts to be published in the 2024 Budget Economic and Fiscal Update (BEFU) on budget day, 30 May. I am not privy to what they will be (I will report on them ...
TL;DR:Winston Peters is reported to have won a budget increase for MFAT. David Seymour wanted his Ministry of Regulation to be three times bigger than the Productivity Commission. Simeon Brown is appointing a Crown Monitor to Watercare to protect the Claytons Crown Guarantee he had to give ratings agencies ...
The gloves are off. That might seem to be the undertone of surprisingly tough talk from New Zealand’s foreign and trade ministers. Winston Peters, the foreign minister, may be facing legal action after making allegations about former Australian foreign minister Bob Carr on Radio New Zealand. Carr had made highly ...
I could be a florist'Round the corner from Rye LaneI'll be giving daisies to craziesBut, baby, I'll wrap you up real safe Oh, I can give you flowers At the end of every dayFor the center of your table, a rainbowIn case you have people 'round to stay Depending on ...
TL;DR: The six key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to May 12 include:PM Christopher Luxon is scheduled to hold a post-Cabinet news conference at 4 pm today. Finance Minister Nicola Willis will give a pre-budget speech on Thursday.Parliament sits from Question Time at 2pm on ...
The price of the foreign affairs “reset” is now becoming apparent, with Defence set to get a funding boost in the Budget. Finance Minister Nicola Willis has confirmed that it will be one of the few votes, apart from Health and Education and possibly Police, which will get an increase ...
A listing of 26 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, April 28, 2024 thru Sat, May 4, 2024. Story of the week "It’s straight out of Big Tobacco’s playbook. In fact, research by John Cook and his colleagues ...
Yesterday I received come lovely feedback following my Star Wars themed newsletter. A few people mentioned they’d enjoyed reading the personal part at the beginning.I often begin newsletters with some memories, or general thoughts, before commencing the main topic. This hopefully sets the mood and provides some context in which ...
April 30 was going to be the day we’d be calling Mum from London to wish her a happy birthday. Then it became the day we would be going to St. Paul's at Evensong to remember her. The aim of the cathedral builders was to find a way to make their ...
Rob MacCulloch writes – Can’t remember the last book by a Kiwi author you read? Think the NZ government should spend less on the arts in favor of helping the homeless? If so, as far as Newsroom is concerned, you probably deserve to be called a cultural ignoramus ...
Eric Crampton writes – Grudges are bad. Better to move on. But it can be fun to keep a couple of really trivial ones, so you’re not tempted to have other ones. For example, because of the rootkit fiasco of 2005, no Sony products in our household. ...
A new report warns an estimated third of the adult population have unmet need for health care.Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāHere’s the six key things I learned about Aotaroa’s political economy this week around housing, climate and poverty:Politics - Three opinion polls confirmed support for PM Christopher Luxon ...
Today is May the fourth. Which was just a regular day when my mother took me to see the newly released Star Wars at the Odeon in Rotorua. The queue was right around the corner. Some years later this day became known as Star Wars Day, the date being a ...
Buzz from the Beehive Much more media attention is being paid to something Winston Peters said about former Australian Foreign Minister Bob Carr than to a speech he delivered to the New Zealand China Council. One word is missing from the speech: AUKUS. But AUKUS loomed large in his considerations ...
Is the economy in another long stagnation? If so, why?This is about the time that the Treasury will be locking up its economic forecasts to be published in the 2024 Budget Economic and Fiscal Update (BEFU) on budget day, 30 May. I am not privy to what they will be ...
The annual list of who's been bribing our politicians is out, and journalists will no doubt be poring over it to find the juiciest and dirtiest bribes. The government's fast-track invite list is likely to be a particular focus, and we already know of one company on the list which ...
In the weeks after the October 7 Hamas attacks on Southern Israel I wrote about the possible 2nd, 3rd and even 4th order effects of the conflict. These included new fronts being opened in the West Bank (with Hamas), Golan … Continue reading → ...
Peter Dunne writes – It is one of the oldest truisms that there is never a good time for MPs to get a pay rise. This week’s announcement of pay raises of around 2.8% backdated to last October could hardly have come at a worse time, with the ...
David Farrar writes – Newshub reports: Newshub can reveal a fresh allegation of intimidation against Green MP Julie-Anne Genter. Genter is subject to a disciplinary process for aggressively waving a book in the face of National Minister Matt Doocey in the House – but it’s not the first time ...
The Treasury has published a paper today on the global productivity slowdown and how it is playing out in New Zealand: The productivity slowdown: implications for the Treasury’s forecasts and projections. The Treasury Paper examines recent trends in productivity and the potential drivers of the slowdown. Productivity for the whole economy ...
Winston Peters’ comments about former Australian foreign minister look set to be an ongoing headache for both him and Luxon. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The podcast above of the weekly ‘hoon’ webinar for subscribers features co-hosts and , along with regular guests on Gaza and ...
These puppet strings don't pull themselvesYou're thinking thoughts from someone elseHow much time do you think you have?Are you prepared for what comes next?The debating chamber can be a trying place for an opposition MP. What with the person in charge, the speaker, typically being an MP from the governing ...
The land around Lyme Regis, where Meryl Streep once stood, in a hood, on the Cobb, is falling into the sea.MerylThe land around Lyme Regis, around the Cobb that made it rich, has always been falling slowly but surely into the sea. Read more ...
Buzz from the Beehive Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters was bound to win headlines when he set out his thinking about AUKUS in his speech to the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs. The headlines became bigger when – during an interview on RNZ’s Morning Report today – he criticised ...
The Post reports on how the government is refusing to release its advice on its corrupt Muldoonist fast-track law, instead using the "soon to be publicly available" refusal ground to hide it until after select committee submissions on the bill have closed. Fast-track Minister Chris Bishop's excuse? “It's not ...
As pressure on it grows, the livestock industry’s approach to the transition to Net Zero is increasingly being compared to that of fossil fuel interests. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / Getty ImagesTL;DR: Here’s the top five news items of note in climate news for Aotearoa-NZ this week, and a discussion above ...
The New Zealand Herald reports – Stats NZ has offered a voluntary redundancy scheme to all of its workers as a way to give staff some control over their “future” amidst widespread job losses in the public sector. In an update to staff this morning, seen by the Herald, Statistics New Zealand ...
On Werewolf/Scoop, I usually do two long form political columns a week. From now on, there will be an extra column each week about music and movies. But first, some late-breaking political events:The rise in unemployment numbers for the March quarter was bigger than expected – and especially sharp ...
