The act was passed earlier this year by the former government on the back of the high-wealth individuals research project. The project revealed disparity between the effective tax rates paid by the super wealthy compared with us ordinary folk. It catalysed another political mud-slinging match over wealth taxes and realised and unrealised capital gains.
The subsequent principles – essentially about fairness, efficiency, and certainty – were about shining more light on our tax system and Inland Revenue was required to report against them annually.
The principles included horizontal equity, meaning people with similar income should pay similar amounts of tax, and vertical equity, meaning the system should be progressive and see people on higher incomes paying a higher proportion of their income in tax. Others pertained to revenue collection efficiency, minimising compliance and administration costs and revenue integrity.
The Government’s narrative for the repeal centred around the extra resources required to produce reports at a time when the focus should be on getting the books back in order.
Inland Revenue’s Regulatory Impact Statement attributes 2.5 full-time equivalents to meeting the act’s requirements. I understand wanting to slash spending that is failing to produce meaningful outcomes, but times aren’t this desperate, are they?
What would posses the NACTFirst Government to move so fast on blocking progress on cycleways and lower speed limits? Odd behaviour, I thought. Rewarding their truck-industry donors? Spitefully sticking it to the greenies? Seems rather, they're pandering to/repaying the cooker-voters who live in fear of what they believe to be strategies to impoverish and de-power, the "ordinary person", the plebs. The "15 minute cities" concept threw the cookers into a panic; they could see themselves being corralled into "camps" from which they would be barred from leaving; the cycleways and lower speeds were more subtle ways of restricting freedom and ease of travel. Has the present Government adopted these beliefs? Winston's certainly flying a flag for the conspiracy crowd – is he being supported by others in the Government?
maybe but I suspect it's something more likely to be because National and ACT's supporters include the owners of roading companies and town centre real estate.
(not for want of trying on Peters' part though. He did grift on anti-15m city rhetoric as he learnt about it over the election campaign. I just think that NACT have bigger fish to fry).
Well, I did too, until I read cookers celebrating the moves. I was puzzled by the indecent haste as well – sure, the truckers will get their dues in return for their campaign support, but ordinarily, it'd be done during a quiet time, without fanfare – this was theatre, as loved by cookers. I think there was a concern that unless some bones were thrown early, the tinfoil hats would be brought out again and a new camp established on Luxy's Lawn.
I was cornered by my relation's cooker neighbour. He told me that cycling, five minute cites, contrails, 9/11, the war in Ukraine, Jacinda Ardern and Covid, etc, etc, are all part of the of the ending humanity.
The armies of the Juice, Klaus Schwab, HRC, and co, are working toward the great transhuman reset, the enslavement of humanity and the ushering in of an age of forced sterilisation of people of child-bearing age. the extermination of the elderly and the disabled, child trafficking, sex slaves, and satisfying the elite's craving for freshly harvested children's blood.
Poots, tRump, and Orbán are the good guys, though.
I'm a greenie in a newly-Green electorate that has been Green local body for some time, but I can assure you that many of us wish that ANY central government had blocked progress on cycleways around here much sooner, since the social damage (even to non-drivers) is beyond rediculous, yet alone the physical danger they (the very few cyclists seen using them) have been put in.
As someone who has never had the health or opportunity to drive a motor vehicle and has therefore ridden on bikes, without an inch of lycra I might add, for over 40 years I can tell you it is much safer now with cycle lanes.
Peak getting hit by cars from behind and from people opening car doors for me was definitely the 80's and 90's. Idiot car drivers not paying attention and over extending out at T-intersections pushing you out into the car lanes and even stupider people – mainly taxi drivers cutting in front of you and turning right across intersections are now the biggest hazards.
Sure lanes separated from traffic are just the best but clearly marked and designated cycle lanes are miles better than what used to exist. The worst people at understanding this are drivers who do not use them anyway and born again cyclists who are still figuring out that you don't put your inside to the gutter foot down when you stop at intersections or lights – they have no idea what it used to be like.
I don't care how many people are using them – I just know as someone who doesn't have the jump in a car option they are great. Definitely much safer using them in every town and city I've biked in. People who don't actually use them are way too vocal.
I'm more than happy for you all to give up entire roads to cyclists if you are genuinely concerned about our physical welfare. Boot the cars off completely. That would be even better.
I have a life-long medical ban from driving, so I'm certainly not coming from the car-owning angle. And I'm fully appreciative of the dangers of cycling, especially in Wellington on the very narrow roads. But not putting better controls onto idiotic drivers at dangerous intersections (ie traffic lights) cancel out any safety the lanes otherwise provide.
One of the rare times I saw a cyclist with a toddler on the back, they were both almost taken out by a car zooming around the corner that hadn't bothered to give way. The official council response to my submission on this safety issue- "traffic lights aren't our problem, that's NZTA." In other words, too much of a hassle.
I've lived on that corner for years and witnessed numerous crashes and near crashes, and they've put a cycleway through the middle of it despite knowing this. Any wonder we're angry??
So cyclists used the intersection prior to the cycle lane and had near misses but now it has been made even clearer to car drivers that cyclists are there it is a problem?
I don't understand the concern. There's a stretch of road here that has a third laneway emerge that turns into a turning lane. If as a cyclist I'm going straight ahead car drivers found it confusing as you had to either go in the turning lane and then go straight ahead or go in the car lane. Especially with trucks and buses beside you you often ended up in a crush situation. Now there is a cycle lane between the two car lanes cars, buses and trucks definitely give you more space. Visibility of where cyclists go is of great practical benefit to cyclists.
It's no safer at all, for cyclists, pedestrians trying to get across, or cars. That's my point. Too many drivers are lazy, stupid, and impatient, and don't believe they should give way, even when the signs say to. The next street down has become a no right turn to cater for the cycle lane running across it; however, on a daily basis, numerous vehicle ignore this (including several Council cars).
For many people I speak to now this has become more than cycle lanes- it's a symptom of the complete contempt council holds for the citizens. When a Council has somehow managed to alienate most of the city over cycle lanes they have clearly gone around the process the wrong way. What could have been a positive thing is despised by too many.
For the first time ever I will no longer be voting in local elections, I cannot see any point, nor can several others I've had this conversation with.
who live in fear of what they believe to be strategies to impoverish and de-power, the "ordinary person"
Those strategies exist, but not in the form of cycleways and speed limits. And it's not quite right to call them strategies – they are not drawn up on a whiteboard in some corner office. They are powerful mechanisms, settings, shared understandings of what is natural, obvious and right. Together they form what we call a market economy or market society.
The so-called “cookers” have correctly identified the disease, but they attribute the wrong symptoms to it.
The ease at which the term 'cookers' get thrown around on TS does my head in. Fact is theyre a bunch of people that for various reasons have found themselves on the outer edges of society. Calling em cookers just pushes them further out and actually makes they problem worse, its no different in mindset to the current govt wanting to get rid of cultural reports at sentencing for example. It saddens me somewhat to see solidly left wing people use the term so easily.
Fact is theyre a bunch of people that for various reasons have found themselves on the outer edges of society.
Really. Most of the ones I know including family members are nowhere near the outer edges of society. Got jobs, own houses, share some of the same interests and hobbies. Some are far more wealthy than I am.
Somehow, just somehow they believe a load of nonsense. To be fair some did before COVID as well – chemtrails, mystic power of gemstones, homeopathy etc etc.
I also dislike the term cookers and in part cause it seems to suggest poor and downtrodden.
Kinda my point, outer edges but not always in traditional terms and often quite well educated.
Calling them cookers just entrenches their postion. Hell, reading below and given my anti mandate postion im a 'cooker'.
I dont know the way to get them back but I know 'cookers' isnt it. During covid I met a helluva lot of normal people who for a whole bunch of reasons were against the vaccine and especially mandated vaccinces and for a bunch or reasons. From sucked into conspiracy theories through to some pretty serious harm in state care leading to a serious distrust of the 'system'
That damage is done the work we need to do to get them back is going to take a long time. Nonetheless it needs to be done.
The evident contempt that is frequently displayed to them by the mainstream Left – makes it clear that these people will not be voting Left for some time (if at all).
Given the very small margins between the Left and Right in the last election (and in the 2017 one) – to arbitrarily rule out this quite substantial grouping – seems an act of madness.
It's also not a single group. There are many traditionally Left allies (who were anti-vaccination, and certainly anti-mandated-vaccination, long before Covid) – as well as some of the more anti-government conspiracy theorists. Divide and conquer would be a more effective Left strategy.
I think part of it is the need for normalcy in a scary world. Normal is driving, biking is what some people choose to do, a minority, those people can do that, but most people don't kind of thing. So the fear is that we will all be pushed out of our safety and comfort at a time when we need more safety and comfort (this is an underlying dynamic in all politics now imo).
There is also a strong libertarian ethic in that counter culture. Not so much you'll take my guns from my cold dead hands, but cars. They symbolise the freedom to move at will, where we want, when we want. That's why the lockdowns were so terrible for those people, but for people like me who are both used to restriction and understand the value in it, they were a good thing.
Cycling doesn't represent freedom to a lot of people, and enforced cycling parses as constraint.
But it was the middle and working classes around the globe that truly made the bicycle their own. For the first time in history, the masses were mobile, able to come and go as they pleased. No more need for expensive horses and carriages. The “people's nag,” as the bicycle was known, was not only lightweight, affordable, and easy to maintain, it was also the fastest thing on the roads.
Maybe if they want to go whole conspiracy theory they should think about GPS tracking in cars or more low quality RFID chips in tyres. Maybe cars don't give them the freedom they think it does. There is loads of stuff we can choose to be paranoid about.
Alternatively the more attention they are given the more they are given validity for their beliefs.
Obviously, and just as well I didn't suggest that. Peters is gratuitously pandering to this particular subculture. That doesn't mean our only choice is ridicule and ostracisation (would love to know how that is supposed to actually work).
And sure, 'they' need to understand things that the good, true lefties know. Have you thought about how that attitude might come across? What's the strategy here?
My own view is that the people in those subcultures aren't a hive mind, and varying people have varying beliefs and to different degrees. As a matter or urgency we should be building bridges with those people who still share ideas and philosophies that we do. I'm not talking about hard core anti-15m city conspiracy theorists so much as the people that are being influenced by them instead of by progressive politics. Because progressive politics is telling them they are stupid/wrong/evil. Why would they listen to us?
It is an interesting debate though. At the time of the 81 Springbok Tour I was firmly of the view that ostracism was a worse option that allowing the Springboks to tour and to see alternate ways of doing things, particularly as by then we had finally pushed back about the whole "honorary whites" stupidity.
Years later a Springbok player said that it was the conflict that erupted in NZ over the tour that was the catalyst for changing his mind about apartheid.
Most people I know who were opposed to the tour would still today not accept that engaging with South Africa was the way to go, even after the schisms that occurred in our own country as a result. Progressive politics has long been fickle about ostracism vs engagement, about telling people they are stupid/wrong/evil vs trying to show the alternative.
No different to conservative politics either though in my view their choices between the styles tends towards hypocritical. Muldoon's work with gangs is likely a good example compared to today's National Party going down the ostracism route.
And no I'm never quite sure when one is the preferred solution over the other. A pyschologist did once tell me though that continuing to engage with a certain gentleman was simply reinforcing his own (false) sense of importance and wasn't helping his mental state and recovery in the slightest.
Maybe it is more about what you engage about that finds the middle ground but at some point even that can become pointless – experience tells me that you can bite your tongue when needed but they still quite happily espouse their beliefs.
So how violent are they going to be when we can't get the fuel to run their cars?
The Mad Max films were born out of the crisis of oil, we are fast approaching another oil crisis, and a whole lot of people in this country are delusional about it.
And before people think I'm talking peak oil, I'm not – I'm talking war, and the fact oil is going to become heavily restricted because of it.
So how violent are they going to be when we can't get the fuel to run their cars?
dunno. More or less violent than other groups in society who are likewise in denial about the future we are heading into?
We still have a choice at this point about how that future goes. Mad Max or transition to something that is very different from what we have now but is still functional and liveable?
No-one who supports the ostracisation and ridicule strategy has been able to explain how that will actually work as society comes under increasing pressures and things we take for granted start to fall away. To me it looks like we should be building strong relationships especially at the community level, because the alternative will make the parliament grounds occupation look like a kindy sandpit fight.
That one still isnt resolved and post installation accidents for cyclists have increased There are others like this where the rubber sections are still on the road and visible to no one in rain or dark.
We have a local cycleway in a quiet residential neighbourhood – which was put in place as a link to an initiative which was later canned.
It is very badly designed. Cycle lane is on the inside of the parked cars – next to the footpath.
Given the camber of the road and the size of the people-movers frequently parked there – it is virtually impossible to see a small person (especially a child) as a car is turning into the side streets. It is actively dangerous. And consequently, no parent would consider letting their kids ride on it. Where they do cycle (which is pretty infrequently), they cycle on the footpath (as they did prior to the cycleway being installed).
Since the link now goes nowhere – and has no prospect of ever going anywhere – and is dangerous to boot – it's very rarely used (maybe 2 or 3 die-hard cyclists – who could perfectly well use the road – which is hardly full of traffic)
This kind of development absolutely gets offside with the locals. It cost a fortune. It's actively dangerous. And it doesn't meet the stated goal of encouraging cycling. Reinforcing the perception that the Councils are just wasting money on this cycling infrastructure which is badly desinged, dangerous, and isn't being used.
Correct. Our behaviours identify us – not only to our friends but also to those who aren't. Got an unmown verge? You've been noticed.
Cookers see bicycle lanes as preparation for a "no cars for the poor" future – trapped, we will be, trapped, in our own country!! Same with speed limits (Freedom!)
it's Australian slang for someone who believes in conspiracy theories, is anti-vax/mandate etc. I think it predates the pandemic and meant someone who was crazy, related to cooker as someone who cooks meth (the drug) and is off their head. Now it is used to mean a conspiracy theorist/anti-mandater etc.
I'm in two minds about its use on TS. We don't have another single word to replace it with, but it's a pejorative term generally used in the context of othering a person or people. In that sense, it's not that different from other words/language we don't generally allow here, under the rules about not using "tone or language that has the effect of excluding others". I'll have a think about it in the new year.
I have never heard it before until I read this string of comments. One lives and learns.
Actually, having just looked back through the comments I now see that it was explained by DMK, at 1.53pm, just before I asked the question. I didn't see it there at the time though.
I believe that “cookers” is a derogatory term (tho that depends on what side of the fence you’re on) it refers to “conspiracy theorists” similar to “white trash” I guess. It’s another term that obnoxious people use to elevate themselves above others
Robert, I’d first of “cooker” a few weeks ago from some of the younger and hip guys where I work. From what I understand, it refers to “white trash” and “conspiracy theorists”. It’s kinda offensive, when you think about it
I'm interested in how (if) Robert answers yr question, Alwyn.
The left, such as it is, loves to splinter, particularly along purity lines- not sensitive enough to gender issues, not proficient enough in Te Reo, not earnest enough about CC, not enthusiastic enough with recycling etc etc.
No. I'm meaning those who hoover up all of the crack-pot ideas without any filters at all.
If the majority of commenters here felt the term should not be used, I'd be fine with shelving it, but as I say, it has light-hearted connotations for me.
Hi alwyn – thanks for asking. Weka's explanation is a very good one. To me, it's a "gentle reproach" at most, but still has a nice ring to it. Rather than meth though, it brings to my mind the image of leg of lamb wrapped in tinfoil; cooker 🙂 Many of my friends are cookers, imo.
And the inculcation starts early – about 10 years ago I was walking past the house of a work colleague and, waving hello, said that I was off to the University. They had family visiting and a young tacker asked "Why don't you drive there?"
My response (that I enjoy walking and wasn't in a hurry) cut no ice then, and I suspect little has changed if trends in car ownership are anything to go by.
Our entire system is set up on the presumption that ALL adults hold a valid drivers licence, and it doesn't cope very well when it runs into people who don't.
When asking for ID, the default for many still seems to be "can I see your licence" followed by the very confused look when told I don't have one, but here's my passport. Kudos to whomever finally clicked on there are a lot of people sans licence or passport who can now use the Kiwi Access card for a lot of ID needs.
Some public hospital systems don't cater for people to get to outpatient appointments at different further afield campuses if they don't have their own means of transport and/or public transport there isn't possible. Even the health system expects everyone to either drive, or have someone who can drive them.
For a long time during the pandemic, it was not easy to get a PCR test without being able to drive to get one, unless you lived in walking distance of a testing station. I will never forget the guy from the Covid line who suggested I take a bus there…
My only wish is that our car-obsessed society could understand that even if they want to deny oil running out, climate change and everything else, NONE of them are immune to copping a medical driving ban tomorrow.
It was pretty demeaning though to be told in your 40's to get an 18+ pub access card particularly from places like banks who you had banked with since a kid.
Even the health system expects everyone to either drive, or have someone who can drive them.
I agree that there is an automatic assumption that you will have a friend or family member who is able to drive you to outpatient appointments.
A couple of years ago, I had to have a minor investigative procedure which was to be done under general anaesthetic as an outpatient at the hospital. The requirement was that I not drive after this (entirely reasonably), and that I needed to be with someone who could monitor me for the next few hours in case I collapsed (again, a reasonable precaution).
My proposal that I uber to the hospital, then uber to my Mum's place – about a 10-minute trip each way – was rejected.
The *only* acceptable solution was to have someone drive to the hospital and for me to be released into that person's care. My Mum doesn't drive, and for one reason or another, there was no other family member free to drive me on that day. I saw no reason to ask friends to take a day off work – for what seemed like a piece of unreasonable bureaucracy.
I protested – and they eventually agreed to carry out the procedure under local anaesthetic. Which was absolutely a double win as far as I was concerned – the recovery from general is much worse.
But, it did make me wonder how people who don't have family networks, and/or aren't stroppy sheilas who don't take 'no' for an answer, fare in the 'system'. I expect that the answer is badly.
“I think there won’t be a lot of memory about Jacinda Ardern other than, she was a young woman that was appointed to the job of Prime Minister, a job she once claimed she never ever wanted to do. The second term was overwhelming for her. But really it just shows you, given the overwhelming support she had two years ago, how ill-equipped she was to do the job by quitting a year early.”
We live in a supposed free country but it is still galling to see the utter crap spewed out from the low-life likes of Barry Soper on the front page of a national newspaper.
'Ill-equipped to do the job' – any job – describes snarky Soper to a tee.
In 1969, after finishing high school he attended the Royal New Zealand Police College at Trentham for six months before he withdrew from studying.
…
In 2010, Soper was fined and disqualified from driving for six months for drink-driving.
A good read about printer Aldus Manutius, the bibliophile’s bibliophile who, between 1495 and 1515, issued more first editions of classical texts than had ever been published before or since.
Venice was a city of printers and readers. In his World of Aldus Manutius, Martin Lowry made a rough guess that, in 1500, Venetian presses produced twenty books per member of the city’s population. There were more printshops – and more booksellers, stationers, bookbinders – in Venice than anywhere else in Europe: twice as many editions were printed there than in Paris, its closest rival.
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Back in January a StatsNZ employee gave a speech at Rātana on behalf of tangata whenua in which he insulted and criticised the government. The speech clearly violated the principle of a neutral public service, and StatsNZ started an investigation. Part of that was getting an external consultant to examine ...
Renting for life: Shared ownership initiatives are unlikely to slow the slide in home ownership by much. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy today are:A Deloittereport for Westpac has projected Aotearoa’s home-ownership rate will ...
You're broken down and tiredOf living life on a merry go roundAnd you can't find the fighterBut I see it in you so we gonna walk it outAnd move mountainsWe gonna walk it outAnd move mountainsAnd I'll rise upI'll rise like the dayI'll rise upI'll rise unafraidI'll rise upAnd I'll ...
There’s been a change in Myers Park. Down the steps from St. Kevin’s Arcade, past the grassy slopes, the children’s playground, the benches and that goat statue, there has been a transformation. The underpass for Mayoral Drive has gone from a barren, grey, concrete tunnel, to a place that thrums ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections Global society may have finally slammed on the brakes for climate-warming pollution released by human fossil fuel combustion. According to the Carbon Monitor Project, the total global climate pollution released between February and May 2024 declined slightly from the amount released during the same ...
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 Tuesday, July 23 are:Deep Dive: Penlink: where tolling rhetoric meets reality BusinessDesk-$$$’sOliver LewisScoop:Te Pūkenga plans for regional polytechs leak out ...
TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Tuesday, July 23, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:Health: Shane Reti announcedthe Board of Te Whatu Ora-Health New Zealand was being replaced with Commissioner Lester Levy ...
Health NZ warned the Government at the end of March that it was running over Budget. But the reasons it gave were very different to those offered by the Prime Minister yesterday. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon blamed the “botched merger” of the 20 District Health Boards (DHBs) to create Health ...
Long ReadKey Summary: Although National increased the health budget by $1.4 billion in May, they used an old funding model to project health system costs, and never bothered to update their pre-election numbers. They were told during the Health Select Committees earlier in the year their budget amount was deficient, ...
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 ...
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Fair Pay?=don't be silly.
Fair Tax then?-you've got to be …kidding.
The tax law you’ve probably never heard of – and why the Government wants to keep it that way | The Post
To me this is one of the most egregious acts by this new government, because it protects extreme economic injustice for the long term.
Should get a lot more coverage.
What would posses the NACTFirst Government to move so fast on blocking progress on cycleways and lower speed limits? Odd behaviour, I thought. Rewarding their truck-industry donors? Spitefully sticking it to the greenies? Seems rather, they're pandering to/repaying the cooker-voters who live in fear of what they believe to be strategies to impoverish and de-power, the "ordinary person", the plebs. The "15 minute cities" concept threw the cookers into a panic; they could see themselves being corralled into "camps" from which they would be barred from leaving; the cycleways and lower speeds were more subtle ways of restricting freedom and ease of travel. Has the present Government adopted these beliefs? Winston's certainly flying a flag for the conspiracy crowd – is he being supported by others in the Government?
It's a sad day when our so called leaders are besotted by conspiracy theories.
maybe but I suspect it's something more likely to be because National and ACT's supporters include the owners of roading companies and town centre real estate.
(not for want of trying on Peters' part though. He did grift on anti-15m city rhetoric as he learnt about it over the election campaign. I just think that NACT have bigger fish to fry).
Well, I did too, until I read cookers celebrating the moves. I was puzzled by the indecent haste as well – sure, the truckers will get their dues in return for their campaign support, but ordinarily, it'd be done during a quiet time, without fanfare – this was theatre, as loved by cookers. I think there was a concern that unless some bones were thrown early, the tinfoil hats would be brought out again and a new camp established on Luxy's Lawn.
those are good points. Occupy Luxy Lawn would be a site to be hold 😈
It would be an interesting spectacle…though the plods would likely be there in 15 minutes this time.
" …a site to be hold…"
Great punny allusion!
I was cornered by my relation's cooker neighbour. He told me that cycling, five minute cites, contrails, 9/11, the war in Ukraine, Jacinda Ardern and Covid, etc, etc, are all part of the of the ending humanity.
The armies of the Juice, Klaus Schwab, HRC, and co, are working toward the great transhuman reset, the enslavement of humanity and the ushering in of an age of forced sterilisation of people of child-bearing age. the extermination of the elderly and the disabled, child trafficking, sex slaves, and satisfying the elite's craving for freshly harvested children's blood.
Poots, tRump, and Orbán are the good guys, though.
..
I'm a greenie in a newly-Green electorate that has been Green local body for some time, but I can assure you that many of us wish that ANY central government had blocked progress on cycleways around here much sooner, since the social damage (even to non-drivers) is beyond rediculous, yet alone the physical danger they (the very few cyclists seen using them) have been put in.
As someone who has never had the health or opportunity to drive a motor vehicle and has therefore ridden on bikes, without an inch of lycra I might add, for over 40 years I can tell you it is much safer now with cycle lanes.
Peak getting hit by cars from behind and from people opening car doors for me was definitely the 80's and 90's. Idiot car drivers not paying attention and over extending out at T-intersections pushing you out into the car lanes and even stupider people – mainly taxi drivers cutting in front of you and turning right across intersections are now the biggest hazards.
Sure lanes separated from traffic are just the best but clearly marked and designated cycle lanes are miles better than what used to exist. The worst people at understanding this are drivers who do not use them anyway and born again cyclists who are still figuring out that you don't put your inside to the gutter foot down when you stop at intersections or lights – they have no idea what it used to be like.
I don't care how many people are using them – I just know as someone who doesn't have the jump in a car option they are great. Definitely much safer using them in every town and city I've biked in. People who don't actually use them are way too vocal.
I'm more than happy for you all to give up entire roads to cyclists if you are genuinely concerned about our physical welfare. Boot the cars off completely. That would be even better.
I have a life-long medical ban from driving, so I'm certainly not coming from the car-owning angle. And I'm fully appreciative of the dangers of cycling, especially in Wellington on the very narrow roads. But not putting better controls onto idiotic drivers at dangerous intersections (ie traffic lights) cancel out any safety the lanes otherwise provide.
One of the rare times I saw a cyclist with a toddler on the back, they were both almost taken out by a car zooming around the corner that hadn't bothered to give way. The official council response to my submission on this safety issue- "traffic lights aren't our problem, that's NZTA." In other words, too much of a hassle.
I've lived on that corner for years and witnessed numerous crashes and near crashes, and they've put a cycleway through the middle of it despite knowing this. Any wonder we're angry??
So cyclists used the intersection prior to the cycle lane and had near misses but now it has been made even clearer to car drivers that cyclists are there it is a problem?
I don't understand the concern. There's a stretch of road here that has a third laneway emerge that turns into a turning lane. If as a cyclist I'm going straight ahead car drivers found it confusing as you had to either go in the turning lane and then go straight ahead or go in the car lane. Especially with trucks and buses beside you you often ended up in a crush situation. Now there is a cycle lane between the two car lanes cars, buses and trucks definitely give you more space. Visibility of where cyclists go is of great practical benefit to cyclists.
We were biking in those spaces previously anyway.
It's no safer at all, for cyclists, pedestrians trying to get across, or cars. That's my point. Too many drivers are lazy, stupid, and impatient, and don't believe they should give way, even when the signs say to. The next street down has become a no right turn to cater for the cycle lane running across it; however, on a daily basis, numerous vehicle ignore this (including several Council cars).
For many people I speak to now this has become more than cycle lanes- it's a symptom of the complete contempt council holds for the citizens. When a Council has somehow managed to alienate most of the city over cycle lanes they have clearly gone around the process the wrong way. What could have been a positive thing is despised by too many.
For the first time ever I will no longer be voting in local elections, I cannot see any point, nor can several others I've had this conversation with.
Are you someone who cycles it? Do the cyclists who use it think it is now a bit safer – not perfect and more could be done but better than it was?
Incremental improvements are often the best we get. They are still valuable.
Those strategies exist, but not in the form of cycleways and speed limits. And it's not quite right to call them strategies – they are not drawn up on a whiteboard in some corner office. They are powerful mechanisms, settings, shared understandings of what is natural, obvious and right. Together they form what we call a market economy or market society.
The so-called “cookers” have correctly identified the disease, but they attribute the wrong symptoms to it.
yep. And we ignore and ostracise them at our peril.
Engagement is tricky – best left to those with plenty of empathy & patience, imho.
The ease at which the term 'cookers' get thrown around on TS does my head in. Fact is theyre a bunch of people that for various reasons have found themselves on the outer edges of society. Calling em cookers just pushes them further out and actually makes they problem worse, its no different in mindset to the current govt wanting to get rid of cultural reports at sentencing for example. It saddens me somewhat to see solidly left wing people use the term so easily.
Fact is theyre a bunch of people that for various reasons have found themselves on the outer edges of society.
Really. Most of the ones I know including family members are nowhere near the outer edges of society. Got jobs, own houses, share some of the same interests and hobbies. Some are far more wealthy than I am.
Somehow, just somehow they believe a load of nonsense. To be fair some did before COVID as well – chemtrails, mystic power of gemstones, homeopathy etc etc.
I also dislike the term cookers and in part cause it seems to suggest poor and downtrodden.
Kinda my point, outer edges but not always in traditional terms and often quite well educated.
Calling them cookers just entrenches their postion. Hell, reading below and given my anti mandate postion im a 'cooker'.
I dont know the way to get them back but I know 'cookers' isnt it. During covid I met a helluva lot of normal people who for a whole bunch of reasons were against the vaccine and especially mandated vaccinces and for a bunch or reasons. From sucked into conspiracy theories through to some pretty serious harm in state care leading to a serious distrust of the 'system'
That damage is done the work we need to do to get them back is going to take a long time. Nonetheless it needs to be done.
The evident contempt that is frequently displayed to them by the mainstream Left – makes it clear that these people will not be voting Left for some time (if at all).
Given the very small margins between the Left and Right in the last election (and in the 2017 one) – to arbitrarily rule out this quite substantial grouping – seems an act of madness.
It's also not a single group. There are many traditionally Left allies (who were anti-vaccination, and certainly anti-mandated-vaccination, long before Covid) – as well as some of the more anti-government conspiracy theorists. Divide and conquer would be a more effective Left strategy.
” the cycleways and lower speeds were more subtle ways of restricting freedom and ease of travel. ”
How in the hell do cycleways restrict freedom – particularly for us non-drivers. I get to go further, more easily with more safety than ever before.
Maybe us non-drivers aren't considered ordinary people. These people get more moronic everyday.
I think part of it is the need for normalcy in a scary world. Normal is driving, biking is what some people choose to do, a minority, those people can do that, but most people don't kind of thing. So the fear is that we will all be pushed out of our safety and comfort at a time when we need more safety and comfort (this is an underlying dynamic in all politics now imo).
There is also a strong libertarian ethic in that counter culture. Not so much you'll take my guns from my cold dead hands, but cars. They symbolise the freedom to move at will, where we want, when we want. That's why the lockdowns were so terrible for those people, but for people like me who are both used to restriction and understand the value in it, they were a good thing.
Cycling doesn't represent freedom to a lot of people, and enforced cycling parses as constraint.
"we ignore and ostracise them at our peril."
Alternatively the more attention they are given the more they are given validity for their beliefs.
Maybe they need to understand history a little more.
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/article/how-bicycles-transformed-world
But it was the middle and working classes around the globe that truly made the bicycle their own. For the first time in history, the masses were mobile, able to come and go as they pleased. No more need for expensive horses and carriages. The “people's nag,” as the bicycle was known, was not only lightweight, affordable, and easy to maintain, it was also the fastest thing on the roads.
Maybe if they want to go whole conspiracy theory they should think about GPS tracking in cars or more low quality RFID chips in tyres. Maybe cars don't give them the freedom they think it does. There is loads of stuff we can choose to be paranoid about.
Obviously, and just as well I didn't suggest that. Peters is gratuitously pandering to this particular subculture. That doesn't mean our only choice is ridicule and ostracisation (would love to know how that is supposed to actually work).
And sure, 'they' need to understand things that the good, true lefties know. Have you thought about how that attitude might come across? What's the strategy here?
My own view is that the people in those subcultures aren't a hive mind, and varying people have varying beliefs and to different degrees. As a matter or urgency we should be building bridges with those people who still share ideas and philosophies that we do. I'm not talking about hard core anti-15m city conspiracy theorists so much as the people that are being influenced by them instead of by progressive politics. Because progressive politics is telling them they are stupid/wrong/evil. Why would they listen to us?
It is an interesting debate though. At the time of the 81 Springbok Tour I was firmly of the view that ostracism was a worse option that allowing the Springboks to tour and to see alternate ways of doing things, particularly as by then we had finally pushed back about the whole "honorary whites" stupidity.
Years later a Springbok player said that it was the conflict that erupted in NZ over the tour that was the catalyst for changing his mind about apartheid.
Most people I know who were opposed to the tour would still today not accept that engaging with South Africa was the way to go, even after the schisms that occurred in our own country as a result. Progressive politics has long been fickle about ostracism vs engagement, about telling people they are stupid/wrong/evil vs trying to show the alternative.
No different to conservative politics either though in my view their choices between the styles tends towards hypocritical. Muldoon's work with gangs is likely a good example compared to today's National Party going down the ostracism route.
And no I'm never quite sure when one is the preferred solution over the other. A pyschologist did once tell me though that continuing to engage with a certain gentleman was simply reinforcing his own (false) sense of importance and wasn't helping his mental state and recovery in the slightest.
Maybe it is more about what you engage about that finds the middle ground but at some point even that can become pointless – experience tells me that you can bite your tongue when needed but they still quite happily espouse their beliefs.
Human behaviour is vexed.
So how violent are they going to be when we can't get the fuel to run their cars?
The Mad Max films were born out of the crisis of oil, we are fast approaching another oil crisis, and a whole lot of people in this country are delusional about it.
And before people think I'm talking peak oil, I'm not – I'm talking war, and the fact oil is going to become heavily restricted because of it.
dunno. More or less violent than other groups in society who are likewise in denial about the future we are heading into?
We still have a choice at this point about how that future goes. Mad Max or transition to something that is very different from what we have now but is still functional and liveable?
No-one who supports the ostracisation and ridicule strategy has been able to explain how that will actually work as society comes under increasing pressures and things we take for granted start to fall away. To me it looks like we should be building strong relationships especially at the community level, because the alternative will make the parliament grounds occupation look like a kindy sandpit fight.
Water will be worse, and is why this Government was desperate to win imo
Water, the lack of?
I'm guessing we will also be a staging point for Antarctica where the last of us will scratch out a living.
In Auckland at least the lack of consultation with affected communities as done alot of harm, in a few cases its lead to cycleways which have been downright dangerous to everyone. This as a good example https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/local-government/129345252/auckland-community-furious-as-drivers-hit-new-cycle-lane-protectors
That one still isnt resolved and post installation accidents for cyclists have increased There are others like this where the rubber sections are still on the road and visible to no one in rain or dark.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/local-government/131074750/aucklands-2m-tim-tam-cycle-lane-to-be-replaced-after-less-than-a-year-with-another-which-could-cost-4m
A bit more care would go a long way as a bad project undo's the good of 1o0 good ones.
We have a local cycleway in a quiet residential neighbourhood – which was put in place as a link to an initiative which was later canned.
It is very badly designed. Cycle lane is on the inside of the parked cars – next to the footpath.
Given the camber of the road and the size of the people-movers frequently parked there – it is virtually impossible to see a small person (especially a child) as a car is turning into the side streets. It is actively dangerous. And consequently, no parent would consider letting their kids ride on it. Where they do cycle (which is pretty infrequently), they cycle on the footpath (as they did prior to the cycleway being installed).
Since the link now goes nowhere – and has no prospect of ever going anywhere – and is dangerous to boot – it's very rarely used (maybe 2 or 3 die-hard cyclists – who could perfectly well use the road – which is hardly full of traffic)
This kind of development absolutely gets offside with the locals. It cost a fortune. It's actively dangerous. And it doesn't meet the stated goal of encouraging cycling. Reinforcing the perception that the Councils are just wasting money on this cycling infrastructure which is badly desinged, dangerous, and isn't being used.
Yours is an accurate summation, weka, imo.
"non-drivers aren't considered ordinary people"
Correct. Our behaviours identify us – not only to our friends but also to those who aren't. Got an unmown verge? You've been noticed.
Cookers see bicycle lanes as preparation for a "no cars for the poor" future – trapped, we will be, trapped, in our own country!! Same with speed limits (Freedom!)
What is a "cooker" Robert?
Apart from the kitchen item the only meaning I am aware of is a person who "cooks" Meth, and that doesn't seem to be what you mean.
it's Australian slang for someone who believes in conspiracy theories, is anti-vax/mandate etc. I think it predates the pandemic and meant someone who was crazy, related to cooker as someone who cooks meth (the drug) and is off their head. Now it is used to mean a conspiracy theorist/anti-mandater etc.
I'm in two minds about its use on TS. We don't have another single word to replace it with, but it's a pejorative term generally used in the context of othering a person or people. In that sense, it's not that different from other words/language we don't generally allow here, under the rules about not using "tone or language that has the effect of excluding others". I'll have a think about it in the new year.
Thank you, and to others who replied.
I have never heard it before until I read this string of comments. One lives and learns.
Actually, having just looked back through the comments I now see that it was explained by DMK, at 1.53pm, just before I asked the question. I didn't see it there at the time though.
My 2 cents worth in regard the use of cooker.
Akin to the slur, TERF, it bundles a group of folk (as you say, not a hive mind) from questioning GCFs through to full blown misandrists.
I find the use of it to be lazy and kinda hand- wavy. Attacking the individual rather than their argument.
More crucially it is othering. A tendency I find more and more common amongst those who like to identify as lefties.
This term, while the centre left and left is in opposition is a time to heal, seek common ground and formulate the vision and path for 2026.
I believe that “cookers” is a derogatory term (tho that depends on what side of the fence you’re on) it refers to “conspiracy theorists” similar to “white trash” I guess. It’s another term that obnoxious people use to elevate themselves above others
"white trash"???
Nah. Cookers are from across the spectrum.
You could be one. Gsays could be one. Cooking knows no class, political, religious or race boundaries.
Robert, I’d first of “cooker” a few weeks ago from some of the younger and hip guys where I work. From what I understand, it refers to “white trash” and “conspiracy theorists”. It’s kinda offensive, when you think about it
I'm interested in how (if) Robert answers yr question, Alwyn.
The left, such as it is, loves to splinter, particularly along purity lines- not sensitive enough to gender issues, not proficient enough in Te Reo, not earnest enough about CC, not enthusiastic enough with recycling etc etc.
The left loves to splinter?
People from left, right and centre use the term "cooker".
It's reflective of the word "sheeple" which found favour with the cookers earlier on.
Did you use "sheeple", gsays?
Not a fan of banding about monikers, not even as a "gentle reproach".
So, in your eyes, someone who is/was opposed to the mandates is a cooker?
No. I'm meaning those who hoover up all of the crack-pot ideas without any filters at all.
If the majority of commenters here felt the term should not be used, I'd be fine with shelving it, but as I say, it has light-hearted connotations for me.
Hi alwyn – thanks for asking. Weka's explanation is a very good one. To me, it's a "gentle reproach" at most, but still has a nice ring to it. Rather than meth though, it brings to my mind the image of leg of lamb wrapped in tinfoil; cooker 🙂 Many of my friends are cookers, imo.
And the inculcation starts early – about 10 years ago I was walking past the house of a work colleague and, waving hello, said that I was off to the University. They had family visiting and a young tacker asked "Why don't you drive there?"
My response (that I enjoy walking and wasn't in a hurry) cut no ice then, and I suspect little has changed if trends in car ownership are anything to go by.
Our entire system is set up on the presumption that ALL adults hold a valid drivers licence, and it doesn't cope very well when it runs into people who don't.
When asking for ID, the default for many still seems to be "can I see your licence" followed by the very confused look when told I don't have one, but here's my passport. Kudos to whomever finally clicked on there are a lot of people sans licence or passport who can now use the Kiwi Access card for a lot of ID needs.
Some public hospital systems don't cater for people to get to outpatient appointments at different further afield campuses if they don't have their own means of transport and/or public transport there isn't possible. Even the health system expects everyone to either drive, or have someone who can drive them.
For a long time during the pandemic, it was not easy to get a PCR test without being able to drive to get one, unless you lived in walking distance of a testing station. I will never forget the guy from the Covid line who suggested I take a bus there…![frown frown](https://cdn2.thestandard.org.nz/wp-content/plugins/ark-wysiwyg-comment-editor/ckeditor/plugins/smiley/images/confused_smile.png?x42494)
My only wish is that our car-obsessed society could understand that even if they want to deny oil running out, climate change and everything else, NONE of them are immune to copping a medical driving ban tomorrow.
It was pretty demeaning though to be told in your 40's to get an 18+ pub access card particularly from places like banks who you had banked with since a kid.
"NONE of them are immune to copping a medical driving ban tomorrow."
Too many of them would view that as a form of bureaucratic interference with their "rights", and carry on driving regardless.
I agree that there is an automatic assumption that you will have a friend or family member who is able to drive you to outpatient appointments.
A couple of years ago, I had to have a minor investigative procedure which was to be done under general anaesthetic as an outpatient at the hospital. The requirement was that I not drive after this (entirely reasonably), and that I needed to be with someone who could monitor me for the next few hours in case I collapsed (again, a reasonable precaution).
My proposal that I uber to the hospital, then uber to my Mum's place – about a 10-minute trip each way – was rejected.
The *only* acceptable solution was to have someone drive to the hospital and for me to be released into that person's care. My Mum doesn't drive, and for one reason or another, there was no other family member free to drive me on that day. I saw no reason to ask friends to take a day off work – for what seemed like a piece of unreasonable bureaucracy.
I protested – and they eventually agreed to carry out the procedure under local anaesthetic. Which was absolutely a double win as far as I was concerned – the recovery from general is much worse.
But, it did make me wonder how people who don't have family networks, and/or aren't stroppy sheilas who don't take 'no' for an answer, fare in the 'system'. I expect that the answer is badly.
“I think there won’t be a lot of memory about Jacinda Ardern other than, she was a young woman that was appointed to the job of Prime Minister, a job she once claimed she never ever wanted to do. The second term was overwhelming for her. But really it just shows you, given the overwhelming support she had two years ago, how ill-equipped she was to do the job by quitting a year early.”
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/politics/dame-jacinda-arderns-legacy-barry-soper-and-audrey-young-on-the-front-page/RCI563RTNZF5RBQ7J5J75LB6UI/
We live in a supposed free country but it is still galling to see the utter crap spewed out from the low-life likes of Barry Soper on the front page of a national newspaper.
'Ill-equipped to do the job' – any job – describes snarky Soper to a tee.
Personal requirements for NZ Police………
Police officers need to be:
It appears Soper would fail on most of these….……
It's pure sour grapes from has-been Barry – eclipsed by Ardern from the get go.
BS apparently didn't learn much at his high school – that last sentence quoted from his piece isn't even grammatical, never mind factually correct.
I guess this will be filed under ant-semitism…but imo…it is an indictment on the Israel/U.S doctrine in the M.E.
At least 100 journalists have been killed since Israel’s war on Gaza began on October.
International law!=whats dat?
Gaza media office says 100 journalists killed since Israeli attacks began | Israel-Palestine conflict News | Al Jazeera
International law is different than the 'rules based order'
A good read about printer Aldus Manutius, the bibliophile’s bibliophile who, between 1495 and 1515, issued more first editions of classical texts than had ever been published before or since.
Venice was a city of printers and readers. In his World of Aldus Manutius, Martin Lowry made a rough guess that, in 1500, Venetian presses produced twenty books per member of the city’s population. There were more printshops – and more booksellers, stationers, bookbinders – in Venice than anywhere else in Europe: twice as many editions were printed there than in Paris, its closest rival.
https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v45/n24/erin-maglaque/case-endings-and-calamity