Until I started writing in the comments spaces, I never realised how very ‘left’ I am! It made me think of what the tax system could achieve, in terms of making this country more egalitarian. The more submissions the better. RWNJs need not link, of course!
I would have thought the differences between the two situations were so obvious that no one would try to make a connection but no… a bit disturbing that you can even use those tragic deaths in Gaza in such a way. You can’t really be equating Assad with the IDF wrt Palestinians can you??
I think we have here a classic example of where it just might be appropriate for the messenger to be (metaphorically) shot rather than the message.😉
Do I expect our democratically elected representatives to control the public service which has control over the expenditure of dollars collected by order of government?
Your damn tooting I do!
Do I think Mr Jones should be the one to guide the Public Service towards a brighter and more ‘progressive’ future?
No. No. No.
He has little to no regard of the environmental impacts of development…I am seriously impressed there has (so far) been no public bloodletting twixt him and the Greens.
While most of the lefties would want a neutral public service, a more reptilian approach to the political game would be stacking appointments and positions with ‘right thinking’, like minded people.
Well done, but excuse me if I don’t join in your boycott. I am already very selective on whose articles I read in the Herald but I am not about to give up on reading ones by David Fisher, Matt Nippert or Kirsty Johnston – at least not until they are put behind a paywall.
On the issue of Deborah Hill Cone and Clarke Gayford, I mentioned in the other threads on these two, that Gayford also now writes regularly in the Travel section of the Herald and could not figure why the editors would allow one Herald writer to diss another one.
On checking, Hill Cone appears to be a “Herald” writer, while Gayford actually writes for The Herald on Sunday. The Herald and the HOS are not totally joined at the hip with The Herald Editor being Murray Kirkness, while Miriyana Alexander is the Editor of both The Herald on Sunday and the Weekend Herald.
So, a little bit of internal NZME rivalry perhaps, but hey still good for clicks?
Unfortunately when Granny decided to save money by trying to avoid paying journalists anymore they forgot what the main point of their existence. Yep you can just fill the pages with articles other people wrote because often they are written with an agenda, you can’t just fill pages with advertorials because then people stop trusting that you are giving them independent advice and you can’t just fill up the paper with click bait because sooner or later you become a laughing stock.
Journalism doesn’t exist in the MSM in it’s purset form anymore, it’s repeaters, copy/paste jockeys and stick to the agreed themes/messages despite the facts.
I pulled up one of their so called journo’s for copy/pasting a Spark release that was pure BS just to see what would happen.
Their reaction was the same you get from a child that’s been caught red handed in the act or the DP playbook as they’re pretty similar. Deny, Diffuse, derail than refuse to engage when that fails.
Is standing in Northcote a good decision by the Green party executive?
I think it could backfire really badly. This isn’t the Mount Albert electorate, which was a foregone conclusion. The vote could be really close.
I get that it’s a great opportunity to raise our profile, but how would it look if Labour lost by less than the vote Green gets? How will it look if we get a very small proportion of the vote because people will vote tactically?
is a perfectly rational decision and opportunity ….is a reasonably safe National seat, the result will not impact ability to govern, the Greens can test support levels and Govs seldom win by-elections…its no big deal and the clutching of pearls is mind numbingly stupid.
That is what they said about Northland. Clearly Labour and Greens need to work out fairer deals… on how they can work together, without splitting the votes and letting Natz back in!
and how pray tell can this by-election “let the Nats back in”?……answer is it cant…but it can certainly be milked as an opportunity to claim and foster disunity in a coalition…..keep giving those pearls a workout.
and what makes you think the Greens running a candidate in this by election (or NZ First ) somehow indicates a lack of ability to ‘work together’?….or do you expect both NZ First and the Greens to never run a candidate in an electorate seat ever …would seem a somewhat strange idea of working “together”.
Last election Auckland central Labour/Green candidates got 15,787 votes beating 13,198 Nicky Kaye. In Nelson Labour/Green got 22,198 votes beating 16735 for Nick Smith.
Clearly those electorates would have preferred either a Labour or Green person but instead their votes were split so they got Natz.
Many voters don’t want a Natz MP, but it’s hard to work out who to vote for as an electorate vote if you like both Labour or Green.
They need to make it easier for people to know who to vote for for the electorate vote.
Maybe they tell people to vote an electorate vote Labour and a Green Party vote, but they could at least have some strategy to prevent what’s happening, with Natz electorate people getting through when most people want Green or Labour.
couple of points…..this aint a general election and it aint that close….and you may think that telling voters what to do is a good idea but id suggest most will resent being told what to do and show you what they think of so being ‘told’
Notable as a dissimilar example…ACT won the seat originally and the gerrymandering was largely unspoken and is now historical…the same may be said of Ohariu…..would be presumptuous in the extreme to expect the same response from Northcote.
Tuppence do you actually have something to say, because most of your comments just seem to be weirdo rebuttals saying stuff through your own opinion on what someone said, which they are not even saying.
How about you post something you actually believe in rather than just trolling other’s comments. I know original thought is difficult for right wingers, but at least other right winger’s like James actually have an opinion to offer not just straight trolling.
Tend to agree Pat.
What’s gained if Halbert narrowly wins the by-election because the Greens pulled out, and then almost certainly loses it again at the 2020 General when the Greens absolutely have to stand to promote their brand?
You can be sure that the media would find anti-Labour messages to frame both events – the first would be winning via a ‘dirty-deal’, and the second would be a ‘blow’ and indicate ‘loss of support’.
Time to be ambitious here – Halbert should aim to win it even with the Greens standing.
“When the aging gorilla is confronted with the much more virile, new alpha-male, he shows submissiveness by grooming the alpha-male, but the gesture is actually a vain attempt by the old gorilla to humiliate his much younger rival.” — Jane Goodall pic.twitter.com/fx85I1KwVy— Mrs. Betty Bowers (@BettyBowers) April 24, 2018
Talk about privilege in action, too. I’ve seen cops literally say “fuck it, you’re under arrest for disorderly” in half that time. Let alone US cops.
Although that “have a nice weekend” towards the end was just blatantly begging her to do something that crosses the white-person threshold for arrest 🙂
Yes I thought of that too, but then thought, support reasonable action by polite police. At the end of the day they have a lot to deal with and the idea should be to keep the reasonable ones, remove the other (racists) out and not put all police into one box.
Yeah, but that’s actually how cops and most authority figures should be – remain courteous, let the jerk seal their own fate. I’ve done it myself lesser roles. It can be fun, if you have the right chillaxed mindset. It becomes a game of chess that the other person doesn’t know they’re playing – like that bit at 6:20 where basically she talked herself into offering to do what they’d told her to do all along lol.
But the only reason they could do that was because they didn’t have a surge of adrenaline.
A lot of that could well be to do with who they pulled over and who turned up to give them a lift home.
My main thought on privilege though is that she assumed she could talk to the cops that way without immediate repercussion. And she was right. They had multiple opportunities to arrest her if they’d wanted to, but they chose to just make damned sure the camera documented everything.
I feel sorry for the daughter – the mother will probably blame her for losing the job, if the behaviour is anything to go by.
At the beginning of her intervention it would have been (well, they might have warned her for one), but by the stage she used it she was clearly going to fuckoffskie soon, and if they’d arrested her for that they would have had to listen to her for the entire trip back to the station lol
Dr Philth is now pretending to support the victims of a sniper
Thursday 26 April 2018
Just watched a bit of today’s Dr Philth on three. This episode is grandly captioned: “Stories of horror and hope from Las Vegas. Dr Phil speaks to brave survivors of the nation’s deadliest mass shooting in modern American history.”
In the few seconds I could bear to watch, I saw Dr Philth, with that pooch face, empathising at full volume with some victims.
This is very odd behaviour for Dr Philth, who not that long ago was fulsome in his praise of a far more lethal sniper than the Las Vegas one….
Interesting article from newsroom about Robertsons budget affirming a neolib government, a far cry from Winstons denunciation of neoliberlism and Arderns criticisms of it.
But we have a hard core neo liberal public service. These corporate bureaucrats have been controlling how our tax dollars are spent for nearly three decades.
Bomber had a good piece over at TDB. I largely agree with him… other than siccing Uncle Shane onto them.
When I become dictator I’ll start with a massive purge of Misery of Health bureaucrats…then possibly retire.😉
You’ve already got the original one. Look who is head of the tax working group. And is a Director on the Auckland Transport Board.
You certainly don’t want another of his ilk I should hope.
Hot on the heels of the Netherlands declaring loot boxes are gambling and therefore illegal, Belgium has had its say.
The Belgian Gaming Commission looked at Star Wars Battlefront 2, FIFA 18, Overwatch and Counter-Strike: Global Offensive and found only Star Wars was not in violation of the country’s gambling legislation – and that’s only because EA stripped out the game’s loot boxes after its launch debacle.