David Farrar writes – The Herald reports: TVNZ says it is dealing with about 50 formal complaints over its coverage of the latest 1News-Verian political poll, with some viewers – as well as the Prime Minister and a former senior Labour MP – critical of the tone of the 6pm report. ...
Muriel Newman writes – When Meridian Energy was seeking resource consents for a West Coast hydro dam proposal in 2010, local Maori “strenuously” objected, claiming their mana was inextricably linked to ‘their’ river and could be damaged. After receiving a financial payment from the company, however, the Ngai Tahu ...
Alwyn Poole writes – “An SEP,’ he said, ‘is something that we can’t see, or don’t see, or our brain doesn’t let us see, because we think that it’s somebody else’s problem. That’s what SEP means. Somebody Else’s Problem. The brain just edits it out, it’s like a ...
Our trust in our political institutions is fast eroding, according to a Maxim Institute discussion paper, Shaky Foundations: Why our democracy needs trust. The paper – released today – raises concerns about declining trust in New Zealand’s political institutions and democratic processes, and the role that the overuse of Parliamentary urgency ...
This article was prepared for publication yesterday. More ministerial announcements have been posted on the government’s official website since it was written. We will report on these later today …. Buzz from the BeehiveThere we were, thinking the environment is in trouble, when along came Jones. Shane Jones. ...
New Zealand now has the fourth most depressed construction sector in the world behind China, Qatar and Hong Kong. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy at 8:46am on Thursday, May 2:The Lead: ...
David Seymour has failed to get the sweeping cuts he wanted to the free and healthy school lunch programme, Labour education spokesperson Jan Tinetti said. ...
Hon Willie Jackson has been invited by the Oxford Union to debate the motion “This House Believes British Museums are not Very British’ on May 23rd. ...
Green Party MP Hūhana Lyndon says her Public Works (Prohibition of Compulsory Acquisition of Māori Land) Amendment Bill is an opportunity to right some past wrongs around the alienation of Māori land. ...
A senior, highly respected King’s Counsel with decades of experience in our law courts, Gary Judd KC, has filed a complaint about compulsory tikanga Māori studies for law students - highlighting the utter depths of absurdity this woke cultural madness has taken our society. The tikanga regulations will compel law ...
The Government needs to be clear with the people of the Nelson Marlborough region about the changes it is considering for the Nelson Hospital rebuild, Labour health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall said. ...
Ministers must front up about which projects it will push through under its Fast Track Approvals legislation, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
The Government is again adding to New Zealand’s growing unemployment, this time cutting jobs at the agencies responsible for urban development and growing much needed housing stock. ...
With Minister Karen Chhour indicating in the House today that she either doesn’t know or care about the frontline cuts she’s making to Oranga Tamariki, we risk seeing more and more of our children falling through the cracks. ...
The Labour Party is saddened to learn of the death of Sir Robert Martin, a globally renowned disability advocate who led the way for disability rights both in New Zealand and internationally. ...
Labour is calling for the Government to urgently rethink its coalition commitment to restart live animal exports, Labour animal welfare spokesperson Rachel Boyack said. ...
Today’s Financial Stability Report has once again highlighted that poverty and deep inequality are political choices - and this Government is choosing to make them worse. ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to do more for our households in most need as unemployment rises and the cost of living crisis endures. ...
Unemployment is on the rise and it’s only going to get worse under this Government, Labour finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds said. Stats NZ figures show the unemployment rate grew to 4.3 percent in the March quarter from 4 percent in the December quarter. “This is the second rise in unemployment ...
The New Zealand Labour Party welcomes the entering into force of the European Union and New Zealand free trade agreement. This agreement opens the door for a huge increase in trade opportunities with a market of 450 million people who are high value discerning consumers of New Zealand goods and ...
The National-led Government continues its fiscal jiggery pokery with its Pharmac announcement today, Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall says. “The government has increased Pharmac funding but conceded it will only make minimal increases in access to medicine”, said Ayesha Verrall “This is far from the bold promises made to fund ...
This afternoon’s interim Waitangi Tribunal report must be taken seriously as it affects our most vulnerable children, Labour children’s spokesperson Willow-Jean Prime. ...
Te Pāti Māori are demanding the New Zealand Government support an international independent investigation into mass graves that have been uncovered at two hospitals on the Gaza strip, following weeks of assault by Israeli troops. Among the 392 bodies that have been recovered, are children and elderly civilians. Many of ...
Our two-tiered system for veterans’ support is out of step with our closest partners, and all parties in Parliament should work together to fix it, Labour veterans’ affairs spokesperson Greg O’Connor said. ...
Stripping two Ministers of their portfolios just six months into the job shows Christopher Luxon’s management style is lacking, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said. ...
Tonight’s court decision to overturn the summons of the Children’s Minister has enabled the Crown to continue making decisions about Māori without evidence, says Te Pāti Māori spokesperson for Children, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi. “The judicial system has this evening told the nation that this government can do whatever they want when ...
It appears Nicola Willis is about to pull the rug out from under the feet of local communities still dealing with the aftermath of last year’s severe weather, and local councils relying on funding to build back from these disasters. ...
The Government is making short-sighted changes to the Resource Management Act (RMA) that will take away environmental protection in favour of short-term profits, Labour’s environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
Labour welcomes the release of the report into the North Island weather events and looks forward to working with the Government to ensure that New Zealand is as prepared as it can be for the next natural disaster. ...
The Labour Party has called for the New Zealand Government to recognise Palestine, as a material step towards progressing the two-State solution needed to achieve a lasting peace in the region. ...
Some of our country’s most important work, stopping the sexual exploitation of children and violent extremism could go along with staff on the frontline at ports and airports. ...
The Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill will give projects such as new coal mines a ‘get out of jail free’ card to wreak havoc on the environment, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said today. ...
The government's decision to reintroduce Three Strikes is a destructive and ineffective piece of law-making that will only exacerbate an inherently biased and racist criminal justice system, said Te Pāti Māori Justice Spokesperson, Tākuta Ferris, today. During the time Three Strikes was in place in Aotearoa, Māori and Pasifika received ...
Cuts to frontline hospital staff are not only a broken election promise, it shows the reckless tax cuts have well and truly hit the frontline of the health system, says Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall. ...
The Green Party has joined the call for public submissions on the fast-track legislation to be extended after the Ombudsman forced the Government to release the list of organisations invited to apply just hours before submissions close. ...
New Zealand’s good work at reducing climate emissions for three years in a row will be undone by the National government’s lack of ambition and scrapping programmes that were making a difference, Labour Party climate spokesperson Megan Woods said today. ...
Associate Education Minister David Seymour has today announced that the Government will be delivering a more efficient Healthy School Lunches Programme, saving taxpayers approximately $107 million a year compared to how Labour funded it, by embracing innovation and commercial expertise. “We are delivering on our commitment to treat taxpayers’ money ...
