The TVNZ poll last night would have to be a concern for Labour. Sure, Labour only dropped 1%, well within the margin of error. However, of more concern will be the drop in support for the Greens.
The reason why this would be a concern, is that it is probably reasonable to assume that the drop in support for the Greens will have mainly resulted in those potential votes migrating to Labour.
Hence, the drop for the overall left vote is what is of main concern. So, a 5% drop for the combined left is quite a big drop. Contrast that with the 3% uptick for the right, and that is an 8% swing in favour of the right.
And DPF gives quite an interesting analysis of the leadership ratings:
Turns out that Luxon is the fourth most popular opposition leader for this time in the election cycle and Hipkins is the fourth most unpopular leader, according to the analysis.
Hence, comparisions of relative popularity are missing this point.
Your choice of a te reo alias is interesting, given you're quoting National lines, when their increase in support appears predicated on a platform of kicking Maori back down to a position of political non-representation.
[Please correct your e-mail address in your next comment, thanks – Incognito]
Hold up, you realize loads more Maori vote National than vote fot the Maori party right?
Many, many Maori don't agree with Labour, The Greens or the Maori partys interpretation of the treaty or want co-governance.
Many Maori are farmers and vote National or NZ First . In fact it's a total mistake that the Tory's and NZ First don't run candidates in the Maori electorates anymore, because with the left splitting their votes between lab, tpm and the Greens National or NZf could sneak in, national have held Maori seats before and NZF once held all of them.
Golly, if lefties think all Maori are left wing, some people are going to be shook, especially if the right ever seriously goes after the Maori seats again.
If National managed to sneak a couple Maori seats by vote splitting, the meltdowns on election night from pakeha liberals would be entertaining af.
National's underlying theme in this election year is not the cost of living or the supposed rise in crime – or indeed the climate crisis. It is all about racism.
The cost of living is rising. Blame it on the Labour government who are giving all our money to the 'Mowries'.
Ram raids and burglaries are increasing. Definitely the 'Mowries'.
All other problems as they arise – well if the 'Mowries' weren't being given special treatment we'd be okay.
Racism, racism and more racism. Middle income earners and old age pensioners are the primary culprits. Not all of them, but a substantial number are politically ignorant and feed off the likes of Hosking, HDPA and the rest of the ZB gang of Maori haters… along with the Hootons and Prebbles and that smarmy piece of work, David Seymour.
I don't know what you do about it, but you don't fall into the trap Michael Wood fell into the other day. Has he forgotten the outburst fanned by the Nats in 2008 when Helen Clark made a similar plea to voters?
Here's what was said in a very recent National newsletter. It seem that we are "driven by the influence of woke socialists who seek to advance their own agenda'. They are the problem, being racists……
"Infiltrating institutions and leveraging race-related issues in the current environment is a frighteningly easy path to take, as few are willing to risk being labelled a racist. It is crucial that we all oppose this agenda as those that hurl the racist label about are the racists. If we choose to look the other way New Zealand will be a racially divided nation which will undoubtedly bring on civil unrest."
I have a feeling I have somehow been side-shuffled into an Orwellian-style dystopian universe where newspeak replaces logic and facts.
And Winston also promoting the same message according to your (and my) Stuff citation. It contains this quote "the NZ First leader took aim at bilingualism and “woke social engineering” to laughter and cheers from the Grey Power congregation."
I think to blame racism for Labour being behind ignores a lot of other relevant factors that are contributing to the decline for Laboujr. For instance, the cost of living and the rampant crime at the moment.
Personally, I think the government has to take a lot of blame for any perceived racism in that they have handled the whole co-governance question really badly, and have not communicated at all well what is meant by that. This has meant a lot of the population have felt quite threatened.
Plus, the radical demands from TMP such as revoking full and final treaty settlements and establishing a Maori parliament are naturally going to cause a lot of resistance amongst the general population.
Note I said "underlying" theme tsmithfield. I don't deny other factors are at play but for many I believe it boils down to racism. I am mindful of family members whenever political subjects are introduced into a conversation… it always ends with a rant about 'mowries'.
When I throw it back in their faces I get left off the social calendar for a bit.
In any sort of area, not only race, we tend to view people in an outgroup negatively and with suspicion. We also tend to view them as very similar in their characteristics. That is because we tend to notice the common traits of members of outgroups, and not notice their differences so much. This is a fairly universal, almost subconscious effect that we find it hard to get away from.
I know a lot of my attitudes have been challenged being on the board of Crossroads Youth with a Future which works in one of the poorest areas of Christchurch which has a fairly high Maori and Polynesian population.
I realised, after becoming friends with a number of wonderful Maori people through my role in the trust that I could no longer justify holding general negative attitudes towards Maori people. That is, because I realised that if I was going to hold general negative attitudes towards Maori people, I was also holding those attitudes about people I very much liked.
So, I think that is a good way to overcome some of those negative attitudes. That is, to actually get to know some of the people in the group that might be an outgroup at the moment.
Unfortunately, a lot of people who hold these attitudes often are living in a completely different world, and have little contact with Maori people. Hence, they see Maori people as very much part of an outgroup.
Ts, yet Act want to stop the gun register and allow some awful weapons. They are a larger party than the Maori Party… why not target that proposition? rather than thinking 3 people have exaggerated influence? Surely the Act Party are at greater risk of shifting the norms?
I am not an ACT voter personally. But, I think a lot of these sorts of policies arise from frustration a voting base feels due to the fact that the existing system doesn't function properly.
I know my son was wanting to get into hunting. He had an impeccable record, but had to wait several years before his gun licence came through.
Also, I guess there is frustration because, despite the changes the government made to gun laws that were supposed to make it harder for criminals to get guns, gun violence seemed to have been increasing.
And, also, it seemed that the changes made to gun laws were targeting people who weren't causing the problem.
So, I can understand why ACT might be pushing for relaxation of some of the gun laws. Though, it isn't something I have given a lot of thought to as it isn't really an area that affects me personally.
Hunters don't need assault weapons. So what is the problem with having a gun register and tighter gun control laws? If you are a law-abiding citizen, it should not be a problem, right?
Posted this before, but the Police are very keen on the gun registry. Since monitoring guns in crimes after Mosque shooting, they found that the guns come mostly from legal gun licence holders who onsell to middle-men servicing crims.
You can see how a gun registry would close down this lucrative legal-to-illegal movement of guns (and maybe ammo).
Labour never campaigned on the issue of co-governance, so it is little wonder many people are objecting to the government's efforts to implement it in the new water legislation and the revised RMA rules. It really amounts to a covert attack on democracy.
Some outside the government think they can see which way the wind is blowing. There is an attempt by someone in the NZ Law Society to subject lawyers to the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi.
That might make sense if we all agreed on what those principles are, but as far as I can see no-one can define them because there has been no open debate.
Ok but what about the many many Maori, pasifica, indian and asian voters who are angry with labour, the greens and find the idea of adding TPM to the mix toxic?
Because of the ethnic make up of NZ, a lot of brown people are voting for Nat/act/NZf, (more than vote for the Maori party and the greens combined) and I don't think they are voting for the right because they are racist.
More like they are sick of prices going out of control, noone being able to afford a house to rent and they live in the areas with all the crime and they are god damned sick of it.
A lot of maori are disgusted with the left atm, when watching the news with my whanau and hearing life long Maori labour voters shout "racist" and change the channel when Marama comes on was eye opening.
White people and may have appreciated Maramas comments but noone else did and considering they insulted about 30+% of their own voters …sheesh
A lot of maori support the lefts position on Maori issues, but just as many support nationals position on the treaty.
Heads would explode on the left if national actually ran in all the Maori seats, cos they'd win a couple.
The poll shows that Greens actually performing is critical to a left victory at the election.
Fortunately, the troublemaking Green faction that seems full of the same malcontents, defeatists and saboteurs that flocked to, and destroyed, the parties of the Alliance before decamping to Internet/Mana and then heading off to the mad hatter faction of the Green party appear to have been dealt a severe blow if the Green party list is anything to go by.
Having dealt with the distraction, the Green party is on notice to pull finger and get out there and do it's job. No more excuses.
It wouldn't surprise me if the Greens get their votes back. But, the point I was making, is that the votes they recover will likely be mainly at the expense of Labour. So, the overall left block may not be much better off as a result.
Saint Swarbrick will keep the Greens alive at worst.
The critical difference between this election campaign and the 2005 election when Labour were in a similar position, is that Dr Cullen was prepared to pull out a major populist policy deep into the campaign.
But there's no sign that Robertson has that in the tank.
The lesson of multiple post-2005 campaigns is that the Greens fuck up and Labour has to pull themselves up to win government.
Ad, I have always thought that the Greens would be much stronger if they could move away from the far left stuff, and become more centrist economically, and focus more on environmental issues. And also more effective.
Given history shows that right wing parties have been in power the the majority of time since 1950., then they would be in a position to have a postive effect on Green outcomes, regardless of which of the major parties was in power. And, in my mind, the ability to achieve positive change for the environment trumps any ideological political stuff.
Heck, even I could be tempted to vote Greens in that situation. Probably not with my party vote, to be fair. But, I could well vote for a Greens electorate candidate.
And, in my mind, the ability to achieve positive change for the environment trumps any ideological political stuff.
That is my view too. We need a party with an unabashed focus on the environment.
Hopefully the Greens have the time to pull away from 'weirdo', to me, causes aand focus on the environment, climate change, putting people in the equation for low cost housing/housing. This sector is crying out for new ideas, a focus etc.
There has been a bit of hysteria on twitter with Russian trolls claiming that Commander in Chief of the Ukrainian Army, Valerii Zaluzhnyi, was killed or badly injured in a Russian missile strike, and that the Ukrainians have been covering it up for PR reasons. This has been fuelled by the fact that Zaluhnyi hasn't been seen in public for awhile.
Well today, the Ukrainians put out this video. Hilarious trolling of the Russians. Lol.
Muldoon is a famous ex-old boy of Mt Albert Grammar, the school in the article. A friend said he was in sixth form there when Prime Minister Muldoon came to speak at his old school. This was a little after the Springbok tour. My friend stood up and threw a meat pie at Muldoon, hitting him square on. Boys being boys, the assembly burst out laughing.
While my friend wasn't expelled for his action, he was shunned, and left the school a little later.
I have a vague memory of that incident having grown up in Mt Albert.
Another facet of the Muldoon years was – and still is – under wraps. He was not averse to having anyone he perceived as an enemy (whether they were or not) being ostracised, covertly harassed and intimidated – and their careers destroyed.
He was the arsehole of arseholes and should have been publicly outed for his conduct but instead he was shielded by those who should have known better – but didn't.
I went to a school up the road from Parliament, and we certainly knew in fourth form that Muldoon slept around with women looking to add a notch to their bedposts.
Wellington was the sort of town where political gossip zipped round pretty quick. The mistresses goss came up when he rushed legislation for no-fault divorce, and back-dated it so that he was no longer cited as co-respondent in the architect Athfield's divorce. Blatant misuse of the legislature, although the end product was a plus to NZ society.
All this was local knowledge, but of course suppressed in the media. It's not so much the personal morality, it's the back-dating that made Muldoon a corrupt politician.
You clearly know about some of Muldoon's nefarious activities so you will remember the Colin Moyle Affair.
In 1975 while working late in his ministerial office, Moyle received an anonymous phone call from someone claiming to possess documents that proved corruption of some sort occurring inside the Defence Force. The caller (male) arranged to meet Moyle on an inner city street corner to pass over the documents. Moyle went to the rendezvous but the caller never turned up. Instead along came a police patrol car and he was taken in for questioning for suspected homosexual activity. (Homosexuality as it was called then was illegal.)
While Muldoon was not involved in the original set-up, he got to hear about it and he used the information to destroy Moyle's political career. Moyle was being tipped as a future Labour leader. Moyle kept quiet about the phone call – presumably because he knew he would not be believed.
Years later I came to know the identity of the anonymous caller and that is another interesting story. He eventually fled to Australia in strange circumstances where he remained for the rest of his life. He and a close associate (whom I knew well) had been conducting all manner of political pranks and hoaxes – a few of them amusing which were boasted about – but others had a sinister aspect to them. The Moyle Affair was the latter.
It provides a little sunlight into what was going on behind the scenes throughout the Muldoon years in particular.
Hi Anne. How are you? Well, from the small amount you have put on The Standard over the time I have read…you have certainly had some "interesting" (right word? ) life experience. I hope you have come out of it all ok?
No book in a future time?
I rate your comments here pretty highly. FYI I stopped posting on The Standard for quite a while (you prob know why..the sad loss of some awesome posters : (
But there are a few still that make it worthwhile : )
Yes, I nearly parted company permanently with TS over the toxic atmosphere being created. I hope some of those driven away will eventually return.
The plight I found myself engulfed in left their mark. I suffered PTSD for a few years but that is in the past.
It still upsets me though that the culprits were never brought to justice. A lot of people were adversely affected by the appalling behaviour which included among them a few well known cases.
The latest poll showing Nat/ACT can just form a government should be seen in this context where the rolling average shows Lab/Gr/TMP could form a government.
I am not sure of all this so I am seeking information from those who might know.
The recent Horizon poll was a large one with 1500 respondents and a 10% don't know. Also, and most importantly (?), the respondents were those on the roll and practising voters. And again, was the Horizon poll comparable in its methodology- on-line, cell phones , land lines, etc?
Gives info about political polling, which is independent and uncommissioned by any political party, and tries to balance across NZ geography and demography. However, they do solicit for survey members on their website (might sign up!), so they may be polling the same population of respondents. There is a contact email there, so you could always ask them directly.
