Welcome to a state of affairs he helped create not expecting to be subject to it, oh the irony and still took his inside contacts and the soapbox at granny he enjoys to shake a form of reply out.
Welcome to life outside the beltway bubble rortney.
Sounds very odd – a private investigator undertaking the questioning after being summons issued and sworn in by a government official.
When to the govt web page for insolvency
I see the official assignee looks like they only investigate under the bankruptcy act and the companies act.
I assume that they only investigate under bankruptcy if someone claims assets / income has been hidden in the process. Does this just leave companies act offences then? What would you do if you didn’t have a column like Rodney.
On ANZAC Day Key speaks of New Zealand’s nationhood and sovereignty.
And the day after we’re reminded he’ll sign the TPP and sign away our rights and freedoms.
He is a traitor.
a rather sickening interview with Lucy Hockings too on BBC WN where he speaks of our respect of democracy and freedom.
That whole concept of ‘the ANZAC spirit’ is rather interesting. It’s something that seems to exist amongst various peer groups (such as the military, fire service, police, family groups spread across two nations), but which is immediately fucked up by politicians on each side of the Tasman Sea. (e.g. Howard’s rule changes that put Kiwis at a disadvantage as non-citizens/deprivation of healthcare/welfare etc despite paying taxes – how frikken ANZAC spirited is THAT?!)
I see the NZHerald has a story this morning about performance artist Cherry Lazar having a show coming up on the 7th of May at the Jewelry Shop Gallery 79 Rue Charlot in Paris, France.
Cherry real name Stephie is the daughter of a famous ponytail puller. http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11438715
Would be interesting to see what art critics think of her work.
I recall when one well known NZ artist was asked to comment on her work he said something about how artists should not be asked about that sort of material.
Too much of a coincidence.
We know the Herald’s political colours after the Glucina story.
I’d predict they’ve had this ‘story’ on the backburner for a while.
The Herald is an extreme right wing tabloid rag.
I am as always a little leery of bringing Stephanie Key into any discussion about NZ politics. It’s typically been used as an excuse to objectify her and demean her art in order to get in a dig on her father.
If you really want to know what “art critics” think of her work you could try reading the article, which extensively quotes a the gallery owner, who’s also a fine art photographer, on the subject.
“The definition of beauty is different everywhere, but the sense of self-confidence and power is universal,” Key said in a statement to the Herald on Sunday from gallerist Trevor Mansfield.
Still pondering on the impact this young woman will have on her generation??
Power and money behind her, she has chosen a very deliberately provocative way to express herself, what she is expressing could very easily be….take your clothes off and be outrageous girls, try to shock, and attract attention.
Might get her a long way, and she has people to fall back on, but average kiwi young women can’t afford to risk it, let alone make a living out of it.
In fact one young kiwi woman dared to speak up, and be “strong” when repeatedly “touched” in her workplace, and look what has happened to her.
And again, I see no need to bring Stephanie Key into a conversation about Amanda Bailey.
If Stephanie Key had actually done something relevant to the story besides “be John Key’s daughter and make art which shocks some people” it would be a different story, but attacking a young woman because her father is a prat is simply unnecessary.
Not attacking her akshully,
she is inviting questions by her own actions, and I am asking….”What impact will your actions have on your peers?”
Would ask the same of any person on the public stage , including Amanda Bailey, although her message to be a “strong woman” is pretty clear, and respectful of women
I sort of agree, except that I doubt if she is making her own way in the world. How much would enrolment in the private American art school in Paris cost? It’s a bit like Abbott’s daughter, who won a previously non-existent scholarship to a private design school. Totally on merit, apparently.
The story is not so much what the two of them are doing, but how politicians are using their positions to build dynasties. It’s very American.
Your comment prompted me to read the article, reluctantly. I don’t quite get the “art” stuff and the message that she’s trying to convey is lost on me, I’m afraid.
BTW, when I saw #divonnelesbains (Pole dance Studio – dlb) under one of the Instagram photos in the Herald article my brain played tricks on me and I read “divine lesbians”. Perhaps I did get Cherry Lazar’s message after all?
The Herald would never have published this if she wasn’t Key’s daughter; she ain’t Lorde, Eleanor Catton, or Lydia Ko, as far as I can tell.
The French seem to have an interesting relationship with food and sensuality; when I saw La Grande Bouffe for the first time I was intrigued and puzzled.
Stephy doesn’t protect that pseudonym very well, though, does she. As she is her own subject, she is an images search away and that is just how she wants it – a bit of a tease, all part of that reclaiming “the naughty girl” in a fearless and amusing fashion. And all about the cult of celebrity. Perhaps she’s being ironic ….pffft. Whatever, she really doesn’t want your alliance or protection.
Many artists perform under pseudonyms despite their real names being well known, so I’m not sure what your point was, and I’ll protect any young woman who’s being subjected to petty personal attacks just because some leftwing douchebags think it’s a clever way to destroy her father.
left wing douchebags with daughters who are struggling through uni, trying to find part time work to sustain them through masters, in the hope of one day making a meaningful contribution to society.
Stop “rescuing” Stephanie and hear what people who aren’t being precious are saying, without prejudice.
I have no problem with being “precious” when a young woman is being exploited, and I don’t give a toss what your personal circumstances are. Sexism is sexism – and sexist put-downs like “being precious” are, too.
I have worked for 30 years in the health service, at the shop floor, and am proud of doing so. I am proud of my daughters working hard to do the right things in life.
Clearly you do not understand, mine, and others point regarding Key’s daughter.
You are patronising, blinkered and out of touch, I doubt young Stephie gives a toss about your “protection”, she doesn’t need it, and …
” and sexist put-downs like “being precious” are, too”
umm, left wing douchbags? and what is “sexist” about “precious”?
Don’t worry it’s a rhetorical question, and I am not interested in being patronised by either of you any further.
Can you tell the story without linking to that corporate propaganda outlet?
These people have no moral qualms about outing a waitress who clearly didn’t want to be the centre of a media shitstorm.
Fair question ropata, and yes I (we) should use donotlink more often because we still need to present the original information. As we all know, when we quote stuff, rather than having trust and confidence in others’ integrity the rwnj’s, who need a dictionary a flow chart and six weeks of HR work-shopping to digest the definition of those terms, stand on their crumbling soapboxes and scream ‘citation – source – lies – etc’
On a side issue – Although using donotlink does hurt their search ratings it still creates page hits at the source which helps get them $$$ – unless I am completely misunderstanding how it works so would appreciate any clarification on that.
If you don’t want to visit donotlink.com every time you use the service, you can also put “http://www.donotlink.com/” before the website’s url like this:
+1 @ Marty. There are deaths and damage across northern Indian states as well (Haryana Punjab UP Bihar W Bengal etc. – thankfully India appears to be responding with aid to Nepal promptly)
Catastrophic. I watched Times of India TV until the end of daylight over there last night .. here’s a link, though it has become more India-centric this morning.
Kudos to Indian gvt for having C130’s landing at Kathmandu airport before the light disappeared … very swift and compassionate response to help this impoverished land.
There was very brief footage from Pokhara, whcih was almost the epicentre with 7.9 only 2 kms underneath them .. the photo I saw showed a road where one side of the cracked surface was about 30-50 feet higher than the other side. Horrors.
Also Tibet has suffered great damage and many deaths being reported.
Wish you well in finding your friends Marty … I have many friends there and the days will be very long while we wait.
(Maybe the Chinese govt will recconsider its’ ill-thought- through plans to build a road tunnel under Everest and the Himalayas through to Kathmandu. What could possibly go wrong.)
US Gov abandons Yemeni Americans in war zone – Russians evacuate them
Chinese and Russian governments have been busy evacuating international citizens out of Yemen, while the US state department has provided no travel assistance and has been advising its own nationals to stay in the war zone.
Russia has now evacuated over 1700 people from 20 countries out of Yemen.
Meanwhile the Syrian civil war has produced 3.5 million refugees and a wave of mass drownings as desperate people flee the bombs and bullets and poisonous gas.
it’s not just my eyes then 🙂
imho, they are poorly designed ill-defined messes, take “evil” for example, it doesn’t look evil at all, more like a hungover grape 👿
whatever happened to “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!”
“if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!” seems to be antithesis to IT types, look how often you turn on FB or something similar & everything has changed for whatever reasons.
Nothing is perfect and believing otherwise is detrimental to making the world a better place. In this case, though, nothing was actually fixed. Whoever designed those icons seems to have fallen for fashionable nonsense:
Before iOS 7, icons were highly differentiated. You could immediately discern which app belonged to which brand, and you knew the app’s purpose.
In iOS 7, Apple has done away with the concept of branding. Popular companies like Facebook have eagerly followed suit not only in their icon concepts, but in their palettes too. One might assume that Apple bought Facebook given the striking similarity of their icon designs post-iOS 7.
Notice Apple’s Remote app and Safari in comparison to Facebook’s Messenger. Or consider Apple’s Game Center in relation to Facebook’s Groups. Each app, Apple or Facebook has roughly the same appearance.
This is true not only of Facebook. Almost universally, the designers at the standard-setting tech companies throughout the industry immediately employed flat design as an opportunity to increase their efficiency and prove their adherence to trends.
Hey folks, can anyone explain why it was LA International Airport where John Key had to make his hurried apologies over the ponytail interfering, while on his way to Turkey. Is there some other place he had to be, before his ANZAC appointment – isn’t the usual flight path to Europe via Singapore, Hongkong etc – seems odd to be going a very long way around – was he seeing Warner Brothers over Kim Dot Com maybe?? Have I missed something in the media???
Don’t know exactly where he went on the way over, but the PM did deliver a speech at the International Peace Summit in Turkey, where he said ““New Zealand must play a role, along with others here today, in standing up to the brutality and extremism of ISIL,”
He then went on to the ANZAC Centenary events to show how much he respects the fallen. On the way back he has the NZ Ambassador’s “Networking reception” in Dubai with his “business delegation”. You know Dubai, that place that also beheads people, stones women, kills homosexuals and lashes journalists but apparently we’re cool with them doing all that.
On the way over to Turkey, it appears that he went via LA (where he was interviewed) and then onto Turkey (possibly with a transfer at London?).
He is visiting not only Dubai on the way back to NZ (arriving May 1), but also Saudia Arabia and Kuwait, with a trade delegation which includes amongst others, Michelle Boag. Perhaps he could leave Michelle in Dubai or Saudia Arabia ….
Sorry, did not see Barbara’s comment. From what I saw on the media and Twitter, Key would only have been in LA an hour or so at the most on this trip.