Which is good. We don’t need to have kids addicted to gambling from playing games.
Now all we need is for the NZ government to do the same.
” Guy also says commercial considerations played no part in the decision, which he said was based on “science and risk mitigation”. But that’s contradicted on multiple occasions by MPI emails. In May 2015, MPI’s Richard Fraser, a senior analyst in the aquaculture unit, wrote to aquaculture industry figures: “MPI must consider, assess and manager the legal, trade, reputational and biosecurity risks at all stages of this response.” A month earlier, Fraser said the response “aims to minimise negative impacts to the aquaculture industry, wild fisheries, the environment, socio-cultural values and trade”. The same email trumpeted “No trade implications have been raised by our trading partners” – his emphasis. ”
Well, that answers a few questions I had at the time.It was obvious there was something seriously fishy going on with us supposed to swallow the line that Sanford vessels traveling between Marlborough and Stewart Island were not considered to be a possible mode of transfer of the disease.
And then, then, the Cawthron Institute getting the lion’s share of the funding pot.
Shakes head and sighs..
Thanks Tracey, I would have missed that had you not posted.
Good on Newsroom for the investigation albeit a delving some years too late. Seems the press seem happier to question national Government’s AFTER they are voted out
JUST listened to jamie lee ross whine on on Radio New Zealand claiming that the governments roading policy is a rehash of Nationals programme.
That maybe so but it is not news and why is RadioNewZealand doing this.
I think clair curran has a big job on her plate making this news organisation pull its bloody socks up.
Well, if it is just a rehash he has a point, so it’s fair comment.
If not, then RNZ should be factchecking what he says. That’s the problem with media at the moment – very few pollys get fact-checked by reporters, and them that do are almost always lefties (or tory politicians the DP crowd hate)
I’ve been watching the current Australian enquiry into banks and finance companies, what a bunch of scoundrels!
Since the same banks also own and run our banks one has to guess that there’s a good chance that they are just as corrupt – is it time for a similar enquiry here?
The opioid crisis is inside the White House. No way the admiral gets confirmed. In fact, he'll be lucky if he escapes prosecution. The question once again: What did Trump know and when did he know it? pic.twitter.com/iVE0OFUsmt— Bob Cesca (@bobcesca_go) April 25, 2018
I’m surprised at how little mention has been made of the fact he was appointed White House physician in 2013. The usual suspects are starting to mumble about Obama, but I would have expected a full-on blamestorm by now.
We’re dragging our knuckles in NZ again. We have more than once been the last western country to trade or use something. Scoop is bringing us up to date as to the latest way that some of our leading farmers have rorted good business standards.
Now we are buying ‘blood’ fertiliser from Western Sahara. http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO1804/S00260/nz-farmers-last-remaining-importers-of-conflict-mineral.htm Western Sahara Resource Watch (WSRW) today published its fifth annual overview of companies involved in the purchase and transport of phosphate rock exploited illegally by Morocco in the territory it holds under military occupation: Western Sahara.
The report details all shipments of Western Sahara’s white gold to importers worldwide for the calendar year 2017. New Zealand based farmers’ cooperatives Ballance Agri-Nutrients and Ravensdown have together imported an estimated 333,000 tonnes of the contentious rock, to the tune of about US $ 30 million….
The European Union has recently taken measures to limit the cadmium-rate in phosphate-based fertilizers. By 2030, phosphate rock from Morocco (and Western Sahara) will no longer be allowed in the EU single market, as the cadmium level of phosphate rock in North Africa in general is much higher than the allowed ratio.
WSRW has contacted both Ballance and Ravensdown regarding their continued imports, but the firms did not respond.
Keywords:
Illegal
$millions
NZ farmers co-operatives (so farmers theoretically should have a say in this.)
Cadmium
No response from NZ firms to enquiries.
It’s awkward though. Is Fiji under a military occupation, or a fait accompli government? I think we should be able to trade with Russia, so where do we draw the line. The resources of the country of Western Sahara are being sold from under their feet. The copper from Western Papua also I think. How does that compare with Judith Collins et al exporting ancient, irreplacable fossilised? kauri trees under a deliberately managed system that narrowly evades being illegal? Is this what happens in a free market? People try to hold onto a rule of law they understand – they have it in their hand, look away, and it’s slipped right through their fingers.
Paul Craig Roberts presents an interesting perspective here.
Where Is The Shame?
Now that the Trump, May, and Macron regimes have proven beyond all doubt that they are lawless war criminal regimes, what is next?
Will the Russian president and foreign minister continue to speak of “our Western partners” and seek common ground with proven lawless war criminals? What would that common ground be?
How can other governments accept the US, UK, and French governments that intentionally lied about a Russian chemical attack on the Skripals and about a Syrian chemical attack on Douma, risking a third world war, and then themselves attacking Syria on the basis of a transparent lie unsupported by any evidence? How exactly do you conduct diplomatic relations with war criminals?
You don’t. You put them on trial. Why aren’t Trump, May, and Macron on trial?
Paul Craig Roberts, apologist for the confederate south, slavery, racism, the KKK, white supremacy, racial segregation, and more.
War of Northern Aggression
[…]
Slavery had nothing whatsoever to do with the war.
[…]
Thus, Lincoln’s vain attempt to provoke a slave rebellion in the South. Why didn’t such allegedly horribly treated and oppressed slaves revolt when there was no one to prevent it but women and children?
[…]
It is not only the ruling elite that has a vested interest in the false history of “white racism,” but also the universities and history departments in which the false history is institutionalized and the foundations that have financed black history, women’s studies, and transgender dialogues.
[…]
The Klu Klux Klan arose as a guerrilla force to stop the predation
[…]
Blacks, who were unprepared for the task, were put in control of governments so that carpetbaggers could loot and steal. Whites lost the franchise and protection of law as their property was stolen.
[…]
In the South, and most certainly in Atlanta, where I grew up, schools were neighborhood schools. We were segregated by economic class. I went to school with middle class kids from my middle class neighborhood. I did not go to school with rich kids or with poor kids. This segregation was not racial.
It is interesting that a member of Reagan’s government is so critical of the right wing now, though.
I agree that those views on the US Civil War that you have highlighted are wrong.
“Macron is frequently described as a French Tony Blair, but to me he seems more a French Margaret Thatcher, seeking to use a jingoistic military policy to distract from very unpopular neo-liberal destruction of worker protections at home. It is hard to believe his peculiar love-in with Trump is going down well in France. The danger is that he will feel obliged to commit to more military adventurism to live up to the hype. I know that those close to Merkel look on all this posing with dour disapproval.”
A little off topic but most staff at my work didn’t get paid Wednesday (usual pay day)… Most got paid today, though some of us with a Credit Union or basically not one of the big banks, will get paid tomorrow…
I enquired about it and was told ‘Not my fault the banks screwed up…. which left me scratching my head as ANZAC day is hardly something that sneaks up on you
I thought that all the payments were fed into machines that did the transferring of credits. It is not as if there has to be someone counting the notes and coins, putting them in little brown envelopes with the employees’ names on. That is how it used to be.
How come the machines weren’t programmed? As you say Anzac Day hasn’t just sneaked up on us suddenly.
The payments are all calculated by 9am Monday morning and passed on to the bank for processing, wouldnt have hard to have it put through for Tuesday (like most other Holidays that would affect pay)
The AM Show Climate change is real the people who are deniers are lobbying for oil because they think they can eat and drink their money just like the flat Earth fools. Duncan Many thanks for talking about climate change.
I advocate for the environment and all our creatures so ECO MAORI Says that’s is a special contribution I will be doing much more as soon as I sort out the sandflys. Just finished milking the mokos are in Town it will be a quiet weekend. Ka kite ano
Newshub There you go a creditable witness only credible for the sandflys case cause they call them assets. Assets to help them suppress MAORI these brown assets contracted liers don’t even realise they are helping the sandflys suppress Maori.
I will forgive them because they no not what they are doing.
That’s a good way Fonterra is using social media and new technology tracking food from the table to plate that will ease the consurns of the consumer.
YEA elictric Cars are one of the answers to us Kiwis becoming Carbon neutral we have plenty of scope to generate renewable energy hydro solar wind Jamie Shaw is happy about the changes and so is ECO MAORI Ka pai.
Its good to see daplomicy is working in Korea Ka pai.
Just because it is illegal doesn’t mean the sandflys won’t use DNA on the website or whatever they will use whatever they can to satisfy there EGOS.
Trade training should be compolsery in our prisons get the people working when they get out of prison the old saying working is good for the sole.
Ka kite ano
The Crowd Goes Wild WAI and Makere 2 natives Ka pai.
I hope the first person that you were descusing has good fortunes Kia kaha.
