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”
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.
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"
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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Buzz from the Beehive One headline-grabber from the Beehive yesterday was the OECD’s advice that the government must bring the Budget deficit under control or face higher interest rates. Another was the announcement of a $1.9 billion “investment” in Corrections over the next four years. In the best interests of ...
Chris Trotter writes – Had Zheng He’s fleet sailed east, not west, in the early Fifteenth Century, how different our world would be. There is little reason to suppose that the sea-going junks of the Ming Dynasty, among the largest and most sophisticated sailing vessels ever constructed, would have failed ...
David Farrar writes – Two articles give a useful contrast in balance. Both seek to be neutral explainer articles. This one in the Herald on Social Investment covers the pros and cons nicely. It links to critical pieces and talks about aspects that failed and aspects that are more ...
The tikanga regulations will compel law students to be taught that a system which does not conform with the rule of law is nevertheless law which should be observed and applied…Gary Judd KC writes – I have made a complaint to Parliament’s Regulation ...
The future of Te Huia, the train between Hamilton and Auckland, has been getting a lot of attention recently as current funding for it is only in place till the end of June. The government initially agreed to a five year trial, through to April 2026, but that was subject ...
TL;DR: Hamas has just agreed to Israel’s ceasefire plan. Nelson hospital’s rebuild has been cut back to save money. The OECD suggests New Zealand break up network monopolies, including in electricity. PM Christopher Luxon’s news conference on a prison expansion announcement last night was his messiest yet.Here’s my top six ...
A homicide in Ponsonby, a manhunt with a killer on the run. The nation’s leader stands before a press conference reassuring a frightened nation that he’ll sort it out, he’ll keep them safe, he’ll build some new prison spaces.Sorry what? There’s a scary dude on the run with a gun ...
Hi,I know it’s been awhile since there’s been any Webworm merch — and today that all changes!Over the last four months, I’ve been working with New Zealand artist Jess Johnson to create a series of t-shirts, caps and stickers that are infused with Webworm DNA — and as of right ...
The OECD’s chief economist yesterday laid it on the line for the new Government: bring the deficit under control or face higher Reserve Bank interest rates for longer. And to bring the deficit under control, she meant not borrowing for tax cuts. But there was more. Without policy changes—introducing a ...
After a hiatus of over four months Selwyn Manning and I finally got it together to re-start the “A View from Afar” podcast series. We shall see how we go but aim to do 2 episodes per month if possible. … Continue reading → ...
In 2008, the UK Parliament passed the Climate Change Act 2008. The law established a system of targets, budgets, and plans, with inbuilt accountability mechanisms; the aim was to break the cycle of empty promises and replace it with actual progress towards emissions reduction. The law was passed with near-universal ...
Buzz from the Beehive Local Water Done Well – let’s be blunt – is a silly name, but the first big initiative to put it into practice has gone done well. This success is reflected in the headline on an RNZ report:District mayors welcome Auckland’s new water deal with ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate ConnectionsA farmworker cleans the solar panels of a solar water pump in the village of Jagadhri, Haryana Country, India. (Photo credit: Prashanth Vishwanathan/ IWMI) Decisions made in India over the next few years will play a key role in global ...
Lindsay Mitchell writes – The Children’s Minister, Karen Chhour, intends to repeal Section 7AA from the Oranga Tamariki Act 1989 because it creates conflict between claimed Crown Treaty obligations and the child’s best interests. In her words, “Oranga Tamariki’s governing principles and its act should be colour ...
Geoffrey Miller writes – The gloves are off. That might seem to be the undertone of surprisingly tough talk from New Zealand’s foreign and trade ministers. Winston Peters, the foreign minister, may be facing legal action after making allegations about former Australian foreign minister Bob Carr on Radio New Zealand. ...
Brian Easton writes – This is about the time that the Treasury will be locking up its economic forecasts to be published in the 2024 Budget Economic and Fiscal Update (BEFU) on budget day, 30 May. I am not privy to what they will be (I will report on them ...
