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Open mike 26/08/2013

Written By: - Date published: 6:00 am, August 26th, 2013 - 168 comments
Categories: open mike - Tags:

Open mike is your post. For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose.

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Step right up to the mike…

168 comments on “Open mike 26/08/2013 ”

    • bad12 1.1

      A strange seeming ‘flip-flop’ from Shane Jones who as early as Friday was reported as saying that He didn’t see Himself as Leader of the Party,

      Having entered the Parliament with big wraps based around His Oxford University education Jones hasn’t impressed and His time on the front Bench under David Shearer made Him conspicuous only by His deafening silence,

      Could He match it in the House with Slippery the Prime Minister, my opinion would say No and Slippery would simply make Him a laughing stock by ruthlessly exploiting Jone’s ‘baggage’,

      In a contest where everyone could be said to have ‘a chance’ i would be so rude as to give Shane Jones none…

      • Tracey 1.1.1

        agreed, that’s what I thought he said too. Is this his way of projecting that HE doesn’t see himself as leader but others do so he is being a good team player????

    • kenny 1.2

      He’s there to take votes off Cunliffe, thereby increasing Robertson’s chances. Don’t think it will work, but shows there is still an anti-Cunliffe mindset with the ABCer’s who are not yet ready to let that go.

      • Not a PS Staffer 1.2.1

        You are on the money, Kenny.

        Jones has no chance but does have a price.

        The ABCs are buying votes with promises.

        There are a number of MPs who need a high list position if they are to get back into Parliament, They are the ones who are in the pocket of Robertson.

        • Olwyn 1.2.1.1

          This is something I would like to know: will the numbers of votes from the caucus, unions and members be made public? It would be quite outrageous if, say, two thirds of the members were overridden by two thirds of the caucus and just over half of the union vote. This would deepen divisions rather than heal them. At the same time, refusing to publish the results would breed mistrust. There are supposed to be 10 days of public meetings, and a caucus genuinely seeking unity would pay close attention to the members’ responses at those meetings.

          • Lanthanide 1.2.1.1.1

            “It would be quite outrageous if, say, two thirds of the members were overridden by two thirds of the caucus and just over half of the union vote.”

            No it wouldn’t. That’s the rules of the game.

            • Olwyn 1.2.1.1.1.1

              It may however prove divisive at a time when unity is desired, and lend evidence to claims that Labour politicians are out of touch with their members.

          • weka 1.2.1.1.2

            “will the numbers of votes from the caucus, unions and members be made public?”

            No, according to Mike Williams on Nine to Noon this morning.

      • Lanthanide 1.2.2

        It’s a STV situation where people vote for their first and second preference. If people vote first-preference for Shane and he comes 3rd in the race, his votes are distributed to the 2nd preference nominated by his voters. So ultimately it doesn’t change the race.

        • weka 1.2.2.1

          So if one doesn’t want him to win, is it better to not rank Jones on the voting paper at all, or to put him as far down the list as possible?

          • Lanthanide 1.2.2.1.1

            Make him 3rd preference.

            • McFlock 1.2.2.1.1.1

              only if an incomplete ballot invalidates the vote (i.e. all those wonderfuls who’d put a name in the top slot and leave the rest of the form blank).

        • bad12 1.2.2.2

          Lanth, you will have to have patience to explain that to the myriad of commenters who see Jone’s in the election only as part of the dark plotting of the ABCer’s…

          • Lanthanide 1.2.2.2.1

            Personally I don’t see Shane entering as an ABC plot, but merely him wanting to get the Deputy position.

            I think if Cunliffe wins he’ll give it to Grant, but if Grant wins there’s a good chance he’d give it to Shane.

            • weka 1.2.2.2.1.1

              Apparently caucus chooses the deputy.

              • Lanthanide

                Yes, but I think that’s more of a negotiation, rather than either the leader or the caucus choosing someone without regards for what the other wants.

    • aerobubble 1.3

      He made a good point, that the labour party lost a huge chunk of its vote, and having a much more pro-active leadership – like him – would attract back those voters. As a green voter I agree, labour would do better, but under Shearer-Robertson the Labour party has been a wet fish. So the question is, whose to be Cunliffe’s deputy?

  1. Paul 2

    “Jones’ hat in ring
    List MP Shane Jones is entering the race for the Labour leadership, saying he believes he can attract blue-collar workers back to the fold.”
    http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11114293

    If he wins, a disaster for progressive politics in New Zealand.

  2. Boadicea 3

    Jones is a not an Electorate MP.

    Jones lacks the strength the comes from fighting, winning and holding a seat.

    Jones would be a disaster for the Labour Party.

  3. Tim 4

    And fairly bland, poli-speak, cliched performances from both Jones and Robertson on Firstline this morning.
    God spare us! Still – I’ve already decided to put my vote elsewhere, so the outcome of the contest is really a question of whether or not Labour will get either a party or electorate vote back (bearing in mind I’m in Robertson’s electorate).

    • if you think they were a dire pair of clowns on firstline..go to the radio nz website..and listen to their appearances on nine-to-noon..

      ..despite being asked repeatedly about policies to differentiate from national..

      ..robertson said:..’oh..!..we’ve got lots..!’..then he said..’i haven’t got any specific ones for you..but we will be rolling them out..’..

      ..and the rest of it was just wall-to-wall unadulterated aspirational bullshit..

      ..and yes..of course jones is there at the bidding of the right in labour..

      ..it is an attempt to muddy the waters of what is an otherwise clear two-horse race..

      ..and i hafta say..having seen robertson on both firstline and nine-to-noon..i am totally over him..

      ..and electing such a non-person as leader of the labour party will be a disaster/cluster-fuck of epic proportions..for labour..

      ..and will provide a major vote-burst for both the green party..and mana..

      ..so if that is what labour wants..?..that is what they will get with robertson..

      ..phillip ure..

  4. North 5

    It’s obvious. The devious, “no-show” Jones is there to game the preferences process, to (the ABCs’ hope) Cunliffe’s disadvanatge.

    As for this “blue collar” bullshit, in reality the man’s a pompous, right leaning elitist cynically selling illusions.

  5. Maureen 6

    Is it just me or is Shane Jones a bit of a misogynist? Doesn’t he mistake careless put-downs for plain speech? Didn’t I hear him refer to women as geldings during the “manban” fuss? And last November didn’t he compare Cunliffe’s expulsion to the backbenches to getting rid of a maggot or termite eating away at the wood of the meeting house? I was indignant at the time because he had achieved nothing in politics while Cunliffe …

    I’m off to the Greens forever if Cunliffe doesn’t win this contest. Robertson is great but not ready. Oh dear.

    • vto 6.1

      Agreed completely.

      Jones the boofhead. What the fuck is he doing throwing his hat in the ring? It is clearly a manoeuvre, which surely all those entitled to vote in this process will recognise in a flash. I predict the slug will declare well before the vote.

      Jones is only worth ignoring.

      • Rosie 6.1.1

        Boofhead. Apt description of the day:-)

        • felix 6.1.1.1

          Agree all. No idea how he got a reputation as some kind of masterful orator.

          Actually yes I do, there are always going to be a certain number of idiots who are easily impressed by superficial waffle for waffle’s sake.

          Utterly useless bastard.

    • yeshe 6.2

      +100,000,000,000 %

  6. bad12 7

    Just listened to RadioNZ National interview a ‘Professor’ of politics for some strange reason, Her claim is that Labour even if the Party changes Leaders cannot win the 2014 election,

    i have to wonder where ‘they’ find these people as i found this particular Prof’s analysis to be that of a simpleton and it seems tragic that University’s have such people in front of New Zealand kids supposedly giving them a decent education,

    Her analysis, and good on RadioNZ for pointing this out to Her, was totally flawed in that Her belief is that Labour have to claw support off either National or the Green Party to ‘win’ the next election,

    The fact that there are some 800,000 registered voters out there who last election did not cast a vote seemed to have escaped the ‘Prof’ and the new Labour leader need only engage 1-3% of these non-voters to topple the present government…

    • karol 7.1

      Claire Robinson?

      [audio src="http://podcast.radionz.co.nz/mnr/mnr-20130826-0815-political_analyst_thinks_labours_left_leader_change_too_late-048.mp3" /]

      • Anne 7.1.1

        Claire Robinson worked in Prime Minister, Jenny Shipley’s office as a political strategist (or some such thing) in the late 1990s. Enough said.

        • Tracey 7.1.1.1

          not listening to the interview but was that connection divulged?

          • Anne 7.1.1.1.1

            I heard part of it live and there was no reference to the connection. However since that time she appeared on Q&A in her role as a political scientist. She was biased in her musings and haven’t seen her on the programme for a couple of years.

        • karol 7.1.1.2

          Thanks for the tip: Here is a profile of Claire Robinson:

          Massey University
          Dr Claire Robinson heads the Institute of Communication Design in Massey University’s College of Creative Arts. Claire has a PhD in politics and is an occasional media commentator on New Zealand politics. Her area of research expertise is in political advertising, political marketing, leadership image and election campaigns. Prior to her academic career she spent time as a New Zealand foreign service officer and as a Private Secretary for the Minister of
          Women’s Affairs (the Rt Hon Jenny Shipley). Claire is also a graphic designer and paints on canvas in her spare time. Claire has two children.

        • bad12 7.1.1.3

          Indeed enough said, no wonder i describe that particular piece of political analysis from that particular ‘Prof’ as the work of a simpleton…

          • North 7.1.1.3.1

            Watever she is Robinson’s certainly capable of sharp arrogance when challenged.

            I recall emailing her within the last couple of years about some idiotically facile piece of National Party apologism she was up to on Q + A I think. I guess I wasn’t exactly gushing in my email but her response – ” Get fucked ! ” – completely trumped my vigour.

            Massey Vice-Chancellor Steve Maharey agreed with my subsequent email to him in which I suggested it was inappropriate for such rubbish-girl talk to come from the mouth of a publicly paid “associate” professor as she then was.

