Underfunded apartment buildings around the country are set to fall into disrepair unless owners stump up the thousands of dollars required to fix them.
The law requires unit title complexes to have long term maintenance plans (LTMPs), but not long term maintenance funds to back them up.
It is more and more of an issue as Auckland in particular intensifies, according to Home Owners and Buyers Association (HOBANZ) president John Gray.
I was wondering that. I’ve been away for awhile and have come back to see that Te Reo Putake, CV and Stephanie haven’t been around. Mind you I haven’t read every single post.
Hopefully folks are ok and getting on with that life thing.
TRP last commented here on 12 August, but has not issued a post for quite some time. TRP is on Twitter and the last tweet is dated 19 Sept, and he/she has also been an active commentator on a certain Dunedinite’s blog – YourNZ – which I will not link to. Its starting to rival WO or Kiwiblog these days in terms of the nature of most comments. TRP’s latest comment there was just yesterday.
CV last commented here on 19 Sept, so only a few days ago. He has a Twitter account under his real name, but tweets infrequently with the latest on 2 Sept.
SR last commented here on 30 August, but has done so less frequently recently than earlier this year and last year. She is very active on her Twitter account including today.
Karol is the one that I have been concerned about for months. After her departure from here, she continued to post on her own blog Edge Times and on her Twitter account, but there has been no activity on either of these since March. I hope she is OK.
Hi veutoviper.
I recall karol mentioning not long before she withdrew from being a TS author that she had other projects she wanted to pursue. I had the impression they were not related to politics. She is sorely missed because her analytical ability was second to none.
I’m not on twitter, or fb for that matter either, so am self limiting with access to communications in the political world. Twittter seems to be a good platform for that kind of activity.
I also had been thinking of karol and had looked at her Edge Times blog but then everything went quiet.
karol seemed to put a lot of heart and soul into her thoughtful and intelligent writing. I hope this world we live in with it’s constant struggles hasn’t got on top of her. If so, I hope she is making the best of taking time out. I think this can be helpful to do at times. Our social – political world is more than an intellectual experience, it’s creates an emotive response and some times it’s personal.
If you’re listening karol, maybe say hi, let us know you’re ok. If you want.
And lols, TRP, don’t tell us you joined the beige brigade!!!
I heard they where concocting a stable far left political party that will provide a party to the missing miliion and not chase the biggest donor that comes along.
CV and Stephanie both went AWOL around the same time – late August/early September.
But neither could resist Jeremy Corbyn’s win – both resuming with a few comments on the day of his victory (Stephanie just using her first name which is why you won’t find these more recent comments in a search). Stephanie hasn’t been heard of since (apart, of course, from twitter and boots theory), and although Corby drew CV back, he seems to have become just an occasional commenter.
All of which is a bit of a shame. They both produced some very incisive posts.
I particularly miss CV’s concise, lucid, hard-hitting arguments, especially on the implications of Sanders/Corbymania.
Rightly or wrongly, I’m assuming there’s been some ructions behind the scenes at some point with the various authors (CV published my fairly blunt criticism of Rob Salmond’s Go to the Centre thesis as a post and I’m hoping that wasn’t the cause of any grief or fallout). Then, again, maybe given their heavy workload – writing/researching regular posts while simultaneously juggling demanding careers – they just need a bit of a break.
The very sharp, witty and incisive Felix, of course, has also gone absent-without-leave following fisticuffs with TRP in early June here… http://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-10062015/#comment-1028912
TRP was pretty heavy-handed and felix (whose been with The Standard right from the start) was obviously pissed off enough not bother returning from his brief ban. So, another important voice lost to us.
A couple of months later, TRP disappears off the face of the earth.
Go figure.
All of which leads me to express a great deal of thanks to 1prent, Bill, Tracey and, perhaps above all, Micky and Anthony for taking up the slack and producing well-written posts day-after-day over the last few weeks. Exhausting schedule when you also have heavy work commitments.
(Hoping not to cop a ban myself for all of this wild speculation)
No ban from that. That is just observation rather than making up stories (which is what the anti-conspiracy rules are about).
As usual (I have been around here for 8 years now), The Standard is in a state of transition at present. We always seem to be in the year after an election. We lose people who were heavily involved prior to the election. We have new people being brought on board and finding out that it is a pain in the arse and requires sheer bloody minded persistence to hang in and fading out. It has been particularly frustrating this time around from my perspective.
We have the usual problems with authors arguing and disagreeing about courses of action. It is more complicated over the last year by having a private authors area in which to do it. Some of the turnover will be from my expressing the side edge of my irritation as I see valuable time that has been invested in bringing authors and moderators up to speed on this site getting wasted by people not agreeing to disagree. (That comes from my family and my professional instincts, which are those from operations and production backgrounds where training other people to be effective is the hardest and most expensive task we do)
Historically, the site has had several different ‘management’ styles, which I have provided the semi-autocratic sysop technical and net-cultural underpinning for.
From my perspective, the main thing being discussed at present is the way to bring new authors and moderators on board without having the inevitable ideological and personality disagreements/backbiting driving them away. I neither have time nor the inclination to waste my effort and time trying to bring people up to speed unless that organisational issue is solved.
If it gets solved, then fine. If not, then we will have to execute an orderly shutdown to free up time to work on other things. The only thing really preventing that is the ever increasing popularity of the site.
According to google analytics, we are also having a hell of growth spurt in readership, the like of which we haven’t seen in percentage terms since startup. Umm, you like numbers…
Looking at the 6 month period from March to August across non-general election years. The page views are ‘corrected’ by me downwards because of a problem in 2011 with facebook async protocols causing excessive page lookups. (For the inevitable trolls, these are not Whaleoil style figures. These are close to being accurate for real humans and without paid for added readership boosters).
per month
year
corrected page views
sessions
users
2009
Election
2009
167k-206k
60k-70k
14k-18k
2010
218k-287k
72k-92k
17k-22k
2011
Election
2012
305k-403k
93k-112k
24k-33k
2013
333k-440k
103k-115k
21k-37k
2014
Election
2015
480k-530k
148k-165k
40k-50k
Since these are largely the winter months, they are pretty good for looking at base levels of readership. What we are getting is a lot more people reading the site, and most of them are either daily readers or they read several times per week. The levels of less than a few times per month readers hasn’t increased by anything as much. In other words we are less affected by the vagaries of google as our local base of readers has continued to rise.
Since these are largely the winter months, they are pretty good for looking at base levels of readership. What we are getting is a lot more people reading the site, and most of them are either daily readers or they read several times per week. The levels of less than a few times per month readers hasn’t increased by anything as much. In other words we are less affected by the vagaries of google as our local base of readers has continued to rise.
I’ve been thinking a bit lately about what it must be like for readers to read the comments and if this affects their willingness or otherwise to comment (eg long threads that are really in house conversations often bickering that won’t make sense to people who don’t understand the players). I’d like to see us (commenters) make more of an effort to wrote comments for everyone, readers as well as the people we are talking to. There is so much to learn here and one of the great values and potentials of ts is its ability to inform and encourage people to think.
A couple of questions then for admin/authors. Do you think that high readership is enough of a goal to keep ts going irrespective of what the commenters are doing (both in terms of content and numbers)?
Are readership stats important for you in why you write posts or continue to write posts?
can I suggest an acknowledgement email for submissions, with maybe a very rough timeframe for posting? And especially an email when it gets published.
At the moment it’s a bit like throwing it into a void, when if there was a plunk from the void they might throw another one (and yes, I’m tossing around an idea or two).
I recall someone else complaining that they’d sent something to the TS gmail and not heard anything back.
“wasted by people not agreeing to disagree…….the inevitable ideological and personality disagreements/backbiting…….”
Isn’t that always the way on the Left. We’re our own worst enemies.
“ever increasing popularity of the site…….a hell of a growth spurt in readership.”
Yep, the numbers tell the story. It’s easy for us regular commenters to forget that there’s a vast number of largely silent readers. Which almost certainly means that each of the few hundred of us who do regularly comment on the site probably have a massive fan-base out there.
All of which probably explains the scene I saw the other day driving along Lambton Quay. Down opposite the new District Court, a whole lot of drunken yobos suddenly poured out of a Sports Bar and started screaming and swinging wild punches at each other. Others were lying almost comatose in the gutter, surrounded by their own vomit. About half were wearing t-shirts with a large Purple Identicon with the word “Swordfish” below, the other half wore shirts with a bright Red Identicon and the name “Puckish Rogue”.
