Well last month WE WHERE, in the pound seat, without any other of our past side kicks, yet a few weeks in Politics is a life time as opposed to a week in politics. So one side kick is looking back in the hoos again, as for the other one, crystal ball and history should be not forgotten.
The election cannot come soon enough for me. It is a distraction when it comes to what the main focus needs to be from the government, preventing community transmission of Covid – 19.
It is good to see that Melbourne is having the right result after the long lockdown and restrictions.
Public Service Announcement for all the Tucker Carlson fanbois: Fox's official position is that Carlson just sez shit that nobody reasonable could ever be expected to take seriously. Which a federal judge agrees with, that anybody with functioning cognition would immediately recognise that any mouth-noises Carlson makes should be treated very skeptically.
That was actually quite a terrifying read the reasoning of this 'Trump appointed Judge'.
If you are a personality like him who sprouts bullshit for money, you can't get sued for defamation because 'his viewers should know he is a liar and thus expect to be told lies' and thus the lies he spreads about people are not defamation but 'shucks, entertainment'.
Essentially he told lies about the Playboy Bunny on how she got her 'payout' from the Don and they literally painted her as a blackmailer who committed a crime, while she did no such thing.
She got no justice, but he got a get out jail card for ever now, cause' everyone knows he lies, and thus its ok'.
Looking ahead, the scum-sucking bottom-feeders that the dayglo swampzilla is partying with now he's drained the swamp will be very happy to call on that legal precedent should anyone ever try to hold them accountable.
Indeed. Actually, that's been obvious since, well, forever. But I'm still astonished out how many convergence moonbats have asserted, apparently in all seriousness, that Tucker "gets it".
The prevailing culture in yankistan seems to regard dishonesty as a virtue and admire the most blatant liars most highly. Weird mutation of christianity.
"WorkSafe inspectors will enter notorious Christian community Gloriavale early next week after reports of 23-hour work shifts for members and threats by church leaders."
I'm reasonably adept at digging….sadly the site I was looking for CharityWatch…NZ seems to have disappeared.. (Well it did have a LOT of NZ richlisters on its "hello" site)
It is communal property. So they get a house assigned if married, they get to have food, and such, but i doubt anyone would get paid anything near a wage.
Yes, the people that leave, leave with nothing and will need a bit of help – provided by people who have left earlier and the state. Mind they are skilled in farming, etc so should be able to find job.
I found this a worthwhile 1/4 of an hour. Especially the final 4 minutes.
tldw, it covers othering, the importance of listening, the ego being the hardest thing to overcome, media and group think, not expecting to be offended.
Judge Amy Coney Barrett, a top contender on President Donald Trump’s short list for the Supreme Court, has drawn widespread media attention for her reported membership in People of Praise, a largely Catholic, charismatic religious group.
Another shortlister, Judge Barbara Lagoa, is a longtime member of the Federalist Society, a conservative legal group. Her husband, Paul Huck, is an attorney at Jones Day, a law firm with close ties to the White House and throughout the Trump administration.
Those details — readily found in numerous news stories about the potential SCOTUS nominees — could become illegal for media outlets or anyone else to publish on the internet under a proposal federal judges sent to Congress earlier this month. Under the suggested legislation, lawmakers would grant judges extraordinary latitude to decide what personal information to exclude from the public eye.
The letter sent to House and Senate Judiciary Committee leaders did not contain specific legislative language, but did offer a non-exclusive laundry list of information judges want authority to suppress. It includes judges’ home addresses, dates of birth, Social Security numbers, driver’s license numbers, bank account details, home and mobile phone numbers and vehicle registrations.
However, the list also covers details on judges’ “investment property,” any “family member’s employer,” and “religious, organization, club, or association memberships.”
The gaslighting goes hand-in-hand with the eroding and undermining of trust in and respect for authority and experts. The pandemic fear has accelerated this process of polarising people in strongly believing, trusting and relying on authority and (science) experts, on the one hand, and people disbelieving, rebelling against and outright rejecting these, on the other hand. The people who have not succumbed yet to either polar opposite tend to have fallen off the fence in utter dizzying bewilderment and paralysing confusion. However, there are many who opt to disengage and run a mile for the hills away from the fence never to return to the fray. None of this bodes well for the future. Only if we work together do we stand a chance. Suffice to say, society is becoming more fragmented and sectarian by the day.
"Science (from the Latin word scientia, meaning "knowledge")[1] is a systematic enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe"
Distrusting and disrespecting science experts (scientists) is not the same as distrusting and disrespecting science as a process albeit a human-driven one (a human concept).
The nature of (scientific) knowledge is nebulous to many and especially to lay-people. Similarly, (model) predictions can be imprecise, inaccurate, or ‘wrong’, but with complex systems they are probabilistic in any case. Even ‘simple’ systems have probabilistic states or outcomes because when they are based on a stochastic process. Think of flicking a coin, if you pick ‘wrong’ it is because you have only a 50% chance of picking it ‘right’. Many people struggle with the indeterminate nature of (model) predictions and they want/expect simple binary (absolute!) answers, e.g. the weather forecast: will it rain or not and don’t tell me that there is a moderate chance of showers in the afternoon clearing in the evening.
National has not given up the ghost, it is clear that its aim for the next couple of weeks is to prevent the party going into what its own MPs call the “death spiral”: where potential centre-right voters know National won’t be in government and peel off to other alternatives, defenestrating the party and making the rebuild task much harder.
What is also clear, however, is that Collins was not then, nor now, targeting swing voters in the political centre to come over to National. That’s the party’s only chance of winning but the numbers are so low that that is not even being tried at the moment.
The ghost seems to be the Nat tactical advisor: "Okay, we sail in towards the black hole at the correct trajectory to pull out in a week's time. That'll get all the neocon votes back in behind, then we can clear the event horizon via powering full throttle out."
"A week is a long time in politics, everyone knows, so voters will have forgotten our lunge to the right by then as we head back into the mainstream to scoop up sheeple spellbound by Ardern's charisma. No problem." Ghostwriters know how formula thinking works: just gotta out-bland the competitor. Sheeple love bland.
The gospel according to Luke:
Regardless of how National spins it, the minimum respectable result for the party is 35 per cent… No-one in National is any longer talking about a ‘’path to victory’’. It's now about damage control and MPs with even healthy majorities are hunkering down in their electorates, making sure they hold their seats.
I was pretty appalled by that too. At the lower income brown end of town he would have gone down I suspect. And there is nothing like a conviction and jail sentence to ruin one's job prospects. There is also the issue that diversion did not seem to have been part of the picture.
I asked myself – if he had gone up to a stranger at the pedestrian crossing down town and behaved as he did including breaking someone's nose would they have been so keen to discharge him without conviction. Likely no – so why was the assault minimised because it was at home?
I might also had some belief that he had dealt with his issues if he had said some thing like " the divorce has been settled on the generous terms by consent without argument from me and the financial outcomes and lifestyle for her and the children going ahead has been preserved to the best of my ability – I have been to every course available and understand my behaviour better that I understand why she wishes nothing moore to do with me yadda yadda".
Labor also still needs to prove it is a stable and responsible party of alternative government, and it is equally hard to imagine that knifing yet another first term leader would reassure the electorate of that.
This brings us to perhaps the most critical problem that Labor is facing, namely the viciousness and toxicity of its self-proclaimed supporters on the extreme left.
Most of these are unreconstructed baby-boomers who never came home from Woodstock and the usual student socialists who are yet to know better. The only difference between now and 1990 is that social media both spreads their idiocy and artificially amplifies their influence – a paradox we can only hope will be met with a reckoning.
If Australia is anything like NZ, the genuine "extreme left" could likely be gathered together in their entirety without violating social distancing rules. The "extreme left" in the mind of Hildebrand sound like moderate social democrats.
The "extreme left" in the mind of Hildebrand sound like moderate social democrats.
Umm no. If you read the article it's clear this isn't the case. I identify as a moderate social democrat and I'm clear that Hildebrand reliably speaks my language.
Basically he's saying that the centre wins elections, as it always has. And that people who insist there are more votes to be had if 'Labour goes left' are deluding themselves with an argument that makes no sense at all.
Indeed, there are many who say Labor only lost the last election because it was not left-wing enough.