Many thanks to Buttabean for the great work he is doing with the over weight people.
Sports is a great way for tangata to climb up there of life Ka kite ano
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Today the Auckland Transport board meet for the last time this year. For those interested (and with time to spare), you can follow along via this MS Teams link from 10am. I’ve taken a quick look through the agenda items to see what I think the most interesting aspects are. ...
Hi,If you’re a New Zealander — you know who Mike King is. He is the face of New Zealand’s battle against mental health problems. He can be loud and brash. He raises, and is entrusted with, a lot of cash. Last year his “I Am Hope” charity reported a revenue ...
Probably about the only consolation available from yesterday’s unveiling of the Half-Yearly Economic and Fiscal Update (HYEFU) is that it could have been worse. Though Finance Minister Nicola Willis has tightened the screws on future government spending, she has resisted the calls from hard-line academics, fiscal purists and fiscal hawks ...
The right have a stupid saying that is only occasionally true:When is democracy not democracy? When it hasn’t been voted on.While not true in regards to branches of government such as the judiciary, it’s a philosophy that probably should apply to recently-elected local government councillors. Nevertheless, this concept seemed to ...
Long story short: the Government’s austerity policy has driven the economy into a deeper and longer recession that means it will have to borrow $20 billion more over the next four years than it expected just six months ago. Treasury’s latest forecasts show the National-ACT-NZ First Government’s fiscal strategy of ...
Come and join myself and CTU Chief Economist for a pop-up ‘Hoon’ webinar on the Government’s Half Yearly Economic and Fiscal Update (HYEFU) with paying subscribers to The Kākā for 30 minutes at 5 pm today.Jump on this link on YouTube Livestream to watch our chat. Don’t worry if ...
In 1998, in the wake of the Paremoremo Prison riot, the Department of Corrections established the "Behaviour Management Regime". Prisoners were locked in their cells for 22 or 23 hours a day, with no fresh air, no exercise, no social contact, no entertainment, and in some cases no clothes and ...
New data released by the Treasury shows that the economic policies of this Government have made things worse in the year since they took office, said NZCTU Economist Craig Renney. “Our fiscal indicators are all heading in the wrong direction – with higher levels of debt, a higher deficit, and ...
At the 2023 election, National basically ran on a platform of being better economic managers. So how'd that turn out for us? In just one year, they've fucked us for two full political terms: The government's books are set to remain deeply in the red for the near term ...
AUSTERITYText within this block will maintain its original spacing when publishedMy spreadsheet insists This pain leads straight to glory (File not found) Read more ...
The NZCTU Te Kauae Kaimahi are saying that the Government should do the right thing and deliver minimum wage increases that don’t see workers fall further behind, in response to today’s announcement that the minimum wage will only be increased by 1.5%, well short of forecast inflation. “With inflation forecast ...
Oh, I weptFor daysFilled my eyesWith silly tearsOh, yeaBut I don'tCare no moreI don't care ifMy eyes get soreSongwriters: Paul Rodgers / Paul Kossoff. Read more ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Bob HensonIn this aerial view, fingers of meltwater flow from the melting Isunnguata Sermia glacier descending from the Greenland Ice Sheet on July 11, 2024, near Kangerlussuaq, Greenland. According to the Programme for Monitoring of the Greenland Ice Sheet (PROMICE), the ...
In August, I wrote an article about David Seymour1 with a video of his testimony, to warn that there were grave dangers to his Ministry of Regulation:David Seymour's Ministry of Slush Hides Far Greater RisksWhy Seymour's exorbitant waste of taxpayers' money could be the least of concernThe money for Seymour ...
Willis is expected to have to reveal the bitter fiscal fruits of her austerity strategy in the HYEFU later today. Photo: Lynn Grieveson/TheKakaMōrena. Long stories short, the six things that matter in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Tuesday, December 17 in The Kākā’s Dawn Chorus podcast ...
On Friday the government announced it would double the number of toll roads in New Zealand as well as make a few other changes to how toll roads are used in the country. The real issue though is not that tolling is being used but the suggestion it will make ...
The Prime Minister yesterday engaged in what looked like a pre-emptive strike designed to counter what is likely to be a series of depressing economic statistics expected before the end of the week. He opened his weekly post-Cabinet press conference with a recitation of the Government’s achievements. “It certainly has ...
This whooping cough story from south Auckland is a good example of the coalition government’s approach to social need – spend money on urging people to get vaccinated but only after you’ve cut the funding to where they could get vaccinated. This has been the case all year with public ...
And if there is a GodI know he likes to rockHe likes his loud guitarsHis spiders from MarsAnd if there is a GodI know he's watching meHe likes what he seesBut there's trouble on the breezeSongwriter: William Patrick Corgan Read more ...
Here’s a quick round up of today’s political news:1. MORE FOOD BANKS, CHARITIES, DOMESTIC VIOLENCE SHELTERS AND YOUTH SOCIAL SERVICES SET TO CLOSE OR SCALE BACK AROUND THE COUNTRY AS GOVT CUTS FUNDINGSome of Auckland's largest foodbanks are warning they may need to close or significantly reduce food parcels after ...
Iain Rennie, CNZMSecretary and Chief Executive to the TreasuryDear Secretary, Undue restrictions on restricted briefings This week, the Treasury barred representatives from four organisations, including the New Zealand Council of Trade Unions Te Kauae Kaimahi, from attending the restricted briefing for the Half-Year Economic and Fiscal Update. We had been ...
This is a guest post by Tim Adriaansen, a community, climate, and accessibility advocate.I won’t shut up about climate breakdown, and whenever possible I try to shift the focus of a climate conversation towards solutions. But you’ll almost never hear me give more than a passing nod to ...
A grassroots backlash has forced a backdown from Brown, but he is still eyeing up plenty of tolls for other new roads. And the pressure is on Willis to ramp up the Government’s austerity strategy. Photo: Getty ImagesMōrena. Long stories short, the six things that matter in Aotearoa’s political economy ...
Hi all,I'm pretty overwhelmed by all your messages and emails today; thank you so very much.As much as my newsletter this morning was about money, and we all need to earn money, it was mostly about world domination if I'm honest. 😉I really hate what’s happening to our country, and ...
A listing of 23 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, December 8, 2024 thru Sat, December 14, 2024. Listing by Category Like last week's summary this one contains the list of articles twice: based on categories and based on ...
I started writing this morning about Hobson’s Pledge, examining the claims they and their supporters make, basically ripping into them. But I kept getting notifications coming through, and not good ones.Each time I looked up, there was another un-subscription message, and I felt a bit sicker at the thought of ...
Once, long before there was Harry and Meghan and Dodi and all those episodes of The Crown, they came to spend some time with us, Charles and Diana. Was there anyone in the world more glamorous than the Princess of Wales?Dazzled as everyone was by their company, the leader of ...
National has only been in power for a year, but everywhere you look, its choices are taking New Zealand a long way backwards. In no particular order, here are the National Government's Top 50 Greatest Misses of its first year in power. ...
The Government is quietly undertaking consultation on the dangerous Regulatory Standards Bill over the Christmas period to avoid too much attention. ...
The Government’s planned changes to the freedom of speech obligations of universities is little more than a front for stoking the political fires of disinformation and fear, placing teachers and students in the crosshairs. ...
The Ministry of Regulation’s report into Early Childhood Education (ECE) in Aotearoa raises serious concerns about the possibility of lowering qualification requirements, undermining quality and risking worse outcomes for tamariki, whānau, and kaiako. ...
A Bill to modernise the role of Justices of the Peace (JP), ensuring they remain active in their communities and connected with other JPs, has been put into the ballot. ...
Labour will continue to fight unsustainable and destructive projects that are able to leap-frog environment protection under National’s Fast-track Approvals Bill. ...
The Green Party has warned that a Green Government will revoke the consents of companies who override environmental protections as part of Fast-Track legislation being passed today. ...
The Green Party says the Half Year Economic and Fiscal Update shows how the Government is failing to address the massive social and infrastructure deficits our country faces. ...
The Government’s latest move to reduce the earnings of migrant workers will not only hurt migrants but it will drive down the wages of Kiwi workers. ...
Te Pāti Māori has this morning issued a stern warning to Fast-Track applicants with interests in mining, pledging to hold them accountable through retrospective liability and to immediately revoke Fast-Track consents under a future Te Pāti Māori government. This warning comes ahead of today’s third reading of the Fast-Track Approvals ...
The Government’s announcement today of a 1.5 per cent increase to minimum wage is another blow for workers, with inflation projected to exceed the increase, meaning it’s a real terms pay reduction for many. ...
All the Government has achieved from its announcement today is to continue to push responsibility back on councils for its own lack of action to help bring down skyrocketing rates. ...
