What I thought capitalism was just fine Ad, us doomsayers who were saying structurally it was weak as piss were dismissed by you and yours.
It takes almost total collapse, pain and suffering for middle NZ – for any of you to take notice. Well take notice- this is what it like all the time for the weakest in this society.
Capitalism is a failed project. Time to grow up and change the economy.
I'm not aware of any country that has practised free market capitalism. I know plenty that have practised market economics, and as a result we have seen millions lifted out of poverty, and the standard if living for most westerners rise to well above anything ever experienced in history.
You said capitalism. That is in itself a straw man, because in it's pure form no country practices it, least of all NZ. So your comment " Time to grow up and change the economy" is meaningless.
Is it just me, or does Raveen Jaduram, the CEO of Watercare, come across as curiously detached about the current water problems in Auckland, and acting like he is simply observing an incomprehensible slow moving train wreck that is quite beyond his control? His public utterances thus far display no sense or urgency or agency on his part and a sort of fatalistic shoulder shrugging abdication of responsibility.
The guy should be jumping up and down, but instead he just seems to be meandering along as an useless CEO of a monopoly utility…
The architects of the Auckland region's local body restructuring made sure his particular empire was well-insulated, figuring it would be the first on the block. He has no connection with citizens, only with customers of a monopoly.
I think they devised a formula sometime ago for CEO and senior staff both in the private and public sectors. The higher the salary, the more insulated and out of touch and less accountable you are allowed to be.
The reality is droughts we are not adapting to the need to use less water.
Droughts are becoming more common yet everyone is looking to the govts to solve the problem.
Farmers have had to face this problem for nearly 30 years but are largely farming for what was happening 30 years ago.Some farmers have buried 3 to 4 yrs of silage to mitigate climate change,changing feed crops not over stocking.
City dwellers need to change habits as well cars can stay dirty.Houses don't need water blasting, gardens need to be drought resistant.Washing Machines water efficient ,Showers shorter and more efficient.
Blaming everything on watercare is not going to solve the longterm problem.
There does not need to be any long term problem about Auckland water. At present Auckland takes 1% of the Waikato flow. Even if that increased to 5% (which would be twice Auckland’s normal daily usage) it would be literally unnoticeable in terms of the river.
The current problem is entirely due to a lack of forward planning to take account of droughts. Water are has operated on the basis that the pipeline installed 20 years ago would be enough. In the meantime the population has virtually doubled.
So the current problem is due to lack of future proofing using a readily available water source at our back door.
At 150 million litres/day taken by Watercare, that's 1.7 cubic metres per second. Out of an annual mean flow of 330ish cubic metres/second at Tuakau. So about 0.5%.
Current Waikato river mean flows are way above historical averages since the 1980s when the headwaters of rivers that used to flow into the Rangitikei, Whanganui, Whangaehu etc got diverted into the Tongariro power scheme. That increased the mean annual flow of the Waikato by about 29 cubic metres/second.
He's clearly cognisant of the ubiquitous sense of entitlement that has long characterised Auckland citizenry. They've always felt entitled to use sprinklers regardless of droughts. First sign of getting real would be to eliminate car washes. Didn't happen last time the reservoirs were this low.
I recall when the headlines were blaring dire emergency, heading into Les Mills & seeing the showers running continuously even though nobody was using them. The dork was actually then current mayor of Ak, blathering on air about water conservation. Typical rightist Aucklander, I thought. Aucks never change.
You are missing the word "some" in several of your sentences. Including it appropriately would make your comment more accurate… but admittedly less dramatic.
Thank Jenny Shipley for corporatising essential council services.
Before a clerk of water services was paid a decent salary for doing the same job probably the equivalent of $150 ,000 to $200,000 in today's money perfectly adequate for a local govt job.
Corporatization was supposed to make these CCO's more efficient.
Reality is cost's have risen efficiency gains dubious and the service users left high and Dry.
The government needs to step in a fix Aucklands water woes . Sure it's a drought but its government policies that have flooded the city with migrants ,both kiwi and foreign!
Nah the absolute inaction over late summer when it was becoming apparent supplies were dropping fast.
Instead they put the house on a change of season bringing rain, realistically we should be looking to manage fresh water year round so drastic steps are less likely.
The reason for that seems obvious. There's the added expense of an interpreter on any overseas visit = probably more than one when visiting/grovelling the U.S
Looking on the bright side, we've dodged both those bullets. Simon wouldn't know what justice was if it came up & bit him on the arse, and he's never had a clue about foreign affairs either. Todd oughta give him race relations (to keep us entertained).
He did that in QT as well, and slowed down how he said a question (after repeating it), very "mansplain"-ish, he's gonna be fun to watch (in a cringe comedy kinda way).
Mr Todd will very soon receive his Muller knighthood. For he will have done what National and Hooton always does: namely
He will have offered the wealthy National Voters large reductions in tax payments.
Not even glancing over the thing we once called the Middle Class – but building the shameful poverty National has built up for decades, Courtesy of the savage NZ Landlords and the low wage Hounds.
Maybe Grant Robertson and Treasury will develop an equality in New Zealand's Fiscal arrangements.
After all is said and done – the duty of our Parliament is to build a Democracy. A thing Muller and his mates know nothing about. We are Not to build a bunch of weatlthy thieves such as present day Nationals.
Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson told RNZ the new offering was a "very clear" admission that base benefit rates were not enough to live on.
…
The Greens had pushed for all benefits to be increased to the new Covid-19 level, she said, but had so far been unsuccessful in getting that over the line.
…
"Both New Zealand First and Labour need to come to the table on this."
In October 2017, the Green Party co-leader James Shaw signed an agreement with Labour leader Jacinda Ardern, agreeing to support the government on matters of confidence and supply.
In return, Labour made a number of commitments including one to "overhaul the welfare system".
Public grandstanding becomes inevitable when you are ineffective in intra-party negotiations, I suppose. You'd think that the co-leaders would be forthright and honest about that – but no. Typical politicians. Treat the public with contempt and they will do it right back to you. Inept.
Do tell us how the Greens could have been more effective in intra-party negotiations. I'd really like to know how you see that. Because I can't see how the Greens can negotiate better on welfare if Labour and NZF are against what they want. Please explain how they can.
Okay, let's assume Labour & NZF were indeed opposed to the Greens position: I would immediately flush out why. Not just have all the cards on the table, but for the voters to see them. I cannot accept that it is in our national interest to indulge the cover-up.
Then the onus would instantly be on Labour to justify their opposition. That has to be done in reference to the memo of understanding or whatever deal the Greens made after the 2017 election that got them into the troika situation.
We would then have a media frenzy examining the pros & cons of the Labour justification: it would hold up – or not. It could expose a cleavage within Labour, right? Neoliberals vs socialists. The latter supporting the Green position.
Using triangulation within the govt only gets the Greens so far. If they come out of a negotiation as losers they must use the public as third party in the triangle. Grandstanding doesn't achieve that – it merely comes across to the public as losers whimpering. Greens using the triangle as leverage to produce suitable outcomes is the missing bit. Jacinda will always compromise for the greater good. That's the desired outcome. They just need to engineer it!
The flaw in the above reasoning is whether the public mood will support the Greens. I have no rational basis for optimism on that point – just a hunch that the kiwi preference for a fair go for all will guide them to see that the Greens have got the issue right. I'm confident that suitable framing of the issue by the Greens will achieve that result. I suspect that whatever framing they used in the negotiation is root of the current problem…
I was sure I had explained that carefully! I see no evidence they have explained their negotiation failure. Nor that they are attempting to include the public in their process (participatory democracy). Just doing back-room deals (that fail) in non-smoke-filled rooms is merely traditional politics without the smoke. You can't cause a political paradigm shift by being so old-fashioned. Inclusion is the zeitgeist. That they don't get such a simple principle is depressing.
Add to that process failure the key principle; to win public support you must explain your political positioning on issues. What we got was her lobbying for beneficiaries plus her reminder of Labour's commitment. No explanation offered for the negotiation failure. Reluctance to inform the public of that sends the wrong signal. Not only would beneficiaries like to know who to blame, I bet media pros would too. She would rather National grabs the headlines? Any publicity is good became a political truism long ago. Did nobody tell her?
"to win public support you must explain your political positioning on issues."
MD just did that. She explained their political positioning on welfare, in response to Labour's.
If I have understood you correctly, your main point here is that the process of policy development isn't transparent? I would agree with that. I'm not sure to what extent the Greens can do something about that, although I agree that they should be saying something. There will be some expectation of confidentiality. Breaking that will harm relationships, so there is a balance between going against Labour and NZF and being able to work with them (eg in negotiations). I mean, what is she supposed to say? Hey NZ, Labour wouldn't have such a stupid policy if it weren't for NZF, who actively blocked our suggestions on how to so this payment in a way that was better for all NZers.
One thing that is clear is that lots of people, including those that comment on politics publicly, don't understand how parliament works. Or government. Or the Greens. I wonder if it would help if the Greens just started pointing this stuff out more generally.
People slam the Greens for not using leverage, but the Green kaupapa is relationship based, they don't do macho politics. I like the idea of bringing the public into the process, just not sure how that would work. I would probably agree with your strategy more if I was more confident in how NZers would respond. I'm not, and the evidence for that is the people voting Labour instead of Green who used to vote Green. They stopped voting Green after Turei's speech and with the rise of Ardern. They haven't gone back. Maybe they just don't care that much about welfare, or maybe they think that Labour is getting the settings right, despite three years of it being explained how they're not.
If I have understood you correctly, your main point here is that the process of policy development isn't transparent?
No. Internal party policy process isn't the problem. Political positioning is something that caucus decides, to maximise impact on voters. I was explaining why they got it wrong on this particular occasion.
The vital thing is not to appear in public as impotent losers. Nothing is more guaranteed to make voters lose confidence in the Greens than that. The only possible way to prevent the contagion effect of that perception snowballing in the public mind is via suitable framing – that's the x factor missing.
The best frame would be via explanation of the outcome: NZF wouldn't agree, Labour wouldn't agree, both wouldn't agree. They not only failed to specify which reason produced the outcome, they seem not to have grasped the necessity of communicating an explanation to voters. Once again, clueless public relations. Do they not even use all those donations to hire somebody to explain this stuff – or did they hire someone useless??
Imagine you were hired to 'explain this stuff'. Could you provide an example of the way you would 'communicate an explanation to voters' without the 'missing x-factor'?
As quoted here, Marama apparently did communicate an explanation to voters without that essential framing. So the best answer to your query is to read hers. Keeping in mind the technical possibility that she did explain which of those three viable explanations caused the impasse, and that bit didn't get included in the quote.
I did read it and came to a different conclusion to you.
So, seeing as you have diagnosed the issue and determined their PR people are 'useless', I was asking you, in your wisdom, to furnish us with what you think the 'essential framing' should have been.
I wasn't talking about internal policy development, I was talking about the government's policy development, which is influenced by the in-closet negotiations that happen between Lab/NZF and Lab/Greens (don't know if there is a G/NZF thing or a L/NZF/G). It's clear from the rest of my explanation that I was referring back to what we were discussing.
Now you've brought in something new, that the Greens' PR is an issue, because if they oppose Labour on a policy that they didn't get wins on they appear to be losers and people won't like them. Which takes us back to the framing. You seem to be saying that the Greens should take confidential information from negotiation processes and make it public as a way of blaming Labour and NZF for the GP not getting gains. Have I got that right?
Even if this were a wise strategy (I've already pointed out the problem of breaking trust like that), the GP aren't in Cabinet and don't have access to what L/NZF discuss.
I do see value in someone explaining to the public how government works, and how this one in particular works.
As an aside, your argument would be much easier to follow if you could resist sticking the boot into the Greens each time. I can't be bothered trying to parse past that much more. Hmm, maybe there's a communication fail there on your part.
Okay, sorry, I didn't get that. You're right that govt policy formulation is the underlying process in the situation, of course. If confidentiality prevents them explaining that to the public, I would view it as a design flaw – I haven't seen any such clause and am curious if it derives from MMP constitutionally or is something invented by Labour. Do you know?
If Labour really are trying to prevent transparent governance happen, they ought to be held accountable. As regards pointing to mistakes by the Greens, my expectation is that consciousness will be raised about how politics is best done. Learning comes from experience, and when ingrained beliefs prevent that others must catalyse the elucidation necessary. So it's a helping motivation…
There was a report on TV3 news just now – Metiria has come out on the issue, I saw a tweet shown with a naughty word blanked out.
I did check online to see what the text of the Labour/Greens agreement says re confidentiality, and it became clear that they are unable to explain such negotiation failures to the public – so my criticism lacked a realistic basis, really. It is a substantial flaw in our democratic system to use a confidentiality agreement to prevent the public learning which party is discriminating against a significant minority group in the electorate!
A tweet from Turei? Not seeing anything from her two twitter accounts.
Yes, this is what I have been saying. The process is locked up, and the public are excluded, and this isn't the fault of the Greens. I doubt it is on Labour, more convention that has developed during MMP. The coalition partners (L/NZF) are bound by Cabinet rules. I couldn't remember what was in the agreements but the Greens would also be respectful of confidentiality because the relationships still need to be functional.
I would guess that NZF are a big factor, given they campaign in a way that is blind to the electorate.
This is why I'm saying that talking about the set up is important. We really have a poor form of democracy.
I thought that's what I saw but if you want to investigate it was from their political reporter (Jenna Lynch, if I remember that right) and they will probably have it on the Newshub site in print form some time this evening. Seemed contraversial, so I'd be surprised if it never shows…
Yeah, if you do write something, would be good to include the limitation imposed on the free speech of parliamentarians by the system. People do expect politicians to explain conflict between parties to both media and public (not just me being idiosyncratic). Using the agreement clause like a gag order isn't merely just a bad look. It blocks transparency, therefore is unprincipled. That said, they signed it, so must act in accord with it.
The Greens did have 'welfare overhaul' written into its confidence and supply agreement with Labour but other than a couple of minor tweaks not much progress has been made.
They need to do a lot more to convince voters that having the Green Party in Government is actually effecting change.
The writers also conclude it is the Greens fault apparently.
To blame the Greens in this situation is simply trolling-it is all about coalition government under MMP. The Greens would be more effective in these matters if they got 10% in September and NZF 4.9%
You might wise up a little if you read what Pete George cited below, huh? I'm not blaming the Greens, I'm pointing to the lack of leadership exemplified by the mishandling of the negotiation.
Now if it turns out that either Labour or NZF are refusing to honour that agreement, I will happily blame them. But the current info on the situation suggests the Greens have decided not to inform the media & public about that. Presuming you have heard of the principle of transparent governance, do you approve their apparent decision to act in contradiction??
