Mike Smith and Matt Robson make comments that will be discomforting to the armchair warriors on the Standard.
’Smith fears New Zealand could now find itself "on the wrong side of history" by helping prolong a conflict in the interests of waning US hegemony while risking its own interests in the Asia-Pacific region, and increasing the risks of a nuclear war.’
’Former minister in Helen Clark's Labour government, Matt Robson, echoed his concerns, and called for an informed debate in Parliament over the country's increasing involvement in the conflict.’
Matt Robson doubles down on his support for unjust wars.
The evidence is that Putin wanted to take over Ukraine, and has used missiles, artillery and aerial bombardment to smash any resistance, turning towns and cities to rubble and killing many civilians in the process.
Matt Robson is a big supporter of unjust wars, willing to destroy his own political party to involve New Zealand in the invasion and occupation of Afghanistan. The cost of Matt Robson's treachery is 10 NZDF soldiers lives, and drawing us into committing war crimes to perpetuate that war and occupation. History shows that the war in Afghanistan was an cruel and unjust war, that achieved nothing except, leaving that country devastated and starving, its infrastructure ruined and its government accounts seized by the American aggressor.
By betraying his own party majority democratic decision not to back this war.
Matt Robson has blood on his hands.
It should be of little surprise to most on the Left that Matt supports the bloody invasion of Ukraine.
Did you experience a short-circuit in your brain this morning listening to RNZ? You probably wouldn’t be the only one here on TS.
Where does Matt Robson state or imply that he “supports the bloody invasion of Ukraine”?
Is calling for public debate and discussion now an act of betrayal and a show of support of violence and war? If so, he clearly needs to be cancelled and silenced toot sweet.
Next you might call him a genocidal fascist for questioning us, Aotearoa-New Zealand, for being in lockstep with the US of A, still or again.
Dr. Adrian Zenz is a senior follow at the “Victims of Communism memorial foundation” in Washington D.C, an ideological organization funded by congress.
Zenz is a fundamentalist Christian. Whilst religious affiliation does not discredit one, nevertheless the specific nature of his beliefs put him on the most extreme right of the American evangelical wing. This individual is being used to ferment a global narrative concerning China, with total silence or background information offered on what he actually believes in.
Amongst these, Zenz states that all “other belief systems” to Christianity are “ultimately inspired by Satan” and that “those who reject faith in Jesus will be sentenced to eternal punishment”
The truth is that Xinjiang allegations are always:
1) coordinated
2) deliberately released at strategic moments in time
3) are used to advance specific policy based goals
And each new wave *always* begins with the coincidental discovery of newly found documents which are then analyzed by Adrian Zenz.
Understand that every wave of Xinjiang related material is always used to advance a political agenda of sorts, and there's different phases of areas of emphasis, with long areas of interval. This is what I've learnt since 2019:
Of course, either report could be based on fabricated information but interesting that so much evidence should appear just when Bachelet, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, is being put under US led pressure to abandon an investigative trip to Xinjiang.
"The U.S. side called Bachelet's visit a mistake, saying the U.S. has "no expectation that the PRC (People's Republic of China) will grant the necessary access required to conduct a complete, unmanipulated assessment of the human rights environment in Xinjiang."
Of course, the 1,690,000 prison population sounds pretty horrific even if excluding an alleged 1 million political prisoners, in a population of 1.4 billion. However, China is only second to the US which has 2,068,800 prisoners for a population of less than 350 million. How many there could be regarded as political prisoners?
It might pay to avoid a rush to judgement until the UN report is submitted by Michelle Bachelet before making a judgement on the 'new' evidence from a US-based academic Adrian Zenz. There s a history of fabricating evidence for political purposes.
Yourself, Smith, and Matt "RT" Robson. Running dogs for the genocidal, imperialist thugs who'll think little of orphaning children as they erase Ukrainian identity.
//
More genocidal talk on Russian state TV: falsely claiming that Ukrainians are just Russians who need to be reminded that the Ukrainian language, history and religion are "made up," that Russian troops in Ukraine are fighting for "their land" and Russia is planning to never leave. pic.twitter.com/5A3dZn11fS
Watch this despicable exchange on the Kremlin-controlled Russian state TV about Putin's brutal war against Ukraine: pundits say that Ukrainian children will have no fathers, no homes and a destroyed country.
There will be much huffing and puffing regarding this move by China.
ISTM they want want 3 things. To have more votes in the UN to block any potential moves by Taiwan for recognition. To be able to spy more easily on the US, Australia, France and us. And fish, fish, fish. Tuna stocks will be wiped out.
I see that even Henry Kissenger is now advocating that Ukraine surrender (in effect), and yield territory to Russia.
“I hope the Ukrainians will match the heroism they have shown with wisdom,” he said, adding with his famous sense of realpolitik that the proper role for the country is to be a neutral buffer state rather than the frontier of Europe.
I never thought I'd say this. US has gone so full blown warmongering over the last 2 decades that Henry Kissinger now sounds like a pacifist and peace lover.
Or, Occam's Razor here, Kissinger is still an evil, venal little man who gets paid a lot of money to advise Putin and you're an apologist for a genocidal imperialist klepto-oligarch.
In response to the German scoop, on 15 April 1943, in full indignation at Goebbels’ slander, the Moscow radio released a statement by the Sovinformburo news agency, placing the blame on the Nazis and declaring punishment for the crime committed by "German fascist killers". The first key paragraph alone contained the main theses on the German responsibility, and, in consequence, on the German provocation aimed at the USSR:
"Goebbels’ slanderers have been disseminating the inventions of mass execution of Polish officers by the Soviet authorities in the Smolensk region for the last two or three days, as if they had taken place in the spring of 1940. German fascist thugs are not retreating in this new monstrous malarkey of their most villainous and vile lie, with the help of which they are trying to hide the incredible crimes committed, as it is clear now, by themselves"
Zelensky today: "It seems Kissinger's calendar shows 1938 not 2022, & he was speaking not in Davos but in Munich. Btw, in 1938 Kissinger's family was escaping Nazi 🇩🇪Germany, & he didn't say that it was necessary 2 adapt to Nazis rather than escape them or fight them." Ouch.
Credible arguments to counter the reckonings of the warmonger responsible for the dropping of half a million tons of bombs on Cambodia alone, killing at least 100,000 civilians?
It is indeed an informative link and expands on the views of the likes of Kevin Anderson…another who understands the difficulties (and constraint of time)….it is well worth the hour plus to listen (or google Simon Michaux, if you prefer to read, though hes an entertaining speaker)
Im happy to continue providing links as I come across them but am unlikely to author a post for a couple of reasons…the theme is contrary to the accepted narrative here and my writing abilities would not do it service.
So it turns out that Hillary Clinton started a disinformation campaign that turned into a fully fledged bat shit crazy conspiracy…. all Western "Liberal" media brought into it and perpetuated it mindlessly and endlessly for four long years…will she suffer consequences?….will the Liberal media be held to account?….yeah Right, disseminating propaganda and lies for power is their job, just look at the war in Ukraine now…more War propaganda delivered without question…as usual.
I wonder if even one of the many Russiagaters here on The Standard will offer any sort of apology for all the smears and attacks directed at myself and others over this issue?…yeah Right…no, as we can all see they have just mindlessly and seamlessly moved on to parrot and defend the very next piece of propaganda and war mongering bullshit that has been feed to them…you would think there would be a little self reflection after being humiliated so publicly…but it turns out these people seem to have about as much humility as they do for capacity critical thinking…ie;zero..nothing…zilch.
Hillary Clinton Did It
"Her 2016 campaign manager says she approved a plan to plant a false Russia claim with a reporter"
"The Russia-Trump collusion narrative of 2016 and beyond was a dirty trick for the ages, and now we know it came from the top—candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton"
"In short, the Clinton campaign created the Trump-Alfa allegation, fed it to a credulous press that failed to confirm the allegations but ran with them anyway, then promoted the story as if it was legitimate news. The campaign also delivered the claims to the FBI, giving journalists another excuse to portray the accusations as serious and perhaps true"
"Most of the press will ignore this news, but the Russia-Trump narrative that Mrs. Clinton sanctioned did enormous harm to the country. It disgraced the FBI, humiliated the press, and sent the country on a three-year investigation to nowhere"
“Ukrainian nationalist groups including the Azo[v] Movement are actively recruiting racially or ethnically motivated violent extremist-white supremacists (RMVE-WS) to join various neo-Nazi volunteer battalions in the war against Russia,” the report said.
Pity you had to draw the attention to yourself in the 2nd paragraph, which is a distraction and diversion from the rest of the comment. People don’t like to listen to a broken record and tend to respond the same way each time they hear the same scratchy noise.
Why shouldn't I draw attention to myself and the other small minority of commenters like Morrissey who were attacked relentlessly over years over our stand on this major conspiracy…why shouldn't we feel like we should be offered an apology by those who regularly directed ad hominem and vile comments at us?
But I of course know full well this will never happen, for the reasons I have already stated in my earlier comment.
By the way the only broken record I can hear going around and around infinitum, is your boring and insistent critiquing of my comments.
I can handle critique just fine, which I have proven regularly on this site…and quite a bit from you alone I might add…however to my original point, all I have said is now that a whole lot of people have been proven to have been wrong in their belief and defense of the Trump/Russiagate conspiracy…and myself and others have been proven to have been on the right side of history in pushing back against this mainstream misinformation…so how about they at the very least acknowledge the fact that they were wrong.
You do understand that are the only one here who actually boringly critiques the vibe of my comments all the time..and when I say boring I really mean that…often when you comment to me, I don't even bother reading them because you say basically the same shit to me all the fucking time..so why waste my time reading the same boring critique time and time again?
however to my original point, all I have said is now that a whole lot of people have been proven to have been wrong in their belief and defense of the Trump/Russiagate conspiracy…and myself and others have been proven to have been on the right side of history in pushing back against this mainstream misinformation…so how about they at the very least acknowledge the fact that they were wrong.
Who’s the boring one here? Who’s playing the broken violin again? Do you want a knighthood for services to music?
When Will Smith slapped Chris Rock’s face at the Oscars, it reminded some folk of another incident that happened during the 1973 Oscars. It involved John Wayne wanting to attack Sacheen Littlefeather. Luckily security held Wayne back.
John Wayne had strong views on race. I remember reading his article in Playboy about black people.
Pity (or luckily?) social media wasn't around in those days. Waynes' career would have been over along with Clint Eastwoods.
The idea of reducing the threshold, and getting rid of the overhang certainly has merit. Maybe 3%. Not sure about reducing the voting age. The 16 year olds I know would make it interesting.
I would like to see all funding done by an independent body, with donations banned altogether.
A 4 year term makes more sense in terms of a actual governance. And Maori should be able to move from roll to roll whenever.
Pop culture update time including extremely mild spoilers that don't give away the plot (such as it is for this movie)
Top Gun: Maverick
This movie is fantastic entertainment, I rate it slightly higher than the original.
Its not perfect, the shoe horned in romance didn't really do it for me (or my wife for that matter) and it felt at times as if there was a previous movie we haven't watched but for all that this is top tier movie entertainment.
I've always been a fan of Tom Cruise because you can tell he loves making movies and he gives 110% for every role but for this he has surpassed himself, you can tell he really wanted this to work and it does, it really does.