TL;DR:Winston Peters is reported to have won a budget increase for MFAT. David Seymour wanted his Ministry of Regulation to be three times bigger than the Productivity Commission. Simeon Brown is appointing a Crown Monitor to Watercare to protect the Claytons Crown Guarantee he had to give ratings agencies ...
The gloves are off. That might seem to be the undertone of surprisingly tough talk from New Zealand’s foreign and trade ministers. Winston Peters, the foreign minister, may be facing legal action after making allegations about former Australian foreign minister Bob Carr on Radio New Zealand. Carr had made highly ...
I could be a florist'Round the corner from Rye LaneI'll be giving daisies to craziesBut, baby, I'll wrap you up real safe Oh, I can give you flowers At the end of every dayFor the center of your table, a rainbowIn case you have people 'round to stay Depending on ...
TL;DR: The six key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to May 12 include:PM Christopher Luxon is scheduled to hold a post-Cabinet news conference at 4 pm today. Finance Minister Nicola Willis will give a pre-budget speech on Thursday.Parliament sits from Question Time at 2pm on ...
The price of the foreign affairs “reset” is now becoming apparent, with Defence set to get a funding boost in the Budget. Finance Minister Nicola Willis has confirmed that it will be one of the few votes, apart from Health and Education and possibly Police, which will get an increase ...
A listing of 26 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, April 28, 2024 thru Sat, May 4, 2024. Story of the week "It’s straight out of Big Tobacco’s playbook. In fact, research by John Cook and his colleagues ...
Yesterday I received come lovely feedback following my Star Wars themed newsletter. A few people mentioned they’d enjoyed reading the personal part at the beginning.I often begin newsletters with some memories, or general thoughts, before commencing the main topic. This hopefully sets the mood and provides some context in which ...
April 30 was going to be the day we’d be calling Mum from London to wish her a happy birthday. Then it became the day we would be going to St. Paul's at Evensong to remember her. The aim of the cathedral builders was to find a way to make their ...
Rob MacCulloch writes – Can’t remember the last book by a Kiwi author you read? Think the NZ government should spend less on the arts in favor of helping the homeless? If so, as far as Newsroom is concerned, you probably deserve to be called a cultural ignoramus ...
Eric Crampton writes – Grudges are bad. Better to move on. But it can be fun to keep a couple of really trivial ones, so you’re not tempted to have other ones. For example, because of the rootkit fiasco of 2005, no Sony products in our household. ...
A new report warns an estimated third of the adult population have unmet need for health care.Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāHere’s the six key things I learned about Aotaroa’s political economy this week around housing, climate and poverty:Politics - Three opinion polls confirmed support for PM Christopher Luxon ...
Today is May the fourth. Which was just a regular day when my mother took me to see the newly released Star Wars at the Odeon in Rotorua. The queue was right around the corner. Some years later this day became known as Star Wars Day, the date being a ...
Buzz from the Beehive Much more media attention is being paid to something Winston Peters said about former Australian Foreign Minister Bob Carr than to a speech he delivered to the New Zealand China Council. One word is missing from the speech: AUKUS. But AUKUS loomed large in his considerations ...
Is the economy in another long stagnation? If so, why?This is about the time that the Treasury will be locking up its economic forecasts to be published in the 2024 Budget Economic and Fiscal Update (BEFU) on budget day, 30 May. I am not privy to what they will be ...
The annual list of who's been bribing our politicians is out, and journalists will no doubt be poring over it to find the juiciest and dirtiest bribes. The government's fast-track invite list is likely to be a particular focus, and we already know of one company on the list which ...
In the weeks after the October 7 Hamas attacks on Southern Israel I wrote about the possible 2nd, 3rd and even 4th order effects of the conflict. These included new fronts being opened in the West Bank (with Hamas), Golan … Continue reading → ...
Peter Dunne writes – It is one of the oldest truisms that there is never a good time for MPs to get a pay rise. This week’s announcement of pay raises of around 2.8% backdated to last October could hardly have come at a worse time, with the ...
David Farrar writes – Newshub reports: Newshub can reveal a fresh allegation of intimidation against Green MP Julie-Anne Genter. Genter is subject to a disciplinary process for aggressively waving a book in the face of National Minister Matt Doocey in the House – but it’s not the first time ...
