Thd ferocity of the attack by the corporate media pit bulls like Soper, Armstrong and Hosking on Metiria would suggest her comments were a real threat to the owners of this country.
It would be better if they funded all beneficiaries to have access to internet/scanners and permit remote access for everyone. That way they could do without the guards/humiliation/lack of toilets/reception etc.
It would be better if beneficiaries never had to endure the human rights abusers at WINZ ever again. I don’t care whether they’re just following National Party orders or not.
Human rights abusers belong in court, not in offices.
Get rid of WINZ completely, have a UBI and have an Office of NZ Citizen Support which will be about citizens getting the help they need, and choosing what hours they are going to put in to help with NZ Social Infrastructure. All will be encouraged to do something they can manage, even an hour a week, and the able bodied and minded will be expected to do from 3-7 hours a week.
This would apply to all ages, and even to the bed-ridden or non-mobile who could do something small from home or hospice. If people want to live-long, then they can be integrated life-long in their society and not feel useless. This will be universal for anyone wishing to live in NZ full or part-time, and participate in public health ad other amenities whether they are receiving a pension or subsidy or not. Then the country has to recognise that all people drawing money from the government are contributing to society.
Parents will be learning at workshops etc. on human relationships, psychology, physical and mental oriented skills, child psychology through different ages, self-care and relief when needed, and efficient systems for running a house, also workshops on gardening, small woodwork and handyman jobs, and home focussed, cooking, cleaning, sewing and knitting. It will be called learned helpfulness, and be full of positive vibes. Parents without transport will be able to catch buses, jeepney-type or contracted taxis that come to the door, and make it easy to attend.
That would be a whole new start and the country would embrace its young people and parents. Most of our woe would go!
The money is not going to the guards though. They are at the bottom of the pile of any juicy contract. Unfortunately, some seek someone even less powerful to intimidate. They are just copying the bullying behaviour of the bosses.
WINZ do need to protect their staff – so it is not unreasonable that they have guards.
When I was young (18ish) I worked at what was then Social Welfare – (IT Side) – but was made to spend time at the counter to understand what it was like for customers.
I always remember the abuse a lot of staff received – sometimes from drunk or stoned people. When all the time trying to do the best they could to help.
IIRC, there have been two times over the last twenty odd years where WINZ staff have been killed. Both times was WINZ was refusing to help when the people actually needed help.
Well, the guards are effective against little old ladies. Wouldn’t have done shit against Tully, though.
But I’m not actually against guards on premises.
I’m against guards on the door demanding ID, receptionists who refuse to make an appointment when you’re in the goddamn branch and insist you call the call centre in order to make an appintment to speak to the person 4 metres away from both of you, long application forms, and a myriad of other pointless barriers placed between people in need and the assistance that can help them.
I didn’t know it was as bad as that. Government is doing its best it seems to keep the smelly humans away from the department offices that are supposed to help.
Eventually they will do everything through machines by machines and they can get on with whatever they think they should do with their time at the expense of our country if you can call it that by that time. More just a giant ‘waiting station’ or ‘people processor’.
A toxic mix of low wage growth and fast-rising rents
Two reports released within 24 hours of each other neatly summarise the state of New Zealand right now. They showed the wealth of the richest sprinting ahead with property values, while the poorest are struggling with stubbornly low wages and fast-rising housing costs. Bernard Hickey reports on a tale of two New Zealands.
This is what Stuff should have top of the page on their site. Instead they discuss the mental health of David Bains Mum (as offensive as it is out of date and irrelevant), and the fact Turei didn’t have a job during university but found time for political campaigns. God. This fucking country and it’s media.
Those subjects in the media indicate the shallow intellect of this country. We seem incapable of reflection, and self-correction. The national intellect instead revolves around judgment of others who haven’t got money, those who are struggling and who complain (persons of no standing), getting things for ourselves and then getting more, and the latest style in the various ways of displaying our persona to others.
Taking an interest in politics indicates dissatisfaction with the status quo which has been established by our betters. How dare Turei take this tone! Who does she think she is? And she hasn’t complied with all the requirements and filled out forms correctly. Disgraceful. And thinks it important to gain skills for a self-supporting life and to guide her child to the same ways for being responsible, pleasant, practical and socialised people.
We are like deviant bower birds who have adopted the habits of the shining cuckoo which leave their eggs and rearing of young to greywarblers’ nests. In winter they fly away to warmer climes like New Guinea so they are just irresponsible. Really they are like those immigrants who are making use of us and ripping us off as they go.
With that summary in mind it is understandable why we are in our present hole,
short of nests.
If you want to over hype the issue, then we both can.
I take it you have no problem with groups of people running into banks wearing tinted crash helmets waving around sticks or making kindergartens open spaces where the public are free to wonder in and out playing with kids?
I definitely think WINZ shouldn’t let groups of people running into their offices wearing tinted crash helmets waving around sticks. But since you brought it up, banks should now not let people wear hats in banks nor let elderly people bring in their wheelie shopping bags. Good idea there Chris, put it out there and see how that goes down. Oh, and all people who want to go into a bank have to show ID and prove they have a good reason for going in there. And if they get angry about being expected to do all those things, then they’re be put in a register that is shared with all the other banks.
It’s amazing the access Hooton gets. It really helps if you’re repeating the establishment line.
He gets all that airtime, yet a story about grandparents being humiliated by WINZ is shutdown.
Was Metiria’s questioning of the failing welfare state challenged by Hooton?
And Hooton was able to spout his toxic anti Labour anti Andrew bullshit like he does on 9 to noon. He gets it in then talks mildly about other matters on hand.
I think Banter is quite interesting in a basic raw way. Unlike the other smooth talk shows.
He’s now called “Michael Hooten” according to the listing. A new fun, loungy chat show bringing on a wringer who wants to demolish the Labour Party. I wonder what that does for the ratings..
There is no law that requires you to listen to him.
Are you really that much of a masochist that you have to torture yourself in this way?
Turn off the radio. Turn off the TV.
Get outside and sniff the flowers.
That’s exactly what I do alwyn. I was responding to dv’s link. We do not watch/listen to any of the commercial channels, and have not for several years because of their total toadying to the Natz ( which is precisely what they are paid to do).
Yep it it’s clause 7b of his employment contract, how did he survive under 9 years of labour with this clause I dont know, he’s real smart or labour are real dunces
Hosking still justifying his pay rate whilst refusing to disclose it.
Gosh he is getting old now, wonder what he would do for a job if removed from media? Maybe that’s his issue, that he doesn’t know how to do anything else but talk shite and support the local casino.
There must be a fellow staffers who have a good idea what Hosking is earning so why don’t they leak it? I’m picking his annual income is well over $1million per annum – maybe as high as $2million – and that’s without the additional perks. And we’re paying the bulk of that salary.
Setting aside the law which is frequently an ass, there’s no doubting who is the real criminal and it ain’t Metiria Turei. Hosking is fleecing tax-payers of millions of dollars for third rate performances on TV and radio and imo that is a far more serious crime than Metiria’s 2000 dollars per annum all those years ago.
“setting aside the law”. That’s the problem Anne. Do we all just go about our lives, setting aside the laws we don’t agree with, or like or that inconvenience us?
Sam C, that is what the vast majority of the well heeled do with rorting the system. They set aside the law by using lawyers and accountants etc.
Show me the tradie who doesn’t do jobs under the table and those who seek those savings etc etc . We are all guilty of it to some degree or other.
Someone dead at a railway station in Auckland which means a 3 hour wait for usual travellers as services are shut down. This is an unacceptably long time when it prevents the running of mass transport. I am assuming that it is largely to conduct a police investigation and take samples and photos from the site. There has to be a police investigation but the time taken to deal with the matter is far too long. There should be an emergency team that can deal with the matter so that there can be resumption of normal and necessary activity for others.
I have been told that sometimes road accidents and consequent closures have lasted far longer than required for police to deal with it, and that the attitude has been far from as expeditious as it should have been.
Right go for the emotional response. It is a very focussed one at any time, people are dying all the time and we don’t cancel the day and go home. What I am saying is the procedures need to speed up so people can attend to their work and other duties. Some of us have self-imposed duties to try and make the world a better place, and we have to get to work too. If we can get a change of heart in our government there will be less of these sad stats.
That is part of my point Rightly. Roads closed for 6-7 hours. Matters need to be attended to promptly. Also I have been told that in one case a road was left closed for hours after the important stuff was attended to.
In this case the body would need to be gathered up and handled carefully and considerately. Evidence gathered, 1 hour plus could hardly be avoided.
It needs to be kept to a minimum, the transport cleared as soon as reasonably possible. People are needed at work, they need work to get wages, the wages are earned by doing their job, and multiplied by hundreds, it is a great loss to businesses and individuals.
The more it happens, the more likely there will be more committing suicide or becoming stressed beyond return. Emotion and reason have to be balanced. It’s not something to be resigned and accepting about.