I still think you are both (Weka and Dennis) missing the point that it doesn't matter how well the Greens negotiate, if NZF don't like it then its gets voted down and so doesn't happen.
So all the Greens are doing is getting the best outcome they can get within this straightjacket, and then spinning it as a good outcome because some Green elements have squeezed through. That is politics. It increases their profile and the public's perception of the party as achievers.
To attack them for "public grandstanding" and being "ineffective" is completely unfair, without basis and purposefully inflammatory i.e trolling. They are perfectly entitled to scream to the high heavens how they would really have liked the negotiations to have turned out.
To then point me to Pete George (of all people) to prove your case is simply rubbing salt in the wound, and says it all. (He ignores the reality described above in his post below.)
I say yet again in TS; the only way we will have a government that is in any way genuinely left of centre/progressive is to Party Vote Green. If the Greens don't get 5% we will probably have PM Muller.
All you are really achieving here is exhibiting failure to comprehend the relevance of the clauses Pete George quoted – even though Marama's reference to them was flagged by quote at the top of the thread!
Do you not understand that the agreement between Labour & the Greens operates just like a contract?? And that Marama is endeavouring to alert kiwis to Labour's failure to honour that contract?
That's the guts of the situation. It's how MMP operates!! All them red herrings of yours aren't going to change that fact.
no, I largely agree with you and disagree with Dennis. I just thought the point about the invisibility of how government policy is developed was worth looking at. It's daft to blame the Greens for that.
And yes, the only way we get a left wing govt is to vote Green. My personal view is that slagging off the Greens all the time just makes a L/NZF govt more likely.
Otoh, I'm trying really hard today to not write a post called Fuck You Labour, so I can understand the sentiment of feeling deeply disappointed in a political party.
I vote Green but I have plenty of sympathy for Labour and I organised a public meeting for David Parker in Wanaka for the 2017 election. I wouldn't do this again in September because of the fast track RMA reform he is supporting. The public scrutiny afforded by the RMA is an important check and balance.
I'm also highly dubious about the two-tier unemployment payment policy just announced. This should be extended to all unemployed over the same 12 weeks-this would give a cash boost to the economy and would be fair. I thought Jacinda was into fairness.
10. Overhaul the welfare system, ensure access to entitlements, remove excessive sanctions and review Working For Families so that everyone has a standard of living and income that enables them to live in dignity and participate in their communities, and lifts children and their families out of poverty
And maybe here:
Relationship to other agreements
Both parties to this agreement recognise that Labour will be working with other parties both in terms of coalitions and confidence and supply arrangements. Labour agrees that it will not enter into any other relationship agreement which is inconsistent with this agreement and the Green Party and Labour agree that they will each act in good faith to allow all such agreements to be complied with.
But since then Greens have not got close to negotiating what they wanted despite this formal agreement.
It's too late to complain now, except for campaign purposes.
"Overhaul the welfare system" Putting Wellbeing at the heart of things matters. It drives all future actions, even in a 1 in 100 situation.
Perhaps the budget was going to do that, we will never know. I hear lots of fear and anger coupled with hope for change.
Many of us feel more secure with this Government, and trust their direction more than any we have experienced for a while.
They too are people who will not always "get it right"., But they have shown a capacity to accept and correct errors.
I think it is wrong to label them as part of regimens that have gone before, as they have tried to keep their promises, though often blocked by friends.
Jacinda Ardern is a rare being, and is recognised world wide for her advocacy and communication. We are fortunate to have someone of her calibre. She has kept her Ministers on track with few exceptions, and promoted high standards.
Decisions to be made in the near term will not be easy, but she will show kindness tenacity and skill.
Many aspects of our lives have been improved, and she has shown us the way. Help each other, support those in need, share more and base our lives around keeping our part of the world functioning.
Some will say that is simplistic, but in lock down we discovered we need essential services (and they should be paid for). We need food producers. We need shelter. We need education and good health, but most of all we need each other with all our faults a foibles.
We relearned what wants were, and looked askance at our collected debri. We learned most people want their friends and relatives to be well, and strangers are just folk we have not met yet, so we smile and wave when we see them, put teddies in windows for the children.
We learned that for some this will be more frightening than for others given their health or starting point in life.
The most important thing we learned was we can help others and ourselves. We can innovate create and share ideas thanks to technology. We need to believe we can make a difference, and then we will. IMO
It's absolutely pointless overhauling the welfare system/increasing benefits unless there is a corresponding overhaul of housing and rents. Much more urgent impetus on state housing – driven by the state, not property developers, is needed. This government also wimped out on CGT, so residential property speculation remains as an attractive "investment" option. Much of the benefit increases will just go into landlords' pockets. All the talk about poverty and wellbeing is just that – talk. A rent freeze for a couple of years would be a good place to start in the mean time.
I thought Winston made it fairly plain he blocked that. A coalition has to compromise even when it is painful. They have increased the house building and continue to do so, and have begun training apprentices again. It is not much over 2 and a half years!!. They may get a bigger mandate this time.
The vote buying welfare industry is changing quickly, the new two tier system proves all animals are equal but some are more equal than others, comrade.
[TheStandard: A moderator moved this comment to Open Mike as being off topic or irrelevant in the post it was made in. Be more careful in future.]
Muller’s suggestion of a non-combative election where he talked about ‘’what was right for families, not what was wrong about the Government," is a very different kind of brand to the National Party of old.
All the while his colleagues repeated the word nice over and over again.
…
It's clear the battle for power has had a makeover, if politicians are now competing for who can be the nicest and kindest.
They are two quite simple words, but both will be used heavily to describe Ardern and Muller's brands as they face off in the election in September.
Problem there is that National have two "nice" senior MPs in Kaye and Adams who are both more experienced than Muller, had bigger roles in the previous government, have some crossover appeal to voters and are much better performers in the media.
So, er, why did they pick Muller? Presumably to look like the CEO with balls (sic) who "gets things done".If they really wanted "nice" they had better options.
Kaye and Adams standing dutifully either side of him while he outlined the shuffle yesterday just seemed to highlight the way National Party was overlooking their senior women MPs.
You've got it! It's the kiwi bloke strategy. It's the front row of a rugby scrum look. Muller is the hooker. He's out trying to hook votes. The other two are mere props.
As a hooker would he sell his soul for a vote? Too damned right.
I assume Adams definitely didn't, don't know if there was any discussion about the positions of Muller/Kaye ticket.
But we can be sure Collins and Kaye have future leadership ambitions after they lose (Adams might quit). They want to be leaders in government. Not opposition.
So it really just emphasises that National don't expect to win. Muller takes one for the team, then the real contenders will target 2023.
I suppose it depends on whether they wanted to be leader AND warranted it over Muller.
Just because Ardern is very good as a politician and rightly deserves top spot in Labour, this does not mean every other women MP currently in parliament should automatically deserve to be a leader of a party.
It is like the line of Goff, Shearer, Cunliffe and Little are wiped from peoples memories, just because Ardern is a very good leader now.
I'm just suggesting that on the (limited) evidence so far Muller doesn't come across as the best candidate for the job. If after Bill quit they'd picked Amy Adams (on merit) instead of Bridges they might not have been in this mess.
Maybe it was a too obvious a direct match try to Ardern though.
No idea.
TBF to Bridges, he did keep them in the running through a lot of crap, even if he did have the communication skills of the Swedish Chef in the muppets.
those photos of adams and kaye, standing and looking upwards in awe at their leader, remind me of many of trumps photo ops. what a man! we are in his aura!
Mr Muller has launched a petition aimed at pressuring the Government to overturn an Environment Court decision ordering the Bay of Plenty Regional Council to establish marine reserves on reefs around Motiti Island about 10 km off Tauranga Harbour.
Motiti Rohe Moana Trust advisor Te Atarangi Sayers says hapū have pushed for more than half a century to protect their fisheries.
The court’s decision was a major win for the hapū, and they don’t want to see their efforts to bring life back to the moana stymied by political posturing.
Its looking pretty clear where Todd Muller stands on Maori issues and for that matter the environment. They're at the bottom of his list of priorities – if they’re on the list at all. Plays well to the demographic he's looking to gather into the fold though.
So much for the "nice" Mr Muller who is honest and straightforward and is not interested in attacking opponents.
Yes. Basically, they could no longer avoid not signing up to something and Muller managed to water down James Shaw's bill to such a degree it ended up a very weak imitation of its former self. Muller then agreed to sign it.
That nice Mr Muller last night on Q&A did not come across as nice or competent. An awful interview with nil substance. The panel was more interesting. Lila Harre was very clear whereas the usual confidence of Thomas was subdued.
I was interested to note that the Nats have (had) a number of "Todds" in the line-up, so I wondered if it was short for some other name, but no it's not.
It is its own name, and it has its own meaning.
In English Baby Names the meaning of the name Todd is: Fox. Tod is a Scottish nickname meaning a clever or wily person.
If Mula (or should I say Maga?) tries to play the "kind" and "nice" game against Jacinda he will be playing on a steeply sloping pitch into a gale-force wind.
Will Faafoi grow a pair and do something about the landscape in RNZ now.
Hooton's played the system to line his pockets in a partisan way along with others for years. That’s without looking at his highly questionable personal morality.
Just get national MP’s on and be done with it, cheaper also.
Granny does as she always has but it's not taxpayer funded till COVID came along.
Taxpayers funded soapboxes for the shills needs to stop if RNZ is to be of service to the people of NZ….all people not just the acolytes of the neolib construct.
Agreed Tricle….Hooton is capable of sounding quite rational for 70% of the time but then he goes completely off the rails for the next 30%….definitely not who you would want as chief of staff.
I listened last night to muller on the Kathryn Ryan show from earlier that day.
i did comment on this website that his first speech was good. The interview with Kathryn not so much. She was tripping him up left right and centre. The main thrust of his position was we are better than them. 17 empty chairs at the cabinet table, their plan is not coherent. And he would really understand small business. He is endanger of sounding like a white male whose knows it all (but hasn’t done it yet) saying” move aside little lady. Three is an edge of arrogance here that I think Kiwis will switch off from. An actually he was boring. Apparently he was a bit of a train wreck on q and a last night, answering many questions by dropping in Amy Adams name. Oh and Simons not going anywhere
forgive me for quoting mike Hoskins but “happy days”
I agree JanM. I could hardly bear to watch Muller's interview on Q & A – I even felt a tiny bit of pity for him. The Breakfast show usually follows up on Q & A – I was waiting for some commentary this morning – but nothing…
"……. it was downright embarrassing" I agree, but then I have to check myself.
Do you really think Todd Muller ( or half his tribe for that matter ) give a shit what you 'feel'.
Same shit but a substantially different stink for the Bridges tribe. I imagine that little tribe is now considered very,, very inferior – so let's throw them a bone and a promise or there could conceivably an uprising in the future (going forward, in this space)
If 10 households default on their mortgages it is those households problem….if 10,000 default it is the banks problem….and consequently everyones problem.
Just thinking about how people cite experience in big business, such as fonterra in Miller’s case, as being a great asset to running a country. But business is run with the key focus of making a profit. This driver is not a key focus of running a country. Sure finance ministers endeavour to balance the books, but that is a means to an ends.
re miller’s embarrasing a and a interview, it occurs to me he has had very little experience of being interviewed. This could be a real disaster for the Nats. Meanwhile Amy who interviews we’ll surely must be wondering why she didn’t get the job in the first place. Meanwhile in the botany electorate Luxton is wanting Todd to fail. And do we really expect Simon not to sabotage when he’s back. Someone should make a soap out of this
" it occurs to me he has had very little experience of being interviewed."
That's why the superficial comparison with Ardern 2017 is false. Another late change, and it worked, so National could do it too – that's the line.
But Ardern must have given 100s of live interviews by then. Starting with TV's "Young Guns" in 2008, she was increasingly prominent in the media. It's a skill set that can only be learned through experience, and is unrelated to business meetings or whatever Muller brings to the job.
He was undone by something as simple as the time delay. It made him look hesitant and evasive. That might seem trivial but it is something you have to get used to and allow for. He needs to learn fast.
Agree re him not managing the time delay very well but I also think there was some evident frustration showing on his part that Tame wouldn’t just accept everything he said and move on to another subject. He looked a man more used to holding court rather than someone relishing the to-and-fro of debate. Doesn’t bode well for the campaign.
Also did he seem, how shall I say it, a little sweaty?
Unless he's proposing new policies, his job is simply to know his party's policies and promote them. Falling back on empty buzz words is feeble.
I honestly don't know which of the Bridges/Goldsmith economic policies are still in place, and which ones aren't. And I've heard him interviewed half a dozen times.
Business meetings too easily suffer from deference to authority, group-think, ideological controls that render some things 'unsayable', and participants afraid of losing their positions of prominence. Corporations are "private tyrranies" (Chomsky) and bringing the habits developed there into the public domain is not often a good idea.
There are sooooo many reasons why the todd change is no switch to Ardern.
Ardern was deputy leader. Muller was who-ller.
Ardern was visibly different to Little – not so much gender: energy, pace of delivery, enthusiasm. Muller doesn't seem to be particularly different to Bridges.
Ardern changed the game against the nats – "let's do this" literally within a few days. Muller… ?
The leadership change for Labour was amicable. This one – not so much.
Labour knew that leadership was a poisoned chalice – Ardern took one for the team. I doubt anyone else wanted it. National has multiple pretenders sharpening their blades.Some of them might even think they can turn things around in seven weeks, so Muller needs to watch his back until August at least.
"Just thinking about how people cite experience in big business, such as Fonterra in Miller’s case, as being a great asset to running a country."
Does working inside say Fonterra count as business experience? I would have thought that the hairdresser or mechanic running his own business or engineer running his workshop with 20 workers are businesses people with genuine experience with trial/error determination coping with losses etc etc. Lets not rate Fonterra/Zespry as qualifying MPs.
FPP: a recipe for gerrymandering, perverse undemocratic outcomes, and a two party system of rotating dictatorship. Kiwis chucked it because they were sick of getting Rogered and Ruthanasia'd by radicals
Looks to me like more than 400k voters have switched allegiance from National to Labour since February … a profound realignment … possibly (entering the realm of speculation here) predicated first & foremost upon the gratitude of older voters.
Don't rule out National crashing like 2002.
In some senses, a different context … but also some striking similarities:
Up against an unusually popular First Term Govt & PM, National's Oligarchs facilitated Bill English's toppling of Jenny Shipley in October 2001, 10 Months out from the 2002 Election.