The Treasury has published a paper today on the global productivity slowdown and how it is playing out in New Zealand: The productivity slowdown: implications for the Treasury’s forecasts and projections. The Treasury Paper examines recent trends in productivity and the potential drivers of the slowdown. Productivity for the whole economy ...
Winston Peters’ comments about former Australian foreign minister look set to be an ongoing headache for both him and Luxon. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The podcast above of the weekly ‘hoon’ webinar for subscribers features co-hosts and , along with regular guests on Gaza and ...
These puppet strings don't pull themselvesYou're thinking thoughts from someone elseHow much time do you think you have?Are you prepared for what comes next?The debating chamber can be a trying place for an opposition MP. What with the person in charge, the speaker, typically being an MP from the governing ...
The land around Lyme Regis, where Meryl Streep once stood, in a hood, on the Cobb, is falling into the sea.MerylThe land around Lyme Regis, around the Cobb that made it rich, has always been falling slowly but surely into the sea. Read more ...
Buzz from the Beehive Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters was bound to win headlines when he set out his thinking about AUKUS in his speech to the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs. The headlines became bigger when – during an interview on RNZ’s Morning Report today – he criticised ...
The Post reports on how the government is refusing to release its advice on its corrupt Muldoonist fast-track law, instead using the "soon to be publicly available" refusal ground to hide it until after select committee submissions on the bill have closed. Fast-track Minister Chris Bishop's excuse? “It's not ...
As pressure on it grows, the livestock industry’s approach to the transition to Net Zero is increasingly being compared to that of fossil fuel interests. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / Getty ImagesTL;DR: Here’s the top five news items of note in climate news for Aotearoa-NZ this week, and a discussion above ...
The New Zealand Herald reports – Stats NZ has offered a voluntary redundancy scheme to all of its workers as a way to give staff some control over their “future” amidst widespread job losses in the public sector. In an update to staff this morning, seen by the Herald, Statistics New Zealand ...
On Werewolf/Scoop, I usually do two long form political columns a week. From now on, there will be an extra column each week about music and movies. But first, some late-breaking political events:The rise in unemployment numbers for the March quarter was bigger than expected – and especially sharp ...
David Farrar writes – The Herald reports: TVNZ says it is dealing with about 50 formal complaints over its coverage of the latest 1News-Verian political poll, with some viewers – as well as the Prime Minister and a former senior Labour MP – critical of the tone of the 6pm report. ...
Muriel Newman writes – When Meridian Energy was seeking resource consents for a West Coast hydro dam proposal in 2010, local Maori “strenuously” objected, claiming their mana was inextricably linked to ‘their’ river and could be damaged. After receiving a financial payment from the company, however, the Ngai Tahu ...
Alwyn Poole writes – “An SEP,’ he said, ‘is something that we can’t see, or don’t see, or our brain doesn’t let us see, because we think that it’s somebody else’s problem. That’s what SEP means. Somebody Else’s Problem. The brain just edits it out, it’s like a ...
Our trust in our political institutions is fast eroding, according to a Maxim Institute discussion paper, Shaky Foundations: Why our democracy needs trust. The paper – released today – raises concerns about declining trust in New Zealand’s political institutions and democratic processes, and the role that the overuse of Parliamentary urgency ...
This article was prepared for publication yesterday. More ministerial announcements have been posted on the government’s official website since it was written. We will report on these later today …. Buzz from the BeehiveThere we were, thinking the environment is in trouble, when along came Jones. Shane Jones. ...
New Zealand now has the fourth most depressed construction sector in the world behind China, Qatar and Hong Kong. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy at 8:46am on Thursday, May 2:The Lead: ...
David Seymour has failed to get the sweeping cuts he wanted to the free and healthy school lunch programme, Labour education spokesperson Jan Tinetti said. ...
Hon Willie Jackson has been invited by the Oxford Union to debate the motion “This House Believes British Museums are not Very British’ on May 23rd. ...