Yes soliciting survey members creates bias. Horizon's results have usually been different to the main pollsters over many years. I mean while I would love to believe that National is polling 26% per their latest poll, I find this hard to believe.
Crammer's piece on the defunding of DoC is a fucker:
Following last week’s budget, alarm bells have been rung by the Department of Conservation. Just after 5pm on Wednesday, Deputy Director-General for Operations, Mike Tully, sent an email to senior staff advising them of discussions that took place on Monday with the senior leadership team relating to the 2023/24 financial baseline information for the department.
In the leaked email Tully stated, “In summary, it did not paint the desired picture we might have hoped for. To be transparent, the initial view shows that we do not have sufficient funding to cover our basic running costs.”
“There is now alot of urgent work underway to seek clarity on our position,” he wrote.
The immediate effect, as set out in the email, is the introduction of a hiring freeze and a review by Deputy Director-Generals in the department to identify, “how fixed operating cost commitments fit within available funding before budget envelopes are confirmed”.
….
In a NZ Herald article in February, Audrey Young wrote, “Māori hate the Department of Conservation, MPs on the Māori affairs select committee were told this morning by former Conservation Minister Poto Williams.
She said that was what she had been told by Māori Crown Relations Minister Kelvin Davis last year when she was first appointed minister in charge of the Department of Conservation.
“One of the first things that Minister Davis said to me was that Māori hate DoC,” she told the committee.
“‘They have a really poor relationship with the department so good luck to you sister,” he had said.
Which in my mind confirms that Labour are complicit in the now obvious plan to privatise the Conservation Estate entirely into the hands of a tiny ticket clipping elite.
The idea of nefarious Maori is simply Cranmer on message. Part of the GA orbit towards The Platform and the Wright brothers circling over white children like crows on the cradle.
Do you have an argument? Or just a 'shoot the messenger'?
Is the quoted article wrong in any fashion? Is DoC funding actually increasing? And given the Maori caucus's obviously cosy relationship with TMP – is there any doubt that the plan to privatise the Conservation Estate is still shuffling forwards?
Because if that was the plan, then this relentless defunding of DoC would be an obvious step along the way.
As for the seabed and foreshore – what fraction of that was held by foreign overseas private owners? Compared to say the fraction of New Zealand that would be privatised if we lost public control of the Conservation Estate?
I'd simply point out that most budgets got limited increases (part from for wage increases to staff) for the year ahead. Conservation was/is no exception.
To try and connect that to some conspiracy theory with a bit of gossip is hardly a serious case. It's peddling a dubious narrative because it suits an agenda.
Some people are susceptible to that, some are not.
You made the claim of relentless defunding – on what basis?
In the leaked email Tully stated, “In summary, it did not paint the desired picture we might have hoped for. To be transparent, the initial view shows that we do not have sufficient funding to cover our basic running costs.”
“There is now alot of urgent work underway to seek clarity on our position,” he wrote.
All the evidence this is the end point of a process that has been going on for a lot longer than just this year:
The department is known to have been chronically underfunded for years but it has now reached crisis point as the government has required DoC to deliver on an increasing number of core programmes and take responsibility for the maintenance of a third of New Zealand’s total land, whilst not matching the annual increases in wages and inflation.
A reality confirmed by my own connections with the hunting and tramping community who report an obvious rundown of many backcountry huts, especially those that do not have a local community looking after them.
And it is not a lack of money that seems to be the problem:
Jobs for Nature is unaffected by this current squeeze as its funding is ring-fenced. The controversial programme is described by the government as a $1.2 billion programme that manages funding across multiple government agencies, including the Department of Conservation, to benefit the environment, people and the regions. It is part of the Covid-19 recovery package. The programme was created in 2020 and is intended to run for four years.
That raises an obvious question – if $1.2b is not enough to keep DoC's core functions going – exactly where is this money going? And into whose pockets?
To read the full article, I would have top pay "Cranmer" $100.
The article stating the "underfunding has been going on for years" – is not evidence.
A lot of ECE's also report a problem with lack of funding – some fund-raise to get around that.
It's likely a lot of the huts came from the community in the first place.
And it is not a lack of money that seems to be the problem:
It is, if the Department cannot perform core functions because of a lack of it. But this appears to be a new problem for the year ahead.
The Jobs for Nature programme was for job creation in local communities to prevent unemployment from COVID. It has no connection to DOC core function funding.
They have a diverse history originating over time from within tramping and hunting clubs, the old NZFS, the National Park Service and so on. But they are now all legally owned by DoC. Some huts continue to be looked after by local clubs or in some cases just groups of individuals who put their own time and sometimes funds into looking after them. DoC will usually create some kind of 'management plan' with this group.
I cannot put an exact fraction that are maintained in this manner, but I would hazard a guess that it is less than 200 nationally.
You can see the contrast in the Tararua's. Huts such as Blue Range, Mitre Flats and Roaring Stag that are community maintained are doing well – even when they're 70yrs old like Blue Range. By contrast the DoC maintained Tarn Ridge which is just a few km deeper into the range and was built in 2003 is now listed as unsafe by DoC :
Water damaged in a storm three years ago – recently I spotted a YT clip that briefly revealed serious mold and water damage. DoC clearly aren't able to fix this.
And this is just one representative glimpse of a much larger problem Anyone who has any knowledge of the situation on the ground recognises DoC has been underfunded for ages. But what we're seeing now is a government with senior Ministers expressing open hostility toward it – to the point where even it's core functions are under threat.
And yes why was Jobs for Nature separated out in the first place? $1.2b is a lot of money – and now COVID is over and NZ is running short on labour the justification has evaporated. Exactly where is this ‘ring-fenced’ four year funding going to?
the initial view shows that we do not have sufficient funding to cover our basic running costs.
and the problem of historic lack of funding
The new hut in 2003 indicates an extension of provision while Clark was PM and United was a support partner.
The DOC budget pressure 2023-2024 appears to be a new development, unrelated to problems in maintaining DOC assets.
Presumably DOC focuses on maintaining assets used by tourists and the cost of this is going up (pressure of numbers) and the constant creation of new walks for such purposes and also locals adds new costs. It may be that consequent from that resources for existing huts (tramper and hunter use) are becoming more limited.
The new hut in 2003 indicates an extension of provision while Clark was PM and United was a support partner.
My bad – I misread an entry on Hutbagger – the actual date was 1993. By contrast similarly exposed Blue Range – the two huts are almost within sight of each other – was built in 1954 and is still in good nick having been looked after all that time by a local tramping club.
It doesn't take too much, just a couple of guys with basic building and handyman skills to fix leaks, broken doors, windows and fireplaces. Done it myself a few times. DoC being a govt dept does tend to overcook these things, but then that's govt for you.
Tarn Ridge was perfectly fine when I was last there in 2011 when I was stuck there on my own for three nights in relentlessly bad weather. But clearly storm damage in 2020 has not been fixed and the place is going downhill fast. This is a well used hut that sees thousands of people annually; three years later and still nothing. It's diagnostic of a problem under this govt.
Under this government? Historic underfunding did not occur 2008-2017?
There are two ways of managing the problem of funding maintenance of DOC assets
1 contract out the job to a an agency working for DOC – the contract specifies an obligation to fund the bill for the maintenance services (based on need, such as damage by weather). The work is then not dependent on there being available finance.
2 DOC actively seeks out "community" partners to assist in managing huts used by hunters and trampers.
Well at least we both agree DoC has been chronically underfunded by a series of govts – except I would say under Helen Clark whose well known love for our outdoors might well have made a difference.
But the evidence is there that under this Labour govt there is downright hostility toward DoC and that a chronically poor situation has now become critically bad.
And I have focused on hut maintenance because I am moderately familiar with this aspect – but DoC have a much wider remit than this. What other wheels are falling off the DoC machine that we are not seeing? What other programs are being quietly shelved or wound down in ways that are not obvious to the public?
All the while $1.2b of funding is being thrown at a temporary make work scheme, which might well be doing some short term good, but no-one can tell us whether it was good value or not.
I don't accept that there is downright, or any other, hostility to DOC.
Costs of maintenance are clearly going up (worker costs and regulatory) and weather events are worse, and in that environment budget constraint is problematic.
That then exposes long held concerns about resourcing to a new level – what is called a critical moment in time. That is either resolved by the public service doing an internal administration review or a political party does it for them.
At the moment, it would seem that isolated huts (or where there are two only one is kept up to standard) are being left to die on the vine because they cost more than the others to maintain.
Tarn Ridge is not 'isolated' – it has long been a well used, important point of safety for three decades. As I said when I was there in 2011 and it was 20yrs old it was perfectly fine – and was absolutely instrumental in saving my life on that occasion. Letting it 'die on the vine' makes no sense whatsoever to anyone slightly familiar with the context.
That after three years DoC have not been able to fix water leaks caused by a storm three years ago before they go on to cause serious and much more expensive damage, is diagnostic of a much wider problem. This is basic stuff any asset manager knows how to deal with in the normal course of events; there will be a R&M budget for exactly this work.
But now it seems there is not. And that is not normal at all.
It is hard to know, but it is likely there was no immediate response at Tarn Ridge because of the pandemic. That would have led to a subsequent greater cost. The budget would still be there, but if there is a budget under stress and if one can do 4 other huts for the major cost at one, guess what happens.
At some point someone will make the case that Tarn Ridge and X, Y and Z damaged in 2020 were not fixed because of the pandemic and make a case for extra funding. Or otherwise wait for community activism to help them out of a hole.
Well that is well and good, but senior public servants do not write emails saying this when things are normal:
Following last week’s budget, alarm bells have been rung by the Department of Conservation. Just after 5pm on Wednesday, Deputy Director-General for Operations, Mike Tully, sent an email to senior staff advising them of discussions that took place on Monday with the senior leadership team relating to the 2023/24 financial baseline information for the department.
In the leaked email Tully stated, “In summary, it did not paint the desired picture we might have hoped for. To be transparent, the initial view shows that we do not have sufficient funding to cover our basic running costs.”
“There is now alot of urgent work underway to seek clarity on our position,” he wrote.
It's obvious from this an already thin and stretched Department is going to be once again gutted of skilled and capable staff. Damage that might take a decade to recover from – if ever.
Given that we know the problem is not a lack of govt funding they're willing to spend in this area – the obvious question is why is this govt apparently determined to strangle DoC to the point of failure?
Nah – we've seen all of this before. Certain Ministers in this govt are laying the conditions for the Conservation Estate to be privatised.
Given that we know the problem is not a lack of govt funding they're willing to spend in this area – the obvious question is why is this govt apparently determined to strangle DoC to the point of failure?
The COVID spending was not evidence of that, if there had been previous under funding (no compensation for higher regulatory costs?) over decades – multiple administrations.
Nah – we've seen all of this before.Certain Ministers in this govt are laying the conditions for the Conservation Estate to be privatised.
What is the connection between what we have seen before and certain Ministers in the current government – you've only named one and based your opinion on a singular meaning of what was reportedly said?
The last time a two term Labour administration went into an election, National under the leadership of the future ACT leader, Brash, ran the iwi or Kiwi campaign – to get into power and allocate surpluses out as tax cuts (and under invest in infrastructure – delayed to 2008 – and so here we are).
This time it's the threat of privatising the Conservation Estate or Maori co-governance of public assets – both cannot be true can they?
This time it's the threat of privatising the Conservation Estate or Maori co-governance of public assets – both cannot be true can they?
Co-governance is a trojan horse. The most cursory examination of what is being openly said is that the goal is to privatise the entire estate into the hands of the tribal elites.
The issue is then based on Labour preferring co-governance arrangements (as a convenience to balance sheet separation – which allows easier and cheaper finance and also plays its part in meeting indigenous rights obligations – UN Declaration) and ambition among Maori to recover public land assets to iwi.
And by linking one to the other, re-visit Iwi or Kiwi. Because TPM would prefer a co-governance partner in government to National.
However if National do get in, do not be surprised if they do a co-governance arrangement themselves – they signed the UN Declaration, they set up whanau ora, they reversed the F and S legislation.
As one involved a million years ago with the environmental restructuring in 1987 it was well known that back then DoC started out with a basic underfunding and has had to work with this and addtional underfunding since then.
DoC has been under constant watch/fear of losing more funding, of losing staff, etc etc. This has manifested itself in constant restructruings, pulling back from regular maintenance so that yearly plans become two yearly plans. DoC have had staff who have worked had and been nimble in their actions to get/keep a presence.
I would venture that the old settler mentality of using everything is alive and well in NZ. So the concept of national parks, of ecological reserves, empty spaces ete, the Conservation estate, the lungs of NZ's world, is not known or appreciated.
I think it would be instructive if we could get some of the old stagers to advise on the 1987 underfunding and bring it forward through to the present day.
I would agree with much of this. DoC have always been a bit of a Cinderella Dept.
So the concept of national parks, of ecological reserves, empty spaces ete, the Conservation estate, the lungs of NZ's world, is not known or appreciated.
The same cannot be said for the hundreds of thousands of New Zealanders and the even larger numbers of visitors to this country – who deeply and passionately value the Conservation Estate. I agree we could do so much better than we are.
So how galling would it have been for DoC watch $1.2b of funding get dished out – all over the place it seems – while the peak body responsible for conservation in this country seems to have gotten only crumbs?
No more galling than for health and education workers wanting a wage increase or those who wanted a house at income related rent.
Cranmer and National want to discredit the continuance of 4 year Jobs for Nature and other COVID spending programmes because they want the money to fund their tax cuts. They do not intend to place the money with DOC.
