Brutal take-down of Jason Walls and 1ZB/NZME by Colin Peacock for Mediawach. This is about his criticism of the funding of and online doco about Dr. Siouxsie Wiles.
Usually I don't mind Walls' commentary but he works for NZME so possibly has to has to provide anti-Labour content as part of his job description.
I listened to the slot with Heather Stupidity-Allan the other day and it was a rather pathetic attempt at a hit job. Seems the whole story has been pulled from publication and Walls wasn't in his usual slot yesterday…
It's probably actionable under liberal libel laws so they've got Jason on CWI watch in a remote valley with no social media access until the dust settles.
"Is it time to rethink our food production" – Absolutely, yes.
"Food production systems are in chaos. Tom Vilsack, US Secretary of Agriculture, painted a picture of a system in dire need of innovation, where 89% of farmers couldn’t produce enough to sustain themselves on the land; where food systems had become fragile and where the impact of inputs (for example, gas) were going to become crippling."
The re-imagining of food production systems has been going on for some time. But in NZ, if you have an imagination, be sure to shut up or you will be attacked. Especially here at The Standard, where Fonterra's income makes some weak at the knees.
The article linked describes GE and highly technical systems as the way forward. I think they're simply part of the solution and GE more daft hubris from idiots who've nearly wrecked the place. We've barely harnessed the thousands of edible species we already have – we don't need a fancier cherry…
The first really practical huge difference thing we might do, but wont because rich people are too precious/full of themselves to be useful – transition domestic lawns to food production or low maintenance natives. We already have the workforce – mowing lawns. A wee bit of retraining… But feeding the people and saving diversity, the environment and the planet at the same time isn't really the objective is it – it's getting rich somehow, gouging all you can before it collapses.
When all our kids want is to be gangsters or influencers, rich and (in)famous… Clearly, they just want to escape. It's very broken but we built it and now we defend it like it works… Can we undo it.
It's not just food production needs re-imagining, it's imagining.
Of course, you are correct, DB Brown. What is it, deep down, do you suppose, that suppresses imagination so effectively and prevents us from recreating our world as a better place?
I'm reading "Humankind" by Rutger Bregman at present, so am not inclined to believe that humanity is nasty and greedy by nature, so suspect some pathology or other has taken hold of us (the "us" that is preventing the shift to a better world).
I agree. Yes I was pretty negative toward people. But there seems to be those who care (the great unwashed), and those who detest those who care. I find it increasingly difficult to attribute 'humanity' to corporations or their mouthpieces. Far too many products that are (knowingly) bad for the environment (or health) get sold and the sales get celebrated. And the gaslighting, so well and truly over that, as are our kids.
The pathology is the stupid dreams we sell ourselves. As if richness and fame is in any way comparable to being valuable and truly seen.
We’ve seen how so many of these people behave. They have not ‘arrived’ or ‘made it’ as people.
Everything we see not of nature was imagined at one point. Imagination’s a powerful tool. Maybe it’s been captured by fluff and sound bite?
We need to shift from a rat race to a communal place. We squander HUGE resources warring in media campaigns to sell things to each other. And the object is not to serve customers but to WIN. To repress the other players and monopolize to make the BIG MONEY. It should not be necessary to impose windfall taxes where financial infringement is so enormous it just can't be explained away anymore, yet we're seeing it. And we only see that because people are so squeezed they might riot otherwise.
There's nothing wrong with doing well, just not at the expense of others and the environment. We're in this together but the rat race says we're in it to win. It's wrong-headed, some might say a pathology.
We have what it takes. Will we use our resources to save ourselves, or allow corporations and billionaires to continue their plunder.
Now I'll pivot from my anti-greed/stupidity rant and try talk re-imagining.
We have a pollution problem. In the air, the land, the sea… It seems the by-products or waste steams of our industries are not being accounted for. For many of these industries, their waste stream is actually a resource for another industry, and should we stack a few industries together, we might make a lot less mess, and a lot more products out of the same inputs.
One could use forestry slash to produce power, chemicals and biochar. Then put the biochar in flues and strip out nitrogen being emitted, then use that as fertiliser for carbon capturing trees. Then use the trees products as food, and the waste products for fungi, and their waste products as compost for forestry…
Nature is the teacher for real efficiencies.
You can use faeces and biomass to feed insects that feed poultry and fish that fertilise plants that produce more feed and food then ultimately back to faeces and biomass…
Corporations can re-imagine themselves. Can align instead of compete, can create real stories not puff pieces.
Forestry, agriculture horticulture and aquaculture could work together exploring and adapting to systems that solve each others problems and provide each others inputs.
The pattern of behaviour seems to be, inspiration – manufacture – exploitation; conceive of a Great Idea (domesticate that sheep!) – make a crook and a sling to protect them from wolves and bears – fell some forest to make More Room for the Lucrative Resource.
What we have yet to master, is discretion; how will this pan out, and should we put the brakes on some aspects of it.
Other cultures have shown that applying discretion to behaviours results in long term success and resource maintenance. Ours has not. Now, we must, or face harsh consequences.
Your very good, pragmatic suggestions will be subject to the same escalation and lack of discretion shown to date, yes?
How might you/we ensure that imagination isn't misused as it has been up till now?
"How might you/we ensure that imagination isn't misused as it has been up till now?"
Good system design and regulation against exploitative/extractive practices, including financial extraction.
Design: If aquaculture waste is fertiliser for the hydro outfit, and plant waste is food for the entomology outfit, and insects are food for the aquaculture outfit… it makes no sense to not be working together. Any biomass generated for industry – byproduct or not – should be useful or feeding something, somewhere, and that then feeds something else.
The pressures taken off the natural environment are potentially enormous as we'd require far less inputs to generate the same outputs.
Fish that don't need lots of antibiotics, veg that don't need lots of chemicals, fish and pet food that isn't stripped from the oceans… in this one example.
Of course it's all far easier said than done. But the more systems work with nature, the less work will be required to get a result.
In respect of forestry slash, it turns out that wood and wood decay products in small streams are crucial to heavy metal mitigation in streams where salmon have declined in North America. I expect that it plays a similar role in NZ both for stream quality for galaxiids, and as a base of estuarine food chains.
The problem is reimagining corporate behaviour sufficiently that instead of their reflexive outsourcing of costs and consequences, they proactively try to close their product loops. Aquaculture/aquaponics are good industries for corporates to learn this because the pollution products are both readily traced, and readily repurposed.
The NZ Salmon sites that experienced high mortality in the Sounds last summer have evidently been closed. If we are to have a long term future for aquaculture in NZ, as a site becomes unsuitable for this sub arctic species, another more temperature tolerant species ought to be found to take its place. Yellow belly flounder for example, is a warmer water species, highly palatable, fecund, and somewhat robust. If we don't build a more diverse industry, a couple of warm years will wipe the sector out.
so am not inclined to believe that humanity is nasty and greedy by nature, so suspect some pathology or other has taken hold of us (the "us" that is preventing the shift to a better world).
The classics decided that we were both. That the border between good and evil lay through every human heart as Solzhenitsyn put it.
And sexual competition is the underlying reason why we – and all other species – compete. (And both sexes do it, just in differing styles.) Given that competition has been arguably the prime motive force behind human development, it cannot be discounted or eliminated.
Yet unconstrained competition is excessively destructive and costly. Much of our social norms, structure and value systems are mechanisms to put boundaries and rules in place to moderate it. A society that undermines or even dismantles it's ethical systems, will become over time more competitive, more destructive and ultimately collapse as trust is extinguished.
There is not a binary choice here, we need both positive competition and co-operation to run healthy societies. And that tension plays out not only in our institutions and politics – but within the choices each one of us makes moment to moment.
Do you think, RedLogix, that the gathering Clouds of Consequence can in some way cause each of us to make better choices, moment to moment, as is sorely needed, or will some Great Power (governance system) be required to "encourage" us each to smarten up our individual acts?
I needs go serve Mammon right now, but in short we always have a choice. Fear of the consequences of not doing so will soon enough force the nations into the next evolution of global governance. The era of imperialism is in it's dying thrashing throes.
The era of population growth is ended forcing a fresh round of evolution everywhere – politically, economically and socially. Transitions are rarely comfortable but they cannot be escaped.
If you want to visualise the future, imagine if you could bring your great-grandparents to life for a day, and share with them the fullness of modernity – they would be astonished, delighted and appalled in equal measures. This is how we should regard the future lives of our own children.
I often wonder what my parents (let alone grandparents) would think if they 'returned' to see what the world was like now. They would be in awe of modern technology etc. but horrified by the overall deterioration of the planet and mankind. My father, who foresaw much of what has happened, would be driving everyone silly with his "I told you so".
What is it, deep down, do you suppose, that suppresses imagination so effectively and prevents us from recreating our world as a better place?
Not just deep down, but what we are immerse in. This from Rob Hopkins in his book on What if… which is about imagination and how see the good futures,
As I was thinking about this, I stumbled on a paper by a researcher named Dr Kyung Hee Kim at the College of William and Mary. Analysing more than 250,000 participants between kindergarten and adulthood from the late 1960s to the present, Dr Kim found that while creative thinking and IQ rose concomitantly until 1990, at some point between 1990 and 1998, they parted ways, with creative thinking heading into a ‘steady and persistent’ decline.
Dr Kim attributed the decline to children’s having less time to play, more time spent on electronic devices, greater emphasis on standardised testing and a lack of free time for ‘reflective abstraction’. Her findings were picked up by Newsweek, and suddenly Dr Kim was inundated with invitations to appear on radio and TV.
Hopkins, Rob; Hopkins, Rob. From What Is to What If (pp. 9-10). Chelsea Green Publishing. Kindle Edition.
Some people want the world to be a better place, over all, for every living thing, even though it means significant change to their present life-styles.
TINA people who are deathly afraid of degrowth or transition
relocalising food production can't be supported within neoliberalism because it would eventually undercut export earnings (shock! horror! some food would be free!!)
dearth of imagination stemming from lack of exposure to other models (and ideological resistance to looking)
most people aren't trained or experienced in systems thinking of the kind needed for transition. Imagine if we taught basic permaculture principles in school.