……..the topic I will focus on today, is the dangerous drift towards racial separatism in New Zealand, and the development of the now entrenched Treaty grievance industry. We are one country with many peoples, not simply a society of Pakeha and Maori where the minority has a birthright to the upper hand, as the Labour Government seems to believe.
I’m dizzy at reading this heady stuff from Don Brash in 2004. I’m looking forward to what Willie Jackson has to say on Saturday in Orewa Rotary. Ticket in handbag!
Peroxide Blonde
You seem to be colour oriented. Why blonde? And peroxide, is that a healthy treatment? It might be cancer producing as hair dyes and chemicals are very quick to penetrate skin layers. Do you think we should all look the same, and have one standard hair colour? Should it be blonde? Does everyone of importance have to be blonde? So many questions.
What if I like my racial separation, culture and look? Your link goes back to 2004. Many things and thoughts have occurred since Don Brash’s speech then. Are you having trouble adjusting to the new thoughts? Life is full of adjustments and choices and somewhere people have to find something worthwhile to believe in, something that allows for everyone to be respected and honoured.
Do you feel that Don Brash speaks for that, or for you alone and your cohort? How is that going to bring about a happy society where all are respected? Don’t you want that, and if not respect then do you want happy society, and if not happy, do you want a society, and if you don’t want that what sort of crap do you want going on around you?
Thank you Karen .Love the bit about Paula likes the way NZers give people a second chance. Doesn’t seem to apply if the person is in the Greens does it?
A ha well Gareth Morgan is the man to deal with him. I know who I’d rather have, and a few less cats, perhaps with micro chips. I don’t know what sort of chip N Smith needs but please someone find one suitable.
Checkpoint did a great job last night with its story of the chaos in the ICU unit at Dunedin Hospital. Only 6 ICU beds, just increased to 8 and there will be 10 in 13 months time where I heard someone say they need 18. Morning Report continued the story this morning saying “bumping” (where an operation is cancelled at the last minute due to lack of resources) is co common it has become a joke in the wards.
Another news story doing the rounds yesterday (at least on RNZ) was a report that said that poor people in Auckland now pay more than 50% of their income in housing costs.
Chronic public (not private) health under-funding and a housing crisis. Surely Labour’s no-tax-cuts to help solve these issues coupled with the Green’s more humane benefit regime will resonate on 23rd September?
‘Bumbling incompetence in management in public service’. Sounds like a spray of grumbling about everybody but ‘me’ being bumbling. I think it is a carry-on from the mantra of there being fat in the system, and cutting it out and getting a lean running machine will result in exponential gains in productivity etc.
When it comes to the public service try looking at Harrison and the psychopathic way she ran her manor. See below. ‘the caravan of love’. If the people could just get on with their jobs with adequate mentoring by managers they would achieve and be proud of their department’s efforts and effectiveness. All the rest is an excuse for ego-flashing.
Instead they can be prey to the machinations of human resources gurus with team building projects that bear no relation to their work. There are vanity projects meant to get compliance which can be expensive and involve considerable disruption to work and private life, going rock climbing for instance, something where you push yourself beyond your normal boundaries. Getting teamwork and compliance could be accomplished easier by giving them squaddie army drill and forming a marching team with flash uniforms performing at contests and high days an holidays.
Some business entities pay staff to do work day in the community for the community, but that is more private business. When you work in the government you are supposed to be doing that, so don’t have to put yourself out getting involved with the public in some helping way.
The public service has been degraded by the cult of neo liberalism and PR management and particularly the complete lack of trust in the public service workers and any agencies receiving government funds and input, The lack of acceptance of responsibility for proper and correct management of government, obssessive accoounting for every hour and every penny, unreasonably high targets, by targeting itself of chosen outcomes instead of overall performance to a mission and vision statement, and by the desire and determination of the neoliberal government to cut government to matchbox size and then set that alight, after its functions have been passed over to profit-making entities in the private sector.
The Greens have been doing uncharacteristically well – now a self-selected poll isn’t likely to be valid unless the numbers are very large – but Metiria’s stand is the best candidate to explain the result if it is not an artifact of poor sampling design.
Well of course she didn’t work you ass. She had a tiny baby. It’s a 24 hr job you know or perhaps you don’t know being an ignorant red-neck.
I won’t be wasting my time reading a crappy newshub (?) article but so what… if she did actively help out in a campaign. She probably stuffed envelopes somewhere with baby sleeping in her pram alongside her. Jesus, the bigotry and misogyny from these right wingers is mind boggling.
Even Mums with new born babes are allowed to go out and have a bit of social contact with other people.
I’m not making stuff up – you’re failing to extrapolate from the data – NZ now has the most unaffordable housing in the OECD. And far from the best wages.
Even the meanest intelligence can join those two dots to conclude that not owning a home predicates poverty.
You might recall Shamu (the economist, not the anthropocidal orca) used to maintain that renting was fine and this obsession with owning your own home didn’t matter. He has reversed that stance, in one of those rare (vanishingly rare among economists) instances of observation overturning theoretical bias.
So beneficiaries aren’t allowed to have lives? No agency to choose how they spend their time? Not allowed recreation? Pleasure? Fun?
The irony here in the latest round of righties feeling offended is that she chose to spend her time doing politics. Quelle horreur that beneficiaries might have a political voice. And of course they haven’t, which is why we are in the situation we are today as a country, where for the first time in 30 years the political class have stepped up and given the underclasses an actual voice not just talked about them.
“No agency to choose how they spend their time? Not allowed recreation? Pleasure? Fun?”
Of course not.
But you dont get to spend all your time going for government (which she was) then saying that she had no choice but to defraud the government for money.
If things were so dire that she had to defraud $ or her child was going to be hungry – then surely the choice to perhaps work as opposed to campaigning for government would have delivered a better outcome.
But – thats her choice – stand for the serious party – and not work and defraud the government.
She didn’t spend all her time going for govt. She had a baby, was raising it and going to law school.
“If things were so dire that she had to defraud $ or her child was going to be hungry – then surely the choice to perhaps work as opposed to campaigning for government would have delivered a better outcome.”
Yes, as I just said, you think that beneficiaries, esp solo mums, aren’t allowed to have spare time or consequently agency in how they spend that time or have fun or a life. You think that you should get to decide what is best for benes or solo mums.
Don’t worry, we get it, this has been the message for many decades now. It’s not new. Now that Turei is pushing back, it’s being exposed for the piece of shit values that it is.
This total denigration of Metiria by the right is to totally close down any analysis/discussion of the Greens humane social welfare policy. They will push this to the max. I’m surprised the Greens didn’t realise that this would happen, after all it is text book procedure to shoot the messenger.
Yes, and pretty sure they did realise this but decided it was worth the risk. That task now for lefties, progressives, and anyone who gives a shit, is to make sure the narrative gets changed permanently to one of beneficiaries are people too. There is so much in that that underpins all of neoliberalism.
Solo mums can do what they want just don’t expect society to fund it beyond the necessities, if they want more take ownership of your own life and make the right choices You don’t have the right to unilaterally decide you are above the law or determine what you feel what you are entitled to Tough but thats life No one owes you a living
aka “it’s better to starve then bend the rules”. Actually, more like, it’s better for those people over there that I hate to starve than for them to be helped. Works both ways.
The starving narrative is bs weka and you know it, like she had no other choices to avoid starvation, granny and indeed loses dad was going to sit by and let that happen as one example, get real
If you think there are no kids and parents and other benes in NZ that don’t routinely go without adequate food and nutrition, you are either extremely naive or extremely stupid. Much more likely is you are just a bigot who doesn’t give a shit.
In Meteria case it’s BS, don’t extrapolate my point, please also desist with standard left wing attack lines it gets a bit boring and is not an arguement , you forgot, projecting, hating the poor, only the left care , racist homophobic, mysoginist ( just to save you the time)
Self defeating there red. the necessities mean food and roof over your head. Which when national reduced the benefits by 25% meant the necessities were not covered. And she fudged it to get the necessities.
But sure live in you deserving and undeserving poor lala land. Where we have the western worlds largest homeless problem, growing poverty and the highest suicide rates.
No one owes you a living, so does that mean you support an end to inheritance laws?
To Red @9.3.1.1.3.
All I can say about your comment there is that you typify what is wrong with this Country.
Your total lack of empathy is telling.
Try walking a mile in someone else’s shoes for once.
defraud the government – what about apple? Not seeing you jump up and down about that. But a few hundred dollars, and it’s the end of the world. James go sort out your priorities mate, you’re in amoral land.
And sleep, James! Turei slept at times during the night when her baby was new-born, when she could have been seeking work!
Drag her into the courts, I say! Berate her for her idleness; sleeping when she could have been applying herself to lifting herself out of her self-made mire with a good yank on her boot-straps! James is right in thinking there’s no place in the ACT Party for Metiria!
It’s really interesting the media beat up against Meti, she’s fronted to questions by media, isn’t hiding, MSD are still to take action from a situation that happened near on 30 years ago, and on it goes.
Maybe since the law is so fickle on words, if Meti had described someone as a boarder rather than a flatmate, there would be no issue.