Green Party MP Hūhana Lyndon says her Public Works (Prohibition of Compulsory Acquisition of Māori Land) Amendment Bill is an opportunity to right some past wrongs around the alienation of Māori land. ...
A senior, highly respected King’s Counsel with decades of experience in our law courts, Gary Judd KC, has filed a complaint about compulsory tikanga Māori studies for law students - highlighting the utter depths of absurdity this woke cultural madness has taken our society. The tikanga regulations will compel law ...
The Government needs to be clear with the people of the Nelson Marlborough region about the changes it is considering for the Nelson Hospital rebuild, Labour health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall said. ...
Ministers must front up about which projects it will push through under its Fast Track Approvals legislation, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
The Government is again adding to New Zealand’s growing unemployment, this time cutting jobs at the agencies responsible for urban development and growing much needed housing stock. ...
With Minister Karen Chhour indicating in the House today that she either doesn’t know or care about the frontline cuts she’s making to Oranga Tamariki, we risk seeing more and more of our children falling through the cracks. ...
The Labour Party is saddened to learn of the death of Sir Robert Martin, a globally renowned disability advocate who led the way for disability rights both in New Zealand and internationally. ...
Labour is calling for the Government to urgently rethink its coalition commitment to restart live animal exports, Labour animal welfare spokesperson Rachel Boyack said. ...
Today’s Financial Stability Report has once again highlighted that poverty and deep inequality are political choices - and this Government is choosing to make them worse. ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to do more for our households in most need as unemployment rises and the cost of living crisis endures. ...
Unemployment is on the rise and it’s only going to get worse under this Government, Labour finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds said. Stats NZ figures show the unemployment rate grew to 4.3 percent in the March quarter from 4 percent in the December quarter. “This is the second rise in unemployment ...
The New Zealand Labour Party welcomes the entering into force of the European Union and New Zealand free trade agreement. This agreement opens the door for a huge increase in trade opportunities with a market of 450 million people who are high value discerning consumers of New Zealand goods and ...
The National-led Government continues its fiscal jiggery pokery with its Pharmac announcement today, Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall says. “The government has increased Pharmac funding but conceded it will only make minimal increases in access to medicine”, said Ayesha Verrall “This is far from the bold promises made to fund ...
This afternoon’s interim Waitangi Tribunal report must be taken seriously as it affects our most vulnerable children, Labour children’s spokesperson Willow-Jean Prime. ...
Te Pāti Māori are demanding the New Zealand Government support an international independent investigation into mass graves that have been uncovered at two hospitals on the Gaza strip, following weeks of assault by Israeli troops. Among the 392 bodies that have been recovered, are children and elderly civilians. Many of ...
Our two-tiered system for veterans’ support is out of step with our closest partners, and all parties in Parliament should work together to fix it, Labour veterans’ affairs spokesperson Greg O’Connor said. ...
Stripping two Ministers of their portfolios just six months into the job shows Christopher Luxon’s management style is lacking, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said. ...
Tonight’s court decision to overturn the summons of the Children’s Minister has enabled the Crown to continue making decisions about Māori without evidence, says Te Pāti Māori spokesperson for Children, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi. “The judicial system has this evening told the nation that this government can do whatever they want when ...
It appears Nicola Willis is about to pull the rug out from under the feet of local communities still dealing with the aftermath of last year’s severe weather, and local councils relying on funding to build back from these disasters. ...
The Government is making short-sighted changes to the Resource Management Act (RMA) that will take away environmental protection in favour of short-term profits, Labour’s environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
Labour welcomes the release of the report into the North Island weather events and looks forward to working with the Government to ensure that New Zealand is as prepared as it can be for the next natural disaster. ...
The Labour Party has called for the New Zealand Government to recognise Palestine, as a material step towards progressing the two-State solution needed to achieve a lasting peace in the region. ...
Some of our country’s most important work, stopping the sexual exploitation of children and violent extremism could go along with staff on the frontline at ports and airports. ...
The Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill will give projects such as new coal mines a ‘get out of jail free’ card to wreak havoc on the environment, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said today. ...