Allow me to lay out this argument: After a farcical six years in which the Coalition knifed its own prime minister in every single term, and in which Bill Shorten actively vowed to redistribute the wealth of retirees and property investors, an invisible cohort of hard left voters said “Labor’s not socialist enough for me, I’m voting for Scott Morrison.”
It physically hurts the brain to follow this thought process and yet this is precisely what online activists say over and over again, rarely politely. Indeed, bereft of any rationality they embark upon random campaigns of vitriol and abuse.
New Zealand has been one of the fastest money printers this year and is on track to print up to a third of GDP. The point is no central bank has managed to either reverse their bond buying in any sustained way, or create the inflation they need for more than 20 years.
The idea that the lunch will be paid for any time soon is barely believable and we should get used to the fact money printing will pay for Government deficits for the foreseeable future. The bigger question is what New Zealand has hoped to achieve once the printing eventually stops, rather than worrying about when it reverses.
Voters, too stupid to keep up, still believe govt debt must be repaid. Therefore National's campaigning includes the higher-taxes threat – a trad achilles heel for Labour since the Black Budget. In the real world, that logic is no longer valid.
Government was able to borrow $450 million for a four-year term at minus 0.048 per cent this week. It was also able to borrow $150m for a period of 17 years at 0.908 per cent. The idea is that once the economy is stabilised and generating too much inflation, the Reserve Bank will then go back into the market and sell those bonds back to banks and pension funds to suck cash out of the system and tighten monetary policy.
The US Federal Reserve started this type of money printing by buying bonds in 2009. It tried to reduce the pace of its buying in a process known as “tapering” after just four years, but sparked financial market mayhem as investors rejected the idea of being weaned off the cheap money.
The Fed printed US$4.5 trillion between 2009 and 2013, but was only able to offload US$700b back into the market over the following six years. Then it started printing again in September last year at a slow rate, but turbo-charged that in March and now has bought over US$7t worth of bonds.
The Bank of Japan started printing 20 years ago and now has assets worth 126 per cent of its GDP. It bought back about a third of its holdings from 2012 to 2015, but has since reversed all of that and almost doubled its holdings from 2012 again.
So quantitative easing has been effective in stabilising the system for more than a decade: it has become orthodoxy.
The Reserve Bank is also about to start printing money and lending directly to banks at virtually zero per cent interest or even negative rates.
That will allow banks to use that money to replace $126b of foreign borrowings they currently have. One of the untold good news stories of the Covid-19 crisis is that New Zealanders are importing less and going on holiday less, the big four banks are not repatriating dividends under orders from the Reserve Bank and New Zealand fund managers are saving by buying overseas assets. That has improved our net debt from 84 per cent of GDP a decade ago to 58 per cent now.
Looks like the RB has got us onto a resilience trajectory. Now we just need politicians able to comprehend this, and pass on the good news to voters. So far, zilch.
People don't really understand money, how its created nor the simple fact that it has no value in and of itself.
The RBNZ and politicians haven't seemed to twig to its reality either.
Which means that we'll still end up with the private banks creating money and charging us interest on it in such a way that it can never be repaid with a resulting ever increasing amount of private debt. Exactly as happened prior to the GFC which quantitative easing was then used to transfer that private debt to the government's books so that the rich could stay rich.
The problem is the Govs and central banks who 'own' the currency and are concerned with its reputation whereas the private banks are only concerned with profit and reputation be damned.
But it could be said it is the govs own fault as they are the ones who let the leash get so long they couldnt see what the dog was up to.
On his Facebook page, Bryan Gould made these points:
As a former television professional, I watched last night’s leaders’ debate with particular interest. I was fascinated by how decisions by the studio director and the positioning of the cameras influenced the course of the debate, usually to Ardern’s disadvantage.
As the opening shots demonstrated, Collins had the advantage of a camera directly in front of her, and to which she could speak full face on. Ardern, by contrast, was being filmed from somewhere out to her right, with result that she was seen largely in profile, speaking to no one in particular, and in wide shots, with Collins a constant presence over her shoulder in the same shot. The consequence was that Collins was on screen most of the time and had ample opportunity to use facial expressions and physical gestures by way of comment on what Ardern was saying and as she was saying it.
The studio director added to these advantages by making repeated cut-aways to Collins while Ardern was speaking. The overall impression thereby created was that Collins was at the heart of the debate, while Ardern was floating around somewhere on the periphery. Labour will need to address these issues with TVNZ before the next debate.
Good to know Gould drew the same conclusion I did here last week, likewise from a background of career experience in television. Creating an un-level playing field, tilted to one side, is dirty politics. Does Labour have the political nous to negate the favouritism? I doubt it.
If the favouritism that Gould, you and others observed gives the National party a significant political advantage, then I’d agree that ideally it should be negated in future, but doubt 'Labour' is too worried. I do hope influential lefties are observing and making little lists as these may prove handy in post-election neg(oti)ations.
Yes I think Ianmac quoted Gould on the Daily review last week. Gordon Campbell wrote about it too.
i put in a complaint to the media council, rewording some of what Gould said adding my own impressions.
i realise nothing much will come of it, but I believe TVNZ will have to respond and maybe Gould, Gordon Campbell and the complaints they get, might stop them doing it when Jessica Mutch McKay has her turn.
either incompetence or deliberate or maybe both.
A fail for John Campbell re the whole show as far as I am concerned
Well good on you for doing that. It's true Gould & Campbell are leftists, so bias is a factor with them. Not so for me: I decided in 1971 that the left weren't credible (due to being part of the establishment) and adopted a third alternative political path through the middle between left & right. I'm only supporting Labour on this due to the fairness principle of democracy.
If the Labour Party doesn't make a formal complaint, collective stupidity may not be their reason. They may agree that the fairness principle of democracy ought to be preached by leftists but not actually practised.
It always amuses me that commentators who have common sense as their middle name are always classed as 'leftists". Being a supporter of the Labour Party or the Greens does not automatically mean a person is a leftist in the negative sense that Dennis Frank uses the term. In fact, I think they are both mature and highly intelligent commentators whose views are based on factual evidence.
They run rings around many of the idiot commentators who frequent the tabloids, radio and TV current affairs programmes. I find it interesting that they are not better used by the media. I suspect the media in general feel threatened by their superiority and intelligence. Might show them up.
A fail for John Campbell re the whole show as far as I am concerned
If indeed there was a bias towards Judith Collins – and imo there definitely was and it stretched to include better visuals such as lighting and camera angles for Collins – then it is possible John Campbell wasn't in on the act. In which case he would not have known what was happening while the debate was in progress.
Hi Anne, my very strong impression was that Campbell interrupted Jacinda more than Judith. I am not sure if Campbell would appreciate the camera angles, but would stand corrected by someone in the know
i think overall Judith got an easier ride. No focus on the covid response. For those who say well other issues are more important, I would refute that. NZ continues to drop on the global list of covid cases. The much touted by some, Sweden is now surging again. As are most other countries. It’s tragic
btw excuse the bullet points. I often have trouble commenting from my I pad, but can do it if I bullet point.
He certainly did, but my take on that is he's a bit scared of Judith. Just like Muldoon, she is a formidable and nasty opponent and people are afraid of her biting tongue.
Not trying to defend Campbell. I don't like his sickly sweet mode of interaction. But I don't think he was part of any predetermined bias towards Collins. In fact I imagine he privately dislikes her.
I really don't understand why people make a stance on an aeroplane. Quite apart from anything else I suspect it could be a good while before Airnz allows any boarding onto any plane.
If they're smart, Air NZ will ban him for a month or two – that stuff he's peddling won't get him much support down south neither – educated folk down there.
Why make a stand on an aeroplane? So he can get time on the airwaves. So he can air his views in the media even more. So he can present himself as one who is staunch in his views. So he can claim persecution by the authorities. So he can reinforce within himself the feelings of conspiracy. “I must be right. They are all against me……..”
Which would hurt him the most? Being banned by Air NZ or being allowed to go on his merry way? Yes, he'd use the ban to gain more publicity, but he would be seriously compromised by not being able to fly around the country hoodwinking stupid people into believing his conspiracy theories.
It's a safety issue for the airline, however richly he may deserve an ass-kicking for other reasons. If I insisted on using a cellphone I wouldn't get to fly – masks are no different.