Love the lawns idea. I think we have to be ready for a fast transition. When the first lockdown was announced, garden centres sold out of seedlings. People get it, it's just that the lure of BAU holds them from acting until they get scared.
Labour didn't classify garden centres as an essential business, which mean all those seedlings coming through went to waste. This is the kind of shit that wouldn't happen if we had more Greens in government. Small shifts that have big flow on effects.
I'd really like to see people supported to garden:
Tool subsidies
classes
R & D for small scale production
systems for growing for others locally
None of that is hard to set up and do, but it does need more support than we have currently.
Or…encourage the poking-in-everywhere, of vegetable seedlings.
Best way to do that, modelling (go you green guerrillas!)
(As for tools, use a stick! The belief that funding is needed and must be used to buy hardware; forks, barrows and hoses, is a false-path, a barrier to success, imo).
I'm all for a range of models. Guerilla gardening is a particular skill set.
I love my garden tools. I could use a stick for many things I do but it would be harder. Making it easy for people seems key, and relatable. But I agree we should support the stick gardeners too!
It does however raise the issue of availability of time. Most people need to work 8hrs a day 5 days a week to keep up with their financial obligations. In a future where more people are gardening to supplement their food requirements, we will also need to have the hours available to do the labour involved in planning preparing maintaining and harvesting this food. The current system enforces employers demands on our time; this structure will need to be rebuilt too.
a good place to start might be job sharing, and 4 day weeks?
Many of the people I know that garden seriously get to work less hours for wages or income because their grocery bills are so much lower. In this sense the gig and PT economy could be appropriated by some people (with obvious exceptions).
There's potential in paying someone (or bartering) to garden on one's section while one is at work. Produce is shared, and the person with the time can make good use of it. Am thinking someone who is unemployed or underemployed teaming with a family where the adults are working full time. The full time workers can also do some of the more enjoyable aspects of garden in their small amount of time.
We need models of how this can work that are easy for people to slot into. eg what kind of agreements to use.
It's definitely possible, 4 day weeks on 40hr salaries is a good start, I think 25hr weeks should be the goal. All of these options would be available to workers in a system that isn't run for the profit of shareholders. Workers need more control over how they do their jobs. We have had incredible growth in productivity over the last 40 years but real wages have decreased and people are working more hours. It's about time that we recoup those profits in increased wages, reduced hours and more autonomy in the workplace.
Good point. That's why we spend the current resources we're spending on lawns on gardens instead. They reckon on average we spend just over $500 p.a. on lawn care (I reckon kiwis spend a bit more). The global lawn industry is estimated to be worth 105B per annum. That's a lot of resources that could be redirected to growing urban food forests and garden patches.
When we're no longer paying for the lawn care, and no longer paying for a reasonable portion of our veg/fruit/herbs… we have those savings to give the lawncare folks meaningful work helping the time poor or garden-disinterested keep their yard in production.
Entirely doable. Garden businesses could coordinate across neighborhoods to set up tremendous food diversity in a relatively small place too.
The rub is in the cooking of fresh foodstuffs – also costly in time. Those who want to could opt to sell what they grow and dine out as they do now (maybe at a place cooking their own produce).
Got a visitor, hope that's not too disjointed, must go…
I wonder if anyone can find out who was CEO of Air New Zealand was when it became a business partner with the dodgy financial fronts of the Plymouth Brethren Christian Church?
That's a long service! Must be doing a complete overhaul… new motor, new chassis, bigger brighter wheels. I wonder if he is going to re-appear with a head of hair?
lol Robert. Made me chuckle. Having listened to Willis a couple of times of late, I think Nats have got it wrong. Willis would have been the better choice.
I think it's highly likely Luxon will be replaced before the election.
Sure, people can say "no, not another change", but it would be a worse mistake to persist with somebody so ill-suited for the job, so out of his depth.
If they dump him before the end of the year National can recover easily.
Matt Robson, formerly Alliance/Progressives, is the only Kiwi on a Ukrainian Government list of people pushing pro Russian propaganda. Can anyone point me to what he was up to?
Matt Robson is an Auckland barrister, and a former Minister of Disarmament and Arms Control and Associate Foreign Minister. He is a member of the Labour Party.
OPINION: As Minister of Disarmament in the 1999-2002 Labour-Alliance Coalition, I had the authority of government to state that New Zealand would not be part of any nuclear armed military bloc.
Furthermore, I was authorised to state that we would pursue an independent foreign policy and we would not march off to almost every war launched by Great Britain and then the United States – our “traditional” allies.
As minister responsible for overseas development aid, I refused to join in the clamour denouncing China’s aid programmes in the Pacific.
Matt's in favour of an independent foreign policy and while not supporting Russia does not view Nato in a benign light
The current Ukrainian administration is apt to see Russian spies and saboteurs everywhere, they're probably right, as many have not taken kindly to being treated as second class citizens.
Its been a great excuse to shut down opposition parties (mostly of the left)and bring all media under the govt umbrella, where pesky alternative views can be crushed indefinitely .Martial law eh, aint it grand?
He is described as a political novice, and had not previously entered political life, so I'm not sure when he would have been in the Socialist Action League.
If he ever was , he's turned his coat.Along with banning the parties , he's gone after trade unions
Now I don't have a real problem with that. All MPs need breaks, even the ones I don't like. But Luxon is so … Luxony!
He tried to give the impression he was in NZ. He zoomed into meetings and made no mention of his location. He didn't lie (AFAIK) he just kept quiet. So he turned a minor story into a bigger one.
It's like his statement (in several media interviews) that he hasn't been to a church in years. People go to churches for all kinds of reasons, weddings, funerals, carol services, your neighbour's niece's violin recital. Nobody would care if Luxon went to a church. But some adviser has said "Don't do the religion thing" and so he doubles down. So stupid.
If he doesn't understand that covering up is always worse than the original story, he's doomed.
Hey look, Te Puke is really warm in winter. The surf is great. I exercised personal responsibility by avoiding the slow train to Hamilton – that knocked 2% off our inflation. I delivered. Someone said 'deliver' was a transitive verb – I said half-priced transitive verbs was bottom feeding. I am super excited. Tomorrow I will not be in Te Puke or many other places. I rang the IMF, they said "are you in Te Puke?" I sang "Didn't my Lord Deliver Daniel" but left out the Daniel bit. A great day -I'm not apologising for my success.
"What a golden opportunity missed to connect with the Pacifica electorate."
Don't think it would occur to the Luxons of this world. They are not of the common garden folk variety like the rest of us. Samoa/Nuie/Tonga/ Cook Is. way too down market for them. (sarc)
National see themselves as vastly superior to the average person. They can't conceive of the possibility they should behave like the rest of us. Subterfuge for them is normal practice. When and if they get caught, they bristle and bat away the attacks as though they are victims not perpetrators and by and large the MSM let them get away with it.
Scomo (recently departed Ozzie PM, also a member of an evangelist church) got caught going to Hawai'i during the Black Summer bush fires 2019/2020 and was also very quiet about it (lied about where he was?). His unannounced disappearance at a critical time contributed to the sense that he was devious and selfish. Is Hawai'i a magnet for the Christian right or simply because it is warmer and drier than wintry NZ?
I have read that Luxon belongs to a small religious group called "The Upper Room".
This group does not use churches. They meet in places like school halls or gyms after hours, and do their religious things there, not in a church
So Luxon's statement that he hasn't been to church for ages is true at one level: he would go to a church only for somebody else's funeral, wedding or baptism. Otherwise he would not go to a church.
It is, of course, only a half-truth. And half-truths can easily constitute a lie.
The phrase 'to go to church' also means to many people 'to be religious'.
If Luxon attends religious meetings without going to a church, he should have had the honesty to say so. Does he see admitting that he belongs to a small religious group that does not use churches as an electoral turn-off?
If he has been attending such meetings, his statement about not having been to church for a long time is to my mind a vile piece of deliberate deceit, aimed at not losing NZ's large block of secular voters.
At a recent joint news conference with the President of Belarus, Putin announced that Russia would transfer Iskander M missiles to Belarus. Those missiles can carry nuclear warheads, and the move is apparently intended to mirror nuclear sharing arrangements the United States has with five NATO allies — Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, Italy, and Turkey.
U.S. nuclear weapons were introduced into Europe in the 1950s as a stopgap measure to defend NATO democracies whose conventional forces were weak. The number of nuclear weapons in those five countries peaked around 7,300 warheads in the 1960s, then dwindled to about 150 today, reflecting NATO’s growing conventional strength and its diminishing estimation of the military usefulness of nuclear weapons.
…..
Even though it has no direct role in the Ukraine war, it’s appropriate for NATO to have a role in encouraging negotiations to end it.
Since NATO is an enormously strong military force — stronger even than Putin’s Russia — and since President Putin has said that the war in Ukraine is in part a response to NATO’s actions, NATO calling for peace negotiations would be fitting and carry some weight.
It would also be in keeping with NATO member states’ obligations under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. NATO leaders meeting in Madrid recently reaffirmed that “The Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty is the essential bulwark against the spread of nuclear weapons and we remain strongly committed to its full implementation, including Article VI [the article that commits nuclear-armed states to pursuing nuclear disarmament].”
…
Bringing both sides back into dialogue will require a dramatic gesture. Therefore, we propose NATO plan and prepare for withdrawal of all U.S. nuclear warheads from Europe and Turkey, preliminary to negotiations. Withdrawal would be carried out once peace terms are agreed between Ukraine and Russia. Such a proposal would get Putin’s attention and might bring him to the negotiating table.
Removing U.S. nuclear weapons from Europe and Turkey would not weaken NATO militarily, since nuclear weapons have little or no actual usefulness on the battlefield. If they are truly weapons of last resort, there is no need to deploy them so close to Russia’s border.
….
NATO’s nuclear arsenal failed to deter Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and has almost no utility as a weapon of war. But NATO’s nuclear weapons can still be put to good use, not by threatening to launch them and escalate the war, but by withdrawing them to make room for new negotiations and eventual peace.
to make room for new negotiations and eventual peace.
First up, NATO's nuclear arsenal was part of the old cold war strategy to be used should the Warsaw Pact threaten to over run Western Europe. That's unlikely to happen in the 21stC so NATO's nuclear arsenal should probably go.