The Government has used its final post-Cabinet press conference of the year to punch down on local government without offering any credible solutions to the issues our councils are facing. ...
The Government has failed to keep its promise to ‘super charge’ the EV network, delivering just 292 chargers - less than half of the 670 chargers needed to meet its target. ...
The Green Party is calling for the Government to stop subsidising the largest user of the country’s gas supplies, Methanex, following a report highlighting the multi-national’s disproportionate influence on energy prices in Aotearoa. ...
The Green Party is appalled with the Government’s new child poverty targets that are based on a new ‘persistent poverty’ measure that could be met even with an increase in child poverty. ...
New independent analysis has revealed that the Government’s Emissions Reduction Plan (ERP) will reduce emissions by a measly 1 per cent by 2030, failing to set us up for the future and meeting upcoming targets. ...
The loss of 27 kaimahi at Whakaata Māori and the end of its daily news bulletin is a sad day for Māori media and another step backwards for Te Tiriti o Waitangi justice. ...
Yesterday the Government passed cruel legislation through first reading to establish a new beneficiary sanction regime that will ultimately mean more households cannot afford the basic essentials. ...
Today's passing of the Government's Residential Tenancies Amendment Bill–which allows landlords to end tenancies with no reason–ignores the voice of the people and leaves renters in limbo ahead of the festive season. ...
After wasting a year, Nicola Willis has delivered a worse deal for the Cook Strait ferries that will end up being more expensive and take longer to arrive. ...
Green Party co-leader Chlöe Swarbrick has today launched a Member’s Bill to sanction Israel for its unlawful presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, as the All Out For Gaza rally reaches Parliament. ...
After years of advocacy, the Green Party is very happy to hear the Government has listened to our collective voices and announced the closure of the greyhound racing industry, by 1 August 2026. ...
In response to a new report from ERO, the Government has acknowledged the urgent need for consistency across the curriculum for Relationship and Sexuality Education (RSE) in schools. ...
The Green Party is appalled at the Government introducing legislation that will make it easier to penalise workers fighting for better pay and conditions. ...
Thank you for the invitation to speak with you tonight on behalf of the political party I belong to - which is New Zealand First. As we have heard before this evening the Kinleith Mill is proposing to reduce operations by focusing on pulp and discontinuing “lossmaking paper production”. They say that they are currently consulting on the plan to permanently shut ...
Auckland Central MP, Chlöe Swarbrick, has written to Mayor Wayne Brown requesting he stop the unnecessary delays on St James Theatre’s restoration. ...
Kiwis planning a swim or heading out on a boat this summer should remember to stop and think about water safety, Sport & Recreation Minister Chris Bishop and ACC and Associate Transport Minister Matt Doocey say. “New Zealand’s beaches, lakes and rivers are some of the most beautiful in the ...
The Government is urging Kiwis to drive safely this summer and reminding motorists that Police will be out in force to enforce the road rules, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says.“This time of year can be stressful and result in poor decision-making on our roads. Whether you are travelling to see ...
Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says Health New Zealand will move swiftly to support dozens of internationally-trained doctors already in New Zealand on their journey to employment here, after a tripling of sought-after examination places. “The Medical Council has delivered great news for hardworking overseas doctors who want to contribute ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has appointed Sarah Ottrey to the APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC). “At my first APEC Summit in Lima, I experienced firsthand the role that ABAC plays in guaranteeing political leaders hear the voice of business,” Mr Luxon says. “New Zealand’s ABAC representatives are very well respected and ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has announced four appointments to New Zealand’s intelligence oversight functions. The Honourable Robert Dobson KC has been appointed Chief Commissioner of Intelligence Warrants, and the Honourable Brendan Brown KC has been appointed as a Commissioner of Intelligence Warrants. The appointments of Hon Robert Dobson and Hon ...
Improvements in the average time it takes to process survey and title applications means housing developments can progress more quickly, Minister for Land Information Chris Penk says. “The government is resolutely focused on improving the building and construction pipeline,” Mr Penk says. “Applications to issue titles and subdivide land are ...
The Government’s measures to reduce airport wait times, and better transparency around flight disruptions is delivering encouraging early results for passengers ahead of the busy summer period, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Improving the efficiency of air travel is a priority for the Government to give passengers a smoother, more reliable ...
The Government today announced the intended closure of the Apollo Hotel as Contracted Emergency Housing (CEH) in Rotorua, Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka says. This follows a 30 per cent reduction in the number of households in CEH in Rotorua since National came into Government. “Our focus is on ending CEH in the Whakarewarewa area starting ...
The Government will reshape vocational education and training to return decision making to regions and enable greater industry input into work-based learning Tertiary Education and Skills Minister, Penny Simmonds says. “The redesigned system will better meet the needs of learners, industry, and the economy. It includes re-establishing regional polytechnics that ...
The Government is taking action to better manage synthetic refrigerants and reduce emissions caused by greenhouse gases found in heating and cooling products, Environment Minister Penny Simmonds says. “Regulations will be drafted to support a product stewardship scheme for synthetic refrigerants, Ms. Simmonds says. “Synthetic refrigerants are found in a ...
People travelling on State Highway 1 north of Hamilton will be relieved that remedial works and safety improvements on the Ngāruawāhia section of the Waikato Expressway were finished today, with all lanes now open to traffic, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says.“I would like to acknowledge the patience of road users ...
Tertiary Education and Skills Minister, Penny Simmonds, has announced a new appointment to the board of Education New Zealand (ENZ). Dr Erik Lithander has been appointed as a new member of the ENZ board for a three-year term until 30 January 2028. “I would like to welcome Dr Erik Lithander to the ...
The Government will have senior representatives at Waitangi Day events around the country, including at the Waitangi Treaty Grounds, but next year Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has chosen to take part in celebrations elsewhere. “It has always been my intention to celebrate Waitangi Day around the country with different ...
Two more criminal gangs will be subject to the raft of laws passed by the Coalition Government that give Police more powers to disrupt gang activity, and the intimidation they impose in our communities, Police Minister Mark Mitchell says. Following an Order passed by Cabinet, from 3 February 2025 the ...
Attorney-General Judith Collins today announced the appointment of Justice Christian Whata as a Judge of the Court of Appeal. Justice Whata’s appointment as a Judge of the Court of Appeal will take effect on 1 August 2025 and fill a vacancy created by the retirement of Hon Justice David Goddard on ...
The latest economic figures highlight the importance of the steps the Government has taken to restore respect for taxpayers’ money and drive economic growth, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. Data released today by Stats NZ shows Gross Domestic Product fell 1 per cent in the September quarter. “Treasury and most ...
Tertiary Education and Skills Minister Penny Simmonds and Associate Minister of Education David Seymour today announced legislation changes to strengthen freedom of speech obligations on universities. “Freedom of speech is fundamental to the concept of academic freedom and there is concern that universities seem to be taking a more risk-averse ...
Police Minister, Mark Mitchell, and Internal Affairs Minister, Brooke van Velden, today launched a further Public Safety Network cellular service that alongside last year’s Cellular Roaming roll-out, puts globally-leading cellular communications capability into the hands of our emergency responders. The Public Safety Network’s new Cellular Priority service means Police, Wellington ...
State Highway 1 through the Mangamuka Gorge has officially reopened today, providing a critical link for Northlanders and offering much-needed relief ahead of the busy summer period, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says.“The Mangamuka Gorge is a vital route for Northland, carrying around 1,300 vehicles per day and connecting the Far ...
The Government has welcomed decisions by the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) and Ashburton District Council confirming funding to boost resilience in the Canterbury region, with construction on a second Ashburton Bridge expected to begin in 2026, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Delivering a second Ashburton Bridge to improve resilience and ...
The Government is backing the response into high pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in Otago, Biosecurity Minister Andrew Hoggard says. “Cabinet has approved new funding of $20 million to enable MPI to meet unbudgeted ongoing expenses associated with the H7N6 response including rigorous scientific testing of samples at the enhanced PC3 ...
Legislation that will repeal all advertising restrictions for broadcasters on Sundays and public holidays has passed through first reading in Parliament today, Media Minister Paul Goldsmith says. “As a growing share of audiences get their news and entertainment from streaming services, these restrictions have become increasingly redundant. New Zealand on ...
Today the House agreed to Brendan Horsley being appointed Inspector-General of Defence, Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith says. “Mr Horsley’s experience will be invaluable in overseeing the establishment of the new office and its support networks. “He is currently Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security, having held that role since June 2020. ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says the Government has agreed to the final regulations for the levy on insurance contracts that will fund Fire and Emergency New Zealand from July 2026. “Earlier this year the Government agreed to a 2.2 percent increase to the rate of levy. Fire ...