It slowly dawned on me that these two warring tribes were our respective fan-bases. They’d obviously all been watching The Standard posts and comments coming up Live on the big screen in the Sports Bar and presumably a particularly erudite reply I’d just posted to Puckers had caused an eruption of excitement and triumphant chanting among my own loyal followers (“Puckers, Puckers, Puckers, Out, Out, Out !!!”), leading, in turn, to total outrage and fisticuffs from Puckers’ loyalists.*
* The last 2 paragraphs may not entirely correspond with reality. But, then again, they just might.
Hi swordfish,
I recall that stoush between felix and TRP and was disappointed at the outcome. TRP was always entertaining to read, but on that occasion he overdid his responses to felix. An apology may have solved the problem – who knows. In the end we lost two commentators whose contributions for different reasons were highly valued.
Thanks swordfish. I’m still around but I’m not planning on posting here in the future. lprent has given his version of events. Long story short for me is I’m having a very busy year and don’t have the energy to keep running up against some of the shittier parts of this site’s community.
I could only bash my head against the brick wall trying to shift its position before realising it was far more comfortable posting in my own space where I’m not expected to put up with patriarchal bullying. Fewer readers maybe, fewer headaches definitely.
So anyone who’s interested in my posts can find them at bootstheory.wordpress.com or @bootstheory on Twitter. Peace.
Wouldn’t have been an issue if they stayed out of the flag process from day 1 with the clear message that there’s alot more important issues for $26m to be applied to.
I just hope the ones who at making all the noise about who did what to who are not the same ones who where making a lot of noise about getting the red rag added to the mix.
well i have been quite clear about not wanting this whole shebang to go ahead in the first place. I believe we have more pressing issues at hand. If I would have magical powers, i would go ‘Pouf, the magic dragon, we have never spoken about the tea towels in this fair land”. But i guess instead i will have to vote for Hypno Flag, and then NO.
lol. we are still gonna end up with an ugly, meaningless rag/towel.
Five Kiwi companies have missed out on buying the RNZAF’s Iroquois.
It was an opportunity to grow their business and add jobs, especially in places like Taranaki and Rotorua.
But instead the government selected a US bid – and the copters will be cut up for spare parts and sold back to NZ companies at a huge cost.
One company we know of bid $4.5 million – the winning bid was $3m-$5m, according to the government.
Why are Kiwi companies the losers?
Those Iroquois are old. I certainly wouldn’t buy one to use as the maintenance on them would probably cost more than simply buying a new helicopter of similar capability.
Then I suspect that there’s the avionics which the US probably has a say in who it can be sold to and without which the things couldn’t be flown. But if that’s the case then they shouldn’t have been made available to general tender.
Really, this is one of those times when it looks like NZ1st are making a mountain out of a molehill.
“But Mark Thomas, deputy chairman of Auckland Council’s Orakei local board, told the Local Government Commission earlier this month that, for all their concerns, the local boards were actually quite happy with the super-city structure.”
(Dominion Post 15 April 2015)
As a confirmed 2016 Auckland Mayoral candidate – my proven track record is one of absolute opposition to the proposed Auckland ‘Supercity’ for NINE years – since 5 September 2006 – the day of the failed ‘Mayoral coup’.
Unlike any of the other 2016 Auckland Mayoral candidates (confirmed or not) my proven track record shows I have worked (successfully) with those opposing the proposed Wellington, Northland and Hawke’s Bay ‘Supercities’, by exposing what a disaster this (forced) Auckland amalgamation has been for the majority of Auckland regional citizens and ratepayers.
What did Phil Goff do to oppose the Wellington, Northland or Hawke’s Bay proposed ‘Supercities’?
What has Phil Goff ever done to oppose this disastrous Auckland ‘Supercity’ ( for the1%) ?
What, in my view, helped to wreck Auckland – were the ‘Rogernomics reforms’ – during which Phil Goff was a Cabinet Minister.
In my opinion, Phil Goff might keep his pants on in the Ngati Whatua room, but nothing else will fundamentally change.
Auckland, under Phil Goff as Mayor, in my opinion, will continue to be run ‘like a business, by business – FOR business’ – with the mechanism for this corporate takeover – Council Controlled Organisations (CCOs) remaining intact.
Penny
Interesting comment. If you can keep future ones to that length and spaced like that so points separate and easy to read I think you will get more traction. And if you want to get excerpts of longer documents set that up as a separate comment with a link to the rest of the document. My feedback. Good politicking!
edited
What’s the bet that the Report on the awful state of CYF’s functions, is a deliberate strategy to prepare us for Privatisation? We will be soon made to understand that the State has failed so there is only one answer; privatise. Obvious I suppose. And cunning.
Yep, National will have another privatisation option similar to Social Bonds or they may just widen the scope of those bonds. Basically, we’ll be seeing a lot more government subsidies of the private sector.
There have been suggestions up to 75 New Zealanders and Pacific Islanders are being held on Christmas Island but Australian authorities refuse to discuss numbers.
Radio New Zealand News has been told more and more New Zealanders have been arriving, including about 20 in the past few days.
Prime Minister John Key said he wanted Australia to provide better information about the treatment of people it was deporting to New Zealand.
I listened to an Oz/NZer woman being interviewed the other day on this situation. She said last year there were 125 NZer’s in these detention centres and now it has ramped up to 400. That was on RNZ too, but there a big difference between those numbers and the one quoted above……..
One woman, a mother of two and a permanent resident of Australia who has been there since she was three years old, was put in a detention centre with the view to being deported back to NZ, a country she doesn’t know at all.
She had a small string of petty crimes she had been charged with, the last one being the theft of $1300 worth of cosmetics from a department store (thats just a few items of lancome for goodness sake). She was actually was put in jail for three months for this crime and was then sent on to the detention centre where she had been for six months.
The treatment of Oz/NZer’s is barbaric. It’s like Australia have regressed to their convict days.
Professional director Rob Campbell says the only ‘bubble’ economy the world has to worry about is the “sealed bubble in which most finance professionals work”, buoyed up by “their hangers on and mutual admiration society colleagues in the other professions and upper echelons of corporate and state management.”
Media Release: 25 September 2015
Issued by: TPPA Auckland Call to Action
I am Key/Groser – Anti-TPPA protesters gather at Britomart
A large group of Anti-TPPA protesters donned in suits wearing John Key and Tim Groser masks will gather outside Britomart from 4.30pm today to send a peaceful but strong message to the Prime Minister and Trade Minister in the lead up to next week’s TPPA Ministerial.
“There is a strong majority of New Zealanders who do not want our Government to sign the controversial deal without the text being released and people having a say.” says Chantelle Campbell co-organiser of today’s event.
“As Trade Minister Groser gathers in Atlanta next week along with the eleven other Trade Ministers negotiating the TPPA, we want to remind him that as the people’s representative we do not want him to agree to signing a deal that is going to be substandard and detrimental to our country for generations to come.”
Concerned citizen Kevin Hester says he will be attending today’s event as “Signing the TPPA will severely limit our ability to confront the threat of runaway global warming and the ongoing 6th great extinction as described by the WWF and National Geographic.”
Saturday sees Chief Negotiators from the 12 countries negotiating the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement gather in Atlanta, US, to reconvene the negotiations, with Trade Ministers joining them on Wednesday with the aim to conclude the controversial deal.
“If the TPPA is not gold star for New Zealand nor even gold plated for dairy according to Groser now, it will obviously be Tinpot so what is left to negotiate?” says aggrieved citizen Jacqueline Taylor.
The message is strong and clear – Walk Away from the TPPA!
For those familiar with the idea of a Sovereign Money System, the contrast between it and our current system makes clear an important reality of today’s power structure. This reality is that the privilege of private banks to create for profit the public currency represents a massive implicit subsidy to some of the world’s most powerful financial institutions at the expense of sovereign governments everywhere, and the people they represent. It is a lot like if your neighbourhood mafia chief dropped into your produce shop and informed you that all your inventory now belonged to him, and you now had to borrow it back from him in order to stay in business.
Is that National debt or Government debt? There’s a difference as National debt would also include all the private debt which is presently at ~100% of GDP and rising. Combine the two and our total indebtedness to the world is close to the fall over and play dead point.