Second, Ukraine is the victim of Russia's war of imperial conquest, not NATO.
And thirdly, NATO is an alliance. It's not up to the US to breach it's treaty agreement and withdraw the NATO nuclear arsenal because Putin embarked on a genocidal war to eradicate a neighbour. Getting rid of the arsenal requires all 30, soon to be 32, member states to agree about the nature of the alliance. Why would they put their capabilities on the table in the interests of a non-member?
Also, Danes and Danegeld.
btw, should NATO members France and the UK get rid of their own nuclear arsenals months after Poots and co threatened to use theirs?
"I'm not losing sleep over this, I am losing sleep over the rising cost of living, I'm losing a lot of sleep over a failing healthcare system, I'm losing a lot of sleep that only 45 percent of our kids are actually going to school regularly at the moment. They're the big issues we need to be focused on.
He was asked if it was wise to be going on an expensive overseas holiday when New Zealanders were struggling with cost-of-living increases, but he said it was important for people to find time with their families.
"When it's a pretty intense job the last seven months and I think when you work as hard as we do, that to actually get some personal leave with your family for five days is actually really important."
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A listing of 35 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 10, 2024 thru Sat, March 16, 2024. Story of the week This week we'll give you a little glimpse into how we collect links to share and ...
“I’ve been internalising a really complicated situation in my head.”When they kept telling us we should wait until we get to know him, were they taking the piss? Was it a case of, if you think this is bad, wait till you get to know the real Christopher, after the ...
Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
.“$10 and a target that bleeds” - Bleeding Targets for Under $10!.Thanks for reading Frankly Speaking ! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.This government appears hell-bent on either scrapping life-saving legislation or reintroducing things that - frustrated critics insist - will be dangerous and likely ...
“It hardly strikes me as fair to criticise a government for doing exactly what it said it was going to do. For actually keeping its promises.”THUNDER WAS PLAYING TAG with lightning flashes amongst the distant peaks. Its rolling cadences interrupted by the here-I-come-here-I-go Doppler effect of the occasional passing car. ...
Subversive & Disruptive Technologies: Just as happened with that other great regulator of the masses, the Medieval Church, the advent of a new and hard-to-control technology – the Internet – is weakening the ties that bind. Then, and now, those who enjoy a monopoly on the dissemination of lies, cannot and will ...
Been Here Before: To find the precedents for what this Coalition Government is proposing, it is necessary to return to the “glory days” of Muldoonism.THE COALITION GOVERNMENT has celebrated its first 100 days in office by checking-off the last of its listed commitments. It remains, however, an angry government. It ...
Bob Edlin writes – And what is the world watching today…? The email newsletter from Associated Press which landed in our mailbox early this morning advised: In the news today: The father of a school shooter has been found guilty of involuntary manslaughter; prosecutors in Trump’s hush-money case ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Is another Green MP on their way out? And are the Greens severely tarnished by another integrity scandal? For the second time in three months, the Green Party has secretly suspended an MP over integrity issues. Mystery is surrounding the party’s decision to ...
For the last few years, the Green Party has been the party that has managed to avoid the plague of multiple scandals that have beleaguered other political parties. It appears that their luck has run out with a second scandal which, unfortunately for them, coincided with Golraz Ghahraman, the focus ...
TL;DR: The six newsey things that stood out to me as of 6:46am on Saturday, March 16.Andy Foster has accidentally allowed a Labour/Green amendment to cut road user chargers for plug-in hybrid vehicles, which the Government might accept; NZ HeraldThomas CoughlanSimeon Brown has rejected a plea from Westport ...
What seemed a booming success a couple of years ago has collapsed into fraud convictions.I looked at the crash of FTX (short for ‘Futures Exchange’) in November 2022 to see whether it would impact on the financial system as a whole. Fortunately there was barely a ripple, probably because it ...
Anybody following the situation in Ukraine and Russia would probably have been amused by a recent Tweet on X NATO seems to be putting in an awful lot of effort to influence what is, at least according to them, a sham election in an autocracy.When do the Ukrainians go to ...
TL;DR:Shaun Baker on Wynyard Quarter's transformation. Magdalene Taylor on the problem with smart phones. How private equity are now all over reinsurance. Dylan Cleaver on rugby and CTE. Emily Atkin on ‘Big Meat’ looking like ‘Big Oil’.Bernard’s six-stack of substacks at 6pm on March 15Photo by Jeppe Hove Jensen ...
Buzz from the Beehive Finance Minister Nicola Willis had plenty to say when addressing the Auckland Business Chamber on the economic growth that (she tells us) is flagging more than we thought. But the government intends to put new life into it: We want our country to be a ...
The Transport and Infrastructure Committee has reported back on the Road User Charges (Light Electric RUC Vehicles) Amendment Bill, basicly rubberstamping it. While there was widespread support among submitters for the principle that EV and PHEV drivers should pay their fair share for the roads, they also overwhelmingly disagreed with ...
Peter Dunne writes – This week’s government bailout – the fifth in the last eighteen months – of the financially troubled Ruapehu Alpine Lifts company would have pleased many in the central North Island ski industry. The government’s stated rationale for the $7 million funding was that it ...
See if you can spot the difference. An Iranian born female MP from a progressive party is accused of serial shoplifting. Her name is leaked to the media, which goes into a pack frenzy even before the Police launch an … Continue reading → ...
Ele Ludemann writes – The government is omitting general Treaty references from legislation : The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last Government in a bid to get greater coherence in the public service on Treaty ...
What was that judge thinking?Peter Williams writes – That Golriz Ghahraman and District Court Judge Maria Pecotic were once lawyer colleagues is incontrovertible. There is published evidence that they took at least one case to the Court of Appeal together. There was a report on ...
TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read:Climate Scorpion – the sting is in the tail. Introducing planetary solvency. A paper via the University of Exeter’s Institute and Faculty of Actuaries.Local scoop:Kāinga Ora starts pulling out of its Auckland projects and selling land RNZ ...
Wellington’s massively upzoned District Plan adds the opportunity for tens of thousands of new homes not just in the central city (such as these Webb St new builds) but also close to the CBD and public transport links. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Wellington gave itself the chance of ...
It’s Friday and we’re halfway through March Madness. Here’s some of the things that caught our attention this week. This Week in Greater Auckland On Monday Matt asked how we can get better event trains and an option for grade separating Morningside Dr. On Tuesday Matt looked into ...
Something you might not know about me is that I’m quite a stubborn person. No, really. I don’t much care for criticism I think’s unfair or that I disagree with. Few of us do I suppose.Back when I was a drinker I’d sometimes respond defensively, even angrily. There are things ...
Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the last week included:PM Christopher Luxon said the reversal of interest deductibility for landlords was done to help renters, who ...
It was not so much the Labour Party but really the Chris Hipkins party yesterday at Labour’s caucus retreat in Martinborough. The former Prime Minister was more or less consistent on wealth tax, which he was at best equivocal about, and social insurance, which he was not willing to revisit. ...
Buzz from the BeehiveThe text reproduced above appears on a page which records all the media statements and speeches posted on the government’s official website by Melissa Lee as Minister of Media and Communications and/or by Jenny Marcroft, her Parliamentary Under-secretary. It can be quickly analysed ...
For forty years, Robert Muldoon has been a dirty word in our politics. His style of government was so repulsive and authoritarian that the backlash to it helped set and entrench our constitutional norms. His pig-headedness over forcing through Think Big eventually gave us the RMA, with its participation and ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Is the new government reducing tax on rental properties to benefit landlords or to cut the cost of rents? That’s the big question this week, after Associate Finance Minister David Seymour announced on Sunday that the Government would be reversing the Labour Government’s removal ...
Saudi Arabia is rarely far from the international spotlight. The war in Gaza has brought new scrutiny to Saudi plans to normalise relations with Israel, while the fifth anniversary of the controversial killing of Jamal Khashoggi was marked shortly before the war began on October 7. And as the home ...
Questions need to be asked on both sides of the worldPeter Williams writes – The NRL Judiciary hands down an eight week suspension to Sydney Roosters forward Spencer Leniu , an Auckland-born Samoan, after he calls Ezra Mam, Sydney-orn but of Aboriginal and Torres Strait ...
Ele Ludemann writes – Contrary to what many headlines and news stories are saying, residential landlords are not getting a tax break. The government is simply restoring to them the tax deductibility of interest they had until the previous government removed it. There is no logical reason ...
I can't remember when it was goodMoments of happiness in bloomMaybe I just misunderstoodAll of the love we left behindWatching our flashbacks intertwineMemories I will never findIn spite of whatever you becomeForget that reckless thing turned onI think our lives have just begunI think our lives have just begunDoes anyone ...
Michael Bassett writes – At first reading, a front-page story in the New Zealand Herald on 13 March was bizarre. A group of severely intellectually limited teenagers, with little understanding of the law, have been pleading to the Justice Select Committee not to pass a bill dealing with ram ...
How much political capital is Christopher Luxon willing to burn through in order to deliver his $2.9 billion gift to landlords? Evidently, Luxon is: (a) unable to cost the policy accurately. As Anna Burns-Francis pointed out to him on Breakfast TV, the original ”rock solid” $2.1 billion cost he was ...
TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read:Jonathon Porritt calling bullshit in his own blog post on mainstream climate science as ‘The New Denialism’.Local scoop:The Wellington City Council’s list of proposed changes to the IHP recommendations to be debated later today was leaked this ...
TL;DR:Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said yesterday tenants should be grateful for the reinstatement of interest deductibility because landlords would pass on their lower tax costs in the form of lower rents. That would be true if landlords were regulated monopolies such as Transpower or Auckland Airport1, but they’re not, ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Tom Toro Tom Toro is a cartoonist and author. He has published over 200 cartoons in The New Yorker since 2010. His cartoons appear in Playboy, the Paris Review, the New York Times, American Bystander, and elsewhere. Related: What 10 EV lovers ...
The business section of the NZ Herald is full of opinion. Among the more opinionated of all is the ex-Minister of Transport, ex-Minister of Railways, ex MP for Auckland Central (1975-93, Labour), Wellington Central (1996-99, ACT, then list-2005), ex-leader of the ACT Party, uncle to actor Antonia, the veritable granddaddy ...