Why should this Jobs for Nature scheme be immune to scrutiny? It was a lot of ding that has clearly come at a cost to DoC who are in principle the long-term manager of the estate.
Or maybe some Ministers in this govt are happy to see them fail.
Clearly it's not possible to convince someone, who wants to believe in a conspiracy theory, that it is not true.
All I can do is identify the motives of those who created it, and what their purpose is.
The provision of COVID money was for temporary use, not the funding of longer term government programmes. It is either spent for that purpose, or not spent at all. It does not get re-allocated.
National understands that point, even if you do not.
Ring fencing funds is an entirely political decision. Clearly the original justification for the fund – a make work scheme under supposedly emergency conditions – is now well passed.
If the "Jobs for Nature" funds are not spent, no-one piles up a stack of $100 notes and sets fire to them. The funds might not be 're-allocated' in a direct sense, but the General Fund that is now better off can readily re-use the funds elsewhere.
The money not used is for debt repayment or general economic purpose – such as post COVID inflation cost management. The chance of it being placed into department spending (funded out of annual finance resources) is zero. At best a capital project, or now to flood damage assistance.
I am quite aware that govt Budgets are subject to arcane, complex and intentionally confounding processes – but ultimately it is a political decision to starve DoC of funds.
Yes agree…..'Maori elite' to me means that they've well and truly quaffed the Koolaid from sources like Brash, Hide, Julian Batchelor….maybe the same ones that are having trouble finding Govt Depts to complain too because they have all got 'Mowree' names now.
Not too sure what you are meaning RL. But the numbering seems to be a criticism of my view of the RW trope of the so-called Maori Elite. I view this as an attempt to be divisive/smearing.
Time at a marae, does not come into it.
Of course the Maori who want to use Treaty payouts to feed the family now and in the future are always going to get bad press from the ones who would rather have it now and spend it now……always have, always will.
Why not? If memory serves me it was about 9 different marae in very rural settings spread over the King Country, Urewera and the East Coast. Probably every third weekend or so over most of a decade in the 80's.
Usually stayed the Friday and Saturday night, longer if it was a tangi. Many important memories and experiences, and much of what I learned shaped the views I am expressing here.
Like being vehemently told off by a kaumatua for trying to pretend to be something I was not. A part of me still smarts a bit typing that out.
It is staggering that DoC hasn't absorbed the massive private sector efforts for conservation when private individuals of means are clearly able to put up serious money to do so.
There's the Tasti Products guy retoring 24,000 hectares:
DoC's engagement with conservation and maintenance oriented communities has been a bit hit and miss. For the most part local staff seem to have been very receptive – but Head Office syndrome seems to be the handbrake all too often.
So yes it makes sense that where they had the resources some groups have struck out on their own. But then again without the long-term backing and security of the state you have to wonder how many of these fine efforts will still be around in 100 yrs time?
The point you make about a lack of coordination is a good one, but this conversation goes back decades. Hell groups like Permolat were founded sometime in the early 2000's – the real question here is the evident hostility toward DoC from senior Ministers in this govt who seem quite happy for DoC to be seen to fail.
Well if you had been reading the thread – the quote above mentions Kelvin Davis for one. Of course we could speculate on the context , but the underlying hostility seems plain enough.
The warning can be taken in more ways from one. PW has Cook Island ancestry and was informed that Maori electorate MP's worked with local iwi and their relationships with DOC made the Minister's position more complicated when Labour was in government, more so since TPM was around as competition.
One of the problems is the red tape. There are plenty of eager volunteers wanting to help, but because of Health and Safety they must be supervised and there must be RAMS for each job, the cost of staff to do this must be found out of budget.
Yes. This is a long standing challenge – the interface between well-meaning people wanting to do the right thing and a govt department that has legal and public accountability is naturally full of tensions.
I can have some understanding for DoC – imagine the horrendous blowback on them if as a result of some poorly controlled volunteer work something catastrophic happened. Think something like Cave Creek. Looking back that was a pivotal moment that forever swept away a lot of the old school – get in, get it done, she'll be right attitude that made the old NZFS such a legend for those of us old enough to remember them.
But then again govts never quite seem to be able to apply commonsense to these matters, which is why you get the ludicrous spectacle of prominent "Fire Exit" signs in tiny bivs with just two bunks and one door just a few paces away.
Maybe someone should form a national trust for the purposes of supporting various campaigns – information about the legal issues and red tape and access to legal and other support provided free of charge.
You have railed against the Urewera settlement as privatisation. But that was considered through the tribunal process to be a fair settlement for a much larger loss of traditional lands, and assorted skullduggery by Seddon's government in nabbing the Urewera estate in the first place.
"The Crown apologises to Tūhoe for past dealings that breached the Crown’s obligations under the Treaty of Waitangi. These include:
indiscriminate raupatu, wrongful killings, and years of scorched earth warfare
denying Tūhoe the right of a self governing Urewera Reserve by subverting the Urewera District Native Reserve Act 1896
excluding Tūhoe from the establishment of Te Urewera National Park over their homelands
wrongly treating Lake Waikaremoana as Crown property for many years. "
'Privatisation' or 'return to rightful owners'. My bet's on the second.
Yes. It took medicine about 300 years to properly recognise the impact of Vitamin C in eliminating scurvy. These days the pace seems only a little quicker.
Royal Navy surgeon James Lind was the first westerner to join the dots.
Since antiquity in some parts of the world, and since the 17th century in England, it had been known that citrus fruit had an antiscorbutic effect. John Woodall (1570–1643), an English military surgeon of the British East India Company recommended them[7] but their use did not become widespread. John Fryer (1650–1733) too noted in 1698 the value of citrus fruits in curing sailors of scurvy.[8] Although Lind was not the first to suggest citrus as a cure for scurvy, he was the first to study its effect by a systematic experiment in 1747.[9] It was one of the first reported, controlled, clinical experiments in history, particularly because of its use of control groups.[2]
At some point the return to apprenticeships will include public service worker training, if only to ensure the capability to deliver services.
In the meantime, I would end the requirement to repay TL to those working in Enzed health and education (this maintains the incentive to work here after training) – that with increasing wages to the Oz level (and keeping housing costs to no higher or less than that across the ditch).
In a global shortage environment we have to focus on maintaining first world society standards.
The shortage has been artificially accentuated by removing 4-5 years of productive working life from the future workforce…all based on some theoretical increase in our bodies ability to work to an ever expanding timeframe. That functional working life (for the overwhelming majority) is around 40 years…or 80,000 hours…and we chose to reduce it in many instances by around 10-12%.
Tertiary trainee nurses get a lot of in-hospital training especially in years 2 and 3, the main difference is that they dont get paid for it but the hospitals get money for having them there as it soaks up a bit of "buddy "time from full time nurses guiding them along. Young nurses used to be used as arse wipers and cleaner uppers but a lot of that appears to be done by nurse aids now. Year 1 is a lot of getting them up to speed on the maths and science. Nurses now do quite a bit of the care that doctors used to do hence the requirement for a high level of competency in the science etc.
The ability for those with the desire and ability to expand their 'qualifications' existed under the in house regime and senior nursing staff were able to lighten the load of more "qualified' medical professionals…as it ever was.
It did and does make sense to move to use nurse aides and cleaners rather than nurse interns. That said, it did allow the interns some paid work/free board in hostels during their training period.
The CEO has cost the council a lot of money getting rid of staff – so they could call the cost of his removal an investment to improve the council as place to work.
"One of the men at the centre of the stand-off at Gore District Council was given a two-year contract extension just two days before the new council was elected"
Gore is intent on outing itself as an urban hovel run by incumbents who are incompetent.
A secret decision before the election to renew the contract that was not due for renewal until September this year … this is the sort of thing that occurs when corrupt things have been swept under the carpet and they do not want anyone to find out. That, or the CEO is a sociopath and has them all cowered.
"the council issued a statement to Newsroom in Parry's name confirming it had paid $413,000 in severance payments to around 20 staff between 2005 and 2022"
"in late 2007 Parry made a surprise visit to the London home of one of the complainants, former chief financial officer Doug Walker. It resulted in Walker seeking a restraining order against Parry for threatening behaviour"
Bad blood feud as well, in that small-town way. The new Mayor's mother was one of the senior council staff who left/was pushed out in the previous term. It is highly likely she encouraged her son to run, and past events possibly spoiled the chance for a professional working relationship from the start.
Read a little further into the article you link to for the very reasonable reason why government did not agree to Spark's diversion of $24 mi from rapid 5G roll-out to weather-proofing existing plant.
"Digital Economy and Communications Minister Ginny Andersen said the Government did not want to upset the three linked contracts – with Spark, 2degrees and One NZ (formerly Vodafone) – to improve provincial and rural connectivity.
“To re-open negotiations with all three telcos to consider Spark’s proposal would have held up the acceleration of 5G rollout and other important rural connectivity initiatives,” she said in a statement on Thursday."
Perhaps Spark should cough up a little more of its own money for future-proofing equipment?
Waka Kotahi contract out local road maintenance, and clearly this contractual relationship is breaking down, in part probably due to increased rainfall in many regions.
Ues for gods sake that rapist is no woman. I really feel for his victim, a man, who endured a sadistic rape. And now his attacker/rapist is referred to as a she.
The polls are so close and are constantly within the margin of error they could go either way but this feels like a throw the bums out election.
Its too close and the lefts voters, especially young people are notoriously bad at showing up to vote and Hipkins is not a popular, Luxon is actually doing ok as an opposition leader, they never poll well, but Hipkins as an incumbent? Awful.
If labour wanted an everyman working class bloke, they should have gone with Kieren McNulty, who is insanely likeable and real and doesn't seem like an ai robot calculating a response whenever asked a question like Chris.
And then you've got the fact labour has delivered bugger all in two terms, with a majority so noone young believes a damn thing will change if they get a third term so there's no passion at all in campaigning or turning out the vote.
Annnnd a labour/green govt having to rely on the votes of a separatist radical party like TPM is going to make people stay home, protest vote or hold their noses and privately vote for the Tory's while they publicly say they voted Lab/green.
I hope TOP and NZF both win and electorate, I hope National has to rely on them both to form a govt to moderate Act…and I think both have a place in parliament…
I also hope …one day…. We can get a party that represents workers and renters and the poor cos all we currently have a parties that represent upper middle class urban liberals and upper middle class rural moderate conservative liberals
It is all very well cutting the backrooms of public agencies but it may compromise the frontlines. One of the frustrations of the Productivity Commission’s 2017 review of universities is that while it observed that their non-academic staff were increasing faster than their academic staff, it did not bother to ...
Buzz from the Beehive Two speeches delivered by Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters at Anzac Day ceremonies in Turkey are the only new posts on the government’s official website since the PM announced his Cabinet shake-up. In one of the speeches, Peters stated the obvious: we live in a troubled ...
1. Which of these would you not expect to read in The Waikato Invader?a. Luxon is here to do business, don’t you worry about thatb. Mr KPI expects results, and you better believe itc. This decisive man of action is getting me all hot and excitedd. Melissa Lee is how ...
…it has a restricted jurisdiction which must not be abused: it is not an inquisitionNOTE – this article was published before the High Court ruled that Karen Chhour does not have to appear before the Waitangi Tribunal Gary Judd writes – The High Court ...
Lindsay Mitchell writes – One of reasons Oranga Tamariki exists is to prevent child neglect. But could the organisation itself be guilty of the same?Oranga Tamariki’s statistics show a decrease in the number and age of children in care. “There are less children ...
David Farrar writes: Graeme Edgeler wrote in 2017: In the first five years after three strikes came into effect 5248 offenders received a ‘first strike’ (that is, a “stage-1 conviction” under the three strikes sentencing regime), and 68 offenders received a ‘second strike’. In the five years prior to ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has surprised everyone with his ruthlessness in sacking two of his ministers from their crucial portfolios. Removing ministers for poor performance after only five months in the job just doesn’t normally happen in politics. That’s refreshing and will be extremely ...
TL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the two days to 6:06am on Thursday, April 25:Politics: PM Christopher Luxon has set up a dual standard for ministerial competence by demoting two National Cabinet ministers while leaving also-struggling ...
Hi,Today I mainly want to share some of your thoughts about the recent piece I wrote about success and failure, and the forces that seemingly guide our lives. But first, a quick bit of housekeeping: I am doing a Webworm popup in Los Angeles on Saturday May 11 at 2pm. ...
It is hard to see what Melissa Lee might have done to “save” the media. National went into the election with no public media policy and appears not to have developed one subsequently. Lee claimed that she had prepared a policy paper before the election but it had been decided ...
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Buzz from the Beehive A statement from Children’s Minister Karen Chhour – yet to be posted on the Government’s official website – arrived in Point of Order’s email in-tray last night. It welcomes the High Court ruling on whether the Waitangi Tribunal can demand she appear before it. It does ...
Mr Bombastic:Ironically, the media the academic experts wanted is, in many ways, the media they got. In place of the tyrannical editors of yesteryear, advancing without fear or favour the interests of the ruling class; the New Zealand news media of today boasts a troop of enlightened journalists dedicated to ...
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In 1974, the US Supreme Court issued its decision in United States v. Nixon, finding that the President was not a King, but was subject to the law and was required to turn over the evidence of his wrongdoing to the courts. It was a landmark decision for the rule ...
Every day now just seems to bring in more fresh meat for the grinder.In their relentlessly ideological drive to cut back on the “excessive bloat” (as they see it) of the previous Labour-led government, on the mountains of evidence accumulated in such a short period of time do not ...