New research on the impacts of extreme weather on coastal marine habitats in Tairāwhiti and Hawke’s Bay will help fishery managers plan for and respond to any future events, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. A report released today on research by Niwa on behalf of Fisheries New Zealand ...
Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Winston Peters will lead a broad political delegation on a five-stop Pacific tour next week to strengthen New Zealand’s engagement with the region. The delegation will visit Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu, New Caledonia, and Tuvalu. “New Zealand has deep and ...
There has been a material decline in gas production according to figures released today by the Gas Industry Co. Figures released by the Gas Industry Company show that there was a 12.5 per cent reduction in gas production during 2023, and a 27.8 per cent reduction in gas production in the ...
Defence Minister Judith Collins tonight announced the recipients of the Minister of Defence Awards of Excellence for Industry, saying they all contribute to New Zealanders’ security and wellbeing. “Congratulations to this year’s recipients, whose innovative products and services play a critical role in the delivery of New Zealand’s defence capabilities, ...
Welcome to you all - it is a pleasure to be here this evening.I would like to start by thanking Greg Lowe, Chair of the New Zealand Defence Industry Advisory Council, for co-hosting this reception with me. This evening is about recognising businesses from across New Zealand and overseas who in ...
It is a pleasure to be speaking to you as the Minister for Digitising Government. I would like to thank Akolade for the invitation to address this Summit, and to acknowledge the great effort you are making to grow New Zealand’s digital future. Today, we stand at the cusp of ...
New Zealand is urging both Israel and Hamas to agree to an immediate ceasefire to avoid the further humanitarian catastrophe that military action in Rafah would unleash, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “The immense suffering in Gaza cannot be allowed to worsen further. Both sides have a responsibility to ...
A new online data dashboard released today as part of the Government’s school attendance action plan makes more timely daily attendance data available to the public and parents, says Associate Education Minister David Seymour. The interactive dashboard will be updated once a week to show a national average of how ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced Rosemary Banks will be New Zealand’s next Ambassador to the United States of America. “Our relationship with the United States is crucial for New Zealand in strategic, security and economic terms,” Mr Peters says. “New Zealand and the United States have a ...
The Government is considering creating a new tier of minerals permitting that will make it easier for hobby miners to prospect for gold. “New Zealand was built on gold, it’s in our DNA. Our gold deposits, particularly in regions such as Otago and the West Coast have always attracted fortune-hunters. ...
Minister for Trade Todd McClay today announced that New Zealand and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) will commence negotiations on a free trade agreement (FTA). Minister McClay met with his counterpart UAE Trade Minister Dr Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi in Dubai, where they announced the launch of negotiations on a ...
New Zealand Sign Language Week is an excellent opportunity for all Kiwis to give the language a go, Disabilities Issues Minister Louise Upston says. This week (May 6 to 12) is New Zealand Sign Language (NZSL) Week. The theme is “an Aotearoa where anyone can sign anywhere” and aims to ...
Six tertiary students have been selected to work on NASA projects in the US through a New Zealand Space Scholarship, Space Minister Judith Collins announced today. “This is a fantastic opportunity for these talented students. They will undertake internships at NASA’s Ames Research Center or its Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), where ...
New Zealanders will be safer because of a $1.9 billion investment in more frontline Corrections officers, more support for offenders to turn away from crime, and more prison capacity, Corrections Minister Mark Mitchell says. “Our Government said we would crack down on crime. We promised to restore law and order, ...
The OECD’s latest report on New Zealand reinforces the importance of bringing Government spending under control, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The OECD conducts country surveys every two years to review its members’ economic policies. The 2024 New Zealand survey was presented in Wellington today by OECD Chief Economist Clare Lombardelli. ...
The Government has delivered on its election promise to provide a financially sustainable model for Auckland under its Local Water Done Well plan. The plan, which has been unanimously endorsed by Auckland Council’s Governing Body, will see Aucklanders avoid the previously projected 25.8 per cent water rates increases while retaining ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters discussed the need for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, and enhanced cooperation in the Pacific with German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock during her first official visit to New Zealand today. "New Zealand and Germany enjoy shared interests and values, including the rule of law, democracy, respect for the international system ...
The Minister Responsible for RMA Reform, Chris Bishop today released his decision on four recommendations referred to him by the Western Bay of Plenty District Council, opening the door to housing growth in the area. The Council’s Plan Change 92 allows more homes to be built in existing and new ...
Thank you, John McKinnon and the New Zealand China Council for the invitation to speak to you today. Thank you too, all members of the China Council. Your effort has played an essential role in helping to build, shape, and grow a balanced and resilient relationship between our two ...
The Government is modernising insurance law to better protect Kiwis and provide security in the event of a disaster, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly announced today. “These reforms are long overdue. New Zealand’s insurance law is complicated and dated, some of which is more than 100 years old. ...
The coalition Government is refreshing its approach to supporting pay equity claims as time-limited funding for the Pay Equity Taskforce comes to an end, Public Service Minister Nicola Willis says. “Three years ago, the then-government introduced changes to the Equal Pay Act to support pay equity bargaining. The changes were ...
Structured literacy will change the way New Zealand children learn to read - improving achievement and setting students up for success, Education Minister Erica Stanford says. “Being able to read and write is a fundamental life skill that too many young people are missing out on. Recent data shows that ...
Trade Minister Todd McClay says Canada’s refusal to comply in full with a CPTPP trade dispute ruling in our favour over dairy trade is cynical and New Zealand has no intention of backing down. Mr McClay said he has asked for urgent legal advice in respect of our ‘next move’ ...
The rights of our children and young people will be enhanced by changes the coalition Government will make to strengthen oversight of the Oranga Tamariki system, including restoring a single Children’s Commissioner. “The Government is committed to delivering better public services that care for our most at-risk young people and ...
The Government is making it easier for minor changes to be made to a building consent so building a home is easier and more affordable, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “The coalition Government is focused on making it easier and cheaper to build homes so we can ...
New Zealand lost a true legend when internationally renowned disability advocate Sir Robert Martin (KNZM) passed away at his home in Whanganui last night, Disabilities Issues Minister Louise Upston says. “Our Government’s thoughts are with his wife Lynda, family and community, those he has worked with, the disability community in ...
Good evening – Before discussing the challenges and opportunities facing New Zealand’s foreign policy, we’d like to first acknowledge the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs. You have contributed to debates about New Zealand foreign policy over a long period of time, and we thank you for hosting us. ...