Travel to Europe via LA is just as common as via Asia these days, as the via LA routes often fly the shorter route over the Artic rather than across the US and then the Atlantic.
Its really not that hard:
-If your staff worked on Saturday then that was their Public Holiday.
-If they didn’t then Monday is the Public Holiday.
-If you manipulated the Roster to try to not have to pay them extra then whichever of those days they would normally have worked is the Public Holiday, there is no way out.
Seems getting toilet paper isn’t the problem, the problem is the hotelier can’t get toilet paper at the correct price.
“In the black market you have to pay 110 bolivares [$0.50] for a roll of toilet paper that usually costs 17 bolivares [$ 0.08] in the supermarket,” Camacho told Fusion. “We don’t want to participate in the corruption of the black market, and I don’t have four hours a day to line up for toilet paper” at a supermarket….
I think you’ll need to read a little further than the link I provided to get the full picture. But I guess if you haven’t noticed that socialism always fails yet then you won’t be wanting to read the full context of the failure of one size fits all state monopoly in Venezuela.
If you google around this subject you will find that like always in socialism the state has willingly served it’s own best interests and that is the problem in a nutshell.
Venezuela has a complex history and its suffering is mostly due to US commercial imperialism and its elites strip mining out all the wealth for themselves. The oil price has collapsed and the USA is indulging in propaganda games.
Why is it that oil states without nukes get picked on like this?
The Danes, by old tradition, have been accustomed to the concept that the land belongs to the people. The rapid industrialisation and land enclosures of the 18th and 19th centuries, begun in England, saw this tradition come under sustained attack; attacks which grew more intense as industrialisation grew.
In 1957 the Justice Party, together with the Social Democrats (Labour) and the Radical Left Wing Party (Liberals actually) formed what was to become the most prosperous ever Danish Government – later termed the Ground Rent Government.
It was therefore generally expected that after formation of the government, some kind of land value taxation would be introduced. Land speculation ceased immediately. Legislation on taxation of increased land value was prepared, presented to parliament and passed.
After three years in power, Denmark had no foreign debt, no inflation and an unemployment level of 1%, considered full employment.
General election 2015: the main parties are all staring into a pitch-black night of the soul
Andrew Rawnsley
The Tories set out with a plan so simple that even the dimmest of their candidates could be expected to follow it. Say often enough that Ed Miliband isn’t up to being prime minister. Say often enough that the economy is now doing well. Say often enough that Labour’s numbers don’t add up. Add amplification from your allied propagandists in the rightwing press and the Conservatives roll back to power.
It sounded quite plausible. To many Labour people, it sounded terrifyingly plausible. At the outset of the campaign, there was deep neuroticism in Labour’s ranks. For the Tory plan is one that has traditionally worked in British politics. When a party has the lead on economic competence, the preferred candidate for prime minister, the advantages of incumbency, plus the majority of press support and the most money, the conventional rules of political gravity say that they ought to win.
firstly I believe in equality
secondly I believe the Treaty should actually be enacted and that Māori should be recognised as partners in our country
thirdly I really feel for the sentiment Mae espouses regarding reflecting diversity and our changing ethnic makeup
fourthly I don’t see gender being overtaken at all – but is this just a oppression olympic position?
“Bank of New Zealand’s newest director, Auckland lawyer Mai Chen, says ethnic representation has now overtaken gender as one of the biggest concerns for boardrooms.”
Who goes to the boardroom shows which groups are being bought off. Having an Asian woman on the board of ANZ will not stop the bank ripping off customers any more than having Thatcher as PM made Britain a better place for women. We should be doing away with private banks and their boards, not trying to disguise them as inclusive.
Maori have long recognised that with the present welcoming of moneyed migrants they would become just another minority in their own country. Instead of the bi-cultural sharing in running the country, they would just be part of the multi-racial mix.
And there is pressure always to follow this line from many pakeha and now from the competitive, clever Asians who have come here to make their mark and their wealth. They may be family oriented, but are more individualistic than traditional Maori with their whanau and hapu tradition with shared land and resources.
I didn’t think Murdoch owned SBS yet. In Oz it is almost seen as treasonous to question the official myths, and NAct is trying hard to import the same sentiment. The big media is soon going to be indistinguishable from that of North Korea, except that the flag shown on each page will be different.
WASHINGTON — The secrecy surrounding the National Security Agency’s post-9/11 warrantless surveillance and bulk data collection program hampered its effectiveness, and many members of the intelligence community later struggled to identify any specific terrorist attacks it thwarted, a newly declassified document shows.The document is a lengthy report on a once secret N.S.A. program code-named Stellarwind. The report was a joint project in 2009 by inspectors general for five intelligence and law enforcement agencies, and it was withheld from the public at the time, although a short, unclassified version was made public. The government released a redacted version of the full report to The New York Times on Friday evening in response to a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit.
Also, United in Compassion, a group that is winning with policy change in Australia, is coming to NZ, we need submissions to send to the RH Peter Dunne from Medical Cannabis patients, there supporting friends and family, and Medical Practitioners. If you can help, please contact me, Philip Ure, please get in touch. see the post here…. https://www.facebook.com/MFMCNZ
And what about the likes of your humble correspondent? That endangered species known as the “Fourth Estate”? Are New Zealand’s journalists, commentators, newspaper columnists and bloggers to be guided now, in the fulfilment of their professional ethical obligations, by the shining example of Rachel Glucina?
paddy gower reported in 3news that bandar key did not get is royal family meeting in dubai today. paddy said he has been bumped, with no idea of whether he will be ‘un-bumped’ tomorrow.
It is 2 p.m. and Muhammad Hashem*, 14, has walked several kilometers home in the blistering Jordan Valley heat after working a back-breaking seven hours, with only half an hour’s break, in the agricultural fields of the Israeli settlement Tomer, north of Jericho.
He is too weary to stand as his picture is taken and there are dark bags under his eyes from exhaustion.
Muhammad is one of hundreds of Palestinian children who has dropped out of school and started working for low wages in exploitive conditions to ensure some Israeli agricultural settlements prosper, aided and abetted by Palestinian middlemen who are employed by the Israelis as managers of these agricultural fields.
I doubt if this Ben guy is Rawshark. Ben comes across as a big noting idiot, yet Rawshark managed to stay out of the limelight. I don’t think Lauda Finem consistently gets things right either.
some weird shit is going down, lots of suff abuot the standard https://twitter.com/B3nRaching3r following this page, hes updating it every few minutes at the moment
A HIGH-PROFILE SBS reporter has been fired after tweeting “highly inappropriate and disrespectful comments” about the Anzacs.
He mentioned the truth and some idiots found this offensive. Seems that it was going against the culture and lies that the people in charge want to propagate.
I’d be more proud of NZ had Key’s wife had followed Michelle Obama, Condoleezza Rice and Princess Diana in refusing to comply with misogynist cultural nonsense all for the hope of a financial deal… but I guess that’s the key way of wheeling and dealing.
Bill English last week commented that even though housing was experiencing excessive demand over supply in Auckland, the rest of the country was fine and the problem was unique to Auckland.
Is this the start of the government backing out of the problem? By passing Auckland off as the country’s problem child?
How about it doing more to keep people in the regions?
Buzz from the Beehive Transport Minister Simeon Brown dutifully issued advice to all road users to keep safe on our roads during the Easter weekend. He encouraged them to stay safe, plan their journeys ahead of time, and be patient with other drivers while travelling around this Easter long weekend. ...
Oliver Hartwich writes – New Zealanders recently learned about a new feature film. It will be about former Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern – and taxpayers will subsidise it to the tune of NZ$800,000. Ardern had nothing personally to do with either the film or the subsidy. But her government’s ...
TL;DR: Here’s the top six news items of note in climate news for Aotearoa-NZ this week, and a discussion above that was recorded yesterday afternoon above between and The Kākā’s climate correspondent : An independent review panel into the emergency response to Cyclone Gabrielle in Hawkes Bayconcluded “that ...
There are now only a few days left to give feedback on the Draft Government Policy Statement (GPS) on Land Transport 2024-34 (see our earlier post this week on GPS submission guides). As we’ve reported, the GPS is a disaster for Local Government, so we were particularly interested to hear ...
Willis has pledged to go ahead with the debt-funded tax cuts, despite growing opposition from her own supporters worried about appearing fiscally irresponsible. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for ...
Open access notables A survey of interventions to actively conserve the frozen North, van Wijngaarden et al., Climatic Change:The frozen elements of the high North are thawing as the region warms much faster than the global mean. The dangers of sea level rise due to melting glacier ice, increased ...
Bryce Edwards writes – New Zealand’s biggest-ever political donations scandal is finally at an end. But what is the conclusion? No one can really be sure. The Court of Appeal released its judgement on Tuesday about the Serious Fraud Office case against the NZ First Foundation. On ...
In 2015, then-Prime Minister John Key announced plans for a huge ocean sanctuary around the Kermadec Islands, banning fishing and mining from 15% of Aotearoa's EEZ. It was bold, it was ambitious, and it suggested that National might actually care about the environment. Except they fucked it up: Key failed ...
1. Who has just been given the accolade New Zealander of the Year?a. The Kokakob. The Cook Strait Ferryc. Fair God. Dr Jim Salinger 2. Which of these is an affront to decent society?a. Dame Edna Everageb. Mrs Doubtfire c. Dr. Frank-N-Furterd. Brian 3. Who is Penny Simmonds?a. The aspiring actress in Big ...
New Zealand’s biggest-ever political donations scandal is finally at an end. But what is the conclusion? No one can really be sure.The Court of Appeal released its judgement on Tuesday about the Serious Fraud Office case against the NZ First Foundation. On the face of it, the court found ...
Buzz from the Beehive Waves of rain are set to lash much of the North Island during Easter Weekend as a low-pressure system forms east of New Zealand, according to a weather forecast published in the past day or so. Niwa was warning of a “moisture-laden” long weekend, with rain expected ...
Look around us…Nicola Willis’ promises of balancing the books, of cutting spending without reducing services, and of delivering game changing tax cuts are disappearing before her eyes.Everyday we see stories of violent crime ending in horrific injuries, or worse. The cost of living worsens, whereas the PM claimed renters would ...
TL;DR: My top six news of note on the morning of Thursday, March 28 include:The Government will have to borrow between $10 billion to $15 billion more than previously expected in order to make up for a slowing economy and to pay for $14.9 billion of tax cuts, according to ...