Maybe when we sling National out in the next election Key can rebrand the party to “NATIONALCORP International” for hire, it cost you your democracy to have us run your country
Karen is nobody. And everybody. She’s a fictional crusader created in response to the Federal Government’s Radicalisation Awareness Kit designed for school students, that paints environmental activism and the alternative music scene as a gateway to terrorism.
In the 32-page booklet is this case study on violent extremism about a girl named Karen who was on the right track until she listened to alternative music and moved to a forest camp:
It’s amazing and truly disturbing the BS that the RWNJs paint as real.
Update on the “I am Key / Groser” anti-TPPA protest this evening, outside Btitomart.
The John Key / Tim Groser masks – particularly when worn with a suit and blue tie, are creepily effective ( as it were :).
Never been on a protest where the public stared so hard!
(Having been a ‘protestor ‘ since 18, and I’m now in my 61st year, that’s quite a thing to say 🙂
Signatures are now being collected for a new petition, addressed to PM John Key, MP for Helensville, which says;
“We the undersigned:
Are deeply concerned that as a key advocate for the ‘Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement’ (TPPA), you are a shareholder in the Bank of America, as detailed in the 2015 MPs Register of Financial Interests : (Pg 29)
” Rt Hon John Key (National, Helensville)
2 Other companies and business entities
………………………………………………..
Bank of America – banking”
We see this as a serious ‘conflict of interest’, given that big banks like the Bank of America, stand to benefit, and profit from this pro-corporate TPPA.
If this National Government, which you lead, does not ‘walk away from the secretive, undemocratic, ‘Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement’ (TPPA), then we pledge to campaign vigorously amongst our friends, families, neighbours and workmates, for the voting public to ‘walk away’ from National.”
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TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:00 am on Tuesday, July 23 are:Deep Dive: Penlink: where tolling rhetoric meets reality BusinessDesk-$$$’sOliver LewisScoop:Te Pūkenga plans for regional polytechs leak out ...
TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Tuesday, July 23, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:Health: Shane Reti announcedthe Board of Te Whatu Ora-Health New Zealand was being replaced with Commissioner Lester Levy ...
Health NZ warned the Government at the end of March that it was running over Budget. But the reasons it gave were very different to those offered by the Prime Minister yesterday. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon blamed the “botched merger” of the 20 District Health Boards (DHBs) to create Health ...
Long ReadKey Summary: Although National increased the health budget by $1.4 billion in May, they used an old funding model to project health system costs, and never bothered to update their pre-election numbers. They were told during the Health Select Committees earlier in the year their budget amount was deficient, ...
As a momentous, historic weekend in US politics unfolded, analysts and commentators grasped for precedents and comparisons to help explain the significance and power of the choice Joe Biden had made. The 46th president had swept the Democratic party’s primaries but just over 100 days from the election had chosen ...
TL;DR: I’m casting around for new ideas and ways of thinking about Aotearoa’s political economy to find a few solutions to our cascading and self-reinforcing housing, poverty and climate crises.Associate Professor runs an online masters degree in the economics of sustainability at Torrens University in Australia and is organising ...
The Finance and Expenditure Committee has reported back on National's Local Government (Water Services Preliminary Arrangements) Bill. The bill sets up water for privatisation, and was introduced under urgency, then rammed through select committee with no time even for local councils to make a proper submission. Naturally, national's select committee ...
Some years ago, I bought a book at Dunedin’s Regent Booksale for $1.50. As one does. Vandrad the Viking (1898), by J. Storer Clouston, is an obscure book these days – I cannot find a proper online review – but soon it was sitting on my shelf, gathering dust alongside ...
History is not on the side of the centre-left, when Democratic presidents fall behind in the polls and choose not to run for re-election. On both previous occasions in the past 75 years (Harry Truman in 1952, Lyndon Johnson in 1968) the Democrats proceeded to then lose the White House ...
This is a free articleCoverageThis morning, US President Joe Biden announced his withdrawal from the Presidential race. And that is genuinely newsworthy. Thanks for your service, President Biden, and all the best to you and yours.However, the media in New Zealand, particularly the 1News nightly bulletin, has been breathlessly covering ...
A homeless person’s camp beside a blocked-off slipped damage walkway in Freeman’s Bay: we are chasing our tail on our worsening and inter-related housing, poverty and climate crises. Photo: Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy ...
What has happened to it all?Crazy, some'd sayWhere is the life that I recognise?(Gone away)But I won't cry for yesterdayThere's an ordinary worldSomehow I have to findAnd as I try to make my wayTo the ordinary worldYesterday morning began as many others - what to write about today? I began ...
TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:00 am on Monday, July 22 are:Today’s Must Read: Father and son live in a tent, and have done for four years, in a million ...
TL;DR: As of 7:00 am on Monday, July 22, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:US President Joe Biden announced via X this morning he would not stand for a second term.Multinational professional services firm ...
A listing of 32 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, July 14, 2024 thru Sat, July 20, 2024. Story of the week As reflected by preponderance of coverage, our Story of the Week is Project 2025. Until now traveling ...
This weekend, a friend pointed out someone who said they’d like to read my posts, but didn’t want to pay. And my first reaction was sympathy.I’ve already told folks that if they can’t comfortably subscribe, and would like to read, I’d be happy to offer free subscriptions. I don’t want ...
National: The Party of ‘Law and Order’ IntroductionThis weekend, the Government formally kicked off one of their flagship policy programs: a military style boot camp that New Zealand has experimented with over the past 50 years. Cartoon credit: Guy BodyIt’s very popular with the National Party’s Law and Orderimage, ...
Day one of the solo leg of my long journey home begins with my favourite sound: footfalls in an empty street. 5.00 am and it’s already light and already too warm, almost.If I can make the train that leaves Budapest later this hour I could be in Belgrade by nightfall; ...
Do you remember Y2K, the threat that hung over humanity in the closing days of the twentieth century? Horror scenarios of planes falling from the sky, electronic payments failing and ATMs refusing to dispense cash. As for your VCR following instructions and recording your favourite show - forget about it.All ...
Climate Change Minister Simon Watts being questioned by The Kākā’s Bernard Hickey.TL;DR: My top six things to note around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the week to July 20 were:1. A strategy that fails Zero Carbon Act & Paris targetsThe National-ACT-NZ First Coalition Government finally unveiled ...
Summary:As New Zealand loses at least 12 leaders in the public service space of health, climate, and pharmaceuticals, this month alone, directly in response to the Government’s policies and budget choices, what lies ahead may be darker than it appears. Tui examines some of those departures and draws a long ...
The Minister of Housing’s ambition is to reduce markedly the ratio of house prices to household incomes. If his strategy works it would transform the housing market, dramatically changing the prospects of housing as an investment.Leaving aside the Minister’s metaphor of ‘flooding the market’ I do not see how the ...
As previously noted, my historical fantasy piece, set in the fifth-century Mediterranean, was accepted for a Pirate Horror anthology, only for the anthology to later fall through. But in a good bit of news, it turned out that the story could indeed be re-marketed as sword and sorcery. As of ...
An employee of tobacco company Philip Morris International demonstrates a heated tobacco device. Photo: Getty ImagesTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy on Friday, July 19 are:At a time when the Coalition Government is cutting spending on health, infrastructure, education, housing ...
TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 8:30 am on Friday, July 19 are:Scoop: NZ First Minister Casey Costello orders 50% cut to excise tax on heated tobacco products. The minister has ...
Kia ora, it’s time for another Friday roundup, in which we pull together some of the links and stories that caught our eye this week. Feel free to add more in the comments! Our header image this week shows a foggy day in Auckland town, captured by Patrick Reynolds. ...
TL;DR : Here’s the top six items climate news for Aotearoa this week, as selected by Bernard Hickey and The Kākā’s climate correspondent Cathrine Dyer. A discussion recorded yesterday is in the video above and the audio of that sent onto the podcast feed.The Government released its draft Emissions Reduction ...
Save some money, get rich and old, bring it back to Tobacco Road.Bring that dynamite and a crane, blow it up, start all over again.Roll up. Roll up. Or tailor made, if you prefer...Whether you’re selling ciggies, digging for gold, catching dolphins in your nets, or encouraging folks to flutter ...