From today, passengers travelling internationally from Auckland Airport will be able to keep laptops and liquids in their carry-on bags for security screening thanks to new technology, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Creating a more efficient and seamless travel experience is important for holidaymakers and businesses, enabling faster movement through ...
People with an interest in the health of Northland’s marine ecosystems are invited to a public meeting to discuss how to deal with kina barrens, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones will lead the discussion, which will take place on Friday, 10 May, at Awanui Hotel in ...
Kiwi exporters are $100 million better off today with the NZ EU FTA entering into force says Trade Minister Todd McClay. “This is all part of our plan to grow the economy. New Zealand's prosperity depends on international trade, making up 60 per cent of the country’s total economic activity. ...
There are heartening signs that the extractive sector is once again becoming an attractive prospect for investors and a source of economic prosperity for New Zealand, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. “The beginnings of a resurgence in extractive industries are apparent in media reports of the sector in the past ...
The return of the historic Ō-Rākau battle site to the descendants of those who fought there moved one step closer today with the first reading of Te Pire mō Ō-Rākau, Te Pae o Maumahara / The Ō-Rākau Remembrance Bill. The Bill will entrust the 9.7-hectare battle site, five kilometres west ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has announced 25 new high-speed EV charging hubs along key routes between major urban centres and outlined the Government’s plan to supercharge New Zealand’s EV infrastructure. The hubs will each have several chargers and be capable of charging at least four – and up to 10 ...
The coalition Government will not proceed with the previous Government’s plans to regulate residential property managers, Housing Minister Chris Bishop says. “I have written to the Chairperson of the Social Services and Community Committee to inform him that the Government does not intend to support the Residential Property Managers Bill ...
The Government has announced an independent review into the disability support system funded by the Ministry of Disabled People – Whaikaha. Disability Issues Minister Louise Upston says the review will look at what can be done to strengthen the long-term sustainability of Disability Support Services to provide disabled people and ...
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith has attended the Universal Periodic Review in Geneva and outlined the Government’s plan to restore law and order. “Speaking to the United Nations Human Rights Council provided us with an opportunity to present New Zealand’s human rights progress, priorities, and challenges, while responding to issues and ...
The Government and Rotorua Lakes Council are committed to working closely together to end the use of contracted emergency housing motels in Rotorua. Associate Minister of Housing (Social Housing) Tama Potaka says the Government remains committed to ending the long-term use of contracted emergency housing motels in Rotorua by the ...
Trade Minister Todd McClay heads overseas today for high-level trade talks in the Gulf region, and a key OECD meeting in Paris. Mr McClay will travel to Riyadh to meet with counterparts from Saudi Arabia and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). “New Zealand’s goods and services exports to the Gulf region ...
Education Minister Erica Stanford has outlined six education priorities to deliver a world-leading education system that sets Kiwi kids up for future success. “I’m putting ambition, achievement and outcomes at the heart of our education system. I want every child to be inspired and engaged in their learning so they ...
RNZ News As Israel presses ahead with strikes in Rafah and seizing the Rafah crossing from Egypt, aid agencies are sounding the alarm of a “catastrophic humanitarian situation”. Rafah was “significant” because it was the only part in Gaza that had not been terribly damaged by the conflict, United Nations ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Anna Cooke, Honorary Fellow, School of the Environment, The University of Queensland We feel ecological grief when we lose places, species or ecosystems we value and love. These losses are a growing threat to mental health and wellbeing globally. We all see ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Shauna Brail, Associate Professor, Institute for Management & Innovation, University of Toronto A shift to hybrid and remote work continues to affect worker presence in Toronto’s downtown.(Shutterstock) Downtown Toronto, the core of Canada’s largest city, continues to reel from the lingering ...
Responding to an Auditor-General's report slamming failures in the administration of the 2023 General Election, Taxpayers’ Union Policy and Public Affairs Manager, James Ross, said: ...
The Taxpayers’ Union says the Beehive need to lead by example, following reports of more than $50,000 spent upgrading video conferencing equipment and furniture in the Prime Minister’s office. Taxpayers’ Union Campaign Manager, Connor Molloy, ...
An objective list of the 50 most powerful people in New Zealand, as judged by the Spinoff Editorial Board. It’s power list season, baby, and we want in on the action. Sure, there’s the rich list and the powerful “c-suite” list and the young people with power (hmmm) but here, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Thalia Anthony, Professor of Law, University of Technology Sydney ShutterstockThis article contains information on deaths in custody and the names of deceased people, and describes ongoing colonial violence towards Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. First Nations people in Australia ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alex Simpson, Senior Lecturer in Criminology, Macquarie University Netflix Baby Reindeer’s phenomenal success has much to do with its writer and lead, Richard Gadd, who plays Donny in a tender semi-autobiographical account of sexual abuse, harassment and stalking. Gadd’s story has ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Clare Collins, Laureate Professor in Nutrition and Dietetics, University of Newcastle KarolinaGrabowska/Pexels If you didn’t have food allergies as a child, is it possible to develop them as an adult? The short answer is yes. But the reasons why are much ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Paul Moon, Professor of History, Auckland University of Technology Ans Westra, self-portrait, c. 1963. National Library ref AWM-0705-F They try but invariably fail – those writers who believe they are capable of encapsulating in prose or verse the essence of ...
Stewart Sowman-Lund looks at the growing concern around the world in this extract from The Bulletin. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here. What’s all this? When Covid-19 arrived on our shores in early 2020, some argued we were too slow, or crucially, ill-prepared for a pandemic. So ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Franco Montalto, Professor of Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering and Director, Sustainable Water Resource Engineering Laboratory, Drexel University Water runs into a storm drain in a Los Angeles alley on Aug. 19, 2023, during Tropical Storm Hilary.Citizen of the Planet/Universal Images ...
The inquest into the death of Gore toddler Lachlan Jones has turned up a new witness who says he saw two teenagers and a small child in a high vis vest in the area where the boy’s body was found the day he died. Lachie’s body was discovered face up ...
Stories from the tenancy trenches, featuring spider infestations, cupboard rats and same-sex discrimination. Lucy’s brother was living in a damp 1930s building in Mt Eden where “he had to tie the cupboard doors closed so the rats didn’t get in”. Although he shared custody of his six-year-old son, his property ...
Simeon Brown, Chris Luxon, and Wayne Brown climbed into a hole and announced a plan to solve Auckland’s water woes. This is how it’ll work. New Zealand’s pipes are munted. They’re cracked and leaking, and struggling to handle all the extra poos excreted by our rising population. It’s a big, ...
I knew Taika Waititi quite well when he was a kid. His mother lived in a tall narrow house in Aro St, and my youngest sister had a similar house two doors along. They were both single mums, they each had a son aged seven. Taika and my nephew Stepan ...