The government's decision to reintroduce Three Strikes is a destructive and ineffective piece of law-making that will only exacerbate an inherently biased and racist criminal justice system, said Te Pāti Māori Justice Spokesperson, Tākuta Ferris, today. During the time Three Strikes was in place in Aotearoa, Māori and Pasifika received ...
Cuts to frontline hospital staff are not only a broken election promise, it shows the reckless tax cuts have well and truly hit the frontline of the health system, says Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall. ...
The Green Party has joined the call for public submissions on the fast-track legislation to be extended after the Ombudsman forced the Government to release the list of organisations invited to apply just hours before submissions close. ...
New Zealand’s good work at reducing climate emissions for three years in a row will be undone by the National government’s lack of ambition and scrapping programmes that were making a difference, Labour Party climate spokesperson Megan Woods said today. ...
Associate Education Minister David Seymour has today announced that the Government will be delivering a more efficient Healthy School Lunches Programme, saving taxpayers approximately $107 million a year compared to how Labour funded it, by embracing innovation and commercial expertise. “We are delivering on our commitment to treat taxpayers’ money ...
New research on the impacts of extreme weather on coastal marine habitats in Tairāwhiti and Hawke’s Bay will help fishery managers plan for and respond to any future events, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. A report released today on research by Niwa on behalf of Fisheries New Zealand ...
Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Winston Peters will lead a broad political delegation on a five-stop Pacific tour next week to strengthen New Zealand’s engagement with the region. The delegation will visit Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu, New Caledonia, and Tuvalu. “New Zealand has deep and ...
There has been a material decline in gas production according to figures released today by the Gas Industry Co. Figures released by the Gas Industry Company show that there was a 12.5 per cent reduction in gas production during 2023, and a 27.8 per cent reduction in gas production in the ...
Defence Minister Judith Collins tonight announced the recipients of the Minister of Defence Awards of Excellence for Industry, saying they all contribute to New Zealanders’ security and wellbeing. “Congratulations to this year’s recipients, whose innovative products and services play a critical role in the delivery of New Zealand’s defence capabilities, ...
Welcome to you all - it is a pleasure to be here this evening.I would like to start by thanking Greg Lowe, Chair of the New Zealand Defence Industry Advisory Council, for co-hosting this reception with me. This evening is about recognising businesses from across New Zealand and overseas who in ...
It is a pleasure to be speaking to you as the Minister for Digitising Government. I would like to thank Akolade for the invitation to address this Summit, and to acknowledge the great effort you are making to grow New Zealand’s digital future. Today, we stand at the cusp of ...
New Zealand is urging both Israel and Hamas to agree to an immediate ceasefire to avoid the further humanitarian catastrophe that military action in Rafah would unleash, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “The immense suffering in Gaza cannot be allowed to worsen further. Both sides have a responsibility to ...
A new online data dashboard released today as part of the Government’s school attendance action plan makes more timely daily attendance data available to the public and parents, says Associate Education Minister David Seymour. The interactive dashboard will be updated once a week to show a national average of how ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced Rosemary Banks will be New Zealand’s next Ambassador to the United States of America. “Our relationship with the United States is crucial for New Zealand in strategic, security and economic terms,” Mr Peters says. “New Zealand and the United States have a ...
The Government is considering creating a new tier of minerals permitting that will make it easier for hobby miners to prospect for gold. “New Zealand was built on gold, it’s in our DNA. Our gold deposits, particularly in regions such as Otago and the West Coast have always attracted fortune-hunters. ...
Minister for Trade Todd McClay today announced that New Zealand and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) will commence negotiations on a free trade agreement (FTA). Minister McClay met with his counterpart UAE Trade Minister Dr Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi in Dubai, where they announced the launch of negotiations on a ...
New Zealand Sign Language Week is an excellent opportunity for all Kiwis to give the language a go, Disabilities Issues Minister Louise Upston says. This week (May 6 to 12) is New Zealand Sign Language (NZSL) Week. The theme is “an Aotearoa where anyone can sign anywhere” and aims to ...
Six tertiary students have been selected to work on NASA projects in the US through a New Zealand Space Scholarship, Space Minister Judith Collins announced today. “This is a fantastic opportunity for these talented students. They will undertake internships at NASA’s Ames Research Center or its Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), where ...