There is no star today (sorry Brad Pitt) that can get close to Tom Cruise when hes on and he may have single-handedly shown to Hollywood that we, the paying public, don't care about representation (plenty of people of colour and woman as pilots in this movie) as long as the characters are more than one dimensional cut outs (see also Aliens)
I would go so far as to say that this is Tom Cruises Magnum Opus, not saying its his best movie (I have a soft spot for Born On The Fourth Of July) but this is everything that encapsulates Tom Cruises career, turned up to eleven
You want charming Tom, funny Tom, driven Tom, doubting Thomas (yeah yeah I know), Tom who even though hes 59 can easily pass for late 30s (especially with his shirt off), introspective Tom, take charge Tom, running Tom (of course) then this is it, this is everything
If this is the start of Tom Cruises with drawl from more physical movies (Mission Impossible aside) then this is one helluva swan song
Yes its unashamedly nostalgic, as soon as the movie starts and the music starts playing and the you watch the credits you'll know what I mean and yes its unashamedly patriotic but it works
Grab a large popcorn and fizzy drink (go to the toilet first as its over 2 hours), sit back, let the sound wash over you, put your brain in neutral and prepare to be transported back to when you were 13 years old (or however old you were when you first watched Top Gun)
Hollywood please take not of this, Tom can't carry the whole industry forever
Experts such as Children's Commissioner Judge Frances Eivers say an increase in young people behind the wheel in ram raids is being created by families living in a "total state of hopelessness" and social issues need to be addressed.
While the government reaction is framed as tough on crime, it reeks of an informal subsidy to insurance companies. When this initiative was first proposed, a week or so ago, my reckons were to make it available to retailers who do not sell ciggies. Bearing in mind we are aiming for Smoke-Free in 30 months.
As the Children's Commissioner points out, poverty, family violence, alcohol are all drivers of this behaviour. Put all the bollards up that you want, it isn't going to solve the problem.
Sports teams and cultural groups, community organisations, gardening, volunteer work are where the answer is for building self esteem, connection and belonging, empathy and reslience. Even more so, if eating together is part of the equation.
Maybe schools are a resource for the solution, not to dump this on teachers, they are already carrying a heavy load, but a extra curricula type thing run/funded by MSD .
Even before that stage the problem is disconnection.
A few absent from schooling reaches the level required to create an underground of alienated youth
1. via lockdowns and isolation
2. moving from home to home because of landlord eviction (unable to pay rent or so the landlord can increase rent via taking in a new tenant)
3. being stuck in motels, or homelessness (backyards of others in caravans etc).
without any oversight of the children by schools. The parents may not even know the children are not going to school, or are leaving this until they can find permanent accommodation.
They connect by their mobiles, their tech toys – which they have to pay for. Thus the need for money to maintain their lord of the flies lifestyle.
Folk on the bottom of the heap, victims of inequality (a by-product of colonialism and neo-liberalism) and used as a political football by those near the top of the hierarchy.
More the cart before the donkey again. The money should have gone into regional policing. That said, it's better than nothing. Of course, the gangsters may start bringing steel cutters to the party. The gangs will provide what they need. However, no doubt, that will slow them down with more chances of being caught.
The Police Minister may not realise putting in bollards is not always straight forward.
By the time underground cables and access are checked, that 6 million may not go very far.
I'm talking about targeted spending. 6 million could start Raptor squad.
As I tried to explain to another poster. Crime must be controlled first before we put massive resources into fighting the causes of crime. In fact we have done that in the past with minimal results
Now, here's the good news for you, and the bad news for folk like me who are over crime. I'm not hearing the right sounds from National on crime. I'm guessing they will be as woke as the present Labour government.
Ambulances? Take your pick under National .Mercedes makes a nice model.
I'm wondering how many houses will be ''shot up'' tonight? Ram Raids? Murder?
Johnny is down my street smashing letter boxes with a baseball bat. The neighbours and I come out. I call them together and say,'' Is Johnny mentally ill.?'' Someone says, '' his family life seems normal…but who knows.'' Mr Brown say's ''maybe he has issues at school?''
In the meantime Johnny has smashed 5 more letterboxes and has started to scream at an elderly man,
Someone suggests talking to him? By this time Johnny has pushed the old man over.
That is not controlling crime. That is trying to find the cause of Johnny's offending before controlling Johnny's rampage.
I should have rung the police. Come out with a weapon to defend myself if needed and told Johnny to stop.( factoring in long police attendance times). The neigbours should have done likewise. That way the old man wouldn't have been pushed over and less letterboxes would have been damaged. Johnny would have seen he's out numbered and probably moved on. He would then have been picked up by the police, and the causes of his offending addressed.
That's about as dumb and as simple as I can make it, KJT.
Come out with a weapon to defend myself if needed and told Johnny to stop.
FFS! You stay inside rather than rushing out to defend your mailbox and become a target yourself. I’ve had to patch up mailboxes many times and in the end I bolted the thing so well to its post that they couldn’t smash it off (they tried hard). Next, I bought a cheap small box in a boring colour (dark green) and they left it alone, never touched it. Never thought to ring the Police for a mailbox or risk my life for it, which is something books didn’t teach me …
Of course you are right. It was a dumbed down exaggerated version for KJT. I was trying to show him what I meant by controlling crime v fixing the causes of crime. And why the cart must come after the donkey. Not before.
What you meant by “fixing the causes of crime” is being picked up by Police and taken away. That doesn’t fix anything; the mailboxes are smashed up, the old guy has been pushed over, it has all happened, which is why Police can act. Here’s the thing, they cannot act on Johnny before he goes on his rampage. Now, let this sink in and think about before your next comment.
You control crime by addressing the causes. Dimwit.
BTW I've already made my ideas clear. Along with a whole lot of references to approaches that have worked to "control crime", from people that have researched it and know what they are talking about. Which you obviously didn't bother to read.
I've read hundreds of research papers, commentaries and descriptions, of reducing crime approaches that work. None of the ones that are successful, include arming police, giving police more powers, or imprisoning more people.
Or, indeed, attacking someone who is obviously wound up and upset, to protect a letterbox!
Maybe this post from RedLogix may be a better fit for you.
''Incog – I have absolutely no problem with your sentiment here. Understanding and dealing to the underlying issues is essential to preventing a problem.
But equally once you have a problem – neither can you ignore the symptoms.''
Here's another example:
You have gout.
Symptoms. – Swollen toe, inflammation and much pain.
Cause – Excessive uric acid in the body. Wrong food choices.
Treatment: Prescribe anti-inflammatories and Prednisone to take care of the symptoms and help the body.
Next – treat the cause. Blood test for uric acid. Long term medication to control uric acid. Dietary help.
Hmmm, steel cutters to cut through bollards installed to prevent ram raids … Good luck with that.
As usual with RW hardliners, they go for simplistic solutions, simplistic criticisms, and always focus on the $$ and find fault somewhere as if to say that they’re the only smart and capable ones and the rest of us are a bunch of woke morons.
Steel Grinder may have been a better term. Not bolt cutters though. A torch would be quicker, but that requires some skill and a bulky cart.
But all that isn't necessary. You just need something that goes between the bollards to act like a punch. You then ram the punch and achieve your goal. Trust me, master crims aren't dumb like many people think.
You just need something that goes between the bollards to act like a punch.
Bollards are either cast ductile iron or concrete filled steel/SS steel, reinforced with a little rebar dropped down the guts for good measure. If you intend cutting one it's probably best you pack a lance or perhaps one of those flash harry magmafusion jobbies. Or wheel in your own lifting gear and pluck it out. A 3.5 tonner would do it.
You seem to hold them in high regard and again I love your narrative, but anyway, those young people behind the wheel in ram raids are not “master crims”. You make them sound like master minds with a degree in engineering and all that effort for a pack of cigarettes?
That's not quite right. Many work for gang fences or they work off a patch ( you can buy them now within certain gangs) They are taught the basics by the gangs. Yes, educationally, they are as thick as pig shit. But life has imbued them with a cunning born of survival. I have watched them run rings around middleclass do gooders. Especially social workers.
Have you ever wondered why some Maori kids have that intense stare? That stare picks up micro expressions that most folk don't perceive. It tells them when a blow may be coming. It tells them when someone is talking shit. It tells them who is weak willed, and who shouldn’t be messed with. They know things books can't teach you.
‘kay, we have moved on from planning and executing targeted ram raids by master criminal minds cutting their way through enforced bollards and what-have-you to a whole set of other skills & traits.
Young people behind the wheel in ram raids have now become “Maori kids”, have they? Of course, these tend to fare poorly in the education system and do poorly in our normative society when they come from families living in a "total state of hopelessness". That’s how some end up behind the wheel.
However, you’re starting to move to a few important points without realising that you’ve come full-circle today (but not all in this OM) to you wanting to arm Police, Raptor force, and supporting “vigilante action” against those same kids. One size doesn’t fit all but you throw everything on one giant heap with no plan, no vision, and no hope of making any headway and having a positive impact, least of all in the medium-to-long run.
I know you like to keep things simple, so let me ask you a simple question: how many voices do you hear when crime speaks to you? I don’t mean voices in your head or voices on talk-back radio, but more like directions from where the information is coming to you and different types of information.
It comes mainly from attending court and speaking on behalf of young relatives ( through their lawyer) up on charges. Also speaking with their lawyers and Probies.
It comes from sitting amongst some of societies worst offenders in the court waiting foyer. That's an experience I wish on no one.
It comes from experiencing the environment these offenders come from.
But here's the thing. The system is so broke that everyone from the judge down, seems to be going through the motions. The lawyers are jaded, ditto the probies and the admin staff. The amount of paper work to be filled before you leave court is staggering.
He's a typical exchange.
Judge – Quite a list of offences you have here, Mr Kiwi. I see I dealt with you two years ago. Did I give you any warnings.
Kiwi – Yes, judge, You said If you saw me again on similar charges it would be lockup.
Judge – Yes, I now see that.
Judge – Council or prosecution, have anything to add?
Judge – Mr Kiwi, you have pleaded guilty to these charges. I'm putting you down for 18 months with 3 months deducted for time in custody. Stand down.
All this goes on like a production line…case after case after case. Hence my ideas on reform and crime.
Didn’t know that “societies worst offenders” [sic] were sitting in the foyers among the other riffraff, but my NZ court experience is quite limited.
Your ideas on reform and crime are superficial and narrow, in my opinion. They’ve a limited and narrow focus on symptoms and are palliative at best, which you describe without realising it, and have no curative intent.
''Your ideas on reform and crime are superficial and narrow, in my opinion.''
My ideas for controlling crime are very narrow and focused. The objective is simple. Where crime happens stomp on it. Apprehend, harass, jail and create fear among the criminal community.
''They’ve a limited and narrow focus on symptoms and are palliative at best, which you describe without realising it, and have no curative intent.''
Now for one curative part of my plan. It should be obvious to all who have thought about crime that it involves the following government departments in some regard: Police, Justice, Winz and Education. All of these organisations are not functioning correctly for a variety of reasons. For example:
1- I heard the other day only 52%? of school age children are attending school.
2- All those kids caught by police in the act of ram raiding probably won't be charged and will just be referred on. That's 150 kids every one is crowing about because they were caught.