            • Rhinocrates 7.1.1.3.1.1

              Had the misfortune of working with her at Massey some years ago. Not especially bright, no imagination, unable to put together a coherent argument.

              Alas, not the worst of the management there by a long shot.

        • alwyn 7.1.1.4

          It might be “enough said” fo you but fairness, and accuracy would require that you point out that her job for Shipley was in a public servant role, and had NO political connotations.
          On the other hand I was not impressed at all with her analysis and her making fairly sweeping conclusions on a sample of 5 elections. Of those five 2 (1999 and 2008) were where we had tired out governments and 2 (2002 and 2011) were ones where the opposition party didn’t seem to even realise that continuing with the same old policies and faces wasn’t going to hack it.

      • Linz 7.1.2

        That lady don’t know shit from clay. She based her assumptions by looking back to 1990. She should have looked back to 1984.

        • dv 7.1.2.1

          Interestingly in 84, labour won mainly because Jones’s party took a large % of the vote from the nats as I recall.

          I wonder if the outlier in this is the Craig party.
          Although they would take votes from act and nats BUT provide an collation partner for Nats- not an option in 84.

    • karol 7.2

      It highlights that the winning candidate should be developing a campaign that is the first step in next year’s election campaign. Robertson & Jones are more focused on just winning the leadership: Short termism.

      Hopefully Team Cunliffe is taking time working out their (2014) election strategy.

      • Greywarbler 7.2.1

        @karol
        When it comes to having a team, can Cunliffe have a preference for a Deputy which he then discusses with caucus, can he have a short-list of his own, or is it up to the caucus only? It would seem that having someone he could work with and rely on would be the best partnership for the top two.

    • Jackal 7.3

      Her argument does seem a bit weak! The polls don’t show any clear winner at the moment and the interest that a Labour leadership challenge is generating will likely counter out any negative views about Shearer resigning. As a side note, the non vote at the last election had nothing to do with Shearer.

      I don’t agree that the non voter will miraculously come back to Labour just because of a change in leader. Poverty and hardship are the main reasons people don’t vote, both of which have increased markedly under a National government. Many people simply don’t have the time or resources to be engaged in politics anymore.

      The other issue here is that Labour appears to be divided. It will take time for Labour to show that it is unified and ready to govern. It will also take a considerable effort to convince many that Labour can work constructively with the Greens and NZ First. Whether 15 months is enough time is yet to be seen.

      So at the moment I’m picking another three years of National, as per the usual cycle.

      • phillip ure 7.3.1

        “..The polls don’t show any clear winner at the moment ..”

        (um..!..the tvone-poll showing cunnliffe at 29%..ardern second..and robertson a distant 4th..?..10% wasn’t it..?..)

        ..sand i don’t buy into yr bleak inevitability predictionof another key term..

        ..between now and the end of next year is plenty of time for cunnliffe to both see off key..

        .. articulate a coherent new direction for labour/for the voters..

        ..phillip ure….

        • Jackal 7.3.1.1

          I’m talking about the right vs left polling phillip ure, which is too close to call. I think there’s little doubt that David Cunliffe would win the Labour leadership race. Has he announced he’s standing yet?

          There is of course enough time for Labour to get its act together, but whether that time is used constructively is yet to be seen.

          If Labour can show that it’s united behind their new leader, they convey their policy well to the public (especially non voters) and are able to develop enough interest is yet to be seen. A biased media is still their biggest hurdle in many ways. Until they do all those things, then it’s likely National will have another term in power.

          National have always had three terms except for the second National government, which had four.

      • Murray Olsen 7.3.2

        “Poverty and hardship are the main reasons people don’t vote”

        Must have been the rich who voted the first Labour government in. Maybe because they didn’t like to see the poverty and hardship of the depression inflicted on their fellow Kiwis?

      • weka 7.3.3

        “I don’t agree that the non voter will miraculously come back to Labour just because of a change in leader.”

        Who has said that they will? Most people I’ve seen are saying that Labour will need to make specific efforts to engage the non-voters. Implication is that that wasn’t going to happen under Shearer or the ABCs.

    • mac1 7.4

      Her argument as I remember it was that no party has ever come from a position behind this far out from an election as Labour is now.

      My immediate reaction is to think of the Roy Morgan poll which gives Labour/Greens a majority at the moment.

      The only question for me is whether the two will actually agree to a coalition in 2014, rather than the Greens go with National who I expect will be still the largest party then. Conventional wisdom seems to indicate that Labour/Greens is far more likely, if they command a majority or can find a majority between them.

      Though there is still just a little bit of work to be done ‘twixt then and now. First, the Labour leadership ( I will enjoy my vote) and then into electioneering mode. Ah, the smell and sound of the guns are calling…………

  7. geoff 8

    Shane Jones and Robertson presenting a united front on RNZ right now.

    Hmm….

    A deal done over the weekend in an attempt to shut cunliffe out?

    • Murray Olsen 8.1

      Anyone supporting Jones wants a Tory government. He should be expelled. Even he must realise he’s damaged goods. Where the hell do these people get their egos from?

  8. Greywarbler 9

    I heard that James Caygill, son of David, is thinking of standing in Christchurch seat. Would Labour accept the son or daughter of an axe murderer? A little discernment of past connections and what the name reflects is needed here, even if he is a rabid social democrat, which is unlikely. (I have commented before on the large amount of men’s names that come from the bible. Do they come from wealthier families where the names seems to provide gravitas, probity and conformity with values – so good for conveying confidence in tv endorsements?)

    Talking about David Cunliffe with family, he hasn’t made a real impression yet. If he gets the Leader position and decides on the policies to push and has the methods and cost and outcomes worked out, he can then stress these strongly and who and how they will help all NZs and also employment. Those would be winning words.

    Also promise tighter controls with caps and detailed scrutiny on government expenditure going on each IT project. What a bloody way to throw money down the gurgler. The extent of mismanagement and feckless spending in some notable cases seems to indicate corruption or at the least extreme incompetence, resulting from the Peter Principle. And generally sizing up our present situation with IT, the results show corruption of the theories and scenarios fed to us about how helpful and useful an aid this technology would be.

  9. lprent 10

    In the interests of site performance, I’ve dropped the feed thumbnails until I look at why it is slowing the site down so much. I may turn off the feed entirely again later if it still causes issues.

    • BM 10.1

      Don’t know if it’s related but I was running the ghostery plug in on fire fox and noticed my quad core was running at 30-40% at idle.
      Disabled it and problem solved

      From what I’ve read the new version has a few bugs, apparently one is causing pages in tabs to load in an infinite loop.
      https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/ghostery/

      Maybe you could ask everyone to disable it on the standard and see if that improves performance?

      • lprent 10.1.1

        I tracked it down to the bit of code that was causing the server side problem. The plugin is caching the images held for the various feeds at the server – good. However it is not caching the thumbnails that it is producing at 48×48 – bad. Furthermore because of how the images were being called, it was also bypassing the caching on both the APC memory cache and the CDN – *very bad*.

        Consequently whenever the anyone viewed the page, all of the images on the Feed were being reduced and clipped down to 48x48px images. A horrendously expensive and completely unnecessary operation that sucked server CPU when you are doing a hundred or so of them for every page view.

        The front page does exactly the same thing for its thumbnails. However they are prebuilt and stored in the media library. So they don’t cause the same problems.

    • lprent 10.2

      Ok that worked really really well. Here is the main web server CPU averages over 15 minute periods over the last two weeks. Date/times are in UTC, so they’re about 12 hours behind.

      I’d already been concerned earlier in the week with the GCSB debates with the average CPU. Prior to the last two weeks it seldom went over 50% on this system.

      You can see the rapid increase on the afternoon of the 22nd with the shearer announcement (spiked on teh announcement followed by the site getting overwhelmed) and that continued throughout friday despite beefing up the caching and putting in refresh rationing.

      On Friday night (well Saturday morning) I kicked in another server which helped a bit on saturday and sunday. But it was max 50% capacity of the main server. It was pretty clear I hadn’t figured out the actual problem.

      This morning I looked at the colossal rise. The debugging code I put in allowed me to pin it down to the RSS Feed, so I turned off the most recent update to that – the images. The CPU dropped away and despite having a lot more traffic than we had on friday, the server started acting well. Cut the second server out after midday, and dropped the cache time down (the spike is mostly due to the cache reloading). Still handled the Cunliffe announcement without problems.

      It was a hot day – not a desperate one. Damn good thing as I was pulling off RC1 for the next release at work and didn’t have time to baby anything.

      I’ll fix the Feed thumbnails later in the week.

  10. vto 11

    Hands up who believes the US allegation that Syria has used chemical weapons? Wasn’t that one heard before around WMD in Iraq?

    Obama the Key-wise liar.

    Big boys and certainly big toys but at the end of the day they are simply bullies in the playground, nothing more.

    • Colonial Viper 11.1

      Its got all the signs of being a false flag. Launching a chem attack on civilians a day or two after UN inspectors arrive in the country? When the inspectors were staying just a few km’s away?

      Assad knows that chem weapon use is the perfect reason for NATO to go postal on him, and such an action is the last thing he would want to provoke.

      • Jackal 11.1.1

        There is little doubt that a chemical weapon attack has taken place. The Syrian government is blaming terrorists. They have however allowed the UN inspectors into the area where approximately 300 people have died from the attack. This is not the first attack where chemical weapons are likely to have been used on Syrian civilians and rebel forces.

        The UN chemical weapons inspectors have been in Syria since at least May 2013. The Syrian government had previously tried to keep them out of the country.

        You’re assuming that Assad has control of what his forces do and that they respect NATO enough to not initiate war? I can assure you that they have very little respect for foreign forces and there is very little strategy to this war…there is really only hatred.

