Does Jenny-May Coffin ever check what she is given to read out?
Sports journalism in New Zealand is a Mark Richardson-calibre joke
Television One News, Saturday 25 July 2015
Too many sports “journalists” know little or nothing about sports. Sadly, the worst of them seem to be chosen, apparently on purpose, to “work” in the electronic media. Anyone who has managed to endure a few minutes of Radio Sport or the thankfully now defunct LiveSport will be only too aware that the people who spend all day flapping their gums about sports are not drawn from the top, or even the lower middle, end of the talent pool. Dull, indolent, prejudiced and ill-informed sports commentators are a perennial problem in the United States: one of the most infamous is Tom Heinsohn who, during a live TV broadcast of a 1985 NBA finals game, woofed: “What the Lakers need is more white bodies out there.” It’s also a problem in Great Britain—New Zealanders will remember the deeply unpleasant and dishonest Sunday Times rugby curmudgeon Stephen Jones. Australia’s rugby commentators (league and union) are embarrassingly bad, whether it’s Andrew Slack or Nick Farr-Jones uttering inane platitudes or Phil Gould acting as a crude shill for the poker machine lobby during live game calls.
I know the virus is pretty bad in Canada, France, and in Japan as well.
You might say that useless and/or offensive sportscasters are a universal problem. But even so, it gives me no pleasure to say that New Zealand seems particularly afflicted by really, really bad ones. Ladies and Gentlemen of the jury, I present for your inspection Murray Deaker, Martin Devlin, Doug Golightly, Andrew Saveloy, Jim Kayes, Tony Veitch, Mark Watson, Nigel Yalden, Wiwwy Wose and, perhaps worst of the lot, that gruesome twosome, those horribly unfunny try-hards Mulligan and Richardson. That’s a representative, rather than a complete, sample.
However, this evening she managed to excel—if that’s the right word for something so abject—herself, as she burbled: “Real Madrid beat Manchester City last night in front of 99,000 spectators, a record football crowd for the Melbourne Cricket Ground.”
Now, if Jenny-May Coffin were a serious journalist, or a reasonably knowledgeable sports authority, or even mildly interested in the material she was given to read out, then she would have known that that statement was ridiculous.
If she had bothered to check, she would have discovered that the record football crowd for the MCG was 121,696 for the Victorian Football League grand final between Carlton and Collingwood. The year after that (1971) the crowd for the St Kilda vs Hawthorn game was 118,192—a hell of a lot more than were at last night’s association football game. In fact, the Real-Man. City attendance was nowhere near the top TWENTY football crowds for the MCG, as Jenny-May Coffin would have known if she possessed even a rudimentary level of professionalism….
No she was not correct. She read out a glaringly wrong press release from some PR flack. Obviously such basic journalistic tenets as research or checking are unknown to her.
Real Madrid Club de Fútbol and Manchester City Football Club play football. My beloved St Kilda Football Club play a radically different code, only played professionally in a single country, and hardly known outside Australia.
Context is everything and Coffin was reporting on two well known football clubs, so it’s obvious that the record referred to was a football statistic, not an AFL one. The turnout of 99000 matches the current AFL grand final record. It was a sellout as the MCG has a smaller capacity these days.
We’ve had this discussion before, Moz, and the result is the same; World 1, Moz 0.
My beloved St Kilda Football Club play a radically different code
A code of what, exactly?
only played professionally in a single country, and hardly known outside Australia.
As a St Kilda F.C. fan, you will be well aware that your beloved Saints played in front of 118,192 fans as they lost a classic Grand Final to the Hawks in 1971. By the way, have a look at the name of the bloke who scored four goals for St. Kilda that day.
Australian Rules Football, which by it’s very name differentiated itself from the worldwide code. And I don’t have look up your namesake Barry, he’s still a legend! ’66 and all that!
A more interesting question might be which sport was codified first. I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised.
Yes I know it was our Victorian chums who got there first! Who actually wrote up a set of rules first is interesting, but doesn’t especially please me one way or the other.
More concerning are some of the recent trends of Australian football, especially the levels of on-field violence and the unfortunate preponderance of handballing. When Geelong started making handball a key part of its games in the 1960s, other teams quickly followed, and disgusted spectators would yell, “Kick the bloody thing!”
I also think that the scoring methods in Australian football are unsatisfactory—consider the ho-hum attitude of an MCG crowd after a point, or even a goal at times is scored in an AFL game, and compare it with the genuine excitement that followed all five goals in the Real-Manchester City game on Friday night. One sport’s scoring method is diffuse, over-complicated and perceptibly too easy, whereas the other’s is clear and unambiguous and much harder to do.
And of course, there’s the size of the teams and the immense size and shape of the playing surface…
Bit harsh on Jenny-May I feel. There is only one “foot”ball after all. The others such as rugby, league, rules etc involve the major use of hands and are pretenders only. When I hear the term football there is omly one sport that comes to mind to me and it’s played with a round ball.
To some people yes. To others no. Times are a changing. I think most kiwis would say “are you watching the rugby test tonight” not “are you watching the football test”.
By the way, a WorkSafe spokeswoman said KiwiRail had pleaded guilty to two charges in relation to the incident, and would be sentenced in the Auckland District Court in September.
So. This M.Key and C. Lazar rahui….this ban on bringing the kids into ‘this’..
Prince of Parnell anyone?
J.Keys official photographer shoots M.Keys holiday vid – featuring Dad – and what? Don’t bring the kids into it!!!They’re innocent!
imo they kids are part of the hashtagPlanetKey system.
CR Joe who’s side are you on you and anyone else who criticised the family of any politician is going down an all-time loosers path.
Attack the policies and failures not their families .
Max is clearly part of the PM’s propaganda team. Why else would the PM blatantly appear in Max’s holiday video, it shows the PM clearly wanted to be part of the message his son was putting out. If the kids aren’t to be involved in politics then all it would of taken is Key to say, you can make a video but you’re not showing me in it.
Of course they are, so as far as I am concerned they are fair game.
They are exhibitionists who like the limelight just like their exhibitionist father. If you court publicity then when you are criticised for it, you can’t cry foul because of who you are. They are adults now so are responsible for their own conduct.
@ Anne (5.2) Yes. Both Key offspring are hardly children. They are young adults, responsible for their own decisions and behaviour, putting themselves out there in the public domain.
Interesting point is that Key’s wife Bronagh seems to keep herself private, a low profile, away from the public glare. Good for her. Proves I guess there is at least one Key family member, who isn’t self absorbed, obsessed with hogging the limelight!
PM John Key (Bank of America shareholder) looking after US or the U$?
TPPA – WALK AWAY!
Today, Sunday 26 July 2015, NZ Prime Minister John Key, gives his ‘KEY’note speech to the National Party’s 79th Conference at the Auckland Sky City Casino, at noon.
A range of New Zealanders and those who believe that signing the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA), will NOT work in the best interests of New Zealand, as a sovereign State, the majority of the NZ people, or NZ businesses, will be protesting outside, from 11am till 1pm.
PROTEST! TPPA – WALK AWAY!
WHEN: Today – Sunday 26 July 2015
TIME: 11am – 1pm
WHERE: Outside Sky City Auckland Convention Centre
A number of us are deeply concerned with the FACT that NZ Prime Minister John Key, is a shareholder in the Bank of America.
So – in whose ‘national interest’ is NZ Prime Minister working?
For US (New Zealanders) or the U$?
Follow the dollar….?
The evidence of John Key’s Bank of America shareholding is available on the NZ Parliamentary website:
(These Bank of America shares are NOT in a ‘blind trust’!)
Hey Jenny this is the shit that is going down over this TPPA agreement. This is one of the reasons why America supported by their fucking lap dog Spiv Key are all for it. They are prepared to turn a blind eye to slavery just to get at China.
“But because the Senate is the Senate, it was unable to swap out the original language for the modification. (The chamber needed unanimous consent to make the legislative move, and an unknown senator or senators objected.) So the trade promotion authority bill that passed Friday includes the strong anti-slavery language, which the House will now work to take out to ensure that Malaysia (and, potentially, other countries in the future) can be part of the deal.
Observers are left with a deeper question: Why, in the year 2015, is the White House teaming up with Republican leaders essentially to defend the practice of slavery?
Understanding this is key to understanding why President Barack Obama has been pushing so aggressively for a trade deal that so many of his allies insist will harm American workers. It’s about global power, geopolitics and pushing back against the rise of China. And that starts with Malaysia.
How bad is Malaysia?
Unfortunately for Obama, Malaysia is a hub of human trafficking comparable, according to the State Department, to North Korea and Saudi Arabia. It falls in Tier 3, the lowest ranking a country can have in the State Department’s annual human trafficking report, which gauges a country’s actions against modern-day slavery.
Why is Malaysia so important?
A century ago, U.S. foreign policy focused on the brand-new country of Panama. Wars were started, coups were plotted, deals were struck, all toward the end of controlling access to its just-completed canal. Today the Panama Canal is still a global trade “chokepoint” that shipping must pass through. Another chokepoint, equally if not more important, is the Strait of Malacca, which lies between the Indonesian island of Sumatra and the Malay Peninsula.
Unlike Senate Democrats and labor leaders, many experts on U.S.-China relations consider the Trans-Pacific Partnership essential. They argue that the deal, which the Obama administration is forging with 11 other Pacific nations, will show that Washington is not going to allow an expansionist Beijing to dominate the region with tactics ranging from bullying smaller nations to building island fortresses in disputed waters. A March 2015 report from the Council on Foreign Relations lists granting Obama trade promotion authority — which will grease the skids for the TPP to pass Congress — as the top way in which the legislators can ensure a smart U.S. response to China’s rise.”
Refreshing to see Bob Reid fronting for workers on Q & A this morning and countering ‘everything is hunky dory’ put up by the Nat cyborg. I would love to see Reid takeover the leadership of the CTU when Helen Kelly retires in October. Bob has the rare ability to cut through the crap being spun by the Government’s PR snake oil merchant’s, well done cobbah.
Michelle Boag was at her sour puss, bullying worst this morning. She claimed the unions are to blame for low paid workers and the unemployed. Beat that.
I gather there’s a Reid Research poll coming out on TV3 tonight. Don’t want to flag it the wrong way, but I have to wonder if she has foreknowledge of the result and isn’t too happy about it. 🙂
Boag’s argument was shear stupidity and reiterated what Bob was saying that the elite are too far removed from the low wage economy most workers are living in New Zealand.
I once took exception listening to Boag on Willie & JT’s political show around the time of the tragic Pike River deaths. Anyway she made some ridiculous comment about health & safely in her business, I called in under my than George handle and gave her a crack, “Michelle what would you know about Health & Safety in the workplace, the only risk you would face is choking while eating tapas in a Ponsonby cafe.” McCarten and the boys laughed… Boag was momentarily stuck for words. She finally mustered a sarcastic “why thanks how kind of you” I replied
“You welcome”. 🙂
Read the link, you elemental dick. The man was left seriously brain damaged. If people are to be locked up as punishment, then the state has the obligation to protect them from random violence no matter what their crime.
what about people with mental health issues, drug habits that can’t get treatment elsewhere? Shame finance company swindlers /tax avoiders cant get a taste of real corrections?
Took my kid to open day at local state high school yesterday. Teacher in the food tech area talked nostalgically about how they used to have community cooking classes as part of the nightschool programme. Long gone now. Cheers national.
And look at Bernard Hickey’s expression as Boag gibbers on about young people wanting to buy 3 bedroom houses in Grey Lynn.
He shakes his disbelief as the nonsense she spouts.
Again, why does this fool Boag get air time?
And why is Dallow such a shill for the National Party?
Thanks for the link Paul. Yes Michelle Boag wheeling out the old young people wanting to buy a three bedroom home in Grey Lynn. Why don’t they just have an apartment…………………………….
Great now I get it! The housing crisis in Auckland is because young people want to buy a three bedroom house in Grey Lynn! Its the young people’s fault!
Surprised she didn’t bring out her other red herring “I don’t own a house”………..
The depth of the analysis. Please keep Boag on. She is doing wonder’s for………….Labour and the Left.
Remember the part that private building inspection companies played in the leaky buildings saga and the liabilities that were passed on when they folded? Seems the National Government have very short memories, are slow learners or are so wedded to ideology that they can’t see the wood for the trees. Not to worry, tax and rate payers have big pockets and just love to help out dodgy industries.
Wonder how he’s thinking of paying for this? My guess is that it will come out of local government coffers one way or another forcing the local councils to put up rates to cover the extra expenses of having more people doing the job.
“Nobody gets as many standing ovations…. This weekend I’ll be with Clint Eastwood in California. Tremendous group of people, I’ll be in Arizona this weekend, I’ll be all over the place…”
This is exciting! It’s like Nietsche and Kierkegaard coming together. Or Chomsky and Russell. Or Tom Paine and Immanuel Kant. Or Jamie Whyte and Richard “I’ve Been Thinking” Prebble.
Yes, at long last, Donald Trump and Clint Eastwood are going to be in California together!….
Donald Trump: ‘I Will Win The Latino Vote’ (Full Interview) | NBC News
According to Boag on Q&A this morning, it is all Robert Reid’s fault that there are a few poor people struggling, because he doesn’t look after them well enough!!!!!
And yet they invite her back on week after bloody week, setting the narrative that intelligent people then have to waste time countering/adjusting and pointing out facts, so no advancement in debate.
I have given up on the Nation, will have to check who is on Q&A before subjecting myself again.
Michelle Boag’s job is identical to Matthew Hooton’s—to disrupt and if possible destroy any chance of engaging in serious debate. Her rants on Jim Mora’s light chat vehicle are infamous, made even worse by the fact she is accompanied every time by her new best friend Dr Brian Edwards.
Absolutely, how does she get air time. “FMR” party president what does that stand for? F****** Much Richer” ???
Watching her represent “baby boomers” the other week, is another device to divide generations, young people actually do believe my generation has ruined the chance of a good life for their generation. I have worked for 35 years for the health service, no savings, but a clear conscience and finally a house that is mine.
Like Key I would have liked for my offspring and the next generation to have the same if not a little better….like his do.Is that going to happen thanks purley to his government, NO. Assets sold, conflated house prices, low wage economy, education for the rich only (or face debts for most of life, unless bailed out by rich parents) etc.
I am so sick of people like Boag dictating the narrative, whilst decent intelligent people like Robert Reid have to sit there and listen (and stomach), what a crazy environment for the 4th estate to have to work in.
And why do they invite her back?