3- Winz. Major reform needed. The amount of food grants I saw flashed at the supermarket, even before Covid, was staggering. Of course, the more you know the system, the more you can milk it. And to be fair, some branches are way stricter than others. But beanies soon work out where their best chances are. Of all the non-police departments, Winz needs the most attention.
4- Justice. When you have police and judges taking into account cultural considerations for Maori, you know we have a two-tier justice system. That has to stop. The law is the law. Apply it as such.
And we still aren't at the stage of helping the offender. Why? Because it would be a waste of time and effort given the laxity of the above.
This is how I know National will be another failure on crime. If they were going down this path, Luxon would have to address the nation before the next election in the name of fairness. Because to fix all this up would bring the country into turmoil for a time.
It won't happen. Get used to NZ slipping into third would status. In fact we may be there already in some regards.
Good, now you’re starting to show some real engagement that we can work with here.
“I heard …”; cannot work with that and is not a suggestion or proposal that’s curative.
“probably”; cannot work with assumptions and need at least some facts & stats. Not curative either, but just another reckon.
WINZ always needs work and more attention, which is a little vague. Not sure what your issue is with food grants though. What do you want to change?
Judge have discretion and I’d be genuinely surprised if sentence is more lenient solely for “cultural considerations”, whatever that means. Do you want non-discretionary sentences for all convictions?
Not offering any help to offenders leads to high rates of repeat offending. Rinse, spit, repeat.
Very different solutions though than arming Police and shooting violent aggressors in the act.
3- Winz. Major reform needed. The amount of food grants I saw flashed at the supermarket, even before Covid, was staggering. Of course, the more you know the system, the more you can milk it. And to be fair, some branches are way stricter than others. But beanies soon work out where their best chances are. Of all the non-police departments, Winz needs the most attention.
If you had been paying attention, you would have noticed the steady rise of rent to income of recent years. The more that is spent on rent, the less available for power (thus the power income supplement) or food – thus greater resort to food banks by working people – not just food grants by those on benefits.
As you are a solutions person – I guess it means lowering housing costs. Such as the government buying up 25,000 houses to end the waiting list for state housing (and placing people onto income related, rather than market rents). We can afford it, because the new debt = the new housing asset (and the income from rent covers the government debt cost).
And building enough new state homes that the waiting list does not recur. We need at least 100,000 for 5M (we use to have 60,000 for 3M and have little more than that now).
With respect what I mention has been going on for years under different governments. Housing won’t really help. Forcing an attitude readjustment among some Winz clients, would.
Incog – I have absolutely no problem with your sentiment here. Understanding and dealing to the underlying issues is essential to preventing a problem.
But equally once you have a problem – neither can you ignore the symptoms.
Of course, you cannot ignore the symptoms. Dealing with symptoms requires a very different approach and resourcing than dealing with causes and ideally they’re integrated into a cohesive strategy and implemented with clear and firm leadership.
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Mutual Support: Democracy in New Zealand will not be saved by pitting Pakeha against Māori, but by joining together with every other citizen who still understands the meaning of working together to build something good that will last. Call that co-governance if you like, or call it something else – ...
Imagine being a great big business success enjoying your lavish Waiheke island property with infinity pool and ballroom and riparian rights and heli-pad. Sweeeet. But imagine, also, having to take orders from some little bureaucratic oik about how often you can land a chopper on it.I can’t, really, but it ...
Hi,New Zealand’s Life megachurch has confirmed to Webworm it was paid $10,000 by Hillsong for investigating Brian Houston’s sexual misconduct allegations.Following Webworm publishing this piece about the $10,000 payment, Life’s Corporate Communications Manager Phil Irons has confirmed what it was for:Paul [de Jong] was engaged by Hillsong to assist in ...
A chronological listing of news articles posted on the Skeptical Science Facebook Page during the past week: Sun, Mar 19, 2023 thru Sat, Mar 25, 2023. Story of the Week Q&A: IPCC wraps up its most in-depth assessment of climate change The final part of the world’s most comprehensive assessment of ...
by Daphna Whitmore I thought the #LetWomenSpeak meeting would be a good time to talk about free speech and why it is important for the left. Then the mob stampeded the open-air gathering and no one got to speak. Here’s what I was had prepared. Today I want to talk ...
By Don Franks Today my friend Ani O’Briien went to a meeting in Auckland and wrote: “No sooner had Kellie-Jay Keen Minshull arrived at the Rotunda, a protestor (who had managed to get past the barrier) ran at her and threw a red substance all over her and a security ...
Jonathan Milne, managing editor for Newsroom Pro, has expressed his indignation about the outcome of a court decision yesterday in an article headed Posie Parker wins the beautiful freedom to make an ugly argument.Newsroom Pro laments: High Court Justice David Gendall has regretfully allowed an outspoken anti-trans activist to enter New ...
imagine my surprise this week when the National Party, in their infinite wisdom, decided to release an education policy. As you can imagine, this got us so riled up here in the office that we dusted off our Windows XP laptop, waiting 17 hours for all the updates to be ...
Come on Jess thought Mr Evans come on. He watched the large clock on the wall tick closer to 8:40am. Come on girl.In two minutes he had to submit the class attendance report and with Jess having already been late once that term it’d mean an automatic visit from the ...
This week’s UN IPCC report warned climate emissions will need to be cut by almost half by 2030, if warming is to be limited to 1.5°C. Bronwyn Hayward points out in The Hoon podcast how far behind NZ’s government and councils are now on climate action compared to the rest ...
Chris Hipkins, after he became prime minister, committed to defeating the cost-of- living crisis. He proceeded to make a bonfire of policies that were at the heart of Jacinda Ardern’s administration. But, as Richard Prebble pointed out this week, “the government has not just U-turned, it has repudiated the ...
There are some wellness, crystal-gazing, holistic spiritual guidance types in my disaster-hit coastal community who insist that the power of positive thinking will overcome the physical and material damages incurred by the community. They object to restrictions on road travel … Continue reading → ...
Evaluating the recent crashes of Silicon Valley Bank in the US and Credit Suisse in Switzerland plus two other banks (perhaps more by the time you read this) needs to begin with a review of the inevitable instability in the financial sector. The financial sector is inherently unstable, like military ...
1. We see here new police minister Ginny Andersen. Which larger than life NZ political figure was her great-uncle?a. Rob Muldoonb. Bill Andersenc. Richard John Seddond. Norman Kirk2. We see here archival footage of Ginny Andersen coming out of her electorate office to ask ex-tobacco lobbyist Chris Bishop if he ...
Buzz from the Beehive Stuart Nash, speaking as Minister of Oceans and Fisheries, one of his remaining portfolios after he was dropped down the Hipkins Government batting order, has drawn attention to the blue economy and its potential. Nash says the government is investing in the blue economy, or – ...
Photo by Josh Mills on UnsplashIt’s that time of the week for an ‘Ask Me Anything’ session for paying subscribers about the week that was for the next hour, including:The runs on Silicon Valley Bank and First Republic Bank on the west coast of the United States that forced the ...
Roundup is back! We skipped last week’s Friday post due to a shortage of person-power – did you notice? Lots going on out there… Our header image this week shows a green street that just happens to be Queen St, by @chamfy from Twitter. This week (and last) in ...
After threatening Prime Minister Chris Hipkins of consequences if he dared to bar her entry, Kellie-Jay Keen-Minshull has been given her visa, regardless. This will enable her to hold rallies in Auckland and Wellington this weekend, and spread her messages of hostility against an already marginalised trans community. Neo-Nazis may, ...
* Bryce Edwards writes – The New Zealand Government has been silent about Australia’s decision to commit up to $400bn acquiring nuclear submarines, even though this is a significant threat to peace and stability in the Asia Pacific. The deal was struck by the Albanese Labor Government as ...
Boomers voted him in, but Brown’s Trumpish moments might spook Aucklanders worried about what a change to National nationally might mean. Photo: Lynn Grieveson/Getty ImagesTL;DR:Auckland MayorWayne Brown has become our version of Donald Trump and Boris Johnson, except without any of the insatiable appetite for media appearances. He ...
The New Zealand Government has been silent about Australia’s decision to commit up to $400bn acquiring nuclear submarines, even though this is a significant threat to peace and stability in the Asia Pacific. The deal was struck by the Albanese Labor Government as part of its Aukus pact with the ...
Recently you might have heard of a person called Posie Parker and her visit to Aotearoa. Perhaps you’re not quite sure what it’s all about. So let’s start with who this person is, why their visit is controversial, and what on earth a TERF is.Posie Parker is the super villain ...
The chair of Parliament’s Select Committee looking at the Government’s resource management legislation wants the bills sent back for more public consultation. The proposal would effectively kill any chance of the bills making it into law before the election. Green MP, Eugenie Sage, stressing that she was speaking as ...
Open access notables The United States experienced some historical low temperature records during the just-concluded winter. It's a reminder that climate and weather are quite noisy; with regard to our warming climate,, as with a road ascending a mountain range we may steadily change our conditions but with lots of ...
Buzz from the Beehive The Nanny State has scored some wins (or claimed them) in the past day or two but it faltered when it came to protecting Kiwi citizens from being savaged by one woman armed with a sharp tongue. The wins are recorded by triumphant ministers on the ...
Sometimes you see your friends making the case so well on social media you think: just copy and share.On acceptance and decency, from Michèle A’CourtA notable thing about anti-trans people is they way they talk about transgender women and men as though they are strangers “over there” when in fact ...
Not that long ago, things were looking pretty good for climate change policy in Aotearoa. We finally had an ETS, and while it was full of pork and subsidies, it was delivering high and ever-rising carbon prices, sending a clear message to polluters to clean up or shut down. And ...
Comparing (and switching) electricity providers has become easier, but bundling power up with broadband and/or gas makes it more challenging. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The Kākā TL;DR: The new Consumer Advocacy Council set up as a result of the Labour Government’s Electricity Price Review in 2019 has called on either ...
Hokitika-based Westland Milk Products has put the heat on dairy giant Fonterra with a $120m profit turnaround in 2022, driven by record sales. Westland paid its suppliers a 10c premium above the forecast Fonterra price per kilo, contributing $535m to the West Coast and Canterbury economies. The dairy ...
* Bryce Edwards writes – New Zealanders are uncomfortable with the high level of influence corporate lobbyists have in New Zealand politics, and demands are growing for greater regulation. A recent poll shows 62 per cent of the public support having a two-year cooling off period between ministers leaving public ...
New Zealanders are uncomfortable with the high level of influence corporate lobbyists have in New Zealand politics, and demands are growing for greater regulation. A recent poll shows 62 per cent of the public support having a two-year cooling off period between ministers leaving public office and becoming lobbyists and ...
This is a guest post by accessibility and sustainable transport advocate Tim Adriaansen It originally appeared here. A friend calls you and asks for your help. They tell you that while out and about nearby, they slipped over and landed arms-first. Now their wrist is swollen, hurting like ...
Floating offshore wind turbines offer incredible opportunities to capture powerful winds far out at sea. By unlocking this wind energy potential, they could be a key weapon in our arsenal in the fight against climate change. But how developed are these climate fighting clean energy giants? And why do I ...
Over the past two or three weeks, a procession of Maori iwi and hapu in a series of little-noticed appearances before two Select Committees have been asking for more say for Maori over resource management decisions along the co-governance lines of Three Waters. Their submissions and appearances run counter ...