Waiting In The Wings:For truly, if Trump is America’s un-assassinated Caesar, then J.D. Vance is America’s Octavian, the Republic’s youthful undertaker – and its first Emperor.DONALD TRUMP’S SELECTION of James D. Vance as his running-mate bodes ill for the American republic. A fervent supporter of Viktor Orban, the “illiberal” prime ...
TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Friday, July 19, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:The PSAannounced the Employment Relations Authority (ERA) had ruled in the PSA’s favour in its case against the Ministry ...
TL;DR: The podcast above of the weekly ‘hoon’ webinar for paying subscribers last night features co-hosts and talking with:The Kākā’s climate correspondent talking about the National-ACT-NZ First Government’s release of its first Emissions Reduction Plan;University of Otago Foreign Relations Professor and special guest Dr Karin von ...
Open access notablesImproving global temperature datasets to better account for non-uniform warming, Calvert, Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society:To better account for spatial non-uniform trends in warming, a new GITD [global instrumental temperature dataset] was created that used maximum likelihood estimation (MLE) to combine the land surface ...
A late change to charter school legislation will cheat educators out of fair pay and negotiating power proving charter schools are just a vehicle to make profit out of our education system. ...
In 2004 te iwi Māori rallied against the Crown’s attempt to confiscate our coastlines and moana with the Foreshore and Seabed Act. This led to the largest hīkoi of a generation and the birth of Te Pāti Māori. 20 years later, history is repeating itself. Today the government has announced ...
It has been five and a half years since the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care was established to investigate the abuse of children, young people, and vulnerable adults within state and faith-based institutions. Yesterday, the final report - Whanaketia through pain and trauma, from darkness to light ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to take action off the back of the International Court of Justice ruling on Israel’s illegal occupation of Palestine. ...
On Friday the International Court of Justice reaffirmed what Palestinian’s have been telling us for decades: that the occupation and colonisation of Palestinian lands by Israel is illegal and must end immediately. They also called for reparations for Palestinian’s who have lived under Israeli occupation since it began in 1967. ...
Labour calls on the Government to act after the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled that Israel’s occupation of Palestinian Territories is illegal. ...
The 53.7 percent rise in benefit sanctions over the last year is more proof of this Government’s disdain for our communities most in need of support. ...
Aotearoa could be a country where every child grows up feeling safe, loved and with a sense of belonging in their whānau and community. But for some of our children, this is far from reality. Instead, they are trapped in a maze of intergenerational harm that they can’t escape on ...
Te Pāti Māori are calling for David Seymour to resign as Associate Health Minister in response to his call for Pharmac to ignore the Treaty of Waitangi. “This announcement is just another example of the government’s anti-Tiriti, anti-Māori agenda.” Said Co-leader and spokesperson for health, Debbie Ngarewa-Packer. “Seymour thinks it ...
The soaring price of renting is driving the rise of inflation in this country - with latest figures from Stats NZ showing rents are up 4.8 per cent on average while annual inflation is at 3.3 per cent. ...
National’s Emissions Reduction Plan will take New Zealand further from the economy we need to ensure the next generation has a stable climate and secure livelihoods. ...
Following consultation with named parties and thorough consideration of privacy interests, the Green Party is in a position to release the Executive Summary of the final report from the independent investigation into Darleen Tana. ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon should be asking serious questions of his Minister for Resources Shane Jones now it’s been revealed he misled the public about a dinner with mining companies that he didn’t declare and said wasn’t pre-arranged. ...
Te Pāti Māori have submitted to the Justice Select Committee against the Sentencing (Reinstating Three Strikes) Amendment Bill. The bill will further entrench racism in our justice system and fails to focus on rehabilitation. “Reinstating Three Strikes will empower a systematically racist system and exacerbate the overrepresentation of Māori in ...
The Transport and Infrastructure Committee is set to make a determination on the Residential Tenancies Amendment (RTA) Bill in the coming weeks. “This legislation will give landlords the power to kick our whānau out onto the street for no reason” said Housing spokesperson, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi. “Their solution to the housing ...
“National’s campaign was about tackling crime and the best they can do is a two-year long Ministerial Advisory Group,” Labour justice spokesperson Duncan Webb said. ...
“There are more examples of charter schools failing their students than there are success stories. The coalition Government is driving to dismantle our public school system and instead promote a privatised, competitive structure that puts profits before kids,” Jan Tinetti said. ...
“This government is choosing to deliberately mislead and withhold information, keeping our people in the dark about this government’s agenda and the future of our mokopuna,” said co-leader and spokesperson for Health, Debbie Ngarewa-Packer. The call comes after the demand from the Chief Ombudsman that Associate Minister of Health, Casey ...
“Today’s climate announcement by Simon Watts makes clear the National Government is simply paying lip service to meeting its climate change targets,” Megan Woods said. ...
National is choosing to make life harder for workers by taking away the rights our communities have fought hard for. Here's how they’re taking workers backwards. ...
Australia, Canada and New Zealand today issued the following statement on the need for an urgent ceasefire in Gaza and the risk of expanded conflict between Hizballah and Israel. The situation in Gaza is catastrophic. The human suffering is unacceptable. It cannot continue. We remain unequivocal in our condemnation of ...
Attorney-General Judith Collins today reminded all State and faith-based institutions of their legal obligation to preserve records relevant to the safety and wellbeing of those in its care. “The Abuse in Care Inquiry’s report has found cases where records of the most vulnerable people in State and faith‑based institutions were ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says the Government’s online safety website for children and young people has reached one million page views. “It is great to see so many young people and their families accessing the site Keep It Real Online to learn how to stay safe online, and manage ...
Tēnā tātou katoa, Ngā mihi te rangi, ngā mihi te whenua, ngā mihi ki a koutou, kia ora mai koutou. Thank you for the opportunity to be here and the invitation to speak at this 50th anniversary conference. I acknowledge all those who have gone before us and paved the ...
New Zealand’s payroll providers have successfully prepared to ensure 3.5 million individuals will, from Wednesday next week, be able to keep more of what they earn each pay, says Finance Minister Nicola Willis and Revenue Minister Simon Watts. “The Government's tax policy changes are legally effective from Wednesday. Delivering this tax ...
An experimental vineyard which will help futureproof the wine sector has been opened in Blenheim by Associate Regional Development Minister Mark Patterson. The covered vineyard, based at the New Zealand Wine Centre – Te Pokapū Wāina o Aotearoa, enables controlled environmental conditions. “The research that will be produced at the Experimental ...
The Coalition Government has confirmed the indicative regional breakdown of North Island Weather Event (NIWE) funding for state highway recovery projects funded through Budget 2024, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Regions in the North Island suffered extensive and devastating damage from Cyclone Gabrielle and the 2023 Auckland Anniversary Floods, and ...
Indonesia’s Foreign Minister, Retno Marsudi, will visit New Zealand next week, Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced. “Indonesia is important to New Zealand’s security and economic interests and is our closest South East Asian neighbour,” says Mr Peters, who is currently in Laos to engage with South East Asian partners. ...
He aha te kai a te rangatira? He kōrero, he kōrero, he kōrero. The government has reaffirmed its commitment to supporting the aspirations of Ngāti Maniapoto, Minister for Māori Development Tama Potaka says. “My thanks to Te Nehenehenui Trust – Ngāti Maniapoto for bringing their important kōrero to a ministerial ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has thanked outgoing Chair of the Civil Aviation Authority, Janice Fredric, for her service to the board.“I have received Ms Fredric’s resignation from the role of Chair of the Civil Aviation Authority,” Mr Brown says.“On behalf of the Government, I want to thank Ms Fredric for ...
The Government is proposing legislation to overturn a Court of Appeal decision and amend the Marine and Coastal Area Act in order to restore Parliament’s test for Customary Marine Title, Treaty Negotiations Minister Paul Goldsmith says. “Section 58 required an applicant group to prove they have exclusively used and occupied ...
Regulation Minister David Seymour says that opposition parties have united in bad faith, opposing what they claim are ‘dangerous changes’ to the Early Childhood Education sector, despite no changes even being proposed yet. “Issues with affordability and availability of early childhood education, and the complexity of its regulation, has led ...
After receiving more than 740 submissions in the first 20 days, Regulation Minister David Seymour is asking the Ministry for Regulation to extend engagement on the early childhood education regulation review by an extra two weeks. “The level of interest has been very high, and from the conversations I’ve been ...