        It is more likely that Syrian government forces have used the chemical weapons and less likely that those fighting against the regime have used the weapons on their own forces to initiate NATO’s involvement. It is very unlikely that western forces have used chemical weapons against civilians in a false flag event as an excuse to go to war.

        Unlike Iraq, there is very little for the US to gain. The humanitarian reason hasn’t been enough so far to initiate NATO joining the war. If there is proof that the Syrian regime has used chemical weapons, then NATO would be fighting the Syrian regime alongside al-Qaeda operatives who have come over the boarder from Iraq. The Al Nusra Front or Al-Qaeda affiliated Syrian Rebels have vowed revenge for the chemical attack.

        In this case, the age old saying ‘the enemy of my enemy is my friend’ doesn’t apply. That’s why the Syrian atrocities have been allowed to continue without proper intervention for so long.

        • Poission 11.1.1.1

          It is very unlikely that western forces have used chemical weapons against civilians in a false flag event as an excuse to go to war.

          it is a mere coincidence that the insurgents from Jordan who had been undertaking chemical weapons training with UK/US asymmetric instructors, entered the area 4 days prior along with the simultaneous bombings of mosques in the Lebanon.

          • Jackal 11.1.1.1.1

            Got a link for that? Also, I think travellerev might have a nice used tinfoil hat to sell you.

            • phillip ure 11.1.1.1.1.2

              you are so quick to jump to judgement there jackal..and are peddling american empire spin..

              ..some facts for you..

              ..those attacked were in damascus..(ie..under the control of assads’ troops..)

              ..the assad regime..had asked for the un inspectors to come back into syria..in an attempt to clear the previous allegations against them..

              ..and they actually arrived in the country the day before this attack..

              ..so to accept your yapping along with the views of the dogs of war..

              ..we have to believe the assad regime launched a chemical-weapons-attack..on their own people/supporters..

              ..the day after un inpectors..there at the request of the assad regimeto clear their name of previous allegations..arrived in the country to investigate..

              ..really..?

              ..phillip ure..

              • Jackal

                Actually, the chemical weapon attack happened in Eastern Ghouta. That’s an area with strong opposition leanings, and is a major supply route to the front lines in the fighting in east Damascus.

                I don’t see any Syrian regime soldiers amongst those wounded or dying?

                There are war atrocities occurring phillip ure. Negotiations have completely failed. How do you propose to stop those atrocities against civilians from occurring if NATO isn’t to intervene?

                • Pascal's bookie

                  The question is, how would western intervention stop the atrocities?

                  There is no point putting our toes in unless we are prepared to commit, and I don’t see that comitment coming.

                  • vto

                    “… putting our toes in …”

                    Is that just a slip of the tongue there P’s b? Don’t include New Zealand or me or those around me in that “west” thanks. That “west” are a bunch of war-mongering murderers just like ghengis khan, the british empire, hitler’s attempts, te rauparaha, or any other prick intent on expansion or grabbing what belongs to someone else. i.e. pretty much every arsehole human who has ever lived.

                    When you talk of the US or the UK or the French, that is them, it is not “us”.

                    Why on earth would “we” consider doing god knows what in Syria?

                    Why would you express that thought in that way?

                    What on earth was going through your mind when you tapped that?

                    Why didn’t “we” do something to stop the atrocity that was Iraq? Or Afghanistan?

                    fucking hell

                    • Pascal's bookie

                      Yeah that could have been clearer.

                      When the western govts intervene via nato or something else, as far as I’\m concerned that’s ‘western intervention’. I might not approve, you might not. But it’s still the west.

                      It’s not wrong to say ‘the US’ invaded Iraq because Michael Moore opposed it.

                      But if an argument is being made that NATO, or whoever, should intervene, but we shouldn’t, then that’s just cowardice.

                      Why the fuck should anyonebe advocating that some other buggers should fix something?

                      Personally, I think Syria is a clusterfuck. But that doesn’t change
                      a) what’s happening,
                      b) what people in the west reckon when it hits there teevee screens, or
                      c) the pressure that puts on our governments.

                      Here’s a brief rundown of some of the complications:

                      What I’m saying is, before we ‘do something’ we should have a clear idea of what we want to achieve, what that would take, and think about whether or not we’re prepared to do that.

                      I reckon the answer to that final question is “no”. So we shouldn’t do anything because we won’t be able to do anything good.

                    • vto

                      I see what you’re trying to say, sort of… but this doesn’t necessarily follow at all “But if an argument is being made that NATO, or whoever, should intervene, but we shouldn’t, then that’s just cowardice. ”

                      Why would that follow?

                      Other countries take full advantage of their advantages, be they geographical or military or something else, and so should we. We live right at the end of the world ffs, not in the middle east. We can afford to stay well out of pretty much everything and so we should. There is also far smaller case to be made for ‘standing next to your mates’ than is nearly always made out.

                      Ffs, the British were going to abandon us to the Japs in WWII. The same pommy bastards also failed to stand by us following our most recent terrorist attack by the French government in the centre of bloody Auckland. And then they had the further gall to harangue us over not standing next to them over the Salman Rusdie death threats.

                      Friends like that we do not need.

                      Are there any factual acts by the poms (for example) to counter those fact acts which point to them never standing next to us in the same way? I would like to hear them if they exist….

                    • Pascal's bookie

                      Yeah well, it’s opinion. But I reckon that if someone is making a moral argument that someone has to send their youth off to to die in a meat grinder to prevent something from happening, then it follows that they should support sending their own youth.

                      Can’t see how you can get form ‘x is bad and must be stopped’, to ‘so therefore those guys should sacrifice to stop it but not me’.

                    • vto

                      “if someone is making a moral argument that someone has to send their youth off to to die in a meat grinder to prevent something from happening, then it follows that they should support sending their own youth”

                      True completely, perhaps we were talking across each others bows.

                      But, curiousity, you seem to have a pretty good grasp of things international – what do you think of the point just above regarding the poms treatment of us relative to our treatment of them since, well, probably Gallipoli if not before… or since forever actually…

                      A couple of recent posts highlighted the fact that what is here in NZ from England is the Crown, nothing else. And the Crown is its own entity separate from the british people and certainly entirely separate from us people here. So much so that ‘our’ armed forces are not ours at all and belong to the crown and serve to look after that crown first and foremost (this has been demonstrated too as I understand it – during the Fiji coup where ‘directions’ from lange were ignored because they had not come from the crown (i.e. G-G)).

                • “.That’s an area with strong opposition leanings.”

                  ..but it is under assad control..so assad attacked his own area of control..?

                  ..the day after the weapons-inspectors arrived..(invited by the regime..)..?

                  ..in an attempt by the regime to ‘clear its’ name of such allegations..?

                  ..care to address that..?..(2nd attempt here..)

                  ..and are you seriously telling me..that from your keyboard wherever..you are able to discern fact from spin..

                  ..and in yr mind there is no way this was done by the american-backed/supplied forces..

                  ..as a (fact-indicating) clumsy attempt to discredit assad/justify cruise-missile attacks..?

                  ..really..?

                  ..no doubt you also supported the invasion of libya..?

                  ..and you can’t see the similar patterns of mis-information/propaganda..?

                  ..again being used to justify military-intervention by the american empire..and their mercenaries..?

                  ..(..many of those mercenaries the same ones america used in libya..?..)

                  ..really..?

                  phillip ure..

                  • Jackal

                    phillip ure

                    ..and are you seriously telling me..that from your keyboard wherever..you are able to discern fact from spin..

                    Which is essentially what you’re also doing phillip ure.

                    The initial retarded argument was that because Bush lied about WMD’s, that automatically makes the reports about the Syrian regime killing Syrian’s with chemical weapons lies as well.

                    You might note that Germany was also under the control of the Nazi’s when they committed similar atrocities against Polish, Romany and Jewish people in Germany. The area of control has very little significance compared to the people in it.

                    Your argument is that the Syrian regime categorically hasn’t used chemical weapons on civilians in Eastern Ghouta. Mine is that they likely have, mainly because the rebels wouldn’t kill their own families.

                    I’ve seen no evidence that western operatives or those they’ve trained have killed hundreds of innocent civilians in Syria with chemical weapons just to initiate a war. You have nothing to base such an argument on apart from historic references to western agent provocateurs.

                    Let’s wait and see what the UN inspectors have to say eh!

                    • vto

                      “The initial retarded argument was that because Bush lied about WMD’s, that automatically makes the reports about the Syrian regime killing Syrian’s with chemical weapons lies as well.”

                      It was no such argument at all actually mr jackal, if you had read carefully…. it was a question, around an organisations credibility when its credibility has proved to be non-existent in the past. Like anything John Key says. kapiche?

                      And I just love the way that folk seemingly in touch with the details of who what where in some far flung war torn land equate that ‘knowledge’ with some superior understanding of the human condition and its history (rolly eyes thingy..)

      • Pascal's bookie 11.1.2

        Are you saying the US launched the Chem attack?

        Please.

        The US and the west in general has zero appetite for getting involved. Countries act in their percieved best interest right? So what interest is there in getting dragged into that clusterfuck? What would they be hoping to achieve, and how could they eventually get the outcome they would want?

        The US simply can’t afford to deploy the forces necessary to control the outcome, particulalrly given that the war isn’t contained within Syria.

        Far more likely is that Assad recognises that NATO isn’t going to do anything more than fire a few missiles (which in the context of a civil war isn’t all that scary) and has decided to use chems for about the only thing they are good for; Scaring the shit out his opponents’ civilian base.

        • Colonial Viper 11.1.2.1

          The US and the west in general has zero appetite for getting involved. Countries act in their percieved best interest right? So what interest is there in getting dragged into that clusterfuck?

          Any discussion on Western motives and interests in the ME needs to include two words: Israel, and Iran.

          and has decided to use chems for about the only thing they are good for; Scaring the shit out his opponents’ civilian base.

          Assad has been making good military gains using plain old conventional means. Going to unconventional warfare is neither helpful nor necessary to his cause.