The leadership spill had zero effect at first – no post-leadership bounce, with the Nats & broader Opposition forces flatlining over the next few months. Over the New Year, however, a clear Leftward swing of around 4 points from National to Labour emerged as softly-aligned Nats began to bail, followed by another 2 months of relative stability, then another small swing from Nat-to-Lab.
But most significantly from our 2020 point of view, Nat support very suddenly & very shockingly went into freefall over the final 3 weeks of the campaign … with almost all of this very late swing heading to conservative, centrist & Right parties … ACT surging, NZF & UF more than tripling their support (albeit with the help of the somewhat notorious 'Worm-Debate'). Nats plunged from 30% down to 21% over a remarkably short period of time, with ACT almost doubling from 4 to 7%, NZF from 3 to 10% & UF exploding from zilch to 7 in the blink of an eye.
With the re-election of the Clark Labour Govt seemingly inevitable, more astute (or, at least, pragmatic) National voters saw the writing on the wall … hence the Right vote significantly fragments as large numbers of 1999 Nats seek to provide a counterweight to any leftward thrust of the incoming Govt, in the process, if possible, keeping the Greens away from power. Meanwhile, true-believers on the Right follow their hearts & desert to ACT.
As a consequence, less than half of 1999 National supporters remain loyal, as the Party plunges to a historic low. Amongst a whole host of surprises, Labour wins the Party-Vote in all but 3 of National's Rural Heartland seats.
_________________________________________________________________________________
Muller's toppling of Bridges & the release of the latest Colmar Brunton have occurred 4 Months out from the Election. Here's a comparison with the same point in 2002:
Well-reasoned, plausible. If Muller isn't adept at fronting media situations, it becomes likely. I stopped watching Q+A when it got too boring, but if he was as inadequate as commentators here suggest, that could become the determining trend.
I reckon the election will hinge as much on competing recovery plans as on leadership charisma. If the Nats get theirs out in front of voters before the coalition govt gets theirs out, perception that they are sufficiently on the ball to govern will form. If the govt gets theirs out first, they'll win as long as serious flaws don't emerge…
I wonder which of 2002 or 2011 is the better comparison. Labour didn't roll Goff, but a first term government with a popular, bullet-proof PM in the backdrop of a natural disaster has some similarities.
More mistakes from TM…..it seems he may be a front only for the Nats…a new face that is somehow, they hope, more acceptable to the electorate. Good times.
Todd Conehead’s gem was sticking with Nat super at 67 policy. Sure some time out from implementation, but people close to 65 will still likely not be impressed. Cost Labour votes previously.
So National are saying the younger retirees are going to pay double with less job security.
Paying the debt down and no early retirement robots taking more jobs.
Universal super should become UBI funded by a much bigger Cullen Fund + compulsory Kiwisaver.Then people can choose when to retire ie a builder could retire at 60 less physically demanding jobs can retire later.The builder may want to become a trainer or work in a bunnings store part time..
The 4 day week needs to be seriously considered the 40 hr week is old hat.
Time to be more adaptable,like farmers could have a 3 1/2 day week doing 35 hrs in 3 and a half days which would make easy shift changes.
Chris T it's not Noah's Ark. A woman has the top job in Labour. It is generally agreed in Labour they need more women on the front bench. They have gender equality policies to promote this. They haven't got there yet, but they are working on it.
Goldsmith: "My great-great grandfather had European wives and Māori wives, and so I've got lots of relatives across Ngāti Porou – I don't claim to be Māori myself.''
He could've added: "I'm proud to be descendant of a bi-racial polygamist." Some of these people haven't got a clue how to grab a headline…
At a time when a lot of older people who got to quite like the lockdown for the slower pace and are saying they could go a shorter week, Todd Boofhead says National will raise the retirement age.
Fuck me, the man can not read a room let alone the country. Nats to try for 25%. Go Team.
Chris T…re labour’s lack of women in the cabinet front row. They acknowledge that and have policies in place to develop gender equality in labour. Even so the front bench aren’t devoid of women, one has the top job.
i look forward to the problems Toddy is going to have when his promoted his team as the more competent and he just dumped two Maoris and two out of the three labour ministers he’s said are non performers are Maori. Oh and did we mention the MAGA hat.
it is not a good look when you promote your team as more competent and then one of them makes the unbelievable mistake of stating one her colleagues is Maori when he isn’t. Of course the other interesting thing is goldsmith refuted this immediately. So much support in this caucus, although really it was the only thing he could do
The interesting thing though is how badly they fluffed the response and how little support they got to smooth the blunder over from the rest rest of the caucus.
I only just realised the thing that really pisses me off about "plan b" Thornley. Read somewhere that the dude specialises in economic impacts of health interventions, yet he provided zero – ZERO! – information. Just repeated basically that "cure might be worse than the disease" wank. Where was his data? If he studies this shit, where's his prediction of how many people would be killed by the economic flow-on of L4? QALYs? Estimated mortality?
I bet that if he even did it, it's locked in a draw because it didn't suit his bullshit.
Tova O'Brien, I've not liked her style but I just saw she antagonises the Nat supporters too, so I tip my (non MAGA) hat to Ms O'Brien, she must be doing something right (she's getting accused on the Twitter for making up the Goldsmith Māori gaff, like she said, "you can't make this shit up!").
The most exciting takeaway from the National Party in Parliament today was that Chris Bishop has cut off his mullet and that Paul Goldsmith is from Ngati Epsom.
6 new cases in Western Australia today, all from a Kuwaiti live sheep export ship that was cleared to berth by Federal Border Force agents in spite of them being advised that at least 3 crew had ‘elevated temperatures’.
"Speaking to Stuff, Wade-Brown said she was running to maximise the party vote." "Issues of equality, climate change, and rivers matter to people. We've got an opportunity to do a green reset to Covid-19," she said. Wade-Brown is not among the 24 candidates on the Green Party list, and is not expected to make a serious play to win the seat."
"She had been a supporter of John Hart, who ran for the Green Party in the last two elections and only offered to stand when she learnt he was not planning to run again." National haven't selected their candidate yet, and Ron Mark "pulled 19 per cent of the electorate vote in 2017, with more coming from National party voters than Labour voters."
"Wairarapa-based List MP Kieran McAnulty will be running for Labour for a third straight election." Third time lucky, I reckon! "Wade-Brown said she would consider formally endorsing McAnulty for the electorate vote. "We're going to have those conversations over the next couple of weeks. I think he's very widely respected within the local community," she said."
He picked out the best of what people had been through in their lockdown experience and he made it last.
He put a carbon tax on emissions to pay for a Universal Basic Income (UBI). He electrified trains, buses, anything that would take a current. He put Manapouri hydropower into the grid for free energy. He broke the cycle of people trying to get rich out of houses and making them ever more unaffordable. To achieve the unachievable he simply flooded the market with affordable houses and apartments built by a 21st century Ministry of Works.
…
By the end of his four-decade run, the nation could not believe its good fortune, even in a time of plague.
I see the labour party is paying the recent unemployed twice what the already unemployed are getting.Reminds me of the last labour government who didn't pay working for families to beneficiaries.Elected by the poor govern for the rich
It appears that those nations with governed states and provinces have struggled a bit more with this pandemic.
Squabble with our brother while Grandma dies.
I'm a Cuomo fan, I like anyone that sounds like Tony Soprano and isn't indicted. I love it when they call a bird a boid. In spite of his declaration to keep politics out of it Andrew couldn't resist a stab at Kentucky Governor Mitch McConnell. Mitch had suggested that New York declare bankruptcy. Andrew offered a contrary view, this guy picked up the ball and ran with Andy's view…
Getting to Browser Tab Zero so I can reboot the computer is awfully hard when the one open tab is a Table of Contents for the Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, and every issue has more stuff I want to read. A few highlights: Gugler et al demonstrating ...
Timothy Ford, University of Massachusetts Lowell and Charles M. Schweik, University of Massachusetts AmherstTo mitigate health inequities and promote social justice, coronavirus vaccines need to get to underserved populations and hard-to-reach communities. There are few places in the U.S. that are unreachable by road, but other factors – many ...
Israel chose to pay a bit over the odds for the Pfizer vaccine to get earlier access. Here’s The Times of Israel from 16 November. American government will be charged $39 for each two-shot dose, and the European bloc even less, but Jerusalem said to agree to pay $56. Israel ...
Orla is a gender critical Marxist in Ireland. She gave a presentation on 15 January 2021 on the connection between postmodern/transgender identity politics and the current attacks on democratic and free speech rights. Orla has been active previously in the Irish Socialist Workers Party and the People Before Profit electoral ...
. . America: The Empire Strikes Back (at itself) Further to my comments in the first part of 2020: The History That Was, the following should be considered regarding the current state of the US. They most likely will be by future historians pondering the critical decades of ...
Nathaniel ScharpingIn March, as the Covid-19 pandemic began to shut down major cities in the U.S., researchers were thinking about blood. In particular, they were worried about the U.S. blood supply — the millions of donations every year that help keep hospital patients alive when they need a transfusion. ...
Sarah L Caddy, University of CambridgeVaccines are a marvel of medicine. Few interventions can claim to have saved as many lives. But it may surprise you to know that not all vaccines provide the same level of protection. Some vaccines stop you getting symptomatic disease, but others stop you ...
Back in 2016, the Portuguese government announced plans to stop burning coal by 2030. But progress has come much quicker, and they're now scheduled to close their last coal plant by the end of this year: The Sines coal plant in Portugal went offline at midnight yesterday evening (14 ...
The Sincerest Form Of Flattery: As anybody with the intestinal fortitude to brave the commentary threads of local news-sites, large and small, will attest, the number of Trump-supporting New Zealanders is really quite astounding. IT’S SO DIFFICULT to resist the temptation to be smug. From the distant perspective of New Zealand, ...
RNZ reports on continued arbitrariness on decisions at the border. British comedian Russell Howard is about to tour New Zealand and other acts allowed in through managed isolation this summer include drag queen RuPaul and musicians at Northern Bass in Mangawhai and the Bay Dreams festival. The vice-president of the ...
As families around the world mourn more than two million people dead from Covid-19, the Plan B academics and their PR industry collaborator continue to argue that the New Zealand government should stop focusing on our managed isolation and quarantine system and instead protect the elderly so that they can ...
A chronological listing of news articles linked to on the Skeptical Science Facebook Page during the past week: Sun, Jan 10, 2021 through Sat, Jan 16, 2021Editor's ChoiceNASA says 2020 tied for hottest year on record — here’s what you can do to helpPhoto by Michael Held on Unsplash ...
Health authorities in Norway are reporting some concerns about deaths in frail elderly after receiving their COVID-19 vaccine. Is this causally related to the vaccine? Probably not but here are the things to consider. According to the news there have been 23 deaths in Norway shortly after vaccine administration and ...
Happy New Year! No, experts are not concerned that “…one of New Zealand’s COIVD-1( vaccines will fail to protect the country” Here is why. But first I wish to issue an expletive about this journalism (First in Australia and then in NZ). It exhibits utter failure to actually truly consult ...
All nations have shadows; some acknowledge them. For others they shape their image in uncomfortable ways.The staunch Labour supporter was in despair at what her Rogernomics Government was doing. But she finished ‘at least, we got rid of Muldoon’, a response which tells us that then, and today, one’s views ...
Grigori GuitchountsIn November, Springer Nature, one of the world’s largest publishers of scientific journals, made an attention-grabbing announcement: More than 30 of its most prestigious journals, including the flagship Nature, will now allow authors to pay a fee of US$11,390 to make their papers freely available for anyone to read ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Gary Yohe, Henry Jacoby, Richard Richels, and Benjamin Santer Imagine a major climate change law passing the U.S. Congress unanimously? Don’t bother. It turns out that you don’t need to imagine it. Get this: The Global Change Research Act of 1990 was passed ...
“They’re here already! You’re next! You’re next! You’re next!”WHO CAN FORGET the penultimate scene of the 1956 movie classic, Invasion of the Body Snatchers? The wild-eyed doctor, stumbling down the highway, trying desperately to warn his fellow citizens: “They’re here already! You’re next! You’re next! You’re next!”Ostensibly science-fiction, the movie ...
TheOneRing.Net has got its paws on the official synopsis of the upcoming Amazon Tolkien TV series. It’s a development that brings to mind the line about Sauron deliberately releasing Gollum from the dungeons of Barad-dûr. Amazon knew exactly what they were doing here, in terms of drumming up publicity: ...
Since Dwight Eisenhower’s inauguration in 1953, US presidents have joined an informal club intended to provide support - and occasionally rivalry - between those few who have been ‘leaders of the free world’. Donald Trump, elected on a promise to ‘drain the swamp’ and a constant mocker of his predecessors, ...
For over a decade commentators have noted the rise of a new brand of explicitly ideological politics throughout the world. By this they usually refer to the re-emergence of national populism and avowedly illiberal approaches to governance throughout the “advanced” democratic community, but they also extend the thought to the ...
The US House of Representatives has just impeached Donald Trump, giving him the dubious honour of being the only US President to be impeached twice. Ten Republicans voted for impeachement, making it the most bipartisan impeachment ever. The question now is whether the Senate will rise to the occasion, and ...
Kieren Mitchell; Alice Mouton, Université de Liège; Angela Perri, Durham University, and Laurent Frantz, Ludwig Maximilian University of MunichThanks to the hit television series Game of Thrones, the dire wolf has gained a near-mythical status. But it was a real animal that roamed the Americas for at least 250,000 ...
Tide of tidal data rises Having cast our own fate to include rising sea level, there's a degree of urgency in learning the history of mean sea level in any given spot, beyond idle curiosity. Sea level rise (SLR) isn't equal from one place to another and even at a particular ...
Well, some of those chickens sure came home bigly, didn’t they… and proceeded to shit all over the nice carpet in the Capitol. What we were seeing here are societal forces that have long had difficulty trying to reconcile people to the “idea” of America and the reality of ...
In the wake of Donald Trump's incitement of an assault on the US capitol, Twitter finally enforced its terms of service and suspended his account. They've since followed that up with action against prominent QAnon accounts and Trumpers, including in New Zealand. I'm not unhappy with this: Trump regularly violated ...
Peter S. Ross, University of British ColumbiaThe Arctic has long proven to be a barometer of the health of our planet. This remote part of the world faces unprecedented environmental assaults, as climate change and industrial chemicals threaten a way of life for Inuit and other Indigenous and northern ...
Susan St John makes the case for taxing a deemed rate of return on excessive real estate holdings (after a family home exemption), to redirect scarce housing resources to where they are needed most. Read the full article here ...