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Latest analysis from the New Zealand Election Study’s Jack Vowles (hot off the Press and just launched by Helen Clark at Victoria University) raises a series of interesting points about Green support:
(1) It appears to confirm what I’ve been arguing for quite some time (eg here … https://thestandard.org.nz/breaking-news-russell-norman-resigning-from-parliament/#comment-1069442 and here … https://thestandard.org.nz/the-political-machinations-of-the-flag-debate/#comment-1074477) … namely: that – far from being a Party supported solely (or even largely) by the affluent urban upper-middle classes – the Green support-base is, in fact, quite diverse: the party draws fairly similar levels of support from the various socio-economic strata. Indeed, if anything, the 2014 NZES suggests the Greens drew slightly greater support from people on lower incomes with few if any assets than from those on high incomes.
Which isn’t to say the Green Constituency sees itself as subjectively “working class” exactly … their voters tend to eschew any class identity. They’re also more likely than average to be university educated.
(2) The Greens’ dependable core-vote is probably smaller than most pundits assume.
The NZES flow-of-the-Vote data suggests less than half of 2011 Green voters remained loyal at the 2014 General Election. About a quarter of 2011 Greens swung to Labour, with a little less than one fifth going to the Nats and NZF (each).
However, there were significant reciprocal swings. The Greens lost more to Labour than they gained from the Larger Centre-Left Party, but most of the vote inflow that the Green’s did receive in 2014 came from former Labour supporters as well as from previous Non-voters – thus largely (but not entirely) compensating for their lost 2011 votes.
As Vowles argues: ” … the apparent stability of Green voting support is something of an illusion”
In other words … not the same 11% voting Green in 2011 and 2014. Around 5% of all voters (just under half of 2011 Greens) voted Green in both Elections, the rest were new.
And this isn’t actually anything new – go back to earlier NZES polling (late 90s / early zeros Elections) and you’ll see the same inherent volatility in the Green vote.
Clearly, at the very least a large minority (and quite possibly a majority) of Green voters in both 2011 and 2014 had been Labour supporters at some time in the recent past. A lot of movement back and forth between the two parties over consecutive Elections.
So, I’d argue the Greens’ base vote is more like 5%.
Jacindamania + the Greens turmoil in this campaign will probably mean the Party won’t receive its usual amount of (significant and vital) Labour-supporter froth on top of that core vote. Probably just enough to raise it to 6-8%.
NOTE: If the Greens are averaging anything less than about 6.5% in the final round of pre-Election Polls then I myself am going to be forced to switch my Party Vote from Labour to the Vegetable Rights and Peace Party, just to ensure they return.
(3) The NZES confirms once again (as in previous NZES studies) that Green voters view themselves – and are viewed by others – as ideologically to the Left of Labour. The Greens constituency is essentially Left-libertarian (there are relatively few Blue-Greens among the Party’s support-base), with a particularly marked emphasis not on the liberal attitudes that most pundits might assume but rather on the economic Left dimension. While Social libertarians are certainly much more likely to vote Green than Social authoritarians … holding Left-wing economic views is still around 3 times more important in predicting Green electoral support than moral liberalism.
So the idea popular among pundits that there exists some kind of mis-match between the Greens’ left-wing social justice policies and their supposedly affluent, centrist, morally-liberal but purely environmentalist urban support-base really holds no water.
I went to the GP fundraiser of Inconvenient Sequel. If I was ever wavering, I’m not now. They need to be in government, we’re long out of time re climate change. The social consequences will be massive hence the pointlessness of being blue-green.
swordfish
Interesting analysis, though it’d be good to see the numbers firsthand. Is there an online database, or is it solely a printed academic work that has be be purchased?
I do think that the GP have moved on a bit from this:
Heh, if anything they’re as much this:
https://youtu.be/23OPvRE66kQ?t=8
Dspare
Yeah, but ask yourself this, Dspare – at which Annual Party Conference are you most likely to hear the following sentence:
“Rik ! Rik ! You’re gonna freak man !!! , “Look at me I’m Krishna !!!”
(I mean, OK, I can almost imagine an overly-excited Steven Joyce screaming this at a National Party delegate – especially if Joyce had been given too many sugary
drinks – but more likely to happen at the Greens Annual Conference, I should’ve thought)
Which electorates are they strongest in?
Ad
The New Zealand Election Study’s Jack Vowles
I made essentially the same point as Vowles back in the 2015 thread I Iinked to https://thestandard.org.nz/the-political-machinations-of-the-flag-debate/#comment-1074477
Duncan Garner certainly wasn’t the only journo to rely on seat-by-seat data
In his 2012 Listener Interview with Russel Norman – Guyon Espiner suggested
.
Apart from falling for the ecological fallacy – what Guyon also conspicuously failed to notice was the marked discrepancy between similarly affluent seats like Epsom (Green 4424 in 2011) & Wellington Central (10903)
or
very Low Income Dunedin North (Green 7010 in 2011) & either the 3 poorer South Auckland electorates or indeed affluent Epsom
Sounds like Simpsons paradox is at play here.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simpson%27s_paradox
Normally you just have to make an ideological choice to decide which categorization is correct/superior in these cases (and when its important and tangible like in medical studies).
good analysis…and
“In other words … not the same 11% voting Green in 2011 and 2014. Around 5% of all voters (just under half of 2011 Greens) voted Green in both Elections, the rest were new.”
I was one of those, and ….
“NOTE: If the Greens are averaging anything less than about 6.5% in the final round of pre-Election Polls then I myself am going to be forced to switch my Party Vote from Labour to the Vegetable Rights and Peace Party, just to ensure they return.”
I too was thinking along those lines, BUT my god they are making it hard to do that.
Too many mainstream journalists and commentators have been hammering the GP since they promoted strong support for improving the social welfare system.
In spite of that, they have started an important discussion and opened up important voices on the damaging welfare system. There has been a significant amount of support for that.
+1
“NOTE: If the Greens are averaging anything less than about 6.5% in the final round of pre-Election Polls then I myself am going to be forced to switch my Party Vote from Labour to the Vegetable Rights and Peace Party, just to ensure they return.”
Exactly. Think along these lines.
Lab 41
Greens 7
NZF 8
Nats 38
TOP 4 (wasted)
Wasted 2
In this now entirely feasible situation a Labour/Green government could easily be formed without the need for NZF. A dream scenario that cannot happen without the Greens.