New Zealanders will be safer because of a $1.9 billion investment in more frontline Corrections officers, more support for offenders to turn away from crime, and more prison capacity, Corrections Minister Mark Mitchell says. “Our Government said we would crack down on crime. We promised to restore law and order, ...
The OECD’s latest report on New Zealand reinforces the importance of bringing Government spending under control, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The OECD conducts country surveys every two years to review its members’ economic policies. The 2024 New Zealand survey was presented in Wellington today by OECD Chief Economist Clare Lombardelli. ...
The Government has delivered on its election promise to provide a financially sustainable model for Auckland under its Local Water Done Well plan. The plan, which has been unanimously endorsed by Auckland Council’s Governing Body, will see Aucklanders avoid the previously projected 25.8 per cent water rates increases while retaining ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters discussed the need for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, and enhanced cooperation in the Pacific with German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock during her first official visit to New Zealand today. "New Zealand and Germany enjoy shared interests and values, including the rule of law, democracy, respect for the international system ...
The Minister Responsible for RMA Reform, Chris Bishop today released his decision on four recommendations referred to him by the Western Bay of Plenty District Council, opening the door to housing growth in the area. The Council’s Plan Change 92 allows more homes to be built in existing and new ...
Thank you, John McKinnon and the New Zealand China Council for the invitation to speak to you today. Thank you too, all members of the China Council. Your effort has played an essential role in helping to build, shape, and grow a balanced and resilient relationship between our two ...
The Government is modernising insurance law to better protect Kiwis and provide security in the event of a disaster, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly announced today. “These reforms are long overdue. New Zealand’s insurance law is complicated and dated, some of which is more than 100 years old. ...
The coalition Government is refreshing its approach to supporting pay equity claims as time-limited funding for the Pay Equity Taskforce comes to an end, Public Service Minister Nicola Willis says. “Three years ago, the then-government introduced changes to the Equal Pay Act to support pay equity bargaining. The changes were ...
Structured literacy will change the way New Zealand children learn to read - improving achievement and setting students up for success, Education Minister Erica Stanford says. “Being able to read and write is a fundamental life skill that too many young people are missing out on. Recent data shows that ...
Trade Minister Todd McClay says Canada’s refusal to comply in full with a CPTPP trade dispute ruling in our favour over dairy trade is cynical and New Zealand has no intention of backing down. Mr McClay said he has asked for urgent legal advice in respect of our ‘next move’ ...
The rights of our children and young people will be enhanced by changes the coalition Government will make to strengthen oversight of the Oranga Tamariki system, including restoring a single Children’s Commissioner. “The Government is committed to delivering better public services that care for our most at-risk young people and ...
The Government is making it easier for minor changes to be made to a building consent so building a home is easier and more affordable, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “The coalition Government is focused on making it easier and cheaper to build homes so we can ...
New Zealand lost a true legend when internationally renowned disability advocate Sir Robert Martin (KNZM) passed away at his home in Whanganui last night, Disabilities Issues Minister Louise Upston says. “Our Government’s thoughts are with his wife Lynda, family and community, those he has worked with, the disability community in ...
Good evening – Before discussing the challenges and opportunities facing New Zealand’s foreign policy, we’d like to first acknowledge the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs. You have contributed to debates about New Zealand foreign policy over a long period of time, and we thank you for hosting us. ...
From today, passengers travelling internationally from Auckland Airport will be able to keep laptops and liquids in their carry-on bags for security screening thanks to new technology, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Creating a more efficient and seamless travel experience is important for holidaymakers and businesses, enabling faster movement through ...
People with an interest in the health of Northland’s marine ecosystems are invited to a public meeting to discuss how to deal with kina barrens, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones will lead the discussion, which will take place on Friday, 10 May, at Awanui Hotel in ...
Kiwi exporters are $100 million better off today with the NZ EU FTA entering into force says Trade Minister Todd McClay. “This is all part of our plan to grow the economy. New Zealand's prosperity depends on international trade, making up 60 per cent of the country’s total economic activity. ...