The Government is delivering regulatory relief for New Zealand businesses through changes to the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism Act. “The Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism Amendment Bill, which was introduced today, is the second Bill – the other being the Statutes Amendment Bill - that ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed further progress on the Hawke’s Bay Expressway Road of National Significance (RoNS), with the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) Board approving funding for the detailed design of Stage 1, paving the way for main works construction to begin in late 2025.“The Government is moving at ...
The Government today released a request for information (RFI) to seeking interest in partnerships to plant trees on Crown-owned land with low farming and conservation value (excluding National Parks) Forestry Minister Todd McClay announced. “Planting trees on Crown-owned land will drive economic growth by creating more forestry jobs in our regions, providing more wood ...
Court timeliness, access to justice, and improving the quality of existing regulation are the focus of a series of law changes introduced to Parliament today by Associate Minister of Justice Nicole McKee. The three Bills in the Regulatory Systems (Justice) Amendment Bill package each improve a different part of the ...
A total of 41 appointments and reappointments have been made to the 12 community trusts around New Zealand that serve their regions, Associate Finance Minister Shane Jones says. “These trusts, and the communities they serve from the Far North to the deep south, will benefit from the rich experience, knowledge, ...
The Government has confirmed how it will provide redress to survivors who were tortured at the Lake Alice Psychiatric Hospital Child and Adolescent Unit (the Lake Alice Unit). “The Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care found that many of the 362 children who went through the Lake Alice Unit between 1972 and ...
It has been a busy, productive year in the House as the coalition Government works hard to get New Zealand back on track, Leader of the House Chris Bishop says. “This Government promised to rebuild the economy, restore law and order and reduce the cost of living. Our record this ...
“Accelerated silicosis is an emerging occupational disease caused by unsafe work such as engineered stone benchtops. I am running a standalone consultation on engineered stone to understand what the industry is currently doing to manage the risks, and whether further regulatory intervention is needed,” says Workplace Relations and Safety Minister ...
Mehemea he pai mō te tangata, mahia – if it’s good for the people, get on with it. Enhanced reporting on the public sector’s delivery of Treaty settlement commitments will help improve outcomes for Māori and all New Zealanders, Māori Crown Relations Minister Tama Potaka says. Compiled together for the ...
Mr Roger Holmes Miller and Ms Tarita Hutchinson have been appointed to the Charities Registration Board, Community and Voluntary Sector Minister Louise Upston says. “I would like to welcome the new members joining the Charities Registration Board. “The appointment of Ms Hutchinson and Mr Miller will strengthen the Board’s capacity ...
More building consent and code compliance applications are being processed within the statutory timeframe since the Government required councils to submit quarterly data, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “In the midst of a housing shortage we need to look at every step of the build process for efficiencies ...
Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey is proud to announce the first three recipients of the Government’s $10 million Mental Health and Addiction Community Sector Innovation Fund which will enable more Kiwis faster access to mental health and addiction support. “This fund is part of the Government’s commitment to investing in ...
New Zealand is providing Vanuatu assistance following yesterday's devastating earthquake, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. "Vanuatu is a member of our Pacific family and we are supporting it in this time of acute need," Mr Peters says. "Our thoughts are with the people of Vanuatu, and we will be ...
The Government welcomes the Commerce Commission’s plan to reduce card fees for Kiwis by an estimated $260 million a year, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly says.“The Government is relentlessly focused on reducing the cost of living, so Kiwis can keep more of their hard-earned income and live a ...
Regulation Minister David Seymour has welcomed the Early Childhood Education (ECE) regulatory review report, the first major report from the Ministry for Regulation. The report makes 15 recommendations to modernise and simplify regulations across ECE so services can get on with what they do best – providing safe, high-quality care ...
The Government‘s Offshore Renewable Energy Bill to create a new regulatory regime that will enable firms to construct offshore wind generation has passed its first reading in Parliament, Energy Minister Simeon Brown says.“New Zealand currently does not have a regulatory regime for offshore renewable energy as the previous government failed ...
Summer reissue: Joy Cowley reveals her enthralling life story, from a difficult childhood, to getting drunk with Roald Dahl, to encountering an Arctic polar bear. The Spinoff needs to double the number of paying members we have to continue telling these kinds of stories. Please read our open letter and ...
Summer reissue: Alex Casey chats to Nadia Lim and Carlos Bagrie about the challenges of life on a 1,200-acre farm in Central Otago, and why they continue to share it with the nation in Nadia’s Farm. The Spinoff needs to double the number of paying members we have to continue ...
Summer reissue: Dominion Road has made a name for itself as a destination for authentic, regionally-specific Chinese food. How did it get here?The Spinoff needs to double the number of paying members we have to continue telling these kinds of stories. Please read our open letter and sign ...
Loading…(function(i,s,o,g,r,a,m){var ql=document.querySelectorAll('A[data-quiz],DIV[data-quiz]'); if(ql){if(ql.length){for(var k=0;k<ql.length;k++){ql[k].id='quiz-embed-'+k;ql[k].href="javascript:var i=document.getElementById('quiz-embed-"+k+"');try{qz.startQuiz(i)}catch(e){i.start=1;i.style.cursor='wait';i.style.opacity='0.5'};void(0);"}}};i['QP']=r;i[r]=i[r]||function(){(i[r].q=i[r].q||[]).push(arguments)},i[r].l=1*new Date();a=s.createElement(o),m=s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];a.async=1;a.src=g;m.parentNode.insertBefore(a,m)})(window,document,'script','https://take.quiz-maker.com/3012/CDN/quiz-embed-v1.js','qp');Got a good quiz question?Send Newsroom your questions.The post Newsroom daily quiz, Tuesday 24 December appeared first on Newsroom. ...
By Emma Andrews, Henare te Ua Māori journalism intern at RNZ News From being the headline to creating them, Moana Maniapoto has walked a rather rocky road of swinging between both sides of the media. Known for her award-winning current affairs show Te Ao with Moana on Whakaata Māori, and ...
Kick Back has growing concerns about the impact that denying young people access to shelter is having on the mental health and physical safety of the young people we serve. ...
By Litia Cava, FBC News multimedia journalist Fiji Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka has revealed how arms and ammunition used to conduct the 1987 military coup were secretly brought into Fiji on board a naval survey ship. Speaking at the commissioning of a new research vessel for the Lands and Mineral ...
Youth advocates are worried tighter rules for emergency housing could lead to someone dying due to the impacts on mental health and physical safety for those denied shelter. ...
“We urge the Health Select Committee to extend the date for submissions,” concluded Rev Bush. “There is too much at stake to leave the outcome of this review only in the hands of politicians or those with vested interests.” ...
A separate passport, citizenship and membership of the United Nations are only available to fully independent nations, Winston Peters' office says. ...
By Emma Andrews, Henare te Ua Māori Journalism Intern at RNZ News The New Zealand fuel company Z Energy is swapping out street names for “correct” kupu on service stops around the country, with the help of local hapū. When Z took over 226 fuel sites from Shell in 2010, ...
Summer reissue: Was it a false measurement, a full-blown conspiracy or just some mild incompetence? Mad Chapman uncovers the truth of Maddi Wesche’s final throw. The Spinoff needs to double the number of paying members we have to continue telling these kinds of stories. Please read our open letter and ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Julie Old, Associate Professor, Biology, Zoology, Animal Science, Western Sydney University Dmitry Chulov, Shutterstock At this time of year, images of reindeer are everywhere. I’ve had a soft spot for reindeer ever since I was a little girl. Doesn’t everyone? ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Grozdana Manalo, Career Services Manager (Education), University of Sydney hedgehog94/Shutterstock Getting casual work over summer, or a part-time job that you might continue once your tertiary course starts, can be a great way to get workplace experience and earn some extra ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ty Ferguson, Research associate in exercise, nutrition and activity, University of South Australia Peera_Stockfoto/Shutterstock It’s never been easier to stay connected to work. Even when we’re on leave, our phones and laptops keep us tethered. Many of us promise ourselves we ...
The NZ Media Council upheld the complaint under principle four: comment and fact On 5 September 2024, The Spinoff published a brief article titled Made in Palestine, found in 1970s Hastings, which highlighted an upcoming art exhibition featuring photographs of vintage cosmetic products labelled “Made in Palestine.” The piece, described ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kasey Symons, Lecturer of Communication, Sports Media, Deakin University We are well and truly in cricket season. The Australian men’s cricket team is taking centre stage against India in the Border Gavaskar Trophy series while the Big Bash League is underway, as ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andrew Woods, Lecturer, Nursing, Faculty of Health, Southern Cross University FTiare/Shutterstock Summer is here and for many that means going to the beach. You grab your swimmers, beach towel and sunscreen then maybe check the weather forecast. Did you think to ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Saman Khalesi, Senior Lecturer and Discipline Lead in Nutrition, School of Health, Medical and Applied Sciences, CQUniversity Australia Dean Clarke/Shutterstock The holiday season can be a time of joy, celebration, and indulgence in delicious foods and meals. However, for many, it ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ari Mattes, Lecturer in Communications and Media, University of Notre Dame Australia Late Night With The Devil. Maslow Entertainment Marketing is critical to the success of commercial films, and companies will often spend half as much again on top of the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Francisco Jose Testa, Lecturer in Earth Sciences (Mineralogy, Petrology & Geochemistry), University of Tasmania The Conversation As a kid, it was tough for me to grasp the massive time scale of Earth’s history. Now, with nearly two decades of experience as ...