The Coalition Government is investing $802.9 million into the Wairarapa and Manawatū rail lines as part of a funding agreement with the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA), KiwiRail, and the Greater Wellington and Horizons Regional Councils to deliver more reliable services for commuters in the lower North Island, Transport Minister Simeon ...
Local Government Minister Simeon Brown has announced his intention to appoint a Crown Manager to both Hawke’s Bay Regional and Wairoa District Councils to speed up the delivery of flood protection work in Wairoa."Recent severe weather events in Wairoa this year, combined with damage from Cyclone Gabrielle in 2023 have ...
Mr Speaker, this is a day that many New Zealanders who were abused in State care never thought would come. It’s the day that this Parliament accepts, with deep sorrow and regret, the Report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care. At the heart of this report are the ...
For the first time, the Government is formally acknowledging some children and young people at Lake Alice Psychiatric Hospital experienced torture. The final report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in State and Faith-based Care “Whanaketia – through pain and trauma, from darkness to light,” was tabled in Parliament ...
The Government has acknowledged the nearly 2,400 courageous survivors who shared their experiences during the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Historical Abuse in State and Faith-Based Care. The final report from the largest and most complex public inquiry ever held in New Zealand, the Royal Commission Inquiry “Whanaketia – through ...
With a week to go before hard-working New Zealanders see personal income tax relief for the first time in fourteen years, 513,000 people have used the Budget tax calculator to see how much they will benefit, says Finance Minister Nicola Willis. “Tax relief is long overdue. From next Wednesday, personal income ...
Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden says a bill that has passed its first reading will improve parental leave settings and give non-biological parents more flexibility as primary carer for their child. The Regulatory Systems Amendment Bill (No3), passed its first reading this morning. “It includes a change ...
Two Bills designed to improve regulation and make it easier to do business have passed their first reading in Parliament, says Economic Development Minister Melissa Lee. The Regulatory Systems (Economic Development) Amendment Bill and Regulatory Systems (Immigration and Workforce) Amendment Bill make key changes to legislation administered by the Ministry ...
New legislation paves the way for greater competition in sectors such as banking and electricity, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly says. “Competitive markets boost productivity, create employment opportunities and lift living standards. To support competition, we need good quality regulation but, unfortunately, a recent OECD report ranked New ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says lotteries for charitable purposes, such as those run by the Heart Foundation, Coastguard NZ, and local hospices, will soon be allowed to operate online permanently. “Under current laws, these fundraising lotteries are only allowed to operate online until October 2024, after which ...
The Coalition Government is accelerating work on the new four-lane expressway between Auckland and Whangārei as part of its Roads of National Significance programme, with an accelerated delivery model to deliver this project faster and more efficiently, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “For too long, the lack of resilient transport connections ...
Sir Don McKinnon will travel to Viet Nam this week as a Special Envoy of the Government, Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced. “It is important that the Government give due recognition to the significant contributions that General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong made to New Zealand-Viet Nam relations,” Mr ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says newly appointed Commissioner, Grant Illingworth KC, will help deliver the report for the first phase of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into COVID-19 Lessons, due on 28 November 2024. “I am pleased to announce that Mr Illingworth will commence his appointment as ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters travels to Laos this week to participate in a series of Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)-led Ministerial meetings in Vientiane. “ASEAN plays an important role in supporting a peaceful, stable and prosperous Indo-Pacific,” Mr Peters says. “This will be our third visit to ...
Construction of a new mental health facility at Te Nikau Grey Hospital in Greymouth is today one step closer, Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey says. “This $27 million facility shows this Government is delivering on its promise to boost mental health care and improve front line services,” Mr Doocey says. ...
New Zealand is committing nearly $50 million to a package supporting sustainable Pacific fisheries development over the next four years, Foreign Minister Winston Peters and Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones announced today. “This support consisting of a range of initiatives demonstrates New Zealand’s commitment to assisting our Pacific partners ...
Associate Education Minister David Seymour says proposed changes to the Education and Training Amendment Bill will ensure charter schools have more flexibility to negotiate employment agreements and are equipped with the right teaching resources. “Cabinet has agreed to progress an amendment which means unions will not be able to initiate ...
In response to serious concerns around oversight, overspend and a significant deterioration in financial outlook, the Board of Health New Zealand will be replaced with a Commissioner, Health Minister Dr Shane Reti announced today. “The previous government’s botched health reforms have created significant financial challenges at Health NZ that, without ...
Minister for Space and Science, Innovation and Technology Judith Collins will travel to Adelaide tomorrow for space and science engagements, including speaking at the Australian Space Forum. While there she will also have meetings and visits with a focus on space, biotechnology and innovation. “New Zealand has a thriving space ...
Climate Change Minister Simon Watts will travel to China on Saturday to attend the Ministerial on Climate Action meeting held in Wuhan. “Attending the Ministerial on Climate Action is an opportunity to advocate for New Zealand climate priorities and engage with our key partners on climate action,” Mr Watts says. ...
Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones is travelling to the Solomon Islands tomorrow for meetings with his counterparts from around the Pacific supporting collective management of the region’s fisheries. The 23rd Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Committee and the 5th Regional Fisheries Ministers’ Meeting in Honiara from 23 to 26 July ...
The Government today launched the Military Style Academy Pilot at Te Au rere a te Tonga Youth Justice residence in Palmerston North, an important part of the Government’s plan to crackdown on youth crime and getting youth offenders back on track, Minister for Children, Karen Chhour said today. “On the ...
The Government has welcomed news the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) has begun work to replace nine priority bridges across the country to ensure our state highway network remains resilient, reliable, and efficient for road users, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says.“Increasing productivity and economic growth is a key priority for the ...
Acting Prime Minister David Seymour has been in contact throughout the evening with senior officials who have coordinated a whole of government response to the global IT outage and can provide an update. The Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet has designated the National Emergency Management Agency as the ...
New Zealand and Japan will continue to step up their shared engagement with the Pacific, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “New Zealand and Japan have a strong, shared interest in a free, open and stable Pacific Islands region,” Mr Peters says. “We are pleased to be finding more ways ...
New developments in the heart of North Island forestry country will reinvigorate their communities and boost economic development, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones visited Kaingaroa and Kawerau in Bay of Plenty today to open a landmark community centre in the former and a new connecting road in ...
President Adeang, fellow Ministers, honourable Diet Member Horii, Ambassadors, distinguished guests. Minasama, konnichiwa, and good afternoon, everyone. Distinguished guests, it’s a pleasure to be here with you today to talk about New Zealand’s foreign policy reset, the reasons for it, the values that underpin it, and how it ...
Last summer when Matairangi burned, Ginny and Tom stood at the window of their lounge, watching kākā shoot skyward from the burning trees. From the distance, they looked to Ginny like pages torn from books and thrown into a bonfire. It was Tom, voice tight, who told her it was ...
Opinion: The Canadian short story writer Alice Munro – winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2013 – died in May at the age of 92. Her work was about “the damage people inflict on one another in the name of love”, Deborah Treisman wrote in the New Yorker. ...
This month marks two years since the most powerful telescope ever built sent its first pictures back to earth. From its lofty vantage point, beyond the moon in orbit around the sun, the James Webb Space Telescope was tuned to observe the first stars and galaxies being born soon after ...
Comment: After Climate Change Minister Simon Watts’ preview several weeks ago, I had some optimism about the Government’s emissions reduction plan. Now I’ve read the discussion document, that hope has been dashed. How can the Government propose a plan that wants to take New Zealand taxpayers’ hard-earned money, and spend ...
Christopher Luxon: hurdles The little man from National jumps hurdles in his sleep. He’s quite good at it in his dreams and even though the reality doesn’t quite match up you have to give him credit for getting up every morning and crashing into the very first hurdle of the ...
Comment: It was a good two hours into the conversation when Tyrone Marks raised the most basic of questions when I first spoke to him in 2017. “They didn’t explain the things they did to me. They never told me why. And they still haven’t. There’s no explanation for it. ...
Madeleine Chapman rounds out Death Week on The Spinoff with a final recommendation. You can read all of our Death Week coverage here. Nothing forces you to reflect on your life and relationships quite like proximity to death. For those whose nearest and dearest have died, there are reasonably obvious ...
Whitney Greene takes us through her life in television, including the TV character she’d like to plan a funeral for and her cow lung catastrophe on The Traitors NZ. “If the phone rings, I have to answer it,” Whitney Greene from The Traitors NZ warns as we begin our My ...