          This of course is speculation and doesn’t mean that he didn’t do it, or that out of control elements in his military didn’t do it.

          • Pascal's bookie 11.1.2.1.1

            “Assad has been making good military gains using plain old conventional means. ”

            In some areas, and losing ground in other areas. But the insurgency is still raging. The idea that either side is on the ascendency is pretty weak. Using chems sends a signal that no one is coming to help his opponents and that he can do what he wants.

            • Colonial Viper 11.1.2.1.1.1

              The US approved the shipment of heavy arms to the rebels a couple of months ago and has also been moving carrier groups into the area. Israel has also launched several airstrikes against Assad facilities. I think those are pretty clear signs of help for Assad’s opponents.

              • Pascal's bookie

                But a) that’s vastly different from wanting to be involved in a shooting war, and b) they did so after umming and ahing for over a year, and c) Israel’s actions are not aimed at ‘helping the rebels’ but at detering Assad from trying to use attacks on Israel to bloster support.

                And carrier groups are used for airstrikes, which are coming and will achieve 2/5 of fuck all in Syria, but will stop western calls to ‘do something’.

    • veutoviper 12.1

      Each to their own, I suppose …………

      Read the KB post and comments on this ‘expose’ last night when TS was down – and still cannot decide whether I am gobsmacked – or really just don’t care.

      Still, it will be interesting to see what Key has to say – and the general public – when it goes mainstream news here!

    • weka 12.2

      I don’t think her work or work choices should be judged by who her father is. Plenty to judge in the art itself 😉

      (an ffs Daily Mail, 20 yr old women are no longer owned by their fathers).

      • One Anonymous Knucklehead 12.2.1

        Comment from Facebook says it better than the Daily Mail ever could:

        “Must have a publicist, this is derivative crap that has been done better so many times before, fucking rich kids “look at me” moment, will get art pimp soon”

        • weka 12.2.1.1

          Like father like daughter?

        • Murray Olsen 12.2.1.2

          Exactly what I think of her photos, OAK. I’m loathe to even call them art.

        • QoT 12.2.1.3

          Yes, the Paris College of Art is totally risking its reputation by promoting at Paris Design Week a student whose work is terrible just because her daddy is the premier of a country they don’t give a fuck about.

          That is a completely plausible situation. The idea that tastes in art may vary is blasphemy.

      • Greywarbler 12.2.2

        That’s a bit simplistic, the wealthy and powerful always pass some of that on to their children no matter how old or what gender. They carry the mantle and only with a violent effort can they throw it off.

    • tc 12.3

      Another distraction, she can do what she wants, who cares.

      She appears to have always shunned family pic’s when shonkey is flogging the homely image, at least he knows where she is.

    • veutoviper 12.4

      Here is a laugh – Kim Dotcom has tweeted that he want the picture where she has a cherry in her mouth and a red gun for his red “panic room”.

      “This is my “red room” aka panic room. Look at Stephanie’s artwork. It’s a perfect match with the red hair & red gun. pic.twitter.com/1akU1Poa8t

      I would like to buy this artwork by Stephanie Key. Who can put me in touch with her agent? pic.twitter.com/5l0Upxggt6 “

      EDIT – hope these photo links work

      http://t.co/1akU1Poa8t

      http://t.co/5l0Upxggt6

      • yeshe 12.4.1

        best laugh in ages !! I love KDC’s constant front footing Key .. may it remain all the way thru the high coiurts next year !

      • weka 12.4.2

        He wants erotica of John Key’s daughter in his panic room? Bit creepy.

        • yeshe 12.4.2.1

          hmmmmm. i didn’t think the picture was at all erotic in any sense at all …more clumsy and cartoonish so it never occurred to me. i thought it was a kind of pun about the only time he needed to use his panic room … maybe I’m wrong.

          • weka 12.4.2.1.1

            “i thought it was a kind of pun about the only time he needed to use his panic room …”

            Sorry, not quite getting that…???

  11. Winston Smith 13

    If Cunliffe wanted to play the long devious game he could

    not enter race stating he wants to help unify the party
    say he supports Robertson
    solidifies his reputation with the public at large by churning out reasonable press releases, interviews, backing Robertson etc etc

    Because Labour under Robertson would lose the next election he could then (regretfully and with great humility of course) step up and accept the leadership of the Labour party and almost guarantee being the PM of NZ in 2017

    Whereas even if he becomes leader of Labour its not that certain Labour will win the next election…

    Granted Labour has a better chance under Cunliffe than Robertson but might be a better option for Cunliffe to play healer rather than leader

  12. Greywarbler 14

    Greywarbler 14
    26 August 2013 at 10:32 am

    I have been getting my comments wiped when I have made a reply. Error… I hadn’t put my details – but I had. And usually I don’t need to as I am greeted with them in the identity window. This is a new comment and I have the identity window with my details showing. So does making a reply more likely to result in rejection?

    I just mention it in case anybody has had difficulty. Off to do the chores anyway. Perhaps the system provides a comment lock to stop over-use sort of like a diet control on the refrigerator!!

    Anyway CV what I was trying to do was thank you for a very clear explanation on the direction from which Labour has moved and the change that has resulted. (Would interest everyone on here –
    see 26/8/13 Robertson throws his hat in ring Colonial Viper …
    26 Aug 2013 at1:26am
    (He has really been burning the after-midnight oil.)

    • Colonial Viper 14.1

      I get a wee bit excitable over this politics stuff and seem to do my best thinking in the evenings 🙂

      • Greywarbler 14.1.1

        CV
        Thank goodness someone (you and TS too) get interested enough, in bland, stoic, resilient NZ, to get thinking and exercised about politics.

  13. Greywarbler 15

    I picked up a book at random – Death of a Cad MC Beaton. And came on this piece which seems to echo CV’s comments on the liberal elite and their broken connection with the working class.
    The playwright Henry Withering…was beloved by the Communists, Trotskyites, Marxists, and Liberals. To them, he was what they wanted most, a genuine ex-Eton schoolboy, son of a landed family who had opted to join the class war.

    • Colonial Viper 15.1

      Greywarber, sir/ma’am

      With my recommendations – Chris Hedges – it’s a long video but even if you watch 15 mins I think you will get something worthwhile from it.

  14. lprent 16

    Has anyone seen a link to the interview on National Radio this morning with Grant Robertson and Shane Jones this morning?

    • karol 16.1

      [audio src="http://podcast.radionz.co.nz/ntn/ntn-20130826-0910-the_labour_party_leadership_battle-048.mp3" /]

  15. karol 17

    Mike Williams just said that Cunliffe will be making a statement this afternoon at 2.30pm from his New Lynn electorate office.

  16. bad12 18

    David Cunliffe, via Mike Williams on RadioNZ National is said to be making a statement from His New Lynn electorate office at 2.30 this afternoon…

  17. Rosie 19

    Yesterday’s public meeting in Johnsonville, “No more Dunne deals”, hosted by Ohariu People Power went really well. There was a reasonable turnout and the speakers were fantastic. They covered four aspects of Dunne’s influential voting on bills that have passed and bills yet to be passed.

    Adi Leason, one of the Ploughshares 3 that brought down the Waihopai spy domes spoke about the GCSB, and his personal experience of that day, the trial and other events. What a privilege to hear this humble and easy going man speak. I’ve always admired and respected what they did.

    Helen Kelly spoke about the current employment law changes. One thing that stood out to me was the way in which Helen explained how the govt has manipulated the narrative around the worker – boss relationship, how they have used this time of unemployment and job insecurity as leverage against the worker and created a feeling that the worker should be grateful for work, no matter how appalling the conditions or pay. “you’ll accept what you’re given and be grateful” sort of thing. She spoke of the narrative that the employer is seen as being a charity provider and how this power imbalance creates a climate in which such draconian law can be past with greater ease. (my understanding of Helen’s words, not an actual quote)

    Ian (didn’t catch his last name) from the Salvation Army spoke of the SkyCity deal and how this will affect their most vulnerable clients who are gambling addicts and talked of the rise of cases of gambling addiction in NZ over the years and gambling’s link with poverty and family break down.

    John Maynard, president of the Postal Worker’s Union and one of the organisers of O.P.P spoke of the TPPA and gave some back ground about their work around asset sales opposition.

    It look s like there will be a follow up meeting in two weeks to discuss idea’s around further activity. Being fairly new to this electorate I left feeling more hopeful, and uplifted. There was a sense of that positive constructive anger arising from the audience, that you sometimes feel at meetings such as this.

    If you missed this meeting and you live in this electorate and would like to get involved check out this:

    https://www.facebook.com/events/191126214392342

    • karol 19.1

      Thanks, Rosie. Excellent report about an important campaign.

      • Rosie 19.1.2

        No worries karol. There was a lot more to the meeting but unfortunately I forgot my notebook and only had the back of a tiny shopping list to scrawl notes on. Thanks to authors/mods of the Standard for allowing me to discuss it…..another blog never replied to my request to post the meeting info…….

        Also, big ups to all those busy people around the country quietly going about their activist work and political/social activities in general. I wonder how much work goes under the radar. Am starting to reconsider my facebook ban as I think there is info there that I’m missing out on.

        • lprent 19.1.2.1

          I find facebook useful. Provided you remember that it is a completely public forum beloved by (amongst others) jonolists and creeps like Whaleoil and Judith Collins you won’t have a problem. I also find it useful for bringing certain people’s blood pressure to the explosive level with some barbed comments that someone will forward to the recipient…

          • Rosie 19.1.2.1.1

            “I also find it useful for bringing certain people’s blood pressure to the explosive level with some barbed comments that someone will forward to the recipient…”
            Chuckle:-)

            I do recall you mentioning the usefulness of facebook to another commenter a while ago who was wanting to find sources of info and news. Hmm. Might have to consider getting over my hang ups with fb, part of which is creepy lurkers such as you mention.