This story by Naveena Sadasivam and Kate Yoder was originally published by Grist and is part of Covering Climate Now, a global journalism collaboration strengthening coverage of the climate story. The long-awaited jobs board for the American Climate Corps, promised early in the Biden administration, will open next month, according to details shared exclusively ...
Should landlords be able to deduct the interest on the loans they take out to bankroll their property speculation? The US Senate Budget Committee and Bloomberg News don’t think this is a good idea, for reasons set out below. Regardless, our coalition government has been burning through a ton of ...
Treasury’s first report on the economy since the change of government presents a damning indictment of Labour’s economic management. The problem for National is that it is so damning that logically, coupled with a rapidly slowing economy, Finance Minister Nicola Willis should respond to it by postponing or even cancelling ...
Budget tensions are becoming evident within the Coalition Government. Winston Peters made numerous political points in his speech to the NZF annual conference. But the attack on his own government’s fiscal policies raised issues of substance. ‘Today in the Sunday Star Times, journalist and former advisor to the Labour ...
Buzz from the Beehive The media – sure enough – have been binging on Finance Minister Nicola Willis’ release of the Budget Policy Statement and a statement headed Government announces Budget priorities This assures us – or rather, this parrots the Luxon team mantra – that the Budget “will deliver ...
The Ides of March brought me COVID followed by a bereavement. No wonder they tell you to be careful of them.I’m home now and have resumed the interrupted recuperation. Very much looking forward to getting back to regular things. Meanwhile, some thoughts…OneThis new Prime Minister guy just keeps getting more dire. ...
News that the Chinese ATP 40 cyber-hacking unit penetrated parliamentary internet networks in 2021 has renewed concerns about the PRC’s malign intentions in Aotearoa. But is the hack that significant given the length of time that has passed since its … Continue reading → ...
When Parliament passed the Intelligence and security Act in 2017, they assured us all that it was full of safeguards. Any intrusive surveillance of New Zealanders would be subject to a "triple lock", requiring the approval of the Minister and (supposedly independent) Commissioner of Intelligence Warrants, as well as post-facto ...
Eric Crampton writes – Richard Harman’s Politik newsletter provides a bit of the context that ought to have been showing up in other media reports on potential reductions in public service staffing. Media has been reporting on staffing cuts on the order of about 7%. Is that ...
Mike Grimshaw writes – It’s becoming increasingly apparent that many perceive free speech to have become the preserve of the politically right wing, the religiously conservative, the libertarian fringe, the anti-trans, the anti-Māori and…. well, just fill in with whatever groups or individuals you don’t like and don’t ...
Don Brash writes – As everybody who is not blind and deaf is aware, there is a huge political preoccupation with climate change at the moment, a widespread (though by no means unanimous) belief that global temperatures are rising mainly as a result of the greenhouse gases created ...
TL;DR: My six things to note in Aotearoa’s political economy on Wednesday, March 27 include:Chris Bishop laid out his vision for filling Aotearoa-NZ’s $100 billion infrastructure deficit in a speech yesterday, emphasising user pays and private funding, but failed to say how to achieve bipartisanship on population, public borrowing and ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Former Finance Minister Grant Robertson and former Prime Minister Chris Hipkins have been conveying how unhappy they are with the tax system. Last week in his valedictory speech, Robertson called for the introduction of a wealth or capital gains tax. And this week Hipkins ...
On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
Buzz from the Beehive China has loomed large in Beehive considerations over the past 24 hours, largely because of that country’s mischief-making in the cyber espionage department. Two media statements emerged on that subject hard on the heels of the PM baulking at questions put to him on RNZ’s Morning ...
Chris Trotter writes – WHY IS THE NATIONAL PARTY doing so much for landlords, property developers, trucking, and construction companies, and so little for everybody who isn’t already pretty well-off? It’s as if protecting landlords’ investments and building apartments and roads now constitute the whole of National’s ...
Bryce Edwards writes – When she was campaigning to be Minister of Finance last year, Nicola Willis pledged that she would resign from the job if she failed to deliver tax cuts in her first Budget. Now, it’s that pledge, along with Prime Minister Christopher Luxon’s ...
Robert MacCulloch writes – The Reserve Bank has doubled staff numbers in five years to 510, with personnel costs rising to $80 million in 2023 from $32 million in 2018 – up by a whopping 150%. I guess when you print $50 billion and flood markets with liquidity, ...
The furore. In case you didn’t notice there was a controversy in the weekend involving dolphins in a little town off the South Island. Don’t panic, they haven’t declared independence and resumed whaling, this was simply a sailing event.The problem began when racing was cancelled on the opening day of ...
For 20 years or more, the case for a meaningful capital tax gains has been mulled over and analysed to death, including by the tax working group chaired by Sir Michael Cullen. More than once, the International Monetary Fund has said a CGT would be a good idea for New ...
TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: The Public Health Communications Centre (PHCC) call for urgent preventive action and a risk assessment survey of long covid in this briefing noteLocal scoop: NZ road deaths surpass OECD rates, so why is the govt reversing safety plans? ...
This story was originally published by Grist and is part of Covering Climate Now, a global journalism collaboration strengthening coverage of the climate story. This story is part of a collaboration with Grist and WABE to demystify the Georgia Public Service Commission, the small but powerful state-elected board that makes critical decisions about everything from raising ...
This is a guest post from Robert McLachlan Global warming is accelerating; 2023 was off the charts. We need to stop burning fossil fuels. In New Zealand, transport accounts for half of all fossil fuels burnt. In the Emissions Reduction Plan, transport emissions fall 41% by 2035. As the ...
Labour productivity has been receding rapidly over the past two years, reversing a post-lockdown rise. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: My six things to note in Aotearoa’s political economy as at 6:26am on Tuesday, March 26 include:Workers have been treading water in output per hour worked for 12 years, ...
TL;DR: The key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to April 2 include:Today, Parliament resumes sitting at 2pm for the second week of a two-week session. Officials for SIS and GCSB report their annual reviews in public to the Intelligence and Security Select Committee from 5.10pm.Tomorrow, ...
Faced with a barrage of criticism over the promised tax cuts from usually supportive commentators, Finance Minister Nicola Willis yesterday reaffirmed her intention to include them in this year’s Budget. The Government is up against it over the cuts just about every way it turns. Commentators like Fran O’Sullivan, Matthew ...
Here’s my pick of today’s substack posts as of 6:26pm on Monday, March 25: writes via his substack that Market-rate housing will make your city cheaper writes via his substack about the problems talking to double-cab ute (truck) drivers about their vehicles. today about moments of radicalisation in ...
Buzz from the Beehive Just before Christmas, Finance Minister Nicola Willis delivered something that was pitched as a mini-budget and brayed about the decisive action being taken to repair the Government books and support income tax relief in Budget 2024. In a statement headed Fiscal repair job underway. she introduced ...
My sister Belinda asked Dad yesterday what one word would describe Mum best. He said: vivacious.If you only knew her from the photos on the slideshow we've made for today,you might wonder about that, because the camera tended to lie with Mum.If ever she saw a camera pointed at her, she ...
There are two major public consultations closing in the next week, Auckland Council’s Long Term Plan (LTP), and the draft Government Policy Statement on Land Transport (GPS). Closing dates and times: LTP closes Thursday 28 February, at 11.59pm – a minute to midnight! GPS closes Tuesday 2 April, at 12pm noon – note that’s ...
From Kiwiblog’s David Farrar – Bryce Wilkinson writes: Senior Fellow Bryce Wilkinson’s analysis reveals that since March 2009, New Zealand has spent $158 billion more overseas than it has earned, but its NIIP has only fallen by $32 billion.Statistics New Zealand shows that receipts from overseas reinsurers have ...
Is she hinting that the Coalition Government will have to back down on key promises it made in Opposition? Brian Easton writes – The Minister of Finance, Nicola Willis, is telling an evolving story about her fiscal challenges. In Opposition she was confident that she could ...
Dear Nicola Willis,Right now you’ve probably got lots of competing demands coming at you. Ministers who’ve inherited quite a mess, or so you’ve told us, looking for money in the budget to improve things. I imagine that’s why they came to parliament - to make things better.You’ll have to make ...
The Local Government, Transport and Auckland Minister hasthreatened councils with intervention if they don’t merge water assets to take them off balance sheet, just as the now-repealed Three Waters plan directed. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: My six things of note this morning for Monday, March 25 include:Simeon ...
A listing of 36 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 17, 2024 thru Sat, March 23, 2024. Story of the week Thanks to John Mason having the stamina to sit down to watch "Climate - the Movie" ...
This morning the Q&A programme had Simeon Brown on to talk about National’s replacement for Three Waters. In case anyone’s forgotten the three are - drinking water, waste water, and sewerage. It’s quite important not to get them mixed up. In much the same way that you wouldn’t want to ...
Today’s newsletter comes with a mini-podcast conversation between me and my buddy Liv Tennet, talking about her time as a child actor in Lord of the Rings. It’s a conversation with a lot of giggles as she talks about falling off a horse, and becoming a meme. Read ...
The Desmog Climate Disinformation Database documents, "individuals and organisations that have helped to delay and distract the public and our elected leaders from taking needed action to reduce greenhouse gas pollution and fight global warming." It's a who's who of the organised climate change denial movement, in other words. In ...
Bob Edlin writes – A High Court judge has decided miscreants who have mana – or who claim to have mana – should be treated differently from miscreants who have none. It’s a ruling that suggests indigenous law-breakers have a better chance of securing a discharge without conviction ...
Welcome to the first, and possibly last, edition of Brickbats, Bouquets and Bull’s Wool. In which I’ll take a look at the events of the last week or so, and rate them.In such ratings the numbers usually have more to do with the opinions of the reviewer, than the actual ...
Roger Partridge writes – My earlier column this month, New Zealand’s highest court could be facing a turning point, prompted a flood of feedback from business readers and lawyers alike. A common query was what Parliament can do to restrain an overreaching judiciary. This week I discuss two steps Parliament ...
TL;DR: In today’s ‘six-stack’ of substacks at 6.16pm on Friday, March 22: writes about New Zealand's Building Boom—And What the World Must Learn From It over at his substack. challenges the Auckland Council’s use of a 3.8 degrees of warming forecast to oppose a wave-park and data centre project ...
Is she hinting that the Coalition Government will have to back down on key promises it made in Opposition?The Minister of Finance, Nicola Willis, is telling an evolving story about her fiscal challenges. In Opposition she was confident that she could deliver her promised income tax cuts. Appointed minister, she ...