Because the people who own and run Q and A are part of the same elite as her.
She is a useful puppet for hte powerful interests who own and run New Zealand.
@Paul
Reminds me of a parallel person in UK – Thatcher. Reading about dead but not forgotten, John Mortimer’s comments on Thatcher. In 1986, his adaptation of his own novel Paradise Postponed was televised. This depicts what he saw as Britain’s descent into viciousness in the era of Thatcherism.
Boag fills the same role in NZ for those who desire power and wealth and disdain the hoi polloi.
Boag needs to see the replay of herself trying to defend the cost of housing in Auckland and how hard it is for working people to afford the basics. The ex Bank of Reserve economist was a breath of fresh air.
H Joon Chang is someone whose ideas I have been listening to since I bought his book 23 things they don’t tell you about Capitalism. It is a great read and destroys many key Capitalist myths.
This article lays thing bare also. He is definitely the Economist to follow.
A lovely analogy here, even though he gets the wording a bit wrong, and should have said “the body” in the last line, where he says “business”: When the only ones capable of making exchanges are a small percentage of the population, the entire economy suffers because the many are excluded for the benefit of the few, but this benefit too is an illusion. There is no real benefit. Pretending otherwise is like thinking that cutting off the blood in your body to everything except the brain is good for business. It’s not. It’s good for gangrene.
Every extra dollar going into the pockets of low-wage workers, standard economic multiplier models tell us, adds about $1.21 to the national economy. Every extra dollar going into the pockets of a high-income American, by contrast, only adds about 39 cents to the GDP. These pennies add up considerably on $26.7 billion in earnings. If the $26.7 billion Wall Streeters pulled in on bonuses in 2013 had gone to minimum wage workers instead, our GDP would have grown by about $32.3 billion, over triple the $10.4 billion boost expected from the Wall Street bonuses.
That debt, which is threatening to destroy the euro, is at the heart of the machinery behind this elaborate matrix, and the wedge pushing the very rich and the poor apart.
That valuable, exponential debt, and the greed associated with its accumulation, was behind the growth of derivatives and sub- prime mortgages that precipitated the near-collapse of the global economy in 2008. Thanks in part to weak oversight and regulation, which was acknowledged by a regretful former United States president Bill Clinton in an April 2010 interview.
And now that debt is impacting on the sovereignty of those troubled European nations through expectations of such organisations as the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank for sweeping austerity measures attached to bail-outs.
If you think that such murky dealings are a world away from our own shores, consider what makes up the vast majority of New Zealand’s money supply.
If we want prosperity for our country then we need to:
1. Get of the rich because we simply cannot afford them
2. Change our monetary system so that only the government creates money
3. Stop foreign ownership of land, businesses and housing so that we don’t become serfs to foreign owners
As a result, large parts of the business class have become neo-luddites. Faced with the possibility of creating gene-sequencing labs, they instead start coffee shops, nail bars and contract cleaning firms: the banking system, the planning system and late neoliberal culture reward above all the creator of low-value, long-hours jobs.
Boag blames unions for the low rates of pay in supermarkets and DIY stores.
Not the employers.
Unbelievable.
Simon Dallow is a tool for the government and part of the bubble that does not realise how most people live. A disgraceful excuse for a journalist.
The Boag Tyrantosaurus rex started looking for limbs to rip off the other panellists at the end there. Bernard I think was very shortly going to just start banging his head repeatedly on the desk with a continuous low groaning sound.
will they have to stay there, or do they get to quit right away and move to akl once their permit has been approved and bumbfuckistan dairy country aint gonna do it anymore for them?
There’s nothing wrong with an opinion on those things. The problem comes from people whose opinions are actually misconceptions. If you think vaccines cause autism you are expressing something factually wrong, not an opinion. The fact that you may still believe that vaccines cause autism does not move your misconception into the realm of valid opinion. Nor does the fact that many other share this opinion give it any more validity.
A great article on the difference between opinions and misconceptions.
A rural Waikato secondary school has pass rates in the mid to high 90s for each level of NCEA.
“Hands-on” options help students not planning on university study, says Hauraki Plains College principal Ngaire Harris.
She says that’s partly due to subjects that range from beekeeping to classical studies.
Hauraki Plains College has about 700 students.
In 2014 it had a
95 per cent pass rate for NCEA level 3
99 per cent at level 2.
Strangely, the level 1 pass rate is 102 per cent of students on the roll.
————–
It is all well good and useful to graduate in bee keeping, chain saw skills etc, but
I am wondering how many or what % of their ‘highly successful’ students actually study academic studies such as Science, physics, Botany, Chemistry, Zoology, Economics, Accounting, Statistics, Architecture, Calculus etc , go to university and graduate as doctors, engineers, scientists etc. Strangely, the article praising this school did not mention that.
I suppose the academic jobs will be taken up by students from the Charter schools.
Or by skilled and qualified immigrants.
I know, perhaps from the students of the part publicly funded private schools which cater to the kids of the privileged and the wealthy.
I think that education is being dumbed down. Parents and the country are being short changed by students and the schools taking the easy course routes.
The damage done to the proper education and prosperity of the common people is a real worry in this artificially manipulated system of education, where paper work, reports, tests, feel good BS statistics and quantity seems to be more important than the quality of education and qualifications.
@Clem
And I think that the state we are in today with our deficient government and opposition that are not ready to face reality, much less future events, is an indication of how we have received deficient education over the last century plus.
Our education needs to be based on problem solving and understanding multiple views of any situation, gaining the skills to think through that, not using problems as exercises to advance our skill knowledge and sit exams to confirm our proficiency. A broad-based education that ensures the humanities, the conservation of the environment, as well as the hard sciences, are to the fore not left to be picked up later by somebody.
o-one will then be able to concentrate entirely on business and money-making and creational economics (of any persuasion). Everyone will know at least two languages fluently, and four others to ask simple questions etc. This can be done in primary after the kids are eight, when their minds are ready to absorb more complex stuff, as educationists have discovered.
It is all well good and useful to graduate in bee keeping, chain saw skills etc, but
I am wondering how many or what % of their ‘highly successful’ students actually study academic studies such as Science, physics, Botany, Chemistry, Zoology, Economics, Accounting, Statistics, Architecture, Calculus etc , go to university and graduate as doctors, engineers, scientists etc. Strangely, the article praising this school did not mention that.
That is because the people living on the Plains around here and in Thames know that this is a very successful school and has been for some time. They know many of the students finishing there move on to all manner of university and other tertiary studies. My daughter had the privilege of teaching there for a time Science and Geography . Then again your assertion that the less academic have little value.. well many of the young men who take their schooling there are destined to work on their parents farms after agriculture colleges. My butcher is a young graduate of Hauraki Plains and has just received praise for supplying the meat for award winning pies, baked here in Thames. As a past educator of Physics and Mathematics I appreciate that there are many other facets of life other than the “academic”.
I think you do this very good secondary school a disservice with your comment.
Sorry, I didn’t mean to offend. All studies, skills, jobs and professions are useful, needed and good. No problem with that.
My concern and questions were genuine about the lack of information in the article about the brainy/harder academic courses and what % of students took those there. I think you missed the point or perhaps I did not explain myself properly.
I think you would find similar proportions of students taking academic subjects at Hauraki Plains as any other secondary school of similar decile. My daughter reported the students were extremely well focused across all classes, and a very good culture existed in the school and has for some time.
Do you by any chance have the % of level 3, students that sat last year for each of Physics, Chemistry and Calculus and what their result % were? That information would be really interesting, especially as the report said that the level 3 students had an outstanding result of 95% success rate.
O.k. I am almost sure its official. Paddy Gower must be stupid. Reid poll out.
National up very slightly. Labour up very slightly. Keys popularity down to under 40%
Those polled say they are against foreign buyers buying up property……. (something like 65%.
Minor parties down. National couldn’t govern alone. Would need NZ first.
So Lab and Greens have enough with NZ first…………
Then Paddy says, this shows it’s dangerous for Labour playing the race card………………….
Paddy your either stupid or desperate to find a line that makes Labour look bad………..
that matches my analysis. No bump at all from Labour’s race baiting. Labour should have kept the message about the economics, about economic sovereignty and the foreign financing, but they thought they were being smart selling out on their left wing liberal values and picking on the Chinese.
IMO Labour’s right wing chose the race tack and did not want to make any general statements around the principles of economic sovereignty, as that would be too left wing for them.
I think the next couple of polls including the next Roy Morgan will be pivotal in understanding the full effects of Labour’s foray into race politics.
Questions in parliament last week showed the problem. Little started asking about the flag referendum, a minor matter for the leader of the opposition. He was backing off the housing issue.
National are giving gifts (Serco etc) and they are providing the headlines. Better to focus on that than alienating a lot of people on the left.
In short, Labour won’t (shouldn’t) make the same mistake twice. I hope.
You are doing false framing again!
Just to check if there was any truth in your assertion, I went to the parliament website and this is what I saw:
On the very first day of parliament this term, (Tuesday, 21 July 2015) Andrew Little asked this question on housing;
ANDREW LITTLE (Leader of the Opposition) to the Prime Minister : Does he stand by his statement in relation to affordability of homes in Auckland that “there’s a general view that housing prices are not overvalued”, given that the homeownership rate has fallen to its lowest level in 64 years?
On the same day, Peters too asked a question on Housing.
——————————
On the next day, Wed, 22, the housing question was asked by the Labour housing spokesperson, Twyford. He asked this:
PHIL TWYFORD (Labour—Te Atatū) to the Minister of Finance : Does he stand by his statement about whether inequality was a problem in the Auckland housing market, “We’ve been concerned about that for some time, that there’s part of Auckland where there’s been really no new supply of lower value houses that low and middle-income families can afford”?
On the same day Metiria Turei too asked a housing issue question too.
So instead of the same housing issue, Little asked about the flag because the design submissions had just concluded.
—————-
Again on Thursday, 23, Twyford once again asked more questions on Housing:
PHIL TWYFORD to the Minister for Building and Housing: How does he intend to reduce the shortfall of Auckland houses in the next two years, given that under this Government the shortfall is increasing by 5000 a year, and the Productivity Commission predicts on current rates the shortfall – now 32,000 – will hit 60,000 by 2020?
——————-
Labour’s different spokes people deal with the different issues : Hipkins on Education, Davis on corrections, Twyford on housing, King on health, Goff on foreign affairs. Robertson on finance etc.
Little takes the overall charge without depriving the others.
So, you see, your false framing of Little is wrong and unfair as seen from the questions this week alone.
Bump in polls or not is NOT the main point or the question. At least it did not do any harm. The question is, was Twyford right in highlighting the dire problem of the possible money coming in from non resident Chinese for Auckland houses? I say YES, he absolutely did the right thing highlighting the issue rather than allow it to fester quietly around office water coolers in Chinese whispers.
The poll shows that over 60% of people and over 50% of NATIONAL voters WANT to stop non residents (‘not’ residents) from buying houses in Auckland. All this IN SPITE of the false framing indulged in by the RW crooks and the LW asinines as being ‘racist’. The fools framing it so are the real racists.
Twyford and Labour are well vindicated. No doubt about that. There is still over two years for the election. Keep calm and carry on, I say.
? Far far too early to determine that. Dozens of Labour activists have left the party or “downed tools”. And the true impact of that alone will take time to appear.
Hey, we live in a free democratic society. Not in Guatemala or 福州. Any one is free to leave or join. Some do it with honest principles while some others do it for cheap political stunts.
As long as Labour does the best by the country and all its people (including all legal immigrants), I am happy. Nothing else matters. For those that have left, I say さようなら.
I don’t think Labour would want a massive rise in the polls at this stage. Don Brash and National actually did play the race card around the time of the Orewa speech. Every redneck (and there’s a lot of them and probably includes Gower) in the country cheered them on. The last thing Labour wants is to be compared with is a bunch of rednecks.
Labour decided to emphasise the ethnic aspects, and not the economic sovereignty aspects, of foreign buyers in the NZ property market.
IMO they did that as an appeal to Waitakere Man (and Woman), and in order to not use too much economically left leaning language.
Caucus definitely wanted a rise in the polls from this exercise, and would have been expecting one after days of wall to wall media coverage of the issue.
Labour’s whole emphasis WAS on off shore non residents buying Auckland houses. They showed (in the absence of more reliable data) that the nearly 40% of houses sold in three months went to Chinese sounding owners disproportionate to their 9% population. That was the point which was framed by dishonest people as being racist. It wasn’t.
Of course, there would be some names that would sound like Chinese names, but will not be. that is true and Labour acknowledged that.
I don’t think Clemgeopin is “casually” dismissing large numbers on the left and from ethnic communities as “dishonest” gobsmacked. I strongly suspect many of them mistakenly believed the false framing that was built up around this issue and in particular… I refer to the disingenuous framing from the National Party and their acolytes. eg. Matthew Hooton.
On the Sat morning interview, Twyford emphasised over and over that Chinese investors and people with Chinese names who were the problem. He had plenty of opportunities to generalise the case to all foreign money, to economic sovereignty, to mention buyers from the UK or USA etc as also being potential issues, but he did not.
He had plenty of opportunities to generalise the case to all foreign money, to economic sovereignty, to mention buyers from the UK or USA etc as also being potential issues, but he did not.
I want to ban foreign buyers no matter where they come from. I want us to save the Kiwi dream of affordable homeownership for all New Zealanders. One of the things we should do, and it’s by no means the only problem we need to solve; it’s by no means the only policy we need to adopt; but actually banning foreign buyers will actually make a difference, and reduce the spiralling house prices that are making homeownership unaffordable.
and
We’re going to crack down on speculators generally, and we have a policy review underway. There are a myriad of different tax and policy approaches that we can do to level the playing field away from the current incentives for property speculation in our economy. So we’re going to do that. We’re going ban foreign buyers.
and
We’re going to build thousands of affordable homes for first-home buyers in New Zealand. We’re going to change the planning rules so that the industry can build more and better housing in places where people want to live.
and
I’m standing up for young Kiwi first-home buyers who currently are denied the dream of affordable homeownership. This is a matter of vital public interest. The Government is in denial. They have refused to give New Zealanders the information about foreign buyers
and
I’m speaking for young New Zealanders who want affordable homeownership. If we solve this problem, if we ban foreign buyers, that will make a big difference.
Yeah, that’s why dozens of Labour Party members have left.
Having just watched the clip, yes, I agree that Twyford definitely slanted this towards the buyers being Chinese far more than was warranted, and he should have couched it in more general terms of foreign buyers, and he had plenty of opportunities to do so. It did come across as a racist dog-whistle.