    • bad12 19.2

      i don’t live in the electorate but did think of coming over for that meeting, my suggestion, if you have access to a photocopier and paper, start a guerilla campaign of letterbox anti-Dunne leafleting,

      You don’t necessarily have to ‘do’ the whole of the electorate in the one hit, so a few packets of copy paper will go a long way until you can access your next supply….

      • Rosie 19.2.1

        Thats a good idea bad12. I wonder to what degree the residents of the electorate know or care about the list of Dunne’s ill’s. If not they need educating via leaflet drops, maybe posters, and by other means, what ever they may be. He still continues to be talked up in the local free papers, so there needs to a be counter to that.

        It’s a large and relatively conservative electorate it seems, with a mix of wealth and genuine poverty. (just in my neighbourhood theres a sharp contrast between wealth and poverty, but entire suburbs seem to have either an affluent, average of poor vibe going on) Hope to learn more from the more long term residents of the area at the next meeting.

        • bad12 19.2.1.1

          Rosie, talking of Dunne’s electorate i just got back from a little mission out Johnsonville way, to your question whether the average head in the Ohariu electorate cares i am ever the optimist,

          At one time Ohariu was said to be the most monied and most degreed electorate in New Zealand, whether this still holds true isn’t a matter i have put much research into, but as you probably know Ohariu could be said to be one of the crucial electorates along with Epsom for National at the 2014 election,

          The beauty of an anti-Dunne campaign in Ohariu is that while crucial that seat does not need to elect a Labour representative in order to topple this National Government, a National representative being elected in Ohariu could well spell the death of the present National Government,

          i have been there befor, in the Ohariu electorate with a nasty little piece of politicing after the 1991 National benefit cuts, with a crew of 6 we managed to leaflet most of the electorate with what could be best described as an extremely nasty piece of anti-National Party propoganda, in a single day,

          How ‘well’ we did with our little Ohariu campaign i cannot scientifically judge and Lolz, in a life is stranger than fiction twist of fate i am now hoping that Dunne is toppled in 2014 and am only slightly concerned that with the departure of Charles Chauvel National could win the seat…

          • Rosie 19.2.1.1.1

            Interesting bad12. (Supreme effort with your leafleting back in ’91 as well!)

            I agree that the priority is to get rid of Dunne in 2014, he is the thorn in the side of NZ. In saying that, Katrina Shanks NAT, came third behind CC in the last two elections, so maybe it’s possible with a really good candidate Labour may be able to win it.

            http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C5%8Chariu

            Would Epsom ever dump ACT?

            • bad12 19.2.1.1.1.1

              Would Epsom ever dump ACT, my opinion, Yes in the blink of an eye if Banks fails to get the ‘nod’ from Slippery the Prime Minister in another ‘chimps tea party’ akin to the fiasco of 2011,

              Given a free rein to campaign a National candidate is likely to wipe the floor with the abysmal Banks although there has to be many in that electorate with enough smarts to know that a National win in that seat,(as well as Ohariu), would leave National struggling to form a Government,

              The arithmetic based upon the 2011 election numbers says that if National candidates were to win both those seats they would have the same number of seats in the house as they have now, made up of +2 electorate MP’s and -2 List MP’s,

              With regards to Ohariu, perhaps as another commenter suggested a David Cunliffe lead Labour Party can entice Charles Chauvel back from the UN…

              • Rosie

                Hmmm. Thanks for your knowledgeable analysis of the scenario. Feels to me there is a sense of hope returning.

  18. Greywarbler 20

    Hooten this morning
    “Cunliffe with his extremist environmental views”.
    Comment please – Is this correct? What are they? Extreme, measured against what? Is it exaggerated and mischievous comment from Trumpet?
    Is it a putdown to make Cunliffe sound flaky to the rabid do-nothings-environmentally on the right?

    • Tracey 20.1

      Hooten trumpeted for Shearer to be leader

      • aerobubble 20.1.1

        Hooton is a joke, he panders out the latest line from a right wing think tank. You know you can’t trust anything he says, one way or other, because he attacks himself. for example, when undermining the anti-GSCB debate he said only politically activists watch Campbell live, and care about privacy. I can think of a whole list of non-activist groups very wary of government encroachment from the far right, business, to criminal gangs, who most particularly won’t be watching campbell live.

    • One Anonymous Knucklehead 20.2

      You’re still paying attention to what Hollow Matthew says? You think it has any substantial basis?

      Translated, the lying shill is saying that the Right is crapping themselves because they know Cunliffe will probably be Labour leader, and they know he can kick the shit out of them.

      • Winston Smith 20.2.1

        Kick the shit of Key, not likely but it will certainly be a lot more even…which means interesting

        • yeshe 20.2.1.1

          as you say winsome, ‘not likely’ .. more simply just guaranteed that David Cunliffe will kick the proverbial out of your beloved liar.

        • aerobubble 20.2.1.2

          Key is now familiar to the country and his liar mentality is all to ever present to many. Labour lost a lot of votes, people want more than tinkering badly at the edges just too look like he Key is doing something. The case is clear, NZ reliance on food exports alone, in a world when increasing added value means everyone on the food chain has to be paid well, is hardly going to be led by a man who does not believe in paying living wages. An integrated world economy means better models of redistribution of wealth than we have yet to see. Neither, Saudi welfare, or neo-liberal non-welfare models are efficient or stable.

    • weka 20.3

      This, according to Hooton.

      http://www.labour.org.nz/news/speech-the-dolphin-and-the-dole-queue

      Good on Lynn Freeman for standing up to Hooton’s blatant anti-GP spin.

      • Bill 20.3.1

        Just read that speech. Strikes me as reasonably hard headed and honest – within the obvious limitations of a social democratic context. It’s the Hooten’s of the world who are reckless and extremist. Fuck them.

        As Cunliffe says in that speech in relation to achieving necessary change/shifts in perception in spite of vested interests and their insistence of a the three monkey mentality (see, hear and speak no ‘evil’) ;-

        … is it possible to take on the bastards and win? Yes it is. Who gains when we do this? Everyone.

        Indeed.

    • vto 20.4

      “Hooten this morning
      “Cunliffe with his extremist environmental views”.”

      The environmental extremists in New Zealand would have to be people who willingly eat the environment today rather than nurture it to provide for today and tomorrow.

      The environmental extremist tag belongs firmly with the right wing and especially this National government.

  19. bad12 21

    Hooten on RadioNZ National talking up Shane Jones vis a vis Jones and Winston Peters get along socially,

    The narrative running through my mind as Hooten was speaking was to ponder whether the 2, Jones and Peters are Porn watching, Whisky drinking Wankers,

    Perhaps wee Matty might enjoy joining such a duo…

    • karol 21.1

      Yes…. so much spinning going on there from MH, and narrow thinking by MW, I’m getting dizzy.

    • geoff 21.2

      Gawd he cant stand the greens can he.

      Calling the greens arrogant and a ‘fringe’ party, what a cheek. Apparently 15% is fringe yet he wasn’t labelling nzfirst or act as fringe. He clearly would prefer Labour won outright or work with wintson rather than having the greens in coalition.

      • Lanthanide 21.2.1

        I think he’s scared to see the Greens in government, become popular with the NZ public and therefore destroy any chances of future National/right-wing governments.

        I think what’s holding the greens down around 12-13% in the polls is the idea that they’re crazy nutters; something that Key tries to reinforce every chance he gets. I don’t think they’re crazy nutters, and once they get into government they can prove it.

    • Greywarbler 21.3

      bad12
      You do take the tone here down more than a peg (of whisky perhaps). /sarc
      A peg is an informal unit of measurement of alcoholic spirits; it is similar to a jigger more used in cocktails.) All good fodder for binding politicians together and loosening political restraints. A few, plus a few more, and everything will seem possible. Everything except what is most needed in our society and that is restraints on drinking hours and bottle stores and sale points.

    • Rosie 21.4

      Lol. Thats a highly disturbing mental image bad12…………….

      • bad12 21.4.1

        Lol Rosie, my Doctor will be overjoyed to have such a second opinion which backs up His observation that i present a highly disturbed mental image…

  20. i think we need to move onto more grave matters than the trivialities of ego/politics..

    …and to (wo)man-up to a serious problem facing the nation..

    ..namely..the chronic overuse of that punctuation-abomination/tautology..

    ..the sniveling/insinuating/craven blight on the written word..that is the comma..

    ..something needs to/must be done..!

    ..matters are getting out of control..

    http://whoar.co.nz/2013/elmore-leonard-i-hated-the-film-adaptations-of-my-books-comment-ed-and-why-i-have-much-disdain-for-both-the-semi-colon-and-the-comma-neither-of-which-i-use/

    phillip ure..

  21. Murray Olsen 23

    Cunliffe is standing. Great.

  22. yeshe 24

    On this good news day, here is another piece .. never thought I would be thanking the tobacco companies for delaying TPPA until next year !! It’s stuck — maybe we can have another chance now stub it out for good .. especially with David Cunliffe in charge …

    http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/world/9088198/Tobacco-clause-might-burn-free-trade-agreement

    • veutoviper 24.1

      Thanks for that link. Great – anything to delay and hopefully destroy the TPPA negotiations is welcome.

  23. Winston Smith 25

    http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/money/9088516/Early-retirement-option-unveiled

    – In other news, if the costings make sense then this should happen

  24. bad12 26

    Mike Williams on RadioNZ National just now, ”Labour Party members will be able to vote in the upcoming contest ‘online’,

    You will get a postal vote with a personal code which will allow you to cast the vote via the internet,

    Good skills Labour…

    • bad12 26.1

      Mind you a moment after i posted that comment i thought of the poor old postal workers who are facing cuts,

      Save a postal workers job, vote in the Labour leadership election by snail mail!!!…

      • Rosie 26.1.1

        Indeed, the chair of yesterdays public meeting in J’ville, Sandra Grey, jokingly said you can bypass the prying eyes of the spy’s under the new GCSB Act AND save the postal service at the same by posting all your communications in the mail!