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Mike Grimshaw writes – The recent announcement of the University Advisory Group, chaired by Sir Peter Gluckman, makes very clear where the Government’s focus and priorities lie. The remit of the Advisory Group is that Group members will consider challenges and opportunities for improvement in the university sector including: ...
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Rob MacCullough writes – Pundits from the left and the right are arguing that National’s Fast Track Bill that is designed to speed up infrastructure decisions could end up becoming mired in a cesspool of corruption. Political commentator ...
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Swabbing mixed breed baby chicks to test for avian influenzaUh oh. Bird flu – often deadly to humans – is not only being transmitted from infected birds to dairy cows, but is now travelling between dairy cows. As of last Friday, Bloomberg News reports, there were 32 American dairy herds ...
On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
What is it with the mining industry? Its not enough for them to pillage the earth - they apparently can't even be bothered getting resource consent to do so: The proponent behind a major mine near the Clutha River had already been undertaking activity in the area without a ...
Photo # 1 I am a huge fan of Singapore’s approach to housing, as described here two years ago by copying and pasting from The ConversationWhat Singapore has that Australia does not is a public housing developer, the Housing Development Board, which puts new dwellings on public and reclaimed land, ...
Buzz from the Beehive Reactions to news of the government’s readiness to make urgent changes to “the resource management system” through a Bill to amend the Resource Management Act (RMA) suggest a balanced approach is being taken. The Taxpayers’ Union says the proposed changes don’t go far enough. Greenpeace says ...
I’m starting to wonder if Anna Burns-Francis might be the best political interviewer we’ve got. That might sound unlikely to you, it came as a bit of a surprise to me.Jack Tame can be excellent, but has some pretty average days. I like Rebecca Wright on Newshub, she asks good ...
Chris Trotter writes – Willie Jackson is said to be planning a “media summit” to discuss “the state of the media and how to protect Fourth Estate Journalism”. Not only does the Editor of The Daily Blog, Martyn Bradbury, think this is a good idea, but he has also ...
Graeme Edgeler writes – This morning [April 21], the Wellington High Court is hearing a judicial review brought by Hon. Karen Chhour, the Minister for Children, against a decision of the Waitangi Tribunal. This is unusual, judicial reviews are much more likely to brought against ministers, rather than ...
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Calling all journalists, academics, planners, lawyers, political activists, environmentalists, and other members of the public who believe that the relationships between vested interests and politicians need to be scrutinised. We need to work together to make sure that the new Fast-Track Approvals Bill – currently being pushed through by the ...
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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 ...
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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. ...
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More essential jobs could be on the chopping block, this time Ministry of Education staff on the school lunches team are set to find out whether they're in line to lose their jobs. ...
Te Pāti Māori is disgusted at the confirmation that hundreds are set to lose their jobs at Oranga Tamariki, and the disestablishment of the Treaty Response Unit. “This act of absolute carelessness and out of touch decision making is committing tamariki to state abuse.” Said Te Pāti Māori Oranga Tamariki ...
The Government is trying to bring in a law that will allow Ministers to cut corners and kill off native species, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said. ...
Cancelling urgently needed new Cook Strait ferries and hiking the cost of public transport for many Kiwis so that National can announce the prospect of another tunnel for Wellington is not making good choices, Labour Transport Spokesperson Tangi Utikere said. ...
A laundry list of additional costs for Tāmaki Makarau Auckland shows the Minister for the city is not delivering for the people who live there, says Labour Auckland Issues spokesperson Shanan Halbert. ...
Te Pāti Māori co-leader Rawiri Waititi, and Mema Paremata mō Tāmaki-Makaurau, Takutai Tarsh Kemp, will travel to the Gold Coast to strengthen ties with Māori in Australia next week (15-21 April). The visit, in the lead-up to the 9th Australian National Kapa haka Festival, will be an opportunity for both ...
The Green Party has today launched a step-by-step guide to help New Zealanders make their voice heard on the Government’s democracy dodging and anti-environment fast track legislation. ...
The National Government’s proposed changes to the Residential Tenancies Act will mean tenants can be turfed from their homes by landlords with little notice, Labour housing spokesperson Kieran McAnulty said. ...
Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson is calling on all parties to support a common-sense change that’s great for the planet and great for consumers after her member’s bill was drawn from the ballot today. ...
A significant milestone has been reached in the fight to strike an anti-Pasifika and unfair law from the country’s books after Teanau Tuiono’s members’ bill passed its first reading. ...
New Zealand has today missed the opportunity to uphold the right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment, says James Shaw after his member’s bill was voted down in its first reading. ...
Today’s advice from the Climate Change Commission paints a sobering reality of the challenge we face in combating climate change, especially in light of recent Government policy announcements. ...
Minister for Disability Issues Penny Simmonds appears to have delayed a report back to Cabinet on the progress New Zealand is making against international obligations for disabled New Zealanders. ...
Ambassador Millar, Burgemeester, Vandepitte, Excellencies, military representatives, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen – good morning and welcome to this sacred Anzac Day dawn service. It is an honour to be here on behalf of the Government and people of New Zealand at Buttes New British Cemetery, Polygon Wood – a deeply ...
Distinguished guests - It is an honour to return once again to this site which, as the resting place for so many of our war-dead, has become a sacred place for generations of New Zealanders. Our presence here and at the other special spaces of Gallipoli is made ...
Mai ia tawhiti pamamao, te moana nui a Kiwa, kua tae whakaiti mai matou, ki to koutou papa whenua. No koutou te tapuwae, no matou te tapuwae, kua honoa pumautia. Ko nga toa kua hinga nei, o te Waipounamu, o te Ika a Maui, he okioki tahi me o ...
Paul Goldsmith will take on responsibility for the Media and Communications portfolio, while Louise Upston will pick up the Disability Issues portfolio, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon announced today. “Our Government is relentlessly focused on getting New Zealand back on track. As issues change in prominence, I plan to adjust Ministerial ...
Recreational catch limits will be reduced in areas of Fiordland and the Chatham Islands to help keep those fisheries healthy and sustainable, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. The lower recreational daily catch limits for a range of finfish and shellfish species caught in the Fiordland Marine Area and ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed an important milestone in New Zealand’s hydrogen future, with the opening of the country’s first network of hydrogen refuelling stations in Wiri. “I want to congratulate the team at Hiringa Energy and its partners K one W one (K1W1), Mitsui & Co New Zealand ...
The coalition Government is delivering on its commitment to improve resource management laws and give greater certainty to consent applicants, with a Bill to amend the Resource Management Act (RMA) expected to be introduced to Parliament next month. RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop has today outlined the first RMA Amendment ...
Overseas models for regulating the oil and gas sector, including their decommissioning regimes, are being carefully scrutinised as a potential template for New Zealand’s own sector, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. The Coalition Government is focused on rebuilding investor confidence in New Zealand’s energy sector as it looks to strengthen ...
Emergency Management and Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell has today released the Report of the Government Inquiry into the response to the North Island Severe Weather Events. “The report shows that New Zealand’s emergency management system is not fit-for-purpose and there are some significant gaps we need to address,” Mr Mitchell ...
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith is today travelling to Europe where he’ll update the United Nations Human Rights Council on the Government’s work to restore law and order. “Attending the Universal Periodic Review in Geneva provides us with an opportunity to present New Zealand’s human rights progress, priorities, and challenges, while ...
Associate Agriculture Minister, Mark Patterson, formally reopened the world’s largest wool processing facility today in Awatoto, Napier, following a $50 million rebuild and refurbishment project. “The reopening of this facility will significantly lift the economic opportunities available to New Zealand’s wool sector, which already accounts for 20 per cent of ...
Hon Andrew Bayly, Minister for Small Business and Manufacturing At the Southland Otago Regional Engineering Collective (SOREC) Summit, 18 April, Dunedin Ngā mihi nui, Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Ko Whanganui aho Good Afternoon and thank you for inviting me to open your summit today. I am delighted ...
The Government is delivering on its commitment to bring back the Three Strikes legislation, Associate Justice Minister Nicole McKee announced today. “Our Government is committed to restoring law and order and enforcing appropriate consequences on criminals. We are making it clear that repeat serious violent or sexual offending is not ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has today announced four new diplomatic appointments for New Zealand’s overseas missions. “Our diplomats have a vital role in maintaining and protecting New Zealand’s interests around the world,” Mr Peters says. “I am pleased to announce the appointment of these senior diplomats from the ...
New Zealand is contributing NZ$7 million to support communities affected by severe food insecurity and other urgent humanitarian needs in Ethiopia and Somalia, Foreign Minister Rt Hon Winston Peters announced today. “Over 21 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance across Ethiopia, with a further 6.9 million people ...
Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage Paul Goldsmith is congratulating Mataaho Collective for winning the Golden Lion for best participant in the main exhibition at the Venice Biennale. "Congratulations to the Mataaho Collective for winning one of the world's most prestigious art prizes at the Venice Biennale. “It is good ...
The Government is reforming financial services to improve access to home loans and other lending, and strengthen customer protections, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly and Housing Minister Chris Bishop announced today. “Our coalition Government is committed to rebuilding the economy and making life simpler by cutting red tape. We are ...
“China remains a strong commercial opportunity for Kiwi exporters as Chinese businesses and consumers continue to value our high-quality safe produce,” Trade and Agriculture Minister Todd McClay says. Mr McClay has returned to New Zealand following visits to Beijing, Harbin and Shanghai where he met ministers, governors and mayors and engaged in trade and agricultural events with the New ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has completed a successful trip to Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines, deepening relationships and capitalising on opportunities. Mr Luxon was accompanied by a business delegation and says the choice of countries represents the priority the New Zealand Government places on South East Asia, and our relationships in ...
New Zealand is demonstrating its commitment to reducing global greenhouse emissions, and supporting clean energy transition in South East Asia, through a contribution of NZ$41 million (US$25 million) in climate finance to the Asian Development Bank (ADB)-led Energy Transition Mechanism (ETM). Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Climate Change Minister Simon Watts announced ...
The Government is today releasing a list of organisations who received letters about the Fast-track applications process, says RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop. “Recently Ministers and agencies have received a series of OIA requests for a list of organisations to whom I wrote with information on applying to have a ...
Attorney-General Judith Collins today announced the appointment of Wellington Barrister David Jonathan Boldt as a Judge of the High Court, and the Honourable Justice Matthew Palmer as a Judge of the Court of Appeal. Justice Boldt graduated with an LLB from Victoria University of Wellington in 1990, and also holds ...
Education Minister Erica Stanford will lead the New Zealand delegation at the 2024 International Summit on the Teaching Profession (ISTP) held in Singapore. The delegation includes representatives from the Post Primary Teachers’ Association (PPTA) Te Wehengarua and the New Zealand Educational Institute (NZEI) Te Riu Roa. The summit is co-hosted ...
A stopbank upgrade project in Tairawhiti partly funded by the Government has increased flood resilience for around 7000ha of residential and horticultural land so far, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones today attended a dawn service in Gisborne to mark the end of the first stage of the ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters will represent the Government at Anzac Day commemorations on the Gallipoli Peninsula next week and engage with senior representatives of the Turkish government in Istanbul. “The Gallipoli campaign is a defining event in our history. It will be a privilege to share the occasion ...
Science, Innovation and Technology and Defence Minister Judith Collins will next week attend the OECD Science and Technology Ministerial conference in Paris and Anzac Day commemorations in Belgium. “Science, innovation and technology have a major role to play in rebuilding our economy and achieving better health, environmental and social outcomes ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon held a bilateral meeting today with the President of the Philippines, Ferdinand Marcos Jr. The Prime Minister was accompanied by MP Paulo Garcia, the first Filipino to be elected to a legislature outside the Philippines. During today’s meeting, Prime Minister Luxon and President Marcos Jr discussed opportunities to ...
The Government has announced that $20 million in funding will be made available to Westport to fund much needed flood protection around the town. This measure will significantly improve the resilience of the community, says Local Government Minister Simeon Brown. “The Westport community has already been allocated almost $3 million ...
The Government is proud to support the first ever Repco Supercars Championship event in Taupō as up to 70,000 motorsport fans attend the Taupō International Motorsport Park this weekend, says Economic Development Minister Melissa Lee. “Anticipation for the ITM Taupō Super400 is huge, with tickets and accommodation selling out weeks ...
Local Government Minister Simeon Brown has announced an increase to the Rates Rebate Scheme, putting money back into the pockets of low-income homeowners. “The coalition Government is committed to bringing down the cost of living for New Zealanders. That includes targeted support for those Kiwis who are doing things tough, such ...
The Coalition Government is investing in a project to boost survival rates of New Zealand mussels and grow the industry, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones has announced. “This project seeks to increase the resilience of our mussels and significantly boost the sector’s productivity,” Mr Jones says. “The project - ...
Benefit figures released today underscore the importance of the Government’s plan to rebuild the economy and have 50,000 fewer people on Jobseeker Support, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “Benefit numbers are still significantly higher than when National was last in government, when there was about 70,000 fewer ...
The Government’s commitment to doubling New Zealand’s renewable energy capacity is backed by new data showing that clean energy has helped the country reach its lowest annual gross emissions since 1999, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. New Zealand’s latest Greenhouse Gas Inventory (1990-2022) published today, shows gross emissions fell ...
The Government is bringing the earthquake-prone building review forward, with work to start immediately, and extending the deadline for remediations by four years, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “Our Government is focused on rebuilding the economy. A key part of our plan is to cut red tape that ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and his Thai counterpart, Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, have today agreed that New Zealand and the Kingdom of Thailand will upgrade the bilateral relationship to a Strategic Partnership by 2026. “New Zealand and Thailand have a lot to offer each other. We have a strong mutual desire to build ...
RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop and Transport Minister Simeon Brown have today announced the Coalition Government’s intention to extend port coastal permits for a further 20 years, providing port operators with certainty to continue their operations. “The introduction of the Resource Management Act in 1991 required ports to obtain coastal ...
Today’s announcement that inflation is down to 4 per cent is encouraging news for Kiwis, but there is more work to be done - underlining the importance of the Government’s plan to get the economy back on track, acting Finance Minister Chris Bishop says. “Inflation is now at 4 per ...
Refreshed health guidance released today will help parents and schools make informed decisions about whether their child needs to be in school, addressing one of the key issues affecting school attendance, says Associate Education Minister David Seymour. In recent years, consistently across all school terms, short-term illness or medical reasons ...
Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones is streamlining high-level oceans management while maintaining a focus on supporting the sector’s role in the export-led recovery of the economy. “I am working to realise the untapped potential of our fishing and aquaculture sector. To achieve that we need to be smarter with ...
I was initially resistant to the idea often suggested to me that the Government should deliver an arts strategy. The whole point of the arts and creativity is that people should do whatever the hell they want, unbound by the dictates of politicians in Wellington. Peter Jackson, Kiri Te Kanawa, Eleanor ...
Pacific Media Watch Palestine solidarity protesters today demonstrated at the Auckland headquarters of Television New Zealand, accusing the country’s major TV network of broadcasting “propaganda” backing Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza. About 50 protesters targeted the main entrance to the TVNZ building near Sky Tower and also picketed a side ...
Opinion by Lynley Hood. Forty years on from my 1985 Fulbright Grant, my disquiet over the war in Gaza evoked some troubling questions. The answer to my first question – What is the primary purpose of the Fulbright Programme? – was on the Fulbright NZ website. It says: US Senator, ...
The ministers responsible for green-lighting major projects need to be open about potential conflicts of interest, says Transparency International. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Anastasia Powell, Professor, Family and Sexual Violence, RMIT University It has been a particularly distressing start to the year. There is little that can ease the current grief of individuals, families and communities who have needlessly lost a loved one to men’s ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Gregory Moore, Senior Research Associate, School of Ecosystem and Forest Sciences, The University of Melbourne Lichen, the first described example of symbiosis.AdeJ Artventure/Shutterstock Once known only to those studying biology, the word symbiosis is now widely used. Symbiosis is the intimate ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kim Hemsley, Head, Childhood Dementia Research Group, Flinders Health and Medical Research Institute, College of Medicine and Public Health, Flinders University Olena Ivanova/Shutterstock “Childhood” and “dementia” are two words we wish we didn’t have to use together. But sadly, around 1,400 ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Whiteford, Professor, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University The government’s Economic Inclusion Advisory Committee has just published its second report. It was set up by Treasurer Jim Chalmers and Minister for Social Services Amanda Rishworth in 2022 to provide: ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Beaumont, Election Analyst (Psephologist) at The Conversation; and Honorary Associate, School of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of Melbourne The Queensland state election will be held in October. A YouGov poll for The Courier Mail, conducted April 9–17 from a sample ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Amin Naeni, PhD candidate at Alfred Deakin Institute for Citizenship and Globalisation, Deakin University There’s been much talk in recent months about what a possible second Donald Trump presidency in the United States could mean for Europe, Russia’s war in Ukraine, the ...
A brief round-up of submissions on the controversial proposed law. This is an excerpt from our weekly environmental newsletter Future Proof. Sign up here. Last week, submissions on the controversial Fast-track Approvals Bill closed just hours after the government released a list of stakeholder organisations who were sent letters advising how they could ...
A poem from Robin Peace’s new collection Detritus of Empire: feather / grass / rock. Cereal giving I see a woman’s hands, see her curious hands break a stalk as she walks through the tall prairie, the savannah, the steppe, wherever it was. See her idly bite the grass that ...
The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington.AUCKLAND1 Hemingway’s Goblet by Dermot Ross (Mary Egan Publishing, $38)A handsomely produced (debossed cover, lovely ...
The Commissioner's decision validates the longstanding efforts of the local community and ensures that Awataha Marae will be managed to serve the needs of the local community, particularly for hosting tangihanga. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tristan Salles, Associate professor, University of Sydney Examples of Australian landscapes.Unsplash Seventy thousand years ago, the sea level was much lower than today. Australia, along with New Guinea and Tasmania, formed a connected landmass known as Sahul. Around this time – ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Felicity Castagna, Lecturer, Creative Writing, Western Sydney University Day Day Market, ParramattaPhoto: Garry Trinh I live on the edge of Parramatta, Australia’s fastest-growing city, on the kind of old-fashioned suburban street that has 1950s fibros constructed in the post-war housing boom, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michael Ryan, Teaching Fellow in Economics, University of Waikato GettyImagesfatido/Getty Images There is an ongoing global debate over whether the high inflation seen in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic can be lowered without a recession. New Zealand is not ...
The ‘Wicked Game’ heartthrob is in his late 60s now. That didn’t stop him putting on a lively, goofy and very sparkly show. Apart from ‘Wicked Game’, which graces a sultry playlist of mine simply called 💋, my last sustained Chris Isaak listening session took place when I was about ...
Analysis - Two ministers were stripped of portfolios in a warning to Cabinet, drama broke out at the Waitangi Tribunal, and the gang patch ban bill ran into opposition. ...
Tara Ward makes an impassioned plea for some vital pop culture merch. In April 1999, I became obsessed with a new reality television show called Popstars. Every Tuesday night, five strangers transformed into music royalty before my very eyes as Joe, Keri, Carly, Erika and Megan were chosen to form ...
PNG Post-Courier In the early hours of ANZAC Day, aerial photographs captured an impressive gathering of Australians and Papua New Guineans at Isurava in the Northern (Oro) Province. The solemn dawn service yesterday was held at a site steeped in history, where some of the fiercest battles of World War ...
The PSA is shocked that Oranga Tamariki has used the cost cutting drive to downgrade its commitment to Te Ao Māori and remove many specialist Māori roles. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ian Kemish, Adjunct Professor, School of Historical and Philosophical Inquiry, The University of Queensland There can be no more powerful symbol of the relationship between Australia and Papua New Guinea than the prime ministers of these neighbouring countries walking together on the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sharon Robinson, Distinguished Professor and Deputy Director of ARC Securing Antarctica’s Environmental Future (SAEF), University of Wollongong, University of Wollongong Andrew Netherwood Over the last 25 years, the ozone hole which forming over Antarctica each spring has started to shrink. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Viktoria Kahui, Senior Lecturer in Environmental Economics, University of Otago Getty Images/Amy Toensing Biodiversity is declining at rates unprecedented in human history. This suggests the ways we currently use to manage our natural environment are failing. One emerging concept focuses on ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Timothy Colin Bednall, Associate Professor in Management, Swinburne University of Technology marvent/Shutterstock Finding the best person to fill a position can be tough, from drafting a job ad to producing a shortlist of top interview candidates. Employers typically consider information from ...
Wondering where to host your next BYO? Whether its a small gathering or a massive party, we’ve got some recommendations. I was first introduced to the concept of BYOs at Dunedin’s India Gardens, a legendary but sadly defunct establishment, which purveyed enormous quantities of mango chicken to Aotearoa’s drunkest future ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Julien Cooper, Honorary Lecturer, Department of History and Archaeology, Macquarie University Julien Cooper The hyper-arid desert of Eastern Sudan, the Atbai Desert, seems like an unlikely place to find evidence of ancient cattle herders. But in this dry environment, my new ...
The sector says it’s hopeful her replacement Paul Goldsmith will be able to throw it a lifeline, after six months with a minister deemed missing in action, writes Catherine McGregor in this excerpt from The Bulletin, The Spinoff’s morning news round-up. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign ...
The government can't just rely on axing public sector jobs and has to do more to cut spending, says the chief economist at a free market think tank. ...
Rock The Vote NZ, known for its advocacy for minor party unity and its role within the Freedoms NZ Coalition during the 2023 General Election, celebrates this merger as a strategic enhancement of its operational strength and outreach. ...
Nearly everyone has experienced the frustration of something you use breaking and being difficult or expensive to fix. Proposed legislation could change that. It’s been raining on and off all Sunday afternoon but people are lining up outside a building in a corner of Gribblehirst Park in Sandringham, Auckland. In ...
What does a forever relationship look like when you don’t believe in marriage? And how do you celebrate it? This essay is part of our Sunday Essay series, made possible thanks to the support of Creative New Zealand.I’m going to do it, right now. I’m going to say ...
The Prime Minister has committed to resuming direct flights to Thailand. But it’s not a promise he will be able to deliver on anytime soon. The post Prime Minister jumps the gun in Thailand appeared first on Newsroom. ...
It’s not that long ago Eliza McCartney was seriously wondering if the Paris Olympics would be her pole vaulting swansong. After years of being hounded by injury after injury, the Rio Olympics bronze medallist was still confident she would compete at her second Olympics in Paris in July, unless something ...
FICTION 1 Take Two by Danielle Hawkins (Allen & Unwin, $36.99) There’s commercial fiction, like this book, and then there’s quality fiction, quality writers, quality literature; the forthcoming Auckland Writers Festival is full of quality, and ReadingRoom has two tickets to give away to the following events: Paul Lynch (Dublin ...
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You can’t have missed the Gallipoli story as the movies, documentaries, essays and books capture what it was like for New Zealand troops in their eight-month campaign on the Peninsula. But this Anzac Day the Auckland War Memorial Museum has published a book that sheds light on a little-known aspect of the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra In the free-for-all between the Australian government and Big Tech boss Elon Musk this week, the government had to be on a winner. Most people would have little sympathy with Musk’s vociferous opposition to ...
Asia Pacific Report Chief Mandla Mandela, a member of the National Assembly of South Africa and Nelson Mandela’s grandson, has joined the Freedom Flotilla in istanbul as the ships prepare to sail for Gaza, reports Kia Ora Gaza. Mandela is also the ambassador for the Global Campaign to Return to ...
Pacific Media Watch Journalists who report on environmental issues are encountering growing difficulties in many parts of the world, reports Reporters Without Borders. According to the tally kept by RSF, 200 journalists have been subjected to threats and physical violence, including murder, in the past 10 years because they were ...
Analysis by Dr Bryce Edwards, Democracy Project (https://democracyproject.nz)Political scientist, Dr Bryce Edwards. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has surprised everyone with his ruthlessness in sacking two of his ministers from their crucial portfolios. Removing ministers for poor performance after only five months in the job just doesn’t normally happen in ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Hawkins, Senior Lecturer, Canberra School of Politics, Economics and Society, University of Canberra BagzhanSadvakassov/Upsplash, CC BY-SA Australia’s inflation rate has fallen for the fifth successive quarter, and it’s now less than half of what it was back in late 2022. ...
ACT's Rural Communities and Veterans spokesman Mark Cameron responds to cancellations and protests of ANZAC Day commemorations in Wellington. He says, "These pitiful attempts to detract from ANZAC Day are not at all indicative of the feelings of mainstream ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Meighen McCrae, Associate Professor of Strategic & Defence Studies, Australian National University American and Australian stretcher bearers working together near the front line during the Battle of Hamel in 1918.Australian War Memorial While the AUKUS alliance is new, the Australian-American partnership ...
Pōneke based peace activists staged a silent protest at the ANZAC day service to highlight New Zealand’s complicity in war and genocide, and urge the government to take concrete steps to stop the genocide in Palestine. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Magdalena M.E. Bunbury, Postdoctoral Researcher, James Cook University Burial with a horse at the Rákóczifalva site, Hungary (8th century AD).Sándor Hegedűs, Hungarian National Museum, CC BY How do we understand past societies? For centuries, our main sources of information have been ...
Amanda Thompson doesn’t really do Anzac Day. But what she does do is remember the people she knew who had a lifetime to remember stuff they didn’t really want to, because of a war they didn’t ask for. And she does make Anzac biscuits.First published in 2021.All my ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kathryn Willis, Postdoctoral Researcher, CSIRO Xavier Boulenger/Shutterstock In the two decades to 2019, global plastic production doubled. By 2040, plastic manufacturing and processing could consume as much as 20% of global oil production and use up 15% of the annual carbon ...
With our collective remembrance, and steadfast belief in our common humanity, we strengthen our hope and resolve to do what we can to foster dialogue and understanding, and to heal divisions in our pursuit of peace. ...
Principal reasons for the opposition is the loss of the public’s democratic right to have “a fair say” and the vital need for a government free from corruption, said Casey Cravens of Dunedin, president of the New Zealand Federation of Freshwater ...
Never mind the scoreboard – in the 2000 Bledisloe Cup decider, the real trans-Tasman battle was won before kickoff.First published in 2016. The dawn of the new millennium was a dark time for the All Blacks. Their final game pre-Y2K was a 22-18 loss to South Africa in the ...
I’m on the wrong side of 40, I never pursued creative work and now my job is killing my soul. Help! Want Hera’s help? Email your problem to helpme@thespinoff.co.nzDear Hera,May I start with the least original conversation opener you’re likely to hear around the motu at the moment, particularly in Wellington: ...
“Never again - No AUKUS” was the message of the wreath laid at this morning’s national ANZAC Day commemorative service at Pukeahu National War Memorial Park this morning by the Stop AUKUS group. ...
The TVNZ poll last night would have to be a concern for Labour. Sure, Labour only dropped 1%, well within the margin of error. However, of more concern will be the drop in support for the Greens.