I’m less than convinced by arguments that platforms like Twitter should be subject to common carrier regulation preventing them from being able to decide who to keep on as clients of their free services, and who they would not like to serve. It’s much easier to create competition for the ...
The hypocritical actions of political leaders throughout the global Covid pandemic have damaged public faith in institutions and governance. Liam Hehir chronicles the way in which contemporary politicians have let down the public, and explains how real leadership means walking the talk. During the Blitz, when German bombs were ...
Over the years, we've published many rebuttals, blog posts and graphics which came about due to direct interactions with the scientists actually carrying out the underlying research or being knowledgable about a topic in general. We'll highlight some of these interactions in this blog post. We'll start with two memorable ...
Yesterday we had the unseemly sight of a landleech threatening to keep his houses empty in response to better tenancy laws. Meanwhile in Catalonia they have a solution for that: nationalisation: Barcelona is deploying a new weapon in its quest to increase the city’s available rental housing: the power ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Jeff Masters, PhD The 2020 global wildfire season brought extreme fire activity to the western U.S., Australia, the Arctic, and Brazil, making it the fifth most expensive year for wildfire losses on record. The year began with an unprecedented fire event ...
NOTE: This is an excerpt from a digital story – read the full story here.Tess TuxfordKo te Kauri Ko Au, Ko te Au ko Kauri I am the kauri, the kauri is me Te Roroa proverb In Waipoua Forest, at the top of the North Island, New ...
Story of the Week... Toon of the Week... Coming Soon on SkS... Poster of the Week... SkS Week in Review... Story of the Week... Coming attraction: IPCC's upcoming major climate assessmentLook for more emphasis on 'solutions,' efforts by cities, climate equity ... and outlook for emissions cuts in ...
Ringing A Clear Historical Bell: The extraordinary images captured in and around the US Capitol Building on 6 January 2021 mirror some of the worst images of America's past.THERE IS A SCENE in the 1982 movie Missing which has remained with me for nearly 40 years. Directed by the Greek-French ...
To impact or not to impeach? I understand why some of those who are justifiably aghast at Trump’s behaviour over recent days might still counsel against impeaching him for a second time. To impeach him, they argue, would run the risk of making him a martyr in the eyes of ...
The Capitol Building, Washington DC, Wednesday, 6 January 2021. Oh come, my little one, come.The day is almost done.Be at my side, behold the sightOf evening on the land.The life, my love, is hardAnd heavy is my heart.How should I live if you should leaveAnd we should be apart?Come, let me ...
A chronological listing of news articles linked to on the Skeptical Science Facebook Page during the past week: Sun, Jan 3, 2021 through Sat, Jan 9, 2021Editor's ChoiceAfter the Insurrection: Accountability, Reform, and the Science of Democracy The poisonous lies and enablers of sedition--including Senator Hawley, pictured ...
This article, guest authored by Prof. Angela Gallego-Sala & Dr. Julie Loisel, was originally published on the Carbon Brief website on Dec 21, 2020. It is reposted below in its entirety. Click here to access the original article and comments. Peatlands Peatlands are ecosystems unlike any other. Perpetually saturated, their ...
The assault on the US Capitol and constitutional crisis that it has caused was telegraphed, predictable and yet unexpected and confusing. There are several subplots involved: whether the occupation of the Michigan State House in May was a trial run for the attacks on Congress; whether people involved in the ...
On Christmas Eve, child number 1 spotted a crack in a window. It’s a double-glazed window, and inspection showed that the small, horizontal crack was in the outermost pane. It was perpendicular to the frame, about three-quarters of the way up one side. The origins are a mystery. It MIGHT ...
Anne-Marie Broudehoux, Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM)Will the COVID-19 pandemic prompt a shift to healthier cities that focus on wellness rather than functional and economic concerns? This is a hypothesis that seems to be supported by several researchers around the world. In many ways, containment and physical distancing ...
Does the US need to strike a grand bargain with like-minded countries to pool their efforts? What does this tell us about today’s global politics? Perhaps the most remarkable editorial of last year was the cover leader of the London Economist on 19 November 2020. Shortly after Joe Biden was ...
Alexander Gillespie, University of Waikato and Valmaine Toki, University of WaikatoAotearoa New Zealand likes to think it punches above its weight internationally, but there is one area where we are conspicuously falling behind — the number of sites recognised by the UNESCO World Heritage Convention. Globally, there are 1,121 ...
An event organised by the Auckland PhilippinesSolidarity group Have a three-course lunch at Nanam Eatery with us! Help support the organic farming of our Lumad communities through the Mindanao Community School Agricultural Foundation. Each ticket is $50. Food will be served on shared plates. To purchase, please email phsolidarity@gmail.com or ...
"Abandon Hope All Ye Who Enter Here." Prisons are places of unceasing emotional and physical violence, unrelieved despair and unforgivable human waste.IT WAS NATIONAL’S Bill English who accurately described New Zealand’s prisons as “fiscal and moral failures”. On the same subject, Labour’s Dr Martyn Findlay memorably suggested that no prison ...
This is a re-post from Inside Climate News by Ilana Cohen. Inside Climate News is a nonprofit, independent news organization that covers climate, energy and the environment. Sign up for the ICN newsletter here. Whether or not people accept the science on Covid-19 and climate change, both global crises will have lasting impacts on health and ...
. . American Burlesque As I write this (Wednesday evening, 6 January), the US Presidential election is all but resolved, confirming Joe Biden as the next President of the (Dis-)United State of America. Trump’s turbulent political career has lasted just four years – one of the few single-term US presidents ...
The session started off so well. Annalax – suitably chastised – spent a pleasant morning with his new girlfriend (he would say paramour, of course, but for our purposes, girlfriend is easier*). He told her about Waking World Drow, and their worship of Her Ladyship. And he started ...
In a recent column I wrote for local newspapers, I ventured to suggest that Donald Trump – in addition to being a liar and a cheat, and sexist and racist – was a fascist in the making and would probably try, if he were to lose the election, to defy ...
When I was preparing for my School C English exam I knew I needed some quotes to splash through my essays. But remembering lines was never my strong point, so I tended to look for the low-hanging fruit. We’d studied Shakespeare’s King Lear that year and perhaps the lowest hanging ...
When I went to bed last night, I was expecting today to be eventful. A lot of pouting in Congress as last-ditch Trumpers staged bad-faith "objections" to a democratic election, maybe some rioting on the streets of Washington DC from angry Trump supporters. But I wasn't expecting anything like an ...
Melted ice of the past answers question today? Kate Ashley and a large crew of coauthors wind back the clock to look at Antarctic sea ice behavior in times gone by, in Mid-Holocene Antarctic sea-ice increase driven by marine ice sheet retreat. For armchair scientists following the Antarctic sea ice situation, something jumps out in ...
Christina SzalinskiWhen Martha Field became pregnant in 2005, a singular fear weighed on her mind. Not long before, as a Cornell University graduate student researching how genes and nutrients interact to cause disease, she had seen images of unborn mouse pups smaller than her pinkie nail, some with ...
Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, the Democratic candidates for President and Vice President respectively for the US 2020 Election, may have dispensed with the erstwhile nemesis, Trump the candidate – but there are numerous critical openings through which much, much worse many out there may yet see fit to ...
I don’t know Taupō well. Even though I stop off there from time to time, I’m always on the way to somewhere else. Usually Taupō means making a hot water puddle in the gritty sand followed by a swim in the lake, noticing with bemusement and resignation the traffic, the ...
Frances Williams, King’s College LondonFor most people, infection with SARS-CoV-2 – the virus that causes COVID-19 – leads to mild, short-term symptoms, acute respiratory illness, or possibly no symptoms at all. But some people have long-lasting symptoms after their infection – this has been dubbed “long COVID”. Scientists are ...
Last night, a British court ruled that Julian Assange cannot be extradited to the US. Unfortunately, its not because all he is "guilty" of is journalism, or because the offence the US wants to charge him with - espionage - is of an inherently political nature; instead the judge accepted ...
Is the Gender Identity Movement a movement for human liberation, or is it a regressive movement which undermines women’s liberation and promotes sexist stereotypes? Should biological males be allowed to play in women’s sport, use women-only spaces (public toilets, changing rooms, other facilities), be able to have access to everything ...
As we welcome in the new year, our focus is on continuing to keep New Zealanders safe and moving forward with our economic recovery. There’s a lot to get on with, but before we say a final goodbye to 2020, here’s a quick look back at some of the milestones ...
A major investment to tackle wilding pines in Mt Richmond will create jobs and help protect the area’s unique ecosystems, Biosecurity Minister Damien O’Connor says. The Mt Richmond Forest Park has unique ecosystems developed on mineral-rich geology, including taonga plant species found nowhere else in the country. “These special plant ...
To further protect New Zealand from COVID-19, the Government is extending pre-departure testing to all passengers to New Zealand except from Australia, Antarctica and most Pacific Islands, COVID-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins said today. “The change will come into force for all flights arriving in New Zealand after 11:59pm (NZT) on Monday ...
Bay Conservation Cadets launched with first intake Supported with $3.5 million grant Part of $1.245b Jobs for Nature programme to accelerate recover from Covid Cadets will learn skills to protect and enhance environment Environment Minister David Parker today welcomed the first intake of cadets at the launch of the Bay ...
The Prime Minister of New Zealand Jacinda Ardern and the Prime Minister of the Cook Islands Mark Brown have announced passengers from the Cook Islands can resume quarantine-free travel into New Zealand from 21 January, enabling access to essential services such as health. “Following confirmation of the Cook Islands’ COVID ...
Jobs for Nature funding is being made available to conservation groups and landowners to employ staff and contractors in a move aimed at boosting local biodiversity-focused projects, Conservation Minister Kiritapu Allan has announced. It is estimated some 400-plus jobs will be created with employment opportunities in ecology, restoration, trapping, ...
The Government has approved an exception class for 1000 international tertiary students, degree level and above, who began their study in New Zealand but were caught offshore when border restrictions began. The exception will allow students to return to New Zealand in stages from April 2021. “Our top priority continues ...
Today’s deal between Meridian and Rio Tinto for the Tiwai smelter to remain open another four years provides time for a managed transition for Southland. “The deal provides welcome certainty to the Southland community by protecting jobs and incomes as the region plans for the future. The Government is committed ...
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has appointed Anna Curzon to the APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC). The leader of each APEC economy appoints three private sector representatives to ABAC. ABAC provides advice to leaders annually on business priorities. “ABAC helps ensure that APEC’s work programme is informed by business community perspectives ...
The Government’s prudent fiscal management and strong policy programme in the face of the COVID-19 global pandemic have been acknowledged by the credit rating agency Fitch. Fitch has today affirmed New Zealand’s local currency rating at AA+ with a stable outlook and foreign currency rating at AA with a positive ...
The Government is putting in place a suite of additional actions to protect New Zealand from COVID-19, including new emerging variants, COVID-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins said today. “Given the high rates of infection in many countries and evidence of the global spread of more transmissible variants, it’s clear that ...
$36 million of Government funding alongside councils and others for 19 projects Investment will clean up and protect waterways and create local jobs Boots on the ground expected in Q2 of 2021 Funding part of the Jobs for Nature policy package A package of 19 projects will help clean up ...
The commemoration of the 175th anniversary of the Battle of Ruapekapeka represents an opportunity for all New Zealanders to reflect on the role these conflicts have had in creating our modern nation, says Associate Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage Kiri Allan. “The Battle at Te Ruapekapeka Pā, which took ...
Babies born with tongue-tie will be assessed and treated consistently under new guidelines released by the Ministry of Health, Associate Minister of Health Dr Ayesha Verrall announced today. Around 5% to 10% of babies are born with a tongue-tie, or ankyloglossia, in New Zealand each year. At least half can ...
The prisoner disorder event at Waikeria Prison is over, with all remaining prisoners now safely and securely detained, Corrections Minister Kelvin Davis says. The majority of those involved in the event are members of the Mongols and Comancheros. Five of the men are deportees from Australia, with three subject to ...
Travellers from the United Kingdom or the United States bound for New Zealand will be required to get a negative test result for COVID-19 before departing, and work is underway to extend the requirement to other long haul flights to New Zealand, COVID-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins confirmed today. “The new PCR test requirement, foreshadowed last ...
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has added her warm congratulations to the New Zealanders recognised for their contributions to their communities and the country in the New Year 2021 Honours List. “The past year has been one that few of us could have imagined. In spite of all the things that ...
Attorney-General and Minister for the Environment David Parker has congratulated two retired judges who have had their contributions to the country and their communities recognised in the New Year 2021 Honours list. The Hon Tony Randerson QC has been appointed a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit for ...
Minister for Pacific Peoples Aupito William Sio says the New Year’s Honours List 2021 highlights again the outstanding contribution made by Pacific people across Aotearoa. “We are acknowledging the work of 13 Pacific leaders in the New Year’s Honours, representing a number of sectors including health, education, community, sports, the ...
The Government’s investment in digital literacy training for seniors has led to more than 250 people participating so far, helping them stay connected. “COVID-19 has meant older New Zealanders are showing more interest in learning how to use technology like Zoom and Skype so they can to keep in touch ...
ACC Minister Carmel Sepuloni must confirm whether the Government supports ACC’s apparent policy to make payouts for illegal overstayers , says the New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union . Union spokesman Jordan Williams says, “Since when was it ACC policy to ...
By RNZ News An independent panel says Chinese officials could have applied public health measures more forcefully in January to curb the initial covid-19 outbreak, and criticised the World Health Organisation (WHO) for not declaring an international emergency until 30 January. The experts reviewing the global handling of the pandemic, ...
Pacific Media Watch newsdesk Fiji’s NGO Coalition on Human Rights has called for stronger accountability and commitment to human rights at home in response to the country taking the world stage as the head of a UN body. The UN Human Rights Council (UNHCR) elected Fiji’s ambassador Nazhat Shameem as ...
Danyl McLauchlan reviews Stuart Ritchie’s Science Fictions, which outlines the staggering systemic flaws in the funding and publication of scientific papers. Back in August of 2006 a number of New Zealand scientists were caught up in a media controversy about whether Māori had a genetic predisposition towards violent crime. It kicked ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Robert G. Patman, Professor of International Relations, University of Otago America is currently experiencing its worst political and constitutional crisis since the civil war when the very survival of Abraham Lincoln’s government “of, by and for the people” was at stake. On ...
Manaaki Rangatahi report that young people experiencing homelessness are being further traumatized within the emergency accommodation where they have sought safety. Often these environments are unsafe, and unsuitable for young people to live in, and rangatahi ...