There are heartening signs that the extractive sector is once again becoming an attractive prospect for investors and a source of economic prosperity for New Zealand, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. “The beginnings of a resurgence in extractive industries are apparent in media reports of the sector in the past ...
The return of the historic Ō-Rākau battle site to the descendants of those who fought there moved one step closer today with the first reading of Te Pire mō Ō-Rākau, Te Pae o Maumahara / The Ō-Rākau Remembrance Bill. The Bill will entrust the 9.7-hectare battle site, five kilometres west ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has announced 25 new high-speed EV charging hubs along key routes between major urban centres and outlined the Government’s plan to supercharge New Zealand’s EV infrastructure. The hubs will each have several chargers and be capable of charging at least four – and up to 10 ...
The coalition Government will not proceed with the previous Government’s plans to regulate residential property managers, Housing Minister Chris Bishop says. “I have written to the Chairperson of the Social Services and Community Committee to inform him that the Government does not intend to support the Residential Property Managers Bill ...
The Government has announced an independent review into the disability support system funded by the Ministry of Disabled People – Whaikaha. Disability Issues Minister Louise Upston says the review will look at what can be done to strengthen the long-term sustainability of Disability Support Services to provide disabled people and ...
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith has attended the Universal Periodic Review in Geneva and outlined the Government’s plan to restore law and order. “Speaking to the United Nations Human Rights Council provided us with an opportunity to present New Zealand’s human rights progress, priorities, and challenges, while responding to issues and ...
The Government and Rotorua Lakes Council are committed to working closely together to end the use of contracted emergency housing motels in Rotorua. Associate Minister of Housing (Social Housing) Tama Potaka says the Government remains committed to ending the long-term use of contracted emergency housing motels in Rotorua by the ...
Trade Minister Todd McClay heads overseas today for high-level trade talks in the Gulf region, and a key OECD meeting in Paris. Mr McClay will travel to Riyadh to meet with counterparts from Saudi Arabia and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). “New Zealand’s goods and services exports to the Gulf region ...
Education Minister Erica Stanford has outlined six education priorities to deliver a world-leading education system that sets Kiwi kids up for future success. “I’m putting ambition, achievement and outcomes at the heart of our education system. I want every child to be inspired and engaged in their learning so they ...
RNZ News As Israel presses ahead with strikes in Rafah and seizing the Rafah crossing from Egypt, aid agencies are sounding the alarm of a “catastrophic humanitarian situation”. Rafah was “significant” because it was the only part in Gaza that had not been terribly damaged by the conflict, United Nations ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Anna Cooke, Honorary Fellow, School of the Environment, The University of Queensland We feel ecological grief when we lose places, species or ecosystems we value and love. These losses are a growing threat to mental health and wellbeing globally. We all see ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Shauna Brail, Associate Professor, Institute for Management & Innovation, University of Toronto A shift to hybrid and remote work continues to affect worker presence in Toronto’s downtown.(Shutterstock) Downtown Toronto, the core of Canada’s largest city, continues to reel from the lingering ...
Responding to an Auditor-General's report slamming failures in the administration of the 2023 General Election, Taxpayers’ Union Policy and Public Affairs Manager, James Ross, said: ...
The Taxpayers’ Union says the Beehive need to lead by example, following reports of more than $50,000 spent upgrading video conferencing equipment and furniture in the Prime Minister’s office. Taxpayers’ Union Campaign Manager, Connor Molloy, ...
An objective list of the 50 most powerful people in New Zealand, as judged by the Spinoff Editorial Board. It’s power list season, baby, and we want in on the action. Sure, there’s the rich list and the powerful “c-suite” list and the young people with power (hmmm) but here, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Thalia Anthony, Professor of Law, University of Technology Sydney ShutterstockThis article contains information on deaths in custody and the names of deceased people, and describes ongoing colonial violence towards Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. First Nations people in Australia ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alex Simpson, Senior Lecturer in Criminology, Macquarie University Netflix Baby Reindeer’s phenomenal success has much to do with its writer and lead, Richard Gadd, who plays Donny in a tender semi-autobiographical account of sexual abuse, harassment and stalking. Gadd’s story has ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Clare Collins, Laureate Professor in Nutrition and Dietetics, University of Newcastle KarolinaGrabowska/Pexels If you didn’t have food allergies as a child, is it possible to develop them as an adult? The short answer is yes. But the reasons why are much ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Paul Moon, Professor of History, Auckland University of Technology Ans Westra, self-portrait, c. 1963. National Library ref AWM-0705-F They try but invariably fail – those writers who believe they are capable of encapsulating in prose or verse the essence of ...