  25. aerobubble 27

    Roads are built for cars, pavements for pedestrians. A basic right to life should be afforded cyclists, since we build pavements, roads, to best protect walkers and road users. Its wrong to allow cyclists to cycle on dual carriageways, or past parked cars whose doors fly out. State highways should be for heavy freight, not for cyclists. Pavements should have speed limits for cyclists, i.e. running speed of a professional runner. Road furniture, signage, should be removed as technology allows, and city centers become car deserts. As a cyclist to see cyclist in Australia on a three lane carriageway was shocking, what are they thinking, that is so dumb. Hilly roads should never have a cycle lane, its absurd, counter to the purpose of a bicycle, low energy movement. New thoroughfares should be built for the needs of cyclists.

  26. felix 28

    Anyone doubts that Shane Jones is a fucking idiot should listen to this: http://podcast.radionz.co.nz/ntn/ntn-20130826-0910-the_labour_party_leadership_battle-048.mp3

    in which he says that Labour needs to win “in the high 40s” to be able to “govern with moral authority”.

    FFS can someone take this useless nag behind the barn and put him out of his misery?

    ps Grant comes very fucking close to saying the same thing too, and unlike Jones he’s supposed to be smart enough to know better.

    • weka 28.1

      That has to be the stance of someone who doesn’t mind if Labour gets to form the next govt or not. Maybe he likes being in opposition. Does he get paid more if he gets to be Deputy?

  27. karol 29

    Embarrassing defeat for government in court.

    A group of disgruntled red-zone residents, calling themselves the Quake Outcasts and Fowler Developments Limited, have won their High Court battle against the Government over the Crown’s offer for their land.

    The Quake Outcasts group, representing about 40 residents, sought a judicial review of the Government’s compensation policy for red-zoned land. They called the offer an “abuse of power”.

    A High Court decision from Justice Graham Panckhurst, released this afternoon, sided with the residents and criticised both Earthquake Recovery Minister Gerry Brownlee and Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority (Cera) chief executive Roger Sutton for their part in the issue.

    • Mary 29.1

      Brownlee says government will be appealing. If this wasn’t such a compelling defeat then maybe we could accept this. But it is a compelling decision and government shouldn’t be appealing. Government will lose this case at the Court of Appeal, that’s fine, but what’s next is legislation. When this government loses anything in the courts it legislates to overturn the result it doesn’t agree with. That’s not right because the more this happens the weaker our democracy becomes. In this case we’ve got average struggling people who’ve done average things like buy a bit of land, who’ve then been treated unfairly. That’s clear. This government then wants to change this to ensure these people are treated unfairly. It’s as if the government thinks it’s there to defeat citizens, not represent their interests. This just cannot be a society that anyone would want to live in – where government wants to oppose or destroy anything that’s good for it’s citizens. It’s as if government has declared war on its people.

  28. North 30

    Native Affairs right now – if there’s one thing that makes me puke it’s the fabulously botoxed and face-worked Tamakis, male and female, dining out on being Maori !

    And as for the Bogus Bishop’s prideful raving about being invited to the US by Martin Luther King’s daughter (was it the daughter, Bernadine ?), I saw her the other night on TV lambasting all the
    evil “-isms” and the “-ias” – homophobia being one of her targets.

    Wonder if she’s aware of the homophobia and the hatred by which the Bogus Bishop remunerates himself so handsomely ?