Can you figure out which of the above is the real Jacinda Ardern? Probably! But one day, that might not be true.There are many reasons to believe the internet shouldn’t exist. Social media empires exerting, intentionally or not, their control over sovereign governments. Baby Shark. Your aunt on Facebook.It pains ...
The Point of Order Ministers on a Mission Monitor has flickered only fleetingly for much of the month. More than once, the minister to trigger it has been David Parker, who set it off again yesterday with an announcement that shows how he has been spending our money. He welcomed ...
Ban Bomb Day event at the New Brighton Pier, 9am, on January 22nd, 2021 January 22nd, 2021, marks the first day the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) Enters into Force and becomes international law. Aotearoa NZ is one of the ...
Why are New Zealand’s 2 Minute Noodles called 3 Minute Noodles in the UK? It’s a puzzle that has taken hold of Dylan Reeve and refuses to let go.I’m a child of the 80s and 90s. I watched a lot of TV and was a big fan of aggressively marketed ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jonatan A Lassa, Senior Lecturer, Humanitarian Emergency and Disaster Management, College of Indigenous Futures, Arts and Society, Charles Darwin University News of storms battering parts of Queensland and the threat posed by Cyclone Kimi reminded me of a recent experience I’d had. ...
The Independent Police Conduct Authority has found that the use of force to effect the arrest of a wanted offender in Auckland was justified and proportionate to the risk he posed. A man, who was well known to Police, was wanted by Police for an aggravated ...
A distinctly colonial institution, banking has long ignored te ao Māori. Teaho Pihama believes investment in tikanga Māori at Kiwibank can have significant, positive outcomes for Māori.In early 90s Tāmaki Makaurau, when Teahooterangi (Teaho) Pihama was growing up riding his bike around the streets of Kingsland until the streetlights came ...
Donald Trump’s awful presidency expires at midday on Wednesday [US time] when Air Force One will have deposited him in Florida. He retreats to his Mar-a-Lago resort and Joseph R Biden Junior takes command of the White House. Trump’s has been an unpleasant presidency, brought about largely by his own ...
The New Zealand Union of Students’ Associations (NZUSA) has elected its National President for 2021. The election took place last Friday at an NZUSA Special General Meeting (SGM) in Wellington. Andrew Lessells, 22, was elected to serve as the National ...
Think twice before you accept that surprise school reunion invite, writes Chris Schulz.It started with a Facebook notification. A school reunion was being organised. It sounded fun, with a fancy dress party set to be held in the city where I grew up, Whanganui. I hadn’t seen some of my ...
Unlike the US, there is very little NZ precedent for politicians to issue discretionary pardons – creating a challenge for those like Prof Sean Davison who might have a humanitarian claim to mercy. ...
Schools have told the Education Review Office that some children lost 10 weeks of learning in last year's lockdowns, but the overall impact of the pandemic is still unclear. In a report based on surveys of thousand of students, teachers and principals during and after last year's national and Auckland ...
The government seems to still be in holiday mode when in the past two weeks alone we have had six homicides, countless firearms incidents, and police needing to arm themselves against gangs almost every second day," says Sensible Sentencing ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Robert Crawford, Associate Professor in Construction and Environmental Assessment, University of Melbourne Over the past few years, Australians have embraced online food delivery services such as UberEats, Deliveroo and Menulog. But home-delivered food comes with a climate cost, and single-use packaging is ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Quiggin, Professor, School of Economics, The University of Queensland When the coronavirus pandemic hit Australia in March 2020, the Morrison government took bold and imaginative action. The most notable examples were its income support programs – JobKeeper, paying a A$750 weekly ...
Ocean Ute, which arrived at Port Taranaki yesterday, is the second live export ship to arrive in New Zealand this year. Taranaki Animal Rights Group has two demonstrations planned for today. A protest at midday and a vigil at 6.30pm tonight . The number ...
The Department of Corrections is well within its rights to refuse Jared Savage’s “Gangland” book from being read by inmates and it is outrageous that resources and time are now potentially going to be wasted in court about it, says Sensible ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michael Cowling, Associate Professor – Information & Communication Technology (ICT), CQUniversity Australia We’ve probably all been there. We buy some new smart gadget and when we plug it in for the first time it requires an update to work. So we end ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tony Walker, Vice-chancellor’s fellow, La Trobe University The new trade minister, Dan Tehan, has been handed one of the Morrison government’s most demanding roles. Despite a lot of chest-thumping in government circles about the need to stand up to “Chinese bullying”, Tehan’s ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Philip Weinstein, Professorial Research Fellow, University of Adelaide There’s no question the rising rate of unemployment is one of the worst consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic. The number of Australians seeking work is heading towards 10%, almost double the pre-pandemic Australian average ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Munro, Professor, Faculty of Education and Arts, Australian Catholic University Research during the first phase of remote teaching in Victoria reported some students found the workload “too high”, missed interactions with peers, felt their thinking ability was impaired, and reported a ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michael Keating, Visiting Fellow, College of Business & Economics, Australian National University It is tempting to think the Australian government’s decision to spend big – bigger than ever before, an unprecedented 33% of GDP this financial year according to the budget update ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kate Maguire-Rosier, Honorary Associate, Department of Theatre and Performance Studies, School of Literature, Art, and Media, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, University of Sydney Review: Humans 2.0, directed by Yaron Lifschitz, Circa at Sydney Festival The black circular stage is lit ...
Summer reissue: Greens MP Chlöe Swarbrick joins Annabelle Lee-Mather, Ben Thomas and Toby Manhire to pick over the remains of election night in a special Sunday edition of Gone By Lunchtime.First published October 18, 2020.Independent journalism depends on you. Help us stay curious in 2021. The Spinoff’s journalism is funded ...
Summer reissue: Our feminist webseries On the Rag returns to dissect representation in the media and who is still being left behind when you turn on the telly. First published July 22, 2020.Independent journalism depends on you. Help us stay curious in 2021. The Spinoff’s journalism is funded by its members ...
Applaud the social media silencing of Donald Trump if you must, but be careful what you wish for, writes Matt Bartlett of the University of Auckland. The sighs of relief from all around the world were almost palpable when Donald Trump’s Twitter account was permanently banned this month. Twitter, Facebook, ...
Matteo Di Maio investigates what MPs have been filling their heads with over the summer holidays What have our lords and masters been reading on the beach during the summer holidays? What books have filled their heads, given them ideas, expanded their horizons? Eight prominent politicians have revealed their choice ...
From white-collar crims to famous rappers, President Trump is to issue about 100 pardons on his final full day in office, buying protection from incriminating revelations. ...
Are the continent’s coronavirus statistics as good as they appear? Felix Geiringer looks at the numbers, and why whether they reflect the reality matters. Living in Africa during Covid times, one of the questions I am asked most often is this: how has Africa done so well?At the start of September, ...
With new strains of Covid-19 bearing down on our shores, Pattrick Smellie of BusinessDesk looks at the challenges 2021 has in store, and what can be done to prepare.In the three weeks that New Zealanders have been at the beach and ignoring Covid tracer app sign-ins, the threat of Covid-19 ...
Pacific Media Watch newsdesk Human Rights Watch (HRW) has criticised the Indonesian government of President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo for its weak health response to covid-19 which has brought Indonesia to its knees since March 2020, reports CNN Indonesia. The assessment is based on Indonesia’s poor rates of testing and tracing ...
By The National in Port Moresby An expatriate who tested positive for the covid-19 coronavirus last week has been admitted to a private hospital in the Papua New Guinea capital of Port Moresby, an official has confirmed. Pacific International Hospital (PIH) chief executive officer Colonel Sandeep Shaligram toldThe National the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Nathan Bartlett, Associate Professor, School of Biomedical Sciences and Pharmacy, University of Newcastle Reports of about 30 deaths among elderly nursing home residents who received the Pfizer vaccine have made international headlines. With Australia’s Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) expected to approve the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Culum Brown, Professor, Macquarie University How do gills work? Tully, aged 7 Great question, Tully! Animals on land breathe air, which is made up of different gasses. Oxygen is one of these gases, and is made by plants (hug ...
Dairy prices increased by 3.9% across the board at the latest Fonterra global auction. The lift followed rises of 1.3% and 4.3% in the December auctions which took dairy prices to their highest level in 11 months, defying those analysts who believed Covid-19 had disrupted dairy markets. In the latest ...
America's Cup team American Magic has spoken publicly after their boat Patriot capsized when on its way to their first win of the Challenger Selection Series yesterday. Patriot dramatically capsized yesterday, becoming temporarily airborne before crashing back into the water and tipping. The boat, helmed by New Zealander Dean Barker, could not be ...
It’s a seemingly age old question: why do Auckland’s beaches become unswimmable after every single downpour? Stewart Sowman-Lund investigates.Ah, the beach. A staple of the New Zealand summer. Unless, of course, you’re based in Auckland and it’s raining. The start of 2021 has been a lot like every other New ...
We have opened a book, among members of the Point of Order team, on how long it will be before the PM offers to sort out the land dispute at Wellington’s Shelly Bay and (to win the double) how much the settlement will cost taxpayers. Just a few weeks ago ...
Breakfast TV news is back for 2021, and Tara Ward got up early to watch. “Thank god it’s almost Christmas,” John Campbell said during the opening minutes of Breakfast’s premiere episode of the year. “2021’s been rough so far. I’m buggered”. We’re all buggered, to be fair, but I’m worried that ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mark Pearson, Professor of Journalism and Social Media, Griffith Centre for Social and Cultural Research, Griffith University, Griffith University The blame for the recent assault on the US Capitol and President Donald Trump’s broader dismantling of democratic institutions and norms can be ...
Despite a popular and unifying leader of the governing party, divisions both in policy and culture will test the progressive movement, writes Peter McKenzie.‘I think we’re confused.” Marlon Drake is an organiser for the Living Wage Movement. His job takes him all over Wellington, trying to convince businesses to increase ...
Covid-19 Recovery Minister Chris Hipkins says vaccinations should be available to the public by the middle of the year, but other countries are prioritised. ...
It’s as true now as it ever has been: nowhere else offers an education experience like that of Dunedin. But rather than resting on their laurels, the University of Otago and Otago Polytechnic have plans to make the city an even more inspiring place for students.From high in the summit ...
Haggis, neeps and tatties and whisky may not be a traditional spread for a summer gathering in NZ, but trust Auckland city councillor and Kiwi-Scot Cathy Casey on this one. Gie it laldy! Rule one: Hold it on (or near) January 25Robert Burns was born on January 25, 1759. Since the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By David Tuffley, Senior Lecturer in Applied Ethics & CyberSecurity, Griffith University It could be argued artificial intelligence (AI) is already the indispensable tool of the 21st century. From helping doctors diagnose and treat patients to rapidly advancing new drug discoveries, it’s our ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mark Kenny, Professor, Australian Studies Institute, Australian National University Through recent natural disasters, global upheavals and a pandemic, Australia’s political centre has largely held. Australians may have disagreed at times, but they have also kept faith with governmental norms, eschewing the false ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Holly Seale, Associate professor, UNSW Health workers are at higher risk of COVID infection and illness. They can also act as extremely efficient transmitters of viruses to others in medical and aged care facilities. That’s why health workers have been prioritised to ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jim Orchard, Adjunct Lecturer, Monash University Last week, somewhat overshadowed by the events in Washington, the Democrats took control of the US Senate. The Democrats now hold a small majority in both the House and the Senate until 2022, giving President-elect Joe ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mittul Vahanvati, Lecturer, School of Global, Urban and Social Studies, RMIT University Heatwaves, floods, bushfires: disaster season is upon us again. We can’t prevent hazards or climate change-related extreme weather events but we can prepare for them — not just as individuals ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mandie Shean, Lecturer, School of Education, Edith Cowan University Starting school is an important event for children and a positive experience can set the tone for the rest of their school experience. Some children are excited to attend school for the first ...
Some families in emergency housing are reporting their children are becoming emotionally distressed because of their living conditions. Demand for emergency accommodation has escalated this past year with the number of emergency housing grants increasing by half. Data showed nearly 10,000 people were given an Emergency Housing Special Needs Grant between ...
Summer reissue: Michèle A’Court, Alex Casey and Leonie Hayden are back for a second season of On the Rag, and where better to start than with the mysterious, exhausting world of wellness?First published June 23, 2020.Independent journalism depends on you. Help us stay curious in 2021. The Spinoff’s journalism is ...
With few Covid-19 infections and negiligible natural immunity, New Zealand faces being a victim of its own success when it is left till last to get the vaccines, argues Dr Parmjeet Parmar. ...
Steve Braunias reports on a literary cancelling. The Corrections department has refused to allow Jared Savage's best-selling book Gangland inside prison on the grounds that it "promotes violence and drug use". An inmate at Otago Corrections Facility in Dunedin was sent a copy of the book – but it was ...
New data from the CTU’s annual work life survey shows a snapshot of working people’s experiences and outlook heading out of 2020 and into the new year. Concerningly 42% of respondents cite workplace bullying as an issue in their workplace - a number ...
An international player, selector and self-confessed cricket stats nerd, Penny Kinsella has now played a hand in recording the rich history of the women's game in New Zealand. Penny Kinsella’s cricketing career was perched on the cusp of change for the White Ferns. “My first tour to Australia, we ...
The dramatic capsize of American Magic brought out the best in the America's Cup sailing fraternity. But, Suzanne McFadden asks, what does it mean to the crippled New York Yacht Club campaign and to the Prada Cup? It was a scene as unreal as it was calamitous. Right at the moment the ...
The current number of members of parliament is starting to get too low for the job we expect them to do, argues Alex Braae. As a general rule, with the possible exception of their families, nobody likes backbench MPs. But it’s nevertheless time we accepted that parliament should have more of ...
The experience in the Brazilian city of Manaus reveals how mistaken, and dangerous, the herd-immunity-by-infection theory really is. As families around the world mourn more than two million people dead from Covid-19, the Plan B academics and their PR industry collaborator continue to argue that the New Zealand government should stop ...
As New Zealand gears up to fight climate change, experts warn that we need to actually reduce emissions, not just plant trees to offset our greenhouse gases. ...
A nationwide poll has found majority support for the government to continue to closely monitor abortions in New Zealand and the reasons for it, despite the Ministry of Health recently suggesting that there is not a use for collecting much of this information. ...
The out-of-control growth in gangs, gun crime, and violent gang activity is exposing our communities to dangerous levels of violence that will inevitably end in tragedy, says Sensible Sentencing Trust. “The recent incidents of people being shot and ...