Twyford was being honest and straight up. You would prefer him to be less so, like Key? Twyford wasn’t being offensive or racist. He was exposing a huge housing crisis in Auckland and speaking the truth from the data he had.
Clemgeopin: Pretty sure Ng, Mok, Kan, myself, and a lot of other Kiwi Chinese found Labour’s tactics utterly offensive. But I welcome lots more Pakeha saying it was OK, not offensive, not anti-Chinese etc.
Anyways. No polling pay off for Labour even though most Kiwis agree that there should be no foreign ownership, and I think the damage caused is yet to make itself felt.
Col. Viper, just because you are Chinese does not make you right or smart. Don’t take stupid offense when none was intended. Use your brains. Understand the problem.
孔子 says, “Bubble, bubble, housing bubble can soon make plenty trouble. Just one non-resident prick, can burst all bubbles. Bubble, bubble, plenty trouble!”
The first cut and paste you provide is in response to a direct proposal to sanction only Chinese buyers. (What else was he going to say ffs!)
The second was a direct lead up to that first one. (If not just Chinese, then what?)
The third was a part of the second response.
And the forth and fifth were squeezed in right at the tail end of the interview.
Now, you and I and everyone knows that first impressions count. And right up until he would have had to respond “yes, only (insert ‘otherness’), he banged on about Chinese and only Chinese… and then there was the Chinese.
But look, here’s the thing. Labour, as far as I understand, have access to electronic copies of the electoral roll. So why didn’t they run those 4000 sales against the roll? It wouldn’t have been perfect, but would have given a far clearer picture than the one they presented and it would have avoided any scapegoating/dog-whistling or what have you.
The reason they didn’t, wouldn’t have been because they wanted cheap votes, hmm?
Thankfully, and I mean this sincerely, it hasn’t worked.
Dishonest from the point of view of second guessing what the real point of the Twyford’s exercise was, which was to show that one of the causes of the skyrocketing house prices in Auckland was the money (legal or dodgy cash) coming from non residents most of the culprits seemed to be from China. It was NOT against the local resident Chinese at all who Twyford said he welcomes with open arms if they are legitimately locals buying houses.
It is up to the government to show that Twyford was wrong, if he was wrong at all, by producing accurate statistics of non residents owning houses which isn’t too difficult for the Government to do if THEY are honest. They too, like the false ‘racist’ branding framers, aren’t! The government does not need to wait to BEGIN collecting some IRD numbers starting from OCTOBER! Do it NOW and have it back dated for the last seven years or even fifteen years. Computers are good, accurate and quick at doing such stuff!
So, I would say that the framing of the serious issue as racist is, if not dishonestly by all, then done by a false understanding of being PC or by being scared to be honest or by being quite stupid. Doesn’t really matter which. What matters is the accelerating house prices meed to be stopped by all possible measures. Today, even Key agreed, by saying heavy taxing for land is a better option than banning non residents buying.
So the point is that Twyford and Labour have made this an important issue for considering serious solutions.
Twyford can be right on the general thrust of the information and still be guilty of dog whistling. And that makes him wrong to have indulged in the shit he indulged in.
As said in reply to ‘McFlock’, electronic versions of the electoral roll are available to political parties. They could have used that to get a more precise onshore/offshore split…and for a fraction of the price they spent on doing what they did.
Singling out any identifiable minority and pointing a finger of blame at them isn’t dishonest: it’s just plain fucking wrong on multiple levels of wrongness.
What minority? Nothing to do with ‘minority’ or ‘majority’. It was to do with the non resident Chinese money rushing in in droves to buy investment property in Auckland and pushing prices beyond the reach of the residents, including the resident Chinese. Don’t be so daft.
@Clem
We have not long ago had Helen Clark apologising to Chinese people for past racist wrongs and bad treatment, murder included because of the hatred, fear and disdain for their ethnicity. (Think Dunedin mad guy. Forgotten his name. And others I’ve recently come across.) So Twyford should have been aware of sensitivity being needed.
His approach would have been better if he had gone in stages, with worrying stats alone to start. Then said that real estate figures he had received indicated that there was a strong move of foreign money into Auckland housing. Then said that he was looking at a statistical analysis trying to establish from where, in the absence of any figures from government sources or the Overseas Investment office.
Stages would have been better. Then announce the Asian figure as a bloc with other known comparative figures – Europe, UK, USA, South America. Then Colonial Viper would have had less to bite on!
When Pakeha single out Maori or any other ethnicity for special mention – its never a good thing usually. The Chinese are taking over the country, and the Maoris are taking over the prisons.
@Adele
Reading that – Maori are taking over the prisons, got me thinking. Instead of Serco, why not contract Maori professionals to manage them and help them acquire needed education and life skills?
I have heard that there are numbers of successful programs for life training from interested Maori. Perhaps Ngawha could become a pilot working under a plan to incorporate the successful small programs on a bigger scale, working in stages and aiming to restore self-worth, self-control and self-direction within the collective culture of community.
After a hiatus of over four months Selwyn Manning and I finally got it together to re-start the “A View from Afar” podcast series. We shall see how we go but aim to do 2 episodes per month if possible. … Continue reading → ...
In 2008, the UK Parliament passed the Climate Change Act 2008. The law established a system of targets, budgets, and plans, with inbuilt accountability mechanisms; the aim was to break the cycle of empty promises and replace it with actual progress towards emissions reduction. The law was passed with near-universal ...
Buzz from the Beehive Local Water Done Well – let’s be blunt – is a silly name, but the first big initiative to put it into practice has gone done well. This success is reflected in the headline on an RNZ report:District mayors welcome Auckland’s new water deal with ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate ConnectionsA farmworker cleans the solar panels of a solar water pump in the village of Jagadhri, Haryana Country, India. (Photo credit: Prashanth Vishwanathan/ IWMI) Decisions made in India over the next few years will play a key role in global ...
Lindsay Mitchell writes – The Children’s Minister, Karen Chhour, intends to repeal Section 7AA from the Oranga Tamariki Act 1989 because it creates conflict between claimed Crown Treaty obligations and the child’s best interests. In her words, “Oranga Tamariki’s governing principles and its act should be colour ...
Geoffrey Miller writes – The gloves are off. That might seem to be the undertone of surprisingly tough talk from New Zealand’s foreign and trade ministers. Winston Peters, the foreign minister, may be facing legal action after making allegations about former Australian foreign minister Bob Carr on Radio New Zealand. ...
Brian Easton writes – This is about the time that the Treasury will be locking up its economic forecasts to be published in the 2024 Budget Economic and Fiscal Update (BEFU) on budget day, 30 May. I am not privy to what they will be (I will report on them ...
TL;DR:Winston Peters is reported to have won a budget increase for MFAT. David Seymour wanted his Ministry of Regulation to be three times bigger than the Productivity Commission. Simeon Brown is appointing a Crown Monitor to Watercare to protect the Claytons Crown Guarantee he had to give ratings agencies ...
The gloves are off. That might seem to be the undertone of surprisingly tough talk from New Zealand’s foreign and trade ministers. Winston Peters, the foreign minister, may be facing legal action after making allegations about former Australian foreign minister Bob Carr on Radio New Zealand. Carr had made highly ...
I could be a florist'Round the corner from Rye LaneI'll be giving daisies to craziesBut, baby, I'll wrap you up real safe Oh, I can give you flowers At the end of every dayFor the center of your table, a rainbowIn case you have people 'round to stay Depending on ...
TL;DR: The six key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to May 12 include:PM Christopher Luxon is scheduled to hold a post-Cabinet news conference at 4 pm today. Finance Minister Nicola Willis will give a pre-budget speech on Thursday.Parliament sits from Question Time at 2pm on ...
The price of the foreign affairs “reset” is now becoming apparent, with Defence set to get a funding boost in the Budget. Finance Minister Nicola Willis has confirmed that it will be one of the few votes, apart from Health and Education and possibly Police, which will get an increase ...
A listing of 26 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, April 28, 2024 thru Sat, May 4, 2024. Story of the week "It’s straight out of Big Tobacco’s playbook. In fact, research by John Cook and his colleagues ...
Yesterday I received come lovely feedback following my Star Wars themed newsletter. A few people mentioned they’d enjoyed reading the personal part at the beginning.I often begin newsletters with some memories, or general thoughts, before commencing the main topic. This hopefully sets the mood and provides some context in which ...
April 30 was going to be the day we’d be calling Mum from London to wish her a happy birthday. Then it became the day we would be going to St. Paul's at Evensong to remember her. The aim of the cathedral builders was to find a way to make their ...
Rob MacCulloch writes – Can’t remember the last book by a Kiwi author you read? Think the NZ government should spend less on the arts in favor of helping the homeless? If so, as far as Newsroom is concerned, you probably deserve to be called a cultural ignoramus ...
Eric Crampton writes – Grudges are bad. Better to move on. But it can be fun to keep a couple of really trivial ones, so you’re not tempted to have other ones. For example, because of the rootkit fiasco of 2005, no Sony products in our household. ...
A new report warns an estimated third of the adult population have unmet need for health care.Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāHere’s the six key things I learned about Aotaroa’s political economy this week around housing, climate and poverty:Politics - Three opinion polls confirmed support for PM Christopher Luxon ...
Today is May the fourth. Which was just a regular day when my mother took me to see the newly released Star Wars at the Odeon in Rotorua. The queue was right around the corner. Some years later this day became known as Star Wars Day, the date being a ...
Buzz from the Beehive Much more media attention is being paid to something Winston Peters said about former Australian Foreign Minister Bob Carr than to a speech he delivered to the New Zealand China Council. One word is missing from the speech: AUKUS. But AUKUS loomed large in his considerations ...
Is the economy in another long stagnation? If so, why?This is about the time that the Treasury will be locking up its economic forecasts to be published in the 2024 Budget Economic and Fiscal Update (BEFU) on budget day, 30 May. I am not privy to what they will be ...
The annual list of who's been bribing our politicians is out, and journalists will no doubt be poring over it to find the juiciest and dirtiest bribes. The government's fast-track invite list is likely to be a particular focus, and we already know of one company on the list which ...
In the weeks after the October 7 Hamas attacks on Southern Israel I wrote about the possible 2nd, 3rd and even 4th order effects of the conflict. These included new fronts being opened in the West Bank (with Hamas), Golan … Continue reading → ...
Peter Dunne writes – It is one of the oldest truisms that there is never a good time for MPs to get a pay rise. This week’s announcement of pay raises of around 2.8% backdated to last October could hardly have come at a worse time, with the ...
David Farrar writes – Newshub reports: Newshub can reveal a fresh allegation of intimidation against Green MP Julie-Anne Genter. Genter is subject to a disciplinary process for aggressively waving a book in the face of National Minister Matt Doocey in the House – but it’s not the first time ...
The Treasury has published a paper today on the global productivity slowdown and how it is playing out in New Zealand: The productivity slowdown: implications for the Treasury’s forecasts and projections. The Treasury Paper examines recent trends in productivity and the potential drivers of the slowdown. Productivity for the whole economy ...
Winston Peters’ comments about former Australian foreign minister look set to be an ongoing headache for both him and Luxon. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The podcast above of the weekly ‘hoon’ webinar for subscribers features co-hosts and , along with regular guests on Gaza and ...
These puppet strings don't pull themselvesYou're thinking thoughts from someone elseHow much time do you think you have?Are you prepared for what comes next?The debating chamber can be a trying place for an opposition MP. What with the person in charge, the speaker, typically being an MP from the governing ...
The land around Lyme Regis, where Meryl Streep once stood, in a hood, on the Cobb, is falling into the sea.MerylThe land around Lyme Regis, around the Cobb that made it rich, has always been falling slowly but surely into the sea. Read more ...
Buzz from the Beehive Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters was bound to win headlines when he set out his thinking about AUKUS in his speech to the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs. The headlines became bigger when – during an interview on RNZ’s Morning Report today – he criticised ...
The Post reports on how the government is refusing to release its advice on its corrupt Muldoonist fast-track law, instead using the "soon to be publicly available" refusal ground to hide it until after select committee submissions on the bill have closed. Fast-track Minister Chris Bishop's excuse? “It's not ...
As pressure on it grows, the livestock industry’s approach to the transition to Net Zero is increasingly being compared to that of fossil fuel interests. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / Getty ImagesTL;DR: Here’s the top five news items of note in climate news for Aotearoa-NZ this week, and a discussion above ...
The New Zealand Herald reports – Stats NZ has offered a voluntary redundancy scheme to all of its workers as a way to give staff some control over their “future” amidst widespread job losses in the public sector. In an update to staff this morning, seen by the Herald, Statistics New Zealand ...
On Werewolf/Scoop, I usually do two long form political columns a week. From now on, there will be an extra column each week about music and movies. But first, some late-breaking political events:The rise in unemployment numbers for the March quarter was bigger than expected – and especially sharp ...
David Farrar writes – The Herald reports: TVNZ says it is dealing with about 50 formal complaints over its coverage of the latest 1News-Verian political poll, with some viewers – as well as the Prime Minister and a former senior Labour MP – critical of the tone of the 6pm report. ...
Muriel Newman writes – When Meridian Energy was seeking resource consents for a West Coast hydro dam proposal in 2010, local Maori “strenuously” objected, claiming their mana was inextricably linked to ‘their’ river and could be damaged. After receiving a financial payment from the company, however, the Ngai Tahu ...
Alwyn Poole writes – “An SEP,’ he said, ‘is something that we can’t see, or don’t see, or our brain doesn’t let us see, because we think that it’s somebody else’s problem. That’s what SEP means. Somebody Else’s Problem. The brain just edits it out, it’s like a ...
Our trust in our political institutions is fast eroding, according to a Maxim Institute discussion paper, Shaky Foundations: Why our democracy needs trust. The paper – released today – raises concerns about declining trust in New Zealand’s political institutions and democratic processes, and the role that the overuse of Parliamentary urgency ...
This article was prepared for publication yesterday. More ministerial announcements have been posted on the government’s official website since it was written. We will report on these later today …. Buzz from the BeehiveThere we were, thinking the environment is in trouble, when along came Jones. Shane Jones. ...
New Zealand now has the fourth most depressed construction sector in the world behind China, Qatar and Hong Kong. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy at 8:46am on Thursday, May 2:The Lead: ...
Hi,I am just going to state something very obvious: American police are fucking crazy.That was a photo gracing the New York Times this morning, showing New York City police “entering Columbia University last night after receiving a request from the school.”Apparently in America, protesting the deaths of tens of thousands ...