Maddie Ballard reviews the debut essay collection of Pōneke writer Flora Feltham.In ‘The Raw Material’, the longest essay in Flora Feltham’s dazzling debut collection, the author heads out for a run after hours of weaving and sees the world turn to textile. “Pounding along the Parade, I saw the ...
Andy Christiansen, one half of the experimental rock-pop duo TRiPS, shares the tunes inspiring the band’s perfect weekend and new release. “Good speakers, good food, good music, no distractions”: that’s all you need to enjoy the psychedelic stylings of TRiPS, a new band formed by Fly My Pretties’ Barnaby Weir ...
Celebrating our quadrennial opportunity to become experts in a bunch of sports we never normally watch.The games of the XXXIII Olympiad are upon us. Paris will host this year’s showcase of sporting and athletic prowess, which means some late-night and early-morning viewing for us in Aotearoa.But what sports ...
The photograph is striking and beautiful, but also disturbing – a reminder that my love for John was often entangled in shame.The Sunday Essay is made possible thanks to the support of Creative New Zealand.In the spring of 1980, in Dunedin, shortly before his death, someone took a photograph ...
Get to know Babushka, our latest Dog of the Month. This feature was offered as a reward during our What’s Eating Aotearoa PledgeMe campaign. Thank you to Babu’s humans, Jo and Isabel, for their support. Dog name: Babushka (Babu for short) Age: 2Breed: Border Collie X poodleIf rescued, ...
Pacific Media Watch A Lebanese photojournalist who was severely wounded during an Israeli air strike in south Lebanon carried the Olympic torch in Paris this week in honour of her peers who have been wounded and killed in the field — especially in Gaza and Lebanon. Christina Assi of Agence ...
The first report in a five-part web series focused on the 15th Triennial Conference of Pacific Women taking place in the Marshall Islands this week.SPECIAL REPORT:By Netani Rika in Majuro Women continue to fight for justice 70 years after the first nuclear tests by the United States caused ...
Christopher Luxon has joined with Australia and Canada's leaders in voicing support for US President Joe Biden's ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra The 2022 election brought the “teal wave” into parliament. The next election will test whether teals, who occupy what were Liberal seats, and other independents can maintain their momentum. Joining us on the Podcast ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ian Musgrave, Senior lecturer in Pharmacology, University of Adelaide Pixavri/Shutterstock A major Federal Court class action has been dismissed this week after Justice Michael Lee ruled there was not enough evidence to prove the weedkiller Roundup causes cancer. Plaintiff Kelvin ...
In The Week in Politics: politicians have to decide what to do about child abuse, Health NZ is booked in for major surgery and Darleen Tana returns. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Clare Corbould, Associate Professor, Contemporary Histories Research Group, Deakin University Mainstream media are surprisingly muted at the prospect of the world’s most powerful nation being led for the first time by a woman – specifically a woman of colour, Vice President Kamala ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rebecca Bennett, PhD Student, Associate Research Fellow, Deakin University Last week, a drone delivery company called Wing (owned by Google’s parent company, Alphabet) started operating in Melbourne. Some 250,000 residents in parts of the city’s eastern suburbs can now order food from ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jonathan Foo, Lecturer, Physiotherapy, Monash University pikselstock/Shutterstock In the next 40 years in Australia, it’s predicted the number of Australians aged 65 and over will more than double, while the number of people aged 85 and over will more than triple. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Katrina Grant, Research Associate, Power Institute for Arts and Visual Culture, University of Sydney Jonas Åkerström’s 1790 work, Session of the Accademia dell’Arcadia on August 17 1788.Nationalmuseum/Cecilia Heisser Ever wondered whether you’d have a better chance at winning an Olympic gold ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alexandra Jones, Program Lead, Food Governance, George Institute for Global Health wavebreakmedia/Shutterstock On Thursday, Australian and New Zealand food ministers at state, federal and national levels met to thrash out what’s next for health star ratings on packaged foods. Now, after ...
The Abuse in Care report found many Pacific survivors lost their connections to their culture and language, resulting in trauma that has been carried from generation to generation. ...
In the regulatory review, ECC intends to suggest that ERO focus on curriculum delivery reviews rather than the Ministry, because it’s not efficient or effective to have two agencies with radically different approaches climbing over each other. ...
Te Rūnanga Nui o Ngā Kura Kaupapa Māori invites the current government to work in partnership with them to develop a pathway forward, including the development of a parallel pathway and meaningful policy and strategy for Kura Kaupapa Māori ...
If you haven’t started watching yet, Tara Ward begs you to reconsider. This is an excerpt from our weekly pop culture newsletter Rec Room. Sign up here. In the world of New Zealand reality television, we have many gems in our crown. There’s the delicious second season of the Celebrity Treasure ...
A new poem by Fiona Kidman. The clothes of the dead I did not keep my mother’s furry red beret for long nor the stringy scarves that adorned the necks of my aunts, although I have kept tag ends of gold, the rings and trinkets they wore, the brooches no ...
The government’s announcement that it will re-open the foreshore and seabed controversy by changing the rules on recognising centuries-old Māori customary title for a third time goes against the rule of law and New Zealand values,” Mr Tipa says. ...
The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington.AUCKLAND1 Lioness by Emily Perkins (Bloomsbury, $25) Roarrrr! Perkins’ brilliant, award-winning, Marian-Keyes anointed, darkly funny, long ...
The 2004 Act vested ownership of the foreshore and seabed in the Crown, extinguishing any Māori claims to ownership and causing widespread outrage and protests among Māori communities. ...
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Apartment owners face maintenance timebomb
Underfunded apartment buildings around the country are set to fall into disrepair unless owners stump up the thousands of dollars required to fix them.
The law requires unit title complexes to have long term maintenance plans (LTMPs), but not long term maintenance funds to back them up.
It is more and more of an issue as Auckland in particular intensifies, according to Home Owners and Buyers Association (HOBANZ) president John Gray.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/money/72149091/apartment-owners-face-maintenance-timebomb
Where’s cv been hiding?
Haven’t seen him about for a while.
I am also concerned. I sent him an email yesterday afternoon asking if he was alright. I have had no reply yet.
I just heard from CV.
He is out of town but alive and well.
thanks for letting us know!
I was wondering that. I’ve been away for awhile and have come back to see that Te Reo Putake, CV and Stephanie haven’t been around. Mind you I haven’t read every single post.
Hopefully folks are ok and getting on with that life thing.
TRP last commented here on 12 August, but has not issued a post for quite some time. TRP is on Twitter and the last tweet is dated 19 Sept, and he/she has also been an active commentator on a certain Dunedinite’s blog – YourNZ – which I will not link to. Its starting to rival WO or Kiwiblog these days in terms of the nature of most comments. TRP’s latest comment there was just yesterday.
CV last commented here on 19 Sept, so only a few days ago. He has a Twitter account under his real name, but tweets infrequently with the latest on 2 Sept.
SR last commented here on 30 August, but has done so less frequently recently than earlier this year and last year. She is very active on her Twitter account including today.
Karol is the one that I have been concerned about for months. After her departure from here, she continued to post on her own blog Edge Times and on her Twitter account, but there has been no activity on either of these since March. I hope she is OK.
Could all be part of a right wing conspiracy..
Hi veutoviper.
I recall karol mentioning not long before she withdrew from being a TS author that she had other projects she wanted to pursue. I had the impression they were not related to politics. She is sorely missed because her analytical ability was second to none.
Thank you detective v!
I’m not on twitter, or fb for that matter either, so am self limiting with access to communications in the political world. Twittter seems to be a good platform for that kind of activity.
I also had been thinking of karol and had looked at her Edge Times blog but then everything went quiet.
karol seemed to put a lot of heart and soul into her thoughtful and intelligent writing. I hope this world we live in with it’s constant struggles hasn’t got on top of her. If so, I hope she is making the best of taking time out. I think this can be helpful to do at times. Our social – political world is more than an intellectual experience, it’s creates an emotive response and some times it’s personal.
If you’re listening karol, maybe say hi, let us know you’re ok. If you want.
And lols, TRP, don’t tell us you joined the beige brigade!!!
I imagine he’s there to stir up a hornets nest for the beige one. Not prepared to go there to check.
I heard they where concocting a stable far left political party that will provide a party to the missing miliion and not chase the biggest donor that comes along.