The reason why this would be a concern, is that it is probably reasonable to assume that the drop in support for the Greens will have mainly resulted in those potential votes migrating to Labour.
Hence, the drop for the overall left vote is what is of main concern. So, a 5% drop for the combined left is quite a big drop. Contrast that with the 3% uptick for the right, and that is an 8% swing in favour of the right.
And DPF gives quite an interesting analysis of the leadership ratings:
https://www.kiwiblog.co.nz/2023/05/leaders_in_preferred_pm_ratings.html
Turns out that Luxon is the fourth most popular opposition leader for this time in the election cycle and Hipkins is the fourth most unpopular leader, according to the analysis.
Hence, comparisions of relative popularity are missing this point.
Get NZ Back on Track.
Your choice of a te reo alias is interesting, given you're quoting National lines, when their increase in support appears predicated on a platform of kicking Maori back down to a position of political non-representation.
[Please correct your e-mail address in your next comment, thanks – Incognito]
Mod note
Hold up, you realize loads more Maori vote National than vote fot the Maori party right?
Many, many Maori don't agree with Labour, The Greens or the Maori partys interpretation of the treaty or want co-governance.
Many Maori are farmers and vote National or NZ First . In fact it's a total mistake that the Tory's and NZ First don't run candidates in the Maori electorates anymore, because with the left splitting their votes between lab, tpm and the Greens National or NZf could sneak in, national have held Maori seats before and NZF once held all of them.
Golly, if lefties think all Maori are left wing, some people are going to be shook, especially if the right ever seriously goes after the Maori seats again.
If National managed to sneak a couple Maori seats by vote splitting, the meltdowns on election night from pakeha liberals would be entertaining af.
Ngungukai- rite tonu ki tenei ara?
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/opinion/132148491/christopher-luxon-worries-its-hard-to-understand-mori-names-what-bubble-is-he-in
National's underlying theme in this election year is not the cost of living or the supposed rise in crime – or indeed the climate crisis. It is all about racism.
The cost of living is rising. Blame it on the Labour government who are giving all our money to the 'Mowries'.
Ram raids and burglaries are increasing. Definitely the 'Mowries'.
All other problems as they arise – well if the 'Mowries' weren't being given special treatment we'd be okay.
Racism, racism and more racism. Middle income earners and old age pensioners are the primary culprits. Not all of them, but a substantial number are politically ignorant and feed off the likes of Hosking, HDPA and the rest of the ZB gang of Maori haters… along with the Hootons and Prebbles and that smarmy piece of work, David Seymour.
I don't know what you do about it, but you don't fall into the trap Michael Wood fell into the other day. Has he forgotten the outburst fanned by the Nats in 2008 when Helen Clark made a similar plea to voters?
Thanks, Anne.
Here's what was said in a very recent National newsletter. It seem that we are "driven by the influence of woke socialists who seek to advance their own agenda'. They are the problem, being racists……
"Infiltrating institutions and leveraging race-related issues in the current environment is a frighteningly easy path to take, as few are willing to risk being labelled a racist. It is crucial that we all oppose this agenda as those that hurl the racist label about are the racists. If we choose to look the other way New Zealand will be a racially divided nation which will undoubtedly bring on civil unrest."
I have a feeling I have somehow been side-shuffled into an Orwellian-style dystopian universe where newspeak replaces logic and facts.
And here is the racism cunningly disguised as a worry for elderly people who may not know the Govt Dept to expect because of the "Mowree' names…..
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/opinion/132148491/christopher-luxon-worries-its-hard-to-understand-mori-names-what-bubble-is-he-in
Following on from the NZ tour by this bloke
https://www.stopcogovernance.kiwi/
And Winston also promoting the same message according to your (and my) Stuff citation. It contains this quote "the NZ First leader took aim at bilingualism and “woke social engineering” to laughter and cheers from the Grey Power congregation."
Alleluia!
Hi Anne,
I think to blame racism for Labour being behind ignores a lot of other relevant factors that are contributing to the decline for Laboujr. For instance, the cost of living and the rampant crime at the moment.
Personally, I think the government has to take a lot of blame for any perceived racism in that they have handled the whole co-governance question really badly, and have not communicated at all well what is meant by that. This has meant a lot of the population have felt quite threatened.
Plus, the radical demands from TMP such as revoking full and final treaty settlements and establishing a Maori parliament are naturally going to cause a lot of resistance amongst the general population.
Note I said "underlying" theme tsmithfield. I don't deny other factors are at play but for many I believe it boils down to racism. I am mindful of family members whenever political subjects are introduced into a conversation… it always ends with a rant about 'mowries'.
When I throw it back in their faces I get left off the social calendar for a bit.
Hi Anne,
I think a lot of that sort of stuff is more down to ingroup-outgroup type biases rather than outright racism.
In any sort of area, not only race, we tend to view people in an outgroup negatively and with suspicion. We also tend to view them as very similar in their characteristics. That is because we tend to notice the common traits of members of outgroups, and not notice their differences so much. This is a fairly universal, almost subconscious effect that we find it hard to get away from.
I know a lot of my attitudes have been challenged being on the board of Crossroads Youth with a Future which works in one of the poorest areas of Christchurch which has a fairly high Maori and Polynesian population.
I realised, after becoming friends with a number of wonderful Maori people through my role in the trust that I could no longer justify holding general negative attitudes towards Maori people. That is, because I realised that if I was going to hold general negative attitudes towards Maori people, I was also holding those attitudes about people I very much liked.
So, I think that is a good way to overcome some of those negative attitudes. That is, to actually get to know some of the people in the group that might be an outgroup at the moment.
Unfortunately, a lot of people who hold these attitudes often are living in a completely different world, and have little contact with Maori people. Hence, they see Maori people as very much part of an outgroup.
Ts, yet Act want to stop the gun register and allow some awful weapons. They are a larger party than the Maori Party… why not target that proposition? rather than thinking 3 people have exaggerated influence? Surely the Act Party are at greater risk of shifting the norms?
Hi Patricia,
I am not an ACT voter personally. But, I think a lot of these sorts of policies arise from frustration a voting base feels due to the fact that the existing system doesn't function properly.
I know my son was wanting to get into hunting. He had an impeccable record, but had to wait several years before his gun licence came through.
Also, I guess there is frustration because, despite the changes the government made to gun laws that were supposed to make it harder for criminals to get guns, gun violence seemed to have been increasing.
And, also, it seemed that the changes made to gun laws were targeting people who weren't causing the problem.
So, I can understand why ACT might be pushing for relaxation of some of the gun laws. Though, it isn't something I have given a lot of thought to as it isn't really an area that affects me personally.
Hunters don't need assault weapons. So what is the problem with having a gun register and tighter gun control laws? If you are a law-abiding citizen, it should not be a problem, right?
Posted this before, but the Police are very keen on the gun registry. Since monitoring guns in crimes after Mosque shooting, they found that the guns come mostly from legal gun licence holders who onsell to middle-men servicing crims.
You can see how a gun registry would close down this lucrative legal-to-illegal movement of guns (and maybe ammo).
Herald headline of middleman who onsold to crims
I actually think a gun registry is a good idea.
So long as it doesn't take two years to get through the process, it should be good.
Labour never campaigned on the issue of co-governance, so it is little wonder many people are objecting to the government's efforts to implement it in the new water legislation and the revised RMA rules. It really amounts to a covert attack on democracy.
Some outside the government think they can see which way the wind is blowing. There is an attempt by someone in the NZ Law Society to subject lawyers to the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi.
That might make sense if we all agreed on what those principles are, but as far as I can see no-one can define them because there has been no open debate.
Ok but what about the many many Maori, pasifica, indian and asian voters who are angry with labour, the greens and find the idea of adding TPM to the mix toxic?
Because of the ethnic make up of NZ, a lot of brown people are voting for Nat/act/NZf, (more than vote for the Maori party and the greens combined) and I don't think they are voting for the right because they are racist.
More like they are sick of prices going out of control, noone being able to afford a house to rent and they live in the areas with all the crime and they are god damned sick of it.
A lot of maori are disgusted with the left atm, when watching the news with my whanau and hearing life long Maori labour voters shout "racist" and change the channel when Marama comes on was eye opening.
White people and may have appreciated Maramas comments but noone else did and considering they insulted about 30+% of their own voters …sheesh
A lot of maori support the lefts position on Maori issues, but just as many support nationals position on the treaty.
Heads would explode on the left if national actually ran in all the Maori seats, cos they'd win a couple.
When you and your bedfellows (as in allies) recover your memories and stop blaming the government for:
the pandemic.
the global financial crisis caused by the pandemic aftermath.
the domestic difficulties for many caused by the pandemic aftermath.
the racist attitudes which are on the increase in response to the pandemic aftermath.
and become rational beings again then I will engage with you.
No-one has blamed the government for the cyclones yet – or their aftermath – but no doubt it is coming.
The poll shows that Greens actually performing is critical to a left victory at the election.
Fortunately, the troublemaking Green faction that seems full of the same malcontents, defeatists and saboteurs that flocked to, and destroyed, the parties of the Alliance before decamping to Internet/Mana and then heading off to the mad hatter faction of the Green party appear to have been dealt a severe blow if the Green party list is anything to go by.
Having dealt with the distraction, the Green party is on notice to pull finger and get out there and do it's job. No more excuses.
It wouldn't surprise me if the Greens get their votes back. But, the point I was making, is that the votes they recover will likely be mainly at the expense of Labour. So, the overall left block may not be much better off as a result.
Saint Swarbrick will keep the Greens alive at worst.
The critical difference between this election campaign and the 2005 election when Labour were in a similar position, is that Dr Cullen was prepared to pull out a major populist policy deep into the campaign.
But there's no sign that Robertson has that in the tank.
The lesson of multiple post-2005 campaigns is that the Greens fuck up and Labour has to pull themselves up to win government.
What does Labour have left?
Ad, I have always thought that the Greens would be much stronger if they could move away from the far left stuff, and become more centrist economically, and focus more on environmental issues. And also more effective.
Given history shows that right wing parties have been in power the the majority of time since 1950., then they would be in a position to have a postive effect on Green outcomes, regardless of which of the major parties was in power. And, in my mind, the ability to achieve positive change for the environment trumps any ideological political stuff.
Heck, even I could be tempted to vote Greens in that situation. Probably not with my party vote, to be fair. But, I could well vote for a Greens electorate candidate.
Have NACT ever shown a willingness to place the environment before business interests/economy/-small government and tax cuts?
Perhaps they would more if they were relying on a Green vote to keep them in power.
That the point so many people don't understand.
Sharples and Turia showed what can be achieved if you jump into bed with you political opponents.
The way to make National do things they wouldn't ordinarily do, is make them rely on you for power.
You mean, "what's in it for me???" That kind reason?
Usually the best reason, in terms of getting results, anyway.
That is my view too. We need a party with an unabashed focus on the environment.
Hopefully the Greens have the time to pull away from 'weirdo', to me, causes aand focus on the environment, climate change, putting people in the equation for low cost housing/housing. This sector is crying out for new ideas, a focus etc.
Key led Clark 36-28 in 2008
Hipkins CS 27 lead Luxon Seymour 25
There has been a bit of hysteria on twitter with Russian trolls claiming that Commander in Chief of the Ukrainian Army, Valerii Zaluzhnyi, was killed or badly injured in a Russian missile strike, and that the Ukrainians have been covering it up for PR reasons. This has been fuelled by the fact that Zaluhnyi hasn't been seen in public for awhile.
Well today, the Ukrainians put out this video. Hilarious trolling of the Russians. Lol.
A story about a school setting the right sort of example on drugs because the safety of the pupils who go there is the most important thing.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/education/the-headline-grabbing-headmaster-in-charge-of-aucklands-mount-albert-grammar-school/WPY5BKDH7PVNZRBIGYOJWUWYTE/
Muldoon is a famous ex-old boy of Mt Albert Grammar, the school in the article. A friend said he was in sixth form there when Prime Minister Muldoon came to speak at his old school. This was a little after the Springbok tour. My friend stood up and threw a meat pie at Muldoon, hitting him square on. Boys being boys, the assembly burst out laughing.
While my friend wasn't expelled for his action, he was shunned, and left the school a little later.
I have a vague memory of that incident having grown up in Mt Albert.
Another facet of the Muldoon years was – and still is – under wraps. He was not averse to having anyone he perceived as an enemy (whether they were or not) being ostracised, covertly harassed and intimidated – and their careers destroyed.
He was the arsehole of arseholes and should have been publicly outed for his conduct but instead he was shielded by those who should have known better – but didn't.
I went to a school up the road from Parliament, and we certainly knew in fourth form that Muldoon slept around with women looking to add a notch to their bedposts.
Wellington was the sort of town where political gossip zipped round pretty quick. The mistresses goss came up when he rushed legislation for no-fault divorce, and back-dated it so that he was no longer cited as co-respondent in the architect Athfield's divorce. Blatant misuse of the legislature, although the end product was a plus to NZ society.
All this was local knowledge, but of course suppressed in the media. It's not so much the personal morality, it's the back-dating that made Muldoon a corrupt politician.
Hi tWiggle
You clearly know about some of Muldoon's nefarious activities so you will remember the Colin Moyle Affair.
In 1975 while working late in his ministerial office, Moyle received an anonymous phone call from someone claiming to possess documents that proved corruption of some sort occurring inside the Defence Force. The caller (male) arranged to meet Moyle on an inner city street corner to pass over the documents. Moyle went to the rendezvous but the caller never turned up. Instead along came a police patrol car and he was taken in for questioning for suspected homosexual activity. (Homosexuality as it was called then was illegal.)