Now she is being slammed for doing voluntary work rather than paid work? Slammed for taking an interest in politics while studying because she realised some of our laws are archaic and wanted to take action to do something about it. How dare she! (sarc.)
Meanwhile… WHAT”S ON THE TAPES TODD? How’s that police investigation going? Why was the PM avoiding giving straight answers in question time yesterday? Why won’t you talk to media Todd?
Meanwhile… WHAT”S ON THE TAPES TODD? How’s that police investigation going? Why was the PM avoiding giving straight answers in question time yesterday? Why won’t you talk to media Todd?
QFT
The National Party supporters never question the actions of their own leaders which highlights their hypocrisy.
Mhmmm near on 30 years ago Sam, almost 3 decades, more than 2 decades, so near on 30 years ago, closer to 30 than 20.
Sam, what’s on the tapes? Once it is disclosed what is on the tapes, the public will be shocked. True story, NZ is a small place, especially the south island, confidentiality agreement prevents me from sharing more. JS
@ James So she shouldn’t have been involved in politics because she was poor? You would have her working at McDonalds while paying for childcare for her baby-that is for a pittance.
She was working unpaid for the public good by being involved in politics-that is a job. All power to her.
Whatever. Why the fuck didn’t she repay then go public. Fuck I’m so pissed off with fucking Turei !!!! I would normally vote Labour but the thought of this sanctimonious fucking fraudster in a Labour led governemnt really turns me off.
Audit Gerry’s term with CERA and you’ll find enough fraud to give him a ten stretch – Collin’s illegal kauri exports likewise. So why make a fuss about Metiria now? Hasn’t offended in decades – and small potatoes anyway.
Did she break your meme?
Or is it that the Gnats’ record is indefensible and she’s the only one you’ve figured out how to attack?
Hope your paying living wage to your lawn mowing teenager ie walking the talk and not avoiding paying tax to suppprt welfare system to keep your costs down
Or support the lifestyle she wanted and having a baby, that’s probably more closer to the truth and where she differs from the great majority of law abiding solo mums
I think you will find the majority after ruthinasia fudged the system. They had to. Another example of the economic disconnect from you lot. It’s outstanding how much in lala land you all are.
No issues with housing
No issues with homelessness
No issue with suicide
No issues with a welfare system paying below necessity
Just hate, and up on a pedestal telling the rest of us how to live.
The National candidate will be on the ballot paper, so people do have a choice. In contrast the Greens have actually puled their candidate in the expectation that all Green voters will vote for the Labour candidate.
So less choice on the left side than on the right.
Must be awesome to be the National candidate who gets to play patsy while your leader tells the National voters in your electorate to vote for some other guy. It takes a character like Paul Goldsmith to do it – someone who could write hagiographies of John Banks and Don Brash obviously doesn’t have any requirement for self-respect. I should be surprised National’s been able to find a second candidate so lacking in standards, but for some reason I’m not.
He doesn’t. Morrissey just has a serious problem when it comes to distinguishing between his personal prejudice and rational analysis. It’s not an uncommon problem, but tends to make for obviously and woefully incorrect comments.
Ok, so Labour don’t have any deal with any other party about not standing candidates or telling their voters to vote for other party’s candidates. Nor have they chosen to not stand in one of the marginal electorates. Glad we got that cleared up.
The Greens, who have almost never runs serious candidates in the seats, and afaik have never stood candidates in all seats, have chosen to not stand in certain seats for a range of reasons, including cost. But they have no deal with Labour and they haven’t told their voters to vote for other party’s candidates.
And you think this makes Labour and the Greens the equivalent of National telling its voters to vote for another party because that’s the only way it can govern?
Just to make it easy for your. If Labour really did want to do this, they’d have put Kelvin Davis high on the list and told TTT voters to seat vote Harawira and they’d have done a deal with the Greens to also not stand in TTT.
Morrissey – Doctors, dentists, accountants, business owners, school teachers, lawyers, policeman/woman, social workers, nurses, retirees – these are some of the good people i know in Epsom that you refer to as sheep – who the fuck are you to smear these good people just because they don’t agree with your political view.
The sheep are the ones who allowed themselves to be herded to vote—against all their better instincts—for the likes of such reprehensible, comical characters as Rodney Hide and the disastrous Jamie “Lock Up His Sisters” Whyte. I doubt many social workers, nurses, teachers or indeed anyone who is compos mentis would have obeyed the cup of tea directive.
1. Epsom is a very rich neighbourhood. It’s unlikely voting ACT goes very much against the instincts of many of its wealthier residents.
2. National supporters in Epsom are unlikely to feel dubious about satisfying the request “Please vote for the ACT candidate so that National gets an extra MP.”
Those poor bastards in epsom – ‘its not fair we vote for rubbish, we get rubbish and we are told off by the unwashed, unwaged and unworthy – what about us? Has anyone given a thought for how tough it is with 3 cars and only 2 drivers – why won’t someone fix that problem. It’s racist is what it is’.
The 8th synthetic cannabis death in a month. Fricken hell do something, poor kids are dying.
What’s the bet in a couple of weeks there will be a watered down drug action plan announced that doesn’t do anything but is spoken highly of in the medias.
I’ve been thinking about Diana and her boys. It really struck me how they had suppressed much emotions around the death of their mum and that by talking about that had helped them remember her and consolidate the loss and carry on with life. Imagine now being those boys and your mother had killed herself. There are a lot of kids, parents, siblings and friends dealing with the sudden loss of their loved ones. So much stuff to work through – the guilt, sadness and fear. How many people receiving assistance have killed themselves? No one counts them so we don’t know. How many kids dealing with the suicide of a parent who was receiving assistance? We don’t count them, we don’t know.
Interesting critique of the New Zealand Greens here.
Essentially, in Wellington they are great at getting elected, but really poor at getting anything Green actually done.
You’ve probably heard that Spanish pop record “Despacito” over the last few weeks, by a couple of Puerto Ricans called Daddy Yankee and Luis Fonsi. It’s the most popular piece of Latin nonsense since the gorgeous “Ketchup” song of fifteen years ago—indeed it’s now the most played song ever, in any language.
Among those who have heard it are supporters of the democratic government in Venezuela. One of them had the inspired idea of doing away with the inane original lyrics and turning it into an anthem of hope and support for democratic values…
Great idea, right? Improving a piece of dreck, recycling a piece of meretricious rubbish like “Despacito” is part of a timeless and honored tradition.
Sadly, however, the perpetrators of the original were not happy. Both Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee have unleashed blimpish and confused outbursts against the democratic Venezuelan government: “Your dictatorial regime is a joke,” claimed Fonsi—or was it Daddy Yankee?—and the other one (Fonsi? Daddy Yankee?) claimed that “the Venezuelan people are crying out for their freedom.”
So what motivated these two Puerto Rican pop-putzes to indulge in the most absurd display of bewilderment since Jared Leto and Kevin Spacey declaimed at an awards ceremony? Well, just have a look at Daddy Yankee’s murky past: he’s a self-declared “Christian”, and a Republican, and voted for John McCain in 2008. You can be sure he’s a Rump supporter as well. He hates democracy…..
Luis Fonsi doesn’t seem to have any ideas about anything. I’m pretty sure all the energy of this anti-democracy rant comes from Daddy Yankee, and that Fonsi just follows his lead.
There are many thoughtful and well informed Puerto Rican commentators, such as Juan González, Ululy Martinez and Oscar Lopez Rivera. However, as is so often the case, the Puerto Ricans getting nearly all the publicity at the moment are—thanks to the political choices of the media—two unfeasibly ignorant, lazy, and stupid ones.
That’s a really important point. It means all that ‘debt’ upon a government’s books can be written off instantly while making no difference to the economy.
And to be picky, the absurd heading Mike Hosking: Metiria Turei should know – knowledge of a crime is a crime itself
means that a hell of a lot of criminal lawyers must be committing crime. By this measure Bill English is probably a criminal too.
Oh my – wanting to grow hemp – bad, medical cannabis – bad, and a side issue – will lose election. Purposing somthing that will not help one bit – election winner.
The sad part is people will swallow that crap whole.
Winston just asked in QT, if National were preparing to sell Transpower. WOW!
Denied of course by Joyce. Letter tabled.
Q6. Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS to the Minister of Finance: Does he stand by all his statements; if so, how?
Little was terrible this morning on breakfast with Jack Tame, the man has trouble putting coherent sentences together or thinking on his feet Surely the simple answer to Tame line of question to catch angry out in regard to what will dropping 30000 in immigration have on our GDp would have been, “nothing as per capita nothing will change” , little was right it was a stupid question but he got owned by Tame with a even more stupid lack of an answer and could not shut it down, beyond stuttering every labour policy and mother pie statement as an answer, must do better, epic fail
dad4 – you’ve stumbled into a decent blog-space here, accidentally, I’m sure and you’ll be feeling insecure and not a little bit alien!
Quick! Get back to Kiwiblog before you catch something! This place is awash with rational thinking and consideration: scoot!