Hi,Just quickly — I’m blown away by the stories you’ve shared with me over the last week since I put out the ‘Gary’ podcast, where I told you about the time my friend’s flatmate killed the neighbour.And you keep telling me stories — in the comments section, and in my ...
The first season of Rings of Power was not awful. It was thoroughly underwhelming, yes, and left a lingering sense of disappointment, but it was more expensive mediocrity than catastrophe. I wrote at length about the series as it came out (see the Review section of the blog, and go ...
Buzz from the Beehive Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden told Auckland Business Chamber members they were the first audience to hear her priorities as a minister in a government committed to cutting red tape and regulations. She brandished her liberalising credentials, saying Flexible labour markets are the ...
Chris Trotter writes – TO UNDERSTAND WHY NEWSHUB FAILED, it is necessary to understand how TVNZ changed. Up until 1989, the state broadcaster had been funded by a broadcasting licence fee, collected from every citizen in possession of a television set, supplemented by a relatively modest (compared ...
Bob Edlin writes – The Māori Party has been busy issuing a mix of warnings and threats as its expresses its opposition to interest deductibility for landlords and the plans of seabed miners. It remains to be seen whether they follow the example of indigenous litigants in Australia, ...
The Government has accepted Labour’s change to the Road User Charge (RUC) discount for hybrid vehicles, meaning there will still be some incentive for people to buy greener vehicles. ...
Kicking the most vulnerable people out of state housing and pushing them towards homelessness will result in a proliferation of poverty and trauma across our most vulnerable communities. ...
Te Pāti Māori co-leader and MP for Waiariki, Rawiri Waititi has penned a letter asking MPs to support his members bill to remove GST from all food. The bill is expected to go through its first reading in parliament this Wednesday. “I’m calling on all political parties to support my ...
This year is about getting real with Kiwis and discussing the tough issues, as the National Government exacerbates inequality and divides New Zealand, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said ...
The Government adding Significant Natural Areas (SNAs) to its already roaring environmental policy bonfire is an assault on the future of wildlife that makes Aotearoa unique. ...
After 12 years of fighting to protect our moana we are finding ourselves back at square one and back at court. Today, the Environmental Protection Agency is sitting in Hawera to reconsider an application from Trans-Tasman Resources to dig up 50 million tonnes of the seabed in South Taranaki. This ...
Minister Shane Jones’ decision to step away from a seabed mining project is evidence of the murky waters surrounding the Government’s fast-track legislation. ...
The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last government in a bid to get greater coherence in the publicservice on Treaty matters. When ministers first considered the need for tighter oversight in 2021, there ...
The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last government in a bid to get greater coherence in the publicservice on Treaty matters. When ministers first considered the need for tighter oversight in 2021, there ...
The Coalition Government’s miscalculation saga continues as it has forgotten an eyewatering $90 million gap in its interest deductibility cost figures, say Labour Finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds and Revenue Spokesperson Deborah Russell. ...
He Pou a Rangi Climate Change Commission has today released advice that says if the Government doesn’t act now New Zealand is at risk of not meeting its climate goals. ...
The Coalition Government has today confirmed it is abandoning first home buyers who are struggling to get ahead, says Labour Finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds. ...
The New Zealand public voted for a change in direction at the 2023 general election and that is exactly what this coalition government has been delivering in its first 100 days. There was an immediate focus on the economy, easing the cost of living, cracking down on law and order ...
The Government has left the health system as an afterthought, announcing half-baked targets at the last minute of their 100-day plan, says Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall. ...
Kiwis are still waiting for their promised cost of living support after 100 days of a National Government that is taking us backwards, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said today. ...
The National Government has spent its first 100 days stopping, cutting and reversing. They have scrapped stuff for stuff for the sake of it, without putting up any solutions of their own – and it’s hardworking New Zealanders who will pay for it. ...
100 days of National taking NZ backwardsThe National Government has spent its first 100 days stopping, cutting and reversing. They have scrapped stuff for stuff for the sake of it, without putting up any solutions of their own – and it’s hardworking New Zealanders who will pay for it. ...
The Government must commit to funding free and healthy school lunches, as thousands of people sign the petition to keep them, education spokesperson Jan Tinetti says. ...
If the Government was serious about moving families into public housing, they would build more houses so there is actually somewhere for people to go. ...
The free and healthy school lunches programme feeds our kids, helps them to learn, and saves families money – but it is at risk under this Government, education spokesperson Jan Tinetti said. ...
The Government’s proposed changes to Firearms Prohibition Orders (FPO) add almost nothing new and are merely an attempt to distract from its plans to loosen gun laws, police spokesperson Ginny Andersen and justice spokesperson Dr Duncan Webb said. ...
The great Victorian era English politician Lord Macauley stood in the British House of Parliament and said, "The gallery in which the reporters sit has become a fourth estate of the realm".He understood and outlined even way back then, the significant role and influence media have in a democracy. ...
The government’s attack on Māori health this week is committing tangata-whenua to a premature death, says Te Pāti Māori. “The government have begun their onslaught on Māori health with the abolishment of the Māori Health Authority and smokefree laws in the same day” said health spokesperson and co-leader, Debbie Ngarewa-Packer. ...
"The Government is moving quickly to realise an additional $46 million in tariff savings in the EU market this season for Kiwi exporters,” Minister for Trade and Agriculture, Todd McClay says. Parliament is set, this week, to complete the final legislative processes required to bring the New Zealand – European ...
New Zealand’s social workers are qualified, experienced, and more representative of the communities they serve, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “I want to acknowledge and applaud New Zealand’s social workers for the hard work they do, providing invaluable support for our most vulnerable. “To coincide with World ...
Cabinet has agreed to a reduced road user charge (RUC) rate for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. Owners of PHEVs will be eligible for a reduced rate of $38 per 1,000km once all light electric vehicles (EVs) move into the RUC system from 1 April. ...
Minister of Agriculture and Trade, Todd McClay, says that today’s opening of Riverland Foods manufacturing plant in Christchurch is a great example of how trade access to overseas markets creates jobs in New Zealand. Speaking at the official opening of this state-of-the-art pet food factory the Minister noted that exports ...
Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Wellington today. “It was a pleasure to host Foreign Minister Wang Yi during his first official visit to New Zealand since 2017. Our discussions were wide-ranging and enabled engagement on many facets of New Zealand’s relationship with China, including trade, ...
Kāinga Ora – Homes & Communities has been instructed to end the Sustaining Tenancies Framework and take stronger measures against persistent antisocial behaviour by tenants, says Housing Minister Chris Bishop. “Earlier today Finance Minister Nicola Willis and I sent an interim Letter of Expectations to the Board of Kāinga Ora. ...
Tēna koutou katoa. Greetings everyone. Thank you to the Auckland Chamber of Commerce and the Honourable Simon Bridges for hosting this address today. I acknowledge the business leaders in this room, the leaders and governors, the employers, the entrepreneurs, the investors, and the wealth creators. The coalition Government shares your ...
Minister Winston Peters completed the final leg of his visit to South and South East Asia in Singapore today, where he focused on enhancing one of New Zealand’s indispensable strategic partnerships. “Singapore is our most important defence partner in South East Asia, our fourth-largest trading partner and a ...
Minister of Internal Affairs and Workplace Relations and Safety, Hon. Brooke van Velden, will travel to the Republic of Korea to represent New Zealand at the Third Summit for Democracy on 18 March. The summit, hosted by the Republic of Korea, was first convened by the United States in 2021, ...
ICNZ Speech 7 March 2024, Auckland Acknowledgements and opening Mōrena, ngā mihi nui. Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho. Good morning, it’s a privilege to be here to open the ICNZ annual conference, thank you to Mark for the Mihi Whakatau My thanks to Tim Grafton for inviting me ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Lead Coordination Minister Judith Collins have expressed their deepest sympathy on the five-year anniversary of the Christchurch terror attacks. “March 15, 2019, was a day when families, communities and the country came together both in sorrow and solidarity,” Mr Luxon says. “Today we pay our respects to the 51 shuhada ...
Speech for Financial Advice NZ Conference 5 March 2024 Acknowledgements and opening Morena, Nga Mihi Nui. Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho. Thanks Nate for your Mihi Whakatau Good morning. It’s a pleasure to formally open your conference this morning. What a lovely day in Wellington, What a great ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters held discussions in Jakarta today about the future of relations between New Zealand and South East Asia’s most populous country. “We are in Jakarta so early in our new government’s term to reflect the huge importance we place on our relationship with Indonesia and South ...
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters has announced that the Foreign Minister of China, Wang Yi, will visit New Zealand next week. “We look forward to re-engaging with Foreign Minister Wang Yi and discussing the full breadth of the bilateral relationship, which is one of New Zealand’s ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has today opened the new Auckland Rail Operations Centre, which will bring together KiwiRail, Auckland Transport, and Auckland One Rail to improve service reliability for Aucklanders. “The recent train disruptions in Auckland have highlighted how important it is KiwiRail and Auckland’s rail agencies work together to ...
The Government is proud to support the 10th edition of Crankworx Rotorua as the Crankworx World Tour returns to Rotorua from 16-24 March 2024, says Minister for Economic Development Melissa Lee. “Over the past 10 years as Crankworx Rotorua has grown, so too have the economic and social benefits that ...
Legislation implementing coalition Government tax commitments and addressing long-standing tax anomalies will be progressed in Parliament next week, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The legislation is contained in an Amendment Paper to the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill issued today. “The Amendment Paper represents ...
Associate Environment Minister Andrew Hoggard has today announced that the Government has agreed to suspend the requirement for councils to comply with the Significant Natural Areas (SNA) provisions of the National Policy Statement for Indigenous Biodiversity for three years, while it replaces the Resource Management Act (RMA).“As it stands, SNAs ...
Agriculture Minister Todd McClay has classified the drought conditions in the Marlborough, Tasman, and Nelson districts as a medium-scale adverse event, acknowledging the challenging conditions facing farmers and growers in the district. “Parts of Marlborough, Tasman, and Nelson districts are in the grip of an intense dry spell. I know ...