It is more than a safety issue, it is a compliance issue with safety regulations. Imagine something goes horribly wrong during or with the flight and some plonker refuses to follow the crew’s instructions because it doesn’t ‘feel right’ to him, potentially endangering himself, the crew, and other passengers. The core of the safety protocol is to follow the instructions. He or his lawyer can look it up in the Civil Aviation Act and challenge it in Court if he is stupid enough wishes.
I hope they ban him, but for the reasons Incog states. Hopefully they'll have some savvy PR person who manages the media release with just the right tone and framing.
Sometimes TS will embed images directly from the URL, so you can just copy and paste it into a comment. But, not all images will embed, and some take a while to show up on slower internet connections.
If you want just the image, then on FB, click on the image in the post, then control click on the image for a drop down menu and choose something like open in new tab or view image (depending on your browser maybe).
Then cut and paste that URL into a TS comment. Please remove all the part of the URL from the ? onwards (this is best practice for all links, including off FB).
Just don't get too carried away or the mods will get grumpy. TS isn't FB, judicious use of images to be encouraged here rather than spamming the site with memery 🙂
Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: My top six things to note around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the week to July 27 were:1. The Minister for Ford Rangers strikes againTransport Minister Simeon Brown was again the busiest of the Cabinet ministers this week, announcing an ...
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As a momentous, historic weekend in US politics unfolded, analysts and commentators grasped for precedents and comparisons to help explain the significance and power of the choice Joe Biden had made. The 46th president had swept the Democratic party’s primaries but just over 100 days from the election had chosen ...
TL;DR: I’m casting around for new ideas and ways of thinking about Aotearoa’s political economy to find a few solutions to our cascading and self-reinforcing housing, poverty and climate crises.Associate Professor runs an online masters degree in the economics of sustainability at Torrens University in Australia and is organising ...
The Finance and Expenditure Committee has reported back on National's Local Government (Water Services Preliminary Arrangements) Bill. The bill sets up water for privatisation, and was introduced under urgency, then rammed through select committee with no time even for local councils to make a proper submission. Naturally, national's select committee ...
Some years ago, I bought a book at Dunedin’s Regent Booksale for $1.50. As one does. Vandrad the Viking (1898), by J. Storer Clouston, is an obscure book these days – I cannot find a proper online review – but soon it was sitting on my shelf, gathering dust alongside ...
History is not on the side of the centre-left, when Democratic presidents fall behind in the polls and choose not to run for re-election. On both previous occasions in the past 75 years (Harry Truman in 1952, Lyndon Johnson in 1968) the Democrats proceeded to then lose the White House ...
This is a free articleCoverageThis morning, US President Joe Biden announced his withdrawal from the Presidential race. And that is genuinely newsworthy. Thanks for your service, President Biden, and all the best to you and yours.However, the media in New Zealand, particularly the 1News nightly bulletin, has been breathlessly covering ...
A homeless person’s camp beside a blocked-off slipped damage walkway in Freeman’s Bay: we are chasing our tail on our worsening and inter-related housing, poverty and climate crises. Photo: Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy ...
What has happened to it all?Crazy, some'd sayWhere is the life that I recognise?(Gone away)But I won't cry for yesterdayThere's an ordinary worldSomehow I have to findAnd as I try to make my wayTo the ordinary worldYesterday morning began as many others - what to write about today? I began ...
TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:00 am on Monday, July 22 are:Today’s Must Read: Father and son live in a tent, and have done for four years, in a million ...
TL;DR: As of 7:00 am on Monday, July 22, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:US President Joe Biden announced via X this morning he would not stand for a second term.Multinational professional services firm ...
A listing of 32 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, July 14, 2024 thru Sat, July 20, 2024. Story of the week As reflected by preponderance of coverage, our Story of the Week is Project 2025. Until now traveling ...
This weekend, a friend pointed out someone who said they’d like to read my posts, but didn’t want to pay. And my first reaction was sympathy.I’ve already told folks that if they can’t comfortably subscribe, and would like to read, I’d be happy to offer free subscriptions. I don’t want ...
National: The Party of ‘Law and Order’ IntroductionThis weekend, the Government formally kicked off one of their flagship policy programs: a military style boot camp that New Zealand has experimented with over the past 50 years. Cartoon credit: Guy BodyIt’s very popular with the National Party’s Law and Orderimage, ...
Day one of the solo leg of my long journey home begins with my favourite sound: footfalls in an empty street. 5.00 am and it’s already light and already too warm, almost.If I can make the train that leaves Budapest later this hour I could be in Belgrade by nightfall; ...
Do you remember Y2K, the threat that hung over humanity in the closing days of the twentieth century? Horror scenarios of planes falling from the sky, electronic payments failing and ATMs refusing to dispense cash. As for your VCR following instructions and recording your favourite show - forget about it.All ...
Climate Change Minister Simon Watts being questioned by The Kākā’s Bernard Hickey.TL;DR: My top six things to note around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the week to July 20 were:1. A strategy that fails Zero Carbon Act & Paris targetsThe National-ACT-NZ First Coalition Government finally unveiled ...
Summary:As New Zealand loses at least 12 leaders in the public service space of health, climate, and pharmaceuticals, this month alone, directly in response to the Government’s policies and budget choices, what lies ahead may be darker than it appears. Tui examines some of those departures and draws a long ...
The Minister of Housing’s ambition is to reduce markedly the ratio of house prices to household incomes. If his strategy works it would transform the housing market, dramatically changing the prospects of housing as an investment.Leaving aside the Minister’s metaphor of ‘flooding the market’ I do not see how the ...
As previously noted, my historical fantasy piece, set in the fifth-century Mediterranean, was accepted for a Pirate Horror anthology, only for the anthology to later fall through. But in a good bit of news, it turned out that the story could indeed be re-marketed as sword and sorcery. As of ...
An employee of tobacco company Philip Morris International demonstrates a heated tobacco device. Photo: Getty ImagesTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy on Friday, July 19 are:At a time when the Coalition Government is cutting spending on health, infrastructure, education, housing ...
TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 8:30 am on Friday, July 19 are:Scoop: NZ First Minister Casey Costello orders 50% cut to excise tax on heated tobacco products. The minister has ...
Kia ora, it’s time for another Friday roundup, in which we pull together some of the links and stories that caught our eye this week. Feel free to add more in the comments! Our header image this week shows a foggy day in Auckland town, captured by Patrick Reynolds. ...
TL;DR : Here’s the top six items climate news for Aotearoa this week, as selected by Bernard Hickey and The Kākā’s climate correspondent Cathrine Dyer. A discussion recorded yesterday is in the video above and the audio of that sent onto the podcast feed.The Government released its draft Emissions Reduction ...
Save some money, get rich and old, bring it back to Tobacco Road.Bring that dynamite and a crane, blow it up, start all over again.Roll up. Roll up. Or tailor made, if you prefer...Whether you’re selling ciggies, digging for gold, catching dolphins in your nets, or encouraging folks to flutter ...
Waiting In The Wings:For truly, if Trump is America’s un-assassinated Caesar, then J.D. Vance is America’s Octavian, the Republic’s youthful undertaker – and its first Emperor.DONALD TRUMP’S SELECTION of James D. Vance as his running-mate bodes ill for the American republic. A fervent supporter of Viktor Orban, the “illiberal” prime ...
TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Friday, July 19, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:The PSAannounced the Employment Relations Authority (ERA) had ruled in the PSA’s favour in its case against the Ministry ...
Te Rangi e tu nei (The sky above us) Te Papa e takoto nei (The land beneath us) Tatou katoa te hunga ora (To us all the living) Tena koutou katoa (Greetings) ...
A late change to charter school legislation will cheat educators out of fair pay and negotiating power proving charter schools are just a vehicle to make profit out of our education system. ...
In 2004 te iwi Māori rallied against the Crown’s attempt to confiscate our coastlines and moana with the Foreshore and Seabed Act. This led to the largest hīkoi of a generation and the birth of Te Pāti Māori. 20 years later, history is repeating itself. Today the government has announced ...
It has been five and a half years since the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care was established to investigate the abuse of children, young people, and vulnerable adults within state and faith-based institutions. Yesterday, the final report - Whanaketia through pain and trauma, from darkness to light ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to take action off the back of the International Court of Justice ruling on Israel’s illegal occupation of Palestine. ...
On Friday the International Court of Justice reaffirmed what Palestinian’s have been telling us for decades: that the occupation and colonisation of Palestinian lands by Israel is illegal and must end immediately. They also called for reparations for Palestinian’s who have lived under Israeli occupation since it began in 1967. ...