GP needs at least 8% (possibly 9%) to bring Jack McDonald into parliament. He is a very strong candidate and the government would really benefit from his presence.
we don’t know if thats feasible at this stage….we need a series of polls to determine whether that is the case or not and the Greens are currently harming the chances of that scenario which is disappointing as when MT launched the strategy of engaging the disengaged (which attracted the hatchet job,sadly) the Greens appeared to have learnt that their most productive role was to be the gatherer of those votes for the left that Labour couldn’t actively seek without upsetting their more centrist voters (as ACT does/did for National)…now they appear to be spitting the dummy and putting the whole “change the government” goal risk (at worst) or (at best) excluding themselves from any meaningful role within a new gov.
…it is making MT’s sacrifice for nought i fear.
I think you are dreaming if you think that Labour will not try to make an aliiance with NZ First, even if they don’t need them to govern. Basically, Labour would not put themselves in a position to be beholden only to the GP, no matter how strong the GP vote.
Labour will try to balance the GP against NZ First, and possibly also the Maori Party, to give Labour more control and alternatives.
The only way to ensure NZ First has as little influence as possible, is for there to be a very strong vote for the GP.
Carolyn_nth
That’s how I see it, and is much how National have done it with having more voting partners than they strictly needed. One factor to be considered is that Labour MPs may not always vote along party lines, so there needs to be a buffer against defections.
Pat
Me, You & Scotsman-exiled-in-Palmerston-North – lurgee
https://thestandard.org.nz/daily-review-17082017/#comment-1369694
* I’ve always assumed lurgee’s a fanatical Partick Thistle supporter but could be wrong
Thanks.
From what I’ve seen of the GP supporters, on and offline, in Auckland, I’d say they are more ethnically mixed than generally supposed, with some degree of support from Māori and Pacific people.
Looking at that analysis there is a potential pool of 17% of the electorate that may vote Green-this is huge.
And why, if you are interested in Climate Change action (our nuclear-free moment) and clean rivers and lakes, would you vote for very pale green Labour when you can vote for the real Green?
The problem is usually to get them to actually vote, closely followed by the problem for them to vote Green.
Using the same kinds of criteria of who has ever voted for it, the potential voters for Peter Dunnes hair (which appears to live a life of its own) is probably in the order of 15-20%.
In the same line, the potential pool of voters for Labour would be something like 75%. After all there are all of those RWNJ trolls who usually start with the line like “well I used to vote for Labour but then [insert bigotry here], and now I’m proud to vote for Act.
I plan to vote Green
A.
https://cheekygames.ghost.io/untitled-3/
A blog inspired by Danyl Mclauchlan’s Spinoff piece and the RNZ interview of Martin O’Malley. Talking ’bout my generation’s potential to provide leadership to meet the existential challenges of our times.
So it’s a post written by you?
I thought McLaughlan’s piece had some very interesting parts to it. However, I thought it was a quite sophisticated version of what many centrists do: take some views/policies/positions from the left; then take some from the right; then show why a balance between the two main polarities is the most reasonable position.
Basically, such an analysis depends on the positions that are selected intitally.
An alternative way to develop a political position is to start with the kind with the kind of society desired; then to look at where and how society falls short; then develop policies and positions to move towards the preferred kind of society.
Or to look at the problems in society that require solutions, then examine the evidence for how well each solution will work.
I’d say that was the only way to develop society. Doing things the way we are is resulting in society stagnating and heading towards collapse because of that stagnation.
To me, the Greens are as if they got the vision a value-system, the whole integrated picture (see also https://thestandard.org.nz/climate-change-and-transport-the-greens-integrated-policy/), and are looking in from the outside as it were. The other parties are embedded and starting from the centre of the status quo, by and large, and looking outwards to an emptiness that scares the living daylight out of them. But like light that cannot escape from a black hole they cannot achieve much more than some tinkering & tweaking with piecemeal (‘pragmatic’) policies and reductionist approaches. What’s needed is not a modification of what we (think) know and have but a complete paradigm shift to what we really want. My intuition tells me that this is simultaneously much harder and much easier than we believe …
National and Coleman a ‘no show’ at a live streamed ChCh health forum.
“Organiser Marney Ainsworth, of the health coalition YesWeCare, said Health Minister Jonathan Coleman was invited to the event and offered several dates, but declined four weeks out, saying he had other engagements”
What’s up with this election, is national no show becoming a common theme?
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/health/96135652/coleman-skips-election-health-forum
Here in Motueka we have a “meet the candidates” today at 1:30pm at the senior citizens hall behind the library. I wonder if Maureen Pugh from National will show up? I’ll be there, I’ve some questions to ask the government.
Cinny (3) … you state … “What’s up with this election, is national no show becoming a common theme?”
One word … arrogance!
Natz is obviously picking and choosing which events it attends and they will be those which favour government! Anything or anyone else gets the one finger salute.
It’s imperative Natz are removed from government on 23 September.
Hey Mary, it’s either arrogance or fear, as they do not appear to have much public support out there at all.
Looking forward to this afternoon, will update later how it went.
PS While driving towards the Mot River the other day my girls spotted one of the new labour party hoardings, “Clean Rivers… Let’s Do This” beautiful placement of that hoarding. My girls said ‘look mum it’s the ‘Red Princess’ she’s going to be the new Prime Minister, give her a toot mum’ To which I obliged, toot toot on the truck airhorns 😀
Mary I would suggest it’s fear that keeps the likes of Coleman from appearing. His insistence that the health vote has kept up with health needs in the last three years has been exposed for what it is….nonsense.
After the debacle at Dunedin last week where they were fair hounded out of the city, I imagine every appearance will be carefully stage managed now to ensure only positive media coverage. Potentially a smart game, as long as nobody actually says anything in the media about it.
It’s been a common theme for quite a few years now. It’s somewhat surprising that they’re extending it into the election period but not answering tough questions does seem to be National’s MO.
The Greens won’t make the threshold.
[TheStandard: A moderator moved this comment to Open Mike as being off topic or irrelevant in the post it was made in. Be more careful in future.]
Yes, they will. There, your entire argument utterly refuted. That was easy.
LOL
OAB. Pithy !
OAB –
By NCEA criteria, you have ‘Achieved’.
You could have gained ‘Achieved with Merit’ by adding the words ‘most certainly’.
You could have gained ‘Achieved with Excellence’ by adding the word ‘Oh’ before ‘yes’.
(But you still did very well.)
Yes Hilary Barry we can do with out plastic lets get ride of the vile stuff .
If we went back to glass bottles they could be washed and reused . A price could be payed for the bottles returned .
This would create a small industry that we use to have and our kids etc would make pocket money from this .
This could influence some children’s into the work culture and provide pocket money or saving for them.
Lett’s get rid of all the plastic we can we need the GREEN PARTY to get to 15% or the Main party’s may put this issue like this into the to hard basket.