I just hope to God all this worker assistance provides just something to get us through this bleak, dark, miserable winter ahead.
So many I know in real pain.
The financial assistance is needed and appreciated by people I know.
But there is massive anxiety about what comes post September. There are not exactly a lot of jobs out there at the moment
What I thought capitalism was just fine Ad, us doomsayers who were saying structurally it was weak as piss were dismissed by you and yours.
It takes almost total collapse, pain and suffering for middle NZ – for any of you to take notice. Well take notice- this is what it like all the time for the weakest in this society.
Capitalism is a failed project. Time to grow up and change the economy.
I'm not aware of any country that has practised free market capitalism. I know plenty that have practised market economics, and as a result we have seen millions lifted out of poverty, and the standard if living for most westerners rise to well above anything ever experienced in history.
Silly little stawman, I did not say free market capitalism – so sorry for you.
You said capitalism. That is in itself a straw man, because in it's pure form no country practices it, least of all NZ. So your comment " Time to grow up and change the economy" is meaningless.
Typically thoughtless, pitless fatalism from the Adam.
Your mishmash ideology is nothing but a joyously sadistic apocalyptopia.
Is it just me, or does Raveen Jaduram, the CEO of Watercare, come across as curiously detached about the current water problems in Auckland, and acting like he is simply observing an incomprehensible slow moving train wreck that is quite beyond his control? His public utterances thus far display no sense or urgency or agency on his part and a sort of fatalistic shoulder shrugging abdication of responsibility.
The guy should be jumping up and down, but instead he just seems to be meandering along as an useless CEO of a monopoly utility…
The architects of the Auckland region's local body restructuring made sure his particular empire was well-insulated, figuring it would be the first on the block. He has no connection with citizens, only with customers of a monopoly.
I think they devised a formula sometime ago for CEO and senior staff both in the private and public sectors. The higher the salary, the more insulated and out of touch and less accountable you are allowed to be.
The reality is droughts we are not adapting to the need to use less water.
Droughts are becoming more common yet everyone is looking to the govts to solve the problem.
Farmers have had to face this problem for nearly 30 years but are largely farming for what was happening 30 years ago.Some farmers have buried 3 to 4 yrs of silage to mitigate climate change,changing feed crops not over stocking.
City dwellers need to change habits as well cars can stay dirty.Houses don't need water blasting, gardens need to be drought resistant.Washing Machines water efficient ,Showers shorter and more efficient.
Blaming everything on watercare is not going to solve the longterm problem.
There does not need to be any long term problem about Auckland water. At present Auckland takes 1% of the Waikato flow. Even if that increased to 5% (which would be twice Auckland’s normal daily usage) it would be literally unnoticeable in terms of the river.
The current problem is entirely due to a lack of forward planning to take account of droughts. Water are has operated on the basis that the pipeline installed 20 years ago would be enough. In the meantime the population has virtually doubled.
So the current problem is due to lack of future proofing using a readily available water source at our back door.
At 150 million litres/day taken by Watercare, that's 1.7 cubic metres per second. Out of an annual mean flow of 330ish cubic metres/second at Tuakau. So about 0.5%.
Current Waikato river mean flows are way above historical averages since the 1980s when the headwaters of rivers that used to flow into the Rangitikei, Whanganui, Whangaehu etc got diverted into the Tongariro power scheme. That increased the mean annual flow of the Waikato by about 29 cubic metres/second.
He's clearly cognisant of the ubiquitous sense of entitlement that has long characterised Auckland citizenry. They've always felt entitled to use sprinklers regardless of droughts. First sign of getting real would be to eliminate car washes. Didn't happen last time the reservoirs were this low.
I recall when the headlines were blaring dire emergency, heading into Les Mills & seeing the showers running continuously even though nobody was using them. The dork was actually then current mayor of Ak, blathering on air about water conservation. Typical rightist Aucklander, I thought. Aucks never change.
You are missing the word "some" in several of your sentences. Including it appropriately would make your comment more accurate… but admittedly less dramatic.
Some people overcompensate for a banal existence.
Well not like he really cares his 750k Salary keeps him well insulated from real world issues.
750 grand to make water run downhill! bloody outrageous.
He should be able to make it run uphill for that salary.
Thank Jenny Shipley for corporatising essential council services.
Before a clerk of water services was paid a decent salary for doing the same job probably the equivalent of $150 ,000 to $200,000 in today's money perfectly adequate for a local govt job.
Corporatization was supposed to make these CCO's more efficient.
Reality is cost's have risen efficiency gains dubious and the service users left high and Dry.
that's how it gets into the header tanks lol
The government needs to step in a fix Aucklands water woes . Sure it's a drought but its government policies that have flooded the city with migrants ,both kiwi and foreign!
Nah the absolute inaction over late summer when it was becoming apparent supplies were dropping fast.
Instead they put the house on a change of season bringing rain, realistically we should be looking to manage fresh water year round so drastic steps are less likely.
The Free market answer put the price up to drive down demand.
The poor can afford a Trickle while the wealthy can afford to drown their gardens and fill swimming pools
"It's understood he was offered justice but declined to take it, asking instead for foreign affairs." (Henry Cooke)
stuff.co.nz/national/politics/300020221/todd-mullers-cautious-reshuffle-reveals-deep-tensions-within-national-party
The reason for that seems obvious. There's the added expense of an interpreter on any overseas visit = probably more than one when visiting/grovelling the U.S
Looking on the bright side, we've dodged both those bullets. Simon wouldn't know what justice was if it came up & bit him on the arse, and he's never had a clue about foreign affairs either. Todd oughta give him race relations (to keep us entertained).
Race Relations Toddy should man up and take himself, his views on the subject are of national significance now.
Watch the kid gloves media handle him with going forward so as to not damage the brand after the mauling Soimons given it.
Jack Tame took the gloves off. He asked Toll Muddler what he would do. Deer in the headlights comes to mind.
Did a lot of impressive hand waving though. For a moment I thought he was using sign language to get his answers across.
He did that in QT as well, and slowed down how he said a question (after repeating it), very "mansplain"-ish, he's gonna be fun to watch (in a cringe comedy kinda way).
Speaking of the Wealthy …wastrels
Mr Todd will very soon receive his Muller knighthood. For he will have done what National and Hooton always does: namely
He will have offered the wealthy National Voters large reductions in tax payments.
Not even glancing over the thing we once called the Middle Class – but building the shameful poverty National has built up for decades, Courtesy of the savage NZ Landlords and the low wage Hounds.
Maybe Grant Robertson and Treasury will develop an equality in New Zealand's Fiscal arrangements.
After all is said and done – the duty of our Parliament is to build a Democracy. A thing Muller and his mates know nothing about. We are Not to build a bunch of weatlthy thieves such as present day Nationals.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/political/417512/green-party-won-t-give-up-pushing-for-benefits-increase
Public grandstanding becomes inevitable when you are ineffective in intra-party negotiations, I suppose. You'd think that the co-leaders would be forthright and honest about that – but no. Typical politicians. Treat the public with contempt and they will do it right back to you. Inept.
🙄
Do tell us how the Greens could have been more effective in intra-party negotiations. I'd really like to know how you see that. Because I can't see how the Greens can negotiate better on welfare if Labour and NZF are against what they want. Please explain how they can.
Okay, let's assume Labour & NZF were indeed opposed to the Greens position: I would immediately flush out why. Not just have all the cards on the table, but for the voters to see them. I cannot accept that it is in our national interest to indulge the cover-up.
Then the onus would instantly be on Labour to justify their opposition. That has to be done in reference to the memo of understanding or whatever deal the Greens made after the 2017 election that got them into the troika situation.
We would then have a media frenzy examining the pros & cons of the Labour justification: it would hold up – or not. It could expose a cleavage within Labour, right? Neoliberals vs socialists. The latter supporting the Green position.
Using triangulation within the govt only gets the Greens so far. If they come out of a negotiation as losers they must use the public as third party in the triangle. Grandstanding doesn't achieve that – it merely comes across to the public as losers whimpering. Greens using the triangle as leverage to produce suitable outcomes is the missing bit. Jacinda will always compromise for the greater good. That's the desired outcome. They just need to engineer it!
The flaw in the above reasoning is whether the public mood will support the Greens. I have no rational basis for optimism on that point – just a hunch that the kiwi preference for a fair go for all will guide them to see that the Greens have got the issue right. I'm confident that suitable framing of the issue by the Greens will achieve that result. I suspect that whatever framing they used in the negotiation is root of the current problem…
what's the difference between what you are suggesting and Davidson has just done?
I was sure I had explained that carefully! I see no evidence they have explained their negotiation failure. Nor that they are attempting to include the public in their process (participatory democracy). Just doing back-room deals (that fail) in non-smoke-filled rooms is merely traditional politics without the smoke. You can't cause a political paradigm shift by being so old-fashioned. Inclusion is the zeitgeist. That they don't get such a simple principle is depressing.
Add to that process failure the key principle; to win public support you must explain your political positioning on issues. What we got was her lobbying for beneficiaries plus her reminder of Labour's commitment. No explanation offered for the negotiation failure. Reluctance to inform the public of that sends the wrong signal. Not only would beneficiaries like to know who to blame, I bet media pros would too. She would rather National grabs the headlines? Any publicity is good became a political truism long ago. Did nobody tell her?
"to win public support you must explain your political positioning on issues."
MD just did that. She explained their political positioning on welfare, in response to Labour's.
If I have understood you correctly, your main point here is that the process of policy development isn't transparent? I would agree with that. I'm not sure to what extent the Greens can do something about that, although I agree that they should be saying something. There will be some expectation of confidentiality. Breaking that will harm relationships, so there is a balance between going against Labour and NZF and being able to work with them (eg in negotiations). I mean, what is she supposed to say? Hey NZ, Labour wouldn't have such a stupid policy if it weren't for NZF, who actively blocked our suggestions on how to so this payment in a way that was better for all NZers.
One thing that is clear is that lots of people, including those that comment on politics publicly, don't understand how parliament works. Or government. Or the Greens. I wonder if it would help if the Greens just started pointing this stuff out more generally.
People slam the Greens for not using leverage, but the Green kaupapa is relationship based, they don't do macho politics. I like the idea of bringing the public into the process, just not sure how that would work. I would probably agree with your strategy more if I was more confident in how NZers would respond. I'm not, and the evidence for that is the people voting Labour instead of Green who used to vote Green. They stopped voting Green after Turei's speech and with the rise of Ardern. They haven't gone back. Maybe they just don't care that much about welfare, or maybe they think that Labour is getting the settings right, despite three years of it being explained how they're not.
If I have understood you correctly, your main point here is that the process of policy development isn't transparent?
No. Internal party policy process isn't the problem. Political positioning is something that caucus decides, to maximise impact on voters. I was explaining why they got it wrong on this particular occasion.
The vital thing is not to appear in public as impotent losers. Nothing is more guaranteed to make voters lose confidence in the Greens than that. The only possible way to prevent the contagion effect of that perception snowballing in the public mind is via suitable framing – that's the x factor missing.
The best frame would be via explanation of the outcome: NZF wouldn't agree, Labour wouldn't agree, both wouldn't agree. They not only failed to specify which reason produced the outcome, they seem not to have grasped the necessity of communicating an explanation to voters. Once again, clueless public relations. Do they not even use all those donations to hire somebody to explain this stuff – or did they hire someone useless??
Imagine you were hired to 'explain this stuff'. Could you provide an example of the way you would 'communicate an explanation to voters' without the 'missing x-factor'?
As quoted here, Marama apparently did communicate an explanation to voters without that essential framing. So the best answer to your query is to read hers. Keeping in mind the technical possibility that she did explain which of those three viable explanations caused the impasse, and that bit didn't get included in the quote.
I did read it and came to a different conclusion to you.
So, seeing as you have diagnosed the issue and determined their PR people are 'useless', I was asking you, in your wisdom, to furnish us with what you think the 'essential framing' should have been.
Personally, I find a turgid bloviate expounding forth upon PR and messaging to be the height of guerilla satire.
I wasn't talking about internal policy development, I was talking about the government's policy development, which is influenced by the in-closet negotiations that happen between Lab/NZF and Lab/Greens (don't know if there is a G/NZF thing or a L/NZF/G). It's clear from the rest of my explanation that I was referring back to what we were discussing.
Now you've brought in something new, that the Greens' PR is an issue, because if they oppose Labour on a policy that they didn't get wins on they appear to be losers and people won't like them. Which takes us back to the framing. You seem to be saying that the Greens should take confidential information from negotiation processes and make it public as a way of blaming Labour and NZF for the GP not getting gains. Have I got that right?
Even if this were a wise strategy (I've already pointed out the problem of breaking trust like that), the GP aren't in Cabinet and don't have access to what L/NZF discuss.
I do see value in someone explaining to the public how government works, and how this one in particular works.
As an aside, your argument would be much easier to follow if you could resist sticking the boot into the Greens each time. I can't be bothered trying to parse past that much more. Hmm, maybe there's a communication fail there on your part.
Okay, sorry, I didn't get that. You're right that govt policy formulation is the underlying process in the situation, of course. If confidentiality prevents them explaining that to the public, I would view it as a design flaw – I haven't seen any such clause and am curious if it derives from MMP constitutionally or is something invented by Labour. Do you know?
If Labour really are trying to prevent transparent governance happen, they ought to be held accountable. As regards pointing to mistakes by the Greens, my expectation is that consciousness will be raised about how politics is best done. Learning comes from experience, and when ingrained beliefs prevent that others must catalyse the elucidation necessary. So it's a helping motivation…
There was a report on TV3 news just now – Metiria has come out on the issue, I saw a tweet shown with a naughty word blanked out.
I did check online to see what the text of the Labour/Greens agreement says re confidentiality, and it became clear that they are unable to explain such negotiation failures to the public – so my criticism lacked a realistic basis, really. It is a substantial flaw in our democratic system to use a confidentiality agreement to prevent the public learning which party is discriminating against a significant minority group in the electorate!
A tweet from Turei? Not seeing anything from her two twitter accounts.
Yes, this is what I have been saying. The process is locked up, and the public are excluded, and this isn't the fault of the Greens. I doubt it is on Labour, more convention that has developed during MMP. The coalition partners (L/NZF) are bound by Cabinet rules. I couldn't remember what was in the agreements but the Greens would also be respectful of confidentiality because the relationships still need to be functional.
I would guess that NZF are a big factor, given they campaign in a way that is blind to the electorate.
This is why I'm saying that talking about the set up is important. We really have a poor form of democracy.