Labour calls on the Government to act after the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled that Israel’s occupation of Palestinian Territories is illegal. ...
The 53.7 percent rise in benefit sanctions over the last year is more proof of this Government’s disdain for our communities most in need of support. ...
Aotearoa could be a country where every child grows up feeling safe, loved and with a sense of belonging in their whānau and community. But for some of our children, this is far from reality. Instead, they are trapped in a maze of intergenerational harm that they can’t escape on ...
Te Pāti Māori are calling for David Seymour to resign as Associate Health Minister in response to his call for Pharmac to ignore the Treaty of Waitangi. “This announcement is just another example of the government’s anti-Tiriti, anti-Māori agenda.” Said Co-leader and spokesperson for health, Debbie Ngarewa-Packer. “Seymour thinks it ...
The soaring price of renting is driving the rise of inflation in this country - with latest figures from Stats NZ showing rents are up 4.8 per cent on average while annual inflation is at 3.3 per cent. ...
National’s Emissions Reduction Plan will take New Zealand further from the economy we need to ensure the next generation has a stable climate and secure livelihoods. ...
Following consultation with named parties and thorough consideration of privacy interests, the Green Party is in a position to release the Executive Summary of the final report from the independent investigation into Darleen Tana. ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon should be asking serious questions of his Minister for Resources Shane Jones now it’s been revealed he misled the public about a dinner with mining companies that he didn’t declare and said wasn’t pre-arranged. ...
Te Pāti Māori have submitted to the Justice Select Committee against the Sentencing (Reinstating Three Strikes) Amendment Bill. The bill will further entrench racism in our justice system and fails to focus on rehabilitation. “Reinstating Three Strikes will empower a systematically racist system and exacerbate the overrepresentation of Māori in ...
The Transport and Infrastructure Committee is set to make a determination on the Residential Tenancies Amendment (RTA) Bill in the coming weeks. “This legislation will give landlords the power to kick our whānau out onto the street for no reason” said Housing spokesperson, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi. “Their solution to the housing ...
“National’s campaign was about tackling crime and the best they can do is a two-year long Ministerial Advisory Group,” Labour justice spokesperson Duncan Webb said. ...
“There are more examples of charter schools failing their students than there are success stories. The coalition Government is driving to dismantle our public school system and instead promote a privatised, competitive structure that puts profits before kids,” Jan Tinetti said. ...
“This government is choosing to deliberately mislead and withhold information, keeping our people in the dark about this government’s agenda and the future of our mokopuna,” said co-leader and spokesperson for Health, Debbie Ngarewa-Packer. The call comes after the demand from the Chief Ombudsman that Associate Minister of Health, Casey ...
“Today’s climate announcement by Simon Watts makes clear the National Government is simply paying lip service to meeting its climate change targets,” Megan Woods said. ...
National is choosing to make life harder for workers by taking away the rights our communities have fought hard for. Here's how they’re taking workers backwards. ...
Australia, Canada and New Zealand today issued the following statement on the need for an urgent ceasefire in Gaza and the risk of expanded conflict between Hizballah and Israel. The situation in Gaza is catastrophic. The human suffering is unacceptable. It cannot continue. We remain unequivocal in our condemnation of ...
Attorney-General Judith Collins today reminded all State and faith-based institutions of their legal obligation to preserve records relevant to the safety and wellbeing of those in its care. “The Abuse in Care Inquiry’s report has found cases where records of the most vulnerable people in State and faith‑based institutions were ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says the Government’s online safety website for children and young people has reached one million page views. “It is great to see so many young people and their families accessing the site Keep It Real Online to learn how to stay safe online, and manage ...
Tēnā tātou katoa, Ngā mihi te rangi, ngā mihi te whenua, ngā mihi ki a koutou, kia ora mai koutou. Thank you for the opportunity to be here and the invitation to speak at this 50th anniversary conference. I acknowledge all those who have gone before us and paved the ...
New Zealand’s payroll providers have successfully prepared to ensure 3.5 million individuals will, from Wednesday next week, be able to keep more of what they earn each pay, says Finance Minister Nicola Willis and Revenue Minister Simon Watts. “The Government's tax policy changes are legally effective from Wednesday. Delivering this tax ...
An experimental vineyard which will help futureproof the wine sector has been opened in Blenheim by Associate Regional Development Minister Mark Patterson. The covered vineyard, based at the New Zealand Wine Centre – Te Pokapū Wāina o Aotearoa, enables controlled environmental conditions. “The research that will be produced at the Experimental ...
The Coalition Government has confirmed the indicative regional breakdown of North Island Weather Event (NIWE) funding for state highway recovery projects funded through Budget 2024, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Regions in the North Island suffered extensive and devastating damage from Cyclone Gabrielle and the 2023 Auckland Anniversary Floods, and ...
Indonesia’s Foreign Minister, Retno Marsudi, will visit New Zealand next week, Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced. “Indonesia is important to New Zealand’s security and economic interests and is our closest South East Asian neighbour,” says Mr Peters, who is currently in Laos to engage with South East Asian partners. ...
He aha te kai a te rangatira? He kōrero, he kōrero, he kōrero. The government has reaffirmed its commitment to supporting the aspirations of Ngāti Maniapoto, Minister for Māori Development Tama Potaka says. “My thanks to Te Nehenehenui Trust – Ngāti Maniapoto for bringing their important kōrero to a ministerial ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has thanked outgoing Chair of the Civil Aviation Authority, Janice Fredric, for her service to the board.“I have received Ms Fredric’s resignation from the role of Chair of the Civil Aviation Authority,” Mr Brown says.“On behalf of the Government, I want to thank Ms Fredric for ...
The Government is proposing legislation to overturn a Court of Appeal decision and amend the Marine and Coastal Area Act in order to restore Parliament’s test for Customary Marine Title, Treaty Negotiations Minister Paul Goldsmith says. “Section 58 required an applicant group to prove they have exclusively used and occupied ...
Regulation Minister David Seymour says that opposition parties have united in bad faith, opposing what they claim are ‘dangerous changes’ to the Early Childhood Education sector, despite no changes even being proposed yet. “Issues with affordability and availability of early childhood education, and the complexity of its regulation, has led ...
After receiving more than 740 submissions in the first 20 days, Regulation Minister David Seymour is asking the Ministry for Regulation to extend engagement on the early childhood education regulation review by an extra two weeks. “The level of interest has been very high, and from the conversations I’ve been ...
The Coalition Government is investing $802.9 million into the Wairarapa and Manawatū rail lines as part of a funding agreement with the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA), KiwiRail, and the Greater Wellington and Horizons Regional Councils to deliver more reliable services for commuters in the lower North Island, Transport Minister Simeon ...
Local Government Minister Simeon Brown has announced his intention to appoint a Crown Manager to both Hawke’s Bay Regional and Wairoa District Councils to speed up the delivery of flood protection work in Wairoa."Recent severe weather events in Wairoa this year, combined with damage from Cyclone Gabrielle in 2023 have ...
Mr Speaker, this is a day that many New Zealanders who were abused in State care never thought would come. It’s the day that this Parliament accepts, with deep sorrow and regret, the Report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care. At the heart of this report are the ...
For the first time, the Government is formally acknowledging some children and young people at Lake Alice Psychiatric Hospital experienced torture. The final report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in State and Faith-based Care “Whanaketia – through pain and trauma, from darkness to light,” was tabled in Parliament ...
The Government has acknowledged the nearly 2,400 courageous survivors who shared their experiences during the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Historical Abuse in State and Faith-Based Care. The final report from the largest and most complex public inquiry ever held in New Zealand, the Royal Commission Inquiry “Whanaketia – through ...
With a week to go before hard-working New Zealanders see personal income tax relief for the first time in fourteen years, 513,000 people have used the Budget tax calculator to see how much they will benefit, says Finance Minister Nicola Willis. “Tax relief is long overdue. From next Wednesday, personal income ...
Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden says a bill that has passed its first reading will improve parental leave settings and give non-biological parents more flexibility as primary carer for their child. The Regulatory Systems Amendment Bill (No3), passed its first reading this morning. “It includes a change ...
Two Bills designed to improve regulation and make it easier to do business have passed their first reading in Parliament, says Economic Development Minister Melissa Lee. The Regulatory Systems (Economic Development) Amendment Bill and Regulatory Systems (Immigration and Workforce) Amendment Bill make key changes to legislation administered by the Ministry ...