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  • Nash splashes out with a $900,000 investment in the blue economy (or is it more corporate welfare?)
    Buzz from the Beehive Stuart Nash, speaking as Minister of Oceans and Fisheries, one of his remaining portfolios after he was dropped down the Hipkins Government batting order, has drawn attention to the blue economy and its potential. Nash says the government is investing in the blue economy, or – ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 hours ago
  • Ask Me Anything about the week to March 24
    Photo by Josh Mills on UnsplashIt’s that time of the week for an ‘Ask Me Anything’ session for paying subscribers about the week that was for the next hour, including:The runs on Silicon Valley Bank and First Republic Bank on the west coast of the United States that forced the ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    8 hours ago
  • Weekly Roundup 24-March-2023
    Roundup is back! We skipped last week’s Friday post due to a shortage of person-power – did you notice? Lots going on out there… Our header image this week shows a green street that just happens to be Queen St, by @chamfy from Twitter. This week (and last) in ...
    Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland
    9 hours ago
  • Gordon Campbell on the Keen-Minshull visit
    After threatening Prime Minister Chris Hipkins of consequences if he dared to bar her entry, Kellie-Jay Keen-Minshull has been given her visa, regardless. This will enable her to hold rallies in Auckland and Wellington this weekend, and spread her messages of hostility against an already marginalised trans community. Neo-Nazis may, ...
    9 hours ago
  • BRYCE EDWARDS’ Political Roundup:  NZ needs to distance itself from Australia’s anti-China nucl...
    * Bryce Edwards writes – The New Zealand Government has been silent about Australia’s decision to commit up to $400bn acquiring nuclear submarines, even though this is a significant threat to peace and stability in the Asia Pacific. The deal was struck by the Albanese Labor Government as ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    10 hours ago
  • Wayne Brown's #Auxit moment
    Boomers voted him in, but Brown’s Trumpish moments might spook Aucklanders worried about what a change to National nationally might mean. Photo: Lynn Grieveson/Getty ImagesTL;DR: Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown has become our version of Donald Trump and Boris Johnson, except without any of the insatiable appetite for media appearances. He ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    10 hours ago
  • Bryce Edwards: NZ needs to distance itself from Australia’s anti-China nuclear submarines
    The New Zealand Government has been silent about Australia’s decision to commit up to $400bn acquiring nuclear submarines, even though this is a significant threat to peace and stability in the Asia Pacific. The deal was struck by the Albanese Labor Government as part of its Aukus pact with the ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    11 hours ago
  • Posie Parker vs Transgender Rights.
    Recently you might have heard of a person called Posie Parker and her visit to Aotearoa. Perhaps you’re not quite sure what it’s all about. So let’s start with who this person is, why their visit is controversial, and what on earth a TERF is.Posie Parker is the super villain ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    13 hours ago
  • Select Committee told slow down; you’re moving too fast
    The chair of Parliament’s Select Committee looking at the Government’s resource management legislation wants the bills sent back for more public consultation. The proposal would effectively kill any chance of the bills making it into law before the election. Green MP, Eugenie Sage, stressing that she was speaking as ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    15 hours ago
  • Skeptical Science New Research for Week #12 2023
    Open access notables  The United States experienced some historical low temperature records during the just-concluded winter. It's a reminder that climate and weather are quite noisy; with regard to our warming climate,, as with a road ascending a mountain range we may steadily change our conditions but with lots of ...
    23 hours ago
  • What becomes of the broken hearted? Nanny State will step in to comfort them
    Buzz from the Beehive The Nanny State has scored some wins (or claimed them) in the past day or two but it faltered when it came to protecting Kiwi citizens from being savaged by one woman armed with a sharp tongue. The wins are recorded by triumphant ministers on the ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    1 day ago
  • Acceptance, decency, road food.
    Sometimes you see your friends making the case so well on social media you think: just copy and share.On acceptance and decency, from Michèle A’CourtA notable thing about anti-trans people is they way they talk about transgender women and men as though they are strangers “over there” when in fact ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    1 day ago
  • Climate Change: More Labour sabotage
    Not that long ago, things were looking pretty good for climate change policy in Aotearoa. We finally had an ETS, and while it was full of pork and subsidies, it was delivering high and ever-rising carbon prices, sending a clear message to polluters to clean up or shut down. And ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    1 day ago
  • Is bundling restricting electricity competition?
    Comparing (and switching) electricity providers has become easier, but bundling power up with broadband and/or gas makes it more challenging. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The Kākā TL;DR: The new Consumer Advocacy Council set up as a result of the Labour Government’s Electricity Price Review in 2019 has called on either ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 day ago
  • Westland Milk puts heat on competitors as global dairy demand  remains softer for longer
    Hokitika-based Westland Milk Products  has  put the heat on dairy giant Fonterra with  a $120m profit turnaround in 2022, driven by record sales. Westland paid its suppliers a 10c premium above the forecast Fonterra price per kilo, contributing $535m to the West Coast and Canterbury economies. The dairy ...
    Point of OrderBy tutere44
    1 day ago
  • BRYCE EDWARDS’ Political Roundup:  The Beehive’s revolving door and corporate mateship
    * Bryce Edwards writes – New Zealanders are uncomfortable with the high level of influence corporate lobbyists have in New Zealand politics, and demands are growing for greater regulation. A recent poll shows 62 per cent of the public support having a two-year cooling off period between ministers leaving public ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    1 day ago
  • Bryce Edwards: The Beehive’s revolving door and corporate mateship
    New Zealanders are uncomfortable with the high level of influence corporate lobbyists have in New Zealand politics, and demands are growing for greater regulation. A recent poll shows 62 per cent of the public support having a two-year cooling off period between ministers leaving public office and becoming lobbyists and ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    1 day ago
  • A miracle pill for our transport ills
    This is a guest post by accessibility and sustainable transport advocate Tim Adriaansen It originally appeared here.   A friend calls you and asks for your help. They tell you that while out and about nearby, they slipped over and landed arms-first. Now their wrist is swollen, hurting like ...
    Greater AucklandBy Guest Post
    2 days ago
  • The Surprising Power of Floating Wind Turbines
    Floating offshore wind turbines offer incredible opportunities to capture powerful winds far out at sea. By unlocking this wind energy potential, they could be a key weapon in our arsenal in the fight against climate change. But how developed are these climate fighting clean energy giants? And why do I ...
    2 days ago
  • The next Maori challenge
    Over the past two or three weeks, a procession of Maori iwi and hapu in a series of little-noticed appearances before two Select Committees have been asking for more say for Maori over resource management decisions along the co-governance lines of Three Waters. Their submissions and appearances run counter ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    2 days ago
  • Secret “war-crime” warrants by International Criminal Court is mischief-making
    The decision of the International Criminal Court (ICC) to issue war crimes arrest warrants for the Russian President and the Russia Children Ombudsman may have been welcomed by the ideologically committed but otherwise seems to have been greeted with widespread cynicism (see Situation in Ukraine: ICC judges issue arrest warrants ...
    2 days ago
  • How to answer Drunk Uncle Kevin's Climate Crisis reckons
    Let’s say you’re clasping your drink at a wedding, or a 40th, or a King’s Birthday Weekend family reunion and Drunk Uncle Kevin has just got going.He’s in an expansive frame of mind because we’re finally rid of that silly girl. But he wants to ask an honest question about ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    2 days ago
  • National’s Luxon may be glum about his poll ratings but has he found a winner in promising to rai...
    National Party leader Christopher Luxon may  be feeling glum about his poll ratings, but  he could be tapping  into  a rich political vein in  describing the current state of education as “alarming”. Luxon said educational achievement has been declining,  with a recent NCEA pilot exposing just how far it has ...
    Point of OrderBy tutere44
    2 days ago
  • Climate Change: More Labour foot-dragging
    Yesterday the IPCC released the final part of its Sixth Assessment Report, warning us that we have very little time left in which to act to prevent catastrophic climate change, but pointing out that it is a problem that we can solve, with existing technology, and that anything we do ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    2 days ago
  • Te Pāti Māori Are Revolutionaries – Not Reformists.
    Way Beyond Reform: Rawiri Waititi and Debbie Ngarewa-Packer have no more interest in remaining permanent members of “New Zealand’s” House of Representatives than did Lenin and Trotsky in remaining permanent members of Tsar Nicolas II’s “democratically-elected” Duma. Like the Bolsheviks, Te Pāti Māori is a party of revolutionaries – not reformists.THE CROWN ...
    2 days ago
  • When does history become “ancient”, on Tinetti’s watch as Minister of Education – and what o...
    Buzz from the Beehive Auckland was wiped off the map, when Education Minister Jan Tinetti delivered her speech of welcome as host of the inaugural Conference of Pacific Education Ministers “here in Tāmaki Makaurau”. But – fair to say – a reference was made later in the speech to a ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    2 days ago
  • Climate Catastrophe, but first rugby.
    Morning mate, how you going?Well, I was watching the news last night and they announced this scientific report on Climate Change. But before they got to it they had a story about the new All Blacks coach.Sounds like important news. It’s a bit of a worry really.Yeah, they were talking ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    2 days ago
  • What the US and European bank rescues mean for us
    Always a bailout: US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said the Government would fully guarantee all savers in all smaller US banks if needed. Photo: Getty ImagesTL;DR: No wonder an entire generation of investors are used to ‘buying the dip’ and ‘holding on for dear life’. US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • Bryce Edwards: Who will drain Wellington’s lobbying swamp?
    Wealthy vested interests have an oversized influence on political decisions in New Zealand. Partly that’s due to their use of corporate lobbyists. Fortunately, the influence lobbyists can have on decisions made by politicians is currently under scrutiny in Guyon Espiner’s in-depth series published by RNZ. Two of Espiner’s research exposés ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    2 days ago
  • It’s Raining Congestion
    Yesterday afternoon it rained and traffic around the region ground to a halt, once again highlighting why it is so important that our city gets on with improving the alternatives to driving. For additional irony, this happened on the same day the IPCC synthesis report landed, putting the focus on ...
    2 days ago
  • Checking The Left: The Dreadful Logic Of Fascism.
    The Beginning: Anti-Co-Governance agitator, Julian Batchelor, addresses the Dargaville stop of his travelling roadshow across New Zealand . Fascism almost always starts small. Sadly, it doesn’t always stay that way. Especially when the Left helps it to grow.THERE IS A DREADFUL LOGIC to the growth of fascism. To begin with, it ...
    3 days ago
  • Good Friends and Terrible Food
    Hi,From an incredibly rainy day in Los Angeles, I just wanted to check in. I guess this is the day Trump may or may not end up in cuffs? I’m attempting a somewhat slower, less frenzied week. I’ve had Unknown Mortal Orchestra’s new record on non-stop, and it’s been a ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    3 days ago
  • At a glance – What evidence is there for the hockey stick?
    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 ...
    3 days ago
  • Carry right on up there, Corporal Espiner
    RNZ has been shining their torch into corners where lobbyists lurk and asking such questions as: Do we like the look of this?and Is this as democratic as it could be?These are most certainly questions worth asking, and every bit as valid as, say:Are we shortchanged democratically by the way ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • This smells
    RNZ has continued its look at the role of lobbyists by taking a closer look at the Prime Minister's Chief of Staff Andrew Kirton. He used to work for liquor companies, opposing (among other things) a container refund scheme which would have required them to take responsibility for their own ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    3 days ago
  • Major issues on the table in Mahuta’s  talks in Beijing with China’s new Foreign Minister
    Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta has left for Beijing for the first ministerial visit to China since 2019. Mahuta is  to  meet China’s new foreign minister Qin Gang  where she  might have to call on all the  diplomatic skills  at  her  command. Almost certainly she  will  face  questions  on what  role ...
    Point of OrderBy tutere44
    3 days ago
  • Inside TOP's Teal Card and political strategy
    TL;DR: The Opportunities Party’s Leader Raf Manji is hopeful the party’s new Teal Card, a type of Gold card for under 30s, will be popular with students, and not just in his Ilam electorate where students make up more than a quarter of the voters and where Manji is confident ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago
  • Make Your Empties Go Another Round.
    When I was a kid New Zealand was actually pretty green. We didn’t really have plastic. The fruit and veges came in a cardboard box, the meat was wrapped in paper, milk came in a glass bottle, and even rubbish sacks were made of paper. Today if you sit down ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    3 days ago
  • Gordon Campbell on how similar Vladimir Putin is to George W. Bush
    Looking back through the names of our Police Ministers down the years, the job has either been done by once or future party Bigfoots – Syd Holland, Richard Prebble, Juduth Collins, Chris Hipkins – or by far lesser lights like Keith Allen, Frank Gill, Ben Couch, Allen McCready, Clem Simich, ...
    3 days ago
  • CHRIS TROTTER:  Te Pāti Māori’s uncompromising threat to the status quo
    Chris Trotter writes – The Crown is a fickle friend. Any political movement deemed to be colourful but inconsequential is generally permitted to go about its business unmolested. The Crown’s media, RNZ and TVNZ, may even “celebrate” its existence (presumably as proof of Democracy’s broad-minded acceptance of diversity). ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    3 days ago
  • Bryce Edwards: Shining a bright light on lobbyists in politics
    Four out of the five people who have held the top role of Prime Minister’s Chief of Staff since 2017 have been lobbyists. That’s a fact that should worry anyone who believes vested interests shouldn’t have a place at the centre of decision making. Chris Hipkins’ newly appointed Chief of ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    3 days ago
  • Auckland Council Draft Budget – an unnecessary backwards step
    Feedback on Auckland Council’s draft 2023/24 budget closes on March 28th. You can read the consultation document here, and provide feedback here. Auckland Council is currently consulting on what is one of its most important ever Annual Plans – the ‘budget’ of what it will spend money on between July ...
    4 days ago
  • Talking’ Posey Parker Blues
    by Molten Moira from Motueka If you want to be a woman let me tell you what to do Get a piece of paper and a biro tooWrite down your new identification And boom! You’re now a woman of this nationSpelled W O M A Na real trans woman that isAs opposed ...
    RedlineBy Admin
    4 days ago
  • More Māori words make it into the OED, and polytech boss (with rules on words like “students”) ...
    Buzz from the Beehive   New Zealand Education Minister Jan Tinetti is hosting the inaugural Conference of Pacific Education Ministers for three days from today, welcoming Education Ministers and senior officials from 18 Pacific Island countries and territories, and from Australia. Here’s hoping they have brought translators with them – or ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    4 days ago
  • Social intercourse with haters and Nazis: an etiquette guide
    Let’s say you’ve come all the way from His Majesty’s United Kingdom to share with the folk of Australia and New Zealand your antipathy towards certain other human beings. And let’s say you call yourself a women’s rights activist.And let’s say 99 out of 100 people who listen to you ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    4 days ago
  • The Greens, Labour, and coalition enforcement
    James Shaw gave the Green party's annual "state of the planet" address over the weekend, in which he expressed frustration with Labour for not doing enough on climate change. His solution is to elect more Green MPs, so they have more power within any government arrangement, and can hold Labour ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    4 days ago
  • This sounds familiar…
    RNZ this morning has the first story another investigative series by Guyon Espiner, this time into political lobbying. The first story focuses on lobbying by government agencies, specifically transpower, Pharmac, and assorted universities, and how they use lobbyists to manipulate public opinion and gather intelligence on the Ministers who oversee ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    4 days ago
  • Letter to the NZ Herald: NCEA pseudoscience – “Mauri is present in all matter”
    Nick Matzke writes –   Dear NZ Herald, I am a Senior Lecturer in the School of Biological Sciences at the University of Auckland. I teach evolutionary biology, but I also have long experience in science education and (especially) political attempts to insert pseudoscience into science curricula in ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • So what would be the point of a Green vote again?
    James Shaw has again said the Greens would be better ‘in the tent’ with Labour than out, despite Labour’s policy bonfire last week torching much of what the Government was doing to reduce emissions. File Photo: Lynn Grieveson/Getty ImagesTL;DR: The Green Party has never been more popular than in some ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • Gas stoves pose health risks. Are gas furnaces and other appliances safe to use?
    This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Sarah Wesseler Poor air quality is a long-standing problem in Los Angeles, where the first major outbreak of smog during World War II was so intense that some residents thought the city had been attacked by chemical weapons. Cars were eventually discovered ...
    4 days ago
  • Genetic Heritage and Co Governance
    Yesterday I was reading an excellent newsletter from David Slack, and I started writing a comment “Sounds like some excellent genetic heritage…” and then I stopped.There was something about the phrase genetic heritage that stopped me in tracks. Is that a phrase I want to be saying? It’s kind of ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    4 days ago
  • BRIAN EASTON: Radical Uncertainty
    Brian Easton writes – Two senior economists challenge some of the foundations of current economics. It is easy to criticise economic science by misrepresenting it, by selective quotations, and by ignoring that it progresses, like all sciences, by improving and abandoning old theories. The critics may go ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • Geoffrey Miller: New Zealand’s Middle East strategy, 20 years after the Iraq War
    This week marks the twentieth anniversary of the Iraq War. While it strongly opposed the US-led invasion, New Zealand’s then Labour-led government led by Prime Minister Helen Clark did deploy military engineers to try to help rebuild Iraq in mid-2003. With violence soaring, their 12-month deployment ended without being renewed ...
    Democracy ProjectBy Geoffrey Miller
    4 days ago
  • The motorways are finished
    After seventy years, Auckland’s motorway network is finally finished. In July 1953 the first section of motorway in Auckland was opened between Ellerslie-Panmure Highway and Mt Wellington Highway. The final stage opens to traffic this week with the completion of the motorway part of the Northern Corridor Improvements project. Aucklanders ...
    4 days ago
  • Kicking National’s tyres
    National’s appointment of Todd McClay as Agriculture spokesperson clearly signals that the party is in trouble with the farming vote. McClay was not an obvious choice, but he does have a record as a political scrapper. The party needs that because sources say it has been shedding farming votes ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    5 days ago
  • As long as there is cricket, the world is somehow okay.
    Rays of white light come flooding into my lounge, into my face from over the top of my neighbour’s hedge. I have to look away as the window of the conservatory is awash in light, as if you were driving towards the sun after a rain shower and suddenly blinded. ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago
  • So much of what was there remains
    The columnists in Private Eye take pen names, so I have not the least idea who any of them are. But I greatly appreciate their expert insight, especially MD, who writes the medical column, offering informed and often damning critique of the UK health system and the politicians who keep ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    6 days ago
  • 2023 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #11
    A chronological listing of news articles posted on the Skeptical Science Facebook Page during the past week: Sun, Mar 12, 2023 thru Sat, Mar 18, 2023. Story of the Week Guest post: What 13,500 citations reveal about the IPCC’s climate science report   IPCC WG1 AR6 SPM Report Cover - Changing ...
    6 days ago
  • Financial capability services are being bucked up, but Stuart Nash shouldn’t have to see if they c...
    Buzz from the Beehive  The building of financial capability was brought into our considerations when Social Development and Employment Minister Carmel Sepuloni announced she had dipped into the government’s coffers for $3 million for “providers” to help people and families access community-based Building Financial Capability services. That wording suggests some ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago
  • Things that make you go Hmmmm.
    Do you ever come across something that makes you go Hmmmm?You mean like the song?No, I wasn’t thinking of the song, but I am now - thanks for that. I was thinking of things you read or hear that make you stop and go Hmmmm.Yeah, I know what you mean, ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    6 days ago
  • The hoon for the week that was to March 19
    By the end of the week, the dramas over Stuart Nash overshadowed Hipkins’ policy bonfire. File photo: Lynn GrieveasonTLDR: This week’s news in geopolitics and the political economy covered on The Kākā included:PM Chris Hipkins’ announcement of the rest of a policy bonfire to save a combined $1.7 billion, but ...
    The KakaBy Peter Bale
    7 days ago
  • Saving Stuart Nash: Explaining Chris Hipkins' unexpected political calculation
    When word went out that Prime Minister Chris Hipkins would be making an announcement about Stuart Nash on the tiles at parliament at 2:45pm yesterday, the assumption was that it was over. That we had reached tipping point for Nash’s time as minister. But by 3pm - when, coincidentally, the ...
    PunditBy Tim Watkin
    7 days ago
  • Radical Uncertainty
    Two senior economists challenge some of the foundations of current economics. It is easy to criticise economic science by misrepresenting it, by selective quotations, and by ignoring that it progresses, like all sciences, by improving and abandoning old theories. The critics may go on to attack physics by citing Newton.So ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    1 week ago
  • Jump onto the weekly hoon on Riverside at 5pm
    Photo by Walker Fenton on UnsplashIt’s that time of the week again when and I co-host our ‘hoon’ webinar with paying subscribers to The Kaka for an hour at 5 pm. Jump on this link on Riverside (we’ve moved from Zoom) for our chat about the week’s news with ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago
  • The Dream of Florian Neame: Accepted
    In a nice bit of news, my 2550-word deindustrial science-fiction piece, The Dream of Florian Neame, has been accepted for publication at New Maps Magazine (https://www.new-maps.com/). I have published there before, of course, with Of Tin and Tintagel coming out last year. While I still await the ...
    1 week ago
  • Snakes and leaders
    And so this is Friday, and what have we learned?It was a week with all the usual luggage: minister brags and then he quits, Hollywood red carpet is full of twits. And all the while, hanging over the trivial stuff: existential dread, and portents of doom.Depending on who you read ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    1 week ago
  • This station is Karanga-a-Hape, Chur!
    When I changed the name of this newsletter from The Daily Read to Nick’s Kōrero I was a bit worried whether people would know what Kōrero meant or not. I added a definition when I announced the change and kind of assumed people who weren’t familiar with it would get ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 week ago
  • Greens don’t shy from promoting a candidate’s queerness but are quiet about govt announcement on...
    There was a time when a political party’s publicity people would counsel against promoting a candidate as queer. No matter which of two dictionary meanings the voting public might choose to apply – the old meaning of odd, strange, weird, or aberrant, or the more recent meaning of gay, homosexual ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    1 week ago
  • Ask Me Anything about the week to March 17
    Photo by Joakim Honkasalo on UnsplashIt’s that time of the week for an ‘Ask Me Anything’ session for paying subscribers about the week that was for the next hour, including:PM Chris Hipkins announcement of the rest of a policy bonfire to save a combined $1.7 billion, but which blew up ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago
  • Slow consenting could create $16b climate liability by 2050
    Even though concern over the climate change threat is becoming more mainstream, our governments continue to opt out of the difficult decisions at the expense of time, and cost for future generations. Photo: Lynn Grieveson/Getty ImagesTLDR: Now we have a climate liability number to measure the potential failure of the ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago
  • THOMAS CRANMER: Challenging progressivism in New Zealand’s culture wars
    Thomas Cranmer writes  Like it or not, the culture wars have entered New Zealand politics and look set to broaden and intensify. The culture wars are often viewed as an exclusively American phenomenon, but the reality is that they are becoming increasingly prominent in countries around the world, ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    1 week ago