RedLogix – my heart too, skipped a beat at the signature on the 7:53pm comment, and while I stand in awe at the elegant simplicity of dad’s comment, unencumbered as it is by any weight, depth or value, I clearly remember the path dad’s comments, when in train, take; the inevitable downward, pride-defying spiral that always ended with a graceless splat-landing and banishment by the moderators to place where dull mischief foments and flippery-feet flap.
Actually, it was Tuesday morning Red Tuesday the 25th. I saw that and I have got to agree, that little obnoxious prat, another Hoskins in the making definitely had a “gotcha” moment with Little. I don’t think little has problems in answering I think his main problem is he hasn’t a strong commanding voice. However wasn’t the little arseole smug about it, it was written all over his dial that said, ” aren’t I a clever little shit.”
Tried a similar exercise with Metiria Turei this morning didn’t he, and boy didn’t he come a cropper, she shut the little prat well and truly up and was he fucking pissed off about it his face was like thunder.
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 ...
Completed reads for April: The Difference Engine, by William Gibson and Bruce Sterling Carnival of Saints, by George Herman The Snow Spider, by Jenny Nimmo Emlyn’s Moon, by Jenny Nimmo The Chestnut Soldier, by Jenny Nimmo Death Comes As the End, by Agatha Christie Lord of the Flies, by ...
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 ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Polling shows that Wellington Mayor Tory Whanau has the lowest approval rating of any mayor in the country. Siting at -12 per cent, the proportion of constituents who disapprove of her performance outweighs those who give her the thumbs up. This negative rating is ...
Luxon will no doubt put a brave face on it, but there is no escaping the pressure this latest poll will put on him and the government. 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 ...
This is a re-post from The Climate Brink by Andrew Dessler In the wake of any unusual weather event, someone inevitably asks, “Did climate change cause this?” In the most literal sense, that answer is almost always no. Climate change is never the sole cause of hurricanes, heat waves, droughts, or ...
Something odd happened yesterday, and I’d love to know if there’s more to it. If there was something which preempted what happened, or if it was simply a throwaway line in response to a journalist.Yesterday David Seymour was asked at a press conference what the process would be if the ...
Hi,From time to time, I want to bring Webworm into the real world. We did it last year with the Jurassic Park event in New Zealand — which was a lot of fun!And so on Saturday May 11th, in Los Angeles, I am hosting a lil’ Webworm pop-up! I’ve been ...
Education Minister Erica Standford yesterday unveiled a fundamental reform of the way our school pupils are taught. She would not exactly say so, but she is all but dismantling the so-called “inquiry” “feel good” method of teaching, which has ruled in our classrooms since a major review of the New ...
Exactly where are we seriously going with this government and its policies? That is, apart from following what may as well be a Truss-Lite approach on the purported economic “plan“, and Victorian-era regression when it comes to social policy.Oh it’ll work this time of course, we’re basically assured, “the ...
Hey Uncle Dave, When the Poms joined the EEC, I wasn't one of those defeatists who said, Well, that’s it for the dairy job. And I was right, eh? The Chinese can’t get enough of our milk powder and eventually, the Poms came to their senses and backed up the ute ...
Polling shows that Wellington Mayor Tory Whanau has the lowest approval rating of any mayor in the country. Siting at -12 per cent, the proportion of constituents who disapprove of her performance outweighs those who give her the thumbs up. This negative rating is higher than for any other mayor ...
Buzz from the Beehive Pharmac has been given a financial transfusion and a new chair to oversee its spending in the pharmaceutical business. Associate Health Minister David Seymour described the funding for Pharmac as “its largest ever budget of $6.294 billion over four years, fixing a $1.774 billion fiscal cliff”. ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Many criticisms are being made of the Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill, including by this writer. But as with everything in politics, every story has two sides, and both deserve attention. It’s important to understand what the Government is trying to achieve and its ...
TL;DR: Here’s my top 10 ‘pick ‘n’ mix of links to news, analysis and opinion articles as of 10:10am on Monday, April 29:Scoop: The children's ward at Rotorua Hospital will be missing a third of its beds as winter hits because Te Whatu Ora halted an upgrade partway through to ...
span class=”dropcap”>As hideous as David Seymour can be, it is worth keeping in mind occasionally that there are even worse political figures (and regimes) out there. Iran for instance, is about to execute the country’s leading hip hop musician Toomaj Salehi, for writing and performing raps that “corrupt” the nation’s ...
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 ...
The Government is trying to bring in a law that will allow Ministers to cut corners and kill off native species, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said. ...
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 ...
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It’s so bad inside that pensioners can’t bring in shopping trolleys.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/95092628/pensioner-told-by-work-and-income-guard-you-cant-leave-your-hat-on
national have taken every step to intimidate the unfortunate. Look carefully and there’s a juicy security contract behind those WINZ guards of course.
Thd ferocity of the attack by the corporate media pit bulls like Soper, Armstrong and Hosking on Metiria would suggest her comments were a real threat to the owners of this country.
And here’s the latest attack from the most vile of them all:
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11895130
Well, aside from Hooton.
It would be better if they funded all beneficiaries to have access to internet/scanners and permit remote access for everyone. That way they could do without the guards/humiliation/lack of toilets/reception etc.
It would be better if beneficiaries never had to endure the human rights abusers at WINZ ever again. I don’t care whether they’re just following National Party orders or not.
Human rights abusers belong in court, not in offices.
So true OAB.
Yes indeed
Get rid of WINZ completely, have a UBI and have an Office of NZ Citizen Support which will be about citizens getting the help they need, and choosing what hours they are going to put in to help with NZ Social Infrastructure. All will be encouraged to do something they can manage, even an hour a week, and the able bodied and minded will be expected to do from 3-7 hours a week.
This would apply to all ages, and even to the bed-ridden or non-mobile who could do something small from home or hospice. If people want to live-long, then they can be integrated life-long in their society and not feel useless. This will be universal for anyone wishing to live in NZ full or part-time, and participate in public health ad other amenities whether they are receiving a pension or subsidy or not. Then the country has to recognise that all people drawing money from the government are contributing to society.
Parents will be learning at workshops etc. on human relationships, psychology, physical and mental oriented skills, child psychology through different ages, self-care and relief when needed, and efficient systems for running a house, also workshops on gardening, small woodwork and handyman jobs, and home focussed, cooking, cleaning, sewing and knitting. It will be called learned helpfulness, and be full of positive vibes. Parents without transport will be able to catch buses, jeepney-type or contracted taxis that come to the door, and make it easy to attend.
That would be a whole new start and the country would embrace its young people and parents. Most of our woe would go!
It used to be called “night classes”.
The money is not going to the guards though. They are at the bottom of the pile of any juicy contract. Unfortunately, some seek someone even less powerful to intimidate. They are just copying the bullying behaviour of the bosses.
I think that a lot of the guards came in after the WINZ murders by Tully.
(For which a poster on here called him a hero) (https://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-02092014/#comment-878213)
WINZ do need to protect their staff – so it is not unreasonable that they have guards.
When I was young (18ish) I worked at what was then Social Welfare – (IT Side) – but was made to spend time at the counter to understand what it was like for customers.
I always remember the abuse a lot of staff received – sometimes from drunk or stoned people. When all the time trying to do the best they could to help.
I doubt that it has gotten any better.
Well James it would be fair enough to say that you aren’t well known on this site for your empathy towards the poor.
Perhaps they needed the courage that being drunk or stoned gave them to actually deal with what they are going through and with (pre-)WINZ.
No wonder people get frustrated when the people they are dealing with are actually IT workers rather than social welfare workers.
Yep nightmare scenario having some it dick trying to bullshit about what they aren’t entitled to.
I wasnt actually doing case work.
Have you watched I Daniel Blake?
They wouldn’t need to if they treated people with respect and actually helped them rather than abused them.
Any evidence that the people who were shot had treated Tolly badly at al?
IIRC, there have been two times over the last twenty odd years where WINZ staff have been killed. Both times was WINZ was refusing to help when the people actually needed help.
He was homeless – they screwed him around instead of helping him.
Well, the guards are effective against little old ladies. Wouldn’t have done shit against Tully, though.
But I’m not actually against guards on premises.
I’m against guards on the door demanding ID, receptionists who refuse to make an appointment when you’re in the goddamn branch and insist you call the call centre in order to make an appintment to speak to the person 4 metres away from both of you, long application forms, and a myriad of other pointless barriers placed between people in need and the assistance that can help them.
I didn’t know it was as bad as that. Government is doing its best it seems to keep the smelly humans away from the department offices that are supposed to help.
Eventually they will do everything through machines by machines and they can get on with whatever they think they should do with their time at the expense of our country if you can call it that by that time. More just a giant ‘waiting station’ or ‘people processor’.
Meanwhile, on Newsroom, by Bernard Hickey:
This is what Stuff should have top of the page on their site. Instead they discuss the mental health of David Bains Mum (as offensive as it is out of date and irrelevant), and the fact Turei didn’t have a job during university but found time for political campaigns. God. This fucking country and it’s media.