New legislation paves the way for greater competition in sectors such as banking and electricity, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly says. “Competitive markets boost productivity, create employment opportunities and lift living standards. To support competition, we need good quality regulation but, unfortunately, a recent OECD report ranked New ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says lotteries for charitable purposes, such as those run by the Heart Foundation, Coastguard NZ, and local hospices, will soon be allowed to operate online permanently. “Under current laws, these fundraising lotteries are only allowed to operate online until October 2024, after which ...
The Coalition Government is accelerating work on the new four-lane expressway between Auckland and Whangārei as part of its Roads of National Significance programme, with an accelerated delivery model to deliver this project faster and more efficiently, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “For too long, the lack of resilient transport connections ...
Sir Don McKinnon will travel to Viet Nam this week as a Special Envoy of the Government, Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced. “It is important that the Government give due recognition to the significant contributions that General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong made to New Zealand-Viet Nam relations,” Mr ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says newly appointed Commissioner, Grant Illingworth KC, will help deliver the report for the first phase of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into COVID-19 Lessons, due on 28 November 2024. “I am pleased to announce that Mr Illingworth will commence his appointment as ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters travels to Laos this week to participate in a series of Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)-led Ministerial meetings in Vientiane. “ASEAN plays an important role in supporting a peaceful, stable and prosperous Indo-Pacific,” Mr Peters says. “This will be our third visit to ...
Construction of a new mental health facility at Te Nikau Grey Hospital in Greymouth is today one step closer, Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey says. “This $27 million facility shows this Government is delivering on its promise to boost mental health care and improve front line services,” Mr Doocey says. ...
New Zealand is committing nearly $50 million to a package supporting sustainable Pacific fisheries development over the next four years, Foreign Minister Winston Peters and Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones announced today. “This support consisting of a range of initiatives demonstrates New Zealand’s commitment to assisting our Pacific partners ...
Associate Education Minister David Seymour says proposed changes to the Education and Training Amendment Bill will ensure charter schools have more flexibility to negotiate employment agreements and are equipped with the right teaching resources. “Cabinet has agreed to progress an amendment which means unions will not be able to initiate ...
In response to serious concerns around oversight, overspend and a significant deterioration in financial outlook, the Board of Health New Zealand will be replaced with a Commissioner, Health Minister Dr Shane Reti announced today. “The previous government’s botched health reforms have created significant financial challenges at Health NZ that, without ...
Minister for Space and Science, Innovation and Technology Judith Collins will travel to Adelaide tomorrow for space and science engagements, including speaking at the Australian Space Forum. While there she will also have meetings and visits with a focus on space, biotechnology and innovation. “New Zealand has a thriving space ...
Climate Change Minister Simon Watts will travel to China on Saturday to attend the Ministerial on Climate Action meeting held in Wuhan. “Attending the Ministerial on Climate Action is an opportunity to advocate for New Zealand climate priorities and engage with our key partners on climate action,” Mr Watts says. ...
Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones is travelling to the Solomon Islands tomorrow for meetings with his counterparts from around the Pacific supporting collective management of the region’s fisheries. The 23rd Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Committee and the 5th Regional Fisheries Ministers’ Meeting in Honiara from 23 to 26 July ...
The Government today launched the Military Style Academy Pilot at Te Au rere a te Tonga Youth Justice residence in Palmerston North, an important part of the Government’s plan to crackdown on youth crime and getting youth offenders back on track, Minister for Children, Karen Chhour said today. “On the ...
The Government has welcomed news the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) has begun work to replace nine priority bridges across the country to ensure our state highway network remains resilient, reliable, and efficient for road users, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says.“Increasing productivity and economic growth is a key priority for the ...
Acting Prime Minister David Seymour has been in contact throughout the evening with senior officials who have coordinated a whole of government response to the global IT outage and can provide an update. The Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet has designated the National Emergency Management Agency as the ...
New Zealand and Japan will continue to step up their shared engagement with the Pacific, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “New Zealand and Japan have a strong, shared interest in a free, open and stable Pacific Islands region,” Mr Peters says. “We are pleased to be finding more ways ...
New developments in the heart of North Island forestry country will reinvigorate their communities and boost economic development, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones visited Kaingaroa and Kawerau in Bay of Plenty today to open a landmark community centre in the former and a new connecting road in ...
President Adeang, fellow Ministers, honourable Diet Member Horii, Ambassadors, distinguished guests. Minasama, konnichiwa, and good afternoon, everyone. Distinguished guests, it’s a pleasure to be here with you today to talk about New Zealand’s foreign policy reset, the reasons for it, the values that underpin it, and how it ...
Last summer when Matairangi burned, Ginny and Tom stood at the window of their lounge, watching kākā shoot skyward from the burning trees. From the distance, they looked to Ginny like pages torn from books and thrown into a bonfire. It was Tom, voice tight, who told her it was ...
Opinion: The Canadian short story writer Alice Munro – winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2013 – died in May at the age of 92. Her work was about “the damage people inflict on one another in the name of love”, Deborah Treisman wrote in the New Yorker. ...
This month marks two years since the most powerful telescope ever built sent its first pictures back to earth. From its lofty vantage point, beyond the moon in orbit around the sun, the James Webb Space Telescope was tuned to observe the first stars and galaxies being born soon after ...
Comment: After Climate Change Minister Simon Watts’ preview several weeks ago, I had some optimism about the Government’s emissions reduction plan. Now I’ve read the discussion document, that hope has been dashed. How can the Government propose a plan that wants to take New Zealand taxpayers’ hard-earned money, and spend ...
Christopher Luxon: hurdles The little man from National jumps hurdles in his sleep. He’s quite good at it in his dreams and even though the reality doesn’t quite match up you have to give him credit for getting up every morning and crashing into the very first hurdle of the ...
Comment: It was a good two hours into the conversation when Tyrone Marks raised the most basic of questions when I first spoke to him in 2017. “They didn’t explain the things they did to me. They never told me why. And they still haven’t. There’s no explanation for it. ...
Madeleine Chapman rounds out Death Week on The Spinoff with a final recommendation. You can read all of our Death Week coverage here. Nothing forces you to reflect on your life and relationships quite like proximity to death. For those whose nearest and dearest have died, there are reasonably obvious ...
Whitney Greene takes us through her life in television, including the TV character she’d like to plan a funeral for and her cow lung catastrophe on The Traitors NZ. “If the phone rings, I have to answer it,” Whitney Greene from The Traitors NZ warns as we begin our My ...
Maddie Ballard reviews the debut essay collection of Pōneke writer Flora Feltham.In ‘The Raw Material’, the longest essay in Flora Feltham’s dazzling debut collection, the author heads out for a run after hours of weaving and sees the world turn to textile. “Pounding along the Parade, I saw the ...
Andy Christiansen, one half of the experimental rock-pop duo TRiPS, shares the tunes inspiring the band’s perfect weekend and new release. “Good speakers, good food, good music, no distractions”: that’s all you need to enjoy the psychedelic stylings of TRiPS, a new band formed by Fly My Pretties’ Barnaby Weir ...
Celebrating our quadrennial opportunity to become experts in a bunch of sports we never normally watch.The games of the XXXIII Olympiad are upon us. Paris will host this year’s showcase of sporting and athletic prowess, which means some late-night and early-morning viewing for us in Aotearoa.But what sports ...
The photograph is striking and beautiful, but also disturbing – a reminder that my love for John was often entangled in shame.The Sunday Essay is made possible thanks to the support of Creative New Zealand.In the spring of 1980, in Dunedin, shortly before his death, someone took a photograph ...
Get to know Babushka, our latest Dog of the Month. This feature was offered as a reward during our What’s Eating Aotearoa PledgeMe campaign. Thank you to Babu’s humans, Jo and Isabel, for their support. Dog name: Babushka (Babu for short) Age: 2Breed: Border Collie X poodleIf rescued, ...
Pacific Media Watch A Lebanese photojournalist who was severely wounded during an Israeli air strike in south Lebanon carried the Olympic torch in Paris this week in honour of her peers who have been wounded and killed in the field — especially in Gaza and Lebanon. Christina Assi of Agence ...