Buzz from the Beehive Ministers of the Crown have drawn attention to one sector of the science sector which is unlikely to be subjected to heavy spending cuts, a state-funded broadcaster which is doing nicely, thank you, and a sporting event that had $5.4 million from the public purse puffed ...
Abbott’s Freestyle Libre sensors allow continuous glucose monitoring (CGM). The sensor is applied to the back of the patient’s arm, with a thin filament under the skin measuring glucose levels constantly. But it costs around $100 per sensor and must be replaced once every 14 days. Photo by BSIP/Universal Images ...
The Inspector General of Intelligence and Security (IGIS) recently released a report in which he exposes the existence of a foreign intelligence partner-controlled technological “capability” inside the headquarters of the GCSB, NZ’s 5 Eyes-affiliated signals intelligence collection and analysis agency. … Continue reading → ...
Peter Dunne writes – Nearly three decades after the introduction of MMP and multiparty governments there should be a greater level of understanding about their finer points than often appears to be the case. The reaction to the despicable outburst from the Deputy Prime Minister at the weekend highlights ...
The sweet kisses from fruit of summerHave slowly been turning dullerYou say, "those times"And "remember the daysWhen we went outside and there still was the shade?"Taking no reason into play…Autumn. Clear, blue days shortening to longer nights, growing colder. Aotearoa.That’s us. The temperature dropping, the looming car crash - so ...
Bryce Edwards writes – “It is often said that behind every great man is a great woman”. This is the pitch by the National Party Botany electorate branch to attend their “Ladies Afternoon Tea with Amanda Luxon”. For $110 including GST, you can turn up on Saturday 20 April ...
David Farrar writes – The Electoral Commission has published the expense returns for political parties for the 2023 election. I’ve put them in a table with how many votes a party got so we can see the spend per vote. National only spent $3.34 for every vote they got, almost ...
Winston Peters’ headline-making actions over the past week may have been a show of political power intended to strengthen his hand in Budget negotiations. It was no accident that his State of the Nation speech was as it was. He made it as New Zealand First Leader, not as Deputy ...
Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the last week included:Former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson bowed out of politics this week, giving a series of exit ...
Graham Adams writes — If you love the law or sausages, as the saying goes, best not to look too closely at how they are made. And after watching the orgy of self-pity when Newshub’s closure was announced on February 28, television journalism should definitely be added to the list of those ...
Venerable New Zealand political commentator, Chris Trotter (https://bowalleyroad.blogspot.com/), is a sad creature these days. Once one of the most reliable Leftist writers out there – Economic Left at that – Trotter seems to have absorbed the worldview of Auckland culture-war obsessives. It is not for me to categorise what he ...
The cruelty of short-term memory loss is that each time you ask where she is, you get the fresh shock and grief of the news. That was Dad's day yesterday.Comfortingly, it seems to be less so today. Last night he looked crumpled, today he seems more settled. There's a card ...
The Coalition Government’s plan to ‘get Auckland moving’ is a cuts cover-up that will ultimately cost Aucklanders more to move around the city, says Labour Auckland Issues spokesperson Shanan Halbert. ...
Slashing the Ministry of Pacific Peoples by 40% will have a devastating impact on pacific communities and further highlights how little this government cares about anything other than cutting taxes for the wealthiest few. ...
Labour has proposed an urgent inquiry to investigate the ever-increasing profits of supermarkets, aiming to lower costs for shoppers and food producers alike, says Labour Spokesperson for Commerce and Consumer Affairs Arena Williams and Primary Production Spokesperson Cushla Tangaere-Manuel. ...
With 14% of jobs on the line at the Ministry for Ethnic Communities, the responsible Minister Melissa Lee is failing to stand up for the very communities she’s meant to be representing. ...
COURT OF APPEAL: TRIFECTA OF VICTORY FOR NZ FIRST, TRIFECTA OF FAILURE FOR OPPONENTS For the third time since April 2020, New Zealand First has defeated the Serious Fraud Office and all those complicit in a malicious attack against a political party going about its lawful business in a lawful ...
The Green Party stands with people who live in public housing, people in dire housing need, experts and advocates in demanding better than the Government’s archaic approach to housing those who need our support the most. ...
New Zealand has recently lost the hosting rights of some major international sporting events including the America’s Cup, the Rugby Championship, Netball World Cup, and the Wellington Sevens. We are now at a huge risk of losing SailGP as well. And it won’t stop there. The recent issues with SailGP ...
A Member’s Bill drawn this week would modernise insurance law and make things fairer and more transparent for consumers, Christchurch Central MP Duncan Webb said. ...
The Minister for Disability Issues has confirmed she was aware of funding issues in mid-December and did nothing to stop it. On 14 March, she signed off on changes that were announced and implemented on 18 March without any consultation with disability communities. ...
Green Party MP Julie Anne Genter says her members' bill is an opportunity for the coalition government to plug the gap in electric vehicle incentives. ...
The National Government continues to talk about irresponsible tax cuts that will only drive up inflation, despite the country entering a technical recession. ...
The Minister for Disability Issues must act urgently to reinstate flexibility around the funding for disability support and apologise to disabled carers. ...
This story has been initiated by a leftie shill reporter who proactively sought to call a member of a former band, which disbanded twelve years ago, give their biased appraisal of what was said in my speech, and concocted a ham-fisted attempt at a story that does nothing but show ...
The Government has accepted Labour’s change to the Road User Charge (RUC) discount for hybrid vehicles, meaning there will still be some incentive for people to buy greener vehicles. ...
Many in the mainstream media have taken what was said in New Zealand First’s State of the Nation Speech in Palmerston North on Sunday and deliberately, deceitfully, and ignorantly misrepresented what I said and why I said it. The headlines and commentary on the news stated that I compared ‘co-governance ...
Kicking the most vulnerable people out of state housing and pushing them towards homelessness will result in a proliferation of poverty and trauma across our most vulnerable communities. ...
Te Pāti Māori co-leader and MP for Waiariki, Rawiri Waititi has penned a letter asking MPs to support his members bill to remove GST from all food. The bill is expected to go through its first reading in parliament this Wednesday. “I’m calling on all political parties to support my ...
Good afternoon. Thank you for, in your very busy lives, turning up to this meeting today. On October 14th last year New Zealanders overwhelmingly voted for change. That is exactly what this new government is bringing. New Zealand First campaigned to ‘take back our country’ and stop the disastrous economic ...
This year is about getting real with Kiwis and discussing the tough issues, as the National Government exacerbates inequality and divides New Zealand, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said ...
The Government adding Significant Natural Areas (SNAs) to its already roaring environmental policy bonfire is an assault on the future of wildlife that makes Aotearoa unique. ...
After 12 years of fighting to protect our moana we are finding ourselves back at square one and back at court. Today, the Environmental Protection Agency is sitting in Hawera to reconsider an application from Trans-Tasman Resources to dig up 50 million tonnes of the seabed in South Taranaki. This ...
Minister Shane Jones’ decision to step away from a seabed mining project is evidence of the murky waters surrounding the Government’s fast-track legislation. ...
The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last government in a bid to get greater coherence in the publicservice on Treaty matters. When ministers first considered the need for tighter oversight in 2021, there ...
The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last government in a bid to get greater coherence in the publicservice on Treaty matters. When ministers first considered the need for tighter oversight in 2021, there ...
The Coalition Government’s miscalculation saga continues as it has forgotten an eyewatering $90 million gap in its interest deductibility cost figures, say Labour Finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds and Revenue Spokesperson Deborah Russell. ...
He Pou a Rangi Climate Change Commission has today released advice that says if the Government doesn’t act now New Zealand is at risk of not meeting its climate goals. ...
The Coalition Government has today confirmed it is abandoning first home buyers who are struggling to get ahead, says Labour Finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds. ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed the passing of legislation to move light electric vehicles (EVs) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) into the road user charges system from 1 April. “It was always intended that EVs and PHEVs would be exempt from road user charges until they reached two ...
New Zealand is strengthening its ability to combat illegal fishing outside its domestic waters and beef up regulation for its own commercial fishers in international waters through a Bill which had its first reading in Parliament today. The Fisheries (International Fishing and Other Matters) Amendment Bill 2023 sets out stronger ...
Economists Carl Hansen and Professor Prasanna Gai have been appointed to the Reserve Bank Monetary Policy Committee, Finance Minister Nicola Willis announced today. The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) is the independent decision-making body that sets the Official Cash Rate which determines interest rates. Carl Hansen, the executive director of Capital ...
Apartment owners and buyers will soon have greater protections as further changes to the law on unit titles come into effect, Housing Minister Chris Bishop says. “The Unit Titles (Strengthening Body Corporate Governance and Other Matters) Amendment Act had already introduced some changes in December 2022 and May 2023, and ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters will travel to Egypt and Europe from this weekend. “This travel will focus on a range of New Zealand’s traditional diplomatic and security partnerships while enabling broad engagement on the urgent situation in Gaza,” Mr Peters says. Mr Peters will attend the NATO Foreign ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown is encouraging all road users to stay safe, plan their journeys ahead of time, and be patient with other drivers while travelling around this Easter long weekend. “Road safety is a responsibility we all share, and with increased traffic on our roads expected this Easter we ...
About 1.4 million New Zealanders will receive cost of living relief through increased government assistance from April 1 909,000 pensioners get a boost to Superannuation, including 5000 veterans 371,000 working-age beneficiaries will get higher payments 45,000 students will see an increase in their allowance Over a quarter of New Zealanders ...
Ensuring social housing is being provided to those with the greatest needs is front of mind as the Government restarts social housing tenancy reviews, Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka says. “Our relentless focus on building a strong economy is to ensure we can deliver better public services such as social ...
The Kermadec Ocean Sanctuary will not go ahead, with Cabinet deciding to stop work on the proposed reserve and remove the Bill that would have established it from Parliament’s order paper. “The Kermadec Ocean Sanctuary Bill would have created a 620,000 sq km economic no-go zone,” Oceans and Fisheries Minister ...
Dam safety regulations are being amended so that smaller dams won’t be subject to excessive compliance costs, Minister for Building and Construction Chris Penk says. “The coalition Government is focused on reducing costs and removing unnecessary red tape so we can get the economy back on track. “Dam safety regulations ...
The coalition Government is expanding the medium-scale adverse event classification to parts of the North Island as dry weather conditions persist, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced today. “I have made the decision to expand the medium-scale adverse event classification already in place for parts of the South Island to also cover the ...
The passing of legislation giving effect to coalition Government tax commitments has been welcomed by Finance Minister Nicola Willis. “The Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill will help place New Zealand on a more secure economic footing, improve outcomes for New Zealanders, and make our tax system ...