While Muldoon was not involved in the original set-up, he got to hear about it and he used the information to destroy Moyle's political career. Moyle was being tipped as a future Labour leader. Moyle kept quiet about the phone call – presumably because he knew he would not be believed.
Years later I came to know the identity of the anonymous caller and that is another interesting story. He eventually fled to Australia in strange circumstances where he remained for the rest of his life. He and a close associate (whom I knew well) had been conducting all manner of political pranks and hoaxes – a few of them amusing which were boasted about – but others had a sinister aspect to them. The Moyle Affair was the latter.
It provides a little sunlight into what was going on behind the scenes throughout the Muldoon years in particular.
Hi Anne. How are you? Well, from the small amount you have put on The Standard over the time I have read…you have certainly had some "interesting" (right word? ) life experience. I hope you have come out of it all ok?
No book in a future time?
I rate your comments here pretty highly. FYI I stopped posting on The Standard for quite a while (you prob know why..the sad loss of some awesome posters : (
But there are a few still that make it worthwhile : )
Anway..all the best.
Thanks PLA.
Yes, I nearly parted company permanently with TS over the toxic atmosphere being created. I hope some of those driven away will eventually return.
The plight I found myself engulfed in left their mark. I suffered PTSD for a few years but that is in the past.
It still upsets me though that the culprits were never brought to justice. A lot of people were adversely affected by the appalling behaviour which included among them a few well known cases.
The latest poll showing Nat/ACT can just form a government should be seen in this context where the rolling average shows Lab/Gr/TMP could form a government.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opinion_polling_for_the_2023_New_Zealand_general_election#Subnational_polling
Have to say that the Horizon Poll is a bit of an outlier here though. It's all to play for.
I am not sure of all this so I am seeking information from those who might know.
The recent Horizon poll was a large one with 1500 respondents and a 10% don't know. Also, and most importantly (?), the respondents were those on the roll and practising voters. And again, was the Horizon poll comparable in its methodology- on-line, cell phones , land lines, etc?
Did you catch the Big Hairy News interview I posted yesterday?
BHN interviews Horizon pollster
I aplogise if you got the info from there already.
https://www.horizonpoll.co.nz/AboutUs
Gives info about political polling, which is independent and uncommissioned by any political party, and tries to balance across NZ geography and demography. However, they do solicit for survey members on their website (might sign up!), so they may be polling the same population of respondents. There is a contact email there, so you could always ask them directly.
Yes soliciting survey members creates bias. Horizon's results have usually been different to the main pollsters over many years. I mean while I would love to believe that National is polling 26% per their latest poll, I find this hard to believe.
Crammer's piece on the defunding of DoC is a fucker:
https://cranmer.substack.com/p/department-of-conservation-hit-by
Which in my mind confirms that Labour are complicit in the now obvious plan to privatise the Conservation Estate entirely into the hands of a tiny ticket clipping elite.
The idea of nefarious Maori is simply Cranmer on message. Part of the GA orbit towards The Platform and the Wright brothers circling over white children like crows on the cradle.
https://twitter.com/CranmerWrites/status/1520948214282678272
The solution being National's Massey cossacks riding to the rescue – once upon a tine a super fund was seen as a threat to private property ownership.
PS the real threat as to public access to the foreshore and seabed was and is private ownership (and not necessarily local ownership at that).
Do you have an argument? Or just a 'shoot the messenger'?
Is the quoted article wrong in any fashion? Is DoC funding actually increasing? And given the Maori caucus's obviously cosy relationship with TMP – is there any doubt that the plan to privatise the Conservation Estate is still shuffling forwards?
Because if that was the plan, then this relentless defunding of DoC would be an obvious step along the way.
As for the seabed and foreshore – what fraction of that was held by foreign overseas private owners? Compared to say the fraction of New Zealand that would be privatised if we lost public control of the Conservation Estate?
I'd simply point out that most budgets got limited increases (part from for wage increases to staff) for the year ahead. Conservation was/is no exception.
To try and connect that to some conspiracy theory with a bit of gossip is hardly a serious case. It's peddling a dubious narrative because it suits an agenda.
Some people are susceptible to that, some are not.
You made the claim of relentless defunding – on what basis?
Read the article.
All the evidence this is the end point of a process that has been going on for a lot longer than just this year:
A reality confirmed by my own connections with the hunting and tramping community who report an obvious rundown of many backcountry huts, especially those that do not have a local community looking after them.
And it is not a lack of money that seems to be the problem:
That raises an obvious question – if $1.2b is not enough to keep DoC's core functions going – exactly where is this money going? And into whose pockets?
To read the full article, I would have top pay "Cranmer" $100.
The article stating the "underfunding has been going on for years" – is not evidence.
A lot of ECE's also report a problem with lack of funding – some fund-raise to get around that.
It's likely a lot of the huts came from the community in the first place.
It is, if the Department cannot perform core functions because of a lack of it. But this appears to be a new problem for the year ahead.
The Jobs for Nature programme was for job creation in local communities to prevent unemployment from COVID. It has no connection to DOC core function funding.
It's likely a lot of the huts came from the community in the first place.
There are about 1880 backcountry huts in the NZ of which DoC manage 1073:
https://hutbagger.co.nz/?doc=true
They have a diverse history originating over time from within tramping and hunting clubs, the old NZFS, the National Park Service and so on. But they are now all legally owned by DoC. Some huts continue to be looked after by local clubs or in some cases just groups of individuals who put their own time and sometimes funds into looking after them. DoC will usually create some kind of 'management plan' with this group.
I cannot put an exact fraction that are maintained in this manner, but I would hazard a guess that it is less than 200 nationally.
You can see the contrast in the Tararua's. Huts such as Blue Range, Mitre Flats and Roaring Stag that are community maintained are doing well – even when they're 70yrs old like Blue Range. By contrast the DoC maintained Tarn Ridge which is just a few km deeper into the range and was built in 2003 is now listed as unsafe by DoC :
https://www.doc.govt.nz/parks-and-recreation/places-to-go/wellington-kapiti/places/tararua-forest-park/things-to-do/huts/tarn-ridge-hut/
Water damaged in a storm three years ago – recently I spotted a YT clip that briefly revealed serious mold and water damage. DoC clearly aren't able to fix this.
And this is just one representative glimpse of a much larger problem Anyone who has any knowledge of the situation on the ground recognises DoC has been underfunded for ages. But what we're seeing now is a government with senior Ministers expressing open hostility toward it – to the point where even it's core functions are under threat.
And yes why was Jobs for Nature separated out in the first place? $1.2b is a lot of money – and now COVID is over and NZ is running short on labour the justification has evaporated. Exactly where is this ‘ring-fenced’ four year funding going to?
There is a disconnect between
and the problem of historic lack of funding
The new hut in 2003 indicates an extension of provision while Clark was PM and United was a support partner.
The DOC budget pressure 2023-2024 appears to be a new development, unrelated to problems in maintaining DOC assets.
Presumably DOC focuses on maintaining assets used by tourists and the cost of this is going up (pressure of numbers) and the constant creation of new walks for such purposes and also locals adds new costs. It may be that consequent from that resources for existing huts (tramper and hunter use) are becoming more limited.
My bad – I misread an entry on Hutbagger – the actual date was 1993. By contrast similarly exposed Blue Range – the two huts are almost within sight of each other – was built in 1954 and is still in good nick having been looked after all that time by a local tramping club.
It doesn't take too much, just a couple of guys with basic building and handyman skills to fix leaks, broken doors, windows and fireplaces. Done it myself a few times. DoC being a govt dept does tend to overcook these things, but then that's govt for you.
Tarn Ridge was perfectly fine when I was last there in 2011 when I was stuck there on my own for three nights in relentlessly bad weather. But clearly storm damage in 2020 has not been fixed and the place is going downhill fast. This is a well used hut that sees thousands of people annually; three years later and still nothing. It's diagnostic of a problem under this govt.
Under this government? Historic underfunding did not occur 2008-2017?
There are two ways of managing the problem of funding maintenance of DOC assets
1 contract out the job to a an agency working for DOC – the contract specifies an obligation to fund the bill for the maintenance services (based on need, such as damage by weather). The work is then not dependent on there being available finance.
2 DOC actively seeks out "community" partners to assist in managing huts used by hunters and trampers.
Well at least we both agree DoC has been chronically underfunded by a series of govts – except I would say under Helen Clark whose well known love for our outdoors might well have made a difference.
But the evidence is there that under this Labour govt there is downright hostility toward DoC and that a chronically poor situation has now become critically bad.
And I have focused on hut maintenance because I am moderately familiar with this aspect – but DoC have a much wider remit than this. What other wheels are falling off the DoC machine that we are not seeing? What other programs are being quietly shelved or wound down in ways that are not obvious to the public?
All the while $1.2b of funding is being thrown at a temporary make work scheme, which might well be doing some short term good, but no-one can tell us whether it was good value or not.
I don't accept that there is downright, or any other, hostility to DOC.
Costs of maintenance are clearly going up (worker costs and regulatory) and weather events are worse, and in that environment budget constraint is problematic.
That then exposes long held concerns about resourcing to a new level – what is called a critical moment in time. That is either resolved by the public service doing an internal administration review or a political party does it for them.
At the moment, it would seem that isolated huts (or where there are two only one is kept up to standard) are being left to die on the vine because they cost more than the others to maintain.
Tarn Ridge is not 'isolated' – it has long been a well used, important point of safety for three decades. As I said when I was there in 2011 and it was 20yrs old it was perfectly fine – and was absolutely instrumental in saving my life on that occasion. Letting it 'die on the vine' makes no sense whatsoever to anyone slightly familiar with the context.
That after three years DoC have not been able to fix water leaks caused by a storm three years ago before they go on to cause serious and much more expensive damage, is diagnostic of a much wider problem. This is basic stuff any asset manager knows how to deal with in the normal course of events; there will be a R&M budget for exactly this work.
But now it seems there is not. And that is not normal at all.
It is hard to know, but it is likely there was no immediate response at Tarn Ridge because of the pandemic. That would have led to a subsequent greater cost. The budget would still be there, but if there is a budget under stress and if one can do 4 other huts for the major cost at one, guess what happens.
At some point someone will make the case that Tarn Ridge and X, Y and Z damaged in 2020 were not fixed because of the pandemic and make a case for extra funding. Or otherwise wait for community activism to help them out of a hole.
Well that is well and good, but senior public servants do not write emails saying this when things are normal:
It's obvious from this an already thin and stretched Department is going to be once again gutted of skilled and capable staff. Damage that might take a decade to recover from – if ever.
Given that we know the problem is not a lack of govt funding they're willing to spend in this area – the obvious question is why is this govt apparently determined to strangle DoC to the point of failure?
Nah – we've seen all of this before. Certain Ministers in this govt are laying the conditions for the Conservation Estate to be privatised.
The COVID spending was not evidence of that, if there had been previous under funding (no compensation for higher regulatory costs?) over decades – multiple administrations.
What is the connection between what we have seen before and certain Ministers in the current government – you've only named one and based your opinion on a singular meaning of what was reportedly said?
The last time a two term Labour administration went into an election, National under the leadership of the future ACT leader, Brash, ran the iwi or Kiwi campaign – to get into power and allocate surpluses out as tax cuts (and under invest in infrastructure – delayed to 2008 – and so here we are).
This time it's the threat of privatising the Conservation Estate or Maori co-governance of public assets – both cannot be true can they?
This time it's the threat of privatising the Conservation Estate or Maori co-governance of public assets – both cannot be true can they?
Co-governance is a trojan horse. The most cursory examination of what is being openly said is that the goal is to privatise the entire estate into the hands of the tribal elites.
The issue is then based on Labour preferring co-governance arrangements (as a convenience to balance sheet separation – which allows easier and cheaper finance and also plays its part in meeting indigenous rights obligations – UN Declaration) and ambition among Maori to recover public land assets to iwi.
And by linking one to the other, re-visit Iwi or Kiwi. Because TPM would prefer a co-governance partner in government to National.
However if National do get in, do not be surprised if they do a co-governance arrangement themselves – they signed the UN Declaration, they set up whanau ora, they reversed the F and S legislation.
The act was repealed and replaced by the Marine and Coastal Area (Takutai Moana) Act in 2011.
As one involved a million years ago with the environmental restructuring in 1987 it was well known that back then DoC started out with a basic underfunding and has had to work with this and addtional underfunding since then.
DoC has been under constant watch/fear of losing more funding, of losing staff, etc etc. This has manifested itself in constant restructruings, pulling back from regular maintenance so that yearly plans become two yearly plans. DoC have had staff who have worked had and been nimble in their actions to get/keep a presence.
I would venture that the old settler mentality of using everything is alive and well in NZ. So the concept of national parks, of ecological reserves, empty spaces ete, the Conservation estate, the lungs of NZ's world, is not known or appreciated.
I think it would be instructive if we could get some of the old stagers to advise on the 1987 underfunding and bring it forward through to the present day.
I would agree with much of this. DoC have always been a bit of a Cinderella Dept.
So the concept of national parks, of ecological reserves, empty spaces ete, the Conservation estate, the lungs of NZ's world, is not known or appreciated.
The same cannot be said for the hundreds of thousands of New Zealanders and the even larger numbers of visitors to this country – who deeply and passionately value the Conservation Estate. I agree we could do so much better than we are.
So how galling would it have been for DoC watch $1.2b of funding get dished out – all over the place it seems – while the peak body responsible for conservation in this country seems to have gotten only crumbs?
No more galling than for health and education workers wanting a wage increase or those who wanted a house at income related rent.