The first report in a five-part web series focused on the 15th Triennial Conference of Pacific Women taking place in the Marshall Islands this week.SPECIAL REPORT:By Netani Rika in Majuro Women continue to fight for justice 70 years after the first nuclear tests by the United States caused ...
Christopher Luxon has joined with Australia and Canada's leaders in voicing support for US President Joe Biden's ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra The 2022 election brought the “teal wave” into parliament. The next election will test whether teals, who occupy what were Liberal seats, and other independents can maintain their momentum. Joining us on the Podcast ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ian Musgrave, Senior lecturer in Pharmacology, University of Adelaide Pixavri/Shutterstock A major Federal Court class action has been dismissed this week after Justice Michael Lee ruled there was not enough evidence to prove the weedkiller Roundup causes cancer. Plaintiff Kelvin ...
In The Week in Politics: politicians have to decide what to do about child abuse, Health NZ is booked in for major surgery and Darleen Tana returns. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Clare Corbould, Associate Professor, Contemporary Histories Research Group, Deakin University Mainstream media are surprisingly muted at the prospect of the world’s most powerful nation being led for the first time by a woman – specifically a woman of colour, Vice President Kamala ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rebecca Bennett, PhD Student, Associate Research Fellow, Deakin University Last week, a drone delivery company called Wing (owned by Google’s parent company, Alphabet) started operating in Melbourne. Some 250,000 residents in parts of the city’s eastern suburbs can now order food from ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jonathan Foo, Lecturer, Physiotherapy, Monash University pikselstock/Shutterstock In the next 40 years in Australia, it’s predicted the number of Australians aged 65 and over will more than double, while the number of people aged 85 and over will more than triple. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Katrina Grant, Research Associate, Power Institute for Arts and Visual Culture, University of Sydney Jonas Åkerström’s 1790 work, Session of the Accademia dell’Arcadia on August 17 1788.Nationalmuseum/Cecilia Heisser Ever wondered whether you’d have a better chance at winning an Olympic gold ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alexandra Jones, Program Lead, Food Governance, George Institute for Global Health wavebreakmedia/Shutterstock On Thursday, Australian and New Zealand food ministers at state, federal and national levels met to thrash out what’s next for health star ratings on packaged foods. Now, after ...
The Abuse in Care report found many Pacific survivors lost their connections to their culture and language, resulting in trauma that has been carried from generation to generation. ...
In the regulatory review, ECC intends to suggest that ERO focus on curriculum delivery reviews rather than the Ministry, because it’s not efficient or effective to have two agencies with radically different approaches climbing over each other. ...
Te Rūnanga Nui o Ngā Kura Kaupapa Māori invites the current government to work in partnership with them to develop a pathway forward, including the development of a parallel pathway and meaningful policy and strategy for Kura Kaupapa Māori ...
If you haven’t started watching yet, Tara Ward begs you to reconsider. This is an excerpt from our weekly pop culture newsletter Rec Room. Sign up here. In the world of New Zealand reality television, we have many gems in our crown. There’s the delicious second season of the Celebrity Treasure ...
A new poem by Fiona Kidman. The clothes of the dead I did not keep my mother’s furry red beret for long nor the stringy scarves that adorned the necks of my aunts, although I have kept tag ends of gold, the rings and trinkets they wore, the brooches no ...
The government’s announcement that it will re-open the foreshore and seabed controversy by changing the rules on recognising centuries-old Māori customary title for a third time goes against the rule of law and New Zealand values,” Mr Tipa says. ...
The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington.AUCKLAND1 Lioness by Emily Perkins (Bloomsbury, $25) Roarrrr! Perkins’ brilliant, award-winning, Marian-Keyes anointed, darkly funny, long ...
The 2004 Act vested ownership of the foreshore and seabed in the Crown, extinguishing any Māori claims to ownership and causing widespread outrage and protests among Māori communities. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Antje Deckert, Associate Professor (Criminology), Auckland University of Technology Getty Images Despite the connection between institutional harm and gang membership made clear in this week’s mammoth royal commission abuse-in care report, the government seems unlikely to soften its “get tough on ...
From Lewis Clareburt in the swimming to the start of the rowing – the first seven days of Paris 2024 promise to be big for New Zealand. There are few events that bring the country together quite like an Olympic Games. Nothing quite matches the excitement of getting up in ...
Groundbreaking local science just showed up in the most surprising of places: the season finale of The Kardashians. In the season five finale of The Kardashians last night, several members of the family gathered together in one of their signature empty, cream-coloured rooms to hear test results that had been ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Amin Saikal, Emeritus professor of Middle Eastern and Central Asian Studies, Australian National University The Middle East is on the brink of a possibly devastating regional war, with hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah reaching an extremely dangerous level. Washington has engaged in ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Laura Elizabeth Eades, Rheumatologist, Monash University Lupus is an inflammatory autoimmune illness, where the body’s immune system mistakenly attacks itself. Lupus can affect virtually any part of the body, although it most commonly affects the skin, joints and kidneys. The symptoms ...
A law firm that specialises in working with survivors of abuse in State care is disappointed that the Government fails to recognise that its boot camps can be directly compared to previous boot camps from the 1990s and 2000s. ...
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Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Layton, Visiting Fellow, Strategic Studies, Griffith University Drones are the signature technology of the Ukraine war. A few miniature aircraft designs were used in the war’s early days, but an incredible array of drones have now evolved. There are different types, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mark Slee, Associate Professor, Clinical Academic Neurologist, Flinders University Francisco Gonzelez/Unsplash Migraine is many things, but one thing it’s not is “just a headache”. “Migraine” comes from the Greek word “hemicrania”, referring to the common experience of migraine being predominantly ...
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Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Steven Sherwood, Professor of Atmospheric Sciences, Climate Change Research Centre, UNSW Sydney The past century of human-induced warming has increased rainfall variability over 75% of the Earth’s land area – particularly over Australia, Europe and eastern North America, new research shows. ...
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One week until advance voting starts. Let’s get this over with!
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Labour 2017 Campaign Slogan: Let's Do This
Labour 2020 Campaign Slogan: For Chrissakes, Let's Get This Over With !
@swordfish![yes yes](https://cdn.ckeditor.com/4.11.3/full-all/plugins/smiley/images/thumbs_up.png)
![yes yes](https://cdn.ckeditor.com/4.11.3/full-all/plugins/smiley/images/thumbs_up.png)
![yes yes](https://cdn.ckeditor.com/4.11.3/full-all/plugins/smiley/images/thumbs_up.png)
Yes! It feels quite good though for once to be a Labour voter and not worrying too much about how the election is going to turn out.
Well last month WE WHERE, in the pound seat, without any other of our past side kicks, yet a few weeks in Politics is a life time as opposed to a week in politics. So one side kick is looking back in the hoos again, as for the other one, crystal ball and history should be not forgotten.
The election cannot come soon enough for me. It is a distraction when it comes to what the main focus needs to be from the government, preventing community transmission of Covid – 19.
It is good to see that Melbourne is having the right result after the long lockdown and restrictions.
Anyone else booked a 100-person party for October 7th?
No. Superspreader events aren't my thing.
Public Service Announcement for all the Tucker Carlson fanbois: Fox's official position is that Carlson just sez shit that nobody reasonable could ever be expected to take seriously. Which a federal judge agrees with, that anybody with functioning cognition would immediately recognise that any mouth-noises Carlson makes should be treated very skeptically.
https://www.salon.com/2020/09/25/federal-judge-rules-that-fox-news-host-tucker-carlsons-viewers-dont-expect-him-to-tell-facts_partner/
Seems like a repeat of Maddow vs OAN.
Except a judge dismissed the lawsuit against Maddow who said One America News was "paid Russian propaganda".
Herring Networks, the parent company of OAN, claimed that Maddow had defamed the company in July 2019, when she discussed a Daily Beast article reporting that an OAN contributor was also on the payroll of Sputnik, a Kremlin-backed news site. Maddow said OAN “really literally is paid Russian propaganda.” Herring Networks alleged that she made a false statement, in that OAN is not paid by the Russian government. In dismissing the suit on Friday, U.S. Judge Cynthia Bashant ruled that Maddow was giving her opinion based on an accurate summation of the article.
That was actually quite a terrifying read the reasoning of this 'Trump appointed Judge'.
If you are a personality like him who sprouts bullshit for money, you can't get sued for defamation because 'his viewers should know he is a liar and thus expect to be told lies' and thus the lies he spreads about people are not defamation but 'shucks, entertainment'.