The decision of the International Criminal Court (ICC) to issue war crimes arrest warrants for the Russian President and the Russia Children Ombudsman may have been welcomed by the ideologically committed but otherwise seems to have been greeted with widespread cynicism (see Situation in Ukraine: ICC judges issue arrest warrants ...
Let’s say you’re clasping your drink at a wedding, or a 40th, or a King’s Birthday Weekend family reunion and Drunk Uncle Kevin has just got going.He’s in an expansive frame of mind because we’re finally rid of that silly girl. But he wants to ask an honest question about ...
National Party leader Christopher Luxon may be feeling glum about his poll ratings, but he could be tapping into a rich political vein in describing the current state of education as “alarming”. Luxon said educational achievement has been declining, with a recent NCEA pilot exposing just how far it has ...
Way Beyond Reform: Rawiri Waititi and Debbie Ngarewa-Packer have no more interest in remaining permanent members of “New Zealand’s” House of Representatives than did Lenin and Trotsky in remaining permanent members of Tsar Nicolas II’s “democratically-elected” Duma. Like the Bolsheviks, Te Pāti Māori is a party of revolutionaries – not reformists.THE CROWN ...
Buzz from the Beehive Auckland was wiped off the map, when Education Minister Jan Tinetti delivered her speech of welcome as host of the inaugural Conference of Pacific Education Ministers “here in Tāmaki Makaurau”. But – fair to say – a reference was made later in the speech to a ...
Morning mate, how you going?Well, I was watching the news last night and they announced this scientific report on Climate Change. But before they got to it they had a story about the new All Blacks coach.Sounds like important news. It’s a bit of a worry really.Yeah, they were talking ...
Always a bailout: US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said the Government would fully guarantee all savers in all smaller US banks if needed. Photo: Getty ImagesTL;DR: No wonder an entire generation of investors are used to ‘buying the dip’ and ‘holding on for dear life’. US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen ...
Wealthy vested interests have an oversized influence on political decisions in New Zealand. Partly that’s due to their use of corporate lobbyists. Fortunately, the influence lobbyists can have on decisions made by politicians is currently under scrutiny in Guyon Espiner’s in-depth series published by RNZ. Two of Espiner’s research exposés ...
Yesterday afternoon it rained and traffic around the region ground to a halt, once again highlighting why it is so important that our city gets on with improving the alternatives to driving. For additional irony, this happened on the same day the IPCC synthesis report landed, putting the focus on ...
The Beginning: Anti-Co-Governance agitator, Julian Batchelor, addresses the Dargaville stop of his travelling roadshow across New Zealand . Fascism almost always starts small. Sadly, it doesn’t always stay that way. Especially when the Left helps it to grow.THERE IS A DREADFUL LOGIC to the growth of fascism. To begin with, it ...
Hi,From an incredibly rainy day in Los Angeles, I just wanted to check in. I guess this is the day Trump may or may not end up in cuffs? I’m attempting a somewhat slower, less frenzied week. I’ve had Unknown Mortal Orchestra’s new record on non-stop, and it’s been a ...
On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
RNZ has been shining their torch into corners where lobbyists lurk and asking such questions as: Do we like the look of this?and Is this as democratic as it could be?These are most certainly questions worth asking, and every bit as valid as, say:Are weshortchanged democratically by the way ...
RNZ has continued its look at the role of lobbyists by taking a closer look at the Prime Minister's Chief of Staff Andrew Kirton. He used to work for liquor companies, opposing (among other things) a container refund scheme which would have required them to take responsibility for their own ...
Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta has left for Beijing for the first ministerial visit to China since 2019. Mahuta is to meet China’s new foreign minister Qin Gang where she might have to call on all the diplomatic skills at her command. Almost certainly she will face questions on what role ...
TL;DR:The Opportunities Party’s Leader Raf Manji is hopeful the party’s new Teal Card, a type of Gold card for under 30s, will be popular with students, and not just in his Ilam electorate where students make up more than a quarter of the voters and where Manji is confident ...
When I was a kid New Zealand was actually pretty green. We didn’t really have plastic. The fruit and veges came in a cardboard box, the meat was wrapped in paper, milk came in a glass bottle, and even rubbish sacks were made of paper. Today if you sit down ...
Looking back through the names of our Police Ministers down the years, the job has either been done by once or future party Bigfoots – Syd Holland, Richard Prebble, Juduth Collins, Chris Hipkins – or by far lesser lights like Keith Allen, Frank Gill, Ben Couch, Allen McCready, Clem Simich, ...
Chris Trotter writes – The Crown is a fickle friend. Any political movement deemed to be colourful but inconsequential is generally permitted to go about its business unmolested. The Crown’s media, RNZ and TVNZ, may even “celebrate” its existence (presumably as proof of Democracy’s broad-minded acceptance of diversity). ...
Four out of the five people who have held the top role of Prime Minister’s Chief of Staff since 2017 have been lobbyists. That’s a fact that should worry anyone who believes vested interests shouldn’t have a place at the centre of decision making. Chris Hipkins’ newly appointed Chief of ...
Feedback on Auckland Council’s draft 2023/24 budget closes on March 28th. You can read the consultation document here, and provide feedback here. Auckland Council is currently consulting on what is one of its most important ever Annual Plans – the ‘budget’ of what it will spend money on between July ...
by Molten Moira from Motueka If you want to be a woman let me tell you what to do Get a piece of paper and a biro tooWrite down your new identification And boom! You’re now a woman of this nationSpelled W O M A Na real trans woman that isAs opposed ...
Buzz from the Beehive New Zealand Education Minister Jan Tinetti is hosting the inaugural Conference of Pacific Education Ministers for three days from today, welcoming Education Ministers and senior officials from 18 Pacific Island countries and territories, and from Australia. Here’s hoping they have brought translators with them – or ...
Let’s say you’ve come all the way from His Majesty’s United Kingdom to share with the folk of Australia and New Zealand your antipathy towards certain other human beings. And let’s say you call yourself a women’s rights activist.And let’s say 99 out of 100 people who listen to you ...
James Shaw gave the Green party's annual "state of the planet" address over the weekend, in which he expressed frustration with Labour for not doing enough on climate change. His solution is to elect more Green MPs, so they have more power within any government arrangement, and can hold Labour ...
RNZ this morning has the first story another investigative series by Guyon Espiner, this time into political lobbying. The first story focuses on lobbying by government agencies, specifically transpower, Pharmac, and assorted universities, and how they use lobbyists to manipulate public opinion and gather intelligence on the Ministers who oversee ...
Nick Matzke writes – Dear NZ Herald, I am a Senior Lecturer in the School of Biological Sciences at the University of Auckland. I teach evolutionary biology, but I also have long experience in science education and (especially) political attempts to insert pseudoscience into science curricula in ...
MINISTER DAVIDSON MUST RESIGN AFTER 'VIOLENCE' COMMENTS Marama Davidson should stand down as ‘Minister for the Prevention of Family and Sexual Violence’ for the clear and outrageous statement she made at the Posie Parker protest that ‘white straight men’ are the cause of violence. Her offensive, racist, and sexist remarks ...
In response to Newshub and Amelia Wade’s obvious and ham-fisted attempt at a typical and predicted political hit job. As any politically aware reporter would know, any Cabinet subcommittee has a duty and obligation as a part of any government to respond to any UN declaration, in this case ...
Good afternoon. Thank you for the invitation to speak with you today and in your busy lives turning up to this meeting. Forty five years ago, in Howick, often described as racist, and where few Maori lived because it had been a ‘Fencible’ settlement at the time of the Anglo-Maori ...
The Green Party has marked the National Party’s new education policy and given it a fail, especially for its failure to address the underlying drivers of school performance. ...
Political parties that want to negotiate with the Green Party after the election must come to the table with much faster, bolder climate action, co-leaders James Shaw and Marama Davidson emphasised today. ...
You will never truly understand, from the pictures you’ve seen in the newspapers or on the six o-clock news, the sheer scale of the devastation wrought by Cyclone Gabrielle. ...
Political parties that want to negotiate with the Green Party must come to the table with much faster, bolder climate action, co-leaders James Shaw and Marama Davidson emphasised in their State of the Planet speech today. ...
We’re boosting incomes and helping ease cost of living pressures on Kiwis through a range of bread and butter support measures that will see pensioners, students, families, and those on main benefits better off from the start of next month. ...
The error Labour Ministers made by stopping work on a beverage container return scheme will be reversed by the Greens at the earliest opportunity as part of the next Government. ...
“Cabinet needs to do better - and today has shown exactly why we need Green Ministers in cabinet, so we can prioritise action to cut climate pollution and support people to make ends meet,” says Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson. ...
Biggest increase in food prices for over three decades shows the need for an excess profit tax on corporations to help people put food on the table. ...
The Green Party has today launched a submission guide to help Aucklanders give crucial input and prevent potentially disastrous Auckland Council budget proposals. ...
With calls growing for inquiries and action on bank profits, the Greens say the Government has all the information it needs to act now and put a levy on banks. ...
The Government has introduced the Severe Weather Emergency Recovery Legislation Bill to further support the recovery and rebuild from the recent severe weather events in the North Island. “We know from our experiences following the Canterbury and Kaikōura earthquakes that it will take some time before we completely understand the ...
Further assistance is now available to businesses impacted by Cyclone Gabrielle, with Customs able to offer payment plans and to remit late-payments, Customs Minister Meka Whaitiri has announced. “This is part of the Government’s ongoing commitment to assist economic recovery in the regions,” Meka Whaitiri said. “Cabinet has approved the ...
More than 41,000 sole parent families will be better off with a median gain of $20 a week Law change estimated to help lift up to 14,000 children out of poverty Child support payments will be passed on directly to people receiving a sole parent rate of main benefit, making ...
A major investment by Government-owned New Zealand Green Investment Finance towards electrifying the public bus fleet is being welcomed by Climate Change Minister James Shaw. “Today’s announcement that NZGIF has signed a $50 million financing deal with Kinetic, the biggest bus operator in Australasia, to further decarbonise public transport is ...
A world-leading payments system is expected to provide a significant cash flow boost for Kiwi innovators, Minister of Research, Science, and Innovation Ayesha Verrall says. Announcing that applications for ‘in-year’ payments of the Research and Development Tax Incentive (RDTI) were open, Ayesha Verrall said it represented a win for businesses ...
Minister of Transport Michael Wood joined crowds of keen cyclists and walkers this morning to celebrate the completion of the Te Awa shared path in Hamilton. “The Government is upgrading New Zealand’s transport system to make it safer, greener, and more efficient for now and future generations to come,” Michael ...
Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations Minister Andrew Little has delivered the Crown apology to Ngāti Kahungunu ki Wairarapa Tāmaki nui-a-Rua for its historic breaches of Te Tiriti of Waitangi today. The ceremony was held at Queen Elizabeth Park in Masterton, hosted by Ngāti Kahungunu ki Wairarapa Tāmaki nui-a-Rua, with several hundred ...
Minister of Foreign Affairs Nanaia Mahuta has concluded her visit to China, the first by a New Zealand Foreign Minister since 2018. The Minister met her counterpart, newly appointed State Councilor and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Qin Gang, who also hosted a working dinner. This was the first engagement between the two ...
World-class satellite positioning services that will support much safer search and rescue, boost precision farming, and help safety on construction sites through greater accuracy are a significant step closer today, says Land Information Minister Damien O’Connor. Damien O’Connor marked the start of construction on New Zealand’s first uplink centre for ...