Winston Peters’ much anticipated foreign policy speech last night was a work of two halves. Much of it was a standard “boilerplate” Foreign Ministry overview of the state of the world. There was some hardening up of rhetoric with talk of “benign” becoming “malign” and old truths giving way to ...
Graham Adams assesses the fallout of the Cass Review — The press release last Thursday from the UN Special Rapporteur on violence against women and girls didn’t make the mainstream news in New Zealand but it really should have. The startling title of Reem Alsalem’s statement — “Implementation of ‘Cass ...
This open-for-business, under-new-management cliché-pockmarked government of Christopher Luxon is not the thing of beauty he imagines it to be. It is not the powerful expression of the will of the people that he asserts it to be. It is not a soaring eagle, it is a malodorous vulture. This newest poll should make ...
The latest labour market statistics, showing a rise in unemployment. There are now 134,000 unemployed - 14,000 more than when the National government took office. Which is I guess what happens when the Reserve Bank causes a recession in an effort to Keep Wages Low. The previous government saw a ...
Three opinion polls have been released in the last two days, all showing that the new government is failing to hold their popular support. The usual honeymoon experienced during the first year of a first term government is entirely absent. The political mood is still gloomy and discontented, mainly due ...
National's Finance Minister once met a poor person.A scornful interview with National's finance guru who knows next to nothing about economics or people.There might have been something a bit familiar if that was the headline I’d gone with today. It would of course have been in tribute to the article ...
Rob MacCulloch writes – Throughout the pandemic, the new Vice-Chancellor-of-Otago-University-on-$629,000 per annum-Can-you-believe-it-and-Former-Finance-Minister Grant Robertson repeated the mantra over and over that he saved “lives and livelihoods”.As we update how this claim is faring over the course of time, the facts are increasingly speaking differently. NZ ...
Chris Trotter writes – IT’S A COMMONPLACE of political speeches, especially those delivered in acknowledgement of electoral victory: “We’ll govern for all New Zealanders.” On the face of it, the pledge is a strange one. Why would any political leader govern in ways that advantaged the huge ...
Bryce Edwards writes – The list of former National Party Ministers being given plum and important roles got longer this week with the appointment of former Deputy Prime Minister Paula Bennett as the chair of Pharmac. The Christopher Luxon-led Government has now made key appointments to Bill ...
TL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy at 10:06am on Wednesday, May 1:The Lead: Business confidence fell across the board in April, falling in some areas to levels last seen during the lockdowns because of a collapse in ...
Over the past 36 hours, Christopher Luxon has been dong his best to portray the centre-right’s plummeting poll numbers as a mark of virtue. Allegedly, the negative verdicts are the result of hard economic times, and of a government bravely set out on a perilous rescue mission from which not ...
Auckland Transport have started rolling out new HOP card readers around the network and over the next three months, all of them on buses, at train stations and ferry wharves will be replaced. The change itself is not that remarkable, with the new readers looking similar to what is already ...
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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 ...
Have a story to share about St Paul’s, but today just picturesPopular novels written at this desk by a young man who managed to bootstrap himself out of father’s imprisonment and his own young life in a workhouse Read more ...
The list of former National Party Ministers being given plum and important roles got longer this week with the appointment of former Deputy Prime Minister Paula Bennett as the chair of Pharmac. The Christopher Luxon-led Government has now made key appointments to Bill English, Simon Bridges, Steven Joyce, Roger Sowry, ...
Newsroom has a story today about National's (fortunately failed) effort to disestablish the newly-created Inspector-General of Defence. The creation of this agency was the key recommendation of the Inquiry into Operation Burnham, and a vital means of restoring credibility and social licence to an agency which had been caught lying ...
Holding On To The Present:The moment a political movement arises that attacks the whole idea of social progress, and announces its intention to wind back the hands of History’s clock, then democracy, along with its unwritten rules, is in mortal danger.IT’S A COMMONPLACE of political speeches, especially those delivered in ...
Stuck In The Middle With You:As Christopher Luxon feels the hot breath of Act’s and NZ First’s extremists on the back of his neck and, as he reckons with the damage their policies are already inflicting upon a country he’s described as “fragile”, is there not some merit in reaching out ...
The unpopular coalition government is currently rushing to repeal section 7AA of the Oranga Tamariki Act. The clause is Oranga Tamariki's Treaty clause, and was inserted after its systematic stealing of Māori children became a public scandal and resulted in physical resistance to further abductions. The clause created clear obligations ...
Buzz from the Beehive The government’s official website – which Point of Order monitors daily – not for the first time has nothing much to say today about political happenings that are grabbing media headlines. It makes no mention of the latest 1News-Verian poll, for example. This shows National down ...
It Takes A Train To Cry:Surely, there is nothing lonelier in all this world than the long wail of a distant steam locomotive on a cold Winter’s night.AS A CHILD, I would lie awake in my grandfather’s house and listen to the traffic. The big wooden house was only a ...
Packing A Punch: The election of the present government, including in its ranks politicians dedicated to reasserting the rights of the legislature in shaping and determining the future of Māori and Pakeha in New Zealand, should have alerted the judiciary – including its anomalous appendage, the Waitangi Tribunal – that its ...
Dead Woman Walking: New Zealand’s media industry had been moving steadily towards disaster for all the years Melissa Lee had been National’s media and communications policy spokesperson, and yet, when the crisis finally broke, on her watch, she had nothing intelligent to offer. Christopher Luxon is a patient man - but he’s not ...
Chris Trotter writes – New Zealand politics is remarkably easy-going: dangerously so, one might even say. With the notable exception of John Key’s flat ruling-out of the NZ First Party in 2008, all parties capable of clearing MMP’s five-percent threshold, or winning one or more electorate seats, tend ...
Ministers must front up about which projects it will push through under its Fast Track Approvals legislation, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
The Government is again adding to New Zealand’s growing unemployment, this time cutting jobs at the agencies responsible for urban development and growing much needed housing stock. ...
With Minister Karen Chhour indicating in the House today that she either doesn’t know or care about the frontline cuts she’s making to Oranga Tamariki, we risk seeing more and more of our children falling through the cracks. ...
The Labour Party is saddened to learn of the death of Sir Robert Martin, a globally renowned disability advocate who led the way for disability rights both in New Zealand and internationally. ...
Labour is calling for the Government to urgently rethink its coalition commitment to restart live animal exports, Labour animal welfare spokesperson Rachel Boyack said. ...
Today’s Financial Stability Report has once again highlighted that poverty and deep inequality are political choices - and this Government is choosing to make them worse. ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to do more for our households in most need as unemployment rises and the cost of living crisis endures. ...
Unemployment is on the rise and it’s only going to get worse under this Government, Labour finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds said. Stats NZ figures show the unemployment rate grew to 4.3 percent in the March quarter from 4 percent in the December quarter. “This is the second rise in unemployment ...
The New Zealand Labour Party welcomes the entering into force of the European Union and New Zealand free trade agreement. This agreement opens the door for a huge increase in trade opportunities with a market of 450 million people who are high value discerning consumers of New Zealand goods and ...
The National-led Government continues its fiscal jiggery pokery with its Pharmac announcement today, Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall says. “The government has increased Pharmac funding but conceded it will only make minimal increases in access to medicine”, said Ayesha Verrall “This is far from the bold promises made to fund ...
This afternoon’s interim Waitangi Tribunal report must be taken seriously as it affects our most vulnerable children, Labour children’s spokesperson Willow-Jean Prime. ...
Te Pāti Māori are demanding the New Zealand Government support an international independent investigation into mass graves that have been uncovered at two hospitals on the Gaza strip, following weeks of assault by Israeli troops. Among the 392 bodies that have been recovered, are children and elderly civilians. Many of ...
Our two-tiered system for veterans’ support is out of step with our closest partners, and all parties in Parliament should work together to fix it, Labour veterans’ affairs spokesperson Greg O’Connor said. ...
Stripping two Ministers of their portfolios just six months into the job shows Christopher Luxon’s management style is lacking, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said. ...
Tonight’s court decision to overturn the summons of the Children’s Minister has enabled the Crown to continue making decisions about Māori without evidence, says Te Pāti Māori spokesperson for Children, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi. “The judicial system has this evening told the nation that this government can do whatever they want when ...
It appears Nicola Willis is about to pull the rug out from under the feet of local communities still dealing with the aftermath of last year’s severe weather, and local councils relying on funding to build back from these disasters. ...
The Government is making short-sighted changes to the Resource Management Act (RMA) that will take away environmental protection in favour of short-term profits, Labour’s environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
Labour welcomes the release of the report into the North Island weather events and looks forward to working with the Government to ensure that New Zealand is as prepared as it can be for the next natural disaster. ...
The Labour Party has called for the New Zealand Government to recognise Palestine, as a material step towards progressing the two-State solution needed to achieve a lasting peace in the region. ...
Some of our country’s most important work, stopping the sexual exploitation of children and violent extremism could go along with staff on the frontline at ports and airports. ...
The Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill will give projects such as new coal mines a ‘get out of jail free’ card to wreak havoc on the environment, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said today. ...
The government's decision to reintroduce Three Strikes is a destructive and ineffective piece of law-making that will only exacerbate an inherently biased and racist criminal justice system, said Te Pāti Māori Justice Spokesperson, Tākuta Ferris, today. During the time Three Strikes was in place in Aotearoa, Māori and Pasifika received ...
Cuts to frontline hospital staff are not only a broken election promise, it shows the reckless tax cuts have well and truly hit the frontline of the health system, says Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall. ...
The Green Party has joined the call for public submissions on the fast-track legislation to be extended after the Ombudsman forced the Government to release the list of organisations invited to apply just hours before submissions close. ...
New Zealand’s good work at reducing climate emissions for three years in a row will be undone by the National government’s lack of ambition and scrapping programmes that were making a difference, Labour Party climate spokesperson Megan Woods said today. ...
More essential jobs could be on the chopping block, this time Ministry of Education staff on the school lunches team are set to find out whether they're in line to lose their jobs. ...
Te Pāti Māori is disgusted at the confirmation that hundreds are set to lose their jobs at Oranga Tamariki, and the disestablishment of the Treaty Response Unit. “This act of absolute carelessness and out of touch decision making is committing tamariki to state abuse.” Said Te Pāti Māori Oranga Tamariki ...
Six tertiary students have been selected to work on NASA projects in the US through a New Zealand Space Scholarship, Space Minister Judith Collins announced today. “This is a fantastic opportunity for these talented students. They will undertake internships at NASA’s Ames Research Center or its Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), where ...
New Zealanders will be safer because of a $1.9 billion investment in more frontline Corrections officers, more support for offenders to turn away from crime, and more prison capacity, Corrections Minister Mark Mitchell says. “Our Government said we would crack down on crime. We promised to restore law and order, ...
The OECD’s latest report on New Zealand reinforces the importance of bringing Government spending under control, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The OECD conducts country surveys every two years to review its members’ economic policies. The 2024 New Zealand survey was presented in Wellington today by OECD Chief Economist Clare Lombardelli. ...
The Government has delivered on its election promise to provide a financially sustainable model for Auckland under its Local Water Done Well plan. The plan, which has been unanimously endorsed by Auckland Council’s Governing Body, will see Aucklanders avoid the previously projected 25.8 per cent water rates increases while retaining ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters discussed the need for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, and enhanced cooperation in the Pacific with German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock during her first official visit to New Zealand today. "New Zealand and Germany enjoy shared interests and values, including the rule of law, democracy, respect for the international system ...
The Minister Responsible for RMA Reform, Chris Bishop today released his decision on four recommendations referred to him by the Western Bay of Plenty District Council, opening the door to housing growth in the area. The Council’s Plan Change 92 allows more homes to be built in existing and new ...
Thank you, John McKinnon and the New Zealand China Council for the invitation to speak to you today. Thank you too, all members of the China Council. Your effort has played an essential role in helping to build, shape, and grow a balanced and resilient relationship between our two ...
The Government is modernising insurance law to better protect Kiwis and provide security in the event of a disaster, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly announced today. “These reforms are long overdue. New Zealand’s insurance law is complicated and dated, some of which is more than 100 years old. ...
The coalition Government is refreshing its approach to supporting pay equity claims as time-limited funding for the Pay Equity Taskforce comes to an end, Public Service Minister Nicola Willis says. “Three years ago, the then-government introduced changes to the Equal Pay Act to support pay equity bargaining. The changes were ...
Structured literacy will change the way New Zealand children learn to read - improving achievement and setting students up for success, Education Minister Erica Stanford says. “Being able to read and write is a fundamental life skill that too many young people are missing out on. Recent data shows that ...
Trade Minister Todd McClay says Canada’s refusal to comply in full with a CPTPP trade dispute ruling in our favour over dairy trade is cynical and New Zealand has no intention of backing down. Mr McClay said he has asked for urgent legal advice in respect of our ‘next move’ ...
The rights of our children and young people will be enhanced by changes the coalition Government will make to strengthen oversight of the Oranga Tamariki system, including restoring a single Children’s Commissioner. “The Government is committed to delivering better public services that care for our most at-risk young people and ...
The Government is making it easier for minor changes to be made to a building consent so building a home is easier and more affordable, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “The coalition Government is focused on making it easier and cheaper to build homes so we can ...
New Zealand lost a true legend when internationally renowned disability advocate Sir Robert Martin (KNZM) passed away at his home in Whanganui last night, Disabilities Issues Minister Louise Upston says. “Our Government’s thoughts are with his wife Lynda, family and community, those he has worked with, the disability community in ...
Good evening – Before discussing the challenges and opportunities facing New Zealand’s foreign policy, we’d like to first acknowledge the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs. You have contributed to debates about New Zealand foreign policy over a long period of time, and we thank you for hosting us. ...
From today, passengers travelling internationally from Auckland Airport will be able to keep laptops and liquids in their carry-on bags for security screening thanks to new technology, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Creating a more efficient and seamless travel experience is important for holidaymakers and businesses, enabling faster movement through ...
People with an interest in the health of Northland’s marine ecosystems are invited to a public meeting to discuss how to deal with kina barrens, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones will lead the discussion, which will take place on Friday, 10 May, at Awanui Hotel in ...
Kiwi exporters are $100 million better off today with the NZ EU FTA entering into force says Trade Minister Todd McClay. “This is all part of our plan to grow the economy. New Zealand's prosperity depends on international trade, making up 60 per cent of the country’s total economic activity. ...