Yep or why they cant say how many people recieving assistance have committed suicide.
Those subjects in the media indicate the shallow intellect of this country. We seem incapable of reflection, and self-correction. The national intellect instead revolves around judgment of others who haven’t got money, those who are struggling and who complain (persons of no standing), getting things for ourselves and then getting more, and the latest style in the various ways of displaying our persona to others.
Taking an interest in politics indicates dissatisfaction with the status quo which has been established by our betters. How dare Turei take this tone! Who does she think she is? And she hasn’t complied with all the requirements and filled out forms correctly. Disgraceful. And thinks it important to gain skills for a self-supporting life and to guide her child to the same ways for being responsible, pleasant, practical and socialised people.
We are like deviant bower birds who have adopted the habits of the shining cuckoo which leave their eggs and rearing of young to greywarblers’ nests. In winter they fly away to warmer climes like New Guinea so they are just irresponsible. Really they are like those immigrants who are making use of us and ripping us off as they go.
With that summary in mind it is understandable why we are in our present hole,
short of nests.
Oh the inhumanity
I agree the hat thing is a bit OTT, but have no problem with the trolley given the Ashburton tragedy.
Probably could do with a proper area to leave them though
Remember Aramoana? Probably should have stopped all single white men from living in small towns.
+1
It’s called common sense.
If you want to over hype the issue, then we both can.
I take it you have no problem with groups of people running into banks wearing tinted crash helmets waving around sticks or making kindergartens open spaces where the public are free to wonder in and out playing with kids?
I definitely think WINZ shouldn’t let groups of people running into their offices wearing tinted crash helmets waving around sticks. But since you brought it up, banks should now not let people wear hats in banks nor let elderly people bring in their wheelie shopping bags. Good idea there Chris, put it out there and see how that goes down. Oh, and all people who want to go into a bank have to show ID and prove they have a good reason for going in there. And if they get angry about being expected to do all those things, then they’re be put in a register that is shared with all the other banks.
What you call ‘common sense’ is more the stupidity, bigotry and arrogance of RWNJs.I
Channel surfing last night and there was hooton on the banter soapbox doing what he does best.
Wonder if lusk and eade appear as slater and williams have, it’s quite a DP roll call.
It’s amazing the access Hooton gets. It really helps if you’re repeating the establishment line.
He gets all that airtime, yet a story about grandparents being humiliated by WINZ is shutdown.
Was Metiria’s questioning of the failing welfare state challenged by Hooton?
And Hooton was able to spout his toxic anti Labour anti Andrew bullshit like he does on 9 to noon. He gets it in then talks mildly about other matters on hand.
I think Banter is quite interesting in a basic raw way. Unlike the other smooth talk shows.
He’s now called “Michael Hooten” according to the listing. A new fun, loungy chat show bringing on a wringer who wants to demolish the Labour Party. I wonder what that does for the ratings..
https://www.tvnz.co.nz/shows/banter
HUH
Hosking says news reading is an artistic pursuit.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=11895125
So is he saying he makes up the news?
Thanks dv. Just listening to Hosking praise himself is spew inducing. How anyone can stand his superciliousness beggars belief.
There is no law that requires you to listen to him.
Are you really that much of a masochist that you have to torture yourself in this way?
Turn off the radio. Turn off the TV.
Get outside and sniff the flowers.
That’s exactly what I do alwyn. I was responding to dv’s link. We do not watch/listen to any of the commercial channels, and have not for several years because of their total toadying to the Natz ( which is precisely what they are paid to do).
Yep it it’s clause 7b of his employment contract, how did he survive under 9 years of labour with this clause I dont know, he’s real smart or labour are real dunces
Hosking still justifying his pay rate whilst refusing to disclose it.
Gosh he is getting old now, wonder what he would do for a job if removed from media? Maybe that’s his issue, that he doesn’t know how to do anything else but talk shite and support the local casino.
There must be a fellow staffers who have a good idea what Hosking is earning so why don’t they leak it? I’m picking his annual income is well over $1million per annum – maybe as high as $2million – and that’s without the additional perks. And we’re paying the bulk of that salary.
Setting aside the law which is frequently an ass, there’s no doubting who is the real criminal and it ain’t Metiria Turei. Hosking is fleecing tax-payers of millions of dollars for third rate performances on TV and radio and imo that is a far more serious crime than Metiria’s 2000 dollars per annum all those years ago.
“setting aside the law”. That’s the problem Anne. Do we all just go about our lives, setting aside the laws we don’t agree with, or like or that inconvenience us?
Is that what you’d propose?
Sam C, that is what the vast majority of the well heeled do with rorting the system. They set aside the law by using lawyers and accountants etc.
Show me the tradie who doesn’t do jobs under the table and those who seek those savings etc etc . We are all guilty of it to some degree or other.
P*** off you sanctimonious prick
That’s an ad hominem attack.
That’s what National seems to do all the time.
Probably does not need the money, a bit like Paul Henery who we all miss.
Someone dead at a railway station in Auckland which means a 3 hour wait for usual travellers as services are shut down. This is an unacceptably long time when it prevents the running of mass transport. I am assuming that it is largely to conduct a police investigation and take samples and photos from the site. There has to be a police investigation but the time taken to deal with the matter is far too long. There should be an emergency team that can deal with the matter so that there can be resumption of normal and necessary activity for others.
I have been told that sometimes road accidents and consequent closures have lasted far longer than required for police to deal with it, and that the attitude has been far from as expeditious as it should have been.
So a body on the line is a hold up,a body on the line is usually a suicide, real hindrance for someone.
Right go for the emotional response. It is a very focussed one at any time, people are dying all the time and we don’t cancel the day and go home. What I am saying is the procedures need to speed up so people can attend to their work and other duties. Some of us have self-imposed duties to try and make the world a better place, and we have to get to work too. If we can get a change of heart in our government there will be less of these sad stats.
First World Problem/Moan I suggest.
Perhaps think about the deceased’s family who will want answers to questions about why he/she died.
Takes time to gather that evidence – real life isn’t CSI – don’t solve cases in 5 minutes; between ad breaks.
And if the deceased is no longer complete it takes time to locate and treat the remains with dignity.
3 hours is pretty good i would have thought – often roads are closed for 6-7 hours.
That is part of my point Rightly. Roads closed for 6-7 hours. Matters need to be attended to promptly. Also I have been told that in one case a road was left closed for hours after the important stuff was attended to.
In this case the body would need to be gathered up and handled carefully and considerately. Evidence gathered, 1 hour plus could hardly be avoided.
It needs to be kept to a minimum, the transport cleared as soon as reasonably possible. People are needed at work, they need work to get wages, the wages are earned by doing their job, and multiplied by hundreds, it is a great loss to businesses and individuals.
The more it happens, the more likely there will be more committing suicide or becoming stressed beyond return. Emotion and reason have to be balanced. It’s not something to be resigned and accepting about.
……..the topic I will focus on today, is the dangerous drift towards racial separatism in New Zealand, and the development of the now entrenched Treaty grievance industry. We are one country with many peoples, not simply a society of Pakeha and Maori where the minority has a birthright to the upper hand, as the Labour Government seems to believe.
I’m dizzy at reading this heady stuff from Don Brash in 2004. I’m looking forward to what Willie Jackson has to say on Saturday in Orewa Rotary. Ticket in handbag!
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA0401/S00220.htm
Peroxide Blonde
You seem to be colour oriented. Why blonde? And peroxide, is that a healthy treatment? It might be cancer producing as hair dyes and chemicals are very quick to penetrate skin layers. Do you think we should all look the same, and have one standard hair colour? Should it be blonde? Does everyone of importance have to be blonde? So many questions.
What if I like my racial separation, culture and look? Your link goes back to 2004. Many things and thoughts have occurred since Don Brash’s speech then. Are you having trouble adjusting to the new thoughts? Life is full of adjustments and choices and somewhere people have to find something worthwhile to believe in, something that allows for everyone to be respected and honoured.
Do you feel that Don Brash speaks for that, or for you alone and your cohort? How is that going to bring about a happy society where all are respected? Don’t you want that, and if not respect then do you want happy society, and if not happy, do you want a society, and if you don’t want that what sort of crap do you want going on around you?
This article by Graham Adam about Paula Bennett and her unsuitability for her role as Deputy PM is very good:
http://www.noted.co.nz/currently/politics/why-paula-bennett-is-trouble-for-the-national-party/
Thank you Karen .Love the bit about Paula likes the way NZers give people a second chance. Doesn’t seem to apply if the person is in the Greens does it?
And also doesn’t apply if the people are:
Homeless
Poor
Solo mothers
Solo fathers
Disabled
In fact, it only seems to apply to rich people and National ministers.
It’s not just second chances either – Nick Smith’s been given more lives than a herd of cats.
A ha well Gareth Morgan is the man to deal with him. I know who I’d rather have, and a few less cats, perhaps with micro chips. I don’t know what sort of chip N Smith needs but please someone find one suitable.