Attorney-General David Parker has announced the appointment of Christopher John Dellabarca of Wellington, Dr Katie Jane Elkin of Wellington, Caroline Mary Hickman of Napier, Ngaroma Tahana of Rotorua, Tania Rose Williams Blyth of Hamilton and Nicola Jan Wills of Wellington as District Court Judges. Chris Dellabarca Mr Dellabarca commenced his ...
A new Government-backed project will help ocean-related businesses in the Nelson Tasman region to accelerate their growth and boost jobs. “The Nelson Tasman region is home to more than 400 blue economy businesses, accounting for more than 30 percent of New Zealand’s economic activity in fishing, aquaculture, and seafood processing,” ...
After three years of COVID-19 disruptions schools are finally settling down and National want to throw that all in the air with major disruption to learning and underinvestment. “National’s education policy lacks the very thing teachers, parents and students need after a tough couple of years, certainty and stability,” Education ...
People aged over 50 with innovative business ideas will now be able to receive support to advance their ideas to the next stage of development, Minister for Seniors Ginny Andersen said today. “Seniors have some great entrepreneurial ideas, and this programme will give them the support to take that next ...
A cross government target for relevant government procurement contracts for goods and services to be awarded to Māori businesses annually will increase to 8%, after the initial 5% target was exceeded. The progressive procurement policy was introduced in 2020 to increase supplier diversity, starting with Māori businesses, for the estimated ...
77,000 fewer children living in low income households on the after-housing-costs primary measure since Labour took office Eight of the nine child poverty measures have seen a statistically significant reduction since 2018. All nine have reduced 28,700 fewer children experiencing material hardship since 2018 Measures taken by the Government during ...
Deputy Prime Minister Kamikamica; distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen. Tēnā koutou katoa, ni sa bula vinaka saka, namaste. Deputy Prime Minister, a very warm welcome to Aotearoa. I trust you have been enjoying your time here and thank you for joining us here today. To all delegates who have travelled to be ...
$2.9 million convertible loan for Scapegrace Distillery to meet growing national and international demand $4.5m underwrite to support Silverlight Studios’ project to establish a film studio in Wanaka Gore’s James Cumming Community Centre and Library to be official opened tomorrow with support of $3m from the COVID-19 Response and Recovery ...
Transport Minister Michael Wood has today launched the first national EV (electric vehicle) charging strategy, Charging Our Future, which includes plans to provide EV charging stations in almost every town in New Zealand. “Our vision is for Aotearoa New Zealand to have world-class EV charging infrastructure that is accessible, affordable, ...
Associate Minister for Social Development and Employment Priyanca Radhakrishnan has today launched the Love Better campaign in a world-leading approach to family harm prevention. Love Better will initially support young people through their experience of break-ups, developing positive and life-long attitudes to dealing with hurt. “Over 1,200 young kiwis told ...
Hon Rino Tirikatene, Minister for Courts, welcomes the Ministry of Justice’s appointment of Dr Garry Clearwater as New Zealand’s first Chief Clinical Advisor working with the Coroners Court. “This appointment is significant for the Coroners Court and New Zealand’s wider coronial system.” Minister Tirikatene said. Through Budget 2022, the Government ...
The Government via the Cyclone Taskforce is working with local government and insurance companies to build a picture of high-risk areas following Cyclone Gabrielle and January floods. “The Taskforce, led by Sir Brian Roche, has been working with insurance companies to undertake an assessment of high-risk areas so we can ...
E te huia kaimanawa, ko Ngāpuhi e whakahari ana i tau aupikinga ki te tihi o te maunga. Ko te Ao Māori hoki e whakanui ana i a koe te whakaihu waka o te reo Māori i roto i te Ao Ture. (To the prized treasure, it is Ngāpuhi who ...
113,400 exits into work in the year to June 2022 Young people are moving off Benefit faster than after the Global Financial Crisis Two reports released today by the Ministry of Social Development show the Government’s investment in the COVID-19 response helped drive record numbers of people off Benefits and ...
The Government’s priority to keep New Zealand at the cutting edge of food production and lift our sustainability credentials continues by backing the next steps of a hi-tech vertical farming venture that uses up to 95 per cent less water, is climate resilient, and pesticide-free. Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor visited ...
E nga mana, e nga iwi, e nga reo, e nga hau e wha, tena koutou, tena koutou, tena koutou kātoa. Warm Pacific greetings to all. It is an honour to host the inaugural Conference of Pacific Education Ministers here in Tāmaki Makaurau. Aotearoa is delighted to be hosting you ...
The new renal unit at Taranaki Base Hospital has been officially opened by the Minister of Health Dr Ayesha Verrall this afternoon. Te Huhi Raupō received around $13 million in government funding as part of Project Maunga Stage 2, the redevelopment of the Taranaki Base Hospital campus. “It’s an honour ...
Defence Minister Andrew Little has marked the arrival of the country’s second P-8A Poseidon aircraft alongside personnel at the Royal New Zealand Air Force’s Base at Ohakea today. “With two of the four P-8A Poseidons now on home soil this marks another significant milestone in the Government’s historic investment in ...
Aotearoa New Zealand will provide further humanitarian support to those seriously affected by last month’s deadly earthquakes in Türkiye and Syria, says Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta. “The 6 February earthquakes have had devastating consequences, with almost 18 million people affected. More than 53,000 people have died and tens of thousands more ...
Migrant communities across New Zealand are represented in the new Migrant Community Reference Group that will help shape immigration policy going forward, Immigration Minister Michael Wood announced today. “Since becoming Minister, a reoccurring message I have heard from migrants is the feeling their voice has often been missing around policy ...
Construction has begun on major works that will deliver significant safety improvements on State Highway 3 from Waitara to Bell Block, Associate Minister of Transport Kiri Allan announced today. “This is an important route for communities, freight and visitors to Taranaki but too many people have lost their lives or ...
Prime Minister Chris Hipkins has today appointed Ginny Andersen as Minister of Police. “Ginny Andersen has a strong and relevant background in this important portfolio,” Chris Hipkins said. “Ginny Andersen worked for the Police as a non-sworn staff member for around 10 years and has more recently been chair of ...
Six further bailey bridge sites confirmed Four additional bridge sites under consideration 91 per cent of damaged state highways reopened Recovery Dashboards for impacted regions released The Government has responded quickly to restore lifeline routes after Cyclone Gabrielle and can today confirm that an additional six bailey bridges will ...
Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta departs for China tomorrow, where she will meet with her counterpart, State Councillor and Foreign Minister Qin Gang, in Beijing. This will be the first visit by a New Zealand Minister to China since 2019, and follows the easing of COVID-19 travel restrictions between New Zealand and China. ...
Education Ministers from across the Pacific will gather in Tāmaki Makaurau this week to share their collective knowledge and strategic vision, for the benefit of ākonga across the region. New Zealand Education Minister Jan Tinetti will host the inaugural Conference of Pacific Education Ministers (CPEM) for three days from today, ...
A vital transport link for communities and local businesses has been restored following Cyclone Gabrielle with the reopening of State Highway 5 (SH5) between Napier and Taupō, Associate Minister of Transport Kiri Allan says. SH5 reopened to all traffic between 7am and 7pm from today, with closure points at SH2 (Kaimata ...
Internal Affairs Minister Barbara Edmonds has thanked generous New Zealanders who took part in the special Lotto draw for communities affected by Cyclone Gabrielle. Held on Saturday night, the draw raised $11.7 million with half of all ticket sales going towards recovery efforts. “In a time of need, New Zealanders ...
The Government has announced funding of $3 million for providers to help people, and whānau access community-based Building Financial Capability services. “Demand for Financial Capability Services is growing as people face cost of living pressures. Those pressures are increasing further in areas affected by flooding and Cyclone Gabrielle,” Minister for ...
Minister of Education, Hon Jan Tinetti, has announced appointments to the Board of Education New Zealand | Manapou ki te Ao. Tracey Bridges is joining the Board as the new Chair and Dr Therese Arseneau will be a new member. Current members Dr Linda Sissons CNZM and Daniel Wilson have ...
Fifteen ākonga Māori from across Aotearoa have been awarded the prestigious Ngarimu VC and 28th (Māori) Battalion Memorial Scholarships and Awards for 2023, Associate Education Minister and Ngarimu Board Chair, Kelvin Davis announced today. The recipients include doctoral, masters’ and undergraduate students. Three vocational training students and five wharekura students, ...
High Court Judge Jillian Maree Mallon has been appointed a Judge of the Court of Appeal, and District Court Judge Andrew John Becroft QSO has been appointed a Judge of the High Court, Attorney‑General David Parker announced today. Justice Mallon graduated from Otago University in 1988 with an LLB (Hons), and with ...
A joint force of Indonesian military and police are claiming to have shot dead a member of the West Papua National Liberation Army (TPNPB) in Central Papua Province on Wednesday last week. Jubi TV Papua reports the joint force was conducting aerial surveillance after a motorcycle taxi driver had been ...
By Kelvin Anthony, RNZ Pacific lead digital and social media journalist The Fiji government is signalling that it will not completely tear down the country’s controversial media law which, according to local newsrooms and journalism commentators, has stunted press freedom and development for more than a decade. Ahead of the ...
By Miriam Zarriga in Port Moresby The production and trafficking of methamphetamine (meth), cocaine and now heroin is on the rise with Pacific countries now becoming what many are calling the “Pacific drug highway”. And Papua New Guinea has over three years seen a plane crash, a hotel laboratory, a ...
A requiem for Shiv and Tom, who would like to make love one last time (but can’t).Major spoilers follow for the first episode of Succession’s fourth season. Her eyes flared. His voice wobbled. “Do you want to… talk?” said Tom Wambsgans, the corporate ladder-climbing schmuck who could see his ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tony Wood, Program Director, Energy, Grattan Institute Shutterstock Labor and the Greens have reached a compromise on the safeguard mechanism after months of tense negotiations, giving the government the numbers it needs to pass the bill into law. Greens leader ...
Wayne Brown vowed to stop new roading projects until existing ones finish - and to unclog the city centre's streets - but he now finds himself enthusiastically backing new upheaval for the key crossroad of Victoria St A $50 million beautification project for CBD's Victoria St - which will disrupt businesses from ...
The Green Party co-leader says she was in shock from being hit by a motorcycle, and her comments about white men committing violence should have been clearer. ...
The prime minister has labelled comments made by one of his ministers over the weekend as inappropriate, and revealed his office asked her to walk them back. Marama Davidson, co-leader of the Green Party and a minister, was captured on video ahead of a rally against anti-trans speaker Posie Parker ...
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A friendly reminder that your best intentions of promoting a New Zealand-made film are not actually supporting the artists behind it.For many of us, documenting our day or sharing highlights of our week is a common occurrence on social media. For some, that meant uploading full scenes onto TikTok ...
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The official Covid-19 death toll has risen by 33 this week, bumping the total to 2,662. The Ministry of Health’s latest update reports 76 new Covid-attributed deaths, but the overall death toll rises by 33 when adjusted to include non-Covid and other unrelated deaths. The daily average number of new ...
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One of New Zealand’s spy agencies foiled three possible terror events on our shores, it’s been revealed. The Security and Intelligence select committee met today, with bosses from the SIS and GCSB facing questions from MPs including prime minister Chris Hipkins. It was during this hearing that Andrew Hampton, the ...