The Government is helping farmers eradicate the significant impact of facial eczema (FE) in pastoral animals, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced. “A $20 million partnership jointly funded by Beef + Lamb NZ, the Government, and the primary sector will save farmers an estimated NZD$332 million per year, and aims to ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has completed a successful visit to India, saying it was an important step in taking the relationship between the two countries to the next level. “We have laid a strong foundation for the Coalition Government’s priority of enhancing New Zealand-India relations to generate significant future benefit for both countries,” says Mr Peters, ...
Cabinet has agreed to provide $7 million to ensure the 2024 ski season can go ahead on the Whakapapa ski field in the central North Island but has told the operator Ruapehu Alpine Lifts it is the last financial support it will receive from taxpayers. Cabinet also agreed to provide ...
Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says the launch of a new mobile breast screening unit in Counties Manukau reinforces the coalition Government’s commitment to drive better cancer services for all New Zealanders. Speaking at the launch of the new mobile clinic, Dr Reti says it’s a great example of taking ...
Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says the launch of a new mobile breast screening unit in Counties Manukau reinforces the coalition Government’s commitment to drive better cancer services for all New Zealanders. Speaking at the launch of the new mobile clinic, Dr Reti says it’s a great example of taking ...
Unlocking economic growth and land for housing are critical elements of the Government’s plan for our transport network, and planned upgrades to State Highway 29 (SH29) near Tauriko will deliver strongly on those priorities, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “The SH29 upgrades near Tauriko will improve safety at the intersections ...
Unlocking economic growth and land for housing are critical elements of the Government’s plan for our transport network, and planned upgrades to State Highway 29 (SH29) near Tauriko will deliver strongly on those priorities, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “The SH29 upgrades near Tauriko will improve safety at the intersections ...
Lower fruit and vegetable prices are welcome news for New Zealanders who have been doing it tough at the supermarket, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. Stats NZ reported today the price of fruit and vegetables has dropped 9.3 percent in the 12 months to February 2024. “Lower fruit and vege ...
Tēnā koutou katoa and greetings to you all. Chair, I am honoured to address the sixty-eighth session of the Commission on the Status of Women. I acknowledge the many crises impacting the rights of women and girls. Heightened global tensions, war, climate related and humanitarian disasters, and price inflation all ...
Tēnā koutou katoa and greetings to you all. Chair, I am honoured to address the 68th session of the Commission on the Status of Women. I acknowledge the many crises impacting the rights of women and girls. Heightened global tensions, war, climate related and humanitarian disasters, and price inflation all ...
The coalition Government is supporting farmers to enhance land management practices by investing $3.3 million in locally led catchment groups, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced. “Farmers and growers deliver significant prosperity for New Zealand and it’s vital their ongoing efforts to improve land management practices and water quality are supported,” ...
Good evening everyone and thank you for that lovely introduction. Thank you also to the Honourable Simon Bridges for the invitation to address your members. Since being sworn in, this coalition Government has hit the ground running with our 100-day plan, delivering the changes that New Zealanders expect of us. ...
Recommendations from the Climate Change Commission for New Zealand on the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) auction and unit limit settings for the next five years have been tabled in Parliament, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. “The Commission provides advice on the ETS annually. This is the third time the ...
The coalition Government is beginning its fight to lower building costs and reduce red tape by exempting minor building work from paying the building levy, says Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk. “Currently, any building project worth $20,444 including GST or more is subject to the building levy which is ...
Proposed changes to tax legislation to prevent the over-taxation of low-earning trusts are welcome, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The changes have been recommended by Parliament’s Finance and Expenditure Committee following consideration of submissions on the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill. “One of the ...
Assalaamu alaikum. السَّلَام عليكم In light of the holy month of Ramadan, I want to extend my warmest wishes to our Muslim community in New Zealand. Ramadan is a time for spiritual reflection, renewed devotion, perseverance, generosity, and forgiveness. It’s a time to strengthen our bonds and appreciate the diversity ...
Former Transport Minister and CEO of the Auckland Business Chamber Hon Simon Bridges has been appointed as the new Board Chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) for a three-year term, Transport Minister Simeon Brown announced today. “Simon brings extensive experience and knowledge in transport policy and governance to the role. He will ...
Good morning all, it is a pleasure to be here as Minister of Science, Innovation and Technology. It is fantastic to see how connected and collaborative the life science and biotechnology industry is here in New Zealand. I would like to thank BioTechNZ and NZTech for the invitation to address ...
Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says he is looking forward to the day when three key water projects in Northland are up and running, unlocking the full potential of land in the region. Mr Jones attended a community event at the site of the Otawere reservoir near Kerikeri on Friday. ...
Associate Finance Minister David Seymour has today announced that the Government has agreed to restore deductibility for mortgage interest on residential investment properties. “Help is on the way for landlords and renters alike. The Government’s restoration of interest deductibility will ease pressure on rents and simplify the tax code,” says ...
Sport and Recreation Minister Chris Bishop will travel to Switzerland today to attend an Executive Committee meeting and Symposium of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). Mr Bishop will then travel on to London where he will attend a series of meetings in his capacity as Infrastructure Minister. “New Zealanders believe ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Deborah Lupton, SHARP Professor, Vitalities Lab, Centre for Social Research in Health and Social Policy Centre, and the ARC Centre of Excellence for Automated Decision-Making and Society, UNSW Sydney kitzcorner/Shutterstock The assertion from Queensland’s chief health officer John Gerrard that ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Martin, Visiting Fellow, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University Shutterstock Why are musicians so keen to get played on the radio? It can’t be because of the money. In Australia they are paid at rates so low they ...
"Farmers make a point not to tell our urban cousins how to live, yet Chlöe from central Auckland is hell-bent on having her say about farmers," says ACT Rural Communities spokesman Mark Cameron. “On her first day in the House as Green ...
Analysis by Dr Bryce Edwards – Democracy Project (https://democracyproject.nz)Political scientist, Dr Bryce Edwards. It’s been a tumultuous time in politics in recent months, as the new National-led Government has driven through its “First 100 Day programme”. During this period there’s been a handful of opinion polls, which overall just ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tim Curran, Associate Professor of Ecology, Lincoln University, New Zealand Getty Images/Gerald Corsi In the latest move to reform environmental laws in New Zealand, the coalition government has introduced a bill to fast-track consenting processes for projects deemed to ...
Uber has argued it does not have as much control over drivers as the unions suggest, and wants a judgment ruling that drivers are employees and not contractors set aside and sent back to the Employment Court. The 2022 ruling followed a three-week hearing in which four drivers sought to ...
What can and can’t be purchased by disabled people or their carers has been slashed in an effort by the Ministry of Disabled People Whaikaha to save money. The purchasing guidelines, a set of rules that sets out what can be purchased using the various streams of Government disability funding, ...
The Treasury has published today a new Analytical Note by Tod Wright and Hien Nguyen, Fiscal incidence in New Zealand: The effects of taxes and benefits on household incomes in tax year 2018/19 . Analyses of the distributional impact of taxation and government ...
The Treasury has published today a new Analytical Note by Cory Davis, Boston Hart and Benjamin Stubbing, Household cost-of-living impacts from the Emissions Trading Scheme and using transfers to mitigate regressive outcomes . This Analytical Note ...
A coalition of public transport and climate organisations, united as ‘Transport for All’, is actively opposing the government’s transport proposals. The draft Government Policy Statement (GPS) includes plans for higher fares for public transport, ...
Greater Wellington is inviting feedback on proposed changes to its Revenue and Financing Policy. The Revenue and Financing Policy covers the Council’s various sources of funding, and how the cost of services is shared across the region. This includes ...
Labour has conceded it could have done more to deal with disruptive state housing tenants while in government but says the current coalition is going too far. ...
The band has asked their record label to issue a cease and desist to stop the NZ First leader using their 1997 hit to support his ‘misguided political views’. “I get knocked down, but I get up again,” blared through the speakers on Sunday as Winston Peters took the stage ...
By Lydia Lewis, RNZ Pacific journalist Food rationing is underway in remote areas in Papua New Guinea’s Highlands following torrential rain and flash flooding. More than 20 people have been reported dead in Chimbu Province. In nearby Enga Province, the centre of last month’s massacre, a 15-year-old boy has been ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andrew Hughes, Lecturer, Research School of Management, Australian National University After months of debate and intrigue, the AFL’s 19th and newest team, the Tasmania Devils, finally launched its jumper, logo and colours in Devonport this week. The Devils will wear green, ...
Brannavan Gnanalingam reviews the debut novel by Saraid de Silva.One of the most baffling things for children who move to a new country is what their parents’ (or grandparents’) lives were like prior to moving – for kids in particular, they’re too busy trying to fit in in their ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Stephen Gaunson, Associate Professor in Cinema Studies, RMIT University Narelle Portanier/Binge “If you don’t know who your mob are, you don’t know who you are,” Detective Andrea “Andie” Whitford (played by Leah Purcell) is told early into the new crime ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Elise Klein, Associate professor, Australian National University It’s commonly accepted that women do the vast majority of caregiving in Australian society. But less appreciated is that Indigenous women do larger amounts of unpaid care than any other group. Working with the Aboriginal ...
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Comment: There has been a striking contrast in trans-Tasman interest about Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi’s visit to New Zealand and Australia. While the Australian press has been full of articles about the visit – including his curious decision to meet with former prime minister and China booster Paul Keating ...
After years of pressuring banks and other institutions to stop investing in fossil fuels, climate campaigners are making some progress. So how does divestment work?For years, climate activists have been pushing banks and other big institutions to divest from fossil fuels. New research from climate advocacy group 350 Aotearoa ...
For Boba, Ethan and Ashley, K-pop is a place to belong, a way to express themselves, and a bridge to connect with others. The three young Polynesians are part of a K-pop fan community in Tāmaki Makaurau. It’s one of many that have sprung up worldwide as K-pop has gone ...
For Boba, Ethan and Ashley, K-pop is a place to belong, a way to express themselves, and a bridge to connect with others. This one-off documentary presents three intimate portraits of young Polynesians who are pulled into a Korean cultural phenomenon. K-POLYS is directed by Litia Tuiburelevu, Produced by Hex ...
There’s ample evidence demonstrating free school lunch programmes provide wide benefits across schools, households and communities according to public health researchers. ACT Minister David Seymour wants to reduce the spending on Aotearoa New Zealand’s ...