There are heartening signs that the extractive sector is once again becoming an attractive prospect for investors and a source of economic prosperity for New Zealand, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. “The beginnings of a resurgence in extractive industries are apparent in media reports of the sector in the past ...
The return of the historic Ō-Rākau battle site to the descendants of those who fought there moved one step closer today with the first reading of Te Pire mō Ō-Rākau, Te Pae o Maumahara / The Ō-Rākau Remembrance Bill. The Bill will entrust the 9.7-hectare battle site, five kilometres west ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has announced 25 new high-speed EV charging hubs along key routes between major urban centres and outlined the Government’s plan to supercharge New Zealand’s EV infrastructure. The hubs will each have several chargers and be capable of charging at least four – and up to 10 ...
The coalition Government will not proceed with the previous Government’s plans to regulate residential property managers, Housing Minister Chris Bishop says. “I have written to the Chairperson of the Social Services and Community Committee to inform him that the Government does not intend to support the Residential Property Managers Bill ...
The Government has announced an independent review into the disability support system funded by the Ministry of Disabled People – Whaikaha. Disability Issues Minister Louise Upston says the review will look at what can be done to strengthen the long-term sustainability of Disability Support Services to provide disabled people and ...
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith has attended the Universal Periodic Review in Geneva and outlined the Government’s plan to restore law and order. “Speaking to the United Nations Human Rights Council provided us with an opportunity to present New Zealand’s human rights progress, priorities, and challenges, while responding to issues and ...
The Government and Rotorua Lakes Council are committed to working closely together to end the use of contracted emergency housing motels in Rotorua. Associate Minister of Housing (Social Housing) Tama Potaka says the Government remains committed to ending the long-term use of contracted emergency housing motels in Rotorua by the ...
Trade Minister Todd McClay heads overseas today for high-level trade talks in the Gulf region, and a key OECD meeting in Paris. Mr McClay will travel to Riyadh to meet with counterparts from Saudi Arabia and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). “New Zealand’s goods and services exports to the Gulf region ...
Education Minister Erica Stanford has outlined six education priorities to deliver a world-leading education system that sets Kiwi kids up for future success. “I’m putting ambition, achievement and outcomes at the heart of our education system. I want every child to be inspired and engaged in their learning so they ...
The new NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) App is a secure ‘one stop shop’ to provide the services drivers need, Transport Minister Simeon Brown and Digitising Government Minister Judith Collins say. “The NZTA App will enable an easier way for Kiwis to pay for Vehicle Registration and Road User Charges (RUC). ...
Whānau with tamariki growing up in emergency housing motels will be prioritised for social housing starting this week, says Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka. “Giving these whānau a better opportunity to build healthy stable lives for themselves and future generations is an essential part of the Government’s goal of reducing ...
Racing Minister Winston Peters has paid tribute to an icon of the industry with the recent passing of Dave O’Sullivan (OBE). “Our sympathies are with the O’Sullivan family with the sad news of Dave O’Sullivan’s recent passing,” Mr Peters says. “His contribution to racing, initially as a jockey and then ...
Assalaamu alaikum, greetings to you all. Eid Mubarak, everyone! I want to extend my warmest wishes to you and everyone celebrating this joyous occasion. It is a pleasure to be here. I have enjoyed Eid celebrations at Parliament before, but this is my first time joining you as the Minister ...
Associate Health Minister David Seymour has announced Pharmac’s largest ever budget of $6.294 billion over four years, fixing a $1.774 billion fiscal cliff. “Access to medicines is a crucial part of many Kiwis’ lives. We’ve committed to a budget allocation of $1.774 billion over four years so Kiwis are ...
Hon Paula Bennett has been appointed as member and chair of the Pharmac board, Associate Health Minister David Seymour announced today. "Pharmac is a critical part of New Zealand's health system and plays a significant role in ensuring that Kiwis have the best possible access to medicines,” says Mr Seymour. ...
Hundreds of New Zealand families affected by Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) will benefit from a new Government focus on prevention and treatment, says Health Minister Dr Shane Reti. “We know FASD is a leading cause of preventable intellectual and neurodevelopmental disability in New Zealand,” Dr Reti says. “Every day, ...
Regional Development Minister Shane Jones today attended the official opening of Kaikohe’s new $14.7 million sports complex. “The completion of the Kaikohe Multi Sports Complex is a fantastic achievement for the Far North,” Mr Jones says. “This facility not only fulfils a long-held dream for local athletes, but also creates ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters’ engagements in Türkiye this week underlined the importance of diplomacy to meet growing global challenges. “Returning to the Gallipoli Peninsula to represent New Zealand at Anzac commemorations was a sombre reminder of the critical importance of diplomacy for de-escalating conflicts and easing tensions,” Mr Peters ...
Ambassador Millar, Burgemeester, Vandepitte, Excellencies, military representatives, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen – good morning and welcome to this sacred Anzac Day dawn service. It is an honour to be here on behalf of the Government and people of New Zealand at Buttes New British Cemetery, Polygon Wood – a deeply ...
Distinguished guests - It is an honour to return once again to this site which, as the resting place for so many of our war-dead, has become a sacred place for generations of New Zealanders. Our presence here and at the other special spaces of Gallipoli is made ...
Mai ia tawhiti pamamao, te moana nui a Kiwa, kua tae whakaiti mai matou, ki to koutou papa whenua. No koutou te tapuwae, no matou te tapuwae, kua honoa pumautia. Ko nga toa kua hinga nei, o te Waipounamu, o te Ika a Maui, he okioki tahi me o ...
Paul Goldsmith will take on responsibility for the Media and Communications portfolio, while Louise Upston will pick up the Disability Issues portfolio, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon announced today. “Our Government is relentlessly focused on getting New Zealand back on track. As issues change in prominence, I plan to adjust Ministerial ...
This episode of A View From Afar was recorded LIVE on May 6, 2024 (NZST) which is Sunday evening, May 5, 2024 at 8:30pm (USEST). In an analytical essay titled ‘A moment of friction’ political scientist Dr Paul Buchanan wrote how we are living within a decisive moment ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alison Taylor, Assistant Professor, Bond University Metro Goldwyn Mayer Pictures At the crux of the critical response to Luca Guadagnino’s new movie Challengers is one word: “sexy”. The film charts a love triangle between three up-and-coming tennis players: Tashi (Zendaya), ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jenny Stewart, Professor of Public Policy, ADFA Canberra, UNSW Sydney For years, First Nations people have been telling governments they want to be listened to. In particular, they want more ownership of the programs and services that are supposed to help them. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Gregory Moore, Senior Research Associate, School of Ecosystem and Forest Sciences, The University of Melbourne Why do trees have bark? Julien, age 6, Melbourne. This is a great question, Julien. We are so familiar with bark on trees, that most of us ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Anthony Nasser, Senior Lecturer in Physiotherapy, University of Technology Sydney PeopleImages.com – Yuri A/Shutterstock The anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is an important ligament in the knee. It runs from the thigh bone (femur) to the shin bone (tibia) and helps stabilise ...
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 I covered the May 2 United Kingdom local government elections for The Poll Bludger. The Blackpool South parliamentary byelection was also held, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Deanna Grant-Smith, Professor of Management, University of the Sunshine Coast The federal government has announced a “Commonwealth Prac Payment” to support selected groups of students doing mandatory work placements. Those who are studying to be a teacher, nurse, midwife or social ...
We round up everything coming to streaming services this week, including Netflix, Amazon Prime, Disney+, Apple TV+, ThreeNow, Neon and TVNZ+. If you love a dark comedy: Bodkin (Netflix, May 9)An English podcaster, an Irish podcaster and American podcaster walk into a pub and…make a TV show? ...
By Eleisha Foon, RNZ Pacific senior journalist A Pacific regionalism academic has called out New Zealand’s Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters for withholding information from the public on AUKUS and says the security deal “raises serious questions for the Pacific region”. Auckland University of Technology academic Dr Marco de Jong ...
How worried should we be about the cloud? This is an excerpt from our weekly environmental newsletter Future Proof. Sign up here. I currently have a few thousand unread emails languishing in my inbox, mostly old marketing newsletters and piles of unread science journal press releases. I have a similar number ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Nuurrianti Jalli, Assistant Professor of Communication Studies College of Arts and Sciences Department of Languages, Literature, and Communication Studies, Northern State University Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Southeast Asian governments not only have to deal with the virus but also with the false ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By David Murakami Wood, Professor of Critical Surveillance and Securities Studies, L’Université d’Ottawa/University of Ottawa The skyline of Riyadh, the capital and largest city of the Kingdom of Saudia Arabia.(Shutterstock) There is a long history of planned city building by both governments ...
The LIVE Recording of A View from Afar podcast will begin today at 12:45pm May 6, 2024 (NZST) which is Sunday evening, 8:30pm (USEST). In an analytical essay titled ‘A moment of friction’ political scientist Dr Paul Buchanan wrote how we are living within a decisive moment of ...
The Boil Up’s Lucinda Bennett considers the oyster – from freshness to pearls to the joy of shucking your own. This is an excerpt from our weekly food newsletter, The Boil Up. In Carmen Maria Machado’s short story ‘Eight Bites’, a woman begins her last supper before bariatric surgery with “a cavalcade ...
Asia Pacific Report A group of 65 Auckland University academics have written an open letter to vice-chancellor Dawn Freshwater criticising the institution’s stance over students protesting in solidarity with Palestine. They have called on her administration to “support” the students who were denied permission to establish an “overnight encampment” by ...
The Student Volunteer Army is on the march, generating approximately 1.6 million hours of volunteering from roughly 35,000 secondary school students in just five years. For Rebekah Brown, the pathway to volunteering started with her singing coach. With a passion for the arts, the suggestion to volunteer at Acting Antics, ...
Keeping up with online communication can be exhausting, so Fran Barclay enlisted the help of Meta’s new ‘intelligent assistant’ to respond to all her messages. Could her mates tell the difference? For centuries, technology has ruled the ways in which we communicate. From the dawn of written language, to the ...
Jamie Arbuckle, a councillor who has become an member of parliament, says he has settled into having two roles so comfortably he's going to keep both pay cheques. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Luis Gómez Romero, Senior Lecturer in Human Rights, Constitutional Law and Legal Theory, University of Wollongong Fifty years ago, Australian feminist Anne Summers denounced “the ideology of sexism” governing over so many women’s lives. Unfortunately, sexism is as lethal today as it ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jose Antonio Lara-Hernandez, Senior Researcher in Architecture, Auckland University of Technology Getty Images The COVID-19 pandemic and the hybrid work patterns it fostered have changed the way we think about office space, and central business districts in general. While fears ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Dale Boccabella, Associate Professor of Taxation Law, UNSW Sydney There’s a good reason your local volunteer-run netball club doesn’t pay tax. In Australia, various nonprofit organisations are exempt from paying income tax, including those that do charitable work, such as churches. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Marina Deller, Casual Academic, Creative Writing and English Literature, Flinders University NetflixComedy is opening up spaces for silences to be broken and trauma stories to be told. In 2018, Hannah Gadsby started a revolution with Nanette, asking audiences to rethink ...
The workplace can be a minefield of bad comms and passive aggression. Kinksters can help you navigate it. A friend and colleague recently gave me a compliment I loved. They told me I’d always been good at emotional communication and making people feel comfortable. “But I feel like it’s really ...
Even if some students are now just texting on their laptops. Stewart Sowman-Lund writes in this excerpt from The Bulletin, The Spinoff’s morning news round-up. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here. ...
Councils from Horowhenua, Kāpiti, Wairarapa, the Hutt Valley, Porirua and Wellington City will meet this Friday to work together on a plan for a Greater Wellington region water deal. ...
Renowned musician, advocate, and proud born and raised daughter of Tauranga, Ria Hall, is announcing her candidacy for Mayor of Tauranga and Pāpāmoa Ward for the upcoming election on July 20th. ...
The new Aotearoa histories curriculum is rich with potential. There’s still work to be done, but the education minister’s criticisms about ‘balance’ miss the mark, argues primary school teacher Jessie Moss. In 2015, Ōtorohanga College students presented to parliament a petition signed by more than 10,000 people calling for a ...
For too long our so-called national bird has maintained its stranglehold on the economy of regional New Zealand. Thanks to the fast track legislation, we will have our revenge. Theories abound on what ails New Zealand’s economy. National leader Chris Luxon has posited that we’re negative, wet, whiny, and inward-looking; ...
Comment: The debate over the future relationship between news and social media is bringing us closer to a long-overdue reckoning. Social media isn’t trying to kill journalism, because social media has never really cared about journalism. Social media is resolutely in the attention business. News propels some attention — perhaps ...
Loading…(function(i,s,o,g,r,a,m){var ql=document.querySelectorAll('A,DIV,A[data-quiz],DIV[data-quiz]'); if(ql){if(ql.length){for(var k=0;k<ql.length;k++){ql[k].id='quiz-embed-'+k;ql[k].href="javascript:var i=document.getElementById('quiz-embed-"+k+"');try{qz.startQuiz(i)}catch(e){i.start=1;i.style.cursor='wait';i.style.opacity='0.5'};void(0);"}}};i['QP']=r;i[r]=i[r]||function(){(i[r].q=i[r].q||[]).push(arguments)},i[r].l=1*new Date();a=s.createElement(o),m=s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];a.async=1;a.src=g;m.parentNode.insertBefore(a,m)})(window,document,'script','https://take.quiz-maker.com/3012/CDN/quiz-embed-v1.js','qp'); Got a good quiz question?Send Newsroom your questions. The post Newsroom daily quiz, Monday 6 May appeared first on Newsroom. ...
For the past 12 years, Georgia-Rose Brown has balanced on the brink of making an Olympic Games – but always landed gracefully on the wrong side. Reaching the Olympics is a dream the gymnast has harboured since she was a six-year-old; a dream that would dwindle every four years, yet ...
Late one afternoon in March 1860 a man in a thin green velveteen jacket and a wide-awake hat arrived on foot at a sheep station named Glenmark, about 65 kilometres north of Christchurch. The man was in his mid-fifties but he looked older. Several people who met him that day ...
If building one of Auckland’s possible waterfront stadiums was funded privately, it would need to hold a sold-out Ed Sherran concert every weekday for 25 years. That’s Rob Hamlin’s finding – he’s a senior marketing lecturer at the University of Otago. “It’s not going to happen; forget about it,” he ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra A new Commonwealth Prac Payment will provide students with $319.50 a week when they are on clinical and professional placements. The payment will be means tested and start from July 1 next year, which ...