  • District Court Judges appointed
    Attorney-General David Parker has announced the appointment of Christopher John Dellabarca of Wellington, Dr Katie Jane Elkin of Wellington, Caroline Mary Hickman of Napier, Ngaroma Tahana of Rotorua, Tania Rose Williams Blyth of Hamilton and Nicola Jan Wills of Wellington as District Court Judges.  Chris Dellabarca Mr Dellabarca commenced his ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 hours ago
  • New project set to supercharge ocean economy in Nelson Tasman
    A new Government-backed project will help ocean-related businesses in the Nelson Tasman region to accelerate their growth and boost jobs. “The Nelson Tasman region is home to more than 400 blue economy businesses, accounting for more than 30 percent of New Zealand’s economic activity in fishing, aquaculture, and seafood processing,” ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • National’s education policy: where’s the funding?
    After three years of COVID-19 disruptions schools are finally settling down and National want to throw that all in the air with major disruption to learning and underinvestment.  “National’s education policy lacks the very thing teachers, parents and students need after a tough couple of years, certainty and stability,” Education ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Free programme to help older entrepreneurs and inventors
    People aged over 50 with innovative business ideas will now be able to receive support to advance their ideas to the next stage of development, Minister for Seniors Ginny Andersen said today. “Seniors have some great entrepreneurial ideas, and this programme will give them the support to take that next ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Government target increased to keep powering up the Māori economy
    A cross government target for relevant government procurement contracts for goods and services to be awarded to Māori businesses annually will increase to 8%, after the initial 5% target was exceeded. The progressive procurement policy was introduced in 2020 to increase supplier diversity, starting with Māori businesses, for the estimated ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Continued progress on reducing poverty in challenging times
    77,000 fewer children living in low income households on the after-housing-costs primary measure since Labour took office Eight of the nine child poverty measures have seen a statistically significant reduction since 2018. All nine have reduced 28,700 fewer children experiencing material hardship since 2018 Measures taken by the Government during ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Speech at Fiji Investment and Trade Business Forum
    Deputy Prime Minister Kamikamica; distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen. Tēnā koutou katoa, ni sa bula vinaka saka, namaste. Deputy Prime Minister, a very warm welcome to Aotearoa. I trust you have been enjoying your time here and thank you for joining us here today. To all delegates who have travelled to be ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Government investments boost and diversify local economies in lower South Island
    $2.9 million convertible loan for Scapegrace Distillery to meet growing national and international demand $4.5m underwrite to support Silverlight Studios’ project to establish a film studio in Wanaka Gore’s James Cumming Community Centre and Library to be official opened tomorrow with support of $3m from the COVID-19 Response and Recovery ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Government future-proofs EV charging
    Transport Minister Michael Wood has today launched the first national EV (electric vehicle) charging strategy, Charging Our Future, which includes plans to provide EV charging stations in almost every town in New Zealand. “Our vision is for Aotearoa New Zealand to have world-class EV charging infrastructure that is accessible, affordable, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • World-leading family harm prevention campaign supports young NZers
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