By Wata Shaw in Suva Fiji is facing an exodus of Fijians as many are leaving for overseas seeking employment and education and others are migrating, says Opposition MP Viliame Naupoto. Speaking in Parliament, he said: “His Excellency’s speech (Ratu Wiliame Katonivere) comes after a little over one year of ...
The Taxpayers’ Union is welcoming comments from Christopher Luxon this morning recommitting to ‘no new taxes’ as part of Budget 2024. “Mr Luxon’s refusal at the Post-Cabinet press conference yesterday to repeat the ‘no new taxes’ promise ...
SAFE is urgently calling on the Environment Committee to reject the Government’s Fast-Track Approvals Bill, and is urging New Zealanders to rally behind the call. The proposed Bill, currently under consideration with the Environment select committee, ...
Teammates who spend all their time picking fights with spectators are only helpful for the other team, writes Madeleine Chapman. Anyone who has ever played a team sport competitively, particularly as a child and particularly, for some reason, basketball, will know that there’s a lot of politics involved. While there ...
The long-running Wellington music festival is too focused on the Jim Beam-ness and not enough on the Homegrown-ness.There is something about Homegrown that’s difficult to place. A barely perceptible-ness. Like feeling a ghost is watching you from the corner of the room but when you look, there’s nothing there. ...
The latest Ipsos New Zealand Issues Monitor reveals that fewer New Zealanders believe crime / law and order is one of the top issues facing our country. In 2018, Ipsos New Zealand started tracking the key issues facing New Zealand. In this wave ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kate Griffiths, Deputy Program Director, Budgets and Government, Grattan Institute Australia’s political donations rules are woefully inadequate, but donations reform is finally on the agenda. The federal government has signalled its interest in reform and will soon begin briefing MPs on its ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mark Patrick Taylor, Chief Environmental Scientist, EPA Victoria; Honorary Professor, School of Natural Sciences, Macquarie University Naiyana Somchitkaeo/Shutterstock A recent study published in the prestigious New England Journal of Medicine has linked microplastics with risk to human health. The study ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Albert Van Dijk, Professor, Water and Landscape Dynamics, Fenner School of Environment & Society, Australian National University Global climate records were shattered in 2023, from air and sea temperatures to sea-level rise and sea-ice extent. Scores of countries recorded their hottest year ...
As part of our series exploring how New Zealanders live and our relationship with money, a teacher explains why he and his partner are in frugal mode – and how they’re making it work. Gender: Male Age: 35Ethnicity: Pākehā Role: I am an intermediate school teacher and my partner is ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sarah Bendall, Senior Lecturer, Institute for Humanities and Social Sciences, Australian Catholic University Binge Mary & George, the new British television drama series, depicts the real-life story of Mary Villiers and her son George, and their social climbing at the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jason Nassios, Associate Professor, Centre of Policy Studies, Victoria University This article is part of The Conversation’s series examining the housing crisis. Read the other articles in the series here. Australian state and federal governments spend money in many ways to ...
The finance minister is denying that there’s a $5.6b shortfall in paying for the government’s campaign promises, including tax cuts. At his post-cabinet press conference yesterday, the PM refused to rule out new taxes to pay for the cuts, writes Anna Rawhiti-Connell in this excerpt from The Bulletin, The Spinoff’s ...
Kāinga Ora tenants abused by their neighbours are doubting the government's crackdown on disruptive tenants will make a difference on their behaviour. ...
Kāinga Ora is New Zealand’s biggest residential landlord, housing more than 180,000 vulnerable people in more than 67,000 properties. Yesterday the government announced a crackdown on its tenants who fall behind on rent. One longtime Kāinga Ora tenant shares her experience.For 18 years I lived in a 1960s standalone ...
Why does this myth persist, and what’s the real reason our skin is suffering?It’s one of the biggest international grievances New Zealanders hold, up there with the sinking of the Rainbow Warrior and 1981’s underarm incident. We’re quick to tell international travellers that the world’s pollution led to the ...
When the Criminal Proceeds (Recovery) Act was introduced in 2009 it was firmly targeted at gangs and drugs. The legislation means police no longer need a conviction to seize assets that criminals can’t prove were paid for legitimately, as long as their alleged offences are punishable by more than a ...
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Bob’s relationship with certain members of Lincoln’s academic staff continued to deteriorate in the 1990s. Others supported him publicly, though articles such as Roland Clark’s 1993 piece in Growing Today cannot have pleased the university management. Clark wrote that Bob was selling onions from the Biological Husbandry Unit to a ...
SailGP’s races feature in-your-face action, with agile, hydro-foiling catamarans tacking and jibing for the title over several days. However, public comments ahead of the global series’ return to New Zealand have left this past year’s controversy in the shadows, as a key appointment attracts criticism from dolphin advocates. A year ...
Opinion: We are fast approaching a fundamental change in prisons. As the number of people on custodial remand looks set to overtake the number of sentenced prisoners, the main function of prisons in New Zealand may become incarcerating un-sentenced people who may not be guilty of offending. We have already ...
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Opinion: In a move that has shocked road safety advocates across the country, the new Minister of Transport, Simeon Brown, is poised to abandon the previous government’s speed limit reduction policy, particularly around schools. Even more alarmingly, he wants school speed limits to be variable rather than full-time, arguing ...
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Evicting more people from state housing is ignorant to the consequences of poverty, the Greens say, but the Housing Minister says it's a privilege that can be taken away if abused. ...
Evicting more people from state housing is ignorant to the consequences of poverty, the Greens say, but the Housing Minister says it's a privilege that can be taken away if abused. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Emerald L King, Lecturer in Humanities, University of Tasmania IMDB Between Netflix’s 2023 live-action version of One Piece, and its latest take on Avatar: The Last Airbender, fans are once again asking: why are live-action anime adaptations so tricky to ...
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The government says it still intends to deliver tax cuts by July, but will not lock them in until they have got them past their coalition partners. ...
Kiingi Tuheitia Pootatau Te Wherowhero VII has hosted members of the Green Party Caucus at Tuurangawaewae Marae in Ngaaruawahia. The audience follows the King’s Hui-aa-Motu on 20 January, where more than 10,000 people gathered to discuss national ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Dr Rachael Potter, Research Associate and Lecturer in Work and Organisational Psychology, University of South Australia Ground Picture/Shutterstock Pregnant women and workers with children are often unfairly treated by their bosses and colleagues, despite laws to protect against workplace discrimination ...
Reacting to Prime Minister Christopher Luxon’s refusal to rule out introducing new taxes at the budget, Taxpayers’ Union Campaigns Manager, Connor Molloy, said: “Today’s refusal to rule out new taxes suggests the Government is nothing more ...
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Brutal take-down of Jason Walls and 1ZB/NZME by Colin Peacock for Mediawach. This is about his criticism of the funding of and online doco about Dr. Siouxsie Wiles.
Usually I don't mind Walls' commentary but he works for NZME so possibly has to has to provide anti-Labour content as part of his job description.
I listened to the slot with Heather Stupidity-Allan the other day and it was a rather pathetic attempt at a hit job. Seems the whole story has been pulled from publication and Walls wasn't in his usual slot yesterday…
https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/mediawatch/audio/2018850576/criticism-of-mini-doco-funding-hits-a-dead-end
It's probably actionable under liberal libel laws so they've got Jason on CWI watch in a remote valley with no social media access until the dust settles.
"Is it time to rethink our food production" – Absolutely, yes.
"Food production systems are in chaos. Tom Vilsack, US Secretary of Agriculture, painted a picture of a system in dire need of innovation, where 89% of farmers couldn’t produce enough to sustain themselves on the land; where food systems had become fragile and where the impact of inputs (for example, gas) were going to become crippling."
The re-imagining of food production systems has been going on for some time. But in NZ, if you have an imagination, be sure to shut up or you will be attacked. Especially here at The Standard, where Fonterra's income makes some weak at the knees.
The article linked describes GE and highly technical systems as the way forward. I think they're simply part of the solution and GE more daft hubris from idiots who've nearly wrecked the place. We've barely harnessed the thousands of edible species we already have – we don't need a fancier cherry…
The first really practical huge difference thing we might do, but wont because rich people are too precious/full of themselves to be useful – transition domestic lawns to food production or low maintenance natives. We already have the workforce – mowing lawns. A wee bit of retraining… But feeding the people and saving diversity, the environment and the planet at the same time isn't really the objective is it – it's getting rich somehow, gouging all you can before it collapses.
When all our kids want is to be gangsters or influencers, rich and (in)famous… Clearly, they just want to escape. It's very broken but we built it and now we defend it like it works… Can we undo it.
It's not just food production needs re-imagining, it's imagining.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/opinion-analysis/300645545/is-it-time-to-rethink-our-approach-to-food-production
Of course, you are correct, DB Brown. What is it, deep down, do you suppose, that suppresses imagination so effectively and prevents us from recreating our world as a better place?
I'm reading "Humankind" by Rutger Bregman at present, so am not inclined to believe that humanity is nasty and greedy by nature, so suspect some pathology or other has taken hold of us (the "us" that is preventing the shift to a better world).
I agree. Yes I was pretty negative toward people. But there seems to be those who care (the great unwashed), and those who detest those who care. I find it increasingly difficult to attribute 'humanity' to corporations or their mouthpieces. Far too many products that are (knowingly) bad for the environment (or health) get sold and the sales get celebrated. And the gaslighting, so well and truly over that, as are our kids.
The pathology is the stupid dreams we sell ourselves. As if richness and fame is in any way comparable to being valuable and truly seen.
We’ve seen how so many of these people behave. They have not ‘arrived’ or ‘made it’ as people.
Pablo Picasso said, "Everything you can imagine, is real".
Others say, be careful what you wish for.
A genuinely good man once said you can’t handle the Truth!
Everything we see not of nature was imagined at one point. Imagination’s a powerful tool. Maybe it’s been captured by fluff and sound bite?
We need to shift from a rat race to a communal place. We squander HUGE resources warring in media campaigns to sell things to each other. And the object is not to serve customers but to WIN. To repress the other players and monopolize to make the BIG MONEY. It should not be necessary to impose windfall taxes where financial infringement is so enormous it just can't be explained away anymore, yet we're seeing it. And we only see that because people are so squeezed they might riot otherwise.