Checkpoint did a great job last night with its story of the chaos in the ICU unit at Dunedin Hospital. Only 6 ICU beds, just increased to 8 and there will be 10 in 13 months time where I heard someone say they need 18. Morning Report continued the story this morning saying “bumping” (where an operation is cancelled at the last minute due to lack of resources) is co common it has become a joke in the wards.
Another news story doing the rounds yesterday (at least on RNZ) was a report that said that poor people in Auckland now pay more than 50% of their income in housing costs.
Chronic public (not private) health under-funding and a housing crisis. Surely Labour’s no-tax-cuts to help solve these issues coupled with the Green’s more humane benefit regime will resonate on 23rd September?
Coupled with a bunch of POME wankers who gutter the NHS, are now siting in admin and top managerial roles in our hospital system.
This is privatization by making the public system fall over.
They should be called on this rubbish, ever day.
From DTB and I take issue with the below about public servants. https://thestandard.org.nz/how-much-is-mike-hosking-paid-by-tvnz/#comment-1357478
‘Bumbling incompetence in management in public service’. Sounds like a spray of grumbling about everybody but ‘me’ being bumbling. I think it is a carry-on from the mantra of there being fat in the system, and cutting it out and getting a lean running machine will result in exponential gains in productivity etc.
When it comes to the public service try looking at Harrison and the psychopathic way she ran her manor. See below. ‘the caravan of love’. If the people could just get on with their jobs with adequate mentoring by managers they would achieve and be proud of their department’s efforts and effectiveness. All the rest is an excuse for ego-flashing.
Instead they can be prey to the machinations of human resources gurus with team building projects that bear no relation to their work. There are vanity projects meant to get compliance which can be expensive and involve considerable disruption to work and private life, going rock climbing for instance, something where you push yourself beyond your normal boundaries. Getting teamwork and compliance could be accomplished easier by giving them squaddie army drill and forming a marching team with flash uniforms performing at contests and high days an holidays.
Some business entities pay staff to do work day in the community for the community, but that is more private business. When you work in the government you are supposed to be doing that, so don’t have to put yourself out getting involved with the public in some helping way.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/news/94917859/Fraudster-Joanne-Harrison-and-the-Ministry-of-Transports-caravan-of-love
and
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/crime/92621016/clandestine-rendezvous-plotting-revealed-in-joanne-harrison-transport-ministry-fraud-case
and
https://www.reddit.com/r/newzealand/comments/6k2tpj/fyi_ministry_of_transport_has_put_all_the_joanne/
and
More in google under keywords – Joanne Harrison and team building in Transport
The public service has been degraded by the cult of neo liberalism and PR management and particularly the complete lack of trust in the public service workers and any agencies receiving government funds and input, The lack of acceptance of responsibility for proper and correct management of government, obssessive accoounting for every hour and every penny, unreasonably high targets, by targeting itself of chosen outcomes instead of overall performance to a mission and vision statement, and by the desire and determination of the neoliberal government to cut government to matchbox size and then set that alight, after its functions have been passed over to profit-making entities in the private sector.
That wasn’t me but DoublePlusGood.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/95110555/metiria-turei-campaigned-for-political-parties-but-didnt-work-while-committing-benefit-fraud
The story continues…. I dont think that this exactly strengthens her argument.
Unless the Greens increase their vote by 2% on polling day, the result will be pinned on Turei.
Not unfair I think.
And if that Green vote is strong, James’ll be singing Metiria’s praises from the roof-tops.
It may happen – there’s this anomalous poll that’s been running recently that hasn’t resulted in the traditional Gower gotcha story:
http://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2017/07/new-zealand-election-2017-the-big-issues-have-your-say.html
The Greens have been doing uncharacteristically well – now a self-selected poll isn’t likely to be valid unless the numbers are very large – but Metiria’s stand is the best candidate to explain the result if it is not an artifact of poor sampling design.
Well of course she didn’t work you ass. She had a tiny baby. It’s a 24 hr job you know or perhaps you don’t know being an ignorant red-neck.
I won’t be wasting my time reading a crappy newshub (?) article but so what… if she did actively help out in a campaign. She probably stuffed envelopes somewhere with baby sleeping in her pram alongside her. Jesus, the bigotry and misogyny from these right wingers is mind boggling.
Even Mums with new born babes are allowed to go out and have a bit of social contact with other people.
Yep James and ilk I’ll have no fucken idea. Their paltry brains cannot compute probably because they are immature, sad, right wing wankers.
I have more idea than somebody who wont even read the link then makes false assumptions.
Yeah you probably aren’t sad are you – what a dim creep you are James.
No, really, you don’t.
Perhaps if you read it – she was actually standing for seats – not just stuffing envelopes.
Thats not just helping out.
Of course they are – and a good thing when they do.
Whats not OK is standing for parliament and committing fraud at the same time.
See – its the fraud bit that is the bad bit – you understand that right?
Political participation is a human right James.
You don’t lose it just because a useless far-right government dooms half the country to poverty.
oh, so HALF the country lives in poverty now, does it? Citation needed.
Home ownership is headed south of 50%.
This waster government has done nothing to deal with the trend – ergo half the country is in poverty or headed that way.
Try to keep up.
So not owning a home is now a sign of poverty, is it?
First I’ve heard of that being used as a measure. I’m trying to keep up, but it is difficult when you just keep making stuff up.
I’m not making stuff up – you’re failing to extrapolate from the data – NZ now has the most unaffordable housing in the OECD. And far from the best wages.
Even the meanest intelligence can join those two dots to conclude that not owning a home predicates poverty.
You might recall Shamu (the economist, not the anthropocidal orca) used to maintain that renting was fine and this obsession with owning your own home didn’t matter. He has reversed that stance, in one of those rare (vanishingly rare among economists) instances of observation overturning theoretical bias.
Try to keep up.
“Even the meanest intelligence can join those two dots to conclude that not owning a home predicates poverty.”
I disagree with your conclusion that not owning a home predicates poverty, which must mean I have no intelligence, according to you.
Cheer up – There may be a few abyssal flatworms that can still look up to you.
BWAHAHAHA
McGillicuddy Serious and ALCP campaigns are NOT the same as running for labgrnnat, by any stretch of the imagination.
Except, apparently, in a feverish tory’s warped little brain. Fuck, were you even being serious? Did you omit a sarc tag or smiley face, maybe?
So beneficiaries aren’t allowed to have lives? No agency to choose how they spend their time? Not allowed recreation? Pleasure? Fun?
The irony here in the latest round of righties feeling offended is that she chose to spend her time doing politics. Quelle horreur that beneficiaries might have a political voice. And of course they haven’t, which is why we are in the situation we are today as a country, where for the first time in 30 years the political class have stepped up and given the underclasses an actual voice not just talked about them.
“No agency to choose how they spend their time? Not allowed recreation? Pleasure? Fun?”
Of course not.
But you dont get to spend all your time going for government (which she was) then saying that she had no choice but to defraud the government for money.
If things were so dire that she had to defraud $ or her child was going to be hungry – then surely the choice to perhaps work as opposed to campaigning for government would have delivered a better outcome.
But – thats her choice – stand for the serious party – and not work and defraud the government.
She didn’t spend all her time going for govt. She had a baby, was raising it and going to law school.
“If things were so dire that she had to defraud $ or her child was going to be hungry – then surely the choice to perhaps work as opposed to campaigning for government would have delivered a better outcome.”
Yes, as I just said, you think that beneficiaries, esp solo mums, aren’t allowed to have spare time or consequently agency in how they spend that time or have fun or a life. You think that you should get to decide what is best for benes or solo mums.
Don’t worry, we get it, this has been the message for many decades now. It’s not new. Now that Turei is pushing back, it’s being exposed for the piece of shit values that it is.
This total denigration of Metiria by the right is to totally close down any analysis/discussion of the Greens humane social welfare policy. They will push this to the max. I’m surprised the Greens didn’t realise that this would happen, after all it is text book procedure to shoot the messenger.
Yes, and pretty sure they did realise this but decided it was worth the risk. That task now for lefties, progressives, and anyone who gives a shit, is to make sure the narrative gets changed permanently to one of beneficiaries are people too. There is so much in that that underpins all of neoliberalism.
+111
Solo mums can do what they want just don’t expect society to fund it beyond the necessities, if they want more take ownership of your own life and make the right choices You don’t have the right to unilaterally decide you are above the law or determine what you feel what you are entitled to Tough but thats life No one owes you a living
aka “it’s better to starve then bend the rules”. Actually, more like, it’s better for those people over there that I hate to starve than for them to be helped. Works both ways.
The starving narrative is bs weka and you know it, like she had no other choices to avoid starvation, granny and indeed loses dad was going to sit by and let that happen as one example, get real
If you think there are no kids and parents and other benes in NZ that don’t routinely go without adequate food and nutrition, you are either extremely naive or extremely stupid. Much more likely is you are just a bigot who doesn’t give a shit.