Asia Pacific Report About 500 people honoured Palestinian journalists in the heart of the New Zealand city of Auckland today for their brave coverage of Israel’s War on Gaza, now in its seventh month with almost 35,000 people killed, mostly women and children. Marking the annual May 3 World Press ...
The Government Communications Security Bureau denies hosting a foreign spying capability flagged by the watchdog, differentiating it from the system recently criticised. ...
RNZ News A group of academic staff at New Zealand’s largest university have expressed concern at the administration’s move to block a protest encampment that was planned to take place on campus calling for support for the rights of Palestinians. This week, the University of Auckland warned that while it ...
Genterwocky After a hard days marching, Sir Doocey calls in at the Village Tavern For a pint of ale and a pork pie. The grim villagers stare at him. “Do not be travelling on the forest road,” warns a crusty old beak. “And why is that, antique peasant?” Grins Sir ...
Political conferences after a party returns to power are usually a chance for some healthy, even unhealthy backslapping. Yet National Party president Sylvia Wood’s address to its mainland representatives on Saturday hardly contained the unalloyed delight that one might have expected following National’s escape from the wilderness of opposition. Yes, ...
Comment: Almost half the world is voting in national elections this year and artificial intelligence is the elephant in the room. There are genuine fears AI-generated or AI-edited deepfakes will potentially manipulate election outcomes not just in the US and UK, but critically in countries such as India. For that ...
Ahead of the reality franchise’s return to New Zealand, allow us to introduce the eight brides and grooms. Chuck on a veil and tie back your man bun, because it’s time to say “I do” to a new season of Married at First Sight NZ. The reality TV “social experiment” ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andrew Norton, Professor in the Practice of Higher Education Policy, Australian National University Every year on June 1, student debt in Australia is indexed to inflation. In 2023, high inflation pushed the indexation rate to 7.1%, the highest since 1990. This ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Changes in the May 14 budget will cut the student debt of more than three million people, wiping more than $3 billion from what people owe. The government will cap the HELP indexation rate ...
Asia Pacific Report The prosecutor’s office at the International Criminal Court (ICC) has appealed for an end to what it calls intimidation of its staff, saying such threats could constitute an offence against the “administration of justice” by the world’s permanent war crimes court. The Hague-based office of ICC Prosecutor ...
By Patrick Decloitre, RNZ Pacific correspondent French Pacific desk A women’s union in New Caledonia has staged a sit-in protest this week to support senior Kanak indigenous journalist Thérèse Waia, who works for public broadcaster Nouvelle-Calédonie la Première, after a smear attack by critics. The peaceful demonstration was held on ...
New Zealand Food Safety is monitoring overseas recalls of Indian packaged spice products manufactured by MDH and Everest due to concerns over a cancer-causing pesticide. ...
By Stephen Wright and Stefan Armbruster of BenarNews Fiji’s ranking in a global press freedom index has jumped into the top tier of countries with free or mostly free media after its government last year repealed a draconian law that threatened journalists with prison for doing their jobs. Fiji’s improvement ...
We might be in Invercargill but all anyone can talk about is Gore. Specifically, Salford Street. That’s where three-year-old Lachlan Jones lived, south of the centre of town, between the A&P Showgrounds and the Mataura River. Roughly 1.2 km away from the single level home he lived in with his ...
MONDAY I lined up the latest round of civil servants from city hall against the wall, and signalled for the firing squad to drop their rifles. I stepped up onto a wooden crate to look at the office workers in the eye. But that didn’t feel right, so I found ...
Keen hiker and second-year MSc student Liam Hewson wears two hats when he’s in the great outdoors. “The scientist in me appreciates nature and goes, ‘Oh, there’s that thing and there’s another thing,’ but then the tramper and the outdoorsy person in me thinks, ‘Cool bush.’” Born and bred in ...
After a long and illustrious career as a goal kicker, Dan Carter’s favourite way to unwind is… kicking goals. Why can’t he get enough of it? And what it’s like to watch him do it for an hour straight? A semicircle of people wielding cameras and phones has formed in ...
Does Jenny-May Coffin ever check what she is given to read out?
Sports journalism in New Zealand is a Mark Richardson-calibre joke
Television One News, Saturday 25 July 2015
Too many sports “journalists” know little or nothing about sports. Sadly, the worst of them seem to be chosen, apparently on purpose, to “work” in the electronic media. Anyone who has managed to endure a few minutes of Radio Sport or the thankfully now defunct LiveSport will be only too aware that the people who spend all day flapping their gums about sports are not drawn from the top, or even the lower middle, end of the talent pool. Dull, indolent, prejudiced and ill-informed sports commentators are a perennial problem in the United States: one of the most infamous is Tom Heinsohn who, during a live TV broadcast of a 1985 NBA finals game, woofed: “What the Lakers need is more white bodies out there.” It’s also a problem in Great Britain—New Zealanders will remember the deeply unpleasant and dishonest Sunday Times rugby curmudgeon Stephen Jones. Australia’s rugby commentators (league and union) are embarrassingly bad, whether it’s Andrew Slack or Nick Farr-Jones uttering inane platitudes or Phil Gould acting as a crude shill for the poker machine lobby during live game calls.
http://www.theroar.com.au/2011/07/13/phil-goulds-argument-nothing-but-a-sham/
I know the virus is pretty bad in Canada, France, and in Japan as well.
You might say that useless and/or offensive sportscasters are a universal problem. But even so, it gives me no pleasure to say that New Zealand seems particularly afflicted by really, really bad ones. Ladies and Gentlemen of the jury, I present for your inspection Murray Deaker, Martin Devlin, Doug Golightly, Andrew Saveloy, Jim Kayes, Tony Veitch, Mark Watson, Nigel Yalden, Wiwwy Wose and, perhaps worst of the lot, that gruesome twosome, those horribly unfunny try-hards Mulligan and Richardson. That’s a representative, rather than a complete, sample.
Viewers of tonight’s sports bulletin on One News were subjected to one of the worst of this grim fraternity delivering one of the worst gaffes imaginable. Substandard performances by Television One auto-cue reader Jenny-May Coffin have drawn comment from many quarters, including this forum, in the past…..
http://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-20062015/#comment-1032625
http://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-27042013/#comment-625478
http://thestandard.org.nz/whose-values/#comment-422251
However, this evening she managed to excel—if that’s the right word for something so abject—herself, as she burbled: “Real Madrid beat Manchester City last night in front of 99,000 spectators, a record football crowd for the Melbourne Cricket Ground.”
Now, if Jenny-May Coffin were a serious journalist, or a reasonably knowledgeable sports authority, or even mildly interested in the material she was given to read out, then she would have known that that statement was ridiculous.
If she had bothered to check, she would have discovered that the record football crowd for the MCG was 121,696 for the Victorian Football League grand final between Carlton and Collingwood. The year after that (1971) the crowd for the St Kilda vs Hawthorn game was 118,192—a hell of a lot more than were at last night’s association football game. In fact, the Real-Man. City attendance was nowhere near the top TWENTY football crowds for the MCG, as Jenny-May Coffin would have known if she possessed even a rudimentary level of professionalism….
http://afltables.com/afl/crowds/vn_mcg.html
Yep I think Jenny-May was correct – FOOTball FOOT ball – leave her alone you big bully.
No she was not correct. She read out a glaringly wrong press release from some PR flack. Obviously such basic journalistic tenets as research or checking are unknown to her.
Real Madrid Club de Fútbol and Manchester City Football Club play football. My beloved St Kilda Football Club play a radically different code, only played professionally in a single country, and hardly known outside Australia.
Context is everything and Coffin was reporting on two well known football clubs, so it’s obvious that the record referred to was a football statistic, not an AFL one. The turnout of 99000 matches the current AFL grand final record. It was a sellout as the MCG has a smaller capacity these days.
We’ve had this discussion before, Moz, and the result is the same; World 1, Moz 0.
My beloved St Kilda Football Club play a radically different code
A code of what, exactly?
only played professionally in a single country, and hardly known outside Australia.
As a St Kilda F.C. fan, you will be well aware that your beloved Saints played in front of 118,192 fans as they lost a classic Grand Final to the Hawks in 1971. By the way, have a look at the name of the bloke who scored four goals for St. Kilda that day.
Australian Rules Football, which by it’s very name differentiated itself from the worldwide code. And I don’t have look up your namesake Barry, he’s still a legend! ’66 and all that!
A more interesting question might be which sport was codified first. I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised.
Yes I know it was our Victorian chums who got there first! Who actually wrote up a set of rules first is interesting, but doesn’t especially please me one way or the other.
More concerning are some of the recent trends of Australian football, especially the levels of on-field violence and the unfortunate preponderance of handballing. When Geelong started making handball a key part of its games in the 1960s, other teams quickly followed, and disgusted spectators would yell, “Kick the bloody thing!”
I also think that the scoring methods in Australian football are unsatisfactory—consider the ho-hum attitude of an MCG crowd after a point, or even a goal at times is scored in an AFL game, and compare it with the genuine excitement that followed all five goals in the Real-Manchester City game on Friday night. One sport’s scoring method is diffuse, over-complicated and perceptibly too easy, whereas the other’s is clear and unambiguous and much harder to do.
And of course, there’s the size of the teams and the immense size and shape of the playing surface…
Bit harsh on Jenny-May I feel. There is only one “foot”ball after all. The others such as rugby, league, rules etc involve the major use of hands and are pretenders only. When I hear the term football there is omly one sport that comes to mind to me and it’s played with a round ball.
In Australia, football means Australian Rules football or rugby. In New Zealand it means rugby football.
To some people yes. To others no. Times are a changing. I think most kiwis would say “are you watching the rugby test tonight” not “are you watching the football test”.
Certainly that is not the case in Auckland. And I doubt it’s the case in other parts of the country.
Bring Paul Home – Support for NZ Digger hit by Freight Train
https://youtu.be/2sTyr-RM0gw
By the way, a WorkSafe spokeswoman said KiwiRail had pleaded guilty to two charges in relation to the incident, and would be sentenced in the Auckland District Court in September.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/manawatu-standard/news/70476255/life-like-a-prison-for-severely-injured-man-paul-anderson
The MSM is shoddy biased rubbish. I don’t trust it. Saddened that so many people take it seriously.
+100
So. This M.Key and C. Lazar rahui….this ban on bringing the kids into ‘this’..
Prince of Parnell anyone?
J.Keys official photographer shoots M.Keys holiday vid – featuring Dad – and what? Don’t bring the kids into it!!!They’re innocent!
imo they kids are part of the hashtagPlanetKey system.
CR Joe who’s side are you on you and anyone else who criticised the family of any politician is going down an all-time loosers path.
Attack the policies and failures not their families .
+1 The kids are alright from what I’ve seen.
Max is clearly part of the PM’s propaganda team. Why else would the PM blatantly appear in Max’s holiday video, it shows the PM clearly wanted to be part of the message his son was putting out. If the kids aren’t to be involved in politics then all it would of taken is Key to say, you can make a video but you’re not showing me in it.
Of course they are, so as far as I am concerned they are fair game.
They are exhibitionists who like the limelight just like their exhibitionist father. If you court publicity then when you are criticised for it, you can’t cry foul because of who you are. They are adults now so are responsible for their own conduct.
Damm.. I left out CnrJoe’s quote:
imo they kids are part of the hashtagPlanetKey system.
@ Anne (5.2) Yes. Both Key offspring are hardly children. They are young adults, responsible for their own decisions and behaviour, putting themselves out there in the public domain.
Interesting point is that Key’s wife Bronagh seems to keep herself private, a low profile, away from the public glare. Good for her. Proves I guess there is at least one Key family member, who isn’t self absorbed, obsessed with hogging the limelight!
+1
Go the mighty All Blacks.
It’s a bit harder for them when they play South Africa—they can’t get Craig Joubert to help out….
26 July 2015
Media Alert! PROTEST!
PM John Key (Bank of America shareholder) looking after US or the U$?
TPPA – WALK AWAY!
Today, Sunday 26 July 2015, NZ Prime Minister John Key, gives his ‘KEY’note speech to the National Party’s 79th Conference at the Auckland Sky City Casino, at noon.
A range of New Zealanders and those who believe that signing the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA), will NOT work in the best interests of New Zealand, as a sovereign State, the majority of the NZ people, or NZ businesses, will be protesting outside, from 11am till 1pm.
PROTEST! TPPA – WALK AWAY!
WHEN: Today – Sunday 26 July 2015
TIME: 11am – 1pm
WHERE: Outside Sky City Auckland Convention Centre
A number of us are deeply concerned with the FACT that NZ Prime Minister John Key, is a shareholder in the Bank of America.
So – in whose ‘national interest’ is NZ Prime Minister working?
For US (New Zealanders) or the U$?
Follow the dollar….?
The evidence of John Key’s Bank of America shareholding is available on the NZ Parliamentary website:
(These Bank of America shares are NOT in a ‘blind trust’!)
Whose ‘national interest’ is PM John Key serving?
Is John Key working for US or the U$?
http://www.parliament.nz/en-nz/mpp/mps/fin-interests/00CLOOCMPPFinInterests20151/register-of-pecuniary-and-other-specified-interests-of
“Register of Pecuniary and Other Specified Interests of Members of Parliament:
Summary of annual returns as at 31 January 2015
(Page 29)
Rt Hon John Key (National, Helensville)
2 Other companies and business entities
Little Nell – property investment (Aspen, Colorado)
Bank of America – banking ..”
………
______________________________________________________________________________
Penny Bright
Hey Jenny this is the shit that is going down over this TPPA agreement. This is one of the reasons why America supported by their fucking lap dog Spiv Key are all for it. They are prepared to turn a blind eye to slavery just to get at China.
“But because the Senate is the Senate, it was unable to swap out the original language for the modification. (The chamber needed unanimous consent to make the legislative move, and an unknown senator or senators objected.) So the trade promotion authority bill that passed Friday includes the strong anti-slavery language, which the House will now work to take out to ensure that Malaysia (and, potentially, other countries in the future) can be part of the deal.
Observers are left with a deeper question: Why, in the year 2015, is the White House teaming up with Republican leaders essentially to defend the practice of slavery?
Understanding this is key to understanding why President Barack Obama has been pushing so aggressively for a trade deal that so many of his allies insist will harm American workers. It’s about global power, geopolitics and pushing back against the rise of China. And that starts with Malaysia.
How bad is Malaysia?