Te Pāti Māori has had to adopt a new way of debating, operating and even thinking in Parliament in response to the Government’s “onslaught” against te ao Māori, co-leader Debbie Ngarewa-Packer says.In an end-of-year interview with Newsroom, the Te Tai Hauauru MP reflected on how 2024 has differed from her ...
Opinion: The latest Trends in International Mathematics and Science report was announced earlier this month, yet it didn’t get the flurry of media attention and political hand-wringing that typically accompanies these announcements. This might be because it presented good news, or you could argue, no news; the results paint a ...
NewsroomBy Dr Lisa Darragh, Dr Raewyn Eden and Dr David Pomeroy
At long last, The Spinoff shells out for a nut ranking. The Spinoff needs to double the number of paying members we have to continue telling these kinds of stories. Please read our open letter and sign up to be a member today.It recently came to The Spinoff’s attention ...
I was one of hundreds of people who lost my government job this week. Here’s exactly how it played out. The Spinoff needs to double the number of paying members we have to continue telling these kinds of stories. Please read our open letter and sign up to be a ...
Summer reissue: One anxiously attentive passenger pays attention to an in-flight safety video, and wonders ‘Why can’t I pick up my own phone?’ The Spinoff needs to double the number of paying members we have to continue telling these kinds of stories. Please read our open letter and sign up ...
Summer reissue: Why do those Lange-Douglas years cast such a long shadow 40 years on? The Spinoff needs to double the number of paying members we have to continue telling these kinds of stories. Please read our open letter and sign up to be a member today. First published June ...
The Government’s social housing agency has backed out of a billion-dollar infrastructure alliance that would have built about 6000 new homes in Auckland – less than 18 months after signing a five-year extension.Labour says the decision to rip up the contract and sell off existing state houses could lead to ...
An unrelenting faith in “swift transition” has driven Tauranga Whai to their first Tauihi Basketball Aotearoa championship. At a boisterous Queen Elizabeth Youth Centre, the visiting Tokomanawa Queens were blown away 90-71 in the final.Whai led by 20 points at halftime as their urgent movement and unflinching faith in three-point shooting from anywhere ...
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ByKoroi Hawkins, RNZ Pacific editor New Zealand’s Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) says impending bad weather for Port Vila is now the most significant post-quake hazard. A tropical low in the Coral Sea is expected to move into Vanuatu waters, bringing heavy rainfall. Authorities have issued warnings to people ...
Cosmic CatastropheThe year draws to a close.King Luxon has grown tired of the long eveningsListening to the dreary squabbling of his Triumvirate.He strolls up to the top floor of the PalaceTo consult with his Astronomer Royal.The Royal Telescope scans the skies,And King Luxon stares up into the heavensFrom the terrestrial ...
Spinoff editor Mad Chapman and books editor Claire Mabey debate Carl Shuker’s new novel about… an editor. Claire: Hello Mad, you just finished The Royal Free – overall impressions? Mad: Hi Claire, I literally just put the book down and I would have to say my immediate impression is ...
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TAX WORKING Group.
John Minto over on The Daily Blog has a post on the tax working group and a place to make submissions.
https://thedailyblog.co.nz/2018/04/24/breaking-the-billionaires-grip-on-our-economy-and-our-lives/
Or, in case you don’t want to read Minto, go straight to the submission page, below.
The site poses 5 very interesting questions, with room for comments.
The deadline is 30th April.
https://taxworkinggroup.govt.nz/have-your-say-future-tax
Until I started writing in the comments spaces, I never realised how very ‘left’ I am! It made me think of what the tax system could achieve, in terms of making this country more egalitarian. The more submissions the better. RWNJs need not link, of course!
It is not only the Zionists who kill Palestinians
The Assad regime has bombed the Yarmouk Palestinian refugee camp in South Damascus killing a family of three.
https://www.thenational.ae/world/mena/assad-regime-strikes-kill-family-of-three-in-syria-s-yarmouk-1.723689
Jenny, what can the labour movement in NZ do about this?
I would have thought the differences between the two situations were so obvious that no one would try to make a connection but no… a bit disturbing that you can even use those tragic deaths in Gaza in such a way. You can’t really be equating Assad with the IDF wrt Palestinians can you??
Is Shane Jones temperamentally unsuitable to be a Minister? https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/103382755/nz-firsts-shane-jones-wants-ministers-to-have-more-power-over-public-sector
Most people think that ministers can tell the public service what to do anyway ?
Jones has never been suitable IMO and makes no efforts to hide his lazy contemptuous attitude towards those he’s meant to serve.
It’s almost as if he’s deliberately trying to create mischief….
I think we have here a classic example of where it just might be appropriate for the messenger to be (metaphorically) shot rather than the message.😉
Do I expect our democratically elected representatives to control the public service which has control over the expenditure of dollars collected by order of government?
Your damn tooting I do!
Do I think Mr Jones should be the one to guide the Public Service towards a brighter and more ‘progressive’ future?
No. No. No.
He has little to no regard of the environmental impacts of development…I am seriously impressed there has (so far) been no public bloodletting twixt him and the Greens.
He’s too lazy to be a reliable dictator.
While most of the lefties would want a neutral public service, a more reptilian approach to the political game would be stacking appointments and positions with ‘right thinking’, like minded people.
He just doesn’t understand why he hasn’t been given his crown yet.
Day three of my no more Herald boycott.
Very pleasant.
People who give up smoking or another bad habit don’t call it a boycott 😉
Well done, but excuse me if I don’t join in your boycott. I am already very selective on whose articles I read in the Herald but I am not about to give up on reading ones by David Fisher, Matt Nippert or Kirsty Johnston – at least not until they are put behind a paywall.
On the issue of Deborah Hill Cone and Clarke Gayford, I mentioned in the other threads on these two, that Gayford also now writes regularly in the Travel section of the Herald and could not figure why the editors would allow one Herald writer to diss another one.
On checking, Hill Cone appears to be a “Herald” writer, while Gayford actually writes for The Herald on Sunday. The Herald and the HOS are not totally joined at the hip with The Herald Editor being Murray Kirkness, while Miriyana Alexander is the Editor of both The Herald on Sunday and the Weekend Herald.
So, a little bit of internal NZME rivalry perhaps, but hey still good for clicks?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_New_Zealand_Herald
Mine too sanctuary. Not missing the Herald one bit
Housing – the usual
https://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/355962/our-homeless-community-is-going-to-be-bigger-than-ever
Mike Hoskins now advising Clarke Gayford with an “e” not to be so reactionary to DHC’s article about him, will these guys ever give up.
No wonder he spent 3 years in Form 5 at Linwood High School.
Journalism/Columnists in NZ are almost childlike these days ?
Pleeeese. We are all enjoying our blackout on NZME
Don’t click.
Boycott the Herald.
Unfortunately when Granny decided to save money by trying to avoid paying journalists anymore they forgot what the main point of their existence. Yep you can just fill the pages with articles other people wrote because often they are written with an agenda, you can’t just fill pages with advertorials because then people stop trusting that you are giving them independent advice and you can’t just fill up the paper with click bait because sooner or later you become a laughing stock.
Journalism doesn’t exist in the MSM in it’s purset form anymore, it’s repeaters, copy/paste jockeys and stick to the agreed themes/messages despite the facts.
I pulled up one of their so called journo’s for copy/pasting a Spark release that was pure BS just to see what would happen.
Their reaction was the same you get from a child that’s been caught red handed in the act or the DP playbook as they’re pretty similar. Deny, Diffuse, derail than refuse to engage when that fails.
A reminder of what Gallipoli was about:
https://rdln.wordpress.com/2012/04/24/gallipoli-invasion-a-dirty-and-bloody-business/
Is standing in Northcote a good decision by the Green party executive?
I think it could backfire really badly. This isn’t the Mount Albert electorate, which was a foregone conclusion. The vote could be really close.