In Meteria case it’s BS, don’t extrapolate my point, please also desist with standard left wing attack lines it gets a bit boring and is not an arguement , you forgot, projecting, hating the poor, only the left care , racist homophobic, mysoginist ( just to save you the time)
At 9.3.1.1.3 you talked about solo mums. That’s what I am responding to.
If all you can do is post hatred against the poor, then yes I will keep pointing it out.
Boohoo poor red, can’t handle being called out on the narrow bigot he is. Boohoo, cry me a river.
Love how you know her situation 20 years ago better than she did and does, Red.
Self defeating there red. the necessities mean food and roof over your head. Which when national reduced the benefits by 25% meant the necessities were not covered. And she fudged it to get the necessities.
But sure live in you deserving and undeserving poor lala land. Where we have the western worlds largest homeless problem, growing poverty and the highest suicide rates.
No one owes you a living, so does that mean you support an end to inheritance laws?
To Red @9.3.1.1.3.
All I can say about your comment there is that you typify what is wrong with this Country.
Your total lack of empathy is telling.
Try walking a mile in someone else’s shoes for once.
defraud the government – what about apple? Not seeing you jump up and down about that. But a few hundred dollars, and it’s the end of the world. James go sort out your priorities mate, you’re in amoral land.
And sleep, James! Turei slept at times during the night when her baby was new-born, when she could have been seeking work!
Drag her into the courts, I say! Berate her for her idleness; sleeping when she could have been applying herself to lifting herself out of her self-made mire with a good yank on her boot-straps! James is right in thinking there’s no place in the ACT Party for Metiria!
It’s really interesting the media beat up against Meti, she’s fronted to questions by media, isn’t hiding, MSD are still to take action from a situation that happened near on 30 years ago, and on it goes.
Maybe since the law is so fickle on words, if Meti had described someone as a boarder rather than a flatmate, there would be no issue.
Now she is being slammed for doing voluntary work rather than paid work? Slammed for taking an interest in politics while studying because she realised some of our laws are archaic and wanted to take action to do something about it. How dare she! (sarc.)
Meanwhile… WHAT”S ON THE TAPES TODD? How’s that police investigation going? Why was the PM avoiding giving straight answers in question time yesterday? Why won’t you talk to media Todd?
QFT
The National Party supporters never question the actions of their own leaders which highlights their hypocrisy.
Glenys and Bill were talking about Todd. Todd took his recording to Bill to demand an explanation. Imo.
“Near on 30 years ago” would make it 1987. There you go, making shit up again.
You do understand that that particular language indicates that it’s not precisely accurate don’t… you?
Oh, wait…
RWNJ, is too stupid to understand basic language syntax.
Mhmmm near on 30 years ago Sam, almost 3 decades, more than 2 decades, so near on 30 years ago, closer to 30 than 20.
Sam, what’s on the tapes? Once it is disclosed what is on the tapes, the public will be shocked. True story, NZ is a small place, especially the south island, confidentiality agreement prevents me from sharing more. JS
@ James So she shouldn’t have been involved in politics because she was poor? You would have her working at McDonalds while paying for childcare for her baby-that is for a pittance.
She was working unpaid for the public good by being involved in politics-that is a job. All power to her.
So all those people who carry on about Turei faithfully declare all their taxable income to IRD then?
Im guessing some wont – but I agree that they should be prosecuted as well.
Dosnt make her actions right.
This is the level of ridiculous. James wants to prosecute the teenager who mows my lawns for doing cashies.
I would prefer to start with people that have committed multiple years of fraud and work our way down.
Sure, but you still want to go after the lawn-mowing teenager too. Because the rules are more important than the people.
Why not do it by scale James – the size of benefit ‘frauds’ is eclipsed by frauds like SCF and Apple’s tax evasion. Time is neither here nor there.
Whatever. Why the fuck didn’t she repay then go public. Fuck I’m so pissed off with fucking Turei !!!! I would normally vote Labour but the thought of this sanctimonious fucking fraudster in a Labour led governemnt really turns me off.
Gosh – big frothing frenzy.
Audit Gerry’s term with CERA and you’ll find enough fraud to give him a ten stretch – Collin’s illegal kauri exports likewise. So why make a fuss about Metiria now? Hasn’t offended in decades – and small potatoes anyway.
Did she break your meme?
Or is it that the Gnats’ record is indefensible and she’s the only one you’ve figured out how to attack?
And the solo Mums whose friends try to help out by paying them cash to do their housework.
again – I would prefer to start with people that have committed multiple years of fraud and work our way down.
Weak little James – let’s start with YOU.
James is perfect.
Yes – unless the facts and the law are involved – oh and courage, integrity and honesty – don’t want to mention those pesky concepts.
Value too, and moral relativity.
The IRS did that in the US for a while – turns out there’s a strong correlation between RW nutjobbery and tax evasion.
I’m with you on this one james. We’ll start with the National Party.
Hope your paying living wage to your lawn mowing teenager ie walking the talk and not avoiding paying tax to suppprt welfare system to keep your costs down
I do pay them a living wage.
No. Because I pay for their food and housing as well.
Prosecute everyone; only then can you be sure you’ve punished to ne’er-do-wells and skivers! ACT now!
Yes all of those tips, cash jobs, gifts etc.
Turei was trying to bring her income up to to a living wage so that she could support her baby-some crime that.
Or support the lifestyle she wanted and having a baby, that’s probably more closer to the truth and where she differs from the great majority of law abiding solo mums
I think you will find the majority after ruthinasia fudged the system. They had to. Another example of the economic disconnect from you lot. It’s outstanding how much in lala land you all are.
No issues with housing
No issues with homelessness
No issue with suicide
No issues with a welfare system paying below necessity
Just hate, and up on a pedestal telling the rest of us how to live.
What a great guy you are red, a great guy.
have u ever taken cash or a benefit that should have been declared and not declared it?
Red “probablicises”. A hush falls over the crowd. “Red’s problicising!” a small child whispers, awed.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11895215
Well – that came as a shock – or not.
Guess its smarter than a silly cup of tea.
Entirely as predicted. The Greens don’t stand in Ōhariū, National tell their voters to vote for Dunne.
Yep – at least National allow their voters to make a choice. Greens and Labour pull their candidate.
There is NO choice idiot – that is what billshitter is saying – vote THIS way if you want …
Marty mars,
At least try and be consistent.
The National candidate will be on the ballot paper, so people do have a choice. In contrast the Greens have actually puled their candidate in the expectation that all Green voters will vote for the Labour candidate.
So less choice on the left side than on the right.
Billshit.
The edict from Bill says it all – learn to read or listen please.
Must be awesome to be the National candidate who gets to play patsy while your leader tells the National voters in your electorate to vote for some other guy. It takes a character like Paul Goldsmith to do it – someone who could write hagiographies of John Banks and Don Brash obviously doesn’t have any requirement for self-respect. I should be surprised National’s been able to find a second candidate so lacking in standards, but for some reason I’m not.
What’s the name of the Green candidate that was pulled, and which electorate?
It would be very odd if Labour also pulled their candidate from Ōhāriu.
A message to the sheep of Ohariu and Epsom
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/95119031/english-calls-for-tactical-voting-in-epsom-ohariu-to-elect-support-party-leaders
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_W19ZkFqGT-M/SWvN9B6coBI/AAAAAAAAAp0/5vZxk8xGxUk/w1200-h630-p-k-no-nu/Ram+harness+(SM).jpg
Don’t get the issue
It’s no different from the Labour working with the Greens or Maori working with Mana.
Neither the Greens nor Mana advocate incest.
http://www.spcs.org.nz/act-leader-jamie-whyte-stands-by-incest-comments-nz-herald/
I would never vote for ACT, but he doesn’t advocate incest.
Unless you want to post an article where he actually does
Unless you want to post an article where he actually does
I just did. in 12.1.1. Maybe you’d like to click on it?
It doesn’t advocate it
Unless I misread it. It says he doesn’t like it, but why should people intervene if between to consenting adults
“He said he was “very opposed” to incest.”
“I don’t think the state should intervene in consensual adult sex or marriage, but there are two very important elements here – consensual and adult”
Again. Where does he advocate incest?
He doesn’t. Morrissey just has a serious problem when it comes to distinguishing between his personal prejudice and rational analysis. It’s not an uncommon problem, but tends to make for obviously and woefully incorrect comments.
The bit where he says that the state shouldn’t intervene between consenting adults.
Where have Labour said don’t vote for our candidate vote for this GP/Mana candidate instead?
You don’t think not actually putting a candidate up so they don’t split the opposition votes is just as bad?
Where have Labour not put up a candidate?
They have worked with the Greens and and have agreed to not stand a Green candidate.
Unless you think this comes for free, then it is just as much collusion
Ok, so Labour don’t have any deal with any other party about not standing candidates or telling their voters to vote for other party’s candidates. Nor have they chosen to not stand in one of the marginal electorates. Glad we got that cleared up.
The Greens, who have almost never runs serious candidates in the seats, and afaik have never stood candidates in all seats, have chosen to not stand in certain seats for a range of reasons, including cost. But they have no deal with Labour and they haven’t told their voters to vote for other party’s candidates.