I thought that's what I saw but if you want to investigate it was from their political reporter (Jenna Lynch, if I remember that right) and they will probably have it on the Newshub site in print form some time this evening. Seemed contraversial, so I'd be surprised if it never shows…
Yeah, if you do write something, would be good to include the limitation imposed on the free speech of parliamentarians by the system. People do expect politicians to explain conflict between parties to both media and public (not just me being idiosyncratic). Using the agreement clause like a gag order isn't merely just a bad look. It blocks transparency, therefore is unprincipled. That said, they signed it, so must act in accord with it.
ta, it's up now.
https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2020/05/former-green-party-leader-metiria-turei-puts-government-on-blast-over-new-payment-scheme.html
From the link:
The writers also conclude it is the Greens fault apparently.
Dennis is a troll Weka…haven't you realised yet?
To blame the Greens in this situation is simply trolling-it is all about coalition government under MMP. The Greens would be more effective in these matters if they got 10% in September and NZF 4.9%
You might wise up a little if you read what Pete George cited below, huh? I'm not blaming the Greens, I'm pointing to the lack of leadership exemplified by the mishandling of the negotiation.
Now if it turns out that either Labour or NZF are refusing to honour that agreement, I will happily blame them. But the current info on the situation suggests the Greens have decided not to inform the media & public about that. Presuming you have heard of the principle of transparent governance, do you approve their apparent decision to act in contradiction??
He's not a troll. He's got a beef for the Greens, but sifting past that he is pointing to something important here.
I still think you are both (Weka and Dennis) missing the point that it doesn't matter how well the Greens negotiate, if NZF don't like it then its gets voted down and so doesn't happen.
So all the Greens are doing is getting the best outcome they can get within this straightjacket, and then spinning it as a good outcome because some Green elements have squeezed through. That is politics. It increases their profile and the public's perception of the party as achievers.
To attack them for "public grandstanding" and being "ineffective" is completely unfair, without basis and purposefully inflammatory i.e trolling. They are perfectly entitled to scream to the high heavens how they would really have liked the negotiations to have turned out.
To then point me to Pete George (of all people) to prove your case is simply rubbing salt in the wound, and says it all. (He ignores the reality described above in his post below.)
I say yet again in TS; the only way we will have a government that is in any way genuinely left of centre/progressive is to Party Vote Green. If the Greens don't get 5% we will probably have PM Muller.
"If the Greens don't get 5% we will probably have PM Muller. "
Or PM Ardern with NZF as their coalition partner?
All you are really achieving here is exhibiting failure to comprehend the relevance of the clauses Pete George quoted – even though Marama's reference to them was flagged by quote at the top of the thread!
Do you not understand that the agreement between Labour & the Greens operates just like a contract?? And that Marama is endeavouring to alert kiwis to Labour's failure to honour that contract?
That's the guts of the situation. It's how MMP operates!! All them red herrings of yours aren't going to change that fact.
no, I largely agree with you and disagree with Dennis. I just thought the point about the invisibility of how government policy is developed was worth looking at. It's daft to blame the Greens for that.
And yes, the only way we get a left wing govt is to vote Green. My personal view is that slagging off the Greens all the time just makes a L/NZF govt more likely.
Otoh, I'm trying really hard today to not write a post called Fuck You Labour, so I can understand the sentiment of feeling deeply disappointed in a political party.
I agree with all of that Weka.
I vote Green but I have plenty of sympathy for Labour and I organised a public meeting for David Parker in Wanaka for the 2017 election. I wouldn't do this again in September because of the fast track RMA reform he is supporting. The public scrutiny afforded by the RMA is an important check and balance.
I'm also highly dubious about the two-tier unemployment payment policy just announced. This should be extended to all unemployed over the same 12 weeks-this would give a cash boost to the economy and would be fair. I thought Jacinda was into fairness.
Greens got the negotiating bit right on welfare at the start of the term. From Confidence and Supply Agreement between the New Zealand Labour Party and the Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand:
And maybe here:
But since then Greens have not got close to negotiating what they wanted despite this formal agreement.
It's too late to complain now, except for campaign purposes.
"Overhaul the welfare system" Putting Wellbeing at the heart of things matters. It drives all future actions, even in a 1 in 100 situation.
Perhaps the budget was going to do that, we will never know. I hear lots of fear and anger coupled with hope for change.
Many of us feel more secure with this Government, and trust their direction more than any we have experienced for a while.
They too are people who will not always "get it right"., But they have shown a capacity to accept and correct errors.
I think it is wrong to label them as part of regimens that have gone before, as they have tried to keep their promises, though often blocked by friends.
Jacinda Ardern is a rare being, and is recognised world wide for her advocacy and communication. We are fortunate to have someone of her calibre. She has kept her Ministers on track with few exceptions, and promoted high standards.
Decisions to be made in the near term will not be easy, but she will show kindness tenacity and skill.
Many aspects of our lives have been improved, and she has shown us the way. Help each other, support those in need, share more and base our lives around keeping our part of the world functioning.
Some will say that is simplistic, but in lock down we discovered we need essential services (and they should be paid for). We need food producers. We need shelter. We need education and good health, but most of all we need each other with all our faults a foibles.
We relearned what wants were, and looked askance at our collected debri. We learned most people want their friends and relatives to be well, and strangers are just folk we have not met yet, so we smile and wave when we see them, put teddies in windows for the children.
We learned that for some this will be more frightening than for others given their health or starting point in life.
The most important thing we learned was we can help others and ourselves. We can innovate create and share ideas thanks to technology. We need to believe we can make a difference, and then we will. IMO
It's absolutely pointless overhauling the welfare system/increasing benefits unless there is a corresponding overhaul of housing and rents. Much more urgent impetus on state housing – driven by the state, not property developers, is needed. This government also wimped out on CGT, so residential property speculation remains as an attractive "investment" option. Much of the benefit increases will just go into landlords' pockets. All the talk about poverty and wellbeing is just that – talk. A rent freeze for a couple of years would be a good place to start in the mean time.
Lift benefit rates
Build an endless supply of state houses (that can be converted to rent to buy that gets transferred to private debt once enough equity is gained)
Relationship status shouldn't effect your benefit.
Create jobs
"This Government wimped out on CGT"
I thought Winston made it fairly plain he blocked that. A coalition has to compromise even when it is painful. They have increased the house building and continue to do so, and have begun training apprentices again. It is not much over 2 and a half years!!. They may get a bigger mandate this time.
The vote buying welfare industry is changing quickly, the new two tier system proves all animals are equal but some are more equal than others, comrade.
[TheStandard: A moderator moved this comment to Open Mike as being off topic or irrelevant in the post it was made in. Be more careful in future.]
Burt this isnt the post for social welfare commentary.
Bill did one on that yesterday.
Normally unemployment numbers move up slowly this sort of economic shock hasn't happened since 1929.
Cheap political point scoring.
Muller being pushed as 'nice'? https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/better-business/121618232/its-a-brave-new-world-when-politicians-compete-to-be-the-nicest-and-kindest
Problem there is that National have two "nice" senior MPs in Kaye and Adams who are both more experienced than Muller, had bigger roles in the previous government, have some crossover appeal to voters and are much better performers in the media.
So, er, why did they pick Muller? Presumably to look like the CEO with balls (sic) who "gets things done". If they really wanted "nice" they had better options.
Kaye and Adams standing dutifully either side of him while he outlined the shuffle yesterday just seemed to highlight the way National Party was overlooking their senior women MPs.
You've got it! It's the kiwi bloke strategy. It's the front row of a rugby scrum look. Muller is the hooker. He's out trying to hook votes. The other two are mere props.
As a hooker would he sell his soul for a vote? Too damned right.
Eh?
National now has 3 women in the top 5 of their list and at last count Labour has 1
Fair enough.
But Labour's woman is obviously better than the men she outranks. So – merit.
Whereas National's man isn't obviously better than the 3 women he outranks. This is a problem.
Do you know if kaye or adams wanted the top job??
I assume Adams definitely didn't, don't know if there was any discussion about the positions of Muller/Kaye ticket.
But we can be sure Collins and Kaye have future leadership ambitions after they lose (Adams might quit). They want to be leaders in government. Not opposition.
So it really just emphasises that National don't expect to win. Muller takes one for the team, then the real contenders will target 2023.
I suppose it depends on whether they wanted to be leader AND warranted it over Muller.
Just because Ardern is very good as a politician and rightly deserves top spot in Labour, this does not mean every other women MP currently in parliament should automatically deserve to be a leader of a party.
It is like the line of Goff, Shearer, Cunliffe and Little are wiped from peoples memories, just because Ardern is a very good leader now.
Not automatically, of course not.
I'm just suggesting that on the (limited) evidence so far Muller doesn't come across as the best candidate for the job. If after Bill quit they'd picked Amy Adams (on merit) instead of Bridges they might not have been in this mess.
TBF I would have gone for Adams as well.
Maybe it was a too obvious a direct match try to Ardern though.
No idea.
TBF to Bridges, he did keep them in the running through a lot of crap, even if he did have the communication skills of the Swedish Chef in the muppets.
those photos of adams and kaye, standing and looking upwards in awe at their leader, remind me of many of trumps photo ops. what a man! we are in his aura!
I thought they looked like those posed promotional posters from Bolshevic USSR and the 3rd Reich.
Not so 'nice' if you are Māori interests in his local electorate upsetting the white folk. https://www.waateanews.com/waateanews/x_news/MjQ1ODM/Muller-seeking-to-undo-Motiti-win
Its looking pretty clear where Todd Muller stands on Maori issues and for that matter the environment. They're at the bottom of his list of priorities – if they’re on the list at all. Plays well to the demographic he's looking to gather into the fold though.
So much for the "nice" Mr Muller who is honest and straightforward and is not interested in attacking opponents.
Do you know why National signed up to the zero carbon bill Anne?
Yes. Basically, they could no longer avoid not signing up to something and Muller managed to water down James Shaw's bill to such a degree it ended up a very weak imitation of its former self. Muller then agreed to sign it.
But but but says Nicky Kaye we've got plenty of Maoris, theres..there's oh Paula and Paul Goldsmith and Shane Whatshis name..!
Paul G, a correction actually I'm not Maori.
Nicky K.. but but but..actually I'm not Maori either but I've got connections !.
Good luck Todd, you asked for it. plonker.
That nice Mr Muller last night on Q&A did not come across as nice or competent. An awful interview with nil substance. The panel was more interesting. Lila Harre was very clear whereas the usual confidence of Thomas was subdued.
Starts about 8 minutes in.
https://www.tvnz.co.nz/shows/q-and-a/live
I was interested to note that the Nats have (had) a number of "Todds" in the line-up, so I wondered if it was short for some other name, but no it's not.
It is its own name, and it has its own meaning.
Sort of fits really.
If Mula (or should I say Maga?) tries to play the "kind" and "nice" game against Jacinda he will be playing on a steeply sloping pitch into a gale-force wind.
Will Faafoi grow a pair and do something about the landscape in RNZ now.
Hooton's played the system to line his pockets in a partisan way along with others for years. That’s without looking at his highly questionable personal morality.
Just get national MP’s on and be done with it, cheaper also.
Granny does as she always has but it's not taxpayer funded till COVID came along.
Taxpayers funded soapboxes for the shills needs to stop if RNZ is to be of service to the people of NZ….all people not just the acolytes of the neolib construct.
No one listens to Hootons twisted logic
Agreed Tricle….Hooton is capable of sounding quite rational for 70% of the time but then he goes completely off the rails for the next 30%….definitely not who you would want as chief of staff.
"Will Faafoi grow a pair and do something about the landscape in RNZ now."
Somehow, I very much doubt it.
Like his counterpart I L-G, they're too "nice". You could get some idea with their "core competencies" with the latest INZ fuckup.
Sometimes I wonder whether JA quietly thinks to herself – FUCK guys! do I have to do everything myself?"
I'm hoping the likes of AlJazeera (even DW and France24), Amnesty International and a few others don't get hold of JA underlings' dithering
I listened last night to muller on the Kathryn Ryan show from earlier that day.
i did comment on this website that his first speech was good. The interview with Kathryn not so much. She was tripping him up left right and centre. The main thrust of his position was we are better than them. 17 empty chairs at the cabinet table, their plan is not coherent. And he would really understand small business. He is endanger of sounding like a white male whose knows it all (but hasn’t done it yet) saying” move aside little lady. Three is an edge of arrogance here that I think Kiwis will switch off from. An actually he was boring. Apparently he was a bit of a train wreck on q and a last night, answering many questions by dropping in Amy Adams name. Oh and Simons not going anywhere
forgive me for quoting mike Hoskins but “happy days”
Yes, I'm surprised nobody has said much about last night's Q & A interview – it was downright embarrassing!
I agree JanM. I could hardly bear to watch Muller's interview on Q & A – I even felt a tiny bit of pity for him. The Breakfast show usually follows up on Q & A – I was waiting for some commentary this morning – but nothing…
Yes Anker and Jan. Does Todd send shivers down your spine at the Todd prospects of overturning this Government?
"……. it was downright embarrassing" I agree, but then I have to check myself.
Do you really think Todd Muller ( or half his tribe for that matter ) give a shit what you 'feel'.
Same shit but a substantially different stink for the Bridges tribe. I imagine that little tribe is now considered very,, very inferior – so let's throw them a bone and a promise or there could conceivably an uprising in the future (going forward, in this space)
If 10 households default on their mortgages it is those households problem….if 10,000 default it is the banks problem….and consequently everyones problem.
Except the banks extract billions from NZ every year… I'm sure they can bare losing a billion or three to avoid those kinds of situations.
And you would be mistaken because the effect is not limited to those few billions but the system as a whole.
Just thinking about how people cite experience in big business, such as fonterra in Miller’s case, as being a great asset to running a country. But business is run with the key focus of making a profit. This driver is not a key focus of running a country. Sure finance ministers endeavour to balance the books, but that is a means to an ends.
re miller’s embarrasing a and a interview, it occurs to me he has had very little experience of being interviewed. This could be a real disaster for the Nats. Meanwhile Amy who interviews we’ll surely must be wondering why she didn’t get the job in the first place. Meanwhile in the botany electorate Luxton is wanting Todd to fail. And do we really expect Simon not to sabotage when he’s back. Someone should make a soap out of this
" it occurs to me he has had very little experience of being interviewed."
That's why the superficial comparison with Ardern 2017 is false. Another late change, and it worked, so National could do it too – that's the line.
But Ardern must have given 100s of live interviews by then. Starting with TV's "Young Guns" in 2008, she was increasingly prominent in the media. It's a skill set that can only be learned through experience, and is unrelated to business meetings or whatever Muller brings to the job.