Essentially he told lies about the Playboy Bunny on how she got her 'payout' from the Don and they literally painted her as a blackmailer who committed a crime, while she did no such thing.
She got no justice, but he got a get out jail card for ever now, cause' everyone knows he lies, and thus its ok'.
Looking ahead, the scum-sucking bottom-feeders that the dayglo swampzilla is partying with now he's drained the swamp will be very happy to call on that legal precedent should anyone ever try to hold them accountable.
On the upside, I guess everyone can now refer to him as Paid Liar Tucker Carson.
Indeed. Actually, that's been obvious since, well, forever. But I'm still astonished out how many convergence moonbats have asserted, apparently in all seriousness, that Tucker "gets it".
The prevailing culture in yankistan seems to regard dishonesty as a virtue and admire the most blatant liars most highly. Weird mutation of christianity.
"WorkSafe inspectors will enter notorious Christian community Gloriavale early next week after reports of 23-hour work shifts for members and threats by church leaders."
https://www.odt.co.nz/regions/west-coast/worksafe-inspectors-enter-gloriavale
About time !
I would be interested to know what the hourly rate of pay is. So they get around not paying wages by saying they are volunteer workers.
When people leave the community do they leave with next to nothing?
The value of assets would be of interest to me and who is the owner.
2016…
"$40 Million"…
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/77378317/gloriavale-christian-community-assets-top-40-million
"charity" ?
https://www.odt.co.nz/regions/west-coast/ex-gloriavale-member-questions-tax-free-status
Gloriavale wanted PGF money?
https://www.tvnz.co.nz/one-news/new-zealand/exclusive-gloriavale-seeking-millions-taxpayer-dollars-set-up-new-health-food-enterprise
Wow the asset value and sounds like exploitation on many levels.
I'm reasonably adept at digging….sadly the site I was looking for CharityWatch…NZ seems to have disappeared.. (Well it did have a LOT of NZ richlisters on its "hello" site)
All I see is the US one…still sickening reading
https://www.charitywatch.org/charity-donating-articles/charitywatch-hall-of-shame
It is communal property. So they get a house assigned if married, they get to have food, and such, but i doubt anyone would get paid anything near a wage.
Yes, the people that leave, leave with nothing and will need a bit of help – provided by people who have left earlier and the state. Mind they are skilled in farming, etc so should be able to find job.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/114491762/starting-a-new-life-outside-of-gloriavale
I found this a worthwhile 1/4 of an hour. Especially the final 4 minutes.
tldw, it covers othering, the importance of listening, the ego being the hardest thing to overcome, media and group think, not expecting to be offended.
RBG's replacement has been nominated! You'll never guess who it is!
They're working on it.
Judge Amy Coney Barrett, a top contender on President Donald Trump’s short list for the Supreme Court, has drawn widespread media attention for her reported membership in People of Praise, a largely Catholic, charismatic religious group.
Another shortlister, Judge Barbara Lagoa, is a longtime member of the Federalist Society, a conservative legal group. Her husband, Paul Huck, is an attorney at Jones Day, a law firm with close ties to the White House and throughout the Trump administration.
Those details — readily found in numerous news stories about the potential SCOTUS nominees — could become illegal for media outlets or anyone else to publish on the internet under a proposal federal judges sent to Congress earlier this month. Under the suggested legislation, lawmakers would grant judges extraordinary latitude to decide what personal information to exclude from the public eye.
[…]
The letter sent to House and Senate Judiciary Committee leaders did not contain specific legislative language, but did offer a non-exclusive laundry list of information judges want authority to suppress. It includes judges’ home addresses, dates of birth, Social Security numbers, driver’s license numbers, bank account details, home and mobile phone numbers and vehicle registrations.
However, the list also covers details on judges’ “investment property,” any “family member’s employer,” and “religious, organization, club, or association memberships.”
https://www.politico.com/news/2020/09/24/judges-disclosure-personal-detailscrime-420894
Barrett has been confirmed as the pick to go forward.
Barrett's a religious zealot who belongs to a cult that believes women must be subservient to the commands of men. Incels will be delighted.
/
.
Further to the right…and with years of it to come.
https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/political-commentary/amy-coney-barrett-emergency-supreme-court-donald-trump-rbg-1067115/
Trump wants denial Inside the "Scientists Lair"….
https://www.desmogblog.com/2020/09/24/trump-noaa-david-legates-ryan-maue-climate-denial?utm_source=DeSmog%20Weekly%20Newsletter
FFS David Legates ?
https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2020/09/climate-change-denialist-given-top-role-major-us-science-agency
Who Legates really is…and represents.!
https://www.heartland.org/about-us/who-we-are/david-legates
The gaslighting goes hand-in-hand with the eroding and undermining of trust in and respect for authority and experts. The pandemic fear has accelerated this process of polarising people in strongly believing, trusting and relying on authority and (science) experts, on the one hand, and people disbelieving, rebelling against and outright rejecting these, on the other hand. The people who have not succumbed yet to either polar opposite tend to have fallen off the fence in utter dizzying bewilderment and paralysing confusion. However, there are many who opt to disengage and run a mile for the hills away from the fence never to return to the fray. None of this bodes well for the future. Only if we work together do we stand a chance. Suffice to say, society is becoming more fragmented and sectarian by the day.
Science by its very definition :
"Science (from the Latin word scientia, meaning "knowledge")[1] is a systematic enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe"
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Science
Is based on Knowledge. The gaining of which, Peer Reviewed by Scientists, is always head and shoulders above any other.
Anthropogenic Global Warming
When Trump is able to appoint deniers into NOAA, The EPA etc, its a very disturbing trend.
Especially when the people in question are known to be closely associated with Climate Denier thinktanks.
More attention and Scientific Push Back needs to be given. Not less….
https://www.carbonbrief.org/analysis-why-scientists-think-100-of-global-warming-is-due-to-humans
Two things.
Distrusting and disrespecting science experts (scientists) is not the same as distrusting and disrespecting science as a process albeit a human-driven one (a human concept).
The nature of (scientific) knowledge is nebulous to many and especially to lay-people. Similarly, (model) predictions can be imprecise, inaccurate, or ‘wrong’, but with complex systems they are probabilistic in any case. Even ‘simple’ systems have probabilistic states or outcomes because when they are based on a stochastic process. Think of flicking a coin, if you pick ‘wrong’ it is because you have only a 50% chance of picking it ‘right’. Many people struggle with the indeterminate nature of (model) predictions and they want/expect simple binary (absolute!) answers, e.g. the weather forecast: will it rain or not and don’t tell me that there is a moderate chance of showers in the afternoon clearing in the evening.
You probably know what you mean. I'm sure I dont.
Unholy ghost taking National on death spiral into black hole: https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/opinion/122892803/election-2020-national-goes-hunting-for-votes-on-the-right-while-labour-plays-it-safe
The ghost seems to be the Nat tactical advisor: "Okay, we sail in towards the black hole at the correct trajectory to pull out in a week's time. That'll get all the neocon votes back in behind, then we can clear the event horizon via powering full throttle out."
"A week is a long time in politics, everyone knows, so voters will have forgotten our lunge to the right by then as we head back into the mainstream to scoop up sheeple spellbound by Ardern's charisma. No problem." Ghostwriters know how formula thinking works: just gotta out-bland the competitor. Sheeple love bland.
The gospel according to Luke:
As long as they don't peel off to WinnieFirst, all good.
https://i.stuff.co.nz/national/crime/300114018/accountancy-firm-director-gets-discharge-without-conviction-after-breaking-exwifes-nose
The fucks going on with nz??
This judge needs removing from office.
to bwaghorn at 9 ; astoundingly unbelievable…a huge affront to women from a reactionary judge . I grieve.
[Removed text from user name]
I was pretty appalled by that too. At the lower income brown end of town he would have gone down I suspect. And there is nothing like a conviction and jail sentence to ruin one's job prospects. There is also the issue that diversion did not seem to have been part of the picture.
I asked myself – if he had gone up to a stranger at the pedestrian crossing down town and behaved as he did including breaking someone's nose would they have been so keen to discharge him without conviction. Likely no – so why was the assault minimised because it was at home?