Science, Innovation and Technology Minister Judith Collins and Tertiary Education and Skills Minister Penny Simmonds today announced plans to transform our science and university sectors to boost the economy. Two advisory groups, chaired by Professor Sir Peter Gluckman, will advise the Government on how these sectors can play a greater ...
The Budget will deliver urgently-needed tax relief to hard-working New Zealanders while putting the government’s finances back on a sustainable track, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The Finance Minister made the comments at the release of the Budget Policy Statement setting out the Government’s Budget objectives. “The coalition Government intends ...
The coalition Government will look at options to address a zoning issue that limits how much financial support Queenstown residents can get for accommodation. Cabinet has agreed on a response to the Petitions Committee, which had recommended the geographic information MSD uses to determine how much accommodation supplement can be ...
Cabinet has agreed to a short extension to the final reporting timeframe for the Royal Commission into Abuse in Care from 28 March 2024 to 26 June 2024, Internal Affairs Minister Brooke van Velden says. “The Royal Commission wrote to me on 16 February 2024, requesting that I consider an ...
The coalition Government is delivering an $18 million boost to New Zealanders needing to travel for specialist health treatment, Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says. “These changes are long overdue – the National Travel Assistance (NTA) scheme saw its last increase to mileage and accommodation rates way back in 2009. ...
The Government is recognising the innovative and rising talent in New Zealand’s growing space sector, with the Prime Minister and Space Minister Judith Collins announcing the new Prime Minister’s Prizes for Space today. “New Zealand has a growing reputation as a high-value partner for space missions and research. I am ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has confirmed New Zealand’s concerns about cyber activity have been conveyed directly to the Chinese Government. “The Prime Minister and Minister Collins have expressed concerns today about malicious cyber activity, attributed to groups sponsored by the Chinese Government, targeting democratic institutions in both New ...
Independent Reviewers appointed for School Property Inquiry Education Minister Erica Stanford today announced the appointment of three independent reviewers to lead the Ministerial Inquiry into the Ministry of Education’s School Property Function. The Inquiry will be led by former Minister of Foreign Affairs Murray McCully. “There is a clear need ...
State Highway 1 across the Brynderwyns will be open for Easter weekend, with work currently underway to ensure the resilience of this critical route being paused for Easter Weekend to allow holiday makers to travel north, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Today I visited the Brynderwyn Hills construction site, where ...
Introduction Good morning to you all, and thanks for having me bright and early today. I am absolutely delighted to be the Minister for Infrastructure alongside the Minister of Housing and Resource Management Reform. I know the Prime Minister sees the three roles as closely connected and he wants me ...
New Zealand stands with the United Kingdom in its condemnation of People’s Republic of China (PRC) state-backed malicious cyber activity impacting its Electoral Commission and targeting Members of the UK Parliament. “The use of cyber-enabled espionage operations to interfere with democratic institutions and processes anywhere is unacceptable,” Minister Responsible for ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters and Defence Minister Judith Collins today announced New Zealand will provide logistics support for the upcoming Solomon Islands election. “We’re sending a team of New Zealand Defence Force personnel and two NH90 helicopters to provide logistics support for the election on 17 April, at the request ...
The European Union Free Trade Agreement Legislation Amendment Bill received Royal Assent today, completing the process for New Zealand’s ratification of its free trade agreement with the European Union. “I am pleased to announce that today, in a small ceremony at the Beehive, New Zealand notified the European Union ...
Public consultation on the terms of reference for the Royal Commission into COVID-19 Lessons has concluded, Internal Affairs Minister Hon Brooke van Velden says. “I have been advised that there were over 11,000 submissions made through the Royal Commission’s online consultation portal.” Expanding the scope of the Royal Commission of ...
Hardworking families are set to benefit from a new credit to help them meet their early childcare education (ECE) costs, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. From 1 July, parents and caregivers of young children will be supported to manage the rising cost of living with a partial reimbursement of their ...
A specialised Independent Technical Advisory Group (ITAG) tasked with preparing and publishing independent non-binding advice on the design of a "green" (sustainable finance) taxonomy rulebook is being established, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. “Comprising experts and market participants, the ITAG's primary goal is to deliver comprehensive recommendations to the ...
Defence Minister Judith Collins has thanked the Chief of Army, Major General John Boswell, DSD, for his service as he leaves the Army after 40 years. “I would like to thank Major General Boswell for his contribution to the Army and the wider New Zealand Defence Force, undertaking many different ...
25 March 2024 Minister to meet Australian counterparts and Manufacturing Industry Leaders Small Business, Manufacturing, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly will travel to Australia for a series of bi-lateral meetings and manufacturing visits. During the visit, Minister Bayly will meet with his Australian counterparts, Senator Tim Ayres, Ed ...
Government commits almost $3 million for period products in schools The Coalition Government has committed $2.9 million to ensure intermediate and secondary schools continue providing period products to those who need them, Minister of Education Erica Stanford announced today. “This is an issue of dignity and ensuring young women don’t ...
Good morning, it’s great to be here. First, I would like to acknowledge the New Zealand Institute of Building Surveyors and thank you for the opportunity to be here this morning. I would like to use this opportunity to outline the Government’s ambitious plan and what we hope to ...
Minister for Pacific Peoples Dr Shane Reti has announced the Government’s commitment to the Auckland Secondary Schools Māori and Pacific Islands Cultural Festival, more commonly known as Polyfest. “The Ministry for Pacific Peoples is a longtime supporter of Polyfest and, as it celebrates 49 years in 2024, I’m proud to ...
Before moving onto the substance of today’s address, I want to recognise the very significant and ongoing contribution the Breast Cancer Foundation makes to support the lives of New Zealand women and their families living with breast cancer. I very much enjoy working with you. I also want to recognise ...
New Zealand has notched up a first with the launch of University of Canterbury research to the International Space Station, Science, Innovation and Technology and Space Minister Judith Collins says. The hardware, developed by Dr Sarah Kessans, is designed to operate autonomously in orbit, allowing scientists on Earth to study ...
Introduction Thank you for inviting me to speak with you today and I’m sorry I can’t be there in person. Yesterday I started in Wellington for Breakfast TV, spoke to a property conference in Auckland, and finished the day speaking to local government in Christchurch, so it would have been ...
The Coalition Government is contributing more than $1 million to support the establishment of an emergency multi-agency coordination centre in Northland. Emergency Management and Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell announced the contribution today during a visit of the Whangārei site where the facility will be constructed. “Northland has faced a number ...
New Zealanders have enjoyed a broader range of voices telling the story of Aotearoa thanks to the creation of Whakaata Māori 20 years ago, says Māori Development Minister Tama Potaka. The minister spoke at a celebration marking the national indigenous media organisation’s 20th anniversary at their studio in Auckland on ...
Commercial catch limits for some fisheries have been increased following a review showing stocks are healthy and abundant, Ocean and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. The changes, along with some other catch limit changes and management settings, begin coming into effect from 1 April 2024. "Regular biannual reviews of fish ...
COMMENTARY:By Ronny Kareni Since the atrocious footage of the suffering of an indigenous Papuan man reverberates in the heart of Puncak by the brute force of Indonesia’s army in early February, shocking tactics deployed by those in power to silence critics has been unfolding. Nowhere is this more evident ...
Analysis - Nicola Willis is holding firm on tax cuts despite the economic outlook being worse than forecast and critics urging her to wait, writes Peter Wilson for The Week In Politics. ...
Opposition MPs and unions are criticising a proposal by New Zealand’s Ministry of Pacific Peoples to cut staff by 40 percent. The country’s largest trade union — The Public Service Association — says the ministry has informed staff that it is looking to shed 63 of 156 positions. Opposition MPs ...
A poem by Poetry Aotearoa Yearbook 2024 featured poet Carin Smeaton. Daughtr of the 90s when she gets promoted to usherette a baby blu eel carries her all the way up to mothership she’s hovering high she lets the underaged in to see keanu reeves she lets the only lonely ...
Analysis by Keith Rankin. Keith Rankin, trained as an economic historian, is a retired lecturer in Economics and Statistics. He lives in Auckland, New Zealand. My earlier article – Can ‘Good’ be the Greater Evil? – looked at the issue of how wars should end, and how Good versus Evil ...
The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington.AUCKLAND1 AMMA by Saraid de Silva (Moa Press, $38)A stunning debut novel reviewed by Brannavan ...
From Steve Martin to Ricky Stanicky, a pick’n’mix of things worth watching and listening to this long weekend. This is an excerpt from our weekly pop culture newsletter Rec Room. Sign up here. If you’re at a loss for something to occupy yourself with this Easter, don’t panic: The Spinoff’s got ...
Jesus had dinner with his 12 disciples right before he died. Noted historian Madeleine Chapman finds out who really deserved to be there.First published in 2018 but let’s be honest, the subject is timeless. As you sit on your couch this Easter Sunday, eating a chocolate egg you know ...
The newly-promoted Northern League club is on a mission to return to the National League for the first time in two decades. Plenty about domestic football in New Zealand has changed in that time – but the sense that this amateur competition is not an entirely level playing field remains. ...
Comment: Every year on February 2, a dozen men in tuxedos and top hats approach the burrow of a groundhog in Gobbler’s Knob, Pennsylvania and entice the beaver-like rodent to emerge and predict the weather. If the groundhog, named Punxsutawney Phil, sees its own shadow when it is summoned, legend ...
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Auckland Council has put a deadline on new weather-impacted property owners applying for categorisation as government funding looks set to run out. Councillors have voted to support a deadline of September 30 for property owners who haven’t accessed support to come forward and engage with the council’s recovery office. It ...
NONFICTION 1 BBQ Economics by Liam Dann (Penguin Random House, $40) “It’s official,” wrote Dann nine days ago in the Herald, where he works as business editor at large, “we’re in recession.” Yeah, great. He delivered the bad stats: “GDP fell 0.1 percent in the December 2023 quarter, compared with ...
By Anneke Smith, RNZ News political reporter A petition urging the New Zealand government to provide urgent humanitarian assistance to the Palestinian people has been tabled in the House. More than 200 people gathered on Parliament’s forecourt today and they were met by MPs from Labour, the Greens and Te ...
Pacific Media Watch The Paris-based global media freedom watchdog RSF (Reporters Without Borders) has appealed for information about the “disappearance” of Palestinian journalist Bayan Abusultan. She was reportedly last seen on March 19 among people “sequestered” in this week’s raid and siege of Al Shifa hospital by Israeli troops in ...