Lett’s change the building code to design our new housing so that all new houses are designed to be change slightly so that all new house have a solar passive design and the heating and cooling bills would come down this idea has been well documented .
But the people in power do not like ideas that wont make our economy grow.
National would not even ban incandescence light bulbs.
There are a lot of ideas that would save us money and we could live more efficient healthy lives.
But again this will have a negative effect on our economy which anyone with a brain knows can not grow for ever our chase the growth system is unsustainable and FUCKEN stupid !!!!!!!!
This government’s failure to put a 10c levy on supermarket plastic bags is scandalous. In the UK this has reduced bag usage by 80-85%. Vote Green and this will happen.
Which would be why they haven’t done it. That decrease in use represents a decrease in profits for some rich people.
A plague unleashed.
Brazil’s government has abolished a vast national reserve in the Amazon to open up the area to mining.
The area, covering 46,000 sq km (17,800 sq miles), straddles the northern states of Amapa and Para, and is thought to be rich in gold, and other minerals.
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-41033228
Two renting articles on stuff this AM
http://i.stuff.co.nz/business/property/96121726/fleas-creeps-and-mould-nightmare-rentals
http://i.stuff.co.nz/business/property/96099814/landlords-get-our-money-we-get-poor-health
An indication that poor quality rentals are damaging people’s health – and that so some landlords can profit financially from some people’s ill health.
Desperate attempt by Audrey Young to spin the figures in this poll:
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11910554
The real headline here is that 32% of people see Jacinda as the person to run the country against 10% for Little. A massive gain. Jacindaphoria continues.
Interesting that Winnie is slipping-watch NZF vote slide too.
But how representative is a poll of Flybuys subscribers.
I didn’t think that 45 for English versus 32 for Ardern was a big enough difference to warrant all the fuss Soper and Young made of it.
National extending the $10k Auckland bonus for teachers who stay in their roles. Now applicable across all Auckland schools, not just low decile, hard to staff schools.
How much of this money will end up in the pockets of landlords? Looks like another taxpayer subsidy to property investors.
The negative Nats latest strategy is to go all out to discredit Labour’s new policies as new taxes. This is to be expected, but I say – stay strong Labour and Greens – kia kaha. Stay relentlessly on message: increasing inequality, increasing homelessness in our cities and towns, lack of care for the mentally unwell, the impossible cost of housing, our filthy rivers and lakes, etc etc., have all got worse. They have had 9 years to begin to improve these, but have not. For the future of Aotearoa New Zealand, there must be a change.
The ever so un-charming Barry Soper is being particularly snarky/snide in the Herald. Saying Aucklanders think English is more capable than Jacinda. Considering he has been around forever like an old slipper, I think Jacinda as a new leader is proving herself very very quickly.
Hillary Clinton was more capable.
It’s not enough to win. May even be a liability.
Aucklanders in Remuera and Parnell maybe. Soper’s obviously been suffering the negative effects of premature senility and really needs to take himself off to a retirement village somewhere.
+ 100 Wensleydale
Nope. We don’t.
English has proven his incapacity several times over the years.
There’s a small distinction between “running” the country, which would be the technocratic lever pulling, which Bill is demonstrably reasonably capable of, and “leading” the country.
This is cajoling disparate groups to some sort of agreement and building a consensus and inspiring the country as a whole to move in a cohesive direction. Key had this, as did Clark, Lange, Kirk and Muldoon to an extent. Jacinda has the qualities of a leader as well.
Leadership is the question that should have been asked.
Bill and John have been running up the debt ?
Such blatant lies would be punished at the ballot box. Which must be why that pesky democratic oversight was abandoned just when the rebuild stopped being putoff. Still, ejecting National from the health ministry this election will be a way of exercising voting rights stripped from the SDHB:
https://www.odt.co.nz/news/dunedin/health/performance-key-targets-slips
The Prefu has a hidden message according to Thomas Coughlan:
“Chief amongst the Treasury’s assumptions for slowing GDP growth is a decline in immigration – a drastic decline. Using data from Statistics New Zealand, Treasury is assuming that net migration will fall from 72, 540 in 2017 to 20, 000 in June 2021, falling eventually to 15, 000 in 2022.”…..
“…In March, ASB projected a level of around 60, 000 a year would last for at least the next three years.”
So immigration a major factor in the blossoming economy but figures in the slowing in the next few years as immigration falls away. Or not.
Newsroom has some interesting articles each day.
https://www.newsroom.co.nz/2017/08/24/44551/real-news-hidden-under-prefus-exec-summary
Newsroom:
https://www.newsroom.co.nz/
Thanks for that ianmac
i had lost them and for some strange (or not so strange depending on your conspiracy level) its bloody hard to google!
great news site with a very refreshing viewpoint, keep on promoting it!
Brian Fallow talks about this in his Herald piece on the PREFU and goes on to point out that Treasury’s forecasts on immigration have been totally crap really.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=11910553
The most obvious assumption Treasury always makes is that the economy will slow under Labour led governments. The fact that the opposite is true doesn’t fit their dogma, so they discount it.
Yep. IIRC, there was research that actually showed that bias.
I agree the economy will pickup with A government that distributes more resource to the lower classes. National have been taking money out of the economy and scratching there heads why the GDP did not grow all there m8 they gave tax cuts to stashed there money in the stock market it’s not rocket science National answer to growth. Is immigration
Treasury’s forecasts on migration have been wrong (though they were highlighting the expected problems if it continued, the Nats just ignored the offered advice as usual) but the forecast could be said to be wholly dependent of the election result…i.e. Treasury are predicting a Labour led gov post sept ,with the consequent reduction in inward migration…should the Nats retain power i suspect they will revise their projections upwards (and/or outwards)
“Spy agency’s Dotcom surveillance illegal, court rules”
So they broke the law. Watch the mayhem as those so adamant that Metiria Turei should have the book chucked at her, especially because someone in her position should be purer than pure, go crazy seeking accountability and consequences for the GCSB.
http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/337996/spy-agency-s-dotcom-surveillance-illegal-court-rules
Oh, I’m sure that National will be more than happy to do some retrospective legislation to make it legal – just like they did last time.
Well the question now has to be ,
If the legislation that retrospectively legitimized the spying against Dotcom was formed without acknowledging these other illegalities then does that not now (re)open the door for Dotcoms $2billion suit against the NZ govt?
The can is open again and all those dratted worms are wriggling out and crawling all over everything.