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As banks face scrutiny over the size of their profits, it’s been revealed the finance minister looked at a possible “bank tax”. The Herald’s Jenée Tibshraeny reported this morning that Grant Robertson asked for advice from the Reserve Bank on whether it would be possible to save the Crown money ...
The Green Party has announced Neelu Jennings as the candidate for Hutt South. Neelu Jennings is a disabled disability advocate and former athlete. The mother of two aims to use her platform to call for a fair and inclusive Aotearoa where disabled ...
Marama Davidson should stand down as ‘Minister for the Prevention of Family and Sexual Violence’ for the clear and outrageous statement she made at the Posie Parker protest that ‘white straight men’ are the cause of violence. Her offensive, racist, ...
ColensoBBDO has been appointed as the new creative agency of record by pay-gap advocacy group MindTheGap to bring renewed attention to the issue of gender and ethnic pay gaps within New Zealand businesses and government. In the 50 years since the Equal ...
Thousands of women across the country are joining Facebook groups that seek to answer one simple question. This article contains reference to domestic violence and emotional abuse, please take care.A quick scroll through the biggest “Do We Have The Same Boyfriend” Facebook group in the country reveals a sea ...
Bluebridge’s Connemara ferry was back in service yesterday after a mechanical issue caused a string of cancellations on Saturday. It was the third time Connemara had broken down in less than two months of service, according to the NZ Herald. “We understand this is very disruptive to our customers’ travel plans ...
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The scenes that unfolded at Auckland’s Albert Park on Saturday morning were, according to counter-protesters, largely peaceful and non-violent. British anti-trans campaigner Kellie-Jay Keen Minshull (or Posie Parker) fled New Zealand after her attempts to host a rally in Auckland city were stopped by thousands of protesters. Keen-Minshull has claimed ...
He’s got one of the most prestigious journalism careers in the country, but RNZ’s Guyon Espiner is not slowing down anytime soon. His new series “Mate, Comrade, Brother” on political lobbying in New Zealand has already exposed a number of troubling incidents. He sits down with Duncan Greive to discuss why he ...
Posie Parker said she wanted to ‘speak up for women’. Hundreds of protesters spoke up for trans rights instead, writes Catherine McGregor in this excerpt from The Bulletin, The Spinoff’s morning news round-up. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here.A day of anger and joy ...
The foreign minister has returned from a visit to China saying the relationship is very important and complex, requiring "continual management" to make sure the two countries do not lose sight of each others' views and perspectives. ...
Shock but not surprise – that’s how an Auckland woman reacted to a racist depiction of a black person up for sale at a Mt Eden auction house Diana Phillips felt "immediate straight-up fury" on seeing a racist caricature of a black person for sale in the window of a Mt ...
The inquiry into forestry slash destruction in Tairāwhiti, and review of the Emissions Trading Scheme, should prioritise the state of the planet not the balance sheets of global corporations, writes Dame Anne Salmond. Over the past few weeks, New Zealanders have been exposed to shocking images of local landscapes ravaged ...
Exclusive: A new report into the cultural and economic benefits of Shortland Street shows its power – but as with any good soap, trouble is coming. Duncan Greive reports on its findings.When Shortland Street debuted in 1992, no one could have predicted what it would become. NZ on Air, ...
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By Johnny Blades, RNZ The House journalist An increased appetite to learn te reo Māori among members and staff from different parts of the Parliamentary system means the work of Parliament’s Māori Language Service is in demand more than ever. Compared to several years ago there’s now also significantly more acknowledgement ...
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ANALYSIS:By Nicholas Khoo, University of Otago Former Australian prime minister Paul Keating’s recent strident criticism of the A$368 billion nuclear-powered submarine deal announced under the AUKUS security pactwill have little effect on Australian policy. Canberra’s deepening level of security cooperation is underpinned by a deep political consensus. But the ...
RNZ News British gender activist Posie Parker has left New Zealand, calling it the “worst place for women she has ever visited”. Kellie-Jay Keen-Minshull, also known as Posie Parker, shared a photo on social media showing her being escorted by police through Auckland Airport. She left her rally at Albert ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Frank Bongiorno, Professor of History, ANU College of Arts and Social Sciences, Australian National University Tasmanian Premier Jeremy Rockliff (right) is now the only non-Labor leader at federal or state level.Mick Tsikas/AAP When Dominic Perrottet gave a gracious concession speech after ...
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Mike Smith and Matt Robson make comments that will be discomforting to the armchair warriors on the Standard.
’Smith fears New Zealand could now find itself "on the wrong side of history" by helping prolong a conflict in the interests of waning US hegemony while risking its own interests in the Asia-Pacific region, and increasing the risks of a nuclear war.’
’Former minister in Helen Clark's Labour government, Matt Robson, echoed his concerns, and called for an informed debate in Parliament over the country's increasing involvement in the conflict.’
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/political/467866/nz-entering-ukraine-conflict-at-whim-of-govt-former-labour-politicians
Matt Robson doubles down on his support for unjust wars.
The evidence is that Putin wanted to take over Ukraine, and has used missiles, artillery and aerial bombardment to smash any resistance, turning towns and cities to rubble and killing many civilians in the process.
Matt Robson is a big supporter of unjust wars, willing to destroy his own political party to involve New Zealand in the invasion and occupation of Afghanistan. The cost of Matt Robson's treachery is 10 NZDF soldiers lives, and drawing us into committing war crimes to perpetuate that war and occupation. History shows that the war in Afghanistan was an cruel and unjust war, that achieved nothing except, leaving that country devastated and starving, its infrastructure ruined and its government accounts seized by the American aggressor.
By betraying his own party majority democratic decision not to back this war.
Matt Robson has blood on his hands.
It should be of little surprise to most on the Left that Matt supports the bloody invasion of Ukraine.
Did you experience a short-circuit in your brain this morning listening to RNZ? You probably wouldn’t be the only one here on TS.
Where does Matt Robson state or imply that he “supports the bloody invasion of Ukraine”?
Is calling for public debate and discussion now an act of betrayal and a show of support of violence and war? If so, he clearly needs to be cancelled and silenced toot sweet.
Next you might call him a genocidal fascist for questioning us, Aotearoa-New Zealand, for being in lockstep with the US of A, still or again.
Mike Smith may be feeling may be a little uncomfortable himself this morning as the behaviour of his heroes in China is revealed.
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/5/24/xinjiang-leak-sheds-new-light-on-chinas-uighur-camps
Dr. Adrian Zenz is a senior follow at the “Victims of Communism memorial foundation” in Washington D.C, an ideological organization funded by congress.
Zenz is a fundamentalist Christian. Whilst religious affiliation does not discredit one, nevertheless the specific nature of his beliefs put him on the most extreme right of the American evangelical wing. This individual is being used to ferment a global narrative concerning China, with total silence or background information offered on what he actually believes in.
Amongst these, Zenz states that all “other belief systems” to Christianity are “ultimately inspired by Satan” and that “those who reject faith in Jesus will be sentenced to eternal punishment”
Looks like I’m in for eternal punishment then.
https://chollima.org/who-is-adrian-zenz-the-christian-fundamentalist-leading-the-global-xinjiang-narrative/
Cheer up aj – you will not be alone in eternal punishment.
We should be able to do rotating shifts of wailing in anguish.
A countervailing report: https://news.cgtn.com/news/2022-05-25/China-U-S-covers-own-lies-with-another-over-Xinjiang-related-issues-1akhKRuSzRe/index.html.
Of course, either report could be based on fabricated information but interesting that so much evidence should appear just when Bachelet, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, is being put under US led pressure to abandon an investigative trip to Xinjiang.
"The U.S. side called Bachelet's visit a mistake, saying the U.S. has "no expectation that the PRC (People's Republic of China) will grant the necessary access required to conduct a complete, unmanipulated assessment of the human rights environment in Xinjiang."
Of course, the 1,690,000 prison population sounds pretty horrific even if excluding an alleged 1 million political prisoners, in a population of 1.4 billion. However, China is only second to the US which has 2,068,800 prisoners for a population of less than 350 million. How many there could be regarded as political prisoners?
It might pay to avoid a rush to judgement until the UN report is submitted by Michelle Bachelet before making a judgement on the 'new' evidence from a US-based academic Adrian Zenz. There s a history of fabricating evidence for political purposes.
Yourself, Smith, and Matt "RT" Robson. Running dogs for the genocidal, imperialist thugs who'll think little of orphaning children as they erase Ukrainian identity.
//
And yet I'm not remotely discomforted. Odd that.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/world/south-pacific/300597540/china-wants-10-pacific-nations-to-endorse-sweeping-regional-agreement
There will be much huffing and puffing regarding this move by China.
ISTM they want want 3 things. To have more votes in the UN to block any potential moves by Taiwan for recognition. To be able to spy more easily on the US, Australia, France and us. And fish, fish, fish. Tuna stocks will be wiped out.
s
I see that even Henry Kissenger is now advocating that Ukraine surrender (in effect), and yield territory to Russia.
“I hope the Ukrainians will match the heroism they have shown with wisdom,” he said, adding with his famous sense of realpolitik that the proper role for the country is to be a neutral buffer state rather than the frontier of Europe.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/world/europe/300597650/ukraine-war-brings-an-unusual-moral-edge-to-the-world-economic-forum
I never thought I'd say this. US has gone so full blown warmongering over the last 2 decades that Henry Kissinger now sounds like a pacifist and peace lover.
Or, Occam's Razor here, Kissinger is still an evil, venal little man who gets paid a lot of money to advise Putin and you're an apologist for a genocidal imperialist klepto-oligarch.
I think Occam's Razor is getting stretched rather thin.
Kissinger is a known quantity
Your opinion.. but my 'rather thin' statement relates to the rest of your leaps of reasoning.
Okay apparatchik
Jawohl, Herr Obersturmbandführer.
Even the Nazis were shocked by Katyn
They made a profession of being shocked by Katyn. It suited them at the time..
The statement could've been released last week.
In response to the German scoop, on 15 April 1943, in full indignation at Goebbels’ slander, the Moscow radio released a statement by the Sovinformburo news agency, placing the blame on the Nazis and declaring punishment for the crime committed by "German fascist killers". The first key paragraph alone contained the main theses on the German responsibility, and, in consequence, on the German provocation aimed at the USSR:
[iii].
https://ipn.gov.pl/en/news/4020,The-Katyn-lie-Its-rise-and-duration.html
Imagine a world where Kissinger did stay put.
Zelenskyy's reliance on ad hominem arguments suggests he doesn't have a credible argument to offer.
Credible arguments to counter the reckonings of the warmonger responsible for the dropping of half a million tons of bombs on Cambodia alone, killing at least 100,000 civilians?
Do fuck off.
3,091,000 war deaths in Vietnam between 1955–75
Think we are going fossil free (even net) by 2050?…..
https://thegreatsimplification.libsyn.com/dr-simon-michaux-minerals-blindness
Ah,been looking for you Pat,that is a great link,which I have spread all over. Thanks. Can you do a post on this ?
It is indeed an informative link and expands on the views of the likes of Kevin Anderson…another who understands the difficulties (and constraint of time)….it is well worth the hour plus to listen (or google Simon Michaux, if you prefer to read, though hes an entertaining speaker)
Im happy to continue providing links as I come across them but am unlikely to author a post for a couple of reasons…the theme is contrary to the accepted narrative here and my writing abilities would not do it service.