He was undone by something as simple as the time delay. It made him look hesitant and evasive. That might seem trivial but it is something you have to get used to and allow for. He needs to learn fast.
Agree re him not managing the time delay very well but I also think there was some evident frustration showing on his part that Tame wouldn’t just accept everything he said and move on to another subject. He looked a man more used to holding court rather than someone relishing the to-and-fro of debate. Doesn’t bode well for the campaign.
Also did he seem, how shall I say it, a little sweaty?
He wasn't well prepared at all.
Unless he's proposing new policies, his job is simply to know his party's policies and promote them. Falling back on empty buzz words is feeble.
I honestly don't know which of the Bridges/Goldsmith economic policies are still in place, and which ones aren't. And I've heard him interviewed half a dozen times.
Business meetings too easily suffer from deference to authority, group-think, ideological controls that render some things 'unsayable', and participants afraid of losing their positions of prominence. Corporations are "private tyrranies" (Chomsky) and bringing the habits developed there into the public domain is not often a good idea.
There are sooooo many reasons why the todd change is no switch to Ardern.
Ardern was deputy leader. Muller was who-ller.
Ardern was visibly different to Little – not so much gender: energy, pace of delivery, enthusiasm. Muller doesn't seem to be particularly different to Bridges.
Ardern changed the game against the nats – "let's do this" literally within a few days. Muller… ?
The leadership change for Labour was amicable. This one – not so much.
Labour knew that leadership was a poisoned chalice – Ardern took one for the team. I doubt anyone else wanted it. National has multiple pretenders sharpening their blades.Some of them might even think they can turn things around in seven weeks, so Muller needs to watch his back until August at least.
God it's funny when it happens to them lol
"Just thinking about how people cite experience in big business, such as Fonterra in Miller’s case, as being a great asset to running a country."
Does working inside say Fonterra count as business experience? I would have thought that the hairdresser or mechanic running his own business or engineer running his workshop with 20 workers are businesses people with genuine experience with trial/error determination coping with losses etc etc. Lets not rate Fonterra/Zespry as qualifying MPs.
A "woodwork teacher" has generally had more hands on business experience, as most have been sole trader or small business tradespeople.
Some inherited the business and made it fail, however,
Pretty pale lineup.
Is Todd getting payback for all "….the Maori kids flogged his flash sandwiches ".
All the boys and girls came out to play …and messed up everywhere.
As far as I can see
First past the post is Clear Cut.
Free by 3 times, the current speculative mess. Less expensive; easily comprehended. Absolutely Normal.
Join the Political Party you value, Not with a crooked tree. and endless threats.
FPP: a recipe for gerrymandering, perverse undemocratic outcomes, and a two party system of rotating dictatorship. Kiwis chucked it because they were sick of getting Rogered and Ruthanasia'd by radicals
Looks to me like more than 400k voters have switched allegiance from National to Labour since February … a profound realignment … possibly (entering the realm of speculation here) predicated first & foremost upon the gratitude of older voters.
Don't rule out National crashing like 2002.
In some senses, a different context … but also some striking similarities:
Up against an unusually popular First Term Govt & PM, National's Oligarchs facilitated Bill English's toppling of Jenny Shipley in October 2001, 10 Months out from the 2002 Election.
The leadership spill had zero effect at first – no post-leadership bounce, with the Nats & broader Opposition forces flatlining over the next few months. Over the New Year, however, a clear Leftward swing of around 4 points from National to Labour emerged as softly-aligned Nats began to bail, followed by another 2 months of relative stability, then another small swing from Nat-to-Lab.
But most significantly from our 2020 point of view, Nat support very suddenly & very shockingly went into freefall over the final 3 weeks of the campaign … with almost all of this very late swing heading to conservative, centrist & Right parties … ACT surging, NZF & UF more than tripling their support (albeit with the help of the somewhat notorious 'Worm-Debate'). Nats plunged from 30% down to 21% over a remarkably short period of time, with ACT almost doubling from 4 to 7%, NZF from 3 to 10% & UF exploding from zilch to 7 in the blink of an eye.
With the re-election of the Clark Labour Govt seemingly inevitable, more astute (or, at least, pragmatic) National voters saw the writing on the wall … hence the Right vote significantly fragments as large numbers of 1999 Nats seek to provide a counterweight to any leftward thrust of the incoming Govt, in the process, if possible, keeping the Greens away from power. Meanwhile, true-believers on the Right follow their hearts & desert to ACT.
As a consequence, less than half of 1999 National supporters remain loyal, as the Party plunges to a historic low. Amongst a whole host of surprises, Labour wins the Party-Vote in all but 3 of National's Rural Heartland seats.
_________________________________________________________________________________
Muller's toppling of Bridges & the release of the latest Colmar Brunton have occurred 4 Months out from the Election. Here's a comparison with the same point in 2002:
…………. 2002 …………… 2020
Nat …….. 35% ……………. 29%
ACT ……. 4.0% ………….. 2.2%
N+A …….. 39.0% ……….. 31.2%
Well-reasoned, plausible. If Muller isn't adept at fronting media situations, it becomes likely. I stopped watching Q+A when it got too boring, but if he was as inadequate as commentators here suggest, that could become the determining trend.
I reckon the election will hinge as much on competing recovery plans as on leadership charisma. If the Nats get theirs out in front of voters before the coalition govt gets theirs out, perception that they are sufficiently on the ball to govern will form. If the govt gets theirs out first, they'll win as long as serious flaws don't emerge…
I wonder which of 2002 or 2011 is the better comparison. Labour didn't roll Goff, but a first term government with a popular, bullet-proof PM in the backdrop of a natural disaster has some similarities.
Latest National Unity news:
Outside caucus, Muller tells reporters Paul Goldsmith is Maori. Then Goldsmith says he isn't. Paula Bennett laughs. So it's all going to plan.
"National leader Todd Muller says his "Make America Great Again" hat is staying in its box in his new office, and he won't be unpacking it."
Is the cat dead or alive in the box?
More mistakes from TM…..it seems he may be a front only for the Nats…a new face that is somehow, they hope, more acceptable to the electorate. Good times.
Todd Conehead’s gem was sticking with Nat super at 67 policy. Sure some time out from implementation, but people close to 65 will still likely not be impressed. Cost Labour votes previously.
And sticking with the continuing Mining oil and gas he said last night.
So National are saying the younger retirees are going to pay double with less job security.
Paying the debt down and no early retirement robots taking more jobs.
Universal super should become UBI funded by a much bigger Cullen Fund + compulsory Kiwisaver.Then people can choose when to retire ie a builder could retire at 60 less physically demanding jobs can retire later.The builder may want to become a trainer or work in a bunnings store part time..
The 4 day week needs to be seriously considered the 40 hr week is old hat.
Time to be more adaptable,like farmers could have a 3 1/2 day week doing 35 hrs in 3 and a half days which would make easy shift changes.
Farm workers maybe, but farmers i.e owners, will still be working all the bloody hours under the sun.
I love that the conehead tag may stick
rofl
Beldar!
Whoa…heard that one coming.
edit: loud but weak
https://www.geonet.org.nz/earthquake
Questions for Question Time today not yet up. A bit odd to be this late? What if…?
Has it already been said? Todd said outside caucus today that Goldsmith was Maori.
Goldsmith said, "No I'm not!"
I think the comment has been attributed to NK…..but still…another failed attempt at relevance.
Well they did forget to move the traditional vote of non-confidence in the Budget.
25 minutes to QT and no Questions up???
Labour's criticism towards the Nats is beginning to look a bit desperate now.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/300020726/nikki-kaye-wrongly-describes-paul-goldsmith-as-mori-as-pressure-over-nationals-diversity-grows
The only desperate thing here is your poor attempt at deflection.
Up until a few days ago the top two were Maori.
Where are the women in the top 5 of Labour?
I see just one.
Does this mean Labour aren’t diverse enough?
It is a silly attack
The only silly think here is your inability to count to 5. If you are talking about Cabinet rankings then there is more than 1 party in Cabinet.
The people criticising in the article I posted are Labour.
And I even said "Labour's criticism towards the Nats"
Funniest four words of the year: "And obviously Paul Goldsmith."
REPORTER: Where are the Māori shadow cabinet members?
TODD MULLER: [slowly, in order to convey gravity as well as "niceness"] There's Paula Bennett of course. And there's Shane Reti.
NIKKI KAYE: And obviously Paul Goldsmith.
….Awkward pause….
EVERYBODY WHO HEARD THAT ON THE RADIO: Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!
Chris T it's not Noah's Ark. A woman has the top job in Labour. It is generally agreed in Labour they need more women on the front bench. They have gender equality policies to promote this. They haven't got there yet, but they are working on it.
Haha nice try. Ngati Goldsmith. Tova just tweeted ‘you can’t make this shit up’
Goldsmith: "My great-great grandfather had European wives and Māori wives, and so I've got lots of relatives across Ngāti Porou – I don't claim to be Māori myself.''
He could've added: "I'm proud to be descendant of a bi-racial polygamist." Some of these people haven't got a clue how to grab a headline…
sounds like something Shane Jones would say…not sure he's a great role model
At a time when a lot of older people who got to quite like the lockdown for the slower pace and are saying they could go a shorter week, Todd Boofhead says National will raise the retirement age.
Fuck me, the man can not read a room let alone the country. Nats to try for 25%. Go Team.
Chris T…re labour’s lack of women in the cabinet front row. They acknowledge that and have policies in place to develop gender equality in labour. Even so the front bench aren’t devoid of women, one has the top job.
i look forward to the problems Toddy is going to have when his promoted his team as the more competent and he just dumped two Maoris and two out of the three labour ministers he’s said are non performers are Maori. Oh and did we mention the MAGA hat.
it is not a good look when you promote your team as more competent and then one of them makes the unbelievable mistake of stating one her colleagues is Maori when he isn’t. Of course the other interesting thing is goldsmith refuted this immediately. So much support in this caucus, although really it was the only thing he could do
Fair call
I just think it is a little throwing rocks in glass houses, using a criticism like that, given their own partys list.
The interesting thing though is how badly they fluffed the response and how little support they got to smooth the blunder over from the rest rest of the caucus.
True They aren't exactly covering themselves in glory and a sense of stability. Lol
I only just realised the thing that really pisses me off about "plan b" Thornley. Read somewhere that the dude specialises in economic impacts of health interventions, yet he provided zero – ZERO! – information. Just repeated basically that "cure might be worse than the disease" wank. Where was his data? If he studies this shit, where's his prediction of how many people would be killed by the economic flow-on of L4? QALYs? Estimated mortality?
I bet that if he even did it, it's locked in a draw because it didn't suit his bullshit.
Tova O'Brien, I've not liked her style but I just saw she antagonises the Nat supporters too, so I tip my (non MAGA) hat to Ms O'Brien, she must be doing something right (she's getting accused on the Twitter for making up the Goldsmith Māori gaff, like she said, "you can't make this shit up!").
Anderson Cooper flabbergasted by foolish person: "Wow, that's really ignorant."
She is a nice Girl.
Her name is Tovi. She is like Toddy who is also training for the public. But much much smaller.
Tova and Toddy – have a long way to go. They make stuff up a bit. To get by.
Toddy don't even know a Maori from a Goldsmith. Ultimately Tova will be way in front. Thats' my pick.
The most exciting takeaway from the National Party in Parliament today was that Chris Bishop has cut off his mullet and that Paul Goldsmith is from Ngati Epsom.
https://i.stuff.co.nz/business/farming/121627591/going-hard-and-early-on-m-bovis-paid-dividends-pm
Looks like another success for the coalition government,
6 new cases in Western Australia today, all from a Kuwaiti live sheep export ship that was cleared to berth by Federal Border Force agents in spite of them being advised that at least 3 crew had ‘elevated temperatures’.
https://thewest.com.au/news/coronavirus/coronavirus-crisis-al-kuwait-crew-stopped-from-disembarking-in-fremantle-port-as-four-crew-aboard-livestock-ship-test-positive-for-coronavirus-ng-b881558631z
"Former Wellington mayor Celia Wade-Brown has jumped back into the world of politics, running as the Green Party candidate in the Wairarapa electorate." https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/121626389/former-wellington-mayor-celia-wadebrown-running-for-green-party-in-wairarapa
"Speaking to Stuff, Wade-Brown said she was running to maximise the party vote." "Issues of equality, climate change, and rivers matter to people. We've got an opportunity to do a green reset to Covid-19," she said. Wade-Brown is not among the 24 candidates on the Green Party list, and is not expected to make a serious play to win the seat."
"She had been a supporter of John Hart, who ran for the Green Party in the last two elections and only offered to stand when she learnt he was not planning to run again." National haven't selected their candidate yet, and Ron Mark "pulled 19 per cent of the electorate vote in 2017, with more coming from National party voters than Labour voters."
"Wairarapa-based List MP Kieran McAnulty will be running for Labour for a third straight election." Third time lucky, I reckon! "Wade-Brown said she would consider formally endorsing McAnulty for the electorate vote. "We're going to have those conversations over the next couple of weeks. I think he's very widely respected within the local community," she said."
Remembering bold long-term finance minister Grant Robertson. https://www.greenpeace.org/new-zealand/story/obituary-of-grant-robertson-by-david-slack/
not sure what to make of that tbh.
Slack has a long history of satirical obituaries in his regular newspaper column before those were canned. This one seems wishful..
ah, I didn't know that. That gives a better context.
They used to be in a certain Auckland-centric magazine as well. https://www.metromag.co.nz/society/society-people/the-obituary-of-david-slack-died-2040
National MPs already leaking as new leadership team of Todd Muller and Nikki Kaye suffers disastrous first sitting day.
https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2020/05/national-mps-already-leaking-as-new-leadership-team-of-todd-muller-and-nikki-kaye-suffers-disastrous-first-sitting-day.amp.html
Drip. Drip.Drip. Gush!
I see the labour party is paying the recent unemployed twice what the already unemployed are getting.Reminds me of the last labour government who didn't pay working for families to beneficiaries.Elected by the poor govern for the rich
It appears that those nations with governed states and provinces have struggled a bit more with this pandemic.
Squabble with our brother while Grandma dies.
I'm a Cuomo fan, I like anyone that sounds like Tony Soprano and isn't indicted. I love it when they call a bird a boid. In spite of his declaration to keep politics out of it Andrew couldn't resist a stab at Kentucky Governor Mitch McConnell. Mitch had suggested that New York declare bankruptcy. Andrew offered a contrary view, this guy picked up the ball and ran with Andy's view…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k_qPCOzkYDg