Stewart Sowman-Lund looks at the growing concern around the world in this extract from The Bulletin. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here. What’s all this? When Covid-19 arrived on our shores in early 2020, some argued we were too slow, or crucially, ill-prepared for a pandemic. So ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Franco Montalto, Professor of Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering and Director, Sustainable Water Resource Engineering Laboratory, Drexel University Water runs into a storm drain in a Los Angeles alley on Aug. 19, 2023, during Tropical Storm Hilary.Citizen of the Planet/Universal Images ...
The inquest into the death of Gore toddler Lachlan Jones has turned up a new witness who says he saw two teenagers and a small child in a high vis vest in the area where the boy’s body was found the day he died. Lachie’s body was discovered face up ...
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Simeon Brown, Chris Luxon, and Wayne Brown climbed into a hole and announced a plan to solve Auckland’s water woes. This is how it’ll work. New Zealand’s pipes are munted. They’re cracked and leaking, and struggling to handle all the extra poos excreted by our rising population. It’s a big, ...
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Opinion: “As time passes, knowledge of the circumstances of the August 2016 outbreak will fade and its immediate impact will be lost.” This statement is from the 2017 report of the Official Inquiry into the Havelock North campylobacteriosis outbreak. The then National-led government established the inquiry after the outbreak left ...
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What do a sombrero in Argentina and cognitive driving tests have in common? Don’t worry, we’re not setting up a bad joke. Hinengaro Clinic dementia clinician Gregory Winkelman has the answer on today’s episode of The Detail. “We ask a patient’s spouse or son or daughter: If you went to ...
Wellington long jumper Phoebe Edwards is back and she’s having fun again. Until this year, Edwards, a top athlete in her teens, had never competed as a senior athlete in New Zealand. In March, the 26-year-old won a national long jump title in a lifetime best of 6.28m after ...
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ANALYSIS:By Olli Hellmann, University of Waikato When New Zealanders commemorate Anzac Day today on April 25, it’s not only to honour the soldiers who lost their lives in World War I and subsequent conflicts, but also to mark a defining event for national identity. The battle of Gallipoli against ...
By Robin Martin, RNZ News reporter A New Zealand local authority, Whanganui District Council, has passed a motion calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, condemnation of all acts of violence and terror against civilians on both sides of the conflict and the immediate return of hostages. It comes as ...
Asia Pacific Report The Aotearoa chapter of the Women’s International league for Peace and Freedom (WILPF) has appealed to the New Zealand government to call out Israel over the “cruel and barbaric use of force” in Gaza and demand a permanent ceasefire. The league’s open letter was sent to Prime ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra The Albanese government will invest $566 million over a decade on data, maps and other tools to promote exploration and development in Australia’s resources industry. The project will fund “the first comprehensive map of what’s ...
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Adding gender to the Human Rights Act would simply make the implicit explicit. So why is it so controversial? Paul Thistoll explain. At present, Aotearoa’s 1993 Human Rights Act (HRA) includes sex, marital status, religious belief, ethical belief (meaning a lack of religious belief), colour, race, ethnicity or national origin, ...
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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/
https://twitter.com/Tom_Fowdy/status/1528990169356853248
Cheer up aj – you will not be alone in eternal punishment.
We should be able to do rotating shifts of wailing in anguish.
Zactly.
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.
//
https://twitter.com/JuliaDavisNews/status/1528949603797815297
https://twitter.com/JuliaDavisNews/status/1529469489665949696
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.
https://twitter.com/OxanaShevel/status/1529569279506530304
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.