Ok. I've listened twice and urge all to at least have a listen,we can't stay in our silo's.Have a good day folks.
So it turns out that Hillary Clinton started a disinformation campaign that turned into a fully fledged bat shit crazy conspiracy…. all Western "Liberal" media brought into it and perpetuated it mindlessly and endlessly for four long years…will she suffer consequences?….will the Liberal media be held to account?….yeah Right, disseminating propaganda and lies for power is their job, just look at the war in Ukraine now…more War propaganda delivered without question…as usual.
I wonder if even one of the many Russiagaters here on The Standard will offer any sort of apology for all the smears and attacks directed at myself and others over this issue?…yeah Right…no, as we can all see they have just mindlessly and seamlessly moved on to parrot and defend the very next piece of propaganda and war mongering bullshit that has been feed to them…you would think there would be a little self reflection after being humiliated so publicly…but it turns out these people seem to have about as much humility as they do for capacity critical thinking…ie;zero..nothing…zilch.
Hillary Clinton Did It
"Her 2016 campaign manager says she approved a plan to plant a false Russia claim with a reporter"
"The Russia-Trump collusion narrative of 2016 and beyond was a dirty trick for the ages, and now we know it came from the top—candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton"
"In short, the Clinton campaign created the Trump-Alfa allegation, fed it to a credulous press that failed to confirm the allegations but ran with them anyway, then promoted the story as if it was legitimate news. The campaign also delivered the claims to the FBI, giving journalists another excuse to portray the accusations as serious and perhaps true"
"Most of the press will ignore this news, but the Russia-Trump narrative that Mrs. Clinton sanctioned did enormous harm to the country. It disgraced the FBI, humiliated the press, and sent the country on a three-year investigation to nowhere"
https://www.wsj.com/articles/hillary-clinton-did-it-robby-mook-michael-sussmann-donald-trump-russia-collusion-alfa-bank-11653084709
Oh Goodness me . who to believe anymore when even the Dept of Homeland Security has become a dupe of Putin's propaganda.
https://www.politico.com/news/2022/05/24/american-fighters-ukraine-white-supremacists-00034860
So they're recruiting white-supremacists to fight white Russians? Seems legit.
You do know historically who the White Russians were?
Maybe your understanding of Russian history being stuck at the revolution is your problem?
No, not stuck. Just glad to know that you have such knowledge.
Pity you had to draw the attention to yourself in the 2nd paragraph, which is a distraction and diversion from the rest of the comment. People don’t like to listen to a broken record and tend to respond the same way each time they hear the same scratchy noise.
Well it is the major contradiction of the US defence of Ukraine
So?
Why shouldn't I draw attention to myself and the other small minority of commenters like Morrissey who were attacked relentlessly over years over our stand on this major conspiracy…why shouldn't we feel like we should be offered an apology by those who regularly directed ad hominem and vile comments at us?
But I of course know full well this will never happen, for the reasons I have already stated in my earlier comment.
By the way the only broken record I can hear going around and around infinitum, is your boring and insistent critiquing of my comments.
And here we have it again, it’s all about you, you, you!!
Why do you do it if you know you won’t get your sorry apology??
Why do you do it if you know I or another commenter might critique it??
Can’t you handle critique, which is not even all that robust??
Tells us, Adrian, why do you comment here with your passive-aggressive comments and then moan when you get the expected response??
oh dear, I'm sorry I thought you were having a go at me, therefore the reply which comes across as a non sequitur.
It happens 🙂
I can handle critique just fine, which I have proven regularly on this site…and quite a bit from you alone I might add…however to my original point, all I have said is now that a whole lot of people have been proven to have been wrong in their belief and defense of the Trump/Russiagate conspiracy…and myself and others have been proven to have been on the right side of history in pushing back against this mainstream misinformation…so how about they at the very least acknowledge the fact that they were wrong.
You do understand that are the only one here who actually boringly critiques the vibe of my comments all the time..and when I say boring I really mean that…often when you comment to me, I don't even bother reading them because you say basically the same shit to me all the fucking time..so why waste my time reading the same boring critique time and time again?
Who’s the boring one here? Who’s playing the broken violin again? Do you want a knighthood for services to music?
Umm, there’s quite a lot to “disprove”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Links_between_Trump_associates_and_Russian_officials
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special_Counsel_investigation_(2017–2019)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_interference_in_the_2016_United_States_elections
When Will Smith slapped Chris Rock’s face at the Oscars, it reminded some folk of another incident that happened during the 1973 Oscars. It involved John Wayne wanting to attack Sacheen Littlefeather. Luckily security held Wayne back.
John Wayne had strong views on race. I remember reading his article in Playboy about black people.
Pity (or luckily?) social media wasn't around in those days. Waynes' career would have been over along with Clint Eastwoods.
https://www.sportskeeda.com/pop-culture/news-john-wayne-1973-oscars-attack-clint-eastwood-mocking-sacheen-littlefeather-explained-will-smith-x-chris-rock-slap-sparks-debate
You read a Playboy article. Got any bridges for sale?
The advertisement for Playboy was '' What sort of man reads Playboy.''
I don't think you would fit the demographic, Gsays.
Actually in the 1960's Playboy was well known for it's serious articles as well as some legendary interviews…
https://www.bustle.com/articles/116648-10-iconic-playboy-articles-everyone-should-know-because-you-actually-can-read-it-just-for-the
Correct. And Penthouse, too. When we talk of articles and interviews, we were talking about page after page of top shelf journalism.
Marlon Brando was nuts and doesn't really have a moral leg to stand on:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Last_Tango_in_Paris#Rape_scene
Bryce Edwards has some sensible comments to make on electoral law reform.
https://democracyproject.nz/2022/05/26/bryce-edwards-major-shakeup-of-electoral-rules-could-be-coming/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=bryce-edwards-major-shakeup-of-electoral-rules-could-be-coming
The idea of reducing the threshold, and getting rid of the overhang certainly has merit. Maybe 3%. Not sure about reducing the voting age. The 16 year olds I know would make it interesting.
I would like to see all funding done by an independent body, with donations banned altogether.
A 4 year term makes more sense in terms of a actual governance. And Maori should be able to move from roll to roll whenever.
In a similar vein, I understand that people who watch Shortland Street religiously are allowed to vote too.
??
Yep, oops, I left out;
"Not sure about reducing the voting age. The 16 year olds I know would make it interesting."
Pop culture update time including extremely mild spoilers that don't give away the plot (such as it is for this movie)
Top Gun: Maverick
This movie is fantastic entertainment, I rate it slightly higher than the original.
Its not perfect, the shoe horned in romance didn't really do it for me (or my wife for that matter) and it felt at times as if there was a previous movie we haven't watched but for all that this is top tier movie entertainment.
I've always been a fan of Tom Cruise because you can tell he loves making movies and he gives 110% for every role but for this he has surpassed himself, you can tell he really wanted this to work and it does, it really does.
There is no star today (sorry Brad Pitt) that can get close to Tom Cruise when hes on and he may have single-handedly shown to Hollywood that we, the paying public, don't care about representation (plenty of people of colour and woman as pilots in this movie) as long as the characters are more than one dimensional cut outs (see also Aliens)
I would go so far as to say that this is Tom Cruises Magnum Opus, not saying its his best movie (I have a soft spot for Born On The Fourth Of July) but this is everything that encapsulates Tom Cruises career, turned up to eleven
You want charming Tom, funny Tom, driven Tom, doubting Thomas (yeah yeah I know), Tom who even though hes 59 can easily pass for late 30s (especially with his shirt off), introspective Tom, take charge Tom, running Tom (of course) then this is it, this is everything
If this is the start of Tom Cruises with drawl from more physical movies (Mission Impossible aside) then this is one helluva swan song
Yes its unashamedly nostalgic, as soon as the movie starts and the music starts playing and the you watch the credits you'll know what I mean and yes its unashamedly patriotic but it works
Grab a large popcorn and fizzy drink (go to the toilet first as its over 2 hours), sit back, let the sound wash over you, put your brain in neutral and prepare to be transported back to when you were 13 years old (or however old you were when you first watched Top Gun)
Hollywood please take not of this, Tom can't carry the whole industry forever
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/political/467885/police-minister-announces-government-s-crime-prevention-package
Yeah, nah. Not what the hardliners want to hear; too complex, too much nuance, too cuddly, too woke.
Thanks for the links, Incognito.
While the government reaction is framed as tough on crime, it reeks of an informal subsidy to insurance companies. When this initiative was first proposed, a week or so ago, my reckons were to make it available to retailers who do not sell ciggies. Bearing in mind we are aiming for Smoke-Free in 30 months.
As the Children's Commissioner points out, poverty, family violence, alcohol are all drivers of this behaviour. Put all the bollards up that you want, it isn't going to solve the problem.
Sports teams and cultural groups, community organisations, gardening, volunteer work are where the answer is for building self esteem, connection and belonging, empathy and reslience. Even more so, if eating together is part of the equation.
Maybe schools are a resource for the solution, not to dump this on teachers, they are already carrying a heavy load, but a extra curricula type thing run/funded by MSD .
Even before that stage the problem is disconnection.
A few absent from schooling reaches the level required to create an underground of alienated youth
1. via lockdowns and isolation
2. moving from home to home because of landlord eviction (unable to pay rent or so the landlord can increase rent via taking in a new tenant)
3. being stuck in motels, or homelessness (backyards of others in caravans etc).
without any oversight of the children by schools. The parents may not even know the children are not going to school, or are leaving this until they can find permanent accommodation.
They connect by their mobiles, their tech toys – which they have to pay for. Thus the need for money to maintain their lord of the flies lifestyle.
It's all so sad.
Folk on the bottom of the heap, victims of inequality (a by-product of colonialism and neo-liberalism) and used as a political football by those near the top of the hierarchy.
More the cart before the donkey again. The money should have gone into regional policing. That said, it's better than nothing. Of course, the gangsters may start bringing steel cutters to the party. The gangs will provide what they need. However, no doubt, that will slow them down with more chances of being caught.
The Police Minister may not realise putting in bollards is not always straight forward.
By the time underground cables and access are checked, that 6 million may not go very far.
https://www.bollardsusa.com/bollards-commonly-asked-questions/
Following your cart and donkey, with more money for police, I will suggest more, faster ambulances at the precipice base.
I'm talking about targeted spending. 6 million could start Raptor squad.
As I tried to explain to another poster. Crime must be controlled first before we put massive resources into fighting the causes of crime. In fact we have done that in the past with minimal results
Now, here's the good news for you, and the bad news for folk like me who are over crime. I'm not hearing the right sounds from National on crime. I'm guessing they will be as woke as the present Labour government.
Ambulances? Take your pick under National .Mercedes makes a nice model.
I'm wondering how many houses will be ''shot up'' tonight? Ram Raids? Murder?
"Crime must be controlled first before we put massive resources into fighting the causes of crime".
A nonsensical statement. Repeating it just makes you seem even more confused than the first time you said it.
But. Joined up thinking is not something that "tough on crime" zealots excel in.
Which is why cynical right wing politicians, can wind you all up with bullshit to get votes.
Ok, let's make it simple for you.