I might also had some belief that he had dealt with his issues if he had said some thing like " the divorce has been settled on the generous terms by consent without argument from me and the financial outcomes and lifestyle for her and the children going ahead has been preserved to the best of my ability – I have been to every course available and understand my behaviour better that I understand why she wishes nothing moore to do with me yadda yadda".
His previous good behaviour seems to include abusing his wife.
That is not spur of the moment – that looks like an ongoing pattern.
Under Culture.
https://twitter.com/existentialfish/status/1309574653292277766
https://thefederalist.com/category/culture/
Joe Hildebrand writes well and with a reliable compass. His assessment of the ALP's position and Albo's prospects of becoming PM resonates with me:
If Australia is anything like NZ, the genuine "extreme left" could likely be gathered together in their entirety without violating social distancing rules. The "extreme left" in the mind of Hildebrand sound like moderate social democrats.
Indeed. : )
The "extreme left" in the mind of Hildebrand sound like moderate social democrats.
Umm no. If you read the article it's clear this isn't the case. I identify as a moderate social democrat and I'm clear that Hildebrand reliably speaks my language.
Basically he's saying that the centre wins elections, as it always has. And that people who insist there are more votes to be had if 'Labour goes left' are deluding themselves with an argument that makes no sense at all.
Update from Bernard Hickey re free-lunch govt financing, debt repayment, quantitative easing: https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/opinion-analysis/300116549/heres-a-free-way-to-pay-off-governments-foreign-debt
Voters, too stupid to keep up, still believe govt debt must be repaid. Therefore National's campaigning includes the higher-taxes threat – a trad achilles heel for Labour since the Black Budget. In the real world, that logic is no longer valid.
So quantitative easing has been effective in stabilising the system for more than a decade: it has become orthodoxy.
Looks like the RB has got us onto a resilience trajectory. Now we just need politicians able to comprehend this, and pass on the good news to voters. So far, zilch.
People don't really understand money, how its created nor the simple fact that it has no value in and of itself.
The RBNZ and politicians haven't seemed to twig to its reality either.
Which means that we'll still end up with the private banks creating money and charging us interest on it in such a way that it can never be repaid with a resulting ever increasing amount of private debt. Exactly as happened prior to the GFC which quantitative easing was then used to transfer that private debt to the government's books so that the rich could stay rich.
Confidence
The problem is the Govs and central banks who 'own' the currency and are concerned with its reputation whereas the private banks are only concerned with profit and reputation be damned.
But it could be said it is the govs own fault as they are the ones who let the leash get so long they couldnt see what the dog was up to.
On his Facebook page, Bryan Gould made these points:
Good to know Gould drew the same conclusion I did here last week, likewise from a background of career experience in television. Creating an un-level playing field, tilted to one side, is dirty politics. Does Labour have the political nous to negate the favouritism? I doubt it.
If the favouritism that Gould, you and others observed gives the National party a significant political advantage, then I’d agree that ideally it should be negated in future, but doubt 'Labour' is too worried. I do hope influential lefties are observing and making little lists as these may prove handy in post-election neg(oti)ations.
Come on Dennis, your better than that. Bryan Gould is a politician first, journalist second. He is biased to buggery.
Be interesting to hear from the director on this.
Well good on you for doing that. It's true Gould & Campbell are leftists, so bias is a factor with them. Not so for me: I decided in 1971 that the left weren't credible (due to being part of the establishment) and adopted a third alternative political path through the middle between left & right. I'm only supporting Labour on this due to the fairness principle of democracy.
If the Labour Party doesn't make a formal complaint, collective stupidity may not be their reason. They may agree that the fairness principle of democracy ought to be preached by leftists but not actually practised.
Sometimes the quietest comments pass without emphasis on the level of nonsense they imply:
"It's true Gould & Campbell are leftists, so bias is a factor with them."
Aren't leftists allowed to be biased? Are leftists the only ones who are biased? Gould & Campbell are biased? Big fucken deal.
It always amuses me that commentators who have common sense as their middle name are always classed as 'leftists". Being a supporter of the Labour Party or the Greens does not automatically mean a person is a leftist in the negative sense that Dennis Frank uses the term. In fact, I think they are both mature and highly intelligent commentators whose views are based on factual evidence.
They run rings around many of the idiot commentators who frequent the tabloids, radio and TV current affairs programmes. I find it interesting that they are not better used by the media. I suspect the media in general feel threatened by their superiority and intelligence. Might show them up.
And of course rightists are noble, upright and dispassionate fellows.
Are you saying you don't have any bias Dennis?
Something that is in the middle between the two ends of the establishment is the middle of the establishment.
Please stay away from the 2 pot epoxy resin paints….
If indeed there was a bias towards Judith Collins – and imo there definitely was and it stretched to include better visuals such as lighting and camera angles for Collins – then it is possible John Campbell wasn't in on the act. In which case he would not have known what was happening while the debate was in progress.
btw excuse the bullet points. I often have trouble commenting from my I pad, but can do it if I bullet point.
He certainly did, but my take on that is he's a bit scared of Judith. Just like Muldoon, she is a formidable and nasty opponent and people are afraid of her biting tongue.
Not trying to defend Campbell. I don't like his sickly sweet mode of interaction. But I don't think he was part of any predetermined bias towards Collins. In fact I imagine he privately dislikes her.
I really don't understand why people make a stance on an aeroplane. Quite apart from anything else I suspect it could be a good while before Airnz allows any boarding onto any plane.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/health/coronavirus/300117475/covid19-police-waiting-for-political-candidate-billy-tk-jr-at-airport-after-refusing-to-wear-mask-properly-during-flight
If they're smart, Air NZ will ban him for a month or two – that stuff he's peddling won't get him much support down south neither – educated folk down there.
Why make a stand on an aeroplane? So he can get time on the airwaves. So he can air his views in the media even more. So he can present himself as one who is staunch in his views. So he can claim persecution by the authorities. So he can reinforce within himself the feelings of conspiracy. “I must be right. They are all against me……..”
Which would hurt him the most? Being banned by Air NZ or being allowed to go on his merry way? Yes, he'd use the ban to gain more publicity, but he would be seriously compromised by not being able to fly around the country hoodwinking stupid people into believing his conspiracy theories.
Ban the bastard.
It's a safety issue for the airline, however richly he may deserve an ass-kicking for other reasons. If I insisted on using a cellphone I wouldn't get to fly – masks are no different.
It is more than a safety issue, it is a compliance issue with safety regulations. Imagine something goes horribly wrong during or with the flight and some plonker refuses to follow the crew’s instructions because it doesn’t ‘feel right’ to him, potentially endangering himself, the crew, and other passengers. The core of the safety protocol is to follow the instructions. He or his lawyer can look it up in the Civil Aviation Act and challenge it in Court if he
is stupid enoughwishes.I hope they ban him, but for the reasons Incog states. Hopefully they'll have some savvy PR person who manages the media release with just the right tone and framing.
Tried to post the Billy/facemask/underpants image, but couldn't.
sounds like we should be relieved.
Is there a guide to posting images, weka? Especially images from Facebook.
See this post?
https://www.facebook.com/nzgreenparty/posts/10157211768421372
On FB, click on the image. This will open a new URL (the address at the top of the page).
Then on TS, choose the wee picture of the mountain and the sun, and put the URL in the URL field.
It's a good idea to also set the width field to 400, because internet images vary hugely in size.
Sometimes TS will embed images directly from the URL, so you can just copy and paste it into a comment. But, not all images will embed, and some take a while to show up on slower internet connections.
Image URL on its own:
https://www.facebook.com/nzgreenparty/photos/a.489359751371/10157211765601372
which appears to be posting the whole post.
If you want just the image, then on FB, click on the image in the post, then control click on the image for a drop down menu and choose something like open in new tab or view image (depending on your browser maybe).
Then cut and paste that URL into a TS comment. Please remove all the part of the URL from the ? onwards (this is best practice for all links, including off FB).
Control click is a laptop trackpad Mac thing, if you're using a mouse you want to bring up the contextual menu (left click? right click?)
Image on its own with the URL edited from the ?
Oh dear! Now there's nought but a little blue square emblazoned with a question mark!
yeah, not sure what is going on there with those, will have another look this afternoon.
Thanks, weka. Now I'll be unstoppable!
Just don't get too carried away or the mods will get grumpy. TS isn't FB, judicious use of images to be encouraged here rather than spamming the site with memery 🙂