I get that it’s a great opportunity to raise our profile, but how would it look if Labour lost by less than the vote Green gets? How will it look if we get a very small proportion of the vote because people will vote tactically?
https://www.radionz.co.nz/news/political/355915/green-party-to-put-foward-candidate-in-northcote-by-election
is a perfectly rational decision and opportunity ….is a reasonably safe National seat, the result will not impact ability to govern, the Greens can test support levels and Govs seldom win by-elections…its no big deal and the clutching of pearls is mind numbingly stupid.
That is what they said about Northland. Clearly Labour and Greens need to work out fairer deals… on how they can work together, without splitting the votes and letting Natz back in!
and how pray tell can this by-election “let the Nats back in”?……answer is it cant…but it can certainly be milked as an opportunity to claim and foster disunity in a coalition…..keep giving those pearls a workout.
I mean if they can’t work out how to work together not to split the votes, then longer term it will let the Natz in. Same with NZ First.
and what makes you think the Greens running a candidate in this by election (or NZ First ) somehow indicates a lack of ability to ‘work together’?….or do you expect both NZ First and the Greens to never run a candidate in an electorate seat ever …would seem a somewhat strange idea of working “together”.
Last election Auckland central Labour/Green candidates got 15,787 votes beating 13,198 Nicky Kaye. In Nelson Labour/Green got 22,198 votes beating 16735 for Nick Smith.
Clearly those electorates would have preferred either a Labour or Green person but instead their votes were split so they got Natz.
Many voters don’t want a Natz MP, but it’s hard to work out who to vote for as an electorate vote if you like both Labour or Green.
They need to make it easier for people to know who to vote for for the electorate vote.
Maybe they tell people to vote an electorate vote Labour and a Green Party vote, but they could at least have some strategy to prevent what’s happening, with Natz electorate people getting through when most people want Green or Labour.
couple of points…..this aint a general election and it aint that close….and you may think that telling voters what to do is a good idea but id suggest most will resent being told what to do and show you what they think of so being ‘told’
” … most will resent being told what to do and show you what they think of so being ‘told’ ”
With Epsomites being the notable counterexample.
Notable as a dissimilar example…ACT won the seat originally and the gerrymandering was largely unspoken and is now historical…the same may be said of Ohariu…..would be presumptuous in the extreme to expect the same response from Northcote.
Pro-dirty deals, anti-migrants, crazy conspiracy theories about your self nominated opponents.
You aren’t orange with a blonde wig by any chance?
Tuppence do you actually have something to say, because most of your comments just seem to be weirdo rebuttals saying stuff through your own opinion on what someone said, which they are not even saying.
How about you post something you actually believe in rather than just trolling other’s comments. I know original thought is difficult for right wingers, but at least other right winger’s like James actually have an opinion to offer not just straight trolling.
Tend to agree Pat.
What’s gained if Halbert narrowly wins the by-election because the Greens pulled out, and then almost certainly loses it again at the 2020 General when the Greens absolutely have to stand to promote their brand?
You can be sure that the media would find anti-Labour messages to frame both events – the first would be winning via a ‘dirty-deal’, and the second would be a ‘blow’ and indicate ‘loss of support’.
Time to be ambitious here – Halbert should aim to win it even with the Greens standing.
“The vote could be really close.”
What have you read that supports that claim?
The results of the Northland by-election.
NZF need to stand a candidate as they appeal to the right wing voters this could help barstardize the National Party votes ?
New book of Exodus.
Go unto the wilderness as your gym fees and lattes are cheaper
http://thehill.com/opinion/finance/384536-the-great-exodus-out-of-americas-blue-cities
Reforming the band for its new middle east tour.
https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2018/04/iran-nuclear-deal-bolton-trump-regime-change/558785/
Cars are ruining our cities
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/25/opinion/cars-ruining-cities.html?action=click&pgtype=Homepage&clickSource=story-heading&module=opinion-c-col-left-region®ion=opinion-c-col-left-region&WT.nav=opinion-c-col-left-region
heh
https://twitter.com/BettyBowers/status/988815112097021952
Testing
[It is working but your comments have to be approved – MS]
Ah, Democrats. They’re so much better than & different to the Republicans. The kind of people we, the Commonwealth left can relate t….
God that is appalling. The police were actually very reasonable!
How to lose a job in ten minutes lol.
Talk about privilege in action, too. I’ve seen cops literally say “fuck it, you’re under arrest for disorderly” in half that time. Let alone US cops.
Although that “have a nice weekend” towards the end was just blatantly begging her to do something that crosses the white-person threshold for arrest 🙂
Black person threshold.
https://twitter.com/kelseybew_/status/989132611854524417
Unrolled.
https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/989132611854524417.html
Not buying anything in Starbucks.
Driving a car.
Playing in a park.
And other similarly serious offences.
Yes I thought of that too, but then thought, support reasonable action by polite police. At the end of the day they have a lot to deal with and the idea should be to keep the reasonable ones, remove the other (racists) out and not put all police into one box.
Yeah, but that’s actually how cops and most authority figures should be – remain courteous, let the jerk seal their own fate. I’ve done it myself lesser roles. It can be fun, if you have the right chillaxed mindset. It becomes a game of chess that the other person doesn’t know they’re playing – like that bit at 6:20 where basically she talked herself into offering to do what they’d told her to do all along lol.
But the only reason they could do that was because they didn’t have a surge of adrenaline.
A lot of that could well be to do with who they pulled over and who turned up to give them a lift home.
My main thought on privilege though is that she assumed she could talk to the cops that way without immediate repercussion. And she was right. They had multiple opportunities to arrest her if they’d wanted to, but they chose to just make damned sure the camera documented everything.
I feel sorry for the daughter – the mother will probably blame her for losing the job, if the behaviour is anything to go by.
You don’t think saying to a cop “you may shut the fuck up” wasn’t pole vaulting right on over the line?
True it barely registered on me.
At the beginning of her intervention it would have been (well, they might have warned her for one), but by the stage she used it she was clearly going to fuckoffskie soon, and if they’d arrested her for that they would have had to listen to her for the entire trip back to the station lol
wtf was that?!
Coke on privilege, or privilege on coke?
First impressions of the ten-year funded transport plan for the Auckland region: https://www.greaterauckland.org.nz/2018/04/26/atap-2-0-first-details-look-great/
Ah, a dedicated post: https://thestandard.org.nz/the-big-auckland-transport-announcement/
Dr Philth is now pretending to support the victims of a sniper
Thursday 26 April 2018
Just watched a bit of today’s Dr Philth on three. This episode is grandly captioned: “Stories of horror and hope from Las Vegas. Dr Phil speaks to brave survivors of the nation’s deadliest mass shooting in modern American history.”
In the few seconds I could bear to watch, I saw Dr Philth, with that pooch face, empathising at full volume with some victims.
This is very odd behaviour for Dr Philth, who not that long ago was fulsome in his praise of a far more lethal sniper than the Las Vegas one….
https://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-19082015/#comment-1060544
https://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-17112015/#comment-1096957
Interesting article from newsroom about Robertsons budget affirming a neolib government, a far cry from Winstons denunciation of neoliberlism and Arderns criticisms of it.
https://www.newsroom.co.nz/2018/04/25/106148/government-living-by-someone-elses-rules
But we have a hard core neo liberal public service. These corporate bureaucrats have been controlling how our tax dollars are spent for nearly three decades.
Bomber had a good piece over at TDB. I largely agree with him… other than siccing Uncle Shane onto them.
When I become dictator I’ll start with a massive purge of Misery of Health bureaucrats…then possibly retire.😉
I hear you! But we dont need another Cullen.
You’ve already got the original one. Look who is head of the tax working group. And is a Director on the Auckland Transport Board.
You certainly don’t want another of his ilk I should hope.
Well he was the man national couldn’t criticise for nearly 9 years cos they agreed with how he was running the economy.
Could be worse, could be Shipley, but then the Transport Board would have to go into receivership
Now Belgium declares loot boxes gambling and therefore illegal
Which is good. We don’t need to have kids addicted to gambling from playing games.
Now all we need is for the NZ government to do the same.
” Guy also says commercial considerations played no part in the decision, which he said was based on “science and risk mitigation”. But that’s contradicted on multiple occasions by MPI emails. In May 2015, MPI’s Richard Fraser, a senior analyst in the aquaculture unit, wrote to aquaculture industry figures: “MPI must consider, assess and manager the legal, trade, reputational and biosecurity risks at all stages of this response.” A month earlier, Fraser said the response “aims to minimise negative impacts to the aquaculture industry, wild fisheries, the environment, socio-cultural values and trade”. The same email trumpeted “No trade implications have been raised by our trading partners” – his emphasis. ”
https://www.newsroom.co.nz/2018/04/25/106218/culture-of-silence-or-a-cover-up
Well, that answers a few questions I had at the time.It was obvious there was something seriously fishy going on with us supposed to swallow the line that Sanford vessels traveling between Marlborough and Stewart Island were not considered to be a possible mode of transfer of the disease.