EDITORIAL:The Jakarta Post It happens again and again; indigenous Papuans fall victim to Indonesian soldiers. This time, we have photographic evidence for the brutality, with videos on social media showing a Papuan man being tortured by a group of plainclothes men alleged to be the Indonesian Military (TNI) members. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Robyn J. Whitaker, Director of the Wesley Centre for Theology, Ethics, and Public Policy & Associate Professor, New Testament, Pilgrim Theological College, University of Divinity A strange and eclectic range of activities takes place across these few weeks of the year. Some ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Panizza Allmark, Professor Visual & Cultural Studies, Edith Cowan University It’s Easter weekend, which means many of us will be kicking back with the greatest hits on repeat. But whether you’re a boomer, or an ‘80s or ’90s kid, you might be ...
RNZ Pacific Fiji’s Acting Public Prosecutor has filed an appeal against the sentences of former prime minister Voreqe Bainimarama and suspended police chief Sitiveni Qiliho in their corruption case. Bainimarama was granted an absolute discharge for attempting to pervert the course of justice while Qiliho received a conditional discharge with ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Arosha Weerakoon, Senior Lecturer and General Dentist, School of Dentistry, The University of Queensland Casezy idea/Shutterstock How does toothpaste work? What did people use before toothpaste was invented? – Amelia, age 7, Meanjin (Brisbane) Thanks for your ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Brett Hallam, Associate professor, UNSW Sydney IM Imagery/Shutterstock Solar SunShot is well named. The Australian government announced today it would plough A$1 billion into bringing back solar manufacturing to Australia, boosting energy security, swapping coal and gas jobs for those ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Clare Dix, Research Fellow in Nutrition & Dietetics, The University of Queensland Easter is the time for chocolate. The shops are full of fantastically packaged and shiny chocolates in all shapes and sizes, making trips to the supermarket with children more challenging ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Emma Felton, Adjunct Senior Researcher, University of South Australia Even in a stubborn cost-of-living crisis, it seems there’s one luxury most Australians won’t sacrifice – their daily cup of coffee. Coffee sales have largely remained stable, even as financial pressures have ...
Mining company Trans-Tasman Resources has unexpectedly withdrawn its application for a consent to suck the valuable metals vanadium and titanium from the Taranaki seafloor, as it apparently wagers on the Government’s new fast-track process. It had spent two-and-a-half days putting its case to the Environmental Protection Agency’s decision-making committee, at ...
Contrary to the Associate Minister of Education’s claims, analysis of Healthy School Lunches Programme - Ka Ora, Ka Ako assessments has revealed it provides excellent value for the taxpayer dollar, as a groundswell of public opposition to Government ...
Greenpeace says wannabe Taranaki seabed miner Trans-Tasman Resources is likely banking on Christopher Luxon’s fast-track process to side-step proper scrutiny of its Taranaki seabed mining proposal by bailing out of the Environmental Protection Agency hearing ...
Kiwis Against Seabed mining today slammed Australian owned would-be seabed miner Trans Tasman Resources (TTR) for abandoning its application to the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) to mine the seabed of the South Taranaki Bight. The company ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Katie Attwell, Associate Professor, School of Social Sciences, The University of Western Australia Ground Picture/Shutterstock Months after COVID vaccines were introduced in 2021, governments and private organisations mandated them for various groups. Health and aged care workers were among the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andrew Dzurak, Scientia Professor Andrew Dzurak, CEO and Founder of Diraq, UNSW Sydney Diraq For decades, the pursuit of quantum computing has struggled with the need for extremely low temperatures, mere fractions of a degree above absolute zero (0 Kelvin or ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Beaumont, Election Analyst (Psephologist) at The Conversation; and Honorary Associate, School of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of Melbourne A national Essential poll, conducted March 20–24 from a sample of 1,150, gave the Coalition a 50–44 lead including undecided, a reversal ...
The Taxpayers’ Union has today made a formal request under the Regulations of the People’s Republic of China on Open Government Information () for information held about how New Zealand Members of Parliament are spending taxpayer ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Robert Nelson, Honorary Principal Fellow, The University of Melbourne A Byzantine depiction of the Eucharist in Saint Sophia Cathedral, Kyiv.Jacek555/Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA A nasty quarrel arose in the 11th century over what kind of bread should be used in holy ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Patrick Hesp, Professor, Flinders University Patrick Hesp In some parts of Australia, coastal dunes are retreating from the ocean at an alarming rate, as waves carve up the beach and wind blows the sand inland. But coastal communities are largely ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Luke Heemsbergen, Senior Lecturer, Digital, Political, Media, Deakin University With an impressive 60% of the US smartphone market, Apple is undeniably big, but not a clear monopoly. Yet, years of innovation by Apple have effectively given the company its own exclusive ...
Whether you’re facing layoffs or are just an emotional junior staffer, it’s always a good idea to scout out a good crying place before you need it. It’s an incredibly hard time for Wellington. Across the city, thousands of public servants are hearing tough news about redundancies and layoffs. Government ...
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Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Daryl Adair, Associate Professor of Sport Management, University of Technology Sydney Earlier this week, independent MP Andrew Wilkie accused the AFL of conducting “off the books” illicit drug testing to identify players using substances of abuse, then inappropriately withdrawing them from matches ...
The Government’s announcement that it will scrap plans for a vast marine sanctuary around the Kermadec Islands is ‘shameful’ and will make it impossible for Aotearoa New Zealand to meet its international commitments, says the World Wide Fund for Nature ...
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Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Suzanne Rutland, Professor Emerita, University of Sydney In his latest book, Jewish Life in Medieval Spain, Jonathan Ray focuses on the tumult of the 14th century in Spain – a time of the plague, civil strife and war between the two largest ...
While creating a slate of world-class shows, Whakaata Māori also developed a generation of world-class creatives. Television is an odd word. It mixes the Ancient Greek and Latin languages, and its most literal meaning is “far-off sight”. In the contemporary and living language of te reo Māori, “whakaata” as a ...
Yesterday the UN Security Council passed a resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire in Israel’s war on Gaza. This significant step and the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Gaza prompted an urgent debate in the New Zealand Parliament. Leader ...
The Government’s decision to reduce access to continuous glucose monitors (CGM) not only threatens the lives of children with type 1 diabetes and increases the potential for ‘Dead in Bed’ syndrome, but also threatens the health of their parents an ...
Apples are available year-round, but the wide variety on offer involves intensive scientific research – and large-scale commercialisation. What’s beautiful, red, sweet and crunchy? Tony Martin’s favourite kind of apple: Sassy. The CEO of apple and pear breeding organisation Prevar, Martin’s fondness for Sassy represents professional success as well as ...
Family violence specialist service Shine is calling on employers to stop asking for proof of domestic violence in order for employees to access domestic violence leave. The call comes five years after the introduction of the Domestic Violence ...
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Brutal government spending cuts that will see the size of the Ministry for Pacific Peoples slashed by 40% will hit Pasifika communities hard, the PSA says. The Ministry has told staff that it is seeking voluntary redundancies, and to redeploy and reassign ...
I live with five people I mostly love, but our different ideas about generosity are starting to really irk me.Want Hera’s help? Email your problem to helpme@thespinoff.co.nzDear Hera,This is a bit of a random one but here goes. I’m 22 and work an OK job (OK meaning I get paid ...
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I’m no fan of Rodney Hide and maybe we’re not getting the whole story but this all appears very odd and maybe worrying for all of us.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/politics/news/article.cfm?c_id=280&objectid=11438698&ref=rss&utm_medium=twitter&utm_source=twitterfeed
Welcome to a state of affairs he helped create not expecting to be subject to it, oh the irony and still took his inside contacts and the soapbox at granny he enjoys to shake a form of reply out.
Welcome to life outside the beltway bubble rortney.
Sounds very odd – a private investigator undertaking the questioning after being summons issued and sworn in by a government official.
When to the govt web page for insolvency
I see the official assignee looks like they only investigate under the bankruptcy act and the companies act.
I assume that they only investigate under bankruptcy if someone claims assets / income has been hidden in the process. Does this just leave companies act offences then? What would you do if you didn’t have a column like Rodney.
Hide wouldn’t be the first former ACT MP who got in shit for dodgy business practices.
Lol Rodney. Karma comes around! hahaha
On ANZAC Day Key speaks of New Zealand’s nationhood and sovereignty.
And the day after we’re reminded he’ll sign the TPP and sign away our rights and freedoms.
He is a traitor.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ellen-brown/the-transpacific-partnership_b_7136112.html
Key works for American interests and Nat party backers, if those interests dont happen to be in NZ best interests then tough luck voters.
a rather sickening interview with Lucy Hockings too on BBC WN where he speaks of our respect of democracy and freedom.
That whole concept of ‘the ANZAC spirit’ is rather interesting. It’s something that seems to exist amongst various peer groups (such as the military, fire service, police, family groups spread across two nations), but which is immediately fucked up by politicians on each side of the Tasman Sea. (e.g. Howard’s rule changes that put Kiwis at a disadvantage as non-citizens/deprivation of healthcare/welfare etc despite paying taxes – how frikken ANZAC spirited is THAT?!)
I see the NZHerald has a story this morning about performance artist Cherry Lazar having a show coming up on the 7th of May at the Jewelry Shop Gallery 79 Rue Charlot in Paris, France.
Cherry real name Stephie is the daughter of a famous ponytail puller.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11438715
Would be interesting to see what art critics think of her work.
I recall when one well known NZ artist was asked to comment on her work he said something about how artists should not be asked about that sort of material.
she has very luxuriant ponytails!
les, somewhat reassuring to note your lack of knowledge in this area – Cherry Lazaar is sporting “pigtails” – a completely different hairstyle. 🙂
The timing is interesting. Has Glucina been on the phone to Paris recently ?
Too much of a coincidence.
We know the Herald’s political colours after the Glucina story.
I’d predict they’ve had this ‘story’ on the backburner for a while.
The Herald is an extreme right wing tabloid rag.
Somewhat ironic that her art is to champion the rights of women.
She would not last long in Wellington’s current blustery weather
http://metservice.com/towns-cities/wellington/wellington-city
I am as always a little leery of bringing Stephanie Key into any discussion about NZ politics. It’s typically been used as an excuse to objectify her and demean her art in order to get in a dig on her father.
If you really want to know what “art critics” think of her work you could try reading the article, which extensively quotes a the gallery owner, who’s also a fine art photographer, on the subject.
“The definition of beauty is different everywhere, but the sense of self-confidence and power is universal,” Key said in a statement to the Herald on Sunday from gallerist Trevor Mansfield.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11438715
Hmm .. Ayn Rand ? ‘Might makes right’ ? Or just self-realisation ?