Unfortunately for Obama, Malaysia is a hub of human trafficking comparable, according to the State Department, to North Korea and Saudi Arabia. It falls in Tier 3, the lowest ranking a country can have in the State Department’s annual human trafficking report, which gauges a country’s actions against modern-day slavery.
Why is Malaysia so important?
A century ago, U.S. foreign policy focused on the brand-new country of Panama. Wars were started, coups were plotted, deals were struck, all toward the end of controlling access to its just-completed canal. Today the Panama Canal is still a global trade “chokepoint” that shipping must pass through. Another chokepoint, equally if not more important, is the Strait of Malacca, which lies between the Indonesian island of Sumatra and the Malay Peninsula.
Unlike Senate Democrats and labor leaders, many experts on U.S.-China relations consider the Trans-Pacific Partnership essential. They argue that the deal, which the Obama administration is forging with 11 other Pacific nations, will show that Washington is not going to allow an expansionist Beijing to dominate the region with tactics ranging from bullying smaller nations to building island fortresses in disputed waters. A March 2015 report from the Council on Foreign Relations lists granting Obama trade promotion authority — which will grease the skids for the TPP to pass Congress — as the top way in which the legislators can ensure a smart U.S. response to China’s rise.”
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/05/26/tpp-malaysia-slavery_n_7444978.html
Refreshing to see Bob Reid fronting for workers on Q & A this morning and countering ‘everything is hunky dory’ put up by the Nat cyborg. I would love to see Reid takeover the leadership of the CTU when Helen Kelly retires in October. Bob has the rare ability to cut through the crap being spun by the Government’s PR snake oil merchant’s, well done cobbah.
Nice sentiments, Skinny. Robert’s a lovely guy, and a great union man.
Michelle Boag was at her sour puss, bullying worst this morning. She claimed the unions are to blame for low paid workers and the unemployed. Beat that.
I gather there’s a Reid Research poll coming out on TV3 tonight. Don’t want to flag it the wrong way, but I have to wonder if she has foreknowledge of the result and isn’t too happy about it. 🙂
When I heard Boag say that, it was yet another keyboard stuffed. Why do they always say something outrageous when you have a mouthful of hot coffee?
Boag’s argument was shear stupidity and reiterated what Bob was saying that the elite are too far removed from the low wage economy most workers are living in New Zealand.
I once took exception listening to Boag on Willie & JT’s political show around the time of the tragic Pike River deaths. Anyway she made some ridiculous comment about health & safely in her business, I called in under my than George handle and gave her a crack, “Michelle what would you know about Health & Safety in the workplace, the only risk you would face is choking while eating tapas in a Ponsonby cafe.” McCarten and the boys laughed… Boag was momentarily stuck for words. She finally mustered a sarcastic “why thanks how kind of you” I replied
“You welcome”. 🙂
Another Serco bashing.
What has New Zealand become?
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11486965
Why are we bashing Serco, Paul? Surely the poor fellows are doing their best?
Serco
The biggest company you’ve never heard of.
Before Mt Eden, anyway.
“Another Serco bashing.
What has New Zealand become?”
Rapists, women murders and kiddie fiddlers have always been regularly bashed in prisons. This is nothing new.
Read the link, you elemental dick. The man was left seriously brain damaged. If people are to be locked up as punishment, then the state has the obligation to protect them from random violence no matter what their crime.
I think naki man doesn’t care.
And what is your view of privatised prisons, naki man?
If you were trying to determine a way to brutalise a human being further, then this is the approach you would take to do it.
These people end up back in our society.
Are you so short-sighted your desire for brutal illegal treatment outweighs the benefits of treating prisoners humanely?
Surely even in Taranaki you are regarded as a very stupid person.
If I were from Taranaki, I’d be ashamed someone used my region to represent such repulsive views.
and then they get released to a neighbourhood near your.
nothing new here either.
feel safer yet?
what about people with mental health issues, drug habits that can’t get treatment elsewhere? Shame finance company swindlers /tax avoiders cant get a taste of real corrections?
Took my kid to open day at local state high school yesterday. Teacher in the food tech area talked nostalgically about how they used to have community cooking classes as part of the nightschool programme. Long gone now. Cheers national.
Anyone got the link to Bob Reid on Q and A?
I know I ambeing lazy here and could find it myself, but if its handy would be good to have it on open mike
Here it is.
Notice how Simon Dallow tries to interjects with him by comparison with his treatment of Boag.
http://tvnz.co.nz/q-and-a-news/prime-minister-economy-panel-video-6361798
And look at Bernard Hickey’s expression as Boag gibbers on about young people wanting to buy 3 bedroom houses in Grey Lynn.
He shakes his disbelief as the nonsense she spouts.
Again, why does this fool Boag get air time?
And why is Dallow such a shill for the National Party?
thanks for that…now, I have this…https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I7pWhXv4ZVE…stuck in my head.
Wow, he (Bernard Hickey) couldn’t have said more with words than his expression and body language.
Thanks for the link Paul. Yes Michelle Boag wheeling out the old young people wanting to buy a three bedroom home in Grey Lynn. Why don’t they just have an apartment…………………………….
Great now I get it! The housing crisis in Auckland is because young people want to buy a three bedroom house in Grey Lynn! Its the young people’s fault!
Surprised she didn’t bring out her other red herring “I don’t own a house”………..
The depth of the analysis. Please keep Boag on. She is doing wonder’s for………….Labour and the Left.
http://i.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/70546135/Nick-Smith-eyes-ways-to-boost-private-sector-role-in-building-resource-consents
Private companies being trusted to consent buildings !!
What could possible go wrong with that ??
‘That was why councils had been “so pedantic and conservative” about processing building consents, so they were not exposing themselves to liability.
‘There would also need to be some sort of guarantee scheme so consumers were protected and were not out of pocket.
AND open to competition!!
What is to stop the private co going bankrupt like the dodgy building comps.
I think the whole exercise is beyond the ability of nick smith and the Nats
Some days I think nick smiths shoes must all be slip ons
Remember the part that private building inspection companies played in the leaky buildings saga and the liabilities that were passed on when they folded? Seems the National Government have very short memories, are slow learners or are so wedded to ideology that they can’t see the wood for the trees. Not to worry, tax and rate payers have big pockets and just love to help out dodgy industries.
It is not surprising the councils are gun shy and are over careful
Wonder how he’s thinking of paying for this? My guess is that it will come out of local government coffers one way or another forcing the local councils to put up rates to cover the extra expenses of having more people doing the job.
Great Thinkers of Our Time: Trump and Eastwood
“Nobody gets as many standing ovations…. This weekend I’ll be with Clint Eastwood in California. Tremendous group of people, I’ll be in Arizona this weekend, I’ll be all over the place…”
This is exciting! It’s like Nietsche and Kierkegaard coming together. Or Chomsky and Russell. Or Tom Paine and Immanuel Kant. Or Jamie Whyte and Richard “I’ve Been Thinking” Prebble.
Yes, at long last, Donald Trump and Clint Eastwood are going to be in California together!….
Donald Trump: ‘I Will Win The Latino Vote’ (Full Interview) | NBC News
Democracy died in the USA a while ago.
It’s on its last legs here.
Watch Oliver Stone’s Untold History of America.
Trump will get the dead cat bounce
Actually the dead cat landed on his head.
lmao +1,000,000
An interesting article posted on Yanis Varoufakis’s website:
http://yanisvaroufakis.eu/2015/07/25/a-new-kind-of-politics-by-paul-tyson-in-opendemocracy-net/
It rather explains why so many political utterances come across as a commitment to the dictates of the market wrapped in a PR pitch to constituents.
German television host to former Waffen S.S. executioner:
“You’ve got nothing to be ashamed of…”
[Congrats. You win the Instant Godwin of the Day award. If you want to post links, don’t waste readers’ time with misleading descriptions. TRP]
According to Boag on Q&A this morning, it is all Robert Reid’s fault that there are a few poor people struggling, because he doesn’t look after them well enough!!!!!
And yet they invite her back on week after bloody week, setting the narrative that intelligent people then have to waste time countering/adjusting and pointing out facts, so no advancement in debate.
I have given up on the Nation, will have to check who is on Q&A before subjecting myself again.
Michelle Boag’s job is identical to Matthew Hooton’s—to disrupt and if possible destroy any chance of engaging in serious debate. Her rants on Jim Mora’s light chat vehicle are infamous, made even worse by the fact she is accompanied every time by her new best friend Dr Brian Edwards.
Absolutely, how does she get air time. “FMR” party president what does that stand for? F****** Much Richer” ???
Watching her represent “baby boomers” the other week, is another device to divide generations, young people actually do believe my generation has ruined the chance of a good life for their generation. I have worked for 35 years for the health service, no savings, but a clear conscience and finally a house that is mine.
Like Key I would have liked for my offspring and the next generation to have the same if not a little better….like his do.Is that going to happen thanks purley to his government, NO. Assets sold, conflated house prices, low wage economy, education for the rich only (or face debts for most of life, unless bailed out by rich parents) etc.
I am so sick of people like Boag dictating the narrative, whilst decent intelligent people like Robert Reid have to sit there and listen (and stomach), what a crazy environment for the 4th estate to have to work in.
And why do they invite her back?
Because the people who own and run Q and A are part of the same elite as her.
She is a useful puppet for hte powerful interests who own and run New Zealand.
You are right, I always get tempted by the promise of “NZ’s leading politics programme” not again though after this morning.
I actually only linked to it because of Robert Reid.
Normally wouldn’t touch this propaganda source with a barge pole.
@Paul
Reminds me of a parallel person in UK – Thatcher. Reading about dead but not forgotten, John Mortimer’s comments on Thatcher.
In 1986, his adaptation of his own novel Paradise Postponed was televised. This depicts what he saw as Britain’s descent into viciousness in the era of Thatcherism.
Boag fills the same role in NZ for those who desire power and wealth and disdain the hoi polloi.
Boag is an utterly repulsive person.
A creation of the ‘me’ world that look over from the ‘we’ society.
She’s that openly selfish she almost appears to be doing a satire of a disgusting human some days.
The old dear is utterly compromised and twisted up, it beggars speculation as to what could be held over her
Surely no elderly woman performs as she does willingly if mentally sound and not being coerced
More likely she is becoming less relevant and is grandstanding to try and hold onto what little influence she has left.
Today Boag came across as more idiotic than Tau Henare.
Boag needs to see the replay of herself trying to defend the cost of housing in Auckland and how hard it is for working people to afford the basics. The ex Bank of Reserve economist was a breath of fresh air.
I suspect she would simply applaud herself
I believe this article is what many on the left have been waiting for,
https://medium.com/basic-income/trickle-down-economics-must-die-long-live-grow-up-economics-5b8334a0db76
H Joon Chang is someone whose ideas I have been listening to since I bought his book 23 things they don’t tell you about Capitalism. It is a great read and destroys many key Capitalist myths.
This article lays thing bare also. He is definitely the Economist to follow.
A lovely analogy here, even though he gets the wording a bit wrong, and should have said “the body” in the last line, where he says “business”: When the only ones capable of making exchanges are a small percentage of the population, the entire economy suffers because the many are excluded for the benefit of the few, but this benefit too is an illusion. There is no real benefit. Pretending otherwise is like thinking that cutting off the blood in your body to everything except the brain is good for business. It’s not. It’s good for gangrene.
Chang is an outstanding economist: speaking to the Royal Society
“Let one hundred flowers bloom”
Great article cheers I sent it on to a good mate who still trys to tell me that keys tax cuts to the rich was a good idea .
As I say: We cannot afford the rich.
On the same topic:
If we want prosperity for our country then we need to:
1. Get of the rich because we simply cannot afford them
2. Change our monetary system so that only the government creates money
3. Stop foreign ownership of land, businesses and housing so that we don’t become serfs to foreign owners
And we can’t go past:
The End of Capitalism
Boag blames unions for the low rates of pay in supermarkets and DIY stores.
Not the employers.
Unbelievable.
Simon Dallow is a tool for the government and part of the bubble that does not realise how most people live. A disgraceful excuse for a journalist.
http://tvnz.co.nz/q-and-a-news/reserve-bank-economy-panel-video-6361802
The Boag Tyrantosaurus rex started looking for limbs to rip off the other panellists at the end there. Bernard I think was very shortly going to just start banging his head repeatedly on the desk with a continuous low groaning sound.
Actually, you are right, he could have made a difference to what was an appalling show this morning, and he didn’t do anything but grin.
Dallow did more than just grin.
He spouted the usual neoliberal mantra…’aspiration…etc
A tool.
Key has announced plans to reward immigrants with extra points if their job offers are for outside Auckland. Thought that was another Labour idea?
Focus groups and David Farrar’s polling are very busy.
will they have to stay there, or do they get to quit right away and move to akl once their permit has been approved and bumbfuckistan dairy country aint gonna do it anymore for them?
Naki man wouldnt last 5 minutes in “the other state housing”.
The rec yard at Mt Eden is a world apart from his back yard summer BBQ.
No, It’s Not Your Opinion. You’re Just Wrong
A great article on the difference between opinions and misconceptions.
Dumbing down of our education?
A rural Waikato secondary school has pass rates in the mid to high 90s for each level of NCEA.
“Hands-on” options help students not planning on university study, says Hauraki Plains College principal Ngaire Harris.
She says that’s partly due to subjects that range from beekeeping to classical studies.
Hauraki Plains College has about 700 students.
In 2014 it had a
95 per cent pass rate for NCEA level 3
99 per cent at level 2.
Strangely, the level 1 pass rate is 102 per cent of students on the roll.
————–
It is all well good and useful to graduate in bee keeping, chain saw skills etc, but
I am wondering how many or what % of their ‘highly successful’ students actually study academic studies such as Science, physics, Botany, Chemistry, Zoology, Economics, Accounting, Statistics, Architecture, Calculus etc , go to university and graduate as doctors, engineers, scientists etc. Strangely, the article praising this school did not mention that.
I suppose the academic jobs will be taken up by students from the Charter schools.
Or by skilled and qualified immigrants.
I know, perhaps from the students of the part publicly funded private schools which cater to the kids of the privileged and the wealthy.
The damage done to the proper education and prosperity of the common people is a real worry.
——-
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/education/70436597/hauraki-plains-college-scores-high-in-ncea
My last edited sentence that did not show was :
I think that education is being dumbed down. Parents and the country are being short changed by students and the schools taking the easy course routes.
The damage done to the proper education and prosperity of the common people is a real worry in this artificially manipulated system of education, where paper work, reports, tests, feel good BS statistics and quantity seems to be more important than the quality of education and qualifications.