Cranmer and National want to discredit the continuance of 4 year Jobs for Nature and other COVID spending programmes because they want the money to fund their tax cuts. They do not intend to place the money with DOC.
Why should this Jobs for Nature scheme be immune to scrutiny? It was a lot of ding that has clearly come at a cost to DoC who are in principle the long-term manager of the estate.
Or maybe some Ministers in this govt are happy to see them fail.
Clearly it's not possible to convince someone, who wants to believe in a conspiracy theory, that it is not true.
All I can do is identify the motives of those who created it, and what their purpose is.
The provision of COVID money was for temporary use, not the funding of longer term government programmes. It is either spent for that purpose, or not spent at all. It does not get re-allocated.
National understands that point, even if you do not.
Ring fencing funds is an entirely political decision. Clearly the original justification for the fund – a make work scheme under supposedly emergency conditions – is now well passed.
If the "Jobs for Nature" funds are not spent, no-one piles up a stack of $100 notes and sets fire to them. The funds might not be 're-allocated' in a direct sense, but the General Fund that is now better off can readily re-use the funds elsewhere.
You've never worked in government finance.
It's not even in the DOC orbit, it's in no departments orbit for their spending.
Timed out.
The money not used is for debt repayment or general economic purpose – such as post COVID inflation cost management. The chance of it being placed into department spending (funded out of annual finance resources) is zero. At best a capital project, or now to flood damage assistance.
I am quite aware that govt Budgets are subject to arcane, complex and intentionally confounding processes – but ultimately it is a political decision to starve DoC of funds.
"Messenger"???? "Stirrer in chief" is my view of your contributions, which often have a projected scare tactic. "Maori Elite" is sooo right wing.
Yes agree…..'Maori elite' to me means that they've well and truly quaffed the Koolaid from sources like Brash, Hide, Julian Batchelor….maybe the same ones that are having trouble finding Govt Depts to complain too because they have all got 'Mowree' names now.
Yes Shanreagh.
I'm reasonably certain I have spent more time on more marae than you have. Sly accusations of racism are pointless.
Not too sure what you are meaning RL. But the numbering seems to be a criticism of my view of the RW trope of the so-called Maori Elite. I view this as an attempt to be divisive/smearing.
Time at a marae, does not come into it.
Of course the Maori who want to use Treaty payouts to feed the family now and in the future are always going to get bad press from the ones who would rather have it now and spend it now……always have, always will.
Why not? If memory serves me it was about 9 different marae in very rural settings spread over the King Country, Urewera and the East Coast. Probably every third weekend or so over most of a decade in the 80's.
Usually stayed the Friday and Saturday night, longer if it was a tangi. Many important memories and experiences, and much of what I learned shaped the views I am expressing here.
Like being vehemently told off by a kaumatua for trying to pretend to be something I was not. A part of me still smarts a bit typing that out.
It is staggering that DoC hasn't absorbed the massive private sector efforts for conservation when private individuals of means are clearly able to put up serious money to do so.
There's the Tasti Products guy retoring 24,000 hectares:
https://www.forestlifeforce.org.nz/
There's the staggeringly large QE2 Trust which covers 190,000 hectares of private land by private landowners.
https://qeiinationaltrust.org.nz/
There's 136,000 hectares at Mahu Whenua between Wanaka and Arrowtown.
https://mahuwhenua.co.nz/
There's 2,300 hectares and thousands of volunteers at Ark in the Park in Auckland.
https://arkinthepark.org.nz/
And yes, the public don't have the right to walk all over them. Much of it is private land and some of it is super-highly managed.
The lack of coherence about conservation and the collective effort that could be organised and expressed as a whole is just …. sad.
DoC's engagement with conservation and maintenance oriented communities has been a bit hit and miss. For the most part local staff seem to have been very receptive – but Head Office syndrome seems to be the handbrake all too often.
So yes it makes sense that where they had the resources some groups have struck out on their own. But then again without the long-term backing and security of the state you have to wonder how many of these fine efforts will still be around in 100 yrs time?
The point you make about a lack of coordination is a good one, but this conversation goes back decades. Hell groups like Permolat were founded sometime in the early 2000's – the real question here is the evident hostility toward DoC from senior Ministers in this govt who seem quite happy for DoC to be seen to fail.
What senior Ministers?
Well if you had been reading the thread – the quote above mentions Kelvin Davis for one. Of course we could speculate on the context , but the underlying hostility seems plain enough.
The warning can be taken in more ways from one. PW has Cook Island ancestry and was informed that Maori electorate MP's worked with local iwi and their relationships with DOC made the Minister's position more complicated when Labour was in government, more so since TPM was around as competition.
One of the problems is the red tape. There are plenty of eager volunteers wanting to help, but because of Health and Safety they must be supervised and there must be RAMS for each job, the cost of staff to do this must be found out of budget.
Yes. This is a long standing challenge – the interface between well-meaning people wanting to do the right thing and a govt department that has legal and public accountability is naturally full of tensions.
I can have some understanding for DoC – imagine the horrendous blowback on them if as a result of some poorly controlled volunteer work something catastrophic happened. Think something like Cave Creek. Looking back that was a pivotal moment that forever swept away a lot of the old school – get in, get it done, she'll be right attitude that made the old NZFS such a legend for those of us old enough to remember them.
But then again govts never quite seem to be able to apply commonsense to these matters, which is why you get the ludicrous spectacle of prominent "Fire Exit" signs in tiny bivs with just two bunks and one door just a few paces away.
There are the occasional campaigns to preserve places, sometimes just beaches from being bought up by private owners.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/308359/publicly-bought-beach-officially-ours
Or campaigns to save holiday camps.
Maybe someone should form a national trust for the purposes of supporting various campaigns – information about the legal issues and red tape and access to legal and other support provided free of charge.
Perhaps RedLogix, you confuse the word 'privatise' with 'return to owners'.
Do you think Labour should take that policy into the election?
You have railed against the Urewera settlement as privatisation. But that was considered through the tribunal process to be a fair settlement for a much larger loss of traditional lands, and assorted skullduggery by Seddon's government in nabbing the Urewera estate in the first place.
"The Crown apologises to Tūhoe for past dealings that breached the Crown’s obligations under the Treaty of Waitangi. These include:
'Privatisation' or 'return to rightful owners'. My bet's on the second.
Back to the future!
Calls for 'apprentice' mental health workers to help ease staff shortages.
I recall the disappointment in the hospital system when the 'in house on the job' nursing training was replaced by tertiary institution trained staff.
40 years is long time to take to recognise an error
Yes. It took medicine about 300 years to properly recognise the impact of Vitamin C in eliminating scurvy. These days the pace seems only a little quicker.
Wasn't that Captain James Cook Reg Logix?
Royal Navy surgeon James Lind was the first westerner to join the dots.
Since antiquity in some parts of the world, and since the 17th century in England, it had been known that citrus fruit had an antiscorbutic effect. John Woodall (1570–1643), an English military surgeon of the British East India Company recommended them[7] but their use did not become widespread. John Fryer (1650–1733) too noted in 1698 the value of citrus fruits in curing sailors of scurvy.[8] Although Lind was not the first to suggest citrus as a cure for scurvy, he was the first to study its effect by a systematic experiment in 1747.[9] It was one of the first reported, controlled, clinical experiments in history, particularly because of its use of control groups.[2]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Lind#Prevention_and_cure_of_scurvy
At some point the return to apprenticeships will include public service worker training, if only to ensure the capability to deliver services.
In the meantime, I would end the requirement to repay TL to those working in Enzed health and education (this maintains the incentive to work here after training) – that with increasing wages to the Oz level (and keeping housing costs to no higher or less than that across the ditch).
In a global shortage environment we have to focus on maintaining first world society standards.
The shortage has been artificially accentuated by removing 4-5 years of productive working life from the future workforce…all based on some theoretical increase in our bodies ability to work to an ever expanding timeframe. That functional working life (for the overwhelming majority) is around 40 years…or 80,000 hours…and we chose to reduce it in many instances by around 10-12%.
Tertiary trainee nurses get a lot of in-hospital training especially in years 2 and 3, the main difference is that they dont get paid for it but the hospitals get money for having them there as it soaks up a bit of "buddy "time from full time nurses guiding them along. Young nurses used to be used as arse wipers and cleaner uppers but a lot of that appears to be done by nurse aids now. Year 1 is a lot of getting them up to speed on the maths and science. Nurses now do quite a bit of the care that doctors used to do hence the requirement for a high level of competency in the science etc.
The ability for those with the desire and ability to expand their 'qualifications' existed under the in house regime and senior nursing staff were able to lighten the load of more "qualified' medical professionals…as it ever was.
It did and does make sense to move to use nurse aides and cleaners rather than nurse interns. That said, it did allow the interns some paid work/free board in hostels during their training period.
100% Pat!
The petition against the Gore Council Chief Executive is nearly 5,000 people.
Gore has a total population of about 8,000.
Gore's council to consider petition asking for its chief executive to resign | Stuff.co.nz
The elected Mayor democractically elected must win this contest.
I guess the mayor has the moral victory here. But, can the council actually force the CE to resign? He might just decide to brazen it out.
The CEO has cost the council a lot of money getting rid of staff – so they could call the cost of his removal an investment to improve the council as place to work.
I've seen it done so it's not impossible, but you have to get the CE Performance Review Committee really lined up in advance.
CEO obviously looking for a healthy redundancy ?
A local government CE contract written 20 years ago like his was, will be gold plated. That will get its own story.
But that's the political price you pay for ousting them.
Probably easier to just not reappoint at the expiry of his fixed-term agreement.
And certainly a lot easier to than the Minister appointing a Commissioner.
If the current council has renewed his contract since the election that would be a story alright.
"One of the men at the centre of the stand-off at Gore District Council was given a two-year contract extension just two days before the new council was elected"
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/487413/questions-over-timing-of-gore-council-chief-executive-s-reappointment
Gore is intent on outing itself as an urban hovel run by incumbents who are incompetent.
A secret decision before the election to renew the contract that was not due for renewal until September this year … this is the sort of thing that occurs when corrupt things have been swept under the carpet and they do not want anyone to find out. That, or the CEO is a sociopath and has them all cowered.
Both?
"the council issued a statement to Newsroom in Parry's name confirming it had paid $413,000 in severance payments to around 20 staff between 2005 and 2022"
"in late 2007 Parry made a surprise visit to the London home of one of the complainants, former chief financial officer Doug Walker. It resulted in Walker seeking a restraining order against Parry for threatening behaviour"
https://www.newsroom.co.nz/gore-allegations-pre-date-new-mayor
Bad blood feud as well, in that small-town way. The new Mayor's mother was one of the senior council staff who left/was pushed out in the previous term. It is highly likely she encouraged her son to run, and past events possibly spoiled the chance for a professional working relationship from the start.
Sounds like a toxic environment to work at reading between the lines ?
So next question time in parliament about a resilient infrastructure is becoming predictable.
What does work to making our infrastructure look like if it does not include … communications?
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/government-rejected-sparks-offer-to-invest-millions-in-disaster-proofing-networks/T4FYH2DH2JFOHEVOKETSWKOE74/
Read a little further into the article you link to for the very reasonable reason why government did not agree to Spark's diversion of $24 mi from rapid 5G roll-out to weather-proofing existing plant.
"Digital Economy and Communications Minister Ginny Andersen said the Government did not want to upset the three linked contracts – with Spark, 2degrees and One NZ (formerly Vodafone) – to improve provincial and rural connectivity.
“To re-open negotiations with all three telcos to consider Spark’s proposal would have held up the acceleration of 5G rollout and other important rural connectivity initiatives,” she said in a statement on Thursday."
Perhaps Spark should cough up a little more of its own money for future-proofing equipment?
There is an expression walking and chewing gum at the same time – why not do both?
All they are seeking is a partner for some regional areas.
lol
@five15design
for every single fucking 'National accuses Labour of …' story, there's a graph to embarrass them.
https://twitter.com/five15design/status/1661908379667939328
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FxBI0a6agAAG7GY?format=jpg&name=large
SPC Yes !!!!
Waka Kotahi contract out local road maintenance, and clearly this contractual relationship is breaking down, in part probably due to increased rainfall in many regions.
Not our crimes.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/crime/132137960/dunedin-alleyway-sex-attack-offenders-release-imminent
Ues for gods sake that rapist is no woman. I really feel for his victim, a man, who endured a sadistic rape. And now his attacker/rapist is referred to as a she.
#not our crimes.
The polls are so close and are constantly within the margin of error they could go either way but this feels like a throw the bums out election.
Its too close and the lefts voters, especially young people are notoriously bad at showing up to vote and Hipkins is not a popular, Luxon is actually doing ok as an opposition leader, they never poll well, but Hipkins as an incumbent? Awful.
If labour wanted an everyman working class bloke, they should have gone with Kieren McNulty, who is insanely likeable and real and doesn't seem like an ai robot calculating a response whenever asked a question like Chris.
And then you've got the fact labour has delivered bugger all in two terms, with a majority so noone young believes a damn thing will change if they get a third term so there's no passion at all in campaigning or turning out the vote.
Annnnd a labour/green govt having to rely on the votes of a separatist radical party like TPM is going to make people stay home, protest vote or hold their noses and privately vote for the Tory's while they publicly say they voted Lab/green.
I hope TOP and NZF both win and electorate, I hope National has to rely on them both to form a govt to moderate Act…and I think both have a place in parliament…
I also hope …one day…. We can get a party that represents workers and renters and the poor cos all we currently have a parties that represent upper middle class urban liberals and upper middle class rural moderate conservative liberals