There's nothing wrong with doing well, just not at the expense of others and the environment. We're in this together but the rat race says we're in it to win. It's wrong-headed, some might say a pathology.
We have what it takes. Will we use our resources to save ourselves, or allow corporations and billionaires to continue their plunder.
Now I'll pivot from my anti-greed/stupidity rant and try talk re-imagining.
We have a pollution problem. In the air, the land, the sea… It seems the by-products or waste steams of our industries are not being accounted for. For many of these industries, their waste stream is actually a resource for another industry, and should we stack a few industries together, we might make a lot less mess, and a lot more products out of the same inputs.
One could use forestry slash to produce power, chemicals and biochar. Then put the biochar in flues and strip out nitrogen being emitted, then use that as fertiliser for carbon capturing trees. Then use the trees products as food, and the waste products for fungi, and their waste products as compost for forestry…
Nature is the teacher for real efficiencies.
You can use faeces and biomass to feed insects that feed poultry and fish that fertilise plants that produce more feed and food then ultimately back to faeces and biomass…
Corporations can re-imagine themselves. Can align instead of compete, can create real stories not puff pieces.
Forestry, agriculture horticulture and aquaculture could work together exploring and adapting to systems that solve each others problems and provide each others inputs.
Just imagine.
Very good, pragmatic suggestions.
The pattern of behaviour seems to be, inspiration – manufacture – exploitation; conceive of a Great Idea (domesticate that sheep!) – make a crook and a sling to protect them from wolves and bears – fell some forest to make More Room for the Lucrative Resource.
What we have yet to master, is discretion; how will this pan out, and should we put the brakes on some aspects of it.
Other cultures have shown that applying discretion to behaviours results in long term success and resource maintenance. Ours has not. Now, we must, or face harsh consequences.
Your very good, pragmatic suggestions will be subject to the same escalation and lack of discretion shown to date, yes?
How might you/we ensure that imagination isn't misused as it has been up till now?
"How might you/we ensure that imagination isn't misused as it has been up till now?"
Good system design and regulation against exploitative/extractive practices, including financial extraction.
Design: If aquaculture waste is fertiliser for the hydro outfit, and plant waste is food for the entomology outfit, and insects are food for the aquaculture outfit… it makes no sense to not be working together. Any biomass generated for industry – byproduct or not – should be useful or feeding something, somewhere, and that then feeds something else.
The pressures taken off the natural environment are potentially enormous as we'd require far less inputs to generate the same outputs.
Fish that don't need lots of antibiotics, veg that don't need lots of chemicals, fish and pet food that isn't stripped from the oceans… in this one example.
Of course it's all far easier said than done. But the more systems work with nature, the less work will be required to get a result.
In respect of forestry slash, it turns out that wood and wood decay products in small streams are crucial to heavy metal mitigation in streams where salmon have declined in North America. I expect that it plays a similar role in NZ both for stream quality for galaxiids, and as a base of estuarine food chains.
The problem is reimagining corporate behaviour sufficiently that instead of their reflexive outsourcing of costs and consequences, they proactively try to close their product loops. Aquaculture/aquaponics are good industries for corporates to learn this because the pollution products are both readily traced, and readily repurposed.
The NZ Salmon sites that experienced high mortality in the Sounds last summer have evidently been closed. If we are to have a long term future for aquaculture in NZ, as a site becomes unsuitable for this sub arctic species, another more temperature tolerant species ought to be found to take its place. Yellow belly flounder for example, is a warmer water species, highly palatable, fecund, and somewhat robust. If we don't build a more diverse industry, a couple of warm years will wipe the sector out.
so am not inclined to believe that humanity is nasty and greedy by nature, so suspect some pathology or other has taken hold of us (the "us" that is preventing the shift to a better world).
The classics decided that we were both. That the border between good and evil lay through every human heart as Solzhenitsyn put it.
And sexual competition is the underlying reason why we – and all other species – compete. (And both sexes do it, just in differing styles.) Given that competition has been arguably the prime motive force behind human development, it cannot be discounted or eliminated.
Yet unconstrained competition is excessively destructive and costly. Much of our social norms, structure and value systems are mechanisms to put boundaries and rules in place to moderate it. A society that undermines or even dismantles it's ethical systems, will become over time more competitive, more destructive and ultimately collapse as trust is extinguished.
There is not a binary choice here, we need both positive competition and co-operation to run healthy societies. And that tension plays out not only in our institutions and politics – but within the choices each one of us makes moment to moment.
Do you think, RedLogix, that the gathering Clouds of Consequence can in some way cause each of us to make better choices, moment to moment, as is sorely needed, or will some Great Power (governance system) be required to "encourage" us each to smarten up our individual acts?
I needs go serve Mammon right now, but in short we always have a choice. Fear of the consequences of not doing so will soon enough force the nations into the next evolution of global governance. The era of imperialism is in it's dying thrashing throes.
The era of population growth is ended forcing a fresh round of evolution everywhere – politically, economically and socially. Transitions are rarely comfortable but they cannot be escaped.
If you want to visualise the future, imagine if you could bring your great-grandparents to life for a day, and share with them the fullness of modernity – they would be astonished, delighted and appalled in equal measures. This is how we should regard the future lives of our own children.
Well said RL.
I often wonder what my parents (let alone grandparents) would think if they 'returned' to see what the world was like now. They would be in awe of modern technology etc. but horrified by the overall deterioration of the planet and mankind. My father, who foresaw much of what has happened, would be driving everyone silly with his "I told you so".
Not just deep down, but what we are immerse in. This from Rob Hopkins in his book on What if… which is about imagination and how see the good futures,
Hopkins, Rob; Hopkins, Rob. From What Is to What If (pp. 9-10). Chelsea Green Publishing. Kindle Edition.
Who (if anyone) might benefit from having a population lose its ability to imagine …?
Everyone wants the world to be a better place, as long as it is a better place that suits them.
Some people want the world to be a better place, over all, for every living thing, even though it means significant change to their present life-styles.
the big obstacles I see:
Love the lawns idea. I think we have to be ready for a fast transition. When the first lockdown was announced, garden centres sold out of seedlings. People get it, it's just that the lure of BAU holds them from acting until they get scared.
Labour didn't classify garden centres as an essential business, which mean all those seedlings coming through went to waste. This is the kind of shit that wouldn't happen if we had more Greens in government. Small shifts that have big flow on effects.
I'd really like to see people supported to garden:
None of that is hard to set up and do, but it does need more support than we have currently.
Or…encourage the poking-in-everywhere, of vegetable seedlings.
Best way to do that, modelling (go you green guerrillas!)
(As for tools, use a stick! The belief that funding is needed and must be used to buy hardware; forks, barrows and hoses, is a false-path, a barrier to success, imo).
I'm all for a range of models. Guerilla gardening is a particular skill set.
I love my garden tools. I could use a stick for many things I do but it would be harder. Making it easy for people seems key, and relatable. But I agree we should support the stick gardeners too!
https://youtu.be/G3JiAPq7E_g
Paku has designed some fantastic gardening tools for kids, modeled on traditional Māori agricultural tools. paku.nz
All great ideas, food sovereignty is the goal.
It does however raise the issue of availability of time. Most people need to work 8hrs a day 5 days a week to keep up with their financial obligations. In a future where more people are gardening to supplement their food requirements, we will also need to have the hours available to do the labour involved in planning preparing maintaining and harvesting this food. The current system enforces employers demands on our time; this structure will need to be rebuilt too.
a good place to start might be job sharing, and 4 day weeks?
Many of the people I know that garden seriously get to work less hours for wages or income because their grocery bills are so much lower. In this sense the gig and PT economy could be appropriated by some people (with obvious exceptions).
There's potential in paying someone (or bartering) to garden on one's section while one is at work. Produce is shared, and the person with the time can make good use of it. Am thinking someone who is unemployed or underemployed teaming with a family where the adults are working full time. The full time workers can also do some of the more enjoyable aspects of garden in their small amount of time.
We need models of how this can work that are easy for people to slot into. eg what kind of agreements to use.
It's definitely possible, 4 day weeks on 40hr salaries is a good start, I think 25hr weeks should be the goal. All of these options would be available to workers in a system that isn't run for the profit of shareholders. Workers need more control over how they do their jobs. We have had incredible growth in productivity over the last 40 years but real wages have decreased and people are working more hours. It's about time that we recoup those profits in increased wages, reduced hours and more autonomy in the workplace.
Good point. That's why we spend the current resources we're spending on lawns on gardens instead. They reckon on average we spend just over $500 p.a. on lawn care (I reckon kiwis spend a bit more). The global lawn industry is estimated to be worth 105B per annum. That's a lot of resources that could be redirected to growing urban food forests and garden patches.
https://www.method.me/blog/lawn-care-industry-stats/
When we're no longer paying for the lawn care, and no longer paying for a reasonable portion of our veg/fruit/herbs… we have those savings to give the lawncare folks meaningful work helping the time poor or garden-disinterested keep their yard in production.
Entirely doable. Garden businesses could coordinate across neighborhoods to set up tremendous food diversity in a relatively small place too.
The rub is in the cooking of fresh foodstuffs – also costly in time. Those who want to could opt to sell what they grow and dine out as they do now (maybe at a place cooking their own produce).
Got a visitor, hope that's not too disjointed, must go…
I wonder if anyone can find out who was CEO of Air New Zealand was when it became a business partner with the dodgy financial fronts of the Plymouth Brethren Christian Church?
Just asking questions.
Probably a loaded question but this will help
Rob Fyfe 2005 – 2012
Christopher Luxon 2012 – 2019
Greg Foran 2020- now
Audio link to RNZ report, well worth the listen as Air NZ (and others) grovel for dirty church dollars.
It seems Luxon was hiding out in Te Puke when he was really having a little chin-wag (with Key perhaps) in Hawaii.
Called in to get further instructions from the 'Smiling Assassin' maybe.
But why the need to be deceptive about it?
Oops – meant to be a reply to weka below.
"“We made a mistake, we own up to it and front it,” Luxon said, on Tuesday afternoon."
"Finance Minister Grant Robertson said all politicians needed a break, "it's just a matter of being up front with people about that".