@Clem
And I think that the state we are in today with our deficient government and opposition that are not ready to face reality, much less future events, is an indication of how we have received deficient education over the last century plus.
Our education needs to be based on problem solving and understanding multiple views of any situation, gaining the skills to think through that, not using problems as exercises to advance our skill knowledge and sit exams to confirm our proficiency. A broad-based education that ensures the humanities, the conservation of the environment, as well as the hard sciences, are to the fore not left to be picked up later by somebody.
o-one will then be able to concentrate entirely on business and money-making and creational economics (of any persuasion). Everyone will know at least two languages fluently, and four others to ask simple questions etc. This can be done in primary after the kids are eight, when their minds are ready to absorb more complex stuff, as educationists have discovered.
That is because the people living on the Plains around here and in Thames know that this is a very successful school and has been for some time. They know many of the students finishing there move on to all manner of university and other tertiary studies. My daughter had the privilege of teaching there for a time Science and Geography . Then again your assertion that the less academic have little value.. well many of the young men who take their schooling there are destined to work on their parents farms after agriculture colleges. My butcher is a young graduate of Hauraki Plains and has just received praise for supplying the meat for award winning pies, baked here in Thames. As a past educator of Physics and Mathematics I appreciate that there are many other facets of life other than the “academic”.
I think you do this very good secondary school a disservice with your comment.
Sorry, I didn’t mean to offend. All studies, skills, jobs and professions are useful, needed and good. No problem with that.
My concern and questions were genuine about the lack of information in the article about the brainy/harder academic courses and what % of students took those there. I think you missed the point or perhaps I did not explain myself properly.
I think you would find similar proportions of students taking academic subjects at Hauraki Plains as any other secondary school of similar decile. My daughter reported the students were extremely well focused across all classes, and a very good culture existed in the school and has for some time.
That is good to hear.
Do you by any chance have the % of level 3, students that sat last year for each of Physics, Chemistry and Calculus and what their result % were? That information would be really interesting, especially as the report said that the level 3 students had an outstanding result of 95% success rate.
This has been happening since the 1990’s, it isnt new, or peculiar to that particular school.
Probably worth noting that NCEA was trialled in schools 5-6 years before it was implemented. I did NCEA level 2 English back in 1997.
O.k. I am almost sure its official. Paddy Gower must be stupid. Reid poll out.
National up very slightly. Labour up very slightly. Keys popularity down to under 40%
Those polled say they are against foreign buyers buying up property……. (something like 65%.
Minor parties down. National couldn’t govern alone. Would need NZ first.
So Lab and Greens have enough with NZ first…………
Then Paddy says, this shows it’s dangerous for Labour playing the race card………………….
Paddy your either stupid or desperate to find a line that makes Labour look bad………..
Maybe both.
I’d go with ‘both’.
I think the message of the poll was pretty obvious.
On the substance of the issue (the policy question on offshore buyers) Labour had got it right.
On their handling of it, they didn’t. So, no pay-off in the party vote.
National are in trouble, but Labour aren’t smart enough to benefit. A familiar story, alas.
that matches my analysis. No bump at all from Labour’s race baiting. Labour should have kept the message about the economics, about economic sovereignty and the foreign financing, but they thought they were being smart selling out on their left wing liberal values and picking on the Chinese.
IMO Labour’s right wing chose the race tack and did not want to make any general statements around the principles of economic sovereignty, as that would be too left wing for them.
I think the next couple of polls including the next Roy Morgan will be pivotal in understanding the full effects of Labour’s foray into race politics.
I think it’s more cock-up than conspiracy.
Questions in parliament last week showed the problem. Little started asking about the flag referendum, a minor matter for the leader of the opposition. He was backing off the housing issue.
National are giving gifts (Serco etc) and they are providing the headlines. Better to focus on that than alienating a lot of people on the left.
In short, Labour won’t (shouldn’t) make the same mistake twice. I hope.
You are doing false framing again!
Just to check if there was any truth in your assertion, I went to the parliament website and this is what I saw:
On the very first day of parliament this term, (Tuesday, 21 July 2015) Andrew Little asked this question on housing;
ANDREW LITTLE (Leader of the Opposition) to the Prime Minister : Does he stand by his statement in relation to affordability of homes in Auckland that “there’s a general view that housing prices are not overvalued”, given that the homeownership rate has fallen to its lowest level in 64 years?
On the same day, Peters too asked a question on Housing.
——————————
On the next day, Wed, 22, the housing question was asked by the Labour housing spokesperson, Twyford. He asked this:
PHIL TWYFORD (Labour—Te Atatū) to the Minister of Finance : Does he stand by his statement about whether inequality was a problem in the Auckland housing market, “We’ve been concerned about that for some time, that there’s part of Auckland where there’s been really no new supply of lower value houses that low and middle-income families can afford”?
On the same day Metiria Turei too asked a housing issue question too.
So instead of the same housing issue, Little asked about the flag because the design submissions had just concluded.
—————-
Again on Thursday, 23, Twyford once again asked more questions on Housing:
PHIL TWYFORD to the Minister for Building and Housing: How does he intend to reduce the shortfall of Auckland houses in the next two years, given that under this Government the shortfall is increasing by 5000 a year, and the Productivity Commission predicts on current rates the shortfall – now 32,000 – will hit 60,000 by 2020?
——————-
Labour’s different spokes people deal with the different issues : Hipkins on Education, Davis on corrections, Twyford on housing, King on health, Goff on foreign affairs. Robertson on finance etc.
Little takes the overall charge without depriving the others.
So, you see, your false framing of Little is wrong and unfair as seen from the questions this week alone.
Bump in polls or not is NOT the main point or the question. At least it did not do any harm. The question is, was Twyford right in highlighting the dire problem of the possible money coming in from non resident Chinese for Auckland houses? I say YES, he absolutely did the right thing highlighting the issue rather than allow it to fester quietly around office water coolers in Chinese whispers.
The poll shows that over 60% of people and over 50% of NATIONAL voters WANT to stop non residents (‘not’ residents) from buying houses in Auckland. All this IN SPITE of the false framing indulged in by the RW crooks and the LW asinines as being ‘racist’. The fools framing it so are the real racists.
Twyford and Labour are well vindicated. No doubt about that. There is still over two years for the election. Keep calm and carry on, I say.
? Far far too early to determine that. Dozens of Labour activists have left the party or “downed tools”. And the true impact of that alone will take time to appear.
Hey, we live in a free democratic society. Not in Guatemala or 福州. Any one is free to leave or join. Some do it with honest principles while some others do it for cheap political stunts.
As long as Labour does the best by the country and all its people (including all legal immigrants), I am happy. Nothing else matters. For those that have left, I say さようなら.
Link?
Maybe the Labour Party did it because it’s good policy, not the same as being good for polls.
And yes, Paddy is a fuckwit.
I don’t think Labour would want a massive rise in the polls at this stage. Don Brash and National actually did play the race card around the time of the Orewa speech. Every redneck (and there’s a lot of them and probably includes Gower) in the country cheered them on. The last thing Labour wants is to be compared with is a bunch of rednecks.
Labour decided to emphasise the ethnic aspects, and not the economic sovereignty aspects, of foreign buyers in the NZ property market.
IMO they did that as an appeal to Waitakere Man (and Woman), and in order to not use too much economically left leaning language.
Caucus definitely wanted a rise in the polls from this exercise, and would have been expecting one after days of wall to wall media coverage of the issue.
Labour’s whole emphasis WAS on off shore non residents buying Auckland houses. They showed (in the absence of more reliable data) that the nearly 40% of houses sold in three months went to Chinese sounding owners disproportionate to their 9% population. That was the point which was framed by dishonest people as being racist. It wasn’t.
Of course, there would be some names that would sound like Chinese names, but will not be. that is true and Labour acknowledged that.
Casually dismissing large numbers on the left and from ethnic communities as “dishonest” EXACTLY illustrates the problem.
Ah, but in what way?
Personally I think “dishonest” is a bit harsh, though. It implies a blanket motive for the many reasons that some folks were just plain wrong.
I don’t think Clemgeopin is “casually” dismissing large numbers on the left and from ethnic communities as “dishonest” gobsmacked. I strongly suspect many of them mistakenly believed the false framing that was built up around this issue and in particular… I refer to the disingenuous framing from the National Party and their acolytes. eg. Matthew Hooton.
On the Sat morning interview, Twyford emphasised over and over that Chinese investors and people with Chinese names who were the problem. He had plenty of opportunities to generalise the case to all foreign money, to economic sovereignty, to mention buyers from the UK or USA etc as also being potential issues, but he did not.
This interview?
Where Twyford made comments such as:
and
and
and
and
Yeah, that’s why dozens of Labour Party members have left.
Tip: that’s not me who said that
Twyford was being honest and straight up. You would prefer him to be less so, like Key? Twyford wasn’t being offensive or racist. He was exposing a huge housing crisis in Auckland and speaking the truth from the data he had.
no it was Lanth that said that. Not that Lanth claimed to have left (or ever joined) Labour, AFAIK.
And frankly, I think it’s a false-positive.
Clemgeopin: Pretty sure Ng, Mok, Kan, myself, and a lot of other Kiwi Chinese found Labour’s tactics utterly offensive. But I welcome lots more Pakeha saying it was OK, not offensive, not anti-Chinese etc.
Anyways. No polling pay off for Labour even though most Kiwis agree that there should be no foreign ownership, and I think the damage caused is yet to make itself felt.
Col. Viper, just because you are Chinese does not make you right or smart. Don’t take stupid offense when none was intended. Use your brains. Understand the problem.
孔子 says, “Bubble, bubble, housing bubble can soon make plenty trouble. Just one non-resident prick, can burst all bubbles. Bubble, bubble, plenty trouble!”
jesus, clem… [headdesk]
Christ on a bike ‘McFlock’!
The first cut and paste you provide is in response to a direct proposal to sanction only Chinese buyers. (What else was he going to say ffs!)
The second was a direct lead up to that first one. (If not just Chinese, then what?)
The third was a part of the second response.
And the forth and fifth were squeezed in right at the tail end of the interview.
Now, you and I and everyone knows that first impressions count. And right up until he would have had to respond “yes, only (insert ‘otherness’), he banged on about Chinese and only Chinese… and then there was the Chinese.
But look, here’s the thing. Labour, as far as I understand, have access to electronic copies of the electoral roll. So why didn’t they run those 4000 sales against the roll? It wouldn’t have been perfect, but would have given a far clearer picture than the one they presented and it would have avoided any scapegoating/dog-whistling or what have you.
The reason they didn’t, wouldn’t have been because they wanted cheap votes, hmm?
Thankfully, and I mean this sincerely, it hasn’t worked.
OK, let’s work through your methodology (even if that’s a legal use of the electoral roll).
How would you do it and what exactly would you be seeking to demonstrate?
casually calling large numbers from the left and from ethnic communities as racists is ok tho?
No.
Dishonest from the point of view of second guessing what the real point of the Twyford’s exercise was, which was to show that one of the causes of the skyrocketing house prices in Auckland was the money (legal or dodgy cash) coming from non residents most of the culprits seemed to be from China. It was NOT against the local resident Chinese at all who Twyford said he welcomes with open arms if they are legitimately locals buying houses.
It is up to the government to show that Twyford was wrong, if he was wrong at all, by producing accurate statistics of non residents owning houses which isn’t too difficult for the Government to do if THEY are honest. They too, like the false ‘racist’ branding framers, aren’t! The government does not need to wait to BEGIN collecting some IRD numbers starting from OCTOBER! Do it NOW and have it back dated for the last seven years or even fifteen years. Computers are good, accurate and quick at doing such stuff!
So, I would say that the framing of the serious issue as racist is, if not dishonestly by all, then done by a false understanding of being PC or by being scared to be honest or by being quite stupid. Doesn’t really matter which. What matters is the accelerating house prices meed to be stopped by all possible measures. Today, even Key agreed, by saying heavy taxing for land is a better option than banning non residents buying.
So the point is that Twyford and Labour have made this an important issue for considering serious solutions.
Twyford can be right on the general thrust of the information and still be guilty of dog whistling. And that makes him wrong to have indulged in the shit he indulged in.
As said in reply to ‘McFlock’, electronic versions of the electoral roll are available to political parties. They could have used that to get a more precise onshore/offshore split…and for a fraction of the price they spent on doing what they did.
And Twyford didn’t dream this strategy up by his lonesome.
Little, the Leaders Office, and a number of other MPs were crucial to developing and choosing this strategy. Very planned, very deliberate.
And you know that how?
You do that Bill and prove that Twyford was dog whistling and wrong, instead of being too clever by half.
Singling out any identifiable minority and pointing a finger of blame at them isn’t dishonest: it’s just plain fucking wrong on multiple levels of wrongness.
What minority? Nothing to do with ‘minority’ or ‘majority’. It was to do with the non resident Chinese money rushing in in droves to buy investment property in Auckland and pushing prices beyond the reach of the residents, including the resident Chinese. Don’t be so daft.
@Clem
We have not long ago had Helen Clark apologising to Chinese people for past racist wrongs and bad treatment, murder included because of the hatred, fear and disdain for their ethnicity. (Think Dunedin mad guy. Forgotten his name. And others I’ve recently come across.) So Twyford should have been aware of sensitivity being needed.
His approach would have been better if he had gone in stages, with worrying stats alone to start. Then said that real estate figures he had received indicated that there was a strong move of foreign money into Auckland housing. Then said that he was looking at a statistical analysis trying to establish from where, in the absence of any figures from government sources or the Overseas Investment office.
Stages would have been better. Then announce the Asian figure as a bloc with other known comparative figures – Europe, UK, USA, South America. Then Colonial Viper would have had less to bite on!
We single out the minority population of Maori to point out that they represent a huge part of the prison population Bill. Racist is it?
Kiaora Ianmac
When Pakeha single out Maori or any other ethnicity for special mention – its never a good thing usually. The Chinese are taking over the country, and the Maoris are taking over the prisons.
@Adele
Reading that – Maori are taking over the prisons, got me thinking. Instead of Serco, why not contract Maori professionals to manage them and help them acquire needed education and life skills?
I have heard that there are numbers of successful programs for life training from interested Maori. Perhaps Ngawha could become a pilot working under a plan to incorporate the successful small programs on a bigger scale, working in stages and aiming to restore self-worth, self-control and self-direction within the collective culture of community.
Anne@24.5 1000+