I do think that only a very large payout will have an effect on the GCSB so in the long run it will be best for all NZ if Dotcom succeeds in his civil suit against the police and GCSB $2billion is not that big a cost if it reins in these dickheads
+ 1000 Xanthe
National promises ambitious new expressway between South Auckland and prison
Hilarious
Hilarious alright. I take it that’s a $4 billion traffic-free expressway on which there’ll be no stops. So the demons won’t be able to get out and rob the TAB during the stops ‘cos there’ll be none. Stops that is. Not traffic. Right you are !
Hey……you didn’t say anything about other traffic. So there WILL be stops. Mmmmm. So the TABs are safe during the saved 10 minutes but not for the rest of the trip ? Right you are !
This National campaign has the smell of an Edsel.
Draco T Bastard WTF Bill is A muppet
It is time to turn the heat up on hosking – he is a racist and that is the conclusion that is unmistakable from his lying apology and continued belligerent attitude to the Māori Party. And make no mistake this is NOT about the MP but about hosking the racist.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/96150762/mori-party-want-sponsors-to-pull-out-of-seven-sharp-after-mike-hoskings-rubbish-comments
For a while I thought hosking was just thick and dim but now I realise he is those things and sneaky and slimey and he has deliberately muddied the waters for his own intemperate pleasure. He thinks he is in control – well it is time to pull his hind legs out and watch him slide to the floor where he belongs.
http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/political/337995/call-to-boycott-seven-sharp-sponsor-over-hosking-s-comments
The guy is as thick as pig sh*t and believes his own B/S ?
Labour have just confirmed that they will fully fund the Skypath cycleway across the Auckland Harbour Bridge.
That should hoover in all those cyclist voters on the North Shore.
And get rid of one more poorly structured transport ppp.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11911077
Good article with some good pointers on what to say and do if you have concerns about someone who may be contemplating suicide. Some tough commentary from young people in this article.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/taranaki-daily-news/news/94579293/a-shared-story-of-going-to-the-brink-and-coming-back
After 5.7k votes, Metiria is on 12% support for NZer of the year.
Don’t know if that’s a reasonable proxy for Green Party support, but it’s a lot higher than 4%.
I reckon the doomsayers will be eating crow come the 23rd, but of course I’d say that 🙂
“The award is described as honoring “people for their contribution to the well-being of New Zealand”.
“Proven, inspirational and passionate, these are the people that New Zealanders are proud to call their own,” the New Zealander of the Year Awards website stated.”
http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/338013/barnaby-joyce-popular-choice-for-nzer-of-the-year
To my mind, Metiria Turei fits those criteria and then some.
Imagine the whinging and wailing if she won. What’s not to like?
Oh the outrage of the comfortable, smug and self righteous.
This Vernon Tava is popping a lot up via the Herald to talk politics. He is City Vision Community Voice.
Is he credible?
http://politik.co.nz/en/content/politics/1038/Top-Green-resigns-and-says-party-has-become-socialist-Vernon-Tava-Greens.htm
I note he says it is not the party it was under Jeanetter and Rod and yet Jeanette is getting behind the Greens and is fronting many of their email appeals.
By crikey the meet the candidates event in Motueka this afternoon was interesting. Nine candidates standing for West Coast/Tasman attended. I’ve never heard Kate Fulton from the Greens speak, she was great as was Damien O’Connor and the lovely lady who is a NZ First Candidate. A special mention to social democrats candidate Jack Collins, he was so brave when asked about euthenasia, as he recently lost his wife to cancer and held back the tears to share his story.
Due to the moderator helping the national party list mp avoid answering my question about offering better education to all, I had to follow Maureen Pugh around afterwards in order to get my answer. In the end she told me that I didn’t want to hear her answer and walked off on me. Say what? Now that’s avoidance, and Maureen don’t tell me how I feel, and don’t walk away from me to avoid answering a simple question.
Was approached by some lovely oldies who told me that thought it was shocking how rude Maureen had been to me, and told me that they too think that education is important for everyone, and that teritiary education costs are preventing so many people from upskilling to enhance their lives and our community as a whole.
The meeting took a long time due to the volumne of candidates, school finished and my eldest came over to the hall, she had a question about the rivers, and stood around Maureen waiting to ask her, Maureen kept walking off on her, my daughter found that rude and upsetting and ended up in tears, after a cuddle and some reassurance from me, finally she had her chance and was told a story about a lake on the west coast that was cleaned up. My daughter now knows how politicians use little stories to avoid giving straight answers.
Maureens side kick went on to tell my daughter it was her fault that the water was polluted because she used the toilet, I told him our rates covers our sewer. He then went on to tell her he didn’t have a problem swimming in rivers where cows had been shitting in the water, and neither should she. Then he laid into me, my daughter burst into tears again at how her mother was being treated, she didn’t take kindly to an old boy talking down to me and bullying her.
Well Maureen if you wanted to make an impression you sure did, from when you said that our electorate is massive and it’s hard to cover it all (weak excuse for being absent in our area, our local MP has no problems covering the area, but he is a hard worker); to your rudeness and avoidance which was noticed by many.
Only a few people clapped for the National Party candidate, times are changing.
And Maureen it wasn’t me that graffitted “No Thanks” on your hoarding on the main street, I’m not into vandalism, but I am into accountability.
Not sure if there will be another ‘meet the candidates’ in Motueka, which is a shame as many people work during the day and I’m sure they have questions to ask the candidates as well.
So… was this when Honest John was still in charge of our secret services? Still if is not as bad as having people flat with you as a solo mum when you were 23
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11911084
The king of Tonga just dismissed his Prime Minister and the entire Parliament.
https://www.tvnz.co.nz/one-news/world/fears-violence-in-tonga-after-king-tupou-vi-dismisses-pm-akilisi-pohiva-and-dissolves-parliament
So. This guy is a fucking moron. Yet another inbred wastrel sucking on the taxpayer’s tit for no return.
17 members of the parliament are elected by actual people, and another 9 are appointed by “nobles”. The “Tongan nobility”, King included, have no nobility at all.
Granted we live in a constitutional monarchy ourselves here in New Zealand. But actually in Australasia the Queen hasn’t acted like that in 50 years.
The Tongan monarchy do nothing but provide fealty services and negative rewards, for a country that has gone nowhere and backwards fast , other than as a client state of everyone else’s remittances from New Zealand and Australia.
Revolution, Tongans, and don’t spare any of them.
When times are bad, no wage rises. When profits are up, no wage rises.
https://i.stuff.co.nz/business/96155057/business-profits-leap-ahead-while-wages-struggle-to-outpace-inflation
Usually they don’t even admit that profits were up until the new crisis has hit. I fear that a crisis is now imminent.
And now the Labour means more strijes rhetoric begins.
Anyone know how many, when and which national polls are coming out between now and the election?
Ones which look good for them and not the others