“A post that says you're in Te Puke on a particular day, published on a day when you're actually in Hawaii is misleading.”"
You're good, I'll Grant you that!
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/129387029/national-party-leader-christopher-luxon-says-social-media-post-while-on-holiday-was-mistake
twitter is saying Luxon has been awol for 11 days. Anyone got solid information on this?
In for servicing?
That's a long service! Must be doing a complete overhaul… new motor, new chassis, bigger brighter wheels. I wonder if he is going to re-appear with a head of hair?
Whose?
lol Robert. Made me chuckle. Having listened to Willis a couple of times of late, I think Nats have got it wrong. Willis would have been the better choice.
Willis is waiting…
I think it's highly likely Luxon will be replaced before the election.
Sure, people can say "no, not another change", but it would be a worse mistake to persist with somebody so ill-suited for the job, so out of his depth.
If they dump him before the end of the year National can recover easily.
Getting instructions from Hawaii
Not at Key's mansion, that's a red herring.
It's the clubrooms at the golf course.
Red Herring? Not likely. Probably just Tabasco sauce.
AWOL? As in Todd Muller type AWOL?
dunno really. People were tweeting about it yesterday and I didn't pay attention. Saw this this morning,
https://twitter.com/miravox/status/1551669339253641216
google search for Luxon, then the news tab yields very few recent results.
Hes just been on te news ,trying to explain why his fb feed has made it look like hes been in nz while he was in fact in Hawaii
just watched it, he didn't look very relaxed for someone who's just had a week in Hawaii.
Nor tanned. Probably shady in the bunker.
Matt Robson, formerly Alliance/Progressives, is the only Kiwi on a Ukrainian Government list of people pushing pro Russian propaganda. Can anyone point me to what he was up to?
https://www.stuff.co.nz/opinion/300564314/sleepwalking-to-war-nz-is-back-under-the-nuclear-umbrella
This Matt Robson?
Matt Robson is an Auckland barrister, and a former Minister of Disarmament and Arms Control and Associate Foreign Minister. He is a member of the Labour Party.
OPINION: As Minister of Disarmament in the 1999-2002 Labour-Alliance Coalition, I had the authority of government to state that New Zealand would not be part of any nuclear armed military bloc.
Furthermore, I was authorised to state that we would pursue an independent foreign policy and we would not march off to almost every war launched by Great Britain and then the United States – our “traditional” allies.
As minister responsible for overseas development aid, I refused to join in the clamour denouncing China’s aid programmes in the Pacific.
Matt's in favour of an independent foreign policy and while not supporting Russia does not view Nato in a benign light
The current Ukrainian administration is apt to see Russian spies and saboteurs everywhere, they're probably right, as many have not taken kindly to being treated as second class citizens.
Its been a great excuse to shut down opposition parties (mostly of the left)and bring all media under the govt umbrella, where pesky alternative views can be crushed indefinitely .Martial law eh, aint it grand?
https://www.leftvoice.org/president-zelenskyy-bans-opposition-parties-in-ukraine/
https://deadline.com/2022/03/ukraine-president-vologymyr-zelensky-combines-all-national-tv-channels-to-combat-alleged-misinformation-1234982814/
Didn't Zelenskyy ban a number of far right political parties?
(not very pro-fascist of him)
No , the ones he banned are considered russophoilic or left wing
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_political_parties_in_Ukraine
He is described as a political novice, and had not previously entered political life, so I'm not sure when he would have been in the Socialist Action League.
If he ever was , he's turned his coat.Along with banning the parties , he's gone after trade unions
https://www.greenleft.org.au/content/ukraine-democratic-socialists-challenge-zelenskys-attack-workers-political-parties
Wasn't he in the Socialist Action League at one stage? Or was it one of the other collections? Definitely not the SUP.
Luxon now admits he was on holiday in Hawai'i.
Now I don't have a real problem with that. All MPs need breaks, even the ones I don't like. But Luxon is so … Luxony!
He tried to give the impression he was in NZ. He zoomed into meetings and made no mention of his location. He didn't lie (AFAIK) he just kept quiet. So he turned a minor story into a bigger one.
It's like his statement (in several media interviews) that he hasn't been to a church in years. People go to churches for all kinds of reasons, weddings, funerals, carol services, your neighbour's niece's violin recital. Nobody would care if Luxon went to a church. But some adviser has said "Don't do the religion thing" and so he doubles down. So stupid.
If he doesn't understand that covering up is always worse than the original story, he's doomed.
Staying in Key's batch.
Going to church regularly.
I bet.
I mean, this is actually a rejected comedy script. Except it's real.
Today I'm in Te Puke …
I would laugh if it weren't for one thing: the certain reaction if Ardern did anything like this. Resign, Jacinda!
Hey look, Te Puke is really warm in winter. The surf is great. I exercised personal responsibility by avoiding the slow train to Hamilton – that knocked 2% off our inflation. I delivered. Someone said 'deliver' was a transitive verb – I said half-priced transitive verbs was bottom feeding. I am super excited. Tomorrow I will not be in Te Puke or many other places. I rang the IMF, they said "are you in Te Puke?" I sang "Didn't my Lord Deliver Daniel" but left out the Daniel bit. A great day -I'm not apologising for my success.
Te Puke? It's a small island in the Hawaiian chain, right?
What a golden opportunity missed to connect with the Pacifica electorate.
I wonder why he didn't go to (and make a big play of) one of Samoa/Nuie/Tonga/Cook Is for his family break.
Suggests there is more to the Hawaiian break after all – meeting the MAGA crowd perhaps?
Don't think it would occur to the Luxons of this world. They are not of the common garden folk variety like the rest of us. Samoa/Nuie/Tonga/ Cook Is. way too down market for them. (sarc)
Luxon: "did not think his social media was misleading."
Curious!
Everybody else did!
Watch this clip of Luxon trying to explain. His body language – and his language – is toe-curling.
Rabbit, meet headlights
Does he believe that stonewalling works?
In the face of the evidence?
National see themselves as vastly superior to the average person. They can't conceive of the possibility they should behave like the rest of us. Subterfuge for them is normal practice. When and if they get caught, they bristle and bat away the attacks as though they are victims not perpetrators and by and large the MSM let them get away with it.
They seek him here, they seek him there. – the turquoise Pimpernel needs rescuing.
I noticed Luxon's nose twitch a few times in the clip. Any idea what this is a sign of? Too much brown nosing maybe?
He looked restless and somewhat uncomfortable. Perhaps he went to Hawai'i to consider his leadership position.
Scomo (recently departed Ozzie PM, also a member of an evangelist church) got caught going to Hawai'i during the Black Summer bush fires 2019/2020 and was also very quiet about it (lied about where he was?). His unannounced disappearance at a critical time contributed to the sense that he was devious and selfish. Is Hawai'i a magnet for the Christian right or simply because it is warmer and drier than wintry NZ?
Scion of Merica, isn't it?
I have read that Luxon belongs to a small religious group called "The Upper Room".
This group does not use churches. They meet in places like school halls or gyms after hours, and do their religious things there, not in a church
So Luxon's statement that he hasn't been to church for ages is true at one level: he would go to a church only for somebody else's funeral, wedding or baptism. Otherwise he would not go to a church.
It is, of course, only a half-truth. And half-truths can easily constitute a lie.
The phrase 'to go to church' also means to many people 'to be religious'.
If Luxon attends religious meetings without going to a church, he should have had the honesty to say so. Does he see admitting that he belongs to a small religious group that does not use churches as an electoral turn-off?
If he has been attending such meetings, his statement about not having been to church for a long time is to my mind a vile piece of deliberate deceit, aimed at not losing NZ's large block of secular voters.
I for one would like clarification.
National claims they are a broad church.
One that admits women
I agree. If it's avoidance of something he thinks will be uncomfortable for him, we all need to know.
Another timely tweet from Jason Hickel:
https://twitter.com/jasonhickel/status/1551266356418560006
Worth a read for the humour
https://www.stuff.co.nz/opinion/129372427/the-buck-stops-down-there-at-the-all-blacks
😀😀I shared that on FB on the basis that even the non rugby types would appreciate it.
oh well, that was / is an interesting read.
https://thehill.com/opinion/international/3565996-nuclear-strategy-and-ending-the-war-in-ukraine/
First up, NATO's nuclear arsenal was part of the old cold war strategy to be used should the Warsaw Pact threaten to over run Western Europe. That's unlikely to happen in the 21stC so NATO's nuclear arsenal should probably go.
Second, Ukraine is the victim of Russia's war of imperial conquest, not NATO.
And thirdly, NATO is an alliance. It's not up to the US to breach it's treaty agreement and withdraw the NATO nuclear arsenal because Putin embarked on a genocidal war to eradicate a neighbour. Getting rid of the arsenal requires all 30, soon to be 32, member states to agree about the nature of the alliance. Why would they put their capabilities on the table in the interests of a non-member?
Also, Danes and Danegeld.
btw, should NATO members France and the UK get rid of their own nuclear arsenals months after Poots and co threatened to use theirs?
btw. should Nato members France and UK …………yes, they should.
You might want to acquaint your self with this movie. It is quite something, really.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vgT4Y30DkaA
nothing since has changed.
Ukraine's unilateral denuclearising worked out well. For Russia.
They should go indeed. But they cannot go while Russian leadership is immature enough to build their dreams on conquest.
Let me guess, you would then not mind having a few of these Nato nukes stationed here in NZ you know as a deterred for the immature Chinese?
I wish it were true, but
NATOUSA isn't interested in peace.NATO admits it wants 'Ukrainians to keep dying' to bleed Russia, not peace
https://english.almayadeen.net/articles/analysis/nato-admits-it-wants-ukrainians-to-keep-dying-to-bleed-russi
Our proud 4th estate doing its thing:
https://twitter.com/SachaDylan/status/1551786737994633216
He was asked if it was wise to be going on an expensive overseas holiday when New Zealanders were struggling with cost-of-living increases, but he said it was important for people to find time with their families.
"When it's a pretty intense job the last seven months and I think when you work as hard as we do, that to actually get some personal leave with your family for five days is actually really important."
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/political/471633/luxon-s-hawaii-holiday-belies-te-puke-social-media-post
For sure…in Te Puke/Hawaii : )