Johnny is down my street smashing letter boxes with a baseball bat. The neighbours and I come out. I call them together and say,'' Is Johnny mentally ill.?'' Someone says, '' his family life seems normal…but who knows.'' Mr Brown say's ''maybe he has issues at school?''
In the meantime Johnny has smashed 5 more letterboxes and has started to scream at an elderly man,
Someone suggests talking to him? By this time Johnny has pushed the old man over.
That is not controlling crime. That is trying to find the cause of Johnny's offending before controlling Johnny's rampage.
I should have rung the police. Come out with a weapon to defend myself if needed and told Johnny to stop.( factoring in long police attendance times). The neigbours should have done likewise. That way the old man wouldn't have been pushed over and less letterboxes would have been damaged. Johnny would have seen he's out numbered and probably moved on. He would then have been picked up by the police, and the causes of his offending addressed.
That's about as dumb and as simple as I can make it, KJT.
Correct.
Dumb and simple!
At least you now understand my point. No need to be nasty anymore. Now, let's hear your ideas. .
Got your point alright.
You only understand "Dumb and simplistic".
FFS! You stay inside rather than rushing out to defend your mailbox and become a target yourself. I’ve had to patch up mailboxes many times and in the end I bolted the thing so well to its post that they couldn’t smash it off (they tried hard). Next, I bought a cheap small box in a boring colour (dark green) and they left it alone, never touched it. Never thought to ring the Police for a mailbox or risk my life for it, which is something books didn’t teach me …
Of course you are right. It was a dumbed down exaggerated version for KJT. I was trying to show him what I meant by controlling crime v fixing the causes of crime. And why the cart must come after the donkey. Not before.
What you meant by “fixing the causes of crime” is being picked up by Police and taken away. That doesn’t fix anything; the mailboxes are smashed up, the old guy has been pushed over, it has all happened, which is why Police can act. Here’s the thing, they cannot act on Johnny before he goes on his rampage. Now, let this sink in and think about before your next comment.
You control crime by addressing the causes. Dimwit.
BTW I've already made my ideas clear. Along with a whole lot of references to approaches that have worked to "control crime", from people that have researched it and know what they are talking about. Which you obviously didn't bother to read.
I've read hundreds of research papers, commentaries and descriptions, of reducing crime approaches that work. None of the ones that are successful, include arming police, giving police more powers, or imprisoning more people.
Or, indeed, attacking someone who is obviously wound up and upset, to protect a letterbox!
Maybe this post from RedLogix may be a better fit for you.
''Incog – I have absolutely no problem with your sentiment here. Understanding and dealing to the underlying issues is essential to preventing a problem.
But equally once you have a problem – neither can you ignore the symptoms.''
Here's another example:
You have gout.
Symptoms. – Swollen toe, inflammation and much pain.
Cause – Excessive uric acid in the body. Wrong food choices.
Treatment: Prescribe anti-inflammatories and Prednisone to take care of the symptoms and help the body.
Next – treat the cause. Blood test for uric acid. Long term medication to control uric acid. Dietary help.
Got it?
Yep. I've got that you have absolutely no comprehension of what the people who have researched crime, and myself, are saying.
Hmmm, steel cutters to cut through bollards installed to prevent ram raids … Good luck with that.
As usual with RW hardliners, they go for simplistic solutions, simplistic criticisms, and always focus on the $$ and find fault somewhere as if to say that they’re the only smart and capable ones and the rest of us are a bunch of woke morons.
Steel Grinder may have been a better term. Not bolt cutters though. A torch would be quicker, but that requires some skill and a bulky cart.
But all that isn't necessary. You just need something that goes between the bollards to act like a punch. You then ram the punch and achieve your goal. Trust me, master crims aren't dumb like many people think.
Bollards are either cast ductile iron or concrete filled steel/SS steel, reinforced with a little rebar dropped down the guts for good measure. If you intend cutting one it's probably best you pack a lance or perhaps one of those flash harry magmafusion jobbies. Or wheel in your own lifting gear and pluck it out. A 3.5 tonner would do it.
You seem to hold them in high regard and again I love your narrative, but anyway, those young people behind the wheel in ram raids are not “master crims”. You make them sound like master minds with a degree in engineering and all that effort for a pack of cigarettes?
That's not quite right. Many work for gang fences or they work off a patch ( you can buy them now within certain gangs) They are taught the basics by the gangs. Yes, educationally, they are as thick as pig shit. But life has imbued them with a cunning born of survival. I have watched them run rings around middleclass do gooders. Especially social workers.
Have you ever wondered why some Maori kids have that intense stare? That stare picks up micro expressions that most folk don't perceive. It tells them when a blow may be coming. It tells them when someone is talking shit. It tells them who is weak willed, and who shouldn’t be messed with. They know things books can't teach you.
''
For the fist time I agree with you, Blade. I think Covid has just forced my retirement from Secondary School teaching. Good comment.
‘kay, we have moved on from planning and executing targeted ram raids by master criminal minds cutting their way through enforced bollards and what-have-you to a whole set of other skills & traits.
Young people behind the wheel in ram raids have now become “Maori kids”, have they? Of course, these tend to fare poorly in the education system and do poorly in our normative society when they come from families living in a "total state of hopelessness". That’s how some end up behind the wheel.
However, you’re starting to move to a few important points without realising that you’ve come full-circle today (but not all in this OM) to you wanting to arm Police, Raptor force, and supporting “vigilante action” against those same kids. One size doesn’t fit all but you throw everything on one giant heap with no plan, no vision, and no hope of making any headway and having a positive impact, least of all in the medium-to-long run.
I let the present crime situation speak for itself.
I know you like to keep things simple, so let me ask you a simple question: how many voices do you hear when crime speaks to you? I don’t mean voices in your head or voices on talk-back radio, but more like directions from where the information is coming to you and different types of information.
It comes mainly from attending court and speaking on behalf of young relatives ( through their lawyer) up on charges. Also speaking with their lawyers and Probies.
It comes from sitting amongst some of societies worst offenders in the court waiting foyer. That's an experience I wish on no one.
It comes from experiencing the environment these offenders come from.
But here's the thing. The system is so broke that everyone from the judge down, seems to be going through the motions. The lawyers are jaded, ditto the probies and the admin staff. The amount of paper work to be filled before you leave court is staggering.
He's a typical exchange.
Judge – Quite a list of offences you have here, Mr Kiwi. I see I dealt with you two years ago. Did I give you any warnings.
Kiwi – Yes, judge, You said If you saw me again on similar charges it would be lockup.
Judge – Yes, I now see that.
Judge – Council or prosecution, have anything to add?
Judge – Mr Kiwi, you have pleaded guilty to these charges. I'm putting you down for 18 months with 3 months deducted for time in custody. Stand down.
All this goes on like a production line…case after case after case. Hence my ideas on reform and crime.
Didn’t know that “societies worst offenders” [sic] were sitting in the foyers among the other riffraff, but my NZ court experience is quite limited.
Your ideas on reform and crime are superficial and narrow, in my opinion. They’ve a limited and narrow focus on symptoms and are palliative at best, which you describe without realising it, and have no curative intent.
You're not wrong Blade
''Your ideas on reform and crime are superficial and narrow, in my opinion.''
My ideas for controlling crime are very narrow and focused. The objective is simple. Where crime happens stomp on it. Apprehend, harass, jail and create fear among the criminal community.
''They’ve a limited and narrow focus on symptoms and are palliative at best, which you describe without realising it, and have no curative intent.''
Now for one curative part of my plan. It should be obvious to all who have thought about crime that it involves the following government departments in some regard: Police, Justice, Winz and Education. All of these organisations are not functioning correctly for a variety of reasons. For example:
1- I heard the other day only 52%? of school age children are attending school.
2- All those kids caught by police in the act of ram raiding probably won't be charged and will just be referred on. That's 150 kids every one is crowing about because they were caught.
3- Winz. Major reform needed. The amount of food grants I saw flashed at the supermarket, even before Covid, was staggering. Of course, the more you know the system, the more you can milk it. And to be fair, some branches are way stricter than others. But beanies soon work out where their best chances are. Of all the non-police departments, Winz needs the most attention.
4- Justice. When you have police and judges taking into account cultural considerations for Maori, you know we have a two-tier justice system. That has to stop. The law is the law. Apply it as such.
And we still aren't at the stage of helping the offender. Why? Because it would be a waste of time and effort given the laxity of the above.
This is how I know National will be another failure on crime. If they were going down this path, Luxon would have to address the nation before the next election in the name of fairness. Because to fix all this up would bring the country into turmoil for a time.
It won't happen. Get used to NZ slipping into third would status. In fact we may be there already in some regards.
@ Blade, 5:52 pm:
Good, now you’re starting to show some real engagement that we can work with here.
Not offering any help to offenders leads to high rates of repeat offending. Rinse, spit, repeat.
Very different solutions though than arming Police and shooting violent aggressors in the act.
If you had been paying attention, you would have noticed the steady rise of rent to income of recent years. The more that is spent on rent, the less available for power (thus the power income supplement) or food – thus greater resort to food banks by working people – not just food grants by those on benefits.
As you are a solutions person – I guess it means lowering housing costs. Such as the government buying up 25,000 houses to end the waiting list for state housing (and placing people onto income related, rather than market rents). We can afford it, because the new debt = the new housing asset (and the income from rent covers the government debt cost).
And building enough new state homes that the waiting list does not recur. We need at least 100,000 for 5M (we use to have 60,000 for 3M and have little more than that now).
With respect what I mention has been going on for years under different governments. Housing won’t really help. Forcing an attitude readjustment among some Winz clients, would.
So, you admit it, your claim is that welfare (not poverty) is the source of crime.
And what exactly is attitude adjustment?
Blades true antisocial ACTiod colours coming to light?
Because racists know all about them superhuman darkies.
/
I used Maori kids as an example because… well guess why?
Pakeha kids brought up in a similar environment would have the same skills set. It's about survival. Culture has little to do with it.
''They know things books can't teach you.''
Ever heard of book learning v practical experience?
Of course not. You are too busy making me out as racist
I've supported many of our young basement dwellers, the strays my kids adopt, in court. Youngsters in desperate need of help, not punishment.
And watched while the efforts of "lock me up and throw away the key" wankers, like you! gets them sent to Ngawha and become permanently lost.
You are a racist.
Fuck off.
As usual, big on commentary and spite ..short on ideas. And you have the cheek to tell me to F- off.
Yes – they tend to be swept away by their own wishful thinking. Alf Garnets.
"Stands to reason, dunnit?"
Jesus, wasn't he awful – the character that is. Wouldn't get away with it now:
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/video/news/video-1278271/Alf-Garnett-s-racist-views-BBC-sitcom-Till-Death-Part.html
Sorry, but still funny.
Seriously though:
This is America today:
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/texas-school-shooting-horrifying-conspiracy-theories-swirl-around-carnage/KLW6Q2SMU3WRLPXEWKLEW35KWY/
Deeply saddening.
Incog – I have absolutely no problem with your sentiment here. Understanding and dealing to the underlying issues is essential to preventing a problem.
But equally once you have a problem – neither can you ignore the symptoms.
Of course, you cannot ignore the symptoms. Dealing with symptoms requires a very different approach and resourcing than dealing with causes and ideally they’re integrated into a cohesive strategy and implemented with clear and firm leadership.