And then, then, the Cawthron Institute getting the lion’s share of the funding pot.
Shakes head and sighs..
Thanks Tracey, I would have missed that had you not posted.
Good on Newsroom for the investigation albeit a delving some years too late. Seems the press seem happier to question national Government’s AFTER they are voted out
JUST listened to jamie lee ross whine on on Radio New Zealand claiming that the governments roading policy is a rehash of Nationals programme.
That maybe so but it is not news and why is RadioNewZealand doing this.
I think clair curran has a big job on her plate making this news organisation pull its bloody socks up.
Well, if it is just a rehash he has a point, so it’s fair comment.
If not, then RNZ should be factchecking what he says. That’s the problem with media at the moment – very few pollys get fact-checked by reporters, and them that do are almost always lefties (or tory politicians the DP crowd hate)
it might be fair comment but it isn’t news.
If he is right then a few Nat voters are being made to look stupid criticising it
That’s probably what’s got jamie lee ross’s nickers in a bunch, he can’t criticise it…
it doesn’t take much with Jl-R. A little tummy rumble is apt to set him crying for mummy
I’ve been watching the current Australian enquiry into banks and finance companies, what a bunch of scoundrels!
Since the same banks also own and run our banks one has to guess that there’s a good chance that they are just as corrupt – is it time for a similar enquiry here?
I would think so unless John Key was brought in to clean it up 😉
Or perhaps the Commerce Commission.
Supposedly they ” take individual responsibility to deliver what we say we will.”
Our banks….. Not mine! Perhaps Shift to a NZ Bank. Taranaki Savings, or Kiwi …
might well be all our banks, thing is we don’t know
Or Cooperative bank nz
What is your experience with Coop Bank?
Check the second bullet point in the image.
No wonder they’re all as mad as hatters.
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Dbqq_t2VAAAPf3L.jpg
https://twitter.com/bobcesca_go/status/989291402419941376
I’m surprised at how little mention has been made of the fact he was appointed White House physician in 2013. The usual suspects are starting to mumble about Obama, but I would have expected a full-on blamestorm by now.
We’re dragging our knuckles in NZ again. We have more than once been the last western country to trade or use something. Scoop is bringing us up to date as to the latest way that some of our leading farmers have rorted good business standards.
Now we are buying ‘blood’ fertiliser from Western Sahara.
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO1804/S00260/nz-farmers-last-remaining-importers-of-conflict-mineral.htm
Western Sahara Resource Watch (WSRW) today published its fifth annual overview of companies involved in the purchase and transport of phosphate rock exploited illegally by Morocco in the territory it holds under military occupation: Western Sahara.
The report details all shipments of Western Sahara’s white gold to importers worldwide for the calendar year 2017. New Zealand based farmers’ cooperatives Ballance Agri-Nutrients and Ravensdown have together imported an estimated 333,000 tonnes of the contentious rock, to the tune of about US $ 30 million….
The European Union has recently taken measures to limit the cadmium-rate in phosphate-based fertilizers. By 2030, phosphate rock from Morocco (and Western Sahara) will no longer be allowed in the EU single market, as the cadmium level of phosphate rock in North Africa in general is much higher than the allowed ratio.
WSRW has contacted both Ballance and Ravensdown regarding their continued imports, but the firms did not respond.
Keywords:
Illegal
$millions
NZ farmers co-operatives (so farmers theoretically should have a say in this.)
Cadmium
No response from NZ firms to enquiries.
It’s awkward though. Is Fiji under a military occupation, or a fait accompli government? I think we should be able to trade with Russia, so where do we draw the line. The resources of the country of Western Sahara are being sold from under their feet. The copper from Western Papua also I think. How does that compare with Judith Collins et al exporting ancient, irreplacable fossilised? kauri trees under a deliberately managed system that narrowly evades being illegal? Is this what happens in a free market? People try to hold onto a rule of law they understand – they have it in their hand, look away, and it’s slipped right through their fingers.
Paul Craig Roberts presents an interesting perspective here.
https://www.paulcraigroberts.org/2018/04/24/where-is-the-shame/
Paul Craig Roberts, apologist for the confederate south, slavery, racism, the KKK, white supremacy, racial segregation, and more.
War of Northern Aggression
[…]
Slavery had nothing whatsoever to do with the war.
[…]
Thus, Lincoln’s vain attempt to provoke a slave rebellion in the South. Why didn’t such allegedly horribly treated and oppressed slaves revolt when there was no one to prevent it but women and children?
[…]
It is not only the ruling elite that has a vested interest in the false history of “white racism,” but also the universities and history departments in which the false history is institutionalized and the foundations that have financed black history, women’s studies, and transgender dialogues.
[…]
The Klu Klux Klan arose as a guerrilla force to stop the predation
[…]
Blacks, who were unprepared for the task, were put in control of governments so that carpetbaggers could loot and steal. Whites lost the franchise and protection of law as their property was stolen.
[…]
In the South, and most certainly in Atlanta, where I grew up, schools were neighborhood schools. We were segregated by economic class. I went to school with middle class kids from my middle class neighborhood. I did not go to school with rich kids or with poor kids. This segregation was not racial.
https://www.paulcraigroberts.org/2018/04/18/conversation-race-paul-craig-roberts/
It is interesting that a member of Reagan’s government is so critical of the right wing now, though.
I agree that those views on the US Civil War that you have highlighted are wrong.
More excellent writing by Craig Murray.
“Macron is frequently described as a French Tony Blair, but to me he seems more a French Margaret Thatcher, seeking to use a jingoistic military policy to distract from very unpopular neo-liberal destruction of worker protections at home. It is hard to believe his peculiar love-in with Trump is going down well in France. The danger is that he will feel obliged to commit to more military adventurism to live up to the hype. I know that those close to Merkel look on all this posing with dour disapproval.”
https://www.craigmurray.org.uk/archives/2018/04/the-noisy-frenchman/
An finally tonight, the peerless John Pilger explains why the BBC is one of world’s most refined propaganda services.
Thanks Ed, three great links for me to look at tomorrow.
Thanks Ed. I still remember Pilger tearing the bewildered Kim Hill a new one back in 2003….
https://www.nzonscreen.com/title/face-to-face-with-kim-hill-john-pilger-2003
The msm never use him now.
They prefer to listen to propagandists like Mark Regev.
Ed
As compared to you listening to propagandists unquestioningly until Joe90 pointed it out.
Is Robert Fisk a propagandist?
Patrick Cockburn?
Jon Pilger?
A little off topic but most staff at my work didn’t get paid Wednesday (usual pay day)… Most got paid today, though some of us with a Credit Union or basically not one of the big banks, will get paid tomorrow…
I enquired about it and was told ‘Not my fault the banks screwed up…. which left me scratching my head as ANZAC day is hardly something that sneaks up on you
I thought that all the payments were fed into machines that did the transferring of credits. It is not as if there has to be someone counting the notes and coins, putting them in little brown envelopes with the employees’ names on. That is how it used to be.
How come the machines weren’t programmed? As you say Anzac Day hasn’t just sneaked up on us suddenly.
The payments are all calculated by 9am Monday morning and passed on to the bank for processing, wouldnt have hard to have it put through for Tuesday (like most other Holidays that would affect pay)
The AM Show Climate change is real the people who are deniers are lobbying for oil because they think they can eat and drink their money just like the flat Earth fools. Duncan Many thanks for talking about climate change.
I advocate for the environment and all our creatures so ECO MAORI Says that’s is a special contribution I will be doing much more as soon as I sort out the sandflys. Just finished milking the mokos are in Town it will be a quiet weekend. Ka kite ano
Newshub There you go a creditable witness only credible for the sandflys case cause they call them assets. Assets to help them suppress MAORI these brown assets contracted liers don’t even realise they are helping the sandflys suppress Maori.
I will forgive them because they no not what they are doing.
That’s a good way Fonterra is using social media and new technology tracking food from the table to plate that will ease the consurns of the consumer.
YEA elictric Cars are one of the answers to us Kiwis becoming Carbon neutral we have plenty of scope to generate renewable energy hydro solar wind Jamie Shaw is happy about the changes and so is ECO MAORI Ka pai.
Its good to see daplomicy is working in Korea Ka pai.
Just because it is illegal doesn’t mean the sandflys won’t use DNA on the website or whatever they will use whatever they can to satisfy there EGOS.
Trade training should be compolsery in our prisons get the people working when they get out of prison the old saying working is good for the sole.
Ka kite ano
The Crowd Goes Wild WAI and Makere 2 natives Ka pai.
I hope the first person that you were descusing has good fortunes Kia kaha.
Many thanks to Buttabean for the great work he is doing with the over weight people.
Sports is a great way for tangata to climb up there of life Ka kite ano