This may be a nasty rumour started by me.:-)
😀
amen to that Rosie.
Also…
…………….Philip…..
Ure………………………Hope……..hes-OK .
…….but…….don’t…….
miss…………him
…………….though
……………………. !
CV and Stephanie both went AWOL around the same time – late August/early September.
But neither could resist Jeremy Corbyn’s win – both resuming with a few comments on the day of his victory (Stephanie just using her first name which is why you won’t find these more recent comments in a search). Stephanie hasn’t been heard of since (apart, of course, from twitter and boots theory), and although Corby drew CV back, he seems to have become just an occasional commenter.
All of which is a bit of a shame. They both produced some very incisive posts.
I particularly miss CV’s concise, lucid, hard-hitting arguments, especially on the implications of Sanders/Corbymania.
Rightly or wrongly, I’m assuming there’s been some ructions behind the scenes at some point with the various authors (CV published my fairly blunt criticism of Rob Salmond’s Go to the Centre thesis as a post and I’m hoping that wasn’t the cause of any grief or fallout). Then, again, maybe given their heavy workload – writing/researching regular posts while simultaneously juggling demanding careers – they just need a bit of a break.
The very sharp, witty and incisive Felix, of course, has also gone absent-without-leave following fisticuffs with TRP in early June here…
http://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-10062015/#comment-1028912
TRP was pretty heavy-handed and felix (whose been with The Standard right from the start) was obviously pissed off enough not bother returning from his brief ban. So, another important voice lost to us.
A couple of months later, TRP disappears off the face of the earth.
Go figure.
All of which leads me to express a great deal of thanks to 1prent, Bill, Tracey and, perhaps above all, Micky and Anthony for taking up the slack and producing well-written posts day-after-day over the last few weeks. Exhausting schedule when you also have heavy work commitments.
(Hoping not to cop a ban myself for all of this wild speculation)
No ban from that. That is just observation rather than making up stories (which is what the anti-conspiracy rules are about).
As usual (I have been around here for 8 years now), The Standard is in a state of transition at present. We always seem to be in the year after an election. We lose people who were heavily involved prior to the election. We have new people being brought on board and finding out that it is a pain in the arse and requires sheer bloody minded persistence to hang in and fading out. It has been particularly frustrating this time around from my perspective.
We have the usual problems with authors arguing and disagreeing about courses of action. It is more complicated over the last year by having a private authors area in which to do it. Some of the turnover will be from my expressing the side edge of my irritation as I see valuable time that has been invested in bringing authors and moderators up to speed on this site getting wasted by people not agreeing to disagree. (That comes from my family and my professional instincts, which are those from operations and production backgrounds where training other people to be effective is the hardest and most expensive task we do)
Historically, the site has had several different ‘management’ styles, which I have provided the semi-autocratic sysop technical and net-cultural underpinning for.
From my perspective, the main thing being discussed at present is the way to bring new authors and moderators on board without having the inevitable ideological and personality disagreements/backbiting driving them away. I neither have time nor the inclination to waste my effort and time trying to bring people up to speed unless that organisational issue is solved.
If it gets solved, then fine. If not, then we will have to execute an orderly shutdown to free up time to work on other things. The only thing really preventing that is the ever increasing popularity of the site.
According to google analytics, we are also having a hell of growth spurt in readership, the like of which we haven’t seen in percentage terms since startup. Umm, you like numbers…
Looking at the 6 month period from March to August across non-general election years. The page views are ‘corrected’ by me downwards because of a problem in 2011 with facebook async protocols causing excessive page lookups. (For the inevitable trolls, these are not Whaleoil style figures. These are close to being accurate for real humans and without paid for added readership boosters).
page views
Since these are largely the winter months, they are pretty good for looking at base levels of readership. What we are getting is a lot more people reading the site, and most of them are either daily readers or they read several times per week. The levels of less than a few times per month readers hasn’t increased by anything as much. In other words we are less affected by the vagaries of google as our local base of readers has continued to rise.
Have you considered changing you’re no advertising stance , so there is cash to pay someone to do some of the heavy lifting.
Since these are largely the winter months, they are pretty good for looking at base levels of readership. What we are getting is a lot more people reading the site, and most of them are either daily readers or they read several times per week. The levels of less than a few times per month readers hasn’t increased by anything as much. In other words we are less affected by the vagaries of google as our local base of readers has continued to rise.
I’ve been thinking a bit lately about what it must be like for readers to read the comments and if this affects their willingness or otherwise to comment (eg long threads that are really in house conversations often bickering that won’t make sense to people who don’t understand the players). I’d like to see us (commenters) make more of an effort to wrote comments for everyone, readers as well as the people we are talking to. There is so much to learn here and one of the great values and potentials of ts is its ability to inform and encourage people to think.
A couple of questions then for admin/authors. Do you think that high readership is enough of a goal to keep ts going irrespective of what the commenters are doing (both in terms of content and numbers)?
Are readership stats important for you in why you write posts or continue to write posts?
can I suggest an acknowledgement email for submissions, with maybe a very rough timeframe for posting? And especially an email when it gets published.
At the moment it’s a bit like throwing it into a void, when if there was a plunk from the void they might throw another one (and yes, I’m tossing around an idea or two).
I recall someone else complaining that they’d sent something to the TS gmail and not heard anything back.
Cheers, 1prent.
“wasted by people not agreeing to disagree…….the inevitable ideological and personality disagreements/backbiting…….”
Isn’t that always the way on the Left. We’re our own worst enemies.
“ever increasing popularity of the site…….a hell of a growth spurt in readership.”
Yep, the numbers tell the story. It’s easy for us regular commenters to forget that there’s a vast number of largely silent readers. Which almost certainly means that each of the few hundred of us who do regularly comment on the site probably have a massive fan-base out there.
All of which probably explains the scene I saw the other day driving along Lambton Quay. Down opposite the new District Court, a whole lot of drunken yobos suddenly poured out of a Sports Bar and started screaming and swinging wild punches at each other. Others were lying almost comatose in the gutter, surrounded by their own vomit. About half were wearing t-shirts with a large Purple Identicon with the word “Swordfish” below, the other half wore shirts with a bright Red Identicon and the name “Puckish Rogue”.
It slowly dawned on me that these two warring tribes were our respective fan-bases. They’d obviously all been watching The Standard posts and comments coming up Live on the big screen in the Sports Bar and presumably a particularly erudite reply I’d just posted to Puckers had caused an eruption of excitement and triumphant chanting among my own loyal followers (“Puckers, Puckers, Puckers, Out, Out, Out !!!”), leading, in turn, to total outrage and fisticuffs from Puckers’ loyalists.*
* The last 2 paragraphs may not entirely correspond with reality. But, then again, they just might.
Hi swordfish,
I recall that stoush between felix and TRP and was disappointed at the outcome. TRP was always entertaining to read, but on that occasion he overdid his responses to felix. An apology may have solved the problem – who knows. In the end we lost two commentators whose contributions for different reasons were highly valued.
I also miss felix and hope he returns at some point.
Thanks swordfish. I’m still around but I’m not planning on posting here in the future. lprent has given his version of events. Long story short for me is I’m having a very busy year and don’t have the energy to keep running up against some of the shittier parts of this site’s community.
I could only bash my head against the brick wall trying to shift its position before realising it was far more comfortable posting in my own space where I’m not expected to put up with patriarchal bullying. Fewer readers maybe, fewer headaches definitely.
So anyone who’s interested in my posts can find them at bootstheory.wordpress.com or @bootstheory on Twitter. Peace.
http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/political/285193/flag-'debate'-ideal-for-point-scoring
This article maps out how key played the red peak for all its worth ,and he got the added bonus of some from labour and the greens tearing at each others throats to there shame.
#cunning as a shit house ratkey
Wouldn’t have been an issue if they stayed out of the flag process from day 1 with the clear message that there’s alot more important issues for $26m to be applied to.
bing bing bing
we have a winner.
I just hope the ones who at making all the noise about who did what to who are not the same ones who where making a lot of noise about getting the red rag added to the mix.
it’s a tea towel, come on. Mind a rag is also a tea towel, just an older one?