I do not see any need for people mentioning Key’s daughter whatsoever. Smacks of desperation after all she is making her own way in the world.
Still pondering on the impact this young woman will have on her generation??
Power and money behind her, she has chosen a very deliberately provocative way to express herself, what she is expressing could very easily be….take your clothes off and be outrageous girls, try to shock, and attract attention.
Might get her a long way, and she has people to fall back on, but average kiwi young women can’t afford to risk it, let alone make a living out of it.
In fact one young kiwi woman dared to speak up, and be “strong” when repeatedly “touched” in her workplace, and look what has happened to her.
And again, I see no need to bring Stephanie Key into a conversation about Amanda Bailey.
If Stephanie Key had actually done something relevant to the story besides “be John Key’s daughter and make art which shocks some people” it would be a different story, but attacking a young woman because her father is a prat is simply unnecessary.
Not attacking her akshully,
she is inviting questions by her own actions, and I am asking….”What impact will your actions have on your peers?”
Would ask the same of any person on the public stage , including Amanda Bailey, although her message to be a “strong woman” is pretty clear, and respectful of women
Her own way???? Don’t be soooo naive.
I sort of agree, except that I doubt if she is making her own way in the world. How much would enrolment in the private American art school in Paris cost? It’s a bit like Abbott’s daughter, who won a previously non-existent scholarship to a private design school. Totally on merit, apparently.
The story is not so much what the two of them are doing, but how politicians are using their positions to build dynasties. It’s very American.
Your comment prompted me to read the article, reluctantly. I don’t quite get the “art” stuff and the message that she’s trying to convey is lost on me, I’m afraid.
BTW, when I saw #divonnelesbains (Pole dance Studio – dlb) under one of the Instagram photos in the Herald article my brain played tricks on me and I read “divine lesbians”. Perhaps I did get Cherry Lazar’s message after all?
The Herald would never have published this if she wasn’t Key’s daughter; she ain’t Lorde, Eleanor Catton, or Lydia Ko, as far as I can tell.
The French seem to have an interesting relationship with food and sensuality; when I saw La Grande Bouffe for the first time I was intrigued and puzzled.
It’s almost lunch time …
Interesting she is not leveraging the family name… or has it become a liability these days?
Radical third option: like many, many artists before her she’s chosen to use a pseudonym for artistic reasons.
Stephy doesn’t protect that pseudonym very well, though, does she. As she is her own subject, she is an images search away and that is just how she wants it – a bit of a tease, all part of that reclaiming “the naughty girl” in a fearless and amusing fashion. And all about the cult of celebrity. Perhaps she’s being ironic ….pffft. Whatever, she really doesn’t want your alliance or protection.
Many artists perform under pseudonyms despite their real names being well known, so I’m not sure what your point was, and I’ll protect any young woman who’s being subjected to petty personal attacks just because some leftwing douchebags think it’s a clever way to destroy her father.
left wing douchebags with daughters who are struggling through uni, trying to find part time work to sustain them through masters, in the hope of one day making a meaningful contribution to society.
Stop “rescuing” Stephanie and hear what people who aren’t being precious are saying, without prejudice.
I have no problem with being “precious” when a young woman is being exploited, and I don’t give a toss what your personal circumstances are. Sexism is sexism – and sexist put-downs like “being precious” are, too.
struggles thru uni justify villifying a young woman cos you dont like her father? what meaningful contribution do you want to make?
I have worked for 30 years in the health service, at the shop floor, and am proud of doing so. I am proud of my daughters working hard to do the right things in life.
Clearly you do not understand, mine, and others point regarding Key’s daughter.
You are patronising, blinkered and out of touch, I doubt young Stephie gives a toss about your “protection”, she doesn’t need it, and …
” and sexist put-downs like “being precious” are, too”
umm, left wing douchbags? and what is “sexist” about “precious”?
Don’t worry it’s a rhetorical question, and I am not interested in being patronised by either of you any further.
Lazar is her grandmother’s family name, I think.
Correct. John Key’s mother was Ruth Lazar. John Key’s older sister, Susan, now uses the name Susan Lazar.
Nothing unusual about using a pseudonym, protected or otherwise.
Her father’s money likely provides some useful leverage, but I doubt his name would mean a lot for her career.
hey, the emperors daughter’s got no clothes on!
🙂
I wouldn’t get to excited about it , its just one of the idle youth of the rich finding a way to fill there days in.
Meanwhile in the ”are we surprised?’ pile
http://m.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=11437319
“Turner’s departure follows a relatively smooth path for the company since its banker owners put the firm into receivership and emerged last November as the new shareholders of the company.”
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=11286388
” The company was subsequently sold to MediaWorks Holdings Limited, a syndicate of banks and equity companies,” – Mediaworks website
bankers owning media companies always seems so obvious 😉
Can you tell the story without linking to that corporate propaganda outlet?
These people have no moral qualms about outing a waitress who clearly didn’t want to be the centre of a media shitstorm.
donotlink.com
Fair question ropata, and yes I (we) should use donotlink more often because we still need to present the original information. As we all know, when we quote stuff, rather than having trust and confidence in others’ integrity the rwnj’s, who need a dictionary a flow chart and six weeks of HR work-shopping to digest the definition of those terms, stand on their crumbling soapboxes and scream ‘citation – source – lies – etc’
On a side issue – Although using donotlink does hurt their search ratings it still creates page hits at the source which helps get them $$$ – unless I am completely misunderstanding how it works so would appreciate any clarification on that.
I think that when using donotlink, the NZH will still get a page hit, but won’t be able to track you or improve their google rank.
Appreciate the info anyway, it is a serious concern when the MSM is entirely controlled by one or two powerful corporations.
If you don’t want to visit donotlink.com every time you use the service, you can also put “http://www.donotlink.com/” before the website’s url like this:
http://www.donotlink.com/www.example.com/rwnj/education.html
My heart is going out to Nepal and the people after this earthquake – I have friends over there, no word about them or from them.
+1 @ Marty. There are deaths and damage across northern Indian states as well (Haryana Punjab UP Bihar W Bengal etc. – thankfully India appears to be responding with aid to Nepal promptly)
Catastrophic. I watched Times of India TV until the end of daylight over there last night .. here’s a link, though it has become more India-centric this morning.
Kudos to Indian gvt for having C130’s landing at Kathmandu airport before the light disappeared … very swift and compassionate response to help this impoverished land.
There was very brief footage from Pokhara, whcih was almost the epicentre with 7.9 only 2 kms underneath them .. the photo I saw showed a road where one side of the cracked surface was about 30-50 feet higher than the other side. Horrors.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Earthquake-in-north-India/liveblog/47047920.cms
and also this for anyone who has been to this very sacred Buddhist site …
http://indianexpress.com/article/world/neighbours/iconic-swayambhunath-stupa-stands-amidst-the-rubble-of-its-complex/
Also Tibet has suffered great damage and many deaths being reported.
Wish you well in finding your friends Marty … I have many friends there and the days will be very long while we wait.
(Maybe the Chinese govt will recconsider its’ ill-thought- through plans to build a road tunnel under Everest and the Himalayas through to Kathmandu. What could possibly go wrong.)
correction … not C130’s but Globemaster C17’s … thx
Death toll is up to 1130. Arohanui Nepal…
US Gov abandons Yemeni Americans in war zone – Russians evacuate them
Chinese and Russian governments have been busy evacuating international citizens out of Yemen, while the US state department has provided no travel assistance and has been advising its own nationals to stay in the war zone.
Russia has now evacuated over 1700 people from 20 countries out of Yemen.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3_KHO4B9bc8
Meanwhile the Syrian civil war has produced 3.5 million refugees and a wave of mass drownings as desperate people flee the bombs and bullets and poisonous gas.
Pity about the new smilies. Not as clear as the old ones I think (on the laptop, haven’t looked on the phone). Was that a wordpress upgrade thing?
it’s not just my eyes then 🙂
imho, they are poorly designed ill-defined messes, take “evil” for example, it doesn’t look evil at all, more like a hungover grape 👿
whatever happened to “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!”
😈
That’s twisted. I have to look really closely to see what it is saying.
“if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!” seems to be antithesis to IT types, look how often you turn on FB or something similar & everything has changed for whatever reasons.
Nothing is perfect and believing otherwise is detrimental to making the world a better place. In this case, though, nothing was actually fixed. Whoever designed those icons seems to have fallen for fashionable nonsense:
Yeah, can’t say I like the new smilies. The new ones just don’t have the character that the old ones had.
eeep, I’ll just check ‘old faithful’, the rolly-eyes:
🙄
edit: boooo. Now I’ll have to use my wordiness to express that sentiment.
and they no longer roll [insert actual rolling eyes emoji here]
My take on Anzac day On Bravery, Anzac Day And Lies, Damn Lies.
a song for john key..
http://whoar.co.nz/2015/a-song-for-john-key/
Hey folks, can anyone explain why it was LA International Airport where John Key had to make his hurried apologies over the ponytail interfering, while on his way to Turkey. Is there some other place he had to be, before his ANZAC appointment – isn’t the usual flight path to Europe via Singapore, Hongkong etc – seems odd to be going a very long way around – was he seeing Warner Brothers over Kim Dot Com maybe?? Have I missed something in the media???
The US is home from home for Key.
Don’t know exactly where he went on the way over, but the PM did deliver a speech at the International Peace Summit in Turkey, where he said ““New Zealand must play a role, along with others here today, in standing up to the brutality and extremism of ISIL,”
He then went on to the ANZAC Centenary events to show how much he respects the fallen. On the way back he has the NZ Ambassador’s “Networking reception” in Dubai with his “business delegation”. You know Dubai, that place that also beheads people, stones women, kills homosexuals and lashes journalists but apparently we’re cool with them doing all that.
tragedy is Key would not even notice …. Dubai is where the money is and likely the underpinnings of his next job … Bandar Key and all that.
On the way over to Turkey, it appears that he went via LA (where he was interviewed) and then onto Turkey (possibly with a transfer at London?).
He is visiting not only Dubai on the way back to NZ (arriving May 1), but also Saudia Arabia and Kuwait, with a trade delegation which includes amongst others, Michelle Boag. Perhaps he could leave Michelle in Dubai or Saudia Arabia ….
Full details here.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/68055160/john-key-hopes-for-talks-with-saudi-royals
Sorry, did not see Barbara’s comment. From what I saw on the media and Twitter, Key would only have been in LA an hour or so at the most on this trip.