And you think this makes Labour and the Greens the equivalent of National telling its voters to vote for another party because that’s the only way it can govern?
Riiiight.
Just to make it easy for your. If Labour really did want to do this, they’d have put Kelvin Davis high on the list and told TTT voters to seat vote Harawira and they’d have done a deal with the Greens to also not stand in TTT.
Morrissey – Doctors, dentists, accountants, business owners, school teachers, lawyers, policeman/woman, social workers, nurses, retirees – these are some of the good people i know in Epsom that you refer to as sheep – who the fuck are you to smear these good people just because they don’t agree with your political view.
The sheep are the ones who allowed themselves to be herded to vote—against all their better instincts—for the likes of such reprehensible, comical characters as Rodney Hide and the disastrous Jamie “Lock Up His Sisters” Whyte. I doubt many social workers, nurses, teachers or indeed anyone who is compos mentis would have obeyed the cup of tea directive.
That’s high-grade bullshit, for two reasons:
1. Epsom is a very rich neighbourhood. It’s unlikely voting ACT goes very much against the instincts of many of its wealthier residents.
2. National supporters in Epsom are unlikely to feel dubious about satisfying the request “Please vote for the ACT candidate so that National gets an extra MP.”
Those poor bastards in epsom – ‘its not fair we vote for rubbish, we get rubbish and we are told off by the unwashed, unwaged and unworthy – what about us? Has anyone given a thought for how tough it is with 3 cars and only 2 drivers – why won’t someone fix that problem. It’s racist is what it is’.
The 8th synthetic cannabis death in a month. Fricken hell do something, poor kids are dying.
What’s the bet in a couple of weeks there will be a watered down drug action plan announced that doesn’t do anything but is spoken highly of in the medias.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11895225
Twitter lolz.
“Potentially the greatest thread in the era of the Trump presidency” – Obama
https://twitter.com/GCSB_spy/status/889973598361763840
Oh, God! I laughed out loud while also feeling shame for taking pleasure in cruelty against the cognitively-challenged.
I wish I’d kept the tweet the other day about how many people googled Scaramouche.
That was the first thing I thought – “Oh, like in Bohemian Rhapsody. Oh, wait, that was Scaramouche.”
Trump could use a Rafael Sabatini superman about now.
I’ve been thinking about Diana and her boys. It really struck me how they had suppressed much emotions around the death of their mum and that by talking about that had helped them remember her and consolidate the loss and carry on with life. Imagine now being those boys and your mother had killed herself. There are a lot of kids, parents, siblings and friends dealing with the sudden loss of their loved ones. So much stuff to work through – the guilt, sadness and fear. How many people receiving assistance have killed themselves? No one counts them so we don’t know. How many kids dealing with the suicide of a parent who was receiving assistance? We don’t count them, we don’t know.
Interesting critique of the New Zealand Greens here.
Essentially, in Wellington they are great at getting elected, but really poor at getting anything Green actually done.
A Green credibility problem.
http://wellington.scoop.co.nz/?p=101313
Dos muy estúpidos músicos puertorriqueños
You’ve probably heard that Spanish pop record “Despacito” over the last few weeks, by a couple of Puerto Ricans called Daddy Yankee and Luis Fonsi. It’s the most popular piece of Latin nonsense since the gorgeous “Ketchup” song of fifteen years ago—indeed it’s now the most played song ever, in any language.
Among those who have heard it are supporters of the democratic government in Venezuela. One of them had the inspired idea of doing away with the inane original lyrics and turning it into an anthem of hope and support for democratic values…
http://www.nbcnews.com/video/remix-of-despacito-from-venezuela-s-president-nicolas-maduro-1008281667983
Great idea, right? Improving a piece of dreck, recycling a piece of meretricious rubbish like “Despacito” is part of a timeless and honored tradition.
Sadly, however, the perpetrators of the original were not happy. Both Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee have unleashed blimpish and confused outbursts against the democratic Venezuelan government: “Your dictatorial regime is a joke,” claimed Fonsi—or was it Daddy Yankee?—and the other one (Fonsi? Daddy Yankee?) claimed that “the Venezuelan people are crying out for their freedom.”
So what motivated these two Puerto Rican pop-putzes to indulge in the most absurd display of bewilderment since Jared Leto and Kevin Spacey declaimed at an awards ceremony? Well, just have a look at Daddy Yankee’s murky past: he’s a self-declared “Christian”, and a Republican, and voted for John McCain in 2008. You can be sure he’s a Rump supporter as well. He hates democracy…..
http://hollowverse.com/daddy-yankee/
Luis Fonsi doesn’t seem to have any ideas about anything. I’m pretty sure all the energy of this anti-democracy rant comes from Daddy Yankee, and that Fonsi just follows his lead.
There are many thoughtful and well informed Puerto Rican commentators, such as Juan González, Ululy Martinez and Oscar Lopez Rivera. However, as is so often the case, the Puerto Ricans getting nearly all the publicity at the moment are—thanks to the political choices of the media—two unfeasibly ignorant, lazy, and stupid ones.
Jim Rogers predicts worst crash in his lifetime is on it’s way
Currency-issuing governments can keystroke their outstanding debt into oblivion
That’s a really important point. It means all that ‘debt’ upon a government’s books can be written off instantly while making no difference to the economy.
Who actually writes the bile that Hosking reads in his NZH column and video?
Why does he say at 2min08 “I hope I’m reading this right” if he wrote it himself? http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11895130
And to be picky, the absurd heading
Mike Hosking: Metiria Turei should know – knowledge of a crime is a crime itself
means that a hell of a lot of criminal lawyers must be committing crime. By this measure Bill English is probably a criminal too.
Bill English Is, “a criminal”. He rorted his accommodation allowance.
Something that would get most people sacked, and probably reported to the police.
Is this the start of the end of the combustion engine?
With Britain following France’s lead, it won’t be long before it is adopted by the entire E.U. as well so long as Merkel can withstand the pressure.
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2017/jul/25/britain-to-ban-sale-of-all-diesel-and-petrol-cars-and-vans-from-2040
Note also London is imposing a 10 Pound charge on hundreds of thousands of older vehicles – because they are far more likely to be more polluting.
Can we expect any party in New Zealand to propose such a move?
2040, bit late by then. If I buy a petrol car in 2039 someone will still be driving it 20 years later.
Oh my – wanting to grow hemp – bad, medical cannabis – bad, and a side issue – will lose election. Purposing somthing that will not help one bit – election winner.
The sad part is people will swallow that crap whole.
Maybe, when we’re all living in Auckland.
Winston just asked in QT, if National were preparing to sell Transpower. WOW!
Denied of course by Joyce. Letter tabled.
Q6. Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS to the Minister of Finance: Does he stand by all his statements; if so, how?
Winston’s question:
https://www.parliament.nz/en/watch-parliament/ondemand?itemId=196207
“Finance Minister Steven Joyce denies plans to sell off Transpower.”
Who knows. Might be a long term plan though Joyce says businesses are always putting up propositions. Mmmmm..
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11895459
Little was terrible this morning on breakfast with Jack Tame, the man has trouble putting coherent sentences together or thinking on his feet Surely the simple answer to Tame line of question to catch angry out in regard to what will dropping 30000 in immigration have on our GDp would have been, “nothing as per capita nothing will change” , little was right it was a stupid question but he got owned by Tame with a even more stupid lack of an answer and could not shut it down, beyond stuttering every labour policy and mother pie statement as an answer, must do better, epic fail
Right winger concern troll offers lefties advice about how to win election 🙄
Red’s bored and Red’s boring.
Bored people bore people.
The green party is doomed.
dad4 – you’ve stumbled into a decent blog-space here, accidentally, I’m sure and you’ll be feeling insecure and not a little bit alien!
Quick! Get back to Kiwiblog before you catch something! This place is awash with rational thinking and consideration: scoot!
Now now Robert, no need for the hasty. Seeing d4j back here has made me come all over nostalgic.
me too! (well not really).
RedLogix – my heart too, skipped a beat at the signature on the 7:53pm comment, and while I stand in awe at the elegant simplicity of dad’s comment, unencumbered as it is by any weight, depth or value, I clearly remember the path dad’s comments, when in train, take; the inevitable downward, pride-defying spiral that always ended with a graceless splat-landing and banishment by the moderators to place where dull mischief foments and flippery-feet flap.
Doomed I tell ye- Doomed! 👹
Actually, it was Tuesday morning Red Tuesday the 25th. I saw that and I have got to agree, that little obnoxious prat, another Hoskins in the making definitely had a “gotcha” moment with Little. I don’t think little has problems in answering I think his main problem is he hasn’t a strong commanding voice. However wasn’t the little arseole smug about it, it was written all over his dial that said, ” aren’t I a clever little shit.”
Tried a similar exercise with Metiria Turei this morning didn’t he, and boy didn’t he come a cropper, she shut the little prat well and truly up and was he fucking pissed off about it his face was like thunder.
Tame has been groomed for this role for years.