I was leaning towards red rag to a bull as that’s what its become to some
well i have been quite clear about not wanting this whole shebang to go ahead in the first place. I believe we have more pressing issues at hand. If I would have magical powers, i would go ‘Pouf, the magic dragon, we have never spoken about the tea towels in this fair land”. But i guess instead i will have to vote for Hypno Flag, and then NO.
lol. we are still gonna end up with an ugly, meaningless rag/towel.
https://www.facebook.com/winstonpeters
Browneye doesn’t seem to be too forthcoming on what happened.
Those Iroquois are old. I certainly wouldn’t buy one to use as the maintenance on them would probably cost more than simply buying a new helicopter of similar capability.
Then I suspect that there’s the avionics which the US probably has a say in who it can be sold to and without which the things couldn’t be flown. But if that’s the case then they shouldn’t have been made available to general tender.
Really, this is one of those times when it looks like NZ1st are making a mountain out of a molehill.
“But Mark Thomas, deputy chairman of Auckland Council’s Orakei local board, told the Local Government Commission earlier this month that, for all their concerns, the local boards were actually quite happy with the super-city structure.”
(Dominion Post 15 April 2015)
As a confirmed 2016 Auckland Mayoral candidate – my proven track record is one of absolute opposition to the proposed Auckland ‘Supercity’ for NINE years – since 5 September 2006 – the day of the failed ‘Mayoral coup’.
Unlike any of the other 2016 Auckland Mayoral candidates (confirmed or not) my proven track record shows I have worked (successfully) with those opposing the proposed Wellington, Northland and Hawke’s Bay ‘Supercities’, by exposing what a disaster this (forced) Auckland amalgamation has been for the majority of Auckland regional citizens and ratepayers.
What did Phil Goff do to oppose the Wellington, Northland or Hawke’s Bay proposed ‘Supercities’?
What has Phil Goff ever done to oppose this disastrous Auckland ‘Supercity’ ( for the1%) ?
What, in my view, helped to wreck Auckland – were the ‘Rogernomics reforms’ – during which Phil Goff was a Cabinet Minister.
In my opinion, Phil Goff might keep his pants on in the Ngati Whatua room, but nothing else will fundamentally change.
Auckland, under Phil Goff as Mayor, in my opinion, will continue to be run ‘like a business, by business – FOR business’ – with the mechanism for this corporate takeover – Council Controlled Organisations (CCOs) remaining intact.
Penny Bright
Penny
Interesting comment. If you can keep future ones to that length and spaced like that so points separate and easy to read I think you will get more traction. And if you want to get excerpts of longer documents set that up as a separate comment with a link to the rest of the document. My feedback. Good politicking!
edited
What’s the bet that the Report on the awful state of CYF’s functions, is a deliberate strategy to prepare us for Privatisation? We will be soon made to understand that the State has failed so there is only one answer; privatise. Obvious I suppose. And cunning.
Yep, National will have another privatisation option similar to Social Bonds or they may just widen the scope of those bonds. Basically, we’ll be seeing a lot more government subsidies of the private sector.
OZ detaining Kiwis on Christmas Island?
http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/political/285207/detaining-kiwis-in-australia-'displays-contempt‘
There have been suggestions up to 75 New Zealanders and Pacific Islanders are being held on Christmas Island but Australian authorities refuse to discuss numbers.
Radio New Zealand News has been told more and more New Zealanders have been arriving, including about 20 in the past few days.
Prime Minister John Key said he wanted Australia to provide better information about the treatment of people it was deporting to New Zealand.
oh well, surely nothing can be done about it.
I listened to an Oz/NZer woman being interviewed the other day on this situation. She said last year there were 125 NZer’s in these detention centres and now it has ramped up to 400. That was on RNZ too, but there a big difference between those numbers and the one quoted above……..
One woman, a mother of two and a permanent resident of Australia who has been there since she was three years old, was put in a detention centre with the view to being deported back to NZ, a country she doesn’t know at all.
She had a small string of petty crimes she had been charged with, the last one being the theft of $1300 worth of cosmetics from a department store (thats just a few items of lancome for goodness sake). She was actually was put in jail for three months for this crime and was then sent on to the detention centre where she had been for six months.
The treatment of Oz/NZer’s is barbaric. It’s like Australia have regressed to their convict days.
ausie rw goverment acting like the pricks they are
A great item in the Herald of all places:
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=11518824
Ironic that all it takes for the Left to start tearing itself apart is a flag design.
Or the GP working cross party like it’s always said it would.
See what I mean?
not really. Can you explain?
Yep, looks like we’ve finally reached “Peak Red” (TM)
Know about this folks? It will be FUN!
Media Release: 25 September 2015
Issued by: TPPA Auckland Call to Action
I am Key/Groser – Anti-TPPA protesters gather at Britomart
A large group of Anti-TPPA protesters donned in suits wearing John Key and Tim Groser masks will gather outside Britomart from 4.30pm today to send a peaceful but strong message to the Prime Minister and Trade Minister in the lead up to next week’s TPPA Ministerial.
“There is a strong majority of New Zealanders who do not want our Government to sign the controversial deal without the text being released and people having a say.” says Chantelle Campbell co-organiser of today’s event.
“As Trade Minister Groser gathers in Atlanta next week along with the eleven other Trade Ministers negotiating the TPPA, we want to remind him that as the people’s representative we do not want him to agree to signing a deal that is going to be substandard and detrimental to our country for generations to come.”
Concerned citizen Kevin Hester says he will be attending today’s event as “Signing the TPPA will severely limit our ability to confront the threat of runaway global warming and the ongoing 6th great extinction as described by the WWF and National Geographic.”
Saturday sees Chief Negotiators from the 12 countries negotiating the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement gather in Atlanta, US, to reconvene the negotiations, with Trade Ministers joining them on Wednesday with the aim to conclude the controversial deal.
“If the TPPA is not gold star for New Zealand nor even gold plated for dairy according to Groser now, it will obviously be Tinpot so what is left to negotiate?” says aggrieved citizen Jacqueline Taylor.
The message is strong and clear – Walk Away from the TPPA!
Ends
When Entire Economies are Held Hostage
Yes, our present monetary system actually subsidises the banks at our expense (Yes, it would be nice to have NZ research but we’ll have to make do). No wonder they keep brining in record profits. This isn’t a sign of the country doing well but of the country being ripped off for more and more with the increasing poverty in the country showing that the country is failing because of that theft.
And just so we are clear the National Debt is now
$66,886,200,000 and rising as we breath.
Is that National debt or Government debt? There’s a difference as National debt would also include all the private debt which is presently at ~100% of GDP and rising. Combine the two and our total indebtedness to the world is close to the fall over and play dead point.
Maybe when we sling National out in the next election Key can rebrand the party to “NATIONALCORP International” for hire, it cost you your democracy to have us run your country
Do we need to be thinking and being scared about WWIII now? The desperation seems so high and the leaders seem so incompetent.
#FreeKaren Explained: The Fictional Environmentalist Accused Of Terrorism
It’s amazing and truly disturbing the BS that the RWNJs paint as real.
Lords of the Dance
No. 2: TREVOR MALLARD
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e7_tdzKUyzI
“Lords of the Dance” is curated by Morrissey Breen, for Daisycutter Sports Inc.
Aficionados of such spectacles may also like to check out…..
No. 1 Rodney Hide
http://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-24092015/#comment-1073954
Update on the “I am Key / Groser” anti-TPPA protest this evening, outside Btitomart.
The John Key / Tim Groser masks – particularly when worn with a suit and blue tie, are creepily effective ( as it were :).
Never been on a protest where the public stared so hard!
(Having been a ‘protestor ‘ since 18, and I’m now in my 61st year, that’s quite a thing to say 🙂
Signatures are now being collected for a new petition, addressed to PM John Key, MP for Helensville, which says;
“We the undersigned:
Are deeply concerned that as a key advocate for the ‘Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement’ (TPPA), you are a shareholder in the Bank of America, as detailed in the 2015 MPs Register of Financial Interests : (Pg 29)
” Rt Hon John Key (National, Helensville)
2 Other companies and business entities
………………………………………………..
Bank of America – banking”
We see this as a serious ‘conflict of interest’, given that big banks like the Bank of America, stand to benefit, and profit from this pro-corporate TPPA.
If this National Government, which you lead, does not ‘walk away from the secretive, undemocratic, ‘Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement’ (TPPA), then we pledge to campaign vigorously amongst our friends, families, neighbours and workmates, for the voting public to ‘walk away’ from National.”
———————————————————————
Penny Bright