Travel to Europe via LA is just as common as via Asia these days, as the via LA routes often fly the shorter route over the Artic rather than across the US and then the Atlantic.
for a depressing read, here’s the world according to Amnesty international
https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/pol10/0001/2015/en/
Waitresses know their place in Dubai. They get flogged if they complain about what powerful men do to them. FJK will love it.
murray … have a look at #27 below …
Last time I went it was Auk-LA-London
Confirming again what international surveys repeatedly find: Lots of NZ managers are overpaid idiots
http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/better-business/68046042/mondayisation-causing-a-headache-for-employers
Its really not that hard:
-If your staff worked on Saturday then that was their Public Holiday.
-If they didn’t then Monday is the Public Holiday.
-If you manipulated the Roster to try to not have to pay them extra then whichever of those days they would normally have worked is the Public Holiday, there is no way out.
Yep, the headache only comes when the managers try to avoid obeying the law.
Champion Racehorse
love elizabeth warren .. calling on obama to put up or shut up and make tppa documents public
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/04/25/elizabeth-warren-tells-ob_n_7142850.html
Look what you unionist lovers of big monopoly state control will bring to NZ If you get things your way;
Venezuela Reaches the Final Stage of Socialism: No Toilet Paper
Cato Institute: an unimpeachable source. In any case, if FJK ever visits Venezuela, he can just take Mike Hosking along and Bob’s your uncle.
The Cato institute’s version of “capitalism” is racketeering, market manipulation and dirty politics under a veneer of free enterprise.
Ever heard of confirmation bias burt?
Seems getting toilet paper isn’t the problem, the problem is the hotelier can’t get toilet paper at the correct price.
“In the black market you have to pay 110 bolivares [$0.50] for a roll of toilet paper that usually costs 17 bolivares [$ 0.08] in the supermarket,” Camacho told Fusion. “We don’t want to participate in the corruption of the black market, and I don’t have four hours a day to line up for toilet paper” at a supermarket….
I think you’ll need to read a little further than the link I provided to get the full picture. But I guess if you haven’t noticed that socialism always fails yet then you won’t be wanting to read the full context of the failure of one size fits all state monopoly in Venezuela.
If you google around this subject you will find that like always in socialism the state has willingly served it’s own best interests and that is the problem in a nutshell.
and when capitalism fails 95% of a population your answer is
“please sir can i have more”
Venezuela has a complex history and its suffering is mostly due to US commercial imperialism and its elites strip mining out all the wealth for themselves. The oil price has collapsed and the USA is indulging in propaganda games.
Why is it that oil states without nukes get picked on like this?
I googled the subject and found that Denmark is the no.1 Happiest Nation on Earth.
I also found this article
burt,
As it’s the 100 year anniversary of WWI, did you know that Britain was on the verge of a peaceful social revolution when one maniac in Sarajevo plunged the world into war?
hey burt,
it’s natural to turn a blind eye to the problems inherent in the current capitalist paradigm, everyone is doing it.
burt, you’re still a delusional idiot by ignoring reality and history. Reality and history show that it’s always capitalism that doesn’t work.
What’s causing any shortages in Venezuela isn’t socialism but capitalism as the capitalists demand their blood price.
Workers who resisted militarism in the early twentieth century here, while pursuing the class war vigorously:
https://rdln.wordpress.com/2015/04/26/opposing-war-abroad-fighting-the-class-war-at-home-radical-workers-in-new-zealand-1905-1925/
On the British coming election. Catchy description.
http://whoar.co.nz/
General election 2015: the main parties are all staring into a pitch-black night of the soul
Andrew Rawnsley
The Tories set out with a plan so simple that even the dimmest of their candidates could be expected to follow it. Say often enough that Ed Miliband isn’t up to being prime minister. Say often enough that the economy is now doing well. Say often enough that Labour’s numbers don’t add up. Add amplification from your allied propagandists in the rightwing press and the Conservatives roll back to power.
It sounded quite plausible. To many Labour people, it sounded terrifyingly plausible. At the outset of the campaign, there was deep neuroticism in Labour’s ranks. For the Tory plan is one that has traditionally worked in British politics. When a party has the lead on economic competence, the preferred candidate for prime minister, the advantages of incumbency, plus the majority of press support and the most money, the conventional rules of political gravity say that they ought to win.
I really am in a bit of a quandary about this
firstly I believe in equality
secondly I believe the Treaty should actually be enacted and that Māori should be recognised as partners in our country
thirdly I really feel for the sentiment Mae espouses regarding reflecting diversity and our changing ethnic makeup
fourthly I don’t see gender being overtaken at all – but is this just a oppression olympic position?
“Bank of New Zealand’s newest director, Auckland lawyer Mai Chen, says ethnic representation has now overtaken gender as one of the biggest concerns for boardrooms.”
http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/68042718/top-lawyer-calls-for-more-asians-on-boards
should I really care about the boardroom? Is it an issue or is it a manifestation of the bigger, larger, deeper issue of diversity?
Who goes to the boardroom shows which groups are being bought off. Having an Asian woman on the board of ANZ will not stop the bank ripping off customers any more than having Thatcher as PM made Britain a better place for women. We should be doing away with private banks and their boards, not trying to disguise them as inclusive.
Maori have long recognised that with the present welcoming of moneyed migrants they would become just another minority in their own country. Instead of the bi-cultural sharing in running the country, they would just be part of the multi-racial mix.
And there is pressure always to follow this line from many pakeha and now from the competitive, clever Asians who have come here to make their mark and their wealth. They may be family oriented, but are more individualistic than traditional Maori with their whanau and hapu tradition with shared land and resources.
The Stuart McIntyre case – The pitfalls of social media and work
[He was sacked today for his tweets]
https://accidentalaussie.wordpress.com/2015/04/26/the-stuart-mcintyre-case-the-pitfalls-of-social-media-and-work/
I didn’t think Murdoch owned SBS yet. In Oz it is almost seen as treasonous to question the official myths, and NAct is trying hard to import the same sentiment. The big media is soon going to be indistinguishable from that of North Korea, except that the flag shown on each page will be different.
Who woulda thunk it.
/
WASHINGTON — The secrecy surrounding the National Security Agency’s post-9/11 warrantless surveillance and bulk data collection program hampered its effectiveness, and many members of the intelligence community later struggled to identify any specific terrorist attacks it thwarted, a newly declassified document shows.The document is a lengthy report on a once secret N.S.A. program code-named Stellarwind. The report was a joint project in 2009 by inspectors general for five intelligence and law enforcement agencies, and it was withheld from the public at the time, although a short, unclassified version was made public. The government released a redacted version of the full report to The New York Times on Friday evening in response to a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit.
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/25/us/politics/value-of-nsa-warrantless-spying-is-doubted-in-declassified-reports.html
My latest blog post on medical cannabis, this time calling for use in terminal cancer.
http://yournz.org/2015/04/26/medical-cannabis-and-cancer-a-call-for-compassion/
Also, United in Compassion, a group that is winning with policy change in Australia, is coming to NZ, we need submissions to send to the RH Peter Dunne from Medical Cannabis patients, there supporting friends and family, and Medical Practitioners. If you can help, please contact me, Philip Ure, please get in touch. see the post here….
https://www.facebook.com/MFMCNZ
Chris Trotter writes a good post:
http://bowalleyroad.blogspot.co.nz/2015/04/weep-zealandia-weep.html
Final paragraph. Nice one.
paddy gower reported in 3news that bandar key did not get is royal family meeting in dubai today. paddy said he has been bumped, with no idea of whether he will be ‘un-bumped’ tomorrow.
😀
but.. but.. NZ flew the flags at half mast and everything!
they probably don’t want to be seen with Key the international embarrassment.
lprent .. any chance we can have the old face icons back please ? these new ones are very tiny!!
Vile people.
It is 2 p.m. and Muhammad Hashem*, 14, has walked several kilometers home in the blistering Jordan Valley heat after working a back-breaking seven hours, with only half an hour’s break, in the agricultural fields of the Israeli settlement Tomer, north of Jericho.
He is too weary to stand as his picture is taken and there are dark bags under his eyes from exhaustion.
Muhammad is one of hundreds of Palestinian children who has dropped out of school and started working for low wages in exploitive conditions to ensure some Israeli agricultural settlements prosper, aided and abetted by Palestinian middlemen who are employed by the Israelis as managers of these agricultural fields.
Human Rights Watch (HRW) recently released a 74-page report entitled
“Ripe for Abuse – Palestinian Child Labor in Israeli Agricultural Settlements in the West Bank.”
http://www.dw.de/israeli-settlements-profit-from-palestinian-children/a-18395612
Ah, capitalism at its finest.
Just spotted this new tune from Darren Watson: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GQrmbxtr09k
Nice.
But the biggest advantage of horse-race journalism is that it permits reporters and pundits to “play up their detachment.”
bit of a twitter battle going on & this link came up, http://laudafinem.com/2015/04/21/whale-oil-hack-dirty-politics-new-zealand-police-arrest-cyber-activist-with-strong-labour-party-connections/ just thought i’d bring it up coz the standard gets a mention. might also be part of those ‘rawshark’ got arrested rumours the other day.
a ‘twattle’?
bloody awful if it’s true.
I doubt if this Ben guy is Rawshark. Ben comes across as a big noting idiot, yet Rawshark managed to stay out of the limelight. I don’t think Lauda Finem consistently gets things right either.
Yep. Ben is a master of BS. Very insincere.
thx murray and CR ..
??
B
@B3nRaching3r
Now your slandering ass is following me, @Laudafinem ? Did you seek comment from me before you ran your lines? Put my family and I at risk?.
https://twitter.com/B3nRaching3r/status/592248089479491584
some weird shit is going down, lots of suff abuot the standard https://twitter.com/B3nRaching3r following this page, hes updating it every few minutes at the moment
The thought police are out in force:
He mentioned the truth and some idiots found this offensive. Seems that it was going against the culture and lies that the people in charge want to propagate.
I’d be more proud of NZ had Key’s wife had followed Michelle Obama, Condoleezza Rice and Princess Diana in refusing to comply with misogynist cultural nonsense all for the hope of a financial deal… but I guess that’s the key way of wheeling and dealing.
Bill English last week commented that even though housing was experiencing excessive demand over supply in Auckland, the rest of the country was fine and the problem was unique to Auckland.
Is this the start of the government backing out of the problem? By passing Auckland off as the country’s problem child?
How about it doing more to keep people in the regions?
Oh Rodders. Nothing to Hyde nothing to fear! lolol hahaha.