Open mike 26/01/2014
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6:53 am, January 26th, 2014 - 123 comments
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- NZ economy’s strong momentum will support rebound from Delta outbreak; COVID fund replenishedThe economy showed strong momentum in the period leading up to the recent Delta COVID-19 outbreak, which bodes well for a solid economic rebound, Grant Robertson said. GDP rose 2.8 percent in the June quarter, following on from a 1.4 percent increase in the previous March quarter. This was a ...5 days ago
- Projects create benefits into the futureMaking a well-known lake swimmable and helping to halt the decline of the endangered hoiho/yellow-eyed penguins are among a suite of new projects being supported by the Government’s Jobs for Nature programme across the southern South Island, Conservation Minister Kiri Allan says. “It’s no secret that many of our most ...5 days ago
- Opening statement for Whāriki Indigenous Small Business RoundtableKei ngā tōpito e wha o te āo e rere ana te mihi maioha ki a koutou nō tawhiti, nō tata mai e tāpiri ana ki tēnei taumata kōrero mo te ao hokohoko arā mā ngā pākihi mo ngā iwi taketake Tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou katoa – Pai Mārire. ...6 days ago
- New members appointed to KāpuiaThe Government is adding four additional members to Kāpuia, the Ministerial Advisory Group on the Government’s Response to the Royal Commission of Inquiry into the terrorist attack on Christchurch mosques. “I’m looking forward to having Pamela MacNeill, Huia Bramley, Melani Anae and Katherine Dedo join Kāpuia and contribute to this group’s ...6 days ago
- Timeline confirmed for Emissions Reductions PlanCabinet has agreed to begin consulting on the Emissions Reduction Plan in early October and require that the final plan be released by the end of May next year in line with the 2022 Budget, the Minister of Climate Change, James Shaw confirmed today. “Cabinet’s decision allows organisations and communities ...6 days ago
- Pay parity pathway for early learning teachers confirmedPay parity conditions and higher funding rates for education and care services will come into force on 1 January, 2022, Minister of Education Chris Hipkins confirmed today. The Government signalled this work in Budget 2021. “From 1 January, 2022, centres opting into the scheme will receive government funding and be ...6 days ago
- Speech to the New Zealand Nurses Organisation Conference 2021Kia Ora tatau katoa. Ka tuku mihi ki nga nēhi, He pou Hauora o Aotearoa, E ora ai tatou. Whakatau mai I runga i te kaupapa o te ra Te NZNO conference. Tena koutou tena koutou Tena tatou katoa Good morning, and thank you inviting me ...6 days ago
- Government investment in farmer-led catchment groups sweeps past 150 mark171 catchment groups have now been invested in by the Government 31 catchment groups in the Lower North Island are receiving new support More than 5,000 farmers are focussed on restoring freshwater within a generation through involvement in catchment groups Government investment in on-the-ground efforts by farmers to improve land ...7 days ago
- Fight to protect kauri on trackThe Government is pitching in to help vital work to protect nationally significant kauri forests in Auckland, Minister of Conservation Kiri Allan says. “Ensuring the survival of these iconic trees for future generations means doing everything we can to prevent the potential spread of kauri dieback disease,” Kiri Allan said. ...7 days ago
- Joint statement of Mr Bernard Monk; Hon Andrew Little, Minister Responsible for Pike River Re-entry,...[Note: The Parties have agreed on terms to fully and finally settle the proceeding and will jointly issue the below statement.] At the heart of this litigation are the lives of the 29 men tragically lost at the Pike River mine on 19 November 2010 and to whom we pay ...1 week ago
- More financial support for businessesToday’s decision to keep Auckland in a higher COVID Alert Level triggers a third round of the Wage Subsidy Scheme which will open for applications at 9am this Friday. “The revenue test period for this payment will be the 14th to the 27th of September. A reminder that this is ...1 week ago
- Aotearoa New Zealand provides further humanitarian support for AfghanistanAotearoa New Zealand is providing a further $3 million in humanitarian assistance in Afghanistan, Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta announced today. “There is significant humanitarian need in Afghanistan, with the crisis disproportionately affecting women and girls,” said Nanaia Mahuta. The UN has estimated that 80% of the quarter of a million ...1 week ago
- Innovative te reo prediction tool announced in Te Wiki o Te Reo MāoriA new Māori language prediction tool will play a key role in tracking our te reo Māori revitalisation efforts, Minister for Māori Development Willie Jackson announced today. He Ara Poutama mō te reo Māori (He Ara Poutama) can forecast the number of conversational and fluent speakers of te reo Māori ...1 week ago
- Further Government support for people to access food and essential itemsThe Government is responding to need for support in Auckland and has committed a further $10 million to help people access ongoing food and other essential items, Minister for Social Development Carmel Sepuloni announced today. This latest tranche is targeted at the Auckland region, helping providers and organisations to distribute ...1 week ago
- Half a million Pfizer vaccines from DenmarkThe Government has secured an extra half a million doses of Pfizer COVID-19 vaccines from Denmark that will start arriving in New Zealand within days, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced today. “This is the second and larger agreement the Government has entered into to purchase additional vaccines to meet the ...1 week ago
- Inland Revenue providing essential COVID support for businessesInland Revenue is seeing increased demand for Resurgence Support Payments and other assistance schemes that it administers, but is processing applications quickly, Revenue Minister David Parker said today. David Parker said the Resurgence Support Payment, the Small Business Cashflow (loan) Scheme and the Wage Subsidy are available at the same ...1 week ago
- New Zealand marks 20th anniversary of 9/11 attacksNew Zealand is expressing unity with all victims, families and loved ones affected by the September 11 2001 terrorist attacks, and all terrorist attacks around the world since, including in New Zealand. “Saturday marks twenty years since the 9/11 terrorist attacks in the United States, which killed nearly 3,000 people ...2 weeks ago
- Speech to SPREP Environment MinistersTalofa Honourable Ulu of Tokelau Faipule Kelihiano Kalolo Tēnā koutou katoa and warm Pacific greetings from Aotearoa to your excellencies, ladies and gentlemen. The new science released by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change on 8 August paints an alarming picture of the projected impacts of climate change on the ...2 weeks ago
- Additional Resurgence Support Payments to support businessBusinesses affected by higher Alert Levels will be able to apply for further Resurgence Support Payments (RSP). “The Government’s RSP was initially intended as a one-off payment to help businesses with their fixed costs, such as rent. Ministers have agreed to provide additional payments to recognise the effects of an ...2 weeks ago
- More Dawn Raids scholarships announcedDetails of the ‘Manaaki New Zealand Short Term Training Scholarships’, a goodwill gesture that follows the Government’s apology for the Dawn Raids of the 1970s, were released today by Pacific Peoples Minister Aupito William Sio. “These scholarships that are targeted to the Pacific will support the kaupapa of the Dawn Raids’ ...2 weeks ago
- One-way quarantine-free travel for RSE workers starting in OctoberOne-way quarantine-free travel for Recognised Seasonal Employer (RSE) workers from Samoa, Tonga and Vanuatu starts in October New requirement for RSE workers to have received their first vaccination pre-departure, undertake Day 0 and Day 5 tests, and complete a self-isolation period of seven days, pending a negative Day 5 ...2 weeks ago
- Govt boosts Pacific suicide prevention supportApplications have opened for the Pacific Suicide Prevention Community Fund as the Government acts to boost support amid the COVID delta outbreak. “We know strong and connected families and communities are the most important protective factor against suicide and this $900,000 fund will help to support this work,” Health Minister ...2 weeks ago
- Govt parks the expiry of licenses, WoFs and regosAs a result of the Delta outbreak, driver licences, Warrants of Fitness (WoFs), Certificates of Fitness (CoFs), vehicle licences (‘regos’) and licence endorsements that expired on or after 21 July 2021 will be valid until 30 November 2021, Transport Minister Michael Wood has announced today. “While this extension won’t officially ...2 weeks ago
- COVID-19 community fund to provide support for vulnerable women and girlsMinister for Women Jan Tinetti today announced a $2 million community fund that will provide support for women and girls adversely affected by COVID-19. “We know that women, particularly those who are already vulnerable, are disproportionally affected by the kind of economic disruption caused by COVID-19,” Jan Tinetti said. ...2 weeks ago
- Next phase of support for Fiji’s COVID-19 response announcedA further NZ$12 million of support for Fiji’s COVID-19 response has been announced by Foreign Minister Hon Nanaia Mahuta today. The package builds on previous tranches of assistance Aotearoa New Zealand has provided to Fiji, totalling over NZ$50 million. “Fiji remains in a very challenging position in their response to ...2 weeks ago
- Robotic asparagus harvester aimed at addressing industry challengesThe Government is backing a $5 million project to develop a commercial-scale autonomous robotic asparagus harvester, Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor announced today. The Sustainable Food and Fibre Futures fund (SFF Futures) is contributing $2.6 million to the project. Project partner Robotics Plus Limited (RPL) will build on a prototype asparagus ...2 weeks ago
- Additional Pfizer vaccines to arrive tomorrowMore than a quarter of a million additional doses of the Pfizer vaccine are on their way from Spain to New Zealand, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced today. The additional doses will arrive in Auckland on Friday morning to help meet the current surge in demand for vaccination. “It’s been ...2 weeks ago
- Young people to have their voices heard in Youth Parliament 2022The dates and details for Youth Parliament 2022 have been announced today by Minister for Youth Priyanca Radhakrishnan, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives. Youth Parliament is an opportunity for 141 young people from across Aotearoa New Zealand to experience the political process and learn how government works. ...2 weeks ago
- Boosting support for tertiary students affected by COVID-19Students facing a hard time as a result of COVID-19 restrictions will continue to be supported,” Education Minister Chris Hipkins confirmed today. The Government is putting a further $20 million into the Hardship Fund for Learners, which will help around 15,000 students to stay connected to their studies and learning. ...2 weeks ago
- COVID-19: Immediate relief available for Māori and iwi organisationsThe Government has reprioritised up to $5 million to provide immediate relief to vulnerable whānau Māori and communities during the current COVID-19 outbreak Minister for Māori Development Willie Jackson announced today. The COVID-19 2021 Whānau Recovery Fund will support community-driven, local responses to gaps in access and provision of critical ...2 weeks ago
- Digital tech is the future, but a new report shows Australia risks being left in the past
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Shazia Sadiq, Professor, The University of Queensland Headway/Unsplash.com, CC BY-SA Digital technologies are now at the heart of our everyday lives, as anyone who has swapped their office for a videoconferencing screen, or downloaded a contact-tracing app, knows only too ...15 mins ago - Which federal MP is spending the most on Facebook advertising? (Hint: it is not Craig Kelly)Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Christopher Scanlon, Senior Lecturer in Communication, Deakin University Mick Tsikas/AAP Which federal MP spends the most on Facebook advertising? If you guessed Prime Minister Scott Morrison or Labor leader Anthony Albanese — or even headline-grabbing backbenchers Craig Kelly or Andrew ...15 mins ago
- Therapy for babies showing early signs of autism reduces the chance of clinical diagnosis at age 3Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andrew Whitehouse, Bennett Chair of Autism, Telethon Kids Institute, The University of Western Australia Shutterstock A therapy for infants showing early signs of autism reduces the chance of the child meeting diagnostic criteria for autism at three years of age. ...15 mins ago
- New Zealand has ramped up vaccination rates, but too many people remain concerned about vaccine safe...Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Stephen Croucher, Professor and Head of School of Communication, Journalism, and Marketing, Massey University Fiona Goodall/Getty Images After five weeks in the strictest lockdown, Auckland will move to level 3 restrictions from midnight on Tuesday, for at least two weeks. ...15 mins ago
- Climate change is testing the resilience of native plants to fire, from ash forests to gymea liliesSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rachael Helene Nolan, Postdoctoral research fellow, Western Sydney University One year following the 2019/20 fires, this forest has been slow to recover. Rachael Nolan, CC BY-NC-ND Green shoots emerging from black tree trunks is an iconic image in the days following bushfires, ...15 mins ago
- Scientists still don’t know how far melting in Antarctica will go – or the sea level rise it wil...Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Chen Zhao, Research associate, University of Tasmania The Antarctic ice sheet is the largest mass of ice in the world, holding around 60% of the world’s fresh water. If it all melted, global average sea levels would rise by 58 metres. But ...15 mins ago
- Decoding the music masterpieces: Stravinsky’s The FirebirdSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Scott Davie, Lecturer in Piano, School of Music, Australian National University Kent G Becker/flickr, CC BY-SA On June 25 1910, Igor Stravinsky’s ballet The Firebird opened to acclaim at the Paris Opéra. The success propelled its composer, then aged 28, ...16 mins ago
- A hectic day in the life of a wastewater tester
With an increased demand for wastewater testing in order to monitor the spread of Covid-19, ESR scientists are feeling the pressure. Chris Schulz meets one in the middle of a hectic day at work.The chilly bins begin piling up early. They range in size – from small polystyrene packs to ...33 mins ago - Live updates, September 21: Bloomfield denies ‘spinning’ for the government as elimination strat...Welcome to The Spinoff’s live updates for September 21, by Stewart Sowman-Lund. Say hello at stewart@thespinoff.co.nz.8.00am: Bloomfield denies ‘spinning’ for the government as elimination strategy questionedA tense face-off between Mike Hosking and Ashley Bloomfield on Newstalk ZB this morning saw the director general of health push back at an assertion ...36 mins ago
- ‘A calculated risk’ as restrictions easedAuckland’s move to level three has left some experts worried that delta could spring back to life as hundreds of thousands of people are called back to work, Justin Giovannetti writes in The Bulletin.We’ve never been here before. One of the most infectious variants of Covid-19 is still appearing unexpectedly in ...1 hour ago
- Timeline: How Covid-19 left Auckland with a man on bail
Why could a recently released prisoner cross the Auckland boundary and how was he infected? Political reporter Katie Scotcher traces his steps. ...1 hour ago - Anti-terror law back before Parliament today, but faces oppositionLegislation introducing a new offence for planning a terrorist attack comes back to Parliament today, after being expedited as a result of the LynnMall attack. ...2 hours ago
- How Australia is laughing all the way to the bank
Commitments to more investment in research like this year's infectious diseases funding are critical to sustainably recovering from this month's very sharp economic contraction. ...2 hours ago - Illusions Of History: How Misunderstanding The Past Jeopardises Our Future
The 2.8 percent jump in GDP in the June quarter 2021 does not mean that the government’s economic strategy is sound. In fact, it is dangerous wishful thinking based on a false reading of history, according to a new research report from The New Zealand ...3 hours ago - Call To Address Pay Equity For Community Social Workers Gathers Urgency On Social Workers’ DayOrganisations representing community social services and social workers have joined forces to launch a collective call for pay equity and fair funding this Social Workers’ Day, September 22. Employers, union representatives and social worker advocates say ...3 hours ago
- Newsroom daily quiz, Tuesday 21 September3 hours ago
- Newsroom daily crossword, Tuesday 21 September3 hours ago
- Auckland is heading into alert level three. How do the rules change?As of 11.59pm tonight, Tuesday September 21, greater Auckland moves from level four to level three. What are the rules?The Spinoff is committed to clear, timely and independent coverage of the Covid crisis – help us keep that work free for all to read by joining Spinoff Members now.Which parts ...3 hours ago
- Why improving air quality is key to preventing Covid outbreaks in schoolsNew Zealand classrooms are often crowded, damp, mouldy and poorly ventilated – prime conditions for Covid to spread. And with new strains affecting children more than ever, making our schools safer should be an urgent priority, writes public health researcher Julie Bennett. Children in most parts of the country have returned ...3 hours ago
- Neil Gaiman recommends
A round-up of good things for Māori writing and Māori writers First the good news: there is no bad news in this story about recent developments in Māori writing. This story is purely and only about things happening to Māori writers and Māori writing which are pretty damned good. THE ...4 hours ago - Wellbeing budgets not a PR exercise
A recent critique of the Government’s wellbeing budgets misses the larger context that they are part of a growing international movement. It also fails to acknowledge the complexity of the issues being addressed, argues Justin Connolly. Dennis Wesselbaum recently called for better public policy to support greater wellbeing in New ...4 hours ago - Human connection trumps internet connection, for young and old
There's a new Covid-created opportunity to narrow the digital divide – and business and government leaders know they need to work with grassroots community workers to grasp that opportunity | Partnership content Aunty Hei lives by herself near Māngere, where the people and experiences of South Auckland slosh together in ...4 hours ago - A 'next level' plan for Covid in 2022
When it comes to New Zealand’s Covid-19 response, we should be able to think big and consider far-fetched and expensive options in order to avoid more lockdowns, argue Professor Philip Hill, Tony McFall and Professor Kurt Krause If there is one thing that's clear to everyone in New Zealand as we move forward into ...4 hours ago - Keeping a secret, secret
Our name suppression laws seem easy to circumvent - and applying to have your name kept out of the media often seems to fuel a quest to publish. What are the rules really aimed at? When a rich and connected Auckland couple broke Covid rules to holiday in Wanaka, the ...4 hours ago - Courier delays expected as Auckland businesses open up to fulfil backlog orders
NZ Post asks for patience as Auckland drops alert levels to allow deliveries of non-essential items. ...4 hours ago - Three lockdown lessons for the environment
A study on the habits of Victoria University of Wellington students and staff during lockdown revealed three notable lifestyle changes. Andrew Wilks looks at how locking down improves sustainability. Comment: Pandemic lockdowns are tough—anxiety levels are raised, social contact is limited, and work life is turned upside down. For most of ...4 hours ago - Modern slavery: Time for NZ legislation
Several proposed Members' Bills have failed in the NZ Parliament and this country has fallen behind other nations in forcing businesses to prevent forced labour being used in their products. Modern slavery: we may look on the very idea with horror, but most New Zealanders regularly buy goods produced overseas ...4 hours ago - Level 3 'till Christmas': Government's great gamble
The Government will entrust contact tracers with the mission of stamping out the Delta outbreak, but the consequences of failure are disastrous, Marc Daalder reports Analysis: Less than an hour after Jacinda Ardern announced Auckland would move to Level 3 from Tuesday night, epidemiologists and disease modellers formed a party ...4 hours ago - Montague faces hurdles before MMA world title bid
Travelling the globe on her own, unsure of when she'll return home, Kiwi MMA fighter Michelle Montague won't be deterred on her way to a world title bid in Kazakhstan Michelle Montague isn't letting a series of obstacles derail her plans to become a mixed martial arts world champion for a second time. ...4 hours ago - How 'traffic light' system for reopening borders will work
The Government will take 10 factors into account when determining how risky each country is once the borders reopen. ...4 hours ago - Oliver Hartwich: A torpedo to European security
France is furious, Europe is weakened and the concept of alliances is in doubt after the big move by the United States and Britain to use Australia in their cold war with China ...4 hours ago - Who gives a tweet about MIQ misery
The government’s choice of a randomised electronic queue for the distribution of 3,000 MIQ rooms yesterday had one surprising benefit. It showed just how many New Zealanders were desperate enough to stand in e-line – more than 26,000 according to Stuff. It also reminds us that while ministers and ...11 hours ago - New Zealand government takes a calculated risk to relax Auckland’s lockdown while new cases contin...Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michael Plank, Professor in Applied Mathematics, University of Canterbury Fiona Goodall/Getty Images The decision to move Auckland to alert level 3 from midnight on Tuesday is a calculated risk by the government. New daily cases in Auckland have stayed stubbornly ...13 hours ago
- COVID will likely shift from pandemic to endemic — but what does that mean?Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Lara Herrero, Research Leader in Virology and Infectious Disease, Griffith University Most people are wondering when and how the COVID pandemic will end and there are still no easy answers. The word “endemic” is regularly mentioned, especially among public health leaders and ...14 hours ago
- Why you shouldn’t make a habit of doing a ‘just in case’ wee — and don’t tell your kids to...Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jennifer King, Honorary Clinical Lecturer, University of Sydney Shutterstock We’ve all done done a quick “just in case” wee before heading out or because we’re passing the bathroom. If you’re a parent, you might have also told the kids to ...15 hours ago
- Why is southeast Asia so concerned about AUKUS and Australia’s plans for nuclear submarines?Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By James Chin, Professor of Asian Studies, University of Tasmania The announcement of a new strategic alliance between Australia, the US and UK (AUKUS) has caught many by surprise. Besides France, which reacted with fury over Australia’s scrapping of a major submarine deal ...16 hours ago
- Relief for Auckland – more rules for Mangatangi
Aucklanders can breathe a sigh of relief stepping down to Alert Level 3, but for a small community in Waikato it's back to Alert Level 4, for now Cabinet has decided to move Auckland out of lockdown at 11.59pm on Tuesday after it received advice that there is "no significant ...16 hours ago - Coalition gains a point in Newspoll, but Morrison slides back into net negative ratingsSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Beaumont, Honorary Associate, School of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of Melbourne AAP/Joel Carrett This week’s Newspoll, conducted September 15-18 from a sample a little over 1,500, gave Labor a 53-47 lead, a one-point gain for the Coalition since ...17 hours ago
- Australia’s COVID plan was designed before we knew how Delta would hit us. We need more flexibilit...Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Quiggin, Professor, School of Economics, The University of Queensland Lukas Coch/AAP The great economist John Maynard Keynes, when accused of inconsistency on some policy, is credited with saying: “When the facts change, I change my mind. What do you ...18 hours ago
- ‘No other people popular like Franco Cozzo in Melbourne’: a new film explores his colorful, hard...Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By David Nichols, Senior Lecturer – Urban Planning, The University of Melbourne Sharmill Films Review: Palazzo di Cozzo, directed by Madeleine Martiniello Every Melburnian over 40, and many under, knows (or thinks they know) who Franco Cozzo is. He rose to ...19 hours ago
- Whiteness in the time of COVID: Australia’s health services still leaving vulnerable communities b...Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kelly Menzel, Assistant Professor – First Nations Health, Bond University Due to the ongoing effects of colonisation, First Nations peoples often experience socio-economic disadvantage and health inequality. The pandemic has no doubt worsened these conditions for some. In addition, the health ...19 hours ago
- The way out of Alert Level Four Covid confinement (it seems) is to get arrested and be freed on rema...
The Beehive website has been focused on Covid-related news in recent days – each of the last four press statements from ministers is related to Covid-19 issues and, for good measure, we can include a statement which arrived in our email in-tray yesterday from Peeni Henare which has not yet ...19 hours ago - End funding to the Kahukura programThe New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union is calling for the Government to end funding to the Kahukura meth rehab program after a devastating analysis of the program from Judge Russell Collins. Executive Director the Union Jordan Williams says, “The ...20 hours ago
- Closing the digital divide requires ‘constant attention’, say education expertsEach day of lockdown is exacerbating the digital divide for many, but experts say the answers will be found in the communities worst affected.The divide between the digital haves and have-nots continues to be one of the major fallouts from this pandemic, according to education minister Chris Hipkins. Despite more ...20 hours ago
- The desperate crowd in the MIQ lobby
With the unveiling of the MIQ virtual lobby booking system this morning, Kiwis trying to get home are starting to wonder if they ever actually will A few weeks ago, the announcement of a virtual lobby and queue system coming to the MIQ booking system got hopes up worldwide ...20 hours ago - “Purpose-built MIQ facilities are urgently needed”The Opportunities Party (TOP) says the Government must not waste any more time and provide facilities that are fit-for purpose for the long-term management of this persistent virus. “25,000 Kiwis are trapped overseas and unable to return because ...20 hours ago
- The Spinoff Covid tracker: 15 live graphs that tell the story of delta in AotearoaEverything you need to know about how the Covid-19 pandemic is tracking in New Zealand, through regularly updated data visualisations.The Spinoff Covid tracker brings together all the relevant Covid data – cases, tests, vaccination and mobility – in one place.The aim of this page is to show the numbers in ...20 hours ago
- Australian students say they understand global issues, but few are learning another language compare...Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sarah Richardson, Research Director, Surveys and International Assessments, Australian Council for Educational Research students More Australian 15 year olds feel they are familiar with global issues such as climate change, migration, causes of poverty and equality between men and women than ...21 hours ago
- TOP says purpose-built MIQ Facilities are urgently needed“25,000 Kiwis are trapped overseas and unable to return because we have severely limited MIQ spaces. 25,000 Kiwis unable to see terminally ill loved ones, unable to celebrate milestones with friends and families, and unable to return to live in ...21 hours ago
- Newsletter: New Zealand Politics Daily – September 20 2021Editor’s Note: Here below is a list of the main issues currently under discussion in New Zealand and links to media coverage. You can sign up to NZ Politics Daily as well as New Zealand Political Roundup columns for free here. Today’s content AUKUS, foreign affairs, trade Audrey Young (Herald): Preparing ...22 hours ago
- All the locations of interest on an interactive NZ map, sorted by exposure time and date of listingView all places of interest on the maps below, and sort by both the dates of potential exposure and the days when added. Plus: a searchable table with all locations. Built by the Spinoff’s head of data, Harkanwal Singh.The Spinoff’s coverage of the Covid story depends on support from Members. ...22 hours ago
- Whanganui racetracks sees half a dozen greyhounds injuredAt a racing meet last Wednesday, six dogs were injured at the Whanganui greyhound racing track. Two of the dogs suffered broken legs, with a third suspected. Two of the dogs are undergoing x-rays to confirm. ...22 hours ago
- How the pandemic propelled these home cooks to social media stardomLooking to spice up their weeknights, cooped-up New Zealanders have been seeking culinary inspiration on their phones, and these three clever cooks have capitalised. Greeting her 29,000 followers with a peppy “It’s Friday!” Polly Markus, of Miss Polly’s Kitchen, gestures enthusiastically at the camera while explaining her latest creation.Describing the meal, ...22 hours ago
- Health reforms: Wider role for pharmacistsTo mark World Pharmacists Day on 25 September, the Pharmaceutical Society of New Zealand is calling for the Government to ensure a wider range of healthcare services are available at your local pharmacy. According to Professor Rhiannon Braund, president ...22 hours ago
- The battle of Highland Park: Supermarkets in stand-off despite public promise
Between two Countdown supermarkets is an open air shopping mall that has been left desolate by the country's warring supermarket chains – and regardless of shiny promises to the Commerce Commission, nothing is changing yet Barber Marja Bol cut a lot of locals' hair over the seven years she worked ...23 hours ago - Waikato cases throw wrench into Govt's works
Analysis: Three new cases in the Waikato and the spectre of more than a week of community transmission have derailed the Government's likely decision to move Auckland to Level 3, Marc Daalder reports With the Cabinet poised to move Auckland down to Level 3 after the country's longest ever Level ...23 hours ago - The battle of Highland Park: Supermarkets stand-off despite public promiseSupermarkets in stand-off despite public promise to Commerce Commission ...23 hours ago
- NZ Left Out of the AUKUS Military InitiativeThe recently announced military alliance between the United States, the United Kingdom, and the government of Australia is related to strategic and vital sales of naval weapons capability and not a unique new defence strategy. ...23 hours ago
- The hunt for New Zealand’s best meal kit delivery serviceJihee Junn crunches the numbers on a recent study comparing the biggest players in the meal kit game. As a single, childless individual who doesn’t really mind filling up on five bowls of oatmeal a day, I can’t say I’ve ever been one to fully embrace the meal kit movement. But ...24 hours ago
- Undersea internet cables connect Pacific islands to the world. But geopolitical tension is tugging a...Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Amanda H A Watson, Research Fellow, Department of Pacific Affairs, Australian National University Cable coming ashore from a ship. Coral Sea Cable System If you’ve ever emailed a resort in Fiji or Vanuatu about that long-awaited holiday, it’s likely your email travelled ...1 day ago
- Why unions support vaccination — but not employer mandatesSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Joo-Cheong Tham, Professor, Melbourne Law School, The University of Melbourne The American union movement has split over President Joe Biden’s proposal for companies with more than 100 employees to vaccinate their workforces against COVID-19. With increasing numbers of employers mandating COVID-19 ...1 day ago
- People dropped whisky into their noses to treat Spanish flu. Here’s what else they took that would...Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Philippa Martyr, Lecturer, Pharmacology, Women’s Health, School of Biomedical Sciences, The University of Western Australia Shutterstock We’re researching COVID-19 in a fast-paced world with new data becoming available all the time. We track which interventions work well and which ones ...1 day ago
- Yes, Australia is buying a fleet of nuclear submarines. But nuclear-powered electricity must not com...Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ian Lowe, Emeritus Professor, School of Science, Griffith University Shutterstock The federal government on Thursday announced a landmark defence pact with the United States and United Kingdom that involves this nation acquiring nuclear-powered submarines. The question of nuclear submarines in ...1 day ago
- Delayed graduations, no formals — the class of 2021 has had a hell of a year. They need mental hea...Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Caroline Hunt, Professor of Clinical Psychology, University of Sydney Shutterstock In August this year, the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) published research charting the impact of the pandemic on the mental health of young people. In the first ...1 day ago
- The fraying tempers and fracturing resolve of Victoria’s endless lockdownThe state of Victoria has now spent almost two months in lockdown, its seventh since the pandemic began. It’s little surprise that the mood has turned so dark in recent days, writes Joe Nunweek, a New Zealander based in MelbourneI got home to Aotearoa from Narrm for a few weeks’ ...1 day ago
- Level change at risk from three cases in Waikato
Three new Covid cases just outside the Auckland boundaries prompt a call for Auckland's Level 4 lockdown to be extended and to include the Waikato A testing centre is being set up at a marae in the Waikato settlement of Kaiaua today after three community cases of Covid-19 were confirmed in ...1 day ago - The path to 90% vaccinationIt’s possible we won’t be able to get there, but the country has a target and the promise of doing away with level four lockdowns in the future, Justin Giovannetti writes in The Bulletin.The country’s vaccine programme now has a semi-official target of 90%. The director-general of health says we should ...1 day ago
- Live updates, September 20: Alert level decision to be announced as Covid confirmed in WaikatoWelcome to The Spinoff’s live updates for September 20, by Stewart Sowman-Lund. Say hello at stewart@thespinoff.co.nz.Today’s agenda 1pm: The latest delta Covid case numbers will be revealed by the Ministry of Health in a press release. We’ll be looking for two crucial things: the number of unlinked cases and whether the ...1 day ago
- NZX posts big gain, awaits rare IPO
Business & Investing: Index changes boost the NZX, Stride announces only the third IPO of the year, plus all eyes on this week's Fonterra full year result ...1 day ago - Newsroom daily crossword, Monday 20 September1 day ago
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Panui! Panui! Panui!
Wanting something fun, worthwhile, altruistic, artistically creative, and political, to do on Auckland Anniversary Day? Tired of listening to politicians making boring speeches excusing BAU? Sad at the damage climate change is doing to our world?
Join the fight against coal, the number 1 cause and most easily preventable cause of global greenhouse gas emissions.
Auckland Coal Action is calling for the public to rally to protest Fonterra’s proposed new coal mine.
Building on our series of successful on Labour Weekend, at Easter Weekend and Queens Birthday Weekend, help us make this Monday’s Auckland Anniversary Day our most successful protest ever.
By continuing to build these protests we will make sure that Fonterra gets the message that the world can’t afford more new coal mines.
This holiday Monday 28 January, starting at 3pm (set up from 2pm) On the Auckland-bound side of State Highway 2 next to the site of the proposed new coal mine on the Mangatawhiri straight.
Meeting at the corner of Homestead Road (motorway overbridge) and Bell Road.
Coming from Auckland you will need to take the Mangatawhiri exit from State Highway 2 onto Mangatawhiri Road (incorrectly shown as Mangatangi Rd on Google Maps).
Coming from the East, you will need to take the Golf Road exit.
Click here for a map of the area: http://www.wises.co.nz/l/waikato/mangatawhiri/bell+road/#c/-37.221375/175.148721/15/
What should I bring?
Just bring yourself and your friends. We have lots of colourful banners and signs, that they can hold, stating opposition to climate change, and coal mining.
bearing these messages:
No New Coal Mines
Coal Cooks the Climate
Back Off Fonterra
Use Wood Waste Fonterra
Coal Causes Drought
Coal = Climate Chaos = Drought
Coal Dried Milk = Climate Dried Paddocks
Coal Free Mangatawhiri
But if you or your friends want to bring along your very own creative climate change messages to present to the public and Fonterra this would be very welcome also.
What can I do?
There will be lots of returning holiday crowds for you to interact with, Bored out of their minds sitting in the traffic and interested by anything you do, to bring attention to the danger of coal to the environment.
Can anyone come?
Yes. If you are returning from your holiday why not stop and join the rally? You will only be stuck in traffic anyway!
Support the campaign against new coal mines!
If you need transport and or want to be part of our car pool or for updates on this activity go to our website or facebook page.
http://aucklandcoalaction.org/
https://www.facebook.com/groups/aklcoal/
Oh, Jenny’s back.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/education/9650581/School-ditches-rules-and-loses-bullies
– Heres something I think we can all agree on
chris73 – born again anarchist.
I suspect a lot of collaborative engagement, and less competitive jockeying for positions of power.
Naah its just common sense that kids need to burn off energy
There was more going on there than burning energy – collaborative games (bullrush) – creating stuff in the junk pit. Rather than trying to structure children’s play through rules, just structure the environment and leave them to it. That’s what happens in early childhood education – kindergartens etc. Somehow that changes with many school playgrounds for older children – they are left with big open spaces and little in the environment to work with other than each other.
I think the PC brigade had bullrush banned years ago, or did that get reversed?
My mum hated bullrush but only because of the damage done to our clothes (three boys)
Oh yes, the more energy they go through at school, means more peace in the home.
@ chris 73….+100 …interesting….I agree with this….kids need to explore all avenues of creativity in the playground…eg. war games, climbing trees and gettiing into hedges…water and sand play ….even so-called risky behaviour ….because this is how they learn to set their own safety limits
….mind you there always needs to be some loose teacher playground supervision …to ensure no bullying or real harm to kids
See I knew there could be cross-party support 🙂
we’ll convert you yet…you do seem to be a frequent visitor….maybe you like our company?( ha ha)
I liked what Shane Jones had to say…
Of course you did.
It’s a great idea.
Yes – great idea.
If you want to spread those new wings of yours – have a look at
Forest kindergartens – and Adventure Playgrounds.
Kids burning off energy indeed.
I remember years ago, when I was in primary school, we had this massive (in the minds of us kids) 2 story playhouse, with an outside ladder to the second story, a pole, slide, balcony with a swing bridge out the back. It was on ‘stilts’ so you could play under it as well as on it. And it had a heck of a view when you climbed up top. Us kids loved it, and upshifting to the “Standards” (not to be confused with this site), meant playing on the other side of the school, and confidence course-like arrangement of high ropes, hanging tires and swinging logs.
The playhouse was demolished not long before I left that school. Probably around the same time as the Tomorrow’s Schools reforms came in. It was replaced by some plastic looking lego type thing that seemed totally boring.
Should also remind everyone that it was National that brought in all the OSH red tape stuff.
just fuck off..!..shane jone..!
http://whoar.co.nz/2014/shane-jones-proves-what-a-reactionary-arsewipe-he-truly-is/
(excerpt:.)
“.. (ed:..and seriously..!
..an obese/fat/porn-addicted pisshead..
..saying cannabis ‘is a problem’..?
..is kinda beyond irony..eh..?..”
shane jones..putting the ‘act’ in reactionary…
…speaking of pissheads ( I am not one) ….but recently instead of an occasional glass of red wine( which is supposed to be good for you)….i have switched to Guiness Stout ….and omg….it really is good for you! ….full of iron and Vit Bs..( got rid of my creakiness and I feel miles younger….. ha ha) …..supposed to be good for hypertension also…….just what the doctor ordered…..so i am now drinking a glass of Guiness every night ….while my partner drinks his red wine
….also Guiness is less fattening than red wine or a glass of milk
Go the Irish!…..at last I have found my drink
Jones is a dinosaur.
I just hope he doesn’t go all Jurassic Park on us after the election this year. Labour can’t go with the Nats, however closely certain members of their caucus agree on most issues. But I could almost see Jones leading a breakaway faction of blue-reds (such an ugly bruised colour) that could congeal with NZF to give C&S to “the greatest party” (ie the one with most votes). Still, with the impending annihilation example of Dunne (and the MP) to show what happens to exLabourites who hook up with the Tories, such a course may not appeal.
One of a long list of prognostications about which I hope I am in error.
@ parsp..
“..But I could almost see Jones leading a breakaway faction of blue-reds (such an ugly bruised colour) that could congeal with NZF to give C&S to “the greatest party”..”
i agree…jones is in the wrong party..
..and the cherry on the cake is..
..that he is generally deemed to be short-listed for the ‘laziest-mp-in-parliament’-award..
..he just turns up to collect his paycheck..
..his performances in portfolios has been beyond dire..
..which is part of the reason there was so much hilarity when he stood/played-stalking-horse for the right/neo-libs..in his claim on the labour..leadership role..
..with most claiming that jones probably ‘couldn’t be bothered’ putting in the necessary hard work..
..an exercise by jones that was only given any credence by the paid-for corporate/access-media hacks..
..jones is also most famed for long-lunching..being over-fed by his lobbyists..
..(rapers of the environment/exploiters of third-world workers..all of them..)
..jones is the worst kind of greedy/self-interested reactionary tory in labour drag..
..he belongs on nationals’ back bench..
..up there with that other self-serving clown..henare..
..peas in a fucken pod..
..those two..
..eh..?
..phillip ure..
Out of curiosity what is your success rate on your long line of prognostications?
As far as Dunne goes he is merely another example of what happens when they get into the governmental bed with a larger party. They get crushed.
National or Labour, it doesn’t matter. Tell me where the Alliance Party, a Labour supporter went too.
nah..!..alwyn..
..it’s those mesh-stockings/suspender-belts/fanny-flashing micro-skirts/crimson-painted-lips he wears/affects ..
.. that make dunne different..
..but most importantly..
.it is that ‘for sale/hire – short-time ok!..eftpos-accepted’ sign dunne has hanging around his neck..
..that makes him stand out from the others..
..phillip ure..
The Alliance cracked internally and not because of outside pressure from a larger party. They have, unfortunately, forgotten the reason for being a party though. This seems to be a problem with most left leaning small parties.
I think it is a bit more general than that. If you have a look at what happens to parties other than Labour and National in the election that follows their first term in Government you find that the smaller parties all crash in popularity. I’ve only looked at what happened at the election in which they first enetered Government, not what might have happened in later elections. I mean Jim Anderton dropped from 2 to 1 but it was their first term in Powerr that did them in.
ie 1996
New Zealand First was part of the Government with 17 seats. In the next election they dropped to 5 seats.
1999.
The Alliance, in Government with 10 seats. Next election they got 2.
2002
United Future had 8 seats. Next election they got 3
2005.
New Zealand First had 7 seats. Next election none.
2008
ACT had 5 seats. Next election 1
Maori Party 5 seats. Next election 3.
In the mean time the Green Party, never part of the Government, went along, starting in 1999, with 7,9,6,9,and 14 seats. It looks as if NOT being in Government helps if you are small, don’t you think.
Poor Chooky. Conned by the Irish.
You say “Guiness Stout ……full of iron …”
I’m sorry to say but the benefits of iron from drinking Guiness are a myth.
As an example I will point you to an example of the dietician’s comments on the subject.
You would have to drink three pints of Guiness to get as much iron as a single egg yolk.
You would have to drink fifteen pints of Guiness to get as much iron as two Weetabix.
Not being English I don’t know what a Weetabix is but I assume it is like our Weetbix.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-1222684/Dont-believe-say-Guiness-isnt-good-you.html
I won’t suggest you check any of the other claims. Assume they are right and you can go on drinking with a clear conscience. If you check them you may have to settle on drinking it because it tastes good.
Many years ago… stout was my choice of tipple, so I can appreciate your enthusiasm. But was a Murphys or Beamish aficionado myself.
Didn’t stop me visiting the Guinness brewery in Dublin though, and discovering that for many years a glass of Guinness was given by Dublin hospital to women after childbirth to revitalise them.
Don’t even recollect a cup of tea after delivering here…
I play it safe and try to have both 😉
But Guiness is out of most beneficiaries price range. Also Paula won’t like us drinking on the benefit even if it is good for our health.
1L a month ration for all NZers over 18, I say.
@ phillip ure on ..”saying cannabis ‘is a problem’..?”
News form USA debate:
http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2014/jan/24/patrick-kennedy/has-potency-pot-changed-president-obama-was-high-s/
@ chooky..
re yr link..
..this is the current ‘scary’ lie that prohibitionists peddle (with some effect..) to parents of today who smoked pot back then..
..(which instill (justifiable) concerns in those parents…)
..on an anecdotal-level..from one who smoked pot then..and smokes pot now..
..yes..as confirmed in yr link..the average-quality has increased..
..but that is just ‘cos of blackmarket vagaries/forces..as in ‘cabbage’ can’t be sold now..the maket is more sophisticated..there is ‘better stuff’ just down/across the road..
..but the strength/potency of good-pot has not changed between then and now..
..(facts actually confirmed in yr anti-pot link..)
“..But while the average is up due to the availability of marijuana with a higher THC count –
– the high mark in potency (somewhere around 25-27 percent) remains relatively unchanged in the last couple decades –
– and isn’t likely to increase..”
see..!..
..court forensic records here in new zealand also confirm that fact..
..as weed busted has to be checked for potency..
..and those records show minimal (if any) increases in the potency/thc-levels of good quality dope then..
..and good quality dope now..
..basically..(back to anecdotals again) good dope has always been good dope..
..and the ‘skunk’ of today..is no stronger than the thai-sticks/afghani-hash/whatever of their youth..
..this ‘potency’-argument is almost the last rearguard action the prohibitionists/piss-pimpers have to hand..
..and like so much else peddled about marijuana over the years..
..this too is a puff of smoke/bunch of lies..
..eh..?
..and but/hey!..as those former pot-smoking parents of today will attest/remember..
..when the pot is ‘good’..you smoke/need less..
..i can reassure them..
..that this has not changed..
..and there are not nasty/super-hybrid versions of pot out there..
..neither then..nor now..
phillip ure..
My god, he’s obese AND fat? That must make him the worst human being ever!!!! There are certainly no other things we could criticise Shane Jones for at all!!!! 🙄
good old qot..
..can always be relied upon to get it wrong..
..’fat-addicted’..as in addicted to animal-fat/flesh..
..mm-kay..?
..just like yr good self..eh..?
..any other questions..?
..as by any measures..
..he is clinically-obese/prime candidate for the nasty-outcomes from that adopted pakeha-diet/addiction-pattern..
..eh..?
..phillip ure..
Looking at the parts you have quoted in your blog post and what you have put here – how about try giving up these ad hominem attacks. If you actually had a point it was completely obscured for me by your bullshit personal attacks.
Reading your blog post – Shane Jones was making an argument from the other side of the aisle of the cannabis debate. He chose to highlight the issues that Maori culture has with legal and illegal drugs as well as confronting the fact that a pro-cannabis white guy was able to speak on the marae when their own women weren’t afforded the same courtesy. From the sounds of it, he was making a responsible, progressive and inclusive speech against the promotion of cannabis – and you choose to personally insult him for it rather than attempt to rebut any of the points he raised.
I guess it just goes to display that ad hominem is the only sustainable level of “debate” you’re capable of
@ zorr..if you read the actual report..there..zorr..
..you will find that jones just adhom-ed the pro cannabis speaker..
..for being ‘pakeha’..(!)..and for daring to make that case..(!)
..and you are just fine with that..eh..?
..and everything i have said about jones is true/fact..
..please point me at what i have said that you think is untrue..
..jones is what he is..
..i am just pointing that out..
..and his hypocrisies in pimping the drug that does the most harm to maori/nz..
..and just making up lies/bullshit about the least harmful intoxicant of them all..
..unpleasant facts do not necessarily translate to ad hominems..
..eh..?
..phillip ure..
and zorr..you get a special conflate/strawman-argument award..
..first you bracket pot and alcohol together..’
..when/whereas alcohol is most certainly a problem..
..(and is advertised/glamourised on tv/by the likes of jones.. etc..)
..but the main problem with cannabis for maori communities..
..is people getting busted/jailed for it..(doh..!..)
..and then you somehow drag the women speaking on marae issue into it..
..w.t.f.has that got to do with the pot-debate/the lies/bullshit of/from jones..?
..phillip ure.
He wasn’t actually attacking the speaker for being white but pointing out the issue within Maori culture where an outside male can get up to speak to promote whatever they so wish but Maori women are ignored and do not have the right to speak on the marae – so not an ad hominem (from your blog “It was particularly “galling” that a Pakeha man could make such a speech on a marae when Maori women were not accorded that privilege”)
And, despite what you say about Shane Jones being true, it does not make your argument any less of an ad hominem. What does his weight have to do with the argument for decriminalization of cannabis?
@ zorr..
“..from your blog “It was particularly “galling”..”
just be clear..zorr…they are jones’ words…
..not mine…as yr comment cd read..
..and he said of the pro-cannabis-speaker..whose name is macdonald..
..he called him a ‘half-stoned creature from Macdonald’s farm’..
..and this ignorant-prick pretends to be fit to head a ministry..?
..and if we are riffing on names..
..jones sure needs to do a lot of ‘jonesing’..
..to shed his suite of life-threatening addictions..
..eh..?
phillip ure..
@ zorr..
“..What does his weight have to do with the argument for decriminalization of cannabis?..”
..because of the fact he lies about the most harmless of intoxicants..
..and pimps for the most harmful intoxicant..to/for nz’ers..
..from a body showing all the outcomes from his life spent feeding his addictions to animal-flesh/fats/sugar/alcohol..
..his screaming hypocrisies/ignorances make his body-shape/personal-addictions entirely relevant..to the debate..
..he is the walking example of all that is wrong about/with that adopted pakeha-diet/addiction-patterns..
..he make himself relevant..
..phillip ure..
Zorr, and got caned on that same Marae for His outlandish attack on the Pakeha speaker, looks like we will have to add to the ‘crimes’ of Jones ‘closet racist’ as well…
Qot:
So let me get this right, its wrong to have a go at someone’s weight (I agree)
You have bought this up regarding, Jesse Ryder and Shane Jones.
But its okay to have a go at someones height. (judging by what you said on Twitter).
Dont you think that is hypocritical?
Link please Brett.
weka:
On her twitter page she said.
That’s up to you, I personally have no space to sympathize for entitled little men who demand women’s attention.
So she has a go at anyone who makes fun of someones weight, but she is okay with
taking pot shots at someones height.
You will have to put a link so I can see it on context, but on the face of it I don’t think she is talking about height. It would be like me saying something like ‘what a little shit’. Would you think I was referring to a short person?
She was referring to this?
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11192295
He doesn’t look short to me.
weka:
Why bring in height though? Shes is making a negative reference.
You cant link to a particular twitter quote, unless your sign it to that
page or something. I think it had to do with the guy who used the internet
to hunt down a woman he meet overseas.
Key appealing to the born again christian vote
What will Colin say?
http://i.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/9650503/PM-snags-votes-at-Parachute-music-festival
I hear that David Cunliffe also attended but was refused permission to go on stage. The whole thing was a Key love in. Strange that Key, who is a self confessed agnostic, should be heralded in this way.
@ m.s..
re cunnliffe spurned..
is that correct..?
..i wd like to report on it..
..so confirmation would be appreciated..
..phillip ure..
.
Parachute also hosted Sue Bradford a while ago, to talk about the S59 Amendment, so I don’t know if this was deliberately partisan.
There are zero reasons for thinking Christians, or people of conscience, to support the two-faced bankster Key. Christian values cohere much more with original Labour policy as enacted by Mickey Savage and his “applied Christianity”.
(Jesus talked about loving thy neighbour and helping the needy … not the legalistic and weird traditions from the old testament, or the anti science insanity popular in US churches)
IIRC Cunliffe is a churchgoer of some description?
The big lie being sold this election.
“However, the Government points to the annual study by the Ministry of Social Development, Household Incomes in New Zealand, to support Key’s claim that the gap is diminishing, rather than widening.
The Government says that while there is no doubt some families are in difficult circumstances, the income survey shows there is no evidence of rising income inequality over the past two decades. It argues that inequality is actually lower now than a decade ago according to internationally accepted measures.
http://i.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/9648389/Rich-and-poor-in-election-focus
Paul
It’s certainly a big lie, but I think I’ll wait for a while before awarding the title of: “The big lie being sold this election”. They are only warming up and sound-checking at this point of the election year.
Yes. John Key refers to a extrapolated study taken from the Household Economic Survey to give credit to his lies.
The HES is compiled by using data from interviews and surveys – hardly likely to appeal to the full demographic of NZ – but more likely to skew the data in favour of massaged numbers in his favour. This samples only 5000 households – so Key can legitimately claim “In NZ we have 5,000 households who indicate that they are faring well”.
You would have thought he didn’t have the full statistics department with census figures, along with IRD, MSD etc at his disposal.
If the media can’t do this basic research before reprinting his claims, then Cunliffe needs to address it clearly tomorrow – and stop the meme.
…thanks Paul….says it all
According to Labour’s figures, the top 1 per cent of income earners own 16 per cent of the total wealth, worth around $77 billion, while the bottom 200,000 income earners are, in contrast, $4.7b in debt.
No-one in the bottom 20 per cent owns more than $6000 in assets, its figures show.
Labour’s figures also suggest that incomes at the top have increased while those in the middle and bottom have stagnated 30 years on from the 1984 election that installed the fourth Labour government and unleashed a wave of economic reforms.
After-tax incomes for the bottom 10 percent were $9700 in 1984 and had only increased by $11,000 in 2011 – a 13.4 per cent increase, according to Labour.
But incomes for the top 10 per cent had increased 78 per cent to $100,200 over the same period.
[Key’s response: “Despite what our political opponents try to claim, it is simply not true that the rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer,” Key told a business audience during his state-of-the-nation speech on Thursday.]
After-tax incomes for the bottom 10 percent were $9700 in 1984 and had only increased by $11,000 in 2011 – a 13.4 per cent increase, according to Labour
$9700 increased by $11000 is 13.4 % increase, Labour’s maths is crap
According to Labour’s figures, the top 1 per cent of income earners own 16 per cent of the total wealth, worth around $77 billion, while the bottom 200,000 income earners are, in contrast, $4.7b in debt
The 1% ( business people) have a lot more debt than 4.7b
There is tho a huge difference between the money making debt racked up by the 1% and the money draining debt racked up by the 10% at the bottom of the income scale…
But bang-on if Watkins should have written “to” instead of “by”.
We often blame the owners and the editors, but perhaps we should lay as much blame with those who let their names be printed atop the lies.
Journalism without credible fact is propaganda
and New Zealand is drowning in it
@..freedom..
..media ‘names’..
..that was one of the takeaways i took from the media scrum after key spoke last week..
..at that fat-cat lunch..
..how despite key spouting a litany of easily proveable-lies..in speech/transcript..
..those corporate/access-media types just didn’t call him on it..(they never do..)
(‘cleaner-rivers’..’no poverty/inequality’ being just two of them..)..
..yet were cunnlife to not dot one ‘i’..not cross one ‘t’..
..these access-media types..
..would be all over him..
..(a bit like what happens to a meat pie that comes within coo-ee of shane jones..eh..?..)
..were they all absent the week journalistic-ethics/imperatives were taught at journalism-school..?
..you’d hafta ask..
phillip ure..
…he would be better to try a Phillip Ure Vegan Sausage
aye chooky..never a truer word spoken in jest..
..it isn’t just the bone-headed/piss-merchant-pimper arguments jones posits that piss me off…
..it is that he..as an animal-fat/sugar-addict..(washed down by the product he pimps/celebrates consuming on-air..booze)
..is a walking/textbook example of all that is wrong with the ‘pakeha-diet’ so many maori are addicted to..
..and the cause of the off-the-wall health-problems/premature-deaths that plague maori..
..and that this obese fat/sugar/booze-sodden/burping/farting walking example of ill-health..
..points at cannabis as being a ‘problem’ to/for maori..
..the eye-watering hypocrisies/ignorances that displays..
..does kinda take the breath away..
..eh..?..
..just the facts that ending prohibition would see less maori jailed..
..less maori with alcohol-induced/fostered violence/health problems…
(as legalising/regulating/taxing cannabis means alcohol-consumption would plummet..a fact pimp-jones and his booze-pushing paymasters are very well aware of..)
..just those two facts should totally dispel any ideas that jones works in/for the interests of maori..
..shane jones works in/for the interests of shane jones..
..and his scum corporate-paymasters/death-pushers..
..end of story..
..and it has always been thus..
..phillip ure
…well get on with making your Phillip Ure Vegan Sausage alternatives to pies then….and offer the likes of Shanes Jones an easy alternative( he can eat them while he fantasises about his fillies)
….for most people boiling up beans and rice is a chore…but a baked, boiled ,barbequed or fried sausage is easy
Disabled people are getting poorer. Noticed they weren’t mentioned at all.
…yes I do hope that attention from Labour and the Greens will be put on to the plight of the disabled….they are doubly disadvantaged
Long term benefitaries savings get eaten into when inflation and so interest rates push savings into the $80 week threshold, when 70% is taken off. $80 has not moved in decades for most.
’81. Had friends whose husband was laid off, and while he was looking for a job, she had to be careful, not to cross the $80.00 threshold. They had three children, and she could easily have earnt more, but they would have been worse off. It was the same with him, the old Labour Dept. kept “offering” him the odd day’s work here and there, which meant they would have been worse off. To be better off, he needed 3 days work a week, not 1 or 2, due to tax and abatements.
Where does this statement come from? Is there any documented evidence for it on the web?
If so, where can I find confirmation for what you are saying?
Oh shut up alwyn, your nonsensical whining is a total bore, perhaps you think people with disabilities are all getting richer…
Nothing forces you to read what I say bad12. I guess that you are merely pissed of because I have in the past pointed out when YOU have made statements that had no basis in fact.
In the meantime I hope that the person who did make this statement will tell me where it is documented so that I can look up the details. It sounds quite appalling.
As for bad12’s proposal “perhaps you think … are getting richer”. Where on earth do you get such strange ideas about the things you “think” I believe?
alwyn, of course you have every right to say whatever it is that you continue to whine about and my shut up was merely a rhetorical reaction to your latest snivel knowing it was hardly going to silence you,
Your propensity to whine appears to be brought about by your ‘snatching of defeat from the jaws of victory’ in your haste to attempt to negate a point i made, ‘only’ a 58% rise in the party vote for the Green Party between elections 2008 and 2011 in the Auckland City electorates held by National is hardly something victorious for a ‘wing-nut’ to want to have published and the fact that you have has me continuously going Ha Ha Ha at you,
If you have a further comment to make in relation to a comment i have made perhaps you could stop the cryptic bullshit and link to it, i realize that gobbledygook is your language of choice but such having been imported from the planet of the stupid most here would have no means of translation,(in relation to your last little whine)…
You might as well give up you know. After all I was the one who told you that the Green vote went up by 58% between elections wasn’t it? You never did seem to realise that did you? All you could seem to do was to make up a b.s story about how well the Greens did in the National held Auckland electorates, claiming that they had DOUBLED their vote in those electorates. The truth of course was that they had exactly the same percentage increase there as they did everywhere else.
How, by the way do you think that anybody could not realise that the party had a 58% increase in the nationwide vote? You do realise don’t you that they increased their seats from 9 to 14 and that that requires a percentage increase of the magnitude that occurred. Perhaps the details of the MMP system are beyond you.
It is rather difficult to come up with any further link for your benefit. I offered you the simple to understand elections.org.nz but that appeared to be too difficult for you to follow.
Finding any site that contains material that supports your fantasies is of course impossible. There aren’t any because they are just that. Fantasies.
Alwyn, you espouse right-wing policy. Therefore, you are either stupid, delusional, or venal, and your opinions are of no use in this forum.
Bad12’s point that the Greens are taking votes off the Foreign Corporations and Farmers Party renders your bad faith statements about what you say you believe about Dotcom’s constituency moot, and the fact of your bad faith makes them irrelevant.
Jolly good old fellow. As I said to bad12, you are not required to read what I say and there won’t be an exam on the material.
If reading things that present a viewpoint that differs from what you want to believe upsets your delicate little stomach don’t bother. You are quite entitled to believe that the world is flat, and was created in 4004 BC if it makes you happy. As long as lprent et al, don’t object I shall contribute occasionally.
“Pip, pip and toodle ooh” as Bertie Wooster would say.
I didn’t say your opinion is challenging, or uncomfortable, I said it’s worthless and irrelevant, rendered so by your bad faith.
alwyn, did you like my faux outrage, as good if not better then that which you usually exhibit don’t you think, the proof of that is that you bit and bit on it big time, more fool you,
Oh the link i mention, your answer to that little last point i made in my previous comment shows you up as belonging in the Dunce’s corner,(a fact not lost on most here),and my pointing this out is simply as an educative hint to you,
Most people would have realized that as an answer to your post of 3.11pm i was eluding to the last two lines of your relevant whine as ‘cryptic bullshit’, not you of course which is why i consider you to be a virtual dummy,(a useful tool is a dummy),
Laughably i knew all along what you were referring to even if you havn’t the nous to have worked it out, and, as a wing-nut i believe your sole use here is simply to provide me with the pleasure of laughing at you, so along with the faux outrage i used a little pretense of not understanding for my personal amusement,(at you),
As far as the particular last two lines of your comment at 3.11pm goes do you not understand the ‘interrogative’ nature of the words ”perhaps you think”, its a question not a statement…
Psst, was the nationwide, Ha ha ha, increase in the Green Party vote of the magnitude that occurred ALL from National held electorates,(you are just so hilarious)…
Alwyn:
http://www.msd.govt.nz/about-msd-and-our-work/newsroom/factsheets/future-focus/abatement.html
Listening to RadioNZ National this morning it was a little disquieting to learn that radiation shown to have emanated from the Fukushima disaster has now been shown to have reached the west coast of the US and Canada,
Given that it is only a matter of time, with large amounts of contaminated water still spewing into the Pacific ocean after 3 years, that such contamination will be taken up by seaweed and hence move into the fin-fish and bi-valves resident in the ocean and from there into the human food chain,
Of course as fish are all part of their own food chain and considering the fact that fish do not necessarily remain in the one hemisphere sooner or later it’s pretty much a certainty that we are all going to get a dose high enough to be not good for our health from our seas,
On a related topic we would think that those workers involved in the cleanup of the mess at Fukushima would be treated like hero’s in Japan for agreeing to go anywhere near the failed nuclear plant let alone work in the place,
Not likely, the link below explains just who these workers are and what happens to the extra $100 dollars a day the Japanese Government is said to have provided for each worker at the site of the actual melt-down and in the surrounding radiation zone,
If the link doesn’t work which is quite often the fate of the ones i attempt try Googling: Homeless used by Japanese in Fukushima cleanup,
http://www.reuters.com/…/us-fukushima-workers-idUSBRE9BT00520131230
Special Report: Japan’s homeless recruited for murky Fukushima clean-up
Just got back from Metiria speech in Wellington.
The Greens have unveiled a new policy which would see schools in lower income areas turned into hubs which would meet all the health, social and welfare needs of poor families.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/9651543/Greens-unveil-school-hub-plan
Brilliant
That’s really really awesome…in fact, it’s a total game changer for communities.
One small issue is that in the new economy, education is not the game changer that it once was. I hope the Greens realise this. Without a full employment policy, a phenomena we are going to see more and more of from now on are educated unemployed with student debt.
What i would call a ‘good start’ from Mets and the Green Party, perhaps a little light in the vein of treating the symptoms and not the cause, but, nothing there to scare the middle class who would buy into Slippery the Prime Ministers ‘devil beast’ and ‘Green Taliban’ rubbish,
i totally agree with CV in that at some point the fact that there is not enough employment for everybody in our economy has to be addressed either by the State providing a lot more of it or providing a lot more to those effected by it,
Given that, an election year might not be the best time to start such a debate but for the parties of the left to just accept the status quo is simply unacceptable and amounts to marking time befor the next attack upon the unemployed and beneficiaries in general occurs,
The ‘Hubs’ in secondary schools sounds promising, i have a long held belief that the children of the poor miss out hugely in terms of socialization where their parents cannot afford the cost of fees for sports clubs, music lessons and a myriad other activities where the kids show a real skill and the school cannot offer a raised level of training/learning,
My view is that either through the schools or through a direct partnering with the particular organization the fees for inclusion of the kids who’s parents cannot afford their participation along with any uniform, instruments etc should be included in the activities of such proposed secondary school ‘Hubs’,
Good start to the year Green Party, with David Cunliffe set to launch tomorrow the scene is set for a ‘real’ fight in 2014,(as opposed to the mainly rear-gaurd action i feel 2011 was),
My vote with the Party numbers and the polls on the up is still leaning toward the Mana Party, but, the Green Party will be the recipient of my ‘political budget’ for the year which should help provide advertising and electioneering worth far more than just my one vote…
Actually, I think the beginning of an election year is a great time to start the debate – especially after 5 years of National which came after the preceding 25 years of neo-liberal failure.
Excellent idea middxkea. Wasn’t that the same principle behind Whanau Ora? (Sp?) The disconnect between agencies has defeated past efforts to coordinate help.
And it is a much better way to spend taxpayers dollars as well!
@ greens..
..that is all good-policy..
..and i like how labour are supporting it..
..and how with this policy..the greens have trumped a key tory policy-plank..
..(their re-invented scout-troop approach to problems on education..
.their .’and if you get five pips..you get to be assistant troop-leader’-bullshit..)
..well done there..those greens..
phillip ure..
pretty sucky/blowy on that pot-issue tho’..eh..?
..and how about that cunnliffe/labour..?
..whoar..!..
..cunnliffe just ‘won’t say’..
.phillip ure..
Now this is a much better policy. Will do more for the education of our young people than something that has been lifted from a movie script.
I’m all for the educational/community hubs – just a couple of points about having them at schools.
1. Many of the disengaged have had disastrous experiences at schools – and will be loathe to return to them in a positive way later on in their lives. You may miss out on reaching those who have the most to benefit – just because of the choice of venue.
2. Schools are already underresourced and overcrowded – where are the facilities and capacity that will allow this to happen without capital investment?
3. You are introducing the community – many of whom are unknown individuals – into the school environment – how do you then ensure safety for both those individuals and the students of that school?
4. Future governments – using the MoE – can destroy these programmes even if they are successful by claiming they are focusing on “getting back to basics”
Alternatives:
1. Adjust the stated policy to deal with these potential problems and ensure that the continuation of these programmes is strengthened.
2. Create community hubs in local community facilities that are underutilised – obvious choice is to use local sports facilities that are not in use during the weekdays. Ensure cooperation between schools and hubs but try to set up hubs so that the communities own them – makes it more likely to survive long-term.
Most of the furniture is the wrong size for adults in schools and the layout is usually wrong. They tend to feel a bit officious and formal
Sports facilities make more sense – they are built for a more similar purpose ( often from lotteries grants), and could possibly be extended or adapted for wider use.
Hi Molly,
Just in regards to your point #3 — this can easily be solved by utilising the facilities after hours and on weekends/school holidays.
Hi millsy,
Yes – it is a possibility – if the school is not having after school activities.
And is that time optimal for those we wish to engage? I would assume that some will be at home looking after their returning school aged children, and those delivering the services will also be working outside of “normal hours”.
Local sports facilities are often empty during school days and most evenings. For the amount of investment and maintenance they are often underutilised.
Note: I impatiently reposted my previous comment on
today’s Open Mike and see Karol has since posted on the Green Party educational policy. If there are further discussions, may pay to transfer there.
Metiria, said the election was shaping up to be about inequality. It was a very passionate speech and very well attended despite the crap Wellington weather.
Talking to Green activists from around NZ it seems that people are ready for change, meetings are very well attended and membership is up. There is a buzz that I haven’t experienced before.
Keys days are numbered
Thanks for the update Middxkea, that is very good to hear 🙂
[I just posted this and it disappeared, so hopefully there is not going to be a double up]
I note that the Indonesian Coal contract has been cancelled and that any coal required for the standby generator at Huntly will be now be locally sourced.
Work for miners in Huntly, rather than overseas sourced.
They really are awful people.
Regarding your editorial “Censors on Campus” (Jan. 18): Writing from the epicenter of progressive thought, San Francisco, I would call attention to the parallels of fascist Nazi Germany to its war on its “one percent,” namely its Jews, to the progressive war on the American one percent, namely the “rich.”
From the Occupy movement to the demonization of the rich embedded in virtually every word of our local newspaper, the San Francisco Chronicle, I perceive a rising tide of hatred of the successful one percent. There is outraged public reaction to the Google buses carrying technology workers from the city to the peninsula high-tech companies which employ them. We have outrage over the rising real-estate prices which these “techno geeks” can pay. We have, for example, libelous and cruel attacks in the Chronicle on our number-one celebrity, the author Danielle Steel, alleging that she is a “snob” despite the millions she has spent on our city’s homeless and mentally ill over the past decades.
This is a very dangerous drift in our American thinking. Kristallnacht was unthinkable in 1930; is its descendent “progressive” radicalism unthinkable now?
http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304549504579316913982034286
http://blogs.wsj.com/digits/2014/01/25/vc-firm-disavows-founders-letter-comparing-outrage-against-rich-to-nazi-view-of-jews/
Josh Marshall on the Perkins’ fuckwittery.
http://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/the-brittle-grip-part-2
It appears that Perce Harpham is giving a lecture on Universal Basic Income
http://binews.org/2014/01/wellington-new-zealand-reducing-inequality-through-universal-basic-income/
Would be great to hear about it from anyone in Wellington who is able to attend
DATE: Friday, 31 January
VENUE: Rutherford House, Lecture Theatre 3, Institute for Governance and Policy Studies, Victoria University of Wellington
TIME: 12:30pm – 1:30pm
Well, it is finally official. Whale oil is banning anyone who disagrees with his views. For a long time it has been very obvious Cameron Slater’s little site had been nothing but a national party platform, but now he is making it official by blocking anyone who holds a different view.
Yes it is his own website and he gets to make the rules. However he can no longer pretend he is anything but a national party mouthpiece.
See there is some discussion related to the Jones foot-in-mouth re: cannabis above.
To put another spin on it, there is a good opinion piece in Granny today regarding the ongoing prohibition on cannabis. Which of course creates crime and social dysfunction where there should otherwise be none.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/opinion/news/article.cfm?c_id=466&objectid=11191645
Judging by the comments below (not all from fellow NORML supporters, I assume) the opinion piece, a position on the ongoing prohibition would be my top “nice-to-have” in Cunliffe’s state of the nation.
Meanwhile Dunne retains political oxygen by bowing down to legal-high manufacturers. Those who argue that “pot has gotten so much stronger” would be well-advised to try a quick taste test of street cannabis vs. that synthetic cannabinoid shit.
…eh?… (apologies to phillip ure)
People are starting to realise that dragging people through the justice system for having a few joints in their pockets is a waste of time and resources.
@ pigman..
..wow..!..on that comments-thread..
..i really hope it is brought to the attention of those too-scared-to-do-anything..labour mp’s..
..i am heartened by the overwhelming approval for ending prohibition..
..and the large number arguing for legalisation/regulation/taxation..
..and not that halfway-house worst of both worlds decriminalisation the greens are pushing (ever so softly..ever so softly.)
..taken as a poll..these comments must surely embolden them to go the whole hog..?
..you’d think..?
..and to call for the colorado-model..
..and to actually argue passionately for it..(as do the commenters in that thread..)
..(not as turia does it..handling it like a smelly-object on the sole of the shoe..
..best to be wiped-off/hosed-down..and never mentioned again..)
;;having turia ‘arguing’ this..
..is like expecting the mad butcher to make the vegan-case..
..it ain’t gonna happen..
phillip ure..
The Green Parties Russell Norman on Prime News tonight refused to back away from Green Party policy that Marijuana should be decriminalized saying that like all policy, the decriminalization policy will be ‘on the table’ in any future coalition negotiation with Labour…
I think it was a bad idea about the MJ issue. They should have instead raised the possibility of a Royal Commission that would look into our drug laws. Nice and safe — at least they could get a dialog going about it with the possibility of backing away from it if things got too hairy, and it would let everyone have their say about it all.
Now they are going to leave themselve vulnerable on this issue, and probably let this over shadow their education reforms.
Millsy, the Green Party are not willing to back away from policies hammered out by the Party members over many years just for political expediency,
If we simply trade away everything we stand for nothing, as indicated by both Metiria and Russell this is hardly a ‘die in a ditch’ policy that the Green Party would try and push Labour into and i believe that David Cunliffe, cleverly, believes that this should be a conscience vote by the Parliament…
Herald bias in reporting. Part 478.
Green education policy headlined as $90 million.
National education policy headlined as $ 357million.
Only later in articles does one read Green policy is per annum and Nat policy over 3 years.
What a rag.
Yeah and TV 1 lead story is Lorde at the Grammys. Green’s education announcement comes 2nd.
In a wonderfully manipulated news cycle last week, John Key Bill English and numerous talking heads told us all in breathless antici . . . . pation of exciting times ahead and how HSBC declared we were going to be a rockstar economy in 2014.
You might want to wait before buying tickets to the show . . .
https://topinfopost.com/2014/01/25/hsbc-bank-may-collapse
Interesting Open Mike today….
perhaps I should have a shot at flogging off my van-load of pre-twisted, pre-loved knickers (at knock down prices).
All sizes …. all colours.
Make me an offer- job lot. And if your name is Shane, I’ll even throw in a few feelthy pictures.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/9651543/Greens-unveil-school-hub-plan
Go the Greens. Keep the faith and fight hard. You might be surprised at the following.
But I do think Metiria looks better in glasses. She is a kiwi treasure that woman.
On this, I agree with you, vto.
Indeed, Mets was educated amidst the anger of the beneficiary movement surrounding the Shiply/Richardson TINA of benefit cuts as well as getting the formal stuff from Uni all the while a solo-mum,
It’s a good start to the election year with more to come from David Cunliffe tomorrow, ”it’s not a matter of IF this happens it’s a matter of how and when” so said Labour’s Jacinda Adhern on Prime News tonight so it appears that with this policy Labour and the Green Party see eye to eye,
Expect Slippery the Prime Minister, finding no division to be exploited, to throw a hissy fit, simpering along the lines of the ‘devil beast’ as National’s education policy is made to look like the neo-liberal orphan dressed in rags begging for an audience…
Despite overwhelming support for Euromaidan Yanukovych seems to be hanging on with Putins support.
18 regions – against the current government!
[…]
As of 25 January in seven areas captured RSA, the other eleven of these institutions or blocked, or people preparing for such protests. Only two regions – Lugansk and Crimea – openly oppose Yevromaydanu* and express their support for Yanukovych.
Euromaidan*
Google translation
Those clever Aussies behind Juice Rap News are at it again http://youtu.be/0VD33jRpeMM
Algood Karol, time to square the eyes with a bit of television, tomorrow is another day which should belong to David Cunliffe with His addition of another nail in the coffin of Slipery’s god-awful government…
Wow, what is “wrong” with Prime TV now, they have put out a small series of excellent programs under the title ‘Keeping it Pure’. It seems that they have given in to the “Green Talibans”, and allowed them to spread their “radical” “ideology” promoting a more “sustainable” and “environmentally balanced” economy and society.
What a brilliant and enlightening program, I cannot believe that the MSM is allowing this.
Maybe it is time for David Farrar to chat to Key and tell him to put the pressure on Prime TV, we cannot have this, can we? The truth being presented to the people?! It must be the Green Party behind it.
Tune in 08.30 pm next Sunday, for the next piece.
Groser sells out – not even for 30 pieces of silver
So, the US corporations got what they wanted and NZ is truly fucked courtesy of this government.
Syriza Succeeds in Greece by Challenging European Left
We need SPIRIT, and MORE in this election year, for the labour movement and “the left” to win, so take heart, keep up the fight and talk, involve, share and spread. Some great spirit comes from stuff like music. Here a taste of a “left” band from Chile, Illapu, great stuff, invigorating, I think:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TkU-iYEsvHc
El concierto completo de Illapu 2013:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v515tCAzE5g
Look who’s not akshilly smiling.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/9652303/Key-preaches